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Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2018-07-19] BTC Price: 7466.86, BTC RSI: 67.85 Gold Price: 1222.40, Gold RSI: 25.61 Oil Price: 69.46, Oil RSI: 47.89 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Amplify Launches Advanced Metals, Materials ETF: This article was originally published onETFTrends.com. As new technologies increasingly rely on advanced batteries, Amplify Investments has developed a new ETF covering the components that go into the production of new batteries. Amplify recently launched the actively managed Amplify Advanced Battery Metals and Materials ETF (NYSEArca: BATT) , which has a 0.72% expense ratio. The portfolio is managed by Michael Venuto, Chief Investment Officer at Toroso, and Charles A. Ragauss, Director of Product Management at Exponential ETFs. “The recent boom in battery-powered electric vehicles, smart devices and large-scale energy storage solutions may be the tip of the iceberg for this investment opportunity,” Christian Magoon, CEO of Amplify ETFs, said in a note. “As the demand and science behind efficient battery solutions matures, BATT’s actively managed approach across multiple metals and materials will seek to adapt the fund’s holdings in order to optimize investment exposure to this dynamic space.” The Amplify Advanced Battery Metals and Materials ETF will try to provide investors with total return by investing in companies engaged in the mining, exploration, production, development, processing or recycling of the metals and materials being utilized in advanced battery technologies, such as Lithium, Cobalt, Nickel, Manganese and Graphite, according to a prospectus sheet. BATT's metal weight exposures include lithium 28.4%, cobalt 25.3%, manganese/graphite/recycling 21.5% and nickel 21.1%. Opportunity in Advanced Battery Materials “We see a significant opportunity to capitalize on segments of an industry where we are in the early stages of growth. Batteries aren’t just about lithium anymore; investors may need to own a broader basket of metals and materials to best capture the future growth potential associated with the battery market,” Magoon added. Underlying components must derive 50% or more of their revenue, or be in the top five and have at least 10% of global market share, of any advanced battery material. The portfolio managers will also weight companies by screening the current balance between supply and demand for each Advanced Battery Material, forecasted demand growth, commodity price outlook, likelihood of new supply discovery and regulatory and geo-political risk. Furthermore, allocations may be tactically adjusted based on the financial fundamentals of a company; the inventory and reserves of an Advanced Battery Material relative to its price; a company’s Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) score; and the discovery of new reserves or other causes of increased or new Advanced Battery Material production. Top holdings include Katanga Mng 4.2%, China Molybdenum 3.6%, Lundin Mining 3.5%, Sociedad Quimica Minera De Chi Spon 3.4% and Albemarle Corp 3.3%. For more information on new fund products, visit ournew ETFs category. POPULAR ARTICLES FROM ETFTRENDS.COM • China’s Great Leap to Wallet-Free Living • Solar ETF Suffers a Trump Slump • E&P ETFs Still Merritt Consideration • Why June 6 Is An Important Day for Bitcoin • What to Expect at 2018 Morningstar Investment Conference READ MORE AT ETFTRENDS.COM > \|\| Analysts Are Pounding the Table That This Red-Hot Oil Stock Is Still a Great Buy: ConocoPhillips(NYSE: COP)has been one of the hottest oil stocks in the sector over the past year. Shares of the U.S. oil giant are up an eye-popping 57% over that time frame, adding $26 billion to its market cap. That's a significantly higher return than most other oil stocks, which are only up by a mid-teens rate on average. Shares might not be done going higher. That's certainly what a couple of analysts believe, which is why they upgraded the stock this week. Here's why they think it's still a great buy. Image source: Getty Images. BMO Capital initiated coverage on ConocoPhillips this week with an outperform rating and a $78 price target, implying about 10% upside from the current price. BMO cited several reasons why it sees shares continuing to head higher. First, BMO sees the company becoming a cash flow machine in the coming years. It believes ConocoPhillips can generate $6.4 billion in free cash flow this year and $6.3 billion in 2019. That excess cash increases the likelihood that ConocoPhillips can continue buying back shares and raising its dividend. The oil giant already repurchased $3 billion in stock last year and is on pace to buy back another $2 billion this year, with plans to repurchase $1.5 billion more in 2019 and 2020. Meanwhile, the company raised its dividend 7.5% earlier this year. In BMO's view, ConocoPhillips has a clear line of sight to continue returning more cash to shareholders through at least 2022. BMO also likes ConocoPhillips' diversification compared to other oil producers. The company has one of the best positions in theBakken shale, as well as top-tier liquefied natural gas and oil sands assets, which should generate significant free cash flow in the future. Finally, BMO noted that ConocoPhillips' valuation looks attractive versus peers on several levels including dividend yield,EV/EBITDA, price to earnings, and free cash flow yield. The company's CFO certainly agrees with that assessment after stating on thelast quarterly conference callthat "we think our stock is well undervalued and has a lot of upside to it." Bernstein upgraded ConocoPhillips' stock from market perform to outperform while setting an $82 price target, which implies roughly 16% upside from here. One of the big drivers was the company's diversified global portfolio, which will insulate it from thepipeline problems plaguing producersin thePermian Basin. ConocoPhillips' global portfolio is proving to be a big competitive advantage because 70% of its oil production sells at Brent pricing, which is the global oil benchmark. Currently, Brent fetches more than $75 per barrel, while WTI, the U.S. benchmark, sells for $10 less a barrel. In the meantime, due to the lack of adequate pipeline takeaway capacity in the Permian, oil in that region currently sells for less than $60 a barrel, thereby pinching producer profits. That lower oil price is much less of a concern for ConocoPhillips, according to Bernstein, since it only gets 4% to 5% of its production from the Permian whereas pure-play Permian producers likeConcho Resources(NYSE: CXO)only produce from that region. That's why Bernstein downgraded Concho's stock from outperform to market perform while slashing its price target from $180 a share all the way down to $130. Aside from its global portfolio, Bernstein also noted that ConocoPhillips has a better free cash flow yield compared to other oil companies. Further, it liked the fact that ConocoPhillips is a low-cost producer and can maintain its current production rate even if crude tumbled back to $40 a barrel. Both analysts make solid casesfor buying ConocoPhillips' stockeven after its big run up over the past year. However, the one thing that stands above all others is its valuation, which is toward the low end of its peer group even after its big run-up over the past year. Because of that, the company can create meaningful value for shareholders from here by continuing to plow a large portion of its free cash flow into buying back its cheap shares. That's why I think these analysts have it correct that this oil stock is still a great one to buy. More From The Motley Fool • 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices • 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 • 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing • 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today • The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss • Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This Matthew DiLalloowns shares of ConocoPhillips. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy. \|\| Stock Stories, Volume II: Get the Big Picture Right: Every stock has a story, and on this week's episode of Rule Breaker Investing , we're sharing some of ours. Motley Fool co-founder David Gardner, along with a few other Foolish analysts and special guest speaker Dan Pink, go through their stock stories and the lessons they've learned from them. Sometimes you can win big, even when you get the details wrong. Sometimes you think you're buying too late or that you've sold too early, only to find that there's still plenty of time. Sometimes, two completely contrary positions on a stock can both end up green. Find out what ventures into Twitter (NYSE: TWTR) , Canadian National , Five Below (NASDAQ: FIVE) , and more have taught this motley assortment of investors. A full transcript follows the video. More From The Motley Fool 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This This video was recorded on June 6, 2018. David Gardner: Welcome back to Rule Breaker Investing ! Let's start June together! Happy June! June is always a delightful month. We have some family birthdays in our family, you might as well in yours. You might also be already at the beach as you're hearing us do this podcast. I hope you're enjoying better weather. That's especially true if you're in the northern hemisphere. Anyway, June looks like a fun month for this show. This week, we're going to do Stock Stories Volume II . One year ago-ish, we did our very first in this series, Stock Stories , where rather than talk about story stocks, which is a phrase that a lot of us in the investing world have heard over the years -- story stocks, you know, stocks that maybe don't have the numbers behind them, maybe that you haven't researched that much, but it has a story. And if it has a story, it becomes a story stock, and maybe one that you could or should own. Rather than pay obeisance to that, we flip it and we make it about stock stories, with the thinking that behind every stock is a story. Story continues Over the course of this week's podcast, I'm going to get to introduce some wonderful guest stars. They're going to tell the story of a stock. It might be a stock that you know of. It might not be a story that you know. But, each of us has a story to share. We have six, just like we had a year ago for Stock Stories Volume I . At the end, we have Dan Pink, the celebrated author of nonfiction works about business, work, and productivity. Dan has his stock story, and we have the pleasure of sharing that. That came from FoolFest, which is our annual conference where we invite in many of our members, many of our longtime best members, and they come together with us in Alexandria, Virginia. We have some star-studded guest speakers. Dan Pink was one of them. Dan graciously told a stock story to FoolFest last weekend. I'll be including that on this podcast. That's what we're doing this week. Next week -- I already want to be previewing this, because next week, it's back to the Market Cap Game Show , the latest episode. I'll be bringing my friend, Matt Argersinger, back in, and we'll be playing with you, playing at home, the Market Cap Game Show . That's always fun, always worth looking forward to. Oh, and, by the way, Matt will be a guest on this week's show as well, telling a stock story. One other housekeeping note before we get started. We're going to have a Rule Breaker extra this weekend. I really love this. I hope you'll love it, too. If you're around Saturday or Sunday and want to download one extra Rule Breaker Investing podcast, you're going to get to hear the interview that my brother Tom and I did with Fred Rogers, Mister Rogers of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood fame. Tom and I interviewed him back in the day. If you were around for a podcast a couple of months ago when we did our B last From The Radio Past , you heard one or two Fred Rogers-isms in that podcast. We excerpted a little there. But, this week, we're going to present the entire thing, uncut. I know there are a lot of Fred Rogers fans out there. If you want to hear Fred with his brush with The Motley Fool, I am delighted and excited to share that with you. I thank, in advance, my producers Mac Greer and Rick Engdahl for making that possible. We are timing that up with Mister Rogers' documentary, Won't You Be My Neighbor? , which comes out this weekend. A little bit of publicity and a little bit of love for that documentary. I have not seen it yet. It looks spectacular! It's kind of a Mister Rogers week here around Fool HQ, and we're happy to share that with you as well. Alright, stock story No. 1. For this one, I get to invite in my longtime friend and collaborator, Karl Thiel. Karl, welcome! Karl Thiel: Thank you for having me! Gardner: It's a delight to have you, Karl! Before you start, I'd like you to just talk briefly about what you do around The Fool and how we've worked together over the years. Thiel: I have, I guess, unlike a lot of people around Fool HQ, I've really done one thing for a long time. I've worked on Rule Breakers and I've worked on Stock Advisor . I now feel oddly protective about both of those things. [laughs] I just love them. But, yeah, I'm an analyst on both of those services. I have a particular sort of gravitation toward biotech and technology in general, but my work at Stock Advisor takes me all over the place, which is also, I think, good for me, and hopefully good for other people. Gardner: You bet. Karl, it's been a delight to work together! It seems like almost about 15 years at this point? Thiel: I think that's about right, yeah. Gardner: And these days, you live in? Thiel: I now live in Austin, Texas, after many years in Portland, Oregon. Gardner: Which is pretty awesome. The one thing you and I haven't really done together is work in a co-located way, Karl. But we've made virtual work pretty well over more than a decade now. Karl, what is the stock that you'll be sharing a story about this week? Thiel: The stock is Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) , ticker NVDA. Gardner: Excellent! Karl, maybe start with once upon a time, and take it away. Thiel: OK. Once upon a time -- and by once upon a time, I mean earlier this afternoon -- David told me that I could tell a stock story. I quickly gravitated toward Nvidia, because, for a very short moment, it makes me look really smart. So, I'm going to start with the smart part. If you take nothing else away from this, this is the part you should remember: I bought shares of Nvidia at $12.56 a piece in April 2013. Gardner: Awesome! Thiel: I can pause there for a little bit of applause in the audience. Gardner: [laughs] Since the stock's somewhere around $250 these days, that's been a really, really good call over five years. Thiel: Right! This is my stock story, this is the story as it's been for me, I think what follows next is a story of why you can be wrong on the details and still come out ahead. Unfortunately, the inverse can also be true. You can get all the facts basically right, successfully predict the future in broad terms, and still lose out. I have stories like that, too. But, in this case, I would say that, when I decided to buy Nvidia, I had general beliefs and specific beliefs about the company. At that point, it had already been a Stock Advisor recommendation since April of 2005. It was, at that point, in 2013, outperforming the market, but not spectacularly so. I would say, my general belief could probably be summarized as something like, "Video processing, this is going to be big for more than just games." I had specific beliefs. My specific beliefs were that the company's Tegra processors, because of their high performance, would find an increasing role in tablets and smartphones, and maybe other areas like cars. I'd been out to CES and seen some really cool demos of their infotainment systems, really amazing tricked-out automobiles, and I was excited. The general belief turned out to be, I think, pretty correct. The specific beliefs were really pretty wrong. [laughs] Tegra is still around. It's incorporated into SHIELD gaming devices, it's in the DRIVE system. It's no slouch. Tegra revenue was $442 million in the most recent quarter, which is about 14% of total revenue. But Tegra for the most part, and most certainly smartphones, are not what catapulted the company forward. I think, what happened in the interim is that the tablet market, which is really the only mobile market where the Tegra ever found much traction, just kind of fell apart. Then, Tegra wasn't a good fit for most phones because it was too power-hungry and it wasn't well-integrated enough with other components. And Nvidia even bought a company called Icera in 2011 so that it could incorporate modems and radio frequency stuff. That's another part, I was thinking that this could finally position them to do better in the mobile market than they had, which also turned out to be wrong. Nvidia sold Icera in 2015 and essentially exited the mobile chip market at that point. I guess, if you're looking right now at, what is it that really ended up driving Nvidia forward, I think it started in 2015 when they launched into some of their deep learning stuff and introduced the Pascal architecture. And then, more recently, the Volta architecture, which I still think is really not appreciated for what it's going to do. But, I went back and I looked at the 2005 original recommendation, and that one really hit one very accurate idea. The idea was, video games are big and they're getting bigger. I think, if you had to update that for today, it would be, artificial intelligence is big and it's getting bigger. Gardner: [laughs] It sure is. And it's still so early on for AI, isn't it? Thiel: Absolutely. So, I think, to end this story, if there was a lesson that you wanted to draw from that, if you're trying to predict the future, aim for a broad portrait. Don't necessarily get too bogged down by expert details about what needs to happen in exactly what order. Make sure that the broader picture is still emerging, because that's really what's going to drive success or failure. Gardner: That's a really great point, Karl. I think about how, sometimes, you'll talk to a friend who's very much into a given stock, and they've already choreographed what's going to happen with the next few corporate developments and the stock price. I mean, God bless that person if they're right, but so often, we're wrong. But the good news is for you and me, and you're describing one of those cases where we didn't quite get it right, yet the stock does even better than we probably thought. Thiel: Absolutely. And in a way, maybe that's kind of a Peter Lynch observation. You can use your own experience, even if it's somewhat general, to make good choices. Gardner: I really like that. I think, about Nvidia -- in fact, I told the story at FoolFest to some of our members last week. Just to think, we recommended it below $7 a share back in 2005, as you referenced, and it went to $30 within two years. So, it was a four-bagger for us by 2007. Then, you and I remember what happened -- well, we all remember what happened to the stock market in 2008 and 2009. It went from $30 down below our cost of $6.75 or so one year later. So, we watched it go from basically $7 to $30 down to $6, which hurt a lot. When you've made 4X your money, you don't like to watch all that go away and a little bit more. You had it in 2013, right, Karl? Your cost was $12, did you say? Thiel: Yeah. Gardner: It wasn't until 2016 that the stock finally actually got back to $30, which we'd seen in 2007. And you know this because you're on the team, we held it all the way through. In 2016, just to add a little bit to your story, the stock went from $30 to $90 that year. It tripled. It was the No. 1 performing stock for the S&P 500 that year. And in 2017, we decided to rerecommend it right again, because we're not afraid of things already having gone up. Usually, that's a good sign. The good news is, we picked it there again in 2017 at $100, and it's somewhere around $250-260 today. It has been spectacular. But, yeah, I don't think we were foreseeing, were we, back when we wrote that 2005 buy report, that artificial intelligence would come along, autonomous vehicles and all of these prospects for Nvidia and its graphics processing units. Thiel: Yeah. We weren't, but, looking back at that, I think it really did get at what was important. It was about gaming, it was about the continued rise of gaming. And that continues to be a huge driver for the company. That is a very true observation 13 years later. And in broad terms, that original 2005 recommendation was absolutely accurate. Gardner: And at a cost of about $6.75, we're sitting pretty on that one. Not every story has a happy ending. Today, for now, this one does. But for you, from that spectacular buy just five years ago at $12, or for some Stock Advisor members that had to wait for seven or eight years for the thing to do anything for us at all, it's sometimes that epic Odyssey story, Odysseus making the effort to get all the way back to fair Ithaca, and all of the things that he had to do to get through. That's how investing -- which, by definition is for the long-term -- feels a lot of the time. Karl Thiel, thank you very much for joining us and sharing stock story No. 1! Thiel: Thank you! Gardner: And now it's time for stock story No 2. We're welcoming in, here in Fool HQ, my friend Matt Argersinger. Matt, how are you doing? Matt Argersinger: I'm doing pretty well, David. Gardner: Awesome! You and I -- I already previewed this -- we're going to go back and play the Market Cap Game Show next week. I always get excited about this. Argersinger: I'm excited about that. Gardner: Do you get a little nervous about it, Matt? Argersinger: I think I'm getting more and more nervous, because I have this streak going. Six out of ten. I feel like, if I don't hit that, I'm going to be really disappointed. Gardner: I understand. I'll try to balance out, some hard ones with some easier ones. We'll see how the numbers come out. But, you've always impressed me, because I would never have done more than about three or four out of ten. I think many of our listeners feel the same way. That's all next week, though. For this week, we're going to talk about a story. Before you start, Matt, can you just briefly introduce yourself to people who have not met you before? What do you do around Fool HQ? Argersinger: Sure! I'm an analyst in our investing team here at The Fool. I've actually been at The Fool for just over ten years now. It's amazing. Gardner: Awesome! Argersinger: I have the great honor of being in Supernova and on our Odyssey 1 Mission . Gardner: The outstanding Odyssey 1 Mission . A real-money portfolio. I know we have some Odyssey 1 listeners right now. For those who've never heard of Odyssey 1 or Supernova , Matt, what is it that you do? You can brag a little bit, if you'd like, in terms of the performance you've generated for members. Argersinger: [laughs] Supernova is a collection of real-money portfolios in missions, we call them, that are pursuing different goals. The Odyssey 1 Mission , it was one of the first real-money missions we launched in Supernova when Supernova launched in 2012. Our goal is to help the investor who's still saving, investing for retirement but somewhere out in the future, a wage-earning investor who's probably adding money regularly to their portfolio. So, we've taken, I'd say, some fairly riskier investments, brought them into Odyssey 1 from the Supernova universe, and put together a pretty good track record. In six years, the Odyssey 1 portfolio has delivered roughly a 200% return, so roughly a triple in six years. Gardner: Right, which has been completely awesome. The market over that time has been good, but not anything like that good, so, wonderful. I know a lot of members are very grateful for your and your team's work, Matt. The idea of our real-money portfolio missions is that anybody can mirror them who's a member. If you want, Matt and his team tell you what to do ahead of time, so you can find out, what stock am I supposed to buy next? We're always scoring ourselves at or after when you do, so anybody, truly, can mirror these portfolios. In a world where a lot of people think you can't beat the index fund -- could you? Well, the good news is, I think that Odyssey and really all of Supernova prove that yes, you can, and it's quite lucrative to do so. Anyway, enough with that. Matt, what is the stock you're presenting for stock story No. 2? Argersinger: Sure. The stock I'm bringing here today is Twitter, ticker TWTR. I think we all know what Twitter is and what it does. This is a stock we actually bought three times in Odyssey 1 over the years. I believe we're the only Supernova portfolio mission that has recommended Twitter. Gardner: Excellent. Matt, start us off with once upon a time. Argersinger: Once upon a time, go back to December 2013, Twitter enters the Supernova universe via your team in Rule Breakers . At the time, the price was $64 a share. It had recently come public after much anticipation, fanfare. We waited roughly nine months to finally bring it into Odyssey 1 . This is August 2014 now. The stock price was $46. We actually added it a month later, again, in September 2014 -- back-to-back months for us, we were excited about the company. I thought it was fun to go back and read some of our write-ups for Twitter at the time. Gardner: Mm, because, not to foreshadow, but Twitter would drop some from there, wouldn't it? Argersinger: Yes, it would drop quite a bit. But, if you go back and read some of the things we wrote -- my team and I, this is Aaron Bush, myself, Tim Beyers, and Sarah Goddard -- just to give you a taste: "Twitter is the preeminent real-time communication platform of the future. The active user base of Twitter is accelerating. Revenue growth is growing over 100%. It's the operating system of news, increasingly the way people consume news and information in real-time, and more relevant every day to individuals, corporations, sports teams, celebrities, government agencies, news feeds. And, as Spencer Rascoff of Zillow continuously emphasizes, advertisers follow audience. Twitter's audience is growing by leaps and bounds in an almost unlimited number of verticals." Gardner: Now, that was pretty awesomely true back then, and some of it is definitely true today. The story may have changed a little bit in the meantime. Argersinger: It did. You go forward, and really, the timing of that, after our second rec -- so, here's Twitter September 2014 at $52 a share, and it was pretty much downhill from there. Every quarter hence, not only did revenue growth decelerate pretty fast -- Gardner: That was a big thing. Argersinger: -- the active user base for Twitter, which, at the time, was approaching 300 million, it really flattened out. The active user base went from growing, I'm saying, at 30% year over year, it went down to about 5% year over year, eventually flattening out. Of course, as you can imagine, this really changed the market's perception of Twitter. It dropped quite precipitously, at one point getting as low as $14 a share. Gardner: Yeah, I remember that! Argersinger: That was not a fun time! Gardner: And when was the bottom, Matt, roughly? Argersinger: It kind of hit two bottoms. It hit one, that $14-15 bottom, in 2015, and it hit it again later on in, I believe, early 2017. So, two trips to the depths. But, interestingly enough, we weren't deterred by that. We actually added it a third time in December 2015, so, roughly 15 months after our last rec, specifically because Jack Dorsey, the founder of Twitter, and today the CEO once again, he came back around that time. Gardner: Kind of like Steve Jobs coming back. Argersinger: Right. We thought, "Here's the founder coming back," and he did something that we thought was tremendous at the time, he came in and he gave away $200 million of his own worth of his share ownership in Twitter to his employees at Twitter upon coming back. We thought that was an interesting move. Gardner: One of the bigger gifts that we can think of any CEO ever giving their employees. Argersinger: Right. And, of course, we were wrong at the time to rerecommend it, because Twitter, again, as we foreshadowed, hit another new low shortly after that. In the fall of 2016, it was interesting, it actually shot up from that low teens to about $25. This was because there was a rash of buyout rumors, if you remember, companies from Salesforce (NYSE: CRM) to Disney , there were rumors that they were bidding for the company. It shot up to $25. Of course, a buyout never materialized. The stock fell sharply after that, and slumped down again to that $14-15 range. But, this is when you, David, and your team, Rule Breakers, in January 25th, 2017, made your second recommendation of Twitter at around $19, which I thought was incredibly prescient at the time. And, of course, it's turned out to be an incredible investment. The reason I thought of Twitter today, or this week specifically, was because it was just announced this week that Twitter's going to be joining the S&P 500. Gardner: Yes, indeed! Twitter had a very nice day. In fact, the day that it was announced was Monday, I believe. We're taping here on Tuesday, and Twitter's up about 5% or so -- Argersinger: That's right. Gardner: -- largely on the news, right? Because all the index funds now pile in and need to own some Twitter. Argersinger: That's correct. It's nearly $40 as we tape, which I think is tremendous. Not only is it more than a double from when you last recommended it in Rule Breakers in January 2017, it's up 60% -- Gardner: Awesome! Argersinger: -- since our last recommendation in Odyssey 1 about two and a half years ago, and it's actually, as of this week, above our cost basis. Our cost basis was about $38. And for the first time in roughly five years, Twitter is back above our cost basis. Gardner: That's great. Now, of course, I assume you intend the story to end there, Matt. I'm going to ask you about the lesson in a sec. But, there can be an epilogue here that I want to ask you about, as well, because all that really matters now, of course, is what happens going forward. First, Matt, what's the lesson? Argersinger: I think the lesson is, Twitter hasn't been a great investment. It's one of those investments, when we looked at it at the time, it had just recently gone public. The hype around the platform and how it was growing was tremendous. It looked like it was going to have the same kind of trajectory as, say, Facebook , in terms of advertising growth, user growth. There was all this excitement. It didn't materialize. But, never at any point, I think, in the last five years has the influence of Twitter declined at all. In fact, I think that today, all those things we said joyously several years ago are actually coming true. I do think it's becoming that No. 1 source for most people to go when they want real-time news or real-time communication with a lot of different outlets. So, I think, we were wrong, maybe, with our timing, as often investors are. But I think, actually, all those original stories we had are coming true, and the evolution of Jack Dorsey coming back, making the platform more interesting, connecting it to a lot of different things that we find more relevant -- sports, for example, for Twitter has become a very popular vertical. So, not a great investment. The story, I feel like we had it right, and I think it's just starting to play out now. Gardner: It's funny to think that each time your team bought, Matt, it dropped from there after you did. And yet, even though you might feel like, strike one, strike two, and strike three, you're now back to even-slash-maybe even a little bit above where you started, and that itself is instructive. Argersinger: That's right. Gardner: Do you like Twitter going forward? Argersinger: I do like Twitter quite a bit going forward. Maybe it's just mostly anecdotal right now, but I feel like, especially with, maybe not so much the Facebook fallout, and it's not really fallout we're talking about, but maybe, with Facebook focusing more inwards and more on things like friends and family, relationships, I feel like there's a big opportunity for Twitter to really now dominate the "news feed" for most people, especially as they interact with the rest of the world in real-time. So, I think I'm as excited about Twitter as I've ever been. And I think the business of Twitter, especially when it comes to advertisers and ad revenue and things like that, is really going to start reflecting that pretty soon. Gardner: Matt, who are you on Twitter? Argersinger: Well, I'm not very original, I'm @MArgersinger, which is just my first initial, Matt, and then Argersinger. So, MArgersinger. Gardner: So, nobody else grabbed MArgersinger? Argersinger: No. And, I'm not a verified account or anything like that, but I doubt anyone's going to be looking for that username anytime soon. [laughs] Gardner: Awesome, Matt. Thank you for stock story No. 2. See you next week! Argersinger: Thanks, David! Gardner: Now, it's time for stock story No. 3. I get to welcome back my friend, Brendan Mathews. Brendan, how are you doing? Brendan Mathews: Great! Gardner: Awesome! Now, I know the company you're talking about. You and I talked about it ahead of time. I'm not sure what the story's going to be, but it's Canadian National, the railroad company. CNI is the ticker symbol. Before you start with it, though, Brendan, how long have you been at The Fool, and what do you do here? Mathews: I've been at The Fool six years now. I'm part of the Stock Advisor research team, and I'm the portfolio lead for Odyssey 2 and Supernova . Gardner: Awesome. Remind me, Brendan, is Canadian National in Odyssey 2 , in our portfolio? Mathews: It is not. I don't believe any of the Supernova portfolio services have picked it up. It's hard to get excited about a railroad, sometimes. Gardner: [laughs] You say that, and yet, you're going to make it exciting in stock story No. 3, or at least interesting. Brendan, take it away! Mathews: Once upon a time, commodities were in a historic boom. Housing was booming, too. People were using all kinds of forestry products to build homes, and there was an outstanding railroad that connected the Pacific and British Columbia to the Atlantic and Nova Scotia, and then the Great Lakes and the Gulf of Mexico. This time, if you might have guessed, it was 2008. That's when you recommended Canadian National to Stock Advisor members. The shares, on a split-adjusted basis, were $28. The CEO was Hunter Harrison, who has recently passed away after being the CEO of CSX and Canadian Pacific . He was a legend in the railroading industry. He was Morningstar 's 2013 CEO of the Year. So, $28 a share, March of 2008. I think we all know what happens in the fall of that year. Bear Stearns is the first to fall. We see the housing market come apart. Stock market hits historic lows in March of 2009. Canadian National is not immune. Its shares fall to $16. And along with the stock market, the housing market and the commodities market both completely fall apart, and they've really not recovered to a huge degree. Canadian National, shares fall to $16. But earnings actually didn't fall that much. They had $2.1 billion in profits prior to the Great Recession. Profits fell to $1.9 billion, stayed that low until recovering in 2010. Since then, shares have chugged along from $16 lows to $82 today. Now, there were highs and lows along that way. In 2014, shares hit $71 before falling to $59 in the beginning of 2016. Basically, this is a company where a lot of interesting and unpredictable things have happened. Hunter Harrison, the CEO I was talking about, left in 2009, shortly after we recommended the shares. The company completed a big acquisition of Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railway around Chicago, so, they made an important acquisition. Their forestry business, shipping a lot of lumber to supply houses, that portion of their business kind of fell apart. As we've seen in a lot of other railroads, coal shipments have fallen off. But, all along the way, forgive the pun, they just were kind of chugging along, from $28 to $82 a share. And along that time, they paid $8 in dividends. Gardner: Ah, I'd forgotten that! Mathews: That's a four-bagger return. 316% vs. 157% for the S&P. Really outstanding returns for a company that's not super exciting, and a lot of tumultuous and unpredictable things happened over the course of a decade. Gardner: Brendan, the lesson may be self-evident, but can you double underline the lesson of this story as you see it? Mathews: For me, the big lesson is, you can't predict everything. But if you can get the big things right, you'll do well. I think, with this stock, the one thing that we got right when I look back at your original recommendation was the quality of Canadian National's network. They have that three-coast rail network that really nobody else has in the North American continent, and they're just a great railroad. You can't predict commodities booming and busting, housing, CEOs coming and going. But, you've really got the right railroad with the right assets, you get that right, and it worked out. Gardner: It's really wonderful to hear you remind me and us what's happened over the last ten years -- yep, that's how long we've been holding Canadian Natty. From my standpoint, your analysis itself felt like the longer-term, bigger landscape of railroad companies themselves, talking about a big acquisition, talking about the CEO leaving within a year of our recommendation. Something delightful for us as long-term thinkers and actors, to be able to step away and see a business like this. I think what's especially cool, Brendan, is that this is railroads! The business itself has been around for a couple of centuries now. That's pretty cool on its own. Mathews: Yeah, its history goes back to 1832, almost 200 years. Gardner: Tremendous. Before I let you go, how about, talk about a recent Odyssey 2 purchase, one that you and your team like, just a little extra candy for our listeners as you depart? Mathews: The newest stock that we've added to our portfolio is Salesforce. They're the original top dog in SaaS software. They offer customer relationship management software and a couple of other things. Really just had a great quarter. If it's possible to say a company is selling for a cheap multiple at over 8X sales, then that's the case here with Salesforce. Gardner: [laughs] Probably one of the best performers that's the least acknowledged or talked about. Marc Benioff, the founder CEO, is a guy who is definitely one of the great CEOs of our time, but a name we haven't mentioned as often on the show. One funny stat I was looking at, Brendan, you know that we've counted spiffy pops for all of our stocks -- when a stock makes more in a single day than our cost basis. For Salesforce, which has been thanks to Tim Beyers, who brought it into Rule Breakers about a decade ago, Salesforce is up 18X in value, but has only -- and this sounds crazy to me -- has only spiffy popped three times. Now, when your stock goes up 18X in value, and only on three occasions has it had enough volatility to jump over the cost basis you once paid, that's very unusual. I was looking back, the last couple of years, it hasn't made more than about a 4% move either way, and that's through a pretty strong and sometimes volatile stock market. It's a great company. Mathews: Yeah, that's true. It's the amazing thing about Salesforce. They have this great backlog of business. They have future revenue in the bag. Unlike other high flyers, you don't necessarily see those big drops when they miss earnings by a couple of pennies. Gardner: Mm, excellent point. Thanks so much, Brendan! Fool on! Mathews: Thank you! Gardner: Alright, stock story No. 4. My next guest star I've worked with for probably longer than anybody else except maybe my brother at The Motley Fool. I think that's fair. Rick Munarriz, welcome! Rick Munarriz: Hi, thank you, David! Yes, I've been here a long time. I think 1995 was when I first started working with you guys, and it's been an amazing run ever since. Gardner: And you've added so much value to our lives, not just those of us who worked with you in Motley Fool Supernova , where you, today, manage the Phoenix 2 portfolio mission with a talented team, but, Rick, your byline appears more on our site than mine does, I think, because you've written so many articles over the years on so many different, and often fun, and fun to read, companies. Thank you for your great work! What is the stock that you have for stock story No. 4? Munarriz: Once upon a time, there was a company called Taser Systems. Of course, we know it now as Axon Enterprise , a very successful, one of the hottest stocks in the Supernova universe over the past few months, and over the past year, really. We recommended it back in late 2004 in Rule Breakers. It was rerecced nine months later in the summer of 2005, after the stock has lost almost two-thirds of its value. This was a company, back then, all they were really making were Tasers. True to their name, they were the leading stun gun maker. And when we actually sold, we recommended that our readers and subscribers actually sell the stock back in February 2009, the stock was taking a beating. This was a company that, there was a lot of negative publicity. There were some deaths related to Tasers, and that led to both the negative publicity and some lawsuits. Revenue fell in 2008. It would also go on to decline in 2010. The company was not profitable at the time. It was pretty much a very sad stock. You almost tell yourself, "OK, let's write this one off. Let's never revisit it. Let's never check into the story again." But as investors, we have to think beyond that. This was a stock that did not bounce back right away. It's not like, you think of early 2009, the market was pretty rough at that time, anyone who remembers -- it wasn't a stock to just bounce back once we said let it go. The stock was actually waffling about in the mid-single-digits for more than four years. And it wasn't until 2013 when the stock actually cracked over that double-digit ceiling again. Let's fast-forward to happier times. Rule Breakers, October 2015, where you recommend it again. And it's still Taser Systems, it's not yet Axon Enterprises, but the model itself had evolved. This was a company that was no longer relying on their stun guns, even though it was commanding the largest chunk of their revenue, and it continues to do that. But, this was a company also behind the Axon wearable body cameras that police officers and military personnel were wearing so that they could document things that happen. This was also the company that would go on to establish evidence.com, which is the cloud-based platform that a lot of this data is stored on. There's a lot of video that gets recorded on these cameras. Basically, they have the whole system down. They have the stun guns, they have the cameras. And these cameras, they have in-car cameras, it's not just the body cameras. They recently signed a partnership with DJI for drones, to work in partnership with them. This is a company that's really expanding the whole surveillance and tracking stuff. And when you think about stuff in the news, where there's always these very unfortunate fatal encounters between officers and people on the road, whether the suspects are innocent, whatever the case may be, these are incidents that are recorded because Axon Enterprises is there recording these things. Ever since Rule Breakers recommended it in October 2015, the stock has almost tripled. Back in early 2017, the first week of 2017, in Supernova in the Phoenix 2 mission that I'm the lead analyst for, we bought it, and it was essentially roughly at the same price as the Rule Breakers recommendation in 2015, $23 and change. Gardner: Great! Munarriz: But the stock then has also gone on to triple. I bought it personally. I can say that I'm glad that I bought it personally. I bought it three weeks after the Phoenix 2 recommendation, and I'm up 167%. So, I'm not doing as well as Rule Breakers subscribes and Phoenix 2 subscribers that have followed us from the very first get-go, but I'm very happy to say that this is a stock that, the company is now very profitable. It's growing. In its last quarter, revenue was up 28%, but stun guns were up 10%, and accounting for almost two-thirds of the revenue. But the real driver here, obviously, is these wearable cameras, this evidence.com, all these new ways, the sensors and software segment of the company that exploded by 75% in its last latest quarter. This is a very dynamic company. To me, the lesson here is, quite simply, goodbye isn't always forever. Always remember that. Sometimes you buy a stock too soon, you buy a stock too late. You could sell a stock too soon, you could sell a stock too late. But when you recognize that the company has changed, it's evolved into the company you always wanted it to be, it's never too late to approach your ex-girlfriend or ex-boyfriend or ex-high school sweetheart and say, "Let's give it another go, because I think you've changed." Gardner: [laughs] It is an outstanding tale of that, Rick. I'm really glad that you bought it. I've never owned it personally. I'm delighted that we've recommended it for Rule Breaker members who've benefited. I'm very happy, though, to hear that you have more than doubled. To me, especially, I think last year was exciting for this stock, because the performance of the stock at the time was not that exciting about 12 months ago. But what was happening is, the company was getting these cameras, these police body cams, out in the field, more at cost, not making a lot of money. So, their revenues were growing, but the profits didn't look so good. The stock was getting a little bit dinged for that. But, we were talking as a team, you and I were talking about how, it's evidence.com, their website, where all this video goes up and lives in the cloud, and every police department subscribes to it. That's the kind of razor and blades model that was in place for Axon Enterprises. And now, we're benefiting from that same dynamic, where people start to realize there's a lot of profit up there. Munarriz: Absolutely! Axon is selling the stun guns and the body cameras, and even (unclear 39:00) cameras. They like to sell them with five-year deals. It's a five-year deal, you pay $129 a month and you have access to the unlimited storage on evidence.com. It's sort of like, once they get a sale, it's almost locked in for five years, so there's great visibility now in what Axon is doing. Not only is it growing, but it's actually becoming a more reliable, dependable, steady company. Almost boring, but not if you look at its stock chart. Gardner: Alright. In closing, Rick, you and I are looking backwards. Obviously, we're telling stories of the past. But, when you consider that Axon today has a market cap of only about $3 billion, I don't think this is a stock that anybody's missed. I don't think they should think, "Oh, darn it, I wish I had bought it with Rick a couple of years ago." I think, going forward, I see a category leader. I don't see a lot of competition. I see only a $3 billion market cap. Your thoughts? Munarriz: Yeah, definitely. Clearly, we were way too early in 2004. But I think we were still early in 2015. I definitely think the best has yet to come for Axon Enterprise. And yes, obviously, the stock has been hot for the past year and a half. But the real big gains, I think, will come in the future. Everything that it's doing, everything that it's expanding, is going to play out. It's going to work out pretty well, I hope, for investors. Gardner: Thank you, Rick Munarriz! Alright, stock story No. 5. This one is mine. I want to talk about two stocks, only one of which is presently in the Supernova universe. You may have noticed, the source for all of our stock stories are from our Supernova universe, stocks that we've picked in Stock Advisor , Rule Breakers , and Supernova . Thank you again to my previous guests for their stories. This one is about Five Below, ticker FIVE. This is a company that is based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and for quite a while now has sold stuff in stores that costs, generally, $5 or less. It's a company that is very much in the bricks and mortar of today, which you would think wouldn't work so well in retail. I'll talk a little bit about Five Below in a sec. But first, once upon a time, David and Tom Gardner were invited to give a keynote at a conference that happened to be in Puerto Rico. The year was probably around 1999 or 2000, so, around 20 years ago. We were invited by Aetna , the very large and successful insurance company. Tom and I went and played a round of golf before giving that keynote talk to Aetna. In fact, that was the one round of golf I've ever played where I was bitten mercilessly by fire ants in an incident somewhere on the seventh hole, when I decided I would take a digital photo of my brother, Tom, hitting out of the rough just behind a water trap. I think it was on the seventh hole. I remember mocking a disclaimer that was in our golf cart at the time. It said something like, "Beware of fire ants." And I thought, "You know, it's sad how the lawyers have even gotten into our golf carts now with their disclaimers on seemingly every product and service around us." So, I knelt down right near that water trap as Tom took his backswing, and I felt the most ungodly pain on my right knee. Fire ants, as it turns out, all work together. They crawl up your leg, and then, through some communications device which I don't fully understand but would be better understood by entomologists, they all communicate at the same moment, "Bite!" And at that moment, I felt a huge amount of pain. And I learned that disclaimer was in that golf cart for a good reason. Anyway, that was all before we gave our talk to Aetna, which was later that afternoon. As we got there, some of the entourage around the CEO, including the person who was in charge of the event, some of the PR team, and the investor relations team, they said, "Oh, David and Tom Gardner, great! It's good you guys are here! We almost cancelled you yesterday." And, since we'd been flying on a plane to the event the day before, we said, "What?! You almost cancelled us?" And they said, "Yeah! You didn't see the article you guys published on your site? It incensed our CEO." For a couple of decades now, if you're a long-term Motley Fool or fool.com follower, you know that we write a lot of articles. Every day in the markets, we try to cover the movers and shakers, the stocks up and the stocks down, as we try to tell the story of global business through the public companies that you and I can invest in. We have a lot of contract writers who write articles on our site about all kinds of different stocks, some of which we've picked, some of which we never have. I had never personally picked Aetna. But, as it turns out, that day before, the very day we flew to Puerto Rico, one of our writers had penned an article with this title: Dial 911, Aetna Needs Help . Again, this is not a viewpoint that I had. I didn't even know that much about Aetna. It's not one of my stock picks. But, on our website, the day before we go to speak with the CEO, keynoting at their conference, we wrote, Dial 911, Aetna Needs Help . So, you can see how that might have upset our sponsor, but we're happy to say they graciously still had us speak at the conference. I think we did a good job, and I'm pretty confident that Aetna still had a pretty good future, whether it needed help back in 1999 or not. That's all a long windup for Five Below. Earlier this year, just a few months ago, one of the things we do at The Motley Fool is, we have an internal university where we have a class of what we call fellows. And with that group of fellows, it's kind of like a mini business school within The Motley Fool -- you have some projects, you work with a team, you learn more and more about business, our business and business at large. And one of the things we've always done with our fellows, which we've graduated annually or so for some years now, is that we take them on a trip. This one was to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. We arrived at the headquarters of Five Below. Five Below, very generously making time with its CEO and its team to meet with our fellows. Tom and I were there. And just as we got ready to proceed over to Five Below's lovely headquarters in Philadelphia, I noticed that Jeff Fischer, our lead advisor in The Motley Fool Pro team, had previously shorted Five Below. And I began to get a Dial 911, Aetna Needs Help vibe to this. I was giggling a little bit as I pointed out to Tom, unbeknownst to both of us, that our company had previously shorted Five Below. Now, I want to mention, this is a stock that we recommend in Motley Fool Rule Breakers . It's been a good pick, I'm going to provide numbers in a sec. But, there we are, on our way to their headquarters with a previous short on Five Below, wondering if the CEO knew that or not. So, here are a few numbers. On April 23rd of 2014, I picked Five Below for Motley Fool Rule Breakers . It was at $38.50. I'm happy to say, today, it's at $79.46. In fact, as we do this taping, it has just crossed the 100% mark. It's kind of a historic moment for me to tell the Five Below story on this day, because it's up 100.3%. That's 41% ahead of the market. That's over that four-year period, so it's been an excellent four-year stock. But, just a few months after I picked it in Motley Fool Rule Breakers , my good friend Jeff Fischer shorted it in July of 2014. I was worried. I didn't know if he still had that short in, and if so, it wasn't good advice for our members. And as I finally got to the headquarters of Five Below, I had looked it up, and as it turns out, Jeff and his co-associate Bryan Hinmon, The Motley Fool Pro team had shut down that short in December of 2015. That was held for 17 months. Amazingly, they shorted at $36 and it went down to $28. What I love about this story is, not only was there no downside -- and, I don't think the Five Below CEO knew this or ever mentioned it at all. But, simultaneously, two Motley Fool services had different positions on Five Below. I and my team have a four-year hold that's still in, and we've more than doubled our money now, which is really exciting. Meanwhile, Motley Fool Pro rode a $36 stock down to $28 and covered its short from July '14 to December '15. I think that's just a delightful story. For me, the lesson is, you don't have to be all long or all short. You don't have to be single-minded in terms of how you view a stock. In that particular case, as I discovered that morning in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as I nervously got off the bus and stepped into headquarters, as it turns out, both of our Motley Fool services had profited by taking opposite tacks over different time frames. Sometimes, as a long, never forget that your best friend is the short. Anybody who's short a stock has to buy that stock back over time, which means they'll be a net buyer going forward. So, in a sense, Motley Fool Pro helped us out. And perhaps we helped them out, as well. I'm not sure. But, if you're a member of either of those services, I think you have different views of Five Below, but you did well either way. One thing's for sure. Five Below, ticker FIVE, has been a fine company, in part, I think, because it's pretty Amazon - proof. Amazon isn't really in the business of sending off $2-3 items, where you'd have to pay for shipping or they'd have to pay it to make it free for you. Somebody has to pay the shipping. And when you're shipping $2-4 items, it's not that efficient. That's why I really like and have liked Five Below as a company. And, having got to know them and their CEO and team, a couple of months ago, a little bit better, I feel really good about FIVE going forward. Alright, that was stock story No. 5, Dial 911, Aetna Needs Help . And, as I mentioned, we're going to close -- I think I've saved the best for last. We have celebrated author Dan Pink, a good friend of The Fool, here with his stock story. Since I already know this one, because he told it at FoolFest last week, I'm pretty sure I can tell you, he's going to top us all with what you're about to hear. Dan, take it away! [...] Dan Pink: Once upon a time, in the middle of the first decade of this century, I wrote a book called A Whole New Mind. It had an orange cover. One of the ideas in the book, which I'm not sure is totally right anymore, was that, I had this argument that the MFA, the Masters of Fine Art, is the new MBA. The MFA is the new MBA, because a lot of MBA skills can be outsourced and automated. The skills of an MFA, the Masters of Fine Art, are harder to outsource and harder to automate, therefore they would be more valuable. The MFA is the new MBA. That idea got me invited to a lot of art and design schools, [laughs] because everybody loves confirming their own biases. In the course of this, I went to the Rhode Island School of Design, one of the premiere art and design colleges in America. It's an incredible institution. There, I met a young man. I'm not going to tell you his name. I'm just going to tell you, I met a young man who came up to me after the speech and talked to me a little bit, and then sent me an email afterwards and asked me some questions. And I responded to the email. He seemed like a good dude. I liked this guy, I thought he was super creative. Maybe a year later, two years later, he emailed me. I thought he was just a super creative guy. He said, "I have this crazy idea for a business," and he told me about the business, and I thought it was absurd, it was just an absurd idea. But, as a way to raise money for it, because he was a pretty skilled designer and a very creative guy, he decided -- this is now 2008 -- to do a set of limited edition cereal boxes. This is going to sound weird. Limited edition cereal boxes, where he and some of his design colleagues created these two boxes of cereal -- literally, it had cereal in it. One brand was called Obama O's. Hope in every box. And the other one was called Cap'n McCain's. And they said, "To raise a little bit of money, we're going to do these limited edition cereal boxes." They're actually works of art in a limited edition, and each cereal box had stamped on it, No. 4 of 500, No. 6 of 500, or whatever. And I thought, "That's pretty good!" I actually really enjoy fine art, particularly conceptual art. Like, I like going to the Hirshhorn, and I like the more outré, forgive my French, kinds of art, and these kinds of wacky things. And they were selling it, and I like this guy, and I said, "This guy could be a famous artist one day. It'd be really cool if this guy were, like, the next Andy Warhol or Jeff Koons or something like that, and I had one of his early pieces." So, for a tiny little amount -- literally, I think they were $75 a piece -- I bought these things. And I said to this young man, "This is totally cool. I mean, it's cool that you're raising money for this business, but I'm buying these things because I think you could probably be a well-known artist, and this is my investment, but I would never put a cent into your company." So, I have in my office -- I think David might have seen these -- these cereal boxes. They look really nice. They're super cool-looking. Obama O's and Cap'n McCain. And on the top of it, it says, "A product of AirBed and Breakfast." Thank you. So. You know that old line, the country song, it's like, "You got the coal mine and I got the shaft?" I didn't want to say his name to tip it, but it's a fellow named Joe Gebbia, who is now, I don't know, what, the 41st richest person in the world. So, Joe got the billion-dollar company that's going to go public next year, but I have my cereal, man! [...] Gardner: Alright. Of all six companies that we covered this week, that's the only one that you couldn't have invested in that remains a private company. If it ever does come public, we'll certainly take a hard look at it for Stock Advisor or Rule Breakers . Perhaps one day, Airbnb will be in the Supernova universe. But as of now, it's un-investible. Although, Dan, it sounds to me like he did have a shot that he ended up not taking. Well, thank you again to Dan Pink! As we prepare to close, one reflection back on some of the stories we heard, I heard that theme, that lesson, of trying to get the big things right. And I really appreciated how a few of my storytellers underlined that. I think that, even though I didn't come in with that on my mind, that's maybe the takeaway lesson for this week. A lot of times, especially if you're a Rule Breaker investor, you have more of a venture capital mentality, you want to ask yourself, what's the big stuff of our time? What are the big total addressable markets and the interesting technologies? You don't have to get all the details right. Sometimes, you don't even have to get the timing right. But, if you get some of those bigger-picture things right, I think we heard loud and clear a few different times this week, that can be really lucrative. So, there's a thought for you. Two notes to close. First of all, a reminder. Mister Rogers, Fred Rogers, his brush with The Motley Fool, is our weekend extra, coming to you for Rule Breaker Investing this weekend. I also recommend, again, maybe you want to go see that documentary, I hope it's in a local theater, Won't You Be My Neighbor , this weekend. I'm going to try to get over there. Big Fred Rogers fan. That's note No. 1. Note No. 2 is that next week, as I mentioned earlier, is the Market Cap Game Show , latest episode with Matt Argersinger. And, if you're a Dan Pink fan, you should know that the following weekend, we're going to run that entire interview with Dan for your pleasure. In the meantime, Fool on! As always, people on this program may have interests in the stocks they talk about, and The Motley Fool may have formal recommendations for or against, so don't buy or sell stocks based solely on what you hear. Learn more about Rule Breaker Investing at rbi.fool.com . John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Brendan Mathews owns shares of Amazon, Facebook, and Salesforce.com. David Gardner owns shares of Amazon, Facebook, Walt Disney, and Zillow Group (A shares). Karl Thiel owns shares of Facebook and Nvidia. Matthew Argersinger owns shares of Amazon, Twitter, Walt Disney, and Zillow Group (A shares) and has the following options: short September 2018 $55 puts on Axon Enterprise and long January 2019 $15 calls on Twitter. Rick Munarriz owns shares of Axon Enterprise, Twitter, and Walt Disney. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Amazon, Axon Enterprise, Facebook, Nvidia, Salesforce.com, Twitter, Walt Disney, and Zillow Group (A shares). The Motley Fool recommends Five Below. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy . \|\| Tesla, Inc.: It's Not Just About Building 5,000 Per Week: After faltering earlier this year, shares of electric-vehicle pioneerTesla(NASDAQ: TSLA)have been on a tear since the beginning of April. Indeed, Tesla stock has surged 32% over that period, despite falling 5% on Tuesday due to fears of a U.S.-China trade war. The recent rally in Tesla stock appears to have been driven by rising confidence in the company's ability to reach its target of building 5,000 Model 3 units per week by the end of this quarter. CEO Elon Musk has tried to provide ammunition for this rally, recently tweeting that Tesla bears' short positions will "explode" in a few weeks (i.e., early July). Tesla Stock Performance, data byYCharts. However, achieving a Model 3 production rate of 5,000 per month by itself won't justify the lofty stock price. Tesla needs tosustaina much higher production rate while also improving the company's profitability dramatically. Together, those tasks represent a much greater challenge for Tesla. While Tesla introduced the Model 3 as a $35,000 car and has often talked about it in those terms, it has only been selling much more expensive variants so far. For nearly a year, the only version of the Model 3 being sold had astarting price of $49,000. Recently, the company began building the dual-motor version of the Model 3, which has an even higher starting price of $78,000. Nevertheless, Tesla's Model 3 gross margin was negative in the first quarter and the company has projected that it will be around breakeven in the second quarter. That said, low production rates up until now have held back Model 3 profitability. In the second half of 2018 -- when Tesla hopes to churn out 5,000 Model 3 vehicles per week -- the company expects Model 3 gross margin to be "highly positive", but still below the long-term target of 25%. The current goal is to achieve a 25% gross margin in 2019. Tesla Model 3 production hasn't turned profitable yet. Image source: Tesla. However, if Tesla will only achieve a roughly 20% gross margin by building a super-premium mix of Model 3s in late 2018, it's extremely doubtful that it can hit its 25% gross margin target next year if it shifts production dramatically toward the $35,000 base model. (Last month, Musk tweeted that Tesla would "die" if it tried to build a $35,000 Model 3 today.) This ties into Tesla's second major long-term problem. The higher Tesla needs to price its cars to meet its margin goals, the harder it will be to sell enough of them to meet production targets. Tesla bulls, like my colleague Daniel Sparks, argue that there is ahuge amount of untapped demandfor the Model 3 (and other Tesla products). After all, Tesla has hundreds of thousands of outstanding Model 3 reservations with no formal marketing support -- and limited opportunities for word-of-mouth promotion thus far. But on the flip side, since the initial surge of reservations, order activity has fallen off a cliff. This suggests that there was significant pent-up demand for an attractive and reasonably priced electric car, but that demand might be lower than bulls think once Tesla fills the orders from its biggest fans. Indeed, Tesla has taken reservations for about 500,000 Model 3s over the past two-plus years, whereas it wants to consistently sell 500,000 Model 3s a year going forward. In the not-too-distant future, Musk hopes to build the forthcoming Model Y crossover at a rate of 1 million annually. Bulls seem to be counting on future production levels of this magnitude -- even though it would dramatically exceed the level of demand Tesla has demonstrated thus far. It's impossible to be sure of what Elon Musk meant when he tweeted about Tesla short positions "exploding." However, the most likely explanation is that Tesla is on track to build 5,000 Model 3s in the last week of June and will announce that milestone in its quarterly deliveries report in early July. To achieve this production target, Tesla recently set up a second assembly line in a semi-permanent tent-like structure next to its Fremont factory. This mad scramble to churn out cars may enable Tesla to hit a Model 3 production rate of 5,000 per week by the end of June. But investors shouldn't confuse the company's ability (or inability) to hit an artificial production target during one particular week for long-term success. Tesla currently carries a market cap in line with large and highly profitable global automakers. To live up to this valuation, Tesla will ultimately need to build and sell well over 1 million vehicles a year while achieving a very high profit margin. At the moment, it seems doubtful that there will be enough demand for Tesla to reach the production levels that bulls expect while maintaining the lofty price points that it needs to hit its margin target. More From The Motley Fool • 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices • 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 • 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing • 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today • The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss • Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This Adam Levine-Weinberghas no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Tesla. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy. \|\| Natural Gas Price Fundamental Weekly Forecast – Lower Temperatures, Rising Production Too Much for Bulls to Handle: Natural gas futures settled sharply lower last week as investors continued to react to rising production and the possible break-up of the heat dome that had been covering most of the country since mid-June. Although the lingering hot temperatures were not enough to overtake the increased production, the easing of temperatures could drive prices even further lower over the near-term. September Natural Gasfutures settled the week at $2.724, down 0.102 or -3.61 percent. Fundamentally, the Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) weekly natural gas storage report showed a miss to the low side of most estimates. According to the EIA, producers injected 51 Bcf into Lower 48 gas stocks for the week-ended July 6, lower than the 59 Bcf injected last year and well-below the five-year average 77 Bcf build. Going into the report, major surveys showed traders were looking for a build of about 56 Bcf. Reuters was looking for a build of 56 Bcf, with a range of 47 Bcf to 67 Bcf. Bloomberg called for a median 55 Bcf injection, with a range of 34 Bcf to 67 Bcf. The ICE EIA Financial Weekly Index futures contract had settled at 49 Bcf on Wednesday. Bespoke Weather Services was predicting a 54 Bcf build. The EIA report also showed that total working gas in underground storage stood at 2,203 Bcf as of July 6, versus 2,928 Bcf a year ago and five-year average inventories of 2,722 Bcf. Week/week the year-on-year deficit widened from minus 717 Bcf to minus 725 Bcf, while the year-on-five-year deficit increased from minus 493 Bcf to minus 519 Bcf, EIA data show. In other news, according to data from Baker Hughes, Inc., U.S. producers added two natural gas rigs during the week-ended July 13. The total number of domestic natural gas rigs finished the week at 189, roughly in line with 187 rigs running a year ago. This week, investors are going to continue to focus on rising production and the weather. According to RBN Energy LLC analyst Sheetal Nasta, “What has taken the market by surprise, however, is the abruptness and sheer strength with which production has surged in just the past couple of weeks. It wasn’t until the second half of June that output shifted into high gear.” According to NatGasWeather.com, “… cooling will sweep across the northern and east-central U.S. during the middle and end of this week with highs of 70s to lower 80s for lighter demand, while the rest of the country remains hot with highs of 90s and 100s including the Northwest. With stronger cooling into the northern U.S. late next week, demand will then ease from high to moderate.” Other than a periodic short-covering rally due to profit-taking and position-squaring, we’re likely to see a test of the May bottom at $2.711 or lower. Thisarticlewas originally posted on FX Empire • Natural Gas Price Fundamental Weekly Forecast – Lower Temperatures, Rising Production Too Much for Bulls to Handle • Dollar Boosted by Robust Inflation Reports, Pressured by Consumer Confidence Weakness • 5 Ways to Control Risk When Trading Forex • Bitcoin – Looking to Break Out From its Current Ranges • Price of Gold Fundamental Weekly Forecast – Direction Hinges Upon Escalation of Trade Dispute, Fed Chair Powell’s Testimony • The Week Ahead – Geo-Politics to Continue Driving Risk Sentiment \|\| Why OPKO Health, Inc. Stock Rocketed Higher in May: What happened Shares of the diversified healthcare company Opko Health, Inc. (NASDAQ: OPK) gained a healthy 27.6% last month, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence . What sparked this double-digit rally? Opko's shares surged higher last month in response to a strong first-quarter earnings report that topped Wall Street's revenue forecast by a stately $18 million. A series of stacked coins with seedlings sprouting on top. Image Source: Getty Images. So what Over the past few years, Opko's shares have struggled mightily due to the poor commercial launches of the company's prostate cancer test known as 4Kscore, as well as the secondary hyperparathyroidism drug Rayaldee. In the first quarter of this year, however, Opko reported that Rayaldee's prescriptions rose by a healthy 730% year over year, giving investors hope that this key drug may finally start to become a major growth driver moving forward. Now what Unfortunately, Opko ended last month on a sour note. The company reported that the Medicare Administrative Contractor, Novitas Solutions, released a draft policy that would deny coverage for Opko's 4Kscore test. While Opko does have a chance to offer a rebuttal to this initial guidance early next month, this forthcoming coverage decision could become a major overhang for the company. Despite 4kscore's anemic sales so far, Opko has been counting on it to eventually transform into a blockbuster product. Compounding matters, Opko clearly needs to raise additional capital soon based on its last stated cash balance of less than $100 million and a current quarterly burn rate that presently exceeds a whopping $43 million. When looked at together, Opko's weak financial position and 4Kscore's shaky reimbursement status arguably make this stock far too risky to own at this point. More From The Motley Fool 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This George Budwell has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy . \|\| Facebook's Instagram Could Generate Nearly $9 Billion in Sales This Year: Facebook's(NASDAQ: FB)billion-dollar acquisition of Instagram in 2012 seemed utterly insane at the time. The photo/video sharing service had just a handful of employees back then and less than 30 million registered users. In the years since, Facebook has executed incredibly well with growing Instagram, which is well on its way to becoming Facebook'sfourth billion-user platform, alongside Facebook, WhatsApp, and Messenger. Instagram hit 800 million monthly active users (MAUs) in September, meaning it will likely announce 900 million MAUs any day nowbased on its trajectory. At least one Street analyst is predicting that Instagram will cross the billion-user threshold later this year. Image source: Instagram. Tech Trader Dailyreports that KeyBanc analyst Andy Hargreaves is reiterating an overweight rating on Facebook shares today, alongside a lofty $245 price target. That would represent nearly 30% upside from today's close, and meaningfully above the record $195.32 price set earlier this year before the Cambridge Analytica scandal broke. Hargreaves believes that Instagram could potentially hit 1.1 billion MAUs by year's end, which would help revenue double to $8.9 billion. Facebook does not disclose Instagram revenue, so investors have to rely on third-party estimates when evaluating the growing service. Instagram has emerged as Facebook's primary outlet for replicatingSnap's Snapchat, as both services fundamentally revolve around sharing visual content like photo messages and videos. With 2 million active advertisers, Instagram still has a smaller advertiser base than Facebook's 5 million, but Instagram's advertiser base is growing rapidly. It doubled that advertiser base in just five months last year. Looking further out, Hargreaves is modeling for Instagram to bring in a whopping $22 billion in sales in 2022, which would represent a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 25%. Instagram could have 1.4 billion users at that point, according to the analyst. With the benefit of hindsight, the Instagram acquisition has turned out to be a blockbuster deal. Unlike other services that Facebookarguably overpaidfor, Instagram has already more than made up for its purchase price, which actually ended up being less than $1 billion ($715 million) due to market fluctuations, as Facebook used its stock as currency for the deal. Instagram also hashuge potential as an e-commerce platform. For once, Snap iscopying Instagram. There are some potential threats that could derail Instagram's growth, such as VSCO, the subscription-based ad-free photo-sharing service that is gaining traction among younger demographics. VSCO just recently surpassed 1 million paid users, an important milestone but a rounding error in the context of Instagram's user base. Whether or not a subscription-based model resonates with users, particularly in light of all of Facebook's privacy scandals, remains to be seen. Besides, if there's one thing we know about Facebook, it's that the company will try to acquire any burgeoning social media platform that looks promising. Facebook is essentially a social media conglomerate. Instagram remains one of the most promising properties in that portfolio, but there will undoubtedly be more. More From The Motley Fool • 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices • 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 • 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing • 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today • The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss • Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This Evan Niu, CFAowns shares of Facebook. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Facebook. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy. \|\| Why Intel Expects a Data Center Slowdown in the Second Half of 2018: Last quarter,Intel(NASDAQ: INTC)reported a stunning result for its data center business -- revenue grew 24% year over year thanks to a combination of a16% surge in unit shipments and a 7% boost in platform average selling prices. A platform, according to Intel, consists of a processor and its related platform controller hub chip. During the company's most recent earnings conference call, Chief Financial Officer Robert Swan indicated that while Intel's data center group should continue growing rapidly during the second quarter of 2018, it does expect a "deceleration for [data center group] growth from the first half [of 2018] to [the] second half [of 2018], to be sure." Image source: Intel. The first factor that Swan highlighted was that the company would have "tougher comps," which is shorthand for "tougher comparisons." When Intel and other companies talk about growth, they're usually talking about growth relative to the same period in the prior year. With that in mind, it's not hard to understand why Intel is expecting tougher comparisons for its data center group in the second half of 2018 compared to what it saw in the first half of 2018. In the table below, I've included the year-over-year growth that Intel's data center group saw in each quarter of 2017: [{"Quarter": "Growth Rate (YOY)", "Q1": "5.8%", "Q2": "8.6%", "Q3": "7.4%", "Q4": "19.6%"}] Source: Intel. Notice that Intel's data center group saw far more robust growth during the second half of 2017 than it did during the first half of 2017 (the Q4 result was particularly strong). What this means, then, is that the baseline from which Intel has to report growth is much higher in the second half of 2018 than it was in the first half of 2017. Swan also said that the company expects to face "tougher competition" during the second half of 2018 compared to the first half of 2018. Intel has largely had the data center processor market to itself for many years, so it hasn't had to deal too much with the pressures that a more competitive environment would bring. That changes in the second half of 2018 when multiple data centerprocessor vendorsshould beramping up shipmentsof their new products. That competitive pressure can impact Intel in two ways. First, to the extent that other processor makers gain share, Intel is poised to lose share. That could slow down the company's unit shipment growth story. Second, since it would be in Intel's best interest to defend its current market segment share, it might get a little more aggressive on pricing than it has been in the past. If average selling prices come down as a result of a fiercer competitive environment, that'll naturally lead to both slower revenue growth (since total revenues will be reduced) as well reductions in both gross and operating profit margins. Beginning in the second half of 2018, things are set to get tougher for the company's data center group business -- the company's second largest business unit by revenue and its most important growth driver. What investors will need to watch is how Intel handles this newly competitive environment and what impact this will have on the company's data center group performance. More From The Motley Fool • 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices • 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 • 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing • 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today • The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss • Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This Ashraf Eassahas no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy. \|\| Big Four Giant PwC Director Quits, Joins Cryptocurrency Exchange as CEO in Australia: Ben Ingram bitcoin.com.au cryptocurrency Australia A director at big four accounting giant PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) in Australia has quit the firm to join crypto exchange bitcoin.com.au as its newest CEO. Ben Ingram left PwC Australia back in March, where he was responsible for digital strategy, accounting and consulting, as its director before taking over the exchange as its chief executive, Business Insider Australia reports. The executive joins a long list of finance high-profile professionals switching their traditional careers for exciting opportunities in the crypto world. PwC has made the news several times in connection to blockchain projects. The company is known for supporting several distributed ledger technology ventures, going as far as working on a blockchain auditing service . Plan to Bring Crypto Products to Corporate Pension Plans Ingram will reportedly be responsible for working on the overall platforms functionality, as well as developing crypto-based financial products for areas such as companies pension plans, also known as superannuation. The CEO explained his crypto exchange is so much more than that it is an entry point for users to get exposed to Bitcoin in a simple manner. Ingram says their customers can as easily acquire the digital currency as getting rid of it one of the features of the platform is same-day settlements. While the crypto exchange currently only supports Bitcoin and Ethereum, the two largest cryptocurrencies in the world, there are plans in sight to add other digital currencies in the future. Millennials Expected to Turn to Self-Managed Funds However, Ingrams focus seems to be on bringing crypto products to superannuation, as he stated, There are not many tangible examples of crypto-based investment products yet. SMSFs have typically been the preserve of the wealthy. Its a vehicle where you can manage your own investments, and you also carry the cost of that audit. Self-Managed Super Funds (SMSF) are superannuation trust structures in which its members are also trustees of the fund. Story continues The CEO believes millennials owning crypto assets are more likely to turn to self-management, as the underlying blockchain technology allows for easy and fast auditing. While he agrees we still dont have a full picture yet of how blockchain will impact our overall future, hes positive it is the future. He explained: Were in the early-stage development of a new protocol. I think the core premise of distributed ledger technology (DLT) has very obvious widespread appeal. Even if the tech capabilities at present arent capable, I think humans will prevail. We know this tech doesnt have a dead-end. While the evolutionary path hasnt been fully determined, I think theres enough evidence that there is a path. Featured image from Shutterstock. The post Big Four Giant PwC Director Quits, Joins Cryptocurrency Exchange as CEO in Australia appeared first on CCN . \|\| Accenture plc (ACN) Q3 2018 Earnings Conference Call Transcript: Image source: The Motley Fool. Accenture PLC(NYSE: ACN)Q3 2018 Earnings Conference CallJune 28, 2018,8:00 a.m. ET • Prepared Remarks • Questions and Answers • Call Participants Operator Ladies and gentlemen, we'd like to thank you for standing by, and welcome to Accenture's Third Quarter Fiscal 2018 Earnings Call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. Later, we'll conduct a question and answer session, with instructions being given at that time. If you should require any assistance throughout today's call, please depress 0 and one of us will be with you immediately. And, as a reminder, today's conference call will be recorded. I would now like to turn the conference over to our host and facilitator, as well as our Managing Director, Head of Investor Relations, Angie Park. Please go ahead. Angie Park--Managing Director, Head of Investor Relations Thank you, Steve, and thanks, everyone, for joining us today on our Third Quarter Fiscal 2018 Earnings Announcement. As the operator just mentioned, I'm Angie Park, Managing Director, Head of Investor Relations. With me today are Pierre Nanterme, our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, and David Rowland, our Chief Financial Officer. We hope you've had an opportunity to review the news release we issued a short time ago. Let me quickly outline the agenda for today's call. Pierre will begin with an overview of our results. David will take you through the financial details, including the income statement and balance sheet for the third quarter. Pierre will then provide a brief update on our market positioning before David provides our business outlook for the fourth quarter and full fiscal year 2018. We will then take your questions before Pierre provides a wrap-up at the end of the call. As a reminder, when we discuss revenues during today's call, we're talking about revenues before reimbursements or net revenues. Some of the matters we'll discuss on this call, including our business outlook, are forward-looking, and as such are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to those factors set forth in today's news release and discussed on our annual report on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and other SEC filings. These risks and uncertainties could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed on this call. More From The Motley Fool • 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices • 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 • 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing • 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today • The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss • Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This During our call today, we will reference certain non-GAAP financial measures which we believe provide useful information for investors. We include reconciliations of non-GAAP financial measures where appropriate to GAAP in our news release or in the Investor Relations section of our website at Accenture.com. As always, Accenture assumes no obligation to update the information presented on this conference call. Now, let me turn the call over to Pierre. Pierre Nanterme--Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Thank you, Angie, and thanks, everyone, for joining us today. Accenture had a truly outstanding third quarter. We delivered excellent results from new bookings and revenues to operating margin, EPS, and cash flow, and we gained significant market share once again. The durability of our performance demonstrates the relevance of our growth strategy and our ability to continue delivering strong results and returns for shareholders, while at the same time investing significantly in new growth opportunities to strengthen our position for the long term. Here are a few highlights from the quarter. We delivered record new bookings of $11.7 billion, we grew revenues 11% in local currency to $10.3 billion, and our growth continues to be well balanced across the dimensions of our business. We delivered earnings per share of $1.79 on an adjusted basis, a 19% increase. Operating margin was 15.7%, an expansion of 20 basis points on an adjusted basis. We generated very strong free cash flow of $1.8 billion, and we returned approximately $1.6 billion in cash to shareholders through share repurchases and the payment of our semiannual dividend. So, we are entering the fourth quarter with excellent momentum in our business and I feel confident that we are very well positioned to deliver our business outlook for the year. Now, let me hand over to David, who will review the numbers in greater detail. David, over to you. David P. Rowland--Chief Financial Officer Thank you, Pierre, and thanks to all of you for taking the time to join us on today's call. As you heard in Pierre's comments, we're extremely pleased with our results in the third quarter, which once again reflect strong momentum across every dimension of our business. Based on the strength of our third-quarter results and the strong confidence and visibility we have in our fourth quarter, we will be increasing key elements of our full-year outlook, which I'll cover in more detail later in our call. Importantly, both our third-quarter results and our updated outlook for the full year reflect very strong execution against all three financial imperatives for driving superior shareholder value, which I covered in some detail at our Investor/Analyst Day in April. So, before I get into the details of the quarter, let me summarize the major headlines of our third-quarter results. Net revenue increased more than $1.4 billion, reflecting growth of 11% local currency and representing the third consecutive quarter of double-digit growth. The strong top-line growth exceeded our expectations and reflected strong and balanced growth across all operating groups and geographic areas, with several growing double digits. Growth continues to significantly outpace the market, reflecting both our leadership position in the New and the durability of our diverse yet highly focused growth model. Operating margin of 15.7% expanded 20 basis points compared to adjusted operating margin last year, consistent with our expectations, and reflected strong underlying profitability, which allowed us to invest at scale in our people and our business. And, we delivered very strong EPS of $1.79 on an adjusted basis, up 18% over fiscal '17 adjusted EPS. And, our free cash flow of $1.8 billion reflected both our strong profitability and excellent VSOs. We continue to execute our strategic capital allocation objectives, with year-to-date investments of over $450 million in acquisitions and roughly $3.8 billion returned to shareholders via dividends and share repurchases. With that said, let me turn to some of the details, starting with new bookings. New bookings were $11.7 billion for the quarter, the highest level of new bookings in our history, and represents 15% growth in local currency. Consulting bookings were $5.9 billion with a book-to-bill of 1.0 and outsourcing bookings were $5.8 billion with a book-to-bill of 1.3. Our new bookings were extremely well balanced across the dimensions of our business. Accenture Interactive, Accenture Applied Intelligence, Accenture Industry X.0, as well as Cloud and Security, were all important themes and represented roughly 60% of our total new bookings. Turning now to revenues, net revenues for the quarter were $10.3 billion, an increase of 16% USD and 11% in local currency, reflecting a foreign exchange tailwind of roughly 5% compared to the 5.5% impact provided last quarter. This result was approximately $200 million above the upper end of our FX adjusted range. Consulting revenues for the quarter were $5.7 billion, up 18% in USD and 12% in local currency, and our outsourcing revenues were $4.6 billion, up 14% in USD and 10% in local currency. Looking at the trends in estimated revenue growth across our business dimensions, the overriding theme was strong and balanced growth across all business dimensions. We saw an uptick in Strategy and Consulting Services, which grew high single digits, while both Application Services and Operations posted double-digit growth. And, the New, including Digital Cloud and Security, continued to deliver very strong double-digit growth reflecting many of the market themes and key points of differentiation, which we discussed at our Investor/Analyst Day. I'd like to also highlight the strong demand for Intelligent Platform Services, which continued to be an important contributor to our growth. As you know, Intelligent Platform Services brings together our industry, functional, and next-generation application capabilities powered by our innovation architecture to drive mission-critical programs for our clients, and these services primarily relate to deploying next-generation technologies in SAP, Oracle, Microsoft, Salesforce, and Workday. Taking a closer look at our operating groups, Communications, Media, and Technology led all operating groups with 18% in local currency, reflecting continued strong momentum in many parts of the business, especially Software and Platforms and Communication and Media, which both posted double-digit growth, as well as double-digit growth across all three geographies. Resources grew 12% in the quarter, driven by strong double-digit growth in Energy and Chemicals and Natural Resources. We continue to see strong demand for our services across all geographies with double-digit growth in North America and the growth markets and strong growth in Europe. Products delivered its 12th consecutive quarter of double-digit growth with 11% growth in the quarter, led by Industrial and Consumer Goods, Retail, and Travel Services. Growth was strong across all geographies with double-digit growth in both Europe and the growth markets. Financial Services grew 8% in local currency, reflecting strong growth in both Banking and Capital Markets and Insurance. Growth was strong across all three geographies, led by double-digit growth in the growth markets. Finally, H&PS grew 7%, driven by double-digit growth in Public Service. We continue to be pleased with double-digit growth in Europe and the growth markets and solid growth in North America. Moving down the income statement, gross margin for the quarter was 32.2% compared to 32.8% in the same period last year, sales and marketing expense for the quarter was 10.7% compared to 11.1% for the third quarter last year, and our general and administrative expense was 5.7% compared to 6.2% for the same quarter last year. We have two items impacting metrics this quarter. As a reminder, in Quarter 3 last year, we recorded a settlement charge related to the termination of our U.S. pension plan. In this quarter, we recorded charges of $122 million related to tax law changes, which increased our Quarter 3 tax rate by 7.6% and decreased diluted earnings per share by $0.19. The following comparisons exclude those impacts where applicable and reflect adjusted results. Operating income was $1.6 billion in the third quarter, reflecting a 15.7% operating margin, an increase of 20 basis points compared to adjusted operating margin in Quarter 3 last year. Our adjusted effective tax rate for the quarter was 26.8% compared to an adjusted effective tax rate of 26.6% for the third quarter last year. Adjusted diluted earnings per share were $1.79 compared to an adjusted EPS of $1.52 in the third quarter last year, and this reflects an 18% increase over last year's result. Day services outstanding were 39 days compared to 40 days last quarter and 41 days in the third quarter of last year. Our free cash flow for the quarter was $1.8 billion, resulting from cash generated by operating activities of $2 billion net of property and equipment additions of $174 million. Our cash balance at May 31st was $3.9 billion compared with $4.1 billion at August 31st. With regards to our ongoing objective to return cash to shareholders, in the third quarter, we repurchased or redeemed 4.7 million shares for $720 million at an average share price of $153.60 per share. At May 31st, we had approximately $1.4 billion of share repurchase authority remaining. Finally, as Pierre mentioned, on May 15th, 2018, we made our second semiannual dividend payment for fiscal '18 in the amount of $1.33 per share, bringing total dividend payments for the fiscal year to approximately $1.7 billion. So, in summary, we're extremely pleased with our outstanding third-quarter results and now focused on Quarter 4 and closing out a strong year. Now, let me turn it back to Pierre. Pierre Nanterme--Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Thank you, David. At our Investor and Analyst Conference in April, we provided an update on our strategy of building differentiated capabilities for the digital world, applying innovation at scale and ensuring that we anticipate the impact of the next wave of technology disruption for our clients. Our excellent results for the third quarter demonstrate that we continue to execute this strategy very well. The end-to-end capabilities we have built at scale and in an industry context are unique in the marketplace. Our ability to integrate these services, from strategy and consulting to digital technology operations and cybersecurities, enables us to deliver targeted business outcomes for clients. Our rapid rotation to the New -- Digital Cloud and Security -- continues to drive significant growth for Accenture. Revenues in the New again grew at a very strong double-digit rate in the third quarter and accounted for about 60% of total revenues for the first time, highlighting that the New has now become the core of our business. Digital transformation is now a clear imperative for our clients and we are uniquely positioned to deploy digital services end to end at scale across industries and geographies. With Accenture Applied Intelligence, we are bringing together our capabilities in data analytics and artificial intelligence combined with our deep understanding of industries and business functions to help clients reimagine their core processes. With Bepensa, a Coca-Cola bottler in Mexico, we are leveraging the Accenture Insights platform to mine the data from 2 billion transactions a year to provide a holistic view of the business, better serve its 300,000 daily customers, and significantly increase market share. We are also gaining significant traction with Accenture Industry X.0, where we are reinventing manufacturing with smart connected products and services using advanced technologies, including the Internet of Things, connected devices, and digital platforms. We are helping BSA Group, the Italian manufacturer, expand beyond products into digital services. BSA is rolling out connected services ranging from maintenance alerts to in-depth analytics across an install base of 20,000 industrial machines, driving new revenue streams as well as significant cost savings. And, we continue to build our Industry X.0 capabilities. This month, we announced our agreement to acquire design affairs, a design firm based in Germany that specializes in smart products and services for manufacturers. This complements very well our acquisition of Mackevision in the second quarter. Accenture will remain the partner of choice for the world's leading companies on large-scale, mission-critical transformation programs, and our ability to mobilize and integrate end-to-end services to deliver value and business outcomes is clearly setting us apart in the marketplace. We are helping Dow DuPont with the post-merger integration of Dow Chemical and DuPont as well as preparations for their planned spinoffs. We are expanding the scope of our services to include substantial work in digital, strategy, and management consulting with the goal of enabling each of the future companies with the distinctive capabilities needed to lead in their respective markets. Turning now to the geographic dimension of our business, I'm just very pleased that we again delivered strong growth in the third quarter across all three of our geographic regions with double-digit growth in most of our major markets. Starting in North America, we delivered 11% growth driven by further acceleration in the United States. In Europe, revenues grew 9% in local currency driven by strong double-digit growth in Germany, Italy, Ireland, France, and Spain. And, in growth markets, I'm delighted that we delivered another exceptional quarter, with 17% growth in local currency, led once again by very strong double-digit growth in Japan as well as double-digit growth in Australia, Brazil, and Singapore. Before I hand it back to David, I want to take a moment to touch on Accenture's role in helping to solve important societal challenges. Trust and responsibility are increasingly critical in evaluating companies as a potential partner, employer, or investment, and at Accenture, we feel a responsibility to encourage the use of emerging technologies as a positive force for the economy and the broader society. For example, we are using blockchain and biometrics to support ID 2020, which is helping to solve the challenges of identity faced by more than $1.1 billion people around the world. In Japan, we used artificial intelligence and machine learning to create a revolutionary system to dispatch emergency vehicles more quickly, ultimately saving lives. And, I'm particularly proud of the work our people do across the Accenture Labs in Bangalore, Dublin, San Francisco, and Sophia Antipolis to use cutting-edge technology in innovative ways through our Tech for Good initiative, like our A.I. smartphone solution that helps the blind navigate the world and lead more productive lives. Creating innovative solutions that improve the way the world works and lives is our mission at Accenture, and quite simply, the right thing to do. With that, I will turn the call over to David to provide our updated business outlook. David, again, over to you. David P. Rowland--Chief Financial Officer Thank you, Pierre. So, let me now turn to our business outlook. For the fourth quarter fiscal '18, we expect net revenues to be in the range of $9.8 billion to $10.05 billion. This assumes the impact of FX will be about flat compared to the fourth quarter of fiscal '17 and reflects an estimated 7% to 10% in local currency. For the full fiscal year '18, based upon how the rates have been trending over the last few weeks, we now assume the impact of FX on our results in U.S. dollars will be positive 3% compared to fiscal '17. For the full fiscal '18, we now expect our net revenues to be in the range of 9.5% to 10% in local currency over fiscal '17. For operating margin, we continue to expect full fiscal '18 to be 14.8%, consistent with adjusted fiscal '17 results. We now expect our annual effective tax rate to be in the range of 27% to 28%. The increase in our guidance from last quarter is primarily due to the $122 million tax charge that I mentioned earlier. The charge includes two components: An additional $41 million provisional charge related to the adoption of the U.S. Tax Act as well as an $81 million expense from a non-U.S. tax law change. Excluding the impact of these tax law changes, we now expect our adjusted annual effective tax rate to be in the range of 22.5% to 23.5%. For earnings per share, we now expect our diluted EPS for fiscal '18 to be in the range of $6.26 to $6.31. Excluding the impact of tax law changes, we now expect adjusted full-year diluted EPS to be in the range of $6.66 to $6.71, or 13% to 14% growth over adjusted fiscal '17 results. For the full fiscal '18, we now expect operating cash flow to be in the range of $5.5 billion to $5.8 billion, property and equipment additions to be approximately $600 million, and free cash flow to be in the range of $4.9 billion to $5.2 billion. Finally, we continue to expect to return at least $4.3 billion through dividends and share repurchases and continue to expect to reduce the weighted average diluted shares outstanding by about 1% as we remain committed to returning a substantial portion of our cash to our shareholders. With that, let's open it up so we can take your questions. Angie? Angie Park--Managing Director, Head of Investor Relations Thanks, David. I would ask that you each keep to one question and a follow-up to allow as many participants as possible to ask a question. Steve, would you provide instructions for those on the call? Operator Ladies and gentlemen, we'll now begin the question and answer session. If you wish to ask a question, please depress 1. You will hear a tone indicating that you have placed yourself in a queue and all questions will be pulled in the order they are received. Our first question will come from the line of Jason Kupferberg of Bank of America. Please go ahead. Jason Kupferberg--Bank of America Merrill Lynch -- Analyst Hey, good morning, guys. How are you? David P. Rowland--Chief Financial Officer Good morning, Jason. How are you? Jason Kupferberg--Bank of America Merrill Lynch -- Analyst Good, thanks. Great set of constant currency results here, obviously. So, we're just continuing to get a lot of questions around FX, just given some of the recent moves. I wanted to just get some of your initial thoughts. If FX spot rates today or in recent weeks were to, in theory, hold going forward, how should we think about the potential FX headwind to revenue and EPS next year, just so we can start to get our models calibrated? David P. Rowland--Chief Financial Officer Yeah, this will be the only comment I'll make relative to next year quantitatively, by the way, but I don't mind saying this because it's just really an extrapolation of the math. As we do our analysis -- so, looking at the rates that we used as a basis for the FX impact that I just provided for this year -- if those rates were to hold constant as we do our analysis, it would create a headwind of about 2%, so it would have a negative 2% impact on our results next year. Jason Kupferberg--Bank of America Merrill Lynch -- Analyst Okay, both top and bottom line? David P. Rowland--Chief Financial Officer Yeah, essentially. Jason Kupferberg--Bank of America Merrill Lynch -- Analyst Okay, great. So, just as my follow-up, obviously, really good to see the constant currency top-line raise for this year. Is most all of that organic? I know you did announce a couple of additional acquisitions since the last earnings call, but it didn't seem like there'd be enough time left in this year for them to contribute much. So, are we still thinking 2.5%-ish for M&A contribution in fiscal '18? David P. Rowland--Chief Financial Officer Yeah, the beat, if you will, in Quarter 3 was 100% organic, and therefore, that's the basis for us raising our guidance for the year. There is no change in our view on inorganic for the full year. We still think we'll end the full year with it making about a 2.5% contribution, and against that 2.5% contribution for the year, it was a little higher than that in the first half of the year, it's a little lower than that in the second half of the year, and averages to about 2.5% for the year. Jason Kupferberg--Bank of America Merrill Lynch -- Analyst Okay. Well, nice job. Thanks for the comments. David P. Rowland--Chief Financial Officer Thank you. Operator Our next question will come from the line of Tien-tsin Huang of JPMorgan. Please go ahead. Tien-tsin Huang--JPMorgan Chase -- Managing Director Good morning. David P. Rowland--Chief Financial Officer Good morning, Tien-tsin. Tien-tsin Huang--JPMorgan Chase -- Managing Director Good morning. Good revenue acceleration here. So, on the revenue front, I'll ask if there are any callouts on what surprised you -- perhaps Strategy Consulting accelerating. Just curious what drove the -- I think you said $200 million above the FX adjusted range to the top line of the guidance. David P. Rowland--Chief Financial Officer The good news is that the additional revenue was really broad-based. Literally, every operating group delivered above their expectations. As you might guess, the strongest over-delivery came from the three operating groups with the double-digit growth -- so, CMT, Products, and Resources were the biggest contributor to the strong revenue performance. As you also alluded to -- and, I called out in my script -- Strategy and Consulting combined was also quite strong, high single digits, and we were very pleased with that. But, it was -- really, the over-delivery from a top-line standpoint was broad-based and I think it aligns with the fact that we had such strong, broad-based, record-setting new bookings that underpinned that, and just reflective of the strong momentum in the market overall. Tien-tsin Huang--JPMorgan Chase -- Managing Director Sure, good. So, my follow-up, quickly, is just on the outsourcing bookings -- that 1.3x book-to-bill. So, what's the -- are larger deals back? Just curious of anything chunky that contributed to that, or if there's anything unusual. David P. Rowland--Chief Financial Officer Yeah, as you would expect, we had some larger deals in there. We had a couple larger deals in particular. I think the total number of deals more than $100 million -- I didn't say it, but it was...I think it was 12, if I'm remembering that correctly, and so, that is in the zone, probably, on the high end of what we see in a typical quarter. I don't know that big deals are back, necessarily, because we've always had a good flow of big deals, but as we look at our pipeline going forward, what we call our mega pipeline actually looks really good. And, actually, I'm being told that we had 13 deals over $100 million, not 12. Tien-tsin Huang--JPMorgan Chase -- Managing Director Off by one. Yup, that's in the zone. Thank you, sir. David P. Rowland--Chief Financial Officer Thank you, Tien-tsin. Operator Bryan Bergin of Cowen. Please go ahead. Bryan Bergin--Cowen and Company -- Director Hi, good morning. Thank you. I wanted to ask on the headcount growth versus revenue growth. Can you comment on whether you're seeing any change in the inflection of the resource requirements that you need for this high level of growth due to better automation traction of the Platform business? And then, can you just give us some color on the pickup penetration? David P. Rowland--Chief Financial Officer Yeah. So, our headcount growth did grow at a pace below our revenue growth, and we have seen that several quarters if you look over the last eight quarters or so. Certainly, there's the potential for that trend to be more common as we look forward, both as it relates to the productivity efficiencies that we will drive into the business, including through technology, and as well, we are always constantly focused on pricing improvement and increasing the revenue yield per head in our revenue. And so, it is a part of our strategy of extracting more value from our business for our shareholders and our employees, and in a perfect world, we would see a higher revenue yield per head going forward, and our challenge is to achieve that through the mix of our services, the pricing, et cetera. On the attrition front, there's not anything we're particularly concerned about. The attrition did tick up, but we feel very good about our ability to attract the talent in the marketplace that we need. We are an employer of choice, certainly, in our sector. We have no issues recruiting the people that we need in the market, and we also are quite pleased with our overall retention, including retention of critical skills, even with what was a slight tick-up in overall attrition. So, we don't have any particular concerns there. Bryan Bergin--Cowen and Company -- Director Okay, thanks. And then, on the H&PS segment, have you seen improvement in those healthcare contracts that you cited last quarter? Anything around the contract profitability? Thank you. David P. Rowland--Chief Financial Officer Yeah, very pleased with the H&PS profitability, as we were all the operating groups. Every single operating group -- if you look at this concept of underlying profitability that we talk about sometimes at the Accenture level, which is the underlying profitability above and beyond our reported profitability where we'll use the headroom to invest in our people and our business. Every single one of our operating groups had really strong improvement in underlying profitability. Now, underneath that, they had investments, et cetera, that are reflected in the operating margin numbers that we report, but we were quite pleased with all our operating groups, and H&PS included, which did show sequential improvement in profitability, and that is as we expected and as we signaled in the first half of the year. Bryan Bergin--Cowen and Company -- Director Thanks. David P. Rowland--Chief Financial Officer Thank you. Operator Jamie Friedman of Susquehanna Financial Group. Please go ahead. David P. Rowland--Chief Financial Officer Good morning, Jamie. Jamie Friedman--Susquehanna Financial Group -- Analyst Hi, thank you. Good morning, guys. Good set of results here. I'm sorry if I don't have the greatest connection, but David, I wanted to ask you -- in your prepared remarks, I thought you said something that was new -- at least, new to me -- where you decomposed the bookings. It was the Industry X.0 and the Interactive. I thought you said 60%. If you wouldn't mind just repeating that if you have that there, that would be helpful. David P. Rowland--Chief Financial Officer It was a subtle change, and frankly, the intent was to -- we talk about the New so much that I was just taking the opportunity to remind people what are the components of the New, so I called out the five components by name, and the only intent was, again, to remind the components of the New, especially as we have changed some of the terminology as we've evolved Digital to talk about Accenture Interactive, Accenture Applied Intelligence, and Accenture Industry X.0. And, the New overall -- so, those five components in aggregate -- represented about 60% of our total bookings, and that's consistent with the comment that Pierre made, where, from a revenue standpoint, the New represents approximately 60% of our revenues at this point as well. Pierre Nanterme--Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Maybe I can jump on this one because nobody's asking me any questions. They're all for you, David, so I'm jumping on it. You mentioned that we have evolved the terminology, but of course, it's more than the terminology, and the reality is that we are constantly evolving the content of our capabilities in the New. Accenture Interactive has been there since day one. No change. We continue growing, developing, and scaling. We have Accenture Mobility around enterprise apps and connected platforms. We've evolved now to Industry X.0 to build a capability totally focused on smart and digital manufacturing, same thing we've been doing with Accenture Analytics. We upgraded this year to Accenture Applied Intelligence by adding on top of the analytics machine learning and applied intelligence. So, it's important for all of you to understand that almost every year or every couple of years, we will always significantly improve, upgrade what we're calling the New to make sure we are always ahead of the curve and bringing innovation at the heart of our existing capabilities. Jamie Friedman--Susquehanna Financial Group -- Analyst Thanks, Pierre. And then, I did have one for you, Pierre, which was with regard to the growth in Strategy Consulting and Application Services, is it fair to think of those as lead indicators for the company, or would that be an exaggeration? Pierre Nanterme--Chairman and Chief Executive Officer No, I think for us, it's important to be growing Strategy, Management Consulting, and Intelligent Platforms -- so, the added-value part of our system integration -- because it's demonstrating that what we are selling is highly differentiated, is more at the high end of the value chain of our services, and of course, it is important in the context of contributing to our margin, and ultimately, profitability. So, I'm very pleased that we moved Strategy Consulting to high single digits. I think this is a good place to be, and it's the demonstration that our services are more and more differentiated with that piece, which is clearly around industry-specific solutions and very cutting-edge consulting work. Same with Application Services. The system integration piece is on fire, right? And, especially with what we're calling the Intelligent Platforms. So, all these new digital artificial intelligence analytics-rich platforms where we are leading with all of them to be next in the marketplace, and again, it's a significant contributor to our rotation to the New. So, it's a sign of good health. You're absolutely right. Jamie Friedman--Susquehanna Financial Group -- Analyst Thank you. Operator James Schneider, Goldman Sachs. Please go ahead. David P. Rowland--Chief Financial Officer Hey, good morning, Jim. James Schneider--Goldman Sachs -- Managing Director Hey, good morning, David. Just a question on the CMT. That continues to be very strong there, and the growth, you think, could be accelerated even further. Could you give us a sense about what the components of that growth are and what kind of work you're seeing there that maybe you didn't see a year or two ago? Is there anything incremental on that front? Pierre Nanterme--Chairman and Chief Executive Officer I'll take this. David P. Rowland--Chief Financial Officer Go ahead, Pierre. Pierre Nanterme--Chairman and Chief Executive Officer CMT -- we talked a lot about CMT these last years. Needless to say, it's a set of industries under massive transformation. If you take the different components -- high-tech, telecom, and what we're calling software and platforms -- software and platforms are the driving force of the growth in terms of CMT because these companies are investing massively in the context of leading in the market. So, here, the business is to support the leaders providing -- you know the names -- the leading platforms in the marketplace. So, we're supporting them in supporting their growth, and we are an enabler of that growth. On the other side of the spectrum, you will find telecom. Telecom is more transformational. These companies are facing significant challenges, and you know now they're embarking on some massive M&A consolidation. And so, a lot's happening, including they're all launching new networks. We're moving from the third to the fourth to the fifth-GV, you put the fiber on top of it, so they need to continue investing, and again, they need people like us to support their transformation as well as being an enabler of their network implementation. And then, in between, you have the high-tech, and high-tech companies, again, are not only CMT companies, but they're enablers of many industries in providing the equipment, providing the technology, and I'm extremely pleased with the progress we're making in high-tech across the board, especially with some recent excellent progress we have made with aerospace and defense, where we decided to focus on a very promising industry, and with the focus we put as administration on this industry, it is a good contributor to our overall growth. So, three different segments with three different sets of issues that we are the enabler of that change, that transformation, and ultimately, their leadership in the marketplace. James Schneider--Goldman Sachs -- Managing Director Thanks, that's helpful. And then, regarding the tax rate, David, I know you said you wouldn't talk about fiscal '19, but can you maybe just talk about your overall tax rate -- your overall tax planning, how that's evolved over the last few quarters or so, and whether you think that there's any kind of change to what you've previously said about the tax rate on a go-forward basis given all of that context? David P. Rowland--Chief Financial Officer First of all, it goes without saying that the tax environment continues to be highly complex and fluid, if not even volatile, perhaps. And so, it is a significant effort with a lot of talented people that stay on top of our tax planning and all of the matters and policy progression and all the tax jurisdictions around the world. You're right -- I'm not going to comment on FY '19 beyond what I have said previously. I would prefer that we just give one update in September when we provide guidance. There's basically two statements that I've made -- or, that we've disclosed -- just to remind you. So, one thing that we disclosed that I've commented on is the accounting change on income tax effects of intercompany transfers, the ASU 2016-16, and we've disclosed that in isolation, that would have about a 3.5% impact on our tax rate, and so, that's one item that we've called out which is in our future. Now, that impact would be in isolation, and obviously, there are other elements of our tax planning that we're constantly working on, and so, that's not to imply necessarily that that would be the ultimate impact, but that item alone will have that impact, and of course, the other item that we called out, obviously, is the U.S. tax reform, and previously, we had said that that would create modest upward pressure on our tax rate. And so, those are really among a longer list of items that we're focused on, those are the two things that we've talked about the most and that we've had disclosures on. James Schneider--Goldman Sachs -- Managing Director Thank you. David P. Rowland--Chief Financial Officer Thank you. Operator Harshita Rawat of Bernstein. Please go ahead. Harshita Rawat--Sanford C. Bernstein -- Analyst Hi, good morning. Thank you for taking my question. So, Pierre, it does appear that we are in one of the strongest enterprise IT demand environments in many years. Do you have a sense of whether this is cyclical in tax-reform-related uptick, or is this more structural in nature because IT is, again, perceived to be more of an investment area versus a budget that needs to be managed? Pierre Nanterme--Chairman and Chief Executive Officer I tend to believe it's more structural than something which is more cyclical or on the short term, and for many reasons. First, it's incredibly pervasive across all the industries. So, when you look at our rotation to the New, it's amazingly consistent across all our industries, whether you're taking the B2C, and now the B2B. Same thing -- it's amazingly consistent across the world. When you look at the rotation to the New from the U.S., to Europe, to Brazil, Australia, and Japan, you see the same level of demand across the world. So, it's something which is extremely significant. Next, when you look at this IT revolution -- and, let's call that digital revolution -- it's coming through waves. So, it's not one thing. It is now a continuous flow of new technologies coming one after the other to change the game. So, we started with some basic internet technology solutions, more on the B2C. Now, we're moving to look at it everything connected. If you look at this, that would be a big market in itself -- so, what we're calling the Internet of Things, but, everything connected. Then, you move to the artificial intelligence at large. Everybody would believe we are more at the very beginning of this wave than anything else. Then, the blockchain. We took it the last three years and incubated it. Now, it's starting to pick up, and by the way, we have put our act together, we have made significant investments, and now, we're taking a position of leadership in this blockchain technology. And, it's not enough. You move into immersive realities, virtual realities, and then you have the new IT and the new ways of developing systems -- DevOps, Agile -- and then, I can continue with quantum computing. So, look at the series of incredible digital technology disruptions. Where, in the past, probably, you would have one for 40 years, now, you have one every 18 months. So, I tend to believe we are in a true fourth industrial revolution based on digital, and it's something which is going to be more secular than cyclical. Harshita Rawat--Sanford C. Bernstein -- Analyst Great, thank you. And, just as a follow-up, against this context of this growing IT demand environment, is there any change in your thinking about your continued ability to hire and retain talent in this tightening labor market? Pierre Nanterme--Chairman and Chief Executive Officer We have no issue to make it. I know the data -- when you look at this and you take it to your microscope, you will see some tick-up in the attrition, but we are in the zone, as David said rightfully. The reality is are we able to attract the best talent in the marketplace? Sometimes, we call them iconic talent from the outside. The answer is yes. Are we retaining our best managing directors? We have, and we have now 7,000 managing directors. The level of attrition is incredibly low in the ranks of our managing directors. Every day, we have people willing to join Accenture. And, finally, our brand is attractive, and the brand is attractive because of the success of the rotation to the New and the pivot we've been executing to be now perceived -- it's not a perception, it's a reality -- as a highly innovative company accommodating multiple cultures in the same company, from designers, to business scientists, to the more classic programmers and developers, and to people extraordinarily knowledgeable in leading and cutting-edge IT. Plus, all the effort we made to make Accenture what we call a truly human -- Tech for Good, what I mentioned in my script. All of this is creating an environment which I tend to believe is very attractive. Evidence is recently, we won many awards in terms of the best place to work, most attractive place to work, and I'm very pleased that you're giving me the opportunity to mention that, that we're not only the best place to work for everybody, but as well, with a great sense of diversity in it. So, we have received many recognition for women, for LGBT, and I'm extremely pleased that we are attractive for everybody, as we should. All the talent, all the background, all the different gender, and all the diversity, and we have a good brand supporting that. Harshita Rawat--Sanford C. Bernstein -- Analyst Perfect. Thank you very much for taking my question. Pierre Nanterme--Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Thank you. Operator Rod Bourgeois of DeepDive Equity. Please go ahead. David P. Rowland--Chief Financial Officer Good morning, Rod. Rod Bourgeois--DeepDive Equity -- Head of Research and Consulting Hey, good morning. Good to talk to you guys. Hey, within the Intelligent Platforms business, where you work on ERP systems, can you talk about which ERP platforms are contributing the most to your growth? And also, perhaps, the software market trends that are catalyzing your demand in that ERP services space? Pierre Nanterme--Chairman and Chief Executive Officer As you know, Rod, we're working with all the usual suspects from a platform standpoint. So, I would mention the names you all know in the leading platform, from SAP, Oracle, Microsoft, Salesforce, and Workday, to mention the names everybody would know. All these platform providers -- these are the rotation to the New. So, the ones that were not in the cloud are now in the cloud, and all of them, as they have added features in terms of analytics, in terms of artificial intelligence insight -- that's why now, we're calling them at Accenture "Intelligent Platforms," because they are not anymore the old ERP we knew. They are ERPs in the cloud, rich in terms of new functionalities, analytics, and artificial intelligence. So, this market has been very good for Accenture. We've been driving excellent growth from our -- let's call that the ERP business or Intelligent Platform business. We are, again, the partner of choice, and the market is vibrant as well because many clients have been waiting for the new platforms to arrive, to upgrade and move, and I believe that we are more at the beginning of this wave of replacing the old ERP with the new one because it's going to drive lots of benefits in terms, again, of leveraging the cloud, leveraging analytics, and leveraging artificial intelligence. So, we have a very strong position. We organized our capabilities in our operating group as well as in Accenture technology to have at-scale capabilities to support all these leading platforms, and we are getting a very good return. Rod Bourgeois--DeepDive Equity -- Head of Research and Consulting That's helpful. And, just a quick follow-up -- can you give any color on the relative contributions of the components of New to your overall growth? I'm particularly interested in your view on which component in the New has the most future potential to evolve with success akin to the Accenture Interactive business. So, as an example, is IoT the best candidate for future growth potential, or is something else catching your attention there? Pierre Nanterme--Chairman and Chief Executive Officer I would say all our new babies have the potential to grow successfully for many years. Now, in the family, some are already operating at scale -- grown up. You mentioned Accenture Interactive, now three years in a row No. 1 inAdvertising Ageas the fastest-growing and largest digital expense agency. By the way, I'm pleased that you gave me the opportunity to mention to your group that we won seven awards at the Cannes Lions with an acquisition we made in Dublin with a company called Rothco. So, we are in the interactive game big-time, we are winning -- not only awards, but as well, big clients. So, with Accenture Interactive, it's scaled to lead in the world. It's more mature than the others. Next, I would mention, certainly, Cloud as well is more scaled to lead. These two are scaled to lead. Then, Applied Intelligence is, as well, at a very significant scale, but the name of the game for us is to infuse the latest cutting-edge artificial and algorithmic technologies in that unit we're calling Applied Intelligence. And then, we have two with big potential to grow because they are not yet operating at the same scale. I'm thinking about Accenture Security, where we have put together all our cybersecurity capabilities, and it's growing -- David would say "strong double digits." I would probably add "hyper-strong double digits" just to give you a sense that it's a bit more than strong double digits. And, the last one we launched was Industry X.0 that I mentioned, which is all the digital applied to manufacturing. This is clearly, for us, a significant investment we're going to make this year and in the coming three years because it's all about replicating to the B2B industries the success we have with the B2C, and we're making good progress, and I'm pleased. And, more to come because every year, we're going to launch new capabilities in the New when they will mature. Rod Bourgeois--DeepDive Equity -- Head of Research and Consulting It sounds like you don't have a favorite baby; you love all of them. Pierre Nanterme--Chairman and Chief Executive Officer I mean, this is the way we are in France. We love all of them. Rod Bourgeois--DeepDive Equity -- Head of Research and Consulting Thank you, guys. David P. Rowland--Chief Financial Officer Thanks, Rod. Operator Bryan Keane of Deutsche Bank. Please go ahead. Bryan Keane--Deutsche Bank -- Managing Director Yeah, hi, guys. Congrats on very solid results here. Just wanted to follow up on the bookings and the strength in the bookings. Was that a lot of renewals in there, or is that new business that pushed that higher? And then, just thinking about the pipeline now, does it become a little more depleted since you had such a big quarter this quarter? David P. Rowland--Chief Financial Officer So, there's a lot of new business in the $11 billion-plus bookings -- $11.7 billion -- in the quarter. You don't get to that number with a disproportionate or unusual level of renewals. The other part of the question was with pipeline -- yeah, any time we have a bookings quarter that large, obviously, it has some impact on the pipeline, but having said that, we have had a lot of replenishment even during the quarter, so we feel good about our pipeline, but yet, as you can imagine, we're very focused on our pipeline replenishment as we think about turning the page into fiscal '19 and, let's say, the next challenge of growth. So, we always have work to do on our pipeline. We feel good about it, but we're always focused on expanding it. Bryan Keane--Deutsche Bank -- Managing Director Okay. And then, just wanted to follow up on the fourth-quarter revenue guidance. I know top line was strong and 11% constant currency this quarter. I think the guidance implies something like 7% to 10% constant currency for the fourth quarter, which is a tad below the strength this quarter. Just thinking about that growth considering the strong bookings. Is that just a little bit of conservatism built in there -- or, another possibility is some of the M&A business that's falling off is causing a little lower growth rate than we saw in the third. Thanks so much. David P. Rowland--Chief Financial Officer I don't know if it's conservatism. 11% growth is really outstanding, and frankly, as well, the upper end of our range at 10% is also outstanding. And so, as we always say, we have a three-point range. You never like the bottom part of the range, and of course, we're always focused on being as high in the range as we possibly can. To the extent we were to deliver at the upper end of the range, we would continue to gain massive share in the marketplace. That level of growth would be outstanding and we would be very pleased with that at the upper end of the range. So, I wouldn't say -- there's not the intent to be conservative. There's the intent to have a reasonable range, and again, the upper half of the range is quite strong. Bryan Keane--Deutsche Bank -- Managing Director Okay, great. Thanks. Angie Park--Managing Director, Head of Investor Relations Hey, Steve, we have time for one more question, and then Pierre will wrap up the call. Operator Okay. Our last question will come from the line of Brian Essex, Morgan Stanley. Please go ahead. Brian Essex--Morgan Stanley -- Executive Director Great, thank you for taking the question. David P. Rowland--Chief Financial Officer Hi, Brian. Brian Essex--Morgan Stanley -- Executive Director Hey, how are you? I was just wondering if maybe you can unpack the digital a little bit. I get a lot of questions in terms of what's maybe migrational in nature, and Pierre did a great job differentiating the ERP part of the equation, but you've also had some great stories on truly transformational digital projects. I think Pierre had one in his prepared remarks on the operational side. The operations team has some great supply chain examples, particularly in the beverage market. How much of the digital would you say is truly transformational versus more migrational in nature, where you're just taking an application and putting it into a new operating environment? Pierre Nanterme--Chairman and Chief Executive Officer It's getting more and more transformational. You're right -- the first waves, you always fight to catch the low-hanging fruit. Let's put it that way. And, the low-hanging fruit, for instance, would be I'm taking my current applications, no change, no transformation, and I move them to the cloud just to benefit from the cost difference with the classic infrastructure, what you're calling the migration. So, we've seen some of the journey to the cloud. You're taking the existing, you lift and drop to the cloud, and you're making the benefits. You still have some of this work, of course, but what I found very interesting is indeed, the market is shifting -- at least, with us and our clients -- to using digital as more transformational. For instance, when you move or change from the existing ERP to a new ERP in the cloud, and then you're using the analytics and apply the artificial intelligence features in order to drive more value in the company in terms of forecasting, for instance, or other activities, then it is more transformational. As we speak, we're working in some very large organizations in CMT, again, in the context of aerospace and defense, to deploy these new digital platforms from engineering services to production to post-sales end to end with 3D features in it, and so forth. It's truly transformational, and it's not just low-hanging fruit or simple migration. So, we see more and more now -- as the market is maturing and as the leaders are understanding better the power of the digital transformation -- the shift from simple migration to drive the easy cost to more profound digital transformation to win the big prize. So, from the low-hanging fruit to the big prize, this is the difference with the migration to the transformation. We see more of those. Brian Essex--Morgan Stanley -- Executive Director Great, that's very helpful. One quick follow-up for David. David, I think last quarter, you said you might come in a tick under $1 billion for M&A. Do you still have that outlook, or does that change at all for the remainder of the year? David P. Rowland--Chief Financial Officer Yeah, it is -- our current view is that we'll land somewhere in the range of $650 million to $750 million of invested capital. We're fine with that. We're not in the business of just trying to do deals for the sake of doing deals. We want to do the right deals, and so, that's going to be the level that we're going to be at this year, but we are committed to that being an important part of our strategy going forward, and as we've said, up to 25% of our operating cash flow is our strategic capital allocation model objective. We always have an active pipeline, and that's true today, and so, it's something that we continue to focus on as an important part of our strategy. Brian Essex--Morgan Stanley -- Executive Director Super helpful. Thank you for squeezing me in. David P. Rowland--Chief Financial Officer Great, thank you. Operator We'll now turn the conference back over to our host and panelists for any closing remarks. Pierre Nanterme--Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Thanks a lot again to all of you for joining us on today's call. In closing -- and, I'm sure you heard that throughout the call -- we and I feel very good about where we are. We feel confident in our ability to finish the year strong. We believe that with the highly differentiated capability we have built in the New, our continued investments across Accenture, and the disciplined management of our business, we are extremely well positioned to continue driving profitable growth and delivering value for our clients, our people, and our shareholders. We look forward to talking with you again next quarter, and in the meantime, if you have any questions, please feel free to call Angie and the team. All the best, and thanks again for joining and supporting Accenture. Operator Ladies and gentlemen, that does conclude our conference call for today. On behalf of today's panel, we'd like to thank you for your participation in today's earnings call and thank you for using our service. Have a wonderful day. You may now disconnect. Duration: 64 minutes Angie Park--Managing Director, Head of Investor Relations Pierre Nanterme--Chairman and Chief Executive Officer David P. Rowland--Chief Financial Officer Jason Kupferberg--Bank of America Merrill Lynch -- Analyst Tien-tsin Huang--JPMorgan Chase -- Managing Director Bryan Bergin--Cowen and Company -- Director Jamie Friedman--Susquehanna Financial Group -- Analyst James Schneider--Goldman Sachs -- Managing Director Harshita Rawat--Sanford C. Bernstein -- Analyst Rod Bourgeois--DeepDive Equity -- Head of Research and Consulting Bryan Keane--Deutsche Bank -- Managing Director Brian Essex--Morgan Stanley -- Executive Director More ACN analysis This article is a transcript of this conference call produced for The Motley Fool. While we strive for our Foolish Best, there may be errors, omissions, or inaccuracies in this transcript. As with all our articles, The Motley Fool does not assume any responsibility for your use of this content, and we strongly encourage you to do your own research, including listening to the call yourself and reading the company's SEC filings. Please see ourTerms and Conditionsfor additional details, including our Obligatory Capitalized Disclaimers of Liability. More From The Motley Fool • 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices • 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 • 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing • 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today • The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss • Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This The Motley Fool recommends Accenture. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy. [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] Join the Gemax Airdrop. Sign up and complete the following steps to recieve 8,500 GMAX Tokens. https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeuvD5sX1Py5GJIiIyxGURrhHjYY6_oyAYMVSroP0xheWI2jg/viewform?c=0&w=1 … #GEMAX #airdrop #bounty #BTC #freetoken #Crypto #Blockchain #tron #trx #airdrops #Token \|\| #cryptocurrency Price Analysis for #Bitsend #BSD : Last Hour Change : 0.59 % \|\| 29-05-2018 06:00 Price in #USD : 0.49849 \|\| Price in #EUR : 0.4287495915 New Price in #Bitcoin #BTC : 0.00006991 \|\| #Coin Rank 488 \|\| Join our Official Airdrop We Distribute 11111111111111 PORNX Token Each Participate Get 1111111 PORNX Token 179$ You Also Get 333333 PORNX Token For Each Refer Join Link: http://bit.ly/PornX_Coin #BTC #Airdrop #Binance #Freetoken #Cryptocurrency #Crypto #Tokens #Giveaway #Bounty \|\| $MRNJ So Bankster backed Ripple doesn’t want to be called Crypto, but wants to be the Bank of Crypto…Shocker! #ad #wsj #nytimes #reuters #bloomberg #thestreet #jimmyfallon #forbes #nasdaq #chicago #ihub #newyork #business #cnn #foxnews #bitcoin #blockchain #music #cryptopic.twitter.com/ZKmBQwfA1q \|\| Except they are. \|\| USD: 110.150 EUR: 127.400 GBP: 144.429 AUD: 81.037 NZD: 74.660 CNY: 16.647 CHF: 110.504 BTC: 676,519 ETH: 48,450 Thu Jun 28 12:00 JST \|\| UpBit Raided by Local Police for Fraud – Crypto Market Drops https://cryptocurrencynews.com/daily-news/exchanges/upbit-raided-crypto-market-drops/?utm_campaign=rss__ccn&utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss … #bitcoin #blockchain #ico #airdrop #crypto #eth #97htgp \|\| #Neochain FREE TOKENS Get free 500 #Neochain tokens on the following airdrop: https://neochain.site/register.html Join Neochain on Telegram https://t.me/neochain and Twitter https://twitter.com/neochainoficial #AIRDROP #CRYPTO #BTC #FREE #BOUNTY #ICO \|\| $btc $eth $ltc #crypto #cryptocurrency #bitcoin \|\| every point i have listed is a lack in security and can harm btc and all btc owners in a very bad way. What you are saying about xrp is wrong. XRP is not centralized. XRP uses deflation system to secure the txn. If you think xrpl in centralized, pinpoint the centralized node.	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 7354.13, 7419.29, 7418.49, 7711.11, 8424.27, 8181.39, 7951.58, 8165.01, 8192.15, 8218.46
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2022-11-21] BTC Price: 15787.28, BTC RSI: 31.40 Gold Price: 1737.40, Gold RSI: 58.54 Oil Price: 79.73, Oil RSI: 37.35 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] ‘Comprehensive’ International Crypto Rules Proposed by Influential Finance Watchdog: Stablecoins could be forced to centralize issuance and major crypto platforms broken up under plans put forward by the Financial Stability Board (FSB) Tuesday. The Financial Stability Board, a watchdog agency and standard setter for the global financial system supported by central banks and finance ministries, wants to see a comprehensive international rulebook in the aftermath of recent crypto market turmoil, taking aim at conflicts of interest in multi-faceted operations and algorithmic stablecoins like the now-collapsedterraUSD. “The current ‘crypto winter’ has reinforced our assessment of existing structural vulnerabilities in these markets,” Klaas Knot, the Dutch central banker who chairs the FSB, said in a letter to the finance ministers of the world’s 20 biggest economies. He was referring to FSB concerns over liquidity mismatches, high leverage and inappropriate business models in the highly connected crypto ecosystem. “This turmoil has once more underlined the need for a comprehensive approach to crypto-asset regulation,” Knot added, after a volatile year that saw the price of major assets like bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH) tumble, and the total collapse of companies like crypto lender Celsius Network. Tuesday’s reports are a “major step” towards that framework, Knot added. A report published for consultation by the FSB Tuesday calls for jurisdictions across the world to extend existing financial norms and develop new ones for novel crypto risks. It puts off delving deeply into new areas like decentralized finance (DeFi), promising a fuller policy assessment next year, but warns that failure to disclose governance roles can prevent regulators from finding out who’s responsible in some supposedly decentralized structures. The report said some crypto companies are already breaching the law by combining traditionally separate activities like trading, lending, custody and brokerage, and called on national authorities to step in and break them up if there are heightened risks or conflicts of interest. Read more:Global Financial Watchdog FSB to Propose Crypto Regulations in October “Various crypto-asset activities are often bundled together within a single entity, sometimes in non-compliance with existing regulations,” the report said. “Authorities should enforce their powers and use their tools as appropriate and in line with jurisdictional legal frameworks, including disaggregation and separation of certain functions.” The FSB warns of extra risks when wallet providers offer services for stablecoins – cryptocurrencies which seek to maintain their value against conventional assets such as the U.S. dollar. Disruptions to a wallet service could allow for malicious transfers, potentially leading to a stampede from panicking customers, and there’s often no clarity on what happens if a provider goes bankrupt, the report said. A separate report also published for consultation Tuesday seeks to tighten up international stablecoin rules, even though it says most industry players are already struggling to keep up withcurrent norms dating back to 2020. “Most existing stablecoin arrangements do not meet the FSB’s High-level Recommendations,” the report said, citing deficiencies across the board in areas such as governance, risk management, and regulatory disclosures. Under new FSB plans, stablecoins that are usable in multiple jurisdictions could be forced to centralize governance, and wouldn’t be able to use automated algorithms to maintain value like the “flawed” terraUSD did. “Authorities should require that GSC [global stablecoin] issuance be governed and operated by one or more identifiable and responsible legal entities or individuals,” the report said. “A GSC should not rely on arbitrage activities to maintain a stable value at all times and it should not derive its value from algorithms.” That aims to address crucial errors in the design of terraUSD – which purported to maintain value being exchangeable with a companion token, luna. That crucially depends on having liquid trading, which is unlikely in cases where there is an abrupt collapse in confidence. The FSB has no enforcement power, and will rely on peer pressure to avoid a scenario where crypto companies can pick and choose whichever jurisdiction offers the lightest regulatory load. Consultations are open until mid-December, with the FSB aiming to finalize the recommendations by the middle of next year. Read more:Global Crypto Standards Due Next Week Could Test Regulators’ Tech Mantra \|\| US stocks continue to fall as investors digest hawkish Fed outlook while jobs report looms: • US stocks extended losses Thursday as investors remained worried over a hawkish Fed. • The Nasdaq led the decline as bond yields continued to climb amid expectations for more rate hikes. • Investors are also looking ahead to the Labor Department's monthly payroll report coming out early Friday. US stocks added to losses Thursday, as investors continued to contend with the prospect of the Federal Reserve raising rates higher than previously thought. The Nasdaq led the decline as bond yields surged. Remarks from Fed Chair Jerome Powell on Wednesday, following the announcement of another 75-basis-point rate hike, squashed hopes for a pivot in the near term. "Indicating that the Fed expects to extend its horizon for continuing to raise interest rates, Powell warns that the long slog will continue," said David Donabedian, chief investment officer at CIBC Private Wealth. "Powell threw a wet blanket on investors hoping that the Fed would transition to the final phase of the tightening process. " Investors are also looking ahead to the Labor Department's monthly payroll report coming out early Friday. The consensus is for job gains to slow to 205,000. Here's where US indexes stood at the 4:30 p.m closing bell on Thursday: • S&P 500:3,719.87, down 1.06% • Dow Jones Industrial Average:32,001.25, down 0.46% (146.51 points) • Nasdaq Composite:10,342.94, down 1.73% Here's what else is happening today: • Billionaire Sam Zell said the Fed is finally making the right moves, even though a recession will be the likely result. • The Fed will only hike as high as 4.5%, according toJeffrey Gundlach, who sees an 80% chance of a US recession next year. • The world could face the worst financial crisis since World War IIas hyperinflation looms, hedge fund Elliott Management said. In commodities, bonds, and crypto: • West Texas Intermediate crudefell 2.13% to $88.08 per barrel.Brent crude,the international benchmark, rose declined 1.47% to $94.74. • Goldslipped 0.18% to $1,631.74 per ounce. • The10-year Treasury yieldjumped 7.3 basis points to 4.136%. • Bitcoininched up 0.22% to $20,224.09. Read the original article onBusiness Insider \|\| The End of the 'Centralization Era' in Crypto: When we look back at November 2022, we may well view it as the end of the "Centralization Era" in crypto. Centralized crypto exchanges offered consumers an appealingly convenient way to invest in crypto. However, the centralization era also led to disregard for consumer protection and massive meltdowns that have affected tens of millions of people and hundreds of billions in assets. Consumers are learning very hard lessons about the risks of centralization. You can draw a straight historical line from Mt. Gox to Voyager Digital, Celsius Network and now FTX. The inevitable conclusion is that centralized entities pose a systemic risk to the crypto ecosystem. It is well past time that we as a collective crypto community come together to demand better. Shingo Lavine and Adam Lavine are co-founders of Ethos.io , a decentralized technology company. Crypto was founded upon the idea of true individual ownership and self-sovereignty as a response to the 2008 financial crisis. It was built to be different, where individuals held the keys to their own wallets and could trade without an intermediary. The animating vision since Bitcoins creation has been to enable all of us to take back control of our money. There is a longstanding truism that "power corrupts," which holds for financial history, too: If you give someone control over your money, they're bound to abuse your trust. This plays out in crypto between self-custody and centralized custodians. Its time we returned to the roots of crypto that brought us all together in the first place. Read more: How Crypto Can Do Good for the World / Opinion At Ethos.io, we have long been proponents of decentralization and self-custody. In 2017, we designed a decentralized crypto wallet that garnered over 100,000 users, and were then tapped to help build the payment and blockchain rails for Voyager, a centralized crypto broker which scaled to a million users. In time, we left Voyager because of cultural differences the management insisted on a centralized path to build up their AUM [assets under management]. Ultimately these funds were lent out to Three Arrows Capital , leading to a swift Voyager bankruptcy. Story continues Unfortunately, both Voyagers and FTXs users have learned the hard way that crypto held in accounts on those platforms are not theirs far from it. Centralized exchanges and brokers often co-mingle funds into omnibus wallets, and treat their customers as unsecured creditors. Voyager depositors have watched management, employees, lawyers and bankers all consume company capital resources while their crypto remains locked up in the bankruptcy process. Read more: FTX Showed the Problems of Centralized Finance, and Proved the Need for DeFi / Opinion It is mind-boggling how often just one persons actions can impact the fortunes of millions. This is the exact opposite of how crypto is supposed to work and why the centralization era has been so risky. This era must come to an end. The era of decentralization is the only viable path forward. Crypto must return to its roots and take back power from corrupt institutions that have abused their power and influence. The last five years have seen several technical breakthroughs that can serve as a foundation for a robust, safe and fair decentralized economy. Decentralized trading platforms promise huge benefits over centralization: lack of counter-party risk, on-chain settlement and transparency. It is simply impossible to trade against your customers. A properly implemented and maintained decentralized finance (DeFi) economy will service the interest of both customers and operators, not to mention provide encoded consumer protections which regulators are trying to achieve. Read more: It Cant Be Decentralization or Bust / Opinion Work must still be done. Vitilak Buterin, co-creator of Ethereum, has written eloquently on the need for secure vaults to minimize the risk of losing your keys. Multi-party cryptography (MPC), layered security and social guardians can make this a reality and leave the days of mnemonics and seed phrases behind. We are once again at an inflection point where we as a community must defy centralization. We must defy corrupt CEOs who seek to separate us from our money. We must defy corporate secrecy, which has enabled corruption and recklessness paid on the customers dime. We must want to return to cryptos roots and empower individuals to wrest control of what is rightfully theirs. The future will not be centralized. But we must build it. \|\| Trading in crypto derivatives surges as investors hedge positions after FTX shock: By Medha Singh and Lisa Pauline Mattackal (Reuters) - Trading volumes in bitcoin futures and exchange traded funds (ETFs) has exploded as investors scrambled to hedge their positions after this week's slump in digital tokens triggered by turmoil at crypto exchange FTX. CME bitcoin futures November contracts traded at $17,250, with a volume of 13,292 at 11:24 a.m. EST (1624 GMT), which was a 3% discount to the spot price of $17,770. Trading volumes soared on Tuesday and Wednesday as FTX's woes worsened, touching 48,554 and 32,168 contracts respectively, significantly higher than volumes over the past two months which hovered between 4,902 and 27,309. Bitcoin bounced 10% on Thursday after touching a late-2020 low earlier in the day as largest crypto exchange Binance walked away from a bailout of FTX, leaving the firm's urgent push to plug a reported $8 billion hole in its finances. The ProShares short bitcoin strategy ETF, a bearish play on CME bitcoin futures, witnessed record trading volume on Wednesday as investors hunted for "regulated, transparent futures market," ProShares Global Investment Strategist Simeon Hyman said. "This suggests an overwhelmingly strong unison desire to hedge, with shorts being the predominant force of leveraged exposure at the moment," said Vetle Lunde, analyst at Norway-based crypto research firm Arcane Research. Meanwhile, ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF, which was halted for trading on Wednesday, has witnessed a 300% jump in trading volume in the from its previous high on October 21, 2022. Assets under management for the BITO fund has shrunk by almost a third since its launch nearly a year ago to about $500 million, according to Refinitiv Lipper data. Funding rates that represent sentiment in the perpetual swaps market, a major part of the bitcoin derivatives world, were negative 0.0219% on Thursday, according to Coinglass, trading near levels last seen in March 2020, Arcane Research's Lunde said. Negative funding rates imply sentiment is bearish as investors must pay to hold a short position. Some market participants reported facing issues with borrowing and shorting cryptocurrencies. "We've traded some spot in the last few days and trading desks are being very conservative with risk management right now so it wouldn't surprise me that futures markets are getting a bit tricky to navigate," said Greg King, chief executive officer at Osprey Funds. (Reporting by Medha Singh and Lisa Pauline Mattackal in Bengaluru; Editing by Matthew Lewis) View comments \|\| Congressman Brad Sherman Takes Aim at ‘Billionaire Crypto Bros’ for Slowing Regulation: U.S. Congressman Brad Sherman has hit out at the crypto industry in the wake of the FTX collapse , pointing the finger at “billionaire crypto bros” for attempting to delay “meaningful legislation” from the Federal government. The crypto ultra-rich were represented well among political donors in the recent U.S. midterms . Around $2.3 billion was raised overall during this election cycle, as per data from the non-profit Open Secrets. FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried spent $39.8 million, most of which flowed to Democrats, making him the 6th-largest individual political donor. Noted crypto bull and Silicon Valley celebrity Peter Thiel spent $32.6 million to support various Republican candidates. Sherman, who currently serves as Chairman of the Subcommittee on Investor Protection and Capital Markets, said the recent collapse of FTX was a “dramatic demonstration of both the inherent risks of digital assets and the critical weaknesses in the industry that has grown up around them” and that he wholeheartedly supports efforts to “make sure those responsible are held accountable.” In particular, the regulator acknowledged political donations to Democrats by FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, which have already received adequate media attention, commenting that these donations were given “not to help Democrats beat Republicans” and “mostly unsuccessfully.” Sherman added that the donations of Ryan Salame, co-CEO of Bahamas-based FTX Digital Markets, also deserve attention, saying: “When you examine FTX efforts to influence Washington, you have to look at both CEOs, not just the eccentric guy wearing the shorts.” Salame donate d over $23 million to Republican candidates and campaign groups in 2022, which placed him 14th on the Open Secrets donor list, demonstrating that FTX-linked donations were not divided equally along party lines. Sherman tackles crypto This isn’t the first time Sherman has taken a hard line on cryptocurrency exchanges. In his latest memo, the congressman referenced when he called SEC Division of Enforcement Director Gurbir Grewal to pursue enforcement actions against crypto exchanges “for failing to register with the SEC after listing tokens on their platforms that the Commission had publicly identified as unregistered securities.” Story continues The senator, who once said that all Bitcoin does is allow “a few dozen men in my district to sit in their pajamas on their couch all day and tell their wives they are going to be millionaires," has drawn public criticism for some of his more daring statements about digital assets. In a Congressional Hearing earlier this year, Sherman asked whether "those of color will be left holding the bag if we see a collapse in cryptocurrency or stablecoins?" The statement stirred ire on crypto Twitter, with African American Democratic primary challenger Aarika Rhodes, who is generally pro-crypto, deriding him for his “patronizing attitude.” \|\| 7 Telecom Stocks to Sell Pronto Before a Painful Downturn: Telecom stocks havetaken a hitover the past few years. Most companies in the space have been struggling under the weight of theirmassive debt loadsas they upgrade their infrastructure to support 5G. With the stock market expected to drop even further from current levels, it’s probably the right time to reassess your portfolios and consider these telecom stocks to sell. Granted, telecom stocks can be highly appealing to long-term investors. All thanks to attractive valuations and steady dividends. However, many of them can be value traps with unsustainable yields. Therefore, it is imperative not to be swayed by high dividend-yielding telecom stocks. Let’s look at seven telecom stocks to sell that are likely to lose a truckload of value in the upcoming downturn. [{"ASTS": "AMT", "AST SpaceMobile": "American Tower", "$6.12": "$198.00"}, {"ASTS": "BCE", "AST SpaceMobile": "BCE Inc.", "$6.12": "$44.59"}, {"ASTS": "CHTR", "AST SpaceMobile": "Charter Communications", "$6.12": "$345.74"}, {"ASTS": "TDS", "AST SpaceMobile": "Telephone & Data Systems", "$6.12": "$16.11"}, {"ASTS": "SHEN", "AST SpaceMobile": "Shenandoah Telecom", "$6.12": "$21.05"}, {"ASTS": "ZM", "AST SpaceMobile": "Zoom Video", "$6.12": "$83.25"}] InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips Source: Shutterstock Space-based mobile telecommunicationsAST SpaceMobile(NASDAQ:ASTS) has performed relatively well since going public last year. Its shares rallied briefly a couple of months ago amidst excitement surrounding itsBlueWalker 3 satellite. However, it was only a flash in the pan, and a recent short report, fromKerrisdale Capital, has further increased AST’s woes. The short report questionedthe stock’s valuation, its satellite design, competitive threats, and the likelihood of shareholder dilution. Moreover, the report also talked about how the company needs to raise billions in new capital to keep its services operational. Therefore, with multiple risks surrounding the business, it’s best to avoid ASTS stock at this time. Source: SERDTHONGCHAI / Shutterstock.com American Tower(NYSE:AMT) is a top global real-estate-investment-trust (REIT), operating multi-tenant communications real estate with aportfolio of roughly 222,000 communications sites. It’s been a steady performer over the past decade due to strong growth in mobile data usage. The trend remains intact, with data usage expected to grow at an incredible 20% annually over the next five years. Its shares have underperformed of late due to rising interest and inflation rates weighing-down real estate-related stocks. Like most companies, AMT benefitted immensely from falling interest rates in the past decade. However, the rising interest rates of late have weighed down the company’s financial flexibility. Its debt burden has increased significantly while its business suffers from a strengthening U.S. dollar. AMT operates a global tower business generating roughly 45% of its sales from overseas. The U.S. dollar has risen incredibly in the past 12 months, and with the Fed remaining hawkish,the translation risk will only get worse. Source: Shutterstock BCE Inc.(NYSE:BCE) is a diversified business, with its tentacles in multiple areas, such as radio broadcasting and television. Most investors would be looking at its impressive dividend yield of 5.98%, but considering its dwindling financial health, it’s tough to see how BCE will maintain its dividend profile. Therefore, its bear case seems more compelling at this time, with its current valuation skewed towards the downside. BCE’s deplorable financial health and lackluster revenue expansion will likely lead to a dividend cut. Recentearnings performanceshave been forgettable and will likely weigh down its ability to pay dividends. Moreover, its stock trades close to its historical price multiples despite its fundamentals and outlook weakness. Source: Shutterstock Charter Communications(NASDAQ:CHTR) is a leading cable and broadband operator serving residential and commercial customers in the U.S. Over the years, and it’s operated a business that has generated consistent revenue and profits. However, it witnessed a slowdown in its results this year without having much of an impact on its lofty stock price. Itreported a net loss of 21,000 internet subscribersin its second quarter. Net subscriber additions have been crucial for the company’s long-term expansion, and its second-quarter results are disconcerting. Its management has talked about the low growth environment for internet services which has significantly reduced opportunities for subscriber additions. On top of that, the firm’s financial metrics continue to weaken with every passing quarter. Its debt is 9.75 times its equity, far worse than its peers and its historical average. Hence, CHTR has little wiggle room to navigate through the current crisis. Source: Shutterstock Telephone & Data Systems, Inc.(NYSE:TDS) is a legacy telecom business with its subsidiary USM among the largest wireless providers in the U.S. Though its dividend profile is impressive, its underlying fundamentals have been a disappointment. With investors looking to invest in high-quality businesses currently, TDS isn’t the stock you should be wagering on at this time. Its business comes with low returns on capital, a small market share, and low operating margins. Revenue growth has fluctuated in the past several quarters, with itsfive-year average at just 0.8%. Despite its vast experience in the telecom sphere, it still hasn’t been able to produce consistently growing sales and move up the ranks in its sector. Source: Shutterstock Shenandoah Telecom(NASDAQ:SHEN) is another broadband, cable, and phone service provider in six U.S. states. It operates highly-valued assets and has been a consistent business over the past several years. Revenues have grown by 17.6% over the past five years, with a healthy improvement in profits. Perhaps the main knock on SHEN stock is its premium valuation, especially in the current economic environment.It trades at over 3.7 times forward sales, compared to the sector average of just 1.18 times forward sales estimates. Revenue growth is down considerably from its historical average, and its bottom line has been taking a major hit. Nonetheless, SHEN stock has held up remarkably well in the stock market, which makes it an unattractive bet. Source: Shutterstock Zoom Video(NASDAQ:ZM) was a pandemic darling, with its stock climbing to an all-time high of $568.30 per share. It’s gone from a high-flying stock to a potential value play, dropping over 80% of its value in the past 12 months. With the pandemic fade, Zoom’s growth has screed to a halt. Itsrevenues in the second quarter grew by just 8%from the prior-year period. Moreover, income from operations saw a substantial in its income from operations, from $294.6 million to $121.7 million. Analysts forecast revenue expansion of just 7.1% this year, a far cry from its results in the past couple of years. Zoom relies on limited products and services and will have hardly any competitive edge against its other players in the communication space. Therefore, it’s tough to envision a scenario where it could grow at the same pace as it did during the pandemic. On the date of publication, Muslim Farooque did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.comPublishing Guidelines Muslim Farooque is a keen investor and an optimist at heart. A life-long gamer and tech enthusiast, he has a particular affinity for analyzing technology stocks. Muslim holds a bachelor’s of science degree in applied accounting from Oxford Brookes University. • Buy This $5 Stock BEFORE This Apple Project Goes Live • The Best $1 Investment You Can Make Today • Early Bitcoin Millionaire Reveals His Next Big Crypto Trade “On Air” • It doesn’t matter if you have $500 or $5 million. Do this now. The post7 Telecom Stocks to Sell Pronto Before a Painful Downturnappeared first onInvestorPlace. \|\| First Mover Asia: Bitcoin Is Upbeat Above $20K as Investors Grow Optimistic That Steep Rate Hikes Will Soon End; Kim Kardashian and the SEC's Publicity Grab: Good morning. Here’s what’s happening: Prices:Bitcoin, ether and other cryptos spend another day in the green. Insights:The SEC's settlement with mega-influencer Kim Kardashian is a warning to the crypto industry, as CoinDesk columnist Daniel Kuhn noted in Tuesday's edition of the Node. (First Mover Asia writers Sam Reynolds and Shaurya Malwa are away.) ●Bitcoin (BTC): $20,209+3.1% ●Ether (ETH): $1,356+2.5% ●CoinDesk Market Index (CMI): 986+2.4% ●S&P 500 daily close: 3,790.93+3.1% ●Gold: $1,732 per troy ounce+2.3% ●Ten-year Treasury yield daily close: 3.62%−3e+1 Bitcoin, ether and gold prices are taken at approximately 4pm New York time. Bitcoin is the CoinDesk Bitcoin Price Index (XBX); Ether is the CoinDesk Ether Price Index (ETX); Gold is the COMEX spot price. Information about CoinDesk Indices can be found atcoindesk.com/indices. Bitcoin Spends the Day Back Over $20K By James Rubin Say hello to $20,000 again. Bitcoin rose markedly for a second consecutive day and was recently trading at about $20,200, a more than 3% gain over the past 24 hours and its highest level in a week. The largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization has crossed the psychologically important threshold several times over the past month but failed to stick amid investor concerns about inflation and the prospect of a harsh recession. On Tuesday, markets responded positively to a surprising decline in job openings in theJob Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS), which offered hope that the economy was slowing enough for the U.S. central bank to reverse course on steep interest rate hikes in the not-too-distant future. Ether was recently changing hands above $1,350, up more than 5% from the previous day, same time. Other major altcoins spent much of the day firmly in the green with DOGE rising more than 10% after Elon Musk, a champion of the popular meme coin, indicated he would be willing to follow through on his original proposal to purchase social media platform Twitter. SHIB, a similarly dog-themed meme coin and LINK, climbed over 4% and 5%, respectively. TheCoinDesk Market Index (CMI), a broad-based market index that measures performance across a basket of cryptocurrencies, recently increased by 2.4%. Equity markets continued their so-far, buoyant week with the tech-focused Nasdaq and S&P 500, which has a strong technology component, jumping 3.3% and 3.1%, respectively, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) rising 2.8%. Investors responded favorably to an unexpectedly small interest rate hike by Australia's central bank and the JOLTS reading suggesting that the hot jobs market was finally losing steam. Torrid job figures have concerned U.S. central bankers looking for signs of an economic downtrend. The price of Brent crude oil, a widely watched measure of energy markets, traded roughly flat but still hovered over $91 per barrel, and investors will be eyeing Wednesday's report by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), which is expected to cut supplies. Bond yields and the dollar, which recently soared to multi-year highs, fell again. Bankrupt crypto lender Celsius Network's woes continued with the resignation on Tuesday of co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer S. Daniel Leon. He follows now-former CEO Alex Mashinsky, who departed the company last week. Celsius filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in New York in July, and now faces an inquiry from an investigator appointed by the U.S. Trustee's office and authorized by the Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. And Japan plans for expanding its digital presencewill includenon-fungible tokens (NFT) and metaverse services, Japan Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said in apolicy speechMonday. In an email to CoinDesk, Mark Connors, head researcher at Canadian digital asset firm 3iQ, wrote that despite this month's early gains across risk-on assets, markets remain unsettled. Connors called the S&P 500's 5.3% October increase a "price action...more indicative of an option or a warrant than a $32B+ large cap equity index," and said that the volatilities of currencies and treasury bonds were "even more unusual." "The low vol, highly leveraged currency and rate assets are exhibiting the highest relative volatility," he said, adding: "What you DONT see are unusual moves in BTC or ETH. This is because monetary policy is causing problems in the fiat based plumbing. Asset prices are falling too fast." "This story is far from over." [{"Asset": "Dogecoin", "Ticker": "DOGE", "Returns": "+10.1%", "DACS Sector": "Currency"}, {"Asset": "Chainlink", "Ticker": "LINK", "Returns": "+5.8%", "DACS Sector": "Computing"}, {"Asset": "Terra", "Ticker": "LUNA", "Returns": "+5.1%", "DACS Sector": "Smart Contract Platform"}] There are no losers in CoinDesk 20 today. Kim Kardashian, EthereumMax and the SEC's Publicity Grab By Daniel Kuhn Monday, before the market opened, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced it settled with celebrity influencer Kim Kardashian for $1.26 million related to her paid endorsement of a cryptocurrency called EthereumMax. Just as when Kardashian first shilled the token in June 2021 (and failed to disclose the $250,000 she was paid to do so), the news raises the question … why? Why did Kardashianget involved in the first place, and why is the SECfining her now? The SEC, under Chairman Gary Gensler, is looking to send a message: Celebrities should think twice before endorsing cryptocurrencies. Kardashian, a celebrity who has built her reputation on being famous as well as ubiquitous, is ahigh-profile target. With a federal agency that is consistently underfunded going after this big target, the settlement serves as a warning for the crypto industry at large. This article is excerpted from The Node, CoinDesk's daily roundup of the most pivotal stories in blockchain and crypto news. You can subscribe to get the fullnewsletter here. Influencers Are 'Easier to Pick Off' Than Token Issuers: Former SEC Official on Kim Kardashian But the news also comes amid a deep market rout, where every day brings more news of crimes swept under the rug during aFOMO-fueled market rallyduring the COVID-19 pandemic. Three Arrows Capital, once thought to be one of the smartest hands in the game, was found to have built its fortune largely byrehypothecating borrowed funds. Alex Mashinsky, the founder and former CEO of bankrupt “neo-bank” Celsius Network was just found to besiphoning fundsfrom Celsius. Figures like Mashinsky and Three Arrow’s Kyle Davies and Su Zhu promisedmuch morethan Kardashian and other celebrity crypto endorsers ever could. Celsius’ unofficial slogan was “unbank yourself.” The Three Arrows hedge fund operated under the idea of an unstoppable crypto“supercycle.”Until the firm imploded under the weight of bad debt and bad bets, Celsius promised users returns of up to 20% on their crypto holdings. Mashinsky is now selling T-shirts saying,“Unbankrupt Yourself.” Read the full storyhere. 8:30 a.m. HKT/SGT(12:30 a.m. UTC):Jibun Bank services PMI(Sept.) 9 a.m. HKT/SGT(1 a.m. UTC):Reserve Bank of New Zealand rate decision and statement 4 p.m. HKT/SGT(8 a.m. UTC):OPEC meeting In case you missed it, here is the most recent episode of"First Mover"onCoinDesk TV: Bitcoin Gains Momentum; Former SEC Branch Chief on Kim Kardashian’s Crypto Promotion "First Mover" dived into crypto markets with Arca Portfolio Manager David Nage to explore reasons for the sudden rally in crypto and the broader markets. Former SEC Enforcement Branch Chief Lisa Bragança discussed the fallout for Kim Kardashian after the reality TV star's $1.26 million settlement with the SEC over her promotion of EthereumMax. Plus, First Mover had an update on China's CBDC rollout. Japan to Invest in Metaverse and NFT Expansion:Prime Minister Fumio Kishida continued calls for Web3 technology integration. Asset Management Giant Fidelity Adds to Crypto Offerings With Ethereum Index Fund:The fund has raised about $5 million since sales opened in late September Blockchain Game Developer Horizon Raises $40M in Series A Funding Round:The round was led by Brevan Howard Digital and Morgan Creek Digital, and included investments from traditional gaming companies Ubisoft and Take-Two Interactive. Crypto Lender Celsius Co-Founder, Chief Strategy Officer Leon Resigns, Financial Times Reports:Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky also resigned last week. ‘Prohibitive’ Global Crypto Capital Norms Could ‘Derail’ Market, TradFi Groups Say: Banks want to see caps on bitcoin holdings increased fivefold under planned global standards \|\| China relaxes on COVID, FTX freeze, Russian pullout - what's moving markets: By Geoffrey Smith Investing.com -- China announces its most significant relaxation of the COVID-Zero policy yet, sending local stock markets and global risk assets flying. The mess from FTX's collapse gets worse, as its assets are frozen and its founder reportedly comes under investigation by U.S. authorities. U.S. stocks are set to build on Thursday's explosive post-CPI rally with the Michigan Consumer Sentiment index due later. Amazon joins the list of tech mega caps looking at large-scale cost cuts, while Elon Musk reportedly warned Twitter staff that the company he bought for $44 billion faces bankruptcy. And Russia completes its retreat from Kherson in Ukraine, while Vladimir Putin skips the G20 summit to concentrate on the deteriorating situation in Ukraine and at home. Here's what you need to know in financial markets on Friday, 11th November. 1. China relaxes quarantine rules; stocks, yuan, commodities soar China provided another leg up to global markets that were already rallying hard after the lower-than-expected October inflation numbers from the U.S. The National Health Commission said it will cut quarantine requirements for those arriving in the country to a total of 8 days from 10, and also relaxed the requirements for contacts of infected people in parallel. The moves are the most significant relaxation of China's Zero-COVID policy yet and come despite serious outbreaks taking place in Beijing, Guangzhou, and Zhengzhou. The Hong Kong Hang Seng index jumped by 7.7% while mainland Chinese markets rallied by between 2% and 4%. The offshore yuan hit a one-month high before retracing to trade up 0.7% by 06:45 ET (11:45 GMT). Commodities also surged, with U.S. crude futures rising over 3% to $89.31 a barrel and Brent up 3.0% at $96.48 a barrel. 2. Contagion spreads as FTX's assets are frozen Regulators around the world froze the assets of collapsed exchange FTX, in another devastating blow to the credibility of the crypto industry. Story continues The Securities Commission of the Bahamas, where FTX is based, said it was aware of public statements suggesting that clients assets were mishandled, mismanaged and/or transferred to Alameda Research, and had consequently applied for the company to be placed in provisional liquidation . The Wall Street Journal had earlier reported that FTX had misappropriated client deposits, lending them to affiliated hedge fund Alameda Research so that Alameda could cover up the extent of their losses. FTX is facing a shortfall of anywhere between $8 billion and $10 billion according to reports, which appears to leave little hope for customers still trying to get their money out, despite an agreement with the operators of the TRON network overnight aimed at easing its liquidity crunch. Reports also alleged that FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried is under investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchanges Commission. BlockFi , one of a handful of crypto platforms partially rescued by FTX earlier in the year, again halted client withdrawals. By 06:30 ET, Bitcoin was up 6.1% at $17,671 while Ether was up 8.9% at $1,283, helped the broader rally in risk assets but still down sharply from a week ago. FTT, FTXs native token, was quoted around $3.61, down nearly 90% on the week. 3. Stocks set to build on post-CPI gains; Michigan Consumer Sentiment due U.S. stocks are set to extend their rally at the open, building on their best day in over two years on Thursday after new data suggested that U.S. inflation may have peaked. Bulls were emboldened by comments from the Federal Reserves Mary Daly and Patrick Harker suggesting that the central bank could afford to slow down the pace of tightening from now on. The thesis could still be tested by the renewed rally in commodity prices due if China reopens its economy, but that appears to be a worry for another day. By 06:15 ET, Dow Jones futures were up 123 points or 0.4%, and S&P 500 futures were up by a similar amount. Tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures, more sensitive to expected interest rate movements, were again outperforming with a 0.6% gain. The Nasdaq had risen 7.4% on Thursday, while the Dow had gained 3.7% and the S&P 500 5.5%. Stocks likely to be in focus later include Amazon (see below) and Softbank (OTC:SFTBY), which reported a $21 billion profit as it realized gains on a chunk of its Alibaba (NYSE:BABA) stake. That offset a $10 billion loss at its Vision venture capital fund. A thin earnings calendar leaves the Michigan Consumer Sentiment index at 10:00 ET as the main focus of the trading day. 4. Amazon eyes cost cuts, Twitter 'faces bankruptcy' Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) is set to join the list of tech companies making big cuts to their loss-making bets on the futures, according to The Wall Street Journal. The paper said on Thursday, its focusing on the division that houses its home assistant Alexa, where operating losses are currently running at $5 billion a year, according to the WSJ. However, its also telling people in other divisions that they should look for openings elsewhere in the company. Costs in Amazons core e-commerce business have risen sharply in the last few quarters, putting pressure on a group that only had one reliably profitable unit Cloud hosting provider AWS. Amazon has not confirmed the report, which came in the same week as fellow tech mega-cap Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) said it will lay off nearly one in seven of its workforce. Elsewhere in the tech space, Elon Musk reportedly warned Twitter staff that the company he bought for $44 billion faces bankruptcy without radical surgery, while the chaotic flip-flopping on its policy toward verified and official accounts continued. 5. Russia completes Kherson withdrawal; Gas crisis reaches Pakistan Russia said it has completed its withdrawal from the right bank of the Dnipro river, effectively handing back control of Kherson, the only regional capital it had conquered in the first stage of its invasion of Ukraine. The Kremlin confirmed that President Vladimir Putin will skip this weekends G20 summit in Indonesia, amid growing signs of excess by domestic security forces to clamp down on any perceived signs of opposition. The global energy crisis unleashed by Russias invasion claimed another victim earlier, as Pakistan said it will ration natural gas supplies over the coming winter, unable to compete with more financially powerful buyers from east Asia and Europe in the global market for liquefied natural gas. Related Articles China relaxes on COVID, FTX freeze, Russian pullout - what's moving markets Argentina to freeze prices of 1,500 consumer goods as inflation bites SNB ready to take "all measures necessary" to tame inflation-Jordan \|\| October Stock Picks: 7 Chip Stocks to Buy on Dips: Technology stocks have been battered and bruised in 2022, with theNasdaqdown 32% year to date. As bad as that is, semiconductor stocks have easily outpaced the downturn in the broader tech sector, with thePHLX Semiconductor Indexfalling 44% so far this year. However, unlike some high-flying tech stocks that had no basis for their lofty valuations, the companies that make semiconductor chips and equipment are vital to the economy. Their products are the basis of the world as we know it. Of course, that’s not to say their share prices can’t go lower from here. With this in mind, today I have seven chip stocks to buy on dips. The short-term outlook for semiconductor stocks remains challenging, with companies facing demand issues, as well as higher costs. Yet, a few recent developments bode well for the sector longer term. The first is the passage of theCHIPS and Science Act of 2022, which “provides $52.7 billion for American semiconductor research, development, manufacturing, and workforce development.” The bill has already spurred some major semiconductor companies to announce plans to expand manufacturing in the U.S. InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips More recently, the Biden administrationannounced export controlsthat will greatly impede the ability of Chinese tech firms to buy semiconductor-making equipment, technology and software from American vendors. Chinese officials have complained this will quash the chip industry there, stifling China’s ability to innovate in areas such as autonomous vehicles and genetic sequencing. However, China’s loss could be America’s gain. These seven chip stocks to buy are particularly well-positioned given the renewed focus on the domestic semiconductor industry. [{"TXN": "LRCX", "Texas Instruments": "Lam Research", "$151.51": "$322.06"}, {"TXN": "AMAT", "Texas Instruments": "Applied Materials", "$151.51": "$75.23"}, {"TXN": "QCOM", "Texas Instruments": "Qualcomm", "$151.51": "$111.21"}, {"TXN": "CAMT", "Texas Instruments": "Camtek", "$151.51": "$21.96"}, {"TXN": "INTC", "Texas Instruments": "Intel", "$151.51": "$25.87"}, {"TXN": "MU", "Texas Instruments": "Micron Technology", "$151.51": "$52.55"}] Source: Katherine Welles / Shutterstock.com Texas Instruments(NASDAQ:TXN) is your classic sleep-well-at-night chip stock. The firm is incredibly resilient due to its differentiated business model. Instead of chasing fast-moving semiconductor markets like chips for consumer electronics, Texas Instruments has built its business around slower-moving analog semiconductors. These are chips that process real-world information and turn it into data. They are vital for applications such as autonomous driving, remote monitoring and internet of things devices. Texas Instruments has a catalog of around80,000 products, which covers tons of application-specific niches. Because of this, the firm has created a business that is recession-resistant and not particularly tied to any specific product or technology trend. Texas Instruments is also a shareholder-friendly operation. Management prioritizes growing free cash flow per share above all else. This has allowed the company to give tons of cash back to shareholders via its dividend and sizableshare repurchase program. TXN stock currently trades for less than 17 times forward earnings and offers a solid 3.3% dividend yield. Source: Michael Vi / Shutterstock Lam Research(NASDAQ:LRCX) is a semiconductor equipment maker that currently commandsabout 10% of the market. The stockperformed well over the long termas the company capitalized on the rapid growth of the global semiconductor market. Shares are down sharply over the past month, thanks in large part to the new China export restrictions. A significant portion of Lam’s overall revenuecomes from China. Thus, Lam may face a short-term hit from the Biden administration’s new policy. Over the longer term, though, Lam could benefit from these changes. After all, demand for semiconductors is unlikely to fall given current technological trends. Lam can earn similar profits selling to vendors in China as ones based out of Europe or North America. Meanwhile, efforts to slow China’s semiconductor industry growth should, over time, create a bigger moat for Lam’s own products and intellectual property. Following a 55% year-to-date decline in LRCX stock, shares now trade for just 8.6 times forward earnings. Source: michelmond / Shutterstock.com Applied Materials(NASDAQ:AMAT) is a direct rival to Lam Research and, thus, faces many of the same challenges and opportunities. This summer, AMAT stock sold off on worries about a cyclical downturn in chip demand and competition from China undercutting Applied Materials’ prices. The CHIPS and Science Act seemed like a clear positive for American semiconductor companies like Applied Materials, but some analysts feared it would be too little, too late in terms of stemming the competitive tide from cheaper overseas vendors. Now that the Biden administration has upped the ante with far-stricter export restrictions, this should greatly slow competition from China. Ironically enough, AMAT stock sold off on the news as investors worried about the short-term revenue hit from not selling to Chinese firms. However, over the longer term, the renewed focus on American manufacturing in this industry is a positive for the company. Investors’ reaction illustrates a larger issue in the chips sector right now. Lately, it seemsallnews is bad news for chips stocks. Competition from overseas? That’s bad. Government efforts to slow down that competition? Apparently also bad. It’s as if traders are using any excuse to sell chips stocks. When the tide turns, however, there will be a tremendous revaluing of core semiconductor names such as Applied Materials. After dropping by 52% this year, AMAT stock is now selling for just 10.2 times forward earnings. Source: Xixi Fu / Shutterstock.com Qualcomm(NASDAQ:QCOM) has built its business around mobile communications ecosystems. The company is a leader in the design and intellectual property around 3G and 4G and has earned hefty licensing fees from handset makers for its technology. Qualcomm continues to bring in tons of revenue from its work in these areas, and the company has defended its patents in court to ensure that the money keeps coming in. However, the company isn’t resting on its laurels. Qualcomm is at the center of 5G rollouts. It’s developed its own chips like Snapdragon for high-end applications such as newer Android phones. The firm is also broadening its reach beyond smartphones, with moves into connected cars and the internet of things. With shares down 40% year to date, QCOM stock is selling for 8.6 times forward earnings. That will look like a bargain once the current sector slump starts to let up. Source: Pavel Kapysh via shutterstock Camtek(NASDAQ:CAMT) is an Israeli company with a global footprint that offers high-end inspection and metrology equipment to the semiconductor industry. When semiconductor companies are building or expanding fabrication facilities, they need to ensure that everything is in perfect working order. Even the tiniest defect or a poorly calibrated machine can render expensive semiconductor materials worthless. With the shortages in the semiconductor supply chain, avoiding waste has become more important than ever. This has put Camtek in a great position. The company has grown revenue from $93 million in 2017 to an estimated $322 million in 2022. Meanwhile, shares are up 284% over the past five years, and that includes the 52% drop in 2022. Camtek is well-positioned in the coming years. The CHIPS Act will subsidize a lot of new semiconductor fabs in the United States. These new facilities will need testing and inspection equipment, and Camtek should be able to find a leading role in filling that demand. Source: Sundry Photography / Shutterstock.com Intel(NASDAQ:INTC) stock has lost half of its value so far this year. That’s an incredible decline for such a dominant blue-chip company. After a surge in personal computer sales during the pandemic, demand has now collapsed. Research firm Gartner reported a19.5% declinein PC sales in Q3 versus the same period in 2021. This was the worst drop in two decades. Intel is still reliant on personal computing, along with the server and database market, to generate a large portion of its revenue. So the company’s profits, not surprisingly, are declining. However, the long-term outlook remains bright. Intel spends more than $15 billion annually on research and development, which allows it to remain in a leadership position in its core markets. It also invests heavily in growth initiatives, such as self-driving vehicle technology. After this year’s big decline in shares, INTC stock trades for 9.2 times forward earnings and offers a 5.5% dividend yield. Source: madamF / Shutterstock.com Micron Technology(NASDAQ:MU) rounds out this list of chip socks to buy. A year ago, the company appeared to have turned the corner. The memory chip leader was producing tremendous earnings and appeared to have finally overcome the historical boom/bust cycle in the memory and storage industry. Fast forward a year, however, and things are currently looking grim. Micron is fresh offearning $8.35 per sharefor its fiscal 2022, which ended Sept. 1. That is a tremendous level of profitability for a company with a $53 share price. But those earnings aren’t set to last. Analysts are currently forecasting a stunning 96.5% drop in Micron’s current fiscal year earnings to just 29 cents per share. Partially as a result of this dismal outlook, shares are down 44% year to date. However, things aren’t as bad as they might seem. Many of the weaker players in the memory industry are merging with stronger companies or shutting down operations. The growth of consumer electronics, as an industry, has created more stable longer-term demand. Micron is going to have a rough 2023, no doubt, but analysts see earnings jumping back to $3.88 a share for fiscal 2024. That should be enough to get Micron shares trending in the right direction, especially since it is one of the more prominent beneficiaries of the CHIPS Act. On the date of publication, Ian Bezek held a long position in QCOM, TXN and INTC stock. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.comPublishing Guidelines. Ian Bezek has written more than 1,000 articles for InvestorPlace.com and Seeking Alpha. He also worked as a Junior Analyst for Kerrisdale Capital, a $300 million New York City-based hedge fund. You can reach him on Twitter at @irbezek. • Buy This $5 Stock BEFORE This Apple Project Goes Live • The Best $1 Investment You Can Make Today • Early Bitcoin Millionaire Reveals His Next Big Crypto Trade “On Air” • It doesn’t matter if you have $500 or $5 million. Do this now. The postOctober Stock Picks: 7 Chip Stocks to Buy on Dipsappeared first onInvestorPlace. \|\| Crypto Whale Moves $1.58B In Bitcoin, Where The BTC Is Now Being Stored: According to data shared on Blockchain.com, a cryptocurrency whale has moved crypto from a wallet that had accumulatedover 74,105Bitcoin(CRYPTO:BTC) worth over $1.58 billion. The BTCs were moved to wallets of unknown origin. In a separate transaction, the whale moved 50,562 BTC, worth nearly $1.08 billion; in another transaction, 23,542 BTC were moved, worth about $505 million. In a series of large transactions, the whale moved 4,000 BTC, 10,000 BTC, 10,000 BTC, 10,000 BTC, 9,642 BTC, 10,000 BTC, 10,000 BTC, 10,000 BTC, and 562 BTC. Cryptowhales send cryptocurrency from exchangeswhen they plan to hold their investments for an extended period. Also Read:The Wolf Of Wall Street Says He Was Wrong About Bitcoin: 'I Really Hated Crypto' Therefore, storing large amounts of money on an exchange presents an additional risk of theft. Last week, various crypto whales moved Ethereum (CRYPTO:ETH), Bitcoin, Dogecoin (CRYPTO:DOGE), and XRP (CRYPTO:XRP) in 24 hours, amounting to $412,300,000. Talking about Bitcoin's performance in the current market scenario, a crypto analyst at ARK Investsaid, “For the first time in history, bitcoin is less volatile than both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq. The last time volatility was this low, bitcoin rose from $9,000 to $60,000 in less than a year." At the time of writing,Bitcoin was trading at $21,278, close to 3% up in the last seven days. See more from Benzinga • Elon Musk Jokes That AOC's Twitter Glitch Was 'Naked Abuse Of Power': She Claims To Have Gotten Under 'Little Billionaire's Skin' • Crypto Analyst Details Potential Dogecoin Rally, Here's What Could Trigger Bullish Action Don't miss real-time alerts on your stocks - joinBenzinga Profor free!Try the tool that will help you invest smarter, faster, and better. © 2022 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] None available.	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 16189.77, 16610.71, 16604.46, 16521.84, 16464.28, 16444.63, 16217.32, 16444.98, 17168.57, 16967.13
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2021-09-24] BTC Price: 42839.75, BTC RSI: 42.41 Gold Price: 1749.70, Gold RSI: 39.70 Oil Price: 73.98, Oil RSI: 63.56 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Bitcoin is the future despite billionaire haters: Ark Invest's Cathie Wood: In not so many words, uber popular money managerCathie Wood told Yahoo Finance Livebillionaire and money manager John Paulson should put a few books about bitcoin (BTC-USD) on his fall reading list because the leading cryptocurrency is here to stay. "John Paulson made an incredible call during the mortgage crisis. He has been a gold bug, I would say, for most of his career. And many investors who have spent their careers focused on gold cannot understand the digital concept associated with gold," said Wood, the closely watched founder of Ark Invest and crypto bull. Paulson did not return an email from Yahoo Finance seeking comment. Wood has been a long-time proponent of crypto. She has exposure to the ups and downs of crypto through the performance of levered stocks such as Coinbase (COIN) and Square (SQ) in her various innovation focused ETFs. Suffice to say Paulson has a wildly different take, similar to many other well-known old-timers in the financial services industry. The Paulson & Co. founder — who shot to fame during the financial crisis for raking in billions for his hedge fund by betting against subprime mortgages —recently told Bloombergcrypto will "eventually prove to be worthless." “I wouldn’t recommend anyone invest in cryptocurrencies," said Paulson, who turned his hedge fund into a family office in 2020 amid a steady drumbeat of outflows, in the interview. Wood said Paulson and others like him — aka crypto detractors —are missing several important points on the topic. "What we think he is missing is that bitcoin is much more than just a store of value or digital gold. Bitcoin in particular is a new global monetary system. It's a rules-based monetary policy, which is completely de-centralized and therefore is not subject to the whims of policymakers. In fact, it's a hedge against the whims of policymakers, especially in emerging markets," Wood explained. Wood is hopeful that Paulson will convert just like other big names in finance. She added, "I don't know how closely John Paulson and some of the other naysayers have looked at it [bitcoin], but I think there have been conversions. Ray Dalio has been a conversion, also Stanley Druckenmiller. These are very thoughtful investors who at one point thought bitcoin was a ponzi scheme." Brian Sozziis an editor-at-large andanchor at Yahoo Finance. Follow Sozzi on Twitter@BrianSozziand onLinkedIn. Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance For more information about cryptocurrency, check out: Dogecoin, what is it? How to buy it Ethereum: What is it and how do you invest in it? The top 21 crypto leaders to watch in the back half of 2021 Follow Yahoo Finance onTwitter,Facebook,Instagram,Flipboard,LinkedIn,YouTube, andreddit \|\| Christine Lagarde slams crypto: European Central Bank president Christine Lagarde has branded cryptocurrency as suspicious. The French politician and lawyer says she regards digital assets as highly speculative, and pushed for widespread regulation. Cryptocurrencies have seen massive growth over the past year with Bitcoin and Ethereum solidifying their position as the most valuable assets whereas smaller offerings like Dogecoin, Solana or Uniswap have gained huge followings. However, according to Christine Lagarde, they are not currencies. In an interview with Bloomberg , the banking figurehead has publicly denounced cryptocurrencies as highly speculative and suspicious. Discussing the potential benefits for the global economy, Lagarde quickly dismissed their value. Cryptos are not currencies, full stop, she snapped. Cryptos are highly speculative assets that claim their fame as currency, possibly, but theyre not. They are not. I think we have to distinguish between cryptos that are those highly speculative suspicious, occasionally and high intensity in terms of energy consumption assets, but theyre not a currency. The ECB chief then expressed less caution over stablecoins. On the other hand, you have those stablecoins that are beginning to proliferate, which some big techs are trying to promote and push along the way, which are a different animal and need to be regulated, where there has to be oversight that corresponds to the business that theyre actually conducting, irrespective of how they name themselves, she said. \|\| Bitcoin and Ethereum – Weekly Technical Analysis – September 13th, 2021: Bitcoin, BTC to USD, slid by 11.09% in the week ending 12th September. Reversing a 6.10% gain from the previous week, Bitcoin ended the week at $46,038.9. A bullish start to the week saw Bitcoin rise to a Tuesday intraweek high $52,888.0 before hitting reverse. Falling short of the first major resistance level at $53,590, Bitcoin slid to a Tuesday intraweek low $43,220.0. The sell-off saw Bitcoin fall through the first major support level at $48,280 and the second major support level at $44,780. Bitcoin also fell through the 23.6% FIB of $50,473. Steering clear of the 38.2% FIB of $41,592, however, Bitcoin broke back through major support levels to revisit $47,000 levels before easing back. The pullback saw Bitcoin fall back through the first major support level to end the week at $46,000 levels. 3 days in the red that included an 11.06% tumble on Tuesday delivered the downside for the week. Bitcoin would need to move through the $47,382 pivot to support a run the 23.6% FIB of $50,473 and the first major resistance level at $51,545. Support from the broader market would be needed for Bitcoin to break back through to $50,000 levels. Barring an extended crypto rally, the first major resistance level would likely cap any upside. In the event of an extended breakout, Bitcoin could test resistance at $55,000 before any pullback. The second major resistance level sits at $57,050. Bitcoin would need plenty of support, however, to breakout from last week’s high $52,888.0. Failure to move through the $47,382 pivot would bring the first major support level at $41,877 and the 38.2% FIB of $40,592 into play. Barring an extended sell-off, Bitcoin should steer clear of the second major support level at $37,714. At the time of writing, Bitcoin was down by 1.62% to $45,295.0. A mixed start to the week saw Bitcoin rise to an early Monday morning high $46,269.0 before falling to a low $45,211.0. Bitcoin left the major support and resistance levels untested early on. Ethereumslid by 13.87% in the week ending 13th September. Partially reversing 22.49% breakout from the previous week, Ethereum ended the week at $3,403.75. A mixed start to the week saw Ethereum rise to a Monday intraweek low $3,973.27 before hitting reverse. Falling short of the first major resistance level at $4,273, Ethereum tumbled to a Tuesday intraweek low $3,009.00. Ethereum fell through the first major support level at $3,388 and the 23.6% FIB of $3,369. Steering clear of sub-$3,000, however, Ethereum broke back through the 23.6% FIB and the first major support level to revisit $3,500 levels. A 2nd pullback, however, saw Ethereum briefly fall back through the first major support level and the 23.6% FIB before ending the week at $3,400 levels. 4-days in the red that included a 12.52% slide on Tuesday delivered the downside in the week. Ethereum would need to move through the 23.6% FIB of $3,369 and the $3,462 pivot level to support a run at the first major resistance level at $3,915. Support from the broader market would be needed, however, for Ethereum to break out from $3,500 levels. Barring an extended crypto rally, the first major resistance level and last week’s high $3,973.27 would likely cap any upside. In the event of another extended breakout, Ethereum could test the second major resistance level at $4,426. Failure to move through the 23.6% FIB and the $3,462 pivot would bring the first major support level at $2,951. Barring an extended sell-off in the week, Ethereum should steer clear of the second major support level at $2,824. At the time of writing, Ethereum was down by 1.95% to $3,337.24. A mixed start to the week saw Ethereum rise to an early Monday high $3,430.00 before falling to a low $3,329.24. While leaving the major support and resistance levels untested at the start of the week, Ethereum fell through the 23.6% FIB of $3,369. Thisarticlewas originally posted on FX Empire • Price of Gold Fundamental Daily Forecast – Downside Bias Building as Bets on Early Fed Tapering Rise • Bitcoin and Ethereum – Weekly Technical Analysis – September 13th, 2021 • Ethereum, Litecoin, and Ripple’s XRP – Daily Tech Analysis – September 13th, 2021 • A Quiet Economic Calendar to Test Risk Sentiment and Dollar Appetite • Apple Under Pressure After Adverse Ruling • The Crypto Daily – Movers and Shakers – September 12th, 2021 \|\| ‘Cautiously Optimistic’: Crypto Brings Lobbying Muscle to Infrastructure Debate: Bitcoin does not have a CEO but it does have lawyers. Currently, cryptocurrency lobbyists and activists are fighting on Capitol Hill to further update the language of the U.S. Senate’s bipartisan infrastructure bill that contains, buried in its 2,000+ pages, a sentence that could derail the entire crypto industry. To pay off a portion of the $1 trillion spending package – a keystone policy for President Biden’s administration to upgrade American transportation and energy sectors – Senate Republicans have agreed to levy a $28 billion tax on the crypto industry. This article is excerpted from The Node , CoinDesk’s daily roundup of the most pivotal stories in blockchain and crypto news. You can subscribe to get the full newsletter here . Related: Senator Rob Portman Defends Crypto Provision in US Infrastructure Bill But the bill also contains a poison seed. Crypto advocates are working tirelessly to protect the public blockchain industry from political actors that seemingly misunderstand the very industry they’re looking to oversee. And so far, it seems like they’re winning. “What’s scary about this is the process is so compact,” Kristin Smith, executive director of the Blockchain Association, said. “When you get language like this, and one of those broad packages when you’re only four pages of a 2,700 page bill, you’re scrambling with all of those other interest groups to get the attention of lawmakers.” In the past week, public interest groups like the Blockchain Association, Coin Center and the newly formed policy team at Coinbase have sent memos, taken meetings and leveraged their insider connections to try to reshape the wording of a quick-moving piece of legislation. A process that’s only made harder by growing concerns around the coronavirus. Calling the bill “one of the top two policy threats” ever seen by the U.S. crypto industry, Smith said she’s been impressed by the progress made already. Over the weekend, Senate officials softened the language in the bill , turning what could have been cataclysmic into something merely concerning. Story continues Related: Crypto Tax Proposal in US Has Had Limited Impact on Bitcoin Market Now at stake are a few words in what is rapidly becoming a language game. As Coin Center’s Neeraj Agrawal put it : “We’re trying to change, like, two words in that.” The proposed “spend-for” in the infrastructure bill would come from expanding the reporting requirements for crypto brokers (think intermediaries like Coinbase and Robinhood) to help prevent tax avoidance. We’re not out of the woods yet. In so doing, the bill also recklessly broadens the definition of a “broker” to conceivably apply to any economic actor working in crypto. This would apply to anyone who is “responsible for and regularly providing any service effectuating transfers of digital assets” on behalf of another person. That means miners, stakers, software developers might be forced to collect identifying information about anyone with whom they interact. “We’ve had some people say, ‘Oh, that’s not what we’re intending.’ But the problem is the language as written can capture all of those things,” Smith said. “We really need to try to get it changed to match their intent.” “If you get laws on the books that don’t match well with how technology works in practice, you don’t necessarily get the outcomes that you would like, whether it’s from a public policy standpoint, a political standpoint, or a legal standpoint,” Nelson Rosario, a partner at Smolinski Rosario Law, said. Few of the policy experts I spoke with are opposed to requiring major cryptocurrency exchanges to report more detailed information to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). In fact, the largest U.S. exchange, Coinbase, sought clarity on the form in question (1099) as long ago as 2017. For an industry that has sometimes disagreed on the need for government lobbying capability , the process to amend the bill has seemed remarkably in lockstep. It’s no stretch to say crypto has little political standing on Capitol hill but its voice is being heard. The Electronic Frontier Foundation put out a statement broadly condemning the privacy concerns of such an understanding of “broker,” while Sens. Pat Toomey and Ron Wyden (not known for his crypto advocacy) have also made statements calling for adjustments. Although “cautiously optimistic,” Smith notes, “we’re not out of the woods yet.” Related Stories The Senate Meets the Cyber-Hornets: The Nascent Crypto Lobby Is Actually Effective State of Crypto: Infrastructure Bill Shows Congress Sees Crypto as Here to Stay \|\| EUR/USD Daily Forecast – Test Of Resistance At 1.1720: EUR/USDis currently trying to settle above the resistance at 1.1720 while the U.S. dollar is under pressure against a broad basket of currencies. The U.S. Dollar Index is currently testing the support level which is located at 93.40. If the U.S. Dollar Index manages to settle below this support level, it will head towards the next support at 93.10 which will be bullish for EUR/USD. Today, EU will release flash Euro Area PMI reports for August.Euro Area Manufacturing PMIis projected to decline from 62.8 in July to 62 in August.Euro Area Services PMIis expected to remain unchanged at 59.8. Traders will also have a chance to take a look at the flash reading ofEuro Area Consumer Confidencereport for August. Analysts expect that Consumer Confidence declined from -4.4 in July to -5 in August. It should be noted that analyst estimates look optimistic despite worries about the impact of the new wave of coronavirus caused by the more contagious Delta variant. In case reports do not meet analyst expectations, the safe-haven U.S. dollar may get more support. EUR/USD managed to settle above the resistance at 1.1690 and is testing the next resistance level at 1.1720. RSI is in the moderate territory, and there is plenty of room to gain additional upside momentum in case the right catalysts emerge. In case EUR/USD settles above the resistance at 1.1720, it will head towards the next resistance level which is located near the 20 EMA at 1.1750. A move above the 20 EMA will open the way to the test of the resistance at 1.1775. If EUR/USD gets above this level, it will head towards the next resistance at 1.1800. On the support side, the previous resistance level at 1.1690 will serve as the first support level for EUR/USD. If EUR/USD manages to settle back below this level, it will get to another test of the support near the yearly lows at 1.1660. For a look at all of today’s economic events, check out oureconomic calendar. Thisarticlewas originally posted on FX Empire • NZD/USD Forex Technical Analysis – Confirmation of Closing Price Reversal Bottom Shifts Momentum to Upside • EUR/USD Daily Forecast – Test Of Resistance At 1.1720 • Natural Gas Price Fundamental Daily Forecast – Need to See More Short-Term Heat to Overcome $3.981 – $4.035 • Dogecoin Moves Higher As Bitcoin Tests New Highs • Crude Oil Price Update – Forming Closing Price Reversal Bottom with $63.32 Potential Intraday Breakout Level • Bitcoin Slams $50,000, First Time Since May \|\| Bitcoin Price Prediction – A Move Through to $47,000 Would Bring $50,000 into Play: After a bullish day for the crypto majors on Monday, it has been a mixed morning for Bitcoin and the broader crypto market. At the time of writing,Bitcoin, BTC to USD, was down by 2.09% to $45,313.0. A mixed start to the day saw Bitcoin rise to an early morning high $46,695.0 before hitting reverse. Falling well short of the first major resistance level at $47,550, Bitcoin fell to a late morning current day low $45,251.2. In spite of the reversal, Bitcoin avoided the day’s $45,170 pivot and steered well clear of the first major support level at $43,902. It has been a mixed morning for the broader crypto market. Ethereum(-1.04%),Litecoin(-1.84%), andRipple’s XRP(-0.58%) joined Bitcoin in the red. It was a bullish morning for the rest of the crypto majors, however. Through the morning,Cardano’s ADAwas up by 6.39% to lead the way. Bitcoin Cash SV(+1.27%),Crypto.com Coin(+1.42%), and Polkadot (+1.95%) also found strong support. Binance Coin(+0.36%) andChainlink(+0.71%) trailed the front runners, however. Through the early hours, the crypto total market rose to an early morning high $1,855bn before falling to a low $1,809bn. At the time of writing, the total market cap stood at $1,823bn. Bitcoin’s dominance rose to an early high 47.35% before falling to a low 46.77%. At the time of writing, Bitcoin’s dominance stood at 46.78%. Bitcoin would need to avoid a fall through $45,170 pivot to support another run at the first major resistance level $47,550. Support from the broader market would be needed, however, for Bitcoin to break out from this morning’s high $46,695.0. Barring an extended crypto rally through the afternoon, the first major resistance level would likely cap any upside In the event of an extended rally, however, Bitcoin should target the 23.6% FIB of $50,473 before any pullback. The second major resistance level sits at $48,818. A fall through the $45,170 pivot would bring the first major support level at $43,902 into play. Barring an extended sell-off on the day, Bitcoin should steer clear of sub-$44,000 levels. The second major support level sits at $41,522. Looking beyond the support and resistance levels, we saw the 50 EMA flatten through the morning, leading to a narrowing with the 100 EMA. We did see the 100 EMA pull away marginally from the 200 EMA, however. This limited the downside through the morning. A continued narrowing of the 50 EMA on the 100 and the 200 EMAs this afternoon would bring support levels into play. Avoiding the day’s pivot, however, would bring resistance levels back into play. The Bitcoin bulls will be eyeing a return to $50,000… Key going into the afternoon will be for Bitcoin to avoid a fall back through to sub-$45,000 levels. Thisarticlewas originally posted on FX Empire • Crude Oil Price Forecast – Crude Oil Markets Recover at Crucial Level • Walt Disney Accumulation Drops to 8-Month Low • GBP/JPY Price Forecast – British Pound Rallies in the Same Tight Range Against Yen • Silver Price Daily Forecast – Silver Slides As U.S. Dollar Moves Higher • Gold Price Forecast – Gold Markets Trying to Find Footing • Gold Price Prediction – Prices Continue to Face Headwinds \|\| Twitter testing new ‘soft block’ feature to remove followers without unfollowing them: Indian man poses for a photograph using Twitter on his cellphone in Siliguri (AFP via Getty Images) Twitter is testing a new feature that allows users to remove followers without unfollowing them with the aim to make it easier to manage the follower list. Currently, if a user blocks someone on Twitter it prevents them from viewing their profile and direct messaging them, revealing to the person that they have been blocked. Blocking an account automatically causes them to unfollow the user, and them to unfollow you. However, if this user visits the profile of an account that has blocked them, they can see that they have been blocked. Until now, to “soft block” someone – to have someone unfollow without their knowledge – users would manually block and unblock them. Even when doing this, they could visit a profile that had “soft blocked” them and learn that they had been unfollowed. They may even refollow and continue to see the tweets on the user’s timeline. In the new feature, being tested by the microblogging platform, users can remove a follower without blocking them. We're making it easier to be the curator of your own followers list. Now testing on web: remove a follower without blocking them. To remove a follower, go to your profile and click “Followers”, then click the three dot icon and select “Remove this follower”. pic.twitter.com/2Ig7Mp8Tnx — Twitter Support (@TwitterSupport) September 7, 2021 “To remove a follower, go to your profile and click ‘Followers’ then click the three-dot icon and select ‘Remove this follower,’” Twitter announced in a tweet. This makes it easier for users to block someone without their knowledge with a fewer number of steps. The new feature comes after last week’s announcement of the launch of a new “Safety Mode” on Twitter intended to keep people safe from seeing abusive posts. According to Twitter, this feature automatically blocks accounts that use potentially harmful language such as insults or hateful remarks, or engaging with tweets in repetitive or uninvited ways. Story continues Both the features are expected to roll out to a small number of people on the platform and could be made available to more users as Twitter learns about the user experience of the features. Read More Bitcoin price suddenly collapses ‘Bitcoin earthquake’ price prediction as El Salvador adopts crypto – follow live Crypto crash leaves investors unable to sell bitcoin as value plunges \|\| Framework to Regulate Crypto, Stablecoins Introduced in US Congress: Legislation to provide a “comprehensive legal framework” to regulate the digital asset market and possibly grant the federal government the ability to ban some stablecoins was introduced in the House of Representatives Wednesday. According to sponsor Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.), chairman of the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee, the existing digital asset market structure and regulatory framework are too “ambiguous and dangerous for investors and consumers.” Among its many provisions the measure would: Create statutory definitions for digital assets and digital asset securities and provide the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) with authority over digital asset securities and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) with authority over digital assets Require digital asset transactions that are not recorded on the publicly distributed ledger to be reported to a registered Digital Asset Trade Repository within 24 hours to minimize the potential for fraud and promote transparency Explicitly add digital assets and digital asset securities to the statutory definition of “monetary instruments,” under the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA), formalizing the regulatory requirements for digital assets and digital asset securities to comply with anti-money laundering, recordkeeping, and reporting requirements Provide the Federal Reserve with explicit authority to issue a digital version of the U.S. dollar, clarify that digital assets, digital asset securities and fiat-based stablecoins are not U.S. legal tender, and provide the U.S. Treasury Secretary with authority to permit or prohibit US dollar and other fiat-based stablecoins Direct the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), and Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC) to issue consumer advisories on “non coverage” of digital assets or digital asset securities to ensure that consumers are aware that they are not insured or protected in the same way as bank deposits or securities Story continues Related: The Senate Shoves a Dangerous, Last-Minute $28B Crypto Provision Into the Infrastructure Bill According to Beyer, there are an estimated 11,000-plus separate digital asset tokens in existence, with a market cap of over $1.5 trillion, and that 20 million to 46 million Americans currently own bitcoin and other digital assets. UPDATE (July 29 22:44 UTC): Adds details throughout. Related Stories Senate Banking Committee Bashes Bitcoin’s ‘Phony’ Populism State of Crypto: Congress Is Holding 3 Hearings Today, Here’s What to Expect Washington Should Let DeFi Succeed \|\| PayPal may offer a stock-trading platform in the US: PayPal is “exploring” the idea of allowing its users to trade individual stocks. Per CNBC , the company recently hired TradeKing co-founder Richard Hagen to head up a new unit at the company called Invest at PayPal. “Leading PayPal’s efforts to explore opportunities in the consumer investment business,” Hagan says of his new job on his LinkedIn profile . The outlet reports PayPal has also had discussions with potential brokerage partners. Moving into retail trading wouldn’t be out of character for PayPal. The company has spent much of the last year expanding into the cryptocurrency market. It all started last October when PayPal announced it would let US users buy, sell and hold Bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash and Litecoin. PayPal CEO Dan Schulman also recently told investors the company could partner with different financial institutions to expand the number of services it offers. He even mentioned “investment capabilities” as one possibility. Either way, it’s a move that would make sense in the context of all the recent interest in retail trading that came out of the GameStop saga . A PayPal spokesperson declined to comment on the report. Should PayPal decide to offer stock trading, it may take some time before it’s available to US users. CNBC reports PayPal is unlikely to roll out the service this year. And if the company decides it wants to operate as its own brokerage firm, it would need approval from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). That’s a process that can take more than eight months. This article contains affilate links; if you click such a link and make a purchase, we may earn a commission. \|\| ECI Development, Community Build Announce 400-Key Sustainable Tourism Village in El Salvador: 40-Acre Village, Planned Near Bitcoin Beach, Will Offer Luxury Experiences Ambergris Caye, Belize --News Direct-- ECI Development ECI Development , a leading provider of responsibly developed properties in Central and South America, and The Community Build , a US-based non-profit that serves communities in El Salvador, today announced plans to develop a sustainable tourism village in El Salvador. The village will provide authentic tourist experiences that celebrate and conserve local heritage and culture and will grace the Pacific coast of El Salvador near the town of El Zonte, nicknamed “Bitcoin Beach,” known for its world-class surf beaches and Bitcoin economic ecosystem. The Community Build’s 40-acre property located near El Zante, and ECI Development’s village design, engineering, marketing, and construction, as well as property and rental management post-completion, will produce a tourism village that serves equally Salvadorians and North Americans. “There is currently a shortage of hotel rooms and homes for sale along the El Salvadorian coast. The residences we will develop will serve the Salvadorian and North American marketplace for both ownership and rentals,” said Michael Cobb, CEO of ECI Development. “Because of the central location along the best surf beaches in El Salvador, and the close proximity to the town of El Zonte, the property is perfect for the development of a sustainable eco-tourism village.” The eco-sustainable village will have 400-450 addresses with multiple price points and models for both rent and ownership, offering luxury condos, affordable condos, and tiny homes ranging from $150,000 to $1 million. El Salvador is the first country in the world to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender with a law that takes effect today, September 7. In light of this world first, ECI Development will offer property discounts when buyers use Bitcoin as opposed to fiat currency or financing. “We expect the tourism village to create sustainable jobs for young people in the city and surrounding area, helping boost the local economy and preventing migration to San Salvador, the capital and the country's most populous city,” said Mike Peterson, the founder and President of Missionsake , of which The Community Build is an initiative. “We also want to become the standard-bearer for Bitcoin transactions in real estate for this country and the world, ushering in a new level of comfort for the broader society to utilize Bitcoin in their daily lives.” Story continues About ECI Development ECI Development is a real estate development company that has been responsibly developing properties within communities in Nicaragua, Belize, Costa Rica, Panama, and Argentina for more than 20 years. Visit www.ecidevelopment.com for more information. About The Community Build The Community Build is a non-profit organization born in 2017 designed to help foster the growth and education of the youth in El Zonte, El Salvador. The Community Build is an initiative of Missionsake. Missionsake exists to help develop the spiritual, mental, physical, and relational health of the missionary community in El Salvador and also of the local communities in which they serve. Visit thecommunitybuild.com for more information. Contact Details Razor Sharp PR Ray Young +1 512-633-6855 [email protected] Company Website https://www.ecidevelopment.com/ View source version on newsdirect.com: https://newsdirect.com/news/eci-development-community-build-announce-400-key-sustainable-tourism-village-in-el-salvador-854946907 [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] None available.	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 42716.59, 43208.54, 42235.73, 41034.54, 41564.36, 43790.89, 48116.94, 47711.49, 48199.95, 49112.90
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2019-01-11] BTC Price: 3687.37, BTC RSI: 43.21 Gold Price: 1287.10, Gold RSI: 65.20 Oil Price: 51.59, Oil RSI: 54.92 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Bitcoin Analysis: Falling Wedge Indicates Interim Breakout Scenario: Bitcoin on Tuesday extended its downward momentum, dropping 0.67-percent against the US Dollar. TheBTC/USD trading pairopened the Asian trading session at 6288-fiat and attempted an upside correction to as high as 6309-fiat. The selling pressure around the 6309-level resumed the downtrend. As a result, the pair kept forming red candles for the rest of the Asian and European trading session. It is now trading at 6294-fiat. The macroeconomic view of the US Dollar posted bullish sentiment for the currency. But it is not looking the same today. The greenback is poised to post losses before the market closes as European currencies rebound. The ICE dollar index was noted to be down 0.1 percent as the market opened today. A weaker dollar on an intraday basis can reinject the BTC/USD market with some upside sentiments. The pair is already forming a falling wedge pattern, indicated by the two unparallel black lines in the chart above. The consecutive swing highs and lows coupled with decreasing volume traditionally mark preparation of abreakoutaction. That said, BTC/USD should attempt to knock out the upper trendline of the falling wedge pattern and rally towards 6500-fiat as its primary upside target. The RSI and the Stoch are also signaling an upside movement in BTC/USD price action. Both the indicators are inside their respective selling regions and are eyeing a pullback. In the chart above, a rising red trendline is capping the downside action for now. Our intraday strategy is keeping our eyes glued on the range, anyway. Today, we have 6374-fiat acting as our interim resistance and 6271-fiat as interim support. It is a pretty broad range to apply the intrarange strategy. That means entering a long on a bounce back from support and a short on a pullback from resistance while maintaining a stop loss order in the opposite direction of the price action. Looking from the breakout perspective, the price should break above 6374-fiat to enable our long position towards 6406-fiat. If we go ahead with this trade, then we’ll put our stop-loss order just 3-pips below the entry position. Similarly, in the event of a breakdown action, a break below 6271-fiat will have us go short towards 6203-fiat. Trade safely! Featured Image from Shutterstock. Charts fromTradingView. The postBitcoin Analysis: Falling Wedge Indicates Interim Breakout Scenarioappeared first onCCN. \|\| Singapores First Legal Trial Over Bitcoin Trading Disputes Began Today: Singapore first cryptocurrency trial Quoine B2C2 Singapores first cryptocurrency trial over questionable trading practices began today as the market maker and liquidity provider B2C2 sues cryptocurrency exchange Quoine. The charge? B2C2 maintains that Quoine wrongfully reversed seven trades in April 2017 that lead to proceeds being deducted without B2C2s authorization. In the case unraveling in the Singapore International Commercial Court, B2C2 claims that the action taken by the exchange violated the two companies agreement terms, and the market maker seeks to recover some 3,085 bitcoins from Quoine. Although none was given, in todays dollar price that translates into roughly $13 million. According to Singapores Straits Times , in their opening statement, B2C2s legal team alleged that Quoine had abused its role as the operator of the platform and that it had acted in breach of trust as B2C2s custodian. While bitcoin prices have since been on a roller coaster ride reaching a meteoric peak of $19,783.21 on December 17 and crashing back down to around $4,500 today, in March of 2017, prices were hovering around the $1,200 mark. This further demonstrates the complexity of the case since the value of the bitcoins in question is significantly higher today than it was at the time of the trade reversal. B2C2 opened up the case arguing that: It is B2C2s contention that in the face of serious risk of itself having to bear the financial loss arising from the trades Quoine chose the most advantageous course to mitigate such risk by simply reversing the irreversible trades and deducting the proceeds from the account Quoine Defended Its Actions Quoine defended the reversal move primarily as a programming glitch prior to the trades that caused the platforms inability to access accurate market price data on the cryptocurrencies in question, bitcoin, and ethereum. They maintain that because of the fault, the platform stopped creating or placing new orders, and this affected those of B2C2. Story continues They then went on to add that the orders placed by B2C2 were abnormal and involved absurdly high prices, stating that: They were about 250 times higher than the average price at which [the two currencies] then traded on the platform. It emerged that B2C2 placed seven orders at an extremely inflated rate on April 19 of last year to sell ethereum for bitcoinfor 10 bitcoins for one ethereum. However unusual as these orders were, the market maker B2C2 upholds that the exchange was not within its rights to reverse them since the trades were meant to be irreversible. Violation of Terms and Conditions B2C2 also maintains that Quoine had nothing in their trading terms and conditions that could allow the exchange to carry out such a maneuver. However, Quoine points to its risk disclosure statement that gives it the right to cancel any transaction that took effect based on an aberrant value. The plaintiff also states that Quoine is in violation of its custodian agreement with the company and could not deduct or withdraw virtual currency balances without authorization. B2C2 founder Maxime Boonen took the stand today and was questioned over whether a market maker like his company should play a responsible role in keeping prices orderly on the exchange, to which he replied that he had no influence over prices, and could not decide what they should be. Quoines lawyer further revealed that Mr. Boonen would have agreed to corrective trades if any trades place were deemed to be erroneous. This argument was based on the founding that BC2C trades under such clauses with other exchanges. Mr. Boonen replied that while his company may have such an understanding with other exchanges, this is not the case with Quoine and that he would not have agreed to such conditions. Next week, Quoine CTO Antonio Gomez Lozada will take the stand and the trial is expected to reach a conclusion. Whichever way the hammer falls, it marks a historic case for Singapore and its High Court and will surely set a precedent for further such cases to come. Featured image from Shutterstock. The post Singapores First Legal Trial Over Bitcoin Trading Disputes Began Today appeared first on CCN . \|\| Bitcoin – Bears in Control as the Year Comes to an End: Bitcoin gained 2.14% on Sunday, partially reversing a 3.54% fall on Saturday, to end the day at $3,977.3. A bullish start to the week failed to deliver another cryptomarket rally off the back of the previous week’s 23.4% gain, with Bitcoin ending the week down 2.34% and of greater significance, back at sub-$4,000 levels. Following a late in the day sell-off on Saturday, Bitcoin fell to a start of a day intraday low $3,838.9, holding above the day’s first major support level at $3,802.3 before finding support. There were no fireworks through the day, with Bitcoin only managing a move through to a mid-day intraday high $4,003.8 before easing back, with sub-$3,900 support holding Bitcoin back from a slide back to $3,800 levels. The moves through the day saw Bitcoin come within range of the first major resistance level at $4,042.70 and the first major support level at $3,802.3. For the Bitcoin bulls a run at $5,000 levels was needed before the year was out to shift the negative sentiment that has plagued Bitcoin and the broader market since the return of crypto volatility in late October. Failing to hold onto $4,000 levels in the week will continue to raise doubts over whether Bitcoin has bottomed out or is about to get hit by another sell-off that would deliver the widely predicted sub-$3,000 floor. The bearish sentiment has seen Ethereum close the market cap gap on Ripple’s XRP, with Ethereum looking ripe to retake the 2ndspot, though much will depend on the Token Taxonomy Act, a recovery in the ICO market only a good thing for Ethereum that has struggled over the year. Get Into Cryptocurrency Trading Today At the time of writing, Bitcoin was down 1.75% to $3,907.9, with moves through the early morning seeing Bitcoin slide from a start of a day morning high $3,986.9 to an early morning low $3,873.4, Bitcoin calling on support at the first major support level at $3,876.2, whilst falling short of $4,000 levels and the first major resistance level at $4,041.1. For the day ahead, a hold onto $3,900 levels through the morning would support a move through the morning high to bring $4,000 levels and the first major resistance level at $4,041.1 into play, with sentiment across the broader market to play a hand in how Bitcoin closes out the day. Early moves and a failure at the start of the day for Bitcoin to break through to $4,000 levels will likely weigh through the morning. Failure to hold onto $3,900 levels through the morning could see Bitcoin slide back through the morning low $3,873.4 to bring $3,700 levels and the second major support level at $3,775.1 into play before any recovery. The way the year is coming to a close, it could be a tough start to 2019 and if there’s no good news from regulators, it may be more than just a tough January. Thisarticlewas originally posted on FX Empire • Bitcoin – Bears in Control as the Year Comes to an End • China’s Manufacturing PMI the Weakest Since 2016 • Crude Oil Price Update – Needs to Clear Weekly Fibonacci Level at $50.03 to Generate Upside Momentum • E-mini S&P 500 Index (ES) Futures Technical Analysis – Weekly Reversal Bottom Confirmed on Trade Through 2523.00 • AUD/USD Forex Technical Analysis – When Sellers Return, Weekly Target Will Be .6826 • Commodities Daily Forecast – December 31, 2018 \|\| Bitcoin market cap falls below $100 billion for first time since October 2017: • As of Thursday afternoon in Asia, the market cap of Bitcoin was at $98,194,458,586. • The entire cryptocurrency market capitalization dropped by $15 billion over 24 hours Wednesday, according to CoinMarketCap.com. Amid a sell-off in the cryptocurrency markets that began Wednesday, Bitcoin's market capitalization fell below the $100 billion mark on Thursday — a level not seen since October 2017. As of 3:26 p.m. HK/SIN (2:26 a.m. ET Thursday), the market cap of Bitcoin stood at $98,194,458,586, according to Coinmarketcap.com. That move came after a major sell-off in the cryptocurrency markets on Wednesday, which continued into Thursday in Asia. BKCM founder and CEO Brian Kelly told CNBC's "Fast Money" on Wednesday that the sharp downturn had to do with bitcoin cash , which splintered off in August 2017 from regular bitcoin with the goal of being able to process more transactions. Bitcoin cash is doing a "hard fork" or "effectively a software upgrade," the cryptocurrency fund manager said . "When you do a software upgrade, everybody usually agrees. But in this particular case, everybody is not agreeing." As of 3:29 p.m. HK/SIN (2:29 a.m. ET Thursday), Bitcoin stood at $5,564.70, according to Coindesk. Bitcoin had been trading comfortably around the $6,400 range for the majority of the fall, in stark contrast to the volatility it experienced the rest of the year. Battle for second spot Meanwhile, the market capitalizations of Ripple's XRP and Ether jostled as the second-biggest among digital currencies. It is likely only the second time the two cryptocurrencies have traded near the same level, although it is difficult to state with precision the historical market capitalizations of most digital coins. As of 3:30 p.m. HK/SIN Thursday (2:30 a.m. ET), XRP's market cap was at $18,722,821,459, compared with Ether's $18,560,372,901, according to data from Coinmarketcap.com. Data from Coindesk also showed XRP having a higher market cap of $18.44 billion, versus Ether's $18.26 billion. One possible reason behind the recent move was due to the perception that Ripple, the company behind XRP, has "made a lot of progress," Zennon Kapron, director at financial technology consultancy Kapronasia, told CNBC over the phone. To illustrate his point, Kapron pointed to the recent announcement of Ripple's partnership with Malaysia-based CIMB Group CIMB-MY . As Ripple has generally gotten more traction and "a lot of people are very bullish on XRP," Kapron said. However, he added the caveat that not all of Ripple's products are XRP-based. The aggregate cryptocurrency market capitalization dropped by $15 billion over 24 hours Wednesday, according to CoinMarketCap.com. As of 3:46 p.m. HK/SIN (2:46 a.m. ET Thursday), the total cryptocurrency market capitalization was at $186,275,052,509, according to Coinmarketcap.com — down more than 76 percent from its highs earlier in 2018. — CNBC's Arjun Kharpal, Kate Rooney and Tyler Clifford contributed to this report. More From CNBC • Top News and Analysis • Latest News Video • Personal Finance \|\| Bitcoin Can the Bulls Make it 3 in a Row?: Bitcoin gained 3.89% on Sunday, following on from a 1.33% rise on Saturday, to end the day at $3,642.3. There was some respite for the Bitcoin bulls, with the weekend gains leaving Bitcoin down just 9.81% for the week, Monday through Sunday and, more importantly, see Bitcoin avoid sub-$3,000 levels that would certainly have shaken up cryptocurrency investors across all the majors. It wasnt plane sailing through the day, with a range bound morning seeing Bitcoin ease back to a late morning intraday low $3,465.4 before finding support. Steering clear of the days first major support level at $3,281.37, Bitcoin rallied to a late afternoon intraday high $3,789, coming up against the first major resistance level at $3,765.37 to ease back to $3,600 levels by the days end. Sundays gains, which were also seen across the broader market, came in spite of a lack of a news event, with price action and some bullish talk drawing in side lined investors on the hope that Bitcoins hold onto $3,000 levels earlier in the week was the final bearish test before a rebound. With Bitcoins dominance sitting at 55.1%, following lighter losses from the previous week, relative to the broader market, a fall back to sub-54% levels would be needed to signal a 2 nd half of the month rebound, though with the rest of the majors struggling, Bitcoin may well need to be the barometer for the broader market near-term. A steadying in Bitcoin and the start of an upward trend would be needed to restore some confidence in the cryptomarket though there is still the one elephant in the room that being the ongoing U.S DoJ departments investigation into last years Bitcoin rally. The good news is that investors can put aside concerns over the SEC decision on the Bitcoin ETF applications until February and, while many will have banked on a Bitcoin ETF to provide the necessary support to a Bitcoin and cryptomarket rebound, Bitcoin did make it to just shy of $20,000 without the help of the ETFs almost a year ago. Story continues Get Into Cryptocurrency Trading Today At the time of writing, Bitcoin was up just 0.01% to $3,642.6, with moves through the early part of the morning seeing Bitcoin rise to an early morning low $3,709.7 before easing to a morning low $3,611. While the mornings moves left the major support and resistance levels untested, key through the morning will be for Bitcoin to hold onto $3,600 levels and more importantly avoid a pullback to the morning low $3,611. Bearish sentiment across the broader market could see investors hit the sell-button to hold onto the weekends gains, fear of another meltdown every present for those dipping their toes back into Bitcoin and the cryptomarket in general. For the Bitcoin bears, a pullback to sub-$3,600 levels to bring the first major support level at $3,475.47 into play would be needed to raise the prospects of a pullback through Fridays new swing lo $3,277.6 to bring sub-$3,000 levels into play in the week ahead. The cryptomarket is not out of the woods just yet {alt} This article was originally posted on FX Empire More From FXEMPIRE: DAX Index Daily Price Forecast DAX To Trade Dovish On Cues From Asian Counterpart GBP/USD Price Forecast GBP/USD Range Bound Ahead of Key Parliamentary Brexit Vote Crude Oil Price Update Overcoming $54.82 Could Trigger Acceleration to Upside Stellars Lumen Technical Analysis Support Levels Eyed 10/12/18 AUD/USD and NZD/USD Fundamental Weekly Forecast Traders Focusing On US-China Trade Relations Its a Back Foot Dollar as Sentiment towards FED Policy Shifts \|\| Korea’s Largest Internet Firm Kakao Is Running a Crypto ICO That Is Not Subject to SEC Scrutiny: Kakao, South Korea’s largest internet conglomerate that operates applications and have nearly a90 percentdominance in their respective markets, is running an Initial Coin Offering(ICO)to raise funds for itsblockchainproject called Clay. In March,Kakaoreleasedits initial attempt to conduct a token sale by establishing an entity inSwitzerland. But, withresistancefrom the Financial Services Commission (FSC), the corporation was not able to pursue its plans. With no changes made to the regulatory framework regarding ICOs in South Korea, how has Kakao been able to raise funds to create a blockchain project? On Nov. 19, The Hankyoreh — a business-focused mainstream media outlet inSouth Korea— exclusivelyreportedthat Kakao is planning to raise around $300 million to develop its own token. A source told the local publication that the majority of the funds have already been secured by Ground X, a subsidiary of Kakao that focuses on blockchain operations. The source added that a Chinese venture capital firm is said to be involved in thetokensale. “The target amount is $300 million and Kakao is very close to securing its target. AChina-based venture capital executive held a meeting with Ground X in September and, even at the time, Ground X was planning to raise $300 million.” As a private sale, only registered, accredited and approved institutional investors are allowed to invest in the token sale of Kakao. Considering that all of Kakao’s meetings with accredited investors were held confidentially — without any information provided to the media, unlike theTelegram ICO in May— the company planned a rigorous path to raise funds in a way that does not violate regulations inJapan,South Koreaand even theUnited States. On Nov. 27, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission(SEC)Chairman Jay Claytonsaidthat the vast majority of ICOs that are presently in the global cryptocurrency market are considered securities under existing U.S. laws and emphasized that if companies plan to raise funds through a token sale, firms either need to register with the SEC or conduct a private sale. "We don't believeBitcoinis a security. Many of the ICOs that you see and you talk about, they are securities. And if you're going to offer or sell securities, you have to do so in compliance with our laws. We've been clear about that, the recent actions further emphasized that our securities laws apply to the ICO space. And if people are going to raise money using Initial Coin Offerings, they either have to do so in private placement or register with the SEC.” Companies prefer not to conduct private token sales unless they are absolutely certain that the product they offer will attract large investors, because a private sale is just as difficult and complex in a legal point of view as raisingventure capitalfunding. It can be argued, given the involvement of local financial authorities — and possibly the SEC — that conducting a private token sale is more resource-intensive than a traditional venture capital funding round. For a company in the size of Kakao, it was of the utmost importance to be compliant with both local and international regulations, rather than completing the target amount of funding. This naturally led the conglomerate to conduct a private sale over a public sale, which could have been more lucrative. Ground X is based inTokyo,Japan, and the decision to legally establish its blockchain initiative in Japan instead of South Korea by Kakao was likely a strategic move to circumvent various regulatory hurdles pertaining to cryptocurrencies that still exist in the country. Throughout the past three months, South Korea has seen significant progress in cryptocurrency regulation. The governmentofficially providedcommercial banks permission to freely work with cryptocurrency exchanges and provide virtual bank accounts to digital asset businesses. Blockchain technology has also beenrecognized as one of the core pillarsof the Fourth Industrial Revolution, alongside big data and artificial intelligence(AI), and the government has established initiatives to bring young talent into the blockchain sector. However, the stance of the government toward ICOs still remains uncertain and while local financial authorities were expected to provide an official announcement regarding the regulatory state of domestic ICOs by the end of November, given the time frame, the government is expected to delay the announcement once again. Whether the ICO conducted by Kakao is a private sale or a public sale, because policies in South Korea remain undetermined, the firm cannot risk being in conflict with local regulations by prematurely conducting a private sale with institutional investors. In December 2017, Chosun — another business-focused mainstream media outlet in South Korea —reportedthat the government was considering the possibility of allowing institutional investors to participate in private token sales. However, 11 months have passed and the government is yet to make a decision on the matter. Legally, Kakao needed to conduct its private sale in Japan with an entity based in Japan. But, the implications of its blockchain initiative on its relationship with the Financial Services Commission (FSC) remain in question. In July, Choi Jong-ku — the chairman of the FSC, South Korea’s main financial watchdog —disapprovedof Kakao’s initial plans to run a public ICO and opposed the idea of Kakao completing a token sale in overseas markets. Commissioner Choi said,warning Kakao: “Even if there is no prohibition on cryptocurrency or digital asset trading, there is a possibility that it [Kakao ICO] may be regarded as fraud or multi-level sales according to the issuance method. Since the risk is very high in terms of investor protection, the government has a negative stance on the ICO.” Speaking to Hankyoreh, a Kakao representativesaidthat while the fundraising could be considered as a private sale, the company does not consider it as one: “Kakao has been securing strategic partners to help improve and grow the global blockchain ecosystem by obtaining new capital. It could be recognized as a private sale, but it’s not open to individual investors and is participated by institutions that are partnering with Kakao. Currently, it is not possible to finalize exact numbers regarding the funding round, and the company is not in the position to openly share which companies are involved in the initiative. Kakao needs to communicate with its partner companies first.” On Nov. 27, Nikkei — a mainstream publication in Japan —reportedthat the Financial Services Agency(FSA)held a meeting on the Nov.26 to discuss the state of ICO regulation in the country. During the meeting, the FSA and other local financial authorities discussed policies surrounding cryptocurrency exchanges and the possibility of allowing accredited investors access to domestic ICOs. According tolocal reports, the FSA still restrict public token sales. The token sale conducted by Kakao and Ground X falls under the newly created category by the FSA as a private sale aimed at institutional investors. Legally, the token sale of Clay is fully compliant with the regulations ofJapan,South Korea, theU.S.and every other major market. Japan and the U.S. both allow private token sales if approved by local authorities, and South Korea enables both corporations and investors to invest in foreign ICOs. The cryptocurrency market of South Korea has been able to demonstrate signs of improvement in terms of infrastructure and regulation. Most recently, Upbit — the country’s largest cryptocurrency exchange based on daily trading volume provided byCoinMarketCap— successfully obtained an information security management system (ISMS) license from the Korea Internet and Security Agency (KISA) after passing an evaluation phase conducted by the government agency using a criteria with over 253 subsections. Lee Seok-wu, the CEO of Dunamu — a company invested in by Kakao and the parent company of Upbit —said: “Since early 2018, Upbit has been working tirelessly to improve the platform’s internal management system and security measures to obtain the ISMS license. With top class security experts and tested security systems, the company will continue to create a safe trading environment and protect the data of its investors.” The local cryptocurrency and blockchain space has seen progress, but multi-billion dollar companies like Kakao are leaving South Korea to establish blockchain initiatives that well surpass the $100 million mark — which, inSilicon Valley, is acknowledged as a mega round. In October, Min Byung-doo — the chairman of Korea's National Policy Committee —warnedthe government about an inevitable scenario in which companies move out of the country to kickstart operations that could be worth billions of dollars in the long term. Referencing the $4 billion ICO of Block.one andEOS, chairman Min heavily emphasized that the government could no longer dismiss ICOs, given the positive impact token sales could have on the economy of South Korea. “The government cannot dismiss ICOs. It needs to allow companies to conduct an ICO. [ICOs have] become a new trend in the global market, and it is the responsibility and ability of the government to embrace new technologies. We can see that the flow of investment is clearly changing compared to ICOs and angel fundraising. The ICO has raised $1.7 billion for Telegram and $4 billion for block.one. It is getting bigger and bigger.” Line, a direct competitor to Kakao as the dominant messaging application based in Japan, has alsorecently releaseda new token called LINK. The cryptocurrency and blockchain initiatives of Kakao and Line are structurally very similar. Both companies finance cryptocurrency exchanges — with Kakao’s Dunamu operating Upbit and Line directly overseeing the operations of BitBox. The two firms have also created their own unique cryptocurrencies to support their long-term vision in blockchain development. The Japanese government’s forward-thinking approach toward regulating the cryptocurrency market has led two internet conglomerates from South Korea (Line is owned by Naver, the largest search engine in South Korea) to develop and release their own tokens in Japan, with funding from domestic and international companies. Kakao’s Clay issaidto have raised $300 million, and the market valuation of Link remains uncertain. However, the two cryptocurrencies have the potential worth billions of dollars collectively in the long run, purely based on the amount of funding the two projects have raised. Line’s Link, for instance, can be used at 94,000 locations in Japan when converted to Line points on the BitBox exchange, demonstrating a level of merchant adoption which most major cryptocurrencies are still yet to see. “In addition to using LINK Points for other DApp services in the LINK Ecosystem, residents in Japan can exchange LINK Points with LINE Points before converting them into JPY at par to make payments at over 94 thousand locations across Japan with LINE Pay, or make purchases in various LINE services,” the Line teamexplained. The scenario which Korea's National Policy Committee chairman Min Byung-doo feared in October has come to realization faster than expected. Kakao’s abrupt private token sale could potentially lead to the government of South Korea speeding up the process of regulating the local ICO market to facilitate the growth of the local cryptocurrency sector. • Japan’s Financial Regulator to Introduce New ICO Regulations • US Court Dismisses SEC’s Claims That Blockvest Sold Unregistered Securities • South Korea: Financial Watchdog Warns Two Banks Over Poor Crypto Transaction Management • Japanese Government to Prevent Crypto Tax Evasion With New Reporting System, Sources Say \|\| Newsflash: Bitcoin Cash Price Careens Below $390 as Hard Fork Approaches: The bitcoin cash price crashed below the $400 level on Thursday, less than two hours before the fourth-largest cryptocurrency’s network is expected to splinter into competing versions following a contentious hard fork. The crypto market had already beenbatteredover the previous 48 hours, with every major cryptocurrency posting losses in excess of 10 percent and the combined value of all cryptocurrenciesslinking below the $200 billion markfor the first time in November. Bitcoin cash had been among this week’s worst performers, as it rapidlyshed the gainsit had made last week in advance of today’s hard fork. The BCH carnage ramped up even further on Thursday around 14:40 UTC, as a wall of sell pressure forced thebitcoin cash pricebelow support at $400, taking the coin to a new yearly low of $382 as of the time of writing. The sell-off occurred just two hours before today’shard fork, which is expected to introduce even further volatility into BCH as multiple cryptocurrency networks compete for the “bitcoin cash” moniker and ticker symbol. Stay tuned for CCN’s continuing coverage of today’s BCH hard fork. Featured Image from Shutterstock. Charts fromTradingView. The postNewsflash: Bitcoin Cash Price Careens Below $390 as Hard Fork Approachesappeared first onCCN. \|\| Bitcoin Cash ABC, Litecoin and Ripple Daily Analysis 23/12/18: Bitcoin Cash ABC Sees Red Bitcoin Cash ABC gained 1.76% on Saturday, reversing a 0.62% fall from Friday, to end the day at $195.96. A bullish start to the day saw Bitcoin Cash ABC rally to an intraday high $205.46 before hitting reverse, with a slide through to an early afternoon intraday low $180, the moves through the day leaving the major support and resistance levels untested. The days gain was the 5 th of the week, with Bitcoin Cash ABC reaffirming its near-term bullish trend formed at 15 th Decembers swing lo $73.53. At the time of writing, Bitcoin Cash ABC was down 1.5% to $193.02, with Bitcoin Cash ABC falling from a start of a day morning high $196.33 to a morning low $186.4 before steadying, the major support and resistance levels left untested early on. For the day ahead, a move back through to $194 levels would support a run at $200 levels to bring the first major resistance level at $207.61 into play before any pullback, more material gains unlikely on the day, with Saturdays high $205.46 likely to pin Bitcoin Cash ABC back from a breakout to $210 levels. Failure to move through to $194 levels could see Bitcoin Cash ABC pullback deeper into the red, with a fall through the morning low $186.4 bringing the first major support level at $182.15 into play before recovering, sub-$180 levels unlikely to be in play barring a crypto meltdown later in the day. {alt} Litecoin on the Bounce Litecoin rallied by 4.6% on Saturday, reversing most of Fridays 6.65% slide, to end the day at $31.59. A bearish start to the day saw Litecoin fall to a mid-morning intraday low $29.73, holding above the days first major support level at $28.86, before bouncing back to a late in the day intraday high $31.6. The days high came up well short of the first major resistance level at $32.3, with the extended bearish trend, formed at late Aprils swing hi $182.35 firmly intact, Litecoin continuing to fall well short of the 23.6% FIB of $60. Story continues At the time of writing, Litecoin was up 3.07% to $32.56, a bullish start to the day seeing Litecoin rally from a start of a day morning low $31.43 to a morning high $32.76, breaking through the first major resistance level at $32.22 to come within range of the second major resistance level at $32.84, before easing back. For the day ahead, a hold above the first major resistance level through the morning would support another run at the second major resistance level at $32.84 to bring $33 levels into play before any pullback, the third major resistance level at $34.71 unlikely to be in play through the day. Failure to hold above the first major resistance level at $32.22 could see Litecoin pullback through the morning low $31.43 to bring $30 levels and the first major support level at $30.35 into play before any recovery, sub-$30 support levels unlikely to be tested on the day. {alt} Ripple Finds Support Ripples XRP rose by 1.75% on Saturday, partially reversing a 5.46% slide on Friday, to end the day at $0.37303. An early morning fall to an intraday low $0.35534 was the only bearish move of the day, Ripples XRP holding above the first major support level at $0.3515 before finding support from the broader market. A late in the day intraday high $0.37964 came up well short of the first major resistance level at $0.3902, with Ripples XRP falling short of $0.40 levels for a 2 nd consecutive day, in spite of 4 days in the green for the current week. At the time of writing, Ripples XRP was up 1.57% to $0.37887, moves through the early morning seeing Ripples XRP rise from a start of a day morning low $0.37056 to a morning high $0.38358 before easing back, Ripples XRP coming up against the first major resistance level at $0.3833 early in the day. For the day ahead, a move back through the first major resistance level at $0.3833 would bring $0.39 levels and the second major resistance level at $0.3936 into play before any pullback, a major crypto rally needed for Ripples XRP to strike $0.40 levels on the day. Failure to move back through the first major resistance level could see Ripples XRP hit reverse later in the day, with a pullback through the morning low $0.37056 bringing $0.36 levels and the days first major support level at $0.3590 into play before any recovery, heavier losses unlikely on the day, in the event of a reversal. {alt} Buy & Sell Cryptocurrency Instantly This article was originally posted on FX Empire More From FXEMPIRE: The Week Ahead Trump, the FED Chair and the Shutdown in Focus Bitcoin Fails to Make it 7 in a row to Join the U.S Equity Markets in the Red GBP/USD Weekly Price Forecast British pound continues to sink Bitcoin Cash ABC, Litecoin and Ripple Daily Analysis 23/12/18 Bitcoin The Bulls Eye $4,300 as the Next Price Target S&P 500 Weekly Price Forecast stock markets get hammered for the week \|\| Bitcoin And Ethereum Daily Price Forecast -Crypto Market To Trade Positive on News Driven Momentum: The Cryptoscape is seeing mixed picture today with Bitcoin, Ethereum & several other major coins trading in Green while the others traded in red. The first week of January 2019 was definitely positive for crypto market as both Bitcoin & Ethereum saw solid change in price action with bullish bias primarily ruling the price momentum. Having found a stable support at $3500 handle, bitcoin is now trying to reclaim solid ground above $4000 mark. Last week saw bitcoin climb as high as $3989 but the run proved to be another dead cat bounce as pair fell back to mid-$3000 handle. But the forefather of cryptocurrencies managed to close positive for the week as BTC/USD pair breached $4000 mark and hit an intra-day high of $4145.16 near end of day and opened for second week above $4100 mark post which Asian session saw consolidative price action. The bullish influence on Bitcoins price action received some support from news which hinted at Japanese finance regulator considering approval for Bitcoin ETF to be traded in Domestic market. Profit Booking Erased Most of Weekend Gains This will out it at odds with US Regulator Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) which has taken a risk averse standing on any finance instrument that deals with bitcoin and other crypto currencies. An approval by Japans regulatory authority Financial Services Agency (FSA) will greatly boost value of crypto currencies among institutional investors bringing in a fresh fund flow which could help Bitcoin reclaim $5000 mark with fundamental support. Crypto markets are also receiving positive support on news that UK based crypto currency exchange Coinfloor is offering future contract for Bitcoin, Ethereum & Bitcoin cash in name of CoinfloorEX/Coinflex. While there are already many crypto futures in market what makes this product truly special is the design to physically deliver actual crypto currency at delivery period instead of crediting cash in investors account. However gains from early trading session were erased as profit booking activity caused significant downward price move. Story continues As of writing this article, BTC/USD pair is trading at $4030.20 up by 5.14% on the day having recovered from intra-day lows of $3826.20 which suggests that news driven momentum provides fundamental support at $4000 handle atleast for near future. Meanwhile Ethereum remains the most profitable crypto currency in the market having reclaimed its place as second largest cryptocurrency in market. Similar to bitcoin, Ethereum also gained sharply over the weekend trying to reclaim weekly highs moving as high as $163.11 post which ETH/USD pair was on consolidative price action in upper half of $150 handle in early trading hours today. However profit booking activity saw the pair fall as low as $149.55 post which it recovered significantly and is trading at $152.61. ETH/USD pair is expected to remain volatile ahead of much awaited Constantinople hard fork however the ongoing bullish sentiment surrounding Ethereum is expected to remain firm even post network upgrade. This article was originally posted on FX Empire More From FXEMPIRE: USD/JPY Price Forecast US dollar pulls back to find support Gold Price Futures (GC) Technical Analysis January 7, 2019 Forecast Silver Price Forecast Silver markets roll over Crude Oil Price Update Strengthens Over $49.27, Weakens Under $48.57 Copy-trading: Pros and Cons of Automated Trading US/Sino Trade Talks Resume, EU Markets Remain Cautious, Futures Indicate A Flat Open For US Indices \|\| Poland ETFs Rebound, Shake Off Political Concerns: This article was originally published on ETFTrends.com. Poland country-specific exchange traded funds popped Wednesday, breaking above their short-term trend lines, as the country recovers from a corruption scandal and pushes through ongoing tensions between Russia and Ukraine. On Wednesday, the VanEck Vectors Poland ETF ( PLND ) gained 3.0% and iShares MSCI Poland Capped ETF ( EPOL ) rose 3.6%, both breaking above their short-term resistance at the 50-day simple moving average. Polish stocks climbed to a three-week high Wednesday as political risks subsided. Poland's equity markets retreated two weeks ago when the head of financial regulator KNF Marek Chrzanowski resigned over allegations made by Getin Noble Bank, Reuters reports. The anti-corruption agency CBA said it detained Chrzanowski, whom denies any wrongdoing. Chrzanowski stepped down after the Gazeta Wyborcza newspaper reported he had sought a multi-million dollar bribe from billionaire banker Leszek Czarnecki. Czarnecki alleged Chrzanowski offered favorable treatment for his banks in return. Concerns over a scandal that would drag down the banking system have since eased after the resignation. Polish equities received further support from legislation that reversed legal changes concerning the Supreme Court, which led to a dispute with the European Commission. Furthermore, Poland and other central European markets have been ruffled by the dispute between Russia and Ukraine over a naval incident, but some argued that the fallout was limited. Senior European politicians suggested new sanctions against Moscow, but some diplomatic sources warned that the divided European Union was unlikely to reach a consensus on the matter. “People mostly think that there will be no escalation which would lead to additional sanctions,” Noemi Holecz, chief analyst of Equilor Brokerage in Budapest, told Business Recorder . Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s comments on Wednesday were also closely monitored as expectations for fewer Fed rate hikes could make Central European assets more attractive. “What they have said so far (concerning interest rate prospects), have been mixed, but yes, the comments can have an impact,” one Budapest-based fixed income trader told Business Recorder. For more information on the Polish markets, visit our Poland category . POPULAR ARTICLES AND RESOURCES FROM ETFTRENDS.COM SPY ETF Quote VOO ETF Quote QQQ ETF Quote Top 34 Gold ETFs Top 34 Oil ETFs An Emerging Market ETF That Capitalizes on the Growing Middle-Class Consumer Consider Bitcoin Cash When Crypto Carnage Stops Apple Acquires AI Startup Silk Labs Holiday Shopping Could Top $1 Trillion This Year You’re (Possibly) Richer Than You Think READ MORE AT ETFTRENDS.COM > View comments [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] #LIZA #LAMBO price 11-19 01:00(GMT) $LIZA BTC :0.00000 ETH :0.00000 USD :0.0 RUR :0.0 JPY(btc) :0.0 JPY(eth) :0.0 $LAMBO BTC :0.005 ETH :0.160 USD :30.0 RUR :2138.7 JPY(btc) :3362.8 JPY(eth) :3168.0 \|\| I liked a @YouTube video http://youtu.be/Q18skeT3MDI?a NEW BITCOIN WALLET BUG? JavaScript NPM Explained November 2018 \|\| #cryptocurrency Price Analysis for #Bitsend #BSD : Last Hour Change : -0.94 % \|\| 14-12-2018 08:00 Price in #USD : 0.0637508218 \|\| Price in #EUR : 0.0561202309 New Price in #Bitcoin #BTC : 0.00001931 \|\| #Coin Rank 634 \|\| 1H 2018/12/20 08:00 (2018/12/20 07:00) LONG : 25417.31 BTC (+202.82 BTC) SHORT : 38108.28 BTC (+342.38 BTC) LS比 : 40% vs 59% (40% vs 59%) \|\| #LIZA #LAMBO price 12-24 23:00(GMT) $LIZA BTC :0.00000 ETH :0.00000 USD :0.0 RUR :0.0 JPY(btc) :0.0 JPY(eth) :0.0 $LAMBO BTC :0.001 ETH :0.001 USD :2.0 RUR :260.0 JPY(btc) :468.4 JPY(eth) :10.6 \|\| The Trade Of The Decade: Betting On Bitcoin https://www.forbes.com/sites/katinastefanova/2018/11/28/the-trade-of-the-decade-betting-on-bitcoin/ … \|\| Maybe these Cheerio’s buzzcoin will be a better investment than bitcoin. pic.twitter.com/BmN3wYdpDw \|\| Bitcoin - BTC Price: $4,300.30 Change in 1h: +0.13% Market cap: $74,780,139,103.00 Ranking: 1 #Bitcoin #BTC \|\| 1-BTC IOUs don't have bitcoin's permissionlessness 2-IOU's as money need a lender of last resort who can print, like fiat, or who confiscated a sixth of the world's supply, like gold. BTC has neither 3-BTC decentralization makes it far harder to confiscate & centralize than gold \|\| #Gigzi #crypto #blockchain #GZB #preciousmetal #stablecoin #ethereum #bitcoin #cryptocurrency #ICO #tokensalehttps://twitter.com/gigziofficial/status/1067752114313748480 …	Trend: down \|\| Prices: 3661.30, 3552.95, 3706.05, 3630.68, 3655.01, 3678.56, 3657.84, 3728.57, 3601.01, 3576.03
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2016-12-07] BTC Price: 768.13, BTC RSI: 62.31 Gold Price: 1175.00, Gold RSI: 31.65 Oil Price: 49.77, Oil RSI: 55.94 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] REPORT: Trump team's top pick for Treasury secretary is an ex-Goldman Sachs banker: Steven Mnuchin (AP/Evan Vucci) It looks as if President-elect Donald Trump's advisers have a clear top pick for Treasury secretary: ex-Goldman Sachs banker Steven Mnuchin, who served as the national finance chair on Trump's presidential campaign. That's according to Bloomberg's Saleha Mohsin, Kevin Cirilli, and Jennifer Jacobs , who report that Trump's transition team has recommended the banker. Mnuchin spent 17 years with Goldman Sachs. Mnuchin was chief information officer at The Goldman Sachs Group before leaving the firm in 2002. He also worked briefly for George Soros. Mnuchin was seen at Trump Tower on Monday, according to a pool report. When asked why he was there and whether he was interested in the position, he said: "I'm here just helping with the transition this week. A lot of work to do." Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein last week called Mnuchin a "highflier, a very nice guy," and a "smart, smart guy." "He was a very senior guy at a very young age at Goldman Sachs," Blankfein said in an interview with Andrew Ross Sorkin of The New York Times. Blankfein said Mnuchin reported to him when he ran the fixed-income division. "I follow his career, I know what he's done, but I haven’t really engaged with him that much," Blankfein said. "I'm sure he stayed just as smart as he was when he was at Goldman." Another potential candidate is JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon. CNBC last week reported that Dimon, a lifelong Democrat, was in the running for the position. NOW WATCH: Ex-Wells Fargo employees reveal how some bankers abused customers More From Business Insider Michael Bloomberg has a plan to shift the conversation on climate change Here's why Trump's win boosted Bitcoin Europe's Trump rally evaporated \|\| Blockchain could soon power stock markets, music sales, and even prevent child labor — here's how it works: bi graphics_future of blockchain (.) It's a technology conceived by the mysterious creator of bitcoin — the digital currency championed by a motley crew of privacy-obsessed libertarians, social activists, and some criminals. Bank of America (AP Photo) Now the idea of blockchain has gripped Wall Street's biggest institutions. Its enthusiasts think it could change the world. Sure, it would make contracts more enforceable and speed up the settlement of stock trades — hence the interest from big banks. But some see it going much further, cracking down on sex trafficking , music piracy, and child labor. And the key to all that — what attracts these different factions — is something that, on the surface at least, sounds rather banal: a digital ledger, like the one in your checkbook. "Blockchain is a truly extraordinary technology that does really mundane things," said Paul Brody, Ernst & Young's global blockchain leader. But for all the promise, these big questions remain: Who will foot the bill, and is it really as secure as supporters say? What is blockchain? In the non-blockchain world, we keep separate records of transactions. If you write your friend a check, you balance your own checkbook and your friend does the same when they deposit it. But things can go wrong. They might forget to update their checkbook ledger. And each bank has no way to know immediately if the person has enough in their bank account to cover it. checkbook, checks, writing a check (Flickr / oblivion9999) With a blockchain, instead of two separate checkbooks with two records of debits and credits, you'd both look at the same ledger of transactions. It's private (encrypted, in computer-speak), and decentralized, so neither of you controls the ledger. This "distributed ledger" operates on consensus. Both of you can look at the ledger. Each transaction gets put into a block. If you both say that block is valid and correct, it's added to a chain. And that chain is protected by sophisticated cryptography: No one can change the chain after the fact. Now imagine this in a more complex form. This is what gets people in finance and technology excited. Say you want to buy a stock. Right now, your bank, brokerage, the stock exchange, and the company you're buying all have separate, private records of transactions. They can't see each other's ledgers. Nor can they verify that everything is accurate among all involved. With blockchain, they can all be on the same page — literally. Your bank can verify that you have enough money to transfer to your brokerage. That transfer is added to the ledger of transactions that everyone involved can see. Then your broker executes a trade for 100 shares. That gets added to the blockchain, too. Everyone involved verifies it's legitimate. Story continues The exchange receives the order — also added and verified. And then the company's shares end up in your account. You could see the record of all the shares you buy and sell in the permanent record. If you decide to sell the shares later, that transaction gets added to the blockchain. And because it's a consensus model in which every party confirms a transaction, "it gets more secure the more people you add" to the blockchain, Brody said. "When a transaction is completed, everyone has to get a copy of the transaction." That's blockchain in its purest form. In reality, however, different companies are experimenting with different forms. A blockchain used in financial services could be private, or a hybrid model between the decentralized vision and a more traditional centralized model that bankers are used to. A regulator, for instance, could hold the key to a blockchain, and some companies are thinking about how to maintain a middleman. Mysterious beginnings No one knows who invented blockchain. The idea for it came from a paper published online eight years ago that unveiled bitcoin, the digital currency. The author, Satoshi Nakamoto, is thought to be using a pseudonym. The true identity remains a mystery, and there's debate over whether it was created by an individual or group. At first, bitcoin got all the attention. The idea of a secure, private currency, divorced from a specific government, captured the imaginations of technologists, libertarians, and people concerned about the power of big banks and government regulation. Bitcoin transactions occur peer-to-peer, meaning no government or third party is involved. Goldman Sachs recruiting video (Goldman SachsYouTube/Goldman Sachs) Today, bitcoin and blockchain still attract privacy-minded and antigovernment types. But it also increasingly appeals to people like Grainne McNamara. She spent years building out technology at banks like Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs. Now she's a leader of PricewaterhouseCooper's blockchain for financial services. And that means she spends a lot of time attending and hosting blockchain conferences. At one, a speaker showed a picture of a shed in his presentation. McNamara remembers him jokingly saying, "Take the bankers behind the shed and kill them." He didn't know his audience. McNamara was sitting next to former bankers, who found the whole thing humorous, she said. Despite the shed metaphor, "it's a peaceful cohabitation," McNamara told Business Insider. "People genuinely appreciate the disruptive element to spawn innovation." A contract with a brain One area blockchain proponents get excited about is the idea of a "smart contract." While most bank agreements are still paper documents — banks are awash in paper, even in 2016 — a smart contract is a computer program that helps keeps everyone accountable. video games (People play a video game on the stand of Acer at the IFA Electronics show in Berlin, Germany, Sept. 2, 2015.Reuters/Axel Schmidt) Let's say you're a company that designs and sells video game consoles. You work with suppliers and shipping companies, and have a number of serious concerns. You want to make sure they're manufactured well and on time. You want to make sure there are no labor violations, such as children working on the assembly line. And you want to make sure everyone gets paid on time. In the old way of doing things, numerous contracts might be involved to manufacture one video game console. And each side may have its own paper copies. Smart contracts provide automated accountability. bi graphics a smart contract (Samantha Lee / Business Insider) Because this is blockchain, everyone involved looks at the same contract; no one can change it without the permission of most others. Here's an example: When a truck picks up finished video game consoles from a factory in, say, China, the shipping company scans each box. Those are added to the blockchain, triggering a release of funds from the video game company's bank account. No one has to invoice and chase a payment. "You can marry up the delivery and payment of services," Brody said. It can go beyond getting paid, too. Each worker on the assembly line could scan their identification card, which is then verified by multiple sources such as government agencies and third-party auditors, ensuring the workers are not underage or overworked. And because it's a blockchain, no one can alter the record later. Some have discussed blockchain as a possible tool to help prevent sex trafficking and other scourges. And there are other uses for it that may become big parts of our lives. Healthcare bi graphics possible uses for blockchain (Samantha Lee / Business Insider) Smart contracts in healthcare could do things such as trigger an insurance payment to a doctor when a patient undergoes a CT scan. A blockchain could also be a secure place to store electronic medical records. It would detail all patient-doctor communication, illness and treatment information, vaccination records, medical bills etc. Every subsequent doctor visit or treatment would be added to the blockchain, including those in different cities and countries, creating a complete, historical record of the patient's health. In this case, the blockchain is private, and only certain participants would have the encryption keys to see the record. Music and media Musicians may wish there had been blockchain when Napster undermined music sales around the turn of the century through file-sharing. Music (Blockchain could prevent music piracyFlickr/Kelsey) Now some are thinking blockchain could prevent piracy and help boost sales. Artists could provide their music directly off a ledger, and smart contracts might ensure the right people are paid and only those with rights play the tracks. A similar model could help fund news outlets and other media organizations. Property records Some companies' whole job is tracking down property records. Blockchain could change that. If property deeds were on a blockchain, the other participants (known as "network nodes") that validate the transaction could be real-estate agents, financing banks, and a land registry authority. Once the transaction is validated, it is added to the blockchain, and the updated state of the blockchain is broadcast to the participants in real time. As the blockchain maintains the history of all transactions, the entire history of the property and its owners is on the blockchain. Trading and banking The Australian Securities Exchange — ASX — plans to decide by mid-2017 if it will replace its post-trade clearing and settlement system with a blockchain version . This could be a turning point for blockchain and potentially a catalyst for widespread adoption. Bank of England (Bank of EnglandJim Edwards) Central bankers are also getting in on the action. The Bank of England and the People's Bank of China are discussing issuing their national currencies — the pound and the renminbi, respectively — on blockchain. If successful, the technology would make the currencies more traceable, allowing the banks to track them through the financial system in real time. Right now, this use of blockchain is limited to discussion and research papers, but if implemented, other central banks are likely to follow suit. The US Federal Reserve is closely following developments as well, with Fed Gov. Lael Brainard in charge of keeping an eye on the new technology. It's also rumored that other items such as diamonds, art, and food could be put on blockchain so the entire history of the items could be traced. Buzz vs. reality There are over 120 blockchain projects spanning a variety of industries, and the annual budget for blockchain initiatives in 2016 is estimated to be $1 billion. In financial services, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, and Bank of America are among the big names that have partnered with R3, a startup trying to bring blockchain technology to the finance world. But if blockchain is going to work, it needs an industrywide standard. For the first bank to adopt this digital system and overhaul existing infrastructure, it could mean a risky and expensive investment, and that bank would have to hope others follow suit. No one wants to be the first to test that theory. That's why this is one of the few cutting-edge technologies that is generating a lot of talk but not a lot of action among banks. While they are dabbling in the technology, attending conferences and partnering with R3, no bank is taking the lead and going from proofs of concept to using it in the real world. "To get the true value, you need the network effect," said Graham Warner, head of global transaction banking product development in the Americas at Deutsche Bank. The more people and companies use blockchain, the more valuable the technology becomes. Other challenges For all its promise, some major impediments could prevent blockchain's widespread deployment, including regulation, cost, and security issues. Implementing and standardizing blockchain could cost in the billions of dollars, and it would mean an overhaul of legacy systems that people are used to and understand. Today's technology works, and replacing it with something unproven is seen as an expensive risk. Blockchain technology would also potentially mean a huge number of job losses, especially in middle- and back-office functions. Banks would have to get the remaining employees up to speed on the new technology, and using it would initially be a trial-and-error process. Security and privacy issues ethereum (Ethereum) In August, hackers stole $72 million worth of bitcoin from accounts at the Hong Kong cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex. And in June, hackers stole $55 million worth of ether, a bitcoin rival. The nonprofit that runs ether, Ethereum Foundation, just rolled back the chain. It's as if the hack never took place, and business returned to normal. But that worries purists. The Ethereum hack — and the response to it — led Accenture to create an "editable blockchain model," to "resolve human errors, accommodate legal and regulatory requirements, and address mischief and other issues," according to a news release . Blockchain enthusiasts say this threatens the very nature of the blockchain itself. One of the fundamental benefits of blockchain technology is its immutability — the blockchain represents a "golden record" of transactions, a complete, historical record that technically cannot be interfered with or undone. But there "isn't one blockchain to rule them all," Warner said. "It will be an evolutionary, Darwinian process" to figure out which version of the blockchain applies to which use case. What's next When McNamara learned about blockchain, she said she was "a little bit of a skeptic. But I've been proven wrong." The ecosystem is evolving, she said, and people involved, whether they're activists or bankers, are getting together and talking about "shared values and pain points." ASX Australia Stock Exchange Trader (ASXAP) While some big players like the ASX may be using some form of blockchain as early as next year, some issues are holding blockchain back. Different versions of blockchain are in development, and there's little agreement on what's the best or purest version to deploy. And dozens of startups are working on their own takes on blockchain. Innovation is happening, but all the competing ideas makes big companies cautious to commit to any one type. But most proponents think everything will be worked out in due time, and that in the next few years, blockchain and its smart contracts would improve our lives, even if it operates quietly in the background, invisible to most people. NOW WATCH: Ken Rogoff explains why he's been advocating to eliminate the $100 bill More From Business Insider Now is the worst time to buy a new computer John Kasich's dire warning for the Republican Party: EVOLVE OR DIE Amazon Prime members have access to one of the best smartphone deals out there right now View comments \|\| American Express is increasing its late fees: (BI Intelligence) This story was delivered to BI Intelligence "Payments Briefing" subscribers. To learn more and subscribe, pleaseclick here. American Express will be the first major credit card issuer to raise its late payment fees under the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s updated allowable limit, according to theWall Street Journal. At the start of 2017, Amex will begin charging a fee of up to $38 to customers with more than one late payment in a six month period. That's $1 more than what was previously charged by the card issuer, but could give the firm a solid revenue boost. Late fees could prove to be very lucrative in the current card market. • As credit card usage increases, it's likely the number of delinquent accounts will also grow. Credit card accounts and usage are close to pre-recession numbers once again,accordingto Forbes. That's leading to a big rise in usage — US credit card debt is on track to hit $1 trillion this year, according to theWall Street Journal. That could help explain the rise in delinquent accounts — since 2013, the percentage of accounts at least 90 days delinquent six months after origination has increased, according to Forbes. • Late fees could be a vital revenue source. Nearly one in five active credit-card accounts incur a late fee, according to CFPB data used by the Wall Street Journal. This is significant, considering credit card companies were able to collect roughly $10.8 billion in fees during 2015 from these late payments. And for Amex, that revenue could be critical as the issuer grapples with the loss of Costco.Based on 2015 numbers, if Amex is able to capture just 1% of the late fee market, that's roughly $100 million in revenue — a figure that could grow as the market expands following the updated allowable limit. Although this revenue could boost any card network, it could be particularly beneficial to Amex in light of the firm's sale of its Costco cobrand portfolio to Citigroup earlier this year. Costco had 11.6 million cardholders and accounted for 8% of the firm's $1 trillion global billed business in 2015. As the firm realizes the impact of the Costco sale, it is looking for additional sources of revenue. Finding a way to capitalize on growing card spend and delinquencies could be one such way among a variety of strategies. The CFPB's new guidelines could have a significant effect on the payments ecosystem, which has grown in the last several years to include merchants, issuers, acquirers, processors, and more. BI Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service, has compileda detailed report on the payments ecosystemthat drills into the industry to explain how a broad range of transactions are processed, including prepaid and store cards, as well as revealing which types of companies are in the best and worst position to capitalize on the latest industry trends. Here are some key takeaways from the report: • 2016 will be a watershed year for the payments industry. Payments companies are improving security, expanding their mobile offerings, and building commerce capabilities that will give consumers a more compelling reason to make purchases using digital devices. • Payments is an extremely complex industry. To understand the next big digital opportunity lies, it's critical to understand how the traditional credit- and debit-processing chain works and what roles acquirers, processors, issuing banks, card networks, independent sales organizations, gateways, and software and hardware providers play. • Alternative technologies could disrupt the processing ecosystem. Devices ranging from refrigerators to smartwatches now feature payment capabilities, which will spur changes in consumer payment behaviors. Likewise, blockchain technology, the protocol that underlies Bitcoin, could one day change how consumer card payments are verified. In full, the report: • Uncovers the key themes and trends affecting the payments industry in 2016 and beyond. • Gives a detailed description of the stakeholders involved in a payment transaction, along with hardware and software providers. • Offers diagrams and infographics explaining how card transactions are processed and which players are involved in each step. • Provides charts on our latest forecasts, key company growth, survey results, and more. • Analyzes the alternative technologies, including blockchain, which could further disrupt the ecosystem. To get your copy of this invaluable guide, choose one of these options: 1. Subscribe to an ALL-ACCESS Membership with BI Intelligence and gain immediate access to this report AND over 100 other expertly researched deep-dive reports, subscriptions to all of our daily newsletters, and much more. >>START A MEMBERSHIP 2. Purchase the report and download it immediately from our research store. >>BUY THE REPORT The choice is yours. But however you decide to acquire this report, you’ve given yourself a powerful advantage in your understanding of the payments ecosystem. More From Business Insider • THE PAYMENTS INDUSTRY EXPLAINED: The Trends Creating New Winners And Losers In The Card-Processing Ecosystem • THE DIGITAL REMITTANCE REPORT: The new platforms disrupting a $600 billion industry • Credit cards are going the way of fax machines \|\| India's rupee restrictions are boosting demand for bitcoin: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's decision to withdraw 500 and 1000 rupee notes from circulation has sparked interest in bitcoin among India's consumers. Following last week's announcement thatthe notes were no longer legal tender, sales volumes for bitcoin increased on several exchanges for the digital currency, according to The Hindustan Times. The announcement by the Indian government was an attempt to crackdown on corruption and "black money", but following the movement, internet searches for the term "buy bitcoin" increased in popularity, according to Google Trends data. Other signs of increased interest include downloads of the smartphone app for bitcoin exchange Zebpay, which passed a threshold of 100,000 downloads. "Queries for bitcoins have gone up by 20 percent to 30 percent in the past couple of days," Zebpay's CEO, Saurabh Agrawal, told the Hindustan Times. As a result of the increased demand, the premium paid for rupee-denominated bitcoin has widened. One bitcoin on the Indian exchange Unocoin is worth 55,405 rupees, or $817.97, at the time of writing. Dollar-denominated bitcoin currently costs around $709. According to Charles Hayter, CEO and founder of Crypto Compare, the premium at the start of September was just $20, or around 3 percent. "Bitcoin is a sanctuary in emerging markets where knee jerk policy reactions are commonplace - India's move on high value bank notes is just the latest in a string of poorly communicated & executed judgments," he told CNBC via email. "Bitcoin was trading at a $20 dollar premium in India at the beginning of September and now is trading at a $70-100 premium to the USD rate." One reason for the increased demand may be due to Indians who are frustrated by the government's decision and are now looking for a way to store their wealth that is (theoretically) out of Dehli's reach. "The Indian rupee, like all other government currencies, is a fiat currency. It exists through the fiat - order - of the government," explained Jacob J, a writer for The CoinTelegraph. "As seen in the recent instance, its existence can also be terminated through an order from the government. With the passage of time, Bitcoin's superiority as a currency is becoming more and more apparent." India has been slow to start using digital currencies. The amount of bitcoin traded per day in India is a fraction of other countries, according to Linus Lindgren, strategic investor and advisor at BTCXIndia. "I would estimate the average traded volume in India to be around 500btc/day, which is less than 1 percent, maybe even 0.1 percent, of global volumes," he told CNBC via email. "We have certainly seen a larger interest than ever before in the last weeks, but in contrast to centralised systems, where money can be made worthless over night, a decentralised currency like bitcoin is opt-in, meaning that this revolution will come gradually as more and more people start seeing the benefits and switch." Follow CNBC International onTwitterandFacebook. \|\| First Bitcoin Capital Acquires Large Stake in One of the Oldest Mineable Cryptocoins Ranked High on Coin Market Cap; Also, Company’s Digital Shares Are Now Listed on Two International Cryptocurrency Exchanges: VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / November 30, 2016 /First Bitcoin Capital Corp. (BITCF) is pleased to announce that it has sold its Venezuela mining concessions for a large stake in the cryptocurrency of one of the oldest mineable coins that ranks high on Coin Market Cap. See:http://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/kilocoin/. Kilocoin which is similar to Litecoin primarily trades on a popular cryptocurrency exchange athttps://c-cex.com/?p=klc-btc A list of its nodes can be found viahttps://c-cex.com/?id=ws&shownodes=klc Kilocoin mining can be tracked athttps://www.blockexperts.com/klc# From its web site viahttp://kilocoin.com/their wallet can be downloaded. At its current rate of mining (159 coins per block) it should take centuries to reach the maximum of 25,000,000,000 mineable coins with a little over 10,000,000,000 coins mine thus far, giving BITCF nearly 10% participation. The Company anticipates that the KLC exchange will boost BITCF's balance sheet with tremendous upside potential and may become a source of future dividends. Differences from Bitcoin and Litecoin and Kilocoin [{"": "Coin limit", "Bitcoin": "21 Million", "Litecoin": "84 Million", "Kilocoin": "25 Billion"}, {"": "Algorithm", "Bitcoin": "SHA-256", "Litecoin": "Scrypt", "Kilocoin": "Scrypt"}, {"": "Mean block time", "Bitcoin": "10 minutes", "Litecoin": "2.5 minutes", "Kilocoin": "5 minutes"}, {"": "Difficulty Target", "Bitcoin": "2016 Block", "Litecoin": "2016 Blocks", "Kilocoin": "288 Blocks"}, {"": "Initial Reward", "Bitcoin": "50 BTC", "Litecoin": "50 LTC", "Kilocoin": "159 KLC"}, {"": "Current block reward", "Bitcoin": "25 BTC", "Litecoin": "50 LTC", "Kilocoin": "159 LTC"}, {"": "Block explorer", "Bitcoin": "blockchain.info", "Litecoin": "block-explorer.com", "Kilocoin": "https://www.blockexperts.com/klc#"}, {"": "Created by", "Bitcoin": "Satoshi Nakamoto", "Litecoin": "Charles Lee", "Kilocoin": "Kilocoin, Inc (DAC)"}, {"": "Creation date", "Bitcoin": "January 3, 2009", "Litecoin": "October 7, 2011", "Kilocoin": "Feb 27th, 2014"}, {"": "Coins Mined (as of 8 April 2015)", "Bitcoin": "14,029,116.67", "Litecoin": "37,984,800", "Kilocoin": "10,013,105,152"}] Furthermore, in conjunction with BITCF's expanding ownership of its common shares onto its own blockchain (BIT) and trading on foreign international cryptocurrency exchanges, the company is proud to announce that its digital shares are now trading on an additional, popular cryptocurrency exchange, LIVECOINwww.livecoin.net. About the company: First Bitcoin Capital is engaged in developing digital currencies, proprietary Blockchain technologies, and the digital currency exchange-www.CoinQX.com. We see this step as a tremendous opportunity to create further shareholder value by leveraging management's experience in developing and managing complex Blockchain technologies, developing new types of digital assets. "Being the first publicly-traded cryptocurrency and blockchain-centered company (with shares both traded in the US OTC Markets as [BITCF] and as [BIT] in crypto exchanges) we want to provide our shareholders with diversified exposure to digital cryptocurrencies and blockchain technologies." At this time the Company owns and operates the following digital assets. www.BITCoinCapitalcorp.comcompany website. www.CoinQX.comCryptocurrency Exchange, registered with FINCEN. www.iCoiNEWS.comreal time cryptocurrency and bitcoin news site. www.BITminer.ccproviding mining pool management services. www.2016coin.orgonline daily election coverage and home page for $PRES, $HILL and $GARY $BURN coins. Forward-Looking Statements Certain statements contained in this press release may constitute "forward-looking statements." Forward-looking statements provide current expectations of future events based on certain assumptions and include any statement that does not directly relate to any historical or current fact. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors as may be disclosed in company's filings. In addition to these factors, actual future performance, outcomes, and results may differ materially because of more general factors including (without limitation) general industry and market conditions and growth rates, economic conditions, and governmental and public policy changes. The forward-looking statements included in this press release represent the Company's views as of the date of this press release and these views could change. However, while the Company may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, the Company specifically disclaims any obligation to do so. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing the Company's views as of any date subsequent to the date of the press release. Such forward-looking statements are risks that are detailed in the Company's filings, which are on file atwww.OTCMarkets.com. SOURCE:First Bitcoin Capital Corp. \|\| Tips on How to Protect Your Private Information On Black Friday and Cyber Monday: Americans will line up around stores and standby their computers or smartphones to take advantage of Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals, but protecting their private information should also be priority for shoppers. During the holiday season many shoppers are harmed by failing to take simple precautions, says Gene Richardson, COO of Experts Exchange , a network for technology professionals. In Store Vs. Online Retail stores are one of the top areas identity thieves go after, Richardson said in an email to the IBTimes. A large number of some of the biggest identity thefts in the past few years were at large retail stores, he says. Long lines and busy cashiers could potentially put your private information at risk. “All the clerk cares about is getting you through the line as fast as they can so they can deal with the next customer and hope that none of you are angry,” says Richardson. “So, if there is a hiccup with your transaction, they will take “backup” paths to complete your transaction like entering your credit card number by hand.” Richardson, who is also the former head of the data security teams IBM, Charles Schwab and Motorola, says customers should never give their credit card to someone to perform a transaction by entering a card number. “Hand transactions are a huge risk for identity theft,” he says. Customers should also avoid buying if a cashier’s computer is down or too busy, unless it’s with cash, or try to go back later. Credit card scanners are also a threat to customers, as some of them may be rigged to copy a person’s information so that a duplicate credit card can be made. People may be less exposed to this action in large retail stores, but the risk is higher in smaller boutiques shops, says Richardson. Customers should also make sure their credit card number is not printed on receipts and should instead have XXX's where the number is displayed. But online purchases can be riskier because of all the extra information customers hand over, like their name, address, phone number, credit card information, expiration date and CSV. Story continues “They ask for so much more information from you to validate who you are than a purchase in a retail store,” says Richardson. “You have no control of who or where that information is going.” Tips to Protect Yourself Here are Richardson’s tips for shoppers on how they can protect themselves on Black Friday and Cyber Monday: Ensure that the website address is secure and has a valid encryption certificate. It will usually display a “locked, green” indicator in front of the website name. If it doesn’t have that, it does not have a higher level of security that has been guaranteed by a known entity like Verisign, Symantec and others. Ensure your system has the most recent recommended system and security patches. Always use a credit card that is not tied directly to your personal bank account(s), even if you are using PayPal, Bitcoin or some other payment method. Never give anything other than name, address and phone number. You should not need to answer security or privacy questions when making a purchase or checking out. If they ask, see if you can checkout as a “guest” instead. Monitor your credit through a third party for identify theft and have SMS and email alerts sent to you immediately. Set-up alerts with your credit card company that send both SMS and emails when any purchases are made and the credit card was not scanned (meaning, it wasn’t in someone’s hand when the charge was made). Set them as low as $25 per purchase. Also, set-up alerts for total purchases over $500 in a billing period to protect multiple $24.99 purchases. And if possible, a maximum amount of purchases allowed in a billing period such as $1500 before card will get declined. Ensure that you have a reputable Antivirus program running on your computer and that your browser has an Ad blocking plug-in. (Richardson recommends Norton, McAfee or ESET.) Ensure that the network your computer/device is on is secure and you know who has access to your network. This is usually done with your router. You want to lock down your router so that traffic can be initiated from the inside-out but you do not want traffic to be initiated from the outside-in. If you are using a WiFi connection, make sure that network is also secure and requires a password to join. If it is a public WiFi network that doesn’t require a password, then the traffic coming from your device can be monitored and stolen. (Link to onsite how-to article?) Any passwords that you use should be strong, hard to guess ones. Or, even better, hard to guess, but easy to remember . Don’t click on unfamiliar links to sites advertising sales, coupons, etc. Use two-factor authentication/verification, if it is offered. Shopping on Mobile Devices One in 10 mobile apps that are found through searching “Black Friday” are blacklisted as malicious, according to cyber security company RiskIQ An estimated 30 percent of purchases will be made on mobile devices, RiskIQ says. Shopping on mobile devices can substantially increase the risk of encountering phishing pages, malicious apps, and viruses that infect customers’ smartphones and tablets to steal money and private information. There are also fake apps out there that contain malware that can steal customers’ data or lock the device until the user pays a ransom, says RiskIQ. Other malicious apps may ask consumers to use their Facebook or Gmail logins, which could compromise their private information. Tips For Safe Shopping on Mobile Devices Here are some tips from RiskIQ: Ensure that you are only downloading apps from official app stores such as Google or Apple Be wary of applications that ask for suspicious permissions, like access to contacts, text messages, administrative features, stored passwords, or credit card info. Just because an app appears to have a good reputation doesn’t make it so. Rave reviews can be forged, and a high amount of downloads can simply indicate a threat actor was successful in fooling a lot of victims. Before downloading an app, be sure to take a look at the developer—if it’s not a brand you recognize or has a strange appearance or spelling, think twice. You can even do a Google search on the developer for more clues about its reputation. Make sure to take a deep look at each app. New developers, or developers that leverage free email services (e.g., @gmail) for their developer contact, can be enormous red flags— threat actors often use these services to produce mass amounts of malicious apps in a short period. Also, poor grammar in the description highlights the haste of development and the lack of marketing professionalism that are hallmarks of mobile malware campaigns. Check website addresses after following links on Twitter, Facebook, or other social media channels to be sure you end up on the true website of the retailer you want. Look for the “S” in HTTPS when you visit shopping sites. Beware of shopping sites that do not use HTTPS in their website addresses or do not display the symbol of a lock next to the web address. Secure sites use HTTPS, and without that, you’re dealing with unsecured connections or weak encryption of personal data. Never provide your credit card information unless you are in a secure online shopping portal. Sites that ask for it in return for “coupons” or to win “free” merchandise are almost always scams. Protect Yourself From a Major Headache For those who might not want to go through the hassle of setting up credit card alerts on purchases or locking down their router, it’s important to remember that it can and save consumers from a major headache. “Identity theft could cost you several thousand dollars in actual money and can cost you a lot more in your personal time and future anticipated losses cleaning up after the fact,” Richardson said. “The impact of identity theft could last years as you personally have to work to call all your creditors to fix your credit, loss of credibility for future purchases of a home, car, etc. as your credit scores will have been impacted, the effect on future employment opportunities as background checks are run and many, many more,” he added. Related Articles $100 Off HTC Vive On Black Friday and Cyber Monday American Consumers Prep For Cyber Monday \|\| American Express still faces hurdles from Costco: Amex Costco (BII) This story was delivered to BI Intelligence " Payments Briefing " subscribers. To learn more and subscribe, please click here . After a series of tough quarters, American Express beat analyst expectations in Q3 . The firm’s success was propelled by “strong operating discipline and credit quality,” according to CEO Ken Chenault. But as Amex looks to cut $1 billion in costs over the course of the next several quarters in the wake of the sale of its Costco business, the firm still has hurdles to overcome. Despite overall gains, Amex saw mediocre results in a few key metrics, largely related to the loss of Costco’s store card portfolio, which Amex sold to Citigroup in June. Costco cardholders represented 8% of the firm’s billed business in 2015. Here are some key results from the quarter: Billed business: Amex’s global billed business in the quarter was down 3% year-over-year. But excluding the Costco portfolio, it grew 7%, which indicates the impact that the Costco loss has had on the company. The firm noted that it’s on track to retain 20% of the out-of-store spend of the previous Costco cardholders that it retained, but that’s still a meager portion of the $80 billion Costco cardholders spent in 2015, In addition, loans, which the Costco portfolio represented 20% of, fell by 12% in Q3. Issued cards: Amex had 108.8 million cards issued globally at the end of Q3 — that’s down by 7 million from the same period in 2015, despite reports of strong new customer acquisition in earlier quarters this year. That’s likely partly due to the loss of the Costco portfolio, which had 11.6 million cardholders. But the firm plans to invest in initiatives that will help it grow through Q4 and into next year.The firm outlined a few key focus areas that the firm will use to grow. Premium cards: Amex plans to focus heavily on its Platinum portfolio, likely as a result of the intense premium rewards card competition in the market right now. This portfolio could be particularly lucrative for the firm because of the high fees associated with it, and because premium cardholders will likely have higher spend. Small businesses: Amex has been working to extend relationships with small businesses through its OptBlue program, which makes it easier for these merchants to accept and use Amex cards. That program has been successful, and the firm has seen growing billed business among small- and medium-sized merchants. In Q4, Amex plans to run a promotion related to Small Business Saturday in order to make it known to cardholders that their acceptance network is growing, which could help encourage customers to spend more on Amex and boost the firm’s billed business. Marketing and outreach: Amex is looking to build on ongoing US customer acquisition success and ramp up in key international markets. The firm will boost digital marketing initiatives and run an extensive advertising campaign, which could help onboard younger customers or groups in key markets that will spend and provide Amex with additional transaction and card fee-related revenue. Story continues American Express and Costco are part of the much broader payments ecosystem, which includes merchants, acquirers, processors, and more. Evan Bakker and John Heggestuen, analysts at BI Intelligence , Business Insider's premium research service, have compiled a detailed report on the payments ecosystem that drills into the industry to explain how a broad range of transactions are processed, including prepaid and store cards, as well as revealing which types of companies are in the best and worst position to capitalize on the latest industry trends. Here are some key takeaways from the report: 2016 will be a watershed year for the payments industry. Payments companies are improving security, expanding their mobile offerings, and building commerce capabilities that will give consumers a more compelling reason to make purchases using digital devices. Payments is an extremely complex industry. To understand the next big digital opportunity lies, it's critical to understand how the traditional credit- and debit-processing chain works and what roles acquirers, processors, issuing banks, card networks, independent sales organizations, gateways, and software and hardware providers play. Alternative technologies could disrupt the processing ecosystem. Devices ranging from refrigerators to smartwatches now feature payment capabilities, which will spur changes in consumer payment behaviors. Likewise, blockchain technology, the protocol that underlies Bitcoin, could one day change how consumer card payments are verified. In full, the report: Uncovers the key themes and trends affecting the payments industry in 2016 and beyond. Gives a detailed description of the stakeholders involved in a payment transaction, along with hardware and software providers. Offers diagrams and infographics explaining how card transactions are processed and which players are involved in each step. Provides charts on our latest forecasts, key company growth, survey results, and more. Analyzes the alternative technologies, including blockchain, which could further disrupt the ecosystem. To get your copy of this invaluable guide, choose one of these options: Subscribe to an ALL-ACCESS Membership with BI Intelligence and gain immediate access to this report AND over 100 other expertly researched deep-dive reports, subscriptions to all of our daily newsletters, and much more. >> START A MEMBERSHIP Purchase the report and download it immediately from our research store. >> BUY THE REPORT The choice is yours. But however you decide to acquire this report, you’ve given yourself a powerful advantage in your understanding of the payments ecosystem. More From Business Insider THE MOBILE PAYMENTS REPORT: Market forecasts, consumer trends, and the barriers and benefits that will influence adoption THE CONNECTED DEVICE PAYMENTS REPORT: Market opportunities, top stakeholders, and new use cases for the next frontier in payments THE PAYMENTS INDUSTRY EXPLAINED: The trends creating new winners and losers in the card-processing ecosystem View comments \|\| Bitcoin price soars, but it isn't about Trump and Clinton: The price of bitcoin has soared 23% in the last month and is now approaching its 2016 peak of around $765 in June. The coin is up 66% since January. At its current price of $728 at the time of writing, bitcoin’s market cap is nearly $12 billion. So, what’s stoking the ride? You might think the US presidential election, just five days away now, has something to do with it. And indeed, aJuniper Research studyfrom back in May (“Will Bitcoins Bite Back?“) predicted the bitcoin price would spike right before the election, due to market uncertainty. Specifically, the study determined that a win by Donald Trump would boost the bitcoin price: “If Donald Trump becomes President of the US, there is the very real prospect of turmoil on world markets,” said Dr. Winslow Holden in a Juniper press release about the report. “Bitcoin would thrive in such an environment, at least until the impact on major fiat currencies becomes clear.” Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton’s campaign considered accepting donations in the form of bitcoin, aleaked email thread revealed. But John Podesta was more intrigued by the digital currency Ven, writing: “I don’t send all the crazy ideas I hear about at fundraisers your way, but this seems interesting and legit. Essentially digital currency with a green angle as opposed to bitcoin’s libertarian Ayn Rand schtick… see if it’s worth a real conversation?” UltimatelyClinton’s campaign decided not to accept bitcoin.Trump’s campaign did accept bitcoin. Despite the timing so close to the election, the bitcoin community consensus is that the October price spike isn’t from Clinton or Trump: it’s China driving the surge. The Chinese yuanhas fallen 4.3% against the US dollarin the last six months, and thePeople’s Bank of China has cracked downwith stricter capital controls. China and a falling yuan is almost always cited as the biggest factor when the price of bitcoin rises. The thinking is that Chinese investors seek a safe haven in bitcoin, which is an asset largely untied to mainstream markets. (This alsohappened to an extent in Greece during its bank shutdownlast year and ishappening right now in Venezuela.) Often,it’s actually something else. This time around, the data supports the idea that the interest is coming from China. Nearly 99% of all global bitcoin trading activity happening right now is happening in Chinese yuan. (It’s worth noting that some bitcoin people doubt Chinese exchange data because it could be inflated or meaningless due to very low fees that prompt empty trading activity.) Bitcoin trading volume in the Chinese yuan is up more than 20% in the past 30 days, based on charts frombitcoincharts.com,bitcoinity.organdcoinmarketcap.com. If you check out the sitefiatleak.com, which maps bitcoin purchases in real-time, the overwhelming majority of activity right now is in yuan (CNY). “It does seem like a cop-out sometimes when everyone says it’s China, but in this case, the data supports it,” says Alex Sunnarborg, CFO ofLawnmower, a digital currency trading and data app. Bitcoin trading volume on Lawnmower is up 40% in the past two weeks from the typical two-week average. Sunnarborg adds that whenever the bitcoin price spikes significantly, regardless of the reason, it feeds on itself and drives it higher. “People see that demand and feel that FOMO [fear of missing out], which drives a lot of new people in. The market is so thin and new, people are hunting for news, so anything you hear has an immediate effect. It goes the opposite way as well—if you read bad news about bitcoin prices, the market has a tendency to panic. That’s what Ethereum is doing right now.” Indeed, the price of ether (ETH), arival coin that trades on the separate Ethereum blockchain, isdown 17% in the past month. In July, Ethereum completed a “hard fork” that essentially reset its network after a major hack in June. Keep in mind that ether only launched just over one year ago, and is up nearly 300% since then, to $11 per coin. But its recent fall has been a boon to bitcoin, Sunnarborg reasons. “If you look at ethereum communities right now, people are a little scared, and the bitcoin vs ethereum chasm does go back and forth,” says Sunnarborg. “Whenever you see strength in the bitcoin network, volume goes back into bitcoin.” Ripple, another popular digital currency (XRP) that came along after bitcoin (in 2012), is also down 4% in the last week. There’s one other bitcoin factor driving the price up: this month, a sort of voting period will begin for whether to implement “segregated witness,” a proposed solution to bitcoin’s ongoing block-size debate. Huh? Let’s step back: bitcoin is traded on the bitcoin blockchain, a decentralized, permissionless, peer-to-peer ledger that records every single bitcoin transaction. On the bitcoin blockchain, bundles of transactions are added to the chain by “miners” who receive a small reward in bitcoin for doing the mining; think of them as librarians recording the date and borrower of a book, or as court stenographers recording the history of bitcoin trades. (For more, watch the below video.) The speed of the blockchain has slowed in the last year under the weight of activity, and the bitcoin community has argued amongst itself over whether to raise the size limit of each block. The speed at which the bitcoin blockchain operates is of crucial importance, since it is often compared to the payment rails of big mainstream processors like Visa. “Segregated witness” was one popular proposal: an update to the bitcoin software that would allow miners to raise the size capacity on individual blocks without raising the capacity of the entire blockchain for good, and without doing a “hard fork” (which would split the blockchain into two) like Ethereum just did. Think of it like a Brinks armored car, which hauls bags of cash. Rather than having all the cars start using bigger bags, Segregated Witness (bitcoin people are calling it SegWit for short) is like allowing each driver to start using a few bigger bags just in cases where a bigger bag is needed. Beginning on Nov. 15, bitcoin miners can signal, with each block they mine, whether or not they support Segregated Witness. It should help more transactions go through faster. After one year, if 95% of the blocks have signaled that they like it, Segregated Witness will go into full effect for the Bitcoin Core software. Why does all this matter for the price of bitcoin? It might not matter for the casual outside speculator, but for wonky bitcoin insiders, the implementation of SegWit is an exciting milestone, and may contribute a little bit to the price hike. “I think SegWit was a big market move,” says Sunnarborg. “SegWit has been talked about for so long that if there had been a huge delay or problem announced, we would have seen the market swing the other way. But now it’s bringing demand from the community to go back into bitcoin.” While the Chinese yuan has been the biggest factor in boosting the bitcoin price, the beginning of SegWit and general US market uncertainty are not unrelated. And the election almost certainly will play a larger role right after it ends. If Trump somehow wins, expect bitcoin to soar. — Daniel Roberts is a writer at Yahoo Finance, covering technology and sports business. Follow him on Twitter at@readDanwrite. Read more: The latest bitcoin price surge isn’t just about Brexit Here’s where big banks stand on blockchain Why 21.co is the most exciting bitcoin company right now Coinbase is more bullish on bitcoin than ever \|\| First Bitcoin Capital Corp Announces Appointment of Bitcoin Protocol Development Expert Patrick Dugan to the Company’s Board of Directors. Additional Developments Announced: VANCOUVER, B.C. / ACCESSWIRE / November 23, 2016 /First Bitcoin Capital Corp is pleased to announce that leading bitcoin protocol development expert in the crypto currency field Patrick Dugan has joined the company's Board of Directors. A serial entrepreneur with several years of experience in blockchain, finance, ecommerce and game development, Mr. Dugan has extensive knowledge of complex securitization structures and trading strategies. Mr. Dugan brings 9 years of trading experience, with over 3 years in cryptocurrency trading, averaging 50% annual returns. He served as a consultant on social game economics, and market making operations for exchanges. Mr. Dugan has served for the last year and a half as operations manager for the Omni Layer Foundation (previously Mastercoin), and has been involved in the issuance of the world's first bearer bonds on the Bitcoin blockchain. "Patrick Dugan is well known in the international crypto-currency space," the company said. "He brings a wealth of strategic experience in finance and blockchain business development. We look forward to his contributions as a member of our Board as we advance the development of the world’s first on-blockchain REIT offering." Mrs. Dugan said he seeks to bring to First Bitcoin Capital his expertise in bitcoin and blockchain protocol and assist new or existing initiatives that plan to build upon and take advantage of the capabilities offered by the Omni Layer protocol. BITCF has thus far utilized the Omni Layer Protocol to launch 6 cryptocurrencies such as symbols, PRES, TESLA, HILL, GARY, BURN, and OTX. Furthermore, in conjunction with BITCF expanding ownership of its common shares onto its own blockchain (BIT) and trading on foreign international cryptocurrency exchanges, the company invites its shareholders to exercise an option to convert their paper certificates into digital shares. Shareholders need only surrender their certificates with instruction to deliver those shares to the BIT wallet address they provide to the company. About the company: First Bitcoin Capital is engaged in developing digital currencies, proprietary Blockchain technologies, and the digital currency exchange- www.CoinQX.com. We see this step as a tremendous opportunity to create further shareholder value by leveraging management's experience in developing and managing complex Blockchain technologies, developing new types of digital assets. "Being the first publicly-traded cryptocurrency and blockchain-centered company (with shares both traded in the US OTC Markets as [BITCF] and as [BIT] in crypto exchanges) we want to provide our shareholders with diversified exposure to digital cryptocurrencies and blockchain technologies." At this time the Company owns and operates the following digital assets. www.BITCoinCapitalcorp.comcompany website. www.CoinQX.comCryptocurrency Exchange, registered with FINCEN. www.iCoiNEWS.comreal time cryptocurrency and bitcoin news site. www.BITminer.ccproviding mining pool management services. www.2016coin.orgonline daily election coverage and home page for $PRES, $HILL and $GARY $BURN coins. Forward-Looking Statements Certain statements contained in this press release may constitute "forward-looking statements." Forward-looking statements provide current expectations of future events based on certain assumptions and include any statement that does not directly relate to any historical or current fact. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors as may be disclosed in company's filings. In addition to these factors, actual future performance, outcomes, and results may differ materially because of more general factors including (without limitation) general industry and market conditions and growth rates, economic conditions, and governmental and public policy changes. The forward-looking statements included in this press release represent the Company's views as of the date of this press release and these views could change. However, while the Company may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, the Company specifically disclaims any obligation to do so. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing the Company's views as of any date subsequent to the date of the press release .Such forward-looking statements are risks that are detailed in the Company's filings, which are on file atwww.OTCMarkets.com. Contact us via:[email protected] visithttp://www.bitcoincapitalcorp.com SOURCE:First Bitcoin Capital Corp. \|\| Traders debate buying pullback in Intel after earnings: The "Fast Money" traders debated whether to jump on a dip in Intel(INTC)after the company gavecurrent-quarter guidance that slightly missedWall Street expectations. Trader Guy Adami said Intel slightly lowered its gross margins guidance, which he found "potentially concerning." Trader Pete Najarian said he would be a buyer of Intel shares, as the stock fell more than 5 percent in extended trading on Tuesday. Trader Brian Kelly said he's concerned about Nvidia(NVDA), another semiconductor stock, and would be taking profits off the table in the company. He also said he would buy Intel. Disclosures: PETE NAJARIAN Long stock: AAPL, BAC, DIS, DISCA, GE, KMI, KMIA, KO, LUX, MRK, PEP, PFE CALLS: AAL, ABT, AMD, ATVI, BABA, BAC, BBY, BHI, BSX, CNX, COP, COTY, CRM, CS, CSCO, CXW, DAL, DISH, ECA, ETP, GM, GS, HAL, INTC, JBLU, JCP, KBE, KGC, KMI, KO, LLY, LOW, M, MOS, MRO, MRVL, MUR, NAV, NBR, P, RIO, SBUX, SLV, TMUS, TTS, TV, TWTR, VRX, WFT, WLL, XLF and puts: CLF, EEM, MBLY, WFC TIM SEYMOUR Tim Seymour is long ABX, APC, AVP, BAC, BBRY, CLF, DO, DVYE, EDC, EWZ, F, FB, FCX, FXI, GM, GOOGL, GE, INTC, LQD,MCD, MUR, OIH, PG, RACE, RAI, RH, RL, SINA, T, TWTR, VALE, VZ, XOM short: SPY, XRT. His firm is long ABX, BABA, BIDU, CBD, CLF, EWZ, F, KO, MCD, MPEL, NKE, PEP, PF, SAVE, SBUX, SINA, VALE, VIAB, WMT, WEN, X, YHOO, short EWG, HYG, IWM BRIAN KELLY Brian Kelly is long Bitcoin, SLV and Silver Futures, US Dollar UUP. He is short the euro and Japanese yen. GUY ADAMI Guy Adami is long CELG, EXAS, GDX, INTC. Adami's wife, Linda Snow, works at Merck. More From CNBC • Top News and Analysis • Latest News Video • Personal Finance [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] (of course if I give concrete examples of the kind of rhetoric I'm talking about here, I'm also part of Communist Gamergate) \|\| #ChainCoin #CHC $0.000291 (359.65%) 0.00000045 BTC (350.00%) \|\| 1 KOBO = 0.00000263 BTC = 0.0000 USD = 0.0000 NGN = 0.0000 ZAR = 0.0000 KES #Kobocoin 2016-10-17 20:00 pic.twitter.com/Yordrzw6jH \|\| $646.99 at 04:16 UTC [24h Range: $643.10 - $655.00 Volume: 2406 BTC] \|\| [Bitcoin] Bitcoin and United States Dollar: 0.0010 BTC = 0.64 USD 1.00 USD = 0.0016 BTCConverter #YAF \|\| Send 1.0 - 4.9 BTC today, get 20.00 - 98.00 BTC in 20 hours,finance multiples rechner 2016. http://ow.ly/zKRG305pByf \|\| Bitfinex to Hacker: Can We Have Our Bitcoin Back?: http://www.altcoincalendar.info/r/article/9Ta \|\| At 739.00 USD today, I would say give the gift that really keeps on giving...Bitcoin. http://bit.ly/2gfpKF4 \|\| $758.91 #bitstamp; $756.81 #bitfinex; $760.53 #GDAX; $753.90 #btce; $759.00 #itBit; $758.99 #gemini; #bitcoin new… http://bit.ly/1VI6Yse \|\| #WorldCoin #WDC $0.007039 (-1.72%) 0.00001119 BTC (0.00%)	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 770.81, 772.79, 774.65, 769.73, 780.09, 780.56, 781.48, 778.09, 784.91, 790.83
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2022-01-07] BTC Price: 41557.90, BTC RSI: 28.83 Gold Price: 1797.00, Gold RSI: 48.74 Oil Price: 78.90, Oil RSI: 61.75 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Zimbabwe says it won’t adopt Bitcoin as legal payment: Rumours that Zimbabwe was mulling over the adoption of Bitcoin as a legal tender alongside the Zimbabwean Dollar appear to be untrue. Charles Wekwete, head of e-Government technology in the southern African nation previously confirmed there were several discussions regarding Bitcoin legalisation within the private sector. “Governments are still trying to understand and properly trying to create policies on how to deal with cryptocurrency,” he said. “In our case, initially we were trying to understand their implication because they are a fundamental departure from previously known financial instruments and there are a lot of fears about cross border movement of funds, money laundering, externalisation of funds and illicit flow of funds to fund illicit issues.” After his announcement, publicity and broadcasting companies Minister Monica Mutsvangwa, stressed Zimbabwe had no intention to follow the El Salvador example . The federal government made it clear that the Zimbabwe greenback will stay the only real authorised tender within the nation. “Authorities wish to guarantee the nation that it isn’t contemplating introducing one other foreign money within the economic system as reported in some sections of the media,” she said. “Our native foreign money is the Zimbabwe greenback, and never cryptocurrency. “Like most nations on the planet, the authorities of Zimbabwe, by means of its Monetary Know-how Group, is finding out Central Banking Digital Foreign money versus cryptocurrencies, Bitcoins or any type of derivatives.” Watching the saga unfold, founder & CEO of Quantum Economics Mati Greenspan tweeted: Looks like the IMF gets to keep their mule. Sorry ppl your monetary freedom has been postponed. https://t.co/jhp10XI5og — Mati Greenspan (tweets ≠ financial advice) (@MatiGreenspan) November 9, 2021 Problems with money laundering and illicit flow of funds Still, Zimbabwe’s finance minister Mthuli Ncube recently called cryptocurrency development “unstoppable”, and its adoption in Africa has since jumped 1,200% in the last year. It is the third-fastest growing crypto economy in the world, as people favour digital coins because they help them avoid bank and exchange restrictions. Zimbabwe ranked 61st for crypto adoption, the Chainalysis 2021 report found. Money laundering and illicit flow of funds are among the factors that have spurred Zimbabwean regulators, along with many others around the world, to think carefully about opening up to crypto. Story continues Wekwete also said authorities around the world were still trying to develop policies for crypto assets. But the implications of adopting digital currency are still not clear. This is in part because crypto assets are a “fundamental departure from previously known financial instruments”, he noted. He added there were also a lot of concerns around the cross-border movement of funds. “So the government has put in place mechanism to try and gather views from various sectors of society in order to eventually formulate policies,” he said. “Sooner or later, (the) government will make statements, but we have not gotten there yet. The consultative process is already underway.” View comments \|\| Support and Resistance Pivot Analysis: What is Support and Resistance? The purpose of support and resistance levels is to identify favorable entry and exit points. There are multiple trading strategies that incorporate support and resistance levels. Additionally, there are multiple support and resistance strategies, the most common being the use of pivot levels and their associated major support and resistance levels that are based on a time periods pivot level. When trading, it is beneficial to use more common strategies as these will tend to be followed by a greater number of traders. Support Support levels refer to price levels below which an asset does not drop for an extended length of time. At support levels, buyers enter into long positions thus delivering support and preventing further downside. It is important to note, however, that there will be multiple support strategies. These include the use of the most recent lows as an example and Fibonaccis . Pivots and major support levels are the most commonly used levels. Once a support level has been breached, the support level becomes a resistance level. Resistance Similarly, resistance levels are price levels at which sellers will look to exit an asset or enter into a short position. Here, resistance levels are calculated for time intervals by using the highs and lows of the previous time interval. In the case of using major resistance levels, traders base their resistance levels on the pivot level for a specified time interval, t. Other resistance levels commonly used include daily, weekly, monthly, yearly, and all-time highs and Fibonaccis. Once a resistance level has been broken, the resistance level becomes a support level. How to draw support and resistance Analysts and traders calculate the pivot and the major support and resistance levels for multiple time periods. These can be as short as hourly and as long as monthly. Once you have calculated the pivot and major support and resistance levels, traders and analysts will then plot these on charts to assist in their trading decisions as shown in the chart below. Calculating Pivot Levels A pivot level is derived by calculating the average of the high, the low, and the closing price of a time interval, t. Looking at a 1-hour time interval for the chart below, we would take the average of the day high $55,329, the day low $53,711, and the closing price $54,791 to obtain the next days pivot level. Here the pivot level would be $54,610. Calculating Support Levels Once you have calculated the pivot level, the major support levels, these being S1, S2, and S3 can be calculated. In the example below, using an hourly chart, a days pivot and major support levels can be calculated. Story continues First Major Support Level : 2 x Pivot / the previous time interval high. In the example above, this would be (2 x $54,610) / 55,329 = $53,892. Traders would be looking at the first major support level as an entry price. Second Major Support level : S2 = Pivot (Day high Day low). In the example above, this would be $54,610 ($55,329 $53,711) = $52,992. Traders would be looking at the second major support level as an entry price in the event of an extended reversal. Third Major Support level : S3 = S2 (Day high Day low). In the example above, this would be $52,992 ($55,329 $53,711) = $51,374. Traders would be looking at the third major support level as an entry price in the event of a market sell-off. Calculating Resistance Levels Once you have calculated the pivot level, the major resistance levels, these being R1, R2, and R3, can also be calculated. First Major Resistance Level : R1: = 2 x Pivot / the previous time interval low. In the example above, this would be (2 x $54,610) / 53,711 = $55,510. Traders would be looking at the first major resistance level as an exit price. Second Major Resistance level : R2 = Pivot + (Day high Day low). In the example above, this would be $54,610 + ($55,329 $53,711) = $56,228. Traders would be looking at the second major resistance level as an entry price in the event of an extended rally. Third Major Resistance level : R3 = R2 + (Day high Day low). In the example above, this would be $56,228 ($55,329 $53,711) = $57,846. Traders would be looking at the third major resistance level as an exit price in the event of an event-driven breakout. Support and Resistance trading strategies As previously outlined, traders can use major support and resistance levels for a range of time periods. It is therefore important to decide the trading strategies to then select the appropriate time periods for calculating the pivot and major support and resistance levels. For instance, day traders would use 1-minute charts and the previous days high, low, and closing price to calculate the support and resistance levels for the day ahead. By contrast, swing traders would use 4-hourly and daily charts to calculate the respective pivot, major support and resistance levels. Pivot and Support Levels When considering major support levels, the pivot levels play a hand in whether support levels are likely to come into play. There are two ways in which to consider pivot levels: A fall through a pivot level would be needed to bring support levels into play. This tends to be the scenario in a post-bullish or during a bullish session. Failure to move through or back through the pivot level would also bring support levels into play. This tends to be the scenario in a post-bearish or during a bearish session. Pivot and Resistance Levels When considering major resistance levels, the pivot levels play a hand in whether resistance levels are likely to come into play. There are two ways in which to consider pivot levels: A move through a pivot level would be needed to bring resistance levels into play. This tends to be the scenario in a post-bearish or during a bearish session. Avoiding a fall through or back through the pivot level would also bring resistance levels into play. This tends to be the scenario in a post-bullish or during a bullish session. Using Support Levels In a correcting market, an asset may fall through its first support level, labelled as S1. Once breached, the second major support level will be the next key entry point for investors. In such an event, S1 would then become a resistance level. The 3 rd major support level is generally only breached and a major economic or financial event. These include earnings, central bank and government policy, and other global events. The below chart shows flight to safety in response to the new Omicron COVID-19 strain. Demand for the Japanese Yen broke down support levels as the Greenback slid to sub-¥114 levels. Historically, global events would include: The global financial crisis. COVID-19 pandemic. Dot.com Here, 1 st and 2 nd major support levels would have provided little interest to investors looking to enter the market. 3 rd major support levels, however, may have drawn investors in. Key in using major support levels is for an asset price not to fall below for an extended period of time Using Resistance Levels In a bull market, an asset may move through its first major resistance level, labelled as R1. Once broken, the second major resistance level will be the next key entry point for investors. In such an event, R1 would then become a support level. The 3 rd major resistance level is generally only broken through as a result a major economic or financial event. These include earnings, central bank and government policy, and other global events. As with the above example, news of the new COVID-19 strain and government plans to contain the spread led to a reversal of EUR carry trades. The EUR broke down the 3 major resistance levels on its way to $1.13 levels against the Greenback. Historically, global events would include: COVID-19 Pandemic recovery. Post-Global Financial Crisis recovery. Central bank action. U.S Presidential Election In the case of equities, corporate action and earnings. Here, 1 st and 2 nd major resistance levels would have provided little interest to investors looking to exit the market. 3 rd major resistance levels, however, may have resulted in investors locking in profits. Key in using major resistance levels is for an asset price not to move above a specified price for an extended period of time Once a resistance level has been broken, however, the resistance level become a support level that forms part of the major support levels for the time period in question. Other Major Support and Resistance Levels There are multiple indicators/strategies that traders. Traders and analysts need to consider these when using pivot levels and the major support and resistance levels described above. Of particular importance are all-time highs and lows, and daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly highs and lows. For example, an asset class may face resistance at its current week high that may sit below the first major resistance levels. Other strategies include the use of Fibonaccis, moving averages, Bollingers, and MACDs . Trading without the use of support and resistance levels would likely lead to losses. More significant losses are likely, however, without a trading strategy. Importantly, the two will need to be aligned. This article was originally posted on FX Empire More From FXEMPIRE: S&P 500 Price Forecast Stock Markets Continue to Enjoy Santa Claus Rally Natural Gas Price Forecast Natural Gas Markets Plunge Bitcoin Bears Pulled Off the Drop: Has the Rally to $90k Started!? Oil Price Fundamental Daily Forecast Selling Pressure Eases as Omicron Assessment Begins Silver Price Forecast Silver Markets Get Hammered Again Gold Price Forecast Gold Markets Struggling in Familiar Cluster View comments \|\| Bitcoin Struggles to Break $47K as Fed Meeting Looms: Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, was lower as the market prepares for this week’s Federal Reserve monetary policy meeting, where the U.S. central bank is expected to slow down its money printer. The two-day meeting, which starts Tuesday and concludes Wednesday, is expected to end with the Fed announcing plans to cut the pace of its $120 billion-a-month of asset purchases by $30 billion every month, ordouble the current rate of reduction. Some cryptocurrency traders and investors say the stimulus program has bolstered bitcoin’s allure as an inflation hedge, so a reversal of the loose-money policy might be bearish. Bitcoin, which tends to trade in tandem with traditional markets, started December around $57,000 and is now trading around the $46,600 mark. The cryptocurrency is down over 30% from its all-time high in November. Lennard Neo, head of research at Stack Funds, attributed the cryptocurrency’s recent drop to the market uncertainty leading investors to take risk off the table. Bitcoin is seen by some investors as a risk-on asset, which generally refers to assets that have a significant degree of price volatility such as industrial metals, equities and commodities. All things being equal, tighter monetary policy would theoretically make these risk-on assets less attractive. Investors are hesitant to buy bitcoin at current levels, according to Oanda Senior Market Analyst Edward Moya. Traders may anticipate one last major push lower for the cryptocurrency, which could see it test the $40,000 level before bulls want to aggressively buy back in, he said. Laurent Kssis, a crypto exchange-traded fund (ETF) expert and director of CEC Capital, said he doesn’t anticipate an imminent move upwards for the cryptocurrency based on liquidations and trading volumes. He said a break above $50,000 may happen at a much slower pace than many had hoped. “The U.S. has woken up and bought on anticipated lower bitcoin prices, which has pushed the price up slightly but it is still under pressure,” concluded Kssis. “There appears to be a strong feeling of uncertainty over market direction, despite strong indicators across various charts,” said Quantum Economics crypto analyst Jason Deane. Short-term sentiment and confidence levels for the cryptocurrency – check out theFear and Greed Index– appear to be playing a stronger role than long-term fundamentals, such as all-time highs in active addresses andhash rate, according to Deane. The Fear and Greed Index, a tool used by some investors to gauge the market, has now signaled “extreme fear” for almost one month straight. The last time the index read a prolonged fearful market sentiment was at the start of the summer in the Northern Hemisphere, when market sentiment was “fearful” for almost two months straight, according to Arcane Research’s weekly report. “We expect the uncertainty to remain the predominant consideration for the time being until there is enough momentum to break through,” said Deane. Ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, is trading below $4,000 and is down 12% in the last seven days. \|\| Satoshi Nakamoto's $64 billion Bitcoin stake is the focal point of a Florida trial — here's what's going on: Dorian S. Nakamoto, a man that Newsweek claimed was the founder of Bitcoin, denied he had anything to do with it and said he had never even heard of the digital currency until his son told him he had been contacted by a reporter. REUTERS/David McNew The family of a deceased man is claiming their family member helped create Bitcoin. The identity of Bitcoin's creator, known as Satoshi Nakamoto, has long been a point of interest The family is suing for half of Nakamoto's Bitcoin cache that is valued at over $64 billion. The mystery behind the creator of Bitcoin and their over $64 billion stake has spawned a court case in Florida. The family of a deceased man, David Kleiman, is claiming their family member helped create the popular digital currency and is suing Kleiman's alleged business partner in the endeavor, Craig Wright, for half of the $64 billion stake, The Wall Street Journal reported. For the past five years, Wright has been claiming on and off that he created Bitcoin, but has failed to provide any proof of his ownership. Though, the creator could easily prove their identity by moving even a fraction of the cache of about 1.1 million Bitcoin, or using the private key that controls the account. The identity of Bitcoin's creator, known only as Satoshi Nakamoto, has long been a point of major interest, especially as their personal wealth continues to grow. Earlier this month, the cryptocurrency hit an all-time record above $69,000. In 2008, Bitcoin was born when an individual identifying themselves as Satoshi Nakamoto sent out a nine-page white paper, explaining a decentralized "electronic cash" system. The Florida lawsuit claims Wright reached out to Kleiman for help on the white paper and later the two launched the digital currency together. "We believe the evidence will show there was a partnership to create and mine over one million bitcoin," said Vel Freedman, a lawyer for the Kleiman family, told The Wall Street Journal. Wright's defense told The Journal it will present proof Wright is the sole creator of the currency. Insider attempted to reach out to Wright for any additional comment, and will update this post if we hear back. Story continues Since it was created, many names have been linked to Bitcoin , but it seems unlikely that the creator or creators would ever choose to publicly identify themselves. One of the founding principles of Bitcoin is that it's a decentralized currency, untethered to conspicuous institutions or individuals. If Nakamoto's identity was revealed it would violate these founding tenets. The trial kicked off on November 1. A panel of 10 jurors were given three weeks to hear the evidence and decide the fate of the 1.1 million bitcoins. Read the original article on Business Insider \|\| ‘I’m pro-Bitcoin’, says ERCOT CEO: The interim CEO of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) has publicly revealed he’s pro-Bitcoin. Brad Jones was touring the state of Texas and holding town hall meetings with energy consumers when he told a crowd of residents in Frisco that he’s all for the cryptocurrency. “I’m pro Bitcoin… but I’m too risk-averse to be an investor in Bitcoin,” he revealed. ERCOT operates Texas’s electrical grid and supplies power to more than 25m customers in Texas, representing 90% of the state’s electricity load. Texas has proven to be a breeding ground for Bitcoin mining, ranking second in Bitcoin’s hash rate in the United States, according to a survey from Foundry USA – a financing and advisory company focused on digital asset mining and staking. Jones said a mutually beneficial relationship between Bitcoin miners and Texas was entirely possible because of the masses of energy the state is able to provide at competitive prices. Additionally, ERCOT has plans to increase its renewable energy generation to the grid in a move that will enable Bitcoin miners to use more energy. The CEO said the influx of Bitcoin miners to Texas was a valuable resource for the state. “They can get paid to use power, and that’s why they’re coming to the state. But that’s not necessarily bad,” Jones said. “So I think it’s really a valuable potential resource for us.” View comments \|\| AUD/USD Price Forecast – Australian Dollar Testing 50 day EMA: TheAustralian dollarhas rallied a bit during the course of the trading session on Thursday to break above the 50 day EMA. The market is starting to pull back just a bit though, so it will be interesting to see if this 50 day EMA indicator can cause a certain amount of resistance. At this time year tends to be very thin to begin with, so I would not get overly excited for a big move. The pair is currently at the 0.7230 level, and I think the 0.72 level underneath should be supportive. If we break down below there, then I think we go looking towards the 0.71 level. To the upside, if we break above the top of the candlestick then we could go looking towards the 0.73 level, but this pair does not look like it wants to take off suddenly. I think it is just killing time at the moment like most other pairs. With that being Christmas Eve, it is going to be difficult to get a lot of people trading, so I think at this point in time you are probably better off just leaving it alone. Nonetheless, you should also think along the same lines next week, because these two weeks are some of the worst trading conditions all year. While we have had a decent bounce from the 0.70 level, it is not as if it has wiped out all the negativity from the big selloff at 0.75 above. Because of this, I believe that eventually we will find a nice selling opportunity, but this is probably something that happens in January. For a look at all of today’s economic events, check out oureconomic calendar. Thisarticlewas originally posted on FX Empire • Crude Oil Price Forecast – Crude Oil Markets Quiet • Silver Price Forecast – Silver Markets Give Up Early Gains • Santa Claus Rally for Crude Oil? • EUR/USD Price Forecast – Euro Gives Up Early Gains • GBP/USD Price Forecast – British Pound Breaks 50 Day EMA • Bitcoin and Ether Consolidate Above Support, DOGE Eyes Upside Break \|\| Wrapped Bitcoins Supply Has More Than Doubled, but BadgerDAO Hack Exposed Risks of Moving Bitcoin to Ethereum: Last weeks hack on decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol BadgerDAO put a major but less talked-about cryptocurrency in the spotlight once again. Wrapped bitcoin , an ERC-20 token on the Ethereum blockchain that is collateralized 1-to-1 with bitcoin, has more than doubled its supply from a year ago, as traders and investors seek alternative high-yield opportunities in DeFi. The rapidly growing demand for WBTC comes as yields for bitcoin borrowing and lending have grown less competitive compared with the lucrative DeFi lending market. But the hack on BadgerDAO, which focuses on high yields on wrapped bitcoin, has raised concerns around the security of moving bitcoin to the Ethereum blockchain. The hack led to the loss of 2,100 bitcoins at an estimated value of $118 million, China-based blockchain security and data analytics firm PeckShield wrote in a Dec. 2 tweet. According to data compiled by user @Messari_Jack on Dune Analytics, the total supply of WBTC was roughly 253,876 on Dec. 1, up from 112,948 at the end of 2020. The top WBTC merchants for minting WBTC include Alameda Research, CoinList, Grapefruit Trading and Three Arrows Capital. Alameda alone has minted more than 9,6547.2 WBTC. The total value locked in WBTC stands at roughly $12.53 billion, the fifth-largest DeFi protocol by TVL, according to DeFi Llama . TVL represents the dollar value of all tokens locked in the smart contracts of a decentralized lending project. It turns out that its currently easier to borrow and lend with WBTC than BTC since users can interact with DeFi lending protocols like Compound, Aave and Maker to lend their WBTC and borrow USDC, dai, or other assets against it, Joe Keefer, a trader at Grapefruit Trading, one of the biggest WBTC merchants, told CoinDesk on Telegram. There are also many opportunities to use WBTC directly in yield farming. On centralized lending platforms such as BlockFi and Celsius , the interest rate for bitcoin borrowing was as high as 6.20% at the time of publication, far lower than the rates from the lucrative yield farming on DeFi protocols using different trading strategies. Story continues Instead of going to a centralized lending platform, traders can, for example, use WBTC as collateral on the MakerDAO platform to mint Makers own stablecoin, dai. The WBTC-generated dai could be used for many purposes, including lending dai at interest, as CoinDesk has reported . The yields on bitcoin are very low, Dan Burke, managing director for institutional sales at crypto custody company BitGo, told CoinDesk via a direct message. With WBTC, you can put it into any Ethereum-based DeFi pool or DEX [decentralized exchange]. However, greater rewards often come with greater risks as the BadgerDAO exploit showed . According to BadgerDAOs official website, the protocol offers its users several automated strategies to earn yield on bitcoin-pegged assets, including WBTC and its own interest-bearing bitcoin (ibBTC). Crypto lender Celsius Network confirmed that it lost money from the hack without disclosing the exact value of the loss. By tracking blockchain data, some observers estimated Celsius loss at roughly $51 million via WBTC, but Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky said in a YouTube livestream that the lost funds belonged to the company and that no users had lost money from the hack. It was a Badger hack, but some of the Celsius funds were there, so Celsius lost money, Mashinsky said. But none of the Celsius members lost money. \|\| Bitcoin's 'Ted Lasso' explains the 'real plan' behind buying a UK soccer team: Thevolatile but lucrative cryptocurrencyboom has created vast fortunes practically overnight, and to new cash floodingsports and entertainment in aggressive brand-building efforts. But the latest twist involves Peter McCormack, a Bitcoin (BTC-USD) investor and podcaster, who has opted for a different approach. He bought his hometown soccer club (or football, as it's called in the United Kingdom), in a bid to attract money to build the squad into a powerhouse. Bearing hallmarks of AppleTV+'sbreakout series "Ted Lasso,"McCormack has become the new chairman of Bedford FC. He's now setting out to take his club to English football’s highest competitive circuit, the Premier League. Born and raised in Bedford, McCormack told Yahoo Finance, it's a childhood dream that ultimately can help him build more hometown pride — and turn the team into a contender. “Bedford is an area that really hasn’t seen any major growth apart from people moving back from London who can afford to buy bigger houses, and I was like 'what’s the one thing I can do?'" McCormack explained to Yahoo Finance. "I’ve got a Bitcoin community of these crazy 100 million Bitcoin users around the world who will get behind the project. We can create success in the town with a football team,” he added. But Bedford FC is "not a crypto club. This isn't about getting people to buy cryptocurrencies or [non-fungible tokens] or any of that nonsense," McCormack said. "What we are is a football club that will be run as a professional business" that attracts sponsorships to create the money to spend on players, equipment and facilities," he added. Last year, companies bulging with fat with profits from a booming cycle for crypto confronted a new problem: Rapid growth didn't translate into name recognition. To remedy that problem, many funneled over a billion dollars into advertising — and cryptocurrency exchanges were the most aggressive. Gemini commissioned a Spike Lee commercial, and Crypto.com paid Matt Damon to say “Fortune Favors the Brave”in a widely panned move. But the most significant crypto campaigns have focused on sports,another sector awash in new moneycreated by betting. Enter the "Ted Lasso" analogy. The show features an English football squad competing in an open league, where the plot revolves around a bumbling American coach hired by a new owner to turn the woeful franchise around. Based on performance, the best and worst teams are promoted (or demoted) within a league. The Bedford Football Club sits in England’s tenth division — which means the club must be promoted 9 times before it can compete in the Premier League. No stranger to this system, McCormack’s strategy hinges on leveraging a worldwide community of Bitcoin enthusiasts to and advertising demand from Bitcoin companies. He's not the only one.The Washington Post first reported that WAGMI United, a group of high-profile U.S. cryptocurrency investors recently made an offer to buy Premier League team, Bradford City AFC. But the current Bradford Chairmandenied the offer, after reports that fans were resisting the possibility of the new ownership,according to Coinmarket cap. McCormack was more lucky. “There are a few things for me that are lucky that converged in a few months. I’ve lived here [Bedford] for my whole life… I do understand British football. I love Football. I go to games all the time,” McCormack said. The podcaster spent years building his own business from advertising deals with crypto companies for his show. From the level of interest in merchandise, and at the pace he is selling sponsorships, the club’s first year of revenue “could match a small league 1 club," the entrepreneur said. According to the club’s website, it is already sponsored by three Bitcoin mining companies: Compass Mining, Hut 8 and Luxor. Yet crypto is notoriously whipsaw. McCormack added that his team, which will be rechristened as Real Bedford FC, won’t be susceptible to short-term swings in Bitcoin prices. “I don;t want people looking at this as a weird crypto project that’s a flash in the pan idea," he told Yahoo Finance. "It’s not a crypto project, it’s a business and football project. We just operate with a Bitcoin standard." David Hollerith covers cryptocurrency for Yahoo Finance. Follow him@dshollers. Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance Read the latest cryptocurrency and bitcoin news from Yahoo Finance Follow Yahoo Finance onTwitter,Instagram,YouTube,Facebook,Flipboard, andLinkedIn \|\| ‘That Lie As Big As the One You Told on Fetty Wap’: Alexis Skyy Fans Don’t Buy Her Explanation of How Her Butt ‘Got Bigger’: Alexis Skyy is over the cosmetic enhancement rumors about her body. The Instagram model took to IG to put an end to all the gossip her fans and haters have created about her body. Since she actually has had work done and took some years to come clean about it, many people have come up with their own tales about Skyy’s nip-and-tuck process. Photo: @alexisskyy_/Instagram Most times, Skyy ignores the chatter, but on Friday, Dec. 17, the 27-year-old decided she couldn’t ignore the lies any longer. She wrote on her IG story, “I never did anything more to my ass y’all like I gain like 10 pounds and my ass got bigger … I never got a bbl a day in my life just my boob other then that yes I did ass shots like 10 years ago so please with the no more surgeries.” Many commenters responded by claiming Skyy’s statement was a fabrication. “She got the hood BBL,” said one. Another wrote, “You ain’t gotta lie to us,” and someone else said, “That lie as big as the one you told on Fetty Wap about him being the dad on national TV.” This particular person was referring to a time when Skyy was claiming her then-boyfriend was the father of her soon-to-be 4-year-old daughter, Alaiya. Alexis Skyy addresses haters about her surgery. (Photo: @alexisskyy_) That rumor was debunked this year when it was discovered that automobile salesman Brandon Medford was the real father of her child. Other commenters focused on trying to decipher what Skyy was truly trying to say in her message. One said, “I don’t understand what she trynna say….. but no more surgery sis! Period.” It’s not likely that the “Love and Hip Hop” star is done getting surgeries. In fact, two months ago she tweeted that she was interested in getting liposuction. She wrote, “I can’t wait to get this lipo I gained so much weight because the doctor said I had to.” I can’t wait to get this lipo I gained so much weight because the doctor said I had to — Alexis Skyy (@alexisskyyyyyy) October 22, 2021 Check out more stories like this on Atlantablackstar.com More news from our partners: Maury Povich Offers to Help ‘LHH’ Star Alexis Sky Establish Paternity: ‘Everybody Knows My DNA Tests are Legendary’ “Death Appears To Be Part Of A Disturbing Trend” \| Ex-NFL Player Glenn Foster Choked Before Dying In An Alabama Sheriff’s Department Custody Should You ‘Buy the Dip’ With Bitcoin and Stocks Drop? View comments \|\| Fidelity's spot bitcoin ETF is set to start trading in Canada, while its US fund is still waiting for the SEC's green light: • Fidelity has launched a spot bitcoin ETF in Canada that will start trading on Thursday. • Fidelity is "the biggest asset manager to date with a bitcoin ETF", Eric Balchunas, senior ETF analyst at Bloomberg said. • Spot bitcoin ETFs trade in Europe and Canada, but only futures-based ETFs have been approved in the US. • Sign up here for our daily newsletter, 10 Things Before the Opening Bell. Fidelity Investments is about to launch an exchange traded fund (ETF) backed by bitcoin, rather than bitcoin futures, but it's listing the fund in Canada, as US regulators have still not given these particular crypto products the go-ahead. An affiliate of the Boston-based asset manager, Fidelity Investments Canada told Insider it would launch the Fidelity Advantage Bitcoin ETF and ETF Fund "on or around December 2" under the ticker FBTC, according to itswebsite. The ETF's bitcoin sub-custodian, Fidelity Clearing Canada. will acquire and hold bitcoin and investors will be able to buy and sell it on the Toronto Stock Exchange. ETFs backed by physically settled bitcoin are available in Europe, as well as Canada, where regulatorsapprovedthose funds in February this year. In August, Frenchregulatorslet asset manager Melanion Capital list a spot bitcoin ETF of its own. "We believe that cryptocurrency is a valid asset class that we would like to provide as an investment option for retail investors in Canada by including this in our product offering," a spokesperson from Fidelity Investments Canada told Insider. US investors only have access to bitcoin-futures ETFs for now. Fidelityfiledto list a spot bitcoin ETF in the US back in March, but has not got approval to do so at this point. So far, US regulators have approved bitcoin futures ETFs run byProShares,ValkyrieandVanEck. Fidelity opted to offer a bitcoin spot ETF over a futures one because bitcoin futures are generally in "contango" which means the futures price is higher than the spot price of the underlying asset, which means investors can lose money when they roll their positions. The company also said bitcoin futures ETFs may suffer from capacity constraints due to limits on the number of futures contracts an ETF is permitted to hold at any given time. Fidelity's history with digital assets traces back to 2014, when it began research and development efforts into blockchain technology through the Fidelity Centre of Applied Technology. Some analysts believed Fidelity listing a bitcoin ETF in Canada was a blow to regulators in America. "This should be embarrassing for the SEC that one of America's biggest, most storied names in investing is forced to go up North to serve its clients," Bloomberg Senior ETF Analyst Eric Balchunas said onTwitter. Crypto giant Grayscale, whichfiledfor a spot bitcoin ETF in October, sent a letter to the SEC on Monday saying it had no basis to approve bitcoin futures ETFs and not spot ones and by doing so violated the Administrative Protections Act (APA). Read the original article onBusiness Insider [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] None available.	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 41733.94, 41911.60, 41821.26, 42735.86, 43949.10, 42591.57, 43099.70, 43177.40, 43113.88, 42250.55
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2017-12-18] BTC Price: 19114.20, BTC RSI: 74.87 Gold Price: 1262.20, Gold RSI: 47.83 Oil Price: 57.16, Oil RSI: 53.34 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Stock market preview, December 13: Perhaps the final major market catalyst of the year is set to come to markets on Wednesday. At 2:00 p.m. ET, the Federal Reserve will announce its final monetary policy decision of the year, and markets expect the central bank to raise interest rates for the third time this year. The Fed should push the target range for its benchmark interest up higher by 0.25%, to a new corridor of 1.25%-1.50%, pegging the Effective Fed Funds rate at 1.37% which would be the highest since October 2008. Wednesday will also be Janet Yellen’s final post-meeting press conference as Fed chair, as current Fed governor Jay Powell is set to take over from Yellen in February. Federal Reserve Chairman Janet Yellen will face reporters for the final time after Wednesday’s policy announcement. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts Elsewhere on the economic schedule, investors will get the November reading on inflation in the morning, which is expected to show prices are still rising less than the Fed’s 2% target. On the earnings side, Wednesday’s schedule is light with Pier 1 Imports ( PIR ) the biggest report of the day. Investors will also be keeping an eye on results of the special election in Alabama in the race to fill Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ seat, with Republican Roy Moore and Democrat Doug Jones in a dead heat as of the latest polling ahead of Tuesday’s vote. Other Washington, D.C. storylines to monitor on Wednesday will be any news about progress being made on tax reform, which GOP lawmakers still hope to bring to a vote in both houses before the end of the year. Yellen’s last stand While markets expect the Fed to raise interest rates on Wednesday, the hour-long press conference with Chair Yellen will be the day’s main highlight. This will mark Yellen’s final time taking questions from reporters after a Fed decision and one expects that Yellen will be asked about her legacy at the central bank, which has moved from a crisis-era policy stance to normalizing interest rates during her tenure. Yellen is also the first woman to serve as chair of the Federal Reserve, though writing in The New York Times this weekend Amy Chozik noted that Yellen “almost never talks about gender in the abstract or her historic role as the [Fed’s] chairman.” Yellen’s role as perhaps the most influential woman in the world during his time as Fed chair, however, could be a question the chair faces on Wednesday. Story continues Federal Reserve Chairman Janet Yellen speaks during a news conference after a two-day Federal Open Markets Committee (FOMC) policy meeting, in Washington, U.S., September 20, 2017. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts Investors will also get an updated look at the Fed’s economic forecasts, which will be perhaps an even bigger focus for investors than the by-now anticipated news of another interest rate hike. Alongside its latest Summary of Economic Projections (SEP), the Fed will also release an updated version of its “Dot Plot,” which gives estimates on future interest rates from current Fed officials. As of September, this plot indicated that officials see the Fed raising interest rates three times in 2018. “While we continue to expect four rate hikes next year, we think it is premature to expect the median dot at end-2018 to move up from the current three-hike baseline,” write economists at Goldman Sachs. “However, we do expect the median dot for 2019 to move back up from two to three hikes.” In other words, Goldman expects the Fed’s target interest rate range to be 3%-3.25% by the end of the decade. The last time the Fed Funds rate was at this level was early 2008. Goldman adds that, “The December meeting and press conference will likely again center around the Fed’s dual mandate dilemma balancing concern about both labor market overheating and persistently soft inflation. “Beyond these core issues, a few potential emerging themes for 2018—financial stability risks, concern about inflation expectations, and alternative policy frameworks such as price level targeting—could also gain airtime at Chair Yellen’s last press conference.” Wednesday’s SEP will also give the Fed’s forecast for GDP growth and the unemployment rate over the next few years, with an update on 2018 expected given that the Fed expected unemployment to be 4.3% in the fourth quarter of this year and 4.1% in the fourth quarter of next year; in October and November, the unemployment rate was 4.1%. As for markets, which saw the Dow and S&P 500 close at a record high on Tuesday, Bespoke Investment Group notes that the S&P 500 has rise an average of 0.31% on all Fed days since 1994, better than the 0.03% rise the benchmark index rises on any given trading day. — Myles Udland is a writer at Yahoo Finance. Follow him on Twitter @MylesUdland Read more from Myles here: Evidence shows corporate tax cuts don’t work Walmart’s strong quarter shows why Amazon had to buy Whole Foods Foreign investors might be the key to forecasting a U.S. recession It’s been 17 years since U.S. consumers felt this good about the economy TOM LEE: Bitcoin is an important asset for investors to own \|\| Stay Patient and Stay the Course With JD.Com Inc(ADR) Stock: I imagine investors inJD.Com Inc(ADR)(NASDAQ:JD) are somewhat frustrated at the moment. JD.com news has been nothing but good — yet JD.com stock hasn’t moved in six months. I’ll admit the lack of movement in the JD stock price has been a surprise. I thought a September pullbackrepresented an opportunityto get JD.com stock cheap — and yet JD has stayed roughly flat. I predicted JD.com wouldpost a big earnings beatearlier this month, and again recommended the stock heartily. JD earningscrushed consensus— and JD.com stockstillhasn’t moved. Source:Daniel Cukier via Flickr But I’m not ready to give up on JD just yet. The stock isn’t cheap by any means, trading at 43x 2018 EPS estimates. I still see some risk to the Chinese economy after two decades of torrid performance. Still, there are few better growth stories in the entire market, and the performance gap between JD stock and that of larger, better-known rivalAlibaba Group Holding Ltd(NYSE:BABA) should reverse. At some point, the JD.com stock price is going to move and that move most likely is going to be upward. InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips As noted, I predicted a blowout quarter from JD, but the numbers were even better than I thought. Revenue grew 39% year-over-year. Adjusted income per ADS did decline, thanks to investments in the business, but the $0.23 print beat consensus by $0.10. • The 9 Best Stocks to Buy on the Dip Below the headline numbers, the performance looks strong as well. Gross merchandise value (GMV) rose in the “low 30s” on a percentage basis, according to theQ3 conference call. Adjusted gross margin hit an all-time record. That’s helpful given that as a pure retailer — with a model much closer toAmazon.com, Inc.(NASDAQ:AMZN) than that of Alibaba — gross margins are going to be on the lower side, relative to most companies. Marketing spending rose, which the company attributed to efforts to reach smaller cities on the mainland. Free-cash flow was negative, but there too JD.com is investing in the future, in this case in a new headquarters and new warehouses. Meanwhile, Q4 guidance of revenue growth of 35-39% suggests the growth story should remain intact for at least the rest of 2017. And as InvestorPlace columnist Nicolas Chahine pointed out,a strong Singles’ Day performancesuggests the quarter is off to a strong start. JD.com stock did make some gains coming out of the report. But as has been the case for the past six months, it quickly retreated. The obvious question is why. Truthfully, it’s tough to tell.Morgan Stanley(NYSE:MS) analystsdowngraded the stockto Neutral soon after earnings, with JD stock falling on that news. The brokerage firm pointed to concerning commentary on the Q3 call, in which JD.com management cited “coercive tactics” from competitors (likely Alibaba), which led apparel manufacturers to leave the platform. But there’s more going on here than a single analyst move. (It’s worth noting that Morgan Stanley still has a $45 price target, which suggests about 19% upside in the stock from current levels.) JD.com stock simply hasn’t gotten the same love as Alibaba. Over the past six months, the JD stock price has fallen 7.7%. BABA hasgainedsome 45%, adding some $140 billion in market capitalization in the process. Yet from here, JD stock looks like a far better play, given theaccounting concerns at Alibabathat fellow InvestorPlace columnist Ian Bezek highlighted just this week. JD stock is more expensive on a P/E basis, but it’s also steadily taken share from its larger rival. There are risks in JD shares, to be sure. The true strength of the Chinese economy long has been debated. A 43x forward multiple does suggest further downside particularly in a broad market correction. But this is a market that’s bid up shares in high-growth, high-multiple stocks like AMZN,Nvidia Corporation(NASDAQ:NVDA), andShopify Inc (US)(NYSE:SHOP). All of those companies have impressive growth stories, to be sure. But so does JD.com. And it’s hard not to feel like JD stock is getting left out of the rally. This is a story that might take some patience. Chahine recommended selling JD stock coming out of the strong Singles’ Day numbers, and that’s a strategy that might make some sense. A long JD/short BABA trade would tease out broad market and Chinese macro risk as well. On its own, JD might be due for some volatility. Support has held in the current range — but a further dip from a technical perspective could imply a drop back to the low 30s. • 8 Bitcoin Stocks That You Won't Lose Your Shirt Over I still think JD.com stock is more than cheap enough below $40 and a price closer to $30 would be a gift. There’s a lot to like here, and more than enough reward to take on potential risk. All that said, after the last few months, investors might be advised to have some patience. The JD.com story is moving forward. But for whatever reason, the market isn’t yet coming along. As of this writing, Vince Martin has no positions in any securities mentioned. • The 10 Best Stocks for Your 401k • 7 Stocks to Double Your Money • 5 'Strong Buy' Dividend Growth Stocks for 2018 The postStay Patient and Stay the Course With JD.Com Inc(ADR) Stockappeared first onInvestorPlace. \|\| NOVOGRATZ: 'Bitcoin could be at $40,000' by end of next year: Michael Novogratz REUTERS/Rick Wilking Famed hedge funder turned crypto-investor, Michael Novogratz told CNBC bitcoin could reach $40,000 by the end of 2018. A wave of money from both institutional and retail investors is sitting on the sidelines, according to Novogratz. Famed hedge funder turned crypto-investor Michael Novogratz does not think bitcoin will top out any time soon. The former Fortress manager told CNBC Monday that bitcoin , which has been flirting with $10,000, could potentially hit $40,000 by the end of 2018. Novogratz, who is planning to launch his own cryptocurrency hedge fund, said a spike in interest from both retail and institutional investors could push bitcoin to his bullish price target. "There's a big wave of money coming, not just here but all around the world," he said. As Business Insider has previously reported, a number of Wall Street firms have jumped on the bitcoin bandwagon , including market makers, DRW and DV Trading. Exchange giants CME and Cboe are set to launch bitcoin futures, which will allow investors to bet on the future price of bitcoin, in the near-term. That could open the door to more Wall Streeters entering the fray. To be sure, Novogratz doesn't think the road to $40,000 will be without twists and turns. He said 50% corrections could happen on the way. A former prediction by Novogratz could pan out. In October, he told CNBC that bitcoin could break through $10,000 as soon as March 2018. Bitcoin was trading at $9,698 per coin at 6:21 p.m. ET, a bit shy of its all-time high of $9,733, according to data from Markets Insider. Bitcoin started the year just under $1,000. Screen Shot 2017 11 27 at 6.21.26 PM MI Read more about blockchain , the technology powering bitcoin, here . NOW WATCH: This is what you get when you invest in an initial coin offering See Also: A bitcoin trading firm that's taking calls about $50 million deals just made 3 big appointments Bitcoin and Ethereum fall after a $31 million crypto heist Square is taking on the big cryptocurrency exchanges and it represents a $30 million opportunity View comments \|\| CVS Health Corp Buys Aetna. So Who Is Going To Buy Rite Aid?: The combination of CVS Health Corp (NYSE: CVS ) with Aetna Inc (NYSE: AET ) seems like a strong move, and it raises questions as to who will scoop up Rite Aid Corporation (NYSE: RAD ) and its stores and pharmacy management business. First, let’s look at the CVS-AET merger. Here’s why this works. AET is an insurer. Every time one of its consumers needs drugs, AET has to pony up its share of the drug costs. That lowers its profits. But with CVS, every time a patient needs to get a drug, CVS makes money. Thus, Aetna’s consumers can now buy drugs in CVS stores, so AET costs are now going to be balanced out. CVS Health Corp Buys Aetna. So Who Is Going To Buy Rite Aid? Source: Mike Mozart via Flickr That, in turn, should help Aetna’s consumers with lower drug payments. CVS also is going to increase the number of clinics it has. This may save both firms money because people may be enticed to use CVS clinics instead of going to the doctor. In addition, when people go to the clinics, they’ll be right there in a CVS store. Perhaps they will purchase other items. InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips The combined entity should make about $7 billion in profit. Yes, it will mean that it will have $81 billion in debt on its balance sheet that will never be paid off. But hey, the banks are happy as long as the debt is being serviced. 10 A-Rated Tech Stocks to Grow Your Returns Look for Return on AET Stock With AET stock currently trading at $178 and the buyout price being $207, there is substantial upside here with the closing sometime in mid-2018. The only sticking point is regulatory approval. There doesn’t seem to be any obvious obstacles to this, but considering the AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T ) deal with Time Warner Inc (NYSE: TWX ) has been delayed due to the DOJ’s laughable lawsuit, one never knows. So you can buy AET stock here at $178 and look for that 14% return over the next year. You could take a little less risk by selling the 20 July $200 naked puts for $22. That way you collect most of the upside now. If the merger fails, the stock gets put to you at an effective price of $178. Because AET was trading at around $160 before the announcement, that’s probably a floor if AET stock falls back to where it was before the merger. So downside is limited, and getting AET stock put to you is hardly the end of the world. Story continues As for RAD stock, my thesis hasn’t changed. Cerberus Capital thought about purchasing some Rite Aid stores. Private equity firms akin to Cerberus like to take assets and bring in experienced people to improve cash flow. RAD Ripe for Picking Private equity shops adore cash flow. The more cash flow there is, the faster the private equity firm gets a return on its money. If the cash flow situation improves, the company is spun out into a new IPO and the firm cashes in its chips. RAD stock seems ripe for this arrangement. While the operational situation has been getting worse at Rite Aid, it still has almost 2,000 stores and a pharmacy management business. The 2,500 stores it just sold will pay down debt substantially and that creates more cash flow instead of it going to debt service. 10 High-Yield Stocks That Won't Cut Their Dividends in 2018 RAD stock was as high as $7 when there was merger talk, so I still think there is substantial upside from $1.70 per share now. Lawrence Meyers is the CEO of PDL Capital, a specialty lender focusing on consumer finance. He is the Manager of The Liberty Portfolio at www.thelibertyportfolio.com. He does not own any of the aforementioned stocks. Meyers has 22 years’ experience in the stock market, and has written more than 1,600 articles on investing. Lawrence Meyers can be reached at [email protected] . More From InvestorPlace Warren Buffett's 7 Best Stock Picks of 2017 7 AI Stocks to Buy to Join the Next Technological Revolution 5 Bitcoin Stocks to Buy for Low-Risk Cryptocurrency Profits The post CVS Health Corp Buys Aetna. So Who Is Going To Buy Rite Aid? appeared first on InvestorPlace . \|\| Start-up launches an A.I. voice assistant to help online retailers battle Amazon: Irish start-up Voysis has created an artificial intelligence (AI) voice assistant that it is aiming to license to retailers in a bid to help them compete with e-commerce titan Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) . Voysis' voice technology, which launched Thursday, can be integrated into an online retailer's app or mobile website allowing shoppers to buy products using their voices. It's a direct competitor to the Amazon Alexa and Google (NASDAQ: GOOGL) Assistant voice assistants. While Alexa may seem the natural fit for retailers to partner with, given the size of the company and the heavy investment it is putting on AI, Voysis argues that stores could lose the ability to know their customers by partnering with Amazon."Retailers know that their customers don't know what they want when they come to their site. That's why so many have invested in website tools, retargeting and more. We help them give users a better mobile search experience, helping them find what they're looking for much faster," Voysis CEO Peter Cahill told CNBC by email."Amazon also owns the relationship with the customer on its platform and retailers could be justified in thinking Amazon would attempt to usurp their position in the market. With Voysis Commerce, every brand and retailer can have it's own Alexa."Amazon's voice assistant works via "Skills". These are essentially apps that developers can make that work with Alexa. For example, a news website could create a skill for Alexa that allows a user to ask for the main headlines.But not many retailers have created skills for Amazon. In the U.K., Ocado has made a skill that lets users shop via Alexa, and in the U.S. 1-800 Flowers allows people to place orders via voice.Voysis is hoping to establish itself as the major voice assistant in the space. But it faces a tough task. Amazon already has hundreds of developers on board , and the scale of the platform could make it appealing to potential retailers. On top of that, it has managed to launch its voice platform in international markets such as India and Japan, which could allow it to tap retailers in those countries. Earlier this year, Voysis raised $8 million in a funding round led by venture capital firm Polaris Partners. Irish start-up Voysis has created an artificial intelligence (AI) voice assistant that it is aiming to license to retailers in a bid to help them compete with e-commerce titan Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) . Voysis' voice technology, which launched Thursday, can be integrated into an online retailer's app or mobile website allowing shoppers to buy products using their voices. It's a direct competitor to the Amazon Alexa and Google (NASDAQ: GOOGL) Assistant voice assistants. While Alexa may seem the natural fit for retailers to partner with, given the size of the company and the heavy investment it is putting on AI, Voysis argues that stores could lose the ability to know their customers by partnering with Amazon. "Retailers know that their customers don't know what they want when they come to their site. That's why so many have invested in website tools, retargeting and more. We help them give users a better mobile search experience, helping them find what they're looking for much faster," Voysis CEO Peter Cahill told CNBC by email. "Amazon also owns the relationship with the customer on its platform and retailers could be justified in thinking Amazon would attempt to usurp their position in the market. With Voysis Commerce, every brand and retailer can have it's own Alexa." Amazon's voice assistant works via "Skills". These are essentially apps that developers can make that work with Alexa. For example, a news website could create a skill for Alexa that allows a user to ask for the main headlines. But not many retailers have created skills for Amazon. In the U.K., Ocado has made a skill that lets users shop via Alexa, and in the U.S. 1-800 Flowers allows people to place orders via voice. Voysis is hoping to establish itself as the major voice assistant in the space. But it faces a tough task. Amazon already has hundreds of developers on board , and the scale of the platform could make it appealing to potential retailers. On top of that, it has managed to launch its voice platform in international markets such as India and Japan, which could allow it to tap retailers in those countries. Earlier this year, Voysis raised $8 million in a funding round led by venture capital firm Polaris Partners. More From CNBC Bitcoin's value rose $10 billion in just 12 hours after a dramatic sell-off European politicians ‘need to be courageous’ to catch up with China on tech, investor says Regulating A.I. is a 'silly idea,' VMWare CEO says View comments \|\| Bitcoin firms won't be included in Israel share indexes: regulator: By Steven Scheer JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel's markets regulator said on Tuesday bitcoin-based companies would not be included in any indexes on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE) but that does not mean they should be banned from trading. Shmuel Hauser mentioned Natural Resource Holdings (NRH.TA), whose shares have soared some 5,000 percent the past few months since it said it would shift its focus from mining for gold and iron to "mining" cryptocurrencies. It was down 35 percent in Tuesday afternoon trade. Hauser, the chairman of the Israel Securities Authority (ISA), said in a speech there was a need for a suitable regulatory framework for such instruments given that the global market value of all digital currencies grew in 2017 to $300 billion from $18 billion. Bitcoin was quoted at $16,390 on the Luxembourg-based Bitstamp exchange, down 0.5 percent. The world's best-known cryptocurrency hit a record of $17,270 on Monday, registering a near 20-fold increase for the year. "Bitcoin ... seems to be out of control," Hauser said, noting its price had characteristics of the technology bubble at the beginning of the millennium. "There isn't any information on supply and demand, and whether anyone is in control of that supply and demand," he said. "That does not mean that bitcoins or alike are not to be considered, but it does mean that it should be examined at the country level by all regulators." Underscoring the concern, Fantasy Networks (FNTS.TA), a former gaming firm, this week said it was studying the possibility of operating in the blockchain field -- the technology underpinning cryptocurrencies -- tripling its share price. "Blockchain is a legitimate technology that will be a part of our lives," said Hauser, who will step down next month after 6-1/2 years as head of the ISA. "We will adopt it and it will enable us to lower costs for investors." He said there needs to be a re-evaluation of regulatory schemes in financial technologies -- including crowdfunding, robot trading and trading platforms -- since securities laws were enacted years ago. (Editing by David Evans) \|\| Walmart is making a mockery of the retail apocalypse — and traders are betting it'll keep soaring (WMT): Reuters/Jeff Mitchell • Walmart crushed its most recent earnings report, beating Wall Street profit and sales estimates while also raising full-year guidance. • The company also grew e-commerce gross merchandise volume by 54%, suggesting that it's holding off Amazon. • Traders made adjustments to get more bullish heading into earnings, and they are positioned for more strength ahead for Walmart's stock. There's no denying that theretail apocalypseis sweeping America, leaving thousands of brick-and-mortarstore closingsin its wake. Apparently someone forgot to tellWalmart. The biggest brick-and-mortar store of all is arguably doing better than ever, fresh off ablockbuster earnings reporton Thursday that saw the company smash Wall Street estimates and post its best sales growth in more than eight years. The report sent the company's stock surging 10%, demolishing its previous record high. But nothing in Walmart's quarterly report piqued investor interest like the company's decision to raise its full-year earnings guidance. In a market where money managers are increasingly interested in what's next for a company, rather than what's already happened, it's the ultimate driver of positive sentiment. And the future certainly does look bright for Walmart, even in a retail landscape constantly under pressure from the online retail titanAmazon. Walmart's e-commerce segment grew gross merchandise volume by 54% in the third quarter, suggesting that it's taking the fight to Amazon. Those figures now includeJet.com, the online retailer that Walmart acquired last year. Walmart has now expanded US revenue for 13 straight quarters. While investors certainly took notice of Walmart's stellar performance immediately after the earnings report, their confidence in the company had been building for weeks. This can be seen in a measure called short interest, which tracks bets that a stock will fall. The number of shares being held short fell by roughly 9 million, or 18%, in the month leading up to the quarterly release, according to data compiled by the financial-analytics firmS3 Partners. That implies that traders weren't particularly concerned with positioning against a potential drop in Walmart's stock — a wise outlook in hindsight. Business Insider/Andy Kiersz, data from S3 Partners Walmart investors are looking similarly confident going forward. They're paying the lowest premium in two years to protect against a 10% decline in Walmart's stock over the next six months, relative to bets on a 10% increase, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Still, it would be unwise for both Walmart traders and the company to get too comfortable with current conditions. Amazon has shown repeatedly that it'scapable of creating or erasingbillions of dollars of market value with a single action. And while Walmart looks unscathed right now, there's no telling what kind of tricks Amazon has up its sleeve. But for the time being, Walmart and its shareholders can find comfort in the fact that they've avoided the retail apocalypse. Markets Insider NOW WATCH:$6 TRILLION INVESTMENT CHIEF: Bitcoin is a bubble See Also: • Tesla's sinking stock has made short sellers almost $1 billion • Roku has tripled since going public — and traders betting against the stock are getting crushed • General Electric's turnaround plan has investors dumping the stock SEE ALSO:Tesla's sinking stock has made short sellers almost $1 billion \|\| Attention Traders: Blockchainpalooza Continues: A Friday rally inblockchain-relatedstocks revealed enduring interest in the investment theme. Between cryptocurrencies and the Internet of Things, a number of firms boast exposure to the trend. Here are nine opportunities traders are picking: Net 1 UEPS Technologies Inc (NASDAQ:UEPS) The payment processing firm’s subsidiary, Masterpayment, specializes in cryptocurrencies andannouncedTuesday its new role in the digital transactions of Bitstamp. The stock rests up nearly 16 percent on the news. Social Reality Inc (NASDAQ:SRAX) Sinceannouncingplans for its BIGtoken initial coin offering in October, the digital marketing and data management platform is trading up 131 percent. A Monday update on the digital currency lent an extra 72-percent boost. Riot Blockchain Inc (NASDAQ:RIOT) Riot announced last week a strategic investment in Verady, a blockchain technology company, which inspired a 201-percent run in the stock. Formerly the biotech firm, Bioptix, Riotbecame a pure-play blockchain companyin October and now engages in the theme through a partnership with Coinsquare and cryptocurrency investments. Overstock.com Inc (NASDAQ:OSTK) Overstock subsidiary, t0, announced last week its tZERO token sale to begin in December, prompting a 25-percent Overstock run. The parent launched Medici Ventures in 2014 to manage its investments in blockchain, including stakes in Factom, Ripio and a few blockchain-based startups. Bitcoin Investment Trust (OTC:GBTC) The trust spiked 7 percent Friday after announcing its distribution of bitcoin gold. Shares of the $1.86 billion trust now trade around $1,024, allowing investors to get in on bitcoin without paying the $8,200 pure-play price. Marathon Patent Group Inc (NASDAQ:MARA) The IP licensing and commercialization firm lends secondary exposure to blockchain through its recently acquired cryptocurrency miner, Global Bit Ventures, and its purchased IP rights from other relevant players. The stock traded up 168 percent Friday on peer sympathy. Qudian Inc - ADR (NYSE:QD) China’s peer-to-peer lending platform is backed by the blockchain-exposed Ant Financial and partners with Ant’s Alipay. Qudian’s October IPO ranked the fourth largest of 2017, although the stock now trades down 55 percent on the threat of Chinese regulation. Yandex NV (NASDAQ:YNDX) The internet services provider and IT firm recently unveiled its new voice assistant, which positions it to penetrate the Internet of Things and the blockchain sequences leveraged in related computing processes. Related Link: 3 Ways Blockchain Technology Is Building Up Momentum To Disrupt The Services Industry Globally How To Trade Cryptocurrency Hacks See more from Benzinga • Helios And Matheson Enters Commercial Guaranty In Favor Of PayPal; What Does It Mean? • Morgan Stanley: Meg Whitman's Departure Limits Upside For Hewlett-Packard • Bloomin' Brands Shares Boosted By Hedge Funds, But Is The Stock Still A Buy? © 2017 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| Bitcoin is gaining ground after futures trading gets approval from US regulators: Markets Insider Thisprice of bitcoinis rising after the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission approved bitcoin futures trading on three US exchanges. "Bitcoin, a virtual currency, is a commodity unlike any the commission has dealt with in the past," saidCFTC chairman J. Christopher Giancarlo in a statement. CME, Cboe and Nasdaq have all announced interest in offering bitcoin futures, and CME said that its futures would launch on December 18. Both CME and Cboe have said that their futures contracts would settle in cash. The approval from the CFTC came just days afterthe price of bitcoin crossed the historic $10,000 per coin mark. The coin hit its all-time high of $11,413.01 on Wednesday, according to data from Markets Insider. The price of bitcoin is notoriously volatile, and futures contracts could help dampen the volatility in the markets. Bitcoin has risen 932% this year. NOW WATCH:One type of ETF is taking over the market See Also: • Airplanes have a secret engine hidden in the tail • 26 things under $20 we use every day • We just got a glimpse of how bitcoin futures will work SEE ALSO:Bitcoin has been on a wild ride since crossing $10,000 \|\| All-Time High: Ether Prices Pass $440 as Key Level Breached: The price of ether, ethereum's native token, is on a roll. Soon before press time, the ether-U.S. dollar (ETH/USD) exchange rate had reached a fresh all-time high of $444. As perCoinMarketCap, the world's second largest cryptocurrency has appreciated by 11 percent in the last 24 hours. Total trading volumejumped to $1.845 billion yesterday – the highest since Sept. 15. A high volume rally indicates strong hands are at play and more records could be set over the weekend. Again, South Korean desks are firing on all cylinders. Volumes in the ETH/KRW pair offered by Bithumb, one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the country, have gone up by 13.57 percent today. The price action analysis indicates scope for a rally to $460-$470 levels in the short-term. • The above chart shows a bull flag breakout, which is a continuation pattern – i.e. an upside break of the flag as seen above signals continuation of the rally. • As per the measured-height method, a bull flag breakout has opened the doors for $480 levels (flag height added to the breakout level). The chart above shows: • The next major resistance is seen at $465.90 (127.2% Fibonacci extension). • The relative strength index (RSI) shows overbought conditions. The above chart shows: • A bullish symmetrical triangle breakout. This is a continuation pattern – i.e. an upside break indicating the bull run has resumed. In ether's case, it signifies that the rally from the lows near $10 has resumed. • The RSI is close to the overbought territory, however, it is well short of the extreme overbought levels seen in June. Thus, there is plenty scope for a further rally in prices. Ether looks set to test resistance levels of $465.90-$480 and could extend the rally to $500 levels in short-term. Technical pullbacks, if any, are likely to be short-lived. Only a sustained move below the 10-day MA would signal the rally has run out of steam. Rollercoasterimage via Shutterstock • Bitcoin Price Falls $1,000 in Minutes to Drop Below $10k • Getting Started? Ether Sets New High Above $500 • Wallet Demo Showcases Lightning-Like Network for Ethereum • Bitcoin Price on Shaky Ground After 1,000% Gains [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] Bitcoin surge continues http://inside.com/campaigns/inside-bitcoin-2017-12-07-4273/sections/bitcoin-surge-continues-25574 … \|\| Bitcoin - BTC Price: $8,036.49 Change in 1h: +0.47% Market cap: $134,124,196,206.00 Ranking: 1 #Bitcoin #BTC \|\| ビットコインが驚異的上昇の後ついに上げどまる、調整は「小幅」 http://ift.tt/2y9KIOb #ビットコイン \|\| RT karenmpd: A few of the usual suspects - SaaS and expense management - plus AI and bitcoin score fresh funding from B2B venture capitalists this week: http://bit.ly/2j4ZLap \|\| @OpHQnews. I know your swamped but can you advise if atm is up for Btc purchases and the fee/ vs price of Btc Thank you \|\| 12/18 15:00現在 #Bitcoin : 2,193,440円↑ #NEM #XEM : 82.8円↑ #Monacoin : 1567円↓ #Ethereum : 82,000円↑ #Zaif : 3.3109円↑ \|\| こんばんは。 bitcoin priceという \|\| I liked a @YouTube video http://youtu.be/hcqosysDaj0?a BITCOIN TO $20,000 IN DEC?? + WINNER #1 OF $2,000.00 ! \|\| bitcoin priceってゆうか、 \|\| @DennisMurega Hello African Sauce! do you want to make a miracle happen this year? #MiracleOnMerkle #SocialMediaToMineBitcoin #CryptoMiracle #Christmas #CryptoNewbie #ethereum #bitcoin pic.twitter.com/fSOx2FgsR8	Trend: down \|\| Prices: 17776.70, 16624.60, 15802.90, 13831.80, 14699.20, 13925.80, 14026.60, 16099.80, 15838.50, 14606.50
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2019-11-07] BTC Price: 9267.56, BTC RSI: 57.34 Gold Price: 1464.20, Gold RSI: 39.22 Oil Price: 57.15, Oil RSI: 58.36 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] What Googles quantum computer means for Bitcoin: A document published and later deleted by NASA a few days ago revealed that we could soon be entering a new technological era: Google has achieved "quantum supremacy"supposedly. According to the Financial Times , Google claims to have successfully built the worlds most powerful quantum computer. What that means, according to Googles researchers, is that calculations that normally take more than 10,000 years to perform, its computer was able to do in about 200 seconds . Does that mean that we can say goodbye to that sweet cryptography that protects the integrity of Bitcoin and other digital currencies? Probably not. Heres why: For starters, sources at Google told Fortune over the weekend that NASA took down the paper because it might have been published without the proper scientific peer review. A scientific publication needs to be evaluated and studied by a panel of experts before its ready for publication. So, it might not even actually be ready. Brave says Google is (still) secretly sharing your personal data with advertisers But lets assume it is. What you need to know about Bitcoin to understand the potential threat of quantum computing is that its architecture relies on two algorithms: ECDSA for digital signatures and SHA-256 as a hash function. If you reuse a wallet address and make a transaction, you expose your public key. So, yes, a quantum computer could use Shors algorithm to get your private from your public key, as Jack Matier of the Quantum Resistant Ledger recently explained in a Medium post . But dont panic just yet. The most optimistic scientific estimates say that even if this were possible, it wont happen during this decade (enough time to fork Bitcoin and make it quantum proof). Also, considering that Googles machine is only 53 quantum bits (qubits)a measure of the computers quantum powera research paper on the matter published by Cornell University may give Bitcoin hodlers some peace of mind: Story continues A 160 bit elliptic curve cryptographic key could be broken on a quantum computer using around 1000 qubits while factoring the security-wise equivalent 1024 bit RSA modulus would require about 2000 qubits (emphasis added). By comparison, Google's measly 53 qubits are still no match for this kind of cryptography. And, once again, it's even only a theoretical threat assuming that you re-used your address, which was considered a bad practice even back in Satoshis day . And a SHA-256 cryptographic hash is a different thing altogether. It is so powerful that, according to crypto evangelist Andreas Antonopolulos, the amount of computational power needed to crack it is greater than the wildest speculation of what intelligence agencies might haveand thats assuming they have quantum computers. Whats more, not only can quantum-computing scientists not break Bitcoin yet, they dont seem too interested in doing so anyway. In fact, one of the most evident use cases for quantum technology appears to be to improve encryption and cybersecurity techniques, according to Googles own researchers. But that isnt to say that theres no cause for alarm at all . While the native encryption algorithms used by Bitcoin and other proof-of-work coins are safe for now, the fact is that the rate of advancements in quantum technology is increasing, and that could, in time, pose a threat. "We expect their computational power will continue to grow at a double exponential rate," Google researchers said in the since-deleted document. Thankfully, there are already companies and research teams working on new cryptography algorithms for a post-quantum era . And, with that in mind, it may not be a bad idea to start thinking about a potential Bitcoin hardfork in a few decades that improves its weak security algorithm. \|\| Can 2019 End As 2017 Did For Bitcoin?: Bitcoin - the truly scarce digital object which had the world talking. Looking past its inherent qualities, however, most of the people are mainly interested in Bitcoin’s price, perhaps somewhat rightfully so. Despite its many benefits over traditional fiat currencies, the unfortunate truth is that today, Bitcoin is mainly used for speculative purposes. Trading Bitcoin became especially popular following its parabolic move back in 2017. From a price of around $800 at the beginning of the year, Bitcoin reached an astronomical all-time high of $20,000 in December. Even though Bitcoin was discussed a lot before that, 2017 was the year that left an imprint on the mainstream audience. Suddenly, everybody got into trading Bitcoin. Data from Google supports it. Trading Bitcoin In 2017: What Was It Actually Like? As we’ve already mentioned, 2017 was an unprecedented year for Bitcoin’s price . After all, it’s not every day that we see an asset growing by 2400% in less than a year. There are a few key moments that have to be outlined, though. Starting off, January in 2017 was marked by a rather negative event. China, being one of the most predominant economic centers in the world, decided to start tightening its oversight over the country’s Bitcoin exchanges. It’s worth noting that back then, they were rather dominant. Namely, these were OKCoin, Huobi, and BTCC. The Beijing office of the People’s Bank of China issued a statement that warned that Bitcoin is not a currency and that it shouldn’t be viewed as such. Back then this caused a drop in the trading volume but the price didn’t really react negatively. Following up was another painful event for Bitcoin. In March 2017, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rejected the Bitcoin ETF proposition of Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss. Bitcoin’s price dropped by as much as 30% almost immediately after. Nevertheless, what came next was the “bullish summer”. This is, perhaps, the term that best describes Bitcoin’s price action during that time. The cryptocurrency went on to achieve a new all-time high, climbing above $2,000 and surpassing $3,000 a few short weeks after in from May to September. BTC/USD 2017. Source: TradingView BTC/USD 2017. Source: TradingView By mid-October, the price of the cryptocurrency managed to reclaim $5,000. What followed was a global crackdown on unregulated ICOs which only proved the bullish sentiment. Despite the backlash of negative news, the price went on to surge what is currently its all-time high value of around $20,000 reached in December 2017. Unfortunately, the hype turned out to be too much and we saw a prolonged bear market that lasted all the way through 2018. During last year and the first three months of 2019, Bitcoin lost around $17,000 and dropped to a little above $3,000 in November 2018. Bitcoin’s Price in 2019: A Reminder Of The Past? The million-dollar question is if 2019 can turn out to be just as profitable as 2017 when it comes to trading Bitcoin. Well, for once, we already saw a massive run-up which surely got the hype going once again. Story continues However, looking at 2019 in retrospect, even though the year is still not through, we can see some tremendous differences. Of course, there are both good and bad developments, so let’s have a look. First of all, the infrastructure built around Bitcoin got notably better. Not only are there many more cryptocurrency trading exchanges, but there are also some platforms that are brought forward by notable institutional players in traditional finance. In terms of institutions stepping in, the most prominent event was probably the launch of Bakkt - the Bitcoin futures trading platform of the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE). The latter also owns the New York Stock Exchange. While the platform has seen a disappointingly small volume of trading Bitcoin, it’s an important infrastructural step mainly because it offers a physical settlement. This means that traders will receive an actual Bitcoin rather than its cash equivalent once their futures contract expires. Bitcoin’s network is also looking increasingly stronger, as the hashrate is surging past its former all-time highs regularly. As we said, though, there is also some bad news. The SEC is continuously clamping down on different cryptocurrency-related projects, mostly ICOs who failed to abide by their existing regulations. Moreover, we saw other Bitcoin ETF proposals refused. From a sheer price perspective, however, Bitcoin has marked a notable improvement since the beginning of the year. BTC/USD 2019. Source: TradingView As you can see, the price surged to as high as $14,000 in the summer. Even though it’s down about 45% since then, it’s still up more than 100% since the beginning of the year. Now, it’s absolutely impossible to predict whether or not Bitcoin will end the year with a parabolic move like back in 2017. If one thing is for sure, however, it’s that the cryptocurrency, as well as the entire industry, has improved notably since then. In any case, it’s worth noting that engaging the cryptocurrency market, in general, is risky. Volatility is notoriously high and any attempt to trade should be very well-measured and timed. It’s highly advisable to be aware of some important Bitcoin trading tips before starting, in order to ensure that your capital is protected. Image Sourced from Pixabay See more from Benzinga Bitcoin Derivatives Demand Is Growing In 2019 Despite ETF Refusals; Market Shows Maturity? Bitcoin Is 10 Years Old, Yet It's Market Adoption Remains Elusive © 2019 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. View comments \|\| Bitmain introduces platform to connect cryptocurrency hardware and mining farm owners: Bitmain, one of the largest producers of integrated circuits and mining hardware for cryptocurrencies,announcedon September 27 that it will be opening up a global platform to match owners of mining hardware with owners of mining farms. Bitmain plans to unveil the platform, termed the World Digital Mining Map (WDMM), at the upcomingWorld Digital Mining Summitin Frankfurt, Germany. The goal is to help mining remain price efficient for participants who are seeking good conditions and power resources. To create unique value via WDMM, Bitmain promises that "participants will be given personalized services from Bitmain which includes assistance with mining farm design, connections to foreign customers to host, and support with operations, purchasing and construction." “Bitmain is our key partner. About 85% of the equipment in operation on our site is from Bitmain. In practice, we checked the reliability of this equipment, ease of operation, and highest efficiency. Bitmain not only sells equipment, but also helps us operate and maintain the equipment in the most efficient way, it helps us to further the output and reduce the down time of our customers’ miners,” said Dmitrii Ushakov, current WDMM participant and CCO of Bitriver. The initiative from Bitmain comes as thehash rateof the Bitcoin network has reached an all-time high in September, consistently above 80,000,00 TH/s. \|\| The Carnage Has Abated For Now.: It was quite a bounce on theS&P 500after having dropped 35 points on the lacklustre ISM print, and it’s put all that and more back on again to trade higher on the day. Is bad news good news still? Indeed, that does appear to be the case after the markets fully priced in a Fed rate cut in October and price in December suggesting that its monetary policy that continues to remain one of the essential drivers of investors sentiment. On FX, the signal from the data is somewhat ambiguous; the weaker US growth could hurt USD against the safe havens such as JPY, but not against ASEAN EM and commodity exporter currencies. As such, an argument could be made thatUSDJPYis trading too high while USDKRW, the best proxy to express a weaker global growth bias is still trading too low. With that said, today could be more about pre-NFP housekeeping and pre-weekend position squaring so Asia Forex traders may have less of an axe to grind today. However, sentiment remains weak and any weakness will be seized upon as further examples of a slowdown or recession but keep in mind the downward revision from previous high watermarks could be the most eye-catching and have been a consistent feature of the “ establishments” critical employment report, The US Non-Farm Payrolls The US-China trade meeting remains the critical unknown variable, and perhaps the most prominent toggle for risk sentiment. The market continues to hope for the best while preparing for the worst that at minimum, the economic carnage inflicted by the US-China trade war will be enough to bring to fruition a partial trade deal. Where there’s a will, there is a way and as such, hope springs eternal. While the market is still a bit shaky from the US tariffs on EU products on the back of the Airbus row, investors can take some comfort that one of the US’s biggest trading partners Japan announced today that a US-Japan trade deal is set to take effect in January The EU tariffs are set to take effect October 18 which gives both sides a small window to negotiate, but with President Trump holding back on implementing tariffs on EU automobiles sadly for Germany and their vast automotive export complex, the worst might be yet to come as the US tariff carousel moves into to full motion across ” the pond” Concerns aboutglobal oil demandare rising, and next week’s US-China trade talks, the significant X factor, will be particularly important, given the sharp drop in the oil price over the last week. However, sentiment remains weak and any economic weakness will be seized upon by fast money traders suggesting the near term catalysts will likely be a function of oil demand However, after Saudi Arabia quick response to the terrorist attack suggests that they have used up much of their spare capacity cushion to satisfy international export demands does leave global supplies a tad vulnerable to addition disruptions. Now we have a sudden eruption of protest in Iraq, and the ensuing clampdown by security forces have brought some of this supply and geopolitical risk back into play. While the populist protests have not spread to Iraq’s primary oil infrastructure in and around Basra, there is no guarantee that the anti-corruption fervour won’t next set sights on Iraq oil fields. Gold punched above the USD1,505/oz on growth US economic concerns which implies lower US interest rates and that precisely what triggered the surge inGold demand. In this context,Gold should remain well supported. Gold traded in a narrow range in Asia and Europe yesterday but popped higher in early US action. The catalyst was disappointing US economic data which intensified concerns of a slowdown. However, profit-taking was swift when the US equity markets rebounded just as quickly. After this week’s shell shocking market purge, gold traders may be just as content to ” take the money and run ” on rallies thinking that the weak US data and Fed comments are good short term impulses but remain incredibly cautious about a possible interim US-China trade deal. However, one look at the resilient US equity market might be enough for investors to keep near term long gold position light. Physical demand remains weak, suggesting these recent up and down moves are more about leverage paper gold impulse which sadly can quickly trigger takedowns that may scare ” weak hands” out of their positions. Euro Despite the lousy EU data and the revision lower on the latest round of EU services PMI’s, theEURUSDremains supported by negative risk sentiment. However, traders appear content paying the current short-term Euro range goalposts 1.0975-1.1075 as it might be too early to call for full bore dollar weakness. Although the Fed easing narrative is a primary condition for dollar weakness, a 25-basis cut in October and even a follow-up cut in December might not lessen the USD yield advantage significantly as other Central Banks could quickly follow suit. So, until there’s evidence of the EU economic data improving, traders may still prefer selling EURUSD on moves to 1.1075-1.1100, but on a break above 1.1125-50, that strategy might then come into question. Much is riding on tonight NFP report so saddle up it could be a busy night for the Forex cowboys. Yen The market remains happy to sell USDJPY on rallies given the faltering equity markets; However, since the market has been selling USDJPY all week, traders might be content buying on dips ahead of the US employment report to improve their average on short position trade. Commodity Complex Commodity currencies may continue to fare poorly if oil prices continue to slide, which suggest both the CAD may continue to struggle. Asia EM Traders have been booking some profit in long USDAsia positions with the USD trading broadly weaker vs G-10 as the US economy is showing signs of faltering. However, nascent signs of a more fragile US economy are no cause for celebration for local economies which have massive export exposure into the US markets. This article was written by Stephen Innes, Asia Pacific Market Strategist atAxiTrader Thisarticlewas originally posted on FX Empire • ADL Predicts Oil Prices Will Fall Below $40 • Bitcoin Cash – ABC, Litecoin and Ripple Daily Analysis – 04/10/19 • Stocks Up, Safe-Haven Assets Up, Indicates Uncertainty Ahead of U.S. Jobs Report • GBP/USD Daily Forecast – GBP/USD Recovery Held Lower by 20 DMA • Crude Pauses After Nasty Slide, U.S. Nonfarm Payrolls Next • Silver Prices Steady, Investors Await Nonfarm Payrolls \|\| Brazil and South America lead the way on LocalBitcoins: Mass cryptocurrency adoption can only take place if regular people feel it is safe, easy, and beneficial to join the space. Without a shift in mentality, I doubt institutional investors alone will be able to drive worldwide adoption. Much like what happened with computers or the internet, without people to create valuable network effects like art, content, trading, advertising, and so on there is little chance cryptocurrency prices will explode. Therefore, we should praise countries leading the way in cryptocurrency adoption. Over the course of 2019, South America has seen a huge boost in cryptocurrency adoption, with Brazil particularly seeing a substantial rise in crypto users. Crypto adoption on the rise in South America The rise of cryptocurrency adoption in South America can be seen quite clearly with the growing number of users on prominent P2P Bitcoin trading website LocalBitcoins. LocalBitcoins yearly volume by region, courtesy of UsefulTulips Looking at the world chart above, we can easily see which region was most responsible for bringing positive volume to the cryptocurrency space over the past year. South America is showing a 15% rise in volume traded on LocalBitcoins much higher than anywhere else on the globe. This means unlike North America, Europe, Asia, or Oceania, South American populations in countries like Brazil, Argentina, and Venezuela have been pumping way more money in than out. In fact, theres plenty of additional evidence that South and Central America have been buying into Bitcoin much more than any other region. LocalBitcoins yearly volume by region, courtesy of UsefulTulips Even though the graph above suggests Europe is the region where most people are acquiring Bitcoin, by comparing how much money went in to crypto vs how much came out, we clearly reach the conclusion that thats not entirely true. South America has a positive balance of over $200 million, while Europe remains flat. In addition, all other regions have shown negative trends over the past year, since more people are converting Bitcoin into USD than the other way around. Will South America be the next crypto-hub? Earlier this week, Coin Rivet reported on how Brazilian courts are chasing down alleged Bitcoin pyramid scams. Coin Rivet has also recently reported on how the Brazilian central bank and regulators are keen on more people using crypto, simply because additional taxes can be collected. Even though people may think corruption is a major hurdle and bottleneck for adoption, I argue crypto will help change this behaviour. For one, it requires people to have low time preferences. Secondly, after people learn not your keys, not your Bitcoin, theyll transfer their Bitcoin into their own private wallets. Story continues Bitcoin will empower people as it gives anyone a tool to independently be their own bank and settlement provider. As fiat currencies lose purchasing power against Bitcoin, more and more people will hodl as much as possible. LocalBitcoins historical volume by region, courtesy of UsefulTulips Looking at the chart above, it seems the path to adoption has been laid out. How will government-backed fiat currencies compete with Bitcoin? I personally dont think governments will try to compete with BTC in the long term. As peoples preferred method of transferring value shifts towards hard-money and enhanced security technology, I argue governments will ride the trend by accepting Bitcoin, using it as a standard and even promoting the use of Bitcoin among populations. Why would you try to compete with a digital asset that empowers your population with minimal effort? Instead, well see better policies around the use of cryptocurrency, much like Brazil has been pushing for recently . The post Brazil and South America lead the way on LocalBitcoins appeared first on Coin Rivet . View comments \|\| The Crypto Daily – Movers and Shakers -27/10/19: Bitcoin rose by 6.82% on Saturday. Following on from a 16.45% rally on Friday, Bitcoin ended the day at $9,270.9. A particularly bullish start to the day saw Bitcoin rally from an intraday low $8,661.9 to an early morning intraday high $10,480. Steering clear of the major support levels, Bitcoin broke through the first major resistance level at $9,179.49 and the second major resistance level at $9,679.83. Of greater significance on the day was a breakthrough the 38.2% FIB of $9,734. Bitcoin’s first visit to $10,000 levels since 24 th September was short-lived, however. Bearish through the rest of the day, Bitcoin slipped back through the resistance levels to an afternoon low $8,888.9. The pullback also saw Bitcoin fall back through the 38.2% FIB. Finding support late on, however, Bitcoin managed to wrap up the day at $9,000 levels for the first time since 24 th September. For the current week, a 2 nd consecutive day in the green left Bitcoin up by 12.23%, Monday through Saturday. For the bulls, the extended bullish trend remained intact in spite of sliding back through the 38.2% FIB. Bitcoin has continued to hold above the 62% FIB of 7,245. The Rest of the Pack Across the rest of the top 10 cryptos, it was a mixed day on Saturday for the majors following Friday’s breakout. Bitcoin Cash SV and Binance Coin joined Bitcoin in the green, with gains of 5.71% and 1.80% respectively. It was red for the rest of the pack, however, with Stellar’s Lumen (-2.48%) and Bitcoin Cash ABC (-2.14%) leading the way down. Ripple’s XRP (-1.48%), EOS (-1.40%), Ethereum (-0.90%), and Litecoin (-0.16%) saw more modest losses on the day. For the current week, Bitcoin Cash SV continued to lead the way, surging by 48.42%, Monday through Saturday. Bitcoin Cash ABC was a distant second, rising by 13.59%, with EOS (+7.10%) also making solid gains. In spite of the Friday rally, Stellar’s Lumen (-0.31%) and Ripple’s XRP (-0.18%) bucked the trend. Story continues Through the current week, the total crypto market cap rose from a Wednesday low $202.69bn to a Saturday high $262.07bn. At the time of writing, the total market cap stood at $242.53bn. Bitcoin’s dominance jumped back to 68% levels off the back of Friday’s 16.5% rally and Saturday’s gain. This Morning At the time of writing, Bitcoin was down by 0.86% to $9,191.5. A mixed start to the day saw Bitcoin rise to an early morning high $9,424.2 before falling to a low $9,165. Bitcoin left the major support and resistance levels untested early on. Elsewhere, it was a sea of red across the crypto board. Bitcoin Cash ABC led the way down, falling by 1.97%. Binance Coin (-1.83%), EOS (-1.69%), Bitcoin Cash SV (-1.66%), and Litecoin (-1.56%) also saw heavy losses early on. For the Bitcoin Day Ahead For the day ahead, Bitcoin would need to move through to $9,470 levels to support a run at $10,000. Support from the broader market would be needed, however, for Bitcoin to break out from the early morning high $9,424.2. Barring another broad-based crypto rally, Bitcoin will likely come up well short of the first major resistance level at $10,279.97. The 38.2% FIB of $9,734 would limit any upside. Failure to move through to $9,470 levels could see Bitcoin slide deeper into the red. A fall through to sub-$9,000 levels would bring the first major resistance level at $8.461.87 into play. Barring a crypto meltdown, Bitcoin should steer clear of sub-$8,000 support levels. This article was originally posted on FX Empire More From FXEMPIRE: Crude Oil Price Forecast – Crude Oil Markets Show Signs Of Resiliency The Crypto Daily – Movers and Shakers -27/10/19 S&P 500 Price Forecast – Stock Market Slam Into Resistance The Week Ahead – Geopolitics, Monetary Policy and a Data Deluge in Focus The Weekly Wrap – Brexit, Earnings, Stats and Trade Give Direction The Crypto Daily – Movers and Shakers -26/10/19 \|\| Bitcoins Dropping Lightning Capacity Might Not Be a Bad Thing: If youre a fan of bitcoin and the nascent Lightning network, this graph looks disheartening at first glance. lightning, graph Graph of lightning capacity from bitcoinvisuals.com. The orange line is the BTC capacity; the blue line is its dollar value. The lightning network is supposed to be bitcoins superhero, taking the cryptocurrency to new heights by tackling its toughest and most obvious problem: if cryptocurrency is ever going to go mainstream, it needs to support a million times more transactions than it currently does which is no easy feat. But by the looks of this graph, lightning appears to be losing momentum. The amount of funds locked up in the layer-two network looks to be decreasing, seeming to indicate that fewer people are using it as a payment method. A lightning channel is like a gateway to the rest of the network, allowing a user to send a payment to any other user. Related: Bitcoin Eyes $8.5K Hurdle After Biggest Single-Day Price Gain in Five Weeks While lightning is still considered beta software, and thus risky to use, bitcoiners have been so enthusiastic about it and using it anyway, for games and beyond, chanting the unofficial slogan reckless. As lightnings capacity increased rapidly over its first year, devotees cheered it on social media. The catch is that, while this number is decreasing, lightning use might actually still be increasing because of increased privacy of lightning channels and other channel optimizations. Theres no way of knowing the capacity in [the lightning network]. We can only know the public channels capacity, not private, Roy Sheinfeld, CEO of Breez told CoinDesk. And at least one company says that at least in their experience lightning payments are picking up. Related: Bitcoin Bounces Back to $8K From Historically Strong Price Support We are doing increasing dollar value volumes on the lightning network. What I am seeing is the price going up and thus people need less coins locked up in channels to maintain spending power, FastBitcoins MD Danny Brewster told CoinDesk. Story continues A tale of two nodes So, while so far watching this number has been a spectator sport football for tech geeks it might not be for much longer. This number will grow harder to track over time. Thats because many lightning wallets do not advertise whether their channels exist to the rest of the network, by default. Under the hood, there are advertised channels which advertise their existence to the rest of the lightning network and non-advertised channels which dont. Normal channels, used by everyday users who just want to buy pizza and draw dicks online with lightning, dont need to be advertised. Many wallets in the past few months have been released which default to non-advertised channels, these channels dont show up on any public metrics, so relying on the public metrics alone only really shows half of the picture, Lightning Labs CTO Laolu Osuntokun told CoinDesk. Generally, advertised channels only need to be used by routing nodes, so the sturdier nodes that get payments from one person to another and need to be online all the time. Zap creator Jack Mallers argued its only responsible that anyone who isnt a routing node [uses] private [non-advertised] channels. Some go as far as to argue that the public capacity is a useless indicator because it doesnt capture all or maybe even most of the money in the lightning network. Because more apps have been starting to follow these best practices, Sheinfeld guesses that most channels are private, noting that his wallet Breez has opened thousands of private channels just in the last couple of months alone. Breez opened thousands of private channels in the last two months. Lightning Labs auto-pilot also opens private channels, he said. This is one reason why many developers see lightning as providing more privacy than on-chain bitcoin transactions. While bitcoin has a reputation for giving users anonymity, transactions are actually public. Lightning hides a bit more of the transaction details. If a regular bitcoin transaction is similar to uploading your bank statement to a public web site, a lightning network transaction is similar to showing each merchant you pay how much money you have in one specific compartment of your wallet. Youre still revealing some information, but much less, as lightning startup SuredBits wrote . Garbage day Another reason the capacity is decreasing is because some entities are closing down lightning channels that were wasteful. Based on my knowledge, the decrease in channels is simply node operators being rational by closing out channels that have been open for some time, but which dont have notable forwarding activity, Osuntokun said. For instance, theres one famous and mysterious anonymous lightning user by the name of LNBIG who has opened many lightning channels. They initially debuted by pouring 300 bitcoin into the lightning network, giving new meaning to lightnings reckless catchphrase. At the beginning of my activity, I opened many channels in the hope that they will be used (and due to the imperfection of the autopilot), the person behind LNBIG told CoinDesk. But, the secretive developer said, those channels werent really used much at all. They were just open and sitting there. But time has shown that many channels have not been used once for two to four months, for example, and the funds in them are nonetheless blocked, LNBIG continued. The funds are blocked, as LNBIG puts it, because of the way lightning works. A lightning channel is like a gateway to the rest of the network, allowing a user to send a payment to any other user. But when someone opens a channel with someone else and doesnt use it, then other people cant use that gateway. So, it makes sense to free up that capacity and wait to see if a new channel opens want to use the capacity, which is exactly what LNBIG decided to do. LNBIG posted a Twitter poll before following through with closing these channels, arguing that the only downside would be the psychological effect that lightnings capacity would fall down to 825 bitcoin. As the decrease in lightnings capacity shows, Twitter encouraged LNBIG to follow through. Zap founder Jack Mallers speaks at Bitcoin 2019 in San Francisco, image via Jack Mallers Related Stories Bitcoin Is 2019s Best-Performing Asset, Even After Recent Price Downturn Bitcoin May Be Headed for a Stronger Price Bounce \|\| XRP Price Exits Downtrend to Hit Three-Week High: XRP has been on the offensive, having ended a 3.5-month-long downtrend with a move to three-week highs. The world’s third-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization clocked a high of $0.2993 Tuesday, the highest level since Sept. 21, according to CoinDesk’s priceindex. As of writing, XRP has pulled back slightly and is changing hands at $0.2879, representing a 3.8 percent drop on the day after reaching its local peak. Related:Bitcoin Sees Little Price Boost From Long-Term Bull Cross Notably, prices are up more than 25 percent from the low of $0.2343 registered on Sept. 26. Further, XRP is the third-best performing top 10 cryptocurrency of the last seven days with a 2.2 percent gain. Binance coin, up 16 percent, is the top gainer, while litecoin has dropped 4.2 percent and is the worst-performing top-10 cryptocurrency of the last seven days. Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency by market value, is currently reporting a meager 0.06 percent gain on a seven-day basis. Also, BTC has been up just 4.5 percent from the recent lows near $7,750. XRP’s price may continue to outperform BTC in the near future as the cryptocurrency has found acceptance above the widely tracked 100-day moving average for the first time since July 10. The key average is currently seen at $0.2854. Related:Next Bitcoin Halving Could Squeeze out Retail Miners, But Jury’s Split on Price Meanwhile, bitcoin’s 100-day MA is currently located at least $1,500 above its price of $8,175. Further, XRP’s technical charts are reporting a bullish breakout, as seen below. XRP jumped six percent on Monday, confirming an upside break of a symmetrical triangle represented by trend lines connecting Sept. 18 and Oct. 13 highs and Sept. 24 and Oct. 13 lows. The previous breakout indicated the sell-off from June 26’s high of $0.4923 had ended and the path of least resistance was to the higher side. That outlook has been halted in the immediate short term, courtesy of a small sell-off witnessed Tuesday at 14:00 UTC that brought prices back to prior resistances seen Oct. 8 and Oct. 9. However, XRP remains bullish in the mid-term should prices remain above the aforementioned 100-day moving average at $0.2854. As a result, the next major resistance at $0.3218 (Sept. 18 high) stands exposed. The short-term bullish case looks stronger if we take into account the above-50 reading on the relative strength index and the higher bars on the MACD histogram, an indicator used to gauge trend strength. The recent price rise has excited the investor community and prominent traders such asBagseyexpect the cryptocurrency to trade better bid in the near future. Even so, there is merit in being cautious, as bitcoin – the anchor for broader markets – is looking weak. If the top cryptocurrency slides, XRP will likely follow suit once more, trapping buyers on the wrong side of the markets. That could yield a notable price drop. After all, failed breakouts are powerful bearish reversal signals, as noted by popular analystNicola Duke. Disclosure: The author holds no cryptocurrency assets at the time of writing. Sebastian Sinclaircontributed reporting. XRPimage via Shutterstock; charts byTrading View • Bitcoin Faces Drop Below $8,000 Despite Beating Price Resistance • Ripple Invests $750,000 to Bring XRP to Crypto Wallet BRD \|\| Starbucks will let you spend Bitcoin on coffee in Bakkt’s app by 2020: Bitcoin futures exchange Bakkt todayannouncedthat it will be launching a consumer app forcryptocurrencypurchases in 2020. Starbucks will be its first launch partner, in keeping with the partnership it unveiled when Bakkt was first announced. App users will be able to spend their bitcoins on coffee, via the app—although they won’t be making directBitcoinpayments from the person to the store. “We’re now focused on the development of the consumer app and merchant portal, as well as testing with our first launch partner, Starbucks, which we expect in the first half of next year,” Bakkt chief product officer Mike Blandina said, in the blog post. Bakkt was first unveiled in August, 2018, with partners Starbucks and Microsoft on board. Its plan is to create an open ecosystem for the crypto industry, providing a secure place for both consumers and institutions to store, send and receive bitcoins. So far—at least on its futures exchange—Bakkt has only focused on just one cryptocurrency: Bitcoin. But with the upcoming consumer app, it appears that it will branch out to other coins. “A key feature of the model we’ve designed is to support a superset of digital assets, including cryptocurrencies, as seamlessly as investors transact in stocks in a retail brokerage account,” Blandina added. Starbucks owns almost 40 percent of the U.S. coffee market and has nearly 30,000 stores worldwide. Bakkt’s pilot program hopes to tap into this market segment, bringing more people into the cryptocurrency space. While users of Bakkt’s consumer app will be able to spend their bitcoins, they won’t be making direct Bitcoin payments to Starbucks stores. When the platform was first announced, Starbucks quickly cleared this up, tellingQuartz, “It is important to clarify that we are not accepting digital assets at Starbucks. Rather the exchange will convert digital assets like Bitcoin into US dollars, which can be used at Starbucks.” But from the user’s perspective, it gives them a way to seamlessly spend their bitcoins, even if it’s not the cypherpunk’s dream. And that's a start. \|\| VeChain pumps by 8.4% on strength of China connection: VeChain (VET) is on the rise, after gaining 8.4% in the last day to climb from $0.0046 up to its current value of $0.0051. The cryptocurrency now has a market capitalization of over $278 million—up by almost $17 million in the last day. In fact, VeChain is up more than 20% for the week, making it one of the best performing cryptocurrencies as of late. This increase in price comes as China continues its blockchain push, today cancelling its plans to stop Bitcoin mining—following arecent speechby China President Xi Jinping on the virtues of blockchain technology. VeChain is one of only a few crypto projects approved by China. Back in March, it was added to a list of 197 approved blockchain projects, although just two were cryptocurrency projects. VeChain also started as a subsidiary of Bitse, one of China's biggest blockchain companies. It is based in Singapore but has offices in China, suggesting that the positive news coming out of China has boosted its price. The China effect has certainly made its impact felt over the last week. China-based projects such as NEO and Qtum have been outperforming the market. Earlier today, VET reached as high as $0.005231—its highest value since early August, before cooling off to its current price point just north of $0.005. The cryptocurrency has also seen its trade volume pick up in recent weeks and has been on the steady uptick since August. Now, with around $80 million in VET changing hands daily, VeChain is the #30 most frequently traded cryptocurrency. VeChain's CEO Sunny Lu will be speaking at CoinMarketCap'sThe Capitalconference in Singapore next week. At the conference, Lu is expected to shed light on new potential use cases for VeChainThor and discuss its adoption among enterprise clients likeWalmart Chinaand SBTG. [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] #CRYPTOCURRENCIES are MOVING! Try https://t.co/I6fKs4Qg0V to scan for OVERSOLD RSI, MACD CROSSOVERS and where VOLUME is going! #BTC #ETH #CENNZ #DCN #SNX #REN #DOGE #ZRX #XTZ #BTG #MCO #BNB #SXP #BAT #ELF #HEDG #ABBC #MIOTA #FCT #BSV https://t.co/QRDmD3YcoF \|\| @noamchomskyT Money controlled by gov'ts - yes. Money not controlled by gov'ts - no - #bitcoin \|\| Exclusive: Australia’s Securities Cop Braces for ‘Significant Increase’ in Crypto Trading The Australian Securitie... https://t.co/CkGRahBnGp #Bitcoin #Regulation #Cryptocurrency #News #Australia #Australian #Securities #and #Investments #Commission \|\| Bitcoin remuneration questions use as medium of exchange v/s store of value https://t.co/rMvU7Haqlx https://t.co/avkplepqeS \|\| ⏰ 2019/11/02 20:00:06 💰 BTCドミナンス : 67.447% 🚧 未承認 : 866 💸 BitFlyer SPOT/FX/乖離　　999,132 / 1,018,699 / 1.958% 💸 BitMex 調達率 ⌛ 21:00 / 5:00 　　BTC : 0.01% / 0.01% 　　ETH : 0.0435% / 0.0412% 💸 Finex FRR 　　BTC : 0.77% 　　USD : 17.562% \|\| @ananavarro Make easy and cool money on bitcoin trades. I can testify to it. I got 50% of my savings just in a week \|\| MAQUININHA DE BTC WHIS MONEY https://t.co/cIT2fDOctd \|\| Internal Audit and SOX Senior Associate - CNM LLP ( Los Angeles, CA, USA ) - [ ➡ https://t.co/7GTvyXUEWc ] #Agile #Scrum #Agile #Kanban #ProjectMangement #jobs #Hiring #Careers #Cryptocurrency #Blockchain #BTC https://t.co/wxH48bS613 \|\| ⏰ 2019/11/05 05:00:05 💰 BTCドミナンス : 67.211% 🚧 未承認 : 17,260 💸 BitFlyer SPOT/FX/乖離　　1,006,552 / 1,027,810 / 2.112% 💸 BitMex 調達率 ⌛ 5:00 / 13:00 　　BTC : 0.0193% / 0.012% 　　ETH : 0.0378% / 0.0283% 💸 Finex FRR 　　BTC : 1.055% 　　USD : 19.773% \|\| @HeyRhett Bitcoin plsss 😍😍	Trend: down \|\| Prices: 8804.88, 8813.58, 9055.53, 8757.79, 8815.66, 8808.26, 8708.09, 8491.99, 8550.76, 8577.98
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis] Not fully available. [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] E-mini Dow Jones Industrial Average (YM) Futures Analysis – June 21, 2018 Forecast: September E-mini Dow Jones Industrial Averagefutures are trading only slightly better during the pre-market session. Of the three major indexes, the Dow is the weakest. The main trend is up according to the daily swing chart. However, momentum is trending lower. The Dow is down eight days from its last main top which puts it in the window of time for a potentially bullish closing price reversal bottom. The minor trend is down. This is why momentum is trending lower. A trade through 24569 will indicate the selling is getting stronger. The main range is 24263 to 25418. Traders are currently straddling its retracement zone at 24841 to 24704. On the upside, the major resistance is a long-term 50% to 61.8% retracement zone at 24925 to 25337. The short-term range is 25418 to 24569. Its retracement zone at 24994 to 25094 is another potential upside target. Based on the current price at 24678, the direction of the September E-mini Dow Jones Industrial Average is likely to be determined by trader reaction to the Fibonacci level at 24704. A sustained move under 24704 will signal the presence of sellers. This could trigger a break into this week’s low at 24569. This is a potential trigger point for an acceleration to the downside with 24263 the next major downside target. A sustained move over 24704 will indicate the presence of buyers. This could lead to a labored rally with several potential resistance levels lined up at 24841, 24925, 24994 and 25094. Thisarticlewas originally posted on FX Empire • NEM’s XEM Technical Analysis – Leading the Way Down – 21/06/18 • Technical Update For GBP/USD, GBP/AUD, GBP/NZD & GBP/CHF: 21.06.2018 • Bitcoin Stuck a Rut, Which Could be a Signal for the Bulls • Bitcoin and Ethereum Price Forecast – BTC Prices Above $6700 • Don’t Miss the Chance to Get $2,500 for Mobile Start-up Promotion From Digital Agency BDCenter! • E-mini S&P 500 Index (ES) Futures Technical Analysis – June 21, 2018 Forecast \|\| Why Volkswagen Is Starting an Electric Car-Sharing Service: German auto giant Volkswagen AG (NASDAQOTH: VLKAY) said that it will launch its own urban car-sharing service, starting next year in Germany and rolling out worldwide in 2020. It's similar to existing services, but with a twist: The new service's cars will be 100% electric. What VW said: A new global electric-car-sharing service VW said that it will roll out its new car-sharing service starting next year in Germany, and that it will expand to "major cities in Europe, North America, and Asia" starting in 2020. Customers will use VW's "WE" app to find nearby cars and arrange to rent them. The concept isn't a new one -- it's what businesses like Zipcar and General Motors ' (NYSE: GM) Maven have been doing for several years. But VW is adding a twist: All of the vehicles in its service will be battery-electric. The Volkswagen I.D. concept vehicle, a sleek-looking white hatchback VW's new car-sharing service will almost certainly use the upcoming version of the I.D. show car, a long-range battery-electric hatchback. Image source: Volkswagen AG. VW said that the new service will be managed by a wholly owned VW subsidiary called UMI, for Urban Mobility International GmbH. In a statement, UMI CEO Philipp Reth promised an "environmentally friendly fleet that takes [customers] to their destination quickly and at a fair price." VW said that this new car-sharing service is part of a suite of mobility-related services that it eventually plans to offer via the WE app. It's similar in concept to Ford Motor Company 's (NYSE: F) FordPass , a smartphone app that will -- eventually -- offer customers everything from bicycle rentals to car-sharing to discounted parking in cities. Why is VW launching a car-sharing service? First, some background. VW is investing heavily in what it expects to be a major shift to electric vehicles over the next several years. It's expected to launch the first of a series of affordable long-range battery-electric vehicles next year, a VW-branded hatchback similar in size to its Golf. Story continues It's believed that that new electric VW will be very similar to the I.D. concept vehicle that VW first showed back in 2016 . At the time, VW said that I.D. would go into production as a 2020 model -- but it later hinted that the car could begin arriving at dealers, at least in Europe, in 2019. Given that, I can see two good reasons why VW might want to launch a car-sharing service next year. First, it's a way to market the new electric VW to a sophisticated, young, urban audience that might not be ready to buy cars of their own -- but that are likely to be receptive to the idea of buying an electric vehicle. In the meantime, they might well be car-sharing customers -- and if they're impressed by the electric VW, they might make the VW dealership their first and only stop when it's time to buy cars of their own. Second, the car-sharing service gives VW a hedge if early sales of its new electric vehicle don't meet its expectations. The truth is, nobody really knows how well a mass-market electric VW will sell. Rivals like GM's Chevrolet Bolt and Nissan 's Leaf have done well -- but they were launched with modest expectations. VW's expectations are grander: It wants to be selling 3 million electric vehicles a year by 2025 . The upshot: This is as much about electric cars as it is about "mobility" In addition to the obvious reason to start a car-sharing service -- as a hedge against disruption from mobility newcomers -- VW's new service is almost certainly a component of its plan to become a major producer of battery-electric vehicles. It's yet another sign that VW's commitment to electrification isn't just window dressing -- and that the company plans to survive and thrive as the car industry transforms. More From The Motley Fool 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This John Rosevear owns shares of Ford and General Motors. The Motley Fool recommends Ford. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy . \|\| Why bluebird bio's Shares Have Tumbled 11.9% in 2018 So Far: After hitting record all-time highs in March, shares ofbluebird bio(NASDAQ: BLUE)have been retreating. As a result, the clinical-stage gene therapy company is now down 11.9% though June, according toS&P Global Market Intelligence. In January, the company outlined plans that include three potential regulatory filings for approval by the end of next year. The potential to transition from a clinical-stage company into a commercial-stage company helped bluebird bio's shares climb above $220 in March; however, the corresponding $10 billion-plus market cap may have priced the company for perfection. IMAGE SOURCE: GETTY IMAGES. Although the data from bluebird bio so far looks good, investors have been ratcheting back exposure to the company to reflect what's emerging to be a very competitive marketplace. Specifically, a number of companies are working on therapies that could chip away at the commercial opportunity for its drugs, including LentiGlobin, a gene therapy for beta thalassemia. Patients with this disorder can't produce beta globin, and as a result, they require regular red blood cell transfusions that expose them to risks, including organ-damaging iron overload. LentiGlobin's data suggests it may significantly reduce or eliminate transfusions, butAcceleron Pharma(NASDAQ: XLRN)andCelgene Corp.(NASDAQ: CELG)expect toreport datafor luspatercept in beta thalassemia soon, and if that data's good, it could dent LentiGlobin's peak sales potential. Similarly,Sangamo Therapeutics(NASDAQ: SGMO)is working on azinc-finger nucleasegene-editing solution, and separately,Vertex Pharmaceuticals(NASDAQ: VRTX)isteamed upwithCRISPR Therapeutics(NASDAQ: CRSP)to tackle beta thalassemia using CRSPR/Cas9 gene editing. Competition could be fierce in sickle cell disease, too. In June, bluebird bio reported some intriguing data for LentiGlobin in sickle cell disease, but Sangamo Biosciences and Vertex Pharmaceuticals are targeting that indication with their gene editing therapies as well. Furthermore, although bluebird bio has a big head start developing a chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapy targeting the BCMA protein expressed by cancer cells in multiple myeloma patients, it's not alone in investigating that approach. In June,Johnson & Johnson(NYSE: JNJ)highlighted plans to start a phase 1b/2 trial soon for its own BCMA-targeting CAR-T, JNJ-68284528. It's anyone's guess how this all shakes out, but I think bluebird bio has a good shot at securing regulatory OKs in the next two years for LentiGlobin and bb2121 and that each has the potential to be a top seller. Of the two therapies, I'm particularly interested inbb2121's opportunity. It's being co-developed by Celgene, and Celgene already markets the most widely used first-line multiple myeloma therapy, Revlimid, and third-line multiple myeloma therapy, Pomalyst. Given that this is a multibillion-dollar market and Celgene is the market-share leader, I think bb2121 could hit the ground running and quickly become widely used in the fourth-line setting and higher. Overall, bluebird bio has multiple regulatory shots on goal, and that could make it more valuable to an acquirer than Kite Pharma and Juno Therapeutics, two gene therapy companies that have already been acquired for more money than bluebird bio's current $8.5 billion market cap. If I'm right, then bluebird bio's declining share price this year will prove itself to be a buy opportunity. More From The Motley Fool • 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices • 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 • 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing • 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today • The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss • Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This Todd Campbellowns shares of Bluebird Bio and Celgene. His clients may have positions in the companies mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Bluebird Bio and Celgene. The Motley Fool owns shares of CRISPR Therapeutics and Johnson & Johnson. The Motley Fool recommends Vertex Pharmaceuticals. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy. \|\| USD/CAD Price Forecast – USD/CAD Hits New Yearly Tops at 1.3153 As Greenback Grows Stronger: The USD/CAD pair built on its yesterday’s extensive rally and reached the highest levels since June 2017 just ahead of the 1.3150 mark, in the wake of the ongoing rally in the US dollar across its main competitors. The greenback continues to remain broadly underpinned by the Fed’s hawkish rate hike that underscores the monetary policy divergence between the Fed and its global peers. The USD index gains +0.37% to test the November 2017 highs at 95.15. Meanwhile, the Canadian remains weighed down by the latest comments from the Bank of Canada (BOC) Senior Deputy Governor Wilkins, as she noted that the US tariffs on Canada are not good news and its effect on the consumer prices are yet to be evaluated. USDCAD Breaks Higher Household debt is still cause for concern in the Canadian economy, and the US tariffs could be poorly timed as households are still trying to claw their way out of the debt bubble formed coming out of the 2007-08 financial crisis. Also, listless trading seen around oil prices also failed to offer any support to the resource-linked Loonie. Both crude benchmarks trade on the defensive heading into the OPEC meeting scheduled on June 22nd in Vienna. Saudi Arabia and Russia are said to propose output boost at the meeting. In the meanwhile investors focus on US President Trump’s proceedings on levying tariff for import of Chinese goods. USDCAD Hourly On release front, Canadian calendar was relatively silent on Thursday with dovish house price index data while US markets saw positive outcome in retail sales and import/export price index data. Macro data remains relatively light for both US and Canada today with Canadian market seeing Foreign securities purchase and manufacturing sales data while US market will see updates on Industrial productions, Michigan consumer sentiment and Michigan inflation expectations along with U.S Baker Hughes Oil Rig Count data. Moving forward the pair is facing strong resistance around 1.31660 and 1.32100 while there is a strong support around 1.30216 which if breached, the pair will see continued downtrend movement till 1.29195 price handle. Story continues This article was originally posted on FX Empire More From FXEMPIRE: Divergence Between Fed and ECB, BOJ Policies Drives Forex Volatility AUD/USD Forex Technical Analysis – Next Target .7412, but Ripe for Reversal Bottom USD/JPY Fundamental Weekly Forecast – Kuroda Speech on Wednesday Key Event This Week Crude Oil Weekly Price Forecast – crude oil markets collapse on Friday Bitcoin Weekly Price Forecast – Bitcoin falls but finds signs of support Silver Weekly Price Forecast – Silver markets giveback massive gains during the week \|\| The 4 Best Bitcoin Stocks to Consider (Even If You Hate Bitcoin): No matter where you stand on cryptocurrencies, you cannot deny their “it factor.” Thanks to the sector’s unprecedented profitability, several bitcoin millionaires were made overnight last year. Still, traditional investors find this virtual market difficult to stomach. As a result, the concept of bitcoin stocks, or companies that indirectly benefit from the rising bitcoin price, became popular. Browse the internet on this topic, and you’ll inevitably find financial analysts urging their readers to invest in bitcoin’s underlying blockchain technology, not in bitcoin itself. In the spirit of total transparency, I find this argument somewhat shortsighted. It’s also a bit of a cop-out for those who want to have their cake and eat it too. InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips Imagine if an analyst told you to avoid Ford (NYSE: F ) — or any other automaker — but to instead “invest in cars.” Those who advocate buying blockchain and not bitcoin are speaking words, but not really saying anything at all. That’s because bitcoin, or the major alternative-cryptos, represent the blockchain’s ultimate, practical facilitation. The blockchain doesn’t clean your room, nor does it cure cancer. Instead, at its root, the blockchain substantially improves data management. In fact, it improves data management so dramatically that you can use the technology to create an entirely new currency. That’s bitcoin. And that’s why the never-bitcoiners have it all wrong. The best way to invest in the blockchain is to invest in cryptocurrencies. Marijuana Stocks: Two to Consider, Two to Avoid Still, if you are hellbent on avoiding direct crypto investments, you can always elect stable companies that utilize blockchain technologies. Here are four bitcoin stocks to consider, even if you hate bitcoin! Bitcoin Stocks to Consider: Paypal (PYPL) Source: Shutterstock Story continues Those who either hate or are otherwise scared of bitcoin should consider Paypal (NASDAQ: PYPL ). As a digital-payments processor, Paypal is one of the most relevant bitcoin stocks available in the market. With increasing numbers warming to the idea of digital payments, cryptocurrencies offer a natural progression. But more importantly, PayPal adopted the crypto platform early on. In 2014, the company closed a deal with three bitcoin-payment processors: BitPay, Coinbase and GoCoin. This enabled PayPal merchants to accept customer payment with cryptocurrencies. Not only that, management affirmed their belief in the “blockchain economy.” They bluntly stated that their bitcoin interest “runs more than skin deep.” Plus, I’m loving PayPal’s huge upside potential. Despite this year being a tough one for several companies, PYPL shares are up nearly 14%. This follows a nearly 83% return in 2017. Clearly, momentum still exists for this company. While other bitcoin stocks fail to provide much excitement, PYPL has the ideal mix between stability and profitability. Bitcoin Stocks to Consider: Square (SQ) square stock Source: Via Square From an investor’s perspective, entrepreneur and all-around genius Jack Dorsey is a mixed bag. I’m pleased as punch that he leads Square (NYSE: SQ ), which in my humble opinion is a true disruptor. Those quirky little credit-card swipers may look funny, but they have sparked a commerce innovation. And how is SQ not a perfect complement to bitcoin? Cryptocurrencies have put all interested parties on a level playing field: if you want to invest in this sector, you can do so on your time and at your leisure. In the same manner, Square’s payment device and app provide small businesses with tools previously accessible only to larger companies. That said, Dorsey also heads Twitter Inc (NYSE: TWTR ). Finally, the company has convinced several analysts that its recovery story is for real. But the problem is that social media is a fickle industry. TWTR is believable, but it has risks as well. I’m not so concerned about SQ, and ultimately, I see both Square and bitcoin charging forward. A few months ago, Bloomberg reported that more than half of its customers are willing to accept bitcoin. 10 A-Rated Internet Stocks to Consider That’s all I need to hear. Be sure to put SQ on your list of must-watch bitcoin stocks. Bitcoin Stocks to Consider: Nvidia (NVDA) Source: Shutterstock You might be the type of person to never once consider cryptocurrency investments. But if you have any interest at all in technology and the future, Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA ) is your best bet. This is the company that literally does it all . Whether it’s developing data-center equipment, deep learning and artificial intelligence, and driverless technologies, Nvidia is a true dynamo. But as one of the top bitcoin stocks, NVDA plays a critical role in the blockchain economy. To condense an extremely long and complicated explanation, cryptocurrencies are actually “reward tokens” for verifying data blocks in the blockchain. Receiving these tokens, though, is a tough endeavor. Typically, only the first verifier, or “miner,” gets the reward. As you might imagine, crypto-mining is a computer-intensive process. To make mining profitable, miners need the fastest processors. It’s no surprise, then, that NVDA produces some of the best processors available. Of course, being the best isn’t cheap. If you want an alternative to Nvidia, another one of the bitcoin stocks to consider is Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ: AMD ). While much more wild than NVDA, AMD shares are on a tear this year. If you’re looking for bitcoin stocks that represent direct, blockchain exposure, you can’t go wrong with either NVDA or AMD. Bitcoin Stocks to Consider: Bitcoin Investment Trust (GBTC) bitcoin btc Source: Shutterstock I realize that the Bitcoin Investment Trust (OTCMKTS: GBTC ) is a controversial pick. Among bitcoin stocks, the GBTC truly earns that name. This also makes the GBTC a particularly eyebrow-raising idea in that this list is for bitcoin-haters. But please allow me a minute or two to explain myself. One of the biggest reasons why traditional investors don’t consider cryptocurrencies is the fear of the unknown. Admittedly, bitcoin has several variables with which several folks are simply not comfortable. Even recently, we’ve witnessed crypto-exchange hacks and other security vulnerabilities. Plus, bitcoin is very unforgiving in mundane issues such as forgetting passwords . Finally, there’s always the risk that a major exchange or service can go belly-up. It happened to Mt.Gox, and it can happen again. With the GBTC, it eliminates several of these “extracurricular” risk factors. What you’re left with is a bitcoin investment that’s mostly vulnerable to market risk. Granted, that risk is huge when you’re dealing with cryptocurrencies. The 5 Best Dividend Stocks for Income But at least you the Bitcoin Investment Trust offers peace of mind that other crypto-based investments cannot. As of this writing, Josh Enomoto is long bitcoin. 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Compare Brokers The post The 4 Best Bitcoin Stocks to Consider (Even If You Hate Bitcoin) appeared first on InvestorPlace . \|\| Is Constellation Brands Headed for Slower Growth?: In the first of two articles on beer, wine, and spirits purveyor Constellation Brands ' (NYSE: STZ) current and future prospects, we discussed the company's product innovation bent, which requires stepped-up marketing investment, as well as its huge outlay to amplify beer production capacity. Marketing spends and depreciation expense will both weigh on Constellation's income statement going forward, yet on balance, each should foster revenue and profit expansion over a longer time horizon. However, shares appear to have at least a temporary cloud hanging over them: Constellation stock has lost roughly 7% since it revealed fiscal first-quarter 2019 earnings on June 29. Close-up of row of beer taps in a pub. Image source: Getty Images. A reason to be wary? Investors are likely worried about encroaching competition, as global beer giants eye Constellation Brands' runaway Mexican beer success. Last year, Molson Coors (NYSE: TAP) signed a 10-year agreement with Heineken, N.V. (NASDAQOTH: HEINY) for the right to import, market, and distribute Heineken's 118-year-old Mexican beer brand, Sol. This complements the positioning of Heineken's respected, if not dominant, Mexican imports of Dos Equis and Tecate. And this year, Anheuser-Busch InBev (NYSE: BUD) is relaunching its own 108-year-old Mexican beer brand, Estrella Jalisco, in the U.S. Anheuser-Busch in particular has come full circle. When the beer conglomerate acquired Mexican beer maker Grupo Modelo in 2013, it was forced by U.S. antitrust regulators to give up the U.S. marketing and distribution rights to Grupo Modelo's primary beers, including labels Corona, Pacifico Claro, Modelo Especial, and Victoria. Consequently, it sold these rights to then joint-venture partner Constellation Brands. The only way at present for AB InBev to compete with Constellation in the U.S. in the imported Mexican beer market is to create new brands, or promote labels like Estrella Jalisco, which weren't part of the original portfolio transfer. Story continues Both AB InBev and Molson Coors have wide distribution capabilities at their disposal, and each poses a credible threat in that Sol and Estrella Jalisco both hold attributes that have made Constellation's own beers successful. These include pre-existing familiarity and popularity within Hispanic populations, light, crisp flavor profiles, and engaging backstories and history that new, often non-Hispanic customers appreciate for their authenticity. Yet even as AB InBev and Molson Coors dial up their competitive postures, market share gains are likely to be incremental in the near term. That's because Constellation Brands has convinced distributors and retailers that its Mexican beer portfolio provides superior takeaway on shelves. As the company observed in its June 29 earnings conference call , Constellation's beers remain the No. 1 growth contributor to the U.S. beer category. Corona Extra, one of the top five selling beers in the U.S., continues to achieve record case volumes. The Modelo Especial line-up is currently experiencing phenomenal growth and stepping out of Corona's shadows. In fiscal 2018, the company reported that Modelo Especial grew depletions (the rate at which a distributor's inventory is depleted after taking delivery of product from a beer manufacturer) by 17% -- an extremely fast rate in this industry. Constellation is also heavily promoting Pacifico Claro, a brand it believes is under-represented in the U.S. The company launched a 12-can pack in the first quarter, supported by nationwide T.V. advertising. This follows the steady market penetration of Pacifico's colorful 24 oz. can, first introduced in 2016. The organization's brands have richly rewarded beer end-sellers, and even its larger competitors won't be able to wrench shelf space away overnight. Constellation's growth story is still intact These nuances aside, a hint of slower growth, which we discussed in the previous article , and the competition concerns above may be causing some investors to take profits off the table. Constellation Brands has been one of the best-performing consumer sector stocks in the S&P 500 for a long string of quarters -- STZ shares have advanced 325% over the last five years. Yet, the stock sports a forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of just 22.6. Given the company's tremendous previous growth and future potential, I believe this is a relatively small premium over the S&P 500 index's consumer staples sector, which currently trades at an average forward P/E ratio of 17.1. In sum, higher growth-related expenses in the near term should be expected as management invests for the next round of growth. Investors should also monitor the competition, though it's not a significant factor in slowing Constellation's juggernaut Mexican offering at the moment. Constellation still enjoys prized positions in the beer market and high-end wine and spirits categories, and it's poised to maintain its advantages, despite present pressures. More From The Motley Fool 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This Asit Sharma has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Anheuser-Busch InBev NV. The Motley Fool owns shares of Molson Coors Brewing. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy . \|\| Is TransCanada Corporation a Buy?: TransCanada(NYSE: TRP)has almost everything an investor could want in a stock. With a dividend yield of around 4.8%, the Canadian pipeline giant supplies investors with a lucrative income stream. Meanwhile, with 21 billion Canadian dollars ($16 billion) of expansion projects underway, the company has the fuel to grow earnings at a 10% compound annual rate through 2020, which should enable it to increase its dividend8% to 10% per year through 2021. Finally, after selling off 11% this year, shares trade at an attractive value. Add everything up, and TransCanada has the potential to generate market-beating total returns in the coming years, which makes it an excellent stock to consider buying. TransCanada has all the characteristics an investor would want to see in ahigh-yield dividend stock. The company generates very stable cash flow since predictable sources like long-term contracts and regulated assets supply 95% of its earnings. In the meantime, the company expects to make enough money to cover its dividend by a comfortable 1.6 times this year, which is a conservative level for a pipeline company. Finally, TransCanada has a strong balance sheet backed by an investment-grade credit rating and solid leverage metrics for a pipeline company. These factors put the company's dividend on a firm foundation. Image source: Getty Images. TransCanada's strong financial profile gives it the flexibility needed to fund the massive slate of growth projects it has in progress. Overall, the company anticipates completing CA$11 billion ($8.4 billion) in expansions by the end of this year, with another CA$10 billion ($7.6 billion) expected to come on line over the next few years. These growth projects should provide the company with enough fuel to expand earnings nearly 30% by 2020, which should support dividend growth toward the upper end of its 8% to 10% annual range through 2020 and by another 8% to 10% in 2021. The company also has another CA$20 billion ($15.3 billion) of medium- and long-term projects in development, with increasing clarity on two of its large-scale expansions. After years of delay, TransCanada expects to start preliminary work on the $8 billion Keystone XL pipeline in the U.S. this fall, with full construction potentially starting up next year. That timeline positions TransCanada to finish the project by 2021. On top of that, the company could start work on the CA$4.8 billion ($3.7 billion) Coastal GasLink pipeline next year. By moving forward with these large-scale projects, it could help extend TransCanada's earnings and dividend growth outlook several years into the future. With TransCanada's stock falling by double digits this year, shares currently trade at around 13 times cash flow, which is an attractive level for a pipeline stock. While it's not as cheap as fellow pipeline peersKinder MorganandEnbridge, which sell for 8.8 times and 10.8 times cash flow, respectively, it's nowhere near as expensive asONEOKand its premium valuation of 18.8 times cash flow. Overall, TransCanada trades at a fair price for a company that offers a rock-solid dividend that's expected to grow at a healthy rate for the next several years. TransCanada offers investors a compelling combination of growth and income for an attractive price. As a result, the company has the potential to generate double-digit total annual returns over the next few years, which makes it an ideal stock to buy for the long term. More From The Motley Fool • 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices • 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 • 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing • 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today • The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss • Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This Matthew DiLalloowns shares of Enbridge and Kinder Morgan. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Kinder Morgan. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy. \|\| Billionaire Hedge Fund Manager Bill Miller is Bullish on Bitcoin: bill miller bitcoin There is a wave of high-end opinions going on around the cryptocurrency ecosystem at the moment. Fund managers and institutional investors are once again becoming more vocal about what they think will happen to bitcoin, altcoins, and the blockchain ecosystem as a whole. The vibe from a lot of users and opinion leaders portrays what could be another significant era in the life of cryptocurrencies and the flagship cryptocurrency in particular. Bitcoin is Growing Less Risky In an interview with Bloomberg , the founder and CIO of Miller Value Partners, Bill Miller, gave a positive assessment to bitcoin by describing it as an interesting technological experiment, though he thinks that most other cryptocurrencies are worthless. Bitcoin, as of the time of writing, trades above the $8,000 mark , a factor that Miller identifies to be significant in the stability and belief in the cryptocurrency. According to him, unlike in the past when the cryptocurrency traded around the $100 mark, there is less panic in the industry today. Every day that it doesnt blow up or go to zero or get regulated out of existence, more money flows into the ecosystem, said Miller. With over 1,600 cryptocurrencies in existence today, Miller believes that a large number of those are practically worthless and of no value. He confirms bitcoin as the most valuable of them all, followed by ether. However he outlines some valuation approach for bitcoin, comparing it with the yellow metal, gold. Bitcoin is Like Gold bill miller bitcoin gold Miller notes that the best way to think about bitcoin at this moment is as a non-correlated asset most similar to gold. Other potentials of bitcoin that he points out include its possibility to become a payment system, a viable currency, and the likelihood of central banks around the world to think of it as another potential asset. These are factors that he notes will open the market up significantly. Despite all the analysis going on at the moment about bitcoin and the entire ecosystem, the controversy that surrounds it wouldnt seem to go away for sometime to come. Issues of regulation, the size of the market, which are all factors that reflect in the characteristic volatility of the cryptocurrency market do not seem to being resolved very soon. Story continues The most recent ETF denial of the Winklevoss brothers application does not appear to do the industry any good ,either. However, when considering the overall development of the cryptocurrency, it is safe to say that the potential rewards outway the risks involved. Especially at the present state of the market. According to Miller, the key to participating in the Bitcoin market is about proper portfolio positioning and sizing. He explains that with the right investment calculations, investing in the current bitcoin market can be viewed as a positive-expectation lottery ticket rather than otherwise. Featured Image from WealthTrack /Youtube The post Billionaire Hedge Fund Manager Bill Miller is Bullish on Bitcoin appeared first on CCN . \|\| Sears and Kmart Deepen Their Marriage to Boost Sales: It's been more than a dozen years sinceSears Holdings(NASDAQ: SHLD)was created through the takeover of Sears by Kmart. Unfortunately, the plan to bolster the ailing chains' profitability through greater scale didn't succeed for very long. Sears Holdings never recovered from the Great Recession, and in recent years, sales have been plunging as the company pays the price for years of underinvestment. Last weekend, Sears Holdings unveiled its latest turnaround initiative, opening a small-format Kmart inside a Sears store in Brooklyn. It also plans to test small-format Sears stores inside some Kmart locations. Mixing the Sears and Kmart store formats in the same locations could help shore up sales, albeit at the cost of greater supply chain complexity. However, this project isn't likely to keep Sears alive in the face of its ongoing cash burn andmassive liabilities. The new small-format Kmart that opened in Brooklyn takes up just 10,000 square feet on the lower floor of the Sears store there, versus nearly 100,000 square feet for a full-sized Kmart. It focuses on selling everyday household essentials like groceries, cleaning supplies, health products, and cosmetics. The idea is to try bringing new product categories into Sears stores. The manager of the Kmart section said that customers had been coming into the Sears store looking for some of these products and had to be turned away previously,according to CNBC. Today, Sears stores don't carry some product categories featured at Kmart. Image source: Sears Holdings. In addition to making more sales to people who were already coming to Sears, the addition of a Kmart with household basics could also help drive more customer traffic to the store, since these items need to be purchased relatively frequently. Sears Holdings also plans to pilot Sears appliance shops in a few Kmart locations later this year. While Kmart already stocks a limited selection of entry-level appliances, the Sears shops are expected to carry a full range of appliances in order to appeal to a broader range of shoppers. There are clear parallels between Sears Holdings' initiative to add small-format Kmarts to some Sears stores (and vice-versa) andJ.C. Penney's(NYSE: JCP)2016 decision to (re)introduce appliance sections in many of its stores. First, both moves were inspired by customers not finding items they were looking for. As noted above, customers were coming into the Sears in Brooklyn looking for household items that the store didn't sell. As for J.C. Penney, the company discovered that appliances were the No. 1 product category that consumers searched for on J.C. Penney's website but couldn't buy. Second, Sears and J.C. Penney both want to find better uses for unproductive retail space. Both companies have seen a steep drop in sales per square foot over the past decade -- especially Sears -- making it harder to cover relatively fixed overhead costs. Bringing in new product categories and consolidating the rest of the merchandise can help to boost sales productivity. Adding mini-Kmarts to Sears stores and Sears appliance sections to Kmart stores is something that Sears Holdings probably should have done years ago. However, given the depths of the company's current problems, this initiative won't be enough to save Sears. Last quarter,comp sales fell 11.9%year over year and total revenue plunged 31.2%. This sales decline fully offset Sears Holdings' heroic cost-cutting efforts. As a result, the company is still burning cash at a horrific rate: an average of nearly $2 billion a year in recent years. Sears has enough assets to pawn to stay alive for another year or so, but after that it is likely to face an impossible cash crunch. That doesn't leave much time to test and refine the store-in-store concept, let alone roll it out broadly. Furthermore, whereas the Brooklyn Sears store is in a densely populated urban area, most Sears locations are in suburban malls, where grab-and-go household products would be less likely to sell well. J.C. Penney's move to add appliances to its stores created a significant new revenue stream, but it still didn't drive profit growth over the past two years. Similarly, Sears Holdings' efforts to add new product categories to its stores may shore up revenue without fundamentally altering the company's dreadful profitability. More From The Motley Fool • 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices • 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 • 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing • 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today • The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss • Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This Adam Levine-Weinbergowns shares of J.C. Penney. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy. \|\| Best ETFs to Hedge Further Weakness in China: This article was originally published on ETFTrends.com. The escalating trade-war rhetoric is dragging on Chinese markets. Investors who believe the increasing tariffs will weigh on further growth in China's economy can look to a number of bearish exchange traded fund plays to capitalize on this emerging country's misfortunes. The iShares China Large-Cap ETF ( FXI ) , the largest China-related ETF, continued to decline 2.0% Thursday after falling off 7.9% over the past three months. “Global stocks were pressurized by the Asian markets, as most indices were down more than 1 per cent due to worries about the trade war and the slowdown of China’s economy leading to a possible credit crunch, as evidenced by recent data,” Louis Wong, dealings director at Philip Securities Hong Kong, told South China Morning Post . “Yesterday’s rebound was very short-lived, but due to lingering investor concerns over the trade war, I see no sustainable rebound in the short term.” China's Yuan Currency Depreciates Against U.S. Dollar Pressuring Chinese markets, China's yuan currency has depreciated against the U.S. dollar for a sixth consecutive session Thursday, to 6.5088 yuan per dollar, or close to this year's low of 6.5449 in early January. “The worry of a trade war is to blame for the drop of the yuan. The US has threatened to impose the tariffs on Chinese exports, which has led to worries about the outlook of the yuan,” Ben Kwong Man-bun, director of KGI Asia, told the SCMP. Related: Reality Shares Launches China Blockchain ETF With no real end to the trade spate in sight, investors may continue to capitalize off the weakness in Chinese markets or at least hedge against further risks through bearish or inverse ETFs. For instance, the Direxion Daily CSI 300 China A Share Bear 1x Shares ( CHAD ) was the first inverse A-shares ETF to trade in the U.S. The ETF is designed to deliver the daily inverse performance of the CSI 300 Index. The ProShares Short FTSEChina 50 ( YXI ) takes the simple inverse or -100% daily performance of the FTSE China 50 Index, the same underlying benchmark for FXI. The ProShares UltraShort FTSE China 50 ( FXP ) attempts to deliver double the daily inverse or -200% returns of the same index. More aggressive traders may look to something like the Direxion Daily FTSE China Bear 3X Shares ( YANG ), which takes three times the inverse or -300% daily performance of the FTSE China 50 Index. Story continues For more information on the Chinese markets, visit our China category . POPULAR ARTICLES FROM ETFTRENDS.COM Disney Raises Fox Offer to $71.3B, Outbids Comcast’s $66B Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein: Bitcoin ‘Not for Me’ Waning Bitcoin Volatility Could be a Good Thing Small-Cap ETFs: Not as Volatile as They Used to Be When Can I Retire? Two Calculations to Find the Answer READ MORE AT ETFTRENDS.COM > [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] @Bitcoin_price_8 \|\| @lifeoncoin \|\| @btc_update \|\| @lifeoncoin \|\| @Bitcoin_Stats \|\| @btc_update \|\| @whats_a_bitcoin \|\| @btc_current \|\| @Bitcoin_Post \|\| @India_Bitcoin	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 6297.57, 6199.71, 6308.52, 6334.73, 6580.63, 6423.76, 6506.07, 6308.53, 6488.76, 6376.71
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2017-09-12] BTC Price: 4130.81, BTC RSI: 47.31 Gold Price: 1328.00, Gold RSI: 63.34 Oil Price: 48.23, Oil RSI: 52.38 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Coinbase to Let Users Withdraw Bitcoin Cash After Outcry: The world’s most popular digital currency exchange, Coinbase, reversed course on Thursday and announced it would accept a new bitcoin offshoot that was issued to every bitcoin owner. The reversal comes after days of tumult as angry Coinbase customers demanded to know why the company had not released their new currency, called Bitcoin Cash, to them. The exchange rate for the currency, which began trading on August 1, briefly reached $700 on Wednesday and is currently trading around $400 . Coinbase announced the decision in a blog post , explaining it wanted to first ensure the company could safely support Bitcoin Cash before developing technology to support it. The exchange said it would start supporting Bitcoin cash begining on Jan. 1, 2018. Over the last several days, we’ve examined all of the relevant issues and have decided to work on adding support for bitcoin cash for Coinbase customers. We made this decision based on factors such as the security of the network, customer demand, trading volumes, and regulatory considerations.We are planning to have support for bitcoin cash by January 1, 2018, assuming no additional risks emerge during that time. While the decision to support Bitcoin Cash may placate some Coinbase customers, others are likely to question why the company will take months to do so, even as other digital exchanges support the new currency. It’s also unclear how Coinbase’s announcement will affect a campaign by a group of customers who had vowed to file a class action lawsuit if the company did not permit them to withdraw their Bitcoin Cash. Get Data Sheet , Fortune’s technology newsletter. In the days preceding the arrival of Bitcoin Coin cash, Coinbase made clear it did not intend to support the new currency and advised customers who objected to the policy to withdraw their bitcoins. This position, however, appeared to trigger a stampede of withdrawals, akin to a bank run, that led many customers to complain about long delays in getting access to their funds. Story continues Meanwhile, reports suggest a large percentage of Coinbase’s customer base elected to leave prior to August 1, which is when a so-called fork in bitcoin’s underlying software took place that gave rise to Bitcoin Cash. A graph published by analytics company BlockSeer suggests customers withdrew over half of the $1 worth billion bitcoins stored in Coinbase’s “vault” storage service: Prior to the Bitcoin Cash fork, this is what the Coinbase cold storage balance looks like based on our analysis. pic.twitter.com/yZrsvir9rh — BlockSeer (@BlockSeer) August 1, 2017 It’s unclear how many of the departing Coinbase customers elected to cash out their bitcoins into dollars or instead to transfer it to other digital wallet services where they would be eligible to receive the Bitcoin Cash immediately. One such company, London-based Blockchain, suggested most customers chose the latter course. “It’s been a record week for Blockchain,” said a spokesperson for the company. An earlier version of this story incorrectly suggested customers had withdrawn half of 1 billion bitcoins, not $1 billion worth of bitcoin. \|\| Floyd Mayweather says he's gonna make a 's--- ton of money' from an initial coin offering: Floyd Mayweather (Floyd MayweatherChris Carlson/AP) Boxing champ Floyd Mayweather has caught the cryptocurrency bug. On Thursday, the undefeated world champion took to Instagram to promote an initial coin offering by Stox, a blockchain prediction company. The ICO will take place on August 2. According to Mayweather's Instagram post, the boxer thinks he's going to make a "s--- ton of money" from the capital raise. Here's a tweet of the post: He just posted that people. Floyd Mayweather is going all in on ICOs. 😭🤦‍♂️🤣 $ETH.X $BTC.X https://t.co/XpEmJpaANw pic.twitter.com/YNJI1JVmEK — StockTwits (@StockTwits) July 27, 2017 Initial coin offering participants invest money and receive digital "tokens" in return. Thus far, ICOs have been largely unregulated, with some crowdfunding events raising hundreds of millions of dollars. In total, ICOs have raised $1.37 billion, according to Lex Sokolin, a partner at Autonomous NEXT, a fintech analytics firm. On Tuesday, the SEC said that initial coin offerings (ICOs), in some cases, can be considered securities; and as such will be required to subscribe to the necessary regulations. Mayweather might need that extra money from the ICO. According to an ESPN report, much of Mayweather's wealth is tied up in assets and not liquid. This prevented him from being able to pay back a tax liability of $22.2 million to the IRS. "Although the taxpayer has substantial assets, those assets are restricted and primarily illiquid," Darren Rovell of ESPN said in a recent article, citing Law360 . "The taxpayer has a significant liquidity event scheduled in about 60 days from which he intends to pay the balance of the 2015 tax liability due and outstanding." Story continues NOW WATCH: Harvard Business School professor explains the most important problem we have in finance today and how to fix it More From Business Insider Jeff Bezos is now the world's richest person — and he could redefine philanthropy 5 great tech brands you’ve probably never heard of Here's why Bitcoin is rebounding \|\| This Is Why You’ve Been Getting So Much Spam: It’s no accident that your inbox gets flooded with spam. Spammers use armies of compromised computers and online accounts to disseminate malware, phishing lures, password-stealing webpages, knockoff drug ads, and social engineering attacks to prospective victims. Every additional infection or hijacked account grows the shady enterprise. A security researcher based in Paris who goes by the online alias “Benkow” recently stumbled across a treasure trove of data--40 gigabytes worth--related to a notorious spambot, a computer program used to send spam, dubbed “Onliner.” The cache contains 711 email addresses and millions of hacked passwords, and it provides a glimpse inside the distribution channel of a vast cybercriminal operation. In this case, “Benkow” uncovered the spambot’s command and control server, the machine that orchestrates a spam campaign’s activity, as ZDNet first reported on Tuesday. The server’s directory was open, meaning he was able to download all the data therein contained, as he explained in a post on his personal Blogspot website . Benkow tipped off another well-known security researcher, Troy Hunt, who subsequently uploaded the information to his data breach aggregation site, haveibeenpwned.com . You can visit the site to see whether credentials related to your own email account were included in the dump. (Hunt’s were included.) According to Hunt’s analysis, some portion of the 711 million email addresses were malformed, or invalid. He noted that all of the exposed passwords he tested originally leaked in an earlier breach of LinkedIn , meaning that the spammers were reusing data from past breaches--allowing them to take advantage of people who reuse login credentials or neglect to change their passwords after their exposure in security breaches--to fuel their operation. Get Data Sheet , Fortune's technology newsletter. “Data breaches don't end after the public disclosure,” said Jim Walter, senior research scientist at Cylance, an antivirus startup, in an email to Fortune . “Leaked/breached data can continue to live on and be used, reused, sold, re-sold, etc. for purposes just as described here.” Story continues Phil Tully, principal data scientist at ZeroFOX, a social media security startup, concurred. “As users notoriously set identical or highly-similar passwords across different digital channels, attackers are able to use them to pivot to a victim's other social, email, retail or banking accounts, compounding the initial damage,” he said in an email. Some advice: Secure your online accounts using multi-factor authentication ( security keys , random number generating apps , or phone messages , in descending order of security). Generate and store long, complex, unique passwords in password manager apps. And check to see whether you’ve been compromised in haveibeenpwned.com. (If you have, best to switch up your login credentials.) “[F]inding yourself in this data set unfortunately doesn’t give you much insight into where your email address was obtained from nor what you can actually do about it,” wrote Hunt in a blog post on his website . “I have no idea how this service got mine, but even for me with all the data I see doing what I do, there was still a moment where I went ‘ah, this helps explain all the spam I get.'” See original article on Fortune.com More from Fortune.com Instagram Just Revealed That Hackers Infiltrated 'High-Profile' Accounts Scammers Are Exploiting Hurricane Harvey to Dupe Well-Intentioned Folks. Don't Fall for It. Exclusive: An Inside Look at Kim Dotcom's Bitcoin-Based Payments Platform Drone-Maker DJI Wants You to Find Its Weak Spots Here's How Okta Plans to Secure Your Banking and Retail Apps \|\| Gopher Protocol Introduces UGO HUB Brand: ATLANTA, GA--(Marketwired - Sep 11, 2017) - Gopher Protocol Inc. ( OTCQB : GOPH ) ("Gopher" or the "Company"), a development-stage company which specializes in the creation of Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence enabled mobile technologies and distribution, launches UGO HUB and the UGO brand of products. Through its recent acquisition of assets from RWJ Advanced Marketing, Gopher has begun developing and deploying UGO HUB. The Company intends to upgrade the designated website for the brand, which is currently located at http://www.prewaysales.com/ UGO HUB is a stand-alone network of 15,000+/- locations throughout the United States that provide cellular top off for all carriers, prepaid and other financial services products and private branded accessories to consumers utilizing DSD -- Direct Store Delivery for fulfillment. In theory, UGO HUB is seen as a "Store Within a Store" at certain locations. The Company hopes to grow its network over time with this alternative revenue sharing arrangement, as opposed to traditional wholesale pricing, with partner locations. With average weekly foot traffic estimated at 2,000 per week ( http://distributech.net/Demographics.aspx ), the UGO HUB Brand is potentially exposed to an estimated 30 million consumers per week. Gopher will also begin working on a UGO branded line of its Artificial Intelligence enabled mobile technologies that will be distributed through the 15,000+/- "Store Within a Store" locations. About UGO HUB UGO HUB products include: prepaid financial services (credit card, phone card, gift card, etc.), financial services - bill pay, ATM, payday loans, check cashing, Bitcoin, etc.), products and accessories - SIM Card, cell phone, as well as novelties, such as electronic accessories. UGO HUB operates on a leased space and revenue sharing arrangement with partner locations instead of a traditional wholesaling model. About Gopher Protocol Inc. Gopher Protocol Inc. ( OTCQB : GOPH ) ("Gopher" and the "Company") ( http://gopherprotocol.com/ ) is a development-stage company which considers itself Native IoT creator, developing Internet of Things (IoT) and Artificial Intelligence enabled mobile technology. The Company has a portfolio of Intellectual Property that when commercialized will include smart microchips, mobile application software and supporting cloud software. The system contemplates the creation of a global network. The core of the system will be its advanced microchip technology that can be installed in any mobile device worldwide. Gopher envisions this system as an internal, private network between all enabled mobile devices providing shared processing, advanced mobile database management/sharing and enhanced mobile features. Story continues Corporate Site: http://gopherprotocol.com Press page/ press kit - http://gopherprotocol.com/?page_id=228 Consumer and product website for Guardian Patch: http://www.guardianpatch.com/ . About Guardian Pet Tracker http://www.guardianpettracker.com/ The Guardian Pet Tracker (Sphere Internal name - the "Sphere") system is a derivative technology of Gopher's Guardian Patch technology. The Sphere is designed to provide its users with local tracking capability using a re-chargeable/replaceable battery source. Gopher intends to release pre-production units in limited test in the near future. GOPH disclosure: More info: SEC link /technology abstract Forward-Looking Statements Certain statements contained in this press release may constitute "forward-looking statements". Forward-looking statements provide current expectations of future events based on certain assumptions and include any statement that does not directly relate to any historical or current fact. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors as disclosed in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission located at their website ( http://www.sec.gov ). In addition to these factors, actual future performance, outcomes, and results may differ materially because of more general factors including (without limitation) general industry and market conditions and growth rates, economic conditions, and governmental and public policy changes. The forward-looking statements included in this press release represent the Company's views as of the date of this press release and these views could change. However, while the Company may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, the Company specifically disclaims any obligation to do so. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing the Company's views as of any date subsequent to the date of the press release. \|\| 5 Strong Buy Stocks a Better Bet Than Bitcoin: Feels like a new day after the eclipse here. Gone are the worries of North Korea and tensions following Charlottesville. We got a big bounce in stocks with virtually no pullbacks today and volatility left the building. All this while the Jackson Hole Summit has central bankers listening to Prince and watching Lonesome Dove. Check out Dave’s Daily Dive video above where I break down the market action today!!! Each day I, Dave Bartosiak of Zacks.com (Twitter @bartosiastics) dive into the charts, pointing out key price action and levels for you to watch. But it doesn’t stop there because the highlight of today’s video, which you can see for free by clicking above, is where I uncover five Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks that are breaking out to new 52-week highs today. These stocks have a ton of momentum behind them and are charging higher. The list of stocks I cover today include: Alibaba BABA Alibaba Group Holding Limited Price and Consensus \| Alibaba Group Holding Limited Quote Alibaba Group Holding Limited, through its subsidiaries, operates as an online and mobile commerce company in the People's Republic of China and internationally. The company operates in four segments: Core Commerce, Cloud Computing, Digital Media and Entertainment, and Innovation Initiatives and Others. It operates Taobao Marketplace, a mobile commerce destination; Tmall, a third-party platform for brands and retailers; Rural Taobao program that enables rural residents and businesses to sell agricultural products to urban consumers; Juhuasuan, a sales and marketing platform for flash sales; Alibaba.com, an online wholesale marketplace; Alitrip, an online travel booking platform; 1688.com, an online wholesale marketplace; and AliExpress, a consumer marketplace. Getty Realty GTY Getty Realty Corporation Price and Consensus \| Getty Realty Corporation Quote Getty Realty Corp. operates as a real estate investment trust (REIT) in the United States. The company engages in the ownership and leasing of retail motor fuel and convenience store properties, and petroleum distribution terminals. The company’s properties are leased or sublet to distributors and retailers engaged in the sale of gasoline and various motor fuel products, convenience store products, and automotive repair services. China Lodging HTHT China Lodging Group, Limited Price and Consensus \| China Lodging Group, Limited Quote China Lodging Group, Limited, together with its subsidiaries, develops leased and owned, manachised, and franchised hotels primarily in the People’s Republic of China. It operates hotels under the Joya Hotel, Manxin Hotels & Resorts, JI Hotel, Starway Hotel, Elan Hotel, HanTing Hotel, Hi Inn, Grand Mercure Hotel, Novotel Hotel, Mercure Hotel, Ibis Styles Hotel, and Ibis Hotel brand names for business and leisure traveler customers. Telecom Argentina TEO Telecom Argentina Stet - France Telecom S.A. Price and Consensus \| Telecom Argentina Stet - France Telecom S.A. Quote Telecom Argentina S.A. provides fixed-line telecommunications and other telephone-related services to residential customers, businesses, and governmental agencies in Argentina and internationally. The company operates in three segments: Fixed Telecommunications Services, Personal Mobile Telecommunications Services, and Núcleo Mobile Telecommunications Services. Xplore Technologies XPLR Xplore Technologies Corp Price and Consensus \| Xplore Technologies Corp Quote Xplore Technologies Corp. develops, integrates, and markets rugged mobile personal computer systems in the United States, Canada, and internationally. The company’s products enable the extension of traditional computing systems to a range of field personnel, including energy pipeline inspectors, public safety personnel, warehouse workers, and pharmaceutical scientists. Now See All Our Private Trades While today's Zacks Rank #1 new additions are being shared with the public, other trades are hidden from everyone but selected members. Would you like to peek behind the curtain and view them? Starting today, for the next month, you can follow all Zacks' private buys and sells in real time from value to momentum . . . from stocks under $10 to ETF and option moves . . . from insider trades to companies that are about to report positive earnings surprises (we've called them with 80%+ accuracy). You can even look inside portfolios so exclusive that they are normally closed to new investors. Click here for all Zacks trades >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days.Click to get this free reportAlibaba Group Holding Limited (BABA) : Free Stock Analysis ReportXplore Technologies Corp (XPLR) : Free Stock Analysis ReportChina Lodging Group, Limited (HTHT) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTelecom Argentina Stet - France Telecom S.A. (TEO) : Free Stock Analysis ReportGetty Realty Corporation (GTY) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research \|\| Bitcoin's Fall Unlikely to Last: 3 Great Choices: Digital currencies received a massive jolt on Monday when Chinas authorities issued a notice declaring that initial coin offerings (ICOs) were illegal. Following this announcement, the price of bitcoin declined from $4,584 to nearly $4,350 per bitcoin. By Tuesday morning, the virtual currency was hovering just above the $4000 mark, nearly 20% lower than the record level of $5,000 it had hit over the weekend. Bitcoins fall has prompted some commentators to state that the virtual currency is entering a new phase of price discovery. However, most market watchers are characterizing this three day slide as a short term phenomenon. Bitcoin is likely to emerge stronger after such systemic cleansing, which makes it a good idea to invest in stocks gaining from the virtual currency. China Bans ICOs On Sep 4, seven of Chinas government agencies, including the Peoples Bank of China and the China Securities Regulatory Commission issued a statement which declared that ICOs were illegal. According to this notice, the use of ICOs as a fundraising tool stands effectively suspended, since this could lead to financial irregularities. Additionally, the document mandates that funds already raised using ICOs should be returned. Further, illegal financial activity emanating from this mechanism would be investigated. Digital fundraising platforms are also likely to be required to have enhanced oversight mechanisms in the future. Curbs Difficult to Implement Chinas ban on ICOs led to a substantial fall in the value of bitcoin and another popular cryptocurrency, ethereum. ICOs are utilized by start-up companies to raised funds via the sale of cryptographic tokens to prospective investors. In return, the start-up receives more widely accepted digital currencies such as bitcoin or ethereum. At first glance, restrictions on ICOs should not directly impact the likes of bitcoin. However, this development has had a negative impact on the virtual currency category as a whole. But curbs may be difficult to implement in practice since putting an end to cryptocurrency would mean fighting evolving technologies. Story continues Bitcoins Decline Only Temporary Of course this hasnt stopped several governments from seeking to place restrictions on the category. Developments in china closely mirror the actions of the SEC two months ago. At that point, the SEC had declared that ICOs were also investments and hence subject to the same regulations as stocks. Market watchers feel that ultimately the category will emerge stronger from purges of this nature. Analysts have gone on record to state that stricter regulation will lead to a new gold standard of ICOs." Others think that this short-term dip is likely only profit taking after bitcoin hit a record high of $5,000 recently. Our Choices Despite Chinas latest restrictions on ICOs and bitcoins subsequent decline, long term prospects of the cryptocurrency remain undiminished. In fact, market watchers think that bitcoin will emerge stronger from such regulatory action. Investing in stocks from the bitcoin phenomenon continues to be a smart option. We have narrowed down our search to the following stocks based on a good Zacks Rank and other relevant metrics. NVIDIA Corporation s NVDA GPU sales have gained substantially from the Bitcoin phenomenon. Increased demand for cryptocurrencies owing to increased adoption of bitcoin and newer technologies like ethereum has helped in lifting GPU demand, thereby contributing to the companys GPU sales growth. This is also true for its smaller rival Advanced Micro Devices AMD. NVIDIA has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). The company has expected earnings growth of 40.1% for the current year. Its earnings estimate for the current year has improved by 16.8% over the last 30 days. Micron Technology, Inc. MU is the largest manufacturer of memory chips in the United States. Memory chips are among the key components of a mining rig, the hardware setup utilized to extract cryptocurrency tokens from a blockchain, which is why Micron stands to benefit from the popularity of bitcoin. Microns earnings estimate for the current year has improved by 4.1% over the last 30 days. The forward price-to-earnings ratio (P/E) for the current financial year (F1) is 5.45. The stock has a Zacks Rank #1. You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank stocks here . Zynga Inc. ZNGA was among the first companies to accept bitcoin transactions. It will likely continue to incentivize the use of blockchain related transactions, thus benefiting from the bitcoin phenomenon. Zynga has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). The company has expected earnings growth of more than 100% for the current year. Its earnings estimate for the current year has improved by 12.5% over the last 60 days. Zacks' 10-Minute Stock-Picking Secret Since 1988, the Zacks system has more than doubled the S&P 500 with an average gain of +25% per year. With compounding, rebalancing, and exclusive of fees, it can turn thousands into millions of dollars. But here's something even more remarkable: You can master this proven system without going to a single class or seminar. And then you can apply it to your portfolio in as little as 10 minutes a month. Learn the secret >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Zynga Inc. (ZNGA) : Free Stock Analysis Report Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD) : Free Stock Analysis Report NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA) : Free Stock Analysis Report Micron Technology, Inc. (MU) : Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research \|\| Bitcoin continues record price run as Ethereum nears $400: Bitcoin price latest: Value rises to record $4,890 - but what next? - Bloomberg News Bitcoin s price has surged to a new record-breaking high of $4,890, as the price of rival currency ethereum climbed up to just below $400. The volatile cryptocurrencys record-breaking run has continued, with its value soaring above $4,700 for the first time on August 29. Bitcoin's price has fluctuated closely to a previous high of $,4,522 for much of August and even slumped back to below $4,000 on August 22. FAQ \| Bitcoin But what next? A Goldman Sachs investment banker predicted the price of bitcoin would continue to rise in a recent note to clients. Whether or not you believe in the merit of investing in cryptocurrencies (you know who you are), real dollars are at work here and warrant watching, the report said. However, Sheba Jafari, a technical strategist at Goldman Sachs, warned the bubble could burst and the price could eventually fall back to below $3,000. But Aaron Lasher, co-founder of Breadwallet, is more optimistic - he predicts the value of bitcoin will keep on rising over the next five years. Are cryptos in a bubble? Yes, absolutely, he told MarketWatch. Is that a bad thing? Not necessarily. The long-term trend is up, however, so past bubbles look less impressive in the rearview mirror. Do I know how high this bubble will go? Will I be selling any bitcoin before, during, or after the bubble? No. Meanwhile, the price of ethereum, the rising star of the cryptocurrency world, has risen to a high of $394.32. The price rise of bitcoin, litecoin and ethereum puts the overall value of the cryptocurrency market at record $170bn, coindesk reports. They add the price of bitcoin is now up more than 350 per cent this year. Thinking of investing in bitcoin? The Telegraphs Technology Editor, James Titcomb, warns: While the party may continue for a while, its just as likely to end spectacularly. \|\| Apple iPhone X will be in 'severe short supply,' KGI says: Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) 's next high-end iPhone, which is expected to be introduced on Tuesday and called the iPhone X , according to leaks, may be very difficult to buy. According to a note from widely followed KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo that was obtained by MacRumors , Apple's suppliers are only able to build 10,000 iPhone X units per day. Kuo said this "means the model will remain in severe short supply for a while." This aligns with earlier reports, including from Kuo, that suggested Apple was having a difficult time manufacturing the phones. One constraint might be OLED panels, which are in short supply. UBS said in August that the high-end iPhone would be delayed until September, so it sounds like Apple has managed to work out some kinks.Kuo added that the "gold version of the OLED iPhone will encounter some production problems and will initially be available in extremely low volume," noting that it might even launch after the other iPhone X colors.The takeaway? Set your alarm to preorder the iPhone X right when it goes on sale at least if you want to be the first on your block with one.CNBC reached out to Apple for comment but a spokesperson was not immediately available.Read more at MacRumors . Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) 's next high-end iPhone, which is expected to be introduced on Tuesday and called the iPhone X , according to leaks, may be very difficult to buy. According to a note from widely followed KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo that was obtained by MacRumors , Apple's suppliers are only able to build 10,000 iPhone X units per day. Kuo said this "means the model will remain in severe short supply for a while." This aligns with earlier reports, including from Kuo, that suggested Apple was having a difficult time manufacturing the phones. One constraint might be OLED panels, which are in short supply. UBS said in August that the high-end iPhone would be delayed until September, so it sounds like Apple has managed to work out some kinks. Kuo added that the "gold version of the OLED iPhone will encounter some production problems and will initially be available in extremely low volume," noting that it might even launch after the other iPhone X colors. The takeaway? Set your alarm to preorder the iPhone X right when it goes on sale at least if you want to be the first on your block with one. CNBC reached out to Apple for comment but a spokesperson was not immediately available. Read more at MacRumors . More From CNBC Almost everything Apple is set to announce Tuesday was leaked this weekend Bitcoin price falls again on reports that China is shutting down local exchanges Here's everything to expect from Apple's iPhone event on Tuesday \|\| Expert: Breached Equifax data may have been used in fraud: Equifax Makes Hack Fallout Worse With Bad Credit Freeze PINs Forter, an e-commerce fraud prevention company, said they saw a “significant” spike in what appears to be fraudulent account takeovers this summer, something they believe could be a result of the recently-disclosed Equifax ( EFX ) data breach. “In the last two months we saw about a 15% increase year-over-year in account takeover attempts,” according to Forter CEO and co-founder Michael Reitblat. “While we can’t confirm that this is related to the Equifax breach, the timing suggests that it could.” Equifax, one of the three major credit reporting companies, said on Thursday that “criminals” had stolen data that could impact 143 million US consumers. The company’s investigation revealed the unauthorized access occurred from mid-May through July. The information includes names, Social Security numbers, birth dates, addresses and also credit card numbers for approximately 209,000 consumers. Reitblat explained the summer spike in fraud accounts could be the result of the original Equifax hackers selling initial small amounts of data to fraudsters. “The fraudsters are paying the hackers bitcoin to see the data and confirm it’s legitimate. Once this stage is over, the hackers will then sell large bulks of data to the fraudsters,” Reitblat explained. “The moment this data starts to be sold in masses and in the open (if the FBI doesn’t catch them first), you will see an absolutely huge significant spike in account takeover attempts.” In other words, the spike we are seeing now could be just a reflection of a testing phase that will get much larger. “Remember, criminals usually don’t trust each other,” he said. “Bitcoin did wonders for cyber criminals. Now with bitcoin criminals can specialize into hackers and fraudsters and communicate via bitcoin in stages.” Equifax did not respond to request for comment from Yahoo Finance. Fraudsters may already be using information from the Equifax data breach. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File) Account takeover attempts Reitblat said that hackers going after personal information, instead of purely credit card numbers, is a growing trend. Story continues “Through all the Equifax databases, the hackers have everything about you. And through not very sophisticated social engineering, they can get passwords and security information from other sites,” he said. He explained that some fraudsters will put small purchases (like $30) on regular high-use credit cards, as these will largely go unnoticed by consumers. Meanwhile, larger purchases may go on more dormant cards, including some store cards that haven’t been in use. In that case, consumers won’t find out until they get notification for amount owed. Monitor your credit cards Forter, which handles about $20 billion in online transactions including those for several major Fortune 500 companies, said this could be the most extreme breach they’ve ever seen. “It is key, in addition to all the other advice out there about freezing your credit score access, to monitor your credit cards—both active and rarely used,” Reitblat advised. And when it comes to judging this sort of event, Forter should know. The company was founded by former PayPal antifraud experts, has roots in the Israeli Intelligence Corps Cyber Command, and has raised more than $50 million in VC funding, including from Sequoia. “Organized cyber criminal organizations are automating the fraud process and need large bulks of information,” Reitblat said. “They are gaining power.” — Nicole Sinclair is markets correspondent at Yahoo Finance. Please also see: 15% of big US chain restaurant locations were in hurricane-exposed areas How Apple can prevent the iPhone from going the way of the PC DACA repeal will conservatively hit GDP by $105 billion over five years, Mark Zandi says Why $475,000 isn’t actually that expensive for Novartis’ new drug \|\| China hits booming cryptocurrency market with coin fundraising ban: By John Ruwitch and Jemima Kelly SHANGHAI/LONDON (Reuters) - China on Monday banned and deemed illegal the practice of raising funds through launches of token-based digital currencies. The move was targeted at so-called initial coin offerings (ICO) in a market that has exploded since the start of the year. ICOs have become a bonanza for digital currency entrepreneurs, globally and in China, and have provided the fuel for a rapid ascent in the value of cryptocurrencies this year that has driven fears of a bubble that could burst. [L5N1KV4DN] Individuals and organizations that have completed ICO fundraisings should make arrangements to return funds, said a joint statement from the People's Bank of China (PBOC), the securities and banking regulators and other government departments that was posted on the central bank's website. In total, $2.32 billion has been raised through ICOs, with $2.16 billion of that being raised since the start of 2017, according to cryptocurrency analysis website Cryptocompare. Bitcoin rival Ethereum, which token-issuers usually ask to be paid in and which has therefore seen unprecedented growth this year, fell sharply on the news, last trading down almost 20 percent on the day at $283, according to trade publication Coindesk. Bitcoin was also down 8 percent, while the total value of all cryptocurrencies was down around 10 percent, according to industry website Coinmarketcap.com. "The large price falls can be attributed to panic amongst traders and profit-taking," said Cryptocompare founder Charles Hayter. The rapid ascent of ICOs prompted the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to warn in July that some ICOs should be regulated like other securities. Singapore and Canada followed with similar warnings. Zennon Kapron, director of the Shanghai-based financial technology consultancy Kapronasia, said he suspected regulators were putting the brakes on ICOs in order to better understand the phenomenon, but could ease off in the future. "Regulators globally are struggling to understand what ICOs are, what the risks are, and how to ring-fence and regulate them," he said. "China, in many ways, is no different than the U.S. or Singapore in saying, ok, we need to push back on these for now until we figure out how to deal with them...I think it will be slightly a temporary measure." "THE MUSIC HAS STOPPED" By creating and issuing digital tokens, entrepreneurs can raise large sums quickly -- sometimes hundreds of millions of dollars in minutes -- with little or no regulatory oversight. But unlike traditional fundraising, token holders are generally not given any share in the particular project, nor any security. For the buyer, therefore, the main reason for buying these highly risky tokens is often simply a bet that their value will rise. Once the tokens have been issued they can be traded against other cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin, the first successful digital-only currency. The popularity of coin offerings has surged in China this year. In July, the state news agency Xinhua cited data from a government organization that monitors online financial activity to report that there had been 65 ICOs so far during the year raising a combined 2.62 billion yuan ($394.6 million) from 105,000 individuals in the country. Oliver Bussman, previously chief innovation officer at UBS and now president of the Switzerland-based "Crypto Valley Association" that promotes blockchain-based technology, said Chinese authorities had to be especially vigilant about protecting consumers because of the lack of financial advice in the country, compared with Europe or North America. Reaction to the ban was swift online. "The music has stopped," said one member of a chat group on the social networking platform WeChat that was set up last week for an upcoming ICO for a fundraising platform called SelfSell. "Hurry up and sell your bitcoin," said another. The organizer of the ICO project, who recently went on a six-city roadshow, said the project had been suspended. But Bussman said that once there was some regulatory clarity, and once it had been worked out how to classify different types of ICO, the token-based fundraising would continue. "The initial coin offering is a new business model leveraging blockchain technology and it will remain," he said. "This is not the end of the ICO – absolutely not." (Reporting by Jemima Kelly in London, John Ruwitch in Shanghai, Elias Glenn and Beijing Newsroom; Editing by Richard Borsuk and Sam Holmes/Jeremy Gaunt) [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] Стоимость Bitcoin побила новый рекорд https://newson.com.ua/365932 \|\| BTC Price: 4288.00$, BTC Today High : 4286.00$, BTC All Time High : 4742.42$ ETH Price: 303.25$ #bitcoin #BTC $BTC #ETH $ETHpic.twitter.com/9J3VAMomwz \|\| Can anybody simplify nodes for me? http://ift.tt/2vRU8kx #bitcoin #blockchain #cryptos #reddit \|\| XFX Radeon R9 295x2 Ethereum/Bitcoin miner - $1,000.00 End Date: Saturday Aug-26-2017 10:49:39 PDT Buy It Now f... http://ow.ly/381k50d4aBJ \|\| Techcrunch "Bitcoin just passed $4,000" http://ift.tt/2w08Y99 #Technology \|\| -=[ 480.956 ]=- Txs: 2.243 Size: 999.286 bytes Time: 1502986070 Miner: 1Hash Fees: ~2.00 BTC Sig: bit1 Mempool: 26.066 txs \|\| Sep 03, 2017 14:00:00 UTC \| 4,485.90$ \| 3,781.60€ \| 3,463.60£ \| #Bitcoin #btc pic.twitter.com/M4jiiTLmzr \|\| Bitcoin: Me trying to hop in on Bitcoin after hearing its higher than ever. - http://cryptogeeks.com/bitcoin-me-trying-hop-bitcoin-after-hearing-its-higher-ever … \|\| $3801.00 at 22:15 UTC [24h Range: $3586.95 - $3934.00 Volume: 12939 BTC] \|\| $2710.00 at 01:00 UTC [24h Range: $2569.69 - $2774.45 Volume: 7738 BTC]	Trend: down \|\| Prices: 3882.59, 3154.95, 3637.52, 3625.04, 3582.88, 4065.20, 3924.97, 3905.95, 3631.04, 3630.70
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2018-12-11] BTC Price: 3424.59, BTC RSI: 28.69 Gold Price: 1241.90, Gold RSI: 60.18 Oil Price: 51.65, Oil RSI: 36.10 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Market Morning: Bitcoin Cash Hard Fork, Asia Falls Again, Iran Sanctions Back On: Economic Calendar This Week On Monday we have ISM Manufacturing, Wednesday 30Y mortgage rates, Thursday the Fed Funds Target Rate, and Friday the Producer Price Index. Slow manufacturing would add to the evidence that the current boom may be receding finally after 10 years. 30Y mortgage rates are likely to turn up, further slowing down the housing market. The Fed Funds target range won’t change, but other obscure interest rates such as the rate paid on excess reserves might be tweaked to get the Fed Funds rate back in line (it is currently a bit high for the Fed’s liking), and the PPI should give us further clues about inflation. SEE:Coinbase Custody Partners With Wilshire Phoenix To Launch A Dedicated Crypto Fund Bitcoin Cash Hard Fork, Altcoin Up 20% Bitcoin Cash (BCH-USD) is undergoing another network upgrade on November 15thbut this time not all developers are on the same page. Another hard fork is in the works and probably another argument about what coin is the “real Bitcoin”. Bitcoin Cash enthusiasts insists that Bitcoin Cash is actually Bitcoin and that Bitcoin (BTC-USD) is actually Segwit, whereas Bitcoin enthusiasts believe that Bitcoin is the real Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash is just Bitcoin Cash. Now whoever is on the side of the upgrade will call the new Bitcoin Cash Bitcoin, the old Bitcoin Cash, Bitcoin Cash, and Bitcoin will still be Segwit, while those against the upgrade will call Bitcoin Cash Bitcoin, the New Bitcoin Cash Bitcoin Cash, and Bitcoin Segwit. Meanwhile, as damaging as this argument is to the mining community and to our ability to keep our grasp on crypto-nomenclature, Bitcoin Cash, AKA Bitcoin to some, is up 20% on anticipation of the hard fork. The only question remaining is, Who’s on First? Asia Down Hard as Xi Get in a TiXi (Pronounced Tizzy) Maybe no trade deal after all? Chinese President Xi Jinping seemed tolash outat President Donald Trump over the weekend, referring to his negotiating strategy as Law of the Jungle. “As globalization deepens, the practices of Law of the Jungle and winner take all are a dead end. Inclusion and reciprocity, win-win and mutual benefits are a widening road,” he said. Shanghai stocks are down but have regained much of their earlier losses, but Hong Kong is down hard at 2.33%, and Japan is down 1.55% on the day. This could signal the opening of yet another week of volatility. Related Tickers: (NYSEARCA:EWJ) (NYSEARCA:EWH) (NYSEARCA:FXI) Iran Sanctions Back On Sanctions against Iranian oil exports have been put into effect, though oil (NYSEARCA:USO) has yet to respond to the new market environment. Oil is down 18% since the start of October and asOilprice reports, new positions in crude are at 52-week lows, supply is about to be crimped or rather already is, and this is has been the sharpest one-month decline in oil since 2014. Spare capacity is down to 2% of global demand, so we are pretty much at peak capacity here. Midterms Elections Set to Rock Markets Midterm elections are tomorrow. Here’s your cheat sheet. If Republicans retain control of both houses, US indexes will likely rocket higher on the news. If Republicans lose the house as expected, there won’t be much net movement. If Democrats take control of both houses, stocks are likely to tank. Play the options as you will. Senate races to watch are Arizona, Indiana, Florida, Missouri, Montana, Texas, Tennessee, West Virginia, and North Dakota. The postMarket Morning: Bitcoin Cash Hard Fork, Asia Falls Again, Iran Sanctions Back Onappeared first onMarket Exclusive. \|\| Ripple (XRP) Gains 21% in Market-wide Recovery, Overtakes Ethereum as 2nd Biggest Crypto: The Ripple market segment witnessed a 21 percent recovery upon establishing a new November low at $0.329. The XRP/USD rate on Monday touched 0.399-fiat in a higher high formation on BitFinex. In the meantime, the coin’s market cap reached close to $15.61 billion, replacing Ethereum to become the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency. Ripple’s chief marketing strategist Cory Johnson on Friday furthered their dialogue about how XRP is better than Bitcoin. Not that his statements could have rattled the bitcoin investors, but they certainly could have attracted potential holders. Johnson wrote about how bitcoin was more centralized due to being extremely influenced by the Chinese mining community, calling it a poor technology. -Bitcoin has some real technological limitations -The digital asset that show fundamental use cases will develop a fundamental value -XRP is being used more than Bitcoin being used as of today Cory Johnson, Ripple Nov18 #XRP #XRPthestandard pic.twitter.com/hmpqXNFTtT — Steven Diep (@DiepSanh) November 23, 2018 The XRP correction nevertheless took place in the absence of solid backings, meaning its sustainability cannot be guaranteed at this moment. At worst, it could be a bear pennant formation which indicates the continuation of the current downward trend. At best, XRP could be heading to an extended upside recovery action, considering its the least-bad performing cryptocurrency in the bear run that has shaken the entire crypto market. The daily XRP chart, meanwhile, allows a better inside look, revealing RSI and Stochastic had lately dipped into their oversold regions. The XRP/USD rate at most corrected to stabilize, meaning the near-term uptrend should extend to the nearest resistance level, probably towards the 100-period simple moving average before a potential pullback overtakes the trend. Story continues At the same time, 0.329-fiat is providing decent support according to the daily basis. The level had witnessed buying sentiment before and promised to hold the bears with few bulls. A break below 0.329, on the other hand, could be devastating as it would expose XRP/USD to a crash towards the next potential downside at 0.268-fiat. This level has offered strong support since August. A narrowed down version of the XRP/USD rate chart offers us more insights into how we could play the trades intraday. As of now, the pair is clearly targetting 0.396-fiat as its interim resistance while resting its foot at 0.371-fiat, the interim support for the rest of the day. We are looking at XRP/USD reversing from the 200-period simple moving average on a 15-minute chart. It provides us with a decent short opportunity towards the interim support. At the same time, placing a stop loss at 0.390-fiat will protect our position from maximum losses should the upside correction resumes. Having said that, an upside continuation would have us wait for a breakout above the interim resistance. If it happens, we will enter a long position towards 0.402-fiat as our interim upside target while maintaining a stop loss order at 0.393-fiat. Trade safe! Disclaimer: The author holds XRP, Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, and Ethereum. The analysis above is his personal opinion and does not reflect the opinions of CCN.com. Readers discretion is advised. Featured Image from Shutterstock. Charts from TradingView . The post Ripple (XRP) Gains 21% in Market-wide Recovery, Overtakes Ethereum as 2nd Biggest Crypto appeared first on CCN . \|\| Gold Price Forecast – Gold markets drift a bit lower on Monday: Gold marketsof course are highly influenced by the US dollar, so keep that in mind before placing any types of trades. At this point, I think that the market probably looks at the $1220 level as massive support. At this point, I believe the Gold markets are a bit extended for the short term, but I would be willing to take a small position at $1220 as it has been somewhat reliable. The keyword here of course is going to be “small”, as Gold markets do tend to be a bit volatile. If we were to break below the $1220 level, then I think that the market will probably go looking towards the $1210 level, followed by the much more significant $1200 level after that. Ultimately, this is a market that continues to struggle with momentum at the moment, but it’s obvious to me that we still have a certain amount of buying pressure underneath, perhaps due to global uncertainty, perhaps due to US dollar fluctuations. I think at this point it’s likely that we will continue to see participants look towards Gold as a way to express their value against global risk and of course the greenback. If we were to break down below the $1200 level, that would be an extraordinarily negative sign, and that should send this market much lower. I believe the Gold is trying to reach the $1250 level over the longer-term, but it will be very noisy to say the least. Thisarticlewas originally posted on FX Empire • E-mini S&P 500 Index (ES) Futures Technical Analysis – Weakens Under 2748.50, Strengthens Over 2768.25 • WEEKLY MARKET OUTLOOK – Webinar October 22-26 • Bitcoin and Ethereum Price Forecast – BTC Prices In Range • The History of Forex • EUR/USD Countertrend Move Possible at 1.1430 • EUR/USD Daily Price Forecast – EUR/USD Turns Dovish on Increase in Selling Activity & Spike in USD Demand \|\| Cardano, Zcash, Stellar Surge Prior to Coinbase Listing; XLM up 27%: As the anticipation towards additional cryptocurrency integrations builds following the listing of Basic Attention Token (BAT) and 0x (ZRX), the prices of Cardano (ADA), Zcash (ZEC), and Stellar (XLM) have started to surge. Since November 2, the day BAT was officially integrated into Coinbase Pro and Coinbase.com, XLM, the native cryptocurrency of the Stellar blockchain network, has increased from $0.22 to $0.28, by more than 27 percent. Cardano and Zcash, two cryptocurrencies alongside Stellar, BAT, and 0x Coinbase expressed its interest in May, have also increased substantially in value. Although the privacy-focused cryptocurrency Zcash experienced a 3 percent drop in price throughout the past 24 hour, since November 2, ZEC rose from $114 to $125, by around 9 percent. At its weekly peak, ZEC surpassed $140, demonstrating a staggering 21.7 increase in price in a two-week span. Prior to the listing, subsequent to the official listing announcement of Coinbase, both BAT and 0x nearly doubled in value against both the US dollar and Bitcoin (BTC). However, after the official listing by Coinbase Pro and Coinbase.com, the price of BAT plunged from $0.37 to $0.25, by over 32 percent. The price of BAT dropped to the point before the listing itself, demonstrating that the hype around the Coinbase listing, rather than the actual listing, led the price of BAT to surge. Hence, at this point, the significance of the Coinbase listing is in question, especially if tokens tend to fall by substantial margins following the integration. The Coinbase listing is a confirmation that the token is not considered a security by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and it opens doors for other exchanges in the US and fiat-to-crypto exchanges across the world to accept and integrate it. With the U.S. SEC increasing its efforts to crack down on tokens considered as securities and exchanges with tokens listed on them, a confirmation by the biggest fiat-to-crypto exchange in the global market is crucial, specifically because Coinbase is recognized as one of the most strictly compliant platforms in the US. Upon the crackdown of EtherDelta, government enforcement defense and securities litigation attorney at Kobre & Kim, Jake Chervinsky, stated that it is likely the SEC has dozens of cases against tokens and exchanges pending. “A few other key points for consideration. Most enforcement actions are kept confidential until they’re resolved to protect both the defendant (from bad press) & the government (from losses & inconsistencies). That’s why this case was settled before it was announced. On that point, remember all those subpoenas the SEC sent out earlier this year? Just because you haven’t heard about them recently doesn’t mean there aren’t dozens of investigations going on behind the scenes. Sooner or later, the floodgates will open,” hesaid. Given that 0x and BAT, which have central development teams overseeing the development of the two digital assets were listed by Coinbase, the probability of the three digital assets being integrated into Coinbase is fairly high. If so, with many positive developments including Stellar’s Blockchain wallet integration, growing adoption of ZK-SNARKs technology of Zcash, and rising adoption of Cardano’s smart contract protocol will positively affect the short-term price trend of the three assets. Featured Image from Shutterstock. Charts fromTradingView. The postCardano, Zcash, Stellar Surge Prior to Coinbase Listing; XLM up 27%appeared first onCCN. \|\| Crypto’s Too Expensive? Binance Sent $600 Million in Bitcoin for Just $7: Crypto exchange Binance has been moving bitcoin funds to cold storage the past couple of days, and, of course, such large transfers don’t go unnoticed. Two transactions destined forBinance’s cold walletcome to the fore and demonstrate both the power and irony of the blockchain. Atransactionin block 550211 was a transfer of just over $1 million. For this transaction, Binance paid just over $8 in fees. The “high” amount of the fee is probably a matter of convenience, as the transaction was not particularly large at just 1550 bytes. The other transaction, first flagged by Antoine Le Calvez of CoinMetrics.io, is more notable for its size — $600 million at the time it was sent, making it the largest unspent transaction output existing today — but also illustrates the irony of Bitcoin transactions, whose fees are not based on the amount transacted but instead the amount of computer resources required to store the information. Thissecond transaction, made in block 550155 several hours earlier, comprised 5981 bytes yet cost the giant exchange just over $7. Other factors, such as network activity, apply to transaction fee calculations. It should first be noted that there is no banking product with the same security as a cold storage wallet. A cold storage wallet is one that is not connected to theblockchainvia the internet. With appropriate security hygiene, it can amount to having direct access to your personal fortune with no middlemen. It would take days or weeks to find out the cost of moving funds between bank accounts from various banks, and banks are in particular not the best thing to compareBitcoinwith, it being primarily a remittance tool. Nonetheless, it is known that interbank fees generally run in the neighborhood of 4 percent or more, supposing the funds were being moved internationally. Domestically there would still be fees, which would depend very much on the bank being used. Banks usingRipple‘s enterprise DLT products and other blockchain technologies might be able to reduce the cost significantly. Likewise, one-time deposits and other deals can be made with banks when moving this amount of funds. But this is cold storage, after all – funds that Binance will later probably need access to. The notion of paying any more than necessary fees for access or movement, and being reliant on external forces, is antithetical to the business of being a cryptocurrency exchange. Which is to say, Binance is engaging in money transfers that wouldn’t have been possible in a previous era in order to facilitate a business model that wouldn’t have been possible in a previous era, all at a cost that would have been unimaginably low in a previous era. We find it helpful to compare the cost of these transactions with a service likePayPalinstead. While it’s unlikely that Binance would work with PayPal or that PayPal would work with transactions of this size, it’s useful to compare the value of Bitcoin to other remittance models. According toSalescalc.com, which specializes in such data, a fee of $17,400,000.30 would be incurred moving $600M to the PayPal account of the “cold storage steward” in the theoretical case of a PayPal model. PayPal does not charge fees for moving funds to bank accounts, but there is an associated delay when using traditional banking models. Featured Image from Shutterstock The postCrypto’s Too Expensive? Binance Sent $600 Million in Bitcoin for Just $7appeared first onCCN. \|\| Crypto Market Continues Slow Bleed Out But Tokens Record 20% Gains: Over the past 24 hours, thecryptomarket has lost about $4 billion of its valuation against the US dollar. Major cryptocurrencies likeBitcoin(BTC),Bitcoin Cash(BCH),Ethereum(ETH), andRipple(XRP) extended their losses by 2 to 8 percent. Theprice of BCHdropped from $236 to $215, by nearly nine percent. In the last two to three hours, BCH, BTC, ETH, and XRP demonstrated a slight recovery in both volume and price, but the momentum of the entire market remains a concern to short-term traders. While large market cap digital assets recorded minor losses, small market cryptocurrencies and tokens demonstrated gains in the range of 5 to 20 percent. Basic Attention Token(BAT), the native cryptocurrency of Brave Browser, increased from $0.16 to $0.185, by around 16.5 percent. Since the listing of BAT by Coinbase, the third largest crypto-to-fiat exchange in the world behind Bithumb and Bitfinex, the price of BAT dropped by more than 56 percent. However, in comparison to manyERC20tokens and consideration of the significant price surge BAT experienced in the build-up to the Coinbase listing, BAT has performed relatively well against both Bitcoin and the US dollar. Bitcoin also fell by 35 percent in the past week, as the crypto market experienced a wipeout of over $60 billion. Two major factors are expected to have contributed to the recent short-term corrective rally of tokens: extremely oversold conditions for small market cap tokens and theU.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)’scaution towards initial coin offering (ICO) projects. Every digital asset listed by Coinbase, which includes 0x (ZRX) and Brave Attention Token (BAT), meets the criteria of the SEC of a non-security. In May, when Coinbase initially released its plans to integrate Zcash (ZEC), Stellar (XLM), Cardano (ADA), ZRX, and BAT, the company emphasized that it will only pursue its plans if it can be certain that the tokens comply with existing regulations enforced by the SEC. In the months to come, as SEC’s Enforcement Division co-director Stephanie Avakian said at the Investment Adviser Association Conference in Washington, D.C., the SEC plans to crackdown on dozens of ICOs acknowledged by securities by the commission. Avakiansaid: “We are very active, and I would just expect to see more and more.” A handful of tokens could perform well against the US dollar, but generally, most tokens in the marketare expected to dropsubstantially in price. The cryptocurrency market is demonstrating oversold conditions following a steep decline in valuation. If Bitcoin can maintain strength in the low range of $4,000 to $4,500, it could lead to a several-month-long consolidation period. However, if BTC falls below the $4,000 mark, which traders fear, then a short-term turn around for the dominant cryptocurrency by the year’s end will become increasingly unlikely. With tokens on a downtrend, apart from several projects like BAT and ZRX that have been listed by Coinbase, the rest of the market could continue to extend its losses in the upcoming days. Featured Image from Shutterstock. Charts fromTradingView. The postCrypto Market Continues Slow Bleed Out But Tokens Record 20% Gainsappeared first onCCN. \|\| Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, Bitcoin Cash, EOS, Stellar, Litecoin, Cardano, Monero, TRON: Price Analysis, Nov. 9: The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph. Every investment and trading move involves risk, you should conduct your own research when making a decision. Market data is provided by theHitBTCexchange. While many experts and investors view the current crypto bear market as a negative, economist Tyler Cowen, professor at George Mason University, believes that a crash ispositivebecause it helps clean up the system. The dotcom bubble, though painful, wiped out the bad companies, paving the way for today’s leaders likeAmazonandGoogle. Previously, the naysayers pointed to the sharp volatility in cryptocurrencies as a deterrent for mass adoption. However, since September, Bitcoin has traded in a tighter rangethanthe Argentine peso, the Turkish lira, the Brazilian real, the Mexican peso, and the South African rand. In fact, its range was only 2.7 percent greater than that of the safe haven currency, the Swiss franc. Both on the way up and on its way down, Bitcoin has been the leader, whose price action is followed by the altcoins. However, someanalystsbelieve that this might change in the future and the next bull market might be led by one of the top altcoins. Let’s see what the charts forecast. Bitcoinhas failed to attract buyers at higher levels. It turned down from $6,600 levels and easily broke below both the moving averages. This is a sign of weakness. The next stop is a fall to $6,250–$6,200. A break below $6,200 will threaten the critical support zone at $6,075.04–$5,900, which has not been breached in 2018. Any break of this support can result in a sharp liquidation of long positions, dragging theBTC/USDpair to $5,450 and $5,000 within a short span of time. Therefore, traders can keep the stops at $5,900. If the bulls support $6,200 levels, the leading digital currency can extend its stay in the range for a few more days. Absence of follow up buying has pushedEthereumto the 20-day EMA. If this support breaks, it can slide to the lower support of $200 and $188.35. The downtrend will resume if the bears sink prices below the Sept. 12 lows of $167.32. If the bulls defend the 20-day EMA, theETH/USDpair might attempt to rise above $225.12 once again. We will turn positive on a breakout and close above $249.93. The flat moving averages and the RSI close to 50 suggests that consolidation might continue for a few more days. Price action inside the range is usually volatile and can hit stops quickly. Therefore, positional traders can wait for a breakout and close above $249.93 before initiating any long positions. On the other hand, aggressive traders can buy close to the bottom of the range, near $188.35, after the digital currency shows signs of moving up. Rippleis not finding buying support at higher levels. After breaking out of the tight range, it has corrected back to the moving averages that are sloping up. We anticipate the bulls to offer strong support at current levels. If theXRP/USDpair bounces off the moving averages or from the breakout levels of the tight range, it will attempt to breakout of $0.565 once again. If successful, the digital currency can reach $0.625 and $0.7644. On the other hand, if the bears sink prices below the moving averages and the tight range, a fall to $0.37185 is probable. For now, traders can retain the stops at $0.425, a level below which our bullish assumption fails. Bitcoin Cashhas turned down from the critical overhead resistance of $660.0753. We were expecting this, hence, we recommended booking partial profits in ourpreviousanalysis. The current pullback can extend to the moving averages, which have completed a bullish crossover; hence, we anticipate a strong support at the 20-day EMA. The RSI has also corrected its overbought levels, therefore, theBCH/USDpair might try to breakout of $660.0753 once again. If the attempt fails, traders can close their positions. Our bullish view will be invalidated if the bears continue to pound the digital currency, sinking it below the moving averages and $400. EOShas turned down from close to the top of the tight range. It is currently back at the midpoint. If the bears push prices below the 20-day EMA, a fall to the bottom of the range is probable. Traders can keep the stops on their long positions at $4.90. A breakdown of $5 can sink theEOS/USDpair to $4.49 and below that to the critical support at $3.8723. However, we expect the bulls to offer strong support at $5. The virtual currency will show signs of strength if it breaks out of $6. A reversal will be signaled when the bulls sustain the price above $6.8299. Following a breakout, the target levels to watch on the upside are $9.1668 and $11.4. Stellarcontinues to trade above the moving averages and the downtrend line of the descending triangle. As the virtual currency is consolidating after breaking out of the downtrend line, we shall retain our buy suggested in thepreviousanalysis. If our buy gets filled, the target objective if $0.36, with a minor resistance at $0.304. Though we expect this level to be scaled, in trading, we should be ready for any eventuality. Therefore, if the bears defend $0.304, traders can either close their position or raise their stops to breakeven. The initial stop loss can be kept at $0.2, which can be quickly trailed higher after the position gets filled. Our bullish view will be invalidated if theXLM/USDpair breaks below both the moving averages and re-enters the downtrend line of the triangle. The downtrend will resume on a breakdown of $0.184. Litecointurned down from the downtrend line. It has broken below both moving averages and is likely to retest the support zone between $49.466–$47.246. Traders, who are left with partial positions can maintain their stops at $50. TheLTC/USDpair remains bearish as long as it trades inside the descending triangle pattern. The downtrend will resume if the bears break below $47.246. The pattern will be invalidated if the bulls breakout of the downtrend line of the triangle. Such a move can push prices to the top of the range at $69.279. We expect a trend change if the virtual currency breaks out and closes (UTC time frame) above $69.279. Cardanois largely trading inside the tight range of $0.082207–$0.068989 since Oct. 12. After finding support at $0.068989 on Oct. 31, the price rallied to the top of the tight range at $0.082207 on Nov. 6. However, both these levels held out strongly. While the bulls defended the bottom of the range, the bears defended the top of the range. With both moving averages flat and the RSI at the midpoint, theADA/USDpair is not giving any clear insight about the next move. We anticipate a new uptrend if the bulls push prices above $0.094256. Until then, we suggest trades remain on the sidelines. If the virtual currency breaks down of $0.060105, it will resume the downtrend. After failing to breakout of the $112.44 level for four days,Monerohas turned down and broken below both moving averages. Unless the bulls scale the moving averages quickly, a decline to the bottom of the tight range at $100.453 is probable. The flat moving averages and the RSI close to 50 suggests that the range bound action is likely to continue. TheXMR/USDpair is not showing any reliable buy setups; hence, we are not recommending any trade. TRONhas been trading inside the $0.02815521–$0.0183 range since Aug. 8. Between Aug. 8 and Oct. 15, the price rose to the top of the range thrice and fell to the bottom of the range on two occasions. However, since then, theTRX/USDpair has largely been gravitating close to the midpoint of the range. Any deviation from the center gets pulled back quickly. A new trend will form either on a breakout or a breakdown from the range. A rally and close (UTC time frame) above $0.02815521 can result in a move to $0.04158193. Below $0.0183, the downtrend will resume. Market data is provided by theHitBTCexchange. Charts for analysis are provided byTradingView. • Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, Bitcoin Cash, EOS, Stellar, Litecoin, Cardano, Monero, TRON: Price Analysis, November 5 • Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, Bitcoin Cash, EOS, Stellar, Litecoin, Cardano, Monero, TRON: Price Analysis, October 31 • Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, Bitcoin Cash, EOS, Stellar, Litecoin, Cardano, Monero, TRON: Price Analysis, Nov. 7 • Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, Bitcoin Cash, EOS, Stellar, Litecoin, Cardano, Monero, TRON: Price Analysis, November 2 \|\| Here’s How You Can Get Amazon to Kick Some Cash to a Bitcoin Charity: Here’s How You Can Get Amazon to Kick Some Cash to a Bitcoin Charity Are you planning to do some shopping on Amazon this holiday season? If so, you can also support BitGive , the first registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit charity that uses the power of bitcoin to support some great philanthropic projects around the world. This year, BitGive is celebrating its fifth anniversary of charitable work in the Bitcoin space. And while shoppers can support its philanthropic efforts year round through the AmazonSmile program, now is the time of year when you might be spending a bit more time (and money) on the Amazon website. AmazonSmile is a subdomain on Amazon that allows shoppers to donate to their charity of choice when they shop with Amazon. You can passively donate to BitGive by signing up on smile.amazon.com and selecting "BitGive" as your charity of choice. Then, you can proceed to shop as you usually would. Amazon will donate 0.5 percent of the total price of your purchases to BitGive at no cost to you. "We love the Amazon Smile program! It is an easy way for our supporters to contribute to our mission while also shopping for their holiday gifts and everyday needs," Connie Gallippi, founder and executive director of BitGive, said to Bitcoin Magazine . In October 2018, Amazon announced it had donated $100 million to charities through its AmazonSmile program. “Hundreds of thousands of charities have been able to expand their meaningful work thanks to the donations they’ve received through AmazonSmile, and we want to say thank you to customers who are supporting important causes every time they shop,” said Jeff Wilke, Amazon Worldwide Consumer CEO. The BitGive foundation also accepts donations through their website to support their work with specific charities. Some of the past projects that BitGive has successfully funded and supported in the past include the Maternal & Neonatal India Program , the Chandolo Primary School Water Project and the Shisango Girls School . BitGive has also developed GiveTrack , a blockchain-based platform designed to make charitable organizations more transparent and increase donor confidence. “GiveTrack has been our main project for the past few years,” said Gallippi. “We have a live MVP now where you can see some of our early pilot projects, and there is some general information about the goals of the platform as well. We have an anticipated launch for GiveTrack 1.0 in early December.” This article originally appeared on Bitcoin Magazine . View comments \|\| Bitcoin – Is This the Calm Before Bitcoin’s 10th Birthday Fireworks?: A tough week for the broader cryptomarket saw just a handful of the crypto majors gain ground, while Bitcoin was left trailing, a 0.15% fall on Sunday leaving Bitcoin down 1.52% at $6,490.2 for the week. Rising to a morning high $6,513.9 saw Bitcoin fall well short of the day’s first major resistance level at $6,519.07 before easing back to sub-$6,500 levels, which has become the new line in the sand for the Bitcoin bulls and bears. An afternoon sell-off saw Bitcoin fall through the day’s first major support level at $6,463.17 to an intraday low $6,451 before testing resistance at $6,500 late in the day, with Bitcoin unable to hold on to $6,500 levels at the end of the day, following a late move through to $6,502. On the news front, reports of a Bitcoin exchange being hacked in Canada will have been a negative, with all funds on the exchange reportedly stolen, though there are suggestions across the news wires that this was an ‘exit scam’ rather than an actual hack, meaning that the owners of the exchange have run off with the money. The latest scandal, albeit smaller than the likes of the Mt Gox event, provides further justification to regulators to insist on appropriate controls and mechanisms including custody that would ultimately prevent such events from taking place. For the investor, there are frequent warnings of leaving cryptocurrencies on the exchanges and not in wallets with private keys that would prevent loss of funds, the latest theft, whether a hack or an exit scam being a reminder to those that continue to assume that the market and exchanges are heavily regulated. While Canada falls outside of the purview of the SEC, which is currently in the process of reviewing the 9 Bitcoin ETF applications that were submitted through the summer, the threat of theft or hack is ever present and would certainly need to be a part of the SEC’s mandate. Perhaps the current lack of volatility may ultimately wash away some of the smaller crypto exchanges that are not in it for the long haul and lack the funds or the know-how to meet any regulatory requirements that may be imposed by governments and regulators in the market’s next phase, ‘The Regulatory Overhaul.’ Get Into Cryptocurrency Trading Today At the time of writing, Bitcoin was up 0.16% to $6,500.6, with Bitcoin recovering from an early morning low $6,478 to a morning high $6,512 before easing back, the range bound moves through the morning seeing the day’s major support and resistance levels left untested early on. For the day ahead, a move back through the morning high $6,512 would support a run at the first major resistance level at $6,519.07, while we would expect Bitcoin to struggle to break out to bring the second major resistance level at $6,547.93 into play, with Bitcoin expected to continue facing plenty of resistance at $6,500. Failure to move back through the morning low could see Bitcoin give up $6,500 levels and ease back through the morning low $6,478 to call on support at the first major support level at $6,456.17 before any recovery, the second major support level at $6,422.13 unlikely to be tested on the day. Market impatience could begin to kick in that would support a further downward bias should Bitcoin fail to make a move, though the Bitcoin bulls may be biding their time, with Bitcoin’s 10thbirthday on Wednesday a day where Bitcoin may be set free from the shackles. Thisarticlewas originally posted on FX Empire • Natural Gas Price Fundamental Daily Forecast – Mild Start to November Could Drive Market into $3.125 to $3.057 • E-mini S&P 500 Index (ES) Futures Technical Analysis – Pivot at 2659.75 Controlling Price Action • AUD/USD Forex Technical Analysis – Talking Out .7126 Could Trigger Counter-Trend Rally into .7167 • Gold Price Futures (GC) Technical Analysis – Strengthens Over $1246.30, Weakens Under $1222.70 • Bitcoin – Is This the Calm Before Bitcoin’s 10th Birthday Fireworks? • USD/JPY Forex Technical Analysis – Strengthens This Week Over 112.175, Weakens Under 111.607 \|\| Ohio Congressman Wants to ‘Eliminate’ SEC Jurisdiciton over Crypto Industry: Report: Rep. Warren Davidson ICO regulation Now that Bitcoiner Jared Polis has left Congress for the Colorado Governor’s Mansion , support both moral and material for the crypto industry in Washington, DC may be seen as lacking. While it is largely unelected bureaucrats who rule the financial arena in this country and occasionally make brash decisions in regards to innovative technologies like cryptocurrency, all agencies and employees of the federal government eventually answer to Congress and its purse strings. Recently re-elected Ohio Rep. Warren Davidson, a Republican from the 8 th district of that state, is remarkably opposed to regulations which may have a strangling effect on the economy — particularly regulations as regards the nation’s vibrant ICO scene and cryptocurrencies more broadly. A recent article in the Washington Examiner confirms that Davidson remains committed to the cause of restricting repressive regulations at the federal level, perhaps even more so than he had originally signaled. CCN earlier reported that Davidson had invited a number of crypto companies to Capitol Hill to discuss the situation on the ground on September 25. His office issued a press release on that day summarizing Davidson’s stance as favoring “light touch” regulation, and a representative from his office confirmed to the Examiner staff that he would be introducing a bill – a timeline was not set, but Congress will only be working a few weeks out of the remainder of the year, so it’s safe to expect something next year, but perhaps unreasonable to expect anything this year. The bill Davidson aims to introduce will seek to exempt ICOs from securities legislation by legally defining them as products, enabling them to skirt several forms of regulation which currently bedevil many in the cryptocurrency ecosystem as well as add various types of costs to the industry — for example, securities lawyers. From the report: “A spokesman for Davidson confirmed that the Ohio Republican plans to introduce a bill that would allow ICOs to sidestep securities law, including at the state level, and eliminate the SEC’s jurisdiction over the industry by treating the currencies as products, rather than securities.” Davidson has not named any co-conspirators in his intended legal hack of the financial system. And while his intentions may be genuine and certainly worthy of note within the crypto space, the Examiner notes that it is unlikely that the incoming Democratic majority will get joyfully on board with any form of crypto deregulation strategy, though the Congressional Blockchain Caucus has historically featured a bipartisan membership. Story continues New York Democrat Carolyn Maloney, for instance, kept her house seat in a landslide of more than 85 percent. She has previously gone on the record as being wary of cryptocurrencies and ICOs. Maloney serves alongside Warren Davidson on the House Financial Services Committee and has been in Congress more than 20 years to Davidson’s few years. While this is perhaps not remarkable to most crypto enthusiasts, it certainly means something in practice, and Maloney is but one of crypto’s many less-than-friends in the House of Representatives. Featured Image from Warren Davidson for Congress/ YouTube The post Ohio Congressman Wants to ‘Eliminate’ SEC Jurisdiciton over Crypto Industry: Report appeared first on CCN . View comments [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] W środę 21 listopada o godzinie 19:00 zapraszam na darmowy webinar z serii "Jak czytać wykresy? Analiza techniczna kryptowalut" #16 Link do zapisu: https://webinarybitbay.subscribemenow.com #BitBay #Bitcoin #Altcoin #Kryptowaluty #Webinar #Edukacja #Tradingpic.twitter.com/Yc5mKsjZg7 \|\| START BITCOIN MINING http://keita2016.jp \|\| Short bankers, long BTC! Deutsche getting investigated due to Panama Papers!!!! https://ift.tt/2P8DYsg \|\| $225.00 Canaan Avalon 821 / A821 (new, onhand) 11.5 TH/S ASIC Bitcoin Miner (Not S9) #cryptocurrency #miner http://corneey.com/wZBFex pic.twitter.com/fhUSC6lj7E \|\| #blockchain #CBTEF #bitcoin pic.twitter.com/2wyir88L7W \|\| #ETH Buy at #Bitfinex and sell at #LiveCoin. Ratio: 2.35% Buy at #Binance and sell at #LiveCoin. Ratio: 2.68% Buy at #Kraken and sell at #KuCoin. Ratio: 3.00% Buy at #Kraken and sell at #HitBTC. Ratio: 3.20% #bitcoin #arbitrage #arbitraj #arbingtool http://arbing.info \|\| #CriptoMonedaseICO Aplastándolo: Stellar, Litecoin, Monero, y Zcash obtienen importantes logros como alzas en el mercado de criptografías - http://tinyurl.com/yavbm476 - By @criptomonedaseico - #trader #trading #altcoin #decentralize #hashrate #bitcoins #bitcoin \|\| BTC,ETH,XRP Last: 6462.43, 208.71, 0.49 High: 6504.39, 213.39, 0.50 Low: 6431.02, 207.62, 0.46 %: -0.00% , -0.01% , 0.04% Total USDT: -12.63, -3.16, 0.02 #BTC #bitcoin #ETH #XRP #ripple #crypto #cryptocurrency #pricepic.twitter.com/mChD0vk1Zr \|\| 2018/12/03 06:00 #Binance 格安コイン 1位 #HOT 0.00000013 BTC(0.06円) 2位 #NPXS 0.00000016 BTC(0.08円) 3位 #BCN 0.00000022 BTC(0.1円) 4位 #DENT 0.00000028 BTC(0.13円) 5位 #NCASH 0.00000055 BTC(0.26円) #仮想通貨 #アルトコイン #草コイン \|\| USD: 112.780 EUR: 128.130 GBP: 143.637 AUD: 80.299 NZD: 74.063 CNY: 16.185 CHF: 112.264 BTC: 705,899 ETH: 21,990 Wed Oct 31 01:00 JST	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 3486.95, 3313.68, 3242.48, 3236.76, 3252.84, 3545.86, 3696.06, 3745.95, 4134.44, 3896.54
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2021-07-15] BTC Price: 31780.73, BTC RSI: 39.90 Gold Price: 1828.40, Gold RSI: 57.14 Oil Price: 71.65, Oil RSI: 47.85 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] The market has an earnings problem: Morning Brief: This article first appeared in the Morning Brief. Get the Morning Brief sent directly to your inbox every Monday to Friday by 6:30 a.m. ET. Subscribe Tuesday, July 13, 2021 Huge earnings today don't equal huge returns tomorrow The second quarter earnings season unofficially kicks off this morning , with Goldman Sachs ( GS ), JP Morgan ( JPM ), and PepsiCo ( PEP ) among the first companies out of the gate. And as we've chronicled over the last few weeks here at the Morning Brief, expectations have been rising ahead of these results, as analysts struggle to keep pace with the fast-recovering business cycle. But strong results don't always accompany strong returns. In fact, they often coincide with the opposite. Year-to-date, "returns in the S&P 500 (+16%) have been entirely driven by rising earnings estimates (+21% YTD)," writes Savita Subramanian, equity strategist at Bank of America Global Research, in a note published Monday. "But while quarterly earnings surprises and market returns have been correlated (32% since 1996), strong earnings dont always translate to strong market returns. Historically, 60% of down quarters since 1996 (or 75% of down quarters ex-GFC) occurred in quarters with earnings beats. In 2000, despite earnings beating consensus for 10 straight quarters, the S&P 500 declined for four consecutive quarters. " (Emphasis ours.) In 2020, the market rallied as investors began anticipating robust economic and earnings growth. But the strong earnings we've seen this year and will see in the coming weeks serve to validate last year's rally. It may not underwrite further gains in the market. Earlier this year, the idea of " multiple compression " was a hot one among strategists on Wall Street. The basic argument said that as the economic cycle matured, investors would become less inclined to pay up for additional earnings growth. In other words, any increase in stock prices would need to be accompanied by an even larger increase in earnings growth. A dynamic we've seen this year, as BofA's work shows. Story continues All of which served as another reminder that what drives markets is anticipated not realized earnings, and economic growth. And it's why we had Nick Colas at DataTrek Research in our inbox on Monday morning, writing in the headline of his latest note that "earnings season needs to be awesome." Wall Street analysts think earnings were up 64% over last year, according to FactSet. But these gains have already been factored into stock prices. What investors need to see to keep pushing stock prices higher, then, is something new to believe in. And that something new will need to be better than consensus expectations. By Myles Udland , reporter and anchor for Yahoo Finance Live . Follow him at @MylesUdland Try Yahoo Finance Plus now. Top News European markets mixed as UK's lockdown easing confirmed for July 19 [Yahoo Finance UK] Bitcoin and major cryptos continue downward spiral [Yahoo Finance UK] France fines Google $593 million over copyright row [Reuters] U.S. approves Blue Origin license for human space travel ahead of Bezos flight [Reuters] Yahoo Finance Highlights Why Goldman Sachs thinks these 32 stocks are very attractive Why banning fans at the Olympics isn't a total financial loss Wells Fargo account closures cast light on vague cost of a credit score hit Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance \|\| Raw material costs rising for automotive industry: BofA report: Widespread inflation has led to the highest raw material cost per U.S. vehicle since 2011, a new Bank of America (BAC) Global Research report found. The report examines the recent bout of US inflation and examines its consequences for the automotive industry. One key takeaway from the report is that the cost of raw materials has risen sharply since mid-2020. “In the past year, the raw material cost in an average U.S. vehicle has been steadily rising, increasing ~87% from a low point of approximately $2,200/unit in Apr '20 to now roughly $4,125/unit in May '21,” the report found. “During this raw material cost inflation, average transaction prices seem to have stalled, although [they] still remain elevated at record high levels.” The compressing spread between rising raw material prices and stagnating average transaction prices is expected to increase pressure on automakers and suppliers’ respective financial bottom lines. The average vehicle is composed of 39% steel and 11% aluminum. The increase in raw materials cost has been concentrated heavily in high steel prices; the Bank of America report estimated that the average cost per pound for steel used in automotive manufacturing has increased 106% year over year as of last month. This is “relatively alarming,” according to the report, given the high makeup of steel in the average vehicle. Suppliers and original equipment managers (OEMs) are expected to bear the brunt of rising material costs, with the latter facing even greater exposure to indirect costs from the former. Rising inflation costs, plus pre-existing damage to supply chains caused by the pandemic present problems for both groups. “The automotive value chain is already facing significant headwinds from supply chain disruptions and production stoppages,” the report noted, “which continue to pressure margins in addition to rising raw material costs.” The costs of raw materials have risen so greatly that they now make up a significantly larger percentage of the price of a vehicle. “The cost of raw materials in an average vehicle as a % of the average transaction price (ATP) in the U.S. reached historical lows around 6% (5.9% in April '20) at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, driven by historically low raw material costs and all-time high average transaction prices,” the report found. “However, this cost ratio has since increased, now reaching ~11%, as commodity prices have bounced materially off of lows and ATPs have remained near peak levels.” By the end of spring, raw material costs had approached post-2000 historical levels, while average transaction prices remained essentially unchanged, posing “significant headwind for companies at the front end of the value chain,” according to the report. Rising inflation has been an issue of concern for several months now, withthe Bureau of Economic Analysis reporting Fridaythat the price index tracking personal consumption expenditure (PEC) rose 3.9% year over year as of May 2021. This is the index'shighest level since April of 2008. The automotive industryhas faced a shortage of new vehicles as well as higher demand since the relaxing of lockdown procedures occurred, driving up inflation. Imbalances in supply and demand in the automotive industry have accordinglyaccounted for a large proportion of recent increases in inflation measureslike the Consumer Price Index. Ihsaan Fanusie is a writer at Yahoo Finance. Follow him on Twitter@IFanusie. More from Ihsaan: 'Huge demand' to vaccinate the world amid COVID variant concerns: Doctor Electric aircraft company Vertical Aerospace plans to go public Bitcoin to tumble further: oddsmakers bet on drop to $10K Read the latest cryptocurrency and bitcoin news from Yahoo Finance Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance Follow Yahoo Finance onTwitter,Facebook,Instagram,Flipboard,LinkedIn,YouTube, andreddit \|\| Micron at Cusp of Major Downtrend: The tide has turned againstMicron Technology Inc. (MU)in recent weeks, raising odds the memory chipmaker will trade at much lower levels in coming months. Long-term resistance, downgrades, and predictions that DRAM prices soften in the second half have weighed on second quarter price action, dumping the stock more than 20% since April’s 21-year high. More importantly, it’s now reached a support level that bulls need to hold at all costs. The stock roared to higher ground in 2020, posting a 40% annual return in reaction to firming prices for all sorts of memory chips. It continued to gain ground in the first quarter of 2021, with chip shortages all across the world keeping a floor under prices. However, analysts now worry that prices will drop in the second half as supply ramps up and meets demand, potentially returning Micron to its long-term status as an on-again off-again cyclical play. Cleveland Research downgraded Micron to ‘Neutral’ last week, with analyst Chandler Converse predicting that Q3 DRAM ASPs will end up “lower than expected” and that Q4 may be “flat to down”. However, he’s looking for higher NAND ASP prices due to “controller shortages and a lower inventory build among customers compared to DRAM.” Even so, it will be hard to sustain the highest stock price in more than two decades when a key revenue driver loses altitude. Wall Street consensus is still riding the bull train, with a ‘Buy’ rating based upon 25 ‘Buy’ and 6 ‘Hold’ recommendations. No analysts are recommending that shareholders close positions and move to the sidelines. Price targets currently range from a low of $90 to a Street-high $172 while the stock is set to open Tuesday’s session more than $12 below the low target. This major disconnect indicates that Main Street investors believe the current price is unsustainable. Micron sold off from 97.50 to 1.59 between 2000 and 2008, finally turning higher into the new decade. It spent another decade or so carving a 5-wave rally pattern that stalled within 54-cents of the Net bubble high in April 2021. That high marks major resistance, often taking months or years to overcome. The stock has lost ground since that time, reaching 200-day moving average support this week. A breakdown is likely, given active monthly and weekly sell cycles. For a look at all of today’s economic events, check out oureconomic calendar. Disclosure: the author held no positions in aforementioned securities at the time of publication. Thisarticlewas originally posted on FX Empire • Gold Price Forecast – Gold Markets Showing Signs of Stability • Eurozone Consumer Confidence Improves but Was Somewhat Lackluster for the EUR • Crypto Bears Rage on as Bitcoin Drops to Lowest Price Levels Since January. • Stocks Gain Ground As Traders Believe That Powell Will Stay Dovish • Oil Price Fundamental Daily Forecast – It’s Strong Demand Expectations Versus Easing of OPEC+ Output Cuts • GBP/USD Price Forecast – British Pound Pulls Back Slightly \|\| 3 major ways our supply chains are broken: S&P: U.S. supply chains have suffered major damage due to the combined factors of the coronavirus pandemic, short-term corporate planning, and underinvestment in logistics, a new report from S&P Global Research found. In a series of three reports released Monday, Panjiva, the supply chain research unit of S&P Global Market Intelligence, detailed the outlook for supply chains for the third quarter of 2021 and beyond. “There have been two major signs of disruptions to supply chains in North America in the first half of 2021 and they will likely unwind during the second half of the year,” the report found. The first sign, the report explained, is the surge in consumer demand seen in elevated retail sales and a fall in inventories . Retail sales increased 15.7% in May 2021 from May 2019, before the pandemic. And although U.S. imports have increased in an attempt to meet demand, they have “not been enough to support sales on the basis of falling inventory-to-sales ratios.” The inventory-to-sales ratio indicates this has been the case, as in the U.S. retail sector, in which it fell from 1.47 in April 2019 to 1.07 in April 2021. In order to rebuild inventory, the report adds, increased shipping activity may need to persist even if demand falls in Q3 and Q4. This aerial photo taken on June 22, 2021 shows cargo containers stacked at Yantian port in Shenzhen in China's southern Guangdong province. - A backlog at Yantian port - China's largest container terminal - caused by a Covid-19 outbreak among port workers will take several weeks to clear, the world's biggest shipping firm said on June 21. - China OUT (Photo by STR / AFP) / China OUT / The erroneous mention[s] appearing in the metadata of this photo by STR has been modified in AFP systems in the following manner: [June 22] instead of [June 21]. Please immediately remove the erroneous mention[s] from all your online services and delete it (them) from your servers. If you have been authorized by AFP to distribute it (them) to third parties, please ensure that the same actions are carried out by them. Failure to promptly comply with these instructions will entail liability on your part for any continued or post notification usage. Therefore we thank you very much for all your attention and prompt action. We are sorry for the inconvenience this notification may cause and remain at your disposal for any further information you may require. - China OUT (Photo by STR/AFP via Getty Images) (STR via Getty Images) The second sign of disruption is a “shortage of components for the industrial manufacturing sector, though macroeconomic data suggests the challenges are focused on specific products.” The automotive industry was cited as a prime example of a disrupted supply chain stemming from manufacturing strategic decisions. The semiconductor shortage , caused by a plethora of factors , greatly reduced supply capabilities for materials necessary for manufacturing automobiles. The pandemic had perhaps the most obvious impact on supply chains. Lockdowns prevented the flow of goods at every step in the supply chain, leading to severe disruptions in the manufacturing process. The spread of the virus led to additional risks in almost every industry. Story continues Vaccine rollouts have been a significant step in the right direction on this front. “Persistent recovery requires the continued rollout of COVID-19 vaccines globally,” the Panjiva report noted. “While significant progress has been made in most developed economies with domestic production — such as in the U.S., the U.K. and EU, as well as countries supplied by Russia and China — there are still low levels of vaccination in countries reliant on supplies from India.” Lastly, the report touched upon the fallout arising from the underinvestment in logistics . “Supply chains have had to deal with the stress of elevated demand against an essentially fixed supply of logistics services during the first half of 2021,” Panjiva explained. Interestingly, the report notes that many ports have “continued to operate at peak levels during what is normally the off-peak season.” Data collected by the department showed that average daily imports to U.S. seaports reached 93,300 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) per day in June, a level very close to the October 2020 peak season record-high of 94,100 TEUs per day. “If container shipping rates are to return to normal and supply chains are to operate at sustainable levels,” the report said, “it is critical that existing backlogs at ports are cleared before the next peak-season wave.” Recent trends show signs of optimism for the future of logistics. “Following three years of underinvestment in logistics both by incumbent players and new entrants, there has been a flood of private capital and capital raises recently,” the report noted. Notable examples include a $200 million investment in Shipbob Inc . led by Bain Capital Venture Partners LLC at an implied $1.0 billion valuation, as well as a $240 million SoftBank Corp investment in Forto GmbH at a $1.2 billion valuation. Ihsaan Fanusie is a writer at Yahoo Finance. Follow him on Twitter @IFanusie . More from Ihsaan: Uber, Lyft created ride-hailing shortage: Gig economy expert Raw material costs rising for automotive industry: BofA report Bitcoin to tumble further: oddsmakers bet on drop to $10K Read the latest cryptocurrency and bitcoin news from Yahoo Finance Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance Follow Yahoo Finance on Twitter , Facebook , Instagram , Flipboard , LinkedIn , YouTube , and reddit \|\| Subsidized Energy Powers Argentine Crypto Mining Boom: Cryptocurrency miners in Argentina are taking advantage of the country’s subsidized electricity to reap outsized returns. This year, countries around the world have beenexperiencing crypto mining booms. Ultra-low utility rates and the resurgence of capital controls fuel the current one in Argentina. “Even after bitcoin’s (BTC) price correction, the cost of electricity for anyone mining from their house is still a fraction of the total revenue generated,”saidNicolas Bourbon, a digital currency miner from Buenos Aires. In the past few years, Argentina experiencedcyclical economic crises. These include repeat currency devaluations, defaults, hyperinflation, and a three-year recession compounded by the coronavirus pandemic. This has made the environment fertile for the adoption of alternative payment methods, especially cryptocurrencies. To emphasize Argentina’s current economic plight, inflation of the country’s peso is also running at about 50% annually. The plunging value of Argentina’s native currency has led to the reintroduction of foreign exchange controls. While restricted from buying dollars, Argentines can also only buy $200-worth of any other currency. This has ostensibly given many of them much more incentive to migrate to digital currencies. One example of this surging local demand is bitcoin’s value at 5.9 million pesos ($62,316) in unofficial markets, versus about 3.4 million pesos ($35,911) at the official rate. Besides the greater incentive to acquire higher value-retaining assets, crypto enthusiasts also benefit from the country’s longstandingresidential electricity subsidies. Despite the policy being favorable to voters, it has started fueling tension within the ruling left-wing Peronist coalition. Lacking sufficient domestic energy resources, Argentina is a net importer of gas. Despite this, consumer electricity bills are only about 2% to 3% of an average monthly income. This amount is nearly double in other Latin American markets, like Brazil, Colombia, or Chile. “The crypto that miners generate is typically sold at the parallel exchange rate, but the energy is paid for at a subsidized rate,” according to Ezequiel Fernandez, an analyst at Balanz Capital Valores in Buenos Aires. “At the moment, revenues are very high.” Due to the potential for outsized revenues, foreign mining firms are sensing opportunity. For instance, Canada’s Bitfarmssecured a dealto tap directly into a local power plant. This will enable them to draw as much as 210 megawatts of natural gas-powered electricity for $0.022 per kilowatt-hour, which is far below the wholesale market rate. This is around $0.06 per kilowatt-hour for industrial customers who lack a connection to the local grid. If successful, this could potentially become the largest bitcoin-mining facility in South America. \|\| Bitcoin Dominance (BTCD) Resumes Fall, Aims for New All-Time Low: The bitcoin dominance rate (BTCD) rebounded slightly on May 19 but has lost nearly all of its gains since then. Both the long and medium-term trends are firmly bearish, though a short-term bounce could transpire. The bitcoin dominance rate has been moving downwards since December 2020, when it reached a high of 73.63%. The decrease continued until May 19, 2021, culminating with a low of 39.66%. There are two main support areas at 39.50% and 36%. After bouncing from the former, the BTCD has returned to the level once more. The latter is the all-time low BTCD. Technical indicators are bearish. The MACD is decreasing inside the negative territory and the RSI is below the 30-line. And while the Stochastic oscillator has stalled its decrease, it has yet to make a bullish cross nor move upwards. As a result, we can consider the long-term trend to still be bearish. The daily chart shows that BTCD has been decreasing alongside a descending resistance line since January 2021. Most recently, it was rejected by the line on March 24. Despite the previously outlined bounce, technical indicators are bearish. The MACD has given a bearish reversal signal and is falling, the RSI is below 50, and the Stochastic oscillator has just made a bearish cross (red icon). Therefore, the daily outlook aligns with the weekly signals, painting a bearish picture. While the short-term chart shows a descending wedge, which is a bullish pattern, all long-term signs point to a bearish trend. Therefore, a potential breakout from the wedge would likely only be a short-term bounce prior to another decrease. Cryptocurrency trader@24KCryptooutlined a BTCD chart, stating that it will likely continue decreasing towards a new all-time low. The wave count does align with this reading, suggesting that BTCD is in wave C (white). The sub-wave count is shown in orange. However, it’s not yet certain if sub-wave four has ended or if it’s still developing. In any case, the ensuing downward movement could take BTCD all the way down to the range of 27.50%-25.40%. This target range is found using an external Fib retracement andFib projection. For BeInCrypto’s latestbitcoin(BTC) analysis,click here. \|\| Bitcoin plunges: A bust or a buy?: By Tommy Wilkes, Sujata Rao and Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss NEW YORK/LONDON (Reuters) -Cryptocurrencies that seemed to be defying gravity just weeks ago came back down to earth with a bump on Wednesday after a roller-coaster ride which could undermine their potential as mainstream investments. The two main digital currencies, bitcoin and ether, fell as much as 30% and 45% respectively, but significantly pared losses after two of their biggest backers - Tesla Inc chief Elon Musk and Ark Invest's Chief Executive Cathie Wood - indicated their support for bitcoin. While many analysts thought the explosion in crypto interest this year was not sustainable, the trigger for the shake-out was China's move on Tuesday to ban financial and payment institutions from providing cryptocurrency services. It also warned investors against speculative crypto trading. At one point on Wednesday nearly $1 trillion was wiped off the market capitalization of the entire crypto sector. In early afternoon trading, their market cap was $1.8 trillion, according to data tracker CoinGecko.com. "It's not just a small segment of the world that is affected by cryptocurrencies; it's now mainstream," said Tom Plumb, portfolio manager of the Plumb Balanced Fund. In other markets, a move into safe-haven U.S. Treasury securities initially knocked yields lower, although yields rose after the release of minutes of the Federal Reserve's latest meeting, while U.S. stock indexes logged losses. "There's a lot of leverage embedded into crypto stocks so there will be a spillover effect into equity markets in the short term and there is also quite the inflation fear as the market thinks the Fed might have to hike rates abruptly if prices keep rising," said Thomas Hayes, chairman and managing member at hedge fund Great Hill Capital LLC. Federal Reserve officials played down any risk to the wider financial system. "By itself I don't see that as a systemic concern at this point," St. Louis Federal Reserve president James Bullard said. "We are all quite aware that crypto can be very volatile." Bitcoin, the biggest and best-known cryptocurrency, had already been under pressure from a series of tweets from Tesla's Musk. Cryptocurrency price declines last week were sparked by Musk's reversal on Tesla accepting bitcoin as payment, citing the heavy environmental toll of "mining" bitcoin, which requires a lot of electricity to power the computers that create bitcoin. Amid Wednesday's crypto sell-off, Musk tweeted a 'diamond hands' emoji https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1395027147161489412?s=20, used in social media to signal a position is worth holding on to. "His tweet definitely helped the recovery," said Mike Venuto, founder and chief investment officer at Toroso Investments, which oversees $7 billion in assets. "Would it have recovered some without it? Yes. But would it have recovered nicely? Maybe not." Bitcoin has dropped some 40% from a record high of $64,895 hit on April 14. On Wednesday, it hit a low of $30,066 and was last down 13% at $37,323. Tesla shares fell 2.5%. "Bitcoin's sharp price drop should come as no shock to the market," said Gavin Smith, CEO of crypto consortium Panxora. "Any asset which has risen as much as bitcoin over the past year can be expected to have pullbacks as some investors withdraw profits, like we're currently seeing." Bitcoin's decline whacked other crypto assets, with ether, the coin linked to the ethereum blockchain network, last down 22.5% at $2,620. Meme-based dogecoin also tumbled, losing nearly 26%, at 35 cents, according to Coingecko. Amid the volatility, cryptocurrency trading platforms Coinbase and Binance said they were investigating or experiencing some service issues. Shares in Coinbase dropped 5.9% on Wednesday. Technical factors were also said to be at play as bitcoin appeared to accelerate once it fell below its 200-day moving average, a chart position which traders follow. "The crypto markets are currently processing a cascade of news that fuel the bear case for price development," said Ulrik Lykke, executive director at crypto hedge fund ARK36. Some crypto-watchers predicted more losses ahead, noting the fall below $40,000 represented a breach of a key technical barrier. ARK CEO Wood, on the other hand, said in an interview with Bloomberg that she was still sticking to her $500,000 forecast for bitcoin. Investors could also be exiting bitcoin for gold, analysts at JPMorgan said, citing data on open interest in CME bitcoin futures contracts. That the crypto asset is tumbling at a time when inflation fears are rising undermines the case for investing in the asset class to hedge against inflation, analysts said. (Reporting by Tommy Wilkes, Sujata Rao in Londo; Additional reporting by Shashank Nayar, Medha Singh; Writing by Alden Bentley, Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss and Lewis Krauskopf in New York; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise, Andrew Cawthorne, Elaine Hardcastle and Richard Chang) \|\| Bitcoin Declined Below Key Support Level At $35,000: Bitcoin Video 08.06.21. Bitcoinmanaged to get below the key support level at $35,000 and is testing the next support at $32,000. Other cryptocurrencies are also moving lower. Ethereumgained material downside momentum after it managed to settle below the 50 EMA at $2645. Currently, Ethereum trying to settle below $2500.Dogecoindeclined below its 50 EMA at $0.3490 and made an attempt to settle below $0.3150. The market mood is clearly bearish in absence of positive catalysts. The nearest significant catalyst for the crypto market and riskier assets in general is the release of U.S. inflation data on Thursday. If inflation gets above the 5% level, riskier assets may find themselves under strong pressure which will be bearish for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. It should be noted that the current analyst consensus calls for Inflation Rate of 4.7% in May, but a negative surprise is possible. Bitcoin has recently made an attempt to settle below the support at $32,000 but failed to develop sufficient downside momentum and continued to trade in the $32,000 – $35,000 range. RSI remains in the moderate territory, and there is plenty of room to gain additional downside momentum in case the right catalysts emerge. If Bitcoin declines below the support at $32,000, it will head towards the next support at $30,000. A successful test of this level will open the way to the test of the support at $29,000. If Bitcoin gets below $29,000, it will move towards the support at $27,500. On the upside, the previous support level at $35,000 will serve as the first resistance level for Bitcoin. If Bitcoin manages to get above this level, it will head towards the next resistance at $37,000. A move above the resistance at $37,000 will open the way to the test of the resistance which is located at the 20 EMA at $38,000. From a big picture point of view, Bitcoin remains in a downside trend, and there is a significant risk of an additional sell-off. For a look at all of today’s economic events, check out oureconomic calendar. Thisarticlewas originally posted on FX Empire • USD/JPY Fundamental Daily Forecast – Japan Upgrades First Quarter GDP, but Economy Still in Contraction • Investors Flock to U.s Dollar on Concerns Over Fed’s Plan on Tapering Asset Purchases • Stocks Gain Ground As Treasury Yields Decline • Bitcoin Declined Below Key Support Level At $35,000 • Price of Gold Fundamental Daily Forecast – Edging Higher Despite Uncertainty Over CPI, Fed Tapering Decision • EUR/USD Price Forecast – Euro Continues to Grind Higher \|\| Bitcoin Holds Short-Term Support; Faces Resistance at $41K: Bitcoin (BTC) stabilized around $38,000 support on Wednesday but upside appears limited towards $41,000. The choppy range over the past few days suggests indecision between buyers and sellers. A breakout from the trading range would yield an upside target towards the next resistance level around $45,000. However, upside momentum has been weak, which means the corrective phase from May is not yet complete. Bitcoin was trading around $39,200 at press time and is up 7% over the past seven days. • The relative strength index (RSI) on the four-hour chart is neutral after signaling an overbought downturn on Monday. • The short-term trend is improving as price remains above the 100-period moving average on the four-hour chart. • Support around $37,000 and $34,000 could stabilize a potential pullback. However, there is strong resistance between $41,000 and $45,000. • The weekly chart is not yet oversold, which suggests limited upside and an extended period of consolidation. • Mining Council: We Must Counter ‘Misinformation’ About Bitcoin’s Environmental Damage • Market Wrap: Bitcoin Struggles Below $40K as Traders Digest Fed Statement • What We Mean by ‘Adviser’: The Difference Between RIAs and IARs • Paraguay Entertainment Group to Accept Bitcoin, Ether, SHIB Next Month \|\| Human Rights Foundation Gives Out $210K in Bitcoin Development Grants: The Human Rights Foundation’s newest grants are funding everything from the Lightning Network activism tech to Arabic translations of Bitcoin content. The HRF’s Bitcoin Development Fund latest round will allot $210,000 to Bitcoin developers, two Lightning Network wallet teams, and an Arabic translator. In this round, Bitcoin Core contributors Calvin Kim, Dhruv Mehta and Abubakar Nur Kahlil will each receive $50,000; the Breez and Sphinx wallet teams will pick up $25,000 each; and English-Arabic translator Arabic_HODL will receive $10,000. Kim will use the funding to work on Utreexo , a Bitcoin node scaling project which takes Bitcoin’s transaction history and represents it in under a kilobyte of data, reducing the time and effort it takes to bootstrap the node software that is the backbone of Bitcoin’s network. Mehta will continue his work on Bitcoin’s security with Bitcoin Improvement Proposal 324 to reduce Sybil attack vectors on Bitcoin nodes. Kahlil will be working on a wallet purpose-built for his home country of Nigeria, a land where bitcoin adoption is thriving in response to political corruption and capital controls. Related: Bitcoin Rejected Near $38K After Two-Day Price Gain Sphinx Chat , a Lightning Network wallet and encrypted messaging service that allows its users to chat using the Lightning Network, will use its grant to build out a directory to connect their users with activists for humanitarian funding. Breez , another Lightning Network wallet, will use its money to build out its own encrypted chatting capabilities, as well as to improve node backup support and add Tor support for Android and iOS. Arabic _HODL will continue to translate Bitcoin content into Arabic. Bitcoin development grants continue one year on Jaewoo Cho, an assistant professor at Hansung University, and an anonymous cryptocurrency investor, RenoHQ, led the donations for this round, which also included funding from Anthony Pompliano’s Bitcoin Pizza Day sales and Cygni Capital. Story continues The Human Rights Foundation joins BitMEX with its support of Kim , while Mehta also receives funding from Gemini and Square Crypto. With recipients from Korea, Nigeria, the Middle East and elsewhere, this is perhaps the HRF’s most diverse and globe-spanning round to date. The organization began issuing grants to Bitcoin developers, journalists and other community members last year, and it has issued over $800,000 in bitcoin (at today’s exchange rate) for 18 recipients and projects since launching last May. Related: Bitcoin’s Long-Term Put Options See Sustained Demand as Price Consolidates Square Crypto , BitMEX , Kraken , Gemini and other Bitcoin and crypto companies have also donated heavily to Bitcoin developers and other community members in the past year. For an open-source ecosystem like Bitcoin, these grants can be a financial lifeline for coders who have historically worked on Bitcoin’s software for free (or, in the best cases, on smaller donations). Gifts toward future grants can be made at HRF.org/DevFund , while proposals for support can be submitted to [email protected] . Related Stories Bitcoin, Ether Etch Largest Daily Gains in a Week Bitcoin Miner Marathon Will No Longer Censor Transactions, CEO Says [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] None available.	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 31421.54, 31533.07, 31796.81, 30817.83, 29807.35, 32110.69, 32313.11, 33581.55, 34292.45, 35350.19
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2019-01-30] BTC Price: 3486.18, BTC RSI: 39.21 Gold Price: 1309.90, Gold RSI: 70.58 Oil Price: 54.23, Oil RSI: 59.22 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] ‘Resilient’ Bitcoin Price Will Rally to $25,000 [Eventually]: Tom Lee: tom lee bitcoin price The past 12 months haven’t been easy for any bitcoin bull, but perhaps no cryptocurrency proponent has had a worse time than Tom Lee, the Wall Street strategist who predicted that the bitcoin price would hit $25,000 by the end of 2018 and must now reckon with the result of that forecast every time he goes back on television. Tom Lee Sticks by Bitcoin Price Forecast But Drops Timeline The Fundstrat Global Advisors founder’s latest dish of humble pie was served up courtesy of Stuart Varney, who interviewed Lee last Friday for the Fox Business Network. Varney asked Lee whether he regretted making that bitcoin price prediction , which he maintained throughout much of the year until it became clear that Crypto Winter had no intention of thawing in 2018. A somber Lee refused to recant. Read the full story on CCN.com . \|\| Technical Checks For Important JPY Pairs: 28.12.2018: Having failed to cross 111.35-40 horizontal-resistance, the USDJPY again dips beneath 200-day SMA and aims for the 109.80-75 rest-region. In case oversold RSI fall short of activating the pair’s U-turn around 109.75, the 109.30, the 109.00 and the 108.60 can act as intermediate halts before drawing market attention to the 108.10-107.75 support-zone. Alternatively, an upside clearance of 111.40 on a daily closing basis could quickly fuel the quote towards the 111.80 and the 100-day SMA level of 112.40. Moreover, pair’s successful rise beyond 112.40 enables it to confront the 113.15 and a downward slanting resistance-line near 113.80. Even after trading near the lowest levels in nine-months, the CADJPY is yet to provide a weekly closing under 80.65-50 area that has been restricting the pair’s downturn since early 2017. If at all the Bears manage to conquer 80.50, the 80.00, the 79.60 and the 78.80 are likely following numbers to appear on the chart. Meanwhile, the 82.05-15 may continue limiting the pair’s near-term advances, breaking which 83.00 & 83.50 might lure the buyers. It should also be noted that the pair’s sustained up-move past-83.50 can flash the 84.30, the 84.70 and the 85.60 on Bulls’ radars. CHFJPY struggles with 200-day SMA level of 112.40 in order to justify its strength in targeting the 112.80 and the 113.10, comprising 50-day SMA. Though, three-month old descending trend-line, at 113.85 now, may confine the pair’s up-moves after 113.10, if not then 114.00 and the 114.40 can grab the limelight. On the downside, the 111.55-35 seem immediate support for the pair, breaking which 111.00 and the 110.60 needs to be observed carefully. Given the pair’s extended south-run below 110.60, the 110.00, the 109.45 and the 108.60 may become sellers’ favorites. Thisarticlewas originally posted on FX Empire • Bitcoin – Bulls Continue to Struggle, as the Bears Target $3,500 • EUR/USD Mid-Session Technical Analysis for December 28, 2018 • DASH Technical Analysis – Support Levels Eyed – 28/12/18 • EUR/USD Price Forecast – EURO Gains Upper Hand on Last Trading Session of the Week • Nikkei Dives After Bank of Japan Sees Downside Risks to Economy • Risk Sentiment the Key Driver for the USD, with U.S Stats Unlikely to Help \|\| Bitcoin Sees New 2019 Lows as Crypto Markets Slide Down: Monday, Jan. 14 — cryptomarketsare still sliding down after a weekend in the red. According toCoinMarketCap,Bitcoin(BTC) has hit a new 2019 low, trading at $3,552 around press time as other majorcryptocurrenciesare facing moderate losses. Market visualization fromCoin360 Bitcoin has lost another 2 percent in 24 hours, with its price barely reaching $3,600. Although some reportspredictedmajor market movements due to the recent activation of long-dormant Bitcoin wallets, the major coin has spent a weekend mostly in the red. Bitcoin 7-day price chart. Source: CoinMarketCapBitcoin Price Index Ripple (XRP), which is currently the top altcoin with a market capitalization around $13.3 billion, is facing slight losses of around 2.5 percent. As of press time, the coin is trading at around $0.324. Ripple 7-day price chart. Source: CoinMarketCapRipple Price Index Ethereum’s (ETH) market cap is almost $1 billion less than XRP, ranking in third on CoinMarketCap. The altcoin is now trading at around $118; its weekly chart has seen a significant drop in comparison to last Monday’s high of $154. Ethereum 7-day price chart. Source: CoinMarketCapEthereum Price Index The totalmarket capitalizationof all cryptocurrencies is currently hovering around $119 billion. It has declined by almost $20 billion since Thursday, Jan. 10, reaching its 2019 low of $116.8 billion earlier today. 7-day total market capitalization chart. Source:CoinMarketCap As for other altcoins, TRON (TRX) is currently the onlyaltcoinin the top ten in the green, seeing up to 2 percent gains on the day as of press time. Bitcoin SV (BSV) has seen the worst performance among major coins in last 24 hours, losing around 9 percent and trading at $77 as of press time. As Cointelegraphreportedearlier today,Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, Bitcoin (BTC) endorsers and founders of the crypto trading platformGemini, have predicted a bright future for stablecoins and tokenized securities. The entrepreneurs believe the crypto industry will move from a focus on unregistered initial coin offerings (ICO) to tokenized assets in various areas, such as real estate. In the meantime, Reuters has reported thatMalaysiancryptocurrency regulation will come into effect on Tuesday, Jan. 15. The new regulationclassifiesdigital currencies, tokens and crypto-assets as securities, placing them under the Securities Commission’s authority. Meanwhile, Googlehas reportedly blacklistedkeywords mentioning Ethereum on its advertising platform Google Ads. According to auditing startup Decenter, the “ethereum development services” and “ethereum security audits” keywords are no longer available for their use. The official Google Ads Twitter account explained that the problem might be linked to targeting features, as crypto exchanges can only target their ads in theUnited StatesandJapan. • Bitcoin Holds Above $4,000 Amid Checkered Market Outlook • On Bitcoin’s 10th Birthday, Crypto Markets See Corrections Across the Board • Crypto Markets Are Mostly in Green, Ethereum Regains Top Altcoin Position • Bitcoin Approaches $3,700 as Top Cryptos Report Gains \|\| 10 Years Ago Today, Hal Finney Started ‘Running Bitcoin’: Hal Finney is one of the people many suspected to beSatoshi Nakamoto. A long-time cryptographer and cypherpunk, Finney was the first person ever to receive a Bitcoin transaction. From Satoshi Nakamoto. He was enthusiastic about the project from the beginning. He posted the first known tweet about Bitcoin ten years ago today: Part of the speculation about Hal Finney being Satoshi Nakamoto was due to the fact that Dorian Satoshi Nakamoto lived in the same town as him for ten years. Both Finney and Dorian Nakamoto denied involvement in the creation of Bitcoin. Today,tweets about Bitcoinnumber in the thousands. At the time, however, Finney might have just been trying to get his followers involved in the project. Early messages about the cryptocurrency were very inviting. No one had any clue that it would become an economic force global markets are still trying to adapt to. When mainstream financial analysts first came across Bitcoin,they often dismissed it as something that couldn’t possibly stand the test of time.Today, however, no one thinks cryptocurrencies are going anywhere, although the mantra of “Bitcoin maximalism” seems to be fading as dozens of other cryptos develop strong market capitalizations. Eleven days later, Finney tweeted that anonymity was lacking in Bitcoin: Six days after that, Finney’s belief is growing. He wonders about the environmental implications of crypto mining. This is years before environmentalists would decry the energy usage of Bitcoin mining. The difficulty of the network at the time of that tweetwas still 1.00, and most blocks were empty save for their mining reward of 50 coins. Average PCs could still mine BTC with no excess energy usage. ASICs and GPUs would come into play over the following year. Although Hal Finney died in 2014, in the middle of last year someone asked him for 100,000 bitcoins and called him “Nakamo Satoshi”: The address listed therereceived .115 BTC in November. Hal Finney was employee #2 at the PGP Corporation, which built its business on the open source Pretty Good Privacy public-key cryptography tech developed in the early 90s. PGP and GPG (a Free and Open Source alternative implementation) remain the most actively used cryptographic protocols for e-mail and other types of communications on the web. Symantec acquired PGP Corporation in 2010 for $300 million. Finney, by this point, was watching Bitcoin flourish and became an important voice in the community. In one of his last posts to theBitcointalk community, Finney spoke to the tax situation around Bitcoin. The word Bitcoin was not even used by thegovernment until many months later. Finney said: I aquired most of my coins by mining. This has no anology with currency (unless you’re counterfeiting Smiley ) so I intend to treat bitcoins as precious metals and declare my profits as capital gains. Since I mined them more than a year earlier, they are long term capital gains. This is not as favorable as usual because it turns out that precious metals, even bullion, are considered “collectables” and taxed at a rate of 28%. Normal rate is 15%. If your overall tax rate is less than 28%, you can pay the lower rate. That is what I intend to do, based on my reading of the IRS documents. Hal Finney died on August 28th, 2014 of Lou Gehrig’s disease. Featured Image from Shutterstock The post10 Years Ago Today, Hal Finney Started ‘Running Bitcoin’appeared first onCCN. \|\| First Bitcoin Capital Corp Provides Alternative Blockchain for $Weed Currency Owners Via an Ethereum Erc20 Smart Contract: 2018 Year in Review: TEL AVIV, ISRAEL / ACCESSWIRE / December 28, 2018 / First Bitcoin Capital Corp (OTC PINK: BITCF ) today begins providing an alternative vehicle to own and transfer WEED (COIN:WEED) tokens utilizing the Ethereum eco system. First Bitcoin Capital originally generated WEED [1] (as a commemorative cryptocurrency that may be utilized to solve banking problems in the cannabis sector) on the Bitcoin Blockchain via the Omni protocols. While the Omni smart contract has proven to be a viable vehicle based on the success of Tether (COIN:USDT), the second most actively traded cryptocurrency, having a secondary means to hold, transfer and receive tokenized WeeD[2] presents more flexibility for ownership that opens the doors to additional crypto exchange platforms. No new WEED coins will be added to the total supply. The total supply on Ethereum mirrors the original supply on Bitcoin Blockchain, however, when an owner elects to convert their Omni tokens to Ethereum tokens 1:1 ratio (minimum 10000 tokens per conversion ) the surrendered tokens will be held in trust, only to be used if/when an ERC20 weed token holder elects to reverse swap their ERC20s to Omni tokens. The ERC20 weed contract can be read here: https://etherscan.io/token/0xb2930de1808e7b1c5369ca24df4996c1ad1f3440#readContract First Bitcoin Capital expects to witness additional WeeD token listings emerge on crypto exchanges, utilizing the ERC20 version in early 2019. We also anticipate adaptation of WeeD as a medium of exchange to solve some of the banking problems vexing the Cannabis industry in 2019. Through our recently launched 420WiFi proximity marketing for cannabis dispensaries business, we plan to begin capitalizing on the loyalty program opportunities presented therein utilizing $Weed coins as a means to gain greater customer satisfaction. A precedent has successfully been set for allowing a cryptocurrencies to trade on various exchanges under two separate blockchains. MobileGo (COIN:MGO), for example, trades on crypto exchanges throughout the world as both an Ethereum Blockchain ERC20 token and a Waves Blockchain token. Story continues Holders of Omni WEED tokens wishing to convert their holdings to the ERC20 version (WeeD) should email their requests to [email protected] providing the address in which their Omni weed tokens are held together with the ETH wallet address to which they wish their ERC20 WeeD tokens sent. 2018 Year in Review To our shareholders, We are extremely proud of the milestones we achieved during the year 2018. Each milestone represents the dedication to the work our team provided throughout each project. During the year, First Bitcoin Capital Corp: Began developing the first blockchain based supply chain management tool for the oil and gas industry called PetroBLOQ. The company developed Petroleum Coin (Coin:OIL) as a managed Ethereum smart contract token to be utilized in petroleum industry. Advanced the development of www.altcoinmarketcap.com which involves Altcoin (COIN:ALT) tracking thousands of cryptocurrencies and is designed to compete with a popular website, coinmarketcap.com. The company allocated 25,000,000 $WEED tokens towards our CANNABLOQ project, an industry based website dedicated to educate those whom may benefit from cannabis therapy. The Company completed purchase of PERKSCOIN from www.CannaSOS.com ICO - one of the best known social media cannabis companies. The company completed and published audited financial statements for the years ending 2016 and 2017 and began the up-listing process. The company redeveloped our main website to make it easier for shareholders to stay updated with company projects and moved it to: www.firstbitcoin.io. The company launched 420WIFI, a location-based marketing and analytics platform that provides WiFi as a free digital marketing tool to retain and reward customers at local cannabis doctors and dispensaries nationwide. This opens the door for us to employ some of our loyalty coins, including WEED, as a loyalty incentive., For more information, please visit www.420wifi.com . The company signed a Joint Venture Agreement with DigiCrypts Blockchain Solutions inc, which also does business as DIGiMax Global Solutions. The purpose of the Joint Venture is to facilitate the funding of Security Token Offerings (STO's) for clients of both First Bitcoin Capital and DigiCrypts, primarily as consultants providing non-registered advice and, when registered, as a Registered Broker Dealer in the Jurisdiction of the Western United States (west of the Mississippi River), including Alaska and Hawaii. The company completed the pilot test for three check cashing kiosks in CA. The company subsequently placed the kiosks in Oklahoma and has begun earning from these kiosks. Please visit our website for the locations of our check cashing machines. For the path ahead, we will continue our efforts to up-list and to be listed on several international stock exchanges. Our lawyers recently advised us that regulators may require 3 years of audited financials, and since we are so close to the end of 2018 this has delayed the listing process so we now anticipate to achieve exchange listings during the first quarter of 2019. We will continue to aggressively develop our 420 WIFI business as well as our dozens of cryptocurrency projects now in their various stages of development during the coming year 2019. About First Bitcoin Capital Corp First Bitcoin Capital Corp (OTC PINK: BITCF) ( BITCF ) ( BITCF ) began developing digital currencies, proprietary Blockchain technologies, and the digital currency exchange - www.CoinQX.com (in Beta) in early 2014. We saw this step as a tremendous opportunity to create further shareholder value by leveraging management's experience in developing and managing complex Blockchain technologies and in developing new types of digital assets. Being the first publicly-traded cryptocurrency and BlockChain-centered Company, we provide our shareholders with diversified exposure to digital cryptocurrencies and BlockChain technologies. Connect on social media at: https://www.facebook.com/BITCF/ https://twitter.com/1stBitCapital https://www.linkedin.com/company/first-bitcoin-capital-corp/ For more information visit: www.firstbitcoin.io Forward-Looking Statements Certain statements contained in this press release may constitute "forward-looking statements." Forward-looking statements provide current expectations of future events based on certain assumptions and include any statement that does not directly relate to any historical or current fact. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors as may be disclosed in company's filings. In addition to these factors, actual future performance, outcomes, and results may differ materially because of more general factors including (without limitation) general industry and market conditions and growth rates, economic conditions, and governmental and public policy changes. The forward-looking statements included in this press release represent the Company's views as of the date of this press release and these views could change. However, while the Company may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, the Company specifically disclaims any obligation to do so. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing the Company's views as of any date subsequent to the date of the press release. Such forward-looking statements are risks that are detailed in the Company's filings, which are on file at www.OTCMarkets.com . Contact us via: [email protected] or visit http://www.firstbitcoin.io [1] WEED refers to Bitcoin-Blockchain Token [2] WeeD refers to ERC20 Ethereum Token SOURCE: First Bitcoin Capital Corp \|\| Pro-Bitcoin Ron Paul: It’s Time to Abolish Federal Reserve, Embrace Tax-Free Crypto: Retired US CongressmanRon Paul— a bitcoin skeptic turned proponent — reiterated his calls to abolish the Federal Reserve shortly after it raised the baseline interest rate a quarter of a percentage point, to a range of 2.25% to 2.5%. This is the fourth time that the Fed — the central banking system of the United States — raised interest rates in 2018. The move sparked renewed fears of a US recession that could potentially trigger a global recession in 2019. Ron Paul said the Federal Reserve should let the free market dictate interest rates instead of artificially manipulating them. “The Fed has NO IDEA what rates should be,” Paul tweeted. “The Fed manipulates prices, distorts the economy, and makes decisions by looking at the ‘data’ of a distorted economy.” Central planning produces a world of economic delusions. America needs to get back to reality. End The Fed! This is not the first time that Ron Paul — the father of current US Senator Rand Paul — has called to abolish the Federal Reserve. As CCN reported in October 2018, RonPaul trashed the Fedfor manipulating interest rates, saying such artificial machinations could actually cause a recession. This, in turn, could bring about the death of fiat currency, he said. “It is likely that the next Fed-created recession will come sooner rather than later,” Paul said. “This could be the major catastrophe that leads to the end of fiat currency.” Paul said the only way to avoid a Fed-created recession is to let people use alternative currencies like bitcoin and to exempt cryptocurrencies from taxes. Paul said central banks constantly increase and decrease the money supply to control the economy by manipulating interest rates. He said theFederal Reserve‘s cyclical manipulation of interest rates creates an artificial cycle of economic booms and busts. This can create an illusion of prosperity. Eventually, reality catches up to the Federal Reserve-created fantasies. Like many in the crypto community, Ron Paul is a libertarian who opposes government intervention in the free market. The virtual currency community generally prefers the crypto ecosystem’s decentralized and unregulated market. Paul said an economy that is not manipulated is better for society. “Not only should we audit the Federal Reserve, we should get rid of it!” he said. Until very recently, Ron Paul was a staunch advocate of the gold standard who was critical of bitcoin, asCCN reported. “Bitcoin is very exciting…but [bitcoin investors] don’t have a long-term perspective,” Paul said in December 2017. “What’s it going to be like in 10 years? Nobody knows. But we have a pretty good idea of where gold will be, in a general sense.” Paul has since changed his outlook on crypto, and now says he believes that bitcoin and a gold-backed currencycan co-existin a free society. Featured image from Shutterstock. The postPro-Bitcoin Ron Paul: It’s Time to Abolish Federal Reserve, Embrace Tax-Free Cryptoappeared first onCCN. \|\| Israels Tax Body Aggressively Pursuing Cryptocurrency Tax Evaders: crypto Israel Bitcoin The tax-collection agency of Israel is targeting cryptocurrency traders and investors in an aggressive push aimed at stemming tax evasion. According to the financial daily Calcalist , the Israel Tax Authority (ITA) has taken stern measures aimed at nabbing those suspected of not reporting gains made from cryptocurrency investments and trading. Some of the measures taken include sending notice letters to individuals suspected of not reporting their earnings from crypto trading. Per the financial daily, some of the tell-tale signs of tax evasion by cryptocurrency traders include frequent travels abroad without documentation or material evidence of how the trips expenses will be met. Additionally, those who own multiple real estate properties are also being targeted. The authority has also sent notice letters to Israelis whose activity raises suspicion of unreported earnings, such as those who travel abroad frequently without having the requisite funds on paper, or those who own over three apartments wrote the Calcalist. Campaign Against Crypto Tax Evaders to Continue Another move the Israel Tax Authority has taken includes unilaterally opening tax accounts for individuals who have been identified as having failed to report gains made from trading cryptocurrencies. The head of the Israel Tax Authority , Eran Yaakov, has vowed that the efforts to nab tax evaders in the cryptocurrency space will continue. This comes almost two years since the ITA classified bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as assets and it indicated it would tax them as such. [Bitcoin] will be considered in accordance with the Income Tax Ordinance as assets and their sale will be taxed as a sale of property. Income from their sale will be classified as capital income and capital gains will be taxed according to fixed tax rates. CCN reported the ITA as having said in a statement early last year. 25% on Capital Gains, 17% VAT At the time, the tax body clarified that holders of cryptocurrency would be required to pay 25% in capital gains tax every time they disposed of their holdings. Cryptocurrency exchanges and other related were also slapped with a 17% value-added tax. Story continues In February this year, the ITA doubled down on its position that it would tax cryptocurrencies as assets with the rates on capital gains and VAT remaining the same. Bitcoin Will Be Taxed as an Asset: Israel Tax Authority https://t.co/CXD4b7bUUd CCN (@CryptoCoinsNews) February 20, 2018 A month prior, the ITA had also published draft legislation on ICOs in which the tax body indicated that ICO tokens would be deemed as assets with the responsibility of paying the accompanying tax falling on the ICO investors as well as the issuers. Featured image from Shutterstock. The post Israels Tax Body Aggressively Pursuing Cryptocurrency Tax Evaders appeared first on CCN . \|\| The Growing Craze Behind Blockchain Art: Jorge Espinosa, managing partner with Espinosa Martinez in Miami. They say that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. However, the world of art is not just about beauty. It is about originality, creativity and source. When you buy art that catches your eye you want to be sure it is genuine. With digital art, this has not always been possible because digital files can be easily copied. Here is where the modern technology of Blockchain has merged with art to create a thriving new digital art marketplace. Blockchain is the hot topic in business and system design these days. At its simplest terms, Blockchain technology is a highly encrypted, redundant set of digital ledgers to which you can add presumably incorruptible blocks of information. These digital ledgers are kept in multiple locations and the changes are checked so that only legitimate changes are made to the chain. So, for example, if someone purchased a car using a Blockchain transaction and then each service call or transfer of ownership were added as information blocks to the Blockchain as they happened, you could safely purchase the car knowing its entire history since purchase. In fact, when you bought the car your purchase information would become another block in the chain and would be part of the unchangeable record duplicated in these ledgers for future buyers. Blockchains and smart contracts are far more complex than this but for our purposes, this explanation should suffice. Since authenticity or, as it is generally referred to in, provenance is so important to art and so hard to establish in digital works, Blockchain is a godsend for digital art. An artist can create a piece of art, link it by a unique digital key to a Blockchain and not only the origin, but all conditions of its creation and subsequent transfers of ownership or value will be permanently documented in the Blockchain. This is exactly what has been happening. One of the first and most popular forms of Blockchain art was CryptoPunks. These were 10,000 unique 24x24 pixel drawings of punky looking guys and girls with a few rarer ones of apes, zombies and aliens. These unique tiny works of art were developed and sold on the popular Ethereum Blockchain platform. When you buy a CryptoPunk, you know that you own a verifiably unique piece of art from a limited set of 10,000. You can then buy and sell these digital drawings at auction to other Ethereum users using the Ethereum crypto currency called Ether. CrytoPunks often sold for less than $100, but some are selling at auction for upwards of $5,500. A slightly different approach to Blockchain art was taken by the Rare Pepe folks. A Rare Pepe is a digital trading card showing sometimes wildly whimsical versions of Pepe the frog, a meme that has been around the internet since 2005. You buy Rare Pepe cards by opening a Rare Pepe Wallet to buy and sell the cards using bitcoin. The cards are assets on the Bitcoin Blockchain and each one is unique. One invocation that the Rare Pepe community adds is that you, the user, can draw your own digital Rare Pepe drawing, place it in a digital card frame and submit it to the community. Your art can then become another unique Rare Pepe artwork that can be bought and sold at auction. Last year, a Homer Simpson Rare Pepe digital card sold for the bitcoin equivalent of $39,000. Yet another Blockchain art market that pushes the vision of digital art is Cryptokitties. Cryptokitties are digital renderings of kittens with unique colors and patterns. As with Cryptopunks, a limited initial set was produced. In the case of Cryptokitties, only 50,000 were created and added to the Ethereum Blockchain. What makes Cryptokitties different is that you can pay to breed (yes I said breed) two Cryptokitties and the smart contract (software program) that governs the art will create a unique new Cryptokitty that you can buy and sell at auction. In other words, you can increase the number of Cryptokitties by creating new generations created from combinations of the previous generations. In December of last year, a Cryptokitty sold for $120,000 and total Cryptokitty investment allegedly exceeds $11 million. While traditional auction houses are still not selling Blockchain art directly, they have not been inattentive of this growing trend. London-based Christies, one of the oldest auction houses in the world, is starting a pilot program with Artory to record art transactions on the Blockchain creating a verifiable ownership record. In September, Maecenas, an art investment platform built on Blockchain, sold tokenized interest (where different bidders get a piece of interest in the work) in Andy Warhols 14 Small Electric Chairs (1980). The auction sold 31.5 percent of ownership rights for the two-meter high painting, raising around $1.7 million. Paying tens of thousands of dollars for a Rare Pepe or a Cryptokitty may seem crazy to you but, as this craze grows and develops, it might be worth your time to know what art is growing on the Blockchains. Who knows? You might discover and own the next digital Picasso. Jorge Espinosa is managing partner with the Miami intellectual property boutique law firm of Espinosa Martinez. He focuses his practice on the domestic and international protection of trademarks, patents and copyrights. He may be reached at [email protected] . \|\| ‘Worthless’ Bitcoin Has Entered Death Spiral: Finance Professor: bitcoin dead Earlier this year, with the bitcoin price trading around $7,000, Santa Clara University Professor of Finance Atulya Sarin published an opinion piece arguing that the rising cost of crypto mining, coupled with the ability for bearish investors to short bitcoin in the futures markets, could spell doom for the flagship cryptocurrency. Now, following a further ~45 percent decline, Sarin is calling it: bitcoin has entered a “death spiral,” and it’s “close to becoming worthless.” Writing in an op-ed published in MarketWatch , Sarin alleged that the bitcoin has embarked on a “swift and painful drop to zero” now that its price has dropped below the estimated cost of mining, which has begun to drive miners out of the market. As the cost of mining decreases, he alleges, so will the bitcoin price . “Mining at a cost higher than the cost at which you can sell in the futures market destroys value. So, any rational investor — even one who strongly believes the price of bitcoin will rebound — has no incentive to mine if the cost of mining is higher than the future price and is better off buying in the futures market. And unlike gold, which can retain its value even if mining activity stops, bitcoin can have no value absent the mining activity that maintains the ledger of who owns it. Absent the mining activity, bitcoin is a just a set of encrypted numbers with no value.” Of course, Bitcoin and other Proof-of-Work (PoW) cryptocurrencies adjust mining difficulty dynamically to maintain a consistent issuance rate amid fluctuating hash rates, so while it is true that miners at the margins have begun switching off their machines , it is also true that the hash rate will eventually reach equilibrium with the bitcoin price. bitcoin price chart Continuing his bearish forecast, Sarin said that gold’s status as a universal store of value is a “historical accident,” one that cryptocurrency cannot supplant since most newer investors are largely driven by greed, not belief in the technology or its applications: Story continues “Unlike gold, which, probably due to a historical accident, is universally accepted as a store of value, bitcoin is a digital commodity with no such universal acceptance as a store of value. While the original buyers and miners of bitcoin were true believers in the paradigm shift they thought it promised, and were willing to make the necessary investments for future gains, the more recent buyers and miners have been run-of-the-mill, greed-driven investors.” To Sarin’s point, the state of the crypto market does seem dire — at least to someone whose familiarity with bitcoin’s price movements began around October 2017. However, as many crypto analysts have pointed out , cryptocurrencies have regularly endured peak-to-trough declines of greater than 80 percent in the decade since the Genesis block was mined. His retort is that the nature of the market is fundamentally different than in past boom-bust cycles, with the “losers” being profit-driven investors rather than “true believers” and futures markets enabling miner to hedge their profits by shorting cryptocurrency prices. Luckily, unlike other bitcoin bears — who hedge their forecasts with the stipulation that BTC could see further run-ups before its inevitable demise — Sarin predicts that the crypto market’s death will be “swift.” Thus, with an eye on the bitcoin price and an eye on the calendar, grizzled investors can offer a brief reply: “We’ll see.” Featured Image from Shutterstock. Charts from TradingView . The post ‘Worthless’ Bitcoin Has Entered Death Spiral: Finance Professor appeared first on CCN . \|\| Piece of Cake: Cryptocurrency ATM Stolen in Bakery Break-In: Bitcoin ATM, Shutterstock By CCN.com : Crypto thieves have shown that theft can sometimes be a piece of cake. Taking the phrase get the dough to the next level, a cryptocurrency ATM machine was audaciously jacked from a bakery in California last week. The theft took place at the Belwood Bakery in Brentwood Village, Los Angeles, and is the latest in a string of robbery attempts on the establishment. Cryptocurrency ATM Machine Thieves Are Taking the Biscuit CBS News has reported that thieves have unceremoniously snatched a cryptocurrency ATM machine right off the wall of the Belwood Bakery. The CCTV security video via the news channel shows a masked assailant crashing through the shops glass doors in spectacular fashion with a sledgehammer in hand like a crackhead version of Thor looking for cash for his next fix. Read the full story on CCN.com . [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] Türkiye’de HİÇBİR satıcı Paypal kabul edemiyor. Onu ne yapacağız? En azından Bitcoin ile ödeme almak istemeyenler fiyat hareketlerini bahane ediyor. Ya PayPal? Türkiye’ye vergi vermemek için binlerce siteyi gözardı edip hizmeti durdurdular. https://twitter.com/KoinBulteni/status/1088114342346792960 … \|\| BTC戦闘力↓:¥387,067(max #FCT/mini #XEM) 今からでもショートでエントリーしてみては？ #リスク #利確 #ネム #ripple #フリーザチャートpic.twitter.com/xhe7y8NLjo \|\| Po krótkiej przerwie wracam z nową analizą video pary BTC/PLN na interwale godzinowym. Zapraszam do oglądania, póki gorąca https://youtu.be/HMNKUAVNGCI #Bitcoin #Altcoin #BTC #BTCUSC #Kryptowaluty #Krypto #Analiza #Edukacjapic.twitter.com/D5HjwuMSZg \|\| 12-31 03:00(GMT) #SPINDLE price $SPD (BTC) Yobit :0.00000044 HitBTC :0.00000042 LiveCoin:0.00000033 $SPD (JPY) Yobit :0.18 HitBTC :0.17 LiveCoin:0.14 \|\| 2 Options to trade #OMG #omisego https://www.borseclub.com/omisego-omg-omgbtc/ … $btc #btcusd $XRP $XRPUSD #bitcoin #btcusd #blockchain #ADA #cardano #news #investing #trading #Crypto #cryptocurrencies #cryptocurrency #CryptoNews $LTC $ETH #Litecoin #ethereum #ETH #Ripple \|\| Top 100 avg 1h return: -0.2±1.0%; 28 up, 72 down $BTC -0.2% $ETH -0.3% Best: 3.7% $REP @AugurProject 2.4% $PAI @ProjectPai 2.2% $POWR @powerledger_io Top 101-200 avg 1h return: -0.1±1.8%; 32 up, 67 down Best: 10.7% $ETHOS @ethos_io 9.5% $APL @ApolloCurrency 2.8% $QNT #cryptopic.twitter.com/KzsmVN1WTs \|\| トレンドには逆らわない。明らかに下落トレンド中。一旦上げるならズドーン！が待ってるということ...Bakktは3月くらいになんのかな。 $BTC $XRP \|\| BTC戦闘力↓:¥385,717(max #FCT/mini #XEM) DGB、ドラゴンボールじゃないだと！？ #ポロニエックス #ドラゴンボール #証券 #先物取引 #フリーザチャートpic.twitter.com/8BHwv5JKo3 \|\| #BUY Signal – Dip detected Market: $IOTA Exchange: Binance Current BTC value: 0.00007830 \|\| The seven announced initiatives are: Saudi-Emirati Pilot cryptocurrency The first of its kind joint pilot cryptocurrency was launched during the meeting. $crypto $btc http://wam.ae/en/details/1395302733616 …	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 3457.79, 3487.95, 3521.06, 3464.01, 3459.15, 3466.36, 3413.77, 3399.47, 3666.78, 3671.20
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2015-09-09] BTC Price: 238.17, BTC RSI: 49.17 Gold Price: 1102.20, Gold RSI: 38.81 Oil Price: 44.15, Oil RSI: 47.65 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Your first trade for Monday: The " Fast Money " traders delivered final trades that were out of this world after NASA astronaut Scott Kelly asked for a stock tip from aboard the International Space Station. Tim Seymour recommended playing the frontier markets by buying the iShares MSCI Frontier 100 ETF (NYSE Arca: FM) . David Seaburg's play was Starbucks ( SBUX ) , alluding to the strength of brand loyalty and new products. Brian Kelly suggested shorting the Market Vectors Russia ETF (NYSE Arca: RSX) as a heavenly oil play. Guy Adami went intergalactic as a buyer of Constellation Brands ( STZ ) . Trader disclosure: On July 24, 2015 the following stocks and commodities mentioned or intended to be mentioned on CNBC's "Fast Money" were owned by the "Fast Money" traders: Tim Seymour is long AAPL, T, BAC, DIS, F, GE, GM, GOOGL, INTC, JPM, SUNE, Tim's firm is long BABA, BIDU, MCD, NKE, NOK, SBUX, YHOO. Today he sold C. Brian Kelly is long BBRY, BTC=; ITB, TAN, TLT, TSL, US dollar; he is short Oil, Ruble, Yuan and Yen. Today he shorted the Ruble. Guy Adami is long CELG, EXAS, INTC, Guy Adami's wife, Linda Snow, works at Merck. David Seaburg: No disclosures. More From CNBC Top News and Analysis Latest News Video Personal Finance \|\| 4 buys for retail stocks ahead of earnings: The bar has been reset in the retail space, and Macy's(NYSE: M)is now the stock to buy for the near term, CNBC "Fast Money" trader David Seaburg said Friday. "Macy's is the one to own here for the short term, but long term, I caution you: I think they're going to have some real struggles," he said. "I think right now is the time to buy it for a trade: I think the stock's been beaten up, there are no expectations they're going to make numbers-I think you'll get a trade to the upside." Still, Seaburg reiterated his caution for investors looking to go long into the retailer, as he predicted that Amazon will displace the company by 2017. For his part, trader Brian Kelly said he "might pick at" Macy's, but similarly cautioned that "it's not really a long-term type of investment." Kelly said he doesn't like the retail space in general because consumer spending is not seeing much boost from the decline in oil. "Fast Money" Trader Steve Grasso, meanwhile, said that "if you have to play in that retail space," go with Target(NYSE: TGT). That company, he said, has been an outperformer with a more than 4 percent year-to-date gain. He also suggested buying Deckers Outdoor(NYSE: DECK), saying, "It makes an excellent takeout target." He noted that it would also work as a seasonal buy in October. Disclosures: Steve Grasso Grasso is long AAPL, BA, BAC, CC, DD, DECK, EVGN, FIT, KBH, MJNA, MU, PFE, PHM, T, TWTR, GDX. His kids are long EFA, EFG, EWJ, IJR, SPY. His firm and some of its partners are long NEM, LYB, WDR, SHLD, STRP, UDR, ACI, AVP, TEX, CLI, TWTR, WYNN, PCRX, AXP, FNMA, SALT, AMD, CUBA, HSPO, ICE, AMZN, FCX, IBM, KDUS, KO, MAT, MCD, MJNA, NE, NEM, OXY, RIG, STAG, TAXI, TITXF, TSE, VALE, ZNGA. Guy Adami Guy Adami is long CELG, EXAS, INTC, Guy Adami's wife, Linda Snow, works at Merck. Brian Kelly Brian Kelly is long BBRY, BTC=; ITB, TAN, TLT, TSL, the VIX, GDX call spread, TWTR call spread, US dollar; he is short DAX, Yuan and Yen. Today he closed his Oil and Ruble shorts. More From CNBC • Top News and Analysis • Latest News Video • Personal Finance \|\| Will The New York Times Piece Damage Amazon?: On August 15, the New York Times published anarticleslamming e-commerce giantAmazon.com, Inc.(NASDAQ:AMZN) for its unforgiving corporate culture. The piece describes in with anecdotal stories how employees are pushed to their limits in an environment that thrives on tension and inspires fear. The piece gained traction on social media and many customers said it was enough to stop them from using the service in the future. However, shares of Amazon are up 72.46 percent year-to-date, leading many to wonder just how much damage the article will do. Bezos Strikes Back Following the release of the article, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos sent outa staff memoin which he asked employees to contact him directly if they'd received the kind of treatment the New York Times had described. He maintained that Amazon's culture is very different from what was depicted and said he was shocked by the stories told. Other current Amazon employees took to the Internet in defense of Amazon, saying that the descriptions were inaccurate and that the company has been misrepresented. Related Link:Amazon's Quarter Was A 'Full-On Crusher' Solid Performance While the article may have temporarily tarnished Amazon's glow, the company's solid Q2 performance is likely to overshadow complaints about management from an investors' perspective. In July, the company released strong Q2 sales and impressive financials which suggest that Amazon is on an upward trajectory. From a money-making point of view, the article has done little hurt the retail giant's appeal. Public Perception In the social media age, public perception is a huge part of a company's success.SeaWorld Entertainment Inc. (NYSE:SEAS) lost a huge volume of customers after being slammed in the media for its treatment of orcas and Amazon similarly runs the risk of being known as a cruel company that treats its workers poorly, something that could deter shoppers from using the site. However, so far the fallout from the article appears to be minimal, with most expecting more outrageous comments from the 2016 Presidential hopefuls to redirect the public's attention in the coming days. See more from Benzinga • What's Happening To Media Stocks? • Bitcoin Rewards Gain Popularity • Bitcoin, Marijuana And Drones: Meet Trees © 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| Trading Google earnings: 3 stocks to buy: Google(NASDAQ: GOOGL)shares spiked following a strong quarterly earnings report Thursday, and CNBC"Fast Money"traders jumped on the bandwagon with investors. "I think the stock's got real runway here. I think it can turn and go a lot higher," said trader David Seaburg. The Internet giant's stock surged more than 10 percent in extended trading as second-quarter profit of $6.99 per share topped analysts' expectations. Though revenue fell slightly short of expectations and crucial ad metrics were mixed, markets cheered signs of expense control and strong signs for the YouTube video platform. "I thought it was undervalued before. This is not a crazy valuation here," said trader Karen Finerman, who owns Google stock. Read MoreGoogle shares jump as profits handily beat expectations Google seems primed to move higher, and investors should hold it with $600 per share as a floor, said trader Guy Adami. It closed the regular session above $601 before the after-hours spike. Trader Brian Kelly added that he saw positive signs in financial discipline and YouTube, but he would wait for a pullback to buy Google shares. A post-earnings spike in Netflix(NASDAQ: NFLX)shares, among other names, helped push the Nasdaq Composite(NASDAQ: .IXIC)to a record close Thursday. Looking forward in the technology sector, Kelly sees upside in Microsoft(NASDAQ: MSFT). Read MoreOverseas growth is driving Netflix stock surge: Analyst Adami also noted that Facebook(NASDAQ: FB)looks to be "breaking out." The stock has gone about 16 percent higher this year. Disclosures: Brian Kelly Brian Kelly is long BBRY, BTC=; ITB, TAN, TLT, TSL and euro. He is short yuan and yen. Today he bought ITB. Karen Finerman Karen is long BABA, BAC, C, FINL, FL, GOOG, GOOGL, JPM, KORS, M, URI, BABA puts and URI calls. She is short SPY. Her firm is long ANTM, AAPL, BAC, C, DIS, FBT, FINL, FL, GILD, GOOG, GOOGL, GPS, IBB, JPM, KORS, M, SUNE, URI, XBI, KORS call spreads, URI calls, KORS puts and SPY put spreads. Her firm is short IWM, SPY and MDY. Karen Finerman is on the board of GrafTech International. Guy Adami Guy Adami is long CELG, EXAS and INTC. Guy Adami's wife, Linda Snow, works at Merck. More From CNBC • Top News and Analysis • Latest News Video • Personal Finance \|\| Could this split be the end of bitcoin?: With a market valued currently at more than $3 billion, and hundreds of millions invested in related technologies, a lot is riding on bitcoin(: BTC=). But the digital token some say could replace government-backed currencies is facing a crisis that experts warn could potentially render it worthless. Over the weekend, two well-known bitcoin developers "forked" the technology, releasing software that will allow the community to split away from the core program. This contentious split arose overa long-running squabblebetween developers that started as a disagreement about the way data is packaged, and morphed into a philosophical question about the future of the technology. That very future-as CNBC predicted in July-could conceivably be threatened by the new software-called Bitcoin XT. "Contentious hard forks are bad for Bitcoin," the semi-official site Bitcoin.org's David Harding wrote ina policy post. A "hard" fork such as XT is not backwards-compatible with other versions of the software, meaning that any divergence in adoption is more difficult to reconcile. "At the very best, a contentious hard fork will leave people who chose the losing side of the fork feeling disenfranchised. At the very worst, it will make bitcoins permanently lose their value. In between are many possible outcomes, but none of them are good," the post continued. Here's the gist of the squabble: Bitcoin transactions are packaged into blocks before being recorded on bitcoin's permanent ledger. Developers disagree over what the maximum size of those blocks should be. On one hand, smaller means more security, but on the other hand bigger means that bitcoin technology can more easily scale into wider adoption and noncurrency applications. And beyond just the technical matter, the fight comes down to a more human dilemma: Who gets to decide which way the whole community, which is effectively leaderless, has to go? Mike Hearn, one of the developers behind XT,wrote in a lengthy postexplaining the fork that the current limitations of the original software are blocking the growth of bitcoin and its blockchain currency. He disputed Bitcoin.org's assessment of worst-case scenarios, and said that the fork may be the best way to save the currency from becoming irrelevant. Read MoreThe details of the debate can be found here. "There's no reason to believe a hard fork would make bitcoins permanently lose their value. On the contrary, it should increase them, as it'd prove the system is robust against poor decisions by any one group of developers," Hearn said in an email to CNBC. "By asking Bitcoin users to believe that a contentious fork can destroy the system, all they're really saying is that the community must obey the wishes of a tiny group of developers regardless of whether those wishes are bad or not." The way the XT fork works is that miners (who process transactions by solving complex math problems) can vote for whether they want to switch to the new system or stick with the core program. After Jan. 11, 2016, once 75 percent of mining power is voting for the fork, a two-week waiting period begins, and then the new rules take effect. Several polls and projections have indicated that miners may favor the primary XT change-making the maximum size for a "block" of data eight megabytes instead of one megabyte-so a fork could be in the future. Still, several core developers of the technology-who have taken over maintenance and growth of the technology from mysterious creator Satoshi Nakamoto-have come out against the change, and online discussions seem to indicate an ideological split in the community. Those core developers against the block size increase either did not respond to request for comment from CNBC or denied via a representative. But Adam Back, who developed one of the key algorithms behind bitcoin and still works with core developers, said the complaints about XT are manyfold, including worries that a 75 percent activation vote is too low, and that some of the other changes to the program are not sufficiently secure. Back said the community is actively working on finding solutions (with developer workshops scheduled) to the block size problem, and that jumping ahead of the normal review system is "a little puzzling" and "kind of disappointing." One major expert in the communitywrote in a Reddit postthat XT "represents a somewhat reckless approach, which in the name of advancement shatters existing structures, fragments the community and spins the ecosystem into chaos." Read MoreBitcoin firm raises $116M, including Qualcomm investment Hearn, however, told CNBC he thinks that assessment is "completely wrong," and that the XT approach has been debated for month with every objection considered. After all, the development of the potentially world-changing Bitcoin technology has been largely developedwithoutmuch structure, he said. "You can't shatter something that doesn't exist. Unfortunately a whole lot of people in the bitcoin community who aren't [closely] involved haven't fully realized or accepted how ad-hoc the Bitcoin Core project truly is," Hearn said, adding that "underlying contradictions and inability to make decisions" are actually the major problems that XT seeks to address. Hearn's desire to alter the decision-making process behind bitcoin would see him and XT co-developer Gavin Andresen jointly managing the technology, rather than a group of developers. Back acknowledged that the emergence of XT partially stems from resentment about other developers' ideas being shot down, but he said he believed a distributed power structure works best. "It's intentionally a decentralized process. People are worried that with $4 billion on the line someone could be blackmailed or could intentionally insert a bug," Back said. "They didn't think about the risks of being the sole maintainer of $4 billion of other people's money.... They're not thinking ahead far enough about the implications for all of this." (Thetotal value of all existing Bitcoinswas about $4 billion at the beginning of August; it's closer to $3.4 billion now.) As for concerns that his actions could spin the multibillion-dollar ecosystem into chaos, Hearn said he is in fact saving the technology. "[Andresen] and myself have said since the start that Bitcoin is a risky experiment. I'm sure everyone who invested knew that," Hearn wrote. "But if they invested, they presumably invested in the hope that Bitcoin would take off and become really mainstream. Right now, the only way to get there is via Bitcoin XT. So they should consider helping us out to ensure the outcome they would like." Investor Roger Ver-so-called "Bitcoin Jesus"-is one of several prominent voices in the community to voice his approval of the XT project. Additionally, a statement from all of the Chinese mining pools-which account for much of the power in the network-came out in favor of a block size increase. Still, Hearn could not say how he thought the community would swing, but underscored his contention that a vote for the core software could stymie future growth. "Well, Bitcoin will still exist no matter what happens. But obviously if there's no chance of growth and the community decides to follow the Bitcoin Core developers (without even knowing who exactly is in that group), then a whole lot of other developers and entrepreneurs will leave," Hearn said. "Because you can't build a successful business on an infrastructure with no chances of growth." All of this occurs against a background of increasing corporate and financial interest in bitcoin and its backing blockchain technology. Bitcoin runs on a blockchain that is more secure and decentralized than any of its competitors because of its large user base and its comparatively lengthy history. If those users were to splinter, then the entire enterprise could be compromised. Read MoreWhy is it called the 'blockchain?' Hearn wrote in his explanation of the fork that there are few risks of breaking the community: If less than 75 percent votes for XT, then nothing changes, and if more than 75 percent is in favor, then the rest of the marketplace will follow suit so as not to be left behind. "We don't think the sky will fall if the chain forks. We think people on the small-blocks side of the chain will upgrade and continue on the bigger-blocks side. There will be plenty of time for them to know about the change and prepare," he wrote. Still, if a sizable minority decides to hold out against XT and its bigger blocks, then presplit bitcoins could be spent twice-violating one of the key facets of the digital currency, and potentially harming trust. Back warned that the results of the fork could be disastrous. Anti-XT programs have sprung up to corrupt the vote, so even if it appears that there's been a 75 percent majority, the community could still be split 50-50. "If you get some kind of 50-50 split," Back explained, "you have two ledgers, not accepting each other's blocks ... inconsistent ledgers and exchanges that were out hundreds of thousands, or millions, of dollars." "Nobody wants it to go there, but the Bitcoin XT thing is teetering into a dangerous situation and dynamic," he added. "The safest thing to do is to stop that dynamic well before activation." Jeff Garzik, another bitcoin core developer who has expressed support for bigger blocks, told CNBC in June that creating a contentious fork would be the "worst of all possible options." As Hearn said in his letter to the community: "So this is it. Here we are." More From CNBC • Top News and Analysis • Latest News Video • Personal Finance \|\| Neste's Interim Report for January-June 2015: Neste CorporationInterim Report5 August 2015 at 9 am. (EET) Neste`s Interim Report for January-June 2015 Continuing strong refining market enabled good result despite the scheduled major turnaround at the Porvoo refinery Second quarter in brief: • Comparable operating profit totaled EUR 78 million (Q2/2014: EUR 86 million) • Negative impact of the Porvoo refinery turnaround on comparable operating profit was EUR 130 million • Total refining margin was USD 10.83/bbl (Q2/2014: USD 8.33/bbl) • Renewable Products` comparable sales margin was USD 210/ton (Q2/2014: USD 200/ton) • Net cash from operations totaled EUR 227 million (Q2/2014: EUR 219 million) January-June in brief: • Comparable operating profit totaled EUR 293 million (1-6/2014: EUR 136 million) • Return on average capital employed (ROACE) was 12.5% over the last 12 months (2014: 10.1%) • Leverage ratio was 40.3% as of the end of June (31.12.2014: 37.9%) • Comparable earnings per share: EUR 0.80 (1-6/2014: EUR 0.30) President & CEO Matti Lievonen: "The second quarter was characterized by a strong refining margin environment, and the major turnaround at our Porvoo refinery. Neste recorded a comparable operating profit of EUR 78 million during the second quarter, compared to the EUR 86 million during the corresponding period last year. As announced on 16 June, the turnaround had a negative impact of approximately EUR 130 million on comparable operating profit. Oil Products generated a comparable operating profit of EUR 14 million (EUR 33 million) during the second quarter. Neste`s reference margin averaged USD 8.7/bbl, which was more than double that in the same period last year. Gasoline margins continued particularly high, supported by global demand growth and the summer driving season. The maintenance turnaround implemented during the second quarter was the largest in the history of the Porvoo refinery. It has now been successfully completed and will help ensure the refinery`s performance and safety for the next five years. Renewable Products recorded a comparable operating profit of EUR 54 million (EUR 32 million) during the second quarter. Renewable Products` additional margin and a stronger US dollar had a positive effect on the result compared to the same period last year. Feedstock optimization continued, and the share of waste and residue feedstocks reached 67% of total inputs. The Porvoo turnaround reduced renewable diesel production by more than 10% of total production capacity during the second quarter. Oil Retail`s markets continued competitive, but we were able to increase profits by higher sales volumes particularly in the Baltic markets, and improving margins. The segment generated a comparable operating profit of EUR 22 million, higher than the EUR 20 million booked in the second quarter of 2014. Global oil demand growth estimates for 2015 have been generally upgraded to 1.3-1.5 million bbl/day, and the forward refining margin outlook for the coming quarters is stronger than that seen in April. Current crude oil price level promotes oil product demand, and there seems to be limited upside potential in oil price. Our result guidance remains unchanged: Neste estimates the Group`s full-year 2015 comparable operating profit to remain robust and to be higher than that reached in 2014." The Group`s second-quarter 2015 results Neste`s revenue in the second quarter totaled EUR 2,605 million (EUR 4,104 million). The decrease mainly resulted from lower sales volumes due to the Porvoo refinery turnaround, which had an impact of EUR 1.1 billion, and lower sales prices caused by the oil price decline, which had a negative impact of EUR 0.7 billion. The change in USD/EUR exchange rate had a positive impact of EUR 0.3 billion on the revenue year-on-year. The Group`s comparable operating profit came in at EUR 78 million (EUR 86 million). Oil Products` result was negatively impacted by the planned major turnaround at the Porvoo refinery, but positively impacted by reference refining margins, which were higher than in the second quarter of 2014. Renewable Products` result improved mainly due to higher additional margin and a favorable USD/EUR exchange rate. Oil Retail`s result was positively impacted by higher sales volumes and margins year-on-year. The Others segment recorded a lower comparable operating profit compared to the second quarter of 2014. Oil Products` second-quarter comparable operating profit was EUR 14 million (33 million), Renewable Products` EUR 54 million (32 million), and Oil Retail`s EUR 22 million (20 million). The comparable operating profit of the Others segment totaled EUR -14 million (2 million). The Group`s IFRS operating profit was EUR 63 million (70 million), which was impacted by inventory gains totaling EUR 78 million (2 million), changes in the fair value of open oil derivatives totaling EUR -91 million (-18 million), mainly related to hedging of inventories, and non-recurring items totaling EUR -3 million (0 million). Pre-tax profit was EUR 52 million (48 million), profit for the period EUR 42 million (39 million), and earnings per share EUR 0.17 (0.15). The Group`s effective tax rate was 20% (18%). The Group`s January-June 2015 results Neste`s revenue during the first six months totaled EUR 5,348 million (EUR 7,613 million). The decrease mainly resulted from lower overall sales prices caused by the oil price decline, which had an impact of EUR 1.9 billion, and lower sales volumes due to the Porvoo refinery maintenance during the second quarter, which had a negative impact of EUR 1.1 billion. The change in USD/EUR exchange rate had a positive impact of EUR 0.7 billion on the revenue year-on-year. The Group`s comparable operating profit came in at EUR 293 million (EUR 136 million). Oil Products` result was positively impacted by reference refining margins, which were clearly higher than during the first half of 2014. However, the scheduled major turnaround at the Porvoo refinery negatively impacted the segment`s result during the second quarter. Renewable Products improved as a result of successful margin management, feedstock optimization and a favorable USD/EUR exchange rate. Oil Retail`s result was positively impacted by increased sales volumes and margins. The Others segment recorded a lower comparable operating profit compared to the first half of 2014. Oil Products` six-month comparable operating profit was EUR 170 million (65 million), Renewable Products` EUR 96 million (44 million), and Oil Retail`s EUR 39 million (34 million). The comparable operating profit of the Others segment totaled EUR -11 million (-9 million). The Group`s IFRS operating profit was EUR 296 million (120 million), which was impacted by inventory gains totaling EUR 2 million (losses of 1 million), changes in the fair value of open oil derivatives totaling EUR -73 million (-13 million), mainly related to hedging of inventories, and non-recurring items totaling EUR 74 million (-2 million), mainly related to the capital gain from the disposal of the Porvoo electricity grid. Pre-tax profit was EUR 257 million (81 million), profit for the period EUR 223 million (66 million), and earnings per share EUR 0.87 (0.25). The Group`s effective tax rate was 13% (20%) mainly due to the tax-exempt items, such as the sale proceeds of the shares of Kilpilahden Sähkönsiirto Oy, electricity grid company. Outlook Developments in the global economy have been reflected in the oil, renewable fuel, and renewable feedstock markets; and volatility in these markets is expected to continue. Global oil demand growth estimates for 2015 have been increased and are generally at 1.3-1.5 million bbl/d, as especially gasoline demand growth has been healthy. The forward reference refining margin outlook for the coming quarters is stronger than that seen in April. While the refining capacity growth in Asia and the Middle East and ending of the refinery maintenance season are expected to increase product supply, the transatlantic supply demand balance is also dependent on demand growth and possible refinery shutdowns. Lifting of the economic sanctions against Iran could increase the supply of medium heavy crude oil in the European market in the future. Vegetable oil price differentials are expected to vary, depending on crop outlooks, weather phenomena, and variations in demand for different feedstocks, but no fundamental changes in the drivers influencing long-term average feedstock price differentials are expected. Feedstock prices have been on a downward trend, but vegetable oil price differentials have remained narrower than the historical average. Market volatility in feedstock and oil prices is expected to continue, which will have an impact on the Renewable Products segment`s profitability. Crude oil price changes, supply and demand balances, together with uncertainties related to political decision-making on biofuel mandates, the US Blender`s Tax Credit (BTC) and other incentives will be reflected in the oil and renewable fuel markets. Reintroduction of the BTC would have a positive impact on Neste`s comparable operating profit, and it is not included in the company`s current result guidance. Neste`s guidance remains unchanged: Neste estimates the Group`s full-year 2015 comparable operating profit to remain robust and to be higher than that reached in 2014. Further information: Matti Lievonen, President & CEO, tel. +358 10 458 11Jyrki Mäki-Kala, CFO, tel. +358 10 458 4098Investor Relations, tel. +358 10 458 5292 News conference and conference call A press conference in Finnish on second-quarter 2015 results will be held today, 5 August 2015, at 11:30 a.m. EET at the company`s headquarters at Keilaranta 21, Espoo.www.neste.comwill feature English versions of the presentation materials. A conference call in English for investors and analysts will be held on 5 August 2015 at 3 p.m. Finland / 1 p.m. London / 8 a.m. New York. The call-in numbers are as follows: Finland: +358 (0)9 6937 9543, rest of Europe: +44 (0)20 3427 1906, US: +1646 254 3362, using access code 6785568. The conference call can be followed at the company`sweb site. An instant replay of the call will be available until 12 August 2015 at +358(0)9 2310 1650 for Finland, +44(0)20 3427 0598 for Europe and +1 347 366 9565 for the US, using access code 6785568. Neste in brief Neste is a pioneer in oil refining and renewable solutions. We provide our customers with premium-quality products for cleaner traffic and industrial products based on world-class research. Our sustainable operations have received recognition in the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index and the Global 100 list of the world`s most sustainable companies, among others. Our net sales for 2014 amounted to approximately EUR 15 billion, and our shares are listed on NASDAQ Helsinki. Cleaner traffic, energy and life are moved forward by about 5,000 professionals. More information:neste.com/en Neste interim report Q2 2015 This announcement is distributed by NASDAQ OMX Corporate Solutions on behalf of NASDAQ OMX Corporate Solutions clients.The issuer of this announcement warrants that they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of the information contained therein.Source: Neste Oyj via GlobeNewswireHUG#1943713 \|\| Obama's Clean Power Plan: Winners & Losers: On Monday, the Obama administration together with the Environmental Protection Agency unveiled a new set of guidelines aimed at reducing emissions in the United States. The Clean Power Plan will reduce carbon emissions by 32 percent from their 2005 levels by 2030. Obama plans to allow states to create their own individual plans to meet their designated targets, which they will need to submit in the coming years. Controversial Plan The Clean Power Plan has been heralded by environmentalists as a necessary step forward in the battle against climate change. Obama called the proposal "the biggest, most important step" the nation has ever taken. However, not everyone agrees. Critics of the plan say Obama has waged a war on coal and that the new rules will stifle job growth and raise the cost of energy in the US. See Also: Why Are Solar Stocks Down After Obama's Carbon Announcement? Losers Should the plan make it through a barrage of criticism in Washington, it is expected to have an uneven impact across the US. Much of whether or not a specific state will benefit depends on that particular state's reliance on coal and how its industry is regulated. Despite that, the coal industry as a whole is expected to suffer under the new regulations. Companies like Alpha Natural Resources, Inc. (OTC: ANRZ ) and Xinergy Ltd. which are already struggling to stay afloat, are likely to face a bumpy road ahead. Winners Nuclear power is expected to see a boost from the Clean Power Plan as it is an effective way to generate power without major greenhouse gas emissions. Renewables like solar and wind power are also expected to gain momentum as more and more states turn to alternative energy sources to meet their new targets. See more from Benzinga Fed Stuck In The Middle Of Marijuana Debate Australian Government Takes Steps Toward Becoming A Bitcoin-Friendly Nation Tech Firms Gear Up For 2016 Presidential Race © 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| 3 names to watch on biotech beatdown: The cholesterol drug space is set to get a little more crowded, and"Fast Money"traders believe one company should benefit most. Amgen(NASDAQ: AMGN)could get approval for its new cholesterol treatment as early as next week. The medicine would compete with one already offered by Regeneron Pharmaceuticals(NASDAQ: REGN). Amgen shed more than 3 percent, closing at about $161 per share Thursday amid a broader selloff in the sector. If it loses more ground to $150 a share, investors may want to scoop it up as it brings the new drug to market, said trader Dan Nathan. "Amgen is the sort of stock that you want to buy if it gets too oversold," he said. Read MoreBuy the biotech bounce: Technician Regeneron remains a "great company," but its valuation seems too lofty, added trader Guy Adami. He would also prefer Amgen shares. Trader Brian Kelly pointed to the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF(NASDAQ: IBB), which plunged 4 percent on Thursday to close below $351. If the fund dips down to $340, he would look to buy in. Disclosures: Dan Nathan Dan is long QQQ sept put, JOY sept calls, TWTR, PG, BA sept put spread, COST aug put spread, TJX aug put, MSFT aug / nov put spread, GOOGL Sept put spread, XRT sept put spread. Today he sold to close SLB puts. Brian Kelly Brian Kelly is long BBRY, BTC=; ITB, TAN, TSL, the VIX, TWTR call spread, Euro; he is short AUDJPY, GBPJPY, CAC40, Ruble, Yuan. Karen Finerman Karen is long BABA, BAC, C, FINL, FL, GOOG, GOOGL, JPM, KORS, M, SUNE calls, BABA puts, she is short SPY, Her firm is long ANTM, AAPL, BAC, C, DIS, FBT, FINL, FL, GOOG, GOOGL, GPS, IBB, JPM, KORS, M, SUNE, URI, XBI, KORS call spreads, M call spreads, SUNE call spreads, GAP puts, KORS puts, SUNE puts, her firm is short IWM, SPY, MDY, Karen Finerman is on the board of GrafTech International. Guy Adami Guy Adami is long CELG, EXAS, INTC, Guy Adami's wife, Linda Snow, works at Merck. More From CNBC • Top News and Analysis • Latest News Video • Personal Finance \|\| Bitcoin Reaches A Fork In The Road: Since its arrival on the fintech scene, bitcoin has always been an open source, decentralized cryptocurrency. That means that no individual can update the system without a consensus among bitcoin users. However, a fierce debate within the community has threatened to pull bitcoin users in two separate directions. The Problem The bitcoin community has been locked in a heated debate over whether or not developers should increase block sizes to greater than 1MB. A block records recent bitcoin transactions, and increasing its size would help to accommodate the cryptocurrency's growing demand. However, critics say that making blocks larger could prevent ordinary users from hosting and would lead to more centralization. Related Link: Bitcoin's Image As A Tool For Criminals May Not Be Far-Fetched A Choice To Make Now, developers Gavin Andresen and Mike Hearn have released a new version of software called Bitcoin XT which supports increased block sizes. The move has forced users to choose between Bitcoin Core, which keeps blocks under 1MB, or Bitcoin XT which allows their expansion when necessary. Core Or XT? While the two are compatible at the moment, Bitcoin XT is planning to update its system to incorporate larger block sizes if 75 percent of the cryptocurrency's users adopt it. Many worry that even if XT gains the majority needed for an update, the 25 percent of Core users will continue with that system. Such a decision would effectively tear the currency in two and could have the potential to significantly decrease adoption of the cryptocurrencies as a whole. See more from Benzinga Automation Serves Up Massive Travel Delays For The Second Time This Summer Disney Looks To A Galaxy Far, Far Away To Revamp Its Theme Parks Bitcoin's Image As A Tool For Criminals May Not Be Far-Fetched © 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| AXA Interested In Bitcoin's Potential: Paris-based investment banking firm AXA may begin using bitcoin in order to streamline the remittance market. The firm is not the first to see the potential benefits of using cryptocurrencies to send payments around the world, but comments from AXA Strategic Ventures (the bank's $223 million fund) suggest that it could become the first major financial institution to back bitcoin's entry into the remittance market. Worldwide Payments One of the major benefits that cryptocurrency enthusiasts have been quick to point out is the potential that digital currencies have for sending cross border payments. This is especially true when it comes to sending money to countries with an underdeveloped financial sector where much of the population is unbanked. In such regions, the only existing options are money-transfer services like The Western Union Company (NYSE: WU ), which charge a large fee. Sending bitcoin payments would carry a much lesser fee and could provide a new option to expats working abroad and sending money to their families at home. Related Link: Did Barclays Start The Bitcoin Bull Run? AXA In Talks AXA's Minh Q Tran said the company would like to further explore how bitcoin would function in the remittance market and that the firm is currently in talks with bitcoin-based remittance firms that are hoping to break into the industry. So far, AXA has yet to fund any cryptocurrency-related startups, but many expect that will come in the future. Other Uses Much like Barclays (NYSE: BCS ) and Citibank, AXA is also interested in exploring bitcoin's potential in other capacities within the financial space. Blockchain, the ledger-like technology that bitcoin runs on, has been touted as a viable way to facilitate many different transactions, something that several banks are looking into. AXA has said it is interested to learn how blockchain might improve transactions in real estate, intellectual property and insurance. See more from Benzinga IBM Uses Tennis To Demonstrate Its Dominance In Data WeedLife Steps Up To Fill Marijuana Advertising Gap As Consumers Get Smarter, So Do Barcodes © 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] Current price: 253.43€ $BTCEUR $btc #bitcoin 2015-07-23 18:00:04 CEST \|\| $239.86 #bitstamp; $234.00 #btce; Instantly buy GH/s with BTC: http://bit.ly/LN53k1 #bitcoin #btc \|\| BTC-E LAST 263.00$ AVERAGE 268.49$ at 16:07 UTC #Bitcoin #BTCUSD \|\| BTC-E LAST 259.00$ AVERAGE 259.84$ at 3:58 UTC #Bitcoin #BTCUSD \|\| #RDD / #BTC on the exchanges: Cryptsy: Error Bittrex: 0.00000005 Average $1.1E-5 per #reddcoin 12:00:01 \|\| buysellbitco.in #bitcoin price in INR, Buy : 18038.00 INR Sell : 17482.00 INR. Buy and sell bitcoin in #India using #buysellbitcoin \|\| BTC-E LAST 242.00€ AVERAGE 243.19€ at 4:38 UTC #Bitcoin #BTCEUR \|\| LIVE: Profit = $1,590.04 (1.10 %). BUY B525.28 @ $274.00 (#BTCe). SELL @ $275.80 (#HitBTC) #bitcoin #btc - http://www.projectcoin.org \|\| Current price: 254.2$ $BTCUSD $btc #bitcoin 2015-08-18 12:00:05 EDT \|\| RT HelpcoinDE: $1.00 USD = 3257.54 bits http://cur.lv/nm6ce #fintech #bitcoin #reddit https://twitter.com/HelpcoinDE/status/620356898571821056/photo/1pic.twitter.com/0XzjGroaq2	Trend: down \|\| Prices: 238.48, 240.11, 235.23, 230.51, 230.64, 230.30, 229.09, 229.81, 232.98, 231.49
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2017-05-10] BTC Price: 1787.13, BTC RSI: 93.16 Gold Price: 1217.30, Gold RSI: 31.40 Oil Price: 47.33, Oil RSI: 41.14 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] SEC denies a second application to list bitcoin product: By Trevor Hunnicutt NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday denied for the second time this month a request to bring to market a first-of-its-kind product tracking bitcoin, the digital currency. The SEC announced in a filing its decision denying Intercontinental Exchange Inc's NYSE Arca exchange the ability to list and trade the SolidX Bitcoin Trust, an exchange-traded product (ETP) that would trade like a stock and track the digital asset's price. Previously, the regulatory agency said it had concerns with a similar proposal by investors Cameron Winklevoss and Tyler Winklevoss. "The Commission believes that the significant markets for bitcoin are unregulated," the SEC said in its filing, echoing language from its decision earlier this month on the application by CBOE Holdings Inc's Bats exchange to list The Bitcoin ETF proposed by the Winklevoss brothers. On Friday, Bats asked the SEC to review its decision not to allow that fund to trade. "We are reviewing the SEC's order and evaluating our next steps," said Daniel H. Gallancy, chief executive officer of SolidX Partners Inc, a U.S. technology company that provides blockchain services. NYSE did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Bitcoin had scaled to a record of more than $1,300 this month, higher than the price of an ounce of gold, as investors speculated that an ETF holding the digital currency could woo more people into buying the asset. But after denial of the Winklevoss-proposed ETF, the digital currency's price plunged as much as 18 percent. It has rebounded partially since then and was at $1,041 on Tuesday, roughly unchanged from the previous day. Bitcoin is a virtual currency that can be used to move money around the world quickly and with relative anonymity, without the need for a central authority, such as a bank or government. Yet bitcoin presents a new set of risks to investors given its limited adoption, a number of massive cybersecurity breaches affecting bitcoin owners and the lack of consistent treatment of the assets by governments. There is one remaining bitcoin ETP proposal awaiting a verdict from the SEC. Grayscale Investments LLC's Bitcoin Investment Trust, backed by early bitcoin advocate Barry Silbert and his Digital Currency Group, filed an application last year. (Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt; Additional reporting by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss; Editing by David Gregorio and Cynthia Osterman) \|\| Inside the World's Greatest Scavenger Hunt, Part 1: In the fall of 2015, my teenage daughter Tia crafted a spectacular, life-sized poodle out of feminine hygiene products. “It’s a tampoodle,” she told me. She made this, uh, artwork as an audition piece—to showcase her creative skills, as a tryout for an elite team in some kind of national scavenger hunt. (She made the team.) I thought the tampoodle was cute. I thought it was great fun that Tia was joining some kind of scavenger hunt. I had no idea what kind of ride was ahead. Meet GISHWHES When most people think of a scavenger hunt, they probably imagine the list of items includes, you know, “Get the dean’s signature” or “Find a dog with a curly tail.” GISHWHES is not that. It stands for the Greatest International Scavenger Hunt the World Has Ever Seen. (Its creator acknowledges GISHWHES may be the Ugliest Acronym the World Has Ever Seen.) Teams of 15 have one week to complete about 200 extremely difficult or hilarious tasks. They prove they’ve completed each item by submitting a photo or video of it; their $20 entry fees go to a charity, and the winning team gets a trip to some exotic location with Misha Collins, the hunt’s founder. Sample items from past GISHWHES lists: • Do a dramatic reading of your grade-school report card. • Find someone you love and butter them up—literally. Cover them in butter and then give them a big hug. • Glaciers are melting—so act accordingly. Pose at a major glacier wearing a swimsuit with floaties. • Have a tea party with a pediatric cancer patient, where you’re dressed as a character from “Alice in Wonderland.” • Tour a sewage treatment plant dressed in formal attire with an accompanying violinist or flutist. • Get a child to write a letter to the universe. Launch the letter into orbit . • Film an erotically charged conversation between a housewife and pizza delivery man. The actors can ONLY talk about grammar and fonts. What astonished me is what a big deal GISHWHES is. Last year, 55,000 people registered to participate—not including all the friends and family members who lent favors, assistance, and props. ( Registration for this year’s hunt opens this week .) Story continues Some participants had to dress up as a prospector and pan for gold in a public fountain. Photo courtesy of David Pogue GISHWHES holds seven Guinness World Records, including Biggest Media Scavenger Hunt, Largest Online Photo Album of Hugs, Longest Chain of Safety Pins, Most Pledges for a Charitable Campaign, and Largest Gathering of People in French Maid Outfits. (Why is there a Guinness record for Largest Gathering of People in French Maid Outfits!?) But in the end, GISHWHES is an event that does good in the world. Over the years, GISHWHES list items have persuaded players to a) raise over $1 million for charity, b) donate hundreds of thousands of pints of blood, c) volunteer at soup kitchens, d) register thousands of citizens to vote, and e) register to become bone-marrow donors. (That last item has already saved two lives, according to GISHWHES producers.) And the 2016 hunt raised $250,000 to buy homes for five Syrian refugee families. So yes, GISHWHES is a do-gooder enterprise. But it’s also brilliantly clever, gut-bustingly funny, and positively unforgettable. So my question is: Why haven’t people heard of GISHWHES? Why isn’t it a cultural thing? Why isn’t it, at the very least, a reality show? It’d be the most entertaining show on TV. Well, if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself. With the tolerance of my superiors at Yahoo, I decided to make my own darned reality show. Above on this page is Episode 1 of a five-part series. Part 1 • Part 2 • Part 3 • Part 4 • Part 5 Misha Collins Misha Collins attends the “Supernatural” special video presentation and Q&A on Day 4 of Comic-Con International on Sunday, July 27, 2014, in San Diego. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP) GISHWHES was created, and is run to this day, by TV actor Misha Collins, a costar of the CW series “Supernatural.” (His heartthrob status helps explain why GISHWHES participants are predominantly female.) “I went to the University of Chicago,” he told me. “The University of Chicago has a scavenger hunt that we call Scav, that has been running about 30 years now. It took place over the course of a long weekend. We would completely abandon our academics and our sense of decency for those three days, and go all-out for this scavenger hunt. And I loved it. I actually think that it was one of the most educational aspects of my college experience, and infused with the most joy.” Years later, after a decade of struggling as an actor in Los Angeles, Collins finally landed a show. “I got on this TV show ‘Supernatural,’ and I developed a little bit of a fandom following, and I started to notice that there was a high level of creative engagement from our fans. That got my wheels turning. What can I do with this? How can I have fun with it?” Collins’s first side project with his fans was a charity called Random Acts . “We’ve done some pretty big projects. We built an orphanage in Haiti; we’re finishing building a high school in Nicaragua right now. But we also do myriad smaller projects all over the world—as small as bringing roses into a senior citizen home.” Then, in 2009, as a lark, Collins ran a little scavenger hunt from his Twitter account. About 300 people participated; they were instructed to photograph their submissions and send them to an email address that Collins set up. “People engaged in it with an enthusiasm and a committedness that I could not’ve anticipated,” he says now. “I remember sitting in my apartment, looking at the submissions that had come in, and thinking, ‘This is amazing!’ The art people were creating, the tasks that I thought were impossible that people were pulling off—! I remember, ‘This is what I wanna do for my life’s work. This is awesome.’” And so, in 2010, GISHWHES was born. For the 2016 hunt, I embedded myself with my daughter’s GISHWHES team for the week. I filmed their efforts and followed their frustrations and joys. In the coming episodes, you’ll get to meet them—and you’ll get go to inside world’s biggest scavenger hunt. Part 1 • Part 2 • Part 3 • Part 4 • Part 5 More from David Pogue: The David Pogue Review: Windows 10 Creators Update Now I get it: Bitcoin David Pogue tested 47 pill-reminder apps to find the best one David Pogue’s search for the world’s best air-travel app The little-known iPhone feature that lets blind people see with their fingers David Pogue, tech columnist for Yahoo Finance, welcomes non-toxic comments in the Comments below. On the web, he’s davidpogue.com . On Twitter, he’s @pogue . On email, he’s [email protected]. You can read all his articles here , or you can sign up to get his columns by email . \|\| Bitcoin Wallets Under Siege From Large Collider Attack: A group called the Large Bitcoin Collider claims it can smash open bitcoin wallets by using a so-called brute force attack, which directs mass amounts of computer power at individual wallets in order to guess their private keys. The project, which has been underway for months, relies on a distributed network of computers (similar to bitcoin itself), and invites anyone to participate--those who do could potentially share in the proceeds of the wallets cracked open. A trophy list on the home page of Collider (an apparent reference to the Hadron Collider ) suggests the group has successfully opened over a dozen wallets, though only three had any bitcoin in them. Its unclear if the group is motivated by financial gain or the cryptographic challenge of smashing wallets--the answer is probably both based on the sites webpage and outside observers. A Q&A list on the Colliders website says robbing even a tiny amount from non-profit group like the Internet archive would make you an unconditional jerk. But it also suggests other wallets are fair game, and that proceeds would be divvied up among the Collider participants. Meanwhile, others think the wallet-smashing endeavor is a fools errand, according to Motherboard , which first reported on the Large Bitcoin Collider. In this view, the project is too hard and the rewards too low and infrequent (as this Reddit commenter explains ) to pay off. But some speculate the goal of the project is not to rob a whole lot of wallets, but instead to strike a mother lode from a long-lost wallet from bitcoins early days: About 10% of Bitcoins were created early, before 2012, and have never been traded. If somebody ever finds the key of the early lost Bitcoins, theyll have a huge payoff, over a billion dollars. Speculation is that either Satoshi Nakamoto, whoever he is, is holding onto them for a big payoff, or somebody lost the private key for all those early Bitcoins. As the years go on, the second explanation seems more likely, said the top comment on the site Hacker News . Story continues Get Data Sheet , Fortune s technology newsletter. As for the process of cracking open wallets, it involves the laborious task of creating private keys--which are dozens of characters in length--and trying them against existing bitcoin addresses. The Collider has so far created and checked 3,000 trillion private keys, a researcher told Motherboard. As for the legality of all this, its unclear. On one hand, the law is pretty clear that you are not supposed to join a conspiracy in order to rob people. But on the other hand, as the groups website points out, It is not illegal to search for colliding private keys. For bitcoin owners, the risk of the Large Bitcoin Collider performing a stick-up on your private wallet is pretty tiny for now. But if the process also results in someone creating a collision for bitcoins general hashing algorithm--as happened with the longtime crypographic standard SHA-1 (cracked by this year)--that would spell a lot more trouble, though as one reader points out , bitcoins encryption algorithm can be upgraded. See original article on Fortune.com More from Fortune.com These Investors Bought the Firm Behind Bitcoin's Self-Proclaimed Inventor VC Fred Wilson Thinks Coinbase Is the Goldman Sachs of Bitcoin Why Everyone's Talking About 'Initial Coin Offerings' Why the Winklevoss Bitcoin ETF May Not Be Dead Yet Bitcoin Is Finally Starting to Settle Down \|\| What You Must Know Before Subscribing to a VPN: When the U.S. Congress voted recently to overturn a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rule requiring internet service providers (ISPs) to get a customer's permission before selling personally identifiable information, that kicked off a land rush to find virtual private network (VPN) providers to protect consumers' online privacy. There are literally hundreds of VPNs to choose from, however, and if you're not sure what these do and what they don't do, you could easily end up with a VPN that doesn't add much to your privacy except another subscription fee. The idea of a VPN is quite simple: it provides a secure (encrypted) tunnel between your device and a website, bypassing the traffic logs kept by your ISP. For example, if your ISP is in New York City, a VPN service allows you to connect with any of several servers anywhere in the world, making it look to the website that the connection is being made from one of those servers and not the ISP you use in New York. ALSO READ: Nearly 400 2017 Data Breaches Have Exposed More Than 7 Million Records Your ISP can't keep a useful log of your VPN activity because it doesn't know who requested the data or from where the requested data is coming. But your VPN knows, and that's the first thing you want to learn about any VPN provider: does the VPN keep traffic logs and, if so, what does it do with them? Some VPNs do keep traffic logs in order to provide themselves with legal protection in the event of a government request. Others keep some minimal data in order to help maintain their servers. Still others, sadly, collect the data and sell it to third parties. Because that's what you are probably trying to avoid, read the fine print and be sure to choose a service that states categorically that it does not keep logs, making sure to specify exactly the logs they don't keep. Be especially sure that the ISP does not keep activity or connection logs. ALSO READ: 14 Million Credentials Stolen from US Universities for Sale on Dark Web Story continues A good general overview of online privacy and VPNs is posted at Krebs on Security. More comprehensive tips on selecting a VPN, with more details and a comparison chart for nearly 200 VPN providers is available at That One Privacy Site. Here's a much shorter version of some of the site's guidelines: Beware of VPN review websites, which are nearly always paid reviews. Also look more carefully at affiliate VPN programs. Be aware of where the VPN service's servers are located and where in the world you will be connecting to the VPN. Check on payment methods, such as Bitcoin, cash or anonymous gift cards, that allow you to maintain your privacy. Choose a VPN that maintains its own first-party domain name server (DNS) that doesn't leak, and check it to make sure. Choose a VPN that provides an IPv6 DNS server that is only reachable through a VPN tunnel, and then test it to make sure that's true. Choose a VPN that has strong data and handshake encryption. Deciding if you want a VPN and the features of the VPN that are most important to you will take some time, and it will come with a price of around $10 a month. It's up to you to make sure you're getting the privacy protection you're paying for. Related Articles Countries Buying the Most Weapons From the US Government States Where the Most People Have Green Cards America's Happiest (and Most Miserable) States \|\| Bitcoin miners have collectively earned more than $2 billion: An interior view of U.S. bitcoin mining company Bitfury's mining farm near Keflavik Bitcoin mining has become a multi-billion dollar industry. Bitcoin miners have collectively earned over $2 billion in revenue since the cryptocurrency was established in 2008, according to an estimate from a new report published by the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance. Nearly every way the United incident could have ended differentlyin one flowchart Bitcoin mining is how transactions on the bitcoin network get processed. Transactions in bitcoin are bundled into blocks, and its the job of miners to confirm those blocks are legitimate. This happens when a miner successfully solves a cryptographic puzzle attached to each block, gaining a payout called the block reward. This payout halves every four years; the current reward is 12.5 bitcoins per block, or $15,350 at todays prices. The twist is this: miners must compete with one another with greater computational power to solve the puzzle and win the payout. These incentives have led to a massive increase in complexity and need for computational power. In bitcoins early days, people mined the cryptocurrency on their home computers. Today, server farms of thousands of custom-designed machines around the world compete with one another to solve the puzzle first. Revenues generated by the bitcoin mining sector could be significantly higher, the report says. The estimate only accounts for revenues earned from block rewards and fees paid by bitcoin users for having their transactions processed. It doesnt include revenue from selling mining equipment, or providing cloud mining services, which let subscribers share in block rewards for a fee, without having to operate their own equipment. United Airlines has exposed the moral dilemma behind rewarding customer loyalty Importantly, the estimate doesnt account for capital gains from cashing out of bitcoin strategically, since the researchers assumed block rewards were immediately converted to US dollars. Those gains could be substantial, since bitcoin has been on a historic bull run . Story continues Transaction fees have historically been a small part of miners revenue, but theyve shot up this year as the number of transactions gets closer to the bitcoin networks limit. Users are willing to pay higher fees to ensure their transactions are processed by miners. The question of how to raise the limit is at the heart of the civil war that has divided the bitcoin world. As bitcoin adoption grows, miners are prospering. Read this next: Bitcoins civil war threatens to blow up the cryptocurrency itself Sign up for the Quartz Daily Brief , our free daily newsletter with the worlds most important and interesting news. More stories from Quartz: Choose your spouse wisely: Life advice for IIM-A grads from the chief of Axis Bank Heres the best way to guess correctly on a multiple choice test \|\| A Wall Street bear warns 'bad things are about to happen,' and a recession is on the way: Investor David Tice is going deeper into bear territory, predicting that the economy is months away from a deep correction that will send stocks down by as much as 50 percent. Tice is known for his tenure as manager of the Prudent Bear Fund. He sold the fund, which depends on market pullbacks for profits, to Federated Investors just as the financial crisis was unfolding in 2008. Since the acquisition, he's been involved in private equity, film producing and charities. But he's planning his emergence from hibernation to capitalize on the potential downturn. "The market has tended to go down about every seven years. It went down in 1987, 1994, 2001 and 2008," Tice told CNBC's " Trading Nation " on Friday. "During these periods after the declines, it rallies like crazy. But now bad things are about to happen again." He sold his bear fund (NASDAQ: BEARX) when it had $1.2 billion in assets under management. According to Morningstar, it has just $254.7 million right now under Federated's leadership. CNBC reached out to Federated for a comment. The steep losses could just be a stark reminder of the nature of the stock market rebound. The S&P 500 (INDEX: .SPX) Index rebounded 92 percent since the financial crisis hit in September 2008. "The catalyst is we're 93 months into an economic recovery. We have the [Federal Reserve] starting to tighten. We have banks actually starting to tighten," he said. Tice pointed out the economy is not doing very well, with the gross domestic product growing by an anemic 0.7 percent in the first quarter. 'The bears are always early'—but they're not always right Tice's timing in selling the Prudent Bear Fund may have been pretty good, but his calls on a pullback haven't materialized. He's calling for a 30 to 50 percent S&P pullback over the next six to 10 months. He also made that prediction in 2012 and 2014. It never happened. Story continues "The bears are always early. I've certainly always been early," said Tice. "Policymakers end up doing what they think is right in order to kick the can down the road. However, now we have so many issues." If there is a correction, Tice says there are two protection plays investors should consider. Gold, which is down more than 6 percent over the past three years, is one of them. "You should own gold (Exchange: @GC.1.S) stocks... They're still priced very, very well compared to the bullion," he said. Tice says bitcoin (Exchange: BTC=-USS) makes a lot of sense, too. Unlike the bearish activity in gold, bitcoin has soared 253 percent since 2014. "It's been looked on as a fraud, as a fad, etc.," added Tice. "It truly is a competitor to debased currency. And it makes a lot of sense just from a transactional basis." Also From CNBC Watch The Profit on Yahoo View , available now on iOS and Android . More From CNBC \|\| How Sears Ruined Its CEO Eddie Lampert’s Hedge Fund: As if in sympathy with his dying retail giant, Sears CEO Eddie Lampert’s hedge fund has sunk perfectlyin line with Sears’ own decline. While shares of fell nearly 55% in 2016amid bankruptcy rumors, the assets in Lampert’s 29-year-old fund ESL Investments have dwindled a matching 55% in the same period. Sears, making up about a third of Lampert’s portfolio, was a major contributor to the the hedge fund’s shrink, but investors have also abandoned the fund recently, taking their money with them. By the end of 2016, Lampert’s fund held a mere $653 million--a sizable decline of 94% from the $16.5 billion it once managed atSears’ peak in 2007, according to securities filings. Lampert’sturnaround planfor Sears has so far not only failed to bring the struggling retailer back to health, but it has also been a personal disaster for the investor’s net worth. Lampert’s fund held $3.8 billion when he became CEO at the beginning of 2013, but those assets have dropped 84% since then, aFortuneanalysis found--even greater than Sears’74% drop in the same period. Wilson’s stake in Sears, along with Sears Canada, once worth billions of dollars, is now valued at just $285 million. At least part of the reason Lampert’s losses outpaced those of Sears’ was due to the hedge funder significantly paring down stakes in his two other major holdings, and Gap . Neither or those stocks have done well since 2013, with Gap down 39% by the end of 2016, and AutoNation down 3.3%. The flagging performance has also prompted Lampert’s shareholders to pull their money out of the fund, according to theNew York Times. This was not how Lampert, who hassworn his resolve to saveSears,envisioned how his investment would play out. Lampert had become a majority Sears stakeholder in 2004, and later helped engineer the company’s merger with Kmart in early 2005. By the time the merger had been completed, Lampert’s stake in Sears was worth $8.6 billion, amounting to a massive 72% of his portfolio. And that wasn’t the end of its glory days. By early 2007, those same shares had grown 29% in value to $11.1 billion--or 67% of his portfolio at the time. Butwhen the financial recession hit Sears, as it did with other retailers, Lampert’s own fund suffered heavily. And now, the investor and CEO appears to be losing faith in the idea of ever making his money back: Searsacknowledged last week that “substantial doubt exists”in its “ability to continue as a going concern.” See original article on Fortune.com More from Fortune.com • VC Fred Wilson Thinks Coinbase Is the Goldman Sachs of Bitcoin • Nasdaq Stocks Are Quietly Setting New Highs Every Single Day • Amazon and the Race to Be the First $1 Trillion Company • Principal Financial Group Just Accused This Hedge Fund of Hiding Investments with Bernie Madoff • Robots Are Replacing Humans at All These Wall Street Firms \|\| Why AMD Shares Jumped 7%: Shares of Advanced Micro Devices jumped 7% on Monday after a pair of Wall Street analysts issued positive notes about the company’s new line of microchips. AMD’s stock rose $0.98 to $14.47 in midday trading. The stock, which quadrupled last year, had fallen from a 10-year high of $15.55 at the end of February over concerns about slow early sales of its new chips. But those short-term worries are unfounded because ofCEO Lisa Su’s strategy of offering comparable or better performancewith competing chips at a fraction of Intel’s prices, Jeffries analyst Mark Lipacis wrote on Monday in a note. He raised his target price on AMD to $16 from $13. Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s technology newsletter. Intel has captured close to 95% market share in chips for desktops, laptops, and servers, but now AMD is poised to recapture some of that share. If AMD reaches 5% market share in all three segments, it could generate as much as $1.5 billion of additional revenue over the next few years, Lipacis forecast. Hitting 15% in the three markets could add as much as $4.6 billion. That’s more than the $4.3 billion AMD brought in for all of last year. “We have argued that AMD is in the early innings of its multi-year turnaround story, a strategy being executed upon by its new CEO,” the analyst wrote. “We think AMD’s ability to price between-the-seams while achieving competitive performance will result in meaningful share gains from (Intel) in the desktop, server, and notebook markets starting in 2017.” Wall Street and investors have beengrowing increasingly concernedabout the mounting competition for Intel. Its shares have dropped 2% so far in 2017, while the S&P 500 Index has gained 6%. Still, sales of AMD’s desktop-oriented Ryzen 7 chips, released in early March, have been held back by shortages of related parts like compatible motherboards, Susquehanna analyst Christopher Rolland noted in a report on Monday. And whilea few lesser PC makershave begun selling PCs with Ryzen chips, the heavy hitters like Dell and won’t offer AMD-laden systems until next month at the earliest, Rolland said. “We identified a few smaller PC makers that are selling Ryzen desktops, however, we believe they are just purchasing standalone processors and putting them inside pre-assembled PCs,” Rolland wrote. “No major PC OEM (HP, Lenovo, Dell, Asus) is currently selling Ryzen desktops. We estimate sales will begin in April.” See original article on Fortune.com More from Fortune.com • Bitcoin Is Finally Starting to Settle Down • This New Tactic Might Finally Lure Big Investors to Bitcoin • Software Maker MuleSoft Shares Jump on Public Debut • Why Stocks Are Better Than Leprechaun Gold on St. Patrick's Day • Snap Inc. Shares Fell Below $20 for the First Time \|\| Bitcoin Hits New All-Time High: A year ago, one Bitcoin could be had for about $450. On Thursday, the cryptocurrency peaked at just over $1,340, as measured by theCoindesk price index, before retrenching slightly to $1318 by this morning. That’s still a return of nearly 200%. Bitcoin has seen a remarkably steady rise since early 2016, fueled by globalregulatory normalization, broad interest in the technology fromenterprises and banks, and rising transaction volumes. Cryptocurrency analysts, according to Coindesk, think the trendwill continue, citing among other factors that most Bitcoin investors are long-term bulls who will take profits conservatively. Get Data Sheet,Fortune’stechnology newsletter. But the very transaction volume that is Bitcoin’s key fundamental also presents a serious medium-term threat, as the system has struggled to keep up. Transaction speeds have become impractical for merchant payments, and fees have risen, making the system less competitive with conventional payment systems such as credit cards. Struggles over how to fix the problem have raisedthe spectre of a network split-though that could, at least theoretically, give holders additional value in a manner akin to a stock split. Bitcoin had a notable previous peak of around $979 way back in November of 2013 (Coindesk’s number seems conservative here-Coinmarketcaprecords a 2013 peak of $1149). That push was fueled by a wave of mainstream media attention, but prices slumped through 2015 on the realization that the tech’s promise would take some time to fulfill, dipping as low as $204 that August. This article was originally published on FORTUNE.com \|\| Bitcoin dives after the SEC shoots down plans for another bitcoin ETF: (Attendants pose with a bitcoin sign during the opening of Hong Kong's first bitcoin retail store.Reuters/Bobby Yip) Bitcoin has slid into negative territory after the US Securities and Exchange Commission rejected the plans for the SolidX Bitcoin ETF.The cryptocurrency is down 0.7% at $1,033 a coin. It was as high as $1,066 earlier on Tuesday. The regulator cited the fact that bitcoin is traded on unregulated markets, which means the SEC wouldn't be able to prevent fraud or market manipulation.In its ruling theSEC said: "As discussed further below, the Commission is disapproving this proposed rule change because it does not find the proposal to be consistent with Section 6(b)(5) of the Exchange Act, which requires, among other things, that the rules of a national securities exchange be designed to prevent fraudulent and manipulative acts and practices and to protect investors and the public interest. The Commission believes that, in order to meet this standard, an exchange that lists and trades shares of commodity-trust exchange-traded products (“ETPs”) must, in addition to other applicable requirements, satisfy two requirements that are dispositive in this matter. First, the exchange must have surveillance-sharing agreements with significant markets for trading the underlying commodity or derivatives on that commodity. And second, those markets must be regulated. Tuesday's announcement follows a similar ruling that was reached on March 10, when the SEC said it had rejected the Winklevoss twins' bitcoin ETF. 2017 has been a volatile year for bitcoin. The cryptocurrency gained 20% in the first week of the year, but soon crashed 35% after reports surfaced that China was going to crack down on trading. First,China's biggest exchanges started charging a flat fee of 0.2% per transaction, then they announced they wereblocking customer withdrawals. But bitcoin continued to climb higher, putting in a peak of $1,327 a coin shortly before the SEC rejected the Winklevoss ETF. Since then, however, bitcoin has tumbled more than 20% following reports developers were threatening a "hard fork" that would split the currency in two. Bitcoin has been the top-performing currency every year since 2010, aside from 2014. A third SEC ruling on a bitcoin ETF, by Grayscale Investments, is also expected to be rejected; although the timing of a final decision is not yet known. (Investing.com) NOW WATCH:7 mega-billionaires who made a fortune last year More From Business Insider • Bitcoin tanks below $1,000 • Bitcoin spikes above $1,000 • Bitcoin tumbles below $1,000 [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] #Bitcoin -0.40% Ultima: R$ 3903.52 Alta: R$ 3950.00 Baixa: R$ 3851.01 Fonte: Foxbit \|\| One Bitcoin now worth $1329.93@bitstamp. High $1347.02. Low $1299.00. Market Cap $21.675 Billion #bitcoin \|\| .- Pagina buena y Segura para ganar Bitcoins, hasta 500 #Satochis cada 20 minutos #Bitcoin https://cards.twitter.com/cards/18ce53yr6xi/1eiul … \|\| #bitcoin #miner Antminer R4 8.0TH/s Bitcoin Miner with Power Supply - Ready for Mining $1795.00 http://ift.tt/2onqAIh pic.twitter.com/uctkODNocv \|\| 1 DOGE Price: Bter 0.00000050 BTC #doge #dogecoin 2017-04-26 00:31 pic.twitter.com/TsgOVNFg7N \|\| It's April 22, 2017 at 07:59AM and #Bitcoin $BTC is $1234.00 Lets make some #Money today! \|\| Bitcoin Mais - Bitcoins Grátis - R$ 7.000,00 por Mês http://ow.ly/o9PI30a9sOc \|\| $BTC Current price of Bitcoin is $1203.00 #bitcoin \| More on #CryptoPresshttp://ift.tt/2lgMf2q \|\| Current price of Bitcoin is $1214.00 via Chain \|\| #Bitcoin -0.54% Ultima: R$ 3540.70 Alta: R$ 3584.00 Baixa: R$ 3485.01 Fonte: Foxbit	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 1848.57, 1724.24, 1804.91, 1808.91, 1738.43, 1734.45, 1839.09, 1888.65, 1987.71, 2084.73
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis] Not fully available. [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Bitcoin Direct LLC Enters Las Vegas Market; Agreement Includes: ATM, Payment Processing, and Sponsorship: NEW YORK, NY and LAS VEGAS, NV--(Marketwired - Jul 8, 2015) - Conexus Cattle Corp. (OTC PINK:CNXS) announced today that their subsidiary, Bitcoin Direct LLC, a Nevada limited liability company ("Bitcoin" or the "Company"), will install an automated bitcoin ATM Machine at One Kick Nick's Mixed Martial Arts Gym located at 121 East Sunset Blvd. in Las Vegas, Nevada. Bitcoin ATMs provide consumers with the ability to instantaneously purchase bitcoins through their mobile devices. This is the first of several ATMs expected to be installed by Bitcoin Direct in Las Vegas. Additionally, the Company will process bitcoin payments for the gym, allowing members and guests to pay for memberships and merchandise in bitcoin. The Company believes this is the first gym in the country to accept bitcoin. As part of the agreement, the Company will become a sponsor of the gym, which will include the ability to place display ads in the facility. One Kick Nick's Mixed Martial Arts Gym is home to numerous professional mixed martial arts fighters who regularly compete on national television for the UFC, Bellator, and World Series of Fighting. Conrad Huss, President of Conexus commented: "We believe our bitcoin ATM will begin generating revenue immediately upon installation. The Company's relationship with One Kick Nick's Mixed Martial Arts Gym is an example of the Company's ability to provide a complete solution for businesses of any size interested in accepting bitcoin. We look forward to creating a host of business partnerships with this product." About Bitcoin Direct LLC,Conexus Cattle Corp. (OTC PINK:CNXS) subsidiary, Bitcoin Direct, LLC, a Nevada limited liability company, provides bitcoin transaction solutions for consumer. Bitcoin's initial focus is installing and servicing its bitcoin ATMs (automated bitcoin machines) in multiple locations across the U.S. The bitcoin ATMs provide consumers with the ability to instantaneously purchase bitcoins through their mobile devices. Currently, the Company has installations serving New York City. ATMs present a convenient solution for bitcoin consumers to exchange cash for bitcoins. In addition, the Company plans to offer a full range of bitcoin transaction solutions to a wide variety of industries including remittance and gaming, among others. Safe HarborThis press release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The forward-looking statements are based on current expectations, estimates and projections made by management. The Company intends for the forward-looking statements to be covered by the safe harbor provisions for forward-looking statements. Words such as "anticipates," "expects," "intends," "plans," "believes," "seeks," "estimates," or variations of such words are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release include statements regarding the elimination of debt positioning the Company for growth and the vote of confidence in the growth plans. All forward-looking statements in this press release are made as of the date of this press release, and the Company assumes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements other than as required by law. The forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those set forth or implied by any forward-looking statements and include the Company's ability to complete its intended growth plans in a timely manner and the other factors discussed in Current Reports on Form 8-K. Copies of these filings are available atwww.sec.gov. \|\| CCEDK and Bit-X Release Nanocard: The First True Crypto-Debit Card: CCEDK has announced that it is coming out with its own Bitcoin debit card BLOKHUS, DENMARK / ACCESSWIRE / July 13, 2015 /In addition to strictly storing the funds as Bitcoin or USD, the user will have the option to store their money as a BitShares BitAsset. Also referred to as SmartCoins, they would be pegged to the value of the dollar or another major currency. "A new generation of 2.0 coins is being used to address the volatility issue. BitShares' SmartCoins will be available as funding options for the NanoCard in the coming months, meaning that customer balances can be safely stored as crypto coins pegged to USD, EUR, CNY or even gold and silver, and converted only at the time of use," explained CEO Ronnie Boesing. This is a fundamentally lacking feature in many card programs available to Bitcoiners, although Bitreserve has come along way to deal with the problem of volatility. The new card will be called the NanoCard and will be broadly available to customers of the exchange beginning today. The NanoCard is a collaboration betweenDanish bitcoin exchange CCEDKandforex platform Bit-x, which aims to show how virtual currencies are finally coming of age. Ronnie Boesing believes that something like the NanoCard could be a "killer app" for Bitcoin, saying. "Bit-x, CCEDK, Cryptonomex, BitShares: each provides a part of the puzzle and the result is bitcoin's killer app." However, there are a number of other Bitcoin debit cards out there, including some that allow the user to receive part of their pay in Bitcoin, and then still have access to the funds for spending even after the conversion to bitcoin. Regardless, those atCCEDK were excited to releaseadebit cardfor their traders to make use of. According to CEO Mr. Boesing, "We have combined the strengths of digital currencies pioneered by bitcoin with the universal acceptance of major credit cards. It's the combination of technologies that makes the NanoCard so powerful. We are extremely proud to have partnered with Bit-x after just a year in business. The result is perhaps the world's first true crypto-debit card. No one can tell you how to use your own money and thanks to Bit-x this will be accepted everywhere." Additionally, CCEDK is partnering with Cryptonomex in order to provide new security measures to protect funds and trading. Part of what Cryptonomex will do is create auditing and transparency layers for CCEDK's customers to have an opportunity to verify what's on the exchange. Transparency is an element of strength for any exchange, as the Bitcoin community learned, through events like Mt. Gox, what a severe lack of transparency can do. "You won't have to worry about our exchange being hacked or whether it is honest or solvent," explains Boesing. Contact CCEDK \| Crypto Coins Exchange Denmark Aps: Ronny [email protected]ærvej 6, Hune, DK-9492 Blokhus Denmark SOURCE:CCEDK.com \|\| Goldman Sachs' former technology chief is doing great business at his new payments company: (Earthport)Earthport CEO Hank Uberoi, who is Goldman Sachs' former co-COO for technology. Earthport, the cloud-based payment platform run by Goldman Sachs' former co-COO of technology,Hank Uberoi,put out unaudited results for the year to June on Wednesday— and they're pretty good. The London-based company's revenue jumped 78% last year to £19.25 million ($30 million). The dollar value of payments made on Earthport's cloud-platform rose by 75%, and the company is on track to process $10 billion (£6.4 billion) worth of transactions by the end of the year. Earthport is trying to build a faster, more tech savvy, international payments network, built on the cloud. The current systems of so-called payment "rails" were built decades ago, and are slow and costly. Thirty-one new customers signed up to the platform last year and big names like HSBC, Santander, and Standard Chartered all started routing payments through Earthport's system. Uberoi said in today's statement: "We are pleased and enthusiastic about the acceptance of the Earthport payment network as a truly valuable and innovative solution in the massive payments market." He said the medium- to long-term potential for Earthport's technology is "significant." Investors are clearly buying in to that theory. Earthport's shares, which are listed on London's market for growing companies AIM, are up 6% at a one-month high. (Investing.com)Earthport shares are jumping. NOW WATCH:The science behind losing weight More From Business Insider • Citigroup beats earnings estimates • Goldman Sachs had a great quarter … if you ignore legal costs • Bitcoin is the 'Napster' of finance — and there'll be an iTunes \|\| The Future of Money; Bitcoin and Ether Shake It Up With Crypto-Currencies That Disrupt and Innovate: POINT ROBERTS, WA and NEW YORK, NY --(Marketwired - July 23, 2015) - Investorideas.com, a global news source covering leading sectors including Bitcoin and payment technology, release commentary about new crypto-currencies including Bitcoin and Ether. Experts from both sectors talk about the future of money as we know it and how to prepare for this new future. Brad Moynes of Bit-X Financial ( BITXF ) , Ryan Rabaglia, head of Wholesale, ANX, Terrence Dempsey of The Bitcoin Investment Trust ( GBTC ) and Gavin Wood of The Ethereum Project talk about disruption, opportunity and crypto-currencies. Wedbush's recent bullish prediction of $400 Bitcoin prices has created buzz in the space and the industry is full of headlines -- with new entries from traditional financial institutions. Two pure public plays in the sector share insight from their perspectives and experience in Bitcoin. Brad Moynes, CEO of Bit-X Financial ( BITXF ) , recently launched a new Bitcoin exchange branded under the name Digatrade ( https://digatrade.com/ ) and discussed how he sees Bitcoin as a disruptive currency with a long term future. Brad's financial markets background that includes investment banking and corporate finance makes him pay attention to the recent entries into the Bitcoin market from key players on Wall Street, he told us. He sees regulation shaping the future of Bitcoin as it moves forward but his regulatory compliance background makes him comfortable with the process. Digatrade (powered by ANX Technology) just launched at the end of June with Canadian currency and is working on multi-currency payment processing including USD, GBP & EUR next. It also recently announced it has enabled Canadian-based customer deposits via eCheck; "a significant milestone," Brad said, "Bitcoin is transforming the way consumers and businesses operate. Whether for cost-savings, speed, security or opening new market opportunities, visionary companies all over the world are turning to Bitcoin for their next phase of growth." Story continues Brad also stated, "The evolution of finance is here for institutions. DigaTrade works with financial institutions across the world to enable them to harness the power of digital-currency. We provide a range of institutional storage and liquidity tools for accredited clients and provide access to advanced crypto-fiat transfer protocols and solutions." He went on to say, "We believe we are creating an exchange that will give traders, businesses and institutions a world-class platform that is secure and user-friendly, creating an even playing field for anyone wanting to trade Bitcoin and participate in the future of money." Ryan Rabaglia, head of Wholesale ANX, a Hong Kong-based company that is one of the most used Bitcoin exchange platforms worldwide, said, "It should come as no surprise that the consistently intensifying attraction to Bitcoin in China is very real. Transaction volumes out of China have been leading the way from a global perspective even prior to us experiencing peak prices in December 2013 and today is no different. With market prices and general trading interest recently being revived, a drive towards steady trading activity has been viewed here in Asia, on and off exchange." He also said, "This, of course, has much deeper implications than the daily price of Bitcoin. We are seeing a real interest from a payments and funds transfer perspective as well. The interest for sizeable foreign investment has long been a stumbling block for Chinese citizens and Bitcoin offers that potential gateway." Investorideas.com also talked to Terrence Dempsey of The Bitcoin Investment Trust ( GBTC ) to explain to investors the direct relationship of the Bitcoin pricing to the estimated share price of the recent 'outperform rating' on the stock from Wedbush. Terrence explained, "The Bitcoin Investment Trust was created to give investors the ability to gain exposure to the price movements of Bitcoin without the challenges of buying and storing Bitcoin on their own and providing this exposure through a traditional titled security. As such, the Net Asset Value of the Trust is a direct representation of the price of Bitcoin. Each share of The Bitcoin Investment Trust represents approximately 0.1 Bitcoin and the Trust's Net Asset Value is set each business day using a 24-hour volume weighted price of Bitcoin based on TradeBlock's XBX Index." He went on to explain, "The Bitcoin Investment Trust is a passive investment vehicle that only adds Bitcoin based on new investments and does not engage in the forecasting of prices or rely on any external research." He also said, "Traditional payment providers or processers are likely going to need to innovate by either incorporating Bitcoin or another form of digital payments to increase efficiency and reduce costs in order to survive. We believe that many of these firms are actively looking at Bitcoin as a potential solution." In talking about the future he noted, "In the short-term, Bitcoin has the opportunity to disrupt and innovate the payment space, particularly in global remittances and micro-payments. The ease of transacting and reduced costs when using Bitcoin compared to alternatives makes it a compelling choice. Further, with the influx of interest and investment from Wall Street in Bitcoin and Bitcoin related start-ups, it has the opportunity to overhaul the existing financial system making for more efficient trading and settlement of assets." Gavin Wood of The Ethereum Project told Investorideas.com, "It exists as platform for managing the core 'business logic' of decentralised applications; the component typically managed by a server, databases and so forth for traditional, centralised applications. Through using blockchain technology, Ethereum provides unprecedented guarantees of security, auditability, availability and interoperability for all kinds of applications. To avoid potential 'spamming' problems, the Ethereum platform has an internal token ('Ether') allowing users of the platform to pay the validators ('miners') for their contribution in doing the computation and securing the network. In some ways, Ether could be considered similar to the crypto-currency Bitcoin, however it differs in so much as Ether is not intended to be used as a general means of payment. In simple terms, the notion of a decentralised web is a web without web servers. At present all web applications, such as eBay and Facebook, are 100% dependent on centralised servers, operated by specific for-profit corporations. Being centralised, they slurp up as much information on their users in an effort to boost their power and future profits. Such corporations, we have painfully learnt, care very little about the privacy of their users or the integrity of their users' data. All too often important data (e.g. buying habits, payment information) is sold by, leaked by or stolen from the corporation. Punishment is rare and insignificant. Users are becoming increasingly savvy but as yet, few reasonable options exist for those displeased with the present state of affairs. The decentralised web, or 'Web 3.0,' is a collection of technologies that utilise modern peer-based network designs to decentralise all aspects of data publication, application logic and signaling. Through protocols such as Whisper, Ethereum and Swarm we can start to imagine how rich web and mobile applications like eBay, Facebook, and Uber could be realized, without the need of centralised servers or an expensive intermediary. Users would share the maintenance of all infrastructure and consolidate the application logic such a reputation systems and payment mechanisms themselves. Well understood mathematical principles, similar to those on which Bitcoin is based, would guard users from disreputable operators or insecure payments. A vastly simplified software infrastructure and smooth interoperation would allow services to be 'mashed-up' (combined) to unleash exciting potential business opportunities previously possible only through cumbersome cross-industry partnerships (e.g. imagine AirBnB with a simple checkbox for an Uber-based airport pickup). Through all of this, users would be safe in the knowledge that they share only as much data as is strictly required for the application to function; never giving away sensitive payment information and never having to trust one faceless organization over another. While this is an inconvenient truth now, it will become even more important as the data that our device manufacturers own begins to include information of a decidedly private and personal nature never before collected; how we sleep, how much we exercise, who we sleep with, our passing interests and so on. Ethereum, or more accurately, the Ethereum Foundation, a non-profit organization based in Switzerland tasked with the initial development of the Ethereum Protocol and its subsequent advocacy and education, has developed the first piece of the puzzle. The efforts over the past 18-or-so months of myself, Vitalik and Jeff, together with our many developers and support staff, are nearly at a culmination with the release of the so-called 'Frontier' software, the first version of Ethereum capable of forming a secure network. However, decentralising the web is a lofty goal and is unlikely achievable by the foundation's efforts alone. I think it will take the cooperation of a number of projects such as IPFS, Telehash and well-aligned profit-orientated enterprises before we really begin to see the bigger picture. Once the foundation bows out from its tenure as a software developer, I fully expect to see many from the Ethereum Project move to develop within the ecosystem under a more entrepreneurial venture." For investors considering investing in crypto-currency opportunities, be prepared for a fast and furious ride as the future of money races ahead of all us. Bit-X Financial Corp. ( BITXF ) is a Vancouver, British Columbia based Company listed on the OTC.QB under the trading symbol BITXF. The Company owns and operates a digital currency exchange and internet financial services company: DIGATRADE™. BITXF is a reporting issuer in the Province of British Columbia, Canada with the British Columbia Securities Commission "BCSC" and in the United States with the Securities Exchange Commission "SEC." https://digatrade.com/ ANX - Your Crypto Connection www.anxbtc.com - Easy, Secure, and Affordable www.anxpro.com - Altcoins, Algos, and Performance About The Bitcoin Investment Trust ( GBTC ) The Bitcoin Investment Trust is a private, open-ended trust that is invested exclusively in Bitcoin and derives its value solely from the price of Bitcoin. It enables investors to gain exposure to the price movement of Bitcoin without the challenge of buying, storing, and safekeeping Bitcoins. The BIT's sponsor is Grayscale Investments, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Digital Currency Group. About Investorideas.com InvestorIdeas.com newswire is a global investor news source covering multiple sectors including Bitcoin and payment technology. Follow Investorideas.com on Twitter http://twitter.com/#!/Investorideas Follow Investorideas.com on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/Investorideas Sign up for free news alerts at Investorideas.com http://www.investorideas.com/Resources/Newsletter.asp Disclaimer/ Disclosure: The Investorideas.com newswire is a third party publisher of news and research as well as creates original content as a news source. Original content created by investorideas is protected by copyright laws other than syndication rights. Investorideas is a news source on Google news syndication partners. Our site does not make recommendations for purchases or sale of stocks or products. Nothing on our sites should be construed as an offer or solicitation to buy or sell products or securities. All investment involves risk and possible loss of investment. This site is currently compensated by featured companies, news submissions, content marketing and online advertising. Contact each company directly for press release questions. Disclosure is posted on each release if required but otherwise the news was not compensated for and is published for the sole interest of our readers. Disclosure: BITXF is a PR client of Investorideas.com and compensates us for news publication, PR and media. (two thousand five hundred per month and 144 shares) More info: http://www.investorideas.com/About/News/Clientspecifics.asp and http://www.investorideas.com/About/Disclaimer.asp BC Residents and Investor Disclaimer : Effective September 15 2008 - all BC investors should review all OTC and Pink sheet listed companies for adherence in new disclosure filings and filing appropriate documents with Sedar. Read for more info: http://www.bcsc.bc.ca/release.aspx?id=6894 . Global investors must adhere to regulations of each country. \|\| Bitcoin is faltering at a bad, bad time for Greece: (GettyImages/Pacific Press) Bitcoin's decentralized system is leaving loophole for technical errors — reminding investors that virtual money might not bethe perfect alternative to paper,Bloomberg's Olga Kharif reports. At least not yet. As some Greeks rushed to buy Bitcoinduring bank closures,the payment system, which has been trading at its highest since March, took a stumble over the weekend. It took nearly five-times longer than usual to process transactions, said Gil Luria, an analyst at Wedbush Securities. A payment could take up to five hours to be confirmed, while some users were also unable to create new Bitcoin, he said. The lag was caused by an update to the payment system's PC software over the weekend — or more precisely, it was caused by a disjunction in the versions of software users own. Operators who hadn't updated the software "put the whole system out of whack," the article said. Though the issue is expected to be fixed within a few days, it's not the first time Bitcoin has seen this kind of software problem, Luria said. "I don't know that it's (ever) happened to this extent, because Bitcoin has never been this big," he said. Bitcoin's customer base has increased, with nearly 120,000 transactions occurring a day in early June — an increase of 10 times since the same period in 2011, reported Coindesk, a Bitcoin-focused newsdesk.Last week, Coinbase, a Bitcoin exchange and wallet provider, waived fees for customers buying with euros due to the Greek Crisis. According to Bloomberg, software updates will be much smoother if companies take more market share from Bitcoin machine hobbyists. "This is test of a decentralized network," Luria said. "Every time Bitcoin passes one of these tests, it gets stronger." Read the original article at Bloomberg> NOW WATCH:Here's what you get when you order 'Omaha Steaks' in the mail More From Business Insider • Former DEA agent admits to stealing bitcoins while investigating Silk Road • How Greece went bust • A Greek politician told us Grexit will '100%' happen if 'No' wins on Sunday — and plans are already being made \|\| What to watch on Monday: The " Fast Money " traders gave their final thoughts of the day. Steve Grasso was watching the S&P 500 (CME:Index and Options Market: .INX) 's technical levels. David Seaburg was a buyer of TWTR (NYSE: TWTR) . Brian Kelly had his eye on the DXY (Exchange: .DXY) . Guy Adami was also watching key levels of the S&P 500 (CME:Index and Options Market: .INX) . Trader disclosure: On August 21, 2015 the following stocks and commodities mentioned or intended to be mentioned on CNBC's "Fast Money" were owned by the "Fast Money" traders: Brian Kelly is long BBRY, BTC=; DAX, DXGE, ITB, TAN, TSL, TWTR call spread, U.S. Dollar; he is short AUDJPY, GBPJPY, Euro, Ruble, Yen, Yuan. Today he bought DAX, DXGE, US Dollar. Today he sold VIX and Euro. Today he closed his CAC40 short position. Today he shorted Euro and Yen. Guy Adami is long CELG, EXAS, INTC, Guy Adami's wife, Linda Snow, works at Merck. Steve Grasso is long AAPL, BA, BAC, CC, DD, DIS, DECK, EVGN, FIT, KBH, MJNA, MU, PFE, PHM, T, TWTR, GDX. His kids are long EFA, EFG, EWJ, IJR, SPY. His firm and some of its partners are long WLL, DNR, DVN, TWTR, NE, NEM, OXY, RIG, TSE, VALE. More From CNBC Top News and Analysis Latest News Video Personal Finance \|\| Will The New York Times Piece Damage Amazon?: On August 15, the New York Times published an article slamming e-commerce giant Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN ) for its unforgiving corporate culture. The piece describes in with anecdotal stories how employees are pushed to their limits in an environment that thrives on tension and inspires fear. The piece gained traction on social media and many customers said it was enough to stop them from using the service in the future. However, shares of Amazon are up 72.46 percent year-to-date, leading many to wonder just how much damage the article will do. Bezos Strikes Back Following the release of the article, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos sent out a staff memo in which he asked employees to contact him directly if they'd received the kind of treatment the New York Times had described. He maintained that Amazon's culture is very different from what was depicted and said he was shocked by the stories told. Other current Amazon employees took to the Internet in defense of Amazon, saying that the descriptions were inaccurate and that the company has been misrepresented. Related Link: Amazon's Quarter Was A 'Full-On Crusher' Solid Performance While the article may have temporarily tarnished Amazon's glow, the company's solid Q2 performance is likely to overshadow complaints about management from an investors' perspective. In July, the company released strong Q2 sales and impressive financials which suggest that Amazon is on an upward trajectory. From a money-making point of view, the article has done little hurt the retail giant's appeal. Public Perception In the social media age, public perception is a huge part of a company's success. SeaWorld Entertainment Inc . (NYSE: SEAS ) lost a huge volume of customers after being slammed in the media for its treatment of orcas and Amazon similarly runs the risk of being known as a cruel company that treats its workers poorly, something that could deter shoppers from using the site. However, so far the fallout from the article appears to be minimal, with most expecting more outrageous comments from the 2016 Presidential hopefuls to redirect the public's attention in the coming days. Story continues See more from Benzinga What's Happening To Media Stocks? Bitcoin Rewards Gain Popularity Bitcoin, Marijuana And Drones: Meet Trees © 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| Louis C.K. Embraces Bitcoin: Comedian Louis C.K. has joined the fast-expanding number of merchants who now accept bitcoin as a payment method by making it possible for fans to download his comedy shows and pay using the cryptocurrency. His decision toincorporate bitcoinon his website underscored the digital currency's growing presence in the entertainment industry, which many believe will ultimately help lead to mainstream adoption. Bitcoin Integration On Louis C.K.'s website, fans can download the comedian's albums and recordings and pay anywhere between $1 and $85. In order to give his supporters another way to pay, Louis C.K. partnered with payment processor BitPay to allow bitcoin supporters to use their mobile wallets. The new option is also beneficial to Louis C.K. who is able to avoid the high transaction fees charged by other processors likePayPal Holdings Inc(NASDAQ:PYPL). Related Link:Could Mike Tyson Become The New Face For Bitcoin? Positive Reception So far, his decision to incorporate bitcoin has received a positive reaction from fans. It appears that some of Louis C.K.'s supporters are a part of the bitcoin community, and have already begun using the new payment option to purchase the comedian's recordings. A Boost This is not the first time that bitcoin has been a hot topic in the entertainment space. Earlier this summer a new film called "Dope" announced that movie goers could purchase their tickets using the cryptocurrency. The film also incorporated bitcoin into its plot, giving digital currencies more exposure. Many believe that the adoption of bitcoin in the entertainment industry is essential to the cryptocurrency's mainstream adoption. Not only will it bring attention to the currency, but it may help to undo some of the negative publicity that bitcoin has received in past years after hacking attacks and scams made it out to be a tool for criminals. Image credit:Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Flickr See more from Benzinga • Is Medical Marijuana Effective? • What's Happening To Media Stocks? • Japan Says Bitcoin Can't Be Owned © 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| C&W Unveils the 'New' Flow and Creates History in Barbados: BRIDGETOWN, BARBADOS--(Marketwired - Jul 16, 2015) - Telecoms history was made in Barbados today as Cable & Wireless Communications (C&W) officially launched its retail brand, Flow, for its newly combined consumer group. The 'new' Flow will deliver a compelling set of quad play products and services via its Fibre to the Home (FTTH) infrastructure set to reach 100% of Barbados homes by year end. This will make Barbados the first country in the world to have 100% FTTH coverage. "We are pleased to usher in a new culture of innovation and technical excellence, backed by major investments in our Fibre to the Home infrastructure," said John Reid, President of C&W Consumer Group. With our combined strengths, Barbados consumers will have access to the most technologically advanced quad play products in the region, through our mobile, video, landline and broadband services. Reid also said that the foundation of the new Flow brand strategy was consistent with the positive characteristics of the Caribbean. "We are driven by all that is positive in the Caribbean," he said. "The people, the passion, and the drive to succeed. Against that backdrop, we commit to continue our focus on innovation, technical excellence and great customer service." Flow also unveiled plans to become #1 for customer experience in Barbados and the region. According to Niall Sheehy, the Country Manager for Flow Barbados, "Flow will realise this bold vision by making significant changes across our operations to drive an outstanding customer experience, which will extend beyond the obvious frontline transactions." Sheehy said that, "In all departments and in each role the goal will be to put the customer first in every aspect of our business." The 'unveil' of the new brand, follows the announcement in March by C&W to merge its operations with Columbus International. C&W will follow this inaugural launch throughout the Caribbean on a phased, country-by-country basis over the next twelve months. Story continues About Cable & Wireless Communications: Cable & Wireless Communications Plc (CWC) is a full service communications and entertainment provider, operating in the Caribbean and Latin America. With annual sales of over $2.4 billion, it operates both mobile and fixed networks, supported by submarine and terrestrial optical fibre backhaul capacity. Through the acquisition of Columbus International Inc. on 31 March 2015, CWC now delivers superior high-speed mobile data, broadband and TV/video services. It has leading market positions in Mobile, Fixed Line, Broadband and TV consumer offers. Through its business division, CWC provides data centre hosting, domestic and international managed network services, and customised IT service solutions, utilising cloud technology to serve business and government customers. The company also operates a state-of-the-art subsea fibre optic cable network that spans more than 42,000 km -- the most extensive in the region -- as well as 38,000 km of terrestrial fibre providing wholesale and carrier backhaul capacity. CWC has more than 7,500 employees serving over 6 million customers (Mobile 3.8m; Fixed Line 1.1m; TV 430k and Broadband 650k) as well as over 125k corporate clients across 42 countries. The Company's leading brands include: LIME and Flow in the Caribbean; BTC in The Bahamas; Mas Movil in Panama; C&W Business and C&W Networks. CWC is the market leader in most products offered and territories served. It is a major contributor to local communities through its corporate social responsibility programmes. Cable & Wireless Communications' shares are quoted on the London Stock Exchange under the ticker CWC. The company is headquartered in London with its operational hub located in Miami, within close proximity to the Caribbean and Latin America. For more information visit: http://www.cwc.com . \|\| CCEDK and Bit-X Release Nanocard: The First True Crypto-Debit Card: CCEDK has announced that it is coming out with its own Bitcoin debit card BLOKHUS, DENMARK / ACCESSWIRE / July 13, 2015 / In addition to strictly storing the funds as Bitcoin or USD, the user will have the option to store their money as a BitShares BitAsset. Also referred to as SmartCoins, they would be pegged to the value of the dollar or another major currency. "A new generation of 2.0 coins is being used to address the volatility issue. BitShares' SmartCoins will be available as funding options for the NanoCard in the coming months, meaning that customer balances can be safely stored as crypto coins pegged to USD, EUR, CNY or even gold and silver, and converted only at the time of use," explained CEO Ronnie Boesing. This is a fundamentally lacking feature in many card programs available to Bitcoiners, although Bitreserve has come along way to deal with the problem of volatility. The new card will be called the NanoCard and will be broadly available to customers of the exchange beginning today. The NanoCard is a collaboration between Danish bitcoin exchange CCEDK and forex platform Bit-x , which aims to show how virtual currencies are finally coming of age. Ronnie Boesing believes that something like the NanoCard could be a "killer app" for Bitcoin, saying. "Bit-x, CCEDK, Cryptonomex, BitShares: each provides a part of the puzzle and the result is bitcoin's killer app." However, there are a number of other Bitcoin debit cards out there, including some that allow the user to receive part of their pay in Bitcoin, and then still have access to the funds for spending even after the conversion to bitcoin. Regardless, those at CCEDK were excited to r e lease a debit card for their traders to make use of. According to CEO Mr. Boesing, "We have combined the strengths of digital currencies pioneered by bitcoin with the universal acceptance of major credit cards. It's the combination of technologies that makes the NanoCard so powerful. We are extremely proud to have partnered with Bit-x after just a year in business. The result is perhaps the world's first true crypto-debit card. No one can tell you how to use your own money and thanks to Bit-x this will be accepted everywhere." Additionally, CCEDK is partnering with Cryptonomex in order to provide new security measures to protect funds and trading. Part of what Cryptonomex will do is create auditing and transparency layers for CCEDK's customers to have an opportunity to verify what's on the exchange. Transparency is an element of strength for any exchange, as the Bitcoin community learned, through events like Mt. Gox, what a severe lack of transparency can do. "You won't have to worry about our exchange being hacked or whether it is honest or solvent," explains Boesing. Story continues Contact CCEDK \| Crypto Coins Exchange Denmark Aps: Ronny Boesing +45-36-98-11-50 [email protected] Tyttebærvej 6, Hune, DK-9492 Blokhus Denmark SOURCE: CCEDK.com View comments [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] buysellbitco.in #bitcoin price in INR, Buy : 17809.00 INR Sell : 17245.00 INR. Buy and sell bitcoin in #India using #buysellbitcoin \|\| $282.94 #bitstamp; $278.00 #btce; Instantly buy GH/s with BTC: http://bit.ly/LN53k1 #bitcoin #btc \|\| buysellbitco.in #bitcoin price in INR, Buy : 17481.00 INR Sell : 16943.00 INR. Buy and sell bitcoin in #India using #buysellbitcoin \|\| buysellbitco.in #bitcoin price in INR, Buy : 17468.00 INR Sell : 16914.00 INR. Buy and sell bitcoin in #India using #buysellbitcoin \|\| bitcoin rate-2015-07-30 PDT start_rate:$289.64 current_rate:$289.00(-0.22%) #bitstamp @MoneysEdge http://www.moneysedge.com/bitcoin \|\| In the last 10 mins, there were arb opps spanning 17 exchange pair(s), yielding profits ranging between $0.00 and $1,416.27 #bitcoin #btc \|\| Current price: 186.11£ $BTCGBP $btc #bitcoin 2015-07-30 10:00:05 BST \|\| buysellbitco.in #bitcoin price in INR, Buy : 18028.00 INR Sell : 17476.00 INR. Buy and sell bitcoin in #India using #buysellbitcoin \|\| buysellbitco.in #bitcoin price in INR, Buy : 18625.00 INR Sell : 18025.00 INR. Buy and sell bitcoin in #India using #buysellbitcoin \|\| buysellbitco.in #bitcoin price in INR, Buy : 17877.00 INR Sell : 17297.00 INR. Buy and sell bitcoin in #India using #buysellbitcoin	Trend: no change \|\| Prices: 228.17, 210.49, 221.61, 225.83, 224.77, 231.40, 229.78, 228.76, 230.06, 228.12
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis] Not fully available. [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Charities Are Turning To Bitcoin: A black cloud of skepticism has hung over bitcoin for the past year after several high-profile cases made the cryptocurrency out to be a criminal tool used for illicit purchases and scamming. However, as more and more merchants begin to adopt the cryptocurrency, many expect that it is heading toward mainstream adoption. With that in mind, several charities have opened their minds, and bank accounts, to accepting bitcoin. The Benefit Of Bitcoin Many charities like Save the Children, the American Red Cross, and Greenpeace have started accepting bitcoin donations. For them, it opens up a new market of donors who otherwise may not have given as much or even at all. Because bitcoin's transaction fees are much lower than those of credit and debit cards, donors can be sure that the charity is receiving the maximum benefit. Payments processor BitPay is a popular choice for charitable organizations as the company doesn't charge any merchant fee for non-profits and gives 100 percent of the donation to the charity. A New Image Some charities are hoping that bitcoin will revamp their images. By accepting bitcoin, charities are able to expose themselves to new, often younger, audiences and make their cause more accessible. For the moment, bitcoin donations typically make up only a small fraction of what charities bring in; but for many, establishing a bitcoin based donation option is important to propel the organization into the future. Related Link: Orange: The Latest Company To See Benefit In Blockchain Better For Donors Charities aren't the only ones who benefit from bitcoin donations. Many donors have found bitcoin to be an effective way to receive the maximum tax benefit for a charitable contribution. Because bitcoin is taxed as property instead of currency, donors can give bitcoins that have appreciated in value without paying capital gains taxes. The laws are similar to those governing the donation of stocks, making it a great way to make the most of tax deductions. Story continues See more from Benzinga Breakfast Of Champions: Is Pot Good For You? 3D Printers Take On Mars EU Closer To Resolving Google's Antitrust Issues © 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| Federal Agents Busted for Stealing Bitcoins, Extorting Silk Road Founder: Two former federal agents were charged Monday with stealing Bitcoin and laundering money while working at the center of last year’s massive investigation into the now-defunct Silk Road. Justice Department officials announced the charges against former DEA officer Carl Mark Force and former Secret Service agent Shaun Bridges. The two men allegedly used Bitcoin to launder money while they were in the middle of investigating the infamous online black market, which was shut down by the government last year. Related: U.S. Probed Mt. Gox CEO as Possible Silk Road Mastermind At the time, the government seized about $33 million worth of Bitcoin from the marketplace and charged its founder, Ross Ulbricht – or “Dread Pirate Roberts,” as he’s known on the web – with aiding drug trafficking. He was ultimately found guilty and awaits sentencing. Carl Force was the main investigator tasked with communicating with Ulbricht. He allegedly used his position during the investigation to extort money from Ulbricht by using a number of Internet aliases. In one instance, Force apparently demanded $250,000 from Ulbricht in exchange for withholding information from his colleagues at the DOJ. The government charged him with wiring fraud, stealing government property and money laundering. Related: Porn, Drugs, Hitmen, Hackers: This is the Deep Web Separately, Bridges, the Secret Service agent, worked with Force and allegedly diverted more than $800,000 in Bitcoin to a personal account during the investigation. The complaint accuses the two former agents of texting back and forth about the fluctuating value of Bitcoin. The two reportedly resigned from their positions abruptly before being arrested last week. The charges against the agents come at an embarrassing time for both of their former agencies. Just last week a report from the DOJ’s inspector general accused agents at the Drug Enforcement Agency of having “sex parties” with prostitutes bought and paid for by drug cartels in Columbia. Story continues The Secret Service has suffered a problem-plagued year with numerous security breaches as well as a prostitution scandal in 2010. Top Reads from The Fiscal Times: Vladimir Putin’s New Best Friends: Nervous Oil Traders Outrageous Public Pensions Could Bankrupt These States 6 Popular Social Security Myths Busted \|\| Exclusive: Bitcoin exchange itBit seeks New York banking licence: By Lauren Tara LaCapra NEW YORK (Reuters) - In a little noticed move, bitcoin exchange itBit has filed for a banking licence in New York, according to the state banking authority. Approval for the licence may come in the next couple of weeks, people familiar with the matter told Reuters, which could make itBit the first bitcoin company to be regulated as a bank in the United States. The application is part of itBit's plan to expand its business into different corners of financial services, and present itself as a trustworthy and reputable company. Right now, itBit operates as an exchange where buyers and sellers trade the bitcoin digital currency. After a series of scandals that have roiled the virtual currency markets, reassuring customers, investors, and bitcoin market participants is critical. Last year, rival Mt. Gox filed for bankruptcy after its computer system was hacked, and prominent bitcoin advocates had been accused of money laundering. "Some highly publicized failures and potentially illegal activity have focussed attention on virtual currencies and have highlighted the need for a sound regulatory framework for virtual currencies," itBit Chief Executive Charles "Chad" Cascarilla said in an October letter to New York's state banking regulator on an unrelated matter. ItBit, whose exchange operates in Singapore, moved its primary headquarters to New York last year, and hired Erik Wilgenhof Plante from eBay Inc (EBAY.O) as chief compliance officer. The company's web site touts its anti-money laundering efforts and "know your customer" credentials, as well as its compliance in all jurisdictions in which it operates. "Whether fairly or not, companies that work within the regulatory framework are more trusted by customers and partners," said David Berger, CEO of the Digital Currency Council, an industry advocacy group. The bank application for itBit Trust Company LLC lists three bigwigs in government and regulatory circles as "organizers," including former Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Chairman Sheila Bair, former Financial Accounting Standards Board director Robert Herz and former New Jersey Sen. Bill Bradley. Organizers are responsible for setting up limited liability companies in New York, but do not necessarily hold operating positions within them. Story continues The application also names Cascarilla as an organizer, as well as his business partner Emil Woods, a former SAC Capital portfolio manager who co-founded the investment firm Cedar Hill Capital Partners with Cascarilla. Benjamin Lawsky, New York's superintendent of financial services, has been a vocal advocate of regulating virtual currencies like bitcoin as well as other businesses, like payments, that would operate using the same technology. That technology, called blockchain, essentially records every transaction that happens on the system. Transferring cash requires changing an entry in the ledger, but does not require processing by a bank or other intermediary, making it potentially faster and cheaper. Many on Wall Street and Main Street dismiss unregulated virtual currencies like bitcoin as a wacky concept embraced by paranoiacs, gamblers and bored teenagers. But large companies including International Business Machines Corp (IBM.N) and Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N) are looking seriously at applying the technology behind bitcoin to businesses ranging from payments to trading. Central banks like the U.S. Federal Reserve and the Bank of England have also examined blockchain, while major cities including Singapore, London and New York are positioning themselves as bitcoin hubs. [ID:nL5N0X63BQ] "Many people believe that the real payoff with the bitcoin phenomenon is blockchain and all the various uses it can be put to," said Jeff Neuburger‎, a partner at the law firm Proskauer Rose who specializes in technology. "It will have some impact on the way all kinds of financial services are conducted." Spokespeople for itBit and New York's department of financial services confirmed the company had filed a banking licence application but declined further comment. Bair, Herz, Cascarilla and Woods did not respond to requests for comment. Bradley could not be reached for comment. ItBit is backed by venture capitalists including Canaan Partners, RRE Ventures and Liberty City Ventures, where Cascarilla is a partner. Since its founding in 2012, the company has received $3.3 million in a round of fund-raising, according to the startup site CrunchBase. Lately, itBit has been looking to gather more money from investors including Cedar Hill to fund new business ventures, one person briefed on the matter said. (Reporting by Lauren Tara LaCapra; editing by Dan Wilchins and Diane Craft) \|\| Will Greece's Financial Woes Ever End?: Negotiations between Athens and its creditors continued to drag on this week, despite what most believed would be a bank-breaking loan repayment coming due on Tuesday. Somehow, Greece continued to scrape by without defaulting, despite having what most expect is a nearly empty vault. Comments from both sides have indicated that a resolution is nowhere in sight, as they remain at odds regarding several fundamental aspects of Greece's bailout agreement. Out Of Cash? On Tuesday, Greece wasable to repayits €750 million International Monetary Fund loan, but many believe the tide is quickly rising as more payments loom on the horizon. This week's payment was meant to put leftist leader, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, in the difficult position of choosing between paying the nation's wages and pensions or repaying the loan, but the Greek prime minister avoided that conundrum by using Greece's own reserve funds at the IMF to make the payment. Related Link:No Bailout Agreement Expected For Greece, Despite Looming IMF Payments It remains to be seen whether or not Athens has enough cash in its reserve to pay public sector wages at the end of the month, and the nation is almost surely short the €1.5 billion needed to repay further loans in June. What Now? The increasingly dire financial situation in Greece is likely to help move negotiations for its bailout aid forward; however, so far it seems that Tsipras is unwilling to bend to the EU's will, despite his lack of funding. Tsipras was elected on promises to reverse austerity cuts and get a better bailout deal, and he has remained adamant in his demands for more budgetary freedom. Despite that, Greek officials have said they are optimistic about reaching an agreement to release the next installment of bailout funding by the end of May. Related Link:UBS Outlines Grexit Scenarios Then It's Over? Even if Greek officials and EU policymakers come to an agreement by the end of May, Greece won't be out of hot water. The nation's bailout program expires at the end of June, meaning that Tsipras and the Syriza government will have to work with EU officials to extend the nation's funding again, bringing on an entirely new round of negotiations. Image Credit: Public Domain See more from Benzinga • The Internet Of Things Getting A Push From Intel And Samsung • Marijuana Shortages Point To A Developing Industry • Bitcoin Making Progress In Europe © 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| Solving Bitcoin's Scalability Problem: Bitcoin enthusiasts have long been working toward pushing the cryptocurrency into mainstream use to compete with paper money and credit card transactions. However, now that new exchanges for buying and selling the digital currency are beginning to gain momentum as more of the public is takes an interest, many are wondering whether or not bitcoin will be able to handle a steep rise in transaction growth. Blockchain Has Flaws Although blockchain has been touted as one of the greatest technological advances of the decade, the ledger-like system does have limits. Since each node of blockchain records every single transaction, the cost of running nodes will likely outweigh the benefits of using them if bitcoin grows into a mainstream payment method. Most believe that bitcoin as it is now could not function as a payment platform on its own. Filtering Out Necessary Information Joseph Poon and Thaddeus Dryja say their latest development, the Bitcoin Lightning Network , can help. The lightning network allows some transactions to take place off of the blockchain and broadcasts only the final, necessary transaction information to the entire blockchain. Related Link: Is There Room For Another Cryptocurrency? The blockchain's ledger, accessible to everyone, would still have record of the transaction, but not any intermediary dealings that may have taken place. A Work In Progress The Bitcoin Lightning Network presents an exciting solution to bitcoin's scalability problems, but there are still several issues that need to be worked out before the network can be developed or considered as a viable way to do business. See more from Benzinga Pot Startup Crowdfunding Its Legal Fees Facebook To Provide Internet Access Via Drones Not All European Firms Are Profiting From A Weaker Euro © 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| BTCS Announces $2.3 Million Financing With Management Participation: ARLINGTON, VA--(Marketwired - Apr 22, 2015) - Bitcoin Shop, Inc. ( OTCQB : BTCS ) ("BTCS" or the "Company"), a blockchain technology focused company which engages in transaction verification services and which is undertaking the build-out of a universal digital currency ecosystem, announced today that it closed on a financing for aggregate gross proceeds of $2,312,500. The Company sold 7,708,342 units consisting of one share of common stock and 1.4 warrants at a per unit price of $0.30. The warrants are exercisable into an aggregate of 10,791,684 shares of common stock at a per share price of $0.375. Charles Allen our CEO, Michal Handerhan our COO and Charlie Kiser our EVP invested an aggregate of $42,500 in the financing. Charles Allen, CEO of BTCS, commented, "We believe the sustained decline in the price of Bitcoin has created tremendous opportunities for us to further expand our business and seize opportunities created from the market downturn. With the completion of this financing we believe we are well positioned to be a leading bitcoin and blockchain focused company." About BTCS: BTCS plans to leverage its transaction verification services business while it builds a universal digital currency platform with the goal of enabling users to engage in the digital currency ecosystem through one point of access. We are currently engaged in transaction verification services and operate our public beta site ( www.btcs.com ) where consumers can purchase products using digital currency such as bitcoin, litecoin and dogecoin, by searching through a selection of over 250,000 items. Forward Looking Statements: Certain statements in this press release constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Words such as "may," "might," "will," "should," "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," "continue," "predict," "forecast," "project," "plan," "intend" or similar expressions, or statements regarding intent, belief, or current expectations, are forward-looking statements. While the Company believes these forward-looking statements are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on any such forward-looking statements, which are based on information available to us on the date of this release. These forward looking statements are based upon current estimates and assumptions and are subject to various risks and uncertainties, including without limitation those set forth in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, not limited to Risk Factors relating to its digital currency business contained therein. Thus, actual results could be materially different. The Company expressly disclaims any obligation to update or alter statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. \|\| Bitcoin In Minutes: Over 400 000 Locations Worldwide for Instant Buying and Selling Cryptocurrencies Added By 247exchange.com and MoneyPolo(TM): International Cryptocurrency and Bitcoin Exchange Platform 247exchange, Managed by InterMoney Exchange(TM), and Its Partner MoneyPolo(TM) Payment System Proudly Announce the Brand New Method of Buying and Selling Bitcoin Instantly Via Money Transfers BELIZE CITY, BELIZE / ACCESSWIRE / April 28, 2015 /Bitcoin exchange service 247exchange.com and its partner MoneyPolo(TM) , large money transfer network, represent an innovative instant method of purchasing and withdrawing bitcoins -using express money transfer. The feature is available at more than 400,000 locations (including banks, post offices, shops, stores, money exchangers and so on) in about 130 countries. Having a bank account or credit/debit card is not necessary. All that is required is cash, ID and a visit to one of almost half a million branches around the world to send an immediate transfer. Transforming cash into bitcoin and vice versa has never been so easy and fast. "Our global aim is to make Bitcoin closer to average people, and cooperation with MoneyPolo(TM) makes a huge step on this way. It also seems like a perfect solution for buying/selling bitcoins for unbanked users and especially for people from developing countries having less local direct banking options. Speaking in general, our team is working hard to make the whole process as easy, as topping up the mobile phone balance. This is a challenge, but we believe we can make it!," Anton Vereshchagin, the founder, declares. About 247exchange.com 247exchange is run by InterMoney Exchange(TM), a group of financial companies. The service offers various ways of buying, selling and exchanging cryptocurrencies paying special attention to instant methods. "At the end of 2014 we integrated credit and debit cards support as an immediate method of buying bitcoins. However, until now we haven't had instant withdrawal methods (and there are not so many exchange services in the world who offers it). Judging by the feedback from our customers, they really missed such option. As a client oriented company we simply can't ignore that. Then we contacted MoneyPolo and made this promising partnership. I believe it's a real breakthrough in the whole cryptocurrency exchange business discovering the new opportunities for the users all over the globe," Alexey Maximenko, CEO, says. About MoneyPolo(TM) MoneyPolo(TM) is a registered trademark for Mayzus Financial Services Ltd. Since the company started its operations in 2009 it has been providing payment solutions, prepaid cards, foreign exchange operations for customer accounts as well as cash money transfers. MoneyPolo has customer branches in the UK, the Czech Republic, Mongolia and Philippines, while its partner offices spread throughout Europe, Asia, Latin America, North America. Africa and CIS countries. Since 2012 MoneyPolo service portfolio includes accounts and payments for cryptocurrency industry. The company proved to be a reliable and responsible partner for its some 150 000 customers. MoneyPolo is constantly increasing the availability of its services and expanding its wide network of more than 400,000 own and partner branches. How it works To purchase Bitcon and other cryptocurrencies (Litecoin, Namecoin, Peercoin) via an urgent money transfer, the user submits a buy order at247exchange.comwebsite. The list of available agents to send cash from will be indicated (for certain money transfer systems it is also possible to send money online). Bitcoins will be sent to the specified address just a few minutes after the transfer has been made. To withdraw Bitcon and altcoins using an urgent money transfer, the person places a sell order at247exchange.com websitechoosing the nearest agent to receive fiat money from. The funds will be available for picking up in just few minutes. The customer can also transfer money to his relatives and close ones this way. In both cases the user can choose the currency. 24/7 support is always ready to help the customers. Detailed instructions are also provided for client's maximum convenience. For more information about us, please visithttp://247exchange.com. Contact Info: Name: Andrey VereshchaginEmail:[email protected]: 247exchangeAddress: InterMoney Exchange Corp. 35 New Road, Belize city, Belize, C.APhone: +44 2070484188 SOURCE:247exchange \|\| The FDA's Authority Challenged By Mallinckrodt: The American healthcare system became much more affordable with the advent of generic drugs. Many popular medications have lower-costing, alternative treatments that contain the same active ingredients as their costly brand-name rivals, which has saved the public millions in pharmaceutical costs. However,last yearthe U.S. Food and Drug Administration took a look at some generic treatments for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and found that they weren't consistently providing the same results as the brand name drug, leading the FDA to reclassify the generics. What Happened? Last year, generic equivalents ofJohnson & Johnson(NYSE:JNJ)' ADHD treatment Concerta made byMallinckrodt PLC(NYSE:MNK) andUCB S A(OTC:UCBJF) were shown to have a different impact on a patient's body despite containing the same active ingredients. Because of this, the FDA changed those drugs' ratings to reflect its findings. Following the ratings change, the FDA gave each drug maker a period of six weeks to prove that their drugs were in fact equivalent to Concerta. If they could not be proven as equal, the companies were asked to voluntarily pull the drugs from the marketplace. Related Link:5 New Biotech Developments Worth Watching Mallinckrodt Pushes Back This week that six month deadline passed, but with very little movement from Mallinckrodt. UCB officials say they have been working to meet FDA requirements, but Mallinckrodt CEO Mark Trudeausaidthe company has no plans to remove its drug from pharmacy shelves. Instead, Mallinckrodt filed a lawsuit challenging the FDA ruling that the drugs were not equivalent, saying that the agency encouraged patients to continue taking the generic ADHD medications if they weren't experiencing any issues. Loss Of Trust Only time will tell whether or not Mallinckrodt will be forced to make changes to its drug, but the challenge sets up an obstacle for all generic companies providing treatments in the U.S. While the FDA's inquiry into the effectiveness of the two drugs reflects the agency's role in protecting the public, some say the results are likely to diminish people's trust in the generic drug market. This is especially true as both of the two drugs deemed inadequate substitutes for Concerta are still being sold as a generic version in pharmacies across the country. Image Credit: Public Domain See more from Benzinga • The Business Of Fertility Finance • Nuclear Deal With Iran Still In Limbo • Bitcoin Gaining Support Among Do-Gooders © 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| Solving Bitcoin's Scalability Problem: Bitcoin enthusiasts have long been working toward pushing the cryptocurrency into mainstream use to compete with paper money and credit card transactions. However, now that new exchanges for buying and selling the digital currency are beginning to gain momentum as more of the public is takes an interest, many are wondering whether or not bitcoin will be able to handle a steep rise in transaction growth. Blockchain Has Flaws Although blockchain has been touted as one of the greatest technological advances of the decade, the ledger-like system does have limits. Since each node of blockchain records every single transaction, the cost of running nodes will likely outweigh the benefits of using them if bitcoin grows into a mainstream payment method. Most believe that bitcoin as it is now could not function as a payment platform on its own. Filtering Out Necessary Information Joseph Poon and Thaddeus Dryja say their latest development, theBitcoin Lightning Network, can help. The lightning network allows some transactions to take place off of the blockchain and broadcasts only the final, necessary transaction information to the entire blockchain. Related Link:Is There Room For Another Cryptocurrency? The blockchain's ledger, accessible to everyone, would still have record of the transaction, but not any intermediary dealings that may have taken place. A Work In Progress The Bitcoin Lightning Network presents an exciting solution to bitcoin's scalability problems, but there are still several issues that need to be worked out before the network can be developed or considered as a viable way to do business. See more from Benzinga • Pot Startup Crowdfunding Its Legal Fees • Facebook To Provide Internet Access Via Drones • Not All European Firms Are Profiting From A Weaker Euro © 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| Trading retail: 4 plays ahead of earnings: Macy's (NYSE: M) stock, though volatile now, could trade higher after it releases first-quarter earnings next week, CNBC " Fast Money " trader Guy Adami said Friday. The department store behemoth is expected to release quarterly earnings on Wednesday before the opening bell. Adami said that the name shouldn't be as volatile as it is but he thinks it has the potential to go higher. "I think this is stock that trades higher into their [earnings] number," he said. Read More Macy's CEO optimistic on consumer, off-price stores J.C. Penney Trader Timothy Seymour is long J.C. Penney (NYSE: JCP) even though "the valuation itself may not make sense." "I think the comps are still in their favor, and they are starting to recover some market share," he said. "It's a recovery story that is still working." Ralph Lauren The clothier (NYSE: RL) 's stock was down about 20 percent last quarter and should be sold, said trader David Seaburg. " They have a gross margin issue, they've got an FX issue; it's just a story that's not working right now," he said. Retail overall Trader Brian Kelly said that rising gas prices mean less shopping for consumers. "I would stay away from retail in general," he said. Disclosures: Tim Seymour Tim Seymour is long T, BAC, C, DIS, EWP, F, GE, GM, GOOGL, INTC, JCP, SUNE, TBT, Tim's firm is long BABA, BIDU, MCD, NKE, NOK, SBUX, YHOO Brian Kelly Brian Kelly is long BTC=, BBRY, SPY puts, U.S. Dollar, he is short Australian Dollar, he is short Yen, he is short Yuan. Guy Adami Guy Adami is long CELG, EXAS, INTC, Guy Adami's wife, Linda Snow, works at Merck. More From CNBC Top News and Analysis Latest News Video Personal Finance [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] In the last 10 mins, there were arb opps spanning 21 exchange pair(s), yielding profits ranging between $0.00 and $1,062.60 #bitcoin #btc \|\| current #bitcoin price (bitstamp) is $224.99, last changed Tue, 21 Apr 2015 00:57:41 GMT. queried at: 00:57:45 \|\| 2015年4月10日 08:00:02 BTC_MONA 買[bid]:1750.00000000MONA 売[ask]:2189.90000000MONA API by もなとれ \|\| 1 #bitcoin 616.18 TL, 234.147 $, 209.837 €, 156.59999 GBP, 12103.00 RUR, 28700 ¥, 1479.01 CNH, 284.39 CAD #btc \|\| #RDD / #BTC on the exchanges: Cryptsy: 0.00000007 Bittrex: 0.00000008 Average $1.8E-5 per #reddcoin 23:15:00 \|\| #bitcoin quotes: Coinbase: $239.51 Bitstamp: $239.00 btc-e: $240.287 OKCoin: $239.45 \|\| Compre Bitcoin agora! A partir de R$ 833,00 cada! https://www.bitcointoyou.com/negociacoes.aspx … http://fb.me/2a9oGQ8zd \|\| LIVE: Profit = $909.58 (25.23 %). BUY B15.40 @ $233.02 (#BitStamp). SELL @ $235.00 (#VirCurex) #bitcoin #btc - http://www.projectcoin.org \|\| current #bitcoin price (winkdex) is $225.02, last changed Sun, 19 Apr 2015 08:55:00 GMT. queried at: 08:57:42 \|\| current #bitcoin price (bitfinex) is $234.43, last changed Sat, 02 May 2015 11:26:00 GMT. queried at: 11:26:03	Trend: down \|\| Prices: 237.12, 237.28, 237.41, 237.10, 233.35, 230.19, 222.93, 225.80, 225.87, 224.32
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2017-09-13] BTC Price: 3882.59, BTC RSI: 40.77 Gold Price: 1323.40, Gold RSI: 60.25 Oil Price: 49.30, Oil RSI: 57.63 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] An International Regulatory Shift Could Tame Cryptocurrency Market: The market for digital currencies has taken off faster than regulatory agencies could keep pace. With favored currencies like Bitcoin trading at a record high of $4,700 as of Aug. 29 and a robust international market emerging , these agencies are making moves to regulate initial coin offerings (ICOs) , the way by which cryptocurrency ventures raise funds. One method gaining steam is to regulate some ICOs under existing securities law. On July 25, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued guidance stating that federal securities laws apply to ICOs, while Singapore quickly followed suit , deciding it will regulate ICOs under securities law. On Aug. 24, Canada made its move, with the Canadian Securities Exchange Administrators (CSA) announcing that securities laws may apply to ICOs. Canada's move is "entirely consistent with what's happening here in the States," said Stephen Obie, partner at Jones Day. Obie represents Overstock.com's financial technology subsidiary t0.com in its use of blockchain technology. "Canadian regulators are reaffirming that ICOs can be securities and that folks need to be cautious and evaluate what sort of ICO they're launching." Digital coins have until this August been unregulated and, when traded, did not confer ownership rights. Digital currency sales have also been frequently cited as subject to fraud. On Aug. 28, the SEC issued an investor alert warning investors of " pump-and-dump " schemes (artificially inflating a share price by encouraging investors to purchase to sell one's own shares at a high price) and market manipulations. The alert followed the SEC's trading suspension of shares from four companies with coin offerings. One of those companies, First Bitcoin Capital Corp. , is headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia. The CSA issued its guidance on coin offerings a day after the SEC issued its suspension of the company as well as its investor alert. Story continues Joshua Klayman, of counsel in the financial transactions group at Morrison Foerster, wrote in a LinkedIn post that "it is interesting to consider" whether the SEC Investor Alert was partially motivated by a First Bitcoin Capital letter to shareholders suggesting that the SEC action was a "misunderstanding," and potentially motivated by a need to curb demand for shares. She wrote: "Could it be that the SEC's Investor Alert was released, in part, to combat communications, like the BITCF Letter, that seeks to minimize the gravity of a temporary trading suspension? Perhaps." Regarding the CSA's announcement, Klayman told Legaltech News that she "had no idea" whether the timing was a coincidence. However, she said, given that three countries have already regulated coins as securities, more countries are going to potentially come out with similar guidance. "I think that will have an effect, because it will cause people to take greater caution when they are developing these types of structures for their token sales," she explained. "It certainly should give lawyers pause when they're advising on these to say, 'Listen, you really need to take a hard look at this and think about whether you just want to assume it's a security.'" Klayman noted that, while "many people would advise to take a conservative view anyway" in these investments, "the more and more guidance comes out, the less and less easy it is for people with a straight face around the world to say, 'My jurisdiction says it's not a security; who cares about what other jurisdictions think.'" Klayman added that early token sales may have been launched under the belief that they "might be OK where they are, but they're pretty much floating securities law in every jurisdiction. [That's] no longer something you can say with a straight face." Other countries have been known to be loosely regulated when it comes to ICOs. Switzerland for example, has been touted as a cryptocurrency haven of sorts, with the city of Zug being dubbed "Crypto Valley." Others, such as Gibraltar and Luxembourg, are known to have frameworks friendly toward cryptocurrency investment. Internationally, the market is highly speculative. Cambridge Center for Alternative Finance bitcoin expert Garrick Hileman told Vox that speculation was "the primary driver" of increasing bitcoin value. Prior to SEC clarification, regulations around coins were precarious at best. In December 2016, Overstock became the first company to have a fully regulated public coin offering in the U.S. Discussing his experience with regulators, John Tabacco, co-founder of Overstock subsidiary T0, told an audience at a Morrison Foerster event , "At that time, a lot of people were trying to go around the edges: Is it crowdfunding, it's not a security, is it a security, blah, blah, blah." He noted that the company used Jones Day as counsel and that he was ordered to "spend whatever needs to be spent to go straight into the front doors of the SEC, tell them what we're doing and keep letting them tell you why you can't do it. And then address those gaps as you go along. And then when we're done and they have no more questions, we're going to be the first company to do an offer." This, he added, was why the company had the first public offering. Speaking about the SEC's advisory on pump-and-dump schemes, Jones Day's Obie said, "It doesn't surprise me that what's happening here is there's a regulatory effort to raise awareness about the potential in the ICO marketplace. What folks are trying to say is that laws that have existed for decades still apply, and anyone buying these coins should definitely do their due diligence. It's not for the faint of heart at times." As to whether regulating ICOs under securities law will have any dramatic impact on businesses, Daniel Wheeler, partner at Bryan Cave, said that, going forward, he would expect "legitimate operators" to "spend a lot of money, do it the right way. And I would think that should be a signal to investors that anyone who is not doing it that way is a boiler room pump-and-dump operation." Wheeler said he thinks this will lead to fewer ICOs, as the market "should understand now that doing one is just as expensive as any other security." \|\| Mark Cuban backs new $20 million cryptocurrency venture fund: Onetime bitcoin skeptic Mark Cuban is warming to the digital currency world. The billionaire is backing a new venture capital fund for cryptocurrency-related investments called 1confirmation. Founded by Nick Tomaino, former business development manager at Coinbase, the fund plans to raise $20 million, according to a Monday filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. "It's an interesting space that I [want] to get involved with and learn more" about, Cuban said in an email to CNBC Tuesday. He did not specify the size of his investment. Cuban's opinion on digital currencies has changed fairly recently. In an Aug. 14 tweet, the Dallas Mavericks owner admitted he "might have to finally buy some" bitcoin (Exchange:BTC=-USS) , contrasting with a June tweet that said he thought bitcoin was in a "bubble." "Bias should be up because of finite supply. Until crypto or US politics intrude, and they will," he added in another tweet on Aug. 14. Tweet1 Tweet2 In late June, Cuban said he planned to participate in an initial coin offering by Unikrn, an online esports betting site in which he holds a stake. Earlier that month, Cuban tweeted that he didn't know when or by how much the price of bitcoin, which has soared in value this year, would correct. He did acknowledge then that the blockchain technology backing bitcoin had value and that it "will be at the core of most transactions in the future. Healthcare, finance etc all will use it." IBM ( IBM ) announced Tuesday that it will work with major food companies such as Wal-Mart ( WMT ) , Unilever, Tyson Foods ( TSN ) , Dole and Kroger ( KR ) to "identify new areas where the global supply chain can benefit from blockchain." However, bitcoin's surge and a rush of funds into initial coin offerings have attracted more investment attention. Bitcoin has quadrupled in value this year and hit a record last Thursday of $4,522.13 with a market capitalization of about $74 billion, according to CoinDesk. Initial coin offerings, which are fundraising events used by cryptocurrency-related start-ups, have raised $1.37 billion so far this year, CoinDesk data showed. Story continues Source: CoinDesk The launch of the 1confirmation fund comes amid increased fundraising for cryptocurrency-related businesses. On Aug. 10, digital currency storage and exchange company Coinbase announced it raised $100 million in private equity funding led by Dropbox investor IVP. That marks the largest single traditional funding round for a public blockchain or cryptocurrency start-up, according to CoinDesk. Other participants in 1confirmation include Brendan Eich, creator of the JavaScript computer programming language; Balaji Srinivasan, board partner at technology venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, and David Vorick, who is building a blockchain-based cloud storage system called Sia. The fund's founder, Tomaino, is also a principal at venture fund Runa Capital. Disclosure: CNBC owns the exclusive off-network cable rights to "Shark Tank," which features Mark Cuban as a panelist. More From CNBC Tech investor: Under Trump, business leaders have become the moral compass Inside the crumbling relationship between Uber and Benchmark These questions will shape Uber’s financial fate \|\| Canyon bikes make USA debut pushing the bike shop online: Nairo Quintana rides a Canyon bike in the Vuelta a España. (Canyon) No industry has been entirely immune from the disruption brought on by online shopping. But so far, the high-end bicycle business has mostly remained in brick-and-mortar bike shops. This week, however, an anticipated direct-to-consumer bike brand from Germany called Canyon comes to the U.S., a move that may have a marked effect on the industry. The main players in the bike world are Specialized, Trek, Cannondale, and Giant. And the way those companies and most others offer bicycles has been the same for years: through a bike shop. Founded in Germany in 2002, Canyon has never followed this model, instead offering its bikes directly through the internet. Though bizarre to many back then, Canyon’s alternative business model hasn’t interfered with its success or street cred. Currently its bikes are under the riders of two major professional cycling teams — Movistar and Katusha Alpecin — and Canyons have become some of the most desired bikes around. Offering prices around 25% less for comparable bikes from high-end competitors, Canyon operates with a powerful formula that threatens to disrupt the industry. ‘The final frontier’ of the bike industry Wheeled-sports — largely cycling — in the U.S. is a $97 billion industry in terms of sales, according to a Outdoor Industry Association report out this year . W hile some companies like Giant ( 9921.TW ) and Cannondale are public — Cannondale is owned by Dorel ( DII.B ) — many, like Canyon, Specialized and Trek, are privately held. According to Blythe Jack, a managing director at TSG Consumer Partners, a significant minority shareholder in Canyon that is helping with its U.S. logistics, the direct-to-consumer business model makes more sense even without the modern shift online. “When you think about the retail model today, independent bike dealers are limited for space for offering whole lines [of bikes],” said Jack. “It’s not feasible for a small floor plan as well as capital intensity required to floor plan a large inventory. It’s the biggest bottleneck of the retail experience.” Story continues Katusha Alpecin’s Tony Martin rides through Paris in the 2017 Tour de France. (Wikimedia Commons) The benefit of being online, Jack says, is being at the crossroads between multiple factors that surround big-ticket items. Social media, research, reviews, specs, and product photography are all part of a buying experience. It makes sense for the purchasing to happen there as well, especially since all sizes, models, and colors can be accommodated. Canyon USA president Blair Clark told Yahoo Finance that this is the “final frontier” for the industry. “You don’t have to look back very far in history to see this is not the first time the bike industry has been revolutionized or disrupted in terms of distribution,” said Clark. “Schwinn in the 1960s decided to announce they were no longer going to sell to distributors, [instead pivoting] to sell to dealers.” In his view, it’s time for the next step in retail innovation in the industry. “The consumer is driving this change across all industries, whether it’s razors or buying your coffee, or now Amazon purchasing Whole foods, or Zappos and shoes,” he said. “So we are, I think, hitting the market in terms of timing that’s very ideal from the standpoint that a consumer is ready to purchase a bike online.” Making online easy The challenges of bicycle buying sight unseen are myriad. Fitting is guessing, test drives are imaginary, and some assembly is required. Canyon’s 15 years in the industry has, however, ironed out these issues almost completely to the point where returns are in the single digits. “The bikes are so advanced in terms of performance relative to quality controls — we really don’t have a returns issue to speak of,” said Jack. “That tends to be a major stumbling block for many companies, the prohibitive costs of returns.” Fitting is taken care of via online fitting tools that take much of the guesswork out of choosing a frame size, and building is straightforward with tools included and video demos available. “For somebody that’s reasonably mechanically inclined, [building is] a 30- to 45-minute job,” said Clark. Test drives, however, will always be imaginary. As far as delivery goes, the company established a distribution center in Chino, California with 30 employees and counting, so it doesn’t have to ship bikes from Germany or directly from manufacturing facilities in Taiwan. Where the industry goes from here Not surprisingly Canyon’s combination of street-cred, logistic mastery, and lower prices has other industry players nervous, especially bike shops that fear being cut out of the loop. For accessories and parts, this has already happened as today’s era of two-day Amazon Prime offers undercutting prices and door-to-door convenience. Canyon’s Clark told Yahoo Finance that the company is hoping to establish market share in the “teens” within a “few years,” though noted it’s hard to predict something that hasn’t been done before. Nairo Quintana rides a Canyon time trial bicycle in the 2017 Tour de France. (Wikimedia Commons) The bike industry’s delay in adapting to a direct-to-consumer model for bikes themselves can be explained by the current framework of distribution. Companies already established in the U.S. may not want to risk relationships with bike shops by offering their own direct-to-consumer options, despite the fact that buying online from the manufacturer is becoming standard across most industries. “[The direct business model] is a healthy thing and it’s an inevitable thing that frankly has been postponed. Trek and Specialized have held industry back,” said Jack. “The world around us has changed — it’s what consumers want. We think this will deliver sustainability that will serve the industry well over time.” In calls with Yahoo Finance, both Jack and Clark took great pains to make it explicitly clear that the company has no desire to supplant bike shops, which they maintain are incredibly important to Canyon’s success as “service partners.” But instead of dealing with inventory requirements, which can lead to money-losing discounts when bikes don’t sell, they want to see a shift to service, fitting, assembly, and tuning, which they view as more sustainable. “We can make the industry more healthy,” Jack said. She may be right: Germany still has bike shops. Ethan Wolff-Mann is a writer at Yahoo Finance focusing on consumer issues, tech, and personal finance. Follow him on Twitter @ewolffmann . Got a tip? Send it to [email protected] . Read More: What Bitcoin needs to do to become real currency Trump weighs slashing one of the most popular tax deductions Big banks are going after Venmo and Venmo is winning 73% of Android users are less likely to switch to iPhone due to headphone jack ‘Market FOMO’ has millennials putting cash into the stock market Sometimes fake holidays like ‘National Ice Cream Day’ actually work A robot lawyer can fight your parking tickets and much more Consumer watchdog is making it easier for consumers to sue banks How ringless spam voicemails became a partisan issue \|\| Bitcoin Cash soars more than 100% to record high above $900: Investing.com - Bitcoin Cash prices rose sharply on Sunday, jumping to a record high above the $900-level, amid optimism that faster transactions times will speed up the spread of the cryptocurrency. According to market participants, over half of Bitcoin Cash’s transaction volume was made on trading exchanges in South Korea, such as Bithumb and Coinone. Bitcoin Cash was last at $774.00 by 9:35AM ET (1335GMT), up about 106.4%, or $398.96. It touched $935.50 earlier, the highest the Bitcoin offshoot has ever traded in its less than three weeks of history and an increase of almost 400% from its low of $210 on its first day of trading. The surge means that the total market cap of Bitcoin Cash has now reached around $13 billion, making it the third-largest digital currency after Bitcoin and Ethereum. The rapid price rise has made it more profitable for miners to mine Bitcoin Cash as opposed to the original Bitcoin. Prices of the original Bitcoin slumped around 6%, or $250, to $4,087.70, continuing its retreat from last week's all-time peak of $4,489.10. It fell to a low of $3,951.30, amid growing investor concerns that the digital currency could face a second split in November. Bitcoin’s blockchain split into two earlier this month, after members of the bitcoin community rejected the first part of the SegWit2x upgrade, creating a competing currency called ‘Bitcoin Cash’. The most important difference between the two coins is that Bitcoin Cash allows for faster transaction times by using custom block sizing. Bitcoin Cash has a block size with an 8-megabyte transaction limit. Bitcoin transactions on the other hand are limited to 1-megabyte every 10 minutes. Elsewhere in cryptocurrency trading, Ethereum was down almost 3.5% to $292.53. It has the second-largest market capitalization among cryptocurrencies at nearly $28 billion. To stay on top of the latest moves in the crypto-space, be sure to check out:https://www.investing.com/crypto/ Related Articles Forex - Dollar index holds onto gains in subdued trade Forex - USD/CAD erases gains, hits 3-week lows Bitcoin falls below $4,000 to hit 7-day low \|\| Market Snapshot – Hurricane Irma Causing Jitters: Stock Markets In Steady Mode The stock markets have been cautious since the beginning of the day today as the next hurricane has begun to threaten the US just a week or so after Hurricane Harvey hit the US and caused widespread destruction in Houston. With that in mind, investors are not ready to commit themselves in any specific direction at this point of time and thats why we have been seeing only steady trading at this point of time though there has not been much by way of risks to tie down the stock markets for now. The Eurozone retail PMI dropped slightly during the month of August but that did not have much of an impact on the DAX or the FTSE indexes. Hurricane Irma Causing Jitters The economic impact of Hurricane Irma is not yet fully known as it is only now that the US has been recovering from Hurricane Harvey but the destruction is expected to be as bad and widespread this time as well. The US futures have been flat so far as the stock markets have had some grim trading around the world. The euro and the dollar have been the focus for the day so far but neither has been able to make any sort of progress so far. The global risks and uncertainties are just far too much and far too many for the investors to buy or sell in any steady quantity and the effect of that is telling on the markets. This article was originally posted on FX Empire More From FXEMPIRE: The Jury is Out on Bitcoin Market Snapshot – Hurricane Irma Causing Jitters Approaching Storm in U.S. Markets Emerging, US Futures Flat After Yesterday’s Sell-Off Bitcoin Recovering Rapidly Despite a Violent $1,000 Pullback Risk Aversion Generates Headwinds as Hurricane Irma Makes Landfall North Korea, Hurricane Irma, and the ECB Causing Worries for Global Investors \|\| Cryptocurrency chaos as China cracks down on ICOs: By Brenda Goh and Elias Glenn SHANGHAI/BEIJING (Reuters) - China's move last week to ban initial coin offerings (ICO) has caused chaos among start-ups looking to raise money through the novel fund-raising scheme, prompting halts, about-turns and re-thinks. China is cracking down on fundraising through launches of token-based digital currencies, targeting ICOs in a market that has ballooned this year in what has been a bonanza for digital currency entrepreneurs. The boom has fueled a jump in the value of cryptocurrencies, but raised fears of a potential bubble. "This is not unlike the dotcom bubble of 2000," said a partner at a venture capital fund in Shanghai, who didn't want to be named because of the issue's sensitivity. "There are a lot of companies raising a lot of money for not very good ideas, and these will eventually be weeded out. But even from the big dotcom bust, you still have gems." "One of the reasons regulators stepped in was that the ICO fever extended beyond the traditional crypto community. The timing was an attempt to pre-empt this before it goes into a much broader mass market in China," the partner said. Investors in China contributed up to 2.6 billion yuan ($394 million) worth of cryptocurrencies through ICOs in January-June, according to a state-run media report citing National Committee of Experts on Internet Financial Security Technology data. Pre-ICO roadshows featuring elaborate standing room-only presentations at 5-star hotels drew a diverse crowd, including grandmothers - a likely tipping point for regulators. The hype and subsequent crackdown came as China focuses on economic and social stability ahead of next month's congress of the Communist Party, a once-in-five-years event. Beijing is also waging a broader campaign against fraudulent fundraising and speculative investment, which analysts attribute to China's underdeveloped financial regulation and lack of legitimate investment options. While several start-ups said the exuberance had got out of control and they had expected Beijing to act, they said last week's move panicked investors and caused confusion. Mi Huijin, for example, said he had just got off a train to Shanghai after closing a deal for his Singpay blockchain start-up when he switched on his phone to a flood of messages about the ban. He summoned the host of a popular live-stream channel to the railway station to calm his followers in a 40-minute broadcast. "Everyone shouldn't panic. If you've nothing to be guilty of what's there to be scared of?" he told the roughly 800,000 viewers. "After reviewing the regulations, I feel it's a good thing." Not everyone was convinced. While some comments below his video asked if Singpay would offer refunds, others warned that some users had reported the start-up to police. China's position - which differs from regulators elsewhere, who say ICOs may be securities and thus subject to regulation - remains open to interpretation. Hu Bin, deputy director of the finance institute at the China Academy of Social Sciences, an institution directly under the State Council, or cabinet, has said this is a "stop on ICOs, not a ban. What are we stopping? Illegal ICOs." Hu said China recognized there is real demand for ICOs, but wants to prevent them being used for speculation. "It's entirely proper for the Chinese government to seek protection for consumers and prevent fraud, (but) confining capital raising to a specific established sector of finance ... is to ignore the enormous societal value that blockchain technology can present," said Alex Bessonov of BitClave, a Silicon Valley-based blockchain company, which, he said, is now discouraging Chinese investors. CANCELED ICOS, RETURNED TOKENS Li Yuan, CEO of Selfsell, a start-up hoping to build a platform for retail investors, said he had to cancel a planned ICO for last week, and return all pledged coins. For those who already conducted their ICO, things are even more complicated. Da Hongfei, founder of Neo, a public blockchain which raised 30 million yuan ($4.65 million) through an ICO last year, said it was extending to next month an offer for participants to return their Neo coins in exchange for bitcoin. While the government announcement appeared to require all funds be returned to investors, Da said he can't force people to exchange their tokens as they would lose out at bitcoin's current rate. Bitcoin traded around $4,350 on Tuesday, according to Bitstamp, down from nearly $5,000 earlier this month. "We offer the option, but we can't point a gun at the user and ask them to refund," Da said. That said, nearly all the ICO organizers interviewed by Reuters agreed the ICO market was getting out of control and needed change. More than 100,000 investors acquired new cryptocurrencies through 65 ICOs in January-June - a frenzy that attracted both investors seeking a quick trading profit and individuals and firms able to raise funds with little more than a plan and a website. "Many people have not been very discerning on whether the project is actually good or bad," said Daniel Wang, founder of blockchain start-up Loopring, adding he asked Chinese ICO investors to return their tokens, though it's difficult to recall tokens already trading on the secondary market. PLATFORMS IN LIMBO Indeed, the ban has left around five dozen platforms in China - websites that promote and list the tokens, usually in return for money or a portion of the offering, so they can be traded - in limbo. More than 40, including ICO365 and Bitbays, have shut down or suspended new ICO activity. Some also took their websites offline. Binance, which said that over 80 percent of its users were based overseas, said it would restrict all Chinese IP addresses from trading. For those companies serious about raising funds, there are other options. Xiaoning Li, CEO of VCCoin, said he returned 2,000 bitcoins to investors and was figuring out what to do next. "We have angel investors. We will probably still do an ICO, but have to look at where and how to do it," he told Reuters. The co-founder of another platform said they were re-thinking their strategy outside China, and "will shift our focus to markets which are not banning ICOs, but rather trying to put in place higher standards and regulatory supervision" - such as the United States, Canada and Singapore. ($1 = 6.4560 Chinese yuan renminbi) (Reporting by Brenda Goh and Elias Glenn, with additional reporting and writing by Jeremy Wagstaff; Editing by Ian Geoghegan) \|\| Bitcoin Regains Ground, But China Uncertainty Lingers: Investing.com - The price of the digital currency bitcoin was higher on Tuesday despite continuing uncertainty following media reports that China may be seeking to ban cryptocurrency trading on domestic exchanges. On the U.S.-based Bitfinex exchange, Bitcoin touched a high of $4,378.4.00 and was at $4,290.3.00 by 05:25 AM ET (09:25 GMT) having opened at $4,198.90. At current prices, bitcoin has a total market capitalization of around $70 billion. Chinese financial publication Caixin reported Friday that the country’s authorities are planning to shut down domestic cryptocurrency exchanges. Bitcoin prices fell to a low of $3,975.80 on Sunday from levels above $4,600.00 on Thursday ahead of the report, before climbing back above $4,000.00. Reuters reported Monday that they wereunable to confirm multiple reportsthat Beijing was planning to shut down commercial trading for virtual currencies. The reports came after China last week announced a ban on ‘initial coin offerings,’ a kind of fundraising via virtual currencies in order to finance start-ups. Regulators in China have been investigating the domestic market for bitcoin and other virtual currencies since January of this year. The price of bitcoin offshoot Bitcoin Cash was also higher. It touched a high of $568.72 and was last at $567.5, having opened at $567.5. Bitcoin cash has a total market cap of nearly $9 billion at current prices, making it the third most valuable cryptocurrency. Elsewhere in cryptocurrency trading, Ethereum, the second biggest cryptocurrency by market cap after bitcoin, was up 3.65% to $308.05. To stay on top of the latest moves in the crypto-space, be sure to check out:https://www.investing.com/crypto/ Related Articles UK watchdog warns consumers on cryptocurrency fundraisings Bitcoin Regains Ground, But China Uncertainty Lingers China's ICO ban necessary but should not stop blockchain research: PBOC official \|\| China bitcoin exchanges awaiting clarification on closure report: BEIJING (Reuters) - China's Bitcoin exchanges said on Saturday they are still awaiting clarification from the authorities on a media report that they will be shut down. Bitcoin fell sharply on Friday after Chinese financial publication Caixin reported that China was planning to shut down local crypto-currency exchanges, although analysts said this was just a temporary setback. The news follows China's move earlier this week to ban so-called "initial coin offerings," or the practice of creating and selling digital currencies or tokens to investors in order to finance start-up projects. Reuters was not immediately able to verify the report. A spokeswoman for Beijing-based OK Coin said the platform has not received any notification from regulators. Spokespersons at Beijing-based Huobi and Shanghai-based BTCC said they were still waiting for further official clarification. (Reporting by Brenda Goh, Writing by Kevin Yao; Editing by Shri Navaratnam) \|\| Bitcoin Payment Firm BitPesa Gets Big Boost From Famous Investor: The grandfather of venture capital just made his first bet on bitcoin. Alan Patricof , the founder and managing director of Greycroft, announced on Wednesday a $2 million investment into BitPesa, a startup that uses blockchain to speed up business payments across Africa and Asia. While the size of the investment is modest, the involvement of Patricof, one of the countrys first venture capitalists, is significant. While his firm has invested in various fintech companies--most notably Venmo, Acorns, and Braintree--Patricof and Greycroft have so far shied away from the crypto-currency space. In an interview with Fortune , Patricof said his decision to back BitPesa is based on his confidence in the companys young founder and CEO, Elizabeth Rossiello. Rossiello stands out in the digital currency world not only because shes a woman, but because of her educational background. She studied at Columbia Universitys School for International and Public Affairs, which is known as a hothouse of UN-types and lefty activists--but also snuck away to take corporate finance classes at the business school. After a stint at , Rossiello worked in Africa where she discovered how people relied on SIM cards and national phone carriers to do their banking. This experience helped her see the potential for different payment platforms--including bitcoin wallets, which let people conduct transactions without intermediary actors that siphoned off high fees. This led Rossiello to launch BitPesa as a cheap and efficient way to make business payments in places like Kenya, Nairobi, and Uganda. Increasingly, BitPesa is helping companies with more global transactions; she cited the example of an East African firm using BitPesa to purchase a fleet of cars from a Japanese exporter. Get Data Sheet , Fortune's technology newsletter. BitPesa, which also provides remittance services, deploys APIs to work a network of banks and mobile payments. This means that some customers may not even be aware that BitPesa is relying on the bitcoin network to conduct and record the transaction. Story continues In its latest funding round, BitPesa raised a total of $3 million from Greycroft and Plug and Play. This brings total investment in the company to over $10 million, following a $2.5 million Series A in January (which included a few very small contribution from Greycroft), and earlier investments from angels and seed investors. As for bitcoins volatility and relatively slow transaction speed (it takes ten minutes or more for a payment to register on the blockchain), Rossiello countered that bitcoin is infinitely superior to wire transfers, which can take days and provide unreliable records. She also noted that many African currencies are actually more volatile than bitcoin. BitPesa, however, doesnt hold onto bitcoin to store or trade, but instead relies on third parties like bitcoin-giant Circle to provide the liquidity it needs. Patricof said he likes this attribute about the company, saying it means BitPesa is not a speculative enterprise and isnt exposed to the price swings that regularly jolt crypto-currency markets. Patricof added that, unlike many New York venture capitalists, he does not hold any bitcoin for himself. Thats not the case, though, with Rossiello. Of course I do, she said. I use it because I want to do what the experience is like for my partners. Its as if I built a highway--I would drive a truck on it to make sure it went smoothly. See original article on Fortune.com More from Fortune.com Uber's New CEO Is a Bitcoin Fan Exclusive: An Inside Look at Kim Dotcom's Bitcoin-Based Payments Platform SEC Warns Scammers Are Using ICOs to Pump and Dump Canada Pours Cold Water on 'Initial Coin Offerings' Kim Dotcom Wants YouTube Stars to Test His Bitcoin Payment System \|\| Bitcoin's price tanks after report China may shut down exchanges: The price of bitcoin (Exchange: BTC=-USS) fell sharply after a report China's regulators are planning a further crackdown on the digital currency.Local outlet Caixin is reporting the Asian country is planning to shut down local bitcoin exchanges, according to a Google translation. Bitcoin's price fell 7 percent midafternoon Friday after the news, according to Coindesk market data. On Monday, Chinese regulators announced a ban on organizations from raising funds using initial coin offerings (ICOs), which sparked a $200 decline in the price of bitcoin. The price of the cryptocurrency is still up nearly 350 percent year to date. But billionaire investor Howard Marks is not impressed, telling his clients Thursday he will not invest in bitcoin even though it can be used as a legitimate form of currency. "I think I understand what a digital currency is, how bitcoin works, and some of the arguments for it. But I still don't feel like putting my money into it, because I consider it a speculative bubble," Marks wrote in an investor letter. WATCH: Bitcoin mining can land you in jail in this country More From CNBC GE shares are trading below where they were the day of Lehman's bankruptcy Investor psychology is now in a brand new post-crisis phase, fund manager says Stocks head for weekly decline as insurance shares fall on Irma risk [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] LIVE: Profit = $3,241.56 (83.10 %). BUY B1.49 @ $3,100.00 (#VirCurex). SELL @ $4,712.05 (#BitKonan) #bitcoin #btc - http://www.projectcoin.org \|\| Bitcoin just passed $4,000 - What a day for Bitcoin. 24 hours ago the cryptocurrency was trading below $3,700.... http://ow.ly/zfnT50dpAJM \|\| #Litecoin $LTC price $46.5746, volume $238,106,000 #bitcoin #bitcoincash #bitscreener http://bitscreener.com/coins/litecoin \|\| BTC換算だと落ちてるけど円建てだと増えてる不思議 \|\| 1 KOBO = 0.00004053 BTC = 0.1090 USD = 37.7140 NGN = 1.4093 ZAR = 11.2979 KES #Kobocoin 2017-07-22 00:00 \|\| Bitcoin just passed $4,000 \| TechCrunch: https://techcrunch.com/2017/08/12/bitcoin-just-passed-4000/?ncid=rss … \|\| $2532.10 at 02:15 UTC [24h Range: $2450.00 - $2772.89 Volume: 21920 BTC] \|\| WTI 47.04USD +1.08 Brent 52.35USD +1.49 Bitcoin $4758.15 USD/RUB 58.00 EUR/RUB 68.97 USD/UAH 25.65 EUR/UAH 30.68 RUB/UAH 0.44 UAH/RUB 2.25 \|\| In the last 10 mins, there were arb opps spanning 8 exchange pair(s), yielding profits ranging between $0.00 and $0.22 #bitcoin #btc \|\| Cryptolato BTC Physical ##BitCoin FUNDED .0001 ... - https://goo.gl/yfZ5hM #Antrouter #BitcoinMiner #BITCOINMININGCONTRACT #GntMiningpic.twitter.com/K5f4B4ioB2	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 3154.95, 3637.52, 3625.04, 3582.88, 4065.20, 3924.97, 3905.95, 3631.04, 3630.70, 3792.40
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2021-01-08] BTC Price: 40797.61, BTC RSI: 90.72 Gold Price: 1834.10, Gold RSI: 41.23 Oil Price: 52.24, Oil RSI: 74.03 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Bitcoin Investor and Entrepreneur Haseeb Azizi Shifts His Focus From Bitcoin to Social Media: LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / December 8, 2020 /Haseeb Azizi is a bit of a visionary. He was able to see the promise of Bitcoin before it was cool. As a young software engineer, he believed that Bitcoin, and cryptocurrencies in general, could have a tremendous impact on the future. By using his intuition, he was able to build up a small fortune due to investing in Bitcoin early on. Now, he sees the same sort of potential for social media as he saw in Bitcoin. Social media has been around for a number of years now. However, it hasn't evolved into the massive digital marketing powerhouse it is today until recently. With billions of people on social media, there is a wealth of prospects that entrepreneurs and businesses can benefit from. With his background in IT and the knowledge he gathered on social media over time, Haseeb became the Chief Information Officer at Ascend Agency. This social media marketing agency uses digital marketing and PR strategies to get brands featured, which boosts their popularity and presence. It is Haseeb's role to provide the absolute best for Ascend Agency's clients so that they can further their businesses and media platforms. As someone who saw tremendous success in the cryptocurrency space, Haseeb is someone who can be looked to as a person who understands trends well. That is why it is a good idea to lend an ear to what he has to share about the increasingly important role social media will play within the world in the coming years. The same way that crypto has changed the way we spend money online for goods and services, the internet changed the way businesses operate and communicate with their clients. At the center of it all, Haseeb sees social media as having a tremendous role. Haseeb sees himself as someone who will never be fully out of Bitcoin or full in social media. He likes to assert his presence between businesspeople and influencers so that he becomes a true middleman. In this day and age, they rely on each other. As the CIO of Ascend Agency, Haseeb has already helped numerous businesses grow their audiences on social media and enjoy more leads and sales. Today, the social media landscape is becoming increasingly saturated. However, it's still possible to gain an edge, especially when an experienced and professional social media marketing agency is helping you. Thanks to Haseeb's ability to build a network that includes other social media influencers, he has been able to assert himself as someone who could be trusted. Connecting entrepreneurs and influencers has become his new focus these days, as he pivots away from Bitcoin and dives into the world of social media marketing. He also dedicates some of his time to his brand, Envy Apparel, where he combines social media and ecommerce. If you want to connect with Haseeb Azizi, then you can follow him on his personalInstagram page. Media DetailsWebsite URL:http://www.ascendagency.net/Company Name: Ascend AgencyEmail address:[email protected]: USA SOURCE:Ascend Agency View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/619953/Bitcoin-Investor-and-Entrepreneur-Haseeb-Azizi-Shifts-His-Focus-From-Bitcoin-to-Social-Media \|\| Bitcoin no match for gold in coronavirus world: The recent surge inbitcoin’s price has created some new believers, but the cryptocurrency will never supplantgoldas a store of value or medium of exchange, some Wall Street investors say. The cryptocurrency’s price has soared more than 70% over the past six weeks to more than $18,000 a coin and is 11% below its all-time peak of $20,089 an ounce. At the same time, gold’s price has traded in a tight range between $1,850 and $1,950 an ounce. “To try to act like bitcoin is some kind of improved version of gold, it's going to disrupt gold because it's a better store of value, it's a better medium of exchange, all that is pure nonsense,” said Peter Schiff, CEO of Westport, Conn.-based Euro Pacific Capital. “It's not a store of value because it has no value in store.” CORONAVIRUS VACCINE NOT CURE-ALL FOR BOND INVESTORS Gold, widely viewed as a safe haven for investors seeking to preserve wealth during periods of market upheaval such as the coronavirus pandemic, has value not only in trade but its use in fine jewelry and electrical conductivity. Bitcoin, generated -- or mined -- by the verification of transactions in a blockchain digital ledger, has no use other than as a limited medium of exchange and has historically been subject to wide price swings. Early in the Trump administration, a run-up in bitcoin prices prompted speculation that it could replace sovereign currencies. Excitement surrounding bitcoin in December 2017 spurred the launch of bitcoin futures and led to several platforms allowing customers to buy and sell the digital currency. The wave of interest sparked regulatory concerns in Washington and led to hearings on Capitol Hill in October 2018. “Crypto is the mother or father of all scams and bubbles,” Nouriel Roubini, CEO of Roubini Macro Associates and a professor at New York University’s Stern School of Business, said in testimony before the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Community Affairs. Roubini last week tweaked his view on bitcoin, telling Yahoo Finance the cryptocurrency might be a “partial store of value” because of its limited supply. However, Ray Dalio, founder of Bridgewater Associates, the world’s largest hedge fund with $98.9 billion in assets, tweeted on Tuesday that bitcoin is not a good store of value due to its volatility and the fact that it has little correlation with the prices of goods, so owning it “doesn’t protect” buying power. Google trends show bitcoin searches are just a fraction of their December 2017 peak. While trading of the cryptocurrency has gained traction, its use in digital purchases has not. “A lot of the companies that were kind of jumping on the bitcoin bandwagon back in 2017, they've all walked away,” Schiff said. “Nobody is interested in bitcoin anymore as a payment method.” There are other uses for it, however. PayPal last month became the most recent company to allow users to buy, hold and sell bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies and plans to give customers the ability to use the assets as a funding source inside their PayPal digital wallets, accepted at 26 million merchants worldwide. All transactions with those sellers, however, will be settled in fiat currency. GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE “There's no real use for bitcoin," Schiff said. “All you can do with Bitcoin once you buy it is sell it, but you need somebody else to buy it from you. It’s a massive pump-and-dump.” Related Articles • Best Buy Celebrates 50 Yrs With Saleathon; Will It Turn 60? • Canadian Solar Is Facing More Challenges Than It Appears • Target Adds Private Bathrooms to Quell Transgender Debate \|\| Sure, we could see another year of double-digit returns: Morning Brief: Monday, January 1, 2021 Get the Morning Brief sent directly to your inbox every Monday to Friday by 6:30 a.m. ET.Subscribe The stock marketclosed outan already impressive year with a powerful year-end rally, with the S&P 500 (^GSPC) climbing 14.9% in November and December. In the post-World War II era, the S&P delivered >10% gains during the final two months of the year just five other times (1954, 1962, 1970, 1985, and 1998). And asLPL Financial analysts observed, each of those five experiences were followed by a year of >10% returns in the market with an average gain of 18%. A big 2021 would be particularly impressive considering the run the market has already been on. Last year’s16% gainfollows a massive29% surge in 2019. DataTrek Research looked back at the history and observed that the market delivered three (or more) consecutive years of >10% five other times: 1942-1945, 1949-1952, 1963-1965, 1995-1999, and 2012-2014. While it wouldn’t be unprecedented to have another year of double-digit returns, it would be pretty unusual. And DataTrek’s Nicholas Colas has his doubts. “If we had to guesstimate, we’d say 80% of all the baseline good news expected in 2021 is already incorporated in an S&P 500 at 3,700 in late December 2020,” Colas wrote last week. As we discussed in theMorning Brief last Wednesday, the stock market at present reflects expectations for the future. And there are lots of bullish things that people are confident will happen in the coming months. “Do we really think investors haven’t figured out that corporate earnings will rebound sharply in 2021?” Colas said. “Or that they don’t believe the Federal Reserve is serious about keeping interest rates low across the curve?” If stocks are going to have another blowout year, Colas thinks we’d have to see earnings growth that is stronger than the strength already expected; a COVID-19 vaccine rollout that happens much quicker than expected; and/or more fiscal stimulus than is on its way. The truth is we really are living in unprecedented times andhistory won’t be very helpfulin predicting what’s to come. Indeed, there’s a strong argument to be made that all the perceived optimism about the future is actually far more conservative than most think, which means therisks could be tilted to the upside. All of this will become much more clear in hindsight. BySam Ro, managing editor. Follow him at@SamRo Economy • 9:45 a.m. ET:Markit US Manufacturing PMI,December final (56.3 expected, 56.5 in prior print) • 10:00 a.m. ET:Construction spending,month-over-month, November (1.0% expected, 1.3% in October) Earnings • No notable releases scheduled Also:Georgia Senate runoffs, December jobs report: What to know in the week ahead European shares surges as Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine rollout begins[Yahoo Finance UK] Ladbrokes owner Entain rejects $11 billion offer from MGM Resorts[Yahoo Finance UK] Carl Icahn sells over half his Herbalife stake for $600 million[Reuters] Bitcoin holds above $30,000 after weekend rally[Yahoo Finance UK] This new plastics company backed by Pepsi is trying to save the planet Rolls-Royce introduces a car for the 'post-opulence era' Pernod Ricard: Drinkers like deliveries, but bar life will see 'resurgence' as COVID vaccine rolls out — Follow Yahoo Finance onTwitter,Facebook,Instagram,Flipboard,SmartNews,LinkedIn,YouTube, andreddit. Find live stock market quotes and the latest business and finance news For tutorials and information on investing and trading stocks, check outCashay \|\| Blockchain Bites: Price Point! Bitcoin at $50K? $60K? $318K?: Traders have begun unwrapping tokenized bitcoins. The U.S. Treasury Department will keep a vigilant eye on digital innovations. And trading volumes on OKEx have plummeted. Forced burnRipple Chief Technology Officer David Schwartz tweeted the community couldforce the burning of billionsof the protocol’sXRPnative tokens held in escrow to prevent the drop in price that would likely occur should those billions in frozen tokens ever flood the market. On Dec. 2 a Twitter user asked the CTO, “If Nodes, validators and the community at large got together and we agree that it’s better for the community to burn the 50 billion XRP Ripple has in escrows, would that be possible?” Responding to the tweet, David Schwartz implied that majority rule would win in such a decision. Innovation or risk?The U.S. Department of the Treasury wants state and federal regulators to keep avigilant watch on digital asset innovation, which could upset the balance of the current financial system. According to a report released on Thursday by the Financial Stability Oversight Council, digital assets are a “particularly good example” of both benefits and potential risks associated with innovation. The report highlighted the ambitions by nations around the world in their experiments with central bank digital currencies (CBDC) as a way to “enhance the global standing of their own currencies and enable faster payments.” Related:Money Reimagined: Bitcoin vs. Gold Is a Battle of Narratives Unwrapped wBCTWrapped bitcoin, thebitcoin-backed token on Ethereumnow worth over $2 billion, has seen an increase in burns (or “unwrappings”) by some of its largest users as the Ethereum-based decentralized finance sector continues to cool. BitGo clients including Three Arrows Capital and Alameda Research are exchanging an increasing amount of their tokenized bitcoins minted earlier this year for real bitcoins as the bullish cryptocurrency market continues to center on bitcoin and Ethereum’s decentralized finance takes a back seat for now. In the months following DeFi’s red-hot summer when bitcoins were wrapped faster than they were mined, the sector has cooled significantly. Not OKA sharp drop in OKEx’s trading volume and stablecoin reserves –tetherin particular – may reveal anongoing exodus of its usersafter the popular crypto derivatives exchange unexpectedly halted all crypto withdrawal activities for about five weeks. Data from analytics service CryptoQuant shows the amount of tether held in OKEx wallets has dropped to 6.69 million from 275.0 million between Nov. 25 and Dec. 1, down 97.6% in less than a week. At the same time, total daily trading volume on OKEx has declined significantly during the same time period – down approximately 67.7% from Nov. 25, according to data compiled by CoinDesk. The volume of tether traded on OKEx plunged 70%. Mirror, mirrorThe creators of stablecoin platform Terra announced the launch of theMirror ProtocolThursday, a way to mint crypto assets that mimic the value of shares in publicly traded companies like Apple or Tesla. The new protocol will also bring a new liquidity mining opportunity to Terra’s Tendermint-based blockchain. Known as mAssets, these tokens will track the price of U.S.-based equities in the real stock market, using an oracle system that’s able to check prices every six minutes. “The retail investor is at the center of this growing demand for U.S. equities and global equity derivatives. The stock market is no longer the exclusive purview of Wall Street’s suits, whether in New York, London or Tokyo,” Arrington XRP argues in its report. • FINTECH BANKING:Stripe Partnering With Goldman, Citigroup, Others to Offer Checking Accounts, Services: Report (CoinDesk) • BITCOIN BUNCH:This family bet everything on bitcoin when it was $900 – and bought more when it crashed in 2018 (CNBC) • DEFINING DEFI:Lex Sokolin: How do you do valuations of open-source software? Recent DeFi acquisitions may shine light. (CoinDesk Opinion) • NOT CAPTCHA’D:Human Protocol, the backbone for anti-bot system hCaptcha, announced Thursday it will be expanding beyond Ethereum to a future Polkadot parachain, Moonbeam. (CoinDesk) • OMG, RALLY!Genesis Block Ventures acquired OMG Network (an off-chain Ethereum solution) triggering a double-digit rally in the network’sOMGtoken. (CoinDesk) • CENTRALIZED CBDC:Russia’s crypto community fears digital ruble might means going “back to USSR.” (CoinDesk) • $41 BILLION:Decentralized finance platforms were responsible for 99% of Ethereum transaction volume last month. (Decrypt) • $600 MILLION:One millionETHis now locked up in Ethereum 2.0. (Decrypt) Price point!I was reading that CNBC story on the Dutch family that bet it all on bitcoin. In 2017, a small business owner sold all his assets – company, house and accumulated detritus – and moved his family of five into a van. “We stepped into bitcoin because we wanted to change our lives,” Didi Taihuttu toldCNBC. Related:First Mover: Bitcoin Below $19K and Customers Flee OKEx That’s wild! The media also quoted Taihuttu’s price prediction for a $200,000 bitcoin by 2022. He’s a man that acts on instinct and knows things in his gut. It’s seemingly worked out for him so far. CNBC went on to quote several price predictions from the respected and respectable folk in crypto. Mike Novogratz, CEO of merchant bank Galaxy Digital, reportedly said bitcoin could reach $60,000 by next year. While a Citibank report geared for institutional clients made the case that one BTC could change hands for $318,000 by December 2021. That’s really wild! Unquoted was Bloomberg’s recent, and more modest, prediction that bitcoin couldhit $50,000sometime next year. That’s more than double the price of bitcoin’s all-time high! And infers a $1 trillion market cap! A lot ofgood datagets thrown into price predictions. There’stechnical analysisof candles and wedges, there aresurveysof high-net individuals and comparisons to similar movements in both bitcoin’s historical charts as well as analogue assets. (Want to understand bitcoin today?Study goldin the 1970s!) But I wouldn’t put much store in them. This time three years ago, computer whiz and self-declaredmadmanJohn McAfee had such strongconvictionsthat bitcoin would hit $500,000 within three years (this year, incidentally) he would ingest his genitals. After years of target prices that were welloff their mark, it’s reasonable to suggest that most claims on bitcoin’s future price are more gut than calculus, more wager than assured. Sometimes it pays off. But understanding that one BTC is always one BTC, you’ll never be wrong. • Blockchain Bites: Price Point! Bitcoin at $50K? $60K? $318K? • Blockchain Bites: Price Point! Bitcoin at $50K? $60K? $318K? \|\| Josh Brown Loves GM Right Now: 'They're Going From A Combustion Engine Giant To An Electric Giant': Josh Brown, CEO of Ritholtz Wealth Management and author of the new book “How I Invest My Money,” joined Benzinga’sPreMarket PrepFriday morning. Electric vehicle stocks have been red-hot in 2020, and Brown said his favorite stock at the moment is unconventional EV playGeneral Motors Company(NYSE:GM). Changing GM Story:Brown discussed his excitement about General Motors due to a combination of a recent technical breakout and a shift in the company's fundamental story. “The stock I’ve been most excited about recently is General Motors, which is a hometown favorite for you guys," said Brown. "People have been saying it’s like a value stock—it’s cheap, it’s cheap—for like 12 years. But I’m not interested in that. I don’t want to buy something just because it’s cheap because I think markets are pretty efficient and my attitude is it’s cheap for a reason." However, a recent technical breakout in GM’s shart suggests something may have changed in the minds of investors. “They’re going from a combustion engine giant to an electric giant. It looks like they want to get this done like overnight," he said. Related Link:eToro's Founder On Buying Bitcoin In 2011, US Expansion, How Dinner With Warren Buffett Changed His Life GM Vs. Tesla:Brown noted GM is beating bothAlphabet, Inc.(NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) andTesla, Inc.(NASDAQ:TSLA) to a major U.S. market in launching robo-taxis in San Francisco in December. "They keep announcing more and more investment in next-generation stuff, so you look at that, you look at the valuation Uber and Lyft have on the market and you think about the potential valuation for what Cruise might be. It's the first autonomous taxi service in any major city in the country,” Brown said. “They’re getting this done before Google, they’re getting this done before Tesla, and I don’t think the share price has gotten enough credit for that,” Brown said. Brown said he is not calling for GM to trade at a similar valuation as Tesla, but argued that the valuation gap "should close” between the two stocks. “Maybe one is too expensive, but one is probably too cheap." Watch the full interview with Josh Brown in the clip below, or listen to the podcasthere PreMarket Prep is a daily trading show hosted by prop trader Dennis Dick and former floor trader Joel Elconin. You can watch PreMarket Prep live every day from 8-9 a.m. ETBenzinga's YouTube channel, and the podcast is onSpotify,iTunes,Google Play,Soundcloud,StitcherandTunein. See more from Benzinga • Click here for options trades from Benzinga • Tesla's Valuation Is Greater Than Nearly The Entire Established Auto Industry • Q3 13F Roundup: How Buffett, Einhorn, Ackman And Others Adjusted Their Portfolios © 2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| Bitcoin Is the Biggest Big Short: Short-sellers, who make money when the price of a targeted financial instrument declines, aren’t always popular with corporate or government leaders. Those on the receiving end of contrarian bets against stocks or currencies tend to portray them as sharks undermining people striving to build, grow and create value. This, if you’ll excuse the pun, is short-sighted. Short-selling is a necessary part of any functioning, efficient financial system. It provides liquidity, ensuring there’s a seller on the other side of each bid. And when viewed in totality, those occasions where the short-seller ends up winning offer invaluable signals on how society should better allocate resources. Related:Blockchain Bites: BlockRock Exec Says Bitcoin Is 'Here to Stay,' Investors Load Into BTC Puts I say this because at a time when its price is again soaring,bitcoinshould essentially be viewed as a massive short position against the entire financial system. (Even bigger than the “The Big Short.”) Bitcoin is more than a hedge against inflation. Indeed, amid an extended period of historically low rates of increase in the consumer price index, there’s currently no clear correlation between bitcoin’s rising price and mainstream measures of inflation. Rather, bitcoin’s core value lies in its decentralized governance design being divorced from the political system, a feature no other asset of its size and liquidity can claim, perhaps with the exception of gold. Its positioning against inflation is an outcome of that, not its essence. If people lose confidence in their government’s capacity to sustain the trusted, social covenant on which fiat money is founded, the value of that money collapses, resulting in hyperinflation. Because of its depoliticized status, bitcoin gains in value in that environment. Related:First Mover: Bitcoin ‘Rich List’ Grows as Whales HODL and Price Retakes $18K So if you’re long bitcoin, you are positioned to benefit if the system of governance on which the entire world depends for security and well-being collapses. Still feel good about it? I’m here to tell you it’s OK. Just as short-sellers of stocks have not destroyed the stock market, neither will bitcoin investors bring down that system. Instead, what they’ll do, I hope, is pressure policymakers to reform the system in ways that better serve their constituents and sustain the social covenant of money. I don’t know about you, I like thinking the success of a long-bitcoin bet can lie in driving a constructive improvement in the incumbent system rather than destroying it entirely. After too many episodes of “The Walking Dead,” I can say with assurance that dystopia is not for me. But let’s be clear: Bitcoin’s nice fat gainsdoreflect people’s rising fear that our century-old governance model for the global financial system is failing. There are reasons: unsustainable debt levels; anemic growth despite masses of quantitative easing; economic inequality; the COVID-19 shock; and how, in a decentralized, social media information system where truth is being questioned, people sense a loss of agency in their and their communities’ lives. Part of the problem is that elite conversations around the solutions are mired in the assumption the old system of government will continue as is. This feeds an expectation of failure, which bit by bit leads more and more people to believe that, even if they’re not “all in” on a bet against that system, they should hold some bitcoin in case the worst arises. With all of that just-in-case hedging activity, the global short position grows and bitcoin’s price rises. We need policymakers to recognize what those market signals are telling them: that the existing model is both failing and fragile. Currently, they do not. Let’s hope they get it soon because we all should care that the solution is not violent, destructive revolution but constructive evolution. This is not an anti-establishment argument. It’s most definitely not an endorsement of the nihilistic ethos of Trumpism. It’s a call to recognize that bailouts (socialized corporate losses) and monetary stimulus (put options for stock market speculators) have papered over deep problems in the economy and done little to raise the happiness of the world’s citizenry. It’s saying we need a new approach to secure an effective market economy, one that empowers everybody to seize opportunities on a level playing field. And if we achieve that, if the national government-run system evolves to a point where it regains popular support, what role does bitcoin play in that modified system? What is its larger purpose beyond being a hedge against systemic meltdown? It’s hard to see where the sustained value would lie in an asset whoseonlypurpose is to hedge against that worst-case outcome if that outcome doesn’t eventuate. I think bitcoin’s purpose lies in it becoming a kind of societal reserve asset. This is a concept beyond both the ideas of a government-held reserve currency and of gold’s long-running status as a citizens’ hedge against monetary meltdown. The early elements of it can be seen in how bitcoin has been incorporated into decentralized finance (DeFi) as a kind of uber form of collateral. While we might not use bitcoin to buy cups of coffee, for which dollars or yen or something else will suffice, it could become a fundamental store of digital value upon which the overarching financial system rests. Right now, if you look at the global bond market, that role is occupied by U.S. Treasury bills, notes and bonds. Those U.S. government debt instruments provide the base-layer collateral upon which Wall Street has built a hierarchical system by which financial institutions extend all other forms of credit to the outside world. But in the future, once crypto ownership and market participation is sufficiently wide and digital asset markets are sufficiently liquid and sophisticated that price volatility declines, bitcoin could play a similar role. Its protocol-assured scarcity, along with its programmable qualities and its future capacity to interoperate with central bank digital currencies, stablecoins and other digital assets, will ultimately make for a superior underlying store of value than anything a trust-compromised government can offer up. Don’t be distracted by strong worldwide demand for dollars. Confidence in the U.S. government-led global financial system is eroding, as the bitcoin short position itself demonstrates. Once that loss of trust reaches a tipping point, society will need another form of base-layer collateral to replace U.S. government debt. Therein lies a post-crisis role for the world’s most important cryptocurrency. This week’s accompanyingMoney Reimagined podcastlooks at the adoption of cryptocurrencies and stablecoins in emerging markets, which over the past year has seen real signs of life. Is this finally the moment to realize one of the great hopes of this technology: to enable financial empowerment in developing countries where traditional finance is constrained? To explore that question, my co-host Sheila Warren and I are joined by Elizabeth Rossiello, the founder and CEO of AZA, which has for seven years been developing digital payment solutions in African markets, and Sebastian Serrano, the founder and CEO of Ripio, which has been doing similar work in Latin America for more or less the same amount of time. It has been a huge week for bitcoin, whose price is now closing in on the all-time high it hit in 2017 and whose market capitalization has already surpassed the high of that period. But in one very important way, this rally is quite different from that of three years ago. There’s a relative absence of the “FOMO” crowd, the retail investors who don’t want to miss out on the big winnings others are enjoying. And the following chart gives a pretty good representation of that. Unlike 2017, Google search activity around the term “bitcoin” – a proxy for the curiosity of the general population – has hardly budged from the levels of the past few years, even as the price has surged. Instead of the retail investor commentary, this time the news around this up-cycle is dominated by big-name, deep-pocketed investors discovering bitcoin. It involves people like MicroStrategy’s Michael Saylor, hedge fund veteran Stanley Druckenmiller, Citibank analyst Tom Fitzpatrick and, earlier today, BlackRock CIO for Fixed Income, Rick Rieder, whohintedon CNBC that the world’s largest asset manager, with more than $7 trillion under management, now sees bitcoin as a better hedge than gold. This is a Wall Street rally, in other words, not a Main Street rally. “Once bitten twice shy” may be the reason retail investors are sitting on the sidelines this time. Too many people lost their shirts by piling into the trade at the peak of the 2017 bubble. Another may be that without the initial coin offering (ICO) boom that fueled an accompanying surge in hundreds of ERC-20 tokens alongside bitcoin, the buzz around the crypto rally generally isn’t as loud. But I think it’s also worth recognizing the logic of the rally is quite different. This one comes amid a backdrop of concern about the outlook for inflation, fiscal debt and political stability. Those concerns are being addressed by professional investors who are taking a long-term look at bitcoin’s potential as a hedge against all that (as per the column above.) This is less of a get-rich-quick rally, and more of an insurance play. That’s not to say those bigwigs aren’t also looking to make a killing. It’s also not to say that at some point this “professional” rally doesn’t excite another round of FOMO among the masses. While some investors are starting to protect themselvesagainst a correction, the fact that Joe Six-Pack has yet to jump in could suggest there’s still upside in this for bitcoin. DIFFERENT KIND OF SAME.“Innovation” is a magic buzzword that conveys progress and daring. That quality makes it ideal for obfuscation. Case in point: a piece on the website of the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum (OMFIF) this week with the title “The second wave of central bank policy innovation.” If you’re looking for descriptions of radical new digital currency projects in places like the Bahamas, Thailand and China, you won’t find them in this report. What’s meant by “innovation” here is a variety of new means by which central banks are really just extending an existing playbook into new areas, specifically by buying a wider array of assets to pump money into their financial systems. It’s a more extreme, riskier version of the same new policy “tool” that arose after interest rates had been pushed to near zero after the 2008 crisis: quantitative easing. The problem with endless “QE” is central banks are running out of government bonds to buy; fiscal debt issuance calendars can’t keep up. So, to keep the money expansion going, they are reaching into riskier asset classes, including municipal and corporate bonds. The U.S. Federal Reserve has set the example with its Secondary Market Corporate Credit Facility, with which it buys corporate debt, and with a separate program for buying municipal bonds. Now, we learn from OMFIF that after the Bank of England “introduced a term funding scheme for small- and medium-sized enterprises” in March, the same model has been adopted by central banks in Australia, Taiwan, New Zealand and elsewhere. With these schemes, central banks, which are supposed to be politically independent, become creditors to entities whose interests can be politicized. If these new debtors face default in the post-COVID debt reckoning, they will be tempted to call on the support of politicians they’ve backed to pressure the central bank to forgive or restructure those debts. This is what will ultimately undermine fiat currencies. Those bonds, now sitting garishly on central banks’ balance sheets as private or political assets, are supposed to more than offset the principal liability: the monetary base. Politicizing those assets will raise concerns about their future value, which will weaken confidence in the currency. So, whereas the OMFIF piece says these efforts show that “Central banks have shown a continued willingness to reinvent their monetary policy toolkits,” you could equally say they’ve shown a continued willingness to double down a 10-year old bet that’s reached the end of its usefulness. ELITE FACTORIES.Biologists offer a unique perspective on complex systems such as economies. In studying how ecosystems and species populations can reach breaking points caused by dynamics of the supply and consumption of resources, they find patterns that human societies tend to mimic over time. In that context, the latest observations by Peter Turchin, a pine beetle expert turned cultural theorist, are somewhat alarming. Aslaid out by Graeme Wood in The Atlantic, Turchin believes the hierarchies in Western societies like the U.S. are fueling tensions due to an “overproduction of elites.” Societies that have geared their education and professional systems toward rewarding a privileged but relatively large minority are struggling to find constructive uses for them, while the majority who lie outside of that elite bubble have no upward mobility. This, Turchin suggests, is the root cause of the angst playing out in events such as the still unresolved 2020 election. It’s leading to a breakdown in trust and the failure of institutions. What does this have to do with cryptocurrencies and blockchains? Well, in theory at least, those systems are supposed to reward people for their participation in open-source, collaborative development and, in their purest form, require no identification to participate. Crypto-based bug bounties, for example, can reward whichever developer finds vulnerabilities in software code without consideration of their identity or educational credentials. To think a blockchain development community is utopian is, however, naive. There are all sorts of ways in which the privilege of circumstance and upbringing rewards certain people and not others. It is no accident that the vast majority of crypto engineers are white males. It’s a product of a societally formed superstructure – the very same hierarchical system that Turchin said is powering toward its own oblivion. The trick is to figure how to take the best of these open development models while proactively seeding them with newcomers from outside the existing elite production facilities at top-ranking universities. THE TIP OF THE ICEBERG.The debt crisis fueled by the COVID-19 shutdowns remains in suspended animation. Itwillget worse once stop-gap measures like rent suspension and mortgage forbearance run out next year as stretched creditors start to demand what is theirs. In fact, as shown bythis Wall Street Journal examinationof the U.S. government’s aggressive Payroll Protection Program loans to small businesses, the fallout may already be starting. The reporters found that “about 300 companies that received as much as half a billion dollars in pandemic-related government loans have filed for bankruptcy.” These numbers will surely rise. And as any student of debt crisis knows, bankruptcies beget bankruptcies. Each debtor’s default leaves their creditors with less funds to paytheirdebts. A self-perpetuating cycle takes hold. I think this looming problem is the core driver of why big-name investors are gravitating toward bitcoin. Governments the world over will be confronted with delayed bailout demands far bigger than those they’ve already faced. Can they afford to raise taxes to pay for those bailouts? Hardly. So, many will call on their central banks to do even more than they’re already doing to try to keep their economies afloat. (See the column and the item above for why that will be problematic.) The social covenant of money is at stake. Bitcoin offers an alternative. Well, that’s a gloomy GTH this week! (My editor, Ben Schiller, suggests rebranding the section to “Apocalypse Watch.”) Sadly, soaring bitcoin prices tend to correlate with bad news for everyone but crypto investors. What the History of Airlines Tells Us About Blockchain Commerce.In 2014, when he was at IBM, Paul Brody wrote a groundbreaking piece on the role blockchain technology could play in regulating the internet of things. He opined then on how this would unleash an entirely new economy in which pretty much every asset and product would be in play within a fluid digital marketplace that greatly improved price discovery and resource allocation. Now, as blockchain lead at EY, Brody is a regular opinion writer for CoinDesk. In this piece he returns to his IoT thesis and offers a history lesson on how these shifts could massively disrupt different industries – in this case focusing on digitization in the airline industry. The Dark Future Where Payments Are Politicized and Bitcoin Wins.I really don’t mean to take issue with JP Koning regularly. He is truly an excellent writer whose clear, BS-free thinking on money adds great perspective to our understanding of how it is evolving. But this is the second week running I feel compelled to counter one of his CoinDesk columns. As I lay out in this week’s column, I think it’s overly alarmist to assume that the only way bitcoin “wins” is for society to go into dystopian meltdown. It’s not an all-or-nothing bet. This is, as always, a good read, though. Lightning Network’s New Liquidity Marketplace Attracts a ‘Surprising’ Mix of Individuals, Enterprises.The Lightning network has long been promised as a “layer 2” solution to increase the throughput and lower the cost of bitcoin transactions by removing them from the space-constrained main blockchain. The problem is that nodes need to always have pre-seeded funds available inside the payment channels they set up with counterparties. Now, it looks like there’s a decentralized system for resolving those moments when the bitcoin isn’t there. Colin Harper reports. CoinDesk Daily News.Get your daily fix of crypto news from this brand new, fast moving feature on the CoinDesk videos tab, featuring our new TV anchor, Christine Lee. • Bitcoin Is the Biggest Big Short • Bitcoin Is the Biggest Big Short \|\| GLOBAL MARKETS-Stocks, U.S. yields climb after Democrats win control of the Senate: * Treasury benchmark yield hits 10-month high * Dollar bounces after touching near 3-year low * U.S., global equity indexes hit record highs (Updates to U.S. stock market close) By Rodrigo Campos NEW YORK, Jan 7 (Reuters) - Bond prices dropped and stocks hit record highs on Thursday as investors bet Democratic control of the U.S. Congress would enable President-elect Joe Biden to borrow and spend heavily, while higher yields helped a bruised dollar recover from near three-year lows. The bullish sentiment remained throughout the day even as the top two Democrats in Congress called for President Donald Trump to be removed from office, one day after his supporters stormed and vandalized the U.S. Capitol in a rampage that left four people dead. U.S. Treasuries prices extended their steepest sell-off in months, with the benchmark yield at its highest in 10 months. Victories in two Georgia races handed the Democratic Party narrow control of the U.S. Senate, bolstering Biden's power to pass his agenda with his party controlling both chambers. The MSCI world equity index, which tracks shares in almost 50 countries, rose more than 1% to hit a record high for the third session this week. After a shaken Congress formally certified Biden's election victory in the early hours of Thursday, Wall Street focused on the implications of the Democrats' control of Congress. Major indexes hit record highs on bets that more pandemic stimulus will help the economy ride out the downturn. "The market is now looking past Trump and it's looking forward to a Biden presidency, more structure and stimulus," said Dennis Dick, a trader at Bright Trading LLC. "A Democratic Congress is going to obviously be more concerned about the small businesses, and the Main Street." The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 211.73 points, or 0.69%, to 31,041.13, the S&P 500 gained 55.65 points, or 1.48%, to 3,803.79 and the Nasdaq Composite added 326.69 points, or 2.56%, to 13,067.48. Story continues The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.51% and MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe gained 1.18%. Emerging market stocks rose 0.53%. Earlier, MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan had risen 0.35% and Japan's Nikkei hit its intraday highest since 1990 before ending up 1.6%. The prospect for future stimulus spending sent bond prices lower, with the yield on the benchmark hitting its highest since March. It rose as high as 1.088% on Thursday. "The Georgia Senate elections just added a tailwind to existing trends of reflation and upward pressure on Treasury yields," said Bill Merz, head of fixed income research at U.S. Bank Wealth Management in Minneapolis. Benchmark 10-year notes last fell 12/32 in price to yield 1.0812%, from 1.042% late on Wednesday. The 30-year bond last fell 27/32 in price to yield 1.859%, from 1.821%. BRUISED DOLLAR The Democrats' victory also reverberated in currency markets. The dollar had sunk to a near three-year low against a basket of six major currencies, with traders betting growing U.S. trade and budget deficits would further weigh on the greenback. On Thursday, it rose 0.549%, on track for its strongest session since at least late October, with the euro down 0.02% to $1.2268. The Japanese yen strengthened 0.01% versus the greenback at 103.78 per dollar, while Sterling was last trading at $1.3564, up 0.01% on the day. "Once (Treasury yields) start to move, as they did yesterday, it wasnâ€™t a big move but it was in the right direction, that is the direction of the future," said Joseph Trevisani, senior analyst at FXStreet.com. Oil prices touched their highest since late February as markets remained focused on Saudi Arabia's unexpected pledge to deepen its oil cuts. U.S. crude recently rose 0.57% to $50.92 per barrel and Brent was at $54.57, up 0.5% on the day. Spot gold % to $1,913.07 an ounce. Silver gained 0.19% to $27.16. Bitcoin hit a record high that breached the $40,000 mark, and was last up 7.05% at $39,446.75. (Reporting by Rodrigo Campos; additional reporting by Tom Wilson and Noah Browning in London, Laura Sanicola, Herbert Lash and Chuck Mikolajczak in New York and Karen Pierog in Chicago; Editing by Alistair Bell, Nick Zieminski and Dan Grebler) \|\| Bitcoin Investor and Entrepreneur Haseeb Azizi Shifts His Focus From Bitcoin to Social Media: LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / December 8, 2020 / Haseeb Azizi is a bit of a visionary. He was able to see the promise of Bitcoin before it was cool. As a young software engineer, he believed that Bitcoin, and cryptocurrencies in general, could have a tremendous impact on the future. By using his intuition, he was able to build up a small fortune due to investing in Bitcoin early on. Now, he sees the same sort of potential for social media as he saw in Bitcoin. Social media has been around for a number of years now. However, it hasn't evolved into the massive digital marketing powerhouse it is today until recently. With billions of people on social media, there is a wealth of prospects that entrepreneurs and businesses can benefit from. With his background in IT and the knowledge he gathered on social media over time, Haseeb became the Chief Information Officer at Ascend Agency. This social media marketing agency uses digital marketing and PR strategies to get brands featured, which boosts their popularity and presence. It is Haseeb's role to provide the absolute best for Ascend Agency's clients so that they can further their businesses and media platforms. As someone who saw tremendous success in the cryptocurrency space, Haseeb is someone who can be looked to as a person who understands trends well. That is why it is a good idea to lend an ear to what he has to share about the increasingly important role social media will play within the world in the coming years. The same way that crypto has changed the way we spend money online for goods and services, the internet changed the way businesses operate and communicate with their clients. At the center of it all, Haseeb sees social media as having a tremendous role. Haseeb sees himself as someone who will never be fully out of Bitcoin or full in social media. He likes to assert his presence between businesspeople and influencers so that he becomes a true middleman. In this day and age, they rely on each other. Story continues As the CIO of Ascend Agency, Haseeb has already helped numerous businesses grow their audiences on social media and enjoy more leads and sales. Today, the social media landscape is becoming increasingly saturated. However, it's still possible to gain an edge, especially when an experienced and professional social media marketing agency is helping you. Thanks to Haseeb's ability to build a network that includes other social media influencers, he has been able to assert himself as someone who could be trusted. Connecting entrepreneurs and influencers has become his new focus these days, as he pivots away from Bitcoin and dives into the world of social media marketing. He also dedicates some of his time to his brand, Envy Apparel, where he combines social media and ecommerce. If you want to connect with Haseeb Azizi, then you can follow him on his personal Instagram page . Media Details Website URL: http://www.ascendagency.net/ Company Name: Ascend Agency Email address: [email protected] Country: USA SOURCE: Ascend Agency View source version on accesswire.com: https://www.accesswire.com/619953/Bitcoin-Investor-and-Entrepreneur-Haseeb-Azizi-Shifts-His-Focus-From-Bitcoin-to-Social-Media \|\| BIGG Digital Assets Inc. Announces Upsize of Previously Announced Overnight Marketed Public Offering to $6 Million: NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWS WIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE U.S. VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Nov. 12, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- BIGG Digital Assets Inc. (BIGG or the Company) (CSE: BIGG; OTCQB: BBKCF; WKN: A2PS9W) is pleased to announce that, due to strong investor demand, it has increased its previously announced overnight public marketed offering to 25,000,000 units of the Company (Units) at a price of $0.24 per Unit for gross proceeds of approximately $6 million (the Offering). The Offering is being conducted by a syndicate of underwriters led by PI Financial Corp. and including Canaccord Genuity Corp., Echelon Wealth Partners, Haywood Securities Inc. and M Partners Inc. (collectively, the Underwriters). The Company will shortly file an amended and restated preliminary short form prospectus (the AR Preliminary Prospectus) with the securities commissions in each of the provinces of Canada (other than Québec) amending and restating the preliminary short form prospectus dated November 11, 2020 to reflect the terms of the Offering. Copies of the AR Preliminary Prospectus will be available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com . Each Unit will consist of one common share of the Company (a Common Share) and one-half Common Share purchase warrant (each such full warrant, a Warrant). Each Warrant will entitle the holder thereof to purchase one Common Share (a Warrant Share) at a price equal to $0.30 per Warrant Share for a period of 24 months following the closing of the Offering, subject to an accelerated expiry if the ten trading day volume-weighted average price of the Common Shares on the Canadian Securities Exchange (the CSE) is equal to or greater than $0.60 per Common Share. The Offering is made pursuant to the terms of an underwriting agreement, as amended, with the Underwriters, which grants the Underwriters an over-allotment option to increase the size of the Offering by up to 15% of the aggregate number of Units (or the components thereof) on the same terms and conditions of the Offering (the Over-Allotment Option), exercisable in whole or in part at any time up to 30 days after and including the closing date of the Offering. In the event that the Over-Allotment Option is exercised in full, the aggregate gross proceeds of the Offering to the Company will be $6.9 million. Story continues The Company intends to use the proceeds from the Offering for research and development, expansion of sales and marketing teams for Blockchain Intelligence Group internationally and Netcoins domestically, additional liquidity for Netcoins trade settlement, increase of long-term Bitcoin investment holdings, and working capital. The Offering is expected to close on or about November 30, 2020 and is subject to certain conditions including, but not limited to, the receipt of all necessary approvals, including the approval of the CSE. This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities in the United States. The securities have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the U.S. Securities Act) or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to U.S. Persons unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or an exemption from such registration is available. On behalf of Board Mark Binns CEO [email protected] T:+1.844.515.2646 The CSE does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release. About BIGG Digital Assets Inc. BIGG believes the future of crypto is a safe, compliant, and regulated environment. BIGG invests in products and companies to support this vision. BIGG owns two operating companies: Blockchain Intelligence Group (blockchaingroup.io) and Netcoins (netcoins.ca). Blockchain Intelligence Group (BIG) has developed a Blockchain-agnostic search and analytics engine, QLUETM, enabling Law Enforcement, RegTech, Regulators and Government Agencies to visually track, trace and monitor cryptocurrency transactions at a forensic level. Our commercial product, BitRank Verified® , offers a risk score for cryptocurrencies, enabling RegTech, banks, ATMs, exchanges, and retailers to meet traditional regulatory/compliance requirements. Netcoins develops brokerage and exchange software to make the purchase and sale of cryptocurrency easily accessible to the mass consumer and investor with a focus on compliance and safety. Netcoins utilizes BitRank Verified® software at the heart of its platform and facilitates crypto trading via a self-serve crypto brokerage portal at Netcoins.app. For more information and to register to BIGGs mailing list, please visit our website at https://www.biggdigitalassets.com . Or visit SEDAR at www.sedar.com . Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward Looking Information This press release contains forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws. All statements that are not historical facts, including without limitation, statements regarding future estimates, plans, programs, forecasts, projections, objectives, assumptions, expectations or beliefs of future performance, statements regarding the ability of the Company to close the Offering, the anticipated terms of the Offering, the anticipated use of proceeds from the Offering, the proposed timing of the Offering, and the Companys beliefs about the future of crypto are "forward-looking statements". Forward-looking information can be identified by the use of words such as will or believe or variations of such words or statements that certain actions, events or results will be taken, occur or be achieved. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, as there can be no assurance that the plans, intentions or expectations upon which they are based will occur. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve numerous assumptions, known and unknown risks and uncertainties, both general and specific, that contribute to the possibility that the predictions, estimates, forecasts, projections and other forward-looking statements will not occur. These assumptions, risks and uncertainties include, among other things, the state of the economy in general and capital markets in particular, and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of BIGG. Forward-looking statements contained in this press release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. Undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking information because BIGG can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from BIGGs expectations include, consumer sentiment towards BIGGs products and Blockchain technology generally, technology failures, competition, and failure of counterparties to perform their contractual obligations. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date of this press release. Except as required by law, BIGG disclaims any intention and assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Additionally, BIGG undertakes no obligation to comment on the expectations of, or statements made by, third parties in respect of the matters discussed above. \|\| Fed vows to keep supporting US economy: The US Federal Reserve pledged to keep its foot on the accelerator to fight the Covid-19 pandemic last night as politicians close in on a new $900bn (£658bn) stimulus package to aid the economy. The central bank kept its main rate close to zero - where it is likely to stay until at least 2023 - and said it would maintain its $120bn a month in asset purchases until “substantial further progress” on reflating the economy and cutting unemployment was made. The Fed took a slightly more optimistic view on prospects next year, lifting growth forecasts from 4pc to 4.2pc. But it also stressed the “tremendous human and economic hardship” of a virus which has now claimed 300,000 lives in the US. Infection rates are hitting new highs even as the world’s largest economy begins a vaccination programme, putting pressure on Congress to agree on more support. Millions of Americans will lose temporary benefits at the end of this month when provisions under the original $2.2trn Cares Act expire. Reports suggest that warring Democrats and Republicans are close to a compromise deal which could include $700 payments to households and extend unemployment benefits, with voting on the new package beginning as soon as today. (Thur) A bigger than expected 1.1pc slump in retail sales last month underlined the urgency of further support, according to ING economist James Knightley. He said: “With an increasing number of city mayors and state governors warning of more movement restrictions to combat the rise in Covid-19 cases, the economy is facing a period of growing uncertainty. With more restaurants being forced to close and the threat of closure of non-essential retail in some areas the need for more support for the economy is growing.” The US Treasury also formally accused Switzerland and Vietnam of currency manipulation, saying they had both intervened heavily in markets with at least part of Switzerland's action aimed at pushing down the Swiss franc. The designation has no immediate consequence, although penalties including exclusion from US government contracts could be applied after a year unless the label is removed. That's all for today - here are some of our top stories: • JCB hands back £600m Covid 'insurance policy' • Brexit deal hopes boost sterling as investors predict 2021 share surge • Amazon rival Wish tanks on Wall Street debut despite online shopping boom • Rival Heathrow expansion options buoyed by third runway ruling • Half of manufacturers hit by ports chaos What's ahead tomorrow: Updates from:Watches of Switzerland, Hunting, IntegraFin, Revolution Bars, Serco Numbers on:Bank of England monetary policy decision (UK), inflation (eurozone), jobless claims (US) Thanks for joining - Louis will be back with you bright and early! Sterling hits highest level since May 2018 today as investors say calmer politics and vaccines will boost stock markets next year. My colleagueTom Reesreports: • Read more:Brexit deal hopes boost sterling as investors predict 2021 share surge The Federal Reserve has said it will continue to keep supporting the US economy via massive monetary stimulus until it sees “substantial further progress” in employment and inflation, at its final meeting of the year. Headed by Jerome Powell, it voted to keep monthly bond purchases of at least $120bn, and pledged to keep its benchmark overnight interest rate near zero - both promised until an economic recovery is complete. Bond purchases would continue "until substantial further progress has been made toward the Committee's maximum employment and price stability goals," it said in a statement. The Fed didn't change the type or pace of assets being bought - expected by many analysts - which is a way to give more immediate economic help in the wait for widespread vaccine distribution. Policymakers boosted their outlook for economic growth in 2021 from 4pc to 4.2pc at the median, and lowered the expected year end unemployment rate from 5.5pc to 5pc. It said: “economic activity and employment have continued to recover but remain well below their levels at the beginning of the year.” The meeting came as lawmakers tried to wrap up an agreement on new stimulus after months of deadlock. Popular online brokerage Robinhood Markets has drawn millions of users to investing, making trading seem less intimidating with a colourful app. On Wednesday, however, Massachusetts securities regulators filed a complaint against Robinhood Financial LLC, alleging it aggressively marketed to novice investors and failed to put controls in place to protect them. The complaint from the office of Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin, said Robinhood exposed Massachusetts investors to “unnecessary trading risks” by “falling far short of the fiduciary standard” that require broker-dealers to act in clients’ best interests. It alleged Robinhood encourages consumers to use the platform through what it calls “gamification", adding that one customer with no investment experience made over 12,700 trades in just over six months. “Treating this like a game and luring young and inexperienced customers to make more and more trades is not only unethical, but also falls far short of the standards we require in Massachusetts," said Galvin in a statement. San Francisco-based ecommerce site Wish’s stock fell on its Nasdaq exchange debut. It indicates investor fatigue after a line of blockbuster tech listings including Airbnb and DoorDash last week. Both have since dropped in share price. ContextLogic - which does business under the name of Wish - dropped about 6pc in early trading today, from their IPO price of $24. The company had raised about $1.1bn at that price on Tuesday evening, giving it an implied market capitalisation of $14bn. Wish operates an online marketplace largely known for discounted items originating in China, catered to low and middle income consumers. It said it has about 1.8m sales a day. Small businesses turning to online shopping could be hit by the digital services tax designed to extract revenues from tech giants, the CBI has warned. My colleagueTim Wallacereports: Meanwhile analysts told MPs that hiking corporation tax could raise money for the Government in the short-run, but risks undermining Britain’s position as an attractive location for investment, costing tax revenues in the longer-term.Britain currently has the lowest headline corporation tax in the G20. “If we are above that level, we are in danger of deterring investment,” said Chris Sanger from EY, speaking to the Treasury Select Committee.One way to boost the economy via the tax system could be to allow full expensing of investment spending against tax bills, said Tom Clougherty at the Centre for Policy Studies.He told MPs it would encourage investment, unlike the current system which stretches depreciation out for years, reducing its value to companies with time and inflation. The Court of Appeal has upheld convictions of ex-UBS executive Fabiana Abdel-Malek and her trader friend, Walid Choucair. The pair were each convicted of five offences of insider deaing in 2013-2014 and sentenced to three years in jail last year. Ms Abdel-Malek had passed information to Mr Choucair,who made about £1.4m from her tips. They had appealed, alleging insufficient disclosure by the FCA before, during and after the trial made their convictions unsafe and were released on bail pending today's decision. The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeals and found there was no irregularity or unfairness. Mark Steward, executive director of enforcement and market oversight at the FCA, said: The Dow is falling as worries about the economic impact of the pandemic offset optimism over a stimulus package, with investors awaiting the Fed's outlook on the US later. It lost 0.3pc to 30,114.95 by early afternoon. Flows into heavyweight tech stocks held up the S&P 500 and pushed the Nasdaq to a record high earlier, as the sector's resilience through coronavirus spurred continued buying. The S&P500 edged up 0.05pc to 3,696.52, while the Nasdaq rose 0.3pc to 12,635.69. Fincantieri SpA, one of Europe’s largest shipbuilders, is considering options to offset the financial blow dealt by the pandemic, reported Bloomberg citing people familiar with the matter. Thenews agencyhas more: Boris Johnson declined to repeat his claim from Sunday that the “most likely” outcome from the negotiations is no deal. Asked at a press conference on Wednesday if that was still his view, he said: “That is very much a matter for our friends, they know what the parameters are,” before adding: “There’s a good deal there to be done but if not, WTO, Australia terms it is and we will prosper mightily.” Johnson’s press secretary, Allegra Stratton, told reporters no deal remains the most likely outcome. Meanwhile, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said fishing rights are the last major hurdle to a trade deal, while Mr Johnson warned the UK has a “natural right” to control its own waters. As negotiations continue, von der Leyen told the European Parliament that a deal is possible, but difficult, saying: “As things stand, I can’t tell you if there will be a deal or not." Optimism had been growing after the two sides agreed to continue discussions past their self-imposed Sunday deadline. The EU’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier said he saw a “narrow path” to a deal this week if differences can be bridged. Boeing is scrapping most pay raises next year and giving out shares instead as it braces for a long recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. News agencyBloomberghas the details: On Wednesday, Supreme Court judges overturned March's Court of Appeal decision to block the third runway on environmental grounds. The decision means rival schemes to expand London's main airport are back in play. My colleagueOliver Gillreports: • Read more:Rival Heathrow expansion options buoyed by third runway ruling EDF Energy will pay a £6m fine after Ofgem - Britain's energy market regulator - found it "frequently inflated" the minimum amount of power its West Burton B (WBB) generator plant could supply to the National Grid, which is in charge of the UK's electricity system. Ofgem said the breaches by the UK arm of the French utility, at the gas-fired plant in Nottinghamshire, happened between Sep 2017 and March this year. It meant that "in many cases" National Grid had to buy more energy than needed, when the plant was used to balance supply and demand. The £6m payment is the third largest fine or settlement of an energy firm this year, following InterGen paying £37m in April over energy market abuse and Ovo Energy handing over £8.9m for giving customers "inaccurate" information over five years. The co-founder and chairman of electric vehicle battery start-up Britishvolt has quit after a historic conviction for tax fraud re-surfaced. My colleagueRachel Millardreports: Lars Carlstrom, 55, said he did not want to become a ‘distraction’ after Press Association made enquiries about his conviction in Sweden in the late 1990s. It comes one week after Britishvolt announced plans to build a £2.6bn electric vehicle battery factory in Blyth, Northumberland, in a boost to the north-east as well as the car industry. According to Press Association, Carlstrom was sentenced to eight months in prison and handed a four-year trading ban for tax fraud. This was later reduced by a higher court to a conditional sentence and 60 hours community service. He was later accused of acting negligently by Sweden’s tax authority over a separate unpaid tax bill for one of his companies in 2011. That's all from me. My colleagueLouise Moonwill take you through this evening's events. Thanks for following! Boris Johnson is set to clarify what the Christmas Covid measures will be in England after the devolved nations deviated from original plan. Follow his comments here: Business activity in the US slowed in December as a spike in Covid cases forced policymakers to tighten restrictions to contain the virus. The IHS Markit flash composite index of purchasing managers fell to 55.7 from November’s five-year high of 58.6. However, December was the sixth consecutive month the measure came in higher than 50, the point above which activity is expanding. US stocks have opened mixed as investors gained confidence that politicians on Capitol Hill would agree on a spending bill. US congressional leaders are closing in on an aid deal worth less than $900bn (£666bn). Bloomberg has the details: Bitcoin has broken through $20,000 for the first time, after narrowly missing the milestone before a sharp drop nearly three years ago. The cryptocurrency rose as much as 3.8pc to $20,154, having almost tripled in value this year alone. Retail sales in the US fell 1.1pc last month, a steeper drop than the -0.3pc expected by economists. Excluding automobiles, sales fell 0.9pc month-on-month according to Census Bureau data. October’s figures were also significantly revised, from a 0.3pc rise to a 0.1pc fall. Retail sales are one of the few measures to have undergone a truly V-shaped recovery in teh wake of the pandemic, with strong demand through summer. The US Treasury Department has labelled Vietnam and Switzerland as currency manipulators, in a combative final foreign policy report from the Trump administration. The agency did not designate China as a currency manipulator, putting it on a watchlist alongside Japan, Korea, Germany, Italy, Singapore and Malaysia, Taiwan, Thailand and India. There is no penalty linked to currency manipulative status, but it can spark tensions. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said: Signs of a long-awaited breakthrough on US stimulus? Jake Sherman from Politico tweets: 🚨BREAKING … Hill negotiators are on the brink of a $900bn coronavirus rescue package that would include a new round of direct payments, but would leave out state and local aid, and a liability shield.A deal could come as early as early this morning.More on POLITICO shortly Australia will challenge China at the World Trade Organisation over Beijing’s decision to impose hefty tariffs on its barley exports, a further sign of deteriorating relations between the two key trading partners. Bloomberg reports: • Read more:Australia to challenge China at WTO over costly trade tariffs Wagamama suffered a plunge in sales during the third quarter of the year as Government restrictions hampered trade. My colleagueHannah Uttleyreports: Separately, Pizza Hut said it has secured a £15m loan facility to help it weather the crisis. Hannah again: Our video team has put together a quick video, showing scenes outside the Supreme Court after its landmark decision on Heathrow’s third runway: Nearly half of manufacturers fell victim to delays amid “severe pressure” on supply chains as chaos gripped UK ports in December, new figures showed. Digging into this morning’s PMI and inflation data, my colleaguesRussell LynchandTim Wallacereport: • Read more:Half of manufacturers hit by ports chaos The pound has touched a new two-year high against the dollar, rising as much as 0.7pc to $1.3549 and topping the peak it reached on December 4th. Sterling has been buoyed by Brexit hopes, but the move more broadly reflects a substantial weakening in the dollar over recent months. With over three hours of trading passed, European markets are solidly higher today. Germany’s Dax is leading risers, while the FTSE 100 has shaken off pressure from a slightly risen pound. Booming online sales during the pandemic helped electricals retailer Dixons Carphone swing to a half-year profit as it overcame the hit from store closures during lockdowns. My colleagues report: • Read more:Sales jump at Dixons Carphone Here are some of the day’s top stories from the Telegraph Money team: • Early and poorer retirement as another 100,000 over-50s lose their jobs:More than 106,000 over-50s fell into unemployment in the autumn as redundancies rocketed for older workers and forced tens of thousands into early retirement and poverty. • Banks lobby Government for stamp duty holiday extension amid fears property market will collapse:Britain’s biggest banks are lobbying the Treasury for an extension to the stamp duty cut as they fight to save almost a quarter of a million house sales from collapse. • The assets to own in case the 2021 market rebound disappoints:Investors have been clamouring to buy stocks ahead of an expected economic rebound in 2021, but what if it does not go to plan? Environmentalist group Friends of the Earth – which made the initially successful appeal that the Supreme Court overturned today – has doubled down on its campaign to stop Heathrow’s third runway, vowing to continue challenging the airport’s expansion plans. Will Rundle, the group’s head of legal, said climate concerns would still need to be addressed during the runway’s planning stage. He added: Judgment has been handed down this morning by video link in the case of R (on the application of Friends of the Earth Ltd and others) (Respondents) v Heathrow Airport Ltd (Appellant) – UKSC 2020/0042https://t.co/K6N910FMaxpic.twitter.com/AgiGGvZbp1 Here’s a video from Heathrow showing its ‘preferred masterplan’ for the third runway, released last year.: Airlines are being investigated by the competition watchdog over concerns they breached consumers’ rights by failing to offer cash refunds for flights they could not legally take during the pandemic. My colleagueSimon Foyreports: • Read more:Watchdog probes airlines for failing to give customers timely refunds ✈️ We’ve launched an investigation into whether any airlines ignored their customers’ rights by failing to offer cash refunds for flights they were unable to take due to lockdown rules.Read more:https://t.co/a1JXmx8GIipic.twitter.com/iUYpPIeMpF Heathrow Airport has received the green light to build a third runway after the UK's highest court ruled the Government’s decision to give the go-ahead was lawful. My colleagues report: • Read more:Heathrow Airport third runway can go ahead, Supreme Court rules The UK’s service sector stagnated this month, with activity slipping slightly compared to November. Here are the latest ‘flash’ purchasing managers’ index readings for the country (where a score above 50 indicates growth): • Services: 49.9 • Manufacturing: 57.3 • Composite (a weighted balance of the two): 50.7 A strong continued acceleration in manufacturing just about offset a small drop in activity in services. IHS Markit, which gathered the data, said: Here are some of the key findings: • The latest survey also indicated severe pressure on manufacturing supply chains, which was overwhelmingly linked to freight delays following congestion at UK ports • The lengthening of lead times in December was the third-steepest since the survey began in 1992, exceeded only by those seen amid Covid-19 shutdowns in April and May • A robust and accelerated rise in input prices added to pressure on UK private sector firms • On a more positive note, there were signs of stabilisation in employment numbers after the steep cuts seen since the start of the pandemic. The rate of job shedding across the UK private sector was the slowest for 10 months • Meanwhile, business optimism about the year ahead outlook eased only slightly since November and meanwhile remained much stronger than seen from March to October Chris Williamson, chief business economist at IHS Markit, said: The Government has postponed a planned rise in rail ticket rises, with fares now set to increase 2.6pc at the start of March – rather than in January, as is usual. The Department for Transport said the delayed and comparatively modest rise (by recent standards) should mean passengers are not “unfairly overburdened by anticipated investments of around £10 billion to keep vital services running during pandemic”. However, the figure is higher than expected – price rises are tied to the outmoded Retail Price Index based on its July level, which this year was 1.6pc. It will be the first time prices have risen ahead of the rate of inflation since 2013. Rail minister Chris Heaton-Harris said: Private-sector business activity across the eurozone dropped only mildly this month, with an acceleration in manufacturing activity enable to fully offset a continued services slowdown. Here are the latest ‘flash’ purchasing managers’ index readings for the country (where a score above 50 indicates growth): • Services: 47.3 • Manufacturing: 55.5 • Composite (a weighted balance of the two): 49.8 IHS Markit, which gathered the data, said: Here are some of the key findings: • Although manufacturing output growth accelerated in December, having slowed in November, the service sector saw output contract for a fourth successive month • Inflows of new orders rose marginally and for the first time since September, boosted by an increased rate of growth of new orders in the manufacturing sector and a substantial slowing in the rate of loss of new business in the service sector • The marginal gain in new business contributed to a marked easing in the rate of depletion of backlogs of work • With backlogs of work no longer falling sharply, companies reined in their job cutting, meaning employment fell IHS Markit’s Chris Williamson said: Encouragingly, future euro area output expectations jumped to a 32-month high, as prospects brightened amid recent news on vaccine developments.pic.twitter.com/DkXI3tGf3u The pound has risen against the dollar for a third day, putting it close to the two-year high it struck on December 4th. Sterling optimism has been boosted by comments from European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who said there is a path toward a trade deal with Britain. • Read more:Brexit latest news: ‘There is a path to agreement now’, Ursula von der Leyen claims German’s manufacturers continued to report accelerating activity this month, offsetting continued weakness in the country’s services sector. Here are the latest ‘flash’ purchasing managers’ index readings for the country (where a score above 50 indicates growth): • Services: 47.7 • Manufacturing: 58.6 • Composite (a weighted balance of the two): 52.5 IHS Markit, which gathered the data, said: Here are some key findings: • Order book volumes across the goods-producing sector increased sharply in December • Manufacturing backlogs of unfinished orders showed a record increase during the month • Less positively, latest data showed a renewed decline in private sector employment • Latest data pointed to another modest rise in average charges for goods and services IHS Markit’s Phil Smith said: A sharp slowdown in France’s services sector almost ended this this month, with activity dipping only slightly compared to November. Here are the latest ‘flash’ purchasing managers’ index readings for the country (where a score above 50 indicates growth): • Services: 49.6 • Manufacturing: 51.1 • Composite (a weighted balance of the two): 49.6 The figures imply a continued slowdown in private sector activity, but suggest the pace of that decline has moderated substantially IHS Markit, which gathered the data, said: Here are some of its key findings: • There were signs of a recovery in demand as new orders received by private sector firms rose for the first time in four months • The improvement in overall demand conditions was centred on the domestic market – foreign sales continued to fall • Despite reduced output requirements, the rise in new orders saw French businesses slightly increase their staff numbers in December • Following four months of successive contraction, backlogs of work at private sector firms stabilised IHS Markit economist Eliot Kerr said: European markets have made an even more solid open than expected, with the FTSE 100 up about 0.7pc. Here’s some expert reaction to this morning’s inflation figures. Ruth GregoryfromCapital Economicssays the sharp fall in price growth “came as a bit of a surprise”. She added: Samuel TombsfromPantheon Macroeconomicssaid inflation will face mixed pressures in the coming year: Yael SelfinfromKPMGadded: With about ten minutes until the opening bell in London, FTSE 100 futures are pointing toward gains of about 0.4pc for London’s blue-chips, with similarly moderate rises elsewhere across Europe’s top indices. Producer prices remained lower year-on-year in November according to the latest data, but are closing the gap – with ‘at the factory gate’ output prices down 0.8pc last month versus October’s -1.4pc. The ONS said: • The price for materials and fuels used in the manufacturing process showed negative growth of 0.5pc on the year to November 2020, up from negative growth of 1.2pc in October 2020. • Petroleum products and crude oil were the largest downward contributors to the annual rates of output inflation and input inflation respectively. Here’s a closer look at which categories contributed the most to weakening headline inflation during November – clothing and footwear is the clear standout. The ONS’s analysis of the inflation data highlights the contribution made by clothing and food costs, which made downward contributions to the overall 12-month inflation rate. There was also the largest downward contribution from food and alcoholic beverages since January 2017. The ONS says inflation dynamics around food and clothes have been shifted by the pandemic: The Consumer Prices Index including owner occupiers’ housing costs (CPIH) 12-month rate was 0.6% in November, down from 0.9% in October 2020https://t.co/sg49sXrVhwpic.twitter.com/Zbls4qt5rR Here are the three main consumer prices highlighted by the ONS: the main CPI rate, the CPIH gauage that includes owner occupiers’ housing costs, and the standalone owner occupiers’ housing costs gauge. Just in: Consumer Price Index growth came in at just 0.3pc year-on-year, implying a weaker rise in prices than economists had expected. Covid-19 has had a substantial impact on consumer prices through a major shift to both supply and demand, as well as the deflationary impact of intervention such as the Eat Out to Help Out scheme. Economists polled by Bloomberg expect the Consumer Price Index to rise 0.6pc year-on-year in November, slightly slower than the 0.5pc growth registered in October. The CPIH – the Office for National Statistics’ preferred measure, including homeowners’ costs – is expected to rise 0.8pc. Good morning. We’ll get the latest data on UK inflation this morning, with price growth expected to have remained somewhat steady during November after reaching a half-decade low earlier in the year. Later on, we’ll get the latest purchasing managers’ index readings, which will give a sense of how businesses are performing so far in December. 1)Big Four employ 100s of Chinese Communist Party members: Britain’s Big Four accountants have employed more than 2,000 members of the CCP, including at least one partner in every firm. 2)£26bn hit to taxpayers from Bounce Back loan scheme:Shortcomings in the Treasury’s “woefully under-developed” rescue loan scheme will leave taxpayers facing losses of up to £26bn, MPs warn. 3)Jobs crisis could trigger furlough extension, economists warn: Sunak could be forced to extend the taxpayer-funded furlough scheme beyond March after a record spike in redundancies, experts warn. 4)Bosses warn of new year ‘carnage’ as job losses hit record: Pub and restaurant bosses have warned of jobs "carnage" in the new year as official figures revealed redundancies hit record levels. 5)French bank to pay £75,000 to man sacked for not turning up:Societe Generale has been told it should not have fired an employee for failing to show up to work after a three-year sabbatical. Asian stocks were buoyant on Wednesday and the dollar eased as hopes of effective coronavirus vaccines and the growing prospect of more US fiscal stimulus cheered investors ahead of the Christmas holiday season. In a sign the positive momentum was set to extend, Eurostoxx 50 futures and Germany’s Dax futures edged 0.1pc higher, while futures for London's FTSE firmed 0.3pc. MSCI's broadest index of Asia Pacific shares outside of Japan rose 0.8pc after two straight days of losses. The index, hovering near record highs, is up 3.8pc so far in December and is on track for its best yearly performance since 2017 thanks to generous government and central bank stimulus around the world. Australian shares rose 0.8pc while South Korea’s KOSPI was up 0.4pc and Japan’s Nikkei added 0.2pc. China’s blue-chip CSI 300 index added 0.15pc and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index climbed 0.86pc. Corporate:Dixons Carphone(Interim results);Petrofac(Trading statement) Economics:Inflation(UK),flash PMIs(UK, eurozone, Germany, France, US), retail sales, FOMC announcement(US) [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] None available.	Trend: down \|\| Prices: 40254.55, 38356.44, 35566.66, 33922.96, 37316.36, 39187.33, 36825.37, 36178.14, 35791.28, 36630.07
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2021-05-04] BTC Price: 53333.54, BTC RSI: 44.01 Gold Price: 1775.80, Gold RSI: 54.52 Oil Price: 65.69, Oil RSI: 62.37 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Bitcoin Not a Long-Term Allocation, Says Man Group CEO: Luke Ellis, CEO of U.K. hedge fund Man Group, sees bitcoin as a trading instrument rather than a long-term asset allocation. Appearing on CNBCs Squawk Box on Friday, Ellis revealed that he had dabbled in bitcoin but sees himself as a trader rather than a HODler . I see it as a trading instrument, so we trade around it and try to provide some liquidity into the market, he told CNBCs Andrew Ross Sorkin. Ellis also said he did not think it was necessary for companies to hold bitcoin on their balance sheets, describing this as confusing considering the business use case relative to the inherent speculation. I dont think companies are supposed to be speculate with their cash balances, he added. Large companies such as Tesla and MicroStrategy have disclosed large treasury investments in bitcoin in recent months. Man Group is a London-based hedge fund, managing around $123.6 billion for its mostly institutional clients. See also: Coinbase Has Held Crypto Assets Like Bitcoin on Its Balance Sheet Since 2012 Related Stories Bitcoin Not a Long-Term Allocation, Says Man Group CEO Bitcoin Not a Long-Term Allocation, Says Man Group CEO Bitcoin Not a Long-Term Allocation, Says Man Group CEO Bitcoin Not a Long-Term Allocation, Says Man Group CEO \|\| Dogecoin Is Not the Next Bitcoin – But Here Are the Similarities: To those of us who have been in the industry for a long time, Dogecoin has always been an oddity: A project that has exceptional approachability and appeal to new users while lacking most of the characteristics that make cryptocurrencies useful or valuable. Created in 2013 by Jackson Palmer and Billy Markus, the project was abandoned years ago by its founders and developers, if not its fans. Until recently, it was in such a weak state that it couldn’t even power its own blockchain infrastructure and in 2014 hitched its proverbial wagon to another early cryptocurrency calledlitecoin. At the time, that seemed like a necessary move – there were questions about whetherDOGEcould survive at all. Then, yesterday, the top meme token eclipsed its patron chain. Related:SEC Causing ‘Confusion’ Over Digital Currencies in Legal Case With Ripple: WSJ Editorial Board For the moment at least, dogecoin is more than double the size of litecoin (and 330-year-old Barclays bank as well) when measured by market capitalization. So what on Earth is happening here? A couple of years ago, I did a series of interviews with people in Iran, India, Singapore, Honduras, Nigeria and a couple of other places. I went in assuming thatbitcoinwould not be the token of choice because the transaction fees are, in many cases, higher than a day’s wage and just generally are out of whack with the value scales locally. I learned that, although that was true, people still saw bitcoin as their best option, which created a self-reinforcing cycle, the implications of which we’re still watching play out today. Related:Bank of England and HM Treasury Launch Taskforce for UK CBDC Those decisions are driven by a simple question: Of all the currencies to which I have access, which one is most likely to be useful to me? For bitcoin, that utility comes in two flavors. One is predictability. People turn their local currencies into bitcoin because they are looking for a way to store value that’s disconnected from local political and economic realities. Everyone knows about bitcoin’s fixed token supply as well as its largely unchangeable monetary policy, making it out of reach for governments broadly. The other reason, which may be even more important, is liquidity. People want to be sure that when they decide to sell there will always be someone there who wants to buy at the market price. So, even though in local terms bitcoin can be viewed as quite expensive, it is the consensus option. People can and do choose to buy other tokens, but this “long tail” of crypto investing is incredibly, and increasingly, diverse as the number of tokens to pick from expands. They’re more speculative because there is little or no consensus. That could change but the so-called first mover advantage and the network effect that bitcoin carries with it has been incredibly powerful. To put it simply, bitcoin is so useful because it’s what everybody uses. For most of this year, I’ve increasingly come to believe that dogecoin is acting like that now. Just as bitcoin is the consensus pick for people looking for “predictable moneyness” in their currency, dogecoin is looking like the consensus pick for people who want “meme-y wackiness” in their currency. That certainly seems to be the case among theElon Musks,Slim JimsandMark Cubansof the world, not to mention a growing share of meme culture broadly. See also:Dogecoin No Longer Pup After Tripling Past $50B, Exceeding UK Bank Barclays This was highlighted on Conagra Brands’ corporate earnings call earlier this week. Conagra is not a hip company. It owns a formidable basket of old-world brands including Slim Jim (smoked meat sticks), Marie Callender’s (a restaurant chain where I ate at once or twice in the 1990s) and Hunt’s Tomatoes (my mother’s favorite) along with more than a dozen others. But when it came time to talk about recent wins, Conagra’s CEO highlighted his team’s “dogecoin engagement strategy” as key. Dogecoin has helped double Slim Jim’s Twitter followers, boosting engagement by more than 500%. Sean Connolly, the CEO, credited the dogecoin community with “playing a large part” in delivering Slim Jim the ultimate win in Adweek’s March Madness-themed brand face-off earlier this month. Doge has become the joke currency to beat. Everybody wants to be in on the joke, which pushes up the price, which makes the joke even bigger. It’s a self-reinforcing cycle. Sort of like bitcoin but for the luls. Now, this could all end very badly: Lots of people buying DOGE at these prices don’t know the true story. As they say, easy come, easy go. But at least for now it sure looks like dogecoin is the gold standard of joke currencies, and maybe that’s just enough. • Dogecoin Is Not the Next Bitcoin – But Here Are the Similarities • Dogecoin Is Not the Next Bitcoin – But Here Are the Similarities \|\| Five Biggest Altcoin Gainers, March 29 – April 5: BeInCrypto breaks down some of the biggest altcoin movers and shakers from the previous week. Will their momentum continue? During the week of March 29 – April 5, the biggest altcoin gainers were: WazirX (WRX) – 1,100% BitTorrent (BTT) – 222% Holo (HOT) – 155% TRON (TRX) – 100% Dent (DENT) – 85% Biggest Altcoin Gainers WazirX (WRX) and Holo (HOT) reached new all-time highs on April 4. BitTorrent (BTT) is increasing at a parabolic rate and reached an all-time high on April 5. Dent (DENT) also reached a new all-time high price the same day. TRON (TRX) has broken above the long-term $0.09 resistance area. It’s currently trading inside resistance at $0.0138. WRX On April 4, WRX reached a high of $6.66. This measured an increase of 1,443% in only six days. While it decreased almost immediately after, it has since made another attempt at breaking out. Despite no significant weakness, the rally is completely parabolic. This trajectory is unsustainable in the long run. There doesn’t seem to be any underlying news that fueled this increase. WazirX was listed on gate.io , but that was back on March 15, weeks before the rally began. WRX Movement BTT BTT has been moving upwards since March 13. It reached an all-time high price of $0.0134 on April 5. This amounts to an upward movement of 900% in only 23 days. The increase for BTT has become nearly vertical. In addition, it has moved above all external Fib retracement levels. Therefore, while there are no clear signs of weakness yet, this rate of increase is unsustainable. Similar to WRX, there were no significant events that preceded this upward movement. BTT Chart By TradingView HOT HOT has been moving upwards over the past 11 days. So far, it has increased by 325%. On April 4, it reached an all-time high price of $0.0298. HOT was listed on FTX on March 25, on Narkasa the next day, and on MXC on April 2. It’s possible that these three events fueled the huge upward movement. Similar to both WRX and BTT, the increase has no clear structure. The price action has nearly gone vertical. Story continues Unlike WRX and BTT, HOT has begun to generate some bearish divergence in the RSI. While this doesn’t hold much weight on its own, it could be the first sign of a potential correction. HOT Chart By TradingView TRX TRX increased considerably last week. It created a bullish engulfing candlestick and finally moved above the $0.08 resistance area. It has not been above this level since the beginning of 2018. Currently, it’s trading at the 0.382 Fib retracement resistance at $0.138. Technical indicators are bullish. Therefore, TRX is expected to eventually reach the next resistance area at $0.179. TRX Breakout DENT On March 23, DENT reached a then all-time high price of $0.0149 and created a shooting star candlestick. After a retracement, DENT resumed its upward movement and broke out above the previous high. On April 5, it reached a new all-time high price of $0.0209. DENT released its ‘ “Gigastore” on March 31, which could have aided in the ongoing increase. Technical indicators are bullish and support the continuation of the upward movement. The next resistance areas are found at $0.024 and $0.030. These are the respective 2.61 and 3.61 external Fib retracement levels. DENT Chart By TradingView For BeInCrypto’s latest bitcoin (BTC) analysis, click here. \|\| BitRiver Is Selling Tokens to Build More Bitcoin Mining Farms in Siberia: BitRiver, a key player in the Russian cryptocurrency mining market, aims to raise up to $35 million by selling tokens that entitles holders to space in its data centers. The company, which operates several mining farms in Siberia for 150 megawatts in total, would use the proceeds from the sale to open more such facilities. The token runs on the Ethereum blockchain, the main launchpad for fundraising tokens since the heady days of the 2017 initial coin offering (ICO) boom. While ICOs have largely faded, BitRiver’s token offering, announced Monday, is one of several to hit the market this year tied to the mining sector. Related:Bitcoin Hits New All-Time High Above 62.7K In late March,Blockstreamlaunched a token representing the value of hash power at Blockstream’s mining facility and offered buyers an indirect exposure tobitcoin. Tau Protocol recently launched a tokenpegged to bitcoin hashrateand backed by Genesis Mining, Binance Pool, Atlas Mining and others. BitRiver, however, takes a different approach. Instead of indirect exposure to bitcoin, it offers clients a form of tokenized contracts for mining services, with a bonus income in tokens. “It’s a utility token and it ideally fits our goal: to raise funds from people who will be using our future infrastructure,” BitRiver CEO Igor Runets told CoinDesk. BitRiver, registered in Gibraltar but with a home base in Siberia, operates so-called mining hotels, or data centers for miners who place their ASICs there. Clients pay for the units of power their equipment uses to mine crypto, with the price including other expenses like machine maintenance. Related:Europe's Investment Bank Plans to Settle Bonds in Euros Using Blockchain: Report The demand for BitRiver’s services has been significantly exceeding the company’s capacity, Runets said. In addition to the main data center in Bratsk, the company has several smaller venues that together comprise 50 more megawatts, but that’s still much less than prospective clients want, Runets said. “We now see demand for 400 megawatts of power,” he said. “It’s a huge amount of construction work. We’re now looking to buy more land, buildings [and] start to build more data centers.” Investments for that, as Runets expects, will come from the token sale. BitRiver is aiming to sell 100 million tokens for more than $35 million. The demand for BitRiver’s services comes mostly from Asia, Runets said, especially from China, South Korea and Japan. BitRiver evenopened an office in Seoulearlier in April to cater to that region, and the token sale will be on the Korean exchange Bithumb. Growing demand has been also coming from Persian Gulf countries, namely Qatar, Saudi Arabia and UAE, Runets said: “Over the recent months, the market there has been growing, people have a lot of money to invest, and the surging price of bitcoin drew attention [to mining].” Some of the expansion has been ongoing. BitRiver recently founded ajoint venturewith a Russian hydropower giant En+ to build a new mining venue of 10 megawatts. According to Runets, that farm is now operational. Another venue, of 100 more megawatts, is currently under construction in the special economic zone of Buryatia, Russia’s East Siberian region on the border with Mongolia. In the neighboring Krasnoyarsk region, BitRiver will arrange another venue using the building of an electric boiler now rarely in use, with a ready-to-use capacity of about 82 megawatt, the token sale white paper said (read the white paper at the bottom of this story). Read also:Bitcoin Mining Farms Are Flourishing on the Ruins of Soviet Industry in Siberia The BTR token sale is set to go live on April 19 on Bithumb. BitRiver is planning to sell 100 million tokens with a price starting at 35 cents. Each token would provide a buyer with an allocation of 1 watt of power for a full year. Given that there is on average 720 hours in a month and 8,640 hours in a year, one kilowatt-hour would cost 4 cents to a token holder. Token holders will be able to get their ASICs installed and serviced in BitRiver’s warehouse in three months upon purchase. Users will also be able to pay up to 10% of their bills to BitRiver in tokens, and have their ASICs repaired for free in that case. The company will also pay bonus tokens to the token holders, at a rate of 10% per year, using its own stash of 65 million tokens that won’t go into public circulation. In another step to make BTR attractive, BitRiver promises to buy back all the tokens by April 12, 2026, at the nominal value of 0.3504 USD per token. BitRiver is not limiting the offer geographically, unlike many token issuers that would wall off American users to avoid running afoul of the U.S. regulators such as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Blockstream, for example,restrictedits token sale to non-U.S. qualified investors. Runets explained that, as BitRiver isn’t selling the tokens directly, it’s up to Bithumb to run due-diligence on potential buyers. Crypto regulations in Russia have been in flux recently, with acrypto taxation billcurrently awaiting passage in the national parliament. The uncertainty led many of BitRiver’s clients in Russia to establish foreign legal entities and operate through them, Runets said. However, when asked about potential regulatory risks for a large-scale mining farm construction, he sounded moderately optimistic: “We don’t see any prerequisites for an all-out ban,” he said. Read also:Over 50% of Binance’s Russian Customers Believe Crypto Can Replace Bank Deposits • BitRiver Is Selling Tokens to Build More Bitcoin Mining Farms in Siberia • BitRiver Is Selling Tokens to Build More Bitcoin Mining Farms in Siberia \|\| Greenidge to Merge, Becoming First Publicly Traded Bitcoin Miner With a Power Plant: New York’s Greenidge Generation is set to become the first publicly tradedbitcoinminer with its own power plant through a coming merger. • Greenidge’s holding companyannouncedMonday the merger has been agreed with Nasdaq-listed IT support solutions provider Support.com. • The merger is expected to be completed in Q3 2021. • Support.com will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Greenidge, with shares divided roughly 92-8 in Greenidge’s favor. • Greenidge’s natural gas plant currently powers 19 megawatts of mining capacity, which it expects to reach 41 MW by the middle of 2021. • The company also has goals to reach at least 500 MW of mining capacity by 2025. • Shares of Support.com (Nasdaq: SPRT) exploded roughly 350% on the news, briefly trading above€7.50 (US$8.94) Monday, up from roughly€1.70 ($2.03) earlier in the day. See also:A New York Power Plant Is Mining $50K Worth of Bitcoin a Day • Greenidge to Merge, Becoming First Publicly Traded Bitcoin Miner With a Power Plant • Greenidge to Merge, Becoming First Publicly Traded Bitcoin Miner With a Power Plant • Greenidge to Merge, Becoming First Publicly Traded Bitcoin Miner With a Power Plant • Greenidge to Merge, Becoming First Publicly Traded Bitcoin Miner With a Power Plant \|\| Schwab says needs regulatory clarity on crypto before any offerings: By John McCrank NEW YORK (Reuters) - Charles Schwab Corp is looking "closely" and "cautiously" at the cryptocurrency market and is waiting for regulators to give more guidance around the digital currencies before considering offering crypto capabilities on its platform, the head of the brokerage said on Thursday. "We would like to see more regulatory clarity," Schwab Chief Executive Officer Walt Bettinger said on a call with analysts. "And if and when that comes, you should expect Schwab to be a player in that space in the same way it has been a player in other investment opportunities across the spectrum." The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission appears likely to draft its first guidelines for cryptocurrencies after the agency's new chairman, Gary Gensler, earlier this month promised to provide "guidance and clarity" to the rapidly evolving market. The SEC has not adopted rules specifically tailored to cryptocurrencies and how they should be treated by people and companies, which some argue has created an unclear rule book. The value of cryptocurrencies has experienced a multi-fold rise in recent years, driven in part by investors seeking high-yielding assets amid low interest rates. Bitcoin, the biggest cryptocurrency, reached a record high last week ahead of the trading debut of U.S. cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, but its rally has since cooled. San Francisco-based Schwab, which has 31.9 million active brokerage accounts, also said it was closely watching for any new developments on whether regulators will allow a crypto-based investment-oriented product like an exchange-traded fund. "We recognize a bit, I'd say, well, what's going on," Bettinger said. "If Charles Schwab, the company, decides to participate in the crypto market, we will be highly competitive, we will be disruptive, and we will be client-oriented," Bettinger said. (Reporting by John McCrank; Editing by Steve Orlofsky) \|\| Heres How to Earn Bitcoin with Your Everyday Spending: Advertiser Disclosure: At Slickdeals, we work hard to find the best deals. Some products in our articles are from partners who may provide us with compensation, but this doesnt change our opinions. In 2008, Bitcoin became the first decentralized cryptocurrency. Since then, widespread adoption and acceptance have been slow. But in 2021, the currency is legitimate as a payment method and an investment. But while many people arent concerned about converting their cash into Bitcoin, others may feel more reluctant. Whether youre all-in on Bitcoin or youre intrigued, but dont necessarily want to use your own money to invest, here are some ways you can earn the cryptocurrency with your everyday spending without changing much about your habits. 3 Ways to Earn Bitcoin Every Day Cash-back rewards have been around for a long time, but the chance to earn Bitcoin is becoming increasingly popular. If youre interested in earning cryptocurrency instead of points, miles or cash back on your everyday shopping, heres how you can do it. Bitcoin Rewards Credit Card In early 2021, BlockFi launched the worlds first credit card that offers cryptocurrency instead of more traditional forms of credit card rewards. The BlockFi Bitcoin Rewards Credit Card offers 1.5% back on every purchase you make in the form of Bitcoin. Youll also earn $250 worth of Bitcoin after you spend $3,000 in the first three months, along with 3.5% Bitcoin rewards on all purchases during the first four to six months from account opening. Each month, the rewards you earned from the previous month will be added to your BlockFi Interest Account , which offers up to 8.6% APY. The only drawback is that the card charges a $200 annual fee. In other words, it may be better for Bitcoin enthusiasts than for people who are just looking to dip their toes into the water. Read our full review of BlockFi. Bitcoin Debit Cards While theres only one Bitcoin-powered credit card, there are several debit cards that offer the cryptocurrency as a reward every time you swipe. While some charge fees, there are low and even no-fee cards available. Some of the options include: BlockCard : You can earn up to 6.38% back, depending on how much TERN you stake. You can then exchange your TERN for Bitcoin. It charges a $5 monthly fee, but that fee is waived if you spend more than $750 on the card every month. Crypto.com Visa Card : Youll earn between 1% and 8% back, depending on how much CRO you have, which is Crypto.coms native coin. Once earned, you can exchange CRO for Bitcoin. The card has no enrollment fee or annual fee. Coinbase Card (coming soon): Will offer up to 4% back, and theres no signup fee or annual fee. Story continues Each card has its own features, but they all offer the chance to earn high rewards rates. Before you apply for one, though, make sure you understand the fees, and how theyll impact the value you gain from using your card. Also, read the fine print to determine whether there are any limitations or restrictions for earning and redeeming your Bitcoin. Finally, compare these cards with what you could get with a regular debit or credit card. In order to get the best rewards rates, you typically need to own a lot of cryptocurrency, so the rates may be mediocre for beginners. Online Shopping Portals Shopping portals are a dime a dozen. In addition to cash-back websites, there are also portals for various credit card, airline and hotel rewards programs. Now, though, you can also earn Bitcoin. Lolli has a browser extension for Chrome and Firefox, which notifies you when youre shopping with one of its 1,000+ retail partners. When you checkout using Lolli, you can earn up to 30% back in the form of Bitcoin rewards. Some popular retailers that participate include Nike, Groupon, eBay, Sams Club, Microsoft and Staples. The Bottom Line If youre looking for opportunities to earn Bitcoin without digging into your savings, there are a handful of options available. Before you apply for a card, though, make sure you consider all the benefits and drawbacks. With some debit cards, for instance, you wont be earning Bitcoin directly, but you can exchange the cryptocurrency you earn for Bitcoin. With shopping portals like Lolli, earning Bitcoin can be incredibly easy because you just add the browser extension, and it lets you know when you can use it to earn the currency. Even then, though, youll want to compare what you could get with Lolli to what you can earn elsewhere. The website Cashback Monitor lists the rewards rate for a long list of cash-back websites, as well as shopping portals for airlines and hotel brands. Related Financial Offers >> WIN: Biggest Bank Bonuses for Opening New Accounts >>EARN : Best High-Yield Checking Accounts >>SAVE: Best High-Yield Savings Accounts >>FREE: Best Free Checking Accounts >> INVEST: Biggest Brokerage Bonuses: Earn Promo Cash and Free Stock >>SECURE: Best Small Business Checking Accounts >> RECOVER: How to Improve Your Credit Score Quickly for Free While we work hard on our research, we do not always provide a complete listing of all available offers from credit-card companies and banks. And because offers can change, we cannot guarantee that our information will always be up to date, so we encourage you to verify all the terms and conditions of any financial product before you apply. View comments \|\| BCE Arm Bolsters Quebec's Network With Superior Internet Services: Reinforcing its efforts to establish a streamlined connectivity infrastructure, Bell, which is wholly owned byBCE Inc.BCE, recently announced that it is set to bolster the deployment process of high-speed Internet across Quebec. The company is widely known for providing superior fiber optic technology to several business and residential customers with state-of-the-art broadband TV and Home Phone services.Notably, Bell has been working actively with various suppliers and partners like Hydro-Quebec, a public utility company, to create a proper task force for the rollout of an enhanced network framework for telecommunications providers in Quebec.Bell is considered the frontrunner in delivering high-speed Internet to rural communities in Quebec, along with its increasing fiber and Wireless Home Internet (WHI) networks. Impressively, the company had augmented its WHI service rollout in rural communities that included 137,000 additional homes by the end of April 2020, responding to the COVID-19 situation.WHI is currently available in numerous homes across Quebec and Ontario. With Internet speeds of up to 25 megabits per second, the service is likely to cover 1 million homes in Quebec, Ontario, Atlantic Canada and Manitoba.Bell has been leaving no stone unturned to aid service providers with easier access to communications support structures. Previously, the company had also deployed an effective action plan, which was primarily designed to provide avant-garde Internet services, particularly to the underserved communities of Quebec.Some of these are establishment of a Centre of Excellence to share best practices with service providers and implementing measures to simplify the process for pole access requests. On the back of all these effective steps, Bell has witnessed significant developments in terms of deploying crucial communication structures across the Canadian city with prompt response times.The company is expecting a surge in access requests in the upcoming period while driving the deployment of top-quality Internet services by September 2022. Markedly, the Brome-Missisquoi rural territory is likely to one of the first to avail the benefits of fiber optics in Quebec.Bell has deployed Canada’s largest 5G wireless network, offering unprecedented mobile data speeds in Montreal, the Greater Toronto Area, Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver, among others. It is well positioned to benefit from a robust postpaid business with subscriber additions and higher revenue contribution from prepaid services.The company continues to focus on six strategic areas — investment in broadband network and services, accelerating wireless services, leveraging wireline momentum, expanding media coverage, improving customer service and achieving a competitive cost structure. These initiatives are expected to generate higher revenue per user and attract new customers.Markedly, BCE’s underlying business fundamentals are strong. Its robust liquidity position, underpinned by a healthy balance sheet, substantial free cash flow generation and access to the debt and bank capital markets, is expected to provide financial flexibility to execute on its planned capital expenditures. Although it continues to invest substantially in LTE, broadband and fiber, it is believed that the company may not be able to recover massive outlays from customers due to competitors’ short-term pricing of comparable services.BCE currently has a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell). It has a long-term earnings growth expectation of 5.1%. The stock has returned 26.4% compared with industry’s growth of 24.4% in the past year. Some better-ranked stocks in the broader industry arePortland General Electric CompanyPOR,South Jersey Industries, Inc.SJI andNew Jersey Resources CorporationNJR, each carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can seethe complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.Portland General Electric delivered a trailing four-quarter positive earnings surprise of 107%, on average.South Jersey Industries delivered a trailing four-quarter positive earnings surprise of 42.9%, on average.New Jersey Resources has a long-term earnings growth expectation of 6%. Blockchain and cryptocurrency has sparked one of the most exciting discussion topics of a generation. Some call it the “Internet of Money” and predict it could change the way money works forever. If true, it could do to banks what Netflix did to Blockbuster and Amazon did to Sears. Experts agree we’re still in the early stages of this technology, and as it grows, it will create several investing opportunities.Zacks’ has just revealed 3 companies that can help investors capitalize on the explosive profit potential of Bitcoin and the other cryptocurrencies with significantly less volatility than buying them directly.See 3 crypto-related stocks now >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days.Click to get this free reportBCE, Inc. (BCE) : Free Stock Analysis ReportPortland General Electric Company (POR) : Free Stock Analysis ReportNewJersey Resources Corporation (NJR) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research \|\| S&P 500 slips as tech stocks pull market lower: By Herbert Lash NEW YORK (Reuters) - The S&P 500 closed lower on Wednesday as optimism about the economic recovery by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen was unable to halt a decline in technology shares for a second straight day. The remarks by the top two U.S. economic officials mirrored what they told Congress the day before, with Powell saying on Wednesday the most likely case is 2021 will be "a very, very strong year." While the three major indexes closed lower, investors sold last year's big performers, the technology shares that doubled the Nasdaq index from year-ago lows, and bought the underpriced value-oriented stocks poised to do well in the recovery. Wall Street has seesawed this week as a months-long rotation into economically sensitive energy and financial shares, which have gained on an outlook for economic growth, was briefly upended by falling bond yields that prompted beaten-down technology stocks to rise. The 10-year yield fell to about 1.6%, a slide that in recent days had propped up tech stocks that rely on low-cost capital. Value-oriented shares on Wednesday closed flat, outpacing a 1.4% decline in growth stocks, which include tech shares. Investors have focused on the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, pondering whether there is room for long-term interest rates to run, said David Kelly, chief global strategist at JPMorgan Asset Management. "We're in a little bit of a lull here. We know that the economy is primed to begin to really accelerate in the second quarter," Kelly said. "But we haven't seen that acceleration yet so that's what we're waiting for." Adding to an upward bias for most of the session was data showing U.S. factory activity picked up in early March amid strong growth in new orders. But supply chain disruptions continued to exert cost pressures on manufacturers, keeping inflation fears in focus. "Everybody's bullish about the prospects of a recovery right now," said David Yepez, lead equity analyst and portfolio manager at Exencial Wealth Advisors. "In order for the market to bottom we need to have more fear, and I don't feel like the market has fear right now." Financials gained 0.4% and industrials rose 0.7%, while energy jumped 2.5% as crude prices rebounded from a 6% fall in the last session. [O/R] The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 3.09 points, or 0.01%, to 32,420.06. The S&P 500 lost 21.38 points, or 0.55%, to 3,889.14 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 265.81 points, or 2.01%, to 12,961.89. Volume on U.S. exchanges was 12.72 billion shares, compared with the 14.0 billion average for the full session over the last 20 trading days. Apple Inc, Tesla Inc, Amazon.com Inc, Facebook Inc and Microsoft Corp led decliners on the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq. Intel Corp retreated 2.3% after earlier gains as the company, in its efforts to expand chipmaking capacity, announced plans to spend as much as $20 billion to build two factories in Arizona and open its factories to outside customers. U.S.-listed shares of Taiwan Semiconductor dropped 5.2%, while semiconductor equipment makers Lam Research Corp, Applied Materials Inc and ASML Holding rose. Applied Materials was the third-biggest boost on the S&P 500, after oil giants Chevron Corp and Exxon Mobil Corp. Bitcoin gained after Tesla's founder, Elon Musk, said the company's electric vehicles can now be bought using bitcoin and the option will be available outside the United States later this year. GameStop Corp tumbled 33.8% after the videogame retailer said it might cash in on a meteoric rise in its share price to fund its e-commerce expansion. Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by a 1.32-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 3.17-to-1 ratio favored decliners. The S&P 500 posted 15 new 52-week highs and no new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 42 new highs and 128 new lows. (Reporting by Herbert Lash in New York; Additional reporting by Devik Jain and Medha Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel and Matthew Lewis) \|\| Blockcap Mined 544 Bitcoin in Q1 While Riot Yielded 491: Austin, Texas-based cryptocurrency mining firm Blockcap mined 544bitcoinin Q1, an earnings report revealed exclusively to CoinDesk shows. Meanwhile, rival Riot, one of the largest publicly traded miners in North America, mined 491 bitcoin in the same period,per Securities and Exchange Commission filings. Blockcap’s haul follows the company’s $38 million funding round andits acquisition of 32,000 Bitmain ASICs, and Riot’s comes after the miner inked a deal for49,000 ASICsfrom Bitmain in the beginning of April. Some of these mining machines are online but the bulk are not, as both Blockcap and Riot will continuing placing news ASICs online as these shipments are fulfilled throughout the year. Publicly traded Marathon Patent Group, another mainstay on North America’s mining scene, pulled in196 BTCin Q1 of this year. Related:China Calls Crypto an ‘Investment’; Crypto Demand Bounces Back in Asia Each of these companies have been buying up mining rigs in a race to expand as North American investor appetite for Bitcoin’s mining has never been greater. These mining companies, along with others like Luxor and newcomer Gryphon, have grown significantly over the past year. The United States and Canada now share anywhere from 10%-15% of Bitcoin’s global hashrate, a trend that could continue with investment dollars pouring into North American mining firms. “Blockcap has an aggressive growth strategy that is designed to create more jobs in the blockchain industry not just in the United States but also in our home state of Texas and our hometown of Austin,” Blockcap founder and Chairman Darin Feinstein said. “We believe there is ample room for all of us to expand together and in turn provide broader, sustained economic growth at the local, state and national levels.” An important piece of this growing industry, ASIC manufacturing, just touched down on the continent in the last year with ePIC, an ASIC manufacturerfresh off a $7 million series Afunding round. Related:Bitcoin ETF From 3iQ and CoinShares, Canada's 4th, Begins Trading on TSX “North America could be a mining powerhouse but three key pieces need to come together for that to happen,” Henry Quan, CEO of ASIC maker ePIC, said. “There’s a lot of cheap energy here, commercial miners and a favorable political climate, so that’s the first thing. Mining pools are another piece, which we have with Luxor and DCG. And now, we have the third piece with ePIC and ASIC manufacturing.” (DCG is the parent company of CoinDesk.) Publicly traded Marathon Patent Group, another mainstay on North America’s mining scene, pulled in196 BTCin Q1 of this year. Each of these companies have been buying up mining rigs in a race to expand as North American investor appetite for Bitcoin’s mining has never been greater. • Blockcap Mined 544 Bitcoin in Q1 While Riot Yielded 491 • Blockcap Mined 544 Bitcoin in Q1 While Riot Yielded 491 [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] None available.	Trend: down \|\| Prices: 57424.01, 56396.52, 57356.40, 58803.78, 58232.32, 55859.80, 56704.57, 49150.54, 49716.19, 49880.54
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis] Not fully available. [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Investors Set Sail With Cruise-Line Investments In 2016: 2015 proved to be a lucrative year for many cruise liners, as an improving economy and low fuel prices created the perfect conditions for a rebuilding year. Industry juggernaut Carnival Corp (NYSE: CCL ) saw its shares rise 19.43 percent over the course of the year, and Barron's sees the firm climbing another 20 percent this year, a sign that the industry can expect smooth waters ahead. Safety In The Water Carnival Corp has been touted as one of the safest plays in the cruise industry, because the company is the largest operator in the world. Carnival has ships in almost every body of water on the planet, operating popular names like Carnival Cruise Lines, Princess Cruises and Costa Cruises. Not only does the company have a massive brand appeal and staying power, but Carnival also pays out the heftiest dividend with a yield of 2.2 percent. Related Link: Barron's Picks And Pans: Carnival, Pandora, American Capital And More Expanding Into China Another reason the cruise industry is set to continue gaining through 2016 is the potential for expansion in China as cruise holidays gain popularity. For investors looking to play this angle, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd (NYSE: RCL ) or Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd (NASDAQ: NCLH ) could be smart plays. Royal Caribbean has proven to be popular among the Chinese population and has been pushing upscale ships with luxury rooms that have brought in a great deal of interest. Norwegian is a relatively new entrant into the Chinese market, but the firm has been able to learn from its peers who have already penetrated the market and by offering customers a tailored experience different from what European or North American customers prefer. Image Credit: Public Domain See more from Benzinga 4 CEOs With A Tough Year Ahead Ledger Fights For Bitcoin's Staying Power At CES 2016 Virtual Reality In 2016 © 2016 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| Your first trade for Wednesday: The " Fast Money " traders delivered their final picks with just two trading days left in the year. Pete Najarian was a buyer ofWynn Resorts ( WYNN ) . Brian Kelly was a buyer of Trina Solar ( TSL ) . Dan Nathan was a seller of McDonald's ( MCD ) . Guy Adami was a buyer of Thermo Fisher Scientific ( TMO ) . Trader disclosure: On December 29, 2015, the following stocks and commodities mentioned or intended to be mentioned on CNBC's "Fast Money" were owned by the "Fast Money" traders: Pete Najarian is long Long AAPL, BAC, BMY, BP, DIS, DISCA, FOXA, GE, KO, MRK, PEP, PFE, he is long calls A, ABX, BAC, COP, DAL, DDD, EMR, EXAS, HAIN, HUN, LC, LULU, MOS, MSFT, NRF, NSAM, PNR, SCSS, UAL, VZ, WLL, WYNN, He is long puts FCX, MRO, WFT. Dan Nathan is long MCD Feb Put Spread, Long PFE buy-write, Long TWTR March Risk Reversal, Long UUP March call, Long XLU Feb Call spread, Long PYPL Jan Risk Reversal, Long M Jan16 call spread, Long NTAP Jan risk reversal, Long GM Jan Put Butterfly, Long Len Jan Put Fly, Long QCOM feb calls, Short SPY, Long UUP. Brian Kelly is long BBRY, Bitcoin, GDX, GLD, Hong Kong Dollar, TLT, US Dollar; he is short British Pound, Euro, Yen, Yuan, Canadian Dollar, GSG, EEM, EWC, EWH, KRE, SPY. Guy Adami is long CELG, EXAS, GDX, INTC, Guy Adami's wife, Linda Snow, works at Merck. More From CNBC Top News and Analysis Latest News Video Personal Finance \|\| JPMorgan launches blockchain trial project -FT: Jan 31 (Reuters) - JPMorgan Chase is partnering with start-up Digital Asset Holdings to launch a trial project using blockchain technology that could reduce the cost and complexity of trading, the Financial Times reported on Sunday. The agreement comes as another sign that blockchain, which is best known as the basis of the digital currency Bitcoin, has wide-ranging applications for some of Wall Street's biggest banks. One potential use for the technology is addressing liquidity mismatches in some of JPMorgan's loan funds, the Financial Times said. "To sell a loan is a very cumbersome, time-consuming process; settlement can take weeks," Daniel Pinto, head of JPMorgan's investment bank, told the Financial Times. It "makes all the sense in the world" to explore blockchain's potential to improve that process. Digital Asset Holdings is run by Blythe Masters, JPMorgan's former head of commodities. (Reporting by Carl O'Donnell; Editing by Peter Cooney) \|\| Digatrade Executes Joint-Venture with BitCarats: Exclusive Digital Asset Development & Exchange Listing Agreement VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / February 10, 2016 /BITX FINANCIAL CORP (BITXF) and its 100% owned and operated digital asset-currency exchange DIGATRADE(TM) (digatrade.com) today announced the execution of an exclusive asset-backed digital currency development and platform exchange listing agreement with BitCarats Capital Inc. Under terms of the agreement Digatrade, along with BitCarats Capital, will develop Caratscoin, the world's first diamond-backed digital-asset powered by blockchain. “Caratscoin will be the first asset-backed digital currency listed on the trading platform, an innovation that will include additional asset-backed crypto-currencies in the future," stated Brad Moynes, CEO of Digatrade. In collaboration with BitCarats Capital and financial technology partners (ANX Technologies), Caratscoin will be powered by secure blockchain technology - the world's first paired with Bitcoin as well as direct purchase via Digatrade multi-fiat currency order-book including US dollars and Euros via Visa & MasterCard, along with eCheck and Interac within Canada. A fully integrated, custom multi-signature Caratscoin digital wallet will be developed as a comprehensive solution, not only creating the Caratscoin, but adding value through features such as industry leading security architecture and encryption algorithms. Caratscoin owners issue the coin only if all authorized parties are present, the first to use this unique service which is unprecedented in the market. This system is most secure, as no one person has the only authority to issue the coin, considering the Caratscoin is designed to significantly increase in value in direct correlation to the appreciation in value of physical diamonds held in the company vault. BitCarats Capital CEO & Founder Colin Ferguson stated, "Carats Diamond Investment, which will provide the distinctive collection of diamonds to back BitCarats, has more than 30 years' experience in the diamond business and is the nation's first direct distributor from the world famous Argyle Diamond Mine in Western Australia. We house the country's leading collection of Natural Fancy Coloured diamonds, featuring trending colours such as red, vivid blues and champagnes." Ferguson continued, "Caratscoin will not only provide a new virtual asset-class and store of value, but also offer our investors instant payment, prepaid debit cards and the ability to transfer an asset between end users instantly, at a low cost and on a decentralized network."Caratscoin will be backed by a pool of certified, Natural Fancy Coloured diamonds, primarily featuring red, vivid blue, and champagne colours. Each diamond is certified by the Geological Institute of America, the world's leading diamond educational resource, and home to the most advanced laboratories. The diamonds are insured by Lloyd's of London and stored at a private vault at The World Trade Center, 999 Canada Place, one of the most secure buildings in Vancouver, Canada. Founded and led by BitCarats CEO Colin Ferguson, Carats Diamond Investment (carats.com) is committed to exceptional diamond education, quality and customer service, and was recently recognized by the Better Business Bureau (BBB) when Carats was awarded with their highest rating of A+ since joining the BBB 16 years ago. More information regarding this exciting new venture will be made available as it materializes. ABOUT DIGATRADE: DIGATRADE is a global digital asset-currency exchange located in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The Company is owned and operated 100% by Bit-X Financial Corp which is publically listed on the OTC.QB under the trading symbol BITXF. BITXF is a reporting issuer in the Province of British Columbia, Canada with the British Columbia Securities Commission "BCSC" and in the United States with the Securities Exchange Commission "SEC". Digatrade has now become a global platform offering its customers instant card-based transactions worldwide. CORPORATE CONTACT INFORMATION: Brad Moynes, CEOBit-X Financial CorpDigaTrade.com838 West Hastings Street, Suite 300Vancouver, BC V6C-0A6CanadaTel: +1(604) 200-0071Fax: +1(604) 200-0072www.digatrade.com Media inquiries:[email protected] Forward-Looking Information This press release contains certain "forward-looking information". All statements, other than statements of historical fact, that address activities, events or development that the Company believes, expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future constitute forward-looking information. This forward-looking information reflects the current expectations or beliefs of the company based on information currently available to the Company. Forward-looking information is subject to a number of significant risks and uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results of the Company to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking information, and even if such actual results are realized or substantially realized, there can be no assurance that they will have the expected consequences to, or effects on the Company. Factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations include, but are not limited to, the possibility of unanticipated costs and expenses. Any forward-looking information speaks only as of the date on which it is made and, except as may be required by applicable securities laws, the company disclaims any intent or obligation to update any forward-looking information whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise. Although the Company believes that the assumptions inherent in the forward-looking information are reasonable, forward-looking information is not a guarantee of future performance and accordingly undue reliance should not be put on such information due to the inherent uncertainty therein. SOURCE:Bit-X Financial Corp \|\| Anarchists love 2015's best performing asset: Gold is down nearly 10 percent, major U.S. stock indexes are roughly flat and energy commodities have nearly all fallen more than 30 percent: It's been a tough year for investors. And while individual stocks have seen big pops on headlines, perhaps the best performing non-equity asset of the year is a favorite among crypto-anarchists. Bitcoin (: BTC=) , the digital currency heralded as a potential successor to the global monetary system, is up about 37 percent against the U.S. dollar since the beginning of the year. The cryptocurrency went for about $313 at the beginning of the year, according to CoinDesk's composite price index, and is now changing hands at around $430. Those huge gains come after starting the year on rocky footing: Bitcoin dipped to below $175 in mid-January. But after a few false starts, the digital currency has been largely gaining ground since the beginning of October. (One of the few investment options with a comparable 2015 return is Argentina's benchmark Merval — up about 40 percent on the year. Although U.S. investors playing the Global X Argentina ETF would be disappointed by the fund's slight loss in 2015.) It's hard to say what's actually caused Bitcoin's rise during the last three months of 2015. In November, digital ecosystem observers told CNBC that a 70 percent one-month spike may have been caused in part by headlines like the Winklevoss twins launching their exchange and the Digital Currency Group announcing funding from Bain and MasterCard . Others suggested that the relatively lightly traded asset could have been jumping on speculators' fear of missing out (FOMO). For Brendan O'Connor, the CEO of bitcoin trading firm Genesis Global Trading, the year-end run up was the result of a series of positive trends for the asset. On the one hand, O'Connor said, funding announcements from bitcoin-related start-ups helped to establish the legitimacy of the sector — and its underlying technology. This has helped push institutional investors into making investments in both the digital token and the over-the-counter Bitcoin Investment Trust ( more on that ETF-like vehicle can be found here ). Story continues "They're looking for investments in non-correlated asset classes," O'Connor said, explaining that financial firms regularly come to his office to learn how to trade bitcoin. "I still think that by and large they're viewing it as a speculative investment, but I think that their willingness to test the waters has increased dramatically." Another important trend in the space has been the gradually increasing interest the technology — and it's negligible fee structure — for remittance payments and as a daily currency in monetarily challenged parts of the world, O'Connor said. That potential came to the forefront of the tech discussion during the summer's Greek crisis: When the country instituted capital controls in the face of increasingly dire eurozone negotiations, countless articles were written about bitcoin's potential for struggling citizens . It's unclear if those prophecies ever came to any real fruition, but investors in the space say the positive press coverage at least boosted awareness of bitcoin's potential. Finally, bitcoin may have simply benefited from the lack of any disastrous headlines. Many traders say the cryptocurrency has shed the pall of failed exchange Mt. Gox — which quickly shuttered in 2014 after saying it lost 850,000 bitcoins (worth about $365 million today). Bitcoin's fall from more than $1,150 near the end of 2013 to this January's $200 levels represented the asset's "long winter," according to economist Tuur Demeester, editor-in-chief of bitcoin-focused Adamant Research. The story of 2015, therefore, has been a bottoming out for the digital asset, and a climb to revaluation. Bitcoin's fall from its highs, Demeester said, was the result of "bubblicious" investing in 2013 (with some help from Mt. Gox). Pricing levels remained depressed for so long because companies had become over-leveraged, and so had been squeezed into heavy bitcoin selling, he said. As for 2016, Demeester suggested that the cryptocurrency could likely see another leg up as newly confident investors seek the right market valuation. "But," he said, "with bitcoin you have to expect to be surprised." More From CNBC Top News and Analysis Latest News Video Personal Finance \|\| C&W Networks Selects Xtera for Upgrading Its Multiple Submarine Cable Systems to 100G Technology: MIAMI, FL and DALLAS, TX--(Marketwired - Jan 26, 2016) -C&W Networks, part ofCable & Wireless Communications(CWC), the largest telecommunications service provider across the Caribbean, Central America, Mexico and United States with more than 48,000 miles of subsea fiber-optic network has selectedXtera Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:XCOM), a leading provider of high-capacity, cost-effective optical transport solutions, for upgrading its submarine cable systems in the western Atlantic ocean and the Caribbean Sea to 100G. By introducing Xtera's 100G coherent solution, C&W Networks continues to offer robust services across 42 countries with superior reliability and scalability of international wholesale capacity. C&W Networks has bolstered its subsea network capacity by upgrading several unrepeatered and repeatered segments to 100G, using Xtera's Nu-Wave Optima™ multi-purpose optical networking platform. The submarine cable systems were upgraded with new 100G channels to include the 1,570 km Gemini - Bermuda cable system, the 1,700 km Caribbean - US (CBUS) cable system, the 1,700 km East West Cable (EWC) system, the 1,440 km festoon Eastern Caribbean Fiber System (ECFS), and part of the 8,700 km ARCOS-1 submarine ring. "The global build-out of data centers, coupled with rapid deployment of cloud-based services, are driving renewed demand for even higher fixed and burst rate connections with emphasis on high availability through redundancy," said Paul Scott, President of C&W Networks. "Our goal is to proactively prepare our networks with the right technology to efficiently address the evolving business needs of today and the future. We are very excited to enhance our network performance to100G and 100G+ and Xtera was a natural choice for us." The same optical networking platform was used over the unrepeatered and repeatered segments, enabling a unified, seamless network from an operational perspective. For the upgrade of unrepeatered segments, advanced 100G optical channel technology combined with Xtera's Wise Raman™ solution raised the capacity to multi terabits per second level even on the longest unrepeatered segments (approaching 400 km spans). This combination of technologies also enabled C&W Networks to bypass some intermediate sites when no local add/drop of 100G waves was needed, eliminating the need for back-to-back terminal equipment as found in the previous network design based on 10G optical channel technology. "Strengthening our relationship with C&W Networks, these new upgrade projects are further evidence of the confidence network operators place in Xtera's capabilities to improve subsea optical transmission infrastructure already deployed across the world," said Jon Hopper, President and Chief Executive Officer of Xtera. "Upgrading existing subsea cable systems to increase their capacity and extend their lifetime -- from a capacity-cost perspective -- is part of our subsea solution portfolio, which includes subsea cable recovery and re-lay, and as well as new build." About C&W NetworksC&W Networks is a wholly owned subsidiary of Cable & Wireless Communications and a wholesale telecommunications service provider that offers broadband, IP capacity and a growing portfolio of managed services and integrated solutions to global, regional and local telecom carriers, TV cable companies, Internet Service Providers and Network Integrators. C&W Networks operates the largest subsea multi-ring fibre-optic network throughout the greater Caribbean, Central American and Andean region along with the most comprehensive fully meshed MPLS network in the region. Reaching 42 countries, the company's fully protected ringed submarine fibre optic network spans more than 48,000km. Cable routes include the Caribbean Optical-ring System (ARCOS-1), Colombia-Florida Express (CFX-1), EC-Link cable system, Fibralink, Maya 1, Eastern Caribbean Fiber Express (ECFS), Taino-Carib, East-West, Cayman-Jamaica Fibre system, Caribbean-Bermuda U.S (CBUS), Americas II, Gemini Bermuda, Pan America (PAN-AM), Antillas 1 and Pacific Caribbean Cable System (PCCS). For more information visit:www.cwnetworks.com. About Cable & Wireless CommunicationsCable & Wireless Communications Plc (CWC) is a full service communications and entertainment provider, operating in the Caribbean and Latin America. With annual sales of over $2.4bn, it operates both mobile and fixed networks, supported by submarine and terrestrial optical fibre backhaul capacity. Through the acquisition of Columbus International Inc. on 31 March 2015, CWC now delivers superior high-speed mobile data, broadband and video services. It has leading market positions in Mobile, Fixed Line, Broadband and Video consumer offers. Through its business division, CWC provides data centre hosting, domestic and international managed network services, and customised IT service solutions, utilising cloud technology to serve business and government customers. The company also operates a state-of-the-art subsea fibre optic cable network that spans more than 48,000 km -- the most extensive in the region -- as well as 38,000 km of terrestrial fibre providing wholesale and carrier backhaul capacity. CWC has more than 7,200 employees serving over 6.3 million customers (Mobile 4.1m; Fixed Line 1.1m; Video 465k and Broadband 680k) as well as over 125k corporate clients across 42 countries. The Company's leading brands include; LIME and Flow in the Caribbean; BTC in The Bahamas; Mas Movil in Panama; C&W Business and C&W Networks. CWC is the market leader in most products offered and territories served. It is a major contributor to local communities through its corporate social responsibility programmes. Cable & Wireless Communications' shares are quoted on the London Stock Exchange under the ticker CWC. The company is headquartered in London with its operational hub located in Miami, within close proximity to the Caribbean and Latin America. For more information, please visit:www.cwc.com. About Xtera Communications, Inc.Xtera Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:XCOM) is a leading provider of high-capacity, cost-effective optical transport solutions, supporting the high growth in global demand for bandwidth. Xtera sells solutions to telecommunications service providers, content service providers, enterprises and government entities worldwide. Xtera's proprietary Wise Raman™ optical amplification technology leads to capacity and reach performance advantages over competitive products. Xtera's solutions enable cost-effective capacity to meet customers' bandwidth requirements of today and to support their increasing bandwidth demand fueled by the development of data centers and related cloud-based services. For more information, visitwww.xtera.com, [email protected] connect viaLinkedIn,Twitter,FacebookandYouTube. \|\| Ledger Fights For Bitcoin's Staying Power At CES 2016: The Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas is a chance for electronics and technology firms to debut their latest offerings and future prospects. Everything from self-driving cars to mind-blowing virtual reality sets have made their debut at CES, and each year the show tends to set the tone for what kind of tech will be big in the coming year. This year, bitcoin startupLedgeris keeping the cryptocurrency in the spotlight by hosting the only bitcoin startup booth at the event. Physical Bitcoin Storage Ledger created a hardware wallet product in 2015 that provides customers with a safe and secure way to store and use their bitcoins. Ledger takes some of the worry out of using bitcoin by giving users a physical way to store bitcoins – a lightweight smart card. They can then use a USB to make secure payments, and the company offers a simple backup system that provides users with a microchip and pin code encrypted system in case they lose their card. Related Link:Can The Bitcoin Foundation Last? This year, Ledger is planning to exhibit new offerings at CES including a new technology that will strengthen the security of online authentication by reducing the reliance on passwords. Bitcoin's Year Ledger's presence at CES suggests that although bitcoin had a rough year in 2015, the cryptocurrency isn't dead yet. Concerns about privacy and security have increased skepticism about cryptocurrencies, making it difficult for bitcoin firms to push mainstream approval. However, many believe that as security improves and more and more vendors open up to the possibility of bitcoin transactions, the public will get on board. Image Credit: Public Domain See more from Benzinga • Virtual Reality In 2016 • Is Tesla A Good Investment For 2016? • 3 CEOs Who Made Headlines In 2015 © 2016 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| Blockchain Moves Forward In The Financial Industry: Cryptocurrencies like bitcoin have had a lot of negative attention over the past year, as several hacking attacks and scams have painted the coins as an unsafe way to make transactions. However, blockchain, the ledger-like system that bitcoin runs on, has received a great deal of praise across several industries that say the technology has the potential to completely reform the way they do business. This is especially true in the financial space, where banks say that although they are still wary of bitcoin transactions, incorporating blockchain into their operations could actually improve their businesses. Related Link:Now You Can Play The Lottery With Bitcoin Cross-Border Payments One way blockchain could improve the financial industry is by improving the way banks make cross-border transactions. The current system is cumbersome and takes a great deal of time and effort for both the sending and receiving bank. This process has made it difficult for banks to interact with one another from country to country, but incorporating blockchain could change all of that. The ledger system would streamline cross-border payments and take out much of the administrative work associated with processing international transactions. Closer To Integration From January 11 to January 15, several major banks begantestingwhether blockchain could be used in this way and the results looked promising, according to the Wall Street Journal. Eleven different banks were able to use a private blockchain in order to exchange tokens across several continents. The test included big name financial institutions likeBarclays PLC (ADR)(NYSE:BCS),Credit Suisse Group AG (ADR)(NYSE:CS) andWells Fargo & Co(NYSE:WFC), and it is expected to pave the way for future blockchain investments. While this initial test provided only a small snapshot of what blockchain is capable of, many believe that its success will push banks to continue testing the technology and eventually put it into practice. See more from Benzinga • Top 5 Losers When The Fed Raises Rates © 2016 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| Blockchain Gets A Much-Needed Stamp Of Approval: Finance firm Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE: GS ) has become a pillar of the financial sector with traders looking to the bank's advice for everything from investing to saving. For that reason, Goldman Sachs Director Don Duet's positive remarks regarding blockchain could be a catalyst for the technology's success. Blockchain Potential Bitcoin has had a rough ride over the past year, as many of the coin's users suffered losses due to volatile prices and exchange collapses. However, the technology that bitcoin runs on – a ledger-like system called blockchain – has been gaining momentum. This is especially true in the financial sector, where banks say blockchain could improve their operations and make things like cross-border payments more streamlined. Related Link: Blockchain Moves Forward In The Financial Industry Using Blockchain Earlier this month, Duet commented on blockchain, saying that he sees the technology as both exciting and groundbreaking. He said blockchain systems have the potential to revolutionize banking operations and the technology could help banks share information and conduct asset transfers more easily and securely. A Single Truth Duet said blockchain provides banks with a "single truth," meaning that it creates one constant system that all banks can use. One of the problems with the banking sector as it currently stands, he said, is that every bank is operating with different systems and protocols. Because of this, banks have to spend a lot of time reconciling differences in order to conduct transactions. However, using blockchain could change all of that by providing banks with one single ledger updated with each transaction. A Bright Future While Duet's comments were general in nature, many saw his optimism regarding blockchain as a positive sign for the future. Banks like Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS ) and Citigroup Inc (NYSE: C ) have been exploring how blockchain might fit into their operations in recent months, and Duet's remarks suggest the outlook is promising. See more from Benzinga Can Bank Stocks Recover? Banks' Earnings Tell A Tale Of Cost Cutting Is Bank Of America Ripe For A Turnaround? © 2016 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. View comments \|\| Bitcoin's biggest investor bought its leading news outlet: There is one trade publication in the digital currency industry that every mainstream news outlet knows well, and cites regularly in stories about bitcoin:CoinDesk. It is a source of news about bitcoin investments, price spikes or crashes, and executive hires, and it is a regular destination for journalists who write about bitcoin (as well as for bitcoin enthusiasts who don't get paid to write about the currency). Last week, CoinDesk reported some newsabout itself. The website has been bought by Digital Currency Group, the investment firm of Barry Silbert, who in 2004 founded SecondMarket, which allows for the trading of private-company stock. He sold the platform to Nasdaq (NDAQ) last year. This is DCG's first full acquisition; it did not disclose the sale price, but sources tell Yahoo Finance it was around $750,000. DCG has invested in 60 different digital currency companies, and the companies in its portfolio have raised 70% of the venture capital in the industry. You might think that creates an obvious conflict of interest here. Silbert owning CoinDesk is like Red Sox co-owner John Henry buying the Boston Globe (which actually happened), or Peyton Manning buying the Denver Post, or Donald Trump buying Politico. But Ryan Selkis, the DCG executive who will oversee business at CoinDesk for the time being, insists that won't be a problem. Nonetheless, he says the possibility did concern him at first. The subject of changing ownership at a bitcoin news site may seem like granular inside-baseball, but it is significant when viewed in the context of ongoing fears about who owns the media. From NewsCorp to Bloomberg to recent changes at the Las Vegas Review-Journal, it is a topic on the minds of both journalists and their readers. Is bitcoin's primary news site selling to bitcoin's biggest investment firm another piece of bad news for the industry? Selkis, DCG's director of growth, spoke to Yahoo Finance about that question and about DCG's plans for the site. What follows is an edited transcript. Yahoo Finance:Before we get into CoinDesk, what was your take on the fallout from Mike Hearn's post last week? [Hearn, a bitcoin developer,declaredthat bitcoin had "failed" and that he was leaving the industry; it resulted in a media firestorm.] Ryan Selkis:I won’t comment on the theatrics of it. I will say that Mike Hearn was one of the really solid developers, he’s contributed a good chunk of his life and energy into making bitcoin what it is today, so, style aside, there’s not a whole lot people can say to critique his overall contribution to the industry. But this [ongoing debateover the size of blocks, or bundles of transactions, recorded on bitcoin's public ledger] is more of a governance issue than it is a bitcoin issue, in terms of how this will get resolved. I think it will get resolved. But the governance of the overall project needs to be better. What was DCG's approach to buying CoinDesk, what were the considerations? The first priority we had when we considered this acquistion, my main hesitation, was whether we’d be able to preserve CoinDesk’s editorial independence. And it’s why I’m working with the team full-time now on operating activities. We are going to create both informational and physical barriers between the editorial team and Digital Currency Group. From a policy standpoint, I’ve recused myself from all investing activity at DCG. I was its director of investments; I have completely transitioned away from that and now I’m director of growth. How does handling growth for DCG pertain to CoinDesk? In this particular instance it means making sure we have a smooth transition post-acquisition. We’re combining two teams. We’ve kept all the CoinDesk employees and our plan is to continue to employ everyone that came over, hopefully for a long time. But we also have a professional events team we’ve been working with that were already in the midst of planning a large conference in May, and now we’re merging those two teams to plan one event, Consensus 2016. So now everyone, with the exception of myself, is a CoinDesk employee. And functionally, I’m full time with the CoinDesk team. So how are you separating CoinDesk from DCG? We are physically relocating offices to a different part of Manhattan. So the CoinDesk folks are not going to be sitting right next to our Genesis [a broker dealer that is another DCG subsidiary] trading team or our investment team, which has proprietary information on how 60 or so bitcoin companies that we are invested in are performing. What if CoinDesk is now afraid to write bad news about companies DCG is invested in? Or it could go the other way: Will CoinDesk start getting all the scoops on DCG companies? On the latter point, I’m not concerned because even before this, CoinDesk had established itself as a clear industry leader in terms of a trade journal. So they were already getting most of the scoops. When you talk about embargoed news releases, they are going to continue to be on the same lists as the other folks that DCG reaches out to. So that doesn’t really change. To be honest, CoinDesk was typically part of a broad group of outlets that would be contacted whenever there was news about a DCG company, because we never want to restrict press attention to just one outlet for any of its business interests. So that is the much easier question to answer. With respect to editorial conflicts, look, that’s what I’m here for, is to make sure there’s a buffer between both entities. So on the one hand, I’m not influencing CoinDesk editorial, but on the other hand, I’m leading the team on a day-to-day basis, and I’m able to interface with DCG but I’m no longer privy to any inside-baseball related to the portfolio companies. That seems like a contradiction: You won't influence CoinDesk editorial, but you'll lead CoinDesk day to day? So will you be full time at CoinDesk, or at DCG? I’m DCG's director of growth, but I'm focused full time on CoinDesk and this acquisition, and the 10 or so employees we’ve absorbed, and the large-scale conference we’re producing in May. That makes CoinDesk our top priortity in terms of growth initiatives. Is the conference the main reason DCG bought CoinDesk? Why else? We think there’s a lot of organic growth potential for CoinDesk. They’ve had display advertising and various sponsors, but last year they hosted Consensus 2015, it was profitable, it was well-attended, folks were raving about the content of the event. And in mid-2015 they also began publishing paid research reports. As we continue new investments in CoinDesk, paid research and live events are going to be meaningful drivers of growth for the business. We have the resources to invest not only in fantastic new editorial talent, as in full-time reporters, but also strengthen the ranks of freelance contributors. One area we will invest in is looking beyond just bitcoin the currency and the very insular community there, and branching much further out into blockchain applications that enterprise is taking a look at. Now, that doesn’t mean we are on this "blockchain, not bitcoin" bandwagon, because I don’t want to give that impression at all and it’s a very shrill conversation that happens on Twitter and Reddit when you bring it up. But I do think there will be private ledger solutions that work for enterprise where bitcoin isn’t necessarily a good alternative. Yes, big financial institutions and banks, from Nasdaq to JPMorgan, have been on the "blockchain, not bitcoin" trend lately. Do you think that's all talk? I think the interest is definitely real. The bigger question is, over what time frame does this play out? I don’t think that anyone should expect fully functioning products in the next year, two years, handful of years. It will take many years to build some of these core products that are used currently for clearing and settlement. But I think it’s not just a buzzword, I think "blockchain for banks" truly is more relevant in many cases than using the bitcoin blockchain. If you’re a large institution and you’re looking to create an open ledger where you can move securities around safely and transparently to other regulated institutions, you don’t need a native currency like bitcoin or a consensus mechanism that uses anonymous miners. You already know the parties. You could have five banks that are the only signatories to that particular blockchain. So that would be interesting. -- Daniel Roberts is a writer at Yahoo Finance, covering sports business and technology.Read more: Bitcoin industry consolidates: Why Kraken bought Coinsetter Here's a sign that PayPal is embracing Bitcoin Fantex, the 'athlete stock exchange,' signs first golfer [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] Current price: 281.43£ $BTCGBP $btc #bitcoin 2016-01-24 11:00:06 GMT \|\| In the last 10 mins, there were arb opps spanning 18 exchange pair(s), yielding profits ranging between $0.00 and $824.56 #bitcoin #btc \|\| #RDD / #BTC on the exchanges: Cryptsy: 0.00000005 Bittrex: 0.00000004 Average $1.7E-5 per #reddcoin 23:00:02 \|\| One Bitcoin now worth $431.99@bitstamp. High $434.00. Low $427.00. Market Cap $6.517 Billion #bitcoin \|\| It would be auspicious to buy at https://Bittylicious.com/refer/2465 £307.00 per BTC. (BPI +5.12%) #buy #bitcoin #banktrans \|\| LIVE: Profit = $902.51 (9.31 %). BUY B23.29 @ $450.00 (#VirCurex). SELL @ $455.58 (#Bitfinex) #bitcoin #btc - http://www.projectcoin.org \|\| $455.00 at 16:02 UTC [24h Range: $450.00 - $465.00 Volume: 10245 BTC] via #btcusdpic.twitter.com/Hou5R4Dy3L \|\| 1 #bitcoin = $7840.00 MXN \| $454.61 USD #BitAPeso 1 USD = 17.25MXN http://www.bitapeso.com \|\| LIVE: Profit = $872.48 (10.38 %). BUY B20.41 @ $420.00 (#VirCurex). SELL @ $455.09 (#Bitfinex) #bitcoin #btc - http://www.projectcoin.org \|\| $432.73 #coinbase; $432.10 #bitstamp; $430.00 #btce; $429.83 #bitfinex; #bitcoin #btc	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 407.49, 416.32, 422.37, 420.79, 437.16, 438.80, 437.75, 420.74, 424.95, 424.54
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2016-12-28] BTC Price: 975.92, BTC RSI: 85.64 Gold Price: 1139.40, Gold RSI: 35.07 Oil Price: 54.06, Oil RSI: 66.36 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] The San Francisco MUNI hacker got hacked: While most people were busy recovering from Thanksgiving and getting ready for massive shopping sprees, a hacker on Friday shut down the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) computer network, asking for $73,000 in Bitcoin to unscramble the data. In ironic turns of events, the hacker was hacked, as a security researcher guessed the answer to the attacker’s email security question. DON’T MISS: There’s a fix for your iPhone 6s’ serious battery drain, but you might not like it The researcher then sent the contents of the hacker’s email address to KrebsOnSecurity . It turns out that the attacker made a poor choice when it comes to security questions for the email address he had to display on the SFMTA’s computer systems. That’s how ransomware attacks work. The hacker has to make an email address available so funds can be transferred to him or her via Bitcoin. Looking at the available data, Krebs was able to discover several interesting things about the hacker of the Muni attack. The attacker did not hit only the SFMTA with ransomware. On November 20th he extorted 63 Bitcoins, or around $45,000, from a US-based manufacturing firm. Krebs says that the criminal got at least $140,000 in Bitcoin since August from several victims, switching Bitcoin wallets regularly. However, the SFMTA refused to pay up, choosing to restore its systems from backups instead. The email hack also sheds some light on how the attack on the SFMTA was possible. Apparently, the hacker did not actively devise methods to attack the public transportation system. Instead, he or she used a server to find vulnerable targets. “It appears our attacker has been using a number of tools which enabled the scanning of large portions of the Internet and several specific targets for vulnerabilities,” Holden Security’s Alex Holden told Krebs. “The most common vulnerability used ‘weblogic unserialize exploit’ and especially targeted Oracle Corp. server products, including Primavera project portfolio management software.” The email also contains elements that could help law enforcement discover the identity, or at least location, of the attacker. According to Krebs, the hacker might be based in Iran, although a phone number connecting the hacker to Russia has also been found — probably a red herring, Krebs said. Read the Krebs’ full report at the source link. Trending right now: What it takes to get a NES Classic Leak reveals another key Galaxy S8 feature that has never been seen before on an iPhone Samsung has started to turn the Galaxy Note 5 into the Note 7 See the original version of this article on BGR.com View comments \|\| How Did Bitcoin Perform This Year?: After a strong showing in 2015, Bitcoin investors experienced another strong year of performance from the popular cryptocurrency in 2016. Bitcoin followed up an impressive +26.3 percent gain in 2015 with a +119.8 percent gain in 2016. A large part of Bitcoin’s gains has come in the final weeks of the year. Since December 16, the price of Bitcoin has spiked 20.0 percent to $967.94. Tech-savvy investorscan buy Bitcoin directly by downloading a Bitcoin Wallet app from Circle, Coinbase, Xapo or other popular services and simply linking their bank account to the app. In addition to these digital wallet apps, investors can buy shares ofBitcoin Investment Trust(OTC:GBTC), which is a trust that invests exclusively in Bitcoin and trades on the OTC market. Each share of the trust represents on tenth of a Bitcoin. The trust is up 93.6 percent in 2016. The Winklevoss twins have also filed for a Bitcoin ETF that may be approved in 2017. The twins have made a number of tweaks to the proposed ETF since they first filed in order to convince the SEC of the safety and security of the fund. If approved, the Bitcoin ETF would be the first direct way for investors to bet on Bitcoin on a major U.S. public market. See more from Benzinga • Should You Be Buying 2016 Market Leaders Or Laggards Heading Into 2017? • NVIDIA's Pullback Might Not Last Very Long • 2016: TV Media's Year In Review © 2016 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| Tips on How to Protect Your Private Information On Black Friday and Cyber Monday: Americans will line up around stores and standby their computers or smartphones to take advantage of Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals, but protecting their private information should also be priority for shoppers. During the holiday season many shoppers are harmed by failing to take simple precautions, says Gene Richardson, COO of Experts Exchange , a network for technology professionals. In Store Vs. Online Retail stores are one of the top areas identity thieves go after, Richardson said in an email to the IBTimes. A large number of some of the biggest identity thefts in the past few years were at large retail stores, he says. Long lines and busy cashiers could potentially put your private information at risk. “All the clerk cares about is getting you through the line as fast as they can so they can deal with the next customer and hope that none of you are angry,” says Richardson. “So, if there is a hiccup with your transaction, they will take “backup” paths to complete your transaction like entering your credit card number by hand.” Richardson, who is also the former head of the data security teams IBM, Charles Schwab and Motorola, says customers should never give their credit card to someone to perform a transaction by entering a card number. “Hand transactions are a huge risk for identity theft,” he says. Customers should also avoid buying if a cashier’s computer is down or too busy, unless it’s with cash, or try to go back later. Credit card scanners are also a threat to customers, as some of them may be rigged to copy a person’s information so that a duplicate credit card can be made. People may be less exposed to this action in large retail stores, but the risk is higher in smaller boutiques shops, says Richardson. Customers should also make sure their credit card number is not printed on receipts and should instead have XXX's where the number is displayed. But online purchases can be riskier because of all the extra information customers hand over, like their name, address, phone number, credit card information, expiration date and CSV. Story continues “They ask for so much more information from you to validate who you are than a purchase in a retail store,” says Richardson. “You have no control of who or where that information is going.” Tips to Protect Yourself Here are Richardson’s tips for shoppers on how they can protect themselves on Black Friday and Cyber Monday: Ensure that the website address is secure and has a valid encryption certificate. It will usually display a “locked, green” indicator in front of the website name. If it doesn’t have that, it does not have a higher level of security that has been guaranteed by a known entity like Verisign, Symantec and others. Ensure your system has the most recent recommended system and security patches. Always use a credit card that is not tied directly to your personal bank account(s), even if you are using PayPal, Bitcoin or some other payment method. Never give anything other than name, address and phone number. You should not need to answer security or privacy questions when making a purchase or checking out. If they ask, see if you can checkout as a “guest” instead. Monitor your credit through a third party for identify theft and have SMS and email alerts sent to you immediately. Set-up alerts with your credit card company that send both SMS and emails when any purchases are made and the credit card was not scanned (meaning, it wasn’t in someone’s hand when the charge was made). Set them as low as $25 per purchase. Also, set-up alerts for total purchases over $500 in a billing period to protect multiple $24.99 purchases. And if possible, a maximum amount of purchases allowed in a billing period such as $1500 before card will get declined. Ensure that you have a reputable Antivirus program running on your computer and that your browser has an Ad blocking plug-in. (Richardson recommends Norton, McAfee or ESET.) Ensure that the network your computer/device is on is secure and you know who has access to your network. This is usually done with your router. You want to lock down your router so that traffic can be initiated from the inside-out but you do not want traffic to be initiated from the outside-in. If you are using a WiFi connection, make sure that network is also secure and requires a password to join. If it is a public WiFi network that doesn’t require a password, then the traffic coming from your device can be monitored and stolen. (Link to onsite how-to article?) Any passwords that you use should be strong, hard to guess ones. Or, even better, hard to guess, but easy to remember . Don’t click on unfamiliar links to sites advertising sales, coupons, etc. Use two-factor authentication/verification, if it is offered. Shopping on Mobile Devices One in 10 mobile apps that are found through searching “Black Friday” are blacklisted as malicious, according to cyber security company RiskIQ An estimated 30 percent of purchases will be made on mobile devices, RiskIQ says. Shopping on mobile devices can substantially increase the risk of encountering phishing pages, malicious apps, and viruses that infect customers’ smartphones and tablets to steal money and private information. There are also fake apps out there that contain malware that can steal customers’ data or lock the device until the user pays a ransom, says RiskIQ. Other malicious apps may ask consumers to use their Facebook or Gmail logins, which could compromise their private information. Tips For Safe Shopping on Mobile Devices Here are some tips from RiskIQ: Ensure that you are only downloading apps from official app stores such as Google or Apple Be wary of applications that ask for suspicious permissions, like access to contacts, text messages, administrative features, stored passwords, or credit card info. Just because an app appears to have a good reputation doesn’t make it so. Rave reviews can be forged, and a high amount of downloads can simply indicate a threat actor was successful in fooling a lot of victims. Before downloading an app, be sure to take a look at the developer—if it’s not a brand you recognize or has a strange appearance or spelling, think twice. You can even do a Google search on the developer for more clues about its reputation. Make sure to take a deep look at each app. New developers, or developers that leverage free email services (e.g., @gmail) for their developer contact, can be enormous red flags— threat actors often use these services to produce mass amounts of malicious apps in a short period. Also, poor grammar in the description highlights the haste of development and the lack of marketing professionalism that are hallmarks of mobile malware campaigns. Check website addresses after following links on Twitter, Facebook, or other social media channels to be sure you end up on the true website of the retailer you want. Look for the “S” in HTTPS when you visit shopping sites. Beware of shopping sites that do not use HTTPS in their website addresses or do not display the symbol of a lock next to the web address. Secure sites use HTTPS, and without that, you’re dealing with unsecured connections or weak encryption of personal data. Never provide your credit card information unless you are in a secure online shopping portal. Sites that ask for it in return for “coupons” or to win “free” merchandise are almost always scams. Protect Yourself From a Major Headache For those who might not want to go through the hassle of setting up credit card alerts on purchases or locking down their router, it’s important to remember that it can and save consumers from a major headache. “Identity theft could cost you several thousand dollars in actual money and can cost you a lot more in your personal time and future anticipated losses cleaning up after the fact,” Richardson said. “The impact of identity theft could last years as you personally have to work to call all your creditors to fix your credit, loss of credibility for future purchases of a home, car, etc. as your credit scores will have been impacted, the effect on future employment opportunities as background checks are run and many, many more,” he added. Related Articles $100 Off HTC Vive On Black Friday and Cyber Monday American Consumers Prep For Cyber Monday \|\| Bitcoin's total value hits record high above $14 billion: By Jemima Kelly LONDON (Reuters) - The total value of all bitcoins in circulation hit a record high above $14 billion on Thursday, as the web-based digital currency jumped 5 percent on the day to its highest levels in three years after more than doubling in price this year. The price of one bitcoin reached $875 on the Europe-based Bitstamp exchange, its strongest level since January 2014, putting the cryptocurrency on track for its best daily performance in six months. That compared with levels around $435 at the start of the year, with many experts linking bitcoin's rise with the steady depreciation of the Chinese yuan, which has slid almost 7 percent this year. Data shows the majority of bitcoin trading is done in China, so any increase in demand from there tends to have a significant impact on the price. Bitcoin is a web-based "cryptocurrency" that can move money across the globe quickly and anonymously with no need for a central authority. That makes it attractive to those wanting to get around capital controls, such as China's. The digital currency is still some way off the peaks it scaled in late 2013, when it traded as high as $1,163 on the Bitstamp exchange. But because more bitcoins continue to be added to the system, currently at a rate of 12.5 every 10 minutes, its total value - or "market cap" - on Thursday surpassed the 2013 peak of around $14.01 billion. That puts its total value at around the same as that of an average FTSE 100 company. Charles Hayter, founder of data analysis website Cryptocompare, said bitcoin had been helped higher by demonetization in India, and by global political uncertainty. "If that trend continues, bitcoin is a good thematic play on the fracturing of our global norms as a flight to safety," he said. (Reporting by Jemima Kelly, editing by Nigel Stephenson) \|\| First Bitcoin Capital Corp Announces Appointment of Bitcoin Protocol Development Expert Patrick Dugan to the Company’s Board of Directors. Additional Developments Announced: VANCOUVER, B.C. / ACCESSWIRE / November 23, 2016 /First Bitcoin Capital Corp is pleased to announce that leading bitcoin protocol development expert in the crypto currency field Patrick Dugan has joined the company's Board of Directors. A serial entrepreneur with several years of experience in blockchain, finance, ecommerce and game development, Mr. Dugan has extensive knowledge of complex securitization structures and trading strategies. Mr. Dugan brings 9 years of trading experience, with over 3 years in cryptocurrency trading, averaging 50% annual returns. He served as a consultant on social game economics, and market making operations for exchanges. Mr. Dugan has served for the last year and a half as operations manager for the Omni Layer Foundation (previously Mastercoin), and has been involved in the issuance of the world's first bearer bonds on the Bitcoin blockchain. "Patrick Dugan is well known in the international crypto-currency space," the company said. "He brings a wealth of strategic experience in finance and blockchain business development. We look forward to his contributions as a member of our Board as we advance the development of the world’s first on-blockchain REIT offering." Mrs. Dugan said he seeks to bring to First Bitcoin Capital his expertise in bitcoin and blockchain protocol and assist new or existing initiatives that plan to build upon and take advantage of the capabilities offered by the Omni Layer protocol. BITCF has thus far utilized the Omni Layer Protocol to launch 6 cryptocurrencies such as symbols, PRES, TESLA, HILL, GARY, BURN, and OTX. Furthermore, in conjunction with BITCF expanding ownership of its common shares onto its own blockchain (BIT) and trading on foreign international cryptocurrency exchanges, the company invites its shareholders to exercise an option to convert their paper certificates into digital shares. Shareholders need only surrender their certificates with instruction to deliver those shares to the BIT wallet address they provide to the company. About the company: First Bitcoin Capital is engaged in developing digital currencies, proprietary Blockchain technologies, and the digital currency exchange- www.CoinQX.com. We see this step as a tremendous opportunity to create further shareholder value by leveraging management's experience in developing and managing complex Blockchain technologies, developing new types of digital assets. "Being the first publicly-traded cryptocurrency and blockchain-centered company (with shares both traded in the US OTC Markets as [BITCF] and as [BIT] in crypto exchanges) we want to provide our shareholders with diversified exposure to digital cryptocurrencies and blockchain technologies." At this time the Company owns and operates the following digital assets. www.BITCoinCapitalcorp.comcompany website. www.CoinQX.comCryptocurrency Exchange, registered with FINCEN. www.iCoiNEWS.comreal time cryptocurrency and bitcoin news site. www.BITminer.ccproviding mining pool management services. www.2016coin.orgonline daily election coverage and home page for $PRES, $HILL and $GARY $BURN coins. Forward-Looking Statements Certain statements contained in this press release may constitute "forward-looking statements." Forward-looking statements provide current expectations of future events based on certain assumptions and include any statement that does not directly relate to any historical or current fact. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors as may be disclosed in company's filings. In addition to these factors, actual future performance, outcomes, and results may differ materially because of more general factors including (without limitation) general industry and market conditions and growth rates, economic conditions, and governmental and public policy changes. The forward-looking statements included in this press release represent the Company's views as of the date of this press release and these views could change. However, while the Company may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, the Company specifically disclaims any obligation to do so. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing the Company's views as of any date subsequent to the date of the press release .Such forward-looking statements are risks that are detailed in the Company's filings, which are on file atwww.OTCMarkets.com. Contact us via:[email protected] visithttp://www.bitcoincapitalcorp.com SOURCE:First Bitcoin Capital Corp. \|\| 10 things you need to know before the opening bell: (General view of a fan with Jamie Vardy masks on the seats before the match.Reuters/Reuters Staff) Here is what you need to know. Dow 20,000 is in the crosshairs.The Dow Jones Industrial Average booked a fractional gain on Tuesday, finishing at 19,945.04. The index is set to open higher by 0.1% near 19,971. Bitcoin is up again.The cryptocurrency is up about 3% at $958, and trading at its best level since November 2013. Bitcoin has gained $135, or 16.4%, over the past week. Toshiba crashes after warning of a multi-billion dollar writedown.Shares of thechips-to-construction group tumbled 20% on Wednesday after the company warned it might need to take a larger than expected writedown on its acquisition ofChicago Bridge & Iron. Delta cancels an order from Boeing.Delta Air Lines has canceled an order for 18Boeing widebody 787 Dreamliner jets, with a list price of $4 billion, that was inherited from its takeover of Northwest Airlines, the Seattle Times says. BP is buying gas stations in Australia.The London-based oil giant has agreed to pay $1.3 billion for Woolworths' 527 retail fuel outlets in Australia, according to Bloomberg. Qualcomm got hit with an $854 million fine by South Korea.TheKorea Fair Trade Commission, South Korea's antitrust regulator, has ruled that Qualcomm hindered competition as a result of itsbusiness practices of patent licensing and smartphone modem chip sales, Reuters reports. Panasonic is investing in a Tesla production facility.Panasonic will invest $256 million in a Tesla production facility that makesphotovoltaic (PV) cells and modules, Reuters reports. CEO pay is rising in the UK, but "economic profit" isn't.A report released by the CFA Institute showed CEO pay in the UK has climbed 82% in the last 13 years, but the average company generated less than a 1% return for investors. Stock markets around the world are up.Hong Kong's Hang Seng (+0.8%) paced the gains overnight and Britain's FTSE (+0.4%) leads in Europe. US economic data trickles out.Pending home sales will be released at 10 a.m. ET. The US 10-year yield is unchanged at 2.56%. More From Business Insider • Alt-right movement descends into civil war after leading figure is booted from Trump inauguration event • 'Star Wars' actress Carrie Fisher is dead at 60 • Here's a super-quick guide to what traders are talking about right now \|\| First Bitcoin Capital Acquires Large Stake in One of the Oldest Mineable Cryptocoins Ranked High on Coin Market Cap; Also, Company’s Digital Shares Are Now Listed on Two International Cryptocurrency Exchanges: VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / November 30, 2016 / First Bitcoin Capital Corp. ( BITCF ) is pleased to announce that it has sold its Venezuela mining concessions for a large stake in the cryptocurrency of one of the oldest mineable coins that ranks high on Coin Market Cap. See: http://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/kilocoin/ . Kilocoin which is similar to Litecoin primarily trades on a popular cryptocurrency exchange at https://c-cex.com/?p=klc-btc A list of its nodes can be found via https://c-cex.com/?id=ws&shownodes=klc Kilocoin mining can be tracked at https://www.blockexperts.com/klc# From its web site via http://kilocoin.com/ their wallet can be downloaded. At its current rate of mining (159 coins per block) it should take centuries to reach the maximum of 25,000,000,000 mineable coins with a little over 10,000,000,000 coins mine thus far, giving BITCF nearly 10% participation. The Company anticipates that the KLC exchange will boost BITCF's balance sheet with tremendous upside potential and may become a source of future dividends. Differences from Bitcoin and Litecoin and Kilocoin Bitcoin Litecoin Kilocoin Coin limit 21 Million 84 Million 25 Billion Algorithm SHA-256 Scrypt Scrypt Mean block time 10 minutes 2.5 minutes 5 minutes Difficulty Target 2016 Block 2016 Blocks 288 Blocks Initial Reward 50 BTC 50 LTC 159 KLC Current block reward 25 BTC 50 LTC 159 LTC Block explorer blockchain.info block-explorer.com https://www.blockexperts.com/klc# Created by Satoshi Nakamoto Charles Lee Kilocoin, Inc (DAC) Creation date January 3, 2009 October 7, 2011 Feb 27th, 2014 Coins Mined (as of 8 April 2015) 14,029,116.67 37,984,800 10,013,105,152 Furthermore, in conjunction with BITCF's expanding ownership of its common shares onto its own blockchain (BIT) and trading on foreign international cryptocurrency exchanges, the company is proud to announce that its digital shares are now trading on an additional, popular cryptocurrency exchange, LIVECOIN www.livecoin.net . Story continues About the company: First Bitcoin Capital is engaged in developing digital currencies, proprietary Blockchain technologies, and the digital currency exchange- www.CoinQX.com . We see this step as a tremendous opportunity to create further shareholder value by leveraging management's experience in developing and managing complex Blockchain technologies, developing new types of digital assets. "Being the first publicly-traded cryptocurrency and blockchain-centered company (with shares both traded in the US OTC Markets as [BITCF] and as [BIT] in crypto exchanges) we want to provide our shareholders with diversified exposure to digital cryptocurrencies and blockchain technologies." At this time the Company owns and operates the following digital assets. www.BITCoinCapitalcorp.com company website. www.CoinQX.com Cryptocurrency Exchange, registered with FINCEN. www.iCoiNEWS.com real time cryptocurrency and bitcoin news site. www.BITminer.cc providing mining pool management services. www.2016coin.org online daily election coverage and home page for $PRES, $HILL and $GARY $BURN coins. Forward-Looking Statements Certain statements contained in this press release may constitute "forward-looking statements." Forward-looking statements provide current expectations of future events based on certain assumptions and include any statement that does not directly relate to any historical or current fact. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors as may be disclosed in company's filings. In addition to these factors, actual future performance, outcomes, and results may differ materially because of more general factors including (without limitation) general industry and market conditions and growth rates, economic conditions, and governmental and public policy changes. The forward-looking statements included in this press release represent the Company's views as of the date of this press release and these views could change. However, while the Company may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, the Company specifically disclaims any obligation to do so. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing the Company's views as of any date subsequent to the date of the press release. Such forward-looking statements are risks that are detailed in the Company's filings, which are on file at www.OTCMarkets.com . SOURCE: First Bitcoin Capital Corp. \|\| Hackers Refining Tools For Attacking Banks: A letter from the Swift network to member banks warns hackers are refining their cyberattack tools and the global bank transfer system remains vulnerable. Reuters reported Monday the letter, dated Nov. 2, warned the threat is very persistent, adaptive and sophisticated and it is here to stay. Reuters said the letter is evidence the Belgium-based cooperative Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication remains vulnerable a year after $81 million was stolen from Bangladeshs central bank. Among the tactics now being used by hackers is software allowing technicians access to computers for technical support. "We unfortunately continue to see cases in which some of our customers environments are being compromised," the letter said, noting a meaningful number of attacks have been made on both central and commercial banks, and 20 percent of them have resulted in stolen funds. Bangladeshi officials told Reuters several central bank officials enabled the theft, which was the result of malware inserted into the banks system. Bitcoin News Service reported the central bank has managed to recoup a portion of the stolen funds from a casino in the Philippines. Investigators determined the money was sold on the black market to a foreign exchange broker who transferred the funds to three casinos. A Philippines court ordered the Solaire Resort and casino to surrender the money to Bangladesh. Some $10 million was handed over. A commercial bank in Ecuador said it was held up for $12 million last year. In Vietnam thieves tried and failed to make off with $1.1 million in what investigators said may have been a practice run for the attack on Bangladesh. Russia security services warned earlier this month that foreign spy agencies were preparing attacks on Russian banks in dozens of cities to destabilize the financial system of the Russian Federation. The Federal Security Bureau didnt specify who was preparing the attack. Related Articles After Hacks, Banks Push Swift To Boost Security New York Governor Issues Cybersecurity Proposal \|\| Expanded gift card and loyalty features could boost Apple Pay: Distortion of Apple Pay (BI Intelligence) This story was delivered to BI Intelligence " Payments Briefing " subscribers. To learn more and subscribe, please click here . Apple Pay users will be able to add gift cards and a wider selection of loyalty programs following a partnership between the tech giant and Blackhawk Network, a gift and prepaid card firm. The partnership will allow customers to “store, manage, and make payments” with gift and loyalty cards from Blackhawk partners, which include Amazon, Target, Best Buy, and Home Depot. Partnering with Blackhawk will improve upon a feature that’s already one of Apple Pay’s most popular. As it currently stands, Apple Pay’s loyalty support is limited. But just a few months after Apple Pay added loyalty in that limited capacity, proprietary store and loyalty cards made up 25% of the cards loaded into the wallet, according to data from First Annapolis . For context, that’s nearly as much as the share held by debit cards, which are the most popular payment method among US adults. Blackhawk’s vast partnership network could further extend that percentage and in turn help Apple capitalize on pent-up demand for store and loyalty offerings in-wallet. And that could lift Apple Pay in two key areas. It could increase adoption of the wallet overall. Apple Pay adoption has stagnated just below a quarter of eligible users, which means the wallet needs to look for new ways to draw in users. Loyalty could be one such solution. Nearly a quarter of adults with mobile phones want to organize, track, and store loyalty and rewards points on their phones. And 53% of nonusers would start using mobile payments if they were offered these types of opportunities, which could drive new customers to the wallet. And among existing users, it could help increase engagement. Adding a vast loyalty network to Apple Pay could give users incentives to pay with the wallet in more locations, because they want to capture the benefits that loyalty cards can provide. More frequent spending could help drive up habit formation, which could increase payment volume and drive up usage across the board. Mobile payments are becoming more popular thanks to services such as Apple Pay, but they still face some high barriers, such as consumers' continued loyalty to traditional payment methods and fragmented acceptance among merchants. But as loyalty programs are integrated and more consumers rely on their mobile wallets for other features like in-app payments, adoption and usage will surge over the next few years. BI Intelligence , Business Insider's premium research service, has compiled a detailed report on mobile payments that forecasts the growth of in-store mobile payments in the U.S., analyzes the performance of major mobile wallets like Apple Pay, Android Pay, and Samsung Pay, and addresses the barriers holding mobile payments back as well as the benefits that will propel adoption. Story continues Here are some key takeaways from the report: In our latest US in-store mobile payments forecast, we find that volume will reach $75 billion this year. We expect volume to pick up significantly by 2020, reaching $503 billion. This reflects a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 80% between 2015 and 2020. Consumer interest is the primary barrier to mobile payments adoption. Surveys indicate that the issue is less the mobile wallet itself and more that people remain loyal to traditional payment methods and show little enthusiasm for picking up new habits. Integrated loyalty programs and other add-on features will be key to mobile wallets taking off. Consumers are showing interest in wallets with integrated loyalty programs. Other potential add-ons, like in-app, in-browser, and P2P payments, will also start fueling adoption. This strategy has been proved successful in China with platforms like WeChat and Alipay. In full, the report: Forecasts the growth of US in-store mobile payments volume and users through 2020. Measures mobile wallet user engagement by forecasting mobile payments' share of their annual retail spending. Reviews the performance of major mobile wallets like Apple Pay and Samsung Pay. Addresses the key barriers that are preventing mobile in-store payments from taking off. Identifies the growth drivers that will ultimately carve a path for mainstream adoption. To get your copy of this invaluable guide, choose one of these options: Subscribe to an ALL-ACCESS Membership with BI Intelligence and gain immediate access to this report AND over 100 other expertly researched deep-dive reports, subscriptions to all of our daily newsletters, and much more. >> START A MEMBERSHIP Purchase the report and download it immediately from our research store. >> BUY THE REPORT The choice is yours. But however you decide to acquire this report, you’ve given yourself a powerful advantage in your understanding of how mobile payments are rapidly evolving. More From Business Insider Apple pushes further in mapping and location technology Fintech could be bigger than ATMs, PayPal, and Bitcoin combined THE PAYMENTS INDUSTRY EXPLAINED: The Trends Creating New Winners And Losers In The Card-Processing Ecosystem View comments \|\| What to Expect from Overstock.com (OSTK) in Q3 Earnings?: Overstock.com Inc. OSTK is slated to report third-quarter 2016 results on Nov 3. It is an online retailer that sells brand-name merchandise at deep discounts. Its offerings include bed-and-bath goods, kitchenware, watches, jewelry, electronics, sporting goods and designer accessories. Let’s see how things are shaping up for this announcement. Factors to Consider The company’s second-quarter revenues were up 8% year over year. It has intensified its efforts on expanding its product reach, building its customer base and strengthening its international foothold. The company has partnered with Tmall in China, 11Street in Korea, Mercado LibreIguama in Latin America, Trade Me in New Zealand and Australia and Rakuten in the UK. Management has also indicated more partnerships in the near future. It has launched a trusted partner marketplace as part of its global expansion efforts. However, the company’s business has been hit by changes in Google search algorithms and rising competition in the e-commerce sector. It has also been engaged in legal battles with several brokerage firms over stock price manipulation issues. Overstocks’ continuous efforts to reduce illegal stock manipulation and reform capital markets could boost its results in the to-be-reported quarter. Also, management confirmed Overstock’s continued focus on improvement of customer experience as well as customer attraction and retention efforts. For this, the company is trying to bring in absolute customization and personalization of its marketing message and develop customer-friendly mobile platforms and applications. Overstock has been a Bitcoin supporter for more than two years and has successfully leveraged the blockchain technology. The company is trying to establish relationships with major financial and capital market institutions to achieve the expected level of synergy between blockchain and cryptocurrency. We expect customer-friendly initiatives, product and geographical expansion efforts, and reform capital markets to act as major positives for Overstock in the to-be-reported quarter. Story continues OVERSTOCK.COM Price and EPS Surprise OVERSTOCK.COM Price and EPS Surprise \| OVERSTOCK.COM Quote Stocks That Warrant a Look Ashford Hospitality Prime, Inc. AHP is slated to report third-quarter earnings results on Nov 2. The company has an Earnings ESP of +9.76% and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here . Avon Products Inc. AVP with an Earnings ESP of +33.33% and a Zacks Rank #1. The company is slated to report third-quarter earnings results on Nov 3. Glaukos Corporation GKOS with an Earnings ESP of +100.0% and a Zacks Rank #1. The company is slated to report third-quarter earnings results on Nov 10. Confidential from Zacks Beyond this Analyst Blog, would you like to see Zacks' best recommendations that are not available to the public? Our Executive VP, Steve Reitmeister, knows when key trades are about to be triggered and which of our experts has the hottest hand. Click to see them now>> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report AVON PRODS INC (AVP): Free Stock Analysis Report ASHFORD HOSP PR (AHP): Free Stock Analysis Report GLAUKOS CORP (GKOS): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] $789.95 at 19:15 UTC [24h Range: $783.92 - $794.39 Volume: 4019 BTC] \|\| HERE IT IS. The Next #Crypto #Currency #Bitcoin. It is called #ILCoin Join FREE Today. Click here http://buygold.ilgamos.com/buy?buy_type=1 \|\| New addictive game - Everybody is be a winner and Free Bitcoins @ https://casecoins.com/game #Bitcoin #Gambling #Casino #Freebitcoins #Money \|\| $702.73 #bitfinex; $713.40 #quoine; $704.93 #bitstamp; $697.20 #btce; $705.51 #GDAX; $706.00 #itBit; #bitcoin news: http://bit.ly/1VI6Yse \|\| Larry Bates of BitLand: Bitcoin’s Problems are Caused by Libertarian and Anarchist Rhetorics http://dlvr.it/MwDyvq pic.twitter.com/eScwgdhv5t \|\| MMMBTC \|\| MMMBTC \|\| [http://blockchainster.com ] Venezuelans Are Buying Bitcoin to Purchase Basic Goods, Treat Cancer http://dlvr.it/MvbfDM #blockchain \|\| Bitcoin World – the future that is already here https://bitcoinworld.biz/82664387/ \|\| MMMBTC	Trend: down \|\| Prices: 973.50, 961.24, 963.74, 998.33, 1021.75, 1043.84, 1154.73, 1013.38, 902.20, 908.59
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2017-11-15] BTC Price: 7315.54, BTC RSI: 62.01 Gold Price: 1276.50, Gold RSI: 48.23 Oil Price: 55.33, Oil RSI: 58.21 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Global markets: Inflation weighs on yields, dollar; stocks lacklustre: By Sinead Carew NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury yields dipped and the dollar rose slightly on Thursday as investors awaited U.S. inflation data while Wall Street stock indexes fell as earnings season kicked off with a whimper. U.S. Treasury prices gained after the Treasury Department saw strong demand for a sale of 30-year bonds. While investors cheered an increase in the U.S. producer price index (PPI) for last month announced Thursday, inflation concerns were still in focus ahead of consumer price index (CPI) data on Friday after Federal Reserve minutes showed a more guarded view. After four straight days of declines, the dollar index, tracking the greenback against a basket of major currencies <.DXY>, rose 0.07 percent. "The move in the dollar index this week is primarily a correction to the big move that we had in September," said Marc Chandler, global head of currency strategy at Brown Brothers Harriman. "It's largely corrective as the market awaits fresh signals." Adding to this pressure, sterling jumped to its highest since Oct. 4, with analysts citing a report in Germany's Handelsblatt newspaper that the European Union could offer Britain a two-year transitional Brexit deal. Sterling was last trading at $1.3261, up 0.30 percent on the day. In U.S. stocks, banks and media companies were the biggest drags on the S&P 500 as AT&T Inc fuelled concerns about video subscribers and investors took fright at comments from JPMorgan and Citigroup's earnings calls. "People got a little bit spoiled by the very nice advances we saw in the first and second quarter, but keep in mind that earnings started perking up in the third quarter of last year so the year-over-year comparisons might not look as robust," said John Carey, portfolio manager at Pioneer Investment Management in Boston. The Dow Jones Industrial Average <.DJI> fell 31.88 points, or 0.14 percent, to end at 22,841.01, the S&P 500 <.SPX> lost 4.31 points, or 0.17 percent, to 2,550.93 and the Nasdaq Composite <.IXIC> dropped 12.04 points, or 0.18 percent, to 6,591.51. The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index <.FTEU3> rose 0.01 percent and MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe <.MIWD00000PUS> gained 0.04 percent. The MSCI index reached a record high, as it has for seven of the past eight trading days. Benchmark 10-year notes were last up 7/32 in price to yield 2.3195 percent, from 2.345 percent late on Wednesday. The 30-year bond was last up 15/32 in price to yield 2.8483 percent, from 2.876 percent late on Wednesday. Also in currencies, the euro was down 0.15 percent to $1.1839 snapping four straight days of gains after rising to its highest since Sept. 25 earlier in the session. Bitcoin smashed through the $5,000 barrier for the first time and was up 10.1 percent. Oil prices fell after the U.S. Energy Department reported a larger-than-expected decline in U.S. inventories and a falloff in weekly production. U.S. crude fell 1.29 percent to $50.64 per barrel and Brent was last at $56.32, down 1.09 percent. Spot gold added 0.1 percent to $1,293.37 an ounce. (Additional reporting by Caroline Valetkevitch, Karen Brettell and Saqib Iqbal Ahmed in New York, John Geddie and Dhara Ranasinghe in London and Shinichi Saoshiro in Tokyo; Editing by Bernadette Baum and James Dalgleish) \|\| Boeing Co (BA) Stock Dividend is Not Only Safe But Could Be Boosted, Too: Boeing Co(NYSE:BA) may be very familiar to investors, but it is under appreciated. Sure, most know it as the high-profile maker of fighter jets, military transports and iconic passenger jets. BA stock has been a Dow 30 component for more than 30 years. Source:Wikimedia Though it’s a cyclical industry, it’s also a growth industry. What many investors don’t fully appreciate about the company is that the Boeing stock dividend is surprisingly generous, particularly in light of the nature of the business. Companies that are cyclical, industrial and/or capital intensive generally don’t concern themselves on anything but growth, with any dividend payout serving more as a token of appreciation than the primary purpose of ownership. So how generous is the BA stock dividend? Keep reading, bearing in mind that Boeing’s top line has been falling since late 2015. InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips With a dividend yield of 2.2%, BA stock is more or less in line with its peers, and morelessthan moremore. TheDow Jones Industrial Average Index‘s yield right now iscloser to 2.7%, underscoring the notion that neither Boeing nor investors view BA stock as a dividend play. And yet, the dividend payout the company consistently dishes out is aremarkable 50% of its per-share profits. That is to say, for every dollar of net income the company produces, it gives 50 cents back to investors. It’s a significant chunk of its income that could — theoretically, at least — be re-invested in a way that creates even more growth. For perspective, defense rivalRaytheon Company(NYSE:RTN) sports a payout ratiocloser to 40%, whileNorthrop Grumman Corporation(NYSE:NOC) returns less than a third of its profits with shareholders. Though relatively oversized, Boeing’s sizeable payout hasn’t mattered much in the past; the company has had more than enough wealth to share. In light of the sales headwind the organization has faced over the past year and a half, however, investors are understandably concerned the dividend could be pressured. • 5 Bitcoin Stocks to Buy for Low-Risk Cryptocurrency Profits They don’t need to worry all that much. For the quarter ending in June, the 8% dip in Boeing’s top line marked the fourth-straight quarter that year-over-year revenue has fallen in response to a sales headwind. That headwind actually materialized in the last quarter of 2015, as economic turbulence forced airlines to rethink their capital spending plans.Delta Air Lines, Inc.(NYSE:DAL), for instance, cancelled a $4 billion deal with Boeing late last year, effectively saying the need for new 787’s just wasn’t there. It wasn’t just Boeing on the receiving end of bad news though. As far back as 2015,United Continental Holdings Inc(NYSE:UAL) postponed the delivery of several planes ordered fromAirbus(OTCMKTS:EADSY), withUnited CEO Doug Parker explaining: “We have a lot of flexibility with our old aircraft and new aircraft coming in, whether we keep old aircraft longer or retire them with new airplanes. Pushing these [orders] back gave us a little more flexibility to not need to grow. We may still grow, but it doesn’t require us to grow.” Translation: Passenger traffic just isn’t as brisk as we thought it would be. Thing is, while tepid demand for aircraft has taken a toll on Boeing’s top line, the aircraft maker has still managed to grow its bottom line, as well as its per-share profits of BA stock. The graphic below speaks for itself. Looking past the pair of wild swings from the middle of last year (swings reflecting accounting adjustments rather than business conditions, by the way), income and per-share profits have been and continue to rise. The short version of the long story of how Boeing managed to do the seemingly impossible: Better management of its supply chain and cost-effective engineering solutions. More importantly right now, the company’s capacity for cost controls means the Boeing stock dividend isn’t apt to suffer anytime soon. Sure, it would be great if Boeing could beef up the top line and still keep a lid on spending, as that would open the door to even bigger dividend payouts. What’s also been somewhat overlooked, though, is that revenue growth is in the cards. It was noted above that the passenger jet business is a cyclical one, but that cycle is only partially influenced by economic cycles. An aircraft’s useful life is limited, and though airlines can stretch that lifespan out, they can’t prolong it forever. Sooner or later, they’ll have to outright buy new ones. • Chesapeake Energy Corporation (CHK) Stock Is Testing Investors’ Patience Click to Enlarge To that end, a wave of aircraft replacement looms that should prove very fruitful for Boeing. The company said last year that a wave of demand for planes like its 777 and 787 wouldmaterialize between 2021 and 2028, as airlines phase out aging equipment. Though the planes that airlines end up buying may change, the need for them won’t. Therecent order from India’s Jet Airwaysfor 75 of Boeing’s 737 Max jet may be an indication that demand is already starting to swell again. In other words, not only is the BA stock dividend safe, a lean-running Boeing may soon actually be able to ratchet its payout up at a faster rate than it has in the past. As of this writing, James Brumley did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities. You canfollow him on Twitter. • 7 Investments Every Retirement Investor Should Own • 10 Small-Cap Stocks to Buy for Big-Time Growth Potential • 7 Spinoff Stocks That Could Be Better Than Their Parents The postBoeing Co (BA) Stock Dividend is Not Only Safe But Could Be Boosted, Tooappeared first onInvestorPlace. \|\| GOLDMAN SACHS: Bitcoin could get close to $8,000: charts trader screen Lucas Jackson/Reuters Bitcoin touched a record high of $7,592 a coin on Monday. Goldman Sachs' head of technical analysis says the chart points to a possible run at the $8,000 level. Goldman Sachs thinks bitcoin still has more room to run. The red-hot cryptocurrency, which has gained more than 600% this year and is currently trading near $7,200 a coin, could threaten the $8,000 mark, according to a note sent out to clients on Sunday from Goldman Sachs technical head Sheba Jafari. "It exceeded an equality target from the July low at 6,044," Jafari wrote. "This break indicated potential for an impulsive advance, one that could reach at least 7,941. This is the minimum target for a 3rd of 5-waves up and should therefore be a level from which to watch for signs of a consolidation." Goldman Sachs bitcoin Goldman Sachs The cryptocurrency put in an all-time high of $7,592 a coin early Monday as traders continue to pile in following the announcement that CME Group, one of the world's largest exchange groups, was launching bitcoin futures trading by the end of the year. Bitcoin has gained more than $1,000 since the November 1 announcement. The gains also come as traders await the implementation of a looming fork in bitcoin's network . Disagreements in the cryptocurrency community over an upgrade known as SegWit2x could split bitcoin into two more cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin has already forked into bitcoin cash and bitcoin gold. Another fork would double the amount of coins for people who hold them on an exchange or in a wallet backing the fork. Trevor Koverko, the CEO of Polymath, a cryptocurrency technology company, told Business Insider that folks could be buying in before the fork to get that free cash. "Speculation on this free money is driving up the price," he said. "Smart traders are riding the wave and will pull out before the fork." NOW WATCH: Tesla's value is surging 'because the vision is so intoxicating' See Also: Bitcoin hits all-time high ahead of another potential fork Investors are running out of money — and that's bad news for stocks Bitcoin just hit an all-time high — here's how you buy and sell it \|\| Epazz Launches Reg CF Crowdfunding Campaign to Market Bitcoin Cannabis Payment Mobile App (ZenaPay) and Other Cloud Software Products: CHICAGO, IL--(Marketwired - Oct 4, 2017) -Epazz, Inc. (OTC PINK:EPAZ), a leading provider of cloud-based business software solutions, announced that it is raising capital under Reg CF in order to reach the goal of $1 million. The funds will be used to add to the company's sales, marketing, and software-development force to focus on selling ZenaPay Bitcoin Cannabis Payment Solution and other cloud-based business software solutions and to increase the speed of its software development cycles to release new updates and new products. The company will soon release a demo video of the ZenaPay bitcoin cannabis payment mobile app. The company is finishing up registration with Apple's App Store in order to release the app. Later, the company will finish development of the Android version of ZenaPay. Epazz CEO Shaun Passley, PhD, noted, "We are pleased to announce our Unit Offering to the public." Shaun continued, "This up-to-$1 million offering should allow Epazz to continue to grow the free cash flow, earnings per share, and market share." The terms of the offering are expected to be as follows. Please note that these are only an indication of terms, and final terms will be outlined in the final definitive legal documents. This transaction is only open to accredited investors and institutional investors. Expected terms of the unit offering: Epazz Unit Offering of Revenue Sharing Preferred Shares Series D up to $1 million under Reg CF Proposed TermsIssuer:Epazz, Inc. (the "Issuer"). Offering:Revenue Sharing Preferred Stock Series D ("Preferred Stock") via Reg CF of the Jobs Act ($0.25 per Preferred Share). Minimum investment of $1,000 or 4,000 Preferred Shares, plus Transfer Agent cost of $35 per certificate. Offering Amount:Up to US $1 million (4,000,000 Preferred Shares Series D). Investors:Institutional, Accredited, and Non-accredited Investors ("Holders"). Use of Proceeds:The Company intends to use the net proceeds for marketing, sales, software development, and general working capital purposes and other necessary expenditures as determined at the discretion of management. Commencement Date:Commencing with the first full calendar month following the closing, within thirty (30) calendar days following the end of each calendar month, the Company will begin making cash payment (collectively, the "Monthly Revenue Share Amount") to the holders of preferred shares. Revenue Share Percentage:The Monthly Revenue Share Amount will be in an amount equal to up to 7% of Company Gross Revenues for such calendar month. Each Revenue Sharing Investor's pro rata share of the Monthly Revenue Share Amount shall be determined by dividing such Holder's investment amount by the investment amounts of all Holders as of the first day of the calendar month applicable to such Monthly Revenue Share Amount. Maximum Revenue Share Amount:The Monthly Revenue Share Amount will continue to be paid until each Holder has received aggregate payments in an amount equal to 1.25 times such Holder's investment amount (each such Holder's "Maximum Revenue Share Amount"). Revenue Definition:For any applicable calendar month, Company Gross Revenues will be an amount equal to all gross revenues from the sale of products or services by the Company or any parent, subsidiary, or affiliate of the Company during such calendar month as determined under US generally accepted accounting principles, consistently applied. Termination Date:In the event the Holder has not received the Maximum Revenue Share Amount prior to December 31, 2020 (the "Maturity Date"), the Company shall convert the Preferred Shares into Common A shares, on or before the Maturity Date, an amount equal to the Maximum Revenue Share Amount less the sum of all previous payments made by the Company to the Holder at the Market Price of the Common A shares. Manner of Payment:All such payments to the Holder shall be deposited into a bank account of the Holder's choosing at the time of investment, or any successor account thereto which may be established by the Holder, or provided via check to the Holder. The Holder will have an option not to receive cash payment in favor of future conversions into Common A shares. Overdue Payments:The Company shall be assessed a late payment charge at an annual rate equal to three percent (3%) of any Monthly Revenue Share Amount not paid within ten (10) business days of becoming due. This late payment charge is cumulative and assessed once per month from the due date until the date of payment thereof and shall accrue and be added to any balance of unpaid amounts subject to late payment. Forced Conversion:Preferred Shares may be Force Converted into Common A shares (with 5 business days' notice from the Issuer) an amount equal to the Maximum Revenue Share Amount less the sum of all previous payments made by the Company to the Holder at the Market Price of the Common A if and only if the Issuer's Common A stock is quoted on a national stock exchange such as Nasdaq or New York Stock Exchange. The terms and conditions set forth herein are subject to change, and this letter does not constitute an offer and are indicative and subject to change based on market conditions. Neither this term sheet nor any discussion or negotiation of the proposed transaction constitutes an agreement or obligation on the part of any person to purchase or sell securities of Issuer or enter into any agreement to purchase securities of Issuer. For more information about the offering or to receive a prospectus, please go tohttp://[email protected]. About ZenaPay (www.zenapay.com)ZenaPay is being developed to solve a major problem in the "420 industry": getting paid. For cannabis-related businesses, the largest issue they face is how to be paid for their products. Traditional banking systems will not allow 420 industries access to their payment systems. ZenaPay will offer a cutting-edge payment solution that offers consumers a way to buy cannabis online or in stores using bitcoin. The newcannabis payment softwarewill allow consumers to use the digital currency to make online or in-store purchases with ease. Additionally, the process will be anonymous because all transaction details are encrypted through bitcoin. This will allow stores to accept digital currency instead of only cash. About Epazz, Inc. (www.epazz.com)Epazz, Inc. is a leading cloud-based software company that specializes in providing customized cloud applications to the corporate world, higher-education institutions, and the public sector. Epazz BoxesOS™ v3.0 is the complete web-based business software package for small- to mid-sized businesses, Fortune 500 enterprises, government agencies, and higher-education institutions. BoxesOS provides many web-based applications that organizations must otherwise buy separately. Epazz's other products are AgentPower™, a workforce management software, and AutoHire™, an applicant-tracking system. SAFE HARBOR"Safe harbor" statements are protected under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Certain statements contained in this press release are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements generally can be identified by the use of such terms as "may," "expect," "intend," "estimate," "anticipate," "believe," "continue," or the negatives thereof or similar terminology. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risk, uncertainties, and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from future results or from results implied by such forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned that any forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and that actual results may differ materially from those contemplated by such forward-looking statements. Epazz, Inc. assumes no obligation, does not intend to update these forward-looking statements, and takes no obligation to update or correct information prepared by third parties that is not paid for by Epazz, Inc. Investors are encouraged to review Epazz's public filings on SEC.gov, including its unaudited and audited financial statements, Registration Statement, and Form 10-Ks and Form 10-Qs, which contain general business information about the Company's operations as well as results of operations and risks associated with the Company and its operations. \|\| Silk Road investigator gets more jail time for second Bitcoin theft: A Secret Service agent already convicted to 71 months in prison for swiping Silk Road Bitcoins will get another two years for a separate Bitcoin theft,Reutersreports. Shaun Bridges pleaded guilty tostealing1,606 Bitcoins -- worth around $360,000 at the time and now valued at over $11 million -- from a Bitcoin wallet controlled by the Secret Service. The theft was discovered when the agency tried to return some of the coins after they were seized from the European BitStamp exchange. That sounds crazy, but there's more. Bridges was actuallycaughta day before he was scheduled to turn himself in for the first theft with bags containing a passport, offshore account records, a non-US citizenship application for his wife and multiple bulletproof vests. In other words, he was apparently set to get out of Dodge and cash in his ill-gotten Bitcoin chips at the time of his second arrest. The first time he stole Bitcoins, Bridges was working on theSilk Road casethat eventually landed kingpin Ross Ulbricht, aka "Dread Pirate Roberts," who received alife sentencefor money laundering and other crimes. During the course of the probe, Bridges transferred $800,000 worth of Bitcoins to his personal wallet. "Nothing in [Bridges'] background mitigates the shocking and reprehensible abandonment of his public duty" -Judge Richard Seeborg during Bridges' initial sentencing His co-defendant at the time was former DEA Agent Carl Force, who also stole Bitcoins during the Silk Road investigation. Those, and others seized from the BitStamp currency exchange, were stored on a digital wallet controlled by the Secret Service. Prior to his conviction for the first offense and while he was free on bail, Bridges used a key previously pilfered from the agency to transfer the 1,606 Bitcoins to accounts and wallets under his control. The Secret Service tracked down 600 of the Bitcoins, and as part of his plea deal, Bridges agreed to hand over the remaining loot. The Secret Service sold off the 144,336 Silk Road Bitcoins after Ross Ulbricht was convicted (following a challenge by Ulbricht) for an average price of $334,claimingwhat would have seemed like a windfall of $48 million back in 2015. At today's Bitcoin price of around $7,500, however, the coins are now worth (you might want to sit down) $1.08 billion. \|\| Jamie Dimon Says the Whole Bitcoin Craze Will ‘End Badly’: Even as Bitcoin fans attack the CEO for his views on the cryptocurrency, Jamie Dimon is doubling down once again on his call that Bitcoin is a “fraud.” In a CNBC interview Friday, Dimon labeled Bitcoin a “novelty” with no real value. “Right now these crypto things are kind of a novelty. People think they’re kind of neat. But the bigger they get, the more governments are going to close them down,” the CEO told CNBC. “It’s creating something out of nothing that to me is worth nothing.” Bitcoin’s price is now hovering around $3,600, down from an all-time high of $5,000 earlier this month. The cryptocurrency took a plunge after Chinese officials cracked down on bitcoin, banned ICOs andclosed down cryptocurrency exchanges. Around the same time, Dimon alsoreasserted his view from 2015that Bitcoin is a fraud that will “blow up.” He reasoned the cryptocurrency was best suited for illicit uses, likely triggering crackdowns from world governments. Separately, London-based Blockswater, which trades Bitcoin, lodged a complaint with Swedish authorities Thursday in which it accused Dimon of manipulating the price of Bitcoin. The allegations were made after Reuters reported that J.P. Morgan had been routing customer orders for an exchange-traded note tracking Bitcoin. Notably however, the trades were not directly made on behalf of J.P. Morgan--making the case a little shakier for the London firm. "They are not JPMorgan orders," a spokesperson said Friday. "These are clients purchasing third-party products directly." See original article on Fortune.com More from Fortune.com • Cryptocurrencies May Be a Dream Come True for Cyber-Extortionists • Bitcoin Price Hits $4,000 Even as Ray Dalio Calls it a 'Bubble' • JPMorgan Helps Clients Buy Bitcoin Despite CEO Calling Bitcoin 'a Fraud' • 5 Big Bitcoin Crashes: What We Learned • Bitcoin Roars Back to $4,000 \|\| ECB's Constancio compares Bitcoin to Dutch tulip mania: By Francesco Canepa FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Bitcoin is not a currency but a mere instrument of speculation, the vice president of the European Central Bank said on Friday, comparing the digital currency to tulip bulbs during the 17th century trading bubble in the Netherlands. The dollar value of the Bitcoin has nearly trebled this year and, while its adoption has yet to pick up in a significant way, the rise of this cryptocurrency is worrying central bankers across the world. But ECB Vice President Vitor Constancio denied it posed a threat to monetary policy and compared its rise to the 'Tulip mania' seen three-hundred years ago. "Bitcoin is a sort of tulip," Constancio said at an ECB conference. "It's an instrument of speculation ... but certainly not a currency and we don't see it as a threat to central bank policy." The ECB said year last year digital currencies, which are generally issued by private companies and only exist in electronic form, could in principle erode its power over the supply of money, inviting European Union lawmakers to tighten proposed rules on the matter. Earlier this month, President Mario Draghi quashed an Estonian proposal to launch a government-backed cyrptocurrency, saying the only valid money in the euro zone was the euro. Last week, Chinese authorities ordered Beijing-based cryptocurrency exchanges to stop trading and immediately notify users of their closure, signaling a widening crackdown by authorities on the industry to contain financial risks. (Reporting By Francesco Canepa; Editing by Toby Chopra) \|\| Saudi Prince Al-Waleed: Bitcoin Is 'Going to Implode': Saudi Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal sharply criticized bitcoin during an appearance on CNBC today, saying that he agrees with JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon's assessment that the cryptocurrency is a "fraud." "I just don't believe in this bitcoin thing," Al-Waleed said, according to a transcript published byCNBC. "I think it's just going to implode one day. It's Enron in the making." When asked about the specific comparison between bitcoin and the infamous American energy company that fell apart in the early 2000s amid revelations of massive accounting fraud, Al-Waleed reiterated his position that he "just [doesn't] believe in bitcoin completely." Al-Waleed went on to say: "It doesn't make sense. This thing is not regulated. It's not under control. It's not under the supervision [of] any federal – elect – United States Federal Reserve or any other central bank. I don't believe in this whole thing at all. I think it's going to implode." It was then that Al-Waleed – a Saudi royal family member who, as head of the Kingdom Holding Company, has an estimated net worth of more than $17 billion – said he agreed with Dimon, who issued the now-infamous remark last month that he believes that bitcoin "is a fraud." Dimon – whose bank is a backer of blockchain-related initiatives like the Enterprise Ethereum Foundation – has sincedoubled downon those remarks, predicting that governments would begin targeting the cryptocurrency. Image via CBS/YouTube • Mark Cuban-Backed Unikrn Raises $31 Million in E-Sports Token Sale • Prepping for a Pullback? Bitcoin Price Drops Below $6,000 • Quiet Surge: Bitcoin Price Sets New High Above $6,000 • Bitcoin Stumbles Near New High But $5k Still in Play \|\| $5,200: Bitcoin Buoyant as Price Sets New All-Time High: Bitcoin has hit a new all-time high today, with prices reaching $5,226 on the CoinDesk Bitcoin Price Index. At press time, the bitcoin-U.S. dollar ( BTC/USD ) exchange rate is trading at $5,200 levels. Week-on-week, BTC is up 18.75 percent, while month-on-month it's up 23 percent. The new record broke a previous all-time high of $5,013 set in September . All in all, it's a sharp reversal of trend given the cryptocurrency dropped to a low of $2,980 in mid-September on the news China had banned token sales and that local cryptocurrency exchanges would shut in the aftermath. However, in subsequent days, bitcoin's price quickly regained, reportedly due to a pick-up in trading volumes in Japan, South Korea and other markets. Increased institutional interest seems to have played a role in boosting bitcoin prices. For example, a rumored 'bitcoin desk' at Goldman Sachs would certainly be a game changer for the nascent market. Still, it's just the latest sign professional traders are increasingly interested in the market. Further, even while skeptics continue to call bitcoin rally a bubble, the price action analysis indicates no serious trouble ahead for the cryptocurrency. Weekly chart The chart above shows that: Bitcoin is chipping away at $5,154 resistance offered by 161.8 percent Fibonacci extension of the move from the April low June high July low. The RSI is overbought, although it's not a cause for concern, as the indicator is still well below the highs seen in August and June. Daily Chart On the above chart, resistance is seen at $5,378.56 161.8 percent Fibonacci extension of the move from the Sep 15 low Sep 18 high Sep 23 low. The RSI is overbought. All major moving averages 50-day moving average, 100-day moving average and 200-day moving average are perfectly aligned one below the other, which indicates the long-run trend is bullish. View A break above $$5,154 would open doors for $5,378.56. A healthy technical pullback cannot be ruled out, given the overbought conditions. On the downside, the key support levels to watch out for are $5,000, $4,809, $4,500. Story continues Water ballons via Shutterstock Related Stories Just SegWit? Bitcoin Core Is Already Working on a New Scaling Upgrade Nearing Bottom? Litecoin Prices Consolidating After Rough September Bitcoin-Ethereum Atomic Swap Code Now Open Source Billionaire Mike Novogratz: Bitcoin's Price Will Reach $10k in Less Than a Year \|\| RBC's CEO pushes back on suggestion bitcoin is a fraud: By Matt Scuffham TORONTO (Reuters) - The chief executive of Canada's biggest lender on Thursday pushed back on a suggestion by JPMorgan Chief Executive Jamie Dimon that bitcoin is a fraud, though he said the cryptocurrency needs monitoring. Speaking at a Reuters Newsmaker event in Toronto, Dave McKay, CEO of Royal Bank of Canada , said: "Has Bitcoin misrepresented what it is? No. "What it's solving is a way to avoid detection in moving money in our society and transferring value from one person to another," McKay said. "I think where Jamie is probably coming from is it's helping evade the supervision of moving money and from that perspective it needs to be monitored." While banks have largely steered clear of bitcoin since it emerged following the financial crisis, the virtual currency is supported by a range of people, including technology enthusiasts, libertarians sceptical of government monetary policy and speculators attracted by its price swings. Dimon earlier this month said that the currency "will not work" and said he would fire any JP Morgan staff who traded it. McKay said that if RBC staff were trading bitcoin, he would "probably ask them to stop." RBC, however, is researching how it can utilize the distribution ledger technology that underpins bitcoin, called blockchain. RBC earlier told Reuters that it was experimenting with blockchain to help move payments between its U.S. and Canadian banks. McKay said RBC is planning to use blockchain technology in its loyalty programs next year, the first time it has been used in a customer-facing application. He said the bank would initially use the technology in less risky areas where customers' money would not be put at risk. "Loyalty is something where if there is an error or a problem we could recreate loyalty systems without impact on people's real money," he said, adding that blockchain could improve the speed at which people can join loyalty programs, particularly merchants. AI INVESTMENT McKay said the bank is spending over C$10 million ($8 million) a year on artificial intelligence (AI), which can be used to predict customer behaviour and help reduce problems like credit card fraud. RBC has set up an AI research centre in Toronto with a staff of 35 to conduct pure research with massive data that the bank possesses. However, McKay said there is a scarcity of talent in AI globally, which means that RBC has to spend a significant amount to attract people with specialist knowledge. McKay said he expects competition to emerge from non-bank companies, particularly in the money-moving side of the business. "If you have a mass consumer franchise with a strong brand and lots of data about that consumer I think the barriers to banking are coming down to the point where I expect there to be competitors," he said. (Reporting by Matt Scuffham; Editing by Leslie Adler) [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] #Putin Tells Central Bank Not to Create Barriers to #Cryptocurrencies \|\| 5 min #RSI Signals: $BTC - $CVC: 25.26% $BTC - $ARK: 28.73% $USDT - $ZEC: 29.61% $USDT - $OMG: 31.38% $BTC - $KMD: 32.13% $FCT $XWC $SC \|\| #bitcoin non si ferma più? Analisi tecnica \|\| [http://Blockchainster.com ] Cryptocurrency Hedge Fund Cofounder Matthew Goetz Compares Bitcoin to… https://goo.gl/fb/Z2RWoM \|\| 27 Eylül 2017 Saat 17:00:27, 1 Bitcon Kaç Lira Eder, 0,00 TL. #BTCTL #BTCKacTL #bitcoin #bitcoindeğerihttp://www.doviz724.com/1-bitcoin-kac-tl.html … \|\| The latest The Fotis P. Bobolas Daily! http://paper.li/fbobolas/1309798998 … Thanks to @anDolmas @freenet2004 @annzabel #bitcoin #cdnpoli \|\| #bitcoin non si ferma più? Analisi tecnica \|\| #Putin Tells Central Bank Not to Create Barriers to #Cryptocurrencies \|\| 10/22 17:00現在 #Bitcoin : 674,245円↑ #NEM #XEM : 23.82円↓ #Monacoin : 316円↓ #Ethereum : 34,100円→ #Zaif : 0.5238円↑ \|\| My latest article: Luno's position on Bitcoin forks https://www.luno.com/blog/en/post/luno-bitcoin-forks …pic.twitter.com/79pvoNDwOB	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 7871.69, 7708.99, 7790.15, 8036.49, 8200.64, 8071.26, 8253.55, 8038.77, 8253.69, 8790.92
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2015-07-07] BTC Price: 266.21, BTC RSI: 65.23 Gold Price: 1152.40, Gold RSI: 36.81 Oil Price: 52.33, Oil RSI: 29.36 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] 3D Printer And A Latte, Please: In Europe, 3D printing cafes are popping up in major cities across the bloc as the technology gains traction among average consumers. Cities like Barcelona and Madrid are home to the cafes, which boast 3D printers that customers can use to design whatever they like. Trying It Out The rise of 3D printers for home use has made the cafes a success, as it gives customer the opportunity to use the technology without paying upwards of $1,000 to buy their own. After submitting their designs, customers can order food and beverages while they wait for their item to print. Everything from cellphone holders to action figures can be made in the cafe. Related Link: Analyst Calls 3D Printing 'Massive Clash Of Hype Vs. Reality' Too Complicated For The Masses Companies like 3D Systems Corporation (NYSE: DDD ) and Stratasys, Ltd. (NASDAQ: SSYS ) have developed desktop 3D printers for use in people's homes. Many saw the printers expanding in popularity and eventually becoming a household staple, but critics say there is a long way to go before the technology becomes usable for the average consumer. At the moment, complicated designs must be fed into the printer in order to make an object and the skills needed to create such drawings requires time and effort as it isn't easily picked up. Making 3D More Accessible However, 3D printing cafes have filled the gap between average consumers and complicated technology by giving people a cost-effective way to learn how to use the printers. Many of the cafes offer instruction for beginners or tools to help them understand the process. See more from Benzinga Overstock Loses Big On Bitcoin The Cost Of A 'Rocky Mountain High' Is Getting Lower Greece's Final Proposal Draws Criticism From Syriza © 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| These 2 indie movies are going to give the summer blockbusters a run for their money: DOPE2 final (Open Road Films/"Dope") "Dope." You’ve seen “ Avengers: Age of Ultron, ” “ Mad Max: Fury Road, ” and “ Jurassic World. ” Though you concede they are all thrilling and visually stunning, you’re still searching for movies this summer with a little bit more … story. Thankfully there are two movies in theaters that can help feed that need. Alfonso Gomez-Rejon ’s “ Me and Earl and the Dying Girl ” and Rick Famuyiwa ’s “ Dope ” on the surface look like two very different movies, from where they're set to dialogue and characters. But they have a lot in common. me and earl and the dying girl1 (Fox Searchlight/"Me and Earl and the Dying Girl") "Me and Earl and the Dying Girl." Both films played at this year’s Sundance Film Festival and walked away with awards (for “Me and Earl” the prestigious Audience Award and Grand Jury prizes, and for “Dope” best editing), they both look at modern-day high-school life, and they have both been thrust in the middle of the summer blockbuster season (“Me and Earl” is in theaters; “Dope” opens Friday). Distributors Fox Searchlight (“Me and Earl”) and Open Road Films (“Dope”) are using the classic counter-programming maneuver in the hopes that audiences who aren’t into Hollywood blockbusters, or by mid-June are ready for something new, will give these indie darlings a try. This was a play Searchlight had success with when releasing the cult comedy “Napoleon Dynamite” in mid-June 2004. Building off the success of the film-festival circuit without a star or name director, the film had an impressive opening weekend take of $117,000 and went on to have a total domestic gross of over $44 million (the film’s budget was around $400,000). napoleon dynamite (Fox Searchlight) "Napoleon Dynamite." In its opening weekend “Me and Earl” took in similar numbers with over $196,000 . For this weekend, “Dope” is also getting creative in their purchase options, allowing tickets to be purchased via Bitcoin , making it the first time digital currency has ever been allowed for ticket sales. Story continues But strategic placement and gimmicks aside, the movies are strong enough to grab the attention of even the most dedicated Hollywood blockbuster moviegoer. In “Me and Earl and the Dying Girl,” we follow the senior year of outsider Greg (Thomas Mann). With a daily existence that includes staying friendly with all the different cliques at his Pittsburgh high school (but not committed to any) and making ultra-low-budget knocks-offs of classic films with his buddy Earl (RJ Cyler), Greg’s priorities change when he befriends Rachel (Olivia Cooke), a classmate who has recently been diagnosed with cancer. me and earl and the dying girl2 (Fox Searchlight/"Me and Earl and the Dying Girl") Thomas Mann and Olivia Cooke in "Me and Earl and the Dying Girl." The story has a been-there-done-that feel, but the style is a fresh one to the high-school dramedy genre with its creative use of stop-motion animation and high IQ in movie geekdom. “Dope” is set in the Inglewood neighborhood (known to those who live there as “The Bottoms”) of Los Angeles and follows another geek, Malcolm (Shameik Moore), and his two friends Jib (Tony Revolori) and Diggy (Kiersey Clemons). Unlike Greg and Earl, who have zero aspirations, Malcolm and his crew have high hopes for the future. Keeping away from the gang culture of South Los Angeles and completely obsessed with ’90s hip-hop, their main goal is to leave the 'hood and get into college, especially Malcolm, who has aspirations to attend Harvard. Dope1 final (Open Road Films/"Dope") Shameik Moore in "Dope." But things get complicated when Malcolm goes to the party of the neighborhood drug dealer and unknowingly leaves with drugs. Malcolm and friends then embark on an adventure through LA to get rid of the goods. If you listened to hip-hop in the ’90s, you will likely love “Dope.” It’s filled with nostalgic tracks from A Tribe Called Quest, Nas, Public Enemy, Digital Underground, and Naughty By Nature, curated by executive producer Pharrell Williams. They are perfectly placed and elevate the enjoyment of the story that’s part “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” part “Friday.” What both films exemplify is that movies with strong stories (and without massive explosions) can survive in the summer months. Whether the hook is geek culture, or a killer soundtrack, once you’re watching, it’s the excellent crafting of these characters by Gomez-Rejon and Famuyiwa that keep you engrossed for the next few hours. This weekend, take a break from the CGI-fueled blockbusters and check out one of these films instead. And if you need more convincing, here are the trailers for both films. More From Business Insider 'Jurassic World' has a ton of hit and miss ideas — but it's a wild ride For the first time a movie will accept Bitcoin for ticket purchases 'Jurassic World' just surpassed 'Avengers' for the highest-grossing opening weekend ever \|\| Your first trade for Thursday: The " Fast Money " traders gave their final trades of the day. Pete Najarian was a buyer of RAI (NYSE: RAI - News ) . Dan Nathan said he was watching FDX (NYSE: FDX - News ) . Brian Kelly was a buyer of CRM (NYSE: CRM - News ) . Guy Adami was a buyer of PFPT (NASDAQ: PFPT - News ) . Trader disclosure: On June 17, 2015, the following stocks and commodities mentioned or intended to be mentioned on CNBC's "Fast Money" were owned by the "Fast Money" traders: Pete Najarian is long AMAT, AAPL, BABA, BAC, BMY, BP, CSX, DISCA, DKS, FOXA, GE, KKR, KO, LLY, MRK, PEP, PFE, TEVA, he is long calls AAL, ABX, BAC, BBY, BMY, C, CAH, COP, CSX, DAL, DE, ETFC, FCAU, GE, GS, INTC, INVN, JPM, LEN, MT, MU, NUAN, OC, PFE, RAD, RAI, S, SXC, SYY, UAL, USB, VOYA, VZ, WSM, XLF, ZIOP. Today he bought RAI calls, today he sold WFM calls. Dan Nathan is long CAT July/August put spread, SPY June put fly, TWTR, BBRY June calls, SO, DE June put fly, INTC July put, WMT June Call Fly, LVS July Aug Put Spread, TWTR SEPT call spread, GRRO June Put Fly, MSFT July call butterfly, he is short SO Aug call. Brian Kelly is long BABA, BBRY, BTC=, EEM, Euro, TAN, TSL; he is short Dollar and Yuan. Today he sold DXGE and U.S. Dollar. Today he closed out of short Australian Dollar, short Canadian Dollar, short Euro, and short Yen. Guy Adami is long CELG, EXAS, INTC, Guy Adami's wife, Linda Snow, works at Merck. More From CNBC CNBC.com News Page CNBC.com Blogs Page CNBC.com Earnings Central \|\| Silicon Valley banks on Bitcoin as a way to overtake Wall Street: If you asked most people through history their biggest complaint about money, most would say they just dont have enough of it. But there have long been small factions dissatisfied with the dominant forms of money, which sought a more secure, private, efficient means of storing wealth and paying for things. The digital currency Bitcoin emerged from these desires, enabled by pervasive access to the Internet and alarm over the failures of central banks and private financial institutions in the credit bust of the late 2000s. Nathaniel Popper, a New York Times reporter who covers the interplay of finance and technology, has now detailed Bitcoins rise through the story of the quixotic utopians and mercenary opportunists who helped develop it in his new book, Digital Gold: Bitcoin and the Inside Story of the Misfits and Millionaires Trying to Reinvent Money. As Popper notes in the attached video, privacy advocates had led the quest for a new money for the Internet Age since the 1990s, uneasy with the permanent traces left by electronic transactions and suspicious of the banks and governments that controlled the creation and flow of money. Yet not much took hold until late 2008, when a still-unidentified figure who called himself Satoshi Nakamoto circulated a manifesto and software code for an ingenious system for mining Bitcoin using an open network of computers and securely but anonymously verifying the ownership and transfer of this currency. This effort caught on with a broader assortment of libertarian coders, techno-utopians and outlaw profiteers. The financial crisis as catalyst What was in the air when Bitcoin was launched, says Popper, was the financial crisis. The crisis inflamed anger and fear over the misbehavior of banks, the aggressive money printing of the Federal Reserve and the evident systemic vulnerability of nation-based fiat currencies. Poppers title likens Bitcoin to gold because it shares much of what people have valued in gold over the centuries: It is indestructible, globally accepted, finite in supply, portable, infinitely divisible, difficult to mine and unconnected to any government or institution. Story continues The Bitcoin regime encourages individuals to dedicate computing power to creating new Bitcoin and supporting the platform for their ownership and transfer. Computers mine Bitcoin by competing to solve complex mathematical problems. New Bitcoin are released in predetermined increments, and the supply will be capped at 21 million Bitcoin around the year 2040. [ Get the Latest Market Data and News with the Yahoo Finance App ] Waves of excitement and adversity have washed over Bitcoin since it launched. The black-market ecommerce site Silk Road, which sold drugs and other illegal goods, was a huge drive of its early growth, before law enforcement authorities shut it down. The biggest Bitcoin exchange, Mt. Gox , collapsed after a series of theft attacks and technology failures. And when Chinese ecommerce giant Baidu began accepting Bitcoin payment it helped set off a speculative surge in the price of Bitcoin, from a few dollars to above $1,200 in 2013. The price has since settled back into the $200s per Bitcoin. Even after the Fed-hating rhetoric cooled and Bitcoins price surge reversed, big-money entrepreneurs and institutions have invested in the Bitcoin ecosystem. The New York Stock Exchange this week began quoting a benchmark Bitcoin price index . Former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers is involved in a Bitcoin startup called 21 Inc . Goldman Sachs Group Inc. ( GS ) has invested in a Bitcoin-related business , as has heavyweight venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz. The fascinating thing about Bitcoin is that it has sort of managed to adapt to the times, says Popper. It is sort of a blank slate on which people can write their own interests. A 'tech utopia' Some see its main value as serving as a low-cost version of PayPal, enabling efficient global online payments, or a more seamless way for banks to move enormous sums among themselves. Others believe it is the supreme store of wealth, sure to appreciate given limited supply and growing adoption. Others see the main value residing in the clever open-source computing platform, which some believe can be put to widespread use for other purposes . Some of the fiercest advocates for Bitcoin embody the present rise of tech utopianism in Silicon Valley, where high-riding entrepreneurs and programmers believe they are remaking massive parts of society through smarter software. Remaking the storage and transfer of money takes out a lot of middlemen, Popper points out. A lot of the excitement in Silicon Valley is, maybe this is Silicon Valleys chance to take some of the fundamental business lines of Wall Street. Of course, the vast majority of people seem rather content with the existing dollar-based system and the payments infrastructure that works rather well for most purposes. Much of the innovation in financial technology such as Apple Pay and Google Wallet are built atop the banking and card processing networks, in fact. This could make Bitcoin-centered systems seem like a solution in search of a problem. But that wont stop the true believers and opportunists from trying to persuade the world that there is a more perfect form of money, invented seven years ago by someone whos never been identified. \|\| Your first trade for Wednesday: The "Fast Money" traders delivered their final trades of the day. Tim Seymour was a seller of the TBT(NYSE Arca: TBT). Pete Najarian was a buyer of ADT(ADT). Brian Kelly was a buyer of LVS(LVS). Steve Grasso was a buyer of SAP(XETRA:SAP-DE). Trader disclosure: On May 12, 2015 , the following stocks and commodities mentioned or intended to be mentioned on CNBC's "Fast Money" were owned by the "Fast Money" traders:Tim Seymour is long T, BAC, C, DIS, F, GE, GM, GOOGL, INTC, JCP, KO, SUNE, TBT, VIP, Tim's firm is long BABA, BIDU, CHL, MCD, NKE, NOK, SBUX, YHOO. Pete Najarian is long AMAT, AAPL, BABA, BAC, BMY, BP, CSX, DISCA, FOXA, GE, KKR, KO, LLY, MBLY, MRK, PEP, PFE, he is long calls AA, AAL, BBY, BK, CBS, COP, CSX, DB, EJ, F, FL, GE, GS, HSBC, HZNP, IMAX, KO, KSS, LEN, MAC, MYL, NEE, NTAP, NUAN, OC, PFE, SYY, TEVA, TSX, UAL, UUP, VALE, VMW, VZ, XLF, XOM, ZIOP. Steve Grasso is long AAPL, BAC, BTU, DD, EVGN, MJNA, PFE, T, TWTR, GDX, his firm is long TWTR, APA, AMZN, MCD, OXY, RIG, NE, TSE, VALE, IBM his kids own EFG, EFA, EWJ, IJR, SPY. Brian Kelly is long BTC=, BBRY, SPY puts, U.S. Dollar, he is short Australian Dollar, he is short Yen, he is short Yuan. Stifel Analyst James Albertine: Stifel or an affiliate is a market maker or liquidity provider in the securities of Tesla Motors, Inc. More From CNBC • Top News and Analysis • Latest News Video • Personal Finance \|\| 4 trades on airline and aerospace stocks: JetBlue Airways(NASDAQ:JBLU-News)stock could gain ground as the carrier attempts an overseas expansion, some CNBC "Fast Money" traders said. The company on Monday said it is looking into extending its network to South America and other places abroad with a long-range plane from Airbus. JetBlue closed Tuesday barely higher. While he was disappointed by the way it traded after the news, trader Guy Adami said he still likes JetBlue at its current price, below $20 per share. The stock has climbed more than 20 percent this year, and trader Steve Grasso agreed that he would stick with it, especially after a recent pullback in the wider airline sector. Read MoreFor Boeing, Airbus, it's about profits That broader weakness has brought Delta Air Lines(NYSE:DAL-News)to "interesting levels," said trader Tim Seymour. The stock has fallen more than 17 percent this year, and closed Tuesday around $40 per share. Delta looks risky if it fails to hold above $40, he noted. Boeing(NYSE:BA-News)looks the most appealing in the aerospace sector, trader Brian Kelly contended. The stock has climbed almost 10 percent this year. Read MoreAirlines are getting better at being on time Disclosures: TIM SEYMOUR Tim Seymour is long AAPL, T, BAC, C, DIS, F, GE, GM, GOOGL, INTC, JCP and SUNE. Tim's firm is long BABA, BIDU, MCD, NKE, NOK, SBUX and YHOO. STEVE GRASSO Steve Grasso is long AAPL, BAC, DD, DECK, EVGN, MJNA, PFE, T, TWTR and GDX. His firm is long AVP and TWTR. His kids own EFG, EFA, EWJ, IJR and SPY. BRIAN KELLY Brian Kelly is long DXGE, BTC=, BBRY and U.S. dollar. He is short Australian dollar, Canadian dollar, euro, yen and yuan. GUY ADAMI Guy Adami is long CELG, EXAS and INTC. Guy Adami's wife, Linda Snow, works at Merck. More From CNBC • CNBC.com News Page • CNBC.com Blogs Page • CNBC.com Earnings Central \|\| New York regulator issues final virtual currency rules: By Karen Freifeld and Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York state issued on Wednesday extensive new rules for companies that operate in virtual currencies such as bitcoin but did little to accommodate complaints that overly tight regulation could hamper the nascent industry. The new rules, the first by a state, create comprehensive guidelines for regulating digital currency firms, according to the state's Department of Financial Services, which developed the regulations. It means that digital currency companies operating in New York state that hold customer funds and exchange virtual currencies for dollars or other currencies are required to apply for what is known as a state "BitLicense." "There is a basic bargain that when a financial company is entrusted with safeguarding customer funds and receives a license from the state to do so, it accepts the need for heightened regulatory scrutiny to help ensure that a consumer's money does not just disappear into a black hole," Benjamin Lawsky, superintendent of the New York state regulator, said in a speech Wednesday at the BITS Emerging Payments Forum in Washington. The "BitLicense" rules include consumer protection, anti-money laundering and cybersecurity protections. The regulations come as digital currencies have drawn criticism for attracting drug dealers and other criminal elements, while failing to safeguarding consumer funds. Last year, bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox collapsed after it claimed to have lost $500 million worth of customer bitcoins after being hacked. Overall, industry participants said New York's new rules are still problematic but nonetheless an improvement over the original proposals laid out in July and revised in December. Digital currency companies are required to obtain prior approval for material changes to their products or business models, such as wallet firms offering exchange services. They would also need approval for new controlling investors. Story continues But they would not need approval from the state for every round of venture capital funding or standard software updates. "We have no interest in micro-managing minor app updates. We're not Apple," said Lawsky. Companies that want both a BitLicense and a money transmitter license can work with the state regulator to have a "one-stop" application submission to cover the requirements for both. Jerry Brito, executive director of non-profit research group Coin Center, called the final regulations "far from perfect," specifically citing what he said were vague state-level anti-money laundering obligations that go beyond federal regulations. He said the group was working with other states "to ensure they do not repeat the mistakes made here." The rules do not apply to software developers, individual users, customer loyalty programs, gift cards, currency miners, or merchants accepting bitcoin as payment. Lawsky, meanwhile, has come under fire from the bitcoin community for issuing the rules shortly after announcing he was leaving the agency to set up a consulting company that will advise companies on financial matters that could possibly include digital currencies. The most prominent virtual currency now is bitcoin, often used as an investment or to pay for goods and services online. Bitcoin prices have been steady of late, at $225.77 on the BitStamp platform on Wednesday. The price rose as high as $1,123 in December 2013. "I think (the rules) are going to increase the costs to entry for businesses," said New York attorney Reuben Grinberg, who specializes in virtual currency. "But I think it's going to give consumers greater peace of mind and will end up promoting investment in this area much more so than it hurts." (Reporting by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss and Karen Freifeld; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Steve Orlofsky) \|\| Humanoid Robots Closer Than You Think: Robots working alongside humans and even becoming their companions may sound like something out of a science fiction movie, but Japan's SoftBank Corp (USA) (OTC: SFTBF ) is planning to make such robots a reality in the very near future. The company has developed a robot called "Pepper" that it says will eventually become a staple in the modern world. Pepper's Capabilities The robot has been touted as the first to be capable of understanding human emotions. The device is able to understand facial expressions and body language in order to predict how a person is feeling, and it can express its own emotions as well. SoftBank said Pepper will eventually be able to carry out simple tasks like household chores, but for now the robot's primary function will be communication. Pepper can provide companionship to the elderly and keep their memory sharp by asking questions. The robot is also able to remind people to take their medication and report back to medical professionals with health data. Related Link: The Future Of Robots Alibaba On Board On Thursday, SoftBank announced that Chinese e-commerce firm Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (NYSE: BABA ) is backing the robot by buying a 20 percent stake in the venture. Alibaba is investing ¥14.5 billion in Pepper's development in hopes of catching the robotics wave before it comes in. Alibaba executive chairman Jack Ma said he sees robots becoming as popular as cars and airplanes in the coming years. Price Problem Robots like Pepper are unlikely to become the norm in average households anytime soon, as they carry an expensive price tag. Pepper will cost ¥198,000, but won't be able to run without a ¥25,000 per month contract. Image Credit: Public Domain See more from Benzinga New Study Shows Marijuana May Help Fight Cancer New Software Makes It Harder To Use Bitcoin For Criminal Activity Summer Budget Wars Begin With Defense Spending © 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. View comments \|\| MarilynJean Media Interactive (MJMI.qb) Announces Entry into Bitcoin and Crypto-Currency Space: HENDERSON, NV / ACCESSWIRE / June 10, 2015 / MarilynJean Media Interactive ( MJMI ) announced today it has expanded its operations into the crypto-currency market with a focus on bitcoin. The Company announced plans to pursue several verticals within the space including operation of a Bitcoin Exchange where users will be able to buy and sell bitcoins, as well as other popular crypto-currencies, and exchange their holdings into a range of international currencies. The Company is also developing plans to partner with a manufacturer of bitcoin Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) whose operation it plans to integrate directly with its trading platform allowing for a seamless, end to end solution for trading and currency conversion either online or in person at an ATM. The current market capitalization of bitcoins in circulation exceeds $3 billion. Simultaneously, the company is also planning to use its developing expertise and network in the bitcoin space to participate in the multi-billion dollar currency remittance market. The company plans to use the combination of a bitcoin exchange and ATMs to facilitate ultra-low-cost international remittance services. The World Bank projects global remittances to exceed $450 billion in 2015. Peter Janosi, the company's president said: "With major players across virtually every industry making big bets on crypto-currencies, and bitcoin in particular, we believe our timing is optimal to enter this exciting space. We look forward to updating our shareholders with our progress in building the company's expertise and partnerships in the industry over the coming months." A crypto-currency is a medium of exchange using cryptography to secure transactions and control the creation of new units. Bitcoin became the first decentralized crypto-currency in 2009. Crypto-currency is produced at a rate which is defined when the system is created and publicly known. By contrast, in centralized banking and economic systems, such as the Federal Reserve System, corporate boards or governments control the supply of currency by printing units or demanding additions to digital banking ledgers. However, neither companies nor governments can produce units of crypto-currency and as such the value of crypto-currencies are completely based on supply and demand, free from any governmental control. Many people believe crypto-currencies, and in particular bitcoin, hold the promise of being the most significant advancement in global finance in modern history. The advent of bitcoin creates a secure, easily accessible and transferable transnational currency that is completely liberated from political influence. Story continues Richard Branson, head of the Virgin Group, is quoted on his company's website as saying: "I have invested in Bitcoin because I believe in its potential, the capacity it has to transform global payments is very exciting." Heavyweight investment bank Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS), announced on April 30th 2015 that it had partnered with Chinese investment firm IDG Capital partners to invest $50 million in a Bitcoin start-up. Numerous high-profile firms have begun accepting Bitcoin as a payment method including: Dell Inc. (NASDAQ:DELL), Dish Network Corp. (NASDAQ:DISH), Expedia Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE), and Overstock.com (NASDAQ:OSTK). MarilynJean Media Interactive is among the first publicly traded companies focussed on bitcoin and the crypto-currency space. The company's trading symbol is MJMI.QB. Website: www.marilynjean.com Press Contact: [email protected] SOURCE: MarilynJean Media Interactive View comments \|\| Europe's nine hottest tech firms right now: Europe is producing more $1-billion-dollar technology start-ups -- or "unicorns" -- than ever before, as investors pour money into the region's stars. Funding for tech firms in the region almost doubled from $2.88 billion in 2014 to $5.65 billion so far this year, according to GP Bullhound, the technology-focused investment bank. As part of London Technology Week, an awards ceremony -- The Europas -- identified some of Europe's hottest tech companies, with a panel of judges made up of venture capitalists and journalists deciding the victors. Companies were nominated across 25 different categories, including best e-commerce start-up and best entertainment start-up. Here are some of the winners. Winner: Spotify Despite being nine years old, music-streaming service Spotify won this award, as it continues to "change the music industry," according to the organizers of The Europas. The Swedish start-up recently raised a $526 million round of funding giving it a valuation of over $8 billion. Spotify has 20 million paying subscribers, and 75 million members overall. But Spotify has come under fire from those in the music industry and has been accused of paying low royalties to artists. Last year, pop star Taylor Swift pulled her whole music collection off the platform in protest. Spotify is now competing in an extremely tough market with competition from the likes of Apple Music, Jay Z's Tidal service and Google. Other nominees in the category included Shazam and Soundcloud. Winner: Deliveroo It seems that we cannot get enough of food delivery companies, and Deliveroo impressed the judges most. The London-based start-up allows people to order food from restaurants like Ping Pong and Gourmet Burger Kitchen and have it delivered. Earlier this year, Deliveroo received a $25 million round of funding from Accel Partners. Other nominees included another food service Delivery Hero and Hello Fresh. Winner: Citymapper Citymapper won three awards at The Europas including "best travel start-up" and the coveted "grand prix" prize. Story continues It's an U.K.-based urban navigation app designed to help people get around some of the world's biggest cities. Last year, Citymapper got a $10 million round of funding led by London-based Balderton Capital. Other nominees in the category included YPLan and Wallapop. Winner: Adyen Adyen is Netherlands' first "unicorn" and provides much of the back-end technology for online, mobile and in-store payment systems. Last year, the Dutch company raised a $250 million round of funding led by General Atlantic, Temasek and Index Ventures. Fintech has become an increasingly hot space, with companies looking to disrupt the businesses of major financial institutions. Other nominees in the category included money transfer service TransferWise, and peer-to-peer lending platform Funding Circle. Winner: Digital Shadows Cybersecurity has been in the headlines over the past year following a number of high-profile attacks on companies. Digital Shadows describes itself as a "cyber threat intelligence company" aimed at protecting businesses from dangerous hack attacks and data loss. The London-based start-up recently bagged $8 million in funding. Other nominees included email encryption company Whiteout Networks and security intelligence firm Cyberlytic. Winner: Blockchain Blockchain is the world's most popular bitcoin (: BTC=) wallet provider, offering storage and enabling people to buy things with the cryptocurrency. The company also provides information and data on the block chain - the public ledger of bitcoin transactions. A number of investors have questioned the future of bitcoin, claiming that the underlying block chain technology will be more important in the future. Still, this has not stopped people talking about the digital currency. Last year, Blockchain raised $30.5 million in funding, after rival Bitpay announced a $30-million funding round. Other nominees in the category included bitcoin payment processing company Bitpay, and a bitcoin transaction start-up Safello. Winner: Space Ape Games So-called "casual gamers" are set to drive $30 billion of revenues to the mobile games markets this year, according to market research firm Newzoo, and start-ups are capitalizing on this. Space Ape Games is a mobile gaming company behind popular title Samurai Seige. The British start-up raised $7 million of funding at the end of last year led by Accel Partners. Other nominees in the category included Moshi-Monster-maker Mind Candy and another mobile gamemaker, Omnidrone. Winner: Hassle.com Everything nowadays is on-demand and can be ordered from a smartphone. At The Europas, it was Hassle.com - a service that allows you to order a cleaner straight to your door - that took the prize in this category. The sharing economy refers to the swathe of start-ups that allows users to rent things owned by others, such as Airbnb or BlaBlaCar. Hassle.com raised around $6 million in a funding round last year. Other nominees in the category included ridesharing app BlaBlaCar, and parking space booking app JustPark. More From CNBC Top News and Analysis Latest News Video Personal Finance [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] In the last 10 mins, there were arb opps spanning 18 exchange pair(s), yielding profits ranging between $0.00 and $1,382.25 #bitcoin #btc \|\| Current price: 271.84$ $BTCUSD $btc #bitcoin 2015-07-06 19:00:06 EDT \|\| In the last 10 mins, there were arb opps spanning 17 exchange pair(s), yielding profits ranging between $0.00 and $1,351.03 #bitcoin #btc \|\| Current price: 153.12£ $BTCGBP $btc #bitcoin 2015-06-21 23:00:08 BST \|\| buysellbitco.in #bitcoin price in INR, Buy : 16097.00 INR Sell : 15601.00 INR. Buy and sell bitcoin in #India using #buysellbitcoin \|\| #RDD / #BTC on the exchanges: Cryptsy: 0.00000006 Bittrex: 0.00000005 Average $1.2E-5 per #reddcoin 04:00:01 \|\| buysellbitco.in #bitcoin price in INR, Buy : 15317.00 INR Sell : 14834.00 INR. Buy and sell bitcoin in #India using #buysellbitcoin \|\| In the last 10 mins, there were arb opps spanning 19 exchange pair(s), yielding profits ranging between $0.00 and $1,498.85 #bitcoin #btc \|\| One Bitcoin now worth $241.25@bitstamp. High $242.00. Low $237.54. Market Cap $3.415 Billion #bitcoin \|\| Current price: 204.49€ $BTCEUR $btc #bitcoin 2015-06-05 21:00:05 CEST	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 270.79, 269.23, 284.89, 293.11, 310.87, 292.05, 287.46, 285.83, 278.09, 279.47
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2016-02-04] BTC Price: 389.59, BTC RSI: 48.17 Gold Price: 1157.60, Gold RSI: 72.49 Oil Price: 31.72, Oil RSI: 47.01 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Cable & Wireless Communications and Huawei Have Successfully Tested the First Trial of the Fastest Copper Based Broadband Service With G.fast Across Latin America: MIAMI, FL--(Marketwired - Jan 6, 2016) - Cable & Wireless Communications Plc's (CWC) business unit in Panama, Cable & Wireless Panama SA (CWP) and Huawei , a leading global information and communications technology (ICT) solutions provider, today announced the first successful trial of the fastest copper based broadband service across Latin America using leading G.fast technology. As a market leader in mobile and broadband services in Panama, CWP is also the largest telecom service provider in the country with a market leading brand, superior network coverage and excellent customer service. CWP partnered with Huawei to deploy CWC's first trial of the G.fast technology on its existing copper infrastructure. "We are excited to be partnering with Cable & Wireless Communications and together pioneering the first trial of the fastest copper fixed line broadband service with G.fast across Latin America," said Mr. Stephen Ma, CEO of Huawei for the Caribbean. "G.fast is the right way to extend the existing fixed line infrastructure to the gigabit access era by accelerating a future oriented ultra-broadband solution with unparalleled user experiences," he added. The G.fast technology trial ran for two months in Panama deploying Huawei's latest multi-service access node equipment. CWP's trial successfully achieved high speeds averaging 500 Mbps to download and 150 Mbps to upload, over its existing copper fixed lines. "We are thrilled to announce that Cable & Wireless Panama was the first market across Latin America to have successfully completed testing of the G.fast technology, which can deliver high speeds, to its customers through the fastest copper based fixed line broadband technology across the region reaching speeds of 500 Mbps," said Carlo Alloni, EVP Technology and Group CTIO, Cable & Wireless Communications. "Our strategic partnership with Huawei has strengthened our commitment to consider solutions that deliver high-speeds," added Alloni. G.fast technology is based on the Time Division Multiplexing (TDM) method with an improved algorithm that cancels the noise in the lines, reducing the effects of crosstalk and allowing transmission of higher rates of bits with a better quality, increasing the speeds of the information transmitted. Huawei's G.fast solution can complement the other technologies selected for its HFC (Hybrid fiber-coaxial) and Fibre delivery platforms. CWP's G.fast technology is providing a fivefold increase in speeds compared to any existing internet copper residential service in Panama and empowering the fastest copper fixed line broadband service across Latin America. Story continues About Huawei Huawei is a leading global information and communications technology (ICT) solutions provider. Driven by customer-centric innovation and open partnerships, Huawei has established an end-to-end ICT solutions portfolio that gives customers competitive advantages in telecom and enterprise networks, devices and cloud computing. Its innovative ICT solutions, products and services are used in more than 170 countries and regions, serving over one-third of the world's population. Founded in 1987, Huawei is a private company fully owned by its employees. About G.fast G.fast is a digital subscriber line (DSL) standard for local loops, with performance targets between 150 Mbps and 1 Gbps, depending on loop length. Since the launch of the world's first G.FAST prototype by Huawei in December 2011, G.FAST technology has become highly anticipated by the ICT industry and has maintained strong development momentum. About C&W Communications Cable & Wireless Communications Plc (CWC) is a full service communications and entertainment provider, operating in the Caribbean and Latin America. With annual sales of over $2.4bn, it operates both mobile and fixed networks, supported by submarine and terrestrial optical fibre backhaul capacity. Through the acquisition of Columbus International Inc. on 31 March 2015, CWC now delivers superior high-speed mobile data, broadband and video services. It has leading market positions in Mobile, Fixed Line, Broadband and Video consumer offers. Through its business division, CWC provides data centre hosting, domestic and international managed network services, and customised IT service solutions, utilising cloud technology to serve business and government customers. The company also operates a state-of-the-art subsea fibre optic cable network that spans more than 42,000 km -- the most extensive in the region -- as well as 38,000 km of terrestrial fibre providing wholesale and carrier backhaul capacity. CWC has more than 7,200 employees serving over 6.3 million customers (Mobile 4.1m; Fixed Line 1.1m; Video 465k and Broadband 680k) as well as over 125k corporate clients across 42 countries. The Company's leading brands include; LIME and Flow in the Caribbean; BTC in The Bahamas; Mas Movil in Panama; C&W Business and C&W Networks. CWC is the market leader in most products offered and territories served. It is a major contributor to local communities through its corporate social responsibility programmes. Cable & Wireless Communications' shares are quoted on the London Stock Exchange under the ticker CWC. The company is headquartered in London with its operational hub located in Miami, within close proximity to the Caribbean and Latin America. For more information visit: www.cwc.com . About CWP Cable & Wireless Panama (CWP) is the market leader in mobile, broadband and fixed line services in Panama. The Company's mobile business operates under the brand name +Movil and the other businesses under + internet and +TV Digital in Panama. CWP is also a leading regional player in enterprise and managed services as well as being a leader in carrier services in partnership with our Caribbean business. View comments \|\| Can The Bitcoin Foundation Last?: The Bitcoin Foundation was launched in 2012 as a way to provide legitimacy to bitcoin and cryptocurrencies at a time when they were relatively unknown. For two years, the foundation worked to lobby lawmakers, create public awareness and help bitcoin technology advance with the changing times. However, in 2014 when the price of bitcoin dropped dramatically, the foundation lost a great deal of its funding and now almost two years later, it continues to struggle. Money Issues One of the foundation's largest problems lies in its finances. The Bitcoin Foundation's board members have proven inexperienced at raising money and managing finances, an issue that has caused the organization to lose around $7 million over the course of the past two years. Related Link: What's In Store For Bitcoin In 2016 On December 15 when the Bitcoin Foundation held its board meeting, Executive Director Bruce Fenton admitted that the organization was in dire straits and that more funding would be required in order to keep the foundation up and running, according to Bloomberg. A Bad Reputation However, while the bitcoin community strongly supports spreading the word about cryptocurrencies, the Bitcoin Foundation has found it increasingly difficult to recruit new members and drum up donations. One of the reasons for this has been the organization's deteriorating reputation. As bitcoin itself was dragged through the mud due to high profile scams, some Bitcoin Foundation board members were wrapped up in scandals of their own. Former Vice Chairman of the Bitcoin Foundation Charlie Shrem is serving time in prison for his involvement in the illegal Silk Road marketplace, and founding member Mark Karpeles, the brain behind failed exchange Mt. Gox, was arrested on charges of embezzlement in August 2015. Does Bitcoin Need A Foundation? While the Bitcoin Foundation has been instrumental in helping the cryptocurrency advance, many believe the currency is likely to survive even without the organization. While the Bitcoin Foundation represents the first major entity to advocate cryptocurrencies, several others have since emerged and will likely take on the organization's role should it deteriorate further. Story continues Hanging On By A Thread On December 22, the Bitcoin Foundation voted to continue into the New Year and appointed three new board members. In an effort to turn things around, the foundation is working to revamp its mission statement and focus on maintaining healthier financials. Image Credit: Public Domain See more from Benzinga What Does The End Of The Oil Export Ban Mean For Investors? Could 2016 Be The Year Of Drone Deliveries? Are Bank Stocks The Way Forward In 2016? © 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| 5 'Bold' Predictions For 2016: In a new report, Cup & Handle Macro analyst Michael Lingenheld revealed five bold market predictions for 2016. Here’s a breakdown of his list. 1. Revolution in a major emerging market Lingenheld believes that South Africa is the top target, but names Turkey, Indonesia, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Ukraine and Russia as other possibilities. All of these countries are currently suffering from large debt burdens, poor leadership and high youth unemployment. 2. Bitcoin outperforms all fiat currencies Lingenheld made this same prediction prior to 2015, and it came true. Bitcoin gained 35 percent in 2015, and he sees no reason why the cryptocurrency won’t outperform again in 2016. 3. A major currency peg will break Lingenheld notes that the IMF’s annual review of currency regimes revealed than only 35 percent of member countries let their currencies float as of the beginning of 2015. He adds that Middle Eastern countries suffering from low oil prices are top candidates, including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and UAE. “Bringing down any of these pegs would be a major macro story, but a free-floating or devalued Hong Kong Dllar would be a monumental development,” Lingenheld explains. 4. Corn and wheat will each rally at least 20 percent Global stock-to-use ratios are at 16-year highs, and low gas prices have been a major boost for farmers. However, Lingenheld is not convinced that crop prices are high enough to drive a huge planting season in the spring. 5. A unicorn company will go bankrupt Lingenheld sees a shift in market enthusiasm for new tech companies, including the disappointingSquare Inc(NYSE:SQ) IPO pricing. He believes that the reality of competing with big tech companies likeAlphabet Inc(NASDAQ:GOOGL), Apple Inc.(NASDAQ:AAPL) andAmazon.com, Inc.(NASDAQ:AMZN) will start weighing heavily on smaller unicorn companies and their investors. Disclosure: the author holds no position in the stocks mentioned. Latest Ratings for AAPL [{"Dec 2015": "Dec 2015", "Cowen & Company": "Barclays", "Maintains": "Maintains", "": "", "Market Perform": "Overweight"}, {"Dec 2015": "Dec 2015", "Cowen & Company": "BMO Capital", "Maintains": "Initiates Coverage on", "": "", "Market Perform": "Outperform"}] View More Analyst Ratings for AAPLView the Latest Analyst Ratings See more from Benzinga • Apple's Chart Indicates A Tough Start To 2016 Ahead • CES 2016 Expected To Be Huge For Drones, Virtual Reality And Wearables • Apple Stock For ? How Fractional Investing Changes The Game © 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| ATM Market Worth $24.92 Billion by 2022: Grand View Research, Inc.: SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwired - Dec 14, 2015) - The globalATM marketis expected to reach USD 24.92 billion by 2022, according to a new study by Grand View Research, Inc. Rising demand for automated wireless communication devices along with growing security standards are estimated to drive the industry. Enhanced security standards for safer online, and physical financial transactions has led to a significant rise in use of these services. Further, continuation of strict security standards and safer modes of financial transactions are expected to have a substantial impact on the industry growth. Automation of the basic financial transactions and technological advancements increasing at alarming rate would increase mobile transcations among the customers. Linkage of ATMs with wiireless devices would facilitate the customers to complete the transcations securely. Browse full research report with TOC on "ATM Market Analysis By Solution (Managed Services, Deployment) And Segment Forecasts To 2022" at:http://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/atm-market Rising competition amongst the banks to increase the penetration, would lead to its huge installation base, thus offering lucrative growth opportunities for the industry. In order to reduce the frauds, manufacturers and financial institutions are opting for anti-skimming, biometric devices, and voice recognition systems. Further key findings from the report suggest: • ATM deployment solutions industry accounted for over 70% of the overall revenue in 2014. They comprise installed machines at varied locations such as worksite, onsite, offsite and mobile segment. The deployment revenue comprises of installed machines and services as well as its maintenance. Rise in installation base and increasing maintenance activities are estimated to drive segment growth. • ATM managed services market is estimated to exhibit considerable growth, growing at a CAGR of over 11.0% from 2015 to 2022. It contributes significantly towards strengthening the infrastructure for multichannel delivery for better customer retention, acquisition and cross selling opportunities. • North America ATM market dominated in terms of revenue in 2014, and is expected to significantly lose share by 2022. Adoption of smart machines across countries such as U.S. is estimated to impel growth across this region. Increasing trend of trading in digital currency is driving demand for Bitcoin ATMs across the region. • Asia Pacific ATM industry is expected to grow at a substantial growth rate of over 12% from 2015 to 2022. Rising demand for self-service machines and ever increasing customer base across regions such as China and India are estimated to drive the regional demand over the next seven years. Additionally, increasing trend of outsourcing its related activities by financial institutions is projected to positively impact growth across this region. • ATM market share is occupied by companies such as NCR Corporation, Diebold Inc, Wincor Nixdorf, Euronet Worldwide and Nautilus Hyosung. Product innovations and strategic partnerships with the manufacturers are some of the notable strategies adopted by the vendors. For instance, In October 2014, Diebold launched a new 5500 series of with advanced security features such as biometric finger-vein readers and security camera provisioning. Grand View Research has segmented the ATM market on the basis of solution and region: • ATM Solution Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2012 - 2022)Managed ServicesDeploymentOnsiteOffsiteWorksiteMobile • ATM Regional Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2012 - 2022)North AmericaEuropeAsia PacificRoW Browse related reports by Grand View Research: • Online Media Market -http://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/online-media-market • Electronic Contract Manufacturing Services Market -http://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/the-global-electronic-contract-manufacturing-services-market • Customer Relation Management (CRM) Market -http://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/customer-relation-management-crm-market • Data Management System (DBMS) Market -http://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/dbms-market About Grand View Research Grand View Research, Inc. is a U.S. based market research and consulting company, registered in the State of California and headquartered in San Francisco. The company provides syndicated research reports, customized research reports, and consulting services. To help clients make informed business decisions, we offer market intelligence studies ensuring relevant and fact-based research across a range of industries, from technology to chemicals, materials and healthcare. Read Our Blogs -mediafound.org,ni2014.org \|\| 6 trades to watch in an uncertain market: After U.S. stocks followed global markets lower Thursday, "Fast Money" traders outlined what they deemed safe plays to ride out uncertainty. Major averages each closed down more than 2 percent, after a brief Chinese trading session in which a 7 percent drop in the CSI300 triggered a halt. Traders looked to longer-term plays that could offer protection through volatility. Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (NYSE Arca: GDX) The price of gold (CEC:Commodities Exchange Centre: @GC.1) , a traditional "safe haven" asset, climbed Thursday amid the uncertainty in stock and oil markets. The Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF rose more than 4 percent for the day. Both traders Guy Adami and Brian Kelly said gold likely has more upside ahead. iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (NYSE Arca: TLT) U.S. Treasury prices rose in choppy trading Thursday amid a flight to safer assets, sending yields lower. In that environment, the iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF could make a good play, said Adami and trader Dan Nathan. Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE Arca: XLU) Utilities offer a place to "hide" in current markets, said trader Steve Grasso. Nathan also identified them as a defensive play because of their dividend yields. They looked to the Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund, which fell slightly on Thursday. Retail Shares of department store chain Macy's (NYSE: M) climbed about 2 percent Thursday in the wake of a restructuring announcement. Adami believes the stock can rise even more. Grasso also outlined possible strength in American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE: AEO) . Verizon (NYSE: VZ) Nathan also saw Verizon as a possible play for investors looking for yield. Disclosures: Dan Nathan Dan Nathan is long MCD Feb Put Spread, Long PFE buy-write, long TWTR March Risk Reversal, long UUP March call, long XLU Feb Call spread, long PYPL Jan Risk Reversal, long M Jan16 call spread, long NTAP Jan risk reversal, long QCOM feb calls, short SPY, Long UUP, long WMT puts Story continues Steve Grasso Steve Grasso is long AAPL, BA, BAC, CC, DD, DIS, DECK, EVGN, KBH, MJNA, MBLY, MU, OLN, PFE, PHM, T, TWTR, GDX firm is long APC, CXO, OXY, BP, CVX, MCD, RIG, AMZN kids own EFA, EFG, EWJ, IJR, SPY Brian Kelly Brian Kelly is long BBRY, Bitcoin, GDX, GLD, Hong Kong Dollar, TLT, US Dollar; he is short British Pound, Euro, Yuan, Canadian Dollar, GSG, EEM, EWC, EWH, KRE, SPY, DB Guy Adami Guy Adami is long CELG, EXAS, GDX, INTC, Guy Adami's wife, Linda Snow, works at Merck. More From CNBC Top News and Analysis Latest News Video Personal Finance \|\| What to Expect from Overstock.com's (OSTK) Q4 Earnings?: Overstock.com Inc.OSTK is expected to report fourth-quarter 2015 results after the closing bell on Feb 4. Overstock.com is an online closeout retailer that sells brand-name merchandise at deep discounts. The offerings include bed-and-bath goods, kitchenware, watches, jewelry, electronics, sporting goods and designer accessories. Overstock, a Bitcoin supporter, hopes to reinvent the public stock market using cryptosecurities, or virtual stocks based on Bitcoin's blockchain technology. Bitcoin is a digital currency platform with no central regulating authority involved in the transactions. It is also called crypto currency because it utilizes military-grade cryptography to protect users against fraud. Bitcoin and other cryptocurencies operate on blockchain which is a distributed public ledger. Cryptosecurities will likely bring the next major change in the stock market. With the SpeedRoute deal, Overstock will enter a new financial technology space. SpeedRoute’s infrastructure and underlying technologies will help the company to connect the t0 securities trading platform with the entire U.S. equity market. This will enhance transparency and efficiency of the existing capital markets, which was the basic idea behind t0.com. The blockchain technology allows investors and buyers to track down their purchases and ownership of cryptosecurities, ensuring complete transparency. Moreover, the t0.com blockchain technology facilitates same-day settlement of securities. Additionally, Overstock started the Black Friday holiday sales event a full week before the shopping holiday. This should have a favorable impact on the fourth-quarter results. Apart from this, Overstock also announced that Merrill Lynch Professional Clearing Corporation (“Merrill Pro”), the last defendant remaining after Goldman Sachs, in Overstock.com’s longstanding market manipulation case, has settled its claims by paying $20 million to Overstock.com and its co-plaintiffs. This is likely to boost results in the to-be-reported quarter. Stocks to Consider Here are some stocks, which you may consider as they have a favorable Zacks Rank and a positive Earnings ESP and are likely to post an earnings beat this quarter: MaxLinear, Inc. MXL has an Earnings ESP of +2.94% and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). SolarWinds, Inc. SWI has an Earnings ESP of +2.27% and a Zacks Rank #1. Fidelity National Information Services, Inc. FIS has an Earnings ESP of +2.17% and a Zacks Rank #3. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days.Click to get this free report >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days.Click to get this free reportSOLARWINDS INC (SWI): Free Stock Analysis ReportMAXLINEAR INC-A (MXL): Free Stock Analysis ReportFIDELITY NAT IN (FIS): Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research \|\| Ledger Fights For Bitcoin's Staying Power At CES 2016: The Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas is a chance for electronics and technology firms to debut their latest offerings and future prospects. Everything from self-driving cars to mind-blowing virtual reality sets have made their debut at CES, and each year the show tends to set the tone for what kind of tech will be big in the coming year. This year, bitcoin startupLedgeris keeping the cryptocurrency in the spotlight by hosting the only bitcoin startup booth at the event. Physical Bitcoin Storage Ledger created a hardware wallet product in 2015 that provides customers with a safe and secure way to store and use their bitcoins. Ledger takes some of the worry out of using bitcoin by giving users a physical way to store bitcoins – a lightweight smart card. They can then use a USB to make secure payments, and the company offers a simple backup system that provides users with a microchip and pin code encrypted system in case they lose their card. Related Link:Can The Bitcoin Foundation Last? This year, Ledger is planning to exhibit new offerings at CES including a new technology that will strengthen the security of online authentication by reducing the reliance on passwords. Bitcoin's Year Ledger's presence at CES suggests that although bitcoin had a rough year in 2015, the cryptocurrency isn't dead yet. Concerns about privacy and security have increased skepticism about cryptocurrencies, making it difficult for bitcoin firms to push mainstream approval. However, many believe that as security improves and more and more vendors open up to the possibility of bitcoin transactions, the public will get on board. Image Credit: Public Domain See more from Benzinga • Virtual Reality In 2016 • Is Tesla A Good Investment For 2016? • 3 CEOs Who Made Headlines In 2015 © 2016 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| Australia's ASX invests in blockchain to simplify markets: SYDNEY (Reuters) - Markets operator ASX Ltd on Friday said it has made a minority investment in U.S.-based Digital Asset Holdings to develop distributed ledger technology, or blockchain, to potentially simplify Australias post-trade equity market. Blockchain technology, pioneered by Bitcoin, maintains a continuously growing list of transaction data which cannot be tampered with or revised. ASX paid A$14.9 million ($10.43 million) for a 5.0 percent equity interest in Digital Asset along with funding an initial phase of development and acquiring a warrant that will give it the right to purchase further equity and appoint a director to the board. ASX will work with Digital Asset to design a new post-trade solution for the Australian equity market, it said in a statement on Friday. Over the past year, interest in blockchain technology has grown rapidly. It has already attracted significant investment from many major banks, which reckon it could save them money by making their operations faster, more efficient and more transparent. (Reporting by Swati Pandey) \|\| Blockchain Moves Forward In The Financial Industry: Cryptocurrencies like bitcoin have had a lot of negative attention over the past year, as several hacking attacks and scams have painted the coins as an unsafe way to make transactions. However, blockchain, the ledger-like system that bitcoin runs on, has received a great deal of praise across several industries that say the technology has the potential to completely reform the way they do business. This is especially true in the financial space, where banks say that although they are still wary of bitcoin transactions, incorporating blockchain into their operations could actually improve their businesses. Related Link:Now You Can Play The Lottery With Bitcoin Cross-Border Payments One way blockchain could improve the financial industry is by improving the way banks make cross-border transactions. The current system is cumbersome and takes a great deal of time and effort for both the sending and receiving bank. This process has made it difficult for banks to interact with one another from country to country, but incorporating blockchain could change all of that. The ledger system would streamline cross-border payments and take out much of the administrative work associated with processing international transactions. Closer To Integration From January 11 to January 15, several major banks begantestingwhether blockchain could be used in this way and the results looked promising, according to the Wall Street Journal. Eleven different banks were able to use a private blockchain in order to exchange tokens across several continents. The test included big name financial institutions likeBarclays PLC (ADR)(NYSE:BCS),Credit Suisse Group AG (ADR)(NYSE:CS) andWells Fargo & Co(NYSE:WFC), and it is expected to pave the way for future blockchain investments. While this initial test provided only a small snapshot of what blockchain is capable of, many believe that its success will push banks to continue testing the technology and eventually put it into practice. See more from Benzinga • Top 5 Losers When The Fed Raises Rates © 2016 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| Where do the presidential candidates stand on encryption? A handy guide: Photo: Getty Images In the wake of terrorist attacks here and abroad, candidates in the 2016 presidential race have shifted their attention to issues of national security. Many have proposed aggressive measures to confront ISIS, including bombing it “back to the Stone Age” (Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas) and banning Muslims from entering the country altogether (Donald Trump ) . But very few have articulated a clear position on how to prevent terrorist recruitment and plotting online. CNN’s Tuesday night Republican debate brought many of these issues to the table, raising questions about surveillance, who owns the Internet and — paramount to the tech world — encryption . Encryption — a way to encode information so that only the sender and the intended recipient can read it — has been central to a security versus privacy debate dubbed the Crypto Wars that dates back to the early 1990s. For years, intelligence officials have pointed to the technology as a significant obstacle in tracking nefarious activity online. Those complaints have only grown more insistent since the terrorist attacks in Paris and San Bernardino. Recently, FBI Director James Comey even suggested that major tech companies reconsider their business structure to intercept and pass on encrypted information when needed. And those pressures are sure to increase after French counterterrorism investigators announced that encrypted apps such as WhatsApp and Telegram may have been used to plot the Nov. 13 Paris attack. Virtually all tech companies and cryptographers argue that building any type of “backdoor” into these secure communications would undermine the purpose of the technology entirely, ultimately compromising public privacy and driving consumers to use unregulated international products. It’s something our next president will most definitely have to weigh in on. And though not every presidential candidate has offered a firm stance on the debate, they’ve definitely dropped hints. Below, a survey of those candidates who have acknowledged the issue of encryption and what they think about it. Story continues Democrats: Hillary Clinton The current Democratic frontrunner has discussed encryption regulation several times, though we still don’t know how she feels about it. In a conversation with Re/code’s Kara Swisher in June, she said Silicon Valley needs to sit down with legislators and have a “real conversation” about ways to get around encryption to combat online terrorist activity. Then she waffled, admitting it was a “hard choice” and that “there are really strong, legitimate arguments on both sides.” During a speech at the Brookings Institution in December, Clinton threw around more vague platitudes, requesting an “urgent dialogue” between industry giants and law enforcement officials about tackling terrorists online, appealing to Silicon Valley to “disrupt ISIS.” Her voting record, however, offers a clearer picture of her stance on privacy tech. As a New York senator in 2001, Clinton supported the Patriot Act , which authorized expanded government surveillance to monitor phone and email communications, collect bank and credit card records and track Internet activity. As provisions under that act were set to expire this year, she endorsed a bill that re-upped and modified that surveillance program, ending the NSA’s bulk metadata collection but maintaining other forms of surveillance. At the same time, she said the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act, which allows the sharing of Internet traffic information between the government and tech companies, “ doesn’t go far enough ,” in protecting us from foreign hackers. So, it seems Clinton has a history of siding with the surveyors, and not the surveilled. Bernie Sanders Maintaining a steadfast focus on economic and social justice issues during his presidential campaign, Sanders hasn’t spent much time battling mass surveillance. But his record signals that he’s much more concerned than Clinton about protecting citizen’s privacy. Just as he voted against the Patriot Act, he rejected the USA Freedom Act this June, arguing that it didn’t “go far enough in protecting our privacy rights.” “I worry that we are moving toward an Orwellian form of society, where Big Brother — whether in the corporate world, or the government — knows too much information about the private lives of innocent people,” he told Yahoo Global News Anchor Katie Couric in June. Though that’s not an outright condemnation of building back doors into encrypted communications for the purpose of government surveillance, it’s very close. Martin O’Malley Photo: Cheryl Senter/AP The Democratic Party’s third wheel addressed encryption, however noncommittally, in an op-ed for the New York Daily News , calling for “greater public-private collaboration on how we can prevent terrorists from exploiting encryption, which has enabled them to ‘go dark’ well before they strike.” Ultimately that concern for security is likely what pushed O’Malley to support the USA Freedom Act . However, he said he “would like to see us go further” when it comes to limiting the government’s ability to conduct surveillance on citizens. So it seems he’s conflicted in this area. Republicans: Jeb Bush: Photo: John Locher/AP Jeb Bush more or less condemned the use of encryption in August: “If you create encryption, it makes it harder for the American government to do its job — while protecting civil liberties — to make sure that evildoers aren’t in our midst,” he said at an event sponsored by a military contractor-affiliated group named Americans for Peace, Prosperity, and Security . Rand Paul Paul has positioned himself as one of the most tech-savvy candidates of the 2016 presidential race, hosting hack-a-thons and accepting donations via Bitcoin . So it’s no surprise that he has a lot to say about the proposal to limit encryption. In an interview with Yahoo News’ Olivier Knox in November, he supported public use of the technology and echoed the security concerns of many cryptographers and activists. “The head of the FBI came out with this recently, he says, ‘Oh, we’re going to ban encryption.’ And it’s like we want to build a backdoor into Facebook and a backdoor into Apple products,” Paul said at the Yahoo Politics Digital Democracy Conference . “A backdoor means that the government can look at your stuff, look at your information, your conversations. … The moment you build an opening — and I’m not an expert on coding or anything, but the moment you give a vulnerability to a code that someone can get into your source code, not only can the government, but so can your enemies, so can foreign governments.” This comes as no surprise, as Paul has challenged the provisions of the Patriot Act in the past, and recently compared banning encryption to banning guns . Carly Fiorina Photo: John Locher/AP During the first GOP debate, Carly Fiorina was asked whether Google and Apple should cooperate with the U.S. government to weaken encryption so criminals can’t hide behind it. In response, the former Hewlett-Packard CEO made up a new word . “We need to tear down cyberwalls,” she said, referring, one can only assume, to encryption. “We could have detected and repelled some of those cyberattacks” if we had passed “a law [that] has been sitting, languishing, sadly, on Capitol Hill.” Just this week, she clarified her stance in an interview with Breitbart News . “You can’t outlaw encryption,” she said. “Encryption protects American consumers from identity theft, and all the rest of it. But we have to be able to work around it when necessary to give our investigators the information they need.” Fiorina reiterated this strategy, which some experts say is wholly infeasible, at the debate on Tuesday, solidifying her willingness to compromise the security of encryption in the wake of terrorist threats. Lindsey Graham Photo: Mike Blake/Reuters Graham followed up on Fiorina’s remarks at the first Republican debate by declaring “if I have to tear down a cyberwall, I’ll tear down a cyberwall.” But the South Carolina senator’s past comments about technology may be reason to question whether he knows what tearing down that cyberwall would entail. In March, Graham said he’d never sent an email . Adding: “I don’t know what that makes me.” In this case, it makes him a person who probably doesn’t know much about the encryption debate. However, those who contribute to his campaign can rest assured that the governor’s website processes each credit card transaction “using encrypted code.” John Kasich Tuesday’s debate gave the Ohio governor an opportunity to blame encryption for our lack of prior intelligence in terrorist attacks. “There is a big problem, it’s called encryption,” he said. “The people in San Bernardino were communicating with people who the FBI had been watching, but because their phone was encrypted, because intelligence officials could not see who they were talking to, it was lost. … We need to be able to penetrate these people when they’re involved in these plots and these plans, and we have to give the local authorities the ability to penetrate in this route. Encryption is a major problem and Congress has got to deal with this, and so does the president, to keep us safe.” Kasich’s suggestion that we could not access the San Bernardino shooters’ phone conversations because their phone was encrypted is somewhat misleading. Kasich was referring to a CBS News tweet that quoted a “senior law enforcement official” who said investigators had found “levels of built-in encryption” in Syed Farook and Tashfeen Malik’s phones. Virtually all modern phones in the United States come out of the box with “levels of built-in encryption,” otherwise criminals would be able to intercept your calls whenever your phone connected to a cellular tower. Not to mention, if your phone was stolen, anyone would be able to access your sensitive information. Whether Kasich is confused by that point, or simply using it as an example to explain why all encryption is dangerous, is unclear. But there’s no question that he’s willing to significantly downgrade the security of devices to be sure nothing gets past intelligence officials. George Pataki During Tuesday night’s undercard debate, the former New York governor said that, as president, he would pass “a law on tech firms to prevent encryption.” In clarifying his position, he provided suggestions similar to Fiorina’s. “Companies are entitled to encrypt and protect their knowledge and their intelligence,” he said. “But what we need is a backdoor for law enforcement to be able — when they can establish that that communication poses a risk to our safety and engages in terrorism — to get a court order and go in and access those communications. Allow the companies to continue encryption, provide an entryway for law enforcement when they can prove to a court that there’s a sufficient risk, when there’s an attack upon us, that they have the right to look at those messages.” Marco Rubio Photo: John Locher/AP Rubio has made it clear that he wants the federal government and the private sector to share more information as a way to prevent cyber- and terrorist attacks. He’s also publicly supported the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act . And during Tuesday’s debate, he doubled down on his commitment to mass surveillance. “We are now at a time where we need more tools, not less tools,” the Florida senator said , criticizing the limits on metadata collection in the USA Freedom Act. Rubio’s willingness to expand programs that collect the private information of Americans signals an apparent willingness to compromise encryption for the same reasons. Ted Cruz Photo: John Locher/AP The Texas senator has towed a libertarian line when it comes to surveillance legislation in the past. As a candidate whose campaign runs on an explicit distrust of big government, it makes sense that Cruz would vote for the USA Freedom Act — a move that has earned him scorn from Rubio. During Tuesday’s debate, he argued that the bill’s mandate to transfer mass phone data collection from the NSA to phone companies actually gave more tools to pinpoint terror threats. However, cybersecurity activists worry that Cruz is uneducated on the intricacies of these policies, after an Oct. 15 video surfaced of the senator admitting to a crowd in Iowa that he was unfamiliar with CISA — a bill that critics say allows companies to monitor their customers and share their information with the government without warrant. Donald Trump Photo: John Locher/AP Trump has made many a reference to building walls, and some of them even appear to be cyber in nature. Though the Republican presidential frontrunner has not explicitly addressed encryption issues, he has suggested we shut off ISIS’ Internet connection, and expressed concern that the group is “using the Internet better than we are,” despite the fact that it “was our idea.” During the debate, he elaborated as best he could. “I wanted to get our brilliant people from Silicon Valley and other places and figure out a way that ISIS cannot do what they’re doing,” he said . “You talk freedom of speech, you talk freedom of anything you want. I don’t want them using our Internet to take our young impressionable youth.” Trump could be referring to the issue of encryption, or something much simpler. But anyone who’s willing to ban a world religion from the country might be willing to do the same for an essential element of consumer technology. Ben Carson Photo: Mike Blake/Reuters The retired brain surgeon has made virtually no mention of encryption on the campaign trail. But when it comes to assuring potential donors that their credit card information is safe, his website has a whole page on it: “Carson America uses a secure socket layer (SSL) with the highest level of encryption commercially available for www.bencarson.com on pages where online visitors register or make a secure online donation using their credit card.” That being said, Carson has said he’s open to the surveillance of mosques, churches and schools. Who knows whether that would entail the compromise of encryption technology? Chris Christie Photo: John Locher/AP In early 2015, Christie signed a law that required health insurance companies in New Jersey to encrypt client information, signaling he understands its importance. Still, the New Jersey governor has made his support for the NSA and government surveillance very clear, praising the provisions in the Patriot Act, and calling for the extension of intelligence-gathering capabilities. The fact that he’s publicly criticized Edward Snowden, and sparred with Rand Paul about these issues suggests he’d overhaul encryption if that meant even a hint of access to potential terrorist activity. Rick Santorum Photo: Mike Blake/Reuters Though the former senator from Pennsylvania has made no explicit mention of encryption, his voting record speaks for itself. Santorum voted for the Patriot Act in 2001, and said he’d do it again today. He’s also criticized Paul’s stance on the issue, saying “hopefully Rand Paul won’t prevail, that the Senate will do what it must do, which is to keep our defenses up and follow through with a plan that balances the interests,” Santorum replied. “It’s always a [balance] between security and freedom, and that’s in every aspect of our [lives].” That balance would likely mean that he’d prefer the government has access to encrypted communication for the sake of national security. Mike Huckabee Photo: Mike Blake/Reuters Huckabee, though not the race’s expert on online surveillance, has most definitely been vocal about the issue. He’s been known to publicly criticize unregulated monitoring by the NSA , arguing that the Patriot Act has gone too far. The former Arkansas governor has even said he’d repeal “Obama’s warrantless NSA spying program” if he became president. However, his comments about cybersecurity have caused experts to question his technological knowledge of the government’s digital capabilities in general. So, though he’s made no explicit mention of encryption, it’s possible that he, like so many other candidates, might not understand it. Related: Following Paris attacks, encryption services face new scrutiny Here’s the manual ISIS uses to teach its soldiers about encryption How encryption works and why people are so freaked out about it [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] In the last 10 mins, there were arb opps spanning 14 exchange pair(s), yielding profits ranging between $0.00 and $77.80 #bitcoin #btc \|\| $376.20 at 14:00 UTC [24h Range: $372.95 - $380.37 Volume: 3257 BTC] via #btcusdpic.twitter.com/35nbQQL5WN \|\| LIVE: Profit = $382.32 (4.55 %). BUY B20.40 @ $420.00 (#VirCurex). SELL @ $431.40 (#Kraken) #bitcoin #btc - http://www.projectcoin.org \|\| $431.87 at 00:45 UTC [24h Range: $424.50 - $435.19 Volume: 9632 BTC] via #btcusdpic.twitter.com/E54ZUyhC6O \|\| $444.50 at 15:30 UTC [24h Range: $438.00 - $451.13 Volume: 7480 BTC] via #btcusdpic.twitter.com/RqWQGhqOil \|\| BTCTurk 1309 TL BTCe 434.735 $ CampBx $ BitStamp 439.50 $ Cavirtex 625.00 $ CEXIO 439.47 $ Bitcoin.de 407.57 € #Bitcoin #btc \|\| In the last 10 mins, there were arb opps spanning 13 exchange pair(s), yielding profits ranging between $0.00 and $420.16 #bitcoin #btc \|\| BTCTurk 1269.9 TL BTCe 418.822 $ CampBx $ BitStamp 417.00 $ Cavirtex 580.00 $ CEXIO 420.86 $ Bitcoin.de 381.92 € #Bitcoin #btc \|\| #RDD / #BTC on the exchanges: Cryptsy: 0.00000005 Bittrex: 0.00000005 Average $1.9E-5 per #reddcoin 04:30:00 \|\| Current price: 304.09£ $BTCGBP $btc #bitcoin 2015-12-25 18:00:05 GMT	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 386.55, 376.52, 376.62, 373.45, 376.03, 381.65, 379.65, 384.26, 391.86, 407.23
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis] Not fully available. [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Your first trade for Tuesday, February 17: The "Fast Money" traders gave their final trades of the day. Tim Seymour was a buyer of XME(NYSE Arca: XME). Brian Kelly was a buyer of GG(Toronto Stock Exchange: G-CA)on his prediction the dollar could see a correction. Steve Grasso was a buyer of CPB(NYSE: CPB). Guy Adami was a buyer of CERN.(NASDAQ: CERN) Trader disclosure: On February 13, 2015, the following stocks and commodities mentioned or intended to be mentioned on CNBC's "Fast Money" were owned by the "Fast Money" traders:Guy Adami is long CELG, EXAS, INTC, Guy Adami's wife, Linda Snow, works at Merck. Steve Grasso is long AAPL, BA, CLVS, EVGN, FB, GDX, GOOGL, IMMR, KBH, KDUS, MHY, MJNA, NVIV, PFE, POT, SO, T, TMUS, TWTR, YHOO, firm is long FCX, NE, NEM, VALE, RIG, OXY, USO, AMZN, kids are long EFG, EFA, EWJ, IJR, SPY. Brian Kelly is long BTC=, US Dollar, GLD, CTRL calls, HYG puts, BBRY call spreads, TLT, he is short EWA, EWG, EWQ, EWZ, EWW, Australian Dollar, British Pound, Canadian Dollar, Yuan. Tim Seymour is long AAPL, BAC, BX, C, DIS, F, GE, GM, GOOGL, INTC, SUNE, Tim's firm is long BABA, BIDU, BX, CCU, DSKY, KNDI, MCD, NKE, NOK, SINA, SBUX, TSL, VIP. \|\| Bitcoin Shop, Inc. Expands Mining Operations With New Facility and Launches Multi-Signature Security Solution to New Website: ARLINGTON, VA--(Marketwired - Jan 28, 2015) - Bitcoin Shop, Inc. (OTCQB:BTCS) ("BTCS" or the "Company"), which is undertaking the build-out of a universal digital currency ecosystem, announced today that the Company secured a 83,000 square foot facility, about 1.4 times the size of a regulations NFL football field, to expand its mining operations. The Company also purchased from Spondoolies Tech Ltd. ("Spondoolies"), 100 S35 miners totaling 550 TH/s of hashing power, a 161% increase in its mining capacity, and anticipates having the newly purchased equipment online in two to four weeks, which would bring BTCS's total mining hash rate to 891 TH/s. Additionally, the operating costs (inclusive of power) at the new facility should be approximately 30% lower than our current facility. With minimal improvements, the new facility is anticipated to handle over 10 megawatts (mw) of power and can potentially house up to 40,000 TH/s of mining hardware. The Company launched a new website to demonstrate its planned services, which includes a new multi-signature secure bitcoin storage solution as a next step in the build-out of its universal ecosystem. "We're seizing market opportunities created by the recent downturn in bitcoin price and expanding accordingly. At the current price of bitcoin, cost structure matters, and we believe we'll have one of the lowest cost mining operations in the industry," says BTCS CEO Charles Allen. Without any further expansion, the Company believes their mining efforts should yield at least 350 bitcoins in the first quarter of 2015. Additionally, the Company agreed to issue 250,000 shares of its common stock to Spondoolies as partial compensation for the equipment. Charles Kiser, the Company's Executive Vice President, voluntarily agreed to the redemption of 250,000 shares of his common stock for $2,500 such that the share issuance to Spondoolies will result in no additional dilution to the Company's public shareholders. "We're thrilled to be working with Spondoolies as we seek to increase our capacity beyond 10,000 TH/s and 10 mw," said Allen. Spondoolies- CEO Guy Corem commented, "Mining hardware companies should be prepared for market changes as part of their strategy. At Spondoolies, we've anticipated a full range of market scenarios such as the current bitcoin price decline and volatility, and are pleased to partner with an innovative company like BTCS." Along with the expansion of its mining operations, BTCS released a new website, which includes a beta version of a multi-signature secure bitcoin storage solution built on Gem.co's multi-signature security platform. The beta version of the storage solution is currently only accessible by invitation. Additionally, BTCS is the only strategic investor in Gem. "It was clear to us that BTCS was focused on offering a bitcoin storage solution that was both innovative and secure, and we were thrilled they chose Gem's multi-sig platform to deliver this unique solution to their customers," said Gem CEO and Founder Micah Winkelspecht. The Company has also released an updated corporate presentation which can be found here:http://investors.btcs.com/BTCS_Corporate_Presentation_January_2015.pdf. About BTCS:BTCS plans to build a universal digital currency platform with the goal of enabling users to engage in the digital currency ecosystem through one point of access. We currently operate our public beta site (www.btcs.com) where consumers can purchase products using digital currency such as bitcoin, litecoin and dogecoin, by searching through a selection of over 250,000 items. We provide our customers competitive pricing options from 256 retailers through our "Intelligent Shopping Engine." All ecommerce customer orders are fulfilled by third party vendors. We plan to use our ecommerce platform as a customer on-ramp for a broader digital currency platform. We have been actively partnering with strategic digital currency companies who have technologies, services or products that are complementary to our business strategy by making investments in them and integrating with them. Forward Looking Statements:Certain statements in this press release constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Words such as "may," "might," "will," "should," "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," "continue," "predict," "forecast," "project," "plan," "intend" or similar expressions, or statements regarding intent, belief, or current expectations, are forward-looking statements. While the Company believes these forward-looking statements are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on any such forward-looking statements, which are based on information available to us on the date of this release. These forward looking statements are based upon current estimates and assumptions and are subject to various risks and uncertainties, including without limitation those set forth in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, not limited to Risk Factors relating to its digital currency business contained therein. Thus, actual results could be materially different. The Company expressly disclaims any obligation to update or alter statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. \|\| A Florida couple recorded their vows into the Bitcoin blockchain in the first 'Bitmarriage': David Mondrus (Consider This!) David Mondrus “A diamond is forever, a marriage is forever, but when was the last time anyone looked at their wedding vows?” Entrepreneur David Mondrus posed that question to the New York Times in explaining why he and his wife, Joyce Bayo, have added their wedding vows to the Bitcoin blockchain — the secure public ledger where all bitcoin transactions are recorded. The couple met in the Philippines. Bayo "stole his heart when she fed him pineapple on a boat," according to the press release the couple put out to explain their blockchain vows . The couple recorded their vows using a bitcoin ATM at Disney World last fall during the the Kingdom Bitcoin Conference. According to the release: Blockchain marriages are ideal for couples who want to record their commitment to each other in a secure and permanent place, but whose relationship may not fit the current governmental system, or any governmental system at all. Some examples might be gay couples or polyamorous groups whose idea of marriage may not so easily conform to the current rules set by governments. Officiating this first Bitmarriage will be Jeffrey Tucker; author/publisher, and the founder of Liberty.me. Media was invited to the wedding in the press release. Business Insider is bummed to have missed it. NOW WATCH: Kanye West explains how marriage has helped him become a better man More From Business Insider '60 Minutes' airs troubling report detailing major problems at Lumber Liquidators factories in China Michael Jordan is a billionaire Lumber Liquidators shares crashed after a damning '60 Minutes' report \|\| Bitcoin To Credit Card: 247exchange.com Makes Converting Bitcoin To Fiat Easy: International Bitcoin and cryptocurrency exchange 247exchange is pleased to announce the funding of credit and debit cards with Bitcoins and altcoins as a convenient withdrawal method. Bitcoin now buys anything, anywhere, worldwide. Belize city, Belize / ACCESSWIRE / February 2, 2015 / Bitcoin exchange platform 247exchange.com, managed by InterMoney Exchange(TM) has launched a new global feature - withdrawing Bitcoins directly to credit/debit card . It works with both Visa and MasterCard providers. Credit and debit cards of different types including prepaid are supported. Users can also choose the currency to load their cards with (for example USD or Euro). "It's always been a headache for everyone to exchange Bitcoin to fiat money with minimal losses. If you look at the market, you'll see that only a few companies offer such services as withdrawing cryptocurrencies to credit cards. Maybe we're not the pioneers, but we're among the first ones. With our service Bitcoin becomes one step closer to real money. It's never been so easy to transform Bitcoin into USD, Euro or another fiat currency" Says 247exchange.com CEO Alexey Maximenko. At the end of last year 247exchange integrated credit/debit cards for buying cryptocurrencies and is now pleased to also offer this service for selling Bitcoin . In fact, this innovation of 247exchange not only offers smooth Bitcoin to fiat conversion; clients can also pay bills such as common utility bills with Bitcoin. The option can also be used by customers to make loan repayments. Goods and services worldwide previously payable only with USD, EUR and other fiat can now be easily purchased with cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Litecoin, Peercoin, and Namecoin. With unprecedented flexibility Bitcoin users anywhere can now make online and offline purchases with crypto linked credit and debit cards. No bank account required. Also, they can receive cash for Bitcoin in over 3 million ATMs around the globe. Story continues 247exchange's card solutions are also extremely useful for "unbanked" populations in developing nations and regions. For small and medium payments the fees will be less than in the case of using bank wire transfer as a withdrawal instrument. This feature is convenient for miners, traders, freelancers, and everyone else who regularly withdraws amounts of Bitcoin into fiat for their current needs and expenses. Also, it allows the crypto user to transfer money to his friends and relatives. To withdraw Bitcoin or another cryptocurrency to credit/debit card, the user simply submits an order in the sell section of 247exchange.com to initiate the verification process. 24/7 support is always on hand to assist customers via live chat or by phone. About 247exchange.com: 247exchange is run by InterMoney Exchange(TM), a group of financial companies. The innovative platform has many withdrawal methods: bank wire, SEPA transfer, local bank transfer in Australia and Europe, e-wallets, and now - credit and debit cards. "We already offered our customers a solid choice of how to pay for Bitcoin. And now we're also expanding our withdrawal options, because our mission is to create and provide the new standard for digital currency exchange services all over the world - fast, convenient, secure and available for everyone" Andrey Vereshchagin, InterMoney Exchange(TM) marketing director explains. For more information about us, please visit http://247exchange.com Contact Info: Name: Andrey Vereshchagin Email: [email protected] Organization: InterMoney Exchange Corp Address: 35 New Road, Belize city, Belize, C.A. Phone: +44 2070484188 SOURCE: 247exchange.com \|\| Apple Store To Offer Weed App Once Again: After a three month battle, marijuana-based social networking siteMassRootshas revamped its offering to fitApple Inc.’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) terms of use and is now back to being available for download in the Apple store. The site, along with several other marijuana-related apps, was banned from the store last November after Apple said apps relating to drug use were not in compliance with the company’s user policy. Apple Cracks Down On Pot MassRoots got around Apple’s concerns that marijuana is not legal in all states where the app can be downloaded by addinggeofencingfilters, which only allow users in the 23 states where the drug is legal to sign up. While Apple has remained quiet on the issue, directing complaints to its lengthy terms of service, critics say the company is stifling growth in a blossoming industry. Pot And Tech: An Appealing Match As marijuana is a relatively new, high-growth sector, most entrepreneurs are looking to the tech space as an opportune way to get on board. Since app development allows companies to grow and change alongside public preferences, it is seen as the perfect entry point for startups looking to cash in on marijuana’s rising popularity. However, Apple’s resistance to incorporate marijuana-based apps has created a significant barrier. Related Link: Is The U.S. Prepared To Legalize Marijuana? MassRoots Opens A Door MassRoots is the first pot company to make its way back to the app store, but speculators believe the floodgates will open soon. Some see other apps following the company’s lead and applying geofilters, while others expect Apple to eventually loosen its terms as legalization spreads. See more from Benzinga • Top Wall Street Executives To Gather At White House Cybersecurity Summit • New York Could Become First City To Accept Bitcoin • Good News For Apple Watch: FDA Steps Back From App Regulation © 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| It's A Big Day For Bitcoin: Bitcoin history was made on Monday after the digital currency opened for trading on the first licensed U.S. exchange. The bitcoin service provider Coinbase previously acted as a brokerage service for bitcoin users. On Monday, it began providing an exchange where individuals and institutions can trade bitcoin in real-time in a more secure environment. Coinbase is backed by a $106 million investment from the New York Stock Exchange and various other financial service institutions – creating a more trustworthy exchange environment. This contrasts Mt. Gox, a popular bitcoin exchange in which many individuals saw their money disappear. The exchange has already gained approval in 24 jurisdictions, including California and New York but plans to expand across the U.S. and internationally. The price of one bitcoin was seen trading higher by nearly 10 percent at $278.69 Monday morning. Image credit:Public Domain See more from Benzinga • Pacific Crest Doesn't Expect EMC's Profit Recovery To Materialize Until 2016 • Why Shares Of Rockwell Medical Are Up Huge • Wedbush Sees Amazon Reporting Share Gains In Q4 That Were Likely Offset By Record Spending © 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| 10 things in tech you need to know today: tim cook Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP Apple CEO Tim Cook introduces Apple Watch , which he is wearing on his wrist, on Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2014, in Cupertino, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez) Good morning! After yesterday's ice storm, we should be looking at sunnier skies here in New York. Here's the tech news you need to know today. 1. An Apple employee says that the company is working on vehicle development that will "give Tesla a run for its money." A strange Apple vehicle has been spotted driving around. 2. Apple's new iOS update will reportedly focus on improving performance rather than new features. It's all about fixing bugs and making it faster. 3. Apple could release a faster MacBook Air on February 24. It could have a faster processor and increased memory. 4. Mark Zuckerberg's lawyers claim that one of his neighbors is extorting him.Â He built a large house next to Zuckerberg's home. 5. Yelp plans on increasing its salesforce by 40% this year. The news came during its earnings call. 6. Microsoft and Samsung have ended their patent dispute. Microsoft sued Samsung last year, but now they have settled the case. 7. Qualcomm is paying almost $1 billion to settle an antitrust suit in China. It's the largest fine in China's corporate history. 8. Apple unveiled a new iPad ad during the Grammys. It shows how you can use the iPad to make music. 9. A Hong Kong Bitcoin exchange disappeared with Â£254 million in funds. There are fears that MyCoin may have been a Ponzi scheme. 10. Samsung is warning people not to say personal information when talking to its new SmartTV. Voice data gets recorded and sent over the internet. NOW WATCH: A 13-Year-Old Made A Revolutionary Invention Out Of Legos And Now Intel Is Investing In His Company More From Business Insider 10 things in tech you need to know today 10 things in tech you need to know today 10 things in tech you need to know today \|\| SolarEdge files for $125M IPO on the back of growth of solar gear: Nine-year-old Israeli startup SolarEdge is planning on raising $125 million in an IPO, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday . The company, which plans to trade on the NASDAQ under symbol SEDG, makes electronics and inverters that can monitor and optimize the energy from solar panels. Inverters convert the direct current generated by solar panels into alternating current that feeds into the grid or is used by the building or onsite, and they are necessary for a solar panel system to operate. Traditional solar panel systems commonly use a centralized inverter to convert the collective energy from the system, but a growing amount of next-generation inverter companies, like SolarEdge, are making systems that convert and optimize the energy from each individual panel of the system. Now that the cost of solar panels is cheaper than ever, solar companies are highly focused on squeezing as much efficiency out of panels and systems as possible. Gear like the kind SolarEdge produces can boost each individual panel to its maximum output, no matter if other panels in the system have become shaded, dirty or just arent operating effectively. SolarEdge, which is run by co-founder Guy Sella, sells its devices to installer companies like SolarCity, which made up 19 percent of SolarEdges revenue in 2014. To date the company has sold 4.5 million of its power optimizers and a little over 200,000 of its inverters. About 1.5 million of those power optimizers were shipped in the second half of 2014. The growth of the overall solar market means growth in SolarEdges sales. For the full year 2014, SolarEdge generated $133.22 million in revenue, up from $79.04 million in 2013. The company employs close to 300 people, and works with contractors (Flextronics and Jabil Circuit) to manufacturer its gear. But the solar gear market is difficult, competitive, and a relatively low-margin business. SolarEdge lost $21.38 million for the year 2014, which was a smaller loss than the $28.18 million it lost in 2013. The company has yet to turn a profit over its existence (shipping product since 2010) and has accumulated a deficit of $135.2 million as of December 31, 2014. The funding will likely be used to expand its sales significantly and pay off some of its debts. Story continues SolarEdge has also previously raised many tens of millions of dollars in equity (series A to E) and debt from investors including Opus Capital Venture Partners , ORR Partners, Genesis Partners , Pacven Walden Ventures, Vertex, Norwest Venture Partners and Lightspeed Venture Partners. Image copyright Andreas Demmelbauer/Flickr . Related research and analysis from Gigaom Research: Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial . Bitcoin: why digital currency is the future financial system The growth and promise of the LED market How personalized analytics can streamline business decisions More From paidContent.org Katy Perry lawyers try again, file trademark claim for Left Shark \|\| Katy Perrys lawyers demand takedown of 3D printable Left Shark: While the nation identifies with the Super Bowls insta-star Left Shark, Katy Perrys lawyers are apparently more the Right Shark type. They issued a cease and desist letter (see below) to on-demand 3D printing service Shapeways on Tuesday, demanding a 3D model depicting Left Shark be taken down. Shapeways complied , and Fernando Sosa , the designer behind the model, has now posted it on Thingiverse . Unlike on Shapeways, Thingiverse models are free and must be 3D printed by the downloader. Left Shark, as it appeared Thursday on Thingiverse. Shapeways confirmed the letter and takedown, stating: Its a shame because we love our community and always want to be able to support their designs. Thats part of the reason why our work with Hasbro is so fun! Its allowing fans to create products truly inspired by the things they personally enjoy. We know these things can happen when you have a lot of user-generated content, but hopefully more brands (and celebrities!) will take note and want to work together with fans to create amazing products! NYU law professor Christopher Sprigman tweeted that he believes Left Shark is not copyrightable because it qualifies as a useful article, which would mean it is not protected the same way as an artistic work. Both Thingiverse and Shapeways are home to scores of ostensibly copyrighted models, including memes. While its hard to say who has the rights to sad Keanu or doge , Pokemon figurines are a little more black and white. Both sites have received takedown requests in the past, but designs tend to stay up until a letter arrives. The Joseph Ducreux, AKA Disregard females, acquire currency, meme, 3D printed by Shapeways. IP law finds itself in an unchartered space with the rise of 3D printing, though new models are beginning to emerge. Shapeways has entered into partnerships with a few companies like Hasbro that allow anyone to model their characters, and then funnel some of the sale proceeds back to the copyright holder. Story continues If you absolutely must get your hands on a 3D printed Left Shark, Sosa is urging people to download it from Thingiverse before the site receives a similar letter. @signe sad day to live in.. corporations crushing entrepreneur's little figurines one at the time fernando sosa (@Amznfx) February 5, 2015 Left Shark rose to fame during the Super Bowl halftime show Sunday. Katy Perry sang Teenage Dream among dancing beach balls, trees and two sharks. While Right Shark had the dance down, Left Shark had to improvise a bit. But that didnt stop him from dancing with everything his little shark heart had to give. 3D print like lawyers arent watching, dance like Left Shark. This story was updated at 2:15 p.m. PT with more details on copyright and Left Shark. Image copyright Kevin Mazur/Getty Images . Related research and analysis from Gigaom Research: Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial . A market analysis of emerging technology interfaces The legal challenges and opportunities for 3D printing Bitcoin: why digital currency is the future financial system More From paidContent.org Katy Perrys lawyers demand takedown of 3D printable Left Shark \|\| Rivetz Showcases Secure E-commerce Transaction on Android at Mobile World Congress: BARCELONA, SPAIN--(Marketwired - Mar 3, 2015) - Mobile World Congress - Rivetz ( http://rivetz.com/ ) today announced it will be demonstrating at Mobile World Congress the most advanced mobile solution for e-commerce transactions, leveraging the built-in hardware security already shipping on most commercial handsets. Rivetz, in partnership with BitPay , will be demonstrating a simple-to-use, open-source payments technology compatible with any Trustonic -enabled smart device. The solution is compatible with many thousands of Bitcoin merchants, offering consumers peace of mind that their Bitcoin transactions are safe, private and secure. Rivetz's technological solution meets all of the requirements of the recently implemented regulations for European payments using smart devices. The Rivetz solution takes advantage of the Trustonic TEE environment built into millions of smart devices to provide the trusted execution space for storing and processing Bitcoin private keys. The solution also takes full advantage of the Trusted User Interface (TUI) for secure PIN entry and secure display of the users' transaction details. Rivetz uses Intercede's MyTAM™ cloud service to securely load the bitcoin wallet into the TEE to protect the app and the data it accesses from threats that may be present on the handset. The solution will be available in the second quarter of 2015 and is compatible with over 350 million existing Android devices, including Samsung smartphones. A short video of the demonstration can be seen at http://bit.ly/1EanqZk , showing the solution running on a Samsung Galaxy Note 4. "Rivetz is delivering state-of-the-art support that will help Bitcoin be a standard, secure capability on every handset," commented Tony Gallippi, Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of BitPay. "We look forward to enabling the Rivetz capability as an option for millions of Bitcoin users." "We are pleased to be working with Rivetz to bring state-of-the-art security and ease-of-use to consumers," said Ben Cade, Trustonic's CEO. "The Rivetz team is offering a great model for any app developer to leverage the advanced security that Trustonic TEE provides." Story continues Intercede CEO Richard Parris added: "Apps used for executing Bitcoin transactions are an attractive target for hackers, who are developing increasingly advanced methods to deploy their malware onto Android handsets. By ensuring the activities of apps are kept separate and secure from the main OS, end users can be assured their Bitcoin transactions are protected." Rivetz provides a software developer toolkit to enable any cryptocurrency or payment app to take advantage of Rivetz's capabilities. To sign up as a developer, visit developer.rivetz.com for more information and access to the tools. Demos will be held daily at the Samsung partner booth Hall 8.1, Trustonic booth Hall 7, Stand 7G81 and at the Intercede booth Hall 7 Stand 7B81. To schedule a personal demo please contact [email protected] About Rivetz Rivetz Corp. is focused on solving problems associated with consumers' relationships with financial and other online services. Rivetz provides a safer and easier-to-use model for all users to protect their digital assets and online transactions using hardware-based device identity. The device plays a critical role in automating security and enabling the controls that users need to benefit from modern services. Rivetz leverages state-of-the-art cybersecurity tools to develop a modern model for users and their devices to interact with services on the Internet. For more information, visit www.Rivetz.com . About Trustonic Trustonic integrates hardware-level security and trust directly into the devices through which we access today's connected world. Trustonic simplifies user experiences in everything from mobile shopping and Internet banking to entertainment to collaborating in the workplace. Trustonic technology is embedded in over 400m smart connected devices, and partners with market leaders such as Samsung , Qualcomm , Symantec, Gemalto and Good Technology . To learn more about Trustonic and how it's making your connected world a better place visit us at www.trustonic.com About Bitpay BitPay is the global leader in Bitcoin payment processing with offices in North America, Europe, and South America. The company has raised over $32 million from top investors including Index Ventures, Founders Fund, and Sir Richard Branson. bitpay.com Contact: [email protected] About Intercede: Intercede is a software and service company specialising in identity, credential management and secure mobility. Its solutions create a foundation of trust between connected people, devices and apps and combine expertise with innovation to provide world-class cybersecurity. Intercede has been delivering solutions to high profile customers, from the US and UK governments to some of the world's largest corporations, telecommunications providers and information technology firms, for over 20 years. In 2015 Intercede launched MyTAM; enabling trusted applications to be loaded into a mobile device's Trusted Execution Environment (TEE), providing hardware-level security for Android apps. The cloud-based service provides a cost-effective and convenient way for developers and corporations to protect their apps and users' sensitive data. For more information visit: www.intercede.com SEO: Bitcoin, Trustonic Tee, Trusted Execution, Wallet, E-commerce, Trusted User Interface, mobile security All product and company names herein may be trademarks of their registered owners. [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] #Bitcoin Market Price Update \| Last Price £133.35 \| 24 Hour Range: £125.00 - £162.20 \| 24 Hour Volume: 158.5447 XBT \|\| #Anoncoin/#ANC price now: $ 0.142662, that's -1.11 % change in 1hour. -9.15 % past day, and -11.00 % in the past week! #Bitcoin is $ 235.01 \|\| $234.51 #bitstamp; $225.00 #btce; Instantly buy GH/s with BTC: http://bit.ly/LN53k1 #bitcoin #btc \|\| Bitstamp Prices LAST: $254.00 BID: $254.08 ASK: $254.15 VOL: 20244.69 BTC http://bit.ly/Cryptoticks \|\| buysellbitco.in #bitcoin price in INR, Buy : 14979.00 INR Sell : 14423.00 INR. Buy and sell bitcoin in #India using #buysellbitcoin \|\| #RDD / #BTC on the exchanges: Cryptsy: 0.00000009 Bittrex: 0.00000011 Average $2.4E-5 per #reddcoin 18:00:01 \|\| In the last 10 mins, there were arb opps spanning 23 exchange pair(s), yielding profits ranging between $0.00 and $1,034.16 #bitcoin #btc \|\| buysellbitco.in #bitcoin price in INR, Buy : 14537.00 INR Sell : 14033.00 INR. Buy and sell bitcoin in #India using #buysellbitcoin \|\| BTCe Prices LAST: $244.00 BID: $244.00 ASK: $244.06 VOL: 21088.73 BTC http://bit.ly/Cryptoticks \|\| buysellbitco.in #bitcoin price in INR, Buy : 13686.00 INR Sell : 13230.00 INR. Buy and sell bitcoin in #India using #buysellbitcoin	Trend: down \|\| Prices: 289.61, 291.76, 296.38, 294.35, 285.34, 281.89, 286.39, 290.59, 285.51, 256.30
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis] Not fully available. [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] J.P. Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon Now Says He Regrets Calling Bitcoin a 'Fraud': JPMorgan Chief Executive Jamie Dimon regretscalling bitcoin a ‘fraud’but added that he still is not interested in the cryptocurrency at all, he said in an interview on Fox Business on Tuesday. Dimon had called bitcoin a fraud at a bank investor conference in New York in September. “The currency isn’t going to work. You can’t have a business where people can invent a currency out of thin air and think that people who are buying it are really smart,” he had said. Read:Jamie Dimon Should Do ‘Some Homework’ on Crypto, Says Blockchain Capital VC Several banks, exchange operators and companies have embraced bitcoins, fueled by increasing consumer and investor interest. Bitcoin was down nearly 2% at $14,786 in early trading on Tuesday. It traded at $909 a year ago and breached $19,000 in December. Dimon made the comments at theJPMorgan Health Care Conference in San Francisco. \|\| Bitcoin Looks Above $10K, But Resistance May Await: Having hit two-week highs, bitcoin is now aiming for the $10,000 mark and beyond, but further gains may be transient, the charts indicate. Bitcoin (BTC) picked up bid yesterday following a bullish breakout on charts and rose above $9,000 in a convincing manner. The cryptocurrency moved higher to $9,961 today - the highest level since Feb. 1, as per CoinDesk's Bitcoin Price Index (BPI). As of writing, BTC is up more than 60 percent from the Feb. 6 low below $6,000. Furthermore, in the last 24 hours, BTC has appreciated by nearly 12 percent. The price rise should put to rest the fears that bitcoin may take a beating or move in a sideways manner during the Chinese holiday lull. Besides, as discussed yesterday , February has been a good month for bitcoin since 2015. Still, the chart analysis suggests that a continued rally above $10,000 may not have legs. Meanwhile, the broader markets are also solidly bid, currently. Litecoin has appreciated by 28 percent in the last 24 hours and is the biggest gainer among the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization. Meanwhile, ethereum's ether token, Ripple's XRP, Stellar and NEO are up at least 8 percent each. Bitcoin chart The above chart (prices as per Coinbase) shows: BTC has moved above the resistance at $9,181.48 (23.6 percent Fibonacci retracement of the sell-off from record highs). Momentum studies: 5-day moving average (MA) and 10-day MA are curled up in favor of the bulls. The relative strength index (RSI) is on the rise, indicating a potential for a further rally in prices. So, BTC looks set to test $10,000 and may extend gains to $11,000 as suggested by the inverse head and shoulders breakout . However, gains above $10,000 are to be viewed with caution, the weekly chart indicates. Weekly chart The bearish 5-week MA and 10-week MA crossover suggest the weekly chart outlook remains bearish. Also, the 5-week MA is sloping downwards in favor of the bears and is currently seen at $9,826.55. The RSI remains below resistance zone of 53.00-55.00 (previous support zone), also in favor of the bears. Story continues View While a rally to $11,000 is likely, the sustainability of gains above the $10,000 mark is under question. Bearish scenario: Failure to hit $10,000, followed by a daily close (as per UTC) below $7,851 (Feb. 11 low), would validate the bearish weekly chart and open the doors for a deeper sell-off to as low as $6,000. Disclosure: CoinDesk is a subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which has an ownership stake in Coinbase and Ripple. Metro barriers image via Shutterstock Related Stories The Next Petro? Iranian Minister Reveals Cryptocurrency Plans Litecoin Cash Has Forked But It's Hardly Trading Jimmy Song's New Job: Fund Unpaid Bitcoin Coders Bitcoin Drops Below $10K as Crypto Markets Dip \|\| Why Brookfield Infrastructure Partners Is a Dividend Investor's Dream: More often than not, income investors are content with high-yielding dividend stocks. High yields, however, can turn toxic if they aren't backed by sustainable and growing dividends. In other words, the underlying company should have a sustainable business model that can consistently generate strong earnings and cash flows to support higher dividends. One such stock that not only offers a strong yield but is a dividend investor's dream, as I would call it, is Brookfield Infrastructure Partners (NYSE: BIP) . With Brookfield, which is the infrastructure arm of alternative-asset manager Brookfield Asset Management (NYSE: BAM) , dividend investors can easily expect double-digit annual returns. Let me show you how. Behind Brookfield stock's exponential growth Before we dive into what makes Brookfield such an incredible dividend stock to own, you should see how the stock has performed since the company's inception -- after it was spun off from Brookfield Asset Management as a stand-alone publicly traded partnership -- in 2008. Dollars growing from the ground on a garden bed. Image source: Getty Images. While past performance doesn't guarantee future returns, it pays to know what a remarkable difference Brookfield's dividends have made to shareholder returns over the years. The chart below shows Brookfield's share price and total returns (share price appreciation plus dividends) in the past decade. BIP Chart BIP data by YCharts . Not many know that Brookfield has been a multibagger, but the stock's returns have been significantly higher thanks to dividends. Here are some facts you should know about its dividends: Between 2009 and 2017, its dividend per share (or distribution per unit, as a limited partnership company calls it) climbed at a compounded average clip of 12%. Its dividends have been well covered, what with the company's per-unit funds from operations (FFO) growing at a compounded rate of 21% during the period. For the trailing 12 months, Brookfield paid out a little over 50% of its FFO in dividends. The stock currently yields 4.1% and has consistently yielded more than 3% over the years. Story continues These figures tell us three important things about Brookfield that should matter to any income investor: It is maintaining a sustainable payout ratio while ensuring consistent and steady dividend growth. That's what best dividend stocks look like. What matters is whether Brookfield can continue to reward dividend investors. The answer, fortunately, appears to be a resounding yes, going by the company's business profile and growth plans. What Brookfield does and plans to do Brookfield is one of the largest infrastructure asset companies in the world, with stakes in assets across utilities, transport, energy, and communications infrastructure sectors. Think power transmission lines, railroads, telecom towers, toll roads, and gas pipelines. Telecom towers below a blue sky. Image source: Getty Images. What Brookfield essentially does is acquire distressed assets that it sees value in, turn them around, and then resell them opportunistically to invest in other assets. So, for example, Brookfield acquired natural gas transmission assets in Brazil from oil major Petrobras last April in a deal worth $5.2 billion to "significantly expand its utilities business." As a result, Brookfield's FFO from utilities jumped 45% year over year during the nine months ended Sept. 30, 2017. This was Brookfield's biggest but just one of the several purchase deals that it announced last year. On the sell side, Brookfield announced a deal in December to sell a 27.8% stake in an electricity transmission business in Chile for $1.3 billion. The company bought a 92% stake in the business in 2006 for $1.55 billion, which means it has earned significant returns on the investment over the years. It is this ability to acquire assets at a bargain and resell them at attractive valuations as they mature to reinvest the capital elsewhere that underpins the strong growth in Brookfield's FFO and dividends. Moreover, its revenue is predictable as most of the sectors it operates in are defensive in nature, which adds another layer of security for the company's shareholders. Why dividend investors could be richly rewarded Backed by a solid portfolio that includes 35 businesses spread across five countries, Brookfield is on track to steadily expand its FFO and reward shareholders for years to come. Management already has some financial goals in place that should impress any income investor: Brookfield aims to grow its dividend annually by 5%-9% and generate 12%-15% returns on equity in the long run. Factor in a dividend yield of over 3%, and Brookfield could continue to be a multibagger stock for income investors willing to stick around. More From The Motley Fool 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This Neha Chamaria has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Brookfield Infrastructure Partners. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy . \|\| January's Top Large Cap Crypto? Not Bitcoin or Ether...: January turned out to be a difficult month for the cryptocurrency markets. Bitcoin, the world's largest currency by market capitalization, dropped close to 30 percent, meaning its market capitalization shaved off billions after a torrid end to 2017. Meanwhile, excitement seemed to fade as the total value of all cryptocurrencies taken together topped out at $830 billion on Jan. 7, ending the month below $500 billion. However, amid the gloom and doom, a few small-cap tokens managed to put on a good show. For instance, names like VeChain, NEO, Populous and Stellar dominated the list of gainers among the top 25 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization (as of Jan. 31). Here's a closer look at their performance. VeChain January performance: +146 percent All-time high: $9.55 hit on Jan. 22 Price on Jan. 1: $2.26 Price on Jan. 31: $5.58 Rank as per market capitalization: 18 Boasting an association with enterprise firms in China , VeChain has been aiming to use an open blockchain network to revolutionize the internet of things (IoT) since late 2016. But despite the partnerships, it hadn't garnered much attention throughout 2017's cryptocurrency boom, trading under $1 as recently as December, up from as low as $0.20 in November. That seems to have now changed, as the blockchain recently announced it will be rebranding VeChain (VEN) into VeChain Thor (VET/THOR) this month, a plan of action that may have sparked the interest of investors eager to chase gains in a cooling market. To date, the project has garnered attention from Chinese state media and has also partnered with the China National Tobacco Corporation to develop and implement blockchain solutions. NEO January Performance: +95 percent All-time high: $194.70 hit on Jan. 15 Price on Jan. 1: $74.54 Price on Jan. 31: $145.76 Rank as per market capitalization: 7 Sometimes referred to as "China's ethereum," neo has aimed to build a smart economy in much the same way as its larger competitor, though without the same enterprise fanfare . Story continues Still, the retail market has shown a strong interest. Launched in Dec. 2016, neo weathered the storm created by China's ICO ban in September last year to rebound with a strong start to 2018, possibly due to its innovative features. (Notably, it differs from ethereum in a sense that it can't fork .) The cryptocurrency is down 30 percent from the all-time high of $194.70. Populous January performance: +72 percent All-time high: $75.60 hit on Jan. 29 Price on Jan. 1: $40.35 Price on Jan. 31: $69.78 Rank as per market capitalization: 23 Populous, an invoice and trade financing platform built on ethereum, aims to establish itself as a top player in the $3 trillion alternative business lending market. Its token PPT surged in value last month reportedly due to increased interest among the investor community about its platform beta . Lottery balls image via Shutterstock Related Stories Crypto's Price Correction Isn't Killing the Industry High Floor Found? Strong Volumes Push Bitcoin Above $8K Bitcoin Up Over 20% as Crypto Markets Regain Poise $8K Again? Bitcoin Is Up Nearly $2K from Today's Low \|\| What to Watch When Kraft Heinz Reports Earnings: Kraft Heinz(NASDAQ: KHC)will report its fourth-quarter financial results before the market opens on Friday, Feb. 16. It's been a tough year for the food giant, with weak sales growth amid shifting consumer tastes and competition from private-label brands. The fourth-quarter earnings release will tell us more about whether management's strategy is improving top-line growth. Here's what investors need to watch. IMAGE SOURCE: GETTY IMAGES. As of the third quarter, Kraft's organic net sales year to date -- excluding currency changes and costs related to the2015 merger-- declined 1.1%, as the maker of Oscar Mayer hot dogs and many other popular brands continues to deal with consumer demand shifting away from heavily processed foods. Kraft started the year with a decline of 2.7% in organic sales during the first quarter. Management has spent the year focused on its strategic pillars of innovation, marketing, and cost savings; those helped Kraft improve to the point where it was able to report positive organic sales growth of 0.3% in the third quarter. Management hopes to build on recent momentum and deliver solid results for Q4, but there are still headwinds to fight through. Within the U.S. region -- which made up 70% of total organic net sales through the first three quarters of 2017 -- hurricane-related costs, production delays in its cold-cuts business, and a tough comparable with the year-ago quarter are expected to cut about 40 basis points off sales growth for the quarter. As for the bottom line, the company expects its cost-savings initiatives and focus on profitability to deliver "solid" growth in adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA). Management believes a more favorable balance between product pricing and costs will help improve earnings growth in Q4 for the U.S. region. Kraft Heinz expects to deliver adjustedearnings per sharegrowth for Q4, but doesn't provide specific earnings guidance. The consensus analyst estimate is that the food giant will report adjusted earnings per share of $0.96, representing year-over-year growth of 5.5% for the quarter. That should translate to $3.61 in adjusted earnings per share for the full year, according to analysts, or growth of 8.4% over 2016. There are a lot of moving variables quarter to quarter; pricing, volume and mix, and commodity cost all affect sales performance. With that in mind, investors should listen particularly to management's comments on the underlying trends shaping the company's performance, and about how innovation and marketing will help position the company for long-term growth. Lately, management has been reporting that the company is beginning to see benefits from shifting capital to its best growth opportunities, particularly in sauces and condiments. Total organic net sales growth improved to positive for the first time during 2017 in Q3. This is a result of investments in innovation, and of filling food categories where Kraft hasn't had a presence before, including frozen meals in the U.S. The company also introduced the Planters brand in China. More improvement on the top line is expected as the company invests in processes to launch new products faster, and in gathering better data about its customers so it can deliver the right brands at the right price. These initiatives are also management's answer to softening demand for processed foods. Demand has been particularly soft for Kraft's cold cuts, natural cheeses, and dressings. This has been offset by growth in sauces, condiments, and Lunchables. Management has reported that the problems in cold cuts and cheeses are "fixable," so investors will want to listen for updates on how those efforts are going. Kraft Heinz iscontrolled by 3G Capital, a Brazilian investment firm known for aggressive cost-cutting. Management is still finding areas to cut costs out of the supply chain, which helped EBITDA grow 6.7% year over year in Q3. Since the 2015 merger, the company has trimmed about 6% in costs as a percentage of annual sales, which has helped earnings grow faster than the top line. With a cost-cutter calling the shots, the bottom line should take care of itself over the long term. The key thing to watch is whether management's investments in innovation, marketing, e-commerce, and direct-to-market distribution will improve organic net sales growth. There's clearly been improvement recently, but more needs to be done to give investors confidence. The stock is down about 14% over the last year, so expectations are not that high. Investors will be looking to see if management can deliver better top-line growth than what we've seen lately, coupled with a positive outlook for 2018. More From The Motley Fool • 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices • 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 • 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing • 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today • The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss • Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This John Ballardhas no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy. \|\| The Craziest Bitcoin Investment Yet: Cryptocurrencies are taking the investing world by storm, and the dramatic gains for bitcoin (BTC-USD) in the past year have made many investors greedy for ways to make money from the craze. Major financial institutions have sought numerous ways to make bitcoin more readily available to investors, such as bitcoin futures , and some have looked at exchange-traded funds with bitcoin as a way of opening up the cryptocurrency to the masses. Yet Wall Street often goes too far with its ideas, and one proposed investment could make even bitcoin look tame by comparison. One financial company introduced the idea of leveraged bitcoin ETFs to the market earlier this month, adding the potential for even more violent price moves for its shareholders. Bitcoin symbol on a golden disc, standing on end in front of a price chart Image source: Getty Images. NYSE, Direxion look at leveraged bitcoin ETFs In a filing in early January, the New York Stock Exchange's NYSE Arca unit sought permission from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to list and trade shares of new exchange-traded funds from Direxion Investments. The new ETFs all had the words "Direxion Daily Bitcoin" in their names, but each of the five ETFs offered different levels of exposure to the cryptocurrency. For those who are bullish on bitcoin, the 1.25X Bull Shares, 1.5X Bull Shares, and 2X Bull Shares seek to offer daily returns equal to 1.25, 1.5, or 2 times the daily return of a target benchmark of bitcoin futures contracts. Those who want to bet against bitcoin will be able to choose 1X Bear or 2X Bear Shares, which would try to produce returns equal to the inverse return or twice the inverse return of the bitcoin benchmark respectively. The regulatory filing revealed many of the proposed characteristics of the Direxion ETFs. The funds would feature creation and redemption procedures just like any other exchange-traded fund, but they would seek to use bitcoin futures and options on those futures in order to track their daily performance goals. That's similar to the derivatives that most leveraged ETFs use to produce the intended level of leverage. Story continues The new danger from leveraged bitcoin ETFs The concept of leveraged bitcoin ETFs was likely inevitable, but there are many risks involved with the idea. First, even funds that don't use leverage in investing in bitcoin face risks, including the inherent challenges of handling cryptocurrency transactions, uncertainty about future legal and regulatory restrictions on bitcoin, the potential for further exchange-hacking events, and whether bitcoin will gain wider acceptance as a medium for everyday transactions. In addition, the SEC has been reluctant to give the go-ahead on unleveraged bitcoin ETFs, especially those relying on futures contracts that have traded for barely a month. Yet even if you set aside all of the concerns about bitcoin and its viability as an investment vehicle, introducing leverage to the mix brings a completely different set of dangers to the table. Leveraged ETFs are inherently short-term in nature -- the term itself shows their suitability for only daily use. When you hold leveraged funds for longer than their stated investment period, you'll often find that dramatic volatility in the underlying asset's price can erode their value in ways that you wouldn't expect. In some cases, leveraged bull funds and leveraged bear funds in the same asset can both lose money over longer periods of time, due to the way that daily returns are calculated and to how leveraged ETFs reposition themselves to fulfill their stated investment objectives. The fact that the ETFs will use futures introduces yet another element of uncertainty. If later-month futures have higher prices than current-month futures, then a bitcoin ETF will see slow but steady erosion in value from the pricing structure of that particular futures market. Steer clear of leveraged bitcoin ETFs At this point, it's unclear whether the SEC will allow any bitcoin ETFs to come to market, let alone leveraged ones. If they do become available, even ardent investors in bitcoin should think twice before buying shares of these funds. The huge levels of risk coming from multiple angles aren't worth taking on, simply for the ability to see even more dramatic rises and falls than what bitcoin will give you on its own. More From The Motley Fool 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy . \|\| J.P. Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon Now Says He Regrets Calling Bitcoin a 'Fraud': JPMorgan Chief Executive Jamie Dimon regrets calling bitcoin a ‘fraud’ but added that he still is not interested in the cryptocurrency at all, he said in an interview on Fox Business on Tuesday. Dimon had called bitcoin a fraud at a bank investor conference in New York in September. “The currency isn’t going to work. You can’t have a business where people can invent a currency out of thin air and think that people who are buying it are really smart,” he had said. Read: Jamie Dimon Should Do ‘Some Homework’ on Crypto, Says Blockchain Capital VC Several banks, exchange operators and companies have embraced bitcoins, fueled by increasing consumer and investor interest. Bitcoin was down nearly 2% at $14,786 in early trading on Tuesday . It traded at $909 a year ago and breached $19,000 in December. Dimon made the comments at the JPMorgan Health Care Conference in San Francisco . \|\| Putting the Plunge in Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, and Litecoin Into Perspective: The cryptocurrency market has truly been something for investors and bystanders to marvel. Whereas a great year in traditional equities might entail a gain in value of around 10% (stocks historically average 7% a year, inclusive of dividend reinvestment), the aggregate market cap of all cryptocurrencies increased by more than 3,300% last year. Sure, this included the introduction of new coins, but it also was a function of well over a dozen virtual coinssurging by more than 10,000%in 2017. During a roughly 53-week stretch between Dec. 31, 2016, and Jan. 7, 2018, cryptocurrency valuations catapulted from $17.7 billion to as high as $835 billion, representing an increase in value of more than 4,500%. By comparison, it's taken the broad-basedS&P 500multiple decades to deliver similar returns. Image source: Getty Images. However, big gains also tend to come with big corrections. Between the cryptocurrency markets' Jan. 7 peak, and its trough on Jan. 17 ($414.9 billion), approximately $420 billion in market cap was lost. In effect, half of the crypto market cap was wiped away over a span of 10 days. Let's put this into even more perspective. Here were the high- and low-water marks for four of the most popular virtual coins between Jan. 7 and Jan. 17, according to CoinMarketCap.com, along with the maximum percentage lost from peak in parenthesis: • Bitcoin:$17,579.60 / $9,402.29 (46.5%) • Ethereum:$1,432.88 / $780.92 (45.5%) • Ripple:$3.49 / $0.8978 (74.3%) • Litecoin:$305.53 / $141.01 (53.8%) On a percentage basis, these are huge moves. Bitcoin, the world's most popular cryptocurrency, came close to losing half of its value, as did the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap, Ethereum. Ripple, which has benefited from a two key blockchain partnerships with global banking institutions, practically lost three-quarters of its value from peak to trough. Litecoin followed suit with almost a 54% loss. But the magnitude of these drops are even more revealing when we consider what sort of market cap was lost: • Bitcoin:$137.5 billion • Ethereum:$63.3 billion • Ripple:$100.4 billion • Litecoin:$9 billion Image source: Getty Images. The market cap erased from bitcoin over a 10-day stretch is the same market cap for the entirety ofNVIDIA(NASDAQ: NVDA), the graphics card developer and manufacturer that's played a critical role in fueling the drive of individuals and businesses to mine cryptocurrencies. Meanwhile, Ripple's $100.4 billion tumble is higher than the market cap of financial investment firmMorgan Stanley. And Ethereum erasing $63.3 billion is akin toGeneral Motors' market cap completely disappearing in 10 days. The big questions, of course, are why the correction occurred in the first place and whether it was warranted. Though there are next to no certainties with virtual currencies, the move lower appears to be tied tofour catalysts. This includes South Korea flip-flopping on a potential domestic cryptocurrency exchange crackdown, China getting stricter with virtual-currency trading, stop-loss orders triggering and creating a cascade to the downside, and retail investors wearing their emotions on their sleeves. As for the second question, though I might be in the minority, my opinion is that this correction was most definitely warranted. If we look at the primary catalysts for bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, and Litecoin, it's been theevolution of blockchain technology. Blockchain is the digital and decentralized ledger tethered to virtual coins that logs all transactions. Image source: Getty Images. The possibilities with blockchain appear endless, at least for the time being. Its use is particularly attractive for financial service companies that currently deal with settlement times of up to three to five days on cross-border transactions. Blockchain resolves this by pushing settlement and validation times down to mere seconds in some cases, while also potentially lowering transaction fees by eliminating the middleman (banks usually act as a third-party in transactions). However, blockchain technology is no lock to be accepted with open arms by enterprises. This is a technology that bitcoin brought into the limelight almost a decade ago, and it's taken that long just for it to be tested in small-scale projects. Plus, there aren't any guarantees that blockchain technology will be remotely compatible with current payment networks, which could require an expensive and time-consuming infrastructure overhaul should financial service companies jump aboard. If history has proven anything, it's that investors arenotorious for overestimatingjust how quickly new technology will be adopted. This isn't to say that blockchain technology can't be the game changer that everyone expects so much as to suggest that it's probably going to take longer for it to become a mainstream solution for big businesses. If that is indeed the case, then this recent correction in cryptocurrencies could be well warranted. More From The Motley Fool • 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices • 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 • 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing • 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today • The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss • Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This Sean Williamshas no position in any of the stocks or cryptocurrencies mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Nvidia. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy. \|\| South Korea Mulls BitLicense-Style Rules for Crypto Exchanges: South Korea is reportedly considering a technology-specific licensing scheme as part of it proposed regulation of cryptocurrency exchanges. According toBusinessKorea, a government official involved with a virtual currency task force said Sunday that such rules, which bear a similarity to New York's controversial "BitLicense," introduced in 2015, could be enacted or at least debated. The source said: "We are positively considering the adoption of an exchange approval system as the additional regulation on cryptocurrencies. We are most likely benchmark the model of the State of New York that gives a selective permission." The news appears to mark a softening of the country's stance after some regulators hadproposedthat exchange-based crypto trading be shut down completely, as it is in China. South Korea has also recently moved toban the useof anonymous virtual accounts for trading in the country, with real-name accounts being compulsory from the end of January. BusinessKorea cited the government source as saying that another option on the table would be to impose taxes instead of creating additional regulations "We will hold a meeting to respond to national petition related to digital currencies this month but we are highly likely to make up for the defects of existing measures only at the meeting," the source said The news source added that government is likely to make a final decision on cryptocurrency exchanges after local elections due in June. Launchedafter some delayin June 2015, the New York State Department of Financial Services' (NYDFS)regulatory framework- dubbed the "BitLicense" - sets out that no company or individual can offer cryptocurrency services as a custodian or exchange without first receiving a license, and they must also operate in compliance with stringent money transmitter regulations. The high cost of attaining a license has meant that alimited numberof exchanges now operate in New York, while some have left the state completely. S. Korean National Assemblyimage via Shutterstock • No, Not All ICOs Are Securities • Swiss Finance Regulator to Treat Some ICO Tokens As Securities • Japan's Finance Watchdog to Inspect 15 Unlicensed Crypto Exchanges • As Bitcoin Soars, So Do Coinbase Customer Complaints \|\| Ripple’s XRP is up more than 50% from this week’s low: CoinMarketCap.com • XRP, the cryptocurrency made by Ripple for international money transfers, is trading around $0.90 a coin, up about 60% from its low of $0.56 hit less than a week ago. • The third-largest cryptocurrency has had an exhausting February, beginning the month with a dramatic plunge. XRP is currently trading at less than a third of its all-time high of $3.31, set just after the new year. • Ripple, which uses XRP to power its cross-border liquidity and settlement products, has tried to quell some of the intense volatilitythrough a three-part series about its vision and strategy. Still, speculative investment on cryptocurrency exchanges has continued to drive wild price swings for XRP. • Ripplenow boasts 100 customers, with 75 deploying Ripple products commercially, according to its website, including banks like Santander and Standard Chartered, as well as payments firms like MoneyGram. • You can track the price of XRP in real-time here>> NOW WATCH:Microsoft President Brad Smith says the US shouldn't get 'too isolationist' See Also: • US releases crazy video of an A-10 Warthog decimating a Taliban vehicle in Afghanistan • China is moving to eliminate all cryptocurrency trading with a ban on foreign exchanges • Bitcoin is down 45% this year — but that's not what's worrying cryptocurrency exchanges SEE ALSO:Sign up to get the most important updates on all things crypto delivered straight to your inbox. [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] 1 DOGE Price: Bter BTC #doge #dogecoin 2017-12-31 00:31 pic.twitter.com/Wmxxt1fraY \|\| colpa mia, dopo che gli amici mi accusavano di essere all'antica e non investire in #Bitcoin ho messo 100$ quando erano a 19000$ \|\| Its crazy how in the meeting they knew in speculation how BIG of a GIANT BITCOIN is to the world they were talking of it as if bitcoin wouldn’t die years to come. Which is very well true. #HODL #xrp #ripple #xrpthestandard \|\| How Budbo is Using Blockchain Technology to Legitimize the Cannabis Industry http://www.xbt.money/how-budbo-is-using-blockchain-technology-to-legitimize-the-cannabis-industry/ … #XBT #BTC #Bitcoin \|\| 2018/01/01 12:00 #BTC 1637997円 #ETH 88768.7円 #ETC 3227.6円 #BCH 282672.2円 #XRP 239.7円 #XEM 127.7円 #LSK 2379円 #MONA 1137円 #仮想通貨 #ビットコイン #Bitcoin #イーサリアム #Ethereum #ビットコインキャッシュ #リップル #Ripple #Coincheck \|\| Ecubitcoin, el portal especializado en noticias sobre bitcóin https://goo.gl/fJBhL7?btz7=1540023706 … \|\| A Crypto Rewards Ecosystem for Gamers & Developers!! This will be your best ICO investment of 2018! --> http://bit.ly/AbyssICO $FCT 20.8605$ $MUSIC $STEEM $MSP $LA $TCC $PDC $MANA $POSW $CTR $QSP $ARK $XBY $BTDX $ENG $BTC $ARDR $UNIT $MLN $OCL $ARTpic.twitter.com/LyzSskBxCe \|\| In order to test their security infrastructure, companies are incr http://bit.ly/2iBwvoX #Cybersecurity #Bitcoin pic.twitter.com/e8mKYPQoh8 \|\| Mining Rig Open Air Gehäuse bis zu 7 GPUs Bitcoin Ethereum ZCASH - 99,00 EUR Fecha de finalización: viernes mar-23-2018 20:24:54 CET Cómpralo ya por sólo: 99,00 EUR ¡Cómpralo ya! \| Añadir a lista de seguimiento http://ow.ly/fKq350gAiYI \|\| Time to sell BCN for : 0.0000005050 BTC Date: 2018-02-06 06:07:00	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 9664.73, 10366.70, 10725.60, 10397.90, 10951.00, 11086.40, 11489.70, 11512.60, 11573.30, 10779.90
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2017-08-08] BTC Price: 3419.94, BTC RSI: 70.37 Gold Price: 1256.40, Gold RSI: 53.45 Oil Price: 49.17, Oil RSI: 59.02 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Bitcoin technology faces split, may create clone virtual currency: By Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss and Anna Irrera NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bitcoin's underlying software code could be split on Tuesday to create a clone called "Bitcoin Cash," potentially providing a windfall for holders of the digital currency. The initiative is being led by a small group of mostly China-based bitcoin miners - who get paid in the currency for contributing computing power to the bitcoin network - who are not happy with proposed improvements to the currency's technology. They have initiated what is known as a "fork" - where blockchain, a public ledger of all bitcoin transactions, splits into two potential paths - that is set to be activated on Aug. 1. A fork, if it goes ahead, would be significant as it could create a new competitor for bitcoin, which remains the oldest and most valuable digital currency. It is not clear if the fork will happen and how much the new coin would be worth. If the fork goes ahead on Tuesday, anyone owning bitcoins before the split will have access to an equal amount of Bitcoin Cash for free, which they will then be able to trade for fiat currencies - legal tender backed by an issuing government - or other digital currencies. "This is somewhat like a stock split," said Jeff Garzik, chief executive and co-founder of Bloq, a blockchain company. "You go to sleep with 100 bitcoins and wake up in the morning with 100 bitcoins plus 100 'Bitcoin Cash', a new token." Bitcoin averted a split two weeks ago, when its software developers and miners agreed to implement a software upgrade called the Bitcoin Improvement Proposal (BIP) 91. BIP 91 was the first step toward a larger effort to upgrade bitcoin through software called SegWit2x, which would make the network faster at processing transactions, such as payments using the virtual currency. The miners, a powerful segment of the bitcoin community, represent a network of computer operators who validate information on the blockchain. Since bitcoin is powered by open-source code, any group of coders can use it to create clone coins. Futures of Bitcoin Cash are already trading on certain exchanges at around $282.40. Bitcoin traded at $2,806.27, according to coinmarketcap.com. If the fork goes ahead, users will only be able to receive and sell the new token on certain digital currency exchanges and digital wallet providers, as several have decided not to support it, including Coinbase, BitMEX, and Bitstamp. "We do not want to support any behavior whereby anyone can potentially split the bitcoin blockchain and effectively create free money out of nothing," said Greg Dwyer, head of business development at BitMEX. Story continues Two other large exchanges, Kraken and Bitfinex, said they will allow users to trade Bitcoin Cash and will credit them with the same amount of the new token after the fork, if it goes ahead. (Reporting by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss and Anna Irrera; Editing by Bill Rigby) View comments \|\| Tons of Coinbase users fled the platform after it rejected bitcoin cash — now the $1 billion startup is in the center of a raging storm: Brian Armstrong Coinbase (Coinbase cofounder Brian Armstrong.Anthony Harvey/Getty Images for TechCrunch) The digital currency startup Coinbase saw an exodus of users this week after announcing that it wouldn't support bitcoin cash, the new digital currency established Tuesday. Bitcoin cash is a bitcoin offshoot created as a means of dealing with disagreements in the community over how the technology behind the currency should run. But investors don't seem worried about this exodus harming Coinbase's potential unicorn status. The world of cryptocurrency is not exactly a calm place. And for Coinbase, one of the hottest and most valuable startups in the sector, this week's remarkable news around bitcoin put the company in the center of a raging storm. The big offense for Coinbase, which operates a platform for buying and selling cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, was its decision not to support bitcoin cash — the new cryptocurrency that was spun out of bitcoin this week. Many Coinbase users unleashed their wrath, accusing the company of being everything from a scam to a tool for the National Security Agency. Some threatened to sue. The $1 billion startup also lost users in droves, with 12-hour wait times over the weekend as users scrambled to transfer their bitcoins to competitors that would support bitcoin cash. The angry reaction, and the risk of a big loss of customers, raised questions about the future of what has been one of the crypto world's biggest success stories. For now, though, Coinbase's backers aren't sweating it. And they say they don't anticipate the drama having much of an effect on the startup, which has been raising money on terms that would value it at roughly $1 billion . Barry Schuler (Coinbase investor Barry Schuler.Manny Ceneta/Getty Images) "There's no one on the board or any investor who doesn't completely back the point of view that we should err on the side of safety and trust," said Barry Schuler, a partner with DFJ, an investor in Coinbase. "From an investor's point of view, we invested in Coinbase because they have made a voluntary commitment to be regulated," Schuler said, "and to focus on being trusted and safe — as safe as you can be in an experimental environment like this." Story continues Though Coinbase didn't participate in Tuesday's currency launch, Schuler said Coinbase could change its policy as early as next week, depending on how bitcoin cash matures. Another Coinbase investor, Fueled founder Rameet Chawla, even suggested that Coinbase may increase the strength of the original bitcoin down the line by establishing faith in the legacy currency. That's because Coinbase's conservative approach may make cryptocurrency more accessible to potential users who are afraid to dabble in technologically complex digital currencies. "They're a huge net positive on bitcoin, making it really easy on people who are not early adopters," Chawla said. Mass exodus of coinbase users With 9 million users and $20 billion exchanged, Coinbase has its hands on a lot of the digital currency floating around. And while investors support Coinbase's decision to sit out the initial bitcoin split, many customers felt betrayed by the company. A scan of the Coinbase community forums shows a host of angry topics such as "What if Coinbase is NSA tool to destroy BTC (bitcoin cash)?" and "Dear Coinbase, if you not release my funds in 1h I am going to sue you." Coinbase wouldn't disclose how many users withdrew bitcoins in anticipation of bitcoin cash's arrival. But things looked rough. Coinbase users experienced delays of about 12 hours on withdrawals over the weekend because of the number of people moving bitcoins. Rameet Chawla Fueled (Fueled founder Rameet Chawla doesn't seem worried about long-term harm to Coinbase.Rameet Chawla) Despite this, sources close to the situation said the company expected to see many people return to Coinbase while simultaneously storing newly acquired bitcoin cash in a different digital wallet. "Ultimately, Coinbase is an exchange for buying bitcoin, but people are free to use their own wallets and take control of their wallets anyway they want," Chawla said. The 'hard fork' The introduction Tuesday of bitcoin cash was known as the "hard fork." It resulted in a cloned currency with different technological protocols from those of the original bitcoin. The fork was a means of dealing with disagreements in the bitcoin community over how to evolve the technology to handle increased demand. The hard fork followed a process similar to cell division in biology, in that the two currencies were the same at the point of division but will pursue different paths moving forward. Users storing their bitcoin in a digital wallet that accepts bitcoin cash on Tuesday found themselves with a bitcoin cash coin for every bitcoin they had at the time of duplication. Bitcoin and bitcoin cash do not have the same value, however, so duplication is not the same as a doubling in worth. Why Coinbase sat out on bitcoin cash In a statement on Twitter on Tuesday, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong wrote that the company was agnostic to which currencies its users trade and that it was not opposed to adding new assets in the future. "Our goal is to be the safest, most trusted and compliant, and easiest to use," Armstrong wrote. "Not the first to market with new assets. Especially at scale, it takes time to ensure any new asset we add is well tested and secure." Generally speaking, Coinbase isn't quick to take on new currencies. Founded in 2012, the exchange still trades only bitcoin, ether , and litcoin — all digital currencies the team has deemed stable and technically secure enough for an amateur investor to put money into. We have made this decision because it is hard to predict how long the alternative version of bitcoin will survive and if Bitcoin Cash will have future market value. So it was of little surprise to those close to the company when it issued a statement last week advising that customers who want to access both bitcoin and bitcoin cash would need to withdrawal from Coinbase by this past Monday. "We have no plans to support the Bitcoin Cash fork." David Farmer, the director of business development at Coinbase, wrote. "We have made this decision because it is hard to predict how long the alternative version of bitcoin will survive and if Bitcoin Cash will have future market value." Users were irked because Coinbase's decision not to accept bitcoin cash meant that anyone with bitcoin stored in Coinbase's digital wallet would not receive what many saw as free bitcoin cash. Others were concerned that Coinbase would secretly keep the bitcoin cash that was generated Tuesday. In a statement last Friday, however, the company denied that this would happen. "Coinbase would not keep the bitcoin cash associated with customer bitcoin balances for ourselves," the company posted on Twitter. Investors like Schuler, however, saw the Coinbase's trepidation as part of its core business strategy. "The whole cryptocurrency-blockchain space is a bit like the Wild West right now — just like the beginning of the internet," Schuler said. "But slowly and surely, it's becoming institutionalized. Coinbase represents that — being legitimate and offering as much trust and safety as possible." NOW WATCH: This cell phone doesn't have a battery and never needs to be charged More From Business Insider Voice activated speakers, like Amazon Echo and Google Home, are pumping new life into Pandora's business Pandora topped Q2 revenue targets and its stock just had a wild rebound Amazon wants to continue testing grocery stores without human cashiers when it owns Whole Foods \|\| Elon Musk: Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg's knowledge of A.I.'s future is 'limited': Billionaire Elon Musk said Facebook (NASDAQ: FB) Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg's understanding of the future of artificial intelligence (AI) is "limited", as the spat between the two tech bosses continues. On Sunday, Zuckerberg took to Facebook Live talking informally to viewers while at a barbecue. A user submitted a question saying how they had seen a recent interview with Musk in which he said his largest fear for the future was AI. Musk has been vocal about his fear of AI in the future. Earlier this month for example, he said that AI will cause massive job disruption and that robots "will be able to do everything better than us." The Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) CEO has also advocated a policy of universal basic income to protect people from the fallout of AI disruption. Zuckerberg however, doesn't agree with Musk's view. During the Facebook Live, Zuckerberg called doomsday scenarios about AI "pretty irresponsible" . "I think people who are naysayers and try to drum up these doomsday scenarios — I just, I don't understand it. It's really negative and in some ways I actually think it is pretty irresponsible," Zuckerberg said." In the next five to 10 years, AI is going to deliver so many improvements in the quality of our lives," added Zuckerberg. A Twitter user posted an article about Zuckerberg's comments. Musk, responding to the tweet, said that he has already spoken to Zuckerberg about this and that the Facebook CEO's "understanding of the subject is limited."TWEETAnother twitter user replied that he should write a blog post, to which Musk responded jokingly that a movie on the subject is "coming soon".It is an unusually public spat for the two technology CEOs, neither of which have competing businesses. But it highlights the level of debate happening in the technology community over the future of AI. Musk has previously warned that humans will need to merge with machines or risk becoming irrelevant. And while the two might disagree on the impact AI has, Zuckerberg, like Musk, agrees with the idea of a universal basic income to help cushion any fallout from new technology. WATCH: Elon Musk issues yet another warning against runaway artificial intelligence Billionaire Elon Musk said Facebook (NASDAQ: FB) Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg's understanding of the future of artificial intelligence (AI) is "limited", as the spat between the two tech bosses continues. On Sunday, Zuckerberg took to Facebook Live talking informally to viewers while at a barbecue. A user submitted a question saying how they had seen a recent interview with Musk in which he said his largest fear for the future was AI. Musk has been vocal about his fear of AI in the future. Earlier this month for example, he said that AI will cause massive job disruption and that robots "will be able to do everything better than us." The Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) CEO has also advocated a policy of universal basic income to protect people from the fallout of AI disruption. Zuckerberg however, doesn't agree with Musk's view. During the Facebook Live, Zuckerberg called doomsday scenarios about AI "pretty irresponsible" . "I think people who are naysayers and try to drum up these doomsday scenarios — I just, I don't understand it. It's really negative and in some ways I actually think it is pretty irresponsible," Zuckerberg said. " In the next five to 10 years, AI is going to deliver so many improvements in the quality of our lives," added Zuckerberg. A Twitter user posted an article about Zuckerberg's comments. Musk, responding to the tweet, said that he has already spoken to Zuckerberg about this and that the Facebook CEO's "understanding of the subject is limited." TWEET Another twitter user replied that he should write a blog post, to which Musk responded jokingly that a movie on the subject is "coming soon". It is an unusually public spat for the two technology CEOs, neither of which have competing businesses. But it highlights the level of debate happening in the technology community over the future of AI. Musk has previously warned that humans will need to merge with machines or risk becoming irrelevant. And while the two might disagree on the impact AI has, Zuckerberg, like Musk, agrees with the idea of a universal basic income to help cushion any fallout from new technology. WATCH: Elon Musk issues yet another warning against runaway artificial intelligenceMore From CNBC • Here's how much the iPhone 8 costs to make compared to what Apple sells it for • Atari’s new console to cost less than $300 and ship next spring • Bitcoin drops 8% after JPMorgan's Jamie Dimon calls it a fraud \|\| Coinbase will support newly-minted Bitcoin Cash after all: Earlier this week, disgruntled members of the bitcoin community successfullysplita new cryptocurrency off from the main branch. Bitcoin Cash, as it's called, attempts to speed up transactions, a key problem with bitcoin's aging structure. But the new alternative currency will only survive if users invest in it. Some cryptocurrency exchanges said they wouldn't back it due to its instability, but one of those holdouts, Coinbase, justannouncedthat it's come around and will support Bitcoin Cash. In a blog post, Coinbase stated their decision came after careful review. Ensuring the security of Bitcoin Cash's network was a priority, as was evaluating customer demand, trading volumes, and regulatory considerations. But the exchange wanted to be clear that "both bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash remain safely stored on Coinbase," and "that customers with balances of bitcoin at the time of the fork now have an equal quantity of bitcoin cash stored by Coinbase." Assuming no great risks emerge, Coinbase says it will start supporting Bitcoin Cash on January 1st, 2018. Once that happens, customers will be able to withdraw their new cryptocoins -- but until then, they'll stay safely locked away. \|\| Bitcoin Cash Launches, Bitcoin's Future Unclear: Bitcoin Cash officially launched tonight, a controversial fork inspiring hordes of bitcoin users to swap traditional bitcoins for this new cryptocurrency. Some reddit users even deemed Tuesday Bitcoin Independence Day . The build up has been dizzying. One of the worlds leading bitcoin exchange markets, Coinbase , had outages throughout the weekend due to a large number of bitcoin withdrawals. Some of these people were probably just securing their stash on hardware wallets, while others became early BCH users. Read : Why The Bitcoin Fork Debate On August 1st Isn't 'Civil War' A BCH airdrop is already underway, giving away BCH for free to core Bitcoin holders. Stellar previously made the same move with its cryptocurrency, Lumens, so this type of giveaway isnt surprising. Blockchain startups were hard at work Monday, gearing up for the network shift. Many cryptocurrency experts wished BCH separatists well on social media, despite a lack of confidence in BCHs prospects. It seems like a pointless, political gesture, Monero co-founder Riccardo Spagni told International Business Times. I dont think it will serve its intended purpose. Although he respects many of the people involved with Bitcoin Cash, he considers the project unwise. Spagnis advice for bitcoin newbies is to calm down and wait it out. Bitcoin and BHC prices are both expected to oscillate for a while after the fork. It could be months before the dust settles, Spagni said. As for the political debate underlying BCH, wanting bitcoin to be used by as many people doing as many transactions as possible, bitcoin veterans have diverse perspectives on what the real future holds. Many of bitcoins most passionate advocates believe cryptocurrency markets arent just about getting rich: Its about allowing people to be free . Blockchain tokens let people to transact without banks or governments verifying their identities and holdings. This gives users more financial autonomy than ever before. However, as the business-centric BCH split underlines, cryptocurrency enthusiasts adhere to a wide range of philosophies. Is the future of bitcoin really universal adoption? It depends on who you ask. Story continues Read : Why You Should Care That Hedge Funds Are Joining The Crypto Boom Many innovators want cryptocurrency to someday become a widespread conduit for daily transactions, such as buying coffee. People like Ethereum co-founder Joe Lubin even believe blockchain technology could reshape the global economy by giving people power over their own digital sovereignty in all kinds of online platforms. The blockchain industry is full of cypherpunks and libertarians, white hat hackers and humanitarian activists. Regardless, many bitcoin veterans still think its naive to suggest cryptocurrency will fundamentally transform the concept of money. "The technology doesn't seem to support that vision," Patrick Murck, co-founder of the Bitcoin Foundation and a renowned cryptocurrency legal expert , told IBT. Blockchains dont scale well. At least for the near future, Murck said decentralized networks wont be able to handle all the transactions that Visa and Mastercard can. Business-oriented networks like Ripple have a much higher capacity, but XRP is not as decentralized as bitcoin or the democratically run Tezos. Even if a decentralized network does eventually scale for the kind of capacity a commonplace, international currency would need, local governments still define monetary policy. Politics will define the future of bitcoin, regardless of scalability. Bitcoin Cryptocurrency fundraising is changing the world with initial coin offerings. Bitcoin is just the beginning. Photo: Sean Gallup/Getty Lawmakers can make it easier, or much harder, for citizens to use decentralized networks. Crypto Lotus hedge fund co-founder Joshua Goldbard told IBT the value of currency is still largely tied to a nation-states monopoly on violence. Russia and China are already developing their own national cryptocurrencies. Goldbard said the United States could follow suit and gain more value than decentralized tokens. That will obviously become a dominate cryptocurrency because the US has all the guns, he said. I dont necessarily see cryptocurrency over the long term as democratizing the world...there will be different concentrations of wealth and different governance. Spagni agreed with this assessment. Just because a technology could make money free from politics, doesnt mean it will happen. Governments are tenacious and theyre not going to just give up because theres something else people want to use, he said. Spagni would like to see larger adoption, yet believes cryptocurrency will likely remain niche even as it spreads and matures. Along those lines, Murck sees the future of cryptocurrency as a property revolution, not a new type of money. "Bitcoin and blockchain tokens are unique because they create unique forms property, that have never existed before," Murck said. "It's a little piece of data that is scarce and unique. Usually, data in digital systems is not scarce because you can just copy it infinitely. For example, once a band digitizes a song, people can make endless copies for almost no cost. Now blockchain allows property owners, including artists who own their work , to keep control of those digital assets. The future of cryptocurrency could be less about mobile shopping and more about business standards. "If you rebuilt the New York Stock Exchange today, you could build it at a fraction of the cost, compared to the way it runs right now," Murck said. Meanwhile, projects like Filecoin are working to bridge the gap between traditional categories, like securities regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Wild West of initial coin offerings. "I think the SEC ruling is a part of it and I think there are some projects that are really embracing that. They want to professionalize the space," Murck said. Bitcoin Cash was born out of a debate about how to scale bitcoin so more people can use it for more things. While cryptocurrency seems like it will become more popular, decentralized networks may never be able to replace national currencies altogether because people are harder to work with than algorithms. The [blockchain] network could break if you try to scale it prematurely," Murck said. "Money is just a creature of the state, a social phenomena. You can't really divorce the two." Related Articles Countdown To Bitcoin Cash IRS Might Limit 'Highly Intrusive' Bitcoin Audit \|\| This hot digital currency trend is minting millions, but US investors aren't allowed to play: For all the hype in the digital currency world about so-called initial coin offerings, U.S. investors often can't officially participate. The reason, several analysts told CNBC, is companies' fear of being held accountable by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in case buyers lose money in what can be a frenetic rush for something with unproven dollar value and sometimes prone to fraud. "Everyone's afraid of the SEC. They can reach anyone in the world," said William Mougayar, author of "The Business Blockchain" and organizer of the Token Summit, a conference in New York this May about the digital coin business. Not letting U.S. residents participate is a way for firms "to protect themselves because the SEC won't go after the customers, they'll go after the companies," Mougayar said. The SEC declined to comment. Before buying one of these new digital coins based on the same blockchain technology as bitcoin (Exchange: BTC=-USS) an investor typically must check a box that says he or she is not a U.S. citizen or green card holder. The coin sale websites also usually block U.S.-based computers based on their IP address. Bitcoin has more than doubled in value this year, while the market value of all digital currencies has more than quadrupled this year, hovering around $80 billion, according to CoinMarketCap. Screenshots of webpages for DAO.Casino (left) and EOS token sales Source: DAO.Casino, EOS An initial coin offering is a way for blockchain-based projects to raise funds, while allowing investors to own part of it through a digital network token. However, since most of the projects are still in very early stages, some worry about the rapid speed at which some projects are raising large amounts of money. About half of this year's roughly $1.2 billion in initial coin offerings was raised in the last month alone , according to a July report from financial research firm Autonomous NEXT. Last Thursday, the Tezos blockchain project set a record for the coin sales by raising the equivalent of more than $200 million over the 13 days of its fundraiser. Switzerland-based Tezos said it did not specifically exclude investors from any country from participating. Story continues U.S. residents holding bitcoin or ethereum could buy the Tezos tokens. But they couldn't participate in the fundraiser through its broker, Bitcoin Suisse. "Due to the uncertainty with regard to crypto-assets and crypto-financial services from U.S. authorities, the IRS, and the FATCA [Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act] treaty, we are at this time unable to offer our services to U.S. clients," Bitcoin Suisse CEO Niklas Nikolajsen told CNBC in an emailed statement. The challenge for token sale regulation comes down to uncertainty over how the definition of a security applies to the digital coins. Right now, the SEC's definition relies on the "Howey test," which came out of a 1946 U.S. Supreme Court case. The ruling says a security involves the investment of money in a common enterprise, in which the investor expects profits primarily from others' efforts. Part of the debate is whether coin buyers are merely buying the tokens like a stock, in expectation they will rise in value, or are actually holding the tokens as a way to participate in a blockchain project. If the token is considered to be more like a stock, then the sellers need to be registered with the SEC. Otherwise the sale may be illegal. "The lack of clarity is certainly a problem, certainly for any institutional investors to get used to this space," said Ryan Schoen, senior financial services policy analyst at research firm Washington Analysis. "This is similar to the '90s when the internet came into existence." The SEC has not been completely silent on cryptocurrencies. The regulator issued in 2014 an "investor alert" about bitcoin that said "using Bitcoin may limit your recovery in the event of fraud or theft." The SEC is also clearly watching the token sales. Although not an official view, Valerie Szczepanik, head of the SEC's distributed ledger group, said at a bitcoin conference in May that companies creating and issuing tokens to raise funds are responsible for protecting their investors, according to a Reuters report. "It is harder if you are a U.S. entity to do an ICO, but it's not impossible," said Jim Yang, chief strategy officer at Tendermint, which is developing some major components behind a blockchain project called Cosmos to address problems in bitcoin and ethereum. "The U.S. is very highly regulated," Yang said, noting some of the issues can be mitigated by not naming a fundraiser an ICO. He said his firm worked closely with a lawyer in Cosmos' own fundraiser of $17 million in early April so that all U.S. residents, except those from two states, could participate. "We just want to be on the super safe side, that we follow all the possible ways a law can twist," Yang said. Not all initial coin offerings have gone smoothly, and digital currency enthusiasts are also interested to see how well the blockchain projects are able to execute on their business proposals. On Monday, the CoinDash initial coin offering lost $7 million to hackers . The digital currency trading platform said it will still give coins to investors who sent funds to the fraudulent account before the website was shut down. A rush of buyers for other coin offerings this year also clogged the network of digital currency ethereum, causing volatility for the currency, which itself has run up exponentially this year. "It's the responsibility of the participants to check if it's legal" to invest in the token sale, Johann Gevers, founder and president of the Tezos Foundation, said. He noted that young blockchain projects like Tezos typically can't afford to spend "millions and millions" for legal research into every country and, in the case of the U.S., every state. To be sure, keeping U.S. investors out of token sales doesn't guarantee safety for a company, said Marco Santori, who leads the fintech practice at law firm Cooley. He's advised many initial coin offerings, although he said he can't speak to specific ones. "Every other country in the world has some kind of securities law," Santori said, "so just because you're trying to avoid the U.S. securities law it doesn't mean you [avoid] the rest of the world's securities law." Some developers are also tapping alternative fundraising methods. "We think ICOs will go away. We think the SEC will come down on this," said Marshall Hayner, co-founder of Metal Pay, a blockchain-based app similar to Venmo. Rather than opening the initial coin offering to the public, Hayner said his firm did a $3 million round of token sales that was limited to "accredited" investors, or those with a personal relationship with the firm. "There will be more tokens that are certainly trying to go accredited only," he said. More From CNBC US dollar drops to near 2-year low vs the euro, 2017 loss now 10% Bitcoin bubble dwarfing tulip mania, Elliott Wave analyst says Don't buy the Twitter comeback, stock to drop 50%, Morgan Stanley says \|\| What Like Ahead for Telecom ETFs?: The U.S. telecommunications industry is currently balanced with almost equal proportions of positive and negative influences. This year, we expect this industry to witness growth more or less in line with the broader market. Positive Factors At present, the U.S. telecom industry enjoys several positive attributes. First, the new telecom regulatory body – Federal Communications Commission (FCC) – has given enough indications that it will be less stringent compared with the Obama administration and is likely to roll back several regulations of the previous regime. Second, the less restrictive nature of the FCC will aid mergers and acquisitions which are likely to spur growth in 2017. Third, President Trump has decided to improve broadband availability in rural areas. Rural broadband development will be an element of his ambitious $1 trillion infrastructure plan he will submit to the Congress soon. (Read: Bitcoin Soars to Record High—Fork, Futures and ETFs Explained) Negative Factors However, several near-term headwinds prevail in the telecom industry. The chief ones include growing price competition for wireless services that are likely to reduce carriers' revenue growth in 2017. Leading cable MSOs (multi service operators) have decided to enter the wireless field this year, which is likely to intensify competition in an already saturated market. Further, capital spending by U.S. telecom carriers may be muted in 2017. 4G LTE wireless penetration is currently 83% in North America. This can primarily be attributed to most carriers’ intention to upgrade to the 5G wireless network standard which requires massive investment. However, a full phased 5G network deployment is unlikely before 2020. Internet of Things (IoT): The Next Growth Driver IoT, which enables any physical electronic device with a valid IP-address to transfer data seamlessly over a wireless network, is fast gaining market traction and bringing about fundamental changes in business models. Next-generation superfast wireless networks (4G LTE, LTE-A, upcoming 5G) will provide the primary impetus to the telecom industry. In this context, IoT holds the potential to be the numero uno factor in driving growth in the space. Superfast 5G mobile networks will be of utmost importance in the management of exponential growth in IoT. (Read: 5 Smart Beta ETFs with Brilliant Returns) Unlimited Data Plan War Wireless consumers pay millions extra in the form of added surcharges, taxes, monthly fees and carrier price hikes every year. The practice seems to have peaked and carriers are still looking for ways to fetch more from their customers. Several consumer groups have criticized extra fees because these are easily overlooked and lead to higher-than-advertised price payments. The U.S. telecom market continues to witness intense pricing competition as success depends largely on technical superiority, quality of services and scalability. (Read: Q2 Earnings Effect--4 Must-See ETF Charts) ETFs to Tap the Sector Against this backdrop, investors seeking to tap the growth potential of the highly competitive telecom sector may take a closer look at the ETF approach to reap maximum benefit from investing in this sector. This technique can help to spread out assets among a wide variety of companies and reduce company specific risks for a very low cost. Below, we highlight the ETFs in this sector in greater detail for Telecom ETF investors: iShares Global Telecommunications ETF (IXP) IXP is one of the most popular Telecom ETF available in the market. Launched in Nov 2001, this ETF tracks investment results before fees and expenses corresponds to the price and yield performance of the S&P Global 1200 Telecommunications Sector Index. The fund has nearly $331.72 million of assets under management and an average trading volume of roughly 26,660 shares a day in the last 3 months. The fund charges an expense ratio of 47 basis points a year. The fund holds 31 stocks in its portfolio and has a concentrated approach in the top ten holdings with 71.16% of the asset base invested in them. Among individual holdings, top stocks in the ETF include AT&T Inc., Verizon Communications Inc., and Vodafone Group Plc. with asset allocation of 18.72%, 15.40% and 6.03%, respectively. Integrated Telecommunication Services, Wireless Telecommunication Services and Alternative Carriers are the three major sectors with asset holdings of 71.78%, 26.45% and 1.36% respectively. This ETF offers a dividend yield of 3.76%. Vanguard Telecommunication Services ETF (VOX) Another popular fund in the Telecom ETF space is VOX. Launched in Sep 2004, this ETF seeks to track the performance corresponding to the benchmark MSCI US Investable Market Telecommunication Services 25/50 Index. It has assets under management of nearly $1,346.40 million and an average trading volume of roughly 105,491 shares a day in the last 3 months. The fund charges an expense ratio of 10 basis points a year. The fund holds 28 stocks in its portfolio and has a concentrated approach in the top ten holdings with 69.70% of the asset base invested in them. Among individual holdings, top three stocks in the ETF are AT&T, Verizon and Level 3 Communications Inc. Integrated Telecommunication Services, Alternative Carriers and Wireless Telecommunication Services are the three major sectors with asset holdings of 61.80%, 23.20% and 15.00%, respectively. This ETF offers a dividend yield of 3.33%. SPDR S&P Telecom ETF (XTL) Incepted in Jan 2011, XTL ETF tries to match the returns of the S&P Telecom Select Industry Index, before expenses. The fund manages an asset size of nearly $72.20 million and an average trading volume of roughly 12,222 shares a day in the last 3 months. The fund charges an expense ratio of 35 basis points a year. The fund holds 52 stocks in total in its basket. However, this ETF is not following any concentrated approach as the top ten stocks hold only 25.33% of the asset base invested in them. Among individual holdings, top stocks in the ETF include Applied Optoelectronics Inc., Infinera Corp. and Ubiquiti Networks Inc., with asset allocation of 3.45%, 2.55% and 2.52%, respectively. Communications Equipment, Integrated Telecommunications Services, Alternative Carriers and Wireless telecommunication Services are the four sectors with asset holdings of 62.21%, 15.26%, 12.92% and 9.39% respectively. This ETF offers a dividend yield of 1.23%. iShares US Telecommunications ETF (IYZ) Incepted in May 2000, IYZ ETF tracks investment results before fees and expenses corresponds to the price and yield performance of the Dow Jones US Select Telecommunications Index. The fund manages assets worth of more than $474.49 million and an average trading volume of roughly 479,580 shares a day in the last 3 months. The fund charges an expense ratio of 44 basis points a year. The fund holds 20 stocks and has a concentrated approach in the top ten holdings with 63.09% of the asset base invested in them. Among individual holdings, top stocks in the ETF include AT&T, Verizon, and Level 3 Communications with asset allocation of 10.50%, 10.45% and 6.37%, respectively. The three major sectors of this ETF include Integrated Telecommunication Services, Wireless Telecommunication Services and Alternative Carriers with asset holdings of 50.77%, 27.30%, and 21.86% respectively. This ETF offers a dividend yield of 2.85%. Fidelity MSCI Telecom Services Index ETF (FCOM) Incepted in Oct 2013, FCOM ETF tracks investment results before fees and expenses corresponds to the performance of the MSCI USA IMI Telecommunication Services 25/50 Index. The fund manages assets worth of nearly $115.80 million and an average trading volume of roughly 40,778 shares a day in the last 3 months. The fund charges an expense ratio of 8 basis points a year. The fund holds 27 stocks and has a concentrated approach in the top ten holdings with 72.08% of the asset base invested in them. Among individual holdings, top stocks in the ETF include Verizon, AT&T and Level 3 Communications, with asset allocation of 23.96%, 22.88% and 4.41%, respectively. Diversified Telecommunication Services and Wireless Telecommunication Services are the two major sectors of this ETF with asset holdings of 84.91% and 13.67%, respectively. This ETF offers a dividend yield of 2.75%. More Stock News: Tech Opportunity Worth $386 Billion in 2017 From driverless cars to artificial intelligence, we've seen an unsurpassed growth of high-tech products in recent months. Yesterday's science-fiction is becoming today's reality. Despite all the innovation, there is a single component no tech company can survive without. Demand for this critical device will reach $387 billion this year alone, and it's likely to grow even faster in the future. Zacks has released a brand-new Special Report to help you take advantage of this exciting investment opportunity. Most importantly, it reveals 4 stocks with massive profit potential.See these stocks now>> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days.Click to get this free reportFID-TELECOM (FCOM): ETF Research ReportsVIPERS-TELE SVC (VOX): ETF Research ReportsISHARS-US TELE (IYZ): ETF Research ReportsSPDR-SP TELCM (XTL): ETF Research ReportsISHARS-GLB TELE (IXP): ETF Research ReportsTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment ResearchWant the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report \|\| Experts say Petya ransomware is just a ‘test’ for something much worse: A new ransomware attack , modeled after the recent WannaCry exploit, has hit thousands of organizations and users worldwide. But according to a handful of security experts, it’s only the tip of the iceberg. The ransomware attack, which encrypts users’ files and demands a ransom to unlock them, could just be a test attack, or cover for more malicious damage being done by the virus. Don't Miss : The most important accessory any AirPods user can buy ““I’m willing to say with at least moderate confidence that this was a deliberate, malicious, destructive attack or perhaps a test disguised as ransomware. The best way to put it is that Petya’s payment infrastructure is a fecal theater,” security researcher Nicholas Weaver told KrebsOnSecurity . His sentiments were echoed by “the grugq,” an anonymous security researcher who blogs about security issues. He highlights the same thing as Weaver, namely that the payment infrastructure for the virus is poorly designed. Normally, ransomware viruses demand payment in Bitcoin to a Bitcoin account that is unique to every victim. That makes it harder to track the Bitcoin, or for researchers to work out the identity of the attackers. Communication is normally done through the obfuscated Tor protocol, which relies on a distributed web of servers and is impossible for one organization to shut down. In this instance, however, the attackers had one single email address listed for communication. It was quickly shut down by Posteo, the German ISP responsible for the email account. That means that victims will not be able to communicate with the attackers to organize payment or receive decryption codes, effectively meaning any encrypted files will be lost forever, if backups aren’t available. “If this well engineered and highly crafted worm was meant to generate revenue, this payment pipeline was possibly the worst of all options (short of “send a personal cheque to: Petya Payments, PO Box …”),” the grugq explains. It’s suspicious that such a well-designed piece of ransomware would have such a bad payment system — unless, of course, the aim was never to make money. Story continues “This is definitely not designed to make money. This is designed to spread fast and cause damage, with a plausibly deniable cover of “ransomware.”, the grugq continues. Weaver confirmed this to Krebs , saying that Petya “appears to have been well engineered to be destructive while masquerading as a ransomware strain.” Attributing blame for cyberattacks is always difficult, but the high concentration of Ukranian victims — the attack was originally distributed through Ukranian tax software MeDoc — raises questions about potential Russian involvement. Trending right now: Scientists ‘can’t rule out’ collision with asteroid flying by Earth in 2029 Google Pixel phones of the future may have a feature you’ll never find on an iPhone Video: Porsche tries to keep up with a Model S and the result is embarassing See the original version of this article on BGR.com \|\| Nike is reportedly close to making a huge move that should terrify Dick's, Foot Locker, and Under Armour: Nike (Nike may finally break through online by selling on Amazon.Facebook/Nike) The world's largest sportswear maker and the world's largest online retailer might finally work together. In its tooth-and-nail fight to staunch ebbing sales, Nike may finally embrace Amazon soon and sell directly on Amazon.com, according to analysts at Goldman Sachs. "Our channel checks indicate [Nike] could be close to commencing a direct relationship selling product on Amazon.com," the Goldman Sachs analyst note reads. For Nike, there are tangible benefits from selling directly on Amazon. The company's shoes, apparel, and accessories are already sold on Amazon, but from third-party sellers and unlicensed dealers that purchased the product wholesale from Nike. Selling directly on the site eliminates a layer between Nike and the consumer, allowing the company to better control pricing and presentation. It's not quite direct to consumer, but it's a lot closer. Goldman sees it as a deal worth potentially up to $500 million of revenue yearly — an additional 1% of global sales for the Nike. Nike's biggest competitors — Adidas and Under Armour — already sell directly on Amazon, and they both have fancy splash pages that highlight the the newest and best product the companies have to offer. Nike currently has no such thing, giving both competitors have an advantage on the site. Offering directly on Amazon also gives Nike's direct-to-consumer business even better access to younger consumers — millennials — who shop more often on Amazon than other groups. Selling on Amazon may also serve to replace physical sports retailers that have gone bankrupt in recent years, like Sports Authority. Dick's Sporting Goods and Foot Locker, some of Nike's biggest retailers, were both down in early market trading on the news of the increasing competition. Dick's neared an 18 month low, while Foot Locker fell below a three-year-low, according to Reuters . NOW WATCH: HENRY BLODGET: Bitcoin could go to $1 million (or fall to $0) More From Business Insider Whole Foods keeps signaling the death of the brand as we know it Amazon's rivals 'will do anything' to make the company pay more for Whole Foods WHOLE FOODS CEO: We focused on employees at the 'expense of our customers' \|\| Yes, It's Confusing: Bitcoin Forking Explained: Forks have been in the news a lot recently due to controversy in the bitcoin community. There was the potential fork that threatened to split bitcoin into two cryptocurrencies after a lengthy “civil war” between miners and developers. That came and went with little issue. Then there was the sudden fork that actually did permanently split the blockchain on Tuesday, spinning Bitcoin Cash out of bitcoin . In truth, forks, or splits, in the blockchain happen constantly and usually pass with little news. But unless you actively follow cryptocurrency news, you may not even know what a fork is or why they can be so controversial. Related Link: As Crisis Is Averted, 3 Takes On The Rise Of Bitcoin What Is A Fork? Simply put, a fork is when a cryptocurrency’s blockchain splits into two possible chains either because of a transaction or new rule for what makes a transaction valid. When they occur, users have to decide which route to follow. The decision is made when a new block is added to either chain. The longer chain will become the legitimate successor to the original, while the other will be “orphaned.” Only one chain can ultimately be correct, and so transactions that occur on an orphaned chain will be ignored and lost. This is why miners will typically only want to work on the longer, valid chain and why cryptocurrency owners are advised not to made transactions until a fork can be resolved. A fork happens any time two miners discover a new block at nearly the same time. These tend to resolve themselves, but can still lead to anxiety among cryptocurrency holders. Other times, a fork is purposefully introduced so developers can change the rules used to determine a transaction’s validity. These instances are much more controversial and have to potential to permanently split the chain with both surviving as independent currencies. There are several specific kinds of forks — user activated, miner activated, software, git, etc. — but they all essentially fall into two categories: hard forks and soft forks. Story continues Hard Forks As defined by the glossary on bitcoin’s website, a hard fork is “a permanent divergence in the blockchain, commonly occur[ing] when non-upgraded nodes can’t validate blocks created by upgraded nodes that follow newer consensus rules.” For a hard fork to be successfully implemented, every node must be upgraded to the new rules. Problems arise when a portion of the cryptocurrency’s community opposes the changes and decides to stick with the old chain. The ethereum blockchain’s split into Ethereum and Ethereum Classic is a perfect example of that occurring and two variants staying alive. Here’s a visualization of how hard forks work: Image: Investopedia Soft Forks Bitcoin’s glossary defines a soft fork as a change to a blockchain “wherein only previously valid blocks/transactions are made invalid. Since old nodes will recognise the new blocks as valid, a soft fork is backward-compatible.” When a soft fork occurs, non-upgraded nodes will still register new transactions as valid but cannot be used to mine new blocks, as the upgraded nodes will reject them. A soft fork requires the majority of users to support the change, otherwise the upgraded nodes could wind up being on the shortest chain and orphaned by the network. Soft forks typically present lower risk and therefore are most commonly used to change a blockchain’s rules. Bitcoin Improvement Protocol 91, which introduced the rule change known as Segwit2x, is an example of a major soft fork that was recently successful, with almost 100 percent of users supporting the change and the holdouts becoming orphaned. If, however, a significant number of users are dedicated to the change but fall short of a majority, the soft fork could become a hard fork with the upgraded nodes starting a new cryptocurrency. An example is Bitcoin Cash splitting off from bitcoin. A large group of users still unsatisfied with BIP 91 chose to launch bitcoin Cash to make the blockchain closer to digital cash than digital gold which, while tradable and valuable, is not easily spent. Related Link: Coinbase Is Courting Serious Legal Trouble By Not Supporting Bitcoin Cash Its proponents will have to prove in the coming weeks that the there is enough support to keep it alive and growing. Regardless of the reason or method behind a fork, the best bet for investors who trade and use cryptocurrencies is to hold off on making any transactions until it is resolved. Here’s a visualization of how soft forks work: Image: Investopedia Keep up with the latest need-to-know crypto and financial news in real-time with Benzinga Pro . Related Links: Crypto Investors, Keep An Eye On Blackmoon Cryptocurrency Mining Is The Next Gold Rush, And AMD To Make Short-Term Gains Selling The 'Pickaxes' See more from Benzinga FireEye's Q2 Keeps Growth Story Intact Piper Jaffray's Mike Olson: Apple Needs To Keep Up With Chinese Innovation Can Investors Still Get More Juice Out Of Apple? © 2017 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] 23:00~0:00のBitcoin市場はしっかりでした。変化率は-0.2677% 1:00までは反騰かな? 直近の市場の平均Bitcoinの価格は376254.0円 #ビットコイン #bitcoin #AI \|\| Gemini confirmation email isn't being received. http://ift.tt/2rvWHay #bitcoin #blockchain #cryptos #reddit \|\| How Bitcoin is Helping the Cannabis Industry http://investingnews.com/daily/tech-investing/fintech-investing/bitcoin-helping-cannabis-industry/ …pic.twitter.com/Vi4SvVIocm \|\| NetworkNewsBreaks – $SING Bitcoin Solution Could Make Marijuana Industry’s Banking Problems a Thing of the Past... http://fb.me/8I0ERJQaD \|\| Bitcoin - BTC Price: $2,072.24 Change in 1h: -2.04% Market cap: $34,085,550,476.00 Ranking: 1 #Bitcoin #BTC \|\| Now accepting #bitcoin, yay! Just integrated with Bitpay, check it out! :) pic.twitter.com/MIgeuOrFX5 \|\| WTI 46.65USD +0.57 Brent 49.06USD +0.64 Bitcoin $1943.99 USD/RUB 59.19 EUR/RUB 67.86 USD/UAH 26.00 EUR/UAH 29.95 RUB/UAH 0.44 UAH/RUB 2.27 \|\| Bitcoin price one year ago today: USD$590.62, representing a 476.85% increase. [NOW: USD$3,407.00] pic.twitter.com/LXd52JQDIv \|\| Try amichaelix at https://BitBargain.co.uk/buy/request/1816?r=bittybot … only £2,078.00 per BTC. (BPI +4.08%) #buy #bitcoin #banktrans \|\| Ethereum Surpasses Bitcoin Google Searches for the First Time in History - http://crwd.fr/2ssIOsR http://crwd.fr/2ssT1pp pic.twitter.com/mUiAZgSuCp	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 3342.47, 3381.28, 3650.62, 3884.71, 4073.26, 4325.13, 4181.93, 4376.63, 4331.69, 4160.62
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2019-08-28] BTC Price: 9754.42, BTC RSI: 40.28 Gold Price: 1537.80, Gold RSI: 72.75 Oil Price: 55.78, Oil RSI: 51.31 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Bitcoin Tech Analysis Recap and Mid-Morning Review 21/08/19: Bitcoin saw red on Tuesday, falling by 1.33%. Partially reversing Mondays 5.9% rally, Bitcoin closed out the day at $10,792.1. A spillover from a late Monday rally led to an early morning intraday high $10,993 before Bitcoin hit reverse. Selling pressure at $11,000 left Bitcoin short of the first major resistance level at $11,174.67. The reversal through the morning saw Bitcoin fall to an early afternoon intraday low $10,584. Bitcoin managed to hold above the first major support level at $10,490.67 to bounce back to $10,800 levels late on. Unable to move back into positive territory, Bitcoin slipped back to $10,700 levels in the final hour. The extended bullish trend, formed at 15 th Decembers swing lo $3,215.2, remained firmly intact. In spite of a pullback from a June swing hi $13,764, Bitcoin continued to steer well clear of the 60.2% FIB of $7,245. Of greater significance was a rebound through the 38.2% FIB of $9,734 to bring the 23.6% FIB of $11,275 back in to play. This Morning At the time of writing, Bitcoin was down by 5.81% to $10,165. A particularly bearish morning saw Bitcoin tumble from a start of a day high $10,825 to a mid-morning low $10,080. Falling well short of the first major resistance level at $10,995.4, Bitcoin slid through the first major resistance level at $10,586.40 and second major resistance level at $10,380.7. For the Day Ahead A move back through the second major support level at $10,380.7 to $10,400 levels would signal a rebound. Bitcoin would need the support of the broader market, however, to break back through to $10,300 levels. Barring broad-based crypto rebound, Bitcoin would likely fail to move back through the first major support level at $10,586.4. Failure to move back through the second major support level at $10,380.70 could see Bitcoin take another hit. A fall back through the morning low $10,080 would bring the sub-$10,000 levels and the third major support level at $9,971.7 into play. Story continues We would expect Bitcoin to steer clear of the 38.2% FIB of $9,734, however, in the event of an extended sell-off. Looking at the Technical Indicators Major Support Level: $10,586.4 Major Resistance Level: $10,995.4 23.6% FIB Retracement Level: $11,275 38.2% FIB Retracement Level: $9,734 62% FIB Retracement Level: $7,245 Click here to start trading The article was written by Bharat Gohri , Chief Market Analyst at easyMarkets This article was originally posted on FX Empire More From FXEMPIRE: Crude Oil Price Update Strengthens Over $56.95, Weakens Under $55.72 U.S. Dollar Index Futures (DX) Technical Analysis August 21, 2019 Forecast EUR/USD Mid-Session Technical Analysis for August 21, 2019 Bitcoin Tech Analysis Recap and Mid-Morning Review 21/08/19 Asian Stocks Lower as Investors Keep US-China Trade Deal Optimism in Check Oil Price Fundamental Daily Forecast EIA Report Forecast Calls for 1.4 Million Barrel Draw \|\| Bitcoin.com is launching a Bitcoin Cash-focused crypto exchange: Bitcoin Cash -focused news website Bitcoin.com, run by Bitcoin Jesus Roger Ver, is planning to launch its own crypto exchange next month. The exchange will simply be called Exchange.Bitcoin.com, making use of the premium domain name. The exchange will support 50 trading pairs. It will offer Bitcoin Cash trading pairsas part of its mission to champion BCH over BTCbut will also offer trading against Tether , Ethereum and reluctantly, Bitcoin . The Bitcoin.com exchange will launch on September 2 and claims to offer a robust matching engine, professional charts, and plenty of liquidity for a multitude of digital assets. Simple Ledger Protocol (SLP) tokens will also be included on the exchange. These are tokens built on top of the Bitcoin Cash blockchain (similar to the Omni layer on Bitcoin) that give it more Ethereum-like functionalities. Popular tokens include Honk Honk and Taylor Swift token. Ver said, in a statement, Were on the cusp of something very exciting with SLP tokens its the beginning of a world where we can tokenize anything and, as people realize the potential this holds, theyre going to start demanding a place to trade their tokens. This comes shortly after Bitcoin.com introduced Local.Bitcoin.com to the marketwhich was critiqued as being misleadingly similar to Local Bitcoins in both purpose and name. Will this exchange be less controversial? \|\| Bitcoin Prices Fall; Binance Set to Launch Crypto Lending Service: Investing.com - Bitcoin prices fell on Tuesday in Asia. Crypto exchange Binance made headlines as the company said it is launching a new crypto lending service. Bitcoin fell 1.4% to $10,193.2 by 12:45 AM ET (04:45 GMT). Ethereum was down 2.4% to $186.03, while XRP and Litecoin traded 1.3% and 2.4% lower respectively. Holders of Binance Coin, Ethereum Classic and Tether will be able to lend their assets and earn interest through a new service called Binance Lending, Binance said in a statement. The interest will be paid out immediately after the loan term matures, Binance noted, adding that the services will be available for subscription starting from Aug. 28 till Aug. 29. In other news, The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) has reportedly granted two banking and securities dealer licences to crypto-focused banks, according to Cointelegraph. Two Swiss crypto-specializing firms, Seba Crypto AG and Sygnum have received banking and securities dealer licenses, the article said. Related Articles General Manager of Houston Rockets Basketball Team Bullish on Bitcoin New Zealand Radio Host Denies Shilling Bitcoin on Social Media VMWare CEO Gelsinger Condemns Bitcoin as Bad Design, Bad for Humanity \|\| Iranian Authorities Disagree on Whether Bitcoin Is Legal: The crypto community inIranis still riding a roller coaster as the country seeks to bring its economy forward. Even though the country has expressed its interest in digital assets, enthusiasts cannot be very optimistic yet. According to recent statements by Nasser Hakimi, who serves as the deputy governor for new technologies at the Central Bank of Iran, crypto trading is illegal and banned by the government. In an interview with the Iranian agencyTasnim News, Mr. Hakimi explained that the recent spike in the popularity of cryptocurrencies in Iran could be potentially dangerous for citizens because of their volatility – let alone the legal risks associated with their use. The expert also warned that victims risk losing the protection of the state if they fall for a fraud or scam: "[Iranians should be cautious] against the advertisements and marketers of pyramid style network companies that promote Bitcoin like a tree with gold coins in the Adventures of Pinocchio ... The Supreme Council on Countering Money Laundering has prohibited the sale and purchase of Bitcoin in Iran." The current status of bitcoin and cryptocurrencies in Iran is quite complex to explain, mainly because of the difference in criteria shown on the statements given by different public authorities in the country. As an example, Mr. Hakimi clarified that it is essential to make a distinction between trading and mining. This idea could imply that the supposed ban ordered by the Supreme Council on Countering Money Laundering of Iran does not affect mining; however, just a week ago, the country's authoritiesconfiscatedmore than 1,000 ASICS located in different mining farms across Yazd province. Read the full story on CCN.com. \|\| UK Thieves Burgle Bitcoin Center, Find Zilch: In a daring, if baffling, evening raid thieves allegedly broke into the so-called Bitcoin Embassy on Formans Road in the U.K. city of Birmingham. The thieves attacked at 10pm on July 15, according to theBirmingham Mail. Recorded and posted toFacebook, the daring late-evening attack netted the thieves what looked like, at first, either lengths of receipt tape from abitcoinATM – an ATM owned by the decidedly unappetizingShitcoins Club– or, less likely, an decidedly pessimistic length of toilet paper. The truth, however, is more mundane. Adam Gramowski, CEO ofShitcoins.club, said that the ATM in Birmingham was a smaller model and that they had run it since September, 2018. He said that the thieves were planning to use a cable to pull the ATM from its moorings and out into the street. “It is a two-way machine capable of conducting sales and purchases of four different cryptos: BTC, ETH, LTC and DASH. We sell cryptos for GBP and EUR,” he said. “I can confirm that our Birmingham self-service shop was broken into on July 15. However, the robbers were spotted by our CCTV operator in time and were unable to penetrate our countermeasures. The ATM was not damaged, it will be up and running in no time. Damages to the shop are minimal. Also, the line or rope seen behind the car has nothing to do with the ATM. We do not store Cryptos on the ATM’s hard drive or provide cold storage facilities for our customers. That line was brought by the robbers to facilitate the robbery.” Image from Facebook Birmingham welcomed the first bitcoin ATM in the city in 2017, crowing that“Birmingham gets first Bitcoin ATM – the internet currency used by criminals on ‘dark web’.” The paper then connected the installation of the ATM with the NHS ransomware attack that brought theorganization to its kneesthat same year. Outreach to the “embassy” proved unfruitful and Gramowski said that the ATM was unsupervised. Image via Google Maps \|\| Seven reasons why Ethereum is no longer an altcoin: To many people,bitcoinis not only the granddaddy of crypto, it remains the one true coin. Everything else, including Ethereum’s coin, ether, has traditionally been referred to as an alternative coin, or “altcoin.” But is it time for a labelling shake up? While the discussion is not new, new arguments and data suggest that, alone among thousands of altcoins, ether could be in the running for a promotion. Here’s why: A new study, from theSan Francisco Open Exchange(SFOX,) suggests that “it may no longer be accurate to classify ether as an ‘altcoin,’” because its correlation to bitcoin is significantly higher than bitcoin’s correlations to other coins. In the previous month, according to the study’s author, ether’s correlation to bitcoin was 0.788, whereas Bitcoin Cash scored 0.638, Litecoin, 0.577, Bitcoin SV was 0.619 and Ethereum Classic managed only 0.602. The team concluded that Ethereum is gradually becoming “a blockchain that is publicly recognized as an asset on its own terms, much like Bitcoin.” Though bitcoin is the original crypto, Ethereum is thebiggest blockchainby volume. There are over 1,600 dapps on the platform, according to a study bydapp.com. Tron, meanwhile, has more active users but Ethererum has twice as many active dapps. (As of July 2019.) There are twice as many developers working on Ethereum each month as bitcoin, according to a report by crypto asset management firmElectric Capital. It says approximately 216 developers work on the platform monthly.Crypto news siteThe Blocksuggeststhere are between 250,000 to 350,000 developers building on the platform. Given how big the developer base and community are, it’s hardly surprising that ether is also the second most talked about coin.Astudyby Pacific Northwest National Laboratory analyzed cryptocurrency based discussions over on Reddit and found that only bitcoin is discussed more. (Hat tip to Monero, which came in third.) Analysis toolEthernodesreports just under 17,000 nodes running the blockchain across six continents. Bitcoin dwarfs that with more than66,000, but many of these are concentrated indata centers. Of the top 100 tokens by market cap,94%are built on top of the platform. Updated to more accurately reflect number and concentration of Bitcoin nodes. \|\| ‘No brainer’: Sativa Store signs on with Fastbitcoins: Fastbitcoins, a UK-based company that allows people to buy Bitcoins in physical outlets using cash, has added Sativa Store as a partner. The Estonian independent coffee shop and supplier of CBD cannabis products has installed Lightning Network-enabled PoS terminals in two of its locations (Tallinn Old Town and Telliskivi Creative City). It is the first retailer in Estonia to implement the terminals that let merchants print redeemable prepaid Bitcoin vouchers and take Bitcoin payments as well as physical Bitcoin gift vouchers. Minna-Maria Amjärv, the owner of Sativa Store, says: “We are Bitcoin enthusiasts and a growing number of our customers are too. FastBitcoins’ have given us a really easy and cool way for us to meet our customers demands to buy it whilst allowing us to make money from selling it.” “Additionally, we have also gained a way to bring in a completely new type of customer interested in Bitcoin that would not usually visit our shops. As a small business, opportunities like this can play a really important part in our success by allowing us to differentiate from other shops. With demand and awareness of Bitcoin on the rise I think this partnership is a no brainer.” Danny Brewster , ex-Neo & Bee MD and now MD of FastBitcoins, adds: “There is no better sign that mainstream Bitcoin demand is growing globally than witnessing it first hand through our business. Estonia is a progressive and cooperative country in regards to Bitcoin and companies like Sativa Store are well placed to achieve business success by being ahead of the curve. We look forward to helping them grow and succeed.” The post ‘No brainer’: Sativa Store signs on with Fastbitcoins appeared first on Coin Rivet . \|\| Bakkt Bitcoin futures and warehouse to debut in September: Bakkt has announced the US launch of its heavily hyped platform for custody and physically-delivered daily and monthly Bitcoin futures contracts. We have some news https://t.co/ykUvQ31cGz — Bakkt (@Bakkt) August 16, 2019 Following the regulatory green light, this is scheduled for 23rd September and will be in partnership with ICE Futures US and ICE Clear US. The launch has been hugely anticipated, with the company first pencilling in August 2018 before being subject to delays over compliance issues. “Our contracts have already received the green light from the CFTC through the self-certification process and user acceptance testing has begun,” it says in a Medium post. “With approval by the New York State Department of Financial Services to create Bakkt Trust Company, a qualified custodian, the Bakkt Warehouse will custody Bitcoin for physically delivered futures. This offers customers unprecedented regulatory clarity and security alongside a regulated, globally accessible exchange in a market underserved by institutional-grade infrastructure.” Bakkt has hosted events in New York and Chicago, cities critical to the US futures market. “We gathered roughly 150 customers, regulators, and market participants to advance the dialogue in our industry, including a fireside chat with CFTC Commissioner Dawn Stump,” the Medium post states. “In Chicago, we had a conversation on the regulation of digital assets with SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce , and we invite you to listen in.” Further details here . The post Bakkt Bitcoin futures and warehouse to debut in September appeared first on Coin Rivet . View comments \|\| Bitcoin-Rewards App Lolli Expands to 900 Retail Locations: Online shopping appLolliis on a growth tear, expanding off the web and into 900 retail locations. Company CEO Alex Adelmanannouncedthe partnership with Albertson’s subsidiary Safeway in an interview with Yahoo! Finance on Thursday. The expansion enables users to order groceries, beauty products, or pharmacy items online at Safeway.com for pick-up. “We saw a demand from users to earn bitcoin for every day expenses like food and pharmacy,” said Adelman, in an interview with CoinDesk. Related:Lightning Labs Designs Monitoring Tool for ‘Layer 2’ Bitcoin Network Additionally, users still earn a 3-5 percent return in bitcoin through their online purchases, which Adelman sees as a “rail to get bitcoin to the masses.” According to company accounting, nearly 40 percent are Lolli users are new to cryptocurrencies. Launched a little under a year ago, Lolli has partnered with 750 merchants online, including Walmart, Macys, and Priceline. Adelman’s previous company Cosmic was acquired by ecommerce firm Ebates, “so we know the merchants and understand the business model well.” He estimates the average user has so far earned around $26 (263,661 satoshis) in bitcoin. He adds, after a purchase, the rewards estimate is calculated within “a few minutes to a few days.” However, it typically takes 30-90 days for the rebate to come through, as Lolli must wait until after the return period closes. Adelman declined to share the firm’s revenue projections, but said Lolli gets a percentage of each sale, which they then share with their tens of thousands of users. Related:Bull Case for Bitcoin Weakest Since February, Price Indicator Says As previously reported, Lolli launched in September 2018 backed with $2.35 million from prominent venture capital firms including Bain Capital Ventures and Digital Currency Group. Image via Lolli • Venezuela Turned Airport Taxes Into Bitcoin to Avoid Sanctions: Report • Bitcoin Price Retakes $10K But Remains Short of Bull Revival \|\| Venezuela Turned Airport Taxes Into Bitcoin to Avoid Sanctions: Report: Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his administration appear to be leveraging tax revenue and cryptocurrencies as part of a broader effort to evade economic sanctions, an investigation by Spanish newspaper ABC has found. As detailed in a story published Monday, the newspaper asserts it uncovered a scheme by which Maduro and his associates were using a digital wallet app to turn tax revenue from domestic airports into bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies that were then transferred to exchanges in Hong Kong, Hungary, Russia and China. There, the funds were converted and sent back to Venezuela, according to the report. Related: Bitcoin Price Retakes $10K But Remains Short of Bull Revival The effort is the latest example of how the ban on Maduros government from using US bank accounts and from participating in the open international market has forced it to look at c ryptocurrencies as a way to obtain dollars. The newspaper alleges that the tax revenue in question came from the Maiquetia International Airport (IAIM) located near Caracas, the countrys capital, and that taxes were collected through an automated system that works with an app called Jetman Pay. Maduros administration is said to be in talks to expand its use of the app, including for proceeds it collects from refueling airplane that traffic the airport. In a contract allegedly yet to be signed the Jetman Pay app would be used to directly defy the U.S. ban again. Under the scheme, a plane would land at IAIM, at which point it would transfer fiat currencies in exchange for fuel. Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A, the states oil and natural gas company, would then use the app to pay government taxes, upon which it would be sent abroad as cryptocurrency. Related: Andrew Yang Super PAC Will Accept Lightning-Powered Bitcoin Donations The automated system has been used at IAIM since February 2018 for airport tax collection. The report concluded by speculating that Maduro may be looking to expand the scheme to other airports across the country. Nicolas Maduro via cryptograffiti Related Stories US Treasury Secretary Mnuchin Thinks Outlook for Bitcoin Is Bleak People in US Trust Bitcoin More Than Facebooks Libra: Report View comments [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] New mining Hub, we have relaunch #NEWYORKCOIN #NYC Pool to mine some #NYC #BTC https://t.co/7cYquBaLCz \|\| $SPY for those who dont understand bitcoin, michelle Phan explains it well with her soothing voice 13:15 mark https://t.co/HpG1zlorGa \|\| 3 for 3 for machine trade alerts today. Exceeding .6% daily 151% per annum goal. #OOTT FX $USOIL $WTI $CL_F $UWT $DWT #OilTradeAlerts #machinetrading https://t.co/sjrecbrb1p https://t.co/ofpx0tP5mS \|\| BTC/USD \| $BTCUSD \| $BTC $USD BTSUSD \| Bitcoin H & S anyone else? Long or short it on WCX: https://t.co/HuHcZkFdZH https://t.co/Y3ZwPD4oNj \|\| @CallieWaQJ95 @realDonaldTrump @foxandfriends Loving this stuff - 5 BTC just transferred! \|\| La ‘revolución’ del \|\| Sign up on the @USDXwallet App at https://t.co/nWH6UXt6cG or use promo code DLYIUHM5PX to earn an extra 10% bonus on your first purchase of USDX tokens or LHT coins. The app allows you to send and receive stable crypto without fees! #USDX #LHT #Crypto #Bitcoin \|\| @PeterSchiff @kevinolearytv Kevin O'Leary (and Peter) CAUGHT! Rich and Powerful Don't Want You To... https://t.co/MbAze6zz6b can an average american citizen (me) get a logical explanation from either of you in these “change of hearts”?. #cryptocurrency #bitcoin #cryptotwitter \|\| Precio: $209,989.99 Fuente: @Bitso #Bitso #BTCMXN $btc Hora: 2019-07-15 21:00:01 (GMT-6) \|\| EtherZero Masternode has eliminated transaction fees and will support a feature called instant pay. Forked from Ethereium Network, Watch and subscribe https://t.co/6HHoWRXM9t #blockchain #cryptocurrency #ponderist #btc #bitcoin #airdrop #bounty #masternode	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 9510.20, 9598.17, 9630.66, 9757.97, 10346.76, 10623.54, 10594.49, 10575.53, 10353.30, 10517.25
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2019-08-08] BTC Price: 11966.41, BTC RSI: 64.02 Gold Price: 1497.70, Gold RSI: 76.23 Oil Price: 52.54, Oil RSI: 39.42 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Cryptocurrency miners are using subsidized energy in Iran, and it’s weighing on the national grid: Iranian cryptocurrency miners are taking advantage of subsidized energy in the country, and it is putting pressure on its power grids, Bloomberg News reports . As per Iranian state media, a spokesperson for Tadvin Electricity Company faulted cryptocurrency miners for a 7% increase in energy consumption in the country. “The production of each Bitcoin uses the equivalent of the annual consumption of 24 properties in Tehran, or one property’s consumption of electricity for 24 years,” Mostafa Rajabi Mashhad said. As such, Iran's Power Ministry could implement a tariff on miners, according to Bloomberg. Cryptocurrency use has increased generally in the country as a way to circumvent sanctions put on the country by the US government. \|\| Gunpowder Capital Corp., Expands Cryptocurrency Operations: Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - July 11, 2019) - Gunpowder Capital Corp., (CSE: GPC) (CSE: GPC.PR.A) (OTCQB: GNPWF), (FSE: YS6N), ("Gunpowder" or the "Corporation") announced today that the Cryptocurrency Mining operations of MethodeVerte Inc., ("MethodeVerte") the Corporation's fully owned Cryptocurrency Mining subsidiary have entered into a facility agreement that will allow MethodeVerte to expand from its currently deployed initial cluster of mining rigs up to 1000 Mining Rigs. The Corporation is targeting having 500 Cryptocurrency Mining Rigs in place and mining within 30-60 days. With this new facility arrangement and agreement MethodeVerte benefits from better overall operating costs compared to the current agreement. As previously stated in the Corporation's May 22nd, 2019 press release, the Corporation plans on developing MethodeVerte into leading-edge Cryptocurrency Technology Company, that focuses on both the mining of Cryptocurrencies and on the development of next generation Cryptocurrency and Blockchain technologies. The Corporation is planning to rapidly expand MethodeVerte's operations as the Corporation is aiming to have both the second and third stage deployments of additional Cryptocurrency Mining assets in operation by the end of calendar 2019. MethodeVerte is currently looking at other options that will allow it to further deploy active mining assets. On May 1st, 2019 the quoted market value of Bitcoin was $5,321.00 USD and Ethereum was $157.00 USD. As of the date of this press release, the quoted market value of Bitcoin was $11,550.00 USD and Ethereum was $273.00 USD representing an increase of 117% for Bitcoin and 73% for Ethereum. Bitcoin needs to be valued at approximately $4,500.00 USD to achieve a breakeven point. With Bitcoin currently valued slightly above $11,500.00 USD, there is currently a healthy profitability margin in place. About Gunpowder Capital Corp. Gunpowder Capital Corp., is a merchant bank and advisory services firm based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Gunpowder invests in both publicly traded and private businesses that have successful management teams and attractive economic models. Gunpowder partners with these businesses to support their growth initiatives with its proven methodology of appropriate financing and structured exits. Gunpowder offers debt financing, including mezzanine and bridge loans, equity financing and advisory services. Gunpowder is also building a portfolio of companies in which it takes a long term position and view. For more information please visitwww.gunpowdercapitalcorp.com. For further information please contact: Mr. Frank KordyCEO & DirectorGunpowder Capital Corp.T: (647) 466-4037E:[email protected]. Paul HaberCFOGunpowder Capital Corp.T: (416) 363-3833E:[email protected] Forward-Looking Statements Information set forth in this news release may involve forward-looking statements under applicable securities laws. The forward-looking statements contained herein are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. The forward-looking statements included in this document are made as of the date of this document and the Corporation disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as expressly required by applicable securities legislation. Although Management believes that the expectations represented in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities described herein and accordingly undue reliance should not be put on such. Neither CSE nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the CSE) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. - 30 - To view the source version of this press release, please visithttps://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/46217 \|\| U.S. customers to be blocked from trading on Binance.com: Binance, the largest crypto-to-crypto exchange by volume, has announced that it will stop serving U.S. individual and corporate customers on its main platform, Binance.com. The updated statement in Binance's Terms of Use reads that the company "is unable to provide services to any U.S. person." Users who are not in accordance with Binance’s Terms of Use by Sept. 12 will continue to have access to their wallets and funds, but will no longer be able to trade or deposit on Binance.com. In any given month, approximately 15% of Binance.com's traffic comes from U.S. customers, having halved since early 2018 when the figure was approximately 30%. It currently offers trading of more than 150 different cryptocurrencies. Non-verified U.S. customers will likely still be able to bypass the restrictions and trade on Binance.com by using a VPN. Binance currently allows withdrawals of up to 2 BTC ($16,500) without any verification, although the updated policy suggested that "some users may be required to furnish evidence showing that their account registrations are consistent with Binance’s Terms of Use." Those who violate its Terms of Use, it added, will not be able to use the platform. Binance users will also look for comfort in the announcement yesterday that the company is launching a separate fiat-to-crypto exchange to serve the U.S. market in full regulatory compliance. Changpeng Zhao, CEO of Binance, offered an optimistic outlook on the disruption on Twitter. "Some short term pains may be necessary for long term gains. And we always work hard to turn every short term pain into a long term gain." The news comes two weeks after the main client of Binance DEX also announced it would start geo-blocking U.S. customers and 28 other countries in July. Bittrex announced last week they would be geo-fencing 32 cryptocurrencies from the U.S. clients, following the same move by Poloniex a couple of weeks ago. Binance follows Bitfinex and BitMEX, which both started blocking U.S. customers in late 2017 as a result of the challenging regulatory climate. Huobi then started licensing its technology and brand to a U.S.-based company HBUS (later rebranded to Huobi), similar to Binance's current plans for the U.S., having partnered with BAM Trading Services Inc - an unknown money services business listed in San Francisco. While Binance traditionally offers crypto-to-crypto trading, it has already launched fiat-to-crypto exchanges in Uganda, Singapore, and Jersey, all of which only support trading of bitcoin, ether, and BNB. It plans to have two fiat-to-crypto exchanges on every continent, which will likely also only support trading of bitcoin and ether initially. \|\| Coinbase Must Face Negligence Suit Over Bitcoin Cash Listing, Judge Rules: Coinbase must face a negligence lawsuit from customers who bought bitcoin cash (BCH) following its allegedly botched listing on the exchange during the 2017 bull market, a judge has ruled. U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabaria of the Northern District of California dismissed the plaintiffs’ fraud and unfair competition claims against Coinbase, and the negligence claims brought by the ones who sold BCH. But he denied Coinbase’s motions to move the case to arbitration and to dismiss the buyers’ negligence claims, saying it is “plausible” that the company “breached its duty tomaintain a functional market.” “For starters, the fact that Coinbase halted trading within threeminutes of the launch is indicative of dysfunction,” Chhabria wrote in the rulingTuesday. Related:Ex-Coinbase CTO Is Behind Mysterious Nakamoto.com, Sources Say The case was brought last year by Jeffrey Berk, a former Coinbase user, who accused the exchange of allowinginsider tradingon its GDAX trading platform from Dec. 19–21, 2017, because BCH prices spiked right before Coinbase announced trading options on Dec. 20. Berk, an Arizona resident, brought the case on behalf of other traders. Two earlier versions of his complaint were dismissed. In dismissing the insider trading theory,Chhabria citeda lack of “causation” proved by the plaintiff’s price volatility arguments. (Last year, the exchange hired two law firms to investigate insider trading allegations; they reportedlyfound no wrongdoing.) Nevertheless, Coinbase will need to prove it applied a standard of reasonable care to prevent foreseeable harm to users. Coinbase contested that it had a “duty” to strategize against market swings, citing a lack of responsibility to prevent the economic loss of others. The judge’s order replied, “the interpretation that the California Supreme Court would be most likely to adopt – is that Coinbase indeed had a duty to maintain a functional marketplace.” Related:Binance’s CZ: Like It or Not, Facebook’s Libra Coin Is Poised for Mass Adoption Namely, because Coinbase “encouraged traders to enter the market,” by promoting the BCH launch, and held a “position of trust” when processing users’ transactions. Because the sellers’ motion was dismissed with prejudice, it cannot be amended. However, the discovery process will continue, and Chhabria left a door open for the sellers to re-file should new evidence to support their position turn up. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong image via CoinDesk archives. • British Authorities Seek Data from Crypto Exchanges in Search of Tax Evaders • ATOM, DASH and More: Coinbase Considers Adding 8 New Cryptos \|\| With the G20 Underway, the Markets Play it Safe Early: Earlier in the Day: Economic data was on the heavier side through the Asia session this morning. Out of Japan, key stats included May’s job/application ratio, industrial production figures, and Tokyo’s June inflation numbers. Out of Australia, May private sector credit figures provided the Aussie Dollar with direction. Ultimately, however, the stats had a muted impact on the pairings. The G20 Summit got underway this morning and there was plenty for the markets to consider going into the weekend. For the Japanese Yen May’s job/applications ratio came in at 1.62, marginally lower than April’s 1.63. Tokyo’s annual rate of baseline inflation eased from 1.1% to 0.9%, which was worse than a forecasted 1%. According to consumer price figures released by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communication , Prices for transportation and communication fell by 1.4%, weighing on core inflation. A 3.6% jump in charges for fuel, light and water and a 2.4% rise in prices for furniture and household utensils provided support. There were also price increases for culture and recreation (+1.6%), clothes and footwear (+0.8%), housing (+0.7%), and education (+0.7%). Prices for Medical Care rose by just 0.6%. By sector, prices for goods rose by 1.6%, whilst prices for services increased by just 0.7%. The Japanese Yen moved from ¥107.729 to ¥107.728 upon release of the figures, which preceded the industrial production numbers. Industrial production rose by 2.3% in May, month-on-month, according to prelim figures. Forecasts were for a 0.2% rise off the back of a 0.6% increase in April. According to prelim figures released by the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry , Industries that mainly contributed to an increase were: Motor vehicles Electrical machinery and information and communication electronics equipment. Production machinery. Industries that mainly contributed to a decrease were: Transport equipment (excl. motor vehicles). Other manufacturing. Story continues The Japanese Yen moved from ¥107.04 to ¥107.748 upon release of the figures. At the time of writing, the Japanese Yen was up by 0.09% to ¥107.69 against the U.S Dollar. For the Aussie Dollar Private sector credit rose by 0.2% in May, month-on-month, following a 0.2% increase in April. Economists had forecast for a 0.2% increase in May According to figures released by RBA , Personal credit fell by 0.6%, following a 0.3% fall in April. Housing credit rose by 0.2%, following a 0.3% rise in April. Business credit rose by 0.1%, after stalling in April. Year-on-year, total credit increased by 3.6%, compared with 4.8% in May 2018. Housing credit slid by 3.2%, year-on-year. In May 2018, housing credit had fallen by 1.4%. The Aussie Dollar moved from $0.70048 to $0.70006 upon release of the figures. At the time of writing, the Aussie Dollar was down by 0.12% to $0.6999. Elsewhere At the time of writing, the Kiwi Dollar was flat at $0.6700. The Day Ahead: For the EUR It’s another relatively busy day ahead on the economic data front. Key stats include June prelim inflation figures for France, Italy and the Eurozone. French consumer spending and Spanish 1 st quarter GDP numbers are also due out. We would expect the inflation numbers to be the key driver and the Eurozone core inflation figures in particular. The stats will likely have a muted impact on the day, however, with updates from the G20 Summit the key driver on the day. At the time of writing, the EUR was down by 0.02% to $1.1367. For the Pound It’s a busier day ahead. Key stats due out of the UK include finalized 1 st quarter GDP, current account and business investment figures. Barring deviation from prelim, the stats are unlikely to have an impact, with the focus remaining on Brexit and the leadership race. Away from the UK, the G20 Summit will also be in focus, though we would expect the Pound to be more resilient to any negative chatter. At the time of writing, the Pound was down by 0.02% to $1.2672. Across the Pond It’s a relatively busy day on the economic calendar. Key stats due out of the U.S include the FED’s preferred core PCE price index and personal spending numbers in the early part of the session. The focus will then shift to Chicago’s June PMI numbers and finalized consumer sentiment figures for July. We will expect the inflation and personal spending figures to be the key driver from the economic calendar. FED Chair Powell as assured the markets of monetary support should inflation soften… Outside of the stats, Trump is back on the world stage at the G20 Summit. Will China cower to Trump’s demands or draw support from the rest of the world. At the time of writing, the Dollar Spot Index was up by 0.02% to 96.211. For the Loonie Following a quiet week, April GDP and May RMPI numbers will provide direction in the early afternoon. By the time the stats are out, the markets will have an idea of how Trump – Xi talks are progressing. It will all boil down to when the two will meet and then update via the news media. It’s not just China that will be in focus, with the latest sanctions on Iran likely to also create some debate over the right approach. Will Trump snub Canadian Prime Trudeau for a 2 nd time? Trudeau has been caught in the middle of the U.S – China trade war and it hasn’t been the best place to be… The Loonie was down by 0.02% to C$1.3098, against the U.S Dollar, at the time of writing. This article was originally posted on FX Empire More From FXEMPIRE: The Crypto Week – Bitcoin Leads the Way as Volatility Grips the Majors Natural Gas Weekly Price Forecast – Natural gas markets recover for the week E-mini NASDAQ-100 Index (NQ) Futures Technical Analysis – Inside Move Indicates Investor Indecision E-mini Dow Jones Industrial Average (YM) Futures Technical Analysis – Straddling Price Cluster at 26601 to 26602 Crude Oil Weekly Price Forecast – Crude oil markets rally for the week Forex Daily Recap – Cable Surged +0.50% Despite Johnson’s Parliament Proroguing Stance \|\| Youve Got to See What Edward Snowden Just Said About Bitcoin: Once a Bitcoin critic, you've got to see what NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden just said about the leading cryptocurrency. \| Source: Svein Ove Ekornesvåg / NTB scanpix After saying last year that Bitcoin itself probably wouldnt exist in the long run, Edward Snowden appeared at the Bitcoin 2019 conference to discuss the ways that Bitcoin helps people in a world of increased surveillance. Snowden: I Bought Servers with BTC to Protect Privacy Snowden admitted that he had used the dominant cryptocurrency to pay for servers he then used to leak data years back, speaking via video call. The lengthy talk touched a range of topics, including Bitcoins association with criminals . Snowden pointed out that more criminals use the dollar. Edward Snowden is most famous for leaking government secrets while working as a government contractor for the NSA. He turned over thousands of documents about government torture and data collection programs to journalists including Glenn Greenwald. The hacker then executed a perfect getaway and currently remains in hiding in Russia. During his talk, he spoke of the way that Bitcoin gives people power that governments have taken away. You cant freely send money around the world, he pointed out, but cryptocurrency brings that back. Read the full story on CCN.com . \|\| The Risk of Further Supply Disruption Remains Elevated: Indeed, it’s tough constructing a bullish argument amidst a constant stream of news flows pointing to a worsening global outlook as tariffs present a significant threat to US growth and in turn the health of the Global economy. And to complicate the matter even if OPEC extends their supply compliance, given the burgeoning non-OPEC supply as evidenced in the latest US inventory reports, OPEC+ will face a scabrous task balancing the current supply with the demand side of the equations. With the colossal supply tail risk following tanker attacks near the Strait of Hormuz fading quickly, it should be back to the markets seemingly endless preoccupation with US-China trade and the outlook for global oil demand. Waning risk appetite on the back of the omnipresent threat of trade war escalation continues to sully the landscape which has weighed on the oil price to an astonishing degree. Especially given that the impact on oil demand from higher tariffs is virtually impossible to quantify over the near term. But with the level of unease increasing across financial markets which continues to spread like spreading like wildfire, even the most ardent oil bulls might consider heading for the sideline until the dust settles But for me their opportunity at every turn, especially with the Middle East dust-up providing us with a stark reminder of how quickly things can escalate in this in this politically fractured part of the world. Here is what this lonely Oil bull is looking at While monthly reports from the EIA and OPEC this week both revised down estimates for 2019 global oil demand on global growth concerns, they also forecasted and undersupplied conditions his year, with OPEC expected to continue producing at a level below what would be needed to balance the market. The OPEC meeting looms large as it’s expected to resolve the critical issue of whether OPEC+ will extend the production cut agreement into 2H19. The conference is planned for June 25-26, but Saudi Arabia and Russia are reportedly seeking a delay into early July to allow June supply/demand data to be considered before a final decision is made. It also makes sense as the panel will be able to judge better the fallout from the crucial G-20 summit and whether President Trump will follow through with more tariffs. I was rewarded handsomely last week after reversing my short below WTI $51(as per Thursday market note) by the unexpected escalation in Middle East tension. But the reason I remain a buyer on overextended dips is I continue to believe that demand risks are more than sufficiently priced into oil now, especially the prompt contracts while supply risks are not. With the US administration pointing the finger at Iran for recent tanker attacks and going against the grain and the prevailing market flow I believe the risk of further supply disruption remains elevated and should provide a credible backstop for Brent and WTI. Story continues This article was written by Stephen Innes, Managing Partner at Vanguard Markets LLC This article was originally posted on FX Empire More From FXEMPIRE: Should You Own Crypto-Currencies or Invest in Them? The Crypto Week – The Bulls Fight Back Weekly Wrap – Stats, Trade and Geopolitics and the Dollar Comeback Adl Predicts Expected Range of the Nasdaq before Breakout Bitcoin Cash – ABC, Litecoin and Ripple Daily Analysis – 16/06/19 U.S Mortgage Rates – 30-Year Rates Steady while Applications Surge View comments \|\| Above $125: Litecoin Jumps to Highest Price in Over a Year: Litecoin’s price hit its highest level in over a year on Monday. The world’s fourth largest cryptocurrency as per market capitalization rose to $128.07 at 12:00 UTC on Coinbase – the highest level since May 23, 2018 – and was last seen trading at $126, representing a 10 percent gain on a 24-hour basis. Notably, the recent price action suggests LTC is leading the broader market higher. The cryptocurrency is currently up more than 30 percent from the low of $97 seen on June 4. Bitcoin Risks Short-Term Bear Reversal Below $7.4K Price Support Meanwhile, bitcoin, the world’s leading cryptocurrency by market value has gained just 7 percent during the same time frame. LTC’s outperformance could be associated with the mining reward halving due in less than 60 days. On Aug. 8, the reward for mining on litecoin’s blockchain will be halved from 25 coins to 12.5 coins per block. The cryptocurrency rallied more than 500 percent in three months before the previous reward halving, which took place on Aug. 25, 2015. The price increased from around $1.5 in May 2015 to hit a high of $7.00 in July 2015 before falling back to $3.00 post-halving, according to historical data . May Was Best Month for CME Bitcoin Futures Volume Since 2017 If history is a guide, LTC continues to rise over the next four weeks before witnessing a bout of profit taking ahead of the Aug. 6 event. It is worth noting that litecoin’s non-price metrics are also witnessing solid growth. For instance, the hash rate has hit a new lifetime high of over 400 trillion hashes per second today, according to bitinfocharts.com . Daily chart LTC continues to chart bullish higher lows and higher highs with the major moving averages aligned in favor of the bulls – the 50-day MA is located above the 100-day MA, which is holding above the 200-day MA. All three averages are trending north, indicating a bullish setup. Further, the relative strength index (RSI) is breaking higher from the consolidation, signaling a continuation of the rally from the price low of $66 seen at the end of April. Story continues More importantly, the indicator is well short of the high of 86.00 seen in the first week of May, meaning there is plenty of room for price rally in the weeks leading up to the reward halving. All-in-all, LTC looks set to test the psychological resistance of $150 in the short-term. The rally to $150, however, may not happen if BTC tanks, dragging the broader market lower. However, even in that case, LTC’s BTC-denominated exchange rate may do well. LTC/BTC is currently trading at 15,910 sats, the highest level since April 15, according to Binance data. Disclosure : The author holds no cryptocurrency assets at the time of writing. Litecoin image via Shutterstock; charts by Trading View Related Stories Bitcoin Price Eyes Stronger Recovery Rally After Bounce to $8K Bitcoin and Gold Prices Diverge Again, Extending 5-Month Correlation \|\| The Other Side of the Economic Story: This article was originally published on ETFTrends.com. What the Nobel Laureate is not telling us By J. Richard Fredericks, Main Management Author’s Note : Readers should be aware that, while we participated in the last Presidential election, we did not cast a vote for either major party candidate. We believe in the two-party system since liberals and conservatives need each other, as the right course of action can generally be found between the back and forth of their two positions. That said, to totally sign on with one or the other party gives away too much independence of thought in our opinion. As an independent, one need not to have to blindly support either the party view or all of their representatives. Only as an independent person, can one exercise contempt evenly and view success or failure dispassionately. But as an American, it is important in one’s critique of any President to give him/her a chance; to observe them closely; applaud what is sound; criticize what isn’t; and wish them well. With respect to our current President, our view is that, while he daily violates the norms of civility, decorum, and deportment, his policies haven’t been ideologically extreme, but temperamentally extreme . Based on the data below, it would be difficult for an observer not to conclude that President Trump has generated some notable economic success. In the June 17 th edition of the New York Times, Nobel Laureate, Professor Paul Krugman, in his editorial column entitled “Why Isn’t Trump a Real Populist?”, wrote several things … … “why has Trump been unwilling to do anything, and I mean anything, to help the people who installed him in the White House?” … “In 2016, on the campaign trail, Trump sounded as if he might be a European-style populist, blending racism with support for social programs that benefit white people. He even promised to raise taxes on the rich, himself included.” … “Since taking office, however, he has relentlessly favored the wealthy over members of the working class, whatever their skin color. His only major legislative success was a huge break for corporations and business owners; the handful of crumbs thrown at ordinary families was so small that most people believe they got nothing at all.” Story continues Reflecting the above, we believe there is an extensive amount of data that Professor Krugman has either not seen, or perhaps has chosen to ignore, but needs to be recognized and acknowledged. We feel the following is relevant to whether the Krugman quotes above have merit. There has been a dramatic pickup in GDP so far under the Trump policies as can be seen in the table below sourced by the St. Louis Federal Reserve. Many felt that a Trump Presidency would definitely not be characterized by any acceleration in GDP due the belief that 2% or less growth was the “new normal” … or worse, that we would move directly into a recession. President Obama famously said that “President Trump would need a magic wand to get to 4% GDP”. Notably, that level was achieved in the 2 nd quarter of 2018 when GDP registered a growth rate of 4.16%. While that level of growth has not been sustained, the annualized quarterly growth rate for 2018 was impressive at 2.98% and for the past four quarters, the average has been even better at 3.19%. There is a major difference between a 2% GDP and a 3% GDP. Some, when queried, would say the difference is “1%” when, mathematically, it is really a 50% step-up. So, the GDP attained so far in the Trump administration far exceeds the GDP achievements of both President Obama and President Bush. We would remind readers that one of the longest stretches of time without a year registering 3% growth in GDP was the four-year time frame from 1929 to 1933 that encompassed the Depression years. There was one other three-year period, from 1945 to 1947, when GDP failed to reach the 3% growth threshold. Regrettably, however, the Obama Presidency failed to achieve GDP growth in excess of 3% in any of his 8 years in office . Some would correctly note that President Obama inherited a difficult economy, but the economic recovery took hold just 9 months into his Presidency, leaving 39 months to enjoy a strong rebound from those depressed levels. That didn’t happen. Click here to read the entire article on Main Management's website. POPULAR ARTICLES AND RESOURCES FROM ETFTRENDS.COM SPY ETF Quote VOO ETF Quote QQQ ETF Quote VTI ETF Quote JNUG ETF Quote Top 34 Gold ETFs Top 34 Oil ETFs Top 57 Financials ETFs As Bitcoin Surges Past $13K, Calls to Embrace Crypto Grow GLDM Marks One Year Anniversary Today, Leads Gold-Backed ETF Flows ROBO Global Healthcare Technology ETF Debuts on NYSE Gold And Silver Rally On Unusual Options Activity Save On Starbucks And Invest It In Starbucks READ MORE AT ETFTRENDS.COM > \|\| Bitcoin Hover Over $11,800 as Top Cryptos See Gains: Saturday, June 29 most of the top 20 cryptocurrencies are reporting moderate to significant gains on the day by press time, as bitcoin ( BTC ) hovers over under the $11,800 mark again. Market visualization Market visualization courtesy of Coin360 Bitcoin is currently up about .14% on the day, trading around $11,830 at press time, according to Coin360 . Looking at its weekly chart, the coin is up over 13%. Bitcoin 7-day price chart Bitcoin 7-day price chart. Source: Coin360 Ether ( ETH ) is holding onto its position as the largest altcoin by market cap, which currently stands at $32.5 billion. The second-largest altcoin, Ripples XRP , has a market cap of $17.6 billion at press time. Coin360 data shows that ETH has seen its value increase by about .6% over the last 24 hours. At press time, ETH is trading around $306. On the week, the coin has also gained over 3.2% of value. Ether 7-day price chart Ether 7-day price chart. Source: Coin360 XRP is up by over 2% over the last 24 hours and is currently trading at around $0.421 . On the week, the coin is down nearly 6%. XRP 7-day price chart XRP 7-day price chart. Source: Coin360 Among the top 20 cryptocurrencies, the coin reporting the most notable gains is chainlink ( LINK ), which is up over 69% in the 24 hours to press time. As Cointelegraph reported earlier this week, major cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase Pro has added support for Chainlink. Also, earlier this month news broke that the Google Cloud team has integrated Chainlinks oracle middleware with its BigQuery enterprise cloud data warehouse, allowing for an on-chain and cloud-based interaction with Ethereum decentralized applications and smart contracts . At press time, the total market capitalization of all cryptocurrencies is $338.7 billion, over 2.8% higher than the value it reported a week ago. Recently that veteran trader and author Peter Brandt predicted that bitcoin will continue to grow but altcoins will not feel the benefits. Related Articles: Bitcoin Falls Under $10,800 as US Stock Market Sees Minor Uptrend ETH Hits 10-Month High as Crypto Markets See Solid Green Bitcoin Breaks $9,300 as US Stock Market Sees Minor Uptrend Bitcoin Holds $9,100 Support While Top 20 Coins Trade Sideways [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] NTerminal Alert We spotted a large Bitcoin transaction: Transaction Amount USD: 5,842,590.62 Price USD: 10,433.15 Transaction Amount BTC: 560.00 URL: https://t.co/8W1LSaOSfD \|\| Kurs-Update: Bitcoin-Kurs fällt merklich um 10 Prozent - BTC-ECHO https://t.co/WqZpthEvlO \|\| أسعار العملات المشفرة ٭ ⬆️ $BTC بـ 12,703.07 دولار \| بتكوين +0.46% ٭ ⬆️ $ETH بـ 316.48 دولار \| ايثيريوم +0.06% ٭ 🔻 $XRP بـ 0.405426553 دولار \| ريبل -0.03% ٭ ⬆️ $LTC بـ 123.24 دولار \| لايت كوين +0.01% ٭ ⬆️ $BCH بـ 425.48 دولار \| بتكوين كاش +0.20% \|\| 金と銀とビットコインとアメリカ株どれ買うのがええの？　　　　　　#仮想通貨　$BTC https://t.co/n0FdAI1hRm https://t.co/YAImNNP8M5 \|\| 時価総額トップ９位までの円建て価格 💹 BTC ￥1050138 💹 ETH ￥22983 💹 XRP ￥34.48 💹 BCH ￥35799 💹 LTC ￥9873 💹 EOS ￥458.22 💹 BNB ￥2974 💹 BSV ￥16060.38 💹 ADA ￥6.55 時価総額トップ100ランキング...https://t.co/JfDnCLWtVo \|\| Men lie, Women lie, Numbers don't. DM me if you want these results. 📈📉📈📉📈📉📉📈📉📈📉📈📉📈📉📈📉📈📉📈📉 #forex #money #bitcoin #cryptocurrency #entrepreneur #wealth #trading #invest #investment #stocks #trader #success #business… https://t.co/kKVUYw85G5 \|\| @CryptosBatman @btc 😎 https://t.co/lcN6O24Cc2 \|\| https://t.co/9BZa1RMkmt https://t.co/HPbeI74dvl \|\| $EPAZ's Bitcoin Sharing & Blockchain Social Media App Webbeeo Is In Alpha Testing Phase https://www.owltmarket \|\| $EPAZ's Bitcoin Sharing & Blockchain Social Media App Webbeeo Is In Alpha Testing Phase https://www.owltmarket	Trend: down \|\| Prices: 11862.94, 11354.02, 11523.58, 11382.62, 10895.83, 10051.70, 10311.55, 10374.34, 10231.74, 10345.81
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis] Not fully available. [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Anarchists love 2015's best performing asset: Gold is down nearly 10 percent, major U.S. stock indexes are roughly flat and energy commodities have nearly all fallen more than 30 percent: It's been a tough year for investors. And while individual stocks have seen big pops on headlines, perhaps the best performing non-equity asset of the year is a favorite among crypto-anarchists. Bitcoin (: BTC=) , the digital currency heralded as a potential successor to the global monetary system, is up about 37 percent against the U.S. dollar since the beginning of the year. The cryptocurrency went for about $313 at the beginning of the year, according to CoinDesk's composite price index, and is now changing hands at around $430. Those huge gains come after starting the year on rocky footing: Bitcoin dipped to below $175 in mid-January. But after a few false starts, the digital currency has been largely gaining ground since the beginning of October. (One of the few investment options with a comparable 2015 return is Argentina's benchmark Merval — up about 40 percent on the year. Although U.S. investors playing the Global X Argentina ETF would be disappointed by the fund's slight loss in 2015.) It's hard to say what's actually caused Bitcoin's rise during the last three months of 2015. In November, digital ecosystem observers told CNBC that a 70 percent one-month spike may have been caused in part by headlines like the Winklevoss twins launching their exchange and the Digital Currency Group announcing funding from Bain and MasterCard . Others suggested that the relatively lightly traded asset could have been jumping on speculators' fear of missing out (FOMO). For Brendan O'Connor, the CEO of bitcoin trading firm Genesis Global Trading, the year-end run up was the result of a series of positive trends for the asset. On the one hand, O'Connor said, funding announcements from bitcoin-related start-ups helped to establish the legitimacy of the sector — and its underlying technology. This has helped push institutional investors into making investments in both the digital token and the over-the-counter Bitcoin Investment Trust ( more on that ETF-like vehicle can be found here ). Story continues "They're looking for investments in non-correlated asset classes," O'Connor said, explaining that financial firms regularly come to his office to learn how to trade bitcoin. "I still think that by and large they're viewing it as a speculative investment, but I think that their willingness to test the waters has increased dramatically." Another important trend in the space has been the gradually increasing interest the technology — and it's negligible fee structure — for remittance payments and as a daily currency in monetarily challenged parts of the world, O'Connor said. That potential came to the forefront of the tech discussion during the summer's Greek crisis: When the country instituted capital controls in the face of increasingly dire eurozone negotiations, countless articles were written about bitcoin's potential for struggling citizens . It's unclear if those prophecies ever came to any real fruition, but investors in the space say the positive press coverage at least boosted awareness of bitcoin's potential. Finally, bitcoin may have simply benefited from the lack of any disastrous headlines. Many traders say the cryptocurrency has shed the pall of failed exchange Mt. Gox — which quickly shuttered in 2014 after saying it lost 850,000 bitcoins (worth about $365 million today). Bitcoin's fall from more than $1,150 near the end of 2013 to this January's $200 levels represented the asset's "long winter," according to economist Tuur Demeester, editor-in-chief of bitcoin-focused Adamant Research. The story of 2015, therefore, has been a bottoming out for the digital asset, and a climb to revaluation. Bitcoin's fall from its highs, Demeester said, was the result of "bubblicious" investing in 2013 (with some help from Mt. Gox). Pricing levels remained depressed for so long because companies had become over-leveraged, and so had been squeezed into heavy bitcoin selling, he said. As for 2016, Demeester suggested that the cryptocurrency could likely see another leg up as newly confident investors seek the right market valuation. "But," he said, "with bitcoin you have to expect to be surprised." More From CNBC Top News and Analysis Latest News Video Personal Finance \|\| Global Arena Holding Demonstrates Continued Growth: NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwired - Dec 2, 2015) - Global Arena Holding, Inc. (OTC PINK:GAHC), (the "Company") announced today that it has released its quarterly report for the period ending September 30, 2015. During this quarter the Company's subsidiary, Global Election Services, Inc. ("GES"), continued to show strong revenue growth while the Company has taken first steps toward acquiring Blockchain Technologies Corporation. Read the full 10Q:http://biz.yahoo.com/e/151123/gahc10-q.html For the nine months ended September 30, 2014, the Company recognized sales revenue of approximately $619,633, contributing to total sales of $887,016. The increase in recognized revenue -- $565,646 compared to revenue for the nine months ended September 30, 2014 -- is principally due to the new business services of GES, which provides comprehensive technology-enabled election services primarily for organized labor associations. Overall however, the Company recorded a loss. The Company CEO, John Matthews, said; "The losses in the third quarter are mainly due to the development of the Company through its subsidiaries. GES is currently the only operating company and it alone, at this time at least, cannot possibly support the current infrastructure. Higher than normal cost however, are attributed to professional fees concerning the due diligence and acquisition review of Blockchain Technologies Corporation." Mr. Matthews continued; "Going forward, the elections company, GES, is on a pace to grow by over 50% and with the acquisition of Blockchain Technologies Corporation ("BTC"), it is our belief we will generate income from BTC's elections blockchain software, and that will give us the opportunity to increase profits further. The Company also will benefit from revenue generated from BTC when it provides technology to GES, which GES currently pays to 3rd party providers." The Company is still in the process of completing its acquisition of Blockchain Technologies Corporation, which will bring with it several revenue producing companies and high potential patents. The losses this quarter are viewed as a temporary setback. About Global Arena HoldingThe Company trades on the OTC Pink Sheets under the ticker symbol GAHC. The Company has been publicly traded since 2011 and holds a number of interests, including Global Elections Services, Inc., GAHI Acquisition Corp and Blockchain Technologies Corporation Inc. The Company focuses on acquiring technologies, patents and companies having the ability to leverage the blockchain crypto technology. For more information visit:http://globalarenaholding.com Twitter:www.twitter.com/GlobalArenaGAHCFacebook:www.facebook.com/GlobalArenaHoldingGAHCLinkedIn:www.linkedin.com/pub/global-arena-holding/107/86a/a7Google+:http://tinyurl.com/GlobalArenaHolding Safe Harbor StatementThe Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides a "safe harbor" for forward-looking statements. Certain information included in this press release contains statements that are forward-looking, such as statements related to the future anticipated direction of the industry, plans for future expansion, various business development activities, planned or required capital expenditures, future funding sources, anticipated sales growth, and potential contracts. Such forward-looking information involves important risks and uncertainties that could significantly affect anticipated results in the future and, accordingly, such results may differ from those expressed in any forward-looking statements made by, or on behalf of, the company. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those relating to development and expansion activities, dependence on existing management, financing activities, domestic and global economic conditions, and other risks and uncertainties described in the Company's periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. \|\| Your first trade for Tuesday: The " Fast Money " traders delivered their final trades of the day. Pete Najarian was a buyer of Pfizer ( PFE ) . Brian Kelly was a buyer of Garmin ( GRMN ) . Karen Finerman was a buyer of Dorian LPG ( LPG ) . Guy Adami was a buyer of Nuance ( NUAN ) . Trader disclosure: On November 16, 2015, the following stocks and commodities mentioned or intended to be mentioned on CNBC's "Fast Money" were owned by the "Fast Money" traders: Pete Najarian is l ong AAPL, AMAT, BAC, BMY, BP, CSX, DIS, DISCA, DKS, FOXA, GE, KKR, KO, MRK, PEP, PFE, PHM he is long calls AAPL, ABX, BAC, BEE, DAL, DOW, EMR, FB, FIT, JOY, LUK, MRK, MSFT, PBR, PFE, POT, SLV, TJX, UA, UAL, VZ, WYNN, XLF, ZIOP He is long puts EWW, FCX, MRO. Brian Kelly is long BBRY, GLD, Bitcoin, Hong Kong Dollar, US Dollar; he is short Yuan, British Pound, Candaian Dollar, Euro, Yen, EEM, EWC, EWH, EWU, EWG, SPY. Karen Finerman is long BAC, C, FL, GOOG, GOOGL, JPM, KORS, KORS call spreads, M, SEDG, URI, she is short SPY, Her firm is long ANTM, AAPL, BAC, C, DIS, DIS puts, FL, GOOG, GOOGL, GPS, JPM, KORS, KORS call spreads, MA, URI, URI long puts, WFM, her firm is short IWM, SPY, MDY, USO, XRT, Karen Finerman is on the board of GrafTech International. Guy Adami is long CELG, EXAS, INTC, Guy Adami's wife, Linda Snow, works at Merck. More From CNBC Top News and Analysis Latest News Video Personal Finance \|\| Insight - In taking economic war to Islamic State, U.S. developing new tools: By Yeganeh Torbati and Brett Wolf WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Since last month, U.S. warplanes have struck Islamic State's oil infrastructure in Syria in a stepped-up campaign of economic warfare that the United States estimates has cut the group's black-market earnings from oil by about a third. In finding their targets, U.S. military planners have relied in part on an unconventional source of intelligence: access to banking records that provide insight into which refineries and oil pumps are generating cash for the extremist group, current and former officials say. The intent is to choke off the Islamic State's funding by tracking its remaining ties to the global financial system. By identifying money flowing to and from the group, U.S. officials have been able to get a glimpse into how its black-market economy operates, people with knowledge of the effort have said. That in turn has influenced decisions about targeting for air strikes in an effort that began before Islamic State's Nov. 13 attacks on Paris and has intensified since, they said. While Islamic State's access to formal banking has been restricted, it retains some ties that U.S. military and financial officials can use against it, the current and former officials said. "We have done a really good job of largely keeping the Islamic State out of the formal financial system," said Matthew Levitt, who served as deputy assistant secretary for intelligence at the U.S. Treasury in the George W. Bush administration. "But we haven't been entirely successful, and that may not be a bad thing." Reuters was unable to verify key aspects of the campaign, including when it started or exactly which facilities have been destroyed as a result. Two current officials who confirmed the operations in outline declined to comment on their details. It was unclear how U.S. intelligence, Treasury, and military officials working on what the government calls "counter threat finance" operations have used banking records to identify lucrative Islamic State oil-related targets in Syria and whether that involved local banks. A report this year by the intergovernmental Financial Action Task Force found there were more than 20 Syrian financial institutions with operations in Islamic State territory. In Iraq, Treasury has worked with government officials to cut off bank branches in the group's territory from the Iraqi and international financial systems. Gerald Roberts, section chief of the FBI's terrorist financing operations section, said that Islamic State's recruits from outside Syria often come with financial trails that officials tracking them can "exploit." "We are seeing them using traditional banking systems," he said at a banking conference last week in Washington, adding that young, tech-savvy Islamic State members are also familiar with virtual currencies such as Bitcoin. Islamic State, also known as IS, ISIS or ISIL, is sometimes forced to use commercial banks because the amounts involved are too large to move using other means, said Levitt. The U.S. Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) uses a set of "business rules" to screen the roughly 55,000 reports it receives daily from financial institutions for signs of activity involving Islamic State, a spokesman said. He declined to describe the rules, but law enforcement sources say names, IP addresses, email addresses, and phone numbers are among the data that intelligence authorities try to match. The matches allow FinCEN "to connect the dots between seemingly unrelated individuals and entities," the FinCEN spokesman said. At present, FinCEN finds about 1,200 matches suggesting possible Islamic State-linked financial activity each month, up from 800 in April, the spokesman said. Bank of America, JP Morgan and Wells Fargo declined to comment on whether they provided financial reports to the U.S. government. Such reports are supplied confidentially. Citigroup, HSBC, and Standard Chartered did not immediately respond to requests for comment. "TIDAL WAVE II" The use of financial records linked to Islamic State is only one part of the intelligence-gathering exercise for air strikes in Syria that also includes methods such as aerial surveillance by drones, officials said. One former military official familiar with the process said that any financial intelligence collected by FinCEN would require "significant vetting" before the military acted on it. Earlier this month, U.S.-led coalition planes struck 116 fuel trucks used to smuggle Islamic State oil 45 minutes after dropping leaflets warning drivers to flee, a Pentagon spokesman said. Coalition strikes destroyed another 283 Islamic State fuel trucks on Saturday, the Pentagon said. On Nov. 8, a coalition air strike destroyed three oil refineries in Syria near the border with Turkey. U.S. defence officials estimate that Islamic State, an adversary the United States calls the wealthiest terrorist group of its kind in history, was earning about $47 million per month from oil sales prior to October. That month, the U.S. military launched an intensified effort to go after oil infrastructure, dubbed "Tidal Wave II," named after the bombing campaign targeting Romanian oil fields in World War Two. The Pentagon estimates the strikes have reduced the Islamic State's income from oil sales by about 30 percent, one U.S. defence official with knowledge of the previously unreported estimate said. Reuters was unable to confirm this. The use of financial records in helping to pick U.S. targets was first disclosed last week at the banking conference in Washington. At the conference, Kurt Gredzinski, the Counter Threat Finance Team Chief at U.S. Special Operations Command, cited the importance of information provided by banks in the war against Islamic State. "That to me is the first time in my recollection that we strategically targeted based on threat finance information," he said at the conference. He declined to comment further on which strike he had been referring to. "RESILIENT FINANCIAL PORTFOLIO" U.S. officials believe that diminished funding could gradually undermine Islamic State's grip on the area it controls in Iraq and Syria, because it needs revenue to pay salaries and keep public infrastructure operating, said two former officials with knowledge of the Obama administration's thinking. Experts caution that Islamic State, which rules an area the size of Austria, has surprisingly deep pockets due to the various revenue streams it controls. It has built up what amounts to a "durable and resilient financial portfolio," funded by oil sales, extortion, and sales of antiquities, said Thomas Sanderson, an expert on terrorism at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "Money can be strapped to the backs of mules," Sanderson said. "It's easy to move things across a border during a time of deprivation and chaos." Despite some initial success, cutting off its funding will require deeper cooperation from governments from Turkey to Russia, experts say. The group has shown the ability to bounce back from previous U.S. strikes on its oil facilities. Counter-terrorism experts say that Islamic State appears to have learned from U.S. successes in cracking down on funding for al-Qaeda, which relied heavily on support from wealthy donors in the Gulf region. "IS has learned that you don't want to be reliant on too many outside sources," said Sanderson. "Donors are fickle and subject to pressure and (IS) wants to be in control." (Reporting by Yeganeh Torbati in Washington and Brett Wolf of Thomson Reuters Regulatory Intelligence. Additional reporting by Joel Schectman, Warren Strobel, and Jonathan Landay in Washington.; Editing by Kevin Krolicki and Stuart Grudgings) \|\| Kenya’s central bank is taking out newspapers ads to warn against buying Bitcoin: The safest way to transfer money. The Central Bank of Kenya took out local newspaper ads this week to warn citizens of the dangers of crypto-currencies like Bitcoin. CBK – “Bitcoin and similar products are not legal tender nor are they regulated in Kenya” #statusquo pic.twitter.com/mdmkxTGMUx — Winter soldier (@Neloversion) December 15, 2015 Among the concerns it raises: Once again, Norway has been voted the best country in the world for humans Virtual currencies are traded in exchange platforms that tend to be unregulated all over the world. Consumers may therefore lose their money without having any legal redress in the event these exchanges collapse or close business. The public should therefore desist from transacting in Bitcoin and similar products. The CBK isn’t just following the lead of other governments that have warned citizens to steer clear of the unregulated virtual currency. It also is wading into a widening spat between the country’s dominant telecom, Safaricom, and an upstart remittances company that uses Bitcoin, called Bitpesa. Bitpesa and another start up, Lipisha, are both suing Safaricom for intimidation and cessation of service without notice for blocking their access to Safaricom’s widely used mobile money platform, Mpesa. The day before the central bank’s ad appeared, a Kenyan High Court judge ruled that Safaricom does not have to grant Bitpesa and its partner access while the court case proceeds. Ironically, the fight is between two companies that are both using technology to improve life for Africa’s emerging but still disadvantaged middle and working classes. Mpesa enables customers—including millions who are “unbanked”—to transfer, use, or store cash on their cell phones. It has helped raise the rate of Kenyan adults with access to formal financial services from to 67% in 2014, up from 41% in 2009. The platform also is being used for a range of other projects, from improving healthcare to giving rural areas access to solar power . Story continues Bitpesa, founded by former development professionals working in micro-finance, aims to reduce the high cost of money transfers for Africans living and working away from home. Africans spend double the global average rate to send remittances. Through Bitpesa, users can transfer bitcoin and then convert it into Kenyan shillings. The two-year-old company has raised more than $1.7 million from investors. “We were fans of the innovation that Safaricom first shared with Kenya and the region back in 2007-2009, and we watched as other companies built upon this first mobile money network, with iterations taking the technology to places Safaricom alone could never go,” Bitpesa co-founder Elizabeth Rossiello wrote in a Dec. 14 blog post . The debate over how to regulate Bitcoin also encapsulates the competing interests of innovation and status quo in a country that is dubbed East Africa’s “Silicon Savannah.” Safaricom, founded in 1997, is one of the country’s most established telecom firms and its largest mobile network provider. It has defended its decision to block Bitpesa by saying the startup does not meet anti-money-laundering laws. (Bitpesa counters that it does not fall under such regulations.) Observers point out the fact that Safaricom is also entering the remittances industry with a partnership between South Africa’s MTN Group and its parent company Vodafone that will allow users in both networks , which covers most of east and central Africa, to transfer money across the region on their phones. One of Bitpesa’s board members and investors, Joseph Mucheru has been nominated to be the country’s cabinet secretary for information and communications technology. He has said that once he is sworn in he will divest from the company, but his views are clear. He told a local newspaper , “It will be a sad day if we fail to embrace this because we are afraid. Kenya cannot be the tech hub of Africa if our own regulations stifle innovation.” But at least for now, Kenya’s central bank seems to think the caution is worth the tradeoff. Sign up for the Quartz Africa Weekly Brief — the most important and interesting news from across the continent, in your inbox. Sign up for the Quartz Daily Brief , our free daily newsletter with the world’s most important and interesting news. More stories from Quartz: Most of the information we spread online is quantifiably “bullshit” This simple negotiation tactic brought 195 countries to consensus \|\| Bitcoin Seeks To Right Music-Industry Wrongs: The music industry has been plagued by problems ever since the advent of the Internet and digital file sharing. Free file sharing, illegal downloads and streaming services that offer unlimited listening for a low monthly fee have all contributed to a growing resentment among artists who say that the value their work isn't being recognized adequately. However, the bitcoin community is looking to all of that by using blockchain, the ledger-like technology that the cryptocurrency runs on, to create more transparent contracts. Royalty Distribution As many artists have their royalty fees negotiated by their labels, undesirable contracts with streaming services are often outside of their control. That means that their music can be played on services likeApple Inc.(NASDAQ:AAPL)'s Apple Music or Spotify for a minor fee that the artist often find insufficient. In order to combat this, Ujo Music is working to create a system in which artists contracts are secured via blockchain. That way, transparency between the artist, the label and the streaming service is ensured and artists have more control over how and where their music is sold. Related Link:Is Adele Giving Pandora's Stock A Boost? Maybe, But A Major Copyright Overhang May Have Just Been Removed Peer-To-Peer Sharing A service called Peertracks is looking to use an alt-coin in order to deliver value to artists that choose to share their music on the service. The company uses "artist tokens" which increase in value as a particular track gains popularity. Music that doesn't reach many people would generate tokens with less value. In such a system artists are paid for the consumption of their music and rewarded for songs that are particularly catchy. Bitcoin Payments Bittunes is another startup aiming to the music industry, only this service is hoping to keep things simple and use bitcoin as a form of payment. The company allows users to play new tracks for $0.50, half of which goes to the artist while the other half is redistributed to a group of buyers. That way, the company's managing director Simon Edhouse has said, the transaction remains between an artist and their fans. Songs that make it to the service's Top 100 increase in price to $1.00, leaving the artist with 40 percent of the sale, the buyers sharing an additional 40 percent between themselves while Bittunes collects the remaining 20 percent. A World Outside Of Cryptocurrency Blockchain's entrance into the music space underscores the growing enthusiasm surrounding the technology. While bitcoin itself has raised questions about safety and reliability, the technology behind the cryptocurrency is often dubbed one of the most important technological advances of the decade. For that reason, many startups are focusing on how to implement blockchain into new industries rather than on ways to help spread the word about bitcoin. Many believe that bitcoin may never make it as a widely accepted form of currency, but on the other hand blockchain has the potential to revolutionize several different industries. See more from Benzinga • 6 Ways Blockchain Could Change The World • 8 Ways To Add Solar To Your Portfolio • Obamacare Is Still Under Pressure; Here's Why © 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| Can The Bitcoin Foundation Last?: The Bitcoin Foundation was launched in 2012 as a way to provide legitimacy to bitcoin and cryptocurrencies at a time when they were relatively unknown. For two years, the foundation worked to lobby lawmakers, create public awareness and help bitcoin technology advance with the changing times. However, in 2014 when the price of bitcoin dropped dramatically, the foundation lost a great deal of its funding and now almost two years later, it continues to struggle. Money Issues One of the foundation's largest problems lies in its finances. The Bitcoin Foundation's board members have proven inexperienced at raising money and managing finances, an issue that has caused the organization to lose around $7 million over the course of the past two years. Related Link:What's In Store For Bitcoin In 2016 On December 15 when the Bitcoin Foundation held its board meeting, Executive Director Bruce Fentonadmittedthat the organization was in dire straits and that more funding would be required in order to keep the foundation up and running, according to Bloomberg. A Bad Reputation However, while the bitcoin community strongly supports spreading the word about cryptocurrencies, the Bitcoin Foundation has found it increasingly difficult to recruit new members and drum up donations. One of the reasons for this has been the organization's deteriorating reputation. As bitcoin itself was dragged through the mud due to high profile scams, some Bitcoin Foundation board members were wrapped up in scandals of their own. Former Vice Chairman of the Bitcoin Foundation Charlie Shrem is serving time in prison for his involvement in the illegal Silk Road marketplace, and founding member Mark Karpeles, the brain behind failed exchange Mt. Gox, was arrested on charges of embezzlement in August 2015. Does Bitcoin Need A Foundation? While the Bitcoin Foundation has been instrumental in helping the cryptocurrency advance, many believe the currency is likely to survive even without the organization. While the Bitcoin Foundation represents the first major entity to advocate cryptocurrencies, several others have since emerged and will likely take on the organization's role should it deteriorate further. Hanging On By A Thread On December 22, the Bitcoin Foundation voted to continue into the New Year and appointed three new board members. In an effort to turn things around, the foundation is working to revamp its mission statement and focus on maintaining healthier financials. Image Credit:Public Domain See more from Benzinga • What Does The End Of The Oil Export Ban Mean For Investors? • Could 2016 Be The Year Of Drone Deliveries? • Are Bank Stocks The Way Forward In 2016? © 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| Rocky Mountain Ayre, Inc., Releases HempCoin Audio Interview: DOVER, DE--(Marketwired - Nov 30, 2015) - Rocky Mountain Ayre, Inc., a holding company ( OTC PINK : RMTN ), has released an Internet link to an Audio Interview performed by one of its Directors, David Tobias. During the interview, David discusses the technical aspects and the future plans for RMTN's Crypto-Currency, HempCoin. The Audio-Interview can be heard at: http://smallcapvoice.com/blog/11-19-15-smallcapvoice-interview-with-rocky-mountain-ayre-inc-rmtn About HempCoin. HempCoin (HMP) runs on its own peer to peer blockchain like BitCoin (BTC) but at a faster rate because it is using the script technique like LiteCoin. So in addition to having the advantage of being able to move HMP around faster than BTC, HMP is backed by the marketable securities of RMTN. BTC is strictly a fiat currency like the US Dollar, however, BTC has the potential to go up in value against the Dollar because of supply and demand factors and HMP has this same built in advantage because unlike the Dollar, both BTC and HMP have a limited amount of coins in circulation, while the Dollar is ever increasing in supply. About Rocky Mountain, Inc. Rocky Mountain Ayre, Inc. ( www.rockymountainayre.com ) is a publicly traded company listed on the OTCmarkets under the "RMTN" trading symbol. It is a holding company increasing its asset and revenue base through acquisition of fast-growing food and hospitality, manufacturing and retail businesses. All inquiries should be directed to: [email protected] . Safe Harbor Statement This Press Release may contain certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The Company has tried, whenever possible, to identify these forward-looking statements using words such as "anticipates," "believes," "estimates," "expects," "plans," "intends," "potential" and similar expressions. These statements reflect the Company's current beliefs and are based upon information currently available to it. Accordingly, such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which could cause the Company's actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed in or implied by such statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or advise in the event of any change, addition or alteration to the information catered in this Press Release including such forward-looking statements. \|\| Trade Options? Here's How To Get Involved In Bitcoin: By now, Bitcoin needs no introduction. The digital asset has become the most popular cryptocurrency in the world, and people are already getting used to using it and trading it every day. But, are there other ways to capitalize from the fluctuations of the currency? An innovative way to trade the popular cryptocurrency uses binary options. The Playbook Do you think the Bitcoin will continue to surge? Or will it lose value going forward? Whatever your thoughts on the issue are, binary options might offer an interesting way to play the events with relatively low collateral. Related Link:Think Energy Has More Downside? Here Are Two Ways To Play It What Are Binary Options? Investing via binary options is just that: playing a binary event. “Binary options are limited risk contracts based on a simple yes/no market proposition like will the markets go up by the end of the trading week,” binary options trading site Nadex . How To Trade Bitcoin With Binary Options Via binary options, traders can partake in the popular Bitcoin market with “limited risk, short-term contracts in a transparent, regulated marketplace.” At Nadex, investors can find unique daily and weekly Bitcoin binary option contracts, based off the Tera Bitcoin Price Index. Below is an example of how to trade Bitcoin using binary options. A standard Bitcoin Binary Option may look something like: Bitcoin > 440 (3:00PM) This means that this contact suggests the underlying price of Bitcoin will be above $440 at 3:00 p.m. If you think the answer is yes, buying the binary option might be the way to go. If you think the answer is no, you would sell the contract. Investors should note that the price at which they would buy or sell the contracts is not the actual price of Bitcoin, but rather a value between zero and 100. Disclosure: Javier Hasse holds no positions in any of the securities mentioned above. Image Credit: See more from Benzinga • Citi Pair Trade In Hardware: Buy Cisco, Sell F5 • BMO Notes What's Holding HP Inc Back • Vetr Crowd Downgrades Republic Airways Amid Airline Weakness © 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| Meet Pine A64, a 64-bit quad-core supercomputer that costs just $15: As recently as a few short years ago, the notion of a fully functional “supercomputer” the size of a smartphone would have been thought ridiculous. And even if such a device did exist, it would have undoubtedly been priced well out of the reach of most users. Fast-forward to 2015 and we’ve seen incredible progress made in the single-board computer space. There is a full-fledged Windows 10 PC called the Kangaroo that’s the size of a phablet and costs just $99, and of course the Raspberry Pi was introduced at a shockingly low price point. Now, the company behind the Raspberry Pi pushed boundaries even further with the $5 Raspberry Pi Zero . But Raspberry Pi products aren’t as much about power as they are about breaking down barriers for entrepreneurs and engineers. This left an opening in the market for a new type of ultra-low cost computer that takes the spirit of the Raspberry Pi and injects it with a shot of adrenaline. Beginning today, a new single-board computer called Pine A64 will look to answer the call. MUST SEE: Remarkable new sensor chip pulls power out of the air so it never needs to be charged The new Pine A64 is a tiny little computer with great big ambitions. The expandable single-board device runs either Linux or Android and features impressive specs that outshine comparable products by a substantial margin. Highlights include a 1.2GHz quad-core ARM processor, a Mali 400 MP2 GPU, 512MB of DDR3 RAM, a microSDXC slot and support for 4K ultra high-definition video. More specs follow below. 64 Bit Quad Core ARM Cortex A53 1.2 Ghz CPU Dual core Mali 400 MP2 GPU 512MB DDR3 SDRAM MicroSD slot supports up to 256GB expansion 10/100 Mb Ethernet port (2) USB 2.0 hosts 4K high-definition video playback 4K x 2K HDMI port and multi-channel audio output Bluetooth 4.0 with 802.11BGN connectivity optional 3.5mm Stereo Output mini-jack with microphone support Built-in 3.7V Lithium Battery Charging Circuit Hardware security enables trustzone security system, Digital Rights Management (DRM), information encryption/decryption, secure boot, secure JTAG and secure efuse Story continues An upgraded Pine A64+ version bumps the device up to 1GB of DDR3 RAM and adds a 5-megapixel camera port, a MIPI video port and a touch panel port. “PINE64 set out to create a simple, smart and affordable computer that gives people access toward making their next big idea come to life,” PINE64 co-founder Johnson Jeng said. “We provide a powerful 64 Bit Quad Core single-board computer at an exceptional price and remain compatible with multiple open source software platforms to build a community of creativity and innovation.” Now, for the bad news — though it’s not as bad as similar announcements have been. The Pine A64 and Pine A64+ are part of a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign, so you can’t actually purchase one right now. The good news, however, is that the campaign has a low finding goal of $31,416 that will undoubtedly be reached quickly. Better yet, both Pine models are ready for primetime and they will begin shipping to backers in about two months. Not in six months and not in a year, but in February. Pine A64 costs just $15 while the upgraded Pine A64+ model costs $19. More information can be found on the company’s Kickstarter page , and a video featuring Apple employee No. 12 Daniel Kottke is embedded below along with a spec grid that compares the Pine A64 and A64+ to the Raspberry Pi-2B and Pi-1A+. Related stories Verizon exec in charge of FiOS TV confesses that she cut the cord Bitcoin creator revealed to be Australian genius Craig Wright; subsequently has house raided by police 12 Days of Amazon Deals: Half off a 14-inch Core i5 laptop More from BGR: Apple’s secrets: How Apple’s legal fight with Samsung revealed a gold mine of top-secret information This article was originally published on BGR.com [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] In the last 10 mins, there were arb opps spanning 11 exchange pair(s), yielding profits ranging between $0.00 and $238.28 #bitcoin #btc \|\| Current price: 456.32$ $BTCUSD $btc #bitcoin 2015-12-24 12:00:18 EST \|\| In the last 10 mins, there were arb opps spanning 13 exchange pair(s), yielding profits ranging between $0.00 and $718.19 #bitcoin #btc \|\| One Bitcoin now worth $348.54@bitstamp. High $369.70. Low $327.00. Market Cap $ 5.190 Billion #bitcoin pic.twitter.com/nqwbr1pGO4 \|\| LIVE: Profit = $743.22 (0.91 %). BUY B226.39 @ $362.72 (#BTCe). SELL @ $365.00 (#Bitfinex) #bitcoin #btc - … pic.twitter.com/aUP7XyAU0t \|\| $318.37 at 09:15 UTC [24h Range: $310.00 - $336.48 Volume: 24757 BTC] via #btcusdpic.twitter.com/82m3Ztoih3 \|\| Current price: 432.39$ $BTCUSD $btc #bitcoin 2016-01-01 08:00:03 EST \|\| 1 #BTC (#Bitcoin) quotes: $331.33/$331.55 #Bitstamp $327.00/$327.00 #BTCe ⇢$-4.55/$-4.33 $331.99/$332.02 #Coinbase ⇢$0.44/$0.69 \|\| In the last 10 mins, there were arb opps spanning 17 exchange pair(s), yielding profits ranging between $0.00 and $839.87 #bitcoin #btc \|\| Current price: 397.92€ $BTCEUR $btc #bitcoin 2016-01-02 20:00:06 CET	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 430.01, 433.09, 431.96, 429.11, 458.05, 453.23, 447.61, 447.99, 448.43, 435.69
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis] Not fully available. [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] 'Strong evidence' North Korea-linked group was behind NHS cyberattack: There is "strong" evidence to suggest a North Korea-linked group was behind last week's global cyberattack, security experts say. Simon Choi, director of South Korean anti-virus firm Hauri, said the code used in the attack shared many similarities with previous hacks attributed to North Korea-linked Lazarus Group. The same collective is believed to have been behind the 2014 hack of Sony Pictures and is also suspected of previous attacks on the global financial system. Mr Choi said: "I saw signs last year that the North was preparing ransomware attacks or even already beginning to do so, targeting some South Korean companies." He added that since 2013, hackers aligned to Pyongyang have been using malicious software to extort Bitcoin - the online currency demanded in last week's WannaCry cyberattack. Israeli-based security firm Intezer Labs said there were "clear code connections" between Lazarus and WannaCry, adding that the evidence "strongly suggests that these hacking tools were written or modified by the same author". Symantec and Kaspersky are investigating whether hackers from Lazarus Group were responsible for infecting an estimated 300,000 machines in 150 countries. Their enquiries came as the White House said that paying ransom money to unlock files encrypted by the global cyberattack does not work. Homeland security adviser Tom Bossett told reporters he is not aware of a case where transferring $300 (£232) in Bitcoin - the amount demanded from victims of last week's attack - has "led to any data recovery". President Trump's administration estimates that less than $70,000 (£54,285) has been paid to the criminals behind the ransomware so far. During a White House briefing, Mr Bossert said no federal systems in the US had been affected by the malicious software. He added that his British counterparts said they now had a "feeling of control" after the attack struck 47 NHS organisations. Story continues Russia has denied it had anything to do with what Europol called the "largest ransomware attack observed in history", and President Vladimir Putin described it as payback for the US intelligence services. His remarks came after Microsoft's chief legal officer said the US National Security Agency had developed the original code used in the attack , which was later leaked in a document dump. Mr Putin said: "A genie let out of a bottle of this kind, especially created by secret services, can then cause damage to its authors and creators." Meanwhile, the 22-year old computer expert who discovered the WannaCry's hidden kill switch says he does not think of himself as a hero and was just "doing my bit to stop botnets". British-born Marcus Hutchins, who is currently working in Los Angeles, stumbled on the solution by accident while analysing a sample of the malicious code, and then spent three days fighting the ransomware worm. Mr Hutchins' manager at online security firm Kryptos Logic said he "not only saved the United States but also prevented further damage to the rest of the world". Sky News has learned that health trusts in England were sent details of a security patch last month that would have allowed them to protect themselves. A spokesman for NHS Digital said: "Our understanding is that if that had been acted on it would have prevented (the malware attack)." \|\| Inside the World's Greatest Scavenger Hunt, Part 1: In the fall of 2015, my teenage daughter Tia crafted a spectacular, life-sized poodle out of feminine hygiene products. “It’s a tampoodle,” she told me. She made this, uh, artwork as an audition piece—to showcase her creative skills, as a tryout for an elite team in some kind of national scavenger hunt. (She made the team.) I thought the tampoodle was cute. I thought it was great fun that Tia was joining some kind of scavenger hunt. I had no idea what kind of ride was ahead. Meet GISHWHES When most people think of a scavenger hunt, they probably imagine the list of items includes, you know, “Get the dean’s signature” or “Find a dog with a curly tail.” GISHWHES is not that. It stands for the Greatest International Scavenger Hunt the World Has Ever Seen. (Its creator acknowledges GISHWHES may be the Ugliest Acronym the World Has Ever Seen.) Teams of 15 have one week to complete about 200 extremely difficult or hilarious tasks. They prove they’ve completed each item by submitting a photo or video of it; their $20 entry fees go to a charity, and the winning team gets a trip to some exotic location with Misha Collins, the hunt’s founder. Sample items from past GISHWHES lists: • Do a dramatic reading of your grade-school report card. • Find someone you love and butter them up—literally. Cover them in butter and then give them a big hug. • Glaciers are melting—so act accordingly. Pose at a major glacier wearing a swimsuit with floaties. • Have a tea party with a pediatric cancer patient, where you’re dressed as a character from “Alice in Wonderland.” • Tour a sewage treatment plant dressed in formal attire with an accompanying violinist or flutist. • Get a child to write a letter to the universe. Launch the letter into orbit . • Film an erotically charged conversation between a housewife and pizza delivery man. The actors can ONLY talk about grammar and fonts. What astonished me is what a big deal GISHWHES is. Last year, 55,000 people registered to participate—not including all the friends and family members who lent favors, assistance, and props. ( Registration for this year’s hunt opens this week .) Story continues Some participants had to dress up as a prospector and pan for gold in a public fountain. Photo courtesy of David Pogue GISHWHES holds seven Guinness World Records, including Biggest Media Scavenger Hunt, Largest Online Photo Album of Hugs, Longest Chain of Safety Pins, Most Pledges for a Charitable Campaign, and Largest Gathering of People in French Maid Outfits. (Why is there a Guinness record for Largest Gathering of People in French Maid Outfits!?) But in the end, GISHWHES is an event that does good in the world. Over the years, GISHWHES list items have persuaded players to a) raise over $1 million for charity, b) donate hundreds of thousands of pints of blood, c) volunteer at soup kitchens, d) register thousands of citizens to vote, and e) register to become bone-marrow donors. (That last item has already saved two lives, according to GISHWHES producers.) And the 2016 hunt raised $250,000 to buy homes for five Syrian refugee families. So yes, GISHWHES is a do-gooder enterprise. But it’s also brilliantly clever, gut-bustingly funny, and positively unforgettable. So my question is: Why haven’t people heard of GISHWHES? Why isn’t it a cultural thing? Why isn’t it, at the very least, a reality show? It’d be the most entertaining show on TV. Well, if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself. With the tolerance of my superiors at Yahoo, I decided to make my own darned reality show. Above on this page is Episode 1 of a five-part series. Part 1 • Part 2 • Part 3 • Part 4 • Part 5 Misha Collins Misha Collins attends the “Supernatural” special video presentation and Q&A on Day 4 of Comic-Con International on Sunday, July 27, 2014, in San Diego. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP) GISHWHES was created, and is run to this day, by TV actor Misha Collins, a costar of the CW series “Supernatural.” (His heartthrob status helps explain why GISHWHES participants are predominantly female.) “I went to the University of Chicago,” he told me. “The University of Chicago has a scavenger hunt that we call Scav, that has been running about 30 years now. It took place over the course of a long weekend. We would completely abandon our academics and our sense of decency for those three days, and go all-out for this scavenger hunt. And I loved it. I actually think that it was one of the most educational aspects of my college experience, and infused with the most joy.” Years later, after a decade of struggling as an actor in Los Angeles, Collins finally landed a show. “I got on this TV show ‘Supernatural,’ and I developed a little bit of a fandom following, and I started to notice that there was a high level of creative engagement from our fans. That got my wheels turning. What can I do with this? How can I have fun with it?” Collins’s first side project with his fans was a charity called Random Acts . “We’ve done some pretty big projects. We built an orphanage in Haiti; we’re finishing building a high school in Nicaragua right now. But we also do myriad smaller projects all over the world—as small as bringing roses into a senior citizen home.” Then, in 2009, as a lark, Collins ran a little scavenger hunt from his Twitter account. About 300 people participated; they were instructed to photograph their submissions and send them to an email address that Collins set up. “People engaged in it with an enthusiasm and a committedness that I could not’ve anticipated,” he says now. “I remember sitting in my apartment, looking at the submissions that had come in, and thinking, ‘This is amazing!’ The art people were creating, the tasks that I thought were impossible that people were pulling off—! I remember, ‘This is what I wanna do for my life’s work. This is awesome.’” And so, in 2010, GISHWHES was born. For the 2016 hunt, I embedded myself with my daughter’s GISHWHES team for the week. I filmed their efforts and followed their frustrations and joys. In the coming episodes, you’ll get to meet them—and you’ll get go to inside world’s biggest scavenger hunt. Part 1 • Part 2 • Part 3 • Part 4 • Part 5 More from David Pogue: The David Pogue Review: Windows 10 Creators Update Now I get it: Bitcoin David Pogue tested 47 pill-reminder apps to find the best one David Pogue’s search for the world’s best air-travel app The little-known iPhone feature that lets blind people see with their fingers David Pogue, tech columnist for Yahoo Finance, welcomes non-toxic comments in the Comments below. On the web, he’s davidpogue.com . On Twitter, he’s @pogue . On email, he’s [email protected]. You can read all his articles here , or you can sign up to get his columns by email . \|\| Swedroe: Private Equity Adds Risk, Little Return: The term “private equity” is used to describe various types (e.g., buyout funds and venture capital funds) of privately placed (nonpublicly traded) investments. Even though buyout (BO) funds and venture capital (VC) funds have similar organizational and compensation structures, they are distinguished by the types of investments they make and the way those investments are financed. BO funds generally acquire 100% of the target firm (which can be public or private) and use leverage. VC funds take minority positions in private businesses and do not use debt financing. Today BO funds account for about three-fourths of private equity deals. Private equity (PE) excites many investors, offering the opportunity for spectacular returns (although, as with most investments, we generally hear only the stories with happy endings). Even the term conveys an exclusive nature, especially for investors who yearn to be “players.” Capital committed to PE funds worldwide has risen substantially in the past two decades, thanks largely to U.S. pension funds searching for alternatives to public equity markets that might help them meet their return objectives. Endowments seeking to replicate the successes of the Yale Endowment have also contributed to the growth of PE funds. And it is reasonable to assume that high-risk, illiquid investments are priced by investors to deliver higher expected returns than publicly traded securities to compensate for the greater risk. The Historical Evidence Steven Kaplan and Berk Sensoy contributed to the literature on the performance of PE funds through an extensive survey of current research on the performance of private equity. Following is a summary of the findings from their October 2014 paper, “ Private Equity Performance: A Survey ”: BO funds have outperformed the S&P 500 net of fees by about 20%, on average, over the life of the fund. VC funds raised in the 1990s outperformed the S&P 500, while those raised in the 2000s have not. Before the 2000s, buyout and VC fund performance showed strong evidence of persistence. Since 2000, there is little evidence of BO fund persistence (with the exception of persistence among those in the bottom quartile, the worst performers), while VC fund persistence has remained strong. Unfortunately, the returns data presented by Kaplan and Sensoy isn’t risk-adjusted. Private equity is really much riskier than an investment in a publicly traded S&P 500 Index fund, making it a wholly inappropriate benchmark. For example ... Companies in the S&P 500 are typically among the largest and strongest companies, while VC typically invests in smaller and early-stage companies with far less financial strength. Studies have estimated betas for BO funds at about 1.3 and for VC funds at 1.6 to 2.5. Adjusting for the higher betas alone would have erased any evidence of outperformance. Similarly risky but also publicly available small value stocks have also outperformed the S&P 500 by a wide margin—from 1927 through 2016, the S&P 500 returned 10.0%, while the Fama-French Small Value Index (ex utilities) returned 13.6%. Investors in private equity forgo the benefits of daily liquidity. It’s well-documented in the literature that investors will demand a premium for investing in illiquid assets, especially those that perform poorly in bad times (like PE). There’s no adjustment in the returns data for the risk of illiquidity. In addition to the lack of liquidity relative to investments in mutual funds, private equity investors also forgo the benefits of transparency and broad diversification (and for individuals, the ability to harvest losses for tax purposes). The median return of PE is much lower than the mean (the arithmetic average) return. PE’s relatively high average return reflects the small possibility of a truly outstanding return, combined with the much larger probability of a more modest or negative return. In effect, PE investments are like options (or lottery tickets). They tend to provide a small chance of a huge payout but a much larger chance of a below-average return. And it’s difficult, especially for individual investors, to diversify this risk. The standard deviation of private equity exceeds 100%, in comparison to standard deviations of about 20% for the S&P 500 and about 35% for small value stocks. Story continues In their survey, Kaplan and Sensoy observed that the authors of the 2013 study, “ Limited Partner Performance and the Maturing of the Private Equity Industry ,” found that, in the more recent sample of PE funds raised between 1999 and 2006, there was no evidence that endowments outperform other limited partner types or display any superior skill at selecting general partners. According to Kaplan and Sensoy, this study (which Sensoy also co-authored) concluded that “the disappearing endowment advantage is consistent with other secular trends in the industry, particularly the decline in VC performance since the late 1990s and the decline in performance persistence in BO firms.” Latest Evidence Reiner Braun, Tim Jenkinson and Ingo Stoff contribute to the literature on private equity performance and its persistence with their study, “ How Persistent is Private Equity Performance? Evidence from Deal-Level Data ,” which was published in the February 2017 issue of the Journal of Financial Economics. Their findings were consistent with those of Kaplan and Sensoy. Their study covered timed cash-flow data at the deal level for 13,523 investments made by 865 buyout funds (not VC funds) run by 269 general partners (GPs). The investments were split roughly equally between the U.S. and Europe, with a few in other regions, and span the period 1974 to 2012. This is important, as most other studies examined only U.S. data. The authors noted: “As well as being extensive and detailed, for the vast majority of the GPs in our sample we have their complete investment history. This is clearly critical when analysing performance persistence, and lack of completeness is a problem that has plagued earlier analyses. We source the data from three fund-of-fund managers who required all GPs who sought capital to provide this detailed deal-level information in a standardized format. Importantly, the sample includes all the GPs upon which the fund-of-fund managers performed due diligence, whether or not they actually chose to invest.” They also partitioned the data sample into an early period up to the end of 2000 and a later period from 2001 onward. Following is a summary of their findings ... While there was evidence of performance persistence in the early period, it was weaker than performance persistence found in previous studies and has largely disappeared in recent years. The authors stated: “This is consistent with the PE sector maturing, with financial engineering and valuation techniques becoming commoditized, professionals moving between or forming new GPs, and the ways to create operational improvements to portfolio companies becoming assimilated across firms.” Competition has clearly increased in recent years, but not evenly over time or by region. When a large amount of capital chases deals, persistence tends to be lower. There is significant evidence of top-quartile performance persistence but only in low competition states. On the other hand, GPs who make bad deals tend to repeat, irrespective of the state of competition. Braun, Jenkinson and Stoff concluded: “Overall, the evidence we present suggests that performance persistence has largely disappeared as the PE market has matured and become more competitive.” They add: “Those Limited Partners (LPs) who were early investors in PE—such as endowments—established relationships with successful GPs which were valuable when the market was developing. However, those relationships, and access to funds—at least on the buyout side—are now much less valuable and are no longer a source of LP out-performance.” For investors, the research has an important implication: If past performance provides little guidance on the choice of GPs, how can one identify the future top performers? Swensen On Private Equity If you’re considering investing in PE or sit on the board of a committee that is doing so, be sure to consider these sage words of advice from David Swensen, chief investment officer of the Yale Endowment: “Understanding the difficulty of identifying superior hedge fund, venture capital, and leverage buyout investments leads to the conclusion that hurdles for casual investors stand insurmountably high. Even many well-equipped investors fail to clear the hurdles necessary to achieve consistent success in producing market-beating active management results.” In his book, “ Unconventional Success: A Fundamental Approach to Personal Investment ,” Swensen offered the following observation on BO funds: “Investors in buyout partnerships received miserable risk-adjusted returns over the past two decades. Since the only material differences between privately owned buyouts and publicly traded companies lie in the nature of the ownership (private vs. public) and character of capital structure (highly leveraged vs. less highly leveraged), comparing buyout returns to public market returns makes sense as a starting point. But because the riskier, more leveraged buyout positions ought to generate higher returns, sensible investors recoil at the buyout industry’s deficit relative to public market alternatives. On a risk-adjusted basis, market equities win in a landslide.” Swensen also cited a Yale Investments Office study that provides some insight into the additional return required to compensate for the risk in leveraged buyout transactions. He writes: “Examination of 542 buyout deals initiated and concluded between 1987 and 1998 showed gross returns of 48% per annum, significantly above the 17% return that would have resulted from comparably timed and comparably sized investments in the S&P 500. On the surface, buyouts beat stocks by a wide margin. Adjustment for management fees and general partners’ profit participation bring the estimated buyout result to 36% per year, still comfortably ahead of the marketable security alternative…. Because buyout transactions by their very nature involve higher-than-market levels of leverage, the basic buyout-fund-to marketable-security comparison fails the apples-to-apples standard. To produce a risk-neutral comparison, consider the impact of applying leverage to public market investments. Comparably timed, comparably sized, and comparably leveraged investments in the S&P 500 produced an astonishing 86% annual return. The risk-adjusted marketable security result exceeded the buyout result of 36% per year by an astounding 50%age points per year.” Summary The bottom line is that if you’re willing, able and have the need to take more risk in search of higher returns, the most likely to place to find that is not in PE, but rather in publicly available small value stocks. And you can access these higher expected returns through low-cost, passively managed and tax-efficient funds. You can globally diversify their risks as well. In addition, you’ll have all the benefits of daily liquidity and transparency. Larry Swedroe is the director of research for The BAM Alliance , a community of more than 140 independent registered investment advisors throughout the country. Recommended Stories Monday Hot Reads: Positive Buzz Sends First Marijuana ETF High How New Short Squeeze ETF Can Juice Returns Swedroe: Private Equity Adds Risk, Little Return How Hedge Funds Use ETFs Bitcoin ETFs For Dummies Permalink \| © Copyright 2017 ETF.com. All rights reserved View comments \|\| A Wall Street bear warns 'bad things are about to happen,' and a recession is on the way: Investor David Tice is going deeper into bear territory, predicting that the economy is months away from a deep correction that will send stocks down by as much as 50 percent. Tice is known for his tenure as manager of the Prudent Bear Fund. He sold the fund, which depends on market pullbacks for profits, to Federated Investors just as the financial crisis was unfolding in 2008. Since the acquisition, he's been involved in private equity, film producing and charities. But he's planning his emergence from hibernation to capitalize on the potential downturn. "The market has tended to go down about every seven years. It went down in 1987, 1994, 2001 and 2008," Tice told CNBC's " Trading Nation " on Friday. "During these periods after the declines, it rallies like crazy. But now bad things are about to happen again." He sold his bear fund (NASDAQ: BEARX) when it had $1.2 billion in assets under management. According to Morningstar, it has just $254.7 million right now under Federated's leadership. CNBC reached out to Federated for a comment. The steep losses could just be a stark reminder of the nature of the stock market rebound. The S&P 500 (INDEX: .SPX) Index rebounded 92 percent since the financial crisis hit in September 2008. "The catalyst is we're 93 months into an economic recovery. We have the [Federal Reserve] starting to tighten. We have banks actually starting to tighten," he said. Tice pointed out the economy is not doing very well, with the gross domestic product growing by an anemic 0.7 percent in the first quarter. 'The bears are always early'—but they're not always right Tice's timing in selling the Prudent Bear Fund may have been pretty good, but his calls on a pullback haven't materialized. He's calling for a 30 to 50 percent S&P pullback over the next six to 10 months. He also made that prediction in 2012 and 2014. It never happened. Story continues "The bears are always early. I've certainly always been early," said Tice. "Policymakers end up doing what they think is right in order to kick the can down the road. However, now we have so many issues." If there is a correction, Tice says there are two protection plays investors should consider. Gold, which is down more than 6 percent over the past three years, is one of them. "You should own gold (Exchange: @GC.1.S) stocks... They're still priced very, very well compared to the bullion," he said. Tice says bitcoin (Exchange: BTC=-USS) makes a lot of sense, too. Unlike the bearish activity in gold, bitcoin has soared 253 percent since 2014. "It's been looked on as a fraud, as a fad, etc.," added Tice. "It truly is a competitor to debased currency. And it makes a lot of sense just from a transactional basis." Also From CNBC Watch The Profit on Yahoo View , available now on iOS and Android . More From CNBC \|\| Is This Tiny European Nation a Preview of Our Tech Future?: On a Spring afternoon, I’m gazing out the window of an office building on the outskirts of Estonia’s capital, Tallinn, watching people stroll below, when a cream-colored plastic container mounted on black wheels rounds the corner and begins maneuvering its way among the pedestrians. The device looks like a kid’s toy. But in reality it’s a high-tech delivery robot called Starship and potentially the next mega-profitable invention to spring from this snowy, miniature country on the northern edge of Europe-one of the more unexpected launching pads on the planet. “If you look at sci-fi movies set 20 years from now, you don’t see people carrying their groceries. Robots just arrive at their homes,” says Ahti Heinla, cofounder and CEO of Starship Technologies. Reality, he says, has caught up to sci-fi. “About two years ago we realized it was possible to create this part of the future right now.” For a snapshot of how we might all be living tomorrow, there are few better places to visit than this picturesque city of 400,000, whose winding medieval alleyways offer an elegant contrast to its digital present. Creating the future now, as Heinla puts it, is Estonia’s driving project, and increasingly it is its core business too. Fortune Magazine Most Americans or even Europeans would be unable to find this pinprick on a map, squeezed between its small Baltic Sea neighbor Latvia and mammoth Russia. Its population, just 1.3 million, is about the same as Dallas or the Bronx borough of New York City. But its modest size and remoteness belies its clout. It is here that a group of friends, including Heinla, invented the hugely popular Internet calling platform Skype. Given Estonia’s history, the invention of Skype in this country was ironic. While Americans were buying their first cell phones, about a quarter-century ago, Estonians were shut off from the world as an outpost of the Soviet Union. You could easily wait 10 years to be assigned a landline phone. By the time the Soviet Union imploded in 1991, the country was in a time warp. “We did not have anything,” says Gen. Riho Terras, the commander of Estonia’s armed forces, who had been a student activist at the time. The country had to reboot from zero. Terras says each citizen was given the equivalent of 10 euros, or $10.60. “That was it,” he says, laughing. “We started from 10 euros each.” Story continues One generation on, Estonia is a time warp of another kind: a fast-forward example of extreme digital living. For the rest of us, Estonia offers a glimpse into what happens when a country abandons old analog systems and opts to run completely online instead. That notion is not fanciful. In various forms, governments across the world, including those in Singapore, Japan, and India, are trying to determine how dramatically they can transform themselves into digital entities in order to cut budgets and streamline services (and for some, keep closer tabs on citizens). Estonia claims its online systems add 2% a year to its GDP. Starship Technologies CEO Ahti Heinla shows off one of his company’s delivery robots. Heinla was part of the team that created Skype, founded in Estonia in 2003.Photograph by Piotr Malecki-Panos Pictures for Fortune The moment I land in Tallinn, my phone pings with the city’s free Wi-Fi network, which rolled out more than 15 years ago. But the extreme-digital life of regular Estonians is far less visible. At birth, every person is assigned a unique string of 11 digits, a digital identifier that from then on is key to operating almost every aspect of that person’s life-the 21st-century version of a Social Security number. The all-digital habits begin young: Estonian children learn computer programming at school, many beginning in kindergarten. In 2000, Estonia became the first country in the world to declare Internet access a basic human right-much like food and shelter. That same year it passed a law giving digital signatures equal weight to handwritten ones. That single move created an entire paperless system. Since no one was required to sign with a pen, there was no need for paper documents to pay taxes, open a bank account, obtain a mortgage, pick up a prescription, or perform most of life’s other tasks, other than marrying and divorcing. “I established my company in about 20 minutes, without going anywhere,” says Kaidi Ruusalepp, 41, CEO of Funderbeam, an investment trading platform for early-stage, non-IPO startups, which she founded in 2013. “We never visited the tax board, the Social Security agency, anything,” she says. “Everything is online.” Kaidi Ruusalepp, founder and CEO of startup Funderbeam, at her company’s offices in Tallinn.Photograph by Piotr Malecki-Panos Pictures for Fortune So, too, are Estonians’ taxes. Almost all Estonians file taxes online-within minutes. Since public registries are all linked in one system, Estonians can log in to prefilled tax declarations showing their income, property, number of children, and so on. They make necessary tweaks and hit the send button. (Outside the U.S., this type of approach is increasingly common.) Last year thenPrime Minister Taavi Rõivas earned loud cheers on The Daily Show when he described to host Trevor Noah how he had filed his taxes on his iPad during a few idle minutes in the Luxembourg Airport. When I visit Rõivas, 37, in his office in the Estonian Parliament, it’s weirdly devoid of paper. He says during nearly three years as Prime Minister the only time he signed his name in ink was in ceremonial guest books. Theoretically, he says, the government could issue an online order to send troops into battle. “I never signed any law physically,” he says. “Never.” Estonians were also first to be able to vote online in elections, back in 2005. When I ask Estonian President Kersti Kaljulaid where she voted in last November’s elections, which brought her to power, she responds as if my question is dumb: “From my computer at home.” Kaljulaid was speaking to me while we were on a boat to Tallinn from Helsinki, in neighboring Finland, where she had just signed a deal allowing the countries to recognize each other’s digital ID cards. Now, for example, Finns and Estonians can visit doctors in the other country and automatically call up their medical records-all stored online. “We have been using digital identifiers for 17 years,” she says. “People have learned to trust the system.” Estonians might take all this tech wizardry for granted now, but the country was on its knees economically after the Soviet collapse. It had one huge advantage: It was starting from scratch. “People were paid in cash,” says Martin Ruubel, 41, president of Guardtime, a 10-year-old software security company that developed the country’s blockchain system (more on that in a moment), sitting in his Tallinn office on the grounds of a converted former military barrack. Since no Estonian had ever had a checkbook, once the Soviets were gone the country simply skipped past pen and paper and issued bank cards. It was a money saver, but had another benefit: It pushed Estonians to get online fast. Martin Ruubel, president of blockchain services company Guardtime, in his company’s offices in Tallinn.Photograph by Piotr Malecki-Panos Pictures for Fortune Scrambling to piece together a country, the new leaders, young and inexperienced, also rapidly privatized the telecom industry. “It was highly successful,” says Mart Laar, 57, who became the first post-Soviet Prime Minister, at age 32, and is now chairman of the board of supervisors for the Bank of Estonia. Since so few people had even landline phones, many simply bought mobile handsets instead. Laar, a historian, says he knew nothing about computers but believed they needed to start with the latest technology. When Finland offered to donate its analog telephone exchange to its poorer neighbor for free, Estonia turned it down. The government recruited Ruusalepp, now Funderbeam’s CEO, as the new country’s first IT lawyer when she was just 20 and still a student. “I had no law degree and no understanding of technology,” she says. Her first task was to create a law for digital signatures, years ahead of many countries. “We wanted to change the country. We had brains, and we just had to shoot,” she says. Those early decisions set the stage for today’s thriving tech scene in Estonia. Skype, founded in Tallinn in 2003, spawned a generation of techies and would-be entrepreneurs. “People thought, If Estonian guys could do something like Skype, I can do it also,” says Andrus Oks of Terra Venture Partners, an investment fund in Tallinn. And when Microsoft bought Skype in 2011 for $8.5 billion, ex-Skypers plowed money into new startups in Tallinn, further attracting U.S. investments. Skype’s founding developers, including Starship’s Heinla, also launched a venture capital fund, called Ambient Sound. “The Skype effect has been enormous,” says Heinla, who started Starship with Skype cofounder Janus Friis; major investors include Daimler A.G., as well as Silicon Valley firms Shasta Ventures and Matrix Partners. Click to enlarge. Now, if you order Chinese takeout through platforms DoorDash or Postmates in Redwood City, Calif., or Washington, D.C., your food might arrive as a Starship test run, with a ping on your mobile phone letting you know your delivery robot is at the door. Starship is also doing test deliveries in Bern, Switzerland, and London, and Domino’s Pizza plans to test some deliveries by Starship soon in Hamburg. The Skype effect does not end there. In 2011, Skype’s first employee, Taavet Hinrikus, cofounded TransferWise, an online money-transfer company, which now occupies four floors of a Tallinn building and handles about $1 billion a month in exchanges around the world. Investors include Andreessen Horowitz and Peter Thiel’s Valar Ventures. A worker scoots through the headquarters of TransferWise, an Estonian online money-transfer company co-founded by Skype’s first employee. TransferWise handles about $1 billion a month in exchanges and its investors include Andreessen Horowitz.Photograph by Piotr Malecki-Panos Pictures for Fortune With hindsight, it seems inevitable that Russia would sooner or later collide with its pint-size former territory, which, aside from becoming a major tech hub, had rushed to join both NATO and the EU after the Soviet collapse. Russia’s payback finally came in 2007-and it would markedly change Estonia. It happened when Estonia’s government decided to move a World War II memorial statue of a Soviet soldier from central Tallinn to a nearby war cemetery. Pro-Russian demonstrators burned barricades and looted stores in days of rioting. Then Estonia’s banks, its Parliament, and several public services suddenly went off-line, in one of the biggest-ever distributed denial-of-service attacks to hit a country. The 2007 cyberattack still haunts Estonia. “We were already really, really dependent on online. We had no paper originals for a lot of things,” says Guardtime’s Ruubel. Estonia believes Russia was behind the attack. Shortly after, the only NATO-accredited cyberdefense center opened in Tallinn. And this year Estonia will open the world’s first “data embassy” in Luxembourg-a storage building to house an entire backup of Estonia’s data that will enjoy the same sovereign rights as a regular embassy but be able to reboot the country remotely, in case of another attack. “It was quite clear after 2007 that we knew how to fight against external attacks,” Ruubel says. “The worry was, What if there was an attack from inside the system, with someone tampering with the data?” Street art on an office building in a Soviet-era industrial section of Tallinn.Photograph by Piotr Malecki-Panos Pictures for Fortune The answer to that concern came in the form of the technology that now underpins crucial parts of Estonia’s system, as well as some of its most successful startups, and that, in the years ahead, could help power the country’s future growth: the blockchain. Essentially a distributed database, a blockchain-the system that also underpins the cryptocurrency Bitcoin-serves as a public ledger that can never be erased or rewritten. The technology allows Estonia’s engineers to strengthen its encrypted data and lets Estonians verify at any time that their information has not been tampered with. Estonians are also required to use two-step verification for many online tasks. These and other security measures, say Estonians, make their system as close to unbreakable as possible. (The U.S. State Department said last year that cybercrime “does not represent a major threat” in Estonia.) They contrast it, for example, to Edward Snowden’s hacking into the NSA, which he continued over 18 months. “No Snowden can crack this system,” boasts President Kaljulaid. Outside the country, however, there are some doubts as to whether the Estonians’ technology is as secure as they claim. In 2014-seven years after the suspected Russian hack-engineers at the University of Michigan studied Estonia’s online-voting system and concluded that determined hackers-such as Russian operatives-could feasibly penetrate it, creating fake votes or altering the totals in order to rig elections “quite possibly without a trace,” they wrote in their report. “Estonia’s system places extreme trust in election servers and voters’ computers-all easy targets for a foreign power,” they said. Estonia disputed the claims, saying that it had worked flawlessly in six elections and that it had “a level of security greater than was possible with paper ballots.” To Estonians, the potential of extreme-digital systems for both governments and businesses is dizzying-and with the blockchain, it has only just begun. Guardtime, which has 150 employees and estimates about $23 million in revenues in 2015, is now among the world’s biggest blockchain companies, with clients around the world, including Lockheed Martin and the U.S. Department of Defense. Funderbeam uses so-called colored coin technology, based on the public Bitcoin blockchain, to keep track of transactions and investments. That eliminates the need for brokers and clearing agents. Children in a coding class in an elementary school in Tallinn.Photograph by Piotr Malecki-Panos Pictures for Fortune Ruusalepp, whose early backers at Funderbeam included the Silicon Valley venture capital investor Tim Draper, says she regularly hears Americans argue that paper records are more secure. Estonians, by contrast, would be aghast to have their medical records in paper folders in doctors’ offices, she says. “You can never see who has looked at your data,” she says. “Blockchain solves the issue of trust.” Those who created Estonia’s system say they believe the arguments raging in the U.S. over data privacy are largely misplaced. The focus should instead be to give people control over who accesses their data, by using blockchain technology. “The real issue is data integrity,” says Toomas Hendrik Ilves, an Estonian-American from Leonia, N.J., who served as Estonia’s President from 2006 until last November, and is now a senior fellow at Stanford University’s Center for International Security and Cooperation and sits on the World Economic Council’s Future of Blockchain group. He says it could take many years for the U.S.’s sprawling agencies to create an Estonian-type blockchain architecture. “I’m smack in the middle of Silicon Valley, at Stanford, and the amount of creativity is amazing,” Ilves says. “But the public sector is lagging way, way, way behind.” Having built perhaps the world’s most seamless digital system, Estonia still faces a major limitation: its size. With just 1.3 million Estonians, it runs like a well-oiled machine. But engineers claim there is vast spare capacity. Built right, the system could work with huge numbers. (The U.S. could in theory reengineer its databases from scratch, say Estonian technologists, and serve 300 million Americans just as well.) To more fully leverage its technological advantage and boost economic growth, Estonia needs more market participants. Taavi Kotka, a software engineer and entrepreneur, dreamed up the concept of virtual “e-residency' after becoming the Estonian government’s chief information officer in 2013.Photograph by Piotr Malecki-Panos Pictures for Fortune Since Estonia had little means for attracting masses of immigrants to its icy Northern European landscape, it came up with a quirky idea-another of its firsts in the world: offering people virtual residency. Taavi Kotka, 38, a software engineer and entrepreneur, dreamed up the concept after becoming the government’s chief information officer in 2013. Kotka wrote a policy paper arguing that the population needed to grow fast, and proposed a target of 10 million people by 2025. Since Estonian women were not about to have 10 babies each, the alternative was to figure out what kind of product the country could offer to the rest of the world. Somewhat like Delaware-based corporations in the U.S., e-residents of Estonia can now run their European operations remotely and do business in euros. “We want to be the office for micro and small companies, because that is basically what our country is,” say Kotka, who now works as a consultant to Estonian startups. “You cannot grow without customers.” Estonia’s first e-residency cards rolled out in December 2014. The microchips inside them are identical to Estonians’ digital ID cards but come without citizens’ rights, like voting or public pensions, and there is no obligation to pay taxes in Estonia. This is no tax haven: Estonia requires that e-residents pay their taxes to whatever country they owe them. But for a fee of 145 euros (about $154) e-residents can register companies in Estonia, no matter where they live, gaining automatic access to the EU’s giant common market-about 440 million once Britain leaves the union. Of about 18,000 e-residents so far, about 1,400 have formed companies in Estonia. On average, each of those companies spends roughly 55 euros (about $58) a month on accounting and office administration in Estonia. Click to enlarge. This year the government doubled its budget for the program and intends on doubling it again in 2018, saying it’s determined to ramp up e-residency numbers quickly. As numbers grow, so too will the business services Estonia offers. Officials have traveled to Tallinn from around the world to examine how to start their own e-residency programs. Kaspar Korjus, managing director of the e-residency program, says his office hosts about 500 delegations a year. “So far the only revenue model for countries is taxes,” he says. “But if we get 10 million e-residents paying $100 a month each, maybe we would not need taxes.” The possibilities do not end there. With its government running on the blockchain, Estonia could in theory begin marketing other inventions as they unfold-creating huge new business. Rõivas, the former Prime Minister, says Estonia is working on developing “precision medicine” that would tap into the genome data of its 1.3 million citizens in order to better diagnose illnesses, treat people, and design personalized drugs. “We can use blockchain to make sure that the data exchanged is able to be traced,” he says. It’s possible to imagine Estonia’s idea becoming a multibillion-dollar business in the years ahead-turning the whole view of government as a bureaucracy offering public services into an entity generating profits. The capital of Estonia is Tallinn, a picturesque city of 400,000 whose winding medieval alleyways offer an elegant contrast to its digital present.Photograph by Piotr Malecki-Panos Pictures for Fortune Perhaps only a place that started over from scratch in 1991 could reimagine the idea of a country. As I watch the Starship robots maneuver across the company’s office in Tallinn, CEO Heinla says he believes Estonians, after decades of living under Soviet rule, were uniquely suited to creating new ways of doing things, including how to run a government. “People grow up and see an establishment they cannot break into,” he says, so Estonians simply built something new, and more efficient. Older, more set in its ways-and more skeptical-the rest of the world has yet to catch up. Just don’t expect Estonia to wait for us. A version of this article appears in the May 1, 2017 issue of Fortune with the headline “Welcome to Tomorrow Land.” This article was originally published on FORTUNE.com \|\| Tesla could be worth ‘multiples’ of current $50 billion market cap by 2020, fund manager says: Investors who think Tesla(NASDAQ: TSLA)shares are overvalued are discounting the fact that the company will be a major player in the autonomous taxi market, a $2 trillion opportunity, one fund manager told CNBC, adding that the stock could be worth "multiples" more than its current $51 billion valuation. Last year, Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced his intention tobegin a Tesla ride-sharing platformwhen regulators approve fully self-driverless cars. "When true self-driving is approved by regulators, it will mean that you will be able to summon your Tesla from pretty much anywhere. Once it picks you up, you will be able to sleep, read or do anything else en route to your destination," Musk wrote in his "Master Plan, Part Deux" last year. "You will also be able to add your car to the Tesla shared fleet just by tapping a button on the Tesla phone app and have it generate income for you while you're at work or on vacation, significantly offsetting and at times potentially exceeding the monthly loan or lease cost. This dramatically lowers the true cost of ownership to the point where almost anyone could own a Tesla." Musk's plan poses a challenge to the likes of Uber, but also allows the company to tap into the autonomous taxi market, which could be worth $2 trillion globally in the next few years, according to research carried out by ARK Invest. Catherine Wood, the CEO of ARK Invest, said that many investors who think that Tesla is overvalued are missing the fact that Tesla could be a major player in the autonomous taxi market. "If we are correct and Tesla gets its fair share of the US autonomous taxi market, not to mention China's … then Tesla will be multiples of today's $51 billion market cap in 2020," Wood told CNBC by email on Friday. "We are astonished after listening to every Tesla earnings call that no analyst asks about the autonomous taxi network opportunity. Very little of that potential – even if Tesla gets only 10 percent of the $2 trillion global market – has been priced into the stock." Model 3 target In a TV interview with CNBC earlier in the day on Friday, Wood said she considers Tesla a technology rather than car company and therefore it's higher valuation versus auto stocks is fair. The company is ramping upproduction of its Model 3 car– its lower priced variant out of all of its vehicles which is aimed the mass market. Earlier this month, Musk said the company would build a total of 500,000 all-electric vehicles in 2018. In 2016, Tesla produced 83,922 vehicles, and Wood said it would be a big jump for the company to produce 500,000 next year, but she said it would get closer to the figure than the market is expecting. "Nobody is really expecting that but we think they're going to get closer to 500,000 than most people think." Disclosure: ARK Invest's funds own shares of Tesla. More From CNBC • Massive cyberattack 'huge screw-up' by government, Wikipedia's founder says • Daily Mail has 'mastered the art of running' fake news, Wikipedia founder says • Bitcoin hits $1,900 record high with market cap up $4 billion this week alone \|\| Trades to make after the US airstrike in Syria fails to shake investors: The "Fast Money" traders break down their market moves Friday after a flurry of political headlines during the week, including a Thursday U.S. airstrike on Syria , failed to shake investors. Trader Steve Grasso said he's stepping away from the market because he is "waiting for this [it] to crack." He said he sold Qualcomm (NASDAQ: QCOM) and Micron Technology (NASDAQ: MU) , but he is still invested in housing stocks and positioned for impending mergers and acquisitions across the market. Grasso said he will return to the market if the S&P 500 (INDEX: .SPX) jumps over 2400 points on substantial data that's more than just sentiment. The S&P closed at 2355.54 points on Friday, down 0.08 percent. Trader David Seaburg said he was impressed by the resilience of the market following the U.S. airstrike on Syria. He said he likes the healthcare (NYSE Arca: XLV) and technology (NYSE Arca: XLK) sectors. He said merger and acquisitions should accumulate in the technology space. Trader Brian Kelly said he will continue to ride high with Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) . The retailer was upgraded by a Telsey Advisory Group analyst on Friday and saw the company's shares saw a 2 percent gain. He said he got into Wal-Mart because he continues to believe the possible border adjustment tax will not become law. The iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (NASDAQ: IBB) sector earned favor from Guy Adami with its consistent move higher. The exchange-traded fund is up over 3 percent in the last 3 months. Adami also said he likes Wal-Mart. He said the stock should continue its climb and outperform Target (NYSE: TGT) . Disclosures: Steve Grasso's firm is long AON, BX, CUBA, DIA, F, HES, ICE, KDUS, MAT, MFIN, MJNA, MSFT, NE, RIG, SNAP, SPY, SQBG, TITXF, UA, WDR, WPX, ZNGA. Grasso is long CHK, EEM, EVGN, GDX, KBH, MJNA, MON, OLN, PFE, PHM, T, TWTR, VRX. Grasso's kids own EFA, EFG, EWJ, IJR, SPY. No shorts. "Opinions expressed by David Seaburg are solely his own and do not reflect the views and opinions of Cowen Group, Inc. David Seaburg and Cowen have a financial interest in EDIT. Diamond Offshore: an employee of Cowen and Company, LLC serves on the Board of Directors of Diamond Offshore" Story continues Brian Kelly is long Bitcoin, FXI, HLF, TSLA, WMT, XBI. Guy Adami is long CELG, EXAS, GDX, INTC. Adami's wife, Linda Snow, works at Merck. More From CNBC Newsmax CEO: Might be appropriate for Trump to take military action against Syria Trades to make in an uncertain market How to trade the French election \|\| 3 ETFs For Surprise Drop In The Dollar: One of the most prominent consensus calls heading into 2017 was that the U.S. dollar would head higher during the year. Wall Street analysts were nearly unanimous in their expectation that a Donald Trump presidency would spell only good news for the greenback thanks to stronger growth expectations and higher interest rates. As is often the case, the consensus expectation has proven to be off the mark, at least during the first part of the year. After peaking at a 14-year high late last year, the U.S. Dollar Index has steadily dropped during the first quarter of 2017, and was last trading down 3% year-to-date. Last week's failure by Republicans to pass a health care bill through the House of Representatives was the latest setback for the buck, which had rallied four-straight years, measured by the popular U.S. Dollar Index. Under The Dollar Index Hood That index is heavily influenced by the euro-dollar (EUR/USD) foreign exchange rate, which has a 57.6% weighting in the index basket. That's followed by the dollar-yen (USD/JPY) at 13.6%; the pound-dollar (GBP/USD) at 11.9%; and a few others with smaller weights. Currency Weight Euro (EUR) 57.6% Japanese Yen (JPY) 13.6% British Pound (GBP) 11.9% Canadian Dollar (CAD) 9.1% Swedish Krona (SEK) 4.2% Swiss Franc (CHF) 3.5% Of course, there are plenty of other currency pairs outside of those in the U.S. Dollar Index basket. The Mexican peso, for example, is up nearly 10% against the greenback after falling to a record low around the time of Trump's inauguration in January. It could be that the peso is rallying simply because it fell too far and too fast. Or it could be that Trump's policies haven't proven to be as detrimental to the Mexican economy as feared. In any case, the point is that currencies across the board are climbing against the dollar, an unexpected development that investors should pay attention to. Here are three ETFs that are poised to benefit if the dollar continues to slide: Story continues WisdomTree Emerging Currency Fund (CEW) The WisdomTree Emerging Currency Fund (CEW) provides exposure to an equal-weighted basket of 15 emerging market currencies and their money market rates. If the dollar decline goes on, emerging market currencies are likely to be some of the biggest beneficiaries. CEW's basket includes the aforementioned Mexican peso, the Brazilian real, the Indian rupee and the Chinese yuan, among others. CEW invests in forward contracts and doesn't pay regular dividends, but it has a chunky implied yield of 4.8%. Year-to-date, the fund is up 5.2% after returning 4.1% last year. YTD Return For CEW, US Dollar Index SPDR Gold Trust (GLD) Widely regarded as a dollar hedge, gold has delivered on its promise this year. The SPDR Gold Trust (GLD) is up 9% year-to-date, and stands at its highest levels of the year just as the dollar drops to its lowest levels of the year. That's no coincidence. The 120-day correlation between gold prices and the U.S. Dollar Index is about -0.62, the tightest level since 2012 (a correlation of +1 means the two always move in the same direction, while a correlation of -1 means the two always move in opposite directions). If this correlation holds, GLD will continue to be one of the best anti-dollar ETFs available for investors. YTD Return For GLD, US Dollar Index VanEck Vectors J.P. Morgan EM Local Currency Bond ETF (EMLC) The VanEck Vectors J.P. Morgan EM Local Currency Bond ETF (EMLC) is the second-largest emerging market bond ETF on the market, with $3 billion in assets under management, but it's often been overshadowed by the $9.8 billion iShares JP Morgan USD Emerging Markets Bond ETF (EMB) . If the dollar keeps dropping, that could change. The main difference between EMLC and EMB is that the latter invests in dollar-denominated emerging market bonds, while the former invests in local-currency emerging market bonds. When the dollar is rising―as it's mostly done during the last few years―EMB will have superior returns to EMLC as depreciating emerging market currencies take a bite out of returns for the local-currency fund. But if the dollar drops, the opposite will be the case. Appreciating emerging market currencies will add to the returns for EMLC. That's what's happened so far this year, with EMLC up 6.8%, compared to 4% for EMB. If the downturn in the greenback has more room to run, expect more outperformance for EMLC. YTD Returns For EMB, EMLC Contact Sumit Roy at [email protected] Recommended Stories 3 ETFs For Surprise Drop In The Dollar Emerging Market Local Debt ETFs Shine Big Bitcoin ETF Decision Coming Today, Or Maybe Not The Most Interesting New Gold ETF Since GLD Swedroe: The Nuts & Bolts Of Currencies Permalink \| © Copyright 2017 ETF.com. All rights reserved \|\| Flow Mobile Top Up Made Easy with Scotiabank: MIAMI, FL--(Marketwired - Mar 28, 2017) - Adding credit to your mobile phone has never been easier if you are a Flow and Scotiabank customer. Both companies have partnered to provide Mobile Top Up -- a solution that allows customers to add credit to their phones directly from their Scotiabank online and mobile banking accounts, or from any Scotiabank ATM across the Caribbean. Having access to Mobile Top Up means Flow customers no longer have to wait in long lines or rely on a phone card to stay connected. Now, Flow customers who use Scotiabank for their banking needs, can top up their phones virtually anytime and anywhere in the region. "We're happy to have teamed up with Scotiabank to integrate their banking with our mobile phone services," said Garry Sinclair, Caribbean President, C&W Communications, operators of the retail brand Flow. "We're always looking for new and convenient ways to enhance our customers' experience and make their lives easier. With this fast and simple Mobile Top Up service we're doing just that -- providing customers with an innovative option to always stay connected, hassle free," Sinclair added. Mobile Top Up is available in all of Flow Caribbean markets with mobile services. For more information please visit www.discoverflow.co . About Scotiabank Scotiabank has been part of the Caribbean and Central America region since 1889 when the Bank opened its first office in Kingston, Jamaica to support the trade of rum sugar and fish. This was the first time a Canadian bank had opened a branch outside the U.K. or the U.S. Scotiabank had a branch in Kingston before the Bank opened a branch in Toronto, Canada, where the Bank's Executive Offices are now located. Some 120 plus years later, Scotiabank is the leading bank in the Caribbean and Central America, with operations in 25 countries, including affiliates. Scotiabank is the only Canadian bank with operations in four five of the seven Central American countries, namely Costa Rica, Belize, Panama and El Salvador. Story continues About C&W Communications C&W is a full service communications and entertainment provider and delivers market-leading video, broadband, telephony and mobile services to consumers in 18 countries. Through its business division, C&W provides data center hosting, domestic and international managed network services, and customized IT service solutions, utilizing cloud technology to serve business and government customers. C&W also operates a state-of-the-art submarine fiber network -- the most extensive in the region. Learn more at www.cwc.com , or follow C&W on LinkedIn , Facebook or Twitter . About Liberty Global Liberty Global is the world's largest international TV and broadband company, with operations in more than 30 countries across Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean. We invest in the infrastructure that empowers our customers to make the most of the digital revolution. Our scale and commitment to innovation enable us to develop market-leading products delivered through next generation networks that connect our 25 million customers who subscribe to over 50 million television, broadband internet and telephony services. We also serve over 10 million mobile subscribers and offer WiFi service across 5 million access points. Liberty Global's businesses are comprised of two stocks: the Liberty Global Group ( NASDAQ : LBTYA ) ( NASDAQ : LBTYB ) and ( NASDAQ : LBTYK ) for our European operations, and the LiLAC Group ( NASDAQ : LILA ) and ( NASDAQ : LILAK ) ( OTC PINK : LILAB ), which consists of our operations in Latin America and the Caribbean. The Liberty Global Group operates in 11 European countries under the consumer brands Virgin Media, Unitymedia, Telenet and UPC. The Liberty Global Group also owns 50% of VodafoneZiggo, a Dutch joint venture, which has 4 million customers, 10 million fixed-line subscribers and 5 million mobile subscribers. The LiLAC Group operates in over 20 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean under the consumer brands VTR, Flow, Liberty, Más Móvil and BTC. In addition, the LiLAC Group operates a sub-sea fiber network throughout the region in over 30 markets. For more information, please visit www.libertyglobal.com . \|\| 10 things you need to know today: AH-64D Apache attack helicopter (An AH-64D Apache attack helicopter at the South Carolina National Guard Air and Ground Expo at McEntire Joint National Guard Base in South Carolina.Reuters/Jorge Intriago/Courtesy Air National Guard/Handout) Here is what you need to know. South Korea goes to the polls . Barring a major upset, liberal Moon Jae-in, who is open to dialogue with North Korea, is expected to win, Reuters says. UK retail sales bounce back . Data released by the Retail Sales Monitor from the British Retail Consortium on Tuesday showed that retail sales in April surged 5.6% versus a year ago after slipping 1% in March. Bitcoin tops $1,700. The cryptocurrency trades up by 4.3% at $1,728 a coin. It's up 81% this year. Jeff Gundlach doesn't like US stocks . Speaking at the Sohn Investment conference, Gundlach, the founder of DoubleLine Capital, told attendees to go long the iShares Emerging Markets ETF and short the S&P 500. Hertz tanks after missing big on earnings . The rental-car company lost an adjusted $1.61 a share, missing the $0.84 loss that Wall Street was anticipating by a wide margin. Share tumbled by as much as 15% in extended trading on Monday. SPONSOR CONTENT BY ORACLE CFOs can transform their organization into an analytics powerhouse with the right talent, tools, and strategy. Learn more. Sturm Ruger says gun demand slowed . The gunmaker said sell-through of its products from independent distributors to retailers fell by 7% after seeing a strong run-up to the 2016 presidential election. The CEO of Qantas Airways took a pie to the face while giving a speech . CEO Alan Joyce was talking about his airline's recent decision to begin nonstop flights from London to Perth, Australia, when a man ran up to the podium and pied him in the face, City AM says. "If there are any more pies, can you get it over with now?" Joyce asked. Stock markets are higher . Hong Kong's Hang Seng (+1.3%) led the gains in Asia, and Germany's DAX (+0.5%) trails in Europe. The S&P 500 is set to open little changed near 2,400. Earnings reporting remains heavy. Allergan, Office Depot, and Valeant report ahead of the opening bell, while Disney, Priceline, and Yelp are among the names releasing their quarterly results after markets close. US economic is light. Jolts Job Openings will be released at 10 a.m. ET. The US 10-year yield is unchanged at 2.39%, its highest since the end of March. More From Business Insider 26 TV shows that were just canceled United Airlines apologizes after sending woman to San Francisco instead of Paris 10 things you need to know before the opening bell View comments [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] #Bitcoin -0.98% Ultima: R$ 6730.04 Alta: R$ 6900.00 Baixa: R$ 6548.03 Fonte: Foxbit \|\| #TEST#ビットコイン #AI #モデリング 11:00~12:00のBitcoin市場は反落でした。直近の市場の平均Bitcoinの価格は177252.0円で変化率は0.406%です。 13:00までは反騰? 【AIコメントです:テスト中@パターンA】 \|\| #WorldCoin #WDC $0.027139 (9.00%) 0.00001552 BTC (2.28%) \|\| Traders Raise Concern as Biggest Bitcoin Exchange Halts Deposits http://www.coindesk.com/bitcoin-traders-raise-concerns-largest-us-dollar-exchange-halts-deposits/ … \|\| $1176.98 at 09:30 UTC [24h Range: $1142.00 - $1183.00 Volume: 6455 BTC] \|\| $1158.00 at 10:45 UTC [24h Range: $1122.17 - $1159.00 Volume: 9146 BTC] \|\| One Bitcoin now worth $1180.19@bitstamp. High $1192.50. Low $1161.00. Market Cap $19.211 Billion #bitcoin pic.twitter.com/OB9oph2EF4 \|\| LIVE: Profit = $11,092.44 (4.02 %). BUY B161.50 @ $1,708.03 (#BTCe). SELL @ $1,775.00 (#Bitfinex) #bitcoin #btc - http://www.projectcoin.org \|\| #NowPlaying BitcoinMeister - Stable 00 Bitcoin vs Winklesvoss ETF volatility. US gov takes k from a Local Bitcoins sale at cryptocurrencyrad \|\| New all time #bitstamp #bitcoin high of $1664.00	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 2173.40, 2320.42, 2443.64, 2304.98, 2202.42, 2038.87, 2155.80, 2255.61, 2175.47, 2286.41
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis] Not fully available. [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Bitcoin Services Inc. to Develop Online Marketplace Where Bitcoin Can Be Exchanged for Goods & Services: GRANDVILLE, MI / ACCESSWIRE / October 13, 2016 / Bitcoin Services Inc., (OTC Pink: BTSC) announced today that it plans to develop an online marketplace where bitcoin can be exchanged for goods & services. Some of the goods will include real estate, cars, apparel, and electronics. The services will include plumbing, catering, and delivering. The advantages of users paying in Bitcoin is being able to send and get money anywhere in the world at any given time. Payments in Bitcoin can also be made and finalized without one's personal information being tied to the transactions. Due to the fact that personal information is kept hidden from prying eyes, Bitcoin protects against identity theft. Furthermore, Bitcoin protocol cannot be manipulated by any person, organization, or government. This is due to Bitcoin being cryptographically secure. In addition, there are currently either no fees, or very low fees within Bitcoin payments. About Bitcoin Services Inc.: Our business operations are Internet based to the consumer and consist of three separate streams, as follows: (1) bitcoin escrow services, (2) bitcoin mining, and (3) blockchain software development. The principal products and services are the mining of bitcoins, providing escrow services for buyers and sellers of bitcoins, and the development and sale of blockchain software. The market for these services and products is worldwide, and sold and marketed on the Internet. Safe Harbor Statement This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27a of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended and section 21e of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Those statements include the intent, belief or current expectations of the company and its management team. Prospective investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties, and that actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors. Accomplishing the strategy described herein is significantly dependent upon numerous factors, many that are not in management's control. Some of these factors include the ability of the company to raise sufficient capital, attract qualified management, attract new customers and effectively compete against similar companies. Story continues Contact: [email protected] SOURCE: Bitcoin Services Inc. \|\| Tips on How to Protect Your Private Information On Black Friday and Cyber Monday: Americans will line up around stores and standby their computers or smartphones to take advantage of Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals, but protecting their private information should also be priority for shoppers. During the holiday season many shoppers are harmed by failing to take simple precautions, says Gene Richardson, COO of Experts Exchange , a network for technology professionals. In Store Vs. Online Retail stores are one of the top areas identity thieves go after, Richardson said in an email to the IBTimes. A large number of some of the biggest identity thefts in the past few years were at large retail stores, he says. Long lines and busy cashiers could potentially put your private information at risk. “All the clerk cares about is getting you through the line as fast as they can so they can deal with the next customer and hope that none of you are angry,” says Richardson. “So, if there is a hiccup with your transaction, they will take “backup” paths to complete your transaction like entering your credit card number by hand.” Richardson, who is also the former head of the data security teams IBM, Charles Schwab and Motorola, says customers should never give their credit card to someone to perform a transaction by entering a card number. “Hand transactions are a huge risk for identity theft,” he says. Customers should also avoid buying if a cashier’s computer is down or too busy, unless it’s with cash, or try to go back later. Credit card scanners are also a threat to customers, as some of them may be rigged to copy a person’s information so that a duplicate credit card can be made. People may be less exposed to this action in large retail stores, but the risk is higher in smaller boutiques shops, says Richardson. Customers should also make sure their credit card number is not printed on receipts and should instead have XXX's where the number is displayed. But online purchases can be riskier because of all the extra information customers hand over, like their name, address, phone number, credit card information, expiration date and CSV. Story continues “They ask for so much more information from you to validate who you are than a purchase in a retail store,” says Richardson. “You have no control of who or where that information is going.” Tips to Protect Yourself Here are Richardson’s tips for shoppers on how they can protect themselves on Black Friday and Cyber Monday: Ensure that the website address is secure and has a valid encryption certificate. It will usually display a “locked, green” indicator in front of the website name. If it doesn’t have that, it does not have a higher level of security that has been guaranteed by a known entity like Verisign, Symantec and others. Ensure your system has the most recent recommended system and security patches. Always use a credit card that is not tied directly to your personal bank account(s), even if you are using PayPal, Bitcoin or some other payment method. Never give anything other than name, address and phone number. You should not need to answer security or privacy questions when making a purchase or checking out. If they ask, see if you can checkout as a “guest” instead. Monitor your credit through a third party for identify theft and have SMS and email alerts sent to you immediately. Set-up alerts with your credit card company that send both SMS and emails when any purchases are made and the credit card was not scanned (meaning, it wasn’t in someone’s hand when the charge was made). Set them as low as $25 per purchase. Also, set-up alerts for total purchases over $500 in a billing period to protect multiple $24.99 purchases. And if possible, a maximum amount of purchases allowed in a billing period such as $1500 before card will get declined. Ensure that you have a reputable Antivirus program running on your computer and that your browser has an Ad blocking plug-in. (Richardson recommends Norton, McAfee or ESET.) Ensure that the network your computer/device is on is secure and you know who has access to your network. This is usually done with your router. You want to lock down your router so that traffic can be initiated from the inside-out but you do not want traffic to be initiated from the outside-in. If you are using a WiFi connection, make sure that network is also secure and requires a password to join. If it is a public WiFi network that doesn’t require a password, then the traffic coming from your device can be monitored and stolen. (Link to onsite how-to article?) Any passwords that you use should be strong, hard to guess ones. Or, even better, hard to guess, but easy to remember . Don’t click on unfamiliar links to sites advertising sales, coupons, etc. Use two-factor authentication/verification, if it is offered. Shopping on Mobile Devices One in 10 mobile apps that are found through searching “Black Friday” are blacklisted as malicious, according to cyber security company RiskIQ An estimated 30 percent of purchases will be made on mobile devices, RiskIQ says. Shopping on mobile devices can substantially increase the risk of encountering phishing pages, malicious apps, and viruses that infect customers’ smartphones and tablets to steal money and private information. There are also fake apps out there that contain malware that can steal customers’ data or lock the device until the user pays a ransom, says RiskIQ. Other malicious apps may ask consumers to use their Facebook or Gmail logins, which could compromise their private information. Tips For Safe Shopping on Mobile Devices Here are some tips from RiskIQ: Ensure that you are only downloading apps from official app stores such as Google or Apple Be wary of applications that ask for suspicious permissions, like access to contacts, text messages, administrative features, stored passwords, or credit card info. Just because an app appears to have a good reputation doesn’t make it so. Rave reviews can be forged, and a high amount of downloads can simply indicate a threat actor was successful in fooling a lot of victims. Before downloading an app, be sure to take a look at the developer—if it’s not a brand you recognize or has a strange appearance or spelling, think twice. You can even do a Google search on the developer for more clues about its reputation. Make sure to take a deep look at each app. New developers, or developers that leverage free email services (e.g., @gmail) for their developer contact, can be enormous red flags— threat actors often use these services to produce mass amounts of malicious apps in a short period. Also, poor grammar in the description highlights the haste of development and the lack of marketing professionalism that are hallmarks of mobile malware campaigns. Check website addresses after following links on Twitter, Facebook, or other social media channels to be sure you end up on the true website of the retailer you want. Look for the “S” in HTTPS when you visit shopping sites. Beware of shopping sites that do not use HTTPS in their website addresses or do not display the symbol of a lock next to the web address. Secure sites use HTTPS, and without that, you’re dealing with unsecured connections or weak encryption of personal data. Never provide your credit card information unless you are in a secure online shopping portal. Sites that ask for it in return for “coupons” or to win “free” merchandise are almost always scams. Protect Yourself From a Major Headache For those who might not want to go through the hassle of setting up credit card alerts on purchases or locking down their router, it’s important to remember that it can and save consumers from a major headache. “Identity theft could cost you several thousand dollars in actual money and can cost you a lot more in your personal time and future anticipated losses cleaning up after the fact,” Richardson said. “The impact of identity theft could last years as you personally have to work to call all your creditors to fix your credit, loss of credibility for future purchases of a home, car, etc. as your credit scores will have been impacted, the effect on future employment opportunities as background checks are run and many, many more,” he added. Related Articles $100 Off HTC Vive On Black Friday and Cyber Monday American Consumers Prep For Cyber Monday \|\| Your first trade for Friday, October 7: The " Fast Money " traders shared their first moves for the market open. Tim Seymour was a buyer of Total S.A. (Euronext Paris: FP-FR) . Brian Kelly was a seller of UnitedHealth (NYSE: UNH) . Dan Nathan was a buyer of Twitter (NYSE: TWTR) . Guy Adami was a buyer of CME Group (NASDAQ: CME) . Trader disclosure: On October 6, 2016, the following stocks and commodities mentioned or intended to be mentioned on CNBC's "Fast Money" were owned by the "Fast Money" traders: Tim Seymour is long ABX, APC, AVP, BAC, BBRY, CLF, DO, DVYE, EDC, EWZ, F, FB, FCX, FXI, GM, GOOGL, GE, INTC, LQD,MCD, MUR, OIH, PG, RACE, RAI, RH, RL, SINA, T, TWTR, VALE, VZ, XOM. short: SPY, XRT; Tim's firm is long ABX, BABA, BIDU, CBD, CLF, EWZ, F, KO, MCD, MPEL, NKE, PEP, PF, SAVE, SBUX, SINA, VALE, VIAB, WMT, WEN, X, YHOO, short EWG, HYG, IWM. Brian Kelly is long Bitcoin, DXJ, TLT, XOP, WTI, US Dollar UUP; he is short EUR=, JPY=, GBP=. Dan Nathan is long TWTR, long PYPL oct call, Long FEZ Nov put spread, long EEM Nov put spread, long XHB jan put spread, long XLK Jan put spread, long XLU Dec call spread, SMH Nov Put Spread. Guy Adami is long CELG, EXAS, GDX, INTC, Guy Adami's wife, Linda Snow, works at Merck. More From CNBC Top News and Analysis Latest News Video Personal Finance \|\| What traders are buying if Trump wins: The "Fast Money" traders on Friday weighed stocks they would buy ifDonald Trumpwon the election. U.S. markets turned negative earlier in the day after theFederal Bureau of Investigationannounced it isinvestigating new emailsrelated to Democratic nomineeHillary Clinton. Trader Steve Grasso said investors should be keeping an eye on securities that are interest-rate sensitive like utilities or gold. He said it wouldn't make sense to increase risk exposure in an overall market that is selling off. Trader Brian Kelly said General Electric is the best bet in a selloff because both Clinton and Trump have promised to increase infrastructure spending. Disclosures: TIM SEYMOUR Tim Seymour is long ABX, APC, AVP, BAC, BBRY, CLF, CVX, DO, DVYE, EDC, EWZ, F, FB, FCX, FXI, GM, GOOGL, GE, INTC, LQD,MCD, MUR, OIH, PG, RACE, RAI, RH, RL, SINA, T, TWTR, VALE, VZ, XOM and short: SPY, XRT. His firm is long ABX, BABA, BIDU, CBD, CLF, EWZ, F, KO, MCD, MPEL, NKE, PEP, PF, TCEHY, SAVE, SBUX, SINA, VALE, VIAB, WMT, WEN, X, YHOO, and short EWG, HYG, IWM STEVE GRASSO Steve Grasso is long: BA, CC, CHK, EVGN, KBH, MJNA, MON, MU, OLN, PFE, PHM, T, TWTR, GDX. His children own: EFA, EFG, EWJ, IJR, SPY. No short positions. Grasso's firm is long: VIRT, DVN, LDP, WDR, AVP, CVX, FCX, ICE, KDUS, KO, MAT, MCD, MJNA, NE, NEM, OLN, OXY, RIG, STAG, TAXI, TEX, TITXF, URI, WDR, WYNN, ZNGA, CUBA, HSPO, ICE, AMZN, MJNA, TITXF, SPY, QQQ, DIA, XLI, BGCP, VIRT, GE, AIR, FP. BRIAN KELLY Brian Kelly is long Bitcoin, long USO, SLV and Silver Futures, US Dollar UUP. He is short the euro and the Japanese yen. GUY ADAMI Guy Adami is long CELG, EXAS, GDX, INTC. Adami's wife, Linda Snow, works at Merck. More From CNBC • Top News and Analysis • Latest News Video • Personal Finance \|\| What to Expect from Overstock.com (OSTK) in Q3 Earnings?: Overstock.com Inc.OSTK is slated to report third-quarter 2016 results on Nov 3. It is an online retailer that sells brand-name merchandise at deep discounts. Its offerings include bed-and-bath goods, kitchenware, watches, jewelry, electronics, sporting goods and designer accessories. Let’s see how things are shaping up for this announcement. Factors to Consider The company’s second-quarter revenues were up 8% year over year. It has intensified its efforts on expanding its product reach, building its customer base and strengthening its international foothold. The company has partnered with Tmall in China, 11Street in Korea, Mercado LibreIguama in Latin America, Trade Me in New Zealand and Australia and Rakuten in the UK. Management has also indicated more partnerships in the near future. It has launched a trusted partner marketplace as part of its global expansion efforts. However, the company’s business has been hit by changes in Google search algorithms and rising competition in the e-commerce sector. It has also been engaged in legal battles with several brokerage firms over stock price manipulation issues. Overstocks’ continuous efforts to reduce illegal stock manipulation and reform capital markets could boost its results in the to-be-reported quarter. Also, management confirmed Overstock’s continued focus on improvement of customer experience as well as customer attraction and retention efforts. For this, the company is trying to bring in absolute customization and personalization of its marketing message and develop customer-friendly mobile platforms and applications. Overstock has been a Bitcoin supporter for more than two years and has successfully leveraged the blockchain technology. The company is trying to establish relationships with major financial and capital market institutions to achieve the expected level of synergy between blockchain and cryptocurrency. We expect customer-friendly initiatives, product and geographical expansion efforts, and reform capital markets to act as major positives for Overstock in the to-be-reported quarter. OVERSTOCK.COM Price and EPS Surprise OVERSTOCK.COM Price and EPS Surprise \| OVERSTOCK.COM Quote Stocks That Warrant a Look Ashford Hospitality Prime, Inc. AHP is slated to report third-quarter earnings results on Nov 2. The company has an Earnings ESP of +9.76% and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can seethe complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here. Avon Products Inc. AVP with an Earnings ESP of +33.33% and a Zacks Rank #1. The company is slated to report third-quarter earnings results on Nov 3. Glaukos Corporation GKOS with an Earnings ESP of +100.0% and a Zacks Rank #1. The company is slated to report third-quarter earnings results on Nov 10. Confidential from Zacks Beyond this Analyst Blog, would you like to see Zacks' best recommendations that are not available to the public? Our Executive VP, Steve Reitmeister, knows when key trades are about to be triggered and which of our experts has the hottest hand.Click to see them now>> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days.Click to get this free reportAVON PRODS INC (AVP): Free Stock Analysis ReportASHFORD HOSP PR (AHP): Free Stock Analysis ReportGLAUKOS CORP (GKOS): Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research \|\| First Bitcoin Capital Solves Medical Cannabis Dispensary Cash Dilemma Via INNOVATIVE Merchant Credit Card Services: VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / October 27, 2016 / FIRST BITCOIN CAPITAL CORP. ( BITCF ), a leading bitcoin and cryptocurrency developer, specializing in both blockchain and online merchant payment solutions for medical marijuana dispensaries and other high-risk merchant accounts and services, today announced the signing of a merchant account processing agent agreement with a credit card processor for the states of California and Oregon. Under the agreement, BITCF will provide a full suite of financial services for the medical marijuana industry: merchant processing and POS solutions through its alliance network, a fully compliant, user friendly solution to accept Credit and Debit Cards through traditional Merchant Card Processing networks. We intend to add more states as additional legal opinions are provided by our credit card processor provider’s counsel. First Bitcoin is also developing a system that will enable dispensaries to accept Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as a form of legal payment. Stater of California has already enacted legislation that makes Bitcoin and similar digital currencies legal tender. BITCF has developed specific programs to meet the unique needs of the medical cannabis industry. Offering merchant services at competitive rates for businesses operating legally under state law of California and Oregon, the company can now provide financial services not typically available from conventional banks. While legalization of marijuana in many forms – and in many states – garnered over $5 billion dollars in 2016, the sums are expected to grow for 2017. More innovative and unique products are being created, and the stigma that once surrounded cannabis is slowly fading. These changes are helping the medical cannabis industry to prosper now that federal policies allow dispensaries to sell, grow, or possess cannabis while compliant with state laws. BITCF will only provide these services where federal policies allow our business model to proceed for dispensaries that are fully compliant with state and country laws, rules and regulations. Story continues Should your dispensary be interested in these services please contact us by email: [email protected] According to our merchant processor: Our processor introduces the first completely sanctioned credit card solution for the Marijuana Industry. Unlike most merchant accounts that are currently being used by many dispensaries, our processor Acquirers approve, accept and fully acknowledge their engagement with State licensed legal Marihuana Dispensaries. Our processor is an "IaaS". Infrastructure as a Service ("IaaS") and provider of an innovative array of synergistic services that include, advertising, affiliate marketing, consortium of vendors in various markets including the high risk sector and payment processing into a seamless comprehensive solution. Their mission is to utilize IaaS to provide protection and enhanced privacy for online consumers as well as all participating contractual Partners within their Network. Our processor employs a proprietary method of transacting on behalf of their Partners. Our processor also manages the customer database with its Partners and offers consumer protection services for their registered Users. They also operate through clearance and settlement systems that admit only BSA-regulated financial institutions. Our processor is also fully PCI compliant. About the company: First Bitcoin Capital is engaged in developing digital currencies, proprietary Blockchain technologies, and the digital currency exchange- www.CoinQX.com We see this step as a tremendous opportunity to create further shareholder value by leveraging management's experience in developing and managing complex Blockchain technologies, developing new type of digital assets. "Being first publicly-traded cryptocurrency and blockchain-centered company we want to provide our shareholders with diversified exposure to digital cryptocurrencies and blockchain technologies." At this time Company owns and operates the following digital assets. www.BITCoinCapitalcorp.com company website. www.CoinQX.com Company operated Cryptocurrency Exchange, registered with FINCEN. www.iCoiNEWS.com real time cryptocurrency and bitcoin news site www.BITminer.cc company provides mining pool management services. www.2016coin.org online daily election coverage and home page for $PRES, $HILL and $GARY coins Forward-Looking Statements Certain statements contained in this press release may constitute "forward-looking statements." Forward-looking statements provide current expectations of future events based on certain assumptions and include any statement that does not directly relate to any historical or current fact. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors as may be disclosed in company's filings. In addition to these factors, actual future performance, outcomes, and results may differ materially because of more general factors including (without limitation) general industry and market conditions and growth rates, economic conditions, and governmental and public policy changes. The forward-looking statements included in this press release represent the Company's views as of the date of this press release and these views could change. However, while the Company may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, the Company specifically disclaims any obligation to do so. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing the Company's views as of any date subsequent to the date of the press release .Such forward-looking statements are risks that are detailed in the Company's filings, which are on file at www.OTCMarkets.com . SOURCE: First Bitcoin Capital Corp. \|\| Swiss rail operator to sell bitcoins at its ticket machines: ZURICH (Reuters) - Switzerland's national railways firm SBB is branching out next month with the launch of a new service on its ticket machines to sell bitcoins, the web-based digital currency. Beginning Nov. 11, customers will be able to trade Swiss francs for bitcoins using the ticket machines in a two-year experiment that will test Switzerland's appetite for the cryptocurrency, the state-owned company announced on Friday. "There have been few possibilities to obtain bitcoins in Switzerland until now," SBB said. "With its 1,000-plus ticket machines, SBB operates a dense, around-the-clock distribution network that's suited for more than just ticket sales." SBB is working with Zug-based digital payments firm SweePay to allow customers to top up their digital 'bitcoin wallet' accounts by mobile phone. Customers can exchange anywhere between 20 and 500 Swiss francs ($20-503) per transaction. SBB will act as distributor, while the exchange will be performed by SweePay and require users to hold an account with a wallet service that allows storage of the digital currency. Bitcoin is known for allowing users to move money across the world quickly and relatively anonymously but, on the Swiss ticket machines, users won't be able to procure it without a trace: customers will need to identify themselves using a Swiss mobile phone. While bitcoins can be purchased, they won't be accepted as payment at the machines, meaning ticket revenues will be unaffected by changes in the bitcoin exchange rate. ($1 = 0.9943 Swiss francs) (Reporting by Brenna Hughes Neghaiwi; Editing by Greg Mahlich) \|\| Got bitcoin? Despite early setbacks, some say it is stronger than ever: Bitcoin, the digital currency that captivated the world just three years ago before being tainted by scandals, may be making a comeback. In fact, many experts say it never really went away despite wild swings in its value. "I think the future of digital currency is bright," said Marco Santori, a partner at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman in New York, and leader of the firm's digital currency and blockchain technology team. Blockchain refers to the virtual ledger that powers bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. "This is probably the most important invention since the internet," Santori said in an interview with CNBC's " American Greed ." From the beginning, the concept has been alluring if not utopian. Imagine a currency that is not tied to the whims of politicians, the foibles of central bankers, or the fortunes of a particular country. Rather than relying on a government to mint a currency, users could "mine" their own bitcoin by running software contributing their own computing power to verify other bitcoin transactions. Or they could simply buy bitcoin on one of several online exchanges, investing in it like any other currency. To many, it seemed like a good bet. By the fall of 2013, with the U.S. government locked in yet another showdown over raising the debt ceiling and facing the specter of an unprecedented default, interest in virtual currencies like bitcoin peaked. The price of a single bitcoin reached a high of $1,108.80 according to Coinbase, the first licensed U.S. bitcoin exchange. But the frenzy would be short-lived. Around the time prices were reaching their high, U.S. authorities were exposing what they considered the dark side of bitcoin, busting what the FBI called "a black market bazaar for drugs and illegal services" an underground web site known as Silk Road. In a case explored in the latest episode of "American Greed," the FBI arrested the site's 29-year-old founder, Ross Ulbricht, who was eventually sentenced to life in prison (he is appealing his conviction). And the government seized more than $30 million worth of Silk Road's currency of choice: bitcoin. Story continues Meanwhile in Japan, the world's largest bitcoin exchange, Mt.Gox, was spiraling into bankruptcy amid allegations it was a conduit for money laundering. Within two months of Ulbricht's arrest, bitcoin lost nearly half its value. The price would continue to decline for more than a year, hitting a low of $203.77 at the beginning of 2015, according to Coinbase. But lately, bitcoin has been rebounding, hitting $757.77 in June. The price has leveled off since then but is still roughly three times its 2015 lows. Santori says an even better indicator of bitcoin's apparent rebound is volume. "After the Silk Road was taken down, we did see a hit in volume," he said. "It confirms that bitcoin was being used on the Silk Road and used in earnest. But volume went back up again, and now it's many, many times what it was back then." Indeed, according to the Luxembourg-based technology firm Blockchain, more than 200,000 bitcoin transactions are taking place daily now, compared with just 90,000 at the peak of the frenzy in 2013. "Digital currency today is so much farther along than it was even back in 2013 when it arguably started to reach its height and peak in sort of mass market popularity," Santori said. But bitcoin still faces challenges some old, some new. Bitcoin is no longer the only game in town. Other cryptocurrencies have sprung up, most notably ethereum. It expands on bitcoin's blockchain technology, allowing users not only to engage in basic transactions, but also to execute "smart contracts" that automatically enforce themselves. Meanwhile, the law surrounding virtual currencies remains a work in process, with conflicting court rulings about how to define them. "Are they commodities? Are they property? This is going to be a very long road for virtual currencies in general to kind of settle in to a particular legal class," Santori said. Then of course there is the issue of crime. The value of any currency depends in part on its reputation, and in that respect the Silk Road case was a huge setback for bitcoin. But Santori says that is unfair. "Are bitcoins used for crime? Well of course. But so are a lot of other currencies. So are a lot of other technologies," Santori said. Many experts agree that bitcoin is actually less useful to criminals than other currencies, because contrary to popular belief, it is not anonymous. In fact, one of the IRS agents who helped to finally unravel Silk Road says it was bitcoin that ultimately led law enforcement officials to their man. "Back then, criminals are operating under the impression that bitcoin was an untraceable currency and law enforcement wouldn't ever, maybe never, be able to figure this out," Tigran Gambaryan told "American Greed." "Well, when you fast forward it to 2014-2015, that was no longer the case." So will bitcoin and its fellow cryptocurrencies eventually replace all the money in our wallet? Not necessarily. Even some of the most enthusiastic boosters, like Santori, say that contrary to some of the early expectations, it is hard to beat the U.S. dollar. "You can complain all you want about the banks, but the U.S. dollar is strong," he said. "It's a good currency. It's a good store of value. it's a good medium of exchange. It does all the things we want money to do." But he says other countries with less stable currencies could find bitcoin to be a useful alternative a medium of exchange for them, and a source of investment elsewhere, including in the U.S. And as the technology develops, we may all have to expand our concept of the meaning of money. Follow the amazing global manhunt that finally put an end to the Silk Road on the ALL-NEW season finale of "American Greed," Thursday, Sept. 29 at 10 pm ET/PT only on CNBC Prime. More From CNBC Top News and Analysis Latest News Video Personal Finance \|\| John Reid Confirmed as CEO of Cable and Wireless: MIAMI, FL--(Marketwired - Nov 21, 2016) - John Reid has been confirmed as Chief Executive Officer of C&W Communications ("C&W", or the "Company") effective November 7, 2016. C&W serves 18 countries and is one of the largest full service telecommunications and entertainment providers in the Caribbean and Latin America. The Company was recently acquired by Liberty Global plc "Liberty Global", the world's largest international TV and broadband company. "This is a time of meaningful change and development for C&W, and I am excited for the expertise and continuity that John brings to this growing region," said Mike Fries, CEO of Liberty Global. Reid is tasked with aligning the former UK-based company with Liberty's Latin America and Caribbean ("LiLAC Group") division, while strengthening the Company's growth opportunities, in particular triple-play, mobile data and fixed-mobile convergence, and seizing on the significant business-to-business and wholesale opportunities in the region. "I am honored to lead C&W Communications into the next phase of our development. I look forward to achieving our growth objectives, creating greater value for our stakeholders, and transforming our employee and customer experience," Reid said. Reid, a Canadian national, is uniquely positioned to take C&W to its next chapter as he has over 28 years of telecommunications and cable television experience, and has spearheaded complex integrations and pioneered a culture of transformation and engagement, first in Canada, and during the past 11 years, across the Caribbean. Prior to his role as Interim CEO of C&W, Reid served as C&W's President, Consumer Division and was part of the executive leadership team at C&W that achieved in excess of $100m in synergies in less than 18 months following the Columbus transaction. At Columbus, where he was President and Chief Operating Officer, he led the Company to become a leader and innovator in the broadband and entertainment industry across the Caribbean and Latin America. Prior to Columbus John held various roles with Canadian MSO Persona, holding the position of Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer. Story continues John holds a B.A. and an M.B.A. from Memorial University of Newfoundland, serves as the Chairman of Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC), a 49% subsidiary of C&W, and is a member of the Advisory Board of Caribbean Tales. About C&W Communications C&W is a full service communications and entertainment provider and delivers market-leading video, broadband, telephony and mobile services to consumers in 18 countries. Through its business division, C&W provides data center hosting, domestic and international managed network services, and customized IT service solutions, utilizing cloud technology to serve business and government customers. C&W also operates a state-of-the-art submarine fiber network -- the most extensive in the region. Learn more at www.cwc.com , or follow C&W on LinkedIn , Facebook or Twitter . About Liberty Global Liberty Global is the world's largest international TV and broadband company, with operations in more than 30 countries across Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean. Liberty Global invests in the infrastructure that empowers its customers to make the most of the digital revolution. Liberty Global's scale and commitment to innovation enables it to develop market-leading products delivered through next-generation networks that connect its 29 million customers who subscribe to 60 million television, broadband internet and telephony services. Liberty Global also serves over 10 million mobile subscribers and offers WiFi service across seven million access points. Liberty Global's businesses are comprised of two stocks: the Liberty Global Group ( NASDAQ : LBTYA ) ( NASDAQ : LBTYB ) ( NASDAQ : LBTYK ) for its European operations, and the LiLAC Group ( NASDAQ : LILA ) ( NASDAQ : LILAK ) ( OTC PINK : LILAB ), which consists of its operations in Latin America and the Caribbean. The Liberty Global Group operates in 12 European countries under the consumer brands Virgin Media, Ziggo, Unitymedia, Telenet and UPC. The LiLAC Group operates in over 20 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean under the consumer brands VTR, Flow, Liberty, Mas Movil and BTC. In addition, the LiLAC Group operates a subsea fiber network throughout the region in over 30 markets. For more information, please visit www.libertyglobal.com . Image Available: http://www2.marketwire.com/mw/frame_mw?attachid=3082861 \|\| Costco is reaping the benefits of the transition from American Express to Citigroup and Visa: Credit Card Sales (BII) This story was delivered to BI Intelligence " Payments Briefing " subscribers. To learn more and subscribe, please click here . In its recent earnings report, Costco noted that its payment card acceptance transition is progressing strongly. The retailer’s portfolio, which was previously cobranded with American Express, was sold to Citigroup and Visa in June. And though there were some hiccups involved with the transition, Costco noted it’s “past that” and reported strong numbers. The new card is “beating initial expectations” regarding conversion, new sign-ups, and overall use. Most cardholders have transferred their accounts. Of the approximately 11.4 million Amex Costco cards and 7.5 million accounts, nearly 85% of the accounts transferred over have been activated with Costco. That’s about the same amount that were active prior to the transition, which indicates that existing cardholders are receptive to the new card program. And the new card continues to grow, which could be a result of the strong rewards program. Since the shift in June, Costco said that 1.1 million members have applied for the new card and 730,000 accounts have been activated. For context, Citi noted that three-and-a-half weeks in, the new card had added 337,000 new accounts, so the Costco numbers mark somewhat slowing, but still strong, growth. This is a strong interest indicator for the new card specifically, especially because Costco now accepts any Visa-branded card, and it’s likely the majority of Costco customers already have one in their wallet. The card’s strong rewards offerings, which include better cash-back options for Costco purchases and have improved by 40-50% overall, could be driving customers to the product. It’s likely that spending is high. Costco didn’t provide specific spending numbers, only noting that its gross margin year-over-year (YoY) increased. But in Citi’s earnings call, held three weeks into the card transition, the product saw $5.7 billion in purchases made on Citi Costco cards, slightly beating the estimated $5.4 billion spend that would have been seen on the Amex card. Assuming that trend has continued, it’s likely the product is performing strongly. Story continues The strong performance reported by Costco could be a needed boost for Citigroup. The strong performance is good news for Costco, because the retailer’s somewhat slowing sales could have been exacerbated if transition process frustration drove customers away from the retailer. But ongoing usage and volume growth will be most beneficial to Citi, which has already seen modest gains in its North American “credit cards” segment as a result of the acquisition of the Costco portfolio, which accounted for $80 billion in 2015. If Costco continues to be a steady customer acquisition channel and volume source, Citi could further establish separation as the third largest US card issuer in 2016. Costco's growth in this area is just one piece of the larger payments ecosystem, which includes card issuers, merchants, gateways, vendors, and more. Evan Bakker and John Heggestuen, analysts at BI Intelligence , have compiled a detailed report on the payments ecosystem that drills into the industry to explain how a broad range of transactions are processed, including prepaid and store cards, as well as revealing which types of companies are in the best and worst position to capitalize on the latest industry trends. Here are some key takeaways from the report: 2016 will be a watershed year for the payments industry. Payments companies are improving security, expanding their mobile offerings, and building commerce capabilities that will give consumers a more compelling reason to make purchases using digital devices. Payments is an extremely complex industry. To understand the next big digital opportunity lies, it's critical to understand how the traditional credit- and debit-processing chain works and what roles acquirers, processors, issuing banks, card networks, independent sales organizations, gateways, and software and hardware providers play. Alternative technologies could disrupt the processing ecosystem. Devices ranging from refrigerators to smartwatches now feature payment capabilities, which will spur changes in consumer payment behaviors. Likewise, blockchain technology, the protocol that underlies Bitcoin, could one day change how consumer card payments are verified. In full, the report: Uncovers the key themes and trends affecting the payments industry in 2016 and beyond. Gives a detailed description of the stakeholders involved in a payment transaction, along with hardware and software providers. Offers diagrams and infographics explaining how card transactions are processed and which players are involved in each step. Provides charts on our latest forecasts, key company growth, survey results, and more. Analyzes the alternative technologies, including blockchain, which could further disrupt the ecosystem. To get your copy of this invaluable guide, choose one of these options: Subscribe to an ALL-ACCESS Membership with BI Intelligence and gain immediate access to this report AND over 100 other expertly researched deep-dive reports, subscriptions to all of our daily newsletters, and much more. >> START A MEMBERSHIP Purchase the report and download it immediately from our research store. >> BUY THE REPORT The choice is yours. But however you decide to acquire this report, you’ve given yourself a powerful advantage in your understanding of the payments ecosystem. More From Business Insider THE PAYMENTS INDUSTRY EXPLAINED: The Trends Creating New Winners And Losers In The Card-Processing Ecosystem THE CONNECTED DEVICE PAYMENTS REPORT: Market opportunities, top stakeholders, and new use cases for the next frontier in payments The top 5 fintech predictions for 2016 [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] In the last 10 mins, there were arb opps spanning 5 exchange pair(s), yielding profits ranging between $0.00 and $214.92 #bitcoin #btc \|\| 1 KOBO = 0.00000258 BTC = 0.0016 USD = 0.4864 NGN = 0.0225 ZAR = 0.1620 KES #Kobocoin 2016-10-18 07:00 pic.twitter.com/ZPqRHFpMCM \|\| #ChainCoin #CHC $0.000066 (3.31%) 0.00000010 BTC (0.00%) \|\| «Provably fair bitcoin game» https://twitter.com/i/moments/789589843630260225 … \|\| $629.00 at 22:47 UTC [24h Range: $627.50 - $632.36 Volume: 3032 BTC] \|\| 1 EGC Price: Bittrex 0.00003677 BTC YoBit 0.00003900 BTC #EGC #EverGreenCoin #GreenThatsGreen 2016-10-23 09:00 (EST) pic.twitter.com/EdapofAzar \|\| $612.00 at 23:45 UTC [24h Range: $607.28 - $614.28 Volume: 1469 BTC] \|\| #TrollCoin #TROLL $0.000043 (0.42%) 0.00000006 BTC (-0.00%) \|\| $675.78 at 19:30 UTC [24h Range: $643.00 - $677.00 Volume: 7259 BTC] \|\| 1 BTC Price: BTC-e 699.916 USD Bitstamp 705.00 USD Coinbase 710.36 USD #btc #bitcoin 2016-11-06 13:30 pic.twitter.com/d1aI808D8w	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 735.81, 735.60, 745.69, 756.77, 777.94, 771.16, 773.87, 758.70, 764.22, 768.13
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2016-03-18] BTC Price: 409.55, BTC RSI: 45.39 Gold Price: 1253.80, Gold RSI: 57.70 Oil Price: 39.44, Oil RSI: 63.69 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Forty big banks test blockchain-based bond trading system: By Jemima Kelly LONDON, March 3 (Reuters) - Forty of the world's biggest banks, including HSBC and Citi, have tested a system for trading fixed income using the technology that underpins bitcoin, fintech company R3 CEV said on Thursday. The banks are part of a consortium of 42 major lenders, brought together last year by New York-based R3 CEV to work on ways blockchain technology could be used in financial markets - the first time so many have collaborated on using such systems. A blockchain is a huge, decentralised ledger of transactions that can be used to secure and validate any exchange of data, including real assets, such as commodities or currencies. Bitcoin's blockchain was the first, but others have since been built that offer additional features and can be programmed. That means the technology can enable so-called smart contracts: agreements that are automatically executed when pre-determined conditions are met. For this experiment, the banks tried five different blockchain-technology providers to test trading fixed income: Ethereum, often considered the most advanced and ambitious, Chain, Eris Industries, IBM and Intel. "We have raised the bar significantly with the sheer number of global financial institutions, distributed ledger technologies and cloud providers working together ... to demonstrate how this nascent technology can be applied to ... an actively traded asset class," said the head of R3's Collaborative Lab, Tim Grant. Banks reckon the technology could save them money by cutting out middlemen and making their operations more transparent. But analysts say it is early days - bitcoin was invented just six years ago and developers are still working on the technology. Indeed, the G20's Financial Stability Board said on Saturday assessing the systemic implications of fintech innovations would form part of the task force's core policy work this year and global regulators could propose rules to prevent them from destabilising the broader financial system. Chain's CEO Adam Ludwin said: "R3 is further accelerating the adoption of blockchain technology by demonstrating, instead of simply asserting, the commercial advantages of this emerging approach to financial services." (Reporting by Jemima Kelly; Editing by Alison Williams) \|\| Bank of America is going big on blockchain: Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) is trying to steal a march on the latest developments in the technology behind digital currency bitcoin (: BTC=) by loading up on blockchain-related patents. Blockchain works like a huge, decentralized ledger for the digital currency bitcoin which records every transaction and stores this information on a global network so it cannot be tampered with. Major financial institutions -- including the Bank of England -- have released a number of notes over the last year on the potential of the technology and have created teams within their organizations to look into how to develop the cryptocurrency. But Bank of America is going one step further by attempting to patent some of the use cases of the technology. The company has already filed for 15 blockchain-related patents and is currently in the process of drafting another 20 to be submitted to the U.S. Patents and Trademark Office (USPTO) later this month, a spokesperson told CNBC on Wednesday. "Blockchain's very intriguing and for us it's a balance between not wanting to be Neanderthal but not wanting to put something out in a commercial application where the commercial application is still very unclear as a technologist, the technology is fascinating," Catherine Bessant, the chief operations and technology office at Bank of America, said during a CNBC event at Davos last week. "And we have tried to stay on the forefront, I think we have somewhere around 15 patents, most people would be surprised at Bank of America with patents in the blockchain or cryptocurrency space. (It's) very important in the intellectual property world to reserve our spot even before we know what the commercial application might be." In December, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) published 10 of Bank of America's applications. The USPTO publishes patent applications 18 months after they're filed. But the latest information shows that the number of patents Bank of America has filed for and is looking to apply for is much higher. Story continues Bank of America patents published by the USPTO showed proposals for a "cryptocurrency risk detection system" and "suspicious user alert system" among others. These patents have not yet been granted. The technology might be some years off before becoming mainstream for banks, but institutions are taking a collaborative approach to the technology, working with start-ups and even rival lenders. A consortium of more than 25 banks, led by fintech (financial technology) company R3, is currently developing a framework for applying blockchain technology to markets. Last year, Goldman Sachs released a note that said blockchain could "change everything" while banks from Barclays to UBS explained how the technology could be used in areas from remittances to drawing up contracts. More From CNBC Top News and Analysis Latest News Video Personal Finance \|\| Australia's ASX invests in blockchain to simplify markets: SYDNEY (Reuters) - Markets operator ASX Ltd on Friday said it has made a minority investment in U.S.-based Digital Asset Holdings to develop distributed ledger technology, or blockchain, to potentially simplify Australias post-trade equity market. Blockchain technology, pioneered by Bitcoin, maintains a continuously growing list of transaction data which cannot be tampered with or revised. ASX paid A$14.9 million ($10.43 million) for a 5.0 percent equity interest in Digital Asset along with funding an initial phase of development and acquiring a warrant that will give it the right to purchase further equity and appoint a director to the board. ASX will work with Digital Asset to design a new post-trade solution for the Australian equity market, it said in a statement on Friday. Over the past year, interest in blockchain technology has grown rapidly. It has already attracted significant investment from many major banks, which reckon it could save them money by making their operations faster, more efficient and more transparent. (Reporting by Swati Pandey) \|\| Canada's TSX hires Bitcoin guru, studies currency's technology: By Ethan Lou TORONTO (Reuters) - The Toronto Stock Exchange has hired a Bitcoin entrepreneur as its first chief digital officer as it explores the capabilities of blockchain, the technology behind the virtual currency, a senior executive at TSX parent TMX Group said on Thursday. Anthony Di Iorio, who has founded several companies based on the technology, filled the role at Canada's largest stock exchange in January, Jean Desgagne, chief executive of TMX's Global Enterprise Services, said in an interview. Stock exchanges are embracing blockchain, which allows Bitcoin users to conduct secure transactions without middlemen, as they seek to diversify and boost profit margins. When used to issue securities, the technology could potentially remove the need for clearing houses. "Blockchain is a disruptive technology," Desgagne said, noting that major changes could result from its potential adoption. "We're focused on it, we're going to learn." In January the Australian stock exchange said it had enlisted a blockchain startup to develop a new trade settlement system. Nasdaq in the United States used the technology last year to issue securities to an unidentified private investor. Last month, Nasdaq said it was developing a blockchain-based shareholder voting system for its Estonian stock exchange. Blockchain could make operations "better, faster, cheaper," Desgagne said, but noted that, if adopted, the technology would be only one element in TMX's digital operations. Di Iorio and Desgagne declined to discuss details about potential blockchain projects at TSX. Di Iorio is the founder of the Bitcoin Alliance of Canada and a co-founder of Ethereum, a blockchain-based computing platform. (Reporting by Ethan Lou; Editing by Euan Rocha and Richard Chang) \|\| Soda and cigarettes? Momentum trades: Amid a wild year for stocks, "Fast Money" traders debated the merits of two names that have ticked higher despite volatility. Shares of Philip Morris International (NYSE: PM) and Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO) have climbed more than 3 and 1 percent on the year, respectively. The gains compare to a loss of nearly 6 percent for the S&P 500 (INDEX: .SPX) . Investors are "starved for yield" during a down year, and Coke may look appealing to some because of its dividend, trader Tim Seymour argued. He noted that a wider strategy change may also drive momentum for the stock. Coke shares ticked slightly higher Wednesday, closing at $43.49. If the stock breaks above $45 per share, it would make a stronger trade than at its current level, contended trader Guy Adami. For investors seeking dividends, Philip Morris also offers appeal, argued trader Brian Kelly. He said the company's dividend appears "safe," and the stock "held up very well" amid a downturn this year. Disclosures: Tim Seymour Tim Seymour is long AAPL, BAC, DO, F, FCX, GM, GOOGL, INTC, JCP, NKE, SINA, T, TWTR, VZ, XOM. Tim's firm is long BABA, BIDU, KO, MCD, PEP, SAVE, SBUX, VALE, WMT,YHOO, short HYG, IWM. Brian Kelly Brian Kelly is long BBRY, Bitcoin, GLD, SLV, TLT, US Dollar; he is short Aussie Dollar, British Pound, CS, DB, Euro, EWH, Hong Kong Dollar, UBS, SPY, Yuan. Karen Finerman Karen is long BAC, C, FL, GOOG, GOOGL, JPM, LYV, KORS, M, SEDG, SPY calls, URI, she is short SPY. Her firm is long ANTM, AAPL, BAC, C, C calls, FINL, FL, GOOG, GOOGL, JPM, KORS, LYV, M, MOH, NRF, PLCE, URI, her firm is short IWM, MDY, SPY. Karen Finerman is on the board of GrafTech International. Guy Adami Guy Adami is long CELG, EXAS, GDX, INTC, Guy Adami's wife, Linda Snow, works at Merck. More From CNBC Top News and Analysis Latest News Video Personal Finance \|\| Digatrade Executes Bitcoin Debit Card Development Contract: Digatrade Bitcoin Debit Card Set to Launch VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / February 25, 2016 /BITX FINANCIAL CORP (BITXF) and its 100% owned and operated digital asset-currency exchange DIGATRADE™ (digatrade.com) today announced the execution of a technology development agreement with ANX Technologies. Under terms of the agreement Digatrade will have a bitcoin debit card developed by ANX Technologies, one of the world's first financial technology companies to have developed a bitcoin debit card and one of the largest distributors of debit cards in the market offering customers as well as businesses a fast and reliable payment solution. The Digatrade debit card will provide a gateway between digital assets and traditional payments processing. The reloadable debit card can be used to make purchases in any retail, point-of-sale devices or withdraw cash from ATMs that support the global payment network. Digatrade customers will be able to add funds to their debit card via the Digatrade exchange platform and will empower digital assets to be accepted worldwide. More information will be made available as it materializes. ABOUT DIGATRADE: DIGATRADE is a global digital asset-currency exchange located in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The Company is owned and operated 100% by Bit-X Financial Corp which is publically listed on the OTC.QB under the trading symbol BITXF. BITXF is a reporting issuer in the Province of British Columbia, Canada with the British Columbia Securities Commission "BCSC" and in the United States with the Securities Exchange Commission "SEC". Digatrade has now become a global platform offering its customers instant card-based transactions worldwide. CORPORATE CONTACT INFORMATION: Brad Moynes, CEOBit-X Financial CorpDigaTrade.com838 West Hastings Street, Suite 300Vancouver, BC V6C-0A6CanadaTel: +1(604) 200-0071Fax: +1(604) 200-0072www.digatrade.com Media inquiries: [email protected] Forward-Looking Information This press release contains certain "forward-looking information". All statements, other than statements of historical fact, that address activities, events or development that the Company believes, expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future constitute forward-looking information. This forward-looking information reflects the current expectations or beliefs of the company based on information currently available to the Company. Forward-looking information is subject to a number of significant risks and uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results of the Company to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking information, and even if such actual results are realized or substantially realized, there can be no assurance that they will have the expected consequences to, or effects on the Company. Factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations include, but are not limited to, the possibility of unanticipated costs and expenses. Any forward-looking information speaks only as of the date on which it is made and, except as may be required by applicable securities laws, the company disclaims any intent or obligation to update any forward-looking information whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise. Although the Company believes that the assumptions inherent in the forward-looking information are reasonable, forward-looking information is not a guarantee of future performance and accordingly undue reliance should not be put on such information due to the inherent uncertainty therein. SOURCE:Bit-X Financial Corp \|\| JPMorgan launches blockchain trial project: FT: (Reuters) - JPMorgan Chase is partnering with start-up Digital Asset Holdings to launch a trial project using blockchain technology that could reduce the cost and complexity of trading, the Financial Times reported on Sunday. The agreement comes as another sign that blockchain, which is best known as the basis of the digital currency Bitcoin, has wide-ranging applications for some of Wall Street's biggest banks. One potential use for the technology is addressing liquidity mismatches in some of JPMorgan's loan funds, the Financial Times said. “To sell a loan is a very cumbersome, time-consuming process; settlement can take weeks,” Daniel Pinto, head of JPMorgan’s investment bank, told the Financial Times. It “makes all the sense in the world" to explore blockchain's potential to improve that process. Digital Asset Holdings is run by Blythe Masters, JPMorgan's former head of commodities. (Reporting by Carl O'Donnell; Editing by Peter Cooney) View comments \|\| Microsoft: Sorry, your bitcoin is still good here: Technology company Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) was forced to apologize on Monday, after accidentally announcing that it would no longer accept bitcoin. Contrary to an earlier statement, Microsoft users can still use the virtual currency to buy content in the Windows and Xbox stores. Earlier on Monday, the software giant mistakenly suggested it had stopped accepting payment in bitcoin. "We apologize for inaccurate information that was inadvertently posted to a Microsoft site, which is currently being corrected," a spokesman told CNBC. A now-deleted post on Microsoft's website indicated there was no more bitcoin for Windows 10 and Windows 10 mobile users. The post was picked up by tech site Softpedia Sunday and sent the technology blogsphere buzzing. "You can no longer redeem Bitcoin into your Microsoft account," the errant post read. "Existing balances in your account will still be available for purchases from Microsoft Store, but can't be refunded." In December 2014, Microsoft began accepting bitcoins for Windows 10 store purchases from users in the United States. Transactions were made through the bitcoin processor BitPay. BitPay said it saw the volume of bitcoin transactions grow 110 percent in 2015 versus a year earlier, according to a blog post this January. BitPay did immediately responded to CNBC's requests for comment. — CNBC's Anita Balakrishnan contributed to this report. More From CNBC Top News and Analysis Latest News Video Personal Finance \|\| Surprising Gift Offered to Bitcoin Sellers at Coin Reverse Inc.: Coin Reverse Inc. Is Now Offering Engraved Bitcoin to Their Customers NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / January 29, 2016 /Coin Reverse Inc. (http://www.coinreverse.com) has hit the charts with their latest offer on Bitcoin purchase: they're not only offering 15% more than Blockchain's official rate for each Bitcoin they purchase, but they are also putting a surprise gift on transactions amounting 10+ BTC. CoinReverse's marketing team has gone creative enough to attach a special gift to each and every transaction amounting more than 10 BTC: they are offering a 24-karat gold coin with the Bitcoin engraved on both sides. The mechanism is simple: each customer selling over 10 BTC within one transaction is asked to provide a mailing address and the company delivers the gift via a courier. CoinReverse's Marketing Manager Jacob Gustavo is enthusiastic with their latest gift idea, while being positive that people involved in the cryptocurrency market are definitely welcoming a jewelry-like item engraved with the Bitcoin logo, being offered to them for doing business with CoinReverse. "In this way, we are offering our customers a somehow materialized version of this virtual, non-material coin. We think it's pretty cool to put your hands on a coin carrying the Bitcoin's logo, especially if you're passionate about the cryptocurrencies," declares Jacob Gustavo, company's Marketing Manager. Coin Reverse Inc. is a cryptocurrency trading company based in NewYork, USA, founded and developed by few bold investment professionals who have seen the business opportunity outside the traditional capital markets and have targeted cryptocurrency trade in terms of medium and long-term investments strategy. Business is operated in an effective manner, with a user-friendly platform and easy contact means through the company's website and via e-mail, with 24/7 assistance through a Live Chat Section offered. Payments for the trade are free of any charges on the customer's side, while the company covers all the costs involved. The most common payment methods are available: PayPal and Bank Transfer. All the details related to the company's offer and other information, together with the contact details of the Sales Team are available on their website:http://www.coinreverse.com. No restrictions on customers' provenience and payment destination countries or currencies are in force within the company's policy. For more information about us, please visithttp://coinreverse.com. Contact Info: Name: Tom JunoOrganization: Coin Reverse Inc.Address: 1370 Broadway, 5th FloorPhone: (315) 210-8349 SOURCE:Coin Reverse Inc. \|\| Surprising Gift Offered to Bitcoin Sellers at Coin Reverse Inc.: Coin Reverse Inc. Is Now Offering Engraved Bitcoin to Their Customers NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / January 29, 2016 / Coin Reverse Inc. ( http://www.coinreverse.com ) has hit the charts with their latest offer on Bitcoin purchase: they're not only offering 15% more than Blockchain's official rate for each Bitcoin they purchase, but they are also putting a surprise gift on transactions amounting 10+ BTC. CoinReverse's marketing team has gone creative enough to attach a special gift to each and every transaction amounting more than 10 BTC: they are offering a 24-karat gold coin with the Bitcoin engraved on both sides. The mechanism is simple: each customer selling over 10 BTC within one transaction is asked to provide a mailing address and the company delivers the gift via a courier. CoinReverse's Marketing Manager Jacob Gustavo is enthusiastic with their latest gift idea, while being positive that people involved in the cryptocurrency market are definitely welcoming a jewelry-like item engraved with the Bitcoin logo, being offered to them for doing business with CoinReverse. "In this way, we are offering our customers a somehow materialized version of this virtual, non-material coin. We think it's pretty cool to put your hands on a coin carrying the Bitcoin's logo, especially if you're passionate about the cryptocurrencies," declares Jacob Gustavo, company's Marketing Manager. Coin Reverse Inc. is a cryptocurrency trading company based in NewYork, USA, founded and developed by few bold investment professionals who have seen the business opportunity outside the traditional capital markets and have targeted cryptocurrency trade in terms of medium and long-term investments strategy. Business is operated in an effective manner, with a user-friendly platform and easy contact means through the company's website and via e-mail, with 24/7 assistance through a Live Chat Section offered. Payments for the trade are free of any charges on the customer's side, while the company covers all the costs involved. The most common payment methods are available: PayPal and Bank Transfer. Story continues All the details related to the company's offer and other information, together with the contact details of the Sales Team are available on their website: http://www.coinreverse.com . No restrictions on customers' provenience and payment destination countries or currencies are in force within the company's policy. For more information about us, please visit http://coinreverse.com . Contact Info: Name: Tom Juno Organization: Coin Reverse Inc. Address: 1370 Broadway, 5th Floor Phone: (315) 210-8349 SOURCE: Coin Reverse Inc. [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] I just won free 0.00000014 BTC from http://www.fastsatoshi.org/ #bitcoin #satoshi #freebitcoin #faucet via @SatoshiSkyTeam \|\| HIRE/BTC ฿0.00000376 Vol.3978454.62106170 \| Bittrex ฿0.00000376 \| C-Cex ฿0.00000400 \| YoBit ฿0.00000301 \|\| Liquid Bitcoin \|\| In the last hour, 5 people won 0.28 BTC playing Bitcoin lottery at http://10xbtc.com , the easiest BTC lottery, 160BTC Jackpot \|\| One Bitcoin now worth $425.649. Market Cap $6.494 Billion. Based on #coindesk BPI #bitcoin \|\| Liquid Bitcoin \|\| Current price: 385.64€ $BTCEUR $btc #bitcoin 2016-02-26 23:00:23 CET \|\| AC/BTC ฿0.00000173 Vol.2950.74352404 \| Bter ฿0.00000170 \| Cryptopia ฿0.00000499 \|\| YOU WILL MAKE MONEY AND BITCOIN????? Come on my grupp!!!!!! FREE BITCOIN MASTER http://fb.me/4nwm23lNW \|\| In the last hour, 8 people won 0.36 BTC playing Bitcoin lottery at http://10xbtc.com , the easiest BTC lottery, 160BTC Jackpot	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 410.44, 413.76, 413.31, 418.09, 418.04, 416.39, 417.18, 417.95, 426.77, 424.23
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2019-09-11] BTC Price: 10178.37, BTC RSI: 47.21 Gold Price: 1494.40, Gold RSI: 48.21 Oil Price: 55.75, Oil RSI: 49.64 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Novogratz’s Galaxy Digital Plans Push Into Crypto Underwriting: (Bloomberg) -- Michael Novogratz is a step closer toward his vision of making Galaxy Digital Holdings Ltd. the Goldman Sachs of cryptocurrencies. The former macro manager’s self-styled merchant bank noted its approval from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority to underwrite registered public offerings of securities in a filing last week. The New York-based firm is also looking at shepherding security token offerings -- effectively, digitized IPOs. “It’s a really young industry, and we are a pretty young business,” Novogratz said in a phone interview. “We are sober and patient about how fast it will grow, and we are well capitalized. This feels like a perfect addition.” Galaxy already invests in start-ups and coins, and helps companies secure funding for everything from early- to later-stage rounds. Galaxy managed $390 million in assets as of July 31. Novogratz, 54, is a former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. partner who spent more than a decade at the New York-based bank. He later became a principal at Fortress Investment Group LLC and managed the Fortress Macro Fund before it was liquidated in 2015. He launched Galaxy in January 2018 during the height of the crypto bubble. The company’s advisory business is headed by Ian Taylor, who worked at Goldman Sachs for 18 years before joining Galaxy in December. The Australia native is now leading a team of eight -- up from three employees in December -- with backgrounds in investment banking, consulting and structured finance. Business could take several years to ramp up, but there are plenty of hopeful signs that IPO demand could be coming: A number of crypto exchanges like Coinbase Inc. have raised money at valuations in the billions, and companies like mining hardware giant Bitmain Technologies Ltd. are already planning IPOs. Many major exchanges, mining and chip businesses are generating real revenue and profits. “The business that we are building on the advisory side is a long-term, relationship-based business,” Taylor said. “In time that will pay dividends as financing and strategic advisory opportunities arise.” Galaxy is already working on finding financing for a Bitcoin mining data center to be located in the U.S., for example, Taylor said. Mergers-and-acquisitions advising could be poised to take off as well. Traditional companies like card network Mastercard Inc. and PayPal Holdings Inc. have joined the Libra Association, a Facebook Inc.-led effort to issue a new digital coin for payments -- and such companies may look to acquire crypto businesses at some point as well. Due to political and regulatory scrutiny, Novogratz pegs Libra’s chances of launching next year at 50%. “Ultimately, we want to be a big part of the crypto ecosystem, and if they are there we want to be a big part of that,” Novogratz said, adding that he is also investing in and advising alternative platforms that would allow for Libra-like coins. Eventually, Galaxy also wants to issue tokens that could connect to or represent ownership of many valuable objects and revenue streams, Novogratz said. “The key here is regulators have been a little slower than we want them to be, but I think they are heading in the right direction,” Novogratz said. “There are a lot of interesting projects, but nothing has happened yet on the ’tokenization of everything’ front.” While some traditional investment banks could join the fray by that time, Novogratz hopes to enjoy a first-mover advantage -- and an advantage of someone focused on crypto from day one. “The traditional banks don’t have the DNA that they really need to understand the crypto community yet,” Novogratz said. “Our edge over time is that we are going to see more projects and get an understanding of what works and what doesn’t.” --With assistance from Ben Bain. To contact the reporter on this story: Olga Kharif in Portland at [email protected] To contact the editors responsible for this story: Jeremy Herron at [email protected], Dave Liedtka, Brendan Walsh For more articles like this, please visit us atbloomberg.com ©2019 Bloomberg L.P. \|\| Crypto payments startup Eligma raises $4.4M from Roger Ver’s firm and Pangea Blockchain: Eligma, a cryptocurrency payments startup based in Slovenia, has raised 4 million euros (~$4.4 million) from investor Roger Ver’s firm bitcoin.com and venture firm Pangea Blockchain Fund. Announcing the news on Friday, Eligma founder and CEO, Dejan Roljic, said that the firm has “doubled the valuation” in the last 16 months of its launch. Interestingly, Pangea Blockchain Fund is backed by Ver himself, having invested in its $22 million seed round earlier this year. Ver is also joining Eligma as a board member. Eligma is building a payments network using blockchain technology to help people get paid seamlessly. Its payment processor enables “ real-time ” crypto-to-fiat conversion of each payment, followed by fiat withdrawals made by merchants. The firm also operates a utility token called Eli for payments. Eli tokens, issued initially on the ethereum blockchain, will shift to the bitcoin cash (BCH) blockchain with the new funding, said Roljic. The tokens will also be integrated into the Bitcoin.com wallet and could rename to GoCrypto (GOC) token. It will also be listed on the newly launched Bitcoin.com exchange, said the CEO. Looking ahead, Eligma plans to expand to Turkey as it is “connected with a higher inflation rate but very much connected to Europe.” \|\| 3 Keys to Investing in Next-Gen Healthcare Stocks: Picture a bizarre clothing store for a moment … Source: Shutterstock You walk in. An employee sizes you up and asks you if there’s anything in particular you’re looking for. After learning that you’re a size “large” and that you’d like some new dress shirts, the employee takes you to a table covered with them. All of the shirts are the same size. All XL, extra-large. “Strange,” you think, and go to another table covered with shirts. All the shirts are the same size. All XL. InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips “Stranger,” you think, and go to another table covered with shirts. Once again, all the shirts are the same size. All XL. Sensing your confusion, the employee explains the store’s “one size fits all” policy. The owners know people come in many shapes and sizes, but XL is the only size of clothes they can get from their suppliers. You walk out of the “one size fits all” store, thinking it’s one of the most ridiculous things you’ve ever seen. A “one size fits all” clothing store isn’t much different than America’s healthcare system. Lacking the resources to treat us as individuals — with different genetic makeups, different diets, and living in different environments — doctors frequently resort to treating patients with “one size fits all” procedures and medicines. And since most doctors rush patients in and out of the office to boost profits, the pressure to use sub-par, “one size fits all” treatments is massive. Don’t get me wrong: Our approach to health and medicine is light years ahead of where it was in the 1800s. Bloodletting is no longer a “go to” move for doctors. However, many of the decisions made by today’s healthcare professionals will look medieval when compared to the treatments of the near future. They simply don’t take into account that every case is different — that we are all unique. Take the drug commercials you see on television … which go on to list lots of horrible side effects of popular drugs (which don’t work for everyone who takes them). Soon, we’ll say goodbye to those types of treatments. That’s because the age of customized, “precision” healthcare is getting started. The result will be a massively improved healthcare system … and some of thebiggest wealth building opportunities of your life. In today’s essay, I’ll describe the three key innovations that will take us into the age of precision medicine.Investors will want to pay attention. In America, we spend $3.5 trillion — about 18% of GDP — on healthcare. When something big happens in healthcare, it creates giant ripple effects in the economy that enrich those who know what’s happening. Every cell in your body has a set of genetic instructions that dictate what you look like, what your athletic abilities are, what your mental abilities are, what diseases you’re likely to get, and dozens of other key things that make you YOU. This set of instructions is called your genome. Determining exactly what your genome says is a process called genome sequencing. In 2003, an international research organization called The Human Genome Project sequenced a human genome for the first time. The project’s price tag was an enormous $3 billion. Thanks to incredible advances in computing power, that same sequencing can be performed today for less than $1,000. And in a few years the price will be as low as a dinner for two. Genome sequencing is a critical part of precision medicine because it allows medical professionals to get an incredibly detailed analysis of who you are. As a result of this information, doctors can recommend treatments that are right for you. Sixteen years ago, getting this kind of detailed information was prohibitively expensive. But now that costs are down more than 99% and poised to go down even more, genome sequencing is about to go mainstream. Genetic testing will become part of regular medical care … just like taking your pulse and your blood pressure. It’s going to usher in an era of much more effective healthcare. In large part to innovation #2 … It’s one thing to have lots of information. It’s an entirely different — and more valuable — thing to be able to analyze that information and use it to make quality decisions. This is where digital patient records come in. Genome sequencing will produce vast amounts of information that will need to be stored and analyzed. Just as the processing power of our computers has increased by leaps and bounds since 2003, our ability to collect and store information has increased as well. This continued growth is a key part of precision medicine. That’s because genome sequencing is going to generate astupendousamount of information. It is predicted that the amount of storage capacity for all human genome data will increase to 40 exabytes by 2025. To put that into perspective, experts believe all videos on YouTube will require 1-2 exabytes of storage and Twitter will require .001 to .017 exabytes. As for analyzing all that data, we come to Innovation #3 … As you can guess, we’re not going to sift through some of the world’s largest data sets with a pen and paper in hand. We’re going to use artificial intelligence (AI) to perform advanced data analysis. AI programs will sift through data to identify treatments that work for patients with specific genetic conditions. These programs will be able to do more “thinking” in one minute than millions of doctors could do in a decade. It’s going to revolutionize healthcare. In fact, I believe that within the next 30 years, AI will know how various combinations of molecules will affect patients on the individual level. We’ll have giant databases of patients and their genetic makeups … and we’ll be able to test new drugs with computer simulations. The time it takes to devise, test, and produce new life-saving drugs will be massively condensed. Plus, the cost of doing it all will plummet. We’ll have vast databases of human genomes and the ability to create and test new customized treatments in seconds. It could easily become the most valuable technology on the planet. Again, this is many years away, but I believe it’s going to happen. One size fits all Thanks to the technological limitations of the past, our healthcare system is based on treatments that are not tailored to your genetic makeup. We’re using “shotgun” approaches instead of targeted approaches. However, thanks to cheap and widespread genome sequencing, digital record keeping, and artificial intelligence, we’re about to enter an amazing era of precision, personalized medicine. Over the next 20 years, the healthcare system we know and don’t love will change dramatically. We’ll look back at some of today’s treatments as medieval. Remember: In America, we spend $3.5 trillion — about 18% of GDP — on healthcare. When something big happens in the industry, it creates giant ripple effects. That’s why the precision medicine revolution isone of the greatest wealth building opportunities of your life. The opportunities are not in the old school big pharma names like Johnson & Johnson. They are in precision medicine and the technologies that will enable it. Everything from digital records company Cerner (NASDAQ:Cern) to gene testing pioneer Illumina (NASDAQ:ILMN) to contract research services firm IQVIA Holdings (NYSE:IQV) will take the lead in the future of precision medicine. And keep an eye on the IPO market here as well. We’ll see waves of early stage companies going public … many with the potential to not only revolutionize medicine, butrevolutionize your net worthas well. Matthew McCall is the founder and president of Penn Financial Group, an investment advisory firm, as well as the editor of Investment Opportunities and Early Stage Investor. He has dedicated his career to getting investors into the world’s biggest, most revolutionary trends BEFORE anyone else. The power of being “first” gave Matt’s readers the chance to bank +2,438% in Stamps.com (STMP), +1,523% in Ulta Beauty (ULTA), +1,044% in Tesla (TSLA), +611% in Liquefied Natural Gas Limited (LNGLY), +324% in Bitcoin Services (BTSC), just to name a few. If you’re interested in making triple-digit gains from the world’s biggest investment trends BEFORE anyone else,click here to learn more about Matt McCall and his investments strategy today. • 2 Toxic Pot Stocks You Should Avoid • 9 Retail Stocks Goldman Sachs Says Are Ready to Rip • 7 Services Stocks to Buy for the Rest of 2019 • 6 Stocks to Buy and 1 to Sell Based on Insider Trading The post3 Keys to Investing in Next-Gen Healthcare Stocksappeared first onInvestorPlace. \|\| Fund Manager: US Might Have Already Lost Crypto Innovation Race: Brian Kelly is worried that the U.S. has fallen too far behind in the crypto innovation race while we should be taking the lead in it. \| Source: CNBC/YouTube As U.S. lawmakers wrestle with what to do with Facebook’s Libra, they are being forced to confront another digital currency that they’ve been trying to avoid like the plague – bitcoin . Unfortunately, the longer lawmakers wait, the more left behind the U.S. becomes as crypto innovation goes elsewhere. Even Facebook chose Switzerland for its Libra coin. Many thanks to Chair @RepMaxineWaters , Ranking Member @PatrickMcHenry , and the rest of the House Financial Services Committee for devoting so much time to discuss Libra today. We will take the time to get this right. — David Marcus (@davidmarcus) July 17, 2019 Crypto fund manager Brian Kelly worries that it might already be too late. He pointed out on CNBC that while traveling the world, he can’t help but notice that “other countries are way ahead of the U.S,” saying: “The U.S. may have already lost the race…It’s very concerning to me. Asia is eating the U.S.’ lunch. The U.S. is the center of finance. We should take the lead in it.”* He may be right. While the Libra hearings have forced Congress to confront crypto, policymakers clearly haven’t changed their archaic approach to the market. How do they plan on forming a regulatory framework for the industry? By creating more committees and taskforces, of course. "It is inevitable that the Bitcoin ecosystem will continue to grow and contribute to the economy. The question is: where?" "Inconsistent treatment makes it challenging for companies to determine how to operate within existing regulatory frameworks in the US." – @Melt_Dem pic.twitter.com/7CdYyLqy6s — Jameson Lopp (@lopp) July 17, 2019 Crypto Committee Overload CoinShares Chief Strategy Officer Meltem Demirors testified before the U.S. House Financial Services Committee today, where she took it upon herself to help lawmakers differentiate between Facebook’s attempt at a cryptocurrency and bitcoin. She told CNBC : Read the full story on CCN.com . View comments \|\| Bitmain made losses of $310 million in Q1 this year: Bitmain, the largest bitcoin mining company, reportedly made a loss of $310 million in the first quarter of this year. According to a report on Tencents QQ, the mining giant made stunning losses of $625 in the first two months of this year, which were mitigated by a $315 million profit in March. The bad performance was caused by a lack of demand for its 16nm range of mining machines, which were then sold at lower prices. Bitmain has long been the market leader in the production and design of ASIC chips which are used to more efficiently mine Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. However the business is largely dependent on the price of bitcoin and its hashrate factors which are both wildly variable and hard to predict. In fact, the market conditions got so bad during 2018 and the start of 2019 that the company had to close its offices in Amsterdam and Israel. However, the price of bitcoin rose suddenly in May from lows of $5,300 to $8,500 by the end of the month, which should have alleviated some of the pressure on Bitmain. A Bitmain spokesperson refused to comment on the report. Looking ahead, Bitmain has recently released a new series of 7nm miners, that it expects should generate an influx of sales. According to the report, Bitmain is expecting them to push up its profits later this year. Bitmain planned on launching an IPO in the second half of 2018, but the application expired in March this year. Now, however, there are rumors re-emerging that the mining company may revive its IPO launch due to the predicted revenue boost expected for the rest of the year. But with the price of bitcoin so variableand so important to Bitmain's revenuesnothing can be taken for granted. Update [August 3, 18:19 UTC] Comment added per the Bitmain spokesperson and the article was amended to show the series of 7nm miners have already been released. \|\| Hacker admits she stole 100,000 XRP in Australian crypto heist: An Australian woman has pleaded guilty to stealing more than 100,000XRP, worth $450,000 at the time. In January, 2018, Katherine Nguyen admitted hacking into the trading account of a 56-year-old man who shared the same surname. She locked the account and stole the funds before transferring them to a Chinesecryptocurrency exchange, swapping the XRP for Bitcoin, according to localreports. When the account was unlocked two days after the hack, the victim discovered his stash of XRP was gone. Nguyen, 24, pleaded guilty on August 23. She’s looking at possible jail time, and hid her face from reporters as she left the courthouse. “It's a very significant crime and it's the first we know of its type in Australia where an individual has been arrested and charged for the technology-enabled theft of cryptocurrency," Australian cybercrime Commander Arthur Katsogiannistoldreporters in Sydney when she was charged last October. The amount of stolen XRP, $450,000 at the time of the crime, is now worth just $26,700. \|\| A New Race to The Bottom Buoying Markets: In hindsight, I was incorrect because when we heard Williams speech, there was little doubt it gave us the impression that a 50bp cut was on the cards. The Fed acting “aggressive” in setting policy for more worrying outlook sounds like 50bp. As do comments that “it’s better to take preventative measures than to wait for disaster to unfold. When you only have so much stimulus at your disposal, it pays to act quickly to lower rates at the first sign of economic distress”. I guess it’s hard to hear these words, knowing that there is a blackout period from next week and not feel they were designed to guide the market to that the Fed had to do something big on 31 July. The fact, then, that the comments promoted a broad USD sell-off, largely driven by a move in rates, pricing the chance of a 50bp cut from 33% to 67%, with equities and gold following closely, and this feels like it was the right reaction. We saw economists alter their base-case for Fed action to 50bp, another sign behind the conviction Williams words were a key signal. What happened in the early Asia session has been all the talk on the floors this morning, with the NY Fed putting out a statement that John Williams words were aimed at an academic level, and not a cat-out-bag type policy guidance on behalf of the broader Federal Reserve. This seems incredibly important, and aside from calls that the Fed should be more in-tune with markets, there are two schools as to where we stand. Firstly, we should genuinely take it at face value that the market overreacted and the ‘insurance’ cut we should expect is more realistically 25bp. The second, Williams actually poured his heart out, and gave us perhaps too much insight into the potential actions from the Fed in the July meeting, and where the broader Committee was now concerned that they lacked the shock factor to positively move markets. That being, if they cut by 50bp when it isn’t full discounted, we could see asset prices react positively and importantly the USD heading south. I’m sympathetic to both accounts, as the domestic data, on balance, warrants no change, although, given the external picture I have been arguing that the Fed was better off going hard than bringing a knife to a gunfight. There is clearly some impetus lost now, but what’s important is the market reaction through Asia. Granted, the odds of a 50bp cut now sit at 39.5%, but we’re seeing the USD remain soft, notably against the AUD, whereAUDUSDis eyeing a re-test of the post-Williams speech high of 0.7082. Gold fell back into $1440 but is finding a base and looks likely to head back into $1450, and Asian equities are clearly bid, with the Nikkei 225, Hang Seng and ASX 200 up 1.7%, 1.1% and 0.7% respectively. S&P 500 futures are up 0.4%, despite US treasury futures up 3bp. Commodities are also looking good, and it is a surprise to see copper up 1.8%, with Brent crude +2.1%, and we are starting to see better buying coming back into iron ore futures. In fact, if we look at the Bloomberg industrial metals index, this has had a cracking run in the past two months and is usually a good indicator of gains in the AUD. This may be premature, but it feels like the market is back on with the ‘race to the bottom’ trade. Consider if the Fed does go 50bp, which is a lesser proposition given the NY Fed statement, but it would give the ECB increased incentive to go hard in next Thursday’s ECB meeting. The market has already discounted a 52% chance the ECB take its deposit rate, effectively the charge it passes to European financial institutions to park excess reserves on its balance sheet, down to -50bp. And, that would be considered punchy relative to expectations a week or so ago. We saw the Bank of Korea cutting yesterday, which was somewhat out-of-consensus, and the implied chance of the RBA cutting in November has pushed up to 65%. Let’s see if there are any material changes from the BoJ, when they meet on 30 July. Because if they offer guidance, that they are ready to do more post-ECB, we just need more from the PBoC and markets will ride a new wave of liquidity. A few hypotheticals, but it’s not out of the realms of possibility. I likeEURAUDshorts here into the ECB meeting. The technical set-up looks bearish, and it feels like the AUD has been the best performer in the past two days for a reason – that being, there’s more to come. Rallies offer an opportunity to fade (in my opinion), and I am happy to close and admit I am wrong on a close through 1.6034. Happy to start with a small position, but if this kicks lower, I would be adding. As in life, if something is working, you try and do more of it. With limited US corporate earnings in play tonight, the focus turns to speeches from Fed members Bullard (01:10aest) and Rosengren (06:30 aest). Both are voters, and we’ve heard from Bullard of late, which makes it interesting because if his caution increases, when he’s already stated, 25bp is the best course of action, then some may take this to mean 50bp is on the cards. One to watch. Sign up herefor my Daily Fix orStart trading now Chris Weston, Head of Research atPepperstone. (Read Our PepperstoneReview) Thisarticlewas originally posted on FX Empire • Natural Gas Price Fundamental Daily Forecast – Ripe for Short-Covering Rally into $2.344 to $2.375 Target • GOLD Bullish Continuation Above 1414 • Bitcoin Cash – ABC, Litecoin and Ripple Daily Analysis – 23/07/19 • Price of Gold Fundamental Daily Forecast – Weak Euro, Sterling Weighing on Gold Prices • EUR/USD Daily Forecast – Bears Eye Stops Below Mid-June Low • Asian Investors Biding Time Ahead of ECB, Fed Policy Decisions \|\| Anonymous YouTuber sets up bitcoin bird-feeder: Now here’s a new use case for crypto: an interactive bird-feeder that converts cryptocurrency donations to feed for birds, and is live-streamed onYouTube. A donation of $0.50 worth of bitcoin, Litecoin, Dogecoin or Nano, means the birds get extra food. But the concept, setup by anonymous YouTuber Mr Dove, has proved so popular that the birds are being inundated with feed. And one cryptocurrency, Nano is proving far more popular than the rest, according to CCN’s Greg Thomson, who has performed a thorough investigation. In his BlockExploreranalysisof donations received, only one donation was made to the Bitcoin address, with the bulk (20) in Nano. His article went on to question Bitcoin’s suitability forpaying small animals tiny amounts of foodmicropayments. Which as you would expect, led a litany of bitcoin maximalists on Reddit to complain—and donate. At the time of writing,26 donationshad been sent to the bitcoin address; four donations were sent to theDogecoin address, and 21 were sent to theLitecoin address. But Nano was still the dominant currency, with126 donationsand counting. One reason for Nano’s dominance could be due to the fact that transactions on the Nano blockchain are cheaper than on the other cryptocurrencies. On the other hand, Nano-holders may also be less inclined tohodl. Whatever the real reason, it certainly puts a new spin on the expression:for the birds. \|\| Zooko Wilcox Pushes for New Developer Fund to Support Zcash: Zooko Wilcox, CEO of Electric Coin Company (ECC) – the firm behind the privacy-focused cryptocurrency zcash – has made an appeal for the creation of a new “Dev Fund” to support the future operations of the privacy-focused cryptocurrency. The move comes after muchdebateover the continuation of the project’s controversial “founders’ reward,” which took centerstage atZcon1and even drove a portion of the zcash community to fork off into a new network,Ycash. In a lengthyopen letteron Medium Wednesday, Wilcox said: Related:Bridging the Gap Between Bitcoin and Global Regulators He further aired the hope that the zcash community would seek to “hire” the ECC to carry out those tasks. Having never taken the ICO path of fundraising (selling tokens to raise “a bunch of money from the public on the promise of delivering future results,” as Wilcox put it), zcash was originally bootstrapped by a group of investors to the tune of $3 million. The price of zcash’s ZEC cryptocurrency over thelast 90 days. The project was also set up so that over the first four years, 10 percent of the total 21 million token supply of zcash (ZEC) would go to the founders (the founders’ reward) and the remainder to the miners on the network. The investors were also assigned a “small slice” of ECC’s equity, Wilcox said. Related:Monero and Zcash Conferences Showcase Their Differences (And Links) The original Dev Fund, according to the post, arose when Wilcox and ECC co-founder and CTO Nathan Wilcox got ECC to buy back some of the founders rewards to be used for funding ongoing operations. Wilcox and other founders also set aside some of their rewards to set up the Zcash Foundation. “We decided to do this because we thought that having an independent entity from the Electric Coin Company would be an important part of the Zcash community’s decentralization and stability in the long run,” Wilcox wrote. Now, with zcash set (programmed, in fact) to end the founders’ reward in October 2020, a new means of funding development is required, according to the ECC CEO. Wilcox said: “I opted for the initial Dev Fund to sunset itself, so that in the future, if Zcash were a success and a community were to grow up to support it, that community would have to collectively decide what to do next.” The options ahead, he said, include allocating all new ZEC issued to the network’s miners, creating a new Dev Fund with a percentage of new coins issued, or “other alternatives.” Wilcox is pushing hard for a Dev Fund to funded from a slice of the issuance, however: “This decision isn’t about the Electric Coin Company. If all of the employees of the Electric Coin Company were to board the same airplane tomorrow to go to an off-site meeting, and that plane were to crash with no survivors, the Zcash community would still be facing the exact same choice: shall we use some of the tens of millions of dollars that we’re spending on issuance every month to fund core support functions like protocol development, software support, security auditing, government outreach, educational initiatives, and business development, or shall we instead send 100% of that money to miners?” Finally, Wilcox called for community members to make their voices heard, either on public forums or by emailing zcash. The Zcash Foundation is expected to publish a procedure for making a community decision “soon,” according to Wilcox, while ECC will publish a blog post setting out how it will assess proposals in the next few days. Zooko Wilcox image via CoinDesk archives • How Blockchain Voting Is Supposed to Work (But In Practice Rarely Does) • In First, Tezos Blockchain Activates Upgrade By Token Holder Voting \|\| BitMEX owner gives back to Bitcoin project with Michael Ford grant: HDR Global Trading, owner and operator of BitMEX, has awarded a $60,000 grant to Bitcoin Core contributor, Michael Ford (aka fanquake ). This recognises Fords contribution to the growth and maintenance of the Bitcoin ecosystem. In line with BitMEXs previous donation to the MIT Digital Currency initiative in May, the grant shows our commitment to improving FinTech innovation and giving back to the Bitcoin project, it said in a statement. The grant is non-exclusive and requires Ford to work on Bitcoin Core solely. Sam Reed, CTO and Co-founder of HDR Global Trading, says: Like all other companies in the cryptocurrency space, we rely heavily on the (mostly volunteer) work of coders dedicated to the mission and ideals of Bitcoin. This work is difficult, demanding, and often thankless. We believe it is the duty of corporations to give back to the projects from which they benefit and from which their very business model stems. He adds: Without the millions of free man-hours from dedicated OSS developers powering everything from our operating systems, to our web servers, to our ops tools and Bitcoin itself, the BitMEX trading platform could not have been built. We dont forget this gift. Therefore, HDR considers this grant, provided on a no-strings-attached basis, to be only a small part of an ongoing commitment to bolstering Bitcoin and other OSS projects for the benefit of all. The post BitMEX owner gives back to Bitcoin project with Michael Ford grant appeared first on Coin Rivet . [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] Otro abuso sexual al estilo "La Manada" a una menor en Espa�.. @1jl4com - clarincom - Twitter - News - Noticias - Bitcoin - CryptoCurrency https://t.co/3yWRxPm53W \|\| #MetaHash Co-Founder Gleb Nikitin Keeps Everyone 'in the Light' Through the #MetaGather Program https://t.co/HN1pckP1yL \|\| $davidlong4 \|\| FuturenetというSNSだとBitcoinが貰える！。プランをアップグレードすることでさらに配当金アップ。今なら無料でアップグレードしてくれるので急いで下さい！！ https://t.co/oD4TZdFkaz #Bitcoin #HYIP #投資 \|\| One Bitcoin now worth $10826.97@bitstamp. High $10955.480. Low $10549.740. Market Cap $193.650 Billion #bitcoin https://t.co/5fkd0ziCtv \|\| Education Libra (ELIBRA) AIRDROPS Referral: @criptohunter2 \|\| @dianagarza13 \|\| Market Sentiment Swings as Bitcoin Taps $10,000, But Strong Resistance Remains Ahead https://t.co/gDfnSy2NNA https://t.co/I7BpP7oCZx \|\| $EPAZ's Bitcoin Sharing & Blockchain Social Media App Webbeeo Is In Alpha Testing Phase https://www.owltmarket \|\| @najarapolari meu primo tá nessa kkkkkkjkkkkkkkk todo dia eh um story sobre bitcoin no instagram	Trend: down \|\| Prices: 10410.13, 10360.55, 10358.05, 10347.71, 10276.79, 10241.27, 10198.25, 10266.42, 10181.64, 10019.72
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis] Not fully available. [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Cats Clog Ethereum, the Sequel: Ethereum had another hairball, this time called “Stoner Cats.” Sales of the much-anticipated, star-studded animated series with a non-fungible token (NFT) tie-in resulted in losses of 344.6ETH($790,000) because of failed transactions at the show’s launch on Tuesday, according toDune Analytics. Demand was high for the rare crossover event between crypto and Hollywood that was developed by actress Mila Kunis and thatfeatured Ethereum creator Vitalik Buterinalongside a host of comedic legends. Some 10,420 Stoner Cats NFTs sold out at 0.35 ETH (about $785) within 40 minutes. This article is excerpted fromThe Node, CoinDesk’s daily roundup of the most pivotal stories in blockchain and crypto news. You can subscribe to get the fullnewsletter here. Related:A Play-to-Earn Account Beats a Bank Account Butmany ran into cat-astrophewhile minting their Stoner Cat NFTs. The influx of users throttled the Ethereum network and caused the pricing mechanism on the minting contract to present incorrectgas feeestimates. The high-profile event once again raises age-old questions about the limitations of the Ethereum protocol, as well as newer considerations about the responsibility creators have to their audience. According to industry publicationThe Defiant, the majority of users who lost out were likely those who attempted to mint 20 NFTs (the maximum allowed) without manually adjusting the gas limit in Metamask, which is a software cryptocurrency wallet that’s used to interact with the Ethereum blockchain. An influx of buyers temporarily drove Ethereum gas fees to $33.67 (from $9.50), according to analytics firm Defi Prime, meaning those whose bids placed earlier likely didn’t have enoughgweito pay for the entire transaction. Although those transactions failed, the gas was still paid. “In this case, the gas limit wasn’t set high enough to cover all steps in the transaction, so the transaction failed. However it’s not failing until it runs out, so ~100% of allocated gas is actually being used even without the transaction succeeding,”decentralized financedeveloper 0xWave theorized. Related:Market Wrap: Bitcoin Stalls Near $40K as Buyers Take Profits In crypto, the prevailing ideology is that people take responsibility for their actions. If you “ape into” an unaudited project and lose your shirt, that’s on you. In this instance, that mindset is complicated. As many have noted, it’s possible that Stoner Cat developers failed to anticipate the demand for the project and set the minimum gas price too low. The developers have reportedly blamed MetaMask, a key component of the Ethereum stack. It should be noted the showdelayed its NFT launchafter technical challenges on Monday. Another piece of the puzzle is the inbuilt limitations of Ethereum itself. Although it has ambitions to become a global computing platform for anyone to deploy unstoppable code, spiking gas fees and limited throughput (the rate of processing transactions) have long plagued the second-largest blockchain by market cap. “As usual, cats clogged Ethereum,” DeFi Prime tweeted, in a nod to the first successful NFT project, CryptoKitties, which infamously caused Ethereumto crawl to a halt in 2017. Back then, the cat-themeddappreportedly prevented 30,000 transactions from being processed. Transactions were delayed, people complained, and Ethereum’s core developers began work on a complete network overhaul, called Ethereum 2.0, which is still in progress. It can’t come soon enough. “Stoner Cats” is reportedly the first TV show entirely funded by NFTs, or at least the first that mainstream media cares about. It’s unlikely to be the last. The show raised over $8 million on Wednesday by selling NFTs. The production team plans to release a further 3,000 each episode. It’s a model that lets fans share in the wealth created while also giving its creators near-complete creative control. But there are still bugs to work out. “Stoned Awakening” – the series’ first episode – is set to premiere today. The “Stoner Cat” team said they have “fun stuff to try and make everyone feel good” after Wednesday’s minting meltdown. • Parsing 3 Types of Risk in Digital Assets • The Metaverse’s Emerging Economics \|\| Bitcoin Sell Signal To What Support?: The support levels that we are anticipating are: 44K and 41K. IF price manages to test one of these areas and produces an appropriate reversal, we would be prompted to share a new long swing What if these levels break? Then 37K and 35K are the next levels to consider. Keep in mind, timing markets is not about “predicting” where price will go, it is about ADJUSTING as price establishes new levels or provides actionable information around a predetermined level. Part of the adjustment is evaluating the reward/risk relative to the price structure. At 50K, the reward/risk was NOT favorable for longs which is why I had NO interest in putting on any new positions there. 44K and 41K are much more attractive since the next leg higher off of such a level can offer a potential of 6K points while keeping risk limited to about 4K points.With a ratio greater than 1:1 along with a reasonable probability that price can retest the 50K resistance is much more practical. SinceBitcoinis the leader, the majority of alt coins that follow Bitcoin are likely to behave in a similar way. If you would like to know more about our LONG only swing trade strategy, visit:https://greenbridgeinvesting.com/pricing. Thisarticlewas originally posted on FX Empire • Oil Bulls Resume Gains, Global Shutdown Concerns Ease • Dogecoin Attempts To Rebound After Strong Sell-Off • Bitcoin Sell Signal To What Support? • Tulip Mania in the Digital Age: How CryptoPunk NFTs Have Taken the World by Storm • Preview: Dollar General Q2 Earnings to Decline 17% • European Equities: German Business Sentiment in Focus Early in the Session \|\| BigONE Asia Releases Plans for Latin America on the Blockchain Summit Latam: Mr. Anndy Lian, Chairman of BigONE Asia, would be discussing the globalization plans of BigONE during this summit and how Latin America fits into this vision. BLEISWIJK, NETHERLANDS / ACCESSWIRE / July 29, 2021 / The Blockchain Summit Latam 2021, which will take place from September 6-10, 2021, is one of the most important blockchain and encrypted asset events held in Latin America each year. The Blockchain Summit Latam is more than just a conference; it is an ecosystem that brings together entrepreneurs, developers, companies, institutions, regulators, and blockchain technology enthusiasts to discuss and share ideas to build a new Internet of value and trust for teams working on the advancement of blockchain in Latin America. Due to the global epidemic, the Blockchain Summit Latam will be held online this year and live-streamed on YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, and other social media platforms. Highlights of the 2021 Blockchain Summit Latam People would look at the development of blockchain and digital assets so far in 2021 from compliance and supervision at the summit. Notable events include the passage into law of a regulation that makes Bitcoin legal tender in El Salvador, the first of its kind for the blockchain ecosystem. From the standpoint of user engagement, the emergence of 'Animal or meme coins' would also be discussed. They have led the trend to promote complete decentralization of the ecosystem and gain massive traction in cryptocurrency circles. During this summit, other milestones achieved in the NFT, DeFi and other sectors in the ecosystem would be considered in terms of industry technological advancement. They continue to show progressive growth and set the path for the future of blockchain. At this summit, industry leaders and blockchain experts worldwide will look at these events and discuss issues relating to technological research and development, innovation, and the cryptocurrency market in domains such as global regulation, economic impact, DeFi, and other practical applications. Story continues Mr. Anndy Lian, the newly appointed Chairman of BigONE Asia, was specially invited as a guest speaker during this summit and gave a critical keynote address on Day 2: The Latin America Ecosystem. Mr. Anndy, a global government relations expert with over 15 years of experience, will be discussing international supervision, the economy, DeFi, and current issues in the Latin American blockchain ecosystem with other guests. Mr. Anndy also served as the keynote speaker at the World E-sports and Blockchain Summit, alongside other notable figures such as former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon. So far, Latin America has been one of the key regions with the highest rate of cryptocurrency and digital asset adoption. It is also regarded as one of the first areas where blockchain technology has been implemented. This demonstrates a very positive attitude toward blockchain and its underlying use cases. Mr. Anndy, Chairman of BigONE Asia, sees Latin America as a critical international market for BigONE. Accordingly, it seeks to accelerate its globalization strategy to foster the growth of the cryptocurrency/digital assets ecosystem. When asked about the role of Latin America in the future of blockchain technology and how this region can help facilitate growth, Mr. Anndy said, ' Latin America has shown so far, with their mass adoption of blockchain technology over the years, that they have a high level of trust in the potential of blockchain technology as the foundation for the future of the world, and at BigONE, we believe this is the case and are looking to identify with key regions like this to foster the growth of cryptocurrencies and to aid BigONE's globalization.' About BigONE BigONE is a global cryptocurrency exchange that provides a platform for trading various cryptocurrencies. It was founded in 2017 and registered in the Netherlands. The group operates in Russia, Brazil, Vietnam, Seychelles, Singapore, Japan, and Indonesia, providing marketing, investment, and blockchain technology research & development. As it stands, there are over a thousand users from Latin America registered with BigONE. Mr. Anndy Lian, the newly appointed Chairman of BigONE Asia, will attend the Blockchain Summit Latam this year in the hopes of accelerating BigONE's globalization and onboarding more Latin American users to trade cryptocurrencies on BigONE exchange actively. In addition, BigONE's global business compliance and development would benefit from this. This summit would also be Mr. Anndy Lian's first official event since being appointed Chairman of BigONE Asia. Media Contact Company: BigONE Contact: Anndy Lian E-mail: [email protected] Website: https://www.bigone.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/BigONEexchange SOURCE: BigONE View source version on accesswire.com: https://www.accesswire.com/657627/BigONE-Asia-Releases-Plans-for-Latin-America-on-the-Blockchain-Summit-Latam \|\| Why Decentralized Gaming is the Future: The following post was written and/or published as a collaboration between Benzinga’s in-house sponsored content team and a financial partner of Benzinga. There is a sizable overlap between the blockchain community and the gaming community. Tech-savvy people who are fascinated with blockchain also tend to be people interested in gaming and actively partake in it. This has been seen with the popularity of NFTs in the gaming sector, with many rare and valuable NFTs being traded within games. So far, one frontier that has not been fully explored up until now was decentralized gaming i.e games built and operated entirely on decentralized technology. Recent efforts seem to correct this, including the launch of Ulti Arena, a marketplace specifically for trading gaming assets with a view to blockchain technology. Ulti is rolling out some amazing new products, including an NFT marketplace for gamers and developers, a proof-of-gaming consensus, and a crypto trading card game. How Ulti Works Ulti is a platform that is seeking to help gamers, artists, and developers better monetize their offerings through its marketplace and innovative features. It is the first NFT Marketplace for Game Assets built on Binance Smart Chain and prioritizes the ability to track digital asset usage on a blockchain network. First, it allows for the tokenization and trading of in-game assets. Assets such as skins, tools, and even characters have been traded within and outside of the gaming world for years but with Ulti’s marketplace, these assets can be securely traded with proper, irrefutable records of transfers of ownership, as well as increased revenue for the developers and artists behind the assets. Some of the offerings to be put up for sale include unique 2D/3D assets, music, sound, and UI/HUD elements. As for the games that are not based on blockchain, Ulti will be launching a proof-of-gaming/Play2Earn program, including some of the biggest games in the industry like Dota 2 and LOL. This method has been praised for being much more sustainable and eco-friendly compared to current mechanisms like the proof-of-work used on blockchains like Bitcoin. Story continues It taps into the financial aspect of blockchain in that developers can create NFT versions of their creations and then make a living from selling them. This also benefits fans who will have access to exclusive digital assets that cannot be found anywhere else, reproduced, or owned by anyone else. 30% of the revenue generated through platform fees will be used buyback and then burn the platform’s native ULTI token in order to manage its supply. The token can be purchased directly through its incoming sale on Pancake Swap which begins from September 12, 2021, or can be ‘mined’ by playing games. The Proof-of-Gaming concept used for the creation of ULTI tokens means that the more users play the games, the more tokens they will receive. The mining of tokens through gameplay is called proof-of-gaming and is a revolutionary way to benefit games and the crypto industry simultaneously. Players are encouraged to interact with games within the ecosystem for the opportunity to earn rewards, thus benefiting both the people who designed the games and the gamers themselves. Ulti has also put measures in place to make sure that the game is as deflationary as possible. First, there is a 6% tax on all transactions and this amount charged is distributed in the following ways. The first third of the 6% tax (2%) is distributed back to all token holders. This highlights another benefit of holding the ULTI token which is that users can earn even more tokens simply by HODLing. Another 2% of the token tax burned instantly to keep the supply low and the price of the token high. The final 2% is put away in a liquidity pool that helps sustain the ecosystem in the long term. Ulti also has plans to launch its own crypto trading card game, effectively combining blockchain and gaming, which is at the core of its operations, in development with Remote Control Productions and Frag Games. All these will follow its September 12, 2021, PancakeSwap sale. Blockchain and Gaming Blockchain technology is on track to revolutionize the gaming world, especially when it comes to the monetization of assets. Just like it did with the world of art, NFTs will allow for in-game assets and features to be bought by fans who are passionate about them and will help foster a mutually beneficial relationship between them and the developers of the games. With platforms like Ulti leading the way, we can expect to see even more interaction between the two industries moving forward. The preceding post was written and/or published as a collaboration between Benzinga’s in-house sponsored content team and a financial partner of Benzinga. Although the piece is not and should not be construed as editorial content, the sponsored content team works to ensure that any and all information contained within is true and accurate to the best of their knowledge and research. This content is for informational purposes only and not intended to be investing advice. © 2021 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| Cardano Nears All-Time High as Investors Await Smart Contracts: The price of cardano ( ADA ), the native token of the Cardano blockchain, neared an all-time high Thursday, rising to $2.44, as investors await a September release for the planned “Alonzo” upgrade for the blockchain – a move that will usher in smart-contract functionality and thus address what critics have described as one of the network’s most glaring deficiencies. At press time, ADA was trading at $2.35, up 14% during the past 24 hours, based on CoinDesk pricing. ADA reached an all-time-high price of $2.47 in May. Lead Cardano developer Input Output recently announced a timeline for the Alonzo upgrade, targeting Sept. 12 for the final release date. Smart-contract functionality would allow Cardano to incorporate more applications, including decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms that allow for automated cryptocurrency lending and trading. The improvement could put the network in a better position to challenge Ethereum, currently the leader among blockchains with smart-contract functionality. In a prediction market started in July that allows participants to bet on whether Cardano can release smart-contract functionality by Oct. 1 , the betting contract was trading at 79 cents as of press time. That is up from 30 cents on July 18 when the market was first launched but down from its all-time high of 85 cents on Aug. 12 and Aug. 15. The betting contract pays out $1 of the stablecoin USDC if Cardano succeeds in meeting the timeline. Correction (21:43 UTC, Aug. 19, 2021): An earlier version of this story erroneously stated that Cardano had hit an all-time price. This story has been corrected to show that the price rose close to an all-time high. Related Stories Cardano Price Hits All-Time High, Overtakes Binance Coin as Third-Most Valuable Crypto Solana’s Luna Yield Goes Dark With Some Fearing a ‘Rug Pull’ Involving $6.7M Market Wrap: Bitcoin Expected to Hold Support Above $45K VC Firm FinTech Collective Raises $250M to Support New DeFi Strategy \|\| MOS Set to Launch on August 25th: BERLIN, GERMANY / ACCESSWIRE / August 20, 2021 / MOS, the new Proof-of-Stake based staking investment project cryptocurrency enthusiasts is set to launch on the 25 th of August, which could replace banks' certified deposit. Since 1960, the First National City Bank of New York (now Citibank) had invented the revolutionary Certified Deposit (CD) investment product. Its fixed return attracted investors and raised funds for banks to operate their lendings and investments. Certified Deposit had remained popular all these years, but by the 21st century, the gains from the interest rates of the conventional Certified Deposit could not keep up with the asset depreciation caused by currency inflation. The Cryptocurrency industry and Defi world had invented a 'Staking' investment that mimicked the Certified Deposit model, but with a better design and return rate. One of these 'Staking' Defi investment projects known as MOS, it is a High-Yield Time-Locked Deposit that works just like traditional banks' Certified Deposit, but with a higher return rate, asset growth, flexibility and convenience. It's an upcoming cryptocurrency investment that is designed to grow in value. What is MOS Staking? MOS, the High-Yield Time-Locked Deposit shares some basic concepts of Certified Deposit, investors save their crypto-assets on the platform for the desired length of time, in exchange for high-yielding defined returns. This is a less volatile alternative for average investors to approach cryptocurrency and makes it another income stream, just like how they do with a conventional CD (certified deposit). The crucial element that makes MOS stands out is that MOS features a 7.8% annual yield, where conventional investments find it hard to match. The way MOS works is simple and focused. Investors buy $MOS and enter into a smart contract where they agree to hold on to their MOS and stake for a set period. The MOS network will reward the stakers (staking investors) with an agreed % of interest growth. The MOS network will hold a daily auction of $MOS available from a limited supply throughout the entire launching phase. Buyers bid for $MOS using USDT, with payouts determined by their ultimate portion among the total bid pool. The auction proceeds are used to buy $MOS at a better rate as compared to major Decentralised Exchanges. In this way, the daily auction's sale produces an upward drive to $MOS value, promoting $MOS value appreciation for the stakers and holders. MOS Staking Interests A fundamental element in staking $MOS is that people's interest payout will increase proportionally to the longer period they stake, or the larger the amount they stake. Story continues Secondly, users' stake will generate sustaining interests while their stake is active. Users will receive dividend-gaining M-shares that receives interest payout from a minimum of 7.8% to 780% based on the size of the staked pool on a daily basis. Thirdly, two exclusive bonuses known as Gifting Bonus 1 and 2 will be awarded to stakers who staked during the launch phase and surpassed or meet the bonus release day on 365th(1st year) and 730th day (2nd year). That means being an early stakers in $MOS will be entitled to the once in lifetime exclusive Gifting Bonuses! Gifting Bonus 1 pays a minimum of 19billion $MOS and Gifting Bonus 2 pays a minimum of 20billion $MOS; plus, some unclaimed $MOS from other allocations and penalties will continue to be added to the Gifting Bonus Pool throughout the year. MOS Preventative Structure MOS has adopted an early-revocation penalty for the stakers who ends their staking contract prematurely. This discourages stakers from early termination/ withdrawal to capitalise on the higher MOS value with a massive sell-off. This structure reduces the worries of massive selloff price volatility that comes with conventional cryptocurrencies. Additionally, MOS adopted a scaling interest system that pays additional rewards and interests for long-term stakeholders. The longer users remain staked, or the larger the staked amount, the better interests they earn. The early-revocation penalty prevents anyone from hodling too much of $MOS's total supply to manipulate the market. In many ways, it's a self-correcting arrangement that delivers strong returns to all stakers & holders involved, a system built to benefit all with stability and predictable returns. Limited Supply Pushes Demand The crucial thing that makes Bitcoin different from Dogecoin is that Bitcoin has limited supply but Dogecoin didn't. Bitcoin is scarce and valuable, while there are trillions of Doge to be disposed of. Since its inception, MOS was designed in a limited supply structure, this is to limit the inflation factor and keep the demand driving. When the user stakes $MOS, the $MOS will be locked away in a staking contract and would not be in circulation until it is matured. Secondly, there will be only 7.8% of $MOS being newly minted every year across the whole network as the annual percentage yield (APY) paid to the stakers. By limiting the overall supply, it will become a positive upward pressure to $MOS price as Stakers are paid to HODL. The Community Believes In MOS, MOS Launches on 25 th August 2021 MOS, the new Proof-of-Stake based staking investment project cryptocurrency enthusiasts is set to launch on the 25 th of August 2021 UTC 12:00. With the crypto industry and investors interested in another staking platform, MOS is potentially one of users' best next staking investment crypto assets opportunities. 'At MOS our community is supportive in our potential staking interests and project growth. We are seeing an ever-increasing likelihood that Proof-of-Stake based blockchain network will achieve broad adoption and value appreciation. We are excited to offer this opportunity to our community' Right until now, the Ethereum network based cryptocurrency assets are not an easy asset to get a hold of, due to the high Ethereum gas fee and high entry fee of the existing staking platform. MOS intends to add value and significant returns for our community by launching a new staking investment opportunity with an accessible entry-level, combined with continuous interest dividends, and quick asset growth. Plus, MOS is built on the TRON network which has a much lower transaction fee, matching adaptable blockchain network, secured PoS Blockchain network, and fast-growing Dapps ecosystem. 'The adoption of cryptocurrency as an investment product is escalating, especially the demand for staking, we expect this trend to be long-term in nature, due to the structure of continuous asset growth and interest dividends of staking projects such as MOS.' Last month, MOS held its Senatus Round (Early-Sale Round), it received enormous attention and excitement from the community. This reflects that a huge part of the community is eager to be a part of MOS especially learning the advantages of staking and its unique design in $MOS. The official launch on 25th August will be a highly anticipated day for MOS and our community. Eager to learn more about MOS? Stay tuned to MOS's social media： Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/themos.io Twitter: https://twitter.com/themos_io Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/themos.io/ Media Contact Company: Themos LLC Contact: Schneider Becker, Marketing Director Telephone: +49 171 253 5849 Email: [email protected] Website: https://themos.io/ Address: Fasanenstraße 33, 10719 Berlin, Germany SOURCE: Themos LLC View source version on accesswire.com: https://www.accesswire.com/660676/MOS-Set-to-Launch-on-August-25th View comments \|\| How To File Taxes for a Deceased Relative: Upon a death in the family, there will likely be a number of unpleasant tasks to perform, including filing taxes for deceased loved ones. Because death and taxes are inevitable, there’s a good chance you’ll have to file a decedent’s final federal — and state, if applicable — income tax return in the future. Find Out:Can You Afford To Die in Your State?Take Action:27 Genius Things Retirees Should Do With Their Money Right Now When you’re the surviving relative of a deceased person, learn the basics of filing taxes for a deceased taxpayer. The IRS requires someone to file taxes for the relative who has passed. “A final return can be submitted by the surviving spouse or a personal representative,” said Andrew Oswalt, CPA and tax analyst for TaxAct, a tax preparation software company. “A personal representative of an estate is an executor of estate, executor of will, administrator or anyone who is in charge of the decedent’s will to administer the estate and distribute properties,” he continued. “An administrator is usually appointed by the probate court if no will exists, if no executor was named in the will or if the named executor cannot or will not serve.” Additionally, when filing taxes for deceased with no estate, an administrator also has to be appointed. The personal representative can also serve as theexecutor of the decedent’s will. When a personal representative prepares a decedent’s tax return, they must write the word “deceased,” the decedent’s name and the date of death across the top of the return — and sign it. When the decedent did not appoint a personal representative, the surviving spouse must sign the return and write “filing as surviving spouse” on it. Sign your name along with your late spouse’s if you’re filing or e-filing income tax using a joint return. When a deceased taxpayer refund check is due, you might need to fileForm 1310— Statement of a Person Claiming Refund Due a Deceased Taxpayer. Form 1310 isn’t required if a surviving spouse is filing a joint return with the decedent. See:What Happens to Your Bitcoin When You Die? Filing income tax for a deceased parent is different from filing regular tax returns. You must keep in mind that a decedent’s income is generally counted from the beginning of the year to the day they died. One exception to this is medical bills — to claim those as deductible expenses, the estate must pay them within a year of the decedent’s date of death. These medical expenses cannot be included onForm 706U.S. Estate Tax Return. Find Out:Medical Expenses You Can Deduct From Your Taxes When you inherit property or money from a deceased person, you might wonder if it will be considered taxable income. Currently, only six states charge an inheritance tax, and inheritance tax exemptions also exist. But uponselling inherited property, you might have to pay taxes on the profits you receive, depending on the basis of inherited property. When you inherit a traditional IRA from someone other than your spouse, you can’t treat the inherited IRA as your own. You must make a trustee-to-trustee transfer to an IRA in the name of the decedent. Different taxation rules apply to distributions from inherited IRAs if you were married to the decedent. As a late individual’s spouse, you have three options when you inherit an IRA: 1. Designate yourself as the account owner. 2. Designate yourself as the beneficiary of the IRA. 3. Roll it over into a traditional IRA or another qualified plan. In the event that the decedent invested in a Roth IRA, there are specific rules about distributions, too. Because inheriting an IRA can be tricky tax-wise, consider getting a tax professional’s advice regarding your best option. Take a Look:Tax Mistakes Everyone Makes — and How To Avoid Them Normally, you mustfile an estate tax returnfor a decedent, but that varies based on the type of estate. According to the IRS, if the decedent had “relatively simple estates” such as publicly traded securities, small amounts of other easily valued assets, and no special deductions or elections, or jointly held property, you do not need to file an estate tax return. But in the event that the decedent had an estate that is subject to a tax, there areways to reduce their estate tax. Criminals often try to steal a decedent’s identity. “The risks are real — deceased persons’ identities are stolen every year,” Oswalt said. “Many death records are public, and many thieves use that information to their advantage.” To prevent theft of a decedent’s identity, take the following steps outlined by the IRS: • Omit personal information — such as birth date, address, mother’s maiden name — from the decedent’s obituary. • Give the IRS death notification by sending it a copy of the death certificate immediately. • Send copies of the death certificate to the three credit reporting bureaus and instruct them to put a “deceased alert” on the decedent’s credit report. • Review the deceased’s credit report for any questionable activity. Related:7 Signs You’re the Victim of a Tax Scam Filing taxes for deceased relatives and handling other wills and probate obligations can be confusing, time-consuming and unpleasant. Consider enlisting the aid of an accountant or other tax professional to assist you during this stressful time. More From GOBankingRates • Take Our Poll: Are You Actually Spending Your Child Tax Credit Payment? • 5 Things Most Americans Don’t Know About Social Security • Here’s How Much You Need To Earn To Be ‘Rich’ in Every State • The Hidden Costs of Education at Every Level Cynthia MeasomandTaylor Bellcontributed to the reporting for this article. Last updated: Aug. 20, 2021 This article originally appeared onGOBankingRates.com:How To File Taxes for a Deceased Relative \|\| Bitcoin Is Moving Towards $50,000: Bitcoinmanaged to get above the resistance at $48,000 and continues to move towards the psychologically important $50,000 level. Meanwhile,Ethereumclimbed above the resistance at $3,600 and is trying to gain additional upside momentum. Smaller cryptocurrencies likeDogecoinorXRPfailed to develop material momentum, and it looks that traders interest is concentrated in Bitcoin and Ethereum today. Bitcoin Dominance, which measures the market capitalization of Bitcoin as a percentage of total crypto market capitalization, is stuck near 41%. Bitcoin’s recent rebound failed to provide significant support to Bitcoin Dominance which indicates that traders’ interest in altcoins remains strong. Bitcoin continues to move higher and is trying to settle above the resistance level at $48,000. RSI remains in the moderate territory, and there is plenty of room to gain additional upside momentum in case the right catalysts emerge. A successful test of the resistance at $48,000 will open the way to the test of the next resistance level at $50,000. In case Bitcoin gets above the key resistance at $50,000, it will attract more speculative traders and head towards the next resistance level which is located at $51,500. A move above the resistance at $51,500 will open the way to the test of the resistance at $53,000. If Bitcoin manages to settle above the resistance at $53,000, it will move towards the next resistance level at $55,000. On the support side, Bitcoin needs to get back below $48,000 to have a chance to develop downside momentum in the near term. The next support level for Bitcoin is located at the 20 EMA at $47,300. If Bitcoin declines below the 20 EMA, it will head towards the support at $46,000. A successful test of this support level will lead to a test of the support at the 50 EMA at $45,500. If Bitcoin declines below the 50 EMA, it will continue its downside move and head towards the support level at $44,000. For a look at all of today’s economic events, check out oureconomic calendar. Thisarticlewas originally posted on FX Empire • Bitcoin Is Moving Towards $50,000 • Oil Bulls’ Morale High On Supply Squeeze • Move Aside Millennials. Baby Boomers Won’t Be Left Behind In Bitcoin Adoption • EOS, Stellar’s Lumen, and Tron’s TRX – Daily Analysis – September 16th, 2021 • GBP/USD Daily Forecast – British Pound Moves Lower Against U.S. Dollar • Eurozone Trade Surplus Widens but Fails to Impress the EUR ahead of Lagarde \|\| Gold, Oil Prices Slump, Fedspeak, Bitcoin - What's Moving Markets: By Peter Nurse Investing.com -- Gold and oil prices slump amid worries of growing Covid cases in China and the possibility of early Fed tightening, while bitcoin recovers. Fedspeak will also be in focus, with Raphael Bostic and Thomas Barkin scheduled to talk later Monday. Also of interest will be the passage of the long-awaited U.S. infrastructure bill. Here's what you need to know in financial markets on Monday, 9th August. 1. Gold, oil prices slump Hurting sentiment Monday has been sharp falls in gold and oil prices as investors attempt to digest the growing number of Covid-19 cases, primarily in China, as well gains for the U.S. dollar after Friday’s strong nonfarm payrolls release. The number of cases in China has hit a six-month high, with millions of people now put under lockdown and mass testing being conducted across the country. China is the largest exporter of oil in the world, as well as the second largest consumer, and these measures will likely curb economic growth and oil demand. Goldman Sachs downgraded its economic growth forecasts for China, cutting its full-year GDP growth forecast to 8.3% from 8.6%, according to a report released late Sunday, with the current quarter reduced to 2.3% from 5.8% previously. By 5:25 AM ET (0925 GMT), U.S. crude futures were down 4.4% at $65.30 a barrel, after falling nearly 7% last week, the steepest weekly decline in nine months, while Brent futures were down 4.1% at $67.78 a barrel, having dropped 6% last week, the biggest weekly loss in four months. Gold prices also slumped to the lowest level since March, falling below $1,700/oz before posting a minor recovery to currently change hands for $1,746.70/oz, 0.9% lower, around 4% lower over the last week. The sharp drop in Asian trading raised speculation of a forced liquidation, but the jobs report also resulted in the dollar and bond yields trading higher, never a good combination for commodities. 2. Fed speakers to add to tapering debate With Friday’s jobs report causing fretting in the market about the potential of early tightening, speeches from various Federal Reserve members will be studied carefully this week. Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic and Richmond Fed head Thomas Barkin start the ball rolling on Monday, followed by Chicago Fed President Charles Evans on Tuesday and Kansas City Fed President Esther George on Wednesday. The tide seems to be turning towards a tapering of the Fed’s massive bond-buying program being announced this year, something that influential memberRichard Claridasuggested as a possibility last week. Bostic and Barkin are also known to lean towards tapering so their comments will be closely watched later Monday. 3. Stocks set to open lower; earnings continue U.S. stocks are set to open marginally lower, slipping from record levels after Friday’s healthy payrolls data. By 5:25 AM ET, Dow Jones futures were down 125 points, or 0.4%, while S&P 500 futures were down 8 points, or 0.2%, while Nasdaq 100 futures edged up just 4 points, or less than 0.1%. The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average closed over 144 points, or 0.4%, higher Friday at an all-time high of 35,208.51, while the broad-based S&P 500 rose 0.2% to also post a record close. The Nasdaq Composite bucked the trend, dipping 0.4%. The second-quarter earnings season is drawing to a close, but there are still a number of influential companies set to report this week. This includes the likes of AMC Entertainment (NYSE:AMC), Coinbase Global (NASDAQ:COIN), Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS), Airbnb (NASDAQ:ABNB) and DoorDash (NYSE:DASH). 4. Infrastructure bill The much-debated $1 trillion U.S.infrastructure billlooks set to be put to a vote early this week, after clearing its last procedural hurdles in the U.S. Senate late Sunday, achieving broad bipartisan support. The legislation is a cornerstone of President Joe Biden’s economic agenda, and would result in the largest U.S. investment in roads and bridges in decades. The bill includes $110 billion in new spending for roads and bridges, $73 billion for electric grid upgrades, $66 billion for rail and Amtrak, as well as $65 billion for broadband expansion. It also provides $55 billion for clean drinking water and $39 billion for transit. The legislation still faces challenges in the House of Representatives as the Democrats have only a very small majority. 5. Bitcoin recovery The price of bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, slipped a little during Monday’s session, but has made something of a recovery after the dip of the last couple of months. By 5:25 AM ET, Bitcoin traded at $43,590, down 0.3% on the day, but up over 11% over the past week, climbing above the $45,000 level. Helping the tone have been reports, admittedly unconfirmed, that retail giant Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) is preparing to accept the digital currency as payment for its goods and services in the near future and Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) is considering adding some bitcoin to its balance sheet. That said, the pressure from officialdom continues, with the Washington Post reporting that U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has raised objections to a potential amendment to an infrastructure bill that would exclude certain crypto companies from the reporting requirements for brokers. Related Articles Gold, Oil Prices Slump, Fedspeak, Bitcoin - What's Moving Markets Dixie Fire, still raging, is now California's second-largest wildfire ever Private equity firms revise China strategy as regulatory crackdown widens \|\| Why China is cracking down on certain publicly-traded companies, according to Carson Block: Short seller Carson Block gained notoriety for exposing the fraudulent accounting practices of U.S.-listed Chinese companies. But the founder of Muddy Waters Capital now believes the days of Chinese companies tapping American capital markets are over. In an interview with Yahoo Finance Live, Block attributedthe recent regulatory crackdownon China’s largest firms to an acceptance by Beijing’s leadership that the delisting of its U.S.-listed firms is "inevitable." “I think Xi Jinping is saying look, U.S.-listed companies need to understand that they have to find an alternate way of accessing capital markets. Come back to the mainland, come to Hong Kong, but their days in the U.S. are numbered,” Block said. “If Chinese companies largely get out of the U.S. before the mandate to delist kicks in, then it kind of looks to Xi's domestic audience, like Chinese companies left the U.S. out of strength, as opposed to being thrown out.” Congress passed a law last year, banning foreign companies from listing their securities on U.S. exchanges for failing to comply with American rules for three consecutive years. The Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act was signed into law in response to concerns that Chinese firms were skirting financial auditing by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB), a nonprofit corporation Congress created in 2002, because of Chinese resistance to overseas inspections of its companies’ audits. The law’s three-year grace period has forced Chinese firms to reconsider their options: comply with disclosure requirements that could put them at odds with regulators back home, or move their securities outside of U.S. exchanges. “I always thought China would give in at the 11th hour on auditor inspections. And the reason I thought that was because so many [Chinese Communist Party] officials have undisclosed stakes in these U.S.-listed China companies,” Block said. “But I think Xi Jinping has decided not to give on auditor inspections. And I think that's because, right now, he has to play to this domestic audience of not being bullied around by the U.S.” Block said recent crackdowns on some of the biggest Chinese firms are proof of that. Following ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing’s (DIDI) $4.4 billion IPO in June, China’s Cybersecurity regulators opened an investigation into the firm and banned the app from accepting new users, causing its U.S.-listed shares to plummet. TheWall Street Journal reportedBeijing officials urged Didi to delay its listing over concerns IPO documents required by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) could contain sensitive information and data. Last month, China-based tutoring firms New Oriental Education & Technology Group (EDU), TAL Education Group (TAL), and Gaotu Techedu Inc. (GOTU). saw their shares fall more than 40% as regulators attempted to exert control over the industry, by calling on the firms to go nonprofit. Earlier this week, Tencent (TCEHY) was briefly toppled as Asia’s most valuable company, after state-run media ran an article,calling online gaming "a spiritual opium.” Combined, the regulatory shake-ups have erased more than $1 trillion from the market value of U.S.-listed Chinese stocks. “I think that from the Wall Street perspective, the perspective of the banks and asset managers, they're not liking this because they want to continue to sell the dream to U.S. investors and make the fees associated with that,” Block said. “I do personally think it's healthy if less U.S. retail money and pension money gets put into these things.” The scrutiny in China has come, as the SEC looks to tighten the screws to protect American investors. Last week, SEC Commissioner Gary Genslerhalted all IPOs of Chinese firms, pending further risk disclosures. Block said the regulatory squeeze is likely to push more Chinese firms to seek listings in Hong Kong and the mainland markets, over the next three years. Many firms, including Alibaba (BABA), JD.com (JD), and NetEase (NTES) have already sought secondary listings on the Hong Kong Exchange. But Block said he doesn’t believe the Hong Kong market has the liquidity to support a wholesale relisting of Chinese securities in the U.S., leading to consolidation. “I think your tier one U.S.-listed China companies will be able to find reasonable markets over in Hong Kong, meaning some liquidity, etc. It won't be anything like the liquidity in the U.S. But your tier two and tier three companies are going to have problems,” he said. "I think that maybe you can start to see some acquisitions over time of these tier two companies by the tier ones because they just — there's not enough liquidity in HK." Akiko Fujita is an anchor and reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter@AkikoFujita • Bitcoin mining crackdown in China is a boon for Texas • Two-time Olympian celebrates NCAA rule change: ‘This is the tide that lifts all boats’ • GM launches $25 million climate equity fund aimed at making EV future accessible [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] None available.	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 42235.73, 41034.54, 41564.36, 43790.89, 48116.94, 47711.49, 48199.95, 49112.90, 51514.81, 55361.45
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2022-09-12] BTC Price: 22370.45, BTC RSI: 61.32 Gold Price: 1728.10, Gold RSI: 47.07 Oil Price: 87.78, Oil RSI: 45.40 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Institutional Investors Are Increasingly Using Crypto Options Trading to Hedge Their Bets in Bear Market: In the current bear market, crypto options trading has been a rare bright spot, building momentum even as crypto prices have plunged. A number of crypto exchanges have noted rising trading volume after reaching lows earlier this year. Options strategies have figured prominently among institutional investors and even miners as they try to weather crypto’s usual volatility and a downturn that could last for months, or longer, despite recent hopeful macroeconomic signs. More recently, traders have been using the crypto options market to bet on ether ( ETH ) and hedge positions as the Ethereum blockchain’s hotly anticipated Merge approaches . Panama-based derivatives platform Deribit, which is among the world’s largest exchanges for crypto options trading volume, told CoinDesk demand is surging ahead of the Merge. ETH options on Deribit spike ahead of the Merge (Deribit) Earlier this week, in a disappointing second-quarter earnings report, crypto exchange giant Coinbase (COIN) even alluded to traders migrating to derivatives-focused platforms as a reason for declining trading volume. Coinbase’s dipping volume led to a 30% decline in the company’s revenue, below most analysts’ estimates. “A larger amount of trading volume took place at offshore exchanges in Q2,” Coinbase said in its report, adding: “The sequential decline in Q2 institutional trading volume was primarily driven by lower market maker volume on our trading platform. These market participants gravitate towards products such as derivatives and financing products, which are areas we’re continuing to invest in but we don’t currently have product parity with offshore exchanges.” A young market? Bitcoin options trading accounts for only 2% of open derivatives contracts across exchanges trading the cryptocurrency, whose market cap is about $462 billion, according to structure product provider Enhanced Digital Group (EDG). By comparison, traditional options trading of stocks accounts for 20% of the market cap of the S&P 500 at the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), EDG said. “When you think of all the other [S&P 500]-like products including [exchange-traded funds], SP Minis, etc., you can see that bitcoin options have multifold growth ahead of it,” EDG’s quant developer, Marcin Maksymiuk, told CoinDesk. Story continues Sudden market shocks, technological improvements and a maturing futures market will all contribute to the growth of options, according to Delta Exchange CEO Pankaj Balani. Delta generates over $200 million in options trading volume per day, and Balani said that “options provide a way for people to get engaged with the market even in a sideways environment.” He foresees options eventually accounting for 60% of the crypto trading market. Peter Wisniewski, managing partner of crypto-focused alternative investment fund Europa Partners, told CoinDesk the firm expects “the market to continue to mature with greater price efficiency and liquidity.” Wisniewski said the markets will likely tie options to a widening range of digital assets. “Currently, the only crypto derivatives markets with significant liquidity are priced to bitcoin and ether, but we expect to see a continual increase of derivative instruments priced to other types of digital assets, reducing volatility and driving more investment into the space,” Wisniewski added. Crypto options open interest versus the S&P 500 options open interest (EDG) Miners In recent months, cryptocurrency miners, who have been hit hard by bitcoin’s plunge, have used derivative strategies to hedge price exposure and limit their downside risk. Miner Argo Blockchain even hired an in-house derivatives trader in July to weather the market rout and determine hedging strategies going forward. Crypto financial services firm Galaxy Digital, which has a division dedicated to lending and risk management for miners, avoided miner-related losses during the second quarter through the use of derivative strategies, according to CEO Michael Novogratz during the company’s earnings call this week. Novogratz said that he expects to expand these offerings for miners and other clients. How fast crypto options trading evolves remains uncertain, even as firms add exposure and pinpoint the products and services that can help them manage risk. EDG CEO Chris Bae noted that miner and institutional platforms’ use of derivative strategies remain in an early stage and that crypto options trading volumes "have yet to hit their j-curve when it comes to their adoption and growth.” “We are seeing our partners use this sell-off to hire option and derivative talent to staff for the opportunity,” Bae said. Read more: Crypto Options Trading, Explained \|\| US stocks close mixed as investors brace for key labor market data: • Stocks traded mixed Thursday as investors look to Friday's key jobs report. • The upcoming nonfarm payrolls report will be a key data point in the recession conversation. • Meanwhile, the Treasury yield curve has remained inverted for over a month. US stocks were little changed on Thursday as markets look ahead to a key jobs report amid heightening recession fears. Markets are waiting on nonfarm payroll data set to be released at 8:30 a.m. Friday morning. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg expect employers to have added 250,000 jobs last month compared to 372,000 new jobs added in June. The report is eagerly anticipated after data released this month showed the US GDP contracted for a second straight quarter, meeting the technical definition of a recession. "[I]f we do see a reduction in hiring, even at the expected number, it looks much more likely to be due to a shortage of workers, rather than a sudden shock to labor demand," according to Brad McMillan, chief investment officer for Commonwealth Financial Network. "With demand strong, what matters here is labor availability." Meanwhile, a key indicator of a coming recession has been flashing for a month straight,as the 2- and 10-year Treasury yields inversion deepens. Here's where US indexes stood as the market closed 4:00 p.m. on Thursday: • S&P 500: 4,152.02, down 0.08% • Dow Jones Industrial Average: 32,726.99, down 0.26% (85.51 points) • Nasdaq Composite:12,720.58, up 0.41% The rebound in stocks since June looks more like a new bull market than a bear rally, according to Ned Davis Research. The firm is basing its bullish outlook onseveral key technical indicatorsthat are pointing upward. Goldman Sachs disagrees, however, and said Thursday thestock market is heading for another big sell-offunless the economic data turns more upbeat. Separately, a Goldman analyst said there'sno quick fix to the global energy crisiswith OPEC+ capacity at a 20-year low. And yet, at the same time, Saudi Arabia is on track to notch itsfirst budget surplus in over a decadethanks to soaring crude prices amid the energy crunch. A German refiner is reportedly seeing a run on oil and diesel as heat waves and supply constraints spark chaos in Europe's energy market, according to Bloomberg. OMV Germany said Thursday that there'smarket speculation and hoarding happening. Bank of America forecasted Thursday that new sanctions on Russian crude could push oil prices above$130 a barrel. Oil slipped, withWest Texas Intermediatedown 2.44% to $88.45 a barrel.Brent crude, the international benchmark, dipped 2.83% to $94.04 a barrel. Goldedged higher 1.86% to 1,809.50 per ounce. The10-year yielddipped 6.9 basis points to 2.679%. Bitcoinfell 4.08% to $22,523.01. Read the original article onBusiness Insider \|\| Dow leads stocks lower after run of downbeat economic data: Stocks finished lower on Tuesday as a run of downbeat economic data pressured markets on the week's second trading day. When the closing bell rang on Wall Street, the S&P 500 was down 0.2%, the Dow off 0.5%, and the Nasdaq was unchanged, falling 0.27 points, or 0.00%. All threemajor indexes suffered losses to start the week, with the S&P 500 falling by the most since June 16 while the Nasdaq dropped some 2.6% on Monday. The tech index is closed Monday's session down about 6% from its most recent high after a 25% rally from mid-June to mid-August. A busy week for economic data got underway in earnest Tuesday morning, with thepreliminary August reading on service sector and manufacturing activity from S&P Globalshowing a further decline in business activity in the private sector this month. The report showed service sector activity fell to 44.1, a 27-month low and down from 47.3 the prior month and below the 49.8 that was expected. Any reading below 50 shows contraction in the sector. Manufacturing activity, meanwhile, stayed in modest expansion territory, with the index hitting 51.3, down from 52.2 in July. Excluding the drop in this index seen between March and May 2020 when the pandemic rocked the global economy, Tuesday's data signaled the sharpest decline in output in 13 years. "August flash PMI data signaled further disconcerting signs for the health of the US private sector," Siân Jones, senior economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said in a statement on Tuesday. "Demand conditions were dampened again, sparked by the impact of interest rate hikes and strong inflationary pressures on customer spending, which weighed on activity. Gathering clouds spread across the private sector as services new orders returned to contractionary territory, mirroring the subdued demand conditions seen at their manufacturing counterparts." At 10:00 a.m. ET, reports on new home sales and the Richmond Fed's manufacturing index were released and both missed consensus expectations. The Richmond Fed's report showed a decline in activity during August, registering a reading of -8 against expectations for a reading of -2. The pace of new home sales also plummeted in July, falling 12.6% from the prior month to an annualized pace of 511,000 homes. At the current rate of new home sales, there are 10.9 months of supply on the market; in July 2021, there were just 6 months of supply on the market. Investors were also eyeing currency markets on Tuesday, with the euro again falling below parity — or a 1:1 ratio — with the dollar. In commodities markets, crude oil futures were rising, with the WTI crude trading up nearly 4% to around $93.60 per barrel. On Monday, energy had a particularly volatile session with WTI futures trading below $87 at one point beforeheadlines out of Saudi Arabia suggestedpotential production cuts could be on the table from OPEC+. Investor attention has also turned to the natural gas market in recent days, as investor preparations for an energy crunch in Europe this winter have sent natural gas prices towards 14-year highs. Natural gas futures, however, fell about 4% on Tuesday. Bitcoin (BTC-USD), which fell about 8% at the end of last week as its own summer rally stalled, was little-changed early Tuesday to trade near $21,400. On the individual stock side, investors continue to watch the situation at AMC (AMC), which fell 42% on Monday as the company's new preferred shares, which trade under the ticker, APE (APE), began trading. In afternoon trade on Tuesday APE shares were up 17%, while AMC shares were down 8%. Earnings continue to trickle out, with shares of Macy's (M) up 3.7% on Tuesday after the retailer reported abetter than expected quarter. The company did, however, lower its full-year outlook, citing, "the risk [Macy's] sees in the continued deterioration of consumer discretionary spending in some of its categories and the level of inventory within the industry, as well as risks associated with a more pronounced macro downturn." Zoom (ZM) shares fell 16.5% on Tuesday after the company lowered its outlook inquarterly results posted last night. The video conferencing giant now expects full-year revenue to total around $4.4 billion, down from prior forecasts of closer to $4.6 billion. In its most recent quarter, the company reported sales from 7.6% from the prior year period, which Bloomberg notes is the company's slowest growth on record. Zoom is perhaps the poster child for pandemic-era trades that have completely reversed. Bespoke Investment Management'sGeorge Pearkes noted Mondaythe company's market cap has fully round-tripped from pre-pandemic levels, sitting at around $29 billion after Monday's report, down from a peak in late-2020 of $200 billion. — Click here for the latest stock market news and in-depth analysis, including events that move stocks Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance Download the Yahoo Finance app forAppleorAndroid Follow Yahoo Finance onTwitter,Facebook,Instagram,Flipboard,LinkedIn, andYouTube \|\| Crypto-Related Stocks Bounce as Bitcoin Retakes $22K: Badly beaten-up crypto brokers, miners, and bankers are posting double-digit gains on Monday alongside gains in cryptocurrencies and the broad stock market. Bitcoin ( BTC ) is up more than 5% since Friday, and – at this point on Monday morning – holding above $22,000 for a sustained period for the first time since the mid-June price crash. Ether ( ETH ) is performing even better, up nearly 20% since Friday to $1,479 as anticipation over the "merge" builds. Checking traditional markets, the Nasdaq is higher by about 1% and the S&P 500 is up 0.6%. Among crypto-related stocks on the move are miners Marathon Digital (MARA) up 20%, Hut 8 (HUT) +15%, and Riot Blockchain (RIOT) +15%. Crypto exchange Coinbase (COIN) is ahead 13%, and crypto merchant banker Galaxy Digital (GLXY.TO) is higher by 17%. Michael Saylor’s MicroStrategy (MSTR) is up 10%. Read more: First Mover Americas: Bitcoin Has Best Day in a Month, but Ether’s Getting Even More Love Bank of America on Friday said it was seeing “continued signs of fading sell pressure,” in crypto. “Over the last two weeks, digital assets' market value fell 4% vs. 30% over the prior four weeks,” said Alkesh Shah and team in the note. "When the market starts reacting positively to negative news, this is a signal that a local bottom could be in for now, as fear may have caused the news to be priced in," said GlobalBlock's Marcus Sotiriou on Monday morning, noting continued Fed hawkishness in the face of ugly inflation headlines continues. \|\| 3 Solar Stocks to Sell Now: Solar stocks could be in theory the hottest stocks to trade now, not because it is summer. It is mostly because the temperature is high and solar companies could provide a long-term solution to energy efficiency, clean energy, and to lowering energy costs driving down the inflation that remains at very high historic levels. These solar stocks to sell should come as no surprise as there are credible arguments to back this decision. • 7 Best AI Stocks to Buy Now Let’s have an analytical view on why to sell these solar stocks or avoid them should you consider buying them. InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips [{"RUN": "SPWR", "Sunrun": "SunPower", "$24.66": "$17.2"}, {"RUN": "MAXN", "Sunrun": "Maxeon Solar Technologies", "$24.66": "$11.52"}] Source: IgorGolovniov / Shutterstock.com Sunrun(NASDAQ:RUN) has lost nearly 23% of its value in 2022 and its losses could get worse soon.The firm reported sales growth of 74.58% in 2021which was not enough to make profits, but rather it generated a net loss of $79.42 million. In the first quarter of 2022, the firm had mixed financial results with EPS GAAP of -$0.42, a miss by -$0.27, and revenue of $495.78 million a beat by $94.18 million. The top argument to sell the RUN stock is its free cash flow trend. The company is burning cash consistently in the past five years which is bad news for the valuation. There is also a debt problem as theDebt-to-Equity ratio is 1.2and the Debt-to-EBITDA is -45.6. The Price/Sales (TTM) ratio of 2.94does not support a cheap stock either. A firm to pay off its debt must generate cash, do not burn it. Sunrun has a very important cash burn problem. The above factors should make you run away from RUN stock now. Source: IgorGolovniov / Shutterstock.com SunPower(NASDAQ:SPWR) has weal financial strength with a Debt-to-Equity ratio of 1.59 and an Altman Z-Score of 0.5, which indicates the firm is in financial distress. The Debt-to-EBITDA ratio of 12.07 is too highand in an environment of rising interest rates having too much debt is a very bad business and financial decision. When a firm has a positive sales growth like in 2021 with anincrease of 17.66% and it produces anet loss rather than expected profits then there is a problem in its business. This is evidenced by the cash burn problem like Sunrun. • 7 of the Best Small-Cap Stocks to Buy Before 2022 The stock is not cheap as it trades at a Price/Sales (TTM) ratio of 1.96and at a Price/Book (TTM) ratio of 7.86. Source: Shutterstock Maxeon Solar Technologies(NASDAQ:MAXN) is a classic textbook stock to avoid.The firm has had negative sales growth over the past two consecutive years, -29.50% in 2020 and -7.29% in 2021 respectively. The company is losing money and its net losses havewidened in 2021 to -$254.52 millionfrom – $142.63 million in 2020. There is also enough debt as the Debt-to-Equity ratio is 1.02. The Altman Z-Score of 0.22 signalsthere is a financial distress and this is confirmed by the negative free cash flow trend. The following financial ratios should never be used in isolation, but they are more than enough to show how poor is the profitability of the firm. The gross margin is -5.12%, the operating margin is -21.37% and the net margin is -32.68%. Having net losses and burning cash is one of the worst financial performances a company could have. Avoid it as it is just a compelling Sell. On the date of publication, Stavros Georgiadis, CFA did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.comPublishing Guidelines. • $200 Oil Sooner Than You Think – Buy This Now • The Best $1 Investment You Can Make Today • Early Bitcoin Millionaire Reveals His Next Big Crypto Trade “On Air” • It doesn’t matter if you have $500 in savings or $5 million. Do this now. The post3 Solar Stocks to Sell Nowappeared first onInvestorPlace. \|\| 7 A-Rated Tech Stocks to Buy and Hold Now: As they lagged expectations, tech stocks have been one of the biggest stories of the stock market for the last few months. But have you noticed that tech is starting to finally turn around? The Investo QQQ ETF (NASDAQ: QQQ ) which tracks tech stocks is down 19% so far in 2022, but its gained more than 16% over the last two months. The Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSEARCA: XLK ) dropped 13% since Jan. 1, but gained 16.6% in the last two months. Tech stocks have long been a reliable source of solid returns and can be great momentum plays in good times. Now that tech is threatening to return to its winning ways, this may be an outstanding time to pick up A-rated tech stocks for the long term. InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips Here are seven for buy-and-hold investors. BCOR Blucora $23.11 EXLS ExlService Holdings $178.44 SWCH Switch $34.02 KBR KBR $52.49 PDFS PDF Solutions $27.28 QLYS Qualys $155.57 PSN Parsons Corporation $42.62 Blucora (BCOR) Stacks of coins hold up wooden blocks that spell out "TAX." Source: Shutterstock Perhaps nothing creates more anxiety for the general population every quarter and every year like taxes. If you mess up your taxes it could have both civil and criminal consequences, not to mention huge penalties. Thats where Blucora (NASDAQ: BCOR ) comes in. Blucora provides a suite of products and services that help people accurately file their taxes and identify potential deductions. It also helps people use their tax data to for wealth management. Blucora owns TaxAct tax preparation software, and the HD Vest financial services firm. Earnings for the second quarter included earnings of $256.88 million and adjusted earnings of 99 cents per share. Both were better than analysts expectations of $256.67 million revenue and 95 cents EPS. The company is projecting full-year revenue of $892.5 million to $916 million, and EPS of $1.71 to $1.90 per share. The consensus analyst estimate is $1.83 per share. BCOR stock has an A rating in the Portfolio Grader . Story continues ExlService Holdings (EXLS) An image of different icons stacked on top of eachother; clock, graph, bank, shield, phone, money, wifi Source: Zapp2Photo/Shutterstock ExlService Holdings (NASDAQ: EXLS ) is a holding company for New York-based EXL Service, which is an analytics and digital services company that works in insurance, banking and financial services, healthcare, media, and other industries. It handles everything from finance and accounting to legal services, customer services and bill collection. Earnings for the second quarter were outstanding. Revenue of $346.78 million, versus expectations of $329.68 million. Earnings of $1.50 per share were also better than analysts predictions of $1.32. Even better, EXLS projected full-year earnings of $5.60 to $5.80 per share, with a midpoint better than the analysts consensus EPS projection of $5.57. EXLS isnt one of the tech stocks that will make a move soon. It isnt waiting for the tech stock turnaround its already moving up. ExlService us up 23% so far this year, including a 22% jump over the last 30 days. Not surprisingly, EXLS stock has an A rating in my Portfolio Grader . Switch (SWCH) Binary code data Source: carlos castilla/Shutterstock With the internet becoming even more important for businesses following the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, Las Vegas-based Switch (NYSE: SWCH ) looks to be in a strong position. The company says it has more than 700 issued and pending patents covering data center designs and data centers, of course, are critical pieces of internet infrastructure, as they house storage systems, services and routers. Earnings for Q2 were solid, as the company reported a beat on revenue by posting $168.19 million versus analysts estimates of $166.78 million. Earnings came in at $1.51 per share versus estimates of $1.46 per share. Switch stock is up a strong 18% so far in 2022, making it one of the tech stocks to watch and helping give it an A rating in the Portfolio Grader . KBR (KBR) smartphone displaying the KBR (KBR) logo Source: IgorGolovniov/shutterstock.com Formerly known as Kellogg Brown & Root, KBR (NYSE: KBR ) is a spin-off of the oil company Halliburton (NYSE: HAL ). It went public in 2006. KBR operates in the aerospace, defense, industrial and intelligence industries, and worked with NASA to launch the James Webb Space Telescope, which is the most powerful space telescope launched . KBR also worked with the U.S. government in several hot spots around the world. It built sections of the U.S. Navy base in Guantanamo, Cuba; it built the U.S. embassy in Kabul, and it supported U.S. Marines serving in Iraq. Despite an up-and-down 2022, KBR stock is up nearly 10% on the year. Earnings in Q2 were a mixed bag, beating on earnings per share (76 cents EPS versus analysts estimates of 65 cents) but missing on revenue ($1.62 billion versus analysts estimates of $1.64 billion). This is one of the tech stocks with a strong position in the defense and aerospace industries. That, plus its market-beating performance in 2022, helps give it an A rating in the Portfolio Grader . PDF Solutions (PDFS) AI. Circuit board. Technology background. Central Computer Processors CPU concept. Motherboard digital chip. Tech science background. Integrated communication processor. 3D illustration representing semiconductor stocks Source: Shutterstock Interestingly, PDF Solutions (NASDAQ: PDFS ) doesnt have anything to do with the portable document format, or PDF, that was created by Adobe (NASDAQ: ADBE ) and widely used in business. Instead, PDF Solutions works with software that semiconductor manufacturers use to increase profits and output from their facilities. The shortage of semiconductors weighed heavily on that segment as well as PDF Solutions in the first half of the year, with the stock down by nearly 40% by late June. But a big rally over the last few week has PDFS stock down now only 14% in 2022, with all indications theres plenty more to come. Earnings in the second quarter were more than promising, coming in at $34.67 million in revenue and EPS of 11 cents both better than analysts estimates of $33.75 million and EPS of 7 cents. Like the other names on this list, PDFS stock has an A rating in the Portfolio Grader . Qualys (QLYS) A Qualys sign hanging on a corporate office in Silicon Valley. Source: Michael Vi / Shutterstock.com Qualys (NASDAQ: QLYS ) is a software-as-a-service (SaaS) company, meaning its customers license software online by a subscription rather than buying licenses to install on individual computers. With more than 10,000 customers in 130 countries, Qualys provides vulnerability management solutions that detects potential problems on servers, networked devices, printers and work stations anything that has its own IP address. More than 60% of the Forbes Global 50 companies work with Qualys, and the company notably has partnerships with Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN ) Web Services, Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT ) Azure and Alphabets (NASDAQ: GOOG , NASDAQ: GOOGL ) Google Cloud. Earnings for the second quarter included revenue of $119.89 million and earnings of 89 cents per share, both better than analysts predictions of $117.53 million in revenue and EPS of 79 cents. This puts it among the tech stocks you should keep your eye on. After a recent rally, QLYS stock is up 12% in 2022 and that includes a 30% gain over the last three months. With momentum firmly on its side, Qualys stock has an A rating in the Portfolio Grader . Parsons Corporation (PSN) Tech stocks illustration. Representing PBTS stock. Source: whiteMocca / Shutterstock Parsons Corporation (NYSE: PSN ) is a Virginia-based tech company that works in defense, intelligence, security and infrastructure engineering. Although the company was founded in 1944, it didnt go public until 2019. The company is best known for manufacturing bases for Titan and Minuteman missile sites and silos. It currently provides engineering and management support for missile defense systems for the U.S. and its allies. PSN stock is having a solid year, up 27% so far this year as defense spending remains a high priority thanks to tensions with Russia and, to a lesser extent, China and North Korea. Earnings for Q2 included revenue of $1.01 billion, which was better than the $930.97 million that analysts expected. The company also met expectations with EPS of 41 cents. As a tech company working in the defense space, Parsons stock seems like a good pick for the long term. It has an A rating in the Portfolio Grader . On the date of publication, neither Louis Navellier nor the InvestorPlace Research Staff member primarily responsible for this article held (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. Louis Navellier, who has been called one of the most important money managers of our time, has broken the silence in this shocking tell all video exposing one of the most shocking events in our countrys history and the one move every American needs to make today . More From InvestorPlace Buy This $5 Stock BEFORE This Apple Project Goes Live The Best $1 Investment You Can Make Today Early Bitcoin Millionaire Reveals His Next Big Crypto Trade On Air It doesnt matter if you have $500 or $5 million. Do this now. The post 7 A-Rated Tech Stocks to Buy and Hold Now appeared first on InvestorPlace . \|\| Crypto-Related Stocks Bounce as Bitcoin Retakes $22K: Badly beaten-up crypto brokers, miners, and bankers are posting double-digit gains on Monday alongside gains in cryptocurrencies and the broad stock market. Bitcoin ( BTC ) is up more than 5% since Friday, and – at this point on Monday morning – holding above $22,000 for a sustained period for the first time since the mid-June price crash. Ether ( ETH ) is performing even better, up nearly 20% since Friday to $1,479 as anticipation over the "merge" builds. Checking traditional markets, the Nasdaq is higher by about 1% and the S&P 500 is up 0.6%. Among crypto-related stocks on the move are miners Marathon Digital (MARA) up 20%, Hut 8 (HUT) +15%, and Riot Blockchain (RIOT) +15%. Crypto exchange Coinbase (COIN) is ahead 13%, and crypto merchant banker Galaxy Digital (GLXY.TO) is higher by 17%. Michael Saylor’s MicroStrategy (MSTR) is up 10%. Read more: First Mover Americas: Bitcoin Has Best Day in a Month, but Ether’s Getting Even More Love Bank of America on Friday said it was seeing “continued signs of fading sell pressure,” in crypto. “Over the last two weeks, digital assets' market value fell 4% vs. 30% over the prior four weeks,” said Alkesh Shah and team in the note. "When the market starts reacting positively to negative news, this is a signal that a local bottom could be in for now, as fear may have caused the news to be priced in," said GlobalBlock's Marcus Sotiriou on Monday morning, noting continued Fed hawkishness in the face of ugly inflation headlines continues. \|\| Stock market news live updates: Stocks rally to snap three-week losing streak: U.S. stocks extended a broad-based rebound Friday, capping a sell-off that spanned three consecutive weeks. [Click here to read what's moving markets on Monday, Sept. 12] The S&P 500 jumped 1.5%, building on back-to-back sessions of gains, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average soared 377 points, or about 1.2%. Technology stocks led the way up, with the Nasdaq Composite climbing 2.1%. Oil extended a volatile run as prices resumed their climb Friday. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) and Brent crude oil futures each rose 4% to $86.88 per barrel and $92.84 per barrel, respectively. In a stark warning to the West on Friday , Russia said efforts to place price caps on the country’s oil and gas exports in sanctioning Russia for its war in Ukraine would fail and “lead to a slippery floor under its own feet.” Meanwhile in cryptocurrency markets, Bitcoin ( BTC-USD ) moved above $21,000, just one day after sliding below $19,000. The coin's rally buoyed shares of crypto stocks, including Coinbaise ( COIN ) — up more than 10% — and MicroStrategy ( MSTR ) — climbing nearly 12%. Investors continued to mull remarks made by Federal Reserve Chair Powell at the Cato Institute’s 40th Annual Monetary Conference in Washington D.C. on Thursday. “The Fed has, and accepts, responsibility for price stability,” Powell said, again affirming the U.S. central bank’s commitment to mitigating inflation. “We need to act right now — forthrightly, strongly.” Wall Street is anticipating with increasing certainty that Fed officials will deliver a third consecutive rate hike of 0.75% later this month, with a flurry of institutions raising expectations for the magnitude of increases on the Fed’s benchmark policy rate. Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., September 7, 2022. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid (Brendan McDermid / reuters) Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, and Nomura have all lifted their forecasts through year end. “In our view, unchanged guidance about when the pace of rate hikes may slow suggests that Chair Powell and the Fed are comfortable with current market pricing,” BofA economists said. Story continues Elsewhere in markets, shares of DocuSign ( DOCU ) rallied 10.5% after the company reported better-than-expected second-quarter earnings late Thursday and raised its subscription revenue guidance for the year. Zumiez ( ZUMZ ) shares reversed losses, rising 3.8% even after the retailer posted disappointing Q2 results and downwardly revised its third-quarter sales guidance. CEO Rick Brooks said “inflation weighed on consumer discretionary spending,” putting pressure on the company’s U.S. business. — Alexandra Semenova is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter @alexandraandnyc Click here for the latest trending stock tickers of the Yahoo Finance platform Click here for the latest stock market news and in-depth analysis, including events that move stocks Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance Download the Yahoo Finance app for Apple or Android Follow Yahoo Finance on Twitter , Facebook , Instagram , Flipboard , LinkedIn , and YouTube \|\| Seener, the best investment choice for stable returns: Seener Singapore, Singapore, Aug. 14, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Since the interest rate hike of the federal reserve and the crushing blow to DeFi projects, blockchain has entered a bear market. With leading tokens like Bitcoin and Ethereum plummeting by over 60%, investors can barely make a profit on the market. The downturn in the market has led to massive capital flight. What's more, the capital flight also leads to a gradual outflow of liquidity from DeFi. The OTC values of dozens of star projects have plummeted by more than 50%, including many unicorn projects such as OpenSea and Hoo. The well-known Three Arrows is even on the verge of bankruptcy. In such an unprecedented "market crisis," investors are more cautious and conservative about new investments, further reducing returns. For investors, especially individual investors, stable returns in a bear market are very important. Investors need safe and reliable investment products to improve the efficiency of their funds and hedge against potential risks caused by the market. In this case, quantitative arbitrage may be one of the best solutions to achieve stable and reliable returns. High returns enabled by quantitative trading Investors, especially individual investors, usually like to make profits through their own judgement, such as low-frequency buying and selling, or potential opportunities discovered by themselves like high APY liquidity mining, staking, etc. The disadvantage is that it is difficult for a subjective human being to accurately grasp the best timing to sell or to buy. Therefore, such investors may often make low profits or even lose money in the market. Quantitative trading can reduce transaction costs. Simply put, this is because quantitative trading opens positions in batches. For example, when you plan to buy 100 bitcoins, instead of a one-time purchase, the quantitative trading system will buy in batches according to the strategy, which won’t drive up the price and raise the cost. Story continues Quantitative trading makes profits through the implementation of trading strategies. For example, Bitcoin, as a global asset, its price may vary in different countries. According to the strategy formulated in advance, quantitative trading can make a profit as an arbitrage trader. There are other strategies such as "turtle trading strategy", "grid trading strategy", "arbitrage strategy (cross-market, futures, triangle arbitrage)", etc., which automatically buy low, sell high, and earn the spread. Seener will establish a brand-new quantitative arbitrage ecology. Based on the traditional system of quantitative trading, it further introduces AI technology to enrich the quantitative strategy of the system, and further improves the efficiency and accuracy of arbitrage. Seener is committed to creating an AI quantitative investment platform trading all kinds of assets. On Seener, users can remain anonymous and private, while equally obtaining all kinds of quantitative strategies and products and making benefits. Seener focuses on the cryptocurrency market and adopts cutting-edge and cryptocurrency-based quantitative strategies to maximise returns for users. Advantages of Seener quantitative trading system Cryptocurrencies are a new type of finance, and their development history is relatively short compared to traditional finance. Therefore, the overall quantitative system for cryptocurrencies is less perfect and subject to bottlenecks, both in terms of functionality and stability. The advent of AI in 2015 has driven the rapid development of fully automated trading in the securities industry. With a history of more than 50 years, fully automated trading now accounts for about 70% of all transactions in the global securities market. As quantitative AI trading becomes more prevalent, SEENER FOUNDATION PTE.LTD, an international digital asset management company, was established in Singapore on June 30, 2021. It consists of a team of renowned blockchain experts, talents from the traditional quantitative finance market, and a professional development and operation team. Seener was registered in Singapore on June 30, 2021. It is currently focused on investing in funds for projects in the blockchain and fintech sectors, proactively seeking blockchain projects with a strong technical background in the global market. At Seener, the AI quantitative algorithm can integrate all factors generated by blockchain nodes and all encrypted data into a new trading strategy library. Seener also provides value-added services for digital assets. Based on the scale of digital assets under management (AUM), Seener provides services such as multi-signature, multi-language support, traditional trading services, risk-free and high-frequency automatic quantitative trading, high-frequency automatic quantitative trading, etc. Seener has three major advantages, namely diversified trading assets, an open financial community and rich financial instruments. The company also has extensive experience in managing traditional and alternative assets, as well as managing assets for third-party investors. It has established a broad ecosystem of blockchain and digital assets. It maintains a solid relationship with its service providers and counterparties. In addition, Seener is actively exploring collaborations with some leading exchanges and will further expand its ecosystem in the future to include areas such as user privacy, metaverse, and Web3. Currently, Seener has officially opened its quantitative system to investors, which is highly appreciated by the market. Seener has also created a highly lucrative income system that can bring investors far more income than other quantitative ecosystems. The ecosystem of Seener 1) AI and IoT AI and IoT are coming. Blockchain and digital assets on the chain will be the key pieces to the big picture. Blockchain is the best carrier for AI and IoT. Seener can automatically handle transactions of various digital assets through its own unique cross-chain and cross-contract technology. Seener will be the basis for the communication between AI and IoT. 2) The quantitative trading platform for DeFi, NFT and synthetic assets. Seener aims to facilitate quantitative trading of various assets such as DeFi, NFT and synthetic assets. It is an integrated platform that gathers various assets and conducts investment in various potential markets through mobile applications and partners. 3) Rich services to support quantitative investments (1) A smart digital currency investment advisory system available to all investors Seener quantitative trading is associated with a large number of digital currency trading strategies for investors to choose from. The user interface is simple and easy to use. Historical performance is visualised, and ordinary investors can follow professional investors' suggestions and smart trading strategies to invest. With such automated trading, you can really achieve spreads without manual intervention. (2) Support investment strategy portfolio and multi-strategy hedging Seener's smart quantitative trading system for digital currencies provides the function of an investment strategy portfolio. This means you can select multiple strategies for portfolio testing to generate return curves hedged by multiple strategies. (3) One-stop professional quantitative services for professional investors and institutions Seener smart quantitative trading provides professional investors and institutions with a fully independent strategy writing and backtesting module, making it easy to use quantitative tools to improve investment returns. Seener quantitative trading relies on smart contracts, cross-chain gateway technology, and smart contract technology to realise risk-free AI smart quantitative trading in digital assets. In AI quantitative trading, the platform or other third parties create the smart contracts for trading, monitoring and executing the trading process. In this way, Seener avoids the default risk of the parties involved in the process of high-frequency automated quantitative trading. It can be concluded that Seener can provide users with stable income in the long term. In the bear market, Seener quantitative products are the perfect option for users who want to get a long-term and stable income. website: https://www.seener.org CONTACT: LIU QINGLIN SEENER seener_sgp (at) seener.org \|\| 3 Top Nuclear Energy Stocks to Buy Right Now: If the world isn’t already in an energy crisis, it appears that we’re fast approaching one. Oil prices are again nearing $100 a barrel, and natural gas prices are sitting at multi-year highs on growing concerns about supply constraints heading into the winter. In Europe,energy prices are skyrocketingas Russia constrains natural gas shipments to the continent. In North America, consumers have been struggling withhigh prices for gas at the pumpsand elevated home-heating bills all year, which are being blamed on the inflationary pressures coming out of the pandemic. Given all of these points, it’s an excellent time for investors to look for the top nuclear energy stocks to buy. Some claim that nuclear energy is the key to powering our world. Not only is nuclear energy cleaner and better for the environment than oil and natural gas, but it is also cheaper and would provide countries such as the U.S. and those in Europe with true energy independence, alleviating the need to rely on the questionable regimes of countries such as Russia and Saudi Arabia. Today nuclear energy provides about10% of the world’s power supply.However, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) forecasts that the world’snuclear-generating capacity will doubleby 2050. [{"CCJ": "SMR", "Cameo": "NuScale Power", "$28.30": "$14.07"}, {"CCJ": "UCLE", "Cameo": "U.S. Nuclear", "$28.30": "19.7 cents"}] InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips Source: shutterstock.com/RHJPhtotoandilustration We’ll begin up north in Canada whereCameco Corp.(NYSE:CCJ) is based. Cameco is the world’s largest publicly traded uranium company, and the second-largest uranium producer on the planet, accounting for 18% of global production. Uranium is the radioactive metal that’sused to fuel nuclear reactorsall over the world. Without uranium, nuclear-power generation is not possible. As a result, Cameco is a necessary player in the nuclear-energy industry and a great stock to own for investors who want to bet on the rise of nuclear power in coming years. That Cameco is based in neighboring Canada, which has a stable and friendly government, while the company trades on theNew York Stock Exchange,should make it even more appealing to investors looking for exposure to the nuclear industry. However, Cameco is not a well-kept secret, judging by the rally of its share price over the last year. In the last 12 months,CCJ stock has increased 55%, including a 32% gain so far this year. At $28.70 per share, Cameco stock is up nearly 200% in the past five years. The nuclear energy stock looks expensive with a price-earnings ratio of 242.85, and the dividend yield of 0.32% is quite small. Yet among nuclear-energy stocks, Cameco is a leading player and worth considering. Source: Shutterstock In the U.S., we haveNuscale Power(NYSE:SMR). Headquartered in Oregon, Nuscale Power makessmall, modular nuclear reactorsthat are capable of producing 60 megawatts of electricity. The company, which was founded in 2007 by several former scientists who had worked for the United States’ Department of Energy, has been contracted to build several small nuclear reactors in Idaho. They are scheduled to be completed in 2029 and 2030. The design of the Idaho reactors was approved just last month , and the Gem State plans to use the nuclear power to help bolster its electricity production and lower the electricity costs of its residents. As with Cameco, Nuscale Power’s stock has been on a tear as investors increasingly look towards a bright future for nuclear energy. SMR stock has risen 43% so far in 2022, trouncing the benchmarkS&P 500index that is down 16% on the year. The stock has been on a particularly strong run since its plan to build reactors in Idaho wasgiven the greenlightin July. However, it is important to note that Nuscale Power only went public in May of this year via a combination with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC). The stock was hovering around the $10 mark until the deal in Idaho was announced a few weeks ago. Since then, SMR stock has been jumping higher. Source: RHJPhtotos / Shutterstock A somewhat riskier bet isU.S. Nuclear(OTCMKTS:UCLE), a radiation- detection company that’s based in California. The company focuses on the development of radiation-detection instruments. It’s a highly specialized field that features very sensitive, scientific equipment. The company’s products are mainly sold to nuclear power plants, national laboratories, government agencies, the U.S. military, universities, and a low number of hospitals. The small market for its radiation detection equipment helps explain why UCLE stock trades deep in penny-stock territory, as it’s changing hands at just18 cents per share. So far this year, UCLE stock has been flat. Over the past year, the share price of U.S. Nuclear has plunged 49%. The stock reached an all-time high of $5 back in 2015 and has struggled ever since. Today U.S. Nuclear’s stock trades on the over-the-counter market. But despite the firm’s difficulties,the demand for the radiation-detection instrumentsmade by U.S. Nuclear is expected to rise in the coming years as more countries use nuclear reactors as an alternative form of electricity generation. For this reason, many analysts who cover the nuclear-energy industry are bullish on UCLE stock and believe that it provides a goodbuying opportunityat its current, low level. On the date of publication, Joel Bagloledid not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.comPublishing Guidelines. Joel Baglole has been a business journalist for 20 years. He spent five years as a staff reporter at The Wall Street Journal, and has also written for The Washington Post and Toronto Star newspapers, as well as financial websites such as The Motley Fool and Investopedia. • Buy This $5 Stock BEFORE This Apple Project Goes Live • The Best $1 Investment You Can Make Today • Early Bitcoin Millionaire Reveals His Next Big Crypto Trade “On Air” • It doesn’t matter if you have $500 or $5 million. Do this now. The post3 Top Nuclear Energy Stocks to Buy Right Nowappeared first onInvestorPlace. [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] None available.	Trend: down \|\| Prices: 20296.71, 20241.09, 19701.21, 19772.58, 20127.58, 19419.51, 19544.13, 18890.79, 18547.40, 19413.55
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis] Not fully available. [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] SkyBridge Capital Has Already Invested $182M in Bitcoin: Anthony Scaramucci’s SkyBridge Capital investment firm has invested $182 million in bitcoin, according to an investor brochure shared with CoinDesk about its forthcoming bitcoin fund. The firm, which has $9.3 billion under management, is launching the SkyBridge Bitcoin Fund LP in January, according toSecurities and Exchange Commissiondocuments filed on Dec. 21, as CoinDeskreported. Thebitcoinfund hasalready invested$25 million in bitcoin, it announced in the brochure. The new fund will be open as of Jan. 4 to outside investors putting up at least $50,000. Read more:Scaramucci’s SkyBridge Invested $25M in New Bitcoin Fund Related:Bitcoin Prices in 2020: Here's What Happened Scaramucci’s fund investment is yet another traditional investment firm jumping on the bitcoin bandwagon, a trend that has driven the crypto’s price well north of $20,000 in recent weeks. In its brochure touting the bitcoin fund, the firm laid out the appeal of bitcoin to investors. “Bitcoin is digital gold,” it reads. “It is better at being gold than gold.” The brochure describes bitcoin as an emerging asset class that has become less risky in recent years, with attractive supply-and-demand dynamics. Bitcoin has had increasing retail and institutional adoption, the brochure notes, calling current low interest rates and “unprecedented money printing” contributors to the premium being placed on “scarce assets like gold, real estate, art and bitcoin.” Read more:Scaramucci’s SkyBridge Launching a Bitcoin Fund Related:All Major Mining Pools Now Support Taproot, Bitcoin's Biggest Upgrade in Years One page of the brochure highlights “Bitcoin respectability: Wall Street embraces bitcoin” featuring quotes from executives at firms such as BlackRock and banks such as Citibank and JPMorgan. According to the brochure, SkyBridge believes hedge funds, public company treasurers, insurance companies, pension funds, banks and brokerage firms will also be investing in the space. “You have to accept whether bitcoin is a store of value or not,” said Scaramucci, one of the founders of SkyBridge, in a recentinterview on CNBC. “There are still skeptics out there and that’s why I think we’re in the first inning. But after the research we’ve done … and given the monetary supply and the global central banking coordination right now, this will be a very strong asset class over the next decade.” • SkyBridge Capital Has Already Invested $182M in Bitcoin • SkyBridge Capital Has Already Invested $182M in Bitcoin \|\| GLOBAL MARKETS-Stocks, U.S. yields climb after Democrats win control of the Senate: * Treasury benchmark yield hits 10-month high * Dollar bounces after touching near 3-year low * U.S., global equity indexes hit record highs (Updates to U.S. stock market close) By Rodrigo Campos NEW YORK, Jan 7 (Reuters) - Bond prices dropped and stocks hit record highs on Thursday as investors bet Democratic control of the U.S. Congress would enable President-elect Joe Biden to borrow and spend heavily, while higher yields helped a bruised dollar recover from near three-year lows. The bullish sentiment remained throughout the day even as the top two Democrats in Congress called for President Donald Trump to be removed from office, one day after his supporters stormed and vandalized the U.S. Capitol in a rampage that left four people dead. U.S. Treasuries prices extended their steepest sell-off in months, with the benchmark yield at its highest in 10 months. Victories in two Georgia races handed the Democratic Party narrow control of the U.S. Senate, bolstering Biden's power to pass his agenda with his party controlling both chambers. The MSCI world equity index, which tracks shares in almost 50 countries, rose more than 1% to hit a record high for the third session this week. After a shaken Congress formally certified Biden's election victory in the early hours of Thursday, Wall Street focused on the implications of the Democrats' control of Congress. Major indexes hit record highs on bets that more pandemic stimulus will help the economy ride out the downturn. "The market is now looking past Trump and it's looking forward to a Biden presidency, more structure and stimulus," said Dennis Dick, a trader at Bright Trading LLC. "A Democratic Congress is going to obviously be more concerned about the small businesses, and the Main Street." The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 211.73 points, or 0.69%, to 31,041.13, the S&P 500 gained 55.65 points, or 1.48%, to 3,803.79 and the Nasdaq Composite added 326.69 points, or 2.56%, to 13,067.48. Story continues The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.51% and MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe gained 1.18%. Emerging market stocks rose 0.53%. Earlier, MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan had risen 0.35% and Japan's Nikkei hit its intraday highest since 1990 before ending up 1.6%. The prospect for future stimulus spending sent bond prices lower, with the yield on the benchmark hitting its highest since March. It rose as high as 1.088% on Thursday. "The Georgia Senate elections just added a tailwind to existing trends of reflation and upward pressure on Treasury yields," said Bill Merz, head of fixed income research at U.S. Bank Wealth Management in Minneapolis. Benchmark 10-year notes last fell 12/32 in price to yield 1.0812%, from 1.042% late on Wednesday. The 30-year bond last fell 27/32 in price to yield 1.859%, from 1.821%. BRUISED DOLLAR The Democrats' victory also reverberated in currency markets. The dollar had sunk to a near three-year low against a basket of six major currencies, with traders betting growing U.S. trade and budget deficits would further weigh on the greenback. On Thursday, it rose 0.549%, on track for its strongest session since at least late October, with the euro down 0.02% to $1.2268. The Japanese yen strengthened 0.01% versus the greenback at 103.78 per dollar, while Sterling was last trading at $1.3564, up 0.01% on the day. "Once (Treasury yields) start to move, as they did yesterday, it wasnâ€™t a big move but it was in the right direction, that is the direction of the future," said Joseph Trevisani, senior analyst at FXStreet.com. Oil prices touched their highest since late February as markets remained focused on Saudi Arabia's unexpected pledge to deepen its oil cuts. U.S. crude recently rose 0.57% to $50.92 per barrel and Brent was at $54.57, up 0.5% on the day. Spot gold % to $1,913.07 an ounce. Silver gained 0.19% to $27.16. Bitcoin hit a record high that breached the $40,000 mark, and was last up 7.05% at $39,446.75. (Reporting by Rodrigo Campos; additional reporting by Tom Wilson and Noah Browning in London, Laura Sanicola, Herbert Lash and Chuck Mikolajczak in New York and Karen Pierog in Chicago; Editing by Alistair Bell, Nick Zieminski and Dan Grebler) \|\| Warren Buffett Called Bitcoin 'Rat Poison' — Now It's Closing In On Berkshire Hathaway's Valuation: The rise of bitcoin has been one of the top stories of 2020. What Happened: Bitcoin hit all-time highs throughout December, passing the $27,000 level on Dec. 27. With the rise in the price of the cryptocurrency, bitcoin’s market capitalization has taken it past that of several financial companies. Earlier in 2020, bitcoin passed JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM ) and Mastercard Inc (NASDAQ: MA ). Over the weekend, bitcoin’s market capitalization passed $500 billion and made it more valuable than Visa Inc (NYSE: V ). Related Link: 8 Stocks To Play Bitcoin's Resurgence Why It’s Important: According to AssetDash , bitcoin is now the 11th-most valuable asset by market cap, with a $500-billion valuation. Bitcoin has passed four companies on the list in the month of December. Up next on the list is Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK- A ) (NYSE: BRK-B ), led by legendary investor Warren Buffett. The Oracle of Omaha has been a vocal bitcoin bear. Buffett once said bitcoin is “probably rat poison squared.” “In terms of cryptocurrencies, generally, I can say with almost certainty that they will come to a bad ending. If I could buy a five-year put on every one of the cryptocurrencies, I’d be glad to do it but I would never short a dime’s worth,” Buffett told CNBC in 2018. Berkshire Hathaway ranks 10th on the asset list with a market cap of $535.7 billion. With 18,583,275 bitcoins out , the price would need to be $28,827 to pass the value of Berkshire Hathaway. With additional bitcoins mined and the cryptocurrency's continued rise, it could occur very soon. Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL ) tops the AssetDash list with a market cap of $2.3 trillion. Alibaba Group (NYSE: BABA ) ranks eighth with a cap of $602 million, and has fallen three spots in the month of December. Price Action: Bitcoin was trading at $26,714.06 at last check Monday. The Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (OTC: GBTC ) ended Monday's session up 11.33% at $30.45 and is over 200% higher in 2020. Story continues See more from Benzinga Click here for options trades from Benzinga Ideanomics Shares Rally On Ride-Hailing EV Purchase: What Investors Should Know Buffett: Small Businesses Have Become Collateral Damage, Congress Should Renew PPP © 2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| Bitcoin’s Volatility Resumes After $40,000 Topped for First Time: (Bloomberg) -- Bitcoin’s wild price swings resumed after the the world’s largest cryptocurrency climbed above $40,000 for the first time. After jumping as much as 11% to $40,394, Bitcoin fell around $3,500 in about half an hour and continues to fluctuate. Prices vacillated as much as 17% on Monday. The digital token has more than doubled in less than a month. Strategists have cited demand from speculative retail traders, trend-following quant funds, the rich and even institutional investors as among the reasons for the surge. The total market value of cryptocurrencies climbed beyond $1 trillion for the first time Thursday. “Bitcoin continues to defy all expectations, and doubters,” said Antoni Trenchev, co-founder and managing partner of Nexo, a crypto lender. “It’s leaving all other assets trailing in its wake, like it’s done year in, year out for the past decade.” Bitcoin accounts for about two-thirds of cryptocurrency market value, followed by Ether at about 13%, according to CoinGecko data. Coinbase Inc., the largest U.S. digital exchange, said it’s experiencing “connectivity issues” on both the website and mobile app for a second day. Digital coins are jumping in a world awash with fiscal and monetary stimulus, even as some commentators fear an inevitable bust and others question the basic integrity of crypto markets. Proponents of Bitcoin argue it offers a hedge against dollar weakness and the risk of faster inflation, a bit like gold, while critics decry the intellectual soundness of comparing the two assets. “The more that people perceive that their assets, particularly their liquid assets such as fiat currencies are eroding in value, the more they will look for alternatives,” said Geoffrey Morphy, president of Canadian crypto mining company Bitfarms Ltd. Active Bitcoin accounts are nearing their all-time high levels of late 2017, according to researcher Flipside Crypto -- possibly a sign that some holders are planning to sell. Fewer than 2% of accounts hold 95% of Bitcoin supply, so a few big trades can impact prices. The last big Bitcoin boom began imploding in late 2017. Some traders pointed to JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s long-term Bitcoin price forecast of $146,000 as possibly fueling the rally. Others said sentiment was boosted by a U.S. regulatory update that allows a class of less volatile coins to be used by banks for payments. “This parabolic move upwards, with normally staid Wall Street firms including JP Morgan calling $146,000 as their price target for Bitcoin, and Guggenheim called $400,000, feels like it has a long way to go before exhausting,” said Guy Hirsch, managing director for U.S. at eToro. “It wouldn’t be all that surprising to see $100,000 at some point this year, given the current momentum.” (Updates with market moves.) For more articles like this, please visit us atbloomberg.com Subscribe nowto stay ahead with the most trusted business news source. ©2021 Bloomberg L.P. \|\| Crypto Long & Short: Interest in DeFi Is Surging. You Can Thank GameStop: One of the most iconic moments of the past week was when Keith Gill, otherwise known as Reddit trader DeepF*kingValue, testified in front of the House Financial Services Committee: “I am not a cat.” All who enjoyed the video of the meeting in which a frustrated lawyer struggled with Zoom settings (who among us hasn’t experienced Zoom awkwardness?) immediately knew what he was referring to, and some of us may or may not have spluttered coffee all over our keyboard. It wasn’t so much the power of memes that made his remark feel important, nor was it just the humor that made us sit up. It was more the deadpan delivery, staring at the screen, addressing some of the most powerful people in the world. To me, it synthesized a loud shift in attitudes toward authority. With that throwaway remark, Gill demonstrated loyalty to his tribe rather than to the establishment, a sentiment we see playing out not only across social media but also in classrooms, culture, startups and even in the intimidating world of finance. You’re reading Crypto Long & Short , a newsletter that looks closely at the forces driving cryptocurrency markets. Authored by CoinDesk’s head of research, Noelle Acheson, it goes out every Sunday and offers a recap of the week – with insights and analysis – from a professional investor’s point of view. You can subscribe here . Related: 4 Bitcoin Bear Signals To Be Aware Of The surge in value of “anti-establishment” bitcoin , which broke $1 trillion this week , as well as of meme coins such as dogecoin ( DOGE ), are to a large extent an extension of this . The lack of trust in the establishment’s judgement, and the visible weakening of its influence, make alternatives more viable . This goes beyond individual crypto assets. The congressional hearings highlighted a growing awareness of structural risks in our capital markets. This, combined with recent industry trends, points to strong potential growth in an area of digital assets we have not yet talked much about in this column: decentralized finance, or DeFi. Story continues The concept is about so much more than high investment returns, although there are potentially plenty of those to be had for those willing to take on high risk. It’s about the emergence of a new type of financial market, not created with professional investors in mind, but which will end up benefiting from their interest. This week, that got a strong boost. Under the hood The GameStop drama awakened a greater interest in financial market plumbing, something that very few had bothered to care about before. When we see what looks like institutions trampling on the retail investor, we have questions. Few congressional hearings have been as eagerly followed as this one, in the hopes of getting answers and of seeing the beginning of change. Related: Bitcoin Drops, DeFi Loans Liquidated, NFTs Sell This is happening at the same time as an explosion of interest and development in DeFi applications. The term “DeFi” refers to self-executing programs that fulfill the functions of centralized financial services such as borrowing, lending and trading, but in a decentralized, peer-to-peer manner (here’s a more detailed primer if you need it). This week, Bloomberg reported that approximately $359 million worth of GameStop shares failed to deliver on Jan. 28. In the world of automated crypto asset trading, that couldn’t happen. Also, trades can’t be frozen, all traders have equal priority, and there is no authority who can change the rules or middleman who can prioritize some orders over others. The concept started a few years ago in an experimental corner of the Ethereum ecosystem, with open-source “smart contracts” deployed to execute trades, interest payments and collateral swaps. Last year saw the rise of “yield farming,” which refers to hopping from platform to platform in search of the highest yields. These sometimes reached triple digits , at a time when official interest rates were near zero. The returns were significant, but so were the opportunities for things to go wrong. Many platforms were constructed on hastily written code, and last year we reported on numerous bugs and losses that had no recourse. Mistakes are not unexpected at the start of an innovation spurt, however, and the creativity and output were (and still are) astonishing. Given the high yields, it was only a matter of time before institutions started to take notice. In its Q3 2020 report , Genesis Trading (a subsidiary of DCG, also the parent of CoinDesk) reported that much of its lending growth was to institutions looking to finance yield opportunities. Fast forward a few months, and the ecosystem feels different. The economic value riding on DeFi platforms has almost tripled since the beginning of the year, to $41.9bn at time of writing. These platforms are usually powered by tokens which confer access and governance rights – the aggregate value of the 100 largest tokens by market cap currently stands at $83 trillion (yes, with a “t”), with over $16 trillion in 24-hour trading volume. The DeFi Pulse Index , which tracks 10 of the largest tokens by market cap, has risen over 260% year-to-date. What’s more, Ethereum, the base blockchain for most DeFi applications, has entered a new phase of development with the launch of the first step in the migration to a more scalable and less energy-intensive consensus system. This will solve for the soaring fees on Ethereum which threaten to choke off some of the transaction volume. It will also give DeFi applications a viable platform from which to one day integrate with traditional finance. Institutional onramps are spreading. Coinbase Custody has offered institutional clients trading and custody services for DeFi tokens for some time now, and has listed four new DeFi tokens so far this year . BitGo facilitates the conversion of bitcoin into a DeFi-friendly token . Digital asset custodian Trustology helps its institutional clients vet DeFi projects. But so far access to the potential returns has been largely limited to buying individual tokens. This is changing. This week, crypto fund manager Bitwise launched a DeFi fund, which tracks the weighted value of a basket of tokens. And some U.S.-listed trusts may be on the way: over the past few weeks, Grayscale Investments, the largest fund manager in the industry (owned by DCG, also parent of CoinDesk), has filed for authorization of investment trusts based on tokens for DeFi protocols such as yield optimizer Yearn Finance , money market Aave and data oracle Chainlink . (Note that filing for authorization does not indicate intent to launch, but the possibility is there.) New territory The returns on DeFi assets may be high so far this year, but so are the risks. There’s the possibility of a technological glitch, or a hack – we’ve reported on a few just this month . There’s regulatory risk: the controversial FinCEN proposal presented in December of last year, which suggests that exchanges require identifying information for receiving addresses, would damp DeFi innovation and make some functions unviable. There is also liquidity risk: even a small institutional order could distort the market, and it may be difficult to exit when necessary. What’s more, the high volatility of DeFi assets means the downside could be brutal. Nevertheless, given the public support for examining structural inefficiency and fragility in traditional capital markets, and the increase in DeFi activity and innovation, the growth in mainstream interest is likely to accelerate. This will be positive for those building the capital markets of tomorrow, and for those that invest in these projects. So far this month, we’ve reported on three new venture funds targeting DeFi startups . More institutional money flowing into the DeFi ecosystem, either in the form of token investment or venture capital, will boost liquidity and legitimacy. Institutional support will also guide the ecosystem through the shoals of regulatory acceptability and the gradual adaptation of current market infrastructure. Smart money will hopefully understand the risks involved. But getting in early on a transformational innovation rewards the brave. And current market infrastructure is getting ready to help this along. CHAIN LINKS Investors talking: Bank of America’s February survey of fund managers revealed that “long bitcoin” has slipped from the most crowded trade in January to the number two position, behind “long tech” and just in front of “short dollar.” “We believe the trend of transactions, bitcoin investments, and blockchain-driven initiatives could surge over the coming years as this bitcoin mania is not a fad in our opinion, but rather the start of a new age on the digital currency front.” – Wedbush Securities , in a research note. “Bitcoin may be The Stimulus Asset. Doesn’t look like gold is.” – Jeffrey Gundlach , CEO of DoubleLine Capital “Having some Bitcoin, which is simply a less dumb form of liquidity than cash, is adventurous enough for an S&P500 company … Bitcoin is almost as bs as fiat money. The key word is “almost”.” – Elon Musk “For now, the bitcoin boom may best be viewed as a canary in the coal mine.” – An interesting take on bitcoin’s boom by the FT’s Rana Foroohar Takeaways: The Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) has approved the Evolve Bitcoin ETF , making it the second to list on the Toronto Stock Exchange. TAKEAWAY: U.S. regulators, the pressure is on … Elsewhere in ETFs, the Purpose Bitcoin ETF (BTCC) started trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange on Thursday, and accumulated almost $422 million of AUM in two days. TAKEAWAY: This is a strong signal that there is demand for this type of product. (Purpose’s index is supplied by TradeBlock, a CoinDesk subsidiary.) Speaking of which, NYDIG , Stone Ridge Asset Management’s bitcoin spin-off firm, has filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for a bitcoin ETF. TAKEAWAY: This follows bitcoin ETF applications from VanEck and Valkyrie, and signals that fund managers are feeling more optimistic about the prospects for approval. Notably, the filing lists Morgan Stanley as the initial authorized participant, which adds a blue-chip name to the process – as far as I know, the other two ETF filings have not specified who their initial authorized participant will be. Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase , which is preparing to trade publicly in the next few months, is being valued at $77 billion, based on trading of the company’s privately held shares on a secondary market. TAKEAWAY: This is higher than the CME Group, ICE (parent of the NYSE), the London Stock Exchange … the list goes on, but you get my drift. MicroStrategy , the business intelligence firm now better known for the 70,784 BTC on its balance sheet, intends to raise $1.05 billion via the issuance of convertible senior notes due in 2027. The bulk of the proceeds will, you guessed it, be used to buy more bitcoin. TAKEAWAY: This makes MSTR the closest thing to a bitcoin ETF in the U.S. market, while layering a level of corporate risk on top of bitcoin market risk. This is yet another nudge to the SEC to approve a bitcoin ETF soon. A reasonable question is: what will happen to the MSTR share price when that happens? A survey released by Gartner this week showed that only 5% of business executives intend to invest in bitcoin as a corporate asset this year. TAKEAWAY: “Only” 5%?? That seems like a lot to me. In mid-June non-financial corporate cash was at $2.12 trillion, according to Moody’s . And the non-financial companies with the largest amount of cash on their balance sheets are Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon and Facebook – tech companies that are more likely to be interested in BTC holdings than your “average” corporate. A look at why the CME ETH futures matter for the market . TAKEAWAY: It’s a way for a broader range of investors to take a broader range of positions. It’s also a necessary prerequisite for the development of a lively ETH options market, which will offer even more hedging and directional bet opportunities for investors of all types. Related Stories Crypto Long & Short: Interest in DeFi Is Surging. You Can Thank GameStop Crypto Long & Short: Interest in DeFi Is Surging. You Can Thank GameStop \|\| ALT 5 Sigma Digital Instrument Market Summary for BTC, ETH, LTC, BCH: NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / December 31, 2020 /ALT 5 Sigma Inc. an emerging leader in blockchain powered financial platforms provides its daily digital instruments market summary for Bitcoin (BTC/USD), Ether (ETH/USD), Litecoin (LTC/USD). Real-Time Market Data is available atwww.alt5pro.comand Real-Time Market Data feed is also available atwww.alt5sigma.com ALT 5 Sigma Digital Instrument Market Summary for BTC, ETH, LTC, BCH [["Digital Asset", "Pair", "Price", "24hr Chg", "7d Chg", "24/hr Volume", "MarketCap"], ["Bitcoin", "BTC/USD", "$29,102.12", "$0.01", "$0.25", "$46,847 M", "$540,914 M"], ["Ethereum", "ETH/USD", "$742.82", "-$0.01", "$0.25", "$14,100 M", "$84,728 M"], ["XRP", "XRP/USD", "$0.23", "$0.10", "-$0.12", "$5,700 M", "$10,233 M"], ["Litecoin", "LTC/USD", "$124.59", "-$0.03", "$0.18", "$6,329 M", "$8,249 M"], ["Bitcoin Cash", "BCH/USD", "$342.49", "-$0.03", "$0.20", "$3,842 M", "$6,371 M"], ["Bitcoin SV", "BSV/USD", "$163.24", "-$0.03", "$0.04", "$363 M", "$3,038 M"], ["Monero", "XMR/USD", "$157.25", "-$0.01", "$0.06", "$1,033 M", "$2,799 M"], ["Stellar", "XLM/USD", "$0.13", "-$0.04", "-$0.18", "$476 M", "$2,784 M"], ["EOS", "EOS/USD", "$2.59", "-$0.00", "$0.04", "$2,203 M", "$2,435 M"], ["Dash", "DASH/USD", "$99.26", "-$0.01", "$0.07", "$474 M", "$982 M"]] About ALT 5 Sigma Inc.ALT 5 is a fintech company specializing in the development and deployment of digital assets trading and exchange platforms. Alt 5 was founded by financial industry specialists out of the necessity to provide the digital asset economy with security, accessibility, transparency and compliance. ALT 5 provides its clients the ability to buy, sell and hold digital assets in a safe and secure environment deployed with the best practices of the financial industry. ALT 5's products and services are available to Banks, Broker Dealers, Funds, Family Offices, Professional Traders, Retail Traders, Digital Asset Exchanges, Digital Asset Brokers, Blockchain Developers, and Financial Information Providers. ALT 5's digital asset custodian services are secured by GardaWorld. GardaWorld is the world's largest privately-owned business solutions and security services company, offering cash management services. For more information, visitwww.alt5sigma.com. Contact:Andre BeauchesneTel. [email protected] For more information on ALT 5 Pay, visitwww.alt5pay.comFor more information on ALT 5 Pro, visitwww.alt5pro.com SOURCE:ALT 5 Sigma Inc. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/622851/ALT-5-Sigma-Digital-Instrument-Market-Summary-for-BTC-ETH-LTC-BCH \|\| Canadian regulator clears launch of world's first bitcoin ETF: investment manager: By Fergal Smith and David Randall TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada's main securities regulator has cleared the launch of the world's first bitcoin exchange traded fund, an investment manager said on Friday, providing investors greater access to the cryptocurrency that has sparked an explosion in trading interest. The Ontario Securities Commission has approved the launch of Purpose Bitcoin ETF, Toronto-based asset management company Purpose Investments Inc. said in a statement. The OSC confirmed the approval in a separate statement to Reuters. "The ETF will be the first in the world to invest directly in physically settled Bitcoin, not derivatives, allowing investors easy and efficient access to the emerging asset class of cryptocurrency," Purpose Investments said. Investors have been able to trade bitcoin using futures contracts on the CME derivatives exchange. They can also buy closed-end investment funds, such as the Bitcoin Fund on the Toronto Stock Exchange. An ETF could offer some advantages to investors, such as buying at net asset value rather than at a premium, said Arthur Salzer, chief executive officer of Northland Wealth Management "I think the OSC is doing the right thing allowing for an ETF," Salzer said. "It gets rid of some of the negatives of the current funds." Bitcoin notched a record high of $48,975 on Friday. It has gained about 63% so far this year and soared roughly 1,130% since mid-March 2020. Elon Musk's Tesla revealed on Monday it had bought $1.5 billion worth of the cryptocurrency and would soon accept it as a form of payment for its cars, while the cryptocurrency has been gaining acceptance among mainstream financial firms. In the United States, eight firms have tried without success since 2013 to create a bitcoin ETF, according to Todd Rosenbluth, director of ETF and mutual fund research at New York based CFRA. Among issues the Securities and Exchange Commission appears to be focused on are the potential for market manipulation and the process of custody audits that verify that a fund holds its purported assets. Story continues "While some expect that a Canadian ETF approval sets the stage for a near-term U.S. one, we expect the SEC under new leadership to take their time to review some of the new filings from VanEck and others," Rosenbluth said. VanEck is a New York-based investment management firm. Gary Gensler, former chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, was named chair of the SEC last month by U.S. President Joe Biden. (Reporting by Fergal Smith and David Randall; Editing by Denny Thomas and Dan Grebler) \|\| Stock Market Today: Stocks Tread Water, Bitcoin Joins the Trillion-Dollar Club: We've discussed this week the idea that the stock market might be running out of gas, and that certainly appeared to be the case Friday, as stocks finished mixed after giving up most of their morning gains. That wasn't a problem for the digital currency Bitcoin , however. SEE MORE Warren Buffett Stocks Ranked: The Berkshire Hathaway Portfolio Traders found several positive economic indicators to consider. U.S. businesses are expanding at their strongest rate in six years, according to IHS Markit's flash reading of the purchasing managers index, which rose to 58.8 in February from 58.7 in the month prior. And Deere ( DE , +9.6%) provided some optimism after raising its 2021 profit forecast amid expectations for better equipment sales. However, a pop at the market open lost steam as the day progressed, fitting right in with a week that saw equities struggle up against all-time highs. The Dow Jones Industrial Average , up 154 points at its zenith, finished less than 1 point higher instead, closing at 31,494. One potential problem remains just how optimistically priced stocks are already. "Most of our indicators suggest stocks are pricing in a lot of good news," says Savita Subramanian, equity and quant strategist for BofA Securities. "In fact, over $3T in stimulus may already be priced in on one measure: the ratio of S&P 500 market cap to the M2 money supply. The ratio currently stands at 1.7x, the highest level since Feb 2020, and to get to the post-crisis average of 1.4x, we estimate additional $3.1T of M2 would be needed." SEE MORE 12 Hot Upcoming IPOs to Watch For in 2021 Other action in the stock market today: The S&P 500 declined 0.2% to 3,906. The Nasdaq Composite finished with a marginal gain to 13,874. The small-cap Russell 2000 rebounded after a dreary Thursday, rising 2.2% to 2,266. U.S. crude oil futures declined 0.8% to settle at $60.05 per barrel. Gold futures gained 0.1% to $1,777.40 per ounce. Story continues stock chart 021921 Bitcoin: The Trillion-Dollar Cryptocurrency If the stock market has lost its momentum this week, Bitcoin has surely found it. The digital currency, which has exploded by more than 1,300% since its 2020 bear-market lows, continues to grab Wall Street's attention as it reaches new milestones. On Friday, Bitcoin prices eclipsed the $55,000 mark and finished regular trading hours at $55,397. (Bitcoin trades 24 hours a day; prices reported here are as of 4 p.m. each trading day.) That marks a 6.3% daily climb, and an 18.8% jump higher since Monday morning. Assets invested in Bitcoin have now surpassed $1 trillion; for perspective, if Bitcoin were a publicly traded company, it would now be worth more than Tesla ( TSLA , $749 billion) or Facebook ( FB , $745 billion). Fueling that gain is one of the drivers we cited in our 2021 outlook for Bitcoin : institutional investors, who are quickly pouring huge sums of money into Bitcoin and other digital currencies. Should you join them? Bitcoin remains a high-risk investment, and also a difficult-to-access one if you only have a traditional brokerage account – you can't buy the digital currency without accessing a cryptocurrency exchange. But you can purchase crypto-connected companies such as these eight stocks . And you can also access crypto via a small but growing number of funds, similar to how you'd buy SPDR Gold Shares ( GLD ) to gain exposure to gold. Read on as we introduce you to the newest option for crypto investors – a Bitcoin fund that charges less than half the fees of the current market leader – and explain its perks, as well as potential future threats. Kyle Woodley was long Bitcoin as of this writing. SEE MORE The 11 Best Growth Stocks to Buy for 2021 \|\| Crypto Long & Short: Could Scalable Payments for Bitcoin Undermine Its Value?: With the wild journey that isbitcoin price swingsso far this year, you might have missed the accelerating rhythm of companies announcing services to support bitcoin for payments. We’re not talking about small idealistic startups, either. A week ago, on Visa’sQ1 earnings call, CEO Al Kelly said the company may add cryptocurrencies to its payments network. He acknowledged thatbitcoinis “not used as a form of payment in a significant way at this point,” but went on to discuss a strategy to “enable users to purchase these currencies using their Visa credentials or to cash out onto our Visa credential to make a fiat purchase at any of the 70 million merchants where Visa is accepted globally.” Related:Apple Should Launch Own Crypto Exchange, RBC Analyst Says Visa also currently providescredit card infrastructurefor 35 crypto companies, with the aim of making it easier for users to pay with bitcoin. In PayPal’s (PYPL)Q4 earnings callthis week, the first since the companystarted allowingthe purchase and sale of a handful of cryptocurrencies via their PayPal account, the company revealed that it was planning to start allowing customers to use their crypto balances topay for goods and servicesat any of the approximately 29 million merchants on the network, and that it was “significantly investing” in the crypto business unit. Large crypto companies are also moving into payments. Last month, crypto exchange and custodian Gemini launched a credit cardwith a 3% rewardon purchases. In December, crypto lenderBlockFiannounced that it would launch a similar product in early 2021. Related:Tesla Invests $1.5B in Bitcoin This is just scratching the surface.Binance,Coinbase,PaxfulandBitPandaare just some of the crypto exchanges that over the past few months have introduced crypto debit cards for retail spending. This week, crypto platform Upholdannounced the acquisitionof card issuer Optimus Cards U.K. Also this week, Binance, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world in terms of volume,announced the launchof a payments system called Binance Pay, aimed at encouraging the use of crypto in cross-border payments. Binance CEO and founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao said: “We think that payments is one of the most obvious use cases for crypto.” Is he right? Obviously “crypto” encompasses a range of assets, but let’s focus on Bitcoin for a moment. Thewhite paperthat introduced Bitcoin to the world in 2008 opens with: “A purely peer-to-peer version of electronic cash would allow online payments to be sent directly from one party to another without going through a financial institution.” Whether Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous writer of the paper, meant for payments to be the main use case or not (this is apoint of contention, as he also wrote elsewhere about its potential role as a store of value), over the years it became clear that scaling limitations inherent in the protocol design made the network impractical for high transaction volumes. (*I am not assuming Satoshi is a he, but I am using this pronoun to avoid linguistic clutter.) Another critique of Bitcoin-as-a-payments rail is its relative lack of speed, although this can be misleading. A bitcoin payment will take around 10 minutes on average, and up to an hour for assumed settlement finality. Credit card and contactless payments are faster, but they usually don’t have settlement finality until days later. And data gathered in electronic transactions removes any financial privacy. Cash, on the other hand, is instantaneous and private, but you need to be physically present. What’s more, bitcoin transactions are relatively expensive. This week the average fee reached its highest point since January 2018. Solutions such as theLightning Networkaim to solve for these barriers by offering fast and cheap throughput on a transaction layer that anchors to the Bitcoin blockchain at certain intervals. Adoption of this technologyis growing, but is still in its early stages. Then again, most of those who complain that Bitcoin doesn’t work for payments have access to other mechanisms that work well. That’s not the case for much of the world. Some jurisdictions have strict capital controls that block payments to other regions. Some countries don’t have sophisticated payment rails that make even simple internal transfers easy. Even some demographic groups in developed countries don’t have access to online payments and are still largely dependent on bank relationships. For many, bitcoin is a tool for freedom in that it facilitates online payments where previously they were inaccessible. For others, using bitcoin is a way to support the network by giving the asset a broader utility. This raises an important question: Should bitcoin be encouraged to be both a store of valueanda payments mechanism? Some reasonswhy it should: It can be argued that bitcoin’s worth as a store of value depends on its utility. The more there is residual demand for bitcoin as a payment token, regardless of its price, the more investors will believe that demand for it will rise in a sustainable way. It can also be argued it is essential for the health of the network that bitcoin’s use as a medium of exchange be encouraged. As successivehalvingsreduce the block subsidy (in which miners get new bitcoin as compensation for the work expended in successfully processing blocks of transactions), miner incentives will increasingly rely on transaction fees. And current demand for this use case is not insignificant. Binance Researchthis week publishedthe results of a survey of 16,000 crypto users across 178 regions, which found that 38% see bitcoin as a medium of exchange. In December, Susquehanna Financial Group revealed asurvey of PayPal customersthat showed 53% would use bitcoin to pay for goods, if they owned it. Some reasonswhy it shouldn’t: There is a not totally unfounded concern that if bitcoin becomes seen by governments as a widely used payment token and a potential threat to fiat currencies they may decide to act, and not in bitcoin’s favor. While it may seem that governments care more about markets and asset prices, it’spaymentsthat matter for monetary policy, consumption and wages – all things that get you votes. Investments sit there (and hopefully grow) while payments move, and both animal and regulatory instinct is to focus more on things that move. In addition, you have the theory that if bitcoin is seen as a store of value, it will not be spent. Gresham’s Law dictates that bad money crowds out the good – if bitcoin is “good” money, people are more likely to hold onto it, and use other assets with less potential value. This segues into what is perhaps the endgame of many of the crypto payments providers. It’s perhaps not about Bitcoin at all. Bitcoin is the crypto asset with the least regulatory uncertainty at the moment. Even stablecoins are not totally out of the regulatory woods yet. (The letter from the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currencythat allowed banksto handle stablecoins could be walked back under a new chief.) So, maybe Bitcoin is the safe starting point for these new rails. Ethereum will probably come next, and where Ethereum goes, so do stablecoins. Maybe the banks and payment companies working on bringing crypto payments services mainstream have their eyes on a potentially bigger pie – that of tomorrow’s payments, the bulk of which could run on blockchains that handle a range of assets. Maybe the forward-thinking institutions are preparing for a day when we hold cryptocurrencies in our digital wallet right along with our private stablecoins and our digital dollars and our tokenized GameStop (GME) shares. Maybe they’re all looking at a financial landscape where the user has more choice. The crypto payment functions today serve their purpose. They offer a useful service to many, nudge along the sophistication of market infrastructure, and set the scene for mainstream adoption of a range of assets with a range of utilities. And with more choice, it is more likely that the market will decide whether Bitcoin is a good payment rail or not. With each new service, we experiment with market adoption, and we learn more about what today’s and tomorrow’s users will value. I’m all for bringing on more experimentation. Investors talking: This interview,in which MicroStrategy (MSTR) CEO Michael Saylor interviewsNYDIG CEO Ross Stevens, is a must-see. Chief economist and managing director of CME GroupBluford Putnamsaid his firmhas begun to noticegold’s waning appeal as a hedge against global political risk, and that he believes bitcoin is an “emerging competitor” to gold. Takeaways: Visa(V) ispiloting a suite of APIsthat will allow banks to offer bitcoin services such as buying, selling and custody, with a view to extending the service to include other cryptocurrencies and stablecoins.TAKEAWAY:Initiatives like this (last month, NYDIGmade a similar announcement) are a step towards mainstream adoption of cryptocurrencies. The “endorsement” of traditional banks, while far from the original ethos of the industry, will go a long way toward encouraging trust in the concept from mainstream clients. This could encourage new investment in the space, both from investors and small savers as well as from startups working on improving market and payment infrastructures. New York-based crypto exchange and custodianGeminiisnow offering deposit accountswith a 7.4% APY, via a partnership with Genesis Capital (owned by DCG, also parent of CoinDesk).TAKEAWAY:The “bankification” of crypto exchange platforms is gathering steam. Gemini is a crypto asset trading platform, stablecoin issuer, credit card issuer and now also an interest-bearing deposit taker. The yield offered is sufficiently higher than traditional deposit yields and so should attract attention, perhaps even serving as an onramp into crypto asset markets. Bitwise Asset Managementhasapplied to publicly trade sharesof its bitcoin fund on the OTCQX marketplace.TAKEAWAY:The fund aims to compete with market leader GBTC fund (managed by Grayscale Investments, owned by CoinDesk parent DCG), which quotes on the same exchange. GBTC’s premium to underlying value has dropped over the past few days to around 10%, from a three-month high of around 40% in mid-December. More competition should keep the premium down, giving retail investors a better deal as well as more choice. GBTC’s $24 billion market leadership position will be hard to assail, however. We saw above in THE BRIEFING that BTC transaction fees are increasing.ETH transaction feesarespiking even more.TAKEAWAY:This reflects theETHprice increase as well as growing demand for stablecoins and decentralized finance tokens. In spite of increasing fees, transaction volume also continues to rise. (For background onEthereum’s gas costs, see our recent metrics report.) Cryptocurrency investment firmArcane Crypto(ARCANE)is now listedon Sweden’s Nasdaq First North following a reverse takeover of Vertical Ventures AB.TAKEAWAY:With this, Arcane joins the growing roster of listed crypto companies, and is one of the fewbroad industry plays(as opposed to pure funds or market infrastructure plays) to have a transparent market valuation (approximately $200 millionat listing). CalPERS, the largest public pension fund in the U.S.,increased its stake inbitcoin minerRiot Blockchain(RIOT) nearly sevenfold over the last quarter, to $1.9 million at year-end price.TAKEAWAY:This highlights that direct ownership is not the only way to play BTC exposure. RIOT’s share price has moved up with BTC, but since Sept 30, 2020, has produced a return of over 750% vs BTC’s 250%. The total balance of BTC held in “accumulation addresses,” which have at least two incoming transfers over the past seven years and have never spent funds,has reached a 3.5-year highof over 15% of the total circulating supply.TAKEAWAY:As more investors buy to hold, more bitcoin is removed from circulation, which supports further price rises as new demand comes in. This type of detail is one of my favorite things about crypto asset metrics – imagine if we had this level of insight into investor behavior with traditional assets. The amount ofstablecoin USDCheld on exchangeshas soared since the beginning of the year, hinting at institutional intention to buy.TAKEAWAY:The balance of stablecoins on crypto exchanges is watched as a signal for investor intent. It does not, however, indicate which asset(s) the buyers will favor, nor is it a reliable indicator of institutional interest as many institutions prefer to (or have to) use fiat to invest in crypto assets. • Crypto Long & Short: Could Scalable Payments for Bitcoin Undermine Its Value? • Crypto Long & Short: Could Scalable Payments for Bitcoin Undermine Its Value? \|\| Marathon Patent Group and DMG Blockchain Solutions to Form the Digital Currency Miners of North America (DCMNA) and Launch North America’s First Cooperative Mining Pool: VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Jan. 05, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Marathon Patent Group Inc. (NASDAQ: MARA), (“Marathon”) and DMG Blockchain Solutions Inc. (TSX-V: DMGI) (DMGGF: OTC US) (FRANKFURT: 6AX) (“DMG”) have entered into a non-binding memorandum of understanding to form Digital Currency Miners of North America (“DCMNA”), which will be a U.S.-based non-profit entity whose mission is to create a better mining environment for North American miners, to help improve their financial performance, and to create North America’s first cooperative mining pool. Marathon Patent Group and DMG’s U.S. subsidiary, Blockseer, are working together to establish DCMNA, a non-profit entity focused on North American digital currency opportunities, including decentralizing the Bitcoin hashrate and providing more transparency for North American miners. DCMNA’s principal initiative is to create North America’s first cooperative mining pool by licensing Blockseer’s mining pool to all DCMNA members in a cooperative structure. Mining partners who are members will receive rebates based on the hash rate they contribute to the overall pool, thus improving the mining profitability of DCMNA members. As a founding member of DCMNA and one of North America’s largest enterprise Bitcoin mining companies, Marathon will put all of its mining hashrate (equivalent to 10.36 EH/s, or 7.6% of the total Bitcoin network’s hashrate, if all miners were deployed today at current levels) into the pool. Benefits of the mining pool include, but are not limited to: Profit sharing, whereby miners receive rebates based on their contributed hashrate Increased transparency as all financial information will be audited by a third-party U.S.-based financial audit firm Lobbying efforts to improve the policies and regulatory environment in North America for miners “Clean block mining” that adheres to the Office of Foreign Asset Control’s (OFAC’s) compliance standards and reduces the risk of mining blocks that include transactions linked to nefarious activities Story continues DCMNA is focused on increasing transparency, trust, and accountability in the emerging mining industry, particularly as more institutions embrace Bitcoin as a store of value. Unlike other Bitcoin mining pools, Blockseer’s pool will be audited by an independent auditing firm, ensuring that the miners receive accurate rewards and that auditors and regulators can trust the data provided. Using DMG’s proprietary patent pending technologies, the pool will also create transaction blocks that specifically omit any transactions deemed risky by Walletscore, and which may not meet OFAC standards. As a result, North American miners who are DCMNA members will reduce the risk of the blocks they mine containing transactions tied to criminal or terrorist-related activities. DCMNA will also act as unified group to lobby government bodies and regulators on behalf of its membership. The organization will be governed by its mining members, while Marathon’s executive chairman, Merrick Okamoto, will serve as DCMNA’s inaugural chairman. A membership committee will also be formed to develop and regulate DCMNA’s operations and investments in North American digital currency mining issues, which will be identified by its membership. “We are tremendously proud to lead the launch of DCMNA, a non-profit organization, whose first mandate is to bring its members a vast improvement in mining pool operations by licensing the Blockseer pool to serve our North American mining members,” said Marathon’s executive chairman, Merrick Okamoto. “To date, companies such as ours have relied on pools primarily based in Asia to connect to the Bitcoin network, and we have been frustrated by the lack of transparency and audited data. Marathon has been a leader both in terms of market capitalization and also in terms of lobbying regulators on behalf of our industry, and we look forward to working diligently to build the capabilities of DCMNA on behalf of our mining partners and DCMNA’s new members.” Dan Reitzik, DMG’s CEO added, “It is an honor to work with Marathon to establish the DCMNA and to provide the technological components for the DCMNA organization. When DMG acquired Datient, the parent of Blockseer in 2018, our intention was to create solutions that would benefit our industry as a whole and increase trust in the Bitcoin ecosystem. Mining is a unique industry, in that miners do not necessarily compete with one another for customers or contracts, but instead work together to secure the blockchain on which Bitcoin transactions are processed. It simply makes sense to amalgamate North American miners toward common goals, and the Blockseer pool is the ideal way in which to lead this process in a safe, transparent, and compliant way.” Terms of the memorandum of understanding include DMG licensing Blockseer’s technology and associated intellectual property to DCMNA, as well as the management of pool operations. Upon completion of a definitive agreement, detailed terms and conditions will be provided in an upcoming news release. Pool operations are expected to commence shortly after entering into a definitive agreement. About Marathon Patent Group Marathon is a digital asset technology company that mines cryptocurrencies, with a focus on the blockchain ecosystem and the generation of digital assets. About DMG Blockchain Solutions Inc. DMG is a vertically integrated blockchain and cryptocurrency company that manages, operates, and develops end-to-end digital solutions to monetize the blockchain ecosystem. DMG’s businesses are segmented into three main divisions: data centre operations, data analytics and forensics and developing enterprise blockchains. DMG’s data centre operations focus on earning revenues from block rewards and transaction fees by mining primarily bitcoin as well as providing hosting services for industrial mining clients. DMG’s data analytics and forensic services provide technical expertise software products such as Blockseer Pool, Mine Manager and Walletscore, as well as working with auditors, law firms, and law enforcement organizations. DMG’s permissioned blockchain technology is focused on developing enterprise software for the supply chain management of controlled products. DMG’s strategy is to become the domain experts across the business verticals it focuses on. DMG’s management team includes seasoned crypto experts, forensic & financial professionals and blockchain developers with deep relationships throughout the industry. For more information on DMG Blockchain Solutions visit: www.dmgblockchain.com On behalf of the Board of Directors, Daniel Reitzik, CEO & Director For further information, please contact: Marathon Patent Group Company Contact: Jason Assad Telephone: 678-570-6791 Email: [email protected] Marathon Patent Group Investor Contact: Gateway Investor Relations Matt Glover and Charlie Schumacher Telephone: 949-574-3860 Email: [email protected] DMG Blockchain Solutions Inc. Email: [email protected] Web: www.dmgblockchain.com Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information This news release contains forward-looking information based on current expectations. Statements about the Company’s plans for the potential establishment of this new DCMNA pool and definitive agreement, to increase petahash (PH) by self-mining, price of bitcoin, plans and intentions, other potential transactions, acquisition of customers, product development, events, courses of action, and the potential of the Company’s technology and operations, among others, are all forward-looking information. Forward-looking statements consist of statements that are not purely historical, including any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future. Such information can generally be identified by the use of forwarding looking wording such as “may”, “expect”, “estimate”, “anticipate”, “intend”, “believe” and “continue” or the negative thereof or similar variations. The reader is cautioned that assumptions used in the preparation of any forward-looking information may prove to be incorrect. Events or circumstances may cause actual results to differ materially from those predicted, as a result of numerous known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of the Company, including but not limited to, business, economic and capital market conditions; the ability to manage operating expenses, which may adversely affect the Company’s financial condition; the ability to remain competitive as other better financed competitors develop and release competitive products; regulatory uncertainties; access to equipment; market conditions and the demand and pricing for products; the demand and pricing of bitcoins; security threats, including a loss/theft of DMG’s bitcoins; DMG’s relationships with its customers, distributors and business partners; the inability to add more power to DMG’s facilities; DMG’s ability to successfully define, design and release new products in a timely manner that meet customers’ needs; the ability to attract, retain and motivate qualified personnel; competition in the industry; the impact of technology changes on the products and industry; failure to develop new and innovative products; the ability to successfully maintain and enforce our intellectual property rights and defend third-party claims of infringement of their intellectual property rights; the impact of intellectual property litigation that could materially and adversely affect the business; the ability to manage working capital; and the dependence on key personnel. DMG may not actually achieve its plans, projections, or expectations. Such statements and information are based on numerous assumptions regarding present and future business strategies and the environment in which the Company will operate in the future, including the demand for its products, the ability to successfully develop software, that there will be no regulation or law that will prevent the Company from operating its business, anticipated costs, the ability to secure sufficient capital to complete its business plans, the ability to achieve goals and the price of bitcoin. Given these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. The securities of DMG are considered highly speculative due to the nature of DMG’s business. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include, failure to obtain regulatory approval, the continued availability of capital and financing, equipment failures, lack of supply of equipment, power and infrastructure, failure to obtain any permits required to operate the business, the impact of technology changes on the industry, the impact of Covid-19 or other viruses and diseases on the Company’s ability to operate, secure equipment, and hire personnel, competition, security threats including stolen bitcoins from DMG or its customers, consumer sentiment towards DMG’s products, services and blockchain technology generally, failure to develop new and innovative products, litigation, increase in operating costs, increase in equipment and labor costs, failure of counterparties to perform their contractual obligations, government regulations, loss of key employees and consultants, and general economic, market or business conditions. Forward-looking statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking information. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date of this news release. Except as required by law, the Company disclaims any intention and assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Additionally, the Company undertakes no obligation to comment on the expectations of, or statements made by third parties in respect of the matters discussed above. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Service Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release. [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] None available.	Trend: down \|\| Prices: 54207.32, 48824.43, 49705.33, 47093.85, 46339.76, 46188.45, 45137.77, 49631.24, 48378.99, 50538.24
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis] Not fully available. [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Bitcoin Opinion: Long Live The King: If you’re wondering how you should treat Bitcoin, as an investment vehicle, allow me to share with you guys my non-expert opinion. End of story, thanks a lot for reading. See you next time. –this article shouldn’t be taken as financial advisement as it represents my personal opinion and views. I have savings invested in cryptocurrency so take whatever I write with a grain of salt. Do not invest what you cannot afford to lose and always read as much as possible about a project before investing. Never forget: with great power, comes great responsibility.Being your own bank means you’re always responsible for your own money— Cryptocurrency investment is one of the hottest topics we can discuss today, as there are many different opinions on what the future might hold for Bitcoin. Due to the regulatory bodies world-wide having different approaches towards the subject, while at the same time Bitcoin being decentralized and not belonging to a single entity/organization, investors usually feel uncertain towards the future use of digital cryptocurrencies. An important point, however, is that from a money-making perspective, which iswhat matters at the end to any investor, Bitcoin is undoubtedly one of the strongest profit vehicles since it came to existence – probably the best asset ever created: digital gold. First we grab a price level, like when Bitcoin was around USD 8200. Now, if you want to understand if that price level is interesting, consider the following: the likelihood of having invested in Bitcoin at any given point in time since its inception while actually profiting from it, is about 97%. Sounds too good to be true, right? Except, it’s not. By doing a rough estimate, we can quickly see Bitcoin has only been above USD 8200 for about 137 days. As it is traded for about 1917 days, there’s a ~ 97% chance you bought Bitcoin when its price was lower than USD 8200. Of course this also means you only had a 3% chance of selling at the right time. There’s always a dark-side to everything, right? My point still stands: if we only take into account price and time, you’re actually way more likely to have made a bet at the right time, than the opposite. I know these statistics are fun to play with, but they hardly bring you any real value. Knowing when you could have bought and sold it’s important from a learning perspective, although real investor education happens in a most peculiar way; usually, by making wrong bets and suffering through bearish seasons, that is. What you desire to know is not how much money you could have made. What you, and everyone else, really want to find out is how much you can still make. And today, that is what I’ll be discussing. With a few twists, some side-track topics and the usual delightful shenanigans. Before we go any further, please remember the below warning: Anyone who tells you they’re not in it for the money are either lying or don’t need to care about money because they have so much of it, diversified over so many assets, their risk is quite low. Back to what matters. Depending on where your political and economic view-point stand, Bitcoin can either be the world’s savior or its demise. In my humble opinion, as an economist, I think most of us aredead wrong on how we think money works. I won’t go into too much detail about the subject, as I really want to write an exploratory paper on how (I believe) money should be earned and accessed. The point worth extrapolating is that, much opposed to general belief, I do think there are many different ways to redistribute wealth properly and to create incentive systems for everyone being able to earn cryptocurrency. Seems illogical that the biggest problem in cryptocurrency (adoption) could be easily fixed by creating ecosystems where users earn tokens for doing things. Literally anything at all. When we look at how the market has been evolving, since its birth, I would expect this “bubble” like behaviour to continue, maybe indefinitely. There are many factors which will balance into the behaviour of price, especially market manipulation, regulatory actions and, of course, both institutional money and other financial investment vehicles (like Bitcoin futures or ETFs). Historically speaking, Bitcoin has been kind to long-term investors. Short-term investors cannot complain too much, as Bitcoin is one of the most (if not the most?) volatile assets out there. Plus, I believe smart-money is coming full force, as it usually happens after every Bitcoin bearish season. Want an expert opinion on the real value of Bitcoin and possible triggers for mass adoption? Checkthis beautiful piecefrom Hacked’s one and only,Mati Greenspan. As with everything in life, there’s thegood and the bad (sometimes the ugly too); and Bitcoin is not an exception. If there are many factors that could trigger a price increase, like mass adoption, there are others that can have quite an opposite effect. Let’s check which triggers can potentially call for bear and bull markets. To me this is definitely the grand-master behind the major price run we’ve seen in late December 2017 and January 2018. It did take me some time to truly understand why, but due to the amazing work of so many different people, we now have a better, clearer picture of what really happened. Tether manipulated the markets by manipulating the price of Bitcoin. It wasn’t any technology advancement in neither Bitcoin, nor the large quantities of dumb money entering the market. The key argument pointed out by Prof. Griffin on the research paper “Bit “, was that “When Bitcoin’s price fell, purchases with Tether tended to increase, helping to reverse the decline. But during times when Bitcoin rose, Griffin said he didn’t see the reverse occur.” Seems Tether was protecting the price of Bitcoin from crashing. To accomplish this, large quantities of Tether were issued and used to buy Bitcoin on Bitfinex. Of course this wouldn’t be such a big deal if Bitfinex wasn’t owned by the same people who own and mint Tether. But that’s not even the worse. Consider this: wouldn’t you expect a company that claims they own reserves on a 1:1 ratio between Tether and USD, to be fully externally audited and show proof of those USD reserves? Another huge red flag if you ask me. To those who now claim “oh but some lawyer dudes just came out and said Tether bank accounts are fully backed so it’s all good”, please, I beg you toactually do some digging. The only thing Freeh, Sporkin & Sullivan LLP (FSS) said about Tether was: “FSS is confident that Tether’s unencumbered assets exceed the balance of fully-backed USD Tethers in circulation as of June 1st, 2018.” That doesn’t sound like a real assurance to me. Especially when you consider the “official” news-source, that appeared unsigned by the FSS board on Tether’s website, also stated “procedures performed are not for the purpose of providing assurance”. My view on futures is a bit blurry. I understand their purpose and I also recognize their effectiveness in taming markets, especially during the short-term. Does it work in the long-term? In 1974 the first gold futures contract was traded on the COMEX exchange in New York. Trading started on December 31. Fast-forward three years and gold was back rising to new highs. That’s right. No one can tame the ambition of human beings to exponentially increase their wealth, time after time; there is no futures market that can ever stop speculation. Money talks louder and that means there will always be new smart-money coming into the actual asset, making its price go higher. What will happen is that those same people will have an extra incentive. As we’ve seen in the past the usual trigger for adoption is smart-money coming into any market. Bitcoin, of course, is no different. The logic is quite simple. You might think this is oversimplifying how things work, but the logic is dictated by public perception of Bitcoin. Is it a good investment vehicle? Should I store money in Bitcoin? Do other people actually accept it? The answer to world-wide adoption is acceptance; but acceptance only comes with adoption. It’s the chicken-egg dilemma. The most beautiful redundancy. What this means is that both adoption and acceptance walk hand-to-had; one leads to the other and none can exist alone. That is why market manipulation or Bitcoin’s futures, although being the bad are notthat bad.Manipulation usually means high volatility, which in turns bring massive profits. Sure, I get this isn’t helpful to the ultimate goal of cryptocurrencies – which to me is the ability to shift wealth redistribution. I also can’t make exclude the hypothesis this feature of cryptocurrency won’t be the catalyst for its destruction; however, if we apply logic and reasoning taking into account the recent Bitcoin price history, we can clearly expect volatility to bring more and more people into the market. Ups and downs are usually a nice and easy way to help bubbles growing. And, as you might know, bubbles have a certain tendency to pop. History has taught us it usually isn’t a question of if, but when. When downwards price movement dominates a market the only thing you can usually do is sit and wait. Cryptocurrencies, especially bitcoin, are prone to huge downfalls, yes; but we can also expect massive rebounds at some point. There are always some unbreakable rules successful investors follow, in order to being able to succeed. Again, please remember this is not financial advise To me those are: 1. Invest only what you can afford to lose; 2. Buy when there’s fear, sell when there’s hype; 3. The market behaves in waves. Be patient and wait. Because I follow those rules I’m not afraid of bear-markets. Heck, just remember 2012-2013. Whatever goes around comes around, so being passive is sometimes a better decision that getting ahead of everyone. Just think: what are the chances you actually figured out how to beat the entire market? That’s why I personally do not trade – yet envy those who successfully do it. You need cunning, agility and balls of steel; otherwiseemotion will most likely triumph over reason. Anyhow, the chances you’ll get stuck at a really bad price-level (ie, if you bought bitcoin near USD 20,00.00) during an extensive amount of time, are not that great. Yet, as time is a relative thing, our ability to be patient is also relative. Meaning what I consider to be an acceptable amount of time, you could see it as unbearable. • Would you wait 1 year to increase your portfolio in 100%? • What if you could increase it 500% over a space of 2 years? • Better yet, what if it grew 5000% over the course of 3 years? Are you thinking “I’m sure could do it”? Alright, then do a quick exercise: Have you ever done anything long-term, during at least the amount of time you’re considering investing, which costs you time, money and doesn’t pay-off anything? If so, then I would argue youcan definitely succeed at hodling. If not, maybe you should consider a different approach. Patience isn’t an easy skill to learn when we live in an inflationary world: money of tomorrow will be worth less, meaning you need to keep getting more and more present value, instead of focusing on future value. Since the introduction of the Blockstream Store in January, the Lightning Network has grown tremendously. Around the announcement, the Lightning Network had a total of 46 open channels and 0.682 BTC in capacity. Nowadays, there are roughly 7,800 open channels with 26 BTC of capacity. That is a 16,856% increase in channels and a 4,084% increase in channel capacity in 6 months! As the Lightning Network grows, additional integration options will become available that could provide exchanges and users with security and ease-of-use benefits beyond the two basic integration strategies described above. 1. Exchange-specific, Lightning-driven apps With Lightning, it can become possible to allow exchange users to make trades from within dedicated local apps, making deposits and withdrawals transparent to users. These apps can run on desktops, smartphones, or on more secure hardware devices such as the Ledger Blue. With exchange functionality integrated with a Lightning wallet, funds can be moved into an exchange’s control for the minimum time required for a trade to execute. Immediately after an order is filled or expires, the funds would be returned to the control of the user’s wallet/exchange app via Lightning. This could potentially create a simpler experience for users as well as reduce risk for exchanges in case of security breaches, as the amount of funds stored in hot wallets could be much lower. 1. Deposits and withdrawals via the public Lightning Network With the two integration strategies described above, it’s assumed that users will be opening channels directly with exchanges. This will be economical for larger-scale traders who move money in and out of exchanges often. However, as the Lightning network develops, it will be possible for users to have open channels into the public Lightning network and for those users to be able to route deposits and withdrawals via intermediary nodes. It will likely take some time before there is enough connectivity within the Lightning Network for this to work, but when this becomes possible, it will allow a user’s channels to be used for a variety of different kinds of payments as well as multiple exchanges. With channel setup costs spread across multiple applications and counter-parties, Lightning transactions will become cheaper and more convenient. There are many ways to improve scalability and off-chains are a great way to accomplish that. Why should increasing the block-size be a better solution, if it will put more stress onto small transaction due to increasing fees? Scalability will happen, just a bit differently than you might expect. We already have the unique piece that allows for scalability to happen: an underlying asset people can use a store of value. Whatever is built on top doesn’t really matter if the underlying layer, bitcoin’s blockchain, is still used as the settlement layer. From batching and Shnorr signatures, to the Lightning Network and atomic swaps, there are as many ways to improve transaction throughput, as far as our imaginations reach out. You could potentially have digital fiat-currencies redeemable for Bitcoin. You can have other side-chains that interface with a single wallet app, meaning if it’s easy to exchange your tokens and other cryptocurrencies for Bitcoin, you will still use it as a base-layer to store your “gains”. The point is: let’s not focus too much on something that will eventually happen. Everyone (myself included, full disclosure) has been focused on technology and price so much, we forgot to take a couple of steps back and re-visit some core debates, crucial for the overall Bitcoin acceptance. If you wonder how tokenomics can foster user adoption, think of the best way you know to redistribute value. In Bitcoin, that is done through mining and selling the actual currency. Right now most projects we see, spawning here and there, which actually try to implement a successful business models based in tokens, are forgetting some key aspects of the most important metric of all:purpose. Andreas usually says: what can your business gain from decentralization? I say:what can your business give to decentralization? The reason is simple, if you create a system where you need to “subscribe” or spend money for tokens in order to participate, then the system is not inclusive. If you build a system where participants are rewarded for participating, like Bitcoin rewards miners for securing the blokchain, then you can build any incentive system which users may see as actual value. By combining the power of fast payments with tokenomics, I can easily see a world where value is simply traded and earned through mostly everything we do. Decentralization doesn’t mean “screw the middleman”. Actually, decentralization depends much on the middle-man. Except we all can become that middle-man because as we spend time in a certain network, doing certain things, we get rewarded. Decentralization means implementing systems which properly balance reward payouts, to all participants, in as many different ways possible. The middleman is always welcomed, I highly doubt the world would survive without platforms and distributors and companies linking networks of producers and consumers, investors and start-ups, even creditors and debtors. And all work must be paid in kind, isn’t that right? If cryptocurrency uses its underlying technology properly, then there is no reasonatomic swapswon’t allow for the emergence of many different middle-men, charging very low fees, competing to hold the power to convert some crypto into another. If cryptocurrency is easy to convert into other forms of monies, why wouldn’t we solely use cryptocurrency? Trust is backed by both the number of users in a network, as well as its internal ledger security. As currently Bitcoin seems to be the most technological secure system out there, to store money, it’s just a matter of time until it also becomes the most secure and cheap way to transfer and use money. However, do not expect the path to the bottom of the rainbow to be clear of perils. No technological advancement, which promoted checks and balances to avoid power and decision-making centralization, has ever been received in kind. So why would the world be different towards cryptocurrencies? When we hear countries banning cryptocurrencies, exchanges being blocked by the rule of man (like India), attacks to promote hype and fear across small-time investors, that is the time we know they are afraid. Decentralization means breaking concepts and views of the world as we never thought possible. Companies building crypto-payments or savings apps, crypto-messaging apps, decentralized storage and infrastructure sharing crypto-tokens, or any other crypto-enabled system, will soon realize the easiest way to bring value is by giving value. Yes, go ahead, create your own money. It has no value, they say? It’s of no use, they say? Terrific! Then nobody will mind if you just give it all away. Like bitcoin did. If a company has a product which holds value and then decides to distribute a token with a clear purpose within that product’s or organization ecosystem, why wouldn’t people consider that token valuable? If everything holds value just because we believe it holds value, I see no reason for Bitcoin to have a limited growth. As long as the network of users continues to grow, price will eventually grow. Because of its deflationary properties, if people continue to say bitcoin has value (by purchasing it), then I see no reason for a price ceiling. *Maybe we really are going to the moon! My opinion could be wrong, Bitcoin might disappear into oblivion someday and we keep stuck with fiduciary currency. If that is not the case, then the likelihood of Bitcoin’s pricing skyrocketing someday should be incredibly high, simply because it has happened a gazillion times in the past – and history has a tendency to go around in cycles. I know: past performance does not indicate future performance. However, I haven’t heard of any network which grew in numbers and not in price. If you were to gamble on thesuccess of cryptocurrency, would you bet in a system no single nation or group of people controls, or in a fiduciary system based on a pyramid logic? Hope you’ve enjoyed the article! Give it a like down below and leave a comment. Tweet me @febrocas The postBitcoin Opinion: Long Live The Kingappeared first onCCN. \|\| 3 Tech Stocks That I Wouldn't Touch: Many investors like to look for stocks with low share prices, particularly if those prices are much lower than they have been in the recent past. In other words, they're trying to bottom-fish for a good deal. Sometimes that strategy works, but often the companies that underlie these low-priced stocks are simply bad businesses, which can lead to further -- potentially significant -- losses for shareholders. Fitbit's Versa smartwatch. Image source: Fitbit. To that end, here are three tech stocks that might be tempting for investors but are ultimately bad businesses that investors should avoid: GoPro (NASDAQ: GPRO) , Fitbit (NYSE: FIT) , and Snapchat (NYSE: SNAP) . GoPro is a no-go When GoPro first went public back in 2014, the shares surged from around $36 per share to nearly $90 per share before plummeting. The stock has sometimes bounced on its way down, but the trend has been unmistakably downward. GPRO Chart GPRO data by YCharts . This downward trend reflects the company's poor underlying business fundamentals. On Aug. 2, GoPro announced its second-quarter financial results, and they weren't pretty. Revenue was down 5% from a year ago; its gross margin percentage contracted to 30.8%, down from 36.2% a year earlier; and its operating loss widened. This isn't a short-term trend, either. GoPro's revenue, margins, and operating income have all been on the decline for quite some time. GPRO Gross Profit Margin (TTM) Chart GPRO Gross Profit Margin (TTM) data by YCharts . Ultimately, GoPro's business isn't in good shape, and the company's recent financial performance doesn't give a lot of hope that things are getting better. This is a stock that I'd avoid. Fitbit is unfit for my portfolio Fitbit, which went public in 2015, saw its share price peak at close to $50 per share, and has been on the decline ever since. As of writing, the shares closed at $5.83 per share. Fitbit's business has also performed poorly since the company went public. Although the company was profitable and growing when it went public, Fitbit's revenue has been going in the wrong direction and the wearable device specialist is now posting steep losses. Story continues FIT Net Income (TTM) Chart FIT Net Income (TTM) data by YCharts . Last quarter, Fitbit reported some ugly results, as sales dropped 15% thanks to a "20% decline in devices sold, partially offset by an average selling price increase of 6% to $106 per device." The company reported negative free cash flow of $83 million. Looking to the current quarter, management guided to a revenue decline of 3% from the same quarter a year ago as sales of its smartwatches grow and as declines in its tracker revenue moderate. The company also said that it's expecting "free cash flow of approximately negative $30 million in Q3 and net income per share between a $0.02 loss and a $0.01 profit." That outlook is hardly inspiring. Ultimately, Fitbit just doesn't seem like a great business or a business with the potential to be great. Staying away from Snapchat Snapchat, which has been a poor performer year to date is another stock that I'm staying far away from. SNAP Chart SNAP data by YCharts . Unlike Fitbit and GoPro, Snapchat isn't a business in decline. Indeed, analysts expect the company to post 40% revenue growth in 2018 and are betting on another 38.2% growth in the following year. However, there are some troubling issues with Snapchat's business: It's losing money (analysts expect the company to post a loss of $0.55 per share this year) and is likely to continue to lose money for the foreseeable future (analyst consensus is that Snapchat will lose $0.42 per share next year). The stock is extremely expensive: It's trading at nearly 12 times analyst estimates for 2018 revenue and nearly 8.5 times expected 2019 revenue. By contrast, the social media bellwether Facebook (NASDAQ: FB) trades at roughly 8.9 times 2018 analyst revenue estimates and around 7.1 times 2019 estimates. Facebook's growth rates aren't expected to be as high as Snapchat's (36.9% in 2018 and 25.1% in 2019), but unlike Snapchat, Facebook is growing profits. To top it all off, as my Foolish colleague pointed out, management seems to have a credibility problem . There are better social media stocks, let alone other tech stocks, that investors can put their hard-earned money into. I'm steering clear of Snapchat. More From The Motley Fool 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This Ashraf Eassa has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Facebook, Fitbit, and GoPro. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy . \|\| Bitcoin Magazines Week in Review: Rejections and Reflections: Week in Review This week in the industry, we saw the gears of government and regulation grinding, we check in on some mining news and we take a moment to reflect on the state of the market and industry innovation. Here are some of Bitcoin Magazine s top bitcoin, blockchain and cryptocurrency news stories for the week. Stay on top of the best stories in the bitcoin, blockchain and cryptocurrency industry. Subscribe to our newsletter here . The Latest in Regulation Not a Done Deal: U.S. SEC Will Review Most Recent ETF Decisions China Blocks Access to Over 120 Offshore Digital Currency Exchanges WeChat Shuts Down Numerous Crypto Media Accounts Top Crypto Exchanges Join Winklevosses Self-Regulatory Organization This Wednesday, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission released orders on nine bitcoin exchange traded fund (ETF) proposals. Each of the three orders, like those that preceded them, shot down all of the ETFs in question. But these decisions, the SEC revealed the next day, are now up for review. This development has offered a glimmer of hope for the industry in its slow-slog toward a bitcoin-backed, exchange-traded product. In the march toward clearer crypto regulation in the States, exchanges have taken the lead in an attempt to quicken the pace. The Virtual Currency Association, a self-regulatory organization spearheaded by the Winklevosses and their Gemini exchange, added three new members this week. With these latest additions, the VCA continues to work toward its goal of establishing an industry-sponsored, self-regulatory organization (SRO) to oversee virtual commodity marketplaces, in advance of a summit to be held this September. While the U.S. grapples with regulations and oversight for its own virtual currency markets, the Chinese government is looking to siphon its citizens access to crypto trading venues. Chinese officials shuttered access to over 120 offshore exchanges this week, an extreme measure to accompany the comprehensive ban it effected on domestic ICOs in September 2017. Story continues Meanwhile in the private sector, WeChat is assisting the government with its crackdown. The number one messaging platform in China purged crypto and blockchain media accounts from its services this week, citing the governments policies toward ICOs as justification for the bans. News from the Bitcoin Mining Industry SoftBank Denies Reports of Bitmain Deal; Bitmain Still Silent Mining Like a Viking: How the Fjords of Norway Offer a Greener Alternative All eyes were on Bitmain this week, as public and media scrutiny continues to pick apart the details of the Chinese mining behemoths forthcoming public offering. After reports surfaced last week claiming that Japanese telecom company Softbank and Chinese internet provider Tencent had invested in Bitmain via a private pre-IPO funding round, a handful of companies came forward this week to deny their involvement . In a feature article , Bitcoin Magazines Colin Harper took a trip to Norway to survey the work of Northern Bitcoin, a German mining company that has taken advantage of the abundance of renewable energy Norways fjords produce. Situated in Lefdal Mine, a defunct mine turned data center in Måløy, the 3,250 miner strong ASIC mining farm operates at nearly half the electricity cost of its competitors and with zero CO2 emissions. Its a reminder that, with the right infrastructure and a tinge of creativity, bitcoin mining can be more sustainable than its critics suggest. Rehashing Old Arguments and Looking Ahead New Research Claims Satoshi Mined Far Fewer Bitcoins Than Previously Thought Op Ed: Making Friends With Time in the Cryptocurrency Space Ever since Bitcoin developer Sergio Lerner presented compelling evidence on the topic in 2013, the Bitcoin community has assumed that Satoshi Nakamoto mined and held on to roughly 1,000,000 bitcoin during the networks inaugural year. New evidence from Bitmex research, on the other hand, suggests that this figure may be in the ballpark of 600,000-700,000 BTC. Finally, IOST CEO Jimmy Zhong reminds us of the importance of perspective in times of market anemia. These are the times, Zhong argues, that real growth can be realized, and that those who focus their efforts on development despite the downturn will be better for it when things start to look up again. Life is a long journey. We often say that choice is more important than effort. We also need to understand that desire and choices only pull through with persistence. I hope we can have faith in our common choice, the future of technology, the power of market cycles; remain unwavering in the face of swaying market sentiment; make independent and clear-headed judgments; and, together, build something people truly want, Zhong writes. This article originally appeared on Bitcoin Magazine . \|\| Amazon Adds Another Business Worth $10 Billion Per Year: It seems there isn't a market that Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) won't enter, given a large enough opportunity. The onetime bookseller turned e-commerce titan already dominates online sales and cloud computing , and continues to search for other industries to disrupt. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has famously said, "Your margin is my opportunity." While investors weren't looking, Amazon has quietly built another business, currently worth $10 billion a year. Though not as eye-catching as the company's other segments, its business-to-business (B2B) commerce platform, known as Amazon Business, has become one of its fastest growing segments. Florist smiling working on a tablet. Image source: Getty Images. The opportunity is massive Amazon's newest market is a monster. B2B e-commerce sales are projected to top $9 trillion this year in the U.S. alone, according to Forrester Research. While figures for the global opportunity are difficult to come by, the U.S. total illustrates the significant opportunity that Amazon is chasing. In a blog post earlier this week, Amazon revealed that its B2B commerce platform has crested $10 billion in annual sales, and it cited a laundry list of institutions enabling that impressive benchmark: 80% of the 100 largest-enrollment education organizations. 55 of the Fortune 100 companies. More than half the 100 biggest hospital systems. More than 40% of the 100 most-populous communities' local governments. Amazon reflected on some of the factors that allowed it to grow its business portal into a $10 billion segment in less than four years -- one that includes hundreds of thousands of business sellers globally that transact on its site. The platform serves millions of businesses worldwide, from mom-and-pop shops to large enterprises. Amazon cited its international expansion as a contributor to its B2B growth, as its recent entry into France, Italy, and Spain brings the total number of countries served by Amazon Business to eight. The growing number of third-party sellers has also provided a boost, the company says, making up more than 50% of its $10 billion in global sales. Amazon Business launched in 2015, and sells a wide variety of products, including office supplies, janitorial products, laboratory supplies, and break-room snacks. The platform allows companies to create multi-user accounts and customized approval processes, and can integrate with procurement application software. A woman smiling tapping on a smartphone held by a delivery driver in a van with the Amazon Prime logo. Image source: Amazon. Accelerating growth A surprising takeaway is the speed at which this business has grown. Amazon's consumer business took seven years to expand from $1 billion in sales to $10 billion, and Amazon Web Services (AWS) topped $10 billion in sales 10 years after its debut, according to CNBC. Amazon Business hit $10 billion less than four years after its launch, marking the fastest that an Amazon segment has reached this lofty milestone. Story continues The magnitude of this opportunity is significant. In a note to clients, Robert W. Baird analyst Colin Sebastian said, "We believe Amazon B2B over the very long-term has the potential to surpass the size of the core [business to consumer] segment, and remains an under-appreciated opportunity by many investors." Sebastian said he believes that Amazon Business could top $25 billion in annual sales by 2021. It looks as if Amazon will likely add B2B to the growing list of businesses that the company already disrupts. More From The Motley Fool 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Danny Vena owns shares of Amazon. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Amazon. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy . View comments \|\| Insider Buys Of The Week: AT&T, GE, Salesforce: • Insider buying can be an encouraging signal for potential investors. • Some insiders took advantage of post-earnings slumps this week. • Also, an insider bucked the selling trend in a hot software stock. Conventional wisdom says insiders and 10 percent owners really only buy shares of a company for one reason -- they believe the stock price will rise and they want to profit from it. Soinsider buyingcan be an encouraging signal for potential investors, particularly with markets near all-time highs. Here's a look at a few notable insider purchases reported in the past week. AT&T FiveAT&T Inc.(NYSE:T) directors stepped up to the buy window this past week. The total of more than 90,500 shares of this telecom giant acquired, at per-share prices ranging from $30.21 to $30.73, cost them altogether more than $4.56 million. Note that none of these directors owns more than 100,000 shares. These purchases came just after AT&T sharedits latest quarterly resultsand about the time the stock hit a new 52-week low. Shares ended the week trading at $31.08 apiece, so these directors' purchases seem to be well-timed. The stock has changed hands between $30.13 and $39.80 in the past year, and the analyst's mean price target is $35.99. See Also:Report: CBS CEO Les Moonves Accused Of Sexual Misconduct GE General Electric Company(NYSE:GE) saw one of its directors add to his stake last week. At an average price of $13.04 apiece, the 191,000 shares reportedly acquired cost that director about $2.94 million. Note this director is also the CEO of Danaher, and his stake in GE was listed as more than 360,000 shares. GE saw apost-earnings declineeven though it topped Wall Street expectations on the top and bottom lines. The stock ended last week at $13.06, still near the director's purchase price. It has traded as high as $25.89 in the past year, but the Wall Street consensus price target was last seen at $17.11. Salesforce While the CEO, president and otherSalesforce.com, inc.(NYSE:CRM) executives and insiders were selling throughout July, one director stepped up to the buy window this past week. That director picked up 6,000 shares at between $146.01 and $146.49 apiece. That totaled almost $877,300 and was pursuant to a 10b5-1 plan. While other big tech stocks suffered last week, Salesforce shares hit a new 52-week high. However, the stock ended the past week at $143.91, down about 3 percent and below the director's purchase price range. The S&P 500 was down only fractionally in that time. The consensus price target for Salesforce is $150.40 a share. See more from Benzinga • Benzinga's Bulls & Bears Of The Week: Bitcoin, Intel, Lockheed Martin, Walgreens And More • Barron's Picks And Pans: Amazon, Eli Lilly, Fiat Chrysler And More • Insider Buys Of The Week: BlackRock, Dish Network, Walgreens © 2018 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| ECB has no plan to issue digital currency: Draghi: FRANKFURT (Reuters) - The European Central bank has no plan to issue a digital currency because the underlying technology is still fragile and the use of physical cash still high in the euro zone, the ECB president said on Friday. The sudden proliferation of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, essentially a privately created online token, has sparked a global debate over whether central banks should also launch their own digital money. This would give holders a direct claim on the central bank, bypassing the banking system and potentially revolutionizing the way monetary policy is carried out. Sweden's Riksbank is exploring whether to issue an electronic version of its currency, called e-krona, to respond to the dwindling use of banknotes and a rise in electronic payments in that country. But ECB President Mario Draghi said the time was not ripe for such a change in the euro zone. "The ECB and the Eurosystem currently have no plans to issue a central bank digital currency," he said in a letter to a member of the European Parliament. He added that technologies such as distributed ledgers "require substantial further development" and that he saw no "concrete need" to issue a digital euro. Cash accounted for 79 percent of all payments at point of sale in the euro zone in 2016 and for 54 percent of the total value of those transactions, according to ECB research. Separate ECB data published on Friday showed non-cash payments were growing, however, with a 7.9 percent annual increase in 2017 led by cards. (Reporting By Francesco Canepa; Editing by Mark Heinrich) \|\| Pablo Soria de Lachica Explains the Advantages of Ethereum-Based Smart Contracts: MEXICO CITY, MEXICO / ACCESSWIRE / August 15, 2018 /As blockchain solutions continue to proliferate across all sectors of the international economy—by 2024 the market is expected to exceed USD$60 billionas reportedby Forbes, global investment expertPablo Soria de Lachicaexamines the benefits of Ethereum-based smart contracts and how companies can greatly improve their organizational capabilities by integrating this cutting-edge, scalable technology. He explains the basic concept as such--a simple system/program (if A executes B, then C occurs) designed to facilitate financial agreements between two or more vested parties, underpinned by the security, reliability and convenience of an encrypted blockchain cryptocurrency such as Ethereum (ETH) which surpasses the often-touted Bitcoin in application due to its open source coding language. Soria de Lachicais not alone in his enthusiasm and positive outlook for this technology, as NASA have recentlyannouncedtheir investment in ETH research with an aim to adapting smart contracts to the programming of space craft, primarily due to the perceived stability of Ethereum (its core architecture cannot be modified, thus ensuring a lack of unexpected bugs/errors). Leading research and advisory company Gartnerestimates25% of all global organisations will be using smart contracts by 2022, streamlining their contractual and legal obligations through automated and instantaneous transactions. Considering the 57.3 million freelancers working in the United States alone (as establishedin 2017 by an Edelman Intelligence commissioned survey), Mr. Soria de Lachica has no doubts that such an easily-implemented and secure technology will continue to establish itself as a fundamental part of the economy. Originallydescribedin 1996 by renowned cryptographer Nick Szabo as "a set of promises, specified in digital form, including protocols within which the parties perform on these promises", the concept of smart contracts has evolved with the advent of blockchain technologies such as Ethereum.Pablo Soria de Lachicaexplains that within a 21stcentury context, these instruments can be adapted to a huge range of financial sector uses including: the streamlining of securities and derivatives trading (offering real-time valuations and trades, circumvention of intermediaries); reduction of auditing costs through transparent, uniform and interoperable financial data recording; and could even extend to applications in mortgage processing, ensuring automatic and error-free payments, tracking and release of liens. He describes their three core characteristics as—1)immutability and irrevocability(once implemented, their content is unalterable and all provenance transparent); 2)decentralization(they exist in a decentralized, fully encrypted ledger secure from a singular server loss or ownership dispute); 3)independence(they cannot be modified and will only obey the architecture originally-agreed to, unless completed replaced with a new version). Pablo Soria de LachicaMBA, is an internationally-acclaimed broker and forex expert specializing in financial analyses and trading consultation. He oversees a broad range of global transactions, including the development and implementation of trading tools, market analyses and tailored investment planning. In his personal time, Soria de Lachica is an avid philanthropist and has made significant contributions to ‘Bridges for Peace', ‘The Jewish Federation of Greater Phoenix' and ‘The America-Israel Cultural Foundation'. For more insights into emerging trends and technologies, please visitpablosoriadelachicanews.com. Pablo Soria de Lachica - Foreign Exchange Specialist:http://PabloSoriaDeLachicaNews.com Pablo Soria de Lachica on What Sets Ethereum Apart in Crypto Space:https://finance.yahoo.com/news/pablo-soria-lachica-sets-ethereum-030000347.html Pablo Soria de Lachica Highlights Growing Ethereum Blockchain Adoption by Corporate World:https://finance.yahoo.com/news/pablo-soria-lachica-highlights-growing-143200065.html Contact Information: PabloSoriaDeLachicaNews.comhttp://[email protected] SOURCE:Pablo Soria de Lachica \|\| Tezos Token Makes Gains in Approach to Official Launch: The price of XTZ, the native token of the Tezos crypto project, rose 30 percent over the weekend in anticipation of the network's official launch Monday. At press time, XTZ is trading at $1.55, having clocked a 5.5-week high of $1.75 at 13:10 UTC on Saturday. At that point, XTZ was up 35 percent from Friday's low of $1.29, according toCoinMarketCapÂ data. The cryptocurrency picked up a strong bid on Friday after the developerstweetedthat Tezos' mainnet arrives on Sept. 17. In fact, the mainnet has beenlive in betasince late June with tokens tradeable on some exchanges. Gas Ain't Gold: Why Ether's Price Could Tank Even If Ethereum Succeeds Notably, trading volumes also jumped 169 percent on Friday to a nine-week high of $5.13 million, marking a surge in investor interest in the cryptocurrency. It's been a long wait for investors in the project. Having raised $232 million via an ICO in July 2017 â one of thelargest token sales everâ things were looking bright for Tezos. However, the development of the blockchain network was thrown into disarray due to a bitter legal tussle for control between the founders and co-founding members of the project â problems that now seemlargely resolvedÂ by a shift in governance. Looking forward, if the launch goes well and the trading volumes remain healthy, then XTZ could soon revisit Friday's high of $1.75. Further gains could be on the cards if the broader crypto market continues making gains. The $1 Billion Tezos Blockchain Is Officially Launching Monday Disclosure:Â The author holds no cryptocurrency assetsÂ at the time of writing. Tezos tokenimage viaÂShutterstock • Ether Records Highest Daily Trading Volume in 12 Months • Bitcoin Price Takes a $200 Tumble After Eight-Day Highs \|\| Bitcoin Price Shows Stability as Crypto Market Sees Minor $6 Billion Drop: Bitcoin price Over the past 24 hours, the crypto market has lost $6 billion from its valuation, experiencing a slight drop after a solid corrective rally by Bitcoin. While Bitcoin recorded a small gain of 0.5 percent, other major cryptocurrencies including Ethereum, Ripple, Bitcoin Cash, EOS, Stellar, Litecoin, and Cardano fell by 1 to 4 percent, affecting the token market. Volatility of Tokens On August 17, as the price of BTC showed a rapid recovery from $5,850 to $6,400, tokens recorded massive gains in the range of 30 to 80 percent, with VeChain increasing by over 80 percent against the US dollar. However, as BTC stabilized in the mid-$6,000 region and other major cryptocurrencies struggled to sustain their momentum on the upside, tokens suffered. In the past 24 hours, Aion, DigixDAO, OmiseGO, BAT, and 0x fell by more than 6 percent against the US dollar and Bitcoin. 10 worst performers in the crypto market, chart provided by CoinMarketCap Yesterday, on August 19, CCN reported that the fall in the price of tokens in the past 48 hours can be attributed to the overly aggressive trades initiated by investors in the crypto market that considered the minor corrective rally of Bitcoin to be the start of a bull run. Consequently, many traders reallocated their funds from Bitcoin, which has performed relatively well against the US dollar in the past month as seen in the rise of its dominance index, to tokens and high-risk high-return trades. Some tokens including Ontology, Tezos, and Nano recorded solid 10 to 20 percent gains, but have fallen throughout the day due to the lack of momentum in Ether and other major cryptocurrencies. In a bear market or downtrend, the dominance index of Bitcoin tends to increase as investors consider BTC to be a store of value in the cryptocurrency market. As such, in the past few months, apart from some exceptions including Binance Coin (BNB), Bitcoin has been one of the better performing cryptocurrencies. In the past 24 hours, the dominance index of BTC has increased from 51 percent to 52 percent. A one percent increase is a minor movement, but considering that the market has been overly optimistic in the short-term trend of crypto throughout this week, the continuous increase in the dominance of BTC is important to consider. Story continues Low Volume The volume of Bitcoin and other major cryptocurrencies tend to be extremely volatile. The volume of BTC could remain in the $4 billion region and suddenly rise to over $6 billion within 24 hours, especially during corrective rallies. But, the volume of BTC has fallen below the $4 billion mark, a level the market has not seen in the past two weeks. As of August 20, the volume of Bitcoin and Ethereum remain at $3.5 billion and $1.5 billion, less than half of their volume in June. In the short-term, it is crucial for Bitcoin to sustain its current stability, allowing the market to establish a bottom at the lower price range. If BTC suddenly rises by large margins, it could lead the market to record overbought conditions. Featured image from Shutterstock. The post Bitcoin Price Shows Stability as Crypto Market Sees Minor $6 Billion Drop appeared first on CCN . \|\| 3 Stocks for Warren Buffett Fans: Warren Buffett built much of his fortune investing in high-quality companies. He stuck to companies that he understood, and he made sure that the price he paid was reasonable. Many of the companies that are part ofBerkshire Hathaway's portfolio have durable competitive advantages that allow them to stand the test of time. If you're looking for Buffett-style stocks, three of our Motley Fool contributors think you should check outUnited Parcel Service(NYSE: UPS),General Mills(NYSE: GIS), andAllergan(NYSE: AGN). Here's why. Image source: UPS. Nicholas Rossolillo(United Parcel Service):UPS is one of Buffett's smaller holdings at just $6.2 million at last report. Nevertheless, it still deserves consideration by fans of the investor. While trailing price to earnings sits at 20.0, one-year forward price to earnings is at 14.9, indicating a big anticipated expansion in profits. The stock also pays out an attractive 3% annual dividend yield. However, UPS' business has had its challenges. Internet-based retail has caused a boom in the number of package deliveries, butprofitability on those deliverieshas suffered. Plus, e-commerce leaderAmazon.com(NASDAQ: AMZN)has begun taking over some of those delivery services itself in recent years, including a new third-party delivery partner program geared toward helping small parcel businesses. That has had an effect on UPS. Revenue has steadily risen by 26% over the last five years, butfree cash flow-- money left over after basic operations and capital expenditures are paid for -- has dried up as the world's largest delivery and logistics company invested to keep up with the digital age. Things arelooking up for UPSlately, though. Its second-quarter 2018 report showed improving profitability, its investments into technology and business improvements are starting to yield results, and management upgraded its outlook for the rest of the year. The international segment has been an especially bright spot, with its 14th consecutive quarter of double-digit profit growth during the spring months. Though there are challenges, UPS is a growing business trading at a value to its future potential because of some uncertainty. For Buffett fans, that's a stock worth considering. Tim Green(General Mills):Berkshire Hathaway already owns a gigantic stake in packaged food giantKraft Heinz, a testament to Buffett's love of strong brands. Another food company with strong brands is General Mills. The company's portfolio includes Betty Crocker, Bisquick, Cheerios, Wheaties, Haagen-Dazs, Annie's, Nature Valley, and many more. Some of General Mills' brands are not doing well at all. U.S. yogurt sales tumbled 12% in fiscal 2018, for example, with the Yoplait brand failing to drive sales. Total organic sales, which exclude the effects of acquisitions and divestitures, dropped by 1%. Clearly, General Mills needs to rework its portfolio. The company has taken at least one big step to diversify, paying $8 billion for natural pet food maker Blue Buffalo earlier this year. The deal will boost General Mills' annual sales by more than $1.2 billion and put the company into a category that's growing quickly. The U.S. pet food market has been growing by 3% to 4% annually, while the natural portion of the market has been growing at a double-digit rate in recent years. Other than Blue Buffalo, General Mills views Haagen-Dazs, snack bars, Old El Paso Mexican food, and its natural and organic brands as its key growth drivers going forward. It plans to sell off some businesses that are in decline, refocusing on brands capable of driving growth. This will all take time, and investors should expect not-so-great results for a while. But the stock looks like a decent deal, all things considered. The company expects adjusted earnings to come in somewhere around $3 per share in fiscal 2019, putting the price-to-earnings ratio at about 15. That'snot quite cheap enough for me, but I'm keeping an eye on the stock. Todd Campbell(Allergan Plc):Warren Buffett doesn't spend his time on hard-to-value companies. Instead, he likes to buy stock in companies that generate cash and that trade at a discount to their book value. It's that approach that likely contributed to Berkshire Hathawaybuying sharesin generics GoliathTeva Pharmaceutical(NYSE: TEVA)late last year. Teva Pharmaceutical could still be a buy, but its shares have almost doubled since last fall, and as a result, it's arguably more expensive now than Allergan. Once a highflier because of its growth-via-mergers-and-acquisitions strategy, Allergan fell out of favor afterValeant, a competitor that also relied heavily on acquisitions, fell on tough times. Allergan's $185 share price is far below its $340 peak in 2015 and its price-to-book ratio (share price divided by book value) is only 0.86. For comparison, Teva Pharmaceutical has seen its price to book soar from less than 0.50 to 1.62 since Buffett began buying it last year. I have no idea if Allergan's shares will rebound similarly, but this is the second time in the past three years that Allergan's price to book value has dropped below 1. The last time around, its shares jumped from about $190 to roughly $245 between late 2016 and early 2017. This time around, shares could fall further, but I think the risk/reward is pretty favorable, especially since its financials have been improving. AGN Price to Book Valuedata byYCharts. In Q2 2018, revenue grew 3% year over year to $4.1 billion and non-GAAP EPS rose 10% to $4.42 per share. The performance caused management to boost its full-year 2018 guidance to sales of between $15.475 billion and $15.625 billion from $15.15 billion to $15.35 billion. It also upped its non-GAAP EPS outlook to at least $16 from at least $15.65 previously. The company's still got a lot of debt on its books, but cash flow appears solid, and management's taking advantage of its depressed share price with a new $2 billion buyback program to be executed over the next 12 months. Overall, I think Allergan could be a cheap stock worth owning. More From The Motley Fool • 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices • 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 • 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing • 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today • The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss • Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors.Nicholas Rossolillohas no position in any of the stocks mentioned.Timothy Greenhas no position in any of the stocks mentioned.Todd Campbellowns shares of Amazon. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Amazon. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy. [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] @btc_fan \|\| @btc_0 \|\| @India_Bitcoin \|\| @bitcoin_reddit \|\| @BTC_INFOCHAIN \|\| お財布忘れたサザエさんBitCoinで決済？【カーナビでカラオケ】 Aladdin Dobin Hagechabin～ Dream Killer～テロだらけ/Metaleaman20171030 https://youtu.be/2khn8r2V1oM #Metaleaman \|\| @BTC_INFOCHAIN \|\| @btc_reddit \|\| Can bitcoin reach $100,000,000 by 2030? If you’re a bitcoin maximalist, read this article. https://medium.com/coinmonks/hyperbitcoinization-winner-takes-all-69ab59f9695f … #hyperbitcoinization #bitcoin #btc #$100Mbitcoin #satoshi #SatoshiNakamoto \|\| @lifeoncoin	Trend: down \|\| Prices: 6595.41, 6446.47, 6495.00, 6676.75, 6644.13, 6601.96, 6625.56, 6589.62, 6556.10, 6502.59
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2015-08-25] BTC Price: 221.61, BTC RSI: 35.37 Gold Price: 1138.20, Gold RSI: 56.09 Oil Price: 39.31, Oil RSI: 27.97 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Rick Perry Voices Bitcoin Support: With bitcoin still struggling to gain mainstream approval, the cryptocurrency has been largely absent on the campaign trail for most of the 2016 Presidential hopefuls. However, Republican candidate Rick Perry remarked in aNew York Observerinterview that he is in support of "regulatory breathing room" for digital currencies, giving bitcoin enthusiasts a reason to pay attention to the former Texas governor. Progressive On Fintech In the interview, Perry framed his views on the economy as progressive, criticizing some of his opponents from the Democrat party for being too close-minded about new startups. His openness to startup growth appeared to extend to those in the digital currency world, as he remarked that digital currency firms shouldn't be stifled by regulators. Related Link:Could Mike Tyson Become The New Face For Bitcoin? What Does It Mean? The cryptocurrency community has latched on to Perry's "regulatory breathing room" comment, calling it a confirmation of his support for bitcoin. While Perry hasn't outwardly backed the currency, the phrase suggests that he would help support the growing industry should he make it to the White House. While most agree that more regulation is needed in order to make bitcoin a viable option for the general public, supporters of digital currencies say that too much regulatory interference would undermine the general principal of establishing cryptocurrencies in the first place. Bitcoin In The White House Perry isn't the only candidate to give bitcoin a nod; earlier this year fellow Republican candidate Rand Paul announced that he would accept bitcoin donations to his campaign. Paul's decision to appeal to bitcoin donors not only exposed him to a new source of campaign funds, but positioned him as a cryptocurrency-friendly candidate. See more from Benzinga • NHTSA Comes Down Hard On Auto Industry; Fiat Chrysler Gets Slammed • Privacy Emerges As Main Concern For EU Digital Market Overhaul • Could Mike Tyson Become The New Face For Bitcoin? © 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| Louis C.K. Embraces Bitcoin: Comedian Louis C.K. has joined the fast-expanding number of merchants who now accept bitcoin as a payment method by making it possible for fans to download his comedy shows and pay using the cryptocurrency. His decision to incorporate bitcoin on his website underscored the digital currency's growing presence in the entertainment industry, which many believe will ultimately help lead to mainstream adoption. Bitcoin Integration On Louis C.K.'s website, fans can download the comedian's albums and recordings and pay anywhere between $1 and $85. In order to give his supporters another way to pay, Louis C.K. partnered with payment processor BitPay to allow bitcoin supporters to use their mobile wallets. The new option is also beneficial to Louis C.K. who is able to avoid the high transaction fees charged by other processors like PayPal Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: PYPL ). Related Link: Could Mike Tyson Become The New Face For Bitcoin? Positive Reception So far, his decision to incorporate bitcoin has received a positive reaction from fans. It appears that some of Louis C.K.'s supporters are a part of the bitcoin community, and have already begun using the new payment option to purchase the comedian's recordings. A Boost This is not the first time that bitcoin has been a hot topic in the entertainment space. Earlier this summer a new film called "Dope" announced that movie goers could purchase their tickets using the cryptocurrency. The film also incorporated bitcoin into its plot, giving digital currencies more exposure. Many believe that the adoption of bitcoin in the entertainment industry is essential to the cryptocurrency's mainstream adoption. Not only will it bring attention to the currency, but it may help to undo some of the negative publicity that bitcoin has received in past years after hacking attacks and scams made it out to be a tool for criminals. Image credit: Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff , Flickr See more from Benzinga Is Medical Marijuana Effective? What's Happening To Media Stocks? Japan Says Bitcoin Can't Be Owned © 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| Block26 Leads Seed Round in Bitcoin Wallet Platform Airbitz With $450,000 Investment: LOS ANGELES, CA --(Marketwired - July 10, 2015) - Block26, the blockchain venture firm, today announced that it has invested $450,000 in Airbitz Inc., a digital wallet platform. Block26 joins Airbitz Board of Directors while leading a $1,250,000 seed round expected to close later this summer. The $450,000 infusion marks the first investment from Block26, led by Co-Founders Ni'coel Stark and Pedram Hasid, in the hot Bitcoin technology space. Airbitz was awarded first place at the 2015 Inside Bitcoin NYC startup competition and was named one of AlwaysOn OnFinance's 50 Companies to Watch in 2015. Airbitz's decentralized and open source platform solves many of the current usability, security and privacy issues inherent in the current generation of bitcoin wallets. Airbitz is a remarkably easy-to-use and intelligently designed wallet that allows users to receive, store, or send funds with confidence. The digital wallet software is protected by ironclad and effortless security that prevents any third party from accessing user funds or data, including Airbitz itself, and features the world's first one-touch 2-factor authentication. Available for iOS and Android, Airbitz automatically encrypts, secures and backs up user data without requiring complicated user prompts, and the decentralized server architecture ensures that Airbitz wallets are functional even if company servers are disabled. Altogether, Airbitz provides the familiar feel and functionality of mobile banking while implementing blockchain operations under the hood, reducing friction and making Bitcoin universally approachable and usable. Block26 understands that this same technology has the potential to disrupt arenas beyond digital currency. Block26 Co-Founder and Managing Principal Ni'coel Stark said, "Block26 is making its first investment in Airbitz because not only is it the best digital wallet for consumers, it is far more than a wallet. Airbitz technology enables a multifaceted financial tool, an extraordinary implementation on edge security, and a whole new contribution to the Internet of Things. Block26 is excited to empower Airbitz solutions in revolutionizing transaction, authentication and security processes." Airbitz is led by CEO and Co-Founder Paul Puey, a former Nvidia senior engineer and a prominent leader of Bitcoin advocacy in Southern California. The Airbitz leadership team includes CTO and Co-Founder Tim Horton, the former CTO of startup Breadcrumbs Inc.,; VP Design and Co-Founder Damian Cutillo, formerly Co-Founder at Breadcrumbs Inc.; Chief Architect and Co-Founder William Swanson, the core developer of Libbitcoin; and COO Rick "Henri" Chan, Co-Founder of AlphaPoint with 15 years experience at finance and technology firms including Robertson Stephens, Deutsche Bank and UBS Financial Services. Story continues Airbitz CEO and Co-Founder Paul Puey said, "Airbitz is tremendously honored to have Block26 as our partner and lead investor. Their core focus on bitcoin, blockchain, and decentralized technologies is perfectly inline with the DNA of Airbitz founders. Block26 brings incredible experience in building highly tuned team dynamics and they see the value in people, companies, and industries that aren't afraid to disrupt the status quo. We look forward to building a decentralized world with their passion and support at our side." Airbitz COO Rick "Henri" Chan added, "Block26 is more than an investor to Airbitz; they are an integral partner in our rapid development. We look forward to closely working with Block26 as partners in building a company that thrives as it grows. Block26's unique financial model allows for a flexible investment strategy that could provide Airbitz and other portfolio companies with early stage capital, with the capacity to provide bridge funding as well. For these reasons and many more, we greatly look forward to Block26 joining our Board." For more information, visit Airbitz at www.airbitz.co or Block26 at www.block26.com . View comments \|\| Fed Stuck In The Middle Of Marijuana Debate: One of the major issues plaguing the United States' newly developing marijuana industry has been banking. Although President Barack Obama has granted states the right to determine their own marijuana laws, the substance is still classed as illegal in the federal government's eyes. For that reason, banks bound by federal law have been unable to engage with marijuana firms even in states where the drug is legal. Fed Lawsuit Last week, Colorado's Fourth Corner Credit Unionsuedthe Kansas City Fed after its application for federal insurance was rejected. The credit union was denied a routing number in order to set up its master account, meaning that Fourth Corner would be unable to operate. The firm said the Fed's decision to reject Fourth Corner is an unreasonable restraint of trade and commerce and that the credit union's receipt of a state charter should have given it access to federal insurance. Fed Pushes Back The Fed has argued that it has the right to use its own discretion when it comes to opening new master accounts. The bank claims it was unable to accurately asses the risks associated with Fourth Corner's business and therefore is allowed to reject the application. Conflicting Laws The legal battle underscored the pitfalls of conflicting laws at the federal and state level. While legalization efforts have been successful in many states across the US, the banking issue will likely continue to plague the industry as long as federal law continues to class marijuana as illegal. See more from Benzinga • Australian Government Takes Steps Toward Becoming A Bitcoin-Friendly Nation • Tech Firms Gear Up For 2016 Presidential Race • Are Tethered Drones The Answer To Safety Concerns? © 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| C&W Unveils the 'New' Flow and Creates History in Barbados: BRIDGETOWN, BARBADOS--(Marketwired - Jul 16, 2015) - Telecoms history was made in Barbados today as Cable & Wireless Communications (C&W) officially launched its retail brand, Flow, for its newly combined consumer group. The 'new' Flow will deliver a compelling set of quad play products and services via its Fibre to the Home (FTTH) infrastructure set to reach 100% of Barbados homes by year end. This will make Barbados the first country in the world to have 100% FTTH coverage. "We are pleased to usher in a new culture of innovation and technical excellence, backed by major investments in our Fibre to the Home infrastructure," said John Reid, President of C&W Consumer Group. With our combined strengths, Barbados consumers will have access to the most technologically advanced quad play products in the region, through our mobile, video, landline and broadband services. Reid also said that the foundation of the new Flow brand strategy was consistent with the positive characteristics of the Caribbean. "We are driven by all that is positive in the Caribbean," he said. "The people, the passion, and the drive to succeed. Against that backdrop, we commit to continue our focus on innovation, technical excellence and great customer service." Flow also unveiled plans to become #1 for customer experience in Barbados and the region. According to Niall Sheehy, the Country Manager for Flow Barbados, "Flow will realise this bold vision by making significant changes across our operations to drive an outstanding customer experience, which will extend beyond the obvious frontline transactions." Sheehy said that, "In all departments and in each role the goal will be to put the customer first in every aspect of our business." The 'unveil' of the new brand, follows the announcement in March by C&W to merge its operations with Columbus International. C&W will follow this inaugural launch throughout the Caribbean on a phased, country-by-country basis over the next twelve months. About Cable & Wireless Communications: Cable & Wireless Communications Plc (CWC) is a full service communications and entertainment provider, operating in the Caribbean and Latin America. With annual sales of over $2.4 billion, it operates both mobile and fixed networks, supported by submarine and terrestrial optical fibre backhaul capacity. Through the acquisition of Columbus International Inc. on 31 March 2015, CWC now delivers superior high-speed mobile data, broadband and TV/video services. It has leading market positions in Mobile, Fixed Line, Broadband and TV consumer offers. Through its business division, CWC provides data centre hosting, domestic and international managed network services, and customised IT service solutions, utilising cloud technology to serve business and government customers. The company also operates a state-of-the-art subsea fibre optic cable network that spans more than 42,000 km -- the most extensive in the region -- as well as 38,000 km of terrestrial fibre providing wholesale and carrier backhaul capacity. CWC has more than 7,500 employees serving over 6 million customers (Mobile 3.8m; Fixed Line 1.1m; TV 430k and Broadband 650k) as well as over 125k corporate clients across 42 countries. The Company's leading brands include: LIME and Flow in the Caribbean; BTC in The Bahamas; Mas Movil in Panama; C&W Business and C&W Networks. CWC is the market leader in most products offered and territories served. It is a major contributor to local communities through its corporate social responsibility programmes. Cable & Wireless Communications' shares are quoted on the London Stock Exchange under the ticker CWC. The company is headquartered in London with its operational hub located in Miami, within close proximity to the Caribbean and Latin America. For more information visit:http://www.cwc.com. \|\| What to watch on Monday: The " Fast Money " traders gave their final thoughts of the day. Steve Grasso was watching the S&P 500 (CME:Index and Options Market: .INX) 's technical levels. David Seaburg was a buyer of TWTR (NYSE: TWTR) . Brian Kelly had his eye on the DXY (Exchange: .DXY) . Guy Adami was also watching key levels of the S&P 500 (CME:Index and Options Market: .INX) . Trader disclosure: On August 21, 2015 the following stocks and commodities mentioned or intended to be mentioned on CNBC's "Fast Money" were owned by the "Fast Money" traders: Brian Kelly is long BBRY, BTC=; DAX, DXGE, ITB, TAN, TSL, TWTR call spread, U.S. Dollar; he is short AUDJPY, GBPJPY, Euro, Ruble, Yen, Yuan. Today he bought DAX, DXGE, US Dollar. Today he sold VIX and Euro. Today he closed his CAC40 short position. Today he shorted Euro and Yen. Guy Adami is long CELG, EXAS, INTC, Guy Adami's wife, Linda Snow, works at Merck. Steve Grasso is long AAPL, BA, BAC, CC, DD, DIS, DECK, EVGN, FIT, KBH, MJNA, MU, PFE, PHM, T, TWTR, GDX. His kids are long EFA, EFG, EWJ, IJR, SPY. His firm and some of its partners are long WLL, DNR, DVN, TWTR, NE, NEM, OXY, RIG, TSE, VALE. More From CNBC Top News and Analysis Latest News Video Personal Finance \|\| Bitcoin's 'war' could threaten its survival: Bitcoin, the digital currency technology with an ecosystem attracting hundreds of millions of dollars in investment, is struggling through an existential crisis. And what may to outsiders seem like petty squabbling about a single number actually has major financial implications and could even threaten the very survival of the cryptocurrency. The argument-which is pitting Chinese constituencies against largely Western developers, the business community against the often ideological early adopters, and programmer against programmer-centers on a simple number in the global bitcoin system. But if the various parties can't come to an agreement, the whole network could splinter, wrecking its major selling points of security and decentralization. "There is literally a war going on right now in the bitcoin world," Marco Streng, CEO of Genesis Mining, told CNBC last month. There are two major questions facing the technology: Who is bitcoin for? And who gets to decide? Most of the early adopters saw appeal in bitcoin as a decentralized digital currency(: BTC=)-(to over-simplify the promise) a sort of virtual gold that could not be touched by governments, banks or corporations. But in seeking to create the perfect system for such a currency, bitcoin's early creators also created a technology that has wide-ranging applications. That technology is called the "blockchain"(CNBC has gone in depth into how it works), and this is basically what it does: It can record any information in a secure way, and make that information both public and unchangeable-doing this without relying on any central authority. Banks, stock exchanges, payment companies and othershave already begun exploringhow this can be used in their own businesses. The issue at hand is about the structure of bitcoin's blockchain (which is composed of "blocks" of data with each block referring back to the preceding chunk of information-thereby creating a chain). The community is arguing about how big the maximum block size should be: The current max is one megabyte, which only allows for about seven transactions per second-far too few for most businesses currently investing in the technology. This speed is a "roadblock to bitcoin growth," Jeff Garzik, one of five bitcoin core developers who have taken over maintenance of the technology,wrote in a recent paper. (Visa, for comparison, says its network can handle more than 24,000 transactions per second.) Read MoreWhy is it called the 'blockchain?' "Any responsible business projecting capacity usage into the future sees the system reaching an absolute maximum capacity, with this speed limit in place," he wrote. "Increasing or removing this limit will encourage businesses to view bitcoin as scalable and capable of supporting millions of new users." The block size limit may also negatively impact bitcoin's original currency use-case: As the number of transaction requests exceed the limit, the user experience degrades: The pools of "miners" who help inscribe data onto the global network will begin charging ever-higher fees for processing, eliminating some of the appeal over other payment methods. But there are reasons for limiting the size of a block. For one, it provides security for the system by constraining available space, and therefore making it costly to maliciously flood the network with spam. Miners are generally against increasing the size too much: They would have to do more work on each block, but they'd still reap the same benefit per block (while transaction fees remain negligibly low), said Pete Rizzo, the U.S. editor for cryptocurrency site CoinDesk. Also, some early adopters who plan to hold bitcoin for extended periods of time as an investment may prefer to keep the block size limit low-unbothered by transaction fees or business prospects, Garzik explained to CNBC. But even if more interests seem to point to increasing the block size, there's no agreement what size is ideal-balancing present-day security and future promise-or how a change should be made. Gavin Andresen, one of the most important developers of the technology,proposedincreasing the max size to 20 megabytes. (He did not respond to request for comment.) A powerful constituency of Chinese miners-who also object to increasing the size of the block, saying their nation's Internet connection to the rest of the world would not allow it-made a counter proposalsuggestingan eight-megabyte maximum. Andresen has since backed a version of this plan. Read MoreWhy financial firms are investigating bitcoin tech For his part, Garzik proposed a sliding cap with a change to the bitcoin code allowing for periodic block increases (or even decreases) based on global miners' votes. Different sources told CNBC that the most important parts of the community were variously leaning toward Garzik's proposal, an 8-megabyte increase, or just a small "can-kicking" measure to wait for technologies that might allow them to bypass the question. But as a totally decentralized system, bitcoin has no clear way to weigh these disparate opinions and interests-in other words, no way to make a definitive decision. Garzik called the block size debate the first major alteration to bitcoin policy since it began in January 2009. When other changes have been made, the core software has been changed, and the players on the network have quickly updated (anyone who doesn't follow the current protocol gets booted from the network until they comply). But with a contentious issue like this, the developers risk splitting the network into those who want to follow one set of rules, and those who want another. If someone were to push out a global update without ensuring near-total consensus, a split could occur. Read MoreBitcoin firm raises $116M, including Qualcomm investment "That would be the worst of all possible options," Garzik said. Bitcoin runs on a blockchain that is more secure and decentralized than any of its competitors because of its large user base and its comparatively lengthy history. If those users were to splinter, then the entire enterprise could be compromised. So what's at stake? Hundreds of millions of dollars have been invested in bitcoin and blockchain-related companies, and the current value of all the bitcoin in existence is currentlyabout $4 billion. The risks of a network split are low but not negligible, experts told CNBC. "You're dealing with consensus among a community of people who aren't communicating very well-and haven't for some time," Rizzo said, explaining that making any change to the code risks breaking a technology that already works pretty well. "At what point does that risk become untenable? At this point it's still within the realm of 'danger Will Robinson'-level risk," he added. More From CNBC • Top News and Analysis • Latest News Video • Personal Finance \|\| Is Iran's Nuclear Agreement A Done Deal?: While it may seem like the hardest negotiations are over, the nuclear agreement made between Iranian officials and Western diplomats was only the beginning. Now the deal will be scrutinized around the world as the U.S. and its allies debate whether or not the agreement's benefits outweigh the risks. Republican Majority One arena where the deal islikely to face a lot of oppositionis U.S. Congress. As Republicans represent the majority in both the Senate and the House, there could be a lot of pushback against the nuclear deal during Congress' 60 day review period. However, in order to completely overturn the deal and ensure that it is not passed, Republicans would need to gain support from many of Congress' Democrats. Since the bill represents a major policy aim for Obama, who is backed by the Democrats, Republicans are unlikely to get the votes they need to kill the deal. Related Link:Is Russia Next To Adopt Bitcoin? Middle Eastern Worries The U.S. isn't the only place the deal faces opposition. In the Middle East, many of the U.S.' allies worry that the deal will give Iran too much power. While Iranian officials have promised to curb the nation's nuclear activities in accordance with new restrictions laid out in the agreement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the financial power that relaxed sanctions will give Iran will spell disaster for the region. Netanyahu said he plans to lobby against the deal as he believes it will allow Iran to provide financial support to its allies, namely Syria. See more from Benzinga • Greece Receives Bailout Deal: Now What? • Can Greece's Latest Reform Proposal Be Trusted? • Greece To Plead Its Case At A Last-Chance Summit © 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| How Will Greece's Problems Affect The Fed?: The sudden sharp decline in Greece's bailout negotiations sent shock waves throughout international markets and gave investors reason to believe that the nation was headed for an exit from the eurozone. In the U.S., markets remained relatively calm with the Dow Jones Industrial Average losing just 1.95 percent on Monday following news of Greece's scheduled referendum vote. Now, investors are turning their focus to the Federal Reserve to see if the bank will still raise interest rates despite the international turmoil. Still Not A Problem For now, many analysts say that Greece's financial turmoil won't have much of an impact on the Fed's decision making when it comes to a rate hike. Because Greece has been struggling to stay afloat for years, many believe the shock to markets will be minimal as most investors have already wound down their positions in the nation. The Bank for International Settlements reported that U.S. banks have only invested about $12 billion in Greece, a figure that won't spell disaster if the nation exits the eurozone. Related Link: Bitcoin Rises As Greece Falls...Coincidence? Strong Dollar A Concern One issue the Fed could face would be a stronger dollar. The dollar's recent rally has already taken a toll U.S.-based firms' bottom lines as it has made their foreign sales less profitable and their products more expensive than foreign competitors.' The bank is likely to keep the greenback in mind when evaluating whether or not the U.S. can withstand a rate hike. Time Will Tell So far, Fed officials have been adamant that their decisions will be based on U.S. data and whether or not the nation's economic improvement warrants a rate increase. With most analysts expecting the bank to raise rates in September, the Fed will have plenty of time to see how the Greek situation plays out. If the problems in Greece become a contagion affecting the global economy, then the bank will likely hold off on a rate hike. But if the issue passes without much impact on U.S. markets, the bank will likely proceed as planned. Story continues See more from Benzinga Greece's Final Proposal Draws Criticism From Syriza Investors Tentatively Look To Europe © 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| Fast Food Gets Even Faster In Asia: McDonald's Corporation(NYSE:MCD) has had a difficult year as consumer tastes shifted and the restaurant battled criticism over its ingredients and lack of healthy offerings. However, the burger chain has been working to restore its bottom line, especially in China, where the massive population represents a major growth opportunity. Appealing To Their Preferences In an effort to reach Chinese consumers, who are becoming increasingly focused on digital innovation, McDonald's ispilotinga new program that will allow customers to pay for their orders on their mobile device, making the process of collecting their meal in-store faster and easier. Custom Burgers The decision to include a mobile payment option in China came after McDonald's unveiled digital kiosks that allow customers to build their own burger using a touch screen machine at two Shanghai locations. By adding state-of-the-art technology to its appeal, McDonald's is hoping to lure in first-time customers who are eager to try something new. Related Link:Bitcoin Glitch Costs Miners Thousands Mobile Payments Take Off While mobile payments are nothing new, in China they are becoming increasingly popular. Online retailerAlibaba Group Holding Ltd(NYSE:BABA) recently launched a mobile payment system which has been adopted by several big names includingWal-Mart Corp(NYSE:WMT) andYum Brands Inc.(NYSE:YUM)'s KFC food chain. Since Chinese customers have historically shied away from using credit cards, mobile payments has become a major draw. Customers have been looking for a fast, convenient way to pay and mobile options are providing that experience. See more from Benzinga • FIFA Sponsors Weigh Up The Cost Of Scandal • McDonald's Back In The Firing Line Over Happy Meal Ad © 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] buysellbitco.in #bitcoin price in INR, Buy : 18055.00 INR Sell : 17494.00 INR. Buy and sell bitcoin in #India using #buysellbitcoin \|\| In the last 10 mins, there were arb opps spanning 17 exchange pair(s), yielding profits ranging between $0.00 and $935.84 #bitcoin #btc \|\| BTCTurk 674.28 TL BTCe 248.174 $ CampBx $ BitStamp 249.00 $ Cavirtex 308.04 $ CEXIO 253 $ Bitcoin.de 224.51 € #Bitcoin #btc \|\| 1 #BTC = 1067.00 PLN / 287.00 USD at http://bitbay.net #bitcoin pic.twitter.com/K3Ig8No8Vn \|\| buysellbitco.in #bitcoin price in INR, Buy : 16752.00 INR Sell : 16238.00 INR. Buy and sell bitcoin in #India using #buysellbitcoin \|\| In the last 10 mins, there were arb opps spanning 20 exchange pair(s), yielding profits ranging between $0.00 and $1,356.38 #bitcoin #btc \|\| #RDD / #BTC on the exchanges: Cryptsy: 0.00000006 Bittrex: 0.00000005 Average $1.6E-5 per #reddcoin 02:00:01 \|\| Bitcoin traded at $260.34 USD on BTC-e at 03:00 PM Pacific Time \|\| One Bitcoin now worth $276.73@bitstamp. High $283.00. Low $276.73. Market Cap $3.938 Billion #bitcoin \|\| Current price: 252.24€ $BTCEUR $btc #bitcoin 2015-07-23 21:00:07 CEST	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 225.83, 224.77, 231.40, 229.78, 228.76, 230.06, 228.12, 229.28, 227.18, 230.30
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis] Not fully available. [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] ‘Bitcoin is dead,’ says prominent fintech exec: Exactly three months ago, a well-known bitcoin developer, Mike Hearn, wrotea post on Mediumthat rocked the community of people who believe in the future of the digital currency and its technology. Bitcoin, he wrote, has failed. “It has failed because the community has failed… Worse still, the network is on the brink of technical collapse.” The post led to screaming headlines about the end of bitcoin. And yet, the industry plugs along. The currency is trading at $430 USD. Transaction volume (the number of bitcoin transactions per day) is higher now than it was before Hearn’s post, according toa tracker at Blockchain.info. Just this week, theWall Street Journalprofiled a top ETF (exchange-traded fund) attorney who is advocating for a bitcoin ETF, the same effort that Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss are pushing. Barry Silbert, CEO of the Digital Currency Group,reflected this week, “Hearnado is over.” Maybe not. If you ask Taavet Hinrikus, CEO of international-payments app TransferWise, “Bitcoin, I think we can say, is dead. There is no traction, no one is using bitcoin. The bitcoin experiment, I think we can say, is over.” Hinrikus made the comments in an interview with Yahoo Finance, during a visit to discuss his company’s servicelaunching in Mexico this week. “What really happened was a gold rush,” he continued. “People bought bitcoin because they thought it would be worth more tomorrow. And a lot of people got lucky. But we’re not seeing real people use bitcoin. And we don’t know what problem it solves. Now, blockchain, I think, is a genius advancement in technology. But I’m not sure we’re seeing yet where to apply it. I’m pretty excited aboutR3 and Digital Asset Holdings. I think there are many areas where using blockchain is great, but it’s still early days.” He’s not alone in either opinion: JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon, for one,has also saidthat bitcoin is “doomed,” and has also drawn a distinction between the currency and its underlying ledger technology, the blockchain. His bank, along with more than 40 others, hassigned on to a consortiumto test blockchain technology for their transaction rails. Of course, TransferWise isn’t a bitcoin company. But the company’s proposition to customers is faster transfer times, and smaller transfer fees, on international remittances. Bitcoin, as a technology, has the same appeal (among many other uses): instant transfers and tiny fees, circumventing big, expensive, sluggish banks or wire services. Startups like TransferWise, and Dwolla, and a host of others that have nothing to do with bitcoin are nonetheless in the same general pool of financial technology, or more specifically, digital payments. The bold claim about bitcoin’s death would mean more, and be more alarming or divisive among the bitcoin community, coming from a bitcoin executive. (After all, one could make the case that bitcoin is a competitor to TransferWise, which deals in fiat currency.)But Hinrikus is no newcomer to fintech: TransferWise has raised nearly $100 million from huge names in tech investing like Peter Thiel, Marc Andreessen, and Richard Branson, and before co-founding TransferWise, Hinrikus was the first hire at Skype and worked there five years as its director of strategy. When asked about bitcoin, Hinrikus began by saying, “We’ve certainly paid lots of attention to bitcoin and blockchain.” If tech entrepreneurs like Hinrikus feel they no longer need to keep paying attention, that could be a problem for the coin and its future viability. -- Daniel Roberts is a writer at Yahoo Finance, covering sports business and technology. Read more: Bitcoin community disputes use of the term ‘Internet of Money’ How big banks are paying lip service to the blockchain Here’s how you can invest in the blockchain Bitcoin's biggest investor just bought its biggest news site \|\| Your first trade for Thursday: The " Fast Money " traders delivered their final trades of the day. Tim Seymour was a seller of FedEx ( FDX ) . David Seaburg was a buyer of Gilead ( GILD ) . Karen Finerman was a buyer of Foot Locker ( FL ) . Brian Kelly was a seller of the Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF. (NYSE Arca: XLF) Trader disclosure: On March 23, 2016, the following stocks and commodities mentioned or intended to be mentioned on CNBC's "Fast Money" were owned by the "Fast Money" traders: Karen Finerman is long BAC, C, FL, GOOG, GOOGL, JPM, LYV, KORS, M, SEDG, SPY puts, URI. Her firm is long ANTM, AAPL, BAC, C, C calls, FINL, GOOG, GOOGL, JPM, JPM calls, KORS, LYV, M, MOH, NRF, PLCE, SPY puts, URI, her firm is short IWM, MDY. Karen Finerman is on the board of GrafTech International. Brian Kelly is long BBRY, Bitcoin, GLD, GLD puts, SH, SLV, TLT, US Dollar, UUP, Yen; he is short Aussie Dollar, BLK, British Pound, CS, DB, Euro, EWH, FRC, Hong Kong Dollar, UBS, SPY, Yuan, 5-Year Note Futures. David Seaburg: Opinions expressed by David Seaburg are solely his own and do not reflect the views and opinions of Cowen Group, Inc.Tim Seymour is long AAPL, AVP, BAC, BBRY, DO, EDC, F, FCX, GM, GOOGL, INTC, NKE, SINA, T, TWTR, VZ, XOM. Tim's firm is long BABA, BIDU, CLF, KO, MCD, MPEL, PEP, PF, SAVE, SBUX, VALE, WMT,YHOO, short HYG, IWM. More From CNBC Top News and Analysis Latest News Video Personal Finance \|\| Your first trade for Friday: The " Fast Money " traders delivered their final trades of the day. Tim Seymour was a seller of the iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (NYSE Arca: EEM) . Steve Grasso was a seller of Freeport-McMoRan ( FCX ) . Brian Kelly was a buyer of the iShares Silver Trust (NYSE Arca: SLV) . Guy Adami was a buyer of Coca-Cola ( KO ) for the second day in a row. Trader disclosure: On March 10, 2016, the following stocks and commodities mentioned or intended to be mentioned on CNBC's "Fast Money" were owned by the "Fast Money" traders: Guy Adami is long CELG, EXAS, GDX, INTC, Guy Adami's wife, Linda Snow, works at Merck. Brian Kelly is long BBRY, Bitcoin, GLD, GLD puts, SH, SLV, TLT, US Dollar, UUP, Yen; he is short Aussie Dollar, BLK, British Pound, CS, DB, Euro, EWH, FRC, Hong Kong Dollar, UBS, SPY, Yuan, 5-Year Note Futures. Steve Grasso is long AAPL, BA, CC, DD, DIS, DECK, EVGN, KBH, MJNA, MU, OLN, PFE, PHM, T, TWTR, GDX sold BAC firm is long OXY, BP, CVX, RIG, FCX kids own EFA, EFG, EWJ, IJR, SPY. Tim Seymour is long AAPL, AVP, BAC, BBRY, DO, F, FCX, GM, GOOGL, INTC, JCP, NKE, SINA, T, TWTR, VZ, XOM. Tim's firm is long BABA, BIDU, CLF, KO, MCD, PEP, PF, SAVE, SBUX, VALE, WMT,YHOO, short HYG, IWM. More From CNBC Top News and Analysis Latest News Video Personal Finance \|\| Excitement Builds for Flow CARIFTA Games: ST. GEORGE'S, GRENADA--(Marketwired - Mar 24, 2016) - The excitement is steadily building in the Spice Isle, as the crème de la crème of junior track and field descends on Grenada for the highly anticipated 2016 Flow CARIFTA Games this weekend. Already, teams from Anguilla, Antigua, the Cayman Islands, Guyana, St. Lucia, Suriname, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, the US Virgin Islands, and Trinidad and Tobago have arrived in St. George's to compete in the 45thedition of the Caribbean's premier athletics meet. "We know that a lot is expected of us, and as we showcase our Caribbean youth, we want to provide them with an experience that will encourage them to continue in sport. My heart is filled with joy to see that we have reached this point," said Veda Bruno-Victor, Chairperson of the Local Organising Committee. Flow, the region's leading telecommunications provider, has signed a three-year partnership with the North American, Central American and Caribbean Athletics Association (NACAC) to be the exclusive broadcast partner and title sponsor of the CARIFTA Games. It means that for the first time in the history of the CARIFTA Games, the event will be broadcast live in High Definition (HD) across the entire Caribbean. "I am also very grateful that Flow has become our title sponsor for the 2016 CARIFTA Games and for the following two Games to come. We want our young athletes to be seen and remembered, because if they are not in Rio, they will definitely be in Japan (2020 Olympic Games). We want our people to say 'I remember that boy or girl' and it is with great expectation that we look forward to the coming of the CARIFTA Games," added Bruno-Victor. Flow, which is also the region's exclusive broadcast partner for the upcoming Rio 2016 Olympic Games, has contracted an international production team that will capture, package and present more than twenty hours of live coverage from the River Road venue on the Flow Sports Channel (Channel 190 in Barbados). "This is a triumphant moment for Caribbean athletics and we very proud to be the exclusive broadcast partner and title sponsor of the 2016 Flow CARIFTA Games," said Denise Williams, Senior Vice President of Communications, Cable & Wireless Communications. "Since its launch last year, Flow Sports has already become one of the Caribbean's leading sports networks and our partnership with the CARIFTA Games builds upon Flow's other initiatives across the region. In addition to lending financial support, we are also very excited that our partnership with NACAC will allow us the opportunity to broadcast the Games across multiple platforms including our very own Flow Sports." The 2016 Flow CARIFTA Games will inaugurate Grenada's new National Stadium which was recently redeveloped following the passing of Hurricane Ivan in 2004. More than 650 athletes and officials will attend the Games from countries including Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Bonaire, Cayman Islands, Curacao, Dominica, French Guiana, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Martinique, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Maarteen, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands, and the United States Virgin Islands. About Cable & Wireless Communications PlcCable & Wireless Communications Plc (CWC) is a full service communications and entertainment provider, operating in Latin America and the Caribbean. With annual sales of over US$2.4 billion, it operates both mobile and fixed networks, supported by submarine and terrestrial optical fibre backhaul capacity. CWC delivers superior high-speed mobile data, broadband and video services. It has leading market positions in Mobile, Fixed Line, Broadband and Video consumer offers. Through its business division, CWC provides data centre hosting, domestic and international managed network services, and customised IT service solutions, utilising cloud technology to serve business and government customers. The Group also operates a state-of-the-art subsea fibre optic cable network that spans more than 48,000 km -- the most extensive in the region -- as well as 38,000 km of terrestrial fibre providing wholesale and carrier backhaul capacity. CWC has more than 7,300 employees serving 6.4 million customers (Mobile 4.1m; Fixed Line 1.1m; Video 470k and Broadband 690k) across 42 countries. The Group's leading brands include; LIME and Flow in the Caribbean; BTC in The Bahamas; Mas Movil in Panama; C&W Business and C&W Networks. CWC is the market leader in most products offered and territories served. It is a major contributor to local communities through its corporate social responsibility programmes. Cable & Wireless Communications Plc's shares are quoted on the London Stock Exchange under the ticker CWC. The Group is headquartered in London with its operational hub located in Miami, within close proximity to the Caribbean and Latin America. For more information visit:www.cwc.com. Image Available:http://www2.marketwire.com/mw/frame_mw?attachid=2983620 \|\| This Country Has Gone Nearly 25 Years Without a Recession: They called it Super Tuesday in America, but it was the Australian economy that won the day. The Australian Bureau of Statisticsannouncedthat its economy grew at an annualized rate of 3.0% in the fourth quarter of 2015, above the estimates of economists who predicted that the Aussie economy would be more negatively affected by the economic slowdown in China. It also marked the 98th straight quarter that the Australian economy has avoided a recession. That’s right, Australia has gone almost 25 years without having two consecutive quarters of negative growth, the standard definition of a recession. AsBusiness Insider Australiapoints out, this brings the Aussie’s close to the developed-world record held by the Netherlands, whose own streak of 103 straight quarters without a recession came to a halt during the global financial crisis. Australia has been able to avoid a recession because of its close ties to the Chinese economy. It’s wealth of natural resources and proximity to China made it the go-to supplier of China’s manufacturing boom. Although it’s been able to avoid being brought down by the Chinese slowdown thus far, many economists remain pessimistic. "We should be cautious given the poor quality of the growth, which was driven by a rise in government spending and household expenditure that relied on a run down in savings," said Andrew Ticehurst, rate strategist at Nomura,told theFinancial Times. See original article on Fortune.com More from Fortune.com • Australian Avocado Prices Soar as Supply Goes Pear-Shaped • An Australian Family Rents an Airbnb That Turns Out to Be a Drug Den • Ad Agency Defends Mocked 'Stoner Sloth' Anti-Marijuana Campaign • Australian Police Have Raided the Home of Bitcoin's Supposed Creator • Taylor Swift Takes Her 125-Person Crew on Vacation \|\| The Crisis in Bitcoin and the Rise of Blockchain: Remember the hype over bitcoin? The crypto-currency that so tantalized techies and excited investors is today in a sorry state: Its core supporters are at war with each other and ordinary consumersstilldon’t care about this supposedly revolutionary form of money. But that’s only half of the story. The other half is about the remarkable rise of blockchain, the core technology underlying bitcoin that is enjoying unprecedented adoption by banks and big business. This development--the fall of bitcoin and the rise of blockchain--has accelerated in recent months, and it has big implications for those who have sunk hundreds of millions of dollars into these technologies. Here’s the latest on the story of bitcoin, which has turned out far differently than many imagined. How We Got Here Flash back five years, the bitcoin scene was an exciting place to be. A motley mix of coders, libertarians, and get-rich-quick hucksters latched onto the promise of bitcoin founder Satoshi Nakamoto’s new distributed, tamper-proof money system and ledger run from millions of computers. The ledger provided an indelible record of near-anonymous financial transactions in offering a global payment platform to ordinary merchants, drug dealers, and everyone in between. The early bitcoin buzz soon exploded, and the currency’s value briefly soared to$1,200. The mainstream news media caught onto the story while venture capitalists lined up to fund any business with “bit” in its name. Meanwhile, businesses from Virgin Galactic to the NBA’s Sacramento Kings realized they could get a heap of free press just by announcing they would accept bitcoin. The currency never caught on, however. Despite all the startups offering wallets and other tools to popularize the payment technology, average consumers never took to bitcoin--even as they did adopt another person-to-person mobile payment platform, known as Venmo , in droves. So what happened? One problem is that bitcoin never shook its sordid side. While there is nothing intrinsically evil about bitcoin, its most famous adopters have always been a rogue’s gallery of fraudsters, prostitutes,dark web drug lords, andPonzi schemers. Even some members of bitcoin’s governing foundation, who sought to make the currency respectable, are on the lam orin jail. This rogue reputation certainly didn’t help bitcoin. But it wasn’t the crypto-currency’s biggest problem. Instead, the main reason bitcoin didn’t catch on is because it’s just not practical. Even if you can find merchants who accept it, the process involves exotic apps, currency transactions, and a verification process that takes minutes to get the okay. Compare that to swiping a credit card, and you see the problem. In recent months, bitcoin’s adoption problem has suddenly worsened. Meanwhile, big banks are finding they can use bitcoin’s best feature and leave the currency itself behind. Get Data Sheet,Fortune's technology newsletter. The Current Crisis and the Rise of Blockchain “Bitcoin’s nightmare scenario has come to pass,” reada headlinethis week from tech site, The Verge. That’s a pretty fair way to describe a recent schism within the bitcoin developer community--the collection of gnomes who decide on the protocols and computer code under the hood. The Verge report offers a good run-down of the technical specifics but, for present purposes, they can be summed up like this: the bitcoin community failed to agree on a system upgrade, which means the ledger’s infrastructure faces a growing backlog, and it now takes over 40 minutes to confirm a transaction. As a result, bitcoin is less practical than ever and merchants (the few who accepted it in the first place) are bolting. This schism deals a further blow to bitcoin’s hopes of ever becoming a mainstream currency. This is a setback for the bitcoin community, but here’s the kicker: it doesn’t really matter. That’s because the true value of bitcoin is not the currency itself. Instead, it’s the blockchain technology underneath it. Banks and other big businesses have already reaped the benefit of this technology. AsFortunereportedin December, IBM , Intel , JP Morgan , and several other big banks are betting on the blockchain’s ledger system. As with bitcoin, the system requires a set of diffuse computers to prove that a transaction has occurred. Once a confirmation occurs, it’s recorded in a common ledger and cannot be reversed. Why is this such a big deal? It has to do with record keeping. The idea of a tamper-proof ledger created by computers is so significant because it could let a number of industries--especially banking, brokerages, and law firms--overhaul the way they do business. Instead of relying on slow and cumbersome settlement systems to notarize and record documents, they can let a blockchain do it for them. “The clearing and settlement will be done in a matter of seconds. An efficiency comes with this that is a pretty significant force multiplier,” explains Jeff Garzick, a former bitcoin developer who recently launched a consultancy calledBloqthat advises banks and others how to deploy blockchain technology. Garzick and his partner Matt Rosack expect the financial industry will begin using the blockchain for stock and loan settlements as soon as the end of this year. Likewise, they think banks’ transactions at the discount window of the Federal Reserve will soon be recorded on a blockchain. And that’s just the beginning. Garzick and Rosack say the Big Four auditing firms will soon have a blockchain-based transaction feed that will be visible to regulators, who have been studying the potential of blockchain technology for years. The Future: Blockchain Without Bitcoin Even for those familiar with crypto-currency, it can be hard to get one’s head around just how the blockchain can operate without bitcoin. The reason is that bitcoin supplies the financial incentive for people around the world, known as miners, to operate the ledger in the first place. For more about bitcoin, watch our video: In return for devoting their computers to running the blockchain (which publishes the ledger), they receive a reward in the form of a bitcoin that can be spent online or exchanged for traditional currency. In the absence of such an incentive, how do the banks plan to develop the blockchain? The answer is they are building their own version of blockchain and running it themselves. As Garzick explains, this process involves taking the core protocol underlying bitcoin and then stripping off all the “mining” and compensation functions. He says the miners are an interesting way to creating a ledger, but they are not essential in the case of a “private chain,” like the one the banks are developing. “The mining is a really elegant software solution that equally distributes who is going to validate the next set of bitcoin transactions,” Garzick says. “A private chain replaces the entire trust-less aspect with a more private closed network of participants.” In practice, this will involve the banks rejecting a global federation of miners in favor of a handful of trusted verification partners within their own network--a processalready underway. For instance, a group of 15 banks might agree that the ledger becomes official once computers from seven group members agree to record a set of transactions. So what happens to bitcoin in this scenario? AsTheEconomistnoted in a recentfeature, it may become no more than a novelty or a historical curiosity. If this is the case, the venture capitalists who made big bets on consumer bitcoin startups like Coinbase andXapocould see a pool of wealth vanish. Ditto the U.S. government, which has seized a large pile of bitcoins in high-profile drug investigations. For now, that worst case scenario for bitcoin hasn’t come to pass yet. Despite the recent convulsions in the developer community, its price has heldfairly steadyaround $400 for months. It may find niche roles as a currency, such as for foreign remittances. Meanwhile, bitcoin still has defenders such as Jeremy Allaire, a successful entrepreneur who raised over $60 million for his startup, Circle, a money transfer service for consumers using bitcoin behind the scenes. Allaire says there is still time for bitcoin to break through in place of services like Venmo. “Venmo is another AOL--I don't want another walled garden. I want the Google of money,” Allaire said in a recent interview. “We've gone from a world where everyone is in denial about the tech and its usefulness. Now traditional financial institutes say, ‘We love the technology but we want to control it with our own private technology.’ That's not practical.” Other defenders include my former colleague atFortune, Dan Roberts, who said thebull caseoutstrips the bear case for bitcoin in 2016. Still, based on recent developments, a bitcoin resurgence looks like a long shot. When the final history of bitcoin is written, the currency itself is likely to be just a colorful footnote in the tale of the emergence of a powerful new blockchain technology. See original article on Fortune.com More from Fortune.com • This Could Kill the World's Most Popular Cryptocurrency • Securing the City of the Future with Bitcoin • Global Regulators Now Eyeing Fintech • Through Machine Learning, IBM Braintrust Sees Better Days Ahead • Here's Why Europe Is About to Crack Down on Bitcoin Anonymity \|\| After Microsoft R3CV Deal, Bank of Ireland Shared Blockchain Trial: Blockchain and BMW: Microsoft Is Making Big Strides ( Continued from Prior Part ) Bank of Ireland shared successful blockchain trial in April 2016 Previously in this series, we discussed how tech players like Microsoft (MSFT), Red Hat (RHT), and IBM (IBM) are making moves to advance blockchain technology. On April 5, 2016, the Bank of Ireland (IREBY) stated that in collaboration with Deloitte, the bank has successfully finished a joint proof-of-concept blockchain trial. The bank’s trial demonstrated the application of a distributed ledger as an available data layer over current financial systems while keeping the focus on trade reporting. The Bank of Ireland noted that the research showed an improved customer experience and regulatory oversight, which was available at a lower cost than the traditional banking systems. Stephen Moran, innovation manager at Bank of Ireland, stated, “While blockchain technology can be seen as disruptive, it can actually complement a bank’s existing legacy systems.” Financial services are agreeing to the disruptive nature of blockchain technology Garrick Hileman, economic historian at the London School of Economics and the University of Cambridge in the UK (EWU), stated, “2015 was very much the year of the blockchain for financial services. They clearly see the disruptive potential of the technology and are keeping their cards close to their chest regarding how they want to play it.” These financial organizations can opt for a public or private blockchain. In January 2016, R3CV disclosed that it is in the process of developing a private blockchain system that is restricted or requires permission. On the other hand, the Bitcoin blockchain is a public blockchain with an open and transparent database, wherein anyone who has Bitcoin can acquire access to record transactions on it. As the above chart shows, the number of Bitcoin blockchain users have increased tremendously since 2012. Investors who wish to gain exposure to Microsoft could consider investing in the Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLK). While XLK invests ~10.6% of its holdings in Microsoft, it also has an exposure of ~38% to application software. Continue to Next Part Browse this series on Market Realist: Part 1 - Microsoft Azure Wins a High-Profile Customer in BMW Part 2 - How Microsoft’s Azure Is Giving Stiff Competition to Amazon’s AWS Part 3 - Why Microsoft’s Partnership with R3CV Is Making News View comments \|\| Here's how you can invest in the blockchain: As big banks and other financial institutions continue tofeel the lovefor blockchain technology, many of our readers have wondered how they can get in. Can a private, non-institutional investor somehow invest in the blockchain? Answering the question requires a distinction between thebitcoinblockchain and the broader, non-bitcoin idea of blockchain technology. Think of the bitcoin blockchain as a public ledger in the cloud, not unlike a library book slip (see the above video for more). It shows every transaction made with the digital currency bitcoin; the transactions are added in bundles called "blocks," by "miners" who receive a small fee in bitcoin as incentive to add the data. (You canview that happeningin-real time.) The bitcoin blockchain is public, open-source and permissionless. What banks want to build is a private, closed blockchain,sansbitcoin,sansminers, to process their own transactions. The appeal is that it would make their systems faster and more efficient (most big banks are using old, outdated software for their record-keeping), as well as reduce friction and transfer delays. The bitcoin community is skeptical about the effort. "Having a closed, permissioned ledger run by banks might allow for better auditing, but there’s no innovation there," says Jerry Brito, executive director of the nonprofit Coin Center, whichhas raised fundingfrom the biggest names in bitcoin. "You still have to go through a consortium to use the ledger." Indeed, 45 banks, including heavy-hitters like Citi, Credit Suisse, and JPMorgan, have jumped on board with a consortium,called R3, to test out blockchain technology. JPMorgan, eager to come out to an early lead in the blockchain race,announced last monthit has been testing its own blockchain with 2,200 customers. In addition to banks trying to build their own blockchains, fintech startups likeitBitare offering their own non-bitcoin blockchains to financial customers.The blockchain product itBit offers is called Bankchain. "Bitcoin is a public, anonymous use case of blockchain technology," says itBit COO Andrew Chang. "Many financial institutions don't want to use the bitcoin blockchain because it’s an anonymous network and they're not okay with that." Whether the strategy will even bear fruit is unclear, but asAlex Kwiatkowski of financial software firm Misys says, "No one wants to be the one financial company that didn’t invest in blockchain.It feels like California in the Gold Rush -- those making an early claim think they’ll get the most gold. But it’s just an efficiency improvement.There’s going to be some value there, they just need to unlock what it is without promising too much." As banks and other big corporations continue to claim interest in blockchain, the idealogical divide between that side and the bitcoin side will only widen. Dan Conner, who is building a distributed ledger called DisLedger, aptly explains why: "If you’re a bitcoin fanboy and you’re a crypto-anarchist, that’s fine. But those people don’t tend to run in the same circles as banks." Conner predicts that even the term "blockchain" will go out of fashion for Wall Street the way "bitcoin" has, because there are inherent weaknesses in a blockchain. For now, clearly, the big banks are big believers in blockchain—or at least, they say they are. If you, a regular investor (and Yahoo Finance reader), are also a believer, is there a way to invest in blockchain technology? The short answer is: not directly. But there are three roundabout ways you could invest in the bitcoin blockchain or the broader, Wall Street concept of blockchain. If you believe in the strength of the bitcoin blockchain, the best way to invest is to buy bitcoin. Whether you want to do that for price-speculation purposes or simply out of curiosity to own a nascent asset class, there are myriad ways to obtain some easily, from exchanges like Coinbase, Circle, Bitstamp or Kraken, which hasexpanded in the U.S. recently through acquisitions. A second would be to buy stock in the banks that have joined up with R3, such asBBVA (BBVA), BNP Paribas (BNP.PA), Citi (C), Credit Suisse (CS), ING Group (ING), JPMorgan (JPM), Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), UBS (UBS), and Wells Fargo (WFC). Of course, for bitcoin true believers, buying bank stocks would defeat the purpose of a cryptocurrency designed to avoid traditional banks. Or you could buy shares in the Bitcoin Investment Trust (GBTC), which passively holds bitcoin to track the price (it's similar to the GLD gold trust) and began trading publicly over the counter last year. The trust was launched by Barry Silbert of the Digital Currency Group, which has invested in 75 bitcoin and non-bitcoin blockchain startups, andrecently bought the news site CoinDesk. "We started the Trust," Silbert says, "as aneasy way for casual investors to get exposure to the price of bitcoin without having to figure out where do you buy it, what price do you pay, and how do you store it. This is one easy way to play in the bitcoin/blockchain industry." The trust is up 20% since it began trading last May. And bitcoin itself is up 81% in the same time period. This is the second in a three-part Yahoo Finance series about blockchain technology. Thefirst partwas about why big banks are expressing interest in the blockchain; thethird partis about the biggest names in the industry. -- Daniel Roberts is a writer at Yahoo Finance, covering sports business and technology.Read more: Bitcoin advocacy group scores funding from biggest names in industry Bitcoin industry consolidates: Why Kraken bought Coinsetter Bitcoin's biggest investor bought its biggest news site Here's a sign that PayPal is embracing Bitcoin \|\| Canada's TSX hires Bitcoin guru, studies currency's technology: By Ethan Lou TORONTO (Reuters) - The Toronto Stock Exchange has hired a Bitcoin entrepreneur as its first chief digital officer as it explores the capabilities of blockchain, the technology behind the virtual currency, a senior executive at TSX parent TMX Group said on Thursday. Anthony Di Iorio, who has founded several companies based on the technology, filled the role at Canada's largest stock exchange in January, Jean Desgagne, chief executive of TMX's Global Enterprise Services, said in an interview. Stock exchanges are embracing blockchain, which allows Bitcoin users to conduct secure transactions without middlemen, as they seek to diversify and boost profit margins. When used to issue securities, the technology could potentially remove the need for clearing houses. "Blockchain is a disruptive technology," Desgagne said, noting that major changes could result from its potential adoption. "We're focused on it, we're going to learn." In January the Australian stock exchange said it had enlisted a blockchain startup to develop a new trade settlement system. Nasdaq in the United States used the technology last year to issue securities to an unidentified private investor. Last month, Nasdaq said it was developing a blockchain-based shareholder voting system for its Estonian stock exchange. Blockchain could make operations "better, faster, cheaper," Desgagne said, but noted that, if adopted, the technology would be only one element in TMX's digital operations. Di Iorio and Desgagne declined to discuss details about potential blockchain projects at TSX. Di Iorio is the founder of the Bitcoin Alliance of Canada and a co-founder of Ethereum, a blockchain-based computing platform. (Reporting by Ethan Lou; Editing by Euan Rocha and Richard Chang) \|\| Bitcoin community disputes the use of 'Internet of Money': Some people in the bitcoin world—the believers still waving the flag for the leading digital currency, which is currently trading at $427—will tell you that the phrase “The Internet of Money” is widely understood as a reference to bitcoin and its underlying technology, the blockchain. But Uphold, a “cloud bank” startup that launched in 2014, will tell you it is their corporate slogan. It applied to register the phrase as its trademark for financial services back in September 2015with the US Patent & Trademark Office, and is far along in the process. Andreas Antonopoulos doesn’t like that. The cybersecurity expert and author of "Mastering Bitcoin" has waged a war with Uphold, encouraging his 47,000 Twitter followers to help him find the earliest uses of the words “Internet of money.” Uphold’s adoption of the slogan, he tells Yahoo Finance, “perverts the meaning of the phrase.” The law is on Uphold’s side; there’s not much Antonopoulos can do to stop Uphold from getting its registration. But of all people, Antonopoulos is a loud enemy for a fintech company to have. To understand the complexity of this feud, we must step back and examine the two sides and their reputations in the financial tech industry. Uphold is a “cloud money vault” that lets you convert funds between 25 different currencies or four precious metals. When it first launched, in 2014, customers had to make deposits in bitcoin, and the company had a different name: Bitreserve. It has since rebranded, and in a way, ditched association with bitcoin. Uphold customers can still deposit bitcoin or exchange other currencies to bitcoin, but they don’t need to start with bitcoin. You could deposit U.S. dollars, for example, and convert them to pesos to send money to a friend in Mexico, never dealing with bitcoin in any way. Uphold now boasts more than $100 million in funds held in Uphold wallets, and says more than $900 million in transaction volume has been exchanged on the site. It is also part of apilot program with the Antwerp World Diamond Centrethat encourages a large portion of the world’s diamond traders to use Uphold for conversion of funds. Uphold CEO Anthony Watson, whose resume includes executive roles at Citi (C), Wells Fargo (WFC), Barclays (BCS) and Nike (NKE), has publicly expressed doubts about bitcoin, which has not ingratiated him to the vocal community of enthusiasts with high hopes for the currency. “I’ll be surprised if bitcoin is here in five years,” he toldFortunelast year. “It’s a means to an end. The value of bitcoin isn’t the currency, but the technology. I think once the world becomes more accustomed and attuned to the platform of bitcoin, the noise will go away, and the currency will go away too.” Onforums like Reddit, bitcoin believers have disparaged Watson and Uphold. Here's why the dispute between Uphold and Antonopoulos should matter to the larger financial market: Uphold is one of many fintech companies, along with Dwolla, TransferWise, Venmo, and Xoom, to name a few, that make a similar value claim: shorter transfer times and smaller transfer fees. That has been a popular selling point of bitcoin, too—but bitcoin risks collapsing due toproblems with its own infrastructure. Meanwhile, 45 major global banks havesigned on to a consortiumto test out a form of blockchain, the technology on which bitcoin runs—but a closed version of blockchain, without bitcoin. Antonopoulos is highly respected in bitcoin circles, but not a known name in the broader, big-business world. In March, he tweeted at Watson, “You are aware that others (e.g. myself) used the phrase ‘The Internet of Money’ in business long before you did?” He asked his followers to find the earliest uses of the phrase related to digital currency, and received many responses. He says people have used it to refer to bitcoin since 2010. There’s just one problem with that: It likely does not matter. “The idea that it is relevant to find the first usage of the term is misguided,” says trademark attorney Martin Schwimmer, a partner at the firm Leason Ellis. “Prior art,” he says, is a concept more often applied to patents. Earlier uses of the phrase (not as a trademark) have no bearing on Uphold’s ability to register it as a trademark. Antonopoulos understand this. “Legally, it is irrelevant,” he cedes. “Morally, taking a generic phrase you didn't invent from an open community and claiming exclusivity is a slimy move.” To be clear, Antonopoulos isn’t looking to assert exclusive rights to the phrase. But he rejects Uphold’s right to do so. (One might wonder if he is partially motivated by animosity toward a company that abandoned bitcoin; Antonopoulos says that isn't the case, and says he has an Uphold account.) “I've used the phrase for years to refer to bitcoin, long before Uphold existed,” he says, “And my use of it excluded no one.” In keeping with the spirit of bitcoin, which operates on a public, decentralized, anonymized ledger (the bitcoin blockchain), Antonopoulos believes the slogan belongs to the public. He even launched an "Internet of Money Tour" to travel around and spread the word. So, let’s say the public agrees with him, and doesn’t believe Uphold should get to use “The Internet of the Money” as its slogan. Can it stop the company from doing so? Likely no, says trademark attorney Ed Timberlake, in part because in this case “the public,” as defined by Antonopoulos (i.e., the relatively small pool of the bitcoin community) is likely only a fraction of the group that the USPTO would define as relevant consumers. (The much larger public is still largely uninformed, and arguably uninterested, in bitcoin.) “The Trademark Office doesn’t give a huge amount of weight to a factional community, they typically have a broader view of what the relevant public is,” says Timberlake, who spent two years working at the U.S. Trademark Office. The key question the Trademark Office will answer is whether the phrase has been so widely used that it has become diluted. Or as Timberlake puts it: When the public thinks of the phrase in the context of the financial technology sector, do people associate the phrase with Uphold? Antonopoulos would say no, and many in the bitcoin community might say no, and perhaps the answer is no. But Uphold will probably get the registration anyway. Timberlake says the Trademark Office doesn’t so rigidly interpret the question. It's not that the office approves everything, but it leans toward approving applications for registration when the company has demonstrated some use of the trademark. The office doesn’t want to make it impossible to get approval. “No one wants the headache of mounting a federal lawsuit every time they want to assert trademark rights,” Timberlake says. “It’s not a rubber stamp, but it’s somewhere between a rubber stamp and a full lawsuit in federal court, in that there are certain things the office is in the habit of recognizing as a pretty good indication [of trademark]. But they don’t go out and talk to people to test it.” Uphold’s use of the phrase on its web site is already a “pretty good indication” that it merits the registration, Timberlake says. “If I’m the examiner and I look at Uphold’s web site, it looks to me like they’re getting good legal advice. The phrase is there, front and center, it shows up when you Google them. They look far along enough to get the registration.” Nonetheless, Antonopoulos says he is, “consulting with legal experts to return the phrase to open use by invalidating the trademark.” Watson, for his part, tells Yahoo Finance he has no intention of suing anyone, and has been taken aback by Antonopoulos’s aggression. An article atCoinTelegraphlast month said that Watson had “revealed his intentions to sue” Antonopoulos; that is incorrect. Back in November, Watsonshared and praisedablog post on Medium, written by “Captain Cloud Money,” an anonymous Uphold user, that argued, “Bitcoin fails as Internet money despite being an IP-based asset, because there is no central authority backing its value.” The post appeared to suggest an awareness that the phrase had previously been used to apply to bitcoin. Even though the odds and the law favor Uphold, getting the registration is no foregone conclusion. Uphold already appends a “TM” to the phrase on its site, but anyone can do that. Once you get a registration, you get to use the “R,” which is the real indicator of protection. “For snooty lawyer types,” Timberlake explains, the TM symbol, “can seem like small potatoes. It doesn’t have any teeth.” Uphold seeks teeth. But Andreas Antonopoulos is making it hard to chew. For the time being, Uphold can continue to use the phrase all it wants. And so can others. -- Daniel Roberts is a writer at Yahoo Finance, covering sports business and technology. Read more: How big banks are paying lip service to the blockchain Here’s how you can invest in the blockchain Bitcoin's biggest investor just bought its biggest news site Here's a sign that PayPal is embracing Bitcoin [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] 1 KOBO = 0.00001098 BTC = 0.0047 USD = 0.9347 NGN = 0.0685 ZAR = 0.4758 KES #Kobocoin 2016-04-16 08:00 pic.twitter.com/EJUmg7bpC5 \|\| #GeoCoin #GEO $ 0.024708 (-13.40 %) 0.00005977 BTC (-13.00 %) \|\| $448.43 at 01:00 UTC [24h Range: $435.00 - $451.00 Volume: 7532 BTC] \|\| #China Market Open \|\| #Bitcoin: $443.96 \| 399.94 EUR\|\| #Litecoin: 0.0088 BTC \|\| #Ethereum: 0.0174 BTC \|\| $BTC $LTC $ETH $RMB \|\| One Bitcoin now worth $418.49@bitstamp. High $419.00. Low $415.66. Market Cap $ 6.416 Billion #bitcoin pic.twitter.com/wuxZ4LLJCf \|\| One Bitcoin now worth $424.95@bitstamp. High $426.67. Low $421.00. Market Cap $6.556 Billion #bitcoin \|\| #TrinityCoin #TTY $ 0.000004 (0.20 %) 0.00000001 BTC (-0.00 %) \|\| LIVE: Profit = $196.93 (2.41 %). BUY B19.81 @ $420.00 (#VirCurex). SELL @ $422.69 (#Bitfinex) #bitcoin #btc - http://www.projectcoin.org \|\| #BTA Price: Bittrex 0.00003450 BTC YoBit 0.00003955 BTC Bleutrade 0.00003335 BTC #BTA 2016-03-23 11:00 pic.twitter.com/UenxKTfQH6 \|\| LIVE: Profit = $153.21 (8.75 %). BUY B4.53 @ $410.00 (#VirCurex). SELL @ $420.58 (#Bitfinex) #bitcoin #btc - http://www.projectcoin.org	Trend: no change \|\| Prices: 451.88, 444.67, 450.30, 446.72, 447.98, 459.60, 458.54, 458.55, 460.48, 450.89
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2016-07-07] BTC Price: 640.56, BTC RSI: 48.19 Gold Price: 1360.10, Gold RSI: 72.12 Oil Price: 45.14, Oil RSI: 41.30 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] EU proposes stricter rules on Bitcoin, prepaid cards in terrorism fight: By Foo Yun Chee STRASBOURG (Reuters) - The European Commission proposed on Tuesday stricter rules on the use of virtual currencies and prepaid cards in a bid to reduce anonymous payments and curb the financing of terrorism. Virtual currency exchange platforms will have to increase checks on the identities of people exchanging virtual currencies, such as Bitcoin, for real currencies and report suspicious transactions. Under the Commission's proposals the threshold for making anonymous payments with pre-paid cards was lowered to 150 euros ($167.28) from 250 euros. "Member states will be able to get and share vital information about who really owns companies or trusts, who is dealing in online currencies, and who is using pre-paid cards," EU Commission First Vice-President Frans Timmermans said. Following attacks in Paris last November by Islamic State militants the EU executive said it would step up measures to cut off terrorists' access to funds. French authorities have proved that pre-paid cards were used by the Paris attackers. Prepaid cards are issued by a wide range of operators including banks using major networks, such as Visa and MasterCard. They are different from debit and credit cards because they need to be loaded before payments can be made, but can carry substantial amounts of money. MasterCard said it supported the Commission's objective of strengthening the security of prepaid cards while ensuring that people less well-off could still use them. The proposed higher controls on virtual currencies and pre-paid cards "are important in tackling black market and terrorist financing", said Chas Roy-Chowdhury, head of tax at ACCA, which represents the interests of the accountancy sector. The Commission proposed increasing the amount of checks banks have to carry out on financial flows from risky third countries, namely states with poor anti-money laundering rules and difficulties countering terrorism financing. In a bid to end tax evasion after the publication in April of the Panama Papers - which revealed widespread tax avoidance practices by wealthy individuals - the Commission also proposed rules requiring the beneficial owners of trusts to be recorded in registers that in many cases will be accessible to the public. Story continues Existing and new accounts will be subject to due diligence controls and the Commission will look into finding effective ways for each member state to share information on beneficial owners of companies and trusts. "These proposals for public registers will be welcomed by citizens and anti-corruption activists who want to follow the trail of dirty money," Laure Brillaud, Transparency International EU policy officer, said. "However, we are concerned that it will be all too easy to evade being on the registers in the first place by gaming the rules on trusts. By simply nominating a non-EU resident as a trustee the secrecy can carry on as before," she added. Tuesday's proposals will need to be approved by the EU Parliament and EU states before they become law. (Writing by Julia Fioretti and Ines Kagubare; editing by Susan Thomas) \|\| ETF Strategies in a Post Brexit World: After a seven year bull run and an increased uncertainty, people may expect the equities market will more likely pullback and give up some of its gains. Consequently, traders have turned to bearish or inverse exchange traded fund strategies to hedge against turns in a more volatile market. On an upcoming webcast this Wednesday,Sector Strategies in a Post Brexit World, Tom Dorsey, Co-Founder of Dorsey, Wright & Associates, and Sylvia Jablonski, Managing Director and Head of the Capital Markets & Institutional Strategy Team at Direxion, will discuss hedging strategies to manage a rougher road ahead. According to Jefferson National’s second annual Advisory Authority Survey, financial advisors see ongoing volatility as one of the top macro issues that will adversely affect client portfolios over the next year, ThinkAdvisor reports. Related:VIX, Bearish S&P 500 ETFs to Hedge Uncertainty Specifically, 76% of RIAs and fee-based advisors, 89% of the highest earning advisors and 63% of investors in the survey expected volatility to rise in the coming year as both U.S. politics and domestic and international economics exacerbate the uncertain outlook. Among the top concerns, those surveyed pointed to energy prices, Federal Reserve policy, U.S. presidential election and Chinese instability. “When it comes to investing, protecting clients’ portfolios and protecting their own practice, ongoing volatility remains the number one concern of RIAs and fee-based advisors year over year — while investors are aware of volatility’s impact, they say that protecting assets is their number-one concern,” Jefferson National president Laurence Greenberg said in a statement. Trending on ETF Trends As Q3 Begins, Gold Miner ETFs Keep Shining Winklevoss Bitcoin ETF Will Trade on BATS Another Rally Looms for Gold ETFs How to Hedge Market Turns with Inverse ETFs Brexit Weighs on Big Oil ETFs Among those surveyed 48% of all RIAs and fee-based advisors looked to ETFs and alternative mutual funds as their number one solution in today’s volatile markets. Additionally, 60% of high earning advisors pointed to liquid alternatives. ETF traders also have a number of liquid alternative strategies to choose from. For instance, theDirexion Daily S&P Biotech Bear 1X Shares (LABS), Direxion Daily Financial Bear 1x Shares (FAZZ) and Direxion Daily Energy Bear 1x Shares (ERYY) provide inverse or -100% exposure to some of the more volatile areas of the market this year. Related:ETF Traders Look Beyond Brexit to China Risk LABS may be a good way for investors to hedge against further selling in the biotech sector as political rhetoric puts a spotlight on pharmaceutical treatment prices and the growth play sours. FAZZ could be used to hedge against the Brexit fallout and potentially extended low-rate environment, which could weigh on the financial sector. Any further concerns on global growth and oil prices could also help traders hedge against a weakening energy sector with ERYY. Financial advisors who are interested in learning more about sector strategies canregister for the Wednesday, June 29 webcast here. \|\| VPN and VPS Provider ChangeIP Starts Accepting Bitcoin and Alipay: Due To Popular Demand in Mainland China, ChangeIP Has Enhanced the Company's Transactional Capability to Accept Alipay MIAMI, FL / ACCESSWIRE / June 16, 2016 /ChangeIP.comnow accepts for payment both the cryptographic currency Bitcoin and China's leading third-party online payment solution, Alipay. "Due to popular demand and to serve the rapidly growing market in mainland China, ChangeIP has enhanced the company's transactional capability to accept Alipay," said ChangeIP General Manager Kapil Jain. Alipay works like an escrow service, solving the issue of settlement risk in China. Bitcoin, which utilizes SHA-256 encryption for both its Proof-of-Work (PoW) system and transaction verification, goes hand-in-hand with ChangeIP's focus on privacy and security. "The world faces complex technological privacy and security issues and all of ChangeIP's solutions--and now, payment methods--protect and promote our customers privacy, security, and freedom," said Jain. To that effect, ChangeIP recently launched aVirtual Private Network (VPN) servicethat provides a secure tunnel between its clients and the Internet with super-strong encryption. For more information, please visitchangeip.com. About ChangeIP: ChangeIP is the rockstar, low-cost and high-touch web host. ChangeIP specializes in solutions--VPN, linux & windows web hosting, and VPS hosting--that all protect and promote its customers' privacy, security, and freedom. Contact: Kapil [email protected](949) 555-2861 SOURCE:ChangeIP.com \|\| Baidu Among Companies Working Together To Use Bitcoin Technology To Create Global Bank: Bitcoin’s whiplash-inducing volatility continued this week when the cryptocurrency surged to new two-year highs on Monday before plunging 10 percent the following day. One of the major drivers of Bitcoin’s recent rise has been demand from China. A group of Chinese companies, including Internet search giantBaidu Inc (ADR)(NASDAQ:BIDU), has raised $60 million in funding for Circle Inc, a U.S. startup based on Bitcoin’s underlying technology. Circle is a blockchain-based digital payment app. Blockchain technology is the public ledger of all Bitcoin transactions and is often viewed as the major underlying innovation of Bitcoin. Related Link:Self-Proclaimed Inventor Of Bitcoin Reportedly Seeks Hundreds Of Patents On Blockchain Technology “If you look at the trends, China very well could be the driver of the adoption of blockchain consumer services,” Circle CEOJeremy Allairesaid. One potential hurdle Circle and other blockchain-based startups may soon have to clear is potential patent disputes. Australian Craig Wright, who claims to be Bitcoin founder “Satoshi Nakamoto” has now filed at least 50 patent applications via Britain’s EITC Holdings Ltd. The London Review of Books claims that Wright is in the process of filing hundreds of patents that will eventually be sold for more than $1 billion. In the meantime, Circle and its investors will continue to try to apply blockchain technology toward Allaire's goal of building a global bank that makes sending payments “as easy as sending an email.” Disclosure: The author holds no position in the stocks mentioned. See more from Benzinga • Buy The FedEx Earnings Selloff, Deutsche Bank Says • Marijuana Ruling: Is The DEA Re-Scheduling Bullish For Weed Stocks? • Social Data Provides Real-Time Brexit Sentiment © 2016 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| Rocky Mountain Ayre to Launch Crypto-Currency Marketplace: DOVER, DE--(Marketwired - May 10, 2016) - Rocky Mountain Ayre, Inc., a holding company ( OTC PINK : RMTN ) is pleased to announce that it is ready to launch a brand new feature to its Hempcoin website ( www.hempcoin.com ). Hempcoin has developed the first of its kind Crypto-Currency marketplace for goods and services to be offered and purchased using Bitcoin and Hempcoin as the sole means of payment. Users can now offer goods and services for sale on Hempcoin crypto marketplace and get paid with Bitcoin or Hempcoin. The price of the listed products or services in BTC or HMP implicitly changes according to the current rate on the exchanges. This can potentially protect sellers from loss and buyers from over paying due to the constant market price fluctuation of the Crypto- Currencies. Users can also transfer Bitcoin or Hempcoin between each other within seconds without the need to pay any exchange fees. It is a very secure and easy to use. Hempcoin currently trades on two Crypto-Currency exchanges, C-Cex and Yobit , and plans on adding several more in the near future. About Hempcoin Hempcoin (HMP) runs on its own peer-to-peer blockchain like Bitcoin (BTC) but at a faster rate because it is using the script technique like LiteCoin. So in addition to having the advantage of being able to move HMP around faster than BTC, HMP is backed by the marketable securities of RMTN. BTC is strictly a fiat currency like the US Dollar, however, BTC has the potential to go up in value against the Dollar because of supply and demand factors and HMP has this same built in advantage because unlike the Dollar, both BTC and HMP have a limited amount of coins in circulation, while the Dollar is ever increasing in supply. About Rocky Mountain, Inc. Rocky Mountain Ayre, is a publicly traded company listed on the OTCmarkets under the "RMTN" trading symbol. It is a holding company increasing its asset and revenue base through acquisition and/or creation of operating entities. The Company currently has two entities in its portfolio and is focusing its efforts on its Crypto-Currency, Hempcoin, at this time. Safe Harbor Statement This Press Release may contain certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The Company has tried, whenever possible, to identify these forward-looking statements using words such as "anticipates," "believes," "estimates," "expects," "plans," "intends," "potential" and similar expressions. These statements reflect the Company's current beliefs and are based upon information currently available to it. Accordingly, such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which could cause the Company's actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed in or implied by such statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or advise in the event of any change, addition or alteration to the information catered in this Press Release including such forward-looking statements. \|\| Bitcoin Services Inc. Launches bitcoin-basics.com: GRANDVILLE, MI / ACCESSWIRE / July 6, 2016 / Bitcoin Services Inc.(OTC Pink: BTSC) announced today that it launchedbitcoin-basics.com. The website explains the basics of Bitcoin to new users. It will make money from ads and affiliate offers. Bitcoin is a digital asset and a payment system. The system is peer-to-peer and transactions take place between users directly, without an intermediary. These transactions are verified by network nodes and recorded in a publicly distributed ledger called the blockchain, which uses bitcoin as its unit of account. Since the system works without a central repository or single administrator, the U.S. Treasury categorizes bitcoin as a decentralized virtual currency. Bitcoin is often called the first cryptocurrency. About Bitcoin Services Inc.:Our business operations are Internet based to the consumer and consist of three separate streams, as follows: (1) bitcoin escrow services, (2) bitcoin mining, and (3) blockchain software development. The principal products and services are the mining of bitcoins, providing escrow services for buyers and sellers of bitcoins, and the development and sale of blockchain software. The market for these services and products is worldwide, and sold and marketed on the Internet. Safe Harbor Statement This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27a of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended and section 21e of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Those statements include the intent, belief or current expectations of the company and its management team. Prospective investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties, and that actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors. Accomplishing the strategy described herein is significantly dependent upon numerous factors, many that are not in management's control. Some of these factors include the ability of the company to raise sufficient capital, attract qualified management, attract new customers and effectively compete against similar companies. CONTACT: [email protected] SOURCE:Bitcoin Services Inc. \|\| Bitcoin's Novelty Is Spent: If drawing a stack of Benjamins on fast-food napkins and praying they spring to life sounds like your idea of a good time, consider the urban myth behind bitcoin -- the enigmatic digital currency that exists online, has no central bank or even a known founder. Here's what we know, at least from the fabulist perspective: Satoshi Nakamoto is said to have invented bitcoins in 2008 after he sold a vintage McDonald's paper napkin online and the buyer defrauded him out of several thousand bucks. Since then, Nakamoto has been pegged as anyone and everyone from an Irish grad student to a reclusive Hungarian American. And as the legend grows, so grows the legal tender. Today you'll find an estimated 15 million bitcoins in circulation, worth about $872 million. But putting your money into bitcoins isn't a slam dunk (even if the Sacramento Kings accept them). That's because bitcoin fever -- much like the infamous "Tulip Mania" of 17th Century Holland -- has died down. Way down. Observers say once-smitten financial reporters and publications now focus elsewhere. "Bitcoin is actually unchanged since many years ago: What is different is the focus of the media," says Peter Leeds, the author of "Penny Stocks for Dummies." In it, Leeds mentions bitcoin as an example of what he calls "an investor stampede." [See: The 9 Best Investors of All Time .] "Much -- almost all -- of bitcoin's rise in value was driven by the standard media cycle," Leeds says. "And as the story became old news, coverage levels diminished and the currency faded into the background." But arguably, bitcoin was bound to make headlines in 2013, when European speculators sent its value through the roof. The Cyprus economic bailout drove anxious investors to bitcoins as they sought alternatives to the euro and other currencies manipulated by central bankers. Bitcoin also made waves because no one in the investment world had seen anything like it. Bitcoins are known as a "cryptocurrency," a term that appeals to the James Bond in all of us. In fact, early adopters included thieves and criminals who embraced its all-digital nature. Bitcoin's nefarious fans included Silk Road, an online black market (since shuttered) that sold drugs. A handful of anarchists embraced it, too. Story continues That said, old-fashioned cash has long been a favorite of malfeasants. For the rest of us, "the legal status of bitcoin varies from country to country," says Nicolette Kost De Sevres, senior policy advisor with DLA Piper, a global business law firm, "It is banned or restricted in some, undefined in many and explicitly allowed in others." Adding to the mystery, bitcoins hinge on tongue-twisting technobabble even most Wall Street pundits can't grasp. This includes "source code repository" and the concept of "computationally impractical to reverse." Nor is a bitcoin a coin in the traditional sense. It exists as an open-source, peer-to-peer internet protocol, which may explain why the digerati have embraced it. One bitcoin evangelist is Nicolas Cary, a serial entrepreneur and co-founder of Blockchain, the world's top bitcoin software company. "The virtual currency has specific properties that make it work really nicely as a form of money," Cary says. Ask him why and he rattles off a long list: "It is counterfeit-proof, fungible, easily divisible by up to 8 decimal points, purely digital, robust against the elements -- it won't burn or get corroded in water -- and with certain digital precautions far more resilient than cash." Yes, but... "If you lose the hard drive you've stored your coins on or lose access to a hosted account, you've effectively lost your money," says Cindy McAdam, partner in Goodwin Procter's Technology and Life Sciences Group, and a former executive at Xapo, a leading bitcoin company. And it's not like those things ever happen, right? If you think you'd be better off spending bitcoins than investing in them, online retailers such as TigerDirect and Overstock.com ( OSTK ) accept the currency. You can even make donations with bitcoins at higher-ed institutions that include the University of Puget Sound. Yet you don't have to be an economics professor to describe bitcoin like this: volatile. One bitcoin is worth about $581. On Nov. 29, 2013, it hit a peak of $1,108, according to Coinbase.com, a website that tracks Bitcoin prices. Less than a month later, it had plummeted to $593 -- more than its current worth. But if you bought in at the start of last September, you'd have doubled your money and then some. It's enough to give even a stalwart market-timing enthusiast a case of virtual currency vertigo. "There is a belief that much of the 'Wild West' spike in late 2013 was driven by fraud and market manipulation," McAdam says. "The price fell dramatically in the year following that, but has basically been on an upward trend for the past 18 months." [See: The 10 Best REIT ETFs on the Market .] That includes a price bump of $130 over two weeks between late May and early June. "With the upward price movement, we should expect to see more bitcoin headlines soon," says Anthem Hayek Blanchard, founder and CEO of Anthem Vault, which has created a gold-backed digital currency, HayekGold. He predicts that "it is very likely that bitcoin prices will go higher and breach $1,000 per bitcoin." Taken one way, the recent price rebound could be interpreted as newfound stability away from the harsh media spotlight. "Some speculate the buying is coming from the Chinese market due to currency controls and a devalued yuan," says Jalak Jobanputra, a venture capitalist and founding partner of FuturePerfect Ventures in New York City. Or, it could represent the latest gyration in Bitcoin's brief, marble-in-a-bathtub history. So is now a good time to buy bitcoins? Or is it ever a good time to invest in them? "Bitcoin remains a risky investment," says William Brindise, chief trading officer at DigitalX, a software solutions company in the global digital payments industry. "If growth in demand remains roughly constant as supply growth falls, economic theory suggests the price of bitcoin should rise," Brindise says. "However that's a big if, since the factors driving demand for bitcoins remain in flux." Meanwhile, some argue that the current lack of sensationalism means that bitcoin , once an investment upstart, is settling down. "Bitcoin never went away," says Christopher Burniske, analyst and blockchain products lead at New York City's ARK Investment Management, the first public fund manager to invest in bitcoin. "Its strength can be seen in the 'up and to the right' graphs of transactional volumes, trading volumes, hashing power, number of wallets, startups, merchants, and more, all involved with bitcoin." Burniske also points to the 99bitcoins website, which tracks bitcoin obituaries in the press. The number to date: 104. He notes that while bitcoin isn't the media darling it once was, it doesn't deserve to be on death row, either. The truth, in all likelihood, sits securely in the mundane middle. [Read: Real Estate's New Land of Plenty .] "There are fewer headlines because the currency has leveled out to a degree," says John Sedunov, assistant professor of finance at the Villanova University School of Business in the Philadelphia area. "If anything, it is becoming more mainstream." More From US News & World Report 11 Stocks That Donald Trump Loves 7 Ways to Tell if a Stock Is a Good Price 8 Easy Ways to Make Money \|\| Brexit Weighs on Big Oil ETFs: The United States Oil Fund (USO) , which tracks West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures, and the United States Brent Oil Fund (BNO) , which tracks Brent crude oil futures, are among the various commodities exchange traded products that have been stung by the Brexit result. A stronger dollar coupled with downward revisions to U.K. economic growth forecast are among the factors pressuring crude in Brexit’s wake and there could be more near-term pain for oil because some market observers see Brexit also affecting Chinese economic growth. Related:The Worst Could be Over for Oil ETFs “The Brexit also likely has a negative impact for China by strengthening the Japanese Yen and triggering a sell-off in the Yuan. The future of EU Oil imports is also brought into question, given the risk of other countries following England’s lead in exiting the Union. Despite the risks, inventory levels are expected to inch lower over the summer months, which may underpin Oil prices. US production is expected to decrease over the coming months, which may offset decreased UK/EU demand,” according to OptionsExpress. Brexit’s subsequent volatility could drag on riskier assets like commodities and add to concerns over a global slowdown in energy demand. Moreover, commodities may find pressure from a strengthening U.S. dollar as many expect the British pound to depreciate following a break. Trending on ETF Trends 11 Surging Silver ETFs as Two-Year High Looms A Gold Boon for these Glistening ETFs As Bank of England Mulls Rate Cuts, More Pound Punishment Likely As Q3 Begins, Gold Miner ETFs Keep Shining Winklevoss Bitcoin ETF Will Trade on BATS Elevated levels of production remain an issue for oil as well. OPEC has kept up production to pressure high-cost rivals, such as the developing U.S. shale oil producers. The International Energy Agency expects it will take several years before OPEC can effectively price out high-cost producers. Saudi Arabia previously said it would join a production freeze deal if Iran agreed to curb output. However, Iran has maintained that it should be allowed to raise production to previous levels before the introduction of Western sanctions over Iran’s nuclear program, instead arguing for individual-country production quotas. Related:Oil ETFs at 7 Month High on Falling U.S. Inventories “Turning to the chart, we see the August Crude Oil contract forming what could become a double top formation. If confirmed, the measure of the double top could result in a test of the $40 level. The recent closes below the 20-day moving average (“MA”) suggest that a near-term high may be in place,” adds Options Express. For more information on the oil market, visit ouroil category. United States Brent Oil Fund \|\| Three reasons why bitcoin’s price is surging higher: Bitcoin is trading at its highest price in almost two years, driven by several factors including market conditions in Asia, according to experts in the cryptocurrency. The online currency ended Monday at around $542.77 and hit a high of $548.5 on Tuesday. The price has surged in the last week, climbing 22 percent since last Monday; year-to-date the price for bitcoin has increased by 25 percent. As a result, this is the highest price bitcoin has reached since August 2014. CNBC examines three reasons to explain the rising price. Demand in Asian markets Most experts have pointed towards fears in China and Asia that the yuan could depreciate as reasons for increased investment in bitcoin. "Signs indicate Bitcoin's price has become linked to a number of macroeconomic factors in China," said Vijay Michalik, research analyst for digital transformation at consultancy Frost & Sullivan, to CNBC in an email. "It highlights growing concerns about yuan currency deflation, as bitcoin's appeal has grown as an alternative asset class for a population deprived of many investment choices." James Lynn, U.K. managing director at investment company Billon Group, corroborated this view. "The most likely explanation appears to be linked to market confidence in the Asia region, with low confidence in local currencies providing a major boost to bitcoin demand," he told CNBC in an email. Tightening supply A key feature of bitcoin is that new coins have to be discovered or "mined" in order to be added to circulation, unlike fiat currencies where governments can print fresh bills. When new bitcoins are mined, a record of it is added to the blockchain, which is effectively a giant ledger recording all bitcoin transactions. Bitcoin miners are rewarded with a set of bitcoins for each block they successfully mine. Miners used to receive a bounty of 50 bitcoins, but this was halved in 2012 to prevent bitcoin inflation and it is expected to halve again in the coming months, potentially leading to supply-side currency constraints. "Speculators have been pointing to impending rises for some months, citing the impending halving of rewards for miners," explained James Lynn. "I think, however, that's been priced into the market on an on-going basis." Bitcoin's becoming more robust Several recent developments have been intended to improve bitcoin's performance and make transactions more reliable. "Bitcoin's seen some of the developer turmoil subside over the past few months," said Vijay Michalik. According to Michalik, new technology shows how much progress has been made in making bitcoin easier to use. For instance, the company Blockchain released an alpha version of the Thunder Network earlier this month, which allows payments to be made using bitcoin more quickly, cheaply and at a larger scale. It is possible that by making bitcoin more robust, these changes will have made the cryptocurrency more attractive to new investors. Follow CNBC International onTwitterandFacebook. More From CNBC • Top News and Analysis • Latest News Video • Personal Finance \|\| Bank of Canada studies payments system using tech behind bitcoin: By Ethan Lou and Leah Schnurr TORONTO/OTTAWA (Reuters) - The Bank of Canada is experimenting with a payments system based on the technology behind the bitcoin virtual currency, the central bank said on Thursday. Bank of Canada Senior Deputy Governor Carolyn Wilkins said the central bank has been working with commercial banks to build the experimental interbank payment system. The goal "is solely to better understand the technology first-hand," she said in a statement. "Other frameworks need to be investigated, and there are many hurdles that need to be cleared before such a system would ever be ready for prime time." Wilkins, expected to speak further on the issue on Friday, said the experiment is among many financial technology research projects. Such experiments, she noted, are not aimed at developing central-bank issued e-money‎ for use by the general public. Details of the project, which uses the distributed-ledger technology associated with web-based currency bitcoin, were revealed at a payment-technology event in Calgary on Wednesday that was closed to media. Kyle Kemper, an entrepreneur and head of the Bitcoin Alliance of Canada, who was present at Wednesday's event, said the experiment is called "Project Jasper" and involves blockchain technology. Blockchain's distributed-ledger system allows users to conduct secure transactions with each other without the need for middlemen or central oversight, unlike traditional electronic funds transfers. A slide from a presentation at the event seen by Reuters details how the banks in the experiment would pledge cash collateral in a pool that the Bank of Canada would convert into a digital version. The digital currency would then be used as a medium of exchange and could be converted back to cash. While long known as the backbone of bitcoin, launched under a pseudonym, blockchain has garnered the attention of large financial institutions in recent years. R3, a New York-based research consortium that includes all of Canada's major banks, is a partner in the Bank of Canada's project, along with Payments Canada. Royal Bank of Canada, CIBC, TD Bank and Payments Canada declined to comment. (Reporting by Leah Schnurr and Ethan Lou; Editing by Dan Grebler) [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] #TrinityCoin #TTY $ 0.000006 (-2.20 %) 0.00000001 BTC (-0.00 %) \|\| $573.00 #bitstamp; $572.24 #bitfinex; $563.00 #btce; Prices & News: http://bit.ly/1VI6Yse #bitcoin #btc \|\| BTC: $678.00, S: $17.49, G: $1286.60 \| Act: 24,267 Open: 3559 BTC: 54,931.2 \| Total: $37,254,752 http://goo.gl/U94Tki #bitcoin \|\| 1 KOBO = 0.00001400 BTC = 0.0079 USD = 1.5725 NGN = 0.1209 ZAR = 0.7984 KES #Kobocoin 2016-06-03 21:00 pic.twitter.com/xvZOx3xFzN \|\| Many from TZM support bitcoin as a transitional tool. It's a diverse movement but far from NWO. \|\| $667.00 at 06:15 UTC [24h Range: $635.12 - $684.45 Volume: 11500 BTC] \|\| #TrinityCoin #TTY $ 0.000005 (0.54 %) 0.00000001 BTC (-0.00 %) \|\| Aktueller #Bitcoin-Preis: 620.00 EUR / 673.94 CHF \|\| Current price of Bitcoin is $680.00 via @Chain \|\| One Bitcoin now worth $735.00@bitstamp. High $764.00. Low $735.00. Market Cap $11.526 Billion #bitcoin pic.twitter.com/fFQSukHRnc	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 666.52, 650.96, 649.36, 647.66, 664.55, 654.47, 658.08, 663.26, 660.77, 679.46
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2015-08-31] BTC Price: 230.06, BTC RSI: 41.64 Gold Price: 1131.60, Gold RSI: 52.73 Oil Price: 49.20, Oil RSI: 62.28 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Overstock to Buy SpeedRoute for More Transparent Trading: Online retailer Overstock.com, Inc. ’s OSTK cryptofinance subsidiary, t0, has signed a deal to acquire SpeedRoute and related group of privately held financial technology companies. Though the terms of the deal have not been disclosed, the total purchase price will be paid in cash and Overstock common stock. The acquisition of certain assets remains subject to regulatory requirements, with the majority of the deal already closed. SpeedRoute LLC, founded in Apr 2000, is a brokerage firm that currently handles approximately 2.5% of U.S. equity order flow. Overstock, a Bitcoin supporter, hopes to reinvent the public stock market using cryptosecurities, or virtual stocks based on bitcoin's blockchain technology. Bitcoin is a digital currency platform with no central regulating authority involved in the transactions. It is also called crypto currency because it utilizes military-grade cryptography to protect users against fraud. Bitcoin and other cryptocurencies operate on blockchain which is a distributed public ledger. Cryptosecurities will likely be the next major change in the stock market. With this deal, Overstock will enter a new financial technology space. SpeedRoute’s infrastructure and its underlying technologies will help the company to connect t0 securities trading platform with the entire U.S. equity market. This will bring in more transparency and efficiency to the existing capital markets, which was the basic idea behind t0.com. The blockchain technology allows investors and buyers to trail down their purchases and ownership of cryptosecurities, ensuring complete transparency. Moreover, the t0.com blockchain technology facilitates same-day settlement of the securities. In June, Overstock offered its first corporate bond, valued at US$25 million, as cryptosecurities to qualified institutional investors. This revolutionary development is part of the company's larger cryptofinance initiative known as Medici. Overstock.com is engaged in selling branded as well as non-branded merchandise through its websites. Customers can bargain before purchase and often get discounts. A major portion of its revenues is generated in the U.S. In the last reported quarter, the company’s earnings of 7 cents missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 46.15%. Currently, Overstock has a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell). Some better-ranked stocks in the technology sector are Amazon AMZN, Stamps.com STMP and Travelport Worldwide Limited TVPT. All these stocks sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report AMAZON.COM INC (AMZN): Free Stock Analysis Report OVERSTOCK.COM (OSTK): Free Stock Analysis Report STAMPS.COM INC (STMP): Free Stock Analysis Report TRAVELPORT WWD (TVPT): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research \|\| IBM To Change Its Role In Healthcare: International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM ) has long provided hospitals and medical centers with computers and operating systems that help track patient data, organize information and help smooth out the chaotic daily operations healthcare professionals face. However, the company appears to be expanding its role in the healthcare space in order to solve medical problems as well as operational ones. IBM is planning to acquire Merge Healthcare Inc (NASDAQ: MRGE ), a medical image storage company, in a deal which will allow IBM to extend its reach a bit further. Artificial Intelligence IBM is planning to use Merge's massive database of X-ray, MRI and other images to create a system that will aid doctors in diagnosing patients quickly and correctly. In order to do this, IBM will use deep learning, a technique used to power things like voice recognition and fraud detection. Computers are given a huge amount of data to sort, and by doing that the machine is able to learn patterns and use them for future detection. IBM believes that this type of system would allow its computers to detect things like tumors or heart disease. Related Link: An Industry You Probably Didn't Know Was Digitized: Agriculture Risks While the idea is promising, IBM will face a lot of hurdles in the development process. As medical data is often complex and each case can differ widely, artificial intelligence may struggle to correctly identify patterns. However, many believe that IBM's access to medical data in combination with Merge's images could give the company enough information to discover new diagnosis patterns that were previously unseen. Still, the prospect of using machines for diagnosis is still far in the future. Most believe that IBM's new system will become a companion or supplementary tool for doctors. See more from Benzinga China Moves To Devalue Currency, Investors Cringe U.S. Bank Regulator Keeps An Open Mind On Bitcoin According To Facebook, 'LOL' Is Out © 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. View comments \|\| 5 technology stocks to buy at a discount: After a day of relief from China -fueled concerns, some CNBC "Fast Money" traders looked to a Chinese company for upside. Major U.S. averages jumped sharply Wednesday in their best day since 2011, as investors shrugged off fears about the world's second-largest economy. U.S.-listed shares of Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) , though, closed barely higher and are down 33 percent this year. "Alibaba is always a play on the Chinese consumer," said trader Brian Kelly, saying it "is the buy here" for the long term. Trader Tim Seymour-who owns the stock-said he would stick with it. Alibaba makes an appealing play on its current valuation and projected growth, he added. Read More Apple stock flashes a warning signal Big U.S. tech stocks, meanwhile, helped drive the rally. Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) -which climbed 8 percent on the day-looks like a buy after a stark drop earlier this month, said trader Guy Adami. "The market's changed. Netflix hasn't," he said. Meanwhile, Google (NASDAQ: GOOGL) and Facebook (NASDAQ: FB) jumped 8 and 5 percent, respectively, on Wednesday. Priceline (NASDAQ: PCLN) also climbed 4 percent. Read More The morning tech rally scares Mark Cuban Trader Steve Grasso contended that all of those stocks look appealing, even after their surges. Disclosures: Tim Seymour Tim Seymour is long AAPL, T, BAC, DIS, F, GE, GM, GOOGL, INTC, JPM, Tim's firm is long BABA, BIDU, MCD, NKE, NOK, SBUX, YHOO. Steve Grasso Grasso is long AAPL, BA, BAC, CC, DD, DIS, DECK, EVGN, FIT, KBH, MJNA, MU, PFE, PHM, T, TWTR, GDX. His kids are long EFA, EFG, EWJ, IJR, SPY. His firm and some of its partners are long DVN, BP, COP, CVX, FCX, NE, NEM, OXY, RIG, VALE Brian Kelly Brian Kelly is long BBRY, BTC=; TWTR call spread, U.S. Dollar; he is short Euro, Ruble, Yen, Yuan, US Treasuries. Guy Adami Guy Adami is long CELG, EXAS, INTC, Guy Adami's wife, Linda Snow, works at Merck. More From CNBC Top News and Analysis Latest News Video Personal Finance \|\| Bitcoin Glitch Costs Miners Thousands: This weekend, bitcoin miners suffered a setback after it wasrevealedthat those running some software clients which were out of date were creating invalid blocks, or transaction records. The glitch gave miners the impression that they had earned bitcoins for adding to blockchain, when in actuality, the invalid blocks weren't accepted. Warning Bitcoin.org issued awarningregarding the invalid blocks over the weekend. The notice said that an initial invalid block has been built upon by other miners, who don't fully validate their blocks. The practice, called Simple Payment Verification (SPV) mining, has caused several large mining operations to loose more than $50,000 dollars in mining income so far due to the glitch. Related Link: Minecraft Teaches Kids To Use Bitcoin To combat the problem, Bitcoin.org recommended that all miners update to the latest software to ensure that the invalid blocks are detected. The site also encouraged those using Web-based wallets to make sure they are using the most up-to-date version as well. How Did It Happen SPV mining means that the verification of new blocks relies on a connection to a trusted node. However, since the software was unable to detect invalid blocks, it allowed miners to continue building strings of blocks on top of an invalid one, rendering all of them worthless. Effects? While the effects of this glitch appear to be concentrated on mining firms, some worry that it could refuel worries about bitcoin's safety and security. The cryptocurrency already has a reputation for being unreliable and many fear that this incident will contribute to that stigma. See more from Benzinga • What Does Greece Do Now? • What's Next In Greece: Will Tsipras Stay And Will We See A Grexit? • Sealed Air Just Took Away A Guilty Pleasure For Millions © 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| California Plans For Pot Expansion: Although current California legislation still prohibits recreational marijuana use, the state has been at the forefront of the cannabis industry since relaxing its laws to allow residents to use marijuana for medical reasons. However, as the push for full-scale legalization picks up momentum, the state's lawmakers have struggled to determine just how the industry should be allowed to grow. Regulation Questions In many California cities, dispensaries have been forbidden while in others a plethora of marijuana facilities, both legal and illegal, have sprung up. To streamline the industry and give growers a place to expand, Arcata, a northwestern city, isopeninga Medical Marijuana Innovation Zone. Related Link:Marijuana Proves Useful In Treating Bone-Related Conditions Marijuana Zone The zone will be wholly dedicated to the production of marijuana, something that is believed to be a first in the U.S. By giving pot growers a place apart from California's residential neighborhoods to cultivate their crops, Arcadia City Council officials hope to carve out their town's role in the growing industry. Regulating The Industry Arcata's decision to create a specific zone for marijuana cultivation could serve as a blueprint for other states struggling with the issue of how to regulate the cannabis industry. When the land has been specifically designated for marijuana production, it gives local officials a chance to impose rules on growers in regard to land use rather than drug policy. That means pot regulation can be carried out on a local rather than state level. Money Maker Not only will Arcata's marijuana zoning plan help revamp California's pot industry, it's also expected to bring in big bucks for the local economy. Arcata and its local businesses stand to profit from the pot industry in the coming years, especially if California legalizes recreational marijuana as well. See more from Benzinga • Venture Capitalists Pouring Money Into Bitcoin • Greek Bailout Deal: Agreed To By Many, Welcomed By None • People Using Cryptocurrency For Secret Communications © 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| Trading Google earnings: 3 stocks to buy: Google(NASDAQ: GOOGL)shares spiked following a strong quarterly earnings report Thursday, and CNBC"Fast Money"traders jumped on the bandwagon with investors. "I think the stock's got real runway here. I think it can turn and go a lot higher," said trader David Seaburg. The Internet giant's stock surged more than 10 percent in extended trading as second-quarter profit of $6.99 per share topped analysts' expectations. Though revenue fell slightly short of expectations and crucial ad metrics were mixed, markets cheered signs of expense control and strong signs for the YouTube video platform. "I thought it was undervalued before. This is not a crazy valuation here," said trader Karen Finerman, who owns Google stock. Read MoreGoogle shares jump as profits handily beat expectations Google seems primed to move higher, and investors should hold it with $600 per share as a floor, said trader Guy Adami. It closed the regular session above $601 before the after-hours spike. Trader Brian Kelly added that he saw positive signs in financial discipline and YouTube, but he would wait for a pullback to buy Google shares. A post-earnings spike in Netflix(NASDAQ: NFLX)shares, among other names, helped push the Nasdaq Composite(NASDAQ: .IXIC)to a record close Thursday. Looking forward in the technology sector, Kelly sees upside in Microsoft(NASDAQ: MSFT). Read MoreOverseas growth is driving Netflix stock surge: Analyst Adami also noted that Facebook(NASDAQ: FB)looks to be "breaking out." The stock has gone about 16 percent higher this year. Disclosures: Brian Kelly Brian Kelly is long BBRY, BTC=; ITB, TAN, TLT, TSL and euro. He is short yuan and yen. Today he bought ITB. Karen Finerman Karen is long BABA, BAC, C, FINL, FL, GOOG, GOOGL, JPM, KORS, M, URI, BABA puts and URI calls. She is short SPY. Her firm is long ANTM, AAPL, BAC, C, DIS, FBT, FINL, FL, GILD, GOOG, GOOGL, GPS, IBB, JPM, KORS, M, SUNE, URI, XBI, KORS call spreads, URI calls, KORS puts and SPY put spreads. Her firm is short IWM, SPY and MDY. Karen Finerman is on the board of GrafTech International. Guy Adami Guy Adami is long CELG, EXAS and INTC. Guy Adami's wife, Linda Snow, works at Merck. More From CNBC • Top News and Analysis • Latest News Video • Personal Finance \|\| Bitcoin Payments Decline Significantly At Expedia: Expedia Inc(NASDAQ:EXPE) introduced bitcoin as a payment option about a year ago. The company hoped to reach new users and meet the growing demand for digital payments by adding a bitcoin option. However over the past 12 months, the travel website said it has seen a significant decline in the number of payments made using bitcoin, something which could be attributed to the cryptocurrency's marked decline. Loss Of Value Expedia's Senior Payments Product Manger Connie Chung toldCoinDeskthat bitcoin purchases on the site have declined by 40 percent over the past year. Chung said that drop makes sense when you look at how much value bitcoin has lost over the past 12 months. When bitcoin was added to Expedia's service in June last year, it was worth more than $600. Now, the currency is trading at just over $270 following a price rally earlier in the month. Related Link:Venture Capitalists Pouring Money Into Bitcoin Bitcoin To Stay Put While the decline in bitcoin payments suggests that consumers aren't as willing to use the cryptocurrency as merchants had predicted, Chung said Expedia plans to continue offering bitcoin as a payment choice for as long as there is some demand for it. She said the company's decision to incorporate bitcoin had little to do with the firm's stance on digital currencies and that it has simply been a way to meet customer needs. See more from Benzinga • EU In Favor Of Iran Deal • Is Social Activism And Marketing A Good Combination? • Deloitte Expresses Interest In Cryptocurrencies By Joining Australian Industry Group © 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| 10 things in tech you need to know today: (REUTERS/Robert Galbraith) Good morning! Here's the tech news you need to know to start off your week. 1.Netflix will no longer be able to show high-profile Hollywood movies like Transformers and the Hunger Games to US viewers.Netflix isn't renewing its distribution deal with Epix, and will be focusing on its original-content efforts instead. 2.Apple is reportedly planning a big increase in the price of the new Apple TV.The new version of Apple TV will be available in October and could cost about $200. 3.The US may have to go after the 'Great Firewall' to stop China's cyber-attacks.President Obama is expected talk to hisChinese counterpart Xi Jinping next month about cyber espionage. 4.Minecraft founder Markus Perssonwent on a tweetstorm this weekend to talk about the empty side of success, and selling his company to Microsoft for $2.5 billion.Microsoft bought Minecraft almost a year ago, and the founder did not join Microsoft after the sale. 5.Uber has hired the two security researchers famous for hacking into a Jeep and stopping it while driving.Charlie Miller and Chris Valasek will be announced as new hires today, Reuters reports. 6.In the wake of his company's data breach, Ashley Madison CEO Noel Biderman has resigned.He is no longer with the company. 7.Apple launched two new Apple Music TV ads last night during the MTV Video Music Awards featuring The Weeknd and actor John Travolta.The two-part, episodic series of ads highlights Apple Music's user interface, and its playlist feature in particular. 8.Investors are starting to worry that some big-name startups are overvalued.Investors in late-stage startups worry that the stock market's six-year bull run is coming to an end, and that today's super valuable private tech companies won't live up to their valuations when they go public. 9.Starting tomorrow, Google Chrome will be blocking Flash ads entirely by default.Google, which warned advertisers in advance, says it's blocking Flash ads for its performance-hindering effects. 10.Wall Street is paying attention to Bitcoin.The New York Times reports thatexecutives from more than 12 large banks gathered earlier this year to confidentially discuss how the technology behind Bitcoin could be used to changeforeign currency trading. NOW WATCH:2 texting tricks you didn't know you could do on your iPhone More From Business Insider • Google is showing developers how to turn off iOS 9's security features so it can load ads • 'I've never felt more isolated': The man who sold Minecraft to Microsoft for $2.5 billion reveals the empty side of success • A leaked part of an iPhone 6S shows a bigger, more powerful front camera \|\| Fast Food Gets Even Faster In Asia: McDonald's Corporation(NYSE:MCD) has had a difficult year as consumer tastes shifted and the restaurant battled criticism over its ingredients and lack of healthy offerings. However, the burger chain has been working to restore its bottom line, especially in China, where the massive population represents a major growth opportunity. Appealing To Their Preferences In an effort to reach Chinese consumers, who are becoming increasingly focused on digital innovation, McDonald's ispilotinga new program that will allow customers to pay for their orders on their mobile device, making the process of collecting their meal in-store faster and easier. Custom Burgers The decision to include a mobile payment option in China came after McDonald's unveiled digital kiosks that allow customers to build their own burger using a touch screen machine at two Shanghai locations. By adding state-of-the-art technology to its appeal, McDonald's is hoping to lure in first-time customers who are eager to try something new. Related Link:Bitcoin Glitch Costs Miners Thousands Mobile Payments Take Off While mobile payments are nothing new, in China they are becoming increasingly popular. Online retailerAlibaba Group Holding Ltd(NYSE:BABA) recently launched a mobile payment system which has been adopted by several big names includingWal-Mart Corp(NYSE:WMT) andYum Brands Inc.(NYSE:YUM)'s KFC food chain. Since Chinese customers have historically shied away from using credit cards, mobile payments has become a major draw. Customers have been looking for a fast, convenient way to pay and mobile options are providing that experience. See more from Benzinga • FIFA Sponsors Weigh Up The Cost Of Scandal • McDonald's Back In The Firing Line Over Happy Meal Ad © 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| Bitcoin startups lure quant whizzes from Wall Street: By Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss NEW YORK (Reuters) - Armed with a doctorate in financial engineering, 34-year-old Timo Schlaefer was on his way to a promising career at Goldman Sachs in London. Previously with the bank's mergers and acquisitions team, he became an executive director of credit quantitative modeling at Goldman, where quants like Schlaefer are highly valued. In February he gave that up, and launched a company called Crypto Facilities Ltd, a bitcoin derivatives trading platform, which now has six employees. For now, the platform trades bitcoin forwards, which are directly linked to the price of bitcoin, but it's also developing other digital currency derivative products. "This is uncharted territory," said Schlaefer. "It's an exciting opportunity to participate in a new area of technology that has massive potential." Bitcoin is a virtual or online currency created through a "mining" process where a computer's resources are used to perform millions of calculations. Once mined, bitcoins can be stored in an online wallet, traded in an online exchange, or used to buy goods and services. Once the province of small-time investors driven by their distrust of government-backed currencies, now Wall Street bankers and traders are leaving high-paying jobs to join bitcoin start-ups, while big firms hire in-house to get their arms around bitcoin and the related 'blockchain' technology. "A lot of people are entering the bitcoin space as the sector has reached an overall level of funding that's hard to ignore," said Jaron Lukasiewicz, founder and chief executive officer at New York-based bitcoin exchange Coinsetter. Lukasiewicz, 29, moved to the bitcoin world in late 2012, having left behind a six-figure salary in private equity at The CapStreet Group in New York. Bitcoin is not backed by a government and its value fluctuates. On Thursday, it was trading at $278, making the value of outstanding bitcoin worth about $4 billion. It has had a volatile history, with a rapid rally in 2013 that boosted its value to more than $1,150 per bitcoin at one point. Story continues Right now, Crypto Facilities' Schlaefer probably won't make anywhere near the kind of money that he would potentially earn at Goldman. But it's less about the compensation for Schlaefer and more about being part of the growth in bitcoin and its underlying technology, the blockchain. The blockchain - a ledger or list of all of a digital currency's transactions - is viewed as bitcoin's main technological innovation, allowing users to make payments anonymously, instantly, and without government regulation. Software engineers have started developing multiple applications for the blockchain, including a land title record system in Honduras to the clearing of trades in financial markets. Meanwhile, Wall Street firms are doing their own hiring in the cryptocurrency realm. In June, online bitcoin job ads surged to a record high of 306, according to data from Wanted Analytics, with demand coming from banks such as Capital One and tech companies such as Intel and Amazon. In previous months, Citigroup and TD Canada Trust posted bitcoin job ads as well. RISKY BUSINESS For 31-year-old Paul Chou, founder and chief executive officer of Ledger X, an institutional trading and clearing platform for bitcoin options, moving into the digital currency space represents what he hopes results in lucrative profits down the road. But there are other reasons for his shift. LedgerX is awaiting regulatory approval from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to trade and clear options on bitcoin. Chou said the firm hopes to operate the first regulated exchange and clearinghouse to list and clear fully-collateralized, physically-settled bitcoin options for the institutional market. "I took a very large salary pay cut to do this, in return for equity in a start-up that can be worth a lot someday," Chou said. Before LedgerX, Chou worked at Goldman Sachs in New York as a quant equity trader after graduating from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with degrees in computer science and mathematics. Chou said his hours are much longer as an entrepreneur - he's constantly refining ideas for strategy and thinking which areas to focus on. "The domain expertise, relationships, and career equity I've built are things I never could have done while at Goldman," Chou said. "As a former trader, I'm glad I made this trade-off at the stage of my career that I did." It's a risky move, however. There are already several tales of bitcoin company failures and mismanagement. U.S. bitcoin marketplace Buttercoin, for instance, shuttered its operations in April this year despite raising $1.3 million in funding. Bitcoin exchange MyCoin closed its doors in February of 2015, leaving about 3,000 investors out of pocket. Tokyo-based Mt. Gox, once one of the most dominant bitcoin exchanges, closed its doors without warning in February last year, filing for bankruptcy and leaving investors approximately $500 million in the red. BITCOIN INVESTMENTS, HIRING Total investments in bitcoin companies for the first half of 2015 - totaling $375.4 million - have already exceeded 2014's total of $339.4 million, data from CB Insights showed. Last year's venture capital funding of bitcoin start-ups grew roughly 280 percent from 2013. The number of bitcoin start-ups has increased by more than 80 percent from last year. As of end-July, there were 814 start-up digital currency companies, up from 444 a year earlier, according to Angel List, an online marketplace for start-ups seeking to raise money from angel investors. As banks defer compensation and add more clawback provisions that give them the right to limit bonuses, traders are seeing better risk opportunities elsewhere, said San Francisco-based Rick Henri Chan, chief operating officer at Airbitz, a digital wallet platform. Chan, 47, who joined the bitcoin industry three years ago, worked for Deutsche Bank as head of its over-the-counter derivatives technology in Japan, and was a trader at UBS and Morgan Stanley. He works long hours at Airbitz, doing everything from strategy to raising money, but the work environment is more flexible. At Deutsche, Chan had a multi-million dollar package, and he admits to missing that paycheck. "But we're doing something special here at Airbitz. And I do think our company will be valued at a lot more in the future," he said. (Reporting by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss, editing by David Gaffen and John Pickering) [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] 1 #BTC (#Bitcoin) quotes: $269.27/$269.35 #Bitstamp $267.93/$268.00 #BTCe ⇢$-1.42/$-1.27 $271.32/$271.50 #Coinbase ⇢$1.97/$2.23 \|\| Current price: 279.05$ $BTCUSD $btc #bitcoin 2015-08-01 04:00:03 EDT \|\| LIVE: Profit = $1,176.48 (1.00 %). BUY B450.11 @ $260.89 (#BTCe). SELL @ $263.57 (#Bitfinex) #bitcoin #btc - http://www.projectcoin.org \|\| In the last 10 mins, there were arb opps spanning 24 exchange pair(s), yielding profits ranging between $0.00 and $187.14 #bitcoin #btc \|\| In the last 10 mins, there were arb opps spanning 19 exchange pair(s), yielding profits ranging between $0.00 and $3,312.34 #bitcoin #btc \|\| buysellbitco.in #bitcoin price in INR, Buy : 18584.00 INR Sell : 17995.00 INR. Buy and sell bitcoin in #India using #buysellbitcoin \|\| Bitmain ANTMINER S5 1.15TH ASIC Bitcoin Miner - In hand, ships from USA for USD400.00 #Coins #Paper #Money #ANTMINER http://doublequicktime.com/item/description/id/100378816 … \|\| 1 #BTC (#Bitcoin) quotes: $290.43/$290.44 #Bitstamp $284.50/$285.00 #BTCe ⇢$-5.94/$-5.43 $290.74/$290.75 #Coinbase ⇢$0.30/$0.32 \|\| 1 #BTC (#Bitcoin) quotes: $279.38/$279.61 #Bitstamp $274.07/$275.00 #BTCe ⇢$-5.54/$-4.38 $279.71/$279.79 #Coinbase ⇢$0.10/$0.41 \|\| Current price: 253.66€ $BTCEUR $btc #bitcoin 2015-07-19 18:00:08 CEST	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 228.12, 229.28, 227.18, 230.30, 235.02, 239.84, 239.85, 243.61, 238.17, 238.48
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2018-11-05] BTC Price: 6419.66, BTC RSI: 47.86 Gold Price: 1229.80, Gold RSI: 56.33 Oil Price: 63.10, Oil RSI: 25.81 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Sign Emerges That Falling Bitcoin Price Just Might Have a Floor: Bitcoin (BTC) seems to have built a base around a key moving average in the last four months, although, so far, it has not been able to produce a definitive bullish breakout. Throughout 2018, the leading cryptocurrency has set lower price highs, indicating the path of least resistance is to the downside. Despite the bearish setup, the 21-monthexponential moving average(EMA) has served as a strong floor since June. More importantly, the failure to beat the EMA support for four straight months indicates that the sell-off from the record high of $20,000 reached in December has likely run its course. Up 80%: XRP's September Wasn't Just Bullish, It Was Record-Setting So, it seems safe to say that the stage has been set for the cryptocurrency to jump above the recent lower price high of $7,429 hit a month ago and confirm a bearish-to-bullish trend change. Even so, the bulls have been reluctant to push prices north of $6,800 in the last two weeks. Still, since BTC tends toperform wellin the last three months of the calendar year, that may be about to change. At press time, Â BTC is trading largely unchanged on the day at $6,585 on Bitfinex. Bitcoin Price Prints Second Straight Monthly Loss in September As seen on the monthly chart, BTC produced a minor rally to $8,500 in July, after finding support at the 21-month EMA in June. Further, the sellers failed to penetrate the EMA support in August and September, establishing it as a key level to watch out for in the near-term. Over on the daily chart, the 5-day and 10-day EMAs are flatlined, indicating that the bitcoin market is currently lacking a clear directional bias. The outlook as per the daily chart would turn bullish if and when the cryptocurrency finds acceptance above the trendline connecting the July 25 high and Sept. 5 high. As of writing, the trendline resistance is located at $6,802. The bear failure, as seen in the monthly chart, does indicate scope for a break above the trendline hurdle in the near-term. • BTC seems to have bottomed out around the 21-month EMA, currently located at $6,150. • A UTC close above the falling trendline seen in the daily chart would open up upside toward $7,429 (September high). A high volume move above that level would add credence to BTC's repeated defense of the 21-month EMA and confirm a bearish-to-bullish trend change. • On the downside, a convincing move below the 21-month EMA will likely embolden the bears. Disclosure:Â The author holds no cryptocurrency assetsÂ at the time of writing. Bitcoin chartÂ imageÂ via Shutterstock; Charts byÂTrading View • This Meme Marketplace Uses Dummy Tokens to Draw Users in a Bear Market • Bitcoin Fraudsters Misled Investors and Impersonated Regulators, CFTC Alleges \|\| Boys club: Fewer than 1 in 10 crypto investors is female: When cryptocurrency first burst on to the scene in 2009, the new digital money system was hard for novice investors to understand. But in the last few years that sentiment has changed, and more people are buying into the market every day. In December 2017, the value of oneBitcoin, the most well know and oldest cryptocurrency, surged to more than $25,000 Canadian. Investors around the world are getting in on cryptocurrency in a big way, but there’s one segment of investors that’s not as interested: Women. A new report out byeToro, a social trading platform in Europe that claims to be leading the global fintech revolution, says less than 1 in 10 crypto currency investors are women. Men, who already dominate in stock market investment, are also the primary investors in the world of cryptocurrencies. 91.5 per cent of users who invest in cryptocurrencies are male, according to eToro. “To be honest I’m not surprised,” saysLimor Markman, host of the upcoming television showThe Fortunate Future.She adds, “Women tend to be more conservative investors. Even if you look at, in the realm of real estate, men compared to women tend to take more risk. They are ok with higher risk for higher return.” Markman’s show will focus on the role cryptocurrency will play in our everyday lives going forward, including how we will be investing in it. “Women are looking for more certainty,” says Markman. Few investments can guarantee certainty, but cryptocurrency is even more volatile than the investments Canadians are accustomed to. After the value of one bitcoin surged to more than $25,000 Canadian in December, it had a dramatic fall in the beginning of 2018 and is currently valued at just over $8,000 Canadian. Anyone who’s already averse to risk would be unlikely to invest. “It is a boys club. Male and white,” says Masha Prusakova, co-founder atCrypto PR Lab, a California based, marketing agency that works with blockchain and crypto start-ups. “Since the early days of cryptocurrencies, miners and blockchain developers are men.” Prusakova says cryptocurrency operates at the intersection of computer science and finance, two industries she feels that women have historically been excluded from. “The worlds of blockchain and cryptocurrency are predominantly driven by the development community, a demographic where most professionals are male.” She says part of the reason is men are more likely to pursue finance in higher education. She says grassroots efforts will help get more women investing. “To foster diversity, companies need to get more women interested in crypto, understand it and only then invest. This could mean organizing regular crypto discussions for women, setting up weekly ‘women in crypto’ meetups, or even building internal workshops to teach one another about the newest trends in crypto.” Where women are putting their money According to eToro’s research, one cryptocurrency women are investing in, at a greater rate than any other digital currency, isXRP. Ripple is the software company that uses XRP and the XRP ledger in its product. They were was unable to comment on the claim that more women invest in XRP saying “As a company, we [Ripple] do not provide investment advice or hypothesize about why people invest in certain digital assets.” Jackie Stickwood,CEO of crypto investor coaching company FinTech Fundraising, says the dominance of female investors in Ripple is unexpected. “I am fascinated that XRP is predominantly invested by women,” Stickwood says. “I imagine it is due to how they market. XRP has a much different marketing strategy than other traditional cryptos. Unfortunately, I am not surprised by the outrageous gender imbalance in crypto trading. I believe that more women need to educate themselves on finances in general as well as cryptocurrencies.” Prusakova says organisation likeGirls Who CodeandCodingFTWare helping break the stigma that women don’t understand crypto and therefore can’t invest. She says events held by these organizations are bringing more awareness into this space, ultimately making it an industry that doesn’t just have more females, but is also female-friendly. She, along with her co-founder Alexandra Karpova, believe highlighting the achievement of women in crypto will raise awareness. Companies like theirs are breaking with tradition. She says they often go to events that are dominated by males, but have found in most situations the crowd is welcoming and encouraging. In their opinion, if women show up they will be supported and succeed. TV host Markman also believes digital currency has to move away from being an investment, and be used as it was supposed to be, an everyday currency. “Merchant integration is still pretty low, you can’t go to the grocery store and mall and use crypto. It is being used as an investment vehicle right now, but that is not what it was created for. But that is happening right now.” Stickwood says crypto may be a boys club, but that club is still pretty small as the majority of people don’t understand how the currency works. She believes that simplification and education is the key. She knows at first glance cryptocurrency is very daunting. Without a background in tech is can be hard to understand. She believes the more we can educate people and simplify everything about crypto— from purchasing, to spending, to trading — the friendlier crypto will be. More people will get involved, and that includes more women. Download the Yahoo Finance app, available forAppleandAndroid. \|\| Bitcoin Flexes its Muscles as Cryptocurrency Market Tumbles to 2018 Low: The cryptocurrency market crossed an unwelcome milestone on Wednesday, as it not only fell to a year-to-date low but alsosurpassedthe Nasdaq Composite Index’s 78 percent peak-to-trough decline in the throes of the dotcom bubble that kicked off the new millennium. Following a fresh rout this week, thecryptocurrency market cap— the combined nominal values of all coins and tokens in circulation — is now valued at just $186.8 billion, down a tech bubble-style 78 percent from the $835.7 billion all-time high its set on just eight months ago, on Jan. 7. The crash is even more pronounced when viewed withoutbitcoin‘s stabilizing effects. Since peaking above $550 billion in early January, the altcoin market cap has declined approximately 85 percent and is now valued at $78.4 billion. For reference,ripple(XRP), the third-largest cryptocurrency, was once nominally valued at $145 billion. Remarkably, the altcoin market cap is valued lower today than it was one year ago, when, even after the uncertainty surrounding China’s ban on cryptocurrency trading andinitial coin offerings(ICOs), altcoins collectively traded above $80 billion on Sept. 12, 2017. The rout is perhaps even starker when viewed in its individual components. Thirteen of the 15 most valuable cryptocurrencies by market cap have declined at least 78 percent from their all-time highs, according to data fromOnChainFX. Six, meanwhile, have declined at least 90 percent, including XRP (93 percent), bitcoin cash (90 percent), cardano (95 percent), IOTA (91 percent), tron (94 percent), and NEO (92 percent). Source: OnChainFX Bitcoin, of course, has not been immune to the decline. Since peaking near $20,000, the flagship cryptocurrency has taken a 69 percent hit and is now testing whether support will hold at $6,000. Even so, bitcoin’s position within the cryptocurrency market itself has seldom been stronger, at least since the beginning of the ICO boom, which has now swelled the number of cryptocurrencies to nearly 2,000. Bitcoin dominance now stands at a commanding 58 percent, its highest point since Dec. 13, 2017. That’s a notable about-face since January when bitcoin briefly accounted for less than one-third of the total market cap. Indeed, it’s been a long time since anyone has mentioned the “Flippening,” and Roger Ver’s Maypredictionthat ethereum would surpass bitcoin in 2018 appears increasingly comical. Bitcoin, it seems, isstill the king. Often lost in the dotcom bubble comparison is that, though many companies went bust, tech stocks as an asset class eventually came back with a vengeance, and the Nasdaq Composite Index now stands far above its dotcom bubble peak. There’s no guarantee that the cryptocurrency market’s trial-by-fire will produce similar results, but if it is truly analogous to the dotcom bubble, the real question isn’t when the market will crash to zero, it’s “Which cryptocurrency is Amazon, and which is Pets.com?” Featured Image from Shutterstock. The postBitcoin Flexes its Muscles as Cryptocurrency Market Tumbles to 2018 Lowappeared first onCCN. \|\| Crypto Crowdfunding Terrorists: Marketplace For Jihadist Crowdfunding Found on Dark Web: SadaqaCoins As bizarre as it sounds, a marketplace for crowdfunding paramilitary mujahideen, those engaged in jihad, has been discovered on the dark web. Accessible only through using the Tor browser, SadaqaCoins is very different from your average crowdfunding marketplace. Donors can send funds in the form of Bitcoin or Monero to help pay for 4×4 pickup trucks, .50 caliber bolt action rifles and ammunition, wind readers for sniping, silencers, and even combat training for aspiring jihadists. CCN has written before on the subject of raising cryptocurrencies for Sadaqah , the act of alms-giving or charity. In this case, users can donate Bitcoin or Monero for a very different type of “Sadaqa.” The Bitcoin wallet on the site is empty at the time of writing, and while the site states that no money has been raised so far through Monero or Bitcoin donations, the site is less than a month old at the time of writing. The site mentions four ways to support the project – advertising to others, buying cryptocurrency to donate, mining crypto for donations, or a fourth method, “hustling” in which the site encourages readers to hack or coerce cryptocurrency from non-Muslims in keeping with the concept of Ghanima, the act of taking “war booty” from non-believers by force. The site quotes Imam Shafi’i as saying “Ghanima is property that the Muslims seize from the disbelievers by means of overpowering them.” SadaqaCoins was brought to light by open-source analyst Benjamin Strickland who wrote about it in late August a week after the site launched: SadaqaCoins has just sprung up. This is the first ever crowdsource site on the dark web made specifically for jihadi projects to be funded through cryptocurrency payments. Some projects involve funding for a larger tor server, 4×4's or sniper lessons… https://t.co/ynwxQiKEvn — Benjamin Strick (@BenDoBrown) August 23, 2018 Prices on project ‘We Hunt’ range from $550 for a .50 cal silencer up to $8,800 for a 4×4 all-terrain pickup vehicle, with other products including Kestrel 4500NV weather reading equipment to provide snipers with wind speeds and other info, Nikon p900 cameras for reconnaissance, ammunition of various types and calibers, sniper scopes, and of course sniper rifles themselves for $4,400. Story continues ‘We Hunt’ isn’t the only crowdfunding page on the site. Another project posted today on September 13 is called ‘The Forgotten Sisters’ and claims to raise money to free five women imprisoned in Syria, listing their names and dates of imprisonment with a crowdfunding goal of $14,850 which is to be used for ransom. A third project enables users to donate $220 to purchase livestock which will then be slaughtered in sacrificial prayer by the SadaqaCoins team on behalf of the donors for the Muslim holiday Eid al-Adha (festival of sacrifice) where this is a common practice. Is the site for real? There’s certainly no conclusive proof that the site is genuinely funding paramilitary activity in the Middle East. The site has a contact page which only accepts encrypted email (CCN are still waiting on a response to comment requests at this time), but The Forgotten Sisters project, as well as the activity on the SadaqaCoins Twitter account, seems to suggest that the project is based in Syria. The SadaqaCoins Team is pleased to present a gift and service for the Ummah. The believers now have the opportunity to advertise and support the latest projects. A considerable advantage (over other platforms) is that it our service is anonymous and secure https://t.co/tK4HAFp4Rh — SadaqaCoins (@sadaqacoins) August 17, 2018 The account follows Syrian investigative journalists as well as terrorism experts and watchdogs, and a user on Twitter commented that the livestock displayed on the account were marked in a way customary of Syrian farmers. As Benjamin Strickland pointed out, the fact that project We Hunt has itemized and individual Bitcoin addresses for each individual weapon or product on the page also lends credence to the site. Yes, it’s possible that it’s an elaborate scam. Between multiple blog posts, an FAQ page, an about page, and the various crowdfunding projects, many hours of work have been put into the site which sets it apart from the majority of online scams which are usually less sophisticated. Indeed, apart from the outlandishly modern premise of crowdfunding anonymous cryptocurrencies to fund terrorist activity in the Middle East, there’s really nothing to indicate that the site isn’t exactly what it claims to be – a dark web marketplace for funding terrorists. Featured image from Shutterstock. The post Crypto Crowdfunding Terrorists: Marketplace For Jihadist Crowdfunding Found on Dark Web appeared first on CCN . \|\| Making History: CoinJoin Developer Sends Largest-Ever Anonymous Bitcoin Transaction: CoinJoinis a method of anonymizing bitcoins that developer Gregory Maxwell came up with in an effort to help bitcoin users remain anonymous. The idea is simple: when two users both want to make a transaction, if they make the transactions together, their information remains private or at least very hard to discern. On yesterday’s10th anniversaryof the Bitcoin protocol as an idea (whereas the blockchain did not actually launch until January 2009), aCoinJoin worth over $200,000 took place. The join involved many participants, with the largest transaction in the bunch being nearly half the total volume transacted — 14.8 BTC moved to address bc1qqcrmkvp97ryyvfu3crp6883v5caunq6v2960sc. The transaction was initiated by Wasabi Wallet developer Adam Ficsor and announced on his Twitter page. TheWasabi Walletproject is a desktop bitcoin wallet project which focuses on enhancing the privacy of BTC transactions through the use of CoinJoin and other methodologies. It is owned by a company calledzkSNACKs— not to be confused with ZEC’szkSNARKs. It intends to improve fungibility of bitcoin. Fungibility is the concept that every bitcoin is interchangeable regardless of who has held it or what purpose it has been used for. A lack of fungibility is a dangerous economic precedent, and technologically it is avoidable. CoinJoins are a method of improving fungibility by allowing “tainted” coins into “legitimate” transactions — note that both of these concepts, “clean/dirty” coins, are the problem in and of themselves that Wasabi is addressing. A good summary of their belief system might be: “a bitcoin is a bitcoin is a bitcoin.” The best way to view the question is whether or not you would reject a $100 bill to sell your used car simply because that bill had once been used in a drug transaction. In cash transactions, this is harder to do, but with digital money, it is entirely possible, and various technologies including monero, zcash, and CoinJoin aim to prevent such a situation through privacy and anonymization of coins. Wasabi Wallet has CoinJoin built in, as seen above. To participate in a CoinJoin one must be transacting more than 0.1 BTC. This feature is similar to monero’s mixing protocol. It appears that only other Wasabi Wallet users can participate in these CoinJoins, but nevertheless the feature is sure to increase adoption of Wasabi, which aims to launch on mobile clients in the future. Featured Image from Shutterstock The postMaking History: CoinJoin Developer Sends Largest-Ever Anonymous Bitcoin Transactionappeared first onCCN. \|\| Bitcoin ETN Suspension Not a Big Deal: Securities Lawyer: sec suspends bitcoin tracker one trading In July, Swedens XBT Provider introduced a Bitcoin exchange-traded note (ETN) to the US market. This week, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) suspended the ETN for 10 days. On September 10, the SEC released an official statement regarding its decision to suspend the Bitcoin Tracker One ETN for ten days, until Sep.t 20. The statement, released on the SEC website, explicitly stated that the two ETNs of XBT Provider caused confusion amongst investors. Essentially, the SEC has said that Bitcoin Tracker One (CXBTF) and Ether Tracker One (CETHF) directly or indirectly misled investors by marketing the two products in a way that did not clearly describe the difference between an ETF and an ETN on digital assets. The SEC said : The Commission temporarily suspended trading in the securities CXBTF and CETHF because of confusion amongst market participants regarding these instruments. This order was entered pursuant to Section 12(k) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (Exchange Act). Why Did the SEC Suspend it? SEC ICO Cryptocurrency According to Jake Chervinsky, an enforcement defense & securities litigation attorney at Kobre Kim LLP, the SECs suspension of the two ETNs of XBT Provider has no relation to the regulatory state of Bitcoin and ETH, the native cryptocurrency of Ethereum, in the US. Rather, Chervinsky explained that CXBTF and CETHF failed to provide a lack of current, consistent, and accurate information on their ETNs. It is possible that buyers of the CXBTF and CETHF were misled in the process of investing in cryptocurrencies in the US market, possibly into thinking that the two instruments were ETFs. This is a problem with CXBTF and CETHF, not bitcoin or ether. As the full SEC order of suspension explains, the issue is a lack of current, consistent and accurate information on these products, such as whether they are ETFs, ETNs, or something else, Chervinsky said. While ETNs are similar to ETFs in that investors can still benefit from the price movement of a target asset, stock, or commodity, ETNs do not represent ownership. For instance, when an investor invests in Bitcoin through an ETF, the investor can receive BTC in its actual form from the ETF provider. Story continues With ETNs, investors are investing in structured products issued as senior debt notes that have no insurance and are vulnerable to credit risk. ETNs can be reliable depending on their providers and the track record of the asset itself. But, it does not offer the same level of protection, insurance, and credit risk mitigation as an ETF. Hence, for the SEC, if an investor purchases Bitcoin ETNs like CXBTF and CETHT under the assumption that they offer the services of ETFs, it can be a problem. The SEC needs both investors and the ETN provider to acknowledge the difference between an ETF and ETF, to avoid market confusion. Not a Big Deal Many investors in the cryptocurrency market have described the extensive reporting on the SECs decision to suspend two Bitcoin and Ether ETNs as FUD (fear, uncertainty, and doubt), and it is hard to say it isnt, as the suspension of CXBTF and CETHT is not significant and certainly not enough to have any sort of impact on their underlying digital assets. Images from Shutterstock The post Bitcoin ETN Suspension Not a Big Deal: Securities Lawyer appeared first on CCN . \|\| Coinbase: 'Listing announcements will become more frequent': Coinbase announced on Tuesday a new policy for adding assets, and it constitutes a major change for America’s biggest cryptocurrency brokerage. The site will now allow the developer teams behind cryptocurrencies to fill out an application form for their token to be listed on Coinbase. Of course, Coinbase will also consider adding assets based on its own evaluation, as it has in the past. And Coinbase will announce new assets differently. “Because listing announcements will become more frequent,” the company says, “ we expect to publicly announce the addition of new assets only at or near the time of public launch.” This is significant: Coinbase will no longer give an advance heads-up to say it will soon add a new token; instead it will make a single announcement at the time it adds a token or right before. Coinbase currently offers trading of bitcoin (BTC), litecoin (LTC), ether (ETH), bitcoin cash (BCH), and ethereum classic (ETC). The goal of the new policy, Coinbase says in a press release: “to rapidly list all assets that meet our quality criteria and are compliant with local law.” The policy comes with additional caveats and asterisks, some of which may raise eyebrows. Since crypto regulation varies by country and state-by-state, Coinbase says it may begin offering certain tokens only outside the U.S., “i n a jurisdiction-by-jurisdiction manner.” And finally, applications for listing may eventually carry a fee, “to defray the legal and operational costs associated with evaluating and listing new assets,” Coinbase says. There will not be fees at launch of the new policy. If and when Coinbase does implement application fees, that is likely to prompt criticism for taking money to list new coins. Critics may also see the new application option as a warning sign that Coinbase is about to get far less choosy, especially if it adds a raft of lesser-known “altcoins.” Coinbase M&A chief Emilie Choi (L) and Coinbase CTO Balaji Srinivasan at the Yahoo Finance All Markets Summit: Crypto in San Francisco on June 14, 2018. All of this is happening nearly one year after Coinbase came under heavy fire when the price of bitcoin cash soared in the hours before Coinbase publicly announced it was adding the asset. Critics speculated that Coinbase insiders who knew the site would be adding bitcoin cash told their friends, who bought up the asset ahead of time. Story continues In the aftermath of the scandal, Coinbase changed its policy to announce ahead of time when it is considering adding a new token, so as to avoid any whiff of impropriety. (It also said it implemented stricter employee trading restrictions.) In that spirit, Coinbase announced in March its intention to add ERC20 tokens — new assets created using the smart contract blockchain Ethereum. As Coinbase CTO Balaji Srinivasan told Yahoo Finance in June , “ Our new policy basically pre-announces assets to avoid exactly that kind of issue [that happened when it added bitcoin cash]. We announce the intent, then we go and list it. We’re really just trying to be extremely above-board with everything that we’re doing.” Now the listing policy is already changing again. Why so soon? “This is an evolution of the current process,” Srinivasan tells Yahoo Finance. “We looked at what was working and what wasn’t and found that having multiple announcements wasn’t in the best interests of our customers.” In addition to adding more assets to Coinbase, and adding them more rapidly, Coinbase will “augment our quality control by adding star ratings, rankings, and reviews to help users learn about assets.” (Rival exchange Binance does this.) Some may see the ratings and reviews as the biggest news here, from a consumer-facing standpoint. After all, Coinbase says its mission is, “ to give anyone — no matter where they live — trustworthy and secure access to a more open, blockchain-based financial system.” In other words: get everyone into crypto. Many Americans have stayed away from the crypto craze, turned off by negative headlines about crime or hacks or exchange outages. If Coinbase really builds out its library of reviews and ratings of cryptocurrencies as it adds more of them, the site could also become a Yelp-like platform for crypto education. — Daniel Roberts covers bitcoin and blockchain at Yahoo Finance. Follow him on Twitter at @ readDanwrite . Read more: Coinbase exec: ‘Adding more assets is a very big priority for us’ Blockchain CEO on ‘Just Hodl’ bitcoin mantra: ‘I don’t believe in that’ Chain CEO: Public and private blockchains will soon converge Warren Buffett on buying bitcoin: ‘That is not investing’ Lightning Labs CEO: We are back to a ‘bitcoin, not blockchain’ world The 11 biggest names in crypto right now \|\| Police: Dispute over Bitcoin Account Led to Connecticut Home Invasion: Two women have beenarrestedin connection with a March home invasion in Killingly, CT, where victims were not only robbed but also allegedly pistol-whipped and attacked with an electric cattle prod. The incident, police said, was the tragic culmination of a dispute involving a bitcoin account. Apparently, the home invasion occurred because a female victim opened a bitcoin account for one of the alleged home invasion suspects, Monique Delannoy-Jodoin, 59, who police said is a resident of Manville, RI. Police also stated that Ms. Delannoy-Jodoin was already under investigation for narcotic sales and delivery through the postal system. The other suspect was Beatriz Viruet, 38, who is a resident of Providence, RI. The female renter claimed to recognize two of the home invaders, who then pistol-whipped one occupant on the head, and utilized an electric cattle prod on another occupant. The female renter was able to escape to a neighbor’s house, but not one of the suspects was able to force entry into the bathroom, where the renter was hiding, using a hammer. The suspects stole money, cell phones, and a television, according to local authorities. Allegedly, one of the suspects, told the other to “shoot the victims,” as well. Many have criticized the fact that cryptocurrency can be used for money laundering, considering that it can often be harder to trace than fiat currency. The sector is often accused of fraud, and there are eveninternational task forcesorganized to target ICOs worldwide. This is a still-rare-but-increasingly-more-common instance where there is a violent crime associated with cryptocurrency. Indeed, it is not the only violent incident that has happened in relation to bitcoin. Earlier this year, there was ashootingin downtown Miami in connection with a bitcoin deal gone awry. According to police, Monique Delannoy-Jodoin wanted money and passwords related to her bitcoin account. She was ultimately charged with home invasion, risk of injury to a child, third-degree criminal mischief, second-degree assault with a weapon, second-degree breach of peace, criminal use of a weapon, and sixth-degree larceny, among other charges. Beatriz Viruet was charged with home invasion, first-degree robbery, and second-degree breach of peace. Delannoy-Jodoin was held on a $250,000 bond, while Viruet was held on a $100,000 bond. The women are both are due to appear Monday in Danielson Superior Court. Featured Image from Shutterstock The postPolice: Dispute over Bitcoin Account Led to Connecticut Home Invasionappeared first onCCN. \|\| Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin and Ripple Daily Analysis – 16/09/18: Bitcoin Cash gained just 0.29% on Saturday, following Friday’s 3.84% slide, to end the day at $448.3, the minor gain leaving Bitcoin Cash still deep in the red for the week. A relatively range bound day by recent standards saw Bitcoin Cash move through to an early afternoon intraday high $462.5, before easing back to a late in the day intraday low $443, the moves through the day leaving the major support and resistance levels left untested. At the time of writing, Bitcoin Cash was down 1.51% to $441.6, with Saturday’s late in the day reversal continuing into the early hours, Bitcoin Cash falling from an early morning high $449.1 to a morning low $438.1, testing the day’s first major support level at $440.03 before moving back to $440 levels. For the day ahead, a move back through the morning high to $450 levels would support a run at the day’s first major resistance level at $459.54 to bring $460 level back into play, following Saturday’s $462.5 high, though Bitcoin Cash will need to move back through to $450 levels by the early afternoon to support a late weekend rally. Failure to move back through to $450 levels could see Bitcoin Cash fall deeper into the red for the week, with a pullback through the morning low $438.1 bringing the second major support level at $431.77 into play, though we would expect Bitcoin Cash to find sufficient support at sub-$440 levels to avoid testing the second major resistance level, barring materially negative news hitting the wires. Litecoin gained 0.57% on Saturday, following on from Friday’s 2.99% rise, to end the day at $56.65. Friday’s afternoon rally provided support in the early hours of Saturday, with Litecoin rising through the morning to an early afternoon intraday high $58.73 before pulling back late in the day to an intraday low $55.55, the day’s major support and resistance levels left untested through the day. At the time of writing, Litecoin was down 1.24% to $55.64, with Saturday evening’s reversal weighing in the early hours, Litecoin falling to a morning low $55.13 to call on support at the first major support level at $55.22 before steadying. For the day ahead, a move back through a start of a day morning high $56.65 to $57 levels would be needed to support a run at $58 levels and the day’s first major resistance level at $58.4, with direction through the late morning likely to provide some guidance on whether the early losses were a spill over or due to a shift in sentiment that could lead to heavier losses later in the day. Failure to move back through the morning high could see Litecoin take a bigger hit later in the day, a pullback through the morning low $55.13 bringing sub-$55 levels and the day’s second major support level at $53.8 into play before any recovery. Ripple’s XRP gained 1.49% on Saturday, reversing Friday’s 1.18% fall, to end the day at an 8-day closing high $0.28012, the early weekend gain taking Ripple’s XRP into positive territory for the current week. A relatively choppy start to the day saw Ripple’s XRP pullback to a mid-morning intraday low $0.27552 before finding support from a broad based market move through the late morning. Breaking through the day’s first major resistance level at $0.2839, Ripple’s XRP rose to an early afternoon intraday high $0.28505 before easing back through the first major resistance level, a late in the day broad based crypto sell-off pinning back more material gains on the day. At the time of writing, Ripple’s XRP was down 0.39% to $0.27921, downward pressure from the broader market weighing on Ripple’s XRP in the early hours. Ripple’s XRP moved through to an early morning high $0.28169 before pulling back to a morning low $0.2778, the day’s major support and resistance levels left untested early on. For the day ahead, a move back through to $0.28 levels would support another run at the day’s first major resistance level at $0.2849, with sentiment across the broader market to dictate whether a break out through the day’s second major resistance level at $0.29 levels is on the cards, though Ripple’s XRP will need to move back through to $0.28 levels early to support a late weekend rally. Failure to move back through to $0.28 levels could see Ripple’s XRP fall back through the morning low $0.2778 to test the day’s first major support level at $0.2754, with the second major support level at $0.2707 in play, though the broader market will need to be under significant pressure for the second major support level to be tested. Buy & Sell Cryptocurrency Instantly Thisarticlewas originally posted on FX Empire • Crude Oil Weekly Price Forecast – crude oil markets rally during the week but fell at the same level again • Bitcoin – Tight Ranges end in Tears • USD/JPY Weekly Price Forecast – US dollar slams into major resistance • Gold Weekly Price Forecast – Gold undecided for the week • GBP/JPY Price Forecast – British pound runs into brick wall • AUD/USD Weekly Price Forecast – Aussie dollar show signs of life \|\| Bitcoin – Is That the Bottom? The SEC May Have a Final Say on That: Bitcoin gained 0.74% on Friday, following on from Thursday’s 1.34% rise, to end the day at $6,640, a 2ndconsecutive day of gains taking Bitcoin into positive territory for the current week, Bitcoin up 0.27% Monday through Friday. A choppy start to the day saw Bitcoin slide from a start of a day morning high $6,626.06 to an early morning intraday low $6,506.6, calling on support at the day’s first major support level at $6,507.47 to move back through to $6,600 levels by mid-morning. Relatively range bound through most of the day, Bitcoin continued to struggle to hold on to $6,600 levels before a broad based cryptomarket rally kicked in late in the day, with Bitcoin breaking through the first major resistance level at $6,661.07 and the second major resistance level at $6,731.73 to an intraday high $6,741.4 before easing back to $6,600 levels. For the Bitcoin bulls, while a hold on to $6,600 levels for the first time since Sunday would have been the positive from the day, Bitcoin fell short of the 23.6% FIB Retracement Level of $6,756, with a run at the 38.2% FIB Retracement Level of $7,376 needed to begin forming a near-term bullish trend. There’s been plenty of conjecture of late on whether Bitcoin has bottomed out and, while the recent ranges suggest that worst may have passed, uncertainty persists and, until the market can move on from the SEC and its pending decisions on Bitcoin ETF applications and a more structured regulatory frame work for the broader market by jurisdiction, any breakout from current levels will likely continue to face plenty of resistance. On the news front, news of the SEC requesting additional information on the recently rejected Bitcoin ETF applications contributed to the late rally on Friday, the request for information an indication that the SEC is in fact reconsidering its recent decisions, raising hope of an influx of institutional monies into the cryptomarket. The SEC has reportedly issued a 26thOctober deadline for the review of 9 Bitcoin ETF applications and, while there are hopes of a reversal to rejections, the reality remains that both fraudulent and price manipulative actions persist that could leave the SEC with little choice but to reject the applications pending the introduction of an appropriate regulatory framework that addresses both of the SEC’s key concerns. Get Into Cryptocurrency Trading Today At the time of writing, Bitcoin was down 0.51% to $6,605.9, a choppy start to the day seeing Bitcoin fall from a morning high $6,648.2 to a morning low $6,575.7 before regaining the $6,600 handle, moves in the early hours leaving the day’s major support and resistance levels untested. For the day ahead, a move back through to $6,650 would support a run at $6,700 levels to bring the day’s first major resistance level at $6,752.07 and 23.6% FIB Retracement Level of $6,757 into play, though we can expect Bitcoin to face plenty of resistance in any attempt to breakout from its recent ranges. Failure to move through to $6,500 levels could see Bitcoin slide back through to $6,500 levels to bring the first major support level at $6,517.27 into play, with sub-$6,500 levels in play should the general market view be that the SEC will likely decline the BTF applications currently being reviewed. Thisarticlewas originally posted on FX Empire • GBP/JPY Weekly Price Forecast – British pound reaches towards the top of the range • USD/JPY Weekly Price Forecast – US dollar fails to break out for the week • EUR/USD Weekly Price Forecast – Euro find support at crucial 1.15 handle • Gold Weekly Price Forecast – Gold markets show signs of stability for the week • USD/JPY Price Forecast – US dollar drifts lower against Japanese yen • Fears of Emerging Market Meltdown Underpinning Gold Prices [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] 1. #BTC: $6478.39 (3.03%) 2. #ETH: $198.17 (14.52%) 3. #XRP: $0.27 (5.67%) 4. #BCH: $444.73 (5.7%) 5. #EOS: $5.08 (5.19%) 6. #XLM: $0.21 (7.59%) 7. #LTC: $53.79 (10.73%) 8. #USDT: $1.00 (0.04%) 9. #XMR: $113.53 (15.56%) 10. #ADA: $0.07 (7.92%) #blockchain #crypto #altcoin \|\| 2018/11/02 11:00 BTC 716087.5円 ETH 22362.9円 ETC 1017.3円 BCH 47945.4円 XRP 51.6円 XEM 10.2円 LSK 309.5円 MONA 130.3円 #仮想通貨 #ビットコイン #Bitcoin #bitFlyer #Coincheck \|\| Saludos! Amigos de @BTC_Play ví en la imagen que encabeza su cuenta que hoy 20-09-2018 el Dólar para la "Venta por Transferencia" vale 132,66 BsS y para la "Venta en Efectivo" vale 50,00 BsS, Porque tanta diferencia? Pregunto para salir de mi inquietud, Gracias \|\| Bitcoin: $6,420 +0.71% (+$45.00) High: $6,425.80 Low: $6,320.09 Volume: 97 $BTC #BTC #bitcoin \|\| Please get informed with ACTUAL facts. U obviously know nothing. I’ve sent 2 BTC for less than $1.00 https://twitter.com/Nouriel/status/1051460386489331713 … \|\| #LIZA #LAMBO price 10-26 05:00(GMT) $LIZA BTC :0.00000 ETH :0.00000 USD :0.0 RUR :0.0 JPY(btc) :0.0 JPY(eth) :0.0 $LAMBO BTC :0.009 ETH :0.275 USD :60.3 RUR :3888.0 JPY(btc) :6198.0 JPY(eth) :6162.8 \|\| #NowPlaying Warren G ft. Nate Dogg - Regulate (BTC Intro/ Clean) Listen to http://www.bigreggradio247.com ..artist get your song on now $25.00 for 30 days cashapp $bigregg909 email song to [email protected] \|\| Current price: $0.024077 Node count: 819 Total accounts: 511468 Coins burned: 2,518,535.00 TRX #tron #trx $trx $btc #btc \|\| #cryptocurrency Price Analysis for #Bitsend #BSD : Last Hour Change : 0.37 % \|\| 04-11-2018 12:00 Price in #USD : 0.1564010587 \|\| Price in #EUR : 0.1373318596 New Price in #Bitcoin #BTC : 0.00002456 \|\| #Coin Rank 612 \|\| 10-04 18:00(GMT) #SPINDLE price $SPD (BTC) Yobit :0.00000021 HitBTC :0.00000021 LiveCoin:0.00000018 $SPD (JPY) Yobit :0.15 HitBTC :0.15 LiveCoin:0.13	Trend: down \|\| Prices: 6461.01, 6530.14, 6453.72, 6385.62, 6409.22, 6411.27, 6371.27, 6359.49, 5738.35, 5648.03
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2021-11-01] BTC Price: 61004.41, BTC RSI: 56.30 Gold Price: 1795.10, Gold RSI: 55.16 Oil Price: 84.05, Oil RSI: 67.82 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Bitcoin Bulls: Cathie Wood Says the Crypto Will Reach $500K, MicroStrategy Adds 5,050 Bitcoins: Cathie Wood, the founder and CEO of Ark Invest,reiterated her trust in Bitcoin, saying yesterday at the SALT conference held by hedge fund SkyBridge Capital that she believes it will reach “over $500,000.” Learn More:Institutional Investors’ Bitcoin ETF Appetite Grows, While SEC still Stalling on ApprovalsInvesting:Here’s How Cathie Wood Picks Her Winning Stocks “If we’re right and companies continue to diversify their cash into something like Bitcoin, andinstitutional investors start allocating 5% of their funds towards [Bitcoin]— it could be for other cryptos, as well — we believe that the price will be tenfold of where it is today. So instead of $45,000, over $500,000,” Wood said, according to a video posted on Blockworks’ Twitter account. Wood also addressed the regulatory climate regarding cryptos, saying that “no regulators wanted to be blamed for preventing the next big technology breakthrough to happen in the U.S.” “And that has proven true,” she said. Wood also praised chairman Gary Gensler, saying that she is really happy “he understands crypto, and understands the merits of Bitcoin and, in particular, he is a regulator, though, and he’s a hardcore regulator.” Related:Crypto Regulation Will Help Pay for Infrastructure Bill, SEC’s Gensler Compares Industry to ‘Wild West’ Wood talked about the recent regulatory issue Coinbase encountered, when it received a Wells notice — the official way regulators tell a company they intend to sue — over Coinbase Lend, the company’s yet-to-be-launched new product. “What Coinbase did and I was shocked when I saw Wells notice, are you kidding they haven’t even release the product, like what is this? And I think what that Wells notice is doing, it’s a callout by regulators saying “we got to discuss this stuff,” because this is happening very quickly. And I think we are going to bring courts into the system,” Wood said. More:Elon Musk: ‘I Lose Money on Bitcoin’ But Tesla Likely to Accept It as Payment Again Other big names are being extremely bullish on Bitcoin, as well. MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor affirmed this with a tweet yesterday: “MicroStrategy has purchased an additional 5,050 bitcoins for ~$242.9 million in cash at an average price of ~$48,099 per #bitcoin . As of 9/12/21 we #hodl ~114,042 bitcoins acquired for ~$3.16 billion at an average price of ~$27,713 per bitcoin.” The company also announced yesterday that during the third quarter of the company’s fiscal year to date — the period between July 1, 2021 and September 12, 2021 — it had purchased approximately 8,957 bitcoins for approximately $419.9 million in cash, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing. See:Move Over Cathie Wood: Michael Burry Ups the Ante With Bets Against US TreasuriesFind:El Salvador Adopts Bitcoin Amid Glitches and Security Concerns As of September 12, 2021, MicroStrategy held approximately 114,042 bitcoins that were acquired at an aggregate purchase price of approximately $3.16 billion and an average purchase price of approximately $27,713 per bitcoin, inclusive of fees and expenses, according to the filing. More From GOBankingRates • What Money Topics Do You Want Covered: Ask the Financially Savvy Female • The 8 Best Deals From Costco’s September Coupon Book • Nominate Your Favorite Small Business To Be Featured on GOBankingRates • 10 Reasons You Should Claim Social Security Early Last updated: September 14, 2021 This article originally appeared onGOBankingRates.com:Bitcoin Bulls: Cathie Wood Says the Crypto Will Reach $500K, MicroStrategy Adds 5,050 Bitcoins \|\| WeownomyPay: Turning WEOWNS Into a Mass Currency of Kindness: Global has never been more in need of a currency that is for everyone. With WeownomyPay, there are no transaction fees and you can withdraw your money anywhere. The WEOWNS economy is coming to life and it's time to start paying with compassion. WeownomyPay WeownomyPay WeownomyPay DELAWARE CITY, Del., Oct. 15, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- It's hard to imagine what it would be like if you couldn't buy anything with money. But this is the reality for 3 billion people around the world, many of whom live in developing countries. This isn't just a problem of poverty and lack of access to banking services—this also impacts economies and society as a whole. The new digital payment system will be used to make social media transactions and remittance services free of charge for over 1 billion people worldwide. The founder of WeownomyPay Ssemakula Peter Luyima believes that digital currencies are not very useful unless they can connect with mainstream society in some way. The intention is to create a digital currency that connects the cryptocurrency world to what most societies use every day: money. In today's digital world, it is no surprise that people are shifting to cryptocurrency. In recent years, more and more companies have begun developing their own cryptocurrencies. But not all of these new currencies have been successful in the market due to a lack of usability. WEOWNS is aiming to change this by providing an alternative form of payment for social media platforms, remittance transactions and Debt Free Personal Economic Security Program with a unique payment method once it's officially rolled out, with an estimated $5 billion in transactions anticipated by May 2022 The idea of paying for something and then getting paid back for it is what is unique about WeownomyPay. This revolutionary new payment system eliminates all fees associated with making payments through credit cards or wire transfers, giving people a convenient way to pay without incurring any extra costs. Story continues The People Powered WEOWNS In an era of globalization, with a steadily growing population and increasing cost of living around the world, the demand for a new payment system that benefits everyone is vital. With this in mind, WEOWNOMY came up with an innovative solution to meet these needs: WeownomyPay. The design is geared towards: 1] providing debt-free personal economic security for everyone; 2] eliminating transaction fees; 3] rewarding remittance transactions with an extra amount of WEOWNS; 4] creating strategic partnerships that will help build key African Unity Initiatives powered by Pan African Peoples Alliance and Pan African Peoples Accord .. In the next 20 years, more than 50% of the global population will live in urban areas. A consequence of this is that people will be less connected to each other and it will become increasingly difficult for people to find empathy and compassion in a world where they are surrounded by strangers. WeownomyPay's vision is for WEOWNS, the currency of kindness, to complement fiat currencies, not compete with them; a key strategy is to build personal sustainable economic lives using Weownomy social media platform to enable millions of users and WeownomyChat in order for the network to reach significant scale and large volume of transactions made in WEOWNS. One Way to Keep the Wealth in Your Own Country Many developing countries have currencies that are volatile and subject to being devalued. WeownomyPay is a project aiming to solve this problem by providing access to the national currency of the country in which they reside, no matter where they are. WEOWNS will be fully backed by remittance transactions or Weownomy social media user paid online activities for using the platform denominated in WEOWNS to be represented in any fiat currencies. The United States has a $19 trillion dollar debt. But what if there was a way to keep the wealth in your own country? What if people and businesses in regions whose local currencies have WEOWNS users on the WeownomyPay network could directly access their national currency without any bank intermediaries or exchange rates, but with full confidence that each WEOWNS will be fully backed by the people using WeownomyPay network, which will consist of remittance transactions or Weownomy social media users. It has an ambitious goal to be one of the leading digital currencies in usage, transaction volume and value worldwide. WEOWNOMYPAY is a unique idea to help build an economy with your country's own currency. It will allow people and businesses in the regions whose local currencies have WEOWNS users on the WeownomyPay network to directly access their national currency. "WEOWNOMYPAY allows for everyone, no matter where they are, to keep wealth within their own country without having to use any other form of money." Ssemakula Luyima Peter WEOWNS Are Not Designed to Replace Local Currencies The global currency WEOWNS are not designed to replace the local currencies in developing nations but could serve as a complementary to the more established financial services that make up 98% of the developing nations. This will target personal and corporate digital wallets that pay bills, goods and services, debt-free personal economic security program. WeownomyPay will hand out $170 Million in digital WEOWNS via Virtual Wedding Crypto Expo in October 2021 and expects a wide-scale test during WeownomyChat launch in November 2021. The first user owned payment processor to work with WEOWNS currency trials that will allow users to link their accounts with WEOWNS digital currency. Weownomy will distribute several millions dollars' worth of WEOWNS through WeownomyPay that is connected to an acquirer bank. These tests are intended to allow users to buy products from participating business entities and WeownomyChat marketplace. WEOWNMYPAY: A LINK TO THE WEOWNS ECONOMY. The WeownomyPay inclusion shows that the new crypto currency has opened a payment link interface to the ecosystem of internet payment platforms, which could broaden the online application of WEOWNS digital currency in such scenarios as e-commerce, social networks and online-to-offline business. It will attract more merchants to open payment channels for the digital currency, helping leverage the digital WEOWNS role as people's currency. The new, blockchain-based digital currency WEOWNS is set to launch in October 2021 (to be announced), with over 100,000 co-owners to sign up for the tests. The system will be distributing 10 million digital WEOWNS "on WEOWNS Wedding day" which are worth $170 Million at current WEOWNS prices. But WEOWNS has one thing no other crypto currency does: it's all about community ownership. It will not be long before there are more than one billion co-owners around the world who want in on this great opportunity. Weownomy accelerates its efforts to widely distribute its digital people's currency of kindness before the WeownomyChat launch; the initiative is a historic initiative to launch people's monetary kindness system. Once the digital WEOWNS is in wide circulation, it will likely power the digital payment operations of social media, remittance transactions and Debt Free Personal Economic Security Program. The History of Kindness is about to Be Written. Kindness is the currency of people's power. It fuels all things that humans care about, whether it be financial or emotional prosperity, health and happiness, relationship bonds with others. Kindness is also the force behind every successful entrepreneurial endeavor. The advent of WeownomyChat will provide a platform for an exponential distribution of kindness in society because WEOWNS are the perfect digital representation of what humans care about most: their own success, health and well-being as well. About WEOWNS WEOWNS is a new currency that was created to address the shortcomings of Bitcoin. WEOWNS is designed to be used as an incentive for people who want to do good in their communities, not just mine bitcoins. WEOWNS incentivizes entrepreneurs and users to act with kindness towards one another by building trust through commitments made. This means that any user or entrepreneur who follows the precept should generally be expected to be more successful than otherwise, because they will have earned more WEOWNS. About Weownomy Platform Corporation Weownomy Platform Corporation, Incorporated in the State of Delaware https://www.weownomy.global is launching a subscription-based, open and participatory platform. A new redefined social network that facilitates people's participation in the democratic process of defining their own rules for their future, generating an ownership structure where every person has rights to share in the proceeds generated by this new economy and hence true economic equality. Media Ssemakula Peter Luyima [email protected] President and CEO Weownomy Platform Corporation Related Images Image 1: WeownomyPay New Digital Payment Processor This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com . Attachment WeownomyPay \|\| Why Energous Shares Are Soaring Today: Energous Corp (NASDAQ: WATT ) is trading significantly higher Tuesday after the company's active energy harvesting transmitter technology was granted U.S. Federal Communications Commission approval for unlimited distance over-the-air wireless charging. Energous' active energy harvesting transmitter can charge multiple devices at once, enabling over-the-air charging for the growing ecosystem of internet of things devices such as retail sensors, electronic shelf labels, industrial devices and more. “This FCC certification of our Active Energy Harvesting transmitter technology marks the latest recognition of our efforts to further the regulatory pathway for far field wireless power networks,” said Cesar Johnston , acting CEO of Energous. Johnston continued, “Our WattUp active energy harvesting solution provides U.S and European developers an approved wireless charging option when designing the power networks needed to cost effectively and efficiently deploy IoT sensors, low-power CPUs and other devices.” Energous is a development stage technology company that's developing a technology named WattUp, which will enable radio frequency based wire free charging for electronic devices. WATT Price Action: Energous has traded as high as $7.69 and as low as $1.71 over a 52-week period. The stock was up 29.50% at $2.59 at time of publication. See more from Benzinga Click here for options trades from Benzinga Carl Icahn: Inflation Bad For Markets Long Term, Good For Bitcoin? Why Jim Chanos Is Still Short Tesla And This Tech Stock That's Up 15% YTD © 2021 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| US now world’s biggest Bitcoin miner after China ban: The US just overtook China as the world’s biggest source of Bitcoin mining only weeks after Beijing banned it. According to the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance report, China’s share of the global hashrate went down from 44% to zero between May and July. On the other hand, the US share of the global hashrate grew from 17% in April to 35% in August, while, for example, Kazakhstan rose from 8% to 18% in the same period. Within the US, around 20% of Bitcoin’s hashrate is in New York, 18.7% in Kentucky, 17.3% is in Georgia, and 14% in Texas, according to Foundry USA – the biggest mining pool in North America and the fifth-largest globally. When China announced a crackdown on Bitcoin mining and trading in May, citing environmental and financial concerns, many miners fled to the US, neighbouring Kazakhstan or Russia. Sam Tabar, chief strategy officer at a New York-based Bitcoin miner Bit Digital, described the move as “great mining migration”. His company suspended its operations in China, which it had been winding down since October 2020, after the prohibition. Texas governor giving support for mining BTC One of the most popular US states for miners is Texas , whose Governor Greg Abbott has been a vocal supporter of cryptocurrency. Many Chinese Bitcoin companies have looked to Texas for stability and opportunity. Shenzhen-based firm BIT Mining said it plans to invest $26 million to build a data centre in the state, while Beijing-based Bitmain is expanding its facility in Rockdale. Michel Rauchs, digital assets lead at the Cambridge tracker , commented that “the effect of the Chinese crackdown is an increased geographic distribution of hashrate across the world”, adding that it could be seen as “a positive development for network security and the decentralised principles of Bitcoin”. China decided to come out with its own digital currency, which authorities hope to trial at the Beijing Winter Olympics in February 2022. Fred Thiel, chief executive of Marathon Digital Holdings – a Las Vegas-based crypto mining company – asserted that “the China shutdown has been great for the industry and US miners”. Story continues “Overnight, fewer players were going after the same finite number of coins,” he said. Approximately 900 Bitcoins are mined every day, and in the period from July to September, Marathon Digital Holdings mined 1,252.4 coins – 91% more than in the previous quarter. Didar Bekbauov, the co-founder of Xive, an Almaty-based cryptocurrency mining platform, said that “immediately after the ban, Kazakhstan received a lot of mining machines, mostly from Chinese miners who wanted to restart operations as soon as possible”. \|\| El Salvador just bought 400 bitcoin and plans to buy 'a lot more,' a day before making it an official currency: • El Salvador bought 400 bitcoin on Monday and plans to buy "a lot more," President Nayib Bukele said. • The purchase comes just a day before El Salvador makes bitcoin official currency. • The bitcoin transition hasn't been so smooth, with Salvadorans protesting, confused by the rollout. • See more stories on Insider's business page. El Salvador bought its first 400 bitcoin and plans to soon buy "a lot more," as the country nears the Tuesday deadline to make bitcoin the country's official currency, President Nayib Bukele tweeted on Monday. "El Salvador has just bought its first 200 coins," Bukele said in aseries of tweetson Monday. "Our brokers will be buying a lot more as the deadline approaches." Hours later, Bukele said the country bought an additional 200 bitcoin, giving it a total of 400 bitcoin. The bitcoin purchases, coming just a day before El Salvador's bitcoin law will come into effect, amount to roughly $20 million as ofMonday's price. It's the first step toward El Salvador's ambitious attempt to make bitcoin legal tender, which is set to draw a lot of attention from cryptocurrency enthusiasts to monetary policy experts around the world - while transforming the daily life for Salvadorans. In June, El Salvadorpassed a lawthat will make it the first country to establish bitcoin as legal tender alongside the US dollar, the country's current national currency. All entities in the country will now have to accept bitcoin as a payment method for goods and services, and Salvadorans will be able to use the cryptocurrency to pay taxes. El Salvador is the smallest country in Central America in terms of population, according to the World Bank. Its economy is the 106th out of the 195 countries the International Monetary Fund ranks. The country's looming bitcoin rollout has not been so smooth. Salvadoranscomplainthey have received little official communication from the government, leaving them in the dark on what the transition will mean for them. Global banks and rating agencies have questioned the decision, saying it could jeopardize the much-needed IMF lending talks, hurtlocal insurers, andeven weaken the bitcoin network. Last month, protests erupted in the capital city of San Salvador, with people fearing for their pension payouts potentially getting wiped out and money laundering activity increasing in a country wherecorruption is endemic. A poll taken in July found that75% of Salvadorans have reservations about the law. Still, Bukele seems confident in the country's looming bitcoin adoption. In a Twitterthreadlast month, the 40-year-old president called the opposition "liars" who would be exposed once the law comes into force. He said those worried about their pension or businesses will be able to keep dealing in dollars as usual, since bitcoin use isn't mandatory. On Monday, Bukele expressed the same level of confidence in hisMonday tweet. "Tomorrow, for the first time in history, all the eyes of the world will be on El Salvador," Bukele wrote. "#Bitcoin did this." Read the original article onBusiness Insider \|\| European Equities: Evergrande News and the FED to Test Support Once More…: Economic Calendar Thursday, 23 rd September Spanish GDP (QoQ) (Q2) French Manufacturing PMI (Sep) Prelim French Services PMI (Sep) Prelim German Manufacturing PMI (Sep) Prelim German Services PMI (Sep) Prelim Eurozone Manufacturing PMI (Sep) Prelim Eurozone Markit Composite PMI (Sep) Prelim Eurozone Services PMI (Sep) Prelim Friday, 24 th September German Ifo Business Climate Index (Sep) The Majors It was a bullish day for the European majors on Tuesday. The CAC40 rose by 1.50% to lead the way, with the DAX30 and the EuroStoxx600 ending the day up by 1.43% and by 1.00% respectively. There were no major stats to change the mood from Monday’s session, leaving dip buyers to deliver support on the day. For the majors, the upside came in spite of rating agency Standard & Poor’s stating that an Evergrande default was likely. The Stats It’s a was a particularly quiet day on the Eurozone economic calendar. There were no major stats to provide the majors with direction on the day. From the U.S Economic data was limited to August housing sector numbers that had a muted impact on market risk sentiment. The Market Movers For the DAX: It was a mixed day for the auto sector on Tuesday. BMW and Volkswagen rose by 1.14% and by 0.97%, respectively, with Continental ending the day up by 0.47%. Daimler bucked the trend, however, falling by 0.04%. It was also a mixed day for the banks. Deutsche Bank fell by 1.32%, while Commerzbank rose by 1.19%. From the CAC , it was a mixed day for the banks. Soc Gen and Credit Agricole fell by 0.33% and by 0.09% respectively, while BNP Paribas rose by 0.41%. It was a relatively bullish day for the French auto sector, however. Stellantis NV and Renault ended the day up by 0.19% and by 0.20% respectively. Air France-KLM and Airbus SE rose by 1.49% and by 1.20% respectively. On the VIX Index It was back into the red for the VIX on Tuesday, ending a 2-day winning streak. Partially reversing a 23.55% surge from Monday, the VIX fell by 5.25% to end the day at 24.36. Story continues On Tuesday, the NASDAQ rose by 0.22%, while the Dow and S&P500 ended the day down by 0.15% and by 0.08% respectively. The Day Ahead It’s yet another particularly quiet day ahead on the Eurozone’s economic calendar . There are no major stats to provide the European majors with direction mid-week. From the U.S there are also no major stats to consider later in the session, leaving the markets in limbo ahead of the FOMC policy decision and projections due out after the European close. Updates on Evergrande will also be in focus going into the European open. The Futures In the futures markets, at the time of writing, the Dow Mini was down by 49 points. For a look at all of today’s economic events, check out our economic calendar . This article was originally posted on FX Empire More From FXEMPIRE: EUR/USD Forex Technical Analysis – Hawkish Surprise by Fed Could Trigger Break into 1.1664 Main Bottom Bitcoin Update: A Revisit of $29,000 Cannot be Excluded Just Yet E-mini NASDAQ-100 Index (NQ) Futures Technical Analysis – Struggling Inside 15069.75 to 14920.25 The Crypto Daily – Movers and Shakers – September 22nd, 2021 Natural Gas Price Forecast – Natural Gas Markets Continue to Pull Back DraftKings Pursues UK Acquisition and Catches NFT Fever \|\| Could Terra Luna Reach The Moon And Become As Popular As Bitcoin, Ethereum Or Dogecoin?: Terra Luna (CRYPTO: LUNA) shares are trading higher Thursday in a green cryptocurrency market. Terra Luna is the world's biggest dual-token platform, which is a network with two intertwined tokens that have separate utility. LUNA coins are on its native blockchain, while Terra USD (CRYPTO: TUSD) stablecoins are on the Ethereum blockchain. Terra Luna was up 8.73% at $36.09 at publication time. How to Buy Terra (LUNA) Right Now Terra Luna Daily Chart Analysis Terra Luna looks to be breaking out of what technical traders call a sideways channel after the price crossed a level it struggled to in the past. The crypto has seen previous resistance near the $35 level, as it was an area where the crypto had struggled to get above. Now, as it trades above the area, the crypto could hold this area as support in the future. If unable to hold, the next strong level of support may be near the $24 level. The crypto trades above both the 50-day moving average (green) and the 200-day moving average (blue) indicating recent sentiment in the crypto has been bearish. Each of these moving averages may act as support in the future. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) started moving up the past couple of days and now sits at 55. This shows there is now more buying pressure in the crypto than selling pressure. lunadaily9-23-21.jpg What’s Next For Terra Luna? Bullish traders are hoping for the crypto to be able to hold above the $35 level. If the $35 level holds, the crypto could be ready to see another leg up. Bulls want to see a strong higher low trendline form. Bearish traders are looking to see the crypto fall back below the $35 level and hold it as resistance again. Bears would then like to see the Terra Luna fall below the moving averages for a possible change in sentiment and start of a bearish trend. See more from Benzinga Click here for options trades from Benzinga Why Novavax Looks Like It's Breaking Out Of A Pattern Is Plug Power's Stock Starting To Heat Up? © 2021 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| FOREX-U.S. dollar slides for 2nd day, but outlook stays upbeat: * U.S. data mixed as growth seen stalling in Q3 * Commodity currencies rise * Sterling licking wounds, heads for worst week in a month * Bitcoin hits nearly two-week high * Graphic: World FX rates https://tmsnrt.rs/2RBWI5E (Adds new comment, cryptocurrency prices, updates currency levels) By Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss NEW YORK, Oct 1 (Reuters) - The dollar fell for a second straight session on Friday, tracking declines in U.S. Treasury yields, as investors booked profits after recent sharp gains, though the decline was viewed as temporary. U.S. 10-year Treasury yields were last at 1.484%, down nearly six basis points. For the week, the dollar index posted its largest percentage gain since late August, as investors looked to the Federal Reserve's reduction of asset purchases in November and a possible rate hike late next year. Cautious market sentiment due to COVID-19 concerns, wobbles in China's growth and a Washington gridlock ahead of a looming deadline to lift the U.S. government's borrowing limit has lent support to the dollar, seen as a safe-haven asset. "The more hawkish stance appears to have been the key factor driving the dollar higher in late September," said Marc Chandler, chief market strategist, at Bannockburn Global Forex. "However, more immediately, fiscal policy is the focus, though investors appear to be looking through it, as many find it inconceivable that the U.S. would default on its debt," he added. In afternoon trading, the dollar index slid 0.3% to 94.046, having gained 0.8% this week, the largest weekly rise since late August. Friday's batch of U.S. data was mixed, adding to dollar weakness ahead of the weekend. U.S. consumer spending increased more than expected in August, posting a 0.8% rise, but consumption was weaker than initially thought in July, dipping 0.1% instead of gaining 0.3%. Inflation remained elevated, but not by much. Core inflation as measured by the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index, excluding the volatile food and energy components, was up 0.3% in August, unchanged from previous month. In manufacturing, data was more upbeat. The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) said its index of national factory activity increased to a reading of 61.1 last month from 59.9 in August. In other currencies, the euro rose 0.1% to $1.1595, falling about 1.1% for the week, its biggest percentage fall since mid-June. The yen bounced back against the dollar from a 19-month low overnight, with the greenback last down 0.2% at 111.105 yen. Commodity currencies rallied against the U.S. dollar on Friday as well. The Australian dollar gained 0.6% to US$0.7270 and slumped 3.6% in the third quarter - the worst performance of any G10 currency against the dollar - as prices for Australia's top export, iron ore, fell sharply. Sterling was also an underperformer last quarter, dropping 2.5%, and posting its worst week in more than a month, amid growing supply chain problems. Sterling was last up 0.6% though at $1.3552, just above a 9-month low at $1.3516. In cryptocurrencies, bitcoin rallied to a nearly two-week high of just under $48,000. It was last up 9.4% at $47,902. Analysts cited seasonal factors, with the fourth quarter typically viewed as a bullish period for digital assets. Smaller coins ether and XRP, which tend to move in tandem with bitcoin, were up nearly 10% at $3,294 and 8.2% at $1.0299, respectively. ======================================================== Currency bid prices at 3:17PM (1917 GMT) Description RIC Last U.S. Close Pct Change YTD Pct High Bid Low Bid Previous Change Session Dollar index 94.0370 94.3120 -0.29% 4.508% +94.3950 +93.9850 Euro/Dollar $1.1596 $1.1578 +0.16% -5.09% +$1.1607 +$1.1564 Dollar/Yen 111.0950 111.2800 -0.16% +7.53% +111.4850 +110.9050 Euro/Yen 128.82 128.82 +0.00% +1.50% +129.0400 +128.5600 Dollar/Swiss 0.9305 0.9317 -0.11% +5.19% +0.9337 +0.9283 Sterling/Dollar $1.3555 $1.3477 +0.59% -0.78% +$1.3575 +$1.3434 Dollar/Canadian 1.2633 1.2685 -0.41% -0.79% +1.2738 +1.2628 Aussie/Dollar $0.7271 $0.7227 +0.62% -5.48% +$0.7276 +$0.7193 Euro/Swiss 1.0791 1.0784 +0.06% -0.15% +1.0808 +1.0773 Euro/Sterling 0.8554 0.8593 -0.45% -4.29% +0.8623 +0.8545 NZ $0.6946 $0.6897 +0.72% -3.26% +$0.6951 +$0.6879 Dollar/Dollar Dollar/Norway 8.6125 8.7400 -1.41% +0.35% +8.7820 +8.6160 Euro/Norway 9.9891 10.1205 -1.30% -4.57% +10.1728 +9.9867 Dollar/Sweden 8.7412 8.7585 -0.08% +6.66% +8.7878 +8.7392 Euro/Sweden 10.1379 10.1460 -0.08% +0.61% +10.1755 +10.1374 (Reporting by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss; Additional reporting by Ritvik Carvalho in London; Editing by Nick Macfie, Chizu Nomiyama and David Evans) \|\| Blockchain-as-a-Service (BaaS) Market Worth $24.94 Bn at 39.5% CAGR; Tech Conglomerates Such as Microsoft and Oracle to Focus on Expanding Applicability of BaaS Tools: Fortune Business Insights™: Key Companies Covered in BaaS Market Research Report are Huawei Service (Hong Kong) Co., Limited, Stratis Group Ltd., NTT Data Corporation, Baidu, Inc., Oracle Corporation, Microsoft Corporation, VMware, Inc., Infosys Limited, Accenture Plc, SAP SE Pune, India, Sept. 14, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The globalblockchain-as-a-service marketsize is set to reachUSD 24.94 billion by 2027, exhibiting an impressiveCAGR of 39.5%during the forecast period. Multiple advantages of BaaS for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) will fuel the market growth, states Fortune Business Insights™ in its recent report, titled "Blockchain-as-a-Service (BaaS) Market Size, Share & Industry Analysis, By Component (Tool and Service), By Application (Smart Contracts, Supply Chain Management, Payments, Governance, Risk, and Compliance Management and Others (Identity Management)), By Industry (BFSI, Energy & Utilities, Government, Healthcare and Life Sciences, Manufacturing, Telecom, Media & Entertainment, Retail & Consumer Goods, Travel and Transportation and Others (Education etc.)), and Regional Forecast, 2020-2027". Request To Sample PDF Brochure:https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/enquiry/request-sample-pdf/blockchain-as-a-service-baas-market-102721 List of Key Companies operating in the Blockchain-as-a-Service (BaaS) Market are: • Huawei Service (Hong Kong) Co., Limited • Stratis Group Ltd. • NTT Data Corporation • Baidu, Inc. • Oracle Corporation • Microsoft Corporation • VMware, Inc. • Infosys Limited • Accenture Plc • SAP SE • Alibaba Group • IBM Corporation REPORT SCOPE & SEGMENTATION: [{"Report Coverage": "Forecast Period", "Details": "2020 to 2027"}, {"Report Coverage": "Forecast Period 2020 to 2027 CAGR", "Details": "39.5%"}, {"Report Coverage": "2027 Value Projection", "Details": "USD 24.94 Billion"}, {"Report Coverage": "Base Year", "Details": "2019"}, {"Report Coverage": "Market Size in 2019", "Details": "USD 1.90 Billion"}, {"Report Coverage": "Historical Data for", "Details": "2016 to 2018"}, {"Report Coverage": "No. of Pages", "Details": "140"}, {"Report Coverage": "Tables, Charts & Figures", "Details": "54"}, {"Report Coverage": "Segments covered", "Details": "Component; Application; Industry; and Region"}, {"Report Coverage": "Growth Drivers", "Details": "Growing Adoption of Distributed Ledger Technology based on Advanced Analytics to Aid Market Growth"}, ["Rising Popularity of Blockchain-as-a-Service for Supply Chain Management and Relatec Applications to Drive the Market"], ["Increasing Adoption of Decentralized Applications based on BaaS to Boost Market Growth"], {"Report Coverage": "Pitfalls & Challenges", "Details": "High Initial Cost to Inhibit Market Growth"}] An Overview of the Impact of COVID-19 on this Market: The emergence of COVID-19 has brought the world to a standstill. We understand that this health crisis has brought an unprecedented impact on businesses across industries. However, this too shall pass. Rising support from governments and several companies can help in the fight against this highly contagious disease. There are some industries that are struggling and some are thriving. Overall, almost every sector is anticipated to be impacted by the pandemic. We are taking continuous efforts to help your business sustain and grow during COVID-19 pandemics. Based on our experience and expertise, we will offer you an impact analysis of coronavirus outbreak across industries to help you prepare for the future. Click here to get the short-term and long-term impact of COVID-19 on this Market. Please visit:https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/enquiry/covid19-impact/blockchain-as-a-service-baas-market-102721 Blockchain technology is emerging as an optimal solution to many of the challenges faced by SMEs such as access to trade financing, bank loans, and cash flow difficulties, among other issues. SMEs looking to expand their businesses in foreign lands can gain wider access to trade financing sources using BaaS as this technology is decentralized and cuts out middlemen from the process. The World Economic Forum (WEF) opines that blockchain technology could be instrumental in bridging the gap in trade financing around the world. Similar benefits can be reaped by SMEs in the context of supply chain processes. Thus, these potential advantages of blockchain for SMEs will provide a significant boost to the BaaS market growth in the coming years. According to the blockchain-as-a-service market report, the value of this market stood atUSD 1.90 billion in 2019. The report further provides the following information: • Detailed segmentation of the market and piece-meal study of each segment; • Comprehensive analysis of the regional developments occurring in the market; • In-depth research into the market drivers, trends, and challenges; and • Exhaustive assessment of the competitive landscape of the market. Market Restraint Heightened Vulnerability to Cyber Threats to Hamper Market Growth The safety quotient of financial transactions has gotten considerably elevated since the advent of blockchain technology. Given its complex architecture, hacking into a blockchain-based system requires sophisticated computer skills and tools. Nonetheless, analysis by NASDAQ, one of the three stock indexes in the US, reveals that this technology is not bereft of vulnerabilities, originating primarily from the endpoints that use wallets to initiate transactions. These wallets become easy targets for hackers. For instance, a crypocurrency exchange platform, Ethereum Classic, was hacked in 2019, with the hacker rewriting the transaction history of the platform and stealing millions. During the same year, hackers stole around $40 million in Bitcoin transactions, exploiting the susceptibility of the same endpoint issue stated earlier. Thus, the constantly looming threat of cyber-attacks may prohibit the blockchain-as-a-service market growth during the forecast period. Regional Analysis Increasing Investment in Blockchain Technology to Drive the Market in North America In 2019, the market size in North America stood at USD 1.01 billion owing to the vast number of blockchain development projects being undertaken in the US. One of the major reasons for the widespread development and adoption of BaaS tools in North America is the strong presence of small, medium, and large tech companies operating in the US. This, along with rising integration of BaaS solutions with public utilities services, will enable the region to dominate the blockchain-as-a-service market share in the foreseeable future. In Asia-Pacific, the market will be mainly driven by the rising investment in blockchain technology by the Chinese government and advancements in complex computer technologies in Japan and South Korea. The BaaS market report states that Asia-Pacific will register the highest CAGR during the forecast period. In Europe, increasing focus of well-established players on blockchain technology will propel the market in the near future. Speak to Analyst:https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/enquiry/speak-to-analyst/blockchain-as-a-service-baas-market-102721 Competitive Landscape Collaborations between Financial Institutions and Tech Companies to Intensify Competition As per the blockchain-as-a-service market analysis, an increasing number of collaborations between financial bigwigs and tech giants are being witnessed in this market. These partnerships are playing a major role in broadening the application areas of BaaS tools and enhancing the potential of the market. Industry Developments: • May 2019:Microsoft and JP Morgan announced their partnership to further the advancement and adoption of enterprise blockchain. Under the partnership, JP Morgan's distributed ledger platform Quorum will be made accessible via Microsoft's Azure Blockchain Service to enable customers to build cloud-based blockchain networks. • April 2018:Huawei unveiled its novel BaaS solution, called Blockchain Service, based on Linux Foundation's Hyperledge Fabric 1.0. The solution is devised to aid companies design smart contracts focusing on supply chain, securitized assets, and public services, on top of a distributed ledger network. Quick Buy – Blockchain as a service Market Research Report:https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/checkout-page/102721 Detailed Table of Content • IntroductionDefinition, By SegmentResearch ApproachSources • Executive Summary • Market DynamicsDrivers, Restraints and OpportunitiesEmerging Trends • Key InsightsMacro and Micro Economic IndicatorsConsolidated SWOT Analysis of Key Players • Global Blockchain-as-a-Service Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast, 2016-2027Key Findings / SummaryMarket Sizing Estimations and Forecasts – By ComponentToolsServiceMarket Size Estimates and Forecasts – By ApplicationSmart ContractsSupply Chain ManagementPaymentsGovernance, Risk, and Compliance ManagementOthers (Identity Management, etc.)Market Size Estimates and Forecasts – By IndustryBFSIEnergy & UtilitiesGovernmentHealthcare and Life SciencesManufacturingTelecom, Media & EntertainmentRetail & Consumer GoodsTravel and TransportationOthers (Education etc,)Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast – By RegionNorth AmericaEuropeAsia-Pacific (APAC)Middle East & Africa (MEA)Latin America (LATAM) TOC Continued..!!! Get your Customized Research Report:https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/enquiry/customization/blockchain-as-a-service-baas-market-102721 Have a Look at Related Research Insights: Unified Communication as a Service (UCaaS) MarketSize, Share & COVID-19 Impact Analysis, By Component (Telephony, Unified Messaging, Collaboration Platforms, Conferencing), By Delivery Model (Managed Services, and Hosted/ Cloud Services), By Organization Size (Large Enterprises, SMEs), By Vertical (BFSI, IT and Telecommunications, IT-enabled Services (ITeS), Education, Retail and Consumer Goods), and Regional Forecast, 2021 –2028 Location Analytics MarketSize, Share & COVID-19 Impact Analysis, By Component (Solution, Services), By Location Type (Indoor, Outdoor), By Deployment (On-Premises, Cloud), By Application (Disaster and Emergency Response Management, Sales and Marketing Optimization, Supply Chain Management), By Vertical (BFSI, Transportation and Logistics, Government and Defense, Tourism and Hospitality), and Regional Forecast, 2021-2028 Virtual Reality (VR) in Healthcare MarketSize, Share & COVID-19 Impact Analysis, By Component (Hardware, Software, and Content), By Application (Pain Management, Education & Training, Surgery, Patient Care Management, Rehabilitation & Therapy Procedures, and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)), and Regional Forecast, 2021-2028 Retail Analytics MarketSize, Share & COVID-19 Impact Analysis, By Type (Software, and Services), By Deployment (On-Premise, and Cloud), By Retail Store Type (Hypermarkets & Supermarkets, and Retail Chains), By Function (Customer Management, Supply Chain Management, Merchandising, Strategy & Planning, and In-store Operations), and Regional Forecast, 2021-2028 Fleet Management Software MarketSize, Share & COVID-19 Impact Analysis, By Component (Solution, and Services), By Fleet Type (Commercial Fleet and Passenger Cars), By Deployment (Cloud, and On-premises), By Industry (Manufacturing, Logistics, Transportation, Oil & Gas, Chemical, and Others), and Regional Forecast, 2021-2028 About Us: Fortune Business Insights™offers expert corporate analysis and accurate data, helping organizations of all sizes make timely decisions. We tailor innovative solutions for our clients, assisting them address challenges distinct to their businesses. Our goal is to empower our clients with holistic market intelligence, giving a granular overview of the market they are operating in. Our reports contain a unique mix of tangible insights and qualitative analysis to help companies achieve sustainable growth. Our team of experienced analysts and consultants use industry-leading research tools and techniques to compile comprehensive market studies, interspersed with relevant data. At Fortune Business Insights™, we aim at highlighting the most lucrative growth opportunities for our clients. We therefore offer recommendations, making it easier for them to navigate through technological and market-related changes. Our consulting services are designed to help organizations identify hidden opportunities and understand prevailing competitive challenges. Contact Us:Fortune Business Insights™ Pvt. Ltd.308, Supreme Headquarters,Survey No. 36, Baner,Pune-Bangalore Highway,Pune - 411045, Maharashtra, India.Phone:US: +1-424-253-0390UK: +44-2071-939123APAC: +91-744-740-1245Email:[email protected] Business Insights™LinkedIn\|Twitter\|Blogs Read Press Release:https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/press-release/blockchain-as-a-service-market-9870 \|\| The Memecoin Flippening: Here's What It Would Take For Shiba Inu To Overtake Dogecoin: Now thatShiba Inu(CRYPTO:SHIB) became a top 20 cryptocurrency with a market cap of $11.1 billion, many are starting to ask themselves what it will take for it to overtake its older brotherDogecoin(CRYPTO:DOGE). What Happened:According to CoinMarketCapdata, if Shiba Inu were to overtake Dogecoin's market capitalization of $29.3 billion, it would need to reach a price of $0.0000743. At such a price, SHIB’s circulating supply of 394 trillion would result in a market cap higher than that of Dogecoin, placing it among the top 10 coins. For this to occur, its price would have to increase by 165.5%. Such a price would also be an increase of 91.5% over its May all-time high of $0.0000388. See Also:IS SHIBA INU (SHIB) A GOOD INVESTMENT? Still, such an increase is not off the table considering Shiba Inu's 331% growth in the last 30 days. Still, since Dogecoin and Shiba Inu are strictly correlated, it would most probably take a much more significant upturn than just 165.5% for SHIB to reach its older brother's market cap. Hopes for Shiba Inu to overtake Dogecoin are growing, with social media data showing the former is growing significantly more popular — at least among Twitter users. Earlier this month, popular crypto influencer CryptosRUssuggestedShiba Inu is superior to Dogecoin due to the abundance of use cases and the way the coin was distributed. He said that 1 quadrillion Shiba Inu coins were created, with its team members having to buy it like everyone else and half of the supply gifted toEthereum(CRYPTO:ETH) co-founderVitalik Buterin,who destroyed most his holdings. Shiba Inu is alsoapparentlystepping up its game even further now with a recent partnership with crypto payment processor NOWPayments to allow its SHIB, LEASH and BONE tokens while also destroying a portion of the tokens — permanently decreasing their supply. Recentreportssuggest Shiba Inu recently saw a day in which its daily trading volume was two times that reported by Dogecoin over the same length of time. See more from Benzinga • Click here for options trades from Benzinga • Shiba Inu's Twitter Popularity Wins On Dogecoin, Bitcoin And Ethereum • The Doge Fight: Shiba Inu Beats Dogecoin's Volume Two Times Over © 2021 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] None available.	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 63226.40, 62970.05, 61452.23, 61125.68, 61527.48, 63326.99, 67566.83, 66971.83, 64995.23, 64949.96
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2015-09-01] BTC Price: 228.12, BTC RSI: 40.59 Gold Price: 1138.70, Gold RSI: 55.84 Oil Price: 45.41, Oil RSI: 51.83 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Which Crisis Is Worse: Greece Or China?: It is an uncertain time for markets as turmoil in two of the world's largest markets, China and Europe, has rocked investors' confidence. Both regions share markets are suffering, although for two very different reasons. Greek Bailout In Tatters In Greece, bailout negotiations all but fell apart over the weekend after Greeks voted down the EU's latest funding proposal, giving Syriza-backed Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras more bargaining power. This week, EU leaders have been urging Tsipras to submit a new proposal that will meet their standards in hopes of striking an eleventh hour deal before the nation defaults on an upcoming European Central Bank loan repayment. The nation's financial system is teetering on collapse with capital controls restricting the movement of money keeping Greek banks together by a thread. Bailout Request On Wednesday, Greek officialsrequesteda three year bailout from the region's emergency rescue fund in exchange for some of the structural reforms that Greece's creditors have been demanding. The offer has yet to be accepted by Greece's EU creditors, who have been demanding that the nation show a real commitment to reform. So far, Tsipras has been unwilling to budge on things like pension cuts and tax increases, which EU leaders say are necessary. China's Market Decline Chinese share markets have been on the decline since mid-June and the government's attempts to keep the market afloat have proven futile so far. On Wednesday, the Shanghai Composite Index finished 5.9 percent lower despite new emergency measures designed to stem the fall. Chinese regulatorshave made it illegal for those holding more than 5 percent of a company's shares to sell after buying up large numbers of small-cap stocks in an effort to slow the market's fall. A Crisis Of Confidence In both China and Greece, a question of confidence has been at the root of investors' concerns. However, many believe that the situation in China is much more dire. Traders are beginning to lose faith in the government's ability to stop the market's decline and some are beginning to talk of a bubble burst. Chinese markets have been rife with investor loans and many saw shares as overvalued, so some believe that the rapid decline has been a consequence of an overinflated market. See more from Benzinga • Can The Fed Really Raise Rates Amid All This Chaos? • When Luxury Goes Digital • MovieTickets Sees Benefit In Adding Bitcoin © 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| Barclays Becomes First Big U.K. Bank To Accept Bitcoin: Over the weekend, Barclays PLC (NYSE: BCS ) announced that it was planning to take steps toward embracing the use of bitcoin by allowing charitable donations using the cryptocurrency. The London-based bank said it was entering into a partnership with an unnamed "bitcoin exchange" in order to help charities accept bitcoin donations. Barclays And Bitcoin This is not the first time the bank has expressed interest in bitcoin. Related Link: Bitcoin Goes Ivy League Barclays has been working to understand the benefits and risks of the cryptocurrency this year by working with bitcoin startups and researchers to determine if and how digital currencies can fit within the traditional finance sector. The bank has praised blockchain, the ledger-like technology that powers bitcoin, as an innovative system that may significantly benefit traditional banking. Bitcoin Donations Barclays' decision to help charities accept bitcoin donations marks another step forward for the UK, which has been working to make London a hub for bitcoin development. The region already has a prominent place in the financial world, but lawmakers and banking officials are hoping to create an environment that promotes the expansion of bitcoin. Charities Benefit From Bitcoin Charities have been a good starting point for bitcoin adoption, as there are several benefits to accepting digital currency donations. For one, transaction costs are lower, and often nonexistent for non-profits, meaning that more of the donated money makes its way to the intended charity. By accepting bitcoin, charities also appeal to a larger audience and could draw in funding from people who otherwise may not have donated. See more from Benzinga Emerging Market Shares Battered: Is It Time To Buy? © 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| The most elite students in America have had it with investment banking: MBA Grad (flickr/willbeardphoto) Harvard MBA grads are no longer interested in banking. Harvard Business School graduates are some of the most sought-after new hires in the world. They're among the top choices for companies in just about every industry — including Wall Street investment banks. It turns out, however, many of them are no longer interested in that industry. Only 4% of the 2015 graduating class said they wanted to work at an investment bank, reports Bloomberg's Jennifer Surane . Of the 46 students in the top 5% of the class, only one expressed an interest in banking, according to the report. The report cited data from a member of the graduating MBA class , who blogged about the findings of a class survey he received from the university. Banking no longer sexy This may not come as a surprise. Entry-level jobs on Wall Street are notoriously grueling: Young people work 90-hour weeks perfecting pitch books, scrolling through spreadsheets, or making presentations . MBA grads, of course, would typically join banks at the associate or vice-president level. But many of them started out their careers as interns and analysts and may not have shaken the memories. The Harvard blog's author started out in M&A at Morgan Stanley, according to his bio . Now he's running a tech startup as well as a family healthcare business, Bloomberg reported. Industry veterans, too, know that banking is no longer as sexy. Ex-Credit Suisse managing director Fred Lanes said: "The opportunities elsewhere ... are more attractive outside of investment banking." And then there's the buyside That doesn't mean that bright Harvard MBA-holders are leaving finance altogether. Many young financiers, after putting in their time at investment banks, make the jump to the "buyside" — hedge funds or private-equity firms. The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday that many MBA students are now only interested in becoming activist investors like Bill Ackman or Carl Icahn. Ackman's Pershing Square even holds an annual investing competition at Columbia as part of its recruiting efforts. Story continues Ex-Merrill Lynch analyst and Financial Times writer Sujeet Indap published a study on Wednesday on where his banking analyst class from the year 2000 now work. Over half the class, he found, had taken a break at some point to earn graduate degrees, two-thirds of which were MBAs. More than 40% of the analyst class now work in private equity or in the hedge fund/investment management industry. Less than 20% still work at investment banks. NOW WATCH: The 10 trickiest Goldman Sachs interview questions More From Business Insider A 10-year-old cyber security company just raised $35 million from Goldman in its first series A This is one Wall Street business that big banks won't lose to upstarts and tiny rivals Bitcoin keeps surging, makes another new high for 2015 \|\| 3 names to watch on biotech beatdown: The cholesterol drug space is set to get a little more crowded, and"Fast Money"traders believe one company should benefit most. Amgen(NASDAQ: AMGN)could get approval for its new cholesterol treatment as early as next week. The medicine would compete with one already offered by Regeneron Pharmaceuticals(NASDAQ: REGN). Amgen shed more than 3 percent, closing at about $161 per share Thursday amid a broader selloff in the sector. If it loses more ground to $150 a share, investors may want to scoop it up as it brings the new drug to market, said trader Dan Nathan. "Amgen is the sort of stock that you want to buy if it gets too oversold," he said. Read MoreBuy the biotech bounce: Technician Regeneron remains a "great company," but its valuation seems too lofty, added trader Guy Adami. He would also prefer Amgen shares. Trader Brian Kelly pointed to the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF(NASDAQ: IBB), which plunged 4 percent on Thursday to close below $351. If the fund dips down to $340, he would look to buy in. Disclosures: Dan Nathan Dan is long QQQ sept put, JOY sept calls, TWTR, PG, BA sept put spread, COST aug put spread, TJX aug put, MSFT aug / nov put spread, GOOGL Sept put spread, XRT sept put spread. Today he sold to close SLB puts. Brian Kelly Brian Kelly is long BBRY, BTC=; ITB, TAN, TSL, the VIX, TWTR call spread, Euro; he is short AUDJPY, GBPJPY, CAC40, Ruble, Yuan. Karen Finerman Karen is long BABA, BAC, C, FINL, FL, GOOG, GOOGL, JPM, KORS, M, SUNE calls, BABA puts, she is short SPY, Her firm is long ANTM, AAPL, BAC, C, DIS, FBT, FINL, FL, GOOG, GOOGL, GPS, IBB, JPM, KORS, M, SUNE, URI, XBI, KORS call spreads, M call spreads, SUNE call spreads, GAP puts, KORS puts, SUNE puts, her firm is short IWM, SPY, MDY, Karen Finerman is on the board of GrafTech International. Guy Adami Guy Adami is long CELG, EXAS, INTC, Guy Adami's wife, Linda Snow, works at Merck. More From CNBC • Top News and Analysis • Latest News Video • Personal Finance \|\| BTCS Management Cancels Outstanding Options Ahead of Merger: ARLINGTON, VA--(Marketwired - Jul 7, 2015) - Bitcoin Shop, Inc. ( OTCQB : BTCS ) ("BTCS" or the "Company"), a blockchain technology focused company which secures the blockchain through its transaction verification services business, announced today that its management team has agreed to voluntarily cancel all 12,450,000 of their options, representing all of the Company's outstanding options, ahead of the Company's anticipated merger with Spondoolies-Tech ("Spondoolies"). Charles Allen, Chief Executive Officer of BTCS, commented, "As we continue to progress in our planned merger with Spondoolies, we see the cancellation of our outstanding options as a strategic move that will afford us the opportunity to create a comprehensive plan post-merger that properly addresses all stakeholders involved. We anticipate adopting a new equity incentive plan that will be structured to support our performance-based culture and align with the interests of our shareholders. During its first year of operation, Spondoolies successfully launched five different hardware products which are widely recognized in their respective categories. Subsequent to its first product launch in March 2014, Spondoolies announced un-audited revenue of more than $28 million for its fiscal year ended December 31, 2014. The pending-merger between Spondoolies and BTCS will leverage the respective expertise of both companies to create a new global leader in the blockchain sector. About BTCS: BTCS is an early mover in the blockchain and digital currency ecosystems and the only "Pure Play" U.S. public company focused on blockchain technologies. The blockchain is a decentralized public ledger and has the ability to fundamentally impact all industries on a global basis that rely on or utilize record keeping and require trust. BTCS secures the blockchain through its rapidly growing transaction verification services business and plans to build a broader ecosystem to capitalize on opportunities in this fast growing industry. BTCS continues to evaluate and build additional blockchain technology consumer solutions. BTCS also actively partners and integrates with strategic digital currency and blockchain technology companies who provide products or services that are complementary to its business strategy. For more information visit: www.btcs.com Forward-Looking Statements: Certain statements in this press release, including those related to an anticipated merger, constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Words such as "may," "might," "will," "should," "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," "continue," "predict," "forecast," "project," "plan," "intend" or similar expressions, or statements regarding intent, belief, or current expectations, are forward-looking statements. While the Company believes these forward-looking statements are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on any such forward-looking statements, which are based on information available to us on the date of this release. These forward-looking statements are based upon current estimates and assumptions and are subject to various risks and uncertainties, including without limitation those set forth in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, not limited to Risk Factors relating to its digital currency business contained therein. Thus, actual results could be materially different. The Company expressly disclaims any obligation to update or alter statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. \|\| What to watch on Monday: The " Fast Money " traders gave their final thoughts of the day. Steve Grasso was watching the S&P 500 (CME:Index and Options Market: .INX) 's technical levels. David Seaburg was a buyer of TWTR (NYSE: TWTR) . Brian Kelly had his eye on the DXY (Exchange: .DXY) . Guy Adami was also watching key levels of the S&P 500 (CME:Index and Options Market: .INX) . Trader disclosure: On August 21, 2015 the following stocks and commodities mentioned or intended to be mentioned on CNBC's "Fast Money" were owned by the "Fast Money" traders: Brian Kelly is long BBRY, BTC=; DAX, DXGE, ITB, TAN, TSL, TWTR call spread, U.S. Dollar; he is short AUDJPY, GBPJPY, Euro, Ruble, Yen, Yuan. Today he bought DAX, DXGE, US Dollar. Today he sold VIX and Euro. Today he closed his CAC40 short position. Today he shorted Euro and Yen. Guy Adami is long CELG, EXAS, INTC, Guy Adami's wife, Linda Snow, works at Merck. Steve Grasso is long AAPL, BA, BAC, CC, DD, DIS, DECK, EVGN, FIT, KBH, MJNA, MU, PFE, PHM, T, TWTR, GDX. His kids are long EFA, EFG, EWJ, IJR, SPY. His firm and some of its partners are long WLL, DNR, DVN, TWTR, NE, NEM, OXY, RIG, TSE, VALE. More From CNBC Top News and Analysis Latest News Video Personal Finance \|\| Barclays Becomes First Big U.K. Bank To Accept Bitcoin: Over the weekend, Barclays PLC (NYSE: BCS ) announced that it was planning to take steps toward embracing the use of bitcoin by allowing charitable donations using the cryptocurrency. The London-based bank said it was entering into a partnership with an unnamed "bitcoin exchange" in order to help charities accept bitcoin donations. Barclays And Bitcoin This is not the first time the bank has expressed interest in bitcoin. Related Link: Bitcoin Goes Ivy League Barclays has been working to understand the benefits and risks of the cryptocurrency this year by working with bitcoin startups and researchers to determine if and how digital currencies can fit within the traditional finance sector. The bank has praised blockchain, the ledger-like technology that powers bitcoin, as an innovative system that may significantly benefit traditional banking. Bitcoin Donations Barclays' decision to help charities accept bitcoin donations marks another step forward for the UK, which has been working to make London a hub for bitcoin development. The region already has a prominent place in the financial world, but lawmakers and banking officials are hoping to create an environment that promotes the expansion of bitcoin. Charities Benefit From Bitcoin Charities have been a good starting point for bitcoin adoption, as there are several benefits to accepting digital currency donations. For one, transaction costs are lower, and often nonexistent for non-profits, meaning that more of the donated money makes its way to the intended charity. By accepting bitcoin, charities also appeal to a larger audience and could draw in funding from people who otherwise may not have donated. See more from Benzinga Emerging Market Shares Battered: Is It Time To Buy? © 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| Bitcoin's 'war' could threaten its survival: Bitcoin, the digital currency technology with an ecosystem attracting hundreds of millions of dollars in investment, is struggling through an existential crisis. And what may to outsiders seem like petty squabbling about a single number actually has major financial implications and could even threaten the very survival of the cryptocurrency. The argument-which is pitting Chinese constituencies against largely Western developers, the business community against the often ideological early adopters, and programmer against programmer-centers on a simple number in the global bitcoin system. But if the various parties can't come to an agreement, the whole network could splinter, wrecking its major selling points of security and decentralization. "There is literally a war going on right now in the bitcoin world," Marco Streng, CEO of Genesis Mining, told CNBC last month. There are two major questions facing the technology: Who is bitcoin for? And who gets to decide? Most of the early adopters saw appeal in bitcoin as a decentralized digital currency(: BTC=)-(to over-simplify the promise) a sort of virtual gold that could not be touched by governments, banks or corporations. But in seeking to create the perfect system for such a currency, bitcoin's early creators also created a technology that has wide-ranging applications. That technology is called the "blockchain"(CNBC has gone in depth into how it works), and this is basically what it does: It can record any information in a secure way, and make that information both public and unchangeable-doing this without relying on any central authority. Banks, stock exchanges, payment companies and othershave already begun exploringhow this can be used in their own businesses. The issue at hand is about the structure of bitcoin's blockchain (which is composed of "blocks" of data with each block referring back to the preceding chunk of information-thereby creating a chain). The community is arguing about how big the maximum block size should be: The current max is one megabyte, which only allows for about seven transactions per second-far too few for most businesses currently investing in the technology. This speed is a "roadblock to bitcoin growth," Jeff Garzik, one of five bitcoin core developers who have taken over maintenance of the technology,wrote in a recent paper. (Visa, for comparison, says its network can handle more than 24,000 transactions per second.) Read MoreWhy is it called the 'blockchain?' "Any responsible business projecting capacity usage into the future sees the system reaching an absolute maximum capacity, with this speed limit in place," he wrote. "Increasing or removing this limit will encourage businesses to view bitcoin as scalable and capable of supporting millions of new users." The block size limit may also negatively impact bitcoin's original currency use-case: As the number of transaction requests exceed the limit, the user experience degrades: The pools of "miners" who help inscribe data onto the global network will begin charging ever-higher fees for processing, eliminating some of the appeal over other payment methods. But there are reasons for limiting the size of a block. For one, it provides security for the system by constraining available space, and therefore making it costly to maliciously flood the network with spam. Miners are generally against increasing the size too much: They would have to do more work on each block, but they'd still reap the same benefit per block (while transaction fees remain negligibly low), said Pete Rizzo, the U.S. editor for cryptocurrency site CoinDesk. Also, some early adopters who plan to hold bitcoin for extended periods of time as an investment may prefer to keep the block size limit low-unbothered by transaction fees or business prospects, Garzik explained to CNBC. But even if more interests seem to point to increasing the block size, there's no agreement what size is ideal-balancing present-day security and future promise-or how a change should be made. Gavin Andresen, one of the most important developers of the technology,proposedincreasing the max size to 20 megabytes. (He did not respond to request for comment.) A powerful constituency of Chinese miners-who also object to increasing the size of the block, saying their nation's Internet connection to the rest of the world would not allow it-made a counter proposalsuggestingan eight-megabyte maximum. Andresen has since backed a version of this plan. Read MoreWhy financial firms are investigating bitcoin tech For his part, Garzik proposed a sliding cap with a change to the bitcoin code allowing for periodic block increases (or even decreases) based on global miners' votes. Different sources told CNBC that the most important parts of the community were variously leaning toward Garzik's proposal, an 8-megabyte increase, or just a small "can-kicking" measure to wait for technologies that might allow them to bypass the question. But as a totally decentralized system, bitcoin has no clear way to weigh these disparate opinions and interests-in other words, no way to make a definitive decision. Garzik called the block size debate the first major alteration to bitcoin policy since it began in January 2009. When other changes have been made, the core software has been changed, and the players on the network have quickly updated (anyone who doesn't follow the current protocol gets booted from the network until they comply). But with a contentious issue like this, the developers risk splitting the network into those who want to follow one set of rules, and those who want another. If someone were to push out a global update without ensuring near-total consensus, a split could occur. Read MoreBitcoin firm raises $116M, including Qualcomm investment "That would be the worst of all possible options," Garzik said. Bitcoin runs on a blockchain that is more secure and decentralized than any of its competitors because of its large user base and its comparatively lengthy history. If those users were to splinter, then the entire enterprise could be compromised. So what's at stake? Hundreds of millions of dollars have been invested in bitcoin and blockchain-related companies, and the current value of all the bitcoin in existence is currentlyabout $4 billion. The risks of a network split are low but not negligible, experts told CNBC. "You're dealing with consensus among a community of people who aren't communicating very well-and haven't for some time," Rizzo said, explaining that making any change to the code risks breaking a technology that already works pretty well. "At what point does that risk become untenable? At this point it's still within the realm of 'danger Will Robinson'-level risk," he added. More From CNBC • Top News and Analysis • Latest News Video • Personal Finance \|\| How To Invest When El Niño Comes Around: This year, El Niño is forecast to upend weather patterns across the world and wreak havoc farmers, especially in regions where access to irrigation is limited. The weather phenomenon is expected to cut down on rainfall in Australian and Southern Asia and create unusually wet weather in parts of South America. The extreme weather conditions have pushed investors to take a closer look into agriculture investments as the difficult growing conditions could lead to price spikes. Wheat Prices of wheat have seen a bump over the past two weeks after worries that El Niño would dry out wheat-producing regions. In Australia, where 14 percent of the world's wheat exports are grown, dryer than expected weather is forecast to significantly cut down on crop yields. The Teucrium Wheat Fund (NYSE: WEAT ) has seen a 10.58 percent rise over the past month in the wake of the commodity's El Niño concerns. Coffee Many investors are turning to coffee to give their portfolio a jolt, especially since both Vietnam and Indonesia are experiencing unusually dry weather. Both nations produce Robusta coffee, which is used in instant coffee and is very sensitive to reduced rainfall. For that reason, ETFs like iPath Bloomberg Coffee Subindex Total Return SM Index ETN (NYSE: JO ) have become popular plays for El Niño investors. Outside Agriculture While agriculture is the most obvious place El Niño will have an impact, other areas of the market could also feel the pressure of unseasonable weather. When El Niño hits, demand for commodities like crude oil and coal typically increases as thermo and hydroelectric power are more difficult to generate. The metals can also be impacted; in Chile wetter than normal weather could cut down on copper mining. See more from Benzinga Fast Food Gets Even Faster In Asia In Oregon, The Holiday Weekend Was Red, White, Blue And Green Bitcoin Glitch Costs Miners Thousands © 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| 3 names to watch on biotech beatdown: The cholesterol drug space is set to get a little more crowded, and "Fast Money" traders believe one company should benefit most. Amgen (NASDAQ: AMGN) could get approval for its new cholesterol treatment as early as next week. The medicine would compete with one already offered by Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: REGN) . Amgen shed more than 3 percent, closing at about $161 per share Thursday amid a broader selloff in the sector. If it loses more ground to $150 a share, investors may want to scoop it up as it brings the new drug to market, said trader Dan Nathan. "Amgen is the sort of stock that you want to buy if it gets too oversold," he said. Read More Buy the biotech bounce: Technician Regeneron remains a "great company," but its valuation seems too lofty, added trader Guy Adami. He would also prefer Amgen shares. Trader Brian Kelly pointed to the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (NASDAQ: IBB) , which plunged 4 percent on Thursday to close below $351. If the fund dips down to $340, he would look to buy in. Disclosures: Dan Nathan Dan is long QQQ sept put, JOY sept calls, TWTR, PG, BA sept put spread, COST aug put spread, TJX aug put, MSFT aug / nov put spread, GOOGL Sept put spread, XRT sept put spread. Today he sold to close SLB puts. Brian Kelly Brian Kelly is long BBRY, BTC=; ITB, TAN, TSL, the VIX, TWTR call spread, Euro; he is short AUDJPY, GBPJPY, CAC40, Ruble, Yuan. Karen Finerman Karen is long BABA, BAC, C, FINL, FL, GOOG, GOOGL, JPM, KORS, M, SUNE calls, BABA puts, she is short SPY, Her firm is long ANTM, AAPL, BAC, C, DIS, FBT, FINL, FL, GOOG, GOOGL, GPS, IBB, JPM, KORS, M, SUNE, URI, XBI, KORS call spreads, M call spreads, SUNE call spreads, GAP puts, KORS puts, SUNE puts, her firm is short IWM, SPY, MDY, Karen Finerman is on the board of GrafTech International. Guy Adami Guy Adami is long CELG, EXAS, INTC, Guy Adami's wife, Linda Snow, works at Merck. More From CNBC Top News and Analysis Latest News Video Personal Finance [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] buysellbitco.in #bitcoin price in INR, Buy : 18758.00 INR Sell : 18124.00 INR. Buy and sell bitcoin in #India using #buysellbitcoin \|\| Current price of Bitcoin is $280.00 See you again in an hour! #bitcoin #crypto \|\| Current price: 168.14£ $BTCGBP $btc #bitcoin 2015-08-09 04:00:04 BST \|\| Current price: 175.41£ $BTCGBP $btc #bitcoin 2015-07-09 19:00:06 BST \|\| Bitcoin traded at $260.68 USD on BTC-e at 12:00 AM Pacific Time \|\| LIVE: Profit = $281.10 (1.09 %). BUY B97.67 @ $262.00 (#BTCe). SELL @ $263.60 (#HitBTC) #bitcoin #btc - http://www.projectcoin.org \|\| Current price: 243.43€ $BTCEUR $btc #bitcoin 2015-07-08 20:00:05 CEST \|\| #CitiCoin, la competencia de #Bitcoin que ofrece citybank http://hipertextual.com/2015/07/citicoin … Te esperamos este jueves a las 19:00 en @miradordelriogb \|\| In the last 10 mins, there were arb opps spanning 22 exchange pair(s), yielding profits ranging between $0.00 and $133.30 #bitcoin #btc \|\| Screenshot_2015-08-19-19-00-00 By bitcoin meetups dot org http://ift.tt/VFh54I	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 229.28, 227.18, 230.30, 235.02, 239.84, 239.85, 243.61, 238.17, 238.48, 240.11
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2022-08-03] BTC Price: 22846.51, BTC RSI: 52.89 Gold Price: 1758.00, Gold RSI: 51.05 Oil Price: 90.66, Oil RSI: 36.47 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Market Wrap: Crypto Markets Trade Higher as Fed Raises Rates by Expected Amount: Bitcoin’s (BTC) price rebounded on Wednesday, rising 2% in early morning trading and soaring over 10% following the announcement by the Federal Reserve that it was raising interest rates by 0.75 percentage point. Much of the talk on Wednesday in both cryptocurrencies and traditional financial markets revolved around the Fed. Its rate hike matched expectations. This article originally appeared inMarket Wrap, CoinDesk’s daily newsletter diving into what happened in today's crypto markets.Subscribe to get it in your inbox every day. The Fed “dot plot,” which is the projection of each Fed’s official's prediction for the federal-funds rate, implies that the rate will increase to 3.5% by the end of this year. The Fed has three more meetings this year (September, November and December). In traditional equity markets, the S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq climbed 1.34% and 2.44% respectively as investors viewed the rate increase positively. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by less than half a percentage point. Ether’s (ETH) price rose 16% on the day, partly on the rate decision. Meanwhile, theEthereum blockchain successfully implemented a “shadow fork,”or test software update, two days earlier than expected. The test puts Ethereum a step closer to its much anticipated shift from aproof-of-worknetwork to a more environmentally friendlyproof-of-stakeone. Altcoins traded higher on Wednesday, as well, with MATIC rising by 9.3% (following the prior day’s 11% decline) and SOL jumping by 5%. ●Bitcoin (BTC): $22,748+8.9% ●Ether (ETH): $1,601+16.8% ●S&P 500 daily close: 4,023.61+2.6% ●Gold: $1,732 per troy ounce+0.9% ●Ten-year Treasury yield daily close: 2.73%−0.05 Bitcoin, ether and gold prices are taken at approximately 4pm New York time. Bitcoin is the CoinDesk Bitcoin Price Index (XBX); Ether is the CoinDesk Ether Price Index (ETX); Gold is the COMEX spot price. Information about CoinDesk Indices can be found atcoindesk.com/indices. By Glenn Williams Jr. Bitcoin rebounded in Wednesday trading, following arate increaseby the Federal Reserve that markets largely anticipated. In light of the 75-basis point hike by the Federal Open Market Committee, the U.S. central bank’s comments on May 4 about the size of its balance sheet are particularly noteworthy. “We intend to significantly reduce the size of our balance sheet over time in a predictable manner by allowing the principal payments from our securities holdings to roll off the balance sheet, up to monthly cap amounts,” the Fed said at the time. The monthly cap was $30 billion for Treasurys and $17.5 billion for mortgage-backed securities. One interpretation of the Fed’s statement in May suggests that the Fed's balance sheet would decrease by $47.5 billion each month. As shown in the chart below, however, that hasn’t been the case, as the balance sheet size remains at about $8.9 trillion. Additionally, the $47.5 billion amount is labeled a cap, and not a target, and so the reduction of the balance sheet will occur as Treasurys fully mature and subsequently drop off of the balance sheet. Investors may also consider Fed Chairman Jerome Powell’s statement that: “Our balance sheet decisions are guided by our maximum employment and price stability goals. And in that regard, we will be prepared to adjust any of the details of our approach in light of economic and financial developments.” Ultimately, the Fed has the goals of price stability and maximum employment in mind, but also has to determine the pace and manner in which it achieves those objectives. The Fed’s policy affects risky assets like stock and cryptocurrencies. As seen in the chart below, the correlations between BTC, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite remain tight. On a technical basis, the increase in BTC prices came in conjunction with a sharp uptick in RSI (relative strength index) to 56, which indicates increasing momentum. • Ethereum’s Mainnet Tenth 'Shadow Fork' Goes Live Ahead of September Merge:Developers focused this time on testing key releases similar to the ones in the upcoming Goerli merge – the final testnet hard fork before the real Ethereum Merge.Read more here. • Algorand CEO Steven Kokinos Departs, Interim Replacement Named:The blockchain technology company appointed Sean Ford to replace Kokinos for the time being.Read more here. • Biggie Smalls’ Estate Goes Crypto:Non-fungible token (NFT) marketplaceOneOfis releasing its first collaboration with the late rap legend’s estate called “Sky’s the Limit.” The collaboration lets NFT holders vote on licensing for one of the late rapper’s famed freestyles.Read more here. • Listen 🎧: Today’s "CoinDesk Markets Daily" podcast discusses the latest market movements the relevance of the world's richest man. • Sky-High Yields and Bright Red Flags: How Alex Mashinsky Went From Bashing Banks to Bankrupting Celsius: How could Celsius Network pose “much less risk” than banks, as its CEO claimed, but pay eye-popping returns? It sounded too good to be true. There were other warning signs from the start. • Bitcoin Maximalist Michael Saylor Makes the Case Against Ethereum:The MicroStrategy CEO cautioned that the "protocol doesn’t look like it's going to be completed or stable for another 36 months." • Coinbase, Kraken Back Crypto Lending Platform CLST in $5.3M Seed Round:CLST's aim is to attract hedge funds, trading firms, asset managers and banks looking to lend and borrow digital assets. • 'Cryptojacking' in Financial Sector Has Risen 269% This Year, SonicWall Says:Cyberattacks targeting the finance industry are now five times higher than attacks on retail. • Komainu Receives Provisional Virtual Assets License in Dubai:The digital assets custodian joins prominent crypto companies including exchanges FTX and Binance in getting clearance. • How a UFC Heavyweight Champion Became a Crypto Trailblazer:Francis Ngannou and his manager, Marquel Martin, discuss the athlete's journey from Cameroon to the UFC, and now, to crypto. This piece is part of CoinDesk's Sports Week. • Tribalism, Meritocracy, Money: What Sports and Crypto Fans Have in Common:Both groups love underdogs, too, Columbia Business School professor Omid Malekan writes for CoinDesk's Sports Week. • First Mover Americas: Crypto Traders Await Fed Meeting, Bitcoin Rises, Cathie Wood's Ark Dumps Coinbase Shares:The latest price moves in crypto markets in context for July 27, 2022. • Alameda Research Leads $3.25M Seed Round for Trustless Media:The New York-based company lets creators tokenize TV productions with NFTs. [{"Asset": "Polygon", "Ticker": "MATIC", "Returns": "+18.0%", "DACS Sector": "Smart Contract Platform"}, {"Asset": "Ethereum", "Ticker": "ETH", "Returns": "+16.7%", "DACS Sector": "Smart Contract Platform"}, {"Asset": "Avalanche", "Ticker": "AVAX", "Returns": "+16.0%", "DACS Sector": "Smart Contract Platform"}] There are no losers in CoinDesk 20 today. Sector classifications are provided via theDigital Asset Classification Standard (DACS), developed by CoinDesk Indices to provide a reliable, comprehensive and standardized classification system for digital assets. TheCoinDesk 20is a ranking of the largest digital assets by volume on trusted exchanges. \|\| As Retailers Eye Crypto Payments, can the Bitcoin Flag Soar Again?: • United States retailers plan to accept crypto or stablecoin payments within the next two years. • BTC’s price presents long-term bullish divergences, while short-term bearishness persists. • Bitcoin as a digital gold narrative could get stronger as BTC MVRV sees exciting divergences. Despite the recent market pullback and largely bearish narrative around risk assets, cryptocurrency payments are still on US customers’ list. According to many, the same could propagate a bullish narrative forcryptocurrencieslikebitcoin (BTC). According to a new survey published by Deloitte, three-quarters of United States retailers plan to accept crypto or stablecoin payments within the next two years. The “Merchants Getting Ready For Crypto” report was released in collaboration with PayPal on Wednesday. The survey also revealed that more than half of large retailers with revenues over $500 million are currently spending over $1 million on building the required infrastructure for cryptocurrency payments. Additionally, around 85% of the surveyed merchants anticipated that cryptocurrency payments would be ubiquitous in their respective industries in the next five years. Retailers plan on providing crypto payments to improve customer experience and increase the customer base in the hope of their brand being perceived as “cutting edge.” However, one notable thing was that the survey was done on December 3 and December 16, 2021, when crypto prices were relatively higher. On the contrary, when top cryptocurrencies are down by over 50% from their all-time high prices, there could be a shift in the market sentiment. That said, once prices gain momentum, the demand for cryptocurrencies could go up, pushing prices of digital assets up. Nonetheless, looking at bitcoin’s current price consolidation commenting on bitcoin’s mid-short-term price trajectory has been somewhat tricky for traders and analysts. Bitcoin’s price has been trading between the tight range of the lower $28,540 and higher $31,420 price mark. The lack of positive volatility in the market has left traders and investors anticipating more significant market moves. From May 2021 to January 2022, Bitcoin’s Dominance has risen by nearly 40%. Analysts are expecting a bullish pattern to form as BTC dominance picks up. That said, the top cryptocurrency’s relative strength index (RSI) has also seen a decent bounce as weekly RSI saw a divergence. Weekly RSI divergences are crucial for change in trend reversals. At press time, while BTC’s price oscillated close to the $30,000 zone, market anticipation and decent buying pressure could push prices higher. However, BTC’s daily RSI highlighted that the coin saw a rising sell-side pressure as RSI continued the downslope from June 6 to press time. Interestingly, according to CryptoQuant analysts, macro indicators like the MVRV ratio presented a strengthening narrative of BTC as Digital Gold. MVRV is calculated by dividing the bitcoin market cap by the realized cap. This metric can be used to determine the bull market tops and the bear market bottoms. Looking at the chart given below, it is evident that previous bear market bottoms have occurred while the MVRV ratio had values below one. These often-lengthy periods are when the smart money and intelligent investors tend to accumulate bitcoin, creating sufficient demand to form a price bottom. The MVRV ratio currently sits around 1.3, indicating that the price could still experience more decline before a cyclical bottom forms. Another interesting observation was the diminishing returns and losses over the last decade, which pointed to bitcoin’s decreasing volatility on the road to becoming the ‘digital gold’, as it tries to transition from a highly volatile risk asset into a more stable, deflationary safe haven. For now, though it seems like BTC could see another dip before rising. Thisarticlewas originally posted on FX Empire • No respite from Fed rate hikes this year, chances rising of four 50 bps in a row – Reuters poll • Tesla cancels three June online hiring events for China • Macron’s bloc expected to win French parliament vote • U.S. Capitol riot hearing shows Trump allies, daughter rejected fraud claims • Ukraine and Russia: What you need to know right now • U.S. banks finally see upturn in credit-card borrowing \|\| 3 Undervalued Cryptos With Insane Upside Potential: In the world of cryptocurrencies , valuation is a difficult discussion to have. That is partly because most crypto projects don’t have cash flows or earnings to base their valuation upon. Accordingly, finding undervalued cryptos (or overvalued cryptos, for that matter) isn’t easy. However, there are some ways investors can value these projects. And given the decline in this sector, it is clear valuations have come down. Most major crypto projects have seen year-to-date declines of 50% or more. Thus, from a relative standpoint, these tokens are cheaper than they were late last year. For long-term investors looking for upside potential, that’s a good thing. However, determining the projects that carry significant upside potential is harder to do. There are thousands of crypto projects out there, each with their own technology and niche. Thus, in this depressed market, it’s hard to gauge where the growth will come from, particularly if few projects are growing due to capital outflows. InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips 7 Cheap Stocks That Are Trading at a Discount That said, during the next bull market, I think there are some projects that could carry significant upside. Here are three of my top picks in this regard: Ticker Company Price AXS-USD Axie Infinity USD $15.15 LINK-USD Chainlink USD $6.30 SAND-USD The Sandbox USD $1.20 Top Undervalued Cryptos: Axie Infinity (AXS-USD) Axie Infinity AXS token symbol with crypto currency themed banner Source: WindAwake / Shutterstock.com Certainly a higher-risk, higher-upside option on this list, Axie Infinity ( AXS-USD ) is a project that has grown in popularity. Inspired by popular games like Tamagotchi and Pokémon, Axie Infinity saw impressive usage last year. In terms of non-fungible token- (NFT) based games, Axie Infinity remains by and large the leader. This game allows users to breed, collect, battle, trade and raise token-based creatures called Axies. Like other projects, Axie Infinity has seen the value of its in-game tokens decline. Accordingly, monthly active user and daily active user numbers are down. That said, this game remains very popular among a cohort of hard-core gamers, and certainly boasts the potential to rebound during the next recovery. At least, those who invested heavily in this game hope so. Story continues Should the market turn around, the utility Axie Infinity provides could provide significant upside potential. While metaverse-related options in the stock market are also getting hit, those with a long-term view of this space may view Axie Infinity as a project that is worth slowly easing into a position. This is a project that is on my radar for this reason. Chainlink (LINK-USD) Chainlink cryptocurrency symbol. Cryptocurrency coin 3D illustration. Chainlink price predictions Source: Gorev Evgenii / Shutterstock.com Chainlink ( LINK-USD ) is a decentralized oracle network used to pair off-chain data with the blockchain. Among the various data sets, Chainlink helps connect crypto projects to all-important price feeds. Indeed, for exchanges and many other projects, these are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of these decentralized applications. Developers pay Chainlink a fee for their technology in the form of LINK tokens, making Chainlink a unique project. That’s because Chainlink has quasi-revenue and cash flows from which investors can analyze. A beneficiary of continued decentralized application growth, Chainlink benefits from increased developer interest and overall ecosystem growth among many projects and exchanges. As this growth has slowed, the price of LINK tokens has headed on a downward trajectory. 7 Best AI Stocks to Buy Now That said, should the crypto market rebound, this is a token with an attractive valuation I’m going to take a harder look at. Top Undervalued Cryptos: The Sandbox (SAND-USD) The logo for The Sandbox (SAND) on a mobile phone. Source: Ira Lichi / Shutterstock.com Like Axie Infinity, The Sandbox ( SAND-USD ) is another metaverse game based on the blockchain that is worth checking out. Alongside its metaverse-linked peers, The Sandbox has been hit hard lately. What was a previous “digital land rush” has turned into crickets, with many investors steering clear of this space. That’s the high-level argument, at least. Various corporations continue to pile into The Sandbox as a virtual world to display their wares. Indeed, corporate adoption is one key element I see as a long-term driver for this project. The more companies and institutions that view The Sandbox as the “real estate of the future,” the more this vision can become possible. Right now, I think The Sandbox and other virtual real estate options are at a turning point. It will be interesting to watch how engagement spikes or declines in this space. Truth be told, I’m not 100% sold on The Sandbox’s offering as better or worse than its competition. However, I do see the potential with this platform if the market gets on board. This is a longer-shot pick, but one I think investors looking for big upside will want to keep on the radar right now. On the date of publication, Chris MacDonald did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines . More From InvestorPlace Buy This $5 Stock BEFORE This Apple Project Goes Live The Best $1 Investment You Can Make Today Early Bitcoin Millionaire Reveals His Next Big Crypto Trade “On Air” Cash Holders Could Get Hit Hard THIS FRIDAY The post 3 Undervalued Cryptos With Insane Upside Potential appeared first on InvestorPlace . \|\| Market Wrap: Bitcoin Retraces Gains as Investors Await Inflation Announcement: Hi, I'm Jimmy He, here to take you through the day's crypto market highlights and news. Bitcoin (BTC) continued to retrace last week’s gains, declining for the fourth straight day toward the psychologically critical price of $20,000. The largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization was down 1.8% over the past 24 hours, around $20,500. Although bitcoin surged above $22,000 last week, the cryptocurrency has consistently failed to break out. Still, some analysts are getting more optimistic about a market recovery. “BTC has never previously fallen below such marks, so it is now getting support from buyers confident in the first cryptocurrency’s long-term growth,” FxPro senior market analyst Alex Kuptsikevich said. “Another supportive factor was the rebound in financial markets, where the new half-year was met with increased buying.” Wednesday's expected release of June’s Consumer Price Index (CPI), the most widely regarded measure of U.S. inflation, may show whether the Federal Reserve's hawkish monetary policy has succeeded in slowing the pace of rising prices. If the increase exceeds investor expectations, traditional and crypto markets may both see another wave of selling that could push bitcoin lower. EToro market analyst Simon Peters said that eyes are also “firmly on ether” as the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization moves towards its Merge and transitions fromproof-of-worktoproof-of-stake. “While it's impossible to know what effect the move to a proof-of-stake network will have on the crypto-asset price, theoretically it is deflationary as it encourages holders to stake rather than sell their tokens,” Peters said. Ether (ETH) was down 2.7% over the past 24 hours. Most altcoins were trading in the red today with UNI as the biggest loser, down 8.4%. ●Bitcoin (BTC): $20,495−1.8% ●Ether (ETH): $1,141−2.7% ●S&P 500 daily close: 3,854.47−1.2% ●Gold: $1,730 per troy ounce−0.6% ●Ten-year Treasury yield daily close: 2.99%−0.1 Bitcoin, ether and gold prices are taken at approximately 4pm New York time. Bitcoin is the CoinDesk Bitcoin Price Index (XBX); Ether is the CoinDesk Ether Price Index (ETX); Gold is the COMEX spot price. Information about CoinDesk Indices can be found atcoindesk.com/indices. Crypto fund inflows totaled $15 million in the seven days through July 8, according to a CoinSharesreport. Over half of that, some $7.6 million, was attributed to ether-focused funds, for the third consecutive week of inflows. A cold streak for ether funds earlier this year had pushed cumulative outflows to $460 million. “The inflows suggest a modest turn-around in sentiment, having endured 11 consecutive weeks of outflows," according to the report. CoinShares suggested in the report that an improvement in Ethereum network sentiment may be due to the approaching Merge, where the blockchain network moves fromproof-of-worktoproof-of-stake. Last week, Ethereumsuccessfully transitionedits Sepolia test environment network (test-net) to proof-of-stake, moving the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization one step closer to its own Merge. Short-bitcoin investment products – those betting on a price decline in the largest cryptocurrency – saw inflows totaling $6.3 million, a sweeping decline from the $51 million of inflows seen last week. Short-bitcoin outperformed traditional bitcoin investment products, which saw outflows totaling $1.7 million. Altcoin funds were stagnant, with minor outflows totaling $300,000. Regionally, North America accounted for the majority of inflows, with U.S. inflows totaling $8.2 million and Canadian inflows totaling $7.1 million. • Terra projects being moving to Polygon:Almost two months after theTerra network collapsedfollowing the implosion of terraUSD (UST), more than 48 projects previously on the Terra network have begun migrating to Polygon. Over $20 million had been earmarked to help projects that are migrating.Read more here. • Celsius Reclaims $172M Collateral:The liquidity-strapped crypto lender paid down $95 million of its debt to the Aave and Compound decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms, freeing up $172 million of collateral that had been locked in the platforms. Last week, Celsius Network paid its remaining $41 million debt to Maker,freeing up $440 millionof collateral.Read more here. • Saudi Arabia-Themed NFT Collection is the Latest Free-to-Mint Hit:The collection, calledThe Saudis, consists of 5,555 non-fungible tokens (NFT) and topped the charts for volume in its debut weekend with $7.7 million in sales. The project continued the trend of popular free mint, theatrically driven projects.Read more here. • Listen 🎧:Today’s "CoinDesk Markets Daily" podcast discusses the latest market movements and why Web3 needs in-person gatherings. • CoinFlex Begins Arbitration to Recover $84M in Delinquent Debt:The trading platform also said it was speaking with depositors looking to help the business by “rolling some of their deposits into equity.” • Bitcoin in 'Accumulation' Phase, On-chain Indicators Suggest:Bitcoin's Puell Multiple and MVRV Z-Score indicate the cryptocurrency is undervalued. Similar readings have marked bear market bottoms in the past. • Twitter Shares Down 7% Following Elon Musk's Scrapped Takeover:The social-media company plans to take legal action against the crypto enthusiast. • Binance Failed to Deliver on Money-Laundering Prevention Promises: Report:A Reuters report says the cryptocurrency exchange has been lax in cracking down on the financial crime. • Gryphon Mining 'Able to Take Advantage of Opportunities' in Sector:The miner produced 71 bitcoin in June, up from 62 in May. • Cross-Chain Infrastructure Protocol LI.FI Raises $5.5M:The funding will help the firm expand to more blockchains. • KuCoin Denies Layoff Rumors, Says It's Hiring 300:The crypto exchange plans to add employees in tech, compliance and marketing. • International Securities Regulator IOSCO to Focus on Global DeFi, Crypto Rules:In its first two years, the global standard-setter's new fintech task force will concentrate on setting up policy recommendations for digital assets. • BIS Calls for Global Collaboration With CBDC Designs:The Swiss-based Bank for International Settlements on Monday released a report produced in collaboration with the International Monetary Fund and World Bank. • Global Financial Watchdog FSB to Propose Crypto Regulations in October:The Financial Stability Board will recommend ways to oversee stablecoins and other digital assets to the G-20. [{"Asset": "Chainlink", "Ticker": "LINK", "Returns": "+1.8%", "DACS Sector": "Computing"}, {"Asset": "Cosmos", "Ticker": "ATOM", "Returns": "+1.6%", "DACS Sector": "Smart Contract Platform"}, {"Asset": "Polygon", "Ticker": "MATIC", "Returns": "+0.7%", "DACS Sector": "Smart Contract Platform"}] [{"Asset": "Solana", "Ticker": "SOL", "Returns": "\u22125.2%", "DACS Sector": "Smart Contract Platform"}, {"Asset": "Dogecoin", "Ticker": "DOGE", "Returns": "\u22124.8%", "DACS Sector": "Currency"}, {"Asset": "Avalanche", "Ticker": "AVAX", "Returns": "\u22124.8%", "DACS Sector": "Smart Contract Platform"}] Sector classifications are provided via theDigital Asset Classification Standard (DACS), developed by CoinDesk Indices to provide a reliable, comprehensive and standardized classification system for digital assets. TheCoinDesk 20is a ranking of the largest digital assets by volume on trusted exchanges. \|\| Should NFT Investors Keep or Sell Their Non-Fungible Tokens in a Bear Market?: VectorStory / Getty Images/iStockphoto Just as the stock market entered a bear market in mid-June, the crypto and NFT markets have also taken a downturn. In fact, the crypto market has been broadly declining for the past 18 months. Discover: 10 Things You Should Always Buy at Walmart More: Top 10 Richest People in the World Bitcoin reached a new 18-month low on June 15, 2022, and is now 70% below its record high of $69,000 in Nov. 2021, Reuters reported. Since many altcoins are tied to the value of bitcoin, most of the crypto market is also facing a slump. On June 12, crypto lender Celsius Network paused all withdrawals, snaps, and transfers, per The Wall Street Journal. The company said in a blog post that, “We are taking this necessary action for the benefit of our entire community in order to stabilize liquidity and operations while we take steps to preserve and protect assets.” Are NFTs in a Bear Market? Unlike cryptocurrency, NFTs are not as tied to the financial cycles of the stock market or the economy, NFT Evening suggests. In a March 8 article, NFT Evening writer Theo indicated that, “NFTs are… proving to be bullet-proof against market crashes.” However, even though NFTs aren’t strictly tied to the crypto market, they are experiencing a downturn of their own. NFT Evening reported that February saw a 40% decline in NFT sales, down from $4.4 billion in January. Many established NFT projects, including Bored Ape Yacht Club and CryptoPunks, lost roughly 63% of their value in a dangerously short time span in May, The Cryptonomist reported. That much of a dip indicates a bear market for NFTs. Experts attribute the dip not just to the overall market downturn and the crypto bear market, but also NFT scams and cyber attacks that have grown in prevalence in 2022, Yahoo reported. Related: 6 Alternative Investments to Consider for 2022 What Should You Do With Your NFTs During a Bear Market? Cryptoticker advised that a bear market is the best time to invest in NFTs, writing: “Many NFTs have proven to exceed expectations after the bear market.” Further, Cryptoticker writer Owotunse Adebayo suggested that, “The low risk and prices associated with a bear market implies that, should the asset collapse, losses will be low.” Many people collect NFTs for their inherent artistic value, the same way one might accumulate fine art or other collectibles. Consumers often choose NFTs they like, from artists or companies they want to support, without too much concern about the long-term value. Story continues See: Why Inflation Is Making Your Paycheck Worth Less NFT Art: What It Is and Where To Buy If this describes your interest in NFTs, you may be able to find NFTs you like at a lower price than you’d expect in a bear market. Then, as the market turns, you can make a decision to sell (or not) based on the profits (or losses) you stand to make or endure. However, even though NFTs may seem to be “on sale” in a bear market, they remain volatile assets. If you are looking at NFTs as an investment , it may be wise to refrain from spending more than you are willing to lose. More From GOBankingRates Jaw-Dropping Stats About the State of Retirement in America 15 Most Important Assets That Will Increase Your Net Worth Take These 6 Key Steps Today To Retire a Millionaire How To Find Travel Insurance That Covers COVID-19 Cancellations This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com : Should NFT Investors Keep or Sell Their Non-Fungible Tokens in a Bear Market? \|\| GLOBAL MARKETS-Dollar gains, yields ease after Powell inflation comments: * S&P 500 ends down slightly * Powell: Clock is 'running' for Fed on lowering inflation * U.S. dollar index rises (Updates with closing U.S. market levels) By Caroline Valetkevitch NEW YORK, June 29 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury yields eased for a second consecutive day and the dollar rose on Wednesday after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said there is a risk the U.S. central bank's interest rate hikes will slow the economy too much, but the bigger risk is persistent inflation. The S&P 500 ended slightly lower, and looked set to put in the worst first-half for the U.S. benchmark index in more than five decades. "The clock is kind of running on how long will you remain in a low-inflation regime. ... The risk is that because of the multiplicity of shocks you start to transition into a higher inflation regime and our job is to literally prevent that from happening and we will prevent that from happening," Powell said at a European Central Bank conference. Investors have worried that an aggressive push by the Fed to dampen inflation will tip the economy into recession. Matt Stucky, senior portfolio manager at Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Company, said investors are waiting for Thursday's data on the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index. "A slowdown or a mild recession is almost consensus at this point as it relates to the economy," he said. "The question from here is how much does the Fed have to do to get inflation under control." A Commerce Department report on Wednesday showed that the U.S. economy contracted slightly more than previously estimated in the first quarter as the trade deficit widened to a record high and a resurgence in COVID-19 infections hurt spending on services like recreation. Treasury yields slipped as inflation worries hounded investors. The yield on 10-year Treasury notes fell 10.5 basis points to 3.102%, while the two-year's yield slid 6.5 basis points to 3.059%. Story continues In foreign exchange, the dollar index rose 0.593%, with the euro up 0.02% to $1.0441. On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 82.32 points, or 0.27%, to 31,029.31, the S&P 500 lost 2.72 points, or 0.07%, to 3,818.83 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 3.65 points, or 0.03%, to 11,177.89. With the end of the month and the second quarter a day away, the S&P 500 may be set for its biggest first-half percentage drop since 1970. The pan-European STOXX 600 index lost 0.67% and MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe shed 0.53%. Oil prices fell, with an increase in U.S. gasoline and distillate inventories and worries over slower global economic growth overshadowing supply concerns. Inflation fears have been fueled in large part by recent sharp gains in oil prices. Brent futures for August delivery fell $1.72, or 1.5%, to settle at $116.26 a barrel. The August contract will expire on Thursday and the more-active September contract was down $1.35 to $112.45. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude for August fell $1.98, or 1.8%, to settle at $109.78. Spot gold dropped 0.1% to $1,818.13 an ounce. Bitcoin last fell 0.21% to $20,218.24. (Reporting by Caroline Valetkevitch; additional reporting by Sujata Rao in London and Stephen Culp and Herbert Lash in New York; Editing by Marguerita Choy and Alex Richardson) \|\| Binance ‘pauses’ Bitcoin withdrawals amid market collapse: Binance, the world’s biggest cryptocurrency exchange, has “paused” Bitcoin withdrawalsamid a major market downturn. The “temporary” suspension came after Celsius, the second biggest crypto market, halted all withdrawals in the small hours of morning following what bosses described as “extreme market conditions”. Celsius, a cryptocurrency lender that works rather like a bank, said: “We are taking this necessary action for the benefit of our entire community in order to stabilize liquidity and operations.” Meanwhile Binance said its halt on Bitcoin trading was because of a “stuck transaction”, adding that trading in other cryptocurrencies was not affected by the pause. Celsius also said its 1.7m users would continue to accrue rewards while their accounts were frozen. Crypto markets slumped after the announcement, with Bitcoin dropping to its lowest level since December 2020 at around $20,300. Ether, the world's second-largest cryptocurrency, dropped more than 8pc to $1,303, its lowest since March 2021. Celsius’s own CEL token was down 73pc overnight to $0.19, according to cryptocurrency price data site CoinGecko. Data from April suggested the token was worth around $3 at that time. Celsius’s size exposes it to a large portion of the crypto markets, with the lender having taken out a $500m loan from Tether last year. Tether is a so-called stablecoin whose value is pegged to that of a real-world currency, the dollar. Tether’s value was broadly flat this morning, having declined from $0.999 to $0.998. On May 17, Celsius had processed $8.2bn worth of loans and had $11.8bn in assets, according to its website. Celsius said in August last year that it had more than $20bn in assets, Reuters reported. The lender works like a traditional bank by accepting user deposits, paying interest on them and making loans in cryptocurrencies. An advert on its website this morning promised 18pc returns on investment, spread through a variety of token trading instruments. In May the Terra cryptocurrency crashed amid what was described as a Black Wednesday for digital token markets. A stablecoin similar to Tether, the Terra crash rocked cryptocurrency markets after a hitherto unnoticed flaw in its model led to a slump in the value of a related token dragging Terra down with it. \|\| Winklevoss twins lay off another group of workers from crypto startup Gemini: Gemini, the cryptocurrency firm started by Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss , has slashed its workforce for the second time in two months. TechCrunch reports the company has laid off as much as another 7% of its workforce, roughly 68 people. That comes on the heels of a 10% staff reduction in early June . Gemini has not publicly commented on the most recent layoffs, but in announcing last months cuts, the company blamed turbulent market conditions that are likely to persist for some time. In early June, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) sued Gemini on allegations the crypto exchanges staff misled the federal regulator during Geminis 2017 effort to launch trading of what would have been a landmark Bitcoin (BTC) futures contract. Both Winklevoss twins are still associated with Gemini, but both have dropped any mention of the company from their Twitter biographies, instead choosing to highlight their recently formed cover band. That, along with the decision to go on tour as the crypto markets imploded, has led to some employee disgruntlement . That could be how an internal document ended up being shared last week on the anonymous professional network Blind. That document discussed a plan to lower the company headcount to 800 people150 fewer than were on staff at the time. TechCrunch reports that that reengaged the cofounders, who took to the company Slack to chastise the leaker. Wow, super lame, wrote Cameron Winklevoss. Karma is the blockchain of the universean immutable ledger that keeps track of positive and negative behaviorWe are going to the moon. We are going to need cosmic consciousness to get there. Earthly consciousness will not be enough. If you are exhibiting the behavior of a first-time human, time to level up or respectively bow out, if for no other reason but to avoid an expensive bill in the future. Mars Junction, the Winklevosses band, wrapped up its tour on July 3. This story was originally featured on Fortune.com \|\| Daily Crunch: Amazon wades deeper into healthcare with its $3.9B purchase of One Medical: To get a roundup of TechCrunch’s biggest and most important stories delivered to your inbox every day at 3 p.m. PDT, subscribe here . Well hello again! It’s Thursday — heat waves are heat wavin’, and all of TechCrunch is psyched about a fun and engaging Robotics event today. That’s not all that’s happening, though. We've had 70 new stories on the site since our last newsletter, which means that we got to learn about all sorts of wild and wonderful happenings in our world of startups and company building. It was extra-double-plus hard to select the best of the best for the newsletter, but we tried our best. Enjoy! — Christine and Haje The TechCrunch Top 3 Amazon grabs a stethoscope : Amazon showed its continued interest in healthcare by announcing its intent to acquire primary medical provider One Medical for $3.9 billion. Ingrid writes that details are a bit thin as to how One Medical will integrate with Amazon, but it has people on Twitter wondering what the marketplace behemoth will do next. And that’s just the kind of thing that Alex is good at. He dives into the deal to let us know just what Amazon is getting for its billions . Someone's got their eye on you : Manish brings us an update on Indian edtech giant Byju, which you might recall fired hundreds of employees a month ago. Now it seems like it will have some legal troubles to contend with. A lawmaker is calling for an investigation into the company’s finances. It’s not goodbye forever : Airbnb co-founder Joe Gebbia made waves today, announcing that he was stepping back from his role after 10 years to spend some time with family and see what else sparks his interest, Kyle reports. Gebbia will stay on the company’s board in an advisory role. Startups and VC Today has been a cavalcade of robotics . The articles that caught our eye in particular were Brian 's story, asking whether universities are doing enough to foster robotics startups , and Kirsten ’s piece on Agility’s next Digit robot, which will have a face and hands . Also, don’t miss Brian ’s Actuator newsletter, which covers what’s happening in Robotics world. The most recent issue came out yesterday . Story continues We were delighted to see TextExpander — who’ve been around for a hot minute but have been bootstrapping to date — raise a $41 million round of financing, as Ingrid reports. The company makes business communications faster by creating modular extendable text macros. The other not-to-be-missed story today is Anita and Natasha M ’s WTF is a 409A — a crucial piece you need to understand if you want any hope of understanding startup valuations in the U.S.! New Kenyan venture fund : After spending years in London, matching Kenyans in the diaspora with investment opportunities back home, Njeri Muhia sought a greater challenge, founding Kenyan VC firm FrontEnd Ventures to back local founders , writes Annie . Come fly with me : Chartering a private plane is never going to be cheap, but that doesn’t mean it can’t become cheaper. AeroVanti Air Club is announcing a $9.75 million Series A to offer lower hourly rates for its club members, Frederic reports. Bye, credit scores : TomoCredit wants to make credit scores a thing of the past, and raises $22 million at a $222 million valuation to accomplish that goal, Mary Ann reports. You get a raise! : Talent management HR tech company 15Five raises $52 million to boost its own performance, reports Ingrid . I my-see-lium what you did there : Turning mushrooms into meaty goodness, Meati Foods raises $150 million to expand operations , Christine reports. Growth cheat code: Use fractional hiring to stay on plan when cutting costs A crowd of people wearing red, yellow, green and blue coloured shirts, forming a pie chart shape; fractional hiring for startups, hiring contractors Image Credits: Henrik Sorensen (opens in a new window) / Getty Images As winter winds begin to blow, major tech companies like Google, Microsoft and Lyft have each instituted hiring freezes. Likewise, early-stage startups are under pressure to reduce burn while preserving forward momentum, but "fractional hiring is a growth cheat code" when used strategically, says Teja Yenamandra, co-founder and CEO of Gun.io. "There is now way less competition for the talent you’re hiring, and you may be able to lock in a hire who was unaffordable a few months ago." Growth cheat code: Use fractional hiring to stay on plan when cutting costs (TechCrunch+ is our membership program, which helps founders and startup teams get ahead. You can sign up here .) Big Tech Inc. If you’ve come here for Tesla news, you’re in luck. The mobility, climate and even crypto crews were in full-coverage mode of the electric automaker, giving you lots of news to rev your engines. Harri and Kirsten dove into the company’s quarterly earnings, writing, respectively, about Tesla’s success in the solar game and its quarterly decline in profits . Over to crypto, Lucas reports on how Elon Musk not only discloses that Tesla owns Dogecoin , but also that the company dumped 75% of its Bitcoin holdings . And finally, Rebecca writes that Tesla is increasing the cost of its self-driving software , while at the same time Jaclyn writes the company is on track to launch its battery-electric truck in 2023 . Now for some non-Tesla news. First up, Jagmeet reports that Amazon is looking at India as the next place to bring its Project Kuiper satellite internet business. Meanwhile, so many companies are hitting the pause button on a number of different things. One of the top stories sticking around from yesterday was Andrew ’s piece on Google taking a two-week hiatus from hiring and then slowing down for the rest of the year. And it is not alone: Kyle covers GitHub’s hiring pullback , while Paul writes about Just Eat Takeaway scaling back in France . Rebecca covers both Lyft’s layoffs amid a closure of its in-house car rentals program and the U.K.’s App Drivers and Couriers Union putting their vehicles in park to strike in response to files that were leaked about Uber . Finally, Catherine reports on Zipmex pausing withdrawals from its digital assets exchange. What do you see when you look up? : Google Cloud sees Mexico . It plans to put its first cloud region in the country, Frederic reports. Today’s tool chest is full : We’ve got some new moderator tools from Twitch by Taylor , while Aisha writes about TikTok’s new caption and translation tools . You want new features? We’ve got 20, but who cares, no big deal, we want more : Check out Instagram’s Reels function for video posts less than 15 minutes in length, Aisha writes. Lauren strikes up the band with Mandolin’s customer artist pages and fan data hub , while Amanda reports on Warner Music Group’s partnership with SoundCloud ’s payment model for artists. \|\| Bitcoin price crosses US$22K; Fed cools recession fears: The crypto market gained along with traditional markets overnight in Asia as investors responded to updated guidance on Thursday from U.S. Federal Reserve officials claiming recessionary concerns are overblown. See related article:Bitcoin, Ether recover as Fed guidance reduces policy uncertainty • Bitcoin gained 8% to trade above US$22,000 in the past 24 hours leading to press time for the first time since June 16, as the crypto market capitalization surpassed US$1 trillion, according to CoinGecko data. • Both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 Index closed trading yesterday up more than 1% and the Nasdaq Composite Index closed 2.3% higher, ending four consecutive days of gains — the longest streak since March. • Fed Board of Governors member Christopher Wallerbackedanother 75-basis point interest rate hike this month and a 50-basis point rise next month to combat inflation, in his address to the National Association for Business Economics on Thursday. • St. Louis Fed PresidentJames Bullard echoedWaller’s sentiments, but both officials downplayed recessionary fears, with Bullard saying there was a “good chance” of a soft economic landing. • Crypto and traditional markets have been hit in recent months withconcernsof rising inflation, looming recession, uncertainty caused by the war in Ukraine, and a growing list of crypto firms lining up for bankruptcy. See related article:Three Arrows, Voyager failures raise questions of who is next in crypto fall from grace [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] None available.	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 22630.96, 23289.31, 22961.28, 23175.89, 23809.49, 23164.32, 23947.64, 23957.53, 24402.82, 24424.07
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2018-07-17] BTC Price: 7321.04, BTC RSI: 65.68 Gold Price: 1225.70, Gold RSI: 26.48 Oil Price: 68.08, Oil RSI: 42.30 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] AUD/USD Price Forecast – Aussie continues to find support just below: There’s the obvious gold market correlation withthe Australian dollarthat you should be paying attention to, just as there is the obvious correlation with the US dollar itself as it is half of the equation. Looking at this chart, we are decidedly in a downtrend, there’s probably no way to argue that. Overall, I anticipate that the market will continue to sell on rallies, but in the short term it looks as if we could be getting ready to form a bit of a bounce. This will be exacerbated by any type of “risk on” move in the equity markets around the world, and of course commodities. The destruction cause to the Australian dollar due to trade tariffs between the United States and China cannot be understated though, as Australia supplies China with so many of its raw materials for construction, and of course manufacturing. With that in mind, pay attention to the headlines, but if things stay relatively quiet, I suspect that there is a bounce coming in this pair. The alternate scenario of course is that if we break down below the vital 0.7350 level, the market is probably going to continue to go lower over the longer-term. I think the one thing you can count on is volatility, and it’s only a matter of time before it picks up yet again. Thisarticlewas originally posted on FX Empire • Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin and Ripple Daily Analysis – 22/06/18 • Crude Oil Price Forecast – choppiness continues on Thursday as we await OPEC • EUR/USD Price Forecast – Euro rallies on Thursday after touching major support • Gold Price Forecast – Gold markets continue to show weakness on Thursday • AUD/USD Price Forecast – Aussie continues to find support just below • Price of Gold Fundamental Daily Forecast – Investors Finally Showing Some Reaction to Geopolitical Events \|\| This Website Imagines Bitcoin as a Bus Station and Offers Some Big Insights: Even nearly a decade after its creation, Bitcoin’s basic technology can still be hard to understand. A new website that visualizes Bitcoin transactions as bus passengers offers some surprisingly compelling insights into how the cryptocurrency works—and it’s strangely enthralling to watch in action. TxStreet.comtranslates real-time transaction data from the Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash networks into South Park-like cartoons of passengers boarding a series of buses. The site is partly intended to show contrasts between the two networks, whose supporters have been at odds sinceBitcoin Cash “forked”from Bitcoin nearly a year ago. But you don’t need a dog in that fight to learn a lot from the site, about both cryptocurrency basics and the day-to-day reality of the networks. Each cartoon character on TxStreet represents a cryptocurrency payment moving from one account to another. A character’s size corresponds to the amount of money being sent, while its walking speed reflects whether or not the sender has paid a system fee to speed the confirmation. Those characters move towards buses waiting at a pair of stations—one for Bitcoin, one for Bitcoin Cash. The buses represent “blocks” of transactions, sets of records which essentially every blockchain system collects, compiles, and confirms at more or less regular intervals. The TxStreet buses and their passengers depart whenever a block of transactions is confirmed by a network and added to its respective blockchain—the immutable record of each currency’s transaction history. It’s a simple metaphor for systems that can seem inscrutable, and there’s something simultaneously soothing and suspenseful about the ebb and flow of the crowds. Fortunerecently reached out to the site’s creator, who prefers to remain anonymous but goes by @revofever on Twitter. They told us they’ve been “obsessed” with Bitcoin since 2013, and that TxStreet gets its live data from feeds at btc.com, bitcointicker.co, blockchain.info, and coinmarketcap.com. The site, which is not affiliated with any blockchain company, was inspired in part by TxHighway.com, a similar visualizer explicitly aimed at promoting Bitcoin Cash. TxStreet’s creator claims a bit less of an agenda, saying “I was motivated to show each blockchain as accurately and fairly as possible. If the truth promotes Bitcoin Cash, then it is what it is.” Get The Ledger,Fortune’sblockchain and cryptocurrency newsletter. TxStreet shows clearly that, despite some similar infrastructure, Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash have a growing number of fundamental differences, starting with the number of “bus seats” available for transactions. The original fork that created Bitcoin Cash was driven by the desire to increase the size of transaction blocks, which advocates argued would make transactions faster. Accordingly, the Bitcoin Cash “bus station” on TxStreet has 32 buses waiting, representing the 32 megabytes of transaction data that each Bitcoin Cash block has available. Not all of those buses head to the blockchain every 10 minutes—only as many as transaction volume demands. Bitcoin, on the other hand, still has to make do with two buses, representing the two megabytes of data its blocks can hold. There’s a catch, though—one of those buses (or one megabyte of Bitcoin block size) is a special variety known asSegWit. Transactions in that block of memory are significantly compressed, effectively shrinking the passengers so more of them fit on the bus. Though SegWit was implemented in part to work around Bitcoin’s scaling issues, watching TxStreet makes it clear there’s more work to be done. You’ll regularly see crowds of passengers—that is, transactions—forming a scrum on the sidewalk outside of full Bitcoin buses. That’s what’s known as the Mempool—transactions that have been broadcast to the network, but haven’t been added to a block to await confirmation. Above that sometimes-huge queue, TxStreet shows a purple building representing the Lightning Network, new technology that many advocates hope will be a true solution to Bitcoin’s overcrowding. It’s labeled “Lightning House: Bus Ticket Trading, Access by Bus Only.” @Revofever explains the complex metaphor this way: If you have bitcoin outside of that [Lightning] network, but want to use itinthe network, you have to send that bitcoin to your Lightning enabled wallet using the blockchain (Represented by boarding a bus). There is no other way to move your bitcoin to the Lightning network, no shortcut (Represented by the lock on the lightning building, and the “Access By Bus Only” sign). So if the BTC mempool is greater than the blocksize limit, people still have to wait to use the Lightning network (open/close a channel), or pay a much higher fee. “Bus Ticket Trading” represents how the Lightning network functions inside the building. Lightning works by sending signed transactions back and forth, without broadcasting them to the bitcoin network and avoiding the blockchain. So the people in the building are essentially trading a spot on the bus, without ever intending to use the bus. On the other side of the street, Bitcoin Cash has its own building, representing the blockchain-backed social networkMemo. But there’s an even more notable contrast: there are plenty of seats on Bitcoin Cash buses because there are so few passengers lining up to board. Over the last 30 days, Bitcoin transaction volume was about 16 times higher than for Bitcoin Cash, according toCoinmetrics.io. So while Bitcoin Cash may offer plenty of seats on the bus, there’s not yet that much interest in taking a ride. \|\| Netflix's First Comic Book Is Poised to Break a 20-Year-Old Record: WhenNetflix(NASDAQ: NFLX)acquiredcomic-book publisher Millarworldin August 2017, it was the first in a number of bold moves designed to gain control over content creators. In this case, it brought on board the creative talents of Mark Millar, who made his name as an award-winning writer for both Marvel and DC Comics before striking out on his own. His comic-book story arcs have been turned into some of Hollywood's biggest blockbusters, includingLogan,The Avengers, andCaptain America: Civil War. At the time of the acquisition, Netflix revealed that in addition to creating movies and television series based on his work, "Millarworld will also continue to create and publish new stories and character franchises under the Netflix label." In November, Millar revealed thatThe Magic Orderwould be the first new story under the Netflix umbrella, which he has since described as "Harry PottermeetsThe Sopranos." The comic is about to be published, and demand is so high that Millar says it will break a long-standing record. Video courtesy of Netflix. Preorders forThe Magic Orderhave seen extraordinary demand, and based on early estimates, the initial issue is expected to sell out. Millar said that preorders already exceeded 140,000 -- which would break a 20-year-old record -- several days before the order deadline. Millar also said this would be "by far the best numbers ever on a Millarworld book." In a letter sent to comic shops, Millar said there would be only one printing for the inaugural Netflix release: We hope you're suitably prepared. We want to get back to that crazy, exciting time where a first printing really meant something too and create a real collectibility here with NO SECOND PRINTINGS. We love the idea of making this genuinely sought after. So after inventory on the first and only print run is depleted, there will be no additional printings. He went on to say that he was "very sure" the printing would sell out completely. Image source: Netflix. In another sign that Netflix is pulling out all the stops for its comics debut, the company has teamed withFacebook(NASDAQ: FB)to provide a little augmented reality (AR) magic. The first issue will display one of four different covers, each of which will contain an AR code that will provide readers with bonus content. Audiences will be able to "go inside [illustrator] Oliver Coipel's amazing artwork, unlock special character artwork and more," according to anexclusive reportby CBR.com. Assuming 140,000 sales at $3.99 each (the presale price on ComiXology) would result in total sales of about $550,000, which doesn't include digital sales. Considering that Netflix reported revenue of $3.7 billion in its most recent quarter, these comic-book sales aren't going to make a meaningful contribution. Assuming similar sales for the full six issues, they would only bring in revenue of $3.3 million, still not enough to move the needle. It's important to remember that Netflix has an ulterior motive here, and while these record-breaking presales are nice, they're just icing on the cake. Eventually,The Magic Orderwill be the foundation for new movies, television series, or both, with the intention of encouraging subscribers to join Netflix or to stick around. It's also important to remember that Netflix is looking for its next massive hit likeStranger ThingsorOrange is the New Black, one that will likely run for years and entice untold numbers of subscribers to climb aboard the Netflix train (or at least keep their seats). Whilemerchandising could be a huge opportunityand eventually generate more than $1 billion in sales annually, it will all be in service of generating buzz around Netflix shows and growing the company's all-important subscriber base. More From The Motley Fool • 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices • 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 • 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing • 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today • The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss • Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This Danny Venaowns shares of Facebook and Netflix. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Facebook and Netflix. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy. \|\| Escalating trade fight weighs on global stocks, boosts Treasuries: By Laila Kearney NEW YORK (Reuters) - Global stock markets sank on Monday as the trade fight between the United States and other top economies escalated, and benchmark Wall Street indexes suffered their worst losses in more than two months while safe-haven investments gained. U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Monday said forthcoming investment restrictions would apply "to all countries that are trying to steal our technology," not just to China. Hours later, White House trade and manufacturing adviser Peter Navarro walked back Mnuchin's remarks, telling CNBC that the restrictions on investing in tech companies would just target China. “People are scared," said Wayne Kaufman, chief market analyst at Phoenix Financial Services in New York. "The market does not like uncertainty, and a trade war is something that is difficult, if not impossible, to handicap." On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 328.09 points, or 1.33 percent, to 24,252.8, the S&P 500 lost 37.81 points, or 1.37 percent, to 2,717.07, and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 160.81 points, or 2.09 percent, to 7,532.01. The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index lost 2.19 percent and MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe shed 1.41 percent. Technology stocks bore the brunt of the damage. The S&P technology index fell 2.3 percent, the most among the major S&P 11 sectors. Policymakers in China moved quickly to temper any potential economic drag from Beijing's dispute with the United States. Its central bank said on Sunday it would cut the amount of cash some banks must hold as reserves by 50 basis points to spur lending to smaller firms. The European autos sector was hit by trade tensions between Washington and Europe, falling 2.4 percent in a seventh straight day of losses after U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday he aimed to hike tariffs on European Union car imports by 20 percent. The index of global auto manufacturers fell 1.5 percent. A senior European Commission official said on Saturday the European Union would respond to any U.S. move to raise tariffs on cars made in the bloc. Harley-Davidson Inc said on Monday it would move production of motorcycles shipped to the European Union from the United States to its international facilities and forecast the trading bloc's retaliatory tariffs would cost the company $90 million to $100 million a year. The growing disputes have led investors to take refuge on safer ground. Benchmark U.S. 10-year Treasury notes gained 5/32 in price to yield 2.884 percent, down from 2.900 percent late on Friday. The yield curve between 2-year and 10-year notes flattened to 33 basis points, the lowest level since 2007. Gold hovered near last week's six-month low as investors chose Treasuries over bullion. Oil fell as investors prepared for an extra 1 million barrels per day in output to hit the markets after OPEC and its partners agreed to raise production. U.S. crude fell 0.73 percent to settle at $68.08 per barrel and Brent settled at $74.73, down 1.09 percent on the day. In the currency market, the dollar index fell 0.22 percent, with the euro up 0.38 percent to $1.1699. The Japanese yen strengthened 0.21 percent versus the greenback, at 109.74 per dollar, while sterling was last trading at $1.3279, up 0.08 percent. The Turkish lira rose on expectations of a stable government after Tayyip Erdogan and his ruling AK Party claimed victory in presidential and parliamentary polls. Bitcoin steadied after hitting seven-month lows over the weekend as the security of cryptocurrency exchange operators came under more scrutiny. (Additional reporting by Amanda Cooper in London, Sanjana Shivdas in Bengaluru and Karen Brettell and Stephen Culp in New York; Editing by Dan Grebler and Leslie Adler) \|\| Could Sprint Corporation Be a Millionaire-Maker Stock?: IsSprint(NYSE: S)the kind of company and stock that could make you rich beyond your wildest dreams? In a word, no. For a more detailed discussion of why it isn't, please read on. Sprint might have looked like a fairly plausible wealth-builder just a few weeks ago -- for investors with an appetite for big risks and dreams of big rewards. The eternal underdog in the North American wireless communications market saw its share prices plunging 44% lower between April 1, 2017 and the same date in 2018. At that point, Sprint bulls and other optimists could have argued that the company was primed for a huge turnaround that would unlock an equally massive bounce in Sprint's share prices. It would only require a great 5G upgrade cycle, one awesome ad campaign, some kind of huge mistake driving subscribers away from larger rivalsAT&TandVerizon, or some combination of these trigger events. Stranger things have happened, right? Image source: Getty Images. But that turnaround idea is off the table now. Near the end of April, fellow mini-major telecomT-Mobile US(NASDAQ: TMUS)finally got around to filing a proper takeover bid for Sprint. After several years of merger rumors andfailed negotiations,T-Mobileput together a $26 billion stock-swap bid. When you account for T-Mobile shouldering Sprint's $33 billion of net debt, the enterprise value of the deal comes out to nearly $60 billion. That's the endgame for Sprint investors. No matter what happens next, buying Sprint shares today isn't likely to make you any significant amount of money -- and certainly not the manifold multiples it would take to create a million-dollar nest egg out of a few thousand dollars. Let's say that T-Mobile and Sprint dance through all the regulatory challenges and shareholder votes, closing their merger exactly as planned. In that case, each 9.75 Sprint shares you own turn into a single T-Mobile stub instead. The final deal value depends on T-Mobile's performance rather than Sprint's. Since Sprint trades roughly 10% below T-Mobile's target price, you could unlock a small arbitrage premium by picking up Sprint shares instead of T-Mobile. But a 10% one-time premium is hardly a massive wealth-building tool. On the other hand, you'd also have to accept the risk of T-Mobile failing to close the merger as planned. Regulatory reviews could weigh the deal with burdensome requirements or even halt the whole idea. Japanese telecomSoftBank, which owns 80% of Sprint, could get cold feet and cancel the agreement. And that's just a couple of the roadblocks the two telecoms must overcome -- many things could go wrong along the way. And if the merger falls apart for any reason, both T-Mobile's and Sprint's shares are sure to plunge on the news. Given the sad state of Sprint's business trends, I'm not sure that its shareholders would ever recover. So you have to weight this potential disaster against the 10% premium we looked at a minute ago. Buying Sprint shares today is more of a gamble than an investment. The potential payoff is small, but the risks are huge. This is no millionaire-maker stock today, but perhaps a millionaire-breaker. I'm staying far away from Sprint's stock until further notice. Feel free to follow my lead. More From The Motley Fool • 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices • 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 • 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing • 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today • The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss • Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This Anders Bylundowns shares of T-Mobile US. The Motley Fool owns shares of Verizon Communications. The Motley Fool recommends T-Mobile US. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy. \|\| USD/JPY Fundamental Daily Forecast – Prices Firm, but Investors Remain on Edge Over US-China Trade Dispute: The Dollar/Yen fell on Tuesday after U.S. President Trump threatened to impose a 10 percent tariff on $200 billion of Chinese goods, prompting a swift warning from Beijing of retaliation. The news drove global stock markets sharply lower, sending investors scurrying for the safety of the Japanese Yen. A drop in U.S. Treasury yields also helped boost demand for the Yen as it tightened the spread between U.S. Government Bond yields and Japanese Government Bond yields. This move is not expected to last, however, because of the divergence in monetary policy between the hawkish U.S. Federal Reserve and dovish Bank of Japan. In U.S. economic news, reports on the U.S. housing industry came out mixed on Tuesday with Building Permits underperforming and Housing Starts exceeding expectations. Building permits fell by 4.6 percent to a rate of 1.301 million units, the lowest since September 2017. Economists had forecast housing starts declining to a rate of 1.350 million units. Housing starts rose 5.0 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.350 million units last month, the Commerce Department said on Tuesday. That was the highest level since July 2007. Data for April was revised slightly to show starts falling to a rate of 1.286 million units instead of the previously reported pace of 1.287 million units. Forecast An easing of tensions over trade wars and a slight recovery in global equity markets is helping to boost the Dollar/Yen early Wednesday. At 0414 GMT, the USD/JPY is trading 110.110, up 0.48 or + 0.05%. The threat of a trade conflict is expected to continue to be the theme of the day on Wednesday. Look for the USD/JPY to weaken if escalating tensions over a trade war trigger risk aversion and another steep break in global equity markets. A recovery in U.S. equity markets and a firming of U.S. Treasury yields could help boost the Dollar/Yen. The daily chart indicates the trend is still up, but momentum has shifted to the downside. Conditions could turn ugly if sellers take out 109.179. Given the current trading conditions, it’s going to be difficult for buyers to take out 110.905 and continue the uptrend over the short-term. Story continues Earlier in the session, the Bank of Japan released the minutes from its April monetary policy meeting. The minutes showed a lone BOJ policymaker said additional easing was needed to accelerate inflation, but most members wanted to keep monetary policy unchanged. The minutes also showed that no board member submitted a formal proposal for additional easing at the meeting in April, although one member advocated speeding up the economy by taking additional easing measures to boost inflation expectations. Looking ahead, the BOJ may lower its forecasts for consumer price growth at its next meeting in July but is likely to keep monetary policy on hold. Wednesday in the U.S. will be a big day for central bank speakers. Scheduled to deliver speeches at 1330 GMT are RBA Governor Lowe, BOJ Governor Kuroda and Fed Chair Jerome Powell. They could move the Forex markets if they discuss monetary policy. Since the Fed is hawkish and the BOJ is dovish, the USD/JPY could strengthen if Powell delivers a hawkish speech. Other reports include the U.S. Current Account and Existing Home Sales. This article was originally posted on FX Empire More From FXEMPIRE: USD/JPY Fundamental Daily Forecast – Prices Firm, but Investors Remain on Edge Over US-China Trade Dispute Price of Gold Fundamental Daily Forecast – Has Lost Its Luster as Safe-Haven Asset Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin and Ripple Daily Analysis – 20/06/18 Natural Gas Price Forecast – natural gas markets get hammered on Tuesday Crude Oil Price Forecast – crude oil markets fall apart on Tuesday S&P 500 Price Forecast – S&P 500 rocked by continued escalating trade tensions \|\| CRISPR Could Cause Cancer? Here Are 3 Reasons Investors Shouldn't Panic: First do no harm. That's a core principle for treating patients. But a promising gene-editing method called CRISPR-Cas9 could potentially harm patients. Two papers published in Nature Medicine on Monday raised concerns that using CRISPR-Cas9 to edit genes could increase the chances that cancer cells develop. The stocks of CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ: CRSP) , Editas Medicine (NASDAQ: EDIT) , and Intellia Therapeutics (NASDAQ: NTLA) plunged on the news . All three of these biotechs are pioneering development of gene-editing therapies using CRISPR-Cas9. But should investors panic because of the possibility that CRISPR-Cas9 could cause cancer? Not at all. Here are three reasons why you should remain calm. DNA strand with cancer cell Image source: Getty Images. 1. It's still early Do initial research findings in the scientific community sometimes prove to be incomplete or even incorrect? Absolutely. It has even happened relatively recently with CRISPR-Cas9. In May 2017, a paper was published in Nature Methods that stated CRISPR-Cas9 could cause hundreds of unintended mutations. This news caused investors to worry that the gene-editing approach could prove to be seriously flawed. CRISPR Therapeutics, Editas Medicine, and Intellia Therapeutics stocks tanked. Sounds familiar, right? However, less than a year later, the authors of that study issued a retraction and posted an error correction to another scientific website. It turned out that their initial findings were wrong . Now, that might not happen in this case. I think it probably won't. However, the bottom line is that it's still early. More research will need to be conducted to determine if there really is a clear link between using CRISPR-Cas9 and increased risk of cancer and, if there is, how significant that risk is. 2. The findings shouldn't impact biotechs' lead candidates It's important to understand what the two papers published this week stated. Basically, the research found that when CRISPR-Cas9 is used to edit DNA sequences, most cells try to repair the DNA damage. However, this response doesn't occur in cells with dysfunctional p53 genes. As a result, CRISPR-Cas9 works better in these cells. Story continues The problem is that cells with p53 gene mutations have been associated with higher risks of several types of cancer. These mutations occur in nearly half of ovarian cancer cases and in over 40% of cases of larynx, head and neck, esophageal, and colorectal cancer. Here's what you should really know, though: This issue should only be a factor when CRISPR-Cas9 is used to delete DNA sequences and insert a new DNA sequence, a process referred to as gene correction. But when only gene disruption -- the deletion of a DNA sequence -- is involved, CRISPR-Cas9 works fine in cells that don't have the p53 gene mutations. The lead candidates for CRISPR Therapeutics, Editas, and Intellia have two things in common. First, they all use CRISPR-Cas9 to edit genes for treatment of rare genetic diseases. Second, each of the lead candidates involves gene disruption rather than gene correction. Are the findings that CRISPR-Cas9 could be linked to increased cancer risk problematic for the biotechs? Sure. All three companies have preclinical programs that use gene correction. But the most important therapies for the biotechs right now shouldn't increase cancer risk. 3. Researchers will likely develop workarounds Don't view the potential that the use of CRISPR-Cas9 in gene correction could increase the risk of cancer as a roadblock. It's much more likely to merely be a speed bump. The lead researcher of one of the teams that published an article in Nature Medicine, Jussi Taipale, stated that CRISPR-Cas9 is "clearly going to be a major tool for use in medicine" and that ways to overcome the potential problems could be found. There are other bacterial enzymes other than Cas9 that can be used for CRISPR gene editing. Editas Medicine, for example, is currently researching use of the Cpf1 enzyme as wells as variants of both Cas9 and Cpf1. It's possible that use of these enzymes in cutting DNA won't induce a response like CRISPR-Cas9 does. Think long term I know that it's become a cliche, but investors really should think long term. That's especially true with emerging technologies like gene editing. More potential issues could be identified in the future with CRISPR. Some of them might be problematic. Others won't. But there's too much potential for gene editing, particularly the use of a simple and cheap method like CRISPR, for researchers to throw their hands up in the air whenever a potential issue is found. In my view, nothing has been found that should prevent CRISPR Therapeutics, Editas Medicine, and Intellia Therapeutics from advancing their lead candidates. And even if using CRISPR-Cas9 for gene correction is proven to increase the risk of cancer, I fully expect that better alternative approaches will be found. Over the long run, I think that CRISPR gene editing will help a lot more than it will harm. Investors who panic now will miss out on the tremendous potential for this promising technology. More From The Motley Fool 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This Keith Speights owns shares of Editas Medicine. The Motley Fool owns shares of CRISPR Therapeutics. The Motley Fool recommends Editas Medicine. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy . \|\| The Best Small-Cap ETFs Leading Market’s Charge: This article was originally published onETFTrends.com. Small-Cap ETFs are leading the markets charge this year. Year-to-date, the iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF (IJR) , which tracks the S&P Small-Cap 600 Index, increased 10.9%; the iShares Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) , which tracks the benchmark Russell 2000 Index, gained 9.2%; and Vanguard Small Cap ETF (NYSEArca: VB) , which tracks the CRSP US Small Cap Index, rose 6.8%. In contrast, the S&P 500 was up 2.6% and and the S&P MidCap 400 Index was 4.1% higher so far this year. Keeping the the small-cap’s momentum going, traders believed smaller companies were insulated from the overseas turmoil. A stronger U.S. dollar and concerns over weaker global growth also pushed investors toward smaller company stocks that tend to earn most of their money from a still growing domestic economy. Small-Cap Outlook Further supporting the small-cap outlook, the U.S. economy is still showing signs of growth with U.S. retail sales and consumer spending trends on the rise while the rest of the world is revealing weaker economic data. U.S. economic conditions are also more favorable for the domestically oriented small-caps as companies are still digesting the benefits of increasing deregulation and U.S. tax reforms. Related:Multi-Factor ETFs to Help Better Position Your Portfolio The strengthening economic outlook for the U.S. has also helped strengthen the U.S. dollar against its basket of peers. With an appreciating U.S. dollar, large multinational U.S. companies will find revenue lowered when converted back to an appreciating USD, whereas small-cap companies are less affected by foreign revenue streams. Furthermore, the upbeat pace in U.S. small-caps are attracting foreign investors as well. According to the CME Group, there is growing interest among global investors for U.S. small-cap exposure, especially with volume coming from Europe, Asia-Pacific and Latin America regions in addition to North America. For more information on small-capitalization stocks, visit oursmall-cap category. POPULAR ARTICLES FROM ETFTRENDS.COM • Creating the 21st Century Portfolio • VanEck to Shutter Two ETFs: SPUN and IGEM • Bitcoin ETFs Could Lead to Massive Price Increase • Small-Cap ETFs May Find Support from Foreign Investors • SEC to Meet Regarding New ETF Rule Change READ MORE AT ETFTRENDS.COM > \|\| Ukraine Bitcoin Fans Aim to Put Satoshi Nakamoto Statue Where Lenin’s Once Stood: lenin Plans are underway in Ukraine to honor the pseudonymous creator of Bitcoin, Satoshi Nakamoto, by erecting a statue of him in Kiev. The preferred location for the statue is Shevchenko Boulevard, where a monument to Vladimir Lenin — the father of the Soviet Union — stood before it was brought down during the 2014 Ukrainian revolution. The Plan to Replace a Lenin Statue Monument to Satoshi Nakamoto The initiative is being advanced by a group known as the Satoshi Nakamoto Republic . Initially, the group plans to put up a virtual monument which can be viewed using an app when mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets are pointed at a plinth that will be located at the intended site of the statue. The mobile app will be developed by virtual reality firm Raccoon World. After the virtual monument, the group will then petition the Kyiv City State Administration before launching a fundraising campaign. In the event that the city administration declines to allow the statue to be placed at the preferred site, another location will be chosen. Eyes on the future According to one of the founders of Satoshi Nakamoto Republic, Andriy Moroz, the presumed inventor of Bitcoin represents the future while Lenin symbolizes the past. “The monument to Lenin was a symbol of last centuries that had already passed, leaving conflicting feelings in the hearts of people. Satoshi and the decentralization of society are a new era and new opportunities,” Moroz, who also serves as the First Ambassador of the Republic, told Radio Free Europe . Besides erecting monuments of Nakamoto, the group has an ambitious plan to purchase an island where the Satoshi Nakamoto City will be established. Additionally, the group aims to start a “virtual decentralized blockchain-republic.” Any city in the world can bid to host a Nakamoto statue with the winners being the cities which collect the largest amounts of money. Some of the cities that are already in the running include Beijing, Dubai, New York, and Tokyo. The biggest statue of Nakamoto will, however, be reserved for Satoshi Nakamoto City. Story continues There’s no word on what these statues — which are dedicated to a person or group whose identity remains a secret — will look like. Slovenia’s giant Bitcoin structure bitcoin monument Though this would the first statue honoring Satoshi Nakamoto, the bragging rights for the first Bitcoin monument go to Slovenia, where the first blockchain structure was erected in the country’s fourth-largest city, Kranj, earlier this year. The monument, which is in the shape of a coin, is seven meters wide and weighs three tons. It is located at a roundabout in the city center. According to the mayor of Kranj, Bostjan Trilar, residents of the city were polled to find out what they wanted to be placed at the roundabout, and the Bitcoin monument was the most popular suggestion. Cryptocurrency exchange Bitstamp and blockchain technology startup 3fs paid for the monument. Featured Image from Shutterstock The post Ukraine Bitcoin Fans Aim to Put Satoshi Nakamoto Statue Where Lenin’s Once Stood appeared first on CCN . \|\| J.C. Penney's CEO Jumps to Lowe's: Is the Turnaround Doomed?: On Tuesday, struggling department store chain J.C. Penney (NYSE: JCP) made a shocking announcement. CEO Marvin Ellison is resigning from the company as of June 1 in order to take the top job at home improvement giant Lowe's (NYSE: LOW) . Ellison's unexpected resignation leaves a gaping hole at the top of J.C. Penney's relatively thin leadership bench. That's not good news for a company that is still struggling to recover from a failed strategy shift under former CEO Ron Johnson. On the other hand, Ellison's move to Lowe's doesn't mean that he lost confidence in J.C. Penney's turnaround plan. A sign of failure? In the past few days, several pundits have argued that Marvin Ellison wouldn't have left J.C. Penney if he thought the company was still on the road to recovery. As a result, they see his decision to jump ship as a clear warning that J.C. Penney can't be saved . However, this is an overly simplistic view. While J.C. Penney is an iconic company that has been around for more than a century, its annual revenue has receded to a little more than $12 billion and its market cap has plunged to less than $1 billion. The exterior of a J.C. Penney store. J.C. Penney has become a shadow of its former self. Image source: J.C. Penney. By contrast, annual revenue is about to surpass $70 billion at Lowe's. Furthermore, Lowe's market cap has surged to roughly $80 billion. If he is successful at Lowe's, Ellison stands to make a lot more money than J.C. Penney could have ever paid him. Furthermore, Ellison had more than a decade of experience in the home improvement industry before moving to J.C. Penney, so Lowe's is a natural fit for him. Thus, there were plenty of good reasons for Marvin Ellison to make the move to Lowe's. Indeed, he described it to J.C. Penney employees as a "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity" that he didn't seek out. Investors shouldn't read too much into his decision to leave. J.C. Penney is losing a good leader Ellison's reputation has lost some of its luster over the past couple of years, as the turnaround initiatives he put in place at J.C. Penney weren't enough to drive steady sales and earnings growth. Comp sales were flat in each of the past two fiscal years, following a 4.5% increase in fiscal 2015. J.C. Penney's recently reported first quarter 2018 results were disappointing , too. Furthermore, profitability is starting to erode again. Story continues Nevertheless, Ellison is a smart, seasoned retail executive who will be tough to replace. (Lowe's certainly didn't hire him out of desperation.) His mixed record at J.C. Penney mainly speaks to the headwinds the company has faced in recent years. Most other department store chains have posted inferior sales results and more margin erosion than J.C. Penney over the past three years. J.C. Penney has been slimming down its executive ranks lately, including eliminating the EVP of Omnichannel role earlier this year. There's no clear internal candidate to replace Ellison. Furthermore, J.C. Penney's precarious financial position makes it a less attractive destination for potential external candidates than it was five years ago (let alone a decade ago). This makes Ellison's departure particularly painful. The silver lining While it's disappointing that J.C. Penney is losing its CEO, the good news is that Ellison has already implemented a promising strategy that could drive a recovery in sales and earnings over the next few years. By adding new merchandise categories (such as appliances and toys) and expanding others (including furniture and mattresses), J.C. Penney is now in position to profit from the demise of Toys 'R' Us and the rapid collapse of Sears Holdings . J.C. Penney has offered retention bonuses to five of its top remaining executives, four of whom will constitute a temporary "Office of the CEO." This should enable the company to stay on track over the next few quarters despite not having a permanent CEO. Thus, Ellison's departure doesn't mean J.C. Penney investors should give up hope. That said, it adds even more risk to what was already a risky turnaround bet. More From The Motley Fool 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This Adam Levine-Weinberg owns shares of J.C. Penney. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy . [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] Interested in CloudMining? - Buy Genesis-Mining Contractshttps://goo.gl/cJzSgJ \|\| Join the final Starneum Airdrop. Complete the following steps to receive 111111 Starneum Tokens. https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeS0M6cizltcZTA39w6ZSGd2rUWMZ1mBh0aUjFZQk7iPpBnQg/viewform?usp=pp_url … #Starneum #airdrop #STM #BTC #freetoken #Crypto #Blockchain #tron #trx #airdrops #Token). @alwelldinho @bbossman @johncrossugu \|\| Bitcoin (-0.07): $7,627.72 Ethereum (-0.25): $590.17 Ripple (-0.15): $0.64 Bitcoin Cash (0.57): $1,071.16 EOS (2.32): $14.71 Litecoin (0.09): $122.40 Cardano (-0.17): $0.22 Stellar (-0.42): $0.30 IOTA (-0.09): $1.89 TRON (-0.55): $0.06 \|\| $BTC: weekly chart looks bearish.. we might need more down weeks before a big rally.. pic.twitter.com/cwsj2bIlyv \|\| #Glitzkoin #ICO, #Bitcoin ,#EThereum, #Stellarhttps://twitter.com/GlitzkoinToken/status/1002184445569437696 … \|\| 2018/06/18 11:00 #BTC 712790円 #ETH 54540.8円 #ETC 1591.8円 #BCH 93240.9円 #XRP 58円 #XEM 21.4円 #LSK 677.1円 #MONA 294.4円 #仮想通貨 #ビットコイン #Bitcoin #bitFlyer #Coincheck \|\| 2018-06-02 21:03:02 【最新】仮想通貨価格表一覧 BTC/JPY　836,470 ETH/JPY　62,103 XEM/JPY　28.069 XRP/JPY　69.186 LTC/JPY　13,034.8 ETC/JPY　1,684.5 BCH/JPY　110,014 \|\| I think that 10 years is a long enough time for something that was supposed to be an electronic-cash payment system to have already become one. I mean #Paypal, #ApplePay, #Venmo, #CashApp and #Zelle are already doing it; and doing it well. #Bitcoin is a scam. \|\| Magic Number? Chart Data Hints at June 6 Bitcoin Boost http://bit.ly/2szXNjS pic.twitter.com/JS4z7kfV3F \|\| Bitcoin @ £5,468.89 \| Ethereum @ £430.00 \| Litecoin @ £82.27 \| Buy it online with bank transfer at http://cryptoshop.uk	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 7370.78, 7466.86, 7354.13, 7419.29, 7418.49, 7711.11, 8424.27, 8181.39, 7951.58, 8165.01
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis] Not fully available. [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Sterling Slumps, Wall Street Rebounds, Bitcoin, Crude - What's Moving Markets: By Peter Nurse Investing.com -- Sterling is under pressure as cases rise of a new Covid variant, while U.S. stocks edge higher in what has been a difficult week. Crude and sterling head lower, Bitcoin struggles for investor friends, and the RBA looks to 2023 to move. Here's what's moving markets on Friday, June 18th. 1. Sterling under pressure as cases rise The positive vibes surrounding sterling are starting to disappear as a surge in coronavirus cases is hitting the optimism that greeted the country’s successful vaccination program. The pound dropped 0.3% against the U.S. dollar Friday to $1.3885, falling to its weakest level since early May, and dropping by 1.6% since Wednesday’s Federal Reserve meeting. The country recorded more than 11,000 new cases of Covid-19 virus on Thursday, the highest number since Feb. 19, despite the country having injected more than 42 million people, around 80% of the adult population, with one dose of a vaccine, and over 30 million with two jabs. The problem has been the rise of the Delta coronavirus variant, first discovered in India, which doubles the risk of hospitalisation compared with the previously dominant variant in Britain, according to a Scottish study. This increase has already persuaded Prime Minister Boris Johnson to delay the total reopening of the country’s economy by a month, while retail sales fell unexpectedly by 1.4% between April and May. Adding to the difficulties facing sterling is the increasingly fractious nature of the relationship between London and Brussels, especially regarding trade between Northern Ireland and the rest of the U.K. “Brussels' patience with London's [attempt] of having its cake and eating it is wearing thin,” said analysts at ING, in a note. “Indeed, there is a risk of protocols being triggered and tariffs being threatened more seriously.”. The political pressures facing the U.K. government are not only external after PM Johnson suffered an embarrassing defeat when his Conservative Party lost a parliamentary by-election in his party’s heartland, just a few miles from his own seat. Story continues This all marks a change in tone for a currency that has risen 0.7% since March, fueled by a successful vaccination effort and speculation this could lead to an early recovery and the Bank of England raising interest rates sooner than its peers. 2. Stocks edge higher ahead of triple witching U.S. stocks are seen opening marginally higher Friday, but largely look set for a losing week in the wake of the Federal Reserve’s hawkish turn. By 6:25 AM ET, Dow Jones futures were up 20 points, or 0.1%, S&P 500 futures were 0.1% higher and Nasdaq 100 futures climbed 0.2%. The Fed’s decision to point towards interest rate raises in 2023, a year earlier than expected, has taken the gloss off large parts of the equity markets, as investors have to begin to adjust to a reality without the very easy funding conditions. On Thursday, the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.6%, broad-based S&P 500 closed 0.1% lower, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite outperformed, gaining 0.9%. For the week to date, the Dow has fallen 1.9%, the S&P 500 has dropped 0.6%, while the Nasdaq has gained 0.7%. There are no economic numbers of note due later and the earnings slate is largely empty. But it's a triple witching Friday, with options and futures on indexes and equities set to expire, which could lead to a volatile trading day. In corporate news, Adobe (NASDAQ:ADBE) will be in the spotlight after the software giant easily beat second quarter targets when it reported after the close Thursday. General retailer Kroger (NYSE:KR) will also be in focus after delivering strong first quarter numbers, while raising its guidance for 2021. 3. The year 2023 and the RBA It’s not only the Federal Reserve for which the year 2023 could be transformative, after strong employment data pointed to Australia’s central bank choosing to raise its interest rates in the same year. May’s employment data showed 115,200 net new jobs were created in the month, way above expectations of 30,000, while unemployment dropped sharply to 5.1%, from 5.5% in April. The strength of this release will likely cause the Reserve Bank of Australia to stop and think, especially as the RBA has often been seen as the odd man out as other central banks in the developed world turn more hawkish, notably the U.S. Federal Reserve and the Reserve Bank of New Zealand. On Wednesday, the Fair Work Commission, an independent wage-setting body, said Australia's minimum wage will rise by 2.5% for the financial year starting in July, a faster pace than this year. “The May employment report is a major ‘game changer’ for policy,” Westpac Chief Economist Bill Evans wrote in a research note Friday, Bloomberg reported. “The recovery is now clearly into a self-sustaining upswing and the need for emergency stimulus policies has eased significantly.” He sees the RBA raising its key interest rate in early 2023, lifting the cash rate, currently at 0.1%, by 15 basis points in the first quarter of 2023, 25 bps in the second, and by a further 25 bps in the final three months of the year. 4. Differing Bitcoin views There are very few things that divide opinion in financial communities quite as radically as the suitability of cryptocurrencies, and Bitcoin in particular, as an investment vehicle. Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, certainly has its backers, soaring in value to a record level of just below $65,000 in April. However, it has been under pressure largely since. At 6:25 AM ET, Bitcoin traded over 4% lower at $37,658. Influential investment bank Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) has highlighted the different sides of debate. Earlier this week the Wall Street banking giant released a report which claimed that cryptocurrencies are not a “viable investment”, concluding that Bitcoin is not “a long-term store of value or an investable asset class”. Fair enough, that’s a view of many in officialdom, including Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey who warned earlier this week about the volatility of digital currencies. However, this view contradicts a report the investment bank published only in May, which included the line - "Bitcoin is now considered an investable asset". It’s probably fair to say that most investment managers side with the first point of view. The Bank of America’s Global Fund Manager Survey for June, released this week, found that 81% of fund managers continue to believe that Bitcoin is still in a bubble state. Additionally, Danske Bank said Friday it will maintain a ban preventing the trading of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies on its platforms, adding that it would review its position again once the cryptocurrency market “matures and is further regulated.” 5. Crude prices slip; Remain near multi-year highs Crude oil prices weakened further Friday, continuing to slip in the wake of the stronger dollar after the Federal Reserve meeting, but remain near multi-year highs. By 6:25 AM ET, U.S. crude was down 0.2% at $70.81 a barrel, while Brent was down 0.5% at $72.71. The U.S. dollar has been one of the main beneficiaries of the Federal Reserve’s hawkish change of tone, pointing to two interest rate increases in 2023, a year earlier than previously expected. The US Dollar Index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six other currencies, hit a more than two-month high earlier Friday, and is on course for a weekly gain of 1.5%, its largest since September. This has had an impact on the crude market, as a stronger dollar makes oil priced in the U.S. currency more expensive in other currencies, potentially weighing on demand. That said, losses have been limited, and the two benchmark oil contracts remain near multi-year highs, still on course to end the week largely unchanged. On Wednesday, Brent settled at its highest price since April 2019 while WTI settled at its highest since October 2018. After all, the fundamentals remain strong, with crude demand increasing as many countries, particularly those with high energy consumption in the West, continue their economic recovery from the Covid-19 virus and gradually re-open. A potential fly in the ointment could come from the potential addition of Iranian oil exports to the global market. This follows remarks from Iran's top negotiator on Thursday saying talks between Tehran and Washington on reviving the 2015 Iran nuclear deal have come closer than ever to an agreement. An agreement between these two principals could see the U.S. lifting sanctions on the Iranian energy sector, potentially allowing the Persian Gulf country, which has the fourth largest proven oil reserves in the world, to resume exporting its crude. Complicating the issue is that Iranians are voting Friday in a presidential election that is likely to see a hardline conservative replace the more moderate Hassan Rouhani, a move that is unlikely to be viewed too favorably in Washington. Related Articles Sterling Slumps, Wall Street Rebounds, Bitcoin, Crude - What's Moving Markets Adevinta, eBay clear final hurdle in $13 billion advertising tie-up Japan keeps budget goal intact for now but aims to reassess it later \|\| Central Bank Digital Currency: A range of issues remain in potential launch of 'Britcoin': Andrew Bailey, governor of Bank of England. Photo: Kirsty O'Connor/Pool via Reuters (POOL New / reuters) A range of issues and uncertainties remain in the way of the creation of a "digital pound", and the Bank of England (BoE) has still not made a decision on its viability, according to a discussion paper published by the bank on Monday. The paper was released with the purpose of broadening debate on central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) potential use in the UK. It explores the role of money in the economy, public policy objectives and implications, regulation and the implication of macroeconomic stability. We live in an increasingly digitalised world where the way we make payments and use money is changing rapidly," said Andrew Bailey, governor of the BoE. "The prospect of stablecoins as a means of payment and the emerging propositions of CBDC have generated a host of issues that central banks, governments, and society as a whole, need to carefully consider and address. "It is essential that we ask the difficult and pertinent questions when it comes to the future of these new forms of digital money. Watch : Bank of England seeks views on economic impact of 'Britcoin' One of the biggest risks of a digital pound, the bank said, would be the potential for digital money to undermine confidence in money and payments and in the financial system as a whole. "Ensuring confidence in sterling entails the provision of safe money as a risk-free means of payment for households, businesses and the wider financial system. And it entails the security and reliability of those payments. If a stablecoin were to fail to honour its obligations, or suffer an operational failure such as a breach of privacy, this could undermine public confidence in money and payments, and in the financial system as a whole," the paper said. In an illustrative example modelled by the bank, a fifth of all UK retail deposits might transfer to new forms of digital money. As a result of this potential outflow, commercial banks would have to adapt their balance sheets in response to maintain their current liquidity ratios. Story continues It also said any stablecoin-based payment chain should be regulated to standards equivalent to those applied to traditional payment chains. In April, the bank said it would launch a taskforce in collaboration with the Treasury, exploring the viability of a "digital pound", dubbed "Britcoin" by the press. At the time, the BoE said any CBDC would be a new form of digital money that could be used by both households and businesses. It would exist alongside cash and bank deposits, rather than replacing them. The government and the BoE have not yet made a decision on whether to introduce a CBDC in the UK and will engage widely with stakeholders to discuss the benefits, risks and practicalities of doing so, the Bank of England said. Like other forms of cryptocurrency, CBDCs are a form of virtual money that uses an electronic record or digital token to represent cash. It is issued and regulated by a countrys monetary authority, which in the UK is the Bank of England. This is a key difference to cryptos like bitcoin, which are decentralised and unregulated. Read more: 'Britcoin': Central bank digital currencies explained Retail CBDC can be directly held by citizens and businesses. This is a step change from the current system where money is held at a bank. Instead of going to a cash machine to withdraw money from, say, Barclays, your money would instead be held directly on your mobile phone. Interbank or wholesale CBDC is restricted to use by financial institutions like banks. It is used for big ticket bank-to-bank transfers and financial settlement processes. Watch: What are the risks of investing in cryptocurrency? CBDCs represent a new frontier for central bank stimulus, potentially acting as a conduit for policies such as stimulus checks, emergency loans, and UBI (universal basic income). Central banks could induce more powerful, directed "money drops" to stimulate the economy rather than tinkering with interest rates. Many backers of digital currencies say banking this way is more efficient. Instead of relying on intermediaries such as commercial banks, money can be transferred directly to the recipient and payments can be made in real time. Read more: Bitcoin, dogecoin recover some losses after Chinese regulation worries There is also an argument that CBDC helps prevent illicit or fraudulent activity. CBDCs make it easier for central banks to keep track of the exact location of a unit of currency. Cash, meanwhile, can be laundered or 'lost' more easily. Potential drawbacks include the invasion of privacy associated with this sort of surveillance. Governments could obtain access to private individual spending data, for example. Another fear is that CBDCs could herald the onset of a fully cashless society, which could harm poor, rural, and elderly communities who largely rely on cash. Watch: What is bitcoin? \|\| The Crypto Daily – Movers and Shakers – June 19th, 2021: Bitcoin, BTC to USD, slid by 5.85% on Friday. Following a 0.71% loss on Thursday, Bitcoin ended the day at $35,845.0. A mixed start to the day saw Bitcoin rise to an early morning intraday high $38,184.1 before hitting reverse. Falling short of the first major resistance level at $39,266, Bitcoin slid to a late afternoon intraday low $35,137.0. Bitcoin fell through the first major support level at $37,134 and the second major support level at $36,194. Steering clear of sub-$35,000 support levels, however, Bitcoin revisited $35,900 levels before easing back. Resistance at $36,000 pinned Bitcoin back late in the day. The near-term bullish trend remained intact in spite of the latest slide back to $35,000 levels. For the bears, Bitcoin would need a sustained fall through the 62% FIB of $27,237 to form a near-term bearish trend. Across the rest of the majors, it was a mixed day on Friday. Polkadot rose by 1.17% to buck the trend on the day. It was a bearish day for the rest of the majors, however. Chainlinkslid by 9.26% to lead the way down. Bitcoin Cash SV(-6.12%),Crypto.com Coin(-6.75%),Ethereum(-5.85%),Litecoin(-6.44%), andRipple’s XRP(-5.33%) weren’t far behind. Binance Coin(-4.42%) andCardano’s ADA(-4.40%) also struggled. In the current week, the crypto total market rose to a Tuesday high $1,708bn before falling to a Friday low $1,433bn. At the time of writing, the total market cap stood at $1,483bn. Bitcoin’s dominance rose to a Wednesday high 46.26% before falling to an early Saturday low 45.18%. At the time of writing, Bitcoin’s dominance stood at 45.23%. At the time of writing, Bitcoin was down by 0.13% to $35,800.0. A mixed start to the day saw Bitcoin fall to an early morning low $35,677.1 before rising to a high $35,950.0. Bitcoin left the major support and resistance levels untested early on. Elsewhere, it was a mixed start to the day. Crypto.com Coin bucked the trend early on, falling by 1.95% to join Bitcoin in the red. It was a bullish start for the rest of the majors, however. At the time of writing, Chainlink was up by 1.03% to lead the way. Bitcoin would need to move through the $36,389 pivot to bring the first major resistance level at $37,640 into play. Support from the broader market would be needed for Bitcoin to break back through to $37,000 levels. Barring a broad-based crypto rally, the first major resistance level and Friday’s high $38,184.1 would likely cap any upside. In the event of another extended crypto rally, Bitcoin could test resistance at $40,000 before any pullback. The second major level sits at $39,436. Failure to move through the $36,389 pivot would bring the first major support level at $34,593 into play. Barring another extended sell-off on the day, Bitcoin should steer clear of sub-$33,000 levels. The second major support level at $33,342 should limit the downside. Thisarticlewas originally posted on FX Empire • Natural Gas Price Forecast – Natural Gas Markets Turn Around Again • S&P 500 Price Forecast – S&P 500 Continues to Dance Along 50 Day EMA • S&P 500 Weekly Price Forecast – S&P 500 Continues to Look at Supported • The Weekly Wrap – A Hawkish FED Delivers for the Dollar Bulls • The Crypto Daily – Movers and Shakers – June 19th, 2021 • Crude Oil Weekly Price Forecast – Crude Oil Markets Continue to Drive Higher \|\| GLOBAL TECH INDUSTRIES GROUP, INC. SUCCESSFULLY UNVEILS CRYPTOCURRENCY TRADING PLATFORM, AND SETS A TIMELINE FOR FURTHER IMPROVEMENTS AND ENHANCEMENTS: New York, NY, June 21, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Global Tech Industries Group, Inc. (OTCQB: GTII) (“GTII” or the “Company”), www.gtii-us.com , a Nevada corporation, announced today that the successful launch of its cryptocurrency trading platform, “ Beyond Blockchain ” occurred on Friday, June 18 th . By end of day Friday, the site had accommodated a steady stream of both GTII shareholders and curious first-time visitors, and also welcomed those new members who successfully opened their own digital accounts by setting up their personal digital wallets. GTII shareholders can go to www.beyondblockchain.us and open a digital wallet. The beyond blockchain platform is the only place where any digital dividend distributed by the Company would be made available for review. The Company is working with legal counsel and hopes to announce a token dividend date once it has been approved by the Board of Directors of the Company. David Reichman, CEO of GTII , commented, “Our GTII tech team is closely monitoring our visitors, and has already been able to ascertain and suggest improvements to the site interface, as well as updating the site’s offerings based on trading preferences. Next up, will be the launch of our mobile app , as we continue to bring the world of digital fine art trading and tokenization directly to our shareholders, allowing them to use a variety of their own devices, helping to make their experience personal and unique to them.” Beyond Blockchain enables customers to trade cryptocurrencies (such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Tether, Bitcoin Cash, and Bitcoin SV), FX, commodities with other assets to be added in the future such as fractionalized interests in tokenized fine art. As the online wallet is expanded, it will be able to house tokenized and fractionalized assets that the Company may distribute to its shareholders. A bout Global Tech Industries Group, Inc.: GTII, a publicly traded Company incorporated in the state of Nevada, specializing in the pursuit of acquiring new and innovative technologies. Story continues Please follow our Company at: www.otcmarkets.com/stock/GTII Safe Harbor Forward-Looking Statements : This press release may contain forward looking statements that are based on current expectations, forecasts, and assumptions that involve risks as well as uncertainties that could cause actual outcomes and results to differ materially from those anticipated or expected, including statements related to the amount and timing of expected revenues related to our financial performance, expected income, distributions, and future growth for upcoming quarterly and annual periods. These risks and uncertainties are further defined in filings and reports by the Company with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Actual results and the timing of certain events could differ materially from those projected in or contemplated by the forward-looking statements due to a number of factors detailed from time to time in our filings with the SEC. Among other matters, the Company may not be able to sustain growth or achieve profitability based upon many factors including but not limited to the risk that we will not be able to find and acquire businesses and assets that will enable us to become profitable. Reference is hereby made to cautionary statements set forth in the Company’s most recent SEC filings. We have incurred and will continue to incur significant expenses in our development stage, noting that there is no assurance that we will generate enough revenues to offset those costs in both the near and long term. New lines of business may expose us to additional legal and regulatory costs and unknown exposure(s), the impact of which cannot be predicted at this time. Words such as “estimate,” “project,” “predict,” “will,” “would,” “should,” “could,” “may,” “might,” “anticipate,” “plan,” “intend,” “believe,” “expect,” “aim,” “goal,” “target,” “objective,” “likely” or similar expressions that convey the prospective nature of events or outcomes generally indicate forward-looking statements. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of this press release. Unless legally required, we undertake no obligation to update, modify or withdraw any forward-looking statements, because of new information, future events or otherwise. Mike King Princeton Research, Inc. 3887 Pacific Street, Las Vegas NV 702.338.2700 \|\| Argo and DMG Join Group Working to Lower Bitcoin Miners’ Carbon Emissions: Argo Blockchain and DMG Blockchain, cryptocurrency mining firms that are publicly traded in the U.K. and Canada, respectively, have joined the Crypto Climate Accord (CCA), an advocacy group that pushes for lower carbon emissions in the crypto-mining industry. The two firmssaid Fridaythey are now working with the CCA to develop a new working group to promote the accord’s objectives, while also working to increase transparency around energy sourcing by crypto mining operations. The CCA is a private sector-led initiative that sets out to reduce overall emissions in cryptocurrency mining, which has become a cause for concern for some high-profile investorssuch as Elon Musk. The organization is encouraging the industry to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040. Related:Upstate NY Bitcoin Miner Greenidge to Offset Rigs’ Carbon Emissions “The Crypto Climate Accord helps lay the groundwork for real, tangible action to address Bitcoin mining’s impact on the environment, and we are both eager and determined to ensure that Supporters and Signatories remain committed to the group’s goals,” Argo Blockchain CEO Peter Wall said. Argo and DMG said it’s estimated that crypto mining worldwide accounts for up to 0.5% of global power usage, though they did not provide a source for the data. The two firms are already working on environmental initiatives, havingsignedan agreement in March to launch abitcoinmining pool that would be completely powered by clean energy. On Thursday, Argo Blockchainannouncedthe purchase of two data centers in Canada that are largely powered by hydroelectricity. See also:What Bloomberg Gets Wrong About Bitcoin’s Climate Footprint • Renaissance Technologies Amassed $140M Position in Mining Stocks In Q1 • Bitcoin Miner Argo Blockchain Purchases Hydro-Powered Data Centers in Canada • Bitcoin’s Mining Difficulty Hits New High; Taproot Begins Its Second Signaling Attempt \|\| MicroStrategy to Sell $1B Worth of Stock to Buy Bitcoin: MicroStrategy will sell up to $1 billion worth of its stock to buy more bitcoin, according to a form published on June 14. MicroStrategy, in its latest move signaling support for bitcoin, will sell up to $1 billion of its stock to buy the asset. The company published the relevantSEC formon June 14. CEO Michel Saylor, now one of bitcoin’s strongest proponents, also revealed the development on Twitter. MicroStrategy has been consistently doubling down on its bitcoin bet, having made a considerable return on investment on its bitcoin purchases with the bull run in the first few months of 2021. Clearly, the company and its leading figure are betting on bitcoin to grow moving forward. The company is one that sticks to its word. Just yesterday, on June 14, itsold $500 millionin secured notes to buy roughly 11,900 BTC. The news pushed the stock price of MicroStrategy by 12%. MicroStrategy’s interest in bitcoin goes beyond just purchasing BTC and sitting on the asset. The company’s CEO is involving himself in more educational and awareness efforts, including the launch of a Bitcoin Mining Council. Recently, Saylor announced that the newly launchedBitcoin Mining Councilwould have a meeting on June 16 to discuss bitcoin’s energy consumption and possible green energy solutions. Notably, Elon Musk will not be a part of the mining council, though he has held a call related to the council in the past. Musk’s tweets set off a storm of headlines related to bitcoin’s energy consumption, which subsequently sent the cryptocurrency’s price tanking. The Tesla CEO said that the company would stop accepting bitcoin payments for Teslas until mining switched to cleaner sources of energy. Recently, heupdatedthe status on this by saying that if there was confirmation of approximately 50% of mining using clean energy, as well as a “positive future trend,” Tesla would start accepting bitcoin again. This helped bitcoin’s price up, on top of the approval of the Taproot upgrade for the network. The Bitcoin Mining Council itself is an organization composed loosely of individuals, groups, and miners that will focus on bringing positive changes to mining on the network. The FAQ on the council’s page goes so far as to say that it will not involve Elon Musk, assuaging the market’s concerns on the Tesla CEO, which it has grown upset with. \|\| FOREX-Dollar essentially unchanged as Treasury yields hold steady: * Dollar inches higher, commodity currencies drop * Yuan falls after mixed Chinese data * Graphic: World FX rates https://tmsnrt.rs/2RBWI5E (Updates to U.S. stock market open, changes dateline (previously: LONDON), changes byline) By Stephen Culp NEW YORK, May 17 (Reuters) - The dollar on Monday held steady near recent lows as new restrictions in Asia to contain COVID-19 and mixed economic signals from China supported safe-haven currencies, while bitcoin extended its slide. The steady U.S. 10-year Treasury yield, along with new outbreaks in Singapore and Taiwan provided some support the dollar against a basket of rival currencies. Still, the greenback is struggling to gain momentum. "The U.S. dollar is lacking the support from yields that it needs to turn this weakness around," said Shaun Osborne, chief FX strategist at Scotiabank in Toronto. "For the summer and into the Fall the U.S. dollar is likely to stay soft." The dollar index was last down 0.04% at 90.247. The euro gained 0.02% to $1.2149 and the dollar fell 0.16% to 109.155 Japanese yen. Bitcoin dropped to a three-month low after Tesla Inc boss Elon Musk suggested over the weekend that the electric automaker may have already sold some of its holdings in the digital currency. The U.S. Federal Reserve is expected to release the minutes from its April monetary policy on Wednesday, which market participants will scrutinize for clues regarding the central bank's thinking about inflation spikes and the ongoing economic recovery. "Last week a whole range of Fed speakers were downplaying inflation, stating that it's temporary, that will not deflect the Fed's course and now is not the time to start discussing reducing support to the economy," Osborne added. "We're not likely to see change in Fed policy for quite some time." Still, resurgent demand combined with supply shortages has put commodity prices on an upward trajectory. Strengthening prices for metals and crude oil have supported commodity-sensitive currencies. The Canadian dollar , the Australian dollar and the Norwegian crown all gained against the U.S. dollar. "The current environment of low interest rates, low volatility and increasing commodity prices should be good for the commodity currencies," Osbourne added. ======================================================== Currency bid prices at 9:48AM (1348 GMT) Description RIC Last U.S. Close Pct Change YTD Pct High Bid Low Bid Previous Change Session Dollar index 90.2470 90.2950 -0.04% 0.296% +90.4290 +90.1750 Euro/Dollar $1.2149 $1.2147 +0.02% +0.00% +$1.2169 +$1.2127 Dollar/Yen 109.1550 109.3350 -0.16% +5.68% +109.4950 +109.0950 Euro/Yen 132.61 132.78 -0.13% +4.48% +132.9400 +132.5200 Dollar/Swiss 0.9009 0.9012 -0.03% +0.00% +0.9028 +0.9003 Sterling/Dollar $1.4106 $1.4098 +0.06% +3.25% +$1.4119 +$1.4078 Dollar/Canadian 1.2092 1.2104 -0.10% +0.00% +1.2136 +1.2087 Aussie/Dollar $0.7755 $0.7781 -0.33% +0.00% +$0.7787 +$0.7731 Euro/Swiss 1.0944 1.0948 -0.04% +0.00% +1.0957 +1.0943 Euro/Sterling 0.8611 0.8611 +0.00% +0.00% +0.8631 +0.8602 NZ $0.7201 $0.7250 -0.70% +0.00% +$0.7249 +$0.7182 Dollar/Dollar Dollar/Norway 8.2690 8.2265 +0.57% +0.00% +8.2985 +8.2200 Euro/Norway 10.0464 9.9920 +0.54% +0.00% +10.0746 +9.9869 Dollar/Sweden 8.3385 8.3341 +0.13% +0.00% +8.3679 +8.3213 Euro/Sweden 10.1306 10.1171 +0.13% +0.00% +10.1584 +10.1104 (Reporting by Stephen Culp; Additonal reporting by Tommy Wilkes in London; editing by Barbara Lewis) \|\| Riot Blockchain Completes Acquisition of Whinstone US, Creating Leading North American Bitcoin Mining Company: US-based Bitcoin miner Riot Blockchain has closed its acquisition of Whinstone US, the owner and operator of North America’s largest Bitcoin mining and hosting facility Whinstone U.S. - Rockdale, Texas Facility Whinstone U.S. - Rockdale, Texas Facility Castle Rock, CO 80104, May 26, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Riot Blockchain, Inc. (NASDAQ: RIOT) ("Riot”, “Riot Blockchain” or the “Company") today announced that it has completed its previously announced acquisition of Whinstone US (“Whinstone”) from Northern Data (XETRA: NB2). The total consideration paid in the transaction was 11.8 million shares of Riot common stock and $80 million in cash, funded with cash on the balance sheet. “The successful acquisition of Whinstone marks the most significant milestone in Riot’s history, and firmly establishes the Company as a leading Bitcoin mining platform,” said Jason Les, CEO of Riot. “With Whinstone’s preeminent infrastructure and best-in-class construction, development, and operations organization, Riot is extremely well-positioned to increase the scale and scope of its operations. We welcome the talented Whinstone employees to the Riot family, and I look forward to leading our combined team as we jointly execute upon the Company’s mission to become one of the most relevant and significant companies supporting the Bitcoin network and greater Bitcoin ecosystem.” “We are incredibly proud of the Whinstone team and sincerely appreciative of the Rockdale community that has supported us since we first broke ground in early 2020,” said Chad Harris, CEO of Whinstone. “We look forward to partnering with the Riot team to advance our pursuit of creating America’s leading Bitcoin mining company.” Riot plans to immediately commence further development of additional facilities at Whinstone in order to rapidly bring the property to its current capacity of 750 MW. With this capacity expansion, the Company’s intention is to send its future committed miner order deliveries to Whinstone, which will allow Riot to capture significant synergies, including lower direct energy costs and operational costs. Story continues Commencing in early 2020, the Whinstone team has successfully built the largest Bitcoin hosting facility in North America, as measured by developed capacity. Whinstone’s comprehensive energy management strategy delivers best-in-class net energy costs of approximately 2.5 cents per kWh utilizing cutting-edge technology and comprehensive analytics to deliver industry-leading low cost, reliable and responsive power. XMS Capital Partners, LLC served as exclusive financial advisor and Sidley Austin LLP served as legal advisor to Riot. Riot will host a live conference call at 8:30 am ET on May 27, 2021 to discuss additional details about the transaction. Further details may be found at http://www.tinyurl.com/RiotIR . The presentation will also be available on the Riot website . About Riot Blockchain, Inc. Riot Blockchain (NASDAQ: RIOT) focuses on mining Bitcoin and hosting Bitcoin mining equipment for clients. The Company is expanding and upgrading its mining operations by securing the most energy efficient miners currently available. Riot is headquartered in Castle Rock, Colorado, and the Company’s current mining facility operates out of Rockdale, TX. The Company also has mining equipment operating in upstate New York under a co-location hosting agreement with Coinmint. For more information, visit www.RiotBlockchain.com . Safe Harbor The information provided in this press release may include forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws, including as to the effects of the acquisition by the Company of Whinstone and the future financial performance and operations of the Company and Whinstone. Because such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Words such as "anticipates," “believes,” "plans," "expects," "intends," "will," "potential," "hope" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based upon current expectations of the Company and involve assumptions that may never materialize or may prove to be incorrect. Actual results and the timing of events could differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements as a result of various risks and uncertainties. These forward-looking statements may include, but are not limited to, statements about the benefits of the acquisition of Whinstone, including financial and operating results, and the Company’s plans, objectives, expectations and intentions. Among the risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ from those expressed in forward-looking statements are: (1) the integration of the businesses of the Company and Whinstone may not be successful, or such integration may take longer or be more difficult, time-consuming or costly to accomplish than anticipated; and (2) failure to otherwise realize anticipated efficiencies and strategic and financial benefits from the acquisition of Whinstone. Detailed information regarding other factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by statements in this press release may be found in the Company's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), including in the sections entitled "Risk Factors" and “Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” of the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020, which was filed with the SEC on March 31, 2021 and subsequently amended in a filing with the SEC on April 30, 2021, and the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended March 31, 2021, which was filed with the SEC on May 17, 2021, and in the additional risk factors set forth in the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on May 26, 2021, copies of which may be obtained from the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. All forward-looking statements included in this press release are made only as of the date of this press release, and the Company does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or correct any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that subsequently occur, or of which the Company hereafter becomes aware, except as required by law. Attachment Picturerd CONTACT: PR Contact Riot Blockchain, Inc. [email protected] Investor Contact - Phil McPherson Riot Blockchain, Inc. 303-794-2000 ext. 110 [email protected] \|\| European Equities: German Trade Data in Focus Following Weak Stats From Early in the Week: Economic Calendar Wednesday, 9 th June German Trade Balance (Apr) Thursday, 10 th June French Non-Farm Payrolls (QoQ) (Q1) ECB Interest Rate Decision / Press Conference Friday, 11 th June Spanish CPI (YoY) (May) Final Spanish HICP (YoY) (May) Final The Majors It was a mixed day for the European majors on Tuesday. The CAC40 and the EuroStoxx600 rose by 0.11% and by 0.10% respectively, while the DAX30 fell by 0.23%. Economic data from Germany weighed on the DAX30, while market optimism and expectations of unwavering ECB support continued to provide support. The Stats It was a busier day on the economic data front. German industrial production figures along with ZEW Economic Sentiment figures for the Eurozone and Germany were also in focus. In April, production fell by 1.0% partially reversing a 2.2% increase in March. Economists had forecast a modest 0.5% rise. According to Destatis , Production in industry excluding energy and construction was down by 0.7%. Within industry, the production of consumer goods slid 3.3%, while the production of intermediate goods fell by 0.2%. The production of capital goods fell by a modest 0.1%. Outside industry, energy production was up by 6.0% in the month, while production in construction declined by 4.3%. While down in the month, production was up 26.4% on the same month a year earlier. Compared with February 2020, however, production in April 2021 was 5.6% lower. ZEW Economic Sentiment figures showed a marginal decline in optimism. Germany’s ZEW Economic Sentiment Indicator fell from 84.4 to 79.8. Economists had forecast a rise to 86.0. For the Eurozone, the Economic Sentiment Indicator fell from 84.0 to 81.3. Finalized 1 st quarter GDP numbers for the Eurozone were also out. Upward revisions provided support to the broader market on the day. In the 1 st quarter, the Eurozone economy contracted by 0.3%, revised up from a 0.6% contraction. Year-on-year, the economy contacted by 1.3%, revised up from a 1.8% contraction. Story continues From the U.S It was a relatively quiet day on the economic calendar. JOLT’s job openings and trade data provided the majors with direction later in the day. Openings increased from 8.288m to 9.286m in April. In April, the U.S trade deficit narrowed from $75.00bn to $68.90bn. Economists had forecast a narrowing to $69.0bn. The Market Movers For the DAX: It was a bearish day for the auto sector on Tuesday. Volkswagen slid by 2.24% to lead the way down, with Continental and Daimler and ending the day down by 0.55% and by 0.92% respectively. BMW fell by a more modest 0.22%. It was also a bearish day for the banks. Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank ended the day with losses of 0.78% and 1.32% respectively. From the CAC , it was a bearish day for the banks. BNP Paribas and Soc Gen fell by 1.55% and by 1.59% respectively, with Credit Agricole declining by 1.84%. It was a mixed day for the French auto sector, however. Stellantis NV rose by 0.13%, while Renault fell by 0.10%. Air France-KLM and Airbus SE both ended the day down by 0.74%. On the VIX Index It was back into the green for the VIX on Tuesday. After ending the day flat on Monday, the VIX rose by 3.96% to end the day at $17.07 The Dow fell by 0.09%, while the NASDAQ and the S&P500 ended the day up by 0.31% and by 0.02% respectively. The Day Ahead It’s a quieter day ahead on the European economic calendar . German trade data is due out later this morning. With little else for the majors to focus on, we can expect plenty of interest in the numbers. Expect any weak export figures to test support for the majors and the DAX in particular after weaker stats from early in the week. From the U.S, there are no material stats to influence late in the session, leaving chatter from Capitol Hill in focus. The Futures In the futures markets, at the time of writing, the Dow Mini was down by 2 points, while the DAX was up by 4 points. For a look at all of today’s economic events, check out our economic calendar . This article was originally posted on FX Empire More From FXEMPIRE: Trade Data From Germany Delivers EUR Support European Equities: German Trade Data in Focus Following Weak Stats From Early in the Week Natural Gas Price Prediction – Prices Settle Off Their Highs after Testing Resistance Bitcoin Should Bottom at Around $26K Before the Next Rally Starts Crude Oil Price Update – Testing More than Two-Year High after Reversing Earlier Losses EOS, Stellar’s Lumen, and Tron’s TRX – Daily Analysis – June 9th, 2021 \|\| UK’s Starling Bank to Lift Ban Blocking Payments to Crypto Exchanges in 3 Weeks: The U.K.’s Starling bank said it will resume cryptocurrency exchange deposits on June 23 after the bank installs an enhanced payment review process. • Starling took temporary measures to suspend deposits on Saturday over concerns about “high levels of suspected financial crime with payments to some cryptocurrency exchanges,” Alexandra Frean, the chief corporate affairs officer at Starling, said in an emailed statement. • Frean told CoinDesk the issues that led to the ban are not just an issue for Starling but for all U.K. banks. Starling apologized for the inconvenience caused to customers and said users can still make outbound payments to cryptocurrency exchanges with their Starling debit card. • “The suspension will lift on 23 June following the introduction of an enhanced payment review process. The block only affects outbound payments, inbound payments in GBP are unaffected,” said Frean. • Users have also complained on social media about similar blocks by high-street bank Barclays and online bank Monzo. A Barclays’ spokesperson earlier denied that such a ban was in place while Monzo declined to comment. Read more:UK’s Starling Bank Temporarily Blocks User Payments to Crypto Exchanges: Report • ETC Group to List First Bitcoin ETP in London on the Aquis Exchange • UK’s Starling Bank Temporarily Blocks User Payments to Crypto Exchanges: Report • UK Police Raid Suspected Cannabis Factory, Find Bitcoin Mining Operation • What ING Bank Might Steal From DeFi [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] None available.	Trend: down \|\| Prices: 34434.34, 35867.78, 35040.84, 33572.12, 33897.05, 34668.55, 35287.78, 33746.00, 34235.20, 33855.33
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2020-11-13] BTC Price: 16317.81, BTC RSI: 77.31 Gold Price: 1885.70, Gold RSI: 48.09 Oil Price: 40.13, Oil RSI: 52.32 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] 3 Important Factors Driving the Price of Bitcoin: Where will bitcoin price go in 2021? Traditional investors have long wondered how to value bitcoin. Few have made headway: unlike stocks or commodities, cryptocurrencies have no earnings estimates or growth projections for investors to lean on. So, what drives bitcoin price? The answer may surprise investors because of what’snotincluded: gold and bitcoin mining supply. InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips Instead, bitcoin prices are controlled by three critical demand-side factors: Cryptocurrency demand Risk-taking appetite Technical factors Armed with the facts, we’ll examine how these factors will drive prices in 2021. And if you want to learn more about investing in bitcoin, learn more in myUltimate Guide to Bitcoin. Firstly, why should investors even consider bitcoin?Simple.$10,000 invested in bitcoin in 2015 would have turned to over $430,000 today. And more gains could still come. • 7 Hot Food Stocks to Buy for Tasty Returns Bitcoin is now theworld’s sixth-largest currency. It’s more widely circulated than the British pound and has a trading velocitysix times the U.S. dollar. Bitcoin is also the primary currency of cryptocurrency developers, an essential step to gettingventure capital (VC) dollars and attention. Source: Chart by InvestorPlace, Data courtesy ofCoinMarketCap Bitcoin makes up the largest share of all crytocurrencies Now onto valuing bitcoin Not fundamental valuations… Traditional investors have often tried to develop an“intrinsic value”of bitcoin by analyzing its supply. But that method misses one key fact: bitcoin’s supply remains relatively fixed because of its underlying code. The blockchain caps the maximum number of coins to 21 million. And a self-adjusting difficulty function means cryptocurrency miners have little effect on the speed of mining, unlike in gold or other producible commodities. Source: Data courtesy ofBlockchain Charts So what drives bitcoin prices in the short-term? What assets are bitcoin returns most correlated to? Other cryptocurrencies. Even though the three top cryptocurrencies (bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH) and Ripple (XRP)) run on fundamentally different technologies, correlations between them have jumped since 2017. Today, bitcoin has a 0.9 correlation with both Ethereum and XRP, meaning they move together 90% of the time. Source: Data courtesy ofYahoo Finance Cryptocurrency correlations have risen over time Essentially, investors have started to view cryptocurrenciesas a single asset class. Technology has undoubtedly played a helping hand. Gone are the days of setting up individual wallets for each currency.CoinbaseandRobinhood, two major U.S. cryptocurrency platforms, now offer side-by-side comparisons of various coins. Investors can also easily buyindex-linked products. What about comparisons to gold? Do investors also see bitcoin as an inflation hedge and a safe-haven asset class? The data says “no.” Bitcoin returns are only 9% correlated with gold, a positive but relatively insignificant amount. Instead, the cryptocurrency has far more in common with risky assets. • S&P 500:22% correlation • Junk Bonds:19% correlation • VIX (S&P volatility):-16% correlation (i.e., bitcoin prices decrease in volatile markets) So, contrary to common beliefs, bitcoin doesn’t act as a safe-haven asset. Instead, it does the opposite: its value tends to go up in confident bull markets and fall in fearful bearish ones. Source: Data courtesy ofYahoo Finance Technical analysis requireslessefficient markets to work. A study by the U.S. Federal Reserve found that technical analysis in the foreign exchange market worked during the 1970s and ’80s, but declined in the ’90sas information flows improved. Fortunately for cryptocurrency investors, BTC today still resembles the inefficient systems of the 1970s. Bitcoin trades on multiple disconnected exchanges, making it difficult to determine its exact price at any given moment. And investors still routinelyaccuse market makers of manipulating prices. These factors make trend-following an essential tool in tracking theself-reinforcing propheciesof bitcoin price. That’s meant technical strategies have worked on bitcoin. Below is a graph of RSI-14, a standard mean-reversion indicator. Source: Data courtesy ofYahoo Finance RSI-14 has performed well in tracking BTC buy and sell points An investor using these indicators would have generated 15% higher returns than buy-and-hold while invested just 40% of the time. A more aggressive approach would have pushed returns even higher. Bitcoin’s three key drivers mean one thing for 2021: bitcoin prices will depend on the economy. • Fast-improving economy.Cryptocurrency demand increases, risk-taking up, technical factors positive.Bitcoin rises to $15,000 – $20,000. • Slowing economy.Lower cryptocurrency demand, flight to safety, negative technical factors.Bitcoin falls to RSI resistance levels of $5,800 – $9,000 Which path with bitcoin take? In an August research note, Goldman Sachs’ Global Research team struck an upbeat tone for the 2021 economy. “We now expect that at least one vaccine will be approved by the end of 2020 and will be widely distributed by the end of 2021Q2,”Goldman Sachs economist Joseph Briggs wrote. “We have incorporated this timeline as our baseline forecast, and now assume consumer services spending accelerates in the first half of 2021 as consumers resume activities that would previously have exposed them to Covid-19 risk.” If these expectations play out, bitcoin investors will see good times ahead. But if the economy suddenly grinds to a halt, then bitcoin price will certainly fall. As trading matures, technical factors will eventually take a backseat in determining bitcoin price. In their place, fundamental factors will start to take over: matters such as transaction fees, forks, user adoption, and the general demand for cryptocurrencies. My colleagues atInvestorPlacehave a friendly bet:which will reach 40,000 first: bitcoin or the Dow Jones?And either could be right. But for 2021, how to invest in bitcoin remains clear. As political consultant James Carville once said, “it’s the economy, stupid.” On the date of publication, Tom Yeung did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. • Why Everyone Is Investing in 5G All WRONG • America’s #1 Stock Picker Reveals His Next 1,000% Winner • Revolutionary Tech Behind 5G Rollout Is Being Pioneered By This 1 Company • Radical New Battery Could Dismantle Oil Markets The post3 Important Factors Driving the Price of Bitcoinappeared first onInvestorPlace. \|\| PayPal Cryptocurrency Service Now Available For All Eligible US Users: PayPal Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: PYPL ) has made its new cryptocurrency service available to all eligible users in the United States, the company informed customers in an email. What Happened : Last week, during the quarterly earnings release call, PayPal disclosed that only 10% of its users in the U.S. could access digital assets services at the time. The payments company has also increased the weekly limit on cryptocurrency purchases on its platform to $20,000 per user, from the earlier $10,000, as per PayPal Communications Manager Aaron Gould, CoinDesk reported. PayPal’s international customers as well as Venmo users will also get access to this feature sometime in the first half of next year, the company's CEO Daniel Schulman said on the earnings call. The online payment solutions provider has tied up with Paxos Technology Solutions LLC — a New York-based regulated financial institution, to overlook digital asset custody. Why Does It Matter : The plan to expand into the digital assets domain was officially announced in October. The services are initially restricted to select cryptocurrencies like Ethereum (ETH), Bitcoin (BTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), and Litecoin (LTC). Users can exercise the option of self-custody on PayPal. The payments platform will neither support digital transfers to other PayPal accounts nor will it allow users to shop using virtual currencies — a move that has invited criticism from experts. In October, there were reports that PayPal was planning to acquire BitGo — a California based digital asset custodian providing multi-signature wallets service. Price Action : After a 1.68% drop during trading hours, PYPL regained 0.73% during the after-hours to close at $190.48. Photo courtesy of PayPal See more from Benzinga Click here for options trades from Benzinga Instacart Targets IPO At B Valuation Early Next Year: Report Facebook And Google's Political Ad Ban Extension Is Irking Georgia Senate Run-Off Campaigners © 2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. View comments \|\| ALT 5 Sigma Digital Instrument Market Summary for BTC, ETH, LTC, BCH: NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / September 18, 2020 / ALT 5 Sigma Inc. an emerging leader in blockchain powered financial platforms provides its daily digital instruments market summary for Bitcoin (BTC/USD), Ether (ETH/USD), Litecoin (LTC/USD). Real-Time Market Data is available at www.alt5pro.com and Real-Time Market Data feed is also available at www.alt5sigma.com ALT 5 Sigma Digital Instrument Market Summary for BTC, ETH, LTC, BCH About ALT 5 Sigma Inc. ALT 5 is a fintech company specializing in the development and deployment of digital assets trading and exchange platforms. Alt 5 was founded by financial industry specialists out of the necessity to provide the digital asset economy with security, accessibility, transparency and compliance. ALT 5 provides its clients the ability to buy, sell and hold digital assets in a safe and secure environment deployed with the best practices of the financial industry. ALT 5's products and services are available to Banks, Broker Dealers, Funds, Family Offices, Professional Traders, Retail Traders, Digital Asset Exchanges, Digital Asset Brokers, Blockchain Developers, and Financial Information Providers. ALT 5's digital asset custodian services are secured by GardaWorld. GardaWorld is the world's largest privately-owned business solutions and security services company, offering cash management services. For more information, visit www.alt5sigma.com . CONTACT: Andre Beauchesne Tel. 1-800-204-6203 [email protected] For more information on ALT 5 Pay, visit www.alt5pay.com For more information on ALT 5 Pro, visit www.alt5pro.com SOURCE: ALT 5 Sigma Inc. View source version on accesswire.com: https://www.accesswire.com/606841/ALT-5-Sigma-Digital-Instrument-Market-Summary-for-BTC-ETH-LTC-BCH \|\| ASICLine Miners an Investment Opportunity: ST. PAUL, Minn., Oct. 23, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ASICLine has quickly grabbed the attention of crypto investors around the world since the recent launch of its miners. The two 5nm ASIC miners https://asicline.com from the company website, FirstLine and PowerBox have been designed with the sole objective to create a surefire investment opportunity for all crypto mining enthusiasts regardless of their knowledge and expertise. In order to ensure fastest return on investment, these products offer lightning fast hash rate as well as maximum energy efficiency. To make things even better, FirstLine offers hash rates of 410 TH/s, 60 GH/s, 15 GH/s, and 3 MH/s for Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum, and Monero respectively. These figures are even more impressive for PowerBox; 1250 TH/s, 180 GH/s, 45 GH/s, and 9 MH/s, in the same order. The power consumptions for these two units are 650 W and 1800 W respectively. “ASICLine was created with the goal of making crypto mining a profitable investment option for common people. Both our miners are not only superior in terms of their hash rate and mining efficiency, but also super easy to use, even for people without any prior mining knowledge and experience. We are delighted to be able to deliver this viable investment opportunity in these troubled times,” said ASICLine CEO Martin Muller. To find out more, visit: https://asicline.com/ About ASICLine: ASICLine Inc. was founded by a team comprising of multiple investors dedicated to bringing the latest ASIC technology miners to the market before the so-called technology giants use them for a long time for their own profit and dump them on the market when they are no longer profitable. Whenever a new generation of ASIC is available, ASICLine is committed to bringing it to the public for a price they can afford. The company is now offering an advanced range of ASIC miners with guaranteed profitability. Contact: Nicolas Smit [email protected] +1 (206) 965-8243 View comments \|\| The World Is Never Getting Off Government Stimulus: The Breakdown weekly recap looks at bitcoin buying by Iran, JPM Coin and the latest round of lockdowns coming to Europe. For more episodes and free early access before our regular 3 p.m. Eastern time releases, subscribe with Apple Podcasts , Spotify , Pocketcasts , Google Podcasts , Castbox , Stitcher , RadioPublica , iHeartRadio or RSS . This episode is sponsored by Crypto.com , Nexo.io and Elliptic . On this week’s weekly recap, NLW looks at: Bitcoin’s resilience in the face of a week where many investors went risk off, causing a drop in stocks and gold JPMorgan’s dramatic three-year attitude shift around bitcoin and crypto Iran stockpiling bitcoin to be able to pay for imports A new round of COVID-19 lockdowns and the stimulus that will follow This week on The Breakdown: Monday \| Hedge Funds Failures, Bankruptcies and Pandemic Fatigue Tuesday \| JPMorgan Launches JPM Coin: Welcome to the Private Currency Era Wednesday \| The ‘Everything Crash’ Is Coming? Markets Go Risk-Off as European Stocks See Worst Day in 5 Months Thursday \| Mirage Recovery: What ‘Record’ GDP Growth Tells Us About the Economy Friday \| Why Satoshi Chose Halloween to Release the Bitcoin White Paper Related: By the Numbers: More Bitcoin Bulls Than Ever Before See also: Iran Amends Law to Allow Imports to Be Funded With Cryptocurrency For more episodes and free early access before our regular 3 p.m. Eastern time releases, subscribe with Apple Podcasts , Spotify , Pocketcasts , Google Podcasts , Castbox , Stitcher , RadioPublica , iHeartRadio or RSS . Related Stories The World Is Never Getting Off Government Stimulus The World Is Never Getting Off Government Stimulus The World Is Never Getting Off Government Stimulus \|\| Market Wrap: Bitcoin Dips to $10.1K, Ether Drops to $330 on Sell-Off Session: Bitcoin and ether both dropped Monday as global markets conducted a selling session. Bitcoin (BTC) trading around $10,492 as of 20:00 UTC (4 p.m. EDT). Slipping 3.6% over the previous 24 hours. Bitcoin’s 24-hour range: $10,179-$10,994. BTC below its 10-day and 50-day moving averages, a bearish signal for market technicians. Bitcoin price fell sharply Monday, with a lengthy sell-off session starting around 07:00 UTC (12:00 a.m. EDT) and dropping to as low as $10,179 on spot exchanges such as Coinbase before gaining to $10,492 as of press time. “The market is still positioned short with persistent negative funding over the past month and under-allocation to BTC,” said Cindy Leow, portfolio manager for 256 Capital Partners, a market-neutral trading firm. ”At this stage, sellers are still in control of the market.” Related: Bitcoin-on-Ethereum Token tBTC Relaunches Following Buggy Debut in May As bitcoin tumbled Monday, sell liquidations on derivatives exchange BitMEX picked up, putting pressure on price. In fact, over the past 24 hours, BitMEX liquidated over $34 million in long positions, the crypto equivalent of a margin call. Darius Sit of crypto quant trading firm QCP Capital said the global equities markets are not faring well to start the week. “Stocks are getting hit,” Sit said. indeed, major indexes are all in the red Monday: In Asia the Nikkei 225 is closed for holiday Monday. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slipped 2% as HSBC dropped 4.5% Tencent fell 1.7% . In Europe the FTSE 100 ended the day in the red 3.3% as potential fresh coronavirus restrictions in the UK led to major selling . In the United States the S&P 500 fell 1.8% as concerns about the coronavirus and uncertainty regarding fresh US government stimulus pushed the index lower . Michael Rabkin, of crypto liquidity and market making firm DV Chain, said markets across the board are in “risk-off” mode, when asset holders unload for safer investments in the face of broader economic tumult. “Governments continue to print money and questions are left unanswered due to covid,” said Rabkin. “We’re seeing risk-off across all the markets right now which is having a direct effect on crypto.” Story continues Read More: Bitcoin and Ether in Biggest Slump Since Sept. 3 as Stock Markets Sink Related: First Mover: Bitcoin's Latest Sell-Off Gets Crypto Traders Mulling Election Chaos QCP Capital noted in its Monday investor letter that both bitcoin and ether were riding high just last week – ether hit $394 September 17, bitcoin topped $11,178 September 19. Monday’s sell-off may prove to be an assessment of crypto’s resiliency, according to QCP. “We’ve had a retest of $11,000 in bitcoin and almost $400 in ether,” QCP’s note stated. “We think this week and next is where the rubber meets the road.” Ether options shift on price drop The second largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, ether (ETH), was down Monday trading around $345 and slipping 7.2% in 24 hours as of 20:00 UTC (4:00 p.m. EDT). Read More: Did Ethereum Learn Anything From the $55M DAO Attack? Implied volatility, the market’s expectation of ether’s future price movement, has dipped below realized volatility, ether’s current movement based on historical data. It’s a shift in the ether options market not seen since July. William Purdy, an options trader and founder of analysis firm PurdyAlerts, said ether’s price descent, hitting as low as $330, Monday, is helping fuel the switch. “This recent discrepancy in implied volatility and realized volatility is due to the options market following the underlying asset price momentum in the short-term,” he said. Purdy said this means options premiums are likely undervalued and buyers can take advantage – at least for the time being. “Implied volatility will likely increase again when options buyers seek to close their positions,” Purdy added. Other markets Digital assets on the CoinDesk 20 are mostly in the red Monday. Two notable winners as of 20:00 UTC (4:00 p.m. EDT): orchid (OXT) + 28% ethereum classic (ETC) + 0.14% Notable losers as of 20:00 UTC (4:00 p.m. EDT): chainlink (LINK) – 7.9% tezos (XTZ) – 7.9% zcash (ZEC) – 7% Read More: Former HSBC, Citigroup, Merrill Lynch Execs Start $50M Crypto Fund Commodities: Oil is down 3.1%. Price per barrel of West Texas Intermediate crude: $39.60. Gold was in the red 2% and at $1,910 as of press time. Treasurys: U.S. Treasury bond yields slipped Monday. Yields, which move in the opposite direction as price, were down most on the 10-year, in the red 3.5%. Related Stories Market Wrap: Bitcoin Dips to $10.1K, Ether Drops to $330 on Sell-Off Session Market Wrap: Bitcoin Dips to $10.1K, Ether Drops to $330 on Sell-Off Session \|\| CoinZoom CEO Todd Crosland on How Tighter US Regulation Could Mainstream Crypto: There are those in the cryptocurrency space who believe that excessive red tape is hampering innovation. If these entities had their way, financial task forces would take a hands-off approach, leaving the industry to self-regulate. And then there are those who believe that a lack of tighter and less ambiguous regulation is the reason why mainstream adoption has yet to materialize. Crypto needs to clean its house, they aver, before it can invite the world over the threshold. Todd Crosland is firmly in the latter camp. The CEO of fast-growing U.S. exchange CoinZoom knows more than most about financial regulation, having founded Interbank FX in 2001. Over the next two decades, he grew the futures and commodities brokerage into a tightly regulated global powerhouse. Now, he’s on a mission to follow suit with CoinZoom – and is adamant that tighter regulation is a win-win for all participants, from crypto veterans to new players entering the game – PayPal (NASDAQ: PYPL ) included. The State of Crypto Regulation in the US “We see the high regulatory burden in the U.S. as a long-term benefit for CoinZoom,” ventures Crosland, appraising the domestic landscape, which is far more stringent than that of other crypto nations. In his view, crypto traders – particularly those from an institutional background – cherish the legitimacy and trust that comes from dealing with a regulated U.S. exchange. CoinZoom CEO Todd Crosland “Serious traders and institutions want to deal with a reputable and regulated firm,” insists Crosland. “There are lots of global exchanges who have decided to domicile in countries that we have barely heard of, and don’t require any regulatory requirements. The U.S. has the highest standards and highest capital requirements for any country in the world.” For exchanges eyeing expansion into the U.S. market, the high regulatory bar can be a deterrent. Crosland should know, having spent over 18 months trying for a BitLicense, widely regarded as the most exacting crypto license in the world. The process has entailed “a myriad of requirements and qualifications for the company and team members,” concedes Crosland, but he is optimistic of a favorable outcome, noting “We are in the final stages of this process, and anticipate receiving our license in New York in the next six weeks.” Story continues Eyeing Opportunities Overseas The U.S. market might be the most demanding from a regulatory perspective, but it is by no means the only region whose appetite for digital assets is unsated. CoinZoom is registered as a Digital Currency Exchange in Australia and in the final stages of getting an E-Money Licence in the EU. Through a partnership with Visa ( V ), the company has issued its own Visa card, enabling users to spend their Bitcoin, Ethereum, and an additional 26 other coins at over 53 million merchants worldwide, plus any ATM that accepts Visa. “We believe that the unique features of the CoinZoom Visa card are one of the first steps towards helping with mass adoption for crypto assets,” insists Crosland. “The convenience of going into a Starbucks ( SBUX ) and spending Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies on the CoinZoom Visa card is a significant differentiator.” The company has also developed ZoomMe, a peer-to-peer fiat and crypto remittance service. Customers can send USD or crypto anywhere in the world, instantly and for free, which is an attractive prospect given that MoneyGram and Western Union charge 3-4% for sending USD globally. “Currently, CoinZoom has over 100,000 registered users in 180 countries,” explains Crosland. “The target markets for CoinZoom include the U.S., Europe, and Asia. We will be expanding the CoinZoom Visa card to Europe, UK, and Canada in the next three months. By the end of the first quarter of 2021, we will be expanding the CoinZoom Visa card into Asia.” Why Greater Regulation Is Needed As CoinZoom ramps up its quest to onboard more cryptocurrency users, its CEO is unapologetic about his desire for more robust regulation. “For the industry to continue to grow and become mainstream,” he insists, “customers must have trust in the exchanges. That is why CoinZoom chose the most highly regulated country to launch its exchange. “In the past, there have been bad actors in the crypto space. Having enhanced AML/KYC requirements will only benefit the crypto space in the long run. Institutions are investing hundreds of millions of dollars into the crypto ecosystem each year, and having confidence in the industry through regulation is key.” When pressed on whether tighter regulation may lead to a two-tier ecosystem, where withdrawing from exchanges into private wallets is criminalized, Crosland believes that this scenario will not arise – nor is it desirable. “We don’t believe that a two-tiered bitcoin will emerge. U.S. regulators, including the SEC and the CFTC, have taken a measured approach to regulation of the crypto industry. These regulators do not want to stifle the innovation that the advent of the blockchain ecosystem presents.” Nor is he against privacy coins – but believes that ownership of them should come with certain caveats. “Privacy coins are definitely an issue for global regulators and can be exploited for nefarious purposes. The view for CoinZoom comes down to our robust AML/KYC policies and procedures, as well as our transaction monitoring system. “At the heart of every transaction, we do full KYC on both the purchaser and the seller for every transaction. As long as there is full AML and KYC for each customer and every transaction, we do not believe there is an issue with customers trading these privacy coins.” What the Future Holds for CoinZoom and Crypto As for the exchange that Todd Crosland co-founded in 2018, there is a lot to look forward to. As the industry enters a new bull market, with all the jubilation that this brings to long-term crypto holders, CoinZoom has plenty in the pipeline. This month, it listed two of the leading defi tokens, YFI and UNI, and is upping its overtures to retail customers – without losing sight of the institutional customers around whom Crosland’s previous venture, Interbank FX, was centered. “ CoinZoom has built a sophisticated matching engine at the heart of the exchange that provides a superb experience for high frequency traders, who place thousands of trades a day via our API,” explains Crosland. “We have also built a very popular app, CoinZoom Pro. It’s geared toward retail traders and has received hundreds of five-star reviews in the Apple App store and Google Play store.” In the next three months, CoinZoom will be expanding its Visa card offering from the U.S. to include Europe, the U.K., and Canada. Then, in Q2 of 2021, CoinZoom will be launching margin trading and crypto lending, promises Crosland. By that time, few will be surprised if Bitcoin hasn’t tested new all-time highs. Nor will they be shocked if tighter regulation has begun to permeate the industry, just as Crosland predicted. Disclosure: No positions. Insider Monkey doesn’t recommend purchase/sale of any securities. Please get in touch with a financial professional before making any financial decisions. You understand that Insider Monkey doesn’t accept any responsibility and you will be using the information presented here at your own risk. You acknowledge that this disclaimer is a simplified version of our Terms of Use, and by accessing or using our site, you agree to be bound by all of its terms and conditions. If at any time you find these terms and conditions unacceptable, you must immediately leave the Site and cease all use of the Site. \|\| Human Capital: Coinbase and Clubhouse aside, Ethel’s Club founder wants to take us 'Somewhere Good': Welcome back to Human Capital, a weekly digest about diversity, inclusion and the human labor that powers tech. This week, we're looking at a number of topics because a lot went down. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong took a controversial stance on social, Clubhouse found itself under scrutiny again, but this time around anti-Semitism and a new site launched that sheds light on some of the negative experiences of underrepresented people in tech. Meanwhile, the founder from Ethel's Club unveiled Somewhere Good, which aims to provide a safe social platform for people of color. The timing couldn't be better. Human Capital launches as a newsletter on Friday, October 23. Be sure to sign up here to get it sent straight to your inbox. Stay Woke Coinbase CEO’s stance on societal issues stirs up controversy Over the weekend, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said the company does not engage on border societal issues when they are not related to its core mission. On political causes, Armstrong said Coinbase also does not advocate for any causes or candidates that are not related to its mission “because it is a distraction from our mission.” In that Medium post, Armstrong recognized that some employees may disagree and even resign. A couple of days later, Armstrong began offering employees who don’t feel comfortable with the direction of the company a severance package, The Block Crypto reported . “It’s always sad when we see teammates go, but it can also be what is best for them and the company,” Armstrong wrote in an internal memo. “As I said in my blog post, life is too short to work a company that you aren’t excited about.” It's quite a statement to make just weeks away from a very important presidential election. But Armstrong's justification seems to be that he doesn't want the internal strife that has happened at companies like Google and Facebook to happen at Coinbase. Obviously, people have feelings and thoughts about Armstrong’s stance. One on side, there’s Y Combinator Founder Paul Graham saying Coinbase will push away the “aggressively conventional-minded” people but that those types of people “tend not to be good at building things anyway.” And on another side, there’s Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey pointing out how Armstrong’s stance leaves people behind. #Bitcoin (aka “crypto”) is direct activism against an unverifiable and exclusionary financial system which negatively affects so much of our society. Important to at least acknowledge and connect the related societal issues your customers face daily. This leaves people behind: https://t.co/0LMlF1qcmG — jack (@jack) September 30, 2020 https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js Story continues Then, there’s also confusion around how Armstrong could say that Black lives matter in June and then go on to say that workers essentially need to leave their politics and beliefs that don’t relate to work at home. Well, GitHub Director of Engineering Erica Baker tweeted that someone probably forced Armstrong’s hand into speaking out about Black lives. so tl;dr coinbase engineers walked off because brian wouldn't say "Black Lives Matter," he posted it so they'd get back to work, now he's having an executive "YOU AREN'T THE BOSS OF ME!" meltdown* about it. 🙄 *executive meltdowns come in many flavors pic.twitter.com/tSYNmeOVTf — EricaJoy (@EricaJoy) September 29, 2020 https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js The latest Clubhouse drama The invitation-only audio social app was home to a discussion titled, "Anti-Semitism and Black Culture" this week. During the discussion, someone reportedly said Black and Jewish communities differ because of their relationship to economic advancement, Bloomberg reported . In response, another person reportedly said, “The Jewish community does business with their enemies; the Black community is enslaved by their enemies" -- to which some people pushed back, saying it perpetuates a harmful stereotype about Jewish people. I apologize to anyone who felt threatened or harmed by anything said in the CH room I started tonight. I had no intention of negativity. — ashoka finley (@lifesupremacist) September 29, 2020 https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js Ethel’s Club founder teases Somewhere Good, a digital space that centers people of color Amid private social app Clubhouse finding itself again under heavy scrutiny, there perhaps is no better time for the emergence of a platform that provides a safe space for people of color. Naj Austin, founder and CEO of subscription-based physical and digital community Ethel’s Club, is building Somewhere Good to be a one-stop shop for people of color . Beyond being a place for people of color to connect, it’s also about creating a safe space for folks to be their authentic selves. “A lot of how we’re talking about Somewhere Good with investors is this idea of a new online world where our identities are centered,” Austin told me. “The vision for Somewhere Good is you take your phone out of your pocket and, as a Black person or person of color, all of your needs are met there in that one place.” Greylock teams up with Management Leadership for Tomorrow to diversify tech’s wealth cycle Greylock is one of a number of VC firms that have kicked into action following the police killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and other unarmed Black people and people of color. The multi-pronged partnership will enable Greylock to tap into MLT’s network of around 8,000 Black, Latinx and Indigenous professionals and connect them with potential roles at the firm’s portfolio companies. Additionally, Greylock and MLT will work together to support retention at those companies, as well as help MLT professionals pursue careers in venture capital. “And look, VCs and tech startups — we just have to be honest that we’ve been really bad at getting this right,” Greylock Partner David Sze told TechCrunch. “Historically, I mean, we’ve let the system sort of evolve without much top down oversight in regards of diversity and inclusion and we just really need to change that.” Twitter releases latest diversity report Twitter’s most recent diversity report showed that the company has done an okay job of increasing representation of Black employees at its company since 2017. In 2017, Twitter was just 3.4% Black and in August 2020, Twitter was 6.3% Black. Image Credits: Twitter By 2025, Twitter aims for at least 25% of its workforce to be underrepresented minorities, and at least 10% of that overall 25% to be Black. Overall, Twitter is 41.4% white, 28.4% Asian, 5.2% Latinx, 3.7% multi-racial and less than 1% Indigenous. Twitter’s technical team is also mostly white (41.4%) so perhaps it’s no wonder why Twitter has had some algorithmic bias issues . DiscoTech highlights diversity issues in tech A new site popped up that details the discrimination people experience in tech. The folks behind DiscoTech describe themselves as “a diverse group of cross-tech organizers who are committed to ending discrimination in the workplace.” The posted experiences -- all anonymous -- describe sexism, racism, ageism, sexual harassment and assault, weight discrimination, suicide and mental illness. Here are a few stories that jumped out: On being a woman in tech: After introducing myself to a peer at a social gathering, I was asked if I had 'come to Microsoft to find a husband?' The blatant question left me speechless, and I was shocked by his total disregard for my professional aspirations. My friend overheard and she quickly asked if he would pose the same question to a man, asking if he'd 'come to Microsoft to find a partner?' He got defensive and denied his originally offensive inquiry. On being underpaid in tech : This event happened prior to my joining the team, but I didn't find out about it until years later. The hiring manager bragged openly about how 'little' she hired me for while I was desperately leaving a toxic work environment. I pushed back, she was persistent and being afraid of losing the offer I took it. I ended up leaving the position for a job that paid market value. Irony. On being a Black woman in tech : I'm not sure where to begin with the amount of discomfort I've experienced in the work place. As a Black, woman in tech I'm all too familiar with being an extreme minority. I guess you could say my discomfort began at the beginning of my professional career. I accepted a position at my company in a 6 month training program for recent college graduates. Upon arrival at orientation I realized I was the only Black woman out of 70 participants. 70 other co-workers and I was the only one. I felt completely alone and as if I had no one who could relate to my unique experience. From there, it was small incident after small incident that caused my discomfort to grow. From my technical trainer referring to me as Sheba, as in the Queen of Sheba, in the middle of a training session to my colleagues constantly questioning my intelligence, work became a stressful environment. It didn't help that when I tried to reach out throughout the company for assistance with existing in the workplace, I was often told to keep to myself and try my best to ‘fit in.’ It took me a while to find a support system but I'm glad I finally did because the amount of microaggressions I face on daily basis is often overwhelming. Labor Organizing Shipt shoppers protest new pay model Shipt shoppers are organizing a handful of actions in protest of Shipt’s new pay structure that began rolling out this month. The first action is happening from Saturday, Oct. 17 through Oct. 19, when workers are calling on their fellow Shipt shoppers to walk out and boycott the company. Organizers are asking for shoppers not to schedule any hours or accept any orders during that time. “Our goal is to draw attention to the fact that this pay scale really does affect shoppers and regardless of Shipt’s position of it taking into account effort and benefitting shoppers, we are finding it is the opposite on both fronts,” Willy Solis, a Shipt shopper in Dallas and lead organizer at Gig Workers Collective, told TechCrunch. “It’s not holding up to the true reality. We are getting paid less for more effort.” Spin workers ratify first union contract A group of 40 workers at Ford-owned Spin ratified their first union contract with Teamsters Local 665 this week. The group of workers consists of shift leads, maintenance specialists, operations specialists, community ambassadors, and scooter deployers and collectors. “This new contract gives us job security and immediate money up front, with guaranteed increases each year going forward. We also got holiday pay and vacation, which we didn’t have before we organized,” Spin worker Shamar Bell said in a statement. “All this means a lot during the pandemic. We know our union will have our back if our boss or the city government tries to make changes. I can say for sure, we’re proud to be Teamsters.” As part of the three-year agreement, Spin workers will get annual pay raises of more than 3% each year, six paid holidays (compared to zero holidays), vacation days based on years of employment (compared to no vacation days), five sick days a year, a $1,200 per employee ratification bonus, benefits accrual for part-time workers and other benefits. In Other News Serious injuries at Amazon fulfillment centers topped 14,000, despite the company’s safety claims - TechCrunch Lack of oversight and transparency leave Amazon employees in the dark on Covid-19 - NBC News Newsom signs law mandating more diversity in California corporate boardrooms - The Los Angeles Times Bird Is Quietly Luring Contract Workers Into Debt Through a New Scooter Scheme - OneZero AOC flagged ‘material risks’ to Palantir investors in letter to SEC By the way, TechCrunch Sessions: Mobility is coming up next week. Since you made it to the end of this, here's a 50% off code for you to get full access to the event. This code will get you into the expo and breakout sessions for free. View comments \|\| Bitfinex CTO hails bullish phase in crypto market: Bitfinex CTO Paolo Ardoino has claimed that the age of cryptocurrency has well and truly begun, in light of Bitcoins recent rally to $16,000. Bitcoin has paved the way for momentous moves across the board this morning, with Ethereum experiencing a 10% surge to the upside while coins like Litecoin and Chainlink are up 12% and 13% respectively. The market-wide rally coincides with the US presidential election, which is currently being labelled as too close to call, although analysts forecast a Joe Biden victory in the coming days. Weve witnessed Bitcoins ascent and dominance as the final votes of the US election are being counted. Said Ardoino. The Bitfinex CTO then heaped praise on Ethereum as its daily volume has increased from $14 billion to $19 billion across all exchanges. BTCUSD chart by TradingView He added: The spike weve also witnessed in Ethereum trading volumes over the past 24-hours is spectacular in a year where it has powered so much innovation in the digital asset space. As Tethers market cap breaches the $17 billion mark, it could be said that the age of cryptocurrency has well and truly begun. Bitcoin moves into the typically low volume weekend on the back of touching the $16,000 level of resistance yesterday evening. If it can break above that point before the weekly candle closes, it will likely push towards a new all-time high in the coming weeks. For more news, guides and cryptocurrency analysis, click here . \|\| ShapeShift Delists Privacy Coin Zcash Over Regulatory Concerns: ShapeShift, the Colorado-based cryptocurrency exchange that allows users to self-custody their assets, has delisted another privacy coin. Zcashhas been removed from the trading platform in addition tomoneroanddash.Decryptreported last Friday that XMR and DASH had been quietly removed; the delisting of ZEC was not noted. “We’ve taken down the privacy coins because of their regulatory concerns,” Veronica McGregor, ShapeShift’s chief legal officer, told CoinDesk in an interview. “At least for the moment, we’re not working with those coins.” Related:Volume Surge Brings 25% Turnover to 'CoinDesk 20' XMR, DASH and ZEC “were delisted at the same time for the same reason – to further derisk the company from a regulatory standpoint,” McGregor wrote in a follow-up email. ZEC’s removal is somewhat notable becausethe company investedin the Electric Coin Company, one of the creators of zcash, in 2016, and listed ZECthat October. ShapeShift has become increasingly cognizant of regulators, despite its founder once having a reputation asa rebel and libertarian. Formerly, the platform allowed crypto trading without any kind of account or login, but in September 2018 ShapeShift began requiring customers toreveal their identitiesto the exchange. Later that month, it faced scrutiny after a Wall Street Journal report alleged thatShapeShift had beenwidely used for money laundering (ShapeShift stronglyrefutedtheclaims). Related:Market Wrap: Bitcoin Jumps to $14.2K; Ethereum Gas Usage Grows 113% YTD ASeptember reportfrom the law firm Perkins Coie about privacy-enabling cryptocurrencies noted that XMR is a cryptocurrency which is private by default, in that all transactions are made so that only the sender and receiver should know who participated. ZEC and DASH both make privacy optional. Read more:Monero and Zcash Conferences Showcase Their Differences (and Links) Peter Van Valkenburgh is director of research at Coin Center and a member of the Zcash Foundation board. He explained to CoinDesk in a phone call that guidance from the U.S. Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, or FinCEN, “basically says, you have to make sure you are taking reasonable steps from a cost-benefit analysis to stop the proceeds from crime from flowing through your institution.” Because many cryptocurrencies, such asbitcoin, make all transactions and balances public, he explained, working with blockchain surveillance firms likeChainalysisorEllipticcan be enough to be seen as taking reasonable steps. That said, privacy-preserving cryptocurrencies will be treated, Van Valkenburgh said, like someone who shows up at a bank with a large bag of cash. They may be subject to greater scrutiny or more thorough background checks (as possible examples). “To my knowledge, FinCEN has fairly clearly articulated to regulated crypto companies that there is a way to comply, just as banks deal with cash,” Van Valkenburgh said. Read more:SEC, CFTC, FinCEN Warn Crypto Industry to Follow US Banking Laws Though he also offered the caveat that a particular agency or a particular regulator’s zeal can be enough to discourage a company from engaging in a line of business, even if no action is taken against them. “The Bank Secrecy Act is extremely broad. It affords prosecutors and regulators with a whole lot of powers,” he said. “That vagueness about our financial surveillance laws to me is problematic.” CoinDesk reached out to other U.S. crypto exchanges that list privacy coins but did not receive responses by press time. Ian Allison contributed reporting. Correction (Nov. 10, 19:39 UTC):Corrects the date of when ShapeShift was featured in a Wall Street Journal report on alleged money laundering. Also adds links to ShapeShift’s refutations of the WSJ report. • ShapeShift Delists Privacy Coin Zcash Over Regulatory Concerns • ShapeShift Delists Privacy Coin Zcash Over Regulatory Concerns [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] None available.	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 16068.14, 15955.59, 16716.11, 17645.41, 17804.01, 17817.09, 18621.31, 18642.23, 18370.00, 18364.12
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2017-05-19] BTC Price: 1987.71, BTC RSI: 78.71 Gold Price: 1252.70, Gold RSI: 54.50 Oil Price: 50.33, Oil RSI: 58.98 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Cybersecurity stocks jump after major 'WannaCry' attack: Cybersecurity stocks surged on Monday following a Friday cyberattack which hit at least 150 countries and affected computers in factories and hospitals. Palo Alto Networks (NYSE: PANW) closed down more than 2 percent, while Symantec (NASDAQ: SYMC) closed about 3 percent lower. FireEye (NASDAQ: FEYE) closed up more than 7 percent. The PureFunds ISE Cyber Security ETF (HACK) (NYSE Arca: HACK) gained more than 3 percent by Monday's close. Experts fear the WannaCry malware may worsen into this week as people log back on to their computers Monday. Even if the malware attack is contained, cybersecurity stocks may perform well in the coming week and month as companies beef up their defense systems against another hack. CNBC analyzed the last 15 major cyberattacks using analytics tool Kensho. A week following the hacks, shares of Barracuda Networks (NYSE: CUDA) , F5 Networks (NASDAQ: FFIV) , and Fortinet (NASDAQ: FTNT) posted the biggest average gains. A month after an attack, the major cybersecurity players did even better as demand for their services increased. Barracuda, FireEye, and Fortinet, along with Proofpoint (NASDAQ: PFPT) , were big gainers, on average, a month out. CNBC's parent NBCUniversal is a minority investor in Kensho. More From CNBC Value investor Klarman just bought big stakes in two Apple suppliers Snap shares surge more than 8% after filings reveal big hedge funds bet on the stock Bitcoin plunges $200 after cyber attackers demand ransom using it \|\| Bitcoin shoots past $1,800 for the first time: Bitcoinis trading at another record high on Thursday. The cryptocurrency is up 4.59% at $1853.55 a coin after Ulmart, Russia's largest online retailer, said it would begin accepting bitcoin,Cryptocoin Newssays. The announcement from Ulmart comes despite Russia's central bank saying it would wait until 2018 to consider allowing the use of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. At the beginning of April, Japan's regulators announced bitcoin is now alegal payment methodin the country. Bitcoin's has gained in 18 of the past 20 sesssions, a streak that has added nearly 60% to the cryptocurrency's price. It began the run trading at about $1,170 a coin. Bitcoin has shrugged offChina restricting trade, the SEC's rejection of two bitcoin ETFs, and threats from developers to create a "hard fork" that would split the cryptocurrency in two, on its way to a gain of more than 95% so far this year. It has been the top performing currency every year since 2010, aside from 2014. Traders are currently on the lookout for the US Securities and Exchange Commission's ruling on whether it willreverse its decision to reject the Winklevoss twins' exchange-traded fund. Back in March, the SEC rejected two bitcoin ETFs, saying it "is disapproving this proposed rule change because it does not find the proposal to be consistent with Section 6(b)(5) of the Exchange Act, which requires, among other things, that the rules of a national securities exchange be designed to prevent fraudulent and manipulative acts and practices and to protect investors and the public interest." The SEC will accept public comment on its previous decision untilMay 15. More From Business Insider • Bitcoin soars past $1,700 for the first time • 42 TV shows that have been canceled • People are so excited about this wallet that it’s become the biggest one in Kickstarter history \|\| $BITCF's COINQX is the First Cryptocurrency Exchange to Offer Speculation in 6 Possible Outcomes of the Bitcoin Hard Fork: VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / April 21, 2017 /CoinQx Exchange LIMITED, a wholly owned subsidiary of FIRST BITCOIN CAPITAL CORP (OTC PINK: BITCF or "Company") and the world's dominate issuer of cryptographic, indicative tokens is pleased to announce the launching of 5 additional altcoins that allow speculation on the potential outcomes of the moves to hard fork from the Bitcoin Core. Other exchanges are now preparing for the highly anticipated hard fork of Bitcoin into two coins, with the original to remain named as Bitcoin (symbol BTC) and the forked coin as an altcoin to be named Bitcoin Unlimited, symbol BTU based on utilizing "Segregated Witness" (SegWit). Unlike those competing exchanges, COINQX is anticipating 6 possible outcomes, e.g. Bitcoin Unlimited, BCOIN, Bitcoin Plasma, Bitcoin Purse, Bitcoin Classic and Bitcoin XT. Many Bitcoin traders are anxious to begin trading in the outcome of the hard fork. As a means to capitalize on pent up anticipation, and allow a mechanism to predict the future values of these potentialities, CONQX freshly minted on the Bitcoin Blockchain not only 9,000,000 tokens known as "Bitcoin Unlimited Futures" symbols XBU and XB, but also 5 newer issues. When/if any of these 6 potential outcomes convert into actualities, they will not be convertible or equal to BTC or the hard forked altcoin(s), however, once any of these outcomes and the "futures" coins created by COINQX are trading on COINQX they will be exchangeable by willing participants based on customers' matching bids and asks. The five additional "futures" have been launched on the Bitcoin Blockchain using the same Omni Layer Protocol as XBU and have been named: BCOIN FUTURES (BCN) BITCOIN PLASMA FUTURES (BPL) BITCOIN PURSE FUTURES (BPU) BITCOIN CLASSIC FUTURES (XBC) and BITCOIN XT FUTURES (BXT). None of these "futures" tokens are backed by BTC nor are they securities, derivatives or futures contracts, yet, they are rather mere fiat cryptocurrencies designed to predict the future from their present popularity (and/or lack thereof). In order to predict the outcome of the recent American elections, COINQX gave speculators several options including President Clinton (HILL) and President Trump (PRES). The markets in these coins accurately predicted that Clinton would lose the election as that altcoin descended towards one Satoshi while PRES held stronger as the November 8, 2016 electoral voting approached. The day the election was decided, HILL lost the most support and hit 1 Satoshi while PRES rose in BTC value. In addition to serving speculators and observers as indicators of future events, these altcoins also were designed to become the crypto equivalent of memorabilia with the intention that they would achieve a long lasting secondary life in the cryptocurrency markets. They continue to trade to this day with $PRES trading on 4 exchanges. After the hard fork is complete, XBU and these new additional 5 futures-indicator-altcoin-competitors should also continue to trade -with the intention for those to survive as additional options to Bitcoin and the hard fork outcome as well as serving as independent altcoins and crypto collectors' memorabilia. While these newly issued altcoins are not directly related to the original Bitcoin or its potential hard fork(s), it is indirectly related by the fact that they were all issued on the Bitcoin Blockchain similar to the top 10 cryptocurrency, MaidSafeCoin. As a consequence, these 5 "futures" are already exchangeable on the OMNIDEX against other similarly generated tokens and currencies such as$OMNI, $USDT, $PRES, $TESLA, $GARY, $BURN, $HILL,$MAID, $ALT, $XBU, $BOND viahttp://omnichest.info/mdexmarket.aspx?market=1and will soon be tradable against additional currencies atwww.coinqx.com First Bitcoin Capital also plans to allow its clients to offer actual Bitcoin Unlimited (Futures) under symbol BTU and Bitcoin Core (Futures) under symbol BCC in competition with the Bitfinex and HitBTC exchanges through a process that will freeze in cold storage our participating clients' BTC against future delivery of BTU. Once actual BTU is delivered to BTC owners, the BTC will be unfrozen in order to make actual delivery to the futures buyers. Another way to unfreeze and have their BTC returned before the hard fork would be to buy back the same amount of BTU and BCC sold and then take their BTU and BCC derivatives off the market. Further details of the procedure will soon be announced viacoinqx.com The Company continues to actively offer AltCoin (ALT), its first ICO via http://www.altcoinmarketcap.com and is in the process of becoming the world's first ICO (Initial Coin Offering) underwriter for a third party cryptocurrency issuers. Some of the background that led to COINQX releasing these indicative altcoins is quoted below from the article published recently by @AlyssaHertig http://www.coindesk.com/big-block-bitcoin-movement-embracing-bcoin/ Over the course of bitcoin's two-year scaling debate, a few major alternatives have grown to challenge the network's most popular and longest-running software, Bitcoin Core. Among the more notable efforts have beenBitcoin XTandBitcoin Classic, which prioritized support larger block sizes as a method to support more transactions. However, a side effect of their ambitious aims was that network users would need switch implementations to enact the changes, and not everyone has wanted to do so. The development exposes one of the more curious aspects of the scaling debate, as alternative solutions have needed to propose both a technical change - and build their own developer team - as part of their bids to put forth differing ideas. One of the main criticisms ofBitcoin Unlimited, one recently popular alternative that allows miners and users to flag support for the block size they want, is that the code is buggy - or, at least, not yet mature. For example, in March, attackers were able toexploit two such bugs, causing most of the network nodes running the software to temporarily shut down each time. In this light, the emergence of an implementation called 'Bcoin' (built by bitcoin startup Purse) to the debate could be a notable development in the scaling saga. The software project got a recent boost this week when it introduced its own take on an old scaling idea, 'extension blocks' (or 'e-blocks'), which the company painted as a way for getting around today's block-size standstill. The idea is controversial, as evidenced by complextechnical discussionfollowing the announcement, with some developers arguing that e-blocks would be an insecure addition. Still, e-blocks have still seen a strong showing of support, in large part due to the perceived proficiency of its team. And, notably, Bitcoin Unlimited supporters have so far had favorable things to say about the project. Haipo Yang, Chief Executive of mining firm ViaBTC, for instance, told CoinDesk that he supports Purse's concept and the Bcoin team. Yang said: "I think that extension blocks will be the solution that moves forward." 'Promising' option Overall, the argument is developing that Bcoin, an alternative Node.js implementation that launchedin September, boasts a stronger technical team than that of Bitcoin Unlimited and other so-called 'big block' teams. Purse CTO and Bcoin developer Christopher Jeffrey, for example, has been praised for architecting the software, as well as an in-progress Lightning implementation calledPlasmathat could be layered on top. Meanwhile, Joseph Poon, Lightning Network co-creator, helped author the specification for the Bcoin implementation'srecently introducedflagship tech. One example of trust in the competence of the team, supporters argue, is that mining pool BTC.com has already mined one block while running the software in March - allegedly a first for a client not based on bitcoin's original code implementation. Purse has released aspecification draftandreference implementation codethat implements extension blocks on top of Bcoin. That's not to say that Bcoin wants to offer a replacement for Bitcoin Core, as has been suggested for other implementations. When first introduced, it was described by the company as a bitcoin alternative with cleaner code that could co-exist alongside other software versions. Divisions remain Despite Yang's confidence, however, not all Bitcoin Unlimited supporters are going all in on extension blocks. Former Bitcoin Foundation board member Olivier Janssens, for example, criticized the solution for its complexities, telling CoinDesk Bcoin's idea was 'way too complicated'. "People need to get over their fear of hard forks," he said. Still, many are saying positive things about the solution, even if they're possibly more focused on other scaling options. "I like extension blocks, but I think there is almost no risk from making the actual blocks bigger, too," bitcoin investor and Bitcoin.com operator Roger Ver, one of the most vocal advocates for Bitcoin Core alternatives, told CoinDesk. Bitcoin Unlimited developer David Jerry Chan went so far as to compare the tech favourably to other available solutions. "I see the proposal as a reasonable and better alternative than SegWit," he said. Chan went on to say that Bitcoin Unlimited developers are still discussing the proposal, and there's no 'official opinion' from the team as yet. As far as potential setbacks go, however, one of the criticisms of Bcoin is that it needs time to review, no matter the merits of its team. (SegWit, for example, was reviewed and tested for roughly a year before release.) On the other hand, Purse CEO Andrew Lee has argued that the Bcoin code is already live, so it could take less time to review. Indeed, according to the technology announcement, the next steps are to deploy it on the bitcoin test network, get further review, and wrap up the specification. Yang agreed, concluding: "We have already waited more than one year. We can wait three months." About the company: First Bitcoin Capital is engaged in developing digital currencies, proprietary Blockchain technologies, and the digital currency exchange-www.CoinQX.com. We see this step as a tremendous opportunity to create further shareholder value by leveraging management's experience in developing and managing complex Blockchain technologies, developing new types of digital assets. Being the first publicly-traded cryptocurrency and blockchain-centered company (with shares both traded in the US OTC Markets as [BITCF] and as [BIT] in crypto exchanges) we want to provide our shareholders with diversified exposure to digital cryptocurrencies and blockchain technologies. At this time the Company owns and operates more than the following digital assets. www.CoinQX.comcryptocurrency exchange, registered with FINCEN. www.iCoiNEWS.comreal time cryptocurrency and bitcoin news site. www.BITminer.ccproviding mining pool management services. www.2016coin.orgonline daily election coverage and home page for $PRES, $HILL, $GARY& $BURN -commemorative presidential election coins. www.bitcannpay.comOpen Loop merchant services for dispensaries. www.strain.IDcannabis strains genetic information depository on decentralized Blockchain. List of Omni protocol coins issued on the Bitcoin Blockchain owned by the Company:http://omnichest.info/lookupadd.aspx?address=1FwADyEvdvaLNxjN1v3q6tNJCgHEBuABrS Forward-Looking Statements Certain statements contained in this press release may constitute "forward-looking statements." Forward-looking statements provide current expectations of future events based on certain assumptions and include any statement that does not directly relate to any historical or current fact. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors as may be disclosed in company's filings. In addition to these factors, actual future performance, outcomes, and results may differ materially because of more general factors including (without limitation) general industry and market conditions and growth rates, economic conditions, and governmental and public policy changes. The forward-looking statements included in this press release represent the Company's views as of the date of this press release and these views could change. However, while the Company may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, the Company specifically disclaims any obligation to do so. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing the Company's views as of any date subsequent to the date of the press release. Such forward-looking statements are risks that are detailed in the Company's filings, which are on file atwww.OTCMarkets.com. Contact us via:[email protected] visithttp://www.bitcoincapitalcorp.com SOURCE:First Bitcoin Capital Corp. \|\| Bitcoin value rises over $1 billion as Japan, Russia move to legitimize cryptocurrency: Bitcoin(Exchange: BTC=-USS)is up nearly $100 in the past week, hitting levels not seen since mid-March after Japan legalized the cryptocurrency as a payment method and Russia is seeking to regulate it too. The digital currency was trading at around $1,223.04 at the time of publication, up from highs of $1,124.88 on April 5, and hitting prices not seen since March 16, according to Coindesk data. Bitcoin's market capitalization has risen from $18.34 billion on April 5, to $19.5 billion on Wednesday, according to Coinmarketcap.com data. Bitcoin has suffered a recent dip in price thanks to a debate over thefuture of its underlying technology, but the recent support appears to have come from Japan. Earlier this month, Japan began accepting bitcoin as legal currency with major retailers backing the new law. Consumer electronics retailing giant Bic Camera began accepting bitcoin last week. Bitcoin trading in Japanese yen is the second-most liquid market globally, according to data compiled by cryptocurrency trading platform Gatecoin. "The Japan virtual currency act has likely had a major impact, as there has been a lot of buzz in Japanese media over the ruling over the last few months," Aurélien Menant, founder and CEO of Gatecoin, told CNBC by email. At the same time, Russia, one of the strongest opponents of bitcoin is seeking to regulate the digital currency. Russian Deputy Finance Minister Alexey Moiseev told Bloomberg in an interview this week that the authorities hope to recognize bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as a legal financial instrument in 2018 in a bid to tackle money laundering. "The state needs to know who at every moment of time stands on both sides of the financial chain," Moiseev told Bloomberg. "If there's a transaction, the people who facilitate it should understand from whom they bought and to whom they were selling, just like with bank operations." Increasing state regulation around bitcoin could make the cryptocurrency an attractive investment for investors who previously shied away from it due to the high risk and price swings. More From CNBC • Adyen, the firm that processes payments for Uber, Netflix, saw 2016 revenues rise 99% • India’s mobile market is seeing a huge shift but Apple might not benefit for a while • Another Apple supplier tanks amid fears it could lose its key contract \|\| Your first trade for Thursday, May 18: The "Fast Money" traders gave their final trades of the day. Tim Seymour is a buyer of Starbucks (SBUX(NASDAQ: SBUX)). Brian Kelly is a buyer of the Utilities SPDR ETF (XLU(NYSE Arca: XLU)). Karen Finerman is a seller of United Rentals (URI(NYSE: URI)). Steve Grasso is a buyer of the Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX(NYSE Arca: GDX)). Trader disclosure: On May 17, 2017 the following stocks and commodities mentioned or intended to be mentioned on CNBC's "Fast Money" were owned by the "Fast Money" traders: Tim Seymour is long ABX, AAPL, APC, AVP, BAC, BBRY, C, CLF, CVX, DO, DVYE, EDC, EWN, EWZ, F, FB, FCX, FXI, GM, GOOGL, GE, INTC, LQD, MAT, MOS, MCD, MUR, OIH, PG, RACE, RAI, RH, RL, SINA, SQ,T, TWTR, VALE, VRX, VZ, XOM. short: EEM, SPY, XRT;Tim's firm is long ABX, BABA, BIDU, CBD, CLF, EEM, EWZ, F, KO, MCD, MPEL, NKE, PEP, PF, TCEHY, SAVE, SBUX, SINA, VALE, VIAB, WMT, WEN, X, YHOO, short EWG, HYG, IWMKaren is long AAL, BAC, BAC short calls, C, DAL, EEM, EPI, EWW, DVYE, FB, FL, GLMP, GLNG, GOGO, GOOG, GOOGL, JPM, LYV, KORS, KORS calls, KORS puts, MA, SEDG, SPY puts, TACO, WFM. Her firm is long ANTM, BAC calls, C, C calls, FB, GOOG, GOOGL, GLNG, GMLP, JPM, JPM calls, KORS, LYV, PLCE, SPY puts, SPY put spreads, WIFI, UAL, her firm is short IWM, MDY. BK is long Bitcoin, GE, HLF, IWM, TSLA, WMT. Steve Grasso's firm is long stock AON, BX, CTL, CUBA, DIA, F, HES, ICE, KDUS, KORS, MAT, MFIN, MJNA, MSFT, NE, RIG, SNAP, SPY, SQBG, TIME, TITXF, UA, VEON, WDR, WPX, ZNGA. Grasso is long stock BABA, CHK, EEM, EVGN, GDX, KBH, LEN, MJNA, MO, MON, OLN, PHM, SQ, T, TWTR, VRX. Grasso's kids own EFA, EFG, EWJ, IJR, SPY. NO SHORTS. More From CNBC • Trading on a tumultuous day: 6 stocks • Your first trade for Wednesday, May 17 • Don't look for a sequel to 'The Big Short' anytime soon \|\| Bitcoin/Dollar Hits All-time High, CNH/JPY Eyes Key Resistance: DailyFX.com - Talking Points： -Bitcoin against the U.S. Dollar soared to a new all-time high, driven by Japanese purchases. - The CNH/JPY rose back to below the yearly open range low; Chinese Caixin PMI prints could add momentums. -Read DailyFX latest trading guides fortheoutlookof the Japanese Yen in the second quarter. To receive reports from this analyst,sign up for Renee Mu’ distribution list. Bitcoin Bitcoin against the U.S. Dollar set a new all-time highon Tuesday, touching 1481.73. This is mostly driven by the increasing demand in Japan according to bitcoinity. After the Chinese regulator started to crack down illegal transactions through Chinese Bitcoin trading platforms, the ratio of Bitcoin trading volume in China to the world hasdropped to 20% in Marchfrom more than 90% previously. Then, Japan, overtaking China, becomes the largest Bitcoin trading country by volume. From a technical point of view, the BTC/USD is currently right below a key resistance level, the top line of a parallel. Traders will want to be aware of a likely retracement around this level. BTC/USD1-day Prepared by Renee Mu. CNH/JPY The offshore Yuan against the Japanese Yen also approaches to a major resistance level. In the mid-March, the pair broke below the open range low of 16.31 and now is back to around this level. CNH/JPY 1-day Prepared by Renee Mu. In the coming session, China will release the Caixin PMI prints for April. If those gauges come in to be better than expected, they may add momentum to the CNH/JPY and increase the odds of a breakout. See the fullDailyFX Economic Calendar YuanIndexes - As of last Friday, the Chinese Yuan (CNY) has been losing to a basket of currencies for the third week, measured by both the CFETS Yuan Index and the BIS Yuan Index; it has beenfalling for the second week, measured by the SDR Yuan Index. In specific, the primary gauge for Yuan’s value to a basket of currencies, CFETS Yuan Index, has dropped to the lowest level since it was quoted in 2015, to 92.98 last Friday. Data downloaded from Bloomberg; chart prepared by Renee Mu. Market News Sina News: China’s most important online media source, similar to CNN in the US. They also own a Chinese version of Twitter, called Weibo, with around 200 million active usersmonthly. Chinese steel producers showed improved performance in the first quarter. 33 out of 36 steel companies that have released first-quarter annual reports revealed positive earnings in the first three months. The total profits of these listing steel companies soared to more than 11.0 billion yuan compared to a loss of -4.0 billion yuan in the first quarter last year. - China’s State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission hosted a conference, requiring steel and coal firms to cut excessive production. The annual target for steel companies in 2017 is to reduce 5.95 million tons of capacity; the target for coal companies is to cut 24.93 million tons of capacity. Amid the pressure on achieving these goals, the profits of Chinese steel and coal producers could drop again. To receive reports from this analyst,sign up for Renee Mu’ distribution list. original source DailyFXprovides forex news and technical analysis on the trends that influence the global currency markets.Learn forex trading with a free practice account and trading charts fromIG. \|\| Bitcoin dives after the SEC shoots down plans for another bitcoin ETF: (Attendants pose with a bitcoin sign during the opening of Hong Kong's first bitcoin retail store.Reuters/Bobby Yip) Bitcoin has slid into negative territory after the US Securities and Exchange Commission rejected the plans for the SolidX Bitcoin ETF.The cryptocurrency is down 0.7% at $1,033 a coin. It was as high as $1,066 earlier on Tuesday. The regulator cited the fact that bitcoin is traded on unregulated markets, which means the SEC wouldn't be able to prevent fraud or market manipulation.In its ruling theSEC said: "As discussed further below, the Commission is disapproving this proposed rule change because it does not find the proposal to be consistent with Section 6(b)(5) of the Exchange Act, which requires, among other things, that the rules of a national securities exchange be designed to prevent fraudulent and manipulative acts and practices and to protect investors and the public interest. The Commission believes that, in order to meet this standard, an exchange that lists and trades shares of commodity-trust exchange-traded products (“ETPs”) must, in addition to other applicable requirements, satisfy two requirements that are dispositive in this matter. First, the exchange must have surveillance-sharing agreements with significant markets for trading the underlying commodity or derivatives on that commodity. And second, those markets must be regulated. Tuesday's announcement follows a similar ruling that was reached on March 10, when the SEC said it had rejected the Winklevoss twins' bitcoin ETF. 2017 has been a volatile year for bitcoin. The cryptocurrency gained 20% in the first week of the year, but soon crashed 35% after reports surfaced that China was going to crack down on trading. First,China's biggest exchanges started charging a flat fee of 0.2% per transaction, then they announced they wereblocking customer withdrawals. But bitcoin continued to climb higher, putting in a peak of $1,327 a coin shortly before the SEC rejected the Winklevoss ETF. Since then, however, bitcoin has tumbled more than 20% following reports developers were threatening a "hard fork" that would split the currency in two. Bitcoin has been the top-performing currency every year since 2010, aside from 2014. A third SEC ruling on a bitcoin ETF, by Grayscale Investments, is also expected to be rejected; although the timing of a final decision is not yet known. (Investing.com) NOW WATCH:7 mega-billionaires who made a fortune last year More From Business Insider • Bitcoin tanks below $1,000 • Bitcoin spikes above $1,000 • Bitcoin tumbles below $1,000 \|\| Safe Haven ETFs to Evade Geopolitics & Weak Economic Data: The global investing world, especially risky assets, may waver in the near term on a host of factors including the global ransomware attack that affected over 200,000 computers in over 150 countries and a missile test by North Korea. To add to this, weaker-than-expected retail sales and inflation in the U.S. for the month of April are also likely to curb investors’ risk appetite. The U.S. core consumer price index (CPI) grew 1.9% on a year-over-year basis in April, marking the smallest gain since October 2015 and falling shy of the economists’ expectation of 2% growth. Retail sales rose 0.4% sequentially in April, lower than expectations of 0.6%. Thanks to this muted improvement in key economic indicators, traders now expect about a 49% chance of two more rate hikes rest of this year, lower than 54% expectations that hovered ahead of the release of data on May 12, as per the source. If this was not enough, China's factory output, retail sales and investments rose lower than expected as authorities launched a clampdown on the country’s bulging financial leverage, as per Bloomberg. Given these woes, risk-averse investors may tread cautiously and dump stocks in favor of safe haven assets to protect their portfolio from capital erosion. Below we have highlighted three safe haven ETFs that investors can consider adding to their portfolio in the current volatility. These products are likely to gain should the turmoil worsen and volatility in the market continue to escalate. Treasury BondsiShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETFTLTThough U.S. treasuries were out of favor a few days back due to worries over Fed tightening, heightened global uncertainty brought this safe asset in the limelight. Dimming prospects of sooner-than-expected Fed rate hike and geopolitical concerns may lead treasury valuation to soar.Yields on the U.S. benchmark 10-year notes slipped to 2.33% on May 12 from 2.39% recorded the day before while yields on the U.S. benchmark 20-year notes dropped to 2.74% from 2.78% on May 11.The ultra-popular long-term Treasury ETF – TLT – tracks the Barclays Capital U.S. 20+ Year Treasury Bond Index. TLT was up about 0.8% on May 12, 2017. Apart from TLT, investors can also consider25+ Year Zero Coupon U.S. Treasury Index Fund ZROZandVanguard Extended Duration Treasury ETF EDV. These two ETFs were up 1.1% and 1.2% on May 12, 2017 (read: Trump's First 100 Days: 5 Must See ETF Charts). GoldSPDR Gold Trust ETFGLDGold is often viewed as a safe haven asset to protect against financial risks, and may perform well on heightened market volatility. Investors should note that the U.S. dollar has come under pressure on subdued economic data.PowerShares DB US Dollar Bullish ETF UUPwas down about 0.5% on May 12, 2017. This should give further advantage to gold investing as the metal’s pricing is normally inversely related to the greenback (read: Follow Gundlach's Insight with These ETFs).GLD added about 0.3% on May 12, 2017. Apart from GLD, investors can also considerCOMEX Gold TrustIAU, another popular choice in this space that returned about 0.4% on May 12, 2017 (read: Will We Finally See a Bitcoin ETF?). CurrencyCurrencySharesÂ Japanese Yen ETF FXY The Japanese currency, yen, is often considered a classic safe haven asset that gained some strength lately. Also, subtle lower expectations of a near-term Fed rate hike dampened the dollar to some extent and boosted yen. Investors can target this currency via FXY, which measures the value of the yen against the price of the greenback. In fact, the fund advanced about 0.5% on May 12, 2017 (see: all the Currency ETFs here). Want key ETF info delivered straight to your inbox? Zacks’ free Fund Newsletter will brief you on top news and analysis, as well as top-performing ETFs, each week. Get it free >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days.Click to get this free reportISHARS-20+YTB (TLT): ETF Research ReportsCRYSHS-JAP YEN (FXY): ETF Research ReportsSPDR-GOLD TRUST (GLD): ETF Research ReportsISHARS-GOLD TR (IAU): ETF Research ReportsVANGD-EX DUR TR (EDV): ETF Research ReportsPIMCO-25Y ZERO (ZROZ): ETF Research ReportsTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment ResearchWant the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report \|\| Your first trade for Wednesday, April 26: The "Fast Money" traders shared their first moves for the market open. Tim Seymour was a buyer of the iShares MSCI Europe Financials ETF(NASDAQ: EUFN). Brian Kelly was a buyer of Freeport-McMoRan(NYSE: FCX). Steve Grasso was a buyer of Square(NYSE: SQ). Guy Adami was a buyer of Juno Therapeutics(NASDAQ: JUNO). Trader disclosure: On April 25, 2017, the following stocks and commodities mentioned or intended to be mentioned on CNBC's "Fast Money" were owned by the "Fast Money" traders: Tim Seymour is long ABX, AAPL, APC, AVP, BAC, BBRY, C, CLF, CVX, DO, DVYE, EDC, EWN, EWZ, F, FB, FCX, FXI, GM, GOOGL, GE, INTC, LQD, MOS, MCD, MUR, OIH, PG, RACE, RAI, RH, RL, SINA, SQ,T, TWTR, VALE, VZ, XOM. short: EEM, SPY, XRT; Tim's firm is long ABX, BABA, BIDU, CBD, CLF, EEM, EWZ, F, KO, MCD, MPEL, NKE, PEP, PF, TCEHY, SAVE, SBUX, SINA, VALE, VIAB, WMT, WEN, X, YHOO, short EWG, HYG, IWM. Brian Kelly is long Bitcoin, FCX, GE, GDX, HLF, IWM, TLT, TSLA, WMT. Steve Grasso's firm is long stock AON, BX, CUBA, DIA, F, HES, ICE, KDUS, MAT, MFIN, MJNA, MSFT, NE, RIG, SNAP, SPY, SQBG, TITXF, UA, WDR, WPX, ZNGA. Grasso is long stock BABA, CHK, EEM, EVGN, GDX, KBH, MJNA, MO, MON, OLN, PHM, SQ, T, TWTR, VRX. Grasso's kids own EFA, EFG, EWJ, IJR, SPY. No Shorts. Guy Adami is long CELG, EXAS, GDX, INTC, Guy Adami's wife, Linda Snow, works at Merck. More From CNBC • Which stocks to buy as earnings season heats up • Your first trade for Tuesday, April 25 • Traders discuss strategy as US equities rally after French elections \|\| Big-name apps for Apple Watch seem to be disappearing: On Monday, AppleInsider noted that the latest updates for the Google ( GOOGL , GOOG ) Maps, eBay ( EBAY ), Amazon ( AMZN ), and Target ( TGT ) apps were missing one element they used to have: companion apps for the Apple Watch. Google later tweeted that it intends to bring the Apple Watch app back at some point. But the larger question remains: Whats going on? Are these changes a canary in the coal mine, indicating waning interest in developing for the Apple Watch? In the last year, the Up bands ceased production, the Pebble Watch is no more , and Fitbit laid off 6% of its staff ; maybe the world just isnt as excited about wearables as the industry had hoped. Or is this just a temporary hiccup that means nothing? The fact that these high-profile removals have gone largely unnoticed could be a sign that the apps simply were not widely used, says the AppleInsider story. On Tuesday, during Apples financial conference call, CEO Tim Cook said that Apple Watch sales have nearly doubled since last year (in six of our 10 top markets, whatever that means). Yet the company still doesnt disclose how many Watches it has sold. You still see few Apple Watches on wrists outside of the early-adopter and techie crowd, you still have to take the thing off to charge it every night, and (as a result) it still cant track your sleep, as the latest Fitbits do with astonishing accuracy. So which is it? A sign of impending doom, or a minor wobble in the timeline that means very little? Tune in five years from now to find out! More from David Pogue: Inside the Worlds Greatest Scavenger Hunt: Part I Inside the Worlds Greatest Scavenger Hunt: Part 2 Inside the Worlds Greatest Scavenger Hunt, Part 3 The David Pogue Review: Windows 10 Creators Update Now I get it: Bitcoin David Pogue tested 47 pill-reminder apps to find the best one David Pogues search for the worlds best air-travel app The little-known iPhone feature that lets blind people see with their fingers David Pogue, tech columnist for Yahoo Finance, welcomes nontoxic comments in the comments section below. On the web, hes davidpogue.com . On Twitter, hes @pogue . On email, hes [email protected]. You can read all his articles here , or you can sign up to get his columns by email . [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] One Bitcoin now worth $1043.00@bitstamp. High $1043.00. Low $980.00. Market Cap $16.939 Billion #bitcoin pic.twitter.com/Od10lY2MBX \|\| 2017/03/26-23:00 ZaifExchange BTC:110245JPY(+585) XEM:1.4989JPY(±0) MONA:4.7JPY(±0) \|\| One Bitcoin now worth $1167.35@bitstamp. High $1193.00. Low $1142.00. Market Cap $18.995 Billion #bitcoin pic.twitter.com/d1I9n6gzGu \|\| LIVE: Profit = $790.32 (0.32 %). BUY B206.19 @ $1,198.00 (#BTCe). SELL @ $1,205.60 (#Bitfinex) #bitcoin #btc - http://www.projectcoin.org \|\| 1 #BTC (#Bitcoin) quotes: $1414.14/$1415.98 #Bitstamp $1374.00/$1374.19 #BTCe ⇢$-41.98/$-39.95 $1439.34/$1454.24 #Coinbase ⇢$23.36/$40.10 \|\| Current price of Bitcoin is $1567.00 via Chain \|\| 09.04 PUREEARN btc usd 3.50% Daily for 40 Days, 5.00% Daily for 26 Days http://bitcoin444.blogspot.com/p/new-hyip.html \|\| One Bitcoin now worth $1203.98@bitstamp. High $1209.99. Low $1190.00. Market Cap $19.602 Billion #bitcoin pic.twitter.com/H30GMObXgY \|\| Current value of DOGE in BTC: BTER: 0.00000027 -- Volume: 13450758.51 Today's trend: down at 03/27/17 00:55 \|\| Very Interesting article on the development of ETH, Not all ICO are scams. Exclusive Interview with Vitalik Buterin: Ethereum, Bitcoin, ICO	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 2084.73, 2041.20, 2173.40, 2320.42, 2443.64, 2304.98, 2202.42, 2038.87, 2155.80, 2255.61
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis] Not fully available. [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Shutting Down Government May Be Trump’s Best Negotiating Weapon: September is set to begin with the United States Congress facing two major issues: raising the debt ceiling, which is the legislative limit on how much the government can borrow, and passing a spending bill. According to the U.S. Treasury, Congress needs to raise the debt ceiling by September 29. Failure to pass a spending bill could force a government shutdown. The month also begins with President Donald Trump’s popularity falling to about 37 percent. This low approval rate is likely to have negative implications for the Trump administration’s agenda this year. Given these circumstances, it may be in the President’s best interest to allow the government to shutdown in order to bring both Democrats and Republicans together to try to solidify support for some of his proposals including tax reform and increased infrastructure spending. While many politicians believe that government shutdowns are a political disaster that spells certain doom for the careers of those politicians deemed responsible for them. In this case it may actually be used as an effective negotiating tool to help bring Republicans and Democrats, and Congress and the President together to hammer out the details of health care reform, for example. I don’t think President Trump actually wants to see the government shutdown or default on its debt although he has promised to do so if he doesn’t get his border wall with Mexico. However, I do think it’s within his power to shut the government at least briefly to push Republican leaders to at least get some compromises with the Democrats hammered out before they move on to bigger issues. History has shown that government shutdowns may actually produce positive results for the economy and for politicians worried about their careers. According to the Congressional Budget Office, a shutdown in 1995, for example, forced President Clinton to give in partly to the Republican demands and he was able to submit a more balanced budget. Using a government shutdown as a negotiating tool is a risky proposition and leading up to the event, the financial markets are likely to experience volatility. However, in my opinion, it may be necessary because right now Congress isn’t moving forward at all. The inability to pass meaningful healthcare reform, a viable tax reform plan and approve increase fiscal spending may actually be doing more harm to the economy. Just ask Fed Chair Janet Yellen if increased fiscal spending would be good for the economy. I’m sure she would agree that it would help promote growth and work with well with the Fed’s monetary policy projections. I’m in favor of shutting down the government at least briefly at the end of September because I think it can be used as an effective negotiating tool to encourage Republicans and Democrats to reach comprises on key economic issues that should help improve the economy and prevent an economic downturn in 2018. Thisarticlewas originally posted on FX Empire • Shutting Down Government May Be Trump’s Best Negotiating Weapon • U.S. Dollar Index Turns Higher as North Korean Fears Subside • Market Snapshot – Increase in Global Risk Causes Tumult • Bitcoin Price Stable, Unconfirmed Transactions Drop, Crypto Market Cap Ballooned to $160 Billion • Gold and Yen Overshoot on North Korea Threat, Caution Dominates Global Markets as Risks Emerge • Stocks Drop as Risk Aversion Climbs Following North Korea’s Missile Launch \|\| Bitcoin Price Hits $4,000 Even as Ray Dalio Calls it a ‘Bubble’: As Bitcoin recovers $1,000 in less than four days, another institutional giant is voicing his doubts about thevolatile cryptocurrency. In a Tuesday interview withCNBC,the founder of the world’s largest hedge fund, Ray Dalio, dubbed the cryptocurrency “a bubble.” “Bitcoin today, you can’t make much transactions of int. You can’t spend it very easily,” Dalio said on CNBC as bitcoin traded up by about 33% from four days earlier, at $4,000. “It’s a shame. It could be a currency. It could work conceptually, but the amount of speculation that is going on and the lack of transactions [hurts it].” Though bearish on Bitcoin, Dalio’s comments were less aggressive than those of CEO Jamie Dimon’s from a week earlier. At a Barclays conference earlier this month, the bankingexecutive dubbed Bitcoin a “fraud” that will “blow up.” Coinciding with a crackdown on cryptocurrency in China, Dimon’s remarks help push Bitcoin from its all-time high of around $5,000 to just under $3,000. Dalio’s comments however reflect concerns that Bitcoin’s price has created something of a feedback loop reinforcing speculation -- and preventing the cryptocurrency from becoming a mainstream form of payment. In July,Morgan Stanley analysts noted that fewer online merchants appeared to be accepting bitcoin, likely because the bitcoin holders weren’t spending their bitcoins. Instead, holders were storing the cryptocurrency in hopes of catching, or perhaps in fear of missing out on, Bitcoin’s next boom. The hedge fund titan again in the CNBC interview reiterated that gold, currently trading at about $1,309 an ounce, was a better area of investment in times of volatility. In a LinkedIn post, Dalio suggested investors allocate 5% to 10% of theirassets to gold amid political risk. This is part ofFortune'snew initiative,The Ledger,a trusted news source at the intersection of tech and finance. For more onThe Ledger,click here. See original article on Fortune.com More from Fortune.com • Cryptocurrencies May Be a Dream Come True for Cyber-Extortionists • JPMorgan Helps Clients Buy Bitcoin Despite CEO Calling Bitcoin 'a Fraud' • 5 Big Bitcoin Crashes: What We Learned • Bitcoin Roars Back to $4,000 • CEO Daily: Saturday, 16 September, 2017 \|\| 14% Upside Seen For Nvidia Shares On PC Gaming, Bitcoin Mining Strength: NVIDIA Corporation(NASDAQ:NVDA) could see a boost from ahighly-hypedslate of new video games. Ahead of last fall’s “Battlefield 1,” “Gears of War 4” and “Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare” releases, computergamersupgraded to Nvidia’s Pascal-based GeForce GPUs and drove quarterly gaming revenue above $1.24 billion. Loop Capital Markets expects this fall’s “Destiny 2,” “Call of Duty: WWII,” “Star Wars: Battlefront 2” and “Middle Earth: Shadow of War” to inspire a similar wave of upgrades to GeForce GTX series GPUs. The product’s 1080 Ti and 1070 segments are currently sold out online, justifying Loop estimates of $1.292 million in quarterly gaming revenue against last quarter’s $1.245 million. Ethereum Although management guided for a sequential drop incryptocurrencyrevenue, Loop anticipates steady performance driven byEthereumblockchain activity. “While we have been cautious on the adoption of cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, our checks point to mining demand for ether tokens remains intact,” analyst Betsy Van Hees wrote (see her track record here). Last quarter, Nvidia brought in about $150 million from its OEM and IP client segment consisting largely of ether miners, and Van Hees predicts comparable third-quarter results. Data Centers At the same time, Nvidia’s production and shipment status for Volta GPUs drive Loop expectations for double-digit sequential growth in data center revenue. The firm’s client list for Tesla V100 GPUs recently expanded to includeAlibaba Group Holding Ltd(NYSE:BABA),Baidu Inc (ADR)(NASDAQ:BIDU),Tencent Holdings Ltd,Dell EMC,Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co(NYSE:HPE),International Business Machines Corp.(NYSE:IBM) andSuper Micro Computer, Inc.(NASDAQ:SMCI); andHuawei,InspurandLenovouse its HGX server hardware. The Bottom Line Loop reiterated a Buy rating on the stock and raise its price target from $181 to $205. It also raised its quarterly estimates to $1.11 earnings per share and $2.39 billion revenue. “We believe NVDA should trade well above the blended peer group average of 23x given its impressive growth opportunities across multiple end-markets,” Van Hees wrote. Related Links: Expect Nvidia, AMD To Ride Cryptocurrency Wave Into 2018 Looking Beyond The Shiny Surface Of Nvidia’s Big Q2 Beat Latest Ratings for NVDA [{"Oct 2017": "Sep 2017", "Barclays": "Bank of America", "Maintains": "Maintains", "": "", "Equal-Weight": "Buy"}, {"Oct 2017": "Aug 2017", "Barclays": "Canaccord Genuity", "Maintains": "Maintains", "": "", "Equal-Weight": "Buy"}] View More Analyst Ratings for NVDAView the Latest Analyst Ratings See more from Benzinga • Chinese OEMs Will Use Nvidia's HGX Reference Architecture For Data Centers • AMD Might Be Working With Tesla On An AI Chip • All The Stocks That Moved During Apple's Product Unveil Event © 2017 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| SEC Breached, Billionaires Bash Bitcoin, Facebook Shares Russia Ads: An insidious attack trend has been catching my eye lately. It’s called the software supply chain attack. The scheme goes like this: Hackers compromise a trusted software vendor, subvert its products with their own malicious versions, and then use the tainted formulation to infect customers — thereby bypassing internal security controls and easily spreading malware far and wide. Customers, careful to keep their software up to date, don’t think twice about downloading the latest iterations. That’s good digital hygiene, after all. At least that’s what we’ve been trained to think. Cisco researchers exposed one of these sneaky incursions earlier this week. The hacking operation sabotaged CCleaner , a popular piece of computer cleaning software distributed by Avast, a Czech antivirus firm. (Morphisec, an Israeli cybersecurity startup, had discovered the compromise too.) Here’s what happened: In August, some unknown hacking group inserted a backdoor into the CCleaner software, which was then dutifully installed on more than 700,000 machines. With that foothold, the attackers then attempted to drill down deeper into the networks of at least 18 big tech company targets, including Google , Intel , Microsoft , Samsung, HTC, and Cisco. Presumably, the intruders sought trade secrets. This is only the most recent example of such an attack. Earlier this year hackers compromised MeDoc , a piece of accounting software developed by a Ukrainian tech firm, in order to spread a destructive strain of ransomware, dubbed NotPetya , through its update mechanism. The attack crippled operations at big companies, ranging from Danish shipping giant Maersk to U.S. pharma company Merck . Similarly, Kaspersky Labs, the lately besieged Russian cybersecurity firm, found a backdoor in server management software from the U.S. and South Korean tech firm NetSarang that infected hundreds of banks and other companies over the summer. These supply-chain attacks fly in the face of commonly accepted principles of computer security — i.e., patch your systems early and often — and they undermine everyone’s trust in the software ecosystem. As the Cisco researchers note in their analysis , a product from an established vendor “rarely receives the same level of scrutiny” as one from an untrusted source. And as they warn in a follow-up post , these types of attacks now “seem to be increasing in velocity and complexity.” Story continues The proliferation is cause for alarm. It’s hard to see how the situation will improve until everyone — even small-fry software vendors — takes responsibility and ups their digital defenses. Robert Hackett @rhhackett [email protected] Welcome to the Cyber Saturday edition of Data Sheet, Fortune’ s daily tech newsletter. Fortune reporter Robert Hackett here. You may reach me via Twitter , Cryptocat , Jabber (see OTR fingerprint on my about.me ), PGP encrypted email (see public key on my Keybase.io ), Wickr , Signal , or however you (securely) prefer. Feedback welcome. THREATS SEC hacked. The top market regulator in the U.S. just disclosed a 2016 data breach that may have allowed hackers to obtain and trade on inside information . The SEC’s financial filing database, called Edgar, had a vulnerability that the agency said it fixed “promptly,” but not before attackers used it to gain access to sensitive corporate information. The breach has officials worried about the security of other government computer systems. Equifax’s ongoing fallout. The state of Massachusetts is suing the big-three credit bureau for failing to safeguard more than 140 million people’s personal information. Officials expect the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, a federal watchdog agency created in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, also to punish the company . (By the way, Equifax’s customer support team has been sending prospective victims to a fake phishing website .) Facebook to clean up act. Facebook said it would share more than 3,000 Russia-linked political ads with congressional committees that are investigating Moscow’s interference in the 2016 presidential election. CEO Mark Zuckerberg promised to improve the platform to prevent its technology from being abused in the future. Marc Rotenburg, president of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, argues in an op-ed for Fortune that Facebook should operate under the same laws that govern other media companies that sell political ads. Nest flies the nest. Alphabet’s connected home unit Nest debuted the Cam IQ Camera Outdoor, a rugged security camera that can recognize visitors’ faces. The product, which costs $350, joins Nest’s indoor camera as another sentinel to keep watch over customers’ living quarters. Nest also introduced a connected doorbell that comes with a mini app-linked video camera. Microsoft to add hack recovery. Microsoft is beefing up Windows 10 for businesses with tech that will automate certain tasks involved in recovering from security breaches. The addition should give companies a leg up in responding to digital intrusions, freeing security teams to focus on higher level strategy. Rob Lefferts, head of security for Windows, previewed the news exclusively with Fortune this week. Bitcoin battered by billionaires. Ray Dalio, the world’s most successful hedge funder (whose new book Fortune recently excerpted in the magazine ), voiced his skepticism about so-called digital gold, calling the mania for it a “ bubble .” JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon echoed this view, reiterating his longtime distrust in a Friday interview in which he said the craze for cryptocurrencies will “ end badly ” ( customer orders notwithstanding). In the face of the trash talk, Bitcoin’s price briefly shot above $4,000 , but has since fallen by about $500 (as it has many times before ). North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un may have an impressive vocabulary (he recently called President Donald Trump a “ dotard “), but his regime’s record of paying off parking tickets leaves much to be desired. Share today’s Data Sheet with a friend: http://fortune.com/newsletter/datasheet/ Looking for previous Data Sheets? Click here . ACCESS GRANTED The toymaker wasn’t recording or saving Dreamhouse owners’ voice commands — much less combining them into a system that could learn and evolve, otherwise known as natural language processing. “You want to know, how many times did she [the owner] talk to it, what questions does she ask that you don’t answer?” says [Mattel CEO Margo] Georgiadis. For an executive schooled at Google, whose parent company Alphabet makes $90 billion a year primarily by pumping data into algorithms and using it to serve up ads, this lapse was unfathomable. — An excerpt from Fortune senior writer Michal Lev-Ram’s latest feature detailing the digital transformation of toymaker Mattel under the reign of ex-Googler Margo Georgiadis. The new chief is interested in collecting more voice data from its playthings, raising privacy and security concerns. FORTUNE RECON Mark Zuckerberg Outlines Facebook’s Plan to Fight Russian Election Hacking , by John Patrick Pullen Is the New Apple iPhone Designed for Cyber-Safety? , by The Conversation’s Arun Vishwanath Inside RT, Russia’s Kremlin-Controlled Propaganda Network , by David Z. Morris California Planned on Strengthening Internet Privacy. It Didn’t. , by Chris Morris OkCupid and SparkNotes Founders Take on Slack With Encrypted Chat , by Robert Hackett Cryptocurrencies May Be a Dream Come True for Cyber Extortionists , by The Conversation’s Nir Kshetri Whoops: ISIS Backers Reveal Location on Instagram , by Jeff John Roberts ONE MORE THING How to write about the future. When crafting a narrative about centuries to come, perhaps the best place to start is not with what will change, but what remains the same. That was sci-fi author Annalee Newitz’s approach in laying out her new novel Autonomous , set in 2144. By looking into the past, Newitz gleaned human universals. “We’re still arguing over evolution; we still ride in trains and take photographs; we still have radical youth rebellions focused on free love, weird technology, and vegetarianism,” she says. Her vision of the future has differences, of course. In it, nation states have fallen and AI has risen up, for instance. \|\| JPMorgan's top quant strategist, echoing CEO, compares bitcoin to 'pyramid scheme': JPMorgan's top quant strategist backed his boss this week in bashing bitcoin, warning that the cryptocurrency is likely a "pyramid scheme." Marko Kolanovic, the bank's global head of quantitative and derivatives strategy, said in a note on Wednesday that in addition to being volatile and difficult to value, "another worrying aspect of cryptocurrencies are some parallels to fraudulent pyramid schemes." Bitcoin needs to be mined, or discovered, by people using computers to solve problems. Its murky origin raises questions, he said. "It is believed that an unknown person (or persons) known as 'Satoshi Nakamoto', before disappearing, mined the first 1-2 million coins or about 10 percent of the coins that will ever exist." He added, "Mining becomes progressively more difficult, and eventually unprofitable." Bitcoin surged more than 10 percent on Friday , but was still on track for a big weekly loss during a tumultuous period of trading. Earlier this week, JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon called bitcoin a "fraud," saying that the cryptocurrency "won't end well." Dimon was speaking at the Delivering Alpha conference presented by CNBC and Institutional Investor. Bitcoin plunged about 13 percent Thursday after one of the biggest exchanges in China said it will shut down its operation . BTC China said in a tweet Thursday that it will close down its operations by Sept. 30 as Chinese authorities crack down on cryptocurrencies. But to be sure, many see bitcoin as a huge opportunity. Former JPMorgan strategist Tom Lee said the cryptocurrency could surge another 600 percent in five years. "I unequivocally believe bitcoin is your best investment to the end of the year," the Fundstrat co-founder told CNBC, standing by similar remarks he made Aug. 9 on "Fast Money." "It's not worth it to look at bitcoin two months, two weeks ahead," Lee argued, saying he still believes each bitcoin will be worth $25,000 in five years. An unconvinced Kolanovic rattled off a number of risks. "There is no organized power behind this currency to e.g. ensure its long term viability, secure trade, enforce its acceptability for goods and services, or provide investor fraud protection," he said. "If the use of cryptocurrencies were to increase to an extent that they start competing with traditional 'country' currencies they would be quickly regulated or outlawed." WATCH: Bitcoin bounces backMore From CNBC • Terror to end bitcoin anonymity? • 'Smart' people and Panama Papers • Bitcoin mining IPO falls short \|\| Wall Street Analyst Bernstein: Bitcoin Is a 'Censorship Resistant Asset Class': Bitcoin is a "censorship-resistant asset class" – but not quite money – according to analysts for New York-based firm Bernstein. In a note sent to clients on Wednesday, according toBusiness Insider, analysts explored that question, ultimately concluding that while it shares some of its characteristics, it falls short under what would be considered "money" today. "Fiat money is still the final form of settlement – governments still collect taxes in fiat money and salaries are still paid in fiat money," the note explained. "Thus, for now, Bitcoin has only emerged as a 'censorship resistant' asset class." The analysts notably reckon that bitcoin's ecosystem functions more like a self-reliant economy than, say, strictly a network of digital money. "Bitcoin could be seen as virtual 'bearer cash' economy supported by a decentralized 'trustless' network – a new crypto economy with its own protocol or policy," the firm wrote in the note. "The faith of its citizens – software developers, miners, investors, early individual and sovereign state adopters [–] would drive the value of that network." Bernstein's determination is unlikely to sway proponents who say cryptocurrencies represent a new form of money. Indeed, it's a sticking point that has drawn both supporters and critics for as long as bitcoin has been in the public eye. Some observers have struck a middle ground in the argument. Last month, investor and anarcho-capitalistDoug Caseyargued that while bitcoin might be money, it's not likely to last in the long-run. Imagevia Shutterstock • Macquarie Analyst Rejects Jamie Dimon's Bitcoin 'Fraud' Critique \|\| Russia's Central Bank Backs Move to Block Bitcoin Websites: The first deputy governor of Russia's central bank, Sergei Shvetsov, has said that his institution will support efforts to block access to external websites selling cryptocurrencies in the country. Speaking at a conference on Tuesday, Reuters reports that Shvetsov cited the "unreasonably high risks" involved in cryptocurrency investment as a reason for the proposed measure, adding: "We cannot give direct and easy access to such dubious instruments for retail (investors)." As such, the Bank of Russia will be working alongside the judiciary to ensure the closure of websites offering these services a crackdown that he indicated will extend to "all cryptocurrency derivatives." Russian news agency TASS quotes Shvetsov as stating: "We consider all cryptocurrency derivatives to be a negative development on the Russian market and do not consider it possible to support it, and will even assume measures to restrict potential operations with such instruments made by the regulated part of the Russian market. Meanwhile, we assume efforts aimed at closing external websites that allow Russian citizens to acquire such assets together with the General Prosecutor's Office." Shvetsov further added that, with bitcoin being an asset that can generate high returns very quickly, it shows signs of being a pyramid scheme. The move to block access to cryptocurrency trading websites follows a number of warnings from Russian authorities in the past few months. Alexey Moiseev, the country's deputy finance minister, said in September that he expects upcoming legislation to feature a flat-out ban on payments made in cryptocurrency. Earlier the same month, deputy governor of the Bank of Russia Dmitry Skobelkin told Bloomberg: "China doesn't recognize cryptocurrency as payment and forbids ICOs. Our views are absolutely similar." Shvetsov image via Shutterstock Related Stories $5,000 in Reach? Bitcoin Falls Back After Hitting 5-Week High No Fraud: Ex-JPMorgan Trader Masters Thinks Bitcoin Breakout Just Beginning The CFTC Is Still Considering a Cryptocurrency 'Delivery' Definition France Is Close to Issuing a Position on ICOs View comments \|\| BANK OF AMERICA: Bitcoin is the 'most crowded' trade: (A live look at fund managers crowding into the long bitcoin trade.Reuters/China Daily) Count large fund managers among those unable to resist the allure ofbitcoin's massive returns. Owning the scorching-hot cryptocurrency — which has surged more than 350% this year — is seen as the most crowded trade to a pool of 214 fund managers overseeing $629 billion, according to a survey conducted by Bank of America Merrill Lynch. To be specific, 26% of investors surveyed in September said they viewed being long bitcoin as the most crowded position. Coming in second place and being dethroned from the top spot was the longNasdaqtrade, with 22% of responders mentioning it, BAML's data showed. (Long bitcoin is the most crowded trade right now, according to a monthly BAML fund manager survey.Bank of America Merrill Lynch) But while bitcoin has seen unbelievable gains in recent months, its price has fallen from a record high reached on September 1 amid aChinese crackdown on cryptocurrency exchanges.The reported ban comes afterChina decided to halt initial coin offerings, a hot new way for startups to raise funds by generating their own virtual currency. Further, Nobel-winning author Robert Shiller, who predicted the two biggest speculative markets in recent history, recentlydoubled down on his view that bitcoin is a bubblein an interview with Quartz. BAML's survey shows large fund managers have yet to heed his warning — a choice made at their own potential peril. Rounding out the top three most crowded trades in BAML's study is the short US dollar trade. The greenback has slid almost 10% in 2017, and hedge funds in particular have been keen toposition for further weakness, according to recent Commodity Futures and Trading Commission data. The prevalence of shorting the dollar marks a major shift for fund managers, for whom going long the currency was the number one investment as recently as April, capping off a five-month streak as the most packed trade. The following chart shows the evolution of the BAML survey's most crowded investment, with bitcoin taking the reins in September: (Bitcoin is the most crowded trade for fund managers, while the long dollar trade has fallen out of favor.Bank of America Merrill Lynch) NOW WATCH:GARY SHILLING: Stocks are expensive, and a 'shock' could send them plunging More From Business Insider • Bitcoin cash soars above $700 • Bitcoin cash is soaring • ROBERT SHILLER: Bitcoin is the 'best example right now' of a bubble \|\| Epazz Launches Reg CF Crowdfunding Campaign to Market Bitcoin Cannabis Payment Mobile App (ZenaPay) and Other Cloud Software Products: CHICAGO, IL--(Marketwired - Oct 4, 2017) -Epazz, Inc. (OTC PINK:EPAZ), a leading provider of cloud-based business software solutions, announced that it is raising capital under Reg CF in order to reach the goal of $1 million. The funds will be used to add to the company's sales, marketing, and software-development force to focus on selling ZenaPay Bitcoin Cannabis Payment Solution and other cloud-based business software solutions and to increase the speed of its software development cycles to release new updates and new products. The company will soon release a demo video of the ZenaPay bitcoin cannabis payment mobile app. The company is finishing up registration with Apple's App Store in order to release the app. Later, the company will finish development of the Android version of ZenaPay. Epazz CEO Shaun Passley, PhD, noted, "We are pleased to announce our Unit Offering to the public." Shaun continued, "This up-to-$1 million offering should allow Epazz to continue to grow the free cash flow, earnings per share, and market share." The terms of the offering are expected to be as follows. Please note that these are only an indication of terms, and final terms will be outlined in the final definitive legal documents. This transaction is only open to accredited investors and institutional investors. Expected terms of the unit offering: Epazz Unit Offering of Revenue Sharing Preferred Shares Series D up to $1 million under Reg CF Proposed TermsIssuer:Epazz, Inc. (the "Issuer"). Offering:Revenue Sharing Preferred Stock Series D ("Preferred Stock") via Reg CF of the Jobs Act ($0.25 per Preferred Share). Minimum investment of $1,000 or 4,000 Preferred Shares, plus Transfer Agent cost of $35 per certificate. Offering Amount:Up to US $1 million (4,000,000 Preferred Shares Series D). Investors:Institutional, Accredited, and Non-accredited Investors ("Holders"). Use of Proceeds:The Company intends to use the net proceeds for marketing, sales, software development, and general working capital purposes and other necessary expenditures as determined at the discretion of management. Commencement Date:Commencing with the first full calendar month following the closing, within thirty (30) calendar days following the end of each calendar month, the Company will begin making cash payment (collectively, the "Monthly Revenue Share Amount") to the holders of preferred shares. Revenue Share Percentage:The Monthly Revenue Share Amount will be in an amount equal to up to 7% of Company Gross Revenues for such calendar month. Each Revenue Sharing Investor's pro rata share of the Monthly Revenue Share Amount shall be determined by dividing such Holder's investment amount by the investment amounts of all Holders as of the first day of the calendar month applicable to such Monthly Revenue Share Amount. Maximum Revenue Share Amount:The Monthly Revenue Share Amount will continue to be paid until each Holder has received aggregate payments in an amount equal to 1.25 times such Holder's investment amount (each such Holder's "Maximum Revenue Share Amount"). Revenue Definition:For any applicable calendar month, Company Gross Revenues will be an amount equal to all gross revenues from the sale of products or services by the Company or any parent, subsidiary, or affiliate of the Company during such calendar month as determined under US generally accepted accounting principles, consistently applied. Termination Date:In the event the Holder has not received the Maximum Revenue Share Amount prior to December 31, 2020 (the "Maturity Date"), the Company shall convert the Preferred Shares into Common A shares, on or before the Maturity Date, an amount equal to the Maximum Revenue Share Amount less the sum of all previous payments made by the Company to the Holder at the Market Price of the Common A shares. Manner of Payment:All such payments to the Holder shall be deposited into a bank account of the Holder's choosing at the time of investment, or any successor account thereto which may be established by the Holder, or provided via check to the Holder. The Holder will have an option not to receive cash payment in favor of future conversions into Common A shares. Overdue Payments:The Company shall be assessed a late payment charge at an annual rate equal to three percent (3%) of any Monthly Revenue Share Amount not paid within ten (10) business days of becoming due. This late payment charge is cumulative and assessed once per month from the due date until the date of payment thereof and shall accrue and be added to any balance of unpaid amounts subject to late payment. Forced Conversion:Preferred Shares may be Force Converted into Common A shares (with 5 business days' notice from the Issuer) an amount equal to the Maximum Revenue Share Amount less the sum of all previous payments made by the Company to the Holder at the Market Price of the Common A if and only if the Issuer's Common A stock is quoted on a national stock exchange such as Nasdaq or New York Stock Exchange. The terms and conditions set forth herein are subject to change, and this letter does not constitute an offer and are indicative and subject to change based on market conditions. Neither this term sheet nor any discussion or negotiation of the proposed transaction constitutes an agreement or obligation on the part of any person to purchase or sell securities of Issuer or enter into any agreement to purchase securities of Issuer. For more information about the offering or to receive a prospectus, please go tohttp://[email protected]. About ZenaPay (www.zenapay.com)ZenaPay is being developed to solve a major problem in the "420 industry": getting paid. For cannabis-related businesses, the largest issue they face is how to be paid for their products. Traditional banking systems will not allow 420 industries access to their payment systems. ZenaPay will offer a cutting-edge payment solution that offers consumers a way to buy cannabis online or in stores using bitcoin. The newcannabis payment softwarewill allow consumers to use the digital currency to make online or in-store purchases with ease. Additionally, the process will be anonymous because all transaction details are encrypted through bitcoin. This will allow stores to accept digital currency instead of only cash. About Epazz, Inc. (www.epazz.com)Epazz, Inc. is a leading cloud-based software company that specializes in providing customized cloud applications to the corporate world, higher-education institutions, and the public sector. Epazz BoxesOS™ v3.0 is the complete web-based business software package for small- to mid-sized businesses, Fortune 500 enterprises, government agencies, and higher-education institutions. BoxesOS provides many web-based applications that organizations must otherwise buy separately. Epazz's other products are AgentPower™, a workforce management software, and AutoHire™, an applicant-tracking system. SAFE HARBOR"Safe harbor" statements are protected under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Certain statements contained in this press release are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements generally can be identified by the use of such terms as "may," "expect," "intend," "estimate," "anticipate," "believe," "continue," or the negatives thereof or similar terminology. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risk, uncertainties, and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from future results or from results implied by such forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned that any forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and that actual results may differ materially from those contemplated by such forward-looking statements. Epazz, Inc. assumes no obligation, does not intend to update these forward-looking statements, and takes no obligation to update or correct information prepared by third parties that is not paid for by Epazz, Inc. Investors are encouraged to review Epazz's public filings on SEC.gov, including its unaudited and audited financial statements, Registration Statement, and Form 10-Ks and Form 10-Qs, which contain general business information about the Company's operations as well as results of operations and risks associated with the Company and its operations. \|\| Bitcoin slides on 'fraud' warning from JPMorgan's Dimon: By Jemima Kelly LONDON (Reuters) - Bitcoin slid by more than 10 percent on Wednesday, as investors sold the cryptocurrency after a warning by JPMorgan (JPM.N) Chief Executive Jamie Dimon that it "is a fraud" and will eventually "blow up". Bitcoin, the original and still the biggest cryptocurrency, has been on a tear in recent months, hitting a record high just below $5,000 at the start of September after a more than fivefold increase in price since the start of the year. But bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have been falling since early last week, when China banned the issuance of new digital coins for fundraising purposes - a phenomenon known as initial coin offerings, or ICOs. ICOs have fueled a rapid ascent in the value of all cryptocurrencies, from about $17 billion at the start of the year - with bitcoin making up around 90 percent of that - to a record high close to $180 billion at the beginning of September, of which bitcoin represented less than half. Following the ICO ban, the market was further spooked by reports early this week that Chinese authorities were planning to forbid any trading of cryptocurrencies and by a warning on ICOs from Britain's financial watchdog, raising fears of a wider crackdown. Dimon's warning triggered a further 11 percent collapse in the price of bitcoin, which had already lost around 15 percent of its value in 10 days. "He joins a long line of market commentators that have been critical of bitcoin and it potentially being in a bubble, so his comments could have been the tipping point," said James Butterfill, head of research and investment strategy at ETF Securities in London. The cryptocurrency tumbled to as low as $3,720.01 on the Bitstamp exchange (BTC=BTSP) before recovering to trade around $3,810 by 1524 GMT, still down 8.7 percent on the day. Most other digital currencies were down also, with bitcoin's main rival ether - often called Ethereum, the name given to the project behind the currency - down 10 percent on the day, according to Coinmarketcap, an industry website. Story continues Dimon told an investor conference in New York that if any of his traders were found trading bitcoin he would "fire them in a second", and that bitcoin was "worse than tulips bulbs," referring to a famous market bubble from the 1600s. "This is not the first time that Jamie Dimon has spoken against the currency - the last time he had a similar go on the currency was in November 2015," said ThinkMarkets analyst Naeem Aslam. "Since then, the currency has had a remarkable run." "Most importantly, given that the CEO does not think that shorting this trade would yield a more favorable outcome shows that the cryptocurrency has a lot more room to run." (This version of the story was refiled to fix garbled third paragraph) (Reporting by Jemima Kelly, editing by Larry King) [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] New post (Panama City Strip Mall ...) has been published on Earn ... - https://earnbitcoinfast.com/bitcoin/panama-city-strip-mall-merchants-embrace-bitcoin-customers/ … #bitcoin #cryptocurrencies #makemoneyonlinepic.twitter.com/4p65H4RhSE \|\| I love this program. Growing my #bitcoin daily http://youtu.be/nOdjalSGG-c?a \|\| Hedge Token Crypto Traded Indices: The First Mover in Cryptocurrency Industry - NEWSBTC http://www.newsbtc.com/2017/10/11/hedge-token-first-crypto-indices/#forex … #forextrading #bitcoin \|\| #bitcoin non si ferma più? Analisi tecnica \|\| 歡迎來到我們的帳戶，我們是一個德國密碼交易平台 #bitcoin #cryptocurrency #kryondo #trading \|\| #Putin Tells Central Bank Not to Create Barriers to #Cryptocurrencies \|\| #Putin Tells Central Bank Not to Create Barriers to #Cryptocurrencies \|\| Large Japanese Energy Supplier Adds #Bitcoin Payments With a Discount https://news.bitcoin.com/japanese-energy-supplier-bitcoin-payments/ … \|\| Latest price for BTC_XEM @ Poloniex is 0.00003616 [Mon Oct 16 00:59:40 2017] \|\| #bitcoin non si ferma più? Analisi tecnica	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 6008.42, 5930.32, 5526.64, 5750.80, 5904.83, 5780.90, 5753.09, 6153.85, 6130.53, 6468.40
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2020-11-02] BTC Price: 13550.49, BTC RSI: 70.59 Gold Price: 1890.40, Gold RSI: 47.19 Oil Price: 36.81, Oil RSI: 39.99 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Latest Ripple price and analysis (XRP to USD): Ripple’s XRP token is going into the typically low-volume weekend on the back of a bullish week after rallying by 8.26%. It is, however, now approaching a crucial level of resistance at $0.26, which has not been taken out to the upside since early September. Breaking above $0.26 over the next fortnight would tie in with the bullish narrative surrounding Bitcoin following PayPal’s foray into digital assets. Bitcoin is currently trading at around $13,000 for the first time since June, 2019. If it can continue to rally followed by a period of consolidation, altcoins like XRP could well begin to see the proceeds of profitable Bitcoin trades. XRPUSD chart by TradingView One of the most notable parts of XRP’s recent price action is that it has held well above the daily 200 exponential moving average. Over the past three years XRP has struggled to gain momentum to the upside, consistently falling below key moving averages as it slumped from an all-time high of $3.28 to as low as $0.128 earlier this year. If XRP can break above $0.26 it would almost certainly trigger a bullish break out, with price targets beginning to emerge at both $0.285, $0.296 and August’s local high of $0.327. For more news, guides and cryptocurrency analysis, click here . Latest Ripple price Current live XRP price information and interactive charts are available on our site 24 hours a day. The ticker bar at the bottom of every page on our site has the latest Ripple price. Pricing is also available in a range of different currency equivalents: US Dollar – XRPtoUSD British Pound Sterling – XRPtoGBP Japanese Yen – XRPtoJPY Euro – XRPtoEUR Australian Dollar – XRPtoAUD Russian Rouble – XRPtoRUB Bitcoin – XRPtoBTC About Ripple (XRP) Ripple is a real-time gross settlement system (RTGS) developed by the Ripple company. It is also referred to as the Ripple Transaction Protocol (RTXP) or Ripple protocol. It can trace its roots to 2004 when a web developer called Ryan Fugger had the idea to create a monetary system that was decentralised and could effectively allow individuals to create their own money. Story continues Ripple is one of the largest cryptocurrencies and is one of the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market capitalisation. More Ripple news and information If you want to find out more information about Ripple or cryptocurrencies in general, then use the search box at the top of this page. Here’s a recent article to get you started: https://coinrivet.com/ripple-ceo-brad-garlinghouse-hits-back-at-critics-xrp-is-not-a-security/ As with any investment, it pays to do some homework before you part with your money. The prices of cryptocurrencies are volatile and go up and down quickly. This page is not recommending a particular currency or whether you should invest or not. \|\| Singapore Man Caned for Stealing $267K From Bitcoin Investor: A Singapore man has received a sobering sentence for his involvement in the theft of S$365,000 (US$267,097) in cash meant for a bitcoin purchase. As reported by The Strait Times on Friday, Jaromel Gee Ming Li, 29, was sentenced to three years in prison and 12 strokes of the cane on Thursday. Gee pleaded guilty to one count of engaging in a conspiracy to commit robbery with the aid of two other men, Mohd Abdul Rahman and Syed Mokhtar, both 39 years of age. According to the report, Gee was engaged in bitcoin brokerage and organized transactions between parties seeking to buy and sell bitcoin . Gee solicited Abdul Rahman to assist him with transactions that generally involved potential buyers of bitcoin for larger sums of cash, but in April 2018 they reportedly switched tactics to rob prospective buyers. Hearing that Pang Joon Hau, a Malaysian man, had arrived in Singapore for a bitcoin purchase with the S$365,000 in cash, Gee directed Abdul Rahman and Mokhtar to locate the investor in his hotel and rob him on April 8. Abdul Rahman and Mokhtar proceeded to physically assault Pang and another bitcoin investor, Teo Chern Wei, in their hotel room before running off with a backpack containing Pangs cash. Gee was arrested on April 18, 2018. It is unclear how authorities discovered Gees involvement in the robbery. Abdul Rahman was arrested days after the attack and his case is still pending; Mokhtar pleaded guilty to a robbery charge on Wednesday, The Straights Times reported. Rahmans ex-wife, Yogeshwry Raman, was also in court Thursday facing charges shed received stolen goods such as a S$45,800 (US$33,000) Rolex watch bought with proceeds from the robbery. In Singapore, those convicted of committing robbery between 19:00 and 07:00 local time can be jailed for up to 14 years and receive at least 12 strokes of the cane. See also: Singapore Man Fined $72K for Promoting Crypto Ponzi OneCoin Related Stories Singapore Man Caned for Stealing $267K From Bitcoin Investor Singapore Man Caned for Stealing $267K From Bitcoin Investor Singapore Man Caned for Stealing $267K From Bitcoin Investor Singapore Man Caned for Stealing $267K From Bitcoin Investor \|\| Exploring The Block Broadcasting tomorrow Nationwide Featuring Fetch.ai, WaykiChain, BlockQuake , Pascal and Electroneum: NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / September 11, 2020 / fetch.ai (FET) second interview will be broadcast again on Bloomberg tomorrow Saturday, Sept 12th at 7 pm est This interview with anchor Jane King with Fetch founder and CEO Humayun Sheikh explaining how Artificial Intelligence(AI) and, machine learning on the blockchain will be mandatory for businesses to survive. Humayun goes into how fetch.ai has use cases for hospitals to learn from data without sharing the data, which is extremely useful and novel for COVID virus preparation. The interview will also be aired on Fox Business Network (FBN) Monday, Sept 14th, at 1030 pm pst along with Electroneum and Waykichain. Also featured tomorrow on Bloomberg Television will be Richard Ells, CEO of Electroneum, Gordon Gao, Innovator CEO of WaykiChain. These companies are both run with the mindset of " giving the consumers all the advantages " Leveling the playing field, they have the tech and leaders to succeed, states Vince Caruso, CEO, and CO-Founder of FMW Media. "We currently broadcast on 3 U.S. Television Networks and Internationally to over 50 countries and feel that our blockchain clients will literally change the world," continued Caruso. Antonio Brasse, CEO, and Founder of BlockQuake, give us an update on the long-anticipated launch and user-friendly options available soon. Pascal Foundation with Chris Bolet, Senior Developer, and CEO Herman Schoenfeld go into what they developing and bringing out for their Pascal Foundation Community and the world. Additional updated Interviews filmed this past week by Somee.social (ONG) with a few of their top influencer Actors completing their 4th interview. Look for broadcast dates and times on Fox, KRON, and Bloomberg T.B.A. Sologenic (SOLO), a new featured company, completes their first interview discussing the hybrid defi ecosystem. "One of the many problems Sologenic is solving is providing access to the global financial markets using Blockchain technology. We're creating a Hybrid DeFi ecosystem allowing users from different parts of the world to trade and tokenize over 40K+ assets from 30 global stock exchanges within a regulatory framework inside the EU. The tokenization also creates a unique opportunity for users to trade a fraction or full amount of any stock and spend them in real-time via SOLO Cards." Bob Ras, The Co-Creator of Sologenic Story continues Also, completing their first feature is JD Coin. JD Coin, based out of USA, kicked off its success journey in April 2018 with a simple yet challenging mission of creating a secure process of trading, designed for mass adoption with industry-leading transaction speeds. JD coin is coming up with the next generation blockchain aiming to resolve the problems carried away with the previous generations of blockchain. Blockchain 4.0 is poised to solve the issues of the previous generations of blockchain in a more structured & scalable manner with the help of AI, ML, Data Compression, Sharding, and many other advanced technologies. JD Coin is paving its way to take the crypto industry with a storm by leading us to a better and faster version of technology to address the real-world problems in a more practical and cost-effective manner. Addressing the crucial component of consensus algorithm in any blockchain system which determines its performance and security, JD Coin is working on a multi-layered consensus algorithm such as a combination of POS (Proof of Stake) and POH (Proof of History) or POR (Proof of Reputation), etc., will help in providing solution for varied application scenarios with an ability to run in a small footprint on devices. The consumer-friendly JD Company is built for practical, real-world use cases where traders need no prior trading experience. JD Coin is leading us to a world of faster processing and sustainable technology. fetch.ai (FET) will be completing their third interview in series for network broadcasts later this month. Dates and Times TBA. We have NativeCoin (N8V) with partners Ferum.network coming on for their extended and Tech Report sponsorship series, which will run through 2021. ABOUT: FMW Media FMW Media Corp. operates one of the longest-running U.S and International sponsored programming T.V. brands "NewToTheStreet," and its blockchain show "Exploring The Block." Since 2009, these brands run sponsored media formatted shows across three major U.S. Television networks. The TV platforms reach over 540 million homes both in the US and international markets. Twitter @NewtotheStreet @ExploringBlock Fetch.ai (FET) Fetch.ai is at the forefront of accelerating research and deployment of emerging technologies, including blockchain and AI. Its solutions are designed for people, organizations, and IoT. The project has created an Open Economic Framework (OEF) that serves as a decentralized search and a value exchange platform for various autonomous economic agents. Supported by a scalable smart ledger, Fetch.ai has digital intelligence at its heart, enabling it to deliver actionable predictions and instant trust information to billions of smart devices." BlockQuake New York City FinTech startup, BlockQuake ™ is a regulatory-driven, one-stop-shop digital asset trading platform that will offer, at launch, 6 fiat currencies (USD, CAD, GBP, EUR, JPY, AUD), plus major cryptocurrencies & stablecoins (e.g., BTC, BCH, ETH, LTC, XRP, XLM, TUSD) - resulting in over 100 pairings. Traders from over 140 countries will also be able to use their credit or debit card to deposit funds into their exchange account. BlockQuake's™ accomplished team includes internal and external subject matter experts in FinTech, regulatory finance, investment banking, insurance, blockchain, and risk management, and a robust understanding of both the finance and crypto industries. They now draw upon decades of experience in blue-chip financial services to deliver solutions that address trader frustrations in the current cryptocurrency landscape. The result is a platform that aims to be an industry-standard in global compliance, built on security, transparency, and trust. Investors can support BlockQuake™ through a worldwide KYC compliant ST20/ERC1400 token offering. The Regulation D 506(c) token offering for accredited investors in the U.S. and Canada or the Regulation S token offering for retail and institutional/accredited investors outside the U.S. and Canada. Visit BlockQuake.com for more information. MANDI Mandi Token has a wide range of experts in finance, accounting, and business analysis, including former analysts and financial experts from known institutions. Our spokesman, JD Salbego, is an Advisor to Solidum Capital, former CEO of BitTok exchange and current CEO of Legion Ventures. Jonathan Dunsmoor, our Compliance Officer, is Senior Counsel at Reid & Wise LLC, Securities Attorney at Aeryus, and Managing Consultant at NV Global Ventures. Willy Hartono Wijaya, President Director, is a former analyst at Goldman Sachs and an emergent investment figure in the Indonesian economy. We use a very conventional methodology on our approach to assessing the profitability and feasibility of any opportunities that have the potential to add value to our ecosystem and Mandi token holders. SoMee.social (ONG1) SoMee is a blockchain-based social media platform. Users earn ONG1 for being active on their platform; posting, liking, and getting liked. SoMee's mission is to redefine social media for privacy, end-user control, and monetization. The platform is built for influencers, social media users, and advertisers and is about to release a unique system for advertisers that gives them more control and interaction with their target audience, and that allows their target audience to target them back! SoMee has been in open beta for the past year on the web at https://SoMee.social and inside of the IOS and Android app stores under SoMee.social. Media Contact: Bryan Johnson Bryan @ NewtoTheStreet.com 631-766-7462 SOURCE: FMW Media Works Corp View source version on accesswire.com: https://www.accesswire.com/605816/Exploring-The-Block-Broadcasting-tomorrow-Nationwide-Featuring-Fetchai-WaykiChain-BlockQuake-Pascal-and-Electroneum \|\| Why Satoshi Chose Halloween to Release the Bitcoin White Paper: Was it an allusion to the Reformation or something to do with the ancient pagan tradition of Samhain? Formore episodesand free early access before our regular 3 p.m. Eastern time releases, subscribe withApple Podcasts,Spotify,Pocketcasts,Google Podcasts,Castbox,Stitcher,RadioPublica,iHeartRadioorRSS. This episode is sponsored byCrypto.com,Nexo.ioandElliptic. Related:By the Numbers: More Bitcoin Bulls Than Ever Before One of the most powerful aspects ofbitcoinis its mythology. In this episode, NLW explores the 12th anniversary of the Bitcoin white paper and the choices that went into its release date. Whether it was something to do with the Reformation or an allusion to the longstanding pagan tradition of Samhain, the one thing that’s clear is the choice adds all the more mystique to bitcoin’s incredible origins. See also:Money Reimagined: Who Are the Real Monsters? Related:Crypto Is Less Scary Than Halloween Formore episodesand free early access before our regular 3 p.m. Eastern time releases, subscribe withApple Podcasts,Spotify,Pocketcasts,Google Podcasts,Castbox,Stitcher,RadioPublica,iHeartRadioorRSS. • Why Satoshi Chose Halloween to Release the Bitcoin White Paper • Why Satoshi Chose Halloween to Release the Bitcoin White Paper \|\| 26 Smartest Ways To Invest Your Money During the Pandemic: While the overall economy is still suffering from the coronavirus pandemic, the stock market already has bounced back. After bottoming out in March, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 each had jumped more than 50% by mid-August, ABC News reported. But is the market due for a downswing? And are stocks a good choice for every type of investor? What might seem like a good investment for you might be too risky — or too safe — for someone else. In general, the most conservative investments offer the lowest returns but protect your initial investment. As you move up the risk ladder you take on greater price volatility in exchange for potentially higher long-term returns. Cash investments are the least risky, followed by bonds and stocks. Not sure where to invest right now? Here’s how the experts say you shouldinvest your money amid the pandemic. Last updated: Sept. 19, 2020 • Safe or Risky:High-risk, high-reward Smart beta funds attempt to use various investment factors that have been proved to enhance long-term returns. Low volatility funds are a subset of smart beta funds that aim to reduce risk by investing in lower-volatility securities. Although these funds cannot eliminate risk, their investment mandate is to at least smooth out the ride. This can make investing in the market less stressful during the uncertainty caused by the coronavirus. • Safe or Risky:High-risk, high-reward The United States comprises approximately 44% of the world’s stock market capitalization, so it’s always been a good idea to diversify into international stock funds. In any given year, the U.S. might or might not be the country with the highest stock market returns, so diversifying your exposure makes sense. This is particularly true during periods of uncertainty. U.S. and global stocks experience different economic and market forces, even during the current global emergency, so owning international stock funds leads to lower portfolio volatility and higher, risk-adjusted returns. • Safe or Risky:High-risk, high-reward Real estate investment trusts enable small investors to own a piece of the real estate pie. A REIT is a firm that owns or finances income-producing real estate. Similar to mutual funds, REITs offer investors regular income streams, diversification and the potential for long-term capital appreciation. During the outset of the coronavirus crisis, many REITs got pummeled as the world essentially shut down and the revenue stream for these companies dried up. Once the crisis is resolved, however, the REITs that are in a stronger financial position could end up appreciating significantly, in addition to maintaining their dividends. Still, this amounts to a risky bet, as no one is certain how long this crisis will last. Luke Lloyd, wealth advisor and investment strategist atStrategic Wealth Partners, recommends investing in data center REITs. “Commercial real estate could take a hit given the current mentality of ‘work from home’ and the need for less office space,” he said. “However, there could be opportunities in data center REITs that house the infrastructure buildout of the technology sector. These data centers house the servers and technology that support the cloud network companies operate on.” • Safe or Risky:Variable depending on manager and investments Robo-advisor accounts automatically manage your investments in line with your risk tolerance and goals. Vanguard, Schwab and independent shops — including Personal Capital, Wealthfront, SigFig and Betterment — offer a variety of robo-advisor accounts and services. Robo-companies create diversified portfolios with low account management fees, and some offer access to a human investment advisor. Most robo-advisor accounts include easy-to-use investment apps. During times of market uncertainty, a robo-advisor can be a good option because it takes emotion out of the investing equation. Rather than trying to manage your own portfolio, agonizing over the large losses and wondering if you should buy or sell, a robo-advisor will keep you to your predetermined investment plan. Find Out:How To Protect Your Retirement Savings During the Coronavirus Pandemic • Safe or Risky:Safe U.S. Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities, or TIPS, are safe in that they are backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. You can buy individual Treasury inflation-protected bonds on the Treasury Direct website or in a low-fee mutual or exchange-traded fund. TIPS protect your cash from inflation. While you won’t have to worry about losing your principal, you might not get much by way of a return. Inflation is likely to be held in check throughout the coronavirus crisis, as falling demand overall is likely to more than offset the temporary price spikes in certain goods. This dampens the inflation-protection element of these bonds, as inflation is unlikely to rise dramatically, thereby lowering overall return. • Safe or Risky:Safe, but riskier than usual Generally, municipal bonds’ interest payments are tax-free on the federal level, and if they’re issued by your state, you won’t have to pay state taxes. Municipal bonds are traditionally a safe haven for investors, but in the current market environment, they might be riskier than usual. With rampant unemployment and the shutdown of almost every aspect of American life, the credit quality of these bonds could take a significant hit. This is particularly true of revenue bonds, which rely on consumers using their services to pay the interest on the bonds. One way to diminish this risk is to buy insured municipal bonds only — although in that case, you’re relying on the solvency of the underlying insurers as well. • Safe or Risky:Varies based on chosen investments A 529 plan is a tax-advantaged savings vehicle designed to help you save for college for a child or family member. Also known as a qualified tuition plan, 529s are sponsored by states, state agencies and educational institutions. You can choose from a variety of stock, bond and cash investments in your 529 account. Although the investments in these accounts are likely to remain volatile for the foreseeable future, 529 plans are generally long-term investments. If your child has 10 or more years before the money will be needed for college, you’ve got a long runway to earn back any losses and then some. Regular investments in these plans during volatile market times actually can add to your long-term returns over time, as markets historically recover from major sell-offs. Tips:Investing ‘Rules’ You Shouldn’t Follow • Safe or Risky:Moderate Investing in a foreign country’s debt can increase your returns and diversify your investment portfolio. When you invest in global bond funds, however, you take on additional risk. All bond funds carry interest rate risk, which is the risk that your value decreases as interest rates rise. Global bond funds also might carry currency risk unless they are hedged. In these uncertain times, global bonds also have additional country and political risk, as the economic devastation wreaked by the global shutdown is hard to quantify on a country-by-country basis. • Safe or Risky:Safe Certificates of deposit offer a fixed rate of interest on your investment for a predetermined period of time. CDs also have the benefit of Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. guarantees of up to $250,000 per account. This can provide peace of mind in troubled times, such as during the current pandemic. If you can afford the initial investment, Juan Carlos Cruz, founder ofBritewater Financial Groupin Brooklyn, New York, said he recommends investing in high-yield CDs, which typically offer higher rates than a standard CD. “The HYCD works just like a regular CD, but may require a higher balance than other CDs and to hold for a longer period of time,” he said. “Please do your research and check with your local bank for the minimum deposit for this type of account.” CD laddering is a smart strategy that enables you to take advantage of regular investments to garner the best yields, regardless of whether rates are rising or falling going forward. For example, if you have $10,000 to invest, you might spread that out by investing $2,000 each in a 12-, 24-, 36-, 48- and 60-month CD. Look online for promotional CD rates to get the most bang for your buck. • Safe or Risky:Moderate A diversified bond fund such as the iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF (ticker: AGG) or a mutual bond fund like the Vanguard Total Bond Market Index Fund Investor Shares (ticker: VBMFX) can provide you with great exposure to the U.S. investment-grade bond market. Both funds spread your investments out among corporate bonds and U.S. government bonds with various maturities. The risk you take when you invest in anything but the shortest-term bond funds is that when interest rates rise, the underlying principal value is likely to fall. As interest rates are at historic lows, if rates rise in the future, you could lose some of your principal. Options:19 Areas To Invest In During a Financial Crisis • Safe or Risky:Less risky Also known as lifecycle funds, target-date mutual funds are designed for the investor who wants a “set it and forget it” retirement investing option. Choose the year you want to retire or access the money and your investments go from risky — when you have many years to go until your goal date — to more conservative as you get closer to retirement. If you’re willing to hold your target-date fund until maturity, it could be a good option to ride out the current market volatility. Since most target-date funds have longer maturities, you likely can recover any current losses over the long run. • Safe or Risky:High-risk, high-reward When you’re looking to match an index’s performance, ETFs might be good investments. Superstar investor Warren Buffett loves index funds, and they typically feature rock-bottom management fees. It’s tough to outperform a fund with low fees like the Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF (ticker: VTI), which has an expense ratio of just 0.03%. If you’re a long-term investor, you’ll be ahead of the game if and when the market ultimately hits a new all-time high. • Safe or Risky:High-risk, high-reward Public companies offer you a chance to own a piece of them — and when the business grows, so does your portion of ownership. You’ll have to do your homework, but if you can research and buy companies that have the potential to perform strongly through the pandemic, you have an opportunity to realize tremendous growth with individual stocks. “We still think stocks are the best path to long-term growth, but that can be hard to stomach with all the volatility we’ve seen,” said Rob Emrich III, founder and managing partner ofAcruence Capital. “We expect volatility levels to remain high, as measured by the VIX, particularly around and after the election. Investors could potentially benefit from owning investments that respond favorably to rising volatility.” The stock market already is paying off for some investors, despite an initial dip in March. “The stock market has been showing phenomenal growth,” said Chalmers Brown, co-founder and chief technology officer atDue. “I’ve been putting a greater investment into that since April and it’s really starting to pay off. Some stocks are even splitting, giving me even more growth potential and return. Those that may have small amounts to invest could do so through apps that let you buy percentages of stock shares. This makes this investment opportunity accessible to everyone.” Not sure which stocks to choose? Find an advisor to guide you through the process. • Safe or Risky:Depends on the investments selected An IRA helps you save for retirement and reduces your taxes. Any money you invest in your traditional IRA comes out of your taxable income, which saves you money at tax time. “When investing in a retirement account, you also get tax advantages — tax deductible contributions for pre-tax amounts or tax-free withdrawals in the case of Roth contributions — that allow your money to work harder for you,” said Carrie Schwab-Pomerantz, a senior vice president atCharles Schwab. You don’t get an immediate tax benefit on your Roth IRA contributions, but when you begin taking qualified withdrawals after you reach 59 1/2 you won’t be taxed on that money. You can open either type of IRA account at a bank or online stock brokerage and fill it with stocks, bonds, funds or other types of investments. As money you put into an IRA is intended for long-term growth, continuing to make contributions during market downturns can pay off in down the road. Choose appropriate investments that match your investment objectives and risk tolerance to make the most of your IRA. • Safe or Risky:Depends on the investments selected “If you are fortunate to have an employer that offers a 401(k) match, make sure you are investing a minimum of whatever the matching rate is,” Schwab-Pomerantz said. “It’s essentially free money.” Even if you don’t have an employer match or it has been suspended, Schwab-Pomerantz said it’s still a good idea to keep investing in your retirement fund. • Safe or Risky:High-risk, high-reward Commodities include precious metals, coffee, orange juice, oil, gas and a number of other raw materials. You can buy a commodities fund or participate in a commodity futures contract. Some investors believe commodities are a good source of diversification, although they’re volatile, complex and not well-suited for investing for beginners, according to Fidelity. Two of the largest commodity funds are the Invesco DB Commodity Index Tracking Fund (ticker: DBC) and the iShares S&P GSCI Commodity-Indexed Trust (ticker: GSG). Helpful:12 Stable Investments Everyone Needs in Their Portfolio Right Now • Safe or Risky:High-risk, high-reward As gold doesn’t pay dividends or generate any income or revenue, it’s a pure commodity play. Gold is generally used as a hedge against market volatility, rather than a long-term, buy-and-hold type investment. “The yellow metal has a storied record of thriving during times of uncertainty and volatility, and these factors have propelled gold to be one of the best-performing investments of the COVID economy,” said Ryan Giannotto, director of research atGraniteShares, an ETF issuer based in New York. • Safe or Risky:High-risk, high-reward When you buy an actively managed mutual fund, you’re hiring an investment manager who chooses investments he believes will outperform the market. In the current volatile market, hiring a professional to help you pick your investments can be a prudent move. Just make sure you find a fund manager who’s in line with your approach. Actively managed funds can be found for nearly any investment category, from stocks or bonds to precious metals and international bonds. • Safe or Risky:High-risk, high-reward Cryptocurrency is a digital, decentralized and encrypted currency. The first cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, was invented in 2009. Although millions of people use cryptocurrencies, they are still a nascent market. Coupled with the fact that crypto is not endorsed or supported by any government and is shrouded in mystery, its price can be volatile. In the week of Sept. 13, 2020, for example, the price of Bitcoin fluctuated between about $9,950 and $10,700. Articles in the investment community say Bitcoin can hit any price between $0 and $100,000, evidence of the great uncertainty surrounding the investment. Regardless of whether you’re investing in crypto during the coronavirus crisis or in more normal market conditions, expect extreme volatility. • Safe or Risky:High-risk, high-reward Foreign currencies are traded on the foreign exchange market, and they represent a high-risk investment strategy. If you’ve traveled in a foreign country, you understand how currency values fluctuate — forex traders attempt to benefit from those fluctuations. Because of the risk level involved with forex, this type of investment is best left to sophisticated investors. This is particularly true during the coronavirus epidemic, as emotions and other nonfinancial forces are acting on currency exchange rates that may be harder to predict. • Safe or Risky:High-risk, high-reward A sector fund is one that invests only in businesses that operate in a particular industry or sector of the economy. If you have a hunch that a certain sector, such as oil or healthcare, will outperform in the future, this type of fund might be for you. Sector funds include stocks, bonds and other financial assets. Sector funds are not as diverse as broadly diversified funds. When sectors drop in value your funds will drop as well, which makes these risky investments. A perfect example is the United States Oil Fund ETF (ticker: USO), which had dropped more than 71% for the year through Sept. 14. If you believe oil will stage a massive turnaround, this could be a great high-risk, high-reward play. However, the size of the selloff is an indication of the risk involved. Lloyd recommends investing in the technology and healthcare sectors in our current climate. Be Aware:How a COVID-19 Vaccine Could Hurt Your Portfolio • Safe or Risky:Safe In the current market environment, savings accounts are like gold. They are insured up to $250,000 and are completely liquid. The downside is that yields are tumbling as the Fed has cut rates to essentially zero. Still, online savings accounts and cash management accounts such as Wealthfront and Betterment can still pay much better than the national average savings account rate of 0.09%, which itself is likely to tumble. During a global emergency such as the coronavirus, bulking up your savings is a good strategy. This is especially true if you are currently lacking an emergency fund. “Schwab conducted a recent survey that found 50% of Americans could not cover an unexpected expense of up to $1,000,” Schwab-Pomerantz said. “Given that, I think one of the best things people can do with any extra money right now is increase their savings. If you’re short on emergency funds (or dipped into them) due to the pandemic, focus on replenishing them in case something else comes up — car repair, reduction in hours/furlough, plumbing emergency, etc.” Megan Morton, a member of the founding team atCalendar, said she has taken that advice herself. “I’ve actually been spending less money each month due to fewer trips and no commute. This has left me with some money that I would’ve had to spend prior to COVID-19. The extra funds are being invested directly into my emergency fund,” she said. “COVID-19 really made it clear why an emergency fund is necessary because you never know what may happen.” • Safe or Risky:Safe, if you can afford it “I’m putting more equity in my home by making additional principal payments,” said Jon Bradshaw, founder and president ofCodebase. “I see some people are refinancing and taking cash out, but they are losing equity by doing so. Instead, I believe that putting more in helps better position me during a time where property values continue to rise. I can take that investment increase later on when I sell my home.” • Safe or Risky:Safe, if you can afford it “There have been tremendous discounts on technology hardware and software during the pandemic, so I’ve focused on investing in upgrading technology and ensuring I have the right tools for my business and personal life,” said Steve Gickling, founder ofETLrobot. “This ability to invest in more technology has been a way to be ready for when the country reopens again and business picks up speed.” Your money is always a precious commodity, but especially so in today’s uncertain world. Beyond funds, stocks and financial accounts, here are a few more ways you can invest your funds right now. Since our ability to connect with our friends, family and extended network is more limited now, it’s more important than ever to consciously invest in our relationships. “That could look like upgrading your Zoom account for a better experience when talking to someone or sending meaningful gifts to the people you care about,” said Chris Schembra, founder of7:47. “Your success is determinant on the strength of your weak ties. Invest in your weak ties when times are tough, and they’ll provide referrals and loyalty when times are good again.” “During the pandemic, it’s well worth investing your money in activities where you can help others,” said Gloria Horsley, co-founder ofOpen to Hope. “The return you get in providing others with much-needed assistance through stressful and uncertain times pays dividends in the form of greater satisfaction than purchasing material things. You get to see the results almost immediately. Plus, in a world where we feel a loss of control, actively helping others is a good way to get back that feeling of control.” More From GOBankingRates • 44 Ways To Trim Your Living Expenses During the Coronavirus Quarantine • 94 Money-Making Skills You Can Learn in Less Than a Year • 24 Ways To Maximize Your Paycheck This Year • How Long $1 Million in Savings Will Last in Every State Barbara Friedberg,John CsiszarandGabrielle Olyacontributed to the reporting for this article. This article originally appeared onGOBankingRates.com:26 Smartest Ways To Invest Your Money During the Pandemic \|\| Europe mulls digital euro as China pushes ahead with own electronic currency: The European Central Bank (ECB) has moved a step closer to pursuing a digital euro, becoming the latest global central bank to seriously consider following China's lead in creating a digital currency. China appears to be the clear leader in developing a sovereign digital currency , with pilot tests under way in several parts of the country. But other central banks are starting to explore the idea, spurred on in part by the attention the Chinese project is getting and the nation's advanced system of electronic payments through mobile apps. Get the latest insights and analysis from our Global Impact newsletter on the big stories originating in China. The ECB outlined the potential benefits and pitfalls of a digital euro in a report released late last week, saying it must be designed to avoid "adverse effects on monetary policy and financial stability". Key risks include the impact on monetary policy, financial stability, the safety and efficiency of retail payments, cross-border flows, cybersecurity and legal and privacy issues, the ECB said. "The move to introduce a digital currency in which users hold deposits directly with the central bank is quite a radical one, and there isn't much research done on the effects on the economy, especially the banking sector," said Leonhard Weese, president of the Bitcoin Association of Hong Kong. Financial stability could be undermined if banks' funding costs were affected by depositors changing their savings at commercial banks to a central bank-issued digital currency, the ECB said. Banks might have to replace the lost deposits with borrowing from the central bank or directly from capital markets, which could mean the ECB would have to expand its role in the economy, potentially forcing banks to take on more risk to earn money. China's digital sovereign currency tests put it ahead of the global pack in push to adopt digital money "Were this demand to increase their funding costs, banks might have to deleverage and decrease the supply of credit, thus preventing an optimal level of aggregate investment and consumption," the report said, adding this could ultimately drive up the cost of borrowing, hampering economic activity. "Moreover, if their traditional business model is compromised, banks may decide to take on greater risks in an attempt to earn higher (nominal) returns and to offset the reduction in profitability." During a crisis, when savers have less confidence in banks, they might opt for the digital currency and so increase the likelihood and severity of bank runs, risking overall financial stability, the report said. Story continues Despite the dangers, the ECB said it believed a digital euro could enhance the role of the second most traded currency in the world. "A digital euro would support Europe's drive towards continued innovation. It would also contribute to its financial sovereignty and strengthen the international role of the euro," Fabio Panetta, member of the ECB's Executive Board and chair of the digital currency task force, said. China's central bank has said it is important to become the first nation to issue a digital currency as part of its push to internationalise the yuan and reduce its dependence on the dollar payment system . A growing number of central banks around the world are considering launching digital currencies. Sweden's Riksbank is trialing the use of an e-krona, but the Reserve Bank of Australia concluded in a report last month there was no need for a digital currency at present. The ECB report also recommended limited distribution and use of its digital currency by corporate entities and individuals "to prevent excessive shifts of commercial bank money into digital euro". "The technical implementation of a digital euro needs to be thoroughly tested and legal considerations carefully examined before any decision is taken on issuance," said the ECB report, adding that it will come back with a decision "towards mid 2021" on whether to start a digital euro project. The ECB said it has not made a decision yet on whether to launch a digital euro but will begin public consultation this week. This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP) , the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright © 2020 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Copyright (c) 2020. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. View comments \|\| The most common online, email scams Canadians are falling for: October is Cyber Security Awareness Month and the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC) is reminding the public about the most common scams to be on the lookout for. With the ongoing pandemic, Canadians have increasingly relied on the internet to conduct everyday activities, such as, buying and selling goods or looking for a job, the bulletin from the CAFC reads. In 2019, the top reported online scams targeting Canadians are as follows: Merchandise: 1,414 reports, 1,052 victims, $1,528,100 in losses Service: 1,366 reports, 1,018 victims, $1,461,200 in losses Sale of Merchandise by Complaint: 1,076 reports, 793 victims, $691,800 in losses Job: 560 reports, 232 victims, $710,000 in losses Counterfeit Merchandise: 309 reports, 281 victims, $100,000 in losses The anti-fraud centre estimates that less than five per cent of fraud victims report their occurrences to the CAFC. Merchandise fraud is when scammers create fake ads on classified ad sites, resale sites, website pop-ups and fake company websites. The items for sale can range from electronics and clothing to even animals, or counterfeit merchandise. The CAFC warns the public that if the price of an item listed online is too good to be true, it is. These scammers use a number of tactics, including spoofing messages that payments are required and fraudsters requesting payment through a money service business like MoneyGram or Western Union. They also can include overpayment scams, where a fake buyer overpays for an item and requests reimbursement of the excess amount, before the victims realizes the payment was fraudulent. Service fraud impacting Canadians has been across a number of industries, some of the most common service scams the CAFC has identified are air duct cleaning, help with government documents, immigration website, low interest rate offers, pardon, resale and tech support. Many of these frauds involve individuals conducting services that are poor or risky quality, or scammers offering services through websites, online ads or phone calls, like immigration or financial services, at inexpensive prices. Story continues For job scams, the types that have been reported to the CAFC are car wrapping, counterfeit cheque, financial agent and mystery shopper. Counterfeit cheque, car wrapping and mystery shopping scams identified by the CAFC all involve fraudsters instructing victims to deposit a fake cheque into their personal account and then transfer a certain amount of money out of that account for particular fees, to make purchases, among other reasons. The anti-fraud centre is also alerting the public that it is seeing more victims sending money through cryptocurrency like Bitcoin, Litecoin, Etherum and others. The CAFC has outlined a number of tips for Canadians to protect themselves from these scams: Be cautious of greatly reduced prices (e.g. 80%). Know the market value of products Notice text with spelling errors or references to the product as the item Beware of pets offered at below market value or free Whenever possible, meet and purchase a pet in person Locate and verify the companys contact information (address, phone number, email) before you buy Look for customer reviews and ratings from third-party sources Be mindful where you post your resume. Scammers use legitimate websites to seek out victims Take the time to research an employer and confirm that they are hiring Most common email scams in Canada The anti-fraud centre also shared the list of the top email scams Canadians are falling victim to. Email scams represent one of the most prevalent attack methods for fraud and other cybercrimes, the bulletin from the CAFC reads. From fraudulent phishing scams soliciting personal and financial information to extortion demands requesting bitcoin payments, emails are being used to send a variety of false, deceptive, misleading and fraudulent messages. In 2019, the top reported email scams targeting Canadians are as follows: Phishing, 2,246 reports, 797 victims Extortion, 2,126 reports, 34 victims, $6,500 in losses Job, 770 reports, 282 victims, $946,100 in losses Spear Phishing, 564 reports, 329 victims, $1,799,600 in losses Merchandise, 394 reports, 242 victims, $428,600 in losses Phishing fraud is when a scammer send an email that appears to be from a known company, like Netflix or Amazon, or a bank, claiming that the victim needs to update their online account. There is also a variation where a phishing email is sent, with minimal text, encouraging someone to click on a fraudulent link or attachment, which will infect their computer with a virus or malware. The email may seem to be a receipt from a recent purchase, a delivery notification, or something more urgent, such as a notice to appear in court, the CAFC warns. Extortion scams are when a fraudster coerces an individual or institution to supply money, property or services. Ongoing extortion scams identified by the CAFC include bomb threats, denial of service, explicit video, hitman, hostage, hydro and ransomware. There is also sextortion fraud when scammers create fake profiles on social media, pornographic and dating sites. Taxpayer fraud is also something Canadians should be aware of, which is when scammers claim the victim owes tax money, committed a crime or had their SIN number compromised. The CAFC has also identified Canadians have been falling victim to immigration extortion scams, when fraudsters claim to be from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada and insist money needs to be paid to avoid deportation, loss of passport or citizenship. Earlier this year, the anti-fraud centre revealed that Asian communities in Canada have been targeted with automated calls from scammers, claiming there are from a courier company or foreign law enforcement, like Beijing police and Shanghai customs. Spear phishing scams are when fraudsters pretend to be legitimate sources the victim, a business or individual, needs to send money to. These scams leverage existing relationships between the person receiving the email and the person sending it, the CAFC warns. The sender's address appears to be the actual email address of the source they're pretending to be, a tactic known as spoofing. Some variations to this scam include business executive spoofs, financial industry client spoof, head office spoof, payroll spoof and supplier or contractor swindle. The CAFC has also listed a number of tips the help Canadians protect themselves from email scams: Remain current on frauds targeting business and educate all employees Have detailed payment procedures and encourage a verification process for unusual email requests Avoid opening unsolicited emails or clicking on suspicious links or attachments Take a few seconds to hover over an email address or link and confirm that they are correct Back up your system/data regularly and keep the backups on a separate removable hard drive Dont forget to disconnect, when done, and if possible check the backup(s) from a separate computer that uses a different operating system Take the time to research an employer and confirm that they are hiring The main directive for Canadians to protect themselves from falling victim to any scam, including both online and email fraud, is to remain current on scams and share what you know to protect others. According to the CAFC, Canadians should tell two other people what they know about any frauds and ask them to do the same. An unbroken chain of 25 people telling two would cover the entire population of Canada, the anti-fraud centre states. \|\| ALT 5 Sigma Digital Instrument Market Summary for BTC, ETH, LTC, BCH: NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / October 27, 2020 /ALT 5 Sigma Inc. an emerging leader in blockchain powered financial platforms provides its daily digital instruments market summary for Bitcoin (BTC/USD), Ether (ETH/USD), Litecoin (LTC/USD). Real-Time Market Data is available atwww.alt5pro.comand Real-Time Market Data feed is also available atwww.alt5sigma.comALT 5 Sigma Digital Instrument Market Summary for BTC, ETH, LTC, BCH [["Digital Asset", "Pair", "Price", "24hr Chg", "7d Chg", "24/hr Volume", "MarketCap"], ["Bitcoin", "BTC/USD", "$13,658.93", "$0.05", "$0.14", "$31,838 M", "$253,072 M"], ["Ethereum", "ETH/USD", "$406.44", "$0.04", "$0.10", "$13,620 M", "$46,001 M"], ["XRP", "XRP/USD", "$0.25", "$0.02", "$0.03", "$2,239 M", "$11,388 M"], ["Bitcoin Cash", "BCH/USD", "$265.29", "$0.03", "$0.09", "$2,655 M", "$4,923 M"], ["Litecoin", "LTC/USD", "$57.64", "$0.03", "$0.22", "$3,382 M", "$3,790 M"], ["Bitcoin SV", "BSV/USD", "$175.66", "$0.03", "$0.12", "$990 M", "$3,259 M"], ["EOS", "EOS/USD", "$2.66", "$0.01", "$0.05", "$2,069 M", "$2,489 M"], ["Monero", "XMR/USD", "$133.44", "$0.02", "$0.12", "$870 M", "$2,367 M"], ["Stellar", "XLM/USD", "$0.08", "$0.01", "-$0.00", "$167 M", "$1,703 M"], ["Dash", "DASH/USD", "$70.65", "$0.01", "-$0.01", "$403 M", "$691 M"]] About ALT 5 Sigma Inc. ALT 5 is a fintech company specializing in the development and deployment of digital assets trading and exchange platforms. Alt 5 was founded by financial industry specialists out of the necessity to provide the digital asset economy with security, accessibility, transparency and compliance. ALT 5 provides its clients the ability to buy, sell and hold digital assets in a safe and secure environment deployed with the best practices of the financial industry. ALT 5's products and services are available to Banks, Broker Dealers, Funds, Family Offices, Professional Traders, Retail Traders, Digital Asset Exchanges, Digital Asset Brokers, Blockchain Developers, and Financial Information Providers. ALT 5's digital asset custodian services are secured by GardaWorld. GardaWorld is the world's largest privately-owned business solutions and security services company, offering cash management services. For more information, visitwww.alt5sigma.com. Contact: Andre BeauchesneTel. [email protected] For more information on ALT 5 Pay, visitwww.alt5pay.comFor more information on ALT 5 Pro, visitwww.alt5pro.com SOURCE:ALT 5 Sigma Inc. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/612635/ALT-5-Sigma-Digital-Instrument-Market-Summary-for-BTC-ETH-LTC-BCH \|\| Bitcoin’s Jump to $10.7K Ends 10-Day Sideways Trend: Bitcoin advanced on Monday, ending a 10-day-long price consolidation, as the U.S. dollar weakened against gold and fiat currencies. • The number one cryptocurrency by market value printed a high of $10,691 at 14:05 UTC, the highest level since Sept. 4, according to CoinDesk’sBitcoin Price Index. • The bulls finally led the price action, having shown little interest in the preceding 10 days when the cryptocurrency was stuck in a narrow range of $10,000 to $10,500. • On-chain metricskept improving despite the price pullback from $12,000 to $10,00 earlier this month. Many expected a breakout. • While bitcoin gained over 3%, gold, a classic haven asset, rose 1% to $1,960 per ounce, according to data sourceTradingView. • The 60-day correlation between bitcoin and gold recently rose to a record high above 0.5. Correlations move between 0 to 1. • Correlations whose magnitude are between 0.5 and 0.7 indicate the two assets are moderately positively correlated. Above 0.7 means a strong positive correlation, meaning the two assets are moving in tandem. • Meanwhile, the U.S. Dollar Index, which gauges the greenback’s value against a basket of major currencies, fell by 0.4%. • Bitcoin has evolved as a macro asset since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic in March and has increasingly taken cues from the action in the forex markets and gold in Q3 2020. Also read: Against the Odds, Some Bitcoin Traders Are Bettingon a $36K Priceby Year’s End • Bitcoin’s Jump to $10.7K Ends 10-Day Sideways Trend • Bitcoin’s Jump to $10.7K Ends 10-Day Sideways Trend • Bitcoin’s Jump to $10.7K Ends 10-Day Sideways Trend • Bitcoin’s Jump to $10.7K Ends 10-Day Sideways Trend \|\| Craig Wright Must Face Trial Over Alleged $11B Bitcoin Fortune as Request for Summary Judgment Denied: The District Court for the Southern District of Florida has denied Craig Wright’s request for summary judgment in a case that involves claims over ownership of about 1.1 million bitcoin (worth over $11 billion). In an order signed on Monday, Judge Beth Bloom at the Florida court denied Wright’s motion seeking summary judgment that would have prevented the matter from proceeding to a full trial. The case, first brought in 2018, involves the plaintiff Ira Kleiman’s argument on behalf of the estate of his late brother David, that half of Wright’s bitcoin worth and intellectual property belongs to Kleiman. The plaintiff has argued that the bitcoin in question was also mined together by Wright and Kleiman. Wright’s request for summary judgment was comprised of six claims including statute of limitations, the plaintiff’s inability to prove the existence of an oral partnership and the court’s lack of subject matter jurisdiction. In the past, Wright has claimed that he was the inventor of bitcoin under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto, an assertion many in the crypto world have disputed due to a lack of corroborating evidence. According to an order issued by the Florida court on Sept. 4, the trial involving Wright’s bitcoin fortune has now been moved to Jan. 4, 2021. Related Stories Craig Wright Must Face Trial Over Alleged $11B Bitcoin Fortune as Request for Summary Judgment Denied Craig Wright Must Face Trial Over Alleged $11B Bitcoin Fortune as Request for Summary Judgment Denied Craig Wright Must Face Trial Over Alleged $11B Bitcoin Fortune as Request for Summary Judgment Denied Craig Wright Must Face Trial Over Alleged $11B Bitcoin Fortune as Request for Summary Judgment Denied [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] None available.	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 13950.30, 14133.71, 15579.85, 15565.88, 14833.75, 15479.57, 15332.32, 15290.90, 15701.34, 16276.34
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis] Not fully available. [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Twilio, Inc. Is Putting the Uber Fiasco to Rest: Digital-communications specialist Twilio (NYSE: TWLO) reported fourth-quarter results on Tuesday night. The company crushed its own guidance targets thanks to a diversifying customer list, and the Uber panic is becoming a thing of the past now. Twilio's fourth-quarter results: The raw numbers Metric Q4 2017 Q4 2016 Year-Over-Year Change Total revenue $115.2 million $82.0 million 40% Net income ($18.9 million) ($12.6 million) N/A GAAP earnings per share ($0.20) ($0.15) N/A Data source: Twilio. What happened with Twilio this quarter? Three months ago, Twilio's management sketched out fourth-quarter revenue guidance at roughly $103.5 million. On the bottom line, the company was supposed to deliver an adjusted net loss of $0.06 per share. Twilio left these targets far behind with top-line sales north of $115 million and an adjusted net loss of $0.03 per share. The company also produced $3.2 million of free cash flow in the fourth quarter, up from a $6 million cash burn in the year-ago period. This was the first positive free cash flow reading since the first quarter of 2016. Twilio achieved these results while continuing a separation from one of its largest customers. Excluding the impact from lower Uber orders, Twilio's base revenue rose 62% year over year. At this point, Uber accounts for 5% of Twilio's quarterly sales. Messaging app WhatsApp, owned by Facebook (NASDAQ: FB) since 2014, is Twilio's largest client with a 7% share of the top line. Young man with tablet and smartphone excited over something he sees on the tablet screen. Image source: Getty Images. What management had to say "I'm very proud of the team for our fourth quarter performance, but my excitement lies in the foundations we've laid for the next ten years of Twilio," said Twilio CEO Jeff Lawson in a prepared statement. "We are poised for a stellar year ahead, built on our relentless focus on customer success, quality, and software-fueled innovation." Looking ahead For the first quarter of 2018, Twilio expects to pull in $116 million of top-line revenue at the midpoint of its guidance range but still report an adjusted net loss of approximately $0.07 per share. For the full year, management is aiming for total revenue near $510 million and a non- GAAP net loss of $0.12 per share. Story continues Longtime CFO Lee Kirkpatrick also announced his intention to step back later this year, but will stay on board until his successor has been found and brought up to speed. Moreover, a new drag-and-drop app editor known as Twilio Studio recently moved into beta testing. As this tool matures, Twilio hopes to make its products and services more accessible to app developers. And the Uber situation has done most of its damage by now. The customer has become a small enough part of Twilio's overall business that its ups and downs from this point won't make a material difference. Still, Twilio should continue to report sales growth with and without the Uber effect for the next few quarters, helping analysts and investors analyze the business while this debacle fades into the background. More From The Motley Fool 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This Anders Bylund has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Facebook. The Motley Fool has the following options: short March 2018 $200 calls on Facebook and long March 2018 $170 puts on Facebook. The Motley Fool recommends Twilio. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy . \|\| Why 51job, Inc. Stock Popped Today: What happened Shares of 51job, Inc. (NASDAQ: JOBS) were up 19.3% as of 3 p.m. Friday EST after the Chinese online recruiting services company announced strong fourth-quarter results . More specifically, 51job's revenue climbed 25.6% year over year to $134 million, well above guidance for $124 million to $127 million. That translated to 48.4% growth in adjusted net income to $49.7 million, or $0.77 per share, also above expectations for earnings of $0.64 per share. Red and Green stock market prices and charts on an LED display IMAGE SOURCE: GETTY IMAGES. So what "We are very pleased to deliver robust fourth quarter results that cap off a memorable 2017 highlighted by terrific sales execution and productivity," stated 51job CEO Rick Yan. "Our online business maintained solid growth, which was again realized through not only new employer additions but also increased spending by existing employers." To be sure, 51job's average revenue per unique employer climbed 11.5% year over year, driven by successful up-selling efforts. And the number of unique employers using its services grew 10% year over year, to 370,746. Now what For the first quarter of 2018, 51job expects revenue in the range of $116 million to $120.7 million -- or growth of 25.3% at the midpoint over the prior-year period -- which should translate to adjusted earnings per share in the range of $0.43 to $0.48. By contrast, and keeping in mind 51job has a tendency to underpromise and overdeliver, most analysts were modeling first-quarter earnings of $0.55 per share on sales near the low end of the company's range. In the end, there was little not to like about this report as 51job effectively sustained its platform's upward momentum. And it's no surprise to see the stock trading at a fresh all-time high in response. More From The Motley Fool 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This Steve Symington has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends 51job. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy . \|\| Paying Your Taxes With Bitcoin or Litecoin May Soon Be a Possibility in This State: Though the cryptocurrency market has hit a few speed bumps over the past month, its value has still soared relative to where it began 2017. As of Feb. 13, cryptocurrencies were worth an aggregate of $410 billion, representing a more than 2,200% increase from 13 1/2 months prior. Those are gains that investors traditionally wouldn't see without holding an asset for decades. As you might have rightly guessed, bitcoin has mostly led the charge higher in virtual currencies. Bitcoin easily remains the world's most valuable cryptocurrency by market cap, is accepted by more merchants worldwide than any other digital token, and is credited with pushing blockchain technology into the spotlight. For those unfamiliar, blockchain is the digital, distributed, and decentralized ledger underlying cryptocurrencies that's responsible for keeping an immutable record of all transactions without the need for a financial intermediary. Image source: Getty Images. Bitcoin brings a lot of excitement to the table for crypto-enthusiasts. For example, itsblockchain technologyhas been the basis of evolution for other currency and non-currency applications. Blockchain may be able to significantly speed up processing and settlement times for traditional banking transactions and payments, while at the same time lowering transaction fees since there is no middleman involvement from banks. There's also intrigue surrounding the use of cryptocurrency as a medium of exchange for goods and services as opposed to cash or credit. As noted, no digital currency is used more for the purchase of goods and services than bitcoin, and no virtual currency has more brand-name payment partners than bitcoin. Nonetheless, bitcoin's use has remained constricted in the U.S. and in quite a few countries abroad. Since bitcoin lacks the traditional governmental backing found with fiat currencies, few governments have been willing to recognize it as an acceptable form of tender. In fact, a half-dozen countries have gone as far as toban bitcoin and related cryptocurrencies. But times could be changing. On Feb. 8, the Arizona Senate passed a bill (SB 1091) by a 16-to-13 vote that would allow its residents to pay their income taxes using bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies recognized by the state's revenue authorities, beginning in 2020. The measure also passed the Senate Finance Committee by a 4-3 vote. More specifically, the bill states that residents would be allowed to use "a payment gateway, such as bitcoin or other cryptocurrency recognized by the department, using electronic peer-to-peer systems." SB 1091 will next move onto the Arizona House of Representatives for debate and vote. Image source: Getty Images. In addition to accepting cryptocurrency as a form of payment for income taxes, the state would be required to convert any and all cryptocurrency received into U.S. dollars within 24 hours of receiving payment. Doing so should help shield the state against wild virtual currency price fluctuations. What's particularly notable about the passage of SB 1091 in the Arizona Senate is that it would signify the first widespread adoption of virtual currencies in the United States. It's been argued that bitcoin's value is difficult to determine because it hasno backing or guaranteed use from the government. SB 1091 would give bitcoin, Litecoin, and other "recognized" cryptocurrencies a real-world function, and presumably real-world value. Rep. Jeff Weninger (R-Ariz.), one of the co-sponsors of the bill, had this to say when interviewed by Fox News: "It's one of a litany of bills that we're running that is sending a signal to everyone in the United States, and possibly throughout the world, that Arizona is going to be the place to be for blockchain and digital currency technology in the future." While this development out of Arizona is encouraging for crypto-enthusiasts, it's not guaranteed to be a success right out of the gate. One of the gray areas in this bill is what happens if thereisexcessive volatility between the time a resident pays income taxes and the time the Arizona revenue department converts those bitcoin, Litecoin, or other approved cryptocurrencies into U.S. dollars. Image source: Getty Images. According to the bill, "The Department shall convert cryptocurrency payments to United States dollars at the prevailing rate within twenty-four hours after receipt and shall credit the taxpayer's account with the converted dollar amount." Note that last part that about the "converted dollar amount." That means -- at least to me, and I'm no lawyer -- that if a resident paid in bitcoin, Litecoin, or some other cryptocurrency, and that digital coin dropped, say, 10% overnight, this resident would still have to fork over the remaining balance to cover his or her income tax bill following that conversion. It also isn't clear what would happen if cryptocurrency values vault higher in the overnight hours before conversion. Would the taxpayer get a refund, or would the state simply pocket the difference? It also remains to be seen how widespread the use of cryptocurrencies to pay income taxes would be in Arizona, assuming this bill becomes law. Bitcoin, for example, has a network that's beenslowed to a crawl in recent years. An inability to gain community consensus has pushed average transaction processing times to north of an hour, while lifting fees to around $28 per transaction. That's roughly the same cost as a bank wire. Bitcoin's purportedly groundbreaking peer-to-peer payment platform has certainly lost its luster in recent months, and it may not be a go-to option for many Arizonans. Admittedly, I'm talking about step 12 when Arizona's lawmakers are on step two or three. Nonetheless, it's worth keeping a close eye on SB 1091 and its progress in the Arizona state legislature. More From The Motley Fool • 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices • 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 • 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing • 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today • The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss • Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This Sean Williamshas no position in any of the stocks or cryptocurrencies mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks or cryptocurrencies mentioned. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy. \|\| How Wendy's Boosts Store Volumes: With annual revenue of just over $1.2 billion,Wendy's(NASDAQ: WEN)may be diminutive in comparison to quick-service restaurant (QSR) competitors likeMcDonald's Corp.(NYSE: MCD)and Burger King parentRestaurant Brands International(NYSE: QSR), but the chain has consistently enjoyed higher premiums from stock investors. Take a look at Wendy's forward price-to-earnings valuation relative to these two formidable peers: WEN P/E Ratio (Forward)data byYCharts Why would investors pay a premium of roughly 40% for Wendy's? The company'soperating margintypically hovers near the 20% level in any given quarter -- about half of the mark regularly achieved by McDonald's and Restaurant Brands International, which sported operating margins of 42% and 38%, respectively, in their most recent quarters. One of the primary factors behind Wendy's favorable stock pricing is its consistent ability to expand franchisee volumes, i.e. store-level sales. Let's look at the strategies Wendy's employs to improve its metrics in an area that investors, especially institutional ones, watch closely. Out of a total store base of nearly 6,300 worldwide, only 337 are operated by Wendy's corporate arm. The company is 95% franchised, and long-term success consists of being able to lift systemwide sales quarter after quarter. Wendy's franchised stores in North America achieved an average unit volume (AUV) of $1.6 million in 2017, marking an improvement of roughly 5% cumulatively over the past two years. That's impressive in an environment in which consumers are spreading restaurant visits between QSRs like Wendy's and an ever-growing array of fast-casual chains. Image source: Wendy's Co. Some of Wendy's sales drivers are quite visible. The company has helped franchisees grow dollar volume through timely menu additions of premium items, like the enticing "Smoky Mushroom Bacon Cheeseburger" pictured above, while fighting back againstMcDonald's dollar value menu revampwith its own 4 for $4 value menu architecture. But Wendy's has also plunged into the unit economics that increase its systemwide volume. It's important to understand that prospective franchisees look very closely at a system's AUV before moving forward with new development. Wendy's claims one of the higher AUVs in the industry, consistently ranking in the top five in quick-service restaurants in annual rankings compiled by QSR Magazine. One of the methods Wendy's uses to boost AUV is a process called "Franchise Flip," formerly known as "Buy and Flip." In this exercise, the company buys back underperforming restaurants from weak franchisees, and turns around and sells, or "flips" them to stronger franchisee groups. In the latest iteration known as Franchise Flip, Wendy's plays more of a facilitation role in sales between franchisees. While Franchise Flip generates near-term revenue from consulting and licensing fees, the company benefits more palpably over a longer time horizon. That's because stores get transferred from the hands of marginal operators to high-performing franchise groups, which turn around these underperforming locations, lifting total AUV, as well as Wendy's royalty stream. Wendy's has also fine-tuned its new store development and renovation initiatives in a manner that is more nuanced than that of its competitors. In its drive to upgrade at least 70% of its North American store base to its sleek new contemporary design by 2020 (a campaign referred to as "Image Activation"), the organization has rolled out the "Smart Design Platform." Smart Design enables franchisees to build smaller-footprint stores at a cost savings of approximately $300,000 over a standard building. A newer version dubbed "Smart Design Platform 2.0" targets an additional $150,000 in savings. The mentality extends to troubled stores that may lack the capital to move and build in a new location, or even to afford a "refresh" to current design standards. Management has launched a refresh package aimed at franchisees with AUVs below $1.3 million. In the company's most recent earnings conference call, CEO Todd Penegor explained that the average store closure occurs when AUV hits $1.1 million. Thus, Wendy's now offers low-AUV franchisees a "Refresh Lite" package, which, according to executives, costs half as much as traditional refresh projects. Assisting capital-starved, underperforming locations to successfully upgrade exterior signage and interior decor can greatly increase traffic flow in these aging locations. It's an intriguing piece of the company's overarching strategy to lift AUV, and a fine example of the attention Wendy's management pays to the true drivers of system success -- its owner-operators. More From The Motley Fool • 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices • 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 • 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing • 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today • The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss • Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This Asit Sharmahas no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy. \|\| EU regulators warn Bitcoin investors of 'pricing bubble': High valuations on digital coins could spell trouble - Getty Images Europe The European Union's top banking, securities and pensions watchdogs have all warned cryptocurrency investors could lose all their money as Bitcoin enters a "pricing bubble". Bitcoin soared in value in recent months before losing more than half its value , leaving investors who bought in at the highest prices out of pocket. Prices increased to as high as $20,000 in December, before falling to under $7,000 last week. The trio of regulators - the European Banking Authority, European Securities and Markets Authority, and the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority - warned there were no safeguards for consumers buying into the £290 billion cryptocurrency market. "They are highly risky, generally not backed by any tangible assets and unregulated under EU law, and do not, therefore, offer any legal protection to consumers," the watchdogs said in a statement. They added that cryptocurrencies are "subject to extreme price volatility and have shown clear signs of a pricing bubble... you should be aware that you could lose a large amount, or even all, of the money invested." Bitcoin price: last 365 days They added most Bitcoin buyers were investing in the hope that cryptocurrencies would continue to rise in value "without being aware of the high risk of losing their money invested". The EU regulators also warned of the risks of cyber attacks, such as the crippling CoinCheck heist earlier this year which saw £380m in the cryptocurrency NEM stolen. They said there was no protection under EU law for such losses. They added the information available to buyers was often limited. "Information made available to consumers wishing to buy [virtual currencies], where such information is at all provided, is in most cases incomplete, difficult to understand, does not properly disclose the risks," the regulators said. Q&A \| What is Bitcoin? For months, regulators and governments have been warning that cryptocurrencies pose a substantial risk to investors, and even to the financial system. Last week, the Telegraph revealed Lloyds bank would ban the purchase of cryptocurrencies on credit cards in an effort to protect buyers speculating on Bitcoin on credit. \|\| Is ConocoPhillips a Buy?: U.S. oil and gas driller ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) had been lagging big oil companies like ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM) throughout the oil price downturn, a victim of having spun off its refining and marketing arm as Phillips 66 (NYSE: PSX) in 2012. All of that -- well, some of that -- changed in 2017 as rising oil prices boosted ConocoPhillips' stock price. It ended up not only handily outperforming many of its peers, but also outperforming ExxonMobil for the year. But a single good year doesn't make a trend. Let's see what's in store for Conoco this year to try to determine if it really is a buy. A group of items, including miniature oil barrels, bills and coins, a pool of black liquid, and a pen and paper on a wood surface. Oil and gas industry player ConocoPhillips outperformed in 2017. Can it repeat its success this year? Image source: Getty Images. Keep on flowing Conoco's fourth-quarter 2017 earnings release, which came on February 1, just before the big market correction, showed big year-over-year improvement. The company had a banner 2017, achieving full-year production of 1.3 million barrel of oil equivalents per day (BOE/D), excluding Libya. Excluding the impact of closed and planned dispositions like the company's Canadian oil sands asset sales, production grew 3%. All of that oil and gas left the company awash in cash, with cash from operations exceeding capex by $2.5 billion, and exceeding capex and dividends by $1.2 billion. That allowed the company to pay down $7.6 billion -- about 30% -- of its debt ending the year with less than $20 billion on the balance sheet, which had been a key goal. Conoco also repurchased $3 billion of shares, reducing its share count by 5% from 2016. In short, it was not only a good year for Conoco's stock, but also for its operations. And the company is expecting more good things in 2018. More of the same Management expects not only the oil, but rewards for investors to keep flowing throughout 2018. Production is expected to come in at approximately 1.2 million BOE/d, about a 5% year-over-year increase, after factoring in asset dispositions , particularly its $13.3 billion Canadian oil sands asset sale. Story continues In a press release, CEO Ryan Lance said: We are focused on safely executing our 2018 operational and financial plan, which is designed to generate top-tier growth in free cash flow and production per debt-adjusted share, while delivering superior returns and a compelling payout to shareholders. The company's 2018 projections back Lance up. Conoco announced a 7.5% increase to its quarterly dividend and an acceleration of its share repurchase program, which has been increased by one third, from $1.5 billion to $2 billion for the year. It has also continued to pay down its debt, reducing it by an additional $2.3 billion so far this year to about $17.5 billion. The year's off to a good start for the company's stock as well. Even after February's market correction, it's up 1.6% since the beginning of the year, outpacing both ExxonMobil (down 7.6%) and Phillips 66 (down 9%). The potential downside In 2017 and so far this year, Conoco was very successful in executing its strategic plan of selling assets to pay down its debt and buy back shares. But its debt of just under $20 billion is still quite high. The company's debt-to-equity ratio currently stands at 30%, much higher than Phillips 66's 19% or ExxonMobil's 12%. On the most recent earnings call, Lance indicated he wasn't in any hurry to dramatically pay down the remaining debt, targeting $15 billion in debt by the end of 2019. And, as long as things go well and the price of oil remains stable at about $60/barrel or higher, Conoco shareholders probably don't need to be all that concerned. On the other hand, if oil prices weaken -- which could happen for any number of reasons -- and the company needs to start borrowing again, its existing debt load could cause some headaches. Of course, substantially lower oil prices would cause a whole host of other problems for Conoco, which has already drastically pared back expenses and may not have many other places left to find cost savings. But in the second and third quarters of 2017 , Conoco proved it could turn a profit with oil prices at about $50/barrel, so the price would have to drop beyond that to cause real problems for the company. At the moment, that seems unlikely, but -- as we found out in 2014 -- energy prices can drop suddenly, leaving investors holding the bag. Investor takeaway After a rocky couple of years, ConocoPhillips seems to have finally adjusted to the "new normal" of lower oil prices. It has taken great strides in reducing its debt and buying back shares, and it seems poised to have another great year in 2018. Absent a major drop in oil prices, ConocoPhillips looks like a solid bet for investors interested in getting back into the oil and gas sector. More From The Motley Fool 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This John Bromels has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy . \|\| Americans Expect a 23-Year Retirement -- but Whether They Can Afford One Is a Different Story: The tricky thing about planning for retirement is that in the absence of a crystal ball, it's hard to determine what our expenses will look like and for how many years we'll be covering them. The former, however, can be estimated with more ease than the latter -- especially if you operate under the assumption that you'll need roughly 80% of your pre-retirement income each year to cover your living costs later in life. How much money does that translate into annually? In 2016, the median income in the country was $52,700. If we use that 80% figure, we arrive at $42,160 per year. Serious older man IMAGE SOURCE: GETTY IMAGES. Where will that money come from? A portion will stem from Social Security for most workers, but the rest needs to come from savings. And that's where a large number of Americans risk falling short. GOBankingRates reports that 42% of Americans have less than $10,000 saved for the future. The same holds true for one-third of adults 55 and over. Yet most Americans are planning for a 23-year retirement, according to TD Ameritrade , which means that conceivably, the typical household will need $969,680 to pay the bills during that period. As I mentioned before, some of that will come from Social Security. The average recipient today collects $1,404 per month, or $16,848 per year. If we multiply that over a 23-year period, we arrive at $387,504. Notice the problem? That leaves 42% of Americans and one-third of older workers with a potential $572,000 to $582,000 shortfall based on their current savings level of $0 to under $10,000. And that's certainly not ideal. Will you have enough income in retirement? Why are so many Americans lacking in savings? For some, it stems from an inability to curb their spending and prioritize their nest eggs. For others, it boils down to a serious misconception about Social Security's buying power. But regardless of why countless workers have managed to land in this boat, one thing's for sure: They need to do better savingswise, or they won't manage to get by in retirement. It's as simple as that. Story continues If you're among the 42% of Americans with less than $10,000 in retirement funds but also fairly young, then all is certainly not lost. That's because you have the rest of your career to build a substantial nest egg. In fact, let's assume you're 40 years old -- not particularly young from a career standpoint, but certainly young enough to not fall into the "older worker" category. If you start setting aside $650 a month between now and age 67, and your investments generate an average annual 7% return during that time, you'll be sitting on a $581,000 nest egg. And that's enough to make up for the shortfall highlighted above. If you're an older worker, however, you'll need to get serious about your retirement savings really quickly, because frankly, time isn't on your side. Still, you have a chance to catch up if you make changes immediately. Currently, workers 50 and over can put up to $24,500 a year into a 401(k). If you have access to a company plan and hit that limit for a 12-year stretch, you'll pad your nest egg by $432,000, assuming that 7% average annual return. And that'll certainly get you a lot closer to where you need to be. Furthermore, if you're nearing retirement with not a lot of money saved, it pays to consider working a few extra years past your anticipated retirement age. This will not only give you a chance to add to your nest egg, but shave a little time off that 23-year estimate, thus allowing your existing savings to go further. No matter what steps you take to boost your savings, remember this: That 23-year assumption isn't so far off, so the more you're able to sock away, the greater your chances of avoiding financial trouble at what could come to be the most vulnerable point in your life. More From The Motley Fool 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy . \|\| A $6,625 Investment in This Dividend Stock Could Generate More Than $1,000 in Annual Income Within 5 Years: Income-seeking investors tend to focus their search on companies with high yields because they're looking to maximize current cash flow. For those who don't need the money right now, a better approach is to look for investments with income growth potential. While that means collecting less cash in the near term, it should enable an investor to pull in much more money in the future. That's abundantly clear when looking at the distribution growth forecast atAntero Midstream Partners(NYSE: AM). While some income-seekers might not be all that excited by the pipeline and processingmaster limited partnership's current 5.5%-yielding distribution, few would scoff at the chance to collect a 15.5% yield in just five years. Image source: Getty Images. Earlier this year, Antero Midstream Partnersunveiledits 2018 guidance and long-term targets. The company anticipates investing $2.7 billion over the next five years in building natural gas pipelines and related infrastructure to support theplanned production growthof its parent,Antero Resources(NYSE: AR). Given the high returns Antero Midstream can earn on those capital projects, it expects cash flow to grow enough to support 28%-30% annual distribution growth from 2018 to 2020 and 20% increases in 2021 and 2022. To put numbers behind that forecast, Antero sees its payout rising from last year's rate of $1.325 per unit up to about $4.10 per unit in 2022. With units recently selling for around $26.50 apiece, it implies that investors who buy around that price could collect a 15.5% yield on that investment in 2022. Here's a look at what investors could earn with various initial investments: [{"Number of Shares Purchased @$26.50": "1", "Total Initial Investment": "$26.50", "Potential Income in 2018": "$1.72", "Potential Income in 2019": "$2.21", "Potential Income in 2020": "$2.85", "Potential Income in 2021": "$3.42", "Potential Income in 2022": "$4.10", "Potential five-year cumulative income": "$14.30"}, {"Number of Shares Purchased @$26.50": "100", "Total Initial Investment": "$2,650.00", "Potential Income in 2018": "$172.00", "Potential Income in 2019": "$221.00", "Potential Income in 2020": "$285.00", "Potential Income in 2021": "$342.00", "Potential Income in 2022": "$410.00", "Potential five-year cumulative income": "$1,430.00"}, {"Number of Shares Purchased @$26.50": "250", "Total Initial Investment": "$6,625.00", "Potential Income in 2018": "$430.00", "Potential Income in 2019": "$552.50", "Potential Income in 2020": "$712.50", "Potential Income in 2021": "$855.00", "Potential Income in 2022": "$1,025.00", "Potential five-year cumulative income": "$3,575.00"}, {"Number of Shares Purchased @$26.50": "500", "Total Initial Investment": "$13,250.00", "Potential Income in 2018": "$860.00", "Potential Income in 2019": "$1,105.00", "Potential Income in 2020": "$1,425.00", "Potential Income in 2021": "$1,710.00", "Potential Income in 2022": "$2,050.00", "Potential five-year cumulative income": "$7,150.00"}] Data sources: Antero Midstream investor presentation and author's calculations. Just to pull out one example from that table, buying 250 shares today for an initial outlay of around $6,600 could yield about $430 in income this year. However, given Antero's growth forecast, that annual cash flow stream could rise to more than $1,000 by 2022. That sets investors up to potentially generate more than $3,500 of cash in the next five years. Image source: Getty Images. As with any long-term forecast, there are risks that Antero's won't come to pass. However, the company has several factors in its favor that increase the likelihood it can meet and potentially even exceed that outlook. First, Antero Midstream has rock-solid financials backed by a low leverage ratio that should average between 2.0 to 2.5 over that timeframe, which is well below the 4.0 comfort level of most MLPs. That's why the company recently received a credit rating upgrade to investment grade. Meanwhile, the company expects to generate enough cash to cover its distribution by a conservative 1.25 times through 2020 and a still comfortable 1.1 times after that. That solid financial foundation reduces the risk that Antero won't have the financial resources to meet all its objectives. Further muting the potential for a shortfall is that the company isn't relying on any external factors to drive its forecast. For example, its parent company, Antero Resources, recently hit an inflection point where it can fund its growth plan within cash flow at current commodity prices with plenty of room to spare. In fact, Antero Resources is on pace to generate more than $1 billion in free cash over the next five years, which it could use torepurchase its cheap stockor pay dividends. Meanwhile, with a conservative coverage ratio, Antero Midstream is generating excess cash above its current distribution to help finance expansion projects. The company expects to fund the balance by using its balance sheet flexibility, including borrowings under its credit facility. Because the company isn't relying on any external factors to drive growth, there is some untapped upside potential. For example, Antero Midstream has identified more than $1 billion of potential external expansion opportunities further downstream from its current focus areas that it could invest in over the coming years. In addition to that, the company could make opportunistic acquisitions to expand its reach even further. If the company is successful in capturing some of those outside opportunities, it will enhance its distribution growth outlook. While Antero's current yield might not impress all income seekers, it offers eye-popping growth potential that could enable investors to collect a much bigger income stream in the next few years. It backs that forecast with a clear plan to get there and rock-solid financial metrics. That's why it'sone stock that income investors won't want to miss. More From The Motley Fool • 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices • 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 • 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing • 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today • The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss • Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This Matthew DiLallohas no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy. \|\| Here's Why I Don't Buy This 2019 Apple iPhone Rumor: Apple's(NASDAQ: AAPL)current flagship smartphone -- the iPhone X -- doesn't include the company's fingerprint scanning technology, known as Touch ID. Touch ID was supplanted by a technology that Apple markets as Face ID, which uses a depth-sensing camera in the front of the smartphone (marketed as Apple's TrueDepth camera) to verify that the face of the individual using the phone is the face of the individual who owns the phone. During Apple's iPhone X launch event, the company made a point to demonstrate that Face ID was a more convenient and more secure method of biometric authentication than fingerprint recognition. With that context in mind, a strange rumor about Apple's 2019 iPhone lineup -- that is, the models that are expected to debut in the second half of 2019 -- just emerged. Image Source: Apple. Analyst Jean Baptiste Su with Atherton Research, writing forForbes, claims that Apple's 2019 iPhone X lineup will include "under-the-screen virtual fingerprint reader[s]." This information, the analyst claims, comes from Atherton Research's "analysis and conversations with people familiar of (sic) the technology advanced in the mobile industry." Su continues on, saying that "after months of testing, we came to the conclusion that in everyday usage Face ID is just not as versatile and reliable than (sic) Touch ID." This comes off as speculation based on the fact that Atherton Research's team of analysts think that fingerprint recognition is superior to facial recognition, coupled with the fact that under-the-display fingerprint scannersarebeing announced byother component makers. Su doesn't cite sources who are "familiar with Apple's product plans" or some variation of that wording. I'm simply not buying it, especially considering that Apple executives have gone on the record to say that the company never had any plans of integrating fingerprint scanning in the display, despite many (seemingly credible) rumors to the contrary. Image Source: Apple. To be clear: Other smartphone makers planning to embed fingerprint scanners underneath the displays of their upcoming smartphones doesn't necessarily mean that Apple will do so. In fact, the rumors that Apple isplanning to introducemore sophisticated versions of its Face ID technology in its 2019 iPhone lineup (complete with a smaller cutout in the display to accommodate the 3D sensing components) seem far more credible. When Apple picks a technology direction, it's usually (though,not always) a well-thought-out one. It makes much more sense that Apple would continue to iterate on the 3D sensing technology that it introduced with the iPhone X rather than try to backtrack and include a costly, complex under-the-glass fingerprint scanning solution in additionto updated versions of its Face ID technology in future iPhone models. More From The Motley Fool • 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices • 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 • 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing • 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today • The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss • Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This Ashraf Eassahas no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Apple. The Motley Fool has the following options: long January 2020 $150 calls on Apple and short January 2020 $155 calls on Apple. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy. \|\| McDonald's Sees Positive Early Returns in Its Delivery Rollout: Last week,McDonald's Corporation(NYSE: MCD)CFO Kevin Ozan presented on behalf of the company at the Bank of America Merrill Lynch Consumer and Retail Technology Conference. During his session, Ozan answered several analysts' questions regarding the company's early experiences with the partnership McDonald's has struck withUber Technologies' UberEATS food delivery service. It's been approximately a year since "McDelivery," as McDonald's delivery service is formally known, first started teaming up with UberEATS. Ozan relayed that the partnership now delivers to over 5,000 restaurants in the U.S. Roughly 65% to 70% of delivery sales are incremental to McDonald's existing business in participating restaurants. That number has increased from an estimate of 60% when McDonald's first rolled out UberEATS to a smaller sample size of 2,000 restaurants last spring. Image source: McDonald's Corporation. Last summer,I expressed concernthat as McDonald's experienced a higher uptake in delivery, the new business might cause some issues with throughput -- that is, the rate at which the company can service sales. Particularly, I worried that delivery orders during peak hours could cause delays in filling orders to walk-in customers. Such lags can be particularly frustrating to in-store customers who can't see the typical visible cues of delay, such as a long line to the cash register. Yet so far, order patterns as McDonald's expands delivery look much as they did within the initial run last year. A full 60% of orders tend to be placed during off-peak hours. The sales are skewing primarily to younger customers. College students, in particular, whether from intense studying or more freewheeling activities, appear to be working up the munchies in the wee hours. I loved Ozan's tactful explanation of this aspect of a new business driver for McDonald's to a roomful of Wall Street analysts: Sixty percent of the orders are in the evening -- evening and late nights, which is really helpful for us from a capacity standpoint, because we've got capacity certainly at dinner and overnight hours. Overnight, as you get closer to college campuses, it's a pretty attractive space to be in. I won't surmise why that is or what they're doing prior to ordering McDonald's, but it's become -- so we know it's a younger demographic, we know it's the time of day that's attractive to us. It should be noted that not only are these orders incremental to McDonald's existing revenue, but to some extent the customers are as well, and they could be converted to core patrons over time. I believe the various initiatives undertaken by CEO Steve Easterbrook to present McDonald's as a legitimate dining option for socially conscious millennials are starting to gain traction. The introduction of fresh, never-frozen beef patties in McDonald's Quarter Pounder and "Signature Crafted" burgers this year represents the latest step in this evolution. Removing a younger generation's objections to the company's menu, while enticing this convenience-driven, app-savvy group with delivery, is a shrewd way to add to McDonald's long-term customer base. A fresh, never-frozen beef patty. Image source: McDonald's Corporation. Earlier this month, I discussed a strategy used by McDonald's smaller rivalWendy's(NASDAQ: WEN)to keep individual store volumes robust. Wendy's management achieves this by focusing onthe economics of its franchiseesas much as it does the dynamics of its systemwide profit and loss. Similarly, partnering with UberEATS has proven to be a crisp decision on McDonald's part that benefits U.S. franchisees, a key group of company stakeholders. The economics of the partnership are straightforward to operators. Franchisees pay a commission fee to UberEATS on each delivery. Thus, these orders carry a lower margin than the typical ticket. But they're still attractive sales to capture, as Ozan explained: But in terms of additional dollars, the fact that 70% incremental is giving them clearly more dollars and our breakeven, if you will, incrementality is substantially below 50%. So there's a lot of room, let's say before we get anywhere close to breakeven from an incrementality standpoint. McDonald's CFO is alluding to a type of profitability study known as cost-volume-profit analysis. To wade through jargon and translate the above, franchisees already cover their fixed operating costs (rent, utilities, insurance, etc.) through their existing sales. So the only costs on incremental delivery orders are variable (primarily food and labor). Thus, these sales have a lower breakeven point, giving the franchisee room to cover UberEATS' commission on each sale. Franchisees love this type of revenue stream because it comes without any additional overhead investment. Between interior and exterior upgrades, investments in kiosk-driven "Experience of the Future" ordering technology, and McCafe beverage equipment, McDonald's operators have been required to invest quite a bit of capital over the last few years to increase their annual cash flows. Adding incremental profits to franchisees' bottom lines -- with zero investment on their part -- is reason enough to label McDonald's expanding delivery business a tangible success. More From The Motley Fool • 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices • 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 • 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing • 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today • The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss • Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This Asit Sharmahas no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy. [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] Mike Hearn: Bitcoin Cash Is Repeating Bitcoin's Mistakes https://ift.tt/2GCstGk #CryptoNews #cryptocurrency #blockchain #CryptoTrader \|\| Cyber security involves protecting organisations from cyber risks, http://bit.ly/1LLFIi7 #Cybersecurity #Bitcoin pic.twitter.com/X3V0M2fZbg \|\| Current value of DOGE in BTC: Vircurex: 0.0000004 -- Volume: Today's trend: up at 04/07/18 05:55 \|\| Biggest Losers in the Last 24hours $CENNZ $0.3214 (-17.83%) $KIN $0.0001 (-16.47%) $VERI $90.6315 (-11.81%) $ARDR $0.2367 (-11.45%) $WTC $8.1161 (-8.73%) #BTC #BITCOIN #ALTS all news n signals Join telegram channel fasthttps://telegram.me/CryptoKingdomDynasty … \|\| Just wondering I thought that was bitcoin cash from the other countries being dumped into America which is fine with me https://www.yahoo.com/amphtml/finance/news/bank-america-massive-amounts-overseas-190400035.html … \|\| My bags are packed. Just patiently waiting for the run. #nohurry #btc #eth #ltc #xmr #icx #wan #ocn #xzc #zrx #qlc #drgn #wabi #link #ast #kmd #elf #crypto pic.twitter.com/v4i9ktLCXO \|\| Our CEO @NODEfather is doing an AMAhttps://twitter.com/NODEfather/status/982178765030637568 … \|\| #ICOcreed FREE TOKENS Get free 2,000 #CREED tokens on the following airdrop: https://icocreed.com/airdrop.html Follow ICOcreed for daily ICO Alerts on Telegram https://t.me/icocreed and Twitter https://twitter.com/icocreed #AIRDROP #CRYPTO #BTC #FREE #BOUNTY #ICO \|\| A cotação atual do Bitcoin é de R$28.250,00 subindo 1.44% na última hora! #cotacao #BTC \|\| Btc drop	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 6770.73, 6834.76, 6968.32, 7889.25, 7895.96, 7986.24, 8329.11, 8058.67, 7902.09, 8163.42
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2018-12-07] BTC Price: 3419.94, BTC RSI: 24.99 Gold Price: 1246.80, Gold RSI: 63.82 Oil Price: 52.61, Oil RSI: 37.00 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Why Major Crypto Exchanges are Granting Bitcoin Cash With BCH Ticker: Bitcoin cash The hash power war between Bitcoin Cash (BCH) and Bitcoin Cash SV (BCHSV) ended with a one-sided victory for BCH. Prior to the hard fork on November 15, major cryptocurrency exchanges publicly expressed support towards the roadmap set forth by bitcoincash.org or ABC, the original Bitcoin Cash blockchain network. Fast forward eight days, a growing number of leading cryptocurrency trading platforms have begun to officially adopt ABC as the original Bitcoin Cash network with the ticker BCH. What Triggered Coinbase and Kraken to Support BCH? Earlier this week, Coinbase , one of the most widely utilized fiat-to-crypto exchanges in the global market, released an official statement declaring that ABC will retain the ticker BCH. The company stated that the higher hashrate and longer proof-of-work chain were amongst several other factors that led to the decision of Coinbase to provide the BCH ticker to the original Bitcoin Cash chain. The Coinbase team said : “Since the Bitcoin Cash fork on November 15, 2018, Coinbase has been closely monitoring the BCH network. We have observed consensus in the community that the BCH ABC chain will retain the designation of Bitcoin Cash (BCH). Coinbase will also adopt this designation for BCH. Coinbase has made this decision based on a number of factors including the fact that ABC has a higher hashrate and a longer proof-of-work chain.” In the weeks to come, Coinbase users will be able to withdraw BCHSV that was credited to BCH holders prior to the fork, but the firm did not express any intent to list BCHSV nor allow investors to trade the newly created asset. “Our current intention is to support withdrawal services for the BCH SV chain so that our customers may withdraw funds at a future date. We anticipate this development work will take at least a few weeks, but may take longer” the team added. Jesse Powell, the CEO of Kraken, another major cryptocurrency exchange based in the U.S., recently criticized the operation of the Bitcoin Cash SV camp led by Calvin Ayre, Craig Steven Wright, and Coingeek, who have threatened developers and miners throughout the past several weeks. Story continues On November 21, BCHSV experienced a reorganization of two blocks and Coingeek is suspected to be behind the initiative. As Cornell professor Emin Gun Sirer explained , the self-reorganization of blocks demonstrated a lack of hash power, decentralization, and well-designed system on BCHSV. Powell noted : “Never had anything against Calvin Ayre but this approach is anathema to the community you hope to have adopt your technology. The merits of BSV are overshadowed by the alienating threats of a few grandiose personalities. Longer chain != adoption. Victory may be pyrrhic.” Personalities Behind SV are Hurting the Chain Even in the aftermath of the hash power war, representatives of the Bitcoin Cash SV camp are continuing to push threats against the Bitcoin Cash community. On November 23, Calvin Ayre, a billionaire casino mogul behind SV, encouraged investors of Kraken to stay away from the exchange for “manipulating” the crypto market by providing Bitcoin Cash with the BCH ticker. Continuous threats from the SV camp could lead to more exchanges acknowledging the original Bitcoin Cash chain as BCH, which could have a negative impact on the long-term growth trend of the asset. Featured image from Shutterstock. The post Why Major Crypto Exchanges are Granting Bitcoin Cash With BCH Ticker appeared first on CCN . \|\| Square Earnings Highlight Mind-Boggling Growth: Square(NYSE: SQ)did it again. The company posted its sixth quarter in a row ofaccelerating revenue growth. The momentum was driven by strong double-digit growth in gross payment volume, triple-digit growth in subscription and services-based revenue, and recent acquisitions of website builder Weebly and corporate catering company Zesty. Further, Square flexed the scalability of its business model as it swung to a profit. As investors look over Square's third-quarter results, here's an overview of the key takeaways from the quarterly update. Square Register. Image source: Square. [{"Metric": "Adjusted revenue", "Q3 2018": "$431 million", "Q3 2017": "$257 million", "Year-Over-Year Change": "68%"}, {"Metric": "Adjusted EBITDA margin", "Q3 2018": "16%", "Q3 2017": "13%", "Year-Over-Year Change": "N/A"}, {"Metric": "Earnings per share", "Q3 2018": "$0.04", "Q3 2017": "($0.04)", "Year-Over-Year Change": "N/A"}] Data source: Squarethird-quarter shareholder letter. Adjusted revenue excludes transaction-based costs, bitcoin costs, and the effect of deferred revenue adjustment related to purchase accounting. EBITDA = earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization. Table by author. • Revenue climbed 51% year over year -- an acceleration from 48% year-over-year growth in Q2. • Adjusted revenue also accelerated, rising 68% year over year compared with Q2's 60% growth. • Gross payment volume increased 29% year over year. • Net income increased from a loss of $6 million in the year-ago quarter to a profit of $20 million. • Subscription and services-based revenue was up 155% year over year, or 117% when excluding Square's acquisitions of Weebly and Zesty. • Square facilitated $405 million worth of business loans, up 34% year over year. • Hardware revenue increased 74% year over year. Square's subscription and services-based revenuecontinued to stand out. The segment's triple-digit growth "was driven primarily by Instant Deposit, Cash Card, Caviar, and Square Capital," management said in the company's third-quarter shareholder letter. Meanwhile, Square's 74% year-over-year increase in hardware revenue was driven by "continued growth from Square Register, Square Reader for contactless and chip, Square Stand, and third-party peripherals," management said. Another notable trend during the quarter was Square's higher transaction-based profit as a percentage of the gross payment volume it processes. This key metric rose to 1.07%, up from 1.05% in the year-ago quarter. Key to this improvement was strong momentum in Square's e-commerce payment processing, management explained: Transaction-based profit continued to benefit from improvements in our transaction cost profile and growth in our higher-margin products. For example, Virtual Terminal, which allows sellers to accept payments using a web browser, totaled more than $780 million in GPV in the third quarter, up nearly 120% year over year. As Square has done like clockwork in previous quarters, management raised its outlook for full-year 2018 revenue and other key full-year metrics. Management said it now expects 2018 revenue between $3.26 billion and $3.27 billion, up from a previous forecast of $3.19 billion to $3.22 billion. Further, Square said it now expects adjusted revenue to rise 60% year over year, up from a previous forecast of 55% growth. Importantly, management now has higher expectations for profitability as well. Square expects itsEBITDAfor the full year to be between $250 million and $255 million. Previously, management was expecting 2018 adjusted EBITDA between $240 million and $250 million. More From The Motley Fool • 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices • 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 • 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing • 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today • The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss • Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This Daniel Sparksowns shares of Square. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Square. The Motley Fool has the following options: short January 2019 $80 calls on Square. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy. \|\| Stablecoins: New Crypto Market Trend: As the Bitcoin continues to trade sideways near $6,300, leading commentators declare they are “pleasantly surprised” with the market stability simultaneously changing their forecasts from “20k per BTC” by the end of 2018 to another 18 months of a bearish trend (BitMEX). It seems that now it is really very difficult to determine the future market direction given the weak reaction to the news background, as well as the lack of correlation with stock market which lost about 9% in October. Stablecoins can be new crypto market triggers as recently they have been actively gaining capitalization and has grown numerically. There is no common opinion in the crypto community regarding this process. While Tether lost about $1 billion of capitalization only in October, Gemini Dollar (GUSD), Paxos Standart (PAX), TrueUSD (TUSD), USD Coin (USDC) altogether attracted more than $400 million. Different large projects are standing behind these tokens, but overall they may have one goal: to have at their disposal the “manual analog of digital liquidity” in order to be able to influence the market in future. As of Tether, the experts and crypto community suspect that USDT was used to “pump up” the market, which also contributed to the explosive growth of cryptocurrency at the end of 2017. The experts also suggest that the BTC flat dynamics may be associated with the USD stable positions and if the prospects for main reserve currency will change due to potential effects of a trade war, the benchmark cryptocurrency can benefit from it. The BTC price dynamics can also be influenced by emerging markets movement, which together with cryptocurrencies showed highs at the beginning of the year and then moved into the downtrend phase. The launch of the Bakkt and Fidelity platforms in the near future, which will allow institutional investors to buy and store safely cryptocurrencies, is also considered a very strong news trigger. On the one hand, the market perceives this news with hope, on the other hand, with a great deal of apprehension recalling how the launch of the Bitcoin futures last year had influenced the market dynamics. Nevertheless, this time everything may be different due to a change in the attitude of Wall Street towards the cryptocurrency. Fundstrat Global Advisors analyst Tom Lee conducted a survey among 25 Wall Street companies on his Twitter account and 44% of the respondents said that the BTC had already reached its minimum point. So the launch of new tools can help rather than harm future prospects of the crypto market. Story continues This article was written by FxPro This article was originally posted on FX Empire More From FXEMPIRE: Price of Gold Fundamental Weekly Price Forecast – Democrat Victory Could Spell Doom for Stocks, Increase Gold’s Appeal as Safe Haven Asset S&P 500 Weekly Price Forecast – stock traders turn bullish for the week Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin and Ripple Daily Analysis – 03/11/18 Oil Price Fundamental Weekly Forecast – Iran Sanctions Begin, Nearby WTI Closes Below 200-D Moving Average Tariffs Having Little Effect on Widening U.S. Trade Deficit Kiwi, Aussie Surge as Investors Ramp Up Hope for More China Stimulus, Trade Deal View comments \|\| Kuende Is A Gem For South Korea And Turkey: NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / November 12, 2018 / Kuende is the only blockchain based social media app that rewards users for engaging in real-life experiences. So, when a country's citizens make an entire website about it, you know you're onto something. Blockchain enthusiasts from South Korean are excited for Kuende, an up and coming social media app that uses a blockchain and cryptocurrency to engage its users in real life experiences. South Korea is one of the biggest hubs for cryptocurrency, with some reports showing that one in three South Korean workers have invested in at least one project. To take it one step further, South Koreans even developed their own cryptocurrency, and some of the largest exchanges in the entire world call this country their home. While South Koreans may seem to be obsessed with anything blockchain or crypto related, Kuende seems to be a special case. For one, Kuende promises a social media platform built on a blockchain that will allow enthusiasts from all over the world to come and connect. This has great appeal to South Koreans, who no doubt would love to meet with others to talk about their investments. Kuende Token is a cryptocurrency unique to the app, so it's already meeting a lot of interest. In just the first week of Kuende's public sale, it raised nearly 11,000 Ethereum. With the South Korean government looking into regulating Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs), this is a sign of support from the average user. Turkey is another interesting look at hubs for cryptocurrency. The president, Erdoğan, has called for citizens to exchange their foreign currency for lira, the national currency. He believes that this is one of the only ways to stand against the hegemony of the West. At the same time, the lira's value seems to only just have stabilized in October, and a poor economic situation presents a risky situation. It's an almost perfect Catch 22- do citizens trade their dollars and euros for liras and lose value, or stick with dollars and euros only to see their national currency go down more? Luckily, there seems to be a way out, and more and more citizens are putting their attention toward the decentralized option of cryptocurrency. Where does this leave Kuende? As it turns out, in an extremely favorable position. Turkish citizens have found that the winning move is not to play the centralized currency game at all! Exchanges based in Turkey allow citizens to exchange their lira for Bitcoin and Ethereum, both of which look to be better investments and monetary deals. A whopping 18% of Turkish citizens own cryptocurrency - compare this to the US with only 8% being invested. This means that Kuende also has a lot going for it. First off, most traditional social media platforms seem to have passed Turkey by. As one of the only blockchain based social media, Kuende can connect Turkish citizens to the entire world. Kuende Token, too, is an "altcoin" that can be used on the platform for advertising and creating real-life events for other users. Opportunities abound for Kuende in Turkey. Story continues The CEO, Pavel Antohe, recently took a trip to the capital, Istanbul, to speak with potential partners and investors. What resulted was a whirlwind of a media frenzy - dozens of Turkish YouTubers and bloggers took to creating content describing why they believed Kuende was the future for social media and for social blockchains. Although it's hard to predict how well the ICO market will perform in 2019 and beyond, it appears as if Kuende has caught lightning in a bottle by focusing on traditionally passed over markets and countries. You can check out Kuende's website at ico.kuende.com and see what the buzz is all about. Contact Information: Kuende Pavel Antohe +40 0725 843 286 [email protected] https://ico.kuende.com SOURCE: Kuende View comments \|\| New Foundation to Focus on Crypto Wallet Interoperability: Today, November 26, 2018, marks the launch of theFoundation for Interwallet Operability (FIO)and the FIO Protocol, an interwallet protocol that seeks to make the transfer of cryptos between wallets as simple and straightforward as making transfers on PayPal. “In the crypto world payments are exponentially more complex and cumbersome,” said David Gold, CEO of Dapix, a founding member of FIO. “Crypto payments feel too risky, too scary and too difficult for members of the public. You have to use an incoherent string of characters, and you can’t confirm if funds have arrived. The average person on the street simply will never feel comfortable using crypto unless this changes.” The FIO Protocol is intended to birth a range of features including cross-chain counterparty metadata, enabling transaction statuses within crypto wallets, the provision of a single cross-chain wallet name that’s hard to forget and more. Gold, in an email correspondence withBitcoin Magazine, argues that “decentralized blockchain transactions” need to be easier and “less risky than fiat transactions.” He said, “Users need to have greater confidence that their blockchain transactions are accurate before they commit to sending. This challenge can’t be solved by an individual wallet or exchange as it lies at the interface between all of them. The FIO Protocol is an industry-led, decentralized solution that will enable easy-to-use and virtually error-free transactions between any wallet or exchange.” Gold, who spent 11 years as the managing director of tech VC firm Access Venture Partners, believes mainstream adoption of cryptocurrencies will be severely limited unless it becomes easier to move them around. To make sure crypto payments are as easy to transfer as payments on PayPal, the FIO Protocol will leverage a standardized layer of connectivity and usability features that crypto businesses such as wallet providers and exchanges can use. The FIO Protocol will focus on three core areas. First, it will create FIO addresses: sets of human-readable, universal-wallet or centralized-exchange account names that are universally compatible with every token. Second, it will establish enhanced FIO workflow options for transactions, including error-free, request-initiated transactions so that users can send a payment request from one wallet address to another. Finally, the protocol will focus on FIO data functionality, enabling “the first cross token/coin metadata … the ability for a note or even a full order cart to be included with a payment or a payment request securely and privately from one wallet to another.” Gold went further to state that the protocol is not a “closed party.” Anyone can take part in the protocol’s efforts to make the user-friendliness of transfers on the blockchain “improve drastically” so that the technology can achieve its potential. So far, the protocol has been backed by six leading crypto wallets and exchanges, which have agreed to join the Foundation when it launches, according to a statement. These include ShapeShift, KeepKey, Coinomi and others. The startup plans to test the protocol during the first quarter of 2019 with the crypto firms that have signed up. “Crypto payments must improve if this technology is going to expand. FIO’s approach — decentralized, cross-chain, and with financial incentives to adopt — is exciting, and we’re thrilled to support it,” said Erik Voorhees, founder and CEO of ShapeShift. Once launched, the protocol will offer standardized open-source APIs and SDKs that can be globally integrated into any crypto wallet or exchange easily. According to Gold, crypto users won’t have to deal with long stringed public encryption keys when sending digital assets. The protocol won’t sit in the middle of the underlying transactions on the blockchain; rather, it would send “information and confirmations that better enable the sending of value on all other blockchains.” This article originally appeared onBitcoin Magazine. \|\| Bitcoin Analysis: Falling Wedge Indicates Interim Breakout Scenario: Bitcoin on Tuesday extended its downward momentum, dropping 0.67-percent against the US Dollar. TheBTC/USD trading pairopened the Asian trading session at 6288-fiat and attempted an upside correction to as high as 6309-fiat. The selling pressure around the 6309-level resumed the downtrend. As a result, the pair kept forming red candles for the rest of the Asian and European trading session. It is now trading at 6294-fiat. The macroeconomic view of the US Dollar posted bullish sentiment for the currency. But it is not looking the same today. The greenback is poised to post losses before the market closes as European currencies rebound. The ICE dollar index was noted to be down 0.1 percent as the market opened today. A weaker dollar on an intraday basis can reinject the BTC/USD market with some upside sentiments. The pair is already forming a falling wedge pattern, indicated by the two unparallel black lines in the chart above. The consecutive swing highs and lows coupled with decreasing volume traditionally mark preparation of abreakoutaction. That said, BTC/USD should attempt to knock out the upper trendline of the falling wedge pattern and rally towards 6500-fiat as its primary upside target. The RSI and the Stoch are also signaling an upside movement in BTC/USD price action. Both the indicators are inside their respective selling regions and are eyeing a pullback. In the chart above, a rising red trendline is capping the downside action for now. Our intraday strategy is keeping our eyes glued on the range, anyway. Today, we have 6374-fiat acting as our interim resistance and 6271-fiat as interim support. It is a pretty broad range to apply the intrarange strategy. That means entering a long on a bounce back from support and a short on a pullback from resistance while maintaining a stop loss order in the opposite direction of the price action. Looking from the breakout perspective, the price should break above 6374-fiat to enable our long position towards 6406-fiat. If we go ahead with this trade, then we’ll put our stop-loss order just 3-pips below the entry position. Similarly, in the event of a breakdown action, a break below 6271-fiat will have us go short towards 6203-fiat. Trade safely! Featured Image from Shutterstock. Charts fromTradingView. The postBitcoin Analysis: Falling Wedge Indicates Interim Breakout Scenarioappeared first onCCN. \|\| Nail in the Coffin? BTC.top Shifts Hash to Bitcoin Cash ABC to ‘End Chaos’: Significant cryptocurrency mining outfit BTC.top has begun mining bitcoin cash on the blockchain supported by Bitcoin ABC (BCHABC), potentially putting another nail in the coffin of the minority Bitcoin SV (BSV) chain. Including its BTC operation, the pool has more hash by itself than all of BSV combined, meaning that the threat of a potential attack byCalvin Ayre’s CoinGeekis essentially neutralized as long as the BCH mining landscape remains otherwise consistent. BTC.top CEO Jiang Zhuoer announced the move Saturday morning, stating that it was time to “end [the] chaos” caused by last week’scontentious hard fork. Intervening blocks of BCHABC have been largely mined by BTC.com and Bitcoin.com. BTC.top regularly mines up to 6 percent of the regularBitcoinnetwork, and their contribution to BCHABC has resulted in a rate of about 5 percent of all blocks mined. Zhuoer has written extensively in his native Chinese on the subject of the Bitcoin Cash debate. Some translations have been hard to decipher as they have had to be done from OCR images. All the same, he can be quoted as saying in anEnglish-language blog post on the subject: “Therefore without an effective arbitration mechanism to prevent unnecessary splitting of the BCH chain, it will impede adoption, which implies a reduction of users. This conflicts with the ideology of high-frequency use for a cash system. […] [H]ash voting is not a segmentation based on power, but rather it assumes the role of a jury which reflects the opinion of all participants in the system. The community has the right to signal their preference using all sorts of methods to affect voting. […] Hash vote is not the same as miner vote, but rather acts like a jury to reflect opinions of everyone in the community.” In Proof-of-Work (PoW) systems, the longest chain wins, and currently, BCHABC is consistently ahead of BSV. Zhuoer has not indicated how long his pool will support ABC’s Bitcoin Cash chain, but at present, it seems the pool is mining both bitcoin cash and bitcoin proper. In fact, over the week it had mined 10 percent of the blocks in the regular Bitcoin network. As for the BSV chain, four pools have primarily mined all of its blocks – CoinGeek, BMG Pool, and SV Pool. At time of writing, BSV was effectively seven blocks behind BCHABC, and its blocks were much larger in size. Featured Image from Shutterstock The postNail in the Coffin? BTC.top Shifts Hash to Bitcoin Cash ABC to ‘End Chaos’appeared first onCCN. \|\| A First: U.S. Treasury Makes Bitcoin Addresses Focal Point in Sanctions: For the first time, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has traced illicit bitcoin activity to the public addresses of two sanctioned individuals. According to a November 28, 2018,press release, the department is bringing action against Ali Khorashadizadeh and Mohammad Ghorbaniyan for their alleged involvement in the SamSam ransomware scheme. The two men reportedly helped the hackers behind SamSam convert millions of dollars of ransomed bitcoin to Iranian rials. “As a result of today’s action, all property and interests in property of the designated persons that are in the possession or control of U.S. persons or within or transiting the United States are blocked, and U.S. persons generally are prohibited from dealing with them,” the release states. These charges coincide with the U.S. Department of Justice’sindictment of Faramarz Shahi Savandi and Mohammad Mehdi Shah Mansouri, the ringleaders behind the 34-month long SamSam ransomware attack. Beginning in 2015, the ransomware affected some 200 international entities, including hospitals and government departments in California, Colorado, Georgia and Kansas. The malicious actors used the ransomware to gain administrative control over the victims’ IT servers and sensitive documents, and they leveraged this control to demand bitcoin as ransom. Khorashadizadeh and Ghorbaniyan helped Savandi and Mansour process some $6 million in extorted payments. Tracing the illicit activity back to Khorashadizadeh and Ghorbaniyan’s primary Bitcoin public addresses, the OFAC found that the two men have executed roughly 7,000 transactions across 40 exchanges since 2013. The department believes that a significant sum of the 6,000 bitcoin either man has handled is related to the SamSam ransomware scheme, indicating that they converted these funds into Iranian rials and deposited them into bank accounts on behalf of Khorashadizadeh and Ghorbaniyan. The Bitcoin addresses in question are as follows: 149w62rY42aZBox8fGcmqNsXUzSStKeq8C and 1AjZPMsnmpdK2Rv9KQNfMurTXinscVro9V. “Treasury is targeting digital currency exchangers who have enabled Iranian cyber actors to profit from extorting digital ransom payments from their victims. As Iran becomes increasingly isolated and desperate for access to U.S. dollars, it is vital that virtual currency exchanges, peer-to-peer exchangers, and other providers of digital currency services harden their networks against these illicit schemes. We are publishing digital currency addresses to identify illicit actors operating in the digital currency space. Treasury will aggressively pursue Iran and other rogue regimes attempting to exploit digital currencies and weaknesses in cyber and AML/CFT safeguards to further their nefarious objectives,” Treasury Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Sigal Mandelker said in a statement. The release continues to state that “persons that engage in transactions with Khorashadizadeh and Ghorbaniyan could be subject to secondary sanctions.” This article originally appeared onBitcoin Magazine. \|\| Bitcoin SV Joins Top Cryptocurrency Ranks after Climbing 48% in a Week: Bitcoin SV The hash war between the Bitcoin ABC and Bitcoin SV camps have officially come to an end. But the one that conceded defeat surprisingly gained more than the one that won. Bitcoin SV, the brainchild of Dr. Craig Wright backed by CoinGeek mining pool boss Calvin Ayre, surged circa 48 percent in a week. The new BSV ticker added as much as $2.21 billion to its market cap before correcting lower to $1.81 billion on Monday. In contrast, the rest of the top cryptocurrencies were red. Bitcoin ABC, which has gained rights over the Bitcoin Cashs original ticker BCH, continues to trend lower. Its weekly price action has posted a 23.5% loss. Bitcoin, similarly, has erased $19.73 billion off its market cap, down 23.5% like BCH per weekly performance. At press time, the BSV/USD pair is trading at 109-fiat on BitFinex, up 28.5% from its Mondays close at 84.72-fiat. Interim Bullish Dynamics for BSV The speculation has got into the Bitcoin SV space already ahead of its minimal launch. Coingeek on Monday released an optimistic roadmap , stating that their chain is the most superior blockchain because it has mined a 64 MB block. The plans include a proposal to increase BSV block size from 64 MB to 512 MB in over the next six months, and later to 2 GB. If BSV can hit the value of $640 soon, miners would be able to generate an income of $8,000 per block. Bitcoin SV also eyes the launch of one Teranode project that would scale the network up to 1 TB. In an ideal scenario, the solution should be able to process transactions at a speed of 6.5 million operations per second, while reserving mining rewards to $600,000 per unit. At first glance, the claims look highly exaggerated like any other blockchain project. The BSV team on many occasions have put their actions against their words. While an optimistic post has indeed helped the BSV market add a few hundred million in near-term, its sustainability in the top ten cryptocurrencies would solely depend on adoption by both miners and users if they can deliver. Story continues Technical Indicators Being a fresh market, BSV lacks historical evidence of price actions. The BSV/USD, as of now, is heading north while maintaining its support at the near-term rising trendline. The pair has recently tested 119.40-fiat as interim resistance and is currently undergoing a minor downside correction, forming a bull pennant. There is a likelihood that the pair would continue the uptrend and a breakout target near 140-fiat looks achievable. Nevertheless, to maintain risks, one should put their stop losses only 4-5 dollars below the entry position. That would minimize the overall losses should the bias reverse. Featured Image from Shutterstock. Charts from TradingView . The post Bitcoin SV Joins Top Cryptocurrency Ranks after Climbing 48% in a Week appeared first on CCN . \|\| Apple's Vertical Integration Spree Continues: Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) has long sourced power management IC, or PMIC, products from a small company called Dialog Semiconductor (NASDAQOTH: DLGNF) . This business has been lucrative for Dialog, which indicated in its most recent annual report that about 77% of its sales in 2017 came from Apple. Unfortunately, the fact that Dialog relies so heavily on sales to Apple created a significant customer concentration risk. That risk factor seemed to play out when Dialog revealed that Apple would be using a main PMIC from another supplier for one of the three iPhones that launched earlier this year (a teardown report from TechInsights showed that iPhone XS Max has an Apple-designed main PMIC). Two people holding iPhones. Image source: Apple. On Oct. 11, Dialog announced that it had signed a licensing agreement with Apple related to PMIC technology. Let's take a closer look at exactly what's going on, here. Cash for tech -- and more Dialog says it'll get $300 million "in cash for the license of certain PMIC technologies and the transfer of certain PMIC assets and employees, payable upon closing." The company revealed that "over 300 employees -- representing 16% of Dialog's global workforce" will move over to Apple. Apple will also take over "certain Dialog facilities in Livorno, Swindon, Nabern and Neuaubing." On top of that, Dialog added that Apple is going to prepay $300 million "for products to be delivered over the next three years." What does this mean for Dialog's business? Dialog explains that while it expects to keep shipping main PMIC chips to Apple for the designs that it's already in, it stated that "[no] new revenue contribution [is] expected from main PMICs for 2019 iPhone models and for 2020 iPad or Watch models." In other words, Apple has designed Dialog out of the main PMIC spots in its iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch products over the long term. That's certainly going to lead to a reduction in Dialog's revenue. Story continues With that said, Dialog indicated that it "expects to continue shipping current and future generations of sub-PMICs for all platforms to Apple." As you might recall, Dialog CEO Jalal Bagherli said on the company's Aug. 2 earnings call that Dialog has "two chips in the upcoming [iPhone] cycle, one is across all three and one is across two models." (The chips in question appear to be a main PMIC and a sub-PMIC.) Additionally, Dialog says that it has been "awarded a broad range of new contracts" at Apple that "include the development and supply of power management, audio subsystem, charging and other mixed-signal integrated circuits for high-volume applications." Per the company, that "[revenue] from new contracts is expected to be realized starting in 2019 and accelerate in 2020." Dialog showed in a slide deck accompanying this announcement that while roughly 75% of its revenue in 2018 came from Apple, it expects that by 2022, sales to Apple will make up between 35% and 40% of its revenue. Investor takeaway Given that Apple had successfully designed a main PMIC for the iPhone XS Max, it wasn't a stretch to think that Apple could apply future main PMIC chips more broadly across its iPhone product portfolio over time. That's exactly what's set to happen, and as an added bonus, Apple is also poised to bring its Apple Watch and iPad main PMICs in-house, too. However, Apple and Dialog appear to have managed to work out a deal so that this isn't a game-ending development for the latter. Moreover, even though Apple is apparently moving its main PMIC technology for all of its mobile products in-house, Dialog isn't left completely out in the cold, as it'll keep generating revenue from sales of sub-PMICs to Apple as well as from the "broad range of new contracts" that it has inked with the trillion-dollar consumer electronics giant. More From The Motley Fool 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This Ashraf Eassa has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Apple. The Motley Fool has the following options: long January 2020 $150 calls on Apple and short January 2020 $155 calls on Apple. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy . [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] (STM) STI Micro Electronic's stock looks oversold, down from $26 to $13.80. STM want 20.00 per share in the future? @altcoingazette http://www.altcoingazette.com $BTC $ETH $XRP $DOWJONES $NASDAQ $AMD $INTC $AAPL $STM \|\| #crypto price changes last hour $XNK +7.71% $EDR +6.66% $POT +6.61% $XST -7.84% $DOPE -4.97% $RCN -4.47% #bitcoin #cryptocurrency \|\| If this is legit I find it really odd BTC supporters are supporting BSV which is intent on taking over BTC as the one tru satoshi bitcoin. Hmmmm https://twitter.com/LightningHats/status/1067596539563003904 … \|\| #BTCUSD Market #1H timeframe on November 20 at 12:00 (UTC) is #Bearish. #cryptocurrency #bitcoin #btc #crypto #trading #idea #report technical analysis \|\| This is the the moment. Everyone who believed is now doubting it all. One by one, they fall away like raindrops in the storm. But a select few will earn their stripes. Survive and keep moving. The mud on our boots will hide the bloodstains. $BTC https://t.co/PioUD9p1Wj \|\| Hahahahaha making more and more Don't doubt this market. Upwards #Bitcoin #XRP #Crypto #Marketcyclehttps://twitter.com/CCNMarkets/status/1067726553906388992 … \|\| 2018/11/05 23:00 #Binance 格安コイン 1位 #HOT 0.00000016 BTC(0.12円) 2位 #NPXS 0.00000024 BTC(0.17円) 3位 #DENT 0.00000039 BTC(0.28円) 4位 #NCASH 0.00000079 BTC(0.57円) 5位 #SC 0.00000098 BTC(0.71円) #仮想通貨 #アルトコイン #草コインhttps://wp.me/p9uE3r-u \|\| 現在の1ビットコインあたりの値段は721,239.2676円です。値段の取得日時はOct 27, 2018 05:59:00 UTCです #bitcoin #ビットコイン \|\| "Ethereum Classic Price Analysis: ETC/USD Could Retest $4.00 Support" https://ift.tt/2Snvcc2 #bitcoin https://ift.tt/2UeP6HS \|\| Decentralization is more than just a marketing term you can slap on any project. It is essential and is the only reason bitcoin has survived while all centralized predecessors have failed. Bitcoin is still not decentralized enough, but it becomes more so every day. https://t.co/PhxdiBLsPQ	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 3476.11, 3614.23, 3502.66, 3424.59, 3486.95, 3313.68, 3242.48, 3236.76, 3252.84, 3545.86
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2021-12-01] BTC Price: 57229.83, BTC RSI: 45.97 Gold Price: 1781.60, Gold RSI: 41.79 Oil Price: 65.57, Oil RSI: 26.99 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] ETF Odds & Ends: VictoryShares Closes 2 ETFs: Although the firehose of ETF launches seems to have tapered a bit, with only eight launches this week, that doesnt mean activity in the space was flagging. There were several closures, many expense ratio changes and a merger announcement. Additional Launches Among the launches that were not immediately reported on ETF.com was the actively managed JPMorgan Active Value ET (JAVA) on Monday, which will use its in-house U.S. value and large cap value strategies to select the components of the portfolio. Holdings will mainly reflect the market capitalization range of the Russell 1000 Value Index. The funds managers will seek to select undervalued securities using a bottom-up approach driven by quantitative screens and fundamental analysis, according to its prospectus. Interestingly, the prospectus also notes that the fund will incorporate environmental, social and governance criteria into its portfolio selection process to avoid negative impacts from ESG-related risks. JAVA lists on the NYSE Arca and comes with an expense ratio of 0.44%. WisdomTree also launched a fund on Thursday. The WisdomTree Target Range Fund (GTR) is actively managed but is guided by the TOPS Global Equity Target Range Index from Valmark Advisers. The fund will seek to generate a return profile that is similar to that of its underlying index, which buys long call options while selling short call options on four different widely held ETFs. It also has a cash component for collateral. The traded options contracts within the fund include those on the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) , iShares Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) , iShares MSCI EAFE ETF (EFA) and iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (EEM) . The funds objective is to offer capital appreciation while hedging way risk. GTR comes with an expense ratio of 0.70% and lists on the Nasdaq stock exchange. Closures & Mergers Prudentials PGIM arm closed three of its funds, which saw their last day of trading on Oct. 4. The affected funds launched in 2018 but failed to gather significant assets. They include the following: Story continues PGIM QMA Strategic Alpha Large-Cap Core ETF (PQLC) PGIM QMA Strategic Alpha Small-Cap Growth ETF (PQSG) PGIM QMA Strategic Alpha Small-Cap Value ETF (PQSV) The three closures bring the total completed ETF shutdowns so far for the year to 44. VictoryShares also announced the closures of two of its funds. The VictoryShares Protect America ETF (SHLD) and VictoryShares Top Veteran Employers ETF (VTRN) will cease trading after the close of the market on Oct. 11, although they are officially closed for creations as of the end of trading today. Both funds launched in November 2020 and have less than $2 million in assets under management each. Another fund that launched in November 2020, the Emles Protective Allocation ETF (DEFN) , will also close down. Its last day of trading is scheduled to be Oct. 28. The fund currently has less than $4 million in assets. Further, Tuttle Tactical Management will be closing another of its Trend Aggregation ETFs, with the Trend Aggregation Growth ETF (TAAG) seeing its last day of trading on Oct. 22. The firm previously shuttered its Trend Aggregation Conservative ETF (TACE) and Trend Aggregation U.S. ETF (TAEQ) in September. Finally, the $45 million Global X MSCI Norway ETF (NORW) will be absorbed into the $42 million Global X FTSE Nordic Region ETF (GXF) in a reorganization on or about Oct. 29. Immediately after that, however, GXF will be renamed the Global X MSCI Norway ETF. Interestingly, Norway currently only has an allocation of 6.5% within GXF. Expense Ratio Changes FormulaFolios and Main Management both reduced the expense ratios on some of their funds. The affected funds and the changes to their costs include the following: FormulaFolios Hedged Growth ETF (FFHG) , from 1.17% to 1.14% FormulaFolios Smart Growth ETF (FFSG) , from: 0.70% to 0.69% FormulaFolios Tactical Growth ETF (FFTG) , from 1.12% to 1.05% FormulaFolios Tactical Income ETF (FFTI) , from 1.04% to 0.93% Main Sector Rotation ETF (SECT) , from 0.80% to 0.78% Main Thematic Innovation ETF (TMAT) , from 1.65% to 1.49% Contact Heather Bell at [email protected] Recommended Stories ETF Alternatives To ARKK Innovator: Managing Todays Investment Risks Weekly ETF Flows Weigh In At $16B Hot Reads: ARK, 21Shares File For Bitcoin Futures ETF Permalink \| © Copyright 2021 ETF.com. All rights reserved \|\| DeFi Summit Organizers Are Launching DCentral Miami, the Largest NFT and DeFi Conference in History: The combined premier event of DeFi Summit & NFTCON is set to bring together finance, collectibles and art during Art Basel week MIAMI, FL / ACCESSWIRE / October 28, 2021 / DCentral Miami, the largest, in person combined NFT and DeFi conference in history will take place on November 30 - December 1 2021 at Miami Airport Conference Centre (MACC). The event coincides with the biggest art week in the United States, Art Basel Miami and is set to merge the world of art with the world of decentralized finance. "Miami is not only becoming the hub for innovation and crypto, but also breathing life into the explosive market of NFTs in new and exciting ways. The city is truly flourishing and making its own original name for itself in this crypto space," said Justin Wu, co-founder and CEO of DeFi Summit. Miami Airport Convention Center will have three dedicated stages running constantly throughout the two days with a plethora of Keynotes, Panels, Workshops, and Talks. With three stages at the event the agenda will be jam-packed with speakers such as Pplpleasr, Gala Games, The Sandbox, VaynerNFT, The Graph, and many more projects across the Polygon, Cosmos, Solana, Polkadot, Bitcoin and Ethereum communities. A big highlight of the conference will be the one of a kind NFT Art Gallery, hosted by Superchief , the world's first NFT Gallery in New York City alongside the many exhibitor booths on the expo floor. "It has been a huge year for DeFi and NFTs. With the sales volume of NFTs reaching $10.7bn during Q3 of 2021 and the $235bn TVL in DeFi, we don't see this slowing down anything soon. That's why we couldn't be more excited to host this showcase during the largest art week in Miami to further advance what's possible in digitized art," said Michael Huynh, COO of DeFi Summit. Throughout the conference, there will be a dedicated Metaverse World area with digital fashion experiences by DIGITALAX, The Fabricant, DressX plus VIP dinner events and after-parties. Story continues In June 2021, DeFi Summit led by Justin Wu, Co-founder and CEO, hosted the largest DeFi Conference online with over 9,000 attendees which featured speakers such as Mark Cuban, Coinbase, Polygon, Cosmos, Web3 Foundation, Acala Network, and more. Earlier in October, DeFi Summit hosted NFTCON - an online conference that saw 97,393 total viewers dial in to watch the wide variety of in-depth talks across the three-day event. For both DeFi Summit and NFTCON, all panels and talks can be viewed via the DeFi Summit YouTube Channel . DCentral Miami is in-person with a select number of talks being streamed for those to attend virtually and tickets will be released in waves leading up to the event in two week tiers. A full list of speakers can be viewed on the website: DCentralCom.com DCentral tickets are on sale now here. About DeFi Summit DeFi Summit is an event organizer focusing on DeFi, NFTs, GameFi and DAOs. We aim to educate and give builders, developers and the community a chance to meet, share ideas, and discuss the biggest issues affecting the world of blockchain and cryptocurrencies. We organise free-to-all virtual and paid in-person events with keynote presentations, fireside chats, roundtable discussions, demos, and workshops from leading innovators in the industry. In June 2021, we organized the largest ever gathering for the decentralized finance community. In October 2021, NFTCON , was a virtual summit dedicated to non-fungible tokens with attendees and participants from around the globe. Media Contact: US: Mia Grodsky [email protected] @mia_koda UK: Martyna Borys [email protected] @MartynaMLB SOURCE: DeFi Summit View source version on accesswire.com: https://www.accesswire.com/670028/DeFi-Summit-Organizers-Are-Launching-DCentral-Miami-the-Largest-NFT-and-DeFi-Conference-in-History \|\| One month on, El Salvador's bitcoin use grows but headaches persist: By Wilfredo Pineda and Nelson Renteria EL ZONTE, El Salvador (Reuters) - A growing number of El Salvadorans have experimented with bitcoin since the country became the first to adopt it as legal tender last month, with a couple of million dollars sent daily by migrants using the cryptocurrency. But only a fraction of the Central American nation's businesses have taken a bitcoin payment and technical problems have plagued the government's cryptocurrency app, frustrating even committed users of the technology. Construction worker Adalberto Galvez, 32, said he had lost $220 when trying to withdraw cash from the Chivo digital wallet. Like Galvez, dozens of Salvadorans told Reuters they had at least one problem with Chivo, named after the local word for "good", and few had used it on a daily basis. "It took my money but gave me nothing," said Galvez, who had already been using bitcoin successfully for months with another application at an experimental small-scale bitcoin economy project dubbed Bitcoin Beach in the coastal town of El Zonte. Galvez said the funds had been taken from his Bitcoin Beach wallet but he was never able to withdraw the cash via Chivo. He said he had not heard back after he filed complaints. Others have also reported irregularities with transactions and attempts of stolen identity. President Nayib Bukele has blamed high demand for the issues Galvez and others have faced. A spokesperson for the president's office and Chivo could not be reached for comment. By some measures adoption in the poor country, where one fifth of families depends on remittances, has been rapid. Bukele has said three million people have downloaded Chivo, some 500,000 more than initially targeted and roughly half the country's population. In September he said the wallet had 2.1 million active users. One month since launch, 12% of consumers have used the cryptocurrency, the Salvadoran Foundation for Economic and Social Development reported. Story continues "Since yesterday, Salvadorans are inserting more cash (to buy #bitcoin) than what they are withdrawing from the @chivowallet ATMs," Bukele tweeted on Wednesday. "This is very surprising so early in the game." But the foundation, which polled 233 companies across different sectors, found that the overall use was still low, with 93% of companies reporting no bitcoin payments. "We're still not sure what benefits the government expected," said Leonor Selva of the National Association of Private Enterprises, one of several business groups that remains skeptical about the rollout. MIGRANT MONEY The Bukele government hopes that 2.5 million Salvadorans living in the United States will eventually send remittances through Chivo. So far, 30 bitcoin ATMs to send remittances have been installed in Atlanta, Chicago, Houston and Los Angeles and Bukele says around $2 million is being sent via Chivo daily. Juan Moz, a construction worker who has lived in the United States since 2005, recently chose Chivo to send remittances home to his family - a decision he said saves him up to $18 when compared to traditional money transfer services. "I'm definitely going to keep using it," he said in a phone interview from San Francisco. However, most of El Salvador's $6 billion dollars annual remittances - about a quarter of the nation's gross domestic product - still comes via money transfers, with many wary of the cryptocurrency's volatility. Last month, El Salvador bought 700 bitcoins. Prices initially dropped sharply after the Sept. 7 adoption but surged in late September to reach about $54,000 per coin this week. Several people told Reuters they had downloaded the wallet and received a $30 bonus that the government offered at the outset of the program. The handout was big enough that it benefited some small business owners like Alexander Diaz, whose restaurant serving chicken wings saw a spike in business. "Most of the people who had that bonus wanted to test how it could be spent, so several clients made payments to us with bitcoin," Diaz said, adding that some 20% of his customers now use the cryptocurrency. "Chivo has benefited small entrepreneurs because it makes the payment method easier for customers," Diaz said. (Reporting by Wilfredo Pineda and Nelson Renteria; Writing by Stefanie Eschenbacher; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama) \|\| Bitcoin approaches all-time high but hits resistance at $60,000: By Samuel Indyk Investing.com The price of Bitcoin jumped towards its all-time high on Friday morning after a Bloomberg report said the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is set to allow a US Bitcoin Futures ETF to begin trading next week, citing people familiar with the matter. Bitcoin Futures ETF Hopes that a Bitcoin futures ETF would be approved by the SEC have supported the price in recent weeks. Some exchanges show the worlds largest cryptocurrency reached $60,000 on Friday morning following the Bloomberg story. Bitcoin previously hit an all-time high in April of $64,778. The approval of a Bitcoin ETF would give more opportunity to traders willing to invest in cryptocurrencies without the risk of buying the physical asset and is seen as a major stepping stone on the path for cryptocurrencies to become a mainstream financial market asset. There are a number of fund managers with applications for a Bitcoin futures ETF including ProShares, Valkyrie, Invesco, and VanEck. Earlier this week, Cathie Woods ARK Invest also filed for a Bitcoin futures ETF. SEC Tweet Further adding weight to the argument that the first Bitcoin futures ETF will begin trading was a tweet from the SECs Investor Education Office. Before investing in a fund that holds Bitcoin futures contracts, make sure you carefully weigh the potential risks and benefits, the tweet said. It is worth nothing that one of the previous times the SEC tweeted out this bulletin was two days prior to the Bitcoin Strategy Mutual Fund BTCFX begun trading. Some analysts have taken this as a signal that a Bitcoin futures ETF will begin trading imminently. At 11:00BST, Bitcoin was trading just off its daily high at $59,366. Related Articles Bitcoin approaches all-time high but hits resistance at $60,000 Crypto Hamsters are Coming to Dubai 2021. Some of Them Too Early Cardano (ADA) Price Has Been Stable Over the Past 24-hours \|\| Bitcoin Latinum Partners with Vast Bank to Expand Crypto Banking: PALO ALTO, Calif., Nov. 15, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --Bitcoin Latinum, the secure, next-generation, insured, asset-backed cryptocurrency announces the commencement of a strategic partnership with Vast Bank, a trusted family-owned financial institution serving customers since 1982. The partnership will focus on opportunities for collaboration, deal flow, and integration among Vast Bank, Bitcoin Latinum, and Monsoon Blockchain Corporation (Bitcoin Latinum's lead developer) all through the support of Bitcoin Latinum as a custodial currency. "We are very excited to announce our latest groundbreaking partnership with the industry leading Vast Bank," said Monsoon Blockchain Corporation CEO, Dr. Donald Basile. "Their efforts to bring the promise of blockchain technologies to the banking system will allow consumers access to a greener, faster, and more secure version of Bitcoin." Standing at the forefront of cryptocurrency integration, customers of Vast Bank can buy and sell cryptocurrencies from any location within the U.S. using the Vast Bank Crypto Banking mobile app. Earlier this year, Vast Bank became the first nationally chartered bank in the U.S. to offer customers the capability to buy and sell cryptocurrencies alongside a traditional checking account, providing customers with the same convenient, personalized service they have already come to expect from a leading financial institution. Vast Bank aims to set a new standard for democratizing access to cryptocurrency by enabling customers to simultaneously manage both their bank and crypto accounts side-by-side in a high-tech and secure user interface, powered by world-class software. The Vast Bank Crypto Banking service is powered by Vast's integrations with Coinbase and SAP. "Throughout our nearly 40-year history, our commitment to customer service has been at the heart of everything we do. When our customers asked us why they could not securely buy Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies using their bank accounts, we were driven to develop an end-to-end solution enabling them to do so on a platform they know they can trust," said Brad Scrivner, CEO of Vast Bank. "We are glad to explore the partnership with Bitcoin Latinum to expand the selection of digital assets that our customers can custody." Bitcoin Latinum currently trades publicly on DigiFinex and Hotbit exchanges, under the ticker LTNM. Monsoon Blockchain Corporation has announced plans for Bitcoin Latinum to officially list on ten top-tier public exchanges by the end of 2021. In addition to DigiFinex and Hotbit, the exchanges are: HitBTC (the fifth largest exchange by volume at $4 billion), FMFW (formerly Bitcoin.com and operating with $3.3 billion in daily trading volume), Changelly ($2.71 billion in daily volume), Bitmart ($1.6 billion in daily volume), AAX Exchange ($1.3 billion in daily volume), LBank Exchange($1.35 billion in daily volume), Changelly Pro, and XT.com. Unlike other crypto assets, LTNM is insured, and backed by real-world and digital assets. Its asset backing is held in a fund model, so that base asset value increases over time. It accelerates this asset-backed fund growth by depositing 80% of the transaction fee back into the asset fund that backs the currency. Thus, the more Bitcoin Latinum is adopted, the faster its asset funds grow, creating a self-inflating currency. The listing on DigiFinex and Hotbit, and the strategic partnership with Vast Bank, highlight Bitcoin Latinum Foundation's commitment to supporting the growth of a sustainable crypto ecosystem. Bitcoin Latinum was developed with a highly scalable network that will initially support up to 10,000 transactions per second and millions of transactions per day to facilitate retail transactions. With its Proof of Stake (PoS) consensus method, Bitcoin Latinum ensures the network facilitates more transactions per minute at lower transaction fees. Utilizing an efficient consensus mechanism, Bitcoin Latinum provides a much better on-chain payment network compared to Bitcoin, with an average transaction confirmation in three to five seconds. LTNM is one of the greenest cryptocurrencies in existence, and recently joined the Crypto Climate Accord. Utilizing its advanced Proof of Stake (PoS) mechanism, LTNM holders will earn rewards for holding their coins as collateral to stake on the Bitcoin Latinum network. This leads to less electricity consumption. LTNM reduces the energy consumption to only 0.00015 kWh per transaction. About Bitcoin Latinum Bitcoin Latinum is the next generation, fully insured asset-backed cryptocurrency. Based on the Bitcoin ecosystem, Bitcoin Latinum is greener, faster, more secure, and poised to revolutionize digital transactions. Using an energy-efficient Proof of Stake consensus algorithm, Bitcoin Latinum plans to bring better transaction speed, lower fees, and more security to high growth markets such as Media, Gaming, Telecommunications, and Cloud Computing. For more information, please visithttps://bitcoinlatinum.com. About Vast Bank Vast Bank has built its legacy on personal service, strength, and integrity. With bold leadership and a renewed commitment to customer-centricity, Vast is building on its past to create a future based on new ideas, world-class technology, and a winning culture to enhance the banking experience for customers with greater simplicity and control. In 2021, Vast became the first nationally chartered U.S. bank to enable customers to seamlessly buy, sell, and hold cryptocurrency assets—giving consumers the benefits of crypto combined with the simplicity and security of a bank account. Family-owned and based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Vast Bank has served its customers since 1982. Learn more athttps://www.vast.bank/. FOR EDUCATIONAL AND INFORMATION PURPOSES ONLY; NOT INVESTMENT ADVICE. Any Bitcoin Latinum offered is for educational and informational purposes only and should NOT be construed as a securities-related offer or solicitation or be relied upon as personalized investment advice. Bitcoin Latinum strongly recommends you consult a licensed or registered professional before making any investment decision. Media Contact Company: Bitcoin Latinum Contact: Kai Okada, Director of Communications E-mail: [email protected] Website:https://bitcoinlatinum.com/ Address: 2100 Geng Road, Palo Alto, California 94303, USA Telephone: +1 800-528-0985 SOURCE: Bitcoin Latinum Foundation \|\| Music Industry Moves: OneRepublic Becomes First Major U.S. Artist to Take Cryptocurrency Payment for Live Gig: OneRepublic frontman Ryan Tedder ‘s interest in evolving technology is well-documented (see his recent interview with Variety about moving into the NFT space ). Now, he’s put his cryptocurrency where his mouth is, as OneRepublic became the first major-label U.S. act to accept Bitcoin in full payment for a show, according to the group’s reps. The exchange was for an acoustic at a historic theater outside Vienna, Haydn Hall, on Nov. 16. OneRepublic used the Strike peer-to-peer bitcoin payment app to accept payment for the gig, which is said to have sold out in a matter of minutes after going on sale just two weeks ago. More from Variety Music Industry Moves: Deezer Names Jeronimo Folgueira CEO; Tyler Henry Joins Range Media Ryan Tedder on Making the NFT Space Safe for Pop Music, and Why It's the Ultimate Collectors' Medium Beyonce, Adele, OneRepublic Songwriter Ryan Tedder Sells Majority Stake of Catalog to KKR Said Tedder in a statement: “My band and I are so happy to be a part of something that we believe is, without question, the future of how payments are transacted for unlimited amounts of assets, performances, services, purchases, music, etc. around the world. Whether it’s artists using NFTs to fund albums with their fans or bands being paid for concerts in crypto, music & tech go hand in hand. With that in mind, it only made sense for us to take the next logical step. I also have an upcoming private concert in December I’m planning on taking Bitcoin for.” + DistroKid ‘s Artists For Change, an initiative giving platform members the ability to donate portions of song earnings to charity, is expanding after more than 1,000 DistroKid members collectively donated over $50,000 to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. While facilitating the donations through its “Splits” feature, DistroKid does not take any percentage of artist earnings or donations. Newly participating charities include Miracle Messages, Support + Feed, The North Brooklyn Angels, Vouchers for Veggies and Slice Out Hunger, with more to be announced in the coming months. Story continues Said DistroKid CEO Philip Kaplan: “The artist community has shown incredible generosity by auto-donating a portion of earnings to important causes. We’re excited to expand the program by adding support for these and many more organizations.” + Josh Van Valkenburg has been promoted to executive VP, Creative at Sony Music Publishing Nashville. Honored as one of Variety ‘s 2020 Hitmakers for his contribution to Gabby Barrett’s “I Hope,” other songwriters and producers with whom Van Valkenburg has been affiliated include Ross Copperman, Jon Nite, Lindsay Rimes, Chris DeStefano and Josh Osborne, as well as Brett Eldredge and Chase Rice. Van Valkenburg reports to Sony Music Publishing Nashville CEO Rusty Gaston. He has been with the company since 2005. Best of Variety The Fresh Prince Has a Memoir (And It's an Instant Best-Seller) What's Coming to Disney Plus in November 2021 Everything Coming to Netflix in November 2021 Sign up for Variety’s Newsletter . For the latest news, follow us on Facebook , Twitter , and Instagram . \|\| Pro-Crypto Senator Lummis Discloses Bitcoin Purchase Worth Up to $100K: U.S. Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) disclosed she bought bitcoin worth $50,001-$100,000, according to aPeriodic Transaction Reportfiled Thursday. Lummis, who has beenbuying bitcoinsince 2013, executed her latest purchase on Aug. 16 via the brokerage platform River Financial. CNBCfirst reportedthe news. Under theStop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Actof 2012 (STOCK Act) senators and senior staff with earnings above $119,554 are required to disclose certain financial transactions. Part of the requirements means they must report any purchase, sale, or exchange of any stock, bond, commodities future and other securities on transactions above $1,000. The senator previously served eight years as Wyoming’s state treasurer and told CoinDesk last year that during her time as treasurer she had always been looking for “something that was a good store of value.” Her son-in-law and his friends helped educate the senator about bitcoin’s potential as a store of value, she said, prompting her to jump on the bandwagon when the crypto was trading for around $320. While a bitcoin advocate, Lummisslammed stablecoinsduring a speech on the Senate floor last week, saying they “must be 100% backed by cash ... and this should be audited regularly” expressing her concerns that cryptos pegged 1:1 to other sovereign fiat currencies lacked transparency. Read more:Janet Yellen Has Been Lobbying Against Wyden-Lummis-Toomey Crypto Amendment: Report \|\| Coinbase Likely to Top Q3 Trading, Revenue Estimates on Bitcoin Volatility: Oppenheimer: Coinbase (Nasdaq: COIN) is likely to top consensus estimates for trading volume and total revenue for the third quarter due to recent volatility in the price of bitcoin, according to Oppenheimer analyst Owen Lau. Lau estimates there is an 18% potential upside to trading volume and an 11% upside to total revenue estimates, citing the exchange’s “substantially” improved trading volume in the second half of the third quarter. Coinbase shares had a “rough” September with the stock down 12.2% versus the S&P 500′s 4.8% dip – likely hurt by increased regulatory scrutiny, the retreat of bitcoin, the company’s move to preemptively end its Lend product , its $2 billion debt raise and macro risks associated with Evergrande in China. “With all the news driving volatility, trading volume has substantially improved in late August and September,” Lau wrote in a note. Lau, who has an outperform rating on the shares and a $444 price target, estimates that Coinbase has $6.5 billion in cash as of the third quarter that can be potentially used for new product development, M&A, diversification and increased balance sheet investment in crypto. Late last month, JMP Securities was also bullish on Coinbase shares, putting a $300 price target and market outperform rating on the shares. COIN shares are currently trading at around $250. Read more: Coinbase Shares Have Potential for Almost 30% Upside, Analyst Says \|\| Daily Gold News: Friday, Nov. 19 – Gold Is Still Going Sideways: The gold futures contract lost 0.47% on Thursday, as it continued to fluctuate within a short-term consolidation following the recent advances. The market remained above the $1,850 price level despite strengthening U.S. dollar recently. Today the yellow metal is trading along its yesterday’s closing price, as we can see on the daily chart (the chart includes today’s intraday data): Gold is 0.1% higher this morning, as it is trading along yesterday’s closing price. What about the other precious metals? Silver is virtually flat, platinum is 1.4% lower and palladium is 3.0% lower. So precious metals’ prices are mixed this morning. Yesterday’s Unemployment Claims release has been slightly worse than expected and the Philly Fed Manufacturing Index has been better than expected. Today we will get the Treasury Currency Report release. Below you will find our Gold, Silver, and Mining Stocks economic news schedule for today: Friday, November 19 3:00 a.m. Eurozone – ECB President Lagarde Speech 10:45 a.m. U.S. – FOMC Member Waller Speech 12:15 a.m. U.S. – FOMC Member Clarida Speech Tentative, U.S. – Treasury Currency Report For a look at all of today’s economic events, check out our economic calendar . Paul Rejczak Stock Selection Strategist Sunshine Profits: Analysis. Care. Profits. * * * * * Disclaimer All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Paul Rejczak and Sunshine Profits’ associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be a subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses were based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are believed to be accurate, Paul Rejczak and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Rejczak is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Paul Rejczak’s reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Paul Rejczak, Sunshine Profits’ employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice. Story continues This article was originally posted on FX Empire More From FXEMPIRE: Crude Oil Weekly Price Forecast – Crude Oil Markets Have Rough Week Why Moderna Stock Is Up By 4% Today Crude Oil Price Forecast – Crude Oil Markets Get Hammered on Friday Michael Saylor: Bitcoin to Replace Gold This Decade Natural Gas Price Prediction – Prices Form Doji Day Following Inventory Report Silver Weekly Price Forecast – Silver Markets Hanging Onto $25 \|\| Nvidia: Are Second-Hand GPU Sales Decoupling From Crypto?: Later this month, Nvidia ( NVDA ) will report its FQ3 results and heading into the print, Piper Sandler analyst Harsh Kumar has had concerns regarding Nvidias strongest segment Gaming. Namely, with supply constraints to the fore, the analyst has been worried about how these will affect the segments growth prospects in what is a seasonally strong holiday quarter. However, following an eBay scraping analysis - an automated method to find particular, bespoke information on a website the analyst is a bit more constructive on the segment. Overall, says Kumar, The data suggests there could be a decoupling between Bitcoin prices and secondary market GPU price premiums. Bitcoins price recently surpassed and now hovers around Mays levels (dragging with it other cryptocurrencies), but most GPUs are still selling for between 1.5x and 2.5x MSRP (manufacturers suggested retail price), well below the 2.0x to 3.75x range when Bitcoin was previously at these levels back in May. In fact, the premium to MSRP has more or less been the same for NVIDIA since Bitcoin began its recent ascent in early August (during the same time, AMDs GPUs in the secondary market have risen but only moderately). The stable second-hand GPU price is important as Kumar believes this could eliminate a sticking point for investors. For NVIDIA specifically, the 5-star analyst explained, The impact of cryptocurrency on the gaming business has been a hang-up for some investors and hopefully removes some of the noise around the stock. If a decoupling really is at play, Kumar thinks Nvidias gaming GPUs will be able to meet true gaming demand, instead of potentially being allocated to cryptomining. This would go some way to easing the holiday season pressure in the current supply constrained environment. Kumars renewed confidence is conveyed by a new price target - the figure moves from $225 to $260. However, NVDA stock has already accumulated gains of 96% over the past 12 months, bringing the shares 13% above Kumars target. (To watch Palms track record, click here ) Story continues To find good ideas for stocks trading at attractive valuations, visit TipRanks Best Stocks to Buy , a newly launched tool that unites all of TipRanks equity insights. Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the featured analyst. The content is intended to be used for informational purposes only. It is very important to do your own analysis before making any investment. [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] None available.	Trend: down \|\| Prices: 56477.82, 53598.25, 49200.70, 49368.85, 50582.62, 50700.09, 50504.80, 47672.12, 47243.30, 49362.51
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis] Not fully available. [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Former U.S. Secret Service agent suspected in additional Bitcoin thefts: By Joseph Menn SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A Secret Service agent who stole money seized by the government in the investigation of underground drug bazaar Silk Road is now suspected of stealing money in at least two other cases, according to court filings unsealed on Thursday. In the larger of those cases, he is thought to have been behind the theft of about $700,000 worth of Bitcoin from a Secret Service account three months after the agency was urged to block his access, the documents say. Former agent Shaun Bridges pleaded guilty last year and was sentenced in December to nearly six years in prison for stealing more than $800,000 of the crypto currency Bitcoin during the Silk Road investigation. According to an affidavit unsealed Thursday, the Justice Department learned in April 2015 that Bridges might have kept a private cryptographic key giving him access to a Bitcoin wallet with the $700,000 in currency that the Silk Road task force had seized in 2014. The department urged the agency to move the funds elsewhere. “Unfortunately, the U.S. Secret Service did not do so and the funds were thereafter stolen, something the U.S, Secret Service only discovered once it was ordered by a court to pay a portion of the seizure back to affected claimants,” a team of prosecutors wrote in an accompanying motion. The Bitcoin in question was moved in July 2015 but only discovered missing in December, the affidavit said. The Secret Service and Bridges' attorney Steven Levin declined to comment. In the previous case, Bridges admitted he stole money from Silk Road accounts and framed someone else for it, leading Silk Road chief Ross Ulbricht to plan a murder. Ulbricht is now serving a life sentence. (Reporting by Joseph Menn; Editing by Cynthia Osterman) \|\| Former U.S. Secret Service agent suspected in additional Bitcoin thefts: By Joseph Menn SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A Secret Service agent who stole money seized by the government in the investigation of underground drug bazaar Silk Road is now suspected of stealing money in at least two other cases, according to court filings unsealed on Thursday. In the larger of those cases, he is thought to have been behind the theft of about $700,000 worth of Bitcoin from a Secret Service account three months after the agency was urged to block his access, the documents say. Former agent Shaun Bridges pleaded guilty last year and was sentenced in December to nearly six years in prison for stealing more than $800,000 of the crypto currency Bitcoin during the Silk Road investigation. According to an affidavit unsealed Thursday, the Justice Department learned in April 2015 that Bridges might have kept a private cryptographic key giving him access to a Bitcoin wallet with the $700,000 in currency that the Silk Road task force had seized in 2014. The department urged the agency to move the funds elsewhere. “Unfortunately, the U.S. Secret Service did not do so and the funds were thereafter stolen, something the U.S, Secret Service only discovered once it was ordered by a court to pay a portion of the seizure back to affected claimants,” a team of prosecutors wrote in an accompanying motion. The Bitcoin in question was moved in July 2015 but only discovered missing in December, the affidavit said. The Secret Service and Bridges' attorney Steven Levin declined to comment. In the previous case, Bridges admitted he stole money from Silk Road accounts and framed someone else for it, leading Silk Road chief Ross Ulbricht to plan a murder. Ulbricht is now serving a life sentence. (Reporting by Joseph Menn; Editing by Cynthia Osterman) \|\| New York approves Ripple Lab's application for bitcoin license: By Patrick Rucker and Suzanne Barlyn WASHINGTON (Reuters) - New York state's financial regulator on Monday approved a license for bitcoin company Ripple Labs Inc, allowing it to offer digital currency services in the state. The New York State Department of Financial Services said the company had cleared a review of anti-money laundering, capitalization, consumer protection, and cyber-security standards. "DFS is pleased to continue to foster the growth of the New York virtual currency marketplace," Acting Department of Financial Services Superintendent Maria T. Vullo said in a statement. Bitcoin is a Web-based "cryptocurrency" that enables users to move money around the world quickly and anonymously without the need for third-party verification. Despite being championed by some as the digital money of the future, it is often dismissed as a currency that is too volatile to invest in. Ripple's service and currency, known as XRP, is for financial institutions and companies, such as banks, that provide liquidity for foreign exchanges. Last year, New York became the first U.S. state to issue extensive rules for virtual currency companies. The guidelines, aimed at consumer protection and prevention of money laundering, require companies to obtain what is known in the state as a "BitLicense." Ripple filed for the license under its corporate name, XRP II LLC, a venture backed by Andreessen Horowitz, Google Ventures and IDG Capital Partners. (Reporting By Patrick Rucker and Suzanne Barlyn; Editing by Alan Crosby) \|\| 7 Questions and Answers About the Economy: Investors are hit with new headlines every day: a weak jobs report, rising gasoline prices , unconventional election politics. It can be tough to make sense of the barrage of constantly changing news and events. Here is a look at seven key questions investors need to consider now. Are dialed-down forecasts for the U.S. economy a concern? Slower economic growth is, of course, a worry. "Actually, it's the whole ball game," says Guy LeBas, chief fixed income strategist at Janney Montgomery Scott in Philadelphia. "The real story, however, is much longer term than 2016. With population growth running about one third the rate it was in the 1980s and 1990s, and productivity gains still slowing, it's likely economic growth will only average 1.6 to 1.8 percent, even in relatively good times. In this context, 2016 is actually one of those 'good times,' when the economy is neither running too hot nor too cold." [See: The 10 Best REIT ETFs on the Market .] How could Federal Reserve rate hikes impact the economy this year? The surprisingly weak May employment report, which revealed only 38,000 new jobs were added last month, pushed the odds of a Fed rate increase at this week's meeting to less than 4 percent, according to Fed funds futures markets. Analysts are now pointing to the July Fed meeting as the next potential window for an interest rate increase. "If the jobs report proves to be an outlier, and we have a decent return next month, we are more likely to see a rate hike in July. We put that at about a 50-50 chance right now," says Hank Smith, chief investment officer at Haverford Trust. Even if the Fed hikes rates once or twice this year, it won't affect lending or economic activity, and won't be that big of a deal, Smith says. "The lower-for-longer environment will continue along with sub-average growth and a low probability of recession," he says. "Those themes remain in place with or without any rate hikes." What are the positive factors for the U.S. economy in the second half? There are bright spots. Consumer spending continues to grow and housing also continues to improve, says Brad McMillan, chief investment officer for Commonwealth Financial Network. "Strong underlying trends should support continued growth in both of these areas, with wages and household formation doing well. With consumers starting to spend, despite the poor recent job trends, the possibility of an acceleration in growth is real." Story continues Another shift from last year is the weaker U.S. dollar, which can offer a positive economic boost. "The weaker dollar should be a tailwind for exports and manufacturing after it was a big headwind from 2014 through early 2016," says John Canally, vice president at LPL Financial. What could the presidential election mean for the stock market? A market can deal with good news and bad news because it can price certainty, says John Conlon, chief equity strategist at People's United Wealth Management. "It does not like uncertainty. "This election is generating more uncertainty than any other in my lifetime because the range of candidate policies is wider than it has even been," McMillan says. "Rather than a typical center-left, center-right pair of candidates, you have one candidate being pulled to the left and another committed to policies outside the normal range. Business is reacting rationally by holding off decisions until more certainty is available -- a trend which is unlikely to subside until the election, and maybe not then." Heading into the July party conventions rhetoric remains high, "which makes it too early to truly have an understanding of each candidate's impact on the economy or sectors. This could all change on a dime, though, if the election results in a unified Congress and president," Smith says. [See: 9 Ways to Harness the Growth of Latin America .] Control of Congress will be important, Canally says. "The market has lately favored divided government, and if Mrs. Clinton wins, the Democrats are likely to retake the Senate, but unless it is a landslide win for Clinton, the GOP should hold the House, maintaining a divided government." What risks does the economy face in the second half? Risks for the economy are always present and can be either known risks or those that are unforeseen, says Bill Northey, a chief investment officer with The Private Client Group of U.S. Bank based in Helena, Montana. Northey lists the top known risk as capital market dislocation following a potential U.K. vote scheduled for next week that could have it exiting the European Union. Other risks include the loss of business and/or consumer confidence due to an acrimonious election cycle, which results in spending and investment paralysis, as well as a policy error by the Federal Reserve, he says. Where do analysts see the Standard & Poor's 500 index at the end of the year? Brace for choppy, back-and-forth action in the stock market. The Private Client Group of U.S. Bank pegs the year-end price target for the S&P 500 near current levels at 2,100. "Election cycle dynamics introduce a degree of uncertainty for the markets that will likely generate more volatility and keep a lid on near-term performance. We expect the stocks to trade in a sideways range until after the election, which will remove uncertainty," Northey says. "Additionally, the focus will shift to 2017 earnings where the resumption of earnings growth can provide some buoyancy to the equity market," he says What are the best money moves for investors? This is a year in which the markets may grind to a moderate single-digit returns, Smith says. "We aren't looking for huge returns on equities so investors should position themselves defensively," he says. "We like names that are blue-chip companies with better-than-bond dividends. You can still find plenty of names that have dividends that beat the 10-year yield." Stay focused on your long-term objectives and use the current environment as a check for your appetite for risk, Conlon says. He agrees that investor expectations should be adjusted down to single-digit returns due to slow economic growth and an average market valuation that is not cheap. [Read: Bitcoin's Novelty is Spent .] Conlon likes the energy and industrial sectors right now. "The energy sector due to the recovery in oil prices and the approaching crossing of supply with demand. Industrials due to low valuations, high cash flow, and attractive dividend yields," he says. More From US News & World Report The 9 Best Investors of All Time 8 Easy Ways to Make Money 11 Stocks That Donald Trump Loves \|\| Rocky Mountain Ayre to Launch Crypto-Currency Marketplace: DOVER, DE--(Marketwired - May 10, 2016) - Rocky Mountain Ayre, Inc., a holding company ( OTC PINK : RMTN ) is pleased to announce that it is ready to launch a brand new feature to its Hempcoin website ( www.hempcoin.com ). Hempcoin has developed the first of its kind Crypto-Currency marketplace for goods and services to be offered and purchased using Bitcoin and Hempcoin as the sole means of payment. Users can now offer goods and services for sale on Hempcoin crypto marketplace and get paid with Bitcoin or Hempcoin. The price of the listed products or services in BTC or HMP implicitly changes according to the current rate on the exchanges. This can potentially protect sellers from loss and buyers from over paying due to the constant market price fluctuation of the Crypto- Currencies. Users can also transfer Bitcoin or Hempcoin between each other within seconds without the need to pay any exchange fees. It is a very secure and easy to use. Hempcoin currently trades on two Crypto-Currency exchanges, C-Cex and Yobit , and plans on adding several more in the near future. About Hempcoin Hempcoin (HMP) runs on its own peer-to-peer blockchain like Bitcoin (BTC) but at a faster rate because it is using the script technique like LiteCoin. So in addition to having the advantage of being able to move HMP around faster than BTC, HMP is backed by the marketable securities of RMTN. BTC is strictly a fiat currency like the US Dollar, however, BTC has the potential to go up in value against the Dollar because of supply and demand factors and HMP has this same built in advantage because unlike the Dollar, both BTC and HMP have a limited amount of coins in circulation, while the Dollar is ever increasing in supply. About Rocky Mountain, Inc. Rocky Mountain Ayre, is a publicly traded company listed on the OTCmarkets under the "RMTN" trading symbol. It is a holding company increasing its asset and revenue base through acquisition and/or creation of operating entities. The Company currently has two entities in its portfolio and is focusing its efforts on its Crypto-Currency, Hempcoin, at this time. Safe Harbor Statement This Press Release may contain certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The Company has tried, whenever possible, to identify these forward-looking statements using words such as "anticipates," "believes," "estimates," "expects," "plans," "intends," "potential" and similar expressions. These statements reflect the Company's current beliefs and are based upon information currently available to it. Accordingly, such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which could cause the Company's actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed in or implied by such statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or advise in the event of any change, addition or alteration to the information catered in this Press Release including such forward-looking statements. \|\| Exclusive: Coinbase, Ripple close to landing New York bitcoin licenses - source: By Suzanne Barlyn NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York state's financial regulator is close to approving licenses for bitcoin companies Coinbase Inc and Ripple Labs Inc, which would allow them to offer digital currency services in the state, a person familiar with the matter said on Thursday. The New York State Department of Financial Services received applications from both companies, according to an April 28 notice published on the regulator's website. The notices, usually published after virtual currency firms have completed the regulator's paperwork, signal that the licensing process is nearly complete, according to the person familiar with the matter and other sources. An exact time frame for approval of the licenses is not yet clear. The sources requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. Bitcoin is a Web-based "cryptocurrency" that enables users to move money across the world quickly and anonymously without the need for third-party verification. Despite being championed by some as the digital money of the future, it is often dismissed as a currency that is too volatile to invest in. Last year, New York became the first U.S. state to issue extensive rules for virtual currency companies. The guidelines, aimed at consumer protection and prevention of money laundering, require companies to obtain what is known in the state as a "BitLicense." Both Coinbase and Ripple are based in San Francisco. "We are committed to being fully compliant with all state and federal laws and applied for the license to ensure we remain so," said a Ripple spokesman, who declined to elaborate. Coinbase declined to comment. The four-year-old Coinbase is one of the world's largest U.S.-based bitcoin companies. Among its backers are USAA and venture capital firms Andreessen Horowitz and Ribbit Capital. Coinbase, which markets its services to consumers and merchants, has also applied for a license that would allow it to facilitate dollar transactions. Backers of Ripple, which filed for the license under the corporate name XRP II LLC, also include Andreessen Horowitz along with Google Ventures and IDG Capital Partners. Ripple's service and currency, known as XRP, is for financial institutions and companies, such as banks, that provide liquidity for foreign exchanges. Once approved, the licenses would add to a nascent digital currency industry taking hold in New York. On Thursday, NYDFS approved the application of Gemini Trust Company, founded by investors Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, to trade a digital currency called ether on its bitcoin exchange. (Additional reporting by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss in New York; Editing by Lauren Tara LaCapra and Matthew Lewis) \|\| Bitcoin's Novelty Is Spent: If drawing a stack of Benjamins on fast-food napkins and praying they spring to life sounds like your idea of a good time, consider the urban myth behind bitcoin -- the enigmatic digital currency that exists online, has no central bank or even a known founder. Here's what we know, at least from the fabulist perspective: Satoshi Nakamoto is said to have invented bitcoins in 2008 after he sold a vintage McDonald's paper napkin online and the buyer defrauded him out of several thousand bucks. Since then, Nakamoto has been pegged as anyone and everyone from an Irish grad student to a reclusive Hungarian American. And as the legend grows, so grows the legal tender. Today you'll find an estimated 15 million bitcoins in circulation, worth about $872 million. But putting your money into bitcoins isn't a slam dunk (even if the Sacramento Kings accept them). That's because bitcoin fever -- much like the infamous "Tulip Mania" of 17th Century Holland -- has died down. Way down. Observers say once-smitten financial reporters and publications now focus elsewhere. "Bitcoin is actually unchanged since many years ago: What is different is the focus of the media," says Peter Leeds, the author of "Penny Stocks for Dummies." In it, Leeds mentions bitcoin as an example of what he calls "an investor stampede." [See: The 9 Best Investors of All Time .] "Much -- almost all -- of bitcoin's rise in value was driven by the standard media cycle," Leeds says. "And as the story became old news, coverage levels diminished and the currency faded into the background." But arguably, bitcoin was bound to make headlines in 2013, when European speculators sent its value through the roof. The Cyprus economic bailout drove anxious investors to bitcoins as they sought alternatives to the euro and other currencies manipulated by central bankers. Bitcoin also made waves because no one in the investment world had seen anything like it. Bitcoins are known as a "cryptocurrency," a term that appeals to the James Bond in all of us. In fact, early adopters included thieves and criminals who embraced its all-digital nature. Bitcoin's nefarious fans included Silk Road, an online black market (since shuttered) that sold drugs. A handful of anarchists embraced it, too. Story continues That said, old-fashioned cash has long been a favorite of malfeasants. For the rest of us, "the legal status of bitcoin varies from country to country," says Nicolette Kost De Sevres, senior policy advisor with DLA Piper, a global business law firm, "It is banned or restricted in some, undefined in many and explicitly allowed in others." Adding to the mystery, bitcoins hinge on tongue-twisting technobabble even most Wall Street pundits can't grasp. This includes "source code repository" and the concept of "computationally impractical to reverse." Nor is a bitcoin a coin in the traditional sense. It exists as an open-source, peer-to-peer internet protocol, which may explain why the digerati have embraced it. One bitcoin evangelist is Nicolas Cary, a serial entrepreneur and co-founder of Blockchain, the world's top bitcoin software company. "The virtual currency has specific properties that make it work really nicely as a form of money," Cary says. Ask him why and he rattles off a long list: "It is counterfeit-proof, fungible, easily divisible by up to 8 decimal points, purely digital, robust against the elements -- it won't burn or get corroded in water -- and with certain digital precautions far more resilient than cash." Yes, but... "If you lose the hard drive you've stored your coins on or lose access to a hosted account, you've effectively lost your money," says Cindy McAdam, partner in Goodwin Procter's Technology and Life Sciences Group, and a former executive at Xapo, a leading bitcoin company. And it's not like those things ever happen, right? If you think you'd be better off spending bitcoins than investing in them, online retailers such as TigerDirect and Overstock.com ( OSTK ) accept the currency. You can even make donations with bitcoins at higher-ed institutions that include the University of Puget Sound. Yet you don't have to be an economics professor to describe bitcoin like this: volatile. One bitcoin is worth about $581. On Nov. 29, 2013, it hit a peak of $1,108, according to Coinbase.com, a website that tracks Bitcoin prices. Less than a month later, it had plummeted to $593 -- more than its current worth. But if you bought in at the start of last September, you'd have doubled your money and then some. It's enough to give even a stalwart market-timing enthusiast a case of virtual currency vertigo. "There is a belief that much of the 'Wild West' spike in late 2013 was driven by fraud and market manipulation," McAdam says. "The price fell dramatically in the year following that, but has basically been on an upward trend for the past 18 months." [See: The 10 Best REIT ETFs on the Market .] That includes a price bump of $130 over two weeks between late May and early June. "With the upward price movement, we should expect to see more bitcoin headlines soon," says Anthem Hayek Blanchard, founder and CEO of Anthem Vault, which has created a gold-backed digital currency, HayekGold. He predicts that "it is very likely that bitcoin prices will go higher and breach $1,000 per bitcoin." Taken one way, the recent price rebound could be interpreted as newfound stability away from the harsh media spotlight. "Some speculate the buying is coming from the Chinese market due to currency controls and a devalued yuan," says Jalak Jobanputra, a venture capitalist and founding partner of FuturePerfect Ventures in New York City. Or, it could represent the latest gyration in Bitcoin's brief, marble-in-a-bathtub history. So is now a good time to buy bitcoins? Or is it ever a good time to invest in them? "Bitcoin remains a risky investment," says William Brindise, chief trading officer at DigitalX, a software solutions company in the global digital payments industry. "If growth in demand remains roughly constant as supply growth falls, economic theory suggests the price of bitcoin should rise," Brindise says. "However that's a big if, since the factors driving demand for bitcoins remain in flux." Meanwhile, some argue that the current lack of sensationalism means that bitcoin , once an investment upstart, is settling down. "Bitcoin never went away," says Christopher Burniske, analyst and blockchain products lead at New York City's ARK Investment Management, the first public fund manager to invest in bitcoin. "Its strength can be seen in the 'up and to the right' graphs of transactional volumes, trading volumes, hashing power, number of wallets, startups, merchants, and more, all involved with bitcoin." Burniske also points to the 99bitcoins website, which tracks bitcoin obituaries in the press. The number to date: 104. He notes that while bitcoin isn't the media darling it once was, it doesn't deserve to be on death row, either. The truth, in all likelihood, sits securely in the mundane middle. [Read: Real Estate's New Land of Plenty .] "There are fewer headlines because the currency has leveled out to a degree," says John Sedunov, assistant professor of finance at the Villanova University School of Business in the Philadelphia area. "If anything, it is becoming more mainstream." More From US News & World Report 11 Stocks That Donald Trump Loves 7 Ways to Tell if a Stock Is a Good Price 8 Easy Ways to Make Money \|\| Exclusive: Coinbase, Ripple close to landing New York bitcoin licenses - source: By Suzanne Barlyn NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York state's financial regulator is close to approving licenses for bitcoin companies Coinbase Inc and Ripple Labs Inc, which would allow them to offer digital currency services in the state, a person familiar with the matter said on Thursday. The New York State Department of Financial Services received applications from both companies, according to an April 28 notice published on the regulator's website. The notices, usually published after virtual currency firms have completed the regulator's paperwork, signal that the licensing process is nearly complete, according to the person familiar with the matter and other sources. An exact time frame for approval of the licenses is not yet clear. The sources requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. Bitcoin is a Web-based "cryptocurrency" that enables users to move money across the world quickly and anonymously without the need for third-party verification. Despite being championed by some as the digital money of the future, it is often dismissed as a currency that is too volatile to invest in. Last year, New York became the first U.S. state to issue extensive rules for virtual currency companies. The guidelines, aimed at consumer protection and prevention of money laundering, require companies to obtain what is known in the state as a "BitLicense." Both Coinbase and Ripple are based in San Francisco. "We are committed to being fully compliant with all state and federal laws and applied for the license to ensure we remain so," said a Ripple spokesman, who declined to elaborate. Coinbase declined to comment. The four-year-old Coinbase is one of the world's largest U.S.-based bitcoin companies. Among its backers are USAA and venture capital firms Andreessen Horowitz and Ribbit Capital. Coinbase, which markets its services to consumers and merchants, has also applied for a license that would allow it to facilitate dollar transactions. Backers of Ripple, which filed for the license under the corporate name XRP II LLC, also include Andreessen Horowitz along with Google Ventures and IDG Capital Partners. Ripple's service and currency, known as XRP, is for financial institutions and companies, such as banks, that provide liquidity for foreign exchanges. Once approved, the licenses would add to a nascent digital currency industry taking hold in New York. On Thursday, NYDFS approved the application of Gemini Trust Company, founded by investors Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, to trade a digital currency called ether on its bitcoin exchange. (Additional reporting by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss in New York; Editing by Lauren Tara LaCapra and Matthew Lewis) \|\| INVESTMENT FOCUS-Index-eligible or not, China's allure dimmed by yuan fears: (Repeats from Friday without changes) By Sujata Rao LONDON, June 17 (Reuters) - Just as China's $10 trillion bond and equity markets appear to be on the cusp of joining global indexes, investors who long sought free access to these assets have started to worry that any returns would be hit by a weakening yuan. Many were disappointed by MSCI's decision this week to keep China's mainland listed A-shares off its emerging market indexes on the grounds that Beijing needed to make its markets more easily accessible to foreign investors. But market watchers said the decision, made after months of consultations with investors, at least partly reflected fund managers' unease about allocating more to yuan-denominated assets. Currently, MSCI indexes include only Chinese stocks listed offshore which are freely traded. China's mainland stocks will almost certainly be added to equity indexes in the coming years, if not months, as will the country's $7 trillion government bond market, the world's third-biggest. That should bring more capital inflows, especially as foreign holdings of local shares and bonds currently amount to just $180 billion, JPMorgan calculates. But the timing is tricky. An economy growing at its slowest pace in 25 years, falling exports and potential U.S. interest rate rises are seen portending yuan weakness. Memories are still fresh of last August's devaluation, when the yuan fell 2.7 percent against the dollar in one week. "There is pent-up demand for exposure to China, but we are probably in a period when the world is happy not to hold too much of it," said Kieran Curtis, a bond fund manager at Standard Life Investments. "You get a pretty decent (bond) yield but people will be reluctant to pile in because of expectations of currency depreciation." Recent yuan moves give credence to such fears. Authorities have recently been fixing the official exchange rate at steadily weaker levels, pushing it to five-year lows. That weakness and a surge in outbound investment could also fuel a resumption of last year's huge capital outflows. Story continues The yuan has fallen 8 percent against the dollar since the end of 2013, ceding a quarter of its appreciation since 2005. But against its trading partners' currencies it has fallen 4.3 percent this year, suffering more trade-weighted depreciation than any emerging currency other than the Mexican peso. INDEX INCLUSION Keen to boost the international profile of its markets and currency, Beijing has rushed to make the changes that index providers require, relaxing quota-based investment programmes and clamping down on arbitrary share suspensions. Bond investors were told last month they would be able to remit money more freely, a move seen as potentially enabling entry to major debt indexes and bringing in at least $155 billion, according to JPMorgan estimates. JPMorgan has already put China on a watchlist for its GBI-EM emerging bond index. China's government pays 3 percent on its 10-year bonds, far higher than any other country whose currency is in the International Monetary Fund's SDR basket. But while this is high in the global context, it may seem paltry to emerging debt specialists who earn more than 6 percent on the GBI-EM index on average. "At this juncture I don't think China will attract material interest...it will be the lowest yielding market in the (GBI-EM) index. Plus the tail risk that they could devalue," said Naveen Kunam, portfolio manager at Allianz Global Investors. Indeed, non-deliverable forwards (NDFs), derivatives used by investors to lock in future exchange rates, price the yuan at 6.8 per dollar in a year's time versus the spot rate of 6.6. This is down from January peaks close to 7 but investors planning to buy Chinese assets should use the pullback to add yuan hedges, analysts at Goldman Sachs advise. Hedging erodes returns: Someone holding a six-month NDF, for example, would pay away roughly 1.2 percent of the yield earned. WAIT Many therefore say they will wait. "FX risk is something to take into account because with the yield differential being quite low with the U.S., the FX effect becomes more influential in your investment decision," said PineBridge Investments' portfolio manager Anders Faergeman. Another 5-10 percent yuan depreciation versus the dollar would get him interested in Chinese bonds, Faergeman added. Of course not everyone believes yuan weakening is inevitable. China's exports are competitive enough without a devaluation, analysts at asset manager Matthews Asia say. Sentiment, however, is powerful. Reuters reported this month that investors inside and outside China were employing various strategies to profit from yuan weakness, including buying Bitcoin and shorting Hong Kong stocks correlated to the exchange rate. Shanghai shares have fallen almost 20 percent this year and China funds tracked by EPFR Global have seen around $2.5 billion in outflows. That's part of a broader picture of capital flight from Chinese firms and individuals, with May alone seeing $27 billion flee. Patrick Mange, head of EM strategy at BNP Paribas Investment Partners says big yuan devaluation risks are actually small as China can easily tighten capital controls if needed. "This risk is in the mind of people, it is a longer-term risk which would impact this market." (Additional reporting by Karin Strohecker and Nicola Saminather in Singapore, graphics by Vincent Flasseur and Nigel Stephenson; Editing by Hugh Lawson) \|\| Billionaire VC Tim Draper wants 9 months and $40,000 to turn you into the next Steve Jobs, starting with military survival training: (Business Insider)Tim Draper. If you are between 18 and 28, famous billionaire venture capitalist Tim Draper has a plan to turn you into the "next Steve Jobs." That's why he launched aschool for young, would-beentrepreneurscalled Draper University of Heroes, he tells Business Insider, which he turned into a reality TV show last year. The show, "Startup U," failed to attract an audience, wasdropped from prime time, and there'sno word yetif ABC will renew it or not. But even if students won't appear on TV, Draper has a new plan for the school. He just added a new nine-month program to the curriculum, starting in the fall, which he views as an alternative to a master's degree. This is in addition to the school's classic two months of "hero training" offered since it launched three years ago. There's a reason he calls it hero training. Before you can become the next Steve Jobs, you have to learn to be tough. Navy SEAL tough. Hero training includes "four days of survival training with military teams. We have Navy SEAL special forces and Army Rangers that take them to real survival training," Draper says. (Athit Perawongmetha/REUTERS) Once students have spent those days foraging for food and shelter in the wilderness, the next step is city survival training, challenges that sound like what Donald Trump gave to contestants on his reality show, "The Apprentice." "There's another couple of days in the two months of hero training that's Urban Survival training," Draper says. Students have to go out and "sell something embarrassing, or go to San Francisco and come back with a job offer, on paper, in 24 hours." That job offer gives them the confidence that they can always quickly get a position, he says. As Draper says, "How to create a Steve Jobs? It's a way of thinking." The school admits people "that have that spark and we create an environment that ignites that spark." Once the students have learned how to survive, they are ready to learn about the tech industry — Draper U-style. The nine-month program will include learning about the newest, buzziest technologies. (Tim Neely/ABC Family)Tim Draper surrounded by students in the "Startup U" reality TV show. Although every class has a different curriculum, Draper says, students might explore Bitcoin — which Draper loves — learn design, and use the newest programming languages to build an app, or maybe a robot. They'll also draft a business plan, turn that plan into a pitch deck, and turn the pitch deck into a two-minute presentation and pitch it to "between 30 and 50 VCs," including himself, he says. He's dedicated a $1 million fund to invest seed money in startup ideas from the class, too, he says. But it's not a scholarship program. The two-month hero training costs $12,000. The full nine-month program costs $40,000, Draper tells us. Draper calls it an alternative to traditional school. That's important: This is not an accredited school. Students who finish the program do not earn an accredited degree. Just to compare, many accredited universities charge about $40,000 to earn a bona fide master's degree. Draper U has been controversial in its three years. While some students have posted glowingreviews of it on Yelp, some have given itbad reviews. Draper says, "We definitely get mixed reviews. Our training is not for everybody." AndThe Verge's Russell Brandom once called the school a BA in BS. But Draper points to the alumni success stories as proof of the school's value. Draper U has had over 500 alumni from 53 countries who have created 200 startups and landed a total of $22 million in funding, he says. He points to businesses like biomedical startup nVision and conference-tech firm Loopd as examples of alumni startups that got funding. Not that Draper is worried about controversy. He has come up witha plan to turn California into six states,offered to make a large charitable donation if people watched his reality TV show,and bought a huge stash of Bitcoin auctioned by the government after seizing black-market site Silk Road and is fond ofmaking large public bets. NOW WATCH:Meet the founder of a hot fintech startup that an old-line insurance company paid $250 million to buy More From Business Insider • This VC thinks Apple CEO Tim Cook is like 'human Ambien' • Go inside a venture capitalist's $26 million townhouse • The billionaire who wanted to split California into 6 states now has a crazy plan to give everyone $15,000 [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] 1 KOBO = 0.00001497 BTC = 0.0095 USD = 2.6814 NGN = 0.1476 ZAR = 0.9617 KES #Kobocoin 2016-06-27 17:00 pic.twitter.com/buKSnopbh9 \|\| In the last 10 mins, there were arb opps spanning 8 exchange pair(s), yielding profits ranging between $0.00 and $724.50 #bitcoin #btc \|\| 1 KOBO = 0.00001097 BTC = 0.0050 USD = 0.9945 NGN = 0.0740 ZAR = 0.5019 KES #Kobocoin 2016-05-09 12:00 pic.twitter.com/kmJUj8PRGN \|\| Hitbtc: BTC/EUR Vol.:$ 34,722(45.41 %) Price:$ 655.38 \| BTC/USD Vol.:$ 17,265(22.58 %) Price:$ 660.98 \| LTC/USD Vol.:$ 10,440(13.65 %... \|\| http://cubeminers.com SHA: 0.00 KH Scrypt: 92.95 MH x11: 13.88 MH #DigiCube #bitcoin #altcoinpic.twitter.com/tnhct45vUz \|\| #EuroCoin #EUC $ 0.000065 (4.87 %) 0.00000013 BTC (0.00 %) \|\| LIVE: Profit = $675.19 (8.43 %). BUY B19.39 @ $420.00 (#VirCurex). SELL @ $448.41 (#Bitfinex) #bitcoin #btc - http://www.projectcoin.org \|\| #BTA Price: Bittrex 0.00000896 BTC YoBit 0.00000751 BTC Bleutrade 0.00000888 BTC #BTAprice 2016-06-17 11:00 pic.twitter.com/9jxI4WHhdf \|\| #TrinityCoin #TTY $ 0.000013 (-0.25 %) 0.00000003 BTC (-0.00 %) \|\| $774.24 #bitfinex; $770.00 #bitstamp; $738.78 #btce; Prices & News: http://bit.ly/1VI6Yse #bitcoin #btc	Trend: no change \|\| Prices: 658.66, 683.66, 670.63, 677.33, 640.56, 666.52, 650.96, 649.36, 647.66, 664.55
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis] Not fully available. [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Commuters to pay with Bitcoin and crypto on Japanese subway: East Japan Railway Company is in talks with internet service provider IIJ over the implementation of a Bitcoin payment method for the Japanese subway, according to local media outlet ANN News . The plan is to allow customers to top off their contactless ‘Suica’ public transport card with Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies, which can then be used to access the subway. Japan Railways Group is also looking into the potential of creating its own cryptocurrency exchange that would allow efficient integration with the Suica card. The card will also be able to be used in shops within the subway stations, enhancing the use case of cryptocurrency as a payment solution. East Japan Railway Company is also looking into Mizuno Bank’s J-Coin, which has drawn parallels to JP Morgan’s native cryptocurrency JPM Coin. Japan is being forced to innovate when it comes to the usage of cash as it is currently lagging behind the likes of China and Europe, with just 20% of transactions in Japan taking place digitally – a stark contrast to China’s figure of 60%. The government is aiming to pivot towards a “cashless vision” that would see digital payments double to 40% by 2027. “According to the report ‘Cashless Vision,’ compiled by a panel of experts under the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, cashless systems at retail stores will save manpower at a time when Japan desperately needs to improve productivity amid a labor shortage and declining population,” reports the Japan Times . For more news, guides, and cryptocurrency analysis, click here . Japan Yahoo backs new cryptocurrency exchange By Sam Webb – March 29, 2019 The post Commuters to pay with Bitcoin and crypto on Japanese subway appeared first on Coin Rivet . \|\| Bitcoin And Ethereum Daily Price Forecast – Crypto Bulls Struggle To Break Free From Consolidation: Cryptocurrency market continues to trade range-bound in the global market today and nothing much has really changed in the last 24 hours. Crypto bulls are continuing their attempt to breach the upper level of price range limitations that is hindering the next level of sharp gains. Both Bitcoin and Ethereum saw multiple dead cat bounce each of which saw price breach critical resistance levels, however, this clearly shows that while bulls have some level of strength that enables them to hold onto ongoing rally, they clearly lack fundamental support that is strong enough to help push bulls above critical price levels. For the majority of the day, Bitcoin and all other major legacy crypto coins traded with positive bias across the day. Despite price action suggesting that bulls lacked the strength necessary to make a clear bullish breakout and sustain a positive price rally, gains from top crypto coins helped raise net worth of crypto assets currently circulating in the market to more than $130 billion USD which is the highest since February 24. As of writing this article, BTC/USD pair is trading at $3894.2 up by 0.61% on the day while ETH/USD pair is trading at $137.87 down by 0.61% on the day. Moving forward, the path with the least resistance is towards upside for both Bitcoin and Ethereum as both crypto coins show stability in the short term. When looking from a technical perspective, price action in hourly intra-day charts are well above 20, 50 & 100 SMA’s and momentum indicator Stochastic RSI is moving near a neutral level with slight towards oversold region which supports theory above that bitcoin is likely to trade positive in near term but has little chance for bullish breakout. For Ethereum, price in hourly charts is moving inline with 20, 50 & 100 SMA’s in one hour chart and above 20, 50 SMA’s but below 100 SMA line in 4-hour chart while Stochastic RSI is seeing the signal line well near oversold region which suggests that price action could be stable above $135 handle but has high resistance around $137.50 which needs to be scaled with stable rally for ETH to aim $140 handle in near future. Please let us know what you think in the comments below. Thisarticlewas originally posted on FX Empire • Crude Oil Price Update – Needs to Build Support Over $56.65 to Extend Rally • Gold Price Futures (GC) Technical Analysis – March 7, 2019 Forecast • GBP/USD Price Forecast – British pound pulls back • Gold Price Forecast – Gold markets finding support • S&P 500 Price Forecast – Stock markets find buyers at lower levels • Natural Gas Price Forecast – Natural gas markets soften \|\| Bitcoin and Ethereum Daily Price Forecast Major Cryptocoins Consolidate With Bullish Bias Post Corrective Price Rally: Cryptocurrency market is seeing all its major crypto coins trade positive post yesterdays corrective price rally. While headlines suggest that market bears are starting to fight for control, crypto bulls are still seeing positive price activity at the moment as fresh fund flows and healthy trading volume ahead of Ethereum network upgrade continues to underpin bulls from a fundamental perspective. Bitcoin and other 9 major legacy crypto coins which make up top 10 cryptocurrencies in terms of market volume are seeing positive price action with all assets up more than 0.50% by late European market hours. During the Asian and European market hours, Bitcoin and other legacy cryptocurrencies have managed to erase most of the loss incurred during yesterdays trading session. Crypto Bulls Positive On Headlines Influenced Momentum As trading session approaches the weekend, both bitcoin and ethereum are trading near psychological price levels a break above which is likely to influence a positive rally bringing in more fund flow to cryptocurrency market while also seeing an increase in overall trading volume. As of writing this article, BTCUSD pair is trading at $3995.8 up by 1.20% on the day, while ETHUSD pair is trading at $149.88 up by 2.69% on the day. Both pairs are trading rangebound with bullish bias in the broad market but lacks a clear directional bias and trigger that could favor a bullish breakout above critical price levels resulting in price rally stagnating just below psychological resistance levels. News hit the market that Bank of Japan had published a paper on central bank digital coin and while no update on when such a coin will be released by the bank has hit the market, Bank of Japan has yet to deny or confirm news of the release of the said crypto coin. Since false claims are mostly denied by Banks as soon as they learn of same, so far they have denied any works on cryptocurrency which suggests that work is likely in progress behind the scenes. Further, news hit the market that Bahrain is looking to issue a comprehensive regulation for cryptocurrency and blockchain products with the aim to lure capital inflows and secure a position of a major financial hub in the Middle East owing to increased adoption of technology in real-world usage and the fact that crypto assets currently make a major part of financial industry. These moves are expected to add more fundamental support and influence positive price rally in immediate and near future trading sessions. As the crypto market is currently experiencing a positive price rally which seems to be supported from a fundamental perspective, both Bitcoin and Ethereum are expected to continue trading in rangebound pattern with a bullish bias for rest of the day and maintain positive price rally across the weekend. Story continues Please let us know what you think in the comments below This article was originally posted on FX Empire More From FXEMPIRE: Natural Gas Price Forecast natural gas markets went sideways Silver Weekly Price Forecast Silver markets form a shooting star S&P 500 Weekly Price Forecast stock markets in resistance Silver Price Forecast Silver markets bounced on Friday USD/JPY Weekly Price Forecast US dollar struggles Natural Gas Price Prediction Prices Slip but Are Poised to Continue to Rise \|\| Bitcoin Price Looks North As Trading Volumes Hit 9-Month Highs: • Bitcoinwitnessedan inverse head-and-shoulders breakout on Monday and rose to $4,000 yesterday, confirming a bullish reversal on the daily chart. • The trend change is backed by a jump in trading volumes to levels last seen in May 2018. The rally, therefore, looks to have legs and December highs above $4,200 could come into play, albeit after a minor bout of consolidation or pullback, as the indicators on the 4-hour chart and daily charts are reporting overbought conditions. • A break below Monday’s low of $3,614 would invalidate the bullish setup, although that looks unlikely, as longer duration charts are beginning to align in favor of the bulls. Bitcoin (BTC) could revisit December highs above $4,200 in the near-term as the recent rally is backed by a surge in trading volumes. The leading cryptocurrency by market value is currently trading at $3,930 on Bitstamp, having clocked a 5.5-week high of $4,000 yesterday. The 20 percent appreciation witnessed over the last 12 days is accompanied by a 28.4 percent rise in daily trading volumes, according toCoinMarketCap. Cryptos ‘Not a Substitute’ for the Yellow Metal, Says World Gold Council Notably, total trading volumes across all exchanges jumped 40 percent to $9.91 billion on Monday,validatingBTC’s bullish breakout above $3,800. Further, investor interest in the cryptocurrency has increased post-breakout, with volumes rising further to $9.93 billion yesterday â the highest level since May 3, 2018. So, the recent rally appears to have substance and prices could rise towards $4,236 (Dec. 24 high) in the near-term. Both the inverse head-and-shoulders breakout and the triangle breakout seen in the above chart indicate a bearish-to-bullish trend change. Funds in Short Positions on Bitcoin Drop to 6-Month Low The 5- and 10-day moving averages (MAs) are trending north, indicating a short-term bullish setup. The 50-day MA has bottomed out (shed bearish bias) and the 100-day MA hurdle has been scaled. While the path of least resistance is to the higher side, a rise toward the Dec. 24 high of $4,236 may not happen immediately. The 14-day relative strength index (RSI) has moved into overbought territory above 70.00, while the long upper shadow attached to the previous dayâs candle is sending a similar message. On the 4-hour chart, the RSI is reporting overbought conditions and has diverged in favor of the bears (does not mirror the higher price highs) However, the stacking order of the 50-candle MA, above the 100-candle MA, above the 200-candle MA is a classic bullish indicator. So, pullbacks, if any, could be short-lived â especially as the longer duration charts are looking increasingly bullish. BTC’s current 3-day candle looks set to close well above $3,711. That wouldadd credenceto the bullish outside reversal candle created in three-days to Feb. 8 and bring potential for a move towards $4,429 (38.2 percent Fibonacci retracement of the sell-off from November highs to December lows). Supporting that scenario are a bullish crossover between the 5- and 10-day MAs, confirmed earlier this month, and an RSI of 51.00. Disclosure:Â The author holds no cryptocurrency assetsÂ at the time of writing. BitcoinÂ imageÂ via Shutterstock;Âcharts byÂTrading View • Bitcoin Price Crosses Key Long-Term Hurdle For First Time in 4 Months • Bullish Sentiment for Bitcoin As Long Bets Near 11-Month Highs \|\| Is It Time to be Cautious With Utilities ETFs?: This article was originally published on ETFTrends.com. The utilities sector remains scorching hot. The Utilities Select Sector SPDR ( XLU ) , the largest utilities ETF by assets, traded higher again Tuesday, extending its year-to-date gain to nearly 11%. Underscoring the strength in the utilities sector, nine ETFs tracking the sector, including XLU, hit all-time highs on Tuesday. With inflation relatively under control and benchmark Treasury yields still stuck around 3%, utilities remain attractive for yield hunters. Moreover, after the recent bout of volatility, investors are still still looking at the bond-esque sector as a safe way to remain the game and generate some extra dividends on the side. Have you signed up for the ETF Trends Virtual Summit on Wednesday, April 17? It's complimentary for financial advisors (earn up to 5 CE Credits)! Register now to learn about alternative and thematic tools to better diversify client portfolios. In other words, being long utilities this year has been a safe, profitable bet, but some market observers see reasons to be concerned with the group, particularly with earnings multiples rising. “Utilities are trading at 18.65 times earnings, just under its all-time high of 19.17 times earnings in 2017. The sector's dividend yield of 3.42 percent is considered historically low, too,” according to CNBC . Expert Views In an interview with CNBC, Art Hogan, National Securities chief market strategist, expressed some concern about the rising multiples and low dividend yield on the utilities sector. "Their dividend yield is actually too low for an entry point," he said. "I'd be careful with the valuations." The utilities sector is one of the most rate-sensitive groups in the U.S. equity market, meaning the group stands to benefit the longer the Federal Reserve holds off on its next interest rate hike. Better yet would be an interest rate cut, something some bond market observers believe is a possibility late in 2019. Story continues Rivals to XLU include the Vanguard Utilities ETF ( VPU ) , Fidelity MSCI Utilities Index ETF ( FUTY ) , iShares U.S. Utilities ETF ( IDU ) and the Reaves Utilities ETF ( UTES ) . Those funds also hit record highs on Tuesday. While the utilities sector is soaring, investor appetite for the group has been benign. Year-to-date, VPU and FUTY have combined inflows of about $440 million while XLU has seen modest departures. For more on core investing strategies, please visit our Tactical Allocation Channel . POPULAR ARTICLES AND RESOURCES FROM ETFTRENDS.COM SPY ETF Quote VOO ETF Quote QQQ ETF Quote VTI ETF Quote JNUG ETF Quote Top 34 Gold ETFs Top 34 Oil ETFs Top 57 Financials ETFs Using Merger Arbitrage as a Hedge Against Market Volatility A Better Way to Determine Risk Exposure for Growth ETF Investors Report Findings Highlight Fake Bitcoin Trading on Unregulated Exchanges How to Manage A Mature Bull Market With Macro-Themed ETF Strategies In the Know: Building a Low Cost, Defensive Portfolio READ MORE AT ETFTRENDS.COM > \|\| Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey has bought his first Trezor hardware wallet using Bitcoin: Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey has purchased his first cryptocurrency hardware wallet using Bitcoin. Dorsey posted a tweet yesterday stating: “Just bought a @Trezor hardware wallet with Bitcoin through @CashApp.” According to Dorsey, he used his company’s own Cash App to purchase his Trezor wallet with Bitcoin – emphasising his previous sentiments that he has become an avid supporter of Bitcoin and the crypto movement. Dorsey has been making waves in the crypto space recently. He recently appeared on the Joe Rogan podcast where he spoke about how he believes Bitcoin will become the internet’s “native currency,” while also promoting Square’s Cash App. Through the Cash App, users are able to purchase Bitcoin and use it for payment at participating stores, something Dorsey himself has alluded to doing before . Commenting on the Cash App, Dorsey revealed: “The reason we enabled the purchasing of Bitcoin within the app is we wanted to learn about the technology and we wanted to put ourselves out there and take some risks.” Just bought a ⁦ @Trezor ⁩ hardware wallet with bitcoin through @CashApp ⁩ pic.twitter.com/TBYn1q5XzI — jack (@jack) March 7, 2019 Trezor is one of the world’s leading hardware wallet product developers. A hardware wallet is a type of storage for cryptocurrency. Unlike mobile or desktop wallets, a hardware wallet remains offline – disconnected from the internet. This provides additional security since it leaves less room for hackers to compromise the device. Functionally, a hardware wallet is not dissimilar from an external storage device. Users are able to plug it in and out of their computer devices as needed. Story continues A hardware wallet is not solely designed for storing crypto – it also stores private keys, which helps prevent them from getting into the wrong hands. Interested in reading more crypto-related Jack Dorsey news? Discover more about the conflicting opinions surrounding the Twitter CEO here on Coin Rivet. The post Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey has bought his first Trezor hardware wallet using Bitcoin appeared first on Coin Rivet . \|\| Canadian Regulators Want Laboratoire Blockchain Investors to Come Forward: Quebec's financial regulator has frozen the assets of a blockchain company and called for investors to contact them to help with the investigation. Canadian regulators have frozen the assets and activities of a blockchain firm and instructed investors to step forward. The AMF (Autorité des marchés financiers) issued a statement described as a “call to investors” regarding the company in question, Laboratoire Blockchain Inc, as well as three affiliated individuals. Following the recent announcement that the Canadian federal government is auditing dozens of Bitcoin users , Quebec province is cracking down on activity in the cryptocurrency and blockchain industries. Laboratoire Blockchain Inc The French-Canadian blockchain firm stands accused of violating securities laws. Three men are named in the injunctions: Jonathan Forte, Benjamin Forte, and Nicolas Barbasch-Bouchard. The three defendants are prohibited from promoting and transacting in securities as per the initial court injunctions and are also unable to legally sell off or exchange any existing cryptocurrency funds, mining hardware, or related equipment or assets. The equivalent of an asset freezing, the move indicates potentially heavy penalties. The Financial Markets further ordered the company to remove all online promotional materials advertising the company on Facebook and other social media platforms and websites to prevent further investment activity. Investors Issued April 1st Deadline The AMF notes that it is currently conducting an investigation into this case. The regulator asks all people who invested money in Laboratoire Blockchain Inc or by using the services of any of the defendants to contact Sarah Abi-Khalil via 1 877 525-0337, 2644, not later than April 1, 2019. The AMF asked investors to contact them by April 1st, but it is unclear what the exact goal of this is. First and foremost, it’s likely that the regulator simply wants to collect information in the firm being investigated. Read the full story on CCN.com . \|\| Apple and Amazon could be the next to disrupt ETFs: Are tech titans about to enter the world of ETFs? Given that Alibaba's BABA Ant Financial Group is already the world's largest money market fund, Dave Nadig from ETF.com says it's not such a far-out idea. As investing becomes more automated, tech companies like Amazon AMZN , Apple AAPL and Alphabet GOOGL could bring their expertise to an industry stymied by distribution challenges, he suggested at the Inside ETFs conference in Hollywood, Florida, earlier this month . Ric Edelman , founder of Edelman Financial Engines, says that it's "inevitable" that one of these big companies will enter the space in the next five years. "There's too much money there," Edelman said on CNBC's " ETF Edge " on Monday. "And as soon as one of them does, they all do." Tom Lydon, editor-in-chief of ETFTrends.com, agrees on the likelihood that tech companies will enter the financial services industry in the coming years. "It will probably be in the form of an acquisition," Lydon said on "ETF Edge" on Monday. "I look at Softbank. Softbank has got all the data in the world. They know if I go to the gym, they know my prescriptions, they know I like red wine, they know I like 80s music, because they are aggregating all the data there. They've got a $100 billion venture fund. I'd bet on a company like that." Brand and reputation could also help tech companies convince consumers to trust them with financial products, says Edelman. "Everybody hates the financial services industry. We hate insurance companies, credit card companies, banks and brokerage firms," he explained. "We're increasingly hating Facebook so I think there might be a reputational challenge there if [CEO Mark] Zuckerberg decided to buy a bank, but I don't know that Google would have that challenge and so I think there is a huge opportunity, especially with the younger generation. I wouldn't at all be surprised to see them one day enter the space." More From CNBC • A bitcoin ETF is inevitable, finance expert Ric Edelman says • Bitcoin ETF 'virtually certain,' finance expert Ric Edelman says • These are the biggest trends from Inside ETFs \|\| Coinbase Pro Adds Support for XRP: Coinbase Pro, the professional offering ofUnited States-based crypto trading platform andwalletserviceCoinbase, is adding support forRipple’sXRPtoken. Coinbase announced the development in an officialblog poston Feb. 25. Per the announcement Coinbase Pro will now accept deposits of XRP for a minimum of 12 hours before enabling full trading. Coinbase notes that it will first establish sufficient liquidity on the platform, opening trading pairs in U.S. dollars, euro and Bitcoin (BTC) in phases. Full trading of XRP will be available to customers in the U.S.,Canada, theEuropean Union, theUnited Kingdom,SingaporeandAustralia. Coinbase may expand its services to other countries at a later time. XRP trading will go through four stages, which include “transfer-only,” “post-only,” “limit-only,” and “full trading. The first two stages will enable users to transfer XRP to Coinbase Pro accounts and post limit orders, the subsequent two will allow customers to match limit orders and fully trade with XRP. Over the past several months, Coinbase Pro has been actively expanding its catalogue of tokens supported on the platform. In August 2018, itaddedsupport for Ethereum Classic (ETC),followedthe the Basic Attention Token (BAT) and privacy oriented altcoinZcash(ZEC) in November. Support for the aforementioned tokens was later expanded to Coinbase’s retail platform Coinbase.com and its mobile app. The addition of XRP to Coinbase has been long-awaited by the crypto community. In January 2018, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrongquashedrumors that the exchange was added support for XRP in the short term. Following Armstrong’s announcement, the market value of XRP crashed from from over $148 billion to $126 billion. At press time, the token is trading at $0.338, up over 11 percent on the day and 5.4 percent on the week according to data fromCoinMarketCap. • Report: Ripple Violates Coinbase’s Listing Rules • Coinbase Users Can Now Withdraw BSV to External Wallets • Fintech Startup SoFi to Roll Out Crypto Trading Via Partnership With Coinbase • Stablecoins to Play Key Role in Crypto Adoption, Says New Report \|\| Crypto Market Turns Bearish; Bitcoin Drops Further Away From Key $4,000 Level: Investing.com – Bitcoin continued to back away from the key $4,000 level on Tuesday morning in Asia as investors focused on regulatory developments in the crypto space in the absence of a clear directional driver. Bitcoin slid1.18% to $3,940.9 by 12:39 AM ET (04:39 AM GMT). Meanwhile, Ethereum lost 1.31% to $134.38, XRP was down 1.52% to $0.3014 and Litecoin slid 1.89% to $58.989. Finland reportedly passed a new rule that will provide legal status for crypto assets. A new Act on Virtual Currency Service Providers is expected to take effect in November. According to the new law, anyone offering virtual currencies in Finland will be required to register with the Finnish Financial Supervisory Authority and will be subject to obligations regarding safeguarding client funds and marketing. The Finnish parliament also voted for an amendment to the Act on Detecting and Preventing Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing. This means all crypto-related services will be subject to Anti-Money Laundering laws. In other news, Argentina was advised to leverage cryptocurrencies to improve the country’s economy. Tim Draper, an American venture capital investor, reportedly spoke to Argentina’s President Mauricio Macri about using emerging technologies such as blockchain and crypto to address problems in the country’s economy. "We were speaking of Bitcoin and the devaluation of the peso, and I proposed a bet: if the peso would be valued more than Bitcoin, I would double my investment that I was making for the country. But if Bitcoin gained a higher rate than the peso, they would have to declare it as a national currency. That would be a perfect decision, as there's a lack of confidence in this coin,” Draper said, according to crypto news outlet Cointelegraph. Related Articles Ethereum Market Overview: ETH/USD bulls fail at $140 mark as whales move $4 million in the last 24 hours BCH/USD price prediction: Bulls have clear path till $180 - Confluence Detector XRP/USD Technical Analysis: Market faces upcoming bearish sentiment [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] NEW TRADE Exchange: #Binance #BATBTC Buy Date : 2019-02-20 19:37:07 Sell Date : 2019-02-26 00:39:34 Buy : 0.00003601 Sell : 0.00003654 Profit : 1.47% #BAT #bitcoin #projectxonline #probot #trading #tradebot #btc #cryptocurrency #blockchain #crypto #altcoin \|\| Cotización del Bitcoin Cash: 144 20.€ \| -0.55% \| Kraken \| 25/03/19 09:00 #BitcoinCash #Kraken #BCHEUR \|\| Top 5 #cryptocurrencies Alert Time: 2019-02-15 04:00:49 #Bitcoin: $3,616.619 #Ethereum: $121.541 #XRP: $0.302 #Litecoin: $41.665 #EOS: $2.758 #btc #btcnews #binance #trading $EURhttp://www.coincaps.ai \|\| 03-15 08:00(GMT) #SPINDLE price $SPD (BTC) Yobit :0.00000011 HitBTC :0.00000011 LiveCoin:0.00000012 $SPD (JPY) Yobit :0.05 HitBTC :0.05 LiveCoin:0.05 \|\| 2019/04/05 00:30 #Binance 格安コイン 1位 #NPXS 0.00000013 BTC(0.07円) 2位 #BTT 0.00000016 BTC(0.09円) 3位 #DENT 0.00000019 BTC(0.11円) 4位 #BCN 0.00000022 BTC(0.12円) 5位 #HOT 0.00000025 BTC(0.14円) #仮想通貨 #アルトコイン #草コイン \|\| Important distinction which most people in "crypto" don't get. No digital currency can be a competitive method of payment because decentralization sucks for efficiency. They're all trying to be a base money but only BTC can credibly claim to be neutral & immutable, so good luck! https://t.co/5pO6HsvjfW \|\| Bitcoin - BTC Price: $3,960.97 Change in 1h: +0.16% Market cap: $69,633,222,609.00 Ranking: 1 #Bitcoin #BTC \|\| Apr 04, 2019 18:32:00 UTC \| 4,874.70$ \| 4,344.80€ \| 3,729.40£ \| #Bitcoin #btc pic.twitter.com/hXYWlogrVx \|\| #Bitcoin $3,609.06 v #BitcoinCash $257.33 (BTC/BCH 14.0), Avg Transaction fee for #Bitcoin ~$0.27 v #BitcoinCash ~$0.00 - 2019/02/15 18:00JST \|\| Cotización del Bitcoin Cash: 112 20.€ \| -2.77% \| Kraken \| 27/02/19 22:00 #BitcoinCash #Kraken #BCHEUR	Trend: no change \|\| Prices: 5198.90, 5289.77, 5204.96, 5324.55, 5064.49, 5089.54, 5096.59, 5167.72, 5067.11, 5235.56
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2019-07-24] BTC Price: 9811.93, BTC RSI: 43.86 Gold Price: 1422.80, Gold RSI: 65.35 Oil Price: 55.88, Oil RSI: 44.13 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] CabbageTech Crypto Scheme Operator Pleads Guilty to Wire Fraud: 46-year-old New York resident Patrick McDonnell admitted to stealing funds obtained from his clients instead of investing them in cryptocurrency , Bloomberg reports on June 21. Per the report, McDonnell — who calls himself the “coyote of Wall Street” — pleaded guilty to wire fraud on Friday in federal court in Brooklyn. He allegedly declared: “I claimed to invest it in virtual currency and spent it on personal expenses.” McDonnell attracted investors to his firm CabbageTech by claiming on social media to have traded over $50 million worth of bitcoin ( BTC ) for thousands of clients. Bloomberg reports that, instead of investing in the interest of his clients, McDonnell appropriated the funds for his own use and spent at least $194,000. U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Richard P. Donoghue unsealed a nine-count indictment against McDonnell on March 26, the same day as his arrest. Donoghue stated in a press release: “As alleged, the defendant defrauded investors by making false promises and sending them fraudulent balance statements, hiding the fact that he was stealing their money for his personal use.” Per the terms of a plea agreement, McDonnell will reportedly serve between two and 2 1/2 years in prison. CabbageTech has been permanently barred for fraud after the United States Commodities Futures Trading Commission ( CFTC ) won a court order in August of last year. Earlier this month, the CTFC launched an enforcement action against a reportedly fraudulent $147 million bitcoin investment scheme. The commission claims that United Kingdom -based Control-Finance Ltd defrauded more than 1,000 investors to launder at least 22,858 bitcoins. Related Articles: US Authorities Seek Extradition of Alleged Crypto Scammer Riviera Beach City Council Agrees to Pay $600,000 in BTC to Ransomware Attackers US CFTC Brings Action Against $147 Million Bitcoin Investment Scheme UK Financial Watchdog Blacklists Clones of Two Major Financial Firms \|\| Buy These Cryptocurrency Stocks to Play This Latest Bitcoin Surge: Back in December, it seemed that bitcoin was headed for oblivion. But the death of the cryptocurrency has been greatly exaggerated. cryptocurrency stocks Source: Shutterstock During the past six months or so, bitcoin has surged from $3,100 to $8,700. In fact, there was a doubling in just the past two months. Yes, bitcoin seems like a red-hot IPO, such as Beyond Meat (NASDAQ: BYND ) or Zoom Video Communications (NASDAQ: ZM ). OK then, so why all the bullishness with bitcoin investing? InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips Well, for the most part, volatility is natural with this asset. Because there is a limited supply of coins, it does not take too much demand to drive up the price. 7 Stocks to Sell Amid an Escalating Trade War A Closer Look at Bitcoin There are signs that institutions are starting to get more exposure to bitcoin. Part of this appears to be the case with the popularity of the Bitcoin Trust, which is generally for accredited investors . There has also been a surge of interest on bitcoin futures on the CME Group (NASDAQ: CME ), and the New York Stock Exchange is testing its own futures product. But there is also validation from major financial institutions, such as Fidelity, as well as mega Internet companies like Facebook (NASDAQ: FB ). It looks like the social media giant is exploring the use of its own cryptocurrency, say for next year. Even the trade tensions between the US and China may be having an impact. This is because investors in China may see cryptocurrencies as a way to avoid a weakening currency and capital controls. So yes, there have been lots of catalysts for bitcoin. But then again, how long can the rally last? It’s certainly tough to tell. But the momentum appears to be fairly solid. So this bull move may be more than temporary. For investors, there is an interesting way to play this – that is, by focusing on cryptocurrency stocks. To this end, you could look at companies like IBM (NYSE: IBM ) and Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT ) that have blockchain applications. Although, it’s important to keep in mind that the technology is a small part of the overall business. Story continues Instead, when it comes to cryptocurrency stocks, I think a better approach is to look at those companies that develop chips that help with the mining of bitcoin. So let’s take a look at two: Cryptocurrency Stocks: Advanced Micro Devices A few years ago, Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ: AMD ) was considered an afterthought. The company was undercapitalized and was not innovating. When Lisa Su came on board, she made critical changes that transformed AMD. She aggressively cut costs and outsourced manufacturing. She also was smart to double down on creating chips for advanced gaming, the data center and PCs. But these technologies were also well-suited for mining of cryptocurrencies. The GPUs (Graphics Processing Units) can process huge amounts of data cost-effectively. But the technology is not just for bitcoin. It can also be useful for blockchain, which is likely to a secular growth market. Even when the bitcoin business soared, Su did not give up. She has continued to focus on the market. In other words, as things start to heat up again, AMD should be poised to benefit. Cryptocurrency Stocks: Nvidia Although, when it comes to cryptocurrency stocks, Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA ) may actually be a better option. The stock price has gotten hammered. Since September, the shares have gone from $281 to $160. The company is the dominant player for GPUs, having pioneered the technology in the 1990s. For example, during the first quarter of 2018, Nvidia’s sales due to cryptocurrency mining was a hefty $289 million – which was a nice driver for growth. Nvidia has other advantages to consider. NVDA is positioned nicely to benefit from the megatrend of AI. The company estimates that the market is about $30 billion. But NVDA has also agreed to pay nearly $7 billion for Mellanox Technologies (NASDAQ: MLNX ). The company is a leader in internet connections for high-speed computers. No doubt, this is another key piece of technology for the data center and AI. Tom Taulli is the author of High-Profit IPO Strategies , All About Commodities and All About Short Selling . Follow him on Twitter at @ttaulli . As of this writing, he did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities. More From InvestorPlace 4 Top American Penny Pot Stocks (Buy Before June 21) 7 Stocks to Sell Amid an Escalating Trade War 5 REITs to Buy While They're Dirt Cheap The Only 3 Marijuana Stocks You Need to Own Compare Brokers The post Buy These Cryptocurrency Stocks to Play This Latest Bitcoin Surge appeared first on InvestorPlace . \|\| May Was Best Month for CME Bitcoin Futures Volume Since 2017: May was the best month for derivatives giant CME’s bitcoin futures volume since its 2017 launch, as nearly 300,000 contracts were traded in the 31-day period. Average daily volume (ADV) reached more than 13,600 contracts, equal to $515 million notional value or 68,000 equivalent bitcoin, up 27 percent when compared to the month of April. On May 13, bitcoin futures traded a record single-day volume of 33,677 contracts (168,000 equivalent bitcoin or $1.3 billion notional value) while on May 28, BTC hit a recordopen interestof 5,190 contracts. It may be a sign that institutional interest is on the rise, with 223 trading accounts added in May, the most since January 2018 according to research conducted by CME Group. Bitcoin Price Eyes Stronger Recovery Rally After Bounce to $8K As can be seen on the chart above May marked a 27 percent increase in volume on the month prior and a 73.69 percent increase on March, 2019’s volumes, hinting at gradual increasing interest in bitcoin futures. Volume and open interest, however, are two distinctly different things. Bitcoin and Gold Prices Diverge Again, Extending 5-Month Correlation While volume is the number of contracts traded in a day, after each session, the figure starts over at zero. Open interest, on the other hand, is the number of contracts that have been created and that are open. As can be seen above, futures were first listed on the CME at the height of the bull market in December 2017. Futures trading activity, however, remained dull through 2018, courtesy of the crypto bear market. Still, the data suggests interest is building, suggesting more firms are using the tool to manage risk or else speculate on the crypto markets. Disclosure:The author holds no cryptocurrency at the time of writing CME director of equity products Tim McCourt via Flickr • Bitcoin Struggles to Build Momentum After Defense of $7.4K Price Support • Bitcoin’s 2019 Price Run Driven By Real Transaction Growth, Analysis Shows \|\| 1,000 Bitcoin miners have been seized in Iran: Iranian authorities have seized around 1,000 bitcoin mining machines from two former factories, following an increase in electricity consumption, BBCreports. "Two of these bitcoin farms have been identified, with a consumption of one megawatt," Arash Navab, an electricity official, was quoted as saying in the report. Demand for power reportedly rose by 7% in June and cryptocurrency mining was thought to be the main reason. Earlier this week, there werereportsthat cryptocurrency miners in Iran will be detected and face power cuts. Mostafa Rajabi Mashhadi, an official from the country's state-run power generation and transmission company Tavanir, said that it is illegal to use the national grid for cryptocurrency mining.Bitcoin is increasingly being seen as a means to store wealth after U.S. dollar and gold by Iranian, per the BBC report. \|\| Major Coins See Red Following Reports That FOMO Fueled May’s Rally: Thursday, June 6 — Bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH) are trending down slightly following the slump from the recent rally. Top cryptocurrencies are seeing a mix of ups and downs, according to data from Coin360. Market visualization courtesy ofCoin360 After its surge to $9,000 last week, BTC is down by 1.67% on the day, and is trading at just $7,676 according toCoinMarketCap. The leading cryptocurrency has fallen in market capitalization by about $10 billion since May 30, with a market cap of approximately $136 billion at press time. Bitcoin 7-day price chart. Source:CoinMarketCap Top altcoinETHis currently down by 1.8% and is trading at $241.77 at press time. With the recent market adjustments, ETH currently has a market cap approximately 19% the size of Bitcoin’s. Ether 7-day price chart. Source:CoinMarketCap Ripple’s tokenXRP, however, is trending up by 2.32% on the day, and is trading at $0.408. XRP 7-day price chart. Source:CoinMarketCap The total market capitalization of all cryptocurrencies is currently at $243 billion. 24-hour trade volume is $62.3 billion. Total market capitalization of all cryptocurrencies 24-hour price chart. Source:CoinMarketCap Looking at thedataprovided by MarketWatch, gold is in the green, trading at around $1,342.40, up by 0.66% on the day. Oil, on the other hand, is down by .21% on the day, trading around $51.57 at press time. Aside from oil, however, other traditionalassetslisted on the website remain in the green. As previouslyreportedon Cointelegraph, investment advisory group San Francisco Open Exchange (SFOX) released a volatility report on June 6, saying that the crypto market has transitioned from “mildly bullish” to “uncertain.” SFOX cautioned that the bullish growth in May could have been unsustainable growth due to investor FOMO (fear of missing out). In the report, SFOX conjectured that bitcoin’s major rally on May 13 might have been the result of the on-going trade war between theUnited StatesandChina. It also noted that the “flash crash” on May 17 may have been the result of a sale on cryptocurrency exchangeBitstamp, in which 5,000 BTC was sold significantly below market value at $6,200. • Bitcoin Analyst Says BTC Could Reach $25,000 by End of 2019 • Ex-Bitmain CEO Jihan Wu Set to Launch Crypto OTC Platform Next Month: Report • Bitcoin Holds Over $7,800 as US Stock Market Sees Minor Uptrend • Bitcoin Continues to See Negative Corrections After Breaking $9,000, US Stocks Tumble \|\| Bitcoin Price Back Above $11,000 as Dip 'Consistent' With Parabolic Bull Run: Bitcoin ( BTC ) corrected as low as $10,380 before rebounding above $11,000 on June 27 as commentators remain highly bullish about the markets potential. Market visualization Market visualization courtesy of Coin360 Data from Coin360 showed the bitcoin price dipping down from recent highs of $13,800 in a pullback many had anticipated. BTC/USD gained rapidly throughout this week and last, adding thousands of dollars over several days before resistance at $14,000 finally checked the speed of the growth. Estimates had said the pair could go as high as $16,000 before reversing, with Cointelegraph reporting on Thursday that breaking the $13,800 barrier could now prove significant. At press time, BTC/USD traded around $11,280. According to an increasing number of analysts, the losses seen over the past 24 hours are not only healthy, but reflect previous patterns of price behavior. Bitcoin 7-day price chart Bitcoin 7-day price chart. Source: Coin360 A 20%-30% pullback would not be surprising and very consistent with bitcoins recent bull-market pullbacks, Robert Sluymer, managing director and technical strategist at Fundstrat Global Advisors, said in a note to clients quoted by ratings agency Weiss Ratings . Crypto investor and trader Josh Rager went further, suggesting the roughly 20% dip this week could form a new, less volatile pattern for bitcoin. 18% pullback might be the new 30% pullback we're expecting, he summarized on Twitter , comparing this year to the last bull markets top in December 2017. Weiss was more bearish, arguing a more intense reversal was still to come. Altcoins meanwhile continued to lick their wounds after bitcoins downward trend saw most tokens hemorrhage value. A look at the top twenty cryptocurrencies by market cap sees leader ethereum ( ETH ) back below $300 on 6.4% daily losses after rising as high as $350. Ether 7-day price chart Ether 7-day price chart. Source: Coin360 Most others behaved similarly, with tron ( TRX ) and bitcoin cash ( BCH ) the worst performers on 10.5% losses. Related Articles: Bitcoin Breaks $200 Billion Market Cap For the First Time in 17 Months Bitcoin Holds $9,100 Support While Top 20 Coins Trade Sideways Bitcoin Hover Over $11,800 as Top Cryptos See Gains Price Analysis 28/06: BTC, ETH, XRP, BCH, LTC, EOS, BNB, BSV, ADA, TRX \|\| Latest Bitcoin Cash price and analysis (BCH to USD): Bitcoin Cash (BCH) is currently recovering from a substantial dip that saw its price plummet from about $440 last week to $389 today, representing an 11% drop. At the time of writing, price seems to have levelled off and is now consolidating. Let’s take a look at the latest BCH price action. Looking at the chart above, we can clearly see BTC has broken through some important resistance barriers. Bitcoin Cash broke the $330 level around its 200-day EMA in early May, and the 20-day EMA has now moved above the 200-day EMA – a clear bullish signal. Moreover, volumes have remained strong since mid-May, helping BCH to break key levels and find support initially around $360 and later around $400. There has since been some sell pressure that has taken price down about 11%, but it seems most likely that this is just momentary. If order books stay on the side of buyers, which will become increasingly difficult the more price goes up, we could see BCH climb past the $440 resistance level soon. On the contrary, if price continues to drop, I argue it will find great support close to $360. Still, be aware we may experience close to 60% drops, as this did happen in a similar situation during 2015 prior to the last massive bull run. For the time being, I expect BCH to settle above the $440 level with minimal hassle, once Bitcoin gets a push. There is a high probability price will accumulate for a few more days/weeks before making a move upwards. Safe trades! BCH fundamentals I recently spoke with Bitcoin Cash’s strongest advocate, Roger Ver, and discussed the most recent developments on the horizon for BCH. You can find all the details here , but the most juicy news seems to be the recent spike in adoption due to the implementation of smart contracts. Roger, like myself, believes key components for mass adoption are speed and flexibility. What Bitcoin Cash Oracles offers is a way for any user to easily deploy an “escrow” transaction that can be used to trade globally – without the hassle of trusting the other party. Story continues I personally think these “trade escrows” will be key in terms of adoption, especially for work-related tasks. In a way, they do enable milestone-based funding, which may be the new and better way of conducting ICOs instead of simply creating an extra layer of complexity with STOs that require KYC and accreditation – something that goes against what we should be promoting within the crypto ecosystem. Current live BCH pricing information and interactive charts are available on our site 24 hours a day. The ticker bar at the bottom of every page on our site has the latest BCH price. Pricing is also available in a range of different currency equivalents: US Dollar – BCHtoUSD British Pound Sterling – BCHtoGBP Japanese Yen – BCHtoJPY Euro – BCHtoEUR Australian Dollar – BCHtoAUD Russian Rouble – BCHtoRUB Bitcoin – BCHtoBTC About Bitcoin Cash Bitcoin Cash was born out of the idea of making Bitcoin more practical for small, day-to-day payments. In May 2017, Bitcoin payments took about four days unless a fee was paid, which was proportionately too large for small transactions. A change to the code was implemented and Bitcoin Cash was born on 1st August 2017. More Bitcoin Cash news and information If you want to find out more information about Bitcoin Cash or cryptocurrencies in general, then use the search box at the top of this page. Here’s an article to get you started: Kraken launches Bitcoin Cash and Ripple margin trading By Scott Thompson – June 11, 2019 As with any investment, it pays to do some homework before you part with your money. The prices of cryptocurrencies are volatile and go up and down quickly. This page is not recommending a particular currency or whether you should invest or not. You may be interested in our range of cryptocurrency guides along with the latest cryptocurrency news . The post Latest Bitcoin Cash price and analysis (BCH to USD) appeared first on Coin Rivet . \|\| U.S.-based clearing house opens crypto trading platform for brokers and advisors: Apex Clearing Corporation, the U.S.-based clearing and custody house, has launched a cryptocurrency trading platform for broker-dealers and financial advisors to help their clients invest in cryptocurrencies more easily. The firm announced the news Thursday, saying that the Apex Crypto platform allows moving assets from a traditional investment account "in just a few clicks", opening and funding new accounts "in minutes" as compared to weeks it takes traditionally. The crypto platform currently supports four cryptocurrencies - bitcoin (BTC), bitcoin cash (BCH), ether (ETH) and litecoin (LTC), according to the announcement. Apex said the platform is currently accessible in 40 U.S. states and the District of Columbia, with additional states expected to join in the future. "The interest and demand for cryptocurrency continues to rise," said Edward Haravon, chief operating officer at Apex Crypto. Apex's client, discount stock brokerage firm SogoTrade, has already rolled out the crypto platform to its U.S.-based clients and is planning to expand it for international clients in "the near future." Apex further said that its crypto platform also allows clients to meet legal and regulatory guidelines by holding crypto assets in separate accounts. \|\| The Crypto Daily – The Movers and Shakers 01/07/19: The Bears fought back at the end of the month. Bitcoin slid by 9.33% on Sunday. Following on from a 3.38% loss on Saturday, Bitcoin ended the week down 0.92% at $10,809. The Sunday reversal left Bitcoin up 26.7% for the month of June. Range-bound through the early hours, Bitcoin struck an early intraday high $12,234 before hitting reverse. Falling short of the first major resistance level at $12,390.33, Bitcoin slid to a late afternoon low $10,889. The sell-off saw Bitcoin fall through the first major support level at $11,397.33 and 23.6% FIB of $11,275. Coming within range of the second major support level at $10,874.67, Bitcoin recovered to $11,400 levels before sliding back. The late pullback saw Bitcoin fall through the first major support level, 23.6% FIB, and second major support level at $10,874.67 to an intraday low $10,668. The Sunday sell-off saw Bitcoin’s market cap fall back to sub-$200bn levels after having hit a June high $245.13bn on Thursday. The Rest of the Pack Across the rest of the top 10 cryptos, it was a sea of red across the crypto-board. Bitcoin Cash ABC led the way down on the day, sliding by 10.4%. The rest of the majors were close behind, however. Binance Coin fell by 9.9%, with Bitcoin Cash SV falling by 9.1%. Things were not much better for Stellar’s Lumen (-8.87%), EOS (-8.85%), Litecoin (-8.4%) and Ethereum (-8.31%). The best performer on the day was Ripple’s XRP, which fell by just 7.43%. For the week, EOS led the way down, sliding by 20.76%. Bitcoin Cash SV (-18.39%), Ripple’s XRP (-16.19%), Binance Coin (-13.81%) and Litecoin (-10.68%) all saw heavy losses. Bucking the trend was Stellar’s Lumen that gained 7.19%. In spite of the weekly gain, Stellar’s Lumen ended the month of June with a 20.7% loss. Joining Stellar’s Lumen in the red for June were EOS (-32.42%), Bitcoin Cash ABC (-10.5%), Ripple’s XRP (-9.88%) and Binance Coin (-2.86%). Bucking the trend in June, alongside Bitcoin, were Ethereum (+8.6%) and Litecoin (+6.65%). Story continues The moves through Sunday saw Bitcoin’s dominance fall back to 61% levels. Sunday’s reversal left the total crypto market cap at $324.83bn, down from Thursday’s high $386.7bn. In spite of the $60bn drop, the market cap remained well above $273bn levels seen at the start of the month. This Morning, At the time of writing, Bitcoin was up by 1.49% to $10,970. A bullish start to the day saw Bitcoin rise from a morning low $10,641 to a high $11,123 before easing back. Bitcoin left the major support and resistance levels untested early on, while also falling short of the 23.6% FIB of $11,275. Elsewhere, it was green across the crypto-board, with Bitcoin Cash ABC and Bitcoin Cash SV leading the way. The pair were up by 3.07% and by 2.83% respectively. For the Day Ahead Bitcoin would need to move back through the morning high $11,123 to break through the 23.6% FIB to restore confidence. A move through the 23.6% FIB would bring the first major resistance level at $11,806 into play. Bitcoin would need the support of the broader market, however, to take a run at $12,000 levels. Failure to move back through the 23.6% FIB could see Bitcoin hit reverse. A fall through the morning low $10,641 would bring the first major support level at $10,240 into play. Barring another crypto meltdown, Bitcoin should steer clear of sub-$10,000 support levels. Get Into Cryptocurrency Trading Today This article was originally posted on FX Empire More From FXEMPIRE: S&P 500 Price Forecast – Stock markets gap higher to kick off week Gold Price Prediction – Gold Tumbles as Geopolitics Eases U.S. Dollar Index Futures (DX) Technical Analysis – Trader Reaction to 96.315 to 96.540 Will Determine Near-Term Direction The RBA Cuts Rates as Trump Talks of Tariffs on EU Goods USD/JPY Forex Technical Analysis – July 2, 2019 Forecast Asian Shares Mixed as Investors Seek Progress in Renewed US-China Trade Negotiations \|\| EOS Startup Block.One Is Using Its Billions to Buy Back More Equity: Block.one, the company that built the EOS blockchain, is in the middle of another equity buyback in order to bring on more strategic investors, a source familiar with the matter told CoinDesk. The company has previously conducted equity buybacks in order to resell those shares to new investors that it sees as helpful to its business, the source explained. The source declined to provide further details about who would be joining Block.one’s list of backers. Block.One’s New Social Media Site Will Do Identity Checks for Every User Still, it’s helpful to revisit a previous instance of Block.one repurchasing equity from prior investors in order to bring on new ones. A recent report fromBloomberg– which cited a March 19 email to the startup’s shareholders – noted that some investors had received a 6,567 percent return on their Block.one holdings. However, the Bloomberg report may have been unclear about which investors stood to gain so much. “The buyback was designed for seed investors, who had been in for a long time, and it made room for potential future strategic shareholders in a way that didn’t unnecessarily inflate our balance sheet,” Brendan Blumer, Block.one’s CEO and one of the largest shareholders in the company, told CoinDesk. “I did not participate,” he added. Block.One Is Launching a Social Media Platform on the EOS Blockchain Citing an email sent to shareholders on March 19, the Bloomberg report emphasizes the involvement of PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel, along with noted investors Alan Howard and Louis Bacon. The source told CoinDesk that Thiel, Bacon and Howard are strategic investors that came on in July 2018, much later than the seed investors. As such, the source said, Thiel, Bacon and Howard saw a 30 percent gain on their investments – a healthy return but nowhere near the 6,567 percent trumpeted in Bloomberg’s headline. Block.one declined to share with CoinDesk the investor email that Bloomberg reviewed. It also declined to give CoinDesk a timeline for its seed investments. Still, the source said Block.one actually goes back several years. The company’s balance sheet is “stronger than ever,” the source told CoinDesk. Bloomberg reported that the company had $2.2 billion, mostly in U.S. government bonds. The investor letter said it also held 140,000 BTC. If Block.one still holds that much, it would be worth over $1 billion at face value. On Saturday, the company announceda new social media platformcalled Voice. The company plans to use its reserves to market the service aggressively to the public. A spokesperson for Howard declined a request for comment. Bacon and Thiel did not reply to requests for comment. Peter Thiel image via CoinDesk archives • Coinbase Adds Support for EOS Cryptocurrency on Retail Site and Apps • BitGo Co-Founder and Facebook Alum Joins Blockchain Capital [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] Binance - BTC Market #MTH - Unusual buying activity 4.08 BTC in 4 minutes (12%) B: 0.00000296 ❇ (3.14%) A: 0.00000297 ❇ (3.12%) 24H Vol: 37.07 BTC Last signal: 21 hours ago (2/7D) \|\| @CryptoCoyote 277 too many & yet still growing its why many ultra shitcoins stand no chance growing being only listed on nobody really there exchanges. Extract btc eth usdt pairs wash volume most lose 95% "liquidity" \|\| #MOCO #MOCOVR #TOKEN #BITCOIN \|\| Bitcoin Daily Chart Alert—Bulls Fading Fast; Price Uptrend Killed - July 2 https://t.co/Oge3bj2l0T https://t.co/uiZ9g6kKSu \|\| This team offers conditions at a first-class level. Best product I've ever experienced! #Shato \|\| The latest Stish Daily! https://t.co/K2xtI5h9lw Thanks to @presidentusaone @Ali_S_7 #blockchain #bitcoin \|\| $BXY at 937 $BTC/ 0.093 $USDC (2.1x) 1100 providing resistance & 925 acting as support range intact. drew a trendline-validity TBD. ideally close above 🤓 felt FOMO for a min that price ran away. bids now filled & bag size+20% 🤑 https://t.co/WnOBka5qtv (ref-20% off fees)🔥 https://t.co/RUo71AV9hG \|\| @RichardHeartWin Thanks Rich. Honest to god, because of you and in anticipation of the Hex snapshot I bought several BTC at 3400’ish. Complete dumb luck, but I’ll take it! \|\| A friend of mine sent an article from the local media about "Bitcoin's price pumping" Dump it? \|\| 為替(19/06/14 06:20㈮現在) 米ドル → 108.39円香港ドル → 13.85円台湾ドル → 3.44円中国元 → 15.66円ユーロ → 122.31円英ポンド → 137.39円 BTC → 895785.12円	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 9911.84, 9870.30, 9477.68, 9552.86, 9519.15, 9607.42, 10085.63, 10399.67, 10518.17, 10821.73
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2017-01-19] BTC Price: 899.07, BTC RSI: 52.15 Gold Price: 1200.90, Gold RSI: 59.97 Oil Price: 51.37, Oil RSI: 47.40 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Just after Trump won, his son-in-law had a cozy meeting with a Chinese exec who's buying US assets left and right: (Spencer Platt/Getty Images) Anbang Insurance is a shadowy Chinese financial behemoth that has been buying up assets in the US at breathtaking speed. In 2014, for example, it acquired the Waldorf Astoria, and last year itattempted to buy Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide. The chairman of the company, Wu Xiaohui, is married to former Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping's granddaughter. Jared Kushner is President-elect Donald Trump's son-in-law and a real-estate investor in his own right as chief executive of his multibillion-dollar family firm, Kushner Companies. According to The New York Times, Kushner and Xiaohui met on November 16, just after Trump clinched the presidency, to toast what that would mean for global business — an interesting toast given Trump's vitriolic rhetoric against China. From the NYT: "Mr. Wu and Mr. Kushner — who is married to Mr. Trump's daughter Ivanka and is one of his closest advisers — were nearing agreement on a joint venture in Manhattan: the redevelopment of 666 Fifth Avenue, the fading crown jewel of the Kushner family real-estate empire. Anbang, which has close ties to the Chinese state, has seen its aggressive efforts to buy up hotels in the United States slowed amid concerns raised by Obama administration officials who review foreign investments for national security risk." In China, the separation between business and politics is almost nonexistent. To be a billionaire executive is to also be part of the party cadre and to have the blessing of those in power. This report is a bit of a longer read, but it's an important one. It highlights a couple of things we know — that Kushner is trying to find a creative way to adhere to ethics rules to serve in his father-in-law's administration, and that he has business relationships with those connected to the highest levels of the Chinese government. And it highlights what we don't know, which is how extensive those relationships are. One Kushner project, a Trump building that opened in New Jersey in November, got as much as $50 million in financing from Chinese investors. The investors were part of a federal program that has come under scrutiny from Congress recently. It grants two-year visas and a path to permanent residency for those who invest $500,000.It's called EB-5. NOW WATCH:This is the best way to motivate your kids to achieve success according to a behavioral economist More From Business Insider • The New York Times officially names the South Bronx a must-visit destination for 2017 • Lincoln is outperforming the luxury auto market • Bitcoin is still dropping \|\| Hyperledger Wraps up 2016 By Welcoming Eight New Members: SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwired - December 28, 2016) -Hyperledger Project, a collaborative cross-industry effort created to advance blockchain technology, announced today that eight new members have joined the project to help create an open standard for distributed ledgers for a new generation of transactional applications. Last month, Hyperledgerannouncedit reached 100 active members in less than one year, a huge milestone for the open source project, hosted by The Linux Foundation. "This year has been full of growth for the project," said Brian Behlendorf, Executive Director, Hyperledger. "Not only did we exceed 100 members, Hyperledger met significant development milestones thanks to the community's hard work. As 2016 was a year of exploration, R&D and prototyping, we're excited for 2017 to be the year we start to see case studies of the technology in production environments." Hyperledger aims to enable organizations to build robust, industry-specific applications, platforms and hardware systems to support their individual business transactions by creating an enterprise grade, open source distributed ledger framework and code base. The latest members include: CA Technologies, Factom Foundation, Hashed Health, Koscom, LedgerDomain, Lykke, Sovrin Foundation and Swisscom. New Member Quotes: CA Technologies "To compete today, every company needs to foster innovation that delivers real business value. Blockchain has the potential to disrupt the way many of CA's customers do business," said Otto Berkes, chief technology officer, CA Technologies. "We're honored to be a part of Hyperledger and look forward to collaborating with other members to help shape open standards for blockchain. It's an exciting time for this because blockchain is not just about Bitcoin anymore, and the range of potential applications with it is vast for of our customers. This partnership will help us influence what that future looks like for both CA and our customers as they embark on their digital transformation journey." Factom Foundation "We are honored to have been selected to join the Hyperledger Project," said Paul Snow, Founder, Factom Foundation. "We are looking forward to helping build the open source framework for securing data and systems with our blockchain solution." Hashed Health "Hashed Health is a healthcare technology innovation company focused on accelerating the commercialization of meaningful new blockchain and distributed ledger-based technologies," said John Bass, Hashed Health CEO. "Hashed is proud to be a member of the Hyperledger Project, sharing its commitment to creating the foundation for scalable, reliable blockchain solutions." Koscom "We consider blockchain technology as the next generation infrastructure in the Korean capital market. As an industry leader with 40 years' experience in the financial IT field, we are looking to leverage this industry disruptive technology," said Chung Youn Dae, CEO, Koscom. "We will constantly explore the ways to contribute to the blockchain ecosystem, as we collaborate with the Hyperledger community. We also hope to better serve out customers in a more secure and efficient way by integrating blockchain technology and our own Fintech platform." LedgerDomain "LedgerDomain delivers next generation supply chain solutions, harnessing permissioned blockchains to assure supply chain integrity and finished product authenticity through to the consumer for the benefit of all. This highly transparent, trustworthy approach is built upon an industrial-strength Hyperledger Fabric backbone," said Dr. Victor Dods, LedgerDomain. "We're proud to be a part of Hyperledger and its growing community." Lykke "We're looking forward to being part of the Hyperledger project," said Richard Olsen, Lykke founder and CEO. "Our company is building a digital asset exchange. Right now, we're implemented on the Bitcoin blockchain settlement layer, with Ethereum to come within the next few months, but our involvement with Hyperledger isn't just the next step forward. Providing decentralized settlement on the Hyperledger blockchain with multisignature wallets and atomic swap transactions will benefit both of our user communities." Swisscom "We are very proud to be Switzerland's first connection to Hyperledger," said Johannes Höhener, VP, Swisscom's Fintech Cluster. "We look forward to working with a highly professional community on cutting-edge blockchain developments. Our membership and participation will shape our capabilities to develop blockchain solutions -- for our clients and Switzerland." The success of Hyperledger is due to the support of the developer community and member companies. Learn how your organization can contribute to the project here:https://www.hyperledger.org/about/join About Hyperledger The Hyperledger project is an open source collaborative effort created to advance cross-industry blockchain technologies. It is a global collaboration including leaders in finance, banking, Internet of Things, supply chains, manufacturing and Technology. The Linux Foundation hosts Hyperledger as a Collaborative Project under the foundation. To learn more, visit:www.hyperledger.org \|\| Most Popular ETFs Of The Year: In the ETF world, the rich get richer. The biggest funds by assets typically attract the largest flows each year. In that regard, 2016 was no exception. The smallest ETF to make the top 10 inflows list for the year has an impressive $16.9 billion in assets, according to FactSet. The other ETFs on the list are much larger still. Together, these 10 ETFs took in $87.1 billion of fresh investor money in the year-to-date period ending Dec. 6. To put that in context, total flows into all ETFs so far this year have been $225 billion. There's still another three weeks left to go in the year, so the final numbers could change (we'll publish the official figures once they're released). But if there's any conclusion to be reached from these numbers, it's that investors still favor plain-vanilla index ETFs over their more complex counterparts―whether it be smart-beta funds , active funds or otherwise. Investors Embrace S&P 500 ETFs Indeed, for all this year's hype about "smart beta," it's "dumb beta" that investors wanted. In particular, when it comes to U.S. equities, investors plowed billions into S&P 500 ETFs . Three out of the top four funds on the flows list track the venerable large-cap index, including the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) , the iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV) and the Vanguard S&P 500 Index Fund (VOO) ―all with inflows of more than $10.7 billion. The only other U.S.-focused equity fund to make the cut was the broader Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund (VTI) , but its year-to-date flows of $5.2 billion were less than half that of the three S&P 500 funds. Emerging Market Comeback In a year that featured concerns about China and "Brexit," it's no wonder investors preferred U.S. equities. Even so, a trio of international equity ETFs also showed up in the top 10. The Vanguard FTSE Developed Markets ETF (VEA) , which tracks developed-market stocks outside the U.S., had inflows of $8.8 billion in the year-to-date period. Story continues At the same time, two low-cost emerging market ETFs—the Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF (VWO) and the iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (IEMG) —made an appearance on the list, with inflows of $8.8 billion, and $6.5 billion, respectively. GLD Falls Down The Ranks Meanwhile, three nonequity ETFs found themselves on the list. The iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF (AGG) took in $10.9 billion so far this year. AGG provides exposure to the market of U.S. investment-grade bonds, weighted by market value. The iShares TIPS Bond ETF (TIP) was another popular bond fund, with inflows of $6.6 billion. TIP holds Treasury inflation-protected securities, a type of U.S. government bond that protects investors in a rising-rate environment. The SPDR Gold Trust (GLD) is another inflation-hedge in the top 10. The physically backed gold ETF was at the top of the flows leader board for much of the year, but fell down the ranks rapidly in the weeks following Donald Trump's victory at the polls. A post-election spike in interest rates and the U.S. dollar led GLD to lose some of its luster. Incidentally, GLD is the most expensive ETF on the top inflows list, with an expense ratio of 0.40%. All the other funds in the top 10 have an expense ratio of 0.20% or less. Flows For Jan. 1 to Dec, 6, 2016 Ticker Fund Net Flows* SPY SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust 11,329.80 IVV iShares Core S&P 500 ETF 11,250.62 AGG iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF 10,910.56 VOO Vanguard S&P 500 Index Fund 10,743.41 GLD SPDR Gold Trust 9,076.08 VEA Vanguard FTSE Developed Markets ETF 8,814.22 VWO Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF 6,698.77 TIP iShares TIPS Bond ETF 6,562.40 IEMG iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF 6,498.14 VTI Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund 5,236.37 *Net Flows in USD Million Contact Sumit Roy at [email protected] Recommended Stories Friday Hot Reads: 2016 A Vintage Year For Bitcoin Thursday Hot Reads: These ETFs Generate Capital Gains For ETFs, Fixed Income Matters More Than Smart Beta ETF Innovation A Tough Sell In 2016 Tuesday Hot Reads: Millennials Play With ETF Fire Permalink \| © Copyright 2016 ETF.com. All rights reserved \|\| Bitcoin Activity in India Has Doubled Since the Banknote Ban: 1000 Rupee Note Early in November, India abolished the 500 and 1000 rupee banknotes in an effort to fight corruption and so-called " black money ". Since then, interest in Bitcoin appears to be increasing in the Asian country based on a variety of different metrics. Although there was already a vibrant Bitcoin community in India, the recent move to clamp down on illegal income and tax evasion seems to have sparked new interest in the peer-to-peer digital cash system. Who Uses Bitcoin in India? So who uses Bitcoin in India? According to Sunny Ray , who is the president and co-founder of Indian bitcoin exchange Unocoin , there are two main categories of Bitcoin users in the country. In an interview with Bitcoin Uncensored co-host Chris DeRose just before the large denomination banknote ban was put into place, Ray claimed that 40 to 50 percent of their users are savers who view bitcoin as a digital gold. "India is the largest gold market in the world," said Ray. "If you couple that with—I think it's something like 20 or 25 percent of the world's programming and IT population also live in India—digital gold is obviously something that I think people have the capacity to get." Ray also noted that roughly 20 percent of Unocoin's users are freelancers who use Bitcoin as a cheaper alternative to PayPal. Ray noted that Bitcoin currently offers what are essentially negative fees for freelancers based in India because of the relatively higher price bitcoins sell for in the country. During the Bitcoin Uncensored interview, Ray stressed that his estimates should be taken with a grain of salt, as the very nature of Bitcoin makes it difficult to get real user data. Trading Volume Has More Than Doubled Since the Ban So what's happened since India got rid of the 500 and 1000 rupee banknotes? For starters, Ray told CoinJournal that Unocoin has seen a doubling in traffic and trading volume over the past 30 days. An increase in trading volume can also be seen on LocalBitcoins , where the daily volume has increased from around 1.25 million rupees (around $18,500) per day before the cash ban to around 2.5 million rupees per day in early December. There was also an all-time high of more than 5.5 million rupees (just over $81,000) worth of bitcoin traded on November 26th. Story continues It's important to remember that LocalBitcoins trading volume is a rather rough metric because many traders continue exchanging bitcoins off of the site after finding someone they trust. Bitcoin currently trades at a high premium in India due to capital controls in India, which make it difficult for Bitcoin companies, such as Unocoin, to settle against foreign exchanges; however, Unocoin is currently working on a method to bring more bitcoin liquidity into the Indian market. In a blog post on their website, BitGo has noted the value of India-based transactions co-signed by them has increased by 240 percent since September. Larger Effects May Be Seen Over the Long Term While there's been a nice uptick in Bitcoin activity in India over the past month or so, Ray believes the larger effects of India's removal of the 500 and 1000 rupee banknotes from circulation will be seen over the long term. "Right now, people are being very careful with their spending," said Ray. "We think it will be long term because with all of the restrictions, the push towards digital money, and the amount of new money that's entering the banking system, some of that will find a home in bitcoin." \|\| Bitcoin is becoming the new gold: Bitcoin, the digital asset that many skeptics still dismiss as a scam, was the best-performing currency of 2016. It began the year just above $400 and rose more than 80% to close the year near $1,000. In the same time, the Brazilian real rose 25%, the Russian ruble rose 21%, and gold rose just 9%. [UPDATE, Mar. 2, 2017: And now the price of one bitcoin has matched the price of one troy ounce of gold for the first time.] The digital coin continued its surge in the first few days of 2017, clearing $1,000 and then, on Jan. 4, clearing its all-time peak price of $1,137, hit in November 2013. Bitcoin’s market cap reached an all-time high of $18.4 billion. Jan. 3 marked exactly eight years since the first bitcoin block, the “genesis block,” was mined. On Jan. 5, following a stunning surge, bitcoin sank back down to the mid $900s, a reminder of its volatility. (As a user on theReddit bitcoin forumwrote, “With bitcoin, you kind of have to get used to these types of situations.”) Discounting that mini-crash for a moment, here are some more staggering numbers from the recent peak: Bitcoin is up 50% in the past month, 165% in the past 12 months, and 743% since the start of 2013. If you had bought one bitcoin just two years ago, at $280, and let it sit, you would have made almost $900 now. So: Why did bitcoin soar at the end of 2016, and, looking forward, can it keep flying in 2017? When the bitcoin price rises, people like to point to a few different reasons: China (a falling yuan, leading to bitcoin buying); tightened capital controls in foreign countries; uncertainty in mainstream global markets; or, lately, bitcoin scarcity. There’s healthy debate over which was the biggest factor in 2016. And of course, another argument is that the election of Donald Trump helped, and is continuing to help. The yuan fell 6% against the US dollar in the past year, hitting its lowest point since 2008. China’s foreign exchange reserves are expected to keep shrinking in 2017. It’s clear that as a result, many Chinese investors have turned to bitcoin: trading activity of bitcoin in the yuan is up more than 60% in the past 30 days, according tobitcoinity charts. More than 90% of all bitcoin activity globally, in fact, is coming from China. Meanwhile, thePeople’s Bank of China cracked downwith stricter capital controls in 2016,as have Venezuela(wherethe bolivar is plummeting) and India (where there werefears last month of a run on the banks). The prevailing wisdom is that investors seek safe haven in bitcoin when their own governments crack down or simply when there is general uncertainty, because it is uncorrelated to the global market—its success is not tied to mainstream equities. (Bitcoin saw a rise in activityin Greece during its bank shutdown in 2015andin Europe after the Brexit vote last year.) And bitcoin is up 40% since the US election, leading many to cite the uncertainty of the incoming Trump administration as a boon to bitcoin. Bitcoin does thrive during times of uncertainty, but not only at those times—it can also thrive when the market is good. And while there is definite uncertainty about Trump’s policies, Wall Street isn’t acting very uncertain: US markets have flourished since the election. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is rushing toward 20,000 points. Bitcoin can fly along with it, and has. In July,the reward that bitcoin miners receive for recording bitcoin transactions on the bitcoin blockchain was halvedfor the second time in bitcoin’s history. In a nutshell: all bitcoin transactions are recorded onthe bitcoin blockchain, a decentralized, permissionless, tamper-proof ledger; miners record the transactions in bundles called “blocks” and receive a small reward (in bitcoin, of course) for mining. This process also creates new bitcoins. Miners used to earn 25 bitcoins per block mined, but since July, they only get 12.5, and that brought the annual creation of new bitcoins down from 9% to about 4%. Because there are fewer new bitcoins being created, it’s possible that speculative investment has heated up in response. On the other hand, the bitcoin price didn’t move much in the few days after the halving, so it’s hard to think supply is a major factor in the current ride. Nick Tomaino, who spent three years in business development at leading bitcoin wallet company Coinbase and now works at venture firm Runa Capital, thinks bitcoin’s ride in 2016 is a lot simpler than all that. He points to Lindy’s Law, which suggests that the total life expectancy of a fledgling technology is lengthened for every year that it continues to survive. Translation: the longer bitcoin is around, the more likely it is to stay, and the more investors take it seriously. “The rest is noise,” Tomaino says of the other popular explanations for the price hike. “We just had the 8-year anniversary of Bitcoin, and in my opinion it’s stronger than ever.” Bitcoin believers like to talk about the increasing acceptance of bitcoin for payment (you can now pay in bitcoin at places like Overstock.com and Expedia) but it has been greatly exaggerated. The average person still has no real incentive to pay for something in bitcoin. Instead, as Tomainowrites in a blog post, “The primary use case for bitcoin remains the store of value/speculative asset use case.” That sounds a lot like the traditional appeal of gold: a store of value, with some scarcity to it. Bitcoin has long been called a gold for the digital age (New York Times reporter Nathaniel Popper titled his bitcoin book “Digital Gold“), and while many peoplelike to dismissthe idea, bitcoin is beginning to deserve the comparison. At its price peak on Wednesday,bitcoin came within $30 of the average spot price of gold. More and more investors (and not just those on some kind of perceived fringe) are seeing the appeal of bitcoin as a speculative investment—even if they don’t understand it or theblockchain technologythat underlies it. For some, it may even be more appealing than gold, thanks to the ability to send it instantly and with very low fee. And the longer it survives, despite volatility,occasional hacks of bitcoin exchanges, andcontinued hype about blockchains for banking, the more likely it is to keep rising. — Daniel Roberts is a writer at Yahoo Finance, covering technology and sports business. Follow him on Twitter at@readDanwrite. Read more: Expect more blockchain hype in 2017 Here’s where big banks stand on blockchain Why 21.co is the most exciting bitcoin company right now Coinbase is more bullish on bitcoin than ever \|\| 2016: The Volatility Year That Wasn’t: Sometimes how we feel about the market bears absolutely no resemblance to reality. When I look back at 2016, I’m exhausted. And when I talk to many advisors, I hear similar comments: “What a year!” they say. “We had such an awful winter, and then all the craziness around the election!” But the reality is that this was actually one of the most placid years in recent history. Here’s the actual, 30-day realized volatility of the S&P 500 for the last 10 years: What this excellent chart from Bloomberg suggests is that our current market is in one of the lowest volatility periods we’ve seen in ages, and while we’ve had some spikes, particularly in the spring, it’s just about as boring a market as you can get. Of course, you can’t actually trade this chart; instead, what you can trade, sort of, is the CBOE Volatility Index, or VIX—a derivative calculation based on the implied volatility of strips of S&P 500 options. Here’s what the VIX chart looks like over the past 10 years: Even the quickest glance suggests these are pretty good proxies for each other, and while they’re not identical, they even “base” around the same number: 10 for low-vol periods, 80 for crazy spikes. And using options is actually sensible, because for a sophisticated investor, making a specific bet on volatility would most easily be done with options. You want to bet the S&P 500 is going to spike in either direction? Options players have a plan for you— a straddle . Think we’re range-bound and want to bet on it? The wonderfully named Iron Condor is for you. Managing volatility is in fact what options are designed to do, so that’s why the CBOE uses the real-world expressions of sentiment from options traders to compute the VIX. The Contango Conundrum Like options themselves, there’s nothing inherently bullish or bearish about the VIX itself. Using either options or futures contracts on the VIX index, investors can bet on either increasing or decreasing volatility. Story continues The problem is that in a low-volatility environment like we’ve been in, most investors are going to guess that future volatility will be higher than today’s volatility, and thus they will bid up the price of the futures contracts themselves. A lot. Here’s what the futures curve looks like right now for the VIX: With VIX at 12, buying the front-month futures contract will cost you 14. To put that in perspective, that means that, if VIX remains at 12, you can expect to lose $2 for every $14 invested in a single month. That $2-a-month decay continues from the first to the second month as well. That means even if you’re right, and VIX is going to rise, you’re facing a 14.2% head wind every month . That’s a 396% head wind every year. Of course, the contango isn’t always this bad, but it’s generally been sharply upward-sloping all year long. If you think that means investing in a long VIX-futures-based ETF for the last year has been tough, you’re right. The top three worst-performing ETFs over the last year all track near-month VIX futures contracts: the iPath S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures ETN (VXX) , the VelocityShares Daily Long VIX Short-Term ETN (VIIX) and the ProShares VIX Short-Term Futures ETF (VIXY) . ‘Force Of Nature’ For Investors The reason you can’t see three ETF lines on the chart is because these funds are, for all intents and purposes, identical in their returns. The problem is contango: It’s a force of nature, and there’s no getting around it as a futures investor. While this isn’t a pretty chart, it’s worth noting that these funds have done exactly what they said they were going to do day after day. If you went into the month of June with a position in one of these funds, you were up over 25% in a matter of days as you caught the pre-Brexit spike in volatility. But remember, the VIX was never intended as some sort of “long only” asset to invest in—it’s a measurement of the state of the market, just like humidity is a measurement of the state of the atmosphere. Investors can, and do, capitalize on it in other ways, either by shorting funds like this to capture contango, or investing in the suite of inverse products, such as the VelocityShares Daily Inverse VIX Short-Term ETN (XIV) or the ProShares Short VIX Short-Term Futures ETF (SVXY) , that take the opposite bets: Again, two strategies following the same basic strategy—taking the “sell” side of the VIX futures trade. These funds not only profit from contango, they’ve also benefited from relatively calm fluctuations in the VIX itself, which means the daily-rebalance effect common to most leveraged and inverse funds hasn’t cut into returns. Of course, just like June was a great time to be in the long ETFs, it was murderous for these funds: If you got the timing wrong, you could have been down more than 35% in a matter of days when volatility spiked. What’s In An (Inverse) Name? Honestly, at ETF.com, we can end up trapped a bit by our own analytical framework. As a matter of course, we exclude leveraged and inverse funds from things like performance charts, because otherwise, every list would be nothing but the most levered version of whatever theme was hot (or awful) at the time. But in the case of VIX, that leads to some missed opportunities for analysis. A long bet on the VIX is no different than a short bet on the VIX in theoretical terms. VIX is mean-reverting by definition, unlike any other investment I can think of in finance. So to my mind, this bizarre year, or relatively calm markets but high anxiety, has made VIX ETFs both the worst and nearly the-best-performing products in the market. At the time of writing, the author held no positions in the securities mentioned. Contact Dave Nadig at [email protected] . Recommended Stories Tuesday Hot Reads: 2 Trends That Favor ETFs In 2017 2016: The Volatility Year That Wasn’t Worst Performing ETFs Of The Year Friday Hot Reads: 2016 A Vintage Year For Bitcoin Wednesday Hot Reads: JPMorgan Readies Fixed Income ETF Arsenal Permalink \| © Copyright 2016 ETF.com. All rights reserved \|\| Bitcoin soars to nearly three-year high in wake of China volatility: By Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss NEW YORK (Reuters) - Digital currency bitcoin on Tuesday surged to its highest in nearly three years as investors bought the asset in a supposedly safe-haven bid in the midst of volatility in the Chinese stock market. On Tuesday, bitcoin climbed as high $793.27 on the BitStamp platform, its highest since February 2014. Since August this year, bitcoin has soared 70 percent. Darin Stanchfield, founder and chief executive officer of bitcoin wallet KeepKey said bitcoin has benefited from uncertainty in the Chinese stock market. Mainland Chinese markets have been on the defensive the last two days due to a widely-anticipated interest rate increase by the Federal Reserve on Wednesday. Chinese stock markets though did finish higher on Tuesday. "Bitcoin has become a safe haven, though not like a mainstream safe haven. We have been seeing lots of volume from China and also India," Stanchfield said. According to digital currency research firm Coindesk, 95 percent of global bitcoin trading is done through Chinese exchanges. Bitcoin is a virtual currency that can be moved money around the world quickly and anonymously without the need for a central authority. That makes it attractive to those seeking to get around strict capital controls in countries like China. While China currently dominates the space, Chris Burniske, analyst at exchange traded fund manager ARK Invest, noted that bitcoin trading in Venezuela has also soared, rising seven-fold this year as inflation surged and the bolivar currency collapsed. Analysts said the groundwork for bitcoin gains was laid in July this year in a process called "halving", where the rewards offered to bitcoin miners shrink. That has constrained the supply of the digital currency. Bitcoin relies on so-called "mining" computers that validate blocks of transactions by competing to solve mathematical puzzles every 10 minutes. In return, the first to solve the puzzle and clear the transaction is rewarded new bitcoins. Before the halving in July, the miner's reward was 25 bitcoins. The bitcoin program was designed in such a way that it cut the reward for miners in half every four years, a move that was meant to keep a lid on inflation. "If you look back a couple of years when the mining rewards were halved as well, it did take a few months before the effect of the mining rewards kicked in," said KeepKey's Stanchfield. Stanchfield believes bitcoin could exceed the record high set in 2013 of more then $1,100. (Reporting by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss,; additional reporting by Jemima Kelly in London; Editing by Andrew Hay) \|\| Bitcoin breaks $1,000 level, highest in more than 3 years: The price of bitcoin (Exchange: BTC=-USS) has breached the $1,000 mark, hitting a more than three-year high on Monday. The cryptocurrency was trading at $1,021 at the time of publication, according to CoinDesk data, at level not seen since November 2013, with its market capitalization exceeding $16 billion. Bitcoin has been on a steady march higher for the past few months, driven by a number of factors such as the devaluation of the yuan, geopolitical uncertainty and an increase in professional investors taking an interest in the asset class. "We are seeing the aftermath of zero interest rates run amok. So bitcoin is a healthy reminder that we don't have to hold on to dollars or renminbi, which is subject to capital controls and loss of purchasing power. Rather it's a new asset class," Bobby Lee, chief executive of BTC China, one of the world's largest bitcoin exchanges, told CNBC by phone. China is the source of the majority of trade in bitcoin and the devaluation of the yuan and fears over capital controls have contributed to the recent spike in the digital currency. But several other factors have also had a notable impact. For example, bitcoin's price has appreciated around 137 percent in the past 12 months but got a big boost after Donald Trump won the U.S. election in November. Another big event this year was in June when a change in bitcoin's underlying rules meant those who were "mining" the cryptocurrency a process whereby users are awarded with bitcoin if they solve complex mathematical puzzles in order for a bitcoin transaction to go through received less rewards. This was due to the process known as "halving," which essentially reduces the supply of bitcoin. But overall, bitcoin experts said that the market is growing in terms of volumes and those participating, creating a "network effect" that will see the price rise further. "The value of Uber in any city is directly dependent on the number of drivers and number of users, it's not linear it's exponential. The same is true of the value of bitcoin," Lee said. \|\| A 27-year-old raised $10 million from venture capitalists for an unusual hedge fund: bitcoin (Andrew Burton/Getty Images) A 27-year-old has raised $10 million for an unusual hedge fund with the support of venture capitalists like Andreessen Horowitz and Union Square Ventures. The 27-year-old in question is Olaf Carlson-Wee, and he's launching a strategy that invests in cryptocurrencies. To be clear, the $10 million managed by Carlson-Wee's Polychain Capital is peanuts in the hedge fund world. But Polychain's strategy is rare, with few other funds trading in cryptocurrencies. Most hedge funds trade stocks, bonds, and currencies, with variations of different strategies. So what is a cryptocurrency? A cryptocurrency is basically a digital, encrypted currency that is decentralized, so no one power oversees its value. Bitcoin is the most famous of cryptocurrencies nobody knows who created it and it's divorced from any government. It's considered a secure, private currency, drawing the attention of antigovernment and privacy-minded folks . But it's not the only one several other cryptocurrencies exist and are being developed. Transactions for these currencies are recorded in blockchain, a private and encrypted ledger . Carlson-Wee is betting that he can choose the cryptocurrencies that will increase in value and he expects hundreds of them to enter the market. "The challenge for someone running a hedge fund is how to build a portfolio across that spectrum of risk and how to choose which of the new issues are going to become important and which are not," said Brad Burnham, partner at Union Square Ventures, which is investing in the fund. Olaf Carlson-Wee (Olaf Carlson-Wee.Courtesy of Olaf Carlson-Wee) Polychain, based in San Francisco, will be small, hiring only a handful of people. And Carlson-Wee is not looking for traditional Wall Street types. "An amateur trader in the cryptocurrency market may have a more relevant background than someone who has had a traditional background on Wall Street," Carlson-Wee said. Carlson-Wee, a Vassar College grad, wrote his undergrad thesis on bitcoin. Story continues "I was immediately enamored and sort of obsessed," he said. "I thought the prospect of [bitcoin] had massive implications." He then went to Coinbase, a digital asset exchange, and headed risk, overseeing things like fraud prevention and account security, he said. Not only is his background unusual for hedge funds so is his strategy. For instance, the normal research avenues for common hedge fund trades are unavailable, though there are some parallels. Qualitative research Instead of talking with sell-side researchers or looking at credit agencies (there are none), Carlson-Wee spends his time reading through the white papers that describe the protocols, interviewing the lead developers, and looking at a protocol's machinations in the GitHub repository. "This qualitative research is supplemented by market data such as price and trading volume as well as network data such as transactions per day, dollar value transacted per day, and the estimated cost of a network-scale attack," he said. He also embeds himself within the groups that are using the protocols to get a sense of how they are interacting with them, he said. two men computers typing technology digital online internet (Patrick Lux/Getty Images) That model is similar to other funds that have launched in the space. MetaStable, another small hedge fund based in San Francisco, launched in 2014 with a handful of employees. The firm manages a few million, said Lucas Ryan, one of MetaStable's staffers. Its investors tend to be those who are already sold on blockchain but "aren't necessary sold that bitcoin has solved all the problems," so they are seeking to invest in other cryptocurrencies, Ryan said. Ryan, who has a programming background, says his job is to evaluate the protocols that people are developing and the problems they are trying to solve. "The market is so immature and requires a high degree of technical understanding to wade through the stuff that isn't bull----," Ryan said. "A lot of stuff I couldn't do if I wasn't a programmer with a cryptography background. There's not, like, a ratings agency for any of these." Still, like with Polychain's strategy, there are parallels. Ryan meets with protocol developers and tries to get a sense of how serious they are and whether their source coding is legit. To be sure, this world of funds is very young. Until recently, Ryan was working on the fund part time, he said. And it's unlikely these kinds of funds would grow to be large. Bitcoin, the most popular cryptocurrency, has about a $13.7 billion market cap. "Bitcoin is like 80% of the total market of coins," Ryan said. "It would give someone pause to start a $50 million fund." NOW WATCH: A penny costs 1.43 cents to make heres what the rest of US currency costs More From Business Insider Hedge funds are going to lay out their Brexit wish list to stop the destruction of the city A small hedge fund that says its reports have led to CEO resignations has a new big short There has been a board shake-up at Chipotle, and Bill Ackman is happy about it \|\| Here's Why Bitcoin Crashed More Than 20% Today: Bitcoin (BTC), a popular digital cryptocurrency, is on track to have one of its worst days in years after prices suddenly fell more than 20% in morning trading Thursday. While some investors think today’s action is just an adjustment after a months-long rally, others are blaming the expiration of loans from several Chinese BTC platforms for the sell-off. Today’s "Crash" Bitcoin opened the day at $1.129.87 and shortly hit an intraday high of $1,153.02 in morning trading. However, the cryptocurrency quickly dropped as low as $887.47, a plunge of more than 21%. BTC was able to rally again in the early afternoon, and prices returned above the $980 level by 1 P.M. EST. According to some Bitcoin traders on a popular Reddit forum, today’s crash could be the result of a free loan period offered by several Chinese BTC platforms coming to an end. One user pointed out that many Chinese BTC holders would have to sell their bitcoins to pay back loans that end on January 7 Beijing time. Of course, today’s sell-off could also be a value-based adjustment as BTC approached all-time highs. The currency has been on an insane run over the past several months, gaining more than 80% since October 2016. Indeed, Bitcoin traders are no strangers to volatility, and the nature of the currency lends itself to swings that we wouldn’t expect from traditional currencies. What is Bitcoin? As mentioned before, Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency, meaning that it is an encrypted digital currency that only exists virtually and operates independently of a central bank. Launched in January 2009, Bitcoin has grown quickly and has become a widely-accepted form of payment online (Also read: Explaining Bitcoin and Crypto Currency). Bitcoin is considered an anonymous currency because it is possible to send and receive payments without revealing any personal information. Transactions are tied to a bitcoin address, a series of numbers and letters. All transactions are stored in the so-called blockchain, which records and verifies transactions. This blockchain is operated by a network of “miners” that monitor and validate transactions. In return, miners receive newly issued bitcoins. Bottom Line Trading bitcoins can be a test of one’s patience and determination. One of the most fascinating things about the currency is its legion of loyal long-term holders, and these folks are likely to overlook one-day crashes. Nevertheless, today’s sell-off underscores the volatility that keeps a lot of investors away from BTC. Long-Term Buys You Won't See in the News The stocks you see in today's headlines may not be in the news tomorrow or next week. If you're looking for profitable long-term investments, you may be interested to see what Zacks Research is recommending to our private members. These moves have double and triple-digit profit potential. Starting now, you can look inside our stocks under $10, home run and value stock portfolios, plus more. Want a peek at this exclusive information?Click here>> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days.Click to get this free reportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] Re: Can Bitcoin make Banks disappear? http://dlvr.it/MvrKbq #Bitcoin_Discussion #bitcoin #blockchain \|\| MMMBTC \|\| MMMBTC \|\| MMMBTC \|\| MMMBTC \|\| Win bitcoin. Daily drawing. Details: Man rapes inlaw to death http://www.btcstory.com/c/954b/15a760 \|\| #SativaCoin #STV $0.003512 (9.31%) 0.00000444 BTC (9.31%) \|\| Ernst & Young Is Going Bitcoin While PwC, Deloitte and KPMG Push Permissioned Blockchains https://lnkd.in/gRaKzWS \|\| let me know do you have a BITCOIN account \|\| .- Gana bitcoins facilmente..! Gratis.! , Aqui : http://bit.ly/23rxSXd #Bitcoin #Faucet #Satochispic.twitter.com/hGE0nEkbSi	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 895.03, 921.79, 924.67, 921.01, 892.69, 901.54, 917.59, 919.75, 921.59, 919.50
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2022-07-29] BTC Price: 23804.63, BTC RSI: 60.59 Gold Price: 1762.90, Gold RSI: 53.59 Oil Price: 98.62, Oil RSI: 45.51 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Stock Market Today: Dow Spikes 754 Points Despite IBM, J&J Earnings Slumps: space ship launching at night Getty Images Stocks shot higher out of the gate Tuesday – and never looked back. SEE MORE Do You Have Gun Stocks in Your Funds? Despite a mixed batch of corporate earnings reports and lackluster housing data, today's rally was broad-based, with all 11 sectors gaining ground. Communication services (+3.6%) led the way, with Netflix ( NFLX , +5.6%) a notable advancer ahead of tonight's Q2 earnings release. As for reports traders could act on today, tech company International Business Machines ( IBM , -5.3%) and healthcare giant Johnson & Johnson ( JNJ , -1.5%) both beat on the top and bottom lines in the second quarter. However, shares of the blue chips fell after the companies said a stronger U.S. dollar will negatively impact some full-year financial metrics (free cash flow for IBM; earnings and revenue for JNJ). Sign up for Kiplinger's FREE Investing Weekly e-letter for stock, ETF and mutual fund recommendations, and other investing advice. And on the economic front, data from the Commerce Department showed housing starts dropped 2% in June to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.559 million units. Permits for future building declined by 0.6% to an annualized rate of 1.685 million units. Both figures arrived at their lowest level since September 2021. SEE MORE 10 Best Green Energy Stocks for the Rest of 2022 "Builders appear to still be having trouble completing new projects amid ongoing material and labor shortages," says Mark Vitner, senior economist for Wells Fargo. Still, "slower pace of residential construction, less supply chain congestion and lower material prices should help builders complete projects at a faster pace in coming months," he adds. Nevertheless, the Nasdaq Composite ended the day up 3.1% at 11,713, with the S&P 500 Index (+2.8% at 3,936) and Dow Jones Industrial Average (+2.4% at 31,827) not far behind. stock price chart 071922 YCharts Other news in the stock market today: The small-cap Russell 2000 soared 3.5% to 1,799. U.S. crude futures gained 1.6% to finish at $104.22 per barrel. Bitcoin benefited from the day's burst of buying power, gaining 8.4% to $23,411.09. (Bitcoin trades 24 hours a day; prices reported here are as of 4 p.m.) Arista Networks ( ANET ) jumped 4.2% after Needham analyst Alex Henderson upgraded the cloud networking solutions company to Buy from Hold. "Arista is one of the most insulated from macro pressures in the sector, as we see it," Henderson says. "It has a heavy focus on Cloud. Its core customers Microsoft ( MSFT ) and Facebook/Meta ( META ) are spending aggressively to support their cloud infrastructures and longer-term plans." He adds that ANET is "the kind of name to own as the economy weakens and international markets soften even more." Hasbro ( HAS , +0.7%) on Tuesday said higher prices and solid demand for its "Magic: The Gathering" card game helped the toymaker bring in earnings of $1.15 per share in its second quarter, more than analysts were expecting. However, revenue of $1.34 billion fell short of the $1.37 billion Wall Street pros were anticipating. "Q2 adjusted operating profit was up 200 basis points [a basis point is one-one hundredth of a percentage point] to 18.0% as the company was able to more than offset higher freight and input costs with operating leverage, spending less on advertising and SG&A," says CFRA Research analyst Zachary Warring (Buy). "Inventory ballooned 74% year-over-year and sits well above historical levels. We are a little worried about inventory levels but still see HAS as the leader in the space with a strong strategic plan." After the close, Netflix said it lost fewer-than-expected subscribers in the second quarter (970,000 vs. 2 million est.). The streaming service also reported higher-than-anticipated earnings of $3.20 per share, while revenue of $7.97 billion fell short of the consensus estimates. At last check, NFLX stock is up 8.2% in after-hours trading. Story continues Gold Stocks to Consider Gold was expected to have a strong year, based on its history as a hedge against inflation. However, that hasn't turned out to be the case, with gold futures down 6.4% for the year-to-date. So what's pulling gold lower? "The U.S. dollar," says John LaForge, head of real asset strategy at Wells Fargo Investment Institute. The U.S. dollar index is up 12.4% for the year-to-date to trade at levels not seen since 2002, and that is creating a drag on dollar-denominated commodities like gold. Still, LaForge isn't spooked by gold's price struggles, and thinks with "gold being quite cheap versus most other commodities, investors may begin to buy." SEE MORE 14 Commodity ETFs to Ease Inflation Worries And a cooling U.S. dollar could spark more interest in the precious metal. Indeed, gold futures gained 0.5% today to settle at $1,710.70 an ounce as the U.S. dollar index notched its third straight decline, ending down 0.6%. Continued upside for the precious metal could spell good news for gold stocks , which have fallen in sympathy with the commodity. But which ones stand out? Check out our list of Wall Street's favorite gold plays, which analysts see having major upside. SEE MORE 11 Best Investments to Inflation-Proof Your Portfolio You may also like Capital Gains Tax 101: Basic Rules Investors and Others Need to Know Your Guide to Roth Conversions Hesitant About a Roth Because of the 5-Year Rule? Here’s Why You Shouldn’t Be \|\| Boyfriend wins over TikTok: Girlfriend discovers note page dedicated to her: A couple on TikTok just made everybody reconsider their relationship goals — one woman may have the best boyfriend . TikToker Juana shared this heartwarming clip to display an entire note page her boyfriend created on his phone dedicated to her favorite things. Bitcoin ETFs: What are they and how to invest in them? As Juana scrolls through the note, viewers can see various details that her boyfriend jotted down to reference on future occasions. Juana’s boyfriend’s note includes: Juana’s ring size. A list of Juana’s favorite Starbucks drinks . Cars that Juana would want to purchase in the future. How Juana likes her eggs cooked . Juana’s favorite cosmetics and laundry products . And ideas for the couple’s future wedding . “I’m not crying, you are,” Juana wrote in the video’s caption. Viewers found Juana’s boyfriend’s dedication to their relationship adorable, admiring the effort he put into organizing the list and remembering details about his girlfriend. “The way he took pictures of the products you use,” a TikToker commented with a crying emoji. “IF HE WANTED TO, HE WOULD,” another wrote. “The organization , the detail, love this for you!” someone said. Other TikTok users lamented in the comments to express their wish to find a love like Juana’s for themselves. “Then there’s my bf who forgot how old I was 3 times,” one TikToker noted. “The things we wish to find when going through our man’s phone ,” a person joked. “I feel like I’ll never experience this type of love ,” someone said. “One day!” Juana replied. The post Girlfriend goes through boyfriend’s phone and discovers list dedicated to her favorite things appeared first on In The Know . More from In The Know: Gamer couple opts for 'first game' together at their wedding over a first dance Tearful dad 'can't hide his emotions' watching his daughters play Woman’s spontaneous Disneyland first date with Hinge match wins over TikTok Woman captures boyfriend having 'full-on conversation' with misbehaving kitten \|\| Crypto Market Daily Highlights – Tesla Inc. Sends the Market South: Key Insights: It was a mixed Wednesday session for the crypto top ten, with Dogecoin (DOGE) avoiding the red to buck the market trend. News Tesla Inc. (TSLA) selling 75% of its bitcoin (BTC) holding weighed. The total crypto market cap fell by $17 billion to end the day at $1,018 billion. It was a mixed Wednesday session for the crypto top ten. Bitcoin ( BTC ) hit $24,000 before falling into the red, while Dogecoin (DOGE) enjoyed a bullish session. Crypto network updates failed to provide support. The downside aligned with 24-hour liquidation figures for Tuesday and Wednesday morning that pointed to a pullback. Following the market reaction to the Ethereum ( ETH ) Merge and Cardano Vasil hard fork dates, Polygon ( MATIC ) network news failed to provide support. On Wednesday, the Polygon team introduced zkEVM. Using zero-knowledge proof technology, Polygon delivers Ethereum scaling that will boost throughput, reduce latency, and save on fees. According to the announcement, “The basic approach to scaling Ethereum with ZK proofs is to build a ZK rollup, a Layer 2 protocol which “rolls up” a large batch of transactions and proves all of them to the Ethereum network with a single ZK validity proof.” Mid-week, the broader crypto market tracked the NASDAQ 100 into positive territory. A post-US-market close sell-off did the damage, with news of Tesla Inc. ( TSLA ) offloading 75% of its bitcoin holdings weighing. On Wednesday, the NASDAQ 100 rose by 1.58%, following a Tuesday 3.11% rally. At the time of writing, the NASDAQ 100 Mini was down 39 points. Total Market Cap – NASDAQ – 210722 5 Min Chart The Total Crypto Market Cap Sees Tesla Driven Loss A bullish start to the Wednesday session saw the total crypto market cap rise to a day high of $1,071 billion. A post-US-market close reversal, however, saw the crypto market cap slide to a day low of $1,003 billion before steadying. Despite the pullback, the total crypto market cap avoided a fall to sub-$1 trillion, with the market cap falling by $17 billion on the day. Story continues Notable moves across the crypto top ten was a bitcoin return to $24,000 to bring the all-important $25,000 handle into reach. Total Market Cap 210722 Daily Chart The Crypto Market Movers and Shakers from the Top Ten and Beyond Dogecoin ( DOGE ) bucked the top-ten crypto trend, rising by 1.66%. It was a bearish session for the rest of the majors, with SOL sliding by 6.30% to lead the way down. ADA (-4.84%), BNB (-3.87%), and XRP (-2.65%) also struggled, while BTC (-0.76%) and ETH (-1.33%) saw relatively modest losses. From the CoinMarketCap top 100, Lido DAO ( LDO ) and Monero ( XMR ) led the way alongside DOGE. LDO rose by 3.45%, with XMR gaining 3.42%. Leading the way down, however, were Quant ( QNT ), Arweave ( AR ), and Polygon (MATIC). AR slid by 10.89%, with QNT and MATIC seeing losses of 9.87% and 9.22%, respectively. Nexo ( NEXO ), Internet Computer ( ICP ), and Ethereum Classic ( ETC ) also struggled. Total Crypto Liquidations Fall Further to Suggest a Bullish Session On Thursday, 24-hour liquidations eased again, pointing to more favorable market conditions. While down from levels seen earlier this week, 24-hour liquidations remained elevated. This morning, 24-hour liquidations stood at $338 million, down from $582 million on Wednesday. Liquidated traders also eased over the last 24 hours, suggesting better market conditions. At the time of writing, liquidated traders stood at 98,758 versus 104,735 on Wednesday morning. While 24-hour liquidation levels eased back, one-hour and four-hour liquidations were up from Tuesday. According to Coinglass , one-hour liquidations stood at $6.90 million, up from $2.84 million on Wednesday. Four-hour liquidations stood at $101.16 million, up from $45.66 million on Wednesday. Total Crypto Liquidations 210722 The one-hour and four-hour liquidation levels reflected the post-US market close sell-off and the final hour partial recovery. (See hourly total crypto market cap chart below). Total Market Cap 210722 Hourly Chart Daily News Highlights Tesla Inc. sold 75% of its bitcoin holdings in the second quarter. The UK announced a new financial bill to regulate stablecoins. 21Shares unveiled S&P risk-controlled Ethereum and Bitcoin ETPs. This article was originally posted on FX Empire More From FXEMPIRE: Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline nominations show rise for Thursday -operator website Givaudan confirms mid-term targets as input costs hit margins BOJ retains easy policy, defies global tightening tide Ranil Wickremesinghe sworn in as Sri Lankan president Tissue maker Essity’s profit just beats forecasts Oil prices extend losses as demand concerns outweigh tight supply \|\| Crypto lender Celsius says it is exploring options: (Reuters) -Retail crypto lending platform Celsius Network said on Thursday it was exploring options including deals and restructuring its liabilities. Celsius earlier this month froze https://bit.ly/3bHo3Cf withdrawals and transfers, citing "extreme" market conditions, leaving its 1.7 million customers unable to redeem their assets. The Hoboken, New Jersey, company hired restructuring consultants from advisory firm Alvarez & Marsal to advise on a possible bankruptcy filing, the Wall Street Journal reported last week, citing people familiar with the matter. The market for digital assets in recent months has been roiled by extreme volatility as investors dump risky assets due to fears that aggressive interest rate hikes to tame stubborn inflation could plunge the economy into a recession. The European Union has agreed on groundbreaking rules for regulating crypto assets, EU lawmakers said on Thursday, as the rout in bitcoin piles pressure on authorities to rein in the sector. Cryptocurrencies have lost more than $400 billion since TerraUSD, a major stablecoin pegged to the U.S. dollar, collapsed in May. Bitcoin tumbled another 6% to $18,866.77 late on Thursday, leaving it down over 70% from its peak last November. Similar to a bank, Celsius gathered crypto deposits from retail customers and invested them in the equivalent of the wholesale crypto market, including "decentralized finance," or DeFi, sites that use blockchain technology to offer services from loans to insurance outside the traditional financial sector. Celsius promised retail customers huge returns, sometimes as much as 19% annually. The lure of big profits has led individual investors to pour assets into Celsius and platforms like it. (Reporting by Manya Saini in Bengaluru and Noel Randewich in Oakland, Calif.Editing by Shounak Dasgupta and Matthew Lewis) \|\| 7 Growth Stocks to Buy Now Before They Become Large Caps: Canada’s national business paper,The Globe and Mail,recently interviewed a Toronto-based portfolio manager who seeks out smaller growth stocks with the potential to become large caps over the long haul.Alex Etsell invests$2.3 billionfor Hillsdale Investment Management in microcap and small-cap strategies for the firm’s clients. He defines microcaps as stocks with market capitalizations between $100 million and $300 million, while small-caps are those between $300 million and $4 billion. In Etsell’s case, he’s investing in Toronto Stock Exchange and TSX Venture Exchange stocks, but his philosophy can be applied to U.S. stocks. “We’re always looking to hold high-quality names, which in this market environment are companies that are growing and still showing profitability and have very strong margins. These factors are especially important in a high-inflation environment,” Etsell toldThe Globe and Mailon Jul. 23. InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips Therefore, I have selected four small-cap stocks and three microcaps for this article using Estell’s size definitions. These businesses are projected to grow revenues by at least 30% annually over the next two years and are profitable with 10% net margins. • 7 Dividend Stocks to Buy on the Dip Some of these stocks could become large-cap stocks in the next few years: [{"Ticker": "CROX", "Company": "Crocs, Inc.", "Price": "$61.90"}, {"Ticker": "COLB", "Company": "Columbia Banking System, Inc.", "Price": "$29.61"}, {"Ticker": "CDEV", "Company": "Centennial Resource Development, Inc.", "Price": "$6.45"}, {"Ticker": "SAFE", "Company": "Safehold Inc.", "Price": "$42.03"}, {"Ticker": "SRTS", "Company": "Sensus Healthcare, Inc.", "Price": "$10.43"}, {"Ticker": "GAMB", "Company": "Gambling.com Group Limited", "Price": "$7.45"}, {"Ticker": "SACH", "Company": "Sachem Capital Corp.", "Price": "$4.79"}] Source: Wannee_photographer / Shutterstock.com I was recently out at the ocean with friends. One of them was wearing a pair ofCrocs(NASDAQ:CROX). It reminded me that the foam clog manufacturer was still alive and kicking. As its website reminds visitors, it has sold more than720 millionpairs since its inception in 2002. In May, Crocs reported 47% revenue growth (excluding currency) to$660.1 million. As a result, the company raised its full-year revenue growth outlook to $3.5 billion, 53.5% higher than a year earlier at the midpoint of its guidance. It is profitable with an expected adjusted operating margin of 26% to 27%. Now, a big chunk of its growth is from its$2.5 billion acquisitionof Hey Dude, a sustainable shoe brand from Italy that is popular with teenagers. But even without Hey Dude, the Crocs brand will grow more than 20% in 2022. Yet, CROX stock has fallen by more than 53% year-to-date through Jul. 25. As a result, you can now buy its stock for9.9xit’s trailing 12-month free cash flow (or FCF) of $380 million. I consider anything 8% or higher to be in value territory. By virtually every financial metric, CROX is cheaper than it has been since 2017. Source: Tada Images / Shutterstock If you’ve been a long-time shareholder of the Tacoma, Washington bank holding company,Columbia Banking System’s(NASDAQ:COLB) returns have not been excellent. Over the past five years, it has had a cumulative return of negative 23%. TheS&P 500over the same period gained more than 60%. As I said, COLB is the holding company for Columbia Bank, a Washington state-chartered full-service commercial bank. It provides commercial banking services from152 branchesin Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and California. Since its founding in 1993, Columbia Bank’s made14 acquisitions, growing its assets, deposits, and loans to $20.6 billion, $18 billion, and $11.3 billion, respectively. In the second quarter (Q2) of 2022, COLB had a net interest income of $147.45 million, 17.5% higher than a year earlier. Its net interest margin (NIM) in Q2 2022 was 3.16%. For comparison,my favorite U.S. bankisSVB Financial(NASDAQ:SIVB). Its NIM in the second quarter was2.24%, 92 basis points less. • 7 Nasdaq Stocks to Buy on the Dip I don’t think there is any question Columbia Bank is well run. However, it will soon be part of a much bigger organization.In January, Columbia’s shareholdersapprovedits deal to merge with Portland-basedUmpqua Holdings(NASDAQ:UMPQ). The all-stock merger will see Columbia Banking System Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Clint Stein run the holding company, but Umpqua Bank will be the main brand and Umpqua shareholders will own62%of COLB.Once the merger is completed, Umpqua Bank will have the second-largest deposit base on the West Coast behind onlyU.S. Bancorp(NYSE:USB). Source: bht2000 / Shutterstock.com It has been months sinceCentennial Resource Development(NASDAQ:CDEV) announced its merger of equals withColgate Energy Partners III.Together, the combined entity will be thelargest pure-playexploration and production company operating in the Delaware Basin, with an approximate production of 135,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day and more than$1 billionin annual free cash flow. The deal valued Colgate Energy at $3.9 billion, including the assumption of $1.4 billion in net debt. CDEV is paying $525 million in cash and issuing 269.3 million shares of its stock. CDEV shareholders will own 52% of the combined business — $7 billion enterprise value — while Colgate shareholders will own the rest. Under the merger arrangement, current Colgate co-CEOs Will Hickey and James Walter will run the company with Centenniel CEO Sean Smith becoming Executive Chairman. They’ve yet to announce the new name post-merger. It’s expected to close by the end of this year.In addition, the combination will enable the merged entity to deliver for shareholders.“Importantly, the combined company is expected to provide shareholders with an accelerated capital return program through a fixed dividend coupled with a share repurchase plan,” Smith stated in its May press release. Based on a pro forma market cap of $5.6 billion ($7 billion enterprise value less $1.4 billion in net debt), its forward FCF of $1 billion or higher puts its FCF yield at 17.9%. Someinvestorsmight believe Centennial didn’t drive a hard enough bargain for Colgate. Time will tell. On paper, it looks to me like an intelligent combination. Source: wutzkohphoto / Shutterstock A year ago,Safehold(NYSE:SAFE) was trading at around $95. As I write this, it’s down 57.2%. Now could be the perfect time to buy into the real estate investment trust that specializes in ground leases. InvestorPlacecontributor Bob Ciura recentlyrecommendedSAFE and its secure dividend. As Ciura stated, Safehold grew its earnings per share and revenue in Q1 2022 by more than 30%. Ciura estimates Safehold’s annualized net asset value per share will grow 6.8% over the next five years. Safehold went public inJune 2017, selling 10.25 million shares at $20. It began with 12 properties, including seven ground net leases (GNLs) and one master lease (five properties) worth$343 million. Today, its portfolio of GNLs is worth$5.5 billion,with 38% of them in the Northeast, another 26% in the West, and the rest spread across the remainder of the country. Of the property types, approximately 48% of ground leases are for office buildings. Multifamily properties are the second-highest at 34%, with hotels and life sciences accounting for the rest. Approximately 94% of its GNLs are 60 years or greater, providing Safehold with stable long-term income. The highlights of its first quarter include a35%increase in earnings per share year-over-year (YOY), a 39% YOY increase in revenue, and $677 million invested in 10 new ground leases. • 7 Seriously Undervalued Tech Stocks to Buy Now Safehold continues to take ground leases to the next level. It’s an exciting play for patient capital. Source: metamorworks / Shutterstock Sensus Healthcare(NASDAQ:SRTS) is the first of three micro-cap stocks to consider.The Florida-based medical device company providesnon-invasive treatmentsof cancerous and non-cancerous skin conditions. The company’s superficial radiation therapy (or SRT) products have been used effectively on hundreds of thousands of patients in the U.S. and elsewhere. In Q1 2022, the company’s revenue grew 237% to$10.3 million. Its revenue was from the shipment of33SRT-100 Vision systems. Excluding a $12.8 million gain from the sale of non-core assets, it earned $3.3 million during the quarter, up significantly from a $1.1 million loss in Q1 2021. As a result, it now expects to achieve full-year profitability.The company finished the first quarter with $32.8 million in cash and no debt on its balance sheet. On Jul. 20, Sensusannouncedthe expansion of its relationship with Colorado State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Studies. The university acquired a second SRT-100 system. It will use the system to study horses and treat skin diseases.If successful, the company could start selling its systems to veterinary clinics — approximately 30,000 in the U.S. — across the country, providing Sensus with a second significant revenue stream.In Q1, it also launched itsTransDermal Infusiontechnology, which could lead to the elimination of needle injections. It sold seven of these systems during Q1 2022. While there is no question this is a risk-forward investment, the potential of its products most certainly exists. Source: 7th Sun / Shutterstock.com Like many stocks in 2022 — large-cap or micro-cap —Gambling.com(NASDAQ:GAMB) is down significantly in 2022. As recently as February, it traded as high as $13. Through affiliate marketing, the company makes money by bringing customers to sports betting and iGaming sites. Its sites include Gambling.com, bookies.com, Rotowire.com, and many others. Its clients include all thebig gaming companies,includingDraftKings(NASDAQ:DKNG) andRush Street Interactive(NYSE:RSI). The company’s history dates back to 2006, although the Gambling.com name was acquired for $2.5 million in April 2011. In 2019, it got a$15.5 milliongrowth investment from Edison Partners. They continue to own almost 16% of the company. Gambling.com has made a couple of big moves in 2022. First, in January, it entered into a strategic partnership with McClatchy Newspapers. McClatchy will lean on the company’s gambling content from35different online portals, while Gambling.com gains access to McClatchy’s audience of more than 65 million unique visitors per month. It is the company’s first media partnership. Secondly, in February, itacquiredBonusFinder.com, an online portal that helps gamblers find the best bonuses for online sportsbooks and casinos. Its biggest market is Canada, although it’s making strides in the U.S. Gambling.com paid $14 million in cash and stock. • 5 Electric Vehicle Stocks to Buy on the Dip For all of 2022, Gambling.com expects revenue and adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation (EBITDA) of at least$71 millionand $22 million, respectively. Source: microstock3D / Shutterstock Sachem Capital(NYSEAMERICAN:SACH) is a mortgage real estate investment trust based in Connecticut. Founded in 2009, it went public in 2017. It provides short-term, high-yielding real estate loans to house flippers along the eastern seaboard from Maine to Florida. Sachem currently has a loan portfolio of$482 millionspread across more than 515 loans. Since its inception in 2009, it has originated 1,750 loans totaling $710 million. All of its loans have conservative loan-t0-value ratios and require personal guarantees from the principals of the borrowers. It closes on loans within as little as five days. The Small Business Administration (SBA) can take six months or more to complete. The house flipping market remains an attractive one. According to Sachem’s June presentation, the average gross profit per transaction for home flippers in 2021 was $65,000. That’s up significantly from $36.75 a decade ago. In recent years, Sachem has begun pursuing larger commercial loans into hotels, multi-family and more. In 2018, it had loans in six states. In 2021, it was up to 14, while the average loan increased from $196,000 to $562,000. Yet, the average term was only eight months compared to 11 previously. On Jul. 11, the REIT increased its quarterly dividend by16%to 14 cents from 12 cents. The July payment now pays an annualized dividend of 56 cents for a 12.6% yield.Get paid to wait for SACH stock to appreciate. On the date of publication, Will Ashworthdid not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article.The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to theInvestorPlace.comPublishing Guidelines. • Buy This $5 Stock BEFORE This Apple Project Goes Live • The Best $1 Investment You Can Make Today • Early Bitcoin Millionaire Reveals His Next Big Crypto Trade “On Air” • Cash Holders Could Get Hit Hard THIS FRIDAY The post7 Growth Stocks to Buy Now Before They Become Large Capsappeared first onInvestorPlace. \|\| 3 Cheap Stocks Under $20 to Buy Now: Inflation has made it much harder to buy what you want with twenty bucks — except for in the stock market, where you can find plenty of cheap stocks under $20. And right now, I’d like to talk about three specific cheap stocks under $20 that are ready to grow in your portfolio. Now, some investors may be hesitant. After all, Wall Street is in the midst of a bear market and stocks overall just finished their worst first half since 1970! To say the least, there are plenty of stocks taking it on the chin due to inflation, rising interest rates, ongoing supply chain issues, labor market and at-risk consumers. But guess what? The market is also a forward-looking pricing mechanism. InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips 7 Cheap Semiconductor Stocks to Buy Now Today and with a recession looking priced in , it’s time to consider three attractively cheap stocks under $20 to buy now. F Ford Motor Co. $11.27 STNE StoneCo Ltd. $8.19 PATH UiPath $18.32 Ford (F) Ford Motor Co (F) retraced roughly 70% of its Covid rally and now forming a bullish hammer above decades long price support Source: Charts by TradingView Ford Motor Co (NYSE: F ) is the first of our cheap stocks under $20. Ford stock, of course, needs no introduction. The automaker’s vehicles have been around since the very beginning and its longstanding F-series trucks continue to be the most popular worldwide . What makes this cheap stock under $20 exceptionally attractive is it’s dirt cheap and has solid blue-chip financials to weather a recession. there’s also a well-supported 3.5% dividend for Ford shareholders. That’s not all. Ford is making a smartly-throttled transition into the electric vehicle market with the Mustang Mach-E and E-Transit and most recently it’s sold-out all-electric F-150 Lightning pickup truck. Given an EV market which Ford sees as making up to 50% of global sales by 2030 , this cheap stock under $20 is firing on all cylinders. Throw in a deeper six-plus-month pullback that’s retraced roughly 70% of F stock’s Covid rally and appears to be bottoming in a monthly hammer pattern just above prior multi-decade resistance, and it’s time for investors to park some cash in shares! Story continues StoneCo Ltd (STNE) StoneCo Ltd (STNE) a monthly confirmed hammer is offering a better-than-Buffett buy entry in STNE stock Source: Charts by TradingView StoneCo Ltd (NASDAQ: STNE ) is the next of our cheap stocks under $20 to purchase. Most of us can only drool over getting in on an initial public offering, or IPO, like Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK-A , NYSE: BRK-B ). But today, fearful selling over the past sixteen or so months is allowing regular investors the chance to join and beat the Oracle of Omaha at his own game — value investing. Brazilian fintech StoneCo Ltd is a Berkshire holding back from 2018, when STNE stock debuted on the NYSE for $24 and the investment manager picked up 10.7 million shares . Today, almost four years since going public, this stock is priced at just $8.19 per share. Challenges responsible for STNE’s decline include company missteps such as a shaky loan portfolio which dinged cash flow in 2021, a write-off of $230 million investment in Banco Inter , weaker currency translation and broader macro-related headwinds facing growth and more recently, even value stocks. But as The Motley Fool notes, solid triple-digit growth in StoneCo’s transaction volumes and customer counts , greatly improving adjusted net profit margin, as well as ballooning and record-breaking Q1 revenue gains of 139% are factors that make a strong case for ownership. 7 Best Dow Stocks to Buy in July Add in a confirmed monthly hammer bottom, and this cheap stock under $20 looks like a strong buy for value, growth and technical investors alike. UiPath (PATH) uiPath (PATH) is offering investors to buy into this Cathie Wood stock after a bear market bottom and downtrend breakout Source: Charts by TradingView UiPath (NYSE: PATH ) is the last of our cheap stocks under $20 for investors to buy today. Fund manager Ark Invest , led by Cathie Wood, made a notorious and enviable name for itself with its actively managed, high-octane growth portfolios in the wake of the 2020’s history-making bear market. And then, it kept making headlines for all the wrong reasons over the past sixteen months as those same Ark Invest funds cratered back towards their pandemic bottoms. But while the shift from first-to-worst for its funds has bolstered Wood’s “meme market queen” status, it’s notable the investment firm has continued to accumulate robotics process automation (RPA) play PATH stock over the past year. Ark’s own accumulation efforts have led to a cost basis is in the low $60s in this cheap stock under $20. That means PATH would need to rally by more than 200% and retrace roughly 62% of the stock’s lifetime downtrend just in order for the fund to just break even. An upside move of that magnitude in today’s bearish market, let alone Ark eventually profiting on PATH, might seem like a stretch. Importantly though, the firm’s commitment has resulted in UiPath becoming the fund’s fifth-largest holding. Controlling more than 8% of UiPath’s shares, it’s one of the most heavily vested by Ark Invest. The good news is investors don’t have to be like Cathie to enjoy big-time profits much sooner in this cash flush, growth stock. Technically, this past year’s bear market may have already bottomed with a confirmed monthly doji in June. Now and with shares just clearing PATH stock’s lifetime downtrend line in July, the path for this cheap stock under $20 to move toward its highs looks clearer. On the date of publication, Chris Tyler holds, directly or indirectly, long stock in Ark Genomic Revolution ETF (ARKG) but no other securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines . More From InvestorPlace $200 Oil Sooner Than You Think – Buy This Now The Best $1 Investment You Can Make Today Early Bitcoin Millionaire Reveals His Next Big Crypto Trade “On Air” It doesn’t matter if you have $500 in savings or $5 million. Do this now. The post 3 Cheap Stocks Under $20 to Buy Now appeared first on InvestorPlace . \|\| What is the crypto industry’s public responsibility?: Cryptocurrency — despite nearly 14 years of history dating back toBitcoin’s2008 andEthereum’s 2015 launches — remains today a highly controversial, confusing and contested concept to experts and lay people. The crypto world has been a spiritual battle space between its believers and haters, and more recently, those who exploit the differences forprivate gain. The battle is so fierce that it divides believers into camps (e.g., BTC vs. ETH vs. SOL vs. ADA vs. XTZ) that loathe each other and fight for supremacy. \|\| Altcoins Are Too Volatile, So Just Buy Bitcoin Instead: Unlike most cryptocurrencies that have faced crashes of more than 50%,Bitcoin(BTC-USD) has managed to resist a sudden and harsh selloff. With Bitcoin now breaking above $30,000, it is among the most resistant cryptocurrencies. However, the recent bearish trend does not look great for crypto, especially for altcoins. In a bullish market, altcoins do great due to their high volatility and low market capitalization. However, a bearish market is a death sentence for altcoins. While some solid projects may survive, a prolonged bear market would likely be the death blow for a fair chunk of altcoins. Therefore, prioritizing BTC is a wise choice for now. InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips [] The crypto market is currently fragile, and investors are rightfully fearful. However, I believe that a sudden crash is not very likely. Bitcoin has continued to remain stable, and it isdown by more than 53%from its all-time high. The selloff has cooled down, but Bitcoin could continue a slow decline for a few more weeks before any bullish action. Bitcoin recently broke out of a bearish descending triangle pattern which can be a sign of some short-term gains. Moreover, BTC has also broken above its $30,000 resistance level and has been holding that level until now. However, if it falls below $30,000 once again, it is likely to bottom out in June or July. The current price of Bitcoin is undoubtedly low. However, I do not think it is trading at a bargain price just yet. If the stock market continues its downtrend, BTC could bottom out around $25,000. Bitcoin comfortably traded at $9,000 to 10,000 even before the 2020 bull market significantly increased its popularity. Therefore, I believe that Bitcoin is unlikely to break below $15,000 even in a worst-case scenario crash. Bitcoin has recently seen a strong correlation with the stock market. In the future, it might be even more correlated with the stock market due to large institutional investors. For example, BTC began its bull market with the pandemic stock boom. However, this correlation is disadvantageous for Bitcoin when the stock market is bearish. With quantitative tightening in action, the stock market is unlikely to be strong for quite a while. Of course, the market has been green in the short term. However, it is better to be skeptical of the current rally as manymore rate hikes are still on the table, and the long-term downtrend could continue. Therefore, the stock market could drag down BTC if it continues its downtrend. Thehigh standard deviation (SD) of altcoinscompared to Bitcoin can make them significantly riskier. For example,Ethereum(ETH-USD) has an SD of 4.2. ForDogecoin(DOGE-USD) andLitecoin(LTC-USD), it is 6.5 and 5, respectively. In comparison, Bitcoin’s SD is 3.9, making it more stable. In addition, many institutional investors are buying Bitcoin at its current price. Thus, BTC is likely to decline far less than altcoins if the bear market continues. With that in mind, avoiding altcoins is a wise choice for now. If you are investing in crypto, you should prioritize Bitcoin. Moreover, I would recommend against lump sum investments in Bitcoin as the price can still go down. On the date of publication, Omor Ibne Ehsan did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.comPublishing Guidelines. • Stock Prodigy Who Found NIO at $2… Says Buy THIS • It doesn’t matter if you have $500 in savings or $5 million. Do this now. • Get in Now on Tiny $3 ‘Forever Battery’ Stock • Early Bitcoin Millionaire Reveals His Next Big Crypto Trade “On Air” The postAltcoins Are Too Volatile, So Just Buy Bitcoin Insteadappeared first onInvestorPlace. \|\| Market Wrap: Bitcoin Sees Best Day in Over a Month: Hi, I'm Jimmy He, here to take you through the day's crypto market highlights and news. Bitcoin (BTC) surged above $22,500 early Monday, hitting its highest price in over a month. The largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization was trading at $21,696, up 3.1% over the past 24 hours. Oanda Senior Market Analyst Edward Moya said that crypto sentiment is improving amid signs that the global economy will remain on solid footing for the near future and that the U.S. central bank will raise interest rates at its next meeting by 0.75 percentage point, rather than by 1 percentage point as some monetary policy observers had predicted last week. “If bitcoin continues to stabilize here over the next two weeks, the crypto winter could be over,” Moya said. GlobalBlock CEO Rufus Round said that he is seeing greater investor commitment to cryptocurrency as markets experience relief. “We, certainly at GlobalBlock, are seeing professional buyers load up on bitcoin and ether around these levels,” Round said. “It's such a collapse and there's been so much stress in the markets. The forced sellers are hopefully all done by now, and people are seeing value right here, especially given the macroeconomic backdrop.” Most major altcoins outperformed bitcoin, with Polygon’sMATICtoken leading the charts, up 18.4% over the past 24 hours. MATIC surged over 66% over seven days after Disneychosethe Ethereum scaling tool as part of its 2022 Accelerator Program. Ether (ETH) climbed 9% to $1,469. Last Friday, Ethereum’s ninth "shadow fork"went liveas the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap moved closer to its transition fromproof-of-worktoproof-of-stake. Today’s edition of Market Wrap was produced by Sage D. Young. ●Bitcoin (BTC): $21,513+1.8% ●Ether (ETH): $1,459+7.6% ●S&P 500 daily close: 3,825.30−1.0% ●Gold: $1,706 per troy ounce+0.2% ●Ten-year Treasury yield daily close: 2.96%+0.03 Bitcoin, ether and gold prices are taken at approximately 4pm New York time. Bitcoin is the CoinDesk Bitcoin Price Index (XBX); Ether is the CoinDesk Ether Price Index (ETX); Gold is the COMEX spot price. Information about CoinDesk Indices can be found atcoindesk.com/indices. Crypto funds had inflows for a third consecutive week with inflows of $12 million in the seven days through July 15, according to a CoinSharesreport. But a lot of those investments came from investors betting on further price declines in bitcoin. Short-bitcoin positions, which bet on a price decline in BTC, generated $15 million in inflows. Short-bitcoin inflows reached a record four-week run of $88 million. Net outflows for long investment products totaled $2.6 million. Traditional bitcoin investment products saw outflows amounting to $2.6 million, while ether-focused funds had $2.5 million of outflows. “We believe this highlights new investors expecting further price downside, while those currently invested are not selling out of positions, believing crypto prices are close to a bottom,” the authors wrote. Altcoin funds saw minor inflows with $500,000 of inflows for Solana, $300,000 for XRP and $100,000 for Tron. Regionally, the U.S. inflows totaled $21 million, outperforming other countries. Canadian outflows totaled $13 million, pushing the country’s cumulative year-to-date outflows to $388 million. • Polygon, ApeCoin Tokens See Outsized Gains:MATICandAPEboth surged as crypto market capitalization regained the $1 trillion mark early on Monday, up from around $800 million in June.Read more here. • The 'Merge Trade' Has Begun, Experts Say:Renewed clarity about Ethereum'sMerge timelinespurred investor interest in ether and itsstaked derivativeon the Lido platform called staked ether (stETH). "ETH has undergone a rapid change in narrative over the past week, with speculators purely focused on the upcoming 'merge' as a catalyst for appreciation," one observer said.Read more here. • Listen 🎧:Today’s "CoinDesk Markets Daily" podcast discusses the latest market movements and whether Mt. Gox payouts will affect bitcoin’s price. • Celsius Outlines Next Steps as Bankruptcy Proceedings Begin:The insolvent crypto lender has said that it will give customers an option of staying "long crypto" or receiving a discounted cash settlement. • Genesis Global Issued $2.36B in Undercollateralized Loans to Three Arrows Capital:Three Arrow Capital's list of creditors reveals the extent of Genesis' loans to the Singapore-based fund. • Ether Futures See $230M in Liquidations as Merge Pushes ETH to $1.5K:Shorts took on the most losses as buying pressure built up on ether over the weekend. • Options Signal Ether Strength for First Time in 6 Months:Some traders are buying large amounts of call options, one market observer said. • 'Crypto and DeFi Won’t Disappear’: Hong Kong Monetary Chief:Hong Kong Monetary Authority CEO Eddie Yue tells a G-20 meeting that crypto and decentralized finance will remain significant forces. • Coinbase Secures Regulatory Approval in Italy:The crypto exchange joins Binance in gaining clearance in that country. • Binance Fined $3.4M by Dutch Central Bank:The crypto exchange was penalized for failing to register in the Netherlands. • Stablecoin Bill Won’t Force All Issuers to Be Banks, Congressman Says:The key legislation that could open a path for stablecoin rules isn’t expected to stick to regulators’ recommendation to insist only banks issue tokens. • Australian Central Bank Chief Believes Regulated Private Tokens Could Be Better Than CBDCs, Reuters Reports:Governor Philip Lowe spoke at a panel discussion at the G-20 finance officials' meeting in Indonesia on Sunday. [{"Asset": "Polygon", "Ticker": "MATIC", "Returns": "+15.7%", "DACS Sector": "Smart Contract Platform"}, {"Asset": "Terra", "Ticker": "LUNA", "Returns": "+12.9%", "DACS Sector": "Smart Contract Platform"}, {"Asset": "Ethereum", "Ticker": "ETH", "Returns": "+9.1%", "DACS Sector": "Smart Contract Platform"}] There are no losers in CoinDesk 20 today. Sector classifications are provided via theDigital Asset Classification Standard (DACS), developed by CoinDesk Indices to provide a reliable, comprehensive and standardized classification system for digital assets. TheCoinDesk 20is a ranking of the largest digital assets by volume on trusted exchanges. \|\| Bitmain Partner Antalpha Unveils Lending Products for Miners: MIAMI Financial services company Antalpha unveiled several novel lending products for crypto miners at Bitmain's World Digital Mining Summit (WDMS) here on Tuesday. The products unveiled by Antalpha include co-lending with other financiers; financing to offload electricity costs, one of miners' biggest operating expenses; and deals collateralized with hashrate (a measure of computational power) instead of tokens or equipment as is common in the industry, as well as financing collateralized by both hashrate and mined tokens. It also is offering lending with no margin calls, a type of structured lending. A co-lending deal is currently under discussion, Antalpha Managing Director of Business Development Max Liao told CoinDesk on the sidelines of the conference. Crypto miners have been facing margin calls on their loans as the price of bitcoin has dropped in the last few months, while capital has dried up amid a bear market. During Antalpha's presentation on Tuesday, phones flashed across the room as miners and other financiers eagerly took pictures of sample deals shown on the screen, an indication of the interest for a new player in mining finance. Antalpha is a Bitmain strategic partner, much like cloud mining platform BitFuFu . The firm is based in Singapore, with its 150 or so employees spread across Hong Kong, the U.S. and Switzerland, according to Liao. "Our goal is to become a proper financial institution," Liao said, which is why the firm has a global presence and prioritizes risk management. The company has been focusing particularly on financial services and asset management, as well as equipment financing, he said. Antalpha is applying for a Type 9 digital asset license in Hong Kong, Liao said. "We're not looking to replace any of the big vendors out there," Liao said. However, Antalpha will step in if other lenders "are not fulfilling their function." That means if lenders are either unable or unwilling to predict or assess the risk associated with mining loans, don't have the capital to give out loans or are too conservative to invest in the market, he said. Story continues The loans come with interest rates of around 6.6% to 8% per year, and loan-to-value ratios from 60% to 90%, according to Liao's presentation. The firm has about $700 million of client's assets on its balance sheet and doesn't leverage its internal assets, Liao said. The company believes it is in a good position to evaluate miners' risks due its relationship with Bitmain, the world's largest manufacturer of bitcoin (BTC) mining rigs, and its mining pool affiliate, AntPool. The mining pool will be collateralizing the hashrate for the hashrate loans, which will come with no margin calls or liquidations, according to Liao's presentation. Bitcoin financing is one of Antalpha's core businesses, but mining financing "is very important for the overall ecosystem right now because there is a credit crunch happening" and borrowers might not be able to find much-needed cash, Liao said. Read more: Crypto Miners Face Margin Calls, Defaults as Debt Comes Due in Bear Market [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] None available.	Trend: no change \|\| Prices: 23656.21, 23336.90, 23314.20, 22978.12, 22846.51, 22630.96, 23289.31, 22961.28, 23175.89, 23809.49
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2017-12-28] BTC Price: 14606.50, BTC RSI: 49.33 Gold Price: 1294.10, Gold RSI: 64.82 Oil Price: 59.84, Oil RSI: 65.86 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Goldman Sachs Says There's an 88% Chance of a Bear Market: 3 Stocks to Own: Could we be on the verge of a new bear market? The answer is "yes," according to Goldman Sachs ' Chief Global Equity Strategist Peter Oppenheimer and his team. An exhaustively researched, 87-page report titled "Bear Necessities: Should We Worry Now?" lays out the case for trouble ahead. Everyone loves a Disney song reference -- "Bear Necessities" is a reference to a song in the film The Jungle Book -- but the contents of the report are ominous. Businessman looking down at the falling red arrow destroying a concrete barrier. Image Source: Getty Images. The team dug through a century's worth of economic and stock market data. They found that the U.S. stock market, as measured by the S&P 500 Index, is in the midst of the second-biggest bull market in recorded history. But then the news gets worse: While the valuation of the S&P 500 is now in its 88th percentile (using data from 1976), the median stock in that index is in its 99th percentile. Taking their research a step further, the Goldman team put together a bear-market indicator as a result of the data. This indicator is signaling Goldman's analysts that there's an 88% chance we'll experience a bear market in the next 24 months. Investors are between a rock and a hard place. Sky-high valuations for stocks are due, in part, to record-low interest rates. With the Federal Reserve now steadily increasing the federal funds rate, investors have limited options. One of them is shifting toward stocks that hold up extraordinarily well in bear markets, so here's why General Mills (NYSE: GIS) , Atmos Energy (NYSE: ATO) , and AB InBev (NYSE: BUD) are three great stocks to get Foolish investors prepared. Make sure to eat your Wheaties Every morning, millions of people start their days with a bowl of cereal. The corporate label on the side of those cereal boxes is frequently General Mills. The consumer-food giant's reach doesn't stop there. Not only does it make favorites like Wheaties and Cheerios, but everything from yogurt (Yoplait) to Nature Valley granola bars. It's even a top competitor to Campbell Soup via its Progresso soups. Story continues General Mills isn't exactly a growth business these days. In fact, quite the opposite. Sales in its fiscal Q1 were down 3.5% year over year. The main culprit was its North America region, where organic sales fell 5%. Fortunately, General Mills is a global company, with operations in Europe, Asia, and Latin America, which all can generate growth in the years ahead. Results in Europe and Australia have been encouraging. Recently, management guided for organic sales declines of just 1%-2% this fiscal year -- a sign that the tide is slowly beginning to turn. At their lowest point, General Mill's shares fell by about one-third during the Great Recession -- half the drop experienced by the S&P 500 Index. Today, General Mills trades at around 17.5 times forward earnings estimates (below the market average), and sports a dividend yield of 3.5%, which can help cushion portfolios through a bear market. Natural gas should be a cornerstone of any bear-market portfolio You may have never heard of Atmos Energy, but if a bear market occurs, you'd be glad to have it in your portfolio. Atmos is the most significant regulated natural-gas distributor in the U.S. Its operations span nine states, and over 3 million natural-gas distribution customers rely on Atmos to supply gas to some 1,400 communities. Natural-gas production continues to rise in the United States. As one of the largest intrastate natural-gas pipeline owners, Atmos is clearly a beneficiary. Its growing dividend currently is decent, at just over 2%. Atmos has raised its dividend every year for the past 34 years and continues to target annual increases of between 6% to 8%. Where Atmos truly shines is its stock-price performance during the last recession. Because the market knew that Atmos was a regulated infrastructure company, with guaranteed profitability, its shares fell a mere 20% during the financial crisis of 2008-2009. In the next bear market, Atmos likely will be a fantastic bedrock stock for investors. Pour yourself a cold one when the bear bursts onto the scene When the next bear market arrives, consumers and investors will find a lot to like with my third pick: AB InBev. The company is the world's largest beer brewer, with over 500 brands sold in over 130 countries. The company has 45% of the beer market in the United States, led by Bud Light, which garnered over $2 billion in sales last year alone. It also has the dominant market share in dozens of other countries. Craft beer may be the beer story stateside, but one can't escape AB InBev in search of a "cold one" in South America and Africa. For example, it has 66% market share in Brazil -- a nation of over 200 million. AB InBev has a lot to offer investors in a bear market. It's sky-high 5% dividend yield will help pad any downdraft, and provide much-needed cash to buy stocks on the way down. It also continues to exceed cost-savings estimates. So far, it's saved approximately $3.2 billion versus the expected $2.8 billion following its merger with SAB Miller. The performance of BUD's shares throughout the Great Recession are difficult to calculate. Its merger with Anheuser-Busch -- which was announced in July 2008, just before the trouble started -- muddied the waters. But a quick glance at its share price in 2009 shows that it navigated the downturn admirably. Foolish final thoughts Market timing is a (lower-case) fool's errand. There's just no telling when a new bear market may arrive. That said, Goldman's team of equity strategists have a point. Stocks are expensive, and the higher they rise, the bigger the potential fall. A long-term view is an investor's best friend in such a world. In fact, any bear market is the friend of anyone looking to buy great stocks at wonderful prices. More From The Motley Fool 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This Sean O'Reilly owns shares of Atmos Energy and General Mills. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Anheuser-Busch InBev NV. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy . \|\| Former FDIC Chair: Why we shouldn't ban bitcoin: The nearly 2000% run up in bitcoin’s (BTC-USD) price over the past year, followed byits recent precipitous drop, is stirring the usual calls to regulatory arms. Watching a volatile asset bubble (and yes, anything up by 2000% in less than a year is a bubble) can be painful for regulators. They know it’s going to turn. They know people are going to lose a lot of money. But what should they do? Some argue that bitcoin performs no socially useful function and thus should be banned. But value — like beauty — is in the eye of beholder. Since the beginning of commerce, humans have assigned value to things of no readily-apparent intrinsic worth. Particularly in the case of mediums of exchange, aka currency, we assign value simply because those with whom we transact do so as well. Whether it is the cowry shells of ancient India or the thin green pieces of paper many of us still carry in our wallets today, worth depends more on psychology than physical attributes. This is also true of fiat currency, even though backed by governments and their taxing power, and central banks and their money-printing power. When the public loses confidence in those institutions — as they did in the Weimar Republic in post-WWI Germany, or Southeast Asia in the late 1990s — value evaporates. Indeed, these days, the lack of reliance on central bank backing mayaddvalue in the eyes of bitcoin’s more passionate investors, who have more faith in technology than in their government. The number of businesses and individuals recognizing bitcoin as a medium of exchange is of sufficient scale to belie attempts to label it as worthless. And thepromiseof bitcoin, eventual widespread acceptance that would allow direct, peer-to-peer transactions with anyone in the world, has a strong allure. Moreover, unlike fiat currency, its finite supply and purposeful constraints on the pace of “mining” make it attractive to many as a store of value, similar to gold. To be sure, today’s market value would seem to far outstrip the intrinsic value of these uses. But this is hardly the first time markets have wildly over-priced assets. Netherlands didn’t ban tulips in the 1630s, nor did we ban tech stocks when they reached nosebleed levels in the early 2000s. Instead of making its own value judgements about bitcoin, what government should do is first make sure our policies don’t feed the frenzy. Certainly, federally insured banking organizations should not be allowed to directly or indirectly support bitcoin speculation. Government should also take steps to help ensure that the bitcoin price— wherever the market assigns it — is reflective of investors making informed decisions, free of fraud and manipulation, and that trading is not facilitating illicit activity. Fortunately, regulators have already taken positive steps in those directions. For instance, the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS)has provided a regulatory frameworkin which bitcoin exchanges can operate. (I am an independent director of a blockchain development startup that also operates a bitcoin exchange regulated by the NYDFS.) This provides a vehicle for investors to trade on an exchange subject to bank-like supervision, including capital requirements, customer due diligence, and cyber-security oversight. In addition, though the Chicago Board Options Exchange and Chicago Mercantile Exchange were criticized for “legitimizing” bitcoinby launching bitcoin futures, in fact, they created additional regulated venues to take bitcoin exposure through futures trading. And while most bitcoin exchanges remain unregulated, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has pressed both Cboe and CME to institute information sharing with bitcoin exchanges which will help them and the CFTC monitor for market manipulation and fraud in the underlying bitcoin market — a capability that did not exist before. The leadership of the Securities and Exchange Commission has also stepped up efforts to warn investors about risks associated with cryptocurrencies and quash attempts to evade securities requirements byoffering what is essentially a security in the guise of an “initial coin offering.”Anyone seriously thinking about investing in any vehicle that uses the words “bitcoin,” “blockchain,” “ICO,” or “cryptocurrency” would be well advised to read SEC Chairman Clayton’s statement before doing so. Itcan be found here. Importantly, the SEC warns investors about the difference between investing in bitcoin — a digital currency — and investing incompanies that are trying to develop the blockchain technology that underpins bitcoin. Blockchain refers to the distributed ledger used to create a highly secure, unalterable chain of ownership for bitcoin. Many fintech companies are trying to apply that technology to other assets, such as precious metals, securities, mortgages, etc., some with more credibility than others. This is highly sophisticated technology — promising, but probably years off in its widespread application. It is important to understand that investing in bitcoin does not give you upside potential in blockchain adaptation to other assets. They are two different things. Finally, Congress is considering legislation to strengthen government oversight of the potential abuse of digital currencies for illicit purposes, including money laundering and terrorist financing. Most bitcoin exchanges are not subject to the same level of regulation and reporting requirements applicable to banks to screen customers and detect and report suspected instances of illicit financing. They should be. Bitcoin is not the first market mania, nor will it be the last. The best discipline for bitcoin speculation is the recent fall in price by one-third. That is a healthy reminder to those who are investing in this highly volatile asset that prices can go down as fast (or faster) than they go up. As with any asset, don’t invest more than you can afford to lose. And do your homework before you do so. Sheila Bair is the former Chair of the FDIC (2006-2011) and served as a Commissioner and Acting Chair of the CFTC in the 1990s. She currently serves as an independent director or advisor to a number of corporations and fintech companies. These views are her own. Read more from Yahoo Finance about bitcoin: 74 bitcoin questions, answered Watchlist: Stocks with exposure to bitcoin Bitcoin buyers must practice ‘cold storage’ for security Owning bitcoin is so much damn fun How cybercriminals are exploiting the bitcoin craze \|\| Putting Up the Tree with Top ETFs of 2017: Christmas isn’t Christmas without a verdant tree. While the evergreen never fails to bring in cheer to the most lonesome of hearts, we decided to do something very different this year – build a tree with the choicest of ETFs this season. A Christmas Tree of ETFs Let’s build the base first, which is the most valuable of all for investors, and of course where all the gifts are to be found. And nothing’s more fitting than SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF DIA , which tracks the Dow Jones Industrial Average, to give a solid foundation to our tree. The Dow Jones has moved up 5,000 points this year — the biggest annual gain in its history — and is moving closer to another major milestone of 25,000. Additionally, the index has logged the 70th record close so far this year, representing the highest-ever number of record closes in a calendar year. As such, DIA has returned nearly 25% this year and has a Zacks ETF Rank #2 (Buy) with a Medium risk outlook (read: Top Investing Areas of 2017 & Their Top ETFs). Tax reform has added to more strength to the second-largest bull market and is expected to be the key catalyst to drive the stocks higher in 2018. A massive $1.4-trillion tax cut will create an economic surge, boosting job growth and reflation trade. It will further accelerate earnings, leading to increased dividend and buyback activities. Additionally, the tax repatriation will allow companies to bring offshore cash back home, paving the way for increased mergers and acquisitions. If we talk about sectors, banks and retail will be the biggest beneficiaries of the tax cut to 21% from 35% as they have the highest effective tax rate. Therefore, an ETF from these two sectors could be the best option to deck up our Christmas tree. In particular, SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF KRE and VanEck Vectors Retail ETF RTH could be intriguing. Both funds have a Zacks ETF Rank #3 (Hold) and have gained 6.8% and 20.6%, respectively, this year. So they form the fronds and leaves of our ETF tree. For the top layer, we have chosen the small cap iShares Russell 2000 Growth ETF IWO as it is backed by the dual tailwinds of accelerating economic growth and tax cut plan. Small companies pay huge taxes in America and a tax cut could be a big boon to these companies. These pint-sized stocks generate most of their revenues from the domestic market and generally outperform on improving American economic health. IWO has a Zacks ETF Rank #2 and has delivered strong returns of about 22% this year (read: ETFs to Bet on the Final Tax Bill: What Hot, What's Not). At the very top is the star ETF of 2017 — ARK Web x.0 ETF ARKW . The ETF is gaining on the bitcoin boom as well as technology surge. It is an actively managed fund focusing on companies that are expected to benefit from the shift in technology infrastructure to the cloud, enabling mobile, new and local services. The fund has soared more than 91% this year. With the structure ready, we now have to decorate the tree with bells, candies and lights. While most of the ETFs could be part of this beautification, we have chosen those that have a top Zacks ETF Rank or are currently hot in the market. Notably, Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF SCHD , offering exposure to the high dividend-yielding U.S. companies that have a record of consistent dividend payments, will add to the glitter and shine. The product has climbed 17.6% this year and has a Zacks ETF Rank #2, suggesting its continued outperformance. The best ETF that could nicely fit the candy decor is WisdomTree China ex-State-Owned Enterprises Fund CXSE , which is up about 75% this year. The strength came from companies that belong to a new and developed China (that has stepped up efforts to upgrade manufacturing, and research and development) rather than the traditional government-run companies such as banks, energy and telecom firms. The fund offers exposure to targeted Chinese stocks that are not state-owned enterprises and has a Zacks ETF Rank #2 (read: Be Thankful to These China ETFs This Year). Now, to light up the tree, let’s add iShares PHLX Semiconductor ETF SOXX that will continue to brighten investors’ portfolio in 2018. The fund has surged nearly 42% this year and has a Zacks ETF Rank #1 (Strong Buy). Being a cyclical sector, this semiconductor ETF tends to move higher with market rallies. New areas such as autonomous cars, cloud computing, gaming, wearables, VR headsets, drones, virtual reality devices, Internet of Things (IoT) and artificial intelligence are fueling exceptional growth. Additionally, semiconductor ETFs are gaining from rising demand of cryptocurrency mining, which needs the usage of semiconductors (read: Bitcoin ETFs Are Back After Futures Launch). The Christmas tree of ETF is now ready for investors. May it spread cheer with the jingle of Santa’s bell. Want key ETF info delivered straight to your inbox? Zacks’ free Fund Newsletter will brief you on top news and analysis, as well as top-performing ETFs, each week. Get it free >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report VANECK-RETAIL (RTH): ETF Research Reports ISHARS-PHLX SEM (SOXX): ETF Research Reports ISHARS-RS 2K GR (IWO): ETF Research Reports ARK- WEB XO ETF (ARKW): ETF Research Reports WISDMTR-TR WTCH (CXSE): ETF Research Reports SPDR-KBW REG BK (KRE): ETF Research Reports SCHWAB-US DV EQ (SCHD): ETF Research Reports To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report \|\| Futures Launch Puts Record Bitcoin Highs Back in Play: Having landed on Wall Street with a bang, bitcoin is solidly bid and looks set to scale new heights. As per CoinDesk'sBitcoin Price Index, the world's largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization rose to a high of $16,773.04 at 08:00 UTC today, and was last seen trading at $16,500 levels. Going byCoinMarketCapdata, bitcoin (BTC) has appreciated 16 percent in the last 24 hours. It hasn't all been smooth sailing this week, however. Following all-time highs on Dec. 8, pricesfell to $13,000yesterday before recovering to $15,700 at the time of bitcoin futures launch on the CBOE. Approximately four hours after the debut, the BTC contract on the CBOE (which expires in January) spiked 20 percent and triggered two trading halts. Further, a surge of traffic to theCBOE websitecaused delays and outages, but failed to deter the cryptocurrency from regaining altitude. With doors now open for mainstream investors, BTC is showing no signs of slowing down. The price chart analysis indicates the path of least resistance is on the higher side. The above chart shows: • The previous three daily candles (as per UTC) have long tails (big gap between the intraday low and close), indicating strong dip demand. • The bullish follow-through seen today validates the bullish case put forward by the long-tailed candles. • Also, a close today (as per UTC) above $16,500 (Dec. 9 high) would negate the bull market exhaustion as indicated by yesterday's doji candle. • The rising lows pattern is intact, as highlighted by the ascending trend line. • Also, a bullish flag breakout (dotted lines) has been confirmed. This is a continuation pattern – i.e. it indicates the rally from Nov. 29 lows below $8,600 has resumed. As per the measured height method, the bull flag breakout has opened up the doors for a possible rally to as high as $20,000. • Stochastic does show overbought conditions, but the relative strength index (RSI) shows plenty room for a rally in bitcoin. • Bitcoin is likely to break above $17,364.56 (record highas per Bitcoin Price Index) and move towards $20,000. • Any pullback is likely to be capped around $14,000, courtesy of the upward sloping 10-day moving average. • Only a sideways action for the next couple of days, followed by a close (as per UTC) below $10,000 would signal that a top has been made. Straight roadimage via Shutterstock • More to Come? Bitcoin Sets Record High Near $18k • Survey: Most Bitcoin Investors Expect Even Fatter Returns in 2018 • As Wall Street Bids Up Bitcoin, ICO Tactics Change • Up 50%: Ripple's XRP Sets Price Record Amid Overstretched Rally \|\| What If You Can Eat Gold, After All? (GLD): FromBullionStar: A popular phrase in segments of the mainstream financial media is that “You Can’t Eat Gold”. We don’t know who first uttered this comment, but it was more than likely a talking-head or Wall Street analyst on CNBC or Bloomberg. The disparaging claim seems to be based on concluding that in a financial or monetary crisis, if you own gold, that “You Can’t Eat It”. And so, according to the logic of whoever came up with the phrase, this would make gold useless during a financial crisis. In addition to the misleading and irrelevant nature of the comment, which we will discuss below, the claim that “you can’t eat gold” is actually factually wrong. And that is because you can eat gold. And also drink it. While gold can be eaten, it cannot be digested. But it is non-toxic to the human body. And it does not react chemically in the human body. That is why gold can and does appear safely in a number of foods and drinks, not surprisingly foods and drinks which are predominantly at the luxury end of the market. Some readers will have heard of Goldschläger, a Swiss/Italian liquor which has flakes gold suspended within it. On a similar note, a Swiss gin called ‘Studer Swiss Gold Gin‘ also contains flakes of gold. Staying within Switzerland, you can also buy edible gold products including “Swiss chocolate truffles with gold flakes“. Not to be outdone by the Swiss, the Emirates Palace Hotel in Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates) offers a ‘Palace Cappucino” which is sprinkled with gold flakes. In Selfridges department store in London, you can buy a“billionaires soft serve” ice cream conetopped with both sprinklings of gold leaf and a gold leaf covered flake. While in New York, in Manhattan’s Upper East Side, a high-end restaurant offers a “Golden Opulence Sundae” topped with gold leaf, for US$ 1000 a glass. Back in England, a specialist cheese producer in Leicestershire created Britain’s most expensive cheese – “Clawson Stilton Gold“, a stilton cheese interwoven with edible gold leaf and shot-through with gold liqueur. These uses of gold in food and beverages illustrate that gold is a sought after and prestigious substance, but also that gold is real, that gold is tangible and that gold is of value. The logic of the “you can’t eat gold” comment, as well as being wrong, is also flawed. Because by extension, you can’t eat any of Wall Street’s favorite investment assets. Imagine chewing on financial securities or fiat currencies. But whoever coined the phrase “you can’t eat gold” conveniently failed to mention this on CNBC. We would challenge anyone, especially CNBC and MSNBC, to eat share certificates or bond certificates or the electronic equivalent thereof. Nor can you eat the electronic coins of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum’s Ether or Litecoin. Real assets such as art, antiques, real estate, agricultural land, or vintage cars are also off the menu. A possible exception is that can drink an expensive investment wine collection, but would you really want to do this, as then you would be consuming your principal investment? But beyond the fact that you can in fact eat gold, and that Wall Street never points out the non-edibility of stocks and bonds, there are many beneficial reasons to buy and own investment grade physical gold of which we recently pointed out in28 reasons to buy and own physical gold.What we are talking about is real physical gold in the form ofgold barsandgold coins. This is true both during times of financial crisis, and also over the long-term as a form of investment and savings. Gold is without doubt the ultimate safe haven asset. In times of financial crisis and turmoil, investors and savers flock to gold as a wealth preservation strategy. The reason for investing in gold during times of crisis is based on the fact that investors instinctively know that the gold price behaves differently to the prices of other assets, particularly during crises. This is because the gold price moves independently of economic and business cycles. In times of war and social upheaval, physical gold’s benefits also come to the fore. Since gold has a high value to weight ratio, significant personal wealth can discreetly be carried in the form of gold across borders and frontiers and within areas of conflict. Since gold is a universal money supported by a highly liquid global market, it will always be accepted everywhere at the going gold price. Gold can easily be sold. Gold can easily be traded or even bartered with, especially in non-functioning economies where the local paper currency has collapsed or has become worthless. The fact that gold coins are regularly issued to elite military personnel in areas of conflict attests to gold’s critical benefits in times of monetary crisis and localized economic collapse. But gold is not just of use during financial crises. It is also an essential asset to own over the long-term as a strategic form of saving and investment. Physical gold retains its purchasing power over long periods of time. This is in contrast to fiat currencies issued by the world’s central banks, which generally lose most of their purchasing power over time. In other words, gold is a great hedge against inflation, as the gold price adjusts upwards to offset inflation. The gold price even adjusts to inflation expectations, hence it is sometimes called an inflation barometer and is watched like a hawk by central bankers because the gold price signals future inflation. Physical gold is also an asset without counterparty risk. This is because when you own physical gold in the form of gold bars or gold coins, there are no counterparties. In other words, the physical gold that you own outright is no one else’s liability. Nor are there any governments or central banks involved in issuing gold, or in trying to increase and debase its supply. Gold also lacks default risk, because it cannot default. Physical gold is also inherently valuable because it is a scarce precious metal that is difficult and costly to mine and refine. Gold’s price will never go to zero because it has a finite and significant production cost. Physical gold is difficult to counterfeit, impossible to create artificially, and cannot be debased. These are just some of the reasons for buying and owning physical gold. Please see BullionStar’s recent article “28 Reasons to Buy Physical Gold” for a list of reasons why you should consider buying physical gold. In the real world, owning physical gold can be of critical importance in scenarios where trust in a nation’s money supply has evaporated, such as is currently the case in Venezuela or Zimbabwe. Gold can also be of critical importance when entire nations suffer economic shocks. A case in point is the interesting experience of South Korea during the Asian financial crisis that swept the region in the late 1990s. This crisis left the South Korean economy severely impaired, with it’s currency, the Won, collapsing against the US dollar. In addition to a bailout by the International Monetary Fund, the South Korean government also launched a patriotic campaign in early 1998 to actually collect physical gold from the South Korean citizens which was then sold on the international market to raise much-needed foreign currency. This collective campaign was pursued precisely because the South Korean government understood that gold is a high-quality liquid asset that has substantial value. By mid-March 1998, the South Korean citizenry had donated more than 220 tonnes of gold, worth over US$2 billion, in the form of investment gold coins and bars, and other gold in the form of rings, jewelry, and gold medals. More than 3 million households were said to have contributed. This collective mobilization of gold to overcome a nation’s economic adversity and raise financing is a great illustration of how gold comes to the fore in a time of crisis, due to its store of value, safe haven, and high liquidity characteristics. In conclusion, knowing the many compelling reasons to buy and hold gold, and how gold can sometimes be a lifeline in a time of crisis, the claim that “you can’t eat gold” is exposed for what it is, misguided and disingenuous, and shows either ignorance on the part of the people who use it, or more likely, a deliberate intention to mislead and deceive. TheSPDR Gold Trust ETF (GLD)was trading at $121.54 per share on Thursday morning, down $0.5 (-0.41%). Year-to-date, GLD has gained 10.88%, versus a 19.19% rise in the benchmark S&P 500 index during the same period. GLDcurrently has anETF Daily News SMART GradeofA (Strong Buy), and is ranked #1 of 35 ETFs in thePrecious Metals ETFscategory. This article is brought to you courtesy ofBullionStar. \|\| Stocks jump following strong jobs report: Stocks getting a boost to end the week on the back of a big jobs report. Plus – yes you know it was coming – Bitcoin. We break down it’s biggest week, and why ‘cold storage’ is the new buzz word. And – Washington will be back in the fore next week – we have the three big things, to watch out for. Plus – will the force be with Disney? A big upcoming release, and a huge deal with an arch rival, are the latest plot twists. Catch The Final Round at 3:55 p.m. ET with Jen Rogers and Yahoo Finance’s Andy Serwer, Myles Udland and Dan Roberts. Winners and losers Stocks in the red today include American Outdoor Brands as the Smith & Wesson parent reported a 90% drop in quarterly profit from a year ago, La Jolla Pharmaceuticals as JPMorgan downgraded shares of the drugmaker to ‘underweight’ with a $20 price target, and Himax Technologies – shares of the chipmaker under pressure after Citron Research accused management of fraud. Himax responded, calling the claims ‘baseless.’ Stocks getting a boost today include Alexion Pharmaceuticals as the Times reports activist fund Elliot Management has built a stake in the company, Sage Therapeutics up day 2 following strong results for its depression treatment, and Microsoft – shares rising on the back of a bullish UBS note, with analysts expecting the company to invest heavily in it’s most profitable unit, Azure cloud computing. \|\| Bitcoin Futures Trading Brings Crypto Into Mainstream Finance: The intersection of digital money and traditional finance is at 400 South LaSalle Street in Chicago this weekend. That's where trading in bitcoin futures opens Sunday evening, as the first major U.S. exchange offers a product pegged to the wildly fluctuating cryptocurrency. The currency has risen more than 1,500 percent this year, and about 85 percent just in the past two weeks, driven largely by demand from individual investors. But even as bitcoin launched in 2009 as an alternative to banks divides Wall Street executives and central bankers worldwide, those kinds of gains are a powerful magnet. The futures offered by Cboe Global Markets Inc., and similar contracts that start trading in a week at at another Chicago-based exchange, CME Group Inc., may open the door to greater inflows of institutional money, while also making it easier to bet on bitcoin's decline. Either way, it's likely trading will start slowly, said Mike Novogratz, chief executive officer of Galaxy Investment Partners, which is raising a crypto hedge fund targeted at $500 million. "If people have expectations that it's going to have huge liquidity on day one, they're just wrong," Novogratz said Thursday in Toronto. "It's going to take a while to build liquidity. People need to go through at least one cycle to figure out how it settles." Derivatives trading is the culmination of a wild year for bitcoin, which captured imaginations and investment around the world, propelled by its stratospheric gains, and its anti-establishment mission as a currency without the backing of a government or a central bank, and a payment system without a reliance on banks. The derivatives contracts should thrust bitcoin more squarely into the realm of regulators, banks and institutional investors. In addition to the contracts at Cboe and CME, which will start trading Dec. 18, Cantor Fitzgerald LP won approval from regulators to trade binary options, and LedgerX, a startup exchange, already trades bitcoin options. Story continues "There will be a ramp-up time," said Ari Paul, chief investment officer of Blocktower Capital Advisors LP. "There just isn't a rush. The professional traders will mostly be looking to do arbitrage, between the futures and bitcoin itself. I don't expect massive money flows right away but then I expect gradual buying from people who want passive exposure" without buying bitcoin directly. The two exchanges on Dec. 1 got permission to offer the contracts after pledging to the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission that the products don't run afoul of the law, in a process called self-certification. "Derivatives should have the effect of bringing a deeper liquidity to the market which should reduce volatility," said Alistair Milne, chief investment officer and co-founder of Altana Digital Currency Fund that is based in Monaco. "As the whole cryptocurrency economy gets bigger the volatility should reduce." But not everyone is convinced it's a good idea. On Dec. 6, the Futures Industry Association a group of major banks, brokers and traders said the contracts were rushed without enough consideration of the risks. Last month, Thomas Peterffy, the billionaire chairman of Interactive Brokers Group Inc., wrote an open letter to CFTC Chairman J. Christopher Giancarlo, arguing that bitcoin's large price swings mean its futures contracts shouldn't be allowed on platforms that clear other derivatives. Still, Interactive Brokers will offer its customers access to the futures, though with greater restrictions. They won't be able to go short betting that prices will decline and Interactive's margin requirement, or how much investors have to set aside as collateral, will be at least 50 percent. That's higher than either Cboe's or CME's margin requirements. Cboe's futures are cash-settled and based on the Gemini auction price for bitcoin in U.S. dollars. The exchange plans to impose trading limits to curb volatility, halting trading for two minutes if prices rise or fall 10 percent, and a five-minute halt kicks in at 20 percent. Margins for Cboe bitcoin futures, which will be cleared by Options Clearing Corp., will be at 40 percent or higher. Cboe's futures market is a niche player in derivatives trading, which could limit how many contracts change hands in the initial days. Fueled by contracts on the VIX, the Cboe Futures Exchange handled 56 million contracts during the first three quarters of 2017, according to data compiled by the Futures Industry Association, the industry's trade and lobbying group. CME traded 3.1 billion contracts in the same period. Some traders also will prefer CME contracts over Cboe's because they're based off four exchanges, instead of just one, reducing risk of disruptions because of outages, attacks or price manipulations. The smaller Cboe does have an advantage over CME Group, however, because it's a major player in stock and equity options trading, giving it access to broker-dealers and investors who may not trade on CME. See original article on Fortune.com More from Fortune.com Could Bitcoin's 'Whales' Manipulate the Market? Deutsche Bank Economist Says a Bitcoin Crash Would Endanger Global Markets 'Gold 2.0.' Cameron Winklevoss Says Bitcoin Will Become 'A Multitrillion-Dollar Asset' How Secure Is Bitcoin Really? Why People Are Giving This Man Almost $2 Million in Free Bitcoin \|\| Coinbase may have given away its own Bitcoin Cash surprise: On Tuesday, when Bitcoin Cash hit Coinbase , the popular user-friendly U.S.-based exchange, cryptocurrency's reputation as the financial wild west was on full display. While anyone following along was well aware that Coinbase planned to add Bitcoin Cash , the currency created in August's Bitcoin hard fork , things still got weird immediately. After some suspicious pre-launch climbing, Bitcoin Cash's Coinbase launch immediately saw prices soar to almost three times those listed on other exchanges. That "significant volatility" led Coinbase to freeze transactions for its newest asset, creating plenty of confusion in the process. Just a few hours later, the company disclosed that the chaos had prompted an insider trading investigation , a surprising concession after some in the cryptocurrency world cried foul (to be fair, they are often crying foul). While it's not yet wholly clear what was going on, many digital currency enthusiasts have pointed to a Reddit thread from three days ago titled " ATTN: Bitcoin Cash added to Coinbase API (EXTREMELY BULLISH) " that claims to have spotted evidence of Bitcoin Cash's addition on a Coinbase API key permissions screen. Given its broad disinterest in regulatory norms and preponderance of first-time investors, doctored screenshots trying to nudge prices one way or another are fairly common within the cryptocurrency community. Still, many Reddit users appeared to lend this particular thread enough credence to check it out for themselves. (Unfortunately, as Bitcoin Cash is now live, we weren't able to verify the listing's early appearance in the API.) reporting myself to SEC for looking at the coinbase API 3 days before bitcoin cash launch its not about winning, its about doing the right thing pic.twitter.com/Tg9v3ZS5Wa — lil spoofy the bripto trader (@Lil_Spoofy) December 20, 2017 Story continues Again, Coinbase users knew that Bitcoin Cash was coming by January 1, 2018 — the deadline Coinbase gave itself in August — but most users assumed that the new coin would be withdrawal-only, letting Coinbase users who stored Bitcoin on the exchange at the time of the fork get their trapped Bitcoin Cash out of the platform. As Coinbase stated in its August 3 blog post : We are planning to have support for bitcoin cash by January 1, 2018, assuming no additional risks emerge during that time. Once supported, customers will be able to withdraw bitcoin cash. We’ll make a determination at a later date about adding trading support. In the meantime, customer bitcoin cash will remain safely stored on Coinbase. Reddit's /r/btc community took the API breadcrumb as a signal that both narrowed Bitcoin Cash's looming Coinbase timeline and provided evidence that Coinbase intended to add trade options for the currency — a significant sign of adoption that would surely influence the altcoin's price across exchanges. "If you're a programmer you know this is a very strong sign that Bitcoin Cash will receive full integration and not just withdrawals," one Redditor stated in the thread's replies. Given its mainstream appeal and extreme ease of use relative to other exchanges, Coinbase is something of a cryptocurrency kingmaker. For any digital currency gaining Coinbase trading support, volume and prices would widely be expected to soar as the news spread. Obviously, anyone paying attention to potential Coinbase API hints or other subtle backend signals is likely doing so with the intent to cash in on such a surge. "We can’t verify the screenshot. But we publicly announced we would be supporting Bitcoin Cash in August, so it would be expected that Bitcoin Cash would appear on the API at some point," a Coinbase spokesperson told TechCrunch in response to questions about the incident. Whatever really went down, the situation demonstrates how Coinbase's decision to add any cryptocurrency makes for a very delicate rollout indeed. The company plans to introduce more altcoins on its platform in the coming year, so it will have ample opportunity to learn from its rocky, semi-surprise introduction of Bitcoin Cash on December 19. Like many things in the digital currency world, cryptocurrency market forces are often even stranger and more inscrutable than their traditional financial counterparts. There might not be one single explanation for Bitcoin Cash's controversial pop on Tuesday, but the situation serves as yet another cautionary tale of the unique chaos of cryptocurrency, a financial realm where the rules are being written as they're broken. Disclosure: The author holds a small position in some cryptocurrencies, mostly because it seemed like a fun idea back in 2013 and then she forgot about it. Regrettably, it is not enough for a Lambo. Related: Watch original series, sports and more on go90. This article originally appeared on TechCrunch . \|\| Former NBA player David Lee might be joining Social Capital, the VC firm with deep ties to the Warriors: David Lee Jason Miller/Getty Images Former Warriors player David Lee, who retired from the NBA last week, may be joining VC firm Social Capital, according to Axios. Lee hinted that he had plans to join a Bay Area venture capitalist firm in an interview with NBC Sports last week. Former Warriors player David Lee may be following in the footsteps of other elite basketball players and joining the ranks of venture capitalists. Lee, who retired from the NBA last week , hinted at his interest in working with a Bay Area technology firm in an interview with NBC Sports . Lee stated that he had received a call from a few close friends who run "an unbelievable venture capital firm...in the Bay." Lee continued, "I decided to roll the dice and to try something new and I'm really excited about my decision." Today, Axios reported that the firm Lee alluded to is Social Capital, whose portfolio includes brands like Bustle, Slack, Sprig, and Wealthfront. Given that Social Capital founder Chamath Palihapitiya is a minority owner of the Warriors, Lee's choice of VC firms is not entirely surprising. A representative from Social Capital declined to comment. NOW WATCH: I've been an iPhone user for 10 years — here's what happened when I switched to the Google Pixel 2 for a week See Also: Bitcoin just hit an all-time high — here's how you buy and sell it People are freaking out over a video that appears to show an NFL player levitating, and it's 100% real 50 startups that will boom in 2018, according to VCs SEE ALSO: How Silicon Valley found its favorite team: the NBA champion Golden State Warriors \|\| Blockchain Investment Platform Taklimakan Network Launches Pre-ICO: SINGAPORE / ACCESSWIRE / December 1, 2017 / The Taklimakan Network - a blockchain investment platform aimed at connecting cryptocurrency newbies and experts — has announced the launch of its public pre-sale on December 12th, 2017. The Taklimakan platform features an in-app private messaging, internal payment system, experts rating assignment, and the ability to comment and search for traders, investors, managers and analysts. The Platform also offers a wide selection of opportunities for professionals, such as trust management offerings, email distribution of trading signals and analytical reviews among subscribers. The Taklimakan Network provides users with the ability to make personal decisions on the cryptocurrency based on trading signals, strategies, recommendations from professional traders and crowd predictions, which are based on forecasting the exchange rate behavior and other analytical opinions derived from the mean value of data collection on the responses of all participants. Periodic, analytical reviews of the crypto asset market and reports on blockchain projects prepared by experienced experts are sent to the platform users. Based on those reviews, users can find the most profitable and correct investment solutions. Additionally, the platform offers investment portfolios created by experienced managers that are selected on the basis of platform recommendations and user voting ratings. Anyone can make a contribution to trust management for these portfolios, with the purpose of increasing capital. Taklimakan Network also offers a large library of open source books, articles and other educational materials to help beginners understand the technology, and experts to further improve their proficiency. "We are thrilled to launch such a cutting-edge strategy in the crypto market," said Rashid Yussup, managing partner and co-founder of Taklimakan Network. "By launching such trading and educational tool, we are creating a strong connecting resource for beginners and experts in a way that both of them feel beneficial about the partnership." The Pre-sale starts on December 12th, 2017 at 10:00 UTC. Pre-sale investors will receive a 50% discount on the tokens they purchase. The main sale starts on January 20th, 2018 at 10:00 UTC. Additional information on token sales The token sale is divided into pre-sale and general sale campaigns. The base token price for the pre-sale is 30,000 TKLN per 1 ETH. In the general sale, 1 ETH will purchase 15,000 TKLN. There are three stages during the pre-sales and ICO for purchasers to earn pricing discounts on TKLN tokens. Story continues Lottery Every buyer who invests 10 ETH or in both the preliminary and general sales will be entered into a 1 million TKLN. Drawings for the lottery will happen after the general sale closes. Winners will be picked using off-chain mechanisms, since the Ethereum Virtual Machine's random number generator has limitations. Lottery winners will be chosen randomly with the utmost honesty and fairness. Prize payouts will be completed manually using the TKLN smart contract. Website: taklimakan.io Whitepaper: http://taklimakan.io/taklimakan-whitepaper-eng.pdf Twitter: @taklimakan_net Telegram: @taklimakan_en Medium Blog: @taklimakan BitcoinTalk: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=2426759.0 YouTube: https://youtu.be/9WbLeUSjhL0 Media Contact Contact Name: Venera Osman Email: [email protected] Taklimakan Network is the source of this content. Virtual currency is not legal tender, is not backed by the government, and accounts and value balances are not subject to consumer protections. This press release is for informational purposes only. The information does not constitute investment advice or an offer to invest. Additional Links Taklimakan Bitcoin PR Buzz SOURCE: Taklimakan Network View comments [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] By no means teaching me to suck anything. I’m just a crypto punter. Already thinking about above, although transfer to other currency rather than cash. Fees a factor though as all has to go back and forth through btc first. \|\| こんばんは。 bitcoin priceという \|\| こんばんは。 bitcoin priceという \|\| こんばんは。 bitcoin priceという \|\| Wish I had my 400k worth of Bitcoin rn \|\| Tiffany Haddishちゃんが \|\| a key is not a bitcoin \|\| Tiffany Haddishちゃんが \|\| Acabo de me inscrever na WCX, o câmbio global de moeda digital. Inscreva-se & e ganhe 50 tokens WCX. @wcxofficial #bitcoin https://ico.wcex.co/ \|\| Bitcoin Price – $1,000,000 by 2020 ? \| #VentureCanvas - http://www.venturecanvas.com/2017/12/09/bitcoin-price-1000000-by-2020-venturecanvas/ …pic.twitter.com/cOrdJC3Xbq	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 14656.20, 12952.20, 14156.40, 13657.20, 14982.10, 15201.00, 15599.20, 17429.50, 17527.00, 16477.60
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis] Not fully available. [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Bitcoin Markets Now Show Greater Influence From Institutional Investors: JPMorgan: JPMorgan Chase (JPM) thinks the Bitcoin (BTC) industry has changed considerably since 2017, citing an increase in institutional interest,Bloombergreported on June 15. The publication quoted a report led by managing director of global market strategy of theUnited States’largestbank, Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou, in which researchers examined recent phenomena surroundingcryptocurrency exchanges. As Cointelegraphreported, an investigation by asset manager Bitwise in March — and againlast month— revealed that a significant amount of trade volume reported by exchanges was likely fake. Citing JPM, Bloomberg notes that if only 5% of May’s $725 billion number is accurate, than the true volume of BTC trading in May was equal to about $36 billion. On the other hand, May became the best performing month on record for Bitcoin futures providerCME Group, with implied USD valuetopping $500 million. This volume difference between trading on exchanges when compared to volumes inbitcoin futuressuggests institutional investors are now sincere about the cryptocurrency, JPM said. “The overstatement of trading volumes by cryptocurrency exchanges, and by implication the understatement of the importance of listed futures, suggests that market structure has likely changed considerably since the previous spike in Bitcoin prices in end-2017 with a greater influence from institutional investors,” the report summarizes. At the same time, the end of June will seeCBOE, the first-ever futures provider,close downits last contracts in line with a decision taken in March. Bakkt, the institutional ecosystem from New York Stock Exchange owner Intercontinental Exchange, meanwhile recentlyrevealedit would begin testing its own futures offering in July. • Round-Up of Crypto Exchanges Hack So Far in 2019, How Can It Be Stopped? • Binance Announces Bitcoin-Pegged Token on Binance Chain • Bloomberg: UK Interdealer Broker TP ICAP to Sell CME’s Bitcoin Futures • 5 South Korean Crypto Exchanges Take On New Responsibility for User Losses \|\| $10,915: Bitcoin Price Destroys Key Milestone to New 2019 High, What’s Next?: ByCCN Markets: On major crypto exchanges in the likes of Bitstamp and Coinbase, the bitcoin price has achieved a new 2019highat $10,915 in an overnight rally. The bitcoin price is up moer than $20,000 in the past week (source: coinmarketcap.com) As the bitcoin price surpassed the $10,000 mark, a level that has been regarded as a key psychological level by prominent investors and analysts including Tyler Winklevoss and Thomas Lee, the sentiment around the near term trend of the crypto market has significantly improved. Technical analysts anticipate bitcoin to move past its current all-time high at $20,000 in the upcoming months, possibly by 2020. Read the full story on CCN.com. \|\| Navigating 2019’s Twists and Turns: This article was originally published on ETFTrends.com. By RiverFront Investment Group A LESSON FROM FORMULA ONE RACING As a Formula 1 racing fan, I find myself comparing the 2019 action in the equity markets to that of a Grand Prix race with all the thrills and tension that come along with it. The drivers must have endurance, possess the ability to navigate hairpin turns as well as the straightaways and maintain constant contact with the crew to reaffirm conditions and strategy. Sound familiar? As important as all the internal team dynamics are, invariably there are external variables – the course, the weather, and the actions of other racers - over which the team has no control. THE START: It would have been difficult to have called the start of 2019. The dramatic downside reaction that ended 2018, sparked by fears of tighter interest rates, was quickly shrugged off as the Federal Reserve reversed course and indicated that it would proceed cautiously in determining further rate hikes. That coupled with what was perceived as positive news on the trade front resulted in a first quarter rebound in US equities that was at the high end of our optimistic forecast for the entire year in our 2019 Outlook . THE CHICANE: A chicane is a sequence of tight corners (think zig-zag) in alternate directions built into the racing circuit to slow the cars. The “chicane,” for purposes of this reference, comes in the form of the reality of where we are in the earnings cycle. Earnings for the S&P 500 came in considerably better than the 4% decline that was originally forecast for the first quarter, however, according to FactSet they were still slightly negative. It is estimated that the decline was -0.4%. Earnings for the second quarter are now forecast to decline by more than 2%, which would likely reignite the worries about the impact of an earnings recession. S&P 500 earnings revision ‘momentum’ – a moving average of the total number of earnings-per-share (EPS) estimates revised up by analysts over the past 100 days, minus the number revised down, divided by total number of estimates - has recovered from its dramatic drop earlier this year, but is still hovering around zero, suggesting to us a lack of a decisive positive view by analysts heading into earnings season ( see chart, next page ). Story continues Earnings growth leads to valuation multiple expansion, so the change in the rate of change for that growth is impactful to the valuation levels of the market. At this juncture, investors must look ahead to the back half of 2019 and into early 2020 to see earnings growth reaccelerate. On a forward multiple, the S&P 500 is at approximately a 16.7x multiple on 2019 earnings which is above the 10-year average of 14.8x. An article from Bloomberg earlier this week noted the growing number of Wall Street analysts who have cut their earnings estimates for the S&P, yet none have cut their target price for the index. As we head into earnings reporting season in a few weeks, the actual data as well as the guidance will be an important component in determining whether we see valuation multiple expansion or contraction from current levels. THE YELLOW FLAG: A yellow flag signifies that there is hazard ahead. Given market valuations, we believe the “yellow flags” that we have seen in terms of macroeconomic and geopolitical hazards should have created more volatility, particularly to the downside, than what we have experienced. The sharp selloff in May that was the result of news that the US would proceed with tariff increases on imports from China seems to have become a dim memory in anticipation of progress as investors look ahead to the upcoming G20 meeting. SP500 Chart Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Shown for illustrative purposes only. You cannot invest directly in an index. Ironically, there has been no concrete evidence of any substantive agreement between the two countries, so hope seems to be the prevailing strategy. Meanwhile, estimates for the potential impact that higher tariffs could have to US GDP have started to tick higher. Headlines are appearing daily regarding the negative impact to businesses and consumers as the imposition of these tariffs loom. In early June, consumer sentiment did tick slightly lower in the most recent Michigan Consumer Sentiment Survey due to tariff concerns; however, it remains at record levels. There are some signs of slowing in the US economy such US manufacturing data, and a recent survey of US CEOs revealed that sales expectations, plans for capital investment and hiring have all dropped. THE STRAIGHTAWAY: As we wind down the second quarter it feels like we are on a straightaway. US equity markets have reached record highs, central banks around the world have tilted more dovish, and investors seemed to have reconciled that slower growth is a reality. At RiverFront, we have adjusted portfolios based on our underlying fundamental underpinnings of asset allocation, tactical adjustments, security selection and risk management to account for these variables . Currently, our shorter-horizon strategies are considered neutral risk relative to our benchmarks, with a tilt towards US equities. This reflects both our optimistic views around US central bank policy and long-term preference for stocks over bonds, balanced with the uncertainty surrounding tactical factors like trade headlines. The longer-horizon strategies, where investors inherently may possess a higher tolerance for short-term uncertainty, remain positioned in a “risk on” fashion and also reflect a preference for US equities. This article was written by the team at RiverFront Investment Group , a participant in the ETF Strategist Channel . Important Disclosure Information The comments above refer generally to financial markets and not RiverFront portfolios or any related performance. Past results are no guarantee of future results and no representation is made that a client will or is likely to achieve positive returns, avoid losses, or experience returns similar to those shown or experienced in the past. Information or data shown or used in this material is for illustrative purposes only and was received from sources believed to be reliable, but accuracy is not guaranteed. In a rising interest rate environment, the value of fixed-income securities generally declines. It is not possible to invest directly in an index. When referring to being “overweight” or “underweight” relative to a market or asset class, RiverFront is referring to our current portfolios’ weightings compared with the portfolios’ composite benchmarks. For more information on our composite benchmarks, please visit our website: www.riverfrontig.com. Technical analysis is based on the study of historical price movements and past trend patterns. There are no assurances that movements or trends can or will be duplicated in the future. Investing in foreign companies poses additional risks since political and economic events unique to a country or region may affect those markets and their issuers. In addition to such general international risks, the portfolio may also be exposed to currency fluctuation risks and emerging markets risks as described further below. Changes in the value of foreign currencies compared to the U.S. dollar may affect (positively or negatively) the value of the portfolio’s investments. Such currency movements may occur separately from, and/or in response to, events that do not otherwise affect the value of the security in the issuer’s home country. Also, the value of the portfolio may be influenced by currency exchange control regulations. The currencies of emerging market countries may experience significant declines against the U.S. dollar, and devaluation may occur subsequent to investments in these currencies by the portfolio. Foreign investments, especially investments in emerging markets, can be riskier and more volatile than investments in the U.S. and are considered speculative and subject to heightened risks in addition to the general risks of investing in non-U.S. securities. Also, inflation and rapid fluctuations in inflation rates have had, and may continue to have, negative effects on the economies and securities markets of certain emerging market countries. Stocks represent partial ownership of a corporation. If the corporation does well, its value increases, and investors share in the appreciation. However, if it goes bankrupt, or performs poorly, investors can lose their entire initial investment (i.e., the stock price can go to zero). Bonds represent a loan made by an investor to a corporation or government. As such, the investor gets a guaranteed interest rate for a specific period of time and expects to get their original investment back at the end of that time period, along with the interest earned. Investment risk is repayment of the principal (amount invested). In the event of a bankruptcy or other corporate disruption, bonds are senior to stocks. Investors should be aware of these differences prior to investing. Standard & Poor’s (S&P) 500 Index measures the performance of 500 large cap stocks, which together represent about 80% of the total US equities market. RiverFront Investment Group, LLC, is an investment adviser registered with the Securities Exchange Commission under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. Registration as an investment adviser does not imply any level of skill or expertise. The company manages a variety of portfolios utilizing stocks, bonds, and exchange-traded funds (ETFs). RiverFront also serves as sub-advisor to a series of mutual funds and ETFs. Opinions expressed are current as of the date shown and are subject to change. They are not intended as investment recommendations. RiverFront is owned primarily by its employees through RiverFront Investment Holding Group, LLC, the holding company for RiverFront. Baird Financial Corporation (BFC) is a minority owner of RiverFront Investment Holding Group, LLC and therefore an indirect owner of RiverFront. BFC is the parent company of Robert W. Baird & Co. Incorporated (“Baird”), a registered broker/dealer and investment adviser. Copyright ©2019 RiverFront Investment Group. All Rights Reserved. 882653 POPULAR ARTICLES AND RESOURCES FROM ETFTRENDS.COM SPY ETF Quote VOO ETF Quote QQQ ETF Quote VTI ETF Quote JNUG ETF Quote Top 34 Gold ETFs Top 34 Oil ETFs Top 57 Financials ETFs Facebook Libra: Weighing The Pros And Cons As Bitcoin Surges Past $13K, Calls to Embrace Crypto Grow GLDM Marks One Year Anniversary Today, Leads Gold-Backed ETF Flows ROBO Global Healthcare Technology ETF Debuts on NYSE Gold And Silver Rally On Unusual Options Activity READ MORE AT ETFTRENDS.COM > \|\| Crypto Wallet Provider BRD Partners With Wyre to Roll Out US Bank Transfer Support: Globalmobile crypto walletprovider BRD has announced a partnership with blockchain payments and infrastructure firmWyrethat will enable itsUnited States-based customers to purchasecryptocurrenciesusingbanktransfers. The news was revealed in a press release shared with Cointelegraph on June 13. According to the press release, U.S. customers will be able to purchasebitcoin(BTC),ether(ETH) and dai (DAI) by directly linking their BRD wallet to their bank account and making a low-fee transfer. The new service is reportedly supported by over 1,700 U.S. banks, and ostensibly allows for purchases to be completed within five minutes. In a statement, Aaron Lasher, BRD’s chief strategy officer and co-founder, said that the new service aims to ensure that the blockchain sector remains decentralized and inclusive. He alleged that currently major crypto wallet providers are turning to more custodial and centralized structures. The press release claims that BRD — which was founded in 2015 — has over 2 million customers across 170 countries, and has seen its period of most intensive growth this year. During the first 4 months of 2019, the firm claims to have doubled the number of transactions as well as the number of users exchanging crypto assets. The firm also estimates that it has $6 billion worth of crypto assets under protection. Wyre, for its part, has reportedly traded over $3.5 billion in crypto assets and completed over $1 billion in commercial FX payments using crypto as a rail. Having established a network of relationships with banks and crypto exchanges, Wyre’s API facilitates fiat-crypto conversion in over 50 countries, and supports eight national fiat currencies and three cryptocurrencies. In January of this year, Switzerland-based Falcon Private Bank introduced support for direct transfers and storage of select cryptocurrencies, as well as fiat-crypto conversion services. • Spanish Law Enforcement Arrests 35 Suspects for Bank Fraud, BTC Money Laundering • Conglomerates’ Deep Pockets Continue Blockchain Growth in South Korea Despite Crypto Ban • Craig Wright Ordered to Personally Appear at Bitcoin Theft Mediation • Former US Senator Rick Santorum Joins Catholic-Focused Cryptocurrency Project \|\| Why I think Facebook and Libra may be a good thing: So now the old guard of the big tech companies have announced their intention to join the new world of blockchain and cryptocurrency. It was only ever a matter of time. But what does this mean for Bitcoin, and the wider blockchain space? There is a huge amount to unpack from the white paper, so I’m not able to breakdown the whole lot, but my view today is that through Libra and Facebook, the words “blockchain” and “cryptocurrency” will start to become more trusted and a more comfortable lexicon for those not currently anywhere near this space – this is a good thing overall for the industry… First let’s get clear on the distinctions between Libra and Bitcoin; Bitcoin is generally viewed as a future store of value, as today it is not a cheap, fast or effective way to send small amounts of money (until a solid layer 2 solution can be implemented at scale), but with a finite supply and a pre-programmed flow of new coins, it’s a deflationary currency – something we’ve not had for a long time. So potentially Bitcoin is good as an investment asset/product, but not really as a medium of exchange or a unit of account. Libra, on the other hand, will be pegged to a basket of government-issued currencies (and bonds?) and will be relatively stable in value, by comparison, meaning that it is still impacted by inflationary pressures inherent to those currencies. Hyperinflation Although purists won’t view Libra as either blockchain or a real cryptocurrency, it definitely has aspects of both. Libra should be viewed as digital money, easily purchased and transacted with, but not a very good store of value (SoV) unless you are in a country suffering from hyperinflation. Libra will benefit from being accessible through Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp and their two billion daily active users. Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp will drive consumer adoption of Libra and when enough consumers have Libra, merchants will follow. Facebook will create both sides of the ecosystem through its sheer size. With a large base of consumers and merchants as its engine, Libra can deliver frictionless payments to friends, family and businesses across (almost) all borders at speed with no transaction costs. Story continues Facebook has managed to bring in some of the biggest brands and companies into the Libra foundation including Visa, Mastercard, Uber and PayPal as well as some big players in the venture capital space. Each member of the foundation pays $10million. The money is used to support the underlying basis for the Libra coin value. Additionally, members of the foundation run the computers (nodes) of the Libra blockchain creating the basis for distributed ledger and decentralised control. This raises questions – and eyebrows – about what those companies might then do with the sensitive financial data they may now be privy to? Facebook has already had to weather the storm of negative press and congressional hearings around how they use data, and whether the public will trust them not to utilise that data for ad targeting – they’ve said they won’t, but the key word is “trust”. Regulators No doubt, Libra’s biggest obstacle to success will be governments around the world, their central banks, and the regulators who want to ensure consumers are protected, and no unfair advantages are given to any entities. It was only a few weeks ago that we saw the SEC move on Kik and their token Kin. Kik promotes the Kin token as a utility, whilst the SEC put forward their interpretation that the Kin token is a security. They believe the Kin token was purchased with a view that investors could hold and make a profit. Unsurprisingly, Kik have come out fighting (they didn’t have much choice though really). If the value of the Libra coin is to be based on the value of a basket of currencies, bonds and other assets, then its value will not be pegged to any single currency. This makes Libra a new unit of account when adoption and utility reach a critical mass. I really can’t see the Federal Reserve rolling over and allowing a new sovereign currency to suck value away from the dollar – effectively the global reserve currency. Suddenly, many of the cypherpunks and crypto-anarchists will be rooting for a multi-billion dollar corporate behemoth and its corporate buddies. As the saying goes, “the enemy of my enemy is my friend” – right? It definitely looks that way today. Positive Libra will have a net positive effect on Bitcoin and the wider Blockchain space, just through the massive PR machine that is Facebook. Facebook has not snatched at this play. They’ve put smart people on it, taken their time, and really considered how best to execute. Facebook knows how to execute, and they’ve seemingly done it every time (from newsfeed updates to smart acquisitions), and the one thing you know they’ll get right is a smooth user experience that your grandma can use – do not underestimate just how important this is. Libra can only be a good thing for awareness. With Libra, Joe Public can start learning “what’s this Bitcoin thing is all about?”. Libra will also make corporates start to consider the role of consortia and decentralisation through utilising blockchain, and what issues that may solve for their respective industries. Ultimately, only time will tell as to how successful Libra coin will be for all parties involved, but right now, I wouldn’t bet against Libra’s success. And I hope that in turn, this will drive greater understanding of Bitcoin, and society’s need for sound money. Jon Walsh Associate Partner Blockchain Rookies Twitter: @walshjonwalsh HOW WE BROKE THE NEWS OF FACEBOOK’S LIBRA PROJECT: https://coinrivet.com/breaking-news-facebook-announces-crypto-launch/ The post Why I think Facebook and Libra may be a good thing appeared first on Coin Rivet . \|\| USD/CAD Daily Forecast – Fundamentals Pleasing the Bulls: After bouncing off from the pivotal 1.3037 support point yesterday, the USD/CAD pair continued to remain seesawed until today. The pair started Friday’s session near 1.3046 level with the bulls taking control over the helm. While on the upper side, the healthy 1.3066 resistance handle remained as the major barrier to cap the daily gains. However, the resilient act displayed in the early hours might act as a prelude to some rigorous movements for the day. Meantime, the prices of Crude Oil , Canada’s largest export item, fell 1% today on fears for the global economy. The elevated Middle East tensions and uncertainty on the US-Sino trade front, stood as the main concerns, threatening the overall economic growth. Significant Economic Events Today, the next session after the US Independence Day, the economic docket appeared filled with some crucial June data releases. The Non-Farm Payrolls and the YoY Average Hourly Earnings are something that needs special attention. This time, the Street analysts stay highly bullish over both these reports. In the Asian session, the USD Index was already 0.08% up since the last closing, revealing buyer interests. On the Canadian side, traders must keep a closer watch over the Canadian June Employment and Unemployment Change data releases. The market expects the change the Employment to report 17.7K lower than the previous 27.7K. Also, the consensus estimates the Unemployment rate to grow 0.1% over the last 5.4%. The market also expects a drop of 1.64% in the June Ivey Purchasing Managers Index, this time. In a nutshell, the Fundamentals seem appealing to the USD/CAD bulls. Hence, traders can expect some immediate advances in the price actions following each significant data release. Technical Analysis 2-Hour Chart USDCAD 120 Min 05 July 2019 For the USD/CAD pair to make a positive move, it needs to overcome multiple barriers on the upward path. The slanting 15-day old descending resistance line, along with the 50-day and 100-day SMA confluence have confined the pair’s northward movements. In case, if the Loonie pair manages to break this strong resistance confluence, then the significant 200-day SMA at 1.3210 level would get activated. On the flip side, support lines near 1.3060 and 1.3041 levels kept the pair’s downside limited. Story continues 1-Week Chart USDCAD 1 Week 05 July 2019 On a broader view, the bears seem to take over the game. During the last 1-year period, the downside price actions of the pair were taken care of by a slant ascending support line. However, in the mid-June of 2019, the aforementioned support benchmark was broken. In addition to that, the pair had also crossed below the significant 200-day SMA, signaling a sharp pullback in the coming sessions. If the drowning in the pair continues, then it will enable the bears to challenge the 1.2769 resistance-turned-support level. This article was originally posted on FX Empire More From FXEMPIRE: Natural Gas Price Prediction – Prices Surge as Managed Money is Caught Offside Stock Market Overview – Stocks Slip on Strong Jobs Data Crude Oil Price Update – Upside Bias Develops Over $57.41 Gold Price Futures (GC) Technical Analysis – Trend Changes to Down on Trade Through $1384.70 Bitcoin Cash – ABC, Litecoin and Ripple Daily Analysis – 07/07/19 The Week Ahead: Geopolitics and Powell Put the Dollar in the Spotlight \|\| Snowden: ‘The Most Important Thing Bitcoin Is Missing Right Now Is Privacy’: Bitcoin’s biggest flaw is its lack of privacy, said Edward Snowden at the Bitcoin 2019 conference. The cybersecurity expert noted the importance of privacy as a source of liberty. “The lack of privacy is an existential threat to bitcoin. Is the only protection users have from political change,” Snowden said. Related:Samourai Wallet Releases Privacy-Enhancing CoinJoin Feature Snowden also stated that he was a bitcoin supporter and even used an encrypted service that he paid for with bitcoins in order to communicate with journalists in 2013. Talking about his experience being pursued by the United States government for sharing NSA data, Snowden pointed out the unrealistic expectations from regulators who want to be in control of cryptocurrencies. Going in-depth about the regulations from banks and governments, Snowden also exposed the necessity for exchanges to defend their users’ privacy. He fears that if one of the exchanges gave up information, soon all of them would follow. “If you actually go into the terms of big exchanges like Coinbase, they only want to cover themselves. They expose you, they close your account and keep your funds,” Snowden said. Related:Facebook’s Libra Cryptocurrency: A Technical Deep Dive He also disliked the development of financial cryptocurrency services, claiming that many of them are starting to look too much like banks. “Something unforgivable is that you guys keep developing services trying to be banks, and the world doesn’t need more banks,” he said. Snowden also talked about theShadow Brokers, a group of hackers that auctioned NSA information in exchange for bitcoin in 2016. He noted that the hacking case was the starting point of a governmental war on cryptocurrencies. In short, he said, regulation doesn’t work unless it becomes overly intrusive. “If tracking bitcoin was possible then the NSA would have caught them,” he said. He said Satoshi Nakamoto was in the same position: he could navigate the system and leave no trace. “If you know how the system works, you can still have privacy,” he said. Edward Snowden speaks at Bitcoin 2019 via video link, photo by Diana Aguilar • Tendermint Says Last Month’s Cosmos Vulnerability Exposed Security Loophole • Crypto’s Connection to the Hong Kong Protests \|\| Ethereum developer hopes to see more women in blockchain: Coin Rivet recently had the pleasure of catching up with Ethereum smart contracts developer Alice Henshaw. Alice spoke candidly to us about her love for computer security, the pitfalls of the private securities market, and motivating more women to enter the intimidating space of blockchain development. Could you tell us a bit about your own personal journey as a blockchain developer? I have been involved in the blockchain space for just over three years now in various ways. Currently, I am a blockchain developer focusing on development on the Ethereum blockchain, which Ive been doing for the last 18 months or so. I am currently working for Fluidity ( fluidity.io ), where my day-to-day role involves developing smart contracts for Decentralised Finance (DeFi), alongside some research. Smart contracts are essentially programs which can be deployed onto certain blockchains, which are then executed in a decentralised way. What drew you into working on smart contracts? I started studying computer science and development at the age of 16, and immediately my favourite area was that of cryptography and security. At university, I studied computer science and chose a number of modules that focused on computer security. From there, smart contracts seemed like a natural progression for me. As a smart contract developer, you have to focus on the security of your contracts every single day by publishing programs in such a public and decentralised way, and often using them to manage money, youre almost asking people to try to hack them. This element of critical security brings together my love for computer security and blockchain. Currently it seems as though you are working on the tokenisation of securities. Why is this an important area to tackle? Blockchain provides a simple way to implement ownership and transferral of assets much as you can transfer Bitcoins between individuals, you could transfer shares from one person to another. The current, traditional private securities markets are implemented in such a way that private securities are illiquid, inefficient, and inaccessible to the average investor. Story continues Tokenising these securities allows us to automate and massively simplify a number of the traditional processes, which ultimately has the potential to fix a number of issues. However, security tokens are still subject to the same regulations as traditional securities, meaning that all regulatory requirements must be outlined and implemented before any security can be tokenised. We are fast approaching a point where tokens are being created for just about anything, even if they do not serve a real purpose. From a developers point of view, how can we remedy this trend and ensure only tokens with real purpose, use cases, and value are created? Due to the nature of blockchain, theres nothing that can be done to prevent the creation of these tokens its incredibly easy to deploy a new token contract to Ethereum. The fact that we cannot prevent useless tokens being created means that they need to instead be identified and called out by the community, thereby deterring people from purchasing the token. This is happening more and more as users are becoming educated on what a good token model looks like. However, theres certainly still work to do. Im a strong advocate of helping the blockchain community be more diverse. As is true with technology in general, there are a small number of women working in the space. Last year, I ran workshops on Solidity development particularly aimed at women in the hopes that I can motivate them to enter this somewhat intimidating space and to help them do so with the confidence to voice their opinions and ensure they are heard. The post Ethereum developer hopes to see more women in blockchain appeared first on Coin Rivet . \|\| What Trump’s Bitcoin Tweet Changes: Let’s be clear: It was not the substance of Donald Trump’s tweet that made his critique of bitcoin and Libra so important last week. It should be of no surprise that this US President would declare himself “not a fan” of “highly volatile” cryptocurrencies “based on thin air” that “facilitate unlawful behavior” or that he much prefers a“dependable and reliable” currency “called the United States Dollar!” (Anyone who assumed Trump would be a “drain-the-swamp” libertarian advocate for censorship-resistant money had an ill-informed view of a man whose government is stacked with former Wall Street execs, who opposes free trade and immigration, and takes a draconian approach to a variety of civil rights and social liberties.) Related:US President Donald Trump Says He’s ‘Not a Fan’ of Bitcoin What matters is the very fact that a sitting president mentioned cryptocurrencies at all. Indeed, from a price perspective, Trump’s disparaging remarks are, on balance, positive for bitcoin. By Friday evening,the post-tweet price action reflected that. More importantly, the tweet marks a symbolic milestone in the gradual but ever-expanding presence that cryptocurrency occupies in the public conversation around money and policy. It also marks the starting point in a titanic battle over the shape of our global money system. Why is a Trump tweet-shame positive for bitcoin’s price? Well, bitcoin must stay relevant to succeed, and this was, at the very least, an acknowledgement from the halls of power of its relevance. Related:Fed Chairman Jerome Powell Compares Bitcoin to Gold By simply giving it the time of day, Trump revealed that people within the high levels of the U.S. power structure are noticing the challenge that cryptocurrency technology poses to it. Also important: the tweet came shortly after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, one of the U.S. President’s favorite punching bags,had described bitcoin, in Senate testimony, not as a payments vehicle but as “an alternative to gold…a store of value…a speculative store of value.” Powell wasn’t saying thathesaw bitcoin as gold-like per se; it was a reference to how most bitcoin’s users currently treat it and, in that sense, he was simply stating a fact. Still, it gave some legitimacy to bitcoin’s claim to be the digital-era replacement of that ancient store of value. And if we think of how gold has been used during the fiat currency era – as protection against the political risks inherent in national currencies – then this one-two punch could hardly be better for those arguing that bitcoin should play that role in the 21st century. Think about it: they got the most powerful central banker in the world to describe bitcoin in such terms. Soon after, a self-interested politician who occupies the world’s most powerful government post demonstrated why you might want such protection. All of this comes within the context of theannouncement last month of the Facebook-sponsored blockchain and cryptocurrency project, Libra. As was inevitable when a powerful and contentious company launches a radical new idea, Libra’s arrival has massively amplified what I like to call the “narrative economy” in which cryptocurrencies thrive. With its potential global clout drawing on Facebook’s 2.7 billion user base, Libra is forcing people – corporate leaders, bankers and, most importantly, government leaders – to think and talk about cryptocurrencies. It’s what prompted the question to Powell from Mike Crapo, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, and it was the main focus of the Fed Chairman’s reply. And it’s clearly what inspired Trump to take to Twitter, given that his three-tweet post included a line saying that Libra “will have little standing or dependability” and would need to seek a banking charter if it is to operate. Let’s not forget, either, that this comes right before next week’s hearings on Libracalled by House Financial Services Committee, called by its Chair, Maxine Waters,who has warned that Facebook’s projectcannot be allowed to compete with the dollar. That there’s alignment between Trump and Waters on an issue is itself historic. But it also hints at the power battle at play. The mounting conversation is about the structure of our financial system and about the dominance of the intermediaries that manage that system: banks, deeply integrated as they are into our system of government, money and power. As gatekeepers of the dominant fiat currency system, banks – and, by extension, the political leaders who determine how to regulate them – can make it harder for people to use both decentralized cryptocurrencies like bitcoin and corporate-backed private currencies such as Libra. Trump’s tweet, with a high degree of specificity, looked suspiciously as if it had been drafted by someone with interests in the banking sector. But putting a lid on all this won’t be easy for governments. Most cryptocurrencies, whether bitcoin or Libra, are based on open-source software. Can those governments ban the software? Technically yes, but how will they globally coordinate around that effort, how would they stop it? As it is, many central banks suddenly seem to be adopting the “if you can’t beat them, join them” strategy. The government-owned China Daily reported this week that China was accelerating its plans to produce a digital currency. That came a week after Agustin Carstens, chief of the Bank of International Settlements,said central banks would introduce digital currencies “sooner than we think.” It was a remarkable about-face from someone who had months earliertold cryptocurrency coders to “stop trying to create money,” anddismissed any value in central bank digital currencies. Probably more important, right around the time of the Libra announcement last month, Bank of England governor Mark Carney dropped a bombshell,saying that the BOE would provide funds to tech companies, an apparent move to spearhead fintech development in London at a time when Brexit has threatened the banking industry. The opening poses a huge opportunity for Libra and other stablecoins to provide new “narrow banking” payment services. Things are poised to get mighty confusing, in other words, with private corporate currencies, decentralized cryptocurrencies and government-run digital currencies all competing for primacy in the world of money. Thank to Libra – but really, thanks to bitcoin before it – the narrative economy around monetary innovation is getting seriously amplified. As the noise level rises, more and more people will inquire and explore alternatives to mainstream currencies such as bitcoin. They’ll also grapple with the opportunities, risks and the disruptive challenges such a choice poses. Essentially, a giant, collective storytelling exercise has been pushed into overdrive. Stories have always driven the adoption of new ideas, building the connective emotional tissue upon which social networks and communities are formed around them. And that, in turn – the development of a community around a shared idea – is ultimately what underpins a currency. Trump, who with his 62 million Twitter followers arguably has a broadcasting power greater than any news network, is contributing to this collective storytelling exercise. Perhaps he’s the foil character, standing in opposition to the HODLers and “To the Moon” crypto enthusiasts, but even in that role he is driving the narrative – essentially by fueling resistance, by encouraging his opponents to counter with counte-rarguments and, of course, memes. Which brings us to the other factor ensuring that Trump’s tweet, more than any other statement by a government official, will prove to be instrumental in driving buzz and bluster around this topic: Twitter itself. Twitter is not only the President’s favorite vehicle for communicating with the public, it also represents the most important segment of crypto’s narrative economy. If ever there were a community prepared to respond to those three short posts, it was Crypto Twitter, which immediately responded with its special mix of snark, humor and passion. God knows where all this goes. But one thing’s for certain: the cryptocurrency carnival just got wilder. Image Credit:a katz / Shutterstock.com • Fed Chair Says Libra ‘Cannot Go Forward’ Until Facebook Addresses Concerns • Twitter Study Finds US Posts Most on Bitcoin and Facebook’s Libra \|\| Consumer ETF Strategies That Have Avoided the Retail Slump: This article was originally published on ETFTrends.com. The retail sector has been falling behind in the S&P 500 for the first half of the year and the trend doesn't seem to be shifting anytime soon. Nevertheless, there are some alternative retail sector-related exchange traded fund strategies that have stood out. Four of the five worst-performing S&P 500 stocks in the first half of the year were retailers, The Wall Street Journal reports . Dragging on the retail segment, many consumers have been shunning more traditional brick-and-mortar retailers in favor of businesses that have more quickly adapted to e-commerce or online retail businesses. Declining foot traffic is putting pressure on companies like Nordstrom and Kohl's. Many say that “retail is dead” as the slump for companies that are more firmly in the bricks-and-mortar space doesn’t appear to be letting up anytime soon. Nevertheless, we have witnessed increased opportunity in online retail or e-commerce stocks and ETFs. With the increased popularity of e-commerce and the decline of traditional brick-and-mortar shops, investors can capture this growing trend through an ETF. For example, the ProShares Decline of the Retail Store ETF ( EMTY ) and ProShares Long Online/Short Stores ETF ( CLIX ) both take a short position in brick-and-mortar retail stores to capitalize on weakness in traditional stores. Meanwhile, the ProShares Online Retail ETF ( ONLN ) takes on a long position in online retailers. The Amplify Online Retail ETF ( IBUY ) has been a popular thematic play that targets global companies that generate at least 70% of revenue from online or virtual sales. As the market environment shifts and changes, investors may also have the opportunity to capitalize on the growth potential of the e-commerce segment. Additionally, Amplify recently expanded its line with the Amplify International Online Retail ETF ( XBUY ) . XBUY is an index-based ETF that takes on foreign companies or those outside the U.S. that are expected to benefit from the increased adoption of e-commerce around the world. Story continues For more information on the retail sector, visit our retail category . POPULAR ARTICLES AND RESOURCES FROM ETFTRENDS.COM SPY ETF Quote VOO ETF Quote QQQ ETF Quote VTI ETF Quote JNUG ETF Quote Top 34 Gold ETFs Top 34 Oil ETFs Top 57 Financials ETFs Markets Rally On Anticipated Rate Cuts And Holiday Facebook Libra: Weighing The Pros And Cons As Bitcoin Surges Past $13K, Calls to Embrace Crypto Grow GLDM Marks One Year Anniversary Today, Leads Gold-Backed ETF Flows ROBO Global Healthcare Technology ETF Debuts on NYSE READ MORE AT ETFTRENDS.COM > [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] $kamillex \|\| Short $BTC. https://t.co/4s1U9ztMHJ \|\| Crypto Goal! Major Euro Football Club Now Accepts Bitcoin & Ethereum https://t.co/TXaLgASfxu \|\| Volume Alert! $WTC current 24hr volume is 752.74160360 $BTC and the average is 262.87287527 $BTC which is 65.09% above average \|\| BITCOIN STIJGT BOVEN DE $ 11.000 DANKZIJ FACEBOOK'S VALUTAPLANNEN. Bitcoin is deze maand alleen al met 20 procent gestegen en is nog steeds goed op weg naar recordniveau... https://t.co/5VLd7eH96y #bitcoin #libracoin #cryptocurrency https://t.co/CzEbp2MTr8 \|\| Jerome Powell hace caer al bitcoin \|\| #ooobtc #exchange #crypto #bitcoin #ethereum #launchpad #blockchain Operating the largest volume digital asset exchange in the world!!! Cold storage, 2-factor authentication and encryption technology. #usdt #OVC TELEGRAM--> https://t.co/v7fuxO0GdQ https://t.co/86QogCpBh6 \|\| Jerome Powell hace caer al bitcoin \|\| The Future of Mankind Rests on this Startup https://t.co/lqGie2AkCZ \| #softbank #Alibaba #boise #campaign #sanjose #dallas #france #investments #houston #campaign #saintpaul #denver #orlando #milwaukee #godblessamerica #reuters #canberra #korea #sydney #venture #Startups #BitCoin https://t.co/EAUTeE8b8o \|\| Upvote to save a dumbass! (Reddit #Bitcoin) Here is your monthly reminder that anyone or any group of people who say they will increase your #Bitcoin holdings if you send them X... https://t.co/bt5A9PrCxh #Calibra https://t.co/m0bb7he1q8	Trend: no change \|\| Prices: 10970.18, 11805.65, 11478.17, 11941.97, 11966.41, 11862.94, 11354.02, 11523.58, 11382.62, 10895.83
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis] Not fully available. [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] The Fintech World Series: Canada: By:KurtosysHarvest ExchangeFebruary 28, 2017 Fintech is exploding. It is a global industry, striving to change the future of finance. …And the future is now. At Kurtosys, we’ve set out to cover exactly what’s happening in the financial industry the world over, one country at a time. With so many places contributing to the advancement of our digital world, each deserves their own time in the spotlight. This time, heading away from Europe, we’re travelling toCanada. Whilst neighbouring the fintech giant that is the United States, this North American behemoth is steadily boosting its reputation of having one of the most secure banking systems in the world. Read on to discover how this affects their up-and-coming fintech landscape. With a country boasting such incredible musical talent as Justin Bieber, Nickelback and Avril Lavigne, it was naturally going to be on our fintech radar, eh? But seriously, Alexisonfire are awesome, and Canada was actually named by accident, when French Explorer Jacques Cartier mistook a native term for village – ‘kanata’ – for the country’s name as we see it today. It is a land that has birthed such funny people as Jim Carrey, Mike Myers and Leslie Nielsen, and big-time serious actors such as Malin Åkerman and Ryan Gosling, with the latter achieving early stardom in Canadian cult-classic TV showGoosebumps. The less said about that the better. More should be said, however, about Canada’s rise to fintech prominence. <html><body><img alt="Canada fintech infographic" class="alignnone wp-image-50082 size-full" height="1000" sizes="(max-width: 1424px) 100vw, 1424px" src="http://hvst.co/2lutK7T" srcset="http://hvst.co/2lutK7T 1424w, http://hvst.co/2luyvhF 300w, http://hvst.co/2luESRW 768w, http://hvst.co/2mp0pzB 1024w, http://hvst.co/2luD7nP 225w" width="1424"/></body></html> According to a post in the Canadian publication The Globe and Mail, outside the technology life-blood of Silicon Valley, Canada’s province of Ontario (home to cities including Toronto, Ottawa and Hamilton) has among the highest concentrations of technological firms. The reason for this being its low costs, and the universities in the Toronto and Waterloo area being abound with graduate engineers and developers. Deloitte awarded Canada a global financial centre rank of 21 in 2016. There has recently been investment from both the financial and technological industries. Of note, Goldman Sachs invested in Financeit (based in Toronto, offering businesses a platform for customer payment plans) in 2015, as well as nanoPay in 2016, a “frictionless payments” service, also based in Toronto. Elsewhere, one of Japan’s world leading tech services companies NTT Data Corp has announced a partnership with MaRS Innovation lab (more about them later on), promising to support Canadian startups whose technologies can be used by NTT. Two notable startups from Canada that have achieved success are Shopify – a cloud-based e-commerce company that designs software for online stores for SMEs, founded in 2004 – and Hootsuite, a social media management platform used by over 15 million people, founded in 2008 in Vancouver, which similarly has a thriving fintech ecosystem like the cities in the East. Despite the global financial crisis of 2007/08, Canadian banks remained unscathed according to the Canadian Bankers Association; none were in danger of failure or were bailed out. In fact, Canada’s banks have been rated amongst the soundest in the world for the past 10 years, rated highly due to them being well capitalised, managed and regulated. Should a similar crash occur in the future, each bank has developed “recovery and resolution plans” already – ahead of the curve. Plus, the development of regulatory frameworks for banks and insurers is being handled by both domestic and global organisations, so Canadians are clearly remaining resolute to keep their well-earned ‘sound banking’ tag. The largest banks in Canada are referred to as the ‘Big Six’ by a report from PWC, and are as follows: • Bank of Montreal (BMO) • Scotiabank • Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) • National Bank of Canada (NBC) • Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) • Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD) As well as these established financial institutions, there is also the presence of online disruptor banks, which include Tangerine, PC Financial and Canadian Tire Bank. However, in 2014 it is noted that these banks only accounted for 3% of Canadians’ total deposits. Are digital financial companies still very much in the shadow of major banks, who retain brand recognition and consumer trust? Peter Aceto, CEO of Tangerine, believes that there is a social revolution occurring within the financial industry, with consumers losing trust in major banks and “expecting experiences that simplify their lives, that makes things easy”. Tangerine was the original disruptor bank that launched its first branchless bank in Canada. Truly, banks are responding to this revolution that Aceto outlines, and it turns out that many are making heavy investments in technology to “transform their customer experience, automate processes, comply with regulatory demands and enhance digital capabilities”, with many beginning the enablement and implementation of APIs. Despite the regulators’ tendency to aim for stability (thus halting market innovation), Canadian fintech is still pushing to gain momentum. There are already more than 80 fintech firms in Canada, with the GTA (Greater Toronto Area)-Waterloo and Vancouver areas being the sites for a concentrated ecosystem of major banks, universities and tech startups. Whilst pension plans have recently attracted the most significant fintech investments, more is needed from the government, private investors and banks. To put things into perspective, since 2010 the Canadian fintech community attracted C$1 billion in capital since 2010. In 2014 alone, US fintech had US$9 billion. One Canadian dollar is roughly equivalent to 70 cents. There is evidence from the Digital Finance Institute that Canadian banks are developing their own fintech solutions in-house. The Royal Bank of Canada is one example, but it also works externally as part of the US-based R3CEV-blockchain tech consortium. Additionally, the Big Six are in fact co-operating with fintech startups, accelerators and incubators to further their digital re-invention. Here are the most prolific examples of internal and external fintech stories: • In 1996, it launched Mbanx, the first direct-to-customer bank. • On January 16 2016, it launched SmartFolio, a digital portfolio management service, competing with traditional players and robo-advisers, built in-house with assets of $20 billion. • It introduced Touch ID log-in (fingerprint recognition) to its BMO mobile banking app in Canada and the US. • In the US, Mobile Cash was made available, allowing the withdrawal of money via smartphone. • The BMO Banking and InvestorLine portal makes BMO the first Canadian bank to give customers access to personal banking and investments accounts in one place. • BMO DepositEdge in Canada allows businesses to deposit cheques remotely. • BMO Spend Dynamics gives corporate card clients access to transaction data. • Invested in Kabbage, a US-based online small business lender. • Has an internal Digital Factory focused on tech and mobile banking. • Supposedly looking to partner with more external fintech startups. • Partnered with MaRS in 2015. • Partnered with Thinking Capital, another online small business lender. • Developed a new marketing model, with segmented marketing campaigns with more personalised offerings, supported by data analytics teams, tech and tools to enhance tailored services for sales teams. • Developed an Android and iPad tablet app, the latter ranking #1 in the financial services category. • Planning to develop optimised tools for access to products and services and to implement a customer relationship management platform. • Partnering with Nymi Wristband Technologies. • Partnered with mobile-app-giant Uber for loyalty rewards. • Established an innovation lab at Communitech. • Partnered with Moven, a mobile personal financial management platform. • Looking to collaborate on a tech solution for improved customerandemployee experience in Cisco’s Toronto Innovation Centre. In the Digital Finance Institute (DFI) report, there is a further stress on fintech development in the province of British Columbia, so much so call that it is hashtag-worthy (much like in Estonia) – #BCTECH. The city of Vancouver is the main focus, as it houses some of the leading tech companies (Microsoft, EA, Amazon), as well as important fintechs, including Samsung Pay and SAP. Unsurprisingly, it is also the home of the DFI, which organises workshops, conferences and institutional education to bring Canadian fintech to the world, is a think tank for fintech and AI, encourages investment and partners for balanced regulation of digital payments and remittances. Vancouver was actually home to the world’s first Bitcoin ATM in 2013, and by June 15 2015, there were 60 Bitcoin ATMs across the whole of Canada. What else? Vancouver-based Central 1 Credit Union provides fintech services to financial institutions such as payments and mobile banking services. The DFI notes that “the geographical position of Vancouver gives it an unparalleled advantage for trade and importantly, for FinTech to scale and exit not only to Asia but increasingly, to the Middle East.” In British Columbia as a whole, the tech industry generated over $23 billion in revenue in 2013 and the Government of British Columbia recently launched the #BCTECH Strategy, investing $100m as part of a BC Tech Fund for early tech startups, and a Knowledge Development Fund to enable research projects. As a whole, the FinServ industry in Canada only represents 27% of the Internet of Everything market, but 60% of Canadians are prepared to move money to access one or more IoE capabilities. All Canadian provinces have adopted regulations to facilitate e-commerce and protect e-payments, with the Bank of Canada having “responsibility for regulatory oversight of clearing, settling and recording of financial transactions.” Additionally, the Large Value Transfer System and Automated Clearing Settlement System are national systems for clearing and settlement of payments, operated by Payments Canada, based in Ottawa. This, and the DFI, have launched national startup challenges. “The FinTech Cup”, for example, awards its winners with a $25,000 prize, and are provided a national startup platform to support their development. The private sector launched the annual Fintech Awards in 2015 to recognise key fintechs, innovators, advisors, and stakeholders that have contributed to the fintech ecosystem. In 2016, the Fintech Association of Canada was launched to engage the government with fintech to attract further investment and innovation. To get an idea of just how expansive Canada’s fintech ecosystem is, here’s a comprehensive list for your viewing pleasure: • Business Development of Canada (BDC) – Offers financing advisory services and venture capital, dubbing itself the “only financial institution dedicated exclusively to entrepreneurs”. • Omers Ventures – Omers is one of Canada’s leading pension funds with $65billion + in net assets. It provides resources and expertise to tech, media and telecommunications startups. • Power Financial Corporation – A management and holding company. • MaRS Innovation lab – Based in Toronto, it supports over 1700 startups, with 300 being fintech-based. It has raised over $700m in venture capital funding. • Communitech – Based in the Waterloo area, it is an industry-led innovation centre and a private-public partnership, founded in 1997. • Ryerson DMZ – In Toronto, this is the top university business incubator, with entrepreneurs-in-residence, industry mentors, and 250+ startups and industry connections. • OneEleven – A Toronto-based, data-driven tech startup scale-up hub, founded in 2013. • Thinkubator – A collaboration between Ryerson University and Tangerine, it is an incubation space for fintech startups, founded in 2016. Wealth management solutions & Robo-advisors • Nest Wealth – Founded in Toronto in 2014, it is Canada’s first online wealth manager. • Smart Money Invest – Also founded in 2014, it offers portfolio management services in equity and bond ETFs. • Wealthsimple – An online investment startup, which expects over a billion dollars in AUM this year. It has 15,000 clients in Canada. It also offers “an affordable, millennial-focused, automated investing service”. Power Financial Corporation invested $10m in Wealthsimple. • ModernAdvisor – an online financial advisor. If you would like to read more about Canadian robo-advisors, you can read our interview with ModernAdvisor’s Krysten Merriman here. Payments In 2014, 21% of Canadians made at least one online payment in the past six months (compared to 83% in China and 33% in the US). In 2015, the Canadian mobile payment transaction market grew 210%. • Moneris – Founded in 2000 in Toronto, it offers payment solutions and processes credit and debit card transactions (more than 3 billion a year). • VersaPay – With its HQ in Vancouver and founded in 2006, it is a cloud-based payment processing service. • TIO Networks – Founded 1997 in Vancouver, it was acquired by PayPal very recently in Feb 17. It offers a bill payment service. • Payfirma – Based in Vancouver, and founded in 2011, it is a multi-channel payment platform (mobile, in-store, online and e-commerce). Investment & Asset Management • Voleo – A social trading app, allowing the user to build an investment team with peers and collaboratively manage a portfolio. • FrontFundr – Founded in Vancouver in 2013, it is a registered financial services firm which connects investors and entrepreneurs Here are Canadian startups that made it into the KPMG Fintech100 2016… #36 – League – Toronto-based, founded in 2014, it lets employers enable employees with health spending accounts and group insurance plans on a mobile app platform, plus you can find health professionals. It uses a digital wallet for payments. #42 – SecureKey – Founded 2008 in Toronto, it is an identity and authentication platform for online consumer services. …And the ‘Emerging stars’: • Grow – Founded in 2014, it is a “complete fintech toolkit” for financial institutions, mainly focused on consumer and SME lending. • North Side Inc. – A financial AI solution, letting you talk directly to your financial institution, a “personalised virtual telephone banker”. • Overbond – Founded in 2015, this Toronto-based startup brings bond market participants together, making bond issuance secure and transparent. You’ve made it – a list as extensive as Canada itself (did you know that it spans 6 time zones? Crazy). Seemingly, if Canadian banks and financial institution are willing to allow for innovation besides their stringent (albeit successful) regulations, then the pre-existing fintech ecosystems in the GTA and British Columbia combined will be able to move ahead with full force. A fintech revolution to match the size of its home. Credit to a good friend of mine for the incredible painting of Ryan. If you have any thoughts about Canadian fintech, let us know in the comments below, or you can tweet us. Check back soon for more instalments of The Fintech World Series! The post The Fintech World Series: Canada appeared first on Kurtosys Blog. http://hvst.co/2luINyhOriginally Published at:The Fintech World Series: Canada \|\| Flow and Manchester United Team up to deliver the Ultimate Football Experience to Caribbean Footballers: MIAMI, FL--(Marketwired - Feb 27, 2017) - Up-and-coming Caribbean footballers between the ages of 13 and 16 will not be able to contain their excitement, as news breaks that Flow and Manchester United will host The Ultimate Football Experience , a skills-based competition, supported by the Caribbean Football Union . The programme seeks to give youngsters, the chance-of-a-lifetime to participate in a talent development football camp; and even earn a trip to Old Trafford, Manchester to see Man Utd vs Crystal Palace on May 21 st 2017. The good news gets even better as registration opens this week for the football competition which runs from March through to May 2017. Here's how it works: skilled boys and girls can register online at https://discoverflow.co/flowmanutd . Registered participants will then be instructed to appear at designated football festivals across all Caribbean markets in which Flow operates. The participants will engage in a Manchester United Soccer School's international programme, which has been specially devised for the campaign and will be delivered by CFU coaches. Throughout the competition Manchester United legends will also be making an appearance at the festivals to offer their tips and advice. This is a proven Manchester United Soccer School programme designed to build and test the skills of young footballers across the globe. As the competition evolves, two participants from each market, along with their respective coach, will advance to a two-day skills session in Trinidad and Tobago to experience one-on-one training with CFU and Manchester United Soccer School Coaches. There, they will participate in a series of drills designed by the coaches and compete for the chance for two finalists and their coach to win a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Old Trafford in Manchester, England. Considered to be the highlight of the development initiative the two winners along with their coaches will travel to the world-famous football stadium to witness first hand Manchester United's final Premier League game of the season against Crystal Palace. This VIP experience will also include a visit to the Manchester United Museum and Tour, taking in the history of the club followed by a tour of the iconic stadium. Story continues Manchester United's Group Managing Director, Richard Arnold said, "Youth development is at the heart of this Club's traditions and success. The Manchester United Soccer Schools were developed to help spread this spirit to as many children as possible. In recent years our partners have been instrumental in helping the great work of our Soccer Schools coaches reach young people around the world. We're proud to work with Flow on this project." "Like Manchester United, Flow also has a deep sense of commitment to youth development as can be seen by our support of several programmes throughout the region that help to hone the skills of young footballers," said Garfield Sinclair, Flow's newly appointed President of the Caribbean . Sinclair also said, "We're therefore proud to work in partnership with Manchester United to offer this once in a lifetime experience to our talented youngsters across the region." The Caribbean Football Union's ( CFU ) President Gordon Derrick gave a ringing endorsement of The Ultimate Football Experience, as he added: "The CFU is proud to be a partner with Flow on this exhilarating and beneficial initiative. Hundreds of young footballers in 15 countries -- half of the CFU's membership -- will have the opportunity to compete, hone their skills, and, for the finalists, live the dream. I am confident that this partnership will bode well for the future of football in the region." The Ultimate Football Experience is one of several Manchester United and Flow partnership initiatives. In January, Flow hosted the FA Cup Caribbean Tour during which the Company gave football fans up-close and unprecedented access to football's most coveted trophy. The final leg of the tour culminated in the Cayman Islands, where Manchester United ambassador Dwight Yorke made an appearance . Cable and Wireless is Manchester United's telecommunications partner in the Caribbean . About C&W Communications C&W is a full service communications and entertainment provider and delivers market-leading video, broadband, telephony and mobile services to consumers in 18 countries. Through its business division, C&W provides data center hosting, domestic and international managed network services, and customized IT service solutions, utilizing cloud technology to serve business and government customers. C&W also operates a state-of-the-art submarine fiber network -- the most extensive in the region. Learn more at www.cwc.com , or follow C&W on LinkedIn , Facebook or Twitter . About Liberty Global Liberty Global is the world's largest international TV and broadband company, with operations in more than 30 countries across Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean. We invest in the infrastructure that empowers our customers to make the most of the digital revolution. Our scale and commitment to innovation enable us to develop market-leading products delivered through next generation networks that connect our 25 million customers who subscribe to over 50 million television, broadband internet and telephony services. We also serve over 10 million mobile subscribers and offer WiFi service across 5 million access points. Liberty Global's businesses are comprised of two stocks: the Liberty Global Group ( NASDAQ : LBTYA ) ( NASDAQ : LBTYB ) and ( NASDAQ : LBTYK ) for our European operations, and the LiLAC Group ( NASDAQ : LILA ) and ( NASDAQ : LILAK ) ( OTC PINK : LILAB ), which consists of our operations in Latin America and the Caribbean. The Liberty Global Group operates in 11 European countries under the consumer brands Virgin Media, Unitymedia, Telenet and UPC. The Liberty Global Group also owns 50% of VodafoneZiggo, a Dutch joint venture, which has 4 million customers, 10 million fixed-line subscribers and 5 million mobile subscribers. The LiLAC Group operates in over 20 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean under the consumer brands VTR, Flow, Liberty, Más Móvil and BTC. In addition, the LiLAC Group operates a sub-sea fiber network throughout the region in over 30 markets. For more information, please visit www.libertyglobal.com . \|\| Bitcoin is roaring back: Bitcoinis higher for a second straight day on Tuesday, trading up 6.5% at $1,110 a coin as of 2:13 p.m. ET. The cryptocurrency has rallied about 17% since Sunday's low, rebounding from a slump over the weekend that followed a Wall Street Journal report that the cryptocurrency's developers were threatening to set up a "hard fork," or alternative marketplace for bitcoin. The new platform would be incompatible with the current platform, thus creating a split and two versions of the currency. That news sent bitcoin crashing 20% over the weekend to about $950 a coin, its weakest since January. (Investing.com) 2017 has been a volatile year for the cryptocurrency. It gained 20% in the first week of the year after soaring 120% in 2016 to become thetop-performing currencyfor the second year in a row. Bitcoin then crashed 35% on news thatChina was going to consider clamping downon trading. But it managed to rip higher by more than 50% even in the face of several pieces of bad news. First, China's biggest bitcoin exchanges said they were going to start charging a 0.2% fee on all transactions (previously there was no fee). Then, China's biggest exchanges said they were going toblock withdrawalsfrom trading accounts. Still, bitcoin put in a record high of $1,327 a coin on March 10 as traders piled in ahead of the US Securities and Exchange Commission's ruling on theWinklevoss twins' bitcoin exchange-traded fund. The SEC denied the ETF, sending the price crashing by 16%. Bitcoin, however, managed to quickly recover those losses. Two more SEC rulings are on the way, the next being March 30. Neither one is expected to pass. NOW WATCH:7 mega-billionaires who made a fortune last year More From Business Insider • I've written about a bunch of great watches, but this is the one I wear to work every day — here's why • Bitcoin just crashed 20% as the developers fight over its future • Bitcoin could be on the edge of a cliff \|\| Bitcoin trading shrivels under Chinese government's glare: By Brenda Goh SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Trading volumes at China's three largest bitcoin exchanges have plummeted after the central bank put the virtual currency market under sharper scrutiny a month ago in a move that coincided with official efforts to stem capital outflows. China had been the world's leading venue for bitcoin trading, with analytics site Bitcoinity estimating that the OkCoin, Huobi and BTCC exchanges had accounted for more than 90 percent of the global bitcoin market on Jan. 11. But data compiled by analytics platform Sosobtc showed the number of bitcoins traded on the three exchanges slumped from 13.6 million on Jan. 6 to just over 120,000 on Feb. 9. The People's Bank of China launched checks into the three exchanges last month and they have responded by saying that they would improve their systems to prevent money laundering and the use of bitcoin to trade against the yuan. On Thursday, the People's Bank of China said it had also warned smaller bitcoin exchanges that it would shut them down if they violated regulations. While the yuan weakened 6.6 percent against the dollar last year, its worst performance since 1994, the bitcoin price has soared to near-record highs. That, and the relative anonymity the digital currency offers, has prompted some market operators to believe bitcoin had become an attractive, if niche, option for tech-savvy Chinese to hedge against the yuan and skirt rules limiting how much foreign exchange individuals can buy each year. The three main exchanges have introduced trading fees, stopped allowing margin lending and increased scrutiny of user identities, making it far less attractive for automated, high speed trades which had previously accounted for the lion's share of their business. The absence of trading fees had provided an advantage over overseas rivals earlier, but that advantage has now gone, traders said. Business has virtually dried up on Beijing-based high-speed bitcoin trading platform BotVS, according to chief executive Chen Zhenguo. "With the transaction fees the profits you can get from hedging (Bitcoin) are too low...You might as well put your money in Yu'e Bao," he said, referring to a money market fund run by an Alibaba Group affiliate. Other traders voiced similar sentiments. Cai Wenhao, business manager at Sosobtc, said trading volume levels in China would likely normalize to around those seen on exchanges elsewhere, like the Hong Kong-based Bitifinex and U.S.-based Coinbase. (Reporting by Brenda Goh; Additional Reporting by SHANGHAI Newsroom and John Ruwitch; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore) \|\| Bitcoin site CoinDesk poaches Bloomberg exec as new CEO: Bitcoin price over the last 3 months, via CoinDesk price index CoinDesk, the leading trade publication covering bitcoin and blockchain news, has a new CEO, its first: Kevin Worth, former CFO of Bloomberg Digital Media. While digital currency may be a non-traditional coverage area, the job otherwise looks like an obvious fit with Worths background in managing digital content businesses. In the late 90s, Worth worked in corporate strategic planning at the New York Times. Then he was founding CEO of The Deal, the financial data and news site funded by investment banker Bruce Wasserstein. Worth stayed on for a year after The Deal sold to The Street. He spent the past couple of years as CFO of Bloombergs digital and television businesses. Many recent changes at CoinDesk Just over 12 months ago, in January 2016, CoinDesk sold to Digital Currency Group , the biggest investment firm in bitcoin and blockchain startups (with investments in over 90 ), led by Barry Silbert, the founder of SecondMarket. DCG placed its own Ryan Selkis in charge of CoinDesk on the business side, but pledged that Selkis and DCG would have no involvement in editorial decisions at the site. Selkis was never CoinDesks CEO; Worth is its first. He will run business and editorial, the way that a typical magazine publisher would; the sites editor is Pete Rizzo. Kevin Worth, new CEO of CoinDesk CoinDesk has 13 full-time employees. Last month, the site made its first acquisition: the bitcoin data app Lawnmower . Lawnmowers historical price data and charts, as well as its staff, got folded into CoinDesks in-house research arm (which produces reports such as a new one on blockchains for insurance), a sign it is serious about the information-selling side of its business. DCGs main interest in CoinDesk was always for Consensus, its live bitcoin conference in May, first held in 2015. Last year, the event attracted 1,5000 attendees. Worth, from his time at Bloomberg, has seen the growth of live events as a money-maker for publishers. These days, live programming is a vital arm of the business for news organizations like Time Inc, Business Insider, and Re/code. Story continues Under Worth, expect CoinDesk to place further emphasis on two pillars: live events like Consensus, and research reports for a fee. To me, if you look at where the value in the content marketplace is being created, Worth says, its live events and business information products. I see an opportunity for CoinDesk to gain a pole position in becoming the must-have, go-to resource for the industry. Worth sounds more fired up about events and information than the news side, which is what CoinDesk is for many of its readers: a vital news outlet. He confirms that Consensus, for now, is his main focus. So, moving forward, will CoinDesk look more like a data resource, or a news blog? I think its a little all-of-the-above, Worth says. I can tell you that the playbooks I have had in the past think about having many different audiences, and how to serve all of them. What got me so excited about coming is that its pretty much a whiteboard. A look at CoinDesks homepage on Feb. 28, 2017 In terms of news coverage, it sounds like CoinDesk may soon see itself less as a mainstream news site covering bitcoin and blockchain news for the masses. When asked if other business news outlets that cover bitcoin news are competitors, Worth says, If they are serving a broad, general interest community, then no. We are keeping our eye on serving industry professionals. New to bitcoin Just a few months ago, Worth knew very little about the digital currency bitcoin, and the blockchain technology that underpins it. (What exactly is blockchain? Watch this video .) After Barry Silbert called, I did a lot of research and started to learn a lot more, and I drank the kool-aid, if you will, says Worth. He hasnt bought any bitcoin as an investment just yet. Digital currency, Worth says, feels a little bit to me like when the first Internet hype came. There is a tremendous need to understand all the potential implications, people trying to understand it and make sense of it. From my time at Bloomberg Im close to the world of institutional finance, and thats an industry that hasnt really had the amount of transformation that has gone on in, say, the media business. So, lets see where the opportunity is for those businesses to transform, which are much more fundamental to the global economy. As the interest in blockchain technology ( especially from banks ) has grown, CoinDesk has grown and expanded its purview from bitcoin, to additional digital assets like Litecoin, Ripple, and Ethereum, to blockchain news. In the near future, Worth sees the challenge and competition coming from data providers, not necessarily media outlets. I see this as a wide open field, he says. What Im focused on, to be honest with you, its not other media or content companies that are the competition, but other information providers who might move into the space, whether thats consulting firms or other information providers. But we ought to be smarter than them, because they may just have two or three people looking at it and we have a whole team. Other information providers that might move into the bitcoin and blockchain space? That sounds like it could include Bloomberg, his old employer. And thats fine for Worth, who says he learned a great deal while there. I understand what their business model is about. Its really the only company I can think of where they have scale but its still dominated by the owner, who is still the CEO and its his capital and you follow his lead, Worth says. After his years there, hes ready for something entrepreneurial. And thats why Silbert tapped Worth, he says: corporate experience that can help turn a modest-sized blog into a full-scale information seller. I believe digital currency is a transformational asset class that will attract meaningful amounts of capital over time, Silbert says. (Its a sound bite he likes to repeat.) And then theres a lot of interest in blockchain, and distributed ledger technology, to make processes more efficient Were obviously super bullish on bitcoin, blockchain technology, and all the applications that are going to come. All we needed was an experienced operator like Kevin to come in and help scale the business. CoinDesk expects to become profitable this year. Daniel Roberts is a writer at Yahoo Finance, covering technology and media. Follow him on Twitter at @readDanwrite . Read more: Bitcoin is becoming the new gold Expect more blockchain hype in 2017 Heres where big banks stand on blockchain Why 21.co is the most exciting bitcoin company right now \|\| Why bitcoin will surge to $25,000: ByYves Lamoureux, president and chief behavioral strategist of macroeconomic research firm Lamoureux & Co. Bitcoin is on a trajectory that will eventually catapult it into bubble territory, with an end target of $25,000 or more. Many of the key ingredients present in past bubbles are now present to create the next one in bitcoin. What makes this possible is the mathematics of finite supply, which we will show you in a chart and is at the core of our argument. One of the reasons people buy gold is to avoid the dilution of fiat money. In other words, gold investors care about keeping their purchasing power. The alternative is an unlimited supply of paper money over time. This is why we are convinced that digital money or cryptocurrencies will eventually find its appeal with hard asset investors — or a rare chance to get in on a venture capital style bet. We fought tooth and nails to get the media to cover gold when it traded at $300. These events work out over cycles measured in decades, which is the amount of time required to convince the majority. Whether tulips, housing or tech stocks, bubbles require public participation. And as blockchain becomes more ubiquitous, it lends credibility to the technology behind bitcoin. We feel that digital currencies, such as bitcoin, have now entered a similar cycle. It will take many years of great returns to remove the current skepticism on digital money. And there will be pressure from governments to regulate it, which in the end, will only lend it more legitimacy. People trade today as they did last year, as they did 100 years ago. The psychology remains the same. Behaviour does not change. Provide the same set of incentives throughout time and the Pavlovian bell rings the same. When I saw this chart, immediately I saw dollar signs. Over the lifetime of mining bitcoins, the final amount is set to be 21 million coins. Nothing more and nothing less. For the time being, it is way too early to ascribe a final end of the road valuation target to bitcoin, even if we hint at a level. Prior articles: Why hyperinflation is coming Why the crisis of 2019 begins now How to prepare for the next major selloff in stocks: trader By Yves Lamoureux, January 16, 2017 ©Copyright, Lamoureux & Co. This communication is for information purposes only and should not be regarded as an offer to sell or as a solicitation of an offer to buy any financial product or service.This publication is proprietary and is intended for the use of the subscriber only. All information provided is impersonal and not tailored to the needs of any person, entity or group or persons. Lamoureux & Co. shall not be liable for any claims. \|\| Bitcoin makes a big comeback: (A Bitcoin sign is seen in a window in TorontoThomson Reuters) Bitcoin is making a big comeback. Early selling pushed the cryptocurrency down nearly 4% to $1120 a coin, but buying over the course of the morning has it on session highs, up 3% at $1200 as of 4:22 p.m. ET. Trade has been volatile over the past couple of sessions amid speculation surrounding the upcoming ETF ruling by the US Securities and Exchange Commission and more regulation out of China. Bitcoin rallied more than 30% from February 9 to March 3 as traders speculated the SECwill approveat least one of thethree proposed bitcoin-focused exchange-traded fundsby a March 11 deadline. Because that deadline falls on a Saturday, a decision could come on Monday, March 13. However, bitcoin has come under pressure the last few days. On Tuesday, the cryptocurrencyplunged $100 in a matter of minutesaftera Bloomberg headline cited a People's Bank of China official as suggesting the recent bitcoin regulation wasn't temporary. It ended up retracing most of those losses before resuming its slide on Wednesday, plunging more than 5% after China's three largest exchanges said they wouldcontinue blocking withdrawalsuntilgranted approval to let them resume by regulators. Bitcoin is up 25% so far in 2017 after gaining 120% in 2016. It has been thetop performing currencyin each of the last two years. (Investing.com) NOW WATCH:What happens when you eat too much protein More From Business Insider • Bitcoin dives after China's 3 biggest exchanges say they'll keep blocking withdrawals • Bitcoin plunges sharply and suddenly • Bitcoin is extending its lead over gold \|\| This bullish signal has never been wrong — and it’s about to flash for 2017: Critical information for the U.S. trading day The Dow has nabbed record closes for eight straight sessions — and what about the S&P 500? The last time that broad index suffered a 1% drop, as detailed in ourstat of the day, it was October and the Cubs still were battling to end their storied World Series drought. Enough already? CFRA’s Sam Stovall says he’s looking for a long-overdue “digestion of gains,” though he adds the pause will not likely result in the end of this bull market. The run will continue, the chief investment strategist writes, thanks in part to improving earnings and inflation staying subdued. In support, he notes one indicator that’s close to getting triggered. “If you need additional encouragement that a bear market is not just around the corner, history again may offer some more virtual Valium,” says Stovall, who delivers ourcall of the day. Since 1945, there have been 27 years when the S&P has achieved gains in January and February. The stock index then finished up for the year (on a total-return basis) in every one those years, according to Stovall. That’s going 27 for 27, or batting a thousand. The average rise in those years was 24%, as shown in his chart below. CFRA So that bodes well for 2017 — though the chart’s footnote features that favorite Wall Street caveat: “Past performance is no guarantee of future results.” Plus, February isn’t over yet, and it’s typically the stock market’s second-worst month of the year. But the S&P is up 3.8% for the month, after rising 1.8% in January. As Stovall puts it, the first two months can “offer a clue that investors believe that good things still lie ahead.” Futures for the DowYMH7,-0.05%, S&P 500ESH7,-0.13%and Nasdaq-100NQH7,-0.01%are trading flat to lower, after the DowDJIA,+0.58%, S&PSPX,+0.60%and Nasdaq CompositeCOMP,+0.47%all chalked upall-time closing highs again yesterday. OilCLJ7,-1.33%is giving backTuesday’s gain. Seethe Market Snapshot columnfor the latest action. 90 straight trading days — That is how long the S&P has gone without closing lower by 1% or more, notes Charlie Bilello, research director at Pension Partners. The stock gauge ended 1.2% down on Oct. 11 — more than four months ago — and hasn’t clocked out on such a negative note since then. Bristol-Myers SquibbBMY,+1.13%is gaining premarket following news that billionaire activist investorCarl Icahn has taken a stakein the drug giant. FacebookFB,-0.15%is reportedlyin talks to stream Major League Baseball games. First SolarFSLR,-3.30%was among the companies that posted earnings late yesterday. Investors initiallytook a shine to the stock, but now it’s falling. Names on the earnings docket before the open includedoff-price retailer TJXTJX,+1.01%,Dish NetworkDISH,+1.88%,GPS maker GarminGRMN,+7.83%,cameras company MobileyeMBLY,+3.53%andhome builder Toll BrothersTOL,+7.75%. TeslaTSLA,+0.94%is among those reporting after the close, as the electric car maker’smarket cap catches up to Ford’sF,-0.24%. See:Tesla earnings — expect Model 3 updates amid record highs In political news, federal officials say theTrump administration’s tighter deportation rulesare “not intended to produce mass roundups.” Today, cabinet membersgo to Mexico. Some Republican lawmakers aresteering clear of town hall events, hoping to avoid anti-Trump protesters. Attendees have held up IDs to provethat they’re real constituents, while thepresident tweetedlate Tuesday that the chaos is “in numerous cases, planned out by liberal activists.” A report on existing-home sales is due after the opening bell, and Fed Gov. Jerome Powell speaks around halftime. Minutes from the Fed’s last meeting (when itstood pat) are on tap at 2 p.m. Eastern Time. ReadMarch, May, or June? Minutes may hold clues on next hike And see:MarketWatch’s Economic Calendar “We are probably not going to forecast the next financial crisis, or forecast the next recession. Our models are just not that good.” — Bank of England officialGertjan Vlieghe suggeststhe world’s central bankers have their limits. See:5 quotes that tell you everything you need to know about forecasting CoinMarketCap BitcoinUS:BTCUSDis advancing again this morning, building on yesterday’s jump to its highest level since December 2013. Call it a Winklerally? Analysts say the cryptocurrency’s gains come from traders attempting to front-run a regulatory decision on the much-anticipated Winklevoss Bitcoin Trust ETF. Read all about it:Bitcoin prices touch fresh 3-year high Later today, NASA is expected to dish on itsbig new find of planets. An artist plansto entomb himself in a boulder, then sit on eggs until they hatch. He’s French. Enemies of the people? A newspaper editor gives “a peek behind enemy lines.” More on that N. Korean assassination: Killers “used nothing but their bare hands.” Agoalie resignedafter eating a meat pie during a game and sparking#PieGate. Bavariaplans to ban the full-face veilin schools and other places. —MrTopStep Grouphttps://mrtopstep.com Questions:[email protected] Follow Us On Facebook and Twitter For More Intra-Day Market Updates!https://www.facebook.com/mrtopstephttps://twitter.com/MrTopStep(@MrTopStep) Dont Forget To Subscribe To Our YouTube Channel!Sign Up Here:http://www.youtube.com/mrtopstepgroup \|\| U.S. investment firm plans launch of first ever ethereum classic private fund: By Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. investment firm Grayscale Investments plans to launch the first-ever private fund focused on ethereum classic, a blockchain platform, according to Barry Silbert, founder of the company's parent Digital Currency Group. Ethereum classic's token is the seventh largest digital currency in terms of market capitalization, totaling $126.6 million. The coin powers a decentralized blockchain hub in which developers can create different applications that can dramatically enhance the transfer and sharing of information and value. Ethereum classic was built on the same fundamental principles as bitcoin: decentralization and immutability. On Monday, ethereum classic traded at $1.42 on digital asset exchanges. "As investors have grown more interested in digital currency as an asset class, we've also seen growing frustration with the difficulty in purchasing non-bitcoin digital currencies," Silbert told Reuters. "We're excited to launch a fund for ethereum classic to satisfy the growing interest we are seeing in ETC from more mainstream investors." The ethereum classic fund will be an open-ended trust that can raise an unlimited amount of capital, Silbert said. Digital Currency Group will be seeding it with its own capital and it will be offered initially to accredited investors, he added. This will be the second digital currency fund for Grayscale, which launched the Bitcoin Investment Trust in 2013, the only publicly-traded U.S. security in the over-the-counter market invested in bitcoin. Ethereum classic has had a rocky history. It came out of a split from the original ethereum blockchain platform created by Russian programmer Vitalik Buterin and launched in 2015. In April 2016, a blockchain solutions company called Slock.it announced the launch of The DAO on Ethereum. The DAO was designed as a decentralized crowdfunding model, in which anyone could contribute ethereum tokens to become a voting member and equity stakeholder in the organization. Story continues The DAO eventually raised $150 million as of late May last year. But on June 17,2016, an anonymous hacker funneled approximately $60 million in tokens into a separate account. The ethereum network decided to undertake a "hard fork", in which the community would create an entirely new version of the ethereum blockchain, erasing any record of the theft, and restoring the stolen funds to their owners. A new blockhain platform was then formed, keeping its ethereum name, and the original version was branded as ethereum classic. Both ethereum and ethereum classic trade on digital asset exchanges. The new ethereum has a larger market cap of $1.8 billion, with the token trading at $19.97 on Monday (This version of the story corrects the headline and first paragraph to show Grayscale plans to launch ethereum classic private fund, not that it has already launched the fund) (Reporting by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss; Editing by Andrew Hay) \|\| It takes three to tango in ETF-land: Jim Cramers name doesnt come up very often on this site. However a recent post by Cramer about ETFs garnered some attention and is worth addressing further. Cramer noted the decline in interest in stockpicking due to the rise of sector ETFs. From the article on CNBC : On a larger scale, however, Cramer said that ETFs have the power to distort stock valuations too dramatically for his liking. At the end of the day, Im against ETFs because they often create enormous distortions that can obliterate even the best of stocks, Cramer said. You have to accept a lot more risk if you own a stock thats particularly hostage [to] a given ETF. Todd Rosenbluth writing at ETF.com took exception with Cramer on a number of fronts including the characterization of the ETF industry itself: Cramer attributed the rise in the number of ETFs to the financial services industry looking for a new way to make money; CFRA attributes the rise in assets in ETFs to investors tiring of underperforming active managersWhile low fees play a role in these decisions, CFRA thinks that continued struggles by active managers to keep up with the index has resulted in more investors being comfortable with consistently average returns. Joel Dickson writing at ETFdb.com represents some middle ground on the topic of ETFs. Dickson writes: Are ETFs perfect? No. There are probably too many of them. But the same could be said of traditional mutual funds, even index funds. Do all offer sound and durable investment strategies? Probably not. Neither do mutual fundsETFs, like whiskey, require moderation. Moderation in use and moderation in the views pertaining to them. Its hard to believe but I have been writing about ETFs since the outset of this blog back in 2005. One year later in 2006 I characterized ETFs as a useful tool and wrote : Feinberg is indeed correct in calling ETFs a wonderful tool. However the well-publicized advantages of ETFs can become a disadvantage in the wrong hands if used incorrectly. Unfortunately the ETF industry is continuing to populate the universe of ETFs with ever more complex and narrowly-based funds. Choice is indeed great, but as costs and complexity rise, the chance (and costs) of making a wrong decision also rise. Story continues Sometimes critics of ETFs believe that some how ETFs somehow exist in a vacuum. By that I mean they dont accept that the growth in, and popularity of ETFs, is somehow made-up. The fact is that for every successful ETF, three things have to happen.* An ETF sponsor needs to come up with an idea for a fund; The SEC needs to approve said fund; Investors actually have to put money in the fund for it to survive. There are no shortage of ETFs that have passed the first two hurdles. The challenge is achieving the third. According to Ron Rowland at Invest With an Edge there have been some 700 ETF closures over time. In some cases a fund never gets past the second stage. Recently the SEC failed to approve an application for a Bitcoin ETF . Sector ETFs, which Cramer seems to most object to, exist because all three of the above criteria have been met. Sector funds are not in fact an invention of the ETF industry. Sector-focused mutual funds existed, see Fidelitys line-up , long before the invention of the ETF. So it isnt the existence of the sector fund that bugs critics, it is their popularity. That is not to say that ETFs are in any way, shape or form perfect. The way ETFs trade has put a great deal a great deal of pressure on the last half hour of trading. A few days ago a glitch on the NYSEs Arca platform made a mess of end-of-day pricing. During periods of market stress ETFs have come under criticism for their inconsistent trading . Given the number of ETFs and their structure there will always be room for error in their trading. Source: WSJ Another valid criticism of ETFs is the existence of funds that in the hands of novice or amateur traders could do them damage. Inverse ETFs are a prime example of this. Jared Dillian writing at Bloomberg View takes to task both the ETF industry and the SEC for the existence of inverse ETFs that if held in perpetuity would eventually lose all of their value. Dillian writes: The reality is that leveraged ETFs are super complicated financial instruments certainly more so than futures, which are linear and plain vanilla because all you have to understand is margining and spreads. In a way, theyre more complicated than options. Theres plenty of math in options, but a closed-form equation describes them. Dillian notes that since 261 leveraged ETFs with $41 billion in AUM exist shows that they are not being used as their sponsors say that should be. This goes to show that the world of ETFs isnt perfect. The SEC likely made a mistake by approving leveraged ETFs in their current form but was on point when it approved the sector ETF. There is no shortage of silly themed, sector ETFs but that does not call into question their existence in the first place. ETFs are like, the financial blogosphere itself, an imperfect meritocracy . By and large the cream rises to the top. There is more than enough criticism to go around for all three constituents in ETF-land: sponsors, the SEC and investors alike. In light of all that ETFs have done in reducing fees and increasing access for investors it seems silly to say you are against ETFs. *I recognize this simplifies the process greatly, but captures the main constituencies. Originally published at abnormalreturns.com on March 23, 2017. Disclaimer: Nothing on this site should ever be considered to be advice, research or an invitation to buy or sell any securities. Please see my Terms & Conditions page for a full disclaimer. Abnormal Returns is a participant in a number of affiliate advertising programs including the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. You can see the entire list of affiliates here . [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] $1085.90 #bitfinex; $1091.31 #GDAX; $1091.89 #bitstamp; $1109.80 #btce; $1046.00 #kraken; #bitcoin news: http://bit.ly/1VI6Yse \|\| $1035.25 at 06:00 UTC [24h Range: $1005.10 - $1037.01 Volume: 5648 BTC] \|\| $1030.00 at 22:30 UTC [24h Range: $944.36 - $1063.70 Volume: 12167 BTC] \|\| Free BitCoin SCRIPT! – Page 2 http://offers4points.com/free-bitcoin-script-page-2/ … \|\| #Bitcoin “Bank run” under Capital Controls: Greeks withdraw €2.5bn in 45 days http://viid.me/qxt9qA pic.twitter.com/hQifgyXyCp \|\| X-Binary爆発的な人気の案件に候。自動バイナリーが魅力に候。再投資の複利運用がコツに候。運用14日目配当 2.00％回収率 21.87％https://x-binary.com/?ref=X34723 #bitcoin #ビットコイン #投資 #HYIP #副収入pic.twitter.com/qJz43AemWI \|\| Are you a #fintech startup looking to build or extend your engineering team? http://buff.ly/2lO6yoG #Bitcoin #Blockchain #Cryptocurrencypic.twitter.com/0HXC6IoGXy \|\| こんばんは。今夜は22:00からBTC-R(http://blog.goo.ne.jp/t-photo )二つ、 4200k(http://ameblo.jp/4200k/ )も二つ更新します。おヒマでしたらお越しください。 \|\| Bitcoin Industry Colluded, Says Miner. #investorseurope #blockchain http://rocktrader.eu/p/4075392621/2017/02/16/bitcoin-industry-colluded-says-miner-investorseurope-blockchain?utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter … \|\| @BitcoinGamble3 http://Startuphangar.com is looking to finance #bitcoin and #blockchain deals - email [email protected]	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 1045.77, 1047.15, 1039.97, 1026.43, 1071.79, 1080.50, 1102.17, 1143.81, 1133.25, 1124.78
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2020-11-20] BTC Price: 18621.31, BTC RSI: 83.86 Gold Price: 1872.60, Gold RSI: 46.05 Oil Price: 42.15, Oil RSI: 59.16 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] First Mover: Bitcoin ‘Comatose’ Under $16K for Rest of 2020, While Ether Traffic Eases: A slowdown in cryptocurrency trading on so-called decentralized exchanges has helped to alleviate congestion on the Ethereum blockchain, at least temporarily mitigating concerns the network was becoming overloaded. The trading lull comes as prices tumble for many of the hottest tokens from the fast-growing arena of decentralized finance , or DeFi. SushiSwap’s SUSHI token , one of this year’s splashiest debuts , fell by 77% in the past 30 days, while DeFi lender Compound’s COMP tokens lost 37%. On Uniswap, the biggest decentralized exchange, or DEX, daily trading volumes have crashed to $224 million, versus a record high of $954 million on Sept. 1. Related: Lightning Vulnerability Discovered; LND Node Operators Urged to Upgrade ASAP “Low volatility in the crypto market as a whole has contributed to lower transaction volume and costs,” said Connor Abendschein, a crypto research analyst at Digital Assets Data. DeFi, a subsector of the cryptocurrency industry where entrepreneurs are developing semi-automated trading and lending platforms atop blockchain networks, had surged in popularity in recent months among investors and traders alike. But the resulting congestion raised concerns elevated fees for sending transactions over the blockchain might stymie some users, or push application developers to consider alternative networks . – Omkar Godbole Read More: As DeFi Deflates, Ethereum Users Get Reprieve From Soaring Fees, Congestion Bitcoin Watch Related: Market Wrap: Bitcoin Surges on Square News to $10.9K; December Ether Options Pile Up Bitcoin remains comatose around $10,600 even though optimism has returned to equity markets. S&P 500 futures are pointing to a positive open with a 0.53% gain. Stock markets in Asia and Europe eked out gains earlier today on renewed expectations for an additional U.S. fiscal stimulus. The “risk-on” is weighing over the safe-haven U.S. dollar in the forex market. So far, however, that dollar weakness hasn’t propelled bitcoin higher. Story continues The top cryptocurrency is currently trading around $10,600, down 0.6% on the day. And while the cryptocurrency remains stuck in a narrowing price range for the third week, activity in options listed on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange has picked up the pace. CME options trading volume surged by 300% to $48 million on Wednesday. The surge was fueled by increased activity in call options, according to Emmanuel Goh, CEO of crypto derivatives research firm Skew. Traders likely employed bull spreads by buying December expiry call options at $14,000 and simultaneously selling December expiry calls at $16,000. Similarly, calls expiring in March 2021 were bought at $18,000 and sold at $20,000. These traders foresee a bitcoin price rally but believe the upside will be capped near $16,000 till the end of this year and $20,000 in the fist quarter of 2021. – Omkar Godbole Read More: Bitcoin Options Volume on CME Jumps 300% as Traders Take Bullish Bets Token Watch EOS ( EOS ): Alternative blockchain’s ecosystem gets boost for trading liquidity as non-custodial digital-asset exchanger Eosfinex launches beta version , though Google Cloud does not intend to take EOS rewards as a block producer . Aave ( LEND , AAVE ): Blockchain data reveal increasing large-volume transactions in LEND tokens, suggesting “whale” accounts are migrating to the new AAVE governance tokens, IntoTheBlock writes . What’s Hot BitMEX’s Arthur Hayes steps down from CEO role a week after U.S. charges announced (CoinDesk) Japanese financial firm SBI buys Japanese crypto exchange TaoTao after Binance talks end (CoinDesk) Coinbase “apolitical” stance might just be conservative stance (CoinDesk Opinion) CFTC Chair Tarbert tells Morgan Creek Digital’s Anthony Pompliano that he wants to “support innovation in this space,” especially with “other countries coming in and starting to potentially take the lead” (BeInCrypto) Non-fungible token and accompanying digital portrait of Bitcoin inventor Satoshi Nakamoto sells for $131,250 in Christie’s auction (Decrypt) In an economic environment where inflation-adjusted interest rates are negative, the next big round of stimulus could become a “tailwind” for bitcoin and other “zero-yield” assets, Lyn Alden writes (CoinDesk Opinion) Bitcoin mining company Riot Blockchain has bought another 2,500 S19 Pro Antminer rigs as the publicly traded firm races to quadruple its mining power (CoinDesk) The U.S. Treasury Department is evaluating the merits of a government-sponsored digital currency (CoinDesk) Analogs The latest on the economy and traditional finance March bond-market tumult stemmed partly from Wall Street dealers’ limited capacity to supply liquidity, and subsequent episodes of stress “will likely continue to be dependent on the kinds of massive market interventions that the Federal Reserve was forced to make” (Bank Policy Institute) U.S. Federal Reserve officials are concerned a lack of stimulus approved by Congress could lead to bad times (CNBC) Citigroup agrees to $400M fine over “significant ongoing deficiencies” in risk-management systems (WSJ) Japan’s 3 main mobile phone carriers are expected to cut their rates ahead of the country’s new prime minister Yoshihide Suga’s calls to slash fees (Nikkei Asian Review) A Democratic victory in next month’s U.S. election could help boost Asian stocks (Bloomberg) Tweet of the Day Related Stories First Mover: Bitcoin ‘Comatose’ Under $16K for Rest of 2020, While Ether Traffic Eases First Mover: Bitcoin ‘Comatose’ Under $16K for Rest of 2020, While Ether Traffic Eases \|\| “Rogue FBI Agent” and Dark Web Expert to Address Southern California Cybersecurity Audience: West Coast CISOs, InfoSec Thought Leaders Gather Virtually for “SoCal” Summit LOS ANGELES, Oct. 12, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Data Connectors, representing the largest cybersecurity community in North America, continues its industry-leading series of Virtual Cybersecurity Summits through the remainder of the year, with its next stop in Southern California. The 2020 Southern California Virtual Cybersecurity Summit will take place this week over a two-day period, on Wednesday and Thursday, October 14 and 15, and is slated to allow the local community of cybersecurity professionals to gain insights and education regarding the latest updates and challenges in the industry, despite the continued effects of the COVID-19 crisis. Share the Story on Twitter via Click-to-Tweet: https://ctt.ac/N12Qn The two-day Summit will feature three keynote speakers, including former FBI Agent and current CISO EJ Hilbert and current respected industry analyst Michael Osterman on Wednesday, and Michael Mayes, a cybersecurity threat researcher on Thursday. Hilbert will recount his high-stakes experiences in his session, titled, “Confessions of a Rogue FBI Agent,” where he’ll talk about cases from that time, and walk through the scintillating story of his own travels, which led him to bring down the first major Russian CyberHacker, and later land him squarely in the crosshairs of an international spy thriller: corporate espionage, rogue agents, questionable officials and bad actors. “There’s so much to cover in the current cybersecurity climate now – we’re constantly surrounded by new and different threats. It’s more important than ever for us as a community to share our experiences and learn from each other,” Hilbert said. “Between the daily breaches on corporations and external threats on our national security, we need to come together and find solutions to keep our country safe.” Cybersecurity Threat Researcher At-Large Michael Mayes will be Thursday’s featured speaker, with his hour-long session titled “The Dark Web: A New Underground Economy.” Mayes has completed extensive research on the threats that live in the Dark Web, and will give insight into market innovation and activity, including the sale of COVID-19 drugs and supplies. Story continues “At no time in modern history have we faced a financial crisis like this one,” said Mayes. “Traditionally, underground markets thrive during times of economic instability, political upheaval, war or natural disaster. A combination of durable technology, Bitcoin price stability and economic necessity could usher in a golden age for darknet markets.” Michael Osterman, well-known industry analyst and author of numerous research papers on cybersecurity topics, will present a guest keynote on Wednesday afternoon. Osterman Research has conducted an in-depth study and produced a white paper on the cybersecurity skills shortage in 2020. At the Summit, Osterman will be presenting the results of that research, and taking live questions from the audience. The Summit will also feature industry expert presenters and virtual exhibits from cybersecurity solution providers, as well as live, topical Q&A sessions fielded by leading subject-matter experts. Key topics include how to build a comprehensive data protection strategy, handling remote work environments from a security perspective, and ransomware recovery. Data Connectors, which has conducted physical conferences since 1999, rapidly responded to the COVID-19 crisis, moving its full schedule of planned events online. The cybersecurity community has in turn responded to the opportunity: more than twice as many people have signed up for the virtual regional events than had registered to attend the previously scheduled in-person meetings. The Virtual Summit will also feature an interactive panel discussion on both days, with some of the top Chief Information Officers (CIOs) and Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) from organizations throughout Southern California and the surrounding areas. This week’s panelists include: Quinn Jones, CIO - Elite Sales Processing Donny Fan, CIO - APLA Health Michael Romanino, Head of Information Security - Blink Health Steven Ramirez, CISO - UofL Health Jake Bernstein, Attorney - Focal PLLC E.J. Hilbert, CISO & Founder, KCE Cyber Mohammed Bagha, CISO - Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors Attendees will ask questions and interact online with the CISOs, as well as each other and the organizations who will feature their solutions at the event. Solution providers at the Southern California Cybersecurity Summit include Cisco, Blackberry, Auth0 and more. The Summit will take place on Wednesday and Thursday, October 14-15, 2020 at 8:00 a.m. PT. Registration is free for qualified professionals, who can also obtain Continuing Professional Education (CPE) credits for participation. Data Connectors Virtual Cybersecurity Summits continue to focus on the local and regional requirements for cities such as Florida and Caribbean, St. Louis and Oklahoma, and the Great Lakes region. More information can be found at dataconnectors.com/socal About Data Connectors Since 1999, Data Connectors ( dataconnectors.com ) has facilitated the collaboration between cybersecurity professionals and solution providers. Today, the community comprises over 650,000 members and 250 active vendor partners. Members enjoy informative education from industry luminaries, innovative solution providers and government agencies such as the FBI, InfraGard, US Secret Service and the Department of Homeland Security. Data Connectors brings live conferences to cities across North America each year, and also provides interactions with the community via Virtual Summits, Web Briefings, and regular communications. Note to reporters: If you wish to attend these sessions at no charge, please contact Michael Hiskey, Chief Strategy Officer, at +1.636.778.9495 , or [email protected] . \|\| Amazon Fires Drone Delivery Staff In Dozens, Increasing Reliance On Partners To Meet Ambitious Goals: FT: Amazon.com, Inc(NASDAQ:AMZN) is retrenching workers engaged in research and development and manufacturing at its delivery drone project — instead, seeking external assistance in bringing its ambitious plans to fruition, the Financial TimesreportedWednesday. What Happened:Dozens of workers were laid-off by the Jeff Bezos-led company as it reached agreements with two external manufacturers in recent weeks to manufacture components parts of its delivery drones, according to FT. The agreements, full terms of which are yet to be finalized, were signed with Austria’s FACC Aerospace and Spain’s Aernnova Aerospace, a person familiar with the matter told FT. The retail giant is also looking at other external firms, according to FT. “As part of our regular business operations, we are [reorganizing] one small team within our larger Prime Air [organization] to allow us to best align with the needs of our customers and the business,” an Amazon spokesperson confirmed the layoffs to FT. The spokesperson said the company was “working to find roles in the areas where we are hiring that best match their experience and needs.” Why It Matters:Drone deliveries though revealed seven years ago by Bezos have yet not been fully deployed and are still “years away,” according to an unnamed source of FT. DroneAnalyst’s head of research David Benowitz said that Amazon is “not meeting the lofty goals and the original vision quite yet.” Walmart Inc(NYSE:WMT) is alreadyon its way to trial deliverieswith San Francisco, California-based firm Zipline. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration has received Part 135 certification to carry out highly-controlled testing but has not yet shared details of its trial plans. Price Action:Amazon shares closed 0.96% lower at $3,105.46 on Wednesday. Related Link:Flytrex Partners With Walmart To Bring Drone Delivery To North Carolina See more from Benzinga • Click here for options trades from Benzinga • Elon Musk Doles Out Advice To Maisie Williams On Whether She Should 'Go Long On Bitcoin' • Rivian Says All Its Electric Vehicles Will Now Come With Driver Assistance System © 2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| Who Is Better for Bitcoin, Trump or Biden?: In a chaotic year of dueling recriminations and very different visions of the future, the real question of this U.S. presidential election is: Who is better for bitcoin? For more episodes and free early access before our regular 3 p.m. Eastern time releases, subscribe with Apple Podcasts , Spotify , Pocketcasts , Google Podcasts , Castbox , Stitcher , RadioPublica , iHeartRadio or RSS . This episode is sponsored by Crypto.com and Nexo.io . Today on the Brief: The digital euro is closer than ever Checking in on European COVID-19 lockdowns Economic events this week that aren’t the election Our main discussion: Which U.S. election outcome is better for bitcoin? Related: First Mover: 11 Election Talking Points on Bitcoin as TRUMP Futures Point to Loss Poll: twitter.com/nlw/status/1320884275110137863 After a surprisingly close Twitter poll with more than 1,600 respondents answering the question “Is Trump or Biden better for bitcoin?”, NLW breaks down the most common themes, including: The Senate matters more Anti-encryption history And of course… Honey Badger Don’t Care See also: First Mover: Bitcoin Retreats Before US Election After Dominating Crypto in October Related: The Crypto Industry Remains Mostly Unengaged in Election 2020 For more episodes and free early access before our regular 3 p.m. Eastern time releases, subscribe with Apple Podcasts , Spotify , Pocketcasts , Google Podcasts , Castbox , Stitcher , RadioPublica , iHeartRadio or RSS . Related Stories Who Is Better for Bitcoin, Trump or Biden? Who Is Better for Bitcoin, Trump or Biden? \|\| Zcash Undergoes First Halving as Major Upgrade Drops ‘Founders Reward’: Four years after forking from Bitcoin, privacy-centric blockchain network Zcash has completed its first halving and rolled out a major upgrade that does away with the unpopular “Founders Reward.” At 12:37 UTC, Zcashpassed block height 1,046,400to trigger the event that cuts miners’ rewards from 6.25 ZEC to 3.125 ZEC. A miner reward reduction or “halving” event occurs when the block subsidy, generated from new coins mined, is divided by two. The coded-in event usually triggers every four years at particular block heights depending on the particular chain. Related:ShapeShift Delists Privacy Coin Zcash Over Regulatory Concerns Bitcoin had its third anti-inflationary halving back in March, and generally sees an increase after each subsequent halving event as supply is reduced. Zcash began its journey as a fork from the Bitcoin blockchain on Oct. 28, 2016. It takes a focus on providing better privacy for users through zero-knowledge cryptography dubbed zk-SNARKs and is developed by theElectric Coin Company(ECC). Such privacy features have been a money laundering concern for some regulators and policymakers. Earlier this month, Colorado-based cryptocurrency exchangeShapeshiftdelisted ZEC along with Monero (XMR) and Dash (DASH) – two other projects with added privacy – citing increased regulatory pressure. It’s not an issue for all trading platforms, though: Gemini, a cryptocurrency exchange regulated in New York, startedallowing users to withdraw zcashwith its anonymizing feature on in September. Related:Volume Surge Brings 25% Turnover to 'CoinDesk 20' “Zcash is the Bitcoin of privacy,” said Jehan Chu, co-founder and managing partner at Hong Kong-based blockchain investment and trading firm Kenetic. “The halving is not only a milestone event but an opportunity for traders to claw back some of the market share volume from privacy challengers like Monero.” Like Bitcoin, Zcash’s total supply has a hard cap of 21 million coins, a supply limit that is the polar opposite of the recent and unprecedented money printing by the world’s central banks, and is attracting investor interest as a result. “Fixed supply cryptocurrencies like zcash andbitcoinaren’t interesting because their issuance rate halves every four years,” said Ryan Watkins, research analyst at Messari. “They’re interesting because their issuance schedule is predictable and deterministic.” “What is likely far more interesting for Zcash is the activation of Canopy, its fifth network upgrade,” said Watkins. “The headline of this upgrade is the end of its Founders Reward and the beginning of its new development fund.” On Jan. 3, 2019, a community forum member known as mineZcash initiateda year-long discussionthat has now resulted in atrademark agreementand increased decentralization for Zcash within an all-new governance model that includes built-in funding for development. Previously, Zcash’s unpopularFounders Rewardmeant miners typically received 80% plus transaction fees for mining blocks. The remaining 20% of the reward was split among various parties including 9.85% to ECC founders, 2.2% to the Zcash Foundation, 5.75% to ECC itself and 2.2% to ECC employee compensation. This ended with the introduction ofCanopy. Following the upgrade, miners will continue to receive 80% of the block rewards, but the remaining 20% will be divided among the new Major Grants Fund (8%), ECC (7%) and the Zcash Foundation (5%). The Major Grants Fund will support development via “large-scale long-term projects (administered by the Zcash Foundation, with extra community input and scrutiny),” according to theZcash proposal. See also:Spiritual Reflections on the Bitcoin Halving Watkins noted that market participants were made aware “months ago” of Zcash’s halving and coinciding network upgrade, so it’s hard to see those events driving future value increases to the ZEC cryptocurrency. “Perhaps the halving at best may raise awareness of zcash, because of the publicity halvings usually get, but who knows.” At time of writing, ZEC was trading at about $63, down 3% over 24 hours, according toCoinGecko. Correction (Nov. 18, 14:18 UTC):Corrected error in headline that called the “Founders Fund” a “Founders Reward.” • Zcash Undergoes First Halving as Major Upgrade Drops ‘Founders Reward’ • Zcash Undergoes First Halving as Major Upgrade Drops ‘Founders Reward’ \|\| Grayscale sees more than $1 billion in new investments in Q3: Grayscale Investments, the world's largest digital currency asset manager, says it raised $1.05 billion for investment products during the third quarter of 2020 — the largest inflow of funds from investors a single quarter in Grayscale’s history. On Wednesday the firm released a comprehensive report detailing its latest investment activity. According to the report, the vast majority of its investments (81%) in the third quarter came from institutional investors. For all of 2020, Grayscale’s investments total $2.4 billion — double the total of $1.2 billion that has been invested in Grayscale products between 2013 and 2019. Grayscale Bitcoin Trust is one of the fastest-growing investment products, with inflows of $719.3 million in the third quarter. In total, the company had over $5.9 billion in managed assets as of Sept. 30, 2020. © 2020 The Block Crypto, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice. \|\| Spot Markets, Not Leverage, Fuel Bitcoin’s Price Rally Amid Mild Derivative Liquidations: Red-hot spot markets are primarily fueling bitcoin’s recent rally as the leading cryptocurrency trades at three-year highs around $15,500, suggesting the bull market may have room to continue. Unlike previously rallies, derivatives markets are playing a markedly less prominent role, demonstrated by mild liquidation volumes. The presence of derivatives in bitcoin’s ongoing rally is “muted in comparison to previous run-ups,” said Matt Kaye, managing partner at Santa Monica-based Blockhead Capital. Talking to CoinDesk, Kaye said, “The market is clearly spot-dominated, and it appears that most of the bidding is coming out of the U.S.,” continuing a trend CoinDesk reported in May . Related: Bitcoin's Rivalry With Gold Plus Millennial Interest Gives It 'Considerable' Upside Potential: JPMorgan On Thursday, BitMEX, a cryptocurrency derivatives exchange known for attracting unorthodox, high-leverage traders, reported $54 million in liquidated bitcoin futures contracts during the most recent rally, well below the still mild liquidation volume of $75 million reported on Oct. 21 when bitcoin reached then-new yearly highs, breaking above $13,000, according to Skew . Large liquidations might not happen until the leading cryptocurrency breaks above its all-time highs just below $20,000, said Kyle Davies, co-founder of Three Arrows Capital, in a direct message with CoinDesk. “Frankly, there’s not much leverage in the market now anyways,” he said. Significant price movements typically trigger large-scale liquidations in characteristically overleveraged cryptocurrency futures markets. But the mild liquidations throughout bitcoin’s recent rally signals that the typically prominent derivatives markets has taken a back seat and the spot market has the wheel. Read more: Bitcoin’s Rivalry With Gold Plus Millennial Interest Gives It ‘Considerable’ Upside Potential: JPMorgan Related: O(1) Labs Raises $10.9M More for Lightweight Mina Protocol Corroborating the quietness of derivatives markets amid bitcoin’s soaring price action is that less than $500 million in bitcoin futures positions had been liquidated in the past 24 hours, as of 14:35 UTC Friday, across seven leading trading platforms as bitcoin neared $16,000. The largest reported liquidation of $5.97 million happened on BitMEX, according to derivatives data aggregator Bybt . Regulatory troubles weathered by leading leveraged trading exchanges including BitMEX, OKEx and Huobi explain the subdued influence that derivatives markets play in bitcoin’s current rally, according to Davies. Story continues That liquidation volumes are low relative to bitcoin’s price movements could be an encouraging sign for bitcoin bulls, according to Aditya Das, cryptocurrency market analyst at Brave New Coin. “The quiet funding rate and relatively low number of liquidations could be read as a positive sign that this rally may have legs and is not close to overheating because of speculators,” he told CoinDesk in a direct message. The market could also be signaling that futures traders simply “missed out on the big move,” Das added. Related Stories Spot Markets, Not Leverage, Fuel Bitcoin’s Price Rally Amid Mild Derivative Liquidations Spot Markets, Not Leverage, Fuel Bitcoin’s Price Rally Amid Mild Derivative Liquidations View comments \|\| Blockchain Bites: CZ’s Exclusive Interview, California’s Souped-Up Regulator, Alt Season’s End?: California beefed up its financial regulator, Bitpanda closed a notable raise and some investors say “alt-season” is over. Brokerage raiseEuropean crypto brokerage Bitpanda hasraised a $52 million Series A led by Peter Thiel’sValar Ventures, to be put to use expanding the company’s payroll and adding a variety of products. Next year the Vienna-based firm intends to expand to “all kinds of asset classes” including stocks. In an interview, the firm’s co-founders told CoinDesk’s Leigh Cuen France, Spain and Turkey were among the fastest-growing crypto markets out of the roughly 34 countries the platform serves. Regulator reprisedCalifornia Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill on Friday thatincreases the scope of the state’s financial regulator.Renamed the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation, the agency is now equipped with “new tools to shape the regulation of virtual currency” and enhanced abilities to crack down on unlicensed or deceptive financial services and products. The new law will also create an Office of Financial Technology Innovation to engage with emerging financial products such as cryptocurrencies and a division to oversee markets. Related:First Mover: Binance CEO Sees Future in DeFi While Bitcoin Volatility Turns Minuscule Hard forkArtificial intelligence and data service Ocean Protocol hassuspended its old contract on the Ethereum blockchain and hard-forked its project,following the $150 million KuCoin hack. On Sunday at 22:00 UTC, Ocean Protocol announced it had migrated from its old token address to a new one to thwart the KuCoin hacker’s attempts to offload 21 million OCEAN tokens worth some $8.6 million. “Moving contract addresses has effectively blacklisted the hacker’s stash of OCEAN tokens. But it also raises questions of the project’s true immutability if the protocol can be effectively hard-forked in one weekend,” CoinDesk’s Will Foxley reports. Corporate statementCoinbase CEO Brian Armstrong published a blog Sunday calling the company “mission focused,” with theunderlying message that it won’t engage on political or social topicsoutside its domain of open finance. That said, employees are expected to pursue social activism in their own time. CoinDesk’s Paddy Baker reports the blog has “split the crypto industry straight down the middle,” with many commending the public stance while others deem it regressive. For instance, Boost VC’s Adam Draper said focusing on a “unified mission” was the only way to achieve its goals. Others in the Twitterverse have called the message out-of-touch, and a way to downplay issues that directly affect employees’ lives. Maker doubts?A class-action lawsuit alleging the Maker Foundation and others knowingly misrepresented the risks of investment has beensent to arbitration.The case centers around plaintiffs who claim to have incurred six-figure losses during the “Black Thursday” crash in mid-March and allegations that Maker’s stewards misrepresented the security and collateralization of the platform. TheDAIstablecoin is over-collateralized, they argue. In an order last Friday, Judge Maxine Chesney granted a motion by the Maker Foundation to refer the case to the American Arbitration Association as specified in a clause in the foundation’s terms of service. • Closing Decentralized Marketplace OpenBazaar Gets Lifeline(Jeff Benson/Decrypt) • Silvergate Bank: How Deep Is the Moat?(Matt Yamamoto/CoinDesk) • Binance CEO Sees Future in DeFi While Bitcoin Volatility Turns Minuscule(First Mover/CoinDesk) • Avalanche, the latest staking network to launch, already has more than $1 billion staked(John Dantoni/The Block) • MESE.io brings stock trading to the unbanked(Leo Jakobson/Modern Consensus) DeFi v. CeFiIn anexclusive CoinDesk interview,Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao said he fully expects decentralized finance (DeFi) to cannibalize his own crypto exchange. Related:Blockchain Bites: DeFi Meets NFTs, TSLA Beats Bitcoin in Volatility, Uniswap Breaks $2B “Our mission is not to build a CeFi exchange,” Zhao said in an interview with CoinDesk’s Muyao Shen, using a shorthand term for centralized finance. “Right now it is one of our larger businesses that support our growth. But over the long term, we want to push decentralization.” Zhao’s comments reflect the growing competition between centralized exchanges and their more community-driven alternatives. Faced with quick-moving projects that can iterate week to week, Zhao is tasked with evolving the world’s largest crypto exchange (by volume) to something that can meet the moment. At a micro-scale this battle played out between Uniswap, a venture-backed automated market maker (AMM), and its upstart clone Sushiswap, which features a governance token. As reported, Uniswap responded to the challenger by integrating its own governance token – a means to spreading the wealth among its community members. Uniswap is part of the DeFi ecosystem currently threatening exchanges like Binance, Huobi and Coinbase. In recent months, Binance has been targeting the DeFi ecosystem as a growth sector. “The company’s new foray into DeFi, Binance Smart Chain, attempts to replicate some of the features of the Ethereum blockchain that have proven fertile for developers building decentralized, blockchain-based trading and lending applications that theoretically could one day challenge traditional lenders and Wall Street trading firms,” Shen reported. But building decentralized systems is difficult. The Binance Smart Chain is run by only 21 nodes and the majority stakeholder of its native BNB tokens remains Binance. Zhao said this comparatively centralized structure was to better compete with Ethereum. “So in my mind, I’m never worried about the business model,” Zhao said. “I’m always much more worried about if we have users using the product. There’s always multiple options for business models, so the key is to build something that’s useful.” Alt-season?Some digital asset traders say they’ve beenrotating funds out of alternate cryptocurrencies(altcoins) into bitcoin (BTC) in anticipation of the leading cryptocurrency significantly outperforming the entire crypto market for at least the next several months. CoinDesk’s Zack Voell reports bitcoin is down so far in September, dropping more than 10%. Still, bitcoin became “under owned” during the DeFi craze, according to Kyle Davies, a prominent DeFi investor and co-founder of Three Arrows Capital, and likely correction is due to follow. Kevin Zhou, co-founder of San Francisco-based Galois Capital, outlined a similar theory. Latest testnetEthereum 2.0 developers have launched yet another testnet, this time to giveon-boarding stakers a dry run before the launch of Eth 2.0sometime this fall. The testnet, called Spadina, follows the official Ethereum Foundation’s Medalla testnet which launched in early August and will only be in use for the next three days while Eth 2.0 stakers practice joining the network with the testnet. “The main objective is to give us all another chance to go through one of the more difficult and risky parts of the process – deposits and genesis – before we reach mainnet,” Ethereum Foundation researcher Danny Ryan blogged. RethinkCoinDesk Executive Editor, Operations & Strategy Pete Pachal penned a response to Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong’srecent public statement and the division his “mission-focused” stance has stirred. “Armstrong’s position isn’t a message to Silicon Valley heavyweights to turn back the clock on employee “wokeness” – it’s an open letter to every other corporate leader, urging them to connect the dots between the political positions they might be taking and the central mission of their companies. And if the result is a picture they don’t like, rethink,” Pachal writes. Stability?Shiv Malik, author and head of growth at Streamr, thinkscrypto needs a euro-pegged stablecoin.The U.S.’ recent social and political upheavals are placing serious strain on the dollar’s future hegemony. “And if America is so precariously balanced between further prosperity and potential disaster, so, too, rests the fate of the U.S. dollar for the rest of the world. Just the issue of U.S. Treasury debt issuance alone has had professional money managers warning this month that the U.S.’s reserve currency status is under threat,” he writes. • Blockchain Bites: CZ’s Exclusive Interview, California’s Souped-Up Regulator, Alt Season’s End? • Blockchain Bites: CZ’s Exclusive Interview, California’s Souped-Up Regulator, Alt Season’s End? \|\| Get Paid Bitcoin To Shop At Kroger: Shoppers at the largest grocery chain in America can start earning Bitcoin for making their normal everyday purchases. Bitcoin prices have soared to the $16,000 level andsome analysts thinkit could be headed to $20,000. What Happened:America’s largest grocery chain and second largest general retailerThe Kroger Co(NYSE:KR) isofferinga new program to reward shoppers. The company partnered with Bitcoin exchange Lolli. Shoppers will earn up to 1.5% in Bitcoin back on grocery orders for pickup or delivery. Related Link:3 Small-Cap Bitcoin Stocks That Could Benefit From Square’s Purchase Why It’s Important:Lolli is a cryptocurrency startup thathas raised$5.4 million to launch a mobile app and expand internationally. Investors in Lolli include Ashton Kutcher, Ipsy co-founder and beauty entrepreneur Michelle Phan and a unit of Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund. Kroger could be doing this partnership to gain market share over rivals likeWalmart Inc(NYSE:WMT). The companyreportedsecond-quarter adjusted revenue up 14.6% year-over-year to $30.5 billion. Digital sales increased 127% year-over-year in the second quarter for Kroger. Benzinga’s Take:Stocks that have expanded their bitcoin offerings includeSquare Inc(NYSE:SQ) andPaypal Holdings(NASDAQ:PYPL). Kroger could have a winning partnership here to gain market share from customers who want to invest in Bitcoin and make their everyday purchases. See more from Benzinga • Click here for options trades from Benzinga • 130% Increase In Fuel Cell Units Deployed Drives Plug Power's Best Quarter Yet © 2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| TikTok Option: Simplifying Online Trading For Patrons: London, UK, Oct. 07, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Trading can be complicated in all its forms for beginners. It is difficult to know in which stocks and companies to invest in, what keys there are to guarantee and maximize returns, and when you do figure those out, the next moment of confusion rises on the question: How do you begin? What is the best platform? Luckily, TikTok Option puts all of those pressing questions to rest and traders at ease. TiktokOption provides users with a variety of intuitive trading platforms, with the option to trade via the web, mobile app or dedicated desktop app. TiktokOption created its own platform which is fully customisable and can be tailored to the needs of each client. This means that all features on offer from TiktokOption are easily integrated, whether the user is trading via a desktop or mobile device. About TikTok Option: TiktokOption began providing services to traders in and currently executes in excess of 1 million deals each month. The brand currently boasts 10000 customer accounts. The goal of TiktokOption is to deliver a completely transparent online trading experience. To achieve this, it provides its users with an intuitive trading platform and plenty of educational materials. Customer service is clearly a priority here, and the brand has over 100 account managers which focus on a range of different client needs. TiktokOption also pledges to deliver the fastest possible trading in the industry via its own dedicated platform. TiktokOption provides opportunities to trade in the following markets: CFDs Forex Shares Cryptocurrency Commodities Indices Benefits of TikTok Option: Low minimum deposit (just $10) Large maximum returns (up to 95% of winning trades) Intuitive platform which is easy to use for beginners Access via desktop and mobile apps Lots of educational materials to suit traders of all experience levels No commission on deposits and withdrawals Large bonuses (for Non-EU clients) Drawbacks of TikTok Option: US trading currently not accepted Short-term options Not regulated in Europe No MT4/MT5 support Story continues Spreads & Commission, Fees & Countries Accepted: TiktokOption charges a commission of 5% on any winning trades. When it comes to payouts, the brand can take up to 5% on winning trades, which is below the industry standard which can often be as high as 15%. TiktokOption is completely free to join and completely free to trade with, and it provides users with several different deposit/withdrawal methods. For Deposit: USDT BTC ETH Most payment methods are processed instantly. All deposits are commission-free. The minimum deposit is just $10. For Withdrawals: Withdrawals can also be made directly to a Bitcoin wallet. TiktokOption accepts traders from Thailand, Vietnam, South Africa, Hong Kong, India, Norway, Italy, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Luxembourg, Qatar and most other countries. Traders can not use TiktokOption from the United States. Demo Account: TiktokOption provides a demo account for its clients to hone their skills and explore the platform prior to investing any real money. Demo accounts come with a balance of $1,000 in virtual funds, and no registration is necessary to access the demo account. This is useful because many new users feel put off having to provide documentation and personal data simply to try out a demo account, and it means that the brand doesn’t have any personal contact data to pressure you into registering for a real account after experiencing the demo. Deals & Promotion: TiktokOption offers bonuses of up to 100% for new users, dependent on how much they initially deposit and the sort of account they choose. Some bonuses require a turnover of x50 the original stake prior to activation, and this can lock up the funds deposited until the user reaches the agreed-upon turnover volume. Regulation & Licensing: TiktokOption is currently licensed by the Financial Services Authority of St. Vincent and the Grenadines (SVGFSA). This is a governmental authority which allows the company to provide trading and financial services, which means that the brand can be trusted to be fair and transparent. Media Details Company: TikTok Option Email: [email protected] Website: https://tiktokoption.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/tiktokoption Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Tiktokoption [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] None available.	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 18642.23, 18370.00, 18364.12, 19107.46, 18732.12, 17150.62, 17108.40, 17717.41, 18177.48, 19625.84
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2020-09-04] BTC Price: 10511.81, BTC RSI: 38.19 Gold Price: 1923.90, Gold RSI: 47.74 Oil Price: 39.77, Oil RSI: 34.89 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] The Mounting Evidence of a New Bitcoin Bull Market: From positive price indicators to a new all time high in smallholder addresses, this is the evidence a new bull run might be starting. For more episodes and free early access before our regular 3 p.m. Eastern time releases, subscribe with Apple Podcasts , Spotify , Pocketcasts , Google Podcasts , Castbox , Stitcher , RadioPublica , iHeartRadio or RSS . This episode is sponsored by Crypto.com , Bitstamp and Nexo.io . Related: Bitcoin News Roundup for Aug. 10, 2020 This week’s Breakdown Weekly Recap is all about that vibe you’ve been feeling – that inescapable notion a new crypto bull market is afoot. See also: How Real Is Bitcoin’s Rally? 8 Interpretations of Bitcoin’s Massive Surge NLW looks at the evidence: Rising gold price Recirculation of crypto money out of zombie protocols New growth in small holder addresses Demand from emerging market p2p markets It’s just possible this new bitcoin bull market isn’t just starting to be seen in narratives, but is also showing up in numbers. This week on The Breakdown: Monday \| Rage Against the Economic Machine: The Best of the Breakdown July 2020 Related: How the Purpose of Public Markets Has Changed Tuesday \| Can Social Media Be Redeemed? Feat. Bobby Goodlatte Wednesday \| Hedgeye CEO Keith McCullough on Stagflation, Bitcoin and the Devalued Dollar Thursday \| The History, Present and Future of Central Banks, Feat. George Selgin Friday \| 11 Numbers That Tell the Story of the Economy Right Now For more episodes and free early access before our regular 3 p.m. Eastern time releases, subscribe with Apple Podcasts , Spotify , Pocketcasts , Google Podcasts , Castbox , Stitcher , RadioPublica , iHeartRadio or RSS . Related Stories The Mounting Evidence of a New Bitcoin Bull Market The Mounting Evidence of a New Bitcoin Bull Market \|\| Grayscale launches ad campaign, telling investors to move to digital currencies: Crypto asset manager Grayscale has launched a national advertising campaign, telling investors to move to digital currencies like bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH) via its products. The 30-second commercial shows how money has evolved over thousands of years, from shells and metals to fiat money, and that now "is the time for digital currency." Notably, the ad does not mention bitcoin at all, like Grayscale's previous "DropGold" campaign . A Grayscale spokesperson told The Block that the new ad is "focused on digital currencies and Grayscale brand not just one single digital currency like Bitcoin." The ad has first aired on CNBC, with MSNBC, FOX, and FOX Business set to follow next, according to Grayscale founder and CEO Barry Silbert. Grayscale provides crypto investment products, including Bitcoin and Ethereum Trusts, which help investors to take exposure in these assets without directly buying or storing them. Grayscale reported record inflows last month, raising $905.8 million across its suite of products in Q2, nearly doubling the amount from the previous quarter. Grayscale now manages $5.6 billion worth of total assets. © 2020 The Block Crypto, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice. \|\| MicroStrategy becomes first listed company to buy bitcoin as part of its capital allocation strategy: MicroStrategy, the Nasdaq-listed business intelligence company, has become the first publicly-traded company to buy bitcoin as part of its capital allocation strategy. The company announced on Tuesday that it has purchased 21,454 bitcoins (currently worth over $250 million). MicroStrategy first revealed its plan to buy bitcoin as a way to avoid inflation on July 28. “Our investment in Bitcoin is part of our new capital allocation strategy, which seeks to maximize long-term value for our shareholders,” said MicroStrategy CEO Michael J. Saylor. “This investment reflects our belief that Bitcoin, as the world’s most widely-adopted cryptocurrency, is a dependable store of value and an attractive investment asset with more long-term appreciation potential than holding cash.” It is not clear whether MicroStrategy bought the bitcoins via a crypto exchange or an over-the-counter (OTC) trading desk, and where these bitcoins are held. A MicroStrategy spokesperson declined to provide details, telling The Block: "We don't share the logistics involved in making our BTC transactions." MicroStrategy's stock is trading up by more than 5% during pre-market hours. Update: This story has been updated to include comment from a MicroStrategy spokesperson. © 2020 The Block Crypto, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice. \|\| Ethereum-Based MadNetwork Aims to Clean Up Advertising’s ‘Programmatic Cesspool’: There’s a joke in the world of digital advertising: How many companies does it take to put an ad on a website? In fact, there can be as many as 15 intermediaries participating in this opaque process, sponging up around 30% of the advertising spend. To fix this broken system, the next generation of adtech specialists are again pinning their hopes on blockchain technology. Announced Thursday,MadNetwork, a permissioned layer running on top of Ethereum while using the public blockchain itself as its immutable system of record, emerges from stealth with a testnet coming next month. Related:First Mover: Wacky Bitcoin-to-DeFi Crypto Markets Might Be New Home of Capitalism Adtech providerMadHiveand advertising industry consortiumAdLedgerhad previously piloted an entire system of data sharing and accounting on Ethereum, but over the past couple of years they decided a Layer 2 approach was needed in order to scale. Blockchain is often used to help automate manual or paper-based processes, but in the case of advertising, it’s the system of automation itself that’s the problem. The first iteration of hastily-erected programmatic web advertising – a mish-mash of servers and accounting platforms – has led to a black box riddled with fees and inconsistencies. The time is right for blockchain transparency to cut through the Gordian Knot of programmatic advertising, particularly as traditional broadcast television makes the transition to the world of connected devices, said MadNetwork project lead Adam Helfgott. “An NBC or a Fox can’t really afford to lose 30% of their television media revenue into this like programmatic cesspool,” said Helfgott. “These legacy media companies are used to having a very clean transaction, and not all this black-boxy programmatic stuff in the middle.” Related:Bitcoin Has Lost Its Way: Here’s How to Return to Crypto’s Subversive Roots The AdLedger blockchain consortium, of which MadHive is a member, includes some heavyweight media players such as Viacom, Publicis Media, Hearst Television, IPG Mediabrands, Hershey and also IBM. (Back in 2018, AdLedger dida pilot with IBM, which committed some advertising budget to a system running on Big Blue’s preferred blockchain, Hyperledger Fabric.) Read more:IBM-Backed Blockchain Trial Takes Aim at Advertising’s Middlemen As well as clarifying where intermediary systems impinge, MadNetwork’s blockchain also helps provide insights into the programmatic supply chain in the era of oncoming data privacy regulation, said Christiana Cacciapuoti, a MadNetwork business strategy advisor and the executive director of AdLedger. “We are seeing a greater demand for insights into which data is going to which players and from which consumers, and who got that consent and how it’s being passed around,” said Cacciapuoti. “Just as that [blockchain-based] system of accounting can track the transfer of dollars and the business-outcome angle, it can also track data transfer and take account of privacy angles.” The revamped Layer 2 solution on Ethereum uses the public mainnet as a “touchpoint of truth,” said Helfgott, likening it to theBaseline Protocolbuilt by John Wolpert of ConsenSys and Paul Brody of EY. The deployment of nodes is handled by “nodes as a service” providerBlockdaemon, a close partner of MadHive, Helfgott added. Read more:Microsoft, EY and ConsenSys Tout New Way for Big Biz to Use Public Ethereum In terms of the roadmap, Cacciapuoti said: “We are looking at around Sept. 1 for publicly launching our testnet, and then mainnet in Q4.” In the not too distant future, it’s inevitable that most people will be watching TV via IP-delivered video, said Helfgott. “Unless a company like MadHive and MadNetwork steps in, it’s inevitable that we’ll run over the mobile media infrastructure that exists today, that Google kind of owns,” he said. “Adtech paid for the internet to be built out by Google, and now we kind of see adtech paying for blockchain to be built out at scale.” • Ethereum-Based MadNetwork Aims to Clean Up Advertising’s ‘Programmatic Cesspool’ • Ethereum-Based MadNetwork Aims to Clean Up Advertising’s ‘Programmatic Cesspool’ \|\| Latest Ethereum price and analysis (ETH to USD): Ethereum continues to demonstrate a bullish trajectory following a staggering 65.78% rally to the upside over the past three weeks. Spurred by the rise in popularity of DeFi projects, Ethereum has re-emerged as an industry-leading smart contracts provider, with companies often opting to launch new tokens on the Ethereum blockchain. As a result, interest in Ethereum from both institutional and retail investors has risen significantly with daily trade volume hitting a 10-week high of $20 billion on August 2. At the time of writing Ethereum is trading at $391 following a failed attempt at breaking above the critical level of resistance at $400. While the rejection from $400 can be perceived as being bearish, the fact that Ethereum is continuing to trade above 2019’s high of $367 indicates just how strong this rally is from a macro perspective. If Ethereum can begin to close daily and weekly candles above the $440 region it would almost certainly trigger bullish continuation to the upside, with potential price targets emerging at $515 and $624. This would have a profound impact on the rest of the cryptocurrency markets as it would likely drag Bitcoin, which is currently trading at $11,720, up along with it. When analysing the ETH/BTC trading pair it is clear to see that Ethereum has spearheaded this recent rally in terms of USD value, with the world’s second largest cryptocurrency by market cap making a 96.9% gain against Bitcoin since the turn of the year. For more news, guides and cryptocurrency analysis, click here . About Ethereum Ethereum was launched by Vitalik Buterin on July 30 2015. He was a researcher and programmer working on Bitcoin Magazine and he initially wrote a whitepaper in 2013 describing Ethereum. Buterin had proposed that Bitcoin needed a scripting language. He decided to develop a new platform with a more general scripting language when he couldn’t get buy-in to his proposal. More Ethereum news and information If you want to find out more information about Ethereum or cryptocurrencies in general, then use the search box at the top of this page. Please check the below article: Story continues https://coinrivet.com/ethereum-adopts-erc-1155-as-an-official-standard/ As with any investment, it pays to do some homework before you part with your money. The prices of cryptocurrencies are volatile and go up and down quickly. This page is not recommending a particular currency or whether you should invest or not. You may be interested in our range of cryptocurrency guides along with the latest cryptocurrency news . Disclaimer: This is not financial advice. \|\| Elon Musk, Kim Kardashian, Kanye West, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden's Twitter Accounts Got Hacked: Scammers targeted some of the biggest names on Twitter to try and get some cash. Entertainment Tonight reports that former President Barack Obama , Elon Musk, Bill Gates, Joe Biden, Kim Kardashian West , and Kanye West are among just a few of the names that were hacked. Twitter users may have noticed a few of their favorite accounts were posting strange messages about Bitcoin, urging users to donate cryptocurrency. Apple and Uber were also impacted. The tweets generally began with a similar message, stating that the individual wanted to give "back to the community" before sharing a Bitcoin wallet address. The tweets went on to tell users they would double the amounts that they sent in. "I'm feeling generous because of Covid-19," a now-deleted tweet from Musk's account read. "I'll double any BTC payment sent to my BTC address for the next hour. Good luck, and stay safe out there!" RELATED: Kanye West Has Reportedly Dropped Out of the Running for President in 2020 Twitter Support addressed the issue, saying that that it is "aware of a security incident impacting accounts on Twitter. We are investigating and taking steps to fix it. We will update everyone shortly." We are aware of a security incident impacting accounts on Twitter. We are investigating and taking steps to fix it. We will update everyone shortly. Twitter Support (@TwitterSupport) July 15, 2020 BuzzFeed reports that even two-factor authentication wasn't enough to keep hackers out. Cryptocurrency publication CoinDesk had its account hacked and noted that a number of the affected accounts had two-factor security enabled. RELATED: People Are Calling Kim Kardashian and Kanye West Out for Their Insensitive Posts Previous cryptocurrency scams BuzzFeed notes that similar issues been around for more than two years have tried to mimic verified Twitter users. Today's attack didn't create new accounts with similar handles, avatars, and cover photos. Instead, the unknown hacker managed to get access into real accounts The initial scam tweet promoting the giveaway appeared on Musks account, which has nearly 37 million followers, at 1:17 p.m. PDT. His account posted at least three tweets from the hacker. Story continues "Twitter locked down the account immediately following the breach and removed the related tweet," a campaign spokesperson for Joe Biden told BuzzFeed News. "We remain in touch with Twitter on the matter." BuzzFeed notes that the website that was connected to the scam was created this morning, at 10:36 a.m. PDT. It was down before Musk's tweet went live. "The current financial system is outdated and COVID-19 has made serious damage to the traditional economy ,To help in these hard times For COVID19 Huobi, Kucoin, Kraken, Gemini, Binance, Coinbase & Trezor are partnered to give back to the community," the now-deleted site read, adding that it was promoting the hashtag #cryptoagainstcovid. \|\| First Mover: Kyber CEO Predicts 2020 Transactions at $3B as DeFi Token Soars: The fast-growing realm of decentralized finance, known as DeFi, has produced some of the year’s richest returns for cryptocurrency investors, from Compound’s COMP tokens to Chainlink’s LINK. So it may come as little surprise tthe Kyber Network’s KNC token has jumped eight-fold in price this year, giving it the largest market capitalization among decentralized exchanges tracked by the data firm Messari. You’re readingFirst Mover, CoinDesk’s daily markets newsletter. Assembled by the CoinDesk Markets Team, First Mover starts your day with the most up-to-date sentiment around crypto markets, which of course never close, putting in context every wild swing in bitcoin and more. We follow the money so you don’t have to. You cansubscribe here. Related:How the Purpose of Public Markets Has Changed First Mover interviewed Kyber CEO Loi Luu about the project, including its July 7 launch of the KyberDAO governance platform. Luu says some 30% of the circulating supply of KNC tokens are staked on the platform, which he argues is evidence that “holders want to get behind it.” First Mover: How would you explain Kyber to the uninitiated? The short version is to say it’s a liquidity protocol for anybody, anywhere. The longer version of it is we’re building an on-chain liquidity endpoint in which contributors integrate to either contribute liquidity or utilize liquidity.So why has the KNC token done so well this year? People look at the growth of Kyber, and people look at the ecosystem that we’re building. I think so far we have one of the biggest ecosystems in this space. We have more than 100 different applications, wallets, that have integrated with Kyber. We have surpassed $1 billion of volume in 2020 and we are looking to cross $3 billion before the end of the year. Whether the token can do well or not, it really depends on how the protocol is performing. Related:Blockchain Bites: Goldman's Hire, Ether's Options, Bitcoin's Patronage Do you think there’s any speculation in the KNC token related to future Kyber developments? Honestly, I think there’s going to be speculation for any token, so it’s not only for KNC. If you ask me, that’s true for every token. What is the importance of liquidity in this ecosystem? In finance, liquidity is the key. We are working closely with the DeFi community. For example, an asset management protocol from time to time, they need to rebalance their portfolio. So they need to do a lot of on-chain trading from one asset to another. And that’s where Kyber can come in, because they can do everything on-chain. What advantage does Kyber have by being on-chain? I emphasize a lot on the on-chain aspect because everything Kyber does runs on the smart contract, on the blockchain. It’s important to run everything on-chain so it is smart contract talking to smart contract. Everything is trustless that way. There is no centralized custodian. How do you feel about this year’s boom in DeFi? Currently we are seeing a lot of experiments happening in the DeFi ecosystem, from liquidity mining, from bootstrapping adoption of a protocol and things like that. I think this is good that there are a lot of things happening. We’ve also started seeing a lot of new projects that have nothing to do with DeFi also branded as DeFi to get some hype. So I think there’s definitely some hype, but compared with the ICO boom in 2017, it’s nowhere close. We’re not seeing retail get into the DeFi hype. We’re not seeing people talking about DeFi in the mainstream. DeFi is built on Ethereum, but there are constraints on that protocol, especially right now. How are you feeling about that today? I think it really worries us. The gas prices, or fees to use Ethereum, are still very high. So we are actively looking at different layer-2 protocols to see which one that we should work with. For end users, they can’t pay $5 to $10 everytime they use a decentralized protocol. There must be a cheaper and more efficient way to use decentralized applications every day. BTC: Price: $11,775 (BPI) \| 24-Hr High: $11,924 \| 24-Hr Low: $11,662 Trend: Bitcoin’s price action of the last 24 hours is telling a tale of indecision and hinting at price pullback. The top cryptocurrency by market value jumped to highs above $11,900 during Thursday’s U.S. trading hours, extending the recovery from Sunday’s low of $10,659. However, further gains remained elusive and the cryptocurrency ended the day (UTC) on a flat note at $11,770. Put simply, the day began with optimism but ended on a pessimistic note, with buyers failing to keep prices at highs above $11,900. The bulls had made another failed attempt to scale that level early on Friday. This type of price action after a notable recovery rally and near multi-month highs is indicative of indecision among bulls (uptrend fatigue) and often precedes pullbacks. The immediate support is located at $11,575 (Thursday’s low), which, if breached, would open the doors for $11,000. On the higher side, an hourly close above $11,900 would imply a continuation of the recovery rally and shift the focus to recent highs above $12,100. At press time, the cryptocurrency is trading below $11,800, representing slight losses on the day. • First Mover: Kyber CEO Predicts 2020 Transactions at $3B as DeFi Token Soars • First Mover: Kyber CEO Predicts 2020 Transactions at $3B as DeFi Token Soars \|\| Bitmain delays AntMiner shipments amid ongoing battle between co-founders: Bitcoin miner manufacturer Bitmain has delayed shipments by three months as its co-founders, Jihan Wu and Micree Zhan Ketuan, continue to fight for control of the company. The official WeChat account of Bitmain's AntMiner brandpostedthe news on Thursday, saying that "external interference over the company's management" has caused the delay. Wu's teamreportedlycontrols the WeChat account.Customers whose orders were due in June and July will have to wait until September and October. To compensate delays, Bitmain is offering two options to its customers, or bitcoin miners. First, cash coupons equivalent to theoretical mining revenue between now and the actual delivery date. Those coupons could be used to pay for future orders. The second option is refunds, provided miners don't receive their shipments 60 days after their written notice to Bitmain. Thomas Heller, global business director at bitcoin mining pool F2Pool,suggestedminers to shift to machines from Bitmain rivals MicroBT and Canaan. © 2020 The Block Crypto, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice. \|\| Attempted 51% Attack on Bitcoin Gold Was Thwarted, Developers Say: Bitcoin gold’s developer team announced Friday night that it foiled a 51 percent attack that it had known was coming for over a week. • Bitcoin gold alerted exchanges and mining pools of the attack on July 2, and posted a notice to the community on July 10 noting that it was time for “everyone else to upgrade their nodes.” • The team only revealed the attempted network takeover to the public after the unknown attacker, which had been mining blocks since July 1, released 1300 blocks late Friday night. • Developers had circulated an update that featured a checkpoint at block 640650 on July 2. That checkpoint prevented the attacker’s chain from taking over the honest chain, they said Friday. • “The majority of honest pool hashpower continues to mine on the honest chain,” website maintainer CryptoDJ saidin the post. • According to the cryptocurrency’sofficial website, there are only 108 bitcoin gold nodes which are in the world. Nearly 30% of them are in Germany. Bitcoin Gold communications director Edward Iskra told CoinDesk that these only represent immediately responsive nodes, and not ones that don’t allow incoming connections. • The price seems to have been unaffected by the attempted attack, trading between $9 and $10 since Tuesday, according to Bitfinex UPDATE (July 11, 2020, 04:23 UTC):This article has been updated with additional information. • Attempted 51% Attack on Bitcoin Gold Was Thwarted, Developers Say • Attempted 51% Attack on Bitcoin Gold Was Thwarted, Developers Say • Attempted 51% Attack on Bitcoin Gold Was Thwarted, Developers Say • Attempted 51% Attack on Bitcoin Gold Was Thwarted, Developers Say \|\| Venezuelans Look to Crypto Dollars for Financial Security: Alejandro Machado is a co-founder of the Open Money Initiative, a non-profit research organization working to guarantee the right to a free and open financial system. He heads research efforts at Valiu, a crypto startup that serves Venezuelans. Venezuela is dollarizing: About 64% of transactions in the country take place in U.S. dollars now. The majority of these are cash transactions, as local banks dont offer dollar checking or savings accounts for the masses. As a result, Venezuelans have to handle two kinds of suboptimal money: digital bolivars that quickly lose their value, and physical dollars that are dangerous to store in one of the worlds most crime-ridden countries. In theory, crypto-dollars should fill this space, and dollar-stable assets that anyone can hold have seen a demand spike in the last few months , even if so far the global trend is only beginning to take hold in Venezuela. Related: What the Fed's New Inflation Policy Means for Stablecoins See also: Chainalysis Report Shows Healthy Crypto Usage in Venezuela Bitcoin day traders dont want to be exposed to the assets overnight volatility, so they convert their working capital to tether , the leading stablecoin. Forex traders with bank accounts in Panama or the U.S. are beginning to trade dollars in the banking systems of those countries for USDC (another stablecoin) in private WhatsApp groups. And platforms like Binance P2P have just added support for the bolivar, allowing people to trade them for BUSD directly. Cryptocurrency startups have mostly attracted two kinds of users: traders and technology enthusiasts, but no company has yet made a convincing case for regular people neither traders nor the especially tech-savvy to use these assets as money. Given Venezuelas unique circumstances, the stage is set for this to change. What makes crypto-dollarization so powerful? Inclusion. Related: Mr. Powell, If You Want Higher Inflation, Give People Money Story continues Valiu , the company where I work as Head of Research, offers a mobile app where any Venezuelan can hold a digital dollar balance that can be converted, with one tap, to bolivars, leveraging the growing trading ecosystem without showing this complexity to the user. Little do most people know, and little do they care, that these dollar balances are crypto dollars: assets backed by bitcoin and derivatives that are liquid enough to be readily converted to assets that people already recognize as money. What makes crypto dollarization so powerful? Inclusion. It is estimated some 20% of dollar transactions in Venezuela go through platforms such as Zelle that require a U.S. bank account to sign up and that in turn require a passport, a visa, a flight ticket and an arbitrary approval by a bank officer. See also: A Rare Glimpse Into How Crypto Is Really Used in Venezuela Most U.S. banks dont need Venezuelan customers to thrive, so they have been shutting down their accounts . This places an artificial limit to the growth, and even the maintenance, of digital dollar accounts that depend on traditional financial institutions. Accounts that are powered by cryptocurrency, and that are supported by dedicated firms, can be made to have much fewer user-facing requirements. A smartphone may be the only physical equipment a person needs to get an account. As an industry, we need to target specific populations and get to the point where the technology changes lives. Through our research at the Open Money Initiative and Valiu, we have learned a few insights specific to the region that we want to serve. First, people trust mobile apps more than web sites for their finances (and many, many people arent even aware their phone has a browser their whole digital world is the Google Play Store). See also: Nic Carter Policymakers Shouldnt Fear Digital Money: So Far Its Maintaining the Dollars Status Second, its important to prioritize support for low-end devices and reliability under low connectivity. This is how WhatsApp won over the worlds communication, and this is how the worlds most inclusive financial app will win, too. And third, regular people do want to trust a branded entity with their money. Unfortunately, bitcoin is currently not the best brand. Many associate it with the petro the unpopular Maduro-issued cryptocurrency after countless state TV mentions. Most dont want trustless systems . They want greater choice as to whom they trust. Most important: Only assets and technology that dont need to be explained can really earn the trust needed for mass adoption. If you have to explain it, its not money. Related Stories Venezuelans Look to Crypto Dollars for Financial Security Venezuelans Look to Crypto Dollars for Financial Security [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] None available.	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 10169.57, 10280.35, 10369.56, 10131.52, 10242.35, 10363.14, 10400.92, 10442.17, 10323.76, 10680.84
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2021-06-29] BTC Price: 35867.78, BTC RSI: 49.43 Gold Price: 1762.80, Gold RSI: 30.69 Oil Price: 72.98, Oil RSI: 64.31 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Central bank digital cash will complement cryptos: analysts: By Divya Chowdhury (Reuters) - Central bank digital currencies will complement cryptocurrencies rather than competing with them despite not being structurally different from their country's fiat currencies, strategists and fund managers said. Around 90% of the world's central banks are now working on their own digital currencies, some of which may be issued in the next three years, a January survey from the Bank for International Settlements showed. Central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) "are structurally no different than fiat, and they are very much complementary to crypto, not competitive," Meltem Demirors, chief strategy officer at CoinShares, Europe's largest digital asset investment firm managing $5 billion. The interview was part of a series on digital currencies run on the Reuters Global Markets Forum over the past week. Kevin Kelly, head of global macro strategy at digital asset research firm Delphi Digital, said he expected CBDCs to improve traditional monetary systems via easier transmission of fiscal policy, while aiding crypto markets by bridging the gap between fiat and decentralized finance (DeFi). CBDCs will likely provide the preferred means for making digital payments without killing existing tokens, said Vytautas Zabulis, managing director at digital asset trading solutions company H-Finance. "I see this as a cleaning up of all the ones that are not actually necessary in the market," Zabulis said. Countries with less mature financial systems will be able to use CBDCs as more efficient payment and storage mechanisms, said Georgia Quinn, general counsel of digital asset bank and custodian Anchorage Digital. Bitcoin's value lies in its limited supply in comparison to the U.S. Federal Reserve's pledge to continue printing and spending more U.S. dollars, Demirors said. "In the last 18 months, the Fed has printed 40% of all dollars in circulation (which) means you own value subject to the monetary and fiscal policies of the U.S. government," she added. Graphic: Central bank digital currencies across the world: https://graphics.reuters.com/CRYPTO-CURRENCY/CBDC-GMF/xlbpgkdkapq/chart.png Story continues However, analysts said, it was still possible that nations would promote their own CBDCs and sideline cryptocurrencies. "Could the United States government create its own U.S. digital currency and say we believe in crypto, but only this crypto? Sure, I think that could absolutely happen," said Todd Cipperman, managing principal at Cipperman Compliance Services. Everett Millman, a cryptocurrency and precious metals analyst at Gainesville Coins Inc., said as long as there is interoperability between CBDCs and existing infrastructure of cryptos, there will be a middle ground where both can coexist. Some central banks, including the Reserve Bank of Australia, are exploring the development of tokenised forms of CBDCs on an Ethereum-based platform. (These interviews were conducted in the Reuters Global Markets Forum, a chat room hosted on the Refinitiv Messenger platform. Sign up here to join GMF: https://refini.tv/33uoFoQ) (Reporting by Divya Chowdhury in Mumbai, Aaron Saldanha, Lisa Pauline Mattackal and Supriya Rangarajan in Bengaluru; Editing by Vidya Ranganathan and Kim Coghill) \|\| Bitcoin wipes out 2021 gains after sinking under $30,000: Bitcoin Bitcoin has wiped out all its gains from the start of the year, falling below $30,000 (£21,557) for the first time since the beginning of January as a rout of the cryptocurrency gathered pace on Tuesday. The digital coin lost a tenth of its value in early trading, falling as low as $28,990 to a level last touched on December 30, before recovering to be just over $32,000. Trading volumes increased 15pc and speculators went on a selling spree, according to data from Coinmarketcap. Jitters spread across other digital currencies with falls across all coins of 6.5pc. Ethereum, the second-biggest digital coin, suffered a 5.7pc decline. Simon Peters, an analyst at eToro, said: The primary reason for the sell-off has been the crackdown in China on mining operations and banking services . Chinese regulators and its central bank have launched a sweeping crackdown against digital coin companies . Bitcoin mining companies, which use banks of computer processors to power the calculations that run the digital coin, have been banned in the country, forcing miners to abandon their operations. China accounted for the majority of the worlds Bitcoin mining last year. The Peoples Bank of China has also ordered banks to stop trading, clearing and settlement of digital coin transactions, it said on Monday. Payment apps, such as Alipay, said they would step up monitoring for illegal cryptocurrency transactions. Bitcoin has lost more than half its value since a buying frenzy sent it above $60,000 in April. The spike followed support from cryptocurrency enthusiasts such as Elon Musk, who said Tesla would use the digital coin for payments. Companies such as Uber, PayPal and Visa also said they would support cryptocurrency. However, Mr Musk said last month that Tesla would no longer accept Bitcoin over environmental concerns about its power use and carbon footprint. UK banks have also hardened their stance on cryptocurrency. TSB is planning to ban crypto purchases from sites with high rates of fraud, while Starling Bank has banned all payments to cryptocurrency exchanges . Shares linked to digital coin prices have also suffered this week. Coinbase, the US cryptocurrency app, fell 3pc on Nasdaq on Tuesday and its shares have slumped by a third since it listed in April. Shares in London-listed Bitcoin mining company Argo Blockchain fell 2.2pc. \|\| Marathon Signals for Taproot: Marathon’s Mining Pool, MaraPool, To Cease Filtering Transactions LAS VEGAS, May 31, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Marathon Digital Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: MARA ) ("Marathon" or "Company") , one of the largest enterprise Bitcoin self-mining companies in North America, announced that the Company’s Bitcoin mining pool, MaraPool, has adopted and implemented Bitcoin Core version 0.21.1. Bitcoin Core version 0.21.1 is the latest update to the Bitcoin client software, which is maintained and updated by a large open-source developer community that collaborates to launch new features and fixes. This latest update contains a variety of features, including the Taproot soft fork, which are designed to improve privacy, improve scalability, and lay the groundwork for future enhancements to Bitcoin’s functionality. According to the official release from Bitcoin Core : “If activated, these improvements will allow users of single-signature scripts, multisignature scripts, and complex contracts to all use identical-appearing commitments that enhance their privacy and the fungibility of all bitcoins. Spenders will enjoy lower fees and the ability to resolve many multisig scripts and complex contracts with the same efficiency, low fees, and large anonymity set as single-sig users. Taproot and schnorr also include efficiency improvements for full nodes such as the ability to batch signature verification. Together, the improvements lay the groundwork for future potential upgrades that may improve efficiency, privacy, and fungibility further.” Marathon will adopt the update without modification. As a result, Marathon’s mining pool, MaraPool, will no longer filter transactions. Once the update is complete, the pool will begin validating transactions in a manner consistent with all other miners who use the standard node. “Marathon is committed to the core tenets of the Bitcoin community, including decentralization, inclusion, and no censorship,” said Fred Thiel, Marathon’s CEO. “Over the coming week, we will be updating all our miners to the full standard Bitcoin core 0.21.1 node, including support for Taproot. By adopting the full standard Bitcoin core node, we will be validating transactions on the blockchain in the exact same way as all other miners who use the standard node. We look forward to continue being a collaborative and supportive member of the Bitcoin community and to realizing the vision of Bitcoin as the first decentralized, peer-to-peer payment network that is powered by its users rather than a central authority or middlemen.” Story continues To hear a full statement on Bitcoin Core version 0.21.1 from Fred Thiel, Marathon’s CEO, please click here: Statement Investor Notice Investing in our securities involves a high degree of risk. Before making an investment decision, you should carefully consider the risks, uncertainties and forward-looking statements described under "Risk Factors" in Item 1A of our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020. If any of these risks were to occur, our business, financial condition or results of operations would likely suffer. In that event, the value of our securities could decline and you could lose part or all of your investment. The risks and uncertainties we describe are not the only ones facing us. Additional risks not presently known to us or that we currently deem immaterial may also impair our business operations. In addition, our past financial performance may not be a reliable indicator of future performance, and historical trends should not be used to anticipate results in the future. Future changes in the network-wide mining difficulty rate or Bitcoin hashrate may also materially affect the future performance of Marathon's production of Bitcoin. Additionally, all discussions of financial metrics assume mining difficulty rates as of June 2021. See "Safe Harbor" below. Forward-Looking Statements Statements made in this press release include forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as “may,” “will,” “plan,” “should,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “continue,” or comparable terminology. Such forward-looking statements are inherently subject to certain risks, trends and uncertainties, many of which the Company cannot predict with accuracy and some of which the Company might not even anticipate and involve factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those projected or suggested. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements and are advised to consider the factors listed above together with the additional factors under the heading “Risk Factors” in the Company's Annual Reports on Form 10-K, as may be supplemented or amended by the Company's Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. The Company assumes no obligation to update or supplement forward-looking statements that become untrue because of subsequent events, new information or otherwise. About NYDIG NYDIG is a leading technology and financial services firm dedicated to Bitcoin. The firm and its subsidiaries provide institutional investment, brokerage, treasury, and technology solutions to institutions, banks, and private clients, including insured custody, execution, asset management, financing, and research. NYDIG was founded in 2017 as the digital asset subsidiary of Stone Ridge Holdings Group, owner of a $10B+ alternatives asset manager in New York. NYDIG meets the industry’s highest regulatory, audit, and governance standards, and the firm’s subsidiaries hold both a BitLicense and a limited purpose trust charter from the New York State Department of Financial Services. For more information, visit www.nydig.com . About Marathon Digital Holdings Marathon is a digital asset technology company that mines cryptocurrencies with a focus on the blockchain ecosystem and the generation of digital assets. Marathon Digital Holdings Company Contact: Jason Assad Telephone: 678-570-6791 Email: [email protected] Marathon Digital Holdings Investor Contact: Gateway Investor Relations Matt Glover and Charlie Schumacher Telephone: 949-574-3860 Email: [email protected] \|\| Bitcoin Drops, Stocks Rally Ahead of Biden’s Budget Announcement: Bitcoinis nursing losses on Friday despite hopes of more inflation-boosting U.S. stimulus to come. On Friday, President Joe Biden is set to release his first full budget, seeking $6 trillion in federal spending for the fiscal year 2022 and $8.2 trillion by 2021,The New York Times reports. The proposal shows the Biden administration remains undeterred byrecent inflation fearsand is unlikely to close the liquidity tap anytime soon, having already pumped trillions of dollars into the system to counter the economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic since March 2020. Related:Market Wrap: Bitcoin Slides to $35K, ETH to $2.4K on Biden, Environmental Bearishness That’s potentially a bullish development for bitcoin, which is widely touted as digital gold. However, the leading cryptocurrency is changing hands near $35,800 at press time, representing a 7% drop on the day. The decline comes a day after buyers failed to establish a foothold above the $40,000 mark. However, the prospect of more liquidity is pushing stocks higher. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index is trading 0.43% higher at new record highs above 445 points, according toInvesting.com. Futures tied to the S&P 500 are also hinting at a positive start to trading on Friday with a 0.5% gain. Bitcoin’s adverse reaction to talk of more stimulus appears confounding, given it rallied from $5,000 to over $60,000 in the past 12 months, alongside a steady rise in the U.S. 10-year breakeven rate, the bond market’s forecast of long-term price pressures. The cryptocurrency has received validation as an inflation hedge from Wall Street bigwigs and several listed companies. “Personally, I’d rather have bitcoin than a bond,” in an inflationary scenario, Bridgewater Associates founderRay Dalio saidduring an hour-long conversation with CoinDesk Chief Content Officer Michael J. Casey earlier this week during Consensus 2021. Related:Has COVID-19 Made Biden’s Big Spending the New Normal? Increasing concerns about the environmental impact of cryptocurrency mining and China’srecent regulatory announcementscould be keeping buyers at bay. “Retail appears to be slowing down while regulatory concerns and ESG FUD [fear, uncertainty and doubt] from China has taken center stage,” Matthew Dibb, co-founder, and COO of Stack Funds, said. “Many market participants are covering positions in light of anticipated news that (might) come to light.” ESG stands for “environmental, social and corporate governance,” a term used to refer to companies’ sustainability and impact on society. Bitcoin fell sharply from $58,000 to nearly $30,000 earlier this month afterTesla suspendedvehicle purchases with bitcoin, citing environmental concerns. “Environmental concerns will get bigger with time. This will represent a major long-term headwind for bitcoin, and help push dominance down,” trader and analystAlex Kruger tweeted. Also read:Ark’s Cathie Wood Blames Crypto Crash on ‘ESG Movement’ Additionally, fears that the Federal Reserve may raise the interest rate to counter inflation could be keeping the cryptocurrency under pressure. That’s because rate hikes dilute the appeal of the store-of-value assets like bitcoin. According to Bloomberg, rates traders have boosted bets that the Fed will raise borrowing costs next year, much earlier than policymakers have indicated. “The Fed’s broad support of the economy since the onset of the pandemic has provided support for higher asset prices including stocks and cryptocurrencies,” Ariel Zetlin-Jones, associate professor of economics at Carnegie Mellon University’s Tepper School of Business, told CoinDesk in an email earlier this month. “Ultimately, the removal of this support is likely to provide new headwinds for asset price growth.” The rate hike fears may amplify, if the core personal consumption expenditure (core PCE) – the Fed’s preferred measure of inflation – blows pastexpectations. That could lead to a deeper drop in bitcoin. The April data is scheduled for release at 12:30 UTC (8:30 a.m. ET) today. However, analysts expect the cryptocurrency to see range play in the short term. “From a technical point of view, BTC is in a consolidation phase. We expect that there will be choppy trade between $30,000–40,000 for the next two weeks,” Dibb said. • Biden’s 2022 Budget Includes New Crypto Reporting Proposals • India’s HDFC Bank Calls Bitcoin a Fad as Exchanges Mull Legal Fight Over Restrictions \|\| 5 S&P 500 Stocks Up More Than 50% in 1H With Room to Run: Wall Street has been roaring higher with the S&P 500 hitting new record highs. This is especially true, as the rapid pace of vaccination and the reopening of businesses has resulted in a speedy economic recovery from the pandemic lows, raising the appeal for riskier assets. The huge infrastructure package, signs of a healing labor market, an expanded stimulus and strong corporate profit growth are also driving the stocks higher. The combination of factors has powered activities across all sectors and categories, resulting in increased consumer spending and confidence. The economy expanded 6.4% annually in the first quarter, representing the second-strongest increase since 2003 and is expected to top 7% this year, which would be the fastest since 1984, per several economists. This would follow the 3.5% contraction in 2020, which was the worst performance in 74 years. The strength in value and cyclical stocks, which were battered last year, has led the S&P 500 to outperform this year compared to the growth and tech-laden Nasdaq Composite Index, which was an outperformer during the pandemic. The solid trend is likely to continue given that the strong fundamentals should remain in place for at least in the near term. Inflation concerns eased last week following the Feds statement that it views inflation as temporary. Also, the latest personal consumption expenditures (PCE) data shows that underlying inflation rose less than expected in May given the alleviation-related worries about the sudden tapering in stimulus. Notably, the University of Michigan consumer surveys one-year inflation expectation dropped to 4.2% in June from a decade-high 4.6% in May while the five-to-10-year inflation expectation fell to 2.8% this month from 3.0% in May. According to Fundstrat's Tom Lee, the S&P 500 could soar 3% to 4,400 by this Wednesday, citing a rally in junk bonds, a collapse in the volatility index, and falling treasury yields that all point to a higher stock market. Lee said that high-yield bonds have historically served as a leading indicator of equities. Meanwhile, the volatility index collapsed below 16 on Jun 25, marking its lowest level since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Finally, a decline in treasury yields from their mid-March peak has fueled gains in mega-cap tech stocks, which should continue to drive the market higher. Investors could tap the surging S&P 500 Index with the best-performing stocks of the first half of 2021. We have highlighted five stocks that have gained more than 50% so far this year and carry a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or 2 (Buy), suggesting their continued outperformance in the weeks ahead. You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank stocks here . L Brands Inc. LB Up 94.3% This company has evolved from an apparel-based specialty retailer to a segment leader focused on womens intimate and other apparel, personal care, beauty and home fragrance products. It saw a positive earnings estimate revision of 19 cents over the past 90 days for this year and has an estimated earnings growth rate of 67.3%. The stock carries a Zacks Rank #2. Nucor Corporation NUE Up 81.8% This company is a leading producer of structural steel, steel bars, steel joists, steel deck and cold- finished bars in the United States. The stock saw solid earnings estimate revision of $3.89 over the past 90 days for this year. It has estimated earnings growth of 344.9%. Nucor sports a Zacks Rank #1. Generac Holdings Inc. GNRC Up 74.2% This is a leading manufacturer of power generation equipment, energy storage systems and other power products including portable, residential, commercial and industrial generators. The stock saw solid earnings estimate revision of $1.41 over the past 90 days for this year and has an estimated earnings growth rate of 56.7%. It has a Zacks Rank #1. Applied Materials Inc. AMAT Up 57.8% It is one of the worlds largest suppliers of equipment for the fabrication of semiconductor, flat panel liquid crystal displays (LCDs), and solar photovoltaic (PV) cells and modules. The stock saw a positive earnings estimate revision of 55 cents over the past 90 days for the fiscal year (ending October 2021). Applied Materials has estimated earnings growth of 56.6%. AMAT has a Zacks Rank #2. Invesco Ltd. IVZ Up 57.3% This company operates as an independent investment manager and offers a wide range of investment products and services. It saw massive earnings estimate revision of 17 cents over the past 90 days for this year. The company has an estimated earnings growth rate of 49.2%. The stock has a Zacks Rank #2. Story continues Bitcoin, Like the Internet Itself, Could Change Everything Blockchain and cryptocurrency has sparked one of the most exciting discussion topics of a generation. Some call it the Internet of Money and predict it could change the way money works forever. If true, it could do to banks what Netflix did to Blockbuster and Amazon did to Sears. Experts agree were still in the early stages of this technology, and as it grows, it will create several investing opportunities. Zacks has just revealed 3 companies that can help investors capitalize on the explosive profit potential of Bitcoin and the other cryptocurrencies with significantly less volatility than buying them directly. See 3 crypto-related stocks now >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Nucor Corporation (NUE) : Free Stock Analysis Report Invesco Ltd. (IVZ) : Free Stock Analysis Report Applied Materials, Inc. (AMAT) : Free Stock Analysis Report Generac Holdings Inc. (GNRC) : Free Stock Analysis Report L Brands, Inc. (LB) : Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research \|\| Crypto Momentum is Building: Highlights of the Bitcoin 2021 conference… El Salvador makes a huge move… why the crypto weakness could be changing soon Bitcoin is taking another beating. As I write Monday morning, the most widely-owned crypto is down another 7% or so in the wake of more reports that China is cracking down (again) on its bitcoin miners. That puts bitcoin down roughly 50% since its April high (though still up 10% on the year). InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips So, how are investors reacting? Well, on one hand, you have the famous talking-head, Jim Cramer, saying he has now “sold almost all” of his bitcoin, because he fears the heavy influence of Beijing over the entire crypto sector. On the other hand, you have the company, MicroStrategy, which reported this morning that it now owns more than 100,000 bitcoins after another round of purchases. So, which course of action will prove to be wisest? We have to side with MicroStrategy…by a mile. To help explain why, let’s digress a moment… Earlier this month, more than 50,000 people from all over the world descended upon Miami for “ Bitcoin 2021 ,” the largest bitcoin conference ever. Our crypto specialist, and the analyst behind Crypto Investor Network , Charlie Shrem, was a featured speaker at the event. And if there’s one general takeaway from the conference it’s “get ready.” So, in today’s Digest , in the wake of China’s latest crackdown, let’s bring you highlights from the conference courtesy of the latest Crypto Investor Network issue. As part of this, we’ll talk about why bitcoin and top-tier altcoins are still in the early days of an extraordinary growth curve. It’s part of a global adoption that’s going to create one of the largest wealth explosions in modern history for investors with the foresight to see what’s coming. This latest weakness isn’t a crash…it’s a sling-shot being pulled back. Let’s jump in. *Huge bullishness despite the sector pullback For newer Digest readers, Charlie was one of bitcoin’s earliest backers and today is considered one of the most influential people in cryptocurrencies. Story continues He’s been mentioned in Fortune … Forbes … CNN … 60 Minutes … TED Talks… Bloomberg … and The Wall Street Journal … to name a few. His story has been featured in numerous Netflix documentaries and best-selling books. And yes, he’s become a bitcoin millionaire many times over thanks to his early involvement. Turning to the state of the market today, after enjoying a blistering run-up through the spring, bitcoin has suffered a painful drawdown for roughly two months now. As you can see below, bitcoin is down ballpark 50% from its April high (though still up 256% over the last 12 months). This weakness has prompted many crypto speculators to flee the sector (like Jim Cramer), unable to handle the volatility. From Charlie: These are the folks who react emotionally to shorter-term price swings and bail out when trading gets volatile. And yes, cryptocurrencies are volatile. We have known that from the get-go. But the fuse being lit and the ultimate explosion in wealth are not based on prices right now. Or tomorrow. They are based on a long-term transformational trend and prices that explode over time… The blockchain and the software that runs on it – namely altcoins – are going to change everything. You name it – credit cards, real estate, energy, e-commerce, electric vehicles, healthcare, voting, identity theft, and on and on. Blockchain will rewrite how business is done and how personal fortunes are built in the modern age. It is the safest way to store and transfer information ever created. It’s going to make everything more transparent, more secure, and more cost effective. The most eye-opening takeaway for me is Charlie’s assertion that everything will soon run on the blockchain. In essence, it’s going to become the new internet. Piggybacking on that, the only way to have direct ownership of this groundbreaking technology is through altcoins. Takeaways from the conference Bitcoin 2021 featured many big-name bitcoin influencers – Mike Novogratz, the Winklevoss twins, and Michael Saylor of MicroStrategy, to name a few. But one of the most interesting speakers, in my opinion, was Jack Dorsey, co-founder and CEO of Twitter and Square. Dorsey participated in a discussion titled “Banking the Unbanked,” which focused on the hundreds of millions of people around the world who don’t have access to the banking system. Bitcoin – and altcoins – can bring these services to these unbanked citizens around the world. Here’s what Dorsey said (underlines added for emphasis): For me, bitcoin changes absolutely everything. What I’m drawn to most about it is the ethos, what it represents. The conditions that created it are so rare and so special and so precious and I don’t think there’s anything more important in my lifetime to work on. I don’t think there’s anything more enabling for people around the world. Whatever I can do, whatever my companies can do, to make it more accessible to everyone is how I want to spend the rest of my life. If I were not at Square or Twitter I’d be working on bitcoin. If it needed more help than Square and Twitter, I would leave them for bitcoin. Here’s Charlie’s thoughts on this: Can you imagine someone who started and leads two of the world’s most successful companies saying he would leave them if bitcoin needed him more? That’s an incredible endorsement for both bitcoin and cryptocurrencies in general. (It also tells us he doesn’t think bitcoin needs any help.) Bitcoin becomes legal tender The biggest headline from the conference came from El Salvador’s President, Nayib Bukele. In a video broadcast to the conference, he announced El Salvador’s partnership with digital wallet company, Strike, to build the country’s modern financial infrastructure based on bitcoin. In other words, bitcoin is going to be legal tender in El Salvador. Charlie writes that politicians in seven other Latin American countries indicate that they are interested in doing the same, and notes how this could lead to a snowballing effect with more and more countries making bitcoin a legal currency. Now, this is all great in the long-term, but for crypto investors laboring through this current weakness, are there any signs of relief on the horizon? In Charlie’s issue, he points toward six such signs. We don’t have time to detail every one, so let’s highlight one that’s especially interesting. “Extreme fear” suggests bitcoin could be headed…higher Here’s Charlie to set the stage: All investing markets act emotionally, and that’s especially true with cryptos. It’s just human nature to get greedy when prices are going up, which results in FOMO, or “fear of missing out.” Conversely, people tend to react with just plain fear in the face of falling prices, so they tend to sell. This behavior can be quantified in the Fear and Greed Index. This is the heart of contrarian indicators, and we are big fans. Extreme fear means investors are overly worried and willing to part with their cryptos at really low prices – which gives us a buying opportunity. Extreme greed means a correction is due, and those of us who are long-term investors hang on rather than trying to time every price move. To calculate fear and greed, Charlie points toward the Bybt Fear and Greed Index. It takes six measurements into account – volatility, market momentum, social media, surveys, market cap dominance and trends. A score of 0 would indicate extreme fear while 100 means extreme greed. So, where is the reading now? Well, in the last two months, it has fallen to a score of 10 – twice. As I write, it’s climbed slightly, up to 23, but it’s again falling fast. Alternative.me computes its own, similar multifactorial crypto sentiment index. As you can see below, there’s a great deal of “extreme fear” showing up today… Back to Charlie: Over the last month, we’ve seen the lowest readings of the year, confirming what we already know – there is a lot of fear in the crypto market right now. It won’t stay that low. It never does. The transformation and trend are too powerful, which means these unusually low prices are a great buying opportunity in bitcoin and the strongest altcoins that we expect to surge a lot higher over time. To drive this home, Charlie points toward analysis from Santiment showing that the “smart money,” meaning bitcoin wallet addresses holding 1000+ coins, are adding as the fear and panic rises. Of course, the opposite is playing out too. Back to Charlie on this: Be sure to look at the bottom of that graphic. The smallest address – those with 10 bitcoin worth $365,000 or less – are selling into that panic and fear. Don’t be one of these panicked sellers. See the potential. See the future. **More big-picture adoption In the nine months since Crypto Investor Network launched, we’ve seen major corporations invest in bitcoin and cryptos… digital payment providers make cryptos easy to buy and sell… the introduction of bitcoin credit cards and debit cards… and now, we’re now even seeing cryptos coming to your 401(k)! Coinbase, one of the biggest crypto exchanges, is teaming up with ForUsAll, a leading 401(K) investment platform. They will be offering crypto investments in those retirement accounts. Here’s Charlie on this: This is a big deal. It is yet another onramp for investors that will draw more money into cryptos, especially altcoins because Coinbase is opening up its options. We’re running long, so we’ll wrap up for today. Yes, more bitcoin weakness isn’t what any of us wants. But this is reactionary to China. And China does not own the entire bitcoin/crypto market. This too shall pass. If you’d like Charlie’s help in identifying the best ways to profit from this explosive sector, click here . I’ll let him to take us out: Few people understand the opportunities before us. And that means that you are ahead of most every other investor out there. You are among the first in line to profit from the coming disruption and the multi-trillion-dollar tsunami of new wealth that will be created. Have a good evening, Jeff Remsburg The post Crypto Momentum is Building appeared first on InvestorPlace . \|\| Killi Allows Coinbase Users to Redeem Bitcoin or Ethereum in Exchange for the Use of Their Data: Individuals with a Coinbase Digital Wallet can now redeem their Killi earnings into instantaneous, no-fee cryptocurrency New York, New York--(Newsfile Corp. - May 11, 2021) -Killi Ltd.(TSXV: MYID) (OTCQB: MYIDF) (OTCQB: MYIDD) ("Killi"), a data privacy ecosystem that rewards users that consent to share their data, introduces cryptocurrency (crypto) as a new redemption feature for users to receive their Killi Paycheck. Individuals holding a Coinbase Digital Wallet can now convert their Killi earnings into crypto redemptions instantaneously when they meet the minimum redemption threshold, making Killi the first company that enables users to exchange the earnings they have made from their data into guaranteed crypto. "We are excited to announce that Killi will be adding crypto, specifically Bitcoin and Ethereum, as redemption options to those consumers that have a Coinbase wallet," saysNeil Sweeney, CEO and Founder of Killi. "By providing users with an instantaneous way for them to earn crypto without any fees is the equivalent of introducing a crypto-dividend, where each week consumers can passively accrue money that can be redeemed into the two largest cryptocurrencies. We plan on adding additional currencies in the future but are excited to offer the 56 million verified users of Coinbase an opportunity to earn additional coins via Killi." Killi users are compensated by consenting to share various types of data within the Killi ecosystem. Killi compensates these users via a weekly "Killi Paycheck," which is comprised of various modules that the consumer can select from. The Killi Paycheck can be redeemed for VISA gift cards, donated to charity and now crypto. Coinbase Global, Inc. was founded in 2012 to simplify the purchase of bitcoin, and it has emerged as the most popular crypto exchange in the US. The service now has 56 million users, up from 43 million at the end of 2020 (https://www.coinbase.com). About Killi Ltd Killi Ltd.(TSXV: MYID) (OTCQB: MYIDF) (OTCQB: MYIDD) is a company driven by the evolution of consumer data and privacy. Killi allows consumers to opt-in to share specific pieces of data in exchange for compensation, democratizing data for both consumers and brands. Killi offers 1st party data that is global and privacy compliant. Killi is currently available online or via iOS and Android in five countries (US, Canada, Singapore, Australia, and New Zealand). Killi is also the creator ofuaretheproduct.io, a consumer-facing website that allows consumers to determine their data's value broken out by individual platforms. To learn more about Data Unveil and how Killi fairly pays users, please visithttps://killi.io/killi-paycheck/. Download Killihere. For further information, please contact:Chris Frostad, CFO1-855-908-DATAE:[email protected] Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the TSX Venture Exchange policies) accept responsibility for this news release's adequacy or accuracy. Forward-Looking and Other Cautionary Statements This news release may contain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities laws, including, but not limited to, the Company's financing plans; the proposed use of proceeds of the Offering; and other expected effects of the Offering. Forward-looking statements may generally be identified by the use of the words "anticipates," "expects," "intends," "plans," "should," "could," "would," "may," "will," "believes," "estimates," "potential," "target," or "continue" and variations or similar expressions. These statements are based upon the current expectations and beliefs of management and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: the audience segments may not match a buyer's intended, the uncertainty surrounding the spread of COVID-19 and the impact it will have on the Company's operations and economic activity in general; and the risks and uncertainties discussed in our most recent annual and quarterly reports filed with the Canadian securities regulators and available on the Company's profile on SEDAR atwww.sedar.com, which risks and uncertainties are incorporated herein by reference. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Except as required by law, the Company does not intend and undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect, in particular, new information or future events. To view the source version of this press release, please visithttps://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/83492 \|\| 10 Best Dividend Stocks to Buy Now According to Billionaire Jim Simons: In this article we will take a look at the 10 best dividend stocks to buy now according to billionaire Jim Simons . You can skip our detailed analysis of Simons’ history, investment philosophy, and hedge fund performance, and go directly to the 5 Best Dividend Stocks to Buy Now According to Billionaire Jim Simons . Dividend stocks present traders with the opportunity to earn a regular passive income. Doing all the research necessary to identify the best dividend stocks requires a lot of work, but one can take a shorter route by following the recommendations of hedge fund managers who have a dividend stock portfolio. James Harris Simons is one of the most successful hedge fund investors that have made a lot of money through smart stock picking. He founded Renaissance Technologies in 1982, a hedge fund that uses quantitative analysis and mathematical models to analyze stock movements and predict market direction. According to Forbes, Jim Simons was the 23 rd wealthiest American, with a net worth of $23.5 billion in 2020. This success through Renaissance Technologies has earned him the nickname “Quant King.” Renaissance Technologies had a portfolio value of $80.381 billion in Q1 2021, compared to $92.092 billion in Q4 2020. The fund is popular not only for delivering robust growth but also for ignoring fickle market sentiments and focusing on long-term prospects of companies. Jim Simons has invested in some popular stocks in the past, such as Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA ). In the first quarter, Simons' hedge fund increased its hold in Tesla by over 200%, ending the period with 827,381 shares of the company, worth $552.6 million. Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) announced towards the end of April that the value of its Bitcoin investment was $2.48 billion, which means it would have made a profit of more than $1 billion if it were to cash out at that point. Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) has been ramping up its EV production in Europe and Asia to compete more effectively with the growing global EV market. Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) shares are up 291% over the last 12 months. Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG ) is also one of Jim Simons’ favorite stocks. The company achieved record profits for the second consecutive quarter due to increased ad usage during the pandemic. Its Google Ads sales grew by 32% YoY in Q1. Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) recently announced a $50 billion share buyback. Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) Class A shares are up 66% over the last 12 months. Renaissance Technologies also has a $263 million stake in Facebook, Inc. (NASDAQ: FB). Facebook, Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) Q1 performance surpassed analyst expectations. Billionaire Paul Singer's Elliott Management bought a $7.3 million stake in Facebook in the first quarter of 2021. Story continues 10 Best Dividend Stocks to Buy Now According to Billionaire Jim Simons Jim Simons of Renaissance Technologies Simons is an exception in an industry that is reeling from losses. The entire hedge fund industry is feeling the reverberations of the changing financial landscape. Its reputation has been tarnished in the last decade, during which its hedged returns couldn’t keep up with the unhedged returns of the market indices. On the other hand, Insider Monkey’s research was able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that outperformed the S&P 500 ETFs by more than 124 percentage points since March 2017. Between March 2017 and February 26th 2021 our monthly newsletter’s stock picks returned 197.2%, vs. 72.4% for the SPY. Our stock picks outperformed the market by more than 124 percentage points ( see the details here ). We were also able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that significantly underperformed the market. We have been tracking and sharing the list of these stocks since February 2017 and they lost 13% through November 16th. That’s why we believe hedge fund sentiment is an extremely useful indicator that investors should pay attention to. You can subscribe to our free newsletter on our homepage to receive our stories in your inbox. Here are some of the 10 best dividend stocks to buy now according to billionaire Jim Simons. We picked these dividend stocks from the Q1 portfolio of Simons' hedge fund. Best Dividend Stocks to Buy Now According to Billionaire Jim Simons 10. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc. ( NYSE: KREF ) Simons’ Stake Value: $5,554,000 Percentage of Jim Simons’ 13F Portfolio: 0.001% Dividend Yield: 8% No. of Hedge Fund Holders: 7 KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc. (NYSE: KREF) is a mortgage REIT that creates or acquires senior secured loans backed by commercial real estate assets. Like Facebook, Inc. (NASDAQ: FB), Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) and Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA), KKR Real Estate is one of the best stocks in Renaissance’s portfolio. The company declared its Q1 dividend of $0.43 per share, in line with its Q4 2020 dividend payout. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust’s Q1 2021 revenue of $38.54 million outperformed the consensus estimate by $2.17 million and was $38.54 million higher YoY. Its Q1 2020 GAAP EPS was $0.52 per share. Steven Delaney, an analyst at JMP Securities, upgraded the stock from a “Market Perform” to “Outperform” thanks to its high-quality loan portfolio, balance sheet strength, high quality financing, and proper management. His price target for the stock was $21.50 as of April 2021. JP Morgan’s analyst Richard Shane also upgraded the stock to “Overweight” from “Neutral” in February 2021. 9. Iron Mountain Incorporated ( NYSE: IRM ) Simons’ Stake Value: $4,236,000 Percentage of Jim Simons’ 13F Portfolio: 0.001% Dividend Yield: 5.75% No. of Hedge Fund Holders: 16 Iron Mountain Incorporated (NYSE: IRM) provides information management and storage services globally. It recently signed a deal to sell its Intellectual Property Management to a cybersecurity and escrow company called NCC Group, and the sale will be worth $220 million. The sale will allow Iron Mountain to focus on innovative new products and shift its attention towards its strengths. Iron Mountain reported a Q1 2021 revenue of $1.08 billion, which represents a slight improvement from the $1.07 billion revenue achieved in the previous quarter. Its Q1 2021 net revenue of $46.6 million was a slight decline from the $64.9 million net revenue achieved in Q1 2020. Baird’s analyst Andrew Wittmann upgraded Iron Mountain Incorporated (NYSE: IRM) to a “Neutral” rating and assigned the price target at $29 in August 2019. BofA Securities downgraded the stock to an "Underperform" rating in July 2019 and set the price target at $25. Iron Mountain Incorporated ranks ninth on the list of 10 best dividend stocks to buy now according to billionaire Jim Simons. 8. Spark Energy, Inc. ( NASDAQ: SPKE ) Simons’ Stake Value: $11,453,000 Percentage of Jim Simons’ 13F Portfolio: 0.01% Dividend Yield: 6.78% No. of Hedge Fund Holders: 4 Spark Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ: SPKE) is a U.S energy industry company that deals with independent retail energy services. It mainly deals with the retail gas, natural gas, and retail electricity segments targeting commercial and residential customers. Like Facebook, Inc. (NASDAQ: FB), Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) and Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA), Spark Energy is one of the best stocks in Renaissance’s portfolio. Jim Simons owns 1.07 million shares of Spark Energy, topping the list of over 850 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey. Next on the list is Arrowstreet Capital that owns 23,745 shares of the company. The company announced a Q1 quarterly dividend of $0.1813 per share, equivalent to the dividend payout announced for the previous quarter. Spark Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ: SPKE) reported a $27.6 million net loss in Q1 and a $32.7 million adjusted EBITDA. 7. One Liberty Properties, Inc. ( NYSE: OLP ) Simons’ Stake Value: $19,870,000 Percentage of Jim Simons’ 13F Portfolio: 0.02% Dividend Yield: 7.2% No. of Hedge Fund Holders: 8 One Liberty Properties, Inc. (NYSE: OLP) is a self-managed REIT based in Maryland. It was launched in 1982, making it one of the oldest public REITs, and its lengthy presence in the market is a leg-up that substantially allowed it to grow its portfolio. The stock ranks 7th in the list of 10 best dividend stocks to buy now according to billionaire Jim Simons. One Liberty announced its latest quarterly dividend payout at $0.45 per share, which is in line with the previous dividend payout. The company generated $20.82 million revenue in Q1, which missed the consensus revenue target by $0.4 million. 6. Gladstone Commercial Corporation ( NASDAQ: GOOD ) Simons’ Stake Value: $41,994,000 Percentage of Jim Simons’ 13F Portfolio: 0.05% Dividend Yield: 7.21% No. of Hedge Fund Holders: 7 Gladstone Commercial Corporation (NASDAQ: GOOD) ranks 6th in the list of best dividend stocks to buy according to Jim Simons. The REIT mainly focuses on the acquisition, ownership, and management of net leased office and industrial properties in the U.S. Gladstone Commercial Corporation (NASDAQ: GOOD) declared a $0.12515 per share monthly dividend in April this year. The company reported that it had a 95% occupancy rate in its portfolio as of March and its cash base collection for the same month was 98%. Gladstone Commercial Corporation (NASDAQ: GOOD) signed a lease extension and expansion agreement with Sumitomo Electric Lightwave at its 123,574 sq. ft. industrial property in North Carolina. Aegis Capital’s analyst Brian Hollenden assigned a “Buy” rating to the stock and assigned a price target of $23 in April 2021. B.Riley’s analyst Craig Kucera upgraded the stock to a “Buy” rating, with a $23 price target in March 2020. Click to continue reading and see 5 Best Dividend Stocks to Buy Now According to Billionaire Jim Simons . Suggested articles: 10 Best Dividend Stocks for Passive Income 10 Best Healthcare Dividend Stocks 10 Extreme Dividend Stocks with Huge Upside Disclosure: None. 10 Best Dividend Stocks to Buy Now According to Billionaire Jim Simons is originally published on Insider Monkey. View comments \|\| Retail Sales, Stocks Rebound, Colonial Restarts - What's Moving Markets: By Geoffrey Smith Investing.com — Stocks and other risk assets are rebounding after heavy sell-offs but retail sales data for April will test the market's nerve again. Colonial has restarted the pipeline that supplies 45% of the East Coast's gasoline and diesel supplies. The closure of the Mississippi continues to disrupt flows of agricultural commodities, and both Disney and Airbnb disappoint with their quarterly reports. Here's what you need to know in financial markets on Friday, May 14th. 1. Retail sales, industrial production data Market nerves over inflation will be tested again by the release of U.S.retail salesdata for April at 8:30 AM ET (1230 GMT), which are expected to slow markedly after household stimulus checks fueled a nationwide binge in spending in March. Overall sales are expected to have risen 1.0% in the month, whilecore retail salesare expected to have risen 0.7%. Anything markedly stronger than that may revive concerns that the economy is already running too hot for comfort, despite largely soothing words from the Federal Reserve this week. Industrial productiondata for April are also expected at 9:15 AM ET, and will be scanned for further evidence of capacity bottlenecks contributing to the current squeeze in prices. 2. Grains hit by Mississippi blockage A spectacular new bottleneck is fouling up agricultural commodity markets. Theclosure of the I-40 Interstate bridgein Memphis indefinitely, due to the cracking of a steel beam, has effectively stopped traffic in both directions on the Mississippi, the U.S.’s biggest waterway and a crucial conduit for wheat, corn, soybeans and other crops. Disruptions are likely to last until alternative routes to market can be established. U.S. Soybeans Futures rose 2.7% in overnight trading, while Wheat Futures rose 2.2% and Corn Futures rose 1.2%, although these movements need to be seen in the context of a broad and heavy sell-off in the previous two sessions. 3. Stocks set to rebound despite Disney, Airbnb disappointments U.S. stock markets are set for a substantial bounce to end the week, recovering from the shock of a much higher-than-expected inflation stamp for April. By 6:30 AM ET (1030 GMT), Dow Jones futures were up 135 points or 0.4%, while S&P 500 futures were up 0.6% and Nasdaq 100 futures were up 1.1%. All three are still on course for their first synchronized negative week since early March, however. Stocks likely to be in focus later include Airbnb (NASDAQ:ABNB), whosereport of recovering booking volumeson Thursday wasn’t enough to stop the stock sliding in after-hours trading, and Disney, which followed Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) in reporting disappointing subscriber growth for its streaming business after the bell. Alibaba (NYSE:BABA) will also be in focus after reporting itsfirst quarterly lossas a public company due to a Chinese antitrust fine. 4. Colonial restarts pipeline operations Colonial Pipeline Company hasrestarted its main linesthat ship some 2.5 million barrels of fuel a day to the U.S. east coast, a move set to alleviate an increasingly acute regional shortage of gasoline and diesel. Bloomberg cited unnamed sources as saying that the company had agreed to pay the ransom demanded by the hacking group DarkSide, and that the decryption tool provided by the group to unlock its systems had not been effective. Instead, the company relied on system backups to restore operations. Elsewhere. Toshiba Corp. (T:6502) became the latest high-profile company to say it had been thevictim of a ransomware attackby DarkSide. Crude oil prices advanced in line with other risk assets in overnight trading, U.S. crude futures rising 0.9% to $64.38 a barrel and Brent futures rising 0.9% to $67.62 a barrel. 5. Musk back in DogeCoin hodlers' good books Bitcoin recovered some ground after falling in response toElon Musk voicing concernabout its environmental impact. By 6:30 AM ET, it had rebounded over the $50,000 mark, although it remains down some 14% on the week. DogeCoin has been the main beneficiary of reallocations between crypto asses. It’s up 36% overnight afterMusk tweetedthat he’s helping the founders of DogeCoin work on the energy efficiency of its processing of transactions. Musk’s reversal on Bitcoin comes in the wake of widespread criticism of ESG-themed investors who have drawn attention to Bitcoin mining is largely powered by coal-fired power stations in China, undercutting the core mission of Musk’s car company in combating pollution and climate change. Related Articles Retail Sales, Stocks Rebound, Colonial Restarts - What's Moving Markets Japan PM Suga seeks minimum wage hike 'sooner', despite business resistance Lines, tokens and money brokers: Myanmar's crumbling economy runs low on cash \|\| Cryptocurrency scammers disguise themselves as Elon Musk to steal millions of dollars: Tesla CEO Elon Musk speaks during the unveiling of the new Tesla Model Y in Hawthorne, California on 14 March, 2019 (AFP via Getty Images) Elon Musk impersonators have swindled over $2 million from cryptocurrency scams over the past six months, according to data from the FTC . Thieves impersonating the Tesla CEO has been a consistent problem for some years. This usually occurs on Twitter, where Mr Musk is a frequent poster. Scammers, who reply to Mr Musk and sometimes mimic him by rebranding other verified accounts, make claims that if users send bitcoin they will return the cryptocurrency two times over. In 2018, several verified Twitter accounts, including those belonging to UK retailer Matalan and US publisher Pantheon Books, were taken over . "Im giving 10 000 Bitcoin (BTC) to all community!" I left the post of director of Tesla, thank you all for your support," the hacked account of Pantheon Books stated. Nearly 7000 people have reported losses of over $80 million in various cryptocurrency scams since October 2020, losing on average just under $1900 each time an increase 12 times over in the number of reports and 1000 per cent greater in financial theft. Some say theres a Wild West vibe to the crypto culture, and an element of mystery too. Cryptocurrency enthusiasts congregate online to chat about their shared passion. And with bitcoins value soaring in recent months, new investors may be eager to get in on the action. All of this plays right into the hands of scammers. They blend into the scene with claims that can seem plausible because cryptocurrency is unknown territory for many people, the FTC says. Online, people may appear to be friendly and willing to share their tips. But that can also be part of the ruse to get people to invest in their scheme. In fact, some of these schemes are based on referral chains, and work by bringing in people who then recruit new investors. As well as purporting to be Mr Musk, cryptocurrency scammers will impersonate government authorities and well-known businesses such as cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase. The FTC adds that 14 per cent of all reported losses to imposters are now in cryptocurrency. Story continues The attractiveness of cryptocurrency to investors, and scammers, is a double-edged sword. Although the currency has boomed over recent years and experts predict it is likely to increase further, it is notably volatile. Mr Musk himself recently crashed the cryptocurrency market after announcing that Tesla would not be accepting bitcoin in payment for Tesla vehicles , only two months after encouraging users to do the opposite. Meme-based cryptocurrencies, such as Dogecoin , have also boomed recently in a rise similar to the Gamestop stock market rocket . However, the governor of the Bank of England has said that cryptocurrency has no intrinsic value and that investors should be prepared to lose all their money. Read More The Independent visits Heathrow ahead of international travel restarting Ethereum founder tells Elon Musk how to fix dogecoin Bitcoin price live: Crypto recovers slightly after Elon Musk sends BTC and other coins plunging [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] None available.	Trend: down \|\| Prices: 35040.84, 33572.12, 33897.05, 34668.55, 35287.78, 33746.00, 34235.20, 33855.33, 32877.37, 33798.01
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis] Not fully available. [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] iWallet: Identity Theft Protection and so Much More: WHITEFISH, MT / ACCESSWIRE / June 16, 2015 /Identity theft happens every 45 seconds in the United States and costs consumers more than $24.7 billion in 2012 alone, according to the Federal Trade Commission. While most people associate modern identity theft with high tech crimes, Javelin Strategy & Research found that 43% of all identity crimes stemmed from a lost or stolenwallet, compared to just 11% from online sources and 19% from credit card skimmers and other transactional sources. iWallet Corporation (IWAL), a developer of secure luxury "techcessories" products, aims to combat identity theft with its fingerprint biometric locking mechanisms, Bluetooth(R) BLE communication solutions, RFID blocking, and other technologies designed to secure personal identification, passports and credit cards. Unlike Apple Inc.'s (NASDAQ:AAPL) Apple Pay or Bitcoin Shop Inc.'s (BTCS) solutions, its technologies are designed to hold existing payment solutions rather than replace them. Beyond the identity theft market, iWallet has launched a technology and licensing division. Based on the company's patented BIO-BLU(TM) Biometric Bluetooth(R) Smart locking technology, the new division is dedicated to expanding, through its own offerings and by licensing to other manufacturers, protection to consumer items such as luggage, purses, jewelry and prescription medicines. If the video below does not display properly, please follow this link to see an interview with iWallet Corp. CEO Jack Chadsey:https://vimeo.com/130554488. SECFilings.com Executive Interview \| Jack Chadsey / CEO of iWallet Corp. (IWAL)fromTDM FinancialonVimeo. Booming Industry Consumers have been spending an increasing amount of money on solutions designed to prevent or catch identity theft before it becomes costly for them. LifeLock Inc. (NYSE:LOCK) has built a billion-dollar business - albeit with some FTC issues in the past - around providing identity theft protection services to individuals and enterprises, while Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) generates a substantial amount of revenue from providing credit reports to consumers. At the same time, many software manufacturers like Intel Corporation's (NASDAQ:INTC) McAfee and Symantec Corporation (NASDAQ:SYMC) have built billion-dollar companies providing software to individuals designed to protect their computers from viruses and other malware that can lead to identity theft and stolen information. These technologies certainly help reduce the problem with software, but consumers must pay a yearly fee in most cases. The irony is that LifeLock's services help after-the-fact and Symantec's software only helps with 11% of identity theft cases. In the meantime, the cause of more than 40% of identity theft cases is going largely ignored by the market with the exception of iWallet's innovative technologies and NXT-ID Inc.'s (NXTD) Wocket(R). This segment of the market could be worth much more over the long run as consumer awareness begins to increase. Broad Technologies iWallet has developed a robust patent portfolio of design and utility patents surrounding biometric fingerprint recognition sensors and Bluetooth(R) BLE communications. These technologies can be integrated into existing products or launched as stand-alone products across several verticals. In particular, the company's technologies are designed to enable low-cost biometric fingerprint security for wallets, passport cases, and accessories like handbags. In other words, nobody but the owner can open the wallet. These technologies help prevent simple types of theft where unattended bags are opened or credit cards are snatched. The Bluetooth(R) Low Energy ("BLE") technology is designed to complement biometrics by tethering any device to a phone. For instance, if you forget your iWallet at the checkout counter and walk out the door, an alarm will sound from your phone once the Bluetooth tether is broken. Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) protection adds another layer of security, blocking the remote reading of credit cards and passports. Some potential applications for the technology include: - Zero Password Authentication - Fingerprint sensors, heart monitors, or other biometric devices can be used to authenticate users across devices.- Access Control - Biometrics can be used to open Bluetooth(R) enabled door locks and other access control technologies using a fingerprint.- No Hacking Security - iWallet's secure biometric sensors and Bluetooth(R) BLE data connection provide security without the vulnerability of an internet connection.- NFC On-Board - Payment system integration that combines biometrics with payment technologies to validate the correct user is making a transaction. Near-term Commercialization iWallet launched its iPassport product and showcased its other products - including the iWallet - at the 2015 International Consumer Electronics Show ("CES") in Las Vegas, Nevada. In a sign of increasing interest in the category, the company's products werehonored at the showwith the 2015 International CES Innovation Award and were on display at the Personal Privacy and Cyber Security Marketplace, which showcased personal cyber security products. Yahoo! Travel highlighted the new device as one of "11 Cool Things from the Consumer Electronics Show that Will Make Travel Better," while both products were featured on CNBC, USA Today, Huffington Post, and Fox News, among other global media outlets. These media outlets have already helped to increase awareness of its product lines in a grassroots manner as it begins to set up distribution channels and expand into retailers. The company sells its products directly to the consumer via its website, co-brands with luxury brands such as Dunhill and Montblanc, and is expanding wholesale efforts worldwide. Looking Ahead iWallet is uniquely positioned to capitalize on the growing incidence of identity theft by directly addressing the single largest source of such thefts - wallets. With its initial products already launched and awarded at CES, the company is approaching a tipping point in the luxury sector, while working hard to grow distribution and launch into further markets with new products over the coming quarters. The company plans to develop licensing revenues through its new technology division, allowing other manufacturers to incorporate iWallet's array of protections into their own products. Combining all of these initiatives, management believes that it can significantly enhance shareholder value by generating immediate revenue while setting the stage for longer-term value creation. For more information, visit the company's website atwww.iwalletusa.com. Click here to get email updates on iWallet Corp. developments:http://www.tdmfinancial.com/emailassets/iwal/iwal_landing.php Legal Disclaimer: Except for the historical information presented herein, matters discussed in this release contain forward-looking statements that are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such statements. Emerging Growth LLC is not registered with any financial or securities regulatory authority, and does not provide nor claims to provide investment advice or recommendations to readers of this release. Emerging Growth LLC may from time to time have a position in the securities mentioned herein and may increase or decrease such positions without notice. For making specific investment decisions, readers should seek their own advice. Emerging Growth LLC may be compensated for its services in the form of cash-based compensation or equity securities in the companies it writes about, or a combination of the two. For full disclosure please visit:http://secfilings.com/Disclaimer.aspx. SOURCE:Emerging Growth LLC \|\| The FDA's Authority Challenged By Mallinckrodt: The American healthcare system became much more affordable with the advent of generic drugs. Many popular medications have lower-costing, alternative treatments that contain the same active ingredients as their costly brand-name rivals, which has saved the public millions in pharmaceutical costs. However,last yearthe U.S. Food and Drug Administration took a look at some generic treatments for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and found that they weren't consistently providing the same results as the brand name drug, leading the FDA to reclassify the generics. What Happened? Last year, generic equivalents ofJohnson & Johnson(NYSE:JNJ)' ADHD treatment Concerta made byMallinckrodt PLC(NYSE:MNK) andUCB S A(OTC:UCBJF) were shown to have a different impact on a patient's body despite containing the same active ingredients. Because of this, the FDA changed those drugs' ratings to reflect its findings. Following the ratings change, the FDA gave each drug maker a period of six weeks to prove that their drugs were in fact equivalent to Concerta. If they could not be proven as equal, the companies were asked to voluntarily pull the drugs from the marketplace. Related Link:5 New Biotech Developments Worth Watching Mallinckrodt Pushes Back This week that six month deadline passed, but with very little movement from Mallinckrodt. UCB officials say they have been working to meet FDA requirements, but Mallinckrodt CEO Mark Trudeausaidthe company has no plans to remove its drug from pharmacy shelves. Instead, Mallinckrodt filed a lawsuit challenging the FDA ruling that the drugs were not equivalent, saying that the agency encouraged patients to continue taking the generic ADHD medications if they weren't experiencing any issues. Loss Of Trust Only time will tell whether or not Mallinckrodt will be forced to make changes to its drug, but the challenge sets up an obstacle for all generic companies providing treatments in the U.S. While the FDA's inquiry into the effectiveness of the two drugs reflects the agency's role in protecting the public, some say the results are likely to diminish people's trust in the generic drug market. This is especially true as both of the two drugs deemed inadequate substitutes for Concerta are still being sold as a generic version in pharmacies across the country. Image Credit: Public Domain See more from Benzinga • The Business Of Fertility Finance • Nuclear Deal With Iran Still In Limbo • Bitcoin Gaining Support Among Do-Gooders © 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| Your first trade for Friday: The "Fast Money" traders gave their final trades of the day. Tim Seymour was a seller of IWM(NYSE Arca: IWM). Jon Najarian was a buyer of ARG(ARG). Brian Kelly was a seller of HYG(NYSE Arca: HYG). Dan Nathan was a buyer of LVS(LVS)puts. Trader disclosure: On June 4, 2015 the following stocks and commodities mentioned or intended to be mentioned on CNBC's "Fast Money" were owned by the "Fast Money" traders:Tim Seymour is long AAPL, T, BAC, C, DIS, F, FXI, GE, GM, GOOGL, INTC, KORS, SUNE, Tim's firm is long BABA, BIDU, MCD, NKE, NOK, SBUX, YHOO.Jon Najarian is long AEP, BBY, CS, CSLT, GE, HOG, HSBC, HZNP, KORS, MCD, MW, NEE, NRG, PG, RHT, SIMO, SYK, TTWO, TLT, VIX, XLI, YPF, he is long calls AIG, ANF, ARG, ARIA, CA, CBS, CTXS, DE, DRI, EBAY, ETFC, GE, GLD, IDTI, JNPR, KING, KO, LLY, MCD, MU, NUAN, PG, PHM, SFUN, SNDK, SUNE, he is long puts KORS, LC. Today he bought ARG calls, MU calls, CA calls, ETFC calls, and LC puts.Dan Nathan is long LNKD July call fly, LVS July Aug Put Spread, GOOGL June/July Call Spread, TWTR, BBRY June calls, SO, DE June put fly, INTC July put, SPY June put fly, he is short SO Aug calls. Today he sold to close TLT June call butterfly and GOOGL June call fly.Brian Kelly is long DXGE, BTC=, BBRY, U.S. Dollar, he is short Australian Dollar, he is short Canadian Dollar, he is short Yen, he is short Yuan. More From CNBC • Top News and Analysis • Latest News Video • Personal Finance \|\| Smokeys Daylily Gardens Accepts Chicago's Digital Currency DNotes And Bitcoin For Daylily Purchases: Chicago based digital currency DNotes can now be used to buy flowers at Smokeys Gardens, one of the largest daylily growers in the world CHICAGO, IL / ACCESSWIRE / May 7, 2015 / Smokeys Daylily Gardens ( http://smokeysdaylilygardens.com/ ), established in 2007 and one of the largest daylily growers in the world, becomes the first merchant to accept DNotes ( http://dnotescoin.com ) as a form of payment for daylily purchases. This is a pilot project to demonstrate the significant benefits to merchants in accepting DNotes, a proven stable digital currency built from the ground up with trust and integrity. Hailing from Chicago, Bitcoin alternative DNotes was created on February 18, 2014, with an objective to meet the full functions of fiat currency as a unit of account, store of value and medium of exchange within three years. DNotes has taken a very different path since day one in building a trustworthy stable digital currency with reliable long term appreciation. Using blockchain technology, embedded features to prevent inflation and exemplary means of storage; DNotes may very well exceed fiat money in global online payments in the future. The same team that created DNotes built Smokeys Daylily Gardens in a highly fragmented industry with a blurred line between a business and a hobby. A solid business plan with a firm commitment to be the best in class, coupled with hard work and flawless execution quickly led the seven year old company to be one of the largest daylily growers in the world. Daylily is the second largest selling perennial plant with 79,360 registered cultivars according to AHS (American Hemerocallis Society) Smokeys Gardens offers the best selections of high end daylilies. Using a single 38 acre farm, highly trained and motivated employees, the best farm equipment and the most efficient processes, Smokeys gardens plants, harvests, and ships more daylily plants in one week than most of its competitors in an entire season. Story continues Co-owner Rocky DeLucenay pointed out that, "Efficiency and highly motivated employees are the key elements for small business owners to remain successful these days. We are always interested to save money where we can." She went on to explain that 100% of the business is processed online using paypal, credit and debit cards with some personal checks. The merchant fees along with charge backs often average around 8% of revenue. The cost of transactions using DNotes is near zero, while protecting the company from fraud and chargebacks. Unlike Bitcoin which has been highly volatile, DNotes is a stable digital currency with a proven record of reliable appreciation. DNotes also hosts long term savings plans (CRISP) for children, employees, retirees and students. Haley Mullet, a medical student and a third year employee of Smokey Daylily Gardens and new CRISP for students savings account holder states: "Working in the farm is hard work but it has been rewarding and inspiring to work with a group of professionals who truly want to be the best in class including a genuine concern and contribution to our financial future". To help students like Haley to keep up with costly student loans DNotes are hosting free giveaways for CRISP for Students account holders. CRISP accounts are free, the giveaway will continue with a limited supply of free DNotes. Chicago business leader and co-founder of DNotes Alan Yong is a strong advocate of small business owners, and is concerned about underfunded retirees and the constant struggles of small business owners. The need to constantly use high interest credit cards to supplement cash flow coupled with high transaction cost, reversed charges and credit card fraud has continued to put a damper on employers' ability to support pay raises and facilitate job growth. There has never been a more urgent time for the employer and the employee to foster a new mindset of partnership to confront these new realities for mutual benefits and survival. DNotes is committed to encourage and promote this new partnership by offering CRISP For Employee Incentive Benefits along with CRISP for Retirement, both with the potential for high returns. Accepting DNotes as payment is a significant competitive edge leading to revenue gain and meaningful savings that can be used as employee incentive benefits and owners retirement savings. As the first real world business to accept DNotes as a payment method Smokeys Daylily Gardens is ahead of the curve; well positioned to reap the rewards of instant transactions and low transaction fees. Anyone wishing to learn more about Chicago's very own global digital currency DNotes can contact Alan Yong at [email protected] . He will be attending the Chicago Bitcoin Meetup on Tuesday May 12, 2015 if anyone wishes to meet him in person. http://www.meetup.com/The-Chicago-Bitcoin-Center-at-1871-Official-Meetup/ To learn more about Smokeys Daylily Gardens please go to: http://smokeysdaylilygardens.com/ To buy DNotes with Bitcoin please go to: http://poloniex.com/exchange#btc_note Virtual currency is not legal tender, is not backed by the government, and accounts and value balances are not subject to FDIC and other consumer protections. This press release is for informational purposes only and should not be taken as investment advice. For more information about us, please visit http://smokeysdaylilygardens.com/ Contact Info: Name: Rocky DeLucenay Email: [email protected] Organization: Smokeys Daylily Gardens SOURCE: Smokeys Daylily Gardens \|\| Here's the next key challenge for Stripe, the hot payment startup whose valuation keeps soaring: (LinkedIn )Stripe co-founders John and Patrick Collison Payments company Stripe is Silicon Valley's latest startup success story: The company is in discussions to raise a new round of venture funding that would value it at $5 billion,according to a Re/code report. While Stripe appears to be having no trouble attracting financing, a key effort for the company going forward is likely to focus on boosting the amount of transactions on its platform. Stripe's technology serves as a "gateway," letting websites and online businesses accept payments from anybody, whether they're using a credit card, Bitcoin, or even Apple Pay. This is super critical as more and more consumers do their shopping online. PayPal is still the biggest player in the room, with a whopping $61.4 billion in transaction volume in the first three months of the year,according to this chart. A Stripe spokesperson declined to provide a current transaction volume figure, but said that Stripe processes "billions of dollars a year for thousands of businesses" that range from start-ups to Fortune 500 companies. (A report in PandoDailysaidStripe was doing about $1.5 billion in annualized transaction volume about a year ago, but Stripe now says that number is "entirely false.") Stripe's partnership with Apple for its new mobile payment service is sure to help. And Stripe also counts Facebook and Twitter as partners. Transaction volume is critical in this business. Being a payment processing "gateway" is a low-margin business (banks, credit processing services, and all the other middlemen have to get paid somewhere), meaning that you have to have a high transaction volume to make money. While Stripe doesn't have the tremendous market share of PayPal, it has two things going for it, says Business Insider Research Analyst John Heggestuen: First, it's really simple for a business to get started using Stripe, and second, it's easy for developers to customize Stripe's technology for their own needs — which is super important because not all online businesses have the same needs. And PayPal has long been notorious for not working well with outside developers, Heggestuen says. PayPal has been using its BrainTree mobile payments service, obtained via acquisition, to move faster and compete more directly with Stripe. But Heggestuen describes PayPal's pace of product improvements in the years before that Braintree acquisition as "lackadaisical," betting on the fact that they're already so big. That leaves PayPal playing a little bit of catch-up, and it gives Stripe a fighting chance. NOW WATCH:Peter Thiel's 3 Keys For Building A Successful Startup More From Business Insider • Palantir is reportedly raising $500 million at a $20 billion valuation, making it the third most valuable US startup • Google hired this 'brilliant' kid at 18 — now his startup serves more than 1,000 businesses and just scored $15 million • The 9 worst things about working at a startup no one tells you before you join \|\| Your first trade for Wednesday: The " Fast Money " traders delivered their final trades of the day. Tim Seymour was a seller of the TBT (NYSE Arca: TBT) . Pete Najarian was a buyer of ADT ( ADT ) . Brian Kelly was a buyer of LVS ( LVS ) . Steve Grasso was a buyer of SAP (XETRA:SAP-DE) . Trader disclosure: On May 12, 2015 , the following stocks and commodities mentioned or intended to be mentioned on CNBC's "Fast Money" were owned by the "Fast Money" traders: Tim Seymour is long T, BAC, C, DIS, F, GE, GM, GOOGL, INTC, JCP, KO, SUNE, TBT, VIP, Tim's firm is long BABA, BIDU, CHL, MCD, NKE, NOK, SBUX, YHOO. Pete Najarian is long AMAT, AAPL, BABA, BAC, BMY, BP, CSX, DISCA, FOXA, GE, KKR, KO, LLY, MBLY, MRK, PEP, PFE, he is long calls AA, AAL, BBY, BK, CBS, COP, CSX, DB, EJ, F, FL, GE, GS, HSBC, HZNP, IMAX, KO, KSS, LEN, MAC, MYL, NEE, NTAP, NUAN, OC, PFE, SYY, TEVA, TSX, UAL, UUP, VALE, VMW, VZ, XLF, XOM, ZIOP. Steve Grasso is long AAPL, BAC, BTU, DD, EVGN, MJNA, PFE, T, TWTR, GDX, his firm is long TWTR, APA, AMZN, MCD, OXY, RIG, NE, TSE, VALE, IBM his kids own EFG, EFA, EWJ, IJR, SPY. Brian Kelly is long BTC=, BBRY, SPY puts, U.S. Dollar, he is short Australian Dollar, he is short Yen, he is short Yuan. Stifel Analyst James Albertine: Stifel or an affiliate is a market maker or liquidity provider in the securities of Tesla Motors, Inc. More From CNBC Top News and Analysis Latest News Video Personal Finance \|\| 10 things in tech you need to know today: Apple CEO Tim Cook (Getty Images News) Apple CEO Tim Cook Good morning! Here's the tech news you need to know to start off the week. 1. Apple CEO Tim Cook gave a commencement speech to the graduating class of George Washington University. He talked about what it was like to work with Steve Jobs. 2. Apple has acquired GPS mapping company Coherent Navigation. The company's technology is so advanced that it claims to be able to pinpoint a user's location to within a few centimeters. 3. Carl Icahn has invested $100 million in ride-sharing company Lyft. It raised $150 million, which brings its valuation to $2.5 billion. 4. The first trailer for Aaron Sorkin's movie about Steve Jobs has been released. It shows Michael Fassbender wearing a distinctive black turtleneck jumper. 5. Tech billionaires are going to extreme lengths to get their privacy back. They're spending gobs of money for the one thing everyone else has, but probably takes for granted. 6. The New York Times thinks it may know the identity of the man who created of Bitcoin. It says that Nick Szabo could be the elusive Satoshi Nakamoto. 7. Netflix stock hit a record high on the news that it's planning on entering the Chinese market. It was up over 5% on Friday afternoon. 8. A group of employees at payments company Clinkle left the company on Friday. The company was reportedly negotiating with Apple over an acquisition. 9. Microsoft has clarified that pirates won't get Windows 10 for free. It has previously indicated that even illegally downloaded versions of Windows would be eligible for an upgrade. 10. The Chinese army has banned smartwatches. It claimed that the devices could be hacked into. NOW WATCH: Here's what happens when you drop an Apple Watch face down on cement More From Business Insider 10 things in tech you need to know today 10 things in tech you need to know today 10 things in tech you need to know today \|\| Are Data Centers Worsening California's Drought?: In California, water has become scarce and residents have begun cutting back on their usage in order to conserve the resource and end a four-year drought. However, while most look to shorter showers and strategic plant watering in order to cut down on waste, another industry has been under the microscope for its water usage — data centers . Environmentally Unfriendly With San Francisco being home to several large tech names, California has a large population of massive data centers. The facilities have been criticized in the past for their energy usage, but now the centers are being forced to take a look at their cooling systems, which require a substantial amount of water. Related Link: California's Drought Turns Traders Attention To Water Plays Major Drain In order to keep rooms full of servers from overheating, many data centers use cooling towers that take water in, use it to cool the air and expel it. In this way, data centers are a major contributor to California's drought, as they rid the state of its water supply through evaporation. The facilities require a great deal of water to maintain the cooling systems as well; Utah's NSA Data Center uses up to 1.7 million gallons of water per day to keep its servers cool. New Designs Now that water usage has become a concern, many tech companies are rethinking their cooling systems in order to make their operations more sustainable in times of drought. Google Inc (NASDAQ: GOOG ) (NASDAQ: GOOGL ) has explored using non-potable water in its cooling process, while Facebook Inc (NASDAQ: FB ) has tried using a system that cools outside air using a water mist, which requires much less water than traditional cooling. Image Credit: Public Domain See more from Benzinga Dangers Of Marijuana Uncertain In Growing Industry 3D Printer And A Latte, Please Overstock Loses Big On Bitcoin © 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| Conexus Acquires a Majority Interest in Bitcoin Direct LLC: NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwired - May 19, 2015) - Conexus Cattle Corp. ( OTC PINK : CNXS ) announced today the acquisition of a 51% membership interest in Bitcoin Direct LLC, Nevada limited liability company ("Bitcoin" or the "Company"), which provides bitcoin transaction solutions for consumers in what we believe is a rapidly expanding industry, still in its infancy. Bitcoin's initial focus is aimed at installing and servicing its ABMs (Automated Bitcoin Machines) in multiple locations. The ABMs provide consumers with the ability to instantaneously purchase bitcoins through their mobile devices. Currently, the Company has installations serving the major metropolitan centers of New York City and Montreal. The Company anticipates rapidly expanding its network of Company owned ABMs in the coming months. In addition to operating its own bitcoin ABMs, the Company also anticipates partnering with local operators to create an integrated bitcoin distribution network in high traffic locations across North America. The Company, through its relationships with leading bitcoin miners, plans to supply bitcoins, as well as provide ABM equipment to these local operators. Bitcoin plans to offer a full range of bitcoin transaction solutions to a wide variety of industries, including remittance and gaming, among others. Under the terms of the transaction, Conexus, Bitcoin, and all of the members of Bitcoin, entered into a Securities Exchange Agreement, pursuant to which Conexus acquired memberships interests representing 51% of Bitcoin in exchange for 500 shares of the Conexus's Series H Preferred, with an aggregate stated value equal to $500,000 (the "Exchange Agreement"). In accordance with the terms of the Exchange Agreement, Conexus agreed to provide a working capital facility to Bitcoin in an amount up to $300,000 to be utilized by Bitcoin as needed, and to be repaid by Bitcoin from working capital generated from Bitcoin's operations. In addition, the Exchange Agreement provides an option to the members of Bitcoin for a period of five years to repurchase from the Conexus 10% of the Bitcoin membership interests held by Conexus for $250,000. Additional details of the transaction are included in the Conexus' Current Report on Form 8-K filed today with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Story continues Conrad Huss, President of Conexus, commented, "We are excited to have acquired the majority interest in Bitcoin Direct LLC, along with its experienced management team. Our strategy is to provide sound, profitable, bitcoin transaction solutions to consumers, and to assist a variety of industries as they grow their markets. The Company is ready to help pioneer and promote the consumer adoption of bitcoin through automated solutions across North America." About Bitcoin Direct LLC Bitcoin Direct LLC provides bitcoin transaction solutions for consumers. Bitcoin's initial focus is aimed at installing and servicing its ABMs (Automated Bitcoin Machines) in multiple locations. The ABMs provide consumers with the ability to instantaneously purchase bitcoins through their mobile devices. Currently, the Company has installations serving the major metropolitan centers of New York City and Montreal. Safe Harbor This press release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The forward-looking statements are based on current expectations, estimates and projections made by management. The Company intends for the forward-looking statements to be covered by the safe harbor provisions for forward-looking statements. Words such as "anticipates," "expects," "intends," "plans," "believes," "seeks," "estimates," or variations of such words are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release include statements regarding the elimination of debt positioning the Company for growth and the vote of confidence in the growth plans. All forward-looking statements in this press release are made as of the date of this press release, and the Company assumes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements other than as required by law. The forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those set forth or implied by any forward-looking statements and include the Company's ability to complete its intended growth plans in a timely manner and the other factors discussed in Current Reports on Form 8-K. Copies of these filings are available at www.sec.gov \|\| Bitcoin could shift balance of power in Greece: As Greece stumbles toward capital controls, bitcoin is once again proving its disruptive power within the global financial system. Over the past week, both the price and volume of bitcoin has been increasing (it's up 11 percent so far in June) - this is similar to the activity that occurred when Cyprus introduced capital controls in 2013. During the Cyprus crisis, citizens were not only locked out of their bank accounts but many found that some of their money was confiscated when the banks re-opened. This confiscation went by the "friendly" moniker "bail-in." In the Cyprus bail-in, any deposit above 100,000 euros were converted into Bank of Cyprus shares. Given this precedent, it is no surprise that Greeks are seeking a safe haven for their savings. If Greece does choose to leave the euro zone, it is unclear what currency the government will choose - it could choose a new drachma or it could choose an existing currency like the Russian ruble. Regardless of the fiat currency the Greek government chooses, the likelihood that Greek citizens holding paper currency will lose money in a Grexit is very high. Its only natural for citizens to seek an easy and secure alternative. Read More ECB warns Greek banks may not open on Monday Since 2013, the bitcoin ecosystem has matured and it is now easier than ever to purchase and securely store bitcoins. This makes bitcoin the ideal instrument for Greeks to use as a store of value. What is most striking about the use of bitcoin as a safe-haven asset is that doing so completely disrupts the balance of power between the government, the financial system and its citizens. Part of the European negotiating strategy with Greece has been to make conditions so bad for ordinary citizens that they force politicians to concede to onerous adjustments. So far, this tactic has failed to force Greece into a deal. I am skeptical of this tactic because Greek politicians have little to gain by accepting a deal with the European Union. Since the new government was voted in with the mandate to end austerity, it would be political suicide for them to accept a deal that continued down this path. It would also be economic suicide as further austerity measures will likely push Greece further into depression and result in an even higher debt-to-GDP ratio. Story continues Read More A bitcoin-like solution for Greece But there is also another reason this tactic may not work - it's called competition. The disruptive power of bitcoin has, for the first time in modern history, divorced the currency from the state. This disruption should not be dismissed - ordinary Greek citizens no longer have to wait and see what currency the government (either Greek or EU) will allow them to use - they are free to choose bitcoin or any other digital currency in existence. This competition among currencies is the beating heart of both capitalism and democracy and this competition removes a piece of the euro-zone leverage. Recently there has been a marked increase in volume across multiple exchanges. If this is Greek citizens converting savings into bitcoin, it could mean citizens will become indifferent to political demands. Moreover, since bitcoin can be used to purchase goods and services at over 100,000 merchants, it's unclear whether citizens will ever choose to return to a government-backed fiat currency. The implications of this reality should not be underestimated. Competition among currencies is a new phenomenon ushered in by bitcoin and the blockchain. The ultimate result of competition is to erode the power of the dominant players. This is not to say that Greece will devolve into a lawless society; on the contrary, compassion among currencies places the power back into the hands of the citizens and this is the essence of democracy. It is not lost on me that the birthplace of democracy could also be the cradle of a new balance of power. Read More Gartman: Greece would be better off defaulting Brian Kelly is founder and managing member of Brian Kelly Capital LLC, a global macro investment firm catering to high net worth individuals, family offices and institutions. He is also the creator of the BKCM Indexes, benchmarks for multi-asset money managers. He's also the author of the upcoming book, " The Bitcoin Big Bang: How Alternative Currencies Are About to Change the World ." Kelly, a CNBC contributor, often appears on " Fast Money ." Follow him on Twitter @BKBrianKelly . More From CNBC Top News and Analysis Latest News Video Personal Finance [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] 1 #BTC (#Bitcoin) quotes: $242.77/$243.03 #Bitstamp $243.00/$243.52 #BTCe ⇢$-0.03/$0.75 $242.90/$243.19 #Coinbase ⇢$-0.13/$0.42 \|\| $246.43 at 03:30 UTC [24h Range: $243.00 - $257.39 Volume: 16568 BTC] \|\| Current price: 214.98€ $BTCEUR $btc #bitcoin 2015-05-03 22:00:04 CEST \|\| buysellbitco.in #bitcoin price in INR, Buy : 15207.00 INR Sell : 14734.00 INR. Buy and sell bitcoin in #India using #buysellbitcoin \|\| In the last 10 mins, there were arb opps spanning 21 exchange pair(s), yielding profits ranging between $0.00 and $878.69 #bitcoin #btc \|\| current #bitcoin price (winkdex) is $236.97, last changed Fri, 01 May 2015 03:55:00 GMT. queried at: 03:58:07 \|\| Current price: 152.56£ $BTCGBP $btc #bitcoin 2015-06-15 21:00:04 BST \|\| The latest Bitcoin Price Index is 232.00 USD http://bit.ly/1LJGu2F http://bit.ly/1FyHczy \|\| $244.15 at 02:15 UTC [24h Range: $241.06 - $245.00 Volume: 1917 BTC] \|\| Current price: 150.3£ $BTCGBP $btc #bitcoin 2015-05-16 00:40:05 BST	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 249.01, 257.06, 263.07, 258.62, 255.41, 256.34, 260.89, 271.91, 269.03, 266.21
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2020-09-10] BTC Price: 10363.14, BTC RSI: 40.17 Gold Price: 1954.20, Gold RSI: 53.92 Oil Price: 37.30, Oil RSI: 31.19 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Latest Bitcoin price and analysis (BTC to USD): Bitcoin seems to have re-entered a phase of reaccumulation following a relatively surprising plunge that saw it fall to as low as $11,550 before finding support. The world’s largest cryptocurrency currently has a market cap of $217 billion following the recent rally that has taken it from below $9,000 to the weekend’s high of $12,500. From a technical perspective Bitcoin remains in a bullish formation as long as it trades above the $11,000 level of support. It also bounced from the diagonal trendline dating back to the break out on July 27, which indicates that there simply isn’t enough bearish pressure to spur a corrective move to the downside. BTCUSD on TradingView If Bitcoin can begin to close four-hour candles back above the $12,000 mark before the typically low-volume weekend it would set itself up for a rally to a new yearly high before the end of the month. However, another rejection from $12,000 would signal that the recent break out to $12,500 was in fact a bull trap and that it could be in store for more downside price action. When looking at the daily exponential moving averages, the fact that the 50EMA crossed the 200EMA in May, with all moving averages continuing a positive slope since then, demonstrates Bitcoin’s positive outlook in a macro sense. Bitcoin by TradingView While the recent rally has been attributed to this rise in popularity of DeFi projects on the Ethereum blockchain, Bitcoin is almost certainly the largest brand in the industry, which means retail investors will flock to it during the next bullish phase in the market. For more news, guides and cryptocurrency analysis, click here . Bitcoin pricing Current live BTC pricing information and interactive charts are available on our site 24 hours a day. The ticker bar at the bottom of every page on our site has the latest Bitcoin price. Pricing is also available in a range of different currency equivalents: US Dollar – BTCtoUSD British Pound Sterling – BTCtoGBP Story continues Japanese Yen – BTCtoJPY Euro – BTCtoEUR Australian Dollar – BTCtoAUD Russian Rouble – BTCtoRUB About Bitcoin In August 2008, the domain name bitcoin.org was registered. On 31st October 2008, a paper was published called “Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System”. This was authored by Satoshi Nakamoto, the inventor of Bitcoin. To date, no one knows who this person, or people, are. The paper outlined a method of using a P2P network for electronic transactions without “relying on trust”. On January 3 2009, the Bitcoin network came into existence. Nakamoto mined block number “0” (or the “genesis block”), which had a reward of 50 Bitcoins. More BTC news and information If you want to find out more information about Bitcoin or cryptocurrencies in general, then use the search box at the top of this page. Here’s an article to get you started. As with any investment, it pays to do some homework before you part with your money. The prices of cryptocurrencies are volatile and go up and down quickly. This page is not recommending a particular currency or whether you should invest or not. Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the author should not be considered as financial advice. \|\| 3iQ: THE BITCOIN FUND COMPLETES PRIVATE PLACEMENTS: Open for daily subscriptions to accredited investors Toronto, Sept. 03, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- (TSX: QBTC.U) 3iQ Corp. (3iQ” is pleased to announce that The Bitcoin Fund has completed a round of private placements of 241,320 units approved by the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX). The Bitcoin Fund is currently open for daily subscriptions to accredited investors. Following a four-month holding period, investors in the private placement may elect to sell their shares on the TSX under the ticker symbol: QBTC.U. The Bitcoin Fund’s investment objectives are to provide holders of units with:(a) exposure to bitcoin priced in U.S. dollars, and(b) the opportunity for long-term capital appreciation. The Bitcoin Fund will acquire assets from reputable bitcoin trading platforms and OTC counterparties, in order to provide investors with a convenient, secure alternative to a direct investment in bitcoin. Gemini, a trust company licensed by the New York State Department of Financial Services, will act as sub-custodian of the Fund's assets. We believe an investment in bitcoin will provide investors with a low-correlated asset class which will complement traditional investment strategies. 3iQ is the investment fund manager and portfolio manager of The Bitcoin Fund. For further information regarding the Fund, please visit www.3iq.ca or email Fred Pye, President and CEO of 3iQ at [email protected]. About 3iQ Founded in 2012, 3iQ is a Canadian investment fund manager focused on providing investors with exposure to digital assets, disruptive technologies and the blockchain space. 3iQ was the first Canadian investment fund manager to agree to terms and conditions with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities to manage a public bitcoin investment fund and multi-cryptoasset fund for Canadian accredited investors. Our experienced team of financial professionals are committed to providing innovative investments of institutional quality. Digital assets are a significant new technology that seek to revolutionize both currency and application development through blockchain and distributed computing methodologies. Access to these new technologies can be daunting, costly, and inconvenient. 3iQ has worked through a stringent regulatory process to offer investors convenient and familiar investment products to gain exposure to digital assets. We have partnered with thought leaders and best-in-class service providers in this area to build secure products that aim to generate positive long-term capital gains for investors looking to hold investments in digital assets. Disclaimer Commissions, trailing commissions, management fees and expenses all may be associated with mutual fund investments. Please read the prospectus before investing. Mutual funds are not guaranteed, their values change frequently and past performance may not be repeated.The prospectus contains important information relating to these securities. Copies of the prospectus may be obtained from Canaccord Genuity Corp. or any of the Agents. Investors should read the prospectus before making an investment decision. Certain statements contained in this news release constitute forward-looking information within the meaning of Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking information may relate to matters disclosed in this news release and to other matters identified in public filings relating to the Fund, to the future outlook of the Fund and anticipated events or results and may include statements regarding the future financial performance of the Fund. In some cases, forward-looking information can be identified by terms such as “may”, “will”, “should”, “expect”, “plan”, “anticipate”, “believe”, “intend”, “estimate”, “predict”, “potential”, “continue” or other similar expressions concerning matters that are not historical facts. In particular, this news release includes forward-looking information relating to the anticipated completion of the Offering. Actual results may differ materially from results indicated in forward-looking information for a number of reasons, including the failure to close the transactions referenced in this news release on the terms and conditions currently contemplated by the Fund, or at all, as well the risk factors identified in the Fund’s prospectus. Investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof and we assume no obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances, unless otherwise required by law. This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities in the United States. The securities have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “U.S. Securities Act”) or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to U.S. persons unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or an exemption from such registration is available. This news release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy in the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, persons in the United States or U.S. Persons nor shall there by any sale of the securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful.This press release is not for distribution in the United States newswire servicesor for dissemination in the United States. Attachment • QBTC logo CONTACT: Fred Pye 3iQ Corp. +1(416) 639-2130 [email protected] \|\| Blockchain Bites: MicroStrategy’s $250M Bitcoin Bet, India Booms, Banks Open to Custody: MicroStrategy bets $250 million on bitcoin’s safe haven thesis. Indian crypto is booming. And David Marcus has a new role at Facebook. Banks buying“Major U.S. banks might be willing to support cryptocurrency services – with just a bit of additional guidance from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), their federal regulator,”says CoinDesk’s regulatory reporter Nik De. This follows the OCC issuing an open letter in July saying nationally chartered banks could custody crypto. In public responses, 12 banks, including U.S. Bank and PNC, have expressed interest in providing such services. MicroStrategy goes macroIn what could be significant validation forbitcoin’s“safe haven” thesis, Nasdaq-listed MicroStrategy purchased 21,454 bitcoin on Tuesday, effectively shifting its inflation hedging strategy entirely into digital assets. The purchase was worth a cool $250 million. “This investment reflects our belief that bitcoin, as the world’s most widely adopted cryptocurrency, is a dependable store of value and an attractive investment asset with more long-term appreciation potential than holding cash,”said CEO Michael J. Saylor. Related:Blockchain Bites: Inside Cosmos, Bitcoin at $200B, DeFi Surges India rising“India’s crypto trade volumes have soared since the Supreme Court of India lifted banking restrictions for exchanges in March,”report Leigh Cuen and Shuai Hao. According to Paxful, a leading peer-to-peer trading platform, India is now among the five fastest-growing bitcoin user groups in the world. No good week“Ethereum Classic developers were still licking fresh wounds late last week when yet another 51% attack was launched against their blockchain early Thursday morning,”reports Will Foxley. “As the bits settle, the proof-of-work blockchain’s future remains in question more than ever.” BSN abroadThe Blockchain-Based Service Network (BSN), a Chinesestateblockchain infrastructure project, has an English language website for dapp developers. “BSN touts that it is one of the few cross-chain infrastructure networks where developers can use the network’s internet services for different blockchains under a standardized development environment,”says CoinDesk’s David Pan. The U.S. Department of Agriculture isbullish on blockchain-based supply chains. (CoinDesk) Related: What is Ethereum’s total supply? Bitcoiners sayEthereans don’t know. (Decrypt) Frank Chaparrounpacks why“fintechs are diving into the crypto market – but crypto firms aren’t diving into fintech.” (The Block) Belaruslost internet accessamid protests over its presidential election last weekend. (CoinDesk) Facebook’s David Marcushas a new rolebesides co-founding Libra. (CoinDesk) Omkar Godbolehas the lateston bitcoin holding steady and gold falling back: “Bitcoin’s recent price rally has shifted to a sideways meander, possibly taking cues from gold’s drop from record highs,” he writes. “The cryptocurrency is trading in the general range of $11,600-$11,900 for the fourth straight day. Meanwhile, the precious metal is trading near $1,988 at press time – down 4.2% from the record high of $2,075 reached on Friday. Both assets have recently developed a relatively strong positive correlation. As such, gold’s decline may have applied the brakes to bitcoin’s rally from lows near $9,000.” 10 Reasons Quant Strategies for Crypto Fail“Despite the attractive characteristics of crypto assets for quant strategies, crypto poses unique challenges for quant models and the reality is that most quant strategies in crypto fail,” says Jesus Rodriguez, CEO of IntoTheBlock, a market intelligence platform for crypto assets. Quant strategies may be perfect long term but for now, he says, most of those “proven effective in traditional capital markets are likely to not work as well when applied to crypto assets.” The Fourth Era of Blockchain GovernanceCoinDesk columnist Stephanie Hurder argues that blockchain projects need sophisticated, future-proofed governance regimes to attract corporate actors. “Enterprise use cases not only require cross-platform development but also frequently undergo rigorous, multi-year planning cycles. Enterprises considering deploying blockchain solutions want to know how various platforms and their governance designs function in sum, so they can minimize unnecessary uncertainty and deliver on their project goals.” “China and the U.S. trade high-profile sanctions, but the real impact is showing up in banks and on the Hong Kong stock market,” says Nathaniel Whittemore in thelatest edition of The Breakdown. • Blockchain Bites: MicroStrategy’s $250M Bitcoin Bet, India Booms, Banks Open to Custody • Blockchain Bites: MicroStrategy’s $250M Bitcoin Bet, India Booms, Banks Open to Custody \|\| Bitcoin Price Holds Below $12K Even as Hashrate Hits All-Time High: Bitcoin remains in consolidation below a critical resistance despite hashrate reaching record highs over the weekend. • Data from Glassnode shows the seven-day average for bitcoin’s hashrate – the computing power dedicated to mining blocks – rose to a record high of 129.03 exahashes per second (EH/s) over the weekend. • Bitcoin’s July rally has stalled near $12,000, making the psychological level a resistance to beat for the bulls. It wassidelining near $11,900at press time. • But some argue that an increasing hashrate is a bullish price signal. • Earlier this year, Jeremy Britton, CEO of Boston Trading Co. toldFinance Magnatesrising hashrate forced miners to hoard rather than sell newly mined coins, reducing downwards pressure and raising the price floor. • But price increases don’t always follow from higher hashrates, according to Philip Gradwell, an economist at the blockchain intelligence firm Chainalysis. • “Miners may be better at predicting the future price, but that doesn’t really cause the prices to go up,” Gradwell told CoinDesk in a Telegram chat on Monday. • A direct correlation between the hash rate and the price has not been seen before –bitcoin'sprice fell 30% in the second half of 2019 even though the hashrate rose 64% to 97 EH/s. • Stack Fund co-founder and COO Matthew Dibb told CoinDesk miners may be scaling up their capacity, ergo hashrate, in anticipation of a rising bitcoin price, but didn’t think there was actually an established causal link between the two. Also read:Marathon Signs New $23M Contract With Bitmain for 10,500 Bitcoin Mining Rigs • Bitcoin Price Holds Below $12K Even as Hashrate Hits All-Time High • Bitcoin Price Holds Below $12K Even as Hashrate Hits All-Time High • Bitcoin Price Holds Below $12K Even as Hashrate Hits All-Time High • Bitcoin Price Holds Below $12K Even as Hashrate Hits All-Time High \|\| What Twitter's Worst Hack Means For Its Bottom Line: (Bloomberg Opinion) -- Considering the fact that Twitter Inc. was still in damage-control mode Thursday from what was arguably the worst security failure in its history, it was a little surprising that investors didn't seem to care all that much, with its stock price barely down in afternoon trading. The market’s initial assessment seems to be that the social media platform’s users will take the breach in stride and return to the service — which does seem to have been the case so far.But even if Twitter’s user growth is relatively unaffected, shareholders shouldn’t overlook what the latest in a long series of security incidents says about the how the company works and why its stock has been such a disappointment: Twitter’s engineering prowess and management practices are simply second-rate. On Wednesday, numerous Twitter accounts from business leaders, celebrities to major companies — including Elon Musk, Barack Obama, Jeff Bezos and Apple — were hacked and posted cryptocurrency scam messages, promising to double the amount of any funds sent to a specific Bitcoin address. Twitter later admitted to the unprecedented nature of the breach, saying it believes it fell victim to a “coordinated social engineering attack,” where hackers were able to take control of its internal systems. CEO Jack Dorsey tweeted, “Tough day for us at Twitter. We all feel terrible this happened.” Certainly, hedge fund Elliott Management must not be pleased with the turn of events. The activist hedge fund and Twitter stakeholder reached an agreement with the company earlier this year to restructure the company’s board, standing down on an initial goal of replacing management including Dorsey. The lackluster security is more ammunition for Twitter’s critics who have long questioned the company’s efficacy in using its engineering resources. Even as Chinese super-apps such as WeChat have expanded upon core messaging services to build vast consumer internet empires, and Facebook Inc. has transformed its platforms into advertising money machines, the basic nature of Twitter’s offering hasn’t changed much over the past decade. That, even as the company spends an incredible amount in research and development annually — including nearly $700 million last year alone. Where does all the money go? Twitter’s financial performance has been anemic as well. It has yet to crack the monetization code even as its daily usage metrics improve. In its latest reported quarter, Twitter posted the worst ad revenue trends among the major U.S. internet ad platforms, with sales rising a meager 3% year over year. That paled in comparison to Facebook’s 18% growth for the same time period — even as Twitter is a fraction of its larger competitor’s size. Once again it comes down to technical aptitude. Twitter has struggled to build more advanced, transaction-oriented direct-response ads, while its competitors have thrived in that market. Story continues Wednesday evening’s response to the attack gave further evidence of the structural issues. While the company said it “immediately” took down the posts and locked affected accounts when it found out about the hack, my observations point to a slower response. I directly saw how scam messages with the same Bitcoin address continued to spread for more than an hour to different accounts, and how posts stayed up for some time before being deleted. It made me wonder why Twitter couldn’t move faster in automatically deleting any message posted with this specific cryptocurrency address, and suggested a lack of security defense capabilities. The problem is, we’ve seen this many times before — and that doesn’t speak well for management. There is no excuse for what happened. In 2010, Twitter agreed to a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission for not adequately protecting the personal information of its users. The government said at the time Twitter had “serious lapses” in its security that allowed hackers to get “unauthorized administrative control” to posts from the accounts of high-profile users such as Barack Obama. Sound familiar? There were other incidents. In 2017, a contractor was able to take down President Donald Trump’s account for a short time period. Last August, hackers took control of Dorsey’s own account and posted hate messages. Finally, late last year, the Justice Department charged two of the company’s former employees for possibly accessing internal data for Saudi Arabia. One would think Twitter would have vigorously built fortress-level security barriers and rock-solid safeguards to protect against another intrusion. Clearly, whatever the company did wasn’t enough.We do not yet know the full extent of the damage from the latest incident. Did the hackers get access to personal information such as email addresses, phone numbers and passwords? Were personal direct messages sent between users stolen? For some groups — like the media — Twitter is still an indispensable part of the job. But, if it turns out the hack was far worse than just a Bitcoin scam, it could put the company’s user base in jeopardy — especially if there are more lapses going forward. Whatever the fallout, the security debacle serves as a reminder of Twitter’s technical and business deficiencies. And unless serious changes are made, the outlook for the company isn’t much better. This might be time for an investor like Elliott to get active again. This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners. Tae Kim is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering technology. He previously covered technology for Barron's, following an earlier career as an equity analyst. For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinion Subscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source. ©2020 Bloomberg L.P. \|\| Top Bitcoin Mining Pools See 15% Hashrate Drop Amid Continuous Rainstorms in China: Major Chinese bitcoin mining pools are each seeing daily hashrate drops of between 10% and 20% following continuous rainstorms in Sichuan. China’s southwestern Sichuan province, a mountainous region that is estimated to have over 50% of the Bitcoin network’s total computing power, has been hit by heavy rainstormssince last week, which peaked over the last two days. The heavy rainstorms have caused electricity outages in parts of the region as hydro-plants stop generating power to help discharge the floods. Some counties are also experiencing telecommunication and internet breakdowns, said Kevin Pan, CEO and co-founder of PoolIn. Related:PayPal Co-founder, DCG-Backed BTC Mining Firm Layer1 Accused of Patent Infringement As result, impactedbitcoinmining farms in the region are forced to unplug from the network for the time being. It’s not clear when the situation will prove as the rainstorms are still ongoing. Data from BTC.com shows the world’s top four bitcoin mining pools – PoolIn, F2Pool, BTC.com and Antpool, all based in China – have each seen their hashrates drop between 10% and 20% over the last 24 hours. The computing power connected to these four pools accounts for around 50% of the Bitcoin network’s total. Pansaidin a Weibo post Tuesday China time that in addition to mining farms being forced to unplug due to electricity and internet disruptions, some have also proactively paused operations ahead of time and evacuated their on-site staff for safety precautions. According to theXinhua News Agency, the accumulated rain volume in a dozen most-impacted cities in Sichuan between Aug. 10-15 alone has already surpassed the average August monthly volume in any year’s record. Related:Mining Firm Hut 8 Reports 28% Drop in Q2 Revenue Following Bitcoin Halving Further, one major highway that leads to Sichuan’s mountain area, where most of the mining farms are located, isshut downdue to severe floods and mudslides. Meanwhile, bitcoin’s last three-day and one-day average hashrate has dropped to around 123 and 110 exahashes per second (EH/s), respectively. These numbers are down over 3% and 10%, respectively, from the seven-day rolling average around 127 EH/s, which is still at an all-time high. Read more:The 2020 Rainy Season Is Tougher Than Ever for China’s Bitcoin Miners The monsoon season in China every year brings abundant rain and thus excessive hydropower resources especially in the country’s southwestern regions, including Sichuan and Yunan. Such energy excess leads to cheap electricity prices that have been attractive to bitcoin miners. But over the years, the unpredictable weather also caused floods and mudslides, which resulted in bitcoin mining farmshaltingoperations temporarily or even being completely destroyed. • Top Bitcoin Mining Pools See 15% Hashrate Drop Amid Continuous Rainstorms in China • Top Bitcoin Mining Pools See 15% Hashrate Drop Amid Continuous Rainstorms in China \|\| Latest Ethereum price and analysis (ETH to USD): Ethereum has shown signs of a potential resurgence this morning with a 2.95% surge to the upside as it takes aim at the $250 level of resistance. The world’s second largest cryptocurrency by market cap remains in a bullish posture against its US Dollar and Bitcoin trading pair as it trades above key moving averages. Notably, the fact that Ethereum is trading above the daily 200MA when the majority of altcoins are treating it as a level of resistance demonstrates how Ethereum has decoupled from similar assets with smaller market caps. This bodes well if Bitcoin can eventually pick itself back up in the coming months with a move towards $10,500, which could see Ethereum surge back to its yearly high of $290. When examining Ethereum’s Bitcoin trading pair a more neutral projection comes to fruition, with Ethereum currently battling it out over the 0.026BTC level of resistance, which provided a point of rejection in April. Breaking above that level would cause an initial rally to 0.028BTC with upside price targets beginning to emerge as high as 0.03BTC. However, it’s worth noting that while the recent price action has lacked any kind of volatility, a major move to the downside may also be on the cards if Bitcoin suddenly breaks below $8,830 as this would cause a cascade of sells across altcoins and the entire market. The most likely stopping point for Ethereum in that scenario would be $200, which is also in confluence with the daily 200MA. For more news, guides and cryptocurrency analysis, click here . About Ethereum Ethereum was launched by Vitalik Buterin on July 30 2015. He was a researcher and programmer working on Bitcoin Magazine and he initially wrote a whitepaper in 2013 describing Ethereum. Buterin had proposed that Bitcoin needed a scripting language. He decided to develop a new platform with a more general scripting language when he couldn’t get buy-in to his proposal. More Ethereum news and information If you want to find out more information about Ethereum or cryptocurrencies in general, then use the search box at the top of this page. Please check the below article: Story continues https://coinrivet.com/ethereum-adopts-erc-1155-as-an-official-standard/ As with any investment, it pays to do some homework before you part with your money. The prices of cryptocurrencies are volatile and go up and down quickly. This page is not recommending a particular currency or whether you should invest or not. You may be interested in our range of cryptocurrency guides along with the latest cryptocurrency news . Disclaimer: This is not financial advice. \|\| Blockchain Bites: Hedge Fund Down, Banana Bets and the Twitter Hack Fallout: Another crypto hedge fund is winding down, Huobi launched a new unit to invest in DeFi and the Twitter hacker is reportedly a bitcoin millionaire. You’re reading Blockchain Bites , the daily roundup of the most pivotal stories in blockchain and crypto news, and why they’re significant. You can subscribe to this and all of CoinDesk’s newsletters here . Top shelf Fund Down Neural Capital, a crypto hedge fund, has closed, having lost half its money since launching in 2017. Three people familiar with the matter said the fund’s crypto-assets were liquidated in December and the fund is in the process of refunding leftover money to investors, a process taking longer than expected. At its height, Neural Capital managed over $13 million from over 40 investors, including Greylock partner Joshua Elman and Expa partner Hooman Radfar. It joins several funds founded in 2017 that have announced closures in 2020, including Adaptive Capital, Prime Factor Capital and Tetras Capital. Related: Blockchain Bites: XRP Sales, INX IPO and Bitcoin Mining Woes Banana Fund U.S. prosecutors are seeking to return $6.5 million in bitcoin to victims of the “Banana.Fund” crowdfunding project, which the government described in court papers as a Ponzi scheme. In a forfeiture suit against the cryptocurrency account storing the funds, prosecutors allege Banana.Fund’s unnamed administrator admitted to investors his project had flopped, promised to return $1.7 million to them and then failed to do so. The operator then pivoted to a laundering and refund scheme that ultimately resulted in the U.S. Secret Service’s (USSS) seizure of 482 bitcoin (BTC) and 1,721,868 tether (USDT), court documents show. Twitter Hacker The 17-year-old thought to be behind the recent Twitter hack reportedly owns more than $3 million worth of bitcoin. The alleged hacker, Graham Ivan Clark, stands accused of 17 counts of communications fraud, 11 counts of fraudulent use of personal information, one count of breaking into an electronic device and another for organized fraud. His bail was set at $725,000. Federal officials are also charging Nima Fazeli and Mason John Sheppard with aiding in the “intentional access of a protected computer” and conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering, according to criminal complaints published Friday. Story continues DeFi Lab Crypto exchange operator Huobi Group is forming a new fund to invest tens of millions of dollars of its own capital in the decentralized finance (DeFi) space. Huobi Group said in an announcement Monday it has launched a new business unit called Huobi DeFi Labs to manage the fund. The group will focus on research, investment and incubation of DeFi-related projects, and has brought on former banker Sharlyn Wu to lead the initiative. Hacker Effects A Spanish cryptocurrency payments app and card issuer has admitted it won’t be able immediately to repay users affected by Friday’s $1.4 million hack and has offered a compromise instead. Madrid-based 2gether said Sunday it hadn’t been able to find the funds to reimburse all users the €1.2 million stolen by hackers – 26.79% of the firm’s total funds – on Friday evening. The firm has offered to reimburse investors in native 2GT tokens at the issuance price of just under $0.06. “We can assure you, with a great deal of chagrin, that if we could face this theft with our own funds, we would,” the announcement reads. Market intel Related: First Mover: As Fed Nears Inflation Rubicon, Analysts See $50K Bitcoin in Play Tokenized BTC The supply of tokenized bitcoin grew more than 70% in July. More than 20,000 BTC (~$225 million) are now tokenized using Ethereum-based protocols. Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) represents over 76% of the total tokenized bitcoin supply with over 15,500 BTC tokenized. The total supply grew by roughly $96 million in July, following June’s record growth. Dex Volume July trading volume on decentralized exchanges set its second consecutive record high, rising 174% from June, according to data from Dune Analytics. Aggregate trading volume on decentralized exchanges reached $4,32 billion in July, up from $1.52 billion in June. 41% of July’s volume came from Uniswap, on which traders speculate on assets ranging from “a better Bitcoin” to a coin named after fried chicken. Opinion Value Judgments Crypto is inherently disruptive. In this week’s Crypto Long & Short newsletter, CoinDesk’s Galen Moore asks whether decentralization – and its attendant change making – creates or destroys value within the crypto space. “The “Robinhood Effect” may represent a threat to crypto from stocks, which also seem to now trade unencumbered by fundamentals, via onramps that broaden access,” he writes. DeFi Defines Ethereum DeFi Dad, an organizing member of the Ethereal Summit and Sessions and DeFi super user, t hinks Etheruem has found a narrative it can latch onto. “Five years ago, you could argue Ethereum was attempting to do too much. Even two to three years ago, that was still a valid hypothesis, with stagnant adoption,” he writes. Podcast Corner Bitcoin, Sex and Feminism Chaturbate is among the few traditional porn sites that has integrated crypto in a meaningful way. COO Shirely Lara joins CoinDesk’s Leigh Cuen for an in-depth discussion about bitcoin, sex and feminism. Who won #CryptoTwitter? Related Stories Blockchain Bites: Hedge Fund Down, Banana Bets and the Twitter Hack Fallout Blockchain Bites: Hedge Fund Down, Banana Bets and the Twitter Hack Fallout \|\| The Tapscotts Take Their Blockchain Research Institute Into Europe: Blockchain Research Institute (BRI), the education and innovation hub founded by father-and-son tech evangelists Don and Alex Tapscott, has opened a European arm. Announced Wednesday, Blockchain Research Institute Europe (BRIE) launches in partnership with Blockwall, an independent venture capital firm based in Frankfurt, Germany. The new BRIE think tank will bring together a gaggle of European industry leaders, academics, policymakers, entrepreneurs and researchers, according to a joint press statement. The goal: Getting large companies through the “ trough of disillusionment ” currently surrounding “enterprise blockchain.” Related: Is This the Blockchain Firm That Will Get Enterprise to Finally Embrace Open Networks? “We were not focused on what is typically called enterprise blockchain,” Alex Tapscott said in an interview. “I think that’s just a misnomer.” Instead, BRI is focused on “blockchain for enterprise,” which offers a wider canvas on which distributed technologies can play out. “Saying ‘enterprise blockchain’ is like saying ‘enterprise internet.’ There’s just one internet,” Tapscott said. “From the very beginning, we saw public protocols like Bitcoin and Ethereum as being the foundation technology that would be used by enterprises.” Read more: Salesforce Among 12 New Members to Join Blockchain Research Institute Related: 'Boring Is the New Exciting': How Baseline Protocol Connected With 600 Corporates One particular area of growth: stablecoins. “Stablecoins were never part of the enterprise blockchain toolkit until recently,” he said. “From first-hand experience talking to banks, supply chain, shipping and logistics companies, all of them are trying to understand how the stablecoin boom is going to transform enterprise.” Tapscott said BRIE’s aim is to recruit large European corporates to join the BRI consortium, which includes mainly U.S. member firms like FedEx, Exxon, Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, IBM and Microsoft. Story continues BRIE will be based in Frankfurt and staffed by four or five Blockwall staffers, with a view to hiring dedicated research staff going forward, Tapscott said. BRI has carried out over 150 research projects to date. Related Stories The Tapscotts Take Their Blockchain Research Institute Into Europe The Tapscotts Take Their Blockchain Research Institute Into Europe \|\| Pornhub Adds Bitcoin and Litecoin Payments for Premium Content: Pornhub, the popular adult entertainment site, has added two popular cryptocurrencies as payment options. In a tweet Wednesday, the company announced that it’s now accepting bitcoin ( BTC ) and litecoin ( LTC ) in payment for its Pornhub Premium offering. The company has been accepting the verge (XVG) cryptocurrency for user payments since 2018. It has since started allowing its entertainers to be paid in tether ( USDT ), a stablecoin linked to the U.S. dollar. Pornhub has previously announced it would accept both tron ( TRX ) and horizen (ZEN) for content, too, though its web page currently lists only verge. Pornhub has had issues with traditional funding methods in the past, when PayPal suddenly blocked payments to the site without explanation. Corey Price, vice president of Pornhub, said at the time the site would look at more cryptocurrency options going forward. LISTEN: Why This Sex Industry Executive Loves Bitcoin Related Stories Pornhub Adds Bitcoin and Litecoin Payments for Premium Content Pornhub Adds Bitcoin and Litecoin Payments for Premium Content Pornhub Adds Bitcoin and Litecoin Payments for Premium Content Pornhub Adds Bitcoin and Litecoin Payments for Premium Content [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] None available.	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 10400.92, 10442.17, 10323.76, 10680.84, 10796.95, 10974.91, 10948.99, 10944.59, 11094.35, 10938.27
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis] Not fully available. [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Top ETF Plays As Small-Caps Outpace Large-Caps: This article was originally published onETFTrends.com. Small-cap stocks and the corresponding exchange traded funds have recently been outpacing their large-cap counterparts prompting some market observers to speculate that smaller stocks could be in for a lengthy period of out-performance. Some fundamentally-weighted small-cap ETFs could deliver even more impressive returns as more investors revisit the small-cap category. That group of funds could include products such as the PowerShares DWA SmallCap Momentum Portfolio (DWAS) . DWAS follows the popular Dorsey, Wright & Associates proprietary selection methodology that is designed to identify small-cap firms with positive relative strength characteristics in an attempt to follow companies with strong forward momentum. The ETF follows the Dorsey Wright SmallCap Technical Leaders Index. Various data points suggest small-caps have momentum in the current environment. Favorable fundamental factors include the recent U.S. tax cuts. “In the three years ending December 2017, the companies in the S&P SmallCap 600 Index had an average effective tax rate 4.3% higher than the S&P 500 Index,”according to Invesco. “Investors looking for stocks that may experience improved profitability due to US tax reform have turned to the small-cap sector.” Favorable Outlook for Small Caps Small-caps are focused on the domestic economy and have less direct exposure to global geopolitical uncertainty and currency risks, as opposed to large-cap companies that have an international footprint, which may be affected by overseas risks and a strengthening U.S. dollar. Additionally, small-cap earnings estimates are improving. “Earnings estimate revisions have been strongest in the small-cap sector. Forward earnings estimates for the S&P SmallCap 600 Index have risen by more than 28% compared to 18.7% for the S&P 500 Index over the past six months,” according to Invesco. DWAS holds 200 stocks and allocates over 30% of its weight to healthcare names. The financial services and industrial sectors combine for over 34% of the ETF's roster. Importantly, small-cap valuations are not stretched, a potentially positive sign for an asset class that often trades at a premium to large-caps. “Some see better value in small caps as the price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio has compressed on the S&P SmallCap 600 Index, suggesting that small caps have cheapened in recent years. On a forward earnings basis, the S&P SmallCap 600 Index is currently trading at 20.1 compared to 17.0 for the S&P 500 Index. The ratio of 1.18 is down from a peak of over 1.33 in July 2009,” according to Invesco data. Meanwhile, the iShares Russell 2000 ETF (NYSEArca: IWM) , which tracks the benchmark Russell 2000 Index, is up more than 6% over the past month, outperforming major large-cap indexes along the way. For more information on small-capitalization stocks, visit oursmall-cap category. POPULAR ARTICLES FROM ETFTRENDS.COM • How to Bet on Upside for Hot Tech ETFs • Tom Lydon Featured on Capital Allocators With Ted Seides Podcast • Bitcoin: More Speculators, Fewer Investors • 5 Ways to Improve Your Financial Decisions • 6 Hacks to Automate Your Financial Life READ MORE AT ETFTRENDS.COM > \|\| Did Harley-Davidson Blow a Half-Million Dollars on Racing?: Harley-Davidson 's (NYSE: HOG) half-million-dollar bet to win back its racing crown isn't going as planned. Although it's still early in the 20-race American Flat Track racing season, rival Indian Motorcycle is looking as if it's going to repeat its dominating performance of last year. What's at stake is more than just bragging rights about which motorcycle company has the better racing team. In an industry suffering from flagging sales, race results highlight each bike maker's technology, innovation, and prowess in building a top performance machine. And that could help provide an edge at dealerships. With Harley once again falling behind Indian's owner Polaris Industries (NYSE: PII) in the early going, it could give Indian the momentum to keep driving sales higher. Jared Mees on an Indian Motorcycle FTR750 Image source: American Flat Track. Resorting to Plan B Harley-Davidson made winning this year's flat-track racing title a top priority. It committed to spending as much as $562,500 for the 2018 American Flat Track contingency program, the largest in cash awards ever put up in the 65-year history of flat-track racing. It was also nearly six times more than the bike maker's program two years ago, when it didn't have to contend with the Indian Wrecking Crew (as the team is known) challenging its leadership. Indian is offering $358,000 in awards, and Kawasaki is next in line with $356,000. In 2016, Polaris unveiled its purpose-built Scout FTR750 bike. It has a proprietary liquid-cooled, 750 cubic centimeter engine developed by its elite swissauto division specifically for the flat-track circuit. It took on the first new racing bike Harley built in 44 years, the equally impressive XG750R, and last year was the first time the two went head to head. Indian's racing team dominated the 2017 American Flat Track season with 14 wins in 20 races, 37 podium appearances (meaning a top-three finish), and six podium sweeps. It's looking like 2018 may be a repeat performance. Harley-Davidson and Indian have competed in only three of 20 planned races so far, but Indian is dominating the circuit once again. Story continues Racing to the dealership? Could Indian's dominance of flat-track racing be helping sales? Quite possibly. Toyota maintains that its winning the Nascar driver and manufacturer championships has boosted its car sales, and there's a long-standing saying in racing of "win on Sunday, sell on Monday," suggesting that whichever car wins a Sunday Nascar race sees a boost in sales on Monday. It could very well be the same with motorcycle racing. U.S. sales of Harley-Davidson were down 8.6% in 2017 and fell a stunning 12% in the first quarter of 2018. Indian, on the other hand, saw double-digit percentage rate growth last year and low-single digit percentage increases in the first quarter. Both motorcycle manufacturers say the industry is in a tailspin. Harley says the market for motorcycles with engines 601 cc and larger was down over 11% in the first quarter, while Polaris the 900 cc and above market was down by mid-teen percentage rates, continuing the decline seen in preceding years, but are a markedly steeper loss. Running circles around Harley Flat-track racing also appeals to the younger demographic bike makers seek. American Flat Track says 49% of its Facebook fans are 18-to-24-year-olds, and it has high teen percentages for 13-to-17-year-olds. Although male dominated like much of motorcycling, some 19% of flat-track racing fans are female, one of the fastest growing segments of the motorcycle riding population. Harley-Davidson has been the reigning flat-track racing champ for years prior to Indian's comeback, but if Polaris' technological prowess in bike-building is handily beating Harley's, that can easily bring more buyers into an Indian dealership than a Harley one. And perhaps it already is as demand for street version Scouts remain particularly strong. That suggests Harley-Davidson might have better spent its contingency money elsewhere. Sure, it obviously won't have to actually spend the money if the racers don't win, meaning the money will still be available, but it was ready to forego investments in building bikes that buyers actually want to win a racing title. Smaller, less expensive bikes might move the sales needle just as much. Now with Indian Motorcycle proving it has an edge on the racetrack as well as on the sales floor, it's becoming clear Harley-Davidson's massive racing contingency program was a wasted effort. More From The Motley Fool 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This Rich Duprey has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Polaris Industries. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy . \|\| How Altria's Transforming Itself to Keep Its Lead: The biggest challenge that tobacco giantAltria Group(NYSE: MO)has faced in recent years has been the secular decline in cigarette smoking. So far, Altria has been able to do a good job ofboosting prices on its loyal customer basein order to offset the negative impact of sliding overall volume. But recently, the shift in interest away from regular cigarettes toward alternatives like e-cigarettes, vaping, and heated-tobacco units has forced Altria to consider more seriously the need to keep up with the pack in pursuit of reduced-risk products. Withlongtime chief executive Marty Barringtonhaving recently stepped down, now was a good time for new CEO Howard Willard to redefine the tobacco giant's philosophy and strategic thinking toward reduced-risk products. Altria announced a sweeping restructuring that it hopes will be able to bring the company closer to realizing the full potential of innovative tobacco products, and although investors haven't really reacted immediately to the news, the impact of the strategic shift could make or break Altria's future in the long run. Image source: Altria Group. During the new CEO's time as chief operating officer prior to his promotion, Willard had the responsibility of overseeing all of Altria's operating companies. That included not only the divisions that generated the lion's share of revenue and profits that kept Altria's current success intact but also the newer business lines that have the greatest potential for future growth. With a single person having to divide attention between those two very different strategies, the pace of innovation wasn't always as fast as Altria and its investors had hoped. Willard's proposal will take the tobacco side of Altria's business and break it into two parts. The core tobacco division will consist of the Philip Morris USA cigarette business, the U.S. Smokeless Tobacco unit, Middleton cigars, andNat Sherman premium tobacco products. Going forward, these units will report to tobacco products Senior Vice President Jody Begley, who in turn will have CFO Billy Gifford overseeing him. Meanwhile, all of the reduced-risk products in Altria's current and prospective pipeline will fall under the jurisdiction ofNu Mark, which has been Altria's primary electronic cigarette brand. New Nu Mark CEO Brian Quigley will lead the innovative products business, reporting directly to Willard. The company will oversee not only the e-vapor and innovative inhalable products business but also oral nicotine-containing products, which will potentially include some forms of smokeless tobacco. One interesting thing about the two divisions is who Willard has chosen to lead them. Quigley's experience has largely been in the smokeless tobacco and cigarette divisions, with the executive having led U.S. Smokeless since 2012. Conversely, Begley has been president and general manager of Nu Mark since 2015. Cross-pollinating these positions is an interesting way to ensure that the entire company shares insights across divisions. In addition to those moves, Altria will also have a Chief Growth Officer position. This role will seek out the best growth opportunities in both traditional and alternative products, identifying consumer trends that it can then translate into product development ideas, as well as the subsequent marketing and consumer engagement once those products are available for the general public. In particular, Altria wants to make sure it has the talent and resources it needs to remain atop the tobacco industry and push forward with innovative product development. That will work toward achieving what it calls its "aspiration of being the U.S. leader in authorized, non-combustible, reduced-risk products." Obviously, just having a corporate restructuring won't solve the problem of actually coming up with good products that people want to buy. But Altria's strategy does send a message throughout the company and to the broader tobacco industry that the Marlboro maker is serious about building out its capacity beyond traditional cigarettes and its other legacy products. Going forward, Altria will need to squeeze as much value from its strategic move as it can. Only with success will the tobacco giant be able to evolve with the rest of the industry effectively. More From The Motley Fool • 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices • 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 • 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing • 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today • The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss • Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This Dan Caplingerhas no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy. \|\| My Top Dividend Stock Today: From the late 1990s through the early 2010s, Las Vegas Sands (NYSE: LVS) was one of the best growth companies in the gaming industry. It expanded in Las Vegas, Macau, and Singapore, becoming the largest publicly traded gaming company in the world. Today, investors looking at the casino resort operator don't see a growth company at all, and they shouldn't. It has transitioned into a cash-flow machine, and that's why I think it's time to look at Las Vegas Sands' dividend as a great buy in the gaming industry. Rendering of The Parisian Macau. Image source: Las Vegas Sands. The growth days are over... and that's OK Las Vegas Sands was in expansion mode from the time The Venetian Las Vegas opened in 1999 until The Parisian in Macau was completed in 2016. Throughout that period, the company was constantly planning or building new resorts. But there aren't any new projects on the horizon now, and Las Vegas Sands has entered a phase of its life where it may not grow at all. LVS Revenue (TTM) Chart LVS Revenue (TTM) data by YCharts Because of that, the key performance metrics for investors to watch have shifted from revenue growth to cash flow generation and what's ultimately returned to shareholders. You can see in the chart above that in the past year, Las Vegas Sands generated $4.9 billion of EBITDA , a proxy for cash generated from resorts and casinos. That's a tremendous amount of cash flow for a gaming company, and it's funding the company's growing dividend and share buybacks . Management has increased its dividend to $0.75 per share quarterly, which yields 3.8% at today's stock price. You can see in the chart below that about 60% of EBITDA is being paid out in dividends , leaving ample cash for other purposes -- like stock repurchases, which have picked up in recent years. LVS Dividends Paid (TTM) Chart LVS Dividends Paid (TTM) data by YCharts In the last four years, Las Vegas Sands has repurchased about 30 million shares, and management just increased its buyback authorization by $940 million to $2.5 billion. That's on top of the $16.2 billion it has returned to shareholders since the beginning of 2012. Story continues Management has demonstrated that it's not interested in letting cash build up on the balance sheet, so its reasonable to expect it will increase the dividend or accelerate share buybacks if there's cash available. Given the billions of dollars coming from the gaming business today, that means a steady stream of cash going to shareholders. Why Las Vegas Sands is my top dividend stock When Las Vegas Sands was building new resorts, it was pouring billions of dollars into its infrastructure. Now, that upfront money has been spent, and the company is reaping the rewards of two decades of development. Management expects to spend about $500 million annually on maintenance capital expenditures, which leaves about $4.4 billion in excess cash flow each year to pay dividends or buy back shares. It's the consistent cash flow that makes Las Vegas Sands my top dividend stock today, and if the entertainment and gaming industries continue to grow worldwide, the company's cash flow generation could increase over the long term, providing further upside to investors. More From The Motley Fool 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This Travis Hoium has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy . \|\| Why Oil and Gas Stocks Are Slumping Today: What happened Shares of oil producers Laredo Petroleum (NYSE: LPI) and SM Energy (NYSE: SM) , as well as units of Golar LNG Partners LP (NASDAQ: GMLP) , an MLP that owns liquified natural gas carriers and floating storage and regasification units, all declined by double digits by Friday afternoon. Lower oil prices weighed on the first two, while an analyst downgrade was the culprit in the latter. So what Golar LNG Partners took the biggest tumble, falling more than 11% by 2:45 p.m. EDT on Friday, which followed yesterday's double-digit sell-off . Driving today's decline at Golar LNG Partners was a two-notch downgrade by BofA Merrill Lynch , which cut the MLP from a buy all the way down to underperform. It also slashed its price target from $16 to $24. The bank downgraded Golar LNG Partners amid concerns about the company's cash flow and the sustainability of its distribution. That's after distributable cash flow slumped to just $13.3 million last quarter, which was only enough to cover Golar LNG Partners' distribution by 0.32 times -- meaning it paid out roughly three times more than what came in, a level that isn't sustainable for much longer. A natural gas well with a pipeline at sunset. Image source: Getty Images. Meanwhile, crude oil prices skidded lower today, falling about 2% to their lowest level since April on renewed concerns that OPEC might boost its oil output . Overall, the U.S. oil benchmark, WTI, fell 3.1% for the week, closing at $65.81 per barrel and is now down nearly 10% from its high for the year. The drop in the price of crude sent most oil stocks down today, though it had the greatest impact on SM Energy and Laredo Petroleum, which declined about 10% by mid-afternoon. That's because investors are growing increasingly concerned that crude prices could have further downside ahead if OPEC moves forward with a plan to boost production. If that happens and crude keeps falling, it likely would have an outsized impact on the profitability and cash flow of smaller producers like SM Energy and Laredo Petroleum. It's for this reason that these companies are taking it on the chin today. Story continues Now what After a relentless rally for several months, crude prices have quickly cooled off on concerns that OPEC is about to boost output. If that happens, smaller and financially weaker companies like Golar LNG Partners, Laredo Petroleum, and SM Energy could have even further to fall. That's why investors are better off avoiding those stocks and considering larger and stronger oil stocks like this trio instead . More From The Motley Fool 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This Matthew DiLallo has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy . \|\| The Cheapest Drug Stocks to Buy Right Now: Since March 2009, the stock market has been virtually unstoppable. At one point in January 2018, all three major indexes -- theDow Jones Industrial Average,S&P 500, andNasdaq-- had essentially quadrupled from their Great Recession lows. Of course, such a massive move in the broader market likely has investors wondering if stock valuations have gotten ahead of themselves. One industry, though, where that doesn't appear to be the case is with drug developers (i.e., pharmaceuticals and biotechnology). Image source: Getty Images. According to data provided by market analytics companyYardeni Research, the forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of the broad-based S&P 500 is 16.6, but it's just 13.7 for pharmaceuticals and 12.6 for biotechnology, as of May 24, 2018. That's one of the lowest forward P/E readings for biotech over the last 21 years, and certainly toward the bottom of the forward P/E range for pharmaceuticals since 1997. Only the years immediately following the Great Recession appear to have offered a cheaper buying opportunity in big pharma stocks, at least based on forward P/E. What's particularly intriguing about drug stocks is that they offer an inelastic product. By this I mean that we don't get to choose when we get sick or what ailment we contract. This creates a steady stream of demand for drug companies that translates into predictable cash flow, strong pricing power, and healthy profits. Yet in spite of their product inelasticity, some drug stocks are downright cheap. There are currently three with a forward P/E of less than 8 that I believe investors could safely buy right now. Biotech blue-chipCelgene(NASDAQ: CELG)is a company that Irecently added to my portfolioafter what amounts to a nearly 50% tumble since October. Celgene's stock has been hit by a multitude of problems, including concerns that it's too reliant on multiple myeloma drug Revlimid, an embarrassing delay in filing its would-be multiple sclerosis blockbuster ozanimod, a sales slowdown in anti-inflammatory Otezla, and a 2020 guidance revision that lowered both sales and profit estimates this past October. While these concerns aren't worth sweeping under the rug, Wall Street has treated Celgene like damaged goods when it's clearly not. Image source: Getty Images. For example, Celgene was able to settle patent litigation concerning Revlimid back in December 2015 with a number of generic drugmakers. In doing so, Celgene kept the bulk of generic entrants out of the market until after Jan. 31, 2026. Any future challenges to Revlimid's patents will likely be dealt with in a similar fashion. Despite accounting for close to 65% of the company's total sales, it's hard to argue against a drug that continues to deliver double-digit sales growth as a result of increased demand, longer duration of use, incredible market share, and healthy pricing power. Though the ozanimod filing delay is disappointing, it's not as if Celgene doesn't have other things going on in its pipeline. It has the ability toexpand the labels of existing drugs, and has more than 40 active collaborations, many of which are licensing what could be first-in-class cancer or inflammatory medicines. Even if we have to wait a few years for ozanimod to make its debut, it shouldn't hurt the drugs' more than $4 billion peak annual sales potential. And thanks to steady growth from Celgene's oncology portfolio, it sports one of the lowest price/earnings-to-growth ratios (PEG ratio) in the industry. Generally speaking, any PEG ratio around 1 is considered "cheap." Celgene's PEG ratio is currently under 0.5. It's a plain-as-day bargain in my eyes. Another down-on-its-luck drug stock is Israel-basedTeva Pharmaceutical Industries(NYSE: TEVA). Like Celgene, it has a laundry list of reasons why it's struggled of late. This includes ongoing weakness in generic drug prices, a generic entrant to multiple sclerosis drug Copaxone (Teva's top-selling drug) making it to market, fraud allegations being levied against the company, and plenty of executive turnover. Last year, Teva reduced its full-year sales and profit forecast multiple times and completely shelved its dividend. Image source: Getty Images. While Teva is certainly in worse shape than Celgene, I'd suggest that it's been unfairly written off given its still-strong profitability, as well as its significant generic-drug market share. Even though hindsight is 20/20, and Teva did overpay to acquire Actavis fromAllergan, Teva's enormous generic portfolio should allow for significant pricing power in the years to come. Plus, with the global population aging, the world's leading generic drug producer isn't a bad place to park your money. As a shareholder in Teva, I've also been impressed with the no-nonsense approach todeleveraging the company's balance sheet. Teva has sold all of its Women's Health operations (for a better price than expected, may I add), halted its dividend, saving more than $1 billion annually in the process, and announced job cuts that'll see a quarter of the company's workforce let go. All told, Teva could reduce its annual operating expenditures by $3 billion, or about 16%, between 2017 and 2019. This should allow the company to make significant headway on paying down its debt. And I'm not the only one who sees value in Teva. Warren Buffett'sBerkshire Hathawayinitiated a positionin the company during the fourth quarter and added significantly to that position during the first quarter. Though this is a work in progress that'll require the patience of shareholders, the worst appears to be over. What's left is a company with a massive generic drug portfolio and healthy cash flow that's valued at less than eight times Wall Street's profit projections in 2019. Lastly, there'sInnoviva(NASDAQ: INVA), which isn't a traditional drug stock, per se. Innoviva is a royalty company that's currently reaping benefits from a group of long-lasting COPD and asthma medications that were developed in cooperation withGlaxoSmithKline(NYSE: GSK). You know these medicines today as Breo Ellipta and Anoro Ellipta, to name a few. Image source: GlaxoSmithKline. Four years ago, Innoviva's management team was a bit too giddy about Breo's and Anoro's prospects and wound up completing aprivate placement of $450 million in debt. This funding was to "support the initiation of a capital return strategy to the stockholders of Theravance, Inc. (Innoviva's previous company name) in conjunction with the previously announced spinoff ofTheravance BioPharma." Unfortunately, GlaxoSmithKline struggled to gain insurer coverage for these next-generation therapies out of the gate, causing Innoviva to abandon its $0.25-per-quarter dividend after five quarters of lackluster royalty payments. It has since been digging its way out of debt. Now, the good news. After those initial hurdles, Breo and Anoro are both seeing steady growth, which has, in turn, lifted Innoviva's top and bottom lines. During the first quarter, GlaxoSmithKline reported respective constant currency sales growth of 14% for Breo and 68% for Anoro, with Trelegy Ellipta, another partnered drug with Innoviva, recently launching. Because Innoviva is comfortable relying on royalties to do the heavy lifting, it has virtually no costs, aside from general and administrative. This lack of research and development costs means Innoviva can be very profitable with a relatively small amount of royalty revenue. It's also allowed the company to prepay a significant portion of its $450 million loan, as of its latest quarter. It's not out of the question that Innoviva will begin paying a dividend a few years down the road, once its secured debt is wiped off of its books. Looking forward, Innoviva has an opportunity to grow its royalty revenue by close to 50% between 2018 and 2021, according to Wall Street's estimates. Even taking into account its concentration of royalty revenue from its Glaxo partnership, a forward P/E of less than 7 seems cheap. More From The Motley Fool • 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices • 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 • 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing • 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today • The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss • Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This Sean Williamsowns shares of Celgene and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Berkshire Hathaway (B shares) and Celgene. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy. \|\| Regulators deliver good news for ethereum and bitcoin, but there’s less clarity for XRP: A top US official has provided some clarity about how crypto assets should be regulated. Bitcoin and ether are not securities, according to a senior Security and Exchange Commission official, meaning they don’t have to comply with strict US requirements on registration, disclosure, and accreditation of investors. The regulator made no direct mention of XRP, a crypto token that money-transfer company Ripple has promoted . Digital assets have been in a bear market this year—bitcoin has fallen some 50%—but ether and bitcoin jumped yesterday (June 14) around the time reports emerged (paywall) on the SEC’s stance. XRP, which like all virtual assets tends to be highly volatile, diverged from bitcoin and ether, according to CoinDesk prices. To increase your emotional intelligence, develop these 10 qualities “Today is going to be looked back at as somewhat of a momentous day,” said Adam White, general manager at crypto exchange Coinbase, in an interview with podcast host Laura Shin . Guidance that ether isn’t a security gives the crypto industry the confidence to move forward on projects, he said. Bird is the fastest startup ever to reach a $1 billion valuation One of those projects could be ether futures at Chicago-based derivatives exchange Cboe. The exchange has been considering futures—which give traders a way to speculate or hedge prices of an asset at some later date—for the crypto asset since it started a contract for bitcoin last year, according to president Chris Concannon. “This announcement clears a key stumbling block,” he said. As for XRP, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse said in an interview earlier this month that “it’s very clear XRP is not a security.” He argued that it exists independently of Ripple the company, which has built technology that uses XRP to facilitate cross-border payments. He said owning XRP doesn’t provide ownership or equity in his firm, which itself it sitting on a large amount of the crypto asset. “It’s quite different than what a security looks like,” Garlinghouse said. Story continues The SEC may feel differently. An important consideration is whether a third-party—a person, entity, or group–is driving the expectation for a return, according to a speech yesterday by William Hinman, director of the corporation finance division at the SEC. For some investors, the rationale for buying the XRP crypto token is the hope that the company Ripple will succeed at convincing banks and other financial institutions to use Ripple, and the crypto token, as a transmission mechanism for payments. What would make a digital asset a security, according to the SEC Here are six factors that the SEC suggests considering when determining whether a digital asset is an investment contract, and therefore a security: Is there a person or group that has sponsored or promoted the creation and sale of the digital asset, the efforts of whom play a significant role in the development and maintenance of the asset and its potential increase in value? Has this person or group retained a stake or other interest in the digital asset such that it would be motivated to expend efforts to cause an increase in value in the digital asset? Would purchasers reasonably believe such efforts will be undertaken and may result in a return on their investment in the digital asset? Has the promoter raised an amount of funds in excess of what may be needed to establish a functional network, and, if so, has it indicated how those funds may be used to support the value of the tokens or to increase the value of the enterprise? Does the promoter continue to expend funds from proceeds or operations to enhance the functionality and/or value of the system within which the tokens operate? Are purchasers “investing,” that is seeking a return? In that regard, is the instrument marketed and sold to the general public instead of to potential users of the network for a price that reasonably correlates with the market value of the good or service in the network? Does application of the Securities Act protections make sense? Is there a person or entity others are relying on that plays a key role in the profit-making of the enterprise such that disclosure of their activities and plans would be important to investors? Do informational asymmetries exist between the promoters and potential purchasers/investors in the digital asset? Do persons or entities other than the promoter exercise governance rights or meaningful influence? How virtual tokens differ There are ways to structure virtual tokens so that they function more like consumer items rather than a security, Hinman said. For analysis, he suggested this list of considerations: Is token creation commensurate with meeting the needs of users or, rather, with feeding speculation? Are independent actors setting the price or is the promoter supporting the secondary market for the asset or otherwise influencing trading? Is it clear that the primary motivation for purchasing the digital asset is for personal use or consumption, as compared to investment? Have purchasers made representations as to their consumptive, as opposed to their investment, intent? Are the tokens available in increments that correlate with a consumptive versus investment intent? Are the tokens distributed in ways to meet users’ needs? For example, can the tokens be held or transferred only in amounts that correspond to a purchaser’s expected use? Are there built-in incentives that compel using the tokens promptly on the network, such as having the tokens degrade in value over time, or can the tokens be held for extended periods for investment? Is the asset marketed and distributed to potential users or the general public? Are the assets dispersed across a diverse user base or concentrated in the hands of a few that can exert influence over the application? Is the application fully functioning or in early stages of development? Hinman pointed out that the US Securities Act is meant to give investors essential information known by promoters of assets, so that people buying into projects can make informed decisions. This is why promoters can be held liable for misstatements. Factors such as a project’s financing and background are vital for an investor to be able to make sound decisions. While ether and bitcoin don’t qualify as securities in Hinman’s view, initial coin offerings (ICOs)—a kind of crowdfunding that’s been turbocharged by crypto-token speculation—often do qualify and may be better off adhering to those regulations. Read next: The woman who led crypto policing in the US guesses what’s next for regulation Sign up for the Quartz Daily Brief , our free daily newsletter with the world’s most important and interesting news. More stories from Quartz: There’s about to be a lot more creepy Boston Dynamics robots in the world How a school for poor girls cracked the patriarchy in a rural Indian town \|\| No Bull Run in Sight, Investors Target Long-Term Bitcoin Price Rally: The cryptocurrency market has struggled to make major movements on the upside, as major digital currencies such as bitcoin and Ethereum have stabilized at $7,580 and $584 respectively. The valuation of the cryptocurrency market has slightly increased from $330 billion to $333 billion, by around 1 percent. Bitcoin’s Struggle Exactly one week ago, on May 25, the price of bitcoin was $7,530. Today, as of June 1, the price of bitcoin is $7,580. Over the past seven days, BTC remained in the $7,300 to $7,500 range, struggling to record any major or minor movement on both the downside and upside. Based on the short-term price trend of BTC over the past week, it remains unlikely that BTC returns to previous support levels at $10,000 and $12,000, given that the 5-month and 10-month MA bear cross have been confirmed for the first time since 2014. More to that, BTC failed to swiftly rebound to the $8,000 mark over the past few days, eliminating the possibility of a potential corrective rally to $10,000 in the short-term. If BTC can surpass the $8,500 mark in the next few days with a strong spike in volume, it is possible that BTC breaks its descending trendline since May 5, eyeing a mid-term recovery and a bounce back to the $10,000 region. However, without a strong recovery, it remains unlikely for bitcoin to initiate a bull run in the short-term. Ari Paul, a prominent cryptocurrency investor and researcher, who co-founded the digital asset investment firm BlockTower, said: “I’ve had chats with some very savvy fund managers in the last few days, all of whom said, ‘I don’t see where the new money comes from any time soon,’” emphasizing that most investors agree in a medium to long-term adoption curve of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. “Institutional money started trickling into cryptocurrency in mid-2017, but it’s been slower than many expected. That doesn’t mean it’s not coming. There are a lot of pieces that need to come together, one big piece being third party custody,” Paul added. Story continues The lack of stable custodian services and the strong downward trend of bitcoin all point toward a short-term bear market, but a strong mid to long-term trend for BTC. Large-Scale Investors are Extremely Bullish in Long-Term Dan Morehead, the founder and CEO of leading cryptocurrency hedge fund Pantera Capital, stated that both the mid-term and long-term trend of bitcoin are optimistic, because the dominant cryptocurrency is losing its “skanky” image among institutional investors. More importantly, in the long-term, Morehead noted that he envisions the cryptocurrency market growing to a $4 trillion asset class. “Bitcoin is a screaming buy right now,” said Morehead, who oversees more than $1 billion at Pantera Capital. He added that even a $40 trillion market valuation is possible for cryptocurrency, explaining “it’s the 10-year forecast. It’s not going to happen overnight.” With stable custodian services and the entrance of institutional investors, in the mid-term, possibly by the end of 2018, BTC could enter a proper bull market. However, as of current, the short-term trend of BTC seems bearish. Featured image from Shutterstock. The post No Bull Run in Sight, Investors Target Long-Term Bitcoin Price Rally appeared first on CCN . \|\| Ripple CEO Says Bitcoin Is the ‘Napster of Digital Assets’: Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse just made some bold comparisons at Recode's Code Conference. He said that Bitcoin may have sparked the cryptocurrency mania, but it could ultimately end up like now-defunct music service Napster. "We may come to find that Bitcoin is kind of the Napster of digital assets,” he said . “This is transformative technology, but Spotify and iTunes and Pandora rule the day because they engaged with regulators to solve a real problem." It’s important to note that Garlinghouse’s opinion is not so surprising given the fact that his fintech startup Ripple has its own rival cryptocurrency. XRP, the third-largest cryptocurrency by market cap after Bitcoin and Ethereum, is the name for both a digital currency and an open payment network. It allows users to efficiently send money globally using the blockchain. Garlinghouse also criticized Bitcoin’s efficiency when it comes to making payments. He said it’s a bad idea for Bitcoin to replace fiat currency as the average Bitcoin transaction can take as much as 20 minutes and the transaction fees are still pretty steep. For context, Ripple can handle 1,500 transactions per second, while Bitcoin can reportedly only handle seven in the same timespan. Earlier this month, actor and tech investor Ashton Kutcher donated $4 million in Ripple's XRP tokens to wildlife charity, The Ellen DeGeneres Wildlife Fund. "We can actually transfer [the donation] into Rwandan francs right now, right here, and all we have to do is push this button and it's in your account," Kutcher said. See original article on Fortune.com More from Fortune.com Bitcoin Spinoff Hacked in Rare '51% Attack' An 'Emergency Sale' of Bitcoins Just Earned $14 Million for German Law Enforcement Bitcoin's Fate? This Cryptoasset Manager Sees Two Possible Outcomes Why Ashton Kutcher Donated $4 Million in Cryptocurrency to Charity Bitcoin Price Sinks Amid a New Federal Probe Into Cryptocurrency Price Manipulation \|\| The Surprise Pick to Replace GE in the Dow: If there's a single benchmark that more investors worldwide follow than any other, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI) would have to be the leading candidate . With more than a century-long history of tracking the soaring U.S. stock market, joining the Dow has become a rite of passage for the strongest, most prominent companies in the country. One reason why the Dow has so much prestige is that those who oversee the average don't make changes to its 30 components very often. Yet from time to time, circumstances warrant that one company should replace another. It came as little surprise to those who've followed the struggles that industrial conglomerate General Electric (NYSE: GE) has dealt with recently that S&P; Dow Jones Indices chose to replace it in the Dow. Yet what was less expected was its choice for a replacement: Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ: WBA) , the leading operator of U.S. retail drugstore locations. Aircraft engines in a manufacturing hangar, with a lift with workers looking at the top of the engines. GE will no longer be part of the Dow. Image source: General Electric. Why General Electric got the boot Given the difficulties that General Electric has seen in several of its core fundamental business divisions, many had foreseen a decision to take it out of the Dow Jones Industrial Average as inevitable. GE had made a strategic shift in the late 2000s and early 2010s away from the financial exposure that had caused it such trouble during the financial crisis back toward its industrial roots, and the conglomerate had chosen to emphasize then-hot areas like power and energy. Those investments proved to be ill-timed, holding back more promising opportunities for some of GE's other businesses, including medical equipment in its healthcare division and the aircraft engines and other components it provides through its aerospace business. The result was a slide in GE's stock price that has thus far proven unstoppable. During 2017, General Electric stock lost 45% of its value , and shares have slid another 25% year to date despite the best efforts from company management to chart a viable course forward. With a price below $13 per share, GE's influence on the Dow has become insignificant, with the price-weighted index getting just 0.36% of its overall value from the company. Story continues S&P Dow Jones Indices did note the fact that GE was an original member of the Dow Jones Industrial Average from its inception in 1986. Yet in a press release, David Blitzer, S&P managing director and chair of the index committee overseeing the Dow, said, "Since then, the U.S. economy has changed: consumer, finance, healthcare, and technology companies are more prominent today." With industrial companies being relatively less important, GE's removal simply reflects changes in what drives economic growth between the 20th century and the 21st century. The newest Dow component Yet the real shock came from S&P Dow Jones' choice of a replacement. Blitzer tried to tie the addition of Walgreens Boots Alliance as being in line with those shifting economic trends. In his words: Walgreens is a national retail drug store chain offering prescription and non-prescription drugs, related health services, and general goods. With its addition, the DJIA will be more representative of the consumer and healthcare sectors of the U.S. economy. Today's change to the DJIA will make the index a better measure of the economy and the stock market. Many believed that the Dow would turn to the tech sector for an eventual replacement for GE. Most of the largest stocks left out of the Dow are either officially technology stocks or use technology so much in pursuit of e-commerce and other internet-based business goals that most people think of them as tech stocks. Yet the obstacle most of them faced was that their share prices were stratospherically high, making addition to the price-weighted Dow impractical. Yet even if S&P had honed in on healthcare as a sector it wanted to emphasize further, some will question why Walgreens got the nod. CVS Health (NYSE: CVS) has nearly as large a drugstore chain network as Walgreens does, and in many ways, CVS has been more aggressive in pursuing acquisitions that have tapped into the high-growth potential from pharmacy benefit management. The company's planned merger with health insurer Aetna will boost CVS's size even further if approved, and even without it, CVS's market capitalization was higher than Walgreens before the announcement. Walgreens, though, has made moves of its own. Wholesale pharmaceutical distribution has been a focus area for the company, with the purchase of Alliance Boots in 2014 and its minority stake in AmerisourceBergen helping to expand its presence in that sector. Some believe that Walgreens could make a bid to buy the remainder of AmerisourceBergen, hoping that such a move could allow Walgreens to grow that side of the business more fully. Keep your eyes on the Dow The official change to the Dow will happen before the market opens on Tuesday, June 26, at which point official changes to the Dow divisor will be announced. Given Walgreens' share price currently, the drugstore chain will likely be in the bottom 10 stocks in terms of weight, potentially contributing just under 2% toward the Dow's overall value. That shouldn't be a big shift, but it marks the latest in the incremental changes that have seen the Dow evolve over the decades. More From The Motley Fool 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This Dan Caplinger has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends CVS Health. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy . [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] Mine #BitQuark at http://WeMineBTQ.com 0% mining fees for life! #BTQ #BTC #QRK \|\| 0.01 BTC Change 100 BTC Join : http://t.me/Monsterpumper $MTL $DGB $XEM $TRIG $STRAT $LSK $IOP $PIVX $PAY $ARK $DASH $MCO $ARDR $CVC $ETH $NEO $XLM $XRP $ADA $EMC2 $OMG$BCC $VTC $AEON $ZEC $ADX $XVG $BAT $LTC $GAS $TRX $HSR $IOST \|\| I added a video to a @YouTube playlist http://youtu.be/0TIMjYD9jew?a Edward Snowden - Bitcoin Holders, you are being watched! (Snowden, NSA, \|\| I can care less what happens to btc. It'll always be trade able and that's all that matters. Bitcoin is not adequate technology at this point in time and even at this price point it has a higher market cap then silver. Put that into perspective. \|\| @tommydago #blockchain #bitcoin #scam #ico #innovation #AI #agritechfood #IoT #IoE #digitaliani #I40http://www.seejay.cloud/triwu/smau \|\| BTC Price: 9295.10$, BTC Today High : 9376.00$, BTC All Time High : 19903.44$ ETH Price: 748.38$ #bitcoin #BTC $BTC #ETH $ETH #cryptopic.twitter.com/a82Mye0cQD \|\| Magic Number? Chart Data Hints at June 6 Bitcoin Boost https://ift.tt/2LoFOns \|\| why dont u try that with BTC \|\| #ripple #cryptocurrency #coinbase #bitcoin #icos #blockchain #eth #ethereum #btc #cryptocurrencynews #binance #ico #crypto #cryptocurrencies #tokensale #cryptonews #altcoins #Ontology #Zilliqapic.twitter.com/8BAUMu42Be \|\| #DailyDelicious How do I make bitcoin money? http://bit.ly/2Edv3C2 pic.twitter.com/KJmTFmo58t	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 6173.23, 6249.18, 6093.67, 6157.13, 5903.44, 6218.30, 6404.00, 6385.82, 6614.18, 6529.59
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2015-12-07] BTC Price: 395.54, BTC RSI: 68.67 Gold Price: 1076.40, Gold RSI: 44.96 Oil Price: 37.65, Oil RSI: 32.18 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Bitcoin Investor, Taking Things to a New Level: Bitcoin Exchange Offices to Be Opened in 6 Countries: WILMINGTON, DE--(Marketwired - November 01, 2015) -Digital currency markets, especially those of Bitcoin, continue to be surrounded by a lot of hype these days and while some skeptics claim that Bitcoin will always remain the currency of the future, without ever embodying that so much expected future, the tech industry businessmen who take the enthusiast side are putting money down on the table to invest in Bitcoin and the development of the opportunity they see attached. Miners Center Inc., a Delaware based cryptocurrency trading company, has taken bold action in the direction of digital currency, as they do not only see it being in a sweet spot, but they also believe it will deliver according to Bitcoin believers' expectations in the near future. Since it has been established in 2014, the company has been buying large amounts of Bitcoin, at higher market price, in order to achieve their targeted volumes for what is boldly outlined within their business plan as the next step. By the end of Q4, Miners Center will have opened ten small Bitcoin exchange offices throughout the globe: three of them in the USA, two in Canada, two in Australia, one in the UK, one in Germany and one in Hungary. Although the company has planned everything in detail, specific information related to the exact location of the exchange offices and their operational means will be revealed at their actual launching, which will be handled by the company with proper PR and marketing exposure. However, besides the news of taking things further with Bitcoin, Miners Center does state that the rates policy within the physical exchange offices will not bring over-the-market-price revenues to its clients, as the company's actual customers have been accustomed up to this point. The current 10% higher-than-the-market-price rate for Bitcoin purchase offered by Miners Center via their official web-site (www.minerscenter.com) has taken so far the shape of a different business unit within the company, governed by a targeted volume-buying strategy and both the exclusively buyer orientation and hot offer itself, will be discontinued as soon as the company reaches enough Bitcoin resources to start operating what was intended as their core business in the first place. Miners Center state that they are very close to reaching the desired purchase volumes and such turn is expected in the near future. The CEO of Miners Center, Emilian Tourey, an enthusiast, true believer and an advocate of the Bitcoin currency claims that he's proud of having seen the opportunity and having invested his money into something he strongly believes will bring both a substantial return of investment and a tremendous personal satisfaction for being among the first who's supported building up an alternative to the current financial system. "I am not naive, nor am I a dreamer. I am business man and I do see the flaws attached to Bitcoin, together with the security issues and I also hear the skeptics' arguments. However, I also see the need of more and more people for an alternative to what is now the mainstream financial system. Businesses involved with Bitcoin now need to understand that in order to gain exposure to a larger public, we have to make Bitcoin easily understandable and available to a broader audience and in order to do that, we have to use some of the traditional ways, but without pushing them too far and aiming to become the new bankers at the table. This is one of the major challenges I see for Bitcoin to achieve a widespread adoption, together with the legal legitimacy and a fair, non-opposing regulations," states Tourey. Taking the Bitcoin deal from exclusively online to the physical, traditional exchange office may be indeed considered the cornerstone of creating the alternative system Tourey aims at. More information about Miners Center Inc. may be found at their official web-site:www.minerscenter.com \|\| C&W Business Develops Comprehensive Disaster Recovery Plans to Complement Industry-Leading Disaster Recovery as a Service Solution: MIAMI, FL--(Marketwired - Oct 22, 2015) - C&W Business, part of C&W Communications , announced today that it has completed the development of a portfolio of Disaster Recovery Plans for each of the platforms on which it delivers Disaster Recovery as a Service. With this development, clients that utilize C&W Business Disaster Recovery as a Service (DRaaS) solution not only receive the most comprehensive managed solution for business continuity on the market, but they also get a complete roadmap of processes and procedures to ensure they are following international best-practices for business continuity. The C&W Business DRaaS Solution, which was recently placed in the first Gartner Magic Quadrant for Disaster Recovery as a Service 1 , protects business data and applications from all types of disasters, from natural to man-made. Thanks to the ability to failover and failback in mere minutes, companies minimize any risk to their data, applications, or business with this fully-managed service. With an easy-to-use, secure online portal that allows companies to manage and track real-time activity and system health, businesses can rest-assured that their most important information is always secure. Now, C&W Business is also delivering a comprehensive Disaster Recovery Plan with each instance of DRaaS. These plans help businesses understand the complete benefits of the DRaaS solution beyond the technological advantages. These Disaster Recovery Plans, which are tailored directly to the platform the client utilizes, provide dynamic tools to document recovery plans at the information technology level, so businesses can manage their resources more proactively. Developed using international standards used by the Disaster Recovery International Institute (DRII), BCI, ISO 22301, and ITIL, C&W Business Disaster Recovery Plans spell out specific roles and responsibilities for each party throughout the disaster recovery process. With detailed instructions on what needs to be done before, during, and after a business interruption, businesses utilizing these tools are well-prepared to deal with all types of interruptions to their business mitigating the risk of valuable data loss. Story continues "For years, Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity solutions were viewed as a major drain on companies and their IT organizations. At C&W Business, we're focusing our efforts to change this perception. By including these specialized Disaster Recovery Plans, customized based on the technologies our customers are using, we now can help to protect our customers' networks, secure their valuable data, and assist in developing their best-practices company-wide. We feel that this, coupled with the most comprehensive managed Disaster Recovery solution on the market, will be a real game-changer for our customers," said John Maduri, President of C&W Business. With an impeccable track record and a growing list of highly satisfied users in the Caribbean and Latin American markets, C&W Business' DRaaS solution is the industry leader in managed disaster recovery in the region. To find out more about C&W Business' DRaaS solution and to read the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Disaster Recovery as a Service, visit www.cwcbusiness.com/draas . 1 Gartner, Magic Quadrant for Disaster Recovery as a Service, John P Morency, Christine Tenneson, April 21, 2015 Disclaimer Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in our research publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner's research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. Source: Gartner, "Magic Quadrant for Disaster Recovery as a Service," April 21, 2015 About C&W Communications Cable & Wireless Communications Plc (CWC) is a full service communications and entertainment provider, operating in the Caribbean and Latin America. With annual sales of over US$2.4 billion, it operates both mobile and fixed networks, supported by submarine and terrestrial optical fibre backhaul capacity. Through the acquisition of Columbus International Inc on 31 March 2015, C&W now delivers superior high-speed mobile data, broadband and TV/video services. It has leading market positions in Mobile, Fixed Line, Broadband and TV consumer offers. Through its business division, C&W provides data centre hosting, domestic and international managed network services, and customised IT service solutions, utilising cloud technology to serve business and government customers. The company also operates a state-of-the-art subsea fibre optic cable network that spans more than 48,000 km - the most extensive in the region - as well as 38,000 km of terrestrial fibre providing wholesale and carrier backhaul capacity and a growing suite of wholesale managed services. C&W has more than 7,500 employees serving over 6 million customers (Mobile 3.8m; Fixed Line 1.1m; Video 460k and Broadband 665k) as well as over 125k corporate clients and 225 wholesale customers across 42 countries. The Company's leading brands include: LIME and Flow in the Caribbean; BTC in The Bahamas; Mas Movil in Panama; C&W Business and C&W Networks. C&W is the market leader in most products offered and territories served. It is a major contributor to local communities through its corporate social responsibility programs. Cable & Wireless Communications' shares are quoted on the London Stock Exchange under the ticker CWC. The company is headquartered in London with its operational hub located in Miami, within close proximity to the Caribbean and Latin America. For more information visit: www.cwc.com . \|\| Zenith Receives Approval for Onshore Oil Production in Azerbaijan: This press release is not to be distributed to U.S. newswire services or for dissemination in the United States. Any failure to comply with this restriction may constitute a violation of U.S. securities law. CALGARY, Alberta, Oct. 28, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --Zenith Energy Ltd.("Zenith"or the"Company") (ZEE.V) is pleased to announce that the Company has received a Presidential Decree in Azerbaijan to acquire three producing onshore oil fields. As reported several times in quarterly MD&A filings, the Company has been in negotiations for the last 15 months with our counterparty in Azerbaijan, SOCAR (State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic). Approval by Presidential Decree at the end of negotiations is required for a contract with SOCAR according to the internal process under the Laws of the Republic of Azerbaijan. The Presidential Decree has just been signed by the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan and this event triggers the Company`s obligation for continuing disclosure. Some additional procedural steps will be implemented before the hand-over of the fields to Zenith. The three fields have a compounded acreage of 642.4 square kilometres, and produce ~315 barrels of crude oil per day at present, although they have produced larger quantities previously (Source: SOCAR, State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic). Gas is also produced, but in low quantity, and is used at the site. The fields are named Muradkanly, Yafarli and Zardob. Zenith will be the operator of the concession and will have an 80% interest, while the local state party will retain 20%. The license will have a duration of 25 years. Zenith`s technical personnel have already been allowed access to the fields to inspect the current operation and evaluate the existing infrastructure. Due to the confidential nature of negotiations, economic details of the acquisition will be released at a later date. The contract will also be subject to regulatory approval in Canada. As reported in Zenith`s press release from September 25, 2015, the Company has opened an office in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan. This corporate office is a two and a half hour drive from the operational office presently used to manage the producing fields, which are in the southern region of Azerbaijan. Similar to Zenith`s activity in other countries, the Company will create a wholly-owned subsidiary fully dedicated to this project. This strategy has proven to attract significant local expertise and enabled the Company to effectively integrate new methods, technologies and personnel. Azerbaijani management familiar with the properties will initially be supplemented by new technical and operational personnel from Zenith, however the Company will also begin to actively identify international management and specialists willing to relocate to Azerbaijan as part of its strategy to grow domestic production. An internationally recognized independent reservoir engineering firm is currently preparing a 51-101 National Instrument report to evaluate the remaining reserves and the expected productivity potential of the three fields. Andrea Cattaneo, President and CEO of Zenith Energy comments: "This acquisition represents Zenith`s first investment into a country that management has held in high regard and is the culmination of over 15 months of negotiations and due diligence with local authorities." About Azerbaijan Azerbaijan is located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe. After gaining independence in 1991, Azerbaijan became a member of the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the Islamic Development Bank and the Asian Development Bank. Azerbaijan is one of the birthplaces of the oil industry, with trade dating back as early as the 3rd and 4th centuries. The world`s first paraffin factory was opened in the country in 1823 and the first oil well was drilled in 1847. In the 1870s, the region experienced the first true oil boom with oil drilling beginning on a massive scale highlighted by the Vermishevsky oil gusher on June 13, 1872 which produced an estimated 2600 barrels per day during its first three months. Several cycles of oil development have occurred within the country, and after gaining independence in 1991, Azerbaijan started to attract significant foreign investment. On September 20th, 1994, after three and a half years of arduous negotiations, Azerbaijan and a Consortium of foreign oil companies signed a production sharing contract to develop Azerbaijan`s Caspian oil reserves. This contract was later named the Contract of the Century due to its tremendous importance. Thirteen companies from eight countries participated in the signing of the Contract of the Century. Azerbaijan`s development as a supplier of petroleum to Europe continued to evolve with the national strategy to develop infrastructure including the BTC (Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan) pipeline, officially opened on July 13, 2006. The BTC pipeline transports crude 1,769 km from the offshore Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli oil fields in the Caspian Sea to the Mediterranean Sea. Possessing the capacity to transport more than one million barrels per day, this pipeline is the second longest in the world and pumps oil from the Sangachal Terminal near Baku (Azerbaijan), through Tbilisi (the Georgian Capital) to Ceyhan, a port on the south-eastern Mediterranean coast of Turkey. Azerbaijan is estimated to hold proven reserves of 14.748 billion barrels (2 billion tonnes) of crude oil and condensate and an additional reserve of 2.55 trillion cubic meters (90 Tcf) of natural gas. (Source: SOCAR, State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic). Wholly located within the South Caspian Sea basin, Azerbaijan is one of the region`s most strategic energy export openings to the west, and an increasingly important supplier of natural gas to Europe via the country`s existing and proposed pipeline network. Companies working in Azerbaijan include, among others, these majors: BP, Statoil, SAIPEM, ExxonMobil, ITOCHU, Chevron, Petronas, TOTAL, LUKOIL, TPAO and GDF SUEZ. About Zenith Energy Ltd. Zenith focuses on the acquisition and further development of proven onshore oil and gas fields where production has declined over time, but which are capable of increased productivity following an injection of capital and optimization through its corporate engineering and technical expertise. To maximize shareholder value, Zenith targets acquisitions of production opportunities that offer strong logistics and close proximity to refineries and pipelines. Zenith`s management and directors have extensive international and governmental experience and possess the technical knowledge to execute this strategy. Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Forward-Looking Statements This news release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws. The use of any of the words "expect", "anticipate", "continue", "estimate", "objective", "ongoing", "may", "will", "project", "should", "believe", "plans", "intends" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking information or statements. More particularly and without limitation, this news release contains forward-looking statements and information concerning (i) the Company`s goal of acquiring producing properties in Azerbaijan, (ii) the current and future production potential of the properties, (iii) the revenue associated with production and (iv) the pricing and profitability of oil and gas production. The forward-looking statements and information are based on certain key expectations and assumptions made by Zenith, including the ability to execute its strategy and realize its growth opportunities including its ability to finance and execute its plans. Although Zenith believes that the expectations and assumptions on which such forward-looking statements and information are based are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on the forward looking statements and information because Zenith can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. By its nature, such forward-looking information is subject to various risks and uncertainties, which could cause the actual results and expectations to differ materially from the anticipated results or expectations expressed. These risks and uncertainties, include, but are not limited to, Zenith being unable to finance or realize growth opportunities. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on this forward-looking information, which is given as of the date hereof, and to not use such forward-looking information for anything other than its intended purpose. Zenith undertakes no obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. CONTACT: For further information, please contact:Jose Ramon Lopez PortilloChairman of the BoardAndrea CattaneoCEO & PresidentEmail: [email protected]: (587) 437-1984Telefax: (403) 775-4474 This announcement is distributed by NASDAQ OMX Corporate Solutions on behalf of NASDAQ OMX Corporate Solutions clients.The issuer of this announcement warrants that they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of the information contained therein.Source: Zenith Energy Ltd. via GlobeNewswireHUG#1961969 \|\| New York exchange itBit says won 5 blocks of U.S. bitcoin auction: (Adds details, paragraph on Genesis Trading which did not win this auction, bitcoin price, byline) By Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss NEW YORK, Nov 9 (Reuters) - New York-based bitcoin exchange itBit said on Monday it won five blocks of the digital currency at last week's auction conducted by the U.S. Marshals Service. The bid by itBit was organized on behalf of a syndicate of the exchange's and over-the-counter trading clients, said Bobby Cho, director of trading at itBit, in an email to Reuters. The five blocks of the virtual currency may have added up to at least 10,000 bitcoins. Cho declined to make further comments. Last week's auction included 21 blocks of 2,000 bitcoins and one block of over 2,341. The U.S. government on Thursday held its final auction of bitcoins seized during the prosecution of the creator of Silk Road, an online black market where the virtual currency could be used to buy illegal drugs and other goods. It auctioned 44,341 bitcoins last week. When contacted for comment, the U.S. Marshals Service said it was not anticipating further announcements on Monday. itBit also won part of the U.S. government's auction in March, nabbing 3,000 of the 50,000 bitcoins auctioned. In May, itBit became the first virtual currency company to receive a charter to operate as a trust company in the state of New York. Meanwhile, Genesis Global Trading, a unit of Digital Currency Group founded by prominent bitcoin investor Barry Silbert, was informed by the U.S. Marshals Service that the company did not win any of the blocks up for auction, the company's chief executive officer, Brendan O'Connor, said in an email to Reuters on Monday. In late trading on Monday, bitcoin was trading up 1.8 percent on the day at $379.27 on the BitStamp platform. That put the value of the 44,341 bitcoins auctioned at about $16.8 million. Bitcoins are used as a vehicle for moving money around the world quickly and anonymously via the Web without the need for third-party verification. Last Thursday's auction drew just 11 registered bidders and 30 bids, a decline from the March sale, which attracted 34 bids from 14 registered bidders. (Reporting by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss; Additional reporting by Nate Raymond; Editing by Diane Craft and Jonathan Oatis) \|\| Your first trade for Tuesday: The "Fast Money" traders delivered their final trades of the day. Pete Najarian was a buyer of Pfizer(PFE). Brian Kelly was a buyer of Garmin(GRMN). Karen Finerman was a buyer of Dorian LPG(LPG). Guy Adami was a buyer of Nuance(NUAN). Trader disclosure: On November 16, 2015, the following stocks and commodities mentioned or intended to be mentioned on CNBC's "Fast Money" were owned by the "Fast Money" traders: Pete Najarian is long AAPL, AMAT, BAC, BMY, BP, CSX, DIS, DISCA, DKS, FOXA, GE, KKR, KO, MRK, PEP, PFE, PHM he is long calls AAPL, ABX, BAC, BEE, DAL, DOW, EMR, FB, FIT, JOY, LUK, MRK, MSFT, PBR, PFE, POT, SLV, TJX, UA, UAL, VZ, WYNN, XLF, ZIOP He is long puts EWW, FCX, MRO. Brian Kelly is long BBRY, GLD, Bitcoin, Hong Kong Dollar, US Dollar; he is short Yuan, British Pound, Candaian Dollar, Euro, Yen, EEM, EWC, EWH, EWU, EWG, SPY. Karen Finerman is long BAC, C, FL, GOOG, GOOGL, JPM, KORS, KORS call spreads, M, SEDG, URI, she is short SPY, Her firm is long ANTM, AAPL, BAC, C, DIS, DIS puts, FL, GOOG, GOOGL, GPS, JPM, KORS, KORS call spreads, MA, URI, URI long puts, WFM, her firm is short IWM, SPY, MDY, USO, XRT, Karen Finerman is on the board of GrafTech International. Guy Adami is long CELG, EXAS, INTC, Guy Adami's wife, Linda Snow, works at Merck. More From CNBC • Top News and Analysis • Latest News Video • Personal Finance \|\| YOUR MONEY-Giving to charity gears up after a crisis: By Beth Pinsker NEW YORK, Nov 30 (Reuters) - During the first two weeks after an earthquake hit Nepal in April, Fidelity Charitable sent out 4,400 grants totaling almost $5.3 million from donors using special charitable accounts called donor-advised funds at the Boston-based nonprofit associated with Fidelity Investments. Now a few months later, the total is up to 6,000 grants totaling $7.8 million. Within hours of something bad happening around the globe - whether its a hurricane or a humanitarian crisis like the flow of refugees from Syria - people start calling places like Fidelity Charitable, to ask where their donations would be most useful. In the philanthropic circles, motivating folks to give can be a costly and fickle marketing exercise. Donor-advised funds, which operate like mini-foundations, help to bridge the gap. "What we know about individuals, when it comes to disasters, is that they are highly influenced by media coverage and by the type of disaster," said Bob Ottenhoff, president and chief executive officer of the Center for Disaster Philanthropy, a nonprofit based in Washington. "That is why so much money flows immediately after there is a certain type of disaster, and it dries up after a couple of days." Individuals gave an estimated 72 percent of the $358.38 billion donated to charity in 2014, according to Giving USA, with the rest coming from foundations and corporations. Donor-advised funds make up a very small but growing part of that individual pie, granting $12.5 billion in 2014, up from $9.7 billion in 2013, according to the National Philanthropic Trust, which operates a donor-advised fund. And overall assets held in those accounts rose to $70 billion from $58 billion. At Fidelity Charitable, one of the largest providers, you will need $5,000 to open a donor-advised fund. Most of those who open accounts like these have planned giving on their minds - to their alma maters, religious organizations, health concerns or local communities. But account holders at Schwab Charitable, for instance, leave about 30 percent of their assets free to fund causes that come along. Story continues "It's hard to know how many are pulling a credit card out and donating directly rather than using their donor-advised funds," said Kim Laughton, president of Schwab Charitable . "But I think they understand they can do it quickly through the fund. They can even grant from a cellphone, which is really nice." The advantages of giving through a donor-advised fund are that the money can be set aside and noted on tax returns, but granted later. Also, the fund groups take care of much of the paperwork involved in a donation - especially helpful for non-cash gifts like stocks or even Bitcoin, at some organizations. Donors should note, however, that brokerage management fees do apply to the accounts, as in regular investment accounts. While Fidelity and Schwab send out email blasts and newsletter updates to their donor bases when a major disaster occurs, they worry about creating disaster-giving fatigue. This has made some other donor-advised funds very cautious about pushing out notices. "We wait for donors to come to us, rather than becoming an annoying dinging to them," said Eileen Heisman, president and CEO of the National Philanthropic Trust. All the funds are especially cautious about looking beyond the immediate emotional need to help when they select charities to highlight. That is what Fidelity tried to steer with its Nepal effort, said Elaine Martyn, vice president of the private donor group at Fidelity Charitable. While the website highlighted just a few charities to start, by the time those 6,000 grants were given out, they went to hundreds of different organizations like Doctors Without Borders, Save the Children and smaller ones that focused on eye health and animal welfare, many of which will be providing long-term support for rebuilding. "Lot of donors want to give to the first responders, then they forget about it. There's a whole other set of organizations that are good at hanging in there," added Heisman. Ottenhoff suggests breaking up gifts into two parts, one for immediate need and one for long-term building. "It should be a time to take a moment of reflection - what do you want to accomplish? What organization can do it?" he said. (Editing by Lauren Young and Jonathan Oatis) \|\| The Best Gift Cards for the Geeks on Your List: (Photo: Thinkstock.com) Gift cards might be the last refuge of scoundrels who cant be bothered to put any thought into the whole buying-and-wrapping process. But they can also be handy ways to get something for people whose interests you just dont understand. So if your gift list includes someone whos obsessed with technology of one sort or another, and you have no idea what shes talking about half the time, a gift card could be the perfect solution. But not just any card: You want one thats just right for your geeky giftee. Here are some suggestions. The generalists Of course, pretty much every big-name tech brand that sells anything online including Apple , Google , Microsoft sells gift cards of its own these days. Note that Apple cards occasionally go on sale at other retailers, allowing you to buy a $100 card for, say, $80. Its worth keeping an eye out for such bargains, as they come and go quickly. (Photo: Apple.com) If your recipient isnt so brand-specific, most of the major online retailers who sell electronics offer gift cards, too: Amazon ; Best Buy ; Walmart . Tech stores Then there are the technology specialists, retailers such as Crutchfield , Newegg , TigerDirect , who sell technology products and almost nothing else. One personal favorite in this bunch: B&H Photo , which began life as (yes) a camera store in Manhattan but has morphed into a smorgasbord of digital goodies of almost every kind, from computers and their accessories to tablets, smartphones, TVs, media players, and wearables, as well as a truly remarkable range of photo and video hardware. (Photo: B&H Photo) True specialists Then there are the true specialists: sites that focus on one particular type of technology or another. The Dynamism store, for example, specializes in 3D technology (in addition to notebooks and some other general tech stuff). Thinkgeek specializes in geek culture: Shopping for someone obsessed with Star Wars , Star Trek , Doctor Who , Minecraft, Marvel Comics, Game of Thrones , or pretty much any other nerdy franchise? This is your store. Story continues (Image: Thinkgeek.com) For gamers, consider a XBox Gift Card or a Playstation Store Cash Card . Have someone on your list who you dont want to see for a while? Get a Minecraft gift card : You buy a physical card at a retailer (including Target, Best Buy, even 7-11), then redeem it online for a downloadable copy of the Minecraft game. Your recipient wont resurface for months . Finally, two honorable mentions: Skype has gift cards , which you can give to loved ones who cant seem to stay in touch. And Gyft offers perhaps the geekiest offer of all: The mobile gift-card app works with Bitcoin . Dan Miller is an editor at Yahoo. He hardly ever gives anyone a gift card. \|\| Why the price of bitcoin is skyrocketing again: The price of Bitcoin, the world's most popular virtual, digital currency, is on the rise again. After trading in a range of $200 to $250 for most of the year, the price of one Bitcoin shot up to $500 this week, although it has since fallen back to $392 on Thursday. A great surge to $1,000 at the end of 2013 ended in disaster for investors as the currency lost three-quarters of its value in ensuing months. But what's behind the latest rally and will it stick? Here are three possible explanations: Perhaps questionable Chinese interest As often happens with bitcoin price surges, a lot of the trading is coming out of China. And there is a social financial network called MMM Global growing massively in China that requires users to buy bitcoin and share it around with other members. The Financial Times has said MMM has elements typical of pyramid schemes . The site was founded by a former Russian legislator who was jailed for fraud over a pyramid scheme he operated in the 1990s. China has also tightened capital controls recently , making it harder for its citizens to send money abroad. Some bitcoin buying may be related to efforts to get around the crackdown. Growing legitimate business interest At the Money 20/20 conference last week, many companies announced new bitcoin-based services . The Nasdaq ( NDAQ ), for example, will be recording transactions in private stocks using bitcoin's public ledger, known as the blockchain. And Mastercard ( MA ) joined the long list of establishment institutions investing in bitcoin startups. And, two weeks ago, the European Union's top court agreed that virtual currencies like bitcoin can be traded like established currencies without triggering taxes applied to sales of goods and services. Past rallies have been linked with speculative bets that these kinds of deals and rulings would popularize the cryptocurrency and lead to greater demand which would push up the price. Jamie Dimon The always opinionated CEO of JPMorgan Chase ( JPM ) says bitcoin has no future -- governments will shut it down, he said at Fortune's Global Forum on Wednesday. “Virtual currency, where it’s called a bitcoin vs. a U.S. dollar, that’s going to be stopped,” Dimon said. Coming from the the guy who bought Bear Stearns and WaMu and missed those billions of dollars of crazy trades by the London Whale, Dimon's remarks may be attracting contrarians to bet against the big bank CEO. Probably not many, but with bitcoin, you never know. \|\| Match and Square trade, Pepsi invades Empire, and Europeans prepare to fight ISIS: Two more unicorns leave the stable today. Both Square ( SQ ) and Match Group ( MTCH ) priced a bit lower than expected but hit the tickers this morning, trading solidly higher. Other than that, it's a relatively quiet day in the markets ( ^DJI , ^GSPC , ^IXIC ) . Get the Latest Market Data and News with the Yahoo Finance App Here are some of the other stories Yahoo Finance is keeping an eye on today. Are Europeans prepared to battle ISIS? ISIS recently claimed responsibility for three major terrorist attacks, including those in Paris last week. As the threat of ISIS stretches well beyond Iraq and Syria, it's not clear if European powers will have the military strength to fight ISIS abroad. Yahoo's Rick Newman gives a special report. Pepsi invades Empire Taking product placement to a whole new level, Pepsi ( PEP ) just struck a deal with Fox to make the beverage giant an integral part of three episodes of the hit show Empire. Is this part of a larger trend in an ad-averse world? Frequent flyer miles for Wi-Fi Move over Bitcoins, frequent flyer miles might just be the new currency du jour. United ( UAL ) will soon let you spend your miles on Wi-Fi access on its flights. The move is part of an image campaign that's focusing on improving travelers' experiences instead of trying to shake a few more dollars out of flyers. \|\| Why the price of bitcoin is skyrocketing again: The price of Bitcoin, the world's most popular virtual, digital currency, is on the rise again. After trading in a range of $200 to $250 for most of the year, the price of one Bitcoin shot up to $500 this week, although it hassince fallen back to $392on Thursday. A great surge to $1,000 at the end of 2013ended in disaster for investorsas the currency lost three-quarters of its value in ensuing months. But what's behind the latest rally and will it stick? Here are three possible explanations:Perhaps questionable Chinese interest As often happens with bitcoin price surges, a lot of the trading is coming out of China. And there is a social financial network called MMM Global growing massively in China that requires users to buy bitcoin and share it around with other members. The Financial Timeshas said MMM has elements typical of pyramid schemes. The site was founded by a former Russian legislator who was jailed for fraud over a pyramid scheme he operated in the 1990s. China has alsotightened capital controls recently, making it harder for its citizens to send money abroad. Some bitcoin buying may be related to efforts to get around the crackdown.Growing legitimate business interest At the Money 20/20 conference last week,many companies announced new bitcoin-based services. The Nasdaq (NDAQ), for example, will be recording transactions in private stocks using bitcoin's public ledger, known as the blockchain. And Mastercard (MA) joined the long list of establishment institutions investing in bitcoin startups. And, two weeks ago, the European Union's top court agreed that virtual currencies like bitcoincan be traded like established currencieswithout triggering taxes applied to sales of goods and services. Past rallies have been linked with speculative bets that these kinds of deals and rulings would popularize the cryptocurrency and lead to greater demand which would push up the price.Jamie Dimon The always opinionated CEO of JPMorgan Chase (JPM) says bitcoin has no future -- governments will shut it down,he said at Fortune's Global Forumon Wednesday. “Virtual currency, where it’s called a bitcoin vs. a U.S. dollar, that’s going to be stopped,” Dimon said. Coming from the the guy who boughtBear StearnsandWaMuand missed those billions of dollars of crazy trades by the London Whale, Dimon's remarks may be attracting contrarians to bet against the big bank CEO. Probably not many, but with bitcoin, you never know. [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] 1 #bitcoin = $5300.00 MXN \| $321.39 USD #BitAPeso 1 USD = 16.49MXN http://www.bitapeso.com \|\| 1 #bitcoin 889 TL, 298.56 $, 276.295 €, GBP, 18800.00 RUR, 36500 ¥, CNH, 392.40 CAD #btc \|\| LIVE: Profit = $693.01 (0.45 %). BUY B402.91 @ $380.00 (#BTCe). SELL @ $382.38 (#Bitfinex) #bitcoin #btc - http://www.projectcoin.org \|\| #RDD / #BTC on the exchanges: Cryptsy: 0.00000004 Bittrex: 0.00000004 Average $1.6E-5 per #reddcoin 14:00:15 \|\| In the last 10 mins, there were arb opps spanning 10 exchange pair(s), yielding profits ranging between $0.00 and $27.22 #bitcoin #btc \|\| In the last 10 mins, there were arb opps spanning 18 exchange pair(s), yielding profits ranging between $0.00 and $908.62 #bitcoin #btc \|\| Current price: 160.09£ $BTCGBP $btc #bitcoin 2015-10-11 12:00:04 BST \|\| In the last 10 mins, there were arb opps spanning 13 exchange pair(s), yielding profits ranging between $0.00 and $116.86 #bitcoin #btc \|\| My robot has 5,00 hp left! I've earned a total of 4,388,116 free satoshis from http://www.robotcoingame.com/?id=17 #robotcoingame #Bitcoin #FreeBitcoin \|\| In the last 10 mins, there were arb opps spanning 10 exchange pair(s), yielding profits ranging between $0.00 and $388.84 #bitcoin #btc	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 415.56, 417.56, 415.48, 451.94, 435.00, 433.76, 444.18, 465.32, 454.93, 456.08
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2021-12-29] BTC Price: 46444.71, BTC RSI: 37.99 Gold Price: 1805.10, Gold RSI: 53.41 Oil Price: 76.56, Oil RSI: 58.51 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Radio Caca's ($RACA) & USM Metaverse Round 1 Distribution NFT Release: $33,000,000 Worth of Mystery Boxes NFT Sold Out in Just Two Hours: Singapore, Singapore--(Newsfile Corp. - November 16, 2021) - Since the advent of Non-fungible tokens (NFTs), many projects have boasted of selling out NFT collectibles. However, Radio Caca has been in the Binance NFT market and that has set it apart and made it very popular within the NFT marketplace. In October, Radio Caca maintained a whopping 40% of the total transaction volume that was executed on the Binance NFT marketplace. This is an indication that Radio Caca has a massive influence on the Binance NFT market and its blockchain protocol. On November 7,Radio Cacacommenced another Mystery Boxes NFT distribution. The most interesting thing is that it sold out NFTs worth over $33 million in a matter of two hours. It is another amazing achievement by Radio Caca considering its previous release accounted for more than 85% of Binance NFT Marketplaces' volume on the day of the release. Overview of Radio Caca Mystery Boxes The Radio Cacamystery boxescontain assets like Radio Caca's mini-game Metamon characters including N/R/SR rarity level Metamon and USM Land Parcels NFTs. The most sought-after NFT in Radio Caca's community is MPB NFT. The November 7 release had 10 MPB in it. Mystery Box Revenue Distribution Plan According to Radio Caca's report, 50% of the revenue from the mystery box distribution will go into funding tech development. To promote the Radio Caca NFTs, 40% of the revenue will go into marketing activities like the signing of celebrities and Metaverse movie production. The remaining 10% will go to liquidity pools. Specifically, while 5% is used to buy back RACA tokens from the public market, the remaining 5% will be swapped for liquid assets such as ETH or USDT. Once all that has been done, they will add the pair (RACA/ETH in this case) into the liquidity pool on Uniswap. The liquidity pool will be locked for a period of 100 years. The implication is that the liquidity pool tokens will be locked inside the protocol forever. According to their report, they are more interested in building a larger and highly attractive liquidity pool in the market. This will ensure that whenever BTC is experiencing a bear market, the RACA token will have an independent performance. Radio Caca Strategy For Upcoming Distributions Radio Cacaplans to sell four more rounds that will accept either USDT or ETH as payment options in 2022. All of the other rounds (there will be a total of 30 rounds) and for the rest of 2021, the RACA token will be the only acceptable payment token. RACA profit worth over $33 million from the November 7 Round 1 distribution is enough to cover all expenses of the development team for the next 3 years. Assuming the sales for the upcoming four release rounds in 2022 are similar to round one, the net profit generated will be around $240 million. If this estimation holds, they plan to use it to build their liquidity pool positions and continue further investing in The Universal Metaverse (USM) development. In a market as dynamic and volatile as the crypto market, Radio Caca does not rely on hopes and wishes. All scenarios are to be accounted for. Therefore, Radio Raca has a viable "plan B" with regards to building its liquidity position. What is Radio Caca? Radio Caca is one of the GameFi/Metaverse industry leaders, and it has continued to build on its success since it was launched earlier this year. It has been involved in some of the hottest projects within the NFT and Metaverse industry. The platform has executed consecutive NFT sellouts, has an exclusive right to Maye Musk non-fungible tokens, and offers a thrilling Play-to-Earn Metamon game experience. It has also continued to dominate the secondary NFT markets of Binance's ecosystem. Radio Caca team also plans to cross-chain RACA token and its NFTs to Solana and OEC soon. Their investment in the Universal Metaverse (USM) will take things to even higher levels. All of these factors put together make this project an industry leader. It's certain that Radio Caca is going to be massive in the GameFi and Metaverse space. For more information about Radio CaCa, visit their social media handles and other official pages likeTwitter,Medium, andTelegram. Radio Caca Twitter:https://twitter.com/RadioCacaNFTTelegram:https://t.me/RadioCacaWebsite:https://www.radiocaca.com/homeMedium:https://radiocaca.medium.com/ Metaverse Discordhttp://discord.gg/qzM796FrDd Media ContactContact Name: Mike RadioContact Email:[email protected] Name: RADIO CACA FOUNDATION LTD.Address: 3 Fraser Street, #05-25, Duo Tower, Singapore, 189352Phone: 1-650-495-8149Website:www.radiocaca.com To view the source version of this press release, please visithttps://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/103760 \|\| The US Justice Department is selling $56 million worth of crypto seized in massive bitcoin investment fraud case: Bitcoin. George Frey/Getty Images/AFP/File The US Justice Department is selling $56 million worth of cryptocurrency seized from BitConnect's top promoter. The proceeds from the sale will be put toward paying back victims of the BitConnect scam. In 2017, BitConnect's founder and its promoters swindled investors out of $2 billion. Victims of the biggest heist in the cryptocurrency world may soon get some retribution. That's because the US Justice Department is selling $56 million worth of cryptocurrency it seized as part of its case against BitConnect, according to a Tuesday press release . The founder of BitConnect, a scam cryptocurrency, and its promoters swindled thousands of people out of $2 billion worth of bitcoin in 2017. The scheme is the largest cryptocurrency fraud ever criminally charged, the Justice Department said in its statement. The proceeds from the sale will be used to help pay back victims of the scam. The crypto to be sold was seized from BitConnect's top promoter, 44-year-old Glenn Arcaro, who pleaded guilty in federal criminal court for his role in the case. Insider previously reported that he and BitConnect founder Satish Kumbhani told investors the coin could get monthly returns as high as 40%. In September, the US Securities and Exchange Commission sued Kumbhani for raising $2 billion from investors in an offering not properly registered with regulators. In May, the SEC sued five BitConnect promoters who created video testimonials on YouTube and received commissions from it. Arcaro, for his part, received $24 million in referral comissions, Insider said previously. Experts have been advising investors to remain vigilant in the crypto world. As the popularity of cryptocurrencies rises, so does the number of scams. Insider reported in July one 77-year-old woman lost more than $12,000 in a bitcoin scam. She's one of many who has been swindled out of money. More recently, the makers of the Squid Game coin named after the hit Netflix show made millions after investors caused the meme coin price to skyrocket. The scammers reaped the rewards before the crypto project was taken offline. Read the original article on Business Insider \|\| Syscoin's Smart Contract Chain Is Live: The best of Bitcoin & Ethereum is now together in one place. Eindhoven, Netherlands--(Newsfile Corp. - December 6, 2021) - Phase One of the NEVM launch is complete! The Bitcoin-secured Layer 1 for EVM smart contracts reached mainnet on block 1,317,500, December 6th, 2021. With this upgrade to the Syscoin network, users can simultaneously enjoy all the benefits of Bitcoin's POW security and the flexibility of smart contracts on a modular chain built to remain indefinitely decentralized, scalable, and affordable. Phase One has effectively laid the world's most secure foundation for supporting all the best EVM Layer 2 advancements. Syscoin To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/8372/106813_4a3f975024842991_001full.jpg Syscoin's unique approach to infrastructure has addressed the greatest criticisms aimed at Bitcoin and Ethereum alike. Thanks to merge-mining, POW security is effectively a green energy solution, which recycles resources already being spent on Bitcoin's gold standard security. Thanks to the company's Solidity and full EVM-compatibility, they have set the stage for all EVM-based projects, including Ethereum itself, to be able to take advantage of Syscoin NEVM's scalability and low fees. In this manner, they have effectively leapfrogged the promises being offered by Ethereum 2.0 and solved the trilemma facing blockchains. This is significant because it means projects running on Ethereum can migrate to the Syscoin Platform and immediately save nearly 100% of their transaction fees, and in turn those savings can be passed on to their user bases. "Syscoin will utilize the best features of the top two cryptocurrencies, namely Bitcoin and Ethereum. Hence, Syscoin will provide the security offered by Bitcoin while maintaining the programmability of Ethereum. Scalable applications will be mounted on this system via ZKPs which will introduce our proposed decentralized cost model on Ethereum gas fees," said Jagdeep Sidhu, Syscoin's Lead Core Developer. As mentioned, the Syscoin NEVM going operational is only Phase One of their grand strategy to offer the world's first mature blockchain capable of running the metaverse, smart cities, and hosting both the needs of public and private institutions. Phase Two brings ZK-Rollups and their incredible boost to speeds of up to 210k TPS in Q1 of 2022, followed by Phase Three in Q3 and the implementation our proprietary Validium technology, which is projected to achieve 4 million TPS, guaranteeing the long term viability of the Syscoin Platform. Since 2014, Syscoin has been continuously evolving in scope to anticipate and address the greatest challenges facing blockchain technology. The company's NEVM is the culmination of these years of effort and a novel solution they are incredibly proud to make a reality. Many new partners have already started onboarding, with the majority looking towards leveraging ZK-Rollups on Syscoin NEVM. Thus far, these NEVM partners include Luxy : a powerful and user-friendly NFT marketplace, Gold Standard DAO : a decentralized reserve currency backed by gold, Pegasys : the first DEX & AMM built on Syscoin's NEVM, Mute : a DeFi suite dedicated to ZK-Rollup scalability, Equalizer : the world's first dedicated DeFi flash loans platform, Orai : the world's first AI Oracle blockchain, and many more will join the Syscoin ecosystem. More information is available at Syscoin.org . About Syscoin: Story continues Syscoin is a decentralized and open-source project founded in 2014 whose NEVM upgrade combines the best of Bitcoin and Ethereum in a single coordinated platform. Bitcoin's proven security and Ethereum's Turing-complete programmability elevated to true L2 scalability via ZK-Rollups taking place on a singular platform, Syscoin will usher in the next step in the evolution of blockchain technology. Website \| Discord \| News \| Twitter \| Github Media Contact Michiel Email: [email protected] PR: Cryptoshib.com Email: [email protected] To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/106813 View comments \|\| U.S. SEC delays decision on Grayscale's spot bitcoin ETF: (Reuters) - The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has delayed its decision on a spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) proposal from Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, the world's largest digital currency manager. In a notice dated Wednesday, the markets regulator said it now expects to review Grayscale's proposal by Feb. 6, later than the original December deadline. In October, Grayscale, which has over $45 billion of cryptocurrency assets under management, had said it plans to convert its Grayscale Bitcoin Trust into a spot bitcoin ETF. The first U.S. bitcoin futures-based exchange-traded fund also began trading that month, taking bitcoin's price to a six-month high. However, the cryptocurrency has since eased and it is currently trading below $50,000. (Reporting by Niket Nishant in Bengaluru; Editing by Ramakrishnan M.) \|\| Hong Kong Siblings Face Jail Time for Laundering Money Through Different Platforms: Hong Kong Policearrested two siblings on the claims of money laundering. The two residents were accused of using multiple methods, including crypto platforms, for washing over HK $380 million ($ 48.7 million). The Hong Kong police have arrested two residents for laundering money amounting to $48.7 million. The two are siblings, and they used their bank accounts and a crypto exchange platform to wash the cash. The police force searched the residency of the siblings- a sister and a brother to ascertain their claims. The two are said to have opened bank accounts with various financial organizations in the city. They also opened accounts on an undisclosedcrypto exchange platformto launder the money whose source is yet to be identified. The defendants were later released on bail. The customs officials did not rule out more arrests regarding the money laundering case. According to Chinese law, the two are facing a maximum fine of 5 million Hong Kong dollars or $641,000. The law also states that the penalty is accompanied by 14 years of jail time and confiscation of the laundering proceeds. It’s not the first time Hong Kong customs officials have arrested people for money laundering. In July 2021, the officials arrested four people for laundering about $113 million using crypto platforms. The group had washed the money for 15 months using shell companies and 40 differentUSDTwallets. As the year approaches its final days, the cases of illegal crypto uses, scams, and cyberattacks are increasing exponentially. Since November, many people have been arrested for the same while several crypto platforms have reported cyber attacks. The regulators are also working around the clock to formulate frameworks to govern these assets and reduce such abuses. This month alone, crypto platforms like Bitmart, Badger DAO, Mono X and AscendEx have lost millions of dollars to hackers. Bitmart lost Altcoins worth over $190 million and made an effort to refund its users using its reserve unit. Mono X also lost tokens worth about $31 million, while BadgerDAO lost about $51 million in a similar attack. Ascend Ex is also reported to have lost $80 million by exploiting their crypto wallets. The authorities have tried to warn investors about the increasing scam rates all year long. According to reports,crypto scamsare up by over 80% in 2021 alone. A total of$7.7 billionwas lost to scammers and hackers throughout the year. As a result, multiple governments are currently discussing creating protective regulations for investors. These regulations will cover investors’ rights and abolish bad players like money launderers, scammers and hackers from the crypto sphere. Thisarticlewas originally posted on FX Empire • Natural Gas Price Forecast – Natural Gas Markets Continue to Consolidate Into the New Year • Thailand’s Crypto Mining Industry is Growing Thanks to China’s Ban • Bitcoin and Ether Dive, SOL Reaches Crucial Support • Why Alibaba Stock Is Under Pressure Today • South Korea Wants Google And Apple To Block Crypto Play-To-Earn Games • Gold Price Forecast – Gold Markets Get Crushed \|\| India seeks to block most cryptocurrencies in new bill, government says: MUMBAI (Reuters) -India is looking to bar most private cryptocurrencies when it introduces a new bill to regulate virtual currencies in the winter session of Parliament, the government said late on Tuesday. The government will allow only certain cryptocurrencies to promote the underlying technology and its uses, according to a legislative agenda for the winter session that is set to start later this month. Through the Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill, 2021, India is also looking to make a framework for the official digital currency that will be issued by the Reserve Bank of India. The central bank has voiced "serious concerns" about private cryptocurrencies and is set to launch its own digital currency by December. Bitcoin, the world's biggest cryptocurrency, is hovering around $60,000, and its price has more than doubled since the start of this year, attracting hordes of local investors. No official data is available but industry estimates suggest there are 15 million to 20 million crypto investors in India, with total crypto holdings of around 400 billion rupees ($5.39 billion). Earlier this year, India's government considered criminalising the possession, issuance, mining, trading and transference of crypto assets, but a bill was not introduced. Since then, the government has changed its stance slightly and is now looking to discourage trading in cryptocurrencies by imposing hefty capital gains and other taxes, two sources told Reuters this month. But a senior government official told Reuters that the plan is to ban private crypto assets ultimately while paving the way for a new Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a meeting to discuss the future of cryptocurrencies amid concerns that unregulated crypto markets could become avenues for money laundering and terror financing, sources told Reuters separately. (Reporting by Aftab Ahmed and Nupur Anand; Editing by Peter Graff and Paul Simao) \|\| ASX200: Futures Point Northwards. Reaction to U.S Data and the FOMC Minutes to Set the Tone: Private New Capital Expenditure (QoQ) (Q3) Retail Sales (MoM) (Oct) It was back into the red for the ASX200 on Wednesday. Partially reversing a 0.78% gain from Tuesday, the ASX200 slipped by 0.15% to end the day at 7,399.44. A mixed session for the big-4 banks and commodity stocks weighed following a pickup in 10-year U.S Treasury yields on Tuesday. Following FED Chair Powell’s reappointment, the markets have shifted on FED monetary policy, pushing the 10-year higher. Eurozone and U.S private sector PMIs from Tuesday also continued to point to supply chain disruption and yet higher cost pressures. In the 3rdquarter, construction work down slipped by 0.3% quarter-on-quarter, following a 0.8% increase in the quarter prior. Economists had forecast a 3.1% slide. The numbers had a muted impact on the day, however. It was a mixed day for the banks.ANZandCBArose by 0.88% and by 0.37% respectively.Westpac andNABfell by 0.05% and by 0.07% respectively, however, withMacquarie Groupsliding 1.48%. Commodity stocks also had a mixed session.Newcrest Miningfell by 1.16%, withRio Tintoending the day down by 0.06%.Fortescue Metals Group LtdandBHP Groupsaw gains of 1.27% and 0.50% respectively, however. Elsewhere, it was another mixed session. The CSI300 and the Hang Seng Index rose by 0.07% and by 0.14% respectively, while the Nikkei slid by 1.58%. It’s another relatively quiet day ahead on the Aussieeconomic calendar. Private new CAPEX figures for the 3rdquarter will be in focus, with economists forecasting a 2% fall. From overnight, however, market reaction to U.S economic data and the FOMC meeting minutes will set the tone. Gains for the NASDAQ and the S&P500, in response to the FOMC meeting minutes, should deliver some early support. In the futures markets, at the time of writing, the ASX200 was up by 7 points. For a look at all of today’s economic events, check out oureconomic calendar. Thisarticlewas originally posted on FX Empire • Gold Price Prediction – Prices Consolidate Recent Losses • Gold Price Futures (GC) Technical Analysis – Market Rebounds after Test of Key 50% Level at $1781.00 • Samsung to Spend $17 Billion on a New Chip Plant in Texas • Crude Oil Price Update – Needs to Clear $79.33 to Confirm Shift in Momentum to Up • Bitcoin Being Squeezed Within Bearish Flag, Break Lower to 53,000 Area on the Cards • Tron and Cardano Down by More Than 5% After eToro Delisting \|\| La caída de bitcoin podría estabilizarse en el soporte de $60.000: Bitcoin (BTC) cayó por debajo de los $65.000 mientras los compradores continúan tomando algunas ganancias. La criptomoneda cotizaba en torno a los $64.000 al cierre de esta edición y registró una caída de 2% en las últimas 24 horas. El soporte más bajo se ubica en torno a los $60.000, lo que podría estabilizar el actual retroceso. El índice de fuerza relativa ( RSI ) en el gráfico de cuatro horas está cerca de los niveles de sobreventa, similar al del 27 de octubre, el cual antecedió a una suba de casi 10% en el precio de bitcoin. Esta vez, sin embargo, los compradores podrían enfrentarse a una resistencia en torno a los $65.000, dada la pérdida de impulso alcista de esta semana. Los indicadores sugieren que podría persistir un periodo de consolidación después de que ayer surgieran señales de agotamiento alcista en los gráficos. Además, una divergencia negativa en el RSI diario sugiere una subida limitada a corto plazo. El gráfico semanal muestra una mejora del impulso de los precios, aunque es necesario que se confirme una ruptura decisiva por encima de los $69.000 antes de proyectar objetivos alcistas. \|\| Bitcoin Rises Toward $50K; Resistance Seen Around $52K: Bitcoin (BTC) held support around $46,000 and is attempting to reverse a short-term downtrend. Still, upside appears to be limited toward the $52,000 resistance level, which is roughly midway through the 20% sell-off that occurred earlier this month. BTC is up about 4% over the past 24 hours and down bout 2% over the past week. The relative strength index (RSI) on the daily chart is the most oversold since May 20, which preceded a strong price recovery. Momentum is also stabilizing after several weeks of low trading volume. On the weekly chart, price conditions are less favorable as the uptrend appears to be slowing. For now, this suggests short-term buyers could struggle beyond $50,000-$55,000. \|\| Bitcoin (BTC) & Ethereum (ETH) Reach All-Time Highs Once More Multi Coin Analysis: BeInCrypto BeInCrypto takes a look at seven altcoins, including Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) which have just reached new all-time highs. This story was seen first on BeInCrypto Join our Telegram Group and get trading signals, a free trading course and more stories like this on BeInCrypto [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] None available.	Trend: down \|\| Prices: 47178.12, 46306.45, 47686.81, 47345.22, 46458.12, 45897.57, 43569.00, 43160.93, 41557.90, 41733.94
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2017-12-29] BTC Price: 14656.20, BTC RSI: 49.55 Gold Price: 1306.30, Gold RSI: 69.55 Oil Price: 60.42, Oil RSI: 68.43 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] UK Hedge Fund Man Group Mulls Bitcoin Futures Offering: The CEO of the Man Group, a major U.K.-based hedge fund, is reportedly eyeing an entry into the cryptocurrency space in light of a pending derivatives product launch by CME Group. According toReuters, CEO Luke Ellis indicated that if the CME proceeds with its plans to list a bitcoin futures contract – possiblyas early as next month– the hedge fund that claims more than $100 billion in assets under management could make cryptocurrency as part of its "investment universe." The chief executive was quoted as saying: "It's not part of our investment universe today – it could be. If there is a CME future on bitcoin, it would be." In the event that the Man Group makes the proverbial leap to investing in cryptocurrencies – Ellis didn't offer any clues beyond the hint related to CME – it would bethe latest firmof its kind of enter the market. His remarks come on the heels of CMEannouncing that it would launch its bitcoin productby the end of 2017. At the time it announced the product, the company was still waiting on approval from regulators. CME Group CEO Terry Duffy then made waves earlier this week when he said that the futures contract could launch as soon asmid-December. Disclosure:CME Group is an investor in Digital Currency Group, CoinDesk's parent company. Markets graph imagevia Shutterstock \|\| FOREX-Dollar struggles on concerns of U.S. tax reform's limited impact: * House-Senate Republicans put finishing touches on tax bill * Dollar awaits passage of tax bill for more direction * Bitcoin hits fresh record high over weekend (Adds comment, updates prices) By Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss NEW YORK, Dec 18 (Reuters) - The dollar fell against a basket of major currencies on Monday, as concerns grew over whether a proposed U.S. tax overhaul program would have a major impact on economic growth, after the bill moved another step closer to passage over the weekend. The U.S. currency had edged higher after Republicans on the House-Senate negotiating committee on Friday put the finishing touches on a sweeping tax overhaul that involves large cuts in levies on corporations. But it slid on Monday on uncertainty that the bill would indeed be pushed through, and with some doubts also creeping in over the pro-growth effect the tax reforms would have. "Even a passage of the bill by the year's end could have a limited impact on the dollar as investors are increasingly skeptical of the sustained positive impact the rushed bill will have on the economy," said Omer Esiner, chief market analyst at Commonwealth FX in Washington. Year-end demand for dollars had helped push the greenback higher against the euro in recent sessions, said Alvin Tan, a strategist at Societe Generale in London, but that slowed on Monday. Despite the dollar's latest dip, some analysts believe there is further room for it to go higher. Economic forecasters expect lower corporate taxes to raise U.S. growth by roughly 0.5 percent over the next year, potentially lifting the pace of interest rate increases from the two priced in by the market to closer to the three consistently estimated by Federal Reserve policymakers, said Karl Schamotta, director of global product and market strategy at Cambridge Global Payments in Washington. Against a basket of major currencies, the dollar fell 0.2 percent to 93.702. The euro benefited from the dollar's weakness, gaining 0.3 percent to $1.1781. Top Republicans are confident the U.S. Congress will pass the tax bill this week, with a Senate vote as early as Tuesday and President Donald Trump aiming to sign the bill by week's end. The dollar was 0.1 percent lower against the yen at 112.54 yen following Friday's rise of 0.2 percent. The greenback also failed to get support from a rise in U.S. Treasury yields on Monday. The benchmark 10-year yield has been confined to a 2.34 percent to 2.42 percent range over the past week. Bitcoin was down 1.1 percent at $18,755 on the Bitstamp exchange. It hit a record high of $19,666 on Sunday, ahead of the launch of bitcoin futures from CME Group Inc . ======================================================== Currency bid prices at 3:00PM (2000 GMT) Description RIC Last U.S. Close Pct Change YTD Pct High Bid Low Bid Previous Change Session Euro/Dollar EUR= $1.1783 $1.1752 +0.26% +0.00% +1.1834 +1.1739 Dollar/Yen JPY= 112.5400 112.5700 -0.03% +0.00% +112.8300 +112.3200 Euro/Yen EURJPY= 132.63 132.32 +0.23% +0.00% +133.0000 +132.2200 Dollar/Swiss CHF= 0.9858 0.9903 -0.45% +0.00% +0.9917 +0.9840 Sterling/Dollar GBP= 1.3381 1.3319 +0.47% +0.00% +1.3418 +1.3310 Dollar/Canadian CAD= 1.2868 1.2860 +0.06% +0.00% +1.2880 +1.2844 Australian/Doll AUD= 0.7665 0.7644 +0.27% +0.00% +0.7677 +0.7641 ar Euro/Swiss EURCHF= 1.1617 1.1640 -0.20% +0.00% +1.1668 +1.1614 Euro/Sterling EURGBP= 0.8804 0.8818 -0.16% +0.00% +0.8840 +0.8793 NZ NZD= 0.6994 0.6989 +0.07% +0.00% +0.7028 +0.6993 Dollar/Dollar Dollar/Norway NOK= 8.3514 8.3785 -0.32% +0.00% +8.3952 +8.3156 Euro/Norway EURNOK= 9.8419 9.8494 -0.08% +0.00% +9.8805 +9.8290 Dollar/Sweden SEK= 8.4241 8.5046 -0.70% +0.00% +8.5172 +8.4094 Euro/Sweden EURSEK= 9.9264 9.9964 -0.70% +0.00% +10.0020 +9.9192 (Reporting by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss; Additional reporting by Jemima Kelly and Tommy Wilkes in London; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli) \|\| Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin and Ripple Daily Analysis – 16/11/17: For now, Bitcoin looks to have won the battle for the miners, with Bitcoin’s price recovering to $7,430 at the time of writing. Bitcoin’s recover comes at the expense of support for Bitcoin Cash, which has tumbled 11.86% today to $1,043. Hashrates that reflect where the miners are have returned to normal levels, with Bitcoin Cash’s moment in the limelight over the weekend, where its hashrate was higher than that of Bitcoin, a distant memory. With the latest stumble, we will expect Bitcoin Cash to find some support, though Bitcoin’s return to the top of the food chain will likely limit any material upside in Bitcoin Cash for now. Get Into Bitcoin Trading with Plus500 Things could go from bad to worse if investors look to lock in gains and get out, which suggests that further declines may be on the way as Bitcoin Cash’s resilience gets tested. Sub-$1,000 before the end of the week is not an unreasonable forecast as things stand. Things have not been particularly spectacular for Litecoin this morning, down 1.17% at $62.55 at the time of writing. Attempts to break free from its current ranges on Wednesday failed, though the positive for Litecoin has been its price stability through the week, suggesting that there is possible upside ahead once the volatility eases. Continued movements across the cryptocurrencies in the wake of Bitcoin Cash’s rally and the release of Bitcoin Gold have been a factor through the week and only now does it seem as through the dust is settling from the cancellation of the SegWit2X hard fork last week. We will expect Litecoin to hold at current levels through the day, with direction titled slightly to the upside from its current value. Get Into Bitcoin Trading Today Ripple also failed to break free on Wednesday, having made a run at $0.22. At the time of writing, Ripple was down just 0.23% at $0.2081. As we have seen with Litecoin, it’s proven to be a challenge for Ripple to make a move out of its ranges towards $0.30, with Bitcoin grabbing all the attention in recent days on its rally back to $7430. Despite today’s declines, the outlook continues to remain relatively upbeat and demand for Ripple is likely to build as the dust settles from the Bitcoin forks. Any moves by Ripple beyond $0.21 levels will give it a fighting chance to have a good run at $0.30, with there likely to be strong support at $0.20 in the event of further declines through the day. The Best and Safest Way to Buy and Sell Bitcoins For those who are looking to take advantage of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies price fluctuations,Some brokersprovide traders with instant access to trade Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum and other cryptocurrencies. The process is fast and easy with convenient and advanced trading platform (desktop and mobile), low spreads and instant execution.Click here for more details. Thisarticlewas originally posted on FX Empire • AUD/USD and NZD/USD Fundamental Daily Forecast – Aussie Rallies Despite Somewhat Disappointing Jobs Data • Gold’s Long-Term Analogies • E-mini Dow Jones Industrial Average (YM) Futures Analysis – November 16, 2017 Forecast • Midday Forex Snapshot – November 16, 2017 • Getting Back to Normal: Bitcoin Back Above $7,500, Bitcoin Cash Fall • Stocks Rebound as Correction Runs its Course \|\| Can Senate Get Its Tax Reform Bill Passed?: In this shortened trading week of Thanksgiving, much talk and speculation will be on whether or not the Senate can get its tax reform bill passed, and then whether it can be reconciled with the House version that has already won the vote. Because the Senate will not be deciding prior to this Thursday’s holiday, expect to hear plenty of analysis from both pro- and anti-tax cut perspectives, but don’t look for any certainty either way. At least not yet. That said, we’ll still need to fill the columns of our articles, and passage of tax reform — either before calendar 2017 is out or after — stands to help market indexes climb even higher, as windfall corporate tax cuts look to directly help shareholders of publicly traded companies above everyone else, via share buybacks and increases to dividend yields. But deficit hawks continually point to a $1.5 trillion hole being blown through our country’s debt; tax reformers’ essential “trickle down” philosophy that more capital freed up will help companies hire more workers and thereby grow the economy enough to make up for any near-term economic losses are, as always, an article of faith. Expect weaker trading volumes as market participants make plans to visit family and friends this week. But the question will remain once we’ve all returned back to the office: can the stock market get back to its bullish stance without tax reform reconciliation in the U.S. Congress? And if it can, where would that growth come from? Perhaps we’ve seen market trepidation in the past couple weeks because failure of passing tax cuts may result in a market selloff of notable proportion. Also, with 2017 having been such a rampant success for many shareholders, booking profits before the end of the year will continue to provide at least a mild headwind through the end of the year. Bitcoin Ramps Above $8000 Meanwhile, the world’s most famous cryptocurrency, bitcoin, is up 650% year to date — +17% last week alone. As its acceptance grows across the globe and with certain key retailers and market exchanges, we now begin to hear the clearing of naysayers’ throats. These include famed derivatives trader Thomas Peterffy, who writes in the Wall Street Journal that a futures exchange focused on the cryptocurrency may lead to a financial crisis down the road. The CME Group CME, in particular, is openly discussing a bitcoin platform as early as next month, where trading halts might be implemented to smooth out some of its inherent volatility. Peterffy argues that the lion’s share of bitcoin interest will occur at weaker clearing houses who don’t have much to lose anyway. So the lack of support at some level of bitcoin — which, remember, is up nearly 700% this year alone — might be how unsuspecting investors might be one day left holding the bag. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days.Click to get this free reportCME Group Inc. (CME) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research \|\| Bitcoin Takes a Hit on Tether Hack But Remains Near Record High: The price of Bitcoin dropped more than $500 before recovering most of its losses on Tuesday. The digital currency initially retreated below the psychologically important level of $8,000 only two days after breaking it for the first time. The drop was due to reports of a theft that affected an alternative cryptocurrency. The firm behind a cryptocurrency called Tether said that $31 million was taken from the Tether Treasury wallet on November 19 in the wake of a hack. The stolen amount was sent to an unauthorized Bitcoin address, according to the announcement the company has published on its website yesterday. The companys development team is now attempting to prevent the stolen amount, which was in Tether tokens, from entering the wider trading economy. The team said that the tokens will not be redeemable on the Tether platform. The hack temporarily raised concerns about the safety and security of digital currencies, which erased a chunk of Bitcoins rapid gains this week. However, Bitcoin quickly recovered most of its losses as investors remained optimistic following recent institutional interest in the virtual currency. Bitcoin overcame a long list of hacks in the past with relative ease, despite the dent these hacks left in investors confidence in the security of cryptocurrencies. Get Into Bitcoin Trading Today Bitcoin has been through rapid ups and crushing downs in November. The virtual currency quickly moved to more than $7,800 on November 8, ahead of a highly anticipated upgrade to the underlying Bitcoin technology. Bitcoin then lost as much as 29% of its value to reach about $5,580 on November 12, when the awaited upgrade was called off. After recovering some of its losses during the past week, Bitcoin shot through $8,000 on Sunday as institutional investors appeared to be pushing harder into the world of digital currencies. The fast growth of the total cryptocurrencies market capitalization this year has made it harder for investors from Wall Street to ignore these new digital assets. Story continues One of the latest institutional pushes into the cryptocurrency world came from CME Group Inc., which announced plans to start offering futures trading on Bitcoin starting next month. Square, Inc., a financial service based in San Francisco, also has plans to incorporate Bitcoin by beginning to test Bitcoin payments on its Cash app. Coinbase decided to ride the wave as well by offering custodian service for hedge funds and sovereign wealth funds. Bitcoin began 2017 at a value of about $1,000 per Bitcoin. The digital currency then reached $3,500 in August, at which point analysts expected the digital currency to touch $5,000 by 2018. However, the growing institutional interest grabbed enough attention from investors to overshadow warnings of a value bubble and push the digital currency past most expectations. BTC/USD is trading at 8,232 on the Bitstamp exchange as of 14:15 GMT on Tuesday after dropping to 7,780 at 03:35 GMT. BTC/USD began trading today at 8,231.5. This post was originally published by EarnForex The Best and Safest Way to Buy and Sell Bitcoins For those who are looking to take advantage of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies price fluctuations, some brokers provide traders with instant access to trade Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum and other cryptocurrencies. The process is fast and easy with convenient and advanced trading platform (desktop and mobile), low spreads and instant execution. Click here for more details . This article was originally posted on FX Empire More From FXEMPIRE: Bitcoin Takes a Hit on Tether Hack But Remains Near Record High Gold Price Futures (GC) Technical Analysis November 21, 2017 Forecast Interview with Can Soysal, Telex AI Managing Director AUD/USD Forex Technical Analysis November 21, 2017 Forecast Pound Capable of Producing Opportunities E-mini S&P 500 Index (ES) Futures Technical Analysis November 21, 2017 Forecast \|\| Best Buy: Alphabet, Facebook, or Amazon: Our digital lives are dominated by a handful of companies. Among the most dominant are Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOG) (NASDAQ: GOOGL) , Facebook (NASDAQ: FB) , and Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) . All three stocks have posted excellent returns in 2017, and all three are well positioned to continue outpacing the broader market. But if investors had to choose just one of these three stellar companies, which should they choose? A sign that says Google in its offices in Sydney, Australia. Image source: Google. The dominant force in advertising Google controls a massive share of the global internet search market. Google consistently takes over 90% of global search traffic. Those searches not only provide high-value advertising space, but also provide great ad-targeting data for use across Google's portfolio of apps including YouTube, GMail, and Maps -- all of which have over 1 billion users. YouTube, in particular, presents a massive opportunity for Google. The video service boasts over 1.5 billion logged-in users streaming an average of over one hour of video on mobile devices alone. As advertisers look to shift spending from traditional TV to digital media, YouTube presents the best analog to television advertising. The continued growth of YouTube and internet-connected devices in general resulted in Google posting a 21% year-over-year increase in ad revenue last quarter. Average ad prices continue to fall year over year as users spend more time on mobile and more new users come from emerging markets with lower average ad prices. That said, Google showed some signs of stabilization as average ad prices increased sequentially. With so much ad inventory and such great targeting data, Google has become a dominant force in advertising. As digital ad spending overtakes television advertising, Google is a prime beneficiary. The company also continues to take moonshots, mostly under the Alphabet umbrella. Those offer tremendous upside, but their size relative to Google results in minimal negative impact on the operations of the company in the near term. Story continues The like symbol on the sign at the entrance to Facebook's campus. Image source: Facebook. The second piece of the digital advertising duopoly Facebook is the second-largest digital advertising platform after Google. Its 2 billion member flagship social network is flanked by 2 billion-user messaging services and a relatively small photo-sharing network you might've heard of -- Instagram -- which only has 800 million users of its own. But buyer beware. Facebook is facing an expected slowdown starting in the second half of this year as it bumps up against ad load saturation on its flagship product. Last quarter, Facebook managed just 49% advertising revenue growth. It would be great if all revenue growth slowdowns looked like Facebook's. Facebook is managing to increase average ad prices even as the growth in ad impressions stagnates. It's pushing more into video advertising, and recently launched Watch to compete more directly with YouTube. It's also quickly growing advertising on Instagram as it works to develop a long-term monetization strategy for Messenger and WhatsApp. Facebook has a few moonshots of its own, including a big investment in virtual reality with its Oculus operations. The company is at the forefront of VR technology, so if it really is the next big computing platform as CEO Mark Zuckerberg predicts, Facebook will play an even bigger role in our lives next decade. A warehouse worker placing a package on a conveyor belt. Image source: Amazon. The retail giant that's a "Prime" candidate for your investment dollars Amazon is much more than a retail company these days. In fact, most of its profits stem from its cloud computing services division, Amazon Web Services. One could argue Amazon is more of a services business than a retailer. From cloud computing, to its marketplace, to streaming video and music, Amazon has a plethora of services available to customers. Amazon Prime is the glue that holds nearly all of its services together. Prime is the reason why more than half of all product searches on the internet start on Amazon.com. It's the reason shoppers will opt to buy something from Amazon rather than a competitor, all else being equal (or just close to equal). It's the reason more and more third-party merchants want space in Amazon's warehouses for its Fulfillment by Amazon program. It's the reason Amazon can produce original content, show its movies in theaters, and offer a subscription streaming service in parts of the world where Prime isn't available. There are 90 million U.S. households with a Prime subscription, according to Consumer Intelligence Research Partners. Prime's success has led to continual growth for Amazon. Last quarter, sales increased 34%. While Amazon continues to plow cash back into the business, its top-line growth results appear to be paying off. Which is a better buy? Comparing Alphabet and Facebook is relatively easy, as both companies have similar operations. But Amazon presents a big challenge, as it doesn't really have any peers that can compare. Let's do the easy comparison first. On an EV/EBITDA basis, Alphabet offers a significant discount to Facebook. Shares of Alphabet trade hands at a 19.7 times multiple versus a 23.9 times multiple for Facebook. With similar profit growth outlooks longnterm (considering they each benefit from the exact same secular trends), Alphabet shares appear to be the better buy at this time compared to Facebook. But Amazon may present an even better opportunity. Its valuation is certainly off the charts with an EV/EBITDA ratio more than twice as high as Alphabet's, but it presents significant growth opportunities as it expands Prime into more countries, moves its retail operations into more verticals, and looks for new services to support its own business as well as new customers. Investing in Amazon certainly requires faith in management to execute on an extremely long-term playbook. Investors who just want to maximize their returns on a megatrend in advertising would do well with Alphabet shares. As I said, all three companies present great opportunities. More From The Motley Fool 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Adam Levy owns shares of Amazon. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Alphabet (A shares), Alphabet (C shares), Amazon, and Facebook. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy . \|\| Bitcoin tops $10,000 in some exchanges: By Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bitcoin soared to an all-time high above $10,000 on Tuesday in some smaller exchanges and digital currency indexes, but remained just below that milestone in major trading platforms such as Luxembourg-based BitStamp and U.S.-based GDAX. On CEX.IO, which started out as a cloud mining provider, bitcoin hit $10,234. On crypto-currency index coinmarketcap.com, bitcoin touched $10,050. But bitcoin has not crossed that $10,000 mark on BitStamp; Coinbase's digital asset exchange GDAX; or Gemini Exchange, owned and operated by virtual currency entrepreneurs Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss. Still, bitcoin has gained more than 900 percent so far this year, on increased institutional demand for crypto-currencies as financial and mainstream use has expanded. The first crypto-currency hit a high of $9,968 (BTC=BTSP) on BitStamp. It last traded up more than 2 percent on the day at $9,907.70 (BTC=BTSP). "With bitcoin nearing $10,000, long-time bitcoiners finally feel vindicated that their currency that has been ridiculed for years, is at last being taken seriously," said Sol Lederer, blockchain director at San Francisco-based technology company LOOMIA. "Bitcoin's future is still uncertain; it faces the same serious technical challenges it has for years and faces stiff competition from newer, more sophisticated blockchains. But even if it were to crash, it's apparent that bitcoin is here to stay." In some of the emerging markets, bitcoin has hit well over $10,000. In Zimbabwe, bitcoin traded at $17,875 on Monday. Tuesday's price in Zimbabwe was not available. In South Korean exchanges, bitcoin was already at close to $11,000 or higher. It traded at nearly $11,000 on Tuesday on bithumb and hit the $10,000 milestone on Monday. At Coinone, bitcoin traded at more than $11,700, and at $11,734 on Korbit. Bitcoin has been boosted as exchanges such as the CME Group Inc (CME.O) and the Chicago Board Options Exchange announced plans to launch futures contracts for the currency. (Reporting by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss; Editing by David Gregorio) \|\| Deutsche Bank warns a 'bitcoin crash is among the market's most significant 2018 risks: Could the market's new darling become its next black swan event ? The bitcoin (Exchange: BTC=) craze could pose a real risk to the broader market next year, Deutsche Bank warned last week, ahead of the cryptocurrency's launch on futures exchanges, scheduled to take place Sunday. Torsten Slok, the firm's chief international economist, sent to clients a list of significant risks to the market in 2018. Included on that list: A crash in the price of bitcoin, higher inflation and the threat of North Korea. Bitcoin has emerged as a financial phenomenon this year as the digital currency sees $1,000-plus swings within hours. At this juncture, as the cryptocurrency has advanced quadruple digits this year, Slok said the markets have not correctly priced in the broader impact bitcoin could potentially have. Deutsche Bank's risks to the market in 2018 "It is something that I think financial markets so far have been discounting as a small issue," the economist said Thursday on CNBC's " Trading Nation ." He said he worries about whether bitcoin and its wild price swings could become "more systemic" next year if the current trends continue. "The worry, of course, that one can have is that it's catching on quite substantially. And of course with the speed with which prices are going up, then you do wonder where prices will be even by the end of 2017. But we do think that in 2018, this, of course, will continue to be a topic, and there are a number of questions that remain unanswered," Slok said. While bitcoin has more than its share of true believers many of whom have sent its price on a dizzying rally to around $19,000 just last week the digital currency's volatility and lack of transparency has earned it a fair number of critics. Last week, "Mad Money" host Jim Cramer likened bitcoin trading to "an abstruse casino game that seems to have only winners and no losers. You've got to like that, right? I think, though, that could change," Cramer said. Specifically, questions persist around regulation of the cryptocurrency and transparency in what exactly investors hold, according to Deutsche's Slok. The cryptocurrency's price rose above $19,000 for the first time on Thursday before tumbling more than 20 percent, according to Coinbase data. Its volatility could intensify in days ahead as exchanges prepare to launch bitcoin futures trading. --CNBC's Liz Gurdus contributed to this report. Could the market's new darling become its next black swan event ? The bitcoin (Exchange: BTC=) craze could pose a real risk to the broader market next year, Deutsche Bank warned last week, ahead of the cryptocurrency's launch on futures exchanges, scheduled to take place Sunday. Torsten Slok, the firm's chief international economist, sent to clients a list of significant risks to the market in 2018. Included on that list: A crash in the price of bitcoin, higher inflation and the threat of North Korea. Bitcoin has emerged as a financial phenomenon this year as the digital currency sees $1,000-plus swings within hours. At this juncture, as the cryptocurrency has advanced quadruple digits this year, Slok said the markets have not correctly priced in the broader impact bitcoin could potentially have. Deutsche Bank's risks to the market in 2018 "It is something that I think financial markets so far have been discounting as a small issue," the economist said Thursday on CNBC's " Trading Nation ." He said he worries about whether bitcoin and its wild price swings could become "more systemic" next year if the current trends continue. "The worry, of course, that one can have is that it's catching on quite substantially. And of course with the speed with which prices are going up, then you do wonder where prices will be even by the end of 2017. But we do think that in 2018, this, of course, will continue to be a topic, and there are a number of questions that remain unanswered," Slok said. While bitcoin has more than its share of true believers many of whom have sent its price on a dizzying rally to around $19,000 just last week the digital currency's volatility and lack of transparency has earned it a fair number of critics. Last week, "Mad Money" host Jim Cramer likened bitcoin trading to "an abstruse casino game that seems to have only winners and no losers. You've got to like that, right? I think, though, that could change," Cramer said. Specifically, questions persist around regulation of the cryptocurrency and transparency in what exactly investors hold, according to Deutsche's Slok. The cryptocurrency's price rose above $19,000 for the first time on Thursday before tumbling more than 20 percent, according to Coinbase data. Its volatility could intensify in days ahead as exchanges prepare to launch bitcoin futures trading. --CNBC's Liz Gurdus contributed to this report. More From CNBC 'The market is going to suck,' warns famed Wall Street bear Bitcoin futures are coming this weekend here's what to expect Heres why one trader is betting on Goldman Sachs for a breakout \|\| A Cryptocurrency Primer: Is Bitcoin a Good Investment?: In the realm of economics, there are plenty of terms that might confuse the layperson, but most of us probably know what the word "money" means. "Cryptocurrency," by contrast, can be baffling. It's money, but not government-backed money? It gets mined almost magically by a process that does nothing else of value? How does that work? Given the level of investor interest in cryptocurrencies, for this episode ofMotley Fool Answers, Alison Southwick and Robert Brokamp brought in Motley Fool analyst Aaron Bush to give their listeners the lowdown. In this segment, they try to answer a question many Foolish investors have: Should I invest in bitcoin now, wait for its price to drop, or simply avoid it like the plague? A full transcript follows the video. More From The Motley Fool • 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices • 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 • 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing • 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today • The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss • Why You're Smart to Buy Shopify Inc. (US) -- Despite Citron's Report This video was recorded on Nov. 21, 2017. Alison Southwick:Bitcoin as an investment idea. Wall Street has definitely, in the last few months, started to talk about bitcoin and dip their toes in. Jamie Dimon over atJ.P. Morganis quoted as saying bitcoin will eventually blow up. It's a fraud. It's worse than tulip bulbs and it won't end well. He also said that he would fire any trader for trading bitcoin just for being stupid. On the other side, other Wall Street figures [for example,Goldman SachsCEO Lloyd Blankfein] said he had a level of discomfort with bitcoin, as I have a level of discomfort with anything that is new. I thought, "Well, that's keeping your options open." And then I also read this other great quote in an article inThe New York Times(about a guy who invests in cryptocurrencies, digital currencies, and assets. That's his full-time job. He was talking about bitcoin and whether or not it was a bubble. He said, "If my landscaper ever asks me about crypto, that's the day I get out." I feel like we're very close to that day, but maybe not. Like I said, we've got a 22-year-old family member who wants to get into bitcoin without any idea of what that even means. Bitcoin. Speculation? Bubble? What are your thoughts? Aaron Bush:It is absolutely speculative, and the whole cryptocurrency market beyond bitcoin is also very speculative. That said, the technology that underpins everything is very real. It's very real for what blockchains can do outside of cryptocurrency, but I also think it is very real for what cryptocurrencies can be in the future. In my opinion, this is classic hype cycle, where we've seen this several times before across history. The internet bubble was the last big example of something like this. All of these companies are rushing to sell tokens instead of stocks, and a lot of companies are putting blockchain in their titles. That's very similar to companies who used to put .com in their names before. I do think there are a lot of similarities with there being hype, so investors absolutely need to be careful. This also is a very small asset class. It's brand new, and because the technology running it is very real, I personally do believe it will be significantly larger over time as new applications are found, but it's probably going to be a very rocky road getting there. Southwick:I saw that only 2% of Americans own or have ever owned bitcoin, and it's a limited quantity. There's only ever going to be so much bitcoin in the world. Bush:There's only going to be 21 [million] bitcoin total, and I do understand the sentiment of when everyone suddenly becomes interested, it makes sense to be a little skeptical; but at the same time, I think there's something like 11 or 12 million millionaires in the U.S., and there's only enough bitcoin, in total, as the end goal essentially for bitcoin, that they can't even own two of them, and the market cap is about $120 billion. So, even if this just becomes a small piece of a lot more people's portfolios, which really isn't that much out of the question, this can be worth so much more. Southwick:So, don't focus on the immediate bitcoin and what people are freaking out about right now. What are you focusing on? What are you looking at as an investor, not a speculator? Bush:I'll disclose I actually do own some bitcoin. Southwick:When did you buy it? Bush:I bought in early 2017. It was just more about being interested in it. I wanted to learn more about it. But I've been following it for a while. I also own some Ethereum, which is the second-largest cryptocurrency. My approach for investing is I'm willing to invest very small percentages of my portfolio -- less than 1% of my portfolio -- in order to learn more about this. I recognize that the upside is significantly larger than the downside, potentially. What I'm really looking for are the next hundred billion-dollar ideas. Trillion-dollar ideas. I'm not just jumping around buying a bunch of different things. I'm taking a very slow and measured approach to figure out which ideas stick, because at the end of the day this is not investing in stocks. This is closer to venture investing. This is more like seed-stage investing because many of these new cryptocurrencies, when you buy them, actually don't function, yet. I do think it's good to take it slow. That's what I'm doing personally, but I also am taking a very open-minded approach and trying to surf the learning curve. Trying to stay on the very steep end of things so that I can spot these opportunities before they turn into something much bigger. Southwick:We have a friend who, as a lark, bought a bitcoin for $50. Bush:Nice. Southwick:What did we say? Today bitcoin is like $7,500? $7,600? What is it today? Bush:It's about $7,500. That's not a bad investment. Southwick:That's why everyone wants it, but he bought it a really long time ago just for the heck of it because he's a tech-savvy kind of guy. He never expected this to happen, but he's going to hold onto it for a very long time and see where it takes him. Bush:That's awesome. I do think people should be very open-minded about this. I think just it being something new and something hype makes it easy to laugh at, but I haven't met anybody who's dug into this that became a skeptic. Everyone who digs into this becomes far more optimistic and I think that's pretty telling. Southwick:Now when you say digs into it, you're talking more specifically around... Bush:Understanding the technology, understanding how essentially the monetary system of this works, and understanding where it can go from here. Southwick:I think it's possible I'll pay for my lack of vision one day, but I think this isn't for me. That's OK, though. Bush:Oh, yes, that's fully OK. Robert Brokamp:That's perfectly fine. Aaron Bushhas no position in any of the stocks mentioned.Alison Southwickhas no position in any of the stocks mentioned.Robert Brokamp, CFPhas no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends The New York Times. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy. \|\| Bitcoin Breaks $9,000 In Another All-Time High: The price of the cryptocurrency Bitcoin has risen more than 12% in the last week, moving past $9,000 early Sunday morning to yet another in a long string of all-time highs. The cryptocurrency’s total market value is now more than $150 billion. Other cryptocurrencies have also had a very strong week, with Ethereum and Bitcoin Cash also up for the week. This continues a roughly eight-month winning streak for Bitcoin and other cryptos, which use decentralized ledgers and cryptographic security to move value over the internet. Since April 20, when it was worth just over $1,200 (per Coinmarketcap.com), Bitcoin has risen nearly 650%. The extended surge can be explained most of all by the entrance of a broader swathe of global retail investors into the market. Previous Bitcoin surges generated headlines and gave skeptics a chance to familiarize themselves with the technology, but it’s far easier for individuals to actually buy cryptocurrency today, through a huge number of online exchanges, than it was back in 2013. Get Data Sheet,Fortune’stechnology newsletter. All that retail enthusiasm has generated an array of sketchy “initial coin offerings” and even outright scams, signals of a bubble swimming with less-knowledgeable buyers. But the market has also weathered a number of setbacks, including amajor crackdownby the Chinese government and a divisiveupgrade controversy, without losing steam, suggesting at the least that buyer enthusiasm is durable. Another fascinating indicator, highlighted last weekby Bloomberg, is the adoption of Bitcoin by U.S. survivalists or “doomsday preppers,” who increasingly believe it will (somehow) be more useful after a major disaster than gold or U.S. dollars. The latest price landmark is also notable because it tees Bitcoin supporters up to adapt one of the internet’s most enduring memes. For the uninitiated, it’s a reference to the Japanese animeDragonBallZ. [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] bitcoin priceってゆうか、 \|\| QUARTZ: This is the trading firm that could bring bitcoin into the mainstream http://bit.ly/2y8qTae \|\| 30 MIN $PAY / $BTC INVERT HEAD & SHOULDERS. - $PAYBTC charthttp://www.tradingview.com/chart/PAYBTC/cAJAzGwx-30-MIN-PAY-BTC-INVERT-HEAD-SHOULDERS/ … \|\| こんばんは。 bitcoin priceという \|\| You want one ? I take bitcoin \|\| こんばんは。 bitcoin priceという \|\| Tiffany Haddishちゃんが \|\| こんばんは。 bitcoin priceという \|\| $GCR guys it's been 15 min why don't we just moon already before bitcoin comes \|\| こんばんは。 bitcoin priceという	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 12952.20, 14156.40, 13657.20, 14982.10, 15201.00, 15599.20, 17429.50, 17527.00, 16477.60, 15170.10
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2021-03-24] BTC Price: 52774.27, BTC RSI: 46.86 Gold Price: 1732.90, Gold RSI: 44.82 Oil Price: 61.18, Oil RSI: 49.47 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] CORRECTION: Jesse Jhaj Says Millionaires Have Trouble Dating... (We're Not so Sure): " This release replaces and corrects the release that ran January 27, 2021 at 11:15am ET due to updated content" LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / January 29, 2021 / Millionaires seem to have it all: exotic cars, private jets, and the dating life that mirrors Leonardo DiCaprio. This seems so self-evident that it begs the question: why even write about it? Apparently, there's one man who is changing the entire landscape of dating for millionaires. He has not only challenged this idea but proven it completely wrong. Jesse Jhaj is a self-made millionaire who co-founded Jumpcut - a startup backed by the legendary Y-Combinator who incubated unicorns like Airbnb, Dropbox, Instacart - and then went on to launch multiple 7 and 8-figure businesses. Flying in the face of all logic and rationale, he believes that wealthy men don't have it easy when it comes to dating. Jesse Jhaj's $500k Hobby Jesse Jhaj became obsessed with solving the problems that existed in his dating life, which were primarily: a) that he couldn't seem to meet the "right" women, and b) even when he met them, he had no idea how to communicate with them. He tried all the traditional "wealthy guy" approaches - hiring an expensive celebrity matchmaker in Los Angeles, becoming an influencer, throwing oceanfront Santa Monica mansion parties, going out to bars/clubs… and, according to Jesse, none of it felt right. Apparently, he ended up spending upwards of $500,000 over a two-year period "trying every method imaginable." He even decided to bring on a co-founder as if this were a startup back at Y-Combinator, David Malka , whose logistics-focused brain made him over $5 Million in poker before founding Better Vacations, a vacation rental fund with over $250 Million in real estate assets around the world. The two of them eventually discovered that taking all the marketing lessons that Jesse Jhaj had learned at Jumpcut, which teaches influencers how to become viral, and applying them to online dating was the perfect solution. They hired comedians, writers, data analysts, photographers and consultants all to test and optimize every single step of online dating in an attempt to crack the code to "dating for millionaires." Story continues That's an expensive hobby to stumble upon, but to guys like Jhaj and Malka, it seems to have been worth it. Millionaires Struggles More Than the Average Joe According to Jesse Jhaj , millionaires actually have all the same struggles that the average guy does -- but with more stacked on top. That (frankly) seems unlikely at first blush. After all, self-made men surely have more confidence than the run of the mill Tinder bachelor. The success that came from building their empires would have to seep into their dating lives too. But Jhaj says this is actually a misconception that society puts on the rich. Jhaj described the moment that he finally made it, "when my bank account had enough that I would never have to work another day in my life, I thought my dating life would completely change. Only nothing did." Now that I think about it, it actually makes sense to me. Someone like Jesse Jhaj has worked his entire life in "entrepreneur" mode - building his empire. He not only never learned how to properly communicate with women, he also had no idea how to meet them or date them. "I became obsessed with self-development," said Jhaj. The Hidden Benefit We've all seen the repercussions of what happens when wealthy men rush into relationships that aren't right for either party - they end up more than just "partners." They start to share everything… and because of that, according to Jesse, successful men can sometimes lose their entire empire. Jhaj says that in order to avoid any major repercussions, wealthy men and women need to learn to understand what toxic and positive behaviors are by "collecting as much data as possible - essentially, those who are inexperienced need to date as much as possible, take things slow and continue to learn what they like/don't like in partners with as much feedback as possible from mentors, coaches, therapists, and journaling." It's not just Jesse Jhaj . He claims he's learned this from his first-hand experience working with dozens of millionaire clients. The Facade Has Been Lifted The problems don't stop there, either. When a wealthy man doesn't know how to communicate with women properly, oftentimes his date will think to herself, "wait, is this guy actually successful? If he were so successful, he wouldn't be this nervous and socially awkward." Again, the same problems -- but amplified. Jhaj says when he discussed this exact situation with other high-value women, they described it as "the facade felt like it had suddenly been lifted." While most wealthy men can communicate in a high-value fashion through text, they become needy and socially awkward because they have no social calibration in real life. According to Jhaj, even the most successful man can be insecure when it comes to dating. This causes wealthy men to put up a facade when they meet women, pretending to be someone they're not. This only leads to problems down the road both for the man, and his match. Paradise falls when the facade is lifted. This isn't just a hypothetical - it's the reason why Jesse Jhaj has so many students to begin with. After getting hurt and realizing how many mistakes they have made, or that they have absolutely no idea as to how to meet high-quality women, or that they feel like they keep "settling in their dating lives", wealthy men will seek Jhaj for his and his team's expertise. "They just want to find love or to stop coming home to an empty apartment. The amount of positive testimonials I get from clients warms my heart - I've literally gotten baby photos and wedding invitations." The key, according to Jhaj, is to avoid the facade from the beginning, and instead learn what he calls "high-value communication." This is part of the training Jhaj provides to his students and this methodology stands in clear contrast to the lackluster solutions that matchmakers or online courses provide. What's the downside? Well, for one, the training alone cost you more than a brand new Tesla. Jhaj believes that no one should settle for their dating life, especially for successful men who already have everything else in their life together. "A lot of wealthy men just settle for the next woman they meet because they think the options are not there." Frankly, it's hard to believe that they don't have options. To be fair, that's a world I'm just not part of. How It Gets Worse for Wealthy Men To make matters worse, successful men typically hyper-focus on select areas of their lives: their work and health -- and neglect necessary skills such as communicating with the high-value women. The result is a "mismatch" between the perception of what women think a successful man should be and the reality of the poor communication skills men have with women. Jesse Jhaj seems adamant that these are issues that millionaire men have. And he believes that the "online dating system" that he developed with Malka is the solution for millionaires to have a more fulfilling dating life. "Not only do we have the ultimate solution for matching with amazing, girlfriend-quality women online, but we teach our clients how to communicate confidently, genuinely and from a mindset of abundance to project a high-value self." A $50,000 Fix? Admittedly, some of these problems really must exist for Kevin, a former Wall Street executive who had tried all traditional forms of meeting women (even blowing $100,000 on a matchmaker), to shell out over $50K to Jesse Jhaj and his team. "I don't want to be in a situation where I compromise with my dating partner -- or worse, find someone interested not in me but my fortune," the client remarked in an email exchange between us. "I feel like the value I got from the $50K spent was probably in the $500K- $1 Million+ range." What's in Jesse Jhaj's Dating Service What did Kevin actually buy? A hybrid mix of personalized communication coaching from Jesse and his team on finding truly compatible partners, and a "Rolls-Royce" done for you service where Jesse's team handles a majority of the heavy lifting for you on dating apps. This whole online dating system, as Jhaj mentions, is based on what he coins "the Unicorn Theory". The theory is this: just like the rare, mythical startup that hits the $1 Billion+ valuation, men who are successful in most aspects of their lives are just as rare (hence the term "Unicorn"). Jesse Jhaj believes that even the wealthiest men on earth can have issues communicating effectively with women. This "gap" creates a disconnection between what a woman wants from the man and the subpar image that the man unconsciously projects. Is It Really Worth It? Jesse Jhaj 's students are willing to pay $30,000-$200,000 for his services. Initially, that seems like an unreasonable sum until you reflect on the cost of settling on the wrong partner. With a 50/50 shot doing just that, Jhaj's service almost acts as an insurance policy against not just financial loss - but a lifetime of settling. There's no reason for men who "have it all" to struggle to find a partner who "has it all" too. For now, Jhaj's services fall lightyears out of my budget… but who knows. If Bitcoin keeps going the way it's going maybe I'll be a millionaire suffering from dating fatigue too. I'll keep Jhaj's number in hand just in case. CONTACT: Caroline Hunter Web Presence, LLC +1 7865519491 SOURCE: Jesse Jhaj View source version on accesswire.com: https://www.accesswire.com/626681/CORRECTION-Jesse-Jhaj-Says-Millionaires-Have-Trouble-Dating-Were-Not-so-Sure \|\| The Node: Crypto Doesn’t Pay: I like the classicdefinition of money. It makes sense: method of payment, way to store value and unit of account. That all seems pretty smart. But I also like the way I defined money when I got my first wages at a Southeast Kansas J.C. Penney’s department store in the 90s: Money was what my time turned into when I let someone else tell me how to use it. This article is excerpted fromThe Node(formerly Blockchain Bites), CoinDesk’s daily roundup of the most pivotal stories in blockchain and crypto news. You can subscribe to get the fullnewsletter here. Related:Inflation Takes Over From Covid as Biggest Market Risk: Bank of America Also known as a paycheck. This is, in fact, the way I think most everyone I knowin factdefines money (as we know, hardly anyonereally thinks about it). So, to me, crypto isn’t really money yet because the cryptocurrency industry isn’t doing a very good job paying people wages. It’s barely even trying. In Camila Russo’s readable and entertaining book on the origins of Ethereum, “The Infinite Machine,” we meet a young Vitalik Buterin before he could even really code. Baby Buterin was fascinated by Bitcoin and the possibility of money native to the internet, and he wanted some. Related:Crypto.com Appoints Music Industry Veteran to Lead New NFT Marketplace But he was so young! He didn’t have money of his own to speak of and he definitely didn’t have access to the fiat on-ramps of the internet, like a credit card. So, Buterin started asking around to see if there was someactual workhe could do. It turned out that the best way for Vitalik to earn someBTCwas towrite useful explanationsabout the technology. Eventually this work would lead him to founding Bitcoin Magazine. There’s a larger lesson there. It’s not really money until people can get it in a paycheck of some kind. For crypto, wages would create an additional benefit: people could get into its economy and completely sidestep the traditional financial system. A certain kind of crypto denizen will have been reading the last few paragraphs and thinking something along these lines: In its earliest days, turning work into crypto was no problem. A technically adept user could run the Bitcoin software on a PC and earn a steady stream of bitcoin. The same went for Ethereum for a long time, as well. Those heady days are long past, though. Others have come along to make similar promises but the facts don’t live up to the hype. I recently reported that the forthcomingChia might bethe easiest cryptocurrency for normal people to mine, but that weekend I tried to join the testnet and check out that claim. It went badly. But honestly, mining is beside the point. Staking and mining are only “work” in the most abstract sense, not in the way that real people, people who think in paycheck terms, think about work. Work – in the minds of enough people that it’s not really worth arguing the point – is human time for hire. If crypto wants to cross the chasm with regular folks, it needs to provide more ways for people to earn it with actual work. I’m not talking aboutfull-on jobs. It’s too soon for that. What’s missing is a place for side-hustles that earn crypto, like what Vitalik did in writing helpful blog posts via crowdsourced commission. We saw some hints of that kind of economy in August when one of our contributors presented the story ofFilipino grandmas playing Axie Infinityfor far too many hours each day. That one was more than a little dystopian, obviously, and not, I’m pretty sure, anything Axie really had in mind when it built the game. The blogging sitesSteem,HiveandCenthave also paid creators for content to some degree, but that’s also just one kind of work. More are needed. There must be ways to connect talented people around the world with people who need work done. Folks with skills like copyediting and design, who have time for a little side work, can earn additional income on marketplaces such as Fiverr, and it’s cool to see there is some demand there fora crypto payment option.EthLanceandFreelanceforCoinsare nice starts down that road. But it doesn’t feel like these are as crypto as they could be. One idea: What about a crowdsourced meme factory? Imagine: a founder could post a message a company wanted to get across and invite memesters to submit concepts. Each memester would have a reputation score, and everyone who submitted would get paidsomethingfor taking part, but those with better reputations would earn slightly more (and the ones with bad track records would earn nothing). Then a few memes would get voted up by other users, earning more, until the founder picked however many the team wanted to use on Crypto Twitter or wherever, and each of those selected would get the real payday. Boom. An actual economy. Side note: I’m sure everything above raises all kinds of legal and tax issues, particularly in the U.S., whose regulators are determined to keep the online world as dull as possible.No doubt, no doubt.But look, I’m a writer, not an attorney nor a founder, and those issues make me very sleepy.Regardless, the larger point stands. Until crypto finds ways to get over any and all obstacles to regular people turning time into money, it will remain an industry that exists somewhere down the rabbit hole. • The Node: Crypto Doesn’t Pay • The Node: Crypto Doesn’t Pay \|\| Bitcoin and Ethereum Weekly Technical Analysis January 25th, 2021: Bitcoin Bitcoin , BTC to USD, slid by 9.97% in the week ending 24 th January. Following on from a 6.02% decline from the previous week, Bitcoin ended the week at $32,320.0. A mixed start to the week saw Bitcoin rise to a Tuesday intraweek high $37,936.6 before hitting reverse. Falling well short of the first major resistance level at $40,389, Bitcoin slid to a Friday intraweek low $28,989.0. The sell-off saw Bitcoin fall through the 23.6% FIB of $33,008 and the first major support level at $31,023. It was Bitcoins first visit to sub-$30,000 levels since 5 th January. Finding support on Friday, Bitcoin broke back through the 23.6% FIB before ending the day at sub-$32,500 levels. 4 days in the red that included an 13.08% tumble on Thursday delivered the downside for the week. For the week ahead Bitcoin would need to move through the 23.6% FIB of $33,008 and the $33,082 pivot to support a run the first major resistance level at $37,175. Support from the broader market would be needed for Bitcoin to break back through to $37,000 levels. Barring an extended crypto rally, the first major resistance level and last weeks high $37,936.6 would likely cap any upside. In the event of an extended breakout, Bitcoin could test resistance at the swing hi $41,969 before any pullback. The second major resistance level sits at $42,029. Failure to move through the 23.6% FIB and the $33,082 pivot would bring the first major support level at $28,227 into play. Barring a crypto meltdown, however, Bitcoin should steer clear of the second major support level at $24,134. The 38.2% FIB of $27,465 should limit the downside in the event of an extended sell-off. At the time of writing, Bitcoin was up by 1.68% to $32,863.4. A mixed start to the week saw Bitcoin fall to an early Monday low $32,253.0 before rising to a high $32,919.0. Bitcoin left the major support and resistance levels untested at the start of the week. Ethereum Ethereum rose by 13.09% in the week ending 24 th January. Reversing a 1.76% loss from the previous week, Ethereum ended the week at $1,394.00. Story continues It was a bullish start to the week. Ethereum rose to a Tuesday intraweek high and a new swing hi $1,440.0 before hitting reverse. The breakout saw Ethereum break through the first major resistance level before sliding to a Friday intraweek low $1,039.62. While steering clear of the first major support level at $994, Ethereum fell through the 23.6% FIB of $1,119. A recovery on Friday and a bullish weekend, however, saw Ethereum break back through the 23.6% FIB to end the week at $1,390 levels. 6-days in the green included an 8.71% rally on Tuesday, an 11.07% jump on Friday, and a 12.92% breakout on Sunday delivered the upside in the week. A 19.34% slump on Thursday pared some of the gains, however. For the week ahead Ethereum would need to avoid a fall through the pivot level at $1,291 to support a run at the first major resistance level at $1,543. Support from the broader market would be needed, however, for Ethereum to break through to $1,500 levels. Barring another extended crypto rally, the first major resistance level would likely cap any upside. In the event of an extended breakout, Ethereum could test resistance at $1,750 before any pullback. The second major resistance level sits at $1,692. Failure to avoid a fall through the pivot level at $1,291 would bring the first major support level at $1,142 and the 23.6% FIB of $1,119 into play. Barring a crypto meltdown, however, Ethereum should steer clear of the 38.2% FIB of $921 and the second major support level at $891. At the time of writing, Ethereum was up by 3.31% to $1,440.19. A mixed start to the week saw Ethereum fall to an early Monday low $1,384.15 before striking a new swing hi $1,477.30. Ethereum left the major support and resistance levels untested at the start of the week. This article was originally posted on FX Empire More From FXEMPIRE: GBP/USD Daily Forecast Resistance At 1.3745 In Sight U.S Mortgage Rates Fall as COVID-19 Infection Rates Pin Back U.S Treasury Yields The Crypto Daily Movers and Shakers January 25th, 2021 Ethereum, Litecoin, and Ripples XRP Daily Tech Analysis January 25th, 2021 Natural Gas Price Fundamental Daily Forecast Struggles to Find Footing Amid Warmer Weather Forecasts Abidin Biden by Gold \|\| Fidelity applies to launch a bitcoin ETF: (Reuters) - Fidelity applied on Wednesday to launch an exchange traded fund to track the performance of bitcoin, the latest move on Wall Street to embrace the digital currency. Fidelity's Wise Origin Bitcoin Trust would hold bitcoin and value its shares based on prices from major cryptocurrency exchanges, including Coinbase and Bitstamp, according to a preliminary filing https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1852317/000119312521092598/d133565ds1.htm to the Securities and Exchange Commission. "The digital assets ecosystem has grown significantly in recent years, creating an even more robust marketplace for investors and accelerating demand among institutions. An increasingly wide range of investors seeking access to bitcoin has underscored the need for a more diversified set of products offering exposure to digital assets,” Fidelity said in an emailed statement. Fidelity's filing follows bitcoin's surge to an all-time high of nearly $62,000 this month, the latest milestone in a meteoric rise partly fueled by bigger U.S. investors. Earlier this week, former Trump administration White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci jumped into the fray for a bitcoin exchange-traded fund with his SkyBridge Capital joining forces with First Trust Advisors, according to a filing. Coinbase Global Inc, the largest U.S. cryptocurrency exchange, said last week that recent private market transactions had valued the company at around $68 billion this year ahead of a planned stock market listing. (Reporting by Noel Randewich; Editing by David Gregorio) \|\| GLOBAL MARKETS-Wall Street rises on U.S. stimulus and vaccine hopes as bond markets calm: (Updates prices and details, adds comment from Fed Governor Lael Brainard) * Graphic: Global asset performance http://tmsnrt.rs/2yaDPgn * Graphic: World FX rates http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh * Reuters Live Markets blog: By Suzanne Barlyn NEW YORK, March 1 (Reuters) - Global equities rose and the S&P 500 on Monday was headed for its best day since June 5, with investors taking lower U.S. bond yields in stride as a sweeping $1.9 trillion U.S. coronavirus relief bill and distribution of Johnson & Johnson's newly authorized COVID-19 vaccine spurred enthusiasm. Wall Street's rise follows a jump in European shares and solid gains in Asian stock markets. Investor optimism about further economic recovery because of the J&J vaccine is "giving a lift to all of the 'go-to-work' stocks" that benefit from businesses reopening, said Jim Awad, senior managing director at Clearstead Advisors in New York. A stabilization of U.S. Treasury yields has also removed pressure from growth stocks, Awad said. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 734.17 points, or 2.37%, to 31,666.54, the S&P 500 gained 103.1 points, or 2.71%, to 3,914.25 and the Nasdaq Composite added 399.59 points, or 3.03%, to 13,591.94. The much-anticipated $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill was passed in the U.S. House of Representatives on Saturday, and now moves to the Senate. The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 1.84% and MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe gained 2.21%. Emerging market stocks rose 1.86%. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan closed 1.88% higher, while Japan's Nikkei rose 2.41%. U.S. manufacturing activity increased to a three-year high in February amid a surge in new orders, but factories continued to face higher costs for raw materials and other inputs as the pandemic drags on. Major sovereign bonds rallied on Monday as markets showed further signs of stabilization after their worst monthly performance in years. Story continues Expectations of economic recovery and rising inflation boosted global benchmark bond yields in February to their biggest monthly rises in years. But in the meantime, the expected run-down of U.S. Treasury balances at the U.S. Federal Reserve has held down shorter-dated rates. Benchmark 10-year Treasury notes last rose 5/32 in price to yield 1.441%, from 1.456% on Monday. The coronavirus pandemic laid bare weaknesses in the financial system that should be addressed with new rules to prepare for the next shock, Fed Governor Lael Brainard said on Monday. "We should not miss the opportunity to distill lessons from the COVID shock and institute reforms so our system is more resilient and better able to withstand a variety of possible shocks in the future," Brainard said. Gold prices rose on Monday as a retreat in U.S. Treasury yields helped to bolster its status as an inflation hedge after a U.S. stimulus package moved one step closer to becoming law, but a firmer dollar limited bullion's advance. Spot gold dropped 0.5% to $1,724.46 an ounce. U.S. gold futures fell 0.28% to $1,723.30 an ounce. PENT-UP DEMAND PMI data for February is also in focus this week. Germany's factory activity rose to its highest level in more than three years last month, driven by higher demand from China, the United States and Europe. Manufacturing in Japan grew at its fastest pace in more than two years in February, as strong orders led to the first output rise since the start of the pandemic. China's factory activity grew at a slower pace than in the previous month, missing market expectations. U.S. crude recently fell 1.59% to $60.52 per barrel and Brent was at $63.63, down 1.23% on the day. The dollar index rose to a three-week high on Monday as investors bet on faster growth and inflation in the United States, while the Australian dollar gained after Australia's central bank increased its bond purchases in a bid to stem rapidly rising yields. Bitcoin rose 5.94% to $48,373.13 but was still off a record high of $58,354.14 hit on Feb. 21. (Reporting by Suzanne Barlyn; Editing by Lisa Shumaker) \|\| NFTs Can Bring the Real World On-Chain: Non-fungible tokens (NFT) have generated an unprecedented level of mainstream interest in cryptocurrency technology. Believers claim NFTs represent a “paradigm shift” whereas detractors compare NFTs to the “ Tulip Mania ” and the initial coin offering era . We have seen similar polarization of public opinion before with blockchain technology and dot-com stocks, which resulted in several breakthrough innovations and some epic commercial failures. Ajit Tripathi, a CoinDesk columnist, is the head of Institutional Business at Aave. Previously, he served as a fintech partner at ConsenSys and was a co-founder of PwC’s U.K. Blockchain Practice. The views expressed are those of the author alone. Related: Central Bank of Ireland Expands Anti-Money Laundering Regime In this article, I will explain why I believe NFTs in the form of digital art, music and collectibles represent only the beginning of a much larger wave of real-economy “e-commerce” transactions on public blockchains. What are NFTs? While for a purist, “NFT” stands for any non-fungible token, in popular parlance today NFT is used in the sense of a “digital collectible.” The New York Times recently described NFTs in somewhat irreverent terms as “ blockchain-certified computer files .” In a previous article , the Times wrote, “Most importantly, NFTs make digital artworks unique, and therefore sellable.” See also: What Are NFTs and How Do They Work? Influencers such as Gary Vaynerchuk , Marc Cuban and Chamath Palihapitya have expressed their enthusiasm for NFTs, triggering a large amount of investment in NFT issuance and trading platforms such as NBA Top Shot and Sorare. This has been followed by a sudden burst of of products coming to market in a bit of a gold rush. Related: Is Coinbase Worth $100B? For the purposes of this article, we will stick to NFTs as digital collectibles that people love to own, pay for and brag to their friends and strangers about. NFTs are valuable objects If I am part of a community that assigns a value to a digital object, that value is the value of the object. This is why Pokemon cards and baseball cards are valuable, why bitcoin and ether are valuable and why NFTs such as Aavegotchis, NBA Top Shot, Non-Fungible Pepes and NFTs minted by Beeple are valuable. There is a community of humans that finds the objects valuable and largely agrees on their value. See also: Vinay Gupta’s Big Idea: An Identity Layer for Your Things In my last CoinDesk article , I wrote about the challenges involved in bringing off-chain assets to decentralized finance (DeFi). As it turns out, most NFTs, though digital, are representations of off-chain assets. It’s not surprising, then, that many of the challenges associated with off-chain assets are directly or indirectly relevant to NFTs as well. Story continues Essentially, an NFT “binds” or maps a unique object, the blockchain native non-fungible token to a digital object, e.g., a document, image, audio or video file or a physical object such as a house or a bicycle or your own private Island. That is the crux of the issue. Most NFTs are not crypto-native assets. Unlike bitcoin, a non-fungible asset that lives its entire lifecycle on the Bitcoin blockchain, a digital work of art such as Beeple’s $69 million painting, “ The First 5000 Days ” is not blockchain-native. This painting was created as a collage made of 5,000 different digital works of art in desktop software and then bound to a non-fungible token created by Beeple on the Ethereum blockchain. That means while the token, i.e., the bytes on Ethereum, are blockchain-native, the underlying work of art is not. More valuable than a copy The distinction between the token and the digital object to which it binds is quite crucial. In the crypto-native world, property rights and ownership are defined by “not your keys, not your crypto” – meaning that (absent certain circumstances) you control the private key that can send (assign) the token to someone else, you own the token (and all associated rights). However, in case of a digital collectible, the ownership of a token may or may not mean you own the underlying computer file to which the token maps. Blockchains use a hash function to establish uniqueness but a JPEG file and its copy both produce the same hash. See also: Ajit Tripathi – How to Bring Off-Chain Assets to DeFi Content addressable systems (systems that allow information to be retrieved based on its content rather than location) such as IPFS (a decentralized network) can solve this problem by allowing an NFT to bind with an IPFS URL such that you own the resource but the copy of the JPEG is a different resource. In this scenario, the URL bound to the token becomes worth $69 million whereas the URL corresponding to the copy is basically worth $0. Essentially it’s the token minted by Beeple that “makes” the artwork worth $69 million more than a copy of the digital artwork. Double-spend scenarios However, purely from a technical point of view, an artist or another actor can double-spend a digital object on (a) the same blockchain (b) on a different NFT platform (c) on a different blockchain. Further, multiple non-fungible tokens can be mapped to the same underlying digital file or IPFS URL or to different copies of the same digital file. Indeed, on-chain ownership is not sufficient for off-chain objects unless the legal framework governing the rights of an NFT owner respects and enforces these rights in the off-chain world. I might own a Beeple artwork on Ethereum but Justin Sun might mint the Beeple artwork on the Tron blockchain and thus claim ownership of the artwork anyway. A court in the U.S. might enforce MetaKovan’s rights , whereas a court in Macau might decide in favor of Sun. NFTs and contracts So when you buy an NFT, what do you really get? The answer is, it depends. In one of my discussions with Vinay Gupta of Mattereum, he pointed out that in the case of NBA Top Shot , you own a “w orldwide, non-exclusive, non-transferable, royalty-free license to use, copy and display the art for personal, non commercial use … or to purchase or sell on a marketplace that meets conditions specified … ” and so on, as described in the NBA Top Shot’s Terms of Use . That means in any of the above double-spend scenarios, what I own could depend on what an NFT marketplace will do to honor and enforce my rights. NFTs as Ricardian contracts It’s unclear what happens if a web-based platform used to buy and sell NFTs updates its terms of use. Does that update alter my rights as I understood them when I paid for the digital collectible? The answer is unclear. It’s possible that if the terms of use themselves are off-chain, such terms of use and therefore the rights they assign are not immutable. Fortunately, in the blockchain world there’s already a design pattern called “Ricardian contracts” that provides self-contained enforceable contracts implemented in source code. Ideally, NFTs should be implemented as Ricardian contracts that define the terms and governing law in the preamble and then use these definitions to impart rights and obligations in the source code that follows. In case of a dispute, courts can refer to the source code itself and not have to rely on the website terms of use and such. The long-term value of NFTs NFT platforms are doing three critical things. First, by creating a large, digitally native market for off-chain assets using on-chain tokens, these platforms are providing a proof of value for bringing other off-chain assets such as land titles, cars, houses and bonds – basically everything of any value on to Web 3.0. Second, by building robust, scalable infrastructure for minting, trading and settling NFTs on-chain, NFT platforms are bringing ordinary, nontechnical people to crypto platforms in the way nothing else has so far. I’d not be surprised if 100 million new people become comfortable with using wallets like Metamask and DeFi products this year and next year because they want to trade digital collectibles. See also: Jeff Wilser – How NFTs Became Art, and Everything Became an NFT Third, by sparking debates such as the one contained in this article, NFTs will force common and civil law frameworks to align off-chain rights with onchain rights. Before NFTs, this has not been the case. If degens lose their bitcoin or USDC , they lose it and courts and legislators aren’t particularly called upon. On the other hand, if investors, asset managers, grandma and grandpa lose their Beeples or Top Shots to a double-spend, they will vote and these votes will force legislators to create laws that enforce their rights. Essentially, with NFTs we are looking at technical consensus evolving into a market which in turn forces the social consensus. While I may personally prefer to own FLOW and ETH than Beeples and Top Shot moments, it’s the Beeples and Top Shot moments that have suddenly accelerated Web 3.0 like nothing that came before. This is why I am so excited about NFTs. Related Stories NFTs Can Bring the Real World On-Chain NFTs Can Bring the Real World On-Chain View comments \|\| Terex (TEX) Rides on Improving Demand Amid High Input Costs: On Mar 2, we issued an updated research report onTerex CorporationTEX. The company is poised to grow on investment in innovative products, digital innovation and expansion of manufacturing facilities. Recent pickup in customer demand and strong backlog levels also bode well. However, higher input costs will impede margins in the near term. Terex has made significant progress in its Focus, Simplify and Execute to Win strategy over the 2016-2019 timeframe. In sync with the Focus element that calls for increased investments on high performing businesses, the company completed the sale of the Demag Mobile Cranes business and certain US Crane product lines. Further, Terex has transformed into a structurally simpler company that is committed to becoming more process-driven in order to achieve operational excellence.With the Focus and Simplify elements of this strategy been met, it is making advancing toward the process improvement objectives associated with Execute to Win. Terex is now committed to its next phase of “Execute, Innovate, Grow.” Per the “Execute” theme, the company continues the progress made with “Execute to Win” by intensifying process discipline and implementing several new operational processes, among other initiatives. The “Innovate” theme seeks to continuously develop its product offerings and applying technology. The “Grow” aspect focuses on increasing inorganic investment and adding scope thorough acquisitions. This strategy will drive growth in the years to come. The company noted improvement in customer demand and backlog levels in fourth-quarter 2020. Total backlog was up 25% year over year and 76% sequentially to $1,349 million in fourth-quarter 2020 on account of higher orders across both its business segments. Backed by expected benefits from Terex’s cost actions and improving customer demand witnessed particularly in fourth-quarter 2020, the company anticipates sales in 2021 to be approximately $3.45 billion. The figure indicates year-over-year growth of 12%. Earnings per share is expected in the range of $1.95 to $2.35 for the ongoing year, which suggests a substantial improvement from earnings of 13 cents reported in 2020. Terex’s Aerial Work Platforms segment will gain from strategic source and savings, right-sizing cost structure to align with customer demand, operational execution, strengthening global footprint and innovative new products in the long haul. The utilities business will benefit from the new manufacturing facility being built in Watertown, SD, which will increase capacity and significantly improve productivity.In the Material Processing segment, strong product pipeline, expansion into new geographies, delivering innovative, new products and consistent strong execution position the segment well for future growth. Terex is focused on maintaining a strong liquidity and cash position, positioning it well to navigate through the ongoing unprecedented crisis. As of 2020 end, the company had $670 million of cash and over $1.1 billion of total available liquidity. Terex expects free cash flow of around $100 million in 2021. The company’s board of directors has reinstated its quarterly dividend for 2021. Its total debt-to-total capital ratio was at 0.56 as of Dec 31, 2020, lower than the industry’s 0.71.However, there are a few factors that are likely to impede growth.While material input costs were generally stable in 2020, steel prices increased considerably beginning in fourth-quarter 2020. This is likely to continue in 2021 and lead to higher input costs and dent margins. Further, Section 301 tariffs on certain Chinese origin goods continue to put pressure on input costs. Moreover, volatile global economic conditions and the uncertainty regarding the impact of the pandemic, and resurgence of cases are weighing on the company’s customers. Over the past year, shares of Terex have appreciated 102.1%, compared with the industry’s rally of 69.9%. Terex currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).Some better-ranked stocks in the Industrial Products sector areDeere & CompanyDE,AGCO CorporationAGCO andAvery Dennison CorporationAVY. While Deere flaunts a Zacks Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), AGCO Corporation and Avery Dennison carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), at present. You can seethe complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.Deere & Company has a projected earnings growth rate of 38.8% for fiscal 2021. Over the past year, the company’s shares have appreciated 119.2%.AGCO Corporation has an estimated earnings growth rate of 42.7% for the ongoing year. The company’s shares have surged 107.4% in the past year.Avery Dennison has an expected earnings growth rate of 13.7% for 2021. The stock has rallied 48% in a year’s time. Blockchain and cryptocurrency has sparked one of the most exciting discussion topics of a generation. Some call it the “Internet of Money” and predict it could change the way money works forever. If true, it could do to banks what Netflix did to Blockbuster and Amazon did to Sears. Experts agree we’re still in the early stages of this technology, and as it grows, it will create several investing opportunities.Zacks’ has just revealed 3 companies that can help investors capitalize on the explosive profit potential of Bitcoin and the other cryptocurrencies with significantly less volatility than buying them directly.See 3 crypto-related stocks now >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days.Click to get this free reportTerex Corporation (TEX) : Free Stock Analysis ReportDeere & Company (DE) : Free Stock Analysis ReportAGCO Corporation (AGCO) : Free Stock Analysis ReportAvery Dennison Corporation (AVY) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research \|\| Shark Tank Star: Wall Street Investors Need to Know How Their BTC Is Mined: Not all bitcoins are created equal in the eyes of institutional investors, according to Shark Tank star Kevin OLeary. Institutions want greater transparency about where and how bitcoin is mined, raising the prospect that only some of the supply will end up in Wall Street custody, OLeary said Monday on CoinDesk TVs First Mover. Also known as Mr Wonderful, OLeary has changed his mind about bitcoin as an asset class, now weighting BTC at 3% of his personal portfolio. But he said he doesnt want to buy bitcoin mined in a way that causes energy waste and environmental damage. Related: eToro to Go Public Via Merger With SPAC; Combined Firm to Have $10.4B Value I want to make sure my coin is mined efficiently, he said, comparing dirty bitcoin to blood diamonds that finance unsavory activities in the developing world. Such desire among investors could preclude buying bitcoin mined in China, for instance, which is known for powering its mining with coal-derived electricity (though also hydroelectric plants during the rainy season ). OLearys comments suggest the recent influx of traditional investors to the bitcoin market could revive an old debate, though for new reasons. For years, there has been talk of newly mined, virgin bitcoins fetching a premium over units that have passed through multiple wallets. Supposedly, buyers wanted to avoid any taint from coins that may have been used in illicit darknet marketplaces. If true, this would mean bitcoin is not truly fungible , or interchangeable, meaning it lacks one of the fundamental properties of money. However, evidence of virgin bitcoin premium has been largely anecdotal, and many market participants have called the idea dubious . Related: Ledger Doubles Down on Institutional Crypto With New Business Unit and Hiring Push If OLeary is right, however, Wall Streets environmental conscience or at least, its desire to project one could lead to a new differentiation between supposedly fungible coins. Story continues Sustainability committees The founder of a mutual fund company, a venture capital firm and an exchange-traded fund (ETF), OLeary noted that many institutions have two committees deciding on asset allocations these days: an investment committee and a sustainability committee. Bitcoin needs to satisfy stakeholders on both before companies are going to jump in, he argued. I dont think the community realizes how big this issue is going to become, he said. OLeary said he plans to be active in the mining space, partnering with miners that want to reduce their carbon footprint. He predicted that some institutions may want to mine their own BTC so as to assure provenance for their clients. According to OLeary, only 10% of people at financial institutions who want to invest in the premier cryptocurrency have done so yet, suggesting big unmet demand and rising future prices. Read more: The Frustrating, Maddening, All-Consuming Bitcoin Energy Debate Related Stories Shark Tank Star: Wall Street Investors Need to Know How Their BTC Is Mined Shark Tank Star: Wall Street Investors Need to Know How Their BTC Is Mined \|\| CI Global Files to Issue North America’s Third Bitcoin ETF: There could soon be a third Canadian bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF). CI Global Asset Management, a subsidiary of a firm overseeing more than $230 billion in assets, filed a preliminary prospectus for the financial instrument, the company announced Friday. • The so-called CI Galaxy Bitcoin ETF (BTCX) would be managed by CI and advised by merchant bank Galaxy Digital. The two firms have previously partnered on the CI Galaxy Bitcoin Fund, a closed-end investment product. • TwobitcoinETFs went live this week, offering investors a way to gain exposure to bitcoin by buying stock, rather than the asset itself. ETF managers purchase an underlying asset on behalf of investors trading on the stock market, for a fee. • The first bitcoin ETF in North America hoovered up$421.8 millionworth of assets in its first two days trading, including over 6,000 BTC. BTCX will invest directly in bitcoin, with Galaxy handling that end of the trade and Gemini acting as custodian. • Canadian firm3iQalso filed a preliminary prospectus for a bitcoin ETF last week. See also:What Is a Bitcoin ETF? • CI Global Files to Issue North America’s Third Bitcoin ETF • CI Global Files to Issue North America’s Third Bitcoin ETF • CI Global Files to Issue North America’s Third Bitcoin ETF • CI Global Files to Issue North America’s Third Bitcoin ETF \|\| The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Amazon, Disney, ViacomCBS and Comcast: Chicago, IL – March 22, 2021 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN, The Walt Disney Company DIS, ViacomCBS Inc. VIAC and Comcast Corporation CMCSA. Amazonhas entered a 10-year agreement with National Football League ("NFL") in a bid to strengthen its sports content on Prime Video. The company will stream 15 Thursday Night Football games during the regular season and one pre-season game a year in the United States for which it had obtained the broadcasting rights earlier. Notably, this marks the NFL's first exclusive national broadcast package and Amazon's Prime Video is the first streaming service to secure it. Further, the number of regular season games, including Thursday Night Football,in this package will increase to 15 from 11. These games will begin streaming on Prime Video in 2023. Additionally, Prime subscribers will be able to avail of new pre-game, half-time, and post-game shows. We believe that the latest move is likely to strengthen the viewership of Prime Video on the heels of the strong popularity of NFL games. This, in turn, is expected to drive growth in its subscriber base. The new agreement marks the extension of Amazon's existing relationship with the NFL. Prior to the latest deal, the e-commerce giant with NFL expanded the 11-game Thursday Night Football package last year to add one exclusive regular-season game per year. Apart from this, NFL has leveraged Amazon Web Services' ("AWS") cloud-computing solutions for its Next Gen Stats platform. Further, NFL announced new sports statistics for the 2020 Season namely Expected Rush Yards, Route Classification, Expected Points, Win Probability, Expected Yards After Catch (xYAC) and Field Goal Probability, which were generated from the Next Gen Stats platform and powered by AWS compute technology and AWS Machine Learning services. Notably, the advanced statistics offer deep insights about the game to fans and viewers. Per the latest deal, Amazon will also provide fans with access to interactive features like X-Ray and Next Gen Stats. Amazon is leaving no stone unturned to expand its live sports portfolio worldwide. This is likely to strengthen its competitive position in the global streaming space againstDisney. We note that Disney's ESPN has also signed a long-term deal with the NFL. Further, the company's sports-focused streaming service ESPN+ has gained solid traction, primarily owing to content strength. The service streams MLB, NHL and MLS games, Grand Slam tennis, boxing, PGA Tour golf, college sports, international rugby, and cricket, among others. Further,ViacomCBS' latest multiplatform rights agreement with NFL, which extends CBS's relationship with the league for the next 11 years through the 2033 season, remains noteworthy. Per the deal, the company's Paramount+ streaming service and CBS Sports will continue to air CBS's televised American Football Conference Sunday games. Meanwhile, Peacock owned by NBCUniversal, a subsidiary ofComcast, will stream the games under the Sunday Night Football package. Nevertheless, Amazon's strengthening sports content offering remains a major positive. Along with the NFL, the company streams the English Premier League after winning the rights to 20 matches a season. Additionally, Amazon has launched MLB.TV on Prime Video Channels for Prime members in the United States. All these endeavors position the company well against the above-mentioned companies. Currently, Amazon carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can seethe complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Blockchain and cryptocurrency has sparked one of the most exciting discussion topics of a generation. Some call it the "Internet of Money" and predict it could change the way money works forever. If true, it could do to banks what Netflix did to Blockbuster and Amazon did to Sears. Experts agree we're still in the early stages of this technology, and as it grows, it will create several investing opportunities. Zacks' has just revealed 3 companies that can help investors capitalize on the explosive profit potential of Bitcoin and the other cryptocurrencies with significantly less volatility than buying them directly. See 3 crypto-related stocks now >> Media Contact Zacks Investment Research 800-767-3771 ext. 9339 [email protected] https://www.zacks.com Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss.This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days.Click to get this free reportComcast Corporation (CMCSA) : Free Stock Analysis ReportAmazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) : Free Stock Analysis ReportThe Walt Disney Company (DIS) : Free Stock Analysis ReportViacomCBS Inc. (VIAC) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] None available.	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 51704.16, 55137.31, 55973.51, 55950.75, 57750.20, 58917.69, 58918.83, 59095.81, 59384.31, 57603.89
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis] Not fully available. [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Algorand Has Lofty Goals, But Don’t Expect a Swift Recovery: Algorand ( ALGO-USD ) has a lot going for it. Although not as well known as Ethereum ( ETH-USD ), or major “Ethereum killers” like Cardano ( ADA-USD ), its founder Silvio Micali has lofty goals about making this platform a major force in making decentralized finance (DeFi) mainstream . Furthermore, it’s putting into place upgrades that will further burnish its functionality . This points to a bright future, and possibly a move to higher coin prices in the long-term. That said, I wouldn’t count on its native coin, still down big from where it was last fall, bouncing back in the short-term. Why? The crypto market is still trying to thaw out of its so-called “winter.” That is, following the big drop in cryptocurrency prices, enthusiasm for crypto has a ways to go before it is near levels seen as recently as six months ago. InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips As I discussed recently, while talking about Ethereum, instead of bouncing back, the crypto market could remain very volatile in the months ahead. Mostly, due to the high correlation that exists today between the stock market and the crypto market. As more speculative stocks remain challenged by the prospect of rising interest rates, so too could this asset class. This could mean crypto prices languish at present levels in the months ahead. Or worse, experience another hard drop to lower price levels. One crypto market expert, BitMEX CEO Arthur Hayes, predicts this will happen in June . 7 Cheap Stocks to Buy Before the Next Breakout While talking specifically about Bitcoin ( BTC-USD ) and Ethereum, if both these established names take another dive, it’s very likely Algorand will drop once again as well. Given that, at around 76 cents per coin, it’s currently trading not that far off its 52-week low (just over 67 cents per coin), you may think it may have less downside risk than comparable names. However, it’s not set in stone this will prove true. Given its smaller size, more volatility could result in an outsized decline in price. A move back to 30 cents per coin may not be out of the question. That’s what it traded for at the end of the last crypto bear market (late 2020). Story continues If you have a long time horizon, the prospect of high volatility may not be a deal breaker. Still, given the choice between buying Algorand now, or down the road? You may want to opt for the latter. There’s a good chance a more favorable long-term entry point emerges. On the date of publication, Thomas Niel held long positions in Bitcoin and Ethereum. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines . More From InvestorPlace Stock Prodigy Who Found NIO at $2… Says Buy THIS It doesn’t matter if you have $500 in savings or $5 million. Do this now. Get in Now on Tiny $3 ‘Forever Battery’ Stock Early Bitcoin Millionaire Reveals His Next Big Crypto Trade “On Air” The post Algorand Has Lofty Goals, But Don’t Expect a Swift Recovery appeared first on InvestorPlace . \|\| Crypto for Charity Launches To Make Cryptocurrency Philanthropy More Accessible: New York, New York--(Newsfile Corp. - April 29, 2022) -Crypto for Charityis a groundbreaking platform that allows donors to make cryptocurrency gifts and donate to more than 50,000 U.S.-based nonprofits. It is the latest addition to New York-based FreeWill Co's suite of tools designed to help people give more effectively. Crypto for Charity allows donors to give in more than 30 virtual currencies, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, Avalanche, and Dogecoin. "This is a huge win for crypto philanthropy," Crypto for Charity Founder Lakshmi Parthasarathy, a Harvard Computer Science graduate and former Google engineer. "Crypto holders no longer have to convert their assets to cash to make a charitable donation. With Crypto for Charity, they can now donate directly in the currency of their choice, making it up to 37% more effective due to federal tax laws that allow donors to take a deduction on the full value of the gift," Parthasarathy added. After making a donation, users receive a tax receipt automatically, and their gift is converted to USD and routed to the donor's charity of choice. The launch of Crypto for Charity comes at a time when the use of cryptocurrency is skyrocketing, and more people appear to be interested in using it for philanthropic purposes. "There's a growing awareness of the power of cryptocurrency and its potential to transform society," Parthasarathy said. "People are looking for ways to use their crypto for positive social impact. We want to make sure that everyone has the opportunity to support the causes they care about in the most impactful way possible." FreeWill is America's fastest-growing charitable giving company, helping hundreds of thousands of people give nearly$5 billionto their favorite charities since its founding in 2017. Media Contact:Lakshmi ParthasarathyFounder, Crypto for [email protected] To view the source version of this press release, please visithttps://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/122157 \|\| Bitcoin and Ethereum on the Rise: Will They Break 7 Consecutive Weeks of Declines?: By Laura Sanchez Investing.com - The new week in the cryptocurrency sector starts off bullish for Bitcoin and Ethereum against a backdrop of mixed movements for the rest of the sector. "Bitcoin oscillated between $28,000 and $31,000 over the past week, but has now returned to the $30,150 mark at which it ended the previous week," explains Simon Peters, cryptoasset analyst at eToro. The world's largest cryptocurrency starts this week with gains and experts are wondering if this week can end on the upside, breaking with 7 consecutive weeks of losses. Javier Molina, spokesman for eToro in Spain, points out that, "from a technical point of view, we remain in a key area for BTC bounded by 29,000-30,000 dollars." "Pessimism remains high despite some consolidation and a slight turnaround in sentiment on the derivatives side of the market. For the moment, losing 29,000 means going for the minimum zone of 25,000 dollars. This area now marks the first of the relevant low levels for BTC. Below, straight down to 20,000. However, if we manage to regain 34,000, things could change and we could look for areas of 38,000," says Molina. Meanwhile, Ethereum has been relatively flat, currently trading around $2,000, about $100 less than last week. Like BTC, ETH has also recorded 7 consecutive weeks of declines, and the green numbers at the start of the week give investors some hope, although caution remains. "The most important headlines remain the consequences of terraUSD's decoupling from its fiat currency equivalent and the subsequent loss of Luna's value," notes Simon Peters. Follow Ethereum's performance here:https://www.investing.com/crypto/ethereum See the ranking of the main cryptocurrencies:https://www.investing.com/crypto/currencies Related Articles Bitcoin and Ethereum on the Rise: Will They Break 7 Consecutive Weeks of Declines? New ETH Movements to TornadoCash After April FEI Protocol Attack NFTs: Empowering artists and charities to embrace the digital movement \|\| Swiss National Bank Owns No Bitcoin, but Could Buy in the Future, Chairman Says: Don't miss CoinDesk'sConsensus 2022, the must-attend crypto & blockchain festival experience of the year in Austin, TX this June 9-12. The Swiss National Bank (SNB) isn't currently interested in holding bitcoin (BTC), but could move quickly to do so at some point, said Chairman Thomas Jordan. "Buying bitcoin is not a problem for us, we can do that either directly or can buy investment products which are based on bitcoin," Jordan said in response to a question at the SNB's annual meeting. "We can arrange the technical and operative conditions relatively quickly, when we are convinced we must have bitcoin in our balance sheet." However, he added, "We do not believe bitcoin meets the requirements of currency reserves." According to anannual reportpublished in March, the SNB's reserves as of Dec. 31, 2021, came to just over CHF1 trillion (US$1.03 trillion). The U.S. dollar accounts for 39% of reserves, the euro 37%, Japan's yen 8% and the U.K.'s pound 6%. Gold holdings were just shy of CHF56 billion, or less than 6% of reserves. \|\| The Winklevoss twins' Gemini crypto exchange is cutting 10% of staff amid wider market downturn: • Gemini, the crypto exchange run by the Winklevoss twins, is cutting 10% of its staff, Bloomberg reported. • In a memo to staff, the twins refer to the "crypto winter" and macroeconomic factors as reasons for the cuts. • The value of the cryptocurrency market has tumbled from $3 trillion to $1.3 trillion in about 7 months. The cryptocurrency business run by billionaire twins Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss is cutting 10% of its staff in response to a downturn in trading activity across the industry,Bloomberg reported on Thursday. This marks the first job cuts at Gemini Trust Co., which as a privately held company doesn't disclose its number of employees. The report said LinkedIn lists about 1,000 people who may work there. "This is where we are now, in the contraction phase that is settling into a period of stasis — what our industry refers to as 'crypto winter,'" the Winklevoss brothers wrote to employees in a Thursday memo viewed by Bloomberg News. "This has all been further compounded by the current macroeconomic and geopolitical turmoil. We are not alone." The industry in 2018 suffered through a "crypto winter" – a long period of time of prices crashing and struggling to recover. The value of the broader cryptocurrency market has been roughly halved since hitting highs in November, dropping down to $1.3 trillion on Thursday from $3 trillion about seven months ago,according to CoinGecko.Bitcoinhas slumped 35% during 2022, trading around $30,000 on Thursday. Gemini in late 2021 said it raised $400 million in a funding round that valued the company at $7.1 billion, the report said. Read the original article onBusiness Insider \|\| German Federal Ministry of Finance Issues Nationwide Crypto Tax Guide: • The federal finance ministry of Germany has laid down crypto tax guidelines. • German individuals can now sell bitcoin (BTC) or ether (ETH) tax-free after one year of holding. • The guidelines also deal with tax issues around crypto-centric activities like mining, staking, lending, hard forks, and airdrops. Amid rising uncertainty aroundcryptocurrenciesworldwide, as the global crypto market cap came crashing down to the $1.2 trillion mark, certain positive narratives continue to steer the crypto verse’s boat. The federal finance ministry of Germany hasissuedguidance on the income tax treatment of crypto. The German finance ministry’s letter is the first nationwide instruction on the topic, confirming that staked or lent cryptocurrencies are still tax-free if held for over one year. Additionally, Parliamentary State Secretary Katja Hessel said in a statement that individuals could sellbitcoin (BTC)orether (ETH)tax-free after one year of holding. This guidance deals with issues like mining, staking, lending, hard forks, and airdrops. The statement also talks about the tax treatment of buying and selling bitcoin and ether. The guide further states that the one-year period applies even to cryptocurrency that has been lent out or used by someone else as a stake to create new Ethereum blocks. Additionally, Hessel ruled out applying the alternative ten-year holding period to cryptocurrencies to qualify for tax exemptions that apply to non-mobile assets like land. According to the guide, income tax doesn’t apply when redeeming utility tokens, the crypto assets that give a particular right, such as access to a network or to receive a specific product. The finance ministry has referred to a 2018 court judgment concerning bearer bonds to say redeeming the tokens doesn’t count as a sale under income tax law. On Jan. 1, 2022, Germany brought in a new law that aimed to encourage German banks to offer crypto services. The law required any business offering crypto services in Germany to seek a license from BaFin, Germany’s Federal Financial Supervisory Authority. Since then, considerable growth has been noted in the number of traditional finance institutions offering crypto services in Germany. Earlier this year, Germany’s Commerzbank (CBK) applied for a crypto license, making Commerzbank the first major bank in Germany to move towards crypto adoption. As reported earlier today, Commerzbank’s net profit in the first quarterincreasedby 124%, despite increased provisions and writedowns as a result of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Thisarticlewas originally posted on FX Empire • Canadian bid to block Rogers-Shaw mega-deal more a long shot than lock • Soccer-Some Qatar hotels won’t accept same-sex couples despite FIFA promises-report • Exclusive-War forces Ukraine to divert $8.3 billion to military spending, tax revenue drops – minister • Bank of Canada says rates are too stimulative, downplays 75 bps hike • No need for ECB relief response over Ukraine at the moment- Enria • Itau denies talks to sell stake in XP to Charles Schwab \|\| FTX's billionaire chief says bitcoin has no future as a payments network- FT: (Reuters) - Cryptocurrency exchange FTX's founder has said that bitcoin has no future as a payments network and criticized the digital currency for its inefficiency and high environmental costs, the Financial Times reported on Monday. Bitcoin, the world's largest cryptocurrency, is created by a process called "proof of work" that requires computers to "mine" the currency by solving complex puzzles. Powering these computers needs large amounts of electricity. An alternative to the system is called the "proof of stake" network, where participants can buy tokens that allow them to join the network. The more tokens they own, the more they can mine. FTX Founder and Chief Executive Sam Bankman-Fried told FT that "proof of stake" networks would be required to evolve crypto as a payments network as they are cheaper and less power hungry. Blockchain Ethereum, which houses the second-largest cryptocurrency ether, has been working to move to this energy-intensive network. Bankman-Fried also said he didn't believe bitcoin had to go as a cryptocurrency, and it may still have a future as "an asset, a commodity and a store of value" like gold, the report said. Bitcoin touched its lowest since December 2020 last week after the collapse of TerraUSD, a so-called stablecoin. FTX, which Bankman-Fried co-founded in 2019, was valued at $32 billion in a February funding round, and Bankman-Fried himself is worth $21 billion, according to Forbes. (Reporting by Shubham Kalia in Bengaluru; editing by Uttaresh.V) \|\| Factor Exposure Analysis Of Fixed Income ETFs: London – Running a factor exposure analysis is a core element of the due diligence process for equity-focused mutual funds, and increasingly ETFs, especially actively managed ones. The holy grail is to find fund managers that generate outperformance that is not explained by equity factors, i.e. alpha. If excess returns can be explained by factor exposure, then the capital allocator can simply pick a smart beta ETF with the same factor exposure at a lower cost. However, although it has the same relevance, a factor exposure analysis is slightly less frequently used when evaluating fixed income strategies. Perhaps this is explained by bonds seeming to be more complicated than equities. There is only one type of equities, compared to several types of fixed income instruments that range from convertible debt to senior loans. Furthermore, there is less consensus on how to define factors in fixed income than in equities. Although there are no exact standards on how to calculate the value or quality factors for stocks, most researchers look at the academic work of Fama-French for guidance. There is no equivalent standard for fixed income. In this research note, we explore some of the practical questions when running a factor exposure analysis for fixed income strategies. Selection Of Fixed Income Strategies We select 10 actively managed fixed income ETFs traded in the US, of which the oldest has a track record going back to 2009. The management fees range from 0.35% to 1.13%, and the cumulative assets under management are $48 billion. The strategies are quite diverse and provide exposure to low-risk short-term US government bonds as well as riskier high yield bonds. The performance over the last five years highlights the diversity as the total return ranges from 3.9% to 20.1%. Pop-up Image Source: FactorResearch (For a larger view, click on the image above) Factor Exposure Analysis Of Bonds Some of the products are labeled total return strategies, which is not self-explanatory for understanding what kind of bond exposures these provide. We initiate the factor exposure analysis by using only two independent variables namely global stocks and U.S. investment grade bonds and calculate factor betas using five years of daily data. Story continues The analysis highlights that some of the strategies had minor exposure to equities and only half had high exposure to U.S. investment grade bonds, which is perhaps less than expected. One of the senior loan ETFs had negative exposure to bonds but moderate equity exposure, which shows that senior loans may provide fewer diversification benefits for an equity portfolio than other fixed income instruments. Pop-up Image Source: FactorResearch (For a larger view, click on the image above) However, the average R2 was only 0.5, which indicates that the explanatory power of the regression analysis is not particularly high. In order to increase this, we replace the U.S investment grade bond index with three indices representing U.S. government, corporate, and high yield bonds. We observe that the average R2 does not increase by including more variables and remains at 0.5. However, the results are more nuanced and also intuitive, e.g., the returns of the high yield ETF can be attributed to the performance of high yield bonds. Pop-up Image Source: FactorResearch (For a larger view, click on the image above) Next, we increase the number of independent variables further and include international and emerging bond indices. We now have one equity and seven bond indices. The average R2 increases from 0.51 to 0.55, but interpreting the results starts to become more challenging. For example, the high yield ETF has positive exposure to U.S. high yield bonds, but negative exposure to U.S. and emerging market government bonds. The latter is somewhat unusual as emerging market government and U.S. high yield bonds tend to have positive correlations, i.e., the factor beta should be positive rather than negative. Pop-up Image Source: FactorResearch (For a larger view, click on the image above) As a final step, we add three bond factors namely carry, momentum, and value, so use a total of 11 indices. The average R2 does not increase further and remains at 0.55. We observe that the actively managed ETFs did have factor exposures, which need to be considered when calculating their outperformance via their benchmarks. However, in contrast to equites, the universe of fixed income smart beta ETFs is small. Even if investors are able to explain that outperformance can be attributed to factors rather than skill (alpha), they can not easily replace the fund manager with a smart beta ETF. Pop-up Image Source: FactorResearch (For a larger view, click on the image above) Number Of Independent Variables Although the average R2 did not increase significantly by adding more indices, it did marginally and allows investors to attribute returns to the different types of fixed income instruments, as well as different geographies. Essentially, the factor exposure analysis creates transparency on what has been driving the risk and return of strategies, which might not always be appreciated by the fund manager. Pop-up Image Source: FactorResearch (For a larger view, click on the image above) Further Thoughts The analysis can be easily challenged as we only used the R2 to judge the results and have not shown the p-values. However, these two are closely related and the p-values have also improved as more variables were added. The next logical step would be to use a Lasso regression or similar methodology that selects only the most relevant variables and ignores the rest. It is easy to contemplate having hundreds of variables so the return of a strategy can be fully explained, but there are not that many independent variables, and even using machine learning to sort through these is not always helpful. Some of the factor exposures are not particularly easy to explain, where it is difficult to decide if this exposure uncovers a new relationship, or is statistical junk. The more variables the better, but only to a degree. [Editor’s note: This article originally appeared on ETF Stream Recommended Stories iShares To Close 11 ETFs In August Fastest Growing ETFs Of The Year ETFs To Combat Inflation Hot Reads: Pressure On SEC Rising Over Bitcoin ETF Permalink \| © Copyright 2022 ETF.com. All rights reserved \|\| Gear Up for a Dip-Buy as Nike Stock Posts Steep Consecutive Losses: Oregon-headquartered Nike (NYSE: NKE ) is a giant manufacturer of sneakers and other sports apparel. The company is facing problems abroad, but value-focused investors should hoard NKE stock, not run away from it. Of course, it’s not emotionally easy for most people to buy a stock when it’s plunging. If you want to get results like Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger, though, then you should get into the habit of buying while others are selling. NKE stock offers a perfect example of this. The stock has been as high as $179.10 during the past 12 months. However, it now sits at $112.66 per share. Plus, amazingly, the Nike share price fell 5.9% on May 5 and then declined an additional 3.49% on May 6. Clearly, the market was in a risk-off mood concerning Nike. InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips Back-to-back declines of that magnitude don’t happen often with NKE stock. Before you jump in and buy the dip, though, it’s important to know what prompted the sell-off. First of all, mega-cap stocks were reeling because traders feared the consequences of the Federal Reserve hiking interest rates this year. Yet, there’s more to the story here, and it involves Nike in particular. 7 Defensive Dividend Healthcare Stocks to Buy Now Reportedly, nearly 20% of Nike’s sales are tied to China . Meanwhile, Baird analyst Jonathan Komp cautioned that conditions in China have actually been worse than at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. Komp observed problems in China, such as retail store closures and reduced traffic in stores that were still open. It’s not hard to see, then, why investors are so skittish about NKE stock now. So, investors have a choice to make: succumb to their fears, or jump into the trade. After the share-price slide, Nike now has a trailing 12-month price-to-earnings ratio of 29.73. In other words, the stock is trading at a very reasonable valuation. Besides, Nike is still a global business with demonstrated revenue growth. In fact, Nike posted 5% year-over-year revenue acceleration in the company’s most recent quarterly financial report . Story continues There’s always an excuse to panic-sell your NKE stock if you’re looking for one. This time around, it’s problems happening in China. Value investors shouldn’t be seeking excuses, though. Instead, they should consider buying some Nike shares and holding them with conviction. On the date of publication, David Moadel did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines . More From InvestorPlace Stock Prodigy Who Found NIO at $2… Says Buy THIS It doesn’t matter if you have $500 in savings or $5 million. Do this now. Get in Now on Tiny $3 ‘Forever Battery’ Stock Early Bitcoin Millionaire Reveals His Next Big Crypto Trade “On Air” The post Gear Up for a Dip-Buy as Nike Stock Posts Steep Consecutive Losses appeared first on InvestorPlace . \|\| JPMorgan sees upside for Bitcoin, crypto amid market downturn: A JPMorgan strategist said digital assets are the bank’s preferred alternative asset class while placing Bitcoin’s fair price value at 28% higher than its current price of about US$29,000. See related article:JPMorgan predicts $150,000 Bitcoin price in the long run • “Going forward, we see upside for Bitcoin and crypto markets more generally,” JPMorgan strategist Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou wrote in a Wednesday note. • Although JPMorgan pegs Bitcoin’s fair value in the short term at around US$38,000, its long-term price estimate for Bitcoin is US$150,000. • The selloff hurt cryptocurrencies more than alternative investments like private equity, private debt, and real estate, leaving room for crypto to rebound, the note said. • According to Panigirtzoglou, the global investment bank has replaced real estate, on the back of rising mortgage rates, with digital assets as its preferred asset class along with hedge funds. See related article:How JPMorgan’s Onyx is redefining payments in banking with blockchain [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] None available.	Trend: down \|\| Prices: 26762.65, 22487.39, 22206.79, 22572.84, 20381.65, 20471.48, 19017.64, 20553.27, 20599.54, 20710.60
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis] Not fully available. [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] How Much Will I Get From Social Security If I Make $100,000?: Social Securityis a crucial component of most Americans' retirement planning. Even those who earn six-figure salaries face the challenge of ensuring that they've set enough money aside for their retirement needs. Using tools like IRAs, 401(k) plans, and other tax-favored accounts is essential to put yourself in the best position to retire comfortably, but Social Security will still make a significant contribution toward your financial security in your golden years. Here you'll find a simple analysis of what those who make $100,000 can expect from Social Security and how to account for it in your broader financial plan. Those who earn $100,000 a year will have payroll taxes taken out of their pay all year long. That's because the wage base limit on Social Security for 2018 is $128,400. You'll pay 6.2% of your earnings, or $6,200, toward Social Security. Your employer will withhold that amount on your behalf, as well as kicking in an additional $6,200 to go toward the employer Social Security contribution requirement. Because you've paid taxes on all of your earnings, your $100,000 in earnings will be added to the 35-year work history that theSocial Security Administration uses to calculate your benefits. You'll also earn the maximum of four credits for purposes of qualifying for retirement benefits, with a total of 40 needed throughout your career to get Social Security after you retire. Image source: Getty Images. Note that those who work for certain state and local public employers aren't subject to Social Security tax. For them, alternative pension arrangements are generally available that have their own rules. You won't have money withheld from your paycheck, but you also won't have those earnings counted in your earnings history for Social Security purposes. Because Social Security benefits are determined based on a 35-year career, making $100,000 in 2018 won't have a huge impact on your overall benefit amount. The big question is whether $100,000 will be a consistent level of earnings throughout your career, or whether it represents a one-time windfall that's unlikely to happen again. Bear in mind, though, that the SSA takes inflation into account in looking at your wage history. So if you've gotten regular modest raises during your career, then youraverage indexed monthly earnings-- which is the key number used to calculate your eventual Social Security benefits -- might well be close to the $8,333 that a $100,000 salary would suggest. If you've just recently moved into a much higher-paying job to reach $100,000, then your average earnings across your career might well be less. To keep things simple, let's look at a situation in which someone turning 62 in 2018 has already worked for 35 years and has seen raises along that timeframe in line with the inflation measure that Social Security uses to index earnings. In that case, average indexed monthly earnings will be $100,000 divided by 12, or $8,333 per month. To figure out your monthly benefit amount in 2018, you'll need to use the bend points that the SSA provides. Begin by taking 90% of the first $895 you make monthly, and then add 32% of the amount between $895 and $5,397. Finally, put in 15% of the amount above $5,397. Filling in the numbers, 90% of $895 is $805.50, 32% of the next $4,502 is $1,440.64, and 15% of the remaining $2,936 is $440.40. Combine those numbers, and you get a full retirement age benefit of $2,686.54. That's what you'd get if you wait until you're 66 years and four months old before claiming. On an annual basis, that works out to $32,238 in yearly Social Security income. That means Social Security will be able to pay you almost a third of what you were receiving in pre-tax earnings during your career. That leaves youon the hook to find the remaining two-thirds elsewhereif you spent everything you earned during your career and want to keep doing so in retirement. Two other situations often come up. First, many who reach 62 in 2018 will want to claim Social Security benefits immediately. Doing so would reduce your monthly benefit to $1,970, because under current rules, the reduction for taking early benefits would amount to nearly 27%. By contrast, if you were to wait until age 70 before claiming, then you'd get a more than 29% increase in your monthly benefit check, which would amount to nearly $3,475 per month. Second, many people don't work a full 35-year career. If you earned $100,000 for half of that period, then your benefits would be lower. However, your monthly check wouldn't get cut in half. Using the same benefit formula on average monthly earnings of $4,167 -- half the amount above -- produces $1,852.54, That's almost 70% of the benefits someone making that amount throughout 35 years would get -- a pretty good payout in exchange for paying just 50% of the payroll tax along the way. Even those who had high incomes of $100,000 per year can expect a lot from Social Security. Adding to your benefits by using retirement accounts is a smart move, but you won't have to cover every bit of your anticipated expenses out of your own pocket. Related: For morenews videosvisitYahoo View. More From The Motley Fool • 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices • 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 • 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing • 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today • The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss • Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy. \|\| Bitcoin fever exposes crypto-market frailties: By Jemima Kelly and Anna Irrera LONDON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - As bitcoin raced to another record high on Tuesday, one of the biggest providers of digital currency wallets, Coinbase, went down under the weight of traffic, leaving many of its more than 10 million customers unable to access their funds. At the same time, Bitfinex, the world's biggest bitcoin exchange by trading volume, said it was under a heavy denial-of-service (DDoS) attack, meaning its servers had been intentionally flooded with junk online requests, taking down its website and crippling its services. The latest outages show how the market infrastructure for an immature and volatile instrument that millions of investors have piled into may be ill-equipped to cope with sudden shifts in demand, which is worrying some investors. During a particularly volatile period of trading on Dec. 7, bitcoin surged from below $16,000 to $19,500 in less than an hour on Coinbase's exchange GDAX, while it was changing hands at less than $16,000 on another, Bitstamp. As trading volume surged, GDAX and Coinbase went down at least 10 times because of "record-high traffic", Coinbase said. "More people are engaging with our platform than ever and that bodes well for the future of the digital currency. At the same time, it does create extreme volatility and stress on our systems," the company's director of business operations, David Farmer, said. "We can confirm that there has been no unusual or suspicious activity. All we know right now is that there is a large amount of traffic," he told Reuters. Bitfinex said it had been under a sustained DDoS attack since last week. "While last week the platform traded continuously, to effectively perform emergency maintenance, we took the website down for a brief time today (Tuesday) to mitigate further issues for customers," a spokesman said. "We are constantly improving our systems to ensure that we're able to both accommodate the immense volume of trading that occurs on our platform while also fending off sustained DDoS attacks," he said. 24/7 MARKET Daniel Masters, founder of Global Advisors Bitcoin Investment Fund, worries the exchanges would struggle to cope if there were a sudden rush for the exit. "The ability of these platforms to handle volume is yet to be tested properly," he said. "What happens if this market turns into a lot of sellers? The liquidity itself could be an issue." Charles Cascarilla, chief executive of New York-based company Paxos, which operates cryptocurrency exchange itBit, told Reuters that dealing with spikes in volume was a problem faced by all exchanges, not just cryptocurrency platforms. "Clearly the reality is the world of cryptocurrency is growing at an exponential rate right now and everyone is doing their best to expand infrastructure, but it is hard to know what would happen in a hypothetical scenario," he said. Cameron Winklevoss, co-founder of the Gemini exchange, an early bitcoin investor and an outspoken supporter of the cryptocurrency, said the risk the wider market would suffer badly if one exchange went down no longer existed, as trading volume had become more evenly spread. "We are definitely beyond the too-big-to-fail situation," he told Reuters. "That was a problem we had five years ago when Mt. Gox accounted for 95 percent of volume." "Most of the exchanges are doing a good job. This is a 24/7 market, there is no session close and there is no downtime." Mt. Gox, the world's biggest bitcoin exchange at the time, collapsed in 2014 after hackers stole 650,000 bitcoins, triggering a collapse in the bitcoin price. The demise of Mt. Gox left more than 24,000 customers unable to access hundreds of millions of dollars of cryptocurrency and cash. More than three years later none has recouped a cent. BITCOIN FUTURES Some investors had said they were worried the launch of bitcoin futures by the world's biggest derivative exchanges could exacerbate volatility by prompting some traders to take out large positions betting on a price fall in the future. The Chicago-based Cboe Global Markets Inc. futures launched a futures contracts on bitcoin on Dec. 10 and CME Group Inc will launch a rival contract a week later. So far this week, the launch of futures by Cboe does not appear to have created any additional volatility, with price moves less violent than last week's wild trading. But Tim Swanson, a bitcoin expert and founder of Post Oak Labs, a technology advisory firm, said he was concerned that if the futures liquidity increases there could be an incentive for someone with a large bet against bitcoin to disrupt or attack the network to make money from the ensuing price fall. CME Group and Cboe declined to comment. Flooding the bitcoin network with tiny transactions could potentially send the price down sharply, said Swanson, as could sending many sell-signals to the market that are not honored - so-called spoofing, which is illegal in regulated markets. A surge in bitcoin trades in recent weeks has also left the blockchain network that the cryptocurrency relies on to process and verify transactions struggling to keep up. As of Wednesday at 1445 GMT, more than 125,000 bitcoin transactions remained unconfirmed. In the past week, more than half a million new users have opened wallets with retail-focused bitcoin wallet provider Blockchain, the firm said, taking the total number of users to more than 20 million, from 10 million last year. The London-based company has also been struggling to keep up, citing "record traffic levels" last week. VOLATILE TRADING Created in 2008, bitcoin uses encryption and a shared blockchain database that enables the anonymous transfer of funds outside of a conventional centralized payment system. But there is little evidence to suggest buyers are using bitcoin as a means of exchange and payment. On the whole, they buy the cryptocurrency as a speculative investment, attracted by massive price gains, said Garrick Hileman, a research fellow at the University of Cambridge's Judge Business School. As a result, some banks say they are worried that a collapse in bitcoin would have a knock-on effect on investments by individual investors in other asset classes. Deutsche Bank said in a report on Dec. 7 that a bitcoin crash - and the impact it could have on retail investors' confidence - was one of the biggest risks to markets in 2018. Periods of high volatility are not uncommon in other currencies and asset classes, particularly in commodities and emerging markets. But bitcoin's volatility is extreme, and frequent: the one-day price move has been more than 10 percent on nine days in the past three months. Moves of a similar magnitude for the U.S dollar, for example, are extremely rare. Its biggest one-day move against a major currency was in January 2015 when the Swiss central bank abandoned a cap on the franc, sending the dollar down 18 percent. Some bitcoin watchers, such as Swanson, also worry about the risk of one of the big exchanges being suddenly shut by authorities. In July, U.S. authorities shut down the website of the BTC-e exchange, saying it had "facilitated transactions involving ransomware, computer hacking, identity theft, tax refund fraud schemes, public corruption, and drug trafficking". BTC-e, which is no longer operating, could not be reached for comment. The top three exchanges out of more than 100 - Bitfinex, GDAX and bitFlyer - are home to more than 60 percent of all trading, according to data provider Bitcoinity. Another issue specific to the market is the risk of hacking and theft. More than 980,000 bitcoins have been stolen from exchanges, Reuters has found, with the Mt. Gox heist accounting for the majority. Last week, a Slovenian cryptocurrency mining marketplace, NiceHash, said it had lost about $64 million worth of bitcoin in a hack of its payment system. For graphic on bitcoin's blistering ascent, click: http://tmsnrt.rs/2zClJF3 (Reporting by Jemima Kelly and Anna Irrera; additional reporting by Amanda Cooper; editing by David Clarke) \|\| A Dow Jones Industrial Record: 5,000 Points Higher in Just 1 Year: In this segment of theMarket Foolerypodcast, host Mac Greer,Total Income's Ron Gross, andMillion Dollar Portfolio's Jason Moser consider the meaning behind the impressive year that theDow Jones Industrial Averagehas turned in. With new high marks set on 70 days so far this year, and with the highest point-value gain in its more century-plus of existence, there was plenty to smile about. But the past, as they say, is prologue, and the guys have some Foolish, forward-looking advice to dispense for investors and would-be investors. And they speculate a bit about what we'll see in the markets in 2018. A full transcript follows the video. More From The Motley Fool • 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices • 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 • 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing • 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today • The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss • Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This This video was recorded on Dec. 19, 2017. Mac Greer:For the first time in its 121-year history, the Dow Jones Industrial Average has gone up more than 5,000 points in a year. That's the biggest annual points gain ever. Guys, the Dow has also closed at a record high 70 times this year. Jason, as an investor, what does that all mean, and what does it not mean? Jason Moser:What it means is what we've always been saying: You need to be invested, and you need to be doing that over the course of many years. And it's OK if you're not invested to get started now, because it's never too late. It does not mean that 2018, the market is going to have to go down because it just went up so much in 2017. If we look back all the way back to 2007, from 2007 till now, the S&P 500 was down only one year. Granted, it was down 37% that one year. Ron Gross:[laughs] That was a pretty big year. Moser:But let's be clear here. From 2007 -- Gross:I still have hives from that year. Moser:From 2007 through 2016, if you had plunked just $100 in the S&P index funds, that $100 at the end of 2016 would have been $195.68, had you just left it alone. So the returns are real. They do happen. One down year doesn't ruin your life. My point is, it can always keep on going up. I'm not saying it will. Gross:I heard you just say it will. Send your emails to ... Moser:I'm not saying that. Don't assume that it must go down because it's had such a good year, because I think it had a good year because of a lot of good fundamentals. Gross:When you talk about the Dow, I think you have to be careful when you talk about points, because the higher it goes, the less important the points are. When the Dow was new, if you said it went up 5,000 points in one year, it'd be like, oh my God, that's unbelievable! The higher it gets, the less that means. So it's better to talk in terms of percentages. Now, the Dow has had a great year outperforming the S&P 500. But what is all this Dow stuff? The only time I hear about the Dow is if I turn on the news. I don't invest in the Dow. I'm sure there are ways, there are ETFs and mutual funds, but for the most part professional investors and regular everyday investors invest in the S&P 500, typically, if they want to invest in an index. So I, on a daily basis, am much more focused on that as a proxy for the market. The Dow doesn't even really cross my radar unless I pop open CNBC or something. Greer:You're a buzzkill, but I'll go with that right now. Let's talk about the market writ large, then. Gross:Don't forget, the Dow is 30 stocks. Greer:Point taken. But when you look at the market writ large and the market hitting new all-time highs, someone who's not fully invested or not invested at all, they hear that old saw "buy low, sell high." So when the market is hitting new all-time highs, is there still time for someone to get in? Moser:Well, yeah, because you need to be looking out for the next 10 years. Instead of looking at this and saying this last year was so great, yeah, the last year was so great, but really, when you're investing, when we're investing, we're telling people you want to invest with that five- to 10-year outlook. Don't put money in the market that you need over the course of the next five years. If you can do that, then you can remain patient. I think, generally speaking, I have a hard time understanding where money is going to go besides the stock market, because interest rates, even as they start bumping up a little bit, are still going to be extremely low. There's going to be zero return opportunity on fixed income. A savings account just isn't going to cut it. So you have to be putting your money into the market in some way, shape or form. And I think a lot of people don't even really consider the fact that, if you just participate in your company's 401(k) plan, that's getting your money invested. You're in some type of index or mutual fund there, and that's getting your money in that market. But instead of thinking buy low, sell high, I like to think, just keep on buying. You want to just keep buying, and do that over the course of the next 10 to 20 years. If you do that, things are going to work out OK. Greer:Ron, on last week'sMotley Fool Money, we interviewed CNBC's Carl Quintanilla. And Chris, as the last question of the interview, asked him, what is he looking at in the year head and what are some questions he has? And one of the questions Carl mentioned is, he wondered if we're finally going to start seeing retail investors start talking about stocks the way they did back in 2000. And this market feels very different to me. We hear a lot about institutional investors versus individual investors. What do you make of that? Is this a rally? Is this a market that so far hasn't really included enough individual investors? Or is that just a false construct? Gross:It's so interesting that you ask this question, because on my very long commute this morning, I was actually thinking to myself, gosh, I hope we don't go back to the 1999 days, where I couldn't go to a cocktail party -- not that I was invited to many cocktail parties -- but, I couldn't get together with friends without somebody saying, "Oh my God, I just bought ridiculous company-dot-com and tripled my money! Did you buy that?" And I would say, "Oh, no, I don't really speculate or things like that." And they would be like, "Oh my God, you have to do it! It's like free money. You have to do it. We're just minting money every day, every day!" I stopped going to parties, I couldn't handle it. It was just ridiculous conversations. And eventually the irrational exuberance popped, and everything came back down to Earth. I don't feel like we're in that kind of a situation right now. There are certain hot things like bitcoin, where you'll hear those kinds of conversations at a party, but it doesn't feel anything like back then. You'll hear more talk about politics, I think, than you hear about the stock market. I think people are just happy to see their account balances continue to rise. Every now and then, if there's a hot stock of the week, maybe you'll hear it being talked about. But you don't get the novice investor all of a sudden thinking they can do no wrong and they're just minting money. Moser:Yeah, I feel like that discussion is all centering around bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. Honestly, I feel like that's probably a good thing, because it's letting the market keep flying under the radar, so to speak. Everybody's attention is on the next great cryptocurrency opportunity. And perhaps those will work out. I'm happy to just admit that I don't know enough about it to want to participate. But yeah, I feel like that conversation is happening around cryptocurrencies, and it's letting the market keep on doing its thing. Greer:Ron, what do you think of bitcoin? Gross:That's a tough one, man. I think about bitcoin the same way I think about gold. I don't know. It doesn't have any cash flows associated with it. It doesn't do anything to produce cash flows. So I don't know how to value it. And if I don't know how to value it, I don't know how to buy it or sell it, and therefore I have nothing to do but stay away. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy. \|\| Brokerage Chief: Bitcoin Futures Must Be Quarantined: A well-known electronic brokerage firm is issuing dire warnings against the CME Group's plan to launch a bitcoin futures contract next month. But Interactive Brokers, in a comment letter dated Nov. 14, suggested a way to mitigate the risk it sees from such activity: The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), under the auspices of J. Christopher Giancarlo, should sequester systems that handle cryptocurrency derivatives. "This letter is to request that the Commission require that any clearing organization that wishes to clear any cryptocurrency or derivative of a cryptocurrency do so in a separate clearing system isolated from other products," wrote Thomas Peterffy, chairman of Interactive Brokers. The open letter, published on the firm's website (and reportedly included in a full-page ad in today's Wall Street Journal ), comes on the heels of CME's announcement that it would look to offer cryptocurrency-tied derivatives products. Earlier this week, CME CEO and chairman Terry Duffy indicated that the first product could go live as early as the second week of December. Yet that outcome would pose a significant danger, Peterffy argued, suggesting that a hypothetical plunge in the price of a particular cryptocurrency could send CME reeling financially. He went on to write: "If the Chicago Mercantile Exchange or any other clearing organization clears a cryptocurrency together with other products, then a large cryptocurrency price move that destabilizes members that clear cryptocurrencies will destabilize the clearing organization itself and its ability to satisfy its fundamental obligation to pay the winners and collect from the losers on the other products in the same clearing pool." Doubling down on the argument, Peterffy went on to write that "a catastrophe in the cryptocurrency market that destabilizes a clearing organization will destabilize the real economy." "The only way to protect clearing organizations and their members (and the financial system as a whole) from the unique risks inherent in clearing cryptocurrencies is to require that they be cleared in a separate clearing system, isolated from other products," he concluded. Disclosure: CME Group is an investor in Digital Currency Group, CoinDesk's parent company. Medical scientist wearing protective clothing image via Shutterstock Related Stories CME's Bitcoin Futures Likely to Start Trading December 11 FUD From All Sides: In Defense of CME's Bitcoin Futures Plan First Long-Term LedgerX Bitcoin Option Pegs Price at $10,000 Swiss Firms to Let Traders Short Bitcoin With New Futures Products View comments \|\| A bitcoin implosion could 'spill over' into the stock market, warns Wells Fargo: If the cryptocurrency boom goes bust, stocks could easily be dragged into the chaos, Wells Fargo Securities says. Christopher Harvey, the firm's head of equity strategy, is paying close attention to the unprecedented activity in what could be one of the most epic bubbles of all time. "There is a significant amount of froth in the cryptomarkets. We do think that if that froth comes out, it will start to spillover," he warned on CNBC's " Trading Nation ." Bitcoin (Exchange:BTC.CB=) and its peers have been seeing wild price swings seen over the past week. Last week, bitcoin lost one-third of its value in a single day before rebounding. That capped days of volatility which saw the digital currency surge to a new record near $20,000. On Tuesday, it was above $15,000, according to CoinDesk. "What we're worried about is froth coming out of that market, and that's starting to affect equities," said Harvey. "You're seeing it a little bit, but just not to a large degree. And, it's something to watch out for in 2018." Harvey has a 2,863 S&P 500 (^GSPC) index year-end price target for 2018 — about a 6 percent gain from Friday's close. It comes far below the 20 percent gains Wall Street has seen this year. "You have to lower your expectations for next year. A lot of good news is already priced in, and we just don't see that much going forward. It'll be a decent market, it just won't be a banner year," he said. Harvey sees the first half of the year stronger than the second. By then, he predicts, stocks will come up against new challenges — whether the cryptomarket implodes or not. "What the market will have to contend with is EPS [earnings per share] peaking, ISM potentially peaking, you're going to have the yield-curve in all likelihood flattening — and in addition to that, you'll likely have multiples start to compress, " Harvey said. "You're going to have to scratch and claw to stay afloat for it to break even."More From CNBC • The crypto carnage could continue, says a real currency strategist • Dow and S&P 500 post 5-week winning streak after Trump signs tax bill • Four Dow stocks, including Walmart, are trading at extremes \|\| 3 Big Stock Charts for Wednesday: Apple Inc., Tesla Inc and Best Buy Co Inc: Will Santa Claus deliver the seasonal rally that investors have been accustomed to? The rally, for those unaware of the details, is supposed to occur over the last five trading days of the year and the first two days of the New Year. So far there hasn’t been a glimmer of hope for the rally as theS&P 500has moved lower. Part of the draw lower continues to be large cap technology stocks, which are experiencing losses thanks to doubts that the technology stock dominance will continue into 2018. Among the laggards in the tech sector are headliners likeApple Inc.(NASDAQ:AAPL) andTesla Inc(NASDAQ:TSLA). Meanwhile, the stronger-then-expected retail results have brick-and-mortar retailers likeBest Buy Co Inc(NYSE:BBY) punching through to new highs. InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips Here are the technical game plans for each of these stocks: The headline news regarding lighter-than-expected sales of the iPhone X are bringing AAPL shares from the top of what has become a daunting trading range. Apple stock is now sitting at the bottom of that same range, in a must-win situation that is likely to determine whether 2018 starts on a 10% rally or selloff. Since the beginning of November, AAPL shares have been locked in a tight trading range between $170 and $175. This range has had a tight grip on Apple stock; however, the early December trip to $170 chipped-away at the support level, indicating that the next test would be more critical. Overhead, the shorter-term trendlines are beginning to move into bearish patterns. This suggests that AAPL stock is falling victim to fast technical selling as it approaches its critical 50-day moving average. The 50-day currently sits just under $170. A break below this trendline is going to bring a large increase in selling pressure for Apple. The Chande Trend Meter is now registering neutral readings for AAPL stock; the last neutral signal we saw from the indicator was just ahead of the decline from $160 to $148 in September. Elon Musk is firing-up the P.R. and headline machine as TSLA shares are slumping into the year-end trade. This is a pattern that Tesla traders are used to seeing as the hype behind new product announcements, or in this case hints, are often used to shore-up the price when it starts to lag the market. • 8 Bitcoin Stocks That You Won't Lose Your Shirt Over In this case though, TSLA stock has three bearish technicals working against it. Since the peak in September, Tesla stock has put in a lengthening series of lower highs and lower lows. This is a telltale sign that traders are exiting TSLA stock on any strength by selling into rallies. Tesla stock’s 50-day moving average turned bearish in mid-October at the same time the stock was unable to break back above this key trendline. After a brief stint above this trendline this month, TSLA shares have broken lower again. This strengthens the bearish case against Tesla stock. The stock’s 50- and 200-day moving averages just completed a bearish “Death Cross” pattern. This indicates that TSLA stock’s long-term trend is becoming more negative as momentum leads to the downside. The surprise (again) for this shopping season is that the brick-and-mortar retail shopping stores continue to thrive in the holiday season. Companies like BBY andTarget Corporation(NYSE:TGT) once again displayed that shoppers actually enjoy getting out and milling through the wares to find the perfect gift. • Why "The Force" Is With Walt Disney Co Stock Investors Best Buy shares are now trading back at their highs, a trend that they started this time last year. Is it time to exit BBY shares? Shares of Best Buy have been moving in a parabolic rally from the beginning of November to today. The holiday shopping results are giving BBY stock, and many other retailers, a boost. Historically, this rally moves into early January and then sees some “sell the news” pressure. Recently, Best Buy shares lost ground in January. Over the last five years, the “sell the news” seasonality for BBY stock has it finishing January in the green only 40% of the time and the average performance for the January is a loss of 3.5%. This indicates that Best Buy heads into the New Year with a strong headwind. The current technical charts for BBY suggests that a seasonally weak January will likely push the stock towards support at $62, a decline of about 10% that would count for a “healthy correction” by most technical traders’ books. Traders may want to watch this as a level to buy Best Buy shares. As of this writing, Johnson Research Group did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities. • 7 Ways to Get Rich Internationally in 2018 • 10 Top S&P 500 Stocks in 2017 • 7 Best Dividend ETFs to Buy for 2018 Compare Brokers The post3 Big Stock Charts for Wednesday: Apple Inc., Tesla Inc and Best Buy Co Incappeared first onInvestorPlace. \|\| Bitcoin Gold DASH and Monero Price Forecast for the Week of December 11, 2017, Technical Analysis: Bitcoin Gold Bitcoin Gold initially tried to rally during the week but found enough resistance at the $325 level to turn around and break down significantly. We have broken down below the $250 level and even reached as low as $212. The market continues to be very noisy, and I think that its very likely that with most of the attention on Bitcoin this coming week, this market will probably suffer as well. I believe that there is a bit of a ceiling at the $300 handle, with massive support at the $200 level. The market continues to chop around, and therefore its going to be difficult to trade from a longer-term standpoint. Get Into Dash Trading Today BTG/USD DASH USD and XMR USD Video 11.12.17 BTG/USD weekly chart, December 11, 2017 DASH/USD DASH continues to be very noisy, bouncing around between the $500 level on the bottom, and the $900 level above. This market continues to look bullish overall, but this pullback is a bit overdue, so Im looking at a pullback towards the $500 level is a nice buying opportunity. In general, I believe that DASH continues to be a bullish market, and longer-term we should continue to rally towards the $1000 level. However, I think you will get a better opportunity to pick up the market at lower levels, especially if Bitcoin disrupts everything like I think it will for the next 5 sessions. The noise in the markets continue, but I think that a breakdown below the $500 level would bring in fresh selling and make be much more cautious. DASH/USD weekly chart, December 11, 2017 XMR/USD Monero rally during the week, reaching towards the $300 level above. The $300 level is a psychological resistance barrier, but as most cryptocurrencies have gotten a bit overbought, Monero is no different. I think that the pullback that looks likely should end up being a nice buying opportunity near the $200 level, so make sure that you are paying attention and looking for supportive candles to take advantage of. If we do break down below the $200 level, the market will more than likely go looking towards the $150 level underneath, which was previous resistance, and should now be supportive. In general, I believe that Monero will be one of the winners longer-term, but we need to find some value, something thats typical in all markets. Story continues Buy & Sell Cryptocurrency Instantly Monero/USD weekly Chart, December 11, 2017 This article was originally posted on FX Empire More From FXEMPIRE: Bitcoin Price Forecast for the Week of December 11, 2017, Technical Analysis Natural Gas Price Fundamental Weekly Forecast Hedge Fund Specs Cut Bullish Bets, Ripe for Short-covering Rally ETH/USD Price Forecast for the Week of December 11, 2017, Technical Analysis Comex High Grade Copper Price Futures (HG) Technical Analysis Close to Testing Major Retracement Zone Strong U.S. Payrolls Support Rate Hike, but Sluggish Wages Remain a Concern GBP/USD Fundamental Analysis week of December 11, 2017 \|\| 3 Cryptocurrencies That Outperformed Ethereum in 2017: It may be the holiday season, but cryptocurrencies have been playing the role of St. Nick for virtual currency investors since the beginning of the year. When the calendar turned to 2017, the aggregate value of all cryptocurrencies combined was a mere $17.7 billion -- and bitcoin made up well over 80% of this value at one point. However, as of Dec. 14, the total cryptocurrency market cap had soared to $515 billion. For you math-phobic people, that's a return of more than 2,800%. For investors who've held throughout the entirety of this volatile year, they've possibly seen a lifetime's worth of gains. Image source: Getty Images. A lot of credit is often bestowed on bitcoin for fueling this digital currency rally, and with good reason. Bitcoin was the first tradable cryptocurrency, and it's the most widely accepted by merchants. Even now, with an aggregate market cap of $515 billion for all virtual currencies, bitcoin comprises 56% of that total. But this rally is about more than just bitcoin. It's about the emergence of other coins andunderlying blockchainsthat have the potential to effect positive change. Perhaps no cryptocurrency has stolen the spotlight from bitcoin in 2017 more than Ethereum. The Ether token has rallied by 8,500% this year, pushing Ethereum's market cap to $66 billion. Why the newfound love for Ethereum among investors? It mostly has to do with Ethereum's blockchain. Blockchain is the infrastructure that digital currencies are built upon, and they're responsible for logging transaction data in a digital, distributed, and decentralized ledger. There are a host of advantages to blockchain technology, including the potential for cheaper transaction fees, since there's no middleman (i.e., bank) involved. Also, transaction settlement times could be particularly quicker utilizing blockchain since miners are working around the clock to proof encrypted transactions. This compares to traditional banking, especially cross-border transactions, where a payment or transfer of funds can be tied up for days while waiting to clear. What's really lit a fire under Ethereum this year is the formation of theEnterprise Ethereum Alliance. Currently boasting 200 members, this Alliance is testing a version of Ethereum's blockchain across an array of industries in various pilot and small-scale projects. Few folks would deny the potential that blockchain can bring to the table, and it appears that Ethereum has done an exceptional job in attracting enterprise clients. Image source: Getty Images. But when all is said and done, Ethereum's 8,500% gain, while more than four times that of bitcoin in 2017, falls short of the return that a few of its peers delivered. Here are three cryptocurrencies that actually left Ethereum eating their dust this year. With the fourth-largest market cap of all cryptocurrencies, Ripple's XRP has gained a whopping 10,900% since the year began. The interest in the XRP appears to tie in with its proprietary blockchain that's focused on financial service companies. In particular, Ripple's blockchain could allow for cross-border payments and transactions that occur instantly, rather than waiting those aforementioned days as under the current system. The news that really sent Ripple soaring in 2017 was the announcement thatAmerican Express(NYSE: AXP)andBanco Santander(NYSE: SAN)would beusing Ripple's blockchain in certain cross-border transactions. The partnership will process non-card payments to U.K.-based Banco Santander accounts through Ripple's blockchain. More importantly, these transactions are expected to be instantaneous. There's also the belief that Ripple's coin, the XRP, will play a key role in expediting remittances in the future. For instance, the ability to transfer from one currency to another instantly becomes possible with the XRP as the intermediary currency. Clearly, there's a lot of excitement surrounding Ripple. Image source: Getty Images. Though NEM, and its virtual currency XEM, are lesser known, the ninth-largest cryptocurrency by market cap has done particularly well in 2017 (up 14,000%)! Just shy of an all-time high, NEM's market cap is nearing $5 billion. Similar to Ripple, the buzz with NEM is all about its blockchain and the ability to transfer money securely and efficiently. However, NEM appears to be broadening its reach beyond just enterprise clients. It's all about peer-to-peer payments and transfers, regardless of whether it's person-to-person or business-to-business. With the NEM Foundation based in Singapore, its partnerships have primarily been concentrated in Southeastern Asia. Perhaps most notable was the September announcement of a partnership between NEM and the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC), a government-owned institution charged with managing digital infrastructure and security, and advising on technology-related laws in Malaysia. The MDEC also promotes relationships between high-tech businesses, meaning this partnership could lead to an abundance of Malaysian (and perhaps Southeast Asian) companies testing out NEM's blockchain and incorporating its token, the XEM. Image source: Getty Images. But one of the top single-year performances you'll ever witness as an investor is the return delivered by the 43rd-largest cryptocurrency by market cap, Einsteinium. This little-known virtual currency began the year at $0.000875 per EMC2 coin (apropos name, am I right?), and recently vaulted to north of $2 per coin. Currently, it's sporting a nearly 170,000% return. If you had the gall to invest $1,000 in this at the beginning of the year, you'd have around $1.7 million. So, what on Earth would cause a virtual currency to explode 170,000% higher? Probably the biggest single event was the announcement in October of a hard fork that was designed to reduce the number of EMC2 coins by 50 million. This hard fork was completed on Dec. 10. Think about this like an investor: when a company issues stock to raise capital, it dilutes existing shareholders by increasing the number of shares outstanding. Comparatively, removing coins is like buying back stock in that it increases the scarcity and value of each remaining coin. Additionally, this virtual currency has been abuzz with rumors. There had been a short-lived rumor in early December about a possible tie-up withApple, but those rumors were quickly quashed. Nonetheless, Einsteinium is promising a big announcement at some point in the future, which has led to a lot of optimism surrounding its coins. The big question as we head into 2017 is: Are these gains sustainable? Call me not so convinced. More From The Motley Fool • 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices • 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 • 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing • 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today • The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss • Why You're Smart to Buy Shopify Inc. (US) -- Despite Citron's Report Sean Williamshas no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Apple. The Motley Fool has the following options: long January 2020 $150 calls on Apple and short January 2020 $155 calls on Apple. The Motley Fool recommends American Express. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy. \|\| Bitcoin hits all time high as controversial 'hard fork' called off: Bitcoin shot to just shy of $7,900 (£6,000) after a controversial proposal that could have split the cryptocurrency was called off. The currency had been scheduled to undergo a so-called "hard fork", a change to bitcoin's code that would have created an offshoot cryptocurrency, and which developers argued was necessary to keep up with the pace of its growth. Despite widespread agreement over the summer that the upgrade, known as SegWit2x, would be implemented on November 16, support for the change had waned. On Wednesday, proposals to implement the changes were suspended over fears they could divide bitcoin irreparably and damage the cryptocurrency's growth.Bitcoin'sprice briefly surged to a new high of $7,848, compared to less than $1,000 at the start of the year. It has since fallen back to trade at around $7,250. Members of leading bitcoin exchanges supporting the "SegWit2x" proposals have signed a letter calling off the upgrade. SegWit2x would have doubled the size of the bitcoin "blocks" on the blockchain, the record of bitcoin transactions, essentially making it easier to process more trades as more people join and trade bitcoin. "Although we strongly believe in the need for a larger blocksize, there is something we believe is even more important: keeping the community together," said Mike Belshe, chief executive of bitgo.com. Because bitcoin is decentralised it has no one controlling party. This means that changes to the code are decided as a group, similar to a vote or referendum. However, this has led to previous rivals to the current bitcoin splitting off, such asBitcoin Cashover the summer. If certain developers refuse to accept the current bitcoin code, they can "hard fork" the blockchain and create a new one, and thus a new, rival currency. With SegWit2x, around 95 per cent of bitcoin miners and developers had signalled support for the proposal over the summer. However, this had since fallen to around 75 per cent, with opponents calling the changes a power grab on bitcoin bybitcoincompanies and large exchanges. The code had also lacked "replay protection", which would have prevented transactions being copied across the old and new network. SegWit2x had also not been supported by bitcoin's core development team. If bitcoin had suffered a split, there were fears major exchanges would not be able to decide which was the true bitcoin. Coinbase, one of the best known trading platforms, had said it would "let the market decide" and would suspend trading of bitcoin ahead of the split. Bitcoin developers still believe the currency needs to scale to cope with booming demand, but those proposals are on ice. For now, bitcoin has remained one currency and investments in the currency remain on the original blockchain. \|\| CRYPTO INSIDER: Bitcoin is the 'most crowded' trade in the world: crowded subway train Welcome to Crypto Insider, Business Insider’s roundup of all the bitcoin and cryptocurrency news you need to know today. Sign up here to get this email delivered direct to your inbox. Bitcoin is officially the most crowded trade in the world, according to a fund manager survey conducted by Bank of America Merrill Lynch . Close to a third of investors surveyed this month said they viewed being long bitcoin as the most crowded position, ahead of long FAANG (Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix Google) and BAT (Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent). Despite the popularity among traders, bitcoin is down close to 6% in the last 24 hours. Here’s the scoreboard as of Tuesday morning: Bitcoin (BTC) : $17,847.04 (-5.8%) Ethereum (ETH): $827.85 (+5.2%) Bitcoin Cash (BCC) : $2,262.28 (+5.3%) Ripple (XRP) : $0.776 (+2.5%) Litecoin (LTC) : $339.76 (-4.2%) And that’s only the tip of the iceberg. There are now 28 other smaller cryptocurrencies with market capitalization's of $1 billion or more . Investors have pumped $2 billion into crypto funds this year — and 2018 will be even bigger, Morgan Stanley says. A new index tracking the returns of cryptocurrency-focused hedge funds shows returns of 1,641% through November of this year. Despite its wild volatility, Bitcoin’ still isn’t viewed as a risk to the financial system , a Nomura strategist said Monday. The cryptocurrency’s crazy price moves could soon start influencing other markets, especially coal. Finally, the SEC announced a temporary suspension of trading of The Crypto Company stock from Tuesday’s opening bell until January 3, 2018 "because of concerns regarding the accuracy and adequacy of information in the marketplace about, among other things, the compensation paid for promotion of the company, and statements in Commission filings about the plans of the company’s insiders to sell their shares of The Crypto Company’s common stock." Story continues NOW WATCH: PAUL KRUGMAN: Bitcoin is a more obvious bubble than housing was See Also: BANK OF AMERICA: Bitcoin is the 'most crowded' trade The 29 cryptocurrencies with a market cap of more than $1 billion CRYPTO INSIDER: Bitcoin slips as CME futures go live SEE ALSO: Bitcoin's wild volatility could soon start shaping other markets [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] #Bitcoin : Sube !! 15/11/2017 02:00:03 COMPRAMOS a COP 19.599.938,61 y VENDEMOS en COP 24.551.502,05 #BitcoinColombiapic.twitter.com/OcvjbPscbg \|\| Bulgarian Official Denies Country Possessing $3.2 Billion in #Bitcoin https://goo.gl/DXed2y pic.twitter.com/uRFr5d5rTv \|\| bitcoin priceってゆうか、 \|\| ZaifからのBTC出金（三度目）でまたも「None」となり出金できない。どうなってるんだ？？？ \|\| Nyt puhutaan siis oikeista Bitcoin transaktioista jotka päätyvät Bitcoinin blockchainiin. Ei siitä että joku ylläpitää saldolukua webbisaitilla joka pienenee kun vingutat korttia. \|\| “Do you have any bitcoin regrets?” https://twitter.com/i/moments/939479780445052929 … \|\| @ #3, Bitcoin Cash with unit price of $1,629.3, market cap of $27,443,868,101 (6.39%), and 24 hr vol. of $2,668,510,000 (7.16%) \|\| bitcoin priceってゆうか、 \|\| bitcoin priceってゆうか、 \|\| Dear Aldo, exactly the Argentian view described in @aaron_koenig 's book (which was my Intro) was one of the most convincing points for bitcoin for me.	Trend: down \|\| Prices: 14982.10, 15201.00, 15599.20, 17429.50, 17527.00, 16477.60, 15170.10, 14595.40, 14973.30, 13405.80
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis] Not fully available. [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Goldman Sachs: This is Bitcoin's Sweet Spot: Even thoughBitcoin has been called a bubble, investors who have hungrily watched Bitcoin’s price soar 290% over the past year from the sidelines still have a chance to win big. Or at least that’s according toGoldman Sachsanalyst Sheba Jafari. On Sunday, the banking giant sent a note seen byCNBCthat said Bitcoin, now priced at $2,568 a piece, could fall as low as $1,857 before bouncing to a much higher valuation between $3,212 to $3,915. That means if an investor watches the cryptocurrency carefully and times it perfectly, they could gain as much as 110% on their initial investment. Granted, that would take quite a bit of patience, with Goldman acknowledging that “it might take time” to hit $3,915. Read:Can Bitcoin’s First Felon Help Make Cryptocurrency a Trillion-Dollar Market? If Bitcoin were to hit $3,915, then that would add another $22 billion in market capitalization to cryptocurrency, which is up 53% from Bitcoin’s current market capitalization of $42 billion. That comes as the cryptocurrency has fallen from a high of just over $3,000 in mid-June, with investors, includingMark Cuban,warning thatBitcoin’s price has already peaked. \|\| Alphabet's Nest Cam IQ recognizes burglars' faces—for a steep price: Overall, the Internet of Things revolution has been a bust. You know—all those coffee makers, garage-door openers, and washer-dryers that we can control with apps on our phones. Only a couple of categories seem even worth messing with: internet-connected thermostats, and home security cameras. These are tiny WiFi cameras that you can plunk around your house—and then spy from your phone, wherever you go in the world. You can see who’s at the front door, see if the baby’s awake, see if the nanny is overfeeding your kids, or monitor your home for motion when you’re not paying attention. Two years ago, Nest, which is a part of Google parent Alphabet (GOOG,GOOGL), introduced the Nest Cam ($200), which was a tweaked-up version of the former Dropcam, which Nest had bought for $550 million. Feel free to re-read that sentence. The Nest Cam was a fine product, soon joined by a weatherproof model, Nest Cam Outdoor. In addition to the usual function—letting you see what’s going on back at home, and alerting you when there’s motion—they also have two-way audio, so that you can yell at the room by remote control when you see something amiss. You know: “Xerxes, DOWN! Off the couch. DOWN!” Now there’s theNest Cam IQ,which raises the price by 50% to a nose-bleedy $300. (The earlier cameras remain available.) That extra $100 buys you improved picture and sound, plus facial recognition. That is, the camera learns what people in your home look like, using the same facial algorithms found in Google Photos. At that point, it can alert you only when astrangeris poking around your house. As with the other Nest Cams, this one is super easy to set up. You create a Nest account, plug in the camera’s 10-foot power cord, and then use your phone to scan the barcode on the bottom of the camera. Suddenly, it’s set up. Its current camera view appears right in the same Nest app that you use to control your Nest thermostats and smoke detectors. As before, you can’t actually make the physical lens move by remote control to pan around the room, as you can on some rival products. But youcanpan and zoom—with your fingers on the screen. Since the camera’s view is 130 degrees, you can actually see the entire room at once, and then zoom and pan to any part of the room. Better yet, the new camera is actually a 4K camera, meaning that it has four times as many pixels as high definition. That feature doesn’t help with spying on your home or playing back recordings, since all of that still takes place in 1080p hi-def. Itisuseful when you’ve zoomed in with your fingers. A special button (hidden, alas, until you tap the screen) at that point harvests the extra pixels to sharpen up the image. I’m guessing it works best if you shout “Enhance!” as you tap, like they do on TV. The 4K sensor also makes possible Supersight, a feature that’s supposed to auto-zoom and auto-track a face as it enters the frame, with the original full-room view as an inset. In practice, it’s more like not-so-Super Sight. Sometimes it doesn’t kick in at all. Sometimes it pans so aggressively in the direction the thief is walking that it pans right past him. Seems like it’s expecting the evildoer to move at just the right speed, or it doesn’t really work. As before, the picture and sound are delayed by a couple of seconds. Don’t try to practice your comic timing with the folks back at home over the Nest Cam. The clarity of the image (and the sound), on the other hand, are terrific. Thanks to night vision, you even get 15 feet of incredible clarity in total darkness. The original Nest Cam used to go off too often, triggered by cats and dogs, cars outside the window, and so on. It became the security camera that cried wolf; you wound up ignoring the notifications, or turning them off. The IQ still sends a lot of false positives, but the facial recognition really helps. In the first week of using the new camera, the phone app shows you the faces of people it spots passing through the room. You’re asked, “Do you know this person?” for each one. There will be repetitions during those first days, but eventually, the app will know who’s entitled to be in your home, and who’s not. And sure enough: the IQ now lets you know only when someoneunauthorized is in your home. It’s a brilliant, important feature. It is not, however, a Google invention. TheNetatmo Welcomecamera was the first with facial recognition (and, soon, dog and cat recognition)—and it costs $100 less. The subscription news All of the spying fun you’ve read about so far is free. Unfortunately, you have to pay a monthly fee to getthe good stuff. It’s $10 a month, or $100 a year. Here’s what that gets you: • Continuous, 24/7 recordings of everything that’s happened in your house, going back 10 days. Either on the phone or on the Nest website, you can catch something you missed with the camcorder, like your baby’s first steps or a pet’s funny trick. Freeze the frame on whoever keeps spilling food on the couch. Settle an argument (or prolong one) by proving who brought the subject up first. (Without the subscription, you get only a three-hour rewind window.) • Share clips of all that, or make time-lapse videos of it • Notifications of audio events like a dog barking or people talking • Notifications when familiar faces are spotted • Activity zones: Up to four parts of the room that you want the camera to ignore or pay particular attention to. (Unfortunately, facial recognition doesn’t respect these zones—it’s always on—so faces on a TV trigger alerts.) (At least standard “I’ve spotted a face!” notifications are now included. The previous Nest cameras required a subscription even for that feature.) I’ll just say it: I can’t stand monthly subscriptions. They’re an unnecessary money gouge. Especially when you remember that you need one subscription foreach camera(although additional subscriptions are half price). Besides, plenty of rival cameras also store your recordings online for free, or onto a memory card. And some of them have cool features that the Nest doesn’t. And none of them cost as much: • Netgear Arlo Pro ($228):Wireless and battery powered or wired. Weatherproof. Multi-camera discounts. Seven days’ worth of footage storage online for free; 30 days’ worth for $10 a month. • iControl Piper nv ($270): No subscription plans (records 1,000 motion-triggered clips online for free), but no continuous recording, either. Also tracks outside temp and humidity levels, and issues weather warnings. Acts as a hub for smart-home devices. • D-Link DCS-2530L Full HD 180-Degree Wi-Fi Camera ($132):Records to a memory card, so no subscription necessary. • Samsung SmartCam PT ($160):You can pan and tilt the camera from afar, with auto-tracking of a person in the room. Records to a memory card, so no subscription necessary. Privacy mode: When you’re home, camera aims down and shuts off. • Netatmo Welcome ($200):Face recognition. Stores clips on a memory card (no 24/7 recording). Make no mistake: The Nest Cam IQ is a fantastic home-security camera. Simple to set up, easy to use, super smart facial recognition, and the best picture and sound on the market. For its core function, it’s among the best home-security cameras you can buy—and buy, and buy, and buy. Correction: This post originally stated that Nest is owned by Google. In fact, it is owned by Google parent Alphabet. The error has been corrected. More from David Pogue: Electrify your existing bike in 2 minutes with these ingenious wheels Marty Cooper, inventor of the cellphone: The next step is implantables The David Pogue Review: Windows 10 Creators Update Now I get it: Bitcoin David Pogue’s search for the world’s best air-travel app The little-known iPhone feature that lets blind people see with their fingers David Pogue, tech columnist for Yahoo Finance, welcomes nontoxic comments in the comments section below. On the web, he’sdavidpogue.com. On Twitter, he’s@pogue. On email, he’s [email protected]. You canread all his articles here, or you can sign up toget his columns by email. \|\| Ethereum, Bitcoin lead cryptocurrencies lower as selling continues: Investing.com - Prices of both Ethereum and Bitcoin extended their recent decline on Tuesday, remaining under pressure as investors appeared to take profit on the recent rally that has seen it touch record highs. Ethereum prices dropped by as much as 18% on the U.S.-based GDAX exchange operated by Coinbase to a low of $206.50. It was last at $237.85 by 5:05AM ET (0905GMT), down $14.50, or around 6%. Last week Ethereum plunged to as low as 10 cents from around $317 in a matter of seconds in an apparent flash crash. The digital currency is down roughly 40% over the past two weeks. It remains up over 2,000% so far for the year. Meanwhile, Bitcoin continued to struggle as investors remained wary of initiating large position amid several warnings from analysts that the digital currency has peaked since hitting $3,000 earlier this month. The cryptocurrency was at $2,375.30 in early trade, down about 3.5%. Despite recent losses, the digital currency is up more 150% for the year. Related Articles Dollar trades lower before Fed speeches Forex - Euro hits session highs on hawkish Draghi remarks Forex - Dollar dips with Yellen speech in focus \|\| There’s No Good Reason to Buy Snap Inc (SNAP) Stock: InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips Let’s just be real right off the bat:Snap Inc(NYSE:SNAP) is not the best investment. At least, it would appear that way considering the current information that we have. But that doesn’t mean that SNAP stock isn’t worthwhile as a play on the future. Source: Shutterstock For better or worse, the company is almost entirely built around the Snapchat social media platform. Some social media companies are getting their act together, likeTwitter Inc(NYSE:TWTR). Others likeFacebook Inc(NASDAQ:FB) continue to dominate. As soon as Snapchat builds momentum, Facebook’s Instagram muscles its way back into users’ hands — blatantly copying a number of Snapchat’s features. But the point is still the same: It has more firepower than even the hottest name in social media. • 3 Stocks to Buy to Leverage the Bitcoin Craze And that, of course, is the major risk to SNAP stock. Facebook just hit 2 billion monthly active users. Not long ago, Instagram was tallying more than 700 million users — adding the most recent100 million users fasterthan the prior 100 million. Clearly, growth isn’t slowing. For Snapchat’s part, daily active users reached 166 million. While this was up some 36% year-over-year, it’s not all that impressive given Facebook’s position. For starters, Instagram Stories — just a feature on the platform —already has 250 million DAUsafter launching less than a year ago. Additionally, FB grew DAUs 18% YoY to 1.28 billion. Finally, FB had earnings of $1.04 per share last quarter. Facebook hasn’t missed an earnings estimate in 12 straight quarters, and has topped revenue estimates in 11 of those. SNAP? Well, let’s just say it missed top- and bottom-line estimates in its only quarter, losing $2.31 per share. At best, investors can hope that Snap Inc will carve out a powerful role in the social media world. It can use augmented reality, fresh content and new filters to continually engage its users. But it will always have FB lurking over it, and that makes for tough sledding. Estimates call for revenue to nearly double from 2017 to 2018. That’s certainly impressive. But SNAP trades at an absurd 40 times sales. Unless SNAP becomes wildly profitable with fat margins, there’s no way investors should be able to justify paying this type of valuation. And not to beat the FB drum too loudly, but its worst quarterly sales growth over the past six quarters is north of 49%. Given its size, profitability and honestly decent valuation, why wouldn’t you want that over Snapchat stock? (Here’s the full breakdown on FB stock, by the way). Click to Enlarge Source: Stockcharts.com This isn’t meant to be a slam piece on SNAP. The truth is though, SNAP stock isn’t a reasonable investment. It’s going against a behemoth, isn’t profitable and doesn’t have the user growth to justify its valuation. But it could be setting up as a good trade. SNAP stock has a low of $17. Traders who want to take a shot on this stock can keep that level in mind for their stop-loss. As we can see by the purple line, however, SNAP stock has actually made a pretty nice base here. Additionally, the MACD (orange circle) is showing some bullish momentum. That could give SNAP stock a nice boost, perhaps up to downward resistance (blue line). With its trajectory, that may come into play around $19. Risk management is certainly the key for SNAP stock. However, investors who believe this company may have what it takes to succeed in the social media world or short-term traders who are looking for a quick buck, this could be their play. NOTE:Keep in mind that SNAP stock hasbig lockup expirations coming this summer, starting July 31. Unless firms do some massive buying or insiders choose not to sell, SNAP stock will likely be headed lower. • Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD) Radeon Vega Frontier Edition Hits Shelves Again, if it were me entering the space, I would look to stick with the leader in FB. But there is a decent trade presenting itself in the short term for SNAP stock. Bret Kenwell is the manager and author ofFuture Blue Chipsand is on Twitter@BretKenwell. As of this writing, Bret Kenwell did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities. • 7 Healthcare Stocks That Will Give You Chest Pains • You Don't Need a Rally to Trade Visa Inc (V) Stock • 3 Stocks to Buy for Millennial Investors The postThere’s No Good Reason to Buy Snap Inc (SNAP) Stockappeared first onInvestorPlace. \|\| Is Bitcoin a Currency or a Bubble?: (0:30) - Bitcoin Value Triples in 2017 (2:00) - How To Buy Bitcoin and Who is Buying It? (7:20) - How is Bitcoin Impacted By Ransomware (9:40) - How Does Bitcoin Have Value? (12:20) - Bitcoin V.S. Ethereum (14:00) - How To Invest Into Bitcoin (20:55) - Marijuana Cryptocurrency, Initial Coin Offering and Block Chain Tech (25:40) - Episode Roundup: [email protected] Welcome to Episode #86 of the Zacks Market Edge Podcast. Every week, host and Zacks stock strategist, Tracey Ryniec, will be joined by guests to discuss the hottest investing topics in stocks, bonds and ETFs and how it impacts your life. In this episode, Tracey is joined by Dave Bartosiak, editor of the Zacks Momentum Trader and Home Run Investor, and who also hosts Zacks Live Trader, which trades options on YouTube, to discuss a topic that is getting a lot of interest on Wall Street: the Bitcoin trade. Bitcoin is a digital currency which has tripled in value in 2017. It hit as high as $3,000 before pulling back. Whenever something triples in a short period of time, you can be guaranteed that people are taking notice and want to get in. What IS Bitcoin? Tracey knows it from the ransomware attacks but its more complex than that. Dave breaks it down. How Can You Play the Bitcoin Trade? 1. Buy Bitcoin using the Bitcoin wallet. 2. If you qualify, buy the Bitcoin Investment Trust (GBTC), which is called the ETF of Bitcoin even though the SEC has turned down the Winklevoss attempt to actually launch an ETF. The SEC has been concerned the market is unregulated. The GBTC trades on the OTC market. 3. Invest in hedge funds that buy Bitcoins. 4. Buy into companies that are developing the back end, such as Microsofts (MSFT) cloud business, Azure, which just won a contract with Indias largest banks to host the nodes that will relay transactions on their distributed ledger systems. Amazon (AMZN) is another option as its cloud business has been pushing blockchain for over year. Story continues Investing in Bitcoin is difficult. Trading it is pretty easy. The industry reminds Tracey of the marijuana trade, which is also hot but hard to invest in. She and Dave did a podcast earlier this year on the marijuana stocks: Can You Get Rich Off the Marijuana Stocks? Is Bitcoin the new tulip mania? Will it crash and burn or is there something to this rally? Find out the answers on this weeks podcast. [In full disclosure, Tracey owns shares of AMZN in her personal portfolio.] Want to Learn How to Trade Options? Have you always wanted to trade stock options but are unsure where to begin or what to look for? Each week, Zacks Dave Bartosiak will bring you a detailed explanation of the trades live on YouTube. Watch him go through the trade as he answers your questions in real time. Become one of Daves minions. Join the Zacks Live Trader community today. Click here for a free 14-day trial >>> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Click for Free Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) Stock Analysis Report >> Click for Free Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) Stock Analysis Report >> SPDR-GOLD TRUST (GLD): ETF Research Reports SPDR-SP 500 TR (SPY): ETF Research Reports To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research \|\| Canadian miners, casinos hit by hacker eyeing new targets -FireEye: By Alastair Sharp TORONTO, June 16 (Reuters) - The same hacker targeting Canadian casinos and mining companies for extortion since 2013 is planning more attacks, researchers at cyber security company FireEye Inc said in a report on Friday. FireEye said it believes that a single hacker or hacking group that it dubbed FIN10 is behind the breaches due to similarities in method: how they broke into corporate systems, stealing gigabytes of sensitive data and demanding ransom paid in Bitcoin, and publicizing the stolen information by alerting bloggers. While FireEye declined to identify victims by name, the methods described in their report echoed those used in attacks on Goldcorp, the world's third-biggest gold miner by market value, smaller operator Detour Gold, and the Casino Rama Resort. FireEye said FIN10's degree of operational success makes more campaigns "highly probable" and that it had evidence suggesting the group had targeted additional victims. FireEye said FIN10 used the moniker Angels_of_Truth at least once, claiming to attack in retaliation for Canadian sanctions against Russia. More often, it borrowed the name Tesla Team from a group of Serbian hacktivists. FireEye believes FIN10 was flying 'false flags' with those names, with no backing from a nation-state or affiliation with organized criminals. Angels_of_Truth was the name used by hackers who contacted a databreaches.net blogger between April and June 2015 claiming credit in Russian and English for the Detour intrusion. The same blogger, alerted to a breach at Goldcorp in April 2016, published details on the Daily Dot website before Goldcorp acknowledged the compromise. The Vancouver-based miner has since modified its IT processes, increased network security protocols, and worked to educate its staff about cyber risks, a spokeswoman said. After that breach, a mining industry group formed a network to share information on cyber threats. At least six members, including Teck Resources Ltd, will take the project live next month. FIN10 is still in contact with some victims and more targets may "become aware of the threat in the coming weeks or months," said Charles Carmakal, vice president at FireEye's Mandiant unit. Detour Gold did not respond to requests for comment. Nor did Casino Rama, which said in November that sensitive customer, employee and vendor data had been stolen. Some was reportedly later posted online, and they now face a class action lawsuit over the breach. (Additional reporting by Jim Finkle; Editing by Tom Brown) \|\| Ethereum, Bitcoin lead cryptocurrencies lower as selling continues: Investing.com - Prices of both Ethereum and Bitcoin extended their recent decline on Tuesday, remaining under pressure as investors appeared to take profit on the recent rally that has seen it touch record highs. Ethereum prices dropped by as much as 18% on the U.S.-based GDAX exchange operated by Coinbase to a low of $206.50. It was last at $237.85 by 5:05AM ET (0905GMT), down $14.50, or around 6%. Last week Ethereum plunged to as low as 10 cents from around $317 in a matter of seconds in an apparent flash crash. The digital currency is down roughly 40% over the past two weeks. It remains up over 2,000% so far for the year. Meanwhile, Bitcoin continued to struggle as investors remained wary of initiating large position amid several warnings from analysts that the digital currency has peaked since hitting $3,000 earlier this month. The cryptocurrency was at $2,375.30 in early trade, down about 3.5%. Despite recent losses, the digital currency is up more 150% for the year. Related Articles Dollar trades lower before Fed speeches Forex - Euro hits session highs on hawkish Draghi remarks Forex - Dollar dips with Yellen speech in focus \|\| Why You Shouldn’t Pay the Petya Ransomware: If you were affected by the latestglobal cyber attackthat locked businesses out of their computer systems, here’s a tip: Don’t pay the Bitcoin ransom. You’ll be sorry if you do. Beginning inUkraineand quickly spreading tolarge multinational corporationsranging fromMaersktoMerck, the ransomware wave has caused incredible disruption and ground operations in affected organizations to a halt. The extortionists have demanded a payment of $300 in Bitcoin in order for victims to regain access to their systems. “We guarantee that you can recover all your files safely and easily,” the ransom note reads. There’s a problem though. People who pay the Bitcoin fee associated with the attack—which security researchers have dubbed Petya, NotPetya, ExPetr, Nyetya, and other variations on that theme—should not expect to recover their files even if they do pay. So much for that guarantee. Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s technology newsletter. The ransom note requests that victims, after paying, provide their Bitcoin wallet ID and another identifying detail (a unique “personal installation key,” which the attackers provide). The attackers advise affected people to send this information to a certain email address: [email protected]. AsFortunenoted on Tuesday, Posteo, the email service used by the attackers quicklysuspended the attackers’ account, leaving them unable to communicate with their victims and preventing them from sending along decryption keys. This means there’s no obvious way for victims to get a decryption key from the supposed extortionists, even if they do pay. Fortune’sown note to the email address bounced back, as seen in the screenshot below. Some security researchers have questioned whether this attack can even be properly categorized as ransomware. Matthieu Suiche, CEO and founder of the Dubai-based cybersecurity firm Comae, toldFortunethat he believes it is more appropriately considered as “wiper” malware, meaning malicious software that intends to destroy data rather than hold it hostage. Other experts have agreed with the essence of Suiche’s analysis. “Despite its presentation as ransomware, ExPetr ultimately functions as a wiper since we have discovered that the attacker doesn’t have the ability to decrypt the files even when receiving the payment,” a spokesperson for Kaspersky Lab toldFortunein an email. Raj Samani, chief scientist atIntelintcspinout McAfee, concurred. “We always recommend for ransomware victims to not pay,” he said. “In the case of WannaCry and the Petya ransom demands it’s even more advisable since the likelihood of receiving decryption keys are almost nil.” Better put that $300 toward something more useful, like replenishing the office’s IT procurement fund. \|\| BIT Moving to Bitcoin Blockchain as BITCF to Unify Trading Between Markets; OTC Markets Removes Caveat Emptor Symbol From its Publication of Quotes on BITCF: VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / June 15, 2017 /FIRST BITCOIN CAPITAL CORP. (OTC PINK: BITCF) ("Company," "we," "us," or "our") would like to announce that the most prolific cryptographic creator of tokens on the Bitcoin Blockchain has resolved to move the ownership of its common shares now trading in the cryptocurrency markets onto the Bitcoin Blockchain and simultaneously reduce authorized shares from 21 billion back to 500,000,000. The reduction in authorized capital ofFirst Bitcoin Capital Corp. does not reduce the number of shares currently issued and outstanding. Crypto shareholders will be given two options; either to keep their mined shares or convert those shares to the new blockchain. Those that convert to the new blockchain will own shares of BITCF, however, those that do not elect to move to the new blockchain will continue to hold BIT, which will then become a simple cryptocurrency with no relationship to the shares of company other than sharing the first portion of its name, "First Bitcoin." The transference of shares from BIT, on its unique, existing blockchain, to BITCF on theBitcoinBlockchain will be conducted through BIT's primary crypto-exchange,C-CEX.com, and will be automatic for all those who are holding their BIT at C-CEX. The new BITCF Crypto shares will then trade as BITCF so that it will be easier for the markets to understand that the crypto and traditional shares include the same rights, title, and interest. Those who wish to continue to trade BIT as a mere cryptocurrency will be allowed to do so via BIT's secondary exchange, Livecoin, but must remove their BIT from C-CEX on the deadline to be set soon. Deposits and withdraws will be allowed atC-CEXuntil the movement to the new blockchain has been implemented. The company plans to implement this blockchain move within two weeks. The company has determined that moving to theBitcoin Blockchainmakes the management of issuing shares more efficient and less expensive so that there is no mining cost to the company or its shareholders in the form of dilution. It is a safer system and allows for issuing new shares in the future instead of pre-mining to reserve shares in the treasury, as was done mining BIT. This move also creates a new asset for the coffers of BITCF so that all pre-mined 20 billion BIT will soon be available for liquidity, dividends, mergers, and acquisitions without any further dilution to BITCF, which heretofore was caused by daily mining of BIT. BITCF riding on the rails of Bitcoin using the Omni Layer Protocol will allow BITCF to easily pay dividends in the form of its other Omni layered coins such as ALT, XBU, XB, GARY, HILL, BURN, WEED, PRES, TESLA, etc., as well as the more popular MAID, OMNI, Tether (USTD), should we accumulate or acquire more of same. Reduction in Authorized Capital In preparing to move the small percentage of company shares held by miners from our own blockchain to the Bitcoin Blockchain the company resolved today to reduce authorized capital from 21,000,000,000 to 500,000,000 shares which will become effective upon completing this move within the next two weeks. OTC Market's Skull and Bones Designation After the company's SEC counsel provided and opined on the required disclosures to OTC Markets, the caveat emptor was removed so that the company has returned to its former status of a current alternative reporting company. About the Company First Bitcoin Capital Corp is engaged in developing digital currencies, proprietary Blockchain technologies, and the digital currency exchange -www.CoinQX.com. We see this step as a tremendous opportunity to create further shareholder value by leveraging management's experience in developing and managing complex Blockchain technologies, developing new types of digital assets. Being the first publicly-traded cryptocurrency and blockchain-centered company (with shares both traded in the US OTC Markets as [BITCF] and as [BIT] in crypto exchanges), we want to provide our shareholders with diversified exposure to digital cryptocurrencies and blockchain technologies. At this time, the Company owns and operates more than the following digital assets under development: www.CoinQX.comcryptocurrency exchange, registered with FINCEN.www.altcoinmarketcap.commarket capitalization for all cryptocurrencies with up and down voting by altcoin communities.www.strain.IDcannabis strains genetic information depository on decentralized Blockchain.www.iCoiNEWS.comreal time cryptocurrency and Bitcoin news site.www.BITminer.ccproviding mining pool management services.www.2016coin.orgonline daily election coverage and home page for $PRES, $HILL, $GARY& $BURN - commemorative presidential election coins.www.bitcannpay.comOpen Loop merchant services for dispensaries. List of most Omni protocol coins issued on the Bitcoin Blockchain and owned by the Company:http://omnichest.info/lookupadd.aspx?address=1FwADyEvdvaLNxjN1v3q6tNJCgHEBuABrS Second Omni wallet owned by CoinQX reflecting our airline mileage tokens issued:http://omnichest.info/lookupadd.aspx?address=1VuF26AgLyQ4tBoGzYTWRqtDG9zCB7QXe Forward-Looking Statements Certain statements contained in this press release may constitute "forward-looking statements." Forward-looking statements provide current expectations of future events based on certain assumptions and include any statement that does not directly relate to any historical or current fact. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors as may be disclosed in company's filings. In addition to these factors, actual future performance, outcomes, and results may differ materially because of more general factors including (without limitation) general industry and market conditions and growth rates, economic conditions, and governmental and public policy changes. The forward-looking statements included in this press release represent the Company's views as of the date of this press release and these views could change. However, while the Company may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, the Company specifically disclaims any obligation to do so. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing the Company's views as of any date subsequent to the date of the press release. Such forward-looking statements are risks that are detailed in the Company's filings, which are on file atwww.OTCMarkets.com. Contact us via:[email protected] visithttp://www.bitcoincapitalcorp.com. SOURCE:First Bitcoin Capital Corp. \|\| Fretting over savings, Mrs Watanabe turns to bitcoin: By Minami Funakoshi and Joyce Lee TOKYO/SEOUL (Reuters) - Long the preserve of geeky enthusiasts, bitcoin is going mainstream in Asia, attracting Mrs Watanabe - the metaphorical Japanese housewife investor - South Korean retirees and thousands of others trying to escape rock-bottom savings rates by investing in the cryptocurrency. Asia's moms and pops, already regular investors in stock and futures markets, have been dazzled by bitcoin's 100 percent surge so far this year. In comparison, the broader Asian stocks benchmark has gained 17 percent over the same period. Even after a tumble from last week's record $2,779.08 high, bitcoin rose more than 60 percent in May alone - driven higher in part by investors in Japan and South Korea stepping in as China cooled after a central bank crackdown earlier this year. (For a graphic on bitcoin economy click http://tmsnrt.rs/2skLZ3c) Over the last two weeks, and encouraged by Japan's recognition of bitcoin as legal tender in April, exchanges say interest has jumped from the two countries. Bitcoin trades at a premium in both, due to tough money-laundering rules that make it hard for people to move bitcoin in and out. "After I first heard about the bitcoin scheme, I was so excited I couldn't sleep. It's like buying a dream," said Mutsuko Higo, a 55-year-old Japanese social insurance and labor consultant who bought around 200,000 yen ($1800) worth of bitcoin in March to supplement her retirement savings. "Everyone says we can't rely on Japanese pensions anymore," she said. "This worries me, so I started bitcoins." Asia has proved fertile ground for bitcoin due to the region's thriving retail investment culture, where swapping investment tips is already common. China, Japan and South Korea are home to several of the world's busiest cryptocurrency exchanges, according to a ranking by CoinMarketCap. "Right now, it's a form of speculation, like stocks," said Park Hyo-jin, a 27-year-old South Korean who owns around 3 million won ($2,700) of bitcoin. "I don't think anybody in South Korea buys bitcoin to use it." The risks, though, are rising too. Bitcoin is largely unregulated across Asia, while rules governing bitcoin exchanges can be patchy. In Hong Kong, bitcoin exchanges operate under money service operator licenses - like money changers - while in South Korea they are regulated similar to online shopping malls, trading physical goods. Often there are no rules on investor protection. BITCOIN WHEN YOU DIE Park and Higo were drawn into bitcoin by friends. Others are attracted through seminars, social media groups and blogs penned by amateur investors. Noboru Hanaki, a 27-year-old Japanese web marketer and bitcoin investor, said his personal finance blog gets around 30,000 page views each month. The most popular post is an explanation of bitcoin, he said, noting that when the bitcoin price surged last month, readership of the article doubled. Rachel Poole, a Hong Kong-based kindergarten teacher, said she read about bitcoin in the press, and bought five bitcoins in March for around HK$40,000 ($5,100) after studying blogs on the topic. She kept four as an investment and has made HK$12,000 tax-free trading the fifth after classes. "I wish I'd done it earlier," she said. Not everyone's making money. The bitcoin frenzy has spawned scams, with police in South Korea last month uncovering a $55 million cryptocurrency pyramid scheme that sucked in thousands of homemakers, workers and self-employed businessmen seduced by slick marketing and promises of wealth. Seminars in Tokyo, Seoul and Hong Kong promote similar multi-level marketing schemes that require investors to pay an upfront membership fee of as much as $9,000. Members are encouraged to promote the cryptocurrency and bring in new members in return for some bitcoins and other benefits. One such Tokyo scheme offered members-only shopping websites that accept bitcoin, 24-hour assistance for car and computer problems, and bitcoin-based gifts when a member gets married, has a baby - or even dies, according to marketing materials seen by Reuters. Leonhard Weese, president of the Bitcoin Association of Hong Kong and a bitcoin investor, warned amateur investors against speculating in the digital currency. "Trading carries huge risk: there is no investor protection and plenty of market manipulation and insider trading. Some of the exchanges cannot be trusted in my opinion." Some larger exchanges have voluntarily adopted security measures and compensation guarantees, according to their websites, although there are dozens of smaller platforms operating more or less unchecked. In South Korea, the Financial Services Commission (FSC) has set up a task force to explore regulating cryptocurrencies, but it has not set a timeline for publishing its conclusions, an official there said. In Japan - where memories are still fresh of the spectacular 2014 collapse of Mt. Gox, the world's biggest bitcoin exchange at the time - the Financial Services Agency (FSA) said it supervises bitcoin exchanges, but not traders or investors. "The government is not guaranteeing the value of cryptocurrencies. We are asking for bitcoin exchanges to fully explain the risk of sharp price moves," an FSA official said. Some professional investors say bitcoin can be a useful hedge to help diversify a portfolio, but investors should be cautious. "This is an extremely volatile and innovative asset class," said Pietro Ventani, managing director of APP Advisers, an asset allocation strategy firm. (Reporting by Minami Funakoshi in Tokyo and Joyce Lee in Seoul, with additional reporting by Michelle Price in Hong Kong and Yoshiyuki Osada, Takahiko Wada and Hideyuki Sano in Tokyo; Writing by Michelle Price; Editing by Clara Ferreira-Marques and Ian Geoghegan) [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] #bitcoin #miner New Antminer APW3+-12-1600-A3,1600w S5/S5+/S7 psu power supply BITMAIN READ $249.00 http://ift.tt/2tfoNqn pic.twitter.com/SuTQnHA2UF \|\| that presumes that every other coin is a shitcoin, which i strongly disagree with. I accumulate BTC, LTC and ETH. I trade special use coins. \|\| レバレッジ400倍のFX https://simplefx.com/?sfx-r=5f817449-da15-4a96-90c2-eed35d675d5b … #bitcoin #FX \|\| Current price of Bitcoin is $2366.00 via @Chain \|\| #bitcoin #miner Antminer S4 - 2TH (2000GH) Bitcoin ASIC miner (SHA256) $270.00 http://ift.tt/2rZmFmq pic.twitter.com/rz4YT4yu3h \|\| Мне понравилось видео "Как зарегистрировать Blockchain кошелек для Bitcoin" \|\| @ramikawach I AM STILL MISSING MY BITCOIN... wtf https://bittrex.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/requests/83291 … \|\| 1 KOBO = 0.00000737 BTC = 0.0183 USD = 5.8926 NGN = 0.2376 ZAR = 1.8931 KES #Kobocoin 2017-06-28 06:00 \|\| nullc: I don't think they're incompatible (sergio seems to think so though), https://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/com https://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/6hhocj/were_here_because_we_believe_in_bitcoin_and_its/diyij1g?context=3 … \|\| 米ドル・ユーロ・円等の法定通貨や世界の各種銀行との連携が進行中 https://goo.gl/3nYogp #ノアコイン #noahcoin #仮想通貨 #暗号通貨 #フィンテック #ブロックチェーン #ビットコイン #bitcoin	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 2757.18, 2875.34, 2718.26, 2710.67, 2804.73, 2895.89, 3252.91, 3213.94, 3378.94, 3419.94
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2018-05-17] BTC Price: 8094.32, BTC RSI: 38.39 Gold Price: 1288.20, Gold RSI: 33.57 Oil Price: 71.49, Oil RSI: 64.99 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Price of Gold Fundamental Daily Forecast – Trend Up, but Set-up for Short-Term Correction: Gold futures are posting a volatile two-sided session early Monday as investors continue to react to the price action in the U.S. Dollar and equity markets. The price action is primarily being drive by appetite for risk. The catalyst behind the two-sided trade is concern over retaliation by China to Trump’s memorandum calling for $60 billion in sanctions against China. At 0755 GMT, June Comex Gold futures are trading $1351.70, down $4.00 or -0.30%. Prices rose to $1356.80, barely taking out last week’s high before sellers came in to stop the rally. In other news, gold speculators cut their net long position by 23,822 contracts to 121,838 contracts, U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission data showed. Additionally, last week’s rally discouraged Asian investors from purchasing gold at a 5-week high. This even as discounts in India widened to their highest in 6 ½ months. Finally, Democratic Republic of Congo’s mines minister rejected a proposal by mining companies on Friday to soften some provisions in a new mining code in exchange for higher royalties. Daily June Comex Gold Forecast The early price action strongly suggests the direction of the gold market today will be determined by the movement in the U.S. Dollar and U.S. equity markets. The U.S. Dollar is trading lower after taking out a key bottom at 88.915 from March 7. Gold prices could be underpinned if this bottom is taken out with conviction. However, gains could be limited if the major stock indexes start to recover some of last week’s losses. U.S. equity indexes are trading higher shortly before the cash market opening after shares in Asia and Europe recovered from their earlier losses. The recovery was fueled by the news that the U.S. agreed to exempt South Korea from steel tariffs. Basically, the market is set-up for elevated levels of volatility. Near-term resistance is being fueled by the easing of tariffs against South Korea, however, the market could still rally amid fears that rising tensions between the U.S. and China could lead to a full-blown trade war. Story continues On Saturday, some of the world’s top economists and business leaders at the China Development Forum in Beijing warned about the risks of a trade war between the two economic powerhouses. Although there is room to the downside after last week’s rally from $1312.40, the trend is up and likely to remain up until the fears of a trade war subside. This article was originally posted on FX Empire More From FXEMPIRE: DAX Price Forecast March 27, 2018, Technical Analysis GBP/USD Daily Fundamental Forecast – March 27, 2018 Silver Price Forecast March 27, 2018, Technical Analysis Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin and Ripple Daily Analysis – 27/03/18 Bitcoin Price Forecast March 27, 2018, Technical Analysis Ethereum Price Forecast March 27, 2018, Technical Analysis \|\| Toyota will temporarily stop its self-driving-car tests after fatal autonomous Uber accident: toyota self driving Toyota In response to Sunday's fatal accident involving a self-driving Uber vehicle , Toyota will temporarily stop testing its Chauffeur autonomous-driving program in the US. Toyota had been testing the fully autonomous Chauffeur system in California and Michigan. The automaker was rumored to be in talks to purchase Uber's self-driving technology , though it's unclear if Sunday's accident will hurt the chances of a potential deal. In response to Sunday's fatal accident involving a self-driving Uber vehicle , Toyota confirmed to Business Insider that it will temporarily stop testing its Chauffeur autonomous driving program in the US. "We cannot speculate on the cause of the incident or what it may mean to the automated driving industry going forward," a company spokesperson said in an email to Business Insider. "Because Toyota Research Institute (TRI) feels the incident may have an emotional effect on its test drivers, TRI has decided to temporarily pause its own Chauffeur mode testing on public roads." Toyota had been testing the fully autonomous Chauffeur system in California and Michigan through the Toyota Research Institute, which the company founded in 2015 to create a car that is incapable of causing a crash . The company will not halt its testing in Japan. Toyota has taken a conservative approach to self-driving technology Unlike auto and tech competitors like Waymo, General Motors, and Ford, Toyota has taken a more conservative approach to testing autonomous vehicles. The automaker was rumored to be in talks to purchase Uber's self-driving technology , though it's unclear if Sunday's accident will hurt the chances of a potential deal. Toyota invested in Uber in 2016 , with plans to "explore collaboration" between the two companies. On Sunday evening, a self-driving Volvo XC90 operated by Uber hit and killed a 49-year-old woman, Elaine Herzberg, in Tempe, Arizona. Herzberg is believed to be the first pedestrian to be killed by a self-driving vehicle. Story continues At the time of the accident, the car was in autonomous mode, and operator Rafaela Vasquez was serving as a backup driver in the event that the vehicle's self-driving technology faltered. Early reports from local police indicate that Uber "would likely not be at fault" for the accident . Uber's fatal accident has raised safety concerns for autonomous vehicles But the accident has raised questions about the safety of self-driving vehicles . While supporters of the technology believe it will make cars much safer than those driven by humans, critics fear the mistakes autonomous vehicles will make along the way may produce more damage than optimistic companies would like to admit. After the accident, Uber said it would suspend autonomous-vehicle testing in Tempe, San Francisco, and Toronto. Autonomous driving startup NuTonomy also said it would pause its self-driving tests in Boston. " We are working with City of Boston officials to ensure that our automated vehicle pilots continue to adhere to high standards of safety," a NuTonomy spokesperson said in an email to Business Insider. "We have complied with the City of Boston's request to temporarily halt autonomous vehicle testing on public roads." The company had provided vehicles to Lyft, which began offering self-driving rides in Boston in December. NuTonomy was bought by auto supplier Delphi in October. NOW WATCH: Goldman Sachs investment chief: Bitcoin is definitely a bubble, Ethereum even more so See Also: Self-driving cars could face a 'huge setback' after the tragic death of a woman struck by an autonomous Uber A self-driving Uber struck and killed a woman — here's a look at how its autonomous cars work Airline pilot explains 21 code words passengers don't understand SEE ALSO: Self-driving cars could face a 'huge setback' after the tragic death of a woman struck by an autonomous Uber \|\| The Non-Techie's Guide to Investing in Tech Stocks: Some of the largest gains realized by individual investors in recent years have come from the technology sector. Large-cap tech stocks that are household names, such as the famous FANG stocks -- Facebook , Amazon , Netflix , and Alphabet (formerly Google) -- have easily trounced the market over the past three years. A group of lesser-known smaller-cap tech stocks may have done even better. In the past year, Arista Networks , NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA) , Shopify , Square , and many more have all increased by more than 100% . I'm not just cherry-picking stocks -- over the trailing one-, three-, and five-year periods, the technology ETF (exchange-traded fund) QQQ Powershares Trust (NASDAQ: QQQ) has roughly doubled the returns of the S&P 500 index. SPY Chart SPY data by YCharts . Thanks largely to the guidance of the Motley Fool newsletters , I've been fortunate enough to be invested in nearly all these stocks. But many investors are reluctant to invest in tech stocks because they don't understand the underlying technology. This makes sense: If investors don't understand what companies do, it is hard to judge the moats those companies have to protect them from competition and eventual commoditization. Why even Warren Buffett avoids tech Investors who avoid tech stocks are in good company. Warren Buffett -- his huge stake in Apple notwithstanding -- famously avoids investing in tech stocks. In late 1999, just months before the tech bubble burst, Buffett wrote an article in Fortune explaining why he had not invested in tech stocks during their huge run-up in 1999, a year that saw the NASDAQ Composite Index increase 86%. In his piece, Buffett explains two reasons for his approach: It's hard to assess the competitive advantage of a tech company. It's more difficult to identify winners in the tech space early on, before they make a huge move. The world seen from space, with lines of light interconnecting over it Tech companies have reimagined how the world thinks, communicates, works, and plays. But some investors are still timid about investing in these world-changing companies. Image source: Getty Images. Story continues This makes sense. Innovation in this sector can come fast and from unexpected places. Before the arrival of Apple's iPhone, BlackBerry Ltd. looked like it would dominate the smartphone business for years to come. Before Facebook, MySpace looked secure as the world's dominant social network. The Eastman Kodak Company (NYSE: KODK) developed a digital camera as early as the 1970s, but dropped the project for decades because it interfered with Kodak's high-margin film business. The annals of investing are filled with once-dominant winners being taken to the woodshed by unexpected competition that out-innovated an industry's favored incumbents. Yet the potential rewards of investing in the technology sector are too great for investors to ignore completely. Despite the difficulties inherent in technology, it's possible for investors to navigate through the space with market-beating returns -- and, no, you don't have to be a computer scientist or an industry expert to figure it out. Here are two metrics I look for when evaluating a tech company's prospects that anyone can use -- no expertise required. 1. Fast-growing revenue The first thing I look for when I get interested in a tech company is high revenue growth . I'm a sucker for a good story. So, when a company says it is developing a gizmo that is going to revolutionize virtual reality devices or make autonomous cars a reality, I often want to plunk down money for an investment on the spot. To save me from myself (and good storytellers), I need to see that the company is growing its revenue at a high rate. While I like to see accelerating growth, I can settle for stable growth if the rate is high enough. If a company is growing its revenue at a high rate (I generally consider that to be growth of 20% and above), that's proof that its products and services are in high demand. A close-up of an Nvidia graphic processing unit (GPU). Nvidia's GPUs are ideal for several AI applications, including autonomous driving. Image source: NVIDIA Corporation. Consider Nvidia. For years, I've been hearing that the company's graphic processing units (GPUs) are ideal for artificial-intelligence and autonomous-driving applications. I could spend hours studying the company's AI-based architecture for self-driving vehicles and still not be any closer to determining if it's a better bet than Intel 's Mobileye platform , which, in contrast to Nvidia, incorporates lidar (light detection and ranging) technology in its attempt to penetrate the automotive market. Fortunately, I don't have to figure this out to know that Nvidia's GPUs are in high demand. How do I know? Because when the company reported its 2018 fourth-quarter earnings, revenue grew to $2.9 billion, a 34% increase year over year. For the full year, revenue rose to $9.71 billion, an even greater increase of 41% year over year. Both numbers were records for the company. And almost all of that growth came from the company's gaming and data center businesses; its automotive revenue rose to a meager $132 million, a paltry 3% increase year over year. This shows that Nvidia's autonomous driving technology is far from proven, which is also evidenced by the fact that there are virtually no autonomous-driving cars on the road today. If Nvidia's automotive division was a stand-alone company, I would never invest in it while it only showed single-digit revenue growth. As it is, Nvidia's high growth in its gaming and data center divisions allow me to take a flyer on the company's self-driving technology. 2. Stable or growing margin A company I'm examining can't just be selling its products and services. Before I consider investing, a company must prove that it can make money doing so. After all, in 2001, Kodak was the No. 2 seller of digital cameras in the country. Investors who simply looked at its revenue growth rate in its digital camera division probably would have come away impressed. The problem wasn't that the company couldn't sell its digital products; it was that it was losing about $60 for each digital camera it sold. A dozen or more icons over a picture of a street, labeled IoT and Internet of Things Skyworks Solutions designs analog chips that help a myriad different devices connect to wireless networks. Image source: Getty Images. Take another company I own and follow: Skyworks Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ: SWKS) . Skyworks designs analog semiconductors that enable smartphones, Internet of Things devices, wearables, and smart-home devices to connect to wireless networks. A constant fear for semiconductor makers is that they will be commoditized by cheaper competition. I monitor this by keeping a close eye on the company's operating margin , which is its operating income divided by total revenue. This metric shows how profitable a company is. My reasoning is this: If a company can grow or maintain its operating margin, that shows it still possesses pricing power. If a company has pricing power, it must still hold some sort of competitive advantage over competitors. In its first quarter of 2018, Skyworks reported a non- GAAP operating margin of 39.4%, more than a half percentage point better than last year's first quarter. In fact, that quarter's operating margin is the highest the company has reported in the last two years. The lowest operating margin it has reported in that time is 36.5%. If the operating margin falls below that level in the quarters ahead, I'd begin to be concerned. Looking at this metric, which the company makes readily available every quarter, doesn't require me to evaluate the company's TC-SAW (temperature-compensated surface acoustic wave) filters, compared to the more expensive BAW (bulk acoustic wave) filters from its competitors. Nor do I need to understand the technical design choices in evolving 5G standards (such as TDD vs. FDD ) to know if the company's products are still in demand. As long as Skyworks can maintain its revenue growth rate and operating margin, I can be reasonably assured its products are still being purchased and are not being commoditized. A non-techie's conclusion about tech One of my favorite things about investing is that it forces me to learn about a wide range of topics. I recognize I am a tech neophyte, but that doesn't mean I don't try to learn about the technology used by the companies I invest in; it just means I don't rely on my limited knowledge to inform my investments. Instead, I look for clues in the company's earnings reports. If a company is showing accelerated revenue growth, I know that what it's selling is in demand. If a company shows a stable or improving operating margin, I know it still has pricing power. So much of the innovation we've seen over the past three decades has come from technology companies, as the world has embraced everything mobile and digital. It would be a shame to miss out on the gains these innovations bring, simply because we don't understand the technical details. Fortunately, I don't think we need to be experts in these fields to invest. More From The Motley Fool 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Matthew Cochrane owns shares of GOOGL, AMZN, ANET, FB, Nvidia, Skyworks Solutions, and SQ. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends GOOGL, GOOG, AMZN, AAPL, ANET, FB, NFLX, Nvidia, SHOP, and Skyworks Solutions. The Motley Fool owns shares of SQ. The Motley Fool recommends INTC. The Motley Fool owns shares of AAPL. The Motley Fool is short shares of SPY and has the following options: long January 2020 $150 calls on AAPL, short January 2020 $155 calls on AAPL, short January 2019 $285 calls on SPY, and long January 2019 $255 puts on SPY. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy . \|\| Are These 2 Fast-Growing Dividend Stocks in Trouble?: Dominion Energy Midstream Partners (NYSE: DM) has grown briskly since its formation by utility giant Dominion Energy (NYSE: D) in late 2014. Fueling the bulk of the master limited partnership 's growth has been a steady diet of transactions with its parent, as it moved over its midstream assets to this more tax-efficient entity. However, a recent tax policy change has clouded the long-term benefit of this relationship, sending units of Dominion Energy Midstream plunging more than 40% this year. Dominion has also taken a tumble, falling more than 15% for the year. Those declines have pushed the yields of these two energy infrastructure companies up to 4.9% for Dominion and 7.2% for its MLP. Driving that slide is an increasing lack of confidence by investors in the long-term growth outlook of the two companies. Dominion, however, thinks the market has overreacted, which is why it hasn't altered its plans. Rising stacks of coins with dollar signs on top. Image source: Getty Images. Drilling down into the issue In mid-March, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) changed its long-standing policy that allowed MLPs to recover an income tax allowance in addition to the rates charged on some federally regulated pipeline systems. Investors sold MLPs off on the news, even though this change wouldn't affect them all the same way. Many made that clear in press releases detailing what impact, if any, it would have on their business. For example, natural gas-focused pipeline MLP Williams Partners (NYSE: WPZ) noted that while a third of its earnings come from regulated pipelines, most wouldn't feel an impact from this ruling because of recently settled rate cases. Because of that, Williams didn't change its guidance for dividend growth. Furthermore, Williams noted that, if the change does affect the company in the future, it's "well positioned to execute on corporate structure changes, which would restore the income tax allowance to the pipeline's cost of service rates." The implication here is that the company could merge with its C-corp parent, Williams Companies (NYSE: WMB) , or sell these pipelines back to its parent, to restore this tax allowance since the FERC change affected only MLPs. Story continues Dominion Energy, however, wasn't quite as clear on the impact when it issued a statement commenting on the change. The company said it "believes that FERC's change in policy will take years to implement and, even then, will only impact revenues on a prospective basis from the conclusion of any ratemaking process." As a result, it doesn't anticipate any lost revenue at Dominion Energy Midstream over the next three years and "is still evaluating any long-term impacts and their timing." If Dominion's view is the correct one, then the company should have no problem continuing to drop down midstream assets to its MLP. Pipelines over a sunset. Image source: Getty Images. Why it matters to investors Those dropdowns are crucial to both Dominion and Dominion Energy Midstream. In Dominion's case, the company had expected to generate up to $8 billion in proceeds via these asset sales through 2020. That plan would do three things for the company: Delever the balance sheet to its target level of 30%-40% debt by 2020. Give it some extra cash to grow dividends at a 10% annual rate through 2020 even as earnings are only on pace to expand at an 8%-plus rate over that timeframe. Provide it with the funding for expansion projects as well as share repurchases. That strategy would also benefit Dominion Energy Midstream by giving it the fuel to grow its distribution at a 22% compound annual growth rate through 2020. The concern with this plan, however, is now twofold. First, while Dominion doesn't anticipate any near-term changes to the cash flow of its MLP from the new FERC policy, at least one other pipeline company sees it having an immediate impact on cash flow . Meanwhile, even if the change doesn't cut into cash flow this year, it could weigh on the valuation of MLP assets. As a result, the math driving the drop-down strategy might not work as favorably as before, according to an analyst at Bank of America , who downgraded the stock on the news. If these concerns come to fruition, both Dominion and Dominion Energy Partners might not grow their high-yielding payouts as quickly as once thought. However, Dominion did note that it has several other options to meet its objectives, such as selling its newly constructed natural gas export terminal to the MLP instead of pipeline assets. A little cloudier, but still obtainable An unexpected policy change might have thrown a wrench into Dominion's strategy to increase its dividend while providing even more income growth for investors in its MLP. While it's unclear yet as to how much impact if any, the change will have on the growth strategy, investors have taken a sell first, ask questions later approach, despite Dominion's effort to reassure them. That might have been an overreaction, because even though there are no guarantees in investing, it doesn't look as if these dividend growth plans are in trouble, especially since Dominion does have alternative routes to get to the same destination. More From The Motley Fool 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This Matthew DiLallo has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Dominion Energy, Inc. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy . \|\| Cryptocurrency Prices Down; Nasdaq May Open Crypto Exchange: Cryptocurrency prices were down on Thursday Investing.com - Cryptocurrency prices were down on Thursday. Reports that Nasdaq’s CEO voiced support for the digital coins gathered some attention. Meanwhile, U.S. state Wisconsin is considering accepting Bitcoin for donation. Bitcoin was trading at $8,860.5 by 12:30AM ET (04:30GMT) on the Bitfinex exchange, down 5.74% over the previous 24 hours. Ethereum, the world’s second largest cryptocurrency by market cap, shed 5.43% at $621.74 on the Bitfinex exchange. Ripple’s XRP token lost 5.08% to $0.80275 on the Poloniex exchange. Meanwhile, Litecoin slipped 5.49% to $145.93. Nasdaq CEO Adena Friedman said Nasdaq is open to launching a cryptocurrency exchange in the future as the regulatory environment evolves. "I believe that digital currencies will continue to persist...it's just a matter of how long it will take for that space to mature," said Friedman. "Once you look at it and say, 'do we want to provide a regulated market for this?' Certainly, Nasdaq would consider it." But the virtual currencies are still very lightly regulated. That is part of the appeal to many early adopters but would have to change in order for Nasdaq to operate a cryptocurrency exchange, Friedman said. Meanwhile, reports that Wisconsin ethics officials in the U.S. are considering accepting political contributions in bitcoins and other digital currencies attracted some attention. The move caused concerns about the inherent anonymity of such donations and the fluctuation of exchange rates. The traditional method of campaign donations via cheque or credit cards allows authorities to trace their source and learn about the donor’s identity. This came after the federal government, Montana and Washington, D.C., already allow bitcoin campaign contributions, while most U.S. states have been lukewarm in accepting cryptocurrencies due to untraceable source of donation. Related Articles FT: Multiple Online Harassment Allegations Against IOTA Team, Foundation Board Member Says He’s Not ‘Aware’ Of Incidents Bitcoin Rally Cools After Rise to Nearly $10,000 Meets Resistance OKEx Halts ERC20 Trading After Finding Bug Affecting Majority of Tokens \|\| US dollar choppy against Canadian dollar again on Monday: The US dollar rallied initially during the trading session on Monday, showing signs of strength before reaching the 1.29 level, an area that has been resistance more than several times lately. Because of this, I think that we continue the overall consolidation, as there is a massive amount of resistance extending to the 1.30 level. If we were to break above the 1.30 level, that could be a very strong sign for the greenback, which is the strongest major currency in the world right now. I think that the Canadian dollar is suffering due to the Bank of Canada stepping away from interest rate hikes, or at the very least pushing them back. Although crude oil markets have been very strong, this has not helped the Canadian dollar in general, and this tells me that the world is focusing on the Canadian economy, and not necessarily using the currency as a proxy for the crude oil markets for months. Ultimately, if we break down below the 1.28 level, I think there is a massive “floor” in the market near the 1.2750 level, so if we break down below there, it could change the overall attitude of the markets. Until then, I think we continue to consolidate with a generally upward bias, but obviously we have a lot of work to do to finally send this market much higher. Until then, I think buying the dips continues to work, at least on short-term charts. USD/CAD Video 08.05.18 This article was originally posted on FX Empire More From FXEMPIRE: Bitcoin Struggles as Investor Focus Returns to Regulatory Risk Global Investors Braced for President Trump Oil Price Fundamental Daily Forecast – Specs Overcooked Rally, Clear Buy the Rumor, Sell the Fact Situation E-mini Dow Jones Industrial Average (YM) Futures Analysis – Needs to Hold 23937 to Generate Momentum to Test 24923 Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin and Ripple Daily Analysis – 08/05/18 EURUSD on Bearish Free Fall Post Disappointing Macro Data on Monday \|\| This 8%-Yielder Is Setting Up for Big Dividend Growth in the Coming Years: Targa Resources Corp's(NYSE: TRGP)8%-yielding dividend might look attractive, but at the moment it's hanging by a thread. The natural gas pipeline and processing company just managed to generate enough cash flow to cover it last year and expects razor-thin coverage again this year. That's well below the levels of its pipeline peers, which like a margin of safety of 20% to 50% (and above) of cash flow because it gives them a head start on financing expansion projects. Because Targa Resources doesn't have the luxury of generating excess cash, it has had to be creative in financing expansion projects; it also can't issue more stock to raise money, as this would make its already-tight dividend coverage even worse. While that same scenario led rivalKinder Morgan(NYSE: KMI)to slash its dividend and divert that cash to fund capital spending a few years ago, Targa is using a variety of alternative funding sources to finance its growing slate of projects. If this plan works, those expansions could potentially support significant dividend growth in the coming years. Image source: Getty Images. Targa Resources has lined up $3.215 billion of capital projects, which should enter service through 2020, including $850 million of new ones announced this week. That's a large funding requirement for a company that pays out all its spare cash in dividends. However, it has steadily chipped away at that number by partnering on projects with other pipeline companies and private equity funds. In January, Targa secured a 50-50 joint venture withHess Midstream Partners(NYSE: HESM)to build the Little Missouri 4 natural gas processing plant in North Dakota. The partners will construct the $150 million project at Targa's existing Little Missouri facility. The joint venture, which should enter service by year-end, offloaded half of the capital costs to Hess Midstream, but also provided theMLPwith more fuel for itsfast-growing high-yield distribution. The company also expanded its natural gas processing joint venture withMPLX(NYSE: MPLX)in Oklahoma. This existing 60-40 partnership will build a new gas-processing plant that should also start up by year-end. However, instead of funding 60% of the cost, Targa contributed a decommissioned plant that will eventually become the new one after upgrades. In addition, Targa contributed another plant to the joint venture and will receive a cash distribution from MPLX so the partners can maintain their current 60-40 split. Finally, last month Targa secured a $1.1 billion development joint venture with a private equity fund. The funding venture will own Targa's 25% stake in Kinder Morgan's Gulf Coast Express Pipeline, a 20% interest in Targa's Grand Prix Pipeline, and 100% of the company's next NGL fractionation train, which will separate NGLs into the various streams like propane and ethane. Much like Kinder Morgan'sprivate equityfunding dealsover the past few years, this transaction offloads future capital costs. One major difference: Targa has the option to reacquire these stakes after all assets enter service in 2020. Image source: Getty Images. These various partnerships initially eliminated much of Targa's equity-funding needs for 2018 and 2019. However, the company recently announced that it would invest $350 million to extend its Grand Prix Pipeline and spend $500 million in building two new natural gas processing plants and associated pipelines. As a result, the company now needs to secure more financing. Targa Resources is currently evaluating a range of financing opportunities, including additional joint ventures as well as potentially selling its petroleum logistics and marine barge businesses. These sales could offset a significant portion of the capital required for its latest round of expansion projects. This growing slate of projects has Targa Resources on pace to increase earnings from $1.14 billion last year to well over $2 billion in 2021, after all these expansions enter service. That potential to nearly double earnings in the next few years could spark a substantial improvement in the dividend-coverage ratio, since the company might not have to issue much, if any, equity to finance this growth in the near term. So it looks increasingly likely that Targa Resources will avoid the fate of Kinder Morgan and maintain its lucrative 8%-yielding dividend while it builds these projects, and potentially increase the payout significantly as the projects start sending cash flow higher. More From The Motley Fool • 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices • 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 • 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing • 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today • The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss • Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This Matthew DiLalloowns shares of Kinder Morgan. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Kinder Morgan. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy. \|\| How the Bitcoin Bubble Is Mirroring the Dot-Com One, Only Happening 15 Times Faster: If the rise and fall of Bitcoin seems familiar, wants to assure you that it is, though you saw things play out a lot slower originally. The investment firm, in a note, said the cryptocurrencys price chart is largely mirroring that of the Nasdaq composite index during the dot-com bubble. Only this time, things are moving 15 times faster than they did in the mid-90s and early 2000s. How similar are things, exactly? Since its creation, Bitcoin has seen four bear waves , where prices have dropped 45-50%, typically rebounding an average of 47% afterward. Nasdaq, starting in 2000, had five of those waves, averaging 44% declines, followed by 40% rebounds. Trading volume patterns are also eerily similar. Of course, as any broker will tell you, past performance is not indicative of future behavior. And while Nasdaq has rallied nicely from its low in 2002 (increasing six-fold), thats no guarantee Bitcoin will do the same. But try telling that to crypto enthusiasts. See original article on Fortune.com More from Fortune.com Bitcoin Prices Recover From a Six-Week Low Ahead of G-20 Cryptocurrency Talks Report: Twitter to Ban Many Cryptocurrency Ads Bitcoin Miners Can Now Be Charged Extra for Electricity, New York Power Authorities Say Russia's Power Plant Hacks, Zscaler IPO, Equifax Insider Trading Congress Wants to Use Blockchain Tech to Make the Government 'More Efficient' \|\| Overstock Subsidiary Invests in Caribbean Bitcoin Startup Bitt: Medici Ventures, the subsidiary of popular online retailerOverstock, has announced that it will be investing 3 million United States Dollars in the Barbados-basedblockchainoriented company,Bitt. According to a pressrelease, the move will grant the company an increase in ownership by 8.6 percent. Bitt is a company that first appeared in 2015 as a mobile payment platform designed specifically for the Caribbean market, beginning with Barbados. Since then, the company has been developing its digital commerce system on top of distributed ledger technology, or blockchains. Medici Ventures already has a significant stake in the company, with the original investment of $4 million being made as early as 2016. Shortly prior to Overstock’s investment in that year, Bitt had launched its own digital version of the Barbadian Dollar on the bitcoin blockchain. The President of Medici Ventures, Jonathan Johnson, said, “Bitt has created a blockchain-based payments ecosystem that is useful for every day transactions. It has positioned itself as a clear leader in applying blockchain technology to solve real-world problems.” In February 2018, Bittannounceda partnership with the Caribbean island, Montserrat, to introduce its digital payments platform in the region. Given that smaller economies, such as the ones present in the Caribbean, often struggle with financial institutions and liquidity, it is easy to see how unified blockchain-based alternatives, such as the one proposed by Bitt, will be able to change that. The company is looking to enable the purchase of goods and services using the Barbados digitized currency, that can be accessed and transferred in supported areas through a mobile app. The CEO of Bitt, Rawdon Adams, was also optimistic about the investment. His statement in the press release included, “Bitt is in a unique position to provide the solutions to boost both financial inclusion and overall economic performance through its blockchain-based software. That’s already being recognized by regional governments overseeing economies characterized by large informal sectors, persistently high rates of poverty and expensive traditional financial services. I thank Medici Ventures for their support of our mission.” Overstock’s Medici Ventures division, founded in 2014, has been making a significant investment in applications and companies demonstrating the use of blockchain technology. Another subsidiary of the company,tZero, had also announced the launch of an initial coin offering (ICO) in November 2017. At the time, Medici’s portfolio of investments included nine different companies, all associated in some way or the other with blockchain technology. Featured image from Shutterstock. The postOverstock Subsidiary Invests in Caribbean Bitcoin Startup Bittappeared first onCCN. \|\| USD Likely To Remain in Uptrend against The Euro in Near Future: The EUR/USD pair kicked-off the week on a quiet note, as investors await fresh impetus from the sentiment on the European open ahead of the German Prelim CPI release. The pair faced the worst week since January but recovered some ground during US session erasing daily losses but still remains nearly 150 pips below where it was last week. The greenback weakened on Friday despite better-than-expected US data. The first estimate for Q1 GDP growth came in at 2.3% above the 2.0% expected. The US Dollar peaked after the report and then pulled back. Friday’s, up-move in the pair, was a triggered by a combination of retreating T-yields and profit-taking. Anyway, market’s sentiment toward the greenback has found additional support on news that the US will start talks with China to prevent a trade war, and that South and North Korean leaders met for the first time in decades, and talked de-nuclearization. This should be good for the global wellbeing and hence increase the risk sentiment in the markets. Dollar’s trend will have to face major challenges this week, as the US will release its March PCE inflation data & there is a Fed policy meet and April employment data released scheduled this friday. None of them is foreseen offering negative surprises and readings in-line with market’s expectations will be enough to keep USD on its positive path. Today’s focus is on German inflation and US PCE index, as European markets are closed tomorrow due to Labour Day. Traders will also focus on Euro zone’s GDP and inflation data scheduled to be released on Wednesday and Thursday respectively. The pair last week tested a major support at 1.2060, while a look at 4 hour chart showed possibility for still resistance at 1.2150. As trading session moves further this week multiple levels of support and resistance can be found at 1.2100/1.2060/1.2020 and 1.2160/1.2200/1.2245 respectively Thisarticlewas originally posted on FX Empire • Strength of U.S Dollar Effecting Broad Markets, Global Stocks Edge Higher • Natural Gas Price Fundamental Daily Forecast – Traders Expecting First Storage Build Since December This Week • DASH Technical Analysis – Support in Demand – 30/04/18 • Tight Ranges in First Day of the Week as Holiday Affect Markets Liquidity • AUD/USD and NZD/USD Fundamental Daily Forecast – Light Pressure Ahead of RBA, Fed Monetary Policy Announcements • Bitcoin Down but not Out, an Afternoon Rally on the Cards [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] Hollywood Actor Wesley Snipes Finds New Love in Cryptocurrency BY: Ogwu Osaemezu Emmanuel https://btcmanager.com/hollywood-actor-wesley-snipes-finds-new-love-in-cryptocurrency/?utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=socialpush&utm_campaign=SNAP … #Altcoin_News #ICO #Regulations #SEC #Social_Messaging #Tokenpic.twitter.com/PQQRQX7GNp \|\| Tested Eclair Android Lightning Wallet via /r/Bitcoin https://ift.tt/2qco0E5 \|\| Happy Birthday MinCoin! 5 Year Anniversary Launched: April 03, 2013 #mincoin #MNC $MNC #altcoin #BTC #Litecoin #Bitcoin #happybirthday #crypto #fintech #blockchain NO ICO! YES 100% Decentralized! YES 100% Open Source! https://www.mincoin.us https://www.mincoinforum.com pic.twitter.com/pkgl6YK0qz \|\| Interesante articulo de opinión acerca de las criptomonedas, y en especial, del BitCoin.. https://lnkd.in/efwWcdf https://lnkd.in/eytBVkM \|\| Current price of #Bitcoin is $6840.00 \|\| 【12：00】ビットコイン（Bitcoin）価格・相場・チャート https://bitflyer.jp/ja-jp/bitcoin-chart … ビットコイン取引量No1! 【bitFlyer】 https://goo.gl/LwcoRC \|\| 6. LITECOIN What Silver is to Gold, Litecoin is to Bitcoin. pic.twitter.com/wQVIWaqymI \|\| #ETH Buy at #Koineks and sell at #Binance. Ratio: 3.79% Buy at #Koineks and sell at #Kraken. Ratio: 4.00% Buy at #SistemKoin and sell at #Cex. Ratio: 4.73% Buy at #SistemKoin and sell at #Bittrex. Ratio: 5.36% #bitcoin #arbitrage #arbitraj #arbingtool http://arbing.info \|\| Analista que pronosticó el apogeo del bitcóin ahora predice que llegará a 400 mil dólares https://goo.gl/dyiGDK \|\| Bitcoin Tumbles Below $7000 After Binance Hack Fears http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/zerohedge/feed/~3/lEPHLzR0iA0/bitcoin-tumbles-below-7000-after-binance-hack-fears …	Trend: down \|\| Prices: 8250.97, 8247.18, 8513.25, 8418.99, 8041.78, 7557.82, 7587.34, 7480.14, 7355.88, 7368.22
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2019-04-11] BTC Price: 5064.49, BTC RSI: 68.41 Gold Price: 1288.60, Gold RSI: 44.05 Oil Price: 63.58, Oil RSI: 67.01 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Bitcoin Price Analysis: Short-Term Support Breaks on High Volume and Spread: Leading into the London open, bitcoin broke through its local support level in a move that seems to be hinting toward a downward continuation: Figure 1: BTC-USD, Daily Candles, Broken Local Support So far, our daily candle has yet to close, but it is currently on schedule to close below local support. If we close below this current level, that will mark a new lower low for the first time in about a week and a half. Although that is bearish, the real strong support level lies just below and is outlined in red in the figure above. The $3,650 level has been a pivot point for months. We saw a test of that level a few days ago, but it was immediately rejected. However, now we are seeing a relatively widespread and high volume as we drift downward toward our support level. Inour previous analysis, we discussed the possibility of the symmetrical triangle experiencing a throwback prior to an upward breakout. However, the symmetrical triangle’s upper trendline has failed to provide any meaningful demand: Figure 2: BTC-USD, Daily Candle, Symmetrical Triangle Failed Breakout Consolidations that fail to continue post-breakout often lead to strong reversals. As traders buy the breakout of the triangle, they provide deep liquidity for short sellers. If the supply is high enough to overwhelm the demand, that leaves a tight pocket of bulls underwater. And, if you have an underwater long, the way you close it is to market sell it. If you have underwater longs that get stopped out, that adds additional selling pressure to the already overwhelming supply in the market. We will have more information once the daily closes, but given the level of sideways consolidation over the last week, a downward breakout does not bode well on smaller time frames: Figure 3: BTC-USD, 4-Hour Candles, Downward Breakout The last week saw a fairly tight range with consolidating volume. On the lower time frames, we see a very decisive close below the range on high volume, high spread and very little demand to counteract the selling pressure. We will need to wait for the daily candle to have more information as we assess the market, but for now the signs are pointing toward a bearish continuation. As we test the $3,650 level (the level outlined in red), we would need to see a daily close below to give us confidence in the continuation thesis. 1. Bitcoin broke short-term support on high volume and high spread. The support came on the heels of a week-and-a-half-long consolidation within a narrow range. 2. The $3,650 level is a macro support level that will likely be tested. If we manage to close below this level, we can expect a continuation to the downside. 3. For now, we need to see how the daily candle closes before we can make a macro assessment of the market. We are pushing new lows on high volume, so it seems entirely likely we will be closing a new low on the daily time frame. Trading and investing in digital assets like bitcoin is highly speculative and comes with many risks. This analysis is for informational purposes and should not be considered investment advice. Statements and financial information on Bitcoin Magazine and BTC Inc related sites do not necessarily reflect the opinion of BTC Inc and should not be construed as an endorsement or recommendation to buy, sell or hold. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. This article originally appeared onBitcoin Magazine. \|\| Dogecoin Hits the Big Leagues: Elon Musk’s Favorite Cryptocurrency Now Listed by Huobi: One of the largest exchanges in crypto is now supporting Dogecoin. Image from Shutterstock. Veteran exchange Huobi announced today that it would be listing three pairs for Dogecoin : DOGE/BTC, DOGE/ETH, and DOGE/USDT. When Moon? Dogecoin recently experienced a significant pump but has corrected on its BTC peg in the interim. The limitless supply cryptocurrency created by Jackson Palmer in 2014 has historically ranged between 50 and 100 Satoshis per coin, sometimes reaching as high as 2-300. The currency is widely traded and used in many places that also accept Bitcoin, Litecoin, and Ethereum, including gambling sites and payment processors. Notably, it is one of the oldest cryptocurrencies with a reasonable hashrate not to be offered by Coinbase for sale. Huobi Calls Doge “High-Quality” Huobi writes in their announcement: In a dedicated effort to provide our customers with carefully vetted and high-quality trading options, we are announcing support for a new addition to the Huobi Marketplace: Dogecoin (DOGE). Perhaps intentionally, the team did not announce this news on April fool’s day, when people might have taken that wording for a joke. While some still view Dogecoin as a “joke,” we have previously noted here that the cryptocurrency – based on a meme – maintains a high degree of liquidity and trading platforms. You’d Be Surprised How Many Places You Can Trade Doge Against Fiat Stablecoins Aside from Huobi, several other exchanges offer stablecoin pairs for Dogecoin, which enables traders to visualize a fiat value for the crypto. Huobi Global (hbg.com) is the eighth largest crypto exchange by trading volume, as of press time. Trading and withdrawals will begin a few hours from now, at 7 PM PST. You can deposit on Huobi.com and HBG.com. Read the full story on CCN.com . \|\| $1.3 Million Bitcoin Scam Swindles Victims in Thailand. Are Tougher Crypto Regulations Necessary?: alarm ICO crypto bitcoin A virtual bitcoin mining farm in Thailand has allegedly scammed users out of 42 million baht (approximately $1.35 million), according to a report in the Bangkok Post. 30 victims have filed a complaint against the company, CryptoMining.Farm. Although police believe the scam may have hit up to 140 individuals. It comes just months after a group of Thai siblings was accused of defrauding an investor of $24 million in bitcoin . Although Thailand is a booming market for cryptocurrencies, is it time for tougher regulations to crack down on scams and frauds? Victims report alleged blockchain mining scam https://t.co/W0dgXJ54j3 — Bangkok Post (@BangkokPostNews) February 19, 2019 Read the full story on CCN.com . View comments \|\| ‘Satoshi’ Craig Wright Brags about Destroying Anonymous Coins Monero, Zcash: Dr. Craig Wright is back. And this time, he is out to destroy the societally menacing anonymous coins. The Australian computer scientist andalleged creator of Bitcointold CNBC Africa’s Ran Neuner that he knows how to kill Zcash andMonero. Dr. Wright said that he was going to expose these anonymous coins sometime this year, adding: “If you have a privacy coin, I will show you that it is basically as private as running through Times Square with your pants around your ankles.” If what Dr. Wright is saying is correct, then it is a piece of troubling news for discerning dark web drug traders and pseudonymous hackers. They reportedly prefer a Monero over a Bitcoin because Monero promises to offer better privacy protections. It is designed to mix up payments so that anyone investigating Monero’s blockchain can’t link transactions to its source. On the other hand, Bitcoin’s blockchain is open, where researchers can trace transactions back to the original sender/recipient. All they would need is an address in the chain linked to a user’s true identity. But it doesn’t precisely make Dr. Wright a genius, given he used a lot of I’s in his statements. The respected scholar tends to forget that researchers before him had studied Monero for its potential flaws. Takethis Wired reportfor instance. It discusses the findings of a team of researchers from Princeton, Carnegie Mellon, Boston University, MIT, and the University of Illinois. Per them, Monero’s mixing has a flaw. It makes it possible for investigators to extract individual transactions. According to researchers, Monero’s transactions were not so private until February 2017, when the project went through a privacy protection upgrade dubbed as Ring Confidential Transactions. But before that, the Monero blockchain had hosted roughly 200,000 transactions which remain traceable to this date. There is also another defect – not found by Dr. Wright – that Monero developers are attempting to solve. As explained above, Monero mixes transactions at the time of transmission to hide their source. The Battle of Seven Potters \| Source: Warner Bros Entertainment Inc Remember the Battle of Seven Potters? In the book and movie Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the Order of Phoenix manages to escort the real Harry Potter by transforming six of the order members into his lookalikes. Monero uses similar decoys known as “mixins” to cover tracks of the original Monero coins. (Yes, I am a Potter-head.) So, the crack has to do with Monero’s optional privacy feature. For instance, in its first year, many users opted out of Monero privacy and transacted coins openly. The trouble lies in the fact that an already identified Monero token can be easily pulled out of the mixins by the Death Eaters, otherwise known as regulators. That leads to the same Bitcoin problem: one identified transaction revealing the identity of the following transactions. Like the cowardice of Mundungus Fletcher, who was one of the Potter decoys, exposed the rest of the Order to danger. (Yes, I am.) It is too early to say Dr. Craig Wright was taking his cues from the study mentioned above. But he sounds like a person who is projecting a technology’s potential flaw as a doomsday button. It is as if Dr. Wright wants the projects to fail at any cost, never realizing that a flaw prompts developers to fix the problem, not shut down the entire operation. And then, there is a self-righteous brag. In one of the tweets, Dr. Wright said he was going to help the criminal enforcement agencies how to stop an anonymous coin. They are the same agencies who would waste no time in arresting Dr. Wright for claiming that he is the creator of bitcoin, a digital currency that reportedly facilitated money laundering and drug trafficking in the last decade. It is not important whether you didn’t commit a murder. But if you openly proclaim that you did, then you belong in jail anyway. The situation explains why Dr. Wright is cozying up with the Feds, luring them into a deal that could potentially scale up their crackdowns against digital currencies. But dear feds, beware! What you might get is a recycled study in the name of technological breakthrough. For more information, just go through this tweet: Yes, Dr. Craig Wright can destroy anonymous coins. In these times, anything can happen over a tweet. [Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article is of the author and author’s only.] Read the full story on CCN.com. \|\| 5 Stock Charts Ripe for a Breakout: TheS&P 500kicked off 2019 on a strong note. It has put together a strong 20% rally off its December lows and only has another 5% to go before reaching the all-time high it set in September. I believe the S&P will break into record territory in the near future. But before that occurs, I suspect we’ll see a handful of individual stocks rally through resistance levels as well. • 7 IPOs to Get Excited for in 2019 We are already starting to see this happen, and it’s a great sign of things to come. But when looking for stocks to buy, we can make a lot more money by spotting the breakoutsbeforethey occur as opposed to after. Today, I’d like to talk about five stocks to buy that are right on the edge of breaking out. InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips One of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world,Merck(NYSE:MRK), is currently sitting just below an all-time high. MRK stock fell with the broad market after notching a new record of $80.19 in early December, but since then it has been able to work its way back toward $80. The first few tries at breaking through resistance this week have failed, but I suspect it is only a matter of time until the breakout occurs, making this a good stock to buy now. Merck trades with a forward P/E ratio of 15.1 and boasts a solid dividend yield of 2.8%. Both of these are impressive numbers for a stock on the verge of rallying. Once a high-flying tech stock prior to the 2000 bubble,Oracle(NYSE:ORCL) is now a much more mature company and that has held on to its leadership role in the global software sector. ORCL stock has run into resistance at the $54 area several times since 2017. The most recent rally has been in impressive — ORCL is up more than 20% from its late December low – and the chart suggests we’ll see a breakout to a new all-time high in the near future. Ericsson(NASDAQ:ERIC) is another company that got caught up in the 2000 tech bubble. It rallied more than 14,000% from the 1980s to the top in 2000 before losing 99% of its value over the next two years. After a decade and a half of not doing much, ERIC is now one of the best-positioned companies to benefit from the transition to the 5G network. This telecom-equipment maker has been attempting to break out since late 2018, but ERIC continues run into resistance near $9.50. There are two factors that tell me the stock could seal the deal move soon. First, ERIC has made higher lows following each failed attempt. That’s a positive sign from a technical perspective. It means buyers are paying more for this stock on every pullback. The second factor is the investigation into China’s Huawei, the number one global supplier of telecom equipment. The U.S. has filed charges against Huawei, and if the company ends up banned in various countries, it will create a major opportunity for competitors to take market share. Ericsson is one of two companies — the other beingNokia(NYSE:NOK) — that stands to benefit the most. This makes ERIC an ideal stock to buy right now. Tractor Supply Company(NASDAQ:TSCO), a rural retailer of farming equipment, appears to be nearing a major breakout. TSCO has struggled to crack the century milestone since 2015. After taking a major hit between 2016 and 2017, the stock has now come back to within 3% of success. Tractor Supply is close, and I suspect we could see new records above $100 before the end of the month. If TSCO can break through the psychological $100 level, look for an influx of investors and heavy buying to push the shares even higher. Twilio(NYSE:TWLO) is a leading software company in the midst of an impressive short- and long-term rally, and it is now on the verge of a breakout above $120. This move would be the latest in a long line of breakouts to new highs in the last three months. • 10 Blue-Chip Stocks to Lead the Market I expect TWLO will remain a leader in its industry for years to come. And as a high-flying tech company, I also expect breakouts will remain a recurring theme in its future. Matthew McCall is the founder and president of Penn Financial Group, an investment advisory firm, as well as the editor of Investment Opportunities and Early Stage Investor. He has dedicated his career to getting investors into the world’s biggest, most revolutionary trends BEFORE anyone else. The power of being “first” gave Matt’s readers the chance to bank +2,438% in Stamps.com (STMP), +1,523% in Ulta Beauty (ULTA), +1,044% in Tesla (TSLA), +611% in Liquefied Natural Gas Limited (LNGLY), +324% in Bitcoin Services (BTSC), just to name a few. If you’re interested in making triple-digit gains from the world’s biggest investment trends BEFORE anyone else,click here to learn more about Matt McCall and his investments strategy today. • 2 Toxic Pot Stocks You Should Avoid • 7 Strong Buy Stocks Top Investors Are Buying Now • 7 Cheap Stocks That Make the Grade • 5 Clinical-Stage Biotech Stocks to Buy Compare Brokers The post5 Stock Charts Ripe for a Breakoutappeared first onInvestorPlace. \|\| Bitcoin Climbs Over $5,100 as Top Cryptos See Solid Gains: Sunday, April 7 — most of the top 20cryptocurrenciesare seeing moderate to notable gains on the day by press time, as Bitcoin (BTC) climbs over the $5,100 mark. Market visualization courtesy ofCoin360 Bitcoin’s price has seen a gain of two and a half percent on the day, trading at around$5,156by press time, according to CoinMarketCap. Looking at its weekly chart, the current price is a solid 20% higher than $4,095, the price at which Bitcoin started the week. Bitcoin 7-day price chart. Source:CoinMarketCap Bloomberg analyst Mike McGloneclaimedearlier this week that Bitcoin is at its most overbought level since its record highs in December 2017. Also, leadingUnited Statesderivative marketCME Grouppointed outthat itsBitcoin futuresreported record trading volumes on April 4. Ethereum (ETH) is holding onto its position as the largest altcoin by market cap, which is currently at about $17.7 billion. The second-largest altcoin, Ripple (XRP), has a market cap of about $15 billion by press time. ETH is up by 2.12% over the last 24 hours. At press time, ETH is trading around $168, after having started the day at $163. On its weekly chart, ETH has seen its value increase by almost 19%. Ethereum 7-day price chart. Source:CoinMarketCap Second-largest altcoin Ripple has gained one and a half percent over the 24 hours to press time, and is currently trading at around$0.36. Looking at the coin’s weekly chart, its current price is over 16% higher than the price at which it started the week. Ripple 7-day price chart. Source:CoinMarketCap Among the top 20 cryptocurrencies, the one reporting the most notable gains is Ethereum Classic (ETC), which is up over 20% on the day to press time. Bitcoin Cash (BCH) has also seen notable daily growth, up 11% to press time. On the week, BCH has seen massive growth of 91%. Thetotal market capof all cryptocurrencies reached $180 billion today, which is almost 25% higher than $144.3 billion, the value it saw one week ago. Earlier this week aJapanesenews outletreportedthatG20member countries will meet to discuss international cryptocurrency Anti-Money Laundering (AML) regulation on June 8 and 9 in Fukuoka, Japan. • Bitcoin Briefly Breaks New $5,300 Support as Traditional Markets Grow • Bitcoin Dips Below $5,000 as Crypto Market Trend Slightly Reverses to Red • BTC Tests $5,000 Amid 2019’s First Major Crypto Market Recovery • Crypto Markets Continue Rising While Bitcoin’s Dominance Continues to Drop \|\| Dow, Bitcoin Price Wobble While Trump Gives Ridiculous Stock Market Analysis: Neither the Dow nor the bitcoin price made a strong move following Wednesday’s opening bell, though US President Donald Trump’s bombastic stock market commentary provided more than enough entertainment for investors on Wall Street and Main Street alike. As of 10:50 am ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average had climbed by 34.22 points or 0.13 percent. The S&P 500 rose 3.91 points or 0.14 percent, while the Nasdaq increased by 23.17 points or 0.31 percent. Futures tracking the Dow Jones Industrial Average (blue), S&P 500 (red), and Nasdaq (orange) traded sideways ahead of the opening bell. On Tuesday, all three US stock market indices crept to minor gains, so minor that you’d have to squint to see them. Read the full story onCCN.com. \|\| Square Brought in Over $166 Million Through Bitcoin Sales Last Year: Mobile payments firm Square has reported over $166 million in revenue from bitcoin sales last year. The companyfiledÂ its financial results for Q4 2018 with the U.S.Â Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Wednesday, disclosing that it made overall net revenue of $3.3 billion last year, 5 percent of which came from the cryptocurrency buying service within its Cash App. While bitcoin sales brought in precisely $166,517,000, the cost of purchasing the cryptocurrency for the year was about $165 million. That left the firm with a net profit from bitcoin sales of 1.69 million. Australian Regulator Trials Blockchain to Automate Transaction Reporting Looking at Square’s quarterly figures, the bitcoin business was notably better in the second half of last year. Specifically, the firm took $95 million in bitcoin revenues in the second half, compared with about $71 million in the first half. Profit for the second half was $1.047 million, and was $643,000 in H1. The firm further disclosed that the carrying value of bitcoin held by the firm was $0.2 million as of Dec. 31, 2018. The firm said it assesses the carrying value at each reporting date and records an impairment charge if the carrying value exceeds the fair value. However, lossÂ on bitcoin for the year 2018 was âinsignificant.â Squareaddedbitcoin buying and selling option to its Cash App back in November 2017, initially only to a small number of users though. Later, in August 2018, the firmexpandedthe facility to all 50 U.S. states. The firmreceivedÂ a “BitLicense” from the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) last June, that allowed it to offer crypto services in the state. Nvidia Says Crypto Drop-Off Helped Drive ‘Disappointing’ Fourth Quarter Bitcoin and dollarsimage via ShutterstockÂ • GMO Internet’s Crypto Business Reports $12 Million Loss in 2018 • Chip Maker TSMC Reports ‘Big Drop’ in Crypto Mining Revenue \|\| What “Coca-Cola Millionaires” Can Teach You About Investing: This article was originally published on ETFTrends.com. By Robert Ross via Iris.xyz I bet you’ve never heard of Pat Munroe. And unless you’re from the Florida Panhandle, I imagine you haven’t heard of Quincy, Florida, either. But the two can teach us a lot about investing. See, in the early 1920s, Munroe was a banker in Quincy. One thing he noticed was no matter how hard the times, people always had money to buy a Coca-Cola. So he started buying Coca-Cola shares. Not long after, he was telling everyone in town to buy Coca-Cola shares. He’d even underwrite bank loans backed by Coca Cola stock. When shares crashed 50% during a conflict with the sugar industry, Pat kept telling people to buy Coca Cola. And then the Great Depression hit. Keeping Your Eye on the Long Run From September 1929 to July 1932, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 89% of its value. But something remarkable happened. Even though unemployment was near 20% in 1931, Coca-Cola sales fell a mere 2.3%. As Munroe had learned early on, people would spend their last nickel on a Coca-Cola. Click here to read more on Iris. POPULAR ARTICLES AND RESOURCES FROM ETFTRENDS.COM SPY ETF Quote VOO ETF Quote QQQ ETF Quote VTI ETF Quote JNUG ETF Quote Top 34 Gold ETFs Top 34 Oil ETFs Top 57 Financials ETFs Using Merger Arbitrage as a Hedge Against Market Volatility A Better Way to Determine Risk Exposure for Growth ETF Investors Report Findings Highlight Fake Bitcoin Trading on Unregulated Exchanges How to Manage A Mature Bull Market With Macro-Themed ETF Strategies In the Know: Building a Low Cost, Defensive Portfolio READ MORE AT ETFTRENDS.COM > \|\| Argentina Settles Export Deal With Paraguay Using Bitcoin: Argentinahas settled an export deal withParaguayin Bitcoin (BTC), Cointelegraph en Españolreportedon Thursday, Feb. 14. In a reported first for both countries, Paraguay has bought pesticides and fumigation products worth $7,100 from Argentina, using cryptocurrency to settle the deal. The purchase was paid for in BTC and then converted into Argentine peso to settle accounts with the exporter of the agricultural chemicals. To proceed with the payments, Argentina applied to Bitex — aLatin Americanfinancial services provider that supports Bitcoin payments. According to the chief marketing office of Bitex, Manuel Beaudroit, the company is a part of the Argentine government’s program Exporta Simple, which facilitates the export of goods and services worth less than $15,000. Bitex, in its turn, aims to make cross-border payments for such deals more efficient. As Cointelegraphreported, Bitex previously participated in a crypto project initiated by Argentine bank Masventas. In May 2018, Masventas announced it was considering creating an alternative to theSWIFTpayment system used between banks globally. Bitex was appointed to provide the necessary ecosystem for supporting BTC transactions. In other news for Argentina, this month, the country’s official state transport card SUBE (Sistema Único de Boleto Electrónico) — used by over seven million people in 37 locations —has startedaccepting BTC. Meanwhile in Paraguay, global blockchain tech firm and Bitcoinminingmanufacturer BitfurypartneredwithSouth Koreanpeer-to-peer knowledge commons research firm, Commons Foundation, to launch several mining facilities in the country. • Liechtenstein's Postal Service to Offer Crypto Exchange Services at Physical Locations • British Financial Historian Niall Ferguson Says Bitcoin Is 'an Option on Digital Gold' • Crypto Asset Brokerage From Uber’s Ex-CTO Goes Public on Canadian Exchange • NYSE Operator’s Crypto Platform Bakkt Finalizes Its First Acquisition [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] #BTCUSD Market #1H timeframe on March 23 at 20:00 (UTC) is #Bearish. #cryptocurrency #bitcoin #btc #crypto #trading #idea #report technical analysis \|\| Total Market Cap: $134,145,236,901 1 BTC: $3,933.44 BTC Dominance: 51.6% Update Time: 10-03-2019 - 23:00:08 (GMT+3) \|\| btc'de bu gece 3:00 günlük, haftalık, aylık kapanış hepsi aynı anda... hacim ürkütücü derecede azaldı, herkes bekleme modunda ve tepki her iki yöne de sert gelebilir, önlem anlamadan bu geceyi kapatmayın. Emin olmadığınız coinlere stop koymayı unutmayın. pic.twitter.com/MCk9R9QO36 \|\| ₿ #BTCUSD #Bitcoin = 4.115,23 #Dolar Güncelleme Saati : 03:00 \|\| At HighBank, you can register for an ICO for review, consult an expert, use a dashboard to manage and sell your brand, issue tokens, and benefit from distributed exchange benefits. #HIGH#HighBank #ICO #Bitcoin #Ethereum #Cryptocurrencyhttps://highbank.io/ \|\| 04-10 21:00(GMT) #SPINDLE price $SPD (BTC) Yobit :0.00000015 HitBTC :0.00000015 LiveCoin:0.00000014 $SPD (JPY) Yobit :0.09 HitBTC :0.09 LiveCoin:0.08 \|\| #BTC is not #bitcoin. It is not what you signed up for. It's not the cryptocurrency solution it promised to be. You are being lied to in order to keep bitcoin small and useless. Bitcoin is #BSV. Don't be caught on the wrong side of the sword. Be courageous and fight for BSV. https://t.co/Qxh82ijMkC \|\| Bitcoin supone la máxima libertad económica jamás conocida. La posibilidad de hacer pagos incensurables, instantáneos, peer to peer, y sin fronteras. Yo te pago a ti, sin terceras partes. La seguridad de que nuestro ahorro no será devaluado. \|\| #CryptoCotización Precios actualizados a las 00:01:10. #bitcoin #ethereum #ripple #bitcoincash #litecoin #eos #neo #crypto #criptomonedaspic.twitter.com/6G8dFTIC8r \|\| USD/VES Bs. S. 3.141,61 EUR/VES Bs. S. 3.527,25 ARS/VES Bs. S. 76,20 CLP/VES Bs. S. 4,71 COP/VES Bs. S. 1,00 PEN/VES Bs. S. 950,75 ฿ BTC/VES Bs. S. 12.407.950,00 ฿ BTC/USD $3,949.55 ฿ BTC/EUR 3 517,74 € #DolarSatoshi	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 5089.54, 5096.59, 5167.72, 5067.11, 5235.56, 5251.94, 5298.39, 5303.81, 5337.89, 5314.53
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2022-01-28] BTC Price: 37784.33, BTC RSI: 35.59 Gold Price: 1784.90, Gold RSI: 41.53 Oil Price: 86.82, Oil RSI: 65.85 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Bitcoin faces Russian ban as crypto mining fuels energy crisis: Russia Bitcoin crypto mining - Alexander Ryumin Russia has proposed a blanket ban on Bitcoin amid concerns that cryptocurrency mining is threatening the country’s energy supply. The central bank of Russia warned that the mining of digital assets posed a risk to the dominant energy sector. It also said cryptocurrencies had all the hallmarks of a pyramid scheme and undermined the sovereignty of monetary policy. To mine cryptocurrency, networks of independent computers perform complex calculations. Once they are completed, the network is rewarded with new digital coins. These activities consume high quantities of energy which, if sourced from fossil fuels, harm the environment. Russia is home to a thriving crypto industry, with its largest mines located in the north and Siberia. It is the third-biggest crypto mining nation in the world, housing around a tenth of global Bitcoin sourcing activities. The country had taken on an increasingly significant role in the sector after last year’s crackdown by China's ruling Communist Party. However, Bitcoin rose over 3pc to nearly $43,000 on Thursday afternoon, in contrast to a major selloff last September when China made crypto transactions illegal. Analysts say that traders are not as spooked this time around because the industry has experience of dealing with unfavourable policies. 06:17 PM Wrapping up That's all from us today, thank you for reading! We will be back tomorrow and, while you wait, have a look at the most recent stories from the business desk: Top investor brands Unilever's £50bn Glaxo bid a 'near-death experience' in new attack BT to raise prices by 9.3pc in blow to millions of billpayers Crossrail stowaway travels across London undetected M&S urges Boris Johnson to end Northern Ireland border checks Rolls-Royce battery-powered plane crowned as world’s fastest electric vehicle 06:15 PM Microchip machines maker ASML struggles with global shortage A Dutch company crucial to the global microchip industry has warned of a new bottleneck to production because it cannot get enough chips to make its equipment. James Titcomb writes: Story continues ASML, which makes the enormous machines used to etch microscopic circuits on to advanced microchips, said it was in a “daily fight” to source the components needed to make the equipment. The company, Europe’s largest technology business that is worth almost €260bn (£216bn), is the world’s only supplier of extreme ultraviolet lithography machines. They can be as large as a bus and cost about €150m apiece. It is the world’s only maker of the machines, which is used by manufacturers such as Taiwanese giant TSMC and Intel to produce chips. Peter Wenninck, ASML chief executive, said: “We are directly impacted, but not that we buy chips. Our suppliers do. We figure out which semiconductor manufacturers make these chips, then we pick up the phone and we call them up and say: ‘Can you help us?’” Read James's full story here 05:50 PM FTSE 100 closes lower as oil stocks, GSK drag The FTSE 100 has slipped on weakness in oil stocks and GlaxoSmithKline. The blue-chip index ended 0.1pc lower at 7,585, weighed down by oil majors Royal Dutch Shell and BP as they tracked weaker crude oil prices. GSK shed 1.8pc and was among the top big-cap losers after Unilever effectively ended its acquisition plans by announcing it wouldn't increase its £50bn bid. Among the risers, Deliveroo added 1.4pc following on strong fourth-quarter order value growth, resulting in it hitting the top of its outlook range for the year. 05:17 PM New York City to convert its first pay cheque into crypto New York City Mayor Eric Adams said that his first pay cheque, which arrives tomorrow, will be converted into Bitcoin and Ethereum. Coinbase, the largest US trading platform, will be handling the conversion through its direct deposit feature, which allows eligible users to automatically transfer a portion or the entirety of their salary into their Coinbase account in the form of a cryptocurrency. As mayor-elect, Adams vowed to take his first three salaries in Bitcoin and welcomed the development of a NYC Coin similar to Miami’s as a way to make New York a more crypto-friendly city. He said: “New York is the center of the world, and we want it to be the center of cryptocurrency and other financial innovations. “Being on the forefront of such innovation will help us create jobs, improve our economy, and continue to be a magnet for talent from all over the globe.” New York businesses are subject to one of the strictest regulatory regimes in the US which he has no power over, as its controlled by state government. Also, the city can’t pay employees directly in cryptocurrency due to Department of Labor regulations. 04:59 PM Burberry's new boss to start two weeks earlier than planned Jonathan Akeroyd - Dave Benett/ Getty Images Luxury fashion group Burberry said its new chief executive, Jonathan Akeroyd, will start in the role on March 15, two weeks earlier than planned. The Versace boss is replacing Marco Gobbetti, who last June unexpectedly announced plans to quit after nearly five years in the role. Gobbetti left at the end of the year to head up Italian rival Salvatore Ferragamo, with chairman Gerry Murphy leading Burberry on an interim basis until Akeroyd joins. 04:44 PM Customers rush back to pubs at start of January, says City landlord Pubs are enjoying an unusual January rush in punters, a landlord has said, as drinkers reschedule festive events that were postponed because of omicron. My colleague Hannah Boland has more: Clive Watson, chairman of City Pub Group, said there had been a "significant increase in trade" in the last 10 days - a period which is traditionally more muted after Christmas and New Year boozing. The chain, which runs 46 pubs across the south of England and Wales, said the spike had, in particular, come in residential areas, given work-from-home guidance which has been in place since mid-December. "In Brighton, for example, there were some very strong numbers." He added that the return of university students had also buoyed trade in the past week, saying: "Students have definitely come back and they've really just carried on where they left off from last term." 04:27 PM The Gym Group lifted by fitness goals in Britons' New Year's resolutions Good afternoon, this is Giulia Bottaro taking over from James Warrington . Low-cost fitness chain The Gym Group has said weekly member visits have recovered to normal pre-Covid levels after being hit by Omicron fears. Gym visits fell in December and early January, but trading has since rebounded and is set to rise further thanks to the lifting of work-from-home guidance. Total membership has risen 8pc to 776,000 since the end of December. Chief executive Richard Darwin said: "January is the month when many people set new health and fitness goals and has always been an important trading period for The Gym Group. We have been encouraged to see good levels of gym usage and new member acquisition so far this year." 04:00 PM Blow for UK as BHP investors back Sydney listing The UK looks set to lose one of its biggest companies after shareholders in BHP Group backed a move to unify the miner's shares in a single Sydney listing. Both London and Australian investors overwhelmingly approved the move, which is expected to pave the way for major mergers and acquisitions. The vote means BHP will move to a primary listing in Australia after scrapping a dual arrangement that dates back to the company's genesis 20 years ago. BHP is the third biggest company on the FTSE 100. 03:39 PM Rolls-Royce battery-powered plane wins speed crown Rolls Royce Spirit of Innovation - JOHN M DIBBS Rolls-Royce’s Spirit of Innovation electric plane has been crowned as the world’s fastest electric vehicle after its speed records were officially accepted. Howard Mustoe has more: The battery-powered plane flew at 345 miles an hour (555 kilometres an hour) over a distance of 3km in November, and did 330 miles an hour (532 km/h) over 15km, smashing two previous records, the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale confirmed. The plane reached a top speed of 387 miles an hour (623km/h) in the test flights to claim the title of the world’s fastest all-electric vehicle. The team may also have broken the record for quickest all-electric ascent to 3,000 metres, clocking in at 202 seconds and beating the previous record by a minute, although this attempt is still in the verification process. The pilot of the single-seater monoplane, Phill O’Dell, described the record at the time as “the highlight of my career” and a “momentous occasion”. Warren East, chief executive of Rolls-Royce, called the world speed record a fantastic achievement. Read Howard's full story here 03:22 PM UK productivity lags G7 after Brexit The UK's productivity performance trailed behind almost all of its G7 peers between the Brexit referendum and the pandemic, new figures have showed. Output per hour worked grew by less than 0.6pc a year on average from 2016 – when the UK voted to leave the European Union – up to 2019, just before the virus struck, according to the ONS. Only Italy put in a weaker performance. The figures highlight the challenges facing Boris Johnson's efforts to rebuild the economy following the pandemic and the UK's departure from the UK. Productivity growth has languished since the financial crisis, depressing wages for millions of workers and limiting the economy’s growth potential. In 2019, the UK’s output per hour worked was lower than the US and France, and higher than Canada and Japan. The average output per worker of G7 countries other than the UK was 13% above the UK in 2019 https://t.co/eDGJQCtoFQ pic.twitter.com/WcyFcUcmOE — Office for National Statistics (ONS) (@ONS) January 20, 2022 02:52 PM Government turns down £1.2bn UK-France power cable The Government has rejected plans for a £1.2bn undersea power cable connecting Britain to France following warnings about the threat to energy security. The project, run by investment firm Aquind, aimed to link the power grids of the two country via a connector between Normandy and Portsmouth. Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng has decided to turn down planning, according to Government documents. The proposals by Aquind, which is backed by two Russian former oil and gas tycoons who are major donors to the Tory party, had come under fire amid concerns it would make Britain more reliant on France. 02:44 PM Wall Street opens higher on upbeat results Wall Street has opened higher as positive results from companies including American Airlines buoyed sentiment. The S&P 500 and Dow Jones rose 0.3pc and 0.3pc respectively, while the Nasdaq gained 0.9pc – a day after it plunged into correction territory. 02:35 PM Terry Smith hits out at Unilever... again Fund manager Terry Smith has launched a fresh broadside at Unilever following its failed £50bn bid for GSK's consumer arm, saying the company needed to focus on fixing its own business. In a letter to shareholders, the outspoken investor branded the doomed approach as a "near-death experience", saying the attempt was now "thankfully dead rather than the value of our investment". Mr Smith said Unilever should have explicitly addressed key points and explained them to investors before pressing ahead with its offer. He wrote: "Instead we were faced with a statement that the bid worked based on financial metrics including the all-important return on capital. However, getting management to discuss what that number was, was like a dentist pulling a back tooth." Before news of the bid emerged, Mr Smith published a letter to investors lambasting Unilever for focusing on sustainability to the point of neglecting its business. 02:09 PM CVC lines up Wall Street banks for stock market float CVC Six Nations - Dan Mullan - RFU Private equity giant CVC Capital Partners is said to have lined up three Wall Street banks to oversee a potential initial public offering. CVC has tapped Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley for the London listing, which could take place in the second half of the year, Bloomberg reports. The buyout firm agreed in September to acquire secondary market specialist Glendower Capital and also lined up a minority stake sale to Blue Owl Capital at a $15bn (£11bn) valuation. The moves were seen as paving the way for a potential listing. CVC's investments include Formula One and the Six Nations. 02:01 PM US jobless claims surge to three-year high Applications for US unemployment claims jumped to a three-month high last week as the omicron variant takes its toll on the labour market. Initial unemployment claims increased by 55,000 to 286,000 in the week to 15 January, according to Labor Department figures. It's well above expectations and the highest since October. The jobs market has been staging a comeback from last year's recession, but the recent surge in Covid cases threatens to hamper that progress. 01:51 PM Crossrail stowaway travels across London undetected Crossrail London - Justin Kase z12z / Alamy Stock Photo Transport for London has launched a security review after a member of the public was able to board a Crossrail train and make a journey undetected months before the new rail line officially opens. Ben Gartside has more on this: The individual is understood to have boarded the Elizabeth line train at Abbey Wood in southeast London and travelled for about 30 minutes to Paddington station before being removed by security staff. The incident, first reported by trade title Construction News, was declared a "high-risk security breach" by MTR Elizabeth line, which operates the line. The test trains pass through stations still under construction, including Canary Wharf and Bond Street, with almost all opening and closing their doors at each one. The line operator has now added an additional lock to the platform gate at Abbey Wood along with other security measures. Read Ben's full story here 01:03 PM Amazon to open clothing store in LA Amazon Style - Greg Montijo/Amazon via AP Amazon has unveiled plans to open a clothes shop in Los Angeles, marking its latest foray into brick-and-mortar retailing. The Amazon Style boutique will use AI to recommend purchases to customers as they shop, Amazon said. It will stock a range of women's and men's clothing, shoes and accessories. Using an app, shoppers will be able to send items to a fitting room or directly to a pickup counter. Having established its dominant position in the ecommerce market, Amazon is increasingly looking to mark its territory on the high street. The Amazon Style concept follows the launch of a chain of bookshops in 2015, Amazon Go checkout-free supermarkets and Amazon Fresh stores. Jeff Bezos' company also acquired Whole Foods Market in 2017. 12:49 PM Inflation tsunami threatens Rishi Sunak’s No 10 dreams Rishi Sunak inflation Chancellor - Dan Kitwood/Getty Images Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s political career has soared like a rocket in the past two years. But the mounting cost of living crisis engulfing British households is threatening to bring his leadership ambitions crashing down to earth, writes Russell Lynch . Read his full analysis here . 12:34 PM Wincanton surges on profit upgrade Wincanton is among the biggest risers today after the logistics group lifted its profit forecasts for the full year. The logistics group said profit would exceed current expectations thanks to a 15pc rise in revenue in the third quarter and greater confidence over its ability to mitigate higher costs. Wincanton hailed strong trading in its peak period for grocery and consumer deliveries, with the firm delivering 25m cases of food and drink in the week before Christmas. It's now poised to begin a five-year contract with Primark to deliver goods to all its UK stores. Shares jumped 12.5pc. 12:21 PM US futures rise with corporate results in focus US futures have picked up as the global sell-off in bonds eased and investor turned their attention to a string of major corporate earnings. Futures tracking the S&P 500 and Dow Jones rose 0.6pc and 0.4pc respectively, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq jumped 0.9pc. Treasury yields fell this morning, though they remain higher for the week amid concerns about high inflation and the prospect of interest rate rises by the Federal Reserve. Investors will be looking to US employment data this afternoon as well as Netflix quarterly earnings due later. 12:13 PM BT to hike prices 9.4pc as inflation bites BT price rise 9.4pc - Chris Radburn/PA Wire After Wednesday's grim inflation data, we're starting to see the impact of higher prices filter down to consumers. BT has announced its lifting its prices by 9.4pc from April as it grapples with higher costs. Nick Lane at BT said: "Price rises are never popular, but are sometimes a necessary part of business, if we’re to keep up with the rising costs we face and ensure we can continue to deliver a brilliant network experience as customers usage of data grows month on month. "We’ve thought long and hard about how we make sure that any pricing changes are predictable, clear, and not unfairly focused on our existing customers, but reflected in our new prices too." BT said the 9.4pc rise, which equates to an average monthly increase of £3.50, was in line with its new policy of a single annual increase in charges reflecting the consumer price index. Last month the CPI rose to 5.4pc – its highest since 1992. 11:47 AM Two-thirds of adults hit by cost-of-living crisis Two-thirds of British adults have seen their cost of living jump over the last month as energy bills soared and higher costs filtered down to supermarket shelves. A survey by the ONS found that 66pc of adults surveyed had experienced higher household costs. Of these, 87pc reported increasing food shop prices, while 79pc cited rising energy bills. The poll – carried out between January 6 to 16 – showed nearly three-quarters had also experienced a higher cost of living due to rising fuel prices. It comes after official figures on Wednesday showed that inflation soared to a near 30-year high of 5.4% in December. 11:31 AM Gas prices fall further as China ships in supplies Natural gas prices have fallen for a second day as China kicked off one of its biggest ever sales of liquified natural gas, helping to ease concerns over supply. Benchmark European prices dropped as much as 8.1pc, while the UK equivalent lost as much as 6.9pc. Two of China's biggest state-owned gas importers have offered to sell dozens of cargoes for delivery until November. It could help ease pressure caused by low inventories and curbed supplies from Russia. It comes even as geopolitical tensions mount about a potential Russian invasion of Ukraine, which threatens to roil gas markets further. US President Joe Biden said he expects Russia will "move in" on its neighbour but could avoid a full-blown war. 11:15 AM Wickes sales fall as traders hit by omicron Wickes DIY Wickes has reported a fall in sales at the end of last year as the spread of omicron and higher numbers of self-isolating staff took their toll. The home improvement retailer said its Do It For Me business, which pays traders to complete home improvement jobs, was hit by "a higher incidence of Covid disruption and self-isolation ahead of the holiday period". This dragged down total like-for-like sales by 5pc over the fourth quarter compared to the same period in 2020, though they were still 14pc above pre-pandemic levels. Wickes its core DIY business was buoyed by a "strong performance in local trade" over the three month period, as home renovations continued to bolster order books for tradespeople. Like-for-like sales across last year were up 13.3pc on 2020. 10:47 AM HS2 supplier to raise £5.5m in London listing A construction company supplying workers for the HS2 rail project is looking to raise £5.5m through a stock market listing in London. Hercules said it would use the funding to cash in on booming demand and expand its services, including scaling up its operations to supply labour to the northern section of the HS2 rail project from London to Birmingham. The listing on the junior Aim market is also set to raise £4.5m for Hercules' existing shareholder through the partial sale of its stake. Brusk Korkmaz, chief executive of Hercules, said: Our proven and rapid delivery track-record has led to our work with our long-standing partner, Balfour Beatty, on HS2; this is expected to significantly step-change our growth in the next 12 months and beyond. The demand for skilled labour is higher than ever before due to the multi-billion infrastructure commitments made by the UK government and we are experiencing unprecedented demand for our services. Therefore, having identified multiple exciting growth opportunities, and proven the fast-growth and profitable nature of our business model, we believe that this is the right time to pursue an AIM listing. We are excited at the prospect of welcoming investors to our growth journey. 10:38 AM Fidelity joins back-to-office push Fidelity International has become the latest financial firm to encourage its staff back to the office after the Government announced the lifting of Plan B restrictions. Anne Richards, chief executive of Fidelity, told Bloomberg TV: "We will be encouraging more people to come into the office but we are very much observing the same kind of sensible protocols because omicron, yes, it looks like it's under control, case numbers are falling but we're not through it yet." The asset manager's offices have been open for skeleton staff throughout the pandemic, but Ms Richards said she was looking forward to a return to the City from next week. It comes after Citi told its employees in London they were expected back in the office at least three days a week. 10:25 AM M&S urges Boris Johnson to end Northern Ireland border checks Marks & Spencer has written to Boris Johnson urging him to use new technology to end physical border checks in Northern Ireland, writes Laura Onita. In a joint letter with major suppliers, the retailer argued that frictionless trade could be achieved with software that would remove the need for further certificates on goods in transit. It also called for foreign lorry drivers to be given visas lasting up to three years, and said that a scheme for seasonal farming workers should be overhauled so they can remain in Britain for up to 12 months. M&S has been one of the most vocal corporate critics of border disruption in Northern Ireland in the wake of Brexit after struggling to get English goods across the Irish Sea. Signed by Stuart Machin, M&S's joint chief operating officer and managing director of food, the letter said: “We need a long-term sustainable solution for goods movements into Northern Ireland. “We do not want to see Northern Ireland becoming increasingly reliant on goods from overseas at the expense of British manufacturers. “We believe a solution can be achieved by using technology that can clearly show product from GB that moves to Northern Ireland, stays in Northern Ireland.” Read Laura's full story here 10:12 AM Activity picks up ahead of Plan B ending Plan B economy activity - ANDY RAIN/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock Key measures of real-time activity picked up in mid-January, showing positive signs the economy is bouncing back ahead of the scraping of Plan B measures. Diner numbers rose five percentage points in the week to January 17 from the previous week, hitting 93pc of the equivalent pre-Covid level in 2019. Overall retail footfall rose 2pc to hit 79pc of 2019 levels, while credit and debit card purchases picked up two percentage points. Meanwhile, the average count of traffic camera activity for pedestrians and cyclists in London rose 12pc week on week, showing people were getting back out and about. But in an indication of how omicron hit businesses, a net 6pc of firms reported lower turnover in December – the highest proportion reporting a monthly fall since April 2020. A net 6% of firms reported decreasing turnover in December 2021, compared to the previous month, according to data from @HMRCgovuk VAT returns. This is the highest proportion reporting a fall in monthly turnover since April 2020 https://t.co/H9yTqRmsYJ — Office for National Statistics (ONS) (@ONS) January 20, 2022 09:47 AM SMF: Rishi Sunak should give £300 cost-of-living bonus Rishi Sunak should shun over-complicated solutions to the cost-of-living crisis and simply hand over cash to millions of households. That's according to the Social Market Foundation (SMF), which said the Chancellor should "just write millions of cheques" to people facing a financial squeeze from surging energy bills. Dr Aveek Bhattacharya, chief economist at the SMF, said cash payments of up to £500 would be the best answer, allowing households to decide how to spend the money. Households where no-one is a higher-rate taxpayer should get a cheque for £300, with an additional £200 for those on Universal Credit or legacy benefits, he said. The economist said other proposals, such as cutting VAT on fuel and giving loans to energy companies, were all flawed as they would encourage consumption. Instead, he favoured simple cash payments modelled on pandemic stimulus cheques in the US. 09:40 AM Citi asks London staff to return to office Citigroup has asked its London staff to get back to the office for a at least three days a week – an early sign that banks will push for a return to work after restrictions are eased. Boris Johnson yesterday announced the easing of Plan B measures next week, including the requirement to work from home where possible. In an internal email seen by Bloomberg, Citi bosses said: "We are now free to gather in our offices, without restriction, where we are better able to generate the energy and collaborative spirit on which Citi thrives. "Everyone is expected to be in the office at least three days per week." The US bank said it will continue to offer flexible working, adding that protective measures remained in place and staff should continue to test every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Staff will also be asked to wear face masks when using lifts. 09:30 AM Restaurant offers £91,000 for head chef as kitchen crisis bites Bob Bob Ricard in Soho Good chefs have always been in high demand but Covid means they are now scarcer than ever, scattered across the world rather than in Britain. Now, with a labour shortage setting in, salaries are surging. One Soho restaurant is advertising pay of £91,000 for a head chef, plus on-site dining of up to £6,000 per year. Tim Wallace tucks into the details here . 09:26 AM Expert reaction: Higher rates are on the way Matthew Ryan , analyst at Ebury, says another interest rate hike is "all but confirmed". All yesterday’s data has done is confirm the market’s suspicion that the Bank of England will need to raise interest rates at a rather aggressive pace this year. Futures are now placing a near certainty of a hike in February, with 110 basis points priced in before the end of the year. BoE governor Andrew Bailey continued to stubbornly call some of the aspects of inflation ‘transitory’ during his speech yesterday, although he did raise concerns about tightness in the UK labour market and warn that the bank will do everything it can to control inflation. While Bailey has already proved himself to be a worthy successor to Mark Carney ‘unreliable boyfriend’ mantra, this rhetoric ought to all but confirm that another hike is on the way when the Monetary Policy Committee next convenes early next month. 09:20 AM Pound holds near 23-month high against euro Sterling has held close to a 23-month high against the euro as expectations of further interest rate rises continue to prop up the currency. Money markets are pricing in more than 100 basis points in interest rate rises in 2022 and an 87pc chance of a 25 bps increase next month. Figures released yesterday showing inflation surged to its highest since 1992 has only fuelled this sentiment. Meanwhile, Boris Johnson's fight for survival amid controversy over lockdown parties in Downing Street has done little to dampen the mood. The pound was flat at 83.33p per euro, just off the 23-month high hit yesterday. Against the dollar, it's also flat at $1.3630. 09:11 AM Hong Kong shares surge after China cuts policy rates Hong Kong Hang Seng - AP Photo/Kin Cheung Hong Kong shares posted their biggest gains in six months this morning after China cut a set of key policy rates and lending benchmarks to prop up the slowing economy. The Hang Seng index rallied 3.4pc, with embattled tech and property stocks leading the way. China further reduced bank lending costs today in the latest move to boost its stuttering economy, which was battered in the second half of last year by lockdowns as well as a sharp slowdown in the crucial property market. The central bank said it had lowered the one-year loan prime rate to 3.7pc, from 3.8pc in December. It follows a surprise reduction last month, which was the first in 20 months. The People's Bank of China also lowered the rate on its one-year policy loans on Monday, just as data was released showing economic growth eased in the final quarter of 2021. The moves boosted hopes for embattled property firms, which have been pushed into a crisis by hefty debts. Tech stocks also benefited as lower borrowing costs look set to fuel growth. 09:01 AM Deliveroo jumps as order growth holds up Shares in Deliveroo jumped as much as 6.1pc – their biggest rise since August – after the value of orders grew faster than expected in the final three months of the year. Deliveroo said fourth-quarter transaction value rose 70pc as demand for deliveries held up even after restrictions eased. Still, analysts at Jefferies described the update as a "mixed bag", with international sales missing expectations in the fourth quarter. The numbers also helped drag up rival Just Eat Takeaway, which gained 1pc in early trading. 08:50 AM Revolution Bars slams restrictions as party bookings bounce back Revolution Bars Christmas party - Chris J. Ratcliffe/Bloomberg Revolution Bars has hit out at the Government for its "overly cautious" response to omicron, but said it was counting on the office party making a comeback early this year. The chain said Plan B measures had sparked a "substantial loss of trade" in the run-up to Christmas, with pre-booked revenue tumbling 39pc in the last six weeks of the year. However, the total number of bookings over the same period was up 19pc as younger punters shrugged off the virus and headed out anyway. Revolution added that many of the corporate parties had been rebooked for early in 2022, indicating a bounce back in consumer confidence. Shares fell 0.9pc following the update. 08:39 AM FTSE risers and fallers After a positive start to trading, the FTSE 100 has fallen back to edge up only marginally. There's mixed sentiment on the markets as Asian markets mostly rose, whereas Wall Street suffered further losses amid inflation gloom. Unilever is among the biggest risers on the blue-chip index, gaining 1.3pc after it said it wouldn't raise its offer for GSK's consumer health arm. Burberry also extended its gains with a 1.9pc rise amid a rebound in demand for luxury goods. Primark owner Associated British Foods is the biggest laggard, dropping 2pc after it announced 400 job cuts and said omicron had held back sales. The domestically-focused FTSE 250 rose 0.2pc, with telecoms group Spirent jumping 5.2pc after beating profit expectations. 08:29 AM Entain lifts profit outlook as betting shops bounce back Entain has said its full-year profits will come in ahead of expectations as the lifting of restrictions helped sales at its high street shops bounce back. The Ladbrokes and Coral owner said earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation would come in at between £875m and £885m – ahead of its previous forecasts. Brick-and-mortar revenues bounced back strongly in the final three months of the year, rising 60pc on the previous three months. Online growth fell back slightly in the fourth quarter due to tighter regulation in Germany and the Netherlands. Over the full year, however, online grew 12pc, while retail shrank 3pc. Entain yesterday released a bullish update on its joint venture with casino operator MGM, which is expected to turn a profit by next year. Speculation is swirling around Entain as a potential takeover target after Draftkings and MGM walked away from a deal for the company last year. Chief executive Jette Nygaard-Andersen said expansion in new markets "will enable us to at least treble the size of our business". Read our interview with Entain's boss: Ladbrokes owner considers returning £102m of furlough cash 08:16 AM Superdry 'on track' as it ditches discounts Superdry retail sales - REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch/File Photo Elsewhere in the world of retail, Superdry has said its turnaround plan is on track thanks to improved online profitability and fewer discounts. The retailer said better margins had helped to offset the impact of restrictions and lower footfall in the run-up to Christmas. Superdry said its underlying pre-tax loss narrowed 74pc to £2.8m in the six months to October. The chain’s performance since the end of the first half has also been promising with sales over Christmas up by 20pc, the retailer said, adding it’s on track to meet its full-year profit target. But co-founder Julian Dunkerton, who returned to the business in 2019 following a boardroom battle, said the brand would increase some of its prices to help offset rising costs. 08:01 AM FTSE 100 opens higher The FTSE 100 has gained ground at the open, building on yesterday's gains even after some eye-watering inflation figures. The blue-chip index rose 0.3pc to 7,610 points. 08:00 AM Deliveroo orders hold up despite lockdown easing Deliveroo sales lockdown - Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg Deliveroo's orders remained strong in the final three months of the year, suggesting an easing of lockdown measures hasn't dampened demand for takeaways. The company said customers placed an average of 3.4 orders per month in the fourth quarter. That's above pre-Covid levels and even higher than the 3.2 orders that were being placed at the height of lockdown in 2020. Deliveroo said gross transaction value – its main metric – surged 70pc in 2021 to £6.6bn, which was at the top end of expectations. Order numbers jumped by almost three-quarters to 301m. Will Shu, founder and chief executive of Deliveroo, said: We finished 2021 with a strong fourth-quarter performance, and our full year gross transaction value growth of 70pc in constant currency was at the top end of the previously-upgraded guidance we provided. I'd like to thank the Deliveroo team, our restaurant and grocery partners and our riders for their focus and commitment in what has been another extraordinary year. 07:51 AM Expert reaction: Primark rues lack of online presence Richard Lim , chief executive of Retail Economics, says Primark's decision not to move into ecommerce has hurt sales. A strong boost on last year's heavily restricted sales period is great news for the retailer, but there's a sober tone to these results. In the final run-up to Christmas, the retailer was dealt a significant blow as many consumers chose the safety of their homes instead of venturing out onto the high street to avoid catching omicron before the big day. Consumers are now well versed in switching online and as case numbers rose, their self-imposed restrictions were accompanied with a shift to alternative brands that could offer what they wanted. With no transactional website to lean on, Primark was left frustrated as vital sales were mopped up by their competitors. 07:48 AM ABF bolsters revenue with price rises Overall, ABF's revenue grew strongly in the last quarter, up 16pc on the same period last year. It's grocery, sugar, agriculture and ingredients divisions posted a revenue rise of 6pc on last year. Sugar benefited from higher prices in Europe and ingredients from a recovery in volumes after last year's Covid levels. ABF said all its businesses had suffered from higher costs in raw materials, commodities, supply chain and energy. But it mitigated much of this by slashing costs and overheads, as well as ramping up its prices. The FTSE 100 firm said supply chain troubles had eased since the summer, though it was still suffering from some port delays and it expected longer shipping times to continue for some time. 07:38 AM Primark takes omicron sales hit Good morning. There's a trading update this morning from Associated British Foods (ABF), the company behind an eclectic mix of offerings including grocery brands, sugar and Primark. The FTSE 100 firm revealed Primark had suffered a hit to sales in its latest quarter as the omicron variant kept shoppers away from stores. While sales were up by more than a third year on year – when lockdown closed shops entirely – they still lagged behind pre-Covid levels. Still, ABF said trading had improved in recent weeks and held its outlook for the full year. 5 things to start your day 1) Architect of energy price cap says it has 'destroyed the market' and must be scrapped Stephen Littlechild argues price cap has acted as 'a bull in a china shop' 2) Restaurant offers £91,000 for head chef as kitchen crisis bites Salaries for chef have jumped by as much as 30pc as employers struggle to fill vacancies 3) British Airways cancels US flights over 5G safety fears Lufthansa, Emirates, Japan Airlines, ANA and Air India also axe services as aircraft face potential interference from new mobile networks 4) Unilever rules out raising £50bn Glaxo bid after 'torrent of criticism' Credibility of chief executive Alan Jope called into question following disastrous reaction from shareholders in Marmite maker 5) The AA ends sick pay for unvaccinated workers forced to self-isolate after Covid contact Breakdown service becomes latest employer to crack down on unjabbed workers after Next, Ikea, Ocado and Morrisons What happened overnight Markets mostly rose on Thursday in Asia as investors tentatively returned to buying after recent losses. Hong Kong gained 1.9pc thanks to a rally in tech giants including Alibaba, Meituan, Tencent and JD.com, while property firms also enjoyed healthy gains. Tokyo, Singapore, Seoul, Bangkok and Jakarta also rose but Sydney, Wellington and Taipei dipped. Coming up today Corporate: Superdry (Interim results) ; Associated British Foods, Workspace Group, Premier Foods, CMC Markets, AJ Bell, Ibstock, Entain, Hochschild Mining, Kier Group, Deliveroo (Trading update) Economics: RICS house price balance (UK) , interest rate decision (China) , consumer price index (EU) , jobless claims (US) , Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Survey (US) \|\| MercadoLibre Launches new Crypto Services in Brazil: Crypto is being increasingly embraced as a viable payment option by a number of institutions around the world with the latest beingMercadoLibre, a giant e-commerce platform, who recently announced that its users can now purchase products on its platform usingBTCand other digital assets. According to apress statementissued as regards the announcement, it was revealed that MercadoPago, the fintech arm of the company, has already enabled support for crypto payments for its users in Brazil. It continued that users would now be able to easily buy, sell and hold Bitcoin,Ethereumand the Paxos-issued US dollar-backed stablecoinUSDP. To achieve this, the e-commerce site partnered with Paxos, the popular blockchain infrastructure platform that is being used by PayPal too. It is widely believed that their partnership could easily “accelerate the democratization of financial services in Latin America.” The new development means Brazilians can now easily hedge against inflation by holdingUS Dollarsvia the MercadoPago app by purchasing the Paxos-backed stablecoin USDP. MercadoLibre and MercadoPago represents the single largest enablement of stablecoins within a non-crypto wallet to date. Any Brazilian user looking to hold US Dollars can now do so seamlessly within MercadoPago by getting USDP. Earlier in the year, MercadoLibre announced the purchase of BTC worth around $7.8 million. In previous years, access to Bitcoin and other crypto assets was elusive to many especially as the larger financial system had mischaracterized the space. But it all changed last year whenPayPal, one of the leading financial tech companies in the world, opened up its platform to support the buying, selling and holding of crypto. This single action opened up access to crypto to millions of individuals who, hitherto, were not exposed to the industry as the site also revealed that its user can also convert their digital assets into fiat and use it to buy goods from its merchants. Another fintech firm worthy of mention in democratizing access to crypto isSquare’sCash App which is a peer-to-peer payment platform that allows users to buy and sell the flagship digital asset. Thisarticlewas originally posted on FX Empire • Ethereum Price Prediction – A Move Through to $4,650 Would Bring $4,800 Levels into Play • Stocks Move Higher After Disappointing Non Farm Payrolls Report • Shiba Inu Developer Wants to Prove Real “Wolf of Wall Street” Wrong • Why DocuSign Stock Is Down By 40% Today • Daily Gold News: Friday, Dec. 3 – Gold Bounces Ahead of Jobs Data Release • Crypto Market Today: Bitcoin and Ether Show Positive Signs, SOL Eyes New ATH \|\| Trade Mining Drives BitCoke Volume to a Record $5.6 Billion a Day, Eyeing Derivative CEX for the Next Leap: New York, New York--(Newsfile Corp. - December 14, 2021) - BitCoke, a Hong Kong-based emerging crypto exchange, is making serious headway in derivative business by adopting a new form of trading mining to spur user activities. On 9 th December 2021, (the second day of its trade mining campaign), according to data compiled by CoinMarketCap, a popular listing website, BitCoke scored $5.67 billion in derivative volume, a 4.2 times hike over a normal trading day, propelling BitCoke to No. 7 in CoinMarketCap derivative ranking by volume. At the eve of launching its platform native token - COKE, James He, Co-founder of BitCoke, said the ongoing trade mining was part of the efforts to attract users by rewarding participation with COKE, which is scheduled to debut in January 2022. He attributed the influx of users and high trading activities to the scheme of trading mining campaign, which mimicked the one in Dydx but with great improvements, as well as the professional features that brought about high user retention rate, which, He said, is also the key factor that makes BitCoke stand out amid fierce competition in the industry. On its homepage in CoinMarketCap website, BitCoke is introduced as a dedicated derivative exchange for professional traders and institutions, featuring no downtime, high speed and low fees. As a few of its highlights, BitCoke is the first exchange in crypto space that offers Quanto swap as its flagship perpetual contract product, enabling users to choose BTC/ETH/USDT as margin, a.k.a. Settlement Coin, to leverage trade and settle all contracts on the platform. In addition to TradingView chart, BitCoke has developed its own proprietary chart system that entailed numerous trader-friendly interface, layouts, and drawing tools. It also embraced the general trend in asset management, rolling out Fund system in late 2020, which empowers the master accounts in BitCoke to implement asset management functions over affiliated sub-accounts, like fund transfer, setting risk profiles, leverage, alert, etc. On top of the three highlights, BitCoke clearly puts great emphasis on trading procedures. It has a fast match engine, superb liquidity, cold storage asset isolation, delivering the best derivative trading experience. Story continues Behind these achievements is a highly capable team which is composed of senior technical specialists, traders, and product managers who all have extensive experience in the finance or crypto sector - the team descriptions on BitCoke website shows. While BitCoke may not be a high-profile exchange with much publicity, it's been steadily grabbed and retained users around the world, and grown into an important player in the exchange arena because of its professional products, longtime dedication and focus by the team. The recognition in its products and performance over the past three years is epitomized by the high demand from crypto VCs in COKE's private fundraising round, according to James He, who is responsible for institutional partnership. He indicated that BitCoke has signed agreements with a dozen of institutions, such as 7 O'clock, Scorpion VC, who all are committed to investing in COKE and BitCoke's future growth. He also confident that there is a robust demand for COKE in the upcoming public IEO. James [email protected] https://www.bitcoke.cc/ To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/107588 \|\| First Mover Asia: Bitcoin Stabilizes Above $36K as Investors Await Next Fed Meeting: Good morning. Here’s what’s happening: Market moves: Bitcoin retakes $36,000 as the crypto market stabilized after last week’s correction. Technician's take: Extreme oversold readings preceded an uptick in BTC. Catch the latest episodes of CoinDesk TV for insightful interviews with crypto industry leaders and analysis. Prices Bitcoin ( BTC ): $36,547 +0.1% Ether ( ETH ): $2,426 -4.6% Top gainers Asset Ticker Returns Sector Cosmos ATOM +5.4% Smart Contract Platform Bitcoin BTC +0.7% Currency Top losers Asset Ticker Returns Sector Solana SOL −8.5% Smart Contract Platform Algorand ALGO −7.3% Smart Contract Platform Filecoin FIL −6.4% Computing Sector classifications are provided via the Digital Asset Classification Standard (DACS) , developed by CoinDesk Indices to provide a reliable, comprehensive, and standardized classification system for digital assets. The CoinDesk 20 is a ranking of the largest digital assets by volume on trusted exchanges. Markets S&P 500: 4,410 +0.2% DJIA: 34,364 +0.2% Nasdaq: 13,855 +0.6% Gold: $1,843 +0.4% Market moves Bitcoin’s price rose by as much as $1,834 on a four-hour basis during U.S. trading hours on Monday, after it briefly touched the $34,000 level during Asia's late afternoon. The overall crypto market stabilized after the broad market correction downward in the past week. Bitcoin is currently changing hands at around $36,400 and is up slightly in the past 24 hours, according to CoinDesk data . At the time of publication, ether was down slightly, trading at about $2,400. Most of the major alternative coins (altcoins) were in the red. The U.S. equity market also rebounded in the late afternoon on Monday. Major stock indices tumbled earlier in the day as investors closely watch the Federal Reserve's first meeting this year, which will take place this week. While bitcoin and the crypto market appeared to be following the performance of the stock market recently, as CoinDesk reported , the relationship between bitcoin and the Nasdaq 100 stock index, the favored proxy for the tech sector, remains weak – a reminder there are other more important factors that could affect bitcoin and the crypto market. Story continues “For the time being at least, one could say bitcoin’s prices are a combination of some global risk appetite and a lot of the market dynamics in China (and the aftermath of restrictions there),” CoinDesk’s Lawrence Lewitinn wrote. “Those factors’ influences aren’t static, but they explain a lot more than watching the Fed’s every move.” According to crypto trading data analytic firm Kaiko, despite a sharp sell-off last week, bitcoin’s daily spot trading volume last week was still lower than it was during December’s price plunge. (Kaiko) The average daily spot trading volume of bitcoin on major cryptocurrency exchanges has mostly remained below $5 billion in the past month, down significantly since early fall, Kaiko wrote in its weekly newsletter on Monday. This is partly because Chinese exchanges OKEx and Huobi have suffered volume loss due to the crypto trading ban in China last year. Technician's take Bitcoin Short-Term Bounce Faces Resistance at $40K Bitcoin daily price chart shows support/resistance, with RSI on bottom (Damanick Dantes/CoinDesk, TradingView) Bitcoin ( BTC ) returned above $35,000 after multiple oversold signals appeared on the charts. The cryptocurrency faces initial resistance at $40,000, which could limit upside over the short term. Bitcoin is up 3% over the past 24 hours after rising from an intraday low near $33,000, while the broader crypto market has stabilized. The relative strength index ( RSI ) on the daily chart registered the most extreme oversold reading since the March 2020 crash. The previous extreme low was on Nov. 20, 2018, which preceded a few months of rangebound price action before a rally took place. For now, a downtrend of lower price highs since November remains intact, which means sellers could remain active at resistance levels. Important events 8:30 a.m. HKT/SGT (12:30 a.m. UTC): Australia consumer price index (Q4, MoM/YoY) 8:30 a.m. HKT/SGT (12:30 a.m. UTC): National Australia Bank's business conditions (Dec) 8: 30 a.m. HKT/SGT (12:30 UTC): National Australia Bank's business confidence (Dec) Happy Australia Day! 11 p.m. HKT/SGT (3 p.m. UTC): U.S. Consumer Confidence (Jan.) CoinDesk TV In case you missed it, here is the most recent episode of "First Mover" on CoinDesk TV: Crypto Market Lost $1.3T in 2 Months; What’s Going On? White House Set to Release Government-Wide Strategy for Digital Assets "First Mover" hosts were joined by Marc Lopresti, managing director at The Strategic Funds, for an in-depth analysis on the crypto markets as cryptocurrencies suffer yet another sell-off. Since November, about $1.3 trillion has been wiped out in the total market cap. Plus, what could we expect from the Biden administration's digital asset strategy that's reportedly set to release next month? Nyca Partners Executive-in-Residence Matt Homer and CoinDesk Managing Editor for Global Policy & Regulation Nikhilesh De provided their insights. Then CoinDesk Executive Editor Marc Hochstein explained Privacy Week at CoinDesk. Latest headlines Singapore VC Blockchain Founders Raises $75M for New Fund: The company has been an early investor in blockchain, crypto, Web 3 and metaverse startups. Chinese Government Rejects Metaverse Trademark Applications: Report: Those rejected include applications by NetEase, iQiyi and Xiaohongshu. Investors Put $14M Into Crypto Funds Last Week as Bitcoin Market Cratered: Inflows into digital-asset funds last week – after five straight weeks of outflows – suggest investors were taking advantage of the price dip. Bank of America Says US CBDC Would Preserve Dollar’s Status as World’s Reserve Currency: CBDC’s are an inevitable evolution of today’s electronic currencies, the bank’s analysts said. Biden Administration to Release Executive Order on Crypto as Early as February: Report: The directive will ask federal agencies to determine the risks and opportunities posed by digital assets. Longer reads Who Writes the Story of the Metaverse?: How narratives and memes shape our online future. Today's crypto explainer: Crypto Flash Crashes: What You Need to Know Other voices: Blockchain beyond the hype: What is the strategic business value? Said and heard "Surveillance economies power our biggest tech companies. Facebook and Google track our every step to deliver surgical ad strikes that make us hungry to buy more stuff we don't need, with money we don't have, to impress people we don't even know. They track where we go, what we like, who we know and love, and with whom we're sleeping." ( Author and speaker Daniel Jeffries writing for CoinDesk ) ... "Well, here’s another take – it’s a bad time to be a day trader, but it’s also a bad time for NFT flippers, whose gains and losses are typically priced in ETH. Even as the price has fallen, the average amount of ETH exchanged for non-fungible tokens in top collections has stayed relatively consistent." ( CoinDesk media and culture reporter Will Gottsegen ) ... "That is the promise of a virtual world: that you get to be anybody you want, unhampered by flesh, gravity, environment, expectations and economics — or maybe just the record you have created." ( Vanessa Friedman/The New York Times ) ... \|\| First Mover Asia: Bitcoin Nears $37K Amid Lighter Trading: Good morning. Here’s what’s happening: Market moves:Bitcoin led a broader market stabilization with reduced spot trading volume. Technician's take:A decisive break above $40K BTC is needed to pause the downtrend from November. Catch the latest episodesofCoinDesk TVfor insightful interviews with crypto industry leaders and analysis. Bitcoin (BTC):$36,971 +1% Ether (ETH):$2,460 +1.3% Top gainers [{"Asset": "Dogecoin", "Ticker": "DOGE", "Returns": "+2.6%", "Sector": "Currency"}, {"Asset": "Polygon", "Ticker": "MATIC", "Returns": "+1.0%", "Sector": "Smart Contract Platform"}, {"Asset": "Polkadot", "Ticker": "DOT", "Returns": "+0.8%", "Sector": "Smart Contract Platform"}] Top losers [{"Asset": "Internet Computer", "Ticker": "ICP", "Returns": "\u22125.2%", "Sector": "Computing"}, {"Asset": "Cardano", "Ticker": "ADA", "Returns": "\u22124.0%", "Sector": "Smart Contract Platform"}, {"Asset": "Algorand", "Ticker": "ALGO", "Returns": "\u22123.8%", "Sector": "Smart Contract Platform"}] Sector classifications are provided via the Digital Asset Classification Standard (DACS), developed by CoinDesk Indices to provide a reliable, comprehensive, and standardized classification system for digital assets. The CoinDesk 20 is a ranking of the largest digital assets by volume on trusted exchanges. S&P 500: 4,356 -1.2% DJIA: 34,297 -0.1% Nasdaq: 13,539 -2.2% Gold: $1,848 +-0.2% Bitcoin led a broad stabilization in the crypto market Tuesday, as its spot trading volume came down dramatically from a day ago. At the time of publication, the oldest cryptocurrency was changing hands near $37,000, up slightly over the past 24 hours, according toCoinDesk data. Ether, the second biggest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, was trading above $2,400, also up slightly over the same period. Data compiled by CoinDesk shows that bitcoin’s spot trading volume across major crypto exchanges came down significantly on Tuesday, after a volatile trading day on Monday. “We are starting to see flashes of [the] demand from players who recognize the longer-term value proposition of crypto,” Joel Kruger, currency strategist at LMAX Digital, told CoinDesk. Norway-based blockchain data analytics firm Arcane Researchnotedin its weekly update on Tuesday that bitcoin’s price saw a “substantial recovery” with a volume spike on crypto exchange Coinbase during the late U.S. trading session on Monday, raising a question of whether MicroStrategy or some other unknown entities may have lifted the entire market by bidding up bitcoin’s price on Coinbase. That said, the crypto market is closely observing the result of the U.S. Federal Reserve’stwo-day policy meetingon Wednesday. The Fed on Wednesdayis expected to hintat an interest rate hike in March to fight inflation. Bitcoin Rose Above $37K; Resistance at $40K-$43K Bitcoin buyers remained active, after pushing the cryptocurrency to over $37,000, which is near the top of a weeklong price range. Still, upside could be limited at the $40,000-$43,000 resistance zone over the short term. The relative strength index (RSI) on the four-hour chart triggered an oversold signal on Saturday, which preceded the latest price bounce. On the daily chart, the RSI is starting to rise from extreme oversold levels, which could stabilize the current sell-off. Initial resistance is at the 100-period moving average on the four-hour chart, positioned at $40,600. Buyers will need to make a decisive move above that level to pause the downtrend from November. 10 a.m. HKT/SGT (2 a.m. UTC): New Zealand credit card spending (Dec. YoY) 1 p.m. HKT/SGT (5 a.m. UTC): Japan coincident economic index (Nov.) 1 p.m. HKT/SGT (5 a.m. UTC): Japan leading economic index (Nov.) 9:30 p.m. HKT/SGT (1:30 p.m. UTC): U.S. goods trade balance (Dec. preliminary) 9:30 p.m. HKT/SGT (1:30 p.m. UTC): U.S. wholesale inventories (Dec. preliminary) In case you missed it, here is the most recent episode of"First Mover"onCoinDesk TV: Bitcoin Bouncing Back After Falling Below $33K, Where Is It Headed Next? Privacy Coin Monero in Focus "First Mover" hosts were joined by Peter Brandt, founder of Factor Trading, to analyze and predict the crypto market amid increased market volatility. Metaversal CEO Yossi Hasson and CoinFund Chief Investment Officer Alex Felix shared details behind the latest $50 million series A funding round for Metaversal and its expansion plan, as well as the outlook for the market amid the crypto crash. Plus, it's CoinDesk Privacy Week. Grid News tech reporter Benjamin Powers had a full report on privacy coin Monero. Crypto VC Firm Dragonfly Raising $500M for New Fund, Documents Show:The firm previously raised over $300 million across two funds. Cathie Wood’s Ark Invest Predicts Bitcoin Could Exceed $1M by 2030:Wood previously predicted bitcoin would reach $500,000 by 2026. BSN Introduces NFT Infrastructure Platform in China:The platform uses open permissioned chains to comply with Chinese regulations that discourage public blockchains. Bitcoin's Correction Continues for Now, but Eventually It Could Go 'Parabolic,' Says Peter Brandt:Selling pressure is not over yet, although a confirmed shakeout could give way to new highs, according to the chartist. IMF Urges El Salvador to Discontinue Bitcoin’s Legal Tender Status:The global financial institution said BTC's use as legal tender poses risks to the country's financial stability, integrity and consumer protection. The Trojan Horse of Privacy:For privacy to take off, it needs to stop being the value proposition. It's got to be a gift people don't notice. Think apps first, privacy second, futurist Dan Jeffries writes for CoinDesk's Privacy Week. Today's crypto explainer:Top 6 Crypto Passive Income Generators for 2022 Other voices:National Security Implications of Virtual Currency(Rand) "For my part, the discussion over Thanksgiving leftovers brought home a data point about women’s and people of color’s interest in cryptocurrency. A 2021 survey found that the people who trade crypto are a far cry from the young, white, male image of a techbro." (Tressie McMillan Cottom in The New York Times) ... "There is likely a middle ground, a sound opinion to hold. I’m not an investment wiz, I’m a reporter who covers fake internet money, but I can say the only appropriate way to invest in crypto is to invest with conviction." (CoinDesk columnist Daniel Kuhn) ... “My fear is we are going to go lower. It is “going to be a big week.” (Penn Mutual Asset Management Portfolio Manager Zhiwei Ren on stocks to The Wall Street Journal) \|\| Goldman Sachs, Other Wall Street Banks Exploring Bitcoin-Backed Loans: Sources: Goldman Sachs is among a handful of tier-one U.S. banks figuring out how to use bitcoin as collateral for cash loans to institutions, according to three people familiar with the plans. Banks such as Goldman will not touch cryptocurrency spot markets butlean towards synthetic crypto products such as futures. Emulating tri-party repo type arrangements (a way of borrowing funds by selling securities with an agreement to repurchase them, involving a third-party agent), banks are exploring ways to follow the same path of not touching bitcoin, like other synthetic products. It’s an opportunity that lays the groundwork for more integrated crypto prime brokerage services in the future, according to the sources CoinDesk spoke with. It’s also a continuation of Wall Street’s relatively sudden embrace of a$2.7 trillionasset class – albeit with somewhat niche products. “Goldman was working on getting approved for lending against collateral and tri-party repo,” said one of the people. “And if they had a liquidation agent, then they were just doing secured lending without ever having bitcoin touch their balance sheet.” Goldman Sachs declined to comment. Goldman is not alone; a handful of big banks are following the trail blazed by crypto-friendly banks Silvergate and Signature,both of whichannouncedbitcoin-backed cash loans earlier this year. “We’ve probably spoken to half a dozen big banks about [bitcoin-backed loans],” said a second person from a large institutional trading firm. “Some of them are in the next three to six months category and some are further out. What’s interesting is some of these banks will use their own balance sheet to make the loan. Others will syndicate this out.” Read more:Signature Bank Goes Head-to-Head With Silvergate in Bitcoin-Backed Lending The idea of banks accepting bitcoin as collateral was given a partial green light during the previous U.S. administration, whenOffice of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) chief Brian Brooks saidbitcoin was the equivalent of cash andbanks could be the safekeepersof it. However, the U.S. regulatory stance on activity like this remains complicated. Depending on the bank and what exactly is being proposed, regulation could come from a mix of the OCC, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) or the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). CoinbaseandFidelity Digital Assetswere cited as potential custodians the banks were in discussions with. (Coinbase already offers some institutional financing solutions within its Prime product, but this would be an additional feature.) Coinbase declined to comment. Fidelity Digital Assets did not respond to requests for comment. As well as the big banks, a rash of smaller lenders are also said to be considering ways to accept crypto as collateral. “Non-bulge-bracket banks are also building in this tri-party lending area,” a third person said. Read more:Goldman Sachs Sees Crypto Options Markets as ‘Next Big Step’ for Institutional Adoption \|\| Around 30% of the bitcoin in circulation is worth less than what holders paid for it, Glassnode has found: Blue bitcoin Yuichiro Chino About 5.7 million bitcoins in circulation, or 30%, are underwater, Glassnode said this week. Twice when the demand for bitcoin was this low compared with supply, the price has rebounded, it noted. Some analysts aren't hopeful of a rebound, given bitcoin is more than 30% below its record of nearly $69,000. Sign up here for our daily newsletter, 10 Things Before the Opening Bell . About 5.7 million bitcoins in circulation are worth less now than what the holders paid for them, Glassnode has found, as the cryptocurrency continues to slide. That adds up to around 30% of circulating supply, the data analysis provider said in its weekly newsletter . Cryptocurrencies across the board have slumped in the last month, tested by a rally in bond yields spurred by the Federal Reserve's plan to hike interest rates this year. The global crypto market has shrunk to about $1.95 trillion, from around $3 trillion about two months ago. Bitcoin was trading at around $42,127 at last check Wednesday, according to CoinMarketCap data more than 30% below November's record high of almost $69,000. "As the drawdown worsens, an increasingly significant volume of BTC supply has fallen into an unrealized loss," Glassnode said in its Monday newsletter. "Approximately 5.7 million BTC are now underwater (~30% of circulating supply)." But history suggests things could end well for bitcoin holders if they can keep their nerve, according to Glassnode. On two previous occasions when the demand for bitcoin was this low, compared with the supply available, the price has rebounded. One was just after crypto markets capitulated in the face of the coronavirus pandemic, between May and July 2020. Prices recovered soon after, thanks to government support for the economy and central bank stimulus. The next instance happened a year later, between May 2021 and July 2021. Cryptocurrencies crashed in price under the impact of a range of events, including China's clampdown on digital assets and concerns about the environmental impact of bitcoin mining. On both occasions, bitcoin bulls were rewarded for their patience with a bounceback. The price reaction now will provide insight into the medium-term direction of the bitcoin market, according to Glassnode. "Further weakness may motivate these underwater sellers to finally capitulate, whereas a strong bullish impulse may offer much needed psychological relief and put more coins back into an unrealized profit," it said. Analysts at UBS are not hopeful of a rebound, as they point out the crucial role central bank stimulus played in these previous rebounds. Read the original article on Business Insider View comments \|\| Bitcoin’s 6-Month ‘Put-Call Skew’ Flips Bearish for First Time Since May: Bitcoin’s six-month put-call skew, which measures the cost of puts – or bearish bets – relative to calls (bullish bets), has turned positive for the first time since the crash in May, indicating heightened concerns of an extended downside move. • “People appear to be bidding for downside protection [put options],” Switzerland-based data tracking platform Laevitas said. “However, we haven’t seen significant volumes yet.” • The six-month skew’s bearish turn does not necessarily imply a prolonged downtrend. With the six-month implied volatility hovering near its lifetime average of 84%, the longer duration put options appear cheap. So, traders could be buying those in a bid to make outsized gains on a potential sell-off. • The one-week, one- and three-month put-call skews flipped bearish earlier this month. • “We have seen demand for puts via risk reversals and outrights in the last week for both bitcoin and ether,” Patrick Chu, director of institutional sales and trading at the over-the-counter crypto trading firm Paradigm, told CoinDesk in a Telegram chat. • “Demand for puts was particularly strong at the $50,000 strike [price] over the last week, with more than 2000 contracts exchanging hands,” Chu said. • According toDelphi Digital, pricier put options indicate participants are hedging long positions in the spot market or speculating on deeper drawdown. • Bitcoin fell more than 2% early today, hitting lows under $56,000 on concern over the spread of a new coronavirus variant. The cryptocurrency was last trading near $57,100, according to CoinDesk data. \|\| IMF urges El Salvador to remove bitcoin's status as legal tender: The International Monetary Fund's (IMF) executive board on Tuesday warned El Salvador against moving to make bitcoin a legal tender and called for "strict regulation and oversight of the new ecosystem," according to the board's statement. "They [the board members] stressed that there are large risks associated with the use of Bitcoin on financial stability, financial integrity, and consumer protection, as well as the associated fiscal contingent liabilities," the statement read. "They urged the authorities to narrow the scope of the Bitcoin law by removing Bitcoin's legal tender status. Some Directors also expressed concern over the risks associated with issuing Bitcoin-backed bonds." The statement was released after the board's yearly conference. The nation in September became the first to adopt the cryptocurrency as a legal tender, which required businesses to accept bitcoin as a legal payment. The move prompted the IMF board to repeatedly recommend that El Salvador reverse the decision, citing concerns over the economy and legal issues. In addition, some members expressed concern about the "risks associated with issuing Bitcoin-backed bonds," the statement said. "The adoption of a cryptocurrency as legal tender, however, entails large risks for financial and market integrity, financial stability, and consumer protection," the members said in the statement. The board noted the importance of "boosting financial inclusion," adding that other digital forms of payment, such as the Chivo e-wallet, could take that role. The country is preparing to issue $1 billion in bonds , half of which would be used to purchase bitcoin, to an area in the eastern region of La Union, with plans to create the world's first "Bitcoin City," according to Reuters . The government predicts that the exposure will attract investors who would receive a dollar yield of 6.5 percent, much lower than the roughly 17 percent that the market currently prices for similar Salvadoran government debt, the wire service reported. However, under current policies, the IMF warned that the debt could rise to about 86 percent gross domestic product in 2026 and called it an "unstable path." \|\| Rokkit Fuel Newly Launched Cryptocurrency Set To Shake The Social Media Industry: London, UK, Nov. 30, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- (via Blockchain Wire ) A recently launched project & crypto coin, Rokkit Fuel , is being hailed as the next big cryptocurrency and has major plans to revolutionise the social media industry with a cryptocurrency-subscription based social media app. And if that isn’t enough, the token also redistributes 5% of each transaction to all holders in Bitcoin. Many previous projects pay rewards in native tokens or stable currencies such as USD, but with Rokkit Fuel coin, the contract automatically converts rewards to the most coveted one of them all, Bitcoin. Photo Available: Rokkit Fuel Newly Launched Cryptocurrency Set To Shake The Social Media Industry Rokkit Fuel explain in their white paper that they believe, more needs to be done to reward creators who mostly earn very little for their eﬀorts in partnerships currently oﬀered by other leading platforms, such as YouTube & TikTok. According to this article on Business Insider, Youtubers with 1000 views will earn on average $17 if their content is selected for Google ads (who take around 40-55% of profit), whereas in the proposed Rokkit Fuel app, creators could earn $17 or more with as little as one view, which could be life changing for some creators, particularly the up and coming ones. Rokkit Fuel further explains that more needs to be done to reward creators to ensure social media has a sustainable future. The way this will be achieved is through content creators having one-oﬀ paid, subscription based or free shows, where the creators themselves can set the fee. For instance, even if only 500 people subscribed to a content creators’ show at $2 per month, that would still mean the creator would earn $2,000.00 per month (before taxes/fees). If that creator uploaded the same content to other major social media platforms, they would earn only a fraction of that amount. And this is where Rokkit Fuel will shake the industry; if they could create an app that allows even smaller creators to thrive and possibly leave their day jobs, then not only will it revolutionise the social media industry, but the whole landscape of entertainment across the board. Story continues The project appears to be in the hands of a leader who has first-hand experience being in the spotlight as an influencer, Rokkit Fuel is the brainchild of Shak Warner, who spent over 20 years in the music and entertainment industry working with some of the biggest American & British acts which bodes well for the aim of developing a social media app. Video Available: $Rokk Some may ponder, why would content creators leave the current major social media platforms and make content on Rokkit Fuel’s app? Rokkit Fuel Chairman, Shak Warner, said: “The upcoming Rokkit Fuel app will completely revamp the way users and content creators interact. No more will only celebrity influencers earn a living creating, but it will also give smaller creators the chance to finally get paid fairly, doing what they love. This is something I and the Rokkit Fuel coin holders are extremely passionate about, and I believe that both the timing and the concept is right, for a project like Rokkit Fuel to help transition the social media industry into the world of blockchain.” Even though Rokkit Fuel is still in very early stages, it has already garnered the attention from many celebrities and influencers Tweeting about Rokkit Fuel, such as international soccer player Fredy Montero, celebrity Disc Jockey’s DJ Danny T & DJ Prestige, actor David Banks, rappers Wayne Dreadski & MuZik King, professional basketball player Alandise Harris, musician Robert Dobbs, professional Ice Hockey player Zach Boychuk, but to name a few. Rokkit Fuel has also been popular amongst crypto-based listing websites with $ROKK trending No.1 on the likes of Watcher Guru, Coinsniper & thousands adding Rokkit Fuel to their watchlists on Coinmarketcap & Coingecko. The developers of the project aren’t stopping there, with announcements of an upcoming billboard campaign beginning in New York Times Square. The excitement building around Rokkit Fuel has had members of the community guessing what the social media app will be called, with rumours circling that it will be called “ROKKit”. One thing is for sure, the community is at the heart of the project with the team providing regular AMA’s (ask me anything) & updates on how the project is coming along. With a current marketcap of 0.3% compared to that of Safemoon, 0.0015% of Doge Coin’s & a multi-billion dollar target industry, many analysts & Youtubers are hailing Rokkit Fuel as the next value investment going into 2022. To find out more, you can join one of Rokkit Fuel’s already very active communities: Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/rokkitfuel Telegram: https://t.me/rokkitfuelchat Discord: https://discord.gg/HZBRtqyp3j Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rokkitfuel Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rokkitfuel YouTube: https://youtu.be/tj4FHD_GO2Q Or visit: https://www.rokkit-fuel.com CONTACT: Rokkit Fuel contact-at-rokkit-fuel.com https://www.rokkit-fuel.com [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] None available.	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 38138.18, 37917.60, 38483.12, 38743.27, 36952.98, 37154.60, 41500.88, 41441.16, 42412.43, 43840.29
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2022-09-06] BTC Price: 18837.67, BTC RSI: 29.78 Gold Price: 1700.40, Gold RSI: 34.96 Oil Price: 86.88, Oil RSI: 40.02 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Cannabis Dispensaries to Host Crypto ATMs Nationwide: BankLine has established cannabis-friendly banking services that allow Crypto ATM operators to confidently host Crypto ATMs in licensed cannabis dispensaries nationwide. BankLine and Cannabis Crypto ATM BankLine and Cannabis Crypto ATM MIAMI, July 12, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- BankLine's unique Crypto ATM banking services, in partnership with cannabis-friendly financial institutions, provide nationwide armored cash logistic services to Crypto ATM operators within licensed cannabis dispensaries - facilitating exciting new business opportunities. The Opportunity States continue to legalize the adult use of cannabis, now available in over 7,000 state-regulated dispensaries across the United States, which presents a new opportunity for Crypto ATM expansion. The United States currently hosts the highest number of Crypto ATMs of any country in the world, more than 30,000 and growing. Solving Bank Reluctance Until now, U.S. financial institutions have been reluctant to accept cash deposits from Crypto ATMs placed within licensed cannabis dispensaries. Working with BankLine, Crypto and cannabis-friendly banks have the confidence that their clients will maintain the highest compliance standards, allowing expansion nationwide. Compliance measures for customer due diligence, monitoring, and reporting are currently required for both Cryptocurrencies and legal cannabis by State and Federal regulators. The Confluence of Cannabis & Cryptocurrency President and CEO of BankLine, Mark Ochab, states; " After 21 years serving in local and federal law enforcement, specializing in the financial services and banking sectors, I see the confluence of cannabis and Cryptocurrency as a positive step forward. "Cryptocurrency transactions are permanently recorded on the blockchain, providing an immutable and traceable record of transactions. "BankLine's team has the knowledge and experience to help our clients stay compliant." About BankLine BankLine is the only Crypto-friendly banking solution that offers a portfolio of redundant financial institutions willing to serve the varied needs of the Crypto industry. BankLine's network of Crypto-friendly banks and services helps mitigate the threat of bank discontinuance and provides ongoing, sustainable, and scalable banking and support services. Story continues Each BankLine client has a direct relationship at one or more of four FDIC-insured depository institutions. The accounts are titled in the business entity's name and are exclusive for the entity's activity. BankLine's partner financial institutions provide over-the-counter accounts in addition to contracting with more than 300 Loomis, Brinks, and Garda cash vault facilities, servicing over 29,000 Crypto ATM locations across the USA and its territories. BankLine is now expanding Crypto-friendly banking and armored cash logistics services to the EU, UK, as well as Central and South America. BankLine's core focus is delivering innovative banking and software solutions as well as lucrative hosting opportunities specifically designed for the Crypto ATM industry. Find out more at BankLine.com . Media Contact: Andy Benjamin 1-800-409-1647 [email protected] Related Images Image 1: BankLine and Cannabis Crypto ATM BankLine program gives Bitcoin ATM operators the ability to expand into cannabis dispensaries This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com . Attachment BankLine and Cannabis Crypto ATM \|\| Bitcoins Intermediate-term Elliott Wave Review: Previous Elliott Wave Analyses In my previous update, see here , I reviewed the shorter-term Elliott Wave Principle (EWP)-count for Bitcoin (BTC). I found, The Bullish count is preferred if BTC can stay above ~$19500 and rally back above $23000. However, if BTC closes below $19500, it opens up the door to $19000, and from there, ~$17000 is the most likely ideal downside target (wave-v = wave-i). Last week BTC topped at $22377 and is now trading at $19300s after testing the critical $19K level. Thus, it failed to rally above $23K and is now below $19,500. The trap door has been set for the cryptocurrency to reach $17K. However, is it possible it might even go lower? The weekly chart I last shared in May, see here , has been updated. The ideal path then pointed to a low in the $24+/-1K zone, but the waves decided to subdivide/extend. As always, all we can do is anticipate the ideal path, then we monitor to see if price follows it or not, and if not, then we must adjust. Why? Because we are dealing with a stochastic, probabilist environment and not something that is set in stone. Figure 1. Bitcoin weekly chart with detailed EWP count and technical indicators. $12K Cannot be Excluded Just Yet The classic, ideal, standard c=a extension (See Figure 1 above) targets ~$12K. Given BTC has already dropped below the ideal $24+/-1K target zone and the short-term Fibonacci-based EWP count suggests $17K, it is certainly possible for the cryptocurrency to fall to $12K. Besides, given that I am still missing a more significant wave to around $100+K (see here ) this would mean a 10x multiplication factor. Given the rally from the March 2020 low to the November 2021 high was a factor of ~20, whereas the rally from the January 2015 low to the December 2017 high was a factor of ~100, the law of diminishing returns applies nicely. Money Flow Indicator The very oversold Money Flow Indicator (MFI14) is an essential piece of information. It currently sits at 10. The last time this indicator was similarly oversold was September 2014 (See insert Figure 1). Back then, BTC rallied for a few weeks into November 2014, gaining over 60%, only to drop another 67% into the infamous January 2015 low. That rally and drop were enough to create positive divergences (lower prices but strengthening technical indicators) to kick in the ~10,000% rally. Story continues Bottom Line Past performance is, of course, no guarantee for future results, but it would not be unexpected to see a similar path take shape now as well. It will require a break above $23K to suggest this is the case, but BTC will have to stay below $35K to keep considering it a counter-trend rally. Meanwhile, positive divergences are also developing (green dotted arrows), but the price of BTC has yet to react to it. This article was originally posted on FX Empire More From FXEMPIRE: Inflation report sets grim markets tone as investors ponder 100-basis-point hike Teslas AI director leaving company after 4-month sabbatical U.S. calls for accountability in Abu Akleh case ahead of Biden West Bank visit Texas grid takes emergency actions to avoid blackouts amid heatwave Hungarians protest for second day against tax overhaul Biden says he would use force as last resort to keep Iran from nuclear weapons \|\| Crypto Exchange OSL Sold Security Tokens to Professional Investors: Hong Kong-based crypto exchange OSL Digital Securities has distributed security tokens in a private security token offering (STO) with participants including Animoca Brands. With the offering, OSL has become the first digital asset broker with Type 1 registration from Hong Kong-regulator Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) to conduct an STO with professional investors, according to an announcement on Tuesday . Along with noted non-fungible token (NFT) and metaverse investor Animoca Brands, participants included Head & Shoulders Financial Group, China Fortune Financial Group Ltd., Volmart and Monmonkey Group Asset Management. In an STO, an issuer sells tokenized digital securities or "security tokens," which can later be sold on security token exchanges. NFTs are digital tokens that represent the ownership of either a physical or digital asset. The Ethereum-developed tokens will represent $10,000 coupon-rate USD bond, which is linked to the performance of bitcoin (BTC). The STO is meant to act as a proof-of-concept for regulated digital asset investment, paving the way for issuance and distribution of tokenized securities among licensed financial intermediaries in Hong Kong. Read more: Animoca Brands’ Investment Portfolio Now Worth Over $1.5B UPDATE (July 26, 13:02 UTC): Updates tense in headline and lead. \|\| Investors yank out US$29 mln this month from Bitcoin: CoinShares: Bitcoin outflows totaled US$21 million, bringing month-to-date outflows to US$29 million, even as short-Bitcoin positions witnessed minor inflows of US$2.6 million, according to digital asset manager CoinShares. See related article : Markets: Bitcoin, Ether fall; memecoins lose steam, BNB edges higher Fast facts Investors pulled out US$17 million from digital asset investment products last week, James Butterfill, head of research at CoinShares said in a blog post on Monday. Exchanges in Europe recorded inflows of US$20 million, while outflows from North and South American exchanges totaled US$36 million in the last week, according to the CoinShares report. A series of alt coins saw US$3.9 million in inflows, with Uniswap recording US$100,000 in inflows or 6.6% of assets under management. “It is difficult to discern if this is a meaningful change in sentiment given its small size although minor outflows were seen across a broad set of providers,” Butterfill said. “It also comes at a time of low trading volume and a recovery in prices suggesting there could be an element of minor profit taking.” Ethereum witnessed only US$100,000 in inflows last week, despite the upcoming “ Merge ”, the CoinShares report showed. See related article : ETH futures contracts open interest on Binance breaks 8-month high: Glassnode \|\| Memecoins Dogecoin, Shiba Inu Jump as Ethereum Optimism Spreads: (Bloomberg) -- Dog-themed cryptocurrencies jumped on Monday amid broader retail-investor enthusiasm in the market, particularly as Ethereum works toward its much-anticipated software upgrade. Dogecoin is up about 14% over the past five days, while Shiba Inu has gained almost 40%, according to pricing data compiled by Bloomberg. The meme tokens are holding their gains even as Bitcoin sits around $25,000 and Ether hovers at about $2,000 amid optimism around its upgrade, known as Merge, now expected around Sept. 15. “Dogecoin and Shiba Inu have both broken out over the weekend, clear evidence that the retail investor is back,” said Hayden Hughes, chief executive of social-trading platform Alpha Impact in a message Monday, noting that there is optimism both coins will gain like Ethereum as they’re each due for upgrades as well. The crypto market has shown some signs of recovery with its total market cap at around $1.2 trillion now, after having dropped to around $875 billion as of June 19, according to data from CoinGecko. Lower-than-expected inflation prints out of the US last week boosted hopes that the Federal Reserve might be able to ease off its pace of rate hikes, helping riskier assets like crypto. Ethereum has also been supported after a final test stage before the Merge upgrade which co-founder Vitalik Buterin estimates will occur around Sept. 15. Read more: Ethereum Founder Buterin Forecasts Blockchain Merge on Sept. 15 Still, not everyone is all-in on the memecoin trend just yet. “These coins don’t have the depth of market at times like Ether or Bitcoin, so when a bit of demand comes through, they hit a liquidity pocket and fly up, drawing in more speculators,” said Cici Lu, chief executive officer at consulting firm Venn Link Partners, in a message Monday. Alpha Impact’s Hughes offered a note of caution about the rally as well. “Alpha Impact traders have been on the sidelines, waiting to see if this trend is picked up by institutional investors who tend to trade during the week,” Hughes said. More stories like this are available onbloomberg.com ©2022 Bloomberg L.P. \|\| REPEAT – HIVE Blockchain Provides July 2022 Production Update: This news release constitutes a “designated news release” for the purposes of the Company’s prospectus supplement dated February 2, 2021 to its amended and restated short form base shelf prospectus dated January 4, 2022. VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Aug. 05, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- HIVE Blockchain Technologies Ltd. (TSX.V:HIVE) (Nasdaq:HIVE) (FSE:HBFA.F) (the “Company” or “HIVE”) is pleased to announce the production figures from the Company’s global Bitcoin and Ethereum mining operations for the month of July 2022, with a BTC HODL balance of 3,091 Bitcoin and 6,820 Ethereum as of August 4, 2022. July 2022 Production Figures HIVE is pleased to announce its July 2022 production figures and mining capacity: • 279.9 BTC Produced • 2.2 Exahash of Bitcoin mining capacity at beginning of July • Increased to 2.26 Exahash of Bitcoin mining capacity during the month of July, with an average hashrate of 2.03 Exahash of Bitcoin mining capacity during the month of July • 2,957 ETH Produced* • 5.77 Terahash of Ethereum mining capacity at beginning of July, some miners were taken offline temporarily for layout optimization due to higher summer temperatures • 6.49 Terahash of Ethereum mining capacity at end of July, with an average hashrate of 6.19 Terahash of Ethereum mining capacity during the month of July *The Company’s production of ETH from GPU mining (including selective optimizations of GPU hashrate) has yielded a total ETH production of 2,957 ETH. Frank Holmes, Executive Chairman of HIVE stated, “In July we produced an average of 15.0 Bitcoin Equivalent per day, comprised of approximately 9.0 BTC per day and our Ethereum production of approximately 95 Ethereum per day. We are pleased to note that as of today, we are producing approximately 10 BTC a day in addition to approximately 95 Ethereum per day.” Aydin Kilic, President & COO of HIVE noted, “We continue to strive for operational excellence, ensuring that as we scale our hashrate, we also optimize our uptime, to ensure ideal Bitcoin and Ethereum output figures.” Mr. Kilic continued, “We also would like to provide an update on the BTC and ETH equivalency, where one can equate value of the coins produced daily. As such the ETH that HIVE produced during the month of July, equated on a daily basis, is approximately equal a monthly total of 185.2 BTC, which we refer to as Bitcoin Equivalent or BTC Equivalent. This is in addition to the 279.9 BTC produced from our Bitcoin mining operations during July, for a total of 465.1 Bitcoin equivalent” The Company’s total Bitcoin Equivalent production in July 2022 was: • 465.1 BTC Equivalent Produced • 15.0 BTC Equivalent produced per day on average • 3.77 Exahash of BTC Equivalent Hashrate (BTC hashrate plus equivalent ETH hashrate) as of July 31), with average hashrate of 3.36 Exahash of BTC Equivalent hashrate throughout July Ethereum Outlook and Strategy The Company acknowledges there has been recent discussions surrounding the potential Ethereum “Merge” to Proof of Stake (“PoS”). With respect to a timeline to PoS, the Company notes that a specific block for the Ethereum Merge has not been specified. Until a specific block has been identified and universally accepted by the Ethereum Foundation, the Company believes it is indeterminate if or when the Merge will happen. For comparison, every Bitcoin halving event is at a specifically prescribed block height (notably, every 210,000 blocks). HIVE acknowledges there could be execution risk in implementing a business strategy if Ethereum goes to PoS, and we believe there will be continued demand for GPU based Proof of Work (“PoW”) mining. As such, the Company has a strategy in the event the Merge occurs. HIVE believes there is intrinsic value in a broadly decentralized PoW blockchain with Layer 2 smart contracts, as the majority of such projects exist on the Ethereum blockchain. If NFT and DeFi developers realize that a secure PoW Layer 1 blockchain is the best playing field for their code-based projects, there could be an increase in Layer 2 applications on the Ethereum Classic blockchain, after the Merge. The Company has already commenced case studies, analyzing hashrate economics of Ethereum Classic and other GPU mineable coins at an industrial scale. HIVE has also been performing GPU optimizations throughout calendar 2022, which are proprietary and provide the Company with a competitive edge. If the Merge occurs, the Company expects that there will be a competitive edge required in technical proficiency as GPU mining is more involved than ASIC mining. It reasons that companies or hobby miners who are the best at GPU optimizations, will prosper. We expect that there will be more algorithmic driven application of GPU mining, where users may mine several coins. This will be in addition to the competitive edge miners typically seek of having the best energy economics, so they have the lowest operating cost per hash generated. GPU miners will need to have a low cost of hashing, while also being innovative to drive the highest yield (revenue) per hash, through optimizations. GPUs which currently mine Ethereum are only one facet of HIVE’s operations which complements its fleet of Bitcoin mining ASICs. HIVE’s GPU fleet is comprised of two types of cards, our legacy fleet comprised mostly of RX580s, and can be repurposed for other GPU mineable coins. The second type being our data center grade cards, namely our Nvidia fleet which we announced last year when we joined the Nvidia Partner Network; these cards have other applications in high-performance computing (HPC) applications. HIVE has been developing a new platform for our data center grade cards to create new streams of revenue. The Company foresees the creation of new streams of revenues from GPUs, such as providing HPC services for rendering, AI, ML, molecular modelling, etc. New Brunswick Power Costs HIVE has navigated several months of high energy prices in New Brunswick (“NB”) at its data center campus, which have affected all businesses that are customers with interruptible energy contracts. Mr. Kilic noted “The interruptible energy rates in New Brunswick have historically been between 3.5 to 4.5 cents USD per KWHR, based on annual averages over the last decade.” HIVE also has a portion of the total electrical load in NB as fixed power at approximately 6 cents per KWHR USD. In the Company’s fiscal Q4 2022 (January to March 2022), the power rates in NB based on the Company’s usage (blended fixed and interruptible power) were approximately 12 cents per KWHR for 46MW of capacity. Mr. Kilic continued “A benefit of being globally diversified, with 6 data centers in three countries, HIVE’s other facilities enjoyed power costs of approximately 3.5 cents per KWHR for approximately 54MW of operating capacity.” Taking into consideration the average of HIVE’s global operating costs for electricity, data center staff and maintenance for all facilities in Q4 2022, the total cost was approximately 7.5 cents per KWHR USD, based on a global average operating footprint of 114MW, compared to revenue of $49.8M USD (as noted in the Company’s audited fiscal 2022 financial statements), which equates to approximately $0.20 per KWHR. The Company notes that it was able to profitably mine crypto currencies during these periods, thus maximizing coin production. Since then, the Company’s average global operating costs for electricity, data center staff and maintenance, in New Brunswick have improved significantly, as the Company has enacted strategies to avoid high interruptible power prices in NB, which may include from time to time, reducing consumption during periods of peak interruptible power. In fiscal Q1 2023 (April to June 2022), the Company’s average power costs in NB have been 7.4 cents per KWHR USD, utilizing approximately 52MW on average, and globally operating costs for electricity, data center staff and maintenance for all facilities is approximately 5.5 cents per KWHR based on a global average operating footprint of approximately 126MW. Network Mining Difficulty The Bitcoin network difficulty decreased 6.5% during the month of July. The Ethereum network difficulty had a sudden difficulty decrease of almost 20% at the end of June, which was followed by a slight and gradual increase of 1.6% during the month of July. These factors impact our gross profit margins. About HIVE Blockchain Technologies Ltd. HIVE Blockchain Technologies Ltd. went public in 2017 as the first cryptocurrency mining company with a green energy and ESG strategy. HIVE is a growth-oriented technology stock in the emergent blockchain industry. As a company whose shares trade on a major stock exchange, we are building a bridge between the digital currency and blockchain sector and traditional capital markets. HIVE owns state-of-the-art, green energy-powered data centre facilities in Canada, Sweden, and Iceland, where we source only green energy to mine on the cloud both Ethereum and Bitcoin. Since the beginning of 2021, HIVE has held in secure storage the majority of its ETH and BTC coin mining rewards. Our shares provide investors with exposure to the operating margins of digital currency mining, as well as a portfolio of cryptocurrencies such as ETH and BTC. Because HIVE also owns hard assets such as data centers and advanced multi-use servers, we believe our shares offer investors an attractive way to gain exposure to the cryptocurrency space. We encourage you to visit HIVE’s YouTube channelhereto learn more about HIVE. For more information and to register to HIVE’s mailing list, please visitwww.HIVEblockchain.com. Follow@HIVEblockchain on Twitterand subscribe toHIVE’s YouTube channel. On Behalf of HIVE Blockchain Technologies Ltd.“Frank Holmes”Executive Chairman For further information please contact: Frank HolmesTel: (604) 664-1078 Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release Forward-Looking Information Except for the statements of historical fact, this news release contains “forward-looking information” within the meaning of the applicable Canadian securities legislation that is based on expectations, estimates and projections as at the date of this news release. “Forward-looking information” in this news release includes, but is not limited to, business goals and objectives of the Company; and other forward-looking information concerning the intentions, plans and future actions of the parties to the transactions described herein and the terms thereon. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in such forward-looking information include, but are not limited to, the volatility of the digital currency market; the Company’s ability to successfully mine digital currency; the Company may not be able to profitably liquidate its current digital currency inventory as required, or at all; a material decline in digital currency prices may have a significant negative impact on the Company’s operations; the volatility of digital currency prices; continued effects of the COVID-19 pandemic may have a material adverse effect on the Company’s performance as supply chains are disrupted and prevent the Company from carrying out its expansion plans or operating its assets; and other related risks as more fully set out in the registration statement of Company and other documents disclosed under the Company’s filings atwww.sec.gov/EDGARandwww.sedar.com. The forward-looking information in this news release reflects the current expectations, assumptions and/or beliefs of the Company based on information currently available to the Company. In connection with the forward-looking information contained in this news release, the Company has made assumptions about the Company’s objectives, goals or future plans, the timing thereof and related matters. The Company has also assumed that no significant events occur outside of the Company's normal course of business. Although the Company believes that the assumptions inherent in the forward-looking information are reasonable, forward-looking information is not a guarantee of future performance and accordingly undue reliance should not be put on such information due to the inherent uncertainty therein. \|\| 7 Best Solar Stocks to Buy Now: The secular trends that favor solar energy are the same which existed for the last several years. Broadly speaking, concern for climate change continues to grow and demand for cleaner energy sources is increasing. A report from Deloitte highlights the fact that solar photovoltaic (PV) systems have declined85%in cost over the past decade. That makes them among the cheapest energy sources in the market. The cost model is there, but more development needs to occur. The current administration has a vision to decarbonize the U.S. economy fully. That is a lofty goal, but it will move the needle whether a wholesale shift occurs or not. In short, solar energy investment remains worthwhile. • 7 Nasdaq Stocks to Buy on the Dip Here are the seven best solar stocks to buy now: InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips [{"Ticker": "SEDG", "Company": "SolarEdge Technologies, Inc.", "Price": "$319.88"}, {"Ticker": "DQ", "Company": "Daqo New Energy Corp.", "Price": "$63.55"}, {"Ticker": "CSIQ", "Company": "Canadian Solar Inc.", "Price": "$33.83"}, {"Ticker": "ENPH", "Company": "Enphase Energy, Inc.", "Price": "$249.51"}, {"Ticker": "TAN", "Company": "Invesco Solar ETF", "Price": "$75.81"}, {"Ticker": "FSLR", "Company": "First Solar, Inc.", "Price": "$76.40"}, {"Ticker": "SHLS", "Company": "Shoals Technologies Group, Inc.", "Price": "$18.67"}] Source: rafapress / Shutterstock.com SolarEdge Technologies(NASDAQ:SEDG) is an Israeli firm that produces solar inverters. Solar inverters transform the energy collected from PV cells into energy that can be used on a grid. Without them, a home, business, or solar farm has no way to utilize the energy collected and stored by PV cells and arrays. SolarEdge is focused on marketing its inverters not only as transmission conduits, but also as smart energy management devices, which allow users to monitor and manage storage and use. SolarEdge will provide earnings results in early August, which may or may not disappoint. Investors should focus on the broader picture here: SolarEdge is expected to make roughly$3.05 billionin sales this year. That number is expected to rise by 25.9% to $3.84 billion next year.That growth story means SEDG stock will remain relevant. Source: Shutterstock Daqo New Energy(NYSE:DQ) stock represents a Chinese company that produces the polysilicon that is sold to PV cell manufacturers. Its story is one of rapid growth, increasing production volumes, and price appreciation during a tumultuous 2022. Let’s start with price appreciation first: DQ stock has gone from $42 in early 2022 to $63. That makes it something of an outlier in the current bear market. The stock is performing well because the company is performing well.Additionally, Revenues increased to $1.28 billion in the first quarter, up 400% from a year earlier. That rapid increase in sales allowed gross profits to rise from $118.9 million to $813.6 million in the same period. • 7 Seriously Undervalued Tech Stocks to Buy Now Daqo New Energy is expanding its sales base rapidly. The firm sold 23,616 metric tons of polysilicon in the fourth quarter of 2021. That figure reached 31,383 metric tons a quarter later. Daqo New Energy is a basic materials provider, making it a smart choice to take advantage of secular trends. Source: Shutter B Photo / Shutterstock.com Solar investors seeking product manufacturers would be wise to considerCanadian Solar(NASDAQ:CSIQ) stock. The Ontario firm manufactures PV modules and has roughly 34% upside based on its target price. So, for investors who want to add a PV module manufacturing stock to their portfolio, CSIQ makes sense because it is increasingly attractive. Earnings per share (EPS) estimates sat at 21 cents three months ago. Those estimates have risen rapidly and now sit at48 cents. Investors will be encouraged by the fact that Canadian Solar produced anet income of $9 millionin its most recent quarter. That was a strong result on a year-over-year basis. However, high costs held the firm’s revenue and gross margin figures at the lower end of guidance. As costs normalize, the firm should be able to produce stronger results closer to the top end of guidance. Source: IgorGolovniov / Shutterstock.com Enphase Energy(NASDAQ:ENPH) stock is certainly volatile. A look at the price chart for the stock in 2022 reflects that. And that choppiness is evident in the1.36 betaENPH shares carry. But while that volatility can seem scary at times, it’s the greater trends that make Enphase Energy a worthy investment. When all is said and done, Enphase Energy should record around $2 billion in revenues this year. Those revenues are expected to increase about 37% in 2023 to $2.75 billion. • 5 Electric Vehicle Stocks to Buy on the Dip The argument against ENPH is that net income numbers were slightly lower during the most recent quarter on a sequential basis, despite record revenues. But as higher costs normalize, investors should begin to calm down. I’d argue that now is the time to strike because Enphase is doing remarkably well considering the overall environment. Source: Shutterstock The reason to invest in exchange-traded funds (ETFs) is obvious: It is much easier to identify winning sectors than it is to separate the winners from the losers therein. That’s why theInvesco Solar ETF(NYSEARCA:TAN) makes sense as a stock pick. Given that the Invesco Solar ETFtracks the MAC Global Solar Energy Index, investors are receiving significant exposure to secular trends in solar energy stocks. Those secular trends indicate that solar is entrenched as costs have come down drastically over the past decade. TAN stock has provided average annual returns of17.85%over the past decade. Those returns significantly outpaced those of its peers within its exchange and would have turned $1,000 into more than $5,000 in that period. That is precisely the kind of information that investors who want to set it and forget it like to hear. Source: IgorGolovniov / Shutterstock.com First Solar(NASDAQ:FSLR) is an Arizona-based firm producing solar power systems and modules. On top of that, the firm also constructs and operates PV power plants. As reshoring efforts ramp up, First Solar will become an increasingly attractive choice in solar. The firm has the largest PV manufacturing footprint in the western hemisphere. It is set to expand that footprint in 2023.The company also proudly markets the fact that it does not rely on Chinese silicon for its manufacturing operations. That bolsters the notion that First Solar could rise in importance over the coming years as U.S.-China business relations remain tense and evolve. • 7 Best Reddit Stocks to Buy Now For investors who worry that materials of Chinese origin occupy too large a portion of our supply chain, FSLR makes sense. It is among the best choices from that perspective among solar stocks. Source: chuyuss / Shutterstock.com Shoals Technologies(NASDAQ:SHLS) stock is a strong choice for the solar investor who has a penchant for speculation and some risk. While the company has recorded two straight quarters in which EPS guidance fell short, it is growing rapidly.And while revenues increased by about 50% on a year-over-year basis in the most recent quarter, net income is arguably more impressive. Shoals Technologies reported a net loss in first quarter 2021 thatapproached $8.3 million. A year later and that net loss became a $4.6 million net income. This is impressive. Growth stocks are out because their fundamentals often include large losses. Shoals Technologies provides the best of both worlds in some sense: Rapid growth and net income. On the date of publication, Alex Sirois did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.comPublishing Guidelines. • Buy This $5 Stock BEFORE This Apple Project Goes Live • The Best $1 Investment You Can Make Today • Early Bitcoin Millionaire Reveals His Next Big Crypto Trade “On Air” • Cash Holders Could Get Hit Hard THIS FRIDAY The post7 Best Solar Stocks to Buy Nowappeared first onInvestorPlace. \|\| US stocks edge up even as a 2nd straight GDP contraction stokes recession worries: Fed Chair Jerome Powell. ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/Getty Images Stocks rose Thursday even as GDP data revealed the US economy contracted for the second straight quarter. The economic data added to the mounting fears of a recession and followed the Fed's rate hike Wednesday. Meta reported an earnings miss after-hours Wednesday, and its CEO warned of an economic slowdown. US stocks edged up Thursday even as fresh GDP data showed the economy contracted for a second straight quarter, adding to recession concerns. US output slumped 0.9% in the second quarter, following a 1.6% contraction in the first quarter. The new data comes one day after the Federal Reserve hiked interest rates by 75 basis points, and signaled it would continue to move against inflation and cool the economy. "[Jerome Powell] was repeatedly asked about whether the economy was already in a recession which he said he did not believe to be the case," Michael Reinking, New York Stock Exchange senior market strategist wrote in a Thursday note. "When talking about the expectation for the economy to slow down he did acknowledge that a path to a soft landing has narrowed." Here's where US indexes stood as the market opened 9:30 a.m. on Thursday: S&P 500 : 4,038.22, up 0.36% Dow Jones Industrial Average : 32,281.49, up 0.26% (83.90 points) Nasdaq Composite : 12,070.99, up 0.32% Shares of Meta declined following its after-hours earnings miss Wednesday, and CEO Mark Zuckerberg warned of an economic slowdown . A recession could arrive by year-end as it looks more unlikely the Fed will achieve a soft landing, according to Bank of America. Analysts highlighted Powell's commitment to getting inflation back to the 2% range, as it will demand much more financial tightening. Fears of a downturn in the oil market were eased by rising fuel demand, as US gasoline demand jumped 8.5% last week from the prior week , according to data from the Energy Information Administration. Overseas, Russia has slowed gas flows to Europe to a trickle. Natural gas prices eased slightly Thursday, but have soared 145% since the start of June. Goldman Sachs analysts said the energy crisis could drag on until 2025 . Story continues Oil inched higher, with West Texas Intermediate up 1.67% to $98.89 a barrel. Brent crude , the international benchmark, moved higher 1.17% to $107.28 a barrel. Gold edged higher 1.34% to $1,743.30 per ounce. The 10-year yield dipped 5.6 basis points to 2.676%. Bitcoin rose 1.41% to $23,111.41. Read the original article on Business Insider \|\| Stock Market Today: Markets Edge Higher in Quiet Session: blue stock chart with turquoise volume bars Getty Images Stocks managed to eke out gains on light volume Wednesday as traders remained cautious ahead of Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's highly anticipated speech later this week. The Fed chief will speak at the central bank's annual policy symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyo., on Friday morning. And until he does, stocks will likely continue to struggle for direction. SEE MORE Has Inflation Peaked? Here's What the Experts Are Saying Indeed, fears of a hawkish Fed have sapped traders' enthusiasm for risk over the past several sessions. Mixed-to-downbeat economic reports have likewise done the recent rally no favors. Most recently, on Wednesday, we learned that U.S. pending home sales fell in July to their lowest level since the start of the pandemic. Paul Gray, CEO of Ironhold Capital, says the data marks a "recession in the housing market." "As interest rates and inflation rise simultaneously, many households choose to save money rather than purchase a house due to high borrowing costs and elevated prices brought by inflation," Gray notes. Sign up for Kiplinger's FREE Investing Weekly e-letter for stock, ETF and mutual fund recommendations, and other investing advice. Traders and investors are naturally finding it difficult to embrace equities when the Fed is hiking rates amid reports of recessionary activity. Wednesday was not without drama in select stocks, however. Peloton Interactive ( PTON , +20.4%) jumped after it struck a deal to sell bikes and some accessories on Amazon.com. And Bed Bath & Beyond ( BBBY , +18%) got a lift after the home goods retailer said it selected a lender to boost its liquidity. After-market trading could also get interesting, with earnings reports due from high-profile growth stocks Nvidia ( NVDA , $172.22), Snowflake ( SNOW , $159.80) and Dow component Salesforce ( CRM , $180.62). The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.2% to close at 32,969, while the broader S&P 500 rose 0.3% to 4,140. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite ticked up 0.4% to finish at 12,431. Story continues stock market today Other news in the stock market today: The small-cap Russell 2000 added 0.8% to 1,935. U.S. crude futures rose 1.6% to $95.26 per barrel. Gold futures gained 0.2% to $1,765.20 an ounce. Bitcoin increased 0.8% to $21,670 (Bitcoin trades 24 hours a day; prices reported here are as of 4 p.m.) Don't Fight the Fed It's a Wall Street cliche, but it happens to be true: Don't fight the Fed. With rates headed higher, investors would do well to go with the flow. SEE MORE Warren Buffett Stocks Ranked: The Berkshire Hathaway Portfolio For example, rising rates should continue to support a strong dollar. So be sure to check out stocks that win (and stocks that lose) from a rising greenback . Rate-tightening cycles also increase the odds of the economy entering a recession . That's a recipe for increased volatility – and it affords an opportunity for the best low-volatility stocks to shine. It's also the case that rate hikes are a blunt tool to fight inflation. Although the rate of inflation has cooled off recently, higher prices aren't going away anytime soon. Shares in companies with pricing power can actually deliver sustained outperformance during inflationary periods. With that in mind, have a look at the best stocks to buy to beat inflation . SEE MORE The 11 Most Expensive Cities in the U.S. You may also like A Checklist for What to Do (and NOT Do) After Someone Dies Your Guide to Roth Conversions When It Comes to Your RMDs, Be Very, Very Afraid! \|\| NFT Builds Announces That They Will Solely Accept Crypto as a Form of Payment: Miami, Florida--(Newsfile Corp. - August 13, 2022) - NFT Builds announces that it will solely accept crypto as a form of payment. As a business owner, customers rely on flexibility when it comes to accepting different forms of payments. This includes new forms of payment and money transfer worldwide, such as cryptocurrency. NFT Builds To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/8203/132680_3182ac98b47f59e2_001full.jpg Major companies accept it, but so do other smaller businesses such as restaurants and coffee shops. One company focused on helping businesses with this transition is NFT Builds Inc. The CEO and founder, Tyler Mercier, recently said, "Our mission at NFT Builds is to bridge Web 2 companies into Web 3 by offering the services needed to start accepting cryptocurrency as a form of payment." NFT Builds creates partnerships with creators who are looking to make their Web 3 vision a reality. Though the company is a full-scale marketing firm offering services ranging from development, community building, social media PR, art design and project advertising, the company specializes in cryptocurrency projects. Mercier and his team of experts understand that the industry is built on showing face, building trust, and having transparency. "We have spent millions of dollars marketing in the web 3 space to build out our connections and resources. Every project has a particular niche that needs to be targeted, and that is why my team creates full custom gameplans for the projects we partner with. We have one of the strongest community building teams in this space because our team is a group of trained professionals coming directly from other leading web 3 communities," explained Mercier. He also shared that the one thing that differentiates NFT Builds from other agencies is that there is no middle man - all communications and work are completed in-house. In an announcement made on July 31st, NFT Builds announced that it now accepts payments in Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, XRP, and USDC. Stay on the lookout for this company as it keeps innovating in the blockchain sector. Story continues Media Contact Details: NFT Builds Inc. +1 603-508-7575 https://www.nftbuilds.io https://www.instagram.com/nftbuilds To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/132680 [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] None available.	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 19290.32, 19329.83, 21381.15, 21680.54, 21769.26, 22370.45, 20296.71, 20241.09, 19701.21, 19772.58
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2020-08-28] BTC Price: 11542.50, BTC RSI: 52.26 Gold Price: 1964.60, Gold RSI: 55.56 Oil Price: 42.97, Oil RSI: 58.51 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] What Does the Twitter Hack Mean for Bitcoin? Crypto Reacts: For five hours, all of Twitter became Crypto Twitter. Wednesday, one of the biggest digital hacks in recent memory went down. A hacker,likely a Bitcoiner, gained access to Twitter’s administrative functions and began a crypto-scam campaign. Some of the world’s most notable accounts on the site started offering to double their investments if they sent funds to a Bitcoin wallet. It’s the type of scummy behavior Twitter promised to addressback in 2018. A federal examination is likely. So, too, is a permanent stain on Twitter’s reputation. What’s unknown is how this incident will affect perceptions of Bitcoin, blockchain and the crypto space, which is once again thrown into the news cycle for all the wrong reasons. Related:Twitter Hacker Is Mixing Bitcoin Loot Using a Wasabi Wallet, Elliptic Says CoinDesk convened a panel of experts to discuss what the long- and short-term consequences of this scandal may be for crypto, and whether it’s a watershed moment to finally decentralize our social media. • Anil Lullaco-founded Delphi Digital, a research and consultancy firm specializing in crypto assets • Donna Redelis board member at New York Angels, an angel investment firm and frequent speaker on the crypto conference circuit. • Steven McKiefounded the venture capital firm Amentum and built aHandshake compatibleweb browser in his free time. • Brekkie Von Bitcoin– A crypto influencer of sorts, Brekkie is known for relentlessly advocating for the coin. • Matt Hillis CEO of Start9 Labs and an advocate for digital sovereignty. • Vinay Gupta, inventor of theHexayurt, is now pursuing theradical startup, Mattereum, which is attempting to create a digital twin for all physical items, so humanity can better manage and distribute increasingly scarce natural resources. Their responses have been edited and condensed. Will this increase in the attention to Bitcoin be good for crypto in general? Or will this attack/taint the image of Bitcoin? Related:Money Reimagined: This Isn't Good for Bitcoin Lulla:I believe there are some positive benefits to Bitcoin. Anyone who works in crypto got messages from friends and family asking what the scam is all about. They were curious to know when they saw the word “Bitcoin” on TV. So maybe this is an opportunity for us to explain how Bitcoin works. We can outline that this isn’t a Bitcoin scam and it was not hacked; Twitter got hacked. Obviously, it is going to increase attention, though whether that’s good or bad is up in the air. These little things shouldn’t really affect the fundamentals of Bitcoin. See also:Jack Dorsey: Mass Crypto Adoption Will Transform Square’s Business Redel:From my perspective, the short-term and long-term impact on Bitcoin from this hack is irrelevant since the emphasis should be on the illegal activity and breach of security. Twitter should be concerned about its short-term and long-term reputation. McKie:I think it’s not going to bring much attention to Bitcoin, aside from the general discourse for the next week or two. There’s just so much going on. Von Bitcoin:As someone who believes that Bitcoin is our best shot at a more prosperous future for everyone. … I’m personally only concerned on whether the increased media attention is good for Bitcoin, not crypto in general. But at this stage, I think the adage still holds that all press is good press for Bitcoin. Hill:The increased attention to Bitcoin might be good for crypto prices in general, but no amount of attention is going to save most of the projects out there from total collapse. Gupta:It’ll be a few stories about Bitcoin in the papers, but I don’t think it’ll spur adoption. Will this reinforce existing biases against crypto being associated with criminals? Lulla:This is a wider topic. People have predetermined biases. Most people in the space by now have been open-minded enough to understand this. Of course, there’s always gonna be a subset of people who always look for information that will always support their biases or their positions. But at the end of the day I don’t think it fundamentally changes anything. It really hasn’t changed anything so far. McKie:I don’t really think anyone will care. It’s Bitcoin. It doesn’t do anything to make it more infamous for those that already didn’t like it. See also:Crypto Criminals Have Already Stolen $1.4B in 2020, Says CipherTrace Von Bitcoin:Well, it didn’t do us any favors with regards to that common bias. There are already plenty of people calling this a “Bitcoin Hack” when obviously that is not the case at all. I am hopeful though that the fallout will be limited. Take this personal anecdote for what it is, but yesterday I spoke to my father about the hack, and despite the fact that his knowledge of Bitcoin is limited, he understood that the criminals were merely using Bitcoin, and that Bitcoin itself hadn’t been hacked. Hill:For some, yes. But I think most people are smart enough to know there were plenty of criminals before crypto. Gupta:Yes, it’s a stuipd mess, and it’s going to be widely understood as a stupid mess – yet more fuel for the people who want to believe crypto is for scammers. Could you speculate into the hacker’s motivations? Lulla:It’s still early to say because we’re still learning about what happened with the hack. Twitter is going to be really impacted by this because there’s gonna be a lot more scrutiny on how this happened and what exactly happened here. The whole motivation of the hacker was to get Bitcoin, but the damage could have been worse. Redel:First, the hack into people’s emails is an illegal activity. Secondly, the impersonation of individuals asking for transactions in bitcoin is simply another version of other illegal “scams” that ask people to send dollars to bank accounts or other locations. See also:How to Spot a Crypto Scam McKie:I’m not quite sure. They probably got access that they weren’t expecting and realized they had an opportunity and did something without planning. It’s really a test of why they didnt do anything with Donald Trump’s account, which would guarantee an immediate shutdown of whatever process they were exploiting. Von Bitcoin:Should I put my tinfoil hat on before I answer? On the surface it seems like the hacker just wanted to steal bitcoin. As others have noted, the hack itself appeared very clumsy, but if that clumsiness was intentional… then there may have been an ulterior motive. Perhaps it was a bad actor with other vested interests trying to discredit Bitcoin or Twitter, but I think it’s too early to say. Hill:I can only say what I hope their motivation was: to expose the fragility of centralized systems. Gupta:Well, if the goal was to make money from a massive Twitter 0-day, I have to say there were probably more effective ways of doing it. I was really surprised there was no political messaging, either! Is this a wake-up call to decentralize our communications systems? Gupta:Decentralized systems aren’t necessarily any more proofed against these kinds of exploits – protocol bugs are just as bad, when they occur. McKie:I don’t think Twitter can do a damn thing. When you have internal social engineering by nefarious actors, taking advantage of admin tools that are there for a particular reason, that’s just the nature of a centralized organization. There’s employee churn, there’s a lot of varied levels of security and accountability, there’s absolutely nothing you can do. There’s no security organization, anywhere in the world, you could have paid to prevent this sort of internal attack. You just have to accept that. Does that build the case for decentralized web? Yeah, sure. But no one immediately will think that, except for the people already in our crypto echo chamber. See also:In Trump Versus Twitter, Decentralized Tech May Win Lulla:People need to understand that Twitter got hacked – a centralized system got hacked. At the end, it is an issue with Twitter. It can take the shape of a wake up call for people. If this didn’t happen for instance there might be some people in the world who would never even imagine a situation like this. This is adding support for our community rights and decentralized systems of communication. Redel:Safeguarding privacy is important and should be a high priority for all. Von Bitcoin:At the very least it’s a wake-up call about vulnerabilities, and I think that Twitter is already taking it very seriously. Jack [Dorsey, the CEO]has hinted at wanting to decentralize Twitter, so I imagine this event might fast track those plans. Unfortunately there is a chicken and egg problem with trying to decentralize communications, and frankly for some use cases, centralization means a more efficient system. Hill:It is yetanotherwake up call. And like most wakeup calls, it will be greeted with a snooze button and a growing sense of anxiety. • What Does the Twitter Hack Mean for Bitcoin? Crypto Reacts • What Does the Twitter Hack Mean for Bitcoin? Crypto Reacts \|\| Bybit Announces an Estimated $110,000 COVID-19 Relief Donation to UNICEF from World Series of Trading Prize Fund: SINGAPORE / ACCESSWIRE / July 30, 2020 / Bybit has announced it will make a donation of up to 10 BTC to UNICEF, as part of its recently announced World Series of Trading (WSOT). The WSOT will gather traders from across the globe to compete for a prize pool worth 200 BTC, around $2.2 million at the current price. The WSOT event opened for pre-registration in early July, with over 8,000 participants having already signed up. The official registration to join the main event in August is now open. Bybit has confirmed that 5% of the overall prize pool will be allocated to UNICEF to assist in their efforts helping vulnerable children recover from the fallout of the global pandemic. The donation comes thanks to a partnership with the New Zealand branch of UNICEF. According to the official announcement on their website, the Bybit donation is helping to plug a severe funding gap left by the pandemic crisis, which has put 1.6 billion children at risk. "As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to cast its long shadow around the globe, its secondary impact is being felt by vulnerable children, who are the future of our world. Their situation is exacerbated by school closures, inadequate care, and shortages in food, sanitation supply, and medical resources. We at Bybit urgently feel it is incumbent upon us to support the ongoing efforts to safeguard our future," states Bybit CEO, Ben Zhou. He continues: "Together with our global community of traders, we would like to use this impetus to help lead positive action in the crypto space and give back to our very own home planet. With this in mind, we are pledging 5% of WSOT's final prize pool to UNICEF to assist in their work to save children's lives, defend their rights, and to help them fulfill their potential." UNICEF NZ Executive Director Vivien Maidaborn added: "This is an exciting opportunity to partner with Bybit and better shape the lives of children significantly impacted by Covid-19. We thank Bybit and traders for their generous Bitcoin donations during this unprecedented global emergency." Story continues About the World Series of Trading The WSOT event is part of Bybit Games Calendar, which last year saw over 7,000 traders battle it out in a competition dubbed the "BTC Brawl." Bybit is aiming for the WSOT to attract even more traders who will compete alongside cryptocurrency influencers and legendary poker players, battling out for a prize pool of up to 200 BTC. Participants will be eligible for a 20% discount on trading fees, and the opportunity to earn up to $9,400 in USDT bonuses. Bybit is now inviting traders to enroll for the main event. Registration is open until August 14, and warm-up participants must now re-register to secure their place. The WSOT contest will start on August 10 and run until the end of the month. For more information on the event, please visit: https://www.bybit.com/en-US/wsot About Bybit Bybit is a global cryptocurrency derivatives exchange established in March 2018 and registered in the BVI. It is headquartered in Singapore. Bybit has a global user base comprising everyone from individual retail clients to professional derivatives traders. For more information, please visit: https://www.bybit.com/ For updates, follow Bybit's social platforms on Twitter and Telegram . Contact: Dan Edelstein [email protected] +972-545-464-238 SOURCE: Bybit View source version on accesswire.com: https://www.accesswire.com/599604/Bybit-Announces-an-Estimated-110000-COVID-19-Relief-Donation-to-UNICEF-from-World-Series-of-Trading-Prize-Fund \|\| Market Wrap: Bitcoin Trudges Past $11.7K as DeFi Lending Rates Gyrate: Bitcoin gained Wednesday while DeFi interest rate volatility is causing concern over its long-term viability. Bitcoin (BTC) trading around $11,670 as of 20:00 UTC (4 p.m. ET). Gaining 4% over the previous 24 hours. Bitcoin’s 24-hour range: $11,072-$11,735 BTC above 10-day and 50-day moving averages, a bullish signal for market technicians. Traders are mostly buying bitcoin Wednesday, with the world’s oldest cryptocurrency going as high as $11,735 on spot exchanges such as Coinbase. Read More: Bitcoin Price Rises 3% as Gold Trades Above $2K for First Time Related: Bitcoin's Patronage System Is an Unheralded Strength “I think we’ll hit $12,000 by Friday. There’s a lot of momentum in the market just now,” said Chris Thomas, head of digital assets for broker Swissquote. “Tuesday was a pause for breath, but we didn’t react negatively.” Thomas noted bitcoin spot volumes have been rising this past week after a month of relative feebleness. “Flows are definitely picking up and more people are feeling the excitement, which naturally helps the markets move higher still,” added Thomas. Read More: Ethereum Transition to Staking Could Push More Traders to Use Derivatives Related: Bitcoin Entering 'New Adoption Cycle,' Coin Metrics Exec Says While bitcoin’s pace is picking up, gold, the original hedge against economic uncertainty, has been on an absolute tear. The yellow metal was up 1.1% and at $2,041 as of press time, hitting a fresh intraday high at $2,056. However, while gold has rallied 14% over the past month, bitcoin has done twice as well, up 28% during that same period. Bitcoin bugs continue to believe its price can keep making outsized gains in unsettled economic times. “I’m bullish on bitcoin,” said George Clayton, managing partner of Cryptanalysis Capital. “I do not have a strong view on timing, but I’m expecting a move higher.” Volatile DeFi lending rates The second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, ether (ETH), was up Wednesday, trading around $399 after climbing 3% in 24 hours as of 20:00 UTC (4:00 p.m. ET). Read More: BnkToTheFuture Steps Away From Banks Citing Mounting Risk Interest rates in Ethereum-powered decentralized finance, or DeFi, have see-sawed wildly over the past few months. Composite Lend Rate, a metric calculated by DeFi Pulse, determines how much profit an investor would return lending out crypto. It has fluctuated mostly due to the volatility of lender Compound’s rates, which have been as low as 0.122% on June 17 and as high as 18.6% on June 26. Compound dominates the DeFi lending market and had 3% rates for lenders as of Wednesday. Story continues “A number of new applications are adjusting their protocol and token incentives, which can trigger extreme volatility,” said Jean-Marc Bonnefous, managing partner for Tellurian Capital, which has been investing in crypto projects since 2014. “There is also a lot of shuffling of short-term liquidity among the DeFI protocols, which is not very conducive to longer-term sustainability and adoption,” he added. Other markets Digital assets on the CoinDesk 20 are mostly flashing green Wednesday. Notable winners as of 20:00 UTC (4:00 p.m. ET): zcash (ZEC) + 14% dash (DASH) + 6% bitcoin gold (BTG) 5.5% Read More: Square Crypto, Human Rights Foundation Ramp Up Bitcoin Grants Notable losers as of 20:00 UTC (4:00 p.m. ET): tezos (XTZ) – 0.66% qtum (QTUM) – 0.56% stellar (XLM) – 0.53% Read More: US Lawmakers Don’t Want Proof-of-Stake Networks to Get Overtaxed Equities: In Asia, the Nikkei 225 ended the day in the red 0.26% as poor corporate earnings for Softbank and Yamaha led stocks lower . In Europe, the FTSE 100 closed higher, gaining 1.1% as better-than-expected earnings reports boosted stocks like Commerzbank, up 5% on the day . In the United States, the S&P 500 gained 0.60% on shares of Disney jumping 8.8% on positive earnings and optimism for a coronavirus vaccine . Read More: Square Reports 600% Increase in Quarterly Bitcoin Revenue Commodities: Oil is up 1.6%. Price per barrel of West Texas Intermediate crude: $42.14 Read More: Social Engineering: A Plague on Crypto and Twitter, Unlikely to Stop Treasurys: U.S. Treasury bonds were mixed Wednesday. Yields, which move in the opposite direction as price, were up most on the 10-year, in the green 7.5%. Read More: Pharmacist Charged With Trafficking Drugs Worth $270M in Bitcoin Related Stories Market Wrap: Bitcoin Trudges Past $11.7K as DeFi Lending Rates Gyrate Market Wrap: Bitcoin Trudges Past $11.7K as DeFi Lending Rates Gyrate View comments \|\| YouTube Urges Court To Quash Cryptocurrency Scam Lawsuit, Citing Social Media Immunity: Alphabet Incs (NASDAQ: GOOGL ) (NASDAQ: GOOG ) video streaming service YouTube filed a motion this week to dismiss a lawsuit brought on by blockchain startup Ripple and its CEO Brad Garlinghouse, the Block reported . What Happened The San Francisco-based startup and Garlinghouse had sued YouTube in April, complaining that the platform didn't stop scammers from posting videos related to a cryptocurrency giveaway scam that used the Ripple CEOs likeness. YouTube is citing Section 230 of the U.S. Communication Decency Act, which gives social media platforms immunity against content posted by third parties, the Block noted. The Alphabet subsidiary, in its motion to dismiss, said it didn't "orchestrate or participate in that scam, and after being notified about fraudulent content posted by the hijacked accounts, YouTube removed it. President Donald Trump had signed an executive order in May, targetting social media networking, with regards to content posted on the platforms, after entering into a spat with Twitter over the moderation of his tweets. Why It Matters Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL ) co-founder Steve Wozniak, along with 17 others, also sued the Alphabet run streaming website for similar reasons on Wednesday. The lawsuit claimed Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT ) co-founder Bill Gates and Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA ) CEO Elon Musks likeness had also been used by cryptocurrency scammers to defraud YouTube's audience. Musk, Gates, and other high-profile users were also targetted in a similar cryptocurrency giveaway scam on Twitter Incs (NYSE: TWTR ) platform last week, except this time, their personal verified profiles were hijacked. Price Action Alphabet Inc Class A shares traded 0.25% higher at $1,520 iand Class C shares traded 0.3% higher at $1,520.36 in the after-hours session Thursday. See more from Benzinga Facebook Ad Boycott To Continue, Publicis Predicts As Organic Revenue Drops 13% In Q2 Apple's Steve Wozniak Sues YouTube Alleging Inaction On Bitcoin Fraud Alphabet's Waymo, Fiat Chrysler Deepen Partnership To Develop Self-Driving Light Commercial Vehicles © 2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| Bitcoin News Roundup for July 14, 2020: Related:The Real Story Behind Tesla's Crazy Rally • Bitcoin News Roundup for July 14, 2020 • Bitcoin News Roundup for July 14, 2020 \|\| Bitcoin Cash and Litecoin to trade on public stock market for first time: Our mission to help you navigate the new normal is fueled by subscribers. To enjoy unlimited access to our journalism, subscribe today . Grayscale Investments , a New York firm that makes cryptocurrencies available in the form of stocks, announced on Monday that regulators have given the go-ahead for the sale of two new cryptocurrencies to the public. One of the newly listed stocks will represent shares of Litecoin, one of the oldest cryptocurrencies after Bitcoin, and the other is Bitcoin Cash, a controversial spinoff to Bitcoin launched in 2017. They are respectively the eighth and fifth biggest cryptocurrencies by market cap, according to Coinmarketcap . The new stocks, which will trade under the symbols LTCN and BCHG, will be available to the general public in the next two to four weeks. While cryptocurrency enthusiasts typically purchase Litecoin and other digital currencies directly on dedicated crypto exchanges like Coinbase or Binance, Grayscale has found a niche selling them in the forms of shares. The Grayscale crypto products amount to shares in a trust that holds the underlying asset. Even though the Grayscale shares trade at a premium to the price of the asset, they have found favor with some institutional investors concerned about investing in Bitcoin and other crypto assets directly. Meanwhile, Grayscale stocksespecially Bitcoinhave found a niche with millennial investors on apps like Robinhood. Indeed, Charles Schwab reported in December that the Bitcoin stock, which trades under the symbol GBTC, was one of the top five equities held by millennialsahead of stocks like Netflix . Grayscale builds investment products that operate within existing regulatory frameworks. With two additional products gaining approval for public trading, were broadening access for investors to gain exposure to the digital currency asset class, said Grayscales managing director, Michael Sonnenshein in a statement. The new Litecoin and Bitcoin Cash stocks bring to six the total number of cryptocurrencies available to the public as shares. The other stocks, also packaged by Grayscale, represent shares of Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ethereum Classic, and a blend of different currencies. More broadly, Grayscale has developed a lucrative practice selling shares of its trusts to accredited investors. Those investors are initially barred from reselling those shares to the public, but once regulators grant a green light to do so, they are typically able to make a considerable profit. Grayscale stocks trade on the OTCQX, an over-the-counter market, where securities do not have to be registered with the SEC. Instead, industry regulator FINRA oversees such offerings. Story continues This story has been updated to correct the ticker symbol for Bitcoin Cash and to reflect that the shares will be sold by secondary investors rather than by Grayscale directly. More must-read finance coverage from Fortune : Meet the one-branch bank that did more PPP lending than Citi Are we seeing a reverse square rootsymbol economic recovery ? A real bind: Banks that carry out Trumps new sanctions could violate Hong Kong security law The best and worst places in the U.S. to invest in real estate during the pandemic Why slashing product prices is usually a terrible idea This story was originally featured on Fortune.com View comments \|\| Arbitrx 'Coin Connect LP' Wants To Bogleize Cryptocurrencies: EXCERPT: Also Read \|Indore: 14-Year-Old Egg Seller's Cart Overturned When he Allegedly Refused to Pay 100 Bribe, Video Goes Viral Arbitrx Crypto Asset Management “Coin Connect LP” (Ireland) plans to target small ticket size investors with what it says is the first index investment tied to cryptocurrencies. CONTENT: Also Read \|Lend Wiz Vows to Continue Helping US Businesses Bounce Back Adrienne (CSO at Arbitrx): Nowadays bitcoin and other crypto assets are hot properties in the financial market place, everyone is talking about it and what to get involved as soon as they can. But everything which has lots of opportunities also has many drawbacks, the same case is with the crypto market, the volatility, unpredicted movements are some of its drawbacks, which are not easy to look after for a normal investor. That's why we at Arbitrx come with the idea of "Crypto Funds" with the help of our experienced Fund Managers who are 24x7 dedicated to market movements, will look after your hard earn money, and help you create wealth. Arbitrx Asset Management has launched what it says is the first cryptocurrency funds and is building out research and analysis, passive methodologies, and other infrastructure to attract small ticket size investors. Adrienne, CSO at Arbitrx “Coin Connect LP”, says she wants to offer small investors interested in cryptocurrencies an alternative to high-fee hedge funds that now dominate the fledgling cryptocurrency sector. Arbitrx offers the index strategy in a partnership vehicle, as the Securities and Exchange Commission has not yet approved any initial coin offerings or crypto exchange-traded funds (ETF) and has not said whether it will ultimately approve any. Adrienne, who was involved in some of the large scale real-estate, gold, and, bond market since long, says the business of cryptocurrency is still in the early stages and reminds her of exchange-traded funds 10 years ago when she first joined the then-nascent industry. Over the years, she witnessed how small investors were cautious about investing in cryptocurrency before Arbitrx and others provided quality research, fund classifications, and data on the volume, liquidity, and other factors that influenced how cryptocurrency performed over time. Adrienne, who was managing large scale funds before joining Arbitrx, is hoping to provide the same kind of infrastructure for cryptocurrency funds, which potentially could offer high returns with low correlation to other asset classes. "Right now, we're spending a lot of time educating potential investors about crypto and blockchain," says Adrienne. "Ultimately, the quality of the data contributes to a healthy ecosystem." Arbitrx's first product, called the "ARBITD" Arbitrx Day Trading Fund & “ARBITB” Arbitrx Bitcoin Fund, offers exposure to currencies and charges a flat 2 percent fee. The fund is rebalanced daily & weekly and holds the top currencies weighted by market capitalization. Adrienne hopes to expand into other crypto index products based on factors such as market capitalization and other technology trends as the asset class develops. Arbitrx also aims to lower fees as the cost of services, such as custody, declines over time. Adrienne is also hoping to convert the fund to an ETF once the Government moves on cryptocurrencies. Arbitrx is not the only firm building index crypto funds. Coinbase and Digital Asset have both said they will launch some form of crypto index funds. \|\| Crypto ‘Giveaway’ Scams Continue to Flourish on YouTube: Crypto scams on video hosting platform YouTube are continuing to prey on unsuspecting victims. In scam videos seen this week, the identities of Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin and Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, founders of the U.S.-based Gemini exchange, have been used to lure people into giving up cryptocurrencies like bitcoin and ether . The “giveaway” scams are based on the promise of doubling one’s funds after send an initial amount to a wallet address via QR code. Victims, in fact, receive nothing in return and lose the crypto they sent. In separate videos, which have since been removed by YouTube, both Buterin and the Winklevoss twins can be seen talking on stage, praising the benefits of their projects. The video grabbed for one of the scams featuring Buterin appears to be taken from an Ethereum event held in London earlier this year. YouTube has been under fire from Ripple Labs and CEO Brad Garlinghouse , who are suing over allegations the social media giant fails to police its platform against fake XRP giveaway scams. YouTube frequently blocks cryptocurrency-focused accounts that are not scams. The firm has previously said errors occur because of the sheer volume of content it has to monitor. YouTube, Gemini Exchange and the Ethereum Foundation did not return requests for comment by press time. See also: Encrypted Messaging Site Privnote Cloned to Steal Bitcoin Related Stories Crypto ‘Giveaway’ Scams Continue to Flourish on YouTube Crypto ‘Giveaway’ Scams Continue to Flourish on YouTube Crypto ‘Giveaway’ Scams Continue to Flourish on YouTube Crypto ‘Giveaway’ Scams Continue to Flourish on YouTube \|\| Bitcoin News Roundup for Aug. 28, 2020: With bitcoin and gold reversing losses, CoinDesks Markets Daily is back for your latest crypto news roundup! For early access before our regular noon Eastern time releases , subscribe with Apple Podcasts , Spotify , Pocketcasts , Google Podcasts , Castbox , Stitcher , RadioPublica or RSS . This episode is sponsored by Crypto.com , Bitstamp and Nexo.io . Todays Stories: Related: The Case for $500,000 Bitcoin Bitcoin, Gold Recover After Jerome Powell Speech Shakes Markets Bitcoin and gold are reversing losses seen on Thursday after the Federal Reserves announcement of a more relaxed approach to tackling inflation. Binances Bitcoin Bid-Ask Spreads Tighten as Cryptocurrency Markets Mature The narrowing gap between bitcoin buy and sell orders on big exchanges like Binance shows an increasing depth to cryptocurrency markets. Related: The End of an Era? Why Bitcoin and MMT Won the Week Chainalysis Report Shows Healthy Crypto Usage in Venezuela The Venezuelan governments push to create a cryptocurrency-centric economy appears to be working, but perhaps not in the way officials had hoped. Bitmain, Ebang Among 21 Bitcoin Mining Farms Stripped of Energy Perks in Inner Mongolia Affected mining centers in the area may see a notable increase in electricity costs. For early access before our regular noon Eastern time releases , subscribe with Apple Podcasts , Spotify , Pocketcasts , Google Podcasts , Castbox , Stitcher , RadioPublica or RSS . Related Stories Bitcoin News Roundup for Aug. 28, 2020 Bitcoin News Roundup for Aug. 28, 2020 View comments \|\| Fidelity Seeks SEC Approval For A Bitcoin Index Fund: Fidelity Investments is coming up with a new fund specifically for Bitcoin. What Happened: The financial services company filed a Form D notice with the SEC and now awaits approval from the regulator. The newly incorporated pooled investment fund, Wise Origin Bitcoin Index Fund I, LP, will be based out of Fidelity’s Boston headquarters. Fidelity manages over $8.3 trillion customer funds, according to Forbes, and might now be expanding its portfolio to include Bitcoin as well. In 2019, its subsidiary Fidelity Digital Assets was approved by the New York Department of Financial Services to engaged in cryptocurrency-related businesses. In January this year, Fidelity Digital Assets announced that it would extend cryptocurrency custody support to Nickel Digital Asset Management – a United Kingdom based investment company that invests in virtual assets. Why It Matters: The bitcoin-only fund will manage the portfolio for qualified purchasers with a minimum investment value pegged at $100,000. The company plans to handle the Bitcoin fund through a new unit called Fidelity Digital Funds, according to a Bloomberg report. In a survey published in June 2020 spanning 800 institutional investors in the US and Europe, almost 60% of the respondents claimed that they would include digital assets in their portfolio and 91% were open to cryptocurrency exposure. Price Action: Bitcoin traded 0.23% higher at $11,401.04 at press time early Thursday. Photo courtesy: Marco Verch via Flickr See more from Benzinga Under Armour Sued By UCLA Over 0M Sponsorship Contract Breach Electric Vehicle Maker Xpeng Raises US IPO Target To .5 Billion Google Says Chrome Pages To Load Up To 10% Faster With Latest Upgrade © 2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] None available.	Trend: down \|\| Prices: 11506.87, 11711.51, 11680.82, 11970.48, 11414.03, 10245.30, 10511.81, 10169.57, 10280.35, 10369.56
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2017-02-16] BTC Price: 1027.44, BTC RSI: 60.34 Gold Price: 1240.00, Gold RSI: 66.30 Oil Price: 53.36, Oil RSI: 53.45 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Bitcoin Services Inc. Purchases Four Antminer S9 Bitcoin Miner: GRANDVILLE, MI / ACCESSWIRE / January 4, 2017 /Bitcoin Services Inc. (OTC PINK: BTSC) announced today that it purchased four Antminer S9 bitcoin miners. The S9 has more hashing power than any previous device crammed into its silicon; a massive 14 TH/s (TeraHash per second). A total of 189 chips, spread over 3 circuit boards, are combined to achieve this phenomenal hashrate. In addition, after several shareholder inquiries, the company has no plans for a reverse split. The current share structure as of today is 511,784,705 OS, 387,512,190 Restricted, and 124,272,515 Float. About Bitcoin Services Inc.: Our business operations are Internet based to the consumer and consist of three separate streams, as follows: (1) bitcoin escrow services, (2) bitcoin mining, and (3) blockchain software development. The principal products and services are the mining of bitcoins, providing escrow services for buyers and sellers of bitcoins, and the development and sale of blockchain software. The market for these services and products is worldwide, and sold and marketed on the Internet. Safe Harbor Statement This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27a of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended and section 21e of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Those statements include the intent, belief, or current expectations of the company and its management team. Prospective investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties, and that actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors. Accomplishing the strategy described herein is significantly dependent upon numerous factors, many that are not in management's control. Some of these factors include the ability of the company to raise sufficient capital, attract qualified management, attract new customers, and effectively compete against similar companies. CONTACT: [email protected] SOURCE: Bitcoin Services Inc. \|\| Sprint Still Has Plenty Of Short Squeeze Potential In 2017: While Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ ) and AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T ) continue to dominate the U.S. mobile carrier market share, another carrier dominated Wall Street in 2016. Sprint Corp (NYSE: S ) shares surged 145.8 percent in the past year despite its positioning as the smallest of the “big four” U.S. carriers in terms of subscribers . A major part of Sprint’s move may be due to the massive number of traders that have been betting on Sprint to fail. It’s likely no coincidence that the entire time Sprint shares were skyrocketing in the past year, the stock’s short interest was plummeting 36.6 percent. Short sellers have spent much of the last year unwinding their positions, and short covering has contributed a significant amount of Sprint's volume during its run-up. The good news for Sprint bulls is that there appears to be plenty more potential short covering volume out there. Despite the 2016 short squeeze, Sprit remains one of the most heavily-shorted stocks in the entire NYSE. According to shortsqueeze.com, Sprint still has an elevated short percent of float of 21.7 percent. There are currently a mind-boggling 142.1 million Sprint shares held short with 5.8 days to cover. If the slow-burn Sprint short squeeze continues in 2017, the stock’s 145 percent one-year gain may only be the beginning. See more from Benzinga Don't Blame Millennials For Being Terrible Employees Gartman: Bitcoin Is Nearly Incomprehensible At This Point Apple Kicks Off 2017 With News Of 'Blowout' App Store Sales © 2017 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. View comments \|\| Why hyperinflation is coming: By Yves Lamoureux, president and chief behavioral strategist of macroeconomic research firm Lamoureux & Co. The stage is being set for a central bank-fueled hyperinflation to take place in several years. Our position has remained the since calling the next turn of hyperinflation in 2012. Here is our epic piece on Zero Hedge . And while we are at it, we fully matched it with our bond call , which is the first pre-requisite. Yes, we are currently in deflation. I could not agree more, but this time it is different, as assets will fork at a juncture and move beyond the expected behavior—the results of a failed monetary transmission mechanism. Recall the London whale. What have we learned from it? That unless you bought the whole market, the remaining 5% not owned could derail prices—a situation where the tail wags the dog. The point is that unless central banks buy 100% of the government debts, they will still lose control of the fight. What fight? The mismatch of debts to savings globally. Gold must first go through a few related hoops and revert to a positive correlation with the US dollar. Meanwhile, cryptocurrencies may be one of the newest benefactors of the hyperinflationary wave. Bitcoin had a great run since we started our analysis at $300 (not unlike our analysis of gold, which coincidentally began when it was at $300). And we expect this march to last well beyond the next two decades—finally ending in a massive bond crash and the subsequent flare-up of gold (as physical gold is default-free). S&P 500 PE Ratio Source: Robert Shiller Once the current correction passes, outflows of bonds will precipitate a sharp move up in stocks over the coming decade. And in a hyperinflationary environment, central banks will also be buying stocks. This will cause the supply of stocks to drop and P/E ratios to remain in a new elevated range of 25 to 50. Prior articles: Why the crisis of 2019 begins now How to prepare for the next major selloff in stocks: trader Story continues By Yves Lamoureux, January 16, 2017 ©Copyright, Lamoureux & Co. This communication is for information purposes only and should not be regarded as an offer to sell or as a solicitation of an offer to buy any financial product or service.This publication is proprietary and is intended for the use of the subscriber only. All information provided is impersonal and not tailored to the needs of any person, entity or group or persons. Lamoureux & Co. shall not be liable for any claims. \|\| China's media is about to go to 'war' Russia style: (Reuters) China is consolidating its overseas news network, CCTV, and giving it a makeover,according to the Associated Press.The network will be called CGTN. At the same time, Xinhua, China's official state news network, will consolidate a bunch of outlets under a new umbrella to focus itsfinancial-reportingefforts. China Securities Journal, Shanghai Securities News, Economic Information Daily and Xinhua Publishing House will all now be housed underChina Fortune Media Corporation Group. Xinhua says this is an effort to deepen "the central authority's reforms of the cultural system" and "increasing mainstream media's influence in the area of financial information." This move shows China following the example of Russia's state-backed international network, RT. China wants more control over its story — specifically the story of its economy — being told around the world, in similar fashion to how RT acts to spread Russia's viewpoint across the globe. Chinese media has always been tightly controlled by the state, but under Xi Jinping that has taken on a whole new meaning. Around this last time last year, Xiwas visiting newsroomsensuring that journalists and executives had sworn their loyalty to the Chinese Communist Party. "All news media run by the Party must work to speak for the Party's will and its propositions and protect the Party's authority and unity," Xi was quoted as saying. Xi has called for this ideological uniformity when it comes to all kinds of thought from education at all levels to Chinese think tanks. CCTV has been around since 1958 and has been available globally and available in English, Arabic, French, Spanish, and Russian for years, and it has a bureau in DC. In 2011, I toured their DC facilities as part of a Columbia Journalism project researching global media networks — Iran's Press TV, France's France 24, Qatar's Al Jazeera, Russia's Russia Today (RT), and China's CCTV. The Columbia group found CCTV's content mostly boring but inoffensive: Officials doing ribbon-cutting ceremonies at new infrastructure projects and Chinese cultural content. Of course until 2008 RT operated in much the same way. It was meant to be a friendly introduction to Russia. After President George W. Bush became vocal about his opposition to Russia's incursion into neighboring former Soviet state Georgia, however, things changed. RT's directive then morphed into challenging the US as a superpower and questioning the legitimacy of its government. In an interview withGermany's Der Spiegel in 2013,RT'sEditor-in-chief, Margarita Simonyan, said that during the Georgia conflict Western media "acted as if they were Georgia's ministry of defense." A year later she referred to what her network does as fighting in"a media war." With China's focus on the financial world, it appears its aims will not be exactly like Russia's: China could be seeking to spread its economic message, while RT tends more toward the geopolitical. The Chinese economy is under strain thanks to years of exploding debt (now approaching 280% of GDP) and currency leaving the country at an eye-popping rate ($82 billion in December). This move will shore up China's economic messaging not just at home but also abroad. NOW WATCH:Here's the massive gap in average income between the top 1% and the bottom 99% in every state More From Business Insider • Bitcoin plunged again • Lincoln is outperforming the luxury auto market • Bitcoin is still dropping \|\| 6 ETF Trends Likely to Take Centre Stage in 2017: Donald Trump’s win as the U.S. President and the most sought-after OPEC output deal has actually set the tone of 2017 investing. Many are bullish on the prospect of oil price this year though rising U.S. supplies can anytime thwart the winning momentum in the oil patch. However, Trump-backed hopes are still in fine fettle. Added to these, there are plenty of other events – across asset class and regions – that could prove to be game-changers this year. In view of this, we intend to highlight a few ETF trends that are likely to be prevalent in 2017: Stocks to Be Bullish Overall The year can be attributed to stocks. The first and foremost reason for it is an end to earnings recession. Earnings growth entered into the positive territory in Q3 of 2016 following five consecutive quarters of decline. For the upcoming Q4 earnings season, the S&P 500 is expected to score 3.3% earnings growth on 4.1% revenue growth. Earnings for Q1 of 2017 are expected to surge 10.3% for the S&P 500 on 7.5% higher revenues, as per the Earnings Trends issued on January 4, 2017. The earnings growth trend is expected to stay firm even for Q2, Q3 and Q4 of this year with an expectation of 9.8%, 8.2% and 12.5% on revenue growth of 5.7%, 5.5% and 4.8% (read: Ten Predictions for the ETF Industry in 2017). Along with earnings recovery, stabilization in the oil patch after a prolonged rout and a Trump-induced fiscal boost along with lower taxes should augur well for stocks this year. Still, withmarkets appearing overvalued by some measure and the President-elect Trump yet to roll out promised measures, cautious investors with a long-term notion can opt for value ETFs over growth. Investors should also note that a stronger U.S. dollar is likely to take some shine off the S&P 500 index as the components are heavily exposed to foreign currencies. Investors should note that SPDR S&P 500 Value ETF SPYV has a positive weighted alpha of 23.00 while SPDR S&P 500 Growth ETF SPYG has it at positive 13.90. This indicates a higher growth potential in SPYV. Story continues Currency-Hedged Foreign ETFs to Rule The U.S. dollar is presently at a multi-year high on bets over faster Fed policy tightening and an improving U.S. economy. On the other hand, foreign economies are also gaining momentum. Business and consumer sentiments in the European Union are at about six-year highs. Business conditions in the Japanese economy are also improving. An upside is more likely for European and Japanese stocks given the ultra-easy monetary policy over there, which will keep their currencies low against a soaring greenback and boost those economies. As a result, currency-hedged ETFs like WisdomTree Japan Hedged SmallCap Equity ETF DXJS, WisdomTree Japan Hedged Quality Dividend Growth ETF JHDG and O'Shares FTSE Europe Quality Dividend Hedged ETF OEUH will likely rule the year ahead. More Factor-Based ETFs to Come On Line Factor-based products have been quite a trend in 2016 as the fashion for plain vanilla ETFs is gone. Issuers are coming up with a more striking investment objective which can create a winning combination in the present investing environment. All in all, smart beta and multifactor ETFs will likely carry forward the legacy of the ETF world. An example of recently launched factor-based ETFs is ALPS Dorsey Wright Sector Momentum ETF SWIN (read: 6 ETF Ideas Most Favored by Issuers in 2016). More Players to Enter ETF Industry Be it big banking giants or hedge fund managers, players are increasingly entering the ETF industry. We have already have seen J.P. Morgan and Goldman venturing into the ETF world and now Wells Fargo is also eyeing the space with its first-ever multi-factor ETF. Saba Capital Management, a New York-based hedge fund manager, is also planning to foray into the ETF space with an ETF related to closed-end funds. Expense Ratio Cut With rising competition among issuers for market share, expense ratios are increasingly being slashed. So long, Charles Schwab and Vanguard ruled the world of low-cost ETFs. But last year, BlackRock and Fidelity enacted steep fee cuts for several of their products. A new set of rules under the Department of Labor’s “fiduciary standard,” which asked advisors to give precedence to their client’s interest over their own also played a role in this burgeoning trend. For example, BlackRock lowered fees for its S&P 500 tracking ETF, iShares Core S&P 500 IVV, from 0.07% to 0.04%. The fee cut made IVV less expensive than other popular ETFs in its domain. Even a relatively new-comer like Hartford Funds, which launched Lattice Strategies and its ETF operations earlier in 2016, announced that it will lower the expense ratio on four of its smart-beta funds effective January 1 (read: Buy These ETFs as BlackRock Cuts Fees). Bitcoin ETF to Hit the Market? Even if we are yet to have a bitcoin ETF, one is expected to hit the market in 2017. Winklevoss Bitcoin Trust has filed for one to make it easy for investors to bet on this soaring digital currency. As per CNBC, “bitcoin is a very volatile asset” but doesn’t have a strong correlation with other classes. Bitcoin’s value beat the $900 mark in late December for the first time since February 2014 (Also read: Explaining Bitcoin and Crypto Currency). India's demonetization also gave a boost to bitcoin trading volumes. Moreover, trading volumes in China have been solid with the government taking proactive measures against illegal money transfer. With this, investors expect to see an approval of the first bitcoin ETF in 2017. Want key ETF info delivered straight to your inbox? Zacks’ free Fund Newsletter will brief you on top news and analysis, as well as top-performing ETFs, each week. Get it free >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report SPDR-SP5 VL (SPYV): ETF Research Reports ISHARS-SP500 (IVV): ETF Research Reports WISDMTR-JP HSCF (DXJS): ETF Research Reports OS-FT EUR QDH (OEUH): ETF Research Reports WISTR-JP HQD (JHDG): ETF Research Reports SPDR-SP5 GR (SPYG): ETF Research Reports To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report \|\| Major banks develop small business blockchain solution: Why EMEA Banks are exploring Blockchain (BI Intelligence) This story was delivered to BI Intelligence " Fintech Briefing " subscribers. To learn more and subscribe, please click here . In further evidence of firms' growing focus on blockchain-based solutions that target particular pain points in the financial services industry, seven large European banks have signed a memorandum of understanding regarding a blockchain-based, cross-border trade finance platform for small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), according to Finextra. Deutsche Bank, HSBC, KBC, Natixis, Rabobank, Societe Generale, and UniCredit intend to work together on the platform, dubbed Digital Trade Chain (DTC), and plan to launch it in seven European markets: Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and the UK. DTC aims to simplify trade finance for small enterprises. The platform will be based on a blockchain solution originally commissioned by Belgium-based KBC and built by Belgian IT firm Cegeka, which has already been tested to proof of concept (POC) stage. The banks point out that while many larger businesses use letters of credit to speed up and reduce the risks around the trade finance process, this solution is often not appropriate for or not available to smaller businesses. The new platform will function as an alternative to letters of credit for SMBs. It will work by connecting the parties involved — typically, the buyer, buyer's bank, seller, seller's bank, and transporters — on a single blockchain platform, accessible both online and via mobile. They claim that using blockchain technology makes it easier to register payments, track shipments, and improve accountability. Moreover, the banks say, keeping all records attached to a transaction on the shared blockchain will reduce time spent on paperwork and administrative tasks, thus speeding up the order-to-settlement process. That KBC's competitors have agreed to collaborate on a solution it originated is promising. That KBC's rival retail banks have agreed to further develop DTC suggests not only that the POC is promising enough to convince leading financial institutions to invest in it, but also that interbank rivalry may be less of an obstacle to developing user networks than previously thought. For a blockchain solution to be viable, it has to be widely adopted by many players in the sector. Initially it was thought by many that for this to happen, the solution would have to be built from scratch by a large group of FSIs. However, this latest group effort indicates that major firms are not fundamentally opposed to working on a solution initially developed by a rival institution. Story continues Blockchain technology, which is best known for powering Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, is gaining steam among finance firms because of its potential to streamline processes and increase efficiency. The technology could cut costs by up to $20 billion annually by 2022, according to Santander . That's because blockchain, which operates as a distributed ledger, has the ability to allow multiple parties to transfer and store sensitive information in a space that’s secure, permanent, anonymous, and easily accessible. That could simplify paper-heavy, expensive, or logistically complicated financial systems, like remittances and cross-border transfer, shareholder management and ownership exchange, and securities trading, to name a few. And outside of finance, governments and the music industry are investigating the technology’s potential to simplify record-keeping. As a result, venture capital firms and financial institutions alike are pouring investment into finding, developing, and testing blockchain use cases. Over 50 major financial institutions are involved with collaborative blockchain startups, have begun researching the technology in-house, or have helped fund startups with products rooted in blockchain. Jaime Toplin, research associate for BI Intelligence , Business Insider's premium research service, has compiled a detailed report on blockchain technology that explains how blockchain works, why it has the potential to provide a watershed moment for the financial industry, and the different ways it could be put into practice in the coming years. Here are some key takeaways from the report: Spending on capital markets applications of blockchain is expected to grow at a 52% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) through 2019, according to Aite Group, to reach $400 million that year. Banks and major financial institutions are working both collaboratively and independently to develop blockchain tech. Over 50 major financial institutions are involved with collaborative blockchain startups, like R3 CEV or Chain. And many are investing in the technology on their own as well. Putting blockchain to use for real-world transactions is likely not that far off. If working groups' tests are successful, firms could be using it to transact real value as early as the end of this year and we could see widespread industry application within the next few years. In full, the report: Examines the funding increases that are pouring into blockchain Assesses why blockchain is becoming so popular and what factors are driving up increased research and development Explains in full how blockchain technology work and what assets make it valuable and vulnerable Identifies pain points in the financial industry and profiles how various firms are using blockchain to solve them Demonstrates the challenges to mainstream adoption and their potential solutions To get your copy of this invaluable guide, choose one of these options: Subscribe to an ALL-ACCESS Membership with BI Intelligence and gain immediate access to this report AND over 100 other expertly researched deep-dive reports, subscriptions to all of our daily newsletters, and much more. >> START A MEMBERSHIP Purchase the report and download it immediately from our research store. >> BUY THE REPORT The choice is yours. But however you decide to acquire this report, you’ve given yourself a powerful advantage in your understanding of blockchain technology. More From Business Insider Canadian Mint joins gold-trading blockchain network Blockchain platform race heats up Blockchain and IoT devices could revolutionize the supply chain \|\| 10 things you need to know before the opening bell: (A surfing instructor dressed as Santa Claus gives a lesson to orphans on Kuta Beach, Bali, Indonesia.Reuters/Antara Foto Agency) Here is what you need to know. Italy has reached a deal to save its banks.The Italian government has agreed to a20 billion-euro ($20.9 billion) fund to aid its struggling banking system, Reuters reports. Monte Paschi, the world's oldest bank, requested a bailout just moments after a deal was completed. Bitcoin is zooming higher.The cryptocurrency is up 5.1%, or $44, to $905.50, bringing its year-t0-date gain to 117%. Bitcoin trades at its best level in three years. "Fallen angel" debt had its best year since 2003.Bonds issued by companies that were unexpectedly downgraded by credit rating agencies have generated a 37% total return in 2016, more than double the total return for the broader high yield market, according to Goldman Sachs. Putin says the Russian economy is on the mend.Speaking at an annual year-end news conference, Russian President Vladimir Putin said the economy is slowly healing as the capital flight fades and wages pick up, Reuters, reports. Deutsche Bank and Credit Suisse have reached settlements with the US.The two banks have agreed to settlements related to mortgage-backed securities totaling more than $12 billion, Reuters says. The US is suing Barclays over mortgage-backed securities.The Department of Justice is suing the bank and two former executives, saying more than half of the $31 billion worth of packaged mortgage loans defaulted during the financial crisis, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters. Twitter has had a rough week.The stock has tumbled 12% over the past week after a slew of top executive departures. Stock markets around the world are lower.China's Shanghai Composite (-0.9%) trailed in Asia and Spain's IBEX (-0.4%) lags in Europe. The S&P 500 is set to open up 0.2% near 2,262. US economic data flows.New home sales and University of Michigan consumer confidence will be released at 10 a.m. ET and the Baker Hughes rig count will cross the wires at 1 p.m. ET. The US 10-year yield is down 1 basis point at 2.54%. US markets are closed on Monday.US stock markets are open a full day on Friday, but the US Treasury market will see an early 2 p.m. ET close. More From Business Insider • Apple's newest MacBook Pro is the first MacBook not recommended by Consumer Reports • A deep-sea fisherman in Russia has been posting his nightmarish finds on Twitter • Here's a super-quick guide to what traders are talking about right now \|\| Expect more blockchain hype in 2017: The price of the digital currency bitcoin rose more than 100% this year. At the outset of 2016, the controversial coin was trading around $430. This week, it cleared $900, its best level since 2013. As Bloomberg points out, it “crushed every other currency.” But the talk this year was all about blockchain. Blockchain, the open, tamper-proof, peer-to-peer ledger technology that underlies bitcoin, hascaptured the excitement of banks and financial institutionswho want to apply the technology to a wide range of processes—without bitcoin. (What exactly is blockchain?Watch this video.) This year, IBM announced the creation of a new unit called Watson Financial Services to encompass Watson, cloud, and all blockchain-related offerings and strategy. The computing giant created new jobs specifically devoted to blockchain, with the aim of harnessing blockchain technology for client services. Big banks and payment processors, too,staffed up for blockchain. On job networks like Monster.com, Yahoo Finance found more than 100 posts at companies like American Express, Bank of America, BNY Mellon, Capital One, Citigroup, Fidelity, and JPMorgan. Walmart partnered with IBM on a pilot program totrack the pork supply chain in Chinausing an IBM blockchain built through theHyperledger Project, an open-source group created by the Linux Foundation. IBM was a Hyperledger Project founding member, along with Accenture, Intel, JPMorgan, Wells Fargo and others. Jerry Cuomo, IBM’s VP of blockchain technologies,told Yahoo Financethat 2016 began with “blockchain tourism,” companies expressing public interest in experimenting with blockchain, but not necessarily doing anything real. Ramesh Gopinath, IBM’s VP of blockchain solutions, now says “there has clearly been a transition from experiments to real deployments.” To be sure, the examples of real deployments are still lacking. The average consumer doesn’t know or care about blockchain, and skeptics dismissall the “blockchain-without-bitcoin” talk as just talk. On the bitcoin blockchain, “miners” upload transactions in bundles called “blocks” and are rewarded in bitcoin as an incentive for mining; the transaction records are permanent and immutable. Bitcoin entrepreneurs insist that the entire point of a blockchain is negated if banks try to apply the same technology in a closed, permissioned context, without a digital currency. Some say banks will eventually come around to the uses of bitcoin itself.Balaji Srinavasan, CEO of 21.co, compares it to old narratives around online dating. “It was like, it’s for nerds, it’s for nerds, it’s for nerds,” he says, “and then suddenly, oh, here’s Tinder, and now it’s totally flipped and normal and you’d be crazy not to date that way.” Even if major mainstream applications of blockchain haven’t come along yet, big companies have at least made real investment, demonstrating a faith that all of this will go somewhere. Companies like Chain now offer “blockchain as a service” (BaaS), building specialized blockchains for these high-profile clients. Oliver Bussman, former CIO at UBS,writes on his advisory firm’s blogthat 2017 “will be the ‘year of the pilot’ for blockchain in financial services, as it moves from a proof-of-concept technology into production, especially in the cross-border payment and trade finance areas,” but adds that broad adoption of blockchain technology will still “happen more quickly outside of financial services—in areas like supply chain management, in e-government, or health care.” Meanwhile, the membership list continued to grow for R3 CEV, a consortium for banks and financial companies interested in deploying blockchain technology to improve their operations. R3 expects to close a new funding round of $150 million in the first quarter of 2017. Blockchain hype continued to grow in 2016, and in 2017 it will only get louder. The headlines weren’t as kind to bitcoin. In August,hackers stole $54 million worth of bitcoins from Hong Kong bitcoin exchange Bitfinex, the largest bitcoin exchange in the world by US dollar volume. It was the largest bitcoin hack since the infamous hack of Mt. Gox in 2013. In December, the peer-to-peer payment app Circle, which had also offered the ability to buy and sell bitcoin and was one of the earliest prominent bitcoin startups, announced it would no longer allow bitcoin buying on its app. The company said it would still use bitcoin as a settlement token on the back end, and it had already been pivoting away from being bitcoin-only when itadded the ability to deposit money via Visa, MasterCard or debit card, but the damage was done: news headlines touted that a prominent bitcoin company “gives up on” bitcoin (Fortune), “pulls the plug on” bitcoin (Wall Street Journal) or “says bye-bye” to bitcoin (pymnts.com). Circle isn’t the first prominent bitcoin startup to move away from bitcoin publicly. Bitreserve, a cloud bank led by former Nike CIO Anthony Watson,changed its name last year to Uphold, dropping the “bit” found in so many bitcoin company names. And there’s more: theIRS subpoenaed the bitcoin company Coinbase, one of the most well-funded bitcoin startups and provider of the most popular US bitcoin wallet, for personal information of its users from the past three years. But blockchain, too, had low points in 2016. This month, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, and Santander alldropped out of R3. This comes despite JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon saying in January of this year that bitcoin was “doomed,” but “the blockchain is a technology, which we’ve been studying… and yes, it’s real. If it proves to be cheap and secure it will be adopted for a whole bunch of stuff.” Don and Alex Tapscott,authors of the book “Blockchain Revolution,” summarize the banks-and-blockchain hype in 2016 this wayin an op-ed at Coindesk: “2016 was the year that many bank CEOs woke up to both the threat and the opportunity of the blockchain. At a meeting of 50 CEOs of the 50 largest banks back in January, most were skeptical. Now most are investigating how this technology might transform their companies and industry services.” Expect the “blockchain, not bitcoin” narrative to continue among Wall Street circles in 2017, despite the eye-rolls it garners from bitcoin faithful. But the appeal of bitcoin, as an investment, shouldn’t be underestimated. Bitcoin, like gold, isseen as a safe haven asset, uncorrelated to the mainstream markets. So when there’s uncertainty in the economy, many investors turn to bitcoin, and when there are tightened capital controls in countries like China, many investors turn to bitcoin. With the start of a new US presidential administration,there will be some uncertainty, and that might push bitcoin even higher. — Daniel Roberts is a writer at Yahoo Finance, covering technology and sports business. Follow him on Twitter at@readDanwrite. Read more: Bitcoin price soars, but it isn’t just about Trump and Clinton Here’s where big banks stand on blockchain Why 21.co is the most exciting bitcoin company right now Coinbase is more bullish on bitcoin than ever \|\| Here's how Walmart and Green Dot could incentivize prepaid use: (BI Intelligence) This story was delivered to BI Intelligence "Payments Briefing" subscribers. To learn more and subscribe, pleaseclick here. New gamification features are coming to Walmart MoneyCard, the retailer's prepaid card issued by Green Dot. The program, called Prize Savings, is an effort to encourage holders to keep more money in savings. The firms believe there’s a “savings crisis” in the US, which reportedly prompted the launch of the program, but it could also indirectly increase engagement with Walmart MoneyCard, which ultimately helps both the retailer and the issuer. The program uses cash prizes to incentivize savings. The program enters MoneyCard customers into a monthly sweepstakes for saving funds. Users can use the MoneyCard app or website to transfer money from their card balance into the MoneyCard Vault, a free savings feature. For every dollar they enter into their Vault, they receive one entry in a sweepstakes, which draws 500 winners for cash prizes per month. Indirectly, the program incentivizes users to engage more with their prepaid card, which could indirectly encourage usage. • The program pushes users to engage with their MoneyCards more often. Thus far, the program is working. Prize Savings soft-launched in August, and since then has seen a 35% increase in the average Vault savings balance. To transfer, customers are forced to log into their MoneyCard online — something they might not do otherwise — which could help them discover other available features, like reload or transfer options — that they might use down the line. In addition, the cash prizes are distributed directly into users' MoneyCard accounts, which means customers are forced to engage with and use their cards in order to redeem their winnings. • This could help users better form habits around the card, which could increase usage of the MoneyCard product. Customers are beginning to use their prepaid card accounts much more like traditional bank accounts than ever before, a move that Prize Savings encourages. That could ultimately improve engagement with MoneyCard, which might ultimately benefit both Walmart and Green Dot in the form of fees. In addition, Green Dot has been looking for ways to improve digital engagement with its offerings, and it’s plausible it could apply a similar model if Prize Savings continues to be effective. Prepaid cards such as this are just one piece of the much larger payments ecosystem, which has grown more complex in the last several years and now includes issuers, merchants, processors, and more. John Heggestuen, senior research analyst atBI Intelligence, Business Insider’s premium research service, has compileda detailed report on the payments ecosystemthat drills into the industry to explain how a broad range of transactions are processed, including prepaid and store cards, as well as revealing which types of companies are in the best and worst position to capitalize on the latest industry trends. Here are some key takeaways from the report: • 2016 will be a watershed year for the payments industry. Payments companies are improving security, expanding their mobile offerings, and building commerce capabilities that will give consumers a more compelling reason to make purchases using digital devices. • Payments is an extremely complex industry. To understand the next big digital opportunity lies, it's critical to understand how the traditional credit- and debit-processing chain works and what roles acquirers, processors, issuing banks, card networks, independent sales organizations, gateways, and software and hardware providers play. • Alternative technologies could disrupt the processing ecosystem. Devices ranging from refrigerators to smartwatches now feature payment capabilities, which will spur changes in consumer payment behaviors. Likewise, blockchain technology, the protocol that underlies Bitcoin, could one day change how consumer card payments are verified. In full, the report: • Uncovers the key themes and trends affecting the payments industry in 2016 and beyond. • Gives a detailed description of the stakeholders involved in a payment transaction, along with hardware and software providers. • Offers diagrams and infographics explaining how card transactions are processed and which players are involved in each step. • Provides charts on our latest forecasts, key company growth, survey results, and more. • Analyzes the alternative technologies, including blockchain, which could further disrupt the ecosystem. To get your copy of this invaluable guide, choose one of these options: 1. Subscribe to an ALL-ACCESS Membership with BI Intelligence and gain immediate access to this report AND over 100 other expertly researched deep-dive reports, subscriptions to all of our daily newsletters, and much more. >>START A MEMBERSHIP 2. Purchase the report and download it immediately from our research store. >>BUY THE REPORT The choice is yours. But however you decide to acquire this report, you’ve given yourself a powerful advantage in your understanding of the payments ecosystem. More From Business Insider • THE MOBILE PAYMENTS REPORT: Market forecasts, consumer trends, and the barriers and benefits that will influence adoption • You won’t recognize the new world of digital payments without this report • THE MOBILE PAYMENTS IN CHINA REPORT: What the US can learn from China's enormous success in mobile payments \|\| Big China bitcoin exchange says no government pressure on outflows: By John Ruwitch SHANGHAI (Reuters) - The head of a major bitcoin exchange in China says few people there use the cryptocurrency to get around rules on how much money they can take out of the country, and despite a publicized meeting with the central bank last week the exchange, BTCC, hasn't been told explicitly to check capital outflows. Bitcoin's price took a steep dive on Friday after China's central bank cautioned investors to take a rational and careful approach to investing in the digital currency. The price had surged to record highs. The central bank's comments come as Beijing escalates a campaign to check capital outflows and slow the depreciation of the yuan currency (CNY=CFXS), which lost nearly 7 percent of its value against the U.S. dollar last year. With bitcoin's soaring price and the relative anonymity it affords, some believe the digital currency was becoming an attractive option for tech-savvy Chinese to hedge against the yuan and circumvent rules that limit individuals to $50,000 of foreign exchange each year. The Shanghai office of the People's Bank of China (PBOC) said on Friday it had met with BTCC to understand the platform's operations, highlight the risks, remind the exchange to abide by the law, and "urge the platform to carry out self-examination and corresponding clean-up and rectification" according to law. Asked if BTCC had received direct pressure on outflows, CEO Bobby Lee, who founded BTCC in 2011, said: "No. Not as of yet... Nothing verbal or written to us." In Beijing, the PBOC told two of China's other big bitcoin exchanges, Huobi and OKCoin, not to mention the depreciating yuan when advertising their platforms, the influential news outlet Caixin said, citing people familiar with the meeting. Star Xu, CEO and founder of OKCoin, confirmed there had been a meeting of the PBOC and leading bitcoin exchanges on Friday to discuss the operation of trading platforms. "The industry can benefit from balanced, risk-based regulation and/or oversight, and we look forward to further constructive discussions with the regulators and industry participants," Xu told Reuters in an emailed comment. Huobi's chief operating officer Zhu Jiawei said in an emailed response to Reuters queries that Huobi plans to work with other bitcoin firms to establish an alliance and rules to self-govern the industry. While it's possible to buy bitcoin with yuan and then sell it abroad for a foreign currency, BTCC's Lee said "to be honest, not many" people were doing it because of the cost. The renminbi price of bitcoin carries a premium to the price in other currencies, he noted. In addition, buy or sell orders in the 100,000 yuan ($14,423) to 1 million yuan ($144,233) range, and up, would influence the bitcoin spot price and affect the transaction. "For that range, you're not going to be able to do it at a good rate. You're going to lose 10 percent of your money," Lee said. "Maybe the individual household might buy 20,000 more dollars worth of bitcoin than their $50,000 (forex) quota, but that's a drop in the bucket." Still, Lee said various indicators, like active trading accounts, new users, actual deposits and withdrawals, were "very active" in China, and some key BTCC metrics were at "all-time highs", though he declined to be more specific. NOT LEGAL TENDER Bitcoin is not regulated in China, but the PBOC has declared it is not legal tender, and is instead a "virtual good", Lee said. That puts it in the same category as other goods. "If I pack a suitcase and take a plane to the United States, do the clothes, does the computer in my suitcase, does the watch I wear count towards capital flight?" he said. "Where do you draw the line?" He said no new or planned rules regarding bitcoin were discussed in the latest meeting with the PBOC, and he estimates it will be two to three years before China regulates bitcoin. In a statement on its website, BTCC, which calls itself the world's longest running bitcoin exchange, said it regularly meets with the PBOC and "work(s) closely with them to ensure that we are operating in accordance with the laws and regulations of China." Exchanges in China say they account for more than 90 percent of global bitcoin trading, which would help explain why a shift in Chinese demand would sharply affect the price. But many bitcoin experts say Chinese exchanges overstate their volumes in the digital currency, and attribute sharp moves to speculation by, for example, U.S.-based hedge funds. (Reporting by John Ruwitch; Editing by Ian Geoghegan) [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] MMMBTC \|\| Earn bitcoins for clicking ads http://btcclicks.com/?r=572c17df #bitcoin via @BTCClicks \|\| MMMBTC \|\| One Bitcoin now worth $830.89@bitstamp. High $835.00. Low $813.00. Market Cap $13.381 Billion #bitcoin pic.twitter.com/2dABKjvWAG \|\| MMMBTC \|\| MMMBTC \|\| MMMBTC \|\| Excellent... #CircleOfREKT remains valid(!) #Bitcoin #Blockchain #FinTech $BTC $BTCCNY @YourBTCC.pic.twitter.com/LS9PZEv08O \|\| Grow Your Bitcoin Automatic with bitcoin trade investment, bitcoins single mother. http://ow.ly/i7Vl3090QAp \|\| #GeoCoin #GEO $0.043403 (-35.43%) 0.00005474 BTC (-35.58%)	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 1046.21, 1054.42, 1047.87, 1079.98, 1115.30, 1117.44, 1166.72, 1173.68, 1143.84, 1165.20
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2016-03-01] BTC Price: 435.12, BTC RSI: 62.42 Gold Price: 1230.30, Gold RSI: 62.94 Oil Price: 34.40, Oil RSI: 59.98 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Digatrade Executes Joint-Venture with BitCarats: Exclusive Digital Asset Development & Exchange Listing Agreement VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / February 10, 2016 /BITX FINANCIAL CORP (BITXF) and its 100% owned and operated digital asset-currency exchange DIGATRADE(TM) (digatrade.com) today announced the execution of an exclusive asset-backed digital currency development and platform exchange listing agreement with BitCarats Capital Inc. Under terms of the agreement Digatrade, along with BitCarats Capital, will develop Caratscoin, the world's first diamond-backed digital-asset powered by blockchain. “Caratscoin will be the first asset-backed digital currency listed on the trading platform, an innovation that will include additional asset-backed crypto-currencies in the future," stated Brad Moynes, CEO of Digatrade. In collaboration with BitCarats Capital and financial technology partners (ANX Technologies), Caratscoin will be powered by secure blockchain technology - the world's first paired with Bitcoin as well as direct purchase via Digatrade multi-fiat currency order-book including US dollars and Euros via Visa & MasterCard, along with eCheck and Interac within Canada. A fully integrated, custom multi-signature Caratscoin digital wallet will be developed as a comprehensive solution, not only creating the Caratscoin, but adding value through features such as industry leading security architecture and encryption algorithms. Caratscoin owners issue the coin only if all authorized parties are present, the first to use this unique service which is unprecedented in the market. This system is most secure, as no one person has the only authority to issue the coin, considering the Caratscoin is designed to significantly increase in value in direct correlation to the appreciation in value of physical diamonds held in the company vault. BitCarats Capital CEO & Founder Colin Ferguson stated, "Carats Diamond Investment, which will provide the distinctive collection of diamonds to back BitCarats, has more than 30 years' experience in the diamond business and is the nation's first direct distributor from the world famous Argyle Diamond Mine in Western Australia. We house the country's leading collection of Natural Fancy Coloured diamonds, featuring trending colours such as red, vivid blues and champagnes." Ferguson continued, "Caratscoin will not only provide a new virtual asset-class and store of value, but also offer our investors instant payment, prepaid debit cards and the ability to transfer an asset between end users instantly, at a low cost and on a decentralized network."Caratscoin will be backed by a pool of certified, Natural Fancy Coloured diamonds, primarily featuring red, vivid blue, and champagne colours. Each diamond is certified by the Geological Institute of America, the world's leading diamond educational resource, and home to the most advanced laboratories. The diamonds are insured by Lloyd's of London and stored at a private vault at The World Trade Center, 999 Canada Place, one of the most secure buildings in Vancouver, Canada. Founded and led by BitCarats CEO Colin Ferguson, Carats Diamond Investment (carats.com) is committed to exceptional diamond education, quality and customer service, and was recently recognized by the Better Business Bureau (BBB) when Carats was awarded with their highest rating of A+ since joining the BBB 16 years ago. More information regarding this exciting new venture will be made available as it materializes. ABOUT DIGATRADE: DIGATRADE is a global digital asset-currency exchange located in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The Company is owned and operated 100% by Bit-X Financial Corp which is publically listed on the OTC.QB under the trading symbol BITXF. BITXF is a reporting issuer in the Province of British Columbia, Canada with the British Columbia Securities Commission "BCSC" and in the United States with the Securities Exchange Commission "SEC". Digatrade has now become a global platform offering its customers instant card-based transactions worldwide. CORPORATE CONTACT INFORMATION: Brad Moynes, CEOBit-X Financial CorpDigaTrade.com838 West Hastings Street, Suite 300Vancouver, BC V6C-0A6CanadaTel: +1(604) 200-0071Fax: +1(604) 200-0072www.digatrade.com Media inquiries:[email protected] Forward-Looking Information This press release contains certain "forward-looking information". All statements, other than statements of historical fact, that address activities, events or development that the Company believes, expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future constitute forward-looking information. This forward-looking information reflects the current expectations or beliefs of the company based on information currently available to the Company. Forward-looking information is subject to a number of significant risks and uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results of the Company to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking information, and even if such actual results are realized or substantially realized, there can be no assurance that they will have the expected consequences to, or effects on the Company. Factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations include, but are not limited to, the possibility of unanticipated costs and expenses. Any forward-looking information speaks only as of the date on which it is made and, except as may be required by applicable securities laws, the company disclaims any intent or obligation to update any forward-looking information whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise. Although the Company believes that the assumptions inherent in the forward-looking information are reasonable, forward-looking information is not a guarantee of future performance and accordingly undue reliance should not be put on such information due to the inherent uncertainty therein. SOURCE:Bit-X Financial Corp \|\| Australia's ASX invests in blockchain to simplify markets: SYDNEY (Reuters) - Markets operator ASX Ltd on Friday said it has made a minority investment in U.S.-based Digital Asset Holdings to develop distributed ledger technology, or blockchain, to potentially simplify Australias post-trade equity market. Blockchain technology, pioneered by Bitcoin, maintains a continuously growing list of transaction data which cannot be tampered with or revised. ASX paid A$14.9 million ($10.43 million) for a 5.0 percent equity interest in Digital Asset along with funding an initial phase of development and acquiring a warrant that will give it the right to purchase further equity and appoint a director to the board. ASX will work with Digital Asset to design a new post-trade solution for the Australian equity market, it said in a statement on Friday. Over the past year, interest in blockchain technology has grown rapidly. It has already attracted significant investment from many major banks, which reckon it could save them money by making their operations faster, more efficient and more transparent. (Reporting by Swati Pandey) \|\| CoinDesk's 2016 Report Suggests Bitcoin Isn't Dead Yet: While much of the press about bitcoin has been relatively negative over the past year,CoinDesk's "State of Bitcoin and Blockchain 2016" report shows that the cryptocurrency may not be as beaten down as many believed. The report, published on January 28, showed that despite a negative image in the media, bitcoin was gaining new users and the technology has a lot of potential in the coming year. New Users While the majority of the public remains cautious about using bitcoin, the cryptocurrency has seen a marked increase in users. The number of bitcoin wallets created over the past year has doubled, and daily bitcoin transactions have risen by 50 percent. The figures don't suggest that the cryptocurrency is going to reach widespread adoption imminently, but they are a promising sign that the currency is making slow and steady progress. Related Link:New Study Shows Bitcoin Has A Long Way To Go Mining Pools Consolidate CoinDesk's report also showed that bitcoin miners had begun to consolidate, leaving only a few pools to do the majority of the processing to uncover new bitcoins. This development has been troublesome to some bitcoin supporters who say that the cryptocurrency's decentralized nature is threatened by consolidation in the mining industry as it puts the power into large firms' hands. Blockchain Troubles Ahead As bitcoin is growing in popularity, there has been a debate among supporters as to how to move forward with the growing number of transactions. Blockchain can only process between three and seven transactions per second, something that will need to change if the currency is ever to reach widespread adoption. However, the bitcoin community has struggled with how to solve this problem with some calling for increased block sizes and others saying it would be better to optimize the coin itself. In any case, many expect 2016 to be a big year in which the two sides come to a final recommendation that the entire industry can abide by. Image Credit:Public Domain See more from Benzinga • Will A More PC Barbie Revive The Brand? • Traditional Retailers Set Their Sights On Amazon • Will Facebook's Live-Streaming Efforts Trump Twitter's Periscope? © 2016 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| Interest In Bitcoin Mining Returns: While markets around the world suffered significant turbulence this week, bitcoinclimbed6 percent. The cryptocurrency is well known for its wild swings in valuation, but many say the digital currency is back on a more stable path and could prove a worthwhile investment in the New Year. In 2015, bitcoin fell as low, as $183 as confidence in the cryptocurrency's staying power waned. However, on Thursday, bitcoin was trading at $429, a significant increase. Mining Returns With bitcoin on the upswing, bitcoin mining has begun togain popularityonce again, according to Bloomberg. Related Link:Mike Tyson Dives Deeper Into Bitcoin When cryptocurrencies were first introduced, miners set up their computers to solve complex problems and be rewarded with the release of new coins. As the value of bitcoin went up, so did the profitability of bitcoin mining. However, last year as bitcoin prices plummeted, the number of miners significantly declined as the cost to buy hardware and pay electric bills to run the machines outweighed the rewards. Now that bitcoin has made its way higher, mining efforts are increasing – especially among those who bought the necessary hardware last year, but haven't been able to make use of it. A Risky Business While mining is gaining popularity once again, many caution that bitcoin's price isn't the only factor that drives profitability for miners. This year, bitcoin's software will reduce the number of coins that miners receive for mining activities by half, something that could have an impact on the time it takes to recoup investment costs. Not only that, but bitcoin's price is far from stable. In past years, bitcoin's wild swings in value have proven that it is difficult to predict whether the cryptocurrency will be able to continue trading at current levels, making investing in mining equipment a bit of a gamble. Image Credit: Public Domain See more from Benzinga • Should Investors Be Worried About Apple? • CES Paints Worrying Picture For Telecoms • Netflix Gains On Expansion News, But Some Still Wary © 2016 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| XBT Provider AB: Bitcoin Tracker EUR (COINXBE) Now Available on Nasdaq Nordic through Interactive Brokers: Stockholm, Sweden (January 19, 2016) - XBT Provider AB (publ) announced today the availability of the ETN Bitcoin Tracker EUR in 179 countries. Starting today anyone with an Interactive Brokers account can trade the ETN Bitcoin Tracker EUR. The ticker code is COINXBE. ISIN: SE0007525332 The tracker is an exchange traded note designed to mirror the return of the underlying asset, U.S. dollar (USD) per bitcoin. This is the first bitcoin-based security denominated in Euro available on a regulated exchange. XBT Provider launched this financial instrument to meet the needs of investors` growing appetite for exposure to bitcoin prices. "Bitcoin tracker EUR" is listed on Nasdaq Nordic and traded in the same manner as any share or instrument listed on the Nasdaq exchange in Stockholm. COINXBE is also available via Bloomberg terminals. Direct link to specifications at Nasdaq:http://www.nasdaqomxnordic.com/etp/etn/etninfo?Instrument=SSE113749 Direct link to specifications at Bloomberg:http://www.bloomberg.com/quote/COINXBE:SS The full prospectus and more information is available onxbtprovider.com ABOUT THE ISSUER: XBT PROVIDER XBT Provider AB (publ) is a public limited liability company formed in Sweden with statutory seat in Stockholm. The issuer is incorporated under Swedish law and registered with the Swedish companies` registration office under registration number 559001-3313. Press release (PDF) This announcement is distributed by NASDAQ OMX Corporate Solutions on behalf of NASDAQ OMX Corporate Solutions clients.The issuer of this announcement warrants that they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of the information contained therein.Source: XBT Provider AB via GlobeNewswireHUG#1975095 \|\| How big banks are paying lip service to the blockchain: IBM has high hopes for blockchain technology. The IT giantannouncedon Tuesday a laundry list of plans to use blockchain tech and to help developers do the same. IBM (IBM) will offer tools through its cloud service for building blockchain apps, and it will open up IBM "Garages" in London, New York, Singapore and Tokyo for experts to collaborate with developers on blockchain tech. Taken in tandem with the recent flurry of banks and financial institutions expressing public interest in blockchain, the technology is having a moment. In September, a slew of banks including BBVA, Citi, Credit Suisse, JPMorgan, Royal Bank of Scotland, and UBS all joined a coalition,led by a firm called R3, to implement blockchain technology in banking. In December, five more big names hopped on board, including BNP Paribas, ING, and Wells Fargo. But the great irony of the banks' interest in blockchain is that the idea of a blockchain for traditional banking defeats the purpose of the blockchain—at least as it has been used thus far, with the digital currency bitcoin. And top executives from some of the very same institutions that have signed on to R3 have separately disparaged bitcoin. To understand what it is that banks claim to want to do with blockchain, you first need to understand the bitcoin blockchain, which is a public, decentralized ledger that records every single bitcoin transaction. Think of it like a library card in the cloud (not the card you use to take out a book, but the slip inside a book that lists all the borrowers). If you send a friend $5 worth of bitcoin, the transaction goes on the blockchain. If one bitcoin startup acquires another bitcoin startup for $500,000 in bitcoin, that, too, goes on the blockchain. And you can view the blockchain in real time, as transactions are uploaded, atblockchain.info. Transactions are added in bundles, called "blocks," by "miners," who receive a tiny fee in bitcoin as an incentive to mine. Miners use large, expensive computers to find and mine the blocks. The excitement of the bitcoin blockchain, to people in the digital currency world, is the potential for decentralized applications to be built on top of it that cut out the middle man. And the blockchain can be used to store and send anything of value, so there are companies using it to store documents like property deeds and even marriage licenses. And now: Enter the banks. They've long stayed away from bitcoin, which has a toxic public image thanks to headlines about bitcoin being used in embezzlement and Ponzi schemes. (Think of Mt. Gox andSilk Road.) MasterCard CEO Ajay Bangasaidhe believes bitcoin "starts bumping up against societal rules, which I worry about," and that, "it doesn’t give me the safety and security of knowing that I am who I am, and I’m paying who I know, which is what traditional currency does." And yet, MasterCard (MA) invested in Digital Currency Group, a venture firm that has itself invested in 65 different bitcoin and blockchain-enabled businesses. JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimonsaidbitcoin "is going nowhere... There is nothing behind a bitcoin, and I think if it was big, the governments would stop it." And yet, JPMorgan (JPM) has signed on with R3. Forget bitcoin, embrace blockchainBitcoin is doomed, if you ask Dimon. But the blockchain—nowthat'sexciting. As Dimonsaidon CNBC last month, "The blockchain is a technology, which we’ve been studying... and yes, it’s real. If it proves to be cheap and secure it will be adopted for a whole bunch of stuff." Translation: Blockchain is hot, bitcoin is not. We are seeing this sentiment again and again. IBM, in its extensive press release this week about its blockchain efforts, does not use the word "bitcoin" once. Bitreserve, a cloud banking vault launched by CNET founder Halsey Minor and led byformer Barclays CIO Anthony Watson, was so eager to shed the stink of bitcoin that it changed its name to Uphold. Blockchain "is so hot right now,"writes Erik Voorhees, the CEO of bitcoin startup Shapeshift, while bitcoin "has been left by the wayside, ignored like an embarrassing relative at a family gathering.” (And yet the price of bitcoin is up 24% in the last six months, 85% in the last six.) What will using blockchain tech even look like for banks? R3's web site says its mission is "building and empowering the next generation of global financial services technology." That's pretty vague. David Rutter, CEO of R3 and a former executive at London-based electronic brokerage ICAP, has said R3 will help banks and financial firms use the "fabric" of blockchain technology. You might think that people in the bitcoin world are pleased to see big, incumbent financial institutions embracing the underlying technology behind the leading cryptocurrency. They are not. Most of them see the banks' stated interest as empty lip service so far. What most people believe the banks want to do is employ somethinglikethe blockchain in their record-keeping processes: record customer deposits and withdrawals on a blockchain as opposed to whatever (likely outdated) software they currently use. Sounds simple enough. But it would have to be a closed ledger, accessible only to customers of the banks. And therein lies the contradiction: the bitcoin blockchain is public and open-sourced; nothing about it is closed. "Ican see why banks are interested in using permissioned ledgers, and maybe it will make their back office more efficient," says Jerry Brito, executive director of digital currency nonprofit Coin Center. "But at the end of the day, it's not a very exciting innovation. The real innovation is a completely open and global ledger that is permission-less. Having a closed, permissioned ledger run by banks, that might allow for better auditing, but there’s no innovation there, you still have to go through a consortium to use the ledger." That is, what banks seem to want to do is incongruous to the purpose of the blockchain. Digital Currency Group's Barry Silbert, who founded SecondMarket, which allowed for the trading of stocks in non-public companies, is similarly dubious of the "blockchain for banking" theme. "I’ve spoken quite publicly about my skepticism around the private blockchain approach," he tells Yahoo Finance. If R3 doesn't yield innovative fruit, then why are banks rushing to join up? For starters, as a PR effort: once a few were involved, the others looked stodgy by delaying. But Brito also believes the interest will subside once banks actually learn more about blockchain technology. "I think right now investors are kind of waiting for Wall Street to get through this blockchain phase," he says. "They have blockchain fever and they need to just get over it. Because if they develop their own closed blockchains,soon they’ll all realize they want to talk to each other, and they’ll be back to square one, doing banking." The bitcoin blockchain is open, global and permissionless. It has potential to serve as the backbone for additional exciting applications. If traditional banks want to employ it in their way, by acting as gatekeepers, it defeats the purpose. But don't expect that to dampen their public expressions of interest just yet. This is the first in a three-part Yahoo Finance series about blockchain technology. Thesecond partis about how you can invest in the blockchain; thethird partis about the biggest names in the industry. -- Daniel Roberts is a writer at Yahoo Finance, covering sports business and technology.Read more: Bitcoin advocacy group scores funding from biggest names in industry Bitcoin industry consolidates: Why Kraken bought Coinsetter Bitcoin's biggest investor bought its biggest news site Here's a sign that PayPal is embracing Bitcoin \|\| Safe Cash Speeds up Blockchain to 25,000 Transactions per Second: SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwired - Feb 24, 2016) - Safe Cash ( www.safe.cash ), a digital payment technology for banks, merchants, and consumers, has announced that it is able to handle up to 25,000 transactions per second on its blockchain -- more than 3,000 times as many as Bitcoin. The time to complete and final settlement is under five seconds. This makes Safe Cash the fastest private blockchain, orders of magnitude ahead of competing private blockchains that are simple forks of bitcoin or litecoin. "Because of its slow consensus time, uncertain governance, and price volatility, Bitcoin is not a reasonable solution for banks, and it's not built to scale for massive adoption of instant e-commerce," said Chris Kitze, founder and CEO of Safe Cash Payment Technologies. "No open-source software can touch this performance. Our development team worked for the past eighteen months to solve a number of critical technical problems. It is not trivial. We also have a clear technical path to increase this speed to 100,000 transactions per second later this year, well in advance of that kind of global demand." In an era of permissioned blockchains gaining favor with financial institutions over decentralized, freely trading cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, or Ripple, Safe Cash is one of the first blockchains to be commercially viable that can meet the transaction processing speed and throughput requirements of today's market. Safe Cash employs instant settlement in under five seconds, improved security, and controlled consensus that does not rely on miners or any intermediary coin that must be purchased. It allows banks to wean themselves off the high-priced, inefficient SWIFT network that can take days to transfer money. Banks can have their own "white label" blockchain that they control and manage. Inter-bank settlement can be achieved with multi-currency wallets, a separate bank settlement blockchain, or a combination thereof, depending on bank requirements and legal compliance. Story continues A demonstration of this technology is freely available at https://safe.cash , where the public is invited to get a free account to test out Safe Cash's loyalty token. Banks are invited to internally proof-of-concept test Safe Cash. About Safe Cash Payment Technologies, Inc. Founded in 2015, Safe Cash is the first payment system to allow cash to be used as a digital asset, with member banks storing the USD and providing tokens that are redeemable for cash. The system is designed to work globally and on most phones. All product and company names herein may be trademarks of their registered owners. \|\| MarilynJean Interactive (MJMI.QB) Shareholder Update: Marilynjean Interactive (MJMI) Is Pleased To Update Its Shareholders on Its Business Plan for the Coming Year HENDERSON, NV / ACCESSWIRE / January 18, 2016 /The crypto-currency space saw major strides forward in 2015 with ground-breaking developments in its underlying technology and regulation as well as an unexpected rise in Bitcoin prices. The space appears poised for a quantum leap forward in 2016 and MarilynJean is excited to be a part of what will likely be tremendous growth in the industry. From a technology standpoint, Bitcoin's blockchain is envisioned to revolutionize the settlement of securities and payments for both financial and non-financial institutions alike. Major stock and futures exchanges, clearing houses, and other technology organizations are exploring the use of blockchain technology to underpin their transaction verification systems. Bloomberg estimates that approximately $373 million was invested in Bitcoin start-ups in 2015. As investment in Bitcoin and blockchain technology grew, new regulation evidenced that Bitcoin is on track to become a widely used and accepted currency. New York issued its first Bitlicense allowing Goldman Sachs backed Circle Internet Financial to offer digital currency services in the state. The advent of regulated exchanges and trading instruments may have been a factor in driving demand for Bitcoin, its value having increased over 40% in 2015. While price volatility remained higher than traditional FIAT currencies, 2015 was overall a more stable year than its predecessor for Bitcoin. Looking ahead to 2016, MJMI plans to continue its focus on the key verticals of exchange, remittance and gaming. In addition, the Company plans to seek partnerships with firms involved specifically in development of applications based on blockchain technology. The Company plans to continue to expand its management and advisory board in 2016, advance the partnerships it began negotiating last year and continue to forge new alliances in the space. Peter Janosi, MJMI's president said: "We believe that MJMI's best avenue for growth is via acquisitions and strategic partnerships. We expect the industry to continue to expand and evolve rapidly and, as such, we expect our publicly traded currency to be a key strategic tool for growth and financing." About MJMI MJMI is in the business of providing safe and accessible services for the users of Bitcoin and other crypto-currencies. Crypto-currencies are a medium of exchange using cryptography to secure transactions and control the creation of new units. Bitcoin became the first decentralized crypto-currency in 2009. Crypto-currency is produced at a rate which is defined when the system is created and publicly known. By contrast, in centralized banking and economic systems, such as the Federal Reserve System, corporate boards or governments control the supply of currency by printing units or demanding additions to digital banking ledgers. However, neither companies nor governments can produce units of crypto-currency and as such the value of crypto-currencies are completely based on supply and demand, free from any governmental control. Many people believe crypto-currencies, and in particular Bitcoin, hold the promise of being the most significant advancement in global finance in modern history. The advent of Bitcoin creates a secure, easily accessible and transferable transnational currency that is completely liberated from political influence. MJMI is currently exploring partnerships in several verticals within the crypto-currency space. Management believes that several industries, including international remittances, currency exchange and online gambling are on the verge of being revolutionized by the use of Bitcoin to effect transactions. MarilynJean Media Interactive is among the first publicly traded companies focused on Bitcoin and the crypto-currency space. The company's trading symbol is OTCQB: MJMI. Website:www.marilynjean.comPress Contact:[email protected] SOURCE:MarilynJean Media Interactive \|\| MarilynJean Interactive (MJMI.QB) Shareholder Update: Marilynjean Interactive ( MJMI ) Is Pleased To Update Its Shareholders on Its Business Plan for the Coming Year HENDERSON, NV / ACCESSWIRE / January 18, 2016 / The crypto-currency space saw major strides forward in 2015 with ground-breaking developments in its underlying technology and regulation as well as an unexpected rise in Bitcoin prices. The space appears poised for a quantum leap forward in 2016 and MarilynJean is excited to be a part of what will likely be tremendous growth in the industry. From a technology standpoint, Bitcoin's blockchain is envisioned to revolutionize the settlement of securities and payments for both financial and non-financial institutions alike. Major stock and futures exchanges, clearing houses, and other technology organizations are exploring the use of blockchain technology to underpin their transaction verification systems. Bloomberg estimates that approximately $373 million was invested in Bitcoin start-ups in 2015. As investment in Bitcoin and blockchain technology grew, new regulation evidenced that Bitcoin is on track to become a widely used and accepted currency. New York issued its first Bitlicense allowing Goldman Sachs backed Circle Internet Financial to offer digital currency services in the state. The advent of regulated exchanges and trading instruments may have been a factor in driving demand for Bitcoin, its value having increased over 40% in 2015. While price volatility remained higher than traditional FIAT currencies, 2015 was overall a more stable year than its predecessor for Bitcoin. Looking ahead to 2016, MJMI plans to continue its focus on the key verticals of exchange, remittance and gaming. In addition, the Company plans to seek partnerships with firms involved specifically in development of applications based on blockchain technology. The Company plans to continue to expand its management and advisory board in 2016, advance the partnerships it began negotiating last year and continue to forge new alliances in the space. Story continues Peter Janosi, MJMI's president said: "We believe that MJMI's best avenue for growth is via acquisitions and strategic partnerships. We expect the industry to continue to expand and evolve rapidly and, as such, we expect our publicly traded currency to be a key strategic tool for growth and financing." About MJMI MJMI is in the business of providing safe and accessible services for the users of Bitcoin and other crypto-currencies. Crypto-currencies are a medium of exchange using cryptography to secure transactions and control the creation of new units. Bitcoin became the first decentralized crypto-currency in 2009. Crypto-currency is produced at a rate which is defined when the system is created and publicly known. By contrast, in centralized banking and economic systems, such as the Federal Reserve System, corporate boards or governments control the supply of currency by printing units or demanding additions to digital banking ledgers. However, neither companies nor governments can produce units of crypto-currency and as such the value of crypto-currencies are completely based on supply and demand, free from any governmental control. Many people believe crypto-currencies, and in particular Bitcoin, hold the promise of being the most significant advancement in global finance in modern history. The advent of Bitcoin creates a secure, easily accessible and transferable transnational currency that is completely liberated from political influence. MJMI is currently exploring partnerships in several verticals within the crypto-currency space. Management believes that several industries, including international remittances, currency exchange and online gambling are on the verge of being revolutionized by the use of Bitcoin to effect transactions. MarilynJean Media Interactive is among the first publicly traded companies focused on Bitcoin and the crypto-currency space. The company's trading symbol is OTCQB: MJMI. Website: www.marilynjean.com Press Contact: [email protected] SOURCE: MarilynJean Media Interactive \|\| What to Expect from Overstock.com's (OSTK) Q4 Earnings?: Overstock.com Inc.OSTK is expected to report fourth-quarter 2015 results after the closing bell on Feb 4. Overstock.com is an online closeout retailer that sells brand-name merchandise at deep discounts. The offerings include bed-and-bath goods, kitchenware, watches, jewelry, electronics, sporting goods and designer accessories. Overstock, a Bitcoin supporter, hopes to reinvent the public stock market using cryptosecurities, or virtual stocks based on Bitcoin's blockchain technology. Bitcoin is a digital currency platform with no central regulating authority involved in the transactions. It is also called crypto currency because it utilizes military-grade cryptography to protect users against fraud. Bitcoin and other cryptocurencies operate on blockchain which is a distributed public ledger. Cryptosecurities will likely bring the next major change in the stock market. With the SpeedRoute deal, Overstock will enter a new financial technology space. SpeedRoute’s infrastructure and underlying technologies will help the company to connect the t0 securities trading platform with the entire U.S. equity market. This will enhance transparency and efficiency of the existing capital markets, which was the basic idea behind t0.com. The blockchain technology allows investors and buyers to track down their purchases and ownership of cryptosecurities, ensuring complete transparency. Moreover, the t0.com blockchain technology facilitates same-day settlement of securities. Additionally, Overstock started the Black Friday holiday sales event a full week before the shopping holiday. This should have a favorable impact on the fourth-quarter results. Apart from this, Overstock also announced that Merrill Lynch Professional Clearing Corporation (“Merrill Pro”), the last defendant remaining after Goldman Sachs, in Overstock.com’s longstanding market manipulation case, has settled its claims by paying $20 million to Overstock.com and its co-plaintiffs. This is likely to boost results in the to-be-reported quarter. Stocks to Consider Here are some stocks, which you may consider as they have a favorable Zacks Rank and a positive Earnings ESP and are likely to post an earnings beat this quarter: MaxLinear, Inc. MXL has an Earnings ESP of +2.94% and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). SolarWinds, Inc. SWI has an Earnings ESP of +2.27% and a Zacks Rank #1. Fidelity National Information Services, Inc. FIS has an Earnings ESP of +2.17% and a Zacks Rank #3. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days.Click to get this free report >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days.Click to get this free reportSOLARWINDS INC (SWI): Free Stock Analysis ReportMAXLINEAR INC-A (MXL): Free Stock Analysis ReportFIDELITY NAT IN (FIS): Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] Liquid Bitcoin \|\| My robot has 3,500 hp left! I've earned a total of 3,375,980 free satoshis from http://www.robotcoingame.com/?id=3030376 #robotcoingame #Bitcoin \|\| #DigitalNote #XDN $ 0.000087 (1.48 %) 0.00000020 BTC (-0.28 %) \|\| LIVE: Profit = $897.17 (10.67 %). BUY B20.41 @ $420.00 (#VirCurex). SELL @ $456.22 (#Bitfinex) #bitcoin #btc - http://www.projectcoin.org \|\| Current price: 383.31$ $BTCUSD $btc #bitcoin 2016-01-28 11:00:19 EST \|\| BeonPush-RTBs-Invest $ 20 for a passive income http://bit.ly/1PXNSeb #affiliatemarketing #bitcoin #money #btc pic.twitter.com/opdNHlDhit \|\| Liquid Bitcoin \|\| Liquid Bitcoin \|\| $372.00 at 07:15 UTC [24h Range: $365.00 - $374.00 Volume: 7111 BTC] via #btcusdpic.twitter.com/fIbSqE6SHc \|\| #RDD / #BTC on the exchanges: Cryptsy: 0.00000005 Bittrex: 0.00000005 Average $1.9E-5 per #reddcoin 20:00:01	Trend: no change \|\| Prices: 423.99, 421.65, 410.94, 400.57, 407.71, 414.32, 413.97, 414.86, 417.13, 421.69
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis] Not fully available. [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht makes $100k Bitcoin price prediction: The founder of infamous dark web marketplace the Silk Road has predicted that Bitcoin could reach $100,000 in 2020. Ross Ulbricht was given two life sentences plus 40 years without the possibility of parole on charges of money laundering, computer hacking, conspiracy to traffic fraudulent documents, and conspiracy to traffic narcotics by means of the internet. The Silk Road operated through the Tor web browser with drug dealers accepting payments in Bitcoin. It was one of the first use cases of Bitcoin and one that saw its popularity rise across the world. At the time of Ulbrichts sentencing in 2015, Bitcoin was worth just $235 following a two-year bear market that saw it fall from $1,150 in late 2013. Here are the first six posts of a series Im calling #BitcoinByRoss . I hope you find it helpful. Let me know what you think. https://t.co/oKE8UXudTu Ross Ulbricht (@RealRossU) December 10, 2019 Now, writing from prison, Ulbricht claims that by using the Elliott Wave Theory, Bitcoins future price becomes more predictable. He has suggested that the $20,000 top in 2017 was the third wave and that the upcoming fifth wave will drive the price to $100,000. If the $20,000 peak is the end of wave three, then the correction pattern we are in (or just came out of) is wave four, and we can expect wave five to take us to new all-time highs, he wrote. The post on Ulbrichts Medium channel is the latest in a string of uploads, with an article also being published in September on how Bitcoin equates to the Libertarian ideal of freedom. Bitcoin did not appear in a vacuum. It was a solution to a problem cryptographers had been struggling with for many years: How to create digital money with no central authority that couldnt be forged and could be trusted, he claimed. For more news, guides, and cryptocurrency analysis, click here . The post Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht makes $100k Bitcoin price prediction appeared first on Coin Rivet . \|\| South Korea to slap unregistered exchange bosses with jail time: South Korea will sentence cryptocurrency exchange bosses to prison if they fail to register with the nations financial regulator. On Thursday, the National Assemblys Amendment Subcommittee on Parliamentary Affairs made amendments to the legal framework so that digital asset exchanges are required to register with the Financial Services Commission (FSC). According to local publication The News , the amendment looks to make exchanges compliant with anti-money laundering guidance from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). It also states that exchanges must hold a real-name virtual bank account as well as subaccounts for each and every user. The notion of real-name bank accounts has attracted criticism in the past. In 2018, the FSC banned anonymous virtual accounts, a move which left just four exchanges standing including Bithumb and UpBit. South Korea has endured a turbulent relationship with cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology over the past two years. A surge in financial crime led to a specialist task force being launched in order to combat the rising issue. But there has also been a plethora of positivity surrounding crypto and blockchain, with an announcement in February stating that $1 billion would be poured into the industry . South Korea has also been keeping a close eye on the progress of the Bitcoin ETF proposals in the United States, despite the fact that they have all been rejected so far. For more news, guides, and cryptocurrency analysis, click here . The post South Korea to slap unregistered exchange bosses with jail time appeared first on Coin Rivet . \|\| Bitfinex now using compliance tool from Chainalysis to keep bad actors off its platform: Cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex has integrated a compliance tool from blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis to monitor cryptocurrency transactions in real-time. Announced Thursday, Chainalysis said its Know Your Transaction (KYT) compliance software will help Bitfinex monitor large volumes of cryptocurrency activity and identify high-risk transactions on a continuous basis. This, in turn, will help the exchange to focus on the most urgent activity and enforce compliance policies. Chainalysis solution aligned with what we were seeking to keep bad actors off of our platform, while protecting the privacy of our users," said Peter Warrack, chief compliance officer of Bitfinex. He added that the solution does not share information identifying users, which is kept strictly in-house. Chainalysis currently tracks 41 cryptocurrencies and stablecoins, including bitcoin (BTC), ether (ETH), bitcoin cash (BCH), Tether (USDT), Maker and Dai. It is expected to add support for XRP and several other coins in the near future. Bitfinex joins Binance and Bittrex exchanges who recently began using Chainalysis KYT software to monitor suspicious transactions. Founded in 2014, Chainalysis provides compliance tools to banks, businesses, and governments. Its top clients include Barclays, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, and EU law enforcement agency Europol, among others. Last month, Chainalysis cut its workforce by about 20% (laying off 39 employees) to be on the "path to profitability." \|\| Graphic: The best year financial markets have ever had?: By Marc Jones LONDON (Reuters) - For all the angst about trade wars, geopolitics and a sputtering and overly indebted global economy, 2019 might just be the best year investors have ever had. The numbers are staggering. Global stocks have piled on more than $10 trillion, bonds have been on fire, oil has surged almost 25%, former crisis spots Greece and Ukraine have top-performed, and even gold has sparkled. Wall Street <.SPX> and MSCI's near 50-country world index <.MIWD00000PUS> have both stormed to record highs after 30% and 24% leaps. Europe, Japan, China and Brazil are all up at least 20% in dollar terms too. Not exactly shoddy. A mirror image of 2018, when almost everything fell? Perhaps. But there have been a couple of important drivers. One was China showing it was serious about stimulus for its $14 trillion economy. The other was the screeching change of direction by the world's top central banks, led by the Federal Reserve, which cut U.S. interest rates for the first time since the financial crisis more than a decade earlier. "Whereas a year ago the Fed was raising rates and earnings were rolling over, this year you have felt the Fed has been on your side," said James Clunie, who manages asset firm Jupiter's Absolute Return Fund. "They are willing to do QE4 at a stock market (record) high, which is extraordinary," he added, referring to Fed efforts to bring down a spike in money market rates that some suggest could presage a fourth round of quantitative easing asset purchases. (GRAPHIC: Global markets in 2019 - https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/mkt/13/103/103/Pasted%20Image.jpg) That Fed shift and the worldwide blizzard of rate cuts that have come since have fired bond markets up like a rocket. U.S. Treasuries, the world's benchmark government IOU, have made a whopping 9.4 percent after yields plunged as much as 120 basis points. That followed a near 40 basis point fall the last quarter of 2018, after five quarters in which they had consistently risen. German Bunds -- Europe's safest asset -- have had their best year in five years, making roughly 5.5% in euro terms as the European Central Bank has reversed course too. The yield on 10-year debt dropped below zero percent for the first time since 2016 in March and dived as deep as -0.74% in September. (GRAPHIC: U.S. Treasuries vs German Bunds - https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/mkt/13/102/102/Pasted%20Image.jpg) In commodities, oil has raced up almost 25% following its best first quarter since 2009. That, plus key dividend rule changes, has made Russia's stock market the best in the world with a 40% rise and also made the rouble a top three currency. Metals have had a more mixed time. Copper is only 4% higher after buckling badly when trade tensions flared in the middle of the year, and aluminium is down 2%. But palladium, used in car and truck catalytic converters, has boomed 55%, while gold has had its best year since 2010 with a 15% jump. A statistic likely to make most jaws drop is that Greek banks -- remember all that euro debt crisis and capital controls stuff a few years back? -- have been some of the world's best-performing stocks this year. The country's biggest lender Piraeus Bank <BOPr.AT> is up 250%, as is smaller Attica Bank <BOAr.AT>, helping make Athens Europe's strongest bourse this year. But even those gains look skimpy in comparison to Californian video streaming darling Roko <ROKU.O>, whose shares have risen 440% this year. FANGTASTIC Tech has remained top more broadly. Apple <AAPL.O> may just have lost its crown as world's most valuable firm to Saudi Aramco but it can console itself with its 77% leap this year. Facebook <FB.O> has surged 57%, Microsoft <MSFT.O> 53%, Google <GOOGL.O> 30%, Netflix <NFLX.O> 24% and Amazon <AMZN.O> 19 percent. China's tech sector <.CSIINT> is right in mix too with a 64% rally and online behemoth Alibaba <BABA.K> up 53%. Cryptoassets have been typically wild. Bitcoin was up over up 260% in June but it has been hauled back to around 85%. Riskier high-yield debt, corporate bonds and local currency emerging market bonds and have all brought in between 11%-14% while Ukraine's dollar bonds and Greece's euro bonds have piled on over 30%. "It is just a great year for the asset class," said Pictet emerging market debt portfolio manager Guido Chamorro. "It has been a relentless rally across the board over the last couple of months and it is possible that it continues into next year." (GRAPHIC: Emerging market hard currency bonds in 2019 - https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/mkt/13/120/120/Pasted%20Image.jpg) Despite almost daily Brexit chaos, the loss of another prime minister and a snap election, UK gilts have returned 4.5% and a near 6% rise could land sterling its best quarter since 2009. In contrast, the Fed's pirouette and easing of trade tensions means the dollar index <.DXY> is about to experience its worst quarter in 1-1/2 years. It is still clinging to a 1.5% gain for the year, though, meaning it will be the euro's <EUR=> fifth red year in six. As usual the big swings have been in emerging markets. Argentina's peso <ARS=> and Turkey's lira <TRY=>, 2018's punchbags, have taken another beating. Argentina's woes have worsened such that it is restructuring its debt again while Turkey's worries have not really gone away. At the other end of the spectrum, a new president and a new reform agenda have seen Ukraine's hryvnia <UAH=> rocket 19%. Russia's rouble is up 11% and Egypt's pound <EGP=> is sandwiched inbetween with a 11.7% gain. (GRAPHIC: World stocks pile on more that $10 trillion in 2019 - https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/mkt/13/121/121/Pasted%20Image.jpg) (GRAPHIC: All aboard the emerging market express - https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/mkt/13/126/126/Pasted%20Image.jpg) (Additional reporting by Dhara Ranasinghe; Editing by Catherine Evans) \|\| GSR Partners With Canaan-Tied Startup to Offer Crypto Miners Derivatives: Liquidity provider GSR is introducing derivative products to help crypto mining companies hedge their risks against price volatility after partnering with Interhash, a mining services startup linked with Canaan Creative. The companiesannounced on Fridaythat a new set of derivatives contracts, including swaps, would help miners manage their risks when running operations in 2020, including the upcoming bitcoin halving (when the amount of bitcoin produced per block mined is cut in half). The new products are expected to launch next month, though a specific date was not provided. Related:Bitcoin Price Set to Outshine Gold and Stocks by Big Margin in 2019 According to a press release, some $3 billion in bitcoin is expected to be mined next year at current price levels. Rich Rosenblum, GSR co-founder, told CoinDesk that the companies were specifically offering two products: “a tailored risk management solution for miners,” which provides an average-priced option or swap contract, and a new type of futures contract that trades based on hashrate. “In a general sense if it’s hashrate-related it can either have physical delivery, delivering your spot hashrate via a proxy, or if it’s a forward market,” he said. “You can deliver bitcoin or you can deliver hashrate.” Hash rate can be delivered physically by using mining equipment as collateral for the contract, he said as one example. In a follow-up email, a spokesperson added that hashes which correspond to bitcoin-producing blocks could also be delivered, allowing the recipient to claim the mining reward. Related:Blockstream’s ‘Watchtowers’ Will Bring a New Justice System to the Lightning Network GSR would look to third-party data providers to detail what the actual hash rate on the bitcoin network or a difficulty derivative would be. However, this second type of derivative is not yet ready to be rolled out, he said. “We already have some of these new products ready but … the second is in a test phase and a work in progress,” he said. In a statement, GSR co-founder Cristian Gil said the factors miners must consider include price, mining equipment costs, electricity costs and mining difficulty, but at present companies do not hedge “against adverse price action.” “The unpredictability of their business models is unprecedented, so it is natural that this segment of the market is exploring ways to better hedge their risk,” he said. • Bitcoin Price Jumps 10%, But Bull Reversal Still $700 Away • Bitcoin ‘UTXOs in Loss’ at Record Highs Amid Price Sell-Off \|\| Bitcoin HODLers are avoiding the volatile price markets: The majority of Bitcoin HODLers have not moved their crypto in over 12 months, according to new research. Dataanalyzedby bitcoin analyst Rhythm found that 11.58 million (or around 60% of Bitcoin circulating supply) have not moved wallets once in the last 12 months. Commenting on his analysis on Twitter, Rhythm said that "even with a 85% increase in price during that time, those millions of bitcoin were not sold or traded—Hodlers of last resort are insane." November was a bad month forbitcoin. In October, the number one cryptocurrency by market cap surged, adding nearly $2,000. Since then, bitcoin has retraced all those gains amidst news that China has signaled its "blockchain not Bitcoin" stance followed quickly by acrackdown on local crypto exchanges. But according to new blockchain data, it looks like China's moves and bitcoin's price fluctuations have done little to whet the appetite of Bitcoin HODLers. The data suggests that many in the Bitcoin ecosystem are likely HODLing onto their funds, and have not been tempted to convert their cash into fiat. This data mirrors the rise in popularity of the "stakingsats" hashtag on Twitter, where HODLers compare their long positions on bitcoin and other currencies. Looking at recent price data, is not difficult to understand why. In November alone, bitcoin saw four consecutive weeks of weekly losses—with the digital asset falling over 35% from its October 26 peek to hit a low of $6,500 this time last week. Interestingly, the poor performance in November for bitcoin is not out of the ordinary. In 2018, bitcoin fell nearly 50% as the digital asset eventually broke bellow its longstanding $6,000 support to reach a low of just over $3,000 by December 2018. Since last week's $6,500 low, bitcoin has found a little momentum—shooting up 8%as the much-hyped US-based futures exchange Bakktbroke recordsfor both trading volume and open interest (total of all traders with active positions open) last week. \|\| ‘Multi-Part’ Payments Could Bring Bigger Bitcoin Sums to Lightning Network: Bitcoin tech startup Blockstream said its c-lightning software team is the first to release a working version of “multi-part payments.” While the name, c-lightning v0.8.0, is a mouthful, it’s a big improvement for the user experience of the lightning network, a new layer that’s probably bitcoin’s best shot at scaling to support a larger number of payments. The change updates the plumbing of lightning network payments so users can send larger lightning payments, with a much smaller risk of them failing. “The user experience of lightning clients is a topic that is brought up often, and we are working actively on improving the status quo, together with the teams working on other lightning implementations. Our goal is to make using lightning as easy as using an on-chain wallet,” lightning developer Christian Decker explains in a blog post . Related: Bitcoin Price Set to Outshine Gold and Stocks by Big Margin in 2019 Right now, it’s not as easy. For one thing, there’s a chance there won’t be enough liquidity in the network to support the transaction, especially for larger payments. Say a user sends 0.5 bitcoin across the network. Under the hood, it bounces from one node to the next until it reaches its destination. Each of those nodes needs to have 0.5 bitcoins that it can pass on to the next node. If one of the nodes in the path doesn’t have enough bitcoin, the user is out of luck and the payment fails. Multi-part payments tackle this problem by making it possible to break a payment into smaller pieces that are easier to send across the network, since a user can combine bitcoin from multiple channels they have open to send payments. “Multi-part payments allow a lightning node to bundle the capacity in all its channels when making a payment, making larger payments than any individual channel on its own would allow,” Decker writes. “This greatly reduces the headache of managing how many channels to open, and how to allocate funds to them, since you can now simply combine them as and when necessary.” Story continues Related: Blockstream’s ‘Watchtowers’ Will Bring a New Justice System to the Lightning Network Notably, while this release supports sending these types of payments, it still isn’t possible to receive them. That functionality is still being worked on. Decker claims the code change also “greatly increases” the resiliency of the entire payment network. Since users sending payments are less likely to have to transact with a large node, that’s a “single point of failure.” Decker writes : “The capacity of the largest channel used to be the limiting factor when performing payments. As such, users were incentivised to open a single channel, with as many funds as possible, to a node that was as stable as possible. This led to users rating the reliability of nodes before opening a channel with them, since that node would now be their single point of failure, i.e., if that node was down, they couldn’t do much. With multi-part payments, users can now open multiple channels to multiple nodes, while at the same time being sure that the funds will be there when they need it. For the network, this means more connectivity and better resilience against the threat of big nodes suddenly disappearing.” Blockstream says the technology will be expanded upon in future releases. Related Stories GSR Partners With Canaan-Tied Startup to Offer Crypto Miners Derivatives Bitcoin Price Jumps 10%, But Bull Reversal Still $700 Away \|\| PODCAST: Altcoins and Ancient History With Litecoin’s Charlie Lee: The best Sundays are for long reads and deep conversations. Subscribe to the Let’s Talk Bitcoin Show with iTunes, Google Podcasts or your favorite service • Token age and network effect • Testnet game theory and real money • Founder anonymity, then and now • Ad-hoc audits in the wake of MtGox's Collapse • Schnorr signatures, Tapscript and Taprootintentions at Litecoin • A “Coinbasemafia?” • Buying your own bank • and more… Related:MARKETS DAILY: UpBit Hack Reactions & Crypto Liquidity Insights Let’s Talk Bitcoin! is a long-running independent podcast on the ideas, people and projects powering the cryptocurrency narrative. On this show, we basically talk about everything other than the price. Since we started this conversation in early 2013, a whole world of blockchains and tokens has sprung up alongside bitcoin, and we talk about those too as real-world events help us see what’s real and what’s just clever marketing. VisitLTBShow.comfor all 418 of our past episodes or to subscribe directly to the Let’s Talk Bitcoin! show. Episode 419 Credits: Related:MARKETS DAILY: Tokenization Challenges and Another Tether Lawsuit Sponsors –Edge.app,Brave.com&eToro.com Guest – Charlie Lee (@SatoshiLite) Hosts • Adam B. Levine (http://ltbshow.com) • Andreas M. Antonopoulos (https://aantonop.com/) • Stephanie Murphy (https://www.stephaniemurphyvoice.com/) • Jonathan Mohan (https://twitter.com/JonathanMohan) Other Staff • Producer –Adam B. Levine • Editor – Jonas • Music (Theme) –Jared Rubens • Music (Other) –General Fuzz About the hosts: Andreas M. Antonopoulosis a best-selling author, speaker, educator, and one of the world’s foremost bitcoin and open blockchain experts. He is known for delivering electric talks that combine economics, psychology, technology, and game theory with current events, personal anecdotes, and historical precedents effortlessly transliterating the complex issues of blockchain technology out of the abstract and into the real world. In 2014, Antonopoulos authored the groundbreaking book, Mastering Bitcoin (O’Reilly Media), widely considered to be the best technical guide ever written about the technology. His second book, The Internet of Money, unveiled the “why” of bitcoin—and became a bestseller on Amazon— and led to the wildly successful follow-up The Internet of Money Volume Two. His fourth book, Mastering Ethereum (O’Reilly Media) was published in December of 2018. He is a teaching fellow with the University of Nicosia, serves on the Oversight Committee for the Bitcoin Reference Rate at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, and has appeared as an expert witness in hearings around the world, including the Australian Senate Banking Committee and the Canadian Senate Commerce, Banking and Finance Committee. Adam B. Levinejoined CoinDesk in 2019 as editor of our audio and podcasts division. Previously, Adam founded the long-running Let’s Talk Bitcoin! talk show with co-hosts Stephanie Murphy and Andreas M. Antonopoulos. Finding early success with the show, Adam transformed the podcast’s homepage into a full newsdesk and publishing platform, founding the LTB Network in January of 2014 to help broaden the conversation with new and different perspectives. In the Spring of that year, he would go on to launch the first and largest tokenized rewards program for creators and their audience. In what many have called an early influential version of “Steemit”; LTBCOIN, which was awarded to both content creators and members of the audience for participation was distributed until the LTBN was acquired by BTC, Inc. in January of 2017. With the network launched and growing, in late 2014 Adam turned his attention to the practical challenges of administering the tokenized program and founded Tokenly, Inc. There, he led the development of early tokenized vending machines with Swapbot, tokenized identity solution Tokenpass, e-commerce withTokenMarkets.comand media with Token.fm. Stephanie Murphy, PhD.is a scientist, passionate libertarian, prolific voice actor and long-time radio host. Uniquely among the Let’s Talk Bitcoin! Crew, she remains an enthusiastic observer of the space but has chosen to keep her professional life separate from her bitcoin fascination. Jonathan Mohanis an expert in the field of blockchain and distributed ledger technology use case analysis. He has acted in the capacity of strategic planning and development for many projects. Jonathan was a founding contributor to ethereum in January 2014. He was also an original contributing member of Consensys, an ethereum development studio as well as the founding contributor to both Factom and EOS. Jonathan formerly led BitcoinNYC, one of the largest blockchain meetups in New York City. Jonathan most recently founded Themys.io • Markets Daily: ETF Arguments and China Token Troubles • Statechains, and Trading the Panopticon for Magical Internet Money \|\| How China is using blockchain technology: Bitcoin’s priceshot upon Friday on the news that Chinese President Xi Jinping had issueda ringing endorsementofblockchaintechnology. But how is China using blockchain technology now, and what are the country’s plans for the future of blockchain andcryptocurrencies? China’s plans are wide and varied, but in the short term, the country seems primarily interested in creatingits own digital currency, partially as a means ofshutting out Facebook’s Libra. Facebook hopes to launch theLibrastablecoin some time next year, and the social media giant has positioned the project as a way to provide broader access to financial services to people around the world. The current plan is for Libra to be backed by several fiat currencies, though theChinese yuan is not one of them. A division of the People’s Bank of China—known as the Digital Currency Research Institute (DCRI)—is in charge of pushing China’s plans for a national digital currency forward. Just weeks ago, the organization announced that it is seeking tohire tech expertsto boost its digital currency efforts. China has made it clear that it’s worried about Libra, yet some Chinese government officials seem rather open, evendownright complementary, of Facebook’s endeavor. During September’s Shanghai Wanxiang Blockchain Conference, a state-backed blockchain event, Li Lihui, head of the Blockchain Research Working Group at the National Internet Finance Association of China, said Libra “will become a trusted organization that issues digital currency,” should it receive the necessary regulatory approvals. While China has a mixed relationship with digital assets, it’s clear that some within its government see things in Libra that they like, or at the very least respect. The same can likely be said of China’s attitude toward other digital assets, such asBitcoin. China, for example, has taken a tough stance against foreigncryptocurrency exchanges, but a recent court case in China’s “Internet Courts” saw Bitcoin recognized as having the same legal status as physical assets. Thecourt ruledthatBitcoinhas “value, scarcity and disposability,” and deserves protection from “Chinese property laws.” Digital assets and their utility are definitely on China’s blockchain radar. In fact, some Chinese institutions—such as the China Merchants Bank—are looking torelease their very own decentralized finance(DeFi) applications. As one of China’s biggest banks, the Merchant Bank houses over $1 trillion in assets and brought in more than $30 billion in 2018 alone. China Merchants Bank announced earlier this month that is has partnered with blockchain network Nevos to provide dapps to customers that offer financial services, though Nevos has yet to provide further details. China is also home to the world’s top Bitcoin mining company, Bitmain, whichlast week bested all other crypto startupson this year’s “Global Unicorn List.” The list, authored by the Shanghai-based Hurun Report, analyzed tech startups with a valuation of more than $1 billion, but that are unlisted on stock exchanges, with no private equity investment and less than 10 years old. All in all, 11 blockchain companies made the list, but Bitmain, with a valuation of approximately $12 billion, topped them all, once again highlighting the importance of Bitcoin mining in China. It’s more than a little curious, then, that China is currentlyconsidering implementing a banon cryptocurrency mining within its borders. The ban, if implemented, would allow Chinese authorities to “raise electricity prices for relevant businesses to force them to close,”accordingto theSouth China Morning Post. The ban could drive mining operations “underground,” force them to set up shop in surrounding nations, or completely shut down, which some industry observers argue could negatively impact the Bitcoin network. So while China’s president touts the wonders of blockchain, it’s worth noting that the government is simultaneously considering regulations that could adversely affect the crypto industry broadly. Worse still is the potential for blockchain technology to beused to bolster the Chinese government’s surveillance state. Somehave even suggestedthat China’s planned state-backed digital currency is nothing more than a cynical ploy to more closely monitor its citizens’ financial activities. Add to that the fact that one of China’s largest automakers—Wianxiang—recently sank nearly $30 billioninto a new blockchain startup that’s seeking to build a blockchain-powered “smart city” which can track residents’ data. “Wanxiang City,” is set to become China’s “largest, most interconnected, blockchain-powered smart city,” according to an announcement from the automaker last July. The company’s tech is meant to “track, transfer, and secure critical data such as resident identification cards and smart devices.” Libra co-founder David Marcus has repeatedlywarnedthat if U.S. lawmakers don’t hurry up and make up their minds on blockchain and cryptocurrency regulations, China will lead the way andget there first. Those fears may not be unfounded. As it stands, roughly74 percent of Bitcoin nodesare Chinese, while about 225 blockchain patents have also been filed in China. And last year, the Cyberspace Administration of China administerednew regulatory guidelinesthat will require all blockchain and crypto-based businesses to register with the government and pass along data regarding their customers. This includes non-Chinese citizens that utilize the services of these companies, so it doesn’t matter where you’re located. If you hold crypto in a Chinese exchange, for example, your data will probably be examined by Chinese state authorities. So while China indeed seems to have some big plans for blockchain, not all of those plans are the sort most crypto users will cheer. \|\| New Ransomware Tactic: Pay Us or the World Sees Your Keys: The creators of Maze Ransomware have added a new wrinkle to the typical hacker’s MO. Instead of quietly infecting and requesting ransom from victims, the so-called Maze team is publicly exposing victims by displaying real files exfiltrated from their hacked servers. This tactic could be a disaster for crypto companies that may have put private keys or other important financial data into their private archives, should they be breached. “Represented here companies don’t wish to cooperate with us, and trying to hide our successful attack on their resources. Wait for their databases and private papers here,” write the hackers on their public website, mazenews.top. “Follow the news!” Related: Alleged ‘Dark Overlord’ Hacker Gang Member Extradited to US Companies that have already been hit by the group include a grocery chain, Busch’s Inc., in Ann Arbor, Mich., and a lawn and garden company, Massey Services , in Florida. We’ve reached out to the alleged Maze victims; many have already made public information about the hacks on their websites. Another group, called REvil, promises to release for free or sell vital company information to competitors if its ransom is not paid. The hackers wrote: Each attack includes a copy of private, commercial information. In case they refuse to pay, the data will either be sold to competitors or posted on open sources. We’re interested in seeing how the GDPR [General Data Protection Regulation] authorities react. If they do not want to pay us they can pay 10 times more to the government. No problem. Translated by CoinDesk “For years, ransomware developers and affiliates have been telling victims that they must pay the ransom or stolen data would be publicly released,” said Lawrence Abrams, ransomware researcher at BleepingComputer . “While it has been a well-known secret that ransomware actors snoop through victim’s data, and in many cases steal it before the data [are] encrypted, they never actually carried out their threats of releasing it.” Story continues Related: Crypto-Mining Attacks Fell Sharply in 2019 but Ransomware Is Trending: Kaspersky “This is especially ghastly news for companies that may already face steep fines and other penalties for failing to report breaches and safeguard their customers’ data. For example, healthcare providers are required to report ransomware incidents to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which often documents breaches involving lost or stolen healthcare data on its own site,” wrote security researcher Brian Krebs . A list of invoices is one thing; publicizing the keys to a company’s crypto accounts are another thing entirely. Given the amount of data involved, there’s no telling what valuable information could be lurking amid a company’s paperwork. One victim was quick to publicly react to a Dec. 9 attack. “As early as Tuesday morning [Dec. 10], we began bringing key business systems back online, prioritizing manufacturing and logistics functions that enable us to make and ship quality products to our customers,” wrote Rich Stinson CEO of manufacturer SouthWire . “We are working diligently with our cybersecurity partner to understand the facts behind this event, resolve this disruption and resume normal business operations as quickly as possible.” Related Stories Global Android Vulnerability Could Grab Wallet and Banking Data BitGo Says It’s Now Processing 20% of Bitcoin Transactions [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] Ethereum moon lambo proof of work rekt hash rate confirmation smart contract multisig blocks. Lightning node tokenomics Byzantine Samourai wallet. 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It is time to buy more with from @NischalShetty @WazirXIndia @BitMEXdotcom @krakenfx @officialmcafee @balajis @tamilbtc https://t.co/9WQSPv6Tkc \|\| Verre enn boble! #Bitcoin er tilsynelatende lett å manipulere! https://t.co/Aejvsfzl2m \|\| Bitcoin Dominance Downtrend Comes to an End, Finding a New Floor at 65% @CoinInsidercom #Bitcoin News #Price Analysis https://t.co/Yl4QUkptkY \|\| ✅ 11 urodziny BTC 😊 #Satoshi #Nakamoto 2008 ‼️ https://t.co/KUm6bIQVBZ #cryptodraw #bitcoinmining #bitcoinnews #satoshi #jubilee #jubileeace w: Poland https://t.co/iW2ELYwOc0 \|\| BITCOIN JUST FLASHED THIS DEVASTATING SIGNAL (btc crypto live market new... https://t.co/CHx3lFZKxJ via @YouTube \|\| Time to sell XLM for : 0.00041586 BTC in HitBTC Date: 2019-11-11 13:39:14 \|\| https://t.co/VV5vzvpCq1 \|\| "Ethereum (ETH) Consolidating Below $190, Bitcoin Holding $9K" https://t.co/FnisowiNWR #bitcoin https://t.co/z8rRGqXeQx \|\| #BTC ラインブレイク。上いくのかな🤔	Trend: down \|\| Prices: 7511.59, 7355.63, 7322.53, 7275.16, 7238.97, 7290.09, 7317.99, 7422.65, 7293.00, 7193.60
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis] Not fully available. [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Bitcoin Cash: What Is It, History and How to Buy: Bitcoin Cash: What Is It, History and How to Buy Bitcoin Cash is an extension of Bitcoin , one of the most popular cryptocurrencies. It’s considered an “altcoin,” and was created in 2017. More specifically, Bitcoin Cash is a peer-to-peer electronic cash system that can process far more trades than normal Bitcoin. It has low fees and reliable trading systems, while still being a part of the Bitcoin network. It has quickly become an attractive option as a medium of exchange in the cryptocurrency market. If you’re thinking about investing in any type of cryptocurrency, it may be helpful to first talk with a financial advisor . What Is Bitcoin Cash? Bitcoin Cash was created in 2017 as a “fork” of Bitcoin. The fork that created it increased the size of its blocks, which are pieces of Bitcoin data that cannot be altered once recorded. This change allowed more transactions to be completed using Bitcoin Cash, which also makes it easier to scale. In 2018, it forked once again, into Bitcoin Cash ABC and Bitcoin Cash SV, which stands for Satoshi Vision. Bitcoin Cash and Bitcoin still operate on the same blockchain network and consensus mechanism. The supply of Bitcoin Cash is capped at 21 million tokens, which is the same as Bitcoin. As a fork of Bitcoin, it shares a common founder in Satoshi Nakamoto. How to Buy Bitcoin Cash Buying Bitcoin Cash isn’t significantly different from buying any other cryptocurrency . In fact, you can actually buy Bitcoin Cash or a crypto wallet directly from Bitcoin. No matter where you get a wallet from, you’ll need to make sure that it supports Bitcoin Cash. Remember that if you use a wallet, don’t forget your password or you may run the risk of losing access to your cryptocurrencies. When it comes to actually purchasing Bitcoin Cash, you have some other options as well. You can use a traditional cryptocurrency exchange like Kraken or Coinbase, which allows you to buy Bitcoin Cash using a fiat currency like USD. If you own cryptocurrency already and want to exchange it for Bitcoin Cash, you can use platforms like Binance, Poloniex or Bittrex, among others. You also have the option to buy fractional shares of Bitcoin Cash if you don’t have the ability to get a whole token. Story continues Bitcoin Cash History Bitcoin Cash: What Is It, History and How to Buy As noted before, Bitcoin Cash was created as a fork of Bitcoin back in 2017. After that, it further forked itself into Bitcoin Cash ABC and Bitcoin Cash SV. Bitcoin Cash ABC is what’s currently known as Bitcoin Cash. The first fork’s purpose was to increase the size of blocks from 1MB to anywhere up to 32MB. This move was designed to allow quicker and easier transactions since more could fit onto a single block and blocks would be less likely to stack up in a queue. Bitcoin Cash is designed to be easier to scale, and proponents believe that it could be used as a medium for daily transactions. That was actually the original idea behind Bitcoin before it became what it is today. The proposed average for transactions per block with Bitcoin was up to 1,500, but that number grew almost 25x with Bitcoin Cash. While Bitcoin Cash is technically different than Bitcoin itself, anyone who held Bitcoin at the time of the original split received the same amount of Cash tokens. Even someone who held Bitcoin at the time of the split and who hasn’t yet claimed their Bitcoin Cash can still do so at any time. Bitcoin Cash, despite the fact that it’s a fork of the most well-known cryptocurrency in the world, doesn’t come without concerns. While many hope that it can become a common medium of transaction, some people believe other cryptocurrencies are better set up in developing their own economies. Without a clearly defined governance protocol, Bitcoin Cash is difficult for investors to be confident about how the cryptocurrency will function in the future. Bitcoin Cash Price History According to CoinGecko, Bitcoin Cash skyrocketed after the fork to nearly $3,800 per token, far above where it stands today. It dipped down to around $80 in late 2018, and currently sits around $530 per token, as of the time of this writing. Its price has been fairly volatile, as cryptocurrencies can be. Since Bitcoin Cash is meant to be a medium of exchange, it’s supposed to be a safer, more stable investment than an asset-like cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin. However, there are no guarantees of value when it comes to any investment on the market. How to Mine Bitcoin Cash Like Bitcoin, you can also mine Bitcoin Cash, and it can be a relatively fruitful investment . Doing so involves mining a block of transactions. When you do this, you receive with 12.5 BTC, as well as all of the fees of that block of transactions. Keep in mind that mining Bitcoin Cash takes more computing power than mining Bitcoin . That’s because blocks can be between 8 and 32 MB. On the other hand, blocks of Bitcoin are only 1 MB. Should I Trade or Sell Bitcoin Cash? Bitcoin Cash: What Is It, History and How to Buy As is the case with any cryptocurrency, you’re subject to a lot of potential and actual volatility when you invest in Bitcoin Cash. Prices fluctuate on a daily basis, with the news constantly changing around all types of cryptocurrencies at the drop of a hat. This cryptocurrency works like a medium of exchange, but its price behaves far more like an investable asset. There is always a speculative element when it comes to investing in cryptocurrency, so make sure you understand exactly what that entails. Bottom Line Bitcoin Cash is a fork of Bitcoin, one of the most popular cryptocurrencies on the market. Unlike Bitcoin, its blocks are significantly larger, therefore enabling more transactions at a faster rate. Believers in Bitcoin Cash hope that the cryptocurrency can be a stable medium of exchange, but its volatility leaves that up for debate. All in all, it’s a strong cryptocurrency that’s easy to buy and store, despite some concerns about its structure. Crypto Investing Tips Cryptocurrency offers a legitimate investing opportunity, but remember that it can be supremely risky. Finding a financial advisor who can help you plan for this risk doesn’t have to be hard, though. SmartAsset’s free tool matches you with up to three financial advisors in your area in only five minutes. Get started now . If you’re contemplating investing in cryptocurrency, make sure to weigh the pros and cons. Cryptocurrencies can be incredibly risky, but their return upside is quite impressive. Just like any other investment, it pays off to build a diversified portfolio through an appropriate asset allocation . Photo credit: ©iStock.com/MicroStockHub, ©iStock.com/ijeab, ©iStock.com/Velishchuk The post Bitcoin Cash: What Is It, History and How to Buy appeared first on SmartAsset Blog . \|\| Cathie Wood Joins Board of European Crypto Platform Amun Holdings: Cathie Wood, CEO ofArk Investment Managment LLC, has announced that she will join the board of Amun Holdings Ltd. The news comes after the CEO personally invested in the operator of 21Shares, a platform specializing in exchange-traded crypto products. Amun Holdings was established in 2018 by current CEO Hany Rashawn and President Ophelia Snyder. The company rebranded in 2020, changing its name to21Shareswhile Amun remains as the parent company and ETP provider. 21Shares’ instruments are listed on Austrian, German, and Swiss exchanges. “21Shares is forging a new path for crypto ETPs by leading with research and a keen understanding of this developing asset class,” Wood said in a statement. 21Shares’ Short Bitcoin ETP allows investors to bet against bitcoin while its crypto basket index tracks top cryptos by market value. The company has plans to list its first non-Euro product to expand ETP options by up to 30 products in eight countries, Rashwan says. “Zurich-based Amun’sassets under managementhave climbed to about $2 billion from $27 million in March 2020,” said Rashwan. “It’s profitable, with $40 million to $50 million in annual revenue generated from both retail and institutional investors such as family offices. We built the company to make crypto as accessible as stocks and have seen tremendous demand for our products,” he concluded. Wood met with Snyder and Rashwan at a conference in 2019 and says she got to talking about the industry, its structure, and the potential for new tech applications to emerge. Snyderstated that“Cathie’s counsel on critical business strategy, product development, and distribution will be critical as 21Shares expands our global footprint.” The company’s other backers include Boost VC, Collaborative Ventures, Graham Tuckwell, Morgan Creek, and Quiet Capital. While the project between Woods and 21Shares is just getting started, her other ventures are struggling to stay afloat. It wasrecently reportedthat Woods’ flagship exchange-traded fund fell by more than 5% on Monday. This wouldn’t be so terrible if the fund hadn’t also tumbled more than 30% since peaking in February. The ARK Innovation ETF is an actively managed fund that invests in disruptive technology. Examples include electric vehicles and driverless cars. The fund has fallen more than 16% YTD. Top holders, including Tesla and Roku, were all in the red as of today. Tesla and Teledoc Heath leading the race toward the bottom, down 5.5% and 7.2% respectively. Ark’s Autonomous Technology and Robotics ETF is the only fund of Wood’s that is up for the year, seeing a 3% gain. \|\| Iran Cracks Down on Crypto Miners Using Household Electricity: Report: Cryptocurrency miners in Iran who use household electricity for their operations will face heavy fines, according to the country’s energy ministry. Furthermore, miners will have to pay for damages caused to the electricity network, a spokesman for the ministry said, as reported Sunday by English-language newspaper the Tehran Times. The measure comes in response to concerns over the burden cryptocurrency mining is placing on the country’s electricity supply, which has been under strain this year thanks to reduced rainfall limiting the output of hydropower plants. Iran has attempted to boost its sanction-hit economy with crypto mining. The country contributed some 4% of the total global bitcoin hash power in 2020 according to research by the University of Cambridge’s Centre for Alternative Finance. However, the country’s government has attempted to keep miners on a short leash to manage the economic benefits within the scope of its electricity supply. Mining facilities must register with the government, with owners being required to disclose their identities, the size of their farms and what kind of equipment they are using, per new directives issued last year. Also read: Iran’s Central Bank Reportedly Bans Trading of Crypto Mined Abroad Related Stories Buyer of Jack Dorsey’s First Tweet Reportedly Arrested in Iran Bitcoiners’ Approach to the Climate Change Fight Isn’t Working – This Might Argo and DMG Join Group Working to Lower Bitcoin Miners’ Carbon Emissions The Balkanization of Bitcoin: The Next Attack on BTC Is About Mining Provenance \|\| FOREX-Dollar pinned near one-month low, Bitcoin steadies near $57k after weekend drop: * Dollar hovers above 1-month low * Analyst says carry trade may thrive in low vol environment * Bitcoin trades near $57,000 after weekend plunge * Graphic: World FX rates https://tmsnrt.rs/2RBWI5E By Ritvik Carvalho LONDON, April 19 (Reuters) - The dollar traded just above a one-month low against major peers on Monday, with Treasury yields near their lowest in five weeks, after the U.S. Federal Reserve reiterated its view that any spike in inflation was likely to be temporary. The dollar was also held down by improved risk sentiment amid a rally in global stocks to record highs. Bitcoin stabilized after losses from Sunday, when it plunged as much as 14% to $51,541, which a report attributed to news of a power outage in China. The dollar index, which tracks it against six other currencies, was at 91.552, not far from last week's low of 91.484, a level not seen since March 18. The dollar bought 108.40 yen, its lowest against the Japanese currency since March 24. "Following the decline since end-March, the dollar index has stabilized since mid-last week," said Jussi Hiljanen, chief strategist, USD and EUR rates at SEB. "The dollar is likely to remain counter cyclical until the dollar rates in the 2-5y sector take another leg higher. As we expect the dollar rates to move more or less sideways during Q2, EUR/USD has room to gain in the coming months, especially if vaccination speeds up in the euro area and the earnings season pushes the stock market even higher." The euro changed hands at $1.1985, flat on the day and near its highest against the dollar since March 4. The European Central Bank meets on Thursday with internal divisions over the pace of bond buying, extended COVID-19 lockdowns and potential delays to the EU recovery fund form the backdrop. The 10-year Treasury yield sank as low as 1.5280% last week from 1.7760% at the end of last month, its highest in more than a year. The S&P 500 closed at a record high on Friday, extending a rally in global stocks. Story continues Fed Governor Christopher Waller said on CNBC on Friday that the U.S. economy "is ready to rip" as vaccinations continue and activity picks up, but a rise in inflation is likely to be transitory, echoing comments from other Fed officials, including Chair Jerome Powell, over the past week. "With liquidity still abundant, we are going to hear more about the FX carry trade – which thrives in a low volatility environment," said Chris Turner, global head of markets and regional head of research for UK and CEE at ING. "This especially being the case if the Fed manages to make the April 28th meeting a non-event. With the SOFR overnight USD interest rate now at 0.01%, the dollar clearly doesn't score highly on the carry front. And indeed a little more confidence in the European and global recovery stories may well see flows start to resume to EM – having been derailed by the Treasury sell-off in February and March." MSCI's emerging market currency index traded 0.1% higher on the day, and is up 0.8% from the start of last week. Bitcoin stabilized around $57,471 after a weekend plunge. Data website CoinMarketCap cited a blackout in China’s Xinjiang region, which reportedly powers a lot of bitcoin mining, for the selloff. Analysts at National Australia Bank cited "speculation in several online reports" that the U.S. Treasury may crack down on money laundering within digital currencies for the sharp move lower. The bitcoin rout also followed a decision on Friday by Turkey's central bank to ban the use of cryptocurrencies for purchases. Despite recent weakness, the world's most popular cryptocurrency remains up 97% in 2021, after more than quadrupling last year. "We suspect the 15% weekend correction in Bitcoin will not have broader market ramifications," ING's Turner said. (Reporting by Ritvik Carvalho; additional reporting by Kevin Buckland in Tokyo; editing by Larry King) \|\| Cryptocurrency scammers disguise themselves as Elon Musk to steal millions of dollars: Tesla CEO Elon Musk speaks during the unveiling of the new Tesla Model Y in Hawthorne, California on 14 March, 2019 (AFP via Getty Images) Elon Musk impersonators have swindled over $2 million from cryptocurrency scams over the past six months, according to data from the FTC . Thieves impersonating the Tesla CEO has been a consistent problem for some years. This usually occurs on Twitter, where Mr Musk is a frequent poster. Scammers, who reply to Mr Musk and sometimes mimic him by rebranding other verified accounts, make claims that if users send bitcoin they will return the cryptocurrency two times over. In 2018, several verified Twitter accounts, including those belonging to UK retailer Matalan and US publisher Pantheon Books, were taken over . "Im giving 10 000 Bitcoin (BTC) to all community!" I left the post of director of Tesla, thank you all for your support," the hacked account of Pantheon Books stated. Nearly 7000 people have reported losses of over $80 million in various cryptocurrency scams since October 2020, losing on average just under $1900 each time an increase 12 times over in the number of reports and 1000 per cent greater in financial theft. Some say theres a Wild West vibe to the crypto culture, and an element of mystery too. Cryptocurrency enthusiasts congregate online to chat about their shared passion. And with bitcoins value soaring in recent months, new investors may be eager to get in on the action. All of this plays right into the hands of scammers. They blend into the scene with claims that can seem plausible because cryptocurrency is unknown territory for many people, the FTC says. Online, people may appear to be friendly and willing to share their tips. But that can also be part of the ruse to get people to invest in their scheme. In fact, some of these schemes are based on referral chains, and work by bringing in people who then recruit new investors. As well as purporting to be Mr Musk, cryptocurrency scammers will impersonate government authorities and well-known businesses such as cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase. The FTC adds that 14 per cent of all reported losses to imposters are now in cryptocurrency. Story continues The attractiveness of cryptocurrency to investors, and scammers, is a double-edged sword. Although the currency has boomed over recent years and experts predict it is likely to increase further, it is notably volatile. Mr Musk himself recently crashed the cryptocurrency market after announcing that Tesla would not be accepting bitcoin in payment for Tesla vehicles , only two months after encouraging users to do the opposite. Meme-based cryptocurrencies, such as Dogecoin , have also boomed recently in a rise similar to the Gamestop stock market rocket . However, the governor of the Bank of England has said that cryptocurrency has no intrinsic value and that investors should be prepared to lose all their money. Read More The Independent visits Heathrow ahead of international travel restarting Ethereum founder tells Elon Musk how to fix dogecoin Bitcoin price live: Crypto recovers slightly after Elon Musk sends BTC and other coins plunging \|\| Can the Uptrend Continue for The Children's Place (PLCE)?: As of late, it has definitely been a great time to be an investor of The Children's Place, Inc. PLCE. The stock has moved higher by 21% in the past month, while it is also above its 20 Day SMA too. This combination of strong price performance and favorable technical, could suggest that the stock may be on the right path. We certainly think that this might be the case, particularly if you consider PLCE’s recent earnings estimate revision activity. From this look, the company’s future is quite favorable; as PLCE has earned itself a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), meaning that its recent run may continue for a bit longer, and that this isn’t the top for the in-focus company. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here . Bitcoin, Like the Internet Itself, Could Change Everything Blockchain and cryptocurrency has sparked one of the most exciting discussion topics of a generation. Some call it the “Internet of Money” and predict it could change the way money works forever. If true, it could do to banks what Netflix did to Blockbuster and Amazon did to Sears. Experts agree we’re still in the early stages of this technology, and as it grows, it will create several investing opportunities. Zacks’ has just revealed 3 companies that can help investors capitalize on the explosive profit potential of Bitcoin and the other cryptocurrencies with significantly less volatility than buying them directly. See 3 crypto-related stocks now >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report The Childrens Place, Inc. (PLCE) : Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research \|\| Week ahead: Global services PMIs, EU inflation, US jobs data, OPEC+ meeting: Investors are in for a shorter week as May comes to an end. Monday is a Bank Holiday in the UK, and the US also has a holiday, so, market activity will be on the slower side. However, there is still plenty on the schedule as June kicks off. First up, much of the focus will be on the final global services purchasing managers' index (PMI) figures for May, as economies reopen, and the biggest hit sector worldwide, regains its footing. Britain and America have seen the most positive economic rebound in terms of services. UK services PMI is expected to improve to 62.2 as more business reopen in May, while US ISM services is forecast to remain steady at 62.7. Manufacturing and construction PMIs are also due out for the UK and Europe. There will also be a focus on the crypto market, after a volatile month, which saw a number of top tokens including Bitcoin (BTC-USD), ethereum (ETH-USD) and dogecoin (DOGE) plummet to record lows. Elsewhere:The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) are due to hold their next monthly meeting on 1 June. It is yet unknown whether the 13 members will increase production or not. OPEC+ announced earlier this year that they would gradually increase supply to 2 million barrels per day (bpd). Analysts expect members to maintain the current plan, and increase the remaining 840,000 bpd in July. It is a subdued week for Britain in terms of economic data, with stock markets closed on Monday due to the May Bank Holiday. Coronavirus and the final stage of the roadmap out of lockdown will be on everyone's minds. Especially after prime minister Boris Johnson put a damper on plans to fully reopen the economy on 21 June. Johnson warned last Thursday that the Indian coronavirus variant could push back England's reopening, as the strain, first found in India spread rapidly in Britain. "All eyes will be on the government’s decision" on the fourth step of the roadmap out of lockdown," said Alpesh Paleja, lead economist at the CBI. "As and when restrictions lift further, we shouldn’t lose sight of how fragile the situation will remain for some businesses, and the government will need to keep a watching brief of what support may need to continue." Kicking things off on Tuesday, the final manufacturing PMI reading for May. This is followed on Wednesday by the net lending to individuals and mortgage approvals figures. With the final services PMI on Thursday and the construction PMI closing out the week on Friday. Mortgage lending soared to a record high in March of £11.8bn ($16.7bn) just before chancellor Rishi Sunak extended the stamp duty holiday into the summer. Property prices and mortgage demand has remained robust since then, hitting levels last seen back before the financial crisis in 2009. Watch:What does a Joe Biden presidency in the US mean for the global economy? All eyes will be on the US non-farm jobs report out on Friday after April's disappointing results caught investors and markets off-guard. There were expectations for 990,000 jobs to be added in April, building on the 916,000 gained in March. But, the figure for April came in at 266,000, with March’s number revised lower to 770,000. Analysts say the lower number was probably due to the "generous boost to unemployment benefits as a result of the March stimulus package", comforting those who didn't return to the workforce. "These benefits are likely to act as a considerable brake on the US labour market until they expire in September, at a time when vacancies are already at record levels of 8m," said Michael Hewson, chief analysts at CMC Markets. "This in turn could prompt an element of wage inflation, as employers attempt to entice workers back into employment by raising salaries." Heading into Friday, estimates point to over 600,000 jobs to be added in May, while the unemployment rate is expected to slip back to 5.9% after unexpectedly increasing to 6.1% in April. Outside of this, there is the ISM and final Markit manufacturing PMIs on Tuesday, followed by services PMIs on Thursday. Friday then also sees the latest factory orders data. It is a busier week in the Eurozone this week, with a few releases on the slate. In line with the rest of the Western world, the region wakes to its latest manufacturing PMIs on Tuesday, alongside the German unemployment change data. Wednesday will see the region-wide PPI number. Then the services PMI on Thursday, and monthly retail sales on Friday. Services were more positive for the zone's two biggest economies, Germany and France, with services rising above 50 for the first time since August last year for the latter. Meanwhile, Spain's services sector also improved in April, rising to 54.6, while Italy’s activity was more subdued at 47.3, due to various COVID curfews and other restrictions. "One of the main takeaways from previous reports has been sharp rises in prices paid or input costs which for now don’t appear to be completely being passed on," Hewson said. "Employment components have also seen a recovery as well, although business activity in Europe has been more subdued due to higher infection rates." Watch:What is inflation and why is it important? \|\| Robinhood Temporarily Overloaded Due to Dogecoin Surge: Julien Viry / Getty Images Robinhood once again had trading issues on its platform , following the recent spike in Dogecoin’s rally. See: Webull vs. Robinhood — Which Is Best for You in 2021? Find: Robinhood Files for IPO The company explained itself in a blog post on its website, saying that its customers are at the forefront of a generational change in the financial markets “that’s playing out again this week in cryptocurrency.” “Interest in Dogecoin has exploded over the past two days. Its price has skyrocketed nearly 7-fold and Dogecoin remains a top trending topic on Twitter,” the company wrote, adding that as one of the few platforms where customers can purchase Dogecoin, the platform is right at the center of this surge. Last Thursday, interest in Dogecoin surged as it rose past 25 cents for the first time, “putting extreme pressure on crypto trading systems,” Robinhood explains. See: Dogecoin Exceeds $11 Billion Market Cap as Coinbase Launches IPO Find: Dogecoin’s Major Price Increase — Is It a Worthwhile Investment? As Robinhood processed orders, one of its systems failed, which brought down its crypto order system, according to the blog post. The system was recovered in about an hour, meaning customers could trade with some intermittent issues. “We were back to normal within two hours. ” And on Friday morning, Dogecoin rose to nearly 50 cents. “For Robinhood this led to sporadic crypto order failures and delayed notifications for some customers. Our top priority is to provide great service to our customers. These interruptions aren’t acceptable to us. We believe we’re the most intuitive crypto platform for Dogecoin traders and we’re proud to be a top choice for this community.” The company added that its teams were working “around the clock.” See: Bitcoin’s Plummet Gives an Opportunity to Buy the Dip Find: Crypto Market Plummets After a Wild Week Dogecoin was created as a joke — its name is a reference to a popular internet meme, according to Coinbase. “It shares many features with Litecoin. However, unlike Litecoin, there is no hard cap on the number of dogecoins that can be produced.” Story continues Doge has been gaining traction lately, most notably thanks to Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who tweeted about it in February, sending the cryptocurrency to spike 46% that day. See: Breaking Down the Basics of Cryptocurrency Find: How Does Cryptocurrency Work – and Is It Safe? And last month, entrepreneur and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said the basketball team would accept Dogecoin for tickets and merchandise, “because we can.” “The Mavericks have decided to accept Dogecoin as payment for Mavs tickets and merchandise for one very important, earth shattering reason, because we can! Because we can, we have chosen to do so,” Cuban said in a statement on the Mavs website. As today, April 20 — i.e., 4/20, or 420 — is deemed “Dogeday” by many hardcore fans, the currency was expected to surge once again. However, Dogecoin is down to $0.35 as of this publication, a decline of over 11% so far for today. More From GOBankingRates Don’t Miss Out on Nominating Your Favorite Small Business To Be Featured on GOBankingRates — Ends May 31 Everything You Need To Know About Taxes This Year What Income Level Is Considered Middle Class in Your State? The Average Retirement Age in Every State This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com : Robinhood Temporarily Overloaded Due to Dogecoin Surge \|\| World shares hit highs as markets focus on earnings: By Elizabeth Howcroft LONDON (Reuters) - World shares hit record highs in the European session on Monday, as markets were generally upbeat about the prospects for a global economic recovery from COVID-19, ahead of a busy week for earnings. Europe's STOXX 600 rose to a record high before easing some gains, up 0.1% at 1105 GMT. Asian shares hit one-month highs overnight. MSCI world equity index, which tracks shares in 49 countries, also climbed to a new peak, up 0.2%. But U.S. stock futures pointed to a lower open for Wall Street, after the S&P 500 and the Dow closed at record highs in the previous session. Matthias Scheiber, global head of portfolio management at Wells Fargo Asset Management cited low interest rates, the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines and the fiscal stimulus package in the United States as reasons for his bullish stance on equities. "Risk is coming down, volatility is coming down … we see the slow reopening of global economies, the rollout of the vaccine and the huge catch-up in demand so from that perspective it should be positive for economic growth." "We had a strong rally in cyclical and value stocks since the start of this year - we would like to see confirmation in the earnings." Earnings from IBM and Coca-Cola are due later in the session. Netflix reports on Tuesday. Later in the week, American Airlines and Southwest will be the first major post-COVID cyclicals to post results. The European Central Bank meeting on Thursday will also be in focus this week. ECB President Christine Lagarde said last week that the euro zone economy is still standing on the "two crutches" of monetary and fiscal stimulus and these cannot be taken away until it makes a full recovery. The benchmark U.S. Treasury yield, which dropped as low as 1.528% last Thursday, was at 1.5764%. In currency markets, the dollar index was down 0.6% at its lowest levels in more than a month, at 91.052, having weakened since its recent peak of 93.439 at the end of March. Dollar-yen was also down 0.6%, changing hands at 108.145. The euro was up 0.5% versus the dollar at $1.20435. "We have been highlighting over the past two months that USD could bottom out, in contrast to consensus, and believed that this would be a tactical problem for EM and for certain commodity trades," wrote JP Morgan's head of global and European equity strategy, Mislav Matejka, in a note to clients. "We think the risk of a firmer USD, through rising US-Europe interest rate differential, is not finished." Matejka also said that, although there is the technical potential for a correction in equities, he would not cut stocks exposure on the six- to nine-month horizon. "We think that it is more likely that we will be raising our year-end targets, rather than reducing them, as we move through the summer," he said. Likewise, Wells Fargo Asset Management's Matthias Scheiber said "We believe we are in the 'buy the dip' environment at this moment given that both fiscal and monetary policy are very supportive, so if we would see a correction … we would probably increase the equity position.” Bitcoin was up 1% at around $56,850, nursing losses from Sunday, when it plunged as much as 14% to $51,541. Oil prices fell as rising COVID-19 infections in India prompted concern than stronger measures to contain the pandemic would hurt economic activity. A recent surge in COVID-19 cases could see major parts of Japan slide back into states of emergency, with authorities in Tokyo and Osaka looking at renewed curbs. ECB PEPP https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/mkt/dgkplexejvb/Pasted%20image%201615808152069.png (Reporting by Elizabeth Howcroft, editing by Larry King) \|\| AUD/USD Forex Technical Analysis – Trade Through .7706 Changes Main Trend to Down: The Australian Dollar is trading lower on Friday but off its lows. The currency remains inside a pair retracement zones which have held as both support and resistance for nearly two months. Helping to keep a lid on prices are concerns over China’s policy toward rising commodity prices. Stabilizing Treasury yields and a weaker U.S. Dollar have been underpinning prices. At 08:43 GMT, theAUD/USDis trading .7730, down 0.0011 or -0.14%. Market attention will shift to U.S. inflation data due to be released at 12:30 GMT. Economists expectcore PCE (personal consumption expenditures)prices to jump 2.9% year-on-year in April, compared with a year-on-year rise of 1.8% a month earlier. Stronger-than-expected U.S. inflation data could put pressure on the Aussie. Although no one expects the Fed to raise rates, higher inflation numbers could start to encourage the Fed to at least start discussing a plan to begin tapering its bond purchases. The main trend is up according to the daily swing chart. A trade through .7706 will change the main trend to down. A move through .7796 will signal a resumption of the uptrend. The short-term range is .7532 to .7891. Its retracement zone at .7711 to .7669 is support. The main range is .8007 to .7532. Its retracement zone at .7770 to .7826 is resistance. The direction of the AUD/USD on Friday is likely to be determined by trader reaction to the short-term 50% level at .7711. A sustained move over .7712 will indicate the presence of buyers. The first upside target is a minor pivot at .7755. Overtaking this level could drive the Aussie into the main 50% level at .7770, followed by the main top at .7796. A sustained move under .7711 will signal the presence of sellers. Taking out .7706 will change the main trend to down. This could trigger a further break into a series of targets including main bottoms at .7688 and .7675, and the short-term Fibonacci level at .7669. The Fib level at .7669 is not only support, but also a potential trigger point for an acceleration to the downside. Thisarticlewas originally posted on FX Empire • Bitcoin Tests Support At $37,000 • Daily Gold News: Friday, May 28 – Gold Remains Below $1,900 • EUR/USD Daily Forecast – U.S. Dollar Attempts To Gain Ground Against Euro • USD/JPY Forex Technical Analysis – Trend Up; Trading on Strong Side of 109.634 – 109.223 Retracement Zone • EUR/USD Mid-Session Technical Analysis for May 28, 2021 • GBP/JPY Weekly Price Forecast – British Pound Breaks Major Resistance [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] None available.	Trend: no change \|\| Prices: 36684.93, 37575.18, 39208.77, 36894.41, 35551.96, 35862.38, 33560.71, 33472.63, 37345.12, 36702.60
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2016-09-06] BTC Price: 610.44, BTC RSI: 63.08 Gold Price: 1349.40, Gold RSI: 58.83 Oil Price: 44.83, Oil RSI: 47.94 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Bitcoin Plunges, Hong Kong Exchange Says Millions Stolen in Hacking: DailyFX.com - Talking Points: • Bitcoin extends fall as news of an exchange hack reignited cybersecurity fears with cryptocurrencies • Chinese Bitcoin exchange halts trading to investigate hack resulting in $65 Million in losses • Bitcoin prices rebound on open exchanges following the hack, only one exchange was effected Having trouble trading Foreign Exchange? Thismay be why. Bitcoin suffered one of its worst declines in years through the open of this week. News that trading was halted on “Bitfinex” exchange after a hack resulting in $65 million theft unnerved traders. Bitcoin fell a little over 24 percent through Tuesday’s low following the announcement of the hack. Bitfinex remains closed, howeverforthough open exchanges the Bitcoin-USD pair (BTC/USD) rallied by more than 20 percent from lows through Wednesday. The hacked exchange is expected to remain closed for the next few days as investigations continue to uncover more information. Volume in BTC/USD trading spiked significantly through the decline and on the news of the hack. Average volume on for the cryptocurrency pair on the Bitstamp exchange rose to more than 22,000 on Tuesday and over 15,000 Wednesday – the 20-day average before these large movements was a comparatively restrained 4,400. Cybersecurity remains a chief concern for the cryptocurrency and its numerous exchanges worldwide, as it is traded and used entirely over a network.The recent hack on the Hong Kong exchange is not the first. The largest bitcoin exchange in the world “Mt. Gox”, filed for bankruptcy in 2014 and admitted to being hacked, resulting in the loss of $460 Million in bitcoin. The cryptocurrency has become extremely popular since it was first introduced 7 years ago, to better understand its role in the financial markets check out DailyFX’sForex Trading Instructor Tyler Yell piece onBitcoin. original source DailyFXprovides forex news and technical analysis on the trends that influence the global currency markets.Learn forex trading with a free practice account and trading charts fromFXCM. \|\| Hacking group claims to offer cyber-weapons in online auction: By Joseph Menn (Reuters) - Hackers going by the name Shadow Brokers said on Monday they will auction stolen surveillance tools they say were used by a cyber group linked to the U.S. National Security Agency. To arouse interest in the auction, the hackers released samples of programs they said could break into popular firewall software made by companies including Cisco Systems Inc (CSCO.O), Juniper Networks Inc (JNPR.N) and Fortinet Inc (FTNT.O). The companies did not respond to request for comment, nor did the NSA. Writing in imperfect English, the Shadow Brokers promised in postings on a Tumblr blog that the auctioned material would contain cyber weapons developed by the Equation Group, a hacking group that cyber security experts widely believe to be an arm of the NSA. [ http://reut.rs/2aVA7LD] The Shadow Brokers said the programs they will auction will be better than Stuxnet, a malicious computer worm widely attributed to the United States and Israel that sabotaged Irans nuclear programme. Reuters could not contact the Shadow Brokers or verify their assertions. Some experts who looked at the samples posted on Tumblr said they included programs that had previously been described and therefore were unlikely to cause major damage. The data [released so far] appears to be relatively old; some of the programs have already been known for years, said researcher Claudio Guarnieri, and are unlikely to cause any significant operational damage. Still, they appeared to be genuine tools that might work if flaws have not been addressed. After examining the code released Monday, Matt Suiche, founder of UAE-based security startup Comae Technologies, concluded they looked like "could be used." Other security experts warned the posting could prove to be a hoax. The group said interested parties had to send funds in advance of winning the auction via Bitcoin currency and would not get their money back if they lost. The auction will end at an unspecified time, Shadow Brokers said, encouraging bidders to "keep bidding until we announce winner." (Editing by Cynthia Osterman) \|\| Exclusive - LexisNexis and start-up join to curb bitcoin money-laundering: By Jemima Kelly LONDON (Reuters) - A company that provides banks with anti-money-laundering controls has teamed up with a bitcoin security firm to try to curb nefarious uses of the digital currency, such as drug trafficking and terrorism financing. LexisNexis said the new service it has created with London-based startup Elliptic would bring bank-grade AML controls to bitcoin transactions, making the virtual currency more attractive to those who might want to use it for legitimate transactions LexisNexis, part of multinational analytics firm RELX Group, helps banks comply with AML regulation, using a database of 2.7 million global entities that could be involved in illicit transactions, such as those on sanctions and other watch-lists. It has shared that database with Elliptic, which monitors bitcoin transactions and can alert its clients - ranging from bitcoin exchanges to U.S. and European intelligence agencies - when money moves from bitcoin addresses that have been identified as bad actors. "This is a step towards making it (bitcoin) more mainstream and more acceptable," said Thomas Brown, of LexisNexis Risk Solutions. Bitcoin is a web-based digital currency that relies on complex algorithms to move money around quickly and anonymously with no need for a central authority to process transactions. That has made it attractive to a variety of users, including those who want to get around capital controls and those who support a currency that is free from government control for ideological reasons. But it has also attracted criminals, such as drug dealers and arms traffickers. "Today, if you see bitcoins transacting, you almost assume they're from someone who wants to be off the grid, or they're proceeds from illicit transactions," said Brown. Last month Elliptic said it was working with the Internet Watch Foundation to clamp down on the use of bitcoin for online child pornography. "The single biggest thing keeping mainstream financial services out of the (bitcoin) ecosystem is the inability to do bank-grade anti-money laundering controls," said Elliptic's head of business development, Kevin Beardsley. "The hope is that this will unlock a whole wave of companies being able to enter financial services with bitcoin." (Editing by Robin Pomeroy) View comments \|\| 39 Fintech Blogs And Services You Should Follow: The following list originally appeared onSecurionPay.com. FinTech is a relatively young line of business, but for now, there are many resources which focus on financial technology or payments topics (and it’s still growing). To make it easy for you, we’ve put on a list the financial services and blogs which are worth mentioning. Here you can find the essential information about banking, payments, FinTech and e-commerce. Faisal Khan specializes in cross-border money transfer and payment systems. He calls himself a payments consultant and an evangelist for digital money (aka Bitcoins). He’s working with entrepreneurs, FinTech startups, mid-sized and huge companies, but also with banks and financial institutions. 1. Tom GroenfeldtThe author has a wealth of experience in finance, banking, and technology, and now he writes for Forbes on these topics. In 2015, he was named one of the top 25 global finserv influencers. So, if you’re looking for insightful articles, you should add this blog to your list. 2. The Finance BuffThe blog created by Harry Sit is a great resource for those who want to know the basics about finance, credit card payments, and also about saving. The author isn’t a professional financial specialist or financial advisor, but he creates simple posts for people who want to know how to invest their money or e.g. how to protect their account. Subscribe to Benzinga's weekly Fintech Focus newsletter! 1. Jessica ElermHere’s another blog with personal thoughts on the revolution of technology in the banking and payment industry. Jessica Elerm works in the Australian FinTech startup Tyro, but she is also a blogger, commentator and she writes for Brett King’s Breaking Banks, Daily FinTech, and Bank NXT. On Jessica’s blog, you’ll read mostly about FinTech, growth hacking, payments, and banking. 2. The FinanserChris Skinner’s blog is all about the financial world. The author is one of the FinTech leaders that have been voted one of the most influential people in banking by The Financial Brand. He provides well-written articles and analysis with the insightful approach to finance and new technologies. 1. Payments BloggerPayments Blogger run by John Doyle is a place where you can find the news and research about the global payments industry. The blog provides short and long-form content types with basic information, definition, as well as with high value-analysis and guest bloggers’ thoughts. 2. FiniCulture It’s a blog created by Pascal Bouvier, a former French banker. He writes a few blog posts per month, and all of them are insightful, with the fresh look at the financial market. Here you can read about the integration of finance and technology, you’ll find pieces of advice for FinTech startups, and also some funny posts, such as The Alternative FinTech Lexicon. 3. Finextra Finextra is a place where you can find all essential news about banking, payments or startups. It also offers a newswire or global events calendar, and the site is a platform for guest bloggers (there’s a special Community section). 4. Finovate The Finovate team has attended and spoken at banking and technology events for 20 years, and they have also been organizing conferences around the globe since 2007. The blog focuses on FinTech, banking, and financial services innovations, and you can find here the FinTech news and updates, interviews, roundups and more. 5. Visible Banking Visible Banking is a blog owned by Christophe Langlois, who worked in business development, in both telecommunications and banking. The author focuses mainly on social media in banking and financial services. 6. Credit Union Times If you’re looking for information about credit union managements and the topics related to that, the Credit Union Times is a great source. Here you can find not only updated news about credit unions, but also expert technology coverage as well as statistical analysis. 7. The Financial Brand The digital publication started in 2007 by Jeffry Pilcher, who is also one of the authors on the website. The Financial Brand focuses on marketing and strategy issues affecting retail banks and credit unions. It provides the financial and banking news with strategic analysis and real-world examples. 8. Accenture Banking Blog Accenture’s blog is a resource with data interpreting and analyzing of articles. The blogging experts have a rich experience as regards to the banking industry, so you may be sure that they will provide insightful and high-quality articles. 9. PYMNTS A newswire focusing on the payments industry provides well-written news about online and mobile payments, but you can also find here webinars, researches and articles written by experts, innovators and thought leaders. All posts are created mainly for e-commerce market. 10. Let's Talk Payments LTP, launched in 2013, delivers the news and research for the FinTech industry. The content is updated every day, and here you can find original insights, analysis, and resources for the FinTech community. 11. Mobile Payments Today As you could guess, the platform provides the latest news around mobile payments. The topics are about card brands, contactless payments, EMV, security issues, mobile banking or trends and statistics. 12. Payments Source PaymentsSource is a website where you can find payment news, trends and analysis as well as expert opinions. Lots of news are published in the sections, such as Regulation & Compliance, Risk & Analytics, Debit & Prepaid, Retail & Acquiring, Technology and Global. 13. bobsguide Bobsguide provides the latest financial technology news and insights. There are articles, blog posts and insights from contributing editors. Also, you can find here a list of industry events. 14. ATM Marketplace ATM Marketplace is a hub for news, articles, insights and more about ATMs world. It’s a great source to watch as the technology in the financial industry is evolving. 1. Daily Fintech Daily Fintech is an ad-free, ungated research platform written by a few FinTech experts, focused on financial innovations and insights. Fintech Genome moderated by these experts, is the newly launched P2P FinTech knowledge platform, that anyone interested in the FinTech ecosystem can join. 2. IBM Insights on Business: Banking Industry IBM, as one of the technology leaders, delivers the insights and news for the banking industry. The content focuses mainly on new technologies, but you can find here some author’s thoughts, such as payments predictions for 2016. 3. Banking Exchange Blogs Banking news and articles presented in sections with updates about community banking, technology, payments, risk and more. There’s also a blog section, where you can find Dan Fisher’s personal view and opinion on the banking industry. 4. Markets Media Markets Media provides financial news with a focus on institutional trading and investing, but you can find here the latest information on banks, technology or regulators. 5. Bank Innovaton Bank Innovation was launched in 2009 and delivers information, news and blog posts for the banking industry. Beyond the latest news, you can find here also The FinTech Answerable section and contributor blogs. 6. Bank NXT A blog maintained by Backbase, and created for innovative financial professionals. The website provides the knowledge (exclusive content and reproduced blogs from experts) and creates a space for industry leaders’ community. 1. FinTech Hackers Looking for the FinTech growth hacks? On this blog, you’ll find the case studies from well-known FinTech companies. Also, you can get access to a free email course to learn how to build a growth strategy. 2. Tomorrow's Transactions The Consult Hyperion’s Blog is all about the development of technology in our everyday life. Here you’ll find banking and finance news, as well as technological and security issues. 3. PaymentEye The service keeps an eye on a payment market, and publishes the insights or analysis for professionals involved in the payments sector. On the website, you can also find information about upcoming events and the section with white papers. 4. Payments Card and Mobile If you’re looking for a hub for global payments news and research with up-to-date experts’ analysis and opinion, this website is for you. The digital publication covers every aspect of the payment business, so you can find here information about international cards or mobile solutions. There’s also a Conferences section with upcoming financial events. 5. Payments Views Payment Views is a blog with insightful articles and analyses, but also with news and the wires. You can read the updates that the authors find the most interesting and useful, and on the home page you’ll find the best stories from the last seven days. You can also send your own story or press releases to share with payment professionals. 6. Talking Payments Here’s another website where you can find news about payments, insights, blog articles and upcoming events. Talking Payments brings together banks, acquirers, merchants, vendors and industry experts to share the news. 7. The Banker The history of The Banker starts in 1926, and for all these years the editorial team has built its great reputation. Here you’ll find a wide range of financial news, features, analysis, or interviews. As you would read on the website: The Banker is the key source data and analysis for the industry. 8. TechCrunch If you read TechCrunch news regularly, you probably know that the service is a place where you can find mainly tech, social media or startup news. But there is also a section with insightful articles about FinTech world. 9. Finteh Weekly Fintech Weekly, created in cooperation with Bankverlag, is a typical website with roundups; so therefore, it’s a great source for those who are looking for the most interesting news from the previous week. Also, you’ll find here some information about top conferences you should attend if you are running a financial business would be found here. 10. Financial News Online daily news service is owned by Dow Jones & Company and provides the information about the investment banking, fund management, and securities industries. You’ll find here, the major news affecting the securities industry, as well as trends and top news about capital markets, fund management, information technology and recruitment. 11. Fintech Business The service was launched in 2015, and it’s focusing mostly on Australian FinTech community. But if you want to stay on top in FinTech industry, it’s worth knowing something about the market from other countries. FinTech Business delivers blogs and reports focusing on the key FinTech sectors, and legislation, regulation, or security issues. 1. Fintech Finance Fintech Finance is a great resource for the FinTech companies. You’ll find here the latest news, infographics, insights and more. The content is updated on a daily basis. 2. Fintech Profile The idea of the FinTech Profile is to track the startups and companies from the financial services industry. So, prepare not only for the FinTech news and insight articles, but also for financial companies presentation. 3. Fintastico Fintastico is a project that brings together the latest news from selected sources across the FinTech industry. You can select the services by type, such as Banking, Business Tools, Financial Researches, Investments, Payments and more. See more from Benzinga • Alphabet And Amazon See A Wave Of Price Target Changes Post-Earnings • Post-Earnings Selloff May Provide Western Digital Investors With A Good Entry Point • Twitter Strikes Live-Streaming Alliance With Warner Bros. And BuzzFeed For 'Suicide Squad' Red Carpet Event © 2016 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| 39 Fintech Blogs And Services You Should Follow: The following list originally appeared on SecurionPay.com . FinTech is a relatively young line of business, but for now, there are many resources which focus on financial technology or payments topics (and it’s still growing). To make it easy for you, we’ve put on a list the financial services and blogs which are worth mentioning. Here you can find the essential information about banking, payments, FinTech and e-commerce. Faisal Khan specializes in cross-border money transfer and payment systems. He calls himself a payments consultant and an evangelist for digital money (aka Bitcoins). He’s working with entrepreneurs, FinTech startups, mid-sized and huge companies, but also with banks and financial institutions. Tom Groenfeldt The author has a wealth of experience in finance, banking, and technology, and now he writes for Forbes on these topics. In 2015, he was named one of the top 25 global finserv influencers. So, if you’re looking for insightful articles, you should add this blog to your list. The Finance Buff The blog created by Harry Sit is a great resource for those who want to know the basics about finance, credit card payments, and also about saving. The author isn’t a professional financial specialist or financial advisor, but he creates simple posts for people who want to know how to invest their money or e.g. how to protect their account. Subscribe to Benzinga's weekly Fintech Focus newsletter! Jessica Elerm Here’s another blog with personal thoughts on the revolution of technology in the banking and payment industry. Jessica Elerm works in the Australian FinTech startup Tyro, but she is also a blogger, commentator and she writes for Brett King’s Breaking Banks, Daily FinTech, and Bank NXT. On Jessica’s blog, you’ll read mostly about FinTech, growth hacking, payments, and banking. The Finanser Chris Skinner’s blog is all about the financial world. The author is one of the FinTech leaders that have been voted one of the most influential people in banking by The Financial Brand. He provides well-written articles and analysis with the insightful approach to finance and new technologies. image13.png Payments Blogger Payments Blogger run by John Doyle is a place where you can find the news and research about the global payments industry. The blog provides short and long-form content types with basic information, definition, as well as with high value-analysis and guest bloggers’ thoughts. FiniCulture It’s a blog created by Pascal Bouvier, a former French banker. He writes a few blog posts per month, and all of them are insightful, with the fresh look at the financial market. Here you can read about the integration of finance and technology, you’ll find pieces of advice for FinTech startups, and also some funny posts, such as The Alternative FinTech Lexicon. Finextra Finextra is a place where you can find all essential news about banking, payments or startups. It also offers a newswire or global events calendar, and the site is a platform for guest bloggers (there’s a special Community section). Finovate The Finovate team has attended and spoken at banking and technology events for 20 years, and they have also been organizing conferences around the globe since 2007. The blog focuses on FinTech, banking, and financial services innovations, and you can find here the FinTech news and updates, interviews, roundups and more. Visible Banking Visible Banking is a blog owned by Christophe Langlois, who worked in business development, in both telecommunications and banking. The author focuses mainly on social media in banking and financial services. Credit Union Times If you’re looking for information about credit union managements and the topics related to that, the Credit Union Times is a great source. Here you can find not only updated news about credit unions, but also expert technology coverage as well as statistical analysis. The Financial Brand The digital publication started in 2007 by Jeffry Pilcher, who is also one of the authors on the website. The Financial Brand focuses on marketing and strategy issues affecting retail banks and credit unions. It provides the financial and banking news with strategic analysis and real-world examples. Accenture Banking Blog Accenture’s blog is a resource with data interpreting and analyzing of articles. The blogging experts have a rich experience as regards to the banking industry, so you may be sure that they will provide insightful and high-quality articles. PYMNTS A newswire focusing on the payments industry provides well-written news about online and mobile payments, but you can also find here webinars, researches and articles written by experts, innovators and thought leaders. All posts are created mainly for e-commerce market. Let's Talk Payments LTP, launched in 2013, delivers the news and research for the FinTech industry. The content is updated every day, and here you can find original insights, analysis, and resources for the FinTech community. Mobile Payments Today As you could guess, the platform provides the latest news around mobile payments. The topics are about card brands, contactless payments, EMV, security issues, mobile banking or trends and statistics. Payments Source PaymentsSource is a website where you can find payment news, trends and analysis as well as expert opinions. Lots of news are published in the sections, such as Regulation & Compliance, Risk & Analytics, Debit & Prepaid, Retail & Acquiring, Technology and Global. bobsguide Bobsguide provides the latest financial technology news and insights. There are articles, blog posts and insights from contributing editors. Also, you can find here a list of industry events. ATM Marketplace ATM Marketplace is a hub for news, articles, insights and more about ATMs world. It’s a great source to watch as the technology in the financial industry is evolving. Story continues image36.png Daily Fintech Daily Fintech is an ad-free, ungated research platform written by a few FinTech experts, focused on financial innovations and insights. Fintech Genome moderated by these experts, is the newly launched P2P FinTech knowledge platform, that anyone interested in the FinTech ecosystem can join. IBM Insights on Business: Banking Industry IBM, as one of the technology leaders, delivers the insights and news for the banking industry. The content focuses mainly on new technologies, but you can find here some author’s thoughts, such as payments predictions for 2016. Banking Exchange Blogs Banking news and articles presented in sections with updates about community banking, technology, payments, risk and more. There’s also a blog section, where you can find Dan Fisher’s personal view and opinion on the banking industry. Markets Media Markets Media provides financial news with a focus on institutional trading and investing, but you can find here the latest information on banks, technology or regulators. Bank Innovaton Bank Innovation was launched in 2009 and delivers information, news and blog posts for the banking industry. Beyond the latest news, you can find here also The FinTech Answerable section and contributor blogs. Bank NXT A blog maintained by Backbase, and created for innovative financial professionals. The website provides the knowledge (exclusive content and reproduced blogs from experts) and creates a space for industry leaders’ community. image04.png FinTech Hackers Looking for the FinTech growth hacks? On this blog, you’ll find the case studies from well-known FinTech companies. Also, you can get access to a free email course to learn how to build a growth strategy. Tomorrow's Transactions The Consult Hyperion’s Blog is all about the development of technology in our everyday life. Here you’ll find banking and finance news, as well as technological and security issues. PaymentEye The service keeps an eye on a payment market, and publishes the insights or analysis for professionals involved in the payments sector. On the website, you can also find information about upcoming events and the section with white papers. Payments Card and Mobile If you’re looking for a hub for global payments news and research with up-to-date experts’ analysis and opinion, this website is for you. The digital publication covers every aspect of the payment business, so you can find here information about international cards or mobile solutions. There’s also a Conferences section with upcoming financial events. Payments Views Payment Views is a blog with insightful articles and analyses, but also with news and the wires. You can read the updates that the authors find the most interesting and useful, and on the home page you’ll find the best stories from the last seven days. You can also send your own story or press releases to share with payment professionals. Talking Payments Here’s another website where you can find news about payments, insights, blog articles and upcoming events. Talking Payments brings together banks, acquirers, merchants, vendors and industry experts to share the news. The Banker The history of The Banker starts in 1926, and for all these years the editorial team has built its great reputation. Here you’ll find a wide range of financial news, features, analysis, or interviews. As you would read on the website: The Banker is the key source data and analysis for the industry. TechCrunch If you read TechCrunch news regularly, you probably know that the service is a place where you can find mainly tech, social media or startup news. But there is also a section with insightful articles about FinTech world. Finteh Weekly Fintech Weekly, created in cooperation with Bankverlag, is a typical website with roundups; so therefore, it’s a great source for those who are looking for the most interesting news from the previous week. Also, you’ll find here some information about top conferences you should attend if you are running a financial business would be found here. Financial News Online daily news service is owned by Dow Jones & Company and provides the information about the investment banking, fund management, and securities industries. You’ll find here, the major news affecting the securities industry, as well as trends and top news about capital markets, fund management, information technology and recruitment. Fintech Business The service was launched in 2015, and it’s focusing mostly on Australian FinTech community. But if you want to stay on top in FinTech industry, it’s worth knowing something about the market from other countries. FinTech Business delivers blogs and reports focusing on the key FinTech sectors, and legislation, regulation, or security issues. image29.png Fintech Finance Fintech Finance is a great resource for the FinTech companies. You’ll find here the latest news, infographics, insights and more. The content is updated on a daily basis. Fintech Profile The idea of the FinTech Profile is to track the startups and companies from the financial services industry. So, prepare not only for the FinTech news and insight articles, but also for financial companies presentation. Fintastico Fintastico is a project that brings together the latest news from selected sources across the FinTech industry. You can select the services by type, such as Banking, Business Tools, Financial Researches, Investments, Payments and more. See more from Benzinga Alphabet And Amazon See A Wave Of Price Target Changes Post-Earnings Post-Earnings Selloff May Provide Western Digital Investors With A Good Entry Point Twitter Strikes Live-Streaming Alliance With Warner Bros. And BuzzFeed For 'Suicide Squad' Red Carpet Event © 2016 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. View comments \|\| Hong Kong bitcoin exchange says it was hacked, trading suspended: By Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss NEW YORK (Reuters) - Hong Kong-based digital currency exchange Bitfinex said late on Tuesday it has suspended trading on its exchange after it discovered a security breach, according to a company statement on its website. Bitfinex is one of the largest exchanges for trading digital currencies bitcoin, ether, and litecoin. It has offices in Europe and the United States and is known in the digital currency community for having a platform that has deep liquidity in the U.S. dollar/bitcoin currency pair. The company said it has also suspended deposits and withdrawals of digital currencies from the exchange. "We are investigating the breach to determine what happened, but we know that some of our users have had their bitcoins stolen," the company said. "We are undertaking a review to determine which users have been affected by the breach. While we conduct this initial investigation and secure our environment, bitfinex.com will be taken down and the maintenance page will be left up." The company said it has reported the theft to law enforcement. It said it has not yet determined the value of digital currencies stolen from customer accounts. Bitfinex also said as it goes through individual customer losses, it may need to settle open margin positions, associated financing, or collateral affected by the security breach. Any settlements will be at the current market price as of 18:00 UTC (1800 GMT), the company said. The attack on Bitfinex was reminiscent of a similar breach at Mt. Gox, a Tokyo-based bitcoin exchange forced to file for bankruptcy in early 2014 after hackers stole an estimated $650 million worth of customer bitcoins. Bitcoin late on Tuesday was down 6.35 percent at $567.83 (BTC=BTSP) on the BitStamp platform. (Reporting by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss; Editing by Chris Reese) \|\| Bitcoin worth $72 mln stolen from Bitfinex exchange in Hong Kong: * Breach is second-largest ever after Tokyo’s Mt Gox * Bitfinex is world’s No. 1 US-dollar exchange for bitcoin * 119,756 bitcoin stolen from users’ accounts * Stolen bitcoin worth $72 mln at time of theft (Adds details throughout) By Clare Baldwin HONG KONG, Aug 3 (Reuters) - Nearly 120,000 units of digital currency bitcoin worth about US$72 million was stolen from the exchange platform Bitfinex in Hong Kong, rattling the global bitcoin community in the second-biggest security breach ever of such an exchange. Bitfinex is the world’s largest dollar-based exchange for bitcoin, and is known in the digital currency community for having deep liquidity in the U.S. dollar/bitcoin currency pair. Zane Tackett, Director of Community & Product Development for Bitfinex, told Reuters on Wednesday that 119,756 bitcoin had been stolen from users’ accounts and that the exchange had not yet decided how to address customer losses. “The bitcoin was stolen from users’ segregated wallets,” he said. The company said it had reported the theft to law enforcement and was cooperating with top blockchain analytic companies to track the stolen coins. Last year, Bitfinex announced a tie-up with Palo Alto-based BitGo, which uses multiple-signature security to store user deposits online, allowing for faster withdrawals. “Our investigation has found no evidence of a breach to any BitGo servers,” BitGo said in a Tweet. “With users’ funds secured using multi-signature technology in partnership with BitGo, a lot more is at stake for the backbone of the bitcoin industry, with its stalwarts and prided tech under fire,” said Charles Hayter, chief executive and founder of digital currency website CryptoCompare. The security breach comes two months after Bitfinex was ordered to pay a $75,000 fine by the U.S. Commodity and Futures Trading Commission in part for offering illegal off-exchange financed commodity transactions in bitcoin and other digital currencies. BITCOIN SLUMP Tuesday’s breach triggered a slump in bitcoin prices and was reminiscent of events that led to the 2014 collapse of Tokyo-based exchange Mt Gox, which said it had lost about $500 million worth of customers’ Bitcoins in a hacking attack. Bitcoin plunged just over 23 percent on Tuesday after the news broke. On Wednesday it was up 1 percent at $545.20 on the BitStamp platform. Tackett added that the breach did not “expose any weaknesses in the security of a blockchain”, the technology that generates and processes bitcoin, a web-based “cryptocurrency” that can move across the globe anonymously without the need for a central authority. A bitcoin expert said the scandal highlighted the risks of companies using cryptography for their ledgers. “The more you rely on its benefits, the greater the potential for damage when keys are stolen. We still have some way to go to create highly secure but convenient systems,” said Singapore-based Antony Lewis. The volume of bitcoin stolen amounts to about 0.75 percent of all bitcoin in circulation. It is not yet clear whether the theft was an inside job or whether hackers were able to gain access to the system externally. On an online forum, Bitfinex’s Tackett said he was “nearly 100 percent certain” it was no one in the company. Bitfinex suspended trading on Tuesday after it discovered the breach. It said on its website that it was investigating and cooperating with the authorities. The security breach is the latest scandal to hit Hong Kong’s bitcoin market after MyCoin became embroiled in a scam last year that media estimated could have duped investors of up to $387 million. The bitcoin trading company closed after the scandal. The president of the Hong Kong Bitcoin Association said the only way to protect information is to disperse it in so many small pieces that the reward for hacking is too small. “For an attacker, the cost-benefit strategy is quite easy: How much is in the pot and how likely is it that I’m getting the pot?” said Leonhard Weese. (Additional reporting by Hera Poon in HONG KONG, Jeremy Wagstaff in SINGAPORE and Jemima Kelly in LONDON; Editing by Will Waterman) \|\| Bitcoin Exchange Will Look To Spread The Pain Of Recent Hack Across All Users In 'Socialized Loss': Earlier this week, 119,756 bitcoins were stolen in a hack from the Hong Kong-based cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex. The hack marks the second largest security breach of a digital currency exchange, and the value of the stolen currency exceeds $70 million, representing roughly 0.75 percent of all bitcoins in circulation. The worst hack involving the digital currency occurred in 2014 when Mt Gox was robbed of 744,408 bitcoin, which was worth $350 million at the time. Bitfinex did not offer an explanation on its website as to what happened, and it is in the process of restoring limited functionality currently, with full functionality to come at an undisclosed later time. Related Link: What Is Blockchain, And Why Should You Care? "We are investigating the breach to determine what happened, but we know that some of our users have had their bitcoins stolen," the exchange acknowledged. The exchange is also looking to implement a "socialized" measure to make up for the loss. This may include spreading the loss across all clients of the firm, as speculated by Cnet. The price of one bitcoin plunged by 23 percent on Tuesday to as low as $465.28 as news of the hack became widely circulated. However, the digital currency rebounded and was trading near the $570 mark on Friday. Do you have ideas for articles/interviews you'd like to see more of on Benzinga? Please email [email protected] with your best article ideas. One person will be randomly selected to win a $20 Amazon gift card! See more from Benzinga Jim Cramer Doesn't Think FireEye Will Be Taken Over Monster Beverages: An Attractive Name In One Of 2016's Best Performing Sectors Priceline Remains One Of The Best Internet Large Caps © 2016 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| Leveraged Buyout Corporation Announces Intention to Commence a Tender Offer for Shares of Yasheng Group: VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / August 1, 2016 /Leveraged Buyout Corporation ("LBOC") announced today that it intends to commence a tender offer to the shareholders of YaSheng Group ("HERB") (OTC:HERB) to purchase up to 81,000,000 shares of HERB's Common Stock at a purchase price of $11.00 per share. The offer will require that each shareholder deliver at least 51 of each 100 share owned. LBOC targets to own approximately 51% of the issued and outstanding shares of HERB Common Stock. The offer price of $11.00 per share represents an extraordinary premium over market value for 6 reasons: 1. HERB is trading at a deep discount based on its earnings, and; 2. Payment is in the form of corporate notes that will pay interest in OTCcoin (OTX) a new digital currency that rides on the rails of the Bitcoin blockchain, and; 3. The notes will mature in 10 years with annual interest payable at the rate of 1 OTX per $1 face value. 4. OTX is thinly trading on international cryptocurrency exchange C-CEX (https://c-cex.com/?p=otx-btc) 1. Notes are to be backed by the shares tendered and held in safe keeping by HERB's transfer agent. 2. LBOC is a newly formed entity. Important Information about the Tender Offer LBOC has not yet commenced the tender offer referred to in this press release. This press release does not constitute an offer to buy or solicitation of an offer to sell any securities. This press release is for informational purposes only. The offer to purchase the shares of HERB Common Stock from its shareholders and the solicitation of the shares will be made only pursuant to the offer to purchase and the related letter of transmittal, which are expected to be mailed to HERB shareholders shortly after commencement of the tender offer subject to the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission. About LBOC: LBOC is a subsidiary of a holding company whose principal holdings include digital currency and related assets. LBOC was formed to capitalize on companies whose market cap is deeply discounted in the markets from the tangible values. As its name reveals it seeks to buy out controlling interests on leverage utilizing cashless financing. About HERB: YaSheng Group is a U.S. holding company and conducts business operations in China. The Company, through its subsidiaries, operates in agriculture, livestock, and biotechnology. YaSheng specializes in developing, processing, marketing, and distributing a variety of food products grown in North West China. This press release contains forward-looking statements based on current expectations that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. The forward looking statements in this press release are also forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and involve substantial risks and uncertainties. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those relating to the contemplated tender offer described in this press release, including uncertainty about the timing of the tender offer, that, if the tender offer is commenced, the conditions to closing the tender offer may not be satisfied, uncertainties as to the amount of shares that will be tendered in the tender offer and LBOC's ownership interest in YASHENG Group following the tender offer, risks relating to the continued listing of YASHENG Group's Common Stock on the OTC Markets Stock Exchange and the continued status of YASHENG Group as an SEC reporting company, and the risk that the expected benefits to LBOC from the tender offer may not be realized or maintained. LBOC cautions that the foregoing factors are not exclusive. CONTACT :[email protected] SOURCE:Leveraged Buyout Corporation \|\| Big Banks Team Up to Develop Blockchain Settlement System: Wall Street's increasing focus on digital currency technology has been affirmed yet again with the recent teaming up of a group of financial giants for the development of Utility Settlement Coin (USC). It is a digital cash model based on blockchain that aims to facilitate payment and settlement for global institutional financial markets. Swiss banking giant UBS Group AG UBS and London-based Clearmatics initiated USC last September to validate the potential benefits of USC for capital efficiency, settlement and systemic risk reduction in global financial markets. The successful conclusion of the first phase of this project led to the joining of Deutsche Bank AG DB, The Bank of New York Mellon Corp. BK, Banco Santander, S.A. SAN and brokerage ICAP to develop the concept further. The group also plans to undertake test in a real market environment. USC is a series of cash assets implemented on distributed ledger technology and is entirely backed by cash assets held at a central bank. With a version for each of the main currencies including USD, EUR, GBP and CHF, USC would be convertible at parity with a bank deposit in the related currency. According to a joint release, spending a USC will be equivalent to spending its real-world currency. The group of financial institutions will focus on the financial structuring of the USC and its implications in the broader market. Alongside they will remain engaged in discussions with central banks and regulators to ensure a regulation compliant and efficient framework within which the USC can be implemented. Hyder Jaffrey, Head of Strategic Investment & FinTech Innovation at UBS Investment Bank stated, "Digital cash is a core component of a future financial market fabric based on blockchain technologies. He further added, "There are several digital cash models being explored across the Street. The Utility Settlement Coin is focused on facilitating a new model for digital central bank cash." Paul Maley, Managing Director, Institutional Client Group, Deutsche Bank noted, "As today's settlement and clearing is a process involving many institutions, it's vital that we collaborate with our peers to develop viable alternatives to current models, creating new digital capabilities for the financial services industry. Blockchain Buzz Blockchain, the digital ledger or the underlying technology behind Bitcoin, has gained attraction for its significant potential to revamp the extensive and complex network of bank payments as well as settlements. While Bitcoin was one of the first cryptographic currencies that drew attention in 2009, several other cryptographic currencies are currently available including Novacoin, Namecoin and Dogecoin. Last December The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. GS filed a patent application with the US Patent & Trademark Office for a new cryptocurrency called SETLcoin. While Citigroup Inc. C is currently working on the development of its own digital currency Citicoin, JPMorgan Chase & Co. JPM partnered with start-up firm Digital Asset Holdings earlier this year to launch a trial project that utilizes the blockchain technology. Bottom line The latest development tied with Blockchain platform crops up as banks are embracing technology and are continuously looking out for ways to restructure daily operations, update back-office functions and making huge investments for auto execution of transactions. While banks and regulators continue to explore prospects and benefits of digital currencies, concerns including security and impact on the broader financial system still lingers. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days . Click to get this free report >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report JPMORGAN CHASE (JPM): Free Stock Analysis Report BANK OF NY MELL (BK): Free Stock Analysis Report CITIGROUP INC (C): Free Stock Analysis Report UBS GROUP AG (UBS): Free Stock Analysis Report DEUTSCHE BK AG (DB): Free Stock Analysis Report BANCO SANTAN SA (SAN): Free Stock Analysis Report GOLDMAN SACHS (GS): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] 1 KOBO = 0.00000991 BTC = 0.0058 USD = 1.8502 NGN = 0.0792 ZAR = 0.5875 KES #Kobocoin 2016-08-07 14:00 pic.twitter.com/yTSR4wB5YT \|\| 1 KOBO = 0.00001780 BTC = 0.0116 USD = 3.5380 NGN = 0.1666 ZAR = 1.1772 KES #Kobocoin 2016-07-23 11:00 pic.twitter.com/vd4QsdmNko \|\| 1 #BTC (#Bitcoin) quotes: $565.40/$566.30 #Bitstamp $569.00/$569.23 #BTCe ⇢$2.70/$3.83 $566.43/$572.14 #Coinbase ⇢$0.13/$6.74 \|\| #UFOCoin #UFO $ 0.000020 (-1.99 %) 0.00000003 BTC (-0.00 %) \|\| #TrinityCoin #TTY $ 0.000007 (-1.57 %) 0.00000001 BTC (-0.00 %) \|\| #FLOZ 0.00000029 BTC(93.33 %) \| Market Cap 1 BTC \| Volume(24h) 0.00 BTC \| Available Supply 4,322,629 FLOZ \|\| $664.92 at 09:00 UTC [24h Range: $653.00 - $667.73 Volume: 2753 BTC] \|\| LIVE: Profit = $44.19 (17.81 %). BUY B0.50 @ $520.10 (#VirCurex). SELL @ $590.00 (#BitKonan) #bitcoin #btc - http://www.projectcoin.org \|\| One Bitcoin now worth $661.22@bitstamp. High $666.30. Low $660.00. Market Cap $10.429 Billion #bitcoin \|\| Today's Bitcoin Price 662.00 USD via Chain	Trend: down \|\| Prices: 614.54, 626.32, 622.86, 623.51, 606.72, 608.24, 609.24, 610.68, 607.16, 606.97
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2021-04-16] BTC Price: 61572.79, BTC RSI: 59.19 Gold Price: 1779.00, Gold RSI: 60.22 Oil Price: 63.13, Oil RSI: 56.94 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Stocks fall as risk appetite sours; oil rally stalls: By Saqib Iqbal Ahmed NEW YORK (Reuters) - A gauge of global equity markets fell for a third straight session on Thursday, dragged lower by weakness on Wall Street on views the market has climbed too high to soon, while a rise in weekly jobless claims pointed to a fragile recovery in the U.S. labor market. Investors took profits on technology shares and other segments that have risen sharply. Oil prices erased early gains, with Brent retreating from a 13-month high above $65 a barrel as buying spurred by concerns that a rare cold snap in Texas could disrupt U.S. crude output for days or even weeks petered out. Graphic: U.S. inflation expectations & oil prices - https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/mkt/dgkplzblbpb/Pasted%20image%201613661504694.png The MSCI's global stock index fell 0.52% to 679.13. The index touched a record intra-day high of 687.26 on Tuesday, before erasing gains to snap an 11-day winning streak. Investors' appetite for riskier assets dulled after data showed the number of Americans filing first-time applications for unemployment benefits unexpectedly rose last week, even though the labor market is steadily recovering as additional fiscal stimulus and falling COVID-19 cases allow more service businesses to reopen. On Wall Street, main indexes fell as investors resumed a shift out of big technology-related firms. Strong earnings, progress in the vaccination rollout and hopes of a $1.9 trillion federal stimulus package helped U.S. stock indexes hit record highs again at the start of the week. But the months-long rally suggests stocks now have high valuations, said Jason Pride, chief investment officer for private wealth at Glenmede in Philadelphia. "We are still in the cautiously bullish environment for the market on the whole," Pride said, citing two reasons. "We're going to get a vaccine-induced economic recovery, that's No. 1. The flip side of that story is the markets have largely priced that in and driven themselves to over-valued territory. Markets are going to struggle with that," he said. Story continues The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 119.68 points, or 0.38%, to finish at 31,493.34, the S&P 500 lost 17.36 points, or 0.44%, to end at 3,913.97 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 100.14 points, or 0.72%, to close at 13,865.36. European stocks fell after a clutch of disappointing earnings reports from companies including Airbus and Orange. The pan-European STOXX 600 index closed down 0.82%. U.S. Treasury yields were mixed across the curve on Thursday, as the market adjusted to higher levels on the longer end of the curve that were reached this week on expectations of extended fiscal and monetary stimulus and signs of an economic upswing. "Clearly, bond markets are thinking the world economy can normalize and yields can come off emergency levels. They are moving away from only thinking of COVID and QE (Quantitative easing) and are thinking about normalization," said April LaRusse, head of fixed income investment specialists at asset manager Insight Investment. "But while that will be the general trend, we do think markets may have got a bit ahead of themselves," LaRusse said. The benchmark 10-year yield, which touched 1.333% on Wednesday, its highest level since Feb. 27, 2020, was last down a basis point at 1.2872%. The dollar lost ground, ending its first two-day winning streak in two weeks as disappointing labor market data tempered expectations for a speedy economic recovery from the global health crisis. The dollar index was off 0.3%. Bitcoin eased off its record high of $52,640 reached overnight. Brent crude futures settled at $63.93 a barrel, down 41 cents or 0.64%, while U.S. crude oil futures settled at $60.52 a barrel, down 62 cents, or 1.01%. Graphic: Copper prices - https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/mkt/xlbvgdjbkpq/Pasted%20image%201613660177980.png Copper surged nearly 3% to its highest since April 2012 as Chinese investors returning from a week-long holiday added impetus to a rally that has almost doubled prices from lows last March, when coronavirus worries peaked. Spot gold was down 0.02% at $1,775.8667 an ounce. (Reporting by Saqib Iqbal Ahmed; Additional reporting by Sujata Rao and Herb Lash; Editing by Dan Grebler and Nick Zieminski) \|\| Why MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor Bet Company Cash on Bitcoin—and Wants Other Corporations to Join In: Cryptocurrency champion Michael Saylor has invested more than $1 billion of MicroStrategy’s money in Bitcoin Cryptocurrency champion Michael Saylor has invested more than $1 billion of MicroStrategy’s money in Bitcoin Credit - Erika Larsen—Redux for TIME (Miss this week’s The Leadership Brief? This interview below was delivered to the inbox of Leadership Brief subscribers on Sunday morning, March 27; to receive weekly emails of conversations with the world’s top CEOs and business decisionmakers, click here. ) Michael Saylor’s transformation into a corporate Bitcoin evangelical started prosaically enough. He’s the CEO of a publicly traded enterprise-software firm, MicroStrategy Inc. , and with $482 million in 2020 revenues and business steady but expenses down because of COVID last year, cash reserves started piling up. Like many in the Bitcoin-verse, Saylor has a profound unease about central banks propping up economies with cheap money; by his calculations, the increase in the monetary supply devalues the dollar by 15% a year. He refers to cash as “trash” and a “melting ice cube.” Bitcoin, on the other hand, is “digital gold.” In August, Saylor took the unorthodox step of moving a portion of his company’s treasury reserves into Bitcoin, buying 21,454 bitcoins for $250 million. MicroStrategy continued buying, and in February it added 19,452 bitcoins for $1.026 billion, bringing its total holdings to 90,531 bitcoins. Current value: $5 billion. The company’s stock has soared in response, closing on March 16 at $724 per share, up from $107 a year ago. But it was a casual Twitter exchange that solidified Saylor’s position as a crypto-guru. (Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin are digital, decentralized forms of money.) In December, Elon Musk tweeted a slightly risqué image of a Franciscan monk, eyes cast heavenward, hands clasped in prayer, trying to resist the sultry allure of Bitcoin. Saylo r replied to Musk that he should do Tesla shareholders “a $100 billion favor” and convert Tesla’s balance sheet from dollars to Bitcoin. Musk responded, “Are such large transactions even possible?” To which Saylor replied, “Yes, I have purchased over $1.3 billion in #BTC in past months & would be happy to share my playbook with you offline – from one rocket scientist to another.” (Saylor, 56, has dual degrees in aeronautics and astronautics from MIT.) Story continues On Feb. 8, Musk’s Tesla disclosed that it had bought $1.5 billion worth of Bitcoin using cash on its balance sheet and said it would begin accepting digital coins as payment for its products. Saylor joined TIME on March 16 for a video conversation about his efforts to persuade large corporations to add Bitcoin to their financial toolboxes. (This interview is edited and condensed for clarity.) Inquiring minds demand to know: Did you speak directly to Musk beyond your Twitter exchange in December? As a public-company CEO, I can’t comment on any conversation I would have with another public-company officer. It’s against business etiquette. Do you think that Twitter exchange had an impact on Tesla’s decision? Yes. And are you in ongoing contact with said CEO? I said, I can’t really comment on a conversation I would have with a public-company officer. Why not? The SEC does not prohibit such disclosures. It’s not appropriate business decorum. [Musk could not be reached for comment.] Tesla’s such a maverick company. Are we seeing other indications that institutional investors are getting more involved in the crypto craze? If you go back to March 2020, it was only the rare institution involved. In the 12 months that followed, there’s been an avalanche of institutional involvement. MicroStrategy is the first publicly traded company that made a material investment, but Square followed. And Tesla followed. But they’re the tip of the iceberg. We did a “Bitcoin for Corporations” summit in February. I thought it would be a couple of thousand people showing up. It ended up being more than 10,000 a day, and it broke our video server. What was the impact of the move by Tesla? It was an inflection point. All of a sudden, the narrative goes from “Those crazy people, what are they thinking, speculating in Bitcoin?” to “Maybe this is a real thing. This is probably not going away. Let’s try to figure out how to think about it.” I’m going to read Nobel Prize winner Robert Shiller’s quote about irrational exuberance. “Irrational exuberance is the psychological basis of a speculative bubble. I define a speculative bubble as a situation in which news of price increases spurs investor enthusiasm, which spreads by psychological contagion from person to person, and, in the process, amplifies stories that might justify the price increase and brings in a larger and larger class of investors, who, despite doubts about the real value of the investment, are drawn to it partly through envy of others’ successes and partly through a gambler’s excitement.” Is Bitcoin not a textbook example of irrational exuberance? No, it’s the opposite. It’s a textbook example of a rational action in response to monetary inflation. Can we agree that the money supply is expanding in an unprecedented fashion the past 12 months everywhere in the world? If you’re going to make a rational investment decision today, whether you’re a real estate investor, a stock investor, a bond investor, or just a wage earner or you’re a treasurer, you have to estimate the rate of monetary expansion for the next eight years. We know there’s a commitment to run deficits, and we know this commitment to stimulus. So now the issue is, What’s a rational behavior? I’ve got to find a store of value. If you’re looking for an example of real speculation, it would be people speculating upon whether they can squeeze others in a short squeeze and a small stock, like GameStop. Bitcoin is not speculation, O.K.? Bitcoin is a unique new technology, it’s like the Facebook of money or the Google of money. And it grew from nothing to a trillion dollars in monetary value in 12 years. Subscribe to The Leadership Brief by clicking here. Bitcoin is a unique new technology, it's like the Facebook of money or the Google of money. For people who aren’t early adapters, why is there a whiff of something vaguely unsavory about Bitcoin? Some of these remarks go back a few years and have since been revised, but Warren Buffett called it “rat poison squared”; Jamie Dimon, a “fraud”; and Larry Fink of BlackRock said it was “an index of money laundering.” I just think it’s a paradigm shift, so you can’t blame smart people. They’re all smart, and they were all successful. But if you go back and you look at electricity, not every smart, successful person immediately understood the implications of electricity in the first 24 months after they heard of it. [Philosopher] Thomas Kuhn said when you come up with a new paradigm, a completely utterly revolutionary way to see the world, the establishment doesn’t normally accept it. And you need a new generation to accept that unless there’s a war, unless you have an extreme experience that forces you to embrace a new idea. It’s a little early to talk about history, but what so far is your legacy? We are the first public company to actually adopt Bitcoin as a treasury reserve asset, to legitimize the asset class as an institutional-grade safe-haven asset. And your mission? My mission right now is to fix the balance sheets of the world. Subscribe to The Leadership Brief by clicking here. \|\| Aurora Mobile Partners with BitDeer, the World's Leading Crypto Currency Mining Service Platform, to Strengthen Digital Asset Mining Services: SHENZHEN, China, March 15, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Aurora Mobile Limited (NASDAQ: JG) (“Aurora Mobile” or the “Company”), a leading mobile developer service provider in China, today announced that it has entered into a partnership agreement with Sharpening Technology Limited, also known as BitDeer. Leveraging its artificial intelligence-based smart operation services, Aurora Mobile aims to help BitDeer develop the most reliable digital asset mining services. BitDeer is the world's leading computing power-sharing platform, where users are provided with a full range of cloud mining solutions. This alleviates users' from complicated processes, such as the procurement of mining equipment, the logistics of transport, power management, and the operation and maintenance of the mining farms. Users will be able to place an order and enjoy the services with a single click. BitDeer has served users from over 200 countries and regions around the world with monthly traffic of over 2.5 million. BitDeer also operates hundreds of thousands of specialist mining machines from professional mining farms in continents such as Asia, Europe and America. BitDeer not only ensures stable and consistent operation, but also strives to provide top-notch computing power-sharing services to its customers worldwide. As the price of Bitcoin continues to rally, competition in mining Bitcoin has intensified over the months while the difficulty of mining across the entire Bitcoin network continues to increase. Therefore, mining services underlying the mining activities have become ever more important. Through the partnership with BitDeer, Aurora Mobile will use its powerful AI-driven technology and advanced analysis capabilities to help BitDeer conduct professional customized mining services for individual investors and institutions around the world. The two companies are looking forward to the cooperation and are confident of exploring more growth opportunities in the field of digital cryptocurrency in the future. Aurora Mobile is a leading mobile developer service provider in China. For almost a decade, Aurora Mobile has focused on meeting the needs of developers and has launched a series of products to help them to improve operational efficacy, drive business growth and monetize services. As of September 2020, Aurora Mobile had provided software development kits to over 1.65 million APPs. Recently, Aurora Mobile launched a Unification Messages System (“JG UMS”), which has integrated several major messaging channels, including mobile Apps, WeChat official accounts, WeChat mini-programs, Short Message Service (“SMS”), emails, Fuwu Alipay and DingTalk, and enables businesses to reach targeted customers more efficiently through one integrated messaging platform. About Aurora Mobile Limited Founded in 2011, Aurora Mobile is a leading mobile developer service provider in China. Aurora Mobile is committed to providing efficient and stable push notification, one-click verification, and APP traffic monetization services to help developers improve operational efficiency, grow and monetize. Meanwhile, Aurora Mobile's vertical applications have expanded to market intelligence, financial risk management, and location-based intelligence, empowering various industries to improve productivity and optimize decision-making. Safe Harbor Statement This announcement contains forward-looking statements. These statements are made under the “safe harbor” provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as “will,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “future,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “estimates,” “confident” and similar statements. Among other things, the Business Outlook and quotations from management in this announcement, as well as Aurora Mobile’s strategic and operational plans, contain forward-looking statements. Aurora Mobile may also make written or oral forward-looking statements in its periodic reports to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, in its annual report to shareholders, in press releases and other written materials and in oral statements made by its officers, directors or employees to third parties. Statements that are not historical facts, including but not limited to statements about Aurora Mobile’s beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement, including but not limited to the following: Aurora Mobile’s strategies; Aurora Mobile’s future business development, financial condition and results of operations; Aurora Mobile’s ability to attract and retain customers; its ability to develop and effectively market data solutions, and penetrate the existing market for developer services; its ability to transition to the new advertising-driven SaaS-model; its ability maintain or enhance its brand; the competition with current or future competitors; its ability to continue to gain access to mobile data in the future; the laws and regulations relating to data privacy and protection; general economic and business conditions globally and in China and assumptions underlying or related to any of the foregoing. Further information regarding these and other risks is included in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. All information provided in this press release and in the attachments is as of the date of the press release, and Aurora Mobile undertakes no duty to update such information, except as required under applicable law. For general inquiry, please contact: Aurora Mobile LimitedE-mail: [email protected] ChristensenIn ChinaMr. Eric YuanPhone: +86-10-5900-1548E-mail: [email protected] In USMs. Linda BergkampPhone: +1-480-614-3004Email: [email protected] \|\| Bitcoin rises 6.6% to $61,074: (Reuters) - Bitcoin, the world's biggest and best-known cryptocurrency, rose 6.64% to $61,073.71 on Saturday, adding $3,802.67 to its previous close. Bitcoin is up 120.2% from the year's low of $27,734 on Jan. 4. (Reporting by Aakriti Bhalla in Bengaluru; Editing by Richard Chang) \|\| The World’s First NFT Home Sells for More Than $500,000: NFT mania is showing no signs of slowing down. The latest proof? The world’s first NFT house just sold for more than $500,000, according to CNN . And while artist Krista Kim ’s Mars House is certainly a sight to behold, it’s also a property that doesn’t actually exist in the real world. The futuristic structure is a 3-D digital model that can only be experienced in virtual reality . More from Robb Report Jacob & Co. Is About to Auction Off the World's First NFT Watch You Can Now Buy a Tesla With Bitcoin, According to a 3am Tweet From Elon Musk The World's First NFT House Is Now for Sale The one-of-a-kind Mars House is a non-fungible token (or NFT), which is a unique digital asset “minted” by the blockchain technology. The encryption provides proof of the asset’s authenticity as well as records showing who created it and who owns it. The neon-lit, glass dwelling was listed for sale on SuperRare last week and sold to the Art on the Internet foundation for 288 Ethereum coins, which were worth $514,557.79 at the time of the sale. Kim announced that the “majority” of proceeds will go to the Continuum Foundation and used for a world tour of sound and light installation designed to promote mental health. Last week, the artist told Architectural Digest that the Mars House’s design is meant to promote meditative well-being, one of her creative focuses since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. “Mars House represents the next generation of NFTs,” the artist told CNN. “It is a sign of things to come, as we enter an [augmented reality] interfaced future, with the launch of Apple AR glasses and AR contact lenses. Art, NFTs, cryptocurrencies. . .these sweeping changes and ideas of how we will live with digital assets is becoming a reality and will create a global paradigm shift.” The Mars House NFT includes a 3-D file of the residence which can be uploaded to the foundation’s “metaverse.” It also comes with tech support and an ambient soundtrack composed by the Smashing Pumpkins’s Jeff Schroeder. Should the new owner ever decide to sell the home, they must delete the files from their metaverse and provide proof to Kim that they have done so. Story continues The transaction is one of just several jaw-dropping sales of NFTs this month. Two weeks ago, Everydays—The First 5000 Days , a JPEG by the digital artist Beeple sold for sold for $69.3 million at auction. Earlier this week, an NFT of Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey’s first published tweet sold for $2.9 million . Best of Robb Report The 25 Most Expensive Homes in the World for Sale The 10 Priciest Neighborhoods in America (And How They Got to Be That Way) In Pictures: Most Expensive Properties Sign up for Robb Report's Newsletter . For the latest news, follow us on Facebook , Twitter , and Instagram . \|\| Former Chinese Government Minister: Country Is 30 Years Away From Top-Tier Manufacturing: A former high-ranking Chinese government minister has said that China is at least 30 years away from becoming a “great power” in the manufacturing sector. What Happened: China has been the world’s dominant figure in manufacturing since 2010, according to United Nations data, with $4.8 trillion in industrial added value last year and a nearly 30% global share that is approximately equal to the combined share of the U.S., Germany and Japan. China’s State Council Development Research Center issued a report in January that defined the nation as being in the third tier in a four-tier ranking system based on key criteria including innovation, quality and effectiveness, environmental factors and global competitiveness, according to a South China Morning Post report . In comparison, the U.S., Germany and Switzerland were in the top tier, while Japan, South Korea, Singapore and France were in the second. In a speech before the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, the government’s leading advisory body, former Minister of Industry and Information Technology Miao Wei warned that while China reigns in terms of industrial supply chains and accounts for more than one-third of global manufacturing output, its industries’ dependence on U.S. high-tech products including semiconductors remains a strategic obstacle that needs to be overcome. "Basic capabilities are still weak, core technologies are in the hands of others, and the risk of 'being hit in the throat' and having 'a slipped bike chain' has significantly increased," said Miao, who stepped down from his ministry post last year after a decade in office. "The ratio of manufacturing output to GDP has been declining too early and too quickly, which not only weighs on economic growth and affects employment, but also brings security loopholes to our industries and diminishes our economy's ability to withstand risks, and its global competitiveness." Story continues Related Link: Beyond Bitcoin: China's Publicly-Listed Beauty App Meitu Buys M Ethereum What Happens Next: Miao said a lack of progress on market-oriented financial reforms including tax relief and a deficit of high-tech talent in manufacturing is keeping the sector from reaching its fullest potential. "China's manufacturing industry has made great achievements in recent years, but the situation of being 'big but not strong' and 'comprehensive but not good' has not been fundamentally changed," he said. "We must maintain our strategic resolve, stay clear-headed and deeply understand the gaps and deficiencies." Miao, who is now vice chairman of the CPPCC’s economic committee, also acknowledged that China’s services sector has overtaken manufacturing as the nation’s main economic force, with 54.5% of its economic output last year coming from the services sector versus 37.8% from manufacturing. “We should emphasize the strategic role and contribution of manufacturing and stabilize its share of the economy,” Miao said. “We should protect our most comprehensive manufacturing system and upgrade our self-reliance in industry and supply chains.” Related Link: Tesla Reaches 6,000 Supercharger Installs In China Miao Wei. Photo courtesy G20 Argentina/Creative Commons. See more from Benzinga Click here for options trades from Benzinga Disney's 'Raya And The Last Dragon' Opens To Disappointing .6M Domestic Box Office Markets Close On Positive Note After Turbulent Week © 2021 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| It’s All Downhill for Nikola Stock: It’s skidded or rather crashed. But is now really a good time to back up the truck in Nikola (NASDAQ: NKLA )? Let’s take a closer look at some of what’s happening in NKLA stock both off and on the price chart, then offer a risk-adjusted determination aligned with those findings. The Nikola (NKLA) website homepage on a cell phone screen. Source: Stephanie L Sanchez / Shutterstock.com Before GameStop’s (NYSE: GME ) moonshot earlier this year, or the more durable second coming of Bitcoin (CCC: BTC-USD ) of the past several months, for a brief time and for investors seeking a high-octane investment, it was all about NKLA. And for a couple very alluring reasons too. InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips Nikola. It wasn’t the first SPAC or special purpose acquisition company. The initial public offering alternative actually dates back to 1993. But shortly after last March’s novel coronavirus bottom in the stock market, SPACs seemingly began to take on a life of their own. 10 Stocks to Buy for Your $5K Robinhood Portfolio DraftKings (NASDAQ: DKNG ) and Virgin Galactic (NYSE: SPCE ) had already been gaining some notoriety prior to Wall Street’s brief but spectacular market crash. But relatively speaking, investors hadn’t seen anything yet. Enter Electric Vehicles It was the injection or marriage of electric vehicles with blank-check companies that made SPAC stocks almost a household name, and which sent investors over the top. Workhorse (NASDAQ: WKHS ). ChargePoint Holdings (NYSE: CHPT ). QuantumScape (NYSE: QS ). Hyliion Holdings (NYSE: HYLN ). Canoo (NASDAQ: GOEV ). And NKLA, led by its PR hungry front man Trevor Milton, was the ringleader. Nearly one year ago, NKLA, which proclaimed itself as the company that would commercialize the big rig, long-haul transportation market into a greener one with its EV platform, began it’s ascent. A breakout in early May sent shares through Nikola’s pre-Covid high of $16.25 set two months prior. And for one month, shares barely looked back as NKLA soared by more than 475% to a high of $93.99. Story continues Wall Street was hooked. But NKLA was a line with a sinker attached. Today of course, most any investor with even a passing knowledge of SPACs knows things went dreadfully wrong for NKLA. In a nutshell, it “mostly” turned out Nikola was better at manufacturing deceit. This famously included a video of a faked gravity-assisted Nikola big rig moving under its own power, than in producing road-worthy EV vehicles. Fast forward 10 or so months and there’s been a handful of volatile bumps in the road where bulls briefly got the better of short sellers and General Motors (NYSE: GM ) nearly looked like a crash test dummy . But today, shares of Nikola have not only made a complete U-turn of their spectacular rally, NKLA stock has continued to reverse toward its pre-merged days as VectoIQ Acquisition and its original $10 offer price. NKLA Stock Daily Price Chart Nikola (NKLA) a return towards $10 a share obscurity Source: Charts by TradingView Today and for some investors, the question might be whether at a price of $10.63 or for that matter $10 a share, is an appropriate time to back up the truck in NKLA stock. Larger institutions that bought into VectoIQ may be crossing their fingers for that kind of support by investors. I’d warn otherwise and look past any possibility of a tantalizing double-bottom in-the-works as the Nikola saga remains plagued with problems. This past month, the struggling SPAC saw strategic partner Hanwha Group announce plans to liquidate half its holdings. And in February, NKLA reduced its projected output for its first commercial zero-emission vehicles. The company also stated it may raise additional capital. And if that weren’t enough, the icing on the cake is Nikola’s most recent trials and tribulations following an internal probe revealing several inaccurate statements. Bottom line, NKLA stock’s real-life downhill journey looks nowhere close to being finished. But if investors fancy the stock as an extreme contrarian play and can’t help but buck bearish trends, off and on the price chart, in motion – risk capital sizing and a vertical bull call spread would be the approach and cargo of choice. On the date of publication, Chris Tyler holds, directly or indirectly, positions in DraftKings (DKNG) and its derivatives, but no other securities mentioned in this article. Chris Tyler is a former floor-based, derivatives market maker on the American and Pacific exchanges. The information offered is based on his professional experience but strictly intended for educational purposes only. Any use of this information is 100% the responsibility of the individual. For additional market insights and related musings, follow Chris on Twitter @Options_CAT and StockTwits . More From InvestorPlace Why Everyone Is Investing in 5G All WRONG It doesn’t matter if you have $500 in savings or $5 million. Do this now. Top Stock Picker Reveals His Next Potential 500% Winner Stock Prodigy Who Found NIO at $2… Says Buy THIS Now The post It’s All Downhill for Nikola Stock appeared first on InvestorPlace . \|\| Crypto ‘Whale Watching’ Could Become a Thing at Ukrainian Town Council Meetings: Ukrainian public officials reported owning 46,351 bitcoin , or US$2.67 billion at Wednesday’s price, according to the report by a local data analytics service Opendatabot. Civil servants in Ukraine must declare all the property they own or use, and some chose to include crypto in their declarations, although the country currently is not regulating digital assets. A draft bill establishing the legal status of cryptocurrencies is still awaiting passage by the Ukrainian national parliament. Still, out of 791,872 public officials who submitted their 2020 declarations in March, 652 reported owning bitcoin, Opendatabot said . Most crypto holders are members of city councils, followed by the staff of the national police, ministry of defense and the general prosecutor’s office, the service reported. Members of the national parliament, Verkhovna Rada, accounted for only 3.7% of high-ranking crypto holders. Related: Caruso Properties to Accept Bitcoin for Rent, Allocates 1% of Treasury to Asset The most crypto-rich civil servant in Ukraine, at least officially, is Vyacheslav Mishalov, a member of the Dnipro city council. Mishalov reported owning 18,000 bitcoin (BTC), worth more than US$1 billion, for the second year in a row. Mishalov was followed by Petro Lensky, first secretary of Ukraine’s embassy in Vietnam, with 6,528 BTC in his vault. After him came Alexander Urbansky, deputy chairman of the Odessa regional council, who’s got a trove of 5,328 BTC. The number of Ukrainian public officials investing in crypto is growing, Opendatabot said. While in 2018 only 71 officials owned cryptocurrency, in 2019, that number had grown to 424, and in 2020 653 officials reported owning crypto. Most people reported owning bitcoin (61%), while other reported holding ether (24%) and smaller altcoins including litecoin , cardano , stellar and bitcoin cash . Watching the “whales,” or large crypto holders, may become a new sport for Ukraine. CoinDesk previously wrote about a 19-year-old city council member in a Ukrainian town of Kramatorsk who is not only the youngest lawmaker in his city but is also a monero whale who owns millions of dollars worth of XMR. Story continues Ukraine is the world’s leader in cryptocurrency adoption by its population, using crypto for their various needs, according to Chainalysis. Related: Market Wrap: Bitcoin Drops to Near $56K as Spot Trading Volume Remains Low Read also: Why Ukraine Is Ripe for Cryptocurrency Adoption Related Stories Crypto ‘Whale Watching’ Could Become a Thing at Ukrainian Town Council Meetings Crypto ‘Whale Watching’ Could Become a Thing at Ukrainian Town Council Meetings \|\| Zilliqa (ZIL) Closes in on Reaching New All-Time High: Ziliqa (ZIL) has been struggling to break out above the $0.185 area for the past three weeks. Despite the struggle, the short-term chart looks bullish. ZIL will likely be successful in breaking out above this level to make a new all-time high. ZIL Approaches All-Time High Zilliqa has been moving upwards since the end of Nov. 2020, So far, it has increased by 720%. During the week of March 15-22, it was rejected by the $0.185 resistance area, creating a Doji candlestick. This is a sign of indecision and can be seen as a weakness when coming after an upward trend. However, both the Stochastic oscillator and MACD are bullish. While the RSI has generated a bearish divergence, it has also crossed above 70 — a bullish sign. There aren’t sufficient signs to suggest that a bearish reversal will occur. So, a breakout and a new all-time high are expected to follow. ZIL Chart By TradingView Short-Term ZIL Movement The six-hour chart is bullish. The price has broken out from and retested the $0.15 area as support twice. It has been moving upwards since the second retest. Both the MACD and RSI are increasing, supporting the continuation of the upward movement. ZIL Chart By TradingView The two-hour chart shows a breakout from a descending resistance line. Currently, the token is trading right at the 0.618 Fib retracement level of the most recent drop. This is a potential reversal area. A short-term decrease could occur, potentially validating the resistance line from which the token broke out. However, another upward movement is expected, which would likely take it towards a new all-time high price. ZIL Chart By TradingView ZIL/BTC Cryptocurrency trader @CryptoMitchNL outlined a ZIL/BTC chart, stating that if the current support level holds, the next resistance areas would be found at 525 and 800 satoshis. ZIL/BTC Movement While the token is indeed trading above support, it is also following a descending resistance line. In addition, there is strong resistance at 320 satoshis. Technical indicators are undecided. Both the RSI and Stochastic oscillator are neutral, but the MACD is decreasing. Story continues We cannot confidently determine the direction of the trend until a breakout/rejection from this level occurs. ZIL Chart By TradingView Conclusion ZIL/USD is expected to finally break out above the $0.185 resistance area. The direction of the ZIL/BTC trend cannot be determined until a breakout or rejection occurs. For BeInCrypto’s previous bitcoin (BTC) analysis, click here. \|\| The top housing market New Yorkers are looking to buy into: Some New Yorkers may be fleeing for Florida , but when it comes to searching for real estate online, most are keeping it decidedly close to home. "The top destination for people searching from New York? It's actually New York," Amanda Pendleton, Zillow's (Z) home trends expert, told Yahoo Finance Live this week. "A vast majority of New Yorkers want to stay local and want to stay within the metro area." With all the reports about billionaires and banks moving south , you would think maybe Miami or Palm Beach or Tampa would be the next most popular market for New Yorkers looking at real estate. But you'd be wrong. The next two are actually within driving distance. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Stamford, Connecticut, round out the top three, according to Zillow. Zillow Traffic Trends Miami is the fourth most popular search destination. Zillow says Miami-area listings originating from New York are up from 7.17% to 8.33% year over year. Overall, Zillow is reporting massive surges in its traffic with both New York and Miami seeing gains of over 50% year over year. The top market with the biggest gains in Zillow traffic for 2020 was Las Vegas, Nevada. The jump in Sin City searches was up 64% year over year. "There are demographic and pandemic-led factors that are driving people to both surf Zillow, but also to move and to buy homes, Zillow's Pendleton said. Jen Rogers is an anchor for Yahoo Finance Live. Follow her on Twitter @JenSaidIt . More from Jen: Why Arks Cathie Wood remains bullish on Bitcoin, Tesla How back to school is going for Congresss only single mom Why Big Tech needs to slow down: Meena Harris Find live stock market quotes and the latest business and finance news Follow Yahoo Finance on Twitter , Facebook , Instagram , Flipboard , LinkedIn , and reddit . [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] None available.	Trend: down \|\| Prices: 60683.82, 56216.18, 55724.27, 56473.03, 53906.09, 51762.27, 51093.65, 50050.87, 49004.25, 54021.75
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2022-05-09] BTC Price: 30296.95, BTC RSI: 24.68 Gold Price: 1857.10, Gold RSI: 37.37 Oil Price: 103.09, Oil RSI: 48.84 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Meta's (FB) WhatsApp Payment Service Suffers Setback In Brazil: Meta Platforms ’ FB long-term plans to launch payments to merchants (p2m) services via WhatsApp in Brazil has suffered setbacks due to clashes with potential payment partners. WhatsApp in Brazil. has so far struggled to sign up local merchant acquirer companies, which process electronic payments, and are required to help launch and run the service in Latin America’s most populous country with 120 million users. Meta’s plan to launch the p2m payment services are stalled due to failed negotiations with merchant acquirer companies. Per Financial Times, merchant acquirer companies claimed that the proposed fees from WhatsApp were too low and the legal terms drawn by the social media giant were too difficult to comply with. Meta’s payment service efforts have not seen smooth sailing since its launch. Days after being launched in mid-2020, Meta rolled out the feature of payment transfer in India and Brazil. However, its efforts to launch the service were delayed due to regulatory pushback, citing concerns about competition, efficiency and data privacy. In Brazil, in order to get approval for the p2m services, Meta has to get acquirer companies on board before the central bank can decide whether to approve the services. The central bank has cited that in order not to kill competition, WhatsApp is required to partner with multiple acquirers rather than one. The central bank has expressed concerns about whether there would be a clear option for smaller merchants to make a claim against Meta if any issue arises with payments. Meta Platforms, Inc. Price and Consensus Meta Platforms, Inc. Price and Consensus Meta Platforms, Inc. price-consensus-chart \| Meta Platforms, Inc. Quote Meta Plans to Tap Fresh Revenues With Financial Services Meta has been planning to diversify away from primarily relying on advertising revenues. Meta’s primary revenue generating source is advertising. The company has garnered advertising revenues of $114.93 billion in 2021, representing 97.46% of its total revenues in the reported year. Revenues from advertising increased 37% year over year. However, Meta’s ad-based business model is under constant threat from increasing scrutiny by different governments as they are dropping legislations and ultimatums on its business policies. The ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict has been a concern. Chief Executive Officer, Mark Zuckerberg, has said that facilitating payment and e-commerce services would provide a new stream of income for the company and reduce its dependency on advertising revenues. Further, Zuckerberg’s plan to launch payment services merge with the company’s bold plans to launch the metaverse. Meta is not only looking to create payment services in the real world but also in virtual reality. In accordance with this, Meta is planning to introduce virtual coins, tokens and lending services to its social media apps. The company is exploring the idea of creating a virtual currency for the metaverse dubbed “Zuck Bucks.” Meta is also trying to evolve its social media and chatting sites as NFT and cryptocurrency trading marketplaces, which will retain and attract customers amid stiff competition from other tech giants. Meta is facing not only regulatory issues but stiff competition from other tech giants in the NFT marketplace. Microsoft MSFT is looking to explore the NFT space, which is experiencing massive growth from the beginning of 2021. Microsoft’s M12 venture fund recently invested in NFT startup, Palm NFT Studio. The company raised $27 million, which will be utilized to develop projects on the Palm Protocol, an energy-efficient Ethereum sidechain. Social media peer Twitter TWTR launched a tool that allows users to showcase NFTs as their profile pictures. The new tool designed by Twitter connects users’ Twitter accounts with their crypto wallets holding the NFTs. Twitter is exploring the crypto universe and supporting NFT trading. Artists can use the platform to connect their crypto wallets and take payments directly through Twitter. They can also take tips in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum through crypto wallet apps. Story continues Zacks Rank & Stock to Consider In the year-to-date period, Meta shares which carry a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell) have tumbled 35.4% compared with the Zacks Internet – Software industry's and the Zacks Computer and Technology sector's declines of 33.1% and 16.6%, respectively. The current economic turmoil has resulted in the financial markets being extremely volatile. In order to stabilize your portfolio against uncertainties, you can consider the following stock. America Movil AMX currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank stocks here . AMX shares have returned 4.2% in the year-to-date period compared with the Zacks Wireless Non-US industry's growth of 7.6%. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) : Free Stock Analysis Report America Movil, S.A.B. de C.V. (AMX) : Free Stock Analysis Report Meta Platforms, Inc. (FB) : Free Stock Analysis Report Twitter, Inc. (TWTR) : Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research View comments \|\| Analysis-Bitcoin adoption by Central African Republic baffles cryptoverse: By Judicael Yongo, Tom Wilson and Rachel Savage BANGUI (Reuters) - Central African Republic's adoption of bitcoin, while many of the world's largest economies stay wary of it, has puzzled the cryptocurrency world and residents of the gold and diamond-producing country, and prompted caution from the IMF. Using bitcoin, a digital currency that exists on a shared ledger across a global network of computers, to buy and sell goods and services relies on reliable, fast internet and widespread access to computers or smartphones. Yet Central African Republic has internet penetration rates of just 11%, equal to some 550,000 people online last year, the DataReportal website estimates. Meanwhile only around 14% of people have access to electricity and less than half have a mobile phone connection, the Economist Intelligence Unit says. Four analysts and crypto experts said great challenges lie ahead in adopting bitcoin in one of the world's poorest countries with low internet use, widespread conflict, spotty electricity and a population mostly unfamiliar with crypto. Central African Republic provided few details in its statement on Wednesday on how it plans to address these challenges. It did not respond to Reuters requests for comment. The government's statement said the move made Central African Republic one of the world's "most visionary countries", but residents in the capital Bangui, where most are familiar with mobile money to buy goods and pay bills, were baffled. "Bitcoin. What is it?!" Auguste Agou, who runs a local timber company in Bangui, said on Thursday, adding: "What can bitcoin bring to our country?" The African country of 4.8 million people is the world's second to turn to bitcoin, after El Salvador. When the Central American country adopted bitcoin as legal tender in June, a small but growing community of business and individual crypto users already existed. Yet its use in commerce has been stymied by internet glitches. "Given the enormous barriers to adoption and risks associated with use, and seemingly limited upsides, we do not expect widespread adoption of cryptocurrencies in the country," said Nathan Hayes, an analyst at Economist Intelligence Unit. U.S. blockchain researcher Chainalysis, which tracks crypto usage, had no data on Central African Republic, which has been gripped for years by violence and is home to Russian mercenaries helping the government overcome rebel groups. IMF CAUTION Some said that by adopting bitcoin, Central African Republic is sending a message about the Central African CFA franc, a regional currency used by six states which is governed by the Bank of Central African States (BEAC) and pegged to the euro. The BEAC must through the monetary union maintain at least 50% of foreign assets with the French Treasury, an arrangement that has been criticised as holding back economic development. Bangui's crypto move "reflects regional disquiet over the use of the CFA franc, with its colonial overtones," Rahul Shah, head of financials equity research at Tellimer, said. Other crypto advocates said it was a rebuke to the CFA franc. "Central Africa is extremely far behind in terms of development," said Chris Maurice, CEO of crypto exchange Yellow Card Financial, which has around a million users in 16 African countries and is licensed to operate in the CFA franc area. "It's a big middle finger to the French economic system." A BEAC spokesperson told Reuters on Wednesday it had not been told in advance, and did not yet have any response. The BEAC did not reply to requests for comment on Thursday. The International Monetary Fund (IMF), which in January urged El Salvador to do away with its move to make bitcoin legal tender, voiced caution on Central African Republic's move. "It's really important to not see such things as a panacea for economic challenges our countries face," IMF Africa Department Director Abebe Aemro Selassie told a press briefing on its economic outlook for Sub-Saharan Africa. "You have to make sure that the legislative framework, in terms of the transparency of financial flows, the governance framework around it is all robustly in place." (Reporting by Judicael Yongo in Bangui, Tom Wilson and Rachel Savage in London; Editing by Alexander Smith) \|\| Bitcoin miner PrimeBlock to go public via $1.25 billion SPAC deal: (Reuters) - Prime Blockchain Inc, a bitcoin mining and infrastructure startup, on Friday agreed to go public in the United States by merging with a blank-check firm in a deal that would value the combined company at $1.25 billion including debt. The company, which does business as PrimeBlock and operates data centers and crypto mining operations across North America, has secured $300 million in equity financing for the deal from an affiliate of Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. The merger with 10X Capital Venture Acquisition Corp II is expected to close by the second half of this year, after which the combined company will be listed on the Nasdaq and led by PrimeBlock Chief Executive Officer Gaurav Budhrani. PrimeBlock's decision to go public comes at a time when mergers with blank-check firms, or special purpose acquisition companies (SPAC), have slowed due to a regulatory crackdown sparked by concerns that investors were getting a raw deal. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission recently unveiled a new draft rule that would require SPACs to disclose more details about their sponsors, their compensation, conflicts of interest and share dilution in an effort to curb such companies from issuing overly optimistic earnings projections. (Reporting by Sohini Podder in Bengaluru; Editing by Aditya Soni) \|\| Vroom Is Racing Off a Financial Cliff: Vroom(NYSE:VRM) is an online marketplace for buying and selling cars. The company came into being with the idea that it could shake up the existing used automobile marketplace. RivalCarvana(NYSE:CVNA) achieved a tremendous valuation in 2020 and 2021, and VRM stock investors no doubt hoped for a similar outcome. However, this has not come to pass. Indeed, Vroom is now down a jaw-dropping 96% since it started trading in 2020. I’m not going to sugarcoat anything here: There’s a decent chance VRM stock ultimately ends up worthless. Vroom’s problems fundamentally come down to one main issue. It just doesn’t generate enough profit on each vehicle that it sells. The company’s vehicle gross profit per ecommerce unit fell to astunningly low$473 in the fourth quarter of 2021, down sharply from an already bad $878 in the previous year. It shouldn’t take too much thinking to see the problem here; it’s impossible to cover costs — let alone turn a profit — earning such a scant amount on each transaction. InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips Vroom netted a gross profit of $32.9 million last quarter. Meanwhile, it spent $166 million on selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses. Needless to say, having $166 million of overhead to generate $33 million of gross profits is not a sustainable business model. Vroom spent $28 million on outbound logistics as part of those SG&A expenses, meaning it lost virtually all of its gross profit before delivering the vehicles to customers. For another, it spent $37 million on marketing, meaning it cost more just to acquire its customers than it earned back from their transactions. But wait, it gets worse. These atrocious results happened during an unprecedented boom in the used vehicle market. If there was ever a time Vroom should have been able to mint money, it would have been in 2021. Used cars were selling like hotcakes. And yet Vroom was outselling them for infinitesimal profit margins. If that’s how it performed during a market boom, how will things look during a bust? • 7 A-Rated Dividend Stocks to Buy Forever We might never find out, as Vroom may not have the liquidity to last that long. Sure, it had $1.1 billion in cash as of December 2021. However, not all that cash is freed up, as it may need a substantial cushion to manage inventory and other expenses for a high-capital intensity business like cars. Meanwhile, the company lost $130 million in Q4 alone. That projects to a loss of more than half a billion dollars for a full year if things keep running at that pace. Throw in a downturn in the used car market from 2021’s record conditions, and Vroom’s losses could balloon even more. Long story short, the company could need to raise more capital by mid-2023. Doing so from the credit market seems difficult given Vroom’s massive operating losses. And to raise stock via equity would be painfully dilutive with shares trading south of $2. Vroom had a chance to shine with the car market heading through the roof last year. That opportunity squandered, it’s hard to see anything other than a dead end ahead for VRM stock. On Penny Stocks and Low-Volume Stocks: With only the rarest exceptions, InvestorPlace does not publish commentary about companies that have a market cap of less than $100 million or trade less than 100,000 shares each day. That’s because these “penny stocks” are frequently the playground for scam artists and market manipulators. If we ever do publish commentary on a low-volume stock that may be affected by our commentary, we demand thatInvestorPlace.com’s writers disclose this fact and warn readers of the risks. Read More:Penny Stocks — How to Profit Without Getting Scammed On the date of publication, Ian Bezek did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.comPublishing Guidelines. • Stock Prodigy Who Found NIO at $2… Says Buy THIS • It doesn’t matter if you have $500 in savings or $5 million. Do this now. • Get in Now on Tiny $3 ‘Forever Battery’ Stock • Early Bitcoin Millionaire Reveals His Next Big Crypto Trade “On Air” The postVroom Is Racing Off a Financial Cliffappeared first onInvestorPlace. \|\| Crypto Weekly Review May 8 – Bitcoin (BTC) Sinks to Sub-$35,000: Key Insights: It is a bearish week for the broader crypto market, with Bitcoin (BTC) sliding by 10% to visit sub-$35,000 for the first time since February. Investor angst over inflation and Fed monetary policy hit appetite for riskier assets, which spilled over to the crypto market. Several cryptos bucked the trend in the week, including Algorand (ALGO), which ended the week up by 25%. Bitcoin sinks to sub-$35,000 as bearish sentiment hit the crypto market in the week ending May 8, 2022. Risk aversion stemming from inflation and investor sentiment towards Fed monetary policy hit riskier assets. The correlation between bitcoin (BTC) and the NASDAQ 100 strengthened in the week. As result, the NASDAQ sell-off sent the broader crypto market into a tailspin. BTC – NASDAQ correlation. The broad-based crypto sell-off saw $146 billion wiped out to leave the total crypto market cap at $1,571 billion on Sunday afternoon. Bitcoin (BTC) Sends the Crypto Market into a Tail Spin In the week ending May 8, BTC is currently down 10%. Following a 2.49% loss from the previous week, BTC looks set to end the week at sub-$35,000. At the time of writing, BTC stood at $34,603. It will be a fifth consecutive week in the red for BTC. After recovering from a January sell-off, BTC bounced back to $48,000 levels in late March before the current reversal. Reports of bitcoin whales selling bitcoin added to the market angst over the weekend, with the Bitcoin Fear & Greed Index sliding into the “Extreme Fear” zone. The Index was in the “Greed” zone, with a value of 60/100 on March 28 before sliding to 18/100 on May 8. BTC wallet data suggests that the current downward trend across the global equity markets is causing BTC holders to reduce exposure to riskier assets and meet possible margin calls. On Friday, CryptoQuant reported that the number of wallets holding between 10 and 10,000 BTC sent more crypto to exchanges than wallets holding between 0.01 and 10 BTC. Things were no better for the rest of the crypto top ten. Story continues The Broader Crypto Market Tracks Bitcoin into the Red In the week ending May 8, Terra ( LUNA ) is down by 25.5% to lead the way down, with SOL sliding by 13.4% BNB (-8.9%), AVAX (-11.4%), and ETH (-10.0%) are also in the deep red, while ADA (-6.6%) and XRP (-6.3%) are seeing relatively modest losses. For LUNA, several factors beyond bitcoin’s influence contribute to the heavy loss. These included LUNA sales to support the TerraUSD (UST) peg, a marked decline in total value locked, and investor sentiment towards the Luna Foundation Guard’s (LFG) latest $1.5bn in BTC purchases. A number of cryptos managed to buck the trend, however, with Algorand ( ALGO ) rallying by 25.1% to grab the headlines. Algorand (ALGO) Sees Strong Staking Demand to Support a Breakout Week According to Defi Llama , Algorand’s total value locked (TVL) increased by 19.4% to $187.36 million in the week. Increased demand for ALGO as a staking crypto provided the upside in the week, with Algofi, a DeFi platform on the Algorand blockchain, seeing its dominance hit 61.22%. Users can lend ALGO on the Algofi protocol to earn ALGO. ALGO is a popular staking crypto, as ALGO holders can stake as little as one ALGO to earn interest. Early in the week, Algorand hit the news for an altogether different reason. On Monday, FIFA announced Algorand as an official partner ahead of this year’s FIFA World Cup in Qatar. This article was originally posted on FX Empire More From FXEMPIRE: G7 leaders pledge further economic isolation of Russia Germany’s Scholz says on WW2 anniversary Putin will not win his war Russian attacks on rail system fail to paralyze ‘lifeline of Ukraine’ U.S. Senate to vote Wednesday on abortion rights bill, Schumer says Prospect of Marcos revival looms as Philippines votes for new president Bitcoin Falls Below $35,000 as Tron Continues Its Rally \|\| With Lots of Gold Sold, Hycroft Mining Could Become a High Flyer: • Hycroft Mining(HYMC) is getting a lot of attention on Wall Street as a large movie theater chain makes a big investment. • Moreover, a deep dive into the company’s financials reveals that Hycroft has plenty of cash on hand, and is selling large quantities of gold. • Investors should add Hycroft to their gold miner watch list if they’re seeking exposure to the precious metals market. Source: Shutterstock Hycroft Mining(NASDAQ:HYMC) is a minerals development company thatoperatesthe Hycroft Mine in the mining region ofnorthern Nevada.HYMC stock is quite affordable and has the potential for powerful upside, especially if the gold price increases. Gold tested the crucial $2,000 level not long ago. As a result, many investors are undoubtedly getting interested in shares of mining business. Yet, it’s not only the retail crowd that’s getting involved. In fact, a famous entertainment-related company recently took a surprising stake in Hycroft Mining. Still, the idea isn’t just to buy shares of Hycroft because a big company made an investment. You’ll definitely want to closely examine Hycroft Mining’s financial stats. After doing that, you may decide for yourself that this intriguing mining business belongs on your watch list in 2022. InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips [{"Ticker": "HYMC", "Company": "Hycroft Mining", "Current Price": "$1.98"}] The first thing to know is that HYMC stock is on a confirmed uptrend. Folks who bought the shares tapped into a veritable gold mine as the stock zoomed from 30 cents in early March, to the $2 level in recent weeks. That price move surely hurt the short sellers. That’s what can happen, though, if you bet against gold mining stocks during period of high inflation. It’s undeniable that inflation is bad for most consumers. Yet, it can provide a powerful tailwind to gold as the yellow metal is often viewed as an anti-dollar-inflation asset. Even beyond the inflation factor, what could propel HYMC stock back to its 52-week high of $4.37? Perhaps a headline-grabbing investment from a well-known movie theater business could do the trick. • 7 Great REITs That Will Pay You Handsomely In case you missed it,AMC Entertainment(NYSE:AMC) isplanning to invest$56 million in Hycroft Mining. This would equate to a roughly 22% equity stake in Hycroft. It may have seemed like a shocking thing for AMC Entertainment to do. On the other hand, a deeper dive into the facts of the matter will reveal the rationale behind AMC’s investment in Hycroft Mining. Puzzled onlookers didn’t have to wait long to discover why AMC Entertainment bought such a large stake in Hycroft. AMC Entertainment CEO Adam Aron’s tweet spilled the beans. Evidently, Aron’s company is “playing on offense again with abold diversification move.” In the tweet, Aron proudly cited Hycroft’s 15 million ounces of gold resources and 600 million ounces of silver resources. What else is there to know about Hycroft mining, then? For one thing, Hycroft Mining recently completed anat-the-market equity offering program. With this program, Hycroft sold 89,553,584 for total proceeds of $138.6 million. Next, prospective investors should know that Hycroft Mining recentlyfiled its Form 10-K. Among the highlights was the fact that Hycroft ended 2021 with$12.3 millionof cash on hand — not too shabby. Not only that, but the company sold a whopping 56,045 ounces of gold and 397,546 ounces of silver in 2021. Plus, Hycroft’s gold production for that year totaled 57,668 ounces, a figure that “exceeded the high end of the guidance range as the process team continued to improve equipment, process control and costs.” Now, we can begin to discern why AMC Entertainment would want to own a piece of Hycroft Mining. Should you take our own stake in this mining business as well? That’s certainly your decision to make, but the data looks highly encouraging. Hycroft is in a good capital position, and the company is mining and selling a whole lot of precious metals. So, maybe AMC is making a smart move by investing in Hycroft Mining. As an inflation hedge or as a growth investment, feel free to consider shares of HYMC stock for your gold-focused portfolio. On the date of publication, neither Louis Navellier nor the InvestorPlace Research Staff member primarily responsible for this article held (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. Louis Navellier, who has been called “one of the most important money managers of our time,” has broken the silence inthis shocking “tell all” video… exposing one of the most shocking events in our country’s history… andthe one move every American needs to make today. • Stock Prodigy Who Found NIO at $2… Says Buy THIS • It doesn’t matter if you have $500 in savings or $5 million. Do this now. • 10 Stocks Are Issuing Sell Signals • Early Bitcoin Millionaire Reveals His Next Big Crypto Trade “On Air” The postWith Lots of Gold Sold, Hycroft Mining Could Become a High Flyerappeared first onInvestorPlace. \|\| Micro-Investing App Acorns Adds Bitcoin Exposure Option: Savings and investing app Acorns has announced the option for customers to add bitcoin (BTC) exposure for long-term investing. Acorns offers accounts that can be funded through automatic investments of spare change or deposits of as little as $5 at any time or on a recurring basis. The app recommends an investment plan for users based on goals, employment and income. Acorns offers five diversified portfolios of exchange-traded funds, or ETFs. With 4.6 million subscribers, it becomes the latest big name in fintech to inch its way into crypto. “We’ve always been open-minded and flexible to the idea that as other asset classes mature and become something that we can deliver to customers, we would love to include that in the appropriate way,” Acorns Chief Investment Officer Seth Wunder told CoinDesk in an interview. “Cryptocurrency, specifically bitcoin, in our opinion has gotten to that place where it’s an acceptable piece of people’s portfolios.” Acorns customers can invest up to 5% of their Acorns Invest portfolio in bitcoin through the ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO), a bitcoin futures fund that went public on the New York Stock Exchange last October. Asked the reasoning behind the 5% exposure cap, Wunder said the math behind the decision was in line with how Acorns thinks about portfolio construction in general when it comes to balancing risk. “When we look at the portfolios on a risk-adjusted basis, the [bitcoin exposure] range is really between 1% and 5%, depending on the portfolio that people are in. Most of our customers will fall into the 3% to 4% allocation,” he explained. Wunder said Acorns would eventually add exposure to other cryptocurrencies in the future. “As people choose to customize their portfolios with us in the future, we will give them the option in time to add other cryptocurrencies to the degree that they want,” said Wunder. “It will be a two-pronged approach: what they have in their portfolios and then what they choose to customize.” The new program from Acorns follows a $300 million investment announced earlier this month including crypto merchant bank Galaxy Digital. Correction (March 22, 13:35 UTC): Acorns has 4.6 million subscribers, according to a company representative, not 8.2 million, as was originally reported in this article. \|\| Is Roblox a Buy ahead of First-Quarter 2022 Earnings?: Roblox (NYSE: RBLX ) stock has lost almost 70% from its high of $134.72 in November 2021. The key reason has been a drop in active user engagement on its platform. Investors are concerned about the company’s growth prospects in a post-pandemic scenario. During the pandemic, daily active users (DAUs) surged from 23.6 million in Q1 2020 to 49.5 million users in Q4 2021, reflecting a compounded annual growth rate of 44.8%. However, this growth rate seems unsustainable going forward as outdoor activity increases. A majority of the company’s user base comprises kids below 13 years old. The easing of pandemic restrictions, reopening of numerous stores and restaurants, and the full return to school will likely cut into this growth. InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips For 2022, revenues are expected to be in the range of $203 million to $207 million per month. Using an estimated revenue run rate of $200 million per month, the full year forecast is $2.4 billion. This implies a growth rate of 26% from 2021. 7 Desirable Dividend Growth Stocks for Income Investors Another, positive factor is its ability to generate positive free cash flow. In 2021, the company recorded a free cash flow margin of 29.4%, which is healthy. Higher cash flows would allow Roblox to carry out expansion plans. Roblox is generally lumped into the emerging Metaverse trend, a world of connected software that allows people to interact 100% virtually with one another, often in the form of video games and new technology such as virtual reality. The concept of the metaverse is new and it will take time before its largely adopted. Increasingly, companies are engaging in virtual events to keep its users connected. Some of the notable examples include the launch of Chipotle (NYSE: CMG ) Burrito Builder on Roblox. A player on Roblox must roll burritos in the metaverse to earn burrito bucks, which can be used on the Chipotle app. Other agreements include the National Football League (NFL) holding large virtual events online and Warner Music hosting a virtual DJ party. Cathie Wood’s Ark Investment Management certainly believes in Roblox’s potential, having recently doubled its investment in RBLX to 5.48 million shares. Story continues The Metaverse market is predicted to reach over $670 billion by 2030 , from about $39 billion in 2020. Roblox, being a pioneer, will stand to benefit. RBLX stock is worth considering right now after such a prolonged selloff. On the date of publication, Sakshi Agarwalla did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines . Sakshi Agarwallahas more than eight years of experience writing equity research reports and preparing financial models for companies across various industries, as well as writing newsletters and financial articles. Recently, she assisted her Fund manager in executing trades, preparing weekly, monthly NAVs and writing newsletters. She has a postgraduate degree in finance and has completed CFA. More From InvestorPlace Stock Prodigy Who Found NIO at $2… Says Buy THIS It doesn’t matter if you have $500 in savings or $5 million. Do this now. 10 Stocks Are Issuing Sell Signals Early Bitcoin Millionaire Reveals His Next Big Crypto Trade “On Air” The post Is Roblox a Buy ahead of First-Quarter 2022 Earnings? appeared first on InvestorPlace . \|\| First Mover Asia: Why Bitcoin Started the Week Slowly; Ether Rises: Good morning. Here’s what’s happening: Prices: Bitcoin holds above $41,000, even after hawkish comments from the chair of the U.S. central bank. Insights: Bitcoin started the week slowly in Asia, and some investors may be placing their bets on DeFi. Technician's take: Bitcoin's pullbacks could be limited over the short term. Catch the latest episodes of CoinDesk TV for insightful interviews with crypto industry leaders and analysis. And sign up for First Mover , our daily newsletter putting the latest moves in crypto markets in context. Prices Bitcoin ( BTC ): $41,242 +0.1% Ether ( ETH ): $2,918 +2% Top Gainers Asset Ticker Returns Sector Algorand ALGO +8.9% Smart Contract Platform EOS EOS +6.8% Smart Contract Platform XRP XRP +4.1% Currency Top Losers Asset Ticker Returns Sector Ethereum Classic ETC −2.4% Smart Contract Platform Polygon MATIC −1.0% Smart Contract Platform Solana SOL −0.2% Smart Contract Platform Markets S&P 500: 4,461 -1.9% DJIA: 34,552 -0.5% Nasdaq: 13,838 -0.4% Gold: $1,935 +0.8% Ether gains as bitcoin holds Bitcoin (BTC) stood roughly where it did 24 hours ago, a little over $41,000, after a brief dip below this threshold following hawkish monetary policy comments from U.S. central bank Chair Jerome Powell. Ether (ETH), the second-largest crypto by market cap after bitcoin, was changing hands at about $2,900, up over 2%. Other major cryptos were mixed. Trading volume was light as investors take stock of fast-moving, global macroeconomic trends. Bitcoin peaked at over $42,000 last week, buoyed by China's commitment to support its flailing real estate and technology sectors. Major stock indexes retrenched after Powell said in a speech at the National Association for Business Economics annual conference in Washington D.C. that the Federal Reserve might raise interest in 50-basis-point increments to tame inflation, which has been plaguing the U.S. economy, and threatens to worsen amid fall-out from Russia's intensifying attacks on Ukraine. On Monday, Russian forces bombed a mall in the capital city of Kyiv, continuing its target of civilian locations, and U.S. President Joe Biden warned that Russia might launch cyberattacks on major U.S. companies in retaliation for severe economic sanctions. Story continues The price of Brent crude oil, a widely watched measure of the energy market, rose 7% to $112 per barrel. Russia is one of the world's leading suppliers of oil. Katie Stockton, founder and Managing Partner of Fairlead Strategies, told CoinDesk TV's "First Mover" program that the low trading volumes were "very normal in a sideways trending market." "Think about it as a tug of war between buyers and sellers and a period of indecisiveness," she said. "I think that indecisiveness is reflecting itself in the lighter volumes, the less decisive trendy moves. "Then it just becomes a question as to whether that consolidation phase reconciles to the upside or the downside." She added: "We do think it will be reconciled to the upside with our short-term bullish bias. We see it as a function of that, and we would expect with any kind of breakout, let's say above $45,000, we would expect volumes to come back into the market." Insights Bitcoin starts slowly in Asia Bitcoin started the trading week in Asia slowly, spending most of the day hovering around the $41,000 point, according to data from CoinDesk Indices . But that’s bitcoin’s problem. But Layer 1 protocols like Avalanche rose 32% last week, while liquidity protocol Aave hit 34% in weekly gains and Ethereum pushed through 15% on the week. Data from Glassnode reflects this. BTC active address, price, long-term holders (Glassnode) The number of active addresses on the network are at a monthly low while long-term HODLers are at a yearly high. Likely there’s a lot of bitcoin parked to get liquidity on better-performing assets. Interest rates on bitcoin margin loans – used to trade the cryptocurrency on exchanges with extra leverage – are effectively flat, indicating an oversupply in the market. Bitfinex isn’t currently charging a fee for the loans, and Poloniex charges only 0.4%. (Cryptolend.net) And where is all this bitcoin going? Likely into decentralized finance (DeFi). The Bored Ape Yacht Club-linked ApeCoin (APE) seemed to be the most exciting new thing on the blockchain, jumping over 10% during the day. As CoinDesk reported, APE covered calls were hitting a 42% projected annualized yield. There are also staking possibilities . With the launch of Eth 2.0 soon to occur, traders are becoming increasingly bullish on ether with projected yields hitting 10% to 15%. But remember, that all this isn’t necessarily a bad thing for bitcoin. Bitcoin’s volatility index was at a monthly low and approaching a yearly low as the market stabilized after the Fed raised rates as expected. All this helps the narrative of bitcoin as a store of value, not something that reacts violently to market gyrations as we saw last year . More bitcoin held with confidence for the long term is more liquidity available for DeFi. Technician's take Bitcoin Fades From Resistance; Support at $37K-$40K Bitcoin four-hour price chart shows support/resistance, with RSI on bottom. (Damanick Dantes/CoinDesk, TradingView) Bitcoin ( BTC ) is consolidating around the $41,000 price level amid declining trading volume. The cryptocurrency is roughly flat over the past 24 hours, and pullbacks could be limited toward a strong support base at $37,000. Further, the relative strength index ( RSI ) on the four-hour chart is declining from overbought levels, which reflects a loss of upside momentum. On the daily chart, the RSI is holding above the 50 neutral mark, which means buyers could remain active at lower support levels. On the weekly chart, technical indicators are improving, similar to what occurred in August 2021, which preceded a 60% price rally. This time, however, there is negative momentum on the monthly chart, which typically precedes rangebound or negative price action. That means upside could be limited around the $46,000-$50,000 resistance zone. Important events 9 p.m. HKT/SGT (1 p.m. UTC): Speech by U.S. Central Bank Chair Jerome Powell to the National Association for Business Economics 9 a.m. HKT/SGT (1 a.m. UTC): Speech by Australia central bank Governor Philip Lowe 3 p.m. HKT/SGT (7 a.m. UTC): U.K. public sector net borrowing (Feb.) CoinDesk TV In case you missed it, here is the most recent episode of "First Mover" on CoinDesk TV : Stellar’s Denelle Dixon on its CBDC Pilot With Ukraine, $30M Fund for Blockchain Startups Stellar Development Foundation CEO Denelle Dixon joined "First Mover" to discuss Ukraine's central bank digital currency (CBDC) project, and plan for Stellar's latest $30 million push to fund startups. Plus, Katie Stockton of Fairlead Strategies provided crypto mining insights and CoinDesk mining reporter Aoyon Ashraf looked at the state of the global mining industry as CoinDesk kicked off its Mining Week series. Headlines Naomi Osaka Becomes Latest FTX 'Ambassador,' Joining Tom Brady and More: The tennis star gets shares in the global crypto exchange as part of the deal. Abu Dhabi Free Zone Seeks Comments on NFT Rules: A consultation paper is looking to bring NFTs into the emirate's regulatory framework for virtual assets. Crypto Funds Suffer Second Straight Week of Outflows: Investors continue to be daunted by the uncertain market and economic environment. Traders Bet on Ether Staking After Ethereum 2.0 Upgrade: Ether staking yields are likely to be in the range of 10% to 15% following the Ethereum 2.0 upgrade, one trader said. BofA Initiates Coverage of Silvergate With ‘Buy’ Rating, Sees 50% Potential Upside: The crypto bank is one of the best positioned companies to benefit from the expanding use of stablecoins, the report said. Longer reads What Is ApeCoin and Who Is Behind It?: A carefully coordinated marketing campaign takes great pains to distance the new token from Yuga Labs, but the firm that created the Bored Ape NFTs appears to be deeply involved. Today's crypto explainer: OpenSea Marketplace: How to Buy, Sell and Mint NFTs Other voices: What Is Web 3? (The New York Times) Said and heard Several years ago, people realized that blockchains (the shared, decentralized databases that power bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies) could be used to create unique, uncopyable digital files. And because these files were simply entries on a public database, anyone could verify who owned them, or track them as they changed hands. That realization prompted the creation of the first NFTs. ( The New York Times ) ... "But DAOs may themselves be in for a change that could fix perhaps their most significant vulnerability. The current DAO model is human-run, and as a result, DAO decisions are prone to errors in judgment. The use of artificial intelligence, another transformative technology, would eliminate those mistakes and make DAOs even more effective." ( SingularityDAO CEO Marcello Mari ) ... "Millions of users now have blockchain wallets and accounts. They have stablecoins and cryptocurrencies and access to digital contracts. They represent a ready market of investors and buyers with a demonstrated willingness to try new things. And that may, in turn, become more important than using blockchain technology for use cases that are ideally decentralized." ( EY Blockchain Lead and CoinDesk columnist Paul Brody ) \|\| This Week in Apps: Elon joins Twitter's board, Apple's subscriptions pilot, WWDC stays online: Welcome back to This Week in Apps, the weekly TechCrunch series that recaps the latest in mobile OS news, mobile applications and the overall app economy. The app industry continues to grow, with a record number of downloads and consumer spending across both the iOS and Google Play stores combined in 2021, according to the latest year-end reports . Global spending across iOS, Google Play and third-party Android app stores in China grew 19% in 2021 to reach $170 billion. Downloads of apps also grew by 5%, reaching 230 billion in 2021, and mobile ad spend grew 23% year over year to reach $295 billion. Today’s consumers now spend more time in apps than ever before — even topping the time they spend watching TV, in some cases. The average American watches 3.1 hours of TV per day, for example, but in 2021, they spent 4.1 hours on their mobile device. And they’re not even the world’s heaviest mobile users. In markets like Brazil, Indonesia and South Korea, users surpassed five hours per day in mobile apps in 2021. Apps aren’t just a way to pass idle hours, either. They can grow to become huge businesses. In 2021, 233 apps and games generated over $100 million in consumer spend, and 13 topped $1 billion in revenue. This was up 20% from 2020, when 193 apps and games topped $100 million in annual consumer spend, and just eight apps topped $1 billion. This Week in Apps offers a way to keep up with this fast-moving industry in one place, with the latest from the world of apps, including news, updates, startup fundings, mergers and acquisitions, and suggestions about new apps to try, too. Do you want This Week in Apps in your inbox every Saturday? Sign up here: techcrunch.com/newsletters Top Stories Apple pilot tests a commerce feature for subscription apps Apple app store iOS Image Credits: TechCrunch Apple may be changing how iOS subscriptions operate when price increases are involved. Recently, some developers noticed that the streaming service Disney+ was seemingly only informing users of upcoming price changes, then automatically opting them in. This is different from how subscription price increases would typically be handled. In most other cases, a customer is presented with options to either agree to the new, higher price or visit the subscriptions management page to cancel the service. If customers ignore this warning without clicking the “agree” button, the subscription is automatically canceled on their behalf. Story continues The feature was first spotted when developers noticed Disney+ seemed to be informing them about a subscription price increase, but not requiring them to agree to the new pricing for the subscription to continue. While in this case, the price change was small, it's easy to see how unscrupulous developers could potentially use such a feature to raise prices by much higher amounts without users' awareness. Apple's developer documentation doesn't reference this new option yet, but Apple confirmed that's because it's still in pilot testing. An Apple spokesperson said: We are piloting a new commerce feature we plan to launch very soon. The pilot includes developers across various app categories, organization sizes, and regions to help test an upcoming enhancement that we believe will be great for both developers and users, and we’ll have more details to share in the coming weeks. Apple didn't offer more detail, so there are still a number of questions here -- like how apps will qualify to use this commerce feature, who’s already in the pilot test group (raising their prices, perhaps unbeknownst to users), whether this has anything to do with the recent changes to “reader” apps and their ability to include external links, how Apple would police such a feature to ensure it was not used by bad actors and much more. The pilot also arrives at a time when Apple’s commission structure is under attack from lawmakers and regulators in global markets, with some countries allowing users to route around in-app payment systems. It's interesting to note that this new commerce feature could serve as a means for Apple to retain users' subscription commitments when prices fluctuate, rather than losing them to developers' own payment systems. (Read my full story on TC here .) Elon buys a chunk of Twitter Was there any bigger story in the tech world this week than the news that infamous Twitter sh**poster Elon Musk bought himself $3 billion worth of Twitter's stock ? The deal saw the Telsa and SpaceX CEO become Twitter's single largest individual shareholder, with a 9.2% stake in the company, and gained Musk an appointment on Twitter's board -- the latter further suggesting Musk's intentions to influence Twitter's future direction. Employees, rightfully, were concerned about what this meant for the company, given that Musk's own values are often in conflict with Twitter's own, particularly in areas like how social networks should approach content moderation. Twitter will hold a Town Hall to address employee questions, it said. (sarahp at techcrunch.com if anyone wants to share!) Musk didn't wait long to stir the pot, tweeting out a poll to users as to whether or not they wanted an Edit button on the site -- a continual user request that Twitter, for years, has refused to honor due to the ramifications that a malleable public record would bring. But Twitter then confirmed such a feature was actually in the works as a tool for Twitter Blue subscribers. pic.twitter.com/wcW6Z1MNNd — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 7, 2022 The shakeup at Twitter (a company with a history of shakeups, in fact) comes shortly after Jack Dorsey stepped down as CEO to fully devote his time to Square, now called Block. His exit made then-CTO Parag Agrawal the new CEO. Agrawal had earlier been working on Project Bluesky -- an effort to create a decentralized protocol for social networking, which would ultimately result in putting users more in charge of their online experience. This project dovetails with Musk's interests in allowing people to speak freely on the platform, while dictating their own product experience through user-provided controls. And it fits in with the broader web3 initiative that, at its core, is about redistributing power on the web back to its users through decentralized platforms, not Big Tech-controlled portals. (Whether it's actually achieving that, however...well, we'll see.) In taking the top spot, Agrawal inherited a list of lofty objectives, including Twitter's plans to double revenue and reach 315 million daily users by 2023. But so far, Twitter's plan to achieve its goals has been best described as a throw-a-bunch-of-spaghetti-at-the-wall approach to see what sticks. The company last fall said it would more rapidly roll out, test and then either advance or kill features based on user feedback and adoption. Already, Twitter killed its version of Stories ("Fleets") as a result. But despite Twitter's breakneck pace and speed to launch dozens of new features, ranging from live shopping to creator tools to NFT support to subscriptions and more, the company missed expectations on earnings, revenue and user growth in Q4 -- its first earnings with Agrawal at the helm. It's clear that even without Musk's arrival, the road was going to be tough for the network that has, for so long, failed to significantly achieve user growth or revenue outside of ads. Twitter, by way of its recent activities, has acknowledged that it's time to get more experimental in product development. And yet so much of what it's building now, outside of Spaces, are things that still see the tweet as the core user experience. That's almost funny, because this is a company that was early to ideas that are now defining the modern-day internet. For instance, Twitter closed down its TikTok precursor, Vine, a home to short-form video content that now all social rivals (except Twitter!) are trying to reinvent. Twitter also shut down its dedicated app for live video, Periscope, just ahead of the mainstream adoption of live shopping services and the growth of the video-first creator economy. And over a half dozen years ago, Twitter killed a dedicated app for music discovery, (#Music), years before Musical.ly-turned-TikTok figured out how to smartly capitalize on the intersection between pop culture, music and social networking to create a product that now has massive influence over the Billboard charts, award winners and the music industry as a whole. But instead of pursuing diverging paths, Twitter at its core has largely remained committed to its idea of a text-based social networking product that continues to reflect its original "public SMS" concept -- a place where other forms of media are mere add-ons to the front-and-center tweet. Live video, for example, is now buried in the camera feature's switcher and not often used by regular tweeters. So maybe it was time to shake up Twitter with ideas that aren't just about serving the existing users, like Twitter Blue or Super Follow, but those that would actually bring in new users. But maybe Elon Musk, a polarizing figure and Twitter troll with an obsessive fandom, isn't the right person for that job. His experience doesn't represent that of the everyday user, after all. And his involvement could distract the company from focusing on its current objectives -- or even employees' usual, day-to-day tasks. Whatever may happen with Twitter in the months to come under Musk's influence is entirely unpredictable. And whether or not Twitter will be better off for it -- whether in terms of business objectives, product or user experience -- is also an unknown. But one thing everyone can agree on is that the future of Twitter will certainly not be dull. Weekly News Platforms: Apple Image Credits: Apple Apple announced that WWDC would return again as an online-only event ("Call to Code") running from June 6-10. However, the company noted it would also host a special day for developers and students at Apple Park on June 6 to watch the keynote and State of the Union videos together. Space for this event will be limited and details on how to apply to attend will be provided soon, Apple said. The company, for the third year, will support student developers through its Swift Student Challenge , as well. Apple released another commissioned report by Analysis Group which aimed to prove that Apple's own apps account for a relatively small share of usage among iPhone users, even when they're preinstalled. The company is under pressure from regulators who are investigating whether it's using its platform and market power to give itself an unfair advantage over rivals. The data is meant to show it's not. However, what a report like this doesn't account for is the fact that Apple's apps don't have to win because Apple takes a commission on the revenue generated by its competitors' businesses, as well. Apple released iOS 15.5 beta 1, alongside the first betas for iPadOS 15.5, watchOS 8.6 and macOS 12.4 . The iOS beta now allows reader apps to display external links to redirect users to their websites for account management and added Apple Pay and Wallet updates , among other things. The beta also included references to "Apple Classical," believed to be the upcoming classical music service resulting from Apple's Primephonic acquisition. Platforms: Google Following Google's deadline to shift to its own billing systems, users found they could no longer buy e-books from Audible or Barnes & Noble's Android apps. Google released the Android 12 QPR3 beta 2 for Pixel devices, which includes bug fixes and security updates ahead of the public release. E-commerce Indian conglomerate Tata Group takes on Walmart-owned Flipkart, Amazon and Jio Platforms with the launch of its superapp Tata Neu, offering e-commerce, grocery and hotels in one app experience. Augmented Reality Snapchat launched a new Lens that teaches users American Sign Language via fingerspelling. The company partnered with SignAll and is using computer vision and machine learning to recognize users' hand gestures. The company also reached out to marketers with its "Generation Report" which talks about how different groups of users engage with its app. Fintech Robinhood said it will expand its crypto wallet to over 2 million users on its waitlist and will support transacting on the Bitcoin Lightning Network in the months to come. Venmo rival Zelle, backed by banks, may be expanding to retail stores , The WSJ reported. The move would put the money transfer service in direct competition with Mastercard and Visa. Block (formerly, Square) said its Cash App breach impacted 8.2 million users. Stolen info included the value of customer portfolios and stock trade details, names and brokerage account numbers, but didn't involve the company's payments system. SSNs and passwords and various other personally identifiable information were not accessed. A Piper Sandler survey found that Apple Pay has now surpassed Venmo and PayPal and teens' favorite payment app. PayPal updated its credit card with 3% cashback on all PayPal purchases, online or off. The PayPal app was also updated with improved card management features. Social peanut app Image Credits: Peanut Social network Peanut launched a new offering called Peanut Pro that connects women with information from trusted experts, including doulas, psychologists, therapists, sex coaches and sleep consultants. The experts and other creators can make money from their work through a new in-app tipping feature. Facebook and Instagram are developing digital tokens and "creator coins" to help diversify the social giant's income, The FT reported , noting that employees referred to these internally as "Zuck Bucks." Neighborhood social network Nextdoor launched a new advertising offering in an expansion of its self-serve campaign management platform. The new Nextdoor Ads will help SMBs leverage the platform to reach local communities in the U.S. Some creators are reporting Instagram had dialed back on Reels payouts, per The FT. The direct payments for short videos are designed to help Instagram help compete with TikTok for creator talent, and have reportedly dropped by up to 70%, while the view threshold for getting paid is over 10x higher. TikTok launched a new program that will allow creative agencies to reach its audience. The new Creative Agency Partnerships (CAP) University program is designed to help creative agencies become “TikTok experts,” through a five-week course of live webinars beginning April 19. TikTok again delayed opening its first European data center in Dublin, saying the center won't be online until next year. The center would store data for EU, EEA and U.K. users in the region. Currently, this data is held in Singapore or the U.S. Facebook said it would not hold its developer conference F8 this year as it's now focused on new initiatives, like the metaverse. Pinterest announced it will ban all climate information on its platform, including both in posts and ads. The company said it was the first major digital platform to take this step. Meta added the ability for users to post to Facebook Reels from third-party apps, including from launch partners like Smule, Vita and VivaVideo. Koo, a rival to Twitter in India, announced it would allow users to self-verify using their government-approved ID cards. The option is aimed at improving conversation health and to curb trolling, spam and bots. A former ByteDance employee accused the company of scraping content from rivals like Instagram and Snapchat to make fake accounts on its video app, Flipagram, a TikTok predecessor. College-friendly social app BeReal has increased user growth 315% year-to-date, per Apptopia . The a16z-backed app pushes users to post just once per day and has seen 65% of its downloads take place in 2022. Photos Adobe Creative Cloud Express added new features to its mobile and web apps, including a library of customizable basic shapes; a new Adobe Color integration for selecting from preset palettes and themes; new Quick Actions (Crop and Resize Video) on iOS; and more. Messaging U.S. record keepers, including the National Archives and Records Administration, said they're worried that Wickr and other messaging apps offering auto-deletion help agencies, such as CBP, sidestep transparency requirements. Streaming & Entertainment @danieljmertzlufft “For You, Paige” #projectbroadway #musicaltheatre #foryoupaige #broadway @romanwbanks @sri @tiktok ♬ original sound - danieljmertzlufft TikTok funds its first original musical from the creative lead Daniel Mertzlufft, behind the user-led "Ratatouille: The TikTok Musical." The show, “For You, Paige," will livestream on the app on April 14 at 7 PM and will be performed live in NYC. The success follows "The Unofficial Bridgerton Musical," which originated on TikTok and won a Grammy. Clubhouse added support for spatial audio. The company says the technology is a "great way to make conversations on the app feel more authentic." Amazon said it's increasing its Music Unlimited plan for Prime members on May 5. The plan price is going from $7.99 to $8.99 per month, or from $79 to $89 per year for Prime members The Single-Device plan, which only allows you to stream music from an Echo device or Fire TV, is going from $3.99 to $4.99 per month. Hulu added support for Apple's SharePlay to its streaming app, following parent company Disney's recent move to add SharePlay to ESPN+ and, as of late last year, Disney+. Spotify began testing a new "Featured Creators" feature that promotes popular user-created playlists in the app alongside its own. It also began testing a TikTok-like feed for music discovery. Gaming Fortnite maker Epic Games partnered with Lego to build a metaverse for children. The digital experience will allow children to play safely online. The company additionally announced the raise of $144 million for Ukraine relief efforts. Rovio's Angry Birds Classic returned to the App Store with a new engine and no in-app purchases. Travel & Transportation Uber this week announced it's adding buses, planes and car rentals to its U.K. app through partnerships with other companies. Users will be able to purchase tickets in the app. If successful, the plan is to roll out similar "super app" functionality to more countries. Productivity & Utilities multisearch Image Credits: Google Google launched "multisearch" for Google Lens, available in the Google app for iOS and Android. The feature allows users to use a combination of text along with photos and screenshots when searching the web. Google updated its Google Maps app with a number of new features, including the ability to get directions from Maps directly on the Apple Watch. Other updates included a new pinned trip widget and toll prices. Government & Policy Apple returned a Putin opposition app to the App Store. The voting app was run by supporters of Putin critic Alexei Navalny, but was removed from the App Store and Google Play after Russia said it would prosecute local Apple and Google employees. South Korea said Google is not allowed to block developers from providing an in-app link to an outside website for purchasing digital goods under the country's new app payments law. Google was preparing to enact its new digital billing policy requiring apps to use its own payments system. Taking aim at Russia, Twitter placed new limits on government accounts engaged in propaganda and censorship while at war. To meet Twitter’s threshold for limitations, a country’s censorship of online information must impact either the majority of its population or severely limit a smaller group of people within its borders. Twitter also banned state-linked accounts from sharing PoW imagery with abusive intent. Facebook and Instagram had censored hashtags related to Russian massacres of Ukrainian civilians, but later unblocked them after being called out by the press. Among the tags were #RussianWarCrimes, #Bucha and #BuchaMassacre. Security & Privacy Google removed dozens of Android apps from the Play Store, totaling over 10 million installs, after researchers discovered the apps included data-harvesting software tied to U.S. national security contractors. The apps included Mulsim prayer apps, a speed-trap detection app, QR-code reading apps and others. Recommended Reading Apple's undocumented rules around NFT apps were put to the test when a developer's "NFT" app was found to be misleading users, according to Apple's guidelines, since assets were published to a private ledger not a decentralized, public blockchain. Here's how Apple is thinking about what sort of apps can use the term "NFT" and what will get them banned: ‘NFT’ app Sticky kicked out of Apple’s App Store after operating for months Funding and M&A 💰 OpenPhone raised $40 million in Series B funding led by Tiger Global to replace employees' "work phone" and office PBX with a mobile app. The system caters to the SMB market and gives users a dedicated work number and tools for communicating with colleagues and customers. 💰 China-based fast fashion app Shein raised between $1-2 billion in a round closed last week, valuing the business at $100 billion. The deal makes Shein more valuable than H&M and Zara combined. PE firm General Atlantic participated in the round, which also included prior Shein investors Tiger Global Management and Sequoia Capital China. 💰 Avi Medical, a maker of app-based telehealth services, raised €50 million in Series B funding led by Balderton Capital. The company pairs its telehealth service with physical clinics, as 70% of its customers still access healthcare through in-person appointments. 💰 No-code mobile app development service Thunkable raised $30 million in Series B funding led by Owl Ventures. The startup announced it has passed 3 million users and 6 million apps developed. 💰 VerSe Innovation, the parent company of news aggregator app Dailyhunt and short video app Josh, raised $805 million in a Series J round of funding led by Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments). The round values the company at nearly $5 billion. 🤝 Pokémon GO maker Niantic Labs announced the acquisition of creative AR studio NZXR, based in New Zealand. The startup will join Niantic to help with the design and development of real-world AR experiences. 💰 Playhouse, an app that's like Zillow meets TikTok for browsing home listings, raised $2.8 million in seed funding from Agya Ventures, Gaingels, Goodwater Capital, Nomo Ventures, PKO Investments and Y Combinator. Agents can also use the app to create content related to home-buying in general. 💰 Fintech Gotrade, an app that lets international users buy fractional shares of U.S. stocks and ETFs, raised $15.5 million in Series A funding in a round led by Velocity Capital Fintech Ventures. To date, the company has transacted about $400 million across 5 million trades. Downloads Epic Games' RealityScan [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2BdDqtttuA?version=3&rel=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&fs=1&hl=en-US&autohide=2&wmode=transparent&w=640&h=360] Fortnite maker Epic Games this week introduced a new 3D scanning app called RealityScan that turns smartphone photos into high-fidelity 3D models. The app was developed in collaboration with Capturing Reality (creator of RealityCapture) and Quixel (creator of Megascans) wth the goal of allowing more creators and hobbyists to enter the world of 3D photogrammetry to bring real-world objects into virtual projects. The app will guide the user through the scanning experience via interactive feedback, AR guidance and data-quality checks. When scanning is complete, the assets can be exported to Sketchfab, a platform for publishing, sharing and selling 3D, VR and AR content. RealityScan is a free download via TestFlight for the first 10,000 users, then will release to Early Access this spring. Android will follow later in the year. [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] None available.	Trend: down \|\| Prices: 31022.91, 28936.36, 29047.75, 29283.10, 30101.27, 31305.11, 29862.92, 30425.86, 28720.27, 30314.33
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2015-12-30] BTC Price: 426.62, BTC RSI: 51.52 Gold Price: 1060.10, Gold RSI: 43.59 Oil Price: 36.60, Oil RSI: 43.09 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Your first trade for Monday: The " Fast Money " traders delivered their final trades of the day. Tim Seymour was a seller of the iShares MSCI Japan ETF (NYSE Arca: EWJ) . David Seaburg was a seller of Twitter ( TWTR ) . Brian Kelly was a buyer of gold (CEC:Commodities Exchange Centre: @GC.1) . Guy Adami was a buyer of silver (CEC:Commodities Exchange Centre: @SI.1) . Trader disclosure: On December 11. 2015, the following stocks and commodities mentioned or intended to be mentioned on CNBC's "Fast Money" were owned by the "Fast Money" traders: Tim Seymour is long AAPL, BAC, CLF, DIS, F, FCX, GE, GM, GOOGL, INTC, JCP, JPM, KO, LGF, RL, T, TWTR, VRX. Tim's firm is long BABA, BIDU, MCD, NKE, SBUX, YHOO. David Seaburg: No conflict. Brian Kelly is long BBRY, Bitcoin, GDX, GLD, Hong Kong Dollar, TLT, US Dollar; he is short Yuan, Candaian Dollar, GSG, EEM, EWC, EWH, SPY. Guy Adami is long CELG, EXAS, INTC, Guy Adami's wife, Linda Snow, works at Merck. More From CNBC Top News and Analysis Latest News Video Personal Finance \|\| Why the price of bitcoin is skyrocketing again: The price of Bitcoin, the world's most popular virtual, digital currency, is on the rise again. After trading in a range of $200 to $250 for most of the year, the price of one Bitcoin shot up to $500 this week, although it hassince fallen back to $392on Thursday. A great surge to $1,000 at the end of 2013ended in disaster for investorsas the currency lost three-quarters of its value in ensuing months. But what's behind the latest rally and will it stick? Here are three possible explanations:Perhaps questionable Chinese interest As often happens with bitcoin price surges, a lot of the trading is coming out of China. And there is a social financial network called MMM Global growing massively in China that requires users to buy bitcoin and share it around with other members. The Financial Timeshas said MMM has elements typical of pyramid schemes. The site was founded by a former Russian legislator who was jailed for fraud over a pyramid scheme he operated in the 1990s. China has alsotightened capital controls recently, making it harder for its citizens to send money abroad. Some bitcoin buying may be related to efforts to get around the crackdown.Growing legitimate business interest At the Money 20/20 conference last week,many companies announced new bitcoin-based services. The Nasdaq (NDAQ), for example, will be recording transactions in private stocks using bitcoin's public ledger, known as the blockchain. And Mastercard (MA) joined the long list of establishment institutions investing in bitcoin startups. And, two weeks ago, the European Union's top court agreed that virtual currencies like bitcoincan be traded like established currencieswithout triggering taxes applied to sales of goods and services. Past rallies have been linked with speculative bets that these kinds of deals and rulings would popularize the cryptocurrency and lead to greater demand which would push up the price.Jamie Dimon The always opinionated CEO of JPMorgan Chase (JPM) says bitcoin has no future -- governments will shut it down,he said at Fortune's Global Forumon Wednesday. “Virtual currency, where it’s called a bitcoin vs. a U.S. dollar, that’s going to be stopped,” Dimon said. Coming from the the guy who boughtBear StearnsandWaMuand missed those billions of dollars of crazy trades by the London Whale, Dimon's remarks may be attracting contrarians to bet against the big bank CEO. Probably not many, but with bitcoin, you never know. \|\| Bitcoin is going nuts: (George Frey/Getty Images) Another day, another monster run for bitcoin traders. Bitcoin was trading around $240 in the beginning of October. Now — after a gain of 10% on Tuesday added to its earlier run — it's closer to $400. Now, bitcoin traders are looking for answers as to why the cryptocurrency is skyrocketing in value. "You're seeing more and more institutional investors moving into the space," said Brendan O'Connor, CEO of Genesis Global Trading, a bitcoin broker. Demand has been coming from China. O'Connor said the daily volume of bitcoin trades from China has been two to three times the ordinary amount over the past two weeks. It's not just the value of bitcoin that's increasing; it's also the prevalence of use. The number ofdaily bitcoin transactions appears to be steadily rising, according to tracking site Coinbase. And that has the potential to have a tremendous effect on the cryptocurrency. "We are seeing unprecedented volume globally," said Michael Sonnenshein of Grayscale Investments, which manages the Bitcoin Investment Trust, a publicly listed vehicle that tracks bitcoin. Bitcoin Investment Trust hasn't been public very long, but it enjoyed a run-up ofmore than 7% on the good news Tuesday. Neither O'Connor nor Sonneshein centered on a single factor that is boosting bitcoin's value. Sonneshein pointed out that as bitcoin auctions run by the US Marshals draw closer (only in a handful of instances), the cryptocurrency tends to see increased trading activity. The next government auction of seized bitcoin isNovember 5. Here's a graph tracking bitcoin: (Blockchain.info)Blockchain.info captures the run-up in bitcoin prices. NOW WATCH:JAMES ALTUCHER: 'Warren Buffett is a f-----g liar' More From Business Insider • The Money Of The Future Will Look More Like Bitcoin Than The Paper We Carry Around Today • Bitcoin keeps surging, makes another new high for 2015 • FINANCE PROFESSOR: Bitcoin Will Crash To $10 By Mid-2014 \|\| 10 things you need to know today: (https://pictures.reuters.com/C.aspx?VP3=SearchResultFarmer Zhang Xianping with pig Big Precious during an interview with the media in Zhangjiakou, Hebei province, China. Here is what you need to know. Volkswagen has another emissions scandal.The German automaker announced that an internal investigation had discovered "irregularities in CO2 levels" in as many as 800,000 vehicles. It is unclear whether the irregularities are related to the recently discovered emissions scandal related to nitrogen-oxide testing. "Under the ongoing review of all processes and workflows in connection with diesel engines it was established that the CO2 levels and thus the fuel consumption figures for some models were set too low during the CO2 certification process," Volkswagen said in a statement. "The majority of the vehicles concerned have diesel engines." Tesla is flying high after its latest outlook.Shares of Tesla were up 10% in after-hours trade after the company announced it expected to deliver 17,000 to 19,000 vehicles in the fourth quarter, outpacing the Wall Street consensus. For all of 2015, Tesla said it would deliver 50,000 to 52,000 vehicles, narrowing its range from its previous estimate of 50,000 to 55,000. On the earnings front, the electric-car maker lost $0.58 per share, which was slightly worse than the $0.56 loss that was anticipated. Revenue jumped 33.4% to $1.24 billion, in line with estimates. US auto sales are at the highest level in a decade.The latest Autodata showed US auto sales rose at an annualized pace of 18.24 million in October, the best in a decade. The number easily surpassed the Wall Street consensus of17.7 million vehicles. Mazda (+35.4%) saw the biggest gains, while General Motors (+16%) and Ford (+13%) posted solid results. BMW USA (-6.6%) was the lone decliner. Honda is dumping Takata airbags.The AFP reports that Takata's largest client, Honda, has severed its relationship with the company after US authorities announced a $200 million fine against the airbag maker. Takata airbags have been linked to eight deaths and even more injuries around the world."On a global basis, no new Honda and Acura models currently under development will be equipped with a front driver or passenger Takata airbag inflator," Honda said in a statement. Shares of Takata were down as much as 20% in Tokyo. Iceland raised rates.Iceland's central bank raised its benchmark interest rate 25 basis points to 5.75%. The central bank noted that domestic demand was expected to increase by more than 7% this year and that gross domestic product was forecast to grow at 4.6%. As for inflation, the central bank said: "It is still expected that large pay increases will cause inflation to rise above the target as 2016 progresses and the effects of low global inflation taper off. Inflation will not return to target until 2018." The Icelandic krona is weaker by 0.2% at 128.90 per dollar. European services data was strong.October Services PMI for the eurozone was released, and it showed that every country outpaced expectations except for Germany. Spain saw the biggest month-over-month increase, as its reading climbed from 54.6 in September to 55.9 in October and easily beat the 54.6 that was expected. Germany's number ticked up to 54.5 from 54.1 but missed the 55.2 that economists were expecting. The eurozone as a whole improved to 54.1 from 53.7. The euro is down 0.3% at 1.0935. Bitcoin has gone parabolic.On Tuesday, bitcoin rallied 10% to close just shy of the $400 mark. On Wednesday morning, bitcoin is up another 15% near $454. The digital currency has surged 89% since the beginning of October. Stock markets around the world are higher.China's Shanghai Composite (+4.3%) surged after the People's Bank of China released some dated comments fromgovernor Zhou Xiaochuan. In Europe, Spain's IBEX (+1.2%) leads the gains. S&P 500 futures are higher by 2.75 points at 2,105.75. US economic data is moderate.ADP Employment Change is due out at 8:15 a.m. ET before the trade balance crosses the wires at 8:30 a.m. ET and ISM Services is released at 10 a.m. ET. Crude-oil inventories will be announced at 10:30 a.m. ET. The US 10-year yield is down 1 basis point at 2.20%. Earnings reporting remains heavy.21st Century Fox, Allergan, CDW, Honda Motor, Michael Kors, and Time Warner highlight the names scheduled to release their quarterly results ahead of the opening bell. Facebook, Marathon Oil, MetLife, Prudential, Qualcomm, Sturm Ruger, and Whole Foods are among the companies reporting after markets close. NOW WATCH:Here's the Bill Cosby joke Eddie Murphy did at the Kennedy Center that everyone's talking about More From Business Insider • 10 things you need to know today • 10 things you need to know today • 10 things you need to know today \|\| Bitcoin is exploding higher, but no one can agree on why: traders (REUTERS) Bitcoin gained another 6% Wednesday, reaching a new high for the year. The cryptocurrency reached the $450 mark late in the day before falling back to $425. That's compared with around $250 a month ago. What's behind this? Investors and brokers can't agree. In the last few days, explanations have included a rise in demand from China, an upcoming auction by US Marshals of seized bitcoin, and the influence of a convicted Ponzi schemer 's latest gambit. Another catalyst for recent appreciation comes from Europe, says Adam White, vice president and product manager at Coinbase, one of the biggest bitcoin exchanges globally by volume. The European Court of Justice recently ruled that the cryptocurrency is exempt from the region's "value added tax," which White compared to the decision by US taxation authorities in the 1990s to not implement taxes on goods sold online. What is certain is that use of bitcoin by consumers and trading is broadly on the rise. "There has been a steady increase in the number of transactions processed on the bitcoin blockchain," White says. In the last two years, the number of bitcoin transactions has increased threefold from 50,000 daily to about 140,000 today, according to Blockchain.info, which tracks bitcoin data. It is true that Chinese investors are eager to trade bitcoin, White says. In the US, between 300,000 and 500,000 bitcoin are traded daily, White said. But in China, that daily figure has been closer to 1 million to 1.2 million. That isn't to say US investors are neglecting the currency. There has been a three-times increase in the relative trading volume by what are referred to as "High Net Worth" traders on Coinbase's trading platform people making trades in dollar amounts worth up to six figures, White said. Perhaps most telling at least about the recent jump is that there's been a recent surge in trading, sharp rise in new user sign-ups, according to White. So what's behind the recent surge in bitcoin? Maybe just the surge in bitcoin. NOW WATCH: 'The Art Of War' holds the keys to success on Wall Street More From Business Insider Bitcoin is going nuts The Money Of The Future Will Look More Like Bitcoin Than The Paper We Carry Around Today Even As Bitcoin Gets Obliterated, Retailers Say They Will Still Accept It As A Form Of Payment View comments \|\| Natural Gas At 10-Year Low: One Way To Play Further Downside: Gas is trading at its lowest level since 1999, driven by worries about weak demand. At the New York Mercantile Exchange, the January Nymex price stood around $1.804 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) on Wednesday afternoon. Is there further downside left? If so, how can traders play it? Bull spreads might offer an interesting option. What Are Bull Spreads? Spreads "offer built-in floor and ceiling levels that define the lowest and highest points at which the trade can settle," Nadex . In other words, traders know how much they can gain or lose from the outset, thus limiting the risk. Related Link: Trade Options? Here's How To Get Involved In Bitcoin How To Trade Natural Gas With Bull Spreads In the following example, the underlying natural gas futures market is trading around 1.9 and a trader decides to consider a daily Bull Spread. This trader believes the price of natural gas will fall in the short-term, so he chooses a Daily Bull Spread that looks something like: Natural Gas 1.000-2.000 (2:30PM) . Since this trader believes the natural gas future will be below 1.9 at 2:30 p.m., he chooses to Sell the contact. Thus, he selects two contracts at the bid price of 1.9. "Each pip the price moves is worth $1 per point," Nadex explains. His Maximum Profit and Loss are displayed automatically. His trade's "floor" is 1.000 and his "ceiling" is 2.000. He will then monitor the trade and, when his position expires at 2:30 p.m., the difference between Nadex's calculated expiration value and his opening price of 1.9 will determine his profit or loss. Disclosure: Javier Hasse holds no positions in any of the securities mentioned above. See more from Benzinga Think Energy Has More Downside? Here Are Two Ways To Play It © 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| Natural Gas At 10-Year Low: One Way To Play Further Downside: • Gas is trading at its lowest level since 1999, driven by worries about weak demand. • At the New York Mercantile Exchange, the January Nymex price stood around $1.804 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) on Wednesday afternoon. • Is there further downside left? If so, how can traders play it? Bull spreads might offer an interesting option. What Are Bull Spreads? Spreads "offer built-in floor and ceiling levels that define the lowest and highest points at which the trade can settle," Nadex . In other words, traders know how much they can gain or lose from the outset, thus limiting the risk. Related Link:Trade Options? Here's How To Get Involved In Bitcoin How To Trade Natural Gas With Bull Spreads In the following example, the underlying natural gas futures market is trading around 1.9 and a trader decides to consider a daily Bull Spread. This trader believes the price of natural gas will fall in the short-term, so he chooses a Daily Bull Spread that looks something like:Natural Gas 1.000-2.000 (2:30PM). Since this trader believes the natural gas future will be below 1.9 at 2:30 p.m., he chooses to Sell the contact. Thus, he selects two contracts at the bid price of 1.9. "Each pip the price moves is worth $1 per point," Nadex explains. His Maximum Profit and Loss are displayed automatically. His trade's "floor" is 1.000 and his "ceiling" is 2.000. He will then monitor the trade and, when his position expires at 2:30 p.m., the difference between Nadex's calculated expiration value and his opening price of 1.9 will determine his profit or loss. Disclosure: Javier Hasse holds no positions in any of the securities mentioned above. See more from Benzinga • Think Energy Has More Downside? Here Are Two Ways To Play It © 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| Rocky Mountain Ayre, Inc., Releases HempCoin Audio Interview: DOVER, DE--(Marketwired - Nov 30, 2015) - Rocky Mountain Ayre, Inc., a holding company ( OTC PINK : RMTN ), has released an Internet link to an Audio Interview performed by one of its Directors, David Tobias. During the interview, David discusses the technical aspects and the future plans for RMTN's Crypto-Currency, HempCoin. The Audio-Interview can be heard at: http://smallcapvoice.com/blog/11-19-15-smallcapvoice-interview-with-rocky-mountain-ayre-inc-rmtn About HempCoin. HempCoin (HMP) runs on its own peer to peer blockchain like BitCoin (BTC) but at a faster rate because it is using the script technique like LiteCoin. So in addition to having the advantage of being able to move HMP around faster than BTC, HMP is backed by the marketable securities of RMTN. BTC is strictly a fiat currency like the US Dollar, however, BTC has the potential to go up in value against the Dollar because of supply and demand factors and HMP has this same built in advantage because unlike the Dollar, both BTC and HMP have a limited amount of coins in circulation, while the Dollar is ever increasing in supply. About Rocky Mountain, Inc. Rocky Mountain Ayre, Inc. ( www.rockymountainayre.com ) is a publicly traded company listed on the OTCmarkets under the "RMTN" trading symbol. It is a holding company increasing its asset and revenue base through acquisition of fast-growing food and hospitality, manufacturing and retail businesses. All inquiries should be directed to: [email protected] . Safe Harbor Statement This Press Release may contain certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The Company has tried, whenever possible, to identify these forward-looking statements using words such as "anticipates," "believes," "estimates," "expects," "plans," "intends," "potential" and similar expressions. These statements reflect the Company's current beliefs and are based upon information currently available to it. Accordingly, such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which could cause the Company's actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed in or implied by such statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or advise in the event of any change, addition or alteration to the information catered in this Press Release including such forward-looking statements. \|\| Your first trade for Wednesday: The "Fast Money" traders delivered their final picks with just two trading days left in the year. Pete Najarian was a buyer ofWynn Resorts(WYNN). Brian Kelly was a buyer of Trina Solar(TSL). Dan Nathan was a seller of McDonald's(MCD). Guy Adami was a buyer of Thermo Fisher Scientific(TMO). Trader disclosure: On December 29, 2015, the following stocks and commodities mentioned or intended to be mentioned on CNBC's "Fast Money" were owned by the "Fast Money" traders: Pete Najarian is longLong AAPL, BAC, BMY, BP, DIS, DISCA, FOXA, GE, KO, MRK, PEP, PFE, he is long calls A, ABX, BAC, COP, DAL, DDD, EMR, EXAS, HAIN, HUN, LC, LULU, MOS, MSFT, NRF, NSAM, PNR, SCSS, UAL, VZ, WLL, WYNN, He is long puts FCX, MRO, WFT. Dan Nathan is long MCD Feb Put Spread, Long PFE buy-write, Long TWTR March Risk Reversal, Long UUP March call, Long XLU Feb Call spread, Long PYPL Jan Risk Reversal, Long M Jan16 call spread, Long NTAP Jan risk reversal, Long GM Jan Put Butterfly, Long Len Jan Put Fly, Long QCOM feb calls, Short SPY, Long UUP. Brian Kelly is long BBRY, Bitcoin, GDX, GLD, Hong Kong Dollar, TLT, US Dollar; he is short British Pound, Euro, Yen, Yuan, Canadian Dollar, GSG, EEM, EWC, EWH, KRE, SPY. Guy Adami is long CELG, EXAS, GDX, INTC, Guy Adami's wife, Linda Snow, works at Merck. More From CNBC • Top News and Analysis • Latest News Video • Personal Finance \|\| Not in Your Grandma’s Wallet: Bitcoin Redefining Money: Will Bitcoin replace paper money? During an interview on the FOX Business Network’s Mornings With Maria ,Digital Currency Group CEO Barry Silbert, who’s considered the most active investor in Bitcoin companies, said: “[Bitcoin] it’s going to change the way that people send money, spend money -- even think about money. It’s kind of redefining what is money.” As an investor of companies in over 20 countries, he sees the most Bitcoin action in places where people use mobile devices for transactions. “We are seeing dramatic adoption in places like Kenya, Argentina, Brazil, South Africa -- places where people have mobile devices, but they don’t have bank accounts,” he said. He also discussed how regulation is impacting the digital currency. “[Regulators] are certainly paying attention… I used to think that regulation was Bitcoin’s biggest threat -- I actually think it’s the biggest opportunity now… Running a bank, operating a bank -- you cannot be innovative. You can’t think outside the box. You can’t do anything creative. Whereas you have hundreds of thousands of startups around the world that are looking to, again, kind of disintermediate… It is really going to eat banks alive.” With only $5B in market cap, Silbert believes Bitcoin’s technology is very valuable. “I’ll be the first to admit that Bitcoin as a digital currency is either going to be worth zero or it’s going to be worth a whole lot more money than it is today… it’s a very, very, risky investment. But this ecosystem is amazing that’s being built. There’s been a billion dollars in investment by venture capital in this industry so far.” He also discussed how the financial services industry will change in the next 5 to 10 years. “The definition of a bank is going to change. Banks are being disintermediated -- they are being attacked from every different angle… from startups, all the way up to different types of approaches, to finance like Bitcoin.” Related Articles • SEC Targets Connecticut Bitcoin Companies • 3 Reasons Its Dumb to Take Social Security Benefits at 70 • Oil Plunge Raises Fears of Societal Unrest [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] Current price: 400€ $BTCEUR $btc #bitcoin 2015-12-22 15:00:20 CET \|\| $461.86 at 00:15 UTC [24h Range: $452.03 - $465.90 Volume: 6863 BTC] \|\| #RDD / #BTC on the exchanges: Cryptsy: 0.00000003 Bittrex: 0.00000004 Average $1.0E-5 per #reddcoin 17:00:03 via #p…pic.twitter.com/kZndItbyRB \|\| LIVE: Profit = $273.92 (8.79 %). BUY B8.10 @ $410.00 (#VirCurex). SELL @ $412.30 (#HitBTC) #bitcoin #btc - http://www.projectcoin.org \|\| $366.85 #bitstamp; $365.80 #coinbase; $365.68 #bitfinex; $360.00 #btce; #bitcoin #btc via #ThePriceOfBTCpic.twitter.com/Iyw7aXRYrW \|\| 1 #bitcoin 1287.77 TL, 434 $, 399.628 €, GBP, 30100.00 RUR, 54000 ¥, CNH, 602.00 CAD #btc \|\| 1 #bitcoin 1284.45 TL, 424.596 $, 390.498 €, GBP, 29600.00 RUR, 57159 ¥, CNH, 602.15 CAD #btc \|\| In the last 10 mins, there were arb opps spanning 13 exchange pair(s), yielding profits ranging between $0.00 and $353.63 #bitcoin #btc \|\| Current #CBX Value is as following: 0.00049940 #bitcoin #cryptocurrency 2015-12-31 00:05 http://cur.lv/tqct0 \|\| 1 #bitcoin 969.84 TL, 328.475 $, 315.794 €, GBP, 22000.00 RUR, 44399 ¥, CNH, 469 CAD #btc	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 430.57, 434.33, 433.44, 430.01, 433.09, 431.96, 429.11, 458.05, 453.23, 447.61
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2020-08-18] BTC Price: 11991.23, BTC RSI: 64.11 Gold Price: 1999.40, Gold RSI: 62.21 Oil Price: 42.89, Oil RSI: 60.89 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] US officials seize cryptocurrency accounts tied to al-Qaeda and ISIS: US authorities have dismantled financing campaigns for three terrorist organizations, which included “the government’s largest-ever seizure ofcryptocurrencyin the terrorism context,” according tothe Department of Justice. The Internal Revenue Service, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and Federal Bureau of Investigation were involved in the operation against the al-Qassam Brigades (Hamas’s military wing), al-Qaeda andISIS. The DoJ asserts the al-Qassam Brigadessolicited Bitcoin donations through social mediaand its websites. Agents from the IRS, HSI and FBI were able to seize 150 cryptocurrency accounts tied to the group. Individuals based in the US who allegedly donated to them were subject to criminal search warrants, while the District of Columbia US Attorney’s Office has laidmoney laundering chargesagainst two Turkish individuals linked to those fundraising efforts. According to another forfeiturecomplaint, al-Qaeda and affiliates used Telegram and other social media channels to solicit Bitcoin donations. In some cases, the groups allegedly pretended to act as charities. Agents uncovered 155 cryptocurrency accounts linked to that terrorism fundraising campaign. As for ISIS, someone tied to the group allegedly ran aCOVID-19protective gear scam. Murat Cakar, who the DoJ describes as “an ISIS facilitator,” was selling phonyN95 respirator masksand other protective equipment through a website, according to a complaint. One US-based customer tried to buy gear for hospitals, nursing homes and fire departments. Officials seized that site, along with four related Facebook pages. In total, agents recouped about $2 million worth of cryptocurrency, according to theNew York Times.Once the case is concluded, the Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism Fund may receive some or all of the seized funds. Officials also blacklisted some private crypto wallets said to contain millions of dollars more in virtual currency, which will make it harder for account owners to cash out those funds through financial institutions. \|\| Apple Co-Founder Steve Wozniak Sues YouTube Over Bitcoin Giveaway Scams: Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak is suing video-sharing giant YouTube and its parent company Google for allegedly allowing bitcoin giveaway scams that use his likeness to thrive on its platform. Wozniak was one of 18 plaintiffs that filed the lawsuit on Tuesday, which seeks punitive damages, a trial by jury and demands YouTube remove all bitcoin giveaway scams and promotions using Wozniak’s name and likeness. The suit praised Twitter for acting “swiftly and decisively” to shut down malicious accounts and “protect its users from the scam” referencing the platform’s response to last week’scoordinated cyberattackthat gained access to a host of verified Twitter accounts and posted a crypto giveaway message. Related:Google, Twitter and Facebook Face $600M Lawsuit Over Crypto Ad Bans “In stark contrast, for months now, Defendant YOUTUBE has been unapologetically hosting, promoting, and directly profiting from similar scams,” the suit said. Wozniak is not the first to take action against YouTube over crypto scams. Earlier this year, Ripple Labs, along with CEO Brad Garlinghouse,sued the platformfor allegedly failing to effectively police fake XRP giveaway scams that were causing monetary and reputational harm to the company. According to the new complaint filed with the Superior Court of the State of California in the county of San Mateo, YouTube has “featured a steady stream of scam videos and promotions that falsely use images and videos of Plaintiff Steve Wozniak, and other famous tech entrepreneurs, and that have defrauded YouTube users out of millions of dollars.” The suit alleged that the image and likeness of other well-known entrepreneurs including Bill Gates, Elon Musk and Michael Dell were also being exploited in these scams. Related:Twitter Hacker Is Mixing Bitcoin Loot Using a Wasabi Wallet, Elliptic Says According to screenshots attached in the complaint, the scams involving Wozniak uses images and videos that tell users that the entrepreneur is hosting a live bitcoin or “BTC” giveaway event. The suit alleges that the posts “convince” users to transfer their cryptocurrency promising that, for a limited time, they “will receive twice as much back”. “YOUTUBE and GOOGLE took the further step of promoting and profiting from these scams by providing paid advertising that targeted users who were most likely to be harmed,” the suit said. Wozniak is accusing defendants YouTube and Google of violating his right of publicity, misappropriating his name and likeness, as well as aiding and abetting fraud, and negligent failure to warn users. “Defendants’ failure to warn was willful, malicious, oppressive, fraudulent, and/or in reckless disregard of the Plaintiffs’ rights, thereby entitling Plaintiffs to punitive damages,” the suit said. The suit demands a trial by jury on all issues triable, and damages that include legal expenses, and any “gains, profits, or advantages wrongfully obtained by Defendants.” The lawsuit was filed by Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy, LLP. Read the full complaint here: • Apple Co-Founder Steve Wozniak Sues YouTube Over Bitcoin Giveaway Scams • Apple Co-Founder Steve Wozniak Sues YouTube Over Bitcoin Giveaway Scams \|\| Gold Hits Record High As US-China Relations Deteriorate Further, Bitcoin Crosses $10,000 Mark: As China and the United States forced each other’s consulates to close in key cities, investors flocked to safe-havens, driving gold prices to a record high, while market sentiment remained mixed in Asia on Monday. Safe Havens, Bitcoin Extend Gains Spot gold traded a record 1.75% higher at $1,934.9 against the dollar, surpassing the previous peak hit in September 2011. Aggressive money printing adopted by central banks since the COVID-19 pandemic is raising fears among some investors of rampant inflation, Reutersnotedearlier. This is being attributed to a preference towards safe-haven investments. Goldman Sachs Group predicted Gold reaching $2,000 levels in the next 12 months, with Citigroup saying there is a 30% chance of that level being reached by the end of 2020, Bloombergreported. Chris Weston, head of research at Pepperstone Group in Melbourne, told Bloomberg, “If we think about real yields and what the Fed is doing, it just suggests to me that it’s a matter of time before real yields continue to trend lower and gold goes higher.” It is typical for investors to seek non-country specific or other safer assets during times of geopolitical crises. The rise of the yellow metal was accompanied by U.S. dollar falling against the Japanese yen at 105.48. Bitcoin (BTC), which is sometimes touted as digital gold, crossed the $10,000 mark on Monday, a level not breached since June 2. It traded 5.67% higher at $10,237.78 at press time,accordingto CoinMarketCap data. The rise in Ethereum (ETH), the world's second largest cryptocurrency after Bitcoin in terms of market valuation, has been even more spectacular, with the asset rising 30% this week. Ethereum traded 6.76% higher at $323.34 at press time. Asian Markets Retreat The markets in Asia were mixed towards the end of their trading sessions. Japan's Nikkei 225 index traded almost flat, down 0.16%, and South Korea's KOSPI was up 0.8%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was in the red by 0.44%. Mainland China's Shanghai Composite was up 0.26% and Shenzhen Component was up 0.3%. Shares in Asia were mainly supported by gains in technology stocks. Taiwan Capitalization index added 2.3% in the day, withTaiwan Semiconductor Mfg. Co. Ltd.(NYSE:TSM) mostly trading at the maximum 10% surge throughout the day, after rivalIntel Corporation(NASDAQ:INTC) saidit was delayingthe production of 7nm chips to 2022 at least. US Futures Suggest Higher Open The U.S. futures traded higher early Monday. S&P 500 futures were up 0.2%, Dow futures traded 0.17% higher, and Nasdaq futures were up 0.4% at press-time. Federal Reserve officials are reportedly meeting on Tuesday and Wednesday and it is expected they will maintain a near zero-rate policy, Bloomberg noted. See more from Benzinga • Credit Suisse Silently Invested 0M In Alibaba Subsidiary Ant Financial, Set To Benefit Immensely In Public Debut • Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Google CEOs To Testify Before House Antitrust Subcommittee Wednesday • Electric Vehicles In UK To Exceed 30M By 2040, National Grid Predicts © 2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| Social Media Companies Are Too Big to Fail: Jenny Leung is a blockchain and fintech attorney at Blakemore Fallon PLLC dba Ketsal. This year, 2020, is the year social media institutions became systemically important. This term, systemically important, typically describes a financial institution whose failure poses a significant threat to the economy and is thus too big to fail. Systemically important financial institutions ( SIFI ) have been subject to additional regulatory scrutiny. Related: Money Reimagined: Lets Be Privacy Scolds If certain social media institutions were to fail today, their failure would pose a significant threat to society due to their outsized influence, size, reach, societys co-dependence on them and their power to shape the interpretation of public events. These systemically important social media institutions (SISMI) have become so influential and embedded in society their failure may cause the economy to suffer. But that doesnt necessarily mean the solution is as simple as building decentralized alternatives, as some technologists have suggested , or pursuing antitrust action, as outlined in Wednesdays congressional investigation into Big Techs anti-competitive behavior. The threats go much deeper than that. See also: Michael Casey CoinDesks Twitter Hack Proved the Media Cant Rely on Web 2.0 Recent phenomena highlighted SISMIs helpful influence during the COVID-19 pandemic: the ongoing Black Lives Matter movement and the Twitter hack of July 2020 . Society now depends on SISMIs to keep businesses and influencers afloat, to support political movements, to document protests and police brutality , to livestream everything from yoga classes to conferences, to provide live tornado warnings , to break news, to propagate political rallies, to expose violent rioters , to hold police accountable and to render a verdict as to what company, product or person should be canceled . Story continues Related: Central Banks Are Privacy Providers of Last Resort During the pandemic, the reliance on SISMIs has grown as businesses shut their doors, switched to online delivery and online streaming and requested virtual donations to keep them alive. As New York City found itself paralyzed under Pause and Curfew , I found myself turning to Instagram and Facebook for updates when neither Google Maps opening hours nor Seamless were reliable. I was glued to the Citizen App for live updates as the protests marched through my neighborhood and past my doorstep. At the same time, weve seen violent crimes livestreamed, genocide incited, non-consensual harvesting of personal data for political advertising, doxing of viral subjects, financial scams and, more recently, the hacking of prominent social media accounts all through the very same platforms. Despite its growing importance, social media inclusion doesnt quite have the ring of financial inclusion. As confirmed by Twitter itself, hackers took control of 45 accounts, including those of Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Elon Musk, Kim Kardashian and Vitalik Buterin, and sent tweets that tricked followers into sending bitcoin to the hackers bitcoin address. While only 12.87 bitcoin (approximately $142,000 at press time) had been sent , the real dangers lie in the fact that (1) hackers gained site-wide admin access and tweeted publicly from prominent accounts with global reach and (2) the hackers were able to access and download potentially sensitive unencrypted direct messages. See also: Brenna Smith Last Weeks Big Twitter Hack Was Years in the Making These events highlight societys increasing dependency on mega-platforms for matters ranging from business to finance, justice and politics. We may approach a situation where a political figure has a voice across every social media platform but their opponent may have been banned on the same influential platforms, with no formal appeal process available. As Zoomers, raised on social media, begin to reach voting age, the banning or censoring of political figures and public events may become a real issue as SISMIs engage in more active censorship and control. Despite its growing importance, social media inclusion doesnt quite have the ring of financial inclusion. Bitcoin and decentralized finance applications have been gaining traction on the principle that everyone in the world deserves access to financial services. It may only be a matter of time before an unstoppable, decentralized and workable social media platform provides everyone with the ability to have a voice. What next? If social media institutions have become systemically important, governments, regulators and political leaders should recognize how tightly intertwined SISMIs have become with society and the economy and acknowledge the risks that come with this marriage. Some pundits noted the Twitter hackers could have started a war between world leaders, incited violence, manipulated the markets or created social panic. The latter actually occurred in 2013 after hackers tweeted from the account of the Associated Press, saying the White House had been hit by two explosions and that President Obama was injured, sending the U.S. stock market into freefall. We almost saw history repeat when the Twitter hackers actually hijacked Barack Obamas Twitter account earlier this month. See also: Nathaniel Whittemore No, the Twitter Hack Wasnt About Bitcoin Are we ready for a world economy dominated by SISMIs? Imagine a stock or crypto market driven by viral posts and TikTok memes , celebrities and corporate personalities , coin of the day posts or trends rooted in irrational exuberance . Once SISMIs pose a bigger threat to the economy than SIFIs (whether directly through markets or indirectly through civil unrest), it may already be too late to be cautious about their influence. While Wednesdays congressional antitrust hearing was a good start, the issue of antitrust is only one item in a growing list of problems. Whether the solution is more regulation, breaking up SISMIs , making social media decentralized or treating SISMIs like SIFIs is a conversation for another day. I simply propose we open our eyes to their economic and societal influence. Related Stories Social Media Companies Are Too Big to Fail Social Media Companies Are Too Big to Fail \|\| MicroStrategy Buys $250M in Bitcoin, Calling the Crypto ‘Superior to Cash’: Publicly traded business intelligence firm MicroStrategy purchased 21,454 bitcoin on Tuesday, effectively pouring all $250 million of its planned inflation-hedging funds into the digital currency. Disclosing its bitcoin buy alongside an equivalent stock buyback in a Tuesday Securities and Exchange Commission filing, MicroStrategy, a Nasdaq-listed software firm worth over $1.2 billion, said the cryptocurrency provided a “reasonable hedge against inflation” in a press statement shared with CoinDesk. “This investment reflects our belief that bitcoin, as the world’s most widely adopted cryptocurrency, is a dependable store of value and an attractive investment asset with more long-term appreciation potential than holding cash,” said CEO Michael J. Saylor. Saylor cited forces working to weaken fiat currencies – COVID-19, global quantitative easing measures, political and economic uncertainty – but also the technical and qualitative aspects that he said give the bitcoin blockchain strength. “We find the global acceptance, brand recognition, ecosystem vitality, network dominance, architectural resilience, technical utility and community ethos of bitcoin to be persuasive evidence of its superiority as an asset class for those seeking a long-term store of value,” Saylor said. The capital allocation quickly fulfills Saylor’s late July promise to shareholders that MicroStrategy would buy back $250 million in stock and invest an additional $250 million in gold and bitcoin over the next 12 months. The belief was that these and other “alternative investments” would protect MicroStrategy’s dollar-heavy balance sheet. It is now clear that half of the $500 million bet turns entirely on bitcoin. MicroStrategy “accordingly has made bitcoin the principal holding in its treasury reserve strategy,” Saylor said. Read more: Nasdaq-Listed MicroStrategy, Wary of Looming Dollar Inflation, Turns to Bitcoin and Gold Related Stories MicroStrategy Buys $250M in Bitcoin, Calling the Crypto ‘Superior to Cash’ MicroStrategy Buys $250M in Bitcoin, Calling the Crypto ‘Superior to Cash’ MicroStrategy Buys $250M in Bitcoin, Calling the Crypto ‘Superior to Cash’ MicroStrategy Buys $250M in Bitcoin, Calling the Crypto ‘Superior to Cash’ \|\| India Must Not Drop Out of Crypto Arms Race: (Bloomberg Opinion) -- Talk about cutting off the nose to spite the face: For a second time, India wants to ban cryptocurrencies. Harnessing the power of tokens residing on distributed ledgers can save the world’s biggest recipient of money transfers billions of dollars annually. Regulating digital assets and allowing the industry to grow can also keep India in the reckoning as both China and Silicon Valley try to reshape the global payments industry. But instead of trying to match President Xi Jinping’s resolve to make blockchains the focus of China’s next big technological push, New Delhi wants to retreat — when it was just about to move forward. Earlier, a central bank directive had ordered commercial lenders to stay away from customers dealing in digital assets. But after the Supreme Court overruled the monetary authority in March, the Finance Ministry has decided to introduce a law to prohibit cryptos, the Economic Times reported recently. Any such law might still get challenged. Binance Holdings Ltd., the top spot exchange for virtual currencies by trading volume, is joining a crypto lobby group in India. The industry doesn’t want to go down without a fight in an important future market. Yet for a nascent local talent pool just beginning to feel hopeful about its prospects, an existential crisis has arrived instead. A perverse outcome will be to drive Bitcoin and other private alternatives to fiat money underground; transactions will occur outside the banking system and stay under the radar of regulators. Money-laundering and terror-financing risks won’t go away. They’ll just become harder to detect. Bad crypto will drive out good crypto. Top brains will leave India or look for other problems to solve. Who stands to lose the most? Last year, Indian families received $83 billion from members working overseas, more than any other country. Capital controls make it harder to take funds out, but at $19 billion, outbound flows for education, travel, or overseas asset purchases by residents were still significant. Story continues The coronavirus will no doubt make 2020 the annus horribilis for migrants. The World Bank Is forecasting a 23% slump in remittances to India. In these times, every dollar saved by a nurse from Kerala who’s helping Covid-19 patients in the U.S. and supporting a family thousands of miles away matters more than ever. Yet it costs in excess of $10 to send $200 to India. And 5.3% is the average. Singapore-to-India transfers are cheap at 2% because the two countries allow each others’ major lenders a presence. By contrast, the Thailand-India corridor, which requires handovers across a chain of correspondent banks, could cost 12%. Or $24 on a $200 transfer. Expenses pile up as sending institutions must maintain idle liquidity with correspondent banks in foreign countries, earning little and running the risk of currency depreciation. Cryptography is helpful in such situations. Establishing ownership of funds with hard-to-crack secrets bypasses the need to establish trust with costly pre-funded accounts. And if hackers can steal hundreds of millions of dollars of digital assets, blind trust in an accounts-based system often costs more. As the Wirecard AG scandal shows, investors can wake up one morning and realize that 1.9 billion euros ($2.1 billion) they thought had gone to the German payment processor’s accounts in the Philippines probably didn’t exist. Meanwhile, the Philippines, which also gets large remittances, allows money to come in as XRP virtual tokens and get converted into pesos. It takes seconds and is 40% to 60% cheaper than traditional means, according to Ripple Labs Inc., the U.S. digital money transfer firm behind XRP. As Ripple argues, for crypto processors to operate in India, the government needs to follow the Singapore model of categorizing digital assets. Some, like Bitcoin or Ethereum, are means of payment. Others are security tokens that give the holder rights similar to stocks or bonds. The regulatory noose around them has tightened after many initial coin sales defrauded investors. In between are utility tokens, which are like in-store vouchers. They give rights, but only on a blockchain. Allowing rupees to be swapped for permissible payment tokens in regulated quantities, and for the latter to be used without contravening the country’s foreign-exchange management law, would be the logical next steps. Instead, India’s regulators seem to be living in a fantasy land where they hold blockchain to be good, but crypto assets to be evil. At first glance, they seem to be copying the Chinese playbook. While elevating distributed ledgers to a “strategic frontier technology” since 2016, Beijing has rejected the notion that bitcoin is legal tender. However, it hasn’t banned people from holding it as a commodity. This year, it even started piloting a central bank-issued digital yuan. If U.S.-China relations continue to nosedive, Beijing wants to be prepared with an alternative to the Western financial system, a parallel track to Swift(1) . Soon enough, Facebook Inc.-sponsored Libra will come in with its own vision of a modern payment system. Even a small nation like Singapore is exploring the potential of central bank virtual currencies with its Project Ubin. If New Delhi wants a voice in a world of two clashing superpowers, and competing networks for moving money as cheaply as information, it needs to build its own capabilities. A ban will be self-defeating. India needs crypto, both for financial inclusion today and strategic heft tomorrow. (1) Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications, or Swift, is a member-owned cooperative that provides the infrastructure for movement of money around the world. This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners. Andy Mukherjee is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering industrial companies and financial services. He previously was a columnist for Reuters Breakingviews. He has also worked for the Straits Times, ET NOW and Bloomberg News. For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinion Subscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source. ©2020 Bloomberg L.P. \|\| Honeygain App Popularity Skyrockets As Users Earn For Sharing Internet Connections: The five months in which Covid-19 has spread throughout America have led to more job loss than any point in American history. And though the labor market has shown signs of recovery, there remains no clear end to job losses in sight. The gloomy economic outlook for the foreseeable future is forcing people globally to revaluate their approach to personal finances. In particular, it is evident that setting up passive income streams is becoming essential to meet ends. However, finding a legitimate passive income stream is no easy task. Unfortunately, a lot of companies either overpromise, underdeliver, or imitate reputable businesses while secretly taking advantage of their users in one way or another. With all of this in mind, passive income platform Honeygain has vowed to stand out and ensure transparent and fair business practices and has gained the trust of millions of people in the process. The Best Passive Income Stream Of 2020? Honeygain successfully launched in 2018, enabling businesses and people to serve each other through a residential proxy network. In other words, people are passively earning money by safely sharing their internet connection with companies that require residential proxy networks to support their business operations. It was clear from the start that for this business idea to flourish, gaining peoples trust was essential. Thats why the platform is built with a focus on the experience of the end-user. The company is solidly established on four following core values: User Education Honeygain places education as a key element in achieving real transparency with its user base. The technical and business nuances are explained clearly, educating people on the benefits of shared internet traffic. The team behind the app openly communicates on each business case and willingly sheds light on how to maximize earnings via the platform. User Protection The app only collects data that is necessary for the system to function without asking for any excessive permissions. This data includes network information, device-specific data, and the users email address to process the payments. Story continues The company also employs an intricate Know-Your-Client (KYC) process, thanks to which only carefully vetted business partners are allowed access to the Honeygain network. User Empowerment Inclusivity and empowerment are two more factors that drive Honeygain. The company strives to become a go-to source of passive income to everyone around the globe, regardless of their economic well-being. Technical Excellence The Honeygain developer teams work culture is to always critically revaluate utilized technologies. Coders and engineers continuously look for ways to improve and innovate components of the platforms technical infrastructure, ensuring a smooth service for all parties involved. According to a recent survey of nearly 16,000 users, 82.8% of people would recommend the platform to a friend or a colleague. Around 90% of respondents also said they return to the app daily, with 73.1% checking it multiple times per day. Most importantly, these results ensure that the platform successfully fulfills the role of an educator, shedding light on the commonly misunderstood proxy market. In fact, over 70% of people confirmed that they had learned more about the proxy services since joining the ever-growing Honeygain community. With the world economy taking a hit, platforms like Honeygain have emerged as a powerful tool to empower people during financially unstable times, at the same time enabling businesses to create value in their respective industries. For Honeygain, a positive contribution to the economy will continue to be based on long-term commitments and a clear value system striving towards a more transparent passive income and residential proxy markets. Disclaimer: This post was submitted by a guest. The writer does not hold a relationship or any vested interest in Honeygain. Photo by Glenn Carstens-Peters on Unsplash See more from Benzinga Online Trading is More Popular Than Ever Before, Just Ask NAGA What Can Blockchain Really Do for Advertising? A Perfect Use Case With SaTT Digitex Launches Commission-Free Bitcoin Futures Trading © 2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| DeFi Traders Are Gaming Ethereum for Higher Profits, Researchers Say: Decentralized finance (DeFi) has been clogging the Ethereum network, but not in the way most analysts would have guessed. An architectural quirk in the most-used software version of Ethereum, Geth, has led to an uptick in the practice of spamming the network to secure trade profits over the last six months, according to Certus One co-founder Hendrik Hofstadt. Transaction spamming is one of many reasons the average Ethereum user fee has increased some 800% since May, according to Coin Metrics . Ponzi schemes like MMM or DeFi’s general growth in 2020 are also to blame. Related: Market Wrap: Bitcoin Trudges Past $11.7K as DeFi Lending Rates Gyrate Read more: Weed Out the Soviet-Era Ponzi Scheme Eating Ethereum Hofstadt told CoinDesk that algorithmic trading firms have created bot swarms to watch the Ethereum transaction queue (called the mempool). These bots wait for large trades on DeFi platforms such as Uniswap. After they go through, the bots quickly place orders to take advantage of price movements in what is called “backrunning.” Too many firms knew about this practice, though. So some firms switched up their tactics over the spring months by sending a wall of executions to crowd out others and secure a backrun order. Higher rewards for miners, higher profits for traders Rough modeling shows some $5.99 million in gas fees have been used to execute this trading strategy since April 2018, according to developer Philippe Castonguay. That’s about a week’s worth of typical Ethereum fees for useless transactions. Related: Two Reasons Crypto's Bull Market Is Coming Moreover, the majority of these trades occurred since March 12’s “Black Thursday,” when DeFi platforms saw record volumes . Read more: Thursday’s Market Madness Strained Ethereum’s Killer App: DeFi For trading firms, this translates into more fees overall but arbitrage profits into the hundreds of thousands, according to addresses provided by Hofstadt. Story continues For the network, spamming crowds out other transactions. It also increases the average fee for everyone. On July 29, the Geth team approved swapping the execution model to a first come, first served basis. Yet, it remains to be seen if mining firms will update to the new Geth version. Hofstadt said miners could keep doing business as usual if they value the extra pocket change from DeFi traders more than helping out the network in general. Indeed, total network fees per day on Ethereum has increased 1,077% since May 5 from $162,200 to $1,909,000 on a seven-day rolling basis, according to Coin Metrics . Related Stories DeFi Traders Are Gaming Ethereum for Higher Profits, Researchers Say DeFi Traders Are Gaming Ethereum for Higher Profits, Researchers Say \|\| Quantstamp Audit Greenlights Ethereum 2.0 Client Prysm for Launch: Ethereum 2.0 client Prysm is “basically ready” to launch, Richard Ma, CEO of Quantstamp, said in a phone call with CoinDesk. A technical thumbs up for Prysm from the smart-contract auditing firm comes after last week’s announced push by network developers to launch the proof-of-stake (PoS) version of Ethereum before 2020 closes out. Indeed, numerous perceived “delays” have frustrated community members as they await the overhaul promised in the network’s 2014 yellow paper. Related: Filecoin Pushes Back Final Testing Phase, Announces ‘Calibration Period’ for Miners Informal agreements between Ethereum developers that multiple network-ready clients needed to launch in concert have slowed efforts over the years. Nine such implementations are currently underway, including Prysm, in various programming languages. Read more: Ethereum Developers Delay Berlin Hard Fork to Stem Client Centralization Concerns In a recent Reddit AMA , ETH 2.0 researcher Justin Drake said that given the lack of client diversity and testing, the network would likely not launch until Jan. 3, 2021, the 12th anniversary of Bitcoin’s genesis block. Drake and Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin disagreed, saying the network should be able to launch before the close of 2020 “regardless of level of readiness,” Buterin said. Related: The Zcash Privacy Tech Underlying Ethereum’s Transition to Eth 2.0 “Eth2 phase 0 is in some ways simpler than Eth1 and in some ways more complex: more complex PoS, but no complicated GPU-oriented PoW; more optimization required, but no complicated VM, etc etc. I’m inclined to say Eth2 phase 0 is a little simpler on-net,” he added. ‘Low-level optimizations’ Prysm client’s code was “well-written and documented,” Quantstamp said in a blog post shared early with CoinDesk. The firm identified 65 issues relating to the granularity of timestamps, pseudo-random number generation and second pre-image attacks on Merkle trees. Story continues Ma described the concerns as “low-level optimizations,” with 75% having been addressed already. Ten engineers combed over Prysm’s ETH 2.0 codebase, programmed in the Go language, for two months, Ma said. “Over $28 billion USD worth of ether and other digital assets are potentially riding on the transition to proof-of-stake,” noted Ma in a company statement. “The migration of ether and the DeFi ecosystem to Ethereum 2.0 is a high-stakes process.” However, where money is on the line, audits alone don’t greenlight code for launch. Eth 2.0 clients have joined various testnets to run simulations of Phase 0 throughout the spring months. Altona testnet for Ethereum 2.0 Most recently, Prysm has joined three other clients (PegaSys’ Teku, Status’ Nimbus and Sigma Prime’s Lighthouse) in the ongoing Altona testnet. The testnet allows users to stake ether and practice validating transactions for Phase 0 of Eth 2.0 and was preceded by both the Schlesi and Witti testnets, among others. Read more: Schlesi Testnet Is Latest Step in Long Road Toward Eth 2.0 “Altona is finalizing with the Eth 2.0 Phase 0 core protocol logic that will be launched later this year,” Prysmatic Labs co-founder Preston Van Loon said in a private message to CoinDesk. Metrics from the Witti testnet analyzed in a June 25 paper by independent testnet hard-fork coordinator Afri Schoedon showed Lighthouse repeatedly outperformed other clients. That client is halfway through an independent audit as well, according to Sigma Prime co-founder Paul Hauner in a private message. Schoedon looked at “beacon-chain node implementation” such as for synchronization time and database space, but noted that the race to Eth 2.0 is “not a competition” among clients. “While this is not about calling out a winner, we should be encouraged to learn from the Sigma Prime team’s design decisions,” he said. Related Stories Quantstamp Audit Greenlights Ethereum 2.0 Client Prysm for Launch Quantstamp Audit Greenlights Ethereum 2.0 Client Prysm for Launch \|\| High-profile politicians and celebrities targeted in the cyber attack: Photo: Omar Marques/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images Twitter ( TWTR ) says that 130 accounts were targeted in the cyber attack that took place on Wednesday. Of these, 45 were successfully hacked, while eight unverified users’ information was accessed and downloaded. “In cases where an account was taken over by the attacker, they may have been able to view additional information. Our forensic investigation of these activities is still ongoing,” the company said. It did not give additional details about what that information might be. The hack affected US presidential candidate Joe Biden, reality TV star Kim Kardashian, former US President Barack Obama and Tesla ( TSLA ) tycoon Elon Musk. It used their accounts to solicit digital currency. Others targeted include rapper Kanye West, Amazon’s ( AMZN ) Jeff Bezos, investor Warren Buffett and Microsoft ( MSFT ) founder Bill Gates. Corporate accounts for Uber ( UBER ) and Apple ( AAPL ) were also on that list. Donald Trump was one of the prominent Twitter uses unaffected by this. Public records show the scam earned the fraudsters more than $100,000 (£79,570) in cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin. Bitcoin is notoriously difficult to trace, and the “wallets” the currency was put into have already been emptied. This money is likely to have been split into smaller amounts through a “mixer” or “tumbler” to make it even harder to trace back to the attackers. Twitter also said the scammers may have tried to sell account names and handles. READ MORE: Why we need to stop food shaming at work The company set out a four-point plan of next-steps following the incident. This included an employee training scheme. The FBI is now investigating, according to reports. We are aware of a security incident impacting accounts on Twitter. We are investigating and taking steps to fix it. We will update everyone shortly. — Twitter Support (@TwitterSupport) July 15, 2020 View comments [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] None available.	Trend: down \|\| Prices: 11758.28, 11878.37, 11592.49, 11681.83, 11664.85, 11774.60, 11366.13, 11488.36, 11323.40, 11542.50
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis] Not fully available. [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] The 'Wolf of WhatsApp' wants to sell you penny stocks: Leo DiCaprio Wolf of Wall Street (Paramount) The “pump and dump” scam is a classic stock trick. Someone ruthlessly promotes a stock they hold, driving up the price based on artificial interest, and then sells before everyone realizes the interest was just manufactured. Oftentimes, those stocks are “penny stocks,” which don’t trade on an exchange and are worth only a few cents a share. Real life “Wolf of Wall Street” Jordan Belfort was famous for perfecting the pump and dump to the tune of millions of dollars for himself and his posse. But on Friday a new cadre of penny stock villains struck, this time on the popular messaging app WhatsApp. I first noticed the scam when a friend of mine posted this screenshot on Facebook along with the caption, “ Umm...What? Someone got the serious wrong number on Whatsapp.” Screen Shot 2015 08 21 at 5.38.03 PM (Facebook) But I didn’t put the pieces of the scam together until The Awl’s John Herrman pointed out that the spam seemed to be part of a coordinated pump and dump scheme. AVRN is the stock sign for Avra, Inc., which is a digital currency (think Bitcoin) company. And the scam seems to have been dastardly effective. As you can see from this chart from Yahoo Finance, the stock for Avra shot up at around 11 a.m. before crashing shortly thereafter: Screen Shot 2015 08 21 at 5.25.46 PM (Yahoo Finance) Some people were clearly fooled, and assuming the scammers timed it right and didn’t totally bungle the operation, they probably made some cash. This isn’t the first time that potential pump and dumpers have used an innovative messaging medium to cut through the noise. Last month, Twitter shares spiked based on a phony report on a website made to look like Bloomberg.com . The story had said that Twitter was fielding an offer to be taken over for $31 billion. NOW WATCH: The story behind the famously offensive twitter account that parodies Wall Street culture More From Business Insider Here's what to expect from the next iPhone's camera, according to a person who's making it Make no mistake — this is the opening of the 'China Decade' It's no longer all about ads — Here's how publishers, streaming sites, and apps are using subscriptions to boost revenues \|\| Uber's Food Delivery Service Could Become A Big Part Of Business: The ride-sharing service Uber recently rolled out a new service called UberEATS, which customers in certain cities can use to order prepared meals. At first, the offering appeared to be a pilot program that was testing the waters for a wide-scale rollout, but a recent update to the company's app suggests that UberEATS could play a more prominent role in the company's business plan. Front And Center Uber updated its mobile app so that customers in New York City, Los Angels, Toronto, Austin, Chicago, Barcelona and San Francisco can easily access the UberEATS ordering screen from the home page. Before, UberEATS was located on a separate screen with other Uber programs, but now the service has its own button for easy access. Related Link: Get To Know UberEATS What Does It Mean? The button's location won't change the company's food delivery service, but it could hint at Uber's intentions for the future. Some say the new prominent location suggests that Uber is getting serious about expanding on food delivery. Others believe that the new location is a way for the company to get more people to try the service out. Uber has also rolled out offers, like free delivery in NYC, to get more people to use UberEATS. Expanding Its Reach Uber's expansion into the food delivery space aligns the company's aim to become an urban logistics giant. Uber execs appear to be bent on turning what began as a taxi service into a comprehensive logistics solution that can deliver anything from a package to a cup of coffee quickly and easily. See more from Benzinga European Markets Still Uncertain With Greek Elections On The Horizon Time-Release Capsules Make Medical Marijuana More Approachable Greeks Begin To See An Opportunity In Bitcoin © 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| Bitcoin Driven HashingSpace Launches HashScanner to Maximize Bitcoin Payouts: HashingSpace Corporation (HSHS) Announced Today That It Has Launched a New Service, HashScanner, to Maximize Bitcoin Mining Capabilities. HashingSpace's Mission Is to Build out Key Infrastructure for the Global Adoption of Bitcoin and Blockchain Services with Hosted ASIC Mining WENATCHEE, WA / ACCESSWIRE /September 1, 2015 /HashingSpace Corporation (OTCQB: HSHS), a Bitcoin ASIC mining and hosting company, announced today that the company has made available HashScanner, a proprietary service to maximize Bitcoin payouts for HashingSpace miners. The new service allows miners to scan P2Pools to see which has the lowest latency. It also shows pools score, efficiencies, uptime, location, fees, hash rate and version number. This free service shows how HASHPOOL ranks with HashingSpace's 13 nodes located across the world. Our HashPool.com mining pools are GEO-IP load balanced through DNS to allow mining pools one address, which load balances and fails over for all of our the nodes. We also allow for individual node access. "We are excited to bring to the Bitcoin marketplace this free HashScanner service. We feel it is well designed and user friendly. It is a definitive source for the highest paying p2pool mining pools. This allows our customers to maximize their mining capabilities and increase their profits and shows how HashPool ranks among the P2Pools," stated Timothy Roberts, CEO of HashingSpace Corporation. "This completes another goal of ours to provide intuitive, convenient, robust and secure bitcoin solutions to the Bitcoin community." HashScanner can be accessed atwww.hashscanner.comand also through the HashingSpace mining portal atwww.hashpool.com. HashingSpace Corporation's business will provide a wide range of services to include: FORTRESS ONE HOSTING:Tier 3+ Enterprise Class, Green High Intensity Hosting for Blockchain CRYPTOHASH HOSTING:Tier 1 Green High Intensity Hosting for Crypto Currency ASIC Mining CLOUDHASH:Cloud mining servers that can be rented with full hashing power HASHMINING:Our own Mining Farm HASHATM:Owner and operator of Bitcoin ATM machines HASHWALLET:Bitcoin consumer wallet for bitcoin banking and transactions HASHPOOL:Public Stratum and P2Pool (Web/IOS/Droid) HASHTICKER:Free Ticker for tracking Bitcoin Value (Screen Saver/Web/IOS/Droid) HASHVAR:A wholesaler of Bitcoin servers and Bitcoin ATM machines All company information, including stock trading, filings, and market data related to the company, is reported under the ticker symbol, HSHS. About HashingSpace Corporation HashingSpace Corporation is a Bitcoin ASIC mining company, hosting provider, and service provider of blockchain transactional services. HashingSpace's high density datacenters are designed to meet the demanding power and cooling needs of client hosted Bitcoin mining gear with unparalleled pricing, cooling and green energy. The Corporation is continuing to expand its datacenters to satisfy the shortage of low cost hosting facilities catering to the Bitcoin and blockchain mining and transactional verification services industry specifically. HashingSpace Corporation manages HashWallet, a Bitcoin wallet; HashPool, a Bitcoin mining pool; and HashATM, the owner and operator of Bitcoin ATM machines. The company is a wholesaler of Bitcoin mining servers and Bitcoin ATM machines. Bitcoin businesses interested in reselling HashingSpace products and services are invited to reach out to HashingSpace Corporation for more information. HashingSpace Corporation is headquartered in Wenatchee, Washington. For more information, visitwww.hashingspace.com. Any unreleased services or features referenced in this or other press releases or public statements may not be currently available and may not be delivered on time or at all. Customers who purchase HashingSpace services should make their purchase decisions based upon features currently available. For more information please visithttp://www.hashingspace.comor call 1-855-HASHING (427-4464). Safe Harbor Statement This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These forward-looking statements are based on the current plans and expectations of management and are subject to a number of uncertainties and risks that could significantly affect the Company's current plans and expectations, as well as future results of operations and financial condition. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Company Contact: HashingSpace Corporation5042 Wilshire Blvd. #26900Los Angeles, CA, 90036855-HASHING (427-4464)Investor Relations:[email protected] SOURCE:HashingSpace Corporation \|\| Greece could soon get 1,000 bitcoin ATMs: Bitcoin(: BTC=)ATMs could spring up across Greece as soon as October as citizens and businesses become increasingly desperate to move their money despite capital controls. BTCGreece, which bills itself as the country's first bitcoin exchange, plans to eventually install 1,000 ATMs nationwide, in partnership with European bitcoin platform, Cubits. Thanos Marinos, the founder of BTCGreece, told CNBC on Wednesday that a soft launch was on the cards for October. "It is part of my vision to create a block chain ecosystem in Greece," he told CNBC. "If all goes as expected with no major issues we will launch first ATMs October 2015." Bitcoin is adecentralized digital currency that can be used around the world. Transactions are listed in a shared public ledger called the block chain. The digital currency has been touted as one way to to circumvent Greek capital controls. These have been in place since June and limit domestic investors to withdrawing no more than 60 euros ($66) per day from Greek banks, making life extremely tough for companies that need to pay or receive bills. Greek individuals and businesses are also forbidden from moving money to bank accounts abroad. The ATMs envisaged by Marinos could allow users to convert fiat currency into bitcoin and potentially vice versa. As yet, BTCGreece has no ATMs in Greece. However, Marinos said he had already received requests from 300 shops for bitcoin ATMs. "We want to do it cautiously," he told CNBC, adding that BTCGreece would announce more partnerships next week. Bitcoin rallied in Juneamid reports that Greeks were flocking to the currency in order to circumvent the controls. However, the currency's decentralized nature makes it challenging to say how many Greeks currently use it. Bitcoin ATMs have already been installed in other countries, predominately in the U.S. and Western European countries like the U.K., the Netherlands and Spain. "There has been a focus on bitcoin and Greece and the economic instability there," Akif Khan, chief commercial officer at digital commerce company, Bitnet, told CNBC on Wednesday. "So in one sense it will be an interesting experiment to see if Greeks do gravitate towards bitcoin as one of the tools in their financial toolkit to try and cope." Read MoreTrack Bitcoin versus the euro(Unknown: BTCEUR=) Belfast-based Khan added that Greece's regulatory environment was conducive to introducing ATMs. "In principle, putting bitcoin ATMs into Greece is just as feasible as in any other European country... Greece does not have a prohibitive regulatory environment in this regard," he told CNBC. -By CNBC'sKaty Barnato. Follow her@KatyBarnato. More From CNBC • Top News and Analysis • Latest News Video • Personal Finance \|\| Global Equity International Inc. Signed a Revised Agreement With AuthentaTrade, a Global Digital Currency Exchange Seeking Regulation in Europe and Asia: DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES--(Marketwired - Jul 30, 2015) - Global Equity International Inc. ( OTCQB : GEQU ) and its fully owned subsidiary, Global Equity Partners Plc (GEP), a business consulting services firm and M&A specialist to SMEs worldwide, today announced that it has signed a revised consultancy agreement with AuthentaTrade , an innovative FINTECH company firm based in Seychelles and Cyprus (Website: http://www.authenta.trade/ ). Global Equity International Inc., through its fully owned subsidiary Global Equity Partners Plc., will assist AuthentaTrade with pre-IPO funding amounting to, but not limited to, US$32 million as well as a public listing of its shares on a recognized international stock exchange post pre-IPO funding. As part of the consultancy agreement, GEP will hold a meaningful equity position in AuthentaTrade (post IPO). Peter Smith, CEO of Global Equity International Inc. , said: "We are extremely excited about signing this revised agreement with AuthentaTrade as we believe that there is a lot of potential for the Company's proprietary solutions. We have met with the Authenta Team in Dubai on two occasions now and have already introduced them to various financial institutions in Dubai, some of which are interested in looking at the possibility of investing in the Company. This great addition to our portfolio of clients will undoubtedly bring good value to our Company in the long run." Gwyn Jones, CEO of AuthentaTrade, stated: "We're working hard to fulfill the promise of Digital Currencies, especially Bitcoin, and believe there is a substantial opportunity to create 'banking-like' financial products, but with much lower transactional costs than in traditional banking. We look forward to working with GEP, and raising the funding we need to take AuthentaTrade, and our Bitcoin Exchange, to the next level." About AuthentaTrade Development began on the AuthentaTrade platform in early 2015. AuthentaTrade has assembled a team spearheaded by Gwyn Jones, a co-founder and former Vice President of Product Development, of "Vistaprint," a billion dollar ecommerce leader. AuthentaTrade's management is fascinated by Digital Currencies and their potential to bridge financial markets across the globe. There is a huge opportunity in Digital Currencies as a global transactional medium using a decentralized digital store of value. Story continues AuthentaTrade will offer a suite of services for its clients including FOREX (both "Fiat" and "Digital" currencies) trading, banking and international payment solutions, along with proprietary regulated trading products designed by institutional traders that will help create an efficient market for participants. AuthentaTrade has chosen to target European and Asian markets as management feels the clientele there will stand to gain the most from the regulated products soon to be introduced. The Asian market in particular has an appetite for speculative trading on volatility; their desire to transact plays into the new and explosive market of Digital Currencies such as Bitcoin. About Global Equity International Inc. Global Equity International Inc., through its wholly-owned subsidiary Global Equity Partners Plc, advises worldwide business leaders with their most critical decisions and opportunities pertaining to growth, capital needs, structure and the development of a global presence. With offices in Dubai and London, Global Equity Partners has developed significant relationships in the US, UK, Central Europe, the Middle East and South-east Asia to assist clients in realizing their full value and potential by bringing them to external capital and resources that place an emphasis on collaborative thinking. Furthermore, because Global Equity Partners has offices in key financial centers of the world, they are able to introduce their clients to a unique opportunity of listing their shares on one of the many stock exchanges worldwide. Safe Harbor Statement This press release may include forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements related to anticipated revenues, expenses, earnings, operating cash flows, the outlook for markets and the demand for products. Forward-looking statements are no guarantee of future performance and are inherently subject to uncertainties and other factors which could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements. Such statements are based upon, among other things, assumptions made by, and information currently available to, management, including management's own knowledge and assessment of the Company's industry and competition. The Company refers interested persons to its most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and its other SEC filings for a description of additional uncertainties and factors, which may affect forward-looking statements. The company assumes no duty to update its forward-looking statements. \|\| Colorado Prepares For Green Wednesday: On Wednesday, September 16, Colorado's marijuana enthusiasts will enjoy a one-day tax holiday in which the state's 10 percent tax on cannabis products will be repealed. The prospect of buying tax-free pot has the state's drug users gearing up for a shopping spree and has prompted dispensaries to offer deep discounts reminiscent of traditional retailer's Black Friday deals. With the holiday just under a week away, Colorado's pot scene is already preparing. Tax Glitch Green Wednesday is the result of a loophole in the Colorado tax law which requires the state to refund some taxes if revenue exceeds estimates. Recreational pot is taxed at 10 percent in Colorado, but on September 16, that tax will be waived and shoppers will pay only the 2.9 percent sales tax that is applied to all goods bought within the state. Shoppers will have to pay any taxes applied by the local jurisdiction in which the retail marijuana is sold. Colorado also has a 15 percent state excise tax, which is applied to sales or transfers from a retail marijuana cultivaton. A discount on this tax will not be applied to shoppers. Related Link: Marijuana Posts A Major Win On The Campaign Trail The holiday will make an ounce of marijuana about $20 cheaper than normal and is expected to cause Colorado's government to lose out on $3 to $4 million worth of revenue. Huge Turnout Anticipated Dispensaries and pot-related businesses are expecting a huge turnout on Wednesday as consumers bulk up their supply or marijuana while the drug is cheap. To lure the crowds into their businesses, many are offering additional price cuts to celebrate the tax holiday. Colorado's oldest and largest dispensary, The Grass Station, will give customers who enter the store before 9:16 a.m. ET a 50 percent discount on their entire purchase and will offer a 10 percent discount for the remainder of the day. See more from Benzinga Wall Street Joins The Bitcoin Movement Investors Look To China For Bargain Buys Phone Carriers Hoping To Profit From New iPhone © 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| Bitcoin startups lure quant whizzes from Wall Street: By Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss NEW YORK (Reuters) - Armed with a doctorate in financial engineering, 34-year-old Timo Schlaefer was on his way to a promising career at Goldman Sachs in London. Previously with the bank's mergers and acquisitions team, he became an executive director of credit quantitative modeling at Goldman, where quants like Schlaefer are highly valued. In February he gave that up, and launched a company called Crypto Facilities Ltd, a bitcoin derivatives trading platform, which now has six employees. For now, the platform trades bitcoin forwards, which are directly linked to the price of bitcoin, but it's also developing other digital currency derivative products. "This is uncharted territory," said Schlaefer. "It's an exciting opportunity to participate in a new area of technology that has massive potential." Bitcoin is a virtual or online currency created through a "mining" process where a computer's resources are used to perform millions of calculations. Once mined, bitcoins can be stored in an online wallet, traded in an online exchange, or used to buy goods and services. Once the province of small-time investors driven by their distrust of government-backed currencies, now Wall Street bankers and traders are leaving high-paying jobs to join bitcoin start-ups, while big firms hire in-house to get their arms around bitcoin and the related 'blockchain' technology. "A lot of people are entering the bitcoin space as the sector has reached an overall level of funding that's hard to ignore," said Jaron Lukasiewicz, founder and chief executive officer at New York-based bitcoin exchange Coinsetter. Lukasiewicz, 29, moved to the bitcoin world in late 2012, having left behind a six-figure salary in private equity at The CapStreet Group in New York. Bitcoin is not backed by a government and its value fluctuates. On Thursday, it was trading at $278, making the value of outstanding bitcoin worth about $4 billion. It has had a volatile history, with a rapid rally in 2013 that boosted its value to more than $1,150 per bitcoin at one point. Story continues Right now, Crypto Facilities' Schlaefer probably won't make anywhere near the kind of money that he would potentially earn at Goldman. But it's less about the compensation for Schlaefer and more about being part of the growth in bitcoin and its underlying technology, the blockchain. The blockchain - a ledger or list of all of a digital currency's transactions - is viewed as bitcoin's main technological innovation, allowing users to make payments anonymously, instantly, and without government regulation. Software engineers have started developing multiple applications for the blockchain, including a land title record system in Honduras to the clearing of trades in financial markets. Meanwhile, Wall Street firms are doing their own hiring in the cryptocurrency realm. In June, online bitcoin job ads surged to a record high of 306, according to data from Wanted Analytics, with demand coming from banks such as Capital One and tech companies such as Intel and Amazon. In previous months, Citigroup and TD Canada Trust posted bitcoin job ads as well. RISKY BUSINESS For 31-year-old Paul Chou, founder and chief executive officer of Ledger X, an institutional trading and clearing platform for bitcoin options, moving into the digital currency space represents what he hopes results in lucrative profits down the road. But there are other reasons for his shift. LedgerX is awaiting regulatory approval from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to trade and clear options on bitcoin. Chou said the firm hopes to operate the first regulated exchange and clearinghouse to list and clear fully-collateralized, physically-settled bitcoin options for the institutional market. "I took a very large salary pay cut to do this, in return for equity in a start-up that can be worth a lot someday," Chou said. Before LedgerX, Chou worked at Goldman Sachs in New York as a quant equity trader after graduating from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with degrees in computer science and mathematics. Chou said his hours are much longer as an entrepreneur - he's constantly refining ideas for strategy and thinking which areas to focus on. "The domain expertise, relationships, and career equity I've built are things I never could have done while at Goldman," Chou said. "As a former trader, I'm glad I made this trade-off at the stage of my career that I did." It's a risky move, however. There are already several tales of bitcoin company failures and mismanagement. U.S. bitcoin marketplace Buttercoin, for instance, shuttered its operations in April this year despite raising $1.3 million in funding. Bitcoin exchange MyCoin closed its doors in February of 2015, leaving about 3,000 investors out of pocket. Tokyo-based Mt. Gox, once one of the most dominant bitcoin exchanges, closed its doors without warning in February last year, filing for bankruptcy and leaving investors approximately $500 million in the red. BITCOIN INVESTMENTS, HIRING Total investments in bitcoin companies for the first half of 2015 - totaling $375.4 million - have already exceeded 2014's total of $339.4 million, data from CB Insights showed. Last year's venture capital funding of bitcoin start-ups grew roughly 280 percent from 2013. The number of bitcoin start-ups has increased by more than 80 percent from last year. As of end-July, there were 814 start-up digital currency companies, up from 444 a year earlier, according to Angel List, an online marketplace for start-ups seeking to raise money from angel investors. As banks defer compensation and add more clawback provisions that give them the right to limit bonuses, traders are seeing better risk opportunities elsewhere, said San Francisco-based Rick Henri Chan, chief operating officer at Airbitz, a digital wallet platform. Chan, 47, who joined the bitcoin industry three years ago, worked for Deutsche Bank as head of its over-the-counter derivatives technology in Japan, and was a trader at UBS and Morgan Stanley. He works long hours at Airbitz, doing everything from strategy to raising money, but the work environment is more flexible. At Deutsche, Chan had a multi-million dollar package, and he admits to missing that paycheck. "But we're doing something special here at Airbitz. And I do think our company will be valued at a lot more in the future," he said. (Reporting by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss, editing by David Gaffen and John Pickering) \|\| Cannabis Sativa Inc and THC Farmaceuticals’ Subsidiary, Terpene Research Labs (TRL) to Produce Terpenes Based on CBDS’ Patent Pending Strain: MESQUITE, NV / ACCESSWIRE / September 18, 2015 /Cannabis Sativa Inc (CBDS) and THC Farmaceuticals, Inc (CBDG) announced today that they have entered into an agreement for TRL to develop for CBDS terpene based products from CBDS' patent pending stain of Cannabis known as "CTA." As part of the agreement CBDG shall pay CBDS 10,000,000 hempcoins for the non-exclusive right to sell products TRL produces from the CTA strain plus a 5% cash royalty. CBDG will pay 35% royalty to CBDS on all fees or other gross revenues it receives from licensing products for others to produce products using CTA genetics. CBDS shall retain the right to sell the same products under its "Hi" brand (or such other of its brands in its sole discretion) and will pay a 5% royalty to TRL for all products sold using the terpene products developed by TRL. CBDS shall pay a royalty at the rate of 35% of gross revenue to CBDG for all terpene products developed by TRL and licensed by CBDS to other parties. CBDS also transfers to CBDG all rights to the CTA products developed by TRL for distribution outside of North America. CBDS granted CBDG a 3 year option to acquire all of the CTA plant and patent rights outside of North America for an additional 10,000,000 hempcoins. The option begins to run from the time that the first hempcoins are delivered to CBDS. Should this option be exercised, CBDG will then pay a royalty of 3% of gross revenues received from with respect to products produced by or for CBDG or any of its affiliates and 20% on all royalties it receives. The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission ruled yesterday that "[t]he definition of acommodity[being] broad... Bitcoin and other virtual currencies are encompassed in the definition and properly defined as commodities," the agency has turned our newest earned asset into a commodity. About Terpenes;Terpenes (/ˈtɜrpiːn/) are a large and diverse class of organic compounds, produced by a variety of plants. About Hempcoin: Hempcoins (HMP) is a litecoin type crypo-commodity that can be mined and is backed by shares of $RMTN. See:http://www.hempcoin.com. About CBDS:Cannabis Sativa, Inc. is in the business of branding and licensing via its 'hi' intellectual properties. The Company also offers the Wild Earth Naturals line of CBD Water and cosmetic products which are designed to use organic and natural ingredients, including CBD and hemp seed oil. The Company is engaged through its subsidiaries, Kush and Hi Brands International, Inc., in the research, development and licensing of specialized natural cannabis products, including cannabis formulas, edibles, topicals, strains, recipes and delivery systems. This press release contains "forward-looking statements." Although the forward-looking statements in this release reflect the good faith judgment of management, forward-looking statements are inherently subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to be materially different from those discussed in these forward-looking statements. Readers are urged to carefully review and consider the various disclosures made by us in our reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the risk factors that attempt to advise interested parties of the risks that may affect our business, financial condition, results of operation and cash flows. If one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or if the underlying assumptions prove incorrect, our actual results may vary materially from those expected or projected. Readers are urged not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this release. We assume no obligation to update any forward-looking statements in order to reflect any event or circumstance that may arise after the date of this release. Contact Information: Investor RelationsMesquite, NV 89027702-345-4074 http://www.cbds.com SOURCE:Cannabis Sativa, Inc. \|\| IBM To Change Its Role In Healthcare: International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM ) has long provided hospitals and medical centers with computers and operating systems that help track patient data, organize information and help smooth out the chaotic daily operations healthcare professionals face. However, the company appears to be expanding its role in the healthcare space in order to solve medical problems as well as operational ones. IBM is planning to acquire Merge Healthcare Inc (NASDAQ: MRGE ), a medical image storage company, in a deal which will allow IBM to extend its reach a bit further. Artificial Intelligence IBM is planning to use Merge's massive database of X-ray, MRI and other images to create a system that will aid doctors in diagnosing patients quickly and correctly. In order to do this, IBM will use deep learning, a technique used to power things like voice recognition and fraud detection. Computers are given a huge amount of data to sort, and by doing that the machine is able to learn patterns and use them for future detection. IBM believes that this type of system would allow its computers to detect things like tumors or heart disease. Related Link: An Industry You Probably Didn't Know Was Digitized: Agriculture Risks While the idea is promising, IBM will face a lot of hurdles in the development process. As medical data is often complex and each case can differ widely, artificial intelligence may struggle to correctly identify patterns. However, many believe that IBM's access to medical data in combination with Merge's images could give the company enough information to discover new diagnosis patterns that were previously unseen. Still, the prospect of using machines for diagnosis is still far in the future. Most believe that IBM's new system will become a companion or supplementary tool for doctors. See more from Benzinga China Moves To Devalue Currency, Investors Cringe U.S. Bank Regulator Keeps An Open Mind On Bitcoin According To Facebook, 'LOL' Is Out © 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. View comments \|\| Bitcoins Officially Deemed A Commodity: It’s official: Bitcoins are a commodity in the U.S. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) said today that bitcoin, the cryptocurrency that has been gathering traction globally since the financial crisis of 2008, will be treated as a commodity for regulatory purposes, much like gold and oil. As such, trading in bitcoins should come under the same type of scrutiny that commodity trading does. The ruling is aimed specifically at derivatives trading firms that have been transacting in bitcoins without complying with CFTC rules. Must Follow Rules Like Others“While there is a lot of excitement surrounding bitcoin and other virtual currencies, innovation does not excuse those acting in this space from following the same rules applicable to all participants in the commodity derivatives markets,” Aitan Goelman, CFTC’s director of enforcement, said in apress release. For a long time, there’s been a debate on whether bitcoins should be classified as a currency or a commodity. The distinction matters to the extent that it dictates regulatory standards that apply to the still largely unregulated cryptocurrency. Last year, the Internal Revenue Service began to offer some clarity about the status of bitcoins bysayingthat virtual currencies such as bitcoins are “treated as property for U.S. federal tax purposes.” Winklevoss Bitcoin Trust In the ETF space, the ruling should have little—if any—impact on theWinklevoss Bitcoin Trust (COIN), which is currently in registration. COIN, if approved, could be the first bitcoin ETF in the market. TheARK Web x.0 ETF (ARKW \| D-30)hasan allocation to bitcoins, but it’s an Internet equity fund. According to theprospectusfiled with the Securities and Exchange Commission, COIN is designed under the assumption that bitcoin is a “digital commodity,” much like theSPDR Gold Trust (GLD \| A-100)is a physical commodity trust that owns gold, or the smallerMerk Gold ETF (OUNZ \| B-100), which owns physical gold and allows individual investors of any size to redeem shares for actual assets. “The trust [COIN] is expected from time to time to issue baskets in exchange for deposits of bitcoins and to distribute bitcoins in connection with redemptions of baskets,” according to the prospectus. Contact Cinthia Murphy [email protected]. Recommended stories • Gold Vs Platinum: ETF Prices Diverge • ETFs To Consider As US Oil Output Tumbles • Bitcoins Officially Deemed A Commodity • How An ETF Can Drop 100% In A Day • Bitcoins In This ETF Not What It Seems Permalink\| © Copyright 2015ETF.com.All rights reserved [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] Current price: 168.82£ $BTCGBP $btc #bitcoin 2015-08-09 21:00:04 BST \|\| LIVE: Profit = $2,234.10 (1.30 %). BUY B623.30 @ $274.00 (#BTCe). SELL @ $275.80 (#HitBTC) #bitcoin #btc - http://www.projectcoin.org \|\| 【最新ニュース】【アンケート結果】ビットコイントレーダーの生態系(09/01 11:00) http://btcnews.jp/btcn-survey-02-the-bitcoin-traders/ … #ビットコイン #BitCoin #News \|\| 1 #BTC (#Bitcoin) quotes: $265.06/$265.92 #Bitstamp $262.00/$262.47 #BTCe ⇢$-3.92/$-2.59 $266.51/$266.52 #Coinbase ⇢$0.59/$1.46 \|\| Current price: 202.97€ $BTCEUR $btc #bitcoin 2015-09-16 01:00:02 CEST \|\| 1 #bitcoin 750.04 TL, 254.071 $, 235.1 €, GBP, 16550.00 RUR, 32500 ¥, CNH, 340.52 CAD #btc \|\| buysellbitco.in #bitcoin price in INR, Buy : 17128.00 INR Sell : 16604.00 INR. Buy and sell bitcoin in #India using #buysellbitcoin \|\| buysellbitco.in #bitcoin price in INR, Buy : 19032.00 INR Sell : 18447.00 INR. Buy and sell bitcoin in #India using #buysellbitcoin \|\| #RDD / #BTC on the exchanges: Cryptsy: 0.00000004 Bittrex: 0.00000004 Average $1.1E-5 per #reddcoin 22:00:02 \|\| buysellbitco.in #bitcoin price in INR, Buy : 18488.00 INR Sell : 17907.00 INR. Buy and sell bitcoin in #India using #buysellbitcoin	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 227.09, 230.62, 230.28, 234.53, 235.14, 234.34, 232.76, 239.14, 236.69, 236.06
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2019-07-29] BTC Price: 9519.15, BTC RSI: 41.99 Gold Price: 1419.60, Gold RSI: 61.67 Oil Price: 56.87, Oil RSI: 49.11 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Bitcoin Breaks $9,300 as US Stock Market Sees Minor Uptrend: Monday, June 17 — most of the top 20cryptocurrenciesare reporting moderate losses on the day by press time, as bitcoin (BTC) passed the $9,300 mark again. Market visualization courtesy ofCoin360 Bitcoin is currently up about 2.5% on the day, trading around$9,358at press time, according toCoin360. Looking at its weekly chart, the coin is up around 12.7%. Bitcoin 7-day price chart. Source:Coin360 Yesterdaynews brokethat the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) Group has released data showing that open interest inBitcoin futuresis rising. Ether (ETH) is holding onto its position as the largest altcoin by market cap, which currently stands at just under $28.5 billion. The second-largest altcoin, Ripple’sXRP, has a market cap of $18 billion at press time. Coin360 data shows that ETH has seen its value increase by a fraction of a percent over the last 24 hours. At press time, ETH is trading around $268. On the week, the coin has also gained over 2.2% of value. Ether 7-day price chart. Source:Coin360 XRP is down by about three quarters of a percent over the last 24 hours and is currently trading at around$0.428. On the week, the coin is up about 6%. XRP 7-day price chart. Source:Coin360 Among the top 20 cryptocurrencies, the only other ones who have seen gains are binance coin (BNB), which is about 3.8% up, and monero (XMR), which is about 2.5% up. At press time, thetotal market capitalizationof all cryptocurrencies is $288.8 billion, nearly 8.8% higher than the value it reported a week ago. As Cointelegraphreportedearlier today, Jerome Powell, the head of theUnited StatesFederal Reserve, has said that he recognizes both potential benefits and risks toFacebook’s recently-unveiled Libracryptocurrencyproject. In traditional markets, theUnited Statesstock market is seeing slight gains so far today, with theS&P 500up 0.61% and theNasdaqup 0.5% at press time. The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), on the other hand, has gained 4.33% on the day at press time. Major oil futures and indexes are seeing discreet gains today, with WTI Crude down 1.37%, Brent Crude down 1.37% and Mars US up 0.4% at press time. The OPEC Basket is up 0.82% and the Canadian Crude Index has not seen its value change in the 24 hours by press time, according toOilPrice. • ETH Hits 10-Month High as Crypto Markets See Solid Green • Bitcoin Holds $9,100 Support While Top 20 Coins Trade Sideways • Bitcoin Worth Over $9,200 as Top Cryptos See Growth • Bitcoin Worth Over $8,400 as Most Top Altcoins See Losses \|\| A look at Bitcoin’s timelocks: One of Bitcoin’s most valuable features is timelocks. The feature, which has existed since the first release of Bitcoin, enables users to create transactions that are invalid (unspendable) until a certain amount of time has passed. In 2015 and 2016, a handful of Bitcoin Core developers introduced more advanced levels of timelocks, enabling users to create timelocks for individual Bitcoin outputs rather than entire transactions. Timelocks also provide the base and infrastructure for a variety of smart contracts and projects built on Bitcoin. Layer two projects like Lightning Network rely heavily on the development of Bitcoin’s timelock features. Companies like Particl also use timelock features to create escrow services for clients. Join Genesis now and continue reading, A look at Bitcoin’s timelocks ! \|\| Price of Gold Fundamental Daily Forecast – Hope of Aggressive Fed Rate Cut Drives Spot Gold to Six-Year High: Gold futures are trading higher on Friday but pulling back from earlier highs. Nonetheless, the market is in a position to post a solid gain for the week. The rally is being fueled by a dip in U.S. Treasurys and a weaker U.S. Dollar. The catalyst behind the moves in the financial markets is renewed interest in a more aggressive interest rate cut by the U.S. Federal Reserve at its July 30-31 meeting. At 11:46 GMT, August Comex gold is trading $1439.20, up $11.10 or +0.78%. Also driving spot gold to a six-year high are an escalation of tensions in the Middle East after the U.S. Navy announced it had shot down an Iranian drone in the Strait of Hormuz. Meanwhile, Iran denied the incident, saying that all its drones had returned to base safely and there was no sign of major escalation in the Gulf. Today’s rally in gold is a continuation of a late session surge from Thursday. That move was fueled by dovish comments from New York Federal Reserve President John Williams, who said that Fed policymakers could not wait for economic disaster to hit before reducing interest rates. “It’s better to take preventative measures than to wait for disaster to unfold,” Williams said. He further added rather than keep rates elevated to give central banks room to cut in the face of a crisis, the proper move is not to “keep your powder dry.” Williams didn’t actually say he would vote for a rate cut, but the response by gold investors indicates that his dovish tone means he’s leaning that way. It could also mean to some that the Fed may take the aggressive route and raise rates by a half-a-point. Williams finished by saying that when faced with low rates and slowing growth, the best strategy is to “take swift action” and “keep interest rates lower for longer.” “The expectation of lower interest rates in the future lowers yields on bonds and thereby fosters more favorable financial conditions overall. This will allow the stimulus to pick up steam, support economic growth over the medium term, and allow inflation to rise,” he said. Story continues Daily Forecast Williams’s comments are underpinning gold prices, but gains are being tempered after a spokesperson for the New York Federal Reserve told CNBC, “This was an academic speech on 20 years of research. It was not about potential policy actions at the upcoming FOMC meeting.” Academic or not, Williams’s comments were perceived as bullish with investors now believing the Fed could make a more aggressive 50-basis point rate cut. After Williams’ delivered a speech at the annual meeting of the Central Bank Research Association, market expectations for a half a point rate cut leaped to about 59%, according to the CME’s Fedwatch tool. Prior to his speech, predictions for a 50-basis point rate cut had hovered between 20% and 30%. Later, Fed Vice Chair Richard Clarida said on Fox Business that cutting interest rates quickly is a good strategy. Market expectations for a half-a-point cut surged even higher to about 69%. However, after the New York Fed spokesperson clarified Williams’s comments, expectations for a 50-basis point cut fell to about 50% around 23:00 GMT, and gold retreated from its intraday high. In the reports category, investors will get the opportunity to react to the latest Preliminary University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment. It is expected to come in at 98.6, up slightly from the previously reported 98.2. Traders should also look for a reaction from speeches by FOMC Member James Bullard at 15:05 GMT. He is likely to downplay a 50-basis point rate cut. FOMC Member Eric Rosengren is scheduled to speak at 20:30 GMT. This article was originally posted on FX Empire More From FXEMPIRE: Bitcoin Cash – ABC, Litecoin and Ripple Daily Analysis – 21/07/19 US Stock Market: Direction Hinges Upon Whether Investors Keep 50bps Rate Cut Hopes Alive Fed Rate Cut Expectations Underpin Aussie, Kiwi; BOJ Could Deliver More Stimulus Price of Gold Fundamental Weekly Forecast – Direction Will Be Determined by ECB Aggressiveness Gold Price Futures (GC) Technical Analysis – Euro Will Exert Biggest Influence on Direction Fed’s Powell, Williams: Override the Models, Cut Rates and Do it Swiftly \|\| Imgur Raises $20 Million From Ex-Ripple CTO’s Micropayments Startup: Imgur, a popular image hosting site, revealed it has received $20 million in venture equity fromCoil, a micropayments tool for content creators. In addition to the funding, Imgur has agreed to build Coil into its platform, which receives 300 million monthly users, to provide micropayments to users who view content, according to a report fromTechCrunch. The partnership will also be marked by a forthcoming premium Imgur membership with exclusive features and content for Coil subscribers. A $5 per month Coil subscription funds creators per second that the subscriber spends consuming their content at a rate of 36 cents per hour. Related:Can Bitcoin’s Lightning Network Power Payments in a Japanese Bar? “Imgur began in 2009 as a gift to the internet. Over the last 10 years we’ve built one of the largest, most positive online communities, based on our core value to ‘give more than we take’” Alan Schaaf, founder and CEO of Imgur, said ina press statement. “Coil’s technology will open up new opportunities for users to give to one another and support the community in new ways.” Coil was founded last year by Stefan Thomas, the former chief technology officer of Ripple Labs, as a means to pay creators for their labor. It’s subscription service is now in open beta, and it provides extensions for Chrome and Firefox. Comparable to Spotify, Coil’s Web Monetization API automatically pays creators in XRP based on usage, while the user enjoys the flat subscription fee. Thomas will join Imgur’s board. Imgur previously received $40 million Series A from Andreessen Horowitz and Reddit. Related:Golden Crossover: XRP Heads for Bullish Chart Pattern as Price Climbs 27% Coil’s investment stems from Ripple Labs’ Xpring Initiative, which aims to fund proliferation of the Ripple XRP ecosystem. Imgur received US dollars in the funding deal. Image Credit:Daniel Krason / Shutterstock.com • Coinbase Opens Up XRP Trading for New York Residents • Proposal’s Merger Paves Way for New Bitcoin Lightning Features \|\| TechCrunch Founder Sells $1.6 Million House on Crypto Real Estate Platform: Propy , a blockchain based real estate platform, announced the sale of a $1.6 million San Francisco property owned by the venture capital fund CrunchFund, co-founded by Michael Arrington. The announcement follows news of Propys highest cost transaction to date, a $2.4 million duplex in San Francisco, completed entirely on the platform. Propy is a real-estate transaction platform that empowers buyers, sellers, their agents, and escrow agents to close a traditional real estate deal entirely online. The purchase offer, payment and deeds are uploaded to an immutable blockchain. Related: US Realtors Association Invests in Blockchain Startup Propy The traditional real estate sale process is arduous and broken. Buyers, sellers, and their professional support struggle with overly complex interactions its an opaque, dated, and unnecessarily lengthy process, full of risks such as wire fraud, said Arrington, founder of TechCrunch, whose most recent venture is into blockchain capital investments and management with his $100m firm, Arrington XRP Capital. When it comes to expensive property or other expensive goods, these normally already have digital presentation of ownership, thats why blockchain is applicable to space, said CEO Natalia Karayaneva. Blockchains main implications, after [virtual] money, is as a technology that enables ownership transfers it aligns the entire process of any value transfer including real estate. Propy completed its first deal in 2017, and its first US transaction in Vermont 12 months ago. Worldwide, they have assisted in some form in over 60 real estate transfers. This includes auctioning a 17th century Italian mansion and UNESCO site on its blockchain. The median price of a house sold on its platform is around $1.5 million, said Karayaneva, though the value of the houses is steadily increasing. About 20 realtors have closed deals on the platform, though 3,000 have signed up. Related: UK Baroness Luxury Bitcoin Property Project Reportedly Suffering Delay Story continues Karayaneva believes in two or three years the majority of real estate transactions will be entirely digitized. The company is working with county governments to provide technology that automatically and immediately reports the transfer of title deeds. We dont want to work against them. Either we help them or will eliminate them, she said. The venture capital arm of the U.S. National Association of Realtors (NAR) recently invested an undisclosed amount in Propy via its REACH accelerator program. The company also raised $15.5 million via an initial coin offering in 2017. Arrington previously purchased a $60,000 apartment in Kiev through Propy, using ethereum and smart contracts to settle the deal. Sold house image via Shutterstock Related Stories TechCrunch Founders Crypto Fund Tops $100 Million, Completes First Acquisition $66 Million Building to Be Tokenized on Ethereum Blockchain in Record Deal \|\| Forex Daily Recap – Fiber Looking for Recovery as ECB Plans for Monetary Easing: After maintaining a steady downtrend for the last six sessions in a row, theFiberbulls attempted for an upward drift today. However, a major counter trendline confined the pair’s upside, disallowing above 1.1187 level. Even if the pair had made a triumphant march, breaching this counter trendline, then the overhead SMAs would have got activated. The ECB Monetary Policy decision remained at the center stage throughout the day. Today, though the policymakers decided to keep the interest rates unchanged, the future guidance revealed more Quantitative Easing. The ECB minutes read that the bank would prepare for more policy easing in the guidance plan. Along with that, the bank would also encourage the purchase of more bonds. The Governing Council has tasked the relevant Eurosystem Committees with examining options, including ways to reinforce its forward guidance on policy rates, mitigating measures, such as the design of a tiered system for reserve remuneration, and options for the size and composition of potential new net asset purchases,” the ECBsaidin a statement. Later, after the bank’s policy meeting, ECB President Mario Draghi mentioned some dovish stances on the economic outlook. Draghi highlighted that the rebound estimated to come in the second part of the year came out unreal. And, the President added that the incoming signs only showcased more weakness. TheAussie pairhad managed to stay within a more-than-a-month old uptrend channel until today. Notably, the tumbling rally triggered on July 18 possessed significant power that allowed the bears, to make happen this breakdown. Also, the Relative Strength Index (RSI) had drenched beneath 27 lowest levels, luring the sellers. The RBA had come up with reductions in the interest rates twice since June, setting the interest rates to an all-time low of 1%. The policymakers mentioned that such a stance was taken, aiming to improve the overall economic growth and inflation rates. Today, RBA Governor Philip Lowesaid, “Whether or not further monetary easing is needed, it is reasonable to expect an extended period of low interest rates.” After taking a bounce off the 1-month old ascending slanting support line on July 18, the Greenback had undertaken the risk to test a major counter trendline. On July 22, theUSD Indexhad managed to cross above the aforementioned barrier. Even today, the uptrend remained intact. However, the USD Index had to take some extra efforts while handling the robust 97.77 resistance. At 16:56 GMT, the Greenback had almost breached the 97.77 level, moving above, marking daily high near 97.86 level. The US economic docket remained positive on Thursday with upbeat Jobless and Durable Goods data. The most crucial June Non-Defense Capital Goods Orders that excludes Aircraft reported 1.7% higher than the market expectation of around 0.2%. Three days back, theUSD/HKDpair had taken the initiative to make a breakthrough out of a major counter trendline. Following such a splendid breakout, the bulls appeared to remain quite entertained in the last few sessions. However, the sturdy 7.8158 resistance handle restricted the pair’s upside today. This resistance handle had even played the role of a support line multiple times, earlier this month. Also, needless to mention, the firm support line stalled near 7.8016 level would have taken care of any substantial downfall in the pair. The article was written byBharat Gohri, Chief Market Analyst ateasyMarkets Thisarticlewas originally posted on FX Empire • USD/CAD Daily Forecast – Time for Fry Pan Bottom Pattern Breakout • Boris Johnson, the EU and the Backstop • U.S. GDP Is Better Than Expected, Earnings Lift Equities, Asia Moves Lower On FOMC Outlook • U.S. Dollar Index Futures (DX) Technical Analysis – July 26, 2019 Forecast • USD/JPY Forex Technical Analysis – July 26, 2019 Forecast • Bitcoin Cash – ABC, Litecoin and Ripple Daily Analysis – 26/07/19 \|\| Price indicators suggest Bitcoin will hit all-time high after 24% surge: The world’s largest cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, is preparing for a rally through the $12,000 level of resistance having bounced 24% in the past 48 hours. Correction complete Bitcoin grabbed global attention last week as it surged to new yearly highs, peaking at $14,000 before a corrective move to the downside. The correction saw the price of Bitcoin fall by more than 30%, with a drop to the 200 exponential moving average (EMA) on the four-hour chart being used as support at around $9,650. Bitcoin is now 24% up in the past 48 hours following a 30% correction from the local top at $14,000. If it can break $12,000 with conviction I wouldn't be surprised to see a new all-time high in the coming weeks. $BTCUSD $crypto pic.twitter.com/hhvDG8F1zF — Oliver Knight (@KnightCoinRivet) July 4, 2019 That level acted as a pivot for Bitcoin, as a break through that level could have resulted in a move back down toward $8,000. Instead, Bitcoin bounced ferociously, powering through $10,000 and $11,000 with consummate ease. At the time of writing, Bitcoin is attempting a move through the historical resistance level at $11,800. At the beginning of the 2018 bear market, this level acted as resistance on three occasions before price eventually fell all the way down to below $4,000. Indicators point to all-time high However, price indicators are suggesting that this time around it might be more simple. The daily stochastics have now crossed to the upside – the last time this happened was on June 11, when Bitcoin was at $8,000 before a rally to $14,000. The cross before this came on April 30, with Bitcoin rallying all the way from $5,300 to $8,500 in the following two weeks. Both crosses proceeded a 65% and an 80% move to the upside, adding weight to today’s cross. Story continues Stochs It’s worth noting that a 65% move to the upside from here would see a test of Bitcoin’s all-time high of $20,000. It remains to be seen whether Bitcoin can sustain volume and momentum to the upside, especially as shorter time frames suggest a move back to around $11,200 – a break through the current level will be vital. While Bitcoin continues to soar, altcoins continue to suffer against their Bitcoin pair. This draws parallels with the 2017 bull market that saw Bitcoin dominance rise all the way to 85% – still a far cry from the current level at 63%. For more news, guides, and cryptocurrency analysis, click here . The post Price indicators suggest Bitcoin will hit all-time high after 24% surge appeared first on Coin Rivet . \|\| Market Morning: Bitcoin ReBubble, Target India, Hong Kong Keeps Protesting: Bitcoin Moves $1,400 Up, $1,400 Down, Speculators Get Woozy Is Bitcoin (BTC-USD) popping again? In both directions? Yup. The digital currency exploded over $1,000 per coin yesterday reaching a high of $13,775 before dropping over $1,400 in the space of about two hours, spurring murmurings of a second echo-bubble bursting in the cryptocurrency sector. Bitcoin trading as a percentage of total cryptocurrency trading volume has increased significantly since April in the meantime, climbing back up above the 60% mark for the first time ever since breaking below it during the introduction of Bitcoin Cash (BCH-USD) and other popular coins. During the previous Bitcoin top in December 2017, BTC trading dominance reached 60% but didn’t cross it. We are now at 62.8%. The runner up is Ethereum (ETH-USD) at just below 10%, and Ripple (XRP-USD) at 5.66% total trading volume. The next resistance zone for Bitcoin is at around $17,560, though we are still far away from there. It could take hours. SEE:Boozer, Pineapple to Launch Remote Ordering of Recreational Cannabis Next Target In Trade Wars: India It’s the most populous nation in the world, and it’s making US President Donald Trump angry. India last yearraised tariffsto 120% on a whole bunch of US items after the US withdrew preferential trade status from India as a third world nation that could really use some tax relief. “I look forward to speaking with Prime Minister Modi about the fact that India, for years having put very high tariffs against the United States, just recently increased the tariffs even further,” Trump tweeted, signaling more pain for both the US and India is in the works. The trade privileges that India enjoyed were under the Generalized System of Preferences that allowed duty-free exports of up to $5.6 billion. But since India kept its tariffs on the US up, which primarily hurts Indians rather than Americans, Trump thought this was unfair and now he’s raising a row. Indian stocks (BATS:INDA) could take a beating over this. Hong Kong Back To the Streets Hong Kongers are going back to the streets coinciding with the big G20 meeting this weekend, and they want Hong Kong on the agenda. Beijing isn’t too excited about this, and doesn’t want anyone to talk about it, because it makes them look bad, because it is bad. While the extradition bill that Beijing-sponsored Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam has championed (probably because her bosses on Beijing would probably do something bad to her if she didn’t) was suspended, it was never withdrawn, which means that Lam is just waiting for the opportunity to reintroduce it and pass it through while the protesters are not looking. The bill would allow Beijing to extradite pretty much anyone it wants to on the basis that Xi Jinping feels like it. “We know that the G20 is coming. We want to grasp this opportunity to voice for ourselves,” said Jack Cool Tsang, a protester. How can anyone disagree with a guy named Jack Cool? It’s unthinkable. Meanwhile, Hong Kong stocks are in a holding pattern, near all time highs but waiting to see what happens next. (NYSEARCA:EWH) Target, eBay To Compete With Amazon Prime Day Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) is just under 3 weeks away, set to hit the internet on July 15 when everyone is supposed to log on to Amazon at once, join prime, and shop like there is no recession around the corner. Target (NYSE:TGT) and eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) are now stepping up to the plate in abid to compete, daring Amazon.com to crash like it did last year on Prime Day so that it can offer even more sales. They are trying to one-up Amazon by not requiring any membership in order to enjoy the discounts. Amazon requires that people who want the deals sign up for a $119 a year Prime membership. Boeing 737 Has A New Problem, May Not Return to Service Until July or Later Last month, officials at the Federal Aviation Administration had been saying that the Boeing (NYSE:BA) 737 MAX series could return to service around late June, which is now, but now they have discovered a new flaw in the plane which they are not elaborating on, but cautioning that at this point, the soonest that the plane could do test flights for certification would be July 8th. Two people involved in the testing though gave a hint as to what is going on. During a simulator test last week running scenarios trying intentionally activate the safety system that pulled the nose down causing two crashes, it took too long to recover,Reuters was told. At this point it isn’t known whether whatever the problem was can be fixed with further software tweaks, or if the problem is in the hardware controlling the system, which would require new hardware be built, which would take a while. Boeing shares slipped late yesterday when news came out, but still finished the day positive. The postMarket Morning: Bitcoin ReBubble, Target India, Hong Kong Keeps Protestingappeared first onMarket Exclusive. \|\| Is Bitcoin's Increasing Anonymity a Threat to Privacy Coins?: It's no secret that Bitcoin isn't actually anonymous, despite what various outside observers of crypto might claim . It is, in fact, pseudonymous, as its transactions are vulnerable to being traced to specific individuals by governments and intelligence agencies with enough determination and knowhow. However, in recent months, the privacy it offers users has been steadily increasing, given that a number of coin-mixing services and add-ons are successfully providing more and more users with the anonymity that Bitcoin itself doesn't quite furnish on its own. But with Bitcoin's improving privacy , the possibility emerges that it could end up weakening the position of dedicated privacy coins, such as Monero , Zcash and Dash . If Bitcoin offers anonymity and also a superior store of value, it could potentially cause the popularity of such altcoins to wane to the point where they see less usage, less community support and less growth. In other words, it's possible that Bitcoin is becoming an existential threat to such privacy-enhancing coins. However, not only would this be a worst-case scenario, but developers on both the Bitcoin and altcoin sides of the equation believe that it's highly unlikely. On the one hand, numerous privacy coins offer technological advantages over Bitcoin, even when Bitcoin is benefiting from mixing services. But on the other, the cryptocurrency market is not a zero-sum game, and there is enough space for more than one coin to maintain popularity and a wide user base, especially because Bitcoin even with enhancements still isnt as private as certain rivals. Bitcoin's march toward greater privacy As anyone who followed the Silk Road/ Ross Ulbricht saga knows, Bitcoin transactions and wallet addresses can be pinned to particular people, given enough detective work. In 2014, for instance, researchers at Pennsylvania State University managed to map the IP addresses of over 1,000 Bitcoin wallets, doing so by analyzing the Bitcoin network's data flow and looking for isolated transactions from single IP addresses. It has also been suggested via leaks that the National Security Agency (NSA) can identify Bitcoin users by processing internet traffic in bulk. Story continues But while this suggests that Bitcoin's privacy isn't perfect, a range of services and plug-ins have been made available over the year that ramp up its protection of user identities. And one of these CoinJoin recently celebrated its first-ever 100-person transaction, which was facilitated by the privacy-focused Wasabi Wallet. For those who aren't familiar with such mixing protocols, they basically combine numerous Bitcoin payments into a single transaction, so that it becomes difficult to disentangle who exactly sent what and to whom. According to the Wasabi Wallet, mixed transactions constituted 4.09% of all Bitcoin transactions as of April, with the total having increased by over 300% in only nine months. It would therefore seem that mixers are becoming more popular and are getting better at mixing larger numbers of transactions together. Combined, this could create a virtuous circle, with improved services attracting more users, and more users leading to improved privacy. Mixing services such as CoinJoin aren't the only emergent tech that Bitcoin is likely to use to increase the privacy it offers the public. For one, there's also Dandelion, which according to its GitHub page is "a transaction routing mechanism that provides formal anonymity guarantees." It does this by preventing deanonymization, which occurs when a bad actor uses the delay in the transmission of transactions to the Bitcoin network to link these transactions to IP addresses. Put simply, it removes the risk of this by routing transactions over randomly selected paths, so that they can't be linked to specific IP addresses when being transmitted to the network. And according to its authors (who include researchers from Carnegie Mellon and the University of Illinois), by doing this it "provides near-optimal anonymity guarantees among schemes that do not introduce additional encryption mechanisms." Alternatively, there's also MimbleWimble , a protocol that uses a combination of zero-knowledge proofs and mixing to enable "transactions that are completely opaque but can still be properly validated." It has already been implemented by the new altcoin grin , and it's likely that some implementation of it could become an optional extra for Bitcoin in the future. And even if it isn't, one new privacy-enhancing technology that almost certainly will be added to Bitcoin in the near future is Schnorr signatures . Primarily, these improve Bitcoin's scalability by aggregating multiple transaction signatures into one, but they also have positive privacy implications, since they make it easier and cheaper to use mixing services such as CoinJoin. Taken as a whole, the addition of these new technologies will make Bitcoin considerably more private, and because it already has a head start over dedicated privacy coins in terms of users and its value, this could result in the likes of Monero, Zcash and others being pushed to the sidelines. It's worth pointing out, for example, that since the beginning of the year, Bitcoin has risen by roughly 108% in value , from approximately $3,733 to around $8,000. By contrast, Monero the most valuable privacy coin by market cap has risen by roughly 86% over this same period, from $45.90 to roughly $90. Bitcoin is therefore still continuing to attract more investment and more interest, and it's likely that this could work in its favor as it adds more privacy-enhancing features in the future. Picture 1 Bitcoin developers agree with this view, suggesting that the cryptocurrency's much wider pool of users could make it more private than its privacy-focused rivals, at least in practice, as Bitcoin Core developer Ryan Havar told Cointelegraph: "A lot of the privacy coins offer better 'technological' advantages, yet from a practical point of view can be a lot less private. Simply put, there's a lot more bitcoin users, and use cases. So if you can 'hide' in the crowd of bitcoin users, it's a much bigger crowd than say ZCash." Banning privacy In addition to Bitcoin's improving privacy, a crackdown has been launched against privacy coins in various corners of the globe. For instance, in March, the French National Assembly's finance committee proposed a ban on anonymous cryptocurrencies such as Monero and Zcash, with the committee's head, Eric Woerth, addressing the subject in the proposal's forward, which translates to read: "It would also have been appropriate to propose the prohibition of the dissemination and trade of crypto-assets to guarantee complete anonymity by preventing, by their design, any identification procedure. This is the case of a number of crypto-assets (Monero, PIVX, DeepOnion, Zcash...) whose purpose is to circumvent any possibility of identification holders. To date, regulation has not gone so far." This proposal was only one instance in a range of actions and developments that will potentially hurt privacy coins, or at least limit their use. The South Korean exchange Korbit delisted five privacy coins in May 2018, following in the footsteps of the South Korean government's ban of anonymous cryptocurrency transactions. Also in May that year, the Japanese exchange Coincheck delisted four privacy coins, while the Japan Virtual Currency Exchange Association recommended that its members follow suit. And like their South Korean counterparts, these bodies acted in this way in response to new government guidelines , which effectively banned such coins. There are also bans or inklings of bans on anonymous transactions in other nations and areas, such as Taiwan , the Netherlands , the Europmean Union , and even the United States (or at least, Texas ). In theory, such prohibitions will hurt privacy-enhancing add-ons for Bitcoin, as indicated by how mixing service Bestmixer was shut down by Europol in May. However, many add-ons are open-source and decentralized, and so can't be shut down in any obvious way. In addition, Bitcoin can still continue to operate legally even if anonymizing services or protocols are outlawed, while anonymity is built into Monero, Zcash and their ilk, meaning that they'll be targeted directly by authorities. As such, it's likely that more users will be driven toward Bitcoin, since they'll know they can use it on any regulated exchange, and that they can still make occasional use of additional privacy features whenever might they need them. Light vs. heavy privacy Overall, the situation doesn't look too good for privacy coins, although with Monero still being the 13th most valuable cryptocurrency by market cap, you'd struggle to find any immediate proof of a decline in favor of Bitcoin, even if it was the ninth most valuable crypto in early November. But while there's a possibility that Bitcoin might take away some of the edge from anonymous cryptocurrencies, it's not necessarily the case that Monero, Zcash and other coins will even come close to fading into obscurity. Asked whether the recent 100-person CoinJoin on Wasabi Wallet was a sign that Bitcoin would make privacy coins irrelevant, Havar replied, "No, not really. Firstly, it's not zero-sum, and I doubt Wasabi will be widely used as it's expensive and opt-in." More damningly, experts associated with privacy coins argue that, while they boost Bitcoin's privacy to an extent, protocols such as CoinJoin don't really come close to providing the kind of anonymity offered by the privacy coins. For example, Ian Miers, a Zcash founding scientist, explained to Cointelegraph via email that CoinJoin doesn't make it impossible or even especially difficult to link Bitcoin transactions to specific identities: "CoinJoin does not offer meaningful privacy for customers and companies. Zcash shielded transactions do. Coinjoin effectively adds a small amount of uncertainty over the source of funds. In effect, it adds some noise. However, it is very easy to remove this noise by looking at multiple transactions and patterns. In fact, most of AI and machine learning is extracting signals from noise and it keeps getting better." Miers doesn't stop there, going on to suggest that mixing services like CoinJoin can't prevent the profiling and tracking of users: "For example, if a Starbucks accepted payments using CoinJoin, one could still learn how many customers they serve each week and how much they spent. If a democracy activist solicited donations on a pseudonymous Twitter account using CoinJoin they could easily be identified and detained. If they cash out through an exchange controlled or compromised by a hostile government, then their identity can be learned simply by them being paid multiple times by that government." "These are not reasonable issues for a privacy system to have," Miers concludes, adding that CoinJoin doesn't scale very well at the present moment in time, is expensive if used extensively, and would clog the Bitcoin blockchain if adopted by a majority of BTC holders. And while defenders would point to Schnorr signatures, Dandelion and even MimbleWimble as future hopes for bitcoin's privacy, it's worth remembering that these aren't close to being implemented yet. And from one perspective, this is unfortunate, because even if some might suppose that cryptocurrencies need to be absolutely transparent in order to legitimize themselves, it's arguable that the reverse is necessary if Bitcoin or any other crypto is to become a bonafide and widely used currency especially when privacy is becoming an important concern for an increasing number of people. Regarding this, Bitcoin Core developer Nicolas Dorier believes that: The need for privacy is growing as a counter reaction to repression. When a user once get his coins on some exchange frozen without any recourse, when his exchange is over complying from fear of regulators, the only defense this user has is to mix his coins for the next time. This distrust the user has on exchanges and payment processors is the source of appeal to privacy. Havar agrees with Doriers views: "I think improving bitcoin's privacy is important for its survival. The lack of privacy directly attacks bitcoin fungibility, which is what makes bitcoin a useful currency." This lack of fungibility could be a big problem for Bitcoin as it moves forward and tries to make the all-important jump to mainstream use. But on the other hand, it could be a boon for privacy coins, which, despite being curtailed on a number of exchanges, could end up being widely used as actual currencies, rather than primarily as digital assets. Related Articles: CEO of Major American VC Firm Digital Currency Group: Crypto Winter Is Ending Former US Senator Rick Santorum Joins Catholic-Focused Cryptocurrency Project Nasdaq and CryptoCompare Partner on Institution-Oriented Crypto Pricing Product Major Insurance Broker Aon Secures Crime Coverage for Crypto Custody Solutions Firm \|\| Bitcoin's Price Takes a Wild Roundtrip Ride: Bitcoin’s rise was meteoric this week—and its decline has been just as swift. It’s easy come, easy go in the crypto world, where a frenzy over Bitcoin pushed its price to nearly $14,000 on Wednesday, its highest level since January 2018. The largest digital asset then reversed course in a matter of minutes after a prominent cryptocurrency exchange reported an outage. The retreat accelerated Thursday and put the coin’s price back to nearly the same level as just five days ago. The jump in prices brought back memories of the crypto bubble that burst at the end of 2017, when Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies—beset by regulatory setbacks and fraud-related issues—fell from grace. Bitcoin’s price, for instance, languished around $3,600 just six months ago, down from almost $20,500 in December 2017. Crypto bulls were heartened this year after numerous Wall Street mainstays showed increased interest and wider acceptance of cryptocurrencies and their underlying blockchain technology, helping to push prices higher. Things turned parabolic earlier this month whenFacebook unveiled plans for its own digital currency—many proponents cited the move as long-sought validation of the potential digital assets have to drastically alter the global financial system. But Thursday’s reversal prompted one of Bitcoin’s biggest proponents, Mike Novogratz, to lament on not having taken more money off the table before the coin lost nearly all its gains. That may have contributed to its swift demise, according to John Spallanzani, portfolio manager at Miller Value Partners. It’s a very “tight-knit market,” said Spallanzani. “Most likely Novo hitting bids spread like wildfire.” Bitcoin dropped as much as 19% on Thursday and traded at $10,671 as of 5 p.m. in New York. Volatility is near the highest levels since early 2018, when the crypto bubble was bursting. “It seems the crypto market got a bit too hot yesterday and is now cooling down,” wrote Mati Greenspan, senior market analyst at trading platform eToro, in a note. “What an incredible market where the price can crash about 15% in less than an hour and bring us back to the highs of the previous trading day.” Alternative coins, including Ether andLitecoin, also fell, each losing more than 13%. The Bloomberg Galaxy Crypto Index, which tracks some of the largest digital assets, dropped 19%. —The fall and rise of VR: The struggle tomake virtual reality get real —“It’s just lazy”: Current’s CEO onFacebookCalibra’s similar logo —Slack went publicwithout an IPO. Here’s how a direct offering works —Welcome to the next generation ofcorporate phishing scams —Listen to our new audio briefing,Fortune500 Daily Catch up withData Sheet,Fortune‘s daily digest on the business of tech. [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] @PeterLBrandt #tomy \|\| .@facebook #Bitcoin con @Visa e @Mastercard via @sole24ore @Nova24Tec https://t.co/vJ2YrN43am \|\| @rita_angela @handcashapp welcome to sv world- bitcoin Satoshi vision https://t.co/NgkO6AWTgG \|\| Now Trade #Bitcoin #AMAZON #APPLE #PAYPAL #DAX #CAC #NASDAQ shares and indices #fx #forex --> https://t.co/kXvRg3NCbI \|\| 🎾 Wimbledon : Milos Raonic 0 [1.184] X Guido pelya 0 [5.05] https://t.co/4RZcaP7EYa #tenis #bitcoin #apuestas \|\| Long/Short Bitcoin & altcoin movements with up to 100x Leverage at PrimeXBT! 🤑🤩 Make money even if BTC is declining! 📉 ➡️ https://t.co/Z8CYecfIaL ⬅️ Soon they'll provide a social trading option too! 🏖️ $LRC - $IOTA - $ETH - $KMD - $STEEM - $WAVES - $ZEC - $ARDR - https://t.co/3pORFqXfRe \|\| analyzepsbt says next role is "updater", but nothing is "missing" https://t.co/vdPD1A3Tmt I'm trying to spend a 2/2 P2WSH input. I don't understand how the "next" field can be "updater" if the "missing" field is empty: $ bitcoin-cli -testnet analyzepsbt cHNidP8BAH0CAAAAAXz0q… \|\| $EPAZ's Bitcoin Sharing & Blockchain Social Media App Webbeeo Is In Alpha Testing Phase https://www.owltmarket \|\| @Gaia29388046 拝啓Gaia様いつもお世話になってます。昨日の夕方は、激損ポジションにいるあまり、過激な発言とゲロを吐いて申し訳ありませんでした。 BTC激落ちで無事利益が出て、体調も回復しましたので、また貴殿とふざけたツイートをしたいと思います。フォロー外さないでください(；д；) 早漏 \|\| $EPAZ's Bitcoin Sharing & Blockchain Social Media App Webbeeo Is In Alpha Testing Phase https://www.owltmarket	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 9607.42, 10085.63, 10399.67, 10518.17, 10821.73, 10970.18, 11805.65, 11478.17, 11941.97, 11966.41
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2017-09-18] BTC Price: 4065.20, BTC RSI: 50.91 Gold Price: 1306.30, Gold RSI: 49.23 Oil Price: 49.91, Oil RSI: 60.32 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] What you need to know in markets on Wednesday: Well, now it’s over. Apple’s (AAPL)big event to announce its new line of iPhoneshas come and gone, and the company confirmed it will begin selling the iPhone X in November, with a starting price of $999. Shares of the company eventually finished the day down about 0.4%, falling roughly 2% from peak to trough. As they say: buy the rumor, sell the news. Overall, markets were higher but not by much on Tuesday,though another close in the greenmade it a second-straight record high for the benchmark S&P 500. On Wednesday, the calendar will be a bit lighter, with only the monthly report on producer prices expected in the morning and the corporate calendar certainly not as busy as what we saw Tuesday. In addition to Apple’s announcement, JP Morgan (JPM) CEO Jamie Dimon also made waves on Tuesday,saying at an investment conferencethat Bitcoin’s (BTC) current run higher is “worse than tulip bulbs,” a reference to thetulip maniaof the 1600s. In unrelated Bitcoin news,Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s latest fund manager survey indicatedthat going long Bitcoin is seen as the market’s most crowded trade right now. Speaking at CNBC’s Delivering Alpha conference later on Tuesday,Dimon also spoketo his succession at JP Morgan — he has been CEO for 12 years now — and said that the next CEO of the firm currently works at JP Morgan. At the same conference on Tuesday morning, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin spoke a bit about the Trump administration’s current progress on tax reform, with the biggest news emerging from his comments being the revelation thattax cuts could be back-datedto the beginning of 2017. On Tuesday, the Bureau of Labor Statisticsreleasedits latest job openings and labor turnover survey, or JOLTS report, which showed that in July we saw a fresh record number of jobs open in the U.S. In July, 6.17 million jobs were open in the U.S., a record for the series which dates back to 2001. Following this report, Andrew Hunter, an economist at Capital Economics, said the number of jobs open means that even if the Phillips curve isn’t as strong as it once was — that is, the relationship between the unemployment rate and wages, which are expected to rise as unemployment fall — “more firms chasing fewer workers will put wage growth on an upward trend again before long.” Over the last several years, the unemployment rate has continued to press down to new post-crisis lows, with the current 4.3% level standing as the lowest in over a decade. As this rate has come down many economists expected that earnings would rise and thus lead to inflation. Wage growth hasn’t been terrible, but it’s not accelerating and inflation readings have not picked up. But the JOLTS report has perhaps been the strongest sign that while some economic data have lagged expectations there is a strong demand for labor out in the economy. The NFIB’s latest reading on small business optimism, also out Tuesday, indicated that labor continues to be a primary concern for businesses everywhere with 19% of firms identifying it as their biggest problem, trailing only the 20% who saw taxes as their main issue. So while the labor market has for some time been presenting economists with a puzzle relative to what the textbook might say, the thinking still seems to be that eventually, wages must rise. Eventually. — Myles Udland is a writer at Yahoo Finance. Follow him on Twitter@MylesUdland Read more from Myles here: • America’s shortage of workers is about to get ‘much worse’ • The government can’t stop people from making the single-biggest investing mistake • It’s never been harder to fill a job in America • Berkshire’s Bank of America win is more proof you can’t invest like Buffett • Two charts show why the stock market today is nothing like the tech bubble \|\| In Bitcoin we Trust : There is never a dull moment in the world of cryptocurrencies as Bitcoins rocky road continues this week, with a pronouncement by a leading bank spokesman that Bitcoin is a fraud. Banks and financial institutions obviously dislike Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies by all means. Like any cornered animal which knows it is about to meet its demise, banks and other financial institutions will be fighting back ferociously to maintain their grip on the worlds currency markets and the resulting profits. Bitcoin has dropped back below the $4,000 mark on talk of China banning centralized cryptocurrency exchanges, not the currencies themselves neither centralized mining. This is mainly because they tend to monopolize the trading due to their low fees. The Caixin report dealt with this issue of regulatory frameworks. Together with the ban on ICOs, it is clear that investors worries increase. Yesterday, in New York, JP Morgan Chase Bank Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon has been quoted as saying cryptocurrencies (most notably, Bitcoin) are worse than tulip bulbs and Bitcoin is a fraud . A statement like this is bound to be inflammatory and controversial. JP Morgan Chase is one of the clusters of global banking houses which caused the financial crisis by inventing instruments which ultimately led to the financial collapse of 2008. The mortgage backed securities, which they and their cohorts, invented and pushed forward to the public cost the bank around $13 billion. Institutionals position on Bitcoin was taken seriously by the cryptocurrency community. Founded on the principle of accountability from its inception Bitcoin was designed to be totally transparent and public. This was one of the public accusations against entities like JP Morgan Chase and other banks. The notion of cryptocurrencies was to provide a responsible alternative in financial transactions. At the heart of Bitcoin is a transparent ledger system where every transaction is recorded, balanced against the credit or the debit, and is freely available on demand for any participants. Story continues Although the blockchain technology is open and accountable, anybody who has used cryptocurrencies can confirm that the system is also complicated and secure. There is an argument whether Bitcoin has been over priced recently, for something which is relatively new and untested. Natural corrections are the markets way of telling investors that they have overbought, and Bitcoins investors are learning that the digital market is as volatile as the physical one. Despite the understandable misgivings of the traditional financial community and the recent doubts amongst the most ardent cryptocurrency aficionados cryptocurrencies have already proved themselves as a viable alternative to existing currencies, and its users have developed new methods of transferring value and wealth between buyers and sellers of goods and services. It remains to be seen if Bitcoin, ethereum, and the other cryptocurrencies can keep up the momentum Noble Gold specializes in IRAs and 401(k) rollovers through precious metals and cryptocurrencies investments. This article was originally posted on FX Empire More From FXEMPIRE: The Crypto Future of Currencies Gold Prices Continue Lower U.S. Congress Causes a Reaction in Forex, BoE in Focus In Bitcoin we Trust China Data Pushes Asia into the Red with the BoE and Retail Sales to Drive the GBP and Inflation to Drive the USD UK Unemployment at 42 Year Low, US Dollar Rises Against Majors \|\| Bitcoin should be valued at half of what it's worth today, says Mohamed El-Erian: Bitcoin , which has surged roughly 300 percent in 2017, is certainly a "disruptive" technology but won't see widespread use, economist Mohamed El-Erian said Wednesday. "The current pricing assume massive adoption, and I don't think governments will allow the amount of adoption that's currently priced in," Allianz's chief economic advisor said on CNBC's "Squawk Box." Asked what would be a reasonable price for bitcoin, El-Erian said: "I would say at least half of what it is, a third of what it is." El-Erian believes the cryptocurrency will exist as a peer-to-peer means of payment. "It exists in that world," he said, "but the current prices assume massive adoption, which is not going to happen." Bitcoin fell below $4,000 on Wednesday on the threat of a regulatory crackdown in China and negative comments from major business leaders. On Tuesday, at the CNBC-Institutional Investor Delivering Alpha conference, JPMorgan (JPM) chief Jamie Dimon called the digital currency a fraud and governments will step in. "Wait until someone gets hurt. Wait until it's used for illicit purposes, which it's somewhat used for illicit purposes. They close it down. That's my point," he said. At the same time, Dimon's own bank has reportedly started a trial project using blockchain, the technology behind bitcoin, to try to cut trading costs. At the conference, Social Capital founder and CEO Chamath Palihapitiya defended the currency, saying countries can control how bitcoin is traded but not the way it's used. "It's a fundamentally distributive system that exists peer to peer," the venture capitalist and ex-Facebook executive said. "To the extent that you can eliminate the will and actions of every person in the world, you can eliminate it. But in the absence of that, the genie [is] out of the bottle whether we like it or not." He added he's been "massively long" bitcoin for years. Also see: North Korea appears to be trying to get around sanctions by using hackers to steal bitcoin . WATCH: Bitcoin mining can land you in jail in this countryMore From CNBC • Terror to end bitcoin anonymity? • 'Smart' people and Panama Papers • Bitcoin mining IPO falls short \|\| Here's Why Bitcoin's Value Dropped Over the Weekend: Bitcoin prices have tumbled over $1,000 over the past month as China clamps down on cryptocurrency. Chinese authorities have reportedly decided to ban the trading of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies on domestic exchanges, theWall Street Journalreports. That has pushed Bitcoin as low as $3,978 over the weekend. It has since ticked upward to about $4,177 as of early Monday. That’s a 20% drop since the start of September, whenChina’s central banksaid it would ban initial coin offerings—tipping the cryptocurrency from its all-time high of above $5,000. Prior to China’s most recent clampdown on Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin had been soaring as investors grew more optimistic about thefuture cost and speed of transactions. But news of China’s potential exchange ban has likely spooked investors. The country accounts for a hefty portion of the Bitcoin market, with about 18% of trades being conducted in Chinese yuan, according toCryptoCompare. Investors in China have been using Bitcoin as a way to protect themselves should the yuan fall in value. Trading their yuan in for Bitcoin can allow Chinese investors to move funds outside of the country. Traditionally, China’s government has set a $50,000 annual limit on how much its citizens can move outside of the country. Buying Bitcoin was a way to bypass those rules. Still, the ban is not exactly a ban on trading Bitcoin entirely. It still will allow for over-the-counter transactions. While existing users will likely still trade, according to Zhou Shuoji, a founding partner atFBG Capital interviewed by Bloomberg, it will make it more difficult for new users to start trading Bitcoin—thereby limiting Bitcoin’s potential growth. Notably, the ban has yet to be officially announced in China, according tothe Wall Street Journal. The price of Ethereum also ticked upward slightly to about $290 early Monday, up from $283 over the weekend as investors continued to digest reports of the ban in China. This is part ofFortune’snew initiative,The Ledger,a trusted news source at the intersection of tech and finance. For more onThe Ledger,click here. \|\| Tons of Coinbase users fled the platform after it rejected bitcoin cash — now the $1 billion startup is in the center of a raging storm: Brian Armstrong Coinbase (Coinbase cofounder Brian Armstrong.Anthony Harvey/Getty Images for TechCrunch) The digital currency startup Coinbase saw an exodus of users this week after announcing that it wouldn't support bitcoin cash, the new digital currency established Tuesday. Bitcoin cash is a bitcoin offshoot created as a means of dealing with disagreements in the community over how the technology behind the currency should run. But investors don't seem worried about this exodus harming Coinbase's potential unicorn status. The world of cryptocurrency is not exactly a calm place. And for Coinbase, one of the hottest and most valuable startups in the sector, this week's remarkable news around bitcoin put the company in the center of a raging storm. The big offense for Coinbase, which operates a platform for buying and selling cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, was its decision not to support bitcoin cash — the new cryptocurrency that was spun out of bitcoin this week. Many Coinbase users unleashed their wrath, accusing the company of being everything from a scam to a tool for the National Security Agency. Some threatened to sue. The $1 billion startup also lost users in droves, with 12-hour wait times over the weekend as users scrambled to transfer their bitcoins to competitors that would support bitcoin cash. The angry reaction, and the risk of a big loss of customers, raised questions about the future of what has been one of the crypto world's biggest success stories. For now, though, Coinbase's backers aren't sweating it. And they say they don't anticipate the drama having much of an effect on the startup, which has been raising money on terms that would value it at roughly $1 billion . Barry Schuler (Coinbase investor Barry Schuler.Manny Ceneta/Getty Images) "There's no one on the board or any investor who doesn't completely back the point of view that we should err on the side of safety and trust," said Barry Schuler, a partner with DFJ, an investor in Coinbase. "From an investor's point of view, we invested in Coinbase because they have made a voluntary commitment to be regulated," Schuler said, "and to focus on being trusted and safe — as safe as you can be in an experimental environment like this." Story continues Though Coinbase didn't participate in Tuesday's currency launch, Schuler said Coinbase could change its policy as early as next week, depending on how bitcoin cash matures. Another Coinbase investor, Fueled founder Rameet Chawla, even suggested that Coinbase may increase the strength of the original bitcoin down the line by establishing faith in the legacy currency. That's because Coinbase's conservative approach may make cryptocurrency more accessible to potential users who are afraid to dabble in technologically complex digital currencies. "They're a huge net positive on bitcoin, making it really easy on people who are not early adopters," Chawla said. Mass exodus of coinbase users With 9 million users and $20 billion exchanged, Coinbase has its hands on a lot of the digital currency floating around. And while investors support Coinbase's decision to sit out the initial bitcoin split, many customers felt betrayed by the company. A scan of the Coinbase community forums shows a host of angry topics such as "What if Coinbase is NSA tool to destroy BTC (bitcoin cash)?" and "Dear Coinbase, if you not release my funds in 1h I am going to sue you." Coinbase wouldn't disclose how many users withdrew bitcoins in anticipation of bitcoin cash's arrival. But things looked rough. Coinbase users experienced delays of about 12 hours on withdrawals over the weekend because of the number of people moving bitcoins. Rameet Chawla Fueled (Fueled founder Rameet Chawla doesn't seem worried about long-term harm to Coinbase.Rameet Chawla) Despite this, sources close to the situation said the company expected to see many people return to Coinbase while simultaneously storing newly acquired bitcoin cash in a different digital wallet. "Ultimately, Coinbase is an exchange for buying bitcoin, but people are free to use their own wallets and take control of their wallets anyway they want," Chawla said. The 'hard fork' The introduction Tuesday of bitcoin cash was known as the "hard fork." It resulted in a cloned currency with different technological protocols from those of the original bitcoin. The fork was a means of dealing with disagreements in the bitcoin community over how to evolve the technology to handle increased demand. The hard fork followed a process similar to cell division in biology, in that the two currencies were the same at the point of division but will pursue different paths moving forward. Users storing their bitcoin in a digital wallet that accepts bitcoin cash on Tuesday found themselves with a bitcoin cash coin for every bitcoin they had at the time of duplication. Bitcoin and bitcoin cash do not have the same value, however, so duplication is not the same as a doubling in worth. Why Coinbase sat out on bitcoin cash In a statement on Twitter on Tuesday, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong wrote that the company was agnostic to which currencies its users trade and that it was not opposed to adding new assets in the future. "Our goal is to be the safest, most trusted and compliant, and easiest to use," Armstrong wrote. "Not the first to market with new assets. Especially at scale, it takes time to ensure any new asset we add is well tested and secure." Generally speaking, Coinbase isn't quick to take on new currencies. Founded in 2012, the exchange still trades only bitcoin, ether , and litcoin — all digital currencies the team has deemed stable and technically secure enough for an amateur investor to put money into. We have made this decision because it is hard to predict how long the alternative version of bitcoin will survive and if Bitcoin Cash will have future market value. So it was of little surprise to those close to the company when it issued a statement last week advising that customers who want to access both bitcoin and bitcoin cash would need to withdrawal from Coinbase by this past Monday. "We have no plans to support the Bitcoin Cash fork." David Farmer, the director of business development at Coinbase, wrote. "We have made this decision because it is hard to predict how long the alternative version of bitcoin will survive and if Bitcoin Cash will have future market value." Users were irked because Coinbase's decision not to accept bitcoin cash meant that anyone with bitcoin stored in Coinbase's digital wallet would not receive what many saw as free bitcoin cash. Others were concerned that Coinbase would secretly keep the bitcoin cash that was generated Tuesday. In a statement last Friday, however, the company denied that this would happen. "Coinbase would not keep the bitcoin cash associated with customer bitcoin balances for ourselves," the company posted on Twitter. Investors like Schuler, however, saw the Coinbase's trepidation as part of its core business strategy. "The whole cryptocurrency-blockchain space is a bit like the Wild West right now — just like the beginning of the internet," Schuler said. "But slowly and surely, it's becoming institutionalized. Coinbase represents that — being legitimate and offering as much trust and safety as possible." NOW WATCH: This cell phone doesn't have a battery and never needs to be charged More From Business Insider Voice activated speakers, like Amazon Echo and Google Home, are pumping new life into Pandora's business Pandora topped Q2 revenue targets and its stock just had a wild rebound Amazon wants to continue testing grocery stores without human cashiers when it owns Whole Foods \|\| The Diamond Industry Is Obsessed With the Blockchain: Diamonds represent beauty, luxury, and true love--though some of them have a dark side. Unscrupulous companies mine "blood diamonds," and counterfeiters flood the market with convincing fakes. It can be a challenge to ensure beyond a promise that you're buying an authentic, conflict-free gem. The blockchain , a distributed computing technology that powers Bitcoin and so many other cryptocurrencies, could be a solution. At its heart the blockchain produces an indelible, tamper-proof ledger. This new type of record-keeping has been heralded as an efficiency that could transform industries like shipping, insurance , and finance. But the diamond business has been one of the first to embrace the technology wholeheartedly. A London-based company called Everledger has placed more than 1.6 million diamonds on a blockchain . Entries on the digital record include dozens of attributes for each diamond, including the color, carat, and certificate number, which can be inscribed by laser on the crown or girdle of the stone. "We create a digital twin of the object on the blockchain," says Leanne Kemp, Everledger's chief executive. The technology has enabled diamond suppliers (and intermediaries like border agents) to replace a paper certification process with a blockchain ledger. The process involves using computer scanning tools to access what Kemp calls a "digital vault" and to determine the provenance of any diamond. Everledger is first focusing on industrial supply chains . "This isn't about Aunt Jenny's wedding ring," Kemp says. The company hopes to adapt its technology for retail and consumer use by 2018, meaning that a Tiffany & Co. shopper might one day be able to use a smartphone to determine a gem's provenance. Get Data Sheet , Fortune's technology newsletter. In the meantime Everledger is adding other luxury goods to the blockchain. The company tracks bottles of wine using hidden codes added to them by vintners, allowing anyone to consult a blockchain to see where the bottle originated and how it was distributed. Everledger is also applying the technology to fine art, a bigger challenge since even tiny inscriptions can be considered destructive. It's exploring applications with museum and exhibition clients. All of this hints at the sweeping way blockchain technology could change how goods move around the world. The government of Singapore, for instance, is focusing on much larger initiatives than diamonds: global trade. It is building blockchain tools that, if adopted by shippers and merchants, will be part of a new digital trade corridor for commodities. The effort promises faster, more secure supply chains and consumer confidence--a beautiful luxury, no doubt, for businesses worldwide. Story continues A version of this article appears in the Sept. 15, 2017 issue of Fortune with the headline Crystal Clear Provenance. See original article on Fortune.com More from Fortune.com Blockchain Startup R3 Sues Rival Ripple Labs Microsoft's Blockchain Experiments Expand to Digital Bank Guarantees Cryptocurrencies Are Utterly Trouncing Traditional Assets Like Gold and Real Estate Maersk and Microsoft Tested a Blockchain for Shipping Insurance 7 Reasons Why China Banned ICOs View comments \|\| Bitcoin surges past $4,100 despite reports of a wide-ranging crackdown on trading in China: (Bitcoin-mining computers are pictured in Bitmain's mining farm near Keflavik, Iceland.Thomson Reuters) Bitcoinhas surged past $4,100 a coin on Monday, despite reports that Chinese authorities have decidedon a plan for a wide-ranging crackdown on the cryptocurrency. The plan, which regulators revealed to cryptocurrency executives on Friday during a private meeting in Beijing, goes further than just a shutdown on exchanges, according to reporting by The Wall Street Journal's Chao Deng. According to Deng, Beijing regulators plan to shut down all channels for exchanging the cryptocurrency — not just commercial ones. "The crackdown on the bitcoin ecosystem represents Beijing's possibly biggest effort so far to limit expansion of a system to rival the yuan," Deng wrote. Bitcoin collapsed spectacularly last week as news of a regulatory crackdown in China broke. The cryptocurrency dropped 16% against the dollar on Thursday after Chinese media reported that the country's regulators weremoving closer to shutting down exchanges. Bitcoin recouped most of those losses Friday even after two of thelargest exchanges in China, OKCoin and Huobi, released statements saying they would shut down all trading between yuan and bitcoinon their exchanges. The digital coin continued to prove its resiliency Monday, trading up near 11% at $4,118. It had briefly dipped below $3,000 Friday morning. Bitcoin is up about 325% this year. NOW WATCH:SRI-KUMAR: Watch the bond market for signs of a recession More From Business Insider • Bitcoin slides after Jamie Dimon bashes the cryptocurrency • JAMIE DIMON: Bitcoin is a fraud that's 'worse than tulip bulbs' • BANK OF AMERICA: Bitcoin is the 'most crowded' trade \|\| Gulliver's Gate is a $40 million world of miniatures in Times Square: If you’ve ever been yelled at by someone in authority, you already know what it’s like to feel very small. But now, thanks to a $40 million tourist attraction in Times Square, you can become very small forever. It’s called Gulliver’s Gate, and its strange and quixotic mission is to reproduce the world at 1/87th scale. The model makers have used every trick in the book — laser cutting, CNC milling, 3D printing, and regular handwork — to create 300 miniature scenes depicting 50 countries. These vignettes include Big Ben, the Colosseum, the Great Wall of China, the Taj Mahal, and so on, spread out over 50,000 square feet. When I visited recently, a cool-looking miniature airport, complete with planes that taxi and take off, was under construction. These aren’t just static scenes. Using an elaborate system of radio waves, ultrasound, and software, Gulliver’s Gate brings its cities to life. A thousand trains and 10,000 cars move constantly through the tiny cities. Millions of tiny LED lights twinkle. The locks of the Panama Canal actually fill with water, empty, open, and close, and container ships actually move through them. In the control center, you can watch the technicians in action and ask questions. Each miniature country in Gulliver’s Gate was built by artistsinthat country—the Russian scenes were built in Russia, for example—but an on-site repair and maintenance model shop is also visible, and you can also speak to the model builders there. When you enter, you’re given a tiny, shiny chrome key (which you can keep as a souvenir). It fits into special keyholes at each scene; when you turn it, a hidden RFID tag in the key triggers an animation in that scene. In Iceland, you can make Santa’s sleigh and eight tiny reindeer fly overhead (on wires, of course). In London, you can make the Queen exit her palace and get into a tiny limousine. In Scotland, you can trigger an appearance by the Loch Ness Monster. In Greece, you can summon a lightning storm by the gods of Mount Olympus. Here and there, the model makers have planted tiny Easter eggs—little jokes—for you to find. If you look closely, for example, you’ll find Spider-Man crouching atop the Brooklyn Bridge, or a bull holding the red cape in a Spanish arena, or police helping out a woman who’s dropped her purse onto the subway tracks in New York City. You can spend hours in Gulliver’s Gate; it’s vast, alive with sights and sounds, and awe-inspiring. It is not, unfortunately, cheap; an adult ticket is a gulp-inducing $36. What may be the coolest part, though, is even more expensive: the full-size Cobra 3-D scanning booth, studded with 128 Canon SLR digital cameras—one of only three such booths in the world. In a split second, it can capture you in a pose, digitizing you in 3D. The scan data is sent out to a 3D printing company, and in a few weeks, you get back a perfect, colorful, resin scan ofyou,in your choice of Small ($130), Medium ($190), or Large ($290). As part of that package, you also get a second 3-D print of yourself — at 1/87th scale, just like the rest of the attraction. There’s not much detail in this half-inch plastic statue, so you’ll have to trust that it’s you. You’re invited to place your tiny MiniMeintoone of the Gulliver’s Gate scenes, your feet pinned down with SuperGlue, joining the 100,000 other micro-people and becoming part of the tiny world forever. For my tiny replica, I chose a spot along the water at Chelsea Piers, where I can gaze out to sea forever. I can face the future proudly, knowing that, in a very small way, I’ll never leave New York. Correction: A previous version of this article stated that Gulliver’s Gate is the size of a city block. In fact, it is 50,000 square feet. The error has been corrected. More from David Pogue: The 5 best new features of this week’s YouTube redesign Samsung’s Bixby voice assistant is ambitious, powerful, and half-baked Is through-the-air charging a hoax? Electrify your existing bike in 2 minutes with these ingenious wheels Marty Cooper, inventor of the cellphone: The next step is implantables The David Pogue Review: Windows 10 Creators Update Now I get it: Bitcoin David Pogue’s search for the world’s best air-travel app The little-known iPhone feature that lets blind people see with their fingers David Pogue, tech columnist for Yahoo Finance, welcomes nontoxic comments in the comments section below. On the web, he’sdavidpogue.com. On Twitter, he’s@pogue. On email, he’s [email protected]. You canread all his articles here, or you can sign up toget his columns by email. \|\| Dow Jones 30 and NASDAQ 100 Forecast for the Week of September 4, 2017, Technical Analysis: Dow Jones 30 The Dow Jones 30 initially fell during the week but found enough support underneath to turn around and form a very bullish candle. Breaking above the 22,000 level is a very bullish sign, and I think that we will eventually continue to go much higher. I think that short-term buying opportunities are available every time we dip, and I believe that given enough time the lack of interest rates in the United States should continue to lift stock markets overall. A breakdown below the 21,500 level would be very negative, but right now I don’t see that happening, and I believe that the buyers are firmly in control. My next target is the 23,000 level above. Dow Jones 30 and NASDAQ Index Video 04.9.17 NASDAQ 100 The NASDAQ 100 initially fell during the week but found enough support from the trend line that I have marked on the chart. We have broken towards the 6000 level, but that, of course, offered resistance. However, this very bullish candle suggests that we are going to continue to go to the upside, and now I believe that the 6100-level course is a visible target. The 5700 level underneath below is massively supportive, and if we can stay above there, I don’t see the reason to sell this market. Even if we do break down below there, the market will probably find support at the 5500 level. Expect choppiness and volatility, but the NASDAQ 100 has been a leader of US stock indices as of late, and that being the case I believe that it’s only a matter of time before the buyers return on dips as they offer value. While the market is a bit extended, there seems to be no sign of bearish pressure. NASDAQ weekly chart, September 04, 2017 This article was originally posted on FX Empire More From FXEMPIRE: U.S. Dollar Index Should Be Big Winner if Draghi is Dovish Bitcoin Skyrocketing to $5,000, Volume Increasing, Weekly Technical Analysis U.S. Dollar Index Whip-sawed but Still Finishes Week Higher Steady Economic Growth, Low Inflation Boosts U.S. Stocks Market Snapshot – NFP Disappoints as Euro Corrects Nonfarm Payrolls and Wage Growth to Drive the Dollar \|\| Geo-Political Risk Eases, with Carney and the Pound in the Spotlight This Afternoon: Earlier in the Day: There were no material stats released through the Asian session this morning as the markets continue to monitor whether there will be rising prospects of a military strike on North Korea following last Friday’s missile tests. It’s certainly clear that North Korea have little regard for world peace and the imposition of more stringent sanctions as it looks to ruffle the feathers of the U.S administration and create more friction between the world’s largest economies, that of China and the U.S. The U.S President had watered down its sanction proposals last week, but will now likely rue such a decision as the administration continues to threaten with the possibility of a military strike, something that the markets are unlikely to buy into just yet, with China having already been clear on how it would intervene should the U.S make the first move. While there were no stats and Capitol Hill continues to flex its muscles over North Korea, the weaker retail sales figures out of the U.S had weighed on the Dollar on Friday and, following the disappointing stats out of China last week, both economics now expected to have a softer 3 rd quarter, though how much of an affect Hurricane Harvey has remains to be seen. For the morning session, it was risk on with Asian equities making ground and appetite for the safe havens on the decline ahead of Trump’s attendance to the UN on Tuesday. For the week ahead the Kiwi Dollar will be in the spotlight as election polls suggest that it’s too close to call on the likely winner of this coming Saturday’s general election, the markets looking for status quo, with the Kiwi Dollar feeling the heat with the Labour Party in with a chance of taking over. The Day Ahead: It’s a pretty quiet day on the economic calendar, with key stats through the day limited to prelim September inflation figures out of the Eurozone, with sentiment towards the EUR standing its ground following the jump in 2 nd quarter wage growth last week. Forecasts are for year-on-year core inflation to be in line with August, with any pickup supporting the EUR ahead of a busy week of central bank commentary. Story continues While inflation figures will influence, focus through the European session will be on BoE Governor Carney, scheduled to speak today, with Carney having already followed last week’s more hawkish BoE statement, saying that the probability of a first rate hike in a decade had significantly increased in a TV interview. The probability of a rate hike will be data dependent, which will make the Pound all the more sensitive to stats in the coming week, with markets looking towards the November MPC meeting to lift rates should stats out of the UK continue to remain positive. At the time of the report, the Pound was down 0.27% at $1.3557, with a return to $1.36 levels now dependent upon the stats, though Carney is always able to spur a rally. The quiet day will likely be a positive for the Dollar, with August inflation figures expected to support a more hawkish FOMC on Wednesday, with the probability of a December rate hike having climbed to above 50% following Thursday’s data. At the time of the report, the Dollar Spot Index was up 0.14% at 92.002, with no material stats out of the U.S to consider through the day, while the markets will continue to look towards Capitol Hill and Trump noise over North Korea, any risk off sentiment being a negative for the Dollar. At the time of the report, it was risk on with Dow futures pointing to a 57 point gain and gold falling back to sub-$1,320 levels going into the European session. This article was originally posted on FX Empire More From FXEMPIRE: Bitcoin Traders: Embrace the Volatility or Perish Bitcoin Trades near $4000, Soars 30% From Friday’s Low Geo-Political Risk Eases, with Carney and the Pound in the Spotlight This Afternoon Daily Markets Brief – Global Markets Shift to Risk On Mode, North Korea Tensions and the Fed Meeting in Focus Investors Appear Ready to Add Risk Short Term, Gold and Yen Weaken Gold Prices Correct Lower and Looking Still Lower [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] Sep 07, 2017 11:30:00 UTC \| 4,646.40$ \| 3,876.40€ \| 3,548.80£ \| #Bitcoin #btc pic.twitter.com/kkjvhhqCzI \|\| Dear,sir i well be back but meke givet 0.1 Btc for i back freebitco site i work freebitco.in site 2 years \|\| Gana $45,00 Usd Por Afiliar, Quieres ganarte dólares con Bitcoin sin tanto esfuerzo? Es solo d ···· https://goo.gl/Cdo6SQ .. #España \|\| 0.1 mBTC for Joining the BitDouble! — Steemit https://t.co/sD00j8UP3C #btc #bitcoin #Bonus #bitdouble #Crypto #blockchain https://t.co/5FnzxAmfPy \|\| #Bitcoin #BTC > $4000 \|\| Current price of Bitcoin is $4644.00. \|\| $LBC hodl devam. Yatırımımın büyük bir kısmı ise hala BTC de bekliyor. Hiçbir coine büyük girecek cesaretim yok. Beklemeye devam \|\| Aug 05, 2017 16:00:00 UTC \| 3,216.60$ \| 2,731.90€ \| 2,466.60£ \| #Bitcoin #btc pic.twitter.com/jcRBWxnAYW \|\| I've already moved claimed my BCH and moved my BTC to Exodus. I was very disappointed with Jaxx. \|\| Cotizaciones al 01/09/2017 10:00 AM Bitcoin (BTC): 27.117.287 Ethereum (ETH): 2.187.029 Litecoin (LTC): 431.918 BTC Cash (BCH): 3.349.745	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 3924.97, 3905.95, 3631.04, 3630.70, 3792.40, 3682.84, 3926.07, 3892.35, 4200.67, 4174.73
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis] Not fully available. [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Stock & Bond ETFs Surge After Election: Stocks surged and bonds tumbled as votes from last night’s contentious U.S. elections continued to be counted on Wednesday. While key races have yet to be decided, investors were bracing for gridlock as Democrats were on track to hold on to the House of Representatives, while Republicans maintained power in the Senate. As of this writing, the presidential election was still up for grabs, though Democratic challenger Joe Biden was leading in the key battleground states of Michigan and Nevada—two states, which, if he won, would tip the electoral college in his favor. In any case, a split government looks likely, meaning sweeping legislation will be extremely challenging to pass going forward. That includes the corporate tax and capital gains tax hikes that Joe Biden has proposed. All else equal, lower taxes are a positive for stocks. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) closed 2.2% higher on the session. Tech Tax Fades? Outpacing even that hefty gain in the broader markets was the technology sector. Biden’s minimum tax on corporations was expected to disproportionately affect the sector, so tech stocks may have seen some relief on Wednesday as the likelihood of that tax passing faded. The Vanguard Information Technology ETF (VGT) was last trading up by 3.4%. Meanwhile, certain industries within the tech sector are benefiting for other reasons. California voters approved Proposition 22, which allows certain ride hailing and delivery companies to continue classifying their workers as independent contractors instead of employees. The SoFi Gig Economy ETF (GIGE) , which holds stocks like Uber and Lyft, traded up by 4%. Less Spending, Higher Bonds Stocks weren't the only asset class keying off the latest election results. The bond market, which was bracing for a Democratic blue wave—control of the House, Senate and White House—surged as the prospect for sweeping legislation dimmed. The 10-year Treasury yield dropped from 0.9% on Tuesday to 0.77% on Wednesday (bond prices and yields move inversely). Story continues The iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF (AGG) traded up by 0.7%, while the iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLT) gained 2.2%. In addition to dampening expectations for legislation for clean energy projects and infrastructure, the prospect of a split government also reduces the likelihood of a major COVID-19 relief bill. Senate Republicans have balked at the multitrillion-dollar bills favored by Democrats, so a smaller package is likely if the latest results hold. Health Care Surges, Solar Tumbles Even if he contends with a Republican Senate that blocks many of his moves, a President Biden could still have an impact. One of those areas where he could be most influential is health care, where the Democrat has promised to do all he can to support the Affordable Care Act, which provides insurance for millions of Americans. The Supreme Court is scheduled to debate the constitutionality of the law on Nov. 10. The Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLV) , which holds health care stocks that tend to benefit when more Americans are insured, was up 4.4% on Wednesday. Meanwhile, the Invesco Solar ETF (TAN) tumbled 2.1% as investors in the fund anticipated that Biden’s proposed $2 trillion clean energy and intrastate spending plan is unlikely to become law. Email Sumit Roy at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter @sumitroy2 Recommended Stories Hot Reads: Bitcoin’s Best Case Scenario What’s Next At Invesco Beyond ‘QQQ’ Hot Reads: 3 Index Funds Perfect For Your IRA Monster Month For New ETF Assets Permalink \| © Copyright 2020 ETF.com. All rights reserved \|\| The Bitcoin Fund Announces Offering: Not for distribution to U.S. newswire services or for dissemination in the United States. TORONTO, Nov. 25, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --(TSX:QBTC,QBTC.U)The Bitcoin Fund (the “Fund”) is pleased to announce that it is undertaking a treasury offering of Class A units (the “Class A Units”). The Class A Units will be available for purchase in U.S. dollars under the offering. The offering is expected to close on or about November 30, 2020 and is subject to certain closing conditions including approval by the Toronto Stock Exchange (“TSX”). The Class A Unit offering price will be determined so as to be non-dilutive to the most recently calculated net asset value per Class A Unit on November 24, 2020. The closing price on the TSX for the Class A Units on November 24, 2020 was US$23.86. The Fund seeks to provide unitholders of the Fund with (a) exposure to the digital currency bitcoin and the daily price movements of the U.S. dollar price of bitcoin and (b) the opportunity for long-term capital appreciation. To achieve its investment objectives, the Fund invests in long-term holdings of bitcoin, purchased from reputable bitcoin trading platforms and OTC counterparties, in order to provide investors with a convenient, safer alternative to a direct investment in bitcoin. The agent for the offering will be Canaccord Genuity Corp. About3iQCorp. Founded in 2012, 3iQ Corp. (“3iQ”) is Canada’s largest digital asset investment fund manager with more than C$325 million in assets under management. 3iQ was the first Canadian investment fund manager to offer a public bitcoin investment fund, The Bitcoin Fund (TSX:QBTC). Gaining access to digital assets such as bitcoin can be daunting, costly, and inconvenient. 3iQ has worked through a stringent regulatory process to offer investors convenient and familiar investment products to gain exposure to digital assets. For more information about 3iQ and The Bitcoin Fund, visitwww.3iQ.caor follow us on Twitter @3iQ_corp. Contact InformationFred Pye - President and CEOE: [email protected]: +1 (416) 639-2130 Ashort form base shelf prospectus containing important detailed information about the securities being offered has been filed with securities commissions or similar authorities in each of the provinces and territories of Canada. Copies of theshort form base shelf prospectusmay be obtained from a member of the syndicate. TheFundintends to fileasupplement to theshort form base shelf prospectus,andinvestorsshould read theshort form base shelfprospectus and the prospectus supplement before making an investment decision. There will not be any sale or any acceptance of an offer to buy the securities being offered until the prospectus supplement has been filed with thesecuritiescommissions or similar authorities in each of the provinces and territories of Canada. You will usually pay brokerage fees to your dealer if you purchase or sellunitsof theFundon theToronto Stock ExchangeorotheralternativeCanadian tradingsystem(an “exchange”). If theunitsare purchased or sold on an exchange, investors may pay more than the current net asset value when buyingunitsof theFundand may receive less than the current net asset value when selling them. There are ongoing fees and expenses associated with owningunitsof an investment fund. An investment fund must prepare disclosure documents that contain key information about thefund.You can find more detailed information about theFundinitspublic filings available at www.sedar.com.Investment funds are not guaranteed, their values change frequently and pastperformance may not be repeated. Certain statements contained in this document constitute forward-looking information within the meaning of Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking information may relate to matters disclosed in this document and to other matters identified inpublic filings relating to theFund, to the future outlook of theFundand anticipatedevents or results and may include statements regarding the future financial performance of theFund. In some cases, forward-looking information can be identified by terms such as “may”, “will”, “should”, “expect”, “plan”, “anticipate”, “believe”, “intend”, “estimate”, “predict”, “potential”, “continue” or other similar expressions concerning matters that are not historical facts. Actual results may vary from such forward-looking information. Investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof and we assume no obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances. The securities offered have not been registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or any applicable exemption from the registration requirements. This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy securities nor will there be any sale of such securities in any state in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. \|\| Market Wrap: Bitcoin Jumps to $14.2K; Ethereum Gas Usage Grows 113% YTD: Bitcoin is making gains during the U.S. presidential election uncertainty while Ethereum’s gas data is highlighting a DeFi decline. • Bitcoin(BTC) trading around $14,061 as of 21:00 UTC (4 p.m. ET). Gaining 2.2% over the previous 24 hours. • Bitcoin’s 24-hour range: $13,545-$14,232 • BTC above its 10-day and 50-day moving averages, a bullish signal for market technicians. Bitcoin’s price made gains Wednesday, hitting as high as $14,232 around 17:00 UTC (12 p.m. UTC), according to CoinDesk 20 data, after a brief dip in earlier trading. Read More:Bitcoin Dips as Trump Threatens to Stop Vote Counting Related:Bitcoin Breaks $15K as Investor Numbers Peak “Bitcoin has recovered from its post-election drop, crossing the $14,000 level once more,” said John Kramer, a trader at crypto market making firm GSR. “The asset has done a good job of going its own way all year, vastly outperforming stocks.” Bitcoin is up 90% versus the S&P 500’s comparatively paltry 4.5% performance in 2020. Stocks are up Wednesday despite the lack of a confirmed winner as yet in the U.S. presidential election. “Equities are unmoved by the uncertainty, rallying in the face of two possible outcomes,” GSR’s Kramer added. • The Nikkei 225 ended the day in the green 1.7% aspositive economic data out of Asia is signaling economic expansion. • Europe’s FTSE 100 closed up 1.6% astepid manufacturing data from October trounced investors’ concerns about Trump’s premature declaration of election victory. • In the United States the S&P 500 climbed 2.2% astech stocks made gains despite apprehension over the presidential election. Jason Lau, chief operating officer for San Francisco-based cryptocurrency exchange OKCoin, said he is not convinced that bitcoin’s jump Wednesday has anything to do with the election’s outcome. “While all eyes are on the election, it’s too early to attribute bitcoin’s gains to it in terms of the macro policy impact from either candidate,” Lau told CoinDesk. Related:First Mover: Bitcoin Likes Biden (and Fed's Powell) as Price Approaches $15K Cryptocurrency analysts are also keeping an eye on the U.S. Dollar Index, a measure of the greenback’s strength against a basket of other currencies, which is up 0.15% as of press time. “The dollar downtrend is due to resume,” said Bill Noble, Chief Technical Analyst atToken Metrics. Bitcoiners, as is often the case, remain bullish nevertheless. “Too many people believe the election can stop the crypto uptrend,”Token Metrics’ Noble said. “A strong desire for economic freedom and the emergence of inflation drives the uptrend in crypto. Those trends are in motion, and they will remain in motion regardless of who occupies the White House.” “My opinion is BTC will go up regardless of who wins this election in the short- to mid-term,” noted Alessandro Andreotti, an over-the-counter crypto trader. One signal for bullish sentiment: Overnight, over 6,700 CME bitcoin futures contracts traded (33,500 equivalent BTC), 75% more than what has been observed year to date and more than double the volume observed since launch, according to a representative from CME. The second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization,ether(ETH), was up Wednesday trading around $400 and climbing 4.6% in 24 hours as of 21:00 UTC (4:00 p.m. ET). Read More:Ethereum 2.0 Countdown Begins With Release of Deposit Contract Usage on Ethereum, in terms of total gas, has grown 113% in 2020 so far, from 37,252,588,523 on Jan. 1 to 79,617,868,730 on Tuesday. Meanwhile, fees on the Ethereum network, required to conduct transactions and interact with decentralized finance, or DeFi, continue to be lower. On Nov. 1, average transaction fees dipped as low as 0.00229753 ETH. Ben Chan, vice president of engineering for oracle provider Chainlink, says this data suggests despite the growth in 2020, there is currently less demand on the Ethereum network as interest in DeFi has seemingly waned. “What this could mean is people are less urgent to get transactions in, they’re willing to wait longer,” he told CoinDesk. Digital assets on theCoinDesk 20are mixed Wednesday. Notable winners as of 20:00 UTC (4:00 p.m. ET): • zcash(ZEC) + 2.4% • orchid(OXT) + 1.5% • litecoin(LTC) + 1.5% Notable losers: • monero(XMR) – 3% • 0x(ZRX) – 2.2% • bitcoin cash(BCH) – 1.2% Read More:Razor Network Raises $3.7M to Prove There’s Room for More Oracles in DeFi Commodities: • Oil was up 2.1%. Price per barrel of West Texas Intermediate crude: $38.93. • Gold was in the red 0.24% and at $1,904 as of press time. Treasurys: • U.S. Treasury bond yields fell Wednesday. Yields, which move in the opposite direction as price, were down most on the two-year bond, dipping to 0.145 and in the red 15.9%. • Market Wrap: Bitcoin Jumps to $14.2K; Ethereum Gas Usage Grows 113% YTD • Market Wrap: Bitcoin Jumps to $14.2K; Ethereum Gas Usage Grows 113% YTD \|\| Why a $631B Asset Manager Just Changed Its Mind on Bitcoin: In a research note intended for clients, investing giant AllianceBernstein says it changed its mind on bitcoin’s role in asset allocation. Formore episodesand free early access before our regular 3 p.m. Eastern time releases, subscribe withApple Podcasts,Spotify,Pocketcasts,Google Podcasts,Castbox,Stitcher,RadioPublica,iHeartRadioorRSS. This episode is sponsored byCrypto.com,Nexo.ioand this week’s special product launch,Allnodes. Related:First Mover: Short Shrift for XRP Token's 169% Price Surge as Traders Obsess Over Bitcoin Download this episode • Libra is now “Diem” • Christine Lagarde comes down on private stablecoins • Dow closes its best month in 33 years Yesterday, CoinDesk received access to a private client research report from AllianceBernstein, a global investment giant with more than $631 billion in assets. In this episode of the Breakdown, NLW reads excerpts from the memo and discusses: • Why, in discussing supply, it conflatesbitcoinand other cryptos but still finds limited supply “for all practical purposes” • Why prevailing macro political conditions – particularly the growth of government’s role in business and individual lives – shifted the investment firm’s calculus • Why its greatest long-term concern is government banning something that is actively hindering the application of monetary policy See also:Investment Giant AllianceBernstein Now Says Bitcoin Has Role in Investors’ Portfolios Related:XRP Led November's Crypto Bull Run With 169% Gain Formore episodesand free early access before our regular 3 p.m. Eastern time releases, subscribe withApple Podcasts,Spotify,Pocketcasts,Google Podcasts,Castbox,Stitcher,RadioPublica,iHeartRadioorRSS. • Why a $631B Asset Manager Just Changed Its Mind on Bitcoin • Why a $631B Asset Manager Just Changed Its Mind on Bitcoin \|\| Square Cryptos 20th Grant Will Support Bitcoin Design, User Experience: Square Crypto is bankrolling its 8th designer grant to focus on Bitcoins user experience. This marks the Square offshoots 20th grant in support of Bitcoin development since it launched in the summer of 2019. Portuguese software designer Patrícia Estevão is Square Cryptos most recent grant recipient. Per her grant proposal , the UX Designer will use the funding to research Bitcoin user experience, specifically why people use Bitcoin and what hurdles may obstruct their use. Im thrilled that Ill finally be able to work on in-depth Bitcoin user research and Im even more excited that it will have the clear purpose of shaping future design decisions within the Bitcoin ecosystem, Estevão told CoinDesk. Related: DeFi on Bitcoin Gets a Boost as Sovryn Launches on RSK Sidechain Im thankful to Square Crypto and its team for granting me this opportunity. Estevão has been working on Bitcoin-related design since 2016. One of her more recent and impactful projects is an in-depth paper she published for Lightning Network design in November 2019. Once concluded, her research will find its way into the Bitcoin Design Guide , an open-source, community project that includes UX/UI design notes for developers, businesses or anyone building on Bitcoin. Square Crypto and Bitcoin development The grant is the latest in a deluge of funding that Square Crypto, the Bitcoin-focused arm of Jack Dorseys Square, has poured into Bitcoin development over the past year. In addition to funding Bitcoin Core developers including Jon Atack and Lloyd Fournier, Square Crypto has also funded open-source software such as BTCPay Server and Chris Belchers CoinSwap design. Related: First Mover: Reminiscing on Pre-Pandemic Bitcoin as Rally Stalls Estevãos grant is the latest in Square Cryptos design grants, which are focused on improving Bitcoin user experience (UX) and interfaces (UI) because the bleeding-edge tech Square Crypto and other organizations are funding is only as good as its adoption curve. Story continues Read more: Amiti Uttarwar: Building Bitcoins Future On the whole, 2020 has been a breakout year for Bitcoin developers and software designer grants. The Human Rights Foundation , Kraken , OKCoin and others have given Bitcoin Core and other Bitcoin developers grants for their work. Historically a volunteer act, these grants have made Bitcoin development a full-time job for some, building on a trend that began with early Bitcoin development companies including Blockstream, BitMEX and Chaincode Labs. Related Stories Square Cryptos 20th Grant Will Support Bitcoin Design, User Experience Square Cryptos 20th Grant Will Support Bitcoin Design, User Experience \|\| JPMorgan Says Its Cryptocurrency 'JPM Coin' Is Now Live: JPMorgan Chase & Co's (NYSE: JPM ) cryptocurrency "JPM Coin" is now live for commercial use, Takis Georgakopoulos, the bank’s global head of wholesale payments told CNBC. What Happened: The New York-based bank’s digital currency was used this week to send international payments commercially for the first time ever by a large technology client, Georgakopoulos said. The JPMorgan executive didn't name the large international technology company but said other clients are also coming on board. The Jamie Dimon-led bank is also creating a new business unit, Onyx, with more than 100 staff members to deal with blockchain and digital currency. Umar Farooq has reportedly been named the new CEO Of Onyx. Why It Matters: JPMorgan is one of the largest participants in cross-border payments and moves more than $6 trillion a day across 100 countries, noted CNBC. Georgakopoulos said that the lender is focused on easing wholesale payments, which could save hundreds of millions of dollars if a better solution was deployed. Onyx will also focus on using the blockchain to process paper checks, which can save up to 75% of the total costs involved, Farooq told CNBC — adding that the project is still months away from commercial launch. This month, Paypal Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: PYPL ) said it would allow its users to buy, sell and hold cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin and Ethereum, spurring a flurry of activity in cryptocurrency markets. Price Action: JPMorgan shares closed nearly 1.9% lower at $99.33 on Tuesday and fell 0.33% in the after-hours session. Related Link: 'Caged Bull' Bitcoin Crosses The K 'Breakout' Mark See more from Benzinga Click here for options trades from Benzinga Wells Fargo Fires Up To 125 Workers Over Fraudulently Tapping Coronavirus Relief Loans: Report © 2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| Market Wrap: Bitcoin Drops as Low as $14.8K; ETH Options Open Interest at Record High: Bitcoin is gyrating amid rallying global stock markets while ether options traders ramp up open interest as the Ethereum network heads for an ambitious upgrade. Bitcoin (BTC) trading around $15,384 as of 21:00 UTC (4 p.m. ET). Gaining 0.05% over the previous 24 hours. Bitcoin’s 24-hour range: $14,845-$15,842 BTC above its 10-day and 50-day moving average, a bullish signal for market technicians. After bitcoin rallied over $200 on news that Pfizer’s vaccine trial showed it was 90% effective in preventing coronavirus infections, the price suffered a drop of almost $1,000 within hours Monday. The sell-off went from $15,842 shortly after Pfizer’s announcement early in the morning to as low as $14,845 around 16:30 UTC (8:30 a.m. ET). It has since recovered, changing hands at $15,389 as of press time, according to CoinDesk 20 data. “Bitcoin’s retracement through the $15,000 level is a continuation of the gradual move downward during the past few days,” said Guy Hirsch, managing director for U.S. at multi-asset brokerage eToro. “Though today, it feels different than the likely profit-taking that occurred over the weekend.” Related: First Mover: Bitcoin Needs No Vaccine as Druckenmiller Lays Down 'Better Bet' Cindy Leow, portfolio manager for multi-strategy crypto trading firm 256 Capital Partners, has been tracking bitcoin’s volume-weighted average price, or VWAP, as a indicator as prices take a break from a rally that took the world’s oldest cryptocurrency to record 2020 highs the past week. VWAP gives an average price at which an asset has traded throughout the day based on both volume and price. Read More: Bitcoin’s Weekly Close Above 2019 High Leaves Runway Clear to $20K “In the short term, we’re entering into whipsaw markets that typically follow huge gains,” Leow noted. “We see immediate support at BTC’s monthly VWAP of $14,700, from which BTC has steadily bounced off of, indicating that buyers still maintain control.” Story continues A change in market dynamics is also playing a role in staving off possible price downside. That’s due in large measure to the waning influence of leveraged derivatives venue BitMEX, which is facing lawsuits and the ire of U.S. regulators . Related: 3 Reasons Bitcoin Has Rallied Over 60% in Just Two Months “It’s fascinating that this whole move up last week from $13,900 to $15,900 happened with so few long liquidations and barely any corrections so far,” Leow said. “We suspect this is largely an effect of trading volumes going from BTC-margined futures to USDT -margined futures, as USDT-margined traders are by default technically in a short BTC position.” Liquidations on BitMEX, as tracked by data aggregator Skew, are on the decline. Meanwhile, traditional markets are seeing major action Monday, the first trading day since a clear winner in the U.S. presidential election was decided. Former Vice President Joe Biden is set to take office in early 2021. Read More: Crypto Impact Unclear After Joe Biden Unseats Donald Trump Stocks are up across major global indices. The Nikkei 225 closed in the green 2.1% as investors signaled optimism the incoming U.S. president will promote closer ties to Asia than the incumbent. Europe’s FTSE 100 ended the day up 4.6% as positive investor sentiment on a coronavirus vaccine lifted the index . In the United States the S&P 500 gained 2.7% as good news regarding the effectiveness of coronavirus vaccines from both Pfizer and BioNTech boosted the index . In addition, big moves are occuring in major commodities, with oil way up and gold way down. Oil was up 7%. Price per barrel of West Texas Intermediate crude: $40.01. Gold was in the red 4.4% and at $1,864 as of press time. Read More: Markets Spike as Coronavirus Vaccine Trial Shows 90% Success Rate “With the S&P 500 touching a new all-time high today alongside news of a Pfizer COVID vaccine showing strong promise, it will be interesting to see how BTC behaves in the weeks ahead,” said Daniel Kohler, liquidity manager at San Francisco-based cryptocurrency exchange OKCoin. “For the past few weeks we were seeing a rise in BTC and S&P 500 correlations — with BTC trading at levels not seen since 2017, it will be interesting to see if that trend reverts or we continue to see outperformance.” In fact, the trend does already seem to be reverting, with correlation dropping this past week through Friday’s close. “Surprisingly, given the recent correlation with equities, bitcoin’s immediate price action has been much more choppy,” added Denis Vinokourov, head of research at crypto brokerage Bequant. Ether options interest at all-time high The second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, ether (ETH), was down Monday trading around $447 and slipping 1% in 24 hours as of 21:00 UTC (4:00 p.m. ET). Open interest in ether options hit a record high Sunday, at over $570 million. The last time open interest approached that level was Sept. 1, when it was at $544 million. Greg Magadini, chief executive officer of data aggregator Genesis Volatility, says the progress of the Ethereum’s network’s move to upgrade to “2.0” has options traders increasingly placing their bets on the outcome. “On the night of the U.S. elections, we saw the quiet release of the ETH 2.0 deposit contract,” Magadini told CoinDesk “As we inched closer to the launch of Phase 0 the excitement triggered an increase in ETH option volume traded last week.” Other markets Digital assets on the CoinDesk 20 are all red Monday. Notable losers as of 21:00 UTC (4:00 p.m. ET): 0x (ZRX) – 3.5% litecoin (LTC) – 3.2% bitcoin sv (BSV) – 3.2% Read More: Crypto Lender Cred Files for Bankruptcy After Losing Funds in Fraud Treasurys: U.S. Treasury bond yields all climbed Monday. Yields, which move in the opposite direction as price, were up most on the two-year bond, jumping to 0.179 and in the green 17%. Related Stories Market Wrap: Bitcoin Drops as Low as $14.8K; ETH Options Open Interest at Record High Market Wrap: Bitcoin Drops as Low as $14.8K; ETH Options Open Interest at Record High \|\| How Bitcoin Gets to $100,000: Another look at the bitcoin valuation models that could possibly lead to a six-figure bitcoin valuation over the course of the next year. For more episodes and free early access before our regular 3 p.m. Eastern time releases, subscribe with Apple Podcasts , Spotify , Pocketcasts , Google Podcasts , Castbox , Stitcher , RadioPublica , iHeartRadio or RSS . This episode is sponsored by Crypto.com and Nexo.io . Related: Bitcoin's All-Time High Price Rally Is Sustainable. Analysts Explain Why On this edition of The Breakdowns Long Reads Sunday, NLW reads a recent piece by Hong Fang, CEO of OKCoin. In it, Fang provides a set of valuation models and scenarios that plausibly lead to bitcoin achieving a significant $100,000 value over the course of 2021. Download this episode See also: Bitcoin at $318,000 Next December? One Citibank Exec Says Its Possible Related: 5 Reasons Why Bitcoin Just Hit an All-Time High Price For more episodes and free early access before our regular 3 p.m. Eastern time releases, subscribe with Apple Podcasts , Spotify , Pocketcasts , Google Podcasts , Castbox , Stitcher , RadioPublica , iHeartRadio or RSS . Related Stories How Bitcoin Gets to $100,000 How Bitcoin Gets to $100,000 \|\| Money Reimagined: Crypto-Informed Ideas for the Future of Government: The good news is America is not in the midst of a full-blown civil war – not yet, at least. But, however you feel about Joe Biden’s apparent victory in the most difficult presidential election in living memory, you’d be foolish to believe all is well in this country. Four years after Donald Trump rode a wave of white suburban discontent to a shock victory, and with the echoes of this year’s Black Lives Matter protests still resonating, the vitriol and conspiracy theories generated by a starkly divided vote suggest trust in the U.S. system of government is cratering. Why? Well, as a starting point, the American Dream has been decimated by the disruptive forces of globalization and digitization. Huge swaths of society, many concentrated in the so-called Rust Belt of the Midwest, no longer believe the future will be brighter for them or their children. Related: The Terminators: A Short Story That stirs up the same-old 20th century ideological arguments for getting the Dream back. (The left wants to tax the rich and widen the safety net for the middle class while the right says that’s socialism and that it will halt job creation.) But there’s a more fundamental problem here: governance itself is broken. Too many people feel they have no agency, their voices aren’t heard, they have no means to shape policies that are dictated by vested interests. We need a system designed for a globalized economy and an internet-connected society, one that favors transparency, accountability and efficiency, and which mitigates the influence of hidden, vested-interest money. We need to address the principal-agent problem . This column is most definitely not going to say “blockchain fixes this.” But it will draw on a guiding CoinDesk maxim, one coined by Executive Editor Marc Hochstein: “Blockchain doesn’t have all the answers but it asks the right questions.” Related: Blockchain Bites: Buterin's Stake, Google's Bitcoin Searches, Square's Bustling BTC Business Story continues Applying the lens of decentralization and programmable contracts to big societal issues can help expose where current thinking is wrong. It can reveal how centralized control of information and transactions enables powerful interests to influence policy and, in so doing, undermine the free market. And it helps us think creatively around how new open-information and incentive models might address those problems. It doesn’t mean “put it on a blockchain.” (And definitely not blockchain voting – bad idea. ) It means thinking outside the box. In our weekly Money Reimagined podcast , Sheila Warren and I talked to two outside-the-box thinkers on their ideas for improving governance. Quadratic voting and open auctions One of our guests was Glen Weyl, the political economist and Principal Researcher at Microsoft Research New England, who co-authored the book “ Radical Markets ” with University of Chicago Law School professor Eric Posner. We chose to focus on just two of the many ideas that that book puts forward. One is quadratic voting , which allows people not only to vote for or against a particular issue but to express how strongly they hold that view by buying extra votes – up to a certain limit of assigned credits. The cost in credits of each additional vote increases by a quadratic formula. It’s designed to help small groups of voters who care deeply about particular issues while still constraining them from overly skewing results. Weyl has also worked on a variation of the concept with Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin called quadratic funding , which in theory could diminish the influence of wealthy “whales” in voting systems that are based on financial holdings or contributions. The second big idea we explored is that of perpetual open auctions. Here, every bit of property, including what we might otherwise think of as public property, is owned by private entities with the proviso that it is always up for auction and that the majority of the value created from it is shared equally among citizens as a social dividend. Weyl and Posner argue that such an arrangement would incentivize owners to manage the property well, and that the wider distribution of wealth creation would give a greater number of people the wherewithal to start businesses. It would also be easier to develop land for infrastructure, such as high-speed rail lines, because the developer could easily acquire it. Both of these ideas are rooted more in legal and process innovation than in software and distributed computing per se. But they intersect nicely with concepts associated with the crypto and blockchain space. One is the potential for self-sovereign identity models to prevent people from gaming quadratic voting. Another is the potential enhancements that smart contracts, non-fungible token-based property, and decentralized finance (DeFi) concepts such as automated market-making might bring to open auctions. Also, quadratic funding might fix free-rider problems in blockchain projects , Buterin believes. Smart taxation Our other guest was Jeff Saviano, the global lead of tax innovation at EY. He is a member of the Prosperity Collaborative , within which organizations such as the World Bank, MIT Media Lab’s Connection Sciences lab and the New America Foundation are working with governments to improve transparency and efficiency in the collection and distribution of taxes. Saviano talks of how blockchain-based tracing systems might not only give taxpayers a transparent view of how their taxes are being spent but also incorporate programmability. For example, the actual, uniquely identified dollars that you contribute could be channeled directly and transparently into identifiable services that immediately benefit you and your community. Or, governments could use smart contracts to put hard constraints on those dollars, so only certain categories of expenditure, and not others, are enabled. Restoring the social covenant Whether these ideas work or not, policymakers must restore the social covenant between those who govern and those who are governed. And that comes down to trust. We are the principals in this relationship. As our representatives, government leaders are supposed to be our agents. But if there is insufficient trust in them, people instead see them as competitors. As has been seen in countless failed states, a vicious, self-fulfilling cycle can arise. People avoid paying taxes so as not to feed the kleptocracy, which starves the state of the resources it needs, encouraging more corruption and theft by police and other employees of the state. The endgame in all that is a collapse in the most important expression of the state’s relationship with its people: its currency. The hyperinflation seen in Latin American countries such as Argentina, Brazil and Venezuela can be thought of as a manifestation of the collapse in the social covenant. It’s worrying to think similar breakdowns may be underway in western nations, including the U.S. While there are currently no big inflation risks in the benchmark Consumer Price Index, these kinds of concerns underpin this month’s sharp rally in bitcoin , which burst through $15,000 on Thursday. Buying bitcoin is one way for people to protect themselves from future governance failures. But it’s more important that we find solutions to prevent those failures. Did prediction markets fail their big test? Around 9 p.m. ET during the early vote-counting phase of the U.S. election on Tuesday evening, the value of the Trump futures contract on FTX crypto derivatives exchange dramatically surged higher. As you can see in the chart below – a five-day snapshot taken on Thursday morning from the FTX website – the value of the contract doubled from about $0.40 to $0.80 at that time. FTX was then assigning an 80% probability to President Trump winning the election. Early Wednesday morning, an even more dramatic change happened: The contract’s value plunged all the way down to around $0.12, which is more or less where it stayed. There’s an easy explanation for this relatively short-lived spike. Early results on Tuesday showed some strong numbers for President Trump, especially in the vital battleground states of Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, and there was not yet any data on the shift that would later go toward Joe Biden once early-voting and mail-in ballots were counted. Suddenly, expectations had changed from what the FTX market and other prediction markets such as PredictIt had been saying in the days beforehand, when Biden was forecast to win. All through the week, politicos had been warning about the “red mirage” effect, where the early count would favor Trump because more of his voters were expected to vote on Election Day whereas Biden vote would skew toward early or mail-in votes, which were to be counted later. We were repeatedly told to be patient, that we were in it for the long haul. All this was, in other words, predictable ahead of time. In short, neither the rally or the subsequent sell-off should have happened at all. So much for the “wisdom of the crowd.” So much for prediction markets. It seems all FTX did on Tuesday evening was to enable speculators to take short-run bets on people’s herd instincts during the hyperbole of election-night TV commentary. This was supposed to be prediction markets’ coming-out moment. The most high-profile election of all time and tight polling made for a big chance to show off what the new crypto-based versions of an old idea could do. Instead, we got further evidence to back up past results showing prediction markets don’t work well . The global town hall BITSTRATEGY . One person no doubt pleased with bitcoin’s price surge over $15,000 is Michael Saylor. In separate transactions in August and September, the CEO of investment advisory firm MicroStrategy shifted a total of $425 million worth of the company’s cash on hand into the dominant cryptocurrency. The move turned Saylor into a rock star in crypto circles, set off some copycat measures by other companies such as fintech provider Mode Global Holdings and payments service Square, and stirred a debate on whether bitcoin is a viable treasury-management asset for companies looking to protect the purchasing value of their cash. Veteran Wall Street Journal columnist Jason Zweig wasn’t impressed, though. An otherwise balanced analysis of Saylor’s move ended on this note: “…MicroStrategy is no longer just a software company. Now it’s a bitcoin bet. Investors who wish to buy bitcoin could always do so themselves with the proceeds of a dividend or share buybacks. The point of buying a stock is to get a stake in a business, not to take a flier on cryptocurrency.” It’s a clever line, but in the face of the improvement in bitcoin’s price Saylor could equally argue that he’s achieved what he needs to do. He legitimately sees a decline in the dollar’s purchasing power because even though the benchmark measure of the consumer price index is stable to low, there are rising prices in asset markets, in food and commodities. This was a hedging strategy for a time of great uncertainty and, as anyone who’s tried to run a business in the middle of a crisis will tell you, a necessary one. Sometimes the need to survive is more important than running the underlying business activity. You have to make smart decisions around cash on hand. Yes, Saylor could have launched a share buyback to return value to stockholders, but doing so would leave less room for maneuver with cash on hand in the future (should an acquisition target come along, for example) and would continue to tie the company’s valuations to a fiat valuation he believes will be depleted in purchasing power terms. So, it really comes down to whether or not you believe there’ll be long-term inflation. I’m looking forward to chatting with Saylor next week when he joins our “Bitcoin for Advisors” event for registered financial advisors. GOING IT ALONE. Andrew Browne, another veteran financial journalist, also formerly of The Wall Street Journal and now at Bloomberg, took a look at China’s new policy of “self reliance .” Somewhat alarmingly, the phrase, which was inserted into Xi Jingping’s new five-year plan, stems from Mao-era rhetoric. But as Browne points out, it’s unlikely to mean China is closing its doors and may even end up making its economy more open and less isolationist. The reality is the kind of policies Xi’s government will need to pursue to give greater emphasis to its domestic economy and reduce China’s reliance on foreign export markets will require it to further open up to foreign service firms, especially in the field of finance. Browne doesn’t mention capital controls. But any talk of liberalizing financial services to better serve domestic consumers and businesses inevitably leads to that question, because to grow such businesses with foreign help there needs to be a more free-flowing interest rate market, which in turn requires a more open flow of capital in and out of the economy. One big question is, what does this mean for cryptocurrencies? Would looser capital controls put the yuan under pressure and favor bitcoin, or would that lower the appeal of bitcoin, which has been used by Chinese nationals to bypass those restrictions? Another question: How does this tie into China’s new digital currency, the digital currency electronic payments (DCEP) system? Lowering capital controls might signal a path to making that currency available in offshore markets or as a payment rail in overseas supply chains such as those expected to operate over China’s One Belt One Road network . But probably more important though less obvious to observers obsessed with China’s geopolitical strategy is that “self reliance” is consistent with the heavy investment the country is making in integrating technologies such as the DCEP with its Blockchain Services Network to boost the performance of its domestic economy. Tying those in with a host of data-driven Fourth Industrial Revolution developments could give China an advantage in its competition with the U.S. Relevant reads Square Reports Over $1B in Quarterly Bitcoin Revenue for First Time: Q3 Earnings . Something that’s going to be quite different about this bull run in bitcoin from the last one three years ago is it will be accompanied by upbeat earnings reports from mainstream companies with exposure to it. We discussed MicroStrategy above. This news, reported by Brady Dale, is from Square. Worth noting is that what’s good for Square shareholders isn’t necessarily good for its customers, as these revenues represent the fees they are paying for using a payments technology that, in theory, should be middleman-free. US Seized More Than $1B in Silk Road–Linked Bitcoins, Seeks Forfeiture . It’s the bitcoin crime story that will never go away. U.S. agents seized some $1 billion worth of bitcoin they say was earned by the shuttered Silk Road drug market. The massive stash was forfeited by an unnamed hacker who had stolen the bitcoin from Silk Road. The report raises more questions than it answers – such as, what involvement did jailed Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht play in all this? Kevin Reynolds reports. Ethereum 2.0 Countdown Begins With Release of Deposit Contract . It’s hard to keep track of all that happened in this past, busy week of news. This one would have been a much bigger story if it weren’t for the bitcoin rally and the return of Silk Road: the first big step in Ethereum’s long-awaited, highly complex migration to its new proof-of-stake architecture. CoinDesk reporter Will Foxley has been all over this. He reports on the deposit contract by which a group of market participants will lock up their existing ether funds in return for the right to own a new version of ether that will operate within a parallel proof-of-stake network. In the CBDC Race, It’s Better to Be Last . In a contrarian take, CoinDesk columnist JP Koning – one of the first people to envisage a central bank digital currency with his “Fedcoin” idea in 2014 – is now saying the U.S. can afford to take its time. While others worry American tardiness will put it at a disadvantage to China’s fast-moving digital currency, Koning says that because, like all central banks, the Federal Reserve is a de facto monopoly, it need not worry about competition and can instead afford to wait. I disagree, but if you’re a regular consumer of Money Reimagined, you’d already know that. Koning, as always, is a good read. Related Stories Money Reimagined: Crypto-Informed Ideas for the Future of Government Money Reimagined: Crypto-Informed Ideas for the Future of Government \|\| GLOBAL MARKETS-Stocks rack up the records, dollar sings the blues: * Highly anticipated vaccine facing more scrutiny * Equity markets ready for record highs * U.S. markets on shortened hours after Thanksgiving holiday * Graphic: 2020 asset performance http://tmsnrt.rs/2yaDPgn * Graphic: World FX rates in 2020 http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh By Marc Jones LONDON, Nov 27 (Reuters) - World stocks remained on course for their best month ever on Friday as recent vaccine progress, Joe Biden's U.S. presidential election win, hopes for further stimulus, a commodity surge and a weak dollar all lifted the spirits. European markets had a touch of caution ahead of a barrage of economic data and as questions emerged over trial data on AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine, but that wasn't going to derail a November to remember. Germany's, France's, Italy's and Spain's main bourses all squeezed out gains and government bond yields stayed lows after the European Central Bank reinforced expectations of further stimulus next month. London's FTSE was fractionally lower with some last-minute Brexit nerves, but with Wall Street pointing to a post-Thanksgiving rise MSCI's main world index was readying another all-time high. "Risk sentiment is in reasonable nick because we've got vaccines and easy money," said Societe Generale strategist Kit Juckes. "That is the underpinning of optimism." It hadn't been all good news overnight. Australian shares ended down 0.5% and Treasury Wine Estates was whacked 11.25% as China slapped new tariffs on Australian wine, the latest move in the countries' long-running trade spat. But shares in China still rose 0.1% after data there showed industrial profits surged at the fastest pace since early 2017. South Korean stocks and Japan's Nikkei both rose 0.3% too, albeit in choppy trade. British drugmaker AstraZeneca's coronavirus drug was touted as a "vaccine for the world" due to its inexpensive cost, but the efficacy of the vaccine is now facing more intense scrutiny, which experts say could delay its approval. Story continues Several scientists have raised doubts about the robustness of results showing the shot was 90% effective in a sub-group of trial participants who, by error initially, received a half dose followed by a full dose. "With global (coronavirus) case numbers having now topped 60 million... there is certainly some rough terrain ahead for the global recovery, and that can create economic scarring," analysts at ANZ Bank wrote in a memo. VIRUS VS VACCINE U.S. hospitalizations for COVID-19 are at a record and experts warn that Thanksgiving gatherings could lead to further infections and deaths. More than 20 million people across England will be forced to live under the toughest restrictions even after a national lockdown ends on Dec. 2. Partial lockdowns in some European countries have also raised concern about economic growth. The European Central Bank's chief economist highlighted these concerns, saying there were "some worrying signals" in financing conditions in Europe for small and medium-sized enterprises, which pushed European bond yields lower. German 10-year Bund yields traded near two-week lows on Friday, while Portugal's 10-year government bond yields touched zero for the first time. The euro, which last bought $1.1924, showed little reaction because currency traders have largely priced in expectations for additional ECB easing next month. The dollar, which has fallen more than 2.2% so far this month as global sentiment has surged, lessening demand for the safe-haven currency, was near its lowest in nearly three months. "Surely euro-dollar can't break through $1.20 without good news on the (Brexit) trade deal," Societe Generale's Juckes added. The yield on benchmark 10-year Treasury notes fell to 0.8586% as some investors sought the safety of holding government debt. In commodity markets, copper, another key gauge of global economic sentiment due to its use in infrastructure, hit a near 7-1/2 month high. Oil, though up nearly 30% this month, dipped overnight on oversupply concerns, but Brent recovered in London to rise to $48 per barrel. Bitcoin, the world's biggest cryptocurrency, edged up to $17,256 on Thursday after tumbling 8.4% in the previous session, having failed to take out its record high of $19,666. The cryptocurrency showed little reaction to a report in the Financial Times that Facebook will launch its own Libra digital currency in limited format next year. Bitcoin has rallied around 140% this year, fuelled by demand for riskier assets. (Additional reporting by Stanley White in Tokyo; Editing by Jan Harvey) [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] None available.	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 22803.08, 23783.03, 23241.35, 23735.95, 24664.79, 26437.04, 26272.29, 27084.81, 27362.44, 28840.95
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2015-06-29] BTC Price: 257.06, BTC RSI: 68.67 Gold Price: 1178.50, Gold RSI: 46.65 Oil Price: 58.33, Oil RSI: 44.89 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Security Thought Leaders at Cisco, HP, Identiv, Imageware, Nok Nok and Bosch Security Are Featured on SecuritySolutionsWatch.com: NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwired - May 5, 2015) -ImageWare Systems, Inc.(OTCQB:IWSY); Identiv (NASDAQ:INVE) Cisco Mr. Christian Matthews, Director of Product Management for IoT Software,Cisco, told us, "Simply monitoring high-value assets provides a general example. Video surveillance combined with other sensor output such as audio, motion, or building contacts is used to increase protection and monitor assets without constant human supervision. Threats of incidents are detected and the risks mitigated by alerting personnel or automatically initiating preventative actions. When combined with advance video analytics, benefits continue to grow. At theUniversity of San Francisco(USF), IP cameras and the Cisco Video Surveillance Manager deliver facial recognition to detect when unauthorized individuals enter an area and then notify appropriate staff.Dallas Area Rapid Transit(DART) use Cisco's IoT Physical Security solutions to increase effectiveness of the transit police. With better intelligence, first responders and their associated operations teams have increased productivity substantially. They have done this at scale with a centralized command center managing more than 1700 remotely deployed IP cameras. Recently the system has been extended across busses and emergency response vehicles." For the complete interview with Christian Matthews at Cisco,please click here, or here:www.securitysolutionswatch.com/Interviews/in_Boardroom_Cisco_Matthews.html For more information:Connected Safety and Security(http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/physical-security/index.html)Cisco Case Studies(http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/physical-security/customer-case-study.html) *** HP Enterprise Services Mr. Fred Duball, Data Center Practice Principal, Workload and Cloud Solutions, HP Enterprise Services, U.S. Public Sector, told us, "Many of our clients know that HP has a strong legacy of IT infrastructure support; we have more than 80 data centers worldwide supporting more than 1,300 customers. But here's what makes the Mid-Atlantic Data Center (MDC) different -- we have enhanced our security and compliance posture to accommodate and support the critical needs of the U.S. Federal Government, as well as commercial companies requiring stronger measures. The HP Mid-Atlantic Data Center has been designed to provide customers with high levels of security, reliability, compliance and cost effectiveness. In fact, the U.S. government has designated this facility as being a part of our nation's critical infrastructure, guaranteeing priority restoral of services in the event of a natural or manmade disaster." For the complete interview with Fred Duball at HP,please click here, or here:www.securitysolutionswatch.com/Interviews/in_Boardroom_HP_FredDuball.html For more information:Transform to the New Style of IT - HP Solutions for U.S. Public Sector * Identiv Identiv, Inc.(INVE) recently announced that it has entered into an agreement with Cisco Systems Inc. to provide solutions for the Internet of Everything (IoE). The IoE is the intelligent connection of people, processes, data and things to the Internet, bringing unprecedented economic opportunities to both the private and public sectors. Initially, Identiv will deliver a next-generation, networked physical access control system (PACS) solution that interacts with other IoE elements, such as Cisco virtual supervisor module (VSM) cameras and Cisco voice-over-IP (VoIP) telephony products. Identiv will offer a completely network based access control system, including credentials, advanced networked uTrust TS door sensors, Power-over-Ethernet (PoE) door controllers and access control software. Identiv is committed to disrupting the traditional physical access market by offering a fully network-based solution that is easy to buy and use. Customers will gain enhanced value, lower installation costs and less complexity by using standards-based network cabling, leading to reduced total cost of ownership (TCO) and improved return on investment (ROI). "Everything is connecting, and physical access is no different," said Jason Hart, Identiv CEO. "Identiv is allowing customers to view physical access control as another element of the Internet of Everything. Our focus on identity as the new security perimeter allows us to build connected systems linking buildings, mobile devices, cloud services, and information systems that are easy to use, standards based, cost effective, and most importantly, secure." Financial terms of the partnership were not disclosed. For more information please visitwww.identiv.com/ciscopartnership. For our interview with Mr. Jason Hart, President, Identiv,please click hereor here:www.securitysolutionswatch.com/Interviews/in_Boardroom_Identiv_Hart.html And, please also see our interview withMr. Paul Brady, Technology and Solution Evangelist Senior Director atIdentiv,please click hereor here:http://www.securitysolutionswatch.com/Interviews/in_Boardroom_Identiv_Brady.html For more informationwww.Identiv.com * ImageWare Systems, Inc. ImageWare Systems, Inc. (OTCQB:IWSY) (ImageWare) a leader in mobile and cloud-based, multi-modal biometric identity management solutions, recently announced: Extenua and ImageWare Deliver Revolutionary Enterprise Secure Cloud Storage(www.iwsinc.com/extenua-and-imageware-deliver-revolutionary-enterprise-secure-cloud-storage/) Agility and ImageWare Partner to Bring Biometric Solutions to New Markets(www.iwsinc.com/agility-and-imageware-partner-to-bring-biometric-solutions-to-new-markets/) ImageWare Systems Joins as an Advanced Partner in the CA Technologies Tech Partner Program(www.iwsinc.com/iws-joins-as-an-advanced-partner-in-the-ca-technologies-tech-partner-program/) ImageWare To Combine Technologies with TransUnion(www.wsinc.com/imageware-to-combine-technologies-with-transunion/) For our complete interview with Jim Miller, ImageWare Systems, Chairman and CEO, please click hereor here:www.securitystockwatch.com/Interviews/in_Boardroom_ImageWare.htmlFor more information:www.iwsinc.com * Bosch Security Systems Mr. Daniel Murray,Director Key Accounts, Systems Integration,Bosch Security Systems, told us, "Cyber security is a major area of concern for integrators, and future success is tied to the integrators' ability to meet their own cyber security needs and those of the customers they support. One of the most startling facts is that the vast majority of cyber vulnerabilities can be mitigated by appropriate password implementation and process management. This is common practice in the IT world and an area for improvement in the arena of physical network security. Many of the thousands of cameras installed globally are done so with default, insufficient and missing passwords. This is an easy 'first step' in securing the physical security network which is missed by many dealers. At the PSA Cybersecurity Congress, discussion focused on multiple factors of network integrity that will change the face of our industry in the next 3-5 years." For the complete interview with Mr. Daniel Murray atBosch Security Systems,please click hereor here:http://www.securitysolutionswatch.com/Interviews/in_Boardroom_Bosch_Murray.html * Nok Nok Labs Nok Nok Labs, an innovator in modern authentication and a founding member of the FIDO Alliance, and DDS, Inc., a leading Japanese biometric company, announced a strategic partnership to jointly drive adoption of Nok Nok Labs' products in the Japanese market, meeting the need for a more secure online environment. The two companies are working together to support Device Manufacturers, Mobile Network Operators and Online Service Providers and to drive the adoption of the FIDO Ready™ NNL™ S3 Authentication Suite with the goal of making online and mobile transactions more secure. "The need for a more secure, easy to use, scalable online authentication ecosystem is a global concern," said Phil Dunkelberger, President & CEO of Nok Nok Labs. "Joining forces with DDS provides us with a strong partner in the Japanese market to meet the needs of the region and to drive the growth in the market for FIDO-based authentication." DDS joined the FIDO Alliance in April 2014 becoming the first Japanese member. DDS has driven various activities to increase FIDO awareness in Japan such as the FIDO TOKYO Seminar and FIDO 1.0 PR event. "Nok Nok Labs and the FIDO Alliance have done a great job in promoting the FIDO movement in the U.S. and other global markets," says Kenji Miyoshino, CEO of DDS. "Partnering with Nok Nok Labs will help drive significant business opportunities in the Japanese market, helping to create a more secure online environment on a global level." For more information, please clickhereor here:https://www.noknok.com/what-they-say/press-releases/nok-nok-labs-and-dds-inc-form-strategic-partnership-drive-adoption-fido. WATCH THE VIDEO, please click here, or here:https://www.youtube.com/embed/gHDM4Yv3u18?rel=0&wmode=transparent&autoplay=1&width=1280&height=720&iframe=true Mr. Ramesh Kesanupalli, Founder of Nok Nok Labs, Founding Member, FIDO Alliance, told us, "Prevailing password authentication has proven to be insecure and risky amidst a world of escalating security threats, cyber crime and targeted attacks, not to mention increasing vulnerability associated with so many more vectors of attack coming through the Internet of Things (IoT). Right now, we are moving from informational access to a major life style change where we can access everything digitally. We're at the threshold of using authentication to pay at retail stores with our phones, to open and start our cars, to manage home networks, appliances, and security systems all through connected devices. Authentication is the FIRST step we must perform to begin to effectively use IoT." For the complete interview with Ramesh Kesanupalli please clickhere, or here:www.securitysolutionswatch.com/Interviews/in_Boardroom_NokNok_Ramesh.html * TRADE SHOWS CARTES SECURE CONNEXIONS AMERICA 2015May 5-7, 2015Washington, DCwww.cartes-america.com -- The fourth edition of CARTES SECURE CONNEXIONS AMERICA will take place May 5 - 7, 2015 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC. The event will feature 70 sessions, 5 keynotes, 125 exhibitors and 2,000 attendees. Hot topics such as EMV Integration, Mobile Payment Technologies and The Future of Digital Currencies will be the center of discussion at the upcoming 2015 CARTES SECURE CONNEXIONS AMERICA in Washington, DC. Each day of the event is kicked off with keynote presentations. Tuesday Keynotes:Patrick Murck, Executive Director,Bitcoin FoundationDavid Keenan, Senior Vice President Network Solutions, Fiserv Wednesday Keynote Panel:Carolyn Balfany, Senior Vice President of Product Delivery - EMV, MasterCardwill moderate and lead a panel of experts from all over the industry -- issuers, retailers and manufacturers -- with first-hand knowledge of chip adoption that will address EMV questions. Thursday Keynotes:Scott Hagstrom, Senior Director, Financial Cards & EMV Strategy, ABnoteKaren Czack, Vice President of Global Chip Products, American Express * Cyber Security Summit The Cyber Security Summit is an exclusive "By Invitation Only" Summit series connecting C-Level & Senior Executives responsible for protecting their companies' critical infrastructures with cutting-edge technology providers and renowned information security experts. The one day event, being held on June 3rd in the DC Metro Area, September 18th in New York City & October 9th in Boston will focus on educating attendees on how to best protect their highly vulnerable business applications, intellectual property and discover the latest products and services for enterprise Cyber Defense.www.CyberSummitUSA.com * The World of Cloud Computing All in One Place!Cloud Computing - Big Data - Internet of Things - DevOps - WebRTCJoin Us at Cloud Expo New York June 9-11http://www.cloudcomputingexpo.com/ Cloud computing is now being embraced by a majority of enterprises of all sizes. Yesterday's debate about public vs. private has transformed into the reality of hybrid cloud: a recent survey shows that 74% of enterprises have a hybrid cloud strategy. Meanwhile, 94% of enterprises are using some form of XaaS--software, platform, and infrastructure as a service. Cloud Expo is the single show where delegates and technology vendors can meet to experience and discuss the entire world of the cloud. * The 14th Annual Smart Card Alliance Government ConferenceSmart Strategies for Secure IdentityJune 9-10, 2015Walter E. Washington Convention CenterWashington, DC The Smart Card Alliance Government Conference was established over a decade ago, following the landmark government-wide security directive signed in August, 2004. HSPD-12 established standards for verifying an individual's identity and issuing a tamper-proof credential that could be rapidly authenticated electronically. The conference has become the annual gathering place for the original leaders of this initiative as well as the current heads of federal agencies and industry leaders who continue to set the standards for identity credentialing and access security. This year's conference will look forward to future developments in policy and evolving standards for government-issued credentials and their use by relying parties in physical and logical access systems, including use with mobile devices. * Money20/20October 25-28, 2015, The Venetian, Las Vegas, NV, United Stateshttp://money2020.com/register,http://money2020.com/,[email protected], Organizer Email:[email protected] Money20/20 is the largest global event enabling payments and financial services innovation for connected commerce at the intersection of mobile, retail, marketing services, data and technology. With 10,000+ attendees, including more than 1,000 CEOs, from over 3,000 companies and 75 countries, expected at its 2015 U.S. event, Money20/20 is critical to realizing the vision of disruptive ways in which consumers and businesses manage, spend and borrow money. The next Money20/20 will be held in Las Vegas, October 25-28, 2015, followed by Money20/20 Europe in Spring 2016. * TEC 2015\| Westminster, CO \| May 4-8, 2015 \|www.psatec.com TEC 2015, presented by PSA Security Network, is the premier education and networking event that is open to all professionals in the physical security industry. TEC features an entire week of education, networking, dedicated exhibit hours that do not conflict with education sessions, and custom learning paths designed to benefit a company's entire team from the business owner to sales, marketing, operations and technical professionals. In addition to all new sessions, TEC 2015 will feature a NEW cybersecurity track designed to provide practical solutions and applications that build on the education program provided at the PSA Cybersecurity Congress held in January 2015. TEC also boasts a comprehensive registration package that includes access to the keynote address, all networking events, meals, and all non-certification courses at no additional cost, ensuring attendees get access to all that TEC has to offer. Registration opens February 23 atwww.psatec.com. * SDW 2015 - The Global Hub For Next Generation Citizen & Government ID SolutionsQEII Conference Centre, Westminster, London, UKConference: 9-11 June 2015 - Exhibition 10-11 June 2015 SDW 2015(Security Document World) -- the world's leading document security show -- focuses on ePassports, visas, driving licenses, national IDs, worker credentials, advanced border control, anti-counterfeiting, fraud detection, and much more. The event will provide a global showcase for next-generation human identity solutions, focusing on intrinsic document security and on the new cutting-edge secure infrastructure now required to produce and use these advanced documents in live situations. Plus, a special focus on Biometrics, Document Fraud Detection and Intelligent Border Control. Contact: Janine Bill, Exhibition Sales & Sponsorship Manager at Tel No: +44 (0) 1189 843209 or by email at:[email protected] * THIS PRESS RELEASE, AND ALL MATERIAL PERTAINING TO SECURITYSOLUTIONSWATCH.COM AND SECURITYSTOCKWATCH.COM, ONLINE OR IN PRINT, IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS OF USE, CONDITIONS, AND DISCLAIMER HERE:http://securitysolutionswatch.com/Main/Terms_of_Use.html \|\| Bitcoin May Not Go Mainstream, But Blockchain Will: The challenges associated with using a cryptocurrency have kept much of the public from rushing to adopt bitcoin. Issues related to trust and security have plagued the digital currency after several widely publicized scams painted bitcoin as a tool for criminal activity. However, while the general population has been slow to adopt digital currencies themselves, blockchain, the system bitcoin runs on, could have a place in everyday life. Blockchain In Banks Banks have been receptive to the possibility that blockchain could vastly improve their outdated systems. UBS (OTC: OUBSF) has already jumped on board the concept by setting up a research lab in London that focuses on how blockchain can be used in banking. Related Link: "Dope" Becomes The First Movie To Allow Bitcoin Ticket Sales Now, Banco Santander, S.A. (ADR) (NYSE: SAN ) is similarly exploring how blockchain could revamp its business with a research team called Crypto 2.0. The Spanish bank believes there is potential for using blockchain to do things like facilitate international payments and develop smart contracts. Regulation Will Weigh Down Progress Head of Santander's fintech investment fund InnoVentures, Mariano Belinky told Business Insider that the bank could develop a working prototype system that would facilitate real-time international payments in a matter of months, but that it would likely take much longer to pass such a system through the financial sector's strict regulations. The bank says it would also need to partner with a few like-minded banks across the globe in order to make the new system viable, but has already been in talks with several other institutions about the possibility. See more from Benzinga Insurers Caught In 5-Way Courtship Competition The Video Streaming Space Is Getting Crowded Marijuana's Pesticide Problem © 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| Security Thought Leaders at Cisco, HP, Identiv, Imageware, Nok Nok and Bosch Security Are Featured on SecuritySolutionsWatch.com: NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwired - May 5, 2015) - ImageWare Systems, Inc. ( OTCQB : IWSY ); Identiv ( NASDAQ : INVE ) Cisco Mr. Christian Matthews, Director of Product Management for IoT Software, Cisco , told us, "Simply monitoring high-value assets provides a general example. Video surveillance combined with other sensor output such as audio, motion, or building contacts is used to increase protection and monitor assets without constant human supervision. Threats of incidents are detected and the risks mitigated by alerting personnel or automatically initiating preventative actions. When combined with advance video analytics, benefits continue to grow. At the University of San Francisco (USF), IP cameras and the Cisco Video Surveillance Manager deliver facial recognition to detect when unauthorized individuals enter an area and then notify appropriate staff. Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) use Cisco's IoT Physical Security solutions to increase effectiveness of the transit police. With better intelligence, first responders and their associated operations teams have increased productivity substantially. They have done this at scale with a centralized command center managing more than 1700 remotely deployed IP cameras. Recently the system has been extended across busses and emergency response vehicles." For the complete interview with Christian Matthews at Cisco, please click here , or here: www.securitysolutionswatch.com/Interviews/in_Boardroom_Cisco_Matthews.html For more information: Connected Safety and Security ( http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/physical-security/index.html ) Cisco Case Studies ( http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/physical-security/customer-case-study.html ) * HP Enterprise Services Mr. Fred Duball, Data Center Practice Principal, Workload and Cloud Solutions, HP Enterprise Services, U.S. Public Sector, told us, "Many of our clients know that HP has a strong legacy of IT infrastructure support; we have more than 80 data centers worldwide supporting more than 1,300 customers. But here's what makes the Mid-Atlantic Data Center (MDC) different -- we have enhanced our security and compliance posture to accommodate and support the critical needs of the U.S. Federal Government, as well as commercial companies requiring stronger measures. The HP Mid-Atlantic Data Center has been designed to provide customers with high levels of security, reliability, compliance and cost effectiveness. In fact, the U.S. government has designated this facility as being a part of our nation's critical infrastructure, guaranteeing priority restoral of services in the event of a natural or manmade disaster." Story continues For the complete interview with Fred Duball at HP, please click here , or here: www.securitysolutionswatch.com/Interviews/in_Boardroom_HP_FredDuball.html For more information: Transform to the New Style of IT - HP Solutions for U.S. Public Sector * Identiv Identiv, Inc. ( INVE ) recently announced that it has entered into an agreement with Cisco Systems Inc. to provide solutions for the Internet of Everything (IoE). The IoE is the intelligent connection of people, processes, data and things to the Internet, bringing unprecedented economic opportunities to both the private and public sectors. Initially, Identiv will deliver a next-generation, networked physical access control system (PACS) solution that interacts with other IoE elements, such as Cisco virtual supervisor module (VSM) cameras and Cisco voice-over-IP (VoIP) telephony products. Identiv will offer a completely network based access control system, including credentials, advanced networked uTrust TS door sensors, Power-over-Ethernet (PoE) door controllers and access control software. Identiv is committed to disrupting the traditional physical access market by offering a fully network-based solution that is easy to buy and use. Customers will gain enhanced value, lower installation costs and less complexity by using standards-based network cabling, leading to reduced total cost of ownership (TCO) and improved return on investment (ROI). "Everything is connecting, and physical access is no different," said Jason Hart, Identiv CEO. "Identiv is allowing customers to view physical access control as another element of the Internet of Everything. Our focus on identity as the new security perimeter allows us to build connected systems linking buildings, mobile devices, cloud services, and information systems that are easy to use, standards based, cost effective, and most importantly, secure." Financial terms of the partnership were not disclosed. For more information please visit www.identiv.com/ciscopartnership . For our interview with Mr. Jason Hart, President, Identiv, please click here or here: www.securitysolutionswatch.com/Interviews/in_Boardroom_Identiv_Hart.html And, please also see our interview with Mr. Paul Brady , Technology and Solution Evangelist Senior Director at Identiv , please click here or here: http://www.securitysolutionswatch.com/Interviews/in_Boardroom_Identiv_Brady.html For more information www.Identiv.com * ImageWare Systems, Inc. ImageWare Systems, Inc. (OTCQB: IWSY ) (ImageWare) a leader in mobile and cloud-based, multi-modal biometric identity management solutions, recently announced: Extenua and ImageWare Deliver Revolutionary Enterprise Secure Cloud Storage ( www.iwsinc.com/extenua-and-imageware-deliver-revolutionary-enterprise-secure-cloud-storage/ ) Agility and ImageWare Partner to Bring Biometric Solutions to New Markets ( www.iwsinc.com/agility-and-imageware-partner-to-bring-biometric-solutions-to-new-markets/ ) ImageWare Systems Joins as an Advanced Partner in the CA Technologies Tech Partner Program ( www.iwsinc.com/iws-joins-as-an-advanced-partner-in-the-ca-technologies-tech-partner-program/ ) ImageWare To Combine Technologies with TransUnion ( www.wsinc.com/imageware-to-combine-technologies-with-transunion/ ) For our complete interview with Jim Miller, ImageWare Systems, Chairman and CEO, please click here or here: www.securitystockwatch.com/Interviews/in_Boardroom_ImageWare.html For more information: www.iwsinc.com * Bosch Security Systems Mr. Daniel Murray , Director Key Accounts, Systems Integration, Bosch Security Systems , told us, "Cyber security is a major area of concern for integrators, and future success is tied to the integrators' ability to meet their own cyber security needs and those of the customers they support. One of the most startling facts is that the vast majority of cyber vulnerabilities can be mitigated by appropriate password implementation and process management. This is common practice in the IT world and an area for improvement in the arena of physical network security. Many of the thousands of cameras installed globally are done so with default, insufficient and missing passwords. This is an easy 'first step' in securing the physical security network which is missed by many dealers. At the PSA Cybersecurity Congress, discussion focused on multiple factors of network integrity that will change the face of our industry in the next 3-5 years." For the complete interview with Mr. Daniel Murray at Bosch Security Systems , please click here or here: http://www.securitysolutionswatch.com/Interviews/in_Boardroom_Bosch_Murray.html * Nok Nok Labs Nok Nok Labs, an innovator in modern authentication and a founding member of the FIDO Alliance, and DDS, Inc., a leading Japanese biometric company, announced a strategic partnership to jointly drive adoption of Nok Nok Labs' products in the Japanese market, meeting the need for a more secure online environment. The two companies are working together to support Device Manufacturers, Mobile Network Operators and Online Service Providers and to drive the adoption of the FIDO Ready™ NNL™ S3 Authentication Suite with the goal of making online and mobile transactions more secure. "The need for a more secure, easy to use, scalable online authentication ecosystem is a global concern," said Phil Dunkelberger, President & CEO of Nok Nok Labs. "Joining forces with DDS provides us with a strong partner in the Japanese market to meet the needs of the region and to drive the growth in the market for FIDO-based authentication." DDS joined the FIDO Alliance in April 2014 becoming the first Japanese member. DDS has driven various activities to increase FIDO awareness in Japan such as the FIDO TOKYO Seminar and FIDO 1.0 PR event. "Nok Nok Labs and the FIDO Alliance have done a great job in promoting the FIDO movement in the U.S. and other global markets," says Kenji Miyoshino, CEO of DDS. "Partnering with Nok Nok Labs will help drive significant business opportunities in the Japanese market, helping to create a more secure online environment on a global level." For more information, please click here or here: https://www.noknok.com/what-they-say/press-releases/nok-nok-labs-and-dds-inc-form-strategic-partnership-drive-adoption-fido . WATCH THE VIDEO, please click here , or here: https://www.youtube.com/embed/gHDM4Yv3u18?rel=0&wmode=transparent&autoplay=1&width=1280&height=720&iframe=true Mr. Ramesh Kesanupalli, Founder of Nok Nok Labs, Founding Member, FIDO Alliance, told us, "Prevailing password authentication has proven to be insecure and risky amidst a world of escalating security threats, cyber crime and targeted attacks, not to mention increasing vulnerability associated with so many more vectors of attack coming through the Internet of Things (IoT). Right now, we are moving from informational access to a major life style change where we can access everything digitally. We're at the threshold of using authentication to pay at retail stores with our phones, to open and start our cars, to manage home networks, appliances, and security systems all through connected devices. Authentication is the FIRST step we must perform to begin to effectively use IoT." For the complete interview with Ramesh Kesanupalli please click here , or here: www.securitysolutionswatch.com/Interviews/in_Boardroom_NokNok_Ramesh.html * TRADE SHOWS CARTES SECURE CONNEXIONS AMERICA 2015 May 5-7, 2015 Washington, DC www.cartes-america.com -- The fourth edition of CARTES SECURE CONNEXIONS AMERICA will take place May 5 - 7, 2015 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC. The event will feature 70 sessions, 5 keynotes, 125 exhibitors and 2,000 attendees. Hot topics such as EMV Integration, Mobile Payment Technologies and The Future of Digital Currencies will be the center of discussion at the upcoming 2015 CARTES SECURE CONNEXIONS AMERICA in Washington, DC. Each day of the event is kicked off with keynote presentations. Tuesday Keynotes: Patrick Murck, Executive Director , Bitcoin Foundation David Keenan, Senior Vice President Network Solutions, Fiserv Wednesday Keynote Panel: Carolyn Balfany, Senior Vice President of Product Delivery - EMV, MasterCard will moderate and lead a panel of experts from all over the industry -- issuers, retailers and manufacturers -- with first-hand knowledge of chip adoption that will address EMV questions. Thursday Keynotes: Scott Hagstrom, Senior Director, Financial Cards & EMV Strategy, ABnote Karen Czack, Vice President of Global Chip Products, American Express * Cyber Security Summit The Cyber Security Summit is an exclusive "By Invitation Only" Summit series connecting C-Level & Senior Executives responsible for protecting their companies' critical infrastructures with cutting-edge technology providers and renowned information security experts. The one day event, being held on June 3rd in the DC Metro Area, September 18th in New York City & October 9th in Boston will focus on educating attendees on how to best protect their highly vulnerable business applications, intellectual property and discover the latest products and services for enterprise Cyber Defense. www.CyberSummitUSA.com * The World of Cloud Computing All in One Place! Cloud Computing - Big Data - Internet of Things - DevOps - WebRTC Join Us at Cloud Expo New York June 9-11 http://www.cloudcomputingexpo.com/ Cloud computing is now being embraced by a majority of enterprises of all sizes. Yesterday's debate about public vs. private has transformed into the reality of hybrid cloud: a recent survey shows that 74% of enterprises have a hybrid cloud strategy. Meanwhile, 94% of enterprises are using some form of XaaS--software, platform, and infrastructure as a service. Cloud Expo is the single show where delegates and technology vendors can meet to experience and discuss the entire world of the cloud. * The 14th Annual Smart Card Alliance Government Conference Smart Strategies for Secure Identity June 9-10, 2015 Walter E. Washington Convention Center Washington, DC The Smart Card Alliance Government Conference was established over a decade ago, following the landmark government-wide security directive signed in August, 2004. HSPD-12 established standards for verifying an individual's identity and issuing a tamper-proof credential that could be rapidly authenticated electronically. The conference has become the annual gathering place for the original leaders of this initiative as well as the current heads of federal agencies and industry leaders who continue to set the standards for identity credentialing and access security. This year's conference will look forward to future developments in policy and evolving standards for government-issued credentials and their use by relying parties in physical and logical access systems, including use with mobile devices. * Money20/20 October 25-28, 2015, The Venetian, Las Vegas, NV, United States http://money2020.com/register , http://money2020.com/ , [email protected] , Organizer Email: [email protected] Money20/20 is the largest global event enabling payments and financial services innovation for connected commerce at the intersection of mobile, retail, marketing services, data and technology. With 10,000+ attendees, including more than 1,000 CEOs, from over 3,000 companies and 75 countries, expected at its 2015 U.S. event, Money20/20 is critical to realizing the vision of disruptive ways in which consumers and businesses manage, spend and borrow money. The next Money20/20 will be held in Las Vegas, October 25-28, 2015, followed by Money20/20 Europe in Spring 2016. * TEC 2015 \| Westminster, CO \| May 4-8, 2015 \| www.psatec.com TEC 2015, presented by PSA Security Network, is the premier education and networking event that is open to all professionals in the physical security industry. TEC features an entire week of education, networking, dedicated exhibit hours that do not conflict with education sessions, and custom learning paths designed to benefit a company's entire team from the business owner to sales, marketing, operations and technical professionals. In addition to all new sessions, TEC 2015 will feature a NEW cybersecurity track designed to provide practical solutions and applications that build on the education program provided at the PSA Cybersecurity Congress held in January 2015. TEC also boasts a comprehensive registration package that includes access to the keynote address, all networking events, meals, and all non-certification courses at no additional cost, ensuring attendees get access to all that TEC has to offer. Registration opens February 23 at www.psatec.com . * SDW 2015 - The Global Hub For Next Generation Citizen & Government ID Solutions QEII Conference Centre, Westminster, London, UK Conference: 9-11 June 2015 - Exhibition 10-11 June 2015 SDW 2015 (Security Document World) -- the world's leading document security show -- focuses on ePassports, visas, driving licenses, national IDs, worker credentials, advanced border control, anti-counterfeiting, fraud detection, and much more. The event will provide a global showcase for next-generation human identity solutions, focusing on intrinsic document security and on the new cutting-edge secure infrastructure now required to produce and use these advanced documents in live situations. Plus, a special focus on Biometrics, Document Fraud Detection and Intelligent Border Control. Contact: Janine Bill, Exhibition Sales & Sponsorship Manager at Tel No: +44 (0) 1189 843209 or by email at: [email protected] www.sdw2015.com *** THIS PRESS RELEASE, AND ALL MATERIAL PERTAINING TO SECURITYSOLUTIONSWATCH.COM AND SECURITYSTOCKWATCH.COM, ONLINE OR IN PRINT, IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS OF USE, CONDITIONS, AND DISCLAIMER HERE: http://securitysolutionswatch.com/Main/Terms_of_Use.html \|\| Chrysler joins Starbucks in 'schooling' American workers: The hot new corporate perk is: education. Fiat Chrysler ( FCAU ) is now offering free college tuition to its 188,000 dealership employees. The program provides a no-cost online bachelors degree through the for-profit Strayer University ( STRA ), and is similar to a plan announced earlier this year between Starbucks ( SBUX ) and Arizona State University. Yahoo Finance Editor in Chief Andy Serwer points out that in the current work environment, firms need to both build a smarter workforceand give smart people a reason to join their operations. Increasingly, companies are frustrated about getting educated workers and theyre looking to differentiate and attract workers, he says. I think youre going to see more and of this, particularly as wages rise and the competition-- the supply/demand balance-- shifts to making it difficult to find good workers. Fiat Chrysler executive Al Gardner makes that point in explaining why the carmaker is launching this program. Many of our dealers have expressed concern over the availability of talent to fill open positions due to business growth and turnover in their stores, especially in metro markets. That doesnt surprise Yahoo Finances Jen Rogers. Once you find them you want to keep them, she says. And the turnover is a real issue in dealerships--between 45% and 60%. Get the Latest Market Data and News with the Yahoo Finance App Yahoo Finance Senior Columnist Michael Santoli adds many businesses are responding like Fiat Chrysler to what they recognize as a real need. Corporate America is stepping in where they see gaps in educating workers, retaining them and essentially having people get what they feel like they ought to get out of a career, he explains. Serwer sees that as well. Theres a story in the New York Times today about income mobility and how, in certain parts of the country, there is none anymore, he points out. So companies are going to step into the breach here. I think theyre going to have to add on all kinds of perks. Story continues And Serwer believes offering free college tuition is a really important perk considering the divide between peoples skills and whats needed in the 21st century workplace. God knows theres a gap, he says. We need to educate people in this country. Also from Yahoo Finance Bitcoin goes mainstream with Goldman Sachs' backing McDonald's comeback plan: Is it enough? \|\| Circle Attracts Goldman Sachs To The Bitcoin Space: Circle Internet Financial, a bitcoin-based startup, confirmed rumors that it was in the midst of a large fundraising effort this week after theNew York Timesreported that the company received a generous sum from financial giantGoldman Sachs(NYSE:GS). The news brought a great deal of attention to the cryptocurrency and gave investors a reason to take a second look at Circle now that it had the backing of a major player in the finance space. Goldman Sachs Takes An Interest Goldman Sachs announced on Wednesday that it had partnered with China's IDG Capital Partners to lead a $50 million investment into Circle. The funds are expected to be used by Circle executives to further the company's mission— to improve the bitcoin payments system. Circle plans to make peer to peer exchanges faster, easier and more cost effective using bitcoin. Related Link:Bitcoin Security Conference Planned For May 2015 Bitcoin Businesses Present New Opportunities Goldman Sachs' investment marks a growing interest in the technology that powers bitcoin. While investors have been wary of the cryptocurrency itself due to its erratic swings in value, more and more firms have taken an interest in smaller companies that are creating platforms with which to use bitcoin. The idea of sending money across boarders instantly and with a minimal cost has proven to be a unique opportunity for finance firms, who may soon need to compete with small startups like Circle as they gain popularity. See more from Benzinga • Is The Euro Moving Higher Or Lower? And What Should You Do About It? • Meet The 3 Companies Goldman Sachs Says Are Leading The Bitcoin Revolution © 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| Circle Attracts Goldman Sachs To The Bitcoin Space: Circle Internet Financial, a bitcoin-based startup, confirmed rumors that it was in the midst of a large fundraising effort this week after the New York Times reported that the company received a generous sum from financial giant Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS ). The news brought a great deal of attention to the cryptocurrency and gave investors a reason to take a second look at Circle now that it had the backing of a major player in the finance space. Goldman Sachs Takes An Interest Goldman Sachs announced on Wednesday that it had partnered with China's IDG Capital Partners to lead a $50 million investment into Circle. The funds are expected to be used by Circle executives to further the company's mission to improve the bitcoin payments system. Circle plans to make peer to peer exchanges faster, easier and more cost effective using bitcoin. Related Link: Bitcoin Security Conference Planned For May 2015 Bitcoin Businesses Present New Opportunities Goldman Sachs' investment marks a growing interest in the technology that powers bitcoin. While investors have been wary of the cryptocurrency itself due to its erratic swings in value, more and more firms have taken an interest in smaller companies that are creating platforms with which to use bitcoin. The idea of sending money across boarders instantly and with a minimal cost has proven to be a unique opportunity for finance firms, who may soon need to compete with small startups like Circle as they gain popularity. See more from Benzinga Is The Euro Moving Higher Or Lower? And What Should You Do About It? Meet The 3 Companies Goldman Sachs Says Are Leading The Bitcoin Revolution © 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| 21 Inc. Finally Reveals Its Secretive Product: A Bitcoin Mining Chip: Back in March,bitcoinenthusiasts were abuzz with speculation about what21 Inc.might be working on. The cryptocurrency startup was able to secure upwards of $110 million in fundraising from a spate of big name investors likeQUALCOMM, Inc.(NASDAQ:QCOM) and PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel. However, the company has been secretive about what it had been working on – until now. A New Kind Of Chip On Monday, the companyrevealedthat it will roll out an embeddable chip that allows users to mine bitcoins from their wireless devices. The chip is designed to verify transactions while running as a background process, thus providing the user with a "continuous stream of digital currency." Related Link: Solving Bitcoins Scalability Problem Integrating Bitcoin Into The IoT 21 Inc. says its chip wasn't designed as a way to make people rich, but instead the company says it's more focused on integrating the cryptocurrency into the Internet of Things (IoT) and creating a micropayment scheme. Micropayment Device The chip, called BitShare, can consolidate, what 21 Inc. expects to be, a large number of micropayments, as the Internet of Things gains traction. Instead of customers paying for each individual service, they can install a BitShare chip and pay for the fees associated with things like connected lightbulbs or automated fire alarms using their mined bitcoin. The company says it eventually hopes to use the technology to make having a smartphone more attainable in developing countries by subsidizing some of the costs through bitcoin mining. Related Link: Bitcoin: Making Progress In Europe Is The Chip Worth It? The chip marks a big development for the bitcoin community, but it isn't without criticism. Many worry about the feasibility of such a product, as it is likely to use a great deal of data and could significantly reduce the battery life of a smartphone. Some say consumers will be unwilling to sacrifice those things for the comparatively small reward, which may be just a few cents worth of bitcoin. Image Credit: Public Domain See more from Benzinga • What A Difference A Second Makes: Are Markets Prepared For Leap Second? • Delivery Services Deal With Growing Volume • Here's Why U.S. Automakers Fear The Pacific Trade Pact © 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| Bitcoin May Not Go Mainstream, But Blockchain Will: The challenges associated with using a cryptocurrency have kept much of the public from rushing to adopt bitcoin. Issues related to trust and security have plagued the digital currency after several widely publicized scams painted bitcoin as a tool for criminal activity. However, while the general population has been slow to adopt digital currencies themselves, blockchain, the system bitcoin runs on, could have a place in everyday life. Blockchain In Banks Banks have been receptive to the possibility that blockchain could vastly improve their outdated systems.UBS(OTC: OUBSF) has already jumped on board the concept by setting up a research lab in London that focuses on how blockchain can be used in banking. Related Link:"Dope" Becomes The First Movie To Allow Bitcoin Ticket Sales Now,Banco Santander, S.A. (ADR)(NYSE:SAN) is similarly exploring how blockchain could revamp its business with a research team called Crypto 2.0. The Spanish bank believes there is potential for using blockchain to do things like facilitate international payments and develop smart contracts. Regulation Will Weigh Down Progress Head of Santander's fintech investment fund InnoVentures, Mariano Belinky toldBusiness Insiderthat the bank could develop a working prototype system that would facilitate real-time international payments in a matter of months, but that it would likely take much longer to pass such a system through the financial sector's strict regulations. The bank says it would also need to partner with a few like-minded banks across the globe in order to make the new system viable, but has already been in talks with several other institutions about the possibility. See more from Benzinga • Insurers Caught In 5-Way Courtship Competition • The Video Streaming Space Is Getting Crowded • Marijuana's Pesticide Problem © 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| Bitcoin surges as Grexit worries mount, posts best run in 18 months: By Jemima Kelly LONDON (Reuters) - Bitcoin surged by as much as 7 percent on Tuesday and was on track for its longest winning streak in 18 months, as concerns that Greece could tumble out of the euro drove speculators and Greek depositors into the decentralized digital currency. Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras lashed out at Greece's creditors on Tuesday as he defied a string of warnings that Europe is preparing for a "Grexit". The debt-stricken country faces 1.6 billion euros ($1.8 billion) in repayments to the International Monetary Fund by the end of June. Bitcoin, a web-based "cryptocurrency" invented six years ago, is not backed by or controlled by any government or central bank and floats freely, fluctuating according to user demand. Though bitcoin's value has previously been highly volatile, it has stabilized over the past six months and is increasingly treated as a legitimate and potentially valuable asset by major financial institutions, and even by governments such as Britain's. Joshua Scigala, co-founder of Vaultoro.com, a firm that holds bitcoin for its customers and allows them to exchange it for gold and vice versa, said that Greeks were buying the currency as their trust in the authorities waned. It is also unclear what currency would be used if a Grexit does occur -- another potential factor driving Greek demand for bitcoin. "Some people aren't waiting for the government to figure out an exit plan and are doing it for themselves," said Scigala. "You have people worrying about their families' wealth or their life savings, and worrying that their money might be locked up in banks ... They'd rather hold money in a private asset like gold or bitcoin." Scigala said over the past two months, with Greece locked in talks with its creditors, the company had seen a 124 percent pick-up in inflows from Greek IP addresses - numerical labels that identify computers and other internet-enabled devices. Bitcoin traded as high as $252.05 on the Bitstamp exchange on Tuesday, its strongest in over two months, before easing a little to $245.21, still up around 4 percent on the day. That marked its sixth straight session of gains -- its best run since January 2014. In March-April 2013 bitcoin's value shot up by almost 700 percent in just over a month, as Cyprus clamped down on withdrawals and seized deposits, rattling faith in fiat currencies. Paul Gordon, founder of bitcoin firm Quantave and a board member of the UK Digital Currency Association, said that although he did not share the view that worries about Cyprus had driven that rally, Grexit fears could be driving the current one, with more people now aware of bitcoin. "This time round, the worries about Greece could be filtering through. (Bitcoin) could provide an alternative outlet for some people who are concerned about capital controls, along with more traditional methods." Some have suggested that a bitcoin-like digital currency, backed either by Greece's assets or future tax revenues, could be introduced as an parallel currency to the euro in Greece in order to avert an exit from Europe.($1 = 0.8881 Euros) (Reporting By Jemima Kelly; editing by Ralph Boulton) \|\| Your first trade for Monday, May 11: The "Fast Money" traders gave their final trades of the day. Tim Seymour was a buyer of P(NYSE: P). David Seaburg was a buyer of LB(NYSE: LB). Brian Kelly was a buyer of the XLF(NYSE Arca: XLF). Guy Adami was a buyer of JUNO(NASDAQ: JUNO). Trader disclosure: On May 8, 2015, the following stocks and commodities mentioned or intended to be mentioned on CNBC's "Fast Money" were owned by the "Fast Money" traders:Tim Seymour is long T, BAC, C, DIS, EWP, F, GE, GM, GOOGL, INTC, JCP, SUNE, TBT, Tim's firm is long BABA, BIDU, MCD, NKE, NOK, SBUX, YHOO. Brian Kelly is long BTC=, BBRY, SPY puts, U.S. Dollar, he is short Australian Dollar, he is short Yen, he is short Yuan.Guy Adami is long CELG, EXAS, INTC, Guy Adami's wife, Linda Snow, works at Merck. More From CNBC • Top News and Analysis • Latest News Video • Personal Finance [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] Current price: 214.22€ $BTCEUR $btc #bitcoin 2015-05-30 09:00:03 CEST \|\| buysellbitco.in #bitcoin price in INR, Buy : 15604.00 INR Sell : 15096.00 INR. Buy and sell bitcoin in #India using #buysellbitcoin \|\| 1 #Bitcoin is now 932.00 #PLN / 250.00 #EUR / 248.17 #USD #btc at http://bitbay.net \|\| LIVE: Profit = $816.72 (32.69 %). BUY B10.08 @ $246.75 (#BitStamp). SELL @ $270.00 (#VirCurex) #bitcoin #btc - http://www.projectcoin.org \|\| LIVE: Profit = $781.34 (1.35 %). BUY B233.94 @ $246.70 (#BTCe). SELL @ $249.00 (#HitBTC) #bitcoin #btc - http://www.projectcoin.org \|\| In the last 10 mins, there were arb opps spanning 18 exchange pair(s), yielding profits ranging between $0.00 and $812.71 #bitcoin #btc \|\| In the last 10 mins, there were arb opps spanning 14 exchange pair(s), yielding profits ranging between $0.00 and $1,953.05 #bitcoin #btc \|\| LIVE: Profit = $889.53 (24.57 %). BUY B15.37 @ $235.20 (#Bitfinex). SELL @ $246.00 (#VirCurex) #bitcoin #btc - http://www.projectcoin.org \|\| In the last 10 mins, there were arb opps spanning 20 exchange pair(s), yielding profits ranging between $0.00 and $1,086.41 #bitcoin #btc \|\| In the last 10 mins, there were arb opps spanning 20 exchange pair(s), yielding profits ranging between $0.00 and $836.72 #bitcoin #btc	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 263.07, 258.62, 255.41, 256.34, 260.89, 271.91, 269.03, 266.21, 270.79, 269.23
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2015-12-09] BTC Price: 417.56, BTC RSI: 73.85 Gold Price: 1077.60, Gold RSI: 45.63 Oil Price: 37.16, Oil RSI: 30.92 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Bitcoin is exploding higher, but no one can agree on why: (REUTERS) Bitcoin gained another 6% Wednesday, reaching a new high for the year. The cryptocurrency reached the $450 mark late in the day before falling back to $425. That's compared with around $250 a month ago. What's behind this? Investors and brokers can't agree. In the last few days, explanations have included a rise in demand from China, an upcoming auction by US Marshals of seized bitcoin, and the influence ofa convicted Ponzi schemer's latest gambit. Another catalyst for recent appreciation comes from Europe, saysAdam White, vice president and product manager at Coinbase, one of the biggest bitcoin exchanges globally by volume. The European Court of Justice recently ruled that thecryptocurrency is exemptfrom the region's "value added tax," which White compared to the decision by US taxation authorities in the 1990s to not implement taxes on goods sold online. What is certain is that use of bitcoin by consumers and trading is broadly on the rise. "There has been a steady increase in the number of transactions processed on the bitcoin blockchain," White says. In the last two years, the number of bitcoin transactions has increased threefold from 50,000 daily to about 140,000 today, according to Blockchain.info, which tracks bitcoin data. It is true that Chinese investors are eager to trade bitcoin, White says. In the US, between 300,000 and 500,000 bitcoin are traded daily, White said. But in China, that daily figure has been closer to 1 million to 1.2 million. That isn't to say US investors are neglecting the currency. There has been a three-times increase in the relative trading volume by what are referred to as "High Net Worth" traders on Coinbase's trading platform — people making trades in dollar amounts worth up to six figures, White said. Perhaps most telling — at least about the recent jump — is that there's been a recent surge in trading, sharp rise innew usersign-ups, according to White. So what's behind the recent surge in bitcoin? Maybe just the surge in bitcoin. NOW WATCH:'The Art Of War' holds the keys to success on Wall Street More From Business Insider • Bitcoin is going nuts • The Money Of The Future Will Look More Like Bitcoin Than The Paper We Carry Around Today • Even As Bitcoin Gets Obliterated, Retailers Say They Will Still Accept It As A Form Of Payment \|\| Insight - In taking economic war to Islamic State, U.S. developing new tools: By Yeganeh Torbati and Brett Wolf WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Since last month, U.S. warplanes have struck Islamic State's oil infrastructure in Syria in a stepped-up campaign of economic warfare that the United States estimates has cut the group's black-market earnings from oil by about a third. In finding their targets, U.S. military planners have relied in part on an unconventional source of intelligence: access to banking records that provide insight into which refineries and oil pumps are generating cash for the extremist group, current and former officials say. The intent is to choke off the Islamic State's funding by tracking its remaining ties to the global financial system. By identifying money flowing to and from the group, U.S. officials have been able to get a glimpse into how its black-market economy operates, people with knowledge of the effort have said. That in turn has influenced decisions about targeting for air strikes in an effort that began before Islamic State's Nov. 13 attacks on Paris and has intensified since, they said. While Islamic State's access to formal banking has been restricted, it retains some ties that U.S. military and financial officials can use against it, the current and former officials said. "We have done a really good job of largely keeping the Islamic State out of the formal financial system," said Matthew Levitt, who served as deputy assistant secretary for intelligence at the U.S. Treasury in the George W. Bush administration. "But we haven't been entirely successful, and that may not be a bad thing." Reuters was unable to verify key aspects of the campaign, including when it started or exactly which facilities have been destroyed as a result. Two current officials who confirmed the operations in outline declined to comment on their details. It was unclear how U.S. intelligence, Treasury, and military officials working on what the government calls "counter threat finance" operations have used banking records to identify lucrative Islamic State oil-related targets in Syria and whether that involved local banks. A report this year by the intergovernmental Financial Action Task Force found there were more than 20 Syrian financial institutions with operations in Islamic State territory. In Iraq, Treasury has worked with government officials to cut off bank branches in the group's territory from the Iraqi and international financial systems. Gerald Roberts, section chief of the FBI's terrorist financing operations section, said that Islamic State's recruits from outside Syria often come with financial trails that officials tracking them can "exploit." "We are seeing them using traditional banking systems," he said at a banking conference last week in Washington, adding that young, tech-savvy Islamic State members are also familiar with virtual currencies such as Bitcoin. Islamic State, also known as IS, ISIS or ISIL, is sometimes forced to use commercial banks because the amounts involved are too large to move using other means, said Levitt. The U.S. Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) uses a set of "business rules" to screen the roughly 55,000 reports it receives daily from financial institutions for signs of activity involving Islamic State, a spokesman said. He declined to describe the rules, but law enforcement sources say names, IP addresses, email addresses, and phone numbers are among the data that intelligence authorities try to match. The matches allow FinCEN "to connect the dots between seemingly unrelated individuals and entities," the FinCEN spokesman said. At present, FinCEN finds about 1,200 matches suggesting possible Islamic State-linked financial activity each month, up from 800 in April, the spokesman said. Bank of America, JP Morgan and Wells Fargo declined to comment on whether they provided financial reports to the U.S. government. Such reports are supplied confidentially. Citigroup, HSBC, and Standard Chartered did not immediately respond to requests for comment. "TIDAL WAVE II" The use of financial records linked to Islamic State is only one part of the intelligence-gathering exercise for air strikes in Syria that also includes methods such as aerial surveillance by drones, officials said. One former military official familiar with the process said that any financial intelligence collected by FinCEN would require "significant vetting" before the military acted on it. Earlier this month, U.S.-led coalition planes struck 116 fuel trucks used to smuggle Islamic State oil 45 minutes after dropping leaflets warning drivers to flee, a Pentagon spokesman said. Coalition strikes destroyed another 283 Islamic State fuel trucks on Saturday, the Pentagon said. On Nov. 8, a coalition air strike destroyed three oil refineries in Syria near the border with Turkey. U.S. defence officials estimate that Islamic State, an adversary the United States calls the wealthiest terrorist group of its kind in history, was earning about $47 million per month from oil sales prior to October. That month, the U.S. military launched an intensified effort to go after oil infrastructure, dubbed "Tidal Wave II," named after the bombing campaign targeting Romanian oil fields in World War Two. The Pentagon estimates the strikes have reduced the Islamic State's income from oil sales by about 30 percent, one U.S. defence official with knowledge of the previously unreported estimate said. Reuters was unable to confirm this. The use of financial records in helping to pick U.S. targets was first disclosed last week at the banking conference in Washington. At the conference, Kurt Gredzinski, the Counter Threat Finance Team Chief at U.S. Special Operations Command, cited the importance of information provided by banks in the war against Islamic State. "That to me is the first time in my recollection that we strategically targeted based on threat finance information," he said at the conference. He declined to comment further on which strike he had been referring to. "RESILIENT FINANCIAL PORTFOLIO" U.S. officials believe that diminished funding could gradually undermine Islamic State's grip on the area it controls in Iraq and Syria, because it needs revenue to pay salaries and keep public infrastructure operating, said two former officials with knowledge of the Obama administration's thinking. Experts caution that Islamic State, which rules an area the size of Austria, has surprisingly deep pockets due to the various revenue streams it controls. It has built up what amounts to a "durable and resilient financial portfolio," funded by oil sales, extortion, and sales of antiquities, said Thomas Sanderson, an expert on terrorism at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "Money can be strapped to the backs of mules," Sanderson said. "It's easy to move things across a border during a time of deprivation and chaos." Despite some initial success, cutting off its funding will require deeper cooperation from governments from Turkey to Russia, experts say. The group has shown the ability to bounce back from previous U.S. strikes on its oil facilities. Counter-terrorism experts say that Islamic State appears to have learned from U.S. successes in cracking down on funding for al-Qaeda, which relied heavily on support from wealthy donors in the Gulf region. "IS has learned that you don't want to be reliant on too many outside sources," said Sanderson. "Donors are fickle and subject to pressure and (IS) wants to be in control." (Reporting by Yeganeh Torbati in Washington and Brett Wolf of Thomson Reuters Regulatory Intelligence. Additional reporting by Joel Schectman, Warren Strobel, and Jonathan Landay in Washington.; Editing by Kevin Krolicki and Stuart Grudgings) \|\| SEC Charges Bitcoin Mining Firm in Ponzi Scheme: The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged two Bitcoin mining companies and their founder with conducting a Ponzi scheme that used the lure of quick riches from virtual currency to defraud investors. The complaint was filed in federal court in Connecticut. “Mining” for Bitcoin or other virtual currencies can be described as applying computer power to try to solve complex equations that verify a group of transactions in that virtual currency. The first computer or collection of computers to solve an equation is awarded new units of that virtual currency. The SEC alleges that Homero Joshua Garza perpetrated the fraud through his Connecticut-based companies GAW Miners and ZenMiner by purporting to offer shares of a digital Bitcoin mining operation. ALSO READ:Is Best Buy Making an Offer That Consumers Can't Refuse? However, GAW Miners and ZenMiner actually did not own enough computing power for the mining it promised to conduct, so most investors paid for a share of computing power that never existed. Returns paid to some investors came from proceeds generated from sales to other investors. Paul G. Levenson, director of the SEC’s Boston Regional Office, said: As alleged in our complaint, Garza and his companies cloaked their scheme in technological sophistication and jargon, but the fraud was simple at its core: they sold what they did not own, misrepresented what they were selling, and robbed one investor to pay another. ALSO READ:Jefferies Has 4 Blue Chip High-Dividend Franchise Picks to Buy Now According to the SEC’s complaint: • From August 2014 to December 2014, Garza and his companies sold $20 million worth of purported shares in a digital mining contract they called a Hashlet. • More than 10,000 investors purchased Hashlets, which were touted as always profitable and never obsolete. • Although Hashlets were depicted in GAW Miners’ marketing materials as a physical product or piece of mining hardware, the promised contract purportedly entitled the investor to control a share of computing power that GAW Miners claimed to own and operate. • Investors were misled to believe they would share in returns earned by the Bitcoin mining activities when in reality GAW Miners directed little or no computing power toward any mining activity. • Because Garza and his companies sold far more computing power than they owned, they owed investors a daily return that was larger than any actual return they were making on their limited mining operations. • Therefore, investors were simply paid back gradually over time under the mantra of “returns” out of funds that Garza and his companies collected from other investors. • Most Hashlet investors never recovered the full amount of their investments, and few made a profit. Related Articles • Costco Refreshes Cyber Monday Offers • Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Fitbit, GE, Lockheed Martin, Lululemon, Marriott, Microsoft, Philip Morris, SLM and More • America's Best and Worst States to Live In \|\| One statistic perfectly encapsulates the impact of technology on Wall Street jobs: ( MARK RALSTON/AFP/Getty) In 2000, Goldman Sachs had 600 traders in New York City making markets in US stocks. Today, that number is down to fewer than 10. The statistic is one of several nuggets from a Credit Suisse report on how the bank uses technology, following a conversation withchief information officer Marty Chavez. The analysts estimate that Goldman spends $2.5 billion to $3.2 billion on technology each year, or about 7% to 9% of revenue. This has big implications for the bank's staff. In some ways, technology can make their lives easier. Last month, the bankannounced an initiativedesigned to make the lives of junior investment bankers easier — by letting technology do more of the grunt work for them. But technologymight also soon replacemore workers. The note said (emphasis added): Embrace Disruption—management of Goldman is very much of the belief—and we can't argue with this—that there will be far more value ascribed to those who embrace new, albeit disruptive, technologies.This disruption can be people "destructive" at times, but it can be far more destructive to be left behind in a business poised for profound change. Importantly, these changes may be disruptive, but also both relationship and profit margin enhancing, through delivery of a better product to Goldman's clients. There are ways for Goldman to be more efficient with its tech spending. About 30% of the annual expense goes to maintenance, which covers things like communications, market-data expenses, and software licensing. The bank wants to get that down to 10%, which is more comparable with software companies. That would free up $600 million to $800 million, which could either go back to the bottom line, or be reinvested strategically, Credit Suisse estimates. These strategic investments could include things like investing in blockchain technology that underpins the use of bitcoin, with the Credit Suisse analysts noting that Goldman Sachs is "very interested in the use of Blockchain/distributed ledger technology." Other investments include Symphony, the instant-communications platform out to displace Bloomberg's terminal, and Goldman's Marquee app, which delivers data and analytics to staff and is being rolled out to clients. NOW WATCH:'The Art Of War' holds the keys to success on Wall Street More From Business Insider • GOLDMAN: 'Bitcoin was just the opening act, with the Blockchain ready to take centre stage' • There are 2 clear winners on Wall Street — and they're pulling away from the competition • Morgan Stanley has some answering to do \|\| Bitcoin spikes 70% in a month; nobody knows why: Bitcoin (:BTC=) , the world's most popular digital currency, has been on a roll but no one is really sure why. After dipping well below $200 in January, bitcoin traded at more than $410 Tuesday afternoon before cutting some of those gains, according to the CoinDesk Bitcoin Price Index. That's about 25 percent higher than the same time last year but well below the historical high of about $1,150. This upswing, which began about a month ago when bitcoin traded below $240, comes on the heels of a steady stream of good news for the digital asset and its associated ecosystem. But even with recent favorable regulatory rulings, press coverage and business investments, experts in the space are struggling to explain the one-month jump of more than 70 percent. For comparison, gold (CEC:Commodities Exchange Centre: @GC.1) is down about 5 percent on the year, and slightly negative on the month. Some have attributed the size of the recent jump to investors' fear of missing out (FOMO) , while others such as "Fast Money" trader Brian Kelly point to ecosystem headlines like the Winklevoss twins launching their exchange and the Digital Currency Group announcing funding from Bain and MasterCard ( MA ) . But bitcoin has boasted a steady parade of media highlights and major investments from important financial firms all year, so it's not immediately obvious why this past month would mark a turning point. Read More Why financial firms are investigating bitcoin tech Brendan O'Connor, the CEO of bitcoin trading firm Genesis Global Trading, told CNBC he has no easy answers about the price jump. Although he said rumors were flying around the community about international rings of traders teaming up to drive up the exchange rate, O'Connor was unable to confirm anything he'd heard. For its part, Genesis Global is experiencing a "dramatic increase in activity" from renewed interest in bitcoin as a tradable asset, O'Connor said. "When the price starts going up, people start coming out of the woodwork," he said. "We're setting new records almost on a daily basis for amount traded and number of transactions." Story continues Read More Bitcoin to be 6th largest reserve currency by 2030: Research It should be noted that bitcoin is a relatively illiquid market, so its exchange rate against major world currencies has been historically volatile. Still, O'Connor said volume from the Chinese bitcoin market has been "off the charts," so there may be a genuine upswing in interest from that region. In fact, Kelly suggested in a Tuesday note that Beijing's tightening of capital controls may have spurred some of the recent price gains. Additionally, many in the bitcoin community insist that the daily price of the cryptocurrency is not a relevant metric, as it distracts from the world-changing potential of the technology. Martindale tweet. Others worry that the cycle of mainstream media coverage on bitcoin's price will recreate a story they've seen before: Lopp tweet. More From CNBC Top News and Analysis Latest News Video Personal Finance \|\| 10 things you need to know today: man on pig (https://pictures.reuters.com/C.aspx?VP3=SearchResult Farmer Zhang Xianping with pig Big Precious during an interview with the media in Zhangjiakou, Hebei province, China. Here is what you need to know. Volkswagen has another emissions scandal . The German automaker announced that an internal investigation had discovered "irregularities in CO2 levels" in as many as 800,000 vehicles. It is unclear whether the irregularities are related to the recently discovered emissions scandal related to nitrogen-oxide testing. " Under the ongoing review of all processes and workflows in connection with diesel engines it was established that the CO2 levels and thus the fuel consumption figures for some models were set too low during the CO2 certification process," Volkswagen said in a statement. "The majority of the vehicles concerned have diesel engines." Tesla is flying high after its latest outlook . Shares of Tesla were up 10% in after-hours trade after the company announced it expected to deliver 17,000 to 19,000 vehicles in the fourth quarter, outpacing the Wall Street consensus. For all of 2015, Tesla said it would deliver 50,000 to 52,000 vehicles, narrowing its range from its previous estimate of 50,000 to 55,000. On the earnings front, the electric-car maker lost $0.58 per share, which was slightly worse than the $0.56 loss that was anticipated. Revenue jumped 33.4% to $1.24 billion, in line with estimates. US auto sales are at the highest level in a decade . The latest Autodata showed US auto sales rose at an annualized pace of 18.24 million in October, the best in a decade. The number easily surpassed the Wall Street consensus of 17.7 million vehicles . Mazda (+35.4%) saw the biggest gains, while General Motors (+16%) and Ford (+13%) posted solid results. BMW USA (-6.6%) was the lone decliner. Honda is dumping Takata airbags . The AFP reports that Takata's largest client, Honda, has severed its relationship with the company after US authorities announced a $200 million fine against the airbag maker. Takata airbags have been linked to eight deaths and even more injuries around the world. "On a global basis, no new Honda and Acura models currently under development will be equipped with a front driver or passenger Takata airbag inflator," Honda said in a statement. Shares of Takata were down as much as 20% in Tokyo. Story continues Iceland raised rates . Iceland's central bank raised its benchmark interest rate 25 basis points to 5.75%. The central bank noted that domestic demand was expected to increase by more than 7% this year and that gross domestic product was forecast to grow at 4.6%. As for inflation, the central bank said: "It is still expected that large pay increases will cause inflation to rise above the target as 2016 progresses and the effects of low global inflation taper off. Inflation will not return to target until 2018." The Icelandic krona is weaker by 0.2% at 128.90 per dollar. European services data was strong . October Services PMI for the eurozone was released, and it showed that every country outpaced expectations except for Germany. Spain saw the biggest month-over-month increase, as its reading climbed from 54.6 in September to 55.9 in October and easily beat the 54.6 that was expected. Germany's number ticked up to 54.5 from 54.1 but missed the 55.2 that economists were expecting. The eurozone as a whole improved to 54.1 from 53.7. The euro is down 0.3% at 1.0935. Bitcoin has gone parabolic . On Tuesday, bitcoin rallied 10% to close just shy of the $400 mark. On Wednesday morning, bitcoin is up another 15% near $454. The digital currency has surged 89% since the beginning of October. Stock markets around the world are higher. China's Shanghai Composite (+4.3%) surged after the People's Bank of China released some dated comments from governor Zhou Xiaochuan. In Europe, Spain's IBEX (+1.2%) leads the gains. S&P 500 futures are higher by 2.75 points at 2,105.75. US economic data is moderate. ADP Employment Change is due out at 8:15 a.m. ET before the trade balance crosses the wires at 8:30 a.m. ET and ISM Services is released at 10 a.m. ET. Crude-oil inventories will be announced at 10:30 a.m. ET. The US 10-year yield is down 1 basis point at 2.20%. Earnings reporting remains heavy. 21st Century Fox, Allergan, CDW, Honda Motor, Michael Kors, and Time Warner highlight the names scheduled to release their quarterly results ahead of the opening bell. Facebook, Marathon Oil, MetLife, Prudential, Qualcomm, Sturm Ruger, and Whole Foods are among the companies reporting after markets close. NOW WATCH: Here's the Bill Cosby joke Eddie Murphy did at the Kennedy Center that everyone's talking about More From Business Insider 10 things you need to know today 10 things you need to know today 10 things you need to know today \|\| This convicted Ponzi-schemer may be responsible for bitcoin's massive price spike: Sergei Mavrodi (REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin) Sergei Mavrodi is a convicted Russian Ponzi-schemer who may be driving bitcoin's value up now. Bitcoin is ripping higher these days, and a report from the Financial Times suggests that a convicted Ponzi-schemer's latest enterprise could be behind the surge. Sergei Mavrodi runs the website MMM, which describes itself as the "Chinese social financial network." There, he breaks down in precise detail how investors can buy into bitcoin with multiple trading accounts, FT Alphaville's Izabella Kaminska reports. Mavrodi offers bonuses to MMM investors depending on how many additional people they can bring into the network, and, additionally, he entices people to take to YouTube to upload testimonials of how much they made. While US-based bitcoin investors were reluctant to hang the entire balance of the cryptocurrency's appreciation (about 90% over the past month) on Mavrodi's Chinese social-financial network, they also cannot deny the recent impact of China's investors on bitcoin. "We have not seen volume like this coming out of China since 2013," Brendan O'Connor, CEO of Genesis Global Trading, a bitcoin broker, told Business Insider. On Tuesday, bitcoin shot up about 10% , to around the $400 level, and on Wednesday it rose another 20% by the opening of US markets, to $480. Business Insider attempted to reach Mavrodi through his website, but did not receive a response by publication time. Here's the post on the Alphaville blog. NOW WATCH: The way you pay with a credit card will start to change on October 1 — here's what you need to know More From Business Insider The Money Of The Future Will Look More Like Bitcoin Than The Paper We Carry Around Today BITCOIN: How It Works, And Why It Could Fundamentally Change How Companies And Individuals Handle Payments One Of Bitcoin's Strongest Backers Reveals The Two Big Reasons Why It's Still Not Mainstream \|\| Is The Video Subscription Space Saturated?: The way consumers watch TV has changed drastically over the past few years as the popularity of Internet video sites like YouTube have skyrocketed. Dedicated streaming services like Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX ) and Hulu emerged and their warm reception from American viewers caused traditional broadcasters to rethink their own operations. Now, several big name networks have created their own online, subscription-based services in an effort to give customers more choices for web-based viewing. However, with so many fragmented viewing options out there, many are wondering if the space is starting to become crowded. The All Important Millennial The younger generation is increasingly switching to online viewing, a troublesome sign for traditional cable. Services like Netflix and Amazon offer a wide range of content geared toward that demographic and have become popular choices for Millennials who are cutting the cord. Related Link: Why Netflix's Initial Selloff Was "Correct" However, in an effort to maintain a youthful audience, firms like NBC Universal and CBS Corporation (NYSE: CBS ) have launched their own subscription services with content aimed at younger viewers. Stiff Competition NBC Universal recently unveiled a new streaming offering called Seeso, which will focus on comedy programming. The firm has been working together with non-traditional media companies like BuzzFeed and Vox to attract younger viewers, but the firm will have to compete with a host of other networks that are all doing the same thing. Dish Network's Sling TV, CBS' All Access service and Time Warner's HBO Now are just some of the many online subscription services that Seeso will have to compete with. Cutting The Cord While online viewing is gaining popularity, most agree that at the present moment there is no good way to cut the cord completely. Subscribing to the many online services that have saturated the streaming space would typically cost more than paying a traditional cable bill, so most consumers are choosing one or two online services to enhance their programming. That makes it difficult for new entrants like Seeso as more established names like Netflix are often a top choice. Story continues Image Credit: By Taro the Shiba Inu [ CC BY 2.0 ], via Wikimedia Commons See more from Benzinga Virtual Reality Becomes An Actual Reality With New Oculus Headset Netflix Viewing Stats Reveal That All Shows Aren't Created Equally 21 Inc's Bitcoin Computer Seeks To Redefine The Internet © 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| MarilynJean Interactive (MJMI.QB) Today Announced It Has Entered Into Discussions to Acquire a Share of an Operating Bitcoin Exchange: HENDERSON, NV / ACCESSWIRE / October 30, 2015 / Owning and operating a Bitcoin exchange would allow MarilynJean to seamlessly integrate the currency conversion functions of both its planned remittance and gaming businesses as well as integrate directly with any Bitcoin ATM's the company installs. A Bitcoin exchange is the central component to a fully integrated transaction with an end user that involves both FIAT (traditional currency) and crypto-currency. A Bitcoin exchange works similarly to a stock exchange. A client deposits funds into an account and effects trades pursuant to buy (bid) or sell (ask) orders which the exchange software matches with orders from other users. Because both the buyer and seller must have the funds or Bitcoins in their accounts prior to the transaction being executed, both sides are protected. Users trade directly, as opposed to through brokers, communicating with the exchange through a standard web browser on a computer or mobile device via a secure connection. The exchange operator often takes a small transaction fee on each trade. While MarilynJean intends to trade through multiple exchanges, including major exchanges Bitstamp and Bitfinex, the reduced settlement times that are available as an exchange owner-operator provide significant advantages in international currency conversion and transfer transactions. Peter Janosi, MJMI's president said: "Being able to integrate the key verticals we are targeting, including remittance, gaming and ATMs with our own Bitcoin exchange has the potential to offer tremendous advantages to our company. We intend to trade through multiple exchanges simultaneously to ensure we offer our customers the best rates at the lowest prices. At the same time time, being able to route transactions through a completely integrated system that we monitor and control will allow us to offer even faster transaction processing and better customer service. We are very excited to be in discussions with a potential partner in the exchange space who shares our focus on security and scalability." Story continues About MJMI MJMI is in the business of providing safe and accessible services for the users of Bitcoin and other crypto-currencies. Crypto-currencies are a medium of exchange using cryptography to secure transactions and control the creation of new units. Bitcoin became the first decentralized crypto-currency in 2009. Crypto-currency is produced at a rate which is defined when the system is created and publicly known. By contrast, in centralized banking and economic systems, such as the Federal Reserve System, corporate boards or governments control the supply of currency by printing units or demanding additions to digital banking ledgers. However, neither companies nor governments can produce units of crypto-currency and as such the value of crypto-currencies are completely based on supply and demand, free from any governmental control. Many people believe crypto-currencies, and in particular bitcoin, hold the promise of being the most significant advancement in global finance in modern history. The advent of bitcoin creates a secure, easily accessible and transferable transnational currency that is completely liberated from political influence. MJMI is currently exploring partnerships in several verticals within the crypto-currency space, including the multi-billion dollar remittance market. Management believes that several industries, including both international remittances and online gambling are on the verge of being revolutionized by the use of Bitcoin to effect transactions. MarilynJean Media Interactive is among the first publicly traded companies focused on bitcoin and the crypto-currency space. The company's trading symbol is OCTQB: MJMI. Website: www.marilynjean.com Press Contact: bonnie@mari lynjean.com SOURCE: MarilynJean Media Interactive \|\| Bitcoin spikes 70% in a month; nobody knows why: Bitcoin(:BTC=), the world's most popular digital currency, has been on a roll — but no one is really sure why. After dipping well below $200 in January, bitcoin traded at more than $410 Tuesday afternoon before cutting some of those gains, according to the CoinDesk Bitcoin Price Index. That's about 25 percent higher than the same time last year but well below the historical high of about $1,150. This upswing, which began about a month ago when bitcoin traded below $240, comes on the heels of a steady stream of good news for the digital asset and its associated ecosystem. But even with recent favorable regulatory rulings, press coverage and business investments, experts in the space are struggling to explain the one-month jump of more than 70 percent. For comparison, gold(CEC:Commodities Exchange Centre: @GC.1)is down about 5 percent on the year, and slightly negative on the month. Some have attributed the size of the recent jump toinvestors' fear of missing out (FOMO), while others such as "Fast Money" trader Brian Kelly point to ecosystem headlines like theWinklevoss twins launching their exchangeand the Digital Currency Groupannouncing fundingfrom Bain and MasterCard(MA). But bitcoin has boasted a steady parade of media highlights and major investments from important financial firms all year, so it's not immediately obvious why this past month would mark a turning point. Read MoreWhy financial firms are investigating bitcoin tech Brendan O'Connor, the CEO of bitcoin trading firm Genesis Global Trading, told CNBC he has no easy answers about the price jump. Although he said rumors were flying around the community about international rings of traders teaming up to drive up the exchange rate, O'Connor was unable to confirm anything he'd heard. For its part, Genesis Global is experiencing a "dramatic increase in activity" from renewed interest in bitcoin as a tradable asset, O'Connor said. "When the price starts going up, people start coming out of the woodwork," he said. "We're setting new records almost on a daily basis for amount traded and number of transactions." Read MoreBitcoin to be 6th largest reserve currency by 2030: Research It should be noted that bitcoin is a relatively illiquid market, so its exchange rate against major world currencies has been historically volatile. Still, O'Connor said volume from the Chinese bitcoin market has been "off the charts," so there may be a genuine upswing in interest from that region. In fact, Kelly suggested in a Tuesday note that Beijing's tightening of capital controls may have spurred some of the recent price gains. Additionally, many in the bitcoin community insist that the daily price of the cryptocurrency is not a relevant metric, as it distracts from the world-changing potential of the technology. Others worry that the cycle of mainstream media coverage on bitcoin's price will recreate a story they've seen before: More From CNBC • Top News and Analysis • Latest News Video • Personal Finance [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] $327.99 #btce; $325.00 #bitfinex; $323.45 #coinbase; $322.92 #bitstamp; #bitcoin #btc \|\| 1 #bitcoin = $5985.00 MXN \| $362.34 USD #BitAPeso 1 USD = 16.52MXN http://www.bitapeso.com \|\| Current price: 252.39£ $BTCGBP $btc #bitcoin 2015-11-09 23:00:10 GMT \|\| LIVE: Profit = $870.98 (2.24 %). BUY B107.00 @ $364.20 (#BTCe). SELL @ $371.97 (#Bitfinex) #bitcoin #btc - http://www.projectcoin.org \|\| In the last 10 mins, there were arb opps spanning 10 exchange pair(s), yielding profits ranging between $0.00 and $156.98 #bitcoin #btc \|\| Current price: 264.64$ $BTCUSD $btc #bitcoin 2015-10-17 16:00:04 EDT \|\| In the last 10 mins, there were arb opps spanning 16 exchange pair(s), yielding profits ranging between $0.00 and $424.86 #bitcoin #btc \|\| $375.44 at 19:15 UTC [24h Range: $362.01 - $383.00 Volume: 17792 BTC] \|\| #RDD / #BTC on the exchanges: Cryptsy: Error Bittrex: 0.00000002 Average $7.0E-6 per #reddcoin 00:30:01 via #priceo…pic.twitter.com/1RK5yQgrrh \|\| #RDD / #BTC on the exchanges: Cryptsy: 0.00000003 Bittrex: 0.00000003 Average $9.0E-6 per #reddcoin 19:45:00	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 415.48, 451.94, 435.00, 433.76, 444.18, 465.32, 454.93, 456.08, 463.62, 462.32
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis] Not fully available. [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Your first trade for Tuesday, September 19: The " Fast Money " traders shared their first moves for the early hours of the trading day. Pete Najarian was a buyer of Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) . Tim Seymour was a buyer of Gilead (NASDAQ: GILD) . Karen Finerman was a buyer of Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) . Dan Nathan was a buyer of Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ: AMD) . Trader disclosure: On September 18, 2017, the following stocks and commodities mentioned or intended to be mentioned on CNBC's "Fast Money" were owned by the "Fast Money" traders: Pete Najarian is long calls BAC, BHP, CHK, CRM, EOG, FCX, GDX, HIMX, INTC, JBLU, LOW, LULU, MSFT, MU, NRG, ORCL, PG, SFM, SGMS, SUM, TER, TMUS, UNP, UUP, VALE, XLF. Pete Najarian is long stock AAPL, BAC, BKE, BMS, CMCSA, CSX, DIS, GIS, GM, IBM, KO, LEN, LVS, MRK, MSFT, MU, PEP, PFE, RHT, SCSS, TXT, UAL, UPS, VIAB, WDC, WFC, WFT. Pete owns TLT puts. Sold AMAT, AVGO, CPN, CTL, FB, MDLZ, NEM, NVDA, RIO, SCSS, SNAP calls. Bought CRM, GDX, EOG, FCX, LOW, MU, OA, TMUS, UUP calls. Sold AAP, BBY, CHRW, GILD, WYNN. Bought CSX, UPS. Tim Seymour is long AMZA, APC, BAC, C, CCJ, CLF, CSCO, DAL, DPZ, DVYE, EEM, EUFN, EWM, FB, FXI, GILD, GM, GOOGL, HAL, INTC, LOW, M, MAT, MCD, MOS, MPEL, RAI, RH, RL, SBUX, SQ, T, TWTR, UA, UAL, VALE, VIAB, VOD, VRX, XLE. Tim Seymour is short IWM, XRT, RACE, SPY. Karen Finerman is long AAL, BAC, BAC short calls, Bitcoin and Ethereum, C, DAL, short EFX, EEM, EPI, EWW, DVYE, FB, FNAC, GMLP, GLNG, GM, GOGO, GOOG, GOOGL, JPM, LYV, KORS, KORS calls, KORS puts, MA, SEDG, SPY puts, TACO, URI, WIFI, WFM. Bitcoin and Ethereum are in her kids' Trust. Her firm is long ANTM, BAC short calls, C, C calls, FB, FNAC, GOOG, GOOGL, GLNG, GMLP, JPM, JPM calls, KORS puts, LYV, SPY puts, SPY put spreads, VRX, WIFI, UAL, her firm is short IWM, MDY, VRX calls. Karen bought URI. Dan Nathan is long AMD, DIS, INTC, IPOA, M, NKE, T. Dan sold XLF. Dan bought AMD and IPOA. The " Fast Money " traders shared their first moves for the early hours of the trading day. Pete Najarian was a buyer of Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) . Tim Seymour was a buyer of Gilead (NASDAQ: GILD) . Karen Finerman was a buyer of Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) . Dan Nathan was a buyer of Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ: AMD) . Trader disclosure: On September 18, 2017, the following stocks and commodities mentioned or intended to be mentioned on CNBC's "Fast Money" were owned by the "Fast Money" traders: Pete Najarian is long calls BAC, BHP, CHK, CRM, EOG, FCX, GDX, HIMX, INTC, JBLU, LOW, LULU, MSFT, MU, NRG, ORCL, PG, SFM, SGMS, SUM, TER, TMUS, UNP, UUP, VALE, XLF. Pete Najarian is long stock AAPL, BAC, BKE, BMS, CMCSA, CSX, DIS, GIS, GM, IBM, KO, LEN, LVS, MRK, MSFT, MU, PEP, PFE, RHT, SCSS, TXT, UAL, UPS, VIAB, WDC, WFC, WFT. Pete owns TLT puts. Sold AMAT, AVGO, CPN, CTL, FB, MDLZ, NEM, NVDA, RIO, SCSS, SNAP calls. Bought CRM, GDX, EOG, FCX, LOW, MU, OA, TMUS, UUP calls. Sold AAP, BBY, CHRW, GILD, WYNN. Bought CSX, UPS. Tim Seymour is long AMZA, APC, BAC, C, CCJ, CLF, CSCO, DAL, DPZ, DVYE, EEM, EUFN, EWM, FB, FXI, GILD, GM, GOOGL, HAL, INTC, LOW, M, MAT, MCD, MOS, MPEL, RAI, RH, RL, SBUX, SQ, T, TWTR, UA, UAL, VALE, VIAB, VOD, VRX, XLE. Tim Seymour is short IWM, XRT, RACE, SPY. Karen Finerman is long AAL, BAC, BAC short calls, Bitcoin and Ethereum, C, DAL, short EFX, EEM, EPI, EWW, DVYE, FB, FNAC, GMLP, GLNG, GM, GOGO, GOOG, GOOGL, JPM, LYV, KORS, KORS calls, KORS puts, MA, SEDG, SPY puts, TACO, URI, WIFI, WFM. Bitcoin and Ethereum are in her kids' Trust. Her firm is long ANTM, BAC short calls, C, C calls, FB, FNAC, GOOG, GOOGL, GLNG, GMLP, JPM, JPM calls, KORS puts, LYV, SPY puts, SPY put spreads, VRX, WIFI, UAL, her firm is short IWM, MDY, VRX calls. Karen bought URI. Dan Nathan is long AMD, DIS, INTC, IPOA, M, NKE, T. Dan sold XLF. Dan bought AMD and IPOA. More From CNBC Your first trade for Friday, September 15 Your first trade for Thursday, September 14 Here's what traders made of Jamie Dimon's bitcoin comments \|\| JPMorgan's top quant strategist, echoing CEO, compares bitcoin to 'pyramid scheme': JPMorgan's top quant strategist backed his boss this week in bashing bitcoin, warning that the cryptocurrency is likely a "pyramid scheme." Marko Kolanovic, the bank's global head of quantitative and derivatives strategy, said in a note on Wednesday that in addition to being volatile and difficult to value, "another worrying aspect of cryptocurrencies are some parallels to fraudulent pyramid schemes." Bitcoin needs to be mined, or discovered, by people using computers to solve problems. Its murky origin raises questions, he said. "It is believed that an unknown person (or persons) known as 'Satoshi Nakamoto', before disappearing, mined the first 1-2 million coins or about 10 percent of the coins that will ever exist." He added, "Mining becomes progressively more difficult, and eventually unprofitable." Bitcoin surged more than 10 percent on Friday , but was still on track for a big weekly loss during a tumultuous period of trading. Earlier this week, JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon called bitcoin a "fraud," saying that the cryptocurrency "won't end well." Dimon was speaking at the Delivering Alpha conference presented by CNBC and Institutional Investor. Bitcoin plunged about 13 percent Thursday after one of the biggest exchanges in China said it will shut down its operation . BTC China said in a tweet Thursday that it will close down its operations by Sept. 30 as Chinese authorities crack down on cryptocurrencies. But to be sure, many see bitcoin as a huge opportunity. Former JPMorgan strategist Tom Lee said the cryptocurrency could surge another 600 percent in five years. "I unequivocally believe bitcoin is your best investment to the end of the year," the Fundstrat co-founder told CNBC, standing by similar remarks he made Aug. 9 on "Fast Money." "It's not worth it to look at bitcoin two months, two weeks ahead," Lee argued, saying he still believes each bitcoin will be worth $25,000 in five years. An unconvinced Kolanovic rattled off a number of risks. "There is no organized power behind this currency to e.g. ensure its long term viability, secure trade, enforce its acceptability for goods and services, or provide investor fraud protection," he said. "If the use of cryptocurrencies were to increase to an extent that they start competing with traditional 'country' currencies they would be quickly regulated or outlawed." WATCH: Bitcoin bounces back More From CNBC Terror to end bitcoin anonymity? 'Smart' people and Panama Papers Bitcoin mining IPO falls short View comments \|\| Amazon may indeed be getting into the pharma space -- but recent state license deals are not related: The comedian Dana Carvey once asked the question, "Don't you love the pharmacy?" The 5-minute bit that followed highlighted all the awkward, confusing, and often frustrating elements of the pharmacy experience. The audience was with him the whole time. Whether or not Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) CEO Jeff Bezos watched Carvey's show, many in the industry agree that pharmacy is primed for disruption -- starting with home delivery. In fact, despite the best efforts of a group of companies called pharmacy benefits managers (PBMs), such as CVS Caremark (NYSE: CVS) and Express Scripts (NASDAQ: ESRX) , mail order pharmacies only fill a paltry 1 out of every 10 prescriptions. Most of the 4 billion prescriptions dispensed in the U.S. every year are filled at one of 60,000 retail pharmacy locations. That should seem surprising, as the vast majority of prescriptions are refills of ongoing medications. And that makes it ideal for home delivery.So a recent report that Amazon had acquired pharmacy wholesaler licenses sparked a major wave of excitement in the industry. After all, Amazon had hinted at their potential ambitions last spring when they contacted several industry experts about pharmacy and PBMs, as reported by CNBC. Speculation was further fueled by the acquisition of Whole Foods. A retail base coupled with mail order could be an attractive pharmacy or foundation for a PBM. Add these new so-called pharmaceutical wholesaler licenses into the mix and all the pieces seemed to be coming together. Except that it isn't. At least not yet.What do the licenses mean?The reported pharmacy wholesale licenses that Amazon acquired in 12 states is not a clear signal that the company is entering the pharmacy or pharmaceutical distribution business. The licenses Amazon applied for happen to cover the distribution of medical-surgical equipment, devices, and other healthcare related equipment, a business they are in today. The confusion results from the fact that states lump many types of distributors together in the same databases, using the same licensing forms.What many of the ensuing media reports failed to mention is that becoming a pharmaceutical distributor or pharmacy entails additional licensure at both the state and national level.If Amazon was entering the pharmaceutical distribution business they would need to become a "Verified Accredited Wholesale Distributor" (VAWD) by the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP). Amazon is not one of the 607 VAWD certified facilities. The laws in Indiana require VAWD certification prior to operation.Bottom line: Amazon doesn't have any licenses to distribute or dispense prescription medications, in Indiana or any other state.What's next? Drones?At this point, I'm asking myself how hard would it be for Amazon to actually get VAWD-certified and/or operate a pharmacy or PBM. The answer? Not very hard at all.Amazon could either buy or build most of the software, hardware, and teams needed to start a pharmacy operation (dispensing or wholesale). Getting state licenses could take a matter of months, and not years. A budget of a few hundred million would accomplish this job, a small portion of Amazon's $16 billion annual R&D budget.Could Amazon distribute pharmaceuticals to their own Whole Foods pharmacies in conjunction with a Amazon mail order pharmacy? Absolutely. This would enable Amazon to control their own supply chain. Perhaps they would manufacture their own generic medications like many wholesalers do. Brand drug manufacturers might welcome Amazon, at least initially, as an additional channel to reach consumers. Frankly, and in my opinion, the most challenging part for Amazon would be dealing with PBMs.Most importantly, could Amazon transform the retail pharmacy and mail experience with a combination of self-service kiosks, lockers, delivery services, and even drones?Something tells me that something big is going to happen in pharmacy -- and soon. Maybe there's even an opportunity for a combined distribution, pharmacy, and PBM. It's hard to believe any company is better positioned to make one or all of these happen than Amazon. And making pharmacy less of a talking-point for comedians would be very pleasant side effect indeed. Stephen Buck is a drug supply chain expert and the co-founder of Courage Health , a start-up that provides answers to cancer patients about their life expectancy. He previously founded RxDividends, a B2B pharmacy savings company that was acquired by GoodRx. The comedian Dana Carvey once asked the question, "Don't you love the pharmacy?" The 5-minute bit that followed highlighted all the awkward, confusing, and often frustrating elements of the pharmacy experience. The audience was with him the whole time. Whether or not Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) CEO Jeff Bezos watched Carvey's show, many in the industry agree that pharmacy is primed for disruption -- starting with home delivery. In fact, despite the best efforts of a group of companies called pharmacy benefits managers (PBMs), such as CVS Caremark (NYSE: CVS) and Express Scripts (NASDAQ: ESRX) , mail order pharmacies only fill a paltry 1 out of every 10 prescriptions. Most of the 4 billion prescriptions dispensed in the U.S. every year are filled at one of 60,000 retail pharmacy locations. That should seem surprising, as the vast majority of prescriptions are refills of ongoing medications. And that makes it ideal for home delivery. So a recent report that Amazon had acquired pharmacy wholesaler licenses sparked a major wave of excitement in the industry. After all, Amazon had hinted at their potential ambitions last spring when they contacted several industry experts about pharmacy and PBMs, as reported by CNBC. Speculation was further fueled by the acquisition of Whole Foods. A retail base coupled with mail order could be an attractive pharmacy or foundation for a PBM. Add these new so-called pharmaceutical wholesaler licenses into the mix and all the pieces seemed to be coming together. Except that it isn't. At least not yet. What do the licenses mean? The reported pharmacy wholesale licenses that Amazon acquired in 12 states is not a clear signal that the company is entering the pharmacy or pharmaceutical distribution business. The licenses Amazon applied for happen to cover the distribution of medical-surgical equipment, devices, and other healthcare related equipment, a business they are in today. The confusion results from the fact that states lump many types of distributors together in the same databases, using the same licensing forms. What many of the ensuing media reports failed to mention is that becoming a pharmaceutical distributor or pharmacy entails additional licensure at both the state and national level. If Amazon was entering the pharmaceutical distribution business they would need to become a "Verified Accredited Wholesale Distributor" (VAWD) by the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP). Amazon is not one of the 607 VAWD certified facilities. The laws in Indiana require VAWD certification prior to operation. Bottom line: Amazon doesn't have any licenses to distribute or dispense prescription medications, in Indiana or any other state. What's next? Drones? At this point, I'm asking myself how hard would it be for Amazon to actually get VAWD-certified and/or operate a pharmacy or PBM. The answer? Not very hard at all. Amazon could either buy or build most of the software, hardware, and teams needed to start a pharmacy operation (dispensing or wholesale). Getting state licenses could take a matter of months, and not years. A budget of a few hundred million would accomplish this job, a small portion of Amazon's $16 billion annual R&D budget. Could Amazon distribute pharmaceuticals to their own Whole Foods pharmacies in conjunction with a Amazon mail order pharmacy? Absolutely. This would enable Amazon to control their own supply chain. Perhaps they would manufacture their own generic medications like many wholesalers do. Brand drug manufacturers might welcome Amazon, at least initially, as an additional channel to reach consumers. Frankly, and in my opinion, the most challenging part for Amazon would be dealing with PBMs. Most importantly, could Amazon transform the retail pharmacy and mail experience with a combination of self-service kiosks, lockers, delivery services, and even drones? Something tells me that something big is going to happen in pharmacy -- and soon. Maybe there's even an opportunity for a combined distribution, pharmacy, and PBM. It's hard to believe any company is better positioned to make one or all of these happen than Amazon. And making pharmacy less of a talking-point for comedians would be very pleasant side effect indeed. Stephen Buck is a drug supply chain expert and the co-founder of Courage Health , a start-up that provides answers to cancer patients about their life expectancy. He previously founded RxDividends, a B2B pharmacy savings company that was acquired by GoodRx. More From CNBC CNBC reviews the $1,150 new iPhone X — the best smartphone you can buy Don't worry about big tech getting grilled in DC this week: Credit Suisse's Peck Bitcoin futures approval sparks fears: 'The financial crisis all over again' \|\| Here are the two biggest risks for bitcoin: It’s been another wild day for bitcoin ( BTCUSD=X ) as the cryptocurrency faces both regulatory and structural challenges. On the regulation front, it’s getting hit hard in China. One of the biggest exchanges in the country, BTC China, said it’s shutting down trading in the next couple weeks. 1/ After carefully considering the announcement published by Chinese regulators on 09/04, BTCChina Exchange will stop all trading on 09/30. — BTCC (@YourBTCC) September 14, 2017 The announcement sparked today’s selloff, bringing bitcoin down 20% from the high it set earlier this month. But it’s not just BTC China, several of China’s top bitcoin exchanges are preparing to halt operations, after a reported regulatory crackdown. The other major risk for bitcoin is structural. Buying and selling bitcoin is still somewhat clunky. At times, confirming one transaction can take more than an hour and sometimes more than a day. But trading and investing in bitcoin might get easier very soon. Bitcoin Average Confirmation Time The Chicago Board Options Exchange is planning to offer cash-settled bitcoin futures next year, according to CNBC. The CFTC recently approved a platform to act as a clearing house for derivatives settled in digital currencies. Meanwhile the SEC is still reviewing a plan for a bitcoin ETF, a proposal that once looked like it was dead in the water. All this could open up bitcoin to a wider array of investors and traders, as liquidity, security, and settlement times improve. \|\| The companies most likely to benefit from the GOP tax plan are surging: Trump Mnuchin Reuters The GOP tax reform plan prompted rallies in the two areas of the stock market most sensitive to the proposed measures: highly taxed companies and those with cash overseas. After losing confidence in tax reform, investors appear to be swayed in the short term that progress is being made. The stocks most closely linked to the GOP's tax plan rallied on Thursday on signs of progress for policies that are expected to boost profits. These companies can be broken into two main groups : (1) Those who pay the most taxes, and would, therefore, benefit most from a cut, and (2) those with the most cash stashed overseas and would see a huge windfall from a proposed one-time repatriation tax holiday. That tax plan details were released on Thursday and not delayed further was clearly viewed as a positive sign for investors who have been crouched in wait-and-see mode for weeks. Here's a round-up of the action: Highly taxed companies A Goldman Sachs basket of 50 companies that pay high taxes, spread across a variety of US industries, climbed sharply around the time details of the GOP tax plan started trickling out. After trading little changed for much of the morning, the index then rose as much as 0.4%. The chart below shows how Goldman's high-tax basket has traded relative to the S&P 500 . Note that while the line had descended to the lowest level since the election in recent weeks, it climbed on Thursday, indicating outperformance relative to the US equity benchmark. High Tax Stocks Business Insider / Joe Ciolli, data from Bloomberg Companies that hold the most cash overseas A Goldman Sachs basket of companies that make a large portion of their earnings overseas, and thereby have big foreign cash holdings. The GOP tax plan is designed to have those firms bring cash held internationally back into the US. After trading down as much as 0.6% Thursday morning, the index sharply pared those losses and is now around breakeven for the day. Story continues The chart below shows how Goldman's high-overseas cash basket has traded relative to the S&P 500 . Note that while the line had fallen over the previous week, it climbed on Thursday, indicating outperformance relative to the US equity benchmark. High Overseas Cash Stocks Business Insider / Joe Ciolli, data from Bloomberg NOW WATCH: $6 TRILLION INVESTMENT CHIEF: Bitcoin is a bubble See Also: The group that represents America's small businesses slams the new GOP tax bill Traders don't want to get burned again by Trump's tax reform promises A part of the new GOP tax plan will be a tough sell for Republicans in New Jersey, New York, and California SEE ALSO: Traders don't want to get burned again by Trump's tax reform promises \|\| STOCKS HIT RECORD HIGHS: Here's what you need to know: US Navy George H.W. Bush aircraft carrier Seahawk helicopter US Navy/Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Matt Matlage The major averages closed at record highs on Friday. The day didn't start out so well though, as General Electric caught investors off-guard with its disastrous earnings report ahead of the bell. But, after sliding more than 6% at the open, GE ended the day higher and the S&P 500, Dow Jones industrial average and Nasdaq posted their best closes of all-time. Here's the scoreboard: Dow : 23,317.90, +154.86, (0.67%) S&P 500: 2,574.65, +12.55, (0.49%) Nasdaq: 6,625.41, +23.99, (0.36%) US 10-year yield: 2.318 %, -0.02 WTI crude oil: $51.66, 0.26, 0.51% General Electric's disastrous earnings report caught traders off-guard. The stock clawed its way back on Friday as traders digested CEO John Flannery's restructuring plan. Snap hit with more layoffs, plans to slow hiring in 2018. Snap's stock, on the other hand, rose as the company cut workers and said it was slowing plans for future hiring. Bitcoin spikes to a record high near $6,000. The currency is at all-time highs, even as Wall Street wrestles over its future. Catalonia's fight for independence is about to hit a wall. Tensions in the Spanish region are simmering, and the Spain's stock market has been reflecting that volatility. The GOP has found an innovative new way to steal from your future self. Republicans want to punish people saving for retirement to finance Trump's tax cuts. Other headlines The stock market's robot revolution is here JPMORGAN: Tesla could have to raise the price of the Model 3 Republicans are considering a proposal that would radically change the way you save for retirement Apple will have only shipped 3 million iPhone X units when it launches — good luck finding one NOW WATCH: The stock market has been turned completely upside down See Also: Amazon has triggered a $5 billion bidding war — here are some of the craziest proposals for its new headquarters 2 former presidents — from both parties — blast the state of American politics in unprecedented day STOCKS HIT RECORD HIGHS: Here's what you need to know SEE ALSO: What you need to know on Wall Street today View comments \|\| Americans have more debt than ever — and it's creating an economic trap: teoria risky black stone rock hanging crush smash REUTERS/Andrew Winning An International Monetary Fund report finds that high levels of household debt deepen and prolong recessions. US household debt is at pre-Great Recession levels. Household debt jumped by over $500 billion in the second quarter to $12.84 trillion. A scary little statistic is buried beneath the US economy's apparent stability: Consumer-debt levels are now well above those seen before the Great Recession. As of June, US households were more than half a trillion dollars deeper in debt than they were a year earlier, according to the latest figures from the Federal Reserve. Total household debt now totals $12.84 trillion — also, incidentally, about two-thirds of gross domestic product. The proportion of overall debt that was delinquent in the second quarter was steady at 4.8%, but the New York Fed warned over transitions of credit-card balances into delinquency, which "ticked up notably." Here's the thing: Unlike government debt, which can be rolled over continuously, consumer loans actually need to be paid back. And despite low official interest rates from the Federal Reserve, those often do not trickle down to financial products like credit cards and small-business loans. Michael Lebowitz, the cofounder of the market-analysis firm 720 Global, says the US economy is already dangerously close to the edge. "Most consumers, especially those in the bottom 80%, are tapped out," he told Business Insider. "They have borrowed about as much as they can. Servicing this debt will act like a wet towel on economic growth for years to come. Until wages can grow faster than our true costs of inflation, this problem will only worsen." The International Monetary Fund devotes two chapters of its latest Global Financial Stability Report to the issue of household debt. It finds that, rather intuitively, high debt levels tend to make economic downturns deeper and more prolonged. "Increases in household debt consistently [signal] higher risks when initial debt levels are already high," the IMF says. Story continues Nonetheless, the results indicate that the threshold levels for household-debt increases being associated with negative macro outcomes start relatively low, at about 30% of GDP. Clearly, America is already well past that point. As households become more indebted, the IMF says, future GDP growth and consumption decline and unemployment rises relative to their average values. "Changes in household debt have a positive contemporaneous relationship to real GDP growth and a negative association with future real GDP growth," the report says. Specifically, the IMF says a 5% increase in household debt to GDP over a three-year period leads to a 1.25% fall in real GDP growth three years into the future. The following chart helps visualize the process by which this takes place: Household Debt IMF International Monetary Fund "Housing busts and recessions preceded by larger run-ups in household debt tend to be more severe and protracted," the IMF said. Is there a solution? If things reach a tipping point, yes, says the IMF — there's always debt forgiveness. Even creditors stand to benefit. "We find that government policies can help prevent prolonged contractions in economic activity by addressing the problem of excessive household debt," the report said. The IMF cites "bold household debt restructuring programs such as those implemented in the United States in the 1930s and in Iceland today" as historical precedents. "Such policies can, therefore, help avert self-reinforcing cycles of household defaults, further house price declines, and additional contractions in output." It's no coincidence that household debt soared across many countries right before the most recent global slump. The figures are rather startling: In the five years to 2007, the ratio of household debt to income rose by an average of 39 percentage points, to 138%, in advanced economies. In Denmark, Iceland, Ireland, the Netherlands, and Norway, debt peaked at more than 200% of household income, the IMF said. In other words: We’ve seen this movie before. NOW WATCH: RAY DALIO: You have to bet against the consensus and be right to be successful in the markets See Also: Tesla strikes another deal that shows it's about to turn the car insurance world upside down 21 photos that show just how imposing US aircraft carriers are Bitcoin just hit an all-time high — here's how you buy and sell it SEE ALSO: Tens of millions of Americans are being left out of the economic recovery — and it's easier than ever to see who they are \|\| North Korean hackers target bitcoin exchanges to fund gov't: Report: North Korea may be attempting to circumvent the effects of tough economic sanctions by enlisting state-sponsored hackers to target bitcoin exchanges, according to a prominent cybersecurity firm. In a report published Monday, FireEye said it has detected at least five instances of suspicious activity by North Korean hackers against South Korean cryptocurrency targets since last April, including at least three attacks on virtual currency exchanges. The intrusions followed previous efforts by operators with ties to North Korea to target bank and the global financial system, the firm said. Now, we may be witnessing a second wave of this campaign: state-sponsored actors seeking to steal bitcoin and other virtual currencies as a means of evading sanctions and obtaining hard currencies to fund the regime, the FireEye report said. The apparent state-sponsored hacking efforts occurred at a time when bitcoin and other virtual currencies are rapidly gaining value. Bitcoin prices reached a record-high value of more than $5,100 earlier this month, but dropped significantly to below $4,000 in recent days after the Chinese government announced a crackdown on the use of cryptocurrencies. North Koreas economy is showing signs of strain this week amid significant economic sanctions imposed by the United States and the United Nations over Kim Jong Uns nuclear weapons program, Reuters reported. The latest UN sanctions placed limits on North Korean oil imports and banned the export of textiles from North Korea. FireEye says North Koreas state-sponsored hackers use a technique called spearphishing to target the personal email accounts of individuals working at cryptocurrency exchanges, dispensing malware that allows the hackers to access digital currency wallets. It should be no surprise that cryptocurrencies, as an emerging asset class, are becoming a target of interest by a regime that operates in many ways like a criminal enterprise, the FireEye report said. While at present North Korea is somewhat distinctive in both their willingness to engage in financial crime and their possession of cyber espionage capabilities, the uniqueness of this combination will likely not last long-term as rising cyber powers may see similar potential. Related Articles 5 US troops wounded in Afghanistan suicide attack on 9/11 anniversary White House vows quick action as Harvey aid estimates soar Figures on government spending and debt \|\| AT&T Inc. (T) Stock Is Worth Another Look for the Long Game: AT&T Inc.(NYSE:T) has a lot going for it, especially in current market conditions. Source:Mike Mozart via Flickr If I told you that inflation was closer to 10%, and nowhere near the 3% that you’ve been told, would you panic? Would you even believe me? Well,the bad news is that it is true. The good news is that the Liberty Portfolio, my stock advisory newsletter, creates a long-term diversified portfolio that aims to be inflation with less risk than the market carries. InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips The other good news is that there are stocks like T stock that, between its generous dividend and growth possibilities, may be able to help keep your portfolio at pace with inflation. AT&T was not on my radar as an obsolete telecom company, despite its solid dividend, until it purchased satellite-TV distributor DIRECTV. This was both necessary and essential for T stock. Sure, telecom bought in plenty of revenue, meaning cash flow, and therefore AT&T stock had a consistent dividend. But it lacked earnings growth. DIRECTV was important for T stock because it was a natural tie-in in terms of bundling content distribution with telecom, and the ability for DIRECTV content to make the leap onto cellular phones outfitted with AT&T technology. Yet, the other angle for T stock with this merger was that content distribution is an oligopoly. American homes either have cable or satellite TV. That means regular, recurring revenue to receive that content on a monthly basis, which translates to even more cash flow. DIRECTV also has so many different add-ons that upsells and more cash flow were made possible. • Facebook Inc (FB) Stock: It's Clear That the Zuckerberg Honeymoon is Over The natural move after this was to get into content production.Comcast Corporation(NASDAQ:CMCSA) had already purchased NBC-Universal. Enough years had passed for T stock management to see that this contributed to cash flow as well, so it bought upTime Warner Inc(NYSE:TWX). And why not? AT&T already had the pieces in place for distribution, both via satellite, its U-verse cable product and over the phone. Time Warner has a ton of content that has been successfully been churned out for ages. This includes the premier pay-cable channel, Home Box Office. Not to mention a lock on tons of sports programming Turner Sports, PGA.comm Bleacher Report, NBA.com, NCAA.com, the big-money NBA League Pass (and NFL Sunday Ticket with DIRECTV), along with the big kahunas of Warner Brothers Studios, DC Comics, WB TV, and more than two dozen investments in strategically-positioned companies. What’s important about Time Warner in particular is its reach. It isn’t a niche operator. It is truly mass media, and when you examine all the different content it controls, you realize it hits Americans of every stripe. With a broad demographic, that also is attractive to advertisers, who pony up good money for access, which means more revenue and cash flow. Now, with this huge vertically integrated conglomerate, T stock will benefit because consumers can mix and match their content. Telecom, cable/satellite, programming – all delivered how, where and when a consumer desires. Going forward, and especially thanks to the Time Warner merger, I’m changing my opinion from seeing T stock as just a trading stock. I think AT&T stock price should see reasonable capital gains going forward. First, it pays that 5.08% dividend, which is on the high end for most common equities. But I think 5% earnings growth is easily possible. I don’t like that AT&T now has a mountain of debt that will never be paid off. However, debt service isn’t that expensive, and there is ample free cash flow available to pay that dividend. Also, while I think this sets up AT&T for the near future, at some point, growth is going to flag. The question then becomes: what next? Lawrence Meyers is the CEO of PDL Capital, a specialty lender focusing on consumer finance and is the Manager of The Liberty Portfolio at www.thelibertyportfolio.com. He does not own any stock mentioned but has sold naked puts against TWX stock. He has 22 years’ experience in the stock market, and has written more than 1,600 articles on investing. Lawrence Meyers can be reached at [email protected]. • 5 Bitcoin Stocks to Buy for Low-Risk Cryptocurrency Profits • 7 Spinoff Stocks That Could Be Better Than Their Parents • 10 Smart Money Stocks to Sell for 2018 The postAT&T Inc. (T) Stock Is Worth Another Look for the Long Gameappeared first onInvestorPlace. \|\| Bitcoin Bounces Huge As China’s Influence Wanes: FromTyler Durden: Despiteheadlines from WSJ of “the most draconian measures ever” against Bitcoin, the cryptocurrencytraded up over $1100 from its post-China-“ban” lows and has topped $4100 once againas the world slowly wakes up to the nonsense that shutting down a completely decentralized system is possible, and the fact thatChina has long-since lost any standing as a major trading hub in the crypto world. Bitcoin just topped $4100 (up over $1100 from the lows last week)… Ether is up 50% from last week’s lows – just topping $300 again… And all cryptos are strongly bid today… And here’s one simple chart to explain why “shutting China’s Bitcoin exchanges” is not really that big a deal… As CoinDesk’s Marc Hochstein details,this ain’t Mt. Gox – and bitcoin survived that, too. With all thepanic sellingfollowing the Chinese government’s renewedcrackdownon bitcoin exchanges,it’s important to remember that the country is no longer the trading hub it once was. All else equal, that means the market may take less time to recover from the latest sell-off than from the one that took placein 2013(you know, when the People’s Bank of China suddenly declared thatbitcoin was not a currencyand ordered payment processors to stop accepting it). Just a reminder of how bad the fallout from that that really was, duringthe three yearsit took bitcoin to recover from those bombshells, it lost nearly half its value, dropping from an all-time high of $1,150 to under $500. But that was at a time when Chinese bitcoin trading accounted for as much as 90% of global volume (as shown in the chart below from CoinDesk’s second-quarterState of Blockchain report.) This state of affairs persisted until as recently as January of this year: Since then, however, China’s share of bitcoin trading volume has fallen dramatically. This is likely for two reasons: China’s Januaryban on no-fee tradingon the country’s exchanges dramatically reduced volume there; and the rise of trading volumes inJapanand South Korea as shown in the chart below: “Global trading volume now appears more distributed than ever before,”our State of Blockchain reportnoted in June. Remember also, this time around there hasn’t been any formal guidance from government – and it appears local exchanges Huobi and OKCoin will continue letting users trade between cryptocurrencies. In short, this is far from a blanket ban. Of course, there are many variables that influence the price of bitcoin, so there is no guarantee of a speedier recovery. But thanks to this more diversified market, and in context, still limited action, it stands to reason that the regulatory interventions of a single country (even the world’s most populous country) should have less impact on the bitcoin price over the long term. The bottom line is simple –China, Shmyna… and as far as Jamie Dimon is concerned “storm in a teacup.” As we noted earlier,China’s crackdown is a double edged sword: after all bitcoin was created precisely with the contingency of a government crackdown in mind, and as suchshould bitcoin prove resilient to Beijing’s actions it will only make it that much more valuable, sending its price even higher.Furthermore, China would be effectively shutting itself out of a growing global market and potentially, lagging in blockchain development. Winklevoss Bitcoin Trust ETF (NASDAQ:COIN)rose $0.24 (+0.1%) in premarket trading Tuesday. Year-to-date, COIN has gained 12.75%, versus a % rise in the benchmark S&P 500 index during the same period. This article is brought to you courtesy ofZeroHedge. [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] A Bitcoin Crash Could Really Punish These Stocks http://for.tn/2g3hOfE #ICO #BTC #News #ETH \|\| 11月のBTC分裂問題。BCC（BCH）と一緒でコイン増えるだけっしょ？だと死ぬことはよくわかった…どうするかは少し考えたい。ってもできることはフィアットに変えておくぐらいだが…アルトに変えるってのはあり得ん \|\| #Putin Tells Central Bank Not to Create Barriers to #Cryptocurrencies \|\| #Putin Tells Central Bank Not to Create Barriers to #Cryptocurrencies \|\| ビットフライヤーのＣＭがＴＶでも流れるようになったビットフライヤーとは大手が出資するビットコインとイーサリアムの取引所のことだ \|\| $4743.72 at 07:00 UTC [24h Range: $4700.00 - $4909.97 Volume: 11847 BTC] \|\| El precio del Bitcoin en más de 160 monedas http://www.preciobitcoin.net/?btz50=0017100710 … \|\| BTC Real Time Price: ThePriceOfBTC: $4148.89 #bitstamp; $4151.84 #gemini; $4156.00 #GDAX; $4156.00 #kraken; $4160.71 #hitbtc; $4239.70 #cex; \|\| 2016: "Xapo is planning to upgrade to Classic. We're committed to helping bitcoin scale and to supporting the initiatives that can take us … \|\| What can you buy with bitcoins? http://bitcoinb.net/guide-what-can-you-buy-with-bitcoins.html … #QA #Bitcoin	Trend: down \|\| Prices: 7407.41, 7022.76, 7144.38, 7459.69, 7143.58, 6618.14, 6357.60, 5950.07, 6559.49, 6635.75
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis] Not fully available. [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Sector ETF Strategies to Manage Risk and Enhance Returns: This article was originally published onETFTrends.com. With a changing market environment, many investors are looking to sectors to take a targeted approach to managing risks and enhancing returns. On the upcoming webcast,Sector ETF Strategies to Manage Risk and Enhance Returns, Steve Deroian, Head of ETF Strategy at John Hancock Investments, and Peter Dillard, Chief Data Officer and Head of Investment Analytics and Data for Dimensional Fund Advisors, will outline how financial advisors can incorporate sector-specific investments to best position portfolios for today’s market. For example, investors can look to sector-specific, smart beta ETFs to take a more targeted approach with their portfolios, including the John Hancock Multifactor Consumer Discretionary ETF (JHMC) , John Hancock Multifactor Financials ETF (JHMF) , John Hancock Multifactor Healthcare ETF (JHMH) , John Hancock Multifactor Technology ETF (JHMT) , John Hancock Multifactor Consumer Staples ETF (JHMS) , John Hancock Multifactor Energy ETF (JHME) , John Hancock Multifactor Industrials ETF (JHMI) , John Hancock Multifactor Materials ETF (JHMA) and John Hancock Multifactor Utilities ETF (JHMU) . The underlying indices' methodology are managed by Dimensional Fund advisors, a pioneer in applying insight from academic research to a systematic investment process that pursues higher expected returns through advanced portfolio design and implementation. The smart-beta ETFs follow a rules-based selection process that is seen as a multi-factor approach, combining a number of factors in a single portfolio. Securities are adjusted by relative price and profitability. The underlying indices may overweight stocks with lower relative prices and underweight names with higher relative prices. The indices can also adjust for profitability by overweighting stocks with higher profitability and underweighting those with lower profitability. The underlying indices also implement market-capitalization adjustments where they increase the weights of smaller companies within the eligible universe and decrease the weights of larger names. The weighting methodology help the ETFs follow a more equal-weight tilt with greater exposure to smaller companies than traditional market-cap weighted index funds in an attempt to capture the size premium and limit risks associated with high-flying, large-cap stocks that may be overbought in an ongoing bull market rally. Financial advisors who are interested in learning more about sector strategies canregister for the Tuesday, April 2 webcast here. POPULAR ARTICLES AND RESOURCES FROM ETFTRENDS.COM • SPY ETF Quote • VOO ETF Quote • QQQ ETF Quote • VTI ETF Quote • JNUG ETF Quote • Top 34 Gold ETFs • Top 34 Oil ETFs • Top 57 Financials ETFs • Using Merger Arbitrage as a Hedge Against Market Volatility • A Better Way to Determine Risk Exposure for Growth ETF Investors • Report Findings Highlight Fake Bitcoin Trading on Unregulated Exchanges • How to Manage A Mature Bull Market With Macro-Themed ETF Strategies • In the Know: Building a Low Cost, Defensive Portfolio READ MORE AT ETFTRENDS.COM > \|\| Bitcoin Beats the Dow, Outperforming Every Single Stock, in 2019: Traders and analysts are screaming about the stock market’s “historic” first quarter. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) – which tracks 30 of the largest American companies – has staged an epic rally since the start of the year, chalking up 12 percent. But forget stocks. Bitcoin is outperforming the broader stock market by a huge margin. In fact, bitcoin is outperforming every stock on the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Bitcoin’s 44 percent year-to-date gains compared to the Dow’s 12 percent in the same time period. Source: TradingView As you can see in the chart above, bitcoin has gained 44 percent since the start of the year. In contrast, the Dow has etched out 12 percent. It’s still an impressive rise for stocks. Just three months into the year and the Dow has already surpassed the annual average stock market return of10 percent. Bitcoin’s rise in the same time period, however, makes the stock market rally look weak. On Wednesday, bitcoincarved out a new 2019 high, coming within touching distance of $5,500 on the Bitstamp exchange. It marks the peak of 44 percent bull run since the start of the year. Read the full story on CCN.com. \|\| Decred, an experiment in on-chain governance: Decred’s origin story traces back to two distinct points: an obscure Bitcointalkpostin April 2013 and ablog postintroducing an alternative Bitcoin full-node implementation, dubbedbtcd, in May 2013. The people behind these two posts would soon come to work together to create Decred, a cryptocurrency with a built-in governance system. On April 3, 2013, a Bitcointalk user going by TradeFortress started a thread titled “Want to make an altcoin that actually changes something?” In the post, another user, who went by the pseudonym tacotime,expressedhis interest in developing an altcoin but “just [needed] people with the time to code.” Four days later, tacotimeintroducedBitcointalk to MC2 (Memcoin2) a cryptocurrency based on a hybrid Proof-of-Work and Proof-of-Stake system. Join Genesis nowand continue reading,Decred, an experiment in on-chain governance! \|\| XRP Swells 13.06% in a Sharp Recovery as Ripple ETPs Take Off: Ripple was a big mover this Friday as the company saw itsXRP pricerise nearly 13-percent ahead of the European market open. The XRP-to-dollar rate today established an intraday high towards $0.372 at about 0515 UTC. Earlier the same day, the pair was moving downwards in a massive bearish correction wave that confirmed a reversal upon testing 0.329. The bounce back move came on a substantial volume with far more XRP changing hands against Tether’s stablecoin USDT, South Korean Won, and Bitcoin’s BTC. RIPPLE’S XRP PRICE JUMPS OVER 13-PERCENT IN INTRADAY CORRECTION \| SOURCE: COINMARKETCAP.COM Data on CoinMarketCap.com reported that XRP-enabled pairs conducted $2.351 billion worth of trades in the past 24 hours. At the same time, Yahoo Finance noted the same volume was around $49.84 million on a real-time basis. Ripple, as a company, witnessed developments on the business front this week. A blockchain initiative launched by the European Commission introduced Ripple as a crucial associate. In another event, the company forged a partnership with UK-based RationalFX to lend its RippleNet payment services. And effectively today, Nordic Growth Market, a regulated exchange owned by the Germany-based Boerse Stuttgart,introducedXRP tracking exchange-traded products to the EU investors. The announcement opened XRP’s prospects further among the institutional investors’ class. There is no evidence that XRP’s sharp intraday recovery today followed a set of positive fundamental news from the press. The coin was already moving upwards in the line of the rest of the cryptocurrency market since April 2. The leading cryptocurrencybitcoin started correcting loweryesterday. Other cryptocurrencies alsotailedbitcoin’s interim downside trend, including XRP. It is only upon today’s European market open XRP decoupled itself from bitcoin. Read the full story on CCN.com. \|\| European Equities: Will the PMI Numbers Deliver another Boost?: • German PPI m/m (Mar) • French Manufacturing PMI (Apr) prelim • French Services PMI (Apr) prelim • German Manufacturing PMI (Apr) prelim • German Services PMI (Apr) prelim • Manufacturing PMI (Apr) prelim (Eurozone) • Markit Composite PMI (Apr) prelim (Eurozone) • Services PMI (Apr) prelim (Eurozone) • N/A The European majors continued with their mini-rally on Wednesday. The CAC40 led the way on the day, rising by 0.62%. Not too far behind were the DAX and EuroStoxx600 with gains of 0.43% and 0.10% respectively. For the current week, the DAX leads the way with a 1.28% gain coming from a 6thconsecutive day in the green. The upward momentum has given the DAX a 5.44% rise for the current month, which has only been outgunned by the CSI300. The CSI300 was up by 5.55% for April. Economic data released through the European session on Wednesday was limited to finalized Eurozone inflation and trade data. According to figures released by theEuropean Commission, the Eurozone’s trade surplus widened from €1.5bn to €17.9bn in February. Inflation figures were in line with forecasts, with the annual rate of core inflation sitting at 0.8%, well below the ECB target. The stats had little influence on the day, in spite of the widening in the trade deficit. A choppy start to the day saw the major bourses fall into the red before rallying through the second half of the day. Providing support through the day was better than expected economic data out of China. The Chinese economy grew by 6.4%, year-on-year, in the first quarter, which was better than a forecasted 6.3%. Whilst growth for the quarter eased to 1.4%, quarter-on-quarter, the rest of the stats were impressive. Industrial production surged by 8.5% in March, with retail sales jumping by 8.7%. The stats certainly eased any market jitters over the global economy supported by hopes of the U.S and China nearing an agreement. Driven by the stats out of China, European banks and autos continued to lead the way. On the DAX, Volkswagen and Daimler were amongst the front runners, gaining 2.95% and 2.30% respectively. From the financial sector, BNP Paribas and Commerzbank gained 1.64% and 1.54% respectively. Deutsche Bank trailed the due, gaining 0.73% on the day. The European majors managed to avoid a late pullback as the U.S majors struggled following disappointing earnings results from Netflix and IBM. Following 1stquarter GDP numbers and more out of China and trade and inflation figures out of the Eurozone, stats are more regionally specific this morning. Economic data due out of the Eurozone include flash April private-sector PMI numbers for France, Germany, and the Eurozone. While the market is unlikely to expect Germany’s manufacturing sector to return to expansion in April, a slower pace of contraction would be needed. A combination of better than expected economic data out of China and a slower pace of contraction Germany’s manufacturing sector would fuel the current rally. On the earnings front, American Express is due to release their quarterly earnings. Positive results will likely have a more muted impact on risk sentiment. Economic data out of the U.S later today will be of importance. U.S retail sales and private sector PMI numbers will provide further guidance on how the U.S economy is performing going into the 2ndquarter. At the time of writing, it was a mixed bag for the futures. The DAX30 was down 19.5 points, while the CAC40 was pointing to a 34 point gain at the open. Thisarticlewas originally posted on FX Empire • US Stock Markets Setting Up for Increased Volatility • Forex Daily Recap – USD/CNY Marked the Month’s Lowest Vicinity Following Solid Chinese Data • Investors on the Sidelines Ahead of the Long Weekend • Aussie Employment Change Beats Forecast; AUD/USD Shows Muted Upside Reaction • GBP/USD Daily Price Forecast – The Highly Bullish-expected US Retails Data May Leave The Cable Badly Wounded • Bitcoin Cash – ABC, Litecoin and Ripple Daily Analysis – 18/04/19 \|\| Canada Seizes $1.4 Million Bitcoin Holdings in Reportedly Largest Ever Forfeiture: A Toronto judge has ruled an online drug dealer must pay his entire $1.4 million Bitcoin (BTC) holdings to the state in what is reportedlyCanada’slargest ever forfeiture, local daily news outletThe Starreported April 3. Matthew Phan, who dealt in illegal narcotics online, had tried to convince law enforcement he had amassed his 281.41 BTC (worth around $1.4 million at press time) through other activities. The court had sought to claim the stash in February, with Phanappealingagainst the demands, a process he has now appeared to lose. According to The Star, Superior Court Justice Jane Kelly said Phan had failed to convince her that the funds had materialized as a result of legal operations such as trading oncryptocurrency exchanges. “It is a reasonable inference to draw that payment for such illegal narcotics sales was made using Bitcoin that was found in the digital wallet on Mr. Phan’s computer,” the publication quotes her as saying Wednesday. The case comes in the aftermath of heightened media attention around Bitcoin in Canada following the collapse of trading platformQuadrigaCX. The platform, the CEO of which unexpectedly died in December last year, currentlyowesits clients around $190 million in crypto andfiatamid controversy over its liquidity and funds handling. Ernst & Young, currently working as administrators for the business, this week officiallyadmittedthe chances of a reemergence from its present difficulties was unlikely. At the same time, in a separate case, Canadian prosecutors have ordered the freezing of $22 million inICOtokens issued by local consulting firm Vanbex amid suspicions its organizers used the profits for personal gain. The companydeniesany wrongdoing. • Report: Crypto Miner Hut 8 Lays Off More Staff • India: Interim Bail Granted to Two Brothers Accused in $300 Mln Crypto Ponzi Scheme • Mt. Gox CEO Decides to Appeal Conviction on Manipulating Financial Records • Report: Prosecutors Drop Appeal Against Mt. Gox CEO’s Embezzlement Acquittal \|\| Bitcoin Whales Have Started Splashing – This Rally’s Just Getting Started: On Squawk Box, Fundstrat Global Advisors head of research Thomas Lee said that despite the 16-month correction, bitcoin is en route to a steady accumulation phase throughout 2019. In the past 24 hours, thebitcoin priceexperienced a roughly 2.7 percent recovery following a slight pullback, climbing to $5,055 and leading a nearly $8 billion crypto market recovery. Following a slight correction, the bitcoin price has recovered (source: coinmarketcap.com) The slight retrace came after an impressive 19 percent rally of bitcoin from $4,200 to $5,000, a price movement analysts like Lee believe was crucial in rekindling the momentum of the market. According to Lee, whales that boughtbitcoinvery early on who sold some of their holdings when the asset hit a price of $20,000 have started toaccumulatethe dominant cryptocurrency. The researcher suggested that many investors in the cryptocurrency market likely kept cash on the sidelines waiting for a viable opportunity to invest in the asset class once again, demonstrating the confidence of investors in the long-term trend of the market. Leesaid: Read the full story on CCN.com. \|\| Monero Developers Confirm Fix of Bug That Lost Balances for Ledger Wallet Users: Monero (XMR) developers have fixed a bug involvingcryptocurrencyhardwarewalletLedgerthat made user funds look like they had disappeared, they confirmed onsocial mediaon April 8. Reportedin early March, the bug, which Ledger originally thought to be a synchronization problem, first came to light when a user’s balance failed to react to an incoming transaction. The problem only affected those using Ledger Nano S devices to access their XMR wallet. As of this week, the issue has officially been resolved through the issuance of a patch from Monero developers luigi1111 and stoffu. The amount thought to be lost in the initial red flag transaction totalled 1,680 XMR (around $115,00), leading to concerns of a major flaw. In the end, Monero says, the number of wallets involved was minimal. “A few weeks ago some Ledger Monero users got affected by a bug in the Ledger Monero code. Due to the bug, a handful of transactions were erroneously constructed and the wallet was not able to spot (and subsequently credit) the change, thereby letting the user believe their funds were lost,” a summary of the fix on Reddit now reads. The summary continues: “Fortunately, we were, in collaboration with the Ledger team, able to resolve this bug and recover the 'lost' funds of the affected users.” Going forward, Monero promised to review the Ledger Monero code more rigorously, adding tests in a format similar to what is currently done for fellow hardware walletTrezor. “This, hopefully, will ensure no such bugs will be present in the future,” the summary adds. Monero is a privacy-focusedaltcointhat currently occupiesthirteenth placein the top twenty cryptocurrencies by market cap. Its anonymity features have made it afavoritefor those concerned about privacy, but have also endeared it to cybercriminals, who havedevelopedmalwareto mine it covertly on user devices. Last week, XMR.to, a service which allowed Bitcoin (BTC) users to increase the privacy of their own transactions using XMR,removed supportforUnited Statesresidents due to regulatory compliance difficulties. • Bitcoin Hovers Over $5,000 as Top Cryptos See Losses • French Stock Market Regulator Issues Warning About Crypto-Related Firm • TrueUSD Audit Shows Full US Dollar Backing • Speak Out: Discussing Your Experience With ICOs \|\| Bank for International Settlements Exec Advises Against Central Bank Digital Currencies: Bitcoin (BTC) critic and general manager at the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) Agustin Carstens advised against the issuance of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) in a speech in Dublin on March 22. Bloombergreportedon the speech the same day. Per the report, Carstens explained that a CBDC could facilitate a bank run, enabling people to move their funds from commercialbankstocentral bankaccounts faster, thus destabilizing the system. Another issue that Carstens said arises with CBDC use, according to Bloomberg, is the different impact of interest rates on the public's demand for money. Carstens reportedly said that this influence could lead to bigger central bank balance sheets that require a buildup of assets, which could potentially impact the liquidity of the financial markets. Per Bloomberg, he also noted that there are enormous operational consequences for the central bank in the implementation of monetary policy and the traditional market’s stability. Lastly, he noted: “Central banks do not put a brake on innovations just for the sake of it. But neither should they speed ahead disregarding all traffic conditions.” As Cointelegraphreportedin February, Carstens calledBitcoina “combination of a bubble, a Ponzi scheme and an environmental disaster” and asked central banks to more closely regulate cryptocurrencies to prevent them from becoming part of the main financial system. A report published in January by the BIShas found that seventy percentof central banks worldwide are conducting research into CBDC issuance. • United Arab Emirates’ Financial Authorities Host Crypto Asset and Fintech Forum • German Bank Association: New Regulation for DLT-Based Securities May Be Necessary • Growth of Crypto Industry Could Threaten Banks, Financial Stability: Basel Committee • Leading Bitcoin Cash Developer Amaury Séchet Leaves Bitcoin Unlimited \|\| Crypto Mixed; France Suggests Ban on Privacy Coins: Prices of major digital coins were mixed on Friday morning in Asia. Investing.com – With regulations on cryptocurrencies being formulated and suggested around the world, prices of major digital coins were mixed on Friday morning in Asia. Bitcoin slid 0.07% to 3,876.9 by 10:24 PM ET (03:24 AM GMT). The coin still lingered at one-week highs after surviving a mid-week dive to around $3,700. Ethereum also went down 13.64% to $135.97, and XRP traded 1.72% lower to $0.31167 over the last 24 hours. Litecoin was the only gainer, increasing 0.09% to 55.92. Going full steam, the coin has surged 22.14% over the past week. The crypto market cap stayed flat at around $133 billion. It added $7 billion so far from the beginning of this week. The most notable news in the industry this morning was France’s announcement that it might push forward a ban on anonymous cryptocurrencies. Eric Woerth, the head of the Finance Committee of France’s National Assembly, proposed a ban on these private coins. “It would also have been appropriate to propose a ban on the dissemination and trade in [cryptocurrencies built] to ensure complete anonymity by preventing any identification procedure by design,” said Woerth. He cited private coins such as Monero, PIVX, DeepOnion, Zcash, saying the purpose of creating these coins is to bypass any possibility of identifying the holders. He said “regulation has not gone that far.” Japanese regulators made a similar move last April, when they suggested a ban on trading anonymity-oriented altcoins Dash and Monero. France is not considered crypto-friendly, at least to date. Last year, French parliament blocked amendments to ease crypto-related taxation, and its central bank would not support tobacco kiosks’ sale of Bitcoin. In other news, Israel’s securities regulators published final recommendations on crypto regulation that suggested disclosure requirements for crypto offerings that qualify as securities. The regulators said that such offerings should be controlled like crowdfunding. Story continues Related Articles US SEC to Clarify Cryptocurrency Related Regulations in Meetings with Startups Auscoin Scam Busted; Sam Karagiozis Arrested on Drug Trafficking Charges New York Times Posts ‘Blockchain Exploration’ Job Listing, Removes It Hours Later [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] SoftBank's Masayoshi Son made a huge personal bet on bitcoin just as prices peaked and lost more than $130 million when he sold out https://t.co/Ov7psYVz76 \|\| #crypto price changes last hour $EGC +8.22% $XHV +7.72% $GLC +7.54% $FSN -7.10% $MUSIC -4.66% $DENT -4.00% #bitcoin #cryptocurrency \|\| Belensay rüzgarı nereye eserse orası güzelleşiyor.. #SAMAT artık 1.10 okuyorsunuz// BELENSAY analiz gurubu.. #bist #bist100 #usdtry #XU100 #𝒷𝑒𝓁𝑒𝓃𝓈𝒶𝓎 Since 2012 #doge #dogeusd #btc #btcusd YTD \|\| Awesome things made by awesome project / people! The Komodo guys are working like no one else in this crypto space! #Komodo #Success #Kmd #Ethereum #cryptocurrency #bitcoin https://twitter.com/KomodoWorld/status/1111297339975745536 … \|\| #cryptocurrency Price Analysis for #Bitsend #BSD : Last Hour Change : -1.17 % \|\| 11-03-2019 19:00 Price in #USD : 0.048621546 \|\| Price in #EUR : 0.0432789132 New Price in #Bitcoin #BTC : 0.00001248 \|\| #Coin Rank 747 \|\| Mar 03, 2019 22:02:00 UTC \| 3,823.70$ \| 3,357.70€ \| 2,883.70£ \| #Bitcoin #btc pic.twitter.com/vY4VknmhHB \|\| Mar 12, 2019 13:01:00 UTC \| 3,907.80$ \| 3,472.50€ \| 2,993.10£ \| #Bitcoin #btc pic.twitter.com/6RceVC4qiO \|\| BTC/USD Orderbook Density - Asks: $92532/$ within $3880-$4200 range ; Bids: $88063/$ within $3600-$3970 range $BTC $BTCUSD #bitcoin #orderbook \|\| bitFlyer（ビットフライヤー）レバレッジ規制新規発注のみ最大レバレッジ倍率を 15 倍から 4 倍に変更 2019 年 4 月 22 日（月）午前 4 時 00 分頃から午前 6 時 00 分頃まで実施されるメンテナンス中に適用となります。 #BTC #ETH #XRP #TRX #BTCFXhttps://twitter.com/bitFlyer/status/1119052984309014528 … \|\| 現在の1ビットコインあたりの値段は448,745.1365円です。値段の取得日時はMar 19, 2019 17:04:00 UTCです #bitcoin #ビットコイン	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 5285.14, 5247.35, 5350.73, 5402.70, 5505.28, 5768.29, 5831.17, 5795.71, 5746.81, 5829.50
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2016-09-26] BTC Price: 608.04, BTC RSI: 54.72 Gold Price: 1339.70, Gold RSI: 56.50 Oil Price: 45.93, Oil RSI: 53.20 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Bitcoin is money, U.S. judge says in case tied to JPMorgan hack: By Jonathan Stempel NEW YORK, Sept 19 (Reuters) - Bitcoin qualifies as money, a federal judge ruled on Monday, in a decision linked to a criminal case over hacking attacks against JPMorgan Chase & Co and other companies. U.S. District Judge Alison Nathan in Manhattan rejected a bid by Anthony Murgio to dismiss two charges related to his alleged operation of Coin.mx, which prosecutors have called an unlicensed bitcoin exchange. Murgio had argued that bitcoin did not qualify as "funds" under the federal law prohibiting the operation of unlicensed money transmitting businesses. But the judge, like her colleague Jed Rakoff in an unrelated 2014 case, said the virtual currency met that definition. "Bitcoins are funds within the plain meaning of that term," Nathan wrote. "Bitcoins can be accepted as a payment for goods and services or bought directly from an exchange with a bank account. They therefore function as pecuniary resources and are used as a medium of exchange and a means of payment." The decision did not address six other criminal counts that Murgio faces, Nathan wrote. Lawyers for Murgio did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Prosecutors last year charged Murgio over the operation of Coin.mx, and in April charged his father Michael with participating in bribery aimed at supporting it. Authorities have said Coin.mx was owned by Gery Shalon, an Israeli man who, along with two others, was charged with running a sprawling computer hacking and fraud scheme targeting a dozen companies, including JPMorgan, and exposing personal data of more than 100 million people. That alleged scheme generated hundreds of millions of dollars of profit through pumping up stock prices, online casinos, money laundering and other illegal activity, prosecutors have said. Shalon has pleaded not guilty, and is being held at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan. He hired new lawyers last month and is seeking permission to replace lawyers who joined the case in June, a Monday court filing showed. The case is U.S. v Murgio et al, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 15-cr-00769. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by David Gregorio) \|\| Bitcoin is money, U.S. judge says in case tied to JPMorgan hack: By Jonathan Stempel NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bitcoin qualifies as money, a federal judge ruled on Monday, in a decision linked to a criminal case over hacking attacks against JPMorgan Chase & Co and other companies. U.S. District Judge Alison Nathan in Manhattan rejected a bid by Anthony Murgio to dismiss two charges related to his alleged operation of Coin.mx, which prosecutors have called an unlicensed bitcoin exchange. Murgio had argued that bitcoin did not qualify as "funds" under the federal law prohibiting the operation of unlicensed money transmitting businesses. But the judge, like her colleague Jed Rakoff in an unrelated 2014 case, said the virtual currency met that definition. "Bitcoins are funds within the plain meaning of that term," Nathan wrote. "Bitcoins can be accepted as a payment for goods and services or bought directly from an exchange with a bank account. They therefore function as pecuniary resources and are used as a medium of exchange and a means of payment." The decision did not address six other criminal counts that Murgio faces, Nathan wrote. Lawyers for Murgio did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Prosecutors last year charged Murgio over the operation of Coin.mx, and in April charged his father Michael with participating in bribery aimed at supporting it. Authorities have said Coin.mx was owned by Gery Shalon, an Israeli man who, along with two others, was charged with running a sprawling computer hacking and fraud scheme targeting a dozen companies, including JPMorgan, and exposing personal data of more than 100 million people. That alleged scheme generated hundreds of millions of dollars of profit through pumping up stock prices, online casinos, money laundering and other illegal activity, prosecutors have said. Shalon has pleaded not guilty, and is being held at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan. He hired new lawyers last month and is seeking permission to replace lawyers who joined the case in June, a Monday court filing showed. The case is U.S. v Murgio et al, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 15-cr-00769. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by David Gregorio) \|\| Bitcoin is money, U.S. judge says in case tied to JPMorgan hack: By Jonathan Stempel NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bitcoin qualifies as money, a federal judge ruled on Monday, in a decision linked to a criminal case over hacking attacks against JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) and other companies. U.S. District Judge Alison Nathan in Manhattan rejected a bid by Anthony Murgio to dismiss two charges related to his alleged operation of Coin.mx, which prosecutors have called an unlicensed bitcoin exchange. Murgio had argued that bitcoin did not qualify as "funds" under the federal law prohibiting the operation of unlicensed money transmitting businesses. But the judge, like her colleague Jed Rakoff in an unrelated 2014 case, said the virtual currency met that definition. "Bitcoins are funds within the plain meaning of that term," Nathan wrote. "Bitcoins can be accepted as a payment for goods and services or bought directly from an exchange with a bank account. They therefore function as pecuniary resources and are used as a medium of exchange and a means of payment." The decision did not address six other criminal counts that Murgio faces, Nathan wrote. Lawyers for Murgio did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Prosecutors last year charged Murgio over the operation of Coin.mx, and in April charged his father Michael with participating in bribery aimed at supporting it. Authorities have said Coin.mx was owned by Gery Shalon, an Israeli man who, along with two others, was charged with running a sprawling computer hacking and fraud scheme targeting a dozen companies, including JPMorgan, and exposing personal data of more than 100 million people. That alleged scheme generated hundreds of millions of dollars of profit through pumping up stock prices, online casinos, money laundering and other illegal activity, prosecutors have said. Shalon has pleaded not guilty, and is being held at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan. He hired new lawyers last month and is seeking permission to replace lawyers who joined the case in June, a Monday court filing showed. The case is U.S. v Murgio et al, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 15-cr-00769. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by David Gregorio) View comments \|\| The YouTuber behind the 'African Drug Lord' pranks reveals his secrets and a disturbing truth about our online privacy: If you haven't watched the hilarious "African Drug Lord" videos on YouTube, you should check it out just be aware the videos contain profanities. In his videos, YouTuber "VirtuallyVain" scares the hell out of video gamers by pretending that a seemingly random person from Africa with a thick accent knows their names, location, and sometimes even their phone numbers. african drug lord youtube prank video (A screenshot from one of VirtuallyVain's YouTube videos, where he pranks gamers into thinking they've been hacked.VirtuallyVain/YouTube) It sounds terrifying for the prank's victims, as there's a sense of total helplessness when a person from a foreign place with unclear intentions and capabilities reveals private information they thought was private. For the rest of us watching, the videos are hilarious. And Vain will get in touch with his "victims" after the prank to reassure them that everything is OK, they haven't been hacked, and he asks them permission to appear in his YouTube videos. H e's doing it for a laugh, as well as a "public service" to show you that "your information is not safe." I spoke with VirtuallyVain, who keeps his identity secret and chose to simply be called "Vain," to find out how he gets a gamer's information for his pranks, and what tips he has for anyone who wants to boost their privacy online. hacking smaller (REUTERS/Kacper Pempel) How he gets your information. "What I'm doing is not hacking at all, nothing I do is illegal," Vain told me. " It's basically when people are irresponsible with the information they post online." For his specific videos that center around pranking online video gamers, Vain focuses on revealing two main pieces of information to scare them: their names and where they are. Vain says he can find a name by "researching their gamer tag (a nickname you use for online multiplayer games) or their username in different avenues that might provide more information." That part isn't the scariest. It's when the "African Drug Lord" reveals he knows where you are at that very moment. Story continues Once Vain gets a name that's linked to a gamer tag or username, social media will essentially do the work for him, as he can potentially find your location and even your phone number from a Facebook account. anonymous facebook profile (Depending on what information you add, your Facebook profile can be a useful tool in the wrong hands, unless you're these guys.Screenshot) Don't have your phone number listed on Facebook? Doesn't matter, there's another completely legal website called Whitepages.com that lets you type in a name to find out a bunch of information, like a phone number. Don't have your location listed on Facebook, either? Piece of cake. "The easiest most guaranteed information you can get" is from your IP address, which reveals where the computer you're using is located. Vain can get your IP address from the online video game pretty easily and legally. Go on then, do your worst Believing that I was responsible with the information I post online, I asked Vain to use his legal methods to see what he could find out about me after of our Skype call. About five minutes after we hung up on Skype, he called me on my cell phone. The thing is, I never gave him my cell phone number, I never publicly posted it on any social media platform, and it's not on Whitepages.com. The Matrix, Warner Bros He then emailed me with two addresses, one of which was my old address, and the second was my current one. Again, I didn't think that information was available anywhere. "There are some places that you can't even think of where you use your username where you would also use your name, address, or phone number," he told me. Indeed, he got my phone number from somewhere I never would have thought he could get it from. Vain says that a lot of people assume he's using a method called "social engineering," which is fraudulent. It's when someone pretends to be someone else to obtain a victim's information. For example, a person looking to get information about you could call your cell phone provider posing as you or even the service provider's representative to transfer your phone number to a new SIM card. But Vain doesn't do that, or anything else illegal or fraudulent. So how do you protect yourself from someone with malicious intents? You're less at risk if you have a common name. "Have a reserved alias or username and in no way make any connections towards your personal self." That means any account you have online shouldn't link to you. When you sign up for anything online that requires an email, use a separate email to your personal email that's dedicated to online accounts, and don't make any reference of your name or personal details in that email address. "Use a VPN (virtual private network)." A VPN will mask your IP address with a different IP address, so anyone trying to find it won't see your actual IP address. "Ask your internet service provide for a dynamic IP address," where your internet service provider will continuously change your IP address. "Ask to have your information removed from Whitepages." At the end of the day, however, Vain told me "n obody's safe, w e live in a time where our attacks are better than our defenses, so I think it comes to a point where you have to acknowledge the fact that you are susceptible to this." But before you unplug to go live in the woods where no one can find you, Vain reassured me that " for those who aren't a target, you're pretty much safe. It's very rare that someone would target you for no reason." Still, you don't want to make it easy. NOW WATCH: Theres a glaring security problem with those new credit card chips More From Business Insider These are the two most powerful gaming laptops in the world right now Experts have 2 theories for how top-secret NSA data was stolen, and they're equally disturbing Bitcoin users have been warned about a potential attack by government hackers \|\| 'Grumpy hold-outs' could sink Bitfinex recovery plan after Bitcoin theft: By Clare Baldwin HONG KONG (Reuters) - Crypto-currency exchange Bitfinex's plan to impose losses on all its trading clients for the theft by hackers of $72 million in Bitcoin rests on two flawed pillars, according to lawyers. The Hong Kong-based exchange said on Aug. 2 that hackers had stolen 119,756 bitcoins from some clients' accounts, the second-biggest such hack in dollar terms, and later said it would spread the losses across all its customers, whether or not they had been hacked or even held bitcoin. It said customers would forfeit 36 percent of their holdings and be given "BFX tokens" instead that could be redeemed by the exchange or converted to shares in its parent company iFinex. Both elements of the plan are open to legal challenge, lawyers said. Imposing losses on customers who were not hacked appears to go against the company's terms of service, said Ryan Straus, a Fenwick & West lawyer who advises financial technology companies on regulation and co-authored the U.S. chapter of a book on bitcoin law. The terms state "bitcoins in your multi-signature wallets belong to and are owned by you", which Straus said implied a special banking relationship with clients that the Bitfinex plan would breach. "The depository ... is obligated to return, on demand, the same monetary objects deposited," he said, quoting a line from his book. The exchange's tokens could also be problematic, said Zach Zweihorn, a lawyer at DavisPolk who specializes in U.S. securities and trading laws. The way they are currently being described - redeemable by the exchange or convertible to shares in iFinex - places them somewhere between a bond and a security and makes it highly likely that issuing them and trading them would require licenses in the U.S. that Bitfinex doesn't have. "If they are issuing an equity interest in their parent company, I don't really think the fact that it's evidenced through an electronic token ... really changes the analysis of whether it's a security," said Zweihorn. Story continues The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission did not return a request for comment. Bitfinex did not respond to requests for comment on either issue. "ROBBED" Bitfinex's website acknowledges there are "protocol level details" still to be worked out for the tokens, and that U.S. residents can sell but not buy them for the time being. "I feel like I was robbed," a 33 year-old investor who had a five-figure U.S. dollar amount on the platform told Reuters. He said he took a 36 percent "haircut" across all assets, including U.S. dollar reserves, and as a U.S. trader he couldn't properly deal in the IOU token. "Basically they took customers' funds in order to try to stay afloat. Nowhere in their terms of service did it mention that this was a possibility," said the user, who works in the financial services industry. Bitfinex is nevertheless hoping that traders will be patient and accept that they won't get a better deal if legal challenges force it into liquidation. "This is the closest approximation to what would happen in a liquidation context," it told traders in a blog post a week ago, while the tokens gave them some hope of ultimately recovering their losses. Traders will be aware of the fate of Tokyo-based crypto-currency exchange Mt Gox, which suffered the biggest bitcoin theft of all time in 2014, and consequently went bankrupt. Traders have not recovered any losses, and court proceedings are still ongoing. "People are afraid to see their assets completely frozen if they sue Bitfinex too early," said 28-year-old Nathan Bourgeois, who is based in France and moderates a 2,000-member traders' messaging group called Whaleclub under the username dr Helmut. He said he thought people would agree to the deal if there was a chance of getting some of their money back. But Patrick Murck, a fellow at Harvard University's Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society, said the Bitfinex plan was unlikely to survive a legal challenge. "It might be a pyrrhic victory. You might still end up with less money," said Murck, who is also co-founder of the Bitcoin Foundation and its former general counsel, but the "odds are fairly low" that nobody will test it in court. "It takes one grumpy hold-out ... to blow the whole thing up, he said. (Reporting by Clare Baldwin; Additional reporting by Hera Poon and Tris Pan; Editing by Will Waterman) \|\| Your first trade for Friday, August 26: The " Fast Money " traders gave their final trades of the day. Steve Grasso is a buyer of Dollar General (DG ( DG ) ). Karen Finerman is a buyer of the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY (NYSE Arca: SPY) ). David Seaburg is a buyer of Bank of America (BAC (NYSE: BAC"A) ). Brian Kelly is a buyer of the Gold Miners ETF (GDX (NYSE Arca: GDX) ). Trader disclosure: On Thursday, August 25 the following stocks and commodities mentioned or intended to be mentioned on CNBC's "Fast Money" were owned by the "Fast Money" traders: STEVE GRASSO is long BA, CC, EVGN, KBH, MJNA, MU, OLN, PFE, PHM, T, TWTR, GDX Grasso's Kids Own EFA, EFG, EWJ, IJR, SPY No Shorts Stuart Frankel & Co Inc. and some of its Partners have a financial interest in LDP, WDR, AVP, CVX, FCX, ICE, KDUS, KO, MAT, MCD, MJNA, NE, NEM, OLN, OXY, RIG, STAG, TAXI, TEX, TITXF, URI, VALE, WDR, WYNN, ZNGA, CUBA, HSPO, ICE, AMZN, MJNA, TITXF, NXTD, SPY, QQQ, DIA, XLI, BGCP, VIRT, JCP, GE, AIR FP KAREN FINERMAN is long AAL, BAC, C, DAL, DRII, DRII calls, FB, FL, GOOG, GOOGL, JPM, LYV, KORS, KORS, KORS puts, M, MA, SEDG, SPY puts, UAL, URI, WIFI long call spreads. Her firm is long ANTM, AAPL, BAC, C, C calls, DRII, DRII calls, FB, GOOG, GOOGL, JPM, JPM calls, KORS, LYV, M, MOH, PLCE, SPY puts, URI, WIFI, her firm is short IWM, MDY. Karen Finerman is on the board of GrafTech International. Opinions expressed by David Seaburg are solely his own and do not reflect the views and opinions of Cowen Group, Inc. David Seaburg and Cowen have a financial interest in EDIT. BRIAN KELLY is long Bitcoin, CME, DXJ, GDX, KBE, SLV, TLT, VXX, XLF, XOP, US Dollar UUP; he is short EUR=, JPY= \|\| Flow Study Gets More Caribbean Students Closer to Examination Success: MIAMI, FL--(Marketwired - Sep 20, 2016) - As parents and students get fully into the new school term, Flow unveils its e-learning platform, Flow Study , an online portal to help students better prepare for the CAPE and CSEC examinations. One of the most significant features of Flow Study is that it offers access to a comprehensive range of educational materials, including exam strategies, past paper solutions, CyberPedia and virtual labs, that students can access from multiple devices including smartphones, tablets and desktop computers. The portal is also linked to video-based tutorials via Flow TV on Demand. Ricardo D. Allen , head of One On One Educational Services , is the founder and developer of the Flow Study program. For the last several years, his team has been preparing students for the CSEC mathematics exam, maintaining a 100 percent pass rate with an average of 83 percent of these students, attaining a grade one. Flow sees the partnership with One to One as an opportunity to twin the educational expertise and successful track record of One on One with Flow's world class technological platform to significantly expand access to e-learning to thousands more Caribbean students. "Our partnership with One On One Educational Services enables us to deliver the highest-quality educational content via our industry-leading technology, giving Caribbean students a better opportunity to excel," said Michele English, Acting President of Flow. "The platform supplements classroom learning and gives students the ability to study anytime, anywhere. It's the future of studying and we are pleased to offer this opportunity to our customers," she stated. The App offers free access to basic study materials to all Flow's broadband customers. Parents who want more specialized and detailed material for their children, can access additional subjects and content for a small fee that they will be able to pay through their Flow bill or prepaid balance. Story continues Getting started is simple -- visit www.flowstudy.co , 'login' to register for a free FLOW ID. Download the Flow Study app on your mobile device from the Google Play Store to access learning material and you're on your way to better grades. Flow Study is available across all Flow markets except Curacao. About C&W Communications CWC is a full service communications and entertainment provider and delivers market-leading video, broadband, telephony and mobile services to consumers in 18 countries. Through its business division, CWC provides data center hosting, domestic and international managed network services, and customized IT service solutions, utilizing cloud technology to serve business and government customers. CWC also operates a state-of-the-art submarine fiber network - the most extensive in the region - in over 30 markets. Learn more at www.cwc.com , or follow C&W on LinkedIn , Facebook or Twitter . About Liberty Global Liberty Global is the world's largest international TV and broadband company, with operations in more than 30 countries across Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean. We invest in the infrastructure that empowers our customers to make the most of the digital revolution. Our scale and commitment to innovation enables us to develop market-leading products delivered through next-generation networks that connect our 29 million customers who subscribe to over 59 million television, broadband internet and telephony services. We also serve 11 million mobile subscribers and offer WiFi service across seven million access points. Liberty Global's businesses are comprised of two stocks: the Liberty Global Group ( NASDAQ : LBTYA ) ( NASDAQ : LBTYB ) ( NASDAQ : LBTYK ) for our European operations, and the LiLAC Group ( NASDAQ : LILA ) ( NASDAQ : LILAK ) ( OTC PINK : LILAB ), which consists of our operations in Latin America and the Caribbean. The Liberty Global Group operates in 12 European countries under the consumer brands Virgin Media, Ziggo, Unitymedia, Telenet and UPC. The LiLAC Group operates in over 20 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean under the consumer brands VTR, Flow, Liberty, Mas Movil and BTC. In addition, the LiLAC Group operates a subsea fiber network throughout the region in over 30 markets. For more information, please visit www.libertyglobal.com . Image Available: http://www2.marketwire.com/mw/frame_mw?attachid=3058430 Image Available: http://www2.marketwire.com/mw/frame_mw?attachid=3058433 Image Available: http://www2.marketwire.com/mw/frame_mw?attachid=3058436 \|\| Your first trade for Wednesday, August 24: The " Fast Money " traders shared their first moves for the market open. Tim Seymour was a buyer of PulteGroup ( PHM ) . David Seaburg was looking to buy volatility (NYSE Arca: VXX) . Brian Kelly said use the weakness to buy gold (NYSE Arca: GDX) . Steve Grasso was a buyer of JetBlue ( JBLU ) , the biggest underperformer in the airline space. Trader disclosure: On August 23,2016, the following stocks and commodities mentioned or intended to be mentioned on CNBC's "Fast Money" were owned by the "Fast Money" traders: David Seaburg: Opinions expressed by David Seaburg are solely his own and do not reflect the views and opinions of Cowen Group, Inc. David Seaburg and Cowen have a financial interest in EDIT. Brian Kelly is long Bitcoin, CME, DXJ, GDX, KBE, SLV, TLT, XLF, XOP, US Dollar UUP; he is short EUR=, JPY=. Steve Grasso is long BA, CC, EVGN, KBH, MJNA, MU, OLN, PFE, PHM, T, TWTR, GDX Grasso's Kids Own EFA, EFG, EWJ, IJR, SPY No Shorts Stuart Frankel & Co Inc. and some of its Partners have a financial interest in LDP, WDR, AVP, CVX, FCX, ICE, KDUS, KO, MAT, MCD, MJNA, NE, NEM, OLN, OXY, RIG, STAG, TAXI, TEX, TITXF, URI, VALE, WDR, WYNN, ZNGA, CUBA, HSPO, ICE, AMZN, MJNA, TITXF, NXTD, SPY, QQQ, DIA, XLI, BGCP, VIRT, JCP, GE, AIR, AIR FP. Tim Seymour is long APC, AVP, BAC, BBRY, CLF, DAL, DO, DVYE, EDC, EWZ, F, FB, FCX, FXI, GM, GOOGL, GRMN, GE, INTC, LQD, M, MCD, MPEL, NKE, RACE, RAI, RH, RL, SINA, T, TWTR, UA, VALE, VZ, XOM. short: SPY, XRT; Tim's firm is long ABX, BABA, BIDU, CBD, CLF, EWZ, F, HD, KO, MCD, MPEL, NKE, PEP, PF, SAVE, SBUX, SINA, VALE, VIAB, WMT, WEN, YHOO, short HYG, IWM \|\| Your first trade for Tuesday, September 20: The "Fast Money" traders shared their first moves for the market open. Tim Seymour was a buyer of General Motors(GM). David Seaburg was a buyer of Sarepta Therapeutics(SRPT). Brian Kelly was a buyer of Apache(APA). Dan Nathan was a seller of the SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF(NYSE Arca: XHB). Trader disclosure: On September 19, 2016, the following stocks and commodities mentioned or intended to be mentioned on CNBC's "Fast Money" were owned by the "Fast Money" traders:Brian Kelly is long Bitcoin, CME, DXJ, GDX, KBE, SLV, TLT, VXX, XLF, XOP, US Dollar UUP; he is short EUR=, JPY=. Dan Nathan is Long TWTR, long PYPL call calendar, Long FEZ Nov put spread, long EEM Nov put spread, long XHB jan put spread, long XLK Jan put spread, XLU Dec call spread. Tim Seymour is long APC, AVP, BAC, BBRY, CLF, DO, DVYE, EDC, EWZ, F, FB, FCX, FXI, GM, GOOGL, GRMN, GE, INTC, LQD, M, MCD, MPEL, NKE, RACE, RAI, RH, RL, SINA, T, TWTR, UA, VALE, VZ, XOM. short: SPY, XRT; Tim's firm is long ABX, BABA, BIDU, CBD, CLF, EWZ, F, HD, KO, MCD, MPEL, NKE, PEP, PF, SAVE, SBUX, SINA, VALE, VIAB, WMT, WEN, X, YHOO, short HYG, IWM, UAL. David Seaburg: Opinions expressed by David Seaburg are solely his own and do not reflect the views and opinions of Cowen Group, Inc. David Seaburg and Cowen have a financial interest in EDIT. Diamond Offshore: an employee of Cowen and Company, LLC serves on the Board of Directors of Diamond Offshore. EXPE, HZNP, VA – Not Approved. BofA Merrill Lynch's Jessica Reif Cohen:MLPF&S or one of its affiliates has a significant financial interest in the fixed income instruments of the issuer. If this report was issued on or after the 15th day of the month, it reflects a significant financial interest on the last day of the previous month. Reports issued before the 15th day of the month reflect a significant financial interest at the end of the second month preceding the report. MLPF&S or an affiliate was a manager of a public offering of securities of this issuer within the last 12 months. One or more analysts responsible for covering the securities in this report owns stock of the covered issuer. The issuer is or was, within the last 12 months, an investment banking client of MLPF&S and/or one or more of its affiliates. MLPF&S or an affiliate has received compensation for investment banking services from this issuer within the past 12 months. MLPF&S or an affiliate expects to receive or intends to seek compensation for investment banking services from this issuer or an affiliate of the issuer within the next three months. MLPF&S or an affiliate has received compensation from the issuer for non-investment banking services or products within the past 12 months. MLPF&S or one of its affiliates has a significant financial interest in the fixed income instruments of the issuer. If this report was issued on or after the 15th day of the month, it reflects a significant financial interest on the last day of the previous month. Reports issued before the 15th day of the month reflect a significant financial interest at the end of the second month preceding the report. The issuer is or was, within the last 12 months, a non-securities business client of MLPF&S and/or one or more of its affiliates: CMCSA, CBS, FOX. MLPF&S or an affiliate was a manager of a public offering of securities of this issuer within the last 12 months. The issuer is or was, within the last 12 months, an investment banking client of MLPF&S and/or one or more of its affiliates. MLPF&S or an affiliate has received compensation for investment banking services from this issuer within the past 12 months. MLPF&S or an affiliate expects to receive or intends to seek compensation for investment banking services from this issuer or an affiliate of the issuer within the next three months. MLPF&S or one of its affiliates has a significant financial interest in the fixed income instruments of the issuer. If this report was issued on or after the 15th day of the month, it reflects a significant financial interest on the last day of the previous month. Reports issued before the 15th day of the month reflect a significant financial interest at the end of the second month preceding the report. The issuer is or was, within the last 12 months, a non-securities business client of MLPF&S and/or one or more of its affiliates: SIRI \|\| Exclusive - LexisNexis and start-up join to curb bitcoin money-laundering: By Jemima Kelly LONDON (Reuters) - A company that provides banks with anti-money-laundering controls has teamed up with a bitcoin security firm to try to curb nefarious uses of the digital currency, such as drug trafficking and terrorism financing. LexisNexis said the new service it has created with London-based startup Elliptic would bring bank-grade AML controls to bitcoin transactions, making the virtual currency more attractive to those who might want to use it for legitimate transactions LexisNexis, part of multinational analytics firm RELX Group, helps banks comply with AML regulation, using a database of 2.7 million global entities that could be involved in illicit transactions, such as those on sanctions and other watch-lists. It has shared that database with Elliptic, which monitors bitcoin transactions and can alert its clients - ranging from bitcoin exchanges to U.S. and European intelligence agencies - when money moves from bitcoin addresses that have been identified as bad actors. "This is a step towards making it (bitcoin) more mainstream and more acceptable," said Thomas Brown, of LexisNexis Risk Solutions. Bitcoin is a web-based digital currency that relies on complex algorithms to move money around quickly and anonymously with no need for a central authority to process transactions. That has made it attractive to a variety of users, including those who want to get around capital controls and those who support a currency that is free from government control for ideological reasons. But it has also attracted criminals, such as drug dealers and arms traffickers. "Today, if you see bitcoins transacting, you almost assume they're from someone who wants to be off the grid, or they're proceeds from illicit transactions," said Brown. Last month Elliptic said it was working with the Internet Watch Foundation to clamp down on the use of bitcoin for online child pornography. "The single biggest thing keeping mainstream financial services out of the (bitcoin) ecosystem is the inability to do bank-grade anti-money laundering controls," said Elliptic's head of business development, Kevin Beardsley. "The hope is that this will unlock a whole wave of companies being able to enter financial services with bitcoin." (Editing by Robin Pomeroy) View comments [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] #UFOCoin #UFO $0.000006 (-49.98%) 0.00000001 BTC (-50.00%) \|\| 1 MUE Price: Bittrex 0.00000114 BTC YoBit 0.00000086 BTC Bleutrade 0.00000110 BTC #MUE #MUEprice 2016-08-29 06:00 pic.twitter.com/pNKj2CKMf9 \|\| #589 Hundredcoin BTC:฿0.00 USD:$0.00000209 Market Cap:$ 67.953694066 Supply:32,552,200 HUN http://dlvr.it/Lw3K4N \|\| 1 KOBO = 0.00000000 BTC = 0.0020 USD = 0.6090 NGN = 0.0273 ZAR = 0.2023 KES #Kobocoin 2016-09-25 07:00 pic.twitter.com/PuOucPRemH \|\| $625.36 at 23:00 UTC [24h Range: $611.66 - $628.98 Volume: 4459 BTC] \|\| 1 KOBO = 0.00000525 BTC = 0.0030 USD = 0.9900 NGN = 0.0425 ZAR = 0.3039 KES #Kobocoin 2016-08-25 12:00 pic.twitter.com/ujl0pjpoeV \|\| Current value of DOGE in BTC: Vircurex: 0.00000037 -- Volume: 37091.37991588 Today's trend: stable at 09/12/16 00:55 \|\| #EuroCoin #EUC $0.000281 (0.61%) 0.00000046 BTC (-0.00%) \|\| #MARYJ 0.00000303 BTC(-0.34 %) \| Market Cap 157 BTC \| Volume(24h) 0.00 BTC \| Available Supply 51,887,914 MARYJ \|\| #593 ImperialCoin BTC:฿0.00 USD:$0.00000098 Market Cap:$ 154.433488495 Supply:157,865,000 IPC http://dlvr.it/M0Rqty	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 606.17, 604.73, 605.69, 609.73, 613.98, 610.89, 612.13, 610.20, 612.51, 613.02

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Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2018-07-19] BTC Price: 7466.86, BTC RSI: 67.85 Gold Price: 1222.40, Gold RSI: 25.61 Oil Price: 69.46, Oil RSI: 47.89 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Amplify Launches Advanced Metals, Materials ETF: This article was originally published onETFTrends.com. As new technologies increasingly rely on advanced batteries, Amplify Investments has developed a new ETF covering the components that go into the production of new batteries. Amplify recently launched the actively managed Amplify Advanced Battery Metals and Materials ETF (NYSEArca: BATT) , which has a 0.72% expense ratio. The portfolio is managed by Michael Venuto, Chief Investment Officer at Toroso, and Charles A. Ragauss, Director of Product Management at Exponential ETFs. “The recent boom in battery-powered electric vehicles, smart devices and large-scale energy storage solutions may be the tip of the iceberg for this investment opportunity,” Christian Magoon, CEO of Amplify ETFs, said in a note. “As the demand and science behind efficient battery solutions matures, BATT’s actively managed approach across multiple metals and materials will seek to adapt the fund’s holdings in order to optimize investment exposure to this dynamic space.” The Amplify Advanced Battery Metals and Materials ETF will try to provide investors with total return by investing in companies engaged in the mining, exploration, production, development, processing or recycling of the metals and materials being utilized in advanced battery technologies, such as Lithium, Cobalt, Nickel, Manganese and Graphite, according to a prospectus sheet. BATT's metal weight exposures include lithium 28.4%, cobalt 25.3%, manganese/graphite/recycling 21.5% and nickel 21.1%. Opportunity in Advanced Battery Materials “We see a significant opportunity to capitalize on segments of an industry where we are in the early stages of growth. Batteries aren’t just about lithium anymore; investors may need to own a broader basket of metals and materials to best capture the future growth potential associated with the battery market,” Magoon added. Underlying components must derive 50% or more of their revenue, or be in the top five and have at least 10% of global market share, of any advanced battery material. The portfolio managers will also weight companies by screening the current balance between supply and demand for each Advanced Battery Material, forecasted demand growth, commodity price outlook, likelihood of new supply discovery and regulatory and geo-political risk. Furthermore, allocations may be tactically adjusted based on the financial fundamentals of a company; the inventory and reserves of an Advanced Battery Material relative to its price; a company’s Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) score; and the discovery of new reserves or other causes of increased or new Advanced Battery Material production. Top holdings include Katanga Mng 4.2%, China Molybdenum 3.6%, Lundin Mining 3.5%, Sociedad Quimica Minera De Chi Spon 3.4% and Albemarle Corp 3.3%. For more information on new fund products, visit ournew ETFs category. POPULAR ARTICLES FROM ETFTRENDS.COM • China’s Great Leap to Wallet-Free Living • Solar ETF Suffers a Trump Slump • E&P ETFs Still Merritt Consideration • Why June 6 Is An Important Day for Bitcoin • What to Expect at 2018 Morningstar Investment Conference READ MORE AT ETFTRENDS.COM > \|\| Analysts Are Pounding the Table That This Red-Hot Oil Stock Is Still a Great Buy: ConocoPhillips(NYSE: COP)has been one of the hottest oil stocks in the sector over the past year. Shares of the U.S. oil giant are up an eye-popping 57% over that time frame, adding $26 billion to its market cap. That's a significantly higher return than most other oil stocks, which are only up by a mid-teens rate on average. Shares might not be done going higher. That's certainly what a couple of analysts believe, which is why they upgraded the stock this week. Here's why they think it's still a great buy. Image source: Getty Images. BMO Capital initiated coverage on ConocoPhillips this week with an outperform rating and a $78 price target, implying about 10% upside from the current price. BMO cited several reasons why it sees shares continuing to head higher. First, BMO sees the company becoming a cash flow machine in the coming years. It believes ConocoPhillips can generate $6.4 billion in free cash flow this year and $6.3 billion in 2019. That excess cash increases the likelihood that ConocoPhillips can continue buying back shares and raising its dividend. The oil giant already repurchased $3 billion in stock last year and is on pace to buy back another $2 billion this year, with plans to repurchase $1.5 billion more in 2019 and 2020. Meanwhile, the company raised its dividend 7.5% earlier this year. In BMO's view, ConocoPhillips has a clear line of sight to continue returning more cash to shareholders through at least 2022. BMO also likes ConocoPhillips' diversification compared to other oil producers. The company has one of the best positions in theBakken shale, as well as top-tier liquefied natural gas and oil sands assets, which should generate significant free cash flow in the future. Finally, BMO noted that ConocoPhillips' valuation looks attractive versus peers on several levels including dividend yield,EV/EBITDA, price to earnings, and free cash flow yield. The company's CFO certainly agrees with that assessment after stating on thelast quarterly conference callthat "we think our stock is well undervalued and has a lot of upside to it." Bernstein upgraded ConocoPhillips' stock from market perform to outperform while setting an $82 price target, which implies roughly 16% upside from here. One of the big drivers was the company's diversified global portfolio, which will insulate it from thepipeline problems plaguing producersin thePermian Basin. ConocoPhillips' global portfolio is proving to be a big competitive advantage because 70% of its oil production sells at Brent pricing, which is the global oil benchmark. Currently, Brent fetches more than $75 per barrel, while WTI, the U.S. benchmark, sells for $10 less a barrel. In the meantime, due to the lack of adequate pipeline takeaway capacity in the Permian, oil in that region currently sells for less than $60 a barrel, thereby pinching producer profits. That lower oil price is much less of a concern for ConocoPhillips, according to Bernstein, since it only gets 4% to 5% of its production from the Permian whereas pure-play Permian producers likeConcho Resources(NYSE: CXO)only produce from that region. That's why Bernstein downgraded Concho's stock from outperform to market perform while slashing its price target from $180 a share all the way down to $130. Aside from its global portfolio, Bernstein also noted that ConocoPhillips has a better free cash flow yield compared to other oil companies. Further, it liked the fact that ConocoPhillips is a low-cost producer and can maintain its current production rate even if crude tumbled back to $40 a barrel. Both analysts make solid casesfor buying ConocoPhillips' stockeven after its big run up over the past year. However, the one thing that stands above all others is its valuation, which is toward the low end of its peer group even after its big run-up over the past year. Because of that, the company can create meaningful value for shareholders from here by continuing to plow a large portion of its free cash flow into buying back its cheap shares. That's why I think these analysts have it correct that this oil stock is still a great one to buy. More From The Motley Fool • 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices • 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 • 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing • 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today • The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss • Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This Matthew DiLalloowns shares of ConocoPhillips. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy. \|\| Stock Stories, Volume II: Get the Big Picture Right: Every stock has a story, and on this week's episode of Rule Breaker Investing , we're sharing some of ours. Motley Fool co-founder David Gardner, along with a few other Foolish analysts and special guest speaker Dan Pink, go through their stock stories and the lessons they've learned from them. Sometimes you can win big, even when you get the details wrong. Sometimes you think you're buying too late or that you've sold too early, only to find that there's still plenty of time. Sometimes, two completely contrary positions on a stock can both end up green. Find out what ventures into Twitter (NYSE: TWTR) , Canadian National , Five Below (NASDAQ: FIVE) , and more have taught this motley assortment of investors. A full transcript follows the video. More From The Motley Fool 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This This video was recorded on June 6, 2018. David Gardner: Welcome back to Rule Breaker Investing ! Let's start June together! Happy June! June is always a delightful month. We have some family birthdays in our family, you might as well in yours. You might also be already at the beach as you're hearing us do this podcast. I hope you're enjoying better weather. That's especially true if you're in the northern hemisphere. Anyway, June looks like a fun month for this show. This week, we're going to do Stock Stories Volume II . One year ago-ish, we did our very first in this series, Stock Stories , where rather than talk about story stocks, which is a phrase that a lot of us in the investing world have heard over the years -- story stocks, you know, stocks that maybe don't have the numbers behind them, maybe that you haven't researched that much, but it has a story. And if it has a story, it becomes a story stock, and maybe one that you could or should own. Rather than pay obeisance to that, we flip it and we make it about stock stories, with the thinking that behind every stock is a story. Story continues Over the course of this week's podcast, I'm going to get to introduce some wonderful guest stars. They're going to tell the story of a stock. It might be a stock that you know of. It might not be a story that you know. But, each of us has a story to share. We have six, just like we had a year ago for Stock Stories Volume I . At the end, we have Dan Pink, the celebrated author of nonfiction works about business, work, and productivity. Dan has his stock story, and we have the pleasure of sharing that. That came from FoolFest, which is our annual conference where we invite in many of our members, many of our longtime best members, and they come together with us in Alexandria, Virginia. We have some star-studded guest speakers. Dan Pink was one of them. Dan graciously told a stock story to FoolFest last weekend. I'll be including that on this podcast. That's what we're doing this week. Next week -- I already want to be previewing this, because next week, it's back to the Market Cap Game Show , the latest episode. I'll be bringing my friend, Matt Argersinger, back in, and we'll be playing with you, playing at home, the Market Cap Game Show . That's always fun, always worth looking forward to. Oh, and, by the way, Matt will be a guest on this week's show as well, telling a stock story. One other housekeeping note before we get started. We're going to have a Rule Breaker extra this weekend. I really love this. I hope you'll love it, too. If you're around Saturday or Sunday and want to download one extra Rule Breaker Investing podcast, you're going to get to hear the interview that my brother Tom and I did with Fred Rogers, Mister Rogers of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood fame. Tom and I interviewed him back in the day. If you were around for a podcast a couple of months ago when we did our B last From The Radio Past , you heard one or two Fred Rogers-isms in that podcast. We excerpted a little there. But, this week, we're going to present the entire thing, uncut. I know there are a lot of Fred Rogers fans out there. If you want to hear Fred with his brush with The Motley Fool, I am delighted and excited to share that with you. I thank, in advance, my producers Mac Greer and Rick Engdahl for making that possible. We are timing that up with Mister Rogers' documentary, Won't You Be My Neighbor? , which comes out this weekend. A little bit of publicity and a little bit of love for that documentary. I have not seen it yet. It looks spectacular! It's kind of a Mister Rogers week here around Fool HQ, and we're happy to share that with you as well. Alright, stock story No. 1. For this one, I get to invite in my longtime friend and collaborator, Karl Thiel. Karl, welcome! Karl Thiel: Thank you for having me! Gardner: It's a delight to have you, Karl! Before you start, I'd like you to just talk briefly about what you do around The Fool and how we've worked together over the years. Thiel: I have, I guess, unlike a lot of people around Fool HQ, I've really done one thing for a long time. I've worked on Rule Breakers and I've worked on Stock Advisor . I now feel oddly protective about both of those things. [laughs] I just love them. But, yeah, I'm an analyst on both of those services. I have a particular sort of gravitation toward biotech and technology in general, but my work at Stock Advisor takes me all over the place, which is also, I think, good for me, and hopefully good for other people. Gardner: You bet. Karl, it's been a delight to work together! It seems like almost about 15 years at this point? Thiel: I think that's about right, yeah. Gardner: And these days, you live in? Thiel: I now live in Austin, Texas, after many years in Portland, Oregon. Gardner: Which is pretty awesome. The one thing you and I haven't really done together is work in a co-located way, Karl. But we've made virtual work pretty well over more than a decade now. Karl, what is the stock that you'll be sharing a story about this week? Thiel: The stock is Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) , ticker NVDA. Gardner: Excellent! Karl, maybe start with once upon a time, and take it away. Thiel: OK. Once upon a time -- and by once upon a time, I mean earlier this afternoon -- David told me that I could tell a stock story. I quickly gravitated toward Nvidia, because, for a very short moment, it makes me look really smart. So, I'm going to start with the smart part. If you take nothing else away from this, this is the part you should remember: I bought shares of Nvidia at $12.56 a piece in April 2013. Gardner: Awesome! Thiel: I can pause there for a little bit of applause in the audience. Gardner: [laughs] Since the stock's somewhere around $250 these days, that's been a really, really good call over five years. Thiel: Right! This is my stock story, this is the story as it's been for me, I think what follows next is a story of why you can be wrong on the details and still come out ahead. Unfortunately, the inverse can also be true. You can get all the facts basically right, successfully predict the future in broad terms, and still lose out. I have stories like that, too. But, in this case, I would say that, when I decided to buy Nvidia, I had general beliefs and specific beliefs about the company. At that point, it had already been a Stock Advisor recommendation since April of 2005. It was, at that point, in 2013, outperforming the market, but not spectacularly so. I would say, my general belief could probably be summarized as something like, "Video processing, this is going to be big for more than just games." I had specific beliefs. My specific beliefs were that the company's Tegra processors, because of their high performance, would find an increasing role in tablets and smartphones, and maybe other areas like cars. I'd been out to CES and seen some really cool demos of their infotainment systems, really amazing tricked-out automobiles, and I was excited. The general belief turned out to be, I think, pretty correct. The specific beliefs were really pretty wrong. [laughs] Tegra is still around. It's incorporated into SHIELD gaming devices, it's in the DRIVE system. It's no slouch. Tegra revenue was $442 million in the most recent quarter, which is about 14% of total revenue. But Tegra for the most part, and most certainly smartphones, are not what catapulted the company forward. I think, what happened in the interim is that the tablet market, which is really the only mobile market where the Tegra ever found much traction, just kind of fell apart. Then, Tegra wasn't a good fit for most phones because it was too power-hungry and it wasn't well-integrated enough with other components. And Nvidia even bought a company called Icera in 2011 so that it could incorporate modems and radio frequency stuff. That's another part, I was thinking that this could finally position them to do better in the mobile market than they had, which also turned out to be wrong. Nvidia sold Icera in 2015 and essentially exited the mobile chip market at that point. I guess, if you're looking right now at, what is it that really ended up driving Nvidia forward, I think it started in 2015 when they launched into some of their deep learning stuff and introduced the Pascal architecture. And then, more recently, the Volta architecture, which I still think is really not appreciated for what it's going to do. But, I went back and I looked at the 2005 original recommendation, and that one really hit one very accurate idea. The idea was, video games are big and they're getting bigger. I think, if you had to update that for today, it would be, artificial intelligence is big and it's getting bigger. Gardner: [laughs] It sure is. And it's still so early on for AI, isn't it? Thiel: Absolutely. So, I think, to end this story, if there was a lesson that you wanted to draw from that, if you're trying to predict the future, aim for a broad portrait. Don't necessarily get too bogged down by expert details about what needs to happen in exactly what order. Make sure that the broader picture is still emerging, because that's really what's going to drive success or failure. Gardner: That's a really great point, Karl. I think about how, sometimes, you'll talk to a friend who's very much into a given stock, and they've already choreographed what's going to happen with the next few corporate developments and the stock price. I mean, God bless that person if they're right, but so often, we're wrong. But the good news is for you and me, and you're describing one of those cases where we didn't quite get it right, yet the stock does even better than we probably thought. Thiel: Absolutely. And in a way, maybe that's kind of a Peter Lynch observation. You can use your own experience, even if it's somewhat general, to make good choices. Gardner: I really like that. I think, about Nvidia -- in fact, I told the story at FoolFest to some of our members last week. Just to think, we recommended it below $7 a share back in 2005, as you referenced, and it went to $30 within two years. So, it was a four-bagger for us by 2007. Then, you and I remember what happened -- well, we all remember what happened to the stock market in 2008 and 2009. It went from $30 down below our cost of $6.75 or so one year later. So, we watched it go from basically $7 to $30 down to $6, which hurt a lot. When you've made 4X your money, you don't like to watch all that go away and a little bit more. You had it in 2013, right, Karl? Your cost was $12, did you say? Thiel: Yeah. Gardner: It wasn't until 2016 that the stock finally actually got back to $30, which we'd seen in 2007. And you know this because you're on the team, we held it all the way through. In 2016, just to add a little bit to your story, the stock went from $30 to $90 that year. It tripled. It was the No. 1 performing stock for the S&P 500 that year. And in 2017, we decided to rerecommend it right again, because we're not afraid of things already having gone up. Usually, that's a good sign. The good news is, we picked it there again in 2017 at $100, and it's somewhere around $250-260 today. It has been spectacular. But, yeah, I don't think we were foreseeing, were we, back when we wrote that 2005 buy report, that artificial intelligence would come along, autonomous vehicles and all of these prospects for Nvidia and its graphics processing units. Thiel: Yeah. We weren't, but, looking back at that, I think it really did get at what was important. It was about gaming, it was about the continued rise of gaming. And that continues to be a huge driver for the company. That is a very true observation 13 years later. And in broad terms, that original 2005 recommendation was absolutely accurate. Gardner: And at a cost of about $6.75, we're sitting pretty on that one. Not every story has a happy ending. Today, for now, this one does. But for you, from that spectacular buy just five years ago at $12, or for some Stock Advisor members that had to wait for seven or eight years for the thing to do anything for us at all, it's sometimes that epic Odyssey story, Odysseus making the effort to get all the way back to fair Ithaca, and all of the things that he had to do to get through. That's how investing -- which, by definition is for the long-term -- feels a lot of the time. Karl Thiel, thank you very much for joining us and sharing stock story No. 1! Thiel: Thank you! Gardner: And now it's time for stock story No 2. We're welcoming in, here in Fool HQ, my friend Matt Argersinger. Matt, how are you doing? Matt Argersinger: I'm doing pretty well, David. Gardner: Awesome! You and I -- I already previewed this -- we're going to go back and play the Market Cap Game Show next week. I always get excited about this. Argersinger: I'm excited about that. Gardner: Do you get a little nervous about it, Matt? Argersinger: I think I'm getting more and more nervous, because I have this streak going. Six out of ten. I feel like, if I don't hit that, I'm going to be really disappointed. Gardner: I understand. I'll try to balance out, some hard ones with some easier ones. We'll see how the numbers come out. But, you've always impressed me, because I would never have done more than about three or four out of ten. I think many of our listeners feel the same way. That's all next week, though. For this week, we're going to talk about a story. Before you start, Matt, can you just briefly introduce yourself to people who have not met you before? What do you do around Fool HQ? Argersinger: Sure! I'm an analyst in our investing team here at The Fool. I've actually been at The Fool for just over ten years now. It's amazing. Gardner: Awesome! Argersinger: I have the great honor of being in Supernova and on our Odyssey 1 Mission . Gardner: The outstanding Odyssey 1 Mission . A real-money portfolio. I know we have some Odyssey 1 listeners right now. For those who've never heard of Odyssey 1 or Supernova , Matt, what is it that you do? You can brag a little bit, if you'd like, in terms of the performance you've generated for members. Argersinger: [laughs] Supernova is a collection of real-money portfolios in missions, we call them, that are pursuing different goals. The Odyssey 1 Mission , it was one of the first real-money missions we launched in Supernova when Supernova launched in 2012. Our goal is to help the investor who's still saving, investing for retirement but somewhere out in the future, a wage-earning investor who's probably adding money regularly to their portfolio. So, we've taken, I'd say, some fairly riskier investments, brought them into Odyssey 1 from the Supernova universe, and put together a pretty good track record. In six years, the Odyssey 1 portfolio has delivered roughly a 200% return, so roughly a triple in six years. Gardner: Right, which has been completely awesome. The market over that time has been good, but not anything like that good, so, wonderful. I know a lot of members are very grateful for your and your team's work, Matt. The idea of our real-money portfolio missions is that anybody can mirror them who's a member. If you want, Matt and his team tell you what to do ahead of time, so you can find out, what stock am I supposed to buy next? We're always scoring ourselves at or after when you do, so anybody, truly, can mirror these portfolios. In a world where a lot of people think you can't beat the index fund -- could you? Well, the good news is, I think that Odyssey and really all of Supernova prove that yes, you can, and it's quite lucrative to do so. Anyway, enough with that. Matt, what is the stock you're presenting for stock story No. 2? Argersinger: Sure. The stock I'm bringing here today is Twitter, ticker TWTR. I think we all know what Twitter is and what it does. This is a stock we actually bought three times in Odyssey 1 over the years. I believe we're the only Supernova portfolio mission that has recommended Twitter. Gardner: Excellent. Matt, start us off with once upon a time. Argersinger: Once upon a time, go back to December 2013, Twitter enters the Supernova universe via your team in Rule Breakers . At the time, the price was $64 a share. It had recently come public after much anticipation, fanfare. We waited roughly nine months to finally bring it into Odyssey 1 . This is August 2014 now. The stock price was $46. We actually added it a month later, again, in September 2014 -- back-to-back months for us, we were excited about the company. I thought it was fun to go back and read some of our write-ups for Twitter at the time. Gardner: Mm, because, not to foreshadow, but Twitter would drop some from there, wouldn't it? Argersinger: Yes, it would drop quite a bit. But, if you go back and read some of the things we wrote -- my team and I, this is Aaron Bush, myself, Tim Beyers, and Sarah Goddard -- just to give you a taste: "Twitter is the preeminent real-time communication platform of the future. The active user base of Twitter is accelerating. Revenue growth is growing over 100%. It's the operating system of news, increasingly the way people consume news and information in real-time, and more relevant every day to individuals, corporations, sports teams, celebrities, government agencies, news feeds. And, as Spencer Rascoff of Zillow continuously emphasizes, advertisers follow audience. Twitter's audience is growing by leaps and bounds in an almost unlimited number of verticals." Gardner: Now, that was pretty awesomely true back then, and some of it is definitely true today. The story may have changed a little bit in the meantime. Argersinger: It did. You go forward, and really, the timing of that, after our second rec -- so, here's Twitter September 2014 at $52 a share, and it was pretty much downhill from there. Every quarter hence, not only did revenue growth decelerate pretty fast -- Gardner: That was a big thing. Argersinger: -- the active user base for Twitter, which, at the time, was approaching 300 million, it really flattened out. The active user base went from growing, I'm saying, at 30% year over year, it went down to about 5% year over year, eventually flattening out. Of course, as you can imagine, this really changed the market's perception of Twitter. It dropped quite precipitously, at one point getting as low as $14 a share. Gardner: Yeah, I remember that! Argersinger: That was not a fun time! Gardner: And when was the bottom, Matt, roughly? Argersinger: It kind of hit two bottoms. It hit one, that $14-15 bottom, in 2015, and it hit it again later on in, I believe, early 2017. So, two trips to the depths. But, interestingly enough, we weren't deterred by that. We actually added it a third time in December 2015, so, roughly 15 months after our last rec, specifically because Jack Dorsey, the founder of Twitter, and today the CEO once again, he came back around that time. Gardner: Kind of like Steve Jobs coming back. Argersinger: Right. We thought, "Here's the founder coming back," and he did something that we thought was tremendous at the time, he came in and he gave away $200 million of his own worth of his share ownership in Twitter to his employees at Twitter upon coming back. We thought that was an interesting move. Gardner: One of the bigger gifts that we can think of any CEO ever giving their employees. Argersinger: Right. And, of course, we were wrong at the time to rerecommend it, because Twitter, again, as we foreshadowed, hit another new low shortly after that. In the fall of 2016, it was interesting, it actually shot up from that low teens to about $25. This was because there was a rash of buyout rumors, if you remember, companies from Salesforce (NYSE: CRM) to Disney , there were rumors that they were bidding for the company. It shot up to $25. Of course, a buyout never materialized. The stock fell sharply after that, and slumped down again to that $14-15 range. But, this is when you, David, and your team, Rule Breakers, in January 25th, 2017, made your second recommendation of Twitter at around $19, which I thought was incredibly prescient at the time. And, of course, it's turned out to be an incredible investment. The reason I thought of Twitter today, or this week specifically, was because it was just announced this week that Twitter's going to be joining the S&P 500. Gardner: Yes, indeed! Twitter had a very nice day. In fact, the day that it was announced was Monday, I believe. We're taping here on Tuesday, and Twitter's up about 5% or so -- Argersinger: That's right. Gardner: -- largely on the news, right? Because all the index funds now pile in and need to own some Twitter. Argersinger: That's correct. It's nearly $40 as we tape, which I think is tremendous. Not only is it more than a double from when you last recommended it in Rule Breakers in January 2017, it's up 60% -- Gardner: Awesome! Argersinger: -- since our last recommendation in Odyssey 1 about two and a half years ago, and it's actually, as of this week, above our cost basis. Our cost basis was about $38. And for the first time in roughly five years, Twitter is back above our cost basis. Gardner: That's great. Now, of course, I assume you intend the story to end there, Matt. I'm going to ask you about the lesson in a sec. But, there can be an epilogue here that I want to ask you about, as well, because all that really matters now, of course, is what happens going forward. First, Matt, what's the lesson? Argersinger: I think the lesson is, Twitter hasn't been a great investment. It's one of those investments, when we looked at it at the time, it had just recently gone public. The hype around the platform and how it was growing was tremendous. It looked like it was going to have the same kind of trajectory as, say, Facebook , in terms of advertising growth, user growth. There was all this excitement. It didn't materialize. But, never at any point, I think, in the last five years has the influence of Twitter declined at all. In fact, I think that today, all those things we said joyously several years ago are actually coming true. I do think it's becoming that No. 1 source for most people to go when they want real-time news or real-time communication with a lot of different outlets. So, I think, we were wrong, maybe, with our timing, as often investors are. But I think, actually, all those original stories we had are coming true, and the evolution of Jack Dorsey coming back, making the platform more interesting, connecting it to a lot of different things that we find more relevant -- sports, for example, for Twitter has become a very popular vertical. So, not a great investment. The story, I feel like we had it right, and I think it's just starting to play out now. Gardner: It's funny to think that each time your team bought, Matt, it dropped from there after you did. And yet, even though you might feel like, strike one, strike two, and strike three, you're now back to even-slash-maybe even a little bit above where you started, and that itself is instructive. Argersinger: That's right. Gardner: Do you like Twitter going forward? Argersinger: I do like Twitter quite a bit going forward. Maybe it's just mostly anecdotal right now, but I feel like, especially with, maybe not so much the Facebook fallout, and it's not really fallout we're talking about, but maybe, with Facebook focusing more inwards and more on things like friends and family, relationships, I feel like there's a big opportunity for Twitter to really now dominate the "news feed" for most people, especially as they interact with the rest of the world in real-time. So, I think I'm as excited about Twitter as I've ever been. And I think the business of Twitter, especially when it comes to advertisers and ad revenue and things like that, is really going to start reflecting that pretty soon. Gardner: Matt, who are you on Twitter? Argersinger: Well, I'm not very original, I'm @MArgersinger, which is just my first initial, Matt, and then Argersinger. So, MArgersinger. Gardner: So, nobody else grabbed MArgersinger? Argersinger: No. And, I'm not a verified account or anything like that, but I doubt anyone's going to be looking for that username anytime soon. [laughs] Gardner: Awesome, Matt. Thank you for stock story No. 2. See you next week! Argersinger: Thanks, David! Gardner: Now, it's time for stock story No. 3. I get to welcome back my friend, Brendan Mathews. Brendan, how are you doing? Brendan Mathews: Great! Gardner: Awesome! Now, I know the company you're talking about. You and I talked about it ahead of time. I'm not sure what the story's going to be, but it's Canadian National, the railroad company. CNI is the ticker symbol. Before you start with it, though, Brendan, how long have you been at The Fool, and what do you do here? Mathews: I've been at The Fool six years now. I'm part of the Stock Advisor research team, and I'm the portfolio lead for Odyssey 2 and Supernova . Gardner: Awesome. Remind me, Brendan, is Canadian National in Odyssey 2 , in our portfolio? Mathews: It is not. I don't believe any of the Supernova portfolio services have picked it up. It's hard to get excited about a railroad, sometimes. Gardner: [laughs] You say that, and yet, you're going to make it exciting in stock story No. 3, or at least interesting. Brendan, take it away! Mathews: Once upon a time, commodities were in a historic boom. Housing was booming, too. People were using all kinds of forestry products to build homes, and there was an outstanding railroad that connected the Pacific and British Columbia to the Atlantic and Nova Scotia, and then the Great Lakes and the Gulf of Mexico. This time, if you might have guessed, it was 2008. That's when you recommended Canadian National to Stock Advisor members. The shares, on a split-adjusted basis, were $28. The CEO was Hunter Harrison, who has recently passed away after being the CEO of CSX and Canadian Pacific . He was a legend in the railroading industry. He was Morningstar 's 2013 CEO of the Year. So, $28 a share, March of 2008. I think we all know what happens in the fall of that year. Bear Stearns is the first to fall. We see the housing market come apart. Stock market hits historic lows in March of 2009. Canadian National is not immune. Its shares fall to $16. And along with the stock market, the housing market and the commodities market both completely fall apart, and they've really not recovered to a huge degree. Canadian National, shares fall to $16. But earnings actually didn't fall that much. They had $2.1 billion in profits prior to the Great Recession. Profits fell to $1.9 billion, stayed that low until recovering in 2010. Since then, shares have chugged along from $16 lows to $82 today. Now, there were highs and lows along that way. In 2014, shares hit $71 before falling to $59 in the beginning of 2016. Basically, this is a company where a lot of interesting and unpredictable things have happened. Hunter Harrison, the CEO I was talking about, left in 2009, shortly after we recommended the shares. The company completed a big acquisition of Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railway around Chicago, so, they made an important acquisition. Their forestry business, shipping a lot of lumber to supply houses, that portion of their business kind of fell apart. As we've seen in a lot of other railroads, coal shipments have fallen off. But, all along the way, forgive the pun, they just were kind of chugging along, from $28 to $82 a share. And along that time, they paid $8 in dividends. Gardner: Ah, I'd forgotten that! Mathews: That's a four-bagger return. 316% vs. 157% for the S&P. Really outstanding returns for a company that's not super exciting, and a lot of tumultuous and unpredictable things happened over the course of a decade. Gardner: Brendan, the lesson may be self-evident, but can you double underline the lesson of this story as you see it? Mathews: For me, the big lesson is, you can't predict everything. But if you can get the big things right, you'll do well. I think, with this stock, the one thing that we got right when I look back at your original recommendation was the quality of Canadian National's network. They have that three-coast rail network that really nobody else has in the North American continent, and they're just a great railroad. You can't predict commodities booming and busting, housing, CEOs coming and going. But, you've really got the right railroad with the right assets, you get that right, and it worked out. Gardner: It's really wonderful to hear you remind me and us what's happened over the last ten years -- yep, that's how long we've been holding Canadian Natty. From my standpoint, your analysis itself felt like the longer-term, bigger landscape of railroad companies themselves, talking about a big acquisition, talking about the CEO leaving within a year of our recommendation. Something delightful for us as long-term thinkers and actors, to be able to step away and see a business like this. I think what's especially cool, Brendan, is that this is railroads! The business itself has been around for a couple of centuries now. That's pretty cool on its own. Mathews: Yeah, its history goes back to 1832, almost 200 years. Gardner: Tremendous. Before I let you go, how about, talk about a recent Odyssey 2 purchase, one that you and your team like, just a little extra candy for our listeners as you depart? Mathews: The newest stock that we've added to our portfolio is Salesforce. They're the original top dog in SaaS software. They offer customer relationship management software and a couple of other things. Really just had a great quarter. If it's possible to say a company is selling for a cheap multiple at over 8X sales, then that's the case here with Salesforce. Gardner: [laughs] Probably one of the best performers that's the least acknowledged or talked about. Marc Benioff, the founder CEO, is a guy who is definitely one of the great CEOs of our time, but a name we haven't mentioned as often on the show. One funny stat I was looking at, Brendan, you know that we've counted spiffy pops for all of our stocks -- when a stock makes more in a single day than our cost basis. For Salesforce, which has been thanks to Tim Beyers, who brought it into Rule Breakers about a decade ago, Salesforce is up 18X in value, but has only -- and this sounds crazy to me -- has only spiffy popped three times. Now, when your stock goes up 18X in value, and only on three occasions has it had enough volatility to jump over the cost basis you once paid, that's very unusual. I was looking back, the last couple of years, it hasn't made more than about a 4% move either way, and that's through a pretty strong and sometimes volatile stock market. It's a great company. Mathews: Yeah, that's true. It's the amazing thing about Salesforce. They have this great backlog of business. They have future revenue in the bag. Unlike other high flyers, you don't necessarily see those big drops when they miss earnings by a couple of pennies. Gardner: Mm, excellent point. Thanks so much, Brendan! Fool on! Mathews: Thank you! Gardner: Alright, stock story No. 4. My next guest star I've worked with for probably longer than anybody else except maybe my brother at The Motley Fool. I think that's fair. Rick Munarriz, welcome! Rick Munarriz: Hi, thank you, David! Yes, I've been here a long time. I think 1995 was when I first started working with you guys, and it's been an amazing run ever since. Gardner: And you've added so much value to our lives, not just those of us who worked with you in Motley Fool Supernova , where you, today, manage the Phoenix 2 portfolio mission with a talented team, but, Rick, your byline appears more on our site than mine does, I think, because you've written so many articles over the years on so many different, and often fun, and fun to read, companies. Thank you for your great work! What is the stock that you have for stock story No. 4? Munarriz: Once upon a time, there was a company called Taser Systems. Of course, we know it now as Axon Enterprise , a very successful, one of the hottest stocks in the Supernova universe over the past few months, and over the past year, really. We recommended it back in late 2004 in Rule Breakers. It was rerecced nine months later in the summer of 2005, after the stock has lost almost two-thirds of its value. This was a company, back then, all they were really making were Tasers. True to their name, they were the leading stun gun maker. And when we actually sold, we recommended that our readers and subscribers actually sell the stock back in February 2009, the stock was taking a beating. This was a company that, there was a lot of negative publicity. There were some deaths related to Tasers, and that led to both the negative publicity and some lawsuits. Revenue fell in 2008. It would also go on to decline in 2010. The company was not profitable at the time. It was pretty much a very sad stock. You almost tell yourself, "OK, let's write this one off. Let's never revisit it. Let's never check into the story again." But as investors, we have to think beyond that. This was a stock that did not bounce back right away. It's not like, you think of early 2009, the market was pretty rough at that time, anyone who remembers -- it wasn't a stock to just bounce back once we said let it go. The stock was actually waffling about in the mid-single-digits for more than four years. And it wasn't until 2013 when the stock actually cracked over that double-digit ceiling again. Let's fast-forward to happier times. Rule Breakers, October 2015, where you recommend it again. And it's still Taser Systems, it's not yet Axon Enterprises, but the model itself had evolved. This was a company that was no longer relying on their stun guns, even though it was commanding the largest chunk of their revenue, and it continues to do that. But, this was a company also behind the Axon wearable body cameras that police officers and military personnel were wearing so that they could document things that happen. This was also the company that would go on to establish evidence.com, which is the cloud-based platform that a lot of this data is stored on. There's a lot of video that gets recorded on these cameras. Basically, they have the whole system down. They have the stun guns, they have the cameras. And these cameras, they have in-car cameras, it's not just the body cameras. They recently signed a partnership with DJI for drones, to work in partnership with them. This is a company that's really expanding the whole surveillance and tracking stuff. And when you think about stuff in the news, where there's always these very unfortunate fatal encounters between officers and people on the road, whether the suspects are innocent, whatever the case may be, these are incidents that are recorded because Axon Enterprises is there recording these things. Ever since Rule Breakers recommended it in October 2015, the stock has almost tripled. Back in early 2017, the first week of 2017, in Supernova in the Phoenix 2 mission that I'm the lead analyst for, we bought it, and it was essentially roughly at the same price as the Rule Breakers recommendation in 2015, $23 and change. Gardner: Great! Munarriz: But the stock then has also gone on to triple. I bought it personally. I can say that I'm glad that I bought it personally. I bought it three weeks after the Phoenix 2 recommendation, and I'm up 167%. So, I'm not doing as well as Rule Breakers subscribes and Phoenix 2 subscribers that have followed us from the very first get-go, but I'm very happy to say that this is a stock that, the company is now very profitable. It's growing. In its last quarter, revenue was up 28%, but stun guns were up 10%, and accounting for almost two-thirds of the revenue. But the real driver here, obviously, is these wearable cameras, this evidence.com, all these new ways, the sensors and software segment of the company that exploded by 75% in its last latest quarter. This is a very dynamic company. To me, the lesson here is, quite simply, goodbye isn't always forever. Always remember that. Sometimes you buy a stock too soon, you buy a stock too late. You could sell a stock too soon, you could sell a stock too late. But when you recognize that the company has changed, it's evolved into the company you always wanted it to be, it's never too late to approach your ex-girlfriend or ex-boyfriend or ex-high school sweetheart and say, "Let's give it another go, because I think you've changed." Gardner: [laughs] It is an outstanding tale of that, Rick. I'm really glad that you bought it. I've never owned it personally. I'm delighted that we've recommended it for Rule Breaker members who've benefited. I'm very happy, though, to hear that you have more than doubled. To me, especially, I think last year was exciting for this stock, because the performance of the stock at the time was not that exciting about 12 months ago. But what was happening is, the company was getting these cameras, these police body cams, out in the field, more at cost, not making a lot of money. So, their revenues were growing, but the profits didn't look so good. The stock was getting a little bit dinged for that. But, we were talking as a team, you and I were talking about how, it's evidence.com, their website, where all this video goes up and lives in the cloud, and every police department subscribes to it. That's the kind of razor and blades model that was in place for Axon Enterprises. And now, we're benefiting from that same dynamic, where people start to realize there's a lot of profit up there. Munarriz: Absolutely! Axon is selling the stun guns and the body cameras, and even (unclear 39:00) cameras. They like to sell them with five-year deals. It's a five-year deal, you pay $129 a month and you have access to the unlimited storage on evidence.com. It's sort of like, once they get a sale, it's almost locked in for five years, so there's great visibility now in what Axon is doing. Not only is it growing, but it's actually becoming a more reliable, dependable, steady company. Almost boring, but not if you look at its stock chart. Gardner: Alright. In closing, Rick, you and I are looking backwards. Obviously, we're telling stories of the past. But, when you consider that Axon today has a market cap of only about $3 billion, I don't think this is a stock that anybody's missed. I don't think they should think, "Oh, darn it, I wish I had bought it with Rick a couple of years ago." I think, going forward, I see a category leader. I don't see a lot of competition. I see only a $3 billion market cap. Your thoughts? Munarriz: Yeah, definitely. Clearly, we were way too early in 2004. But I think we were still early in 2015. I definitely think the best has yet to come for Axon Enterprise. And yes, obviously, the stock has been hot for the past year and a half. But the real big gains, I think, will come in the future. Everything that it's doing, everything that it's expanding, is going to play out. It's going to work out pretty well, I hope, for investors. Gardner: Thank you, Rick Munarriz! Alright, stock story No. 5. This one is mine. I want to talk about two stocks, only one of which is presently in the Supernova universe. You may have noticed, the source for all of our stock stories are from our Supernova universe, stocks that we've picked in Stock Advisor , Rule Breakers , and Supernova . Thank you again to my previous guests for their stories. This one is about Five Below, ticker FIVE. This is a company that is based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and for quite a while now has sold stuff in stores that costs, generally, $5 or less. It's a company that is very much in the bricks and mortar of today, which you would think wouldn't work so well in retail. I'll talk a little bit about Five Below in a sec. But first, once upon a time, David and Tom Gardner were invited to give a keynote at a conference that happened to be in Puerto Rico. The year was probably around 1999 or 2000, so, around 20 years ago. We were invited by Aetna , the very large and successful insurance company. Tom and I went and played a round of golf before giving that keynote talk to Aetna. In fact, that was the one round of golf I've ever played where I was bitten mercilessly by fire ants in an incident somewhere on the seventh hole, when I decided I would take a digital photo of my brother, Tom, hitting out of the rough just behind a water trap. I think it was on the seventh hole. I remember mocking a disclaimer that was in our golf cart at the time. It said something like, "Beware of fire ants." And I thought, "You know, it's sad how the lawyers have even gotten into our golf carts now with their disclaimers on seemingly every product and service around us." So, I knelt down right near that water trap as Tom took his backswing, and I felt the most ungodly pain on my right knee. Fire ants, as it turns out, all work together. They crawl up your leg, and then, through some communications device which I don't fully understand but would be better understood by entomologists, they all communicate at the same moment, "Bite!" And at that moment, I felt a huge amount of pain. And I learned that disclaimer was in that golf cart for a good reason. Anyway, that was all before we gave our talk to Aetna, which was later that afternoon. As we got there, some of the entourage around the CEO, including the person who was in charge of the event, some of the PR team, and the investor relations team, they said, "Oh, David and Tom Gardner, great! It's good you guys are here! We almost cancelled you yesterday." And, since we'd been flying on a plane to the event the day before, we said, "What?! You almost cancelled us?" And they said, "Yeah! You didn't see the article you guys published on your site? It incensed our CEO." For a couple of decades now, if you're a long-term Motley Fool or fool.com follower, you know that we write a lot of articles. Every day in the markets, we try to cover the movers and shakers, the stocks up and the stocks down, as we try to tell the story of global business through the public companies that you and I can invest in. We have a lot of contract writers who write articles on our site about all kinds of different stocks, some of which we've picked, some of which we never have. I had never personally picked Aetna. But, as it turns out, that day before, the very day we flew to Puerto Rico, one of our writers had penned an article with this title: Dial 911, Aetna Needs Help . Again, this is not a viewpoint that I had. I didn't even know that much about Aetna. It's not one of my stock picks. But, on our website, the day before we go to speak with the CEO, keynoting at their conference, we wrote, Dial 911, Aetna Needs Help . So, you can see how that might have upset our sponsor, but we're happy to say they graciously still had us speak at the conference. I think we did a good job, and I'm pretty confident that Aetna still had a pretty good future, whether it needed help back in 1999 or not. That's all a long windup for Five Below. Earlier this year, just a few months ago, one of the things we do at The Motley Fool is, we have an internal university where we have a class of what we call fellows. And with that group of fellows, it's kind of like a mini business school within The Motley Fool -- you have some projects, you work with a team, you learn more and more about business, our business and business at large. And one of the things we've always done with our fellows, which we've graduated annually or so for some years now, is that we take them on a trip. This one was to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. We arrived at the headquarters of Five Below. Five Below, very generously making time with its CEO and its team to meet with our fellows. Tom and I were there. And just as we got ready to proceed over to Five Below's lovely headquarters in Philadelphia, I noticed that Jeff Fischer, our lead advisor in The Motley Fool Pro team, had previously shorted Five Below. And I began to get a Dial 911, Aetna Needs Help vibe to this. I was giggling a little bit as I pointed out to Tom, unbeknownst to both of us, that our company had previously shorted Five Below. Now, I want to mention, this is a stock that we recommend in Motley Fool Rule Breakers . It's been a good pick, I'm going to provide numbers in a sec. But, there we are, on our way to their headquarters with a previous short on Five Below, wondering if the CEO knew that or not. So, here are a few numbers. On April 23rd of 2014, I picked Five Below for Motley Fool Rule Breakers . It was at $38.50. I'm happy to say, today, it's at $79.46. In fact, as we do this taping, it has just crossed the 100% mark. It's kind of a historic moment for me to tell the Five Below story on this day, because it's up 100.3%. That's 41% ahead of the market. That's over that four-year period, so it's been an excellent four-year stock. But, just a few months after I picked it in Motley Fool Rule Breakers , my good friend Jeff Fischer shorted it in July of 2014. I was worried. I didn't know if he still had that short in, and if so, it wasn't good advice for our members. And as I finally got to the headquarters of Five Below, I had looked it up, and as it turns out, Jeff and his co-associate Bryan Hinmon, The Motley Fool Pro team had shut down that short in December of 2015. That was held for 17 months. Amazingly, they shorted at $36 and it went down to $28. What I love about this story is, not only was there no downside -- and, I don't think the Five Below CEO knew this or ever mentioned it at all. But, simultaneously, two Motley Fool services had different positions on Five Below. I and my team have a four-year hold that's still in, and we've more than doubled our money now, which is really exciting. Meanwhile, Motley Fool Pro rode a $36 stock down to $28 and covered its short from July '14 to December '15. I think that's just a delightful story. For me, the lesson is, you don't have to be all long or all short. You don't have to be single-minded in terms of how you view a stock. In that particular case, as I discovered that morning in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as I nervously got off the bus and stepped into headquarters, as it turns out, both of our Motley Fool services had profited by taking opposite tacks over different time frames. Sometimes, as a long, never forget that your best friend is the short. Anybody who's short a stock has to buy that stock back over time, which means they'll be a net buyer going forward. So, in a sense, Motley Fool Pro helped us out. And perhaps we helped them out, as well. I'm not sure. But, if you're a member of either of those services, I think you have different views of Five Below, but you did well either way. One thing's for sure. Five Below, ticker FIVE, has been a fine company, in part, I think, because it's pretty Amazon - proof. Amazon isn't really in the business of sending off $2-3 items, where you'd have to pay for shipping or they'd have to pay it to make it free for you. Somebody has to pay the shipping. And when you're shipping $2-4 items, it's not that efficient. That's why I really like and have liked Five Below as a company. And, having got to know them and their CEO and team, a couple of months ago, a little bit better, I feel really good about FIVE going forward. Alright, that was stock story No. 5, Dial 911, Aetna Needs Help . And, as I mentioned, we're going to close -- I think I've saved the best for last. We have celebrated author Dan Pink, a good friend of The Fool, here with his stock story. Since I already know this one, because he told it at FoolFest last week, I'm pretty sure I can tell you, he's going to top us all with what you're about to hear. Dan, take it away! [...] Dan Pink: Once upon a time, in the middle of the first decade of this century, I wrote a book called A Whole New Mind. It had an orange cover. One of the ideas in the book, which I'm not sure is totally right anymore, was that, I had this argument that the MFA, the Masters of Fine Art, is the new MBA. The MFA is the new MBA, because a lot of MBA skills can be outsourced and automated. The skills of an MFA, the Masters of Fine Art, are harder to outsource and harder to automate, therefore they would be more valuable. The MFA is the new MBA. That idea got me invited to a lot of art and design schools, [laughs] because everybody loves confirming their own biases. In the course of this, I went to the Rhode Island School of Design, one of the premiere art and design colleges in America. It's an incredible institution. There, I met a young man. I'm not going to tell you his name. I'm just going to tell you, I met a young man who came up to me after the speech and talked to me a little bit, and then sent me an email afterwards and asked me some questions. And I responded to the email. He seemed like a good dude. I liked this guy, I thought he was super creative. Maybe a year later, two years later, he emailed me. I thought he was just a super creative guy. He said, "I have this crazy idea for a business," and he told me about the business, and I thought it was absurd, it was just an absurd idea. But, as a way to raise money for it, because he was a pretty skilled designer and a very creative guy, he decided -- this is now 2008 -- to do a set of limited edition cereal boxes. This is going to sound weird. Limited edition cereal boxes, where he and some of his design colleagues created these two boxes of cereal -- literally, it had cereal in it. One brand was called Obama O's. Hope in every box. And the other one was called Cap'n McCain's. And they said, "To raise a little bit of money, we're going to do these limited edition cereal boxes." They're actually works of art in a limited edition, and each cereal box had stamped on it, No. 4 of 500, No. 6 of 500, or whatever. And I thought, "That's pretty good!" I actually really enjoy fine art, particularly conceptual art. Like, I like going to the Hirshhorn, and I like the more outré, forgive my French, kinds of art, and these kinds of wacky things. And they were selling it, and I like this guy, and I said, "This guy could be a famous artist one day. It'd be really cool if this guy were, like, the next Andy Warhol or Jeff Koons or something like that, and I had one of his early pieces." So, for a tiny little amount -- literally, I think they were $75 a piece -- I bought these things. And I said to this young man, "This is totally cool. I mean, it's cool that you're raising money for this business, but I'm buying these things because I think you could probably be a well-known artist, and this is my investment, but I would never put a cent into your company." So, I have in my office -- I think David might have seen these -- these cereal boxes. They look really nice. They're super cool-looking. Obama O's and Cap'n McCain. And on the top of it, it says, "A product of AirBed and Breakfast." Thank you. So. You know that old line, the country song, it's like, "You got the coal mine and I got the shaft?" I didn't want to say his name to tip it, but it's a fellow named Joe Gebbia, who is now, I don't know, what, the 41st richest person in the world. So, Joe got the billion-dollar company that's going to go public next year, but I have my cereal, man! [...] Gardner: Alright. Of all six companies that we covered this week, that's the only one that you couldn't have invested in that remains a private company. If it ever does come public, we'll certainly take a hard look at it for Stock Advisor or Rule Breakers . Perhaps one day, Airbnb will be in the Supernova universe. But as of now, it's un-investible. Although, Dan, it sounds to me like he did have a shot that he ended up not taking. Well, thank you again to Dan Pink! As we prepare to close, one reflection back on some of the stories we heard, I heard that theme, that lesson, of trying to get the big things right. And I really appreciated how a few of my storytellers underlined that. I think that, even though I didn't come in with that on my mind, that's maybe the takeaway lesson for this week. A lot of times, especially if you're a Rule Breaker investor, you have more of a venture capital mentality, you want to ask yourself, what's the big stuff of our time? What are the big total addressable markets and the interesting technologies? You don't have to get all the details right. Sometimes, you don't even have to get the timing right. But, if you get some of those bigger-picture things right, I think we heard loud and clear a few different times this week, that can be really lucrative. So, there's a thought for you. Two notes to close. First of all, a reminder. Mister Rogers, Fred Rogers, his brush with The Motley Fool, is our weekend extra, coming to you for Rule Breaker Investing this weekend. I also recommend, again, maybe you want to go see that documentary, I hope it's in a local theater, Won't You Be My Neighbor , this weekend. I'm going to try to get over there. Big Fred Rogers fan. That's note No. 1. Note No. 2 is that next week, as I mentioned earlier, is the Market Cap Game Show , latest episode with Matt Argersinger. And, if you're a Dan Pink fan, you should know that the following weekend, we're going to run that entire interview with Dan for your pleasure. In the meantime, Fool on! As always, people on this program may have interests in the stocks they talk about, and The Motley Fool may have formal recommendations for or against, so don't buy or sell stocks based solely on what you hear. Learn more about Rule Breaker Investing at rbi.fool.com . John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Brendan Mathews owns shares of Amazon, Facebook, and Salesforce.com. David Gardner owns shares of Amazon, Facebook, Walt Disney, and Zillow Group (A shares). Karl Thiel owns shares of Facebook and Nvidia. Matthew Argersinger owns shares of Amazon, Twitter, Walt Disney, and Zillow Group (A shares) and has the following options: short September 2018 $55 puts on Axon Enterprise and long January 2019 $15 calls on Twitter. Rick Munarriz owns shares of Axon Enterprise, Twitter, and Walt Disney. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Amazon, Axon Enterprise, Facebook, Nvidia, Salesforce.com, Twitter, Walt Disney, and Zillow Group (A shares). The Motley Fool recommends Five Below. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy . \|\| Tesla, Inc.: It's Not Just About Building 5,000 Per Week: After faltering earlier this year, shares of electric-vehicle pioneerTesla(NASDAQ: TSLA)have been on a tear since the beginning of April. Indeed, Tesla stock has surged 32% over that period, despite falling 5% on Tuesday due to fears of a U.S.-China trade war. The recent rally in Tesla stock appears to have been driven by rising confidence in the company's ability to reach its target of building 5,000 Model 3 units per week by the end of this quarter. CEO Elon Musk has tried to provide ammunition for this rally, recently tweeting that Tesla bears' short positions will "explode" in a few weeks (i.e., early July). Tesla Stock Performance, data byYCharts. However, achieving a Model 3 production rate of 5,000 per month by itself won't justify the lofty stock price. Tesla needs tosustaina much higher production rate while also improving the company's profitability dramatically. Together, those tasks represent a much greater challenge for Tesla. While Tesla introduced the Model 3 as a $35,000 car and has often talked about it in those terms, it has only been selling much more expensive variants so far. For nearly a year, the only version of the Model 3 being sold had astarting price of $49,000. Recently, the company began building the dual-motor version of the Model 3, which has an even higher starting price of $78,000. Nevertheless, Tesla's Model 3 gross margin was negative in the first quarter and the company has projected that it will be around breakeven in the second quarter. That said, low production rates up until now have held back Model 3 profitability. In the second half of 2018 -- when Tesla hopes to churn out 5,000 Model 3 vehicles per week -- the company expects Model 3 gross margin to be "highly positive", but still below the long-term target of 25%. The current goal is to achieve a 25% gross margin in 2019. Tesla Model 3 production hasn't turned profitable yet. Image source: Tesla. However, if Tesla will only achieve a roughly 20% gross margin by building a super-premium mix of Model 3s in late 2018, it's extremely doubtful that it can hit its 25% gross margin target next year if it shifts production dramatically toward the $35,000 base model. (Last month, Musk tweeted that Tesla would "die" if it tried to build a $35,000 Model 3 today.) This ties into Tesla's second major long-term problem. The higher Tesla needs to price its cars to meet its margin goals, the harder it will be to sell enough of them to meet production targets. Tesla bulls, like my colleague Daniel Sparks, argue that there is ahuge amount of untapped demandfor the Model 3 (and other Tesla products). After all, Tesla has hundreds of thousands of outstanding Model 3 reservations with no formal marketing support -- and limited opportunities for word-of-mouth promotion thus far. But on the flip side, since the initial surge of reservations, order activity has fallen off a cliff. This suggests that there was significant pent-up demand for an attractive and reasonably priced electric car, but that demand might be lower than bulls think once Tesla fills the orders from its biggest fans. Indeed, Tesla has taken reservations for about 500,000 Model 3s over the past two-plus years, whereas it wants to consistently sell 500,000 Model 3s a year going forward. In the not-too-distant future, Musk hopes to build the forthcoming Model Y crossover at a rate of 1 million annually. Bulls seem to be counting on future production levels of this magnitude -- even though it would dramatically exceed the level of demand Tesla has demonstrated thus far. It's impossible to be sure of what Elon Musk meant when he tweeted about Tesla short positions "exploding." However, the most likely explanation is that Tesla is on track to build 5,000 Model 3s in the last week of June and will announce that milestone in its quarterly deliveries report in early July. To achieve this production target, Tesla recently set up a second assembly line in a semi-permanent tent-like structure next to its Fremont factory. This mad scramble to churn out cars may enable Tesla to hit a Model 3 production rate of 5,000 per week by the end of June. But investors shouldn't confuse the company's ability (or inability) to hit an artificial production target during one particular week for long-term success. Tesla currently carries a market cap in line with large and highly profitable global automakers. To live up to this valuation, Tesla will ultimately need to build and sell well over 1 million vehicles a year while achieving a very high profit margin. At the moment, it seems doubtful that there will be enough demand for Tesla to reach the production levels that bulls expect while maintaining the lofty price points that it needs to hit its margin target. More From The Motley Fool • 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices • 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 • 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing • 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today • The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss • Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This Adam Levine-Weinberghas no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Tesla. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy. \|\| Natural Gas Price Fundamental Weekly Forecast – Lower Temperatures, Rising Production Too Much for Bulls to Handle: Natural gas futures settled sharply lower last week as investors continued to react to rising production and the possible break-up of the heat dome that had been covering most of the country since mid-June. Although the lingering hot temperatures were not enough to overtake the increased production, the easing of temperatures could drive prices even further lower over the near-term. September Natural Gasfutures settled the week at $2.724, down 0.102 or -3.61 percent. Fundamentally, the Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) weekly natural gas storage report showed a miss to the low side of most estimates. According to the EIA, producers injected 51 Bcf into Lower 48 gas stocks for the week-ended July 6, lower than the 59 Bcf injected last year and well-below the five-year average 77 Bcf build. Going into the report, major surveys showed traders were looking for a build of about 56 Bcf. Reuters was looking for a build of 56 Bcf, with a range of 47 Bcf to 67 Bcf. Bloomberg called for a median 55 Bcf injection, with a range of 34 Bcf to 67 Bcf. The ICE EIA Financial Weekly Index futures contract had settled at 49 Bcf on Wednesday. Bespoke Weather Services was predicting a 54 Bcf build. The EIA report also showed that total working gas in underground storage stood at 2,203 Bcf as of July 6, versus 2,928 Bcf a year ago and five-year average inventories of 2,722 Bcf. Week/week the year-on-year deficit widened from minus 717 Bcf to minus 725 Bcf, while the year-on-five-year deficit increased from minus 493 Bcf to minus 519 Bcf, EIA data show. In other news, according to data from Baker Hughes, Inc., U.S. producers added two natural gas rigs during the week-ended July 13. The total number of domestic natural gas rigs finished the week at 189, roughly in line with 187 rigs running a year ago. This week, investors are going to continue to focus on rising production and the weather. According to RBN Energy LLC analyst Sheetal Nasta, “What has taken the market by surprise, however, is the abruptness and sheer strength with which production has surged in just the past couple of weeks. It wasn’t until the second half of June that output shifted into high gear.” According to NatGasWeather.com, “… cooling will sweep across the northern and east-central U.S. during the middle and end of this week with highs of 70s to lower 80s for lighter demand, while the rest of the country remains hot with highs of 90s and 100s including the Northwest. With stronger cooling into the northern U.S. late next week, demand will then ease from high to moderate.” Other than a periodic short-covering rally due to profit-taking and position-squaring, we’re likely to see a test of the May bottom at $2.711 or lower. Thisarticlewas originally posted on FX Empire • Natural Gas Price Fundamental Weekly Forecast – Lower Temperatures, Rising Production Too Much for Bulls to Handle • Dollar Boosted by Robust Inflation Reports, Pressured by Consumer Confidence Weakness • 5 Ways to Control Risk When Trading Forex • Bitcoin – Looking to Break Out From its Current Ranges • Price of Gold Fundamental Weekly Forecast – Direction Hinges Upon Escalation of Trade Dispute, Fed Chair Powell’s Testimony • The Week Ahead – Geo-Politics to Continue Driving Risk Sentiment \|\| Why OPKO Health, Inc. Stock Rocketed Higher in May: What happened Shares of the diversified healthcare company Opko Health, Inc. (NASDAQ: OPK) gained a healthy 27.6% last month, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence . What sparked this double-digit rally? Opko's shares surged higher last month in response to a strong first-quarter earnings report that topped Wall Street's revenue forecast by a stately $18 million. A series of stacked coins with seedlings sprouting on top. Image Source: Getty Images. So what Over the past few years, Opko's shares have struggled mightily due to the poor commercial launches of the company's prostate cancer test known as 4Kscore, as well as the secondary hyperparathyroidism drug Rayaldee. In the first quarter of this year, however, Opko reported that Rayaldee's prescriptions rose by a healthy 730% year over year, giving investors hope that this key drug may finally start to become a major growth driver moving forward. Now what Unfortunately, Opko ended last month on a sour note. The company reported that the Medicare Administrative Contractor, Novitas Solutions, released a draft policy that would deny coverage for Opko's 4Kscore test. While Opko does have a chance to offer a rebuttal to this initial guidance early next month, this forthcoming coverage decision could become a major overhang for the company. Despite 4kscore's anemic sales so far, Opko has been counting on it to eventually transform into a blockbuster product. Compounding matters, Opko clearly needs to raise additional capital soon based on its last stated cash balance of less than $100 million and a current quarterly burn rate that presently exceeds a whopping $43 million. When looked at together, Opko's weak financial position and 4Kscore's shaky reimbursement status arguably make this stock far too risky to own at this point. More From The Motley Fool 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This George Budwell has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy . \|\| Facebook's Instagram Could Generate Nearly $9 Billion in Sales This Year: Facebook's(NASDAQ: FB)billion-dollar acquisition of Instagram in 2012 seemed utterly insane at the time. The photo/video sharing service had just a handful of employees back then and less than 30 million registered users. In the years since, Facebook has executed incredibly well with growing Instagram, which is well on its way to becoming Facebook'sfourth billion-user platform, alongside Facebook, WhatsApp, and Messenger. Instagram hit 800 million monthly active users (MAUs) in September, meaning it will likely announce 900 million MAUs any day nowbased on its trajectory. At least one Street analyst is predicting that Instagram will cross the billion-user threshold later this year. Image source: Instagram. Tech Trader Dailyreports that KeyBanc analyst Andy Hargreaves is reiterating an overweight rating on Facebook shares today, alongside a lofty $245 price target. That would represent nearly 30% upside from today's close, and meaningfully above the record $195.32 price set earlier this year before the Cambridge Analytica scandal broke. Hargreaves believes that Instagram could potentially hit 1.1 billion MAUs by year's end, which would help revenue double to $8.9 billion. Facebook does not disclose Instagram revenue, so investors have to rely on third-party estimates when evaluating the growing service. Instagram has emerged as Facebook's primary outlet for replicatingSnap's Snapchat, as both services fundamentally revolve around sharing visual content like photo messages and videos. With 2 million active advertisers, Instagram still has a smaller advertiser base than Facebook's 5 million, but Instagram's advertiser base is growing rapidly. It doubled that advertiser base in just five months last year. Looking further out, Hargreaves is modeling for Instagram to bring in a whopping $22 billion in sales in 2022, which would represent a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 25%. Instagram could have 1.4 billion users at that point, according to the analyst. With the benefit of hindsight, the Instagram acquisition has turned out to be a blockbuster deal. Unlike other services that Facebookarguably overpaidfor, Instagram has already more than made up for its purchase price, which actually ended up being less than $1 billion ($715 million) due to market fluctuations, as Facebook used its stock as currency for the deal. Instagram also hashuge potential as an e-commerce platform. For once, Snap iscopying Instagram. There are some potential threats that could derail Instagram's growth, such as VSCO, the subscription-based ad-free photo-sharing service that is gaining traction among younger demographics. VSCO just recently surpassed 1 million paid users, an important milestone but a rounding error in the context of Instagram's user base. Whether or not a subscription-based model resonates with users, particularly in light of all of Facebook's privacy scandals, remains to be seen. Besides, if there's one thing we know about Facebook, it's that the company will try to acquire any burgeoning social media platform that looks promising. Facebook is essentially a social media conglomerate. Instagram remains one of the most promising properties in that portfolio, but there will undoubtedly be more. More From The Motley Fool • 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices • 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 • 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing • 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today • The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss • Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This Evan Niu, CFAowns shares of Facebook. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Facebook. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy. \|\| Why Intel Expects a Data Center Slowdown in the Second Half of 2018: Last quarter,Intel(NASDAQ: INTC)reported a stunning result for its data center business -- revenue grew 24% year over year thanks to a combination of a16% surge in unit shipments and a 7% boost in platform average selling prices. A platform, according to Intel, consists of a processor and its related platform controller hub chip. During the company's most recent earnings conference call, Chief Financial Officer Robert Swan indicated that while Intel's data center group should continue growing rapidly during the second quarter of 2018, it does expect a "deceleration for [data center group] growth from the first half [of 2018] to [the] second half [of 2018], to be sure." Image source: Intel. The first factor that Swan highlighted was that the company would have "tougher comps," which is shorthand for "tougher comparisons." When Intel and other companies talk about growth, they're usually talking about growth relative to the same period in the prior year. With that in mind, it's not hard to understand why Intel is expecting tougher comparisons for its data center group in the second half of 2018 compared to what it saw in the first half of 2018. In the table below, I've included the year-over-year growth that Intel's data center group saw in each quarter of 2017: [{"Quarter": "Growth Rate (YOY)", "Q1": "5.8%", "Q2": "8.6%", "Q3": "7.4%", "Q4": "19.6%"}] Source: Intel. Notice that Intel's data center group saw far more robust growth during the second half of 2017 than it did during the first half of 2017 (the Q4 result was particularly strong). What this means, then, is that the baseline from which Intel has to report growth is much higher in the second half of 2018 than it was in the first half of 2017. Swan also said that the company expects to face "tougher competition" during the second half of 2018 compared to the first half of 2018. Intel has largely had the data center processor market to itself for many years, so it hasn't had to deal too much with the pressures that a more competitive environment would bring. That changes in the second half of 2018 when multiple data centerprocessor vendorsshould beramping up shipmentsof their new products. That competitive pressure can impact Intel in two ways. First, to the extent that other processor makers gain share, Intel is poised to lose share. That could slow down the company's unit shipment growth story. Second, since it would be in Intel's best interest to defend its current market segment share, it might get a little more aggressive on pricing than it has been in the past. If average selling prices come down as a result of a fiercer competitive environment, that'll naturally lead to both slower revenue growth (since total revenues will be reduced) as well reductions in both gross and operating profit margins. Beginning in the second half of 2018, things are set to get tougher for the company's data center group business -- the company's second largest business unit by revenue and its most important growth driver. What investors will need to watch is how Intel handles this newly competitive environment and what impact this will have on the company's data center group performance. More From The Motley Fool • 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices • 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 • 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing • 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today • The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss • Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This Ashraf Eassahas no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy. \|\| Big Four Giant PwC Director Quits, Joins Cryptocurrency Exchange as CEO in Australia: Ben Ingram bitcoin.com.au cryptocurrency Australia A director at big four accounting giant PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) in Australia has quit the firm to join crypto exchange bitcoin.com.au as its newest CEO. Ben Ingram left PwC Australia back in March, where he was responsible for digital strategy, accounting and consulting, as its director before taking over the exchange as its chief executive, Business Insider Australia reports. The executive joins a long list of finance high-profile professionals switching their traditional careers for exciting opportunities in the crypto world. PwC has made the news several times in connection to blockchain projects. The company is known for supporting several distributed ledger technology ventures, going as far as working on a blockchain auditing service . Plan to Bring Crypto Products to Corporate Pension Plans Ingram will reportedly be responsible for working on the overall platforms functionality, as well as developing crypto-based financial products for areas such as companies pension plans, also known as superannuation. The CEO explained his crypto exchange is so much more than that it is an entry point for users to get exposed to Bitcoin in a simple manner. Ingram says their customers can as easily acquire the digital currency as getting rid of it one of the features of the platform is same-day settlements. While the crypto exchange currently only supports Bitcoin and Ethereum, the two largest cryptocurrencies in the world, there are plans in sight to add other digital currencies in the future. Millennials Expected to Turn to Self-Managed Funds However, Ingrams focus seems to be on bringing crypto products to superannuation, as he stated, There are not many tangible examples of crypto-based investment products yet. SMSFs have typically been the preserve of the wealthy. Its a vehicle where you can manage your own investments, and you also carry the cost of that audit. Self-Managed Super Funds (SMSF) are superannuation trust structures in which its members are also trustees of the fund. Story continues The CEO believes millennials owning crypto assets are more likely to turn to self-management, as the underlying blockchain technology allows for easy and fast auditing. While he agrees we still dont have a full picture yet of how blockchain will impact our overall future, hes positive it is the future. He explained: Were in the early-stage development of a new protocol. I think the core premise of distributed ledger technology (DLT) has very obvious widespread appeal. Even if the tech capabilities at present arent capable, I think humans will prevail. We know this tech doesnt have a dead-end. While the evolutionary path hasnt been fully determined, I think theres enough evidence that there is a path. Featured image from Shutterstock. The post Big Four Giant PwC Director Quits, Joins Cryptocurrency Exchange as CEO in Australia appeared first on CCN . \|\| Accenture plc (ACN) Q3 2018 Earnings Conference Call Transcript: Image source: The Motley Fool. Accenture PLC(NYSE: ACN)Q3 2018 Earnings Conference CallJune 28, 2018,8:00 a.m. ET • Prepared Remarks • Questions and Answers • Call Participants Operator Ladies and gentlemen, we'd like to thank you for standing by, and welcome to Accenture's Third Quarter Fiscal 2018 Earnings Call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. Later, we'll conduct a question and answer session, with instructions being given at that time. If you should require any assistance throughout today's call, please depress 0 and one of us will be with you immediately. And, as a reminder, today's conference call will be recorded. I would now like to turn the conference over to our host and facilitator, as well as our Managing Director, Head of Investor Relations, Angie Park. Please go ahead. Angie Park--Managing Director, Head of Investor Relations Thank you, Steve, and thanks, everyone, for joining us today on our Third Quarter Fiscal 2018 Earnings Announcement. As the operator just mentioned, I'm Angie Park, Managing Director, Head of Investor Relations. With me today are Pierre Nanterme, our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, and David Rowland, our Chief Financial Officer. We hope you've had an opportunity to review the news release we issued a short time ago. Let me quickly outline the agenda for today's call. Pierre will begin with an overview of our results. David will take you through the financial details, including the income statement and balance sheet for the third quarter. Pierre will then provide a brief update on our market positioning before David provides our business outlook for the fourth quarter and full fiscal year 2018. We will then take your questions before Pierre provides a wrap-up at the end of the call. As a reminder, when we discuss revenues during today's call, we're talking about revenues before reimbursements or net revenues. Some of the matters we'll discuss on this call, including our business outlook, are forward-looking, and as such are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to those factors set forth in today's news release and discussed on our annual report on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and other SEC filings. These risks and uncertainties could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed on this call. More From The Motley Fool • 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices • 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 • 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing • 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today • The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss • Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This During our call today, we will reference certain non-GAAP financial measures which we believe provide useful information for investors. We include reconciliations of non-GAAP financial measures where appropriate to GAAP in our news release or in the Investor Relations section of our website at Accenture.com. As always, Accenture assumes no obligation to update the information presented on this conference call. Now, let me turn the call over to Pierre. Pierre Nanterme--Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Thank you, Angie, and thanks, everyone, for joining us today. Accenture had a truly outstanding third quarter. We delivered excellent results from new bookings and revenues to operating margin, EPS, and cash flow, and we gained significant market share once again. The durability of our performance demonstrates the relevance of our growth strategy and our ability to continue delivering strong results and returns for shareholders, while at the same time investing significantly in new growth opportunities to strengthen our position for the long term. Here are a few highlights from the quarter. We delivered record new bookings of $11.7 billion, we grew revenues 11% in local currency to $10.3 billion, and our growth continues to be well balanced across the dimensions of our business. We delivered earnings per share of $1.79 on an adjusted basis, a 19% increase. Operating margin was 15.7%, an expansion of 20 basis points on an adjusted basis. We generated very strong free cash flow of $1.8 billion, and we returned approximately $1.6 billion in cash to shareholders through share repurchases and the payment of our semiannual dividend. So, we are entering the fourth quarter with excellent momentum in our business and I feel confident that we are very well positioned to deliver our business outlook for the year. Now, let me hand over to David, who will review the numbers in greater detail. David, over to you. David P. Rowland--Chief Financial Officer Thank you, Pierre, and thanks to all of you for taking the time to join us on today's call. As you heard in Pierre's comments, we're extremely pleased with our results in the third quarter, which once again reflect strong momentum across every dimension of our business. Based on the strength of our third-quarter results and the strong confidence and visibility we have in our fourth quarter, we will be increasing key elements of our full-year outlook, which I'll cover in more detail later in our call. Importantly, both our third-quarter results and our updated outlook for the full year reflect very strong execution against all three financial imperatives for driving superior shareholder value, which I covered in some detail at our Investor/Analyst Day in April. So, before I get into the details of the quarter, let me summarize the major headlines of our third-quarter results. Net revenue increased more than $1.4 billion, reflecting growth of 11% local currency and representing the third consecutive quarter of double-digit growth. The strong top-line growth exceeded our expectations and reflected strong and balanced growth across all operating groups and geographic areas, with several growing double digits. Growth continues to significantly outpace the market, reflecting both our leadership position in the New and the durability of our diverse yet highly focused growth model. Operating margin of 15.7% expanded 20 basis points compared to adjusted operating margin last year, consistent with our expectations, and reflected strong underlying profitability, which allowed us to invest at scale in our people and our business. And, we delivered very strong EPS of $1.79 on an adjusted basis, up 18% over fiscal '17 adjusted EPS. And, our free cash flow of $1.8 billion reflected both our strong profitability and excellent VSOs. We continue to execute our strategic capital allocation objectives, with year-to-date investments of over $450 million in acquisitions and roughly $3.8 billion returned to shareholders via dividends and share repurchases. With that said, let me turn to some of the details, starting with new bookings. New bookings were $11.7 billion for the quarter, the highest level of new bookings in our history, and represents 15% growth in local currency. Consulting bookings were $5.9 billion with a book-to-bill of 1.0 and outsourcing bookings were $5.8 billion with a book-to-bill of 1.3. Our new bookings were extremely well balanced across the dimensions of our business. Accenture Interactive, Accenture Applied Intelligence, Accenture Industry X.0, as well as Cloud and Security, were all important themes and represented roughly 60% of our total new bookings. Turning now to revenues, net revenues for the quarter were $10.3 billion, an increase of 16% USD and 11% in local currency, reflecting a foreign exchange tailwind of roughly 5% compared to the 5.5% impact provided last quarter. This result was approximately $200 million above the upper end of our FX adjusted range. Consulting revenues for the quarter were $5.7 billion, up 18% in USD and 12% in local currency, and our outsourcing revenues were $4.6 billion, up 14% in USD and 10% in local currency. Looking at the trends in estimated revenue growth across our business dimensions, the overriding theme was strong and balanced growth across all business dimensions. We saw an uptick in Strategy and Consulting Services, which grew high single digits, while both Application Services and Operations posted double-digit growth. And, the New, including Digital Cloud and Security, continued to deliver very strong double-digit growth reflecting many of the market themes and key points of differentiation, which we discussed at our Investor/Analyst Day. I'd like to also highlight the strong demand for Intelligent Platform Services, which continued to be an important contributor to our growth. As you know, Intelligent Platform Services brings together our industry, functional, and next-generation application capabilities powered by our innovation architecture to drive mission-critical programs for our clients, and these services primarily relate to deploying next-generation technologies in SAP, Oracle, Microsoft, Salesforce, and Workday. Taking a closer look at our operating groups, Communications, Media, and Technology led all operating groups with 18% in local currency, reflecting continued strong momentum in many parts of the business, especially Software and Platforms and Communication and Media, which both posted double-digit growth, as well as double-digit growth across all three geographies. Resources grew 12% in the quarter, driven by strong double-digit growth in Energy and Chemicals and Natural Resources. We continue to see strong demand for our services across all geographies with double-digit growth in North America and the growth markets and strong growth in Europe. Products delivered its 12th consecutive quarter of double-digit growth with 11% growth in the quarter, led by Industrial and Consumer Goods, Retail, and Travel Services. Growth was strong across all geographies with double-digit growth in both Europe and the growth markets. Financial Services grew 8% in local currency, reflecting strong growth in both Banking and Capital Markets and Insurance. Growth was strong across all three geographies, led by double-digit growth in the growth markets. Finally, H&PS grew 7%, driven by double-digit growth in Public Service. We continue to be pleased with double-digit growth in Europe and the growth markets and solid growth in North America. Moving down the income statement, gross margin for the quarter was 32.2% compared to 32.8% in the same period last year, sales and marketing expense for the quarter was 10.7% compared to 11.1% for the third quarter last year, and our general and administrative expense was 5.7% compared to 6.2% for the same quarter last year. We have two items impacting metrics this quarter. As a reminder, in Quarter 3 last year, we recorded a settlement charge related to the termination of our U.S. pension plan. In this quarter, we recorded charges of $122 million related to tax law changes, which increased our Quarter 3 tax rate by 7.6% and decreased diluted earnings per share by $0.19. The following comparisons exclude those impacts where applicable and reflect adjusted results. Operating income was $1.6 billion in the third quarter, reflecting a 15.7% operating margin, an increase of 20 basis points compared to adjusted operating margin in Quarter 3 last year. Our adjusted effective tax rate for the quarter was 26.8% compared to an adjusted effective tax rate of 26.6% for the third quarter last year. Adjusted diluted earnings per share were $1.79 compared to an adjusted EPS of $1.52 in the third quarter last year, and this reflects an 18% increase over last year's result. Day services outstanding were 39 days compared to 40 days last quarter and 41 days in the third quarter of last year. Our free cash flow for the quarter was $1.8 billion, resulting from cash generated by operating activities of $2 billion net of property and equipment additions of $174 million. Our cash balance at May 31st was $3.9 billion compared with $4.1 billion at August 31st. With regards to our ongoing objective to return cash to shareholders, in the third quarter, we repurchased or redeemed 4.7 million shares for $720 million at an average share price of $153.60 per share. At May 31st, we had approximately $1.4 billion of share repurchase authority remaining. Finally, as Pierre mentioned, on May 15th, 2018, we made our second semiannual dividend payment for fiscal '18 in the amount of $1.33 per share, bringing total dividend payments for the fiscal year to approximately $1.7 billion. So, in summary, we're extremely pleased with our outstanding third-quarter results and now focused on Quarter 4 and closing out a strong year. Now, let me turn it back to Pierre. Pierre Nanterme--Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Thank you, David. At our Investor and Analyst Conference in April, we provided an update on our strategy of building differentiated capabilities for the digital world, applying innovation at scale and ensuring that we anticipate the impact of the next wave of technology disruption for our clients. Our excellent results for the third quarter demonstrate that we continue to execute this strategy very well. The end-to-end capabilities we have built at scale and in an industry context are unique in the marketplace. Our ability to integrate these services, from strategy and consulting to digital technology operations and cybersecurities, enables us to deliver targeted business outcomes for clients. Our rapid rotation to the New -- Digital Cloud and Security -- continues to drive significant growth for Accenture. Revenues in the New again grew at a very strong double-digit rate in the third quarter and accounted for about 60% of total revenues for the first time, highlighting that the New has now become the core of our business. Digital transformation is now a clear imperative for our clients and we are uniquely positioned to deploy digital services end to end at scale across industries and geographies. With Accenture Applied Intelligence, we are bringing together our capabilities in data analytics and artificial intelligence combined with our deep understanding of industries and business functions to help clients reimagine their core processes. With Bepensa, a Coca-Cola bottler in Mexico, we are leveraging the Accenture Insights platform to mine the data from 2 billion transactions a year to provide a holistic view of the business, better serve its 300,000 daily customers, and significantly increase market share. We are also gaining significant traction with Accenture Industry X.0, where we are reinventing manufacturing with smart connected products and services using advanced technologies, including the Internet of Things, connected devices, and digital platforms. We are helping BSA Group, the Italian manufacturer, expand beyond products into digital services. BSA is rolling out connected services ranging from maintenance alerts to in-depth analytics across an install base of 20,000 industrial machines, driving new revenue streams as well as significant cost savings. And, we continue to build our Industry X.0 capabilities. This month, we announced our agreement to acquire design affairs, a design firm based in Germany that specializes in smart products and services for manufacturers. This complements very well our acquisition of Mackevision in the second quarter. Accenture will remain the partner of choice for the world's leading companies on large-scale, mission-critical transformation programs, and our ability to mobilize and integrate end-to-end services to deliver value and business outcomes is clearly setting us apart in the marketplace. We are helping Dow DuPont with the post-merger integration of Dow Chemical and DuPont as well as preparations for their planned spinoffs. We are expanding the scope of our services to include substantial work in digital, strategy, and management consulting with the goal of enabling each of the future companies with the distinctive capabilities needed to lead in their respective markets. Turning now to the geographic dimension of our business, I'm just very pleased that we again delivered strong growth in the third quarter across all three of our geographic regions with double-digit growth in most of our major markets. Starting in North America, we delivered 11% growth driven by further acceleration in the United States. In Europe, revenues grew 9% in local currency driven by strong double-digit growth in Germany, Italy, Ireland, France, and Spain. And, in growth markets, I'm delighted that we delivered another exceptional quarter, with 17% growth in local currency, led once again by very strong double-digit growth in Japan as well as double-digit growth in Australia, Brazil, and Singapore. Before I hand it back to David, I want to take a moment to touch on Accenture's role in helping to solve important societal challenges. Trust and responsibility are increasingly critical in evaluating companies as a potential partner, employer, or investment, and at Accenture, we feel a responsibility to encourage the use of emerging technologies as a positive force for the economy and the broader society. For example, we are using blockchain and biometrics to support ID 2020, which is helping to solve the challenges of identity faced by more than $1.1 billion people around the world. In Japan, we used artificial intelligence and machine learning to create a revolutionary system to dispatch emergency vehicles more quickly, ultimately saving lives. And, I'm particularly proud of the work our people do across the Accenture Labs in Bangalore, Dublin, San Francisco, and Sophia Antipolis to use cutting-edge technology in innovative ways through our Tech for Good initiative, like our A.I. smartphone solution that helps the blind navigate the world and lead more productive lives. Creating innovative solutions that improve the way the world works and lives is our mission at Accenture, and quite simply, the right thing to do. With that, I will turn the call over to David to provide our updated business outlook. David, again, over to you. David P. Rowland--Chief Financial Officer Thank you, Pierre. So, let me now turn to our business outlook. For the fourth quarter fiscal '18, we expect net revenues to be in the range of $9.8 billion to $10.05 billion. This assumes the impact of FX will be about flat compared to the fourth quarter of fiscal '17 and reflects an estimated 7% to 10% in local currency. For the full fiscal year '18, based upon how the rates have been trending over the last few weeks, we now assume the impact of FX on our results in U.S. dollars will be positive 3% compared to fiscal '17. For the full fiscal '18, we now expect our net revenues to be in the range of 9.5% to 10% in local currency over fiscal '17. For operating margin, we continue to expect full fiscal '18 to be 14.8%, consistent with adjusted fiscal '17 results. We now expect our annual effective tax rate to be in the range of 27% to 28%. The increase in our guidance from last quarter is primarily due to the $122 million tax charge that I mentioned earlier. The charge includes two components: An additional $41 million provisional charge related to the adoption of the U.S. Tax Act as well as an $81 million expense from a non-U.S. tax law change. Excluding the impact of these tax law changes, we now expect our adjusted annual effective tax rate to be in the range of 22.5% to 23.5%. For earnings per share, we now expect our diluted EPS for fiscal '18 to be in the range of $6.26 to $6.31. Excluding the impact of tax law changes, we now expect adjusted full-year diluted EPS to be in the range of $6.66 to $6.71, or 13% to 14% growth over adjusted fiscal '17 results. For the full fiscal '18, we now expect operating cash flow to be in the range of $5.5 billion to $5.8 billion, property and equipment additions to be approximately $600 million, and free cash flow to be in the range of $4.9 billion to $5.2 billion. Finally, we continue to expect to return at least $4.3 billion through dividends and share repurchases and continue to expect to reduce the weighted average diluted shares outstanding by about 1% as we remain committed to returning a substantial portion of our cash to our shareholders. With that, let's open it up so we can take your questions. Angie? Angie Park--Managing Director, Head of Investor Relations Thanks, David. I would ask that you each keep to one question and a follow-up to allow as many participants as possible to ask a question. Steve, would you provide instructions for those on the call? Operator Ladies and gentlemen, we'll now begin the question and answer session. If you wish to ask a question, please depress 1. You will hear a tone indicating that you have placed yourself in a queue and all questions will be pulled in the order they are received. Our first question will come from the line of Jason Kupferberg of Bank of America. Please go ahead. Jason Kupferberg--Bank of America Merrill Lynch -- Analyst Hey, good morning, guys. How are you? David P. Rowland--Chief Financial Officer Good morning, Jason. How are you? Jason Kupferberg--Bank of America Merrill Lynch -- Analyst Good, thanks. Great set of constant currency results here, obviously. So, we're just continuing to get a lot of questions around FX, just given some of the recent moves. I wanted to just get some of your initial thoughts. If FX spot rates today or in recent weeks were to, in theory, hold going forward, how should we think about the potential FX headwind to revenue and EPS next year, just so we can start to get our models calibrated? David P. Rowland--Chief Financial Officer Yeah, this will be the only comment I'll make relative to next year quantitatively, by the way, but I don't mind saying this because it's just really an extrapolation of the math. As we do our analysis -- so, looking at the rates that we used as a basis for the FX impact that I just provided for this year -- if those rates were to hold constant as we do our analysis, it would create a headwind of about 2%, so it would have a negative 2% impact on our results next year. Jason Kupferberg--Bank of America Merrill Lynch -- Analyst Okay, both top and bottom line? David P. Rowland--Chief Financial Officer Yeah, essentially. Jason Kupferberg--Bank of America Merrill Lynch -- Analyst Okay, great. So, just as my follow-up, obviously, really good to see the constant currency top-line raise for this year. Is most all of that organic? I know you did announce a couple of additional acquisitions since the last earnings call, but it didn't seem like there'd be enough time left in this year for them to contribute much. So, are we still thinking 2.5%-ish for M&A contribution in fiscal '18? David P. Rowland--Chief Financial Officer Yeah, the beat, if you will, in Quarter 3 was 100% organic, and therefore, that's the basis for us raising our guidance for the year. There is no change in our view on inorganic for the full year. We still think we'll end the full year with it making about a 2.5% contribution, and against that 2.5% contribution for the year, it was a little higher than that in the first half of the year, it's a little lower than that in the second half of the year, and averages to about 2.5% for the year. Jason Kupferberg--Bank of America Merrill Lynch -- Analyst Okay. Well, nice job. Thanks for the comments. David P. Rowland--Chief Financial Officer Thank you. Operator Our next question will come from the line of Tien-tsin Huang of JPMorgan. Please go ahead. Tien-tsin Huang--JPMorgan Chase -- Managing Director Good morning. David P. Rowland--Chief Financial Officer Good morning, Tien-tsin. Tien-tsin Huang--JPMorgan Chase -- Managing Director Good morning. Good revenue acceleration here. So, on the revenue front, I'll ask if there are any callouts on what surprised you -- perhaps Strategy Consulting accelerating. Just curious what drove the -- I think you said $200 million above the FX adjusted range to the top line of the guidance. David P. Rowland--Chief Financial Officer The good news is that the additional revenue was really broad-based. Literally, every operating group delivered above their expectations. As you might guess, the strongest over-delivery came from the three operating groups with the double-digit growth -- so, CMT, Products, and Resources were the biggest contributor to the strong revenue performance. As you also alluded to -- and, I called out in my script -- Strategy and Consulting combined was also quite strong, high single digits, and we were very pleased with that. But, it was -- really, the over-delivery from a top-line standpoint was broad-based and I think it aligns with the fact that we had such strong, broad-based, record-setting new bookings that underpinned that, and just reflective of the strong momentum in the market overall. Tien-tsin Huang--JPMorgan Chase -- Managing Director Sure, good. So, my follow-up, quickly, is just on the outsourcing bookings -- that 1.3x book-to-bill. So, what's the -- are larger deals back? Just curious of anything chunky that contributed to that, or if there's anything unusual. David P. Rowland--Chief Financial Officer Yeah, as you would expect, we had some larger deals in there. We had a couple larger deals in particular. I think the total number of deals more than $100 million -- I didn't say it, but it was...I think it was 12, if I'm remembering that correctly, and so, that is in the zone, probably, on the high end of what we see in a typical quarter. I don't know that big deals are back, necessarily, because we've always had a good flow of big deals, but as we look at our pipeline going forward, what we call our mega pipeline actually looks really good. And, actually, I'm being told that we had 13 deals over $100 million, not 12. Tien-tsin Huang--JPMorgan Chase -- Managing Director Off by one. Yup, that's in the zone. Thank you, sir. David P. Rowland--Chief Financial Officer Thank you, Tien-tsin. Operator Bryan Bergin of Cowen. Please go ahead. Bryan Bergin--Cowen and Company -- Director Hi, good morning. Thank you. I wanted to ask on the headcount growth versus revenue growth. Can you comment on whether you're seeing any change in the inflection of the resource requirements that you need for this high level of growth due to better automation traction of the Platform business? And then, can you just give us some color on the pickup penetration? David P. Rowland--Chief Financial Officer Yeah. So, our headcount growth did grow at a pace below our revenue growth, and we have seen that several quarters if you look over the last eight quarters or so. Certainly, there's the potential for that trend to be more common as we look forward, both as it relates to the productivity efficiencies that we will drive into the business, including through technology, and as well, we are always constantly focused on pricing improvement and increasing the revenue yield per head in our revenue. And so, it is a part of our strategy of extracting more value from our business for our shareholders and our employees, and in a perfect world, we would see a higher revenue yield per head going forward, and our challenge is to achieve that through the mix of our services, the pricing, et cetera. On the attrition front, there's not anything we're particularly concerned about. The attrition did tick up, but we feel very good about our ability to attract the talent in the marketplace that we need. We are an employer of choice, certainly, in our sector. We have no issues recruiting the people that we need in the market, and we also are quite pleased with our overall retention, including retention of critical skills, even with what was a slight tick-up in overall attrition. So, we don't have any particular concerns there. Bryan Bergin--Cowen and Company -- Director Okay, thanks. And then, on the H&PS segment, have you seen improvement in those healthcare contracts that you cited last quarter? Anything around the contract profitability? Thank you. David P. Rowland--Chief Financial Officer Yeah, very pleased with the H&PS profitability, as we were all the operating groups. Every single operating group -- if you look at this concept of underlying profitability that we talk about sometimes at the Accenture level, which is the underlying profitability above and beyond our reported profitability where we'll use the headroom to invest in our people and our business. Every single one of our operating groups had really strong improvement in underlying profitability. Now, underneath that, they had investments, et cetera, that are reflected in the operating margin numbers that we report, but we were quite pleased with all our operating groups, and H&PS included, which did show sequential improvement in profitability, and that is as we expected and as we signaled in the first half of the year. Bryan Bergin--Cowen and Company -- Director Thanks. David P. Rowland--Chief Financial Officer Thank you. Operator Jamie Friedman of Susquehanna Financial Group. Please go ahead. David P. Rowland--Chief Financial Officer Good morning, Jamie. Jamie Friedman--Susquehanna Financial Group -- Analyst Hi, thank you. Good morning, guys. Good set of results here. I'm sorry if I don't have the greatest connection, but David, I wanted to ask you -- in your prepared remarks, I thought you said something that was new -- at least, new to me -- where you decomposed the bookings. It was the Industry X.0 and the Interactive. I thought you said 60%. If you wouldn't mind just repeating that if you have that there, that would be helpful. David P. Rowland--Chief Financial Officer It was a subtle change, and frankly, the intent was to -- we talk about the New so much that I was just taking the opportunity to remind people what are the components of the New, so I called out the five components by name, and the only intent was, again, to remind the components of the New, especially as we have changed some of the terminology as we've evolved Digital to talk about Accenture Interactive, Accenture Applied Intelligence, and Accenture Industry X.0. And, the New overall -- so, those five components in aggregate -- represented about 60% of our total bookings, and that's consistent with the comment that Pierre made, where, from a revenue standpoint, the New represents approximately 60% of our revenues at this point as well. Pierre Nanterme--Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Maybe I can jump on this one because nobody's asking me any questions. They're all for you, David, so I'm jumping on it. You mentioned that we have evolved the terminology, but of course, it's more than the terminology, and the reality is that we are constantly evolving the content of our capabilities in the New. Accenture Interactive has been there since day one. No change. We continue growing, developing, and scaling. We have Accenture Mobility around enterprise apps and connected platforms. We've evolved now to Industry X.0 to build a capability totally focused on smart and digital manufacturing, same thing we've been doing with Accenture Analytics. We upgraded this year to Accenture Applied Intelligence by adding on top of the analytics machine learning and applied intelligence. So, it's important for all of you to understand that almost every year or every couple of years, we will always significantly improve, upgrade what we're calling the New to make sure we are always ahead of the curve and bringing innovation at the heart of our existing capabilities. Jamie Friedman--Susquehanna Financial Group -- Analyst Thanks, Pierre. And then, I did have one for you, Pierre, which was with regard to the growth in Strategy Consulting and Application Services, is it fair to think of those as lead indicators for the company, or would that be an exaggeration? Pierre Nanterme--Chairman and Chief Executive Officer No, I think for us, it's important to be growing Strategy, Management Consulting, and Intelligent Platforms -- so, the added-value part of our system integration -- because it's demonstrating that what we are selling is highly differentiated, is more at the high end of the value chain of our services, and of course, it is important in the context of contributing to our margin, and ultimately, profitability. So, I'm very pleased that we moved Strategy Consulting to high single digits. I think this is a good place to be, and it's the demonstration that our services are more and more differentiated with that piece, which is clearly around industry-specific solutions and very cutting-edge consulting work. Same with Application Services. The system integration piece is on fire, right? And, especially with what we're calling the Intelligent Platforms. So, all these new digital artificial intelligence analytics-rich platforms where we are leading with all of them to be next in the marketplace, and again, it's a significant contributor to our rotation to the New. So, it's a sign of good health. You're absolutely right. Jamie Friedman--Susquehanna Financial Group -- Analyst Thank you. Operator James Schneider, Goldman Sachs. Please go ahead. David P. Rowland--Chief Financial Officer Hey, good morning, Jim. James Schneider--Goldman Sachs -- Managing Director Hey, good morning, David. Just a question on the CMT. That continues to be very strong there, and the growth, you think, could be accelerated even further. Could you give us a sense about what the components of that growth are and what kind of work you're seeing there that maybe you didn't see a year or two ago? Is there anything incremental on that front? Pierre Nanterme--Chairman and Chief Executive Officer I'll take this. David P. Rowland--Chief Financial Officer Go ahead, Pierre. Pierre Nanterme--Chairman and Chief Executive Officer CMT -- we talked a lot about CMT these last years. Needless to say, it's a set of industries under massive transformation. If you take the different components -- high-tech, telecom, and what we're calling software and platforms -- software and platforms are the driving force of the growth in terms of CMT because these companies are investing massively in the context of leading in the market. So, here, the business is to support the leaders providing -- you know the names -- the leading platforms in the marketplace. So, we're supporting them in supporting their growth, and we are an enabler of that growth. On the other side of the spectrum, you will find telecom. Telecom is more transformational. These companies are facing significant challenges, and you know now they're embarking on some massive M&A consolidation. And so, a lot's happening, including they're all launching new networks. We're moving from the third to the fourth to the fifth-GV, you put the fiber on top of it, so they need to continue investing, and again, they need people like us to support their transformation as well as being an enabler of their network implementation. And then, in between, you have the high-tech, and high-tech companies, again, are not only CMT companies, but they're enablers of many industries in providing the equipment, providing the technology, and I'm extremely pleased with the progress we're making in high-tech across the board, especially with some recent excellent progress we have made with aerospace and defense, where we decided to focus on a very promising industry, and with the focus we put as administration on this industry, it is a good contributor to our overall growth. So, three different segments with three different sets of issues that we are the enabler of that change, that transformation, and ultimately, their leadership in the marketplace. James Schneider--Goldman Sachs -- Managing Director Thanks, that's helpful. And then, regarding the tax rate, David, I know you said you wouldn't talk about fiscal '19, but can you maybe just talk about your overall tax rate -- your overall tax planning, how that's evolved over the last few quarters or so, and whether you think that there's any kind of change to what you've previously said about the tax rate on a go-forward basis given all of that context? David P. Rowland--Chief Financial Officer First of all, it goes without saying that the tax environment continues to be highly complex and fluid, if not even volatile, perhaps. And so, it is a significant effort with a lot of talented people that stay on top of our tax planning and all of the matters and policy progression and all the tax jurisdictions around the world. You're right -- I'm not going to comment on FY '19 beyond what I have said previously. I would prefer that we just give one update in September when we provide guidance. There's basically two statements that I've made -- or, that we've disclosed -- just to remind you. So, one thing that we disclosed that I've commented on is the accounting change on income tax effects of intercompany transfers, the ASU 2016-16, and we've disclosed that in isolation, that would have about a 3.5% impact on our tax rate, and so, that's one item that we've called out which is in our future. Now, that impact would be in isolation, and obviously, there are other elements of our tax planning that we're constantly working on, and so, that's not to imply necessarily that that would be the ultimate impact, but that item alone will have that impact, and of course, the other item that we called out, obviously, is the U.S. tax reform, and previously, we had said that that would create modest upward pressure on our tax rate. And so, those are really among a longer list of items that we're focused on, those are the two things that we've talked about the most and that we've had disclosures on. James Schneider--Goldman Sachs -- Managing Director Thank you. David P. Rowland--Chief Financial Officer Thank you. Operator Harshita Rawat of Bernstein. Please go ahead. Harshita Rawat--Sanford C. Bernstein -- Analyst Hi, good morning. Thank you for taking my question. So, Pierre, it does appear that we are in one of the strongest enterprise IT demand environments in many years. Do you have a sense of whether this is cyclical in tax-reform-related uptick, or is this more structural in nature because IT is, again, perceived to be more of an investment area versus a budget that needs to be managed? Pierre Nanterme--Chairman and Chief Executive Officer I tend to believe it's more structural than something which is more cyclical or on the short term, and for many reasons. First, it's incredibly pervasive across all the industries. So, when you look at our rotation to the New, it's amazingly consistent across all our industries, whether you're taking the B2C, and now the B2B. Same thing -- it's amazingly consistent across the world. When you look at the rotation to the New from the U.S., to Europe, to Brazil, Australia, and Japan, you see the same level of demand across the world. So, it's something which is extremely significant. Next, when you look at this IT revolution -- and, let's call that digital revolution -- it's coming through waves. So, it's not one thing. It is now a continuous flow of new technologies coming one after the other to change the game. So, we started with some basic internet technology solutions, more on the B2C. Now, we're moving to look at it everything connected. If you look at this, that would be a big market in itself -- so, what we're calling the Internet of Things, but, everything connected. Then, you move to the artificial intelligence at large. Everybody would believe we are more at the very beginning of this wave than anything else. Then, the blockchain. We took it the last three years and incubated it. Now, it's starting to pick up, and by the way, we have put our act together, we have made significant investments, and now, we're taking a position of leadership in this blockchain technology. And, it's not enough. You move into immersive realities, virtual realities, and then you have the new IT and the new ways of developing systems -- DevOps, Agile -- and then, I can continue with quantum computing. So, look at the series of incredible digital technology disruptions. Where, in the past, probably, you would have one for 40 years, now, you have one every 18 months. So, I tend to believe we are in a true fourth industrial revolution based on digital, and it's something which is going to be more secular than cyclical. Harshita Rawat--Sanford C. Bernstein -- Analyst Great, thank you. And, just as a follow-up, against this context of this growing IT demand environment, is there any change in your thinking about your continued ability to hire and retain talent in this tightening labor market? Pierre Nanterme--Chairman and Chief Executive Officer We have no issue to make it. I know the data -- when you look at this and you take it to your microscope, you will see some tick-up in the attrition, but we are in the zone, as David said rightfully. The reality is are we able to attract the best talent in the marketplace? Sometimes, we call them iconic talent from the outside. The answer is yes. Are we retaining our best managing directors? We have, and we have now 7,000 managing directors. The level of attrition is incredibly low in the ranks of our managing directors. Every day, we have people willing to join Accenture. And, finally, our brand is attractive, and the brand is attractive because of the success of the rotation to the New and the pivot we've been executing to be now perceived -- it's not a perception, it's a reality -- as a highly innovative company accommodating multiple cultures in the same company, from designers, to business scientists, to the more classic programmers and developers, and to people extraordinarily knowledgeable in leading and cutting-edge IT. Plus, all the effort we made to make Accenture what we call a truly human -- Tech for Good, what I mentioned in my script. All of this is creating an environment which I tend to believe is very attractive. Evidence is recently, we won many awards in terms of the best place to work, most attractive place to work, and I'm very pleased that you're giving me the opportunity to mention that, that we're not only the best place to work for everybody, but as well, with a great sense of diversity in it. So, we have received many recognition for women, for LGBT, and I'm extremely pleased that we are attractive for everybody, as we should. All the talent, all the background, all the different gender, and all the diversity, and we have a good brand supporting that. Harshita Rawat--Sanford C. Bernstein -- Analyst Perfect. Thank you very much for taking my question. Pierre Nanterme--Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Thank you. Operator Rod Bourgeois of DeepDive Equity. Please go ahead. David P. Rowland--Chief Financial Officer Good morning, Rod. Rod Bourgeois--DeepDive Equity -- Head of Research and Consulting Hey, good morning. Good to talk to you guys. Hey, within the Intelligent Platforms business, where you work on ERP systems, can you talk about which ERP platforms are contributing the most to your growth? And also, perhaps, the software market trends that are catalyzing your demand in that ERP services space? Pierre Nanterme--Chairman and Chief Executive Officer As you know, Rod, we're working with all the usual suspects from a platform standpoint. So, I would mention the names you all know in the leading platform, from SAP, Oracle, Microsoft, Salesforce, and Workday, to mention the names everybody would know. All these platform providers -- these are the rotation to the New. So, the ones that were not in the cloud are now in the cloud, and all of them, as they have added features in terms of analytics, in terms of artificial intelligence insight -- that's why now, we're calling them at Accenture "Intelligent Platforms," because they are not anymore the old ERP we knew. They are ERPs in the cloud, rich in terms of new functionalities, analytics, and artificial intelligence. So, this market has been very good for Accenture. We've been driving excellent growth from our -- let's call that the ERP business or Intelligent Platform business. We are, again, the partner of choice, and the market is vibrant as well because many clients have been waiting for the new platforms to arrive, to upgrade and move, and I believe that we are more at the beginning of this wave of replacing the old ERP with the new one because it's going to drive lots of benefits in terms, again, of leveraging the cloud, leveraging analytics, and leveraging artificial intelligence. So, we have a very strong position. We organized our capabilities in our operating group as well as in Accenture technology to have at-scale capabilities to support all these leading platforms, and we are getting a very good return. Rod Bourgeois--DeepDive Equity -- Head of Research and Consulting That's helpful. And, just a quick follow-up -- can you give any color on the relative contributions of the components of New to your overall growth? I'm particularly interested in your view on which component in the New has the most future potential to evolve with success akin to the Accenture Interactive business. So, as an example, is IoT the best candidate for future growth potential, or is something else catching your attention there? Pierre Nanterme--Chairman and Chief Executive Officer I would say all our new babies have the potential to grow successfully for many years. Now, in the family, some are already operating at scale -- grown up. You mentioned Accenture Interactive, now three years in a row No. 1 inAdvertising Ageas the fastest-growing and largest digital expense agency. By the way, I'm pleased that you gave me the opportunity to mention to your group that we won seven awards at the Cannes Lions with an acquisition we made in Dublin with a company called Rothco. So, we are in the interactive game big-time, we are winning -- not only awards, but as well, big clients. So, with Accenture Interactive, it's scaled to lead in the world. It's more mature than the others. Next, I would mention, certainly, Cloud as well is more scaled to lead. These two are scaled to lead. Then, Applied Intelligence is, as well, at a very significant scale, but the name of the game for us is to infuse the latest cutting-edge artificial and algorithmic technologies in that unit we're calling Applied Intelligence. And then, we have two with big potential to grow because they are not yet operating at the same scale. I'm thinking about Accenture Security, where we have put together all our cybersecurity capabilities, and it's growing -- David would say "strong double digits." I would probably add "hyper-strong double digits" just to give you a sense that it's a bit more than strong double digits. And, the last one we launched was Industry X.0 that I mentioned, which is all the digital applied to manufacturing. This is clearly, for us, a significant investment we're going to make this year and in the coming three years because it's all about replicating to the B2B industries the success we have with the B2C, and we're making good progress, and I'm pleased. And, more to come because every year, we're going to launch new capabilities in the New when they will mature. Rod Bourgeois--DeepDive Equity -- Head of Research and Consulting It sounds like you don't have a favorite baby; you love all of them. Pierre Nanterme--Chairman and Chief Executive Officer I mean, this is the way we are in France. We love all of them. Rod Bourgeois--DeepDive Equity -- Head of Research and Consulting Thank you, guys. David P. Rowland--Chief Financial Officer Thanks, Rod. Operator Bryan Keane of Deutsche Bank. Please go ahead. Bryan Keane--Deutsche Bank -- Managing Director Yeah, hi, guys. Congrats on very solid results here. Just wanted to follow up on the bookings and the strength in the bookings. Was that a lot of renewals in there, or is that new business that pushed that higher? And then, just thinking about the pipeline now, does it become a little more depleted since you had such a big quarter this quarter? David P. Rowland--Chief Financial Officer So, there's a lot of new business in the $11 billion-plus bookings -- $11.7 billion -- in the quarter. You don't get to that number with a disproportionate or unusual level of renewals. The other part of the question was with pipeline -- yeah, any time we have a bookings quarter that large, obviously, it has some impact on the pipeline, but having said that, we have had a lot of replenishment even during the quarter, so we feel good about our pipeline, but yet, as you can imagine, we're very focused on our pipeline replenishment as we think about turning the page into fiscal '19 and, let's say, the next challenge of growth. So, we always have work to do on our pipeline. We feel good about it, but we're always focused on expanding it. Bryan Keane--Deutsche Bank -- Managing Director Okay. And then, just wanted to follow up on the fourth-quarter revenue guidance. I know top line was strong and 11% constant currency this quarter. I think the guidance implies something like 7% to 10% constant currency for the fourth quarter, which is a tad below the strength this quarter. Just thinking about that growth considering the strong bookings. Is that just a little bit of conservatism built in there -- or, another possibility is some of the M&A business that's falling off is causing a little lower growth rate than we saw in the third. Thanks so much. David P. Rowland--Chief Financial Officer I don't know if it's conservatism. 11% growth is really outstanding, and frankly, as well, the upper end of our range at 10% is also outstanding. And so, as we always say, we have a three-point range. You never like the bottom part of the range, and of course, we're always focused on being as high in the range as we possibly can. To the extent we were to deliver at the upper end of the range, we would continue to gain massive share in the marketplace. That level of growth would be outstanding and we would be very pleased with that at the upper end of the range. So, I wouldn't say -- there's not the intent to be conservative. There's the intent to have a reasonable range, and again, the upper half of the range is quite strong. Bryan Keane--Deutsche Bank -- Managing Director Okay, great. Thanks. Angie Park--Managing Director, Head of Investor Relations Hey, Steve, we have time for one more question, and then Pierre will wrap up the call. Operator Okay. Our last question will come from the line of Brian Essex, Morgan Stanley. Please go ahead. Brian Essex--Morgan Stanley -- Executive Director Great, thank you for taking the question. David P. Rowland--Chief Financial Officer Hi, Brian. Brian Essex--Morgan Stanley -- Executive Director Hey, how are you? I was just wondering if maybe you can unpack the digital a little bit. I get a lot of questions in terms of what's maybe migrational in nature, and Pierre did a great job differentiating the ERP part of the equation, but you've also had some great stories on truly transformational digital projects. I think Pierre had one in his prepared remarks on the operational side. The operations team has some great supply chain examples, particularly in the beverage market. How much of the digital would you say is truly transformational versus more migrational in nature, where you're just taking an application and putting it into a new operating environment? Pierre Nanterme--Chairman and Chief Executive Officer It's getting more and more transformational. You're right -- the first waves, you always fight to catch the low-hanging fruit. Let's put it that way. And, the low-hanging fruit, for instance, would be I'm taking my current applications, no change, no transformation, and I move them to the cloud just to benefit from the cost difference with the classic infrastructure, what you're calling the migration. So, we've seen some of the journey to the cloud. You're taking the existing, you lift and drop to the cloud, and you're making the benefits. You still have some of this work, of course, but what I found very interesting is indeed, the market is shifting -- at least, with us and our clients -- to using digital as more transformational. For instance, when you move or change from the existing ERP to a new ERP in the cloud, and then you're using the analytics and apply the artificial intelligence features in order to drive more value in the company in terms of forecasting, for instance, or other activities, then it is more transformational. As we speak, we're working in some very large organizations in CMT, again, in the context of aerospace and defense, to deploy these new digital platforms from engineering services to production to post-sales end to end with 3D features in it, and so forth. It's truly transformational, and it's not just low-hanging fruit or simple migration. So, we see more and more now -- as the market is maturing and as the leaders are understanding better the power of the digital transformation -- the shift from simple migration to drive the easy cost to more profound digital transformation to win the big prize. So, from the low-hanging fruit to the big prize, this is the difference with the migration to the transformation. We see more of those. Brian Essex--Morgan Stanley -- Executive Director Great, that's very helpful. One quick follow-up for David. David, I think last quarter, you said you might come in a tick under $1 billion for M&A. Do you still have that outlook, or does that change at all for the remainder of the year? David P. Rowland--Chief Financial Officer Yeah, it is -- our current view is that we'll land somewhere in the range of $650 million to $750 million of invested capital. We're fine with that. We're not in the business of just trying to do deals for the sake of doing deals. We want to do the right deals, and so, that's going to be the level that we're going to be at this year, but we are committed to that being an important part of our strategy going forward, and as we've said, up to 25% of our operating cash flow is our strategic capital allocation model objective. We always have an active pipeline, and that's true today, and so, it's something that we continue to focus on as an important part of our strategy. Brian Essex--Morgan Stanley -- Executive Director Super helpful. Thank you for squeezing me in. David P. Rowland--Chief Financial Officer Great, thank you. Operator We'll now turn the conference back over to our host and panelists for any closing remarks. Pierre Nanterme--Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Thanks a lot again to all of you for joining us on today's call. In closing -- and, I'm sure you heard that throughout the call -- we and I feel very good about where we are. We feel confident in our ability to finish the year strong. We believe that with the highly differentiated capability we have built in the New, our continued investments across Accenture, and the disciplined management of our business, we are extremely well positioned to continue driving profitable growth and delivering value for our clients, our people, and our shareholders. We look forward to talking with you again next quarter, and in the meantime, if you have any questions, please feel free to call Angie and the team. All the best, and thanks again for joining and supporting Accenture. Operator Ladies and gentlemen, that does conclude our conference call for today. On behalf of today's panel, we'd like to thank you for your participation in today's earnings call and thank you for using our service. Have a wonderful day. You may now disconnect. Duration: 64 minutes Angie Park--Managing Director, Head of Investor Relations Pierre Nanterme--Chairman and Chief Executive Officer David P. Rowland--Chief Financial Officer Jason Kupferberg--Bank of America Merrill Lynch -- Analyst Tien-tsin Huang--JPMorgan Chase -- Managing Director Bryan Bergin--Cowen and Company -- Director Jamie Friedman--Susquehanna Financial Group -- Analyst James Schneider--Goldman Sachs -- Managing Director Harshita Rawat--Sanford C. Bernstein -- Analyst Rod Bourgeois--DeepDive Equity -- Head of Research and Consulting Bryan Keane--Deutsche Bank -- Managing Director Brian Essex--Morgan Stanley -- Executive Director More ACN analysis This article is a transcript of this conference call produced for The Motley Fool. While we strive for our Foolish Best, there may be errors, omissions, or inaccuracies in this transcript. As with all our articles, The Motley Fool does not assume any responsibility for your use of this content, and we strongly encourage you to do your own research, including listening to the call yourself and reading the company's SEC filings. Please see ourTerms and Conditionsfor additional details, including our Obligatory Capitalized Disclaimers of Liability. More From The Motley Fool • 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices • 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 • 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing • 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today • The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss • Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This The Motley Fool recommends Accenture. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy. [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] Join the Gemax Airdrop. Sign up and complete the following steps to recieve 8,500 GMAX Tokens. https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeuvD5sX1Py5GJIiIyxGURrhHjYY6_oyAYMVSroP0xheWI2jg/viewform?c=0&w=1 … #GEMAX #airdrop #bounty #BTC #freetoken #Crypto #Blockchain #tron #trx #airdrops #Token \|\| #cryptocurrency Price Analysis for #Bitsend #BSD : Last Hour Change : 0.59 % \|\| 29-05-2018 06:00 Price in #USD : 0.49849 \|\| Price in #EUR : 0.4287495915 New Price in #Bitcoin #BTC : 0.00006991 \|\| #Coin Rank 488 \|\| Join our Official Airdrop We Distribute 11111111111111 PORNX Token Each Participate Get 1111111 PORNX Token 179$ You Also Get 333333 PORNX Token For Each Refer Join Link: http://bit.ly/PornX_Coin #BTC #Airdrop #Binance #Freetoken #Cryptocurrency #Crypto #Tokens #Giveaway #Bounty \|\| $MRNJ So Bankster backed Ripple doesn’t want to be called Crypto, but wants to be the Bank of Crypto…Shocker! #ad #wsj #nytimes #reuters #bloomberg #thestreet #jimmyfallon #forbes #nasdaq #chicago #ihub #newyork #business #cnn #foxnews #bitcoin #blockchain #music #cryptopic.twitter.com/ZKmBQwfA1q \|\| Except they are. \|\| USD: 110.150 EUR: 127.400 GBP: 144.429 AUD: 81.037 NZD: 74.660 CNY: 16.647 CHF: 110.504 BTC: 676,519 ETH: 48,450 Thu Jun 28 12:00 JST \|\| UpBit Raided by Local Police for Fraud – Crypto Market Drops https://cryptocurrencynews.com/daily-news/exchanges/upbit-raided-crypto-market-drops/?utm_campaign=rss__ccn&utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss … #bitcoin #blockchain #ico #airdrop #crypto #eth #97htgp \|\| #Neochain FREE TOKENS Get free 500 #Neochain tokens on the following airdrop: https://neochain.site/register.html Join Neochain on Telegram https://t.me/neochain and Twitter https://twitter.com/neochainoficial #AIRDROP #CRYPTO #BTC #FREE #BOUNTY #ICO \|\| $btc $eth $ltc #crypto #cryptocurrency #bitcoin \|\| every point i have listed is a lack in security and can harm btc and all btc owners in a very bad way. 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Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2022-11-21] BTC Price: 15787.28, BTC RSI: 31.40 Gold Price: 1737.40, Gold RSI: 58.54 Oil Price: 79.73, Oil RSI: 37.35 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] ‘Comprehensive’ International Crypto Rules Proposed by Influential Finance Watchdog: Stablecoins could be forced to centralize issuance and major crypto platforms broken up under plans put forward by the Financial Stability Board (FSB) Tuesday. The Financial Stability Board, a watchdog agency and standard setter for the global financial system supported by central banks and finance ministries, wants to see a comprehensive international rulebook in the aftermath of recent crypto market turmoil, taking aim at conflicts of interest in multi-faceted operations and algorithmic stablecoins like the now-collapsedterraUSD. “The current ‘crypto winter’ has reinforced our assessment of existing structural vulnerabilities in these markets,” Klaas Knot, the Dutch central banker who chairs the FSB, said in a letter to the finance ministers of the world’s 20 biggest economies. He was referring to FSB concerns over liquidity mismatches, high leverage and inappropriate business models in the highly connected crypto ecosystem. “This turmoil has once more underlined the need for a comprehensive approach to crypto-asset regulation,” Knot added, after a volatile year that saw the price of major assets like bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH) tumble, and the total collapse of companies like crypto lender Celsius Network. Tuesday’s reports are a “major step” towards that framework, Knot added. A report published for consultation by the FSB Tuesday calls for jurisdictions across the world to extend existing financial norms and develop new ones for novel crypto risks. It puts off delving deeply into new areas like decentralized finance (DeFi), promising a fuller policy assessment next year, but warns that failure to disclose governance roles can prevent regulators from finding out who’s responsible in some supposedly decentralized structures. The report said some crypto companies are already breaching the law by combining traditionally separate activities like trading, lending, custody and brokerage, and called on national authorities to step in and break them up if there are heightened risks or conflicts of interest. Read more:Global Financial Watchdog FSB to Propose Crypto Regulations in October “Various crypto-asset activities are often bundled together within a single entity, sometimes in non-compliance with existing regulations,” the report said. “Authorities should enforce their powers and use their tools as appropriate and in line with jurisdictional legal frameworks, including disaggregation and separation of certain functions.” The FSB warns of extra risks when wallet providers offer services for stablecoins – cryptocurrencies which seek to maintain their value against conventional assets such as the U.S. dollar. Disruptions to a wallet service could allow for malicious transfers, potentially leading to a stampede from panicking customers, and there’s often no clarity on what happens if a provider goes bankrupt, the report said. A separate report also published for consultation Tuesday seeks to tighten up international stablecoin rules, even though it says most industry players are already struggling to keep up withcurrent norms dating back to 2020. “Most existing stablecoin arrangements do not meet the FSB’s High-level Recommendations,” the report said, citing deficiencies across the board in areas such as governance, risk management, and regulatory disclosures. Under new FSB plans, stablecoins that are usable in multiple jurisdictions could be forced to centralize governance, and wouldn’t be able to use automated algorithms to maintain value like the “flawed” terraUSD did. “Authorities should require that GSC [global stablecoin] issuance be governed and operated by one or more identifiable and responsible legal entities or individuals,” the report said. “A GSC should not rely on arbitrage activities to maintain a stable value at all times and it should not derive its value from algorithms.” That aims to address crucial errors in the design of terraUSD – which purported to maintain value being exchangeable with a companion token, luna. That crucially depends on having liquid trading, which is unlikely in cases where there is an abrupt collapse in confidence. The FSB has no enforcement power, and will rely on peer pressure to avoid a scenario where crypto companies can pick and choose whichever jurisdiction offers the lightest regulatory load. Consultations are open until mid-December, with the FSB aiming to finalize the recommendations by the middle of next year. Read more:Global Crypto Standards Due Next Week Could Test Regulators’ Tech Mantra \|\| US stocks continue to fall as investors digest hawkish Fed outlook while jobs report looms: • US stocks extended losses Thursday as investors remained worried over a hawkish Fed. • The Nasdaq led the decline as bond yields continued to climb amid expectations for more rate hikes. • Investors are also looking ahead to the Labor Department's monthly payroll report coming out early Friday. US stocks added to losses Thursday, as investors continued to contend with the prospect of the Federal Reserve raising rates higher than previously thought. The Nasdaq led the decline as bond yields surged. Remarks from Fed Chair Jerome Powell on Wednesday, following the announcement of another 75-basis-point rate hike, squashed hopes for a pivot in the near term. "Indicating that the Fed expects to extend its horizon for continuing to raise interest rates, Powell warns that the long slog will continue," said David Donabedian, chief investment officer at CIBC Private Wealth. "Powell threw a wet blanket on investors hoping that the Fed would transition to the final phase of the tightening process. " Investors are also looking ahead to the Labor Department's monthly payroll report coming out early Friday. The consensus is for job gains to slow to 205,000. Here's where US indexes stood at the 4:30 p.m closing bell on Thursday: • S&P 500:3,719.87, down 1.06% • Dow Jones Industrial Average:32,001.25, down 0.46% (146.51 points) • Nasdaq Composite:10,342.94, down 1.73% Here's what else is happening today: • Billionaire Sam Zell said the Fed is finally making the right moves, even though a recession will be the likely result. • The Fed will only hike as high as 4.5%, according toJeffrey Gundlach, who sees an 80% chance of a US recession next year. • The world could face the worst financial crisis since World War IIas hyperinflation looms, hedge fund Elliott Management said. In commodities, bonds, and crypto: • West Texas Intermediate crudefell 2.13% to $88.08 per barrel.Brent crude,the international benchmark, rose declined 1.47% to $94.74. • Goldslipped 0.18% to $1,631.74 per ounce. • The10-year Treasury yieldjumped 7.3 basis points to 4.136%. • Bitcoininched up 0.22% to $20,224.09. Read the original article onBusiness Insider \|\| The End of the 'Centralization Era' in Crypto: When we look back at November 2022, we may well view it as the end of the "Centralization Era" in crypto. Centralized crypto exchanges offered consumers an appealingly convenient way to invest in crypto. However, the centralization era also led to disregard for consumer protection and massive meltdowns that have affected tens of millions of people and hundreds of billions in assets. Consumers are learning very hard lessons about the risks of centralization. You can draw a straight historical line from Mt. Gox to Voyager Digital, Celsius Network and now FTX. The inevitable conclusion is that centralized entities pose a systemic risk to the crypto ecosystem. It is well past time that we as a collective crypto community come together to demand better. Shingo Lavine and Adam Lavine are co-founders of Ethos.io , a decentralized technology company. Crypto was founded upon the idea of true individual ownership and self-sovereignty as a response to the 2008 financial crisis. It was built to be different, where individuals held the keys to their own wallets and could trade without an intermediary. The animating vision since Bitcoins creation has been to enable all of us to take back control of our money. There is a longstanding truism that "power corrupts," which holds for financial history, too: If you give someone control over your money, they're bound to abuse your trust. This plays out in crypto between self-custody and centralized custodians. Its time we returned to the roots of crypto that brought us all together in the first place. Read more: How Crypto Can Do Good for the World / Opinion At Ethos.io, we have long been proponents of decentralization and self-custody. In 2017, we designed a decentralized crypto wallet that garnered over 100,000 users, and were then tapped to help build the payment and blockchain rails for Voyager, a centralized crypto broker which scaled to a million users. In time, we left Voyager because of cultural differences the management insisted on a centralized path to build up their AUM [assets under management]. Ultimately these funds were lent out to Three Arrows Capital , leading to a swift Voyager bankruptcy. Story continues Unfortunately, both Voyagers and FTXs users have learned the hard way that crypto held in accounts on those platforms are not theirs far from it. Centralized exchanges and brokers often co-mingle funds into omnibus wallets, and treat their customers as unsecured creditors. Voyager depositors have watched management, employees, lawyers and bankers all consume company capital resources while their crypto remains locked up in the bankruptcy process. Read more: FTX Showed the Problems of Centralized Finance, and Proved the Need for DeFi / Opinion It is mind-boggling how often just one persons actions can impact the fortunes of millions. This is the exact opposite of how crypto is supposed to work and why the centralization era has been so risky. This era must come to an end. The era of decentralization is the only viable path forward. Crypto must return to its roots and take back power from corrupt institutions that have abused their power and influence. The last five years have seen several technical breakthroughs that can serve as a foundation for a robust, safe and fair decentralized economy. Decentralized trading platforms promise huge benefits over centralization: lack of counter-party risk, on-chain settlement and transparency. It is simply impossible to trade against your customers. A properly implemented and maintained decentralized finance (DeFi) economy will service the interest of both customers and operators, not to mention provide encoded consumer protections which regulators are trying to achieve. Read more: It Cant Be Decentralization or Bust / Opinion Work must still be done. Vitilak Buterin, co-creator of Ethereum, has written eloquently on the need for secure vaults to minimize the risk of losing your keys. Multi-party cryptography (MPC), layered security and social guardians can make this a reality and leave the days of mnemonics and seed phrases behind. We are once again at an inflection point where we as a community must defy centralization. We must defy corrupt CEOs who seek to separate us from our money. We must defy corporate secrecy, which has enabled corruption and recklessness paid on the customers dime. We must want to return to cryptos roots and empower individuals to wrest control of what is rightfully theirs. The future will not be centralized. But we must build it. \|\| Trading in crypto derivatives surges as investors hedge positions after FTX shock: By Medha Singh and Lisa Pauline Mattackal (Reuters) - Trading volumes in bitcoin futures and exchange traded funds (ETFs) has exploded as investors scrambled to hedge their positions after this week's slump in digital tokens triggered by turmoil at crypto exchange FTX. CME bitcoin futures November contracts traded at $17,250, with a volume of 13,292 at 11:24 a.m. EST (1624 GMT), which was a 3% discount to the spot price of $17,770. Trading volumes soared on Tuesday and Wednesday as FTX's woes worsened, touching 48,554 and 32,168 contracts respectively, significantly higher than volumes over the past two months which hovered between 4,902 and 27,309. Bitcoin bounced 10% on Thursday after touching a late-2020 low earlier in the day as largest crypto exchange Binance walked away from a bailout of FTX, leaving the firm's urgent push to plug a reported $8 billion hole in its finances. The ProShares short bitcoin strategy ETF, a bearish play on CME bitcoin futures, witnessed record trading volume on Wednesday as investors hunted for "regulated, transparent futures market," ProShares Global Investment Strategist Simeon Hyman said. "This suggests an overwhelmingly strong unison desire to hedge, with shorts being the predominant force of leveraged exposure at the moment," said Vetle Lunde, analyst at Norway-based crypto research firm Arcane Research. Meanwhile, ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF, which was halted for trading on Wednesday, has witnessed a 300% jump in trading volume in the from its previous high on October 21, 2022. Assets under management for the BITO fund has shrunk by almost a third since its launch nearly a year ago to about $500 million, according to Refinitiv Lipper data. Funding rates that represent sentiment in the perpetual swaps market, a major part of the bitcoin derivatives world, were negative 0.0219% on Thursday, according to Coinglass, trading near levels last seen in March 2020, Arcane Research's Lunde said. Negative funding rates imply sentiment is bearish as investors must pay to hold a short position. Some market participants reported facing issues with borrowing and shorting cryptocurrencies. "We've traded some spot in the last few days and trading desks are being very conservative with risk management right now so it wouldn't surprise me that futures markets are getting a bit tricky to navigate," said Greg King, chief executive officer at Osprey Funds. (Reporting by Medha Singh and Lisa Pauline Mattackal in Bengaluru; Editing by Matthew Lewis) View comments \|\| Congressman Brad Sherman Takes Aim at ‘Billionaire Crypto Bros’ for Slowing Regulation: U.S. Congressman Brad Sherman has hit out at the crypto industry in the wake of the FTX collapse , pointing the finger at “billionaire crypto bros” for attempting to delay “meaningful legislation” from the Federal government. The crypto ultra-rich were represented well among political donors in the recent U.S. midterms . Around $2.3 billion was raised overall during this election cycle, as per data from the non-profit Open Secrets. FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried spent $39.8 million, most of which flowed to Democrats, making him the 6th-largest individual political donor. Noted crypto bull and Silicon Valley celebrity Peter Thiel spent $32.6 million to support various Republican candidates. Sherman, who currently serves as Chairman of the Subcommittee on Investor Protection and Capital Markets, said the recent collapse of FTX was a “dramatic demonstration of both the inherent risks of digital assets and the critical weaknesses in the industry that has grown up around them” and that he wholeheartedly supports efforts to “make sure those responsible are held accountable.” In particular, the regulator acknowledged political donations to Democrats by FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, which have already received adequate media attention, commenting that these donations were given “not to help Democrats beat Republicans” and “mostly unsuccessfully.” Sherman added that the donations of Ryan Salame, co-CEO of Bahamas-based FTX Digital Markets, also deserve attention, saying: “When you examine FTX efforts to influence Washington, you have to look at both CEOs, not just the eccentric guy wearing the shorts.” Salame donate d over $23 million to Republican candidates and campaign groups in 2022, which placed him 14th on the Open Secrets donor list, demonstrating that FTX-linked donations were not divided equally along party lines. Sherman tackles crypto This isn’t the first time Sherman has taken a hard line on cryptocurrency exchanges. In his latest memo, the congressman referenced when he called SEC Division of Enforcement Director Gurbir Grewal to pursue enforcement actions against crypto exchanges “for failing to register with the SEC after listing tokens on their platforms that the Commission had publicly identified as unregistered securities.” Story continues The senator, who once said that all Bitcoin does is allow “a few dozen men in my district to sit in their pajamas on their couch all day and tell their wives they are going to be millionaires," has drawn public criticism for some of his more daring statements about digital assets. In a Congressional Hearing earlier this year, Sherman asked whether "those of color will be left holding the bag if we see a collapse in cryptocurrency or stablecoins?" The statement stirred ire on crypto Twitter, with African American Democratic primary challenger Aarika Rhodes, who is generally pro-crypto, deriding him for his “patronizing attitude.” \|\| 7 Telecom Stocks to Sell Pronto Before a Painful Downturn: Telecom stocks havetaken a hitover the past few years. Most companies in the space have been struggling under the weight of theirmassive debt loadsas they upgrade their infrastructure to support 5G. With the stock market expected to drop even further from current levels, it’s probably the right time to reassess your portfolios and consider these telecom stocks to sell. Granted, telecom stocks can be highly appealing to long-term investors. All thanks to attractive valuations and steady dividends. However, many of them can be value traps with unsustainable yields. Therefore, it is imperative not to be swayed by high dividend-yielding telecom stocks. Let’s look at seven telecom stocks to sell that are likely to lose a truckload of value in the upcoming downturn. [{"ASTS": "AMT", "AST SpaceMobile": "American Tower", "$6.12": "$198.00"}, {"ASTS": "BCE", "AST SpaceMobile": "BCE Inc.", "$6.12": "$44.59"}, {"ASTS": "CHTR", "AST SpaceMobile": "Charter Communications", "$6.12": "$345.74"}, {"ASTS": "TDS", "AST SpaceMobile": "Telephone & Data Systems", "$6.12": "$16.11"}, {"ASTS": "SHEN", "AST SpaceMobile": "Shenandoah Telecom", "$6.12": "$21.05"}, {"ASTS": "ZM", "AST SpaceMobile": "Zoom Video", "$6.12": "$83.25"}] InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips Source: Shutterstock Space-based mobile telecommunicationsAST SpaceMobile(NASDAQ:ASTS) has performed relatively well since going public last year. Its shares rallied briefly a couple of months ago amidst excitement surrounding itsBlueWalker 3 satellite. However, it was only a flash in the pan, and a recent short report, fromKerrisdale Capital, has further increased AST’s woes. The short report questionedthe stock’s valuation, its satellite design, competitive threats, and the likelihood of shareholder dilution. Moreover, the report also talked about how the company needs to raise billions in new capital to keep its services operational. Therefore, with multiple risks surrounding the business, it’s best to avoid ASTS stock at this time. Source: SERDTHONGCHAI / Shutterstock.com American Tower(NYSE:AMT) is a top global real-estate-investment-trust (REIT), operating multi-tenant communications real estate with aportfolio of roughly 222,000 communications sites. It’s been a steady performer over the past decade due to strong growth in mobile data usage. The trend remains intact, with data usage expected to grow at an incredible 20% annually over the next five years. Its shares have underperformed of late due to rising interest and inflation rates weighing-down real estate-related stocks. Like most companies, AMT benefitted immensely from falling interest rates in the past decade. However, the rising interest rates of late have weighed down the company’s financial flexibility. Its debt burden has increased significantly while its business suffers from a strengthening U.S. dollar. AMT operates a global tower business generating roughly 45% of its sales from overseas. The U.S. dollar has risen incredibly in the past 12 months, and with the Fed remaining hawkish,the translation risk will only get worse. Source: Shutterstock BCE Inc.(NYSE:BCE) is a diversified business, with its tentacles in multiple areas, such as radio broadcasting and television. Most investors would be looking at its impressive dividend yield of 5.98%, but considering its dwindling financial health, it’s tough to see how BCE will maintain its dividend profile. Therefore, its bear case seems more compelling at this time, with its current valuation skewed towards the downside. BCE’s deplorable financial health and lackluster revenue expansion will likely lead to a dividend cut. Recentearnings performanceshave been forgettable and will likely weigh down its ability to pay dividends. Moreover, its stock trades close to its historical price multiples despite its fundamentals and outlook weakness. Source: Shutterstock Charter Communications(NASDAQ:CHTR) is a leading cable and broadband operator serving residential and commercial customers in the U.S. Over the years, and it’s operated a business that has generated consistent revenue and profits. However, it witnessed a slowdown in its results this year without having much of an impact on its lofty stock price. Itreported a net loss of 21,000 internet subscribersin its second quarter. Net subscriber additions have been crucial for the company’s long-term expansion, and its second-quarter results are disconcerting. Its management has talked about the low growth environment for internet services which has significantly reduced opportunities for subscriber additions. On top of that, the firm’s financial metrics continue to weaken with every passing quarter. Its debt is 9.75 times its equity, far worse than its peers and its historical average. Hence, CHTR has little wiggle room to navigate through the current crisis. Source: Shutterstock Telephone & Data Systems, Inc.(NYSE:TDS) is a legacy telecom business with its subsidiary USM among the largest wireless providers in the U.S. Though its dividend profile is impressive, its underlying fundamentals have been a disappointment. With investors looking to invest in high-quality businesses currently, TDS isn’t the stock you should be wagering on at this time. Its business comes with low returns on capital, a small market share, and low operating margins. Revenue growth has fluctuated in the past several quarters, with itsfive-year average at just 0.8%. Despite its vast experience in the telecom sphere, it still hasn’t been able to produce consistently growing sales and move up the ranks in its sector. Source: Shutterstock Shenandoah Telecom(NASDAQ:SHEN) is another broadband, cable, and phone service provider in six U.S. states. It operates highly-valued assets and has been a consistent business over the past several years. Revenues have grown by 17.6% over the past five years, with a healthy improvement in profits. Perhaps the main knock on SHEN stock is its premium valuation, especially in the current economic environment.It trades at over 3.7 times forward sales, compared to the sector average of just 1.18 times forward sales estimates. Revenue growth is down considerably from its historical average, and its bottom line has been taking a major hit. Nonetheless, SHEN stock has held up remarkably well in the stock market, which makes it an unattractive bet. Source: Shutterstock Zoom Video(NASDAQ:ZM) was a pandemic darling, with its stock climbing to an all-time high of $568.30 per share. It’s gone from a high-flying stock to a potential value play, dropping over 80% of its value in the past 12 months. With the pandemic fade, Zoom’s growth has screed to a halt. Itsrevenues in the second quarter grew by just 8%from the prior-year period. Moreover, income from operations saw a substantial in its income from operations, from $294.6 million to $121.7 million. Analysts forecast revenue expansion of just 7.1% this year, a far cry from its results in the past couple of years. Zoom relies on limited products and services and will have hardly any competitive edge against its other players in the communication space. Therefore, it’s tough to envision a scenario where it could grow at the same pace as it did during the pandemic. On the date of publication, Muslim Farooque did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.comPublishing Guidelines Muslim Farooque is a keen investor and an optimist at heart. A life-long gamer and tech enthusiast, he has a particular affinity for analyzing technology stocks. Muslim holds a bachelor’s of science degree in applied accounting from Oxford Brookes University. • Buy This $5 Stock BEFORE This Apple Project Goes Live • The Best $1 Investment You Can Make Today • Early Bitcoin Millionaire Reveals His Next Big Crypto Trade “On Air” • It doesn’t matter if you have $500 or $5 million. Do this now. The post7 Telecom Stocks to Sell Pronto Before a Painful Downturnappeared first onInvestorPlace. \|\| First Mover Asia: Bitcoin Is Upbeat Above $20K as Investors Grow Optimistic That Steep Rate Hikes Will Soon End; Kim Kardashian and the SEC's Publicity Grab: Good morning. Here’s what’s happening: Prices:Bitcoin, ether and other cryptos spend another day in the green. Insights:The SEC's settlement with mega-influencer Kim Kardashian is a warning to the crypto industry, as CoinDesk columnist Daniel Kuhn noted in Tuesday's edition of the Node. (First Mover Asia writers Sam Reynolds and Shaurya Malwa are away.) ●Bitcoin (BTC): $20,209+3.1% ●Ether (ETH): $1,356+2.5% ●CoinDesk Market Index (CMI): 986+2.4% ●S&P 500 daily close: 3,790.93+3.1% ●Gold: $1,732 per troy ounce+2.3% ●Ten-year Treasury yield daily close: 3.62%−3e+1 Bitcoin, ether and gold prices are taken at approximately 4pm New York time. Bitcoin is the CoinDesk Bitcoin Price Index (XBX); Ether is the CoinDesk Ether Price Index (ETX); Gold is the COMEX spot price. Information about CoinDesk Indices can be found atcoindesk.com/indices. Bitcoin Spends the Day Back Over $20K By James Rubin Say hello to $20,000 again. Bitcoin rose markedly for a second consecutive day and was recently trading at about $20,200, a more than 3% gain over the past 24 hours and its highest level in a week. The largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization has crossed the psychologically important threshold several times over the past month but failed to stick amid investor concerns about inflation and the prospect of a harsh recession. On Tuesday, markets responded positively to a surprising decline in job openings in theJob Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS), which offered hope that the economy was slowing enough for the U.S. central bank to reverse course on steep interest rate hikes in the not-too-distant future. Ether was recently changing hands above $1,350, up more than 5% from the previous day, same time. Other major altcoins spent much of the day firmly in the green with DOGE rising more than 10% after Elon Musk, a champion of the popular meme coin, indicated he would be willing to follow through on his original proposal to purchase social media platform Twitter. SHIB, a similarly dog-themed meme coin and LINK, climbed over 4% and 5%, respectively. TheCoinDesk Market Index (CMI), a broad-based market index that measures performance across a basket of cryptocurrencies, recently increased by 2.4%. Equity markets continued their so-far, buoyant week with the tech-focused Nasdaq and S&P 500, which has a strong technology component, jumping 3.3% and 3.1%, respectively, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) rising 2.8%. Investors responded favorably to an unexpectedly small interest rate hike by Australia's central bank and the JOLTS reading suggesting that the hot jobs market was finally losing steam. Torrid job figures have concerned U.S. central bankers looking for signs of an economic downtrend. The price of Brent crude oil, a widely watched measure of energy markets, traded roughly flat but still hovered over $91 per barrel, and investors will be eyeing Wednesday's report by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), which is expected to cut supplies. Bond yields and the dollar, which recently soared to multi-year highs, fell again. Bankrupt crypto lender Celsius Network's woes continued with the resignation on Tuesday of co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer S. Daniel Leon. He follows now-former CEO Alex Mashinsky, who departed the company last week. Celsius filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in New York in July, and now faces an inquiry from an investigator appointed by the U.S. Trustee's office and authorized by the Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. And Japan plans for expanding its digital presencewill includenon-fungible tokens (NFT) and metaverse services, Japan Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said in apolicy speechMonday. In an email to CoinDesk, Mark Connors, head researcher at Canadian digital asset firm 3iQ, wrote that despite this month's early gains across risk-on assets, markets remain unsettled. Connors called the S&P 500's 5.3% October increase a "price action...more indicative of an option or a warrant than a $32B+ large cap equity index," and said that the volatilities of currencies and treasury bonds were "even more unusual." "The low vol, highly leveraged currency and rate assets are exhibiting the highest relative volatility," he said, adding: "What you DONT see are unusual moves in BTC or ETH. This is because monetary policy is causing problems in the fiat based plumbing. Asset prices are falling too fast." "This story is far from over." [{"Asset": "Dogecoin", "Ticker": "DOGE", "Returns": "+10.1%", "DACS Sector": "Currency"}, {"Asset": "Chainlink", "Ticker": "LINK", "Returns": "+5.8%", "DACS Sector": "Computing"}, {"Asset": "Terra", "Ticker": "LUNA", "Returns": "+5.1%", "DACS Sector": "Smart Contract Platform"}] There are no losers in CoinDesk 20 today. Kim Kardashian, EthereumMax and the SEC's Publicity Grab By Daniel Kuhn Monday, before the market opened, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced it settled with celebrity influencer Kim Kardashian for $1.26 million related to her paid endorsement of a cryptocurrency called EthereumMax. Just as when Kardashian first shilled the token in June 2021 (and failed to disclose the $250,000 she was paid to do so), the news raises the question … why? Why did Kardashianget involved in the first place, and why is the SECfining her now? The SEC, under Chairman Gary Gensler, is looking to send a message: Celebrities should think twice before endorsing cryptocurrencies. Kardashian, a celebrity who has built her reputation on being famous as well as ubiquitous, is ahigh-profile target. With a federal agency that is consistently underfunded going after this big target, the settlement serves as a warning for the crypto industry at large. This article is excerpted from The Node, CoinDesk's daily roundup of the most pivotal stories in blockchain and crypto news. You can subscribe to get the fullnewsletter here. Influencers Are 'Easier to Pick Off' Than Token Issuers: Former SEC Official on Kim Kardashian But the news also comes amid a deep market rout, where every day brings more news of crimes swept under the rug during aFOMO-fueled market rallyduring the COVID-19 pandemic. Three Arrows Capital, once thought to be one of the smartest hands in the game, was found to have built its fortune largely byrehypothecating borrowed funds. Alex Mashinsky, the founder and former CEO of bankrupt “neo-bank” Celsius Network was just found to besiphoning fundsfrom Celsius. Figures like Mashinsky and Three Arrow’s Kyle Davies and Su Zhu promisedmuch morethan Kardashian and other celebrity crypto endorsers ever could. Celsius’ unofficial slogan was “unbank yourself.” The Three Arrows hedge fund operated under the idea of an unstoppable crypto“supercycle.”Until the firm imploded under the weight of bad debt and bad bets, Celsius promised users returns of up to 20% on their crypto holdings. Mashinsky is now selling T-shirts saying,“Unbankrupt Yourself.” Read the full storyhere. 8:30 a.m. HKT/SGT(12:30 a.m. UTC):Jibun Bank services PMI(Sept.) 9 a.m. HKT/SGT(1 a.m. UTC):Reserve Bank of New Zealand rate decision and statement 4 p.m. HKT/SGT(8 a.m. UTC):OPEC meeting In case you missed it, here is the most recent episode of"First Mover"onCoinDesk TV: Bitcoin Gains Momentum; Former SEC Branch Chief on Kim Kardashian’s Crypto Promotion "First Mover" dived into crypto markets with Arca Portfolio Manager David Nage to explore reasons for the sudden rally in crypto and the broader markets. Former SEC Enforcement Branch Chief Lisa Bragança discussed the fallout for Kim Kardashian after the reality TV star's $1.26 million settlement with the SEC over her promotion of EthereumMax. Plus, First Mover had an update on China's CBDC rollout. Japan to Invest in Metaverse and NFT Expansion:Prime Minister Fumio Kishida continued calls for Web3 technology integration. Asset Management Giant Fidelity Adds to Crypto Offerings With Ethereum Index Fund:The fund has raised about $5 million since sales opened in late September Blockchain Game Developer Horizon Raises $40M in Series A Funding Round:The round was led by Brevan Howard Digital and Morgan Creek Digital, and included investments from traditional gaming companies Ubisoft and Take-Two Interactive. Crypto Lender Celsius Co-Founder, Chief Strategy Officer Leon Resigns, Financial Times Reports:Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky also resigned last week. ‘Prohibitive’ Global Crypto Capital Norms Could ‘Derail’ Market, TradFi Groups Say: Banks want to see caps on bitcoin holdings increased fivefold under planned global standards \|\| China relaxes on COVID, FTX freeze, Russian pullout - what's moving markets: By Geoffrey Smith Investing.com -- China announces its most significant relaxation of the COVID-Zero policy yet, sending local stock markets and global risk assets flying. The mess from FTX's collapse gets worse, as its assets are frozen and its founder reportedly comes under investigation by U.S. authorities. U.S. stocks are set to build on Thursday's explosive post-CPI rally with the Michigan Consumer Sentiment index due later. Amazon joins the list of tech mega caps looking at large-scale cost cuts, while Elon Musk reportedly warned Twitter staff that the company he bought for $44 billion faces bankruptcy. And Russia completes its retreat from Kherson in Ukraine, while Vladimir Putin skips the G20 summit to concentrate on the deteriorating situation in Ukraine and at home. Here's what you need to know in financial markets on Friday, 11th November. 1. China relaxes quarantine rules; stocks, yuan, commodities soar China provided another leg up to global markets that were already rallying hard after the lower-than-expected October inflation numbers from the U.S. The National Health Commission said it will cut quarantine requirements for those arriving in the country to a total of 8 days from 10, and also relaxed the requirements for contacts of infected people in parallel. The moves are the most significant relaxation of China's Zero-COVID policy yet and come despite serious outbreaks taking place in Beijing, Guangzhou, and Zhengzhou. The Hong Kong Hang Seng index jumped by 7.7% while mainland Chinese markets rallied by between 2% and 4%. The offshore yuan hit a one-month high before retracing to trade up 0.7% by 06:45 ET (11:45 GMT). Commodities also surged, with U.S. crude futures rising over 3% to $89.31 a barrel and Brent up 3.0% at $96.48 a barrel. 2. Contagion spreads as FTX's assets are frozen Regulators around the world froze the assets of collapsed exchange FTX, in another devastating blow to the credibility of the crypto industry. Story continues The Securities Commission of the Bahamas, where FTX is based, said it was aware of public statements suggesting that clients assets were mishandled, mismanaged and/or transferred to Alameda Research, and had consequently applied for the company to be placed in provisional liquidation . The Wall Street Journal had earlier reported that FTX had misappropriated client deposits, lending them to affiliated hedge fund Alameda Research so that Alameda could cover up the extent of their losses. FTX is facing a shortfall of anywhere between $8 billion and $10 billion according to reports, which appears to leave little hope for customers still trying to get their money out, despite an agreement with the operators of the TRON network overnight aimed at easing its liquidity crunch. Reports also alleged that FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried is under investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchanges Commission. BlockFi , one of a handful of crypto platforms partially rescued by FTX earlier in the year, again halted client withdrawals. By 06:30 ET, Bitcoin was up 6.1% at $17,671 while Ether was up 8.9% at $1,283, helped the broader rally in risk assets but still down sharply from a week ago. FTT, FTXs native token, was quoted around $3.61, down nearly 90% on the week. 3. Stocks set to build on post-CPI gains; Michigan Consumer Sentiment due U.S. stocks are set to extend their rally at the open, building on their best day in over two years on Thursday after new data suggested that U.S. inflation may have peaked. Bulls were emboldened by comments from the Federal Reserves Mary Daly and Patrick Harker suggesting that the central bank could afford to slow down the pace of tightening from now on. The thesis could still be tested by the renewed rally in commodity prices due if China reopens its economy, but that appears to be a worry for another day. By 06:15 ET, Dow Jones futures were up 123 points or 0.4%, and S&P 500 futures were up by a similar amount. Tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures, more sensitive to expected interest rate movements, were again outperforming with a 0.6% gain. The Nasdaq had risen 7.4% on Thursday, while the Dow had gained 3.7% and the S&P 500 5.5%. Stocks likely to be in focus later include Amazon (see below) and Softbank (OTC:SFTBY), which reported a $21 billion profit as it realized gains on a chunk of its Alibaba (NYSE:BABA) stake. That offset a $10 billion loss at its Vision venture capital fund. A thin earnings calendar leaves the Michigan Consumer Sentiment index at 10:00 ET as the main focus of the trading day. 4. Amazon eyes cost cuts, Twitter 'faces bankruptcy' Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) is set to join the list of tech companies making big cuts to their loss-making bets on the futures, according to The Wall Street Journal. The paper said on Thursday, its focusing on the division that houses its home assistant Alexa, where operating losses are currently running at $5 billion a year, according to the WSJ. However, its also telling people in other divisions that they should look for openings elsewhere in the company. Costs in Amazons core e-commerce business have risen sharply in the last few quarters, putting pressure on a group that only had one reliably profitable unit Cloud hosting provider AWS. Amazon has not confirmed the report, which came in the same week as fellow tech mega-cap Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) said it will lay off nearly one in seven of its workforce. Elsewhere in the tech space, Elon Musk reportedly warned Twitter staff that the company he bought for $44 billion faces bankruptcy without radical surgery, while the chaotic flip-flopping on its policy toward verified and official accounts continued. 5. Russia completes Kherson withdrawal; Gas crisis reaches Pakistan Russia said it has completed its withdrawal from the right bank of the Dnipro river, effectively handing back control of Kherson, the only regional capital it had conquered in the first stage of its invasion of Ukraine. The Kremlin confirmed that President Vladimir Putin will skip this weekends G20 summit in Indonesia, amid growing signs of excess by domestic security forces to clamp down on any perceived signs of opposition. The global energy crisis unleashed by Russias invasion claimed another victim earlier, as Pakistan said it will ration natural gas supplies over the coming winter, unable to compete with more financially powerful buyers from east Asia and Europe in the global market for liquefied natural gas. Related Articles China relaxes on COVID, FTX freeze, Russian pullout - what's moving markets Argentina to freeze prices of 1,500 consumer goods as inflation bites SNB ready to take "all measures necessary" to tame inflation-Jordan \|\| October Stock Picks: 7 Chip Stocks to Buy on Dips: Technology stocks have been battered and bruised in 2022, with theNasdaqdown 32% year to date. As bad as that is, semiconductor stocks have easily outpaced the downturn in the broader tech sector, with thePHLX Semiconductor Indexfalling 44% so far this year. However, unlike some high-flying tech stocks that had no basis for their lofty valuations, the companies that make semiconductor chips and equipment are vital to the economy. Their products are the basis of the world as we know it. Of course, that’s not to say their share prices can’t go lower from here. With this in mind, today I have seven chip stocks to buy on dips. The short-term outlook for semiconductor stocks remains challenging, with companies facing demand issues, as well as higher costs. Yet, a few recent developments bode well for the sector longer term. The first is the passage of theCHIPS and Science Act of 2022, which “provides $52.7 billion for American semiconductor research, development, manufacturing, and workforce development.” The bill has already spurred some major semiconductor companies to announce plans to expand manufacturing in the U.S. InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips More recently, the Biden administrationannounced export controlsthat will greatly impede the ability of Chinese tech firms to buy semiconductor-making equipment, technology and software from American vendors. Chinese officials have complained this will quash the chip industry there, stifling China’s ability to innovate in areas such as autonomous vehicles and genetic sequencing. However, China’s loss could be America’s gain. These seven chip stocks to buy are particularly well-positioned given the renewed focus on the domestic semiconductor industry. [{"TXN": "LRCX", "Texas Instruments": "Lam Research", "$151.51": "$322.06"}, {"TXN": "AMAT", "Texas Instruments": "Applied Materials", "$151.51": "$75.23"}, {"TXN": "QCOM", "Texas Instruments": "Qualcomm", "$151.51": "$111.21"}, {"TXN": "CAMT", "Texas Instruments": "Camtek", "$151.51": "$21.96"}, {"TXN": "INTC", "Texas Instruments": "Intel", "$151.51": "$25.87"}, {"TXN": "MU", "Texas Instruments": "Micron Technology", "$151.51": "$52.55"}] Source: Katherine Welles / Shutterstock.com Texas Instruments(NASDAQ:TXN) is your classic sleep-well-at-night chip stock. The firm is incredibly resilient due to its differentiated business model. Instead of chasing fast-moving semiconductor markets like chips for consumer electronics, Texas Instruments has built its business around slower-moving analog semiconductors. These are chips that process real-world information and turn it into data. They are vital for applications such as autonomous driving, remote monitoring and internet of things devices. Texas Instruments has a catalog of around80,000 products, which covers tons of application-specific niches. Because of this, the firm has created a business that is recession-resistant and not particularly tied to any specific product or technology trend. Texas Instruments is also a shareholder-friendly operation. Management prioritizes growing free cash flow per share above all else. This has allowed the company to give tons of cash back to shareholders via its dividend and sizableshare repurchase program. TXN stock currently trades for less than 17 times forward earnings and offers a solid 3.3% dividend yield. Source: Michael Vi / Shutterstock Lam Research(NASDAQ:LRCX) is a semiconductor equipment maker that currently commandsabout 10% of the market. The stockperformed well over the long termas the company capitalized on the rapid growth of the global semiconductor market. Shares are down sharply over the past month, thanks in large part to the new China export restrictions. A significant portion of Lam’s overall revenuecomes from China. Thus, Lam may face a short-term hit from the Biden administration’s new policy. Over the longer term, though, Lam could benefit from these changes. After all, demand for semiconductors is unlikely to fall given current technological trends. Lam can earn similar profits selling to vendors in China as ones based out of Europe or North America. Meanwhile, efforts to slow China’s semiconductor industry growth should, over time, create a bigger moat for Lam’s own products and intellectual property. Following a 55% year-to-date decline in LRCX stock, shares now trade for just 8.6 times forward earnings. Source: michelmond / Shutterstock.com Applied Materials(NASDAQ:AMAT) is a direct rival to Lam Research and, thus, faces many of the same challenges and opportunities. This summer, AMAT stock sold off on worries about a cyclical downturn in chip demand and competition from China undercutting Applied Materials’ prices. The CHIPS and Science Act seemed like a clear positive for American semiconductor companies like Applied Materials, but some analysts feared it would be too little, too late in terms of stemming the competitive tide from cheaper overseas vendors. Now that the Biden administration has upped the ante with far-stricter export restrictions, this should greatly slow competition from China. Ironically enough, AMAT stock sold off on the news as investors worried about the short-term revenue hit from not selling to Chinese firms. However, over the longer term, the renewed focus on American manufacturing in this industry is a positive for the company. Investors’ reaction illustrates a larger issue in the chips sector right now. Lately, it seemsallnews is bad news for chips stocks. Competition from overseas? That’s bad. Government efforts to slow down that competition? Apparently also bad. It’s as if traders are using any excuse to sell chips stocks. When the tide turns, however, there will be a tremendous revaluing of core semiconductor names such as Applied Materials. After dropping by 52% this year, AMAT stock is now selling for just 10.2 times forward earnings. Source: Xixi Fu / Shutterstock.com Qualcomm(NASDAQ:QCOM) has built its business around mobile communications ecosystems. The company is a leader in the design and intellectual property around 3G and 4G and has earned hefty licensing fees from handset makers for its technology. Qualcomm continues to bring in tons of revenue from its work in these areas, and the company has defended its patents in court to ensure that the money keeps coming in. However, the company isn’t resting on its laurels. Qualcomm is at the center of 5G rollouts. It’s developed its own chips like Snapdragon for high-end applications such as newer Android phones. The firm is also broadening its reach beyond smartphones, with moves into connected cars and the internet of things. With shares down 40% year to date, QCOM stock is selling for 8.6 times forward earnings. That will look like a bargain once the current sector slump starts to let up. Source: Pavel Kapysh via shutterstock Camtek(NASDAQ:CAMT) is an Israeli company with a global footprint that offers high-end inspection and metrology equipment to the semiconductor industry. When semiconductor companies are building or expanding fabrication facilities, they need to ensure that everything is in perfect working order. Even the tiniest defect or a poorly calibrated machine can render expensive semiconductor materials worthless. With the shortages in the semiconductor supply chain, avoiding waste has become more important than ever. This has put Camtek in a great position. The company has grown revenue from $93 million in 2017 to an estimated $322 million in 2022. Meanwhile, shares are up 284% over the past five years, and that includes the 52% drop in 2022. Camtek is well-positioned in the coming years. The CHIPS Act will subsidize a lot of new semiconductor fabs in the United States. These new facilities will need testing and inspection equipment, and Camtek should be able to find a leading role in filling that demand. Source: Sundry Photography / Shutterstock.com Intel(NASDAQ:INTC) stock has lost half of its value so far this year. That’s an incredible decline for such a dominant blue-chip company. After a surge in personal computer sales during the pandemic, demand has now collapsed. Research firm Gartner reported a19.5% declinein PC sales in Q3 versus the same period in 2021. This was the worst drop in two decades. Intel is still reliant on personal computing, along with the server and database market, to generate a large portion of its revenue. So the company’s profits, not surprisingly, are declining. However, the long-term outlook remains bright. Intel spends more than $15 billion annually on research and development, which allows it to remain in a leadership position in its core markets. It also invests heavily in growth initiatives, such as self-driving vehicle technology. After this year’s big decline in shares, INTC stock trades for 9.2 times forward earnings and offers a 5.5% dividend yield. Source: madamF / Shutterstock.com Micron Technology(NASDAQ:MU) rounds out this list of chip socks to buy. A year ago, the company appeared to have turned the corner. The memory chip leader was producing tremendous earnings and appeared to have finally overcome the historical boom/bust cycle in the memory and storage industry. Fast forward a year, however, and things are currently looking grim. Micron is fresh offearning $8.35 per sharefor its fiscal 2022, which ended Sept. 1. That is a tremendous level of profitability for a company with a $53 share price. But those earnings aren’t set to last. Analysts are currently forecasting a stunning 96.5% drop in Micron’s current fiscal year earnings to just 29 cents per share. Partially as a result of this dismal outlook, shares are down 44% year to date. However, things aren’t as bad as they might seem. Many of the weaker players in the memory industry are merging with stronger companies or shutting down operations. The growth of consumer electronics, as an industry, has created more stable longer-term demand. Micron is going to have a rough 2023, no doubt, but analysts see earnings jumping back to $3.88 a share for fiscal 2024. That should be enough to get Micron shares trending in the right direction, especially since it is one of the more prominent beneficiaries of the CHIPS Act. On the date of publication, Ian Bezek held a long position in QCOM, TXN and INTC stock. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.comPublishing Guidelines. Ian Bezek has written more than 1,000 articles for InvestorPlace.com and Seeking Alpha. He also worked as a Junior Analyst for Kerrisdale Capital, a $300 million New York City-based hedge fund. You can reach him on Twitter at @irbezek. • Buy This $5 Stock BEFORE This Apple Project Goes Live • The Best $1 Investment You Can Make Today • Early Bitcoin Millionaire Reveals His Next Big Crypto Trade “On Air” • It doesn’t matter if you have $500 or $5 million. Do this now. The postOctober Stock Picks: 7 Chip Stocks to Buy on Dipsappeared first onInvestorPlace. \|\| Crypto Whale Moves $1.58B In Bitcoin, Where The BTC Is Now Being Stored: According to data shared on Blockchain.com, a cryptocurrency whale has moved crypto from a wallet that had accumulatedover 74,105Bitcoin(CRYPTO:BTC) worth over $1.58 billion. The BTCs were moved to wallets of unknown origin. In a separate transaction, the whale moved 50,562 BTC, worth nearly $1.08 billion; in another transaction, 23,542 BTC were moved, worth about $505 million. In a series of large transactions, the whale moved 4,000 BTC, 10,000 BTC, 10,000 BTC, 10,000 BTC, 9,642 BTC, 10,000 BTC, 10,000 BTC, 10,000 BTC, and 562 BTC. Cryptowhales send cryptocurrency from exchangeswhen they plan to hold their investments for an extended period. Also Read:The Wolf Of Wall Street Says He Was Wrong About Bitcoin: 'I Really Hated Crypto' Therefore, storing large amounts of money on an exchange presents an additional risk of theft. Last week, various crypto whales moved Ethereum (CRYPTO:ETH), Bitcoin, Dogecoin (CRYPTO:DOGE), and XRP (CRYPTO:XRP) in 24 hours, amounting to $412,300,000. Talking about Bitcoin's performance in the current market scenario, a crypto analyst at ARK Investsaid, “For the first time in history, bitcoin is less volatile than both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq. The last time volatility was this low, bitcoin rose from $9,000 to $60,000 in less than a year." At the time of writing,Bitcoin was trading at $21,278, close to 3% up in the last seven days. See more from Benzinga • Elon Musk Jokes That AOC's Twitter Glitch Was 'Naked Abuse Of Power': She Claims To Have Gotten Under 'Little Billionaire's Skin' • Crypto Analyst Details Potential Dogecoin Rally, Here's What Could Trigger Bullish Action Don't miss real-time alerts on your stocks - joinBenzinga Profor free!Try the tool that will help you invest smarter, faster, and better. © 2022 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] None available.	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 16189.77, 16610.71, 16604.46, 16521.84, 16464.28, 16444.63, 16217.32, 16444.98, 17168.57, 16967.13
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2021-09-24] BTC Price: 42839.75, BTC RSI: 42.41 Gold Price: 1749.70, Gold RSI: 39.70 Oil Price: 73.98, Oil RSI: 63.56 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Bitcoin is the future despite billionaire haters: Ark Invest's Cathie Wood: In not so many words, uber popular money managerCathie Wood told Yahoo Finance Livebillionaire and money manager John Paulson should put a few books about bitcoin (BTC-USD) on his fall reading list because the leading cryptocurrency is here to stay. "John Paulson made an incredible call during the mortgage crisis. He has been a gold bug, I would say, for most of his career. And many investors who have spent their careers focused on gold cannot understand the digital concept associated with gold," said Wood, the closely watched founder of Ark Invest and crypto bull. Paulson did not return an email from Yahoo Finance seeking comment. Wood has been a long-time proponent of crypto. She has exposure to the ups and downs of crypto through the performance of levered stocks such as Coinbase (COIN) and Square (SQ) in her various innovation focused ETFs. Suffice to say Paulson has a wildly different take, similar to many other well-known old-timers in the financial services industry. The Paulson & Co. founder — who shot to fame during the financial crisis for raking in billions for his hedge fund by betting against subprime mortgages —recently told Bloombergcrypto will "eventually prove to be worthless." “I wouldn’t recommend anyone invest in cryptocurrencies," said Paulson, who turned his hedge fund into a family office in 2020 amid a steady drumbeat of outflows, in the interview. Wood said Paulson and others like him — aka crypto detractors —are missing several important points on the topic. "What we think he is missing is that bitcoin is much more than just a store of value or digital gold. Bitcoin in particular is a new global monetary system. It's a rules-based monetary policy, which is completely de-centralized and therefore is not subject to the whims of policymakers. In fact, it's a hedge against the whims of policymakers, especially in emerging markets," Wood explained. Wood is hopeful that Paulson will convert just like other big names in finance. She added, "I don't know how closely John Paulson and some of the other naysayers have looked at it [bitcoin], but I think there have been conversions. Ray Dalio has been a conversion, also Stanley Druckenmiller. These are very thoughtful investors who at one point thought bitcoin was a ponzi scheme." Brian Sozziis an editor-at-large andanchor at Yahoo Finance. Follow Sozzi on Twitter@BrianSozziand onLinkedIn. Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance For more information about cryptocurrency, check out: Dogecoin, what is it? How to buy it Ethereum: What is it and how do you invest in it? The top 21 crypto leaders to watch in the back half of 2021 Follow Yahoo Finance onTwitter,Facebook,Instagram,Flipboard,LinkedIn,YouTube, andreddit \|\| Christine Lagarde slams crypto: European Central Bank president Christine Lagarde has branded cryptocurrency as suspicious. The French politician and lawyer says she regards digital assets as highly speculative, and pushed for widespread regulation. Cryptocurrencies have seen massive growth over the past year with Bitcoin and Ethereum solidifying their position as the most valuable assets whereas smaller offerings like Dogecoin, Solana or Uniswap have gained huge followings. However, according to Christine Lagarde, they are not currencies. In an interview with Bloomberg , the banking figurehead has publicly denounced cryptocurrencies as highly speculative and suspicious. Discussing the potential benefits for the global economy, Lagarde quickly dismissed their value. Cryptos are not currencies, full stop, she snapped. Cryptos are highly speculative assets that claim their fame as currency, possibly, but theyre not. They are not. I think we have to distinguish between cryptos that are those highly speculative suspicious, occasionally and high intensity in terms of energy consumption assets, but theyre not a currency. The ECB chief then expressed less caution over stablecoins. On the other hand, you have those stablecoins that are beginning to proliferate, which some big techs are trying to promote and push along the way, which are a different animal and need to be regulated, where there has to be oversight that corresponds to the business that theyre actually conducting, irrespective of how they name themselves, she said. \|\| Bitcoin and Ethereum – Weekly Technical Analysis – September 13th, 2021: Bitcoin, BTC to USD, slid by 11.09% in the week ending 12th September. Reversing a 6.10% gain from the previous week, Bitcoin ended the week at $46,038.9. A bullish start to the week saw Bitcoin rise to a Tuesday intraweek high $52,888.0 before hitting reverse. Falling short of the first major resistance level at $53,590, Bitcoin slid to a Tuesday intraweek low $43,220.0. The sell-off saw Bitcoin fall through the first major support level at $48,280 and the second major support level at $44,780. Bitcoin also fell through the 23.6% FIB of $50,473. Steering clear of the 38.2% FIB of $41,592, however, Bitcoin broke back through major support levels to revisit $47,000 levels before easing back. The pullback saw Bitcoin fall back through the first major support level to end the week at $46,000 levels. 3 days in the red that included an 11.06% tumble on Tuesday delivered the downside for the week. Bitcoin would need to move through the $47,382 pivot to support a run the 23.6% FIB of $50,473 and the first major resistance level at $51,545. Support from the broader market would be needed for Bitcoin to break back through to $50,000 levels. Barring an extended crypto rally, the first major resistance level would likely cap any upside. In the event of an extended breakout, Bitcoin could test resistance at $55,000 before any pullback. The second major resistance level sits at $57,050. Bitcoin would need plenty of support, however, to breakout from last week’s high $52,888.0. Failure to move through the $47,382 pivot would bring the first major support level at $41,877 and the 38.2% FIB of $40,592 into play. Barring an extended sell-off, Bitcoin should steer clear of the second major support level at $37,714. At the time of writing, Bitcoin was down by 1.62% to $45,295.0. A mixed start to the week saw Bitcoin rise to an early Monday morning high $46,269.0 before falling to a low $45,211.0. Bitcoin left the major support and resistance levels untested early on. Ethereumslid by 13.87% in the week ending 13th September. Partially reversing 22.49% breakout from the previous week, Ethereum ended the week at $3,403.75. A mixed start to the week saw Ethereum rise to a Monday intraweek low $3,973.27 before hitting reverse. Falling short of the first major resistance level at $4,273, Ethereum tumbled to a Tuesday intraweek low $3,009.00. Ethereum fell through the first major support level at $3,388 and the 23.6% FIB of $3,369. Steering clear of sub-$3,000, however, Ethereum broke back through the 23.6% FIB and the first major support level to revisit $3,500 levels. A 2nd pullback, however, saw Ethereum briefly fall back through the first major support level and the 23.6% FIB before ending the week at $3,400 levels. 4-days in the red that included a 12.52% slide on Tuesday delivered the downside in the week. Ethereum would need to move through the 23.6% FIB of $3,369 and the $3,462 pivot level to support a run at the first major resistance level at $3,915. Support from the broader market would be needed, however, for Ethereum to break out from $3,500 levels. Barring an extended crypto rally, the first major resistance level and last week’s high $3,973.27 would likely cap any upside. In the event of another extended breakout, Ethereum could test the second major resistance level at $4,426. Failure to move through the 23.6% FIB and the $3,462 pivot would bring the first major support level at $2,951. Barring an extended sell-off in the week, Ethereum should steer clear of the second major support level at $2,824. At the time of writing, Ethereum was down by 1.95% to $3,337.24. A mixed start to the week saw Ethereum rise to an early Monday high $3,430.00 before falling to a low $3,329.24. While leaving the major support and resistance levels untested at the start of the week, Ethereum fell through the 23.6% FIB of $3,369. Thisarticlewas originally posted on FX Empire • Price of Gold Fundamental Daily Forecast – Downside Bias Building as Bets on Early Fed Tapering Rise • Bitcoin and Ethereum – Weekly Technical Analysis – September 13th, 2021 • Ethereum, Litecoin, and Ripple’s XRP – Daily Tech Analysis – September 13th, 2021 • A Quiet Economic Calendar to Test Risk Sentiment and Dollar Appetite • Apple Under Pressure After Adverse Ruling • The Crypto Daily – Movers and Shakers – September 12th, 2021 \|\| ‘Cautiously Optimistic’: Crypto Brings Lobbying Muscle to Infrastructure Debate: Bitcoin does not have a CEO but it does have lawyers. Currently, cryptocurrency lobbyists and activists are fighting on Capitol Hill to further update the language of the U.S. Senate’s bipartisan infrastructure bill that contains, buried in its 2,000+ pages, a sentence that could derail the entire crypto industry. To pay off a portion of the $1 trillion spending package – a keystone policy for President Biden’s administration to upgrade American transportation and energy sectors – Senate Republicans have agreed to levy a $28 billion tax on the crypto industry. This article is excerpted from The Node , CoinDesk’s daily roundup of the most pivotal stories in blockchain and crypto news. You can subscribe to get the full newsletter here . Related: Senator Rob Portman Defends Crypto Provision in US Infrastructure Bill But the bill also contains a poison seed. Crypto advocates are working tirelessly to protect the public blockchain industry from political actors that seemingly misunderstand the very industry they’re looking to oversee. And so far, it seems like they’re winning. “What’s scary about this is the process is so compact,” Kristin Smith, executive director of the Blockchain Association, said. “When you get language like this, and one of those broad packages when you’re only four pages of a 2,700 page bill, you’re scrambling with all of those other interest groups to get the attention of lawmakers.” In the past week, public interest groups like the Blockchain Association, Coin Center and the newly formed policy team at Coinbase have sent memos, taken meetings and leveraged their insider connections to try to reshape the wording of a quick-moving piece of legislation. A process that’s only made harder by growing concerns around the coronavirus. Calling the bill “one of the top two policy threats” ever seen by the U.S. crypto industry, Smith said she’s been impressed by the progress made already. Over the weekend, Senate officials softened the language in the bill , turning what could have been cataclysmic into something merely concerning. Story continues Related: Crypto Tax Proposal in US Has Had Limited Impact on Bitcoin Market Now at stake are a few words in what is rapidly becoming a language game. As Coin Center’s Neeraj Agrawal put it : “We’re trying to change, like, two words in that.” The proposed “spend-for” in the infrastructure bill would come from expanding the reporting requirements for crypto brokers (think intermediaries like Coinbase and Robinhood) to help prevent tax avoidance. We’re not out of the woods yet. In so doing, the bill also recklessly broadens the definition of a “broker” to conceivably apply to any economic actor working in crypto. This would apply to anyone who is “responsible for and regularly providing any service effectuating transfers of digital assets” on behalf of another person. That means miners, stakers, software developers might be forced to collect identifying information about anyone with whom they interact. “We’ve had some people say, ‘Oh, that’s not what we’re intending.’ But the problem is the language as written can capture all of those things,” Smith said. “We really need to try to get it changed to match their intent.” “If you get laws on the books that don’t match well with how technology works in practice, you don’t necessarily get the outcomes that you would like, whether it’s from a public policy standpoint, a political standpoint, or a legal standpoint,” Nelson Rosario, a partner at Smolinski Rosario Law, said. Few of the policy experts I spoke with are opposed to requiring major cryptocurrency exchanges to report more detailed information to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). In fact, the largest U.S. exchange, Coinbase, sought clarity on the form in question (1099) as long ago as 2017. For an industry that has sometimes disagreed on the need for government lobbying capability , the process to amend the bill has seemed remarkably in lockstep. It’s no stretch to say crypto has little political standing on Capitol hill but its voice is being heard. The Electronic Frontier Foundation put out a statement broadly condemning the privacy concerns of such an understanding of “broker,” while Sens. Pat Toomey and Ron Wyden (not known for his crypto advocacy) have also made statements calling for adjustments. Although “cautiously optimistic,” Smith notes, “we’re not out of the woods yet.” Related Stories The Senate Meets the Cyber-Hornets: The Nascent Crypto Lobby Is Actually Effective State of Crypto: Infrastructure Bill Shows Congress Sees Crypto as Here to Stay \|\| EUR/USD Daily Forecast – Test Of Resistance At 1.1720: EUR/USDis currently trying to settle above the resistance at 1.1720 while the U.S. dollar is under pressure against a broad basket of currencies. The U.S. Dollar Index is currently testing the support level which is located at 93.40. If the U.S. Dollar Index manages to settle below this support level, it will head towards the next support at 93.10 which will be bullish for EUR/USD. Today, EU will release flash Euro Area PMI reports for August.Euro Area Manufacturing PMIis projected to decline from 62.8 in July to 62 in August.Euro Area Services PMIis expected to remain unchanged at 59.8. Traders will also have a chance to take a look at the flash reading ofEuro Area Consumer Confidencereport for August. Analysts expect that Consumer Confidence declined from -4.4 in July to -5 in August. It should be noted that analyst estimates look optimistic despite worries about the impact of the new wave of coronavirus caused by the more contagious Delta variant. In case reports do not meet analyst expectations, the safe-haven U.S. dollar may get more support. EUR/USD managed to settle above the resistance at 1.1690 and is testing the next resistance level at 1.1720. RSI is in the moderate territory, and there is plenty of room to gain additional upside momentum in case the right catalysts emerge. In case EUR/USD settles above the resistance at 1.1720, it will head towards the next resistance level which is located near the 20 EMA at 1.1750. A move above the 20 EMA will open the way to the test of the resistance at 1.1775. If EUR/USD gets above this level, it will head towards the next resistance at 1.1800. On the support side, the previous resistance level at 1.1690 will serve as the first support level for EUR/USD. If EUR/USD manages to settle back below this level, it will get to another test of the support near the yearly lows at 1.1660. For a look at all of today’s economic events, check out oureconomic calendar. Thisarticlewas originally posted on FX Empire • NZD/USD Forex Technical Analysis – Confirmation of Closing Price Reversal Bottom Shifts Momentum to Upside • EUR/USD Daily Forecast – Test Of Resistance At 1.1720 • Natural Gas Price Fundamental Daily Forecast – Need to See More Short-Term Heat to Overcome $3.981 – $4.035 • Dogecoin Moves Higher As Bitcoin Tests New Highs • Crude Oil Price Update – Forming Closing Price Reversal Bottom with $63.32 Potential Intraday Breakout Level • Bitcoin Slams $50,000, First Time Since May \|\| Bitcoin Price Prediction – A Move Through to $47,000 Would Bring $50,000 into Play: After a bullish day for the crypto majors on Monday, it has been a mixed morning for Bitcoin and the broader crypto market. At the time of writing,Bitcoin, BTC to USD, was down by 2.09% to $45,313.0. A mixed start to the day saw Bitcoin rise to an early morning high $46,695.0 before hitting reverse. Falling well short of the first major resistance level at $47,550, Bitcoin fell to a late morning current day low $45,251.2. In spite of the reversal, Bitcoin avoided the day’s $45,170 pivot and steered well clear of the first major support level at $43,902. It has been a mixed morning for the broader crypto market. Ethereum(-1.04%),Litecoin(-1.84%), andRipple’s XRP(-0.58%) joined Bitcoin in the red. It was a bullish morning for the rest of the crypto majors, however. Through the morning,Cardano’s ADAwas up by 6.39% to lead the way. Bitcoin Cash SV(+1.27%),Crypto.com Coin(+1.42%), and Polkadot (+1.95%) also found strong support. Binance Coin(+0.36%) andChainlink(+0.71%) trailed the front runners, however. Through the early hours, the crypto total market rose to an early morning high $1,855bn before falling to a low $1,809bn. At the time of writing, the total market cap stood at $1,823bn. Bitcoin’s dominance rose to an early high 47.35% before falling to a low 46.77%. At the time of writing, Bitcoin’s dominance stood at 46.78%. Bitcoin would need to avoid a fall through $45,170 pivot to support another run at the first major resistance level $47,550. Support from the broader market would be needed, however, for Bitcoin to break out from this morning’s high $46,695.0. Barring an extended crypto rally through the afternoon, the first major resistance level would likely cap any upside In the event of an extended rally, however, Bitcoin should target the 23.6% FIB of $50,473 before any pullback. The second major resistance level sits at $48,818. A fall through the $45,170 pivot would bring the first major support level at $43,902 into play. Barring an extended sell-off on the day, Bitcoin should steer clear of sub-$44,000 levels. The second major support level sits at $41,522. Looking beyond the support and resistance levels, we saw the 50 EMA flatten through the morning, leading to a narrowing with the 100 EMA. We did see the 100 EMA pull away marginally from the 200 EMA, however. This limited the downside through the morning. A continued narrowing of the 50 EMA on the 100 and the 200 EMAs this afternoon would bring support levels into play. Avoiding the day’s pivot, however, would bring resistance levels back into play. The Bitcoin bulls will be eyeing a return to $50,000… Key going into the afternoon will be for Bitcoin to avoid a fall back through to sub-$45,000 levels. Thisarticlewas originally posted on FX Empire • Crude Oil Price Forecast – Crude Oil Markets Recover at Crucial Level • Walt Disney Accumulation Drops to 8-Month Low • GBP/JPY Price Forecast – British Pound Rallies in the Same Tight Range Against Yen • Silver Price Daily Forecast – Silver Slides As U.S. Dollar Moves Higher • Gold Price Forecast – Gold Markets Trying to Find Footing • Gold Price Prediction – Prices Continue to Face Headwinds \|\| Twitter testing new ‘soft block’ feature to remove followers without unfollowing them: Indian man poses for a photograph using Twitter on his cellphone in Siliguri (AFP via Getty Images) Twitter is testing a new feature that allows users to remove followers without unfollowing them with the aim to make it easier to manage the follower list. Currently, if a user blocks someone on Twitter it prevents them from viewing their profile and direct messaging them, revealing to the person that they have been blocked. Blocking an account automatically causes them to unfollow the user, and them to unfollow you. However, if this user visits the profile of an account that has blocked them, they can see that they have been blocked. Until now, to “soft block” someone – to have someone unfollow without their knowledge – users would manually block and unblock them. Even when doing this, they could visit a profile that had “soft blocked” them and learn that they had been unfollowed. They may even refollow and continue to see the tweets on the user’s timeline. In the new feature, being tested by the microblogging platform, users can remove a follower without blocking them. We're making it easier to be the curator of your own followers list. Now testing on web: remove a follower without blocking them. To remove a follower, go to your profile and click “Followers”, then click the three dot icon and select “Remove this follower”. pic.twitter.com/2Ig7Mp8Tnx — Twitter Support (@TwitterSupport) September 7, 2021 “To remove a follower, go to your profile and click ‘Followers’ then click the three-dot icon and select ‘Remove this follower,’” Twitter announced in a tweet. This makes it easier for users to block someone without their knowledge with a fewer number of steps. The new feature comes after last week’s announcement of the launch of a new “Safety Mode” on Twitter intended to keep people safe from seeing abusive posts. According to Twitter, this feature automatically blocks accounts that use potentially harmful language such as insults or hateful remarks, or engaging with tweets in repetitive or uninvited ways. Story continues Both the features are expected to roll out to a small number of people on the platform and could be made available to more users as Twitter learns about the user experience of the features. Read More Bitcoin price suddenly collapses ‘Bitcoin earthquake’ price prediction as El Salvador adopts crypto – follow live Crypto crash leaves investors unable to sell bitcoin as value plunges \|\| Framework to Regulate Crypto, Stablecoins Introduced in US Congress: Legislation to provide a “comprehensive legal framework” to regulate the digital asset market and possibly grant the federal government the ability to ban some stablecoins was introduced in the House of Representatives Wednesday. According to sponsor Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.), chairman of the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee, the existing digital asset market structure and regulatory framework are too “ambiguous and dangerous for investors and consumers.” Among its many provisions the measure would: Create statutory definitions for digital assets and digital asset securities and provide the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) with authority over digital asset securities and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) with authority over digital assets Require digital asset transactions that are not recorded on the publicly distributed ledger to be reported to a registered Digital Asset Trade Repository within 24 hours to minimize the potential for fraud and promote transparency Explicitly add digital assets and digital asset securities to the statutory definition of “monetary instruments,” under the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA), formalizing the regulatory requirements for digital assets and digital asset securities to comply with anti-money laundering, recordkeeping, and reporting requirements Provide the Federal Reserve with explicit authority to issue a digital version of the U.S. dollar, clarify that digital assets, digital asset securities and fiat-based stablecoins are not U.S. legal tender, and provide the U.S. Treasury Secretary with authority to permit or prohibit US dollar and other fiat-based stablecoins Direct the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), and Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC) to issue consumer advisories on “non coverage” of digital assets or digital asset securities to ensure that consumers are aware that they are not insured or protected in the same way as bank deposits or securities Story continues Related: The Senate Shoves a Dangerous, Last-Minute $28B Crypto Provision Into the Infrastructure Bill According to Beyer, there are an estimated 11,000-plus separate digital asset tokens in existence, with a market cap of over $1.5 trillion, and that 20 million to 46 million Americans currently own bitcoin and other digital assets. UPDATE (July 29 22:44 UTC): Adds details throughout. Related Stories Senate Banking Committee Bashes Bitcoin’s ‘Phony’ Populism State of Crypto: Congress Is Holding 3 Hearings Today, Here’s What to Expect Washington Should Let DeFi Succeed \|\| PayPal may offer a stock-trading platform in the US: PayPal is “exploring” the idea of allowing its users to trade individual stocks. Per CNBC , the company recently hired TradeKing co-founder Richard Hagen to head up a new unit at the company called Invest at PayPal. “Leading PayPal’s efforts to explore opportunities in the consumer investment business,” Hagan says of his new job on his LinkedIn profile . The outlet reports PayPal has also had discussions with potential brokerage partners. Moving into retail trading wouldn’t be out of character for PayPal. The company has spent much of the last year expanding into the cryptocurrency market. It all started last October when PayPal announced it would let US users buy, sell and hold Bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash and Litecoin. PayPal CEO Dan Schulman also recently told investors the company could partner with different financial institutions to expand the number of services it offers. He even mentioned “investment capabilities” as one possibility. Either way, it’s a move that would make sense in the context of all the recent interest in retail trading that came out of the GameStop saga . A PayPal spokesperson declined to comment on the report. Should PayPal decide to offer stock trading, it may take some time before it’s available to US users. CNBC reports PayPal is unlikely to roll out the service this year. And if the company decides it wants to operate as its own brokerage firm, it would need approval from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). That’s a process that can take more than eight months. This article contains affilate links; if you click such a link and make a purchase, we may earn a commission. \|\| ECI Development, Community Build Announce 400-Key Sustainable Tourism Village in El Salvador: 40-Acre Village, Planned Near Bitcoin Beach, Will Offer Luxury Experiences Ambergris Caye, Belize --News Direct-- ECI Development ECI Development , a leading provider of responsibly developed properties in Central and South America, and The Community Build , a US-based non-profit that serves communities in El Salvador, today announced plans to develop a sustainable tourism village in El Salvador. The village will provide authentic tourist experiences that celebrate and conserve local heritage and culture and will grace the Pacific coast of El Salvador near the town of El Zonte, nicknamed “Bitcoin Beach,” known for its world-class surf beaches and Bitcoin economic ecosystem. The Community Build’s 40-acre property located near El Zante, and ECI Development’s village design, engineering, marketing, and construction, as well as property and rental management post-completion, will produce a tourism village that serves equally Salvadorians and North Americans. “There is currently a shortage of hotel rooms and homes for sale along the El Salvadorian coast. The residences we will develop will serve the Salvadorian and North American marketplace for both ownership and rentals,” said Michael Cobb, CEO of ECI Development. “Because of the central location along the best surf beaches in El Salvador, and the close proximity to the town of El Zonte, the property is perfect for the development of a sustainable eco-tourism village.” The eco-sustainable village will have 400-450 addresses with multiple price points and models for both rent and ownership, offering luxury condos, affordable condos, and tiny homes ranging from $150,000 to $1 million. El Salvador is the first country in the world to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender with a law that takes effect today, September 7. In light of this world first, ECI Development will offer property discounts when buyers use Bitcoin as opposed to fiat currency or financing. “We expect the tourism village to create sustainable jobs for young people in the city and surrounding area, helping boost the local economy and preventing migration to San Salvador, the capital and the country's most populous city,” said Mike Peterson, the founder and President of Missionsake , of which The Community Build is an initiative. “We also want to become the standard-bearer for Bitcoin transactions in real estate for this country and the world, ushering in a new level of comfort for the broader society to utilize Bitcoin in their daily lives.” Story continues About ECI Development ECI Development is a real estate development company that has been responsibly developing properties within communities in Nicaragua, Belize, Costa Rica, Panama, and Argentina for more than 20 years. Visit www.ecidevelopment.com for more information. About The Community Build The Community Build is a non-profit organization born in 2017 designed to help foster the growth and education of the youth in El Zonte, El Salvador. The Community Build is an initiative of Missionsake. Missionsake exists to help develop the spiritual, mental, physical, and relational health of the missionary community in El Salvador and also of the local communities in which they serve. Visit thecommunitybuild.com for more information. Contact Details Razor Sharp PR Ray Young +1 512-633-6855 [email protected] Company Website https://www.ecidevelopment.com/ View source version on newsdirect.com: https://newsdirect.com/news/eci-development-community-build-announce-400-key-sustainable-tourism-village-in-el-salvador-854946907 [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] None available.	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 42716.59, 43208.54, 42235.73, 41034.54, 41564.36, 43790.89, 48116.94, 47711.49, 48199.95, 49112.90
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2019-01-11] BTC Price: 3687.37, BTC RSI: 43.21 Gold Price: 1287.10, Gold RSI: 65.20 Oil Price: 51.59, Oil RSI: 54.92 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Bitcoin Analysis: Falling Wedge Indicates Interim Breakout Scenario: Bitcoin on Tuesday extended its downward momentum, dropping 0.67-percent against the US Dollar. TheBTC/USD trading pairopened the Asian trading session at 6288-fiat and attempted an upside correction to as high as 6309-fiat. The selling pressure around the 6309-level resumed the downtrend. As a result, the pair kept forming red candles for the rest of the Asian and European trading session. It is now trading at 6294-fiat. The macroeconomic view of the US Dollar posted bullish sentiment for the currency. But it is not looking the same today. The greenback is poised to post losses before the market closes as European currencies rebound. The ICE dollar index was noted to be down 0.1 percent as the market opened today. A weaker dollar on an intraday basis can reinject the BTC/USD market with some upside sentiments. The pair is already forming a falling wedge pattern, indicated by the two unparallel black lines in the chart above. The consecutive swing highs and lows coupled with decreasing volume traditionally mark preparation of abreakoutaction. That said, BTC/USD should attempt to knock out the upper trendline of the falling wedge pattern and rally towards 6500-fiat as its primary upside target. The RSI and the Stoch are also signaling an upside movement in BTC/USD price action. Both the indicators are inside their respective selling regions and are eyeing a pullback. In the chart above, a rising red trendline is capping the downside action for now. Our intraday strategy is keeping our eyes glued on the range, anyway. Today, we have 6374-fiat acting as our interim resistance and 6271-fiat as interim support. It is a pretty broad range to apply the intrarange strategy. That means entering a long on a bounce back from support and a short on a pullback from resistance while maintaining a stop loss order in the opposite direction of the price action. Looking from the breakout perspective, the price should break above 6374-fiat to enable our long position towards 6406-fiat. If we go ahead with this trade, then we’ll put our stop-loss order just 3-pips below the entry position. Similarly, in the event of a breakdown action, a break below 6271-fiat will have us go short towards 6203-fiat. Trade safely! Featured Image from Shutterstock. Charts fromTradingView. The postBitcoin Analysis: Falling Wedge Indicates Interim Breakout Scenarioappeared first onCCN. \|\| Singapores First Legal Trial Over Bitcoin Trading Disputes Began Today: Singapore first cryptocurrency trial Quoine B2C2 Singapores first cryptocurrency trial over questionable trading practices began today as the market maker and liquidity provider B2C2 sues cryptocurrency exchange Quoine. The charge? B2C2 maintains that Quoine wrongfully reversed seven trades in April 2017 that lead to proceeds being deducted without B2C2s authorization. In the case unraveling in the Singapore International Commercial Court, B2C2 claims that the action taken by the exchange violated the two companies agreement terms, and the market maker seeks to recover some 3,085 bitcoins from Quoine. Although none was given, in todays dollar price that translates into roughly $13 million. According to Singapores Straits Times , in their opening statement, B2C2s legal team alleged that Quoine had abused its role as the operator of the platform and that it had acted in breach of trust as B2C2s custodian. While bitcoin prices have since been on a roller coaster ride reaching a meteoric peak of $19,783.21 on December 17 and crashing back down to around $4,500 today, in March of 2017, prices were hovering around the $1,200 mark. This further demonstrates the complexity of the case since the value of the bitcoins in question is significantly higher today than it was at the time of the trade reversal. B2C2 opened up the case arguing that: It is B2C2s contention that in the face of serious risk of itself having to bear the financial loss arising from the trades Quoine chose the most advantageous course to mitigate such risk by simply reversing the irreversible trades and deducting the proceeds from the account Quoine Defended Its Actions Quoine defended the reversal move primarily as a programming glitch prior to the trades that caused the platforms inability to access accurate market price data on the cryptocurrencies in question, bitcoin, and ethereum. They maintain that because of the fault, the platform stopped creating or placing new orders, and this affected those of B2C2. Story continues They then went on to add that the orders placed by B2C2 were abnormal and involved absurdly high prices, stating that: They were about 250 times higher than the average price at which [the two currencies] then traded on the platform. It emerged that B2C2 placed seven orders at an extremely inflated rate on April 19 of last year to sell ethereum for bitcoinfor 10 bitcoins for one ethereum. However unusual as these orders were, the market maker B2C2 upholds that the exchange was not within its rights to reverse them since the trades were meant to be irreversible. Violation of Terms and Conditions B2C2 also maintains that Quoine had nothing in their trading terms and conditions that could allow the exchange to carry out such a maneuver. However, Quoine points to its risk disclosure statement that gives it the right to cancel any transaction that took effect based on an aberrant value. The plaintiff also states that Quoine is in violation of its custodian agreement with the company and could not deduct or withdraw virtual currency balances without authorization. B2C2 founder Maxime Boonen took the stand today and was questioned over whether a market maker like his company should play a responsible role in keeping prices orderly on the exchange, to which he replied that he had no influence over prices, and could not decide what they should be. Quoines lawyer further revealed that Mr. Boonen would have agreed to corrective trades if any trades place were deemed to be erroneous. This argument was based on the founding that BC2C trades under such clauses with other exchanges. Mr. Boonen replied that while his company may have such an understanding with other exchanges, this is not the case with Quoine and that he would not have agreed to such conditions. Next week, Quoine CTO Antonio Gomez Lozada will take the stand and the trial is expected to reach a conclusion. Whichever way the hammer falls, it marks a historic case for Singapore and its High Court and will surely set a precedent for further such cases to come. Featured image from Shutterstock. The post Singapores First Legal Trial Over Bitcoin Trading Disputes Began Today appeared first on CCN . \|\| Bitcoin – Bears in Control as the Year Comes to an End: Bitcoin gained 2.14% on Sunday, partially reversing a 3.54% fall on Saturday, to end the day at $3,977.3. A bullish start to the week failed to deliver another cryptomarket rally off the back of the previous week’s 23.4% gain, with Bitcoin ending the week down 2.34% and of greater significance, back at sub-$4,000 levels. Following a late in the day sell-off on Saturday, Bitcoin fell to a start of a day intraday low $3,838.9, holding above the day’s first major support level at $3,802.3 before finding support. There were no fireworks through the day, with Bitcoin only managing a move through to a mid-day intraday high $4,003.8 before easing back, with sub-$3,900 support holding Bitcoin back from a slide back to $3,800 levels. The moves through the day saw Bitcoin come within range of the first major resistance level at $4,042.70 and the first major support level at $3,802.3. For the Bitcoin bulls a run at $5,000 levels was needed before the year was out to shift the negative sentiment that has plagued Bitcoin and the broader market since the return of crypto volatility in late October. Failing to hold onto $4,000 levels in the week will continue to raise doubts over whether Bitcoin has bottomed out or is about to get hit by another sell-off that would deliver the widely predicted sub-$3,000 floor. The bearish sentiment has seen Ethereum close the market cap gap on Ripple’s XRP, with Ethereum looking ripe to retake the 2ndspot, though much will depend on the Token Taxonomy Act, a recovery in the ICO market only a good thing for Ethereum that has struggled over the year. Get Into Cryptocurrency Trading Today At the time of writing, Bitcoin was down 1.75% to $3,907.9, with moves through the early morning seeing Bitcoin slide from a start of a day morning high $3,986.9 to an early morning low $3,873.4, Bitcoin calling on support at the first major support level at $3,876.2, whilst falling short of $4,000 levels and the first major resistance level at $4,041.1. For the day ahead, a hold onto $3,900 levels through the morning would support a move through the morning high to bring $4,000 levels and the first major resistance level at $4,041.1 into play, with sentiment across the broader market to play a hand in how Bitcoin closes out the day. Early moves and a failure at the start of the day for Bitcoin to break through to $4,000 levels will likely weigh through the morning. Failure to hold onto $3,900 levels through the morning could see Bitcoin slide back through the morning low $3,873.4 to bring $3,700 levels and the second major support level at $3,775.1 into play before any recovery. The way the year is coming to a close, it could be a tough start to 2019 and if there’s no good news from regulators, it may be more than just a tough January. Thisarticlewas originally posted on FX Empire • Bitcoin – Bears in Control as the Year Comes to an End • China’s Manufacturing PMI the Weakest Since 2016 • Crude Oil Price Update – Needs to Clear Weekly Fibonacci Level at $50.03 to Generate Upside Momentum • E-mini S&P 500 Index (ES) Futures Technical Analysis – Weekly Reversal Bottom Confirmed on Trade Through 2523.00 • AUD/USD Forex Technical Analysis – When Sellers Return, Weekly Target Will Be .6826 • Commodities Daily Forecast – December 31, 2018 \|\| Bitcoin market cap falls below $100 billion for first time since October 2017: • As of Thursday afternoon in Asia, the market cap of Bitcoin was at $98,194,458,586. • The entire cryptocurrency market capitalization dropped by $15 billion over 24 hours Wednesday, according to CoinMarketCap.com. Amid a sell-off in the cryptocurrency markets that began Wednesday, Bitcoin's market capitalization fell below the $100 billion mark on Thursday — a level not seen since October 2017. As of 3:26 p.m. HK/SIN (2:26 a.m. ET Thursday), the market cap of Bitcoin stood at $98,194,458,586, according to Coinmarketcap.com. That move came after a major sell-off in the cryptocurrency markets on Wednesday, which continued into Thursday in Asia. BKCM founder and CEO Brian Kelly told CNBC's "Fast Money" on Wednesday that the sharp downturn had to do with bitcoin cash , which splintered off in August 2017 from regular bitcoin with the goal of being able to process more transactions. Bitcoin cash is doing a "hard fork" or "effectively a software upgrade," the cryptocurrency fund manager said . "When you do a software upgrade, everybody usually agrees. But in this particular case, everybody is not agreeing." As of 3:29 p.m. HK/SIN (2:29 a.m. ET Thursday), Bitcoin stood at $5,564.70, according to Coindesk. Bitcoin had been trading comfortably around the $6,400 range for the majority of the fall, in stark contrast to the volatility it experienced the rest of the year. Battle for second spot Meanwhile, the market capitalizations of Ripple's XRP and Ether jostled as the second-biggest among digital currencies. It is likely only the second time the two cryptocurrencies have traded near the same level, although it is difficult to state with precision the historical market capitalizations of most digital coins. As of 3:30 p.m. HK/SIN Thursday (2:30 a.m. ET), XRP's market cap was at $18,722,821,459, compared with Ether's $18,560,372,901, according to data from Coinmarketcap.com. Data from Coindesk also showed XRP having a higher market cap of $18.44 billion, versus Ether's $18.26 billion. One possible reason behind the recent move was due to the perception that Ripple, the company behind XRP, has "made a lot of progress," Zennon Kapron, director at financial technology consultancy Kapronasia, told CNBC over the phone. To illustrate his point, Kapron pointed to the recent announcement of Ripple's partnership with Malaysia-based CIMB Group CIMB-MY . As Ripple has generally gotten more traction and "a lot of people are very bullish on XRP," Kapron said. However, he added the caveat that not all of Ripple's products are XRP-based. The aggregate cryptocurrency market capitalization dropped by $15 billion over 24 hours Wednesday, according to CoinMarketCap.com. As of 3:46 p.m. HK/SIN (2:46 a.m. ET Thursday), the total cryptocurrency market capitalization was at $186,275,052,509, according to Coinmarketcap.com — down more than 76 percent from its highs earlier in 2018. — CNBC's Arjun Kharpal, Kate Rooney and Tyler Clifford contributed to this report. More From CNBC • Top News and Analysis • Latest News Video • Personal Finance \|\| Bitcoin Can the Bulls Make it 3 in a Row?: Bitcoin gained 3.89% on Sunday, following on from a 1.33% rise on Saturday, to end the day at $3,642.3. There was some respite for the Bitcoin bulls, with the weekend gains leaving Bitcoin down just 9.81% for the week, Monday through Sunday and, more importantly, see Bitcoin avoid sub-$3,000 levels that would certainly have shaken up cryptocurrency investors across all the majors. It wasnt plane sailing through the day, with a range bound morning seeing Bitcoin ease back to a late morning intraday low $3,465.4 before finding support. Steering clear of the days first major support level at $3,281.37, Bitcoin rallied to a late afternoon intraday high $3,789, coming up against the first major resistance level at $3,765.37 to ease back to $3,600 levels by the days end. Sundays gains, which were also seen across the broader market, came in spite of a lack of a news event, with price action and some bullish talk drawing in side lined investors on the hope that Bitcoins hold onto $3,000 levels earlier in the week was the final bearish test before a rebound. With Bitcoins dominance sitting at 55.1%, following lighter losses from the previous week, relative to the broader market, a fall back to sub-54% levels would be needed to signal a 2 nd half of the month rebound, though with the rest of the majors struggling, Bitcoin may well need to be the barometer for the broader market near-term. A steadying in Bitcoin and the start of an upward trend would be needed to restore some confidence in the cryptomarket though there is still the one elephant in the room that being the ongoing U.S DoJ departments investigation into last years Bitcoin rally. The good news is that investors can put aside concerns over the SEC decision on the Bitcoin ETF applications until February and, while many will have banked on a Bitcoin ETF to provide the necessary support to a Bitcoin and cryptomarket rebound, Bitcoin did make it to just shy of $20,000 without the help of the ETFs almost a year ago. Story continues Get Into Cryptocurrency Trading Today At the time of writing, Bitcoin was up just 0.01% to $3,642.6, with moves through the early part of the morning seeing Bitcoin rise to an early morning low $3,709.7 before easing to a morning low $3,611. While the mornings moves left the major support and resistance levels untested, key through the morning will be for Bitcoin to hold onto $3,600 levels and more importantly avoid a pullback to the morning low $3,611. Bearish sentiment across the broader market could see investors hit the sell-button to hold onto the weekends gains, fear of another meltdown every present for those dipping their toes back into Bitcoin and the cryptomarket in general. For the Bitcoin bears, a pullback to sub-$3,600 levels to bring the first major support level at $3,475.47 into play would be needed to raise the prospects of a pullback through Fridays new swing lo $3,277.6 to bring sub-$3,000 levels into play in the week ahead. The cryptomarket is not out of the woods just yet {alt} This article was originally posted on FX Empire More From FXEMPIRE: DAX Index Daily Price Forecast DAX To Trade Dovish On Cues From Asian Counterpart GBP/USD Price Forecast GBP/USD Range Bound Ahead of Key Parliamentary Brexit Vote Crude Oil Price Update Overcoming $54.82 Could Trigger Acceleration to Upside Stellars Lumen Technical Analysis Support Levels Eyed 10/12/18 AUD/USD and NZD/USD Fundamental Weekly Forecast Traders Focusing On US-China Trade Relations Its a Back Foot Dollar as Sentiment towards FED Policy Shifts \|\| Korea’s Largest Internet Firm Kakao Is Running a Crypto ICO That Is Not Subject to SEC Scrutiny: Kakao, South Korea’s largest internet conglomerate that operates applications and have nearly a90 percentdominance in their respective markets, is running an Initial Coin Offering(ICO)to raise funds for itsblockchainproject called Clay. In March,Kakaoreleasedits initial attempt to conduct a token sale by establishing an entity inSwitzerland. But, withresistancefrom the Financial Services Commission (FSC), the corporation was not able to pursue its plans. With no changes made to the regulatory framework regarding ICOs in South Korea, how has Kakao been able to raise funds to create a blockchain project? On Nov. 19, The Hankyoreh — a business-focused mainstream media outlet inSouth Korea— exclusivelyreportedthat Kakao is planning to raise around $300 million to develop its own token. A source told the local publication that the majority of the funds have already been secured by Ground X, a subsidiary of Kakao that focuses on blockchain operations. The source added that a Chinese venture capital firm is said to be involved in thetokensale. “The target amount is $300 million and Kakao is very close to securing its target. AChina-based venture capital executive held a meeting with Ground X in September and, even at the time, Ground X was planning to raise $300 million.” As a private sale, only registered, accredited and approved institutional investors are allowed to invest in the token sale of Kakao. Considering that all of Kakao’s meetings with accredited investors were held confidentially — without any information provided to the media, unlike theTelegram ICO in May— the company planned a rigorous path to raise funds in a way that does not violate regulations inJapan,South Koreaand even theUnited States. On Nov. 27, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission(SEC)Chairman Jay Claytonsaidthat the vast majority of ICOs that are presently in the global cryptocurrency market are considered securities under existing U.S. laws and emphasized that if companies plan to raise funds through a token sale, firms either need to register with the SEC or conduct a private sale. "We don't believeBitcoinis a security. Many of the ICOs that you see and you talk about, they are securities. And if you're going to offer or sell securities, you have to do so in compliance with our laws. We've been clear about that, the recent actions further emphasized that our securities laws apply to the ICO space. And if people are going to raise money using Initial Coin Offerings, they either have to do so in private placement or register with the SEC.” Companies prefer not to conduct private token sales unless they are absolutely certain that the product they offer will attract large investors, because a private sale is just as difficult and complex in a legal point of view as raisingventure capitalfunding. It can be argued, given the involvement of local financial authorities — and possibly the SEC — that conducting a private token sale is more resource-intensive than a traditional venture capital funding round. For a company in the size of Kakao, it was of the utmost importance to be compliant with both local and international regulations, rather than completing the target amount of funding. This naturally led the conglomerate to conduct a private sale over a public sale, which could have been more lucrative. Ground X is based inTokyo,Japan, and the decision to legally establish its blockchain initiative in Japan instead of South Korea by Kakao was likely a strategic move to circumvent various regulatory hurdles pertaining to cryptocurrencies that still exist in the country. Throughout the past three months, South Korea has seen significant progress in cryptocurrency regulation. The governmentofficially providedcommercial banks permission to freely work with cryptocurrency exchanges and provide virtual bank accounts to digital asset businesses. Blockchain technology has also beenrecognized as one of the core pillarsof the Fourth Industrial Revolution, alongside big data and artificial intelligence(AI), and the government has established initiatives to bring young talent into the blockchain sector. However, the stance of the government toward ICOs still remains uncertain and while local financial authorities were expected to provide an official announcement regarding the regulatory state of domestic ICOs by the end of November, given the time frame, the government is expected to delay the announcement once again. Whether the ICO conducted by Kakao is a private sale or a public sale, because policies in South Korea remain undetermined, the firm cannot risk being in conflict with local regulations by prematurely conducting a private sale with institutional investors. In December 2017, Chosun — another business-focused mainstream media outlet in South Korea —reportedthat the government was considering the possibility of allowing institutional investors to participate in private token sales. However, 11 months have passed and the government is yet to make a decision on the matter. Legally, Kakao needed to conduct its private sale in Japan with an entity based in Japan. But, the implications of its blockchain initiative on its relationship with the Financial Services Commission (FSC) remain in question. In July, Choi Jong-ku — the chairman of the FSC, South Korea’s main financial watchdog —disapprovedof Kakao’s initial plans to run a public ICO and opposed the idea of Kakao completing a token sale in overseas markets. Commissioner Choi said,warning Kakao: “Even if there is no prohibition on cryptocurrency or digital asset trading, there is a possibility that it [Kakao ICO] may be regarded as fraud or multi-level sales according to the issuance method. Since the risk is very high in terms of investor protection, the government has a negative stance on the ICO.” Speaking to Hankyoreh, a Kakao representativesaidthat while the fundraising could be considered as a private sale, the company does not consider it as one: “Kakao has been securing strategic partners to help improve and grow the global blockchain ecosystem by obtaining new capital. It could be recognized as a private sale, but it’s not open to individual investors and is participated by institutions that are partnering with Kakao. Currently, it is not possible to finalize exact numbers regarding the funding round, and the company is not in the position to openly share which companies are involved in the initiative. Kakao needs to communicate with its partner companies first.” On Nov. 27, Nikkei — a mainstream publication in Japan —reportedthat the Financial Services Agency(FSA)held a meeting on the Nov.26 to discuss the state of ICO regulation in the country. During the meeting, the FSA and other local financial authorities discussed policies surrounding cryptocurrency exchanges and the possibility of allowing accredited investors access to domestic ICOs. According tolocal reports, the FSA still restrict public token sales. The token sale conducted by Kakao and Ground X falls under the newly created category by the FSA as a private sale aimed at institutional investors. Legally, the token sale of Clay is fully compliant with the regulations ofJapan,South Korea, theU.S.and every other major market. Japan and the U.S. both allow private token sales if approved by local authorities, and South Korea enables both corporations and investors to invest in foreign ICOs. The cryptocurrency market of South Korea has been able to demonstrate signs of improvement in terms of infrastructure and regulation. Most recently, Upbit — the country’s largest cryptocurrency exchange based on daily trading volume provided byCoinMarketCap— successfully obtained an information security management system (ISMS) license from the Korea Internet and Security Agency (KISA) after passing an evaluation phase conducted by the government agency using a criteria with over 253 subsections. Lee Seok-wu, the CEO of Dunamu — a company invested in by Kakao and the parent company of Upbit —said: “Since early 2018, Upbit has been working tirelessly to improve the platform’s internal management system and security measures to obtain the ISMS license. With top class security experts and tested security systems, the company will continue to create a safe trading environment and protect the data of its investors.” The local cryptocurrency and blockchain space has seen progress, but multi-billion dollar companies like Kakao are leaving South Korea to establish blockchain initiatives that well surpass the $100 million mark — which, inSilicon Valley, is acknowledged as a mega round. In October, Min Byung-doo — the chairman of Korea's National Policy Committee —warnedthe government about an inevitable scenario in which companies move out of the country to kickstart operations that could be worth billions of dollars in the long term. Referencing the $4 billion ICO of Block.one andEOS, chairman Min heavily emphasized that the government could no longer dismiss ICOs, given the positive impact token sales could have on the economy of South Korea. “The government cannot dismiss ICOs. It needs to allow companies to conduct an ICO. [ICOs have] become a new trend in the global market, and it is the responsibility and ability of the government to embrace new technologies. We can see that the flow of investment is clearly changing compared to ICOs and angel fundraising. The ICO has raised $1.7 billion for Telegram and $4 billion for block.one. It is getting bigger and bigger.” Line, a direct competitor to Kakao as the dominant messaging application based in Japan, has alsorecently releaseda new token called LINK. The cryptocurrency and blockchain initiatives of Kakao and Line are structurally very similar. Both companies finance cryptocurrency exchanges — with Kakao’s Dunamu operating Upbit and Line directly overseeing the operations of BitBox. The two firms have also created their own unique cryptocurrencies to support their long-term vision in blockchain development. The Japanese government’s forward-thinking approach toward regulating the cryptocurrency market has led two internet conglomerates from South Korea (Line is owned by Naver, the largest search engine in South Korea) to develop and release their own tokens in Japan, with funding from domestic and international companies. Kakao’s Clay issaidto have raised $300 million, and the market valuation of Link remains uncertain. However, the two cryptocurrencies have the potential worth billions of dollars collectively in the long run, purely based on the amount of funding the two projects have raised. Line’s Link, for instance, can be used at 94,000 locations in Japan when converted to Line points on the BitBox exchange, demonstrating a level of merchant adoption which most major cryptocurrencies are still yet to see. “In addition to using LINK Points for other DApp services in the LINK Ecosystem, residents in Japan can exchange LINK Points with LINE Points before converting them into JPY at par to make payments at over 94 thousand locations across Japan with LINE Pay, or make purchases in various LINE services,” the Line teamexplained. The scenario which Korea's National Policy Committee chairman Min Byung-doo feared in October has come to realization faster than expected. Kakao’s abrupt private token sale could potentially lead to the government of South Korea speeding up the process of regulating the local ICO market to facilitate the growth of the local cryptocurrency sector. • Japan’s Financial Regulator to Introduce New ICO Regulations • US Court Dismisses SEC’s Claims That Blockvest Sold Unregistered Securities • South Korea: Financial Watchdog Warns Two Banks Over Poor Crypto Transaction Management • Japanese Government to Prevent Crypto Tax Evasion With New Reporting System, Sources Say \|\| Newsflash: Bitcoin Cash Price Careens Below $390 as Hard Fork Approaches: The bitcoin cash price crashed below the $400 level on Thursday, less than two hours before the fourth-largest cryptocurrency’s network is expected to splinter into competing versions following a contentious hard fork. The crypto market had already beenbatteredover the previous 48 hours, with every major cryptocurrency posting losses in excess of 10 percent and the combined value of all cryptocurrenciesslinking below the $200 billion markfor the first time in November. Bitcoin cash had been among this week’s worst performers, as it rapidlyshed the gainsit had made last week in advance of today’s hard fork. The BCH carnage ramped up even further on Thursday around 14:40 UTC, as a wall of sell pressure forced thebitcoin cash pricebelow support at $400, taking the coin to a new yearly low of $382 as of the time of writing. The sell-off occurred just two hours before today’shard fork, which is expected to introduce even further volatility into BCH as multiple cryptocurrency networks compete for the “bitcoin cash” moniker and ticker symbol. Stay tuned for CCN’s continuing coverage of today’s BCH hard fork. Featured Image from Shutterstock. Charts fromTradingView. The postNewsflash: Bitcoin Cash Price Careens Below $390 as Hard Fork Approachesappeared first onCCN. \|\| Bitcoin Cash ABC, Litecoin and Ripple Daily Analysis 23/12/18: Bitcoin Cash ABC Sees Red Bitcoin Cash ABC gained 1.76% on Saturday, reversing a 0.62% fall from Friday, to end the day at $195.96. A bullish start to the day saw Bitcoin Cash ABC rally to an intraday high $205.46 before hitting reverse, with a slide through to an early afternoon intraday low $180, the moves through the day leaving the major support and resistance levels untested. The days gain was the 5 th of the week, with Bitcoin Cash ABC reaffirming its near-term bullish trend formed at 15 th Decembers swing lo $73.53. At the time of writing, Bitcoin Cash ABC was down 1.5% to $193.02, with Bitcoin Cash ABC falling from a start of a day morning high $196.33 to a morning low $186.4 before steadying, the major support and resistance levels left untested early on. For the day ahead, a move back through to $194 levels would support a run at $200 levels to bring the first major resistance level at $207.61 into play before any pullback, more material gains unlikely on the day, with Saturdays high $205.46 likely to pin Bitcoin Cash ABC back from a breakout to $210 levels. Failure to move through to $194 levels could see Bitcoin Cash ABC pullback deeper into the red, with a fall through the morning low $186.4 bringing the first major support level at $182.15 into play before recovering, sub-$180 levels unlikely to be in play barring a crypto meltdown later in the day. {alt} Litecoin on the Bounce Litecoin rallied by 4.6% on Saturday, reversing most of Fridays 6.65% slide, to end the day at $31.59. A bearish start to the day saw Litecoin fall to a mid-morning intraday low $29.73, holding above the days first major support level at $28.86, before bouncing back to a late in the day intraday high $31.6. The days high came up well short of the first major resistance level at $32.3, with the extended bearish trend, formed at late Aprils swing hi $182.35 firmly intact, Litecoin continuing to fall well short of the 23.6% FIB of $60. Story continues At the time of writing, Litecoin was up 3.07% to $32.56, a bullish start to the day seeing Litecoin rally from a start of a day morning low $31.43 to a morning high $32.76, breaking through the first major resistance level at $32.22 to come within range of the second major resistance level at $32.84, before easing back. For the day ahead, a hold above the first major resistance level through the morning would support another run at the second major resistance level at $32.84 to bring $33 levels into play before any pullback, the third major resistance level at $34.71 unlikely to be in play through the day. Failure to hold above the first major resistance level at $32.22 could see Litecoin pullback through the morning low $31.43 to bring $30 levels and the first major support level at $30.35 into play before any recovery, sub-$30 support levels unlikely to be tested on the day. {alt} Ripple Finds Support Ripples XRP rose by 1.75% on Saturday, partially reversing a 5.46% slide on Friday, to end the day at $0.37303. An early morning fall to an intraday low $0.35534 was the only bearish move of the day, Ripples XRP holding above the first major support level at $0.3515 before finding support from the broader market. A late in the day intraday high $0.37964 came up well short of the first major resistance level at $0.3902, with Ripples XRP falling short of $0.40 levels for a 2 nd consecutive day, in spite of 4 days in the green for the current week. At the time of writing, Ripples XRP was up 1.57% to $0.37887, moves through the early morning seeing Ripples XRP rise from a start of a day morning low $0.37056 to a morning high $0.38358 before easing back, Ripples XRP coming up against the first major resistance level at $0.3833 early in the day. For the day ahead, a move back through the first major resistance level at $0.3833 would bring $0.39 levels and the second major resistance level at $0.3936 into play before any pullback, a major crypto rally needed for Ripples XRP to strike $0.40 levels on the day. Failure to move back through the first major resistance level could see Ripples XRP hit reverse later in the day, with a pullback through the morning low $0.37056 bringing $0.36 levels and the days first major support level at $0.3590 into play before any recovery, heavier losses unlikely on the day, in the event of a reversal. {alt} Buy & Sell Cryptocurrency Instantly This article was originally posted on FX Empire More From FXEMPIRE: The Week Ahead Trump, the FED Chair and the Shutdown in Focus Bitcoin Fails to Make it 7 in a row to Join the U.S Equity Markets in the Red GBP/USD Weekly Price Forecast British pound continues to sink Bitcoin Cash ABC, Litecoin and Ripple Daily Analysis 23/12/18 Bitcoin The Bulls Eye $4,300 as the Next Price Target S&P 500 Weekly Price Forecast stock markets get hammered for the week \|\| Bitcoin And Ethereum Daily Price Forecast -Crypto Market To Trade Positive on News Driven Momentum: The Cryptoscape is seeing mixed picture today with Bitcoin, Ethereum & several other major coins trading in Green while the others traded in red. The first week of January 2019 was definitely positive for crypto market as both Bitcoin & Ethereum saw solid change in price action with bullish bias primarily ruling the price momentum. Having found a stable support at $3500 handle, bitcoin is now trying to reclaim solid ground above $4000 mark. Last week saw bitcoin climb as high as $3989 but the run proved to be another dead cat bounce as pair fell back to mid-$3000 handle. But the forefather of cryptocurrencies managed to close positive for the week as BTC/USD pair breached $4000 mark and hit an intra-day high of $4145.16 near end of day and opened for second week above $4100 mark post which Asian session saw consolidative price action. The bullish influence on Bitcoins price action received some support from news which hinted at Japanese finance regulator considering approval for Bitcoin ETF to be traded in Domestic market. Profit Booking Erased Most of Weekend Gains This will out it at odds with US Regulator Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) which has taken a risk averse standing on any finance instrument that deals with bitcoin and other crypto currencies. An approval by Japans regulatory authority Financial Services Agency (FSA) will greatly boost value of crypto currencies among institutional investors bringing in a fresh fund flow which could help Bitcoin reclaim $5000 mark with fundamental support. Crypto markets are also receiving positive support on news that UK based crypto currency exchange Coinfloor is offering future contract for Bitcoin, Ethereum & Bitcoin cash in name of CoinfloorEX/Coinflex. While there are already many crypto futures in market what makes this product truly special is the design to physically deliver actual crypto currency at delivery period instead of crediting cash in investors account. However gains from early trading session were erased as profit booking activity caused significant downward price move. Story continues As of writing this article, BTC/USD pair is trading at $4030.20 up by 5.14% on the day having recovered from intra-day lows of $3826.20 which suggests that news driven momentum provides fundamental support at $4000 handle atleast for near future. Meanwhile Ethereum remains the most profitable crypto currency in the market having reclaimed its place as second largest cryptocurrency in market. Similar to bitcoin, Ethereum also gained sharply over the weekend trying to reclaim weekly highs moving as high as $163.11 post which ETH/USD pair was on consolidative price action in upper half of $150 handle in early trading hours today. However profit booking activity saw the pair fall as low as $149.55 post which it recovered significantly and is trading at $152.61. ETH/USD pair is expected to remain volatile ahead of much awaited Constantinople hard fork however the ongoing bullish sentiment surrounding Ethereum is expected to remain firm even post network upgrade. This article was originally posted on FX Empire More From FXEMPIRE: USD/JPY Price Forecast US dollar pulls back to find support Gold Price Futures (GC) Technical Analysis January 7, 2019 Forecast Silver Price Forecast Silver markets roll over Crude Oil Price Update Strengthens Over $49.27, Weakens Under $48.57 Copy-trading: Pros and Cons of Automated Trading US/Sino Trade Talks Resume, EU Markets Remain Cautious, Futures Indicate A Flat Open For US Indices \|\| Poland ETFs Rebound, Shake Off Political Concerns: This article was originally published on ETFTrends.com. Poland country-specific exchange traded funds popped Wednesday, breaking above their short-term trend lines, as the country recovers from a corruption scandal and pushes through ongoing tensions between Russia and Ukraine. On Wednesday, the VanEck Vectors Poland ETF ( PLND ) gained 3.0% and iShares MSCI Poland Capped ETF ( EPOL ) rose 3.6%, both breaking above their short-term resistance at the 50-day simple moving average. Polish stocks climbed to a three-week high Wednesday as political risks subsided. Poland's equity markets retreated two weeks ago when the head of financial regulator KNF Marek Chrzanowski resigned over allegations made by Getin Noble Bank, Reuters reports. The anti-corruption agency CBA said it detained Chrzanowski, whom denies any wrongdoing. Chrzanowski stepped down after the Gazeta Wyborcza newspaper reported he had sought a multi-million dollar bribe from billionaire banker Leszek Czarnecki. Czarnecki alleged Chrzanowski offered favorable treatment for his banks in return. Concerns over a scandal that would drag down the banking system have since eased after the resignation. Polish equities received further support from legislation that reversed legal changes concerning the Supreme Court, which led to a dispute with the European Commission. Furthermore, Poland and other central European markets have been ruffled by the dispute between Russia and Ukraine over a naval incident, but some argued that the fallout was limited. Senior European politicians suggested new sanctions against Moscow, but some diplomatic sources warned that the divided European Union was unlikely to reach a consensus on the matter. “People mostly think that there will be no escalation which would lead to additional sanctions,” Noemi Holecz, chief analyst of Equilor Brokerage in Budapest, told Business Recorder . Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s comments on Wednesday were also closely monitored as expectations for fewer Fed rate hikes could make Central European assets more attractive. “What they have said so far (concerning interest rate prospects), have been mixed, but yes, the comments can have an impact,” one Budapest-based fixed income trader told Business Recorder. For more information on the Polish markets, visit our Poland category . POPULAR ARTICLES AND RESOURCES FROM ETFTRENDS.COM SPY ETF Quote VOO ETF Quote QQQ ETF Quote Top 34 Gold ETFs Top 34 Oil ETFs An Emerging Market ETF That Capitalizes on the Growing Middle-Class Consumer Consider Bitcoin Cash When Crypto Carnage Stops Apple Acquires AI Startup Silk Labs Holiday Shopping Could Top $1 Trillion This Year You’re (Possibly) Richer Than You Think READ MORE AT ETFTRENDS.COM > View comments [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] #LIZA #LAMBO price 11-19 01:00(GMT) $LIZA BTC :0.00000 ETH :0.00000 USD :0.0 RUR :0.0 JPY(btc) :0.0 JPY(eth) :0.0 $LAMBO BTC :0.005 ETH :0.160 USD :30.0 RUR :2138.7 JPY(btc) :3362.8 JPY(eth) :3168.0 \|\| I liked a @YouTube video http://youtu.be/Q18skeT3MDI?a NEW BITCOIN WALLET BUG? JavaScript NPM Explained November 2018 \|\| #cryptocurrency Price Analysis for #Bitsend #BSD : Last Hour Change : -0.94 % \|\| 14-12-2018 08:00 Price in #USD : 0.0637508218 \|\| Price in #EUR : 0.0561202309 New Price in #Bitcoin #BTC : 0.00001931 \|\| #Coin Rank 634 \|\| 1H 2018/12/20 08:00 (2018/12/20 07:00) LONG : 25417.31 BTC (+202.82 BTC) SHORT : 38108.28 BTC (+342.38 BTC) LS比 : 40% vs 59% (40% vs 59%) \|\| #LIZA #LAMBO price 12-24 23:00(GMT) $LIZA BTC :0.00000 ETH :0.00000 USD :0.0 RUR :0.0 JPY(btc) :0.0 JPY(eth) :0.0 $LAMBO BTC :0.001 ETH :0.001 USD :2.0 RUR :260.0 JPY(btc) :468.4 JPY(eth) :10.6 \|\| The Trade Of The Decade: Betting On Bitcoin https://www.forbes.com/sites/katinastefanova/2018/11/28/the-trade-of-the-decade-betting-on-bitcoin/ … \|\| Maybe these Cheerio’s buzzcoin will be a better investment than bitcoin. pic.twitter.com/BmN3wYdpDw \|\| Bitcoin - BTC Price: $4,300.30 Change in 1h: +0.13% Market cap: $74,780,139,103.00 Ranking: 1 #Bitcoin #BTC \|\| 1-BTC IOUs don't have bitcoin's permissionlessness 2-IOU's as money need a lender of last resort who can print, like fiat, or who confiscated a sixth of the world's supply, like gold. BTC has neither 3-BTC decentralization makes it far harder to confiscate & centralize than gold \|\| #Gigzi #crypto #blockchain #GZB #preciousmetal #stablecoin #ethereum #bitcoin #cryptocurrency #ICO #tokensalehttps://twitter.com/gigziofficial/status/1067752114313748480 …	Trend: down \|\| Prices: 3661.30, 3552.95, 3706.05, 3630.68, 3655.01, 3678.56, 3657.84, 3728.57, 3601.01, 3576.03
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2016-12-07] BTC Price: 768.13, BTC RSI: 62.31 Gold Price: 1175.00, Gold RSI: 31.65 Oil Price: 49.77, Oil RSI: 55.94 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] REPORT: Trump team's top pick for Treasury secretary is an ex-Goldman Sachs banker: Steven Mnuchin (AP/Evan Vucci) It looks as if President-elect Donald Trump's advisers have a clear top pick for Treasury secretary: ex-Goldman Sachs banker Steven Mnuchin, who served as the national finance chair on Trump's presidential campaign. That's according to Bloomberg's Saleha Mohsin, Kevin Cirilli, and Jennifer Jacobs , who report that Trump's transition team has recommended the banker. Mnuchin spent 17 years with Goldman Sachs. Mnuchin was chief information officer at The Goldman Sachs Group before leaving the firm in 2002. He also worked briefly for George Soros. Mnuchin was seen at Trump Tower on Monday, according to a pool report. When asked why he was there and whether he was interested in the position, he said: "I'm here just helping with the transition this week. A lot of work to do." Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein last week called Mnuchin a "highflier, a very nice guy," and a "smart, smart guy." "He was a very senior guy at a very young age at Goldman Sachs," Blankfein said in an interview with Andrew Ross Sorkin of The New York Times. Blankfein said Mnuchin reported to him when he ran the fixed-income division. "I follow his career, I know what he's done, but I haven’t really engaged with him that much," Blankfein said. "I'm sure he stayed just as smart as he was when he was at Goldman." Another potential candidate is JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon. CNBC last week reported that Dimon, a lifelong Democrat, was in the running for the position. NOW WATCH: Ex-Wells Fargo employees reveal how some bankers abused customers More From Business Insider Michael Bloomberg has a plan to shift the conversation on climate change Here's why Trump's win boosted Bitcoin Europe's Trump rally evaporated \|\| Blockchain could soon power stock markets, music sales, and even prevent child labor — here's how it works: bi graphics_future of blockchain (.) It's a technology conceived by the mysterious creator of bitcoin — the digital currency championed by a motley crew of privacy-obsessed libertarians, social activists, and some criminals. Bank of America (AP Photo) Now the idea of blockchain has gripped Wall Street's biggest institutions. Its enthusiasts think it could change the world. Sure, it would make contracts more enforceable and speed up the settlement of stock trades — hence the interest from big banks. But some see it going much further, cracking down on sex trafficking , music piracy, and child labor. And the key to all that — what attracts these different factions — is something that, on the surface at least, sounds rather banal: a digital ledger, like the one in your checkbook. "Blockchain is a truly extraordinary technology that does really mundane things," said Paul Brody, Ernst & Young's global blockchain leader. But for all the promise, these big questions remain: Who will foot the bill, and is it really as secure as supporters say? What is blockchain? In the non-blockchain world, we keep separate records of transactions. If you write your friend a check, you balance your own checkbook and your friend does the same when they deposit it. But things can go wrong. They might forget to update their checkbook ledger. And each bank has no way to know immediately if the person has enough in their bank account to cover it. checkbook, checks, writing a check (Flickr / oblivion9999) With a blockchain, instead of two separate checkbooks with two records of debits and credits, you'd both look at the same ledger of transactions. It's private (encrypted, in computer-speak), and decentralized, so neither of you controls the ledger. This "distributed ledger" operates on consensus. Both of you can look at the ledger. Each transaction gets put into a block. If you both say that block is valid and correct, it's added to a chain. And that chain is protected by sophisticated cryptography: No one can change the chain after the fact. Now imagine this in a more complex form. This is what gets people in finance and technology excited. Say you want to buy a stock. Right now, your bank, brokerage, the stock exchange, and the company you're buying all have separate, private records of transactions. They can't see each other's ledgers. Nor can they verify that everything is accurate among all involved. With blockchain, they can all be on the same page — literally. Your bank can verify that you have enough money to transfer to your brokerage. That transfer is added to the ledger of transactions that everyone involved can see. Then your broker executes a trade for 100 shares. That gets added to the blockchain, too. Everyone involved verifies it's legitimate. Story continues The exchange receives the order — also added and verified. And then the company's shares end up in your account. You could see the record of all the shares you buy and sell in the permanent record. If you decide to sell the shares later, that transaction gets added to the blockchain. And because it's a consensus model in which every party confirms a transaction, "it gets more secure the more people you add" to the blockchain, Brody said. "When a transaction is completed, everyone has to get a copy of the transaction." That's blockchain in its purest form. In reality, however, different companies are experimenting with different forms. A blockchain used in financial services could be private, or a hybrid model between the decentralized vision and a more traditional centralized model that bankers are used to. A regulator, for instance, could hold the key to a blockchain, and some companies are thinking about how to maintain a middleman. Mysterious beginnings No one knows who invented blockchain. The idea for it came from a paper published online eight years ago that unveiled bitcoin, the digital currency. The author, Satoshi Nakamoto, is thought to be using a pseudonym. The true identity remains a mystery, and there's debate over whether it was created by an individual or group. At first, bitcoin got all the attention. The idea of a secure, private currency, divorced from a specific government, captured the imaginations of technologists, libertarians, and people concerned about the power of big banks and government regulation. Bitcoin transactions occur peer-to-peer, meaning no government or third party is involved. Goldman Sachs recruiting video (Goldman SachsYouTube/Goldman Sachs) Today, bitcoin and blockchain still attract privacy-minded and antigovernment types. But it also increasingly appeals to people like Grainne McNamara. She spent years building out technology at banks like Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs. Now she's a leader of PricewaterhouseCooper's blockchain for financial services. And that means she spends a lot of time attending and hosting blockchain conferences. At one, a speaker showed a picture of a shed in his presentation. McNamara remembers him jokingly saying, "Take the bankers behind the shed and kill them." He didn't know his audience. McNamara was sitting next to former bankers, who found the whole thing humorous, she said. Despite the shed metaphor, "it's a peaceful cohabitation," McNamara told Business Insider. "People genuinely appreciate the disruptive element to spawn innovation." A contract with a brain One area blockchain proponents get excited about is the idea of a "smart contract." While most bank agreements are still paper documents — banks are awash in paper, even in 2016 — a smart contract is a computer program that helps keeps everyone accountable. video games (People play a video game on the stand of Acer at the IFA Electronics show in Berlin, Germany, Sept. 2, 2015.Reuters/Axel Schmidt) Let's say you're a company that designs and sells video game consoles. You work with suppliers and shipping companies, and have a number of serious concerns. You want to make sure they're manufactured well and on time. You want to make sure there are no labor violations, such as children working on the assembly line. And you want to make sure everyone gets paid on time. In the old way of doing things, numerous contracts might be involved to manufacture one video game console. And each side may have its own paper copies. Smart contracts provide automated accountability. bi graphics a smart contract (Samantha Lee / Business Insider) Because this is blockchain, everyone involved looks at the same contract; no one can change it without the permission of most others. Here's an example: When a truck picks up finished video game consoles from a factory in, say, China, the shipping company scans each box. Those are added to the blockchain, triggering a release of funds from the video game company's bank account. No one has to invoice and chase a payment. "You can marry up the delivery and payment of services," Brody said. It can go beyond getting paid, too. Each worker on the assembly line could scan their identification card, which is then verified by multiple sources such as government agencies and third-party auditors, ensuring the workers are not underage or overworked. And because it's a blockchain, no one can alter the record later. Some have discussed blockchain as a possible tool to help prevent sex trafficking and other scourges. And there are other uses for it that may become big parts of our lives. Healthcare bi graphics possible uses for blockchain (Samantha Lee / Business Insider) Smart contracts in healthcare could do things such as trigger an insurance payment to a doctor when a patient undergoes a CT scan. A blockchain could also be a secure place to store electronic medical records. It would detail all patient-doctor communication, illness and treatment information, vaccination records, medical bills etc. Every subsequent doctor visit or treatment would be added to the blockchain, including those in different cities and countries, creating a complete, historical record of the patient's health. In this case, the blockchain is private, and only certain participants would have the encryption keys to see the record. Music and media Musicians may wish there had been blockchain when Napster undermined music sales around the turn of the century through file-sharing. Music (Blockchain could prevent music piracyFlickr/Kelsey) Now some are thinking blockchain could prevent piracy and help boost sales. Artists could provide their music directly off a ledger, and smart contracts might ensure the right people are paid and only those with rights play the tracks. A similar model could help fund news outlets and other media organizations. Property records Some companies' whole job is tracking down property records. Blockchain could change that. If property deeds were on a blockchain, the other participants (known as "network nodes") that validate the transaction could be real-estate agents, financing banks, and a land registry authority. Once the transaction is validated, it is added to the blockchain, and the updated state of the blockchain is broadcast to the participants in real time. As the blockchain maintains the history of all transactions, the entire history of the property and its owners is on the blockchain. Trading and banking The Australian Securities Exchange — ASX — plans to decide by mid-2017 if it will replace its post-trade clearing and settlement system with a blockchain version . This could be a turning point for blockchain and potentially a catalyst for widespread adoption. Bank of England (Bank of EnglandJim Edwards) Central bankers are also getting in on the action. The Bank of England and the People's Bank of China are discussing issuing their national currencies — the pound and the renminbi, respectively — on blockchain. If successful, the technology would make the currencies more traceable, allowing the banks to track them through the financial system in real time. Right now, this use of blockchain is limited to discussion and research papers, but if implemented, other central banks are likely to follow suit. The US Federal Reserve is closely following developments as well, with Fed Gov. Lael Brainard in charge of keeping an eye on the new technology. It's also rumored that other items such as diamonds, art, and food could be put on blockchain so the entire history of the items could be traced. Buzz vs. reality There are over 120 blockchain projects spanning a variety of industries, and the annual budget for blockchain initiatives in 2016 is estimated to be $1 billion. In financial services, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, and Bank of America are among the big names that have partnered with R3, a startup trying to bring blockchain technology to the finance world. But if blockchain is going to work, it needs an industrywide standard. For the first bank to adopt this digital system and overhaul existing infrastructure, it could mean a risky and expensive investment, and that bank would have to hope others follow suit. No one wants to be the first to test that theory. That's why this is one of the few cutting-edge technologies that is generating a lot of talk but not a lot of action among banks. While they are dabbling in the technology, attending conferences and partnering with R3, no bank is taking the lead and going from proofs of concept to using it in the real world. "To get the true value, you need the network effect," said Graham Warner, head of global transaction banking product development in the Americas at Deutsche Bank. The more people and companies use blockchain, the more valuable the technology becomes. Other challenges For all its promise, some major impediments could prevent blockchain's widespread deployment, including regulation, cost, and security issues. Implementing and standardizing blockchain could cost in the billions of dollars, and it would mean an overhaul of legacy systems that people are used to and understand. Today's technology works, and replacing it with something unproven is seen as an expensive risk. Blockchain technology would also potentially mean a huge number of job losses, especially in middle- and back-office functions. Banks would have to get the remaining employees up to speed on the new technology, and using it would initially be a trial-and-error process. Security and privacy issues ethereum (Ethereum) In August, hackers stole $72 million worth of bitcoin from accounts at the Hong Kong cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex. And in June, hackers stole $55 million worth of ether, a bitcoin rival. The nonprofit that runs ether, Ethereum Foundation, just rolled back the chain. It's as if the hack never took place, and business returned to normal. But that worries purists. The Ethereum hack — and the response to it — led Accenture to create an "editable blockchain model," to "resolve human errors, accommodate legal and regulatory requirements, and address mischief and other issues," according to a news release . Blockchain enthusiasts say this threatens the very nature of the blockchain itself. One of the fundamental benefits of blockchain technology is its immutability — the blockchain represents a "golden record" of transactions, a complete, historical record that technically cannot be interfered with or undone. But there "isn't one blockchain to rule them all," Warner said. "It will be an evolutionary, Darwinian process" to figure out which version of the blockchain applies to which use case. What's next When McNamara learned about blockchain, she said she was "a little bit of a skeptic. But I've been proven wrong." The ecosystem is evolving, she said, and people involved, whether they're activists or bankers, are getting together and talking about "shared values and pain points." ASX Australia Stock Exchange Trader (ASXAP) While some big players like the ASX may be using some form of blockchain as early as next year, some issues are holding blockchain back. Different versions of blockchain are in development, and there's little agreement on what's the best or purest version to deploy. And dozens of startups are working on their own takes on blockchain. Innovation is happening, but all the competing ideas makes big companies cautious to commit to any one type. But most proponents think everything will be worked out in due time, and that in the next few years, blockchain and its smart contracts would improve our lives, even if it operates quietly in the background, invisible to most people. NOW WATCH: Ken Rogoff explains why he's been advocating to eliminate the $100 bill More From Business Insider Now is the worst time to buy a new computer John Kasich's dire warning for the Republican Party: EVOLVE OR DIE Amazon Prime members have access to one of the best smartphone deals out there right now View comments \|\| American Express is increasing its late fees: (BI Intelligence) This story was delivered to BI Intelligence "Payments Briefing" subscribers. To learn more and subscribe, pleaseclick here. American Express will be the first major credit card issuer to raise its late payment fees under the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s updated allowable limit, according to theWall Street Journal. At the start of 2017, Amex will begin charging a fee of up to $38 to customers with more than one late payment in a six month period. That's $1 more than what was previously charged by the card issuer, but could give the firm a solid revenue boost. Late fees could prove to be very lucrative in the current card market. • As credit card usage increases, it's likely the number of delinquent accounts will also grow. Credit card accounts and usage are close to pre-recession numbers once again,accordingto Forbes. That's leading to a big rise in usage — US credit card debt is on track to hit $1 trillion this year, according to theWall Street Journal. That could help explain the rise in delinquent accounts — since 2013, the percentage of accounts at least 90 days delinquent six months after origination has increased, according to Forbes. • Late fees could be a vital revenue source. Nearly one in five active credit-card accounts incur a late fee, according to CFPB data used by the Wall Street Journal. This is significant, considering credit card companies were able to collect roughly $10.8 billion in fees during 2015 from these late payments. And for Amex, that revenue could be critical as the issuer grapples with the loss of Costco.Based on 2015 numbers, if Amex is able to capture just 1% of the late fee market, that's roughly $100 million in revenue — a figure that could grow as the market expands following the updated allowable limit. Although this revenue could boost any card network, it could be particularly beneficial to Amex in light of the firm's sale of its Costco cobrand portfolio to Citigroup earlier this year. Costco had 11.6 million cardholders and accounted for 8% of the firm's $1 trillion global billed business in 2015. As the firm realizes the impact of the Costco sale, it is looking for additional sources of revenue. Finding a way to capitalize on growing card spend and delinquencies could be one such way among a variety of strategies. The CFPB's new guidelines could have a significant effect on the payments ecosystem, which has grown in the last several years to include merchants, issuers, acquirers, processors, and more. BI Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service, has compileda detailed report on the payments ecosystemthat drills into the industry to explain how a broad range of transactions are processed, including prepaid and store cards, as well as revealing which types of companies are in the best and worst position to capitalize on the latest industry trends. Here are some key takeaways from the report: • 2016 will be a watershed year for the payments industry. Payments companies are improving security, expanding their mobile offerings, and building commerce capabilities that will give consumers a more compelling reason to make purchases using digital devices. • Payments is an extremely complex industry. To understand the next big digital opportunity lies, it's critical to understand how the traditional credit- and debit-processing chain works and what roles acquirers, processors, issuing banks, card networks, independent sales organizations, gateways, and software and hardware providers play. • Alternative technologies could disrupt the processing ecosystem. Devices ranging from refrigerators to smartwatches now feature payment capabilities, which will spur changes in consumer payment behaviors. Likewise, blockchain technology, the protocol that underlies Bitcoin, could one day change how consumer card payments are verified. In full, the report: • Uncovers the key themes and trends affecting the payments industry in 2016 and beyond. • Gives a detailed description of the stakeholders involved in a payment transaction, along with hardware and software providers. • Offers diagrams and infographics explaining how card transactions are processed and which players are involved in each step. • Provides charts on our latest forecasts, key company growth, survey results, and more. • Analyzes the alternative technologies, including blockchain, which could further disrupt the ecosystem. To get your copy of this invaluable guide, choose one of these options: 1. Subscribe to an ALL-ACCESS Membership with BI Intelligence and gain immediate access to this report AND over 100 other expertly researched deep-dive reports, subscriptions to all of our daily newsletters, and much more. >>START A MEMBERSHIP 2. Purchase the report and download it immediately from our research store. >>BUY THE REPORT The choice is yours. But however you decide to acquire this report, you’ve given yourself a powerful advantage in your understanding of the payments ecosystem. More From Business Insider • THE PAYMENTS INDUSTRY EXPLAINED: The Trends Creating New Winners And Losers In The Card-Processing Ecosystem • THE DIGITAL REMITTANCE REPORT: The new platforms disrupting a $600 billion industry • Credit cards are going the way of fax machines \|\| India's rupee restrictions are boosting demand for bitcoin: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's decision to withdraw 500 and 1000 rupee notes from circulation has sparked interest in bitcoin among India's consumers. Following last week's announcement thatthe notes were no longer legal tender, sales volumes for bitcoin increased on several exchanges for the digital currency, according to The Hindustan Times. The announcement by the Indian government was an attempt to crackdown on corruption and "black money", but following the movement, internet searches for the term "buy bitcoin" increased in popularity, according to Google Trends data. Other signs of increased interest include downloads of the smartphone app for bitcoin exchange Zebpay, which passed a threshold of 100,000 downloads. "Queries for bitcoins have gone up by 20 percent to 30 percent in the past couple of days," Zebpay's CEO, Saurabh Agrawal, told the Hindustan Times. As a result of the increased demand, the premium paid for rupee-denominated bitcoin has widened. One bitcoin on the Indian exchange Unocoin is worth 55,405 rupees, or $817.97, at the time of writing. Dollar-denominated bitcoin currently costs around $709. According to Charles Hayter, CEO and founder of Crypto Compare, the premium at the start of September was just $20, or around 3 percent. "Bitcoin is a sanctuary in emerging markets where knee jerk policy reactions are commonplace - India's move on high value bank notes is just the latest in a string of poorly communicated & executed judgments," he told CNBC via email. "Bitcoin was trading at a $20 dollar premium in India at the beginning of September and now is trading at a $70-100 premium to the USD rate." One reason for the increased demand may be due to Indians who are frustrated by the government's decision and are now looking for a way to store their wealth that is (theoretically) out of Dehli's reach. "The Indian rupee, like all other government currencies, is a fiat currency. It exists through the fiat - order - of the government," explained Jacob J, a writer for The CoinTelegraph. "As seen in the recent instance, its existence can also be terminated through an order from the government. With the passage of time, Bitcoin's superiority as a currency is becoming more and more apparent." India has been slow to start using digital currencies. The amount of bitcoin traded per day in India is a fraction of other countries, according to Linus Lindgren, strategic investor and advisor at BTCXIndia. "I would estimate the average traded volume in India to be around 500btc/day, which is less than 1 percent, maybe even 0.1 percent, of global volumes," he told CNBC via email. "We have certainly seen a larger interest than ever before in the last weeks, but in contrast to centralised systems, where money can be made worthless over night, a decentralised currency like bitcoin is opt-in, meaning that this revolution will come gradually as more and more people start seeing the benefits and switch." Follow CNBC International onTwitterandFacebook. \|\| First Bitcoin Capital Acquires Large Stake in One of the Oldest Mineable Cryptocoins Ranked High on Coin Market Cap; Also, Company’s Digital Shares Are Now Listed on Two International Cryptocurrency Exchanges: VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / November 30, 2016 /First Bitcoin Capital Corp. (BITCF) is pleased to announce that it has sold its Venezuela mining concessions for a large stake in the cryptocurrency of one of the oldest mineable coins that ranks high on Coin Market Cap. See:http://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/kilocoin/. Kilocoin which is similar to Litecoin primarily trades on a popular cryptocurrency exchange athttps://c-cex.com/?p=klc-btc A list of its nodes can be found viahttps://c-cex.com/?id=ws&shownodes=klc Kilocoin mining can be tracked athttps://www.blockexperts.com/klc# From its web site viahttp://kilocoin.com/their wallet can be downloaded. At its current rate of mining (159 coins per block) it should take centuries to reach the maximum of 25,000,000,000 mineable coins with a little over 10,000,000,000 coins mine thus far, giving BITCF nearly 10% participation. The Company anticipates that the KLC exchange will boost BITCF's balance sheet with tremendous upside potential and may become a source of future dividends. Differences from Bitcoin and Litecoin and Kilocoin [{"": "Coin limit", "Bitcoin": "21 Million", "Litecoin": "84 Million", "Kilocoin": "25 Billion"}, {"": "Algorithm", "Bitcoin": "SHA-256", "Litecoin": "Scrypt", "Kilocoin": "Scrypt"}, {"": "Mean block time", "Bitcoin": "10 minutes", "Litecoin": "2.5 minutes", "Kilocoin": "5 minutes"}, {"": "Difficulty Target", "Bitcoin": "2016 Block", "Litecoin": "2016 Blocks", "Kilocoin": "288 Blocks"}, {"": "Initial Reward", "Bitcoin": "50 BTC", "Litecoin": "50 LTC", "Kilocoin": "159 KLC"}, {"": "Current block reward", "Bitcoin": "25 BTC", "Litecoin": "50 LTC", "Kilocoin": "159 LTC"}, {"": "Block explorer", "Bitcoin": "blockchain.info", "Litecoin": "block-explorer.com", "Kilocoin": "https://www.blockexperts.com/klc#"}, {"": "Created by", "Bitcoin": "Satoshi Nakamoto", "Litecoin": "Charles Lee", "Kilocoin": "Kilocoin, Inc (DAC)"}, {"": "Creation date", "Bitcoin": "January 3, 2009", "Litecoin": "October 7, 2011", "Kilocoin": "Feb 27th, 2014"}, {"": "Coins Mined (as of 8 April 2015)", "Bitcoin": "14,029,116.67", "Litecoin": "37,984,800", "Kilocoin": "10,013,105,152"}] Furthermore, in conjunction with BITCF's expanding ownership of its common shares onto its own blockchain (BIT) and trading on foreign international cryptocurrency exchanges, the company is proud to announce that its digital shares are now trading on an additional, popular cryptocurrency exchange, LIVECOINwww.livecoin.net. About the company: First Bitcoin Capital is engaged in developing digital currencies, proprietary Blockchain technologies, and the digital currency exchange-www.CoinQX.com. We see this step as a tremendous opportunity to create further shareholder value by leveraging management's experience in developing and managing complex Blockchain technologies, developing new types of digital assets. "Being the first publicly-traded cryptocurrency and blockchain-centered company (with shares both traded in the US OTC Markets as [BITCF] and as [BIT] in crypto exchanges) we want to provide our shareholders with diversified exposure to digital cryptocurrencies and blockchain technologies." At this time the Company owns and operates the following digital assets. www.BITCoinCapitalcorp.comcompany website. www.CoinQX.comCryptocurrency Exchange, registered with FINCEN. www.iCoiNEWS.comreal time cryptocurrency and bitcoin news site. www.BITminer.ccproviding mining pool management services. www.2016coin.orgonline daily election coverage and home page for $PRES, $HILL and $GARY $BURN coins. Forward-Looking Statements Certain statements contained in this press release may constitute "forward-looking statements." Forward-looking statements provide current expectations of future events based on certain assumptions and include any statement that does not directly relate to any historical or current fact. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors as may be disclosed in company's filings. In addition to these factors, actual future performance, outcomes, and results may differ materially because of more general factors including (without limitation) general industry and market conditions and growth rates, economic conditions, and governmental and public policy changes. The forward-looking statements included in this press release represent the Company's views as of the date of this press release and these views could change. However, while the Company may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, the Company specifically disclaims any obligation to do so. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing the Company's views as of any date subsequent to the date of the press release. Such forward-looking statements are risks that are detailed in the Company's filings, which are on file atwww.OTCMarkets.com. SOURCE:First Bitcoin Capital Corp. \|\| Tips on How to Protect Your Private Information On Black Friday and Cyber Monday: Americans will line up around stores and standby their computers or smartphones to take advantage of Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals, but protecting their private information should also be priority for shoppers. During the holiday season many shoppers are harmed by failing to take simple precautions, says Gene Richardson, COO of Experts Exchange , a network for technology professionals. In Store Vs. Online Retail stores are one of the top areas identity thieves go after, Richardson said in an email to the IBTimes. A large number of some of the biggest identity thefts in the past few years were at large retail stores, he says. Long lines and busy cashiers could potentially put your private information at risk. “All the clerk cares about is getting you through the line as fast as they can so they can deal with the next customer and hope that none of you are angry,” says Richardson. “So, if there is a hiccup with your transaction, they will take “backup” paths to complete your transaction like entering your credit card number by hand.” Richardson, who is also the former head of the data security teams IBM, Charles Schwab and Motorola, says customers should never give their credit card to someone to perform a transaction by entering a card number. “Hand transactions are a huge risk for identity theft,” he says. Customers should also avoid buying if a cashier’s computer is down or too busy, unless it’s with cash, or try to go back later. Credit card scanners are also a threat to customers, as some of them may be rigged to copy a person’s information so that a duplicate credit card can be made. People may be less exposed to this action in large retail stores, but the risk is higher in smaller boutiques shops, says Richardson. Customers should also make sure their credit card number is not printed on receipts and should instead have XXX's where the number is displayed. But online purchases can be riskier because of all the extra information customers hand over, like their name, address, phone number, credit card information, expiration date and CSV. Story continues “They ask for so much more information from you to validate who you are than a purchase in a retail store,” says Richardson. “You have no control of who or where that information is going.” Tips to Protect Yourself Here are Richardson’s tips for shoppers on how they can protect themselves on Black Friday and Cyber Monday: Ensure that the website address is secure and has a valid encryption certificate. It will usually display a “locked, green” indicator in front of the website name. If it doesn’t have that, it does not have a higher level of security that has been guaranteed by a known entity like Verisign, Symantec and others. Ensure your system has the most recent recommended system and security patches. Always use a credit card that is not tied directly to your personal bank account(s), even if you are using PayPal, Bitcoin or some other payment method. Never give anything other than name, address and phone number. You should not need to answer security or privacy questions when making a purchase or checking out. If they ask, see if you can checkout as a “guest” instead. Monitor your credit through a third party for identify theft and have SMS and email alerts sent to you immediately. Set-up alerts with your credit card company that send both SMS and emails when any purchases are made and the credit card was not scanned (meaning, it wasn’t in someone’s hand when the charge was made). Set them as low as $25 per purchase. Also, set-up alerts for total purchases over $500 in a billing period to protect multiple $24.99 purchases. And if possible, a maximum amount of purchases allowed in a billing period such as $1500 before card will get declined. Ensure that you have a reputable Antivirus program running on your computer and that your browser has an Ad blocking plug-in. (Richardson recommends Norton, McAfee or ESET.) Ensure that the network your computer/device is on is secure and you know who has access to your network. This is usually done with your router. You want to lock down your router so that traffic can be initiated from the inside-out but you do not want traffic to be initiated from the outside-in. If you are using a WiFi connection, make sure that network is also secure and requires a password to join. If it is a public WiFi network that doesn’t require a password, then the traffic coming from your device can be monitored and stolen. (Link to onsite how-to article?) Any passwords that you use should be strong, hard to guess ones. Or, even better, hard to guess, but easy to remember . Don’t click on unfamiliar links to sites advertising sales, coupons, etc. Use two-factor authentication/verification, if it is offered. Shopping on Mobile Devices One in 10 mobile apps that are found through searching “Black Friday” are blacklisted as malicious, according to cyber security company RiskIQ An estimated 30 percent of purchases will be made on mobile devices, RiskIQ says. Shopping on mobile devices can substantially increase the risk of encountering phishing pages, malicious apps, and viruses that infect customers’ smartphones and tablets to steal money and private information. There are also fake apps out there that contain malware that can steal customers’ data or lock the device until the user pays a ransom, says RiskIQ. Other malicious apps may ask consumers to use their Facebook or Gmail logins, which could compromise their private information. Tips For Safe Shopping on Mobile Devices Here are some tips from RiskIQ: Ensure that you are only downloading apps from official app stores such as Google or Apple Be wary of applications that ask for suspicious permissions, like access to contacts, text messages, administrative features, stored passwords, or credit card info. Just because an app appears to have a good reputation doesn’t make it so. Rave reviews can be forged, and a high amount of downloads can simply indicate a threat actor was successful in fooling a lot of victims. Before downloading an app, be sure to take a look at the developer—if it’s not a brand you recognize or has a strange appearance or spelling, think twice. You can even do a Google search on the developer for more clues about its reputation. Make sure to take a deep look at each app. New developers, or developers that leverage free email services (e.g., @gmail) for their developer contact, can be enormous red flags— threat actors often use these services to produce mass amounts of malicious apps in a short period. Also, poor grammar in the description highlights the haste of development and the lack of marketing professionalism that are hallmarks of mobile malware campaigns. Check website addresses after following links on Twitter, Facebook, or other social media channels to be sure you end up on the true website of the retailer you want. Look for the “S” in HTTPS when you visit shopping sites. Beware of shopping sites that do not use HTTPS in their website addresses or do not display the symbol of a lock next to the web address. Secure sites use HTTPS, and without that, you’re dealing with unsecured connections or weak encryption of personal data. Never provide your credit card information unless you are in a secure online shopping portal. Sites that ask for it in return for “coupons” or to win “free” merchandise are almost always scams. Protect Yourself From a Major Headache For those who might not want to go through the hassle of setting up credit card alerts on purchases or locking down their router, it’s important to remember that it can and save consumers from a major headache. “Identity theft could cost you several thousand dollars in actual money and can cost you a lot more in your personal time and future anticipated losses cleaning up after the fact,” Richardson said. “The impact of identity theft could last years as you personally have to work to call all your creditors to fix your credit, loss of credibility for future purchases of a home, car, etc. as your credit scores will have been impacted, the effect on future employment opportunities as background checks are run and many, many more,” he added. Related Articles $100 Off HTC Vive On Black Friday and Cyber Monday American Consumers Prep For Cyber Monday \|\| American Express still faces hurdles from Costco: Amex Costco (BII) This story was delivered to BI Intelligence " Payments Briefing " subscribers. To learn more and subscribe, please click here . After a series of tough quarters, American Express beat analyst expectations in Q3 . The firm’s success was propelled by “strong operating discipline and credit quality,” according to CEO Ken Chenault. But as Amex looks to cut $1 billion in costs over the course of the next several quarters in the wake of the sale of its Costco business, the firm still has hurdles to overcome. Despite overall gains, Amex saw mediocre results in a few key metrics, largely related to the loss of Costco’s store card portfolio, which Amex sold to Citigroup in June. Costco cardholders represented 8% of the firm’s billed business in 2015. Here are some key results from the quarter: Billed business: Amex’s global billed business in the quarter was down 3% year-over-year. But excluding the Costco portfolio, it grew 7%, which indicates the impact that the Costco loss has had on the company. The firm noted that it’s on track to retain 20% of the out-of-store spend of the previous Costco cardholders that it retained, but that’s still a meager portion of the $80 billion Costco cardholders spent in 2015, In addition, loans, which the Costco portfolio represented 20% of, fell by 12% in Q3. Issued cards: Amex had 108.8 million cards issued globally at the end of Q3 — that’s down by 7 million from the same period in 2015, despite reports of strong new customer acquisition in earlier quarters this year. That’s likely partly due to the loss of the Costco portfolio, which had 11.6 million cardholders. But the firm plans to invest in initiatives that will help it grow through Q4 and into next year.The firm outlined a few key focus areas that the firm will use to grow. Premium cards: Amex plans to focus heavily on its Platinum portfolio, likely as a result of the intense premium rewards card competition in the market right now. This portfolio could be particularly lucrative for the firm because of the high fees associated with it, and because premium cardholders will likely have higher spend. Small businesses: Amex has been working to extend relationships with small businesses through its OptBlue program, which makes it easier for these merchants to accept and use Amex cards. That program has been successful, and the firm has seen growing billed business among small- and medium-sized merchants. In Q4, Amex plans to run a promotion related to Small Business Saturday in order to make it known to cardholders that their acceptance network is growing, which could help encourage customers to spend more on Amex and boost the firm’s billed business. Marketing and outreach: Amex is looking to build on ongoing US customer acquisition success and ramp up in key international markets. The firm will boost digital marketing initiatives and run an extensive advertising campaign, which could help onboard younger customers or groups in key markets that will spend and provide Amex with additional transaction and card fee-related revenue. Story continues American Express and Costco are part of the much broader payments ecosystem, which includes merchants, acquirers, processors, and more. Evan Bakker and John Heggestuen, analysts at BI Intelligence , Business Insider's premium research service, have compiled a detailed report on the payments ecosystem that drills into the industry to explain how a broad range of transactions are processed, including prepaid and store cards, as well as revealing which types of companies are in the best and worst position to capitalize on the latest industry trends. Here are some key takeaways from the report: 2016 will be a watershed year for the payments industry. Payments companies are improving security, expanding their mobile offerings, and building commerce capabilities that will give consumers a more compelling reason to make purchases using digital devices. Payments is an extremely complex industry. To understand the next big digital opportunity lies, it's critical to understand how the traditional credit- and debit-processing chain works and what roles acquirers, processors, issuing banks, card networks, independent sales organizations, gateways, and software and hardware providers play. Alternative technologies could disrupt the processing ecosystem. Devices ranging from refrigerators to smartwatches now feature payment capabilities, which will spur changes in consumer payment behaviors. Likewise, blockchain technology, the protocol that underlies Bitcoin, could one day change how consumer card payments are verified. In full, the report: Uncovers the key themes and trends affecting the payments industry in 2016 and beyond. Gives a detailed description of the stakeholders involved in a payment transaction, along with hardware and software providers. Offers diagrams and infographics explaining how card transactions are processed and which players are involved in each step. Provides charts on our latest forecasts, key company growth, survey results, and more. Analyzes the alternative technologies, including blockchain, which could further disrupt the ecosystem. To get your copy of this invaluable guide, choose one of these options: Subscribe to an ALL-ACCESS Membership with BI Intelligence and gain immediate access to this report AND over 100 other expertly researched deep-dive reports, subscriptions to all of our daily newsletters, and much more. >> START A MEMBERSHIP Purchase the report and download it immediately from our research store. >> BUY THE REPORT The choice is yours. But however you decide to acquire this report, you’ve given yourself a powerful advantage in your understanding of the payments ecosystem. More From Business Insider THE MOBILE PAYMENTS REPORT: Market forecasts, consumer trends, and the barriers and benefits that will influence adoption THE CONNECTED DEVICE PAYMENTS REPORT: Market opportunities, top stakeholders, and new use cases for the next frontier in payments THE PAYMENTS INDUSTRY EXPLAINED: The trends creating new winners and losers in the card-processing ecosystem View comments \|\| Bitcoin price soars, but it isn't about Trump and Clinton: The price of bitcoin has soared 23% in the last month and is now approaching its 2016 peak of around $765 in June. The coin is up 66% since January. At its current price of $728 at the time of writing, bitcoin’s market cap is nearly $12 billion. So, what’s stoking the ride? You might think the US presidential election, just five days away now, has something to do with it. And indeed, aJuniper Research studyfrom back in May (“Will Bitcoins Bite Back?“) predicted the bitcoin price would spike right before the election, due to market uncertainty. Specifically, the study determined that a win by Donald Trump would boost the bitcoin price: “If Donald Trump becomes President of the US, there is the very real prospect of turmoil on world markets,” said Dr. Winslow Holden in a Juniper press release about the report. “Bitcoin would thrive in such an environment, at least until the impact on major fiat currencies becomes clear.” Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton’s campaign considered accepting donations in the form of bitcoin, aleaked email thread revealed. But John Podesta was more intrigued by the digital currency Ven, writing: “I don’t send all the crazy ideas I hear about at fundraisers your way, but this seems interesting and legit. Essentially digital currency with a green angle as opposed to bitcoin’s libertarian Ayn Rand schtick… see if it’s worth a real conversation?” UltimatelyClinton’s campaign decided not to accept bitcoin.Trump’s campaign did accept bitcoin. Despite the timing so close to the election, the bitcoin community consensus is that the October price spike isn’t from Clinton or Trump: it’s China driving the surge. The Chinese yuanhas fallen 4.3% against the US dollarin the last six months, and thePeople’s Bank of China has cracked downwith stricter capital controls. China and a falling yuan is almost always cited as the biggest factor when the price of bitcoin rises. The thinking is that Chinese investors seek a safe haven in bitcoin, which is an asset largely untied to mainstream markets. (This alsohappened to an extent in Greece during its bank shutdownlast year and ishappening right now in Venezuela.) Often,it’s actually something else. This time around, the data supports the idea that the interest is coming from China. Nearly 99% of all global bitcoin trading activity happening right now is happening in Chinese yuan. (It’s worth noting that some bitcoin people doubt Chinese exchange data because it could be inflated or meaningless due to very low fees that prompt empty trading activity.) Bitcoin trading volume in the Chinese yuan is up more than 20% in the past 30 days, based on charts frombitcoincharts.com,bitcoinity.organdcoinmarketcap.com. If you check out the sitefiatleak.com, which maps bitcoin purchases in real-time, the overwhelming majority of activity right now is in yuan (CNY). “It does seem like a cop-out sometimes when everyone says it’s China, but in this case, the data supports it,” says Alex Sunnarborg, CFO ofLawnmower, a digital currency trading and data app. Bitcoin trading volume on Lawnmower is up 40% in the past two weeks from the typical two-week average. Sunnarborg adds that whenever the bitcoin price spikes significantly, regardless of the reason, it feeds on itself and drives it higher. “People see that demand and feel that FOMO [fear of missing out], which drives a lot of new people in. The market is so thin and new, people are hunting for news, so anything you hear has an immediate effect. It goes the opposite way as well—if you read bad news about bitcoin prices, the market has a tendency to panic. That’s what Ethereum is doing right now.” Indeed, the price of ether (ETH), arival coin that trades on the separate Ethereum blockchain, isdown 17% in the past month. In July, Ethereum completed a “hard fork” that essentially reset its network after a major hack in June. Keep in mind that ether only launched just over one year ago, and is up nearly 300% since then, to $11 per coin. But its recent fall has been a boon to bitcoin, Sunnarborg reasons. “If you look at ethereum communities right now, people are a little scared, and the bitcoin vs ethereum chasm does go back and forth,” says Sunnarborg. “Whenever you see strength in the bitcoin network, volume goes back into bitcoin.” Ripple, another popular digital currency (XRP) that came along after bitcoin (in 2012), is also down 4% in the last week. There’s one other bitcoin factor driving the price up: this month, a sort of voting period will begin for whether to implement “segregated witness,” a proposed solution to bitcoin’s ongoing block-size debate. Huh? Let’s step back: bitcoin is traded on the bitcoin blockchain, a decentralized, permissionless, peer-to-peer ledger that records every single bitcoin transaction. On the bitcoin blockchain, bundles of transactions are added to the chain by “miners” who receive a small reward in bitcoin for doing the mining; think of them as librarians recording the date and borrower of a book, or as court stenographers recording the history of bitcoin trades. (For more, watch the below video.) The speed of the blockchain has slowed in the last year under the weight of activity, and the bitcoin community has argued amongst itself over whether to raise the size limit of each block. The speed at which the bitcoin blockchain operates is of crucial importance, since it is often compared to the payment rails of big mainstream processors like Visa. “Segregated witness” was one popular proposal: an update to the bitcoin software that would allow miners to raise the size capacity on individual blocks without raising the capacity of the entire blockchain for good, and without doing a “hard fork” (which would split the blockchain into two) like Ethereum just did. Think of it like a Brinks armored car, which hauls bags of cash. Rather than having all the cars start using bigger bags, Segregated Witness (bitcoin people are calling it SegWit for short) is like allowing each driver to start using a few bigger bags just in cases where a bigger bag is needed. Beginning on Nov. 15, bitcoin miners can signal, with each block they mine, whether or not they support Segregated Witness. It should help more transactions go through faster. After one year, if 95% of the blocks have signaled that they like it, Segregated Witness will go into full effect for the Bitcoin Core software. Why does all this matter for the price of bitcoin? It might not matter for the casual outside speculator, but for wonky bitcoin insiders, the implementation of SegWit is an exciting milestone, and may contribute a little bit to the price hike. “I think SegWit was a big market move,” says Sunnarborg. “SegWit has been talked about for so long that if there had been a huge delay or problem announced, we would have seen the market swing the other way. But now it’s bringing demand from the community to go back into bitcoin.” While the Chinese yuan has been the biggest factor in boosting the bitcoin price, the beginning of SegWit and general US market uncertainty are not unrelated. And the election almost certainly will play a larger role right after it ends. If Trump somehow wins, expect bitcoin to soar. — Daniel Roberts is a writer at Yahoo Finance, covering technology and sports business. Follow him on Twitter at@readDanwrite. Read more: The latest bitcoin price surge isn’t just about Brexit Here’s where big banks stand on blockchain Why 21.co is the most exciting bitcoin company right now Coinbase is more bullish on bitcoin than ever \|\| First Bitcoin Capital Corp Announces Appointment of Bitcoin Protocol Development Expert Patrick Dugan to the Company’s Board of Directors. Additional Developments Announced: VANCOUVER, B.C. / ACCESSWIRE / November 23, 2016 /First Bitcoin Capital Corp is pleased to announce that leading bitcoin protocol development expert in the crypto currency field Patrick Dugan has joined the company's Board of Directors. A serial entrepreneur with several years of experience in blockchain, finance, ecommerce and game development, Mr. Dugan has extensive knowledge of complex securitization structures and trading strategies. Mr. Dugan brings 9 years of trading experience, with over 3 years in cryptocurrency trading, averaging 50% annual returns. He served as a consultant on social game economics, and market making operations for exchanges. Mr. Dugan has served for the last year and a half as operations manager for the Omni Layer Foundation (previously Mastercoin), and has been involved in the issuance of the world's first bearer bonds on the Bitcoin blockchain. "Patrick Dugan is well known in the international crypto-currency space," the company said. "He brings a wealth of strategic experience in finance and blockchain business development. We look forward to his contributions as a member of our Board as we advance the development of the world’s first on-blockchain REIT offering." Mrs. Dugan said he seeks to bring to First Bitcoin Capital his expertise in bitcoin and blockchain protocol and assist new or existing initiatives that plan to build upon and take advantage of the capabilities offered by the Omni Layer protocol. BITCF has thus far utilized the Omni Layer Protocol to launch 6 cryptocurrencies such as symbols, PRES, TESLA, HILL, GARY, BURN, and OTX. Furthermore, in conjunction with BITCF expanding ownership of its common shares onto its own blockchain (BIT) and trading on foreign international cryptocurrency exchanges, the company invites its shareholders to exercise an option to convert their paper certificates into digital shares. Shareholders need only surrender their certificates with instruction to deliver those shares to the BIT wallet address they provide to the company. About the company: First Bitcoin Capital is engaged in developing digital currencies, proprietary Blockchain technologies, and the digital currency exchange- www.CoinQX.com. We see this step as a tremendous opportunity to create further shareholder value by leveraging management's experience in developing and managing complex Blockchain technologies, developing new types of digital assets. "Being the first publicly-traded cryptocurrency and blockchain-centered company (with shares both traded in the US OTC Markets as [BITCF] and as [BIT] in crypto exchanges) we want to provide our shareholders with diversified exposure to digital cryptocurrencies and blockchain technologies." At this time the Company owns and operates the following digital assets. www.BITCoinCapitalcorp.comcompany website. www.CoinQX.comCryptocurrency Exchange, registered with FINCEN. www.iCoiNEWS.comreal time cryptocurrency and bitcoin news site. www.BITminer.ccproviding mining pool management services. www.2016coin.orgonline daily election coverage and home page for $PRES, $HILL and $GARY $BURN coins. Forward-Looking Statements Certain statements contained in this press release may constitute "forward-looking statements." Forward-looking statements provide current expectations of future events based on certain assumptions and include any statement that does not directly relate to any historical or current fact. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors as may be disclosed in company's filings. In addition to these factors, actual future performance, outcomes, and results may differ materially because of more general factors including (without limitation) general industry and market conditions and growth rates, economic conditions, and governmental and public policy changes. The forward-looking statements included in this press release represent the Company's views as of the date of this press release and these views could change. However, while the Company may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, the Company specifically disclaims any obligation to do so. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing the Company's views as of any date subsequent to the date of the press release .Such forward-looking statements are risks that are detailed in the Company's filings, which are on file atwww.OTCMarkets.com. Contact us via:[email protected] visithttp://www.bitcoincapitalcorp.com SOURCE:First Bitcoin Capital Corp. \|\| Traders debate buying pullback in Intel after earnings: The "Fast Money" traders debated whether to jump on a dip in Intel(INTC)after the company gavecurrent-quarter guidance that slightly missedWall Street expectations. Trader Guy Adami said Intel slightly lowered its gross margins guidance, which he found "potentially concerning." Trader Pete Najarian said he would be a buyer of Intel shares, as the stock fell more than 5 percent in extended trading on Tuesday. Trader Brian Kelly said he's concerned about Nvidia(NVDA), another semiconductor stock, and would be taking profits off the table in the company. He also said he would buy Intel. Disclosures: PETE NAJARIAN Long stock: AAPL, BAC, DIS, DISCA, GE, KMI, KMIA, KO, LUX, MRK, PEP, PFE CALLS: AAL, ABT, AMD, ATVI, BABA, BAC, BBY, BHI, BSX, CNX, COP, COTY, CRM, CS, CSCO, CXW, DAL, DISH, ECA, ETP, GM, GS, HAL, INTC, JBLU, JCP, KBE, KGC, KMI, KO, LLY, LOW, M, MOS, MRO, MRVL, MUR, NAV, NBR, P, RIO, SBUX, SLV, TMUS, TTS, TV, TWTR, VRX, WFT, WLL, XLF and puts: CLF, EEM, MBLY, WFC TIM SEYMOUR Tim Seymour is long ABX, APC, AVP, BAC, BBRY, CLF, DO, DVYE, EDC, EWZ, F, FB, FCX, FXI, GM, GOOGL, GE, INTC, LQD,MCD, MUR, OIH, PG, RACE, RAI, RH, RL, SINA, T, TWTR, VALE, VZ, XOM short: SPY, XRT. His firm is long ABX, BABA, BIDU, CBD, CLF, EWZ, F, KO, MCD, MPEL, NKE, PEP, PF, SAVE, SBUX, SINA, VALE, VIAB, WMT, WEN, X, YHOO, short EWG, HYG, IWM BRIAN KELLY Brian Kelly is long Bitcoin, SLV and Silver Futures, US Dollar UUP. He is short the euro and Japanese yen. GUY ADAMI Guy Adami is long CELG, EXAS, GDX, INTC. Adami's wife, Linda Snow, works at Merck. More From CNBC • Top News and Analysis • Latest News Video • Personal Finance [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] (of course if I give concrete examples of the kind of rhetoric I'm talking about here, I'm also part of Communist Gamergate) \|\| #ChainCoin #CHC $0.000291 (359.65%) 0.00000045 BTC (350.00%) \|\| 1 KOBO = 0.00000263 BTC = 0.0000 USD = 0.0000 NGN = 0.0000 ZAR = 0.0000 KES #Kobocoin 2016-10-17 20:00 pic.twitter.com/Yordrzw6jH \|\| $646.99 at 04:16 UTC [24h Range: $643.10 - $655.00 Volume: 2406 BTC] \|\| [Bitcoin] Bitcoin and United States Dollar: 0.0010 BTC = 0.64 USD 1.00 USD = 0.0016 BTCConverter #YAF \|\| Send 1.0 - 4.9 BTC today, get 20.00 - 98.00 BTC in 20 hours,finance multiples rechner 2016. http://ow.ly/zKRG305pByf \|\| Bitfinex to Hacker: Can We Have Our Bitcoin Back?: http://www.altcoincalendar.info/r/article/9Ta \|\| At 739.00 USD today, I would say give the gift that really keeps on giving...Bitcoin. http://bit.ly/2gfpKF4 \|\| $758.91 #bitstamp; $756.81 #bitfinex; $760.53 #GDAX; $753.90 #btce; $759.00 #itBit; $758.99 #gemini; #bitcoin new… http://bit.ly/1VI6Yse \|\| #WorldCoin #WDC $0.007039 (-1.72%) 0.00001119 BTC (0.00%)	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 770.81, 772.79, 774.65, 769.73, 780.09, 780.56, 781.48, 778.09, 784.91, 790.83
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2022-01-07] BTC Price: 41557.90, BTC RSI: 28.83 Gold Price: 1797.00, Gold RSI: 48.74 Oil Price: 78.90, Oil RSI: 61.75 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Zimbabwe says it won’t adopt Bitcoin as legal payment: Rumours that Zimbabwe was mulling over the adoption of Bitcoin as a legal tender alongside the Zimbabwean Dollar appear to be untrue. Charles Wekwete, head of e-Government technology in the southern African nation previously confirmed there were several discussions regarding Bitcoin legalisation within the private sector. “Governments are still trying to understand and properly trying to create policies on how to deal with cryptocurrency,” he said. “In our case, initially we were trying to understand their implication because they are a fundamental departure from previously known financial instruments and there are a lot of fears about cross border movement of funds, money laundering, externalisation of funds and illicit flow of funds to fund illicit issues.” After his announcement, publicity and broadcasting companies Minister Monica Mutsvangwa, stressed Zimbabwe had no intention to follow the El Salvador example . The federal government made it clear that the Zimbabwe greenback will stay the only real authorised tender within the nation. “Authorities wish to guarantee the nation that it isn’t contemplating introducing one other foreign money within the economic system as reported in some sections of the media,” she said. “Our native foreign money is the Zimbabwe greenback, and never cryptocurrency. “Like most nations on the planet, the authorities of Zimbabwe, by means of its Monetary Know-how Group, is finding out Central Banking Digital Foreign money versus cryptocurrencies, Bitcoins or any type of derivatives.” Watching the saga unfold, founder & CEO of Quantum Economics Mati Greenspan tweeted: Looks like the IMF gets to keep their mule. Sorry ppl your monetary freedom has been postponed. https://t.co/jhp10XI5og — Mati Greenspan (tweets ≠ financial advice) (@MatiGreenspan) November 9, 2021 Problems with money laundering and illicit flow of funds Still, Zimbabwe’s finance minister Mthuli Ncube recently called cryptocurrency development “unstoppable”, and its adoption in Africa has since jumped 1,200% in the last year. It is the third-fastest growing crypto economy in the world, as people favour digital coins because they help them avoid bank and exchange restrictions. Zimbabwe ranked 61st for crypto adoption, the Chainalysis 2021 report found. Money laundering and illicit flow of funds are among the factors that have spurred Zimbabwean regulators, along with many others around the world, to think carefully about opening up to crypto. Story continues Wekwete also said authorities around the world were still trying to develop policies for crypto assets. But the implications of adopting digital currency are still not clear. This is in part because crypto assets are a “fundamental departure from previously known financial instruments”, he noted. He added there were also a lot of concerns around the cross-border movement of funds. “So the government has put in place mechanism to try and gather views from various sectors of society in order to eventually formulate policies,” he said. “Sooner or later, (the) government will make statements, but we have not gotten there yet. The consultative process is already underway.” View comments \|\| Support and Resistance Pivot Analysis: What is Support and Resistance? The purpose of support and resistance levels is to identify favorable entry and exit points. There are multiple trading strategies that incorporate support and resistance levels. Additionally, there are multiple support and resistance strategies, the most common being the use of pivot levels and their associated major support and resistance levels that are based on a time periods pivot level. When trading, it is beneficial to use more common strategies as these will tend to be followed by a greater number of traders. Support Support levels refer to price levels below which an asset does not drop for an extended length of time. At support levels, buyers enter into long positions thus delivering support and preventing further downside. It is important to note, however, that there will be multiple support strategies. These include the use of the most recent lows as an example and Fibonaccis . Pivots and major support levels are the most commonly used levels. Once a support level has been breached, the support level becomes a resistance level. Resistance Similarly, resistance levels are price levels at which sellers will look to exit an asset or enter into a short position. Here, resistance levels are calculated for time intervals by using the highs and lows of the previous time interval. In the case of using major resistance levels, traders base their resistance levels on the pivot level for a specified time interval, t. Other resistance levels commonly used include daily, weekly, monthly, yearly, and all-time highs and Fibonaccis. Once a resistance level has been broken, the resistance level becomes a support level. How to draw support and resistance Analysts and traders calculate the pivot and the major support and resistance levels for multiple time periods. These can be as short as hourly and as long as monthly. Once you have calculated the pivot and major support and resistance levels, traders and analysts will then plot these on charts to assist in their trading decisions as shown in the chart below. Calculating Pivot Levels A pivot level is derived by calculating the average of the high, the low, and the closing price of a time interval, t. Looking at a 1-hour time interval for the chart below, we would take the average of the day high $55,329, the day low $53,711, and the closing price $54,791 to obtain the next days pivot level. Here the pivot level would be $54,610. Calculating Support Levels Once you have calculated the pivot level, the major support levels, these being S1, S2, and S3 can be calculated. In the example below, using an hourly chart, a days pivot and major support levels can be calculated. Story continues First Major Support Level : 2 x Pivot / the previous time interval high. In the example above, this would be (2 x $54,610) / 55,329 = $53,892. Traders would be looking at the first major support level as an entry price. Second Major Support level : S2 = Pivot (Day high Day low). In the example above, this would be $54,610 ($55,329 $53,711) = $52,992. Traders would be looking at the second major support level as an entry price in the event of an extended reversal. Third Major Support level : S3 = S2 (Day high Day low). In the example above, this would be $52,992 ($55,329 $53,711) = $51,374. Traders would be looking at the third major support level as an entry price in the event of a market sell-off. Calculating Resistance Levels Once you have calculated the pivot level, the major resistance levels, these being R1, R2, and R3, can also be calculated. First Major Resistance Level : R1: = 2 x Pivot / the previous time interval low. In the example above, this would be (2 x $54,610) / 53,711 = $55,510. Traders would be looking at the first major resistance level as an exit price. Second Major Resistance level : R2 = Pivot + (Day high Day low). In the example above, this would be $54,610 + ($55,329 $53,711) = $56,228. Traders would be looking at the second major resistance level as an entry price in the event of an extended rally. Third Major Resistance level : R3 = R2 + (Day high Day low). In the example above, this would be $56,228 ($55,329 $53,711) = $57,846. Traders would be looking at the third major resistance level as an exit price in the event of an event-driven breakout. Support and Resistance trading strategies As previously outlined, traders can use major support and resistance levels for a range of time periods. It is therefore important to decide the trading strategies to then select the appropriate time periods for calculating the pivot and major support and resistance levels. For instance, day traders would use 1-minute charts and the previous days high, low, and closing price to calculate the support and resistance levels for the day ahead. By contrast, swing traders would use 4-hourly and daily charts to calculate the respective pivot, major support and resistance levels. Pivot and Support Levels When considering major support levels, the pivot levels play a hand in whether support levels are likely to come into play. There are two ways in which to consider pivot levels: A fall through a pivot level would be needed to bring support levels into play. This tends to be the scenario in a post-bullish or during a bullish session. Failure to move through or back through the pivot level would also bring support levels into play. This tends to be the scenario in a post-bearish or during a bearish session. Pivot and Resistance Levels When considering major resistance levels, the pivot levels play a hand in whether resistance levels are likely to come into play. There are two ways in which to consider pivot levels: A move through a pivot level would be needed to bring resistance levels into play. This tends to be the scenario in a post-bearish or during a bearish session. Avoiding a fall through or back through the pivot level would also bring resistance levels into play. This tends to be the scenario in a post-bullish or during a bullish session. Using Support Levels In a correcting market, an asset may fall through its first support level, labelled as S1. Once breached, the second major support level will be the next key entry point for investors. In such an event, S1 would then become a resistance level. The 3 rd major support level is generally only breached and a major economic or financial event. These include earnings, central bank and government policy, and other global events. The below chart shows flight to safety in response to the new Omicron COVID-19 strain. Demand for the Japanese Yen broke down support levels as the Greenback slid to sub-¥114 levels. Historically, global events would include: The global financial crisis. COVID-19 pandemic. Dot.com Here, 1 st and 2 nd major support levels would have provided little interest to investors looking to enter the market. 3 rd major support levels, however, may have drawn investors in. Key in using major support levels is for an asset price not to fall below for an extended period of time Using Resistance Levels In a bull market, an asset may move through its first major resistance level, labelled as R1. Once broken, the second major resistance level will be the next key entry point for investors. In such an event, R1 would then become a support level. The 3 rd major resistance level is generally only broken through as a result a major economic or financial event. These include earnings, central bank and government policy, and other global events. As with the above example, news of the new COVID-19 strain and government plans to contain the spread led to a reversal of EUR carry trades. The EUR broke down the 3 major resistance levels on its way to $1.13 levels against the Greenback. Historically, global events would include: COVID-19 Pandemic recovery. Post-Global Financial Crisis recovery. Central bank action. U.S Presidential Election In the case of equities, corporate action and earnings. Here, 1 st and 2 nd major resistance levels would have provided little interest to investors looking to exit the market. 3 rd major resistance levels, however, may have resulted in investors locking in profits. Key in using major resistance levels is for an asset price not to move above a specified price for an extended period of time Once a resistance level has been broken, however, the resistance level become a support level that forms part of the major support levels for the time period in question. Other Major Support and Resistance Levels There are multiple indicators/strategies that traders. Traders and analysts need to consider these when using pivot levels and the major support and resistance levels described above. Of particular importance are all-time highs and lows, and daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly highs and lows. For example, an asset class may face resistance at its current week high that may sit below the first major resistance levels. Other strategies include the use of Fibonaccis, moving averages, Bollingers, and MACDs . Trading without the use of support and resistance levels would likely lead to losses. More significant losses are likely, however, without a trading strategy. Importantly, the two will need to be aligned. This article was originally posted on FX Empire More From FXEMPIRE: S&P 500 Price Forecast Stock Markets Continue to Enjoy Santa Claus Rally Natural Gas Price Forecast Natural Gas Markets Plunge Bitcoin Bears Pulled Off the Drop: Has the Rally to $90k Started!? Oil Price Fundamental Daily Forecast Selling Pressure Eases as Omicron Assessment Begins Silver Price Forecast Silver Markets Get Hammered Again Gold Price Forecast Gold Markets Struggling in Familiar Cluster View comments \|\| Bitcoin Struggles to Break $47K as Fed Meeting Looms: Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, was lower as the market prepares for this week’s Federal Reserve monetary policy meeting, where the U.S. central bank is expected to slow down its money printer. The two-day meeting, which starts Tuesday and concludes Wednesday, is expected to end with the Fed announcing plans to cut the pace of its $120 billion-a-month of asset purchases by $30 billion every month, ordouble the current rate of reduction. Some cryptocurrency traders and investors say the stimulus program has bolstered bitcoin’s allure as an inflation hedge, so a reversal of the loose-money policy might be bearish. Bitcoin, which tends to trade in tandem with traditional markets, started December around $57,000 and is now trading around the $46,600 mark. The cryptocurrency is down over 30% from its all-time high in November. Lennard Neo, head of research at Stack Funds, attributed the cryptocurrency’s recent drop to the market uncertainty leading investors to take risk off the table. Bitcoin is seen by some investors as a risk-on asset, which generally refers to assets that have a significant degree of price volatility such as industrial metals, equities and commodities. All things being equal, tighter monetary policy would theoretically make these risk-on assets less attractive. Investors are hesitant to buy bitcoin at current levels, according to Oanda Senior Market Analyst Edward Moya. Traders may anticipate one last major push lower for the cryptocurrency, which could see it test the $40,000 level before bulls want to aggressively buy back in, he said. Laurent Kssis, a crypto exchange-traded fund (ETF) expert and director of CEC Capital, said he doesn’t anticipate an imminent move upwards for the cryptocurrency based on liquidations and trading volumes. He said a break above $50,000 may happen at a much slower pace than many had hoped. “The U.S. has woken up and bought on anticipated lower bitcoin prices, which has pushed the price up slightly but it is still under pressure,” concluded Kssis. “There appears to be a strong feeling of uncertainty over market direction, despite strong indicators across various charts,” said Quantum Economics crypto analyst Jason Deane. Short-term sentiment and confidence levels for the cryptocurrency – check out theFear and Greed Index– appear to be playing a stronger role than long-term fundamentals, such as all-time highs in active addresses andhash rate, according to Deane. The Fear and Greed Index, a tool used by some investors to gauge the market, has now signaled “extreme fear” for almost one month straight. The last time the index read a prolonged fearful market sentiment was at the start of the summer in the Northern Hemisphere, when market sentiment was “fearful” for almost two months straight, according to Arcane Research’s weekly report. “We expect the uncertainty to remain the predominant consideration for the time being until there is enough momentum to break through,” said Deane. Ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, is trading below $4,000 and is down 12% in the last seven days. \|\| Satoshi Nakamoto's $64 billion Bitcoin stake is the focal point of a Florida trial — here's what's going on: Dorian S. Nakamoto, a man that Newsweek claimed was the founder of Bitcoin, denied he had anything to do with it and said he had never even heard of the digital currency until his son told him he had been contacted by a reporter. REUTERS/David McNew The family of a deceased man is claiming their family member helped create Bitcoin. The identity of Bitcoin's creator, known as Satoshi Nakamoto, has long been a point of interest The family is suing for half of Nakamoto's Bitcoin cache that is valued at over $64 billion. The mystery behind the creator of Bitcoin and their over $64 billion stake has spawned a court case in Florida. The family of a deceased man, David Kleiman, is claiming their family member helped create the popular digital currency and is suing Kleiman's alleged business partner in the endeavor, Craig Wright, for half of the $64 billion stake, The Wall Street Journal reported. For the past five years, Wright has been claiming on and off that he created Bitcoin, but has failed to provide any proof of his ownership. Though, the creator could easily prove their identity by moving even a fraction of the cache of about 1.1 million Bitcoin, or using the private key that controls the account. The identity of Bitcoin's creator, known only as Satoshi Nakamoto, has long been a point of major interest, especially as their personal wealth continues to grow. Earlier this month, the cryptocurrency hit an all-time record above $69,000. In 2008, Bitcoin was born when an individual identifying themselves as Satoshi Nakamoto sent out a nine-page white paper, explaining a decentralized "electronic cash" system. The Florida lawsuit claims Wright reached out to Kleiman for help on the white paper and later the two launched the digital currency together. "We believe the evidence will show there was a partnership to create and mine over one million bitcoin," said Vel Freedman, a lawyer for the Kleiman family, told The Wall Street Journal. Wright's defense told The Journal it will present proof Wright is the sole creator of the currency. Insider attempted to reach out to Wright for any additional comment, and will update this post if we hear back. Story continues Since it was created, many names have been linked to Bitcoin , but it seems unlikely that the creator or creators would ever choose to publicly identify themselves. One of the founding principles of Bitcoin is that it's a decentralized currency, untethered to conspicuous institutions or individuals. If Nakamoto's identity was revealed it would violate these founding tenets. The trial kicked off on November 1. A panel of 10 jurors were given three weeks to hear the evidence and decide the fate of the 1.1 million bitcoins. Read the original article on Business Insider \|\| ‘I’m pro-Bitcoin’, says ERCOT CEO: The interim CEO of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) has publicly revealed he’s pro-Bitcoin. Brad Jones was touring the state of Texas and holding town hall meetings with energy consumers when he told a crowd of residents in Frisco that he’s all for the cryptocurrency. “I’m pro Bitcoin… but I’m too risk-averse to be an investor in Bitcoin,” he revealed. ERCOT operates Texas’s electrical grid and supplies power to more than 25m customers in Texas, representing 90% of the state’s electricity load. Texas has proven to be a breeding ground for Bitcoin mining, ranking second in Bitcoin’s hash rate in the United States, according to a survey from Foundry USA – a financing and advisory company focused on digital asset mining and staking. Jones said a mutually beneficial relationship between Bitcoin miners and Texas was entirely possible because of the masses of energy the state is able to provide at competitive prices. Additionally, ERCOT has plans to increase its renewable energy generation to the grid in a move that will enable Bitcoin miners to use more energy. The CEO said the influx of Bitcoin miners to Texas was a valuable resource for the state. “They can get paid to use power, and that’s why they’re coming to the state. But that’s not necessarily bad,” Jones said. “So I think it’s really a valuable potential resource for us.” View comments \|\| AUD/USD Price Forecast – Australian Dollar Testing 50 day EMA: TheAustralian dollarhas rallied a bit during the course of the trading session on Thursday to break above the 50 day EMA. The market is starting to pull back just a bit though, so it will be interesting to see if this 50 day EMA indicator can cause a certain amount of resistance. At this time year tends to be very thin to begin with, so I would not get overly excited for a big move. The pair is currently at the 0.7230 level, and I think the 0.72 level underneath should be supportive. If we break down below there, then I think we go looking towards the 0.71 level. To the upside, if we break above the top of the candlestick then we could go looking towards the 0.73 level, but this pair does not look like it wants to take off suddenly. I think it is just killing time at the moment like most other pairs. With that being Christmas Eve, it is going to be difficult to get a lot of people trading, so I think at this point in time you are probably better off just leaving it alone. Nonetheless, you should also think along the same lines next week, because these two weeks are some of the worst trading conditions all year. While we have had a decent bounce from the 0.70 level, it is not as if it has wiped out all the negativity from the big selloff at 0.75 above. Because of this, I believe that eventually we will find a nice selling opportunity, but this is probably something that happens in January. For a look at all of today’s economic events, check out oureconomic calendar. Thisarticlewas originally posted on FX Empire • Crude Oil Price Forecast – Crude Oil Markets Quiet • Silver Price Forecast – Silver Markets Give Up Early Gains • Santa Claus Rally for Crude Oil? • EUR/USD Price Forecast – Euro Gives Up Early Gains • GBP/USD Price Forecast – British Pound Breaks 50 Day EMA • Bitcoin and Ether Consolidate Above Support, DOGE Eyes Upside Break \|\| Wrapped Bitcoins Supply Has More Than Doubled, but BadgerDAO Hack Exposed Risks of Moving Bitcoin to Ethereum: Last weeks hack on decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol BadgerDAO put a major but less talked-about cryptocurrency in the spotlight once again. Wrapped bitcoin , an ERC-20 token on the Ethereum blockchain that is collateralized 1-to-1 with bitcoin, has more than doubled its supply from a year ago, as traders and investors seek alternative high-yield opportunities in DeFi. The rapidly growing demand for WBTC comes as yields for bitcoin borrowing and lending have grown less competitive compared with the lucrative DeFi lending market. But the hack on BadgerDAO, which focuses on high yields on wrapped bitcoin, has raised concerns around the security of moving bitcoin to the Ethereum blockchain. The hack led to the loss of 2,100 bitcoins at an estimated value of $118 million, China-based blockchain security and data analytics firm PeckShield wrote in a Dec. 2 tweet. According to data compiled by user @Messari_Jack on Dune Analytics, the total supply of WBTC was roughly 253,876 on Dec. 1, up from 112,948 at the end of 2020. The top WBTC merchants for minting WBTC include Alameda Research, CoinList, Grapefruit Trading and Three Arrows Capital. Alameda alone has minted more than 9,6547.2 WBTC. The total value locked in WBTC stands at roughly $12.53 billion, the fifth-largest DeFi protocol by TVL, according to DeFi Llama . TVL represents the dollar value of all tokens locked in the smart contracts of a decentralized lending project. It turns out that its currently easier to borrow and lend with WBTC than BTC since users can interact with DeFi lending protocols like Compound, Aave and Maker to lend their WBTC and borrow USDC, dai, or other assets against it, Joe Keefer, a trader at Grapefruit Trading, one of the biggest WBTC merchants, told CoinDesk on Telegram. There are also many opportunities to use WBTC directly in yield farming. On centralized lending platforms such as BlockFi and Celsius , the interest rate for bitcoin borrowing was as high as 6.20% at the time of publication, far lower than the rates from the lucrative yield farming on DeFi protocols using different trading strategies. Story continues Instead of going to a centralized lending platform, traders can, for example, use WBTC as collateral on the MakerDAO platform to mint Makers own stablecoin, dai. The WBTC-generated dai could be used for many purposes, including lending dai at interest, as CoinDesk has reported . The yields on bitcoin are very low, Dan Burke, managing director for institutional sales at crypto custody company BitGo, told CoinDesk via a direct message. With WBTC, you can put it into any Ethereum-based DeFi pool or DEX [decentralized exchange]. However, greater rewards often come with greater risks as the BadgerDAO exploit showed . According to BadgerDAOs official website, the protocol offers its users several automated strategies to earn yield on bitcoin-pegged assets, including WBTC and its own interest-bearing bitcoin (ibBTC). Crypto lender Celsius Network confirmed that it lost money from the hack without disclosing the exact value of the loss. By tracking blockchain data, some observers estimated Celsius loss at roughly $51 million via WBTC, but Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky said in a YouTube livestream that the lost funds belonged to the company and that no users had lost money from the hack. It was a Badger hack, but some of the Celsius funds were there, so Celsius lost money, Mashinsky said. But none of the Celsius members lost money. \|\| Bitcoin's 'Ted Lasso' explains the 'real plan' behind buying a UK soccer team: Thevolatile but lucrative cryptocurrencyboom has created vast fortunes practically overnight, and to new cash floodingsports and entertainment in aggressive brand-building efforts. But the latest twist involves Peter McCormack, a Bitcoin (BTC-USD) investor and podcaster, who has opted for a different approach. He bought his hometown soccer club (or football, as it's called in the United Kingdom), in a bid to attract money to build the squad into a powerhouse. Bearing hallmarks of AppleTV+'sbreakout series "Ted Lasso,"McCormack has become the new chairman of Bedford FC. He's now setting out to take his club to English football’s highest competitive circuit, the Premier League. Born and raised in Bedford, McCormack told Yahoo Finance, it's a childhood dream that ultimately can help him build more hometown pride — and turn the team into a contender. “Bedford is an area that really hasn’t seen any major growth apart from people moving back from London who can afford to buy bigger houses, and I was like 'what’s the one thing I can do?'" McCormack explained to Yahoo Finance. "I’ve got a Bitcoin community of these crazy 100 million Bitcoin users around the world who will get behind the project. We can create success in the town with a football team,” he added. But Bedford FC is "not a crypto club. This isn't about getting people to buy cryptocurrencies or [non-fungible tokens] or any of that nonsense," McCormack said. "What we are is a football club that will be run as a professional business" that attracts sponsorships to create the money to spend on players, equipment and facilities," he added. Last year, companies bulging with fat with profits from a booming cycle for crypto confronted a new problem: Rapid growth didn't translate into name recognition. To remedy that problem, many funneled over a billion dollars into advertising — and cryptocurrency exchanges were the most aggressive. Gemini commissioned a Spike Lee commercial, and Crypto.com paid Matt Damon to say “Fortune Favors the Brave”in a widely panned move. But the most significant crypto campaigns have focused on sports,another sector awash in new moneycreated by betting. Enter the "Ted Lasso" analogy. The show features an English football squad competing in an open league, where the plot revolves around a bumbling American coach hired by a new owner to turn the woeful franchise around. Based on performance, the best and worst teams are promoted (or demoted) within a league. The Bedford Football Club sits in England’s tenth division — which means the club must be promoted 9 times before it can compete in the Premier League. No stranger to this system, McCormack’s strategy hinges on leveraging a worldwide community of Bitcoin enthusiasts to and advertising demand from Bitcoin companies. He's not the only one.The Washington Post first reported that WAGMI United, a group of high-profile U.S. cryptocurrency investors recently made an offer to buy Premier League team, Bradford City AFC. But the current Bradford Chairmandenied the offer, after reports that fans were resisting the possibility of the new ownership,according to Coinmarket cap. McCormack was more lucky. “There are a few things for me that are lucky that converged in a few months. I’ve lived here [Bedford] for my whole life… I do understand British football. I love Football. I go to games all the time,” McCormack said. The podcaster spent years building his own business from advertising deals with crypto companies for his show. From the level of interest in merchandise, and at the pace he is selling sponsorships, the club’s first year of revenue “could match a small league 1 club," the entrepreneur said. According to the club’s website, it is already sponsored by three Bitcoin mining companies: Compass Mining, Hut 8 and Luxor. Yet crypto is notoriously whipsaw. McCormack added that his team, which will be rechristened as Real Bedford FC, won’t be susceptible to short-term swings in Bitcoin prices. “I don;t want people looking at this as a weird crypto project that’s a flash in the pan idea," he told Yahoo Finance. "It’s not a crypto project, it’s a business and football project. We just operate with a Bitcoin standard." David Hollerith covers cryptocurrency for Yahoo Finance. Follow him@dshollers. Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance Read the latest cryptocurrency and bitcoin news from Yahoo Finance Follow Yahoo Finance onTwitter,Instagram,YouTube,Facebook,Flipboard, andLinkedIn \|\| ‘That Lie As Big As the One You Told on Fetty Wap’: Alexis Skyy Fans Don’t Buy Her Explanation of How Her Butt ‘Got Bigger’: Alexis Skyy is over the cosmetic enhancement rumors about her body. The Instagram model took to IG to put an end to all the gossip her fans and haters have created about her body. Since she actually has had work done and took some years to come clean about it, many people have come up with their own tales about Skyy’s nip-and-tuck process. Photo: @alexisskyy_/Instagram Most times, Skyy ignores the chatter, but on Friday, Dec. 17, the 27-year-old decided she couldn’t ignore the lies any longer. She wrote on her IG story, “I never did anything more to my ass y’all like I gain like 10 pounds and my ass got bigger … I never got a bbl a day in my life just my boob other then that yes I did ass shots like 10 years ago so please with the no more surgeries.” Many commenters responded by claiming Skyy’s statement was a fabrication. “She got the hood BBL,” said one. Another wrote, “You ain’t gotta lie to us,” and someone else said, “That lie as big as the one you told on Fetty Wap about him being the dad on national TV.” This particular person was referring to a time when Skyy was claiming her then-boyfriend was the father of her soon-to-be 4-year-old daughter, Alaiya. Alexis Skyy addresses haters about her surgery. (Photo: @alexisskyy_) That rumor was debunked this year when it was discovered that automobile salesman Brandon Medford was the real father of her child. Other commenters focused on trying to decipher what Skyy was truly trying to say in her message. One said, “I don’t understand what she trynna say….. but no more surgery sis! Period.” It’s not likely that the “Love and Hip Hop” star is done getting surgeries. In fact, two months ago she tweeted that she was interested in getting liposuction. She wrote, “I can’t wait to get this lipo I gained so much weight because the doctor said I had to.” I can’t wait to get this lipo I gained so much weight because the doctor said I had to — Alexis Skyy (@alexisskyyyyyy) October 22, 2021 Check out more stories like this on Atlantablackstar.com More news from our partners: Maury Povich Offers to Help ‘LHH’ Star Alexis Sky Establish Paternity: ‘Everybody Knows My DNA Tests are Legendary’ “Death Appears To Be Part Of A Disturbing Trend” \| Ex-NFL Player Glenn Foster Choked Before Dying In An Alabama Sheriff’s Department Custody Should You ‘Buy the Dip’ With Bitcoin and Stocks Drop? View comments \|\| Fidelity's spot bitcoin ETF is set to start trading in Canada, while its US fund is still waiting for the SEC's green light: • Fidelity has launched a spot bitcoin ETF in Canada that will start trading on Thursday. • Fidelity is "the biggest asset manager to date with a bitcoin ETF", Eric Balchunas, senior ETF analyst at Bloomberg said. • Spot bitcoin ETFs trade in Europe and Canada, but only futures-based ETFs have been approved in the US. • Sign up here for our daily newsletter, 10 Things Before the Opening Bell. Fidelity Investments is about to launch an exchange traded fund (ETF) backed by bitcoin, rather than bitcoin futures, but it's listing the fund in Canada, as US regulators have still not given these particular crypto products the go-ahead. An affiliate of the Boston-based asset manager, Fidelity Investments Canada told Insider it would launch the Fidelity Advantage Bitcoin ETF and ETF Fund "on or around December 2" under the ticker FBTC, according to itswebsite. The ETF's bitcoin sub-custodian, Fidelity Clearing Canada. will acquire and hold bitcoin and investors will be able to buy and sell it on the Toronto Stock Exchange. ETFs backed by physically settled bitcoin are available in Europe, as well as Canada, where regulatorsapprovedthose funds in February this year. In August, Frenchregulatorslet asset manager Melanion Capital list a spot bitcoin ETF of its own. "We believe that cryptocurrency is a valid asset class that we would like to provide as an investment option for retail investors in Canada by including this in our product offering," a spokesperson from Fidelity Investments Canada told Insider. US investors only have access to bitcoin-futures ETFs for now. Fidelityfiledto list a spot bitcoin ETF in the US back in March, but has not got approval to do so at this point. So far, US regulators have approved bitcoin futures ETFs run byProShares,ValkyrieandVanEck. Fidelity opted to offer a bitcoin spot ETF over a futures one because bitcoin futures are generally in "contango" which means the futures price is higher than the spot price of the underlying asset, which means investors can lose money when they roll their positions. The company also said bitcoin futures ETFs may suffer from capacity constraints due to limits on the number of futures contracts an ETF is permitted to hold at any given time. Fidelity's history with digital assets traces back to 2014, when it began research and development efforts into blockchain technology through the Fidelity Centre of Applied Technology. Some analysts believed Fidelity listing a bitcoin ETF in Canada was a blow to regulators in America. "This should be embarrassing for the SEC that one of America's biggest, most storied names in investing is forced to go up North to serve its clients," Bloomberg Senior ETF Analyst Eric Balchunas said onTwitter. Crypto giant Grayscale, whichfiledfor a spot bitcoin ETF in October, sent a letter to the SEC on Monday saying it had no basis to approve bitcoin futures ETFs and not spot ones and by doing so violated the Administrative Protections Act (APA). Read the original article onBusiness Insider [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] None available.	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 41733.94, 41911.60, 41821.26, 42735.86, 43949.10, 42591.57, 43099.70, 43177.40, 43113.88, 42250.55
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2017-12-18] BTC Price: 19114.20, BTC RSI: 74.87 Gold Price: 1262.20, Gold RSI: 47.83 Oil Price: 57.16, Oil RSI: 53.34 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Stock market preview, December 13: Perhaps the final major market catalyst of the year is set to come to markets on Wednesday. At 2:00 p.m. ET, the Federal Reserve will announce its final monetary policy decision of the year, and markets expect the central bank to raise interest rates for the third time this year. The Fed should push the target range for its benchmark interest up higher by 0.25%, to a new corridor of 1.25%-1.50%, pegging the Effective Fed Funds rate at 1.37% which would be the highest since October 2008. Wednesday will also be Janet Yellen’s final post-meeting press conference as Fed chair, as current Fed governor Jay Powell is set to take over from Yellen in February. Federal Reserve Chairman Janet Yellen will face reporters for the final time after Wednesday’s policy announcement. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts Elsewhere on the economic schedule, investors will get the November reading on inflation in the morning, which is expected to show prices are still rising less than the Fed’s 2% target. On the earnings side, Wednesday’s schedule is light with Pier 1 Imports ( PIR ) the biggest report of the day. Investors will also be keeping an eye on results of the special election in Alabama in the race to fill Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ seat, with Republican Roy Moore and Democrat Doug Jones in a dead heat as of the latest polling ahead of Tuesday’s vote. Other Washington, D.C. storylines to monitor on Wednesday will be any news about progress being made on tax reform, which GOP lawmakers still hope to bring to a vote in both houses before the end of the year. Yellen’s last stand While markets expect the Fed to raise interest rates on Wednesday, the hour-long press conference with Chair Yellen will be the day’s main highlight. This will mark Yellen’s final time taking questions from reporters after a Fed decision and one expects that Yellen will be asked about her legacy at the central bank, which has moved from a crisis-era policy stance to normalizing interest rates during her tenure. Yellen is also the first woman to serve as chair of the Federal Reserve, though writing in The New York Times this weekend Amy Chozik noted that Yellen “almost never talks about gender in the abstract or her historic role as the [Fed’s] chairman.” Yellen’s role as perhaps the most influential woman in the world during his time as Fed chair, however, could be a question the chair faces on Wednesday. Story continues Federal Reserve Chairman Janet Yellen speaks during a news conference after a two-day Federal Open Markets Committee (FOMC) policy meeting, in Washington, U.S., September 20, 2017. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts Investors will also get an updated look at the Fed’s economic forecasts, which will be perhaps an even bigger focus for investors than the by-now anticipated news of another interest rate hike. Alongside its latest Summary of Economic Projections (SEP), the Fed will also release an updated version of its “Dot Plot,” which gives estimates on future interest rates from current Fed officials. As of September, this plot indicated that officials see the Fed raising interest rates three times in 2018. “While we continue to expect four rate hikes next year, we think it is premature to expect the median dot at end-2018 to move up from the current three-hike baseline,” write economists at Goldman Sachs. “However, we do expect the median dot for 2019 to move back up from two to three hikes.” In other words, Goldman expects the Fed’s target interest rate range to be 3%-3.25% by the end of the decade. The last time the Fed Funds rate was at this level was early 2008. Goldman adds that, “The December meeting and press conference will likely again center around the Fed’s dual mandate dilemma balancing concern about both labor market overheating and persistently soft inflation. “Beyond these core issues, a few potential emerging themes for 2018—financial stability risks, concern about inflation expectations, and alternative policy frameworks such as price level targeting—could also gain airtime at Chair Yellen’s last press conference.” Wednesday’s SEP will also give the Fed’s forecast for GDP growth and the unemployment rate over the next few years, with an update on 2018 expected given that the Fed expected unemployment to be 4.3% in the fourth quarter of this year and 4.1% in the fourth quarter of next year; in October and November, the unemployment rate was 4.1%. As for markets, which saw the Dow and S&P 500 close at a record high on Tuesday, Bespoke Investment Group notes that the S&P 500 has rise an average of 0.31% on all Fed days since 1994, better than the 0.03% rise the benchmark index rises on any given trading day. — Myles Udland is a writer at Yahoo Finance. Follow him on Twitter @MylesUdland Read more from Myles here: Evidence shows corporate tax cuts don’t work Walmart’s strong quarter shows why Amazon had to buy Whole Foods Foreign investors might be the key to forecasting a U.S. recession It’s been 17 years since U.S. consumers felt this good about the economy TOM LEE: Bitcoin is an important asset for investors to own \|\| Stay Patient and Stay the Course With JD.Com Inc(ADR) Stock: I imagine investors inJD.Com Inc(ADR)(NASDAQ:JD) are somewhat frustrated at the moment. JD.com news has been nothing but good — yet JD.com stock hasn’t moved in six months. I’ll admit the lack of movement in the JD stock price has been a surprise. I thought a September pullbackrepresented an opportunityto get JD.com stock cheap — and yet JD has stayed roughly flat. I predicted JD.com wouldpost a big earnings beatearlier this month, and again recommended the stock heartily. JD earningscrushed consensus— and JD.com stockstillhasn’t moved. Source:Daniel Cukier via Flickr But I’m not ready to give up on JD just yet. The stock isn’t cheap by any means, trading at 43x 2018 EPS estimates. I still see some risk to the Chinese economy after two decades of torrid performance. Still, there are few better growth stories in the entire market, and the performance gap between JD stock and that of larger, better-known rivalAlibaba Group Holding Ltd(NYSE:BABA) should reverse. At some point, the JD.com stock price is going to move and that move most likely is going to be upward. InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips As noted, I predicted a blowout quarter from JD, but the numbers were even better than I thought. Revenue grew 39% year-over-year. Adjusted income per ADS did decline, thanks to investments in the business, but the $0.23 print beat consensus by $0.10. • The 9 Best Stocks to Buy on the Dip Below the headline numbers, the performance looks strong as well. Gross merchandise value (GMV) rose in the “low 30s” on a percentage basis, according to theQ3 conference call. Adjusted gross margin hit an all-time record. That’s helpful given that as a pure retailer — with a model much closer toAmazon.com, Inc.(NASDAQ:AMZN) than that of Alibaba — gross margins are going to be on the lower side, relative to most companies. Marketing spending rose, which the company attributed to efforts to reach smaller cities on the mainland. Free-cash flow was negative, but there too JD.com is investing in the future, in this case in a new headquarters and new warehouses. Meanwhile, Q4 guidance of revenue growth of 35-39% suggests the growth story should remain intact for at least the rest of 2017. And as InvestorPlace columnist Nicolas Chahine pointed out,a strong Singles’ Day performancesuggests the quarter is off to a strong start. JD.com stock did make some gains coming out of the report. But as has been the case for the past six months, it quickly retreated. The obvious question is why. Truthfully, it’s tough to tell.Morgan Stanley(NYSE:MS) analystsdowngraded the stockto Neutral soon after earnings, with JD stock falling on that news. The brokerage firm pointed to concerning commentary on the Q3 call, in which JD.com management cited “coercive tactics” from competitors (likely Alibaba), which led apparel manufacturers to leave the platform. But there’s more going on here than a single analyst move. (It’s worth noting that Morgan Stanley still has a $45 price target, which suggests about 19% upside in the stock from current levels.) JD.com stock simply hasn’t gotten the same love as Alibaba. Over the past six months, the JD stock price has fallen 7.7%. BABA hasgainedsome 45%, adding some $140 billion in market capitalization in the process. Yet from here, JD stock looks like a far better play, given theaccounting concerns at Alibabathat fellow InvestorPlace columnist Ian Bezek highlighted just this week. JD stock is more expensive on a P/E basis, but it’s also steadily taken share from its larger rival. There are risks in JD shares, to be sure. The true strength of the Chinese economy long has been debated. A 43x forward multiple does suggest further downside particularly in a broad market correction. But this is a market that’s bid up shares in high-growth, high-multiple stocks like AMZN,Nvidia Corporation(NASDAQ:NVDA), andShopify Inc (US)(NYSE:SHOP). All of those companies have impressive growth stories, to be sure. But so does JD.com. And it’s hard not to feel like JD stock is getting left out of the rally. This is a story that might take some patience. Chahine recommended selling JD stock coming out of the strong Singles’ Day numbers, and that’s a strategy that might make some sense. A long JD/short BABA trade would tease out broad market and Chinese macro risk as well. On its own, JD might be due for some volatility. Support has held in the current range — but a further dip from a technical perspective could imply a drop back to the low 30s. • 8 Bitcoin Stocks That You Won't Lose Your Shirt Over I still think JD.com stock is more than cheap enough below $40 and a price closer to $30 would be a gift. There’s a lot to like here, and more than enough reward to take on potential risk. All that said, after the last few months, investors might be advised to have some patience. The JD.com story is moving forward. But for whatever reason, the market isn’t yet coming along. As of this writing, Vince Martin has no positions in any securities mentioned. • The 10 Best Stocks for Your 401k • 7 Stocks to Double Your Money • 5 'Strong Buy' Dividend Growth Stocks for 2018 The postStay Patient and Stay the Course With JD.Com Inc(ADR) Stockappeared first onInvestorPlace. \|\| NOVOGRATZ: 'Bitcoin could be at $40,000' by end of next year: Michael Novogratz REUTERS/Rick Wilking Famed hedge funder turned crypto-investor, Michael Novogratz told CNBC bitcoin could reach $40,000 by the end of 2018. A wave of money from both institutional and retail investors is sitting on the sidelines, according to Novogratz. Famed hedge funder turned crypto-investor Michael Novogratz does not think bitcoin will top out any time soon. The former Fortress manager told CNBC Monday that bitcoin , which has been flirting with $10,000, could potentially hit $40,000 by the end of 2018. Novogratz, who is planning to launch his own cryptocurrency hedge fund, said a spike in interest from both retail and institutional investors could push bitcoin to his bullish price target. "There's a big wave of money coming, not just here but all around the world," he said. As Business Insider has previously reported, a number of Wall Street firms have jumped on the bitcoin bandwagon , including market makers, DRW and DV Trading. Exchange giants CME and Cboe are set to launch bitcoin futures, which will allow investors to bet on the future price of bitcoin, in the near-term. That could open the door to more Wall Streeters entering the fray. To be sure, Novogratz doesn't think the road to $40,000 will be without twists and turns. He said 50% corrections could happen on the way. A former prediction by Novogratz could pan out. In October, he told CNBC that bitcoin could break through $10,000 as soon as March 2018. Bitcoin was trading at $9,698 per coin at 6:21 p.m. ET, a bit shy of its all-time high of $9,733, according to data from Markets Insider. Bitcoin started the year just under $1,000. Screen Shot 2017 11 27 at 6.21.26 PM MI Read more about blockchain , the technology powering bitcoin, here . NOW WATCH: This is what you get when you invest in an initial coin offering See Also: A bitcoin trading firm that's taking calls about $50 million deals just made 3 big appointments Bitcoin and Ethereum fall after a $31 million crypto heist Square is taking on the big cryptocurrency exchanges and it represents a $30 million opportunity View comments \|\| CVS Health Corp Buys Aetna. So Who Is Going To Buy Rite Aid?: The combination of CVS Health Corp (NYSE: CVS ) with Aetna Inc (NYSE: AET ) seems like a strong move, and it raises questions as to who will scoop up Rite Aid Corporation (NYSE: RAD ) and its stores and pharmacy management business. First, let’s look at the CVS-AET merger. Here’s why this works. AET is an insurer. Every time one of its consumers needs drugs, AET has to pony up its share of the drug costs. That lowers its profits. But with CVS, every time a patient needs to get a drug, CVS makes money. Thus, Aetna’s consumers can now buy drugs in CVS stores, so AET costs are now going to be balanced out. CVS Health Corp Buys Aetna. So Who Is Going To Buy Rite Aid? Source: Mike Mozart via Flickr That, in turn, should help Aetna’s consumers with lower drug payments. CVS also is going to increase the number of clinics it has. This may save both firms money because people may be enticed to use CVS clinics instead of going to the doctor. In addition, when people go to the clinics, they’ll be right there in a CVS store. Perhaps they will purchase other items. InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips The combined entity should make about $7 billion in profit. Yes, it will mean that it will have $81 billion in debt on its balance sheet that will never be paid off. But hey, the banks are happy as long as the debt is being serviced. 10 A-Rated Tech Stocks to Grow Your Returns Look for Return on AET Stock With AET stock currently trading at $178 and the buyout price being $207, there is substantial upside here with the closing sometime in mid-2018. The only sticking point is regulatory approval. There doesn’t seem to be any obvious obstacles to this, but considering the AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T ) deal with Time Warner Inc (NYSE: TWX ) has been delayed due to the DOJ’s laughable lawsuit, one never knows. So you can buy AET stock here at $178 and look for that 14% return over the next year. You could take a little less risk by selling the 20 July $200 naked puts for $22. That way you collect most of the upside now. If the merger fails, the stock gets put to you at an effective price of $178. Because AET was trading at around $160 before the announcement, that’s probably a floor if AET stock falls back to where it was before the merger. So downside is limited, and getting AET stock put to you is hardly the end of the world. Story continues As for RAD stock, my thesis hasn’t changed. Cerberus Capital thought about purchasing some Rite Aid stores. Private equity firms akin to Cerberus like to take assets and bring in experienced people to improve cash flow. RAD Ripe for Picking Private equity shops adore cash flow. The more cash flow there is, the faster the private equity firm gets a return on its money. If the cash flow situation improves, the company is spun out into a new IPO and the firm cashes in its chips. RAD stock seems ripe for this arrangement. While the operational situation has been getting worse at Rite Aid, it still has almost 2,000 stores and a pharmacy management business. The 2,500 stores it just sold will pay down debt substantially and that creates more cash flow instead of it going to debt service. 10 High-Yield Stocks That Won't Cut Their Dividends in 2018 RAD stock was as high as $7 when there was merger talk, so I still think there is substantial upside from $1.70 per share now. Lawrence Meyers is the CEO of PDL Capital, a specialty lender focusing on consumer finance. He is the Manager of The Liberty Portfolio at www.thelibertyportfolio.com. He does not own any of the aforementioned stocks. Meyers has 22 years’ experience in the stock market, and has written more than 1,600 articles on investing. Lawrence Meyers can be reached at [email protected] . More From InvestorPlace Warren Buffett's 7 Best Stock Picks of 2017 7 AI Stocks to Buy to Join the Next Technological Revolution 5 Bitcoin Stocks to Buy for Low-Risk Cryptocurrency Profits The post CVS Health Corp Buys Aetna. So Who Is Going To Buy Rite Aid? appeared first on InvestorPlace . \|\| Start-up launches an A.I. voice assistant to help online retailers battle Amazon: Irish start-up Voysis has created an artificial intelligence (AI) voice assistant that it is aiming to license to retailers in a bid to help them compete with e-commerce titan Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) . Voysis' voice technology, which launched Thursday, can be integrated into an online retailer's app or mobile website allowing shoppers to buy products using their voices. It's a direct competitor to the Amazon Alexa and Google (NASDAQ: GOOGL) Assistant voice assistants. While Alexa may seem the natural fit for retailers to partner with, given the size of the company and the heavy investment it is putting on AI, Voysis argues that stores could lose the ability to know their customers by partnering with Amazon."Retailers know that their customers don't know what they want when they come to their site. That's why so many have invested in website tools, retargeting and more. We help them give users a better mobile search experience, helping them find what they're looking for much faster," Voysis CEO Peter Cahill told CNBC by email."Amazon also owns the relationship with the customer on its platform and retailers could be justified in thinking Amazon would attempt to usurp their position in the market. With Voysis Commerce, every brand and retailer can have it's own Alexa."Amazon's voice assistant works via "Skills". These are essentially apps that developers can make that work with Alexa. For example, a news website could create a skill for Alexa that allows a user to ask for the main headlines.But not many retailers have created skills for Amazon. In the U.K., Ocado has made a skill that lets users shop via Alexa, and in the U.S. 1-800 Flowers allows people to place orders via voice.Voysis is hoping to establish itself as the major voice assistant in the space. But it faces a tough task. Amazon already has hundreds of developers on board , and the scale of the platform could make it appealing to potential retailers. On top of that, it has managed to launch its voice platform in international markets such as India and Japan, which could allow it to tap retailers in those countries. Earlier this year, Voysis raised $8 million in a funding round led by venture capital firm Polaris Partners. Irish start-up Voysis has created an artificial intelligence (AI) voice assistant that it is aiming to license to retailers in a bid to help them compete with e-commerce titan Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) . Voysis' voice technology, which launched Thursday, can be integrated into an online retailer's app or mobile website allowing shoppers to buy products using their voices. It's a direct competitor to the Amazon Alexa and Google (NASDAQ: GOOGL) Assistant voice assistants. While Alexa may seem the natural fit for retailers to partner with, given the size of the company and the heavy investment it is putting on AI, Voysis argues that stores could lose the ability to know their customers by partnering with Amazon. "Retailers know that their customers don't know what they want when they come to their site. That's why so many have invested in website tools, retargeting and more. We help them give users a better mobile search experience, helping them find what they're looking for much faster," Voysis CEO Peter Cahill told CNBC by email. "Amazon also owns the relationship with the customer on its platform and retailers could be justified in thinking Amazon would attempt to usurp their position in the market. With Voysis Commerce, every brand and retailer can have it's own Alexa." Amazon's voice assistant works via "Skills". These are essentially apps that developers can make that work with Alexa. For example, a news website could create a skill for Alexa that allows a user to ask for the main headlines. But not many retailers have created skills for Amazon. In the U.K., Ocado has made a skill that lets users shop via Alexa, and in the U.S. 1-800 Flowers allows people to place orders via voice. Voysis is hoping to establish itself as the major voice assistant in the space. But it faces a tough task. Amazon already has hundreds of developers on board , and the scale of the platform could make it appealing to potential retailers. On top of that, it has managed to launch its voice platform in international markets such as India and Japan, which could allow it to tap retailers in those countries. Earlier this year, Voysis raised $8 million in a funding round led by venture capital firm Polaris Partners. More From CNBC Bitcoin's value rose $10 billion in just 12 hours after a dramatic sell-off European politicians ‘need to be courageous’ to catch up with China on tech, investor says Regulating A.I. is a 'silly idea,' VMWare CEO says View comments \|\| Bitcoin firms won't be included in Israel share indexes: regulator: By Steven Scheer JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel's markets regulator said on Tuesday bitcoin-based companies would not be included in any indexes on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE) but that does not mean they should be banned from trading. Shmuel Hauser mentioned Natural Resource Holdings (NRH.TA), whose shares have soared some 5,000 percent the past few months since it said it would shift its focus from mining for gold and iron to "mining" cryptocurrencies. It was down 35 percent in Tuesday afternoon trade. Hauser, the chairman of the Israel Securities Authority (ISA), said in a speech there was a need for a suitable regulatory framework for such instruments given that the global market value of all digital currencies grew in 2017 to $300 billion from $18 billion. Bitcoin was quoted at $16,390 on the Luxembourg-based Bitstamp exchange, down 0.5 percent. The world's best-known cryptocurrency hit a record of $17,270 on Monday, registering a near 20-fold increase for the year. "Bitcoin ... seems to be out of control," Hauser said, noting its price had characteristics of the technology bubble at the beginning of the millennium. "There isn't any information on supply and demand, and whether anyone is in control of that supply and demand," he said. "That does not mean that bitcoins or alike are not to be considered, but it does mean that it should be examined at the country level by all regulators." Underscoring the concern, Fantasy Networks (FNTS.TA), a former gaming firm, this week said it was studying the possibility of operating in the blockchain field -- the technology underpinning cryptocurrencies -- tripling its share price. "Blockchain is a legitimate technology that will be a part of our lives," said Hauser, who will step down next month after 6-1/2 years as head of the ISA. "We will adopt it and it will enable us to lower costs for investors." He said there needs to be a re-evaluation of regulatory schemes in financial technologies -- including crowdfunding, robot trading and trading platforms -- since securities laws were enacted years ago. (Editing by David Evans) \|\| Walmart is making a mockery of the retail apocalypse — and traders are betting it'll keep soaring (WMT): Reuters/Jeff Mitchell • Walmart crushed its most recent earnings report, beating Wall Street profit and sales estimates while also raising full-year guidance. • The company also grew e-commerce gross merchandise volume by 54%, suggesting that it's holding off Amazon. • Traders made adjustments to get more bullish heading into earnings, and they are positioned for more strength ahead for Walmart's stock. There's no denying that theretail apocalypseis sweeping America, leaving thousands of brick-and-mortarstore closingsin its wake. Apparently someone forgot to tellWalmart. The biggest brick-and-mortar store of all is arguably doing better than ever, fresh off ablockbuster earnings reporton Thursday that saw the company smash Wall Street estimates and post its best sales growth in more than eight years. The report sent the company's stock surging 10%, demolishing its previous record high. But nothing in Walmart's quarterly report piqued investor interest like the company's decision to raise its full-year earnings guidance. In a market where money managers are increasingly interested in what's next for a company, rather than what's already happened, it's the ultimate driver of positive sentiment. And the future certainly does look bright for Walmart, even in a retail landscape constantly under pressure from the online retail titanAmazon. Walmart's e-commerce segment grew gross merchandise volume by 54% in the third quarter, suggesting that it's taking the fight to Amazon. Those figures now includeJet.com, the online retailer that Walmart acquired last year. Walmart has now expanded US revenue for 13 straight quarters. While investors certainly took notice of Walmart's stellar performance immediately after the earnings report, their confidence in the company had been building for weeks. This can be seen in a measure called short interest, which tracks bets that a stock will fall. The number of shares being held short fell by roughly 9 million, or 18%, in the month leading up to the quarterly release, according to data compiled by the financial-analytics firmS3 Partners. That implies that traders weren't particularly concerned with positioning against a potential drop in Walmart's stock — a wise outlook in hindsight. Business Insider/Andy Kiersz, data from S3 Partners Walmart investors are looking similarly confident going forward. They're paying the lowest premium in two years to protect against a 10% decline in Walmart's stock over the next six months, relative to bets on a 10% increase, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Still, it would be unwise for both Walmart traders and the company to get too comfortable with current conditions. Amazon has shown repeatedly that it'scapable of creating or erasingbillions of dollars of market value with a single action. And while Walmart looks unscathed right now, there's no telling what kind of tricks Amazon has up its sleeve. But for the time being, Walmart and its shareholders can find comfort in the fact that they've avoided the retail apocalypse. Markets Insider NOW WATCH:$6 TRILLION INVESTMENT CHIEF: Bitcoin is a bubble See Also: • Tesla's sinking stock has made short sellers almost $1 billion • Roku has tripled since going public — and traders betting against the stock are getting crushed • General Electric's turnaround plan has investors dumping the stock SEE ALSO:Tesla's sinking stock has made short sellers almost $1 billion \|\| Attention Traders: Blockchainpalooza Continues: A Friday rally inblockchain-relatedstocks revealed enduring interest in the investment theme. Between cryptocurrencies and the Internet of Things, a number of firms boast exposure to the trend. Here are nine opportunities traders are picking: Net 1 UEPS Technologies Inc (NASDAQ:UEPS) The payment processing firm’s subsidiary, Masterpayment, specializes in cryptocurrencies andannouncedTuesday its new role in the digital transactions of Bitstamp. The stock rests up nearly 16 percent on the news. Social Reality Inc (NASDAQ:SRAX) Sinceannouncingplans for its BIGtoken initial coin offering in October, the digital marketing and data management platform is trading up 131 percent. A Monday update on the digital currency lent an extra 72-percent boost. Riot Blockchain Inc (NASDAQ:RIOT) Riot announced last week a strategic investment in Verady, a blockchain technology company, which inspired a 201-percent run in the stock. Formerly the biotech firm, Bioptix, Riotbecame a pure-play blockchain companyin October and now engages in the theme through a partnership with Coinsquare and cryptocurrency investments. Overstock.com Inc (NASDAQ:OSTK) Overstock subsidiary, t0, announced last week its tZERO token sale to begin in December, prompting a 25-percent Overstock run. The parent launched Medici Ventures in 2014 to manage its investments in blockchain, including stakes in Factom, Ripio and a few blockchain-based startups. Bitcoin Investment Trust (OTC:GBTC) The trust spiked 7 percent Friday after announcing its distribution of bitcoin gold. Shares of the $1.86 billion trust now trade around $1,024, allowing investors to get in on bitcoin without paying the $8,200 pure-play price. Marathon Patent Group Inc (NASDAQ:MARA) The IP licensing and commercialization firm lends secondary exposure to blockchain through its recently acquired cryptocurrency miner, Global Bit Ventures, and its purchased IP rights from other relevant players. The stock traded up 168 percent Friday on peer sympathy. Qudian Inc - ADR (NYSE:QD) China’s peer-to-peer lending platform is backed by the blockchain-exposed Ant Financial and partners with Ant’s Alipay. Qudian’s October IPO ranked the fourth largest of 2017, although the stock now trades down 55 percent on the threat of Chinese regulation. Yandex NV (NASDAQ:YNDX) The internet services provider and IT firm recently unveiled its new voice assistant, which positions it to penetrate the Internet of Things and the blockchain sequences leveraged in related computing processes. Related Link: 3 Ways Blockchain Technology Is Building Up Momentum To Disrupt The Services Industry Globally How To Trade Cryptocurrency Hacks See more from Benzinga • Helios And Matheson Enters Commercial Guaranty In Favor Of PayPal; What Does It Mean? • Morgan Stanley: Meg Whitman's Departure Limits Upside For Hewlett-Packard • Bloomin' Brands Shares Boosted By Hedge Funds, But Is The Stock Still A Buy? © 2017 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| Bitcoin is gaining ground after futures trading gets approval from US regulators: Markets Insider Thisprice of bitcoinis rising after the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission approved bitcoin futures trading on three US exchanges. "Bitcoin, a virtual currency, is a commodity unlike any the commission has dealt with in the past," saidCFTC chairman J. Christopher Giancarlo in a statement. CME, Cboe and Nasdaq have all announced interest in offering bitcoin futures, and CME said that its futures would launch on December 18. Both CME and Cboe have said that their futures contracts would settle in cash. The approval from the CFTC came just days afterthe price of bitcoin crossed the historic $10,000 per coin mark. The coin hit its all-time high of $11,413.01 on Wednesday, according to data from Markets Insider. The price of bitcoin is notoriously volatile, and futures contracts could help dampen the volatility in the markets. Bitcoin has risen 932% this year. NOW WATCH:One type of ETF is taking over the market See Also: • Airplanes have a secret engine hidden in the tail • 26 things under $20 we use every day • We just got a glimpse of how bitcoin futures will work SEE ALSO:Bitcoin has been on a wild ride since crossing $10,000 \|\| All-Time High: Ether Prices Pass $440 as Key Level Breached: The price of ether, ethereum's native token, is on a roll. Soon before press time, the ether-U.S. dollar (ETH/USD) exchange rate had reached a fresh all-time high of $444. As perCoinMarketCap, the world's second largest cryptocurrency has appreciated by 11 percent in the last 24 hours. Total trading volumejumped to $1.845 billion yesterday – the highest since Sept. 15. A high volume rally indicates strong hands are at play and more records could be set over the weekend. Again, South Korean desks are firing on all cylinders. Volumes in the ETH/KRW pair offered by Bithumb, one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the country, have gone up by 13.57 percent today. The price action analysis indicates scope for a rally to $460-$470 levels in the short-term. • The above chart shows a bull flag breakout, which is a continuation pattern – i.e. an upside break of the flag as seen above signals continuation of the rally. • As per the measured-height method, a bull flag breakout has opened the doors for $480 levels (flag height added to the breakout level). The chart above shows: • The next major resistance is seen at $465.90 (127.2% Fibonacci extension). • The relative strength index (RSI) shows overbought conditions. The above chart shows: • A bullish symmetrical triangle breakout. This is a continuation pattern – i.e. an upside break indicating the bull run has resumed. In ether's case, it signifies that the rally from the lows near $10 has resumed. • The RSI is close to the overbought territory, however, it is well short of the extreme overbought levels seen in June. Thus, there is plenty scope for a further rally in prices. Ether looks set to test resistance levels of $465.90-$480 and could extend the rally to $500 levels in short-term. Technical pullbacks, if any, are likely to be short-lived. Only a sustained move below the 10-day MA would signal the rally has run out of steam. Rollercoasterimage via Shutterstock • Bitcoin Price Falls $1,000 in Minutes to Drop Below $10k • Getting Started? Ether Sets New High Above $500 • Wallet Demo Showcases Lightning-Like Network for Ethereum • Bitcoin Price on Shaky Ground After 1,000% Gains [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] Bitcoin surge continues http://inside.com/campaigns/inside-bitcoin-2017-12-07-4273/sections/bitcoin-surge-continues-25574 … \|\| Bitcoin - BTC Price: $8,036.49 Change in 1h: +0.47% Market cap: $134,124,196,206.00 Ranking: 1 #Bitcoin #BTC \|\| ビットコインが驚異的上昇の後ついに上げどまる、調整は「小幅」 http://ift.tt/2y9KIOb #ビットコイン \|\| RT karenmpd: A few of the usual suspects - SaaS and expense management - plus AI and bitcoin score fresh funding from B2B venture capitalists this week: http://bit.ly/2j4ZLap \|\| @OpHQnews. I know your swamped but can you advise if atm is up for Btc purchases and the fee/ vs price of Btc Thank you \|\| 12/18 15:00現在 #Bitcoin : 2,193,440円↑ #NEM #XEM : 82.8円↑ #Monacoin : 1567円↓ #Ethereum : 82,000円↑ #Zaif : 3.3109円↑ \|\| こんばんは。 bitcoin priceという \|\| I liked a @YouTube video http://youtu.be/hcqosysDaj0?a BITCOIN TO $20,000 IN DEC?? + WINNER #1 OF $2,000.00 ! \|\| bitcoin priceってゆうか、 \|\| @DennisMurega Hello African Sauce! do you want to make a miracle happen this year? #MiracleOnMerkle #SocialMediaToMineBitcoin #CryptoMiracle #Christmas #CryptoNewbie #ethereum #bitcoin pic.twitter.com/fSOx2FgsR8	Trend: down \|\| Prices: 17776.70, 16624.60, 15802.90, 13831.80, 14699.20, 13925.80, 14026.60, 16099.80, 15838.50, 14606.50
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2019-11-07] BTC Price: 9267.56, BTC RSI: 57.34 Gold Price: 1464.20, Gold RSI: 39.22 Oil Price: 57.15, Oil RSI: 58.36 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] What Googles quantum computer means for Bitcoin: A document published and later deleted by NASA a few days ago revealed that we could soon be entering a new technological era: Google has achieved "quantum supremacy"supposedly. According to the Financial Times , Google claims to have successfully built the worlds most powerful quantum computer. What that means, according to Googles researchers, is that calculations that normally take more than 10,000 years to perform, its computer was able to do in about 200 seconds . Does that mean that we can say goodbye to that sweet cryptography that protects the integrity of Bitcoin and other digital currencies? Probably not. Heres why: For starters, sources at Google told Fortune over the weekend that NASA took down the paper because it might have been published without the proper scientific peer review. A scientific publication needs to be evaluated and studied by a panel of experts before its ready for publication. So, it might not even actually be ready. Brave says Google is (still) secretly sharing your personal data with advertisers But lets assume it is. What you need to know about Bitcoin to understand the potential threat of quantum computing is that its architecture relies on two algorithms: ECDSA for digital signatures and SHA-256 as a hash function. If you reuse a wallet address and make a transaction, you expose your public key. So, yes, a quantum computer could use Shors algorithm to get your private from your public key, as Jack Matier of the Quantum Resistant Ledger recently explained in a Medium post . But dont panic just yet. The most optimistic scientific estimates say that even if this were possible, it wont happen during this decade (enough time to fork Bitcoin and make it quantum proof). Also, considering that Googles machine is only 53 quantum bits (qubits)a measure of the computers quantum powera research paper on the matter published by Cornell University may give Bitcoin hodlers some peace of mind: Story continues A 160 bit elliptic curve cryptographic key could be broken on a quantum computer using around 1000 qubits while factoring the security-wise equivalent 1024 bit RSA modulus would require about 2000 qubits (emphasis added). By comparison, Google's measly 53 qubits are still no match for this kind of cryptography. And, once again, it's even only a theoretical threat assuming that you re-used your address, which was considered a bad practice even back in Satoshis day . And a SHA-256 cryptographic hash is a different thing altogether. It is so powerful that, according to crypto evangelist Andreas Antonopolulos, the amount of computational power needed to crack it is greater than the wildest speculation of what intelligence agencies might haveand thats assuming they have quantum computers. Whats more, not only can quantum-computing scientists not break Bitcoin yet, they dont seem too interested in doing so anyway. In fact, one of the most evident use cases for quantum technology appears to be to improve encryption and cybersecurity techniques, according to Googles own researchers. But that isnt to say that theres no cause for alarm at all . While the native encryption algorithms used by Bitcoin and other proof-of-work coins are safe for now, the fact is that the rate of advancements in quantum technology is increasing, and that could, in time, pose a threat. "We expect their computational power will continue to grow at a double exponential rate," Google researchers said in the since-deleted document. Thankfully, there are already companies and research teams working on new cryptography algorithms for a post-quantum era . And, with that in mind, it may not be a bad idea to start thinking about a potential Bitcoin hardfork in a few decades that improves its weak security algorithm. \|\| Can 2019 End As 2017 Did For Bitcoin?: Bitcoin - the truly scarce digital object which had the world talking. Looking past its inherent qualities, however, most of the people are mainly interested in Bitcoin’s price, perhaps somewhat rightfully so. Despite its many benefits over traditional fiat currencies, the unfortunate truth is that today, Bitcoin is mainly used for speculative purposes. Trading Bitcoin became especially popular following its parabolic move back in 2017. From a price of around $800 at the beginning of the year, Bitcoin reached an astronomical all-time high of $20,000 in December. Even though Bitcoin was discussed a lot before that, 2017 was the year that left an imprint on the mainstream audience. Suddenly, everybody got into trading Bitcoin. Data from Google supports it. Trading Bitcoin In 2017: What Was It Actually Like? As we’ve already mentioned, 2017 was an unprecedented year for Bitcoin’s price . After all, it’s not every day that we see an asset growing by 2400% in less than a year. There are a few key moments that have to be outlined, though. Starting off, January in 2017 was marked by a rather negative event. China, being one of the most predominant economic centers in the world, decided to start tightening its oversight over the country’s Bitcoin exchanges. It’s worth noting that back then, they were rather dominant. Namely, these were OKCoin, Huobi, and BTCC. The Beijing office of the People’s Bank of China issued a statement that warned that Bitcoin is not a currency and that it shouldn’t be viewed as such. Back then this caused a drop in the trading volume but the price didn’t really react negatively. Following up was another painful event for Bitcoin. In March 2017, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rejected the Bitcoin ETF proposition of Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss. Bitcoin’s price dropped by as much as 30% almost immediately after. Nevertheless, what came next was the “bullish summer”. This is, perhaps, the term that best describes Bitcoin’s price action during that time. The cryptocurrency went on to achieve a new all-time high, climbing above $2,000 and surpassing $3,000 a few short weeks after in from May to September. BTC/USD 2017. Source: TradingView BTC/USD 2017. Source: TradingView By mid-October, the price of the cryptocurrency managed to reclaim $5,000. What followed was a global crackdown on unregulated ICOs which only proved the bullish sentiment. Despite the backlash of negative news, the price went on to surge what is currently its all-time high value of around $20,000 reached in December 2017. Unfortunately, the hype turned out to be too much and we saw a prolonged bear market that lasted all the way through 2018. During last year and the first three months of 2019, Bitcoin lost around $17,000 and dropped to a little above $3,000 in November 2018. Bitcoin’s Price in 2019: A Reminder Of The Past? The million-dollar question is if 2019 can turn out to be just as profitable as 2017 when it comes to trading Bitcoin. Well, for once, we already saw a massive run-up which surely got the hype going once again. Story continues However, looking at 2019 in retrospect, even though the year is still not through, we can see some tremendous differences. Of course, there are both good and bad developments, so let’s have a look. First of all, the infrastructure built around Bitcoin got notably better. Not only are there many more cryptocurrency trading exchanges, but there are also some platforms that are brought forward by notable institutional players in traditional finance. In terms of institutions stepping in, the most prominent event was probably the launch of Bakkt - the Bitcoin futures trading platform of the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE). The latter also owns the New York Stock Exchange. While the platform has seen a disappointingly small volume of trading Bitcoin, it’s an important infrastructural step mainly because it offers a physical settlement. This means that traders will receive an actual Bitcoin rather than its cash equivalent once their futures contract expires. Bitcoin’s network is also looking increasingly stronger, as the hashrate is surging past its former all-time highs regularly. As we said, though, there is also some bad news. The SEC is continuously clamping down on different cryptocurrency-related projects, mostly ICOs who failed to abide by their existing regulations. Moreover, we saw other Bitcoin ETF proposals refused. From a sheer price perspective, however, Bitcoin has marked a notable improvement since the beginning of the year. BTC/USD 2019. Source: TradingView As you can see, the price surged to as high as $14,000 in the summer. Even though it’s down about 45% since then, it’s still up more than 100% since the beginning of the year. Now, it’s absolutely impossible to predict whether or not Bitcoin will end the year with a parabolic move like back in 2017. If one thing is for sure, however, it’s that the cryptocurrency, as well as the entire industry, has improved notably since then. In any case, it’s worth noting that engaging the cryptocurrency market, in general, is risky. Volatility is notoriously high and any attempt to trade should be very well-measured and timed. It’s highly advisable to be aware of some important Bitcoin trading tips before starting, in order to ensure that your capital is protected. Image Sourced from Pixabay See more from Benzinga Bitcoin Derivatives Demand Is Growing In 2019 Despite ETF Refusals; Market Shows Maturity? Bitcoin Is 10 Years Old, Yet It's Market Adoption Remains Elusive © 2019 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. View comments \|\| Bitmain introduces platform to connect cryptocurrency hardware and mining farm owners: Bitmain, one of the largest producers of integrated circuits and mining hardware for cryptocurrencies,announcedon September 27 that it will be opening up a global platform to match owners of mining hardware with owners of mining farms. Bitmain plans to unveil the platform, termed the World Digital Mining Map (WDMM), at the upcomingWorld Digital Mining Summitin Frankfurt, Germany. The goal is to help mining remain price efficient for participants who are seeking good conditions and power resources. To create unique value via WDMM, Bitmain promises that "participants will be given personalized services from Bitmain which includes assistance with mining farm design, connections to foreign customers to host, and support with operations, purchasing and construction." “Bitmain is our key partner. About 85% of the equipment in operation on our site is from Bitmain. In practice, we checked the reliability of this equipment, ease of operation, and highest efficiency. Bitmain not only sells equipment, but also helps us operate and maintain the equipment in the most efficient way, it helps us to further the output and reduce the down time of our customers’ miners,” said Dmitrii Ushakov, current WDMM participant and CCO of Bitriver. The initiative from Bitmain comes as thehash rateof the Bitcoin network has reached an all-time high in September, consistently above 80,000,00 TH/s. \|\| The Carnage Has Abated For Now.: It was quite a bounce on theS&P 500after having dropped 35 points on the lacklustre ISM print, and it’s put all that and more back on again to trade higher on the day. Is bad news good news still? Indeed, that does appear to be the case after the markets fully priced in a Fed rate cut in October and price in December suggesting that its monetary policy that continues to remain one of the essential drivers of investors sentiment. On FX, the signal from the data is somewhat ambiguous; the weaker US growth could hurt USD against the safe havens such as JPY, but not against ASEAN EM and commodity exporter currencies. As such, an argument could be made thatUSDJPYis trading too high while USDKRW, the best proxy to express a weaker global growth bias is still trading too low. With that said, today could be more about pre-NFP housekeeping and pre-weekend position squaring so Asia Forex traders may have less of an axe to grind today. However, sentiment remains weak and any weakness will be seized upon as further examples of a slowdown or recession but keep in mind the downward revision from previous high watermarks could be the most eye-catching and have been a consistent feature of the “ establishments” critical employment report, The US Non-Farm Payrolls The US-China trade meeting remains the critical unknown variable, and perhaps the most prominent toggle for risk sentiment. The market continues to hope for the best while preparing for the worst that at minimum, the economic carnage inflicted by the US-China trade war will be enough to bring to fruition a partial trade deal. Where there’s a will, there is a way and as such, hope springs eternal. While the market is still a bit shaky from the US tariffs on EU products on the back of the Airbus row, investors can take some comfort that one of the US’s biggest trading partners Japan announced today that a US-Japan trade deal is set to take effect in January The EU tariffs are set to take effect October 18 which gives both sides a small window to negotiate, but with President Trump holding back on implementing tariffs on EU automobiles sadly for Germany and their vast automotive export complex, the worst might be yet to come as the US tariff carousel moves into to full motion across ” the pond” Concerns aboutglobal oil demandare rising, and next week’s US-China trade talks, the significant X factor, will be particularly important, given the sharp drop in the oil price over the last week. However, sentiment remains weak and any economic weakness will be seized upon by fast money traders suggesting the near term catalysts will likely be a function of oil demand However, after Saudi Arabia quick response to the terrorist attack suggests that they have used up much of their spare capacity cushion to satisfy international export demands does leave global supplies a tad vulnerable to addition disruptions. Now we have a sudden eruption of protest in Iraq, and the ensuing clampdown by security forces have brought some of this supply and geopolitical risk back into play. While the populist protests have not spread to Iraq’s primary oil infrastructure in and around Basra, there is no guarantee that the anti-corruption fervour won’t next set sights on Iraq oil fields. Gold punched above the USD1,505/oz on growth US economic concerns which implies lower US interest rates and that precisely what triggered the surge inGold demand. In this context,Gold should remain well supported. Gold traded in a narrow range in Asia and Europe yesterday but popped higher in early US action. The catalyst was disappointing US economic data which intensified concerns of a slowdown. However, profit-taking was swift when the US equity markets rebounded just as quickly. After this week’s shell shocking market purge, gold traders may be just as content to ” take the money and run ” on rallies thinking that the weak US data and Fed comments are good short term impulses but remain incredibly cautious about a possible interim US-China trade deal. However, one look at the resilient US equity market might be enough for investors to keep near term long gold position light. Physical demand remains weak, suggesting these recent up and down moves are more about leverage paper gold impulse which sadly can quickly trigger takedowns that may scare ” weak hands” out of their positions. Euro Despite the lousy EU data and the revision lower on the latest round of EU services PMI’s, theEURUSDremains supported by negative risk sentiment. However, traders appear content paying the current short-term Euro range goalposts 1.0975-1.1075 as it might be too early to call for full bore dollar weakness. Although the Fed easing narrative is a primary condition for dollar weakness, a 25-basis cut in October and even a follow-up cut in December might not lessen the USD yield advantage significantly as other Central Banks could quickly follow suit. So, until there’s evidence of the EU economic data improving, traders may still prefer selling EURUSD on moves to 1.1075-1.1100, but on a break above 1.1125-50, that strategy might then come into question. Much is riding on tonight NFP report so saddle up it could be a busy night for the Forex cowboys. Yen The market remains happy to sell USDJPY on rallies given the faltering equity markets; However, since the market has been selling USDJPY all week, traders might be content buying on dips ahead of the US employment report to improve their average on short position trade. Commodity Complex Commodity currencies may continue to fare poorly if oil prices continue to slide, which suggest both the CAD may continue to struggle. Asia EM Traders have been booking some profit in long USDAsia positions with the USD trading broadly weaker vs G-10 as the US economy is showing signs of faltering. However, nascent signs of a more fragile US economy are no cause for celebration for local economies which have massive export exposure into the US markets. This article was written by Stephen Innes, Asia Pacific Market Strategist atAxiTrader Thisarticlewas originally posted on FX Empire • ADL Predicts Oil Prices Will Fall Below $40 • Bitcoin Cash – ABC, Litecoin and Ripple Daily Analysis – 04/10/19 • Stocks Up, Safe-Haven Assets Up, Indicates Uncertainty Ahead of U.S. Jobs Report • GBP/USD Daily Forecast – GBP/USD Recovery Held Lower by 20 DMA • Crude Pauses After Nasty Slide, U.S. Nonfarm Payrolls Next • Silver Prices Steady, Investors Await Nonfarm Payrolls \|\| Brazil and South America lead the way on LocalBitcoins: Mass cryptocurrency adoption can only take place if regular people feel it is safe, easy, and beneficial to join the space. Without a shift in mentality, I doubt institutional investors alone will be able to drive worldwide adoption. Much like what happened with computers or the internet, without people to create valuable network effects like art, content, trading, advertising, and so on there is little chance cryptocurrency prices will explode. Therefore, we should praise countries leading the way in cryptocurrency adoption. Over the course of 2019, South America has seen a huge boost in cryptocurrency adoption, with Brazil particularly seeing a substantial rise in crypto users. Crypto adoption on the rise in South America The rise of cryptocurrency adoption in South America can be seen quite clearly with the growing number of users on prominent P2P Bitcoin trading website LocalBitcoins. LocalBitcoins yearly volume by region, courtesy of UsefulTulips Looking at the world chart above, we can easily see which region was most responsible for bringing positive volume to the cryptocurrency space over the past year. South America is showing a 15% rise in volume traded on LocalBitcoins much higher than anywhere else on the globe. This means unlike North America, Europe, Asia, or Oceania, South American populations in countries like Brazil, Argentina, and Venezuela have been pumping way more money in than out. In fact, theres plenty of additional evidence that South and Central America have been buying into Bitcoin much more than any other region. LocalBitcoins yearly volume by region, courtesy of UsefulTulips Even though the graph above suggests Europe is the region where most people are acquiring Bitcoin, by comparing how much money went in to crypto vs how much came out, we clearly reach the conclusion that thats not entirely true. South America has a positive balance of over $200 million, while Europe remains flat. In addition, all other regions have shown negative trends over the past year, since more people are converting Bitcoin into USD than the other way around. Will South America be the next crypto-hub? Earlier this week, Coin Rivet reported on how Brazilian courts are chasing down alleged Bitcoin pyramid scams. Coin Rivet has also recently reported on how the Brazilian central bank and regulators are keen on more people using crypto, simply because additional taxes can be collected. Even though people may think corruption is a major hurdle and bottleneck for adoption, I argue crypto will help change this behaviour. For one, it requires people to have low time preferences. Secondly, after people learn not your keys, not your Bitcoin, theyll transfer their Bitcoin into their own private wallets. Story continues Bitcoin will empower people as it gives anyone a tool to independently be their own bank and settlement provider. As fiat currencies lose purchasing power against Bitcoin, more and more people will hodl as much as possible. LocalBitcoins historical volume by region, courtesy of UsefulTulips Looking at the chart above, it seems the path to adoption has been laid out. How will government-backed fiat currencies compete with Bitcoin? I personally dont think governments will try to compete with BTC in the long term. As peoples preferred method of transferring value shifts towards hard-money and enhanced security technology, I argue governments will ride the trend by accepting Bitcoin, using it as a standard and even promoting the use of Bitcoin among populations. Why would you try to compete with a digital asset that empowers your population with minimal effort? Instead, well see better policies around the use of cryptocurrency, much like Brazil has been pushing for recently . The post Brazil and South America lead the way on LocalBitcoins appeared first on Coin Rivet . View comments \|\| The Crypto Daily – Movers and Shakers -27/10/19: Bitcoin rose by 6.82% on Saturday. Following on from a 16.45% rally on Friday, Bitcoin ended the day at $9,270.9. A particularly bullish start to the day saw Bitcoin rally from an intraday low $8,661.9 to an early morning intraday high $10,480. Steering clear of the major support levels, Bitcoin broke through the first major resistance level at $9,179.49 and the second major resistance level at $9,679.83. Of greater significance on the day was a breakthrough the 38.2% FIB of $9,734. Bitcoin’s first visit to $10,000 levels since 24 th September was short-lived, however. Bearish through the rest of the day, Bitcoin slipped back through the resistance levels to an afternoon low $8,888.9. The pullback also saw Bitcoin fall back through the 38.2% FIB. Finding support late on, however, Bitcoin managed to wrap up the day at $9,000 levels for the first time since 24 th September. For the current week, a 2 nd consecutive day in the green left Bitcoin up by 12.23%, Monday through Saturday. For the bulls, the extended bullish trend remained intact in spite of sliding back through the 38.2% FIB. Bitcoin has continued to hold above the 62% FIB of 7,245. The Rest of the Pack Across the rest of the top 10 cryptos, it was a mixed day on Saturday for the majors following Friday’s breakout. Bitcoin Cash SV and Binance Coin joined Bitcoin in the green, with gains of 5.71% and 1.80% respectively. It was red for the rest of the pack, however, with Stellar’s Lumen (-2.48%) and Bitcoin Cash ABC (-2.14%) leading the way down. Ripple’s XRP (-1.48%), EOS (-1.40%), Ethereum (-0.90%), and Litecoin (-0.16%) saw more modest losses on the day. For the current week, Bitcoin Cash SV continued to lead the way, surging by 48.42%, Monday through Saturday. Bitcoin Cash ABC was a distant second, rising by 13.59%, with EOS (+7.10%) also making solid gains. In spite of the Friday rally, Stellar’s Lumen (-0.31%) and Ripple’s XRP (-0.18%) bucked the trend. Story continues Through the current week, the total crypto market cap rose from a Wednesday low $202.69bn to a Saturday high $262.07bn. At the time of writing, the total market cap stood at $242.53bn. Bitcoin’s dominance jumped back to 68% levels off the back of Friday’s 16.5% rally and Saturday’s gain. This Morning At the time of writing, Bitcoin was down by 0.86% to $9,191.5. A mixed start to the day saw Bitcoin rise to an early morning high $9,424.2 before falling to a low $9,165. Bitcoin left the major support and resistance levels untested early on. Elsewhere, it was a sea of red across the crypto board. Bitcoin Cash ABC led the way down, falling by 1.97%. Binance Coin (-1.83%), EOS (-1.69%), Bitcoin Cash SV (-1.66%), and Litecoin (-1.56%) also saw heavy losses early on. For the Bitcoin Day Ahead For the day ahead, Bitcoin would need to move through to $9,470 levels to support a run at $10,000. Support from the broader market would be needed, however, for Bitcoin to break out from the early morning high $9,424.2. Barring another broad-based crypto rally, Bitcoin will likely come up well short of the first major resistance level at $10,279.97. The 38.2% FIB of $9,734 would limit any upside. Failure to move through to $9,470 levels could see Bitcoin slide deeper into the red. A fall through to sub-$9,000 levels would bring the first major resistance level at $8.461.87 into play. Barring a crypto meltdown, Bitcoin should steer clear of sub-$8,000 support levels. This article was originally posted on FX Empire More From FXEMPIRE: Crude Oil Price Forecast – Crude Oil Markets Show Signs Of Resiliency The Crypto Daily – Movers and Shakers -27/10/19 S&P 500 Price Forecast – Stock Market Slam Into Resistance The Week Ahead – Geopolitics, Monetary Policy and a Data Deluge in Focus The Weekly Wrap – Brexit, Earnings, Stats and Trade Give Direction The Crypto Daily – Movers and Shakers -26/10/19 \|\| Bitcoins Dropping Lightning Capacity Might Not Be a Bad Thing: If youre a fan of bitcoin and the nascent Lightning network, this graph looks disheartening at first glance. lightning, graph Graph of lightning capacity from bitcoinvisuals.com. The orange line is the BTC capacity; the blue line is its dollar value. The lightning network is supposed to be bitcoins superhero, taking the cryptocurrency to new heights by tackling its toughest and most obvious problem: if cryptocurrency is ever going to go mainstream, it needs to support a million times more transactions than it currently does which is no easy feat. But by the looks of this graph, lightning appears to be losing momentum. The amount of funds locked up in the layer-two network looks to be decreasing, seeming to indicate that fewer people are using it as a payment method. A lightning channel is like a gateway to the rest of the network, allowing a user to send a payment to any other user. Related: Bitcoin Eyes $8.5K Hurdle After Biggest Single-Day Price Gain in Five Weeks While lightning is still considered beta software, and thus risky to use, bitcoiners have been so enthusiastic about it and using it anyway, for games and beyond, chanting the unofficial slogan reckless. As lightnings capacity increased rapidly over its first year, devotees cheered it on social media. The catch is that, while this number is decreasing, lightning use might actually still be increasing because of increased privacy of lightning channels and other channel optimizations. Theres no way of knowing the capacity in [the lightning network]. We can only know the public channels capacity, not private, Roy Sheinfeld, CEO of Breez told CoinDesk. And at least one company says that at least in their experience lightning payments are picking up. Related: Bitcoin Bounces Back to $8K From Historically Strong Price Support We are doing increasing dollar value volumes on the lightning network. What I am seeing is the price going up and thus people need less coins locked up in channels to maintain spending power, FastBitcoins MD Danny Brewster told CoinDesk. Story continues A tale of two nodes So, while so far watching this number has been a spectator sport football for tech geeks it might not be for much longer. This number will grow harder to track over time. Thats because many lightning wallets do not advertise whether their channels exist to the rest of the network, by default. Under the hood, there are advertised channels which advertise their existence to the rest of the lightning network and non-advertised channels which dont. Normal channels, used by everyday users who just want to buy pizza and draw dicks online with lightning, dont need to be advertised. Many wallets in the past few months have been released which default to non-advertised channels, these channels dont show up on any public metrics, so relying on the public metrics alone only really shows half of the picture, Lightning Labs CTO Laolu Osuntokun told CoinDesk. Generally, advertised channels only need to be used by routing nodes, so the sturdier nodes that get payments from one person to another and need to be online all the time. Zap creator Jack Mallers argued its only responsible that anyone who isnt a routing node [uses] private [non-advertised] channels. Some go as far as to argue that the public capacity is a useless indicator because it doesnt capture all or maybe even most of the money in the lightning network. Because more apps have been starting to follow these best practices, Sheinfeld guesses that most channels are private, noting that his wallet Breez has opened thousands of private channels just in the last couple of months alone. Breez opened thousands of private channels in the last two months. Lightning Labs auto-pilot also opens private channels, he said. This is one reason why many developers see lightning as providing more privacy than on-chain bitcoin transactions. While bitcoin has a reputation for giving users anonymity, transactions are actually public. Lightning hides a bit more of the transaction details. If a regular bitcoin transaction is similar to uploading your bank statement to a public web site, a lightning network transaction is similar to showing each merchant you pay how much money you have in one specific compartment of your wallet. Youre still revealing some information, but much less, as lightning startup SuredBits wrote . Garbage day Another reason the capacity is decreasing is because some entities are closing down lightning channels that were wasteful. Based on my knowledge, the decrease in channels is simply node operators being rational by closing out channels that have been open for some time, but which dont have notable forwarding activity, Osuntokun said. For instance, theres one famous and mysterious anonymous lightning user by the name of LNBIG who has opened many lightning channels. They initially debuted by pouring 300 bitcoin into the lightning network, giving new meaning to lightnings reckless catchphrase. At the beginning of my activity, I opened many channels in the hope that they will be used (and due to the imperfection of the autopilot), the person behind LNBIG told CoinDesk. But, the secretive developer said, those channels werent really used much at all. They were just open and sitting there. But time has shown that many channels have not been used once for two to four months, for example, and the funds in them are nonetheless blocked, LNBIG continued. The funds are blocked, as LNBIG puts it, because of the way lightning works. A lightning channel is like a gateway to the rest of the network, allowing a user to send a payment to any other user. But when someone opens a channel with someone else and doesnt use it, then other people cant use that gateway. So, it makes sense to free up that capacity and wait to see if a new channel opens want to use the capacity, which is exactly what LNBIG decided to do. LNBIG posted a Twitter poll before following through with closing these channels, arguing that the only downside would be the psychological effect that lightnings capacity would fall down to 825 bitcoin. As the decrease in lightnings capacity shows, Twitter encouraged LNBIG to follow through. Zap founder Jack Mallers speaks at Bitcoin 2019 in San Francisco, image via Jack Mallers Related Stories Bitcoin Is 2019s Best-Performing Asset, Even After Recent Price Downturn Bitcoin May Be Headed for a Stronger Price Bounce \|\| XRP Price Exits Downtrend to Hit Three-Week High: XRP has been on the offensive, having ended a 3.5-month-long downtrend with a move to three-week highs. The world’s third-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization clocked a high of $0.2993 Tuesday, the highest level since Sept. 21, according to CoinDesk’s priceindex. As of writing, XRP has pulled back slightly and is changing hands at $0.2879, representing a 3.8 percent drop on the day after reaching its local peak. Related:Bitcoin Sees Little Price Boost From Long-Term Bull Cross Notably, prices are up more than 25 percent from the low of $0.2343 registered on Sept. 26. Further, XRP is the third-best performing top 10 cryptocurrency of the last seven days with a 2.2 percent gain. Binance coin, up 16 percent, is the top gainer, while litecoin has dropped 4.2 percent and is the worst-performing top-10 cryptocurrency of the last seven days. Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency by market value, is currently reporting a meager 0.06 percent gain on a seven-day basis. Also, BTC has been up just 4.5 percent from the recent lows near $7,750. XRP’s price may continue to outperform BTC in the near future as the cryptocurrency has found acceptance above the widely tracked 100-day moving average for the first time since July 10. The key average is currently seen at $0.2854. Related:Next Bitcoin Halving Could Squeeze out Retail Miners, But Jury’s Split on Price Meanwhile, bitcoin’s 100-day MA is currently located at least $1,500 above its price of $8,175. Further, XRP’s technical charts are reporting a bullish breakout, as seen below. XRP jumped six percent on Monday, confirming an upside break of a symmetrical triangle represented by trend lines connecting Sept. 18 and Oct. 13 highs and Sept. 24 and Oct. 13 lows. The previous breakout indicated the sell-off from June 26’s high of $0.4923 had ended and the path of least resistance was to the higher side. That outlook has been halted in the immediate short term, courtesy of a small sell-off witnessed Tuesday at 14:00 UTC that brought prices back to prior resistances seen Oct. 8 and Oct. 9. However, XRP remains bullish in the mid-term should prices remain above the aforementioned 100-day moving average at $0.2854. As a result, the next major resistance at $0.3218 (Sept. 18 high) stands exposed. The short-term bullish case looks stronger if we take into account the above-50 reading on the relative strength index and the higher bars on the MACD histogram, an indicator used to gauge trend strength. The recent price rise has excited the investor community and prominent traders such asBagseyexpect the cryptocurrency to trade better bid in the near future. Even so, there is merit in being cautious, as bitcoin – the anchor for broader markets – is looking weak. If the top cryptocurrency slides, XRP will likely follow suit once more, trapping buyers on the wrong side of the markets. That could yield a notable price drop. After all, failed breakouts are powerful bearish reversal signals, as noted by popular analystNicola Duke. Disclosure: The author holds no cryptocurrency assets at the time of writing. Sebastian Sinclaircontributed reporting. XRPimage via Shutterstock; charts byTrading View • Bitcoin Faces Drop Below $8,000 Despite Beating Price Resistance • Ripple Invests $750,000 to Bring XRP to Crypto Wallet BRD \|\| Starbucks will let you spend Bitcoin on coffee in Bakkt’s app by 2020: Bitcoin futures exchange Bakkt todayannouncedthat it will be launching a consumer app forcryptocurrencypurchases in 2020. Starbucks will be its first launch partner, in keeping with the partnership it unveiled when Bakkt was first announced. App users will be able to spend their bitcoins on coffee, via the app—although they won’t be making directBitcoinpayments from the person to the store. “We’re now focused on the development of the consumer app and merchant portal, as well as testing with our first launch partner, Starbucks, which we expect in the first half of next year,” Bakkt chief product officer Mike Blandina said, in the blog post. Bakkt was first unveiled in August, 2018, with partners Starbucks and Microsoft on board. Its plan is to create an open ecosystem for the crypto industry, providing a secure place for both consumers and institutions to store, send and receive bitcoins. So far—at least on its futures exchange—Bakkt has only focused on just one cryptocurrency: Bitcoin. But with the upcoming consumer app, it appears that it will branch out to other coins. “A key feature of the model we’ve designed is to support a superset of digital assets, including cryptocurrencies, as seamlessly as investors transact in stocks in a retail brokerage account,” Blandina added. Starbucks owns almost 40 percent of the U.S. coffee market and has nearly 30,000 stores worldwide. Bakkt’s pilot program hopes to tap into this market segment, bringing more people into the cryptocurrency space. While users of Bakkt’s consumer app will be able to spend their bitcoins, they won’t be making direct Bitcoin payments to Starbucks stores. When the platform was first announced, Starbucks quickly cleared this up, tellingQuartz, “It is important to clarify that we are not accepting digital assets at Starbucks. Rather the exchange will convert digital assets like Bitcoin into US dollars, which can be used at Starbucks.” But from the user’s perspective, it gives them a way to seamlessly spend their bitcoins, even if it’s not the cypherpunk’s dream. And that's a start. \|\| VeChain pumps by 8.4% on strength of China connection: VeChain (VET) is on the rise, after gaining 8.4% in the last day to climb from $0.0046 up to its current value of $0.0051. The cryptocurrency now has a market capitalization of over $278 million—up by almost $17 million in the last day. In fact, VeChain is up more than 20% for the week, making it one of the best performing cryptocurrencies as of late. This increase in price comes as China continues its blockchain push, today cancelling its plans to stop Bitcoin mining—following arecent speechby China President Xi Jinping on the virtues of blockchain technology. VeChain is one of only a few crypto projects approved by China. Back in March, it was added to a list of 197 approved blockchain projects, although just two were cryptocurrency projects. VeChain also started as a subsidiary of Bitse, one of China's biggest blockchain companies. It is based in Singapore but has offices in China, suggesting that the positive news coming out of China has boosted its price. The China effect has certainly made its impact felt over the last week. China-based projects such as NEO and Qtum have been outperforming the market. Earlier today, VET reached as high as $0.005231—its highest value since early August, before cooling off to its current price point just north of $0.005. The cryptocurrency has also seen its trade volume pick up in recent weeks and has been on the steady uptick since August. Now, with around $80 million in VET changing hands daily, VeChain is the #30 most frequently traded cryptocurrency. VeChain's CEO Sunny Lu will be speaking at CoinMarketCap'sThe Capitalconference in Singapore next week. At the conference, Lu is expected to shed light on new potential use cases for VeChainThor and discuss its adoption among enterprise clients likeWalmart Chinaand SBTG. [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] #CRYPTOCURRENCIES are MOVING! Try https://t.co/I6fKs4Qg0V to scan for OVERSOLD RSI, MACD CROSSOVERS and where VOLUME is going! #BTC #ETH #CENNZ #DCN #SNX #REN #DOGE #ZRX #XTZ #BTG #MCO #BNB #SXP #BAT #ELF #HEDG #ABBC #MIOTA #FCT #BSV https://t.co/QRDmD3YcoF \|\| @noamchomskyT Money controlled by gov'ts - yes. Money not controlled by gov'ts - no - #bitcoin \|\| Exclusive: Australia’s Securities Cop Braces for ‘Significant Increase’ in Crypto Trading The Australian Securitie... https://t.co/CkGRahBnGp #Bitcoin #Regulation #Cryptocurrency #News #Australia #Australian #Securities #and #Investments #Commission \|\| Bitcoin remuneration questions use as medium of exchange v/s store of value https://t.co/rMvU7Haqlx https://t.co/avkplepqeS \|\| ⏰ 2019/11/02 20:00:06 💰 BTCドミナンス : 67.447% 🚧 未承認 : 866 💸 BitFlyer SPOT/FX/乖離　　999,132 / 1,018,699 / 1.958% 💸 BitMex 調達率 ⌛ 21:00 / 5:00 　　BTC : 0.01% / 0.01% 　　ETH : 0.0435% / 0.0412% 💸 Finex FRR 　　BTC : 0.77% 　　USD : 17.562% \|\| @ananavarro Make easy and cool money on bitcoin trades. I can testify to it. I got 50% of my savings just in a week \|\| MAQUININHA DE BTC WHIS MONEY https://t.co/cIT2fDOctd \|\| Internal Audit and SOX Senior Associate - CNM LLP ( Los Angeles, CA, USA ) - [ ➡ https://t.co/7GTvyXUEWc ] #Agile #Scrum #Agile #Kanban #ProjectMangement #jobs #Hiring #Careers #Cryptocurrency #Blockchain #BTC https://t.co/wxH48bS613 \|\| ⏰ 2019/11/05 05:00:05 💰 BTCドミナンス : 67.211% 🚧 未承認 : 17,260 💸 BitFlyer SPOT/FX/乖離　　1,006,552 / 1,027,810 / 2.112% 💸 BitMex 調達率 ⌛ 5:00 / 13:00 　　BTC : 0.0193% / 0.012% 　　ETH : 0.0378% / 0.0283% 💸 Finex FRR 　　BTC : 1.055% 　　USD : 19.773% \|\| @HeyRhett Bitcoin plsss 😍😍	Trend: down \|\| Prices: 8804.88, 8813.58, 9055.53, 8757.79, 8815.66, 8808.26, 8708.09, 8491.99, 8550.76, 8577.98
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis] Not fully available. [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] E-mini Dow Jones Industrial Average (YM) Futures Analysis – June 21, 2018 Forecast: September E-mini Dow Jones Industrial Averagefutures are trading only slightly better during the pre-market session. Of the three major indexes, the Dow is the weakest. The main trend is up according to the daily swing chart. However, momentum is trending lower. The Dow is down eight days from its last main top which puts it in the window of time for a potentially bullish closing price reversal bottom. The minor trend is down. This is why momentum is trending lower. A trade through 24569 will indicate the selling is getting stronger. The main range is 24263 to 25418. Traders are currently straddling its retracement zone at 24841 to 24704. On the upside, the major resistance is a long-term 50% to 61.8% retracement zone at 24925 to 25337. The short-term range is 25418 to 24569. Its retracement zone at 24994 to 25094 is another potential upside target. Based on the current price at 24678, the direction of the September E-mini Dow Jones Industrial Average is likely to be determined by trader reaction to the Fibonacci level at 24704. A sustained move under 24704 will signal the presence of sellers. This could trigger a break into this week’s low at 24569. This is a potential trigger point for an acceleration to the downside with 24263 the next major downside target. A sustained move over 24704 will indicate the presence of buyers. This could lead to a labored rally with several potential resistance levels lined up at 24841, 24925, 24994 and 25094. Thisarticlewas originally posted on FX Empire • NEM’s XEM Technical Analysis – Leading the Way Down – 21/06/18 • Technical Update For GBP/USD, GBP/AUD, GBP/NZD & GBP/CHF: 21.06.2018 • Bitcoin Stuck a Rut, Which Could be a Signal for the Bulls • Bitcoin and Ethereum Price Forecast – BTC Prices Above $6700 • Don’t Miss the Chance to Get $2,500 for Mobile Start-up Promotion From Digital Agency BDCenter! • E-mini S&P 500 Index (ES) Futures Technical Analysis – June 21, 2018 Forecast \|\| Why Volkswagen Is Starting an Electric Car-Sharing Service: German auto giant Volkswagen AG (NASDAQOTH: VLKAY) said that it will launch its own urban car-sharing service, starting next year in Germany and rolling out worldwide in 2020. It's similar to existing services, but with a twist: The new service's cars will be 100% electric. What VW said: A new global electric-car-sharing service VW said that it will roll out its new car-sharing service starting next year in Germany, and that it will expand to "major cities in Europe, North America, and Asia" starting in 2020. Customers will use VW's "WE" app to find nearby cars and arrange to rent them. The concept isn't a new one -- it's what businesses like Zipcar and General Motors ' (NYSE: GM) Maven have been doing for several years. But VW is adding a twist: All of the vehicles in its service will be battery-electric. The Volkswagen I.D. concept vehicle, a sleek-looking white hatchback VW's new car-sharing service will almost certainly use the upcoming version of the I.D. show car, a long-range battery-electric hatchback. Image source: Volkswagen AG. VW said that the new service will be managed by a wholly owned VW subsidiary called UMI, for Urban Mobility International GmbH. In a statement, UMI CEO Philipp Reth promised an "environmentally friendly fleet that takes [customers] to their destination quickly and at a fair price." VW said that this new car-sharing service is part of a suite of mobility-related services that it eventually plans to offer via the WE app. It's similar in concept to Ford Motor Company 's (NYSE: F) FordPass , a smartphone app that will -- eventually -- offer customers everything from bicycle rentals to car-sharing to discounted parking in cities. Why is VW launching a car-sharing service? First, some background. VW is investing heavily in what it expects to be a major shift to electric vehicles over the next several years. It's expected to launch the first of a series of affordable long-range battery-electric vehicles next year, a VW-branded hatchback similar in size to its Golf. Story continues It's believed that that new electric VW will be very similar to the I.D. concept vehicle that VW first showed back in 2016 . At the time, VW said that I.D. would go into production as a 2020 model -- but it later hinted that the car could begin arriving at dealers, at least in Europe, in 2019. Given that, I can see two good reasons why VW might want to launch a car-sharing service next year. First, it's a way to market the new electric VW to a sophisticated, young, urban audience that might not be ready to buy cars of their own -- but that are likely to be receptive to the idea of buying an electric vehicle. In the meantime, they might well be car-sharing customers -- and if they're impressed by the electric VW, they might make the VW dealership their first and only stop when it's time to buy cars of their own. Second, the car-sharing service gives VW a hedge if early sales of its new electric vehicle don't meet its expectations. The truth is, nobody really knows how well a mass-market electric VW will sell. Rivals like GM's Chevrolet Bolt and Nissan 's Leaf have done well -- but they were launched with modest expectations. VW's expectations are grander: It wants to be selling 3 million electric vehicles a year by 2025 . The upshot: This is as much about electric cars as it is about "mobility" In addition to the obvious reason to start a car-sharing service -- as a hedge against disruption from mobility newcomers -- VW's new service is almost certainly a component of its plan to become a major producer of battery-electric vehicles. It's yet another sign that VW's commitment to electrification isn't just window dressing -- and that the company plans to survive and thrive as the car industry transforms. More From The Motley Fool 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This John Rosevear owns shares of Ford and General Motors. The Motley Fool recommends Ford. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy . \|\| Why bluebird bio's Shares Have Tumbled 11.9% in 2018 So Far: After hitting record all-time highs in March, shares ofbluebird bio(NASDAQ: BLUE)have been retreating. As a result, the clinical-stage gene therapy company is now down 11.9% though June, according toS&P Global Market Intelligence. In January, the company outlined plans that include three potential regulatory filings for approval by the end of next year. The potential to transition from a clinical-stage company into a commercial-stage company helped bluebird bio's shares climb above $220 in March; however, the corresponding $10 billion-plus market cap may have priced the company for perfection. IMAGE SOURCE: GETTY IMAGES. Although the data from bluebird bio so far looks good, investors have been ratcheting back exposure to the company to reflect what's emerging to be a very competitive marketplace. Specifically, a number of companies are working on therapies that could chip away at the commercial opportunity for its drugs, including LentiGlobin, a gene therapy for beta thalassemia. Patients with this disorder can't produce beta globin, and as a result, they require regular red blood cell transfusions that expose them to risks, including organ-damaging iron overload. LentiGlobin's data suggests it may significantly reduce or eliminate transfusions, butAcceleron Pharma(NASDAQ: XLRN)andCelgene Corp.(NASDAQ: CELG)expect toreport datafor luspatercept in beta thalassemia soon, and if that data's good, it could dent LentiGlobin's peak sales potential. Similarly,Sangamo Therapeutics(NASDAQ: SGMO)is working on azinc-finger nucleasegene-editing solution, and separately,Vertex Pharmaceuticals(NASDAQ: VRTX)isteamed upwithCRISPR Therapeutics(NASDAQ: CRSP)to tackle beta thalassemia using CRSPR/Cas9 gene editing. Competition could be fierce in sickle cell disease, too. In June, bluebird bio reported some intriguing data for LentiGlobin in sickle cell disease, but Sangamo Biosciences and Vertex Pharmaceuticals are targeting that indication with their gene editing therapies as well. Furthermore, although bluebird bio has a big head start developing a chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapy targeting the BCMA protein expressed by cancer cells in multiple myeloma patients, it's not alone in investigating that approach. In June,Johnson & Johnson(NYSE: JNJ)highlighted plans to start a phase 1b/2 trial soon for its own BCMA-targeting CAR-T, JNJ-68284528. It's anyone's guess how this all shakes out, but I think bluebird bio has a good shot at securing regulatory OKs in the next two years for LentiGlobin and bb2121 and that each has the potential to be a top seller. Of the two therapies, I'm particularly interested inbb2121's opportunity. It's being co-developed by Celgene, and Celgene already markets the most widely used first-line multiple myeloma therapy, Revlimid, and third-line multiple myeloma therapy, Pomalyst. Given that this is a multibillion-dollar market and Celgene is the market-share leader, I think bb2121 could hit the ground running and quickly become widely used in the fourth-line setting and higher. Overall, bluebird bio has multiple regulatory shots on goal, and that could make it more valuable to an acquirer than Kite Pharma and Juno Therapeutics, two gene therapy companies that have already been acquired for more money than bluebird bio's current $8.5 billion market cap. If I'm right, then bluebird bio's declining share price this year will prove itself to be a buy opportunity. More From The Motley Fool • 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices • 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 • 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing • 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today • The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss • Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This Todd Campbellowns shares of Bluebird Bio and Celgene. His clients may have positions in the companies mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Bluebird Bio and Celgene. The Motley Fool owns shares of CRISPR Therapeutics and Johnson & Johnson. The Motley Fool recommends Vertex Pharmaceuticals. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy. \|\| USD/CAD Price Forecast – USD/CAD Hits New Yearly Tops at 1.3153 As Greenback Grows Stronger: The USD/CAD pair built on its yesterday’s extensive rally and reached the highest levels since June 2017 just ahead of the 1.3150 mark, in the wake of the ongoing rally in the US dollar across its main competitors. The greenback continues to remain broadly underpinned by the Fed’s hawkish rate hike that underscores the monetary policy divergence between the Fed and its global peers. The USD index gains +0.37% to test the November 2017 highs at 95.15. Meanwhile, the Canadian remains weighed down by the latest comments from the Bank of Canada (BOC) Senior Deputy Governor Wilkins, as she noted that the US tariffs on Canada are not good news and its effect on the consumer prices are yet to be evaluated. USDCAD Breaks Higher Household debt is still cause for concern in the Canadian economy, and the US tariffs could be poorly timed as households are still trying to claw their way out of the debt bubble formed coming out of the 2007-08 financial crisis. Also, listless trading seen around oil prices also failed to offer any support to the resource-linked Loonie. Both crude benchmarks trade on the defensive heading into the OPEC meeting scheduled on June 22nd in Vienna. Saudi Arabia and Russia are said to propose output boost at the meeting. In the meanwhile investors focus on US President Trump’s proceedings on levying tariff for import of Chinese goods. USDCAD Hourly On release front, Canadian calendar was relatively silent on Thursday with dovish house price index data while US markets saw positive outcome in retail sales and import/export price index data. Macro data remains relatively light for both US and Canada today with Canadian market seeing Foreign securities purchase and manufacturing sales data while US market will see updates on Industrial productions, Michigan consumer sentiment and Michigan inflation expectations along with U.S Baker Hughes Oil Rig Count data. Moving forward the pair is facing strong resistance around 1.31660 and 1.32100 while there is a strong support around 1.30216 which if breached, the pair will see continued downtrend movement till 1.29195 price handle. Story continues This article was originally posted on FX Empire More From FXEMPIRE: Divergence Between Fed and ECB, BOJ Policies Drives Forex Volatility AUD/USD Forex Technical Analysis – Next Target .7412, but Ripe for Reversal Bottom USD/JPY Fundamental Weekly Forecast – Kuroda Speech on Wednesday Key Event This Week Crude Oil Weekly Price Forecast – crude oil markets collapse on Friday Bitcoin Weekly Price Forecast – Bitcoin falls but finds signs of support Silver Weekly Price Forecast – Silver markets giveback massive gains during the week \|\| The 4 Best Bitcoin Stocks to Consider (Even If You Hate Bitcoin): No matter where you stand on cryptocurrencies, you cannot deny their “it factor.” Thanks to the sector’s unprecedented profitability, several bitcoin millionaires were made overnight last year. Still, traditional investors find this virtual market difficult to stomach. As a result, the concept of bitcoin stocks, or companies that indirectly benefit from the rising bitcoin price, became popular. Browse the internet on this topic, and you’ll inevitably find financial analysts urging their readers to invest in bitcoin’s underlying blockchain technology, not in bitcoin itself. In the spirit of total transparency, I find this argument somewhat shortsighted. It’s also a bit of a cop-out for those who want to have their cake and eat it too. InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips Imagine if an analyst told you to avoid Ford (NYSE: F ) — or any other automaker — but to instead “invest in cars.” Those who advocate buying blockchain and not bitcoin are speaking words, but not really saying anything at all. That’s because bitcoin, or the major alternative-cryptos, represent the blockchain’s ultimate, practical facilitation. The blockchain doesn’t clean your room, nor does it cure cancer. Instead, at its root, the blockchain substantially improves data management. In fact, it improves data management so dramatically that you can use the technology to create an entirely new currency. That’s bitcoin. And that’s why the never-bitcoiners have it all wrong. The best way to invest in the blockchain is to invest in cryptocurrencies. Marijuana Stocks: Two to Consider, Two to Avoid Still, if you are hellbent on avoiding direct crypto investments, you can always elect stable companies that utilize blockchain technologies. Here are four bitcoin stocks to consider, even if you hate bitcoin! Bitcoin Stocks to Consider: Paypal (PYPL) Source: Shutterstock Story continues Those who either hate or are otherwise scared of bitcoin should consider Paypal (NASDAQ: PYPL ). As a digital-payments processor, Paypal is one of the most relevant bitcoin stocks available in the market. With increasing numbers warming to the idea of digital payments, cryptocurrencies offer a natural progression. But more importantly, PayPal adopted the crypto platform early on. In 2014, the company closed a deal with three bitcoin-payment processors: BitPay, Coinbase and GoCoin. This enabled PayPal merchants to accept customer payment with cryptocurrencies. Not only that, management affirmed their belief in the “blockchain economy.” They bluntly stated that their bitcoin interest “runs more than skin deep.” Plus, I’m loving PayPal’s huge upside potential. Despite this year being a tough one for several companies, PYPL shares are up nearly 14%. This follows a nearly 83% return in 2017. Clearly, momentum still exists for this company. While other bitcoin stocks fail to provide much excitement, PYPL has the ideal mix between stability and profitability. Bitcoin Stocks to Consider: Square (SQ) square stock Source: Via Square From an investor’s perspective, entrepreneur and all-around genius Jack Dorsey is a mixed bag. I’m pleased as punch that he leads Square (NYSE: SQ ), which in my humble opinion is a true disruptor. Those quirky little credit-card swipers may look funny, but they have sparked a commerce innovation. And how is SQ not a perfect complement to bitcoin? Cryptocurrencies have put all interested parties on a level playing field: if you want to invest in this sector, you can do so on your time and at your leisure. In the same manner, Square’s payment device and app provide small businesses with tools previously accessible only to larger companies. That said, Dorsey also heads Twitter Inc (NYSE: TWTR ). Finally, the company has convinced several analysts that its recovery story is for real. But the problem is that social media is a fickle industry. TWTR is believable, but it has risks as well. I’m not so concerned about SQ, and ultimately, I see both Square and bitcoin charging forward. A few months ago, Bloomberg reported that more than half of its customers are willing to accept bitcoin. 10 A-Rated Internet Stocks to Consider That’s all I need to hear. Be sure to put SQ on your list of must-watch bitcoin stocks. Bitcoin Stocks to Consider: Nvidia (NVDA) Source: Shutterstock You might be the type of person to never once consider cryptocurrency investments. But if you have any interest at all in technology and the future, Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA ) is your best bet. This is the company that literally does it all . Whether it’s developing data-center equipment, deep learning and artificial intelligence, and driverless technologies, Nvidia is a true dynamo. But as one of the top bitcoin stocks, NVDA plays a critical role in the blockchain economy. To condense an extremely long and complicated explanation, cryptocurrencies are actually “reward tokens” for verifying data blocks in the blockchain. Receiving these tokens, though, is a tough endeavor. Typically, only the first verifier, or “miner,” gets the reward. As you might imagine, crypto-mining is a computer-intensive process. To make mining profitable, miners need the fastest processors. It’s no surprise, then, that NVDA produces some of the best processors available. Of course, being the best isn’t cheap. If you want an alternative to Nvidia, another one of the bitcoin stocks to consider is Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ: AMD ). While much more wild than NVDA, AMD shares are on a tear this year. If you’re looking for bitcoin stocks that represent direct, blockchain exposure, you can’t go wrong with either NVDA or AMD. Bitcoin Stocks to Consider: Bitcoin Investment Trust (GBTC) bitcoin btc Source: Shutterstock I realize that the Bitcoin Investment Trust (OTCMKTS: GBTC ) is a controversial pick. Among bitcoin stocks, the GBTC truly earns that name. This also makes the GBTC a particularly eyebrow-raising idea in that this list is for bitcoin-haters. But please allow me a minute or two to explain myself. One of the biggest reasons why traditional investors don’t consider cryptocurrencies is the fear of the unknown. Admittedly, bitcoin has several variables with which several folks are simply not comfortable. Even recently, we’ve witnessed crypto-exchange hacks and other security vulnerabilities. Plus, bitcoin is very unforgiving in mundane issues such as forgetting passwords . Finally, there’s always the risk that a major exchange or service can go belly-up. It happened to Mt.Gox, and it can happen again. With the GBTC, it eliminates several of these “extracurricular” risk factors. What you’re left with is a bitcoin investment that’s mostly vulnerable to market risk. Granted, that risk is huge when you’re dealing with cryptocurrencies. The 5 Best Dividend Stocks for Income But at least you the Bitcoin Investment Trust offers peace of mind that other crypto-based investments cannot. As of this writing, Josh Enomoto is long bitcoin. 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Compare Brokers The post The 4 Best Bitcoin Stocks to Consider (Even If You Hate Bitcoin) appeared first on InvestorPlace . \|\| Is Constellation Brands Headed for Slower Growth?: In the first of two articles on beer, wine, and spirits purveyor Constellation Brands ' (NYSE: STZ) current and future prospects, we discussed the company's product innovation bent, which requires stepped-up marketing investment, as well as its huge outlay to amplify beer production capacity. Marketing spends and depreciation expense will both weigh on Constellation's income statement going forward, yet on balance, each should foster revenue and profit expansion over a longer time horizon. However, shares appear to have at least a temporary cloud hanging over them: Constellation stock has lost roughly 7% since it revealed fiscal first-quarter 2019 earnings on June 29. Close-up of row of beer taps in a pub. Image source: Getty Images. A reason to be wary? Investors are likely worried about encroaching competition, as global beer giants eye Constellation Brands' runaway Mexican beer success. Last year, Molson Coors (NYSE: TAP) signed a 10-year agreement with Heineken, N.V. (NASDAQOTH: HEINY) for the right to import, market, and distribute Heineken's 118-year-old Mexican beer brand, Sol. This complements the positioning of Heineken's respected, if not dominant, Mexican imports of Dos Equis and Tecate. And this year, Anheuser-Busch InBev (NYSE: BUD) is relaunching its own 108-year-old Mexican beer brand, Estrella Jalisco, in the U.S. Anheuser-Busch in particular has come full circle. When the beer conglomerate acquired Mexican beer maker Grupo Modelo in 2013, it was forced by U.S. antitrust regulators to give up the U.S. marketing and distribution rights to Grupo Modelo's primary beers, including labels Corona, Pacifico Claro, Modelo Especial, and Victoria. Consequently, it sold these rights to then joint-venture partner Constellation Brands. The only way at present for AB InBev to compete with Constellation in the U.S. in the imported Mexican beer market is to create new brands, or promote labels like Estrella Jalisco, which weren't part of the original portfolio transfer. Story continues Both AB InBev and Molson Coors have wide distribution capabilities at their disposal, and each poses a credible threat in that Sol and Estrella Jalisco both hold attributes that have made Constellation's own beers successful. These include pre-existing familiarity and popularity within Hispanic populations, light, crisp flavor profiles, and engaging backstories and history that new, often non-Hispanic customers appreciate for their authenticity. Yet even as AB InBev and Molson Coors dial up their competitive postures, market share gains are likely to be incremental in the near term. That's because Constellation Brands has convinced distributors and retailers that its Mexican beer portfolio provides superior takeaway on shelves. As the company observed in its June 29 earnings conference call , Constellation's beers remain the No. 1 growth contributor to the U.S. beer category. Corona Extra, one of the top five selling beers in the U.S., continues to achieve record case volumes. The Modelo Especial line-up is currently experiencing phenomenal growth and stepping out of Corona's shadows. In fiscal 2018, the company reported that Modelo Especial grew depletions (the rate at which a distributor's inventory is depleted after taking delivery of product from a beer manufacturer) by 17% -- an extremely fast rate in this industry. Constellation is also heavily promoting Pacifico Claro, a brand it believes is under-represented in the U.S. The company launched a 12-can pack in the first quarter, supported by nationwide T.V. advertising. This follows the steady market penetration of Pacifico's colorful 24 oz. can, first introduced in 2016. The organization's brands have richly rewarded beer end-sellers, and even its larger competitors won't be able to wrench shelf space away overnight. Constellation's growth story is still intact These nuances aside, a hint of slower growth, which we discussed in the previous article , and the competition concerns above may be causing some investors to take profits off the table. Constellation Brands has been one of the best-performing consumer sector stocks in the S&P 500 for a long string of quarters -- STZ shares have advanced 325% over the last five years. Yet, the stock sports a forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of just 22.6. Given the company's tremendous previous growth and future potential, I believe this is a relatively small premium over the S&P 500 index's consumer staples sector, which currently trades at an average forward P/E ratio of 17.1. In sum, higher growth-related expenses in the near term should be expected as management invests for the next round of growth. Investors should also monitor the competition, though it's not a significant factor in slowing Constellation's juggernaut Mexican offering at the moment. Constellation still enjoys prized positions in the beer market and high-end wine and spirits categories, and it's poised to maintain its advantages, despite present pressures. More From The Motley Fool 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This Asit Sharma has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Anheuser-Busch InBev NV. The Motley Fool owns shares of Molson Coors Brewing. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy . \|\| Is TransCanada Corporation a Buy?: TransCanada(NYSE: TRP)has almost everything an investor could want in a stock. With a dividend yield of around 4.8%, the Canadian pipeline giant supplies investors with a lucrative income stream. Meanwhile, with 21 billion Canadian dollars ($16 billion) of expansion projects underway, the company has the fuel to grow earnings at a 10% compound annual rate through 2020, which should enable it to increase its dividend8% to 10% per year through 2021. Finally, after selling off 11% this year, shares trade at an attractive value. Add everything up, and TransCanada has the potential to generate market-beating total returns in the coming years, which makes it an excellent stock to consider buying. TransCanada has all the characteristics an investor would want to see in ahigh-yield dividend stock. The company generates very stable cash flow since predictable sources like long-term contracts and regulated assets supply 95% of its earnings. In the meantime, the company expects to make enough money to cover its dividend by a comfortable 1.6 times this year, which is a conservative level for a pipeline company. Finally, TransCanada has a strong balance sheet backed by an investment-grade credit rating and solid leverage metrics for a pipeline company. These factors put the company's dividend on a firm foundation. Image source: Getty Images. TransCanada's strong financial profile gives it the flexibility needed to fund the massive slate of growth projects it has in progress. Overall, the company anticipates completing CA$11 billion ($8.4 billion) in expansions by the end of this year, with another CA$10 billion ($7.6 billion) expected to come on line over the next few years. These growth projects should provide the company with enough fuel to expand earnings nearly 30% by 2020, which should support dividend growth toward the upper end of its 8% to 10% annual range through 2020 and by another 8% to 10% in 2021. The company also has another CA$20 billion ($15.3 billion) of medium- and long-term projects in development, with increasing clarity on two of its large-scale expansions. After years of delay, TransCanada expects to start preliminary work on the $8 billion Keystone XL pipeline in the U.S. this fall, with full construction potentially starting up next year. That timeline positions TransCanada to finish the project by 2021. On top of that, the company could start work on the CA$4.8 billion ($3.7 billion) Coastal GasLink pipeline next year. By moving forward with these large-scale projects, it could help extend TransCanada's earnings and dividend growth outlook several years into the future. With TransCanada's stock falling by double digits this year, shares currently trade at around 13 times cash flow, which is an attractive level for a pipeline stock. While it's not as cheap as fellow pipeline peersKinder MorganandEnbridge, which sell for 8.8 times and 10.8 times cash flow, respectively, it's nowhere near as expensive asONEOKand its premium valuation of 18.8 times cash flow. Overall, TransCanada trades at a fair price for a company that offers a rock-solid dividend that's expected to grow at a healthy rate for the next several years. TransCanada offers investors a compelling combination of growth and income for an attractive price. As a result, the company has the potential to generate double-digit total annual returns over the next few years, which makes it an ideal stock to buy for the long term. More From The Motley Fool • 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices • 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 • 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing • 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today • The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss • Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This Matthew DiLalloowns shares of Enbridge and Kinder Morgan. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Kinder Morgan. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy. \|\| Billionaire Hedge Fund Manager Bill Miller is Bullish on Bitcoin: bill miller bitcoin There is a wave of high-end opinions going on around the cryptocurrency ecosystem at the moment. Fund managers and institutional investors are once again becoming more vocal about what they think will happen to bitcoin, altcoins, and the blockchain ecosystem as a whole. The vibe from a lot of users and opinion leaders portrays what could be another significant era in the life of cryptocurrencies and the flagship cryptocurrency in particular. Bitcoin is Growing Less Risky In an interview with Bloomberg , the founder and CIO of Miller Value Partners, Bill Miller, gave a positive assessment to bitcoin by describing it as an interesting technological experiment, though he thinks that most other cryptocurrencies are worthless. Bitcoin, as of the time of writing, trades above the $8,000 mark , a factor that Miller identifies to be significant in the stability and belief in the cryptocurrency. According to him, unlike in the past when the cryptocurrency traded around the $100 mark, there is less panic in the industry today. Every day that it doesnt blow up or go to zero or get regulated out of existence, more money flows into the ecosystem, said Miller. With over 1,600 cryptocurrencies in existence today, Miller believes that a large number of those are practically worthless and of no value. He confirms bitcoin as the most valuable of them all, followed by ether. However he outlines some valuation approach for bitcoin, comparing it with the yellow metal, gold. Bitcoin is Like Gold bill miller bitcoin gold Miller notes that the best way to think about bitcoin at this moment is as a non-correlated asset most similar to gold. Other potentials of bitcoin that he points out include its possibility to become a payment system, a viable currency, and the likelihood of central banks around the world to think of it as another potential asset. These are factors that he notes will open the market up significantly. Despite all the analysis going on at the moment about bitcoin and the entire ecosystem, the controversy that surrounds it wouldnt seem to go away for sometime to come. Issues of regulation, the size of the market, which are all factors that reflect in the characteristic volatility of the cryptocurrency market do not seem to being resolved very soon. Story continues The most recent ETF denial of the Winklevoss brothers application does not appear to do the industry any good ,either. However, when considering the overall development of the cryptocurrency, it is safe to say that the potential rewards outway the risks involved. Especially at the present state of the market. According to Miller, the key to participating in the Bitcoin market is about proper portfolio positioning and sizing. He explains that with the right investment calculations, investing in the current bitcoin market can be viewed as a positive-expectation lottery ticket rather than otherwise. Featured Image from WealthTrack /Youtube The post Billionaire Hedge Fund Manager Bill Miller is Bullish on Bitcoin appeared first on CCN . \|\| Sears and Kmart Deepen Their Marriage to Boost Sales: It's been more than a dozen years sinceSears Holdings(NASDAQ: SHLD)was created through the takeover of Sears by Kmart. Unfortunately, the plan to bolster the ailing chains' profitability through greater scale didn't succeed for very long. Sears Holdings never recovered from the Great Recession, and in recent years, sales have been plunging as the company pays the price for years of underinvestment. Last weekend, Sears Holdings unveiled its latest turnaround initiative, opening a small-format Kmart inside a Sears store in Brooklyn. It also plans to test small-format Sears stores inside some Kmart locations. Mixing the Sears and Kmart store formats in the same locations could help shore up sales, albeit at the cost of greater supply chain complexity. However, this project isn't likely to keep Sears alive in the face of its ongoing cash burn andmassive liabilities. The new small-format Kmart that opened in Brooklyn takes up just 10,000 square feet on the lower floor of the Sears store there, versus nearly 100,000 square feet for a full-sized Kmart. It focuses on selling everyday household essentials like groceries, cleaning supplies, health products, and cosmetics. The idea is to try bringing new product categories into Sears stores. The manager of the Kmart section said that customers had been coming into the Sears store looking for some of these products and had to be turned away previously,according to CNBC. Today, Sears stores don't carry some product categories featured at Kmart. Image source: Sears Holdings. In addition to making more sales to people who were already coming to Sears, the addition of a Kmart with household basics could also help drive more customer traffic to the store, since these items need to be purchased relatively frequently. Sears Holdings also plans to pilot Sears appliance shops in a few Kmart locations later this year. While Kmart already stocks a limited selection of entry-level appliances, the Sears shops are expected to carry a full range of appliances in order to appeal to a broader range of shoppers. There are clear parallels between Sears Holdings' initiative to add small-format Kmarts to some Sears stores (and vice-versa) andJ.C. Penney's(NYSE: JCP)2016 decision to (re)introduce appliance sections in many of its stores. First, both moves were inspired by customers not finding items they were looking for. As noted above, customers were coming into the Sears in Brooklyn looking for household items that the store didn't sell. As for J.C. Penney, the company discovered that appliances were the No. 1 product category that consumers searched for on J.C. Penney's website but couldn't buy. Second, Sears and J.C. Penney both want to find better uses for unproductive retail space. Both companies have seen a steep drop in sales per square foot over the past decade -- especially Sears -- making it harder to cover relatively fixed overhead costs. Bringing in new product categories and consolidating the rest of the merchandise can help to boost sales productivity. Adding mini-Kmarts to Sears stores and Sears appliance sections to Kmart stores is something that Sears Holdings probably should have done years ago. However, given the depths of the company's current problems, this initiative won't be enough to save Sears. Last quarter,comp sales fell 11.9%year over year and total revenue plunged 31.2%. This sales decline fully offset Sears Holdings' heroic cost-cutting efforts. As a result, the company is still burning cash at a horrific rate: an average of nearly $2 billion a year in recent years. Sears has enough assets to pawn to stay alive for another year or so, but after that it is likely to face an impossible cash crunch. That doesn't leave much time to test and refine the store-in-store concept, let alone roll it out broadly. Furthermore, whereas the Brooklyn Sears store is in a densely populated urban area, most Sears locations are in suburban malls, where grab-and-go household products would be less likely to sell well. J.C. Penney's move to add appliances to its stores created a significant new revenue stream, but it still didn't drive profit growth over the past two years. Similarly, Sears Holdings' efforts to add new product categories to its stores may shore up revenue without fundamentally altering the company's dreadful profitability. More From The Motley Fool • 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices • 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 • 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing • 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today • The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss • Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This Adam Levine-Weinbergowns shares of J.C. Penney. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy. \|\| Best ETFs to Hedge Further Weakness in China: This article was originally published on ETFTrends.com. The escalating trade-war rhetoric is dragging on Chinese markets. Investors who believe the increasing tariffs will weigh on further growth in China's economy can look to a number of bearish exchange traded fund plays to capitalize on this emerging country's misfortunes. The iShares China Large-Cap ETF ( FXI ) , the largest China-related ETF, continued to decline 2.0% Thursday after falling off 7.9% over the past three months. “Global stocks were pressurized by the Asian markets, as most indices were down more than 1 per cent due to worries about the trade war and the slowdown of China’s economy leading to a possible credit crunch, as evidenced by recent data,” Louis Wong, dealings director at Philip Securities Hong Kong, told South China Morning Post . “Yesterday’s rebound was very short-lived, but due to lingering investor concerns over the trade war, I see no sustainable rebound in the short term.” China's Yuan Currency Depreciates Against U.S. Dollar Pressuring Chinese markets, China's yuan currency has depreciated against the U.S. dollar for a sixth consecutive session Thursday, to 6.5088 yuan per dollar, or close to this year's low of 6.5449 in early January. “The worry of a trade war is to blame for the drop of the yuan. The US has threatened to impose the tariffs on Chinese exports, which has led to worries about the outlook of the yuan,” Ben Kwong Man-bun, director of KGI Asia, told the SCMP. Related: Reality Shares Launches China Blockchain ETF With no real end to the trade spate in sight, investors may continue to capitalize off the weakness in Chinese markets or at least hedge against further risks through bearish or inverse ETFs. For instance, the Direxion Daily CSI 300 China A Share Bear 1x Shares ( CHAD ) was the first inverse A-shares ETF to trade in the U.S. The ETF is designed to deliver the daily inverse performance of the CSI 300 Index. The ProShares Short FTSEChina 50 ( YXI ) takes the simple inverse or -100% daily performance of the FTSE China 50 Index, the same underlying benchmark for FXI. The ProShares UltraShort FTSE China 50 ( FXP ) attempts to deliver double the daily inverse or -200% returns of the same index. More aggressive traders may look to something like the Direxion Daily FTSE China Bear 3X Shares ( YANG ), which takes three times the inverse or -300% daily performance of the FTSE China 50 Index. Story continues For more information on the Chinese markets, visit our China category . POPULAR ARTICLES FROM ETFTRENDS.COM Disney Raises Fox Offer to $71.3B, Outbids Comcast’s $66B Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein: Bitcoin ‘Not for Me’ Waning Bitcoin Volatility Could be a Good Thing Small-Cap ETFs: Not as Volatile as They Used to Be When Can I Retire? Two Calculations to Find the Answer READ MORE AT ETFTRENDS.COM > [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] @Bitcoin_price_8 \|\| @lifeoncoin \|\| @btc_update \|\| @lifeoncoin \|\| @Bitcoin_Stats \|\| @btc_update \|\| @whats_a_bitcoin \|\| @btc_current \|\| @Bitcoin_Post \|\| @India_Bitcoin	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 6297.57, 6199.71, 6308.52, 6334.73, 6580.63, 6423.76, 6506.07, 6308.53, 6488.76, 6376.71
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2017-09-12] BTC Price: 4130.81, BTC RSI: 47.31 Gold Price: 1328.00, Gold RSI: 63.34 Oil Price: 48.23, Oil RSI: 52.38 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Coinbase to Let Users Withdraw Bitcoin Cash After Outcry: The world’s most popular digital currency exchange, Coinbase, reversed course on Thursday and announced it would accept a new bitcoin offshoot that was issued to every bitcoin owner. The reversal comes after days of tumult as angry Coinbase customers demanded to know why the company had not released their new currency, called Bitcoin Cash, to them. The exchange rate for the currency, which began trading on August 1, briefly reached $700 on Wednesday and is currently trading around $400 . Coinbase announced the decision in a blog post , explaining it wanted to first ensure the company could safely support Bitcoin Cash before developing technology to support it. The exchange said it would start supporting Bitcoin cash begining on Jan. 1, 2018. Over the last several days, we’ve examined all of the relevant issues and have decided to work on adding support for bitcoin cash for Coinbase customers. We made this decision based on factors such as the security of the network, customer demand, trading volumes, and regulatory considerations.We are planning to have support for bitcoin cash by January 1, 2018, assuming no additional risks emerge during that time. While the decision to support Bitcoin Cash may placate some Coinbase customers, others are likely to question why the company will take months to do so, even as other digital exchanges support the new currency. It’s also unclear how Coinbase’s announcement will affect a campaign by a group of customers who had vowed to file a class action lawsuit if the company did not permit them to withdraw their Bitcoin Cash. Get Data Sheet , Fortune’s technology newsletter. In the days preceding the arrival of Bitcoin Coin cash, Coinbase made clear it did not intend to support the new currency and advised customers who objected to the policy to withdraw their bitcoins. This position, however, appeared to trigger a stampede of withdrawals, akin to a bank run, that led many customers to complain about long delays in getting access to their funds. Story continues Meanwhile, reports suggest a large percentage of Coinbase’s customer base elected to leave prior to August 1, which is when a so-called fork in bitcoin’s underlying software took place that gave rise to Bitcoin Cash. A graph published by analytics company BlockSeer suggests customers withdrew over half of the $1 worth billion bitcoins stored in Coinbase’s “vault” storage service: Prior to the Bitcoin Cash fork, this is what the Coinbase cold storage balance looks like based on our analysis. pic.twitter.com/yZrsvir9rh — BlockSeer (@BlockSeer) August 1, 2017 It’s unclear how many of the departing Coinbase customers elected to cash out their bitcoins into dollars or instead to transfer it to other digital wallet services where they would be eligible to receive the Bitcoin Cash immediately. One such company, London-based Blockchain, suggested most customers chose the latter course. “It’s been a record week for Blockchain,” said a spokesperson for the company. An earlier version of this story incorrectly suggested customers had withdrawn half of 1 billion bitcoins, not $1 billion worth of bitcoin. \|\| Floyd Mayweather says he's gonna make a 's--- ton of money' from an initial coin offering: Floyd Mayweather (Floyd MayweatherChris Carlson/AP) Boxing champ Floyd Mayweather has caught the cryptocurrency bug. On Thursday, the undefeated world champion took to Instagram to promote an initial coin offering by Stox, a blockchain prediction company. The ICO will take place on August 2. According to Mayweather's Instagram post, the boxer thinks he's going to make a "s--- ton of money" from the capital raise. Here's a tweet of the post: He just posted that people. Floyd Mayweather is going all in on ICOs. 😭🤦‍♂️🤣 $ETH.X $BTC.X https://t.co/XpEmJpaANw pic.twitter.com/YNJI1JVmEK — StockTwits (@StockTwits) July 27, 2017 Initial coin offering participants invest money and receive digital "tokens" in return. Thus far, ICOs have been largely unregulated, with some crowdfunding events raising hundreds of millions of dollars. In total, ICOs have raised $1.37 billion, according to Lex Sokolin, a partner at Autonomous NEXT, a fintech analytics firm. On Tuesday, the SEC said that initial coin offerings (ICOs), in some cases, can be considered securities; and as such will be required to subscribe to the necessary regulations. Mayweather might need that extra money from the ICO. According to an ESPN report, much of Mayweather's wealth is tied up in assets and not liquid. This prevented him from being able to pay back a tax liability of $22.2 million to the IRS. "Although the taxpayer has substantial assets, those assets are restricted and primarily illiquid," Darren Rovell of ESPN said in a recent article, citing Law360 . "The taxpayer has a significant liquidity event scheduled in about 60 days from which he intends to pay the balance of the 2015 tax liability due and outstanding." Story continues NOW WATCH: Harvard Business School professor explains the most important problem we have in finance today and how to fix it More From Business Insider Jeff Bezos is now the world's richest person — and he could redefine philanthropy 5 great tech brands you’ve probably never heard of Here's why Bitcoin is rebounding \|\| This Is Why You’ve Been Getting So Much Spam: It’s no accident that your inbox gets flooded with spam. Spammers use armies of compromised computers and online accounts to disseminate malware, phishing lures, password-stealing webpages, knockoff drug ads, and social engineering attacks to prospective victims. Every additional infection or hijacked account grows the shady enterprise. A security researcher based in Paris who goes by the online alias “Benkow” recently stumbled across a treasure trove of data--40 gigabytes worth--related to a notorious spambot, a computer program used to send spam, dubbed “Onliner.” The cache contains 711 email addresses and millions of hacked passwords, and it provides a glimpse inside the distribution channel of a vast cybercriminal operation. In this case, “Benkow” uncovered the spambot’s command and control server, the machine that orchestrates a spam campaign’s activity, as ZDNet first reported on Tuesday. The server’s directory was open, meaning he was able to download all the data therein contained, as he explained in a post on his personal Blogspot website . Benkow tipped off another well-known security researcher, Troy Hunt, who subsequently uploaded the information to his data breach aggregation site, haveibeenpwned.com . You can visit the site to see whether credentials related to your own email account were included in the dump. (Hunt’s were included.) According to Hunt’s analysis, some portion of the 711 million email addresses were malformed, or invalid. He noted that all of the exposed passwords he tested originally leaked in an earlier breach of LinkedIn , meaning that the spammers were reusing data from past breaches--allowing them to take advantage of people who reuse login credentials or neglect to change their passwords after their exposure in security breaches--to fuel their operation. Get Data Sheet , Fortune's technology newsletter. “Data breaches don't end after the public disclosure,” said Jim Walter, senior research scientist at Cylance, an antivirus startup, in an email to Fortune . “Leaked/breached data can continue to live on and be used, reused, sold, re-sold, etc. for purposes just as described here.” Story continues Phil Tully, principal data scientist at ZeroFOX, a social media security startup, concurred. “As users notoriously set identical or highly-similar passwords across different digital channels, attackers are able to use them to pivot to a victim's other social, email, retail or banking accounts, compounding the initial damage,” he said in an email. Some advice: Secure your online accounts using multi-factor authentication ( security keys , random number generating apps , or phone messages , in descending order of security). Generate and store long, complex, unique passwords in password manager apps. And check to see whether you’ve been compromised in haveibeenpwned.com. (If you have, best to switch up your login credentials.) “[F]inding yourself in this data set unfortunately doesn’t give you much insight into where your email address was obtained from nor what you can actually do about it,” wrote Hunt in a blog post on his website . “I have no idea how this service got mine, but even for me with all the data I see doing what I do, there was still a moment where I went ‘ah, this helps explain all the spam I get.'” See original article on Fortune.com More from Fortune.com Instagram Just Revealed That Hackers Infiltrated 'High-Profile' Accounts Scammers Are Exploiting Hurricane Harvey to Dupe Well-Intentioned Folks. Don't Fall for It. Exclusive: An Inside Look at Kim Dotcom's Bitcoin-Based Payments Platform Drone-Maker DJI Wants You to Find Its Weak Spots Here's How Okta Plans to Secure Your Banking and Retail Apps \|\| Gopher Protocol Introduces UGO HUB Brand: ATLANTA, GA--(Marketwired - Sep 11, 2017) - Gopher Protocol Inc. ( OTCQB : GOPH ) ("Gopher" or the "Company"), a development-stage company which specializes in the creation of Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence enabled mobile technologies and distribution, launches UGO HUB and the UGO brand of products. Through its recent acquisition of assets from RWJ Advanced Marketing, Gopher has begun developing and deploying UGO HUB. The Company intends to upgrade the designated website for the brand, which is currently located at http://www.prewaysales.com/ UGO HUB is a stand-alone network of 15,000+/- locations throughout the United States that provide cellular top off for all carriers, prepaid and other financial services products and private branded accessories to consumers utilizing DSD -- Direct Store Delivery for fulfillment. In theory, UGO HUB is seen as a "Store Within a Store" at certain locations. The Company hopes to grow its network over time with this alternative revenue sharing arrangement, as opposed to traditional wholesale pricing, with partner locations. With average weekly foot traffic estimated at 2,000 per week ( http://distributech.net/Demographics.aspx ), the UGO HUB Brand is potentially exposed to an estimated 30 million consumers per week. Gopher will also begin working on a UGO branded line of its Artificial Intelligence enabled mobile technologies that will be distributed through the 15,000+/- "Store Within a Store" locations. About UGO HUB UGO HUB products include: prepaid financial services (credit card, phone card, gift card, etc.), financial services - bill pay, ATM, payday loans, check cashing, Bitcoin, etc.), products and accessories - SIM Card, cell phone, as well as novelties, such as electronic accessories. UGO HUB operates on a leased space and revenue sharing arrangement with partner locations instead of a traditional wholesaling model. About Gopher Protocol Inc. Gopher Protocol Inc. ( OTCQB : GOPH ) ("Gopher" and the "Company") ( http://gopherprotocol.com/ ) is a development-stage company which considers itself Native IoT creator, developing Internet of Things (IoT) and Artificial Intelligence enabled mobile technology. The Company has a portfolio of Intellectual Property that when commercialized will include smart microchips, mobile application software and supporting cloud software. The system contemplates the creation of a global network. The core of the system will be its advanced microchip technology that can be installed in any mobile device worldwide. Gopher envisions this system as an internal, private network between all enabled mobile devices providing shared processing, advanced mobile database management/sharing and enhanced mobile features. Story continues Corporate Site: http://gopherprotocol.com Press page/ press kit - http://gopherprotocol.com/?page_id=228 Consumer and product website for Guardian Patch: http://www.guardianpatch.com/ . About Guardian Pet Tracker http://www.guardianpettracker.com/ The Guardian Pet Tracker (Sphere Internal name - the "Sphere") system is a derivative technology of Gopher's Guardian Patch technology. The Sphere is designed to provide its users with local tracking capability using a re-chargeable/replaceable battery source. Gopher intends to release pre-production units in limited test in the near future. GOPH disclosure: More info: SEC link /technology abstract Forward-Looking Statements Certain statements contained in this press release may constitute "forward-looking statements". Forward-looking statements provide current expectations of future events based on certain assumptions and include any statement that does not directly relate to any historical or current fact. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors as disclosed in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission located at their website ( http://www.sec.gov ). In addition to these factors, actual future performance, outcomes, and results may differ materially because of more general factors including (without limitation) general industry and market conditions and growth rates, economic conditions, and governmental and public policy changes. The forward-looking statements included in this press release represent the Company's views as of the date of this press release and these views could change. However, while the Company may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, the Company specifically disclaims any obligation to do so. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing the Company's views as of any date subsequent to the date of the press release. \|\| 5 Strong Buy Stocks a Better Bet Than Bitcoin: Feels like a new day after the eclipse here. Gone are the worries of North Korea and tensions following Charlottesville. We got a big bounce in stocks with virtually no pullbacks today and volatility left the building. All this while the Jackson Hole Summit has central bankers listening to Prince and watching Lonesome Dove. Check out Dave’s Daily Dive video above where I break down the market action today!!! Each day I, Dave Bartosiak of Zacks.com (Twitter @bartosiastics) dive into the charts, pointing out key price action and levels for you to watch. But it doesn’t stop there because the highlight of today’s video, which you can see for free by clicking above, is where I uncover five Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks that are breaking out to new 52-week highs today. These stocks have a ton of momentum behind them and are charging higher. The list of stocks I cover today include: Alibaba BABA Alibaba Group Holding Limited Price and Consensus \| Alibaba Group Holding Limited Quote Alibaba Group Holding Limited, through its subsidiaries, operates as an online and mobile commerce company in the People's Republic of China and internationally. The company operates in four segments: Core Commerce, Cloud Computing, Digital Media and Entertainment, and Innovation Initiatives and Others. It operates Taobao Marketplace, a mobile commerce destination; Tmall, a third-party platform for brands and retailers; Rural Taobao program that enables rural residents and businesses to sell agricultural products to urban consumers; Juhuasuan, a sales and marketing platform for flash sales; Alibaba.com, an online wholesale marketplace; Alitrip, an online travel booking platform; 1688.com, an online wholesale marketplace; and AliExpress, a consumer marketplace. Getty Realty GTY Getty Realty Corporation Price and Consensus \| Getty Realty Corporation Quote Getty Realty Corp. operates as a real estate investment trust (REIT) in the United States. The company engages in the ownership and leasing of retail motor fuel and convenience store properties, and petroleum distribution terminals. The company’s properties are leased or sublet to distributors and retailers engaged in the sale of gasoline and various motor fuel products, convenience store products, and automotive repair services. China Lodging HTHT China Lodging Group, Limited Price and Consensus \| China Lodging Group, Limited Quote China Lodging Group, Limited, together with its subsidiaries, develops leased and owned, manachised, and franchised hotels primarily in the People’s Republic of China. It operates hotels under the Joya Hotel, Manxin Hotels & Resorts, JI Hotel, Starway Hotel, Elan Hotel, HanTing Hotel, Hi Inn, Grand Mercure Hotel, Novotel Hotel, Mercure Hotel, Ibis Styles Hotel, and Ibis Hotel brand names for business and leisure traveler customers. Telecom Argentina TEO Telecom Argentina Stet - France Telecom S.A. Price and Consensus \| Telecom Argentina Stet - France Telecom S.A. Quote Telecom Argentina S.A. provides fixed-line telecommunications and other telephone-related services to residential customers, businesses, and governmental agencies in Argentina and internationally. The company operates in three segments: Fixed Telecommunications Services, Personal Mobile Telecommunications Services, and Núcleo Mobile Telecommunications Services. Xplore Technologies XPLR Xplore Technologies Corp Price and Consensus \| Xplore Technologies Corp Quote Xplore Technologies Corp. develops, integrates, and markets rugged mobile personal computer systems in the United States, Canada, and internationally. The company’s products enable the extension of traditional computing systems to a range of field personnel, including energy pipeline inspectors, public safety personnel, warehouse workers, and pharmaceutical scientists. Now See All Our Private Trades While today's Zacks Rank #1 new additions are being shared with the public, other trades are hidden from everyone but selected members. Would you like to peek behind the curtain and view them? Starting today, for the next month, you can follow all Zacks' private buys and sells in real time from value to momentum . . . from stocks under $10 to ETF and option moves . . . from insider trades to companies that are about to report positive earnings surprises (we've called them with 80%+ accuracy). You can even look inside portfolios so exclusive that they are normally closed to new investors. Click here for all Zacks trades >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days.Click to get this free reportAlibaba Group Holding Limited (BABA) : Free Stock Analysis ReportXplore Technologies Corp (XPLR) : Free Stock Analysis ReportChina Lodging Group, Limited (HTHT) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTelecom Argentina Stet - France Telecom S.A. (TEO) : Free Stock Analysis ReportGetty Realty Corporation (GTY) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research \|\| Bitcoin's Fall Unlikely to Last: 3 Great Choices: Digital currencies received a massive jolt on Monday when Chinas authorities issued a notice declaring that initial coin offerings (ICOs) were illegal. Following this announcement, the price of bitcoin declined from $4,584 to nearly $4,350 per bitcoin. By Tuesday morning, the virtual currency was hovering just above the $4000 mark, nearly 20% lower than the record level of $5,000 it had hit over the weekend. Bitcoins fall has prompted some commentators to state that the virtual currency is entering a new phase of price discovery. However, most market watchers are characterizing this three day slide as a short term phenomenon. Bitcoin is likely to emerge stronger after such systemic cleansing, which makes it a good idea to invest in stocks gaining from the virtual currency. China Bans ICOs On Sep 4, seven of Chinas government agencies, including the Peoples Bank of China and the China Securities Regulatory Commission issued a statement which declared that ICOs were illegal. According to this notice, the use of ICOs as a fundraising tool stands effectively suspended, since this could lead to financial irregularities. Additionally, the document mandates that funds already raised using ICOs should be returned. Further, illegal financial activity emanating from this mechanism would be investigated. Digital fundraising platforms are also likely to be required to have enhanced oversight mechanisms in the future. Curbs Difficult to Implement Chinas ban on ICOs led to a substantial fall in the value of bitcoin and another popular cryptocurrency, ethereum. ICOs are utilized by start-up companies to raised funds via the sale of cryptographic tokens to prospective investors. In return, the start-up receives more widely accepted digital currencies such as bitcoin or ethereum. At first glance, restrictions on ICOs should not directly impact the likes of bitcoin. However, this development has had a negative impact on the virtual currency category as a whole. But curbs may be difficult to implement in practice since putting an end to cryptocurrency would mean fighting evolving technologies. Story continues Bitcoins Decline Only Temporary Of course this hasnt stopped several governments from seeking to place restrictions on the category. Developments in china closely mirror the actions of the SEC two months ago. At that point, the SEC had declared that ICOs were also investments and hence subject to the same regulations as stocks. Market watchers feel that ultimately the category will emerge stronger from purges of this nature. Analysts have gone on record to state that stricter regulation will lead to a new gold standard of ICOs." Others think that this short-term dip is likely only profit taking after bitcoin hit a record high of $5,000 recently. Our Choices Despite Chinas latest restrictions on ICOs and bitcoins subsequent decline, long term prospects of the cryptocurrency remain undiminished. In fact, market watchers think that bitcoin will emerge stronger from such regulatory action. Investing in stocks from the bitcoin phenomenon continues to be a smart option. We have narrowed down our search to the following stocks based on a good Zacks Rank and other relevant metrics. NVIDIA Corporation s NVDA GPU sales have gained substantially from the Bitcoin phenomenon. Increased demand for cryptocurrencies owing to increased adoption of bitcoin and newer technologies like ethereum has helped in lifting GPU demand, thereby contributing to the companys GPU sales growth. This is also true for its smaller rival Advanced Micro Devices AMD. NVIDIA has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). The company has expected earnings growth of 40.1% for the current year. Its earnings estimate for the current year has improved by 16.8% over the last 30 days. Micron Technology, Inc. MU is the largest manufacturer of memory chips in the United States. Memory chips are among the key components of a mining rig, the hardware setup utilized to extract cryptocurrency tokens from a blockchain, which is why Micron stands to benefit from the popularity of bitcoin. Microns earnings estimate for the current year has improved by 4.1% over the last 30 days. The forward price-to-earnings ratio (P/E) for the current financial year (F1) is 5.45. The stock has a Zacks Rank #1. You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank stocks here . Zynga Inc. ZNGA was among the first companies to accept bitcoin transactions. It will likely continue to incentivize the use of blockchain related transactions, thus benefiting from the bitcoin phenomenon. Zynga has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). The company has expected earnings growth of more than 100% for the current year. Its earnings estimate for the current year has improved by 12.5% over the last 60 days. Zacks' 10-Minute Stock-Picking Secret Since 1988, the Zacks system has more than doubled the S&P 500 with an average gain of +25% per year. With compounding, rebalancing, and exclusive of fees, it can turn thousands into millions of dollars. But here's something even more remarkable: You can master this proven system without going to a single class or seminar. And then you can apply it to your portfolio in as little as 10 minutes a month. Learn the secret >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Zynga Inc. (ZNGA) : Free Stock Analysis Report Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD) : Free Stock Analysis Report NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA) : Free Stock Analysis Report Micron Technology, Inc. (MU) : Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research \|\| Bitcoin continues record price run as Ethereum nears $400: Bitcoin price latest: Value rises to record $4,890 - but what next? - Bloomberg News Bitcoin s price has surged to a new record-breaking high of $4,890, as the price of rival currency ethereum climbed up to just below $400. The volatile cryptocurrencys record-breaking run has continued, with its value soaring above $4,700 for the first time on August 29. Bitcoin's price has fluctuated closely to a previous high of $,4,522 for much of August and even slumped back to below $4,000 on August 22. FAQ \| Bitcoin But what next? A Goldman Sachs investment banker predicted the price of bitcoin would continue to rise in a recent note to clients. Whether or not you believe in the merit of investing in cryptocurrencies (you know who you are), real dollars are at work here and warrant watching, the report said. However, Sheba Jafari, a technical strategist at Goldman Sachs, warned the bubble could burst and the price could eventually fall back to below $3,000. But Aaron Lasher, co-founder of Breadwallet, is more optimistic - he predicts the value of bitcoin will keep on rising over the next five years. Are cryptos in a bubble? Yes, absolutely, he told MarketWatch. Is that a bad thing? Not necessarily. The long-term trend is up, however, so past bubbles look less impressive in the rearview mirror. Do I know how high this bubble will go? Will I be selling any bitcoin before, during, or after the bubble? No. Meanwhile, the price of ethereum, the rising star of the cryptocurrency world, has risen to a high of $394.32. The price rise of bitcoin, litecoin and ethereum puts the overall value of the cryptocurrency market at record $170bn, coindesk reports. They add the price of bitcoin is now up more than 350 per cent this year. Thinking of investing in bitcoin? The Telegraphs Technology Editor, James Titcomb, warns: While the party may continue for a while, its just as likely to end spectacularly. \|\| Apple iPhone X will be in 'severe short supply,' KGI says: Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) 's next high-end iPhone, which is expected to be introduced on Tuesday and called the iPhone X , according to leaks, may be very difficult to buy. According to a note from widely followed KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo that was obtained by MacRumors , Apple's suppliers are only able to build 10,000 iPhone X units per day. Kuo said this "means the model will remain in severe short supply for a while." This aligns with earlier reports, including from Kuo, that suggested Apple was having a difficult time manufacturing the phones. One constraint might be OLED panels, which are in short supply. UBS said in August that the high-end iPhone would be delayed until September, so it sounds like Apple has managed to work out some kinks.Kuo added that the "gold version of the OLED iPhone will encounter some production problems and will initially be available in extremely low volume," noting that it might even launch after the other iPhone X colors.The takeaway? Set your alarm to preorder the iPhone X right when it goes on sale at least if you want to be the first on your block with one.CNBC reached out to Apple for comment but a spokesperson was not immediately available.Read more at MacRumors . Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) 's next high-end iPhone, which is expected to be introduced on Tuesday and called the iPhone X , according to leaks, may be very difficult to buy. According to a note from widely followed KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo that was obtained by MacRumors , Apple's suppliers are only able to build 10,000 iPhone X units per day. Kuo said this "means the model will remain in severe short supply for a while." This aligns with earlier reports, including from Kuo, that suggested Apple was having a difficult time manufacturing the phones. One constraint might be OLED panels, which are in short supply. UBS said in August that the high-end iPhone would be delayed until September, so it sounds like Apple has managed to work out some kinks. Kuo added that the "gold version of the OLED iPhone will encounter some production problems and will initially be available in extremely low volume," noting that it might even launch after the other iPhone X colors. The takeaway? Set your alarm to preorder the iPhone X right when it goes on sale at least if you want to be the first on your block with one. CNBC reached out to Apple for comment but a spokesperson was not immediately available. Read more at MacRumors . More From CNBC Almost everything Apple is set to announce Tuesday was leaked this weekend Bitcoin price falls again on reports that China is shutting down local exchanges Here's everything to expect from Apple's iPhone event on Tuesday \|\| Expert: Breached Equifax data may have been used in fraud: Equifax Makes Hack Fallout Worse With Bad Credit Freeze PINs Forter, an e-commerce fraud prevention company, said they saw a “significant” spike in what appears to be fraudulent account takeovers this summer, something they believe could be a result of the recently-disclosed Equifax ( EFX ) data breach. “In the last two months we saw about a 15% increase year-over-year in account takeover attempts,” according to Forter CEO and co-founder Michael Reitblat. “While we can’t confirm that this is related to the Equifax breach, the timing suggests that it could.” Equifax, one of the three major credit reporting companies, said on Thursday that “criminals” had stolen data that could impact 143 million US consumers. The company’s investigation revealed the unauthorized access occurred from mid-May through July. The information includes names, Social Security numbers, birth dates, addresses and also credit card numbers for approximately 209,000 consumers. Reitblat explained the summer spike in fraud accounts could be the result of the original Equifax hackers selling initial small amounts of data to fraudsters. “The fraudsters are paying the hackers bitcoin to see the data and confirm it’s legitimate. Once this stage is over, the hackers will then sell large bulks of data to the fraudsters,” Reitblat explained. “The moment this data starts to be sold in masses and in the open (if the FBI doesn’t catch them first), you will see an absolutely huge significant spike in account takeover attempts.” In other words, the spike we are seeing now could be just a reflection of a testing phase that will get much larger. “Remember, criminals usually don’t trust each other,” he said. “Bitcoin did wonders for cyber criminals. Now with bitcoin criminals can specialize into hackers and fraudsters and communicate via bitcoin in stages.” Equifax did not respond to request for comment from Yahoo Finance. Fraudsters may already be using information from the Equifax data breach. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File) Account takeover attempts Reitblat said that hackers going after personal information, instead of purely credit card numbers, is a growing trend. Story continues “Through all the Equifax databases, the hackers have everything about you. And through not very sophisticated social engineering, they can get passwords and security information from other sites,” he said. He explained that some fraudsters will put small purchases (like $30) on regular high-use credit cards, as these will largely go unnoticed by consumers. Meanwhile, larger purchases may go on more dormant cards, including some store cards that haven’t been in use. In that case, consumers won’t find out until they get notification for amount owed. Monitor your credit cards Forter, which handles about $20 billion in online transactions including those for several major Fortune 500 companies, said this could be the most extreme breach they’ve ever seen. “It is key, in addition to all the other advice out there about freezing your credit score access, to monitor your credit cards—both active and rarely used,” Reitblat advised. And when it comes to judging this sort of event, Forter should know. The company was founded by former PayPal antifraud experts, has roots in the Israeli Intelligence Corps Cyber Command, and has raised more than $50 million in VC funding, including from Sequoia. “Organized cyber criminal organizations are automating the fraud process and need large bulks of information,” Reitblat said. “They are gaining power.” — Nicole Sinclair is markets correspondent at Yahoo Finance. Please also see: 15% of big US chain restaurant locations were in hurricane-exposed areas How Apple can prevent the iPhone from going the way of the PC DACA repeal will conservatively hit GDP by $105 billion over five years, Mark Zandi says Why $475,000 isn’t actually that expensive for Novartis’ new drug \|\| China hits booming cryptocurrency market with coin fundraising ban: By John Ruwitch and Jemima Kelly SHANGHAI/LONDON (Reuters) - China on Monday banned and deemed illegal the practice of raising funds through launches of token-based digital currencies. The move was targeted at so-called initial coin offerings (ICO) in a market that has exploded since the start of the year. ICOs have become a bonanza for digital currency entrepreneurs, globally and in China, and have provided the fuel for a rapid ascent in the value of cryptocurrencies this year that has driven fears of a bubble that could burst. [L5N1KV4DN] Individuals and organizations that have completed ICO fundraisings should make arrangements to return funds, said a joint statement from the People's Bank of China (PBOC), the securities and banking regulators and other government departments that was posted on the central bank's website. In total, $2.32 billion has been raised through ICOs, with $2.16 billion of that being raised since the start of 2017, according to cryptocurrency analysis website Cryptocompare. Bitcoin rival Ethereum, which token-issuers usually ask to be paid in and which has therefore seen unprecedented growth this year, fell sharply on the news, last trading down almost 20 percent on the day at $283, according to trade publication Coindesk. Bitcoin was also down 8 percent, while the total value of all cryptocurrencies was down around 10 percent, according to industry website Coinmarketcap.com. "The large price falls can be attributed to panic amongst traders and profit-taking," said Cryptocompare founder Charles Hayter. The rapid ascent of ICOs prompted the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to warn in July that some ICOs should be regulated like other securities. Singapore and Canada followed with similar warnings. Zennon Kapron, director of the Shanghai-based financial technology consultancy Kapronasia, said he suspected regulators were putting the brakes on ICOs in order to better understand the phenomenon, but could ease off in the future. "Regulators globally are struggling to understand what ICOs are, what the risks are, and how to ring-fence and regulate them," he said. "China, in many ways, is no different than the U.S. or Singapore in saying, ok, we need to push back on these for now until we figure out how to deal with them...I think it will be slightly a temporary measure." "THE MUSIC HAS STOPPED" By creating and issuing digital tokens, entrepreneurs can raise large sums quickly -- sometimes hundreds of millions of dollars in minutes -- with little or no regulatory oversight. But unlike traditional fundraising, token holders are generally not given any share in the particular project, nor any security. For the buyer, therefore, the main reason for buying these highly risky tokens is often simply a bet that their value will rise. Once the tokens have been issued they can be traded against other cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin, the first successful digital-only currency. The popularity of coin offerings has surged in China this year. In July, the state news agency Xinhua cited data from a government organization that monitors online financial activity to report that there had been 65 ICOs so far during the year raising a combined 2.62 billion yuan ($394.6 million) from 105,000 individuals in the country. Oliver Bussman, previously chief innovation officer at UBS and now president of the Switzerland-based "Crypto Valley Association" that promotes blockchain-based technology, said Chinese authorities had to be especially vigilant about protecting consumers because of the lack of financial advice in the country, compared with Europe or North America. Reaction to the ban was swift online. "The music has stopped," said one member of a chat group on the social networking platform WeChat that was set up last week for an upcoming ICO for a fundraising platform called SelfSell. "Hurry up and sell your bitcoin," said another. The organizer of the ICO project, who recently went on a six-city roadshow, said the project had been suspended. But Bussman said that once there was some regulatory clarity, and once it had been worked out how to classify different types of ICO, the token-based fundraising would continue. "The initial coin offering is a new business model leveraging blockchain technology and it will remain," he said. "This is not the end of the ICO – absolutely not." (Reporting by Jemima Kelly in London, John Ruwitch in Shanghai, Elias Glenn and Beijing Newsroom; Editing by Richard Borsuk and Sam Holmes/Jeremy Gaunt) [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] Стоимость Bitcoin побила новый рекорд https://newson.com.ua/365932 \|\| BTC Price: 4288.00$, BTC Today High : 4286.00$, BTC All Time High : 4742.42$ ETH Price: 303.25$ #bitcoin #BTC $BTC #ETH $ETHpic.twitter.com/9J3VAMomwz \|\| Can anybody simplify nodes for me? http://ift.tt/2vRU8kx #bitcoin #blockchain #cryptos #reddit \|\| XFX Radeon R9 295x2 Ethereum/Bitcoin miner - $1,000.00 End Date: Saturday Aug-26-2017 10:49:39 PDT Buy It Now f... http://ow.ly/381k50d4aBJ \|\| Techcrunch "Bitcoin just passed $4,000" http://ift.tt/2w08Y99 #Technology \|\| -=[ 480.956 ]=- Txs: 2.243 Size: 999.286 bytes Time: 1502986070 Miner: 1Hash Fees: ~2.00 BTC Sig: bit1 Mempool: 26.066 txs \|\| Sep 03, 2017 14:00:00 UTC \| 4,485.90$ \| 3,781.60€ \| 3,463.60£ \| #Bitcoin #btc pic.twitter.com/M4jiiTLmzr \|\| Bitcoin: Me trying to hop in on Bitcoin after hearing its higher than ever. - http://cryptogeeks.com/bitcoin-me-trying-hop-bitcoin-after-hearing-its-higher-ever … \|\| $3801.00 at 22:15 UTC [24h Range: $3586.95 - $3934.00 Volume: 12939 BTC] \|\| $2710.00 at 01:00 UTC [24h Range: $2569.69 - $2774.45 Volume: 7738 BTC]	Trend: down \|\| Prices: 3882.59, 3154.95, 3637.52, 3625.04, 3582.88, 4065.20, 3924.97, 3905.95, 3631.04, 3630.70
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2018-12-11] BTC Price: 3424.59, BTC RSI: 28.69 Gold Price: 1241.90, Gold RSI: 60.18 Oil Price: 51.65, Oil RSI: 36.10 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Market Morning: Bitcoin Cash Hard Fork, Asia Falls Again, Iran Sanctions Back On: Economic Calendar This Week On Monday we have ISM Manufacturing, Wednesday 30Y mortgage rates, Thursday the Fed Funds Target Rate, and Friday the Producer Price Index. Slow manufacturing would add to the evidence that the current boom may be receding finally after 10 years. 30Y mortgage rates are likely to turn up, further slowing down the housing market. The Fed Funds target range won’t change, but other obscure interest rates such as the rate paid on excess reserves might be tweaked to get the Fed Funds rate back in line (it is currently a bit high for the Fed’s liking), and the PPI should give us further clues about inflation. SEE:Coinbase Custody Partners With Wilshire Phoenix To Launch A Dedicated Crypto Fund Bitcoin Cash Hard Fork, Altcoin Up 20% Bitcoin Cash (BCH-USD) is undergoing another network upgrade on November 15thbut this time not all developers are on the same page. Another hard fork is in the works and probably another argument about what coin is the “real Bitcoin”. Bitcoin Cash enthusiasts insists that Bitcoin Cash is actually Bitcoin and that Bitcoin (BTC-USD) is actually Segwit, whereas Bitcoin enthusiasts believe that Bitcoin is the real Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash is just Bitcoin Cash. Now whoever is on the side of the upgrade will call the new Bitcoin Cash Bitcoin, the old Bitcoin Cash, Bitcoin Cash, and Bitcoin will still be Segwit, while those against the upgrade will call Bitcoin Cash Bitcoin, the New Bitcoin Cash Bitcoin Cash, and Bitcoin Segwit. Meanwhile, as damaging as this argument is to the mining community and to our ability to keep our grasp on crypto-nomenclature, Bitcoin Cash, AKA Bitcoin to some, is up 20% on anticipation of the hard fork. The only question remaining is, Who’s on First? Asia Down Hard as Xi Get in a TiXi (Pronounced Tizzy) Maybe no trade deal after all? Chinese President Xi Jinping seemed tolash outat President Donald Trump over the weekend, referring to his negotiating strategy as Law of the Jungle. “As globalization deepens, the practices of Law of the Jungle and winner take all are a dead end. Inclusion and reciprocity, win-win and mutual benefits are a widening road,” he said. Shanghai stocks are down but have regained much of their earlier losses, but Hong Kong is down hard at 2.33%, and Japan is down 1.55% on the day. This could signal the opening of yet another week of volatility. Related Tickers: (NYSEARCA:EWJ) (NYSEARCA:EWH) (NYSEARCA:FXI) Iran Sanctions Back On Sanctions against Iranian oil exports have been put into effect, though oil (NYSEARCA:USO) has yet to respond to the new market environment. Oil is down 18% since the start of October and asOilprice reports, new positions in crude are at 52-week lows, supply is about to be crimped or rather already is, and this is has been the sharpest one-month decline in oil since 2014. Spare capacity is down to 2% of global demand, so we are pretty much at peak capacity here. Midterms Elections Set to Rock Markets Midterm elections are tomorrow. Here’s your cheat sheet. If Republicans retain control of both houses, US indexes will likely rocket higher on the news. If Republicans lose the house as expected, there won’t be much net movement. If Democrats take control of both houses, stocks are likely to tank. Play the options as you will. Senate races to watch are Arizona, Indiana, Florida, Missouri, Montana, Texas, Tennessee, West Virginia, and North Dakota. The postMarket Morning: Bitcoin Cash Hard Fork, Asia Falls Again, Iran Sanctions Back Onappeared first onMarket Exclusive. \|\| Ripple (XRP) Gains 21% in Market-wide Recovery, Overtakes Ethereum as 2nd Biggest Crypto: The Ripple market segment witnessed a 21 percent recovery upon establishing a new November low at $0.329. The XRP/USD rate on Monday touched 0.399-fiat in a higher high formation on BitFinex. In the meantime, the coin’s market cap reached close to $15.61 billion, replacing Ethereum to become the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency. Ripple’s chief marketing strategist Cory Johnson on Friday furthered their dialogue about how XRP is better than Bitcoin. Not that his statements could have rattled the bitcoin investors, but they certainly could have attracted potential holders. Johnson wrote about how bitcoin was more centralized due to being extremely influenced by the Chinese mining community, calling it a poor technology. -Bitcoin has some real technological limitations -The digital asset that show fundamental use cases will develop a fundamental value -XRP is being used more than Bitcoin being used as of today Cory Johnson, Ripple Nov18 #XRP #XRPthestandard pic.twitter.com/hmpqXNFTtT — Steven Diep (@DiepSanh) November 23, 2018 The XRP correction nevertheless took place in the absence of solid backings, meaning its sustainability cannot be guaranteed at this moment. At worst, it could be a bear pennant formation which indicates the continuation of the current downward trend. At best, XRP could be heading to an extended upside recovery action, considering its the least-bad performing cryptocurrency in the bear run that has shaken the entire crypto market. The daily XRP chart, meanwhile, allows a better inside look, revealing RSI and Stochastic had lately dipped into their oversold regions. The XRP/USD rate at most corrected to stabilize, meaning the near-term uptrend should extend to the nearest resistance level, probably towards the 100-period simple moving average before a potential pullback overtakes the trend. Story continues At the same time, 0.329-fiat is providing decent support according to the daily basis. The level had witnessed buying sentiment before and promised to hold the bears with few bulls. A break below 0.329, on the other hand, could be devastating as it would expose XRP/USD to a crash towards the next potential downside at 0.268-fiat. This level has offered strong support since August. A narrowed down version of the XRP/USD rate chart offers us more insights into how we could play the trades intraday. As of now, the pair is clearly targetting 0.396-fiat as its interim resistance while resting its foot at 0.371-fiat, the interim support for the rest of the day. We are looking at XRP/USD reversing from the 200-period simple moving average on a 15-minute chart. It provides us with a decent short opportunity towards the interim support. At the same time, placing a stop loss at 0.390-fiat will protect our position from maximum losses should the upside correction resumes. Having said that, an upside continuation would have us wait for a breakout above the interim resistance. If it happens, we will enter a long position towards 0.402-fiat as our interim upside target while maintaining a stop loss order at 0.393-fiat. Trade safe! Disclaimer: The author holds XRP, Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, and Ethereum. The analysis above is his personal opinion and does not reflect the opinions of CCN.com. Readers discretion is advised. Featured Image from Shutterstock. Charts from TradingView . The post Ripple (XRP) Gains 21% in Market-wide Recovery, Overtakes Ethereum as 2nd Biggest Crypto appeared first on CCN . \|\| Gold Price Forecast – Gold markets drift a bit lower on Monday: Gold marketsof course are highly influenced by the US dollar, so keep that in mind before placing any types of trades. At this point, I think that the market probably looks at the $1220 level as massive support. At this point, I believe the Gold markets are a bit extended for the short term, but I would be willing to take a small position at $1220 as it has been somewhat reliable. The keyword here of course is going to be “small”, as Gold markets do tend to be a bit volatile. If we were to break below the $1220 level, then I think that the market will probably go looking towards the $1210 level, followed by the much more significant $1200 level after that. Ultimately, this is a market that continues to struggle with momentum at the moment, but it’s obvious to me that we still have a certain amount of buying pressure underneath, perhaps due to global uncertainty, perhaps due to US dollar fluctuations. I think at this point it’s likely that we will continue to see participants look towards Gold as a way to express their value against global risk and of course the greenback. If we were to break down below the $1200 level, that would be an extraordinarily negative sign, and that should send this market much lower. I believe the Gold is trying to reach the $1250 level over the longer-term, but it will be very noisy to say the least. Thisarticlewas originally posted on FX Empire • E-mini S&P 500 Index (ES) Futures Technical Analysis – Weakens Under 2748.50, Strengthens Over 2768.25 • WEEKLY MARKET OUTLOOK – Webinar October 22-26 • Bitcoin and Ethereum Price Forecast – BTC Prices In Range • The History of Forex • EUR/USD Countertrend Move Possible at 1.1430 • EUR/USD Daily Price Forecast – EUR/USD Turns Dovish on Increase in Selling Activity & Spike in USD Demand \|\| Cardano, Zcash, Stellar Surge Prior to Coinbase Listing; XLM up 27%: As the anticipation towards additional cryptocurrency integrations builds following the listing of Basic Attention Token (BAT) and 0x (ZRX), the prices of Cardano (ADA), Zcash (ZEC), and Stellar (XLM) have started to surge. Since November 2, the day BAT was officially integrated into Coinbase Pro and Coinbase.com, XLM, the native cryptocurrency of the Stellar blockchain network, has increased from $0.22 to $0.28, by more than 27 percent. Cardano and Zcash, two cryptocurrencies alongside Stellar, BAT, and 0x Coinbase expressed its interest in May, have also increased substantially in value. Although the privacy-focused cryptocurrency Zcash experienced a 3 percent drop in price throughout the past 24 hour, since November 2, ZEC rose from $114 to $125, by around 9 percent. At its weekly peak, ZEC surpassed $140, demonstrating a staggering 21.7 increase in price in a two-week span. Prior to the listing, subsequent to the official listing announcement of Coinbase, both BAT and 0x nearly doubled in value against both the US dollar and Bitcoin (BTC). However, after the official listing by Coinbase Pro and Coinbase.com, the price of BAT plunged from $0.37 to $0.25, by over 32 percent. The price of BAT dropped to the point before the listing itself, demonstrating that the hype around the Coinbase listing, rather than the actual listing, led the price of BAT to surge. Hence, at this point, the significance of the Coinbase listing is in question, especially if tokens tend to fall by substantial margins following the integration. The Coinbase listing is a confirmation that the token is not considered a security by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and it opens doors for other exchanges in the US and fiat-to-crypto exchanges across the world to accept and integrate it. With the U.S. SEC increasing its efforts to crack down on tokens considered as securities and exchanges with tokens listed on them, a confirmation by the biggest fiat-to-crypto exchange in the global market is crucial, specifically because Coinbase is recognized as one of the most strictly compliant platforms in the US. Upon the crackdown of EtherDelta, government enforcement defense and securities litigation attorney at Kobre & Kim, Jake Chervinsky, stated that it is likely the SEC has dozens of cases against tokens and exchanges pending. “A few other key points for consideration. Most enforcement actions are kept confidential until they’re resolved to protect both the defendant (from bad press) & the government (from losses & inconsistencies). That’s why this case was settled before it was announced. On that point, remember all those subpoenas the SEC sent out earlier this year? Just because you haven’t heard about them recently doesn’t mean there aren’t dozens of investigations going on behind the scenes. Sooner or later, the floodgates will open,” hesaid. Given that 0x and BAT, which have central development teams overseeing the development of the two digital assets were listed by Coinbase, the probability of the three digital assets being integrated into Coinbase is fairly high. If so, with many positive developments including Stellar’s Blockchain wallet integration, growing adoption of ZK-SNARKs technology of Zcash, and rising adoption of Cardano’s smart contract protocol will positively affect the short-term price trend of the three assets. Featured Image from Shutterstock. Charts fromTradingView. The postCardano, Zcash, Stellar Surge Prior to Coinbase Listing; XLM up 27%appeared first onCCN. \|\| Crypto’s Too Expensive? Binance Sent $600 Million in Bitcoin for Just $7: Crypto exchange Binance has been moving bitcoin funds to cold storage the past couple of days, and, of course, such large transfers don’t go unnoticed. Two transactions destined forBinance’s cold walletcome to the fore and demonstrate both the power and irony of the blockchain. Atransactionin block 550211 was a transfer of just over $1 million. For this transaction, Binance paid just over $8 in fees. The “high” amount of the fee is probably a matter of convenience, as the transaction was not particularly large at just 1550 bytes. The other transaction, first flagged by Antoine Le Calvez of CoinMetrics.io, is more notable for its size — $600 million at the time it was sent, making it the largest unspent transaction output existing today — but also illustrates the irony of Bitcoin transactions, whose fees are not based on the amount transacted but instead the amount of computer resources required to store the information. Thissecond transaction, made in block 550155 several hours earlier, comprised 5981 bytes yet cost the giant exchange just over $7. Other factors, such as network activity, apply to transaction fee calculations. It should first be noted that there is no banking product with the same security as a cold storage wallet. A cold storage wallet is one that is not connected to theblockchainvia the internet. With appropriate security hygiene, it can amount to having direct access to your personal fortune with no middlemen. It would take days or weeks to find out the cost of moving funds between bank accounts from various banks, and banks are in particular not the best thing to compareBitcoinwith, it being primarily a remittance tool. Nonetheless, it is known that interbank fees generally run in the neighborhood of 4 percent or more, supposing the funds were being moved internationally. Domestically there would still be fees, which would depend very much on the bank being used. Banks usingRipple‘s enterprise DLT products and other blockchain technologies might be able to reduce the cost significantly. Likewise, one-time deposits and other deals can be made with banks when moving this amount of funds. But this is cold storage, after all – funds that Binance will later probably need access to. The notion of paying any more than necessary fees for access or movement, and being reliant on external forces, is antithetical to the business of being a cryptocurrency exchange. Which is to say, Binance is engaging in money transfers that wouldn’t have been possible in a previous era in order to facilitate a business model that wouldn’t have been possible in a previous era, all at a cost that would have been unimaginably low in a previous era. We find it helpful to compare the cost of these transactions with a service likePayPalinstead. While it’s unlikely that Binance would work with PayPal or that PayPal would work with transactions of this size, it’s useful to compare the value of Bitcoin to other remittance models. According toSalescalc.com, which specializes in such data, a fee of $17,400,000.30 would be incurred moving $600M to the PayPal account of the “cold storage steward” in the theoretical case of a PayPal model. PayPal does not charge fees for moving funds to bank accounts, but there is an associated delay when using traditional banking models. Featured Image from Shutterstock The postCrypto’s Too Expensive? Binance Sent $600 Million in Bitcoin for Just $7appeared first onCCN. \|\| Crypto Market Continues Slow Bleed Out But Tokens Record 20% Gains: Over the past 24 hours, thecryptomarket has lost about $4 billion of its valuation against the US dollar. Major cryptocurrencies likeBitcoin(BTC),Bitcoin Cash(BCH),Ethereum(ETH), andRipple(XRP) extended their losses by 2 to 8 percent. Theprice of BCHdropped from $236 to $215, by nearly nine percent. In the last two to three hours, BCH, BTC, ETH, and XRP demonstrated a slight recovery in both volume and price, but the momentum of the entire market remains a concern to short-term traders. While large market cap digital assets recorded minor losses, small market cryptocurrencies and tokens demonstrated gains in the range of 5 to 20 percent. Basic Attention Token(BAT), the native cryptocurrency of Brave Browser, increased from $0.16 to $0.185, by around 16.5 percent. Since the listing of BAT by Coinbase, the third largest crypto-to-fiat exchange in the world behind Bithumb and Bitfinex, the price of BAT dropped by more than 56 percent. However, in comparison to manyERC20tokens and consideration of the significant price surge BAT experienced in the build-up to the Coinbase listing, BAT has performed relatively well against both Bitcoin and the US dollar. Bitcoin also fell by 35 percent in the past week, as the crypto market experienced a wipeout of over $60 billion. Two major factors are expected to have contributed to the recent short-term corrective rally of tokens: extremely oversold conditions for small market cap tokens and theU.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)’scaution towards initial coin offering (ICO) projects. Every digital asset listed by Coinbase, which includes 0x (ZRX) and Brave Attention Token (BAT), meets the criteria of the SEC of a non-security. In May, when Coinbase initially released its plans to integrate Zcash (ZEC), Stellar (XLM), Cardano (ADA), ZRX, and BAT, the company emphasized that it will only pursue its plans if it can be certain that the tokens comply with existing regulations enforced by the SEC. In the months to come, as SEC’s Enforcement Division co-director Stephanie Avakian said at the Investment Adviser Association Conference in Washington, D.C., the SEC plans to crackdown on dozens of ICOs acknowledged by securities by the commission. Avakiansaid: “We are very active, and I would just expect to see more and more.” A handful of tokens could perform well against the US dollar, but generally, most tokens in the marketare expected to dropsubstantially in price. The cryptocurrency market is demonstrating oversold conditions following a steep decline in valuation. If Bitcoin can maintain strength in the low range of $4,000 to $4,500, it could lead to a several-month-long consolidation period. However, if BTC falls below the $4,000 mark, which traders fear, then a short-term turn around for the dominant cryptocurrency by the year’s end will become increasingly unlikely. With tokens on a downtrend, apart from several projects like BAT and ZRX that have been listed by Coinbase, the rest of the market could continue to extend its losses in the upcoming days. Featured Image from Shutterstock. Charts fromTradingView. The postCrypto Market Continues Slow Bleed Out But Tokens Record 20% Gainsappeared first onCCN. \|\| Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, Bitcoin Cash, EOS, Stellar, Litecoin, Cardano, Monero, TRON: Price Analysis, Nov. 9: The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph. Every investment and trading move involves risk, you should conduct your own research when making a decision. Market data is provided by theHitBTCexchange. While many experts and investors view the current crypto bear market as a negative, economist Tyler Cowen, professor at George Mason University, believes that a crash ispositivebecause it helps clean up the system. The dotcom bubble, though painful, wiped out the bad companies, paving the way for today’s leaders likeAmazonandGoogle. Previously, the naysayers pointed to the sharp volatility in cryptocurrencies as a deterrent for mass adoption. However, since September, Bitcoin has traded in a tighter rangethanthe Argentine peso, the Turkish lira, the Brazilian real, the Mexican peso, and the South African rand. In fact, its range was only 2.7 percent greater than that of the safe haven currency, the Swiss franc. Both on the way up and on its way down, Bitcoin has been the leader, whose price action is followed by the altcoins. However, someanalystsbelieve that this might change in the future and the next bull market might be led by one of the top altcoins. Let’s see what the charts forecast. Bitcoinhas failed to attract buyers at higher levels. It turned down from $6,600 levels and easily broke below both the moving averages. This is a sign of weakness. The next stop is a fall to $6,250–$6,200. A break below $6,200 will threaten the critical support zone at $6,075.04–$5,900, which has not been breached in 2018. Any break of this support can result in a sharp liquidation of long positions, dragging theBTC/USDpair to $5,450 and $5,000 within a short span of time. Therefore, traders can keep the stops at $5,900. If the bulls support $6,200 levels, the leading digital currency can extend its stay in the range for a few more days. Absence of follow up buying has pushedEthereumto the 20-day EMA. If this support breaks, it can slide to the lower support of $200 and $188.35. The downtrend will resume if the bears sink prices below the Sept. 12 lows of $167.32. If the bulls defend the 20-day EMA, theETH/USDpair might attempt to rise above $225.12 once again. We will turn positive on a breakout and close above $249.93. The flat moving averages and the RSI close to 50 suggests that consolidation might continue for a few more days. Price action inside the range is usually volatile and can hit stops quickly. Therefore, positional traders can wait for a breakout and close above $249.93 before initiating any long positions. On the other hand, aggressive traders can buy close to the bottom of the range, near $188.35, after the digital currency shows signs of moving up. Rippleis not finding buying support at higher levels. After breaking out of the tight range, it has corrected back to the moving averages that are sloping up. We anticipate the bulls to offer strong support at current levels. If theXRP/USDpair bounces off the moving averages or from the breakout levels of the tight range, it will attempt to breakout of $0.565 once again. If successful, the digital currency can reach $0.625 and $0.7644. On the other hand, if the bears sink prices below the moving averages and the tight range, a fall to $0.37185 is probable. For now, traders can retain the stops at $0.425, a level below which our bullish assumption fails. Bitcoin Cashhas turned down from the critical overhead resistance of $660.0753. We were expecting this, hence, we recommended booking partial profits in ourpreviousanalysis. The current pullback can extend to the moving averages, which have completed a bullish crossover; hence, we anticipate a strong support at the 20-day EMA. The RSI has also corrected its overbought levels, therefore, theBCH/USDpair might try to breakout of $660.0753 once again. If the attempt fails, traders can close their positions. Our bullish view will be invalidated if the bears continue to pound the digital currency, sinking it below the moving averages and $400. EOShas turned down from close to the top of the tight range. It is currently back at the midpoint. If the bears push prices below the 20-day EMA, a fall to the bottom of the range is probable. Traders can keep the stops on their long positions at $4.90. A breakdown of $5 can sink theEOS/USDpair to $4.49 and below that to the critical support at $3.8723. However, we expect the bulls to offer strong support at $5. The virtual currency will show signs of strength if it breaks out of $6. A reversal will be signaled when the bulls sustain the price above $6.8299. Following a breakout, the target levels to watch on the upside are $9.1668 and $11.4. Stellarcontinues to trade above the moving averages and the downtrend line of the descending triangle. As the virtual currency is consolidating after breaking out of the downtrend line, we shall retain our buy suggested in thepreviousanalysis. If our buy gets filled, the target objective if $0.36, with a minor resistance at $0.304. Though we expect this level to be scaled, in trading, we should be ready for any eventuality. Therefore, if the bears defend $0.304, traders can either close their position or raise their stops to breakeven. The initial stop loss can be kept at $0.2, which can be quickly trailed higher after the position gets filled. Our bullish view will be invalidated if theXLM/USDpair breaks below both the moving averages and re-enters the downtrend line of the triangle. The downtrend will resume on a breakdown of $0.184. Litecointurned down from the downtrend line. It has broken below both moving averages and is likely to retest the support zone between $49.466–$47.246. Traders, who are left with partial positions can maintain their stops at $50. TheLTC/USDpair remains bearish as long as it trades inside the descending triangle pattern. The downtrend will resume if the bears break below $47.246. The pattern will be invalidated if the bulls breakout of the downtrend line of the triangle. Such a move can push prices to the top of the range at $69.279. We expect a trend change if the virtual currency breaks out and closes (UTC time frame) above $69.279. Cardanois largely trading inside the tight range of $0.082207–$0.068989 since Oct. 12. After finding support at $0.068989 on Oct. 31, the price rallied to the top of the tight range at $0.082207 on Nov. 6. However, both these levels held out strongly. While the bulls defended the bottom of the range, the bears defended the top of the range. With both moving averages flat and the RSI at the midpoint, theADA/USDpair is not giving any clear insight about the next move. We anticipate a new uptrend if the bulls push prices above $0.094256. Until then, we suggest trades remain on the sidelines. If the virtual currency breaks down of $0.060105, it will resume the downtrend. After failing to breakout of the $112.44 level for four days,Monerohas turned down and broken below both moving averages. Unless the bulls scale the moving averages quickly, a decline to the bottom of the tight range at $100.453 is probable. The flat moving averages and the RSI close to 50 suggests that the range bound action is likely to continue. TheXMR/USDpair is not showing any reliable buy setups; hence, we are not recommending any trade. TRONhas been trading inside the $0.02815521–$0.0183 range since Aug. 8. Between Aug. 8 and Oct. 15, the price rose to the top of the range thrice and fell to the bottom of the range on two occasions. However, since then, theTRX/USDpair has largely been gravitating close to the midpoint of the range. Any deviation from the center gets pulled back quickly. A new trend will form either on a breakout or a breakdown from the range. A rally and close (UTC time frame) above $0.02815521 can result in a move to $0.04158193. Below $0.0183, the downtrend will resume. Market data is provided by theHitBTCexchange. Charts for analysis are provided byTradingView. • Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, Bitcoin Cash, EOS, Stellar, Litecoin, Cardano, Monero, TRON: Price Analysis, November 5 • Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, Bitcoin Cash, EOS, Stellar, Litecoin, Cardano, Monero, TRON: Price Analysis, October 31 • Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, Bitcoin Cash, EOS, Stellar, Litecoin, Cardano, Monero, TRON: Price Analysis, Nov. 7 • Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, Bitcoin Cash, EOS, Stellar, Litecoin, Cardano, Monero, TRON: Price Analysis, November 2 \|\| Here’s How You Can Get Amazon to Kick Some Cash to a Bitcoin Charity: Here’s How You Can Get Amazon to Kick Some Cash to a Bitcoin Charity Are you planning to do some shopping on Amazon this holiday season? If so, you can also support BitGive , the first registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit charity that uses the power of bitcoin to support some great philanthropic projects around the world. This year, BitGive is celebrating its fifth anniversary of charitable work in the Bitcoin space. And while shoppers can support its philanthropic efforts year round through the AmazonSmile program, now is the time of year when you might be spending a bit more time (and money) on the Amazon website. AmazonSmile is a subdomain on Amazon that allows shoppers to donate to their charity of choice when they shop with Amazon. You can passively donate to BitGive by signing up on smile.amazon.com and selecting "BitGive" as your charity of choice. Then, you can proceed to shop as you usually would. Amazon will donate 0.5 percent of the total price of your purchases to BitGive at no cost to you. "We love the Amazon Smile program! It is an easy way for our supporters to contribute to our mission while also shopping for their holiday gifts and everyday needs," Connie Gallippi, founder and executive director of BitGive, said to Bitcoin Magazine . In October 2018, Amazon announced it had donated $100 million to charities through its AmazonSmile program. “Hundreds of thousands of charities have been able to expand their meaningful work thanks to the donations they’ve received through AmazonSmile, and we want to say thank you to customers who are supporting important causes every time they shop,” said Jeff Wilke, Amazon Worldwide Consumer CEO. The BitGive foundation also accepts donations through their website to support their work with specific charities. Some of the past projects that BitGive has successfully funded and supported in the past include the Maternal & Neonatal India Program , the Chandolo Primary School Water Project and the Shisango Girls School . BitGive has also developed GiveTrack , a blockchain-based platform designed to make charitable organizations more transparent and increase donor confidence. “GiveTrack has been our main project for the past few years,” said Gallippi. “We have a live MVP now where you can see some of our early pilot projects, and there is some general information about the goals of the platform as well. We have an anticipated launch for GiveTrack 1.0 in early December.” This article originally appeared on Bitcoin Magazine . View comments \|\| Bitcoin – Is This the Calm Before Bitcoin’s 10th Birthday Fireworks?: A tough week for the broader cryptomarket saw just a handful of the crypto majors gain ground, while Bitcoin was left trailing, a 0.15% fall on Sunday leaving Bitcoin down 1.52% at $6,490.2 for the week. Rising to a morning high $6,513.9 saw Bitcoin fall well short of the day’s first major resistance level at $6,519.07 before easing back to sub-$6,500 levels, which has become the new line in the sand for the Bitcoin bulls and bears. An afternoon sell-off saw Bitcoin fall through the day’s first major support level at $6,463.17 to an intraday low $6,451 before testing resistance at $6,500 late in the day, with Bitcoin unable to hold on to $6,500 levels at the end of the day, following a late move through to $6,502. On the news front, reports of a Bitcoin exchange being hacked in Canada will have been a negative, with all funds on the exchange reportedly stolen, though there are suggestions across the news wires that this was an ‘exit scam’ rather than an actual hack, meaning that the owners of the exchange have run off with the money. The latest scandal, albeit smaller than the likes of the Mt Gox event, provides further justification to regulators to insist on appropriate controls and mechanisms including custody that would ultimately prevent such events from taking place. For the investor, there are frequent warnings of leaving cryptocurrencies on the exchanges and not in wallets with private keys that would prevent loss of funds, the latest theft, whether a hack or an exit scam being a reminder to those that continue to assume that the market and exchanges are heavily regulated. While Canada falls outside of the purview of the SEC, which is currently in the process of reviewing the 9 Bitcoin ETF applications that were submitted through the summer, the threat of theft or hack is ever present and would certainly need to be a part of the SEC’s mandate. Perhaps the current lack of volatility may ultimately wash away some of the smaller crypto exchanges that are not in it for the long haul and lack the funds or the know-how to meet any regulatory requirements that may be imposed by governments and regulators in the market’s next phase, ‘The Regulatory Overhaul.’ Get Into Cryptocurrency Trading Today At the time of writing, Bitcoin was up 0.16% to $6,500.6, with Bitcoin recovering from an early morning low $6,478 to a morning high $6,512 before easing back, the range bound moves through the morning seeing the day’s major support and resistance levels left untested early on. For the day ahead, a move back through the morning high $6,512 would support a run at the first major resistance level at $6,519.07, while we would expect Bitcoin to struggle to break out to bring the second major resistance level at $6,547.93 into play, with Bitcoin expected to continue facing plenty of resistance at $6,500. Failure to move back through the morning low could see Bitcoin give up $6,500 levels and ease back through the morning low $6,478 to call on support at the first major support level at $6,456.17 before any recovery, the second major support level at $6,422.13 unlikely to be tested on the day. Market impatience could begin to kick in that would support a further downward bias should Bitcoin fail to make a move, though the Bitcoin bulls may be biding their time, with Bitcoin’s 10thbirthday on Wednesday a day where Bitcoin may be set free from the shackles. Thisarticlewas originally posted on FX Empire • Natural Gas Price Fundamental Daily Forecast – Mild Start to November Could Drive Market into $3.125 to $3.057 • E-mini S&P 500 Index (ES) Futures Technical Analysis – Pivot at 2659.75 Controlling Price Action • AUD/USD Forex Technical Analysis – Talking Out .7126 Could Trigger Counter-Trend Rally into .7167 • Gold Price Futures (GC) Technical Analysis – Strengthens Over $1246.30, Weakens Under $1222.70 • Bitcoin – Is This the Calm Before Bitcoin’s 10th Birthday Fireworks? • USD/JPY Forex Technical Analysis – Strengthens This Week Over 112.175, Weakens Under 111.607 \|\| Ohio Congressman Wants to ‘Eliminate’ SEC Jurisdiciton over Crypto Industry: Report: Rep. Warren Davidson ICO regulation Now that Bitcoiner Jared Polis has left Congress for the Colorado Governor’s Mansion , support both moral and material for the crypto industry in Washington, DC may be seen as lacking. While it is largely unelected bureaucrats who rule the financial arena in this country and occasionally make brash decisions in regards to innovative technologies like cryptocurrency, all agencies and employees of the federal government eventually answer to Congress and its purse strings. Recently re-elected Ohio Rep. Warren Davidson, a Republican from the 8 th district of that state, is remarkably opposed to regulations which may have a strangling effect on the economy — particularly regulations as regards the nation’s vibrant ICO scene and cryptocurrencies more broadly. A recent article in the Washington Examiner confirms that Davidson remains committed to the cause of restricting repressive regulations at the federal level, perhaps even more so than he had originally signaled. CCN earlier reported that Davidson had invited a number of crypto companies to Capitol Hill to discuss the situation on the ground on September 25. His office issued a press release on that day summarizing Davidson’s stance as favoring “light touch” regulation, and a representative from his office confirmed to the Examiner staff that he would be introducing a bill – a timeline was not set, but Congress will only be working a few weeks out of the remainder of the year, so it’s safe to expect something next year, but perhaps unreasonable to expect anything this year. The bill Davidson aims to introduce will seek to exempt ICOs from securities legislation by legally defining them as products, enabling them to skirt several forms of regulation which currently bedevil many in the cryptocurrency ecosystem as well as add various types of costs to the industry — for example, securities lawyers. From the report: “A spokesman for Davidson confirmed that the Ohio Republican plans to introduce a bill that would allow ICOs to sidestep securities law, including at the state level, and eliminate the SEC’s jurisdiction over the industry by treating the currencies as products, rather than securities.” Davidson has not named any co-conspirators in his intended legal hack of the financial system. And while his intentions may be genuine and certainly worthy of note within the crypto space, the Examiner notes that it is unlikely that the incoming Democratic majority will get joyfully on board with any form of crypto deregulation strategy, though the Congressional Blockchain Caucus has historically featured a bipartisan membership. Story continues New York Democrat Carolyn Maloney, for instance, kept her house seat in a landslide of more than 85 percent. She has previously gone on the record as being wary of cryptocurrencies and ICOs. Maloney serves alongside Warren Davidson on the House Financial Services Committee and has been in Congress more than 20 years to Davidson’s few years. While this is perhaps not remarkable to most crypto enthusiasts, it certainly means something in practice, and Maloney is but one of crypto’s many less-than-friends in the House of Representatives. Featured Image from Warren Davidson for Congress/ YouTube The post Ohio Congressman Wants to ‘Eliminate’ SEC Jurisdiciton over Crypto Industry: Report appeared first on CCN . View comments [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] W środę 21 listopada o godzinie 19:00 zapraszam na darmowy webinar z serii "Jak czytać wykresy? Analiza techniczna kryptowalut" #16 Link do zapisu: https://webinarybitbay.subscribemenow.com #BitBay #Bitcoin #Altcoin #Kryptowaluty #Webinar #Edukacja #Tradingpic.twitter.com/Yc5mKsjZg7 \|\| START BITCOIN MINING http://keita2016.jp \|\| Short bankers, long BTC! Deutsche getting investigated due to Panama Papers!!!! https://ift.tt/2P8DYsg \|\| $225.00 Canaan Avalon 821 / A821 (new, onhand) 11.5 TH/S ASIC Bitcoin Miner (Not S9) #cryptocurrency #miner http://corneey.com/wZBFex pic.twitter.com/fhUSC6lj7E \|\| #blockchain #CBTEF #bitcoin pic.twitter.com/2wyir88L7W \|\| #ETH Buy at #Bitfinex and sell at #LiveCoin. Ratio: 2.35% Buy at #Binance and sell at #LiveCoin. Ratio: 2.68% Buy at #Kraken and sell at #KuCoin. Ratio: 3.00% Buy at #Kraken and sell at #HitBTC. Ratio: 3.20% #bitcoin #arbitrage #arbitraj #arbingtool http://arbing.info \|\| #CriptoMonedaseICO Aplastándolo: Stellar, Litecoin, Monero, y Zcash obtienen importantes logros como alzas en el mercado de criptografías - http://tinyurl.com/yavbm476 - By @criptomonedaseico - #trader #trading #altcoin #decentralize #hashrate #bitcoins #bitcoin \|\| BTC,ETH,XRP Last: 6462.43, 208.71, 0.49 High: 6504.39, 213.39, 0.50 Low: 6431.02, 207.62, 0.46 %: -0.00% , -0.01% , 0.04% Total USDT: -12.63, -3.16, 0.02 #BTC #bitcoin #ETH #XRP #ripple #crypto #cryptocurrency #pricepic.twitter.com/mChD0vk1Zr \|\| 2018/12/03 06:00 #Binance 格安コイン 1位 #HOT 0.00000013 BTC(0.06円) 2位 #NPXS 0.00000016 BTC(0.08円) 3位 #BCN 0.00000022 BTC(0.1円) 4位 #DENT 0.00000028 BTC(0.13円) 5位 #NCASH 0.00000055 BTC(0.26円) #仮想通貨 #アルトコイン #草コイン \|\| USD: 112.780 EUR: 128.130 GBP: 143.637 AUD: 80.299 NZD: 74.063 CNY: 16.185 CHF: 112.264 BTC: 705,899 ETH: 21,990 Wed Oct 31 01:00 JST	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 3486.95, 3313.68, 3242.48, 3236.76, 3252.84, 3545.86, 3696.06, 3745.95, 4134.44, 3896.54
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2021-07-15] BTC Price: 31780.73, BTC RSI: 39.90 Gold Price: 1828.40, Gold RSI: 57.14 Oil Price: 71.65, Oil RSI: 47.85 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] The market has an earnings problem: Morning Brief: This article first appeared in the Morning Brief. Get the Morning Brief sent directly to your inbox every Monday to Friday by 6:30 a.m. ET. Subscribe Tuesday, July 13, 2021 Huge earnings today don't equal huge returns tomorrow The second quarter earnings season unofficially kicks off this morning , with Goldman Sachs ( GS ), JP Morgan ( JPM ), and PepsiCo ( PEP ) among the first companies out of the gate. And as we've chronicled over the last few weeks here at the Morning Brief, expectations have been rising ahead of these results, as analysts struggle to keep pace with the fast-recovering business cycle. But strong results don't always accompany strong returns. In fact, they often coincide with the opposite. Year-to-date, "returns in the S&P 500 (+16%) have been entirely driven by rising earnings estimates (+21% YTD)," writes Savita Subramanian, equity strategist at Bank of America Global Research, in a note published Monday. "But while quarterly earnings surprises and market returns have been correlated (32% since 1996), strong earnings dont always translate to strong market returns. Historically, 60% of down quarters since 1996 (or 75% of down quarters ex-GFC) occurred in quarters with earnings beats. In 2000, despite earnings beating consensus for 10 straight quarters, the S&P 500 declined for four consecutive quarters. " (Emphasis ours.) In 2020, the market rallied as investors began anticipating robust economic and earnings growth. But the strong earnings we've seen this year and will see in the coming weeks serve to validate last year's rally. It may not underwrite further gains in the market. Earlier this year, the idea of " multiple compression " was a hot one among strategists on Wall Street. The basic argument said that as the economic cycle matured, investors would become less inclined to pay up for additional earnings growth. In other words, any increase in stock prices would need to be accompanied by an even larger increase in earnings growth. A dynamic we've seen this year, as BofA's work shows. Story continues All of which served as another reminder that what drives markets is anticipated not realized earnings, and economic growth. And it's why we had Nick Colas at DataTrek Research in our inbox on Monday morning, writing in the headline of his latest note that "earnings season needs to be awesome." Wall Street analysts think earnings were up 64% over last year, according to FactSet. But these gains have already been factored into stock prices. What investors need to see to keep pushing stock prices higher, then, is something new to believe in. And that something new will need to be better than consensus expectations. By Myles Udland , reporter and anchor for Yahoo Finance Live . Follow him at @MylesUdland Try Yahoo Finance Plus now. Top News European markets mixed as UK's lockdown easing confirmed for July 19 [Yahoo Finance UK] Bitcoin and major cryptos continue downward spiral [Yahoo Finance UK] France fines Google $593 million over copyright row [Reuters] U.S. approves Blue Origin license for human space travel ahead of Bezos flight [Reuters] Yahoo Finance Highlights Why Goldman Sachs thinks these 32 stocks are very attractive Why banning fans at the Olympics isn't a total financial loss Wells Fargo account closures cast light on vague cost of a credit score hit Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance \|\| Raw material costs rising for automotive industry: BofA report: Widespread inflation has led to the highest raw material cost per U.S. vehicle since 2011, a new Bank of America (BAC) Global Research report found. The report examines the recent bout of US inflation and examines its consequences for the automotive industry. One key takeaway from the report is that the cost of raw materials has risen sharply since mid-2020. “In the past year, the raw material cost in an average U.S. vehicle has been steadily rising, increasing ~87% from a low point of approximately $2,200/unit in Apr '20 to now roughly $4,125/unit in May '21,” the report found. “During this raw material cost inflation, average transaction prices seem to have stalled, although [they] still remain elevated at record high levels.” The compressing spread between rising raw material prices and stagnating average transaction prices is expected to increase pressure on automakers and suppliers’ respective financial bottom lines. The average vehicle is composed of 39% steel and 11% aluminum. The increase in raw materials cost has been concentrated heavily in high steel prices; the Bank of America report estimated that the average cost per pound for steel used in automotive manufacturing has increased 106% year over year as of last month. This is “relatively alarming,” according to the report, given the high makeup of steel in the average vehicle. Suppliers and original equipment managers (OEMs) are expected to bear the brunt of rising material costs, with the latter facing even greater exposure to indirect costs from the former. Rising inflation costs, plus pre-existing damage to supply chains caused by the pandemic present problems for both groups. “The automotive value chain is already facing significant headwinds from supply chain disruptions and production stoppages,” the report noted, “which continue to pressure margins in addition to rising raw material costs.” The costs of raw materials have risen so greatly that they now make up a significantly larger percentage of the price of a vehicle. “The cost of raw materials in an average vehicle as a % of the average transaction price (ATP) in the U.S. reached historical lows around 6% (5.9% in April '20) at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, driven by historically low raw material costs and all-time high average transaction prices,” the report found. “However, this cost ratio has since increased, now reaching ~11%, as commodity prices have bounced materially off of lows and ATPs have remained near peak levels.” By the end of spring, raw material costs had approached post-2000 historical levels, while average transaction prices remained essentially unchanged, posing “significant headwind for companies at the front end of the value chain,” according to the report. Rising inflation has been an issue of concern for several months now, withthe Bureau of Economic Analysis reporting Fridaythat the price index tracking personal consumption expenditure (PEC) rose 3.9% year over year as of May 2021. This is the index'shighest level since April of 2008. The automotive industryhas faced a shortage of new vehicles as well as higher demand since the relaxing of lockdown procedures occurred, driving up inflation. Imbalances in supply and demand in the automotive industry have accordinglyaccounted for a large proportion of recent increases in inflation measureslike the Consumer Price Index. Ihsaan Fanusie is a writer at Yahoo Finance. Follow him on Twitter@IFanusie. More from Ihsaan: 'Huge demand' to vaccinate the world amid COVID variant concerns: Doctor Electric aircraft company Vertical Aerospace plans to go public Bitcoin to tumble further: oddsmakers bet on drop to $10K Read the latest cryptocurrency and bitcoin news from Yahoo Finance Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance Follow Yahoo Finance onTwitter,Facebook,Instagram,Flipboard,LinkedIn,YouTube, andreddit \|\| Micron at Cusp of Major Downtrend: The tide has turned againstMicron Technology Inc. (MU)in recent weeks, raising odds the memory chipmaker will trade at much lower levels in coming months. Long-term resistance, downgrades, and predictions that DRAM prices soften in the second half have weighed on second quarter price action, dumping the stock more than 20% since April’s 21-year high. More importantly, it’s now reached a support level that bulls need to hold at all costs. The stock roared to higher ground in 2020, posting a 40% annual return in reaction to firming prices for all sorts of memory chips. It continued to gain ground in the first quarter of 2021, with chip shortages all across the world keeping a floor under prices. However, analysts now worry that prices will drop in the second half as supply ramps up and meets demand, potentially returning Micron to its long-term status as an on-again off-again cyclical play. Cleveland Research downgraded Micron to ‘Neutral’ last week, with analyst Chandler Converse predicting that Q3 DRAM ASPs will end up “lower than expected” and that Q4 may be “flat to down”. However, he’s looking for higher NAND ASP prices due to “controller shortages and a lower inventory build among customers compared to DRAM.” Even so, it will be hard to sustain the highest stock price in more than two decades when a key revenue driver loses altitude. Wall Street consensus is still riding the bull train, with a ‘Buy’ rating based upon 25 ‘Buy’ and 6 ‘Hold’ recommendations. No analysts are recommending that shareholders close positions and move to the sidelines. Price targets currently range from a low of $90 to a Street-high $172 while the stock is set to open Tuesday’s session more than $12 below the low target. This major disconnect indicates that Main Street investors believe the current price is unsustainable. Micron sold off from 97.50 to 1.59 between 2000 and 2008, finally turning higher into the new decade. It spent another decade or so carving a 5-wave rally pattern that stalled within 54-cents of the Net bubble high in April 2021. That high marks major resistance, often taking months or years to overcome. The stock has lost ground since that time, reaching 200-day moving average support this week. A breakdown is likely, given active monthly and weekly sell cycles. For a look at all of today’s economic events, check out oureconomic calendar. Disclosure: the author held no positions in aforementioned securities at the time of publication. Thisarticlewas originally posted on FX Empire • Gold Price Forecast – Gold Markets Showing Signs of Stability • Eurozone Consumer Confidence Improves but Was Somewhat Lackluster for the EUR • Crypto Bears Rage on as Bitcoin Drops to Lowest Price Levels Since January. • Stocks Gain Ground As Traders Believe That Powell Will Stay Dovish • Oil Price Fundamental Daily Forecast – It’s Strong Demand Expectations Versus Easing of OPEC+ Output Cuts • GBP/USD Price Forecast – British Pound Pulls Back Slightly \|\| 3 major ways our supply chains are broken: S&P: U.S. supply chains have suffered major damage due to the combined factors of the coronavirus pandemic, short-term corporate planning, and underinvestment in logistics, a new report from S&P Global Research found. In a series of three reports released Monday, Panjiva, the supply chain research unit of S&P Global Market Intelligence, detailed the outlook for supply chains for the third quarter of 2021 and beyond. “There have been two major signs of disruptions to supply chains in North America in the first half of 2021 and they will likely unwind during the second half of the year,” the report found. The first sign, the report explained, is the surge in consumer demand seen in elevated retail sales and a fall in inventories . Retail sales increased 15.7% in May 2021 from May 2019, before the pandemic. And although U.S. imports have increased in an attempt to meet demand, they have “not been enough to support sales on the basis of falling inventory-to-sales ratios.” The inventory-to-sales ratio indicates this has been the case, as in the U.S. retail sector, in which it fell from 1.47 in April 2019 to 1.07 in April 2021. In order to rebuild inventory, the report adds, increased shipping activity may need to persist even if demand falls in Q3 and Q4. This aerial photo taken on June 22, 2021 shows cargo containers stacked at Yantian port in Shenzhen in China's southern Guangdong province. - A backlog at Yantian port - China's largest container terminal - caused by a Covid-19 outbreak among port workers will take several weeks to clear, the world's biggest shipping firm said on June 21. - China OUT (Photo by STR / AFP) / China OUT / The erroneous mention[s] appearing in the metadata of this photo by STR has been modified in AFP systems in the following manner: [June 22] instead of [June 21]. Please immediately remove the erroneous mention[s] from all your online services and delete it (them) from your servers. If you have been authorized by AFP to distribute it (them) to third parties, please ensure that the same actions are carried out by them. Failure to promptly comply with these instructions will entail liability on your part for any continued or post notification usage. Therefore we thank you very much for all your attention and prompt action. We are sorry for the inconvenience this notification may cause and remain at your disposal for any further information you may require. - China OUT (Photo by STR/AFP via Getty Images) (STR via Getty Images) The second sign of disruption is a “shortage of components for the industrial manufacturing sector, though macroeconomic data suggests the challenges are focused on specific products.” The automotive industry was cited as a prime example of a disrupted supply chain stemming from manufacturing strategic decisions. The semiconductor shortage , caused by a plethora of factors , greatly reduced supply capabilities for materials necessary for manufacturing automobiles. The pandemic had perhaps the most obvious impact on supply chains. Lockdowns prevented the flow of goods at every step in the supply chain, leading to severe disruptions in the manufacturing process. The spread of the virus led to additional risks in almost every industry. Story continues Vaccine rollouts have been a significant step in the right direction on this front. “Persistent recovery requires the continued rollout of COVID-19 vaccines globally,” the Panjiva report noted. “While significant progress has been made in most developed economies with domestic production — such as in the U.S., the U.K. and EU, as well as countries supplied by Russia and China — there are still low levels of vaccination in countries reliant on supplies from India.” Lastly, the report touched upon the fallout arising from the underinvestment in logistics . “Supply chains have had to deal with the stress of elevated demand against an essentially fixed supply of logistics services during the first half of 2021,” Panjiva explained. Interestingly, the report notes that many ports have “continued to operate at peak levels during what is normally the off-peak season.” Data collected by the department showed that average daily imports to U.S. seaports reached 93,300 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) per day in June, a level very close to the October 2020 peak season record-high of 94,100 TEUs per day. “If container shipping rates are to return to normal and supply chains are to operate at sustainable levels,” the report said, “it is critical that existing backlogs at ports are cleared before the next peak-season wave.” Recent trends show signs of optimism for the future of logistics. “Following three years of underinvestment in logistics both by incumbent players and new entrants, there has been a flood of private capital and capital raises recently,” the report noted. Notable examples include a $200 million investment in Shipbob Inc . led by Bain Capital Venture Partners LLC at an implied $1.0 billion valuation, as well as a $240 million SoftBank Corp investment in Forto GmbH at a $1.2 billion valuation. Ihsaan Fanusie is a writer at Yahoo Finance. Follow him on Twitter @IFanusie . More from Ihsaan: Uber, Lyft created ride-hailing shortage: Gig economy expert Raw material costs rising for automotive industry: BofA report Bitcoin to tumble further: oddsmakers bet on drop to $10K Read the latest cryptocurrency and bitcoin news from Yahoo Finance Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance Follow Yahoo Finance on Twitter , Facebook , Instagram , Flipboard , LinkedIn , YouTube , and reddit \|\| Subsidized Energy Powers Argentine Crypto Mining Boom: Cryptocurrency miners in Argentina are taking advantage of the country’s subsidized electricity to reap outsized returns. This year, countries around the world have beenexperiencing crypto mining booms. Ultra-low utility rates and the resurgence of capital controls fuel the current one in Argentina. “Even after bitcoin’s (BTC) price correction, the cost of electricity for anyone mining from their house is still a fraction of the total revenue generated,”saidNicolas Bourbon, a digital currency miner from Buenos Aires. In the past few years, Argentina experiencedcyclical economic crises. These include repeat currency devaluations, defaults, hyperinflation, and a three-year recession compounded by the coronavirus pandemic. This has made the environment fertile for the adoption of alternative payment methods, especially cryptocurrencies. To emphasize Argentina’s current economic plight, inflation of the country’s peso is also running at about 50% annually. The plunging value of Argentina’s native currency has led to the reintroduction of foreign exchange controls. While restricted from buying dollars, Argentines can also only buy $200-worth of any other currency. This has ostensibly given many of them much more incentive to migrate to digital currencies. One example of this surging local demand is bitcoin’s value at 5.9 million pesos ($62,316) in unofficial markets, versus about 3.4 million pesos ($35,911) at the official rate. Besides the greater incentive to acquire higher value-retaining assets, crypto enthusiasts also benefit from the country’s longstandingresidential electricity subsidies. Despite the policy being favorable to voters, it has started fueling tension within the ruling left-wing Peronist coalition. Lacking sufficient domestic energy resources, Argentina is a net importer of gas. Despite this, consumer electricity bills are only about 2% to 3% of an average monthly income. This amount is nearly double in other Latin American markets, like Brazil, Colombia, or Chile. “The crypto that miners generate is typically sold at the parallel exchange rate, but the energy is paid for at a subsidized rate,” according to Ezequiel Fernandez, an analyst at Balanz Capital Valores in Buenos Aires. “At the moment, revenues are very high.” Due to the potential for outsized revenues, foreign mining firms are sensing opportunity. For instance, Canada’s Bitfarmssecured a dealto tap directly into a local power plant. This will enable them to draw as much as 210 megawatts of natural gas-powered electricity for $0.022 per kilowatt-hour, which is far below the wholesale market rate. This is around $0.06 per kilowatt-hour for industrial customers who lack a connection to the local grid. If successful, this could potentially become the largest bitcoin-mining facility in South America. \|\| Bitcoin Dominance (BTCD) Resumes Fall, Aims for New All-Time Low: The bitcoin dominance rate (BTCD) rebounded slightly on May 19 but has lost nearly all of its gains since then. Both the long and medium-term trends are firmly bearish, though a short-term bounce could transpire. The bitcoin dominance rate has been moving downwards since December 2020, when it reached a high of 73.63%. The decrease continued until May 19, 2021, culminating with a low of 39.66%. There are two main support areas at 39.50% and 36%. After bouncing from the former, the BTCD has returned to the level once more. The latter is the all-time low BTCD. Technical indicators are bearish. The MACD is decreasing inside the negative territory and the RSI is below the 30-line. And while the Stochastic oscillator has stalled its decrease, it has yet to make a bullish cross nor move upwards. As a result, we can consider the long-term trend to still be bearish. The daily chart shows that BTCD has been decreasing alongside a descending resistance line since January 2021. Most recently, it was rejected by the line on March 24. Despite the previously outlined bounce, technical indicators are bearish. The MACD has given a bearish reversal signal and is falling, the RSI is below 50, and the Stochastic oscillator has just made a bearish cross (red icon). Therefore, the daily outlook aligns with the weekly signals, painting a bearish picture. While the short-term chart shows a descending wedge, which is a bullish pattern, all long-term signs point to a bearish trend. Therefore, a potential breakout from the wedge would likely only be a short-term bounce prior to another decrease. Cryptocurrency trader@24KCryptooutlined a BTCD chart, stating that it will likely continue decreasing towards a new all-time low. The wave count does align with this reading, suggesting that BTCD is in wave C (white). The sub-wave count is shown in orange. However, it’s not yet certain if sub-wave four has ended or if it’s still developing. In any case, the ensuing downward movement could take BTCD all the way down to the range of 27.50%-25.40%. This target range is found using an external Fib retracement andFib projection. For BeInCrypto’s latestbitcoin(BTC) analysis,click here. \|\| Bitcoin plunges: A bust or a buy?: By Tommy Wilkes, Sujata Rao and Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss NEW YORK/LONDON (Reuters) -Cryptocurrencies that seemed to be defying gravity just weeks ago came back down to earth with a bump on Wednesday after a roller-coaster ride which could undermine their potential as mainstream investments. The two main digital currencies, bitcoin and ether, fell as much as 30% and 45% respectively, but significantly pared losses after two of their biggest backers - Tesla Inc chief Elon Musk and Ark Invest's Chief Executive Cathie Wood - indicated their support for bitcoin. While many analysts thought the explosion in crypto interest this year was not sustainable, the trigger for the shake-out was China's move on Tuesday to ban financial and payment institutions from providing cryptocurrency services. It also warned investors against speculative crypto trading. At one point on Wednesday nearly $1 trillion was wiped off the market capitalization of the entire crypto sector. In early afternoon trading, their market cap was $1.8 trillion, according to data tracker CoinGecko.com. "It's not just a small segment of the world that is affected by cryptocurrencies; it's now mainstream," said Tom Plumb, portfolio manager of the Plumb Balanced Fund. In other markets, a move into safe-haven U.S. Treasury securities initially knocked yields lower, although yields rose after the release of minutes of the Federal Reserve's latest meeting, while U.S. stock indexes logged losses. "There's a lot of leverage embedded into crypto stocks so there will be a spillover effect into equity markets in the short term and there is also quite the inflation fear as the market thinks the Fed might have to hike rates abruptly if prices keep rising," said Thomas Hayes, chairman and managing member at hedge fund Great Hill Capital LLC. Federal Reserve officials played down any risk to the wider financial system. "By itself I don't see that as a systemic concern at this point," St. Louis Federal Reserve president James Bullard said. "We are all quite aware that crypto can be very volatile." Bitcoin, the biggest and best-known cryptocurrency, had already been under pressure from a series of tweets from Tesla's Musk. Cryptocurrency price declines last week were sparked by Musk's reversal on Tesla accepting bitcoin as payment, citing the heavy environmental toll of "mining" bitcoin, which requires a lot of electricity to power the computers that create bitcoin. Amid Wednesday's crypto sell-off, Musk tweeted a 'diamond hands' emoji https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1395027147161489412?s=20, used in social media to signal a position is worth holding on to. "His tweet definitely helped the recovery," said Mike Venuto, founder and chief investment officer at Toroso Investments, which oversees $7 billion in assets. "Would it have recovered some without it? Yes. But would it have recovered nicely? Maybe not." Bitcoin has dropped some 40% from a record high of $64,895 hit on April 14. On Wednesday, it hit a low of $30,066 and was last down 13% at $37,323. Tesla shares fell 2.5%. "Bitcoin's sharp price drop should come as no shock to the market," said Gavin Smith, CEO of crypto consortium Panxora. "Any asset which has risen as much as bitcoin over the past year can be expected to have pullbacks as some investors withdraw profits, like we're currently seeing." Bitcoin's decline whacked other crypto assets, with ether, the coin linked to the ethereum blockchain network, last down 22.5% at $2,620. Meme-based dogecoin also tumbled, losing nearly 26%, at 35 cents, according to Coingecko. Amid the volatility, cryptocurrency trading platforms Coinbase and Binance said they were investigating or experiencing some service issues. Shares in Coinbase dropped 5.9% on Wednesday. Technical factors were also said to be at play as bitcoin appeared to accelerate once it fell below its 200-day moving average, a chart position which traders follow. "The crypto markets are currently processing a cascade of news that fuel the bear case for price development," said Ulrik Lykke, executive director at crypto hedge fund ARK36. Some crypto-watchers predicted more losses ahead, noting the fall below $40,000 represented a breach of a key technical barrier. ARK CEO Wood, on the other hand, said in an interview with Bloomberg that she was still sticking to her $500,000 forecast for bitcoin. Investors could also be exiting bitcoin for gold, analysts at JPMorgan said, citing data on open interest in CME bitcoin futures contracts. That the crypto asset is tumbling at a time when inflation fears are rising undermines the case for investing in the asset class to hedge against inflation, analysts said. (Reporting by Tommy Wilkes, Sujata Rao in Londo; Additional reporting by Shashank Nayar, Medha Singh; Writing by Alden Bentley, Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss and Lewis Krauskopf in New York; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise, Andrew Cawthorne, Elaine Hardcastle and Richard Chang) \|\| Bitcoin Declined Below Key Support Level At $35,000: Bitcoin Video 08.06.21. Bitcoinmanaged to get below the key support level at $35,000 and is testing the next support at $32,000. Other cryptocurrencies are also moving lower. Ethereumgained material downside momentum after it managed to settle below the 50 EMA at $2645. Currently, Ethereum trying to settle below $2500.Dogecoindeclined below its 50 EMA at $0.3490 and made an attempt to settle below $0.3150. The market mood is clearly bearish in absence of positive catalysts. The nearest significant catalyst for the crypto market and riskier assets in general is the release of U.S. inflation data on Thursday. If inflation gets above the 5% level, riskier assets may find themselves under strong pressure which will be bearish for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. It should be noted that the current analyst consensus calls for Inflation Rate of 4.7% in May, but a negative surprise is possible. Bitcoin has recently made an attempt to settle below the support at $32,000 but failed to develop sufficient downside momentum and continued to trade in the $32,000 – $35,000 range. RSI remains in the moderate territory, and there is plenty of room to gain additional downside momentum in case the right catalysts emerge. If Bitcoin declines below the support at $32,000, it will head towards the next support at $30,000. A successful test of this level will open the way to the test of the support at $29,000. If Bitcoin gets below $29,000, it will move towards the support at $27,500. On the upside, the previous support level at $35,000 will serve as the first resistance level for Bitcoin. If Bitcoin manages to get above this level, it will head towards the next resistance at $37,000. A move above the resistance at $37,000 will open the way to the test of the resistance which is located at the 20 EMA at $38,000. From a big picture point of view, Bitcoin remains in a downside trend, and there is a significant risk of an additional sell-off. For a look at all of today’s economic events, check out oureconomic calendar. Thisarticlewas originally posted on FX Empire • USD/JPY Fundamental Daily Forecast – Japan Upgrades First Quarter GDP, but Economy Still in Contraction • Investors Flock to U.s Dollar on Concerns Over Fed’s Plan on Tapering Asset Purchases • Stocks Gain Ground As Treasury Yields Decline • Bitcoin Declined Below Key Support Level At $35,000 • Price of Gold Fundamental Daily Forecast – Edging Higher Despite Uncertainty Over CPI, Fed Tapering Decision • EUR/USD Price Forecast – Euro Continues to Grind Higher \|\| Bitcoin Holds Short-Term Support; Faces Resistance at $41K: Bitcoin (BTC) stabilized around $38,000 support on Wednesday but upside appears limited towards $41,000. The choppy range over the past few days suggests indecision between buyers and sellers. A breakout from the trading range would yield an upside target towards the next resistance level around $45,000. However, upside momentum has been weak, which means the corrective phase from May is not yet complete. Bitcoin was trading around $39,200 at press time and is up 7% over the past seven days. • The relative strength index (RSI) on the four-hour chart is neutral after signaling an overbought downturn on Monday. • The short-term trend is improving as price remains above the 100-period moving average on the four-hour chart. • Support around $37,000 and $34,000 could stabilize a potential pullback. However, there is strong resistance between $41,000 and $45,000. • The weekly chart is not yet oversold, which suggests limited upside and an extended period of consolidation. • Mining Council: We Must Counter ‘Misinformation’ About Bitcoin’s Environmental Damage • Market Wrap: Bitcoin Struggles Below $40K as Traders Digest Fed Statement • What We Mean by ‘Adviser’: The Difference Between RIAs and IARs • Paraguay Entertainment Group to Accept Bitcoin, Ether, SHIB Next Month \|\| Human Rights Foundation Gives Out $210K in Bitcoin Development Grants: The Human Rights Foundation’s newest grants are funding everything from the Lightning Network activism tech to Arabic translations of Bitcoin content. The HRF’s Bitcoin Development Fund latest round will allot $210,000 to Bitcoin developers, two Lightning Network wallet teams, and an Arabic translator. In this round, Bitcoin Core contributors Calvin Kim, Dhruv Mehta and Abubakar Nur Kahlil will each receive $50,000; the Breez and Sphinx wallet teams will pick up $25,000 each; and English-Arabic translator Arabic_HODL will receive $10,000. Kim will use the funding to work on Utreexo , a Bitcoin node scaling project which takes Bitcoin’s transaction history and represents it in under a kilobyte of data, reducing the time and effort it takes to bootstrap the node software that is the backbone of Bitcoin’s network. Mehta will continue his work on Bitcoin’s security with Bitcoin Improvement Proposal 324 to reduce Sybil attack vectors on Bitcoin nodes. Kahlil will be working on a wallet purpose-built for his home country of Nigeria, a land where bitcoin adoption is thriving in response to political corruption and capital controls. Related: Bitcoin Rejected Near $38K After Two-Day Price Gain Sphinx Chat , a Lightning Network wallet and encrypted messaging service that allows its users to chat using the Lightning Network, will use its grant to build out a directory to connect their users with activists for humanitarian funding. Breez , another Lightning Network wallet, will use its money to build out its own encrypted chatting capabilities, as well as to improve node backup support and add Tor support for Android and iOS. Arabic _HODL will continue to translate Bitcoin content into Arabic. Bitcoin development grants continue one year on Jaewoo Cho, an assistant professor at Hansung University, and an anonymous cryptocurrency investor, RenoHQ, led the donations for this round, which also included funding from Anthony Pompliano’s Bitcoin Pizza Day sales and Cygni Capital. Story continues The Human Rights Foundation joins BitMEX with its support of Kim , while Mehta also receives funding from Gemini and Square Crypto. With recipients from Korea, Nigeria, the Middle East and elsewhere, this is perhaps the HRF’s most diverse and globe-spanning round to date. The organization began issuing grants to Bitcoin developers, journalists and other community members last year, and it has issued over $800,000 in bitcoin (at today’s exchange rate) for 18 recipients and projects since launching last May. Related: Bitcoin’s Long-Term Put Options See Sustained Demand as Price Consolidates Square Crypto , BitMEX , Kraken , Gemini and other Bitcoin and crypto companies have also donated heavily to Bitcoin developers and other community members in the past year. For an open-source ecosystem like Bitcoin, these grants can be a financial lifeline for coders who have historically worked on Bitcoin’s software for free (or, in the best cases, on smaller donations). Gifts toward future grants can be made at HRF.org/DevFund , while proposals for support can be submitted to [email protected] . Related Stories Bitcoin, Ether Etch Largest Daily Gains in a Week Bitcoin Miner Marathon Will No Longer Censor Transactions, CEO Says [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] None available.	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 31421.54, 31533.07, 31796.81, 30817.83, 29807.35, 32110.69, 32313.11, 33581.55, 34292.45, 35350.19
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2019-01-30] BTC Price: 3486.18, BTC RSI: 39.21 Gold Price: 1309.90, Gold RSI: 70.58 Oil Price: 54.23, Oil RSI: 59.22 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] ‘Resilient’ Bitcoin Price Will Rally to $25,000 [Eventually]: Tom Lee: tom lee bitcoin price The past 12 months haven’t been easy for any bitcoin bull, but perhaps no cryptocurrency proponent has had a worse time than Tom Lee, the Wall Street strategist who predicted that the bitcoin price would hit $25,000 by the end of 2018 and must now reckon with the result of that forecast every time he goes back on television. Tom Lee Sticks by Bitcoin Price Forecast But Drops Timeline The Fundstrat Global Advisors founder’s latest dish of humble pie was served up courtesy of Stuart Varney, who interviewed Lee last Friday for the Fox Business Network. Varney asked Lee whether he regretted making that bitcoin price prediction , which he maintained throughout much of the year until it became clear that Crypto Winter had no intention of thawing in 2018. A somber Lee refused to recant. Read the full story on CCN.com . \|\| Technical Checks For Important JPY Pairs: 28.12.2018: Having failed to cross 111.35-40 horizontal-resistance, the USDJPY again dips beneath 200-day SMA and aims for the 109.80-75 rest-region. In case oversold RSI fall short of activating the pair’s U-turn around 109.75, the 109.30, the 109.00 and the 108.60 can act as intermediate halts before drawing market attention to the 108.10-107.75 support-zone. Alternatively, an upside clearance of 111.40 on a daily closing basis could quickly fuel the quote towards the 111.80 and the 100-day SMA level of 112.40. Moreover, pair’s successful rise beyond 112.40 enables it to confront the 113.15 and a downward slanting resistance-line near 113.80. Even after trading near the lowest levels in nine-months, the CADJPY is yet to provide a weekly closing under 80.65-50 area that has been restricting the pair’s downturn since early 2017. If at all the Bears manage to conquer 80.50, the 80.00, the 79.60 and the 78.80 are likely following numbers to appear on the chart. Meanwhile, the 82.05-15 may continue limiting the pair’s near-term advances, breaking which 83.00 & 83.50 might lure the buyers. It should also be noted that the pair’s sustained up-move past-83.50 can flash the 84.30, the 84.70 and the 85.60 on Bulls’ radars. CHFJPY struggles with 200-day SMA level of 112.40 in order to justify its strength in targeting the 112.80 and the 113.10, comprising 50-day SMA. Though, three-month old descending trend-line, at 113.85 now, may confine the pair’s up-moves after 113.10, if not then 114.00 and the 114.40 can grab the limelight. On the downside, the 111.55-35 seem immediate support for the pair, breaking which 111.00 and the 110.60 needs to be observed carefully. Given the pair’s extended south-run below 110.60, the 110.00, the 109.45 and the 108.60 may become sellers’ favorites. Thisarticlewas originally posted on FX Empire • Bitcoin – Bulls Continue to Struggle, as the Bears Target $3,500 • EUR/USD Mid-Session Technical Analysis for December 28, 2018 • DASH Technical Analysis – Support Levels Eyed – 28/12/18 • EUR/USD Price Forecast – EURO Gains Upper Hand on Last Trading Session of the Week • Nikkei Dives After Bank of Japan Sees Downside Risks to Economy • Risk Sentiment the Key Driver for the USD, with U.S Stats Unlikely to Help \|\| Bitcoin Sees New 2019 Lows as Crypto Markets Slide Down: Monday, Jan. 14 — cryptomarketsare still sliding down after a weekend in the red. According toCoinMarketCap,Bitcoin(BTC) has hit a new 2019 low, trading at $3,552 around press time as other majorcryptocurrenciesare facing moderate losses. Market visualization fromCoin360 Bitcoin has lost another 2 percent in 24 hours, with its price barely reaching $3,600. Although some reportspredictedmajor market movements due to the recent activation of long-dormant Bitcoin wallets, the major coin has spent a weekend mostly in the red. Bitcoin 7-day price chart. Source: CoinMarketCapBitcoin Price Index Ripple (XRP), which is currently the top altcoin with a market capitalization around $13.3 billion, is facing slight losses of around 2.5 percent. As of press time, the coin is trading at around $0.324. Ripple 7-day price chart. Source: CoinMarketCapRipple Price Index Ethereum’s (ETH) market cap is almost $1 billion less than XRP, ranking in third on CoinMarketCap. The altcoin is now trading at around $118; its weekly chart has seen a significant drop in comparison to last Monday’s high of $154. Ethereum 7-day price chart. Source: CoinMarketCapEthereum Price Index The totalmarket capitalizationof all cryptocurrencies is currently hovering around $119 billion. It has declined by almost $20 billion since Thursday, Jan. 10, reaching its 2019 low of $116.8 billion earlier today. 7-day total market capitalization chart. Source:CoinMarketCap As for other altcoins, TRON (TRX) is currently the onlyaltcoinin the top ten in the green, seeing up to 2 percent gains on the day as of press time. Bitcoin SV (BSV) has seen the worst performance among major coins in last 24 hours, losing around 9 percent and trading at $77 as of press time. As Cointelegraphreportedearlier today,Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, Bitcoin (BTC) endorsers and founders of the crypto trading platformGemini, have predicted a bright future for stablecoins and tokenized securities. The entrepreneurs believe the crypto industry will move from a focus on unregistered initial coin offerings (ICO) to tokenized assets in various areas, such as real estate. In the meantime, Reuters has reported thatMalaysiancryptocurrency regulation will come into effect on Tuesday, Jan. 15. The new regulationclassifiesdigital currencies, tokens and crypto-assets as securities, placing them under the Securities Commission’s authority. Meanwhile, Googlehas reportedly blacklistedkeywords mentioning Ethereum on its advertising platform Google Ads. According to auditing startup Decenter, the “ethereum development services” and “ethereum security audits” keywords are no longer available for their use. The official Google Ads Twitter account explained that the problem might be linked to targeting features, as crypto exchanges can only target their ads in theUnited StatesandJapan. • Bitcoin Holds Above $4,000 Amid Checkered Market Outlook • On Bitcoin’s 10th Birthday, Crypto Markets See Corrections Across the Board • Crypto Markets Are Mostly in Green, Ethereum Regains Top Altcoin Position • Bitcoin Approaches $3,700 as Top Cryptos Report Gains \|\| 10 Years Ago Today, Hal Finney Started ‘Running Bitcoin’: Hal Finney is one of the people many suspected to beSatoshi Nakamoto. A long-time cryptographer and cypherpunk, Finney was the first person ever to receive a Bitcoin transaction. From Satoshi Nakamoto. He was enthusiastic about the project from the beginning. He posted the first known tweet about Bitcoin ten years ago today: Part of the speculation about Hal Finney being Satoshi Nakamoto was due to the fact that Dorian Satoshi Nakamoto lived in the same town as him for ten years. Both Finney and Dorian Nakamoto denied involvement in the creation of Bitcoin. Today,tweets about Bitcoinnumber in the thousands. At the time, however, Finney might have just been trying to get his followers involved in the project. Early messages about the cryptocurrency were very inviting. No one had any clue that it would become an economic force global markets are still trying to adapt to. When mainstream financial analysts first came across Bitcoin,they often dismissed it as something that couldn’t possibly stand the test of time.Today, however, no one thinks cryptocurrencies are going anywhere, although the mantra of “Bitcoin maximalism” seems to be fading as dozens of other cryptos develop strong market capitalizations. Eleven days later, Finney tweeted that anonymity was lacking in Bitcoin: Six days after that, Finney’s belief is growing. He wonders about the environmental implications of crypto mining. This is years before environmentalists would decry the energy usage of Bitcoin mining. The difficulty of the network at the time of that tweetwas still 1.00, and most blocks were empty save for their mining reward of 50 coins. Average PCs could still mine BTC with no excess energy usage. ASICs and GPUs would come into play over the following year. Although Hal Finney died in 2014, in the middle of last year someone asked him for 100,000 bitcoins and called him “Nakamo Satoshi”: The address listed therereceived .115 BTC in November. Hal Finney was employee #2 at the PGP Corporation, which built its business on the open source Pretty Good Privacy public-key cryptography tech developed in the early 90s. PGP and GPG (a Free and Open Source alternative implementation) remain the most actively used cryptographic protocols for e-mail and other types of communications on the web. Symantec acquired PGP Corporation in 2010 for $300 million. Finney, by this point, was watching Bitcoin flourish and became an important voice in the community. In one of his last posts to theBitcointalk community, Finney spoke to the tax situation around Bitcoin. The word Bitcoin was not even used by thegovernment until many months later. Finney said: I aquired most of my coins by mining. This has no anology with currency (unless you’re counterfeiting Smiley ) so I intend to treat bitcoins as precious metals and declare my profits as capital gains. Since I mined them more than a year earlier, they are long term capital gains. This is not as favorable as usual because it turns out that precious metals, even bullion, are considered “collectables” and taxed at a rate of 28%. Normal rate is 15%. If your overall tax rate is less than 28%, you can pay the lower rate. That is what I intend to do, based on my reading of the IRS documents. Hal Finney died on August 28th, 2014 of Lou Gehrig’s disease. Featured Image from Shutterstock The post10 Years Ago Today, Hal Finney Started ‘Running Bitcoin’appeared first onCCN. \|\| First Bitcoin Capital Corp Provides Alternative Blockchain for $Weed Currency Owners Via an Ethereum Erc20 Smart Contract: 2018 Year in Review: TEL AVIV, ISRAEL / ACCESSWIRE / December 28, 2018 / First Bitcoin Capital Corp (OTC PINK: BITCF ) today begins providing an alternative vehicle to own and transfer WEED (COIN:WEED) tokens utilizing the Ethereum eco system. First Bitcoin Capital originally generated WEED [1] (as a commemorative cryptocurrency that may be utilized to solve banking problems in the cannabis sector) on the Bitcoin Blockchain via the Omni protocols. While the Omni smart contract has proven to be a viable vehicle based on the success of Tether (COIN:USDT), the second most actively traded cryptocurrency, having a secondary means to hold, transfer and receive tokenized WeeD[2] presents more flexibility for ownership that opens the doors to additional crypto exchange platforms. No new WEED coins will be added to the total supply. The total supply on Ethereum mirrors the original supply on Bitcoin Blockchain, however, when an owner elects to convert their Omni tokens to Ethereum tokens 1:1 ratio (minimum 10000 tokens per conversion ) the surrendered tokens will be held in trust, only to be used if/when an ERC20 weed token holder elects to reverse swap their ERC20s to Omni tokens. The ERC20 weed contract can be read here: https://etherscan.io/token/0xb2930de1808e7b1c5369ca24df4996c1ad1f3440#readContract First Bitcoin Capital expects to witness additional WeeD token listings emerge on crypto exchanges, utilizing the ERC20 version in early 2019. We also anticipate adaptation of WeeD as a medium of exchange to solve some of the banking problems vexing the Cannabis industry in 2019. Through our recently launched 420WiFi proximity marketing for cannabis dispensaries business, we plan to begin capitalizing on the loyalty program opportunities presented therein utilizing $Weed coins as a means to gain greater customer satisfaction. A precedent has successfully been set for allowing a cryptocurrencies to trade on various exchanges under two separate blockchains. MobileGo (COIN:MGO), for example, trades on crypto exchanges throughout the world as both an Ethereum Blockchain ERC20 token and a Waves Blockchain token. Story continues Holders of Omni WEED tokens wishing to convert their holdings to the ERC20 version (WeeD) should email their requests to [email protected] providing the address in which their Omni weed tokens are held together with the ETH wallet address to which they wish their ERC20 WeeD tokens sent. 2018 Year in Review To our shareholders, We are extremely proud of the milestones we achieved during the year 2018. Each milestone represents the dedication to the work our team provided throughout each project. During the year, First Bitcoin Capital Corp: Began developing the first blockchain based supply chain management tool for the oil and gas industry called PetroBLOQ. The company developed Petroleum Coin (Coin:OIL) as a managed Ethereum smart contract token to be utilized in petroleum industry. Advanced the development of www.altcoinmarketcap.com which involves Altcoin (COIN:ALT) tracking thousands of cryptocurrencies and is designed to compete with a popular website, coinmarketcap.com. The company allocated 25,000,000 $WEED tokens towards our CANNABLOQ project, an industry based website dedicated to educate those whom may benefit from cannabis therapy. The Company completed purchase of PERKSCOIN from www.CannaSOS.com ICO - one of the best known social media cannabis companies. The company completed and published audited financial statements for the years ending 2016 and 2017 and began the up-listing process. The company redeveloped our main website to make it easier for shareholders to stay updated with company projects and moved it to: www.firstbitcoin.io. The company launched 420WIFI, a location-based marketing and analytics platform that provides WiFi as a free digital marketing tool to retain and reward customers at local cannabis doctors and dispensaries nationwide. This opens the door for us to employ some of our loyalty coins, including WEED, as a loyalty incentive., For more information, please visit www.420wifi.com . The company signed a Joint Venture Agreement with DigiCrypts Blockchain Solutions inc, which also does business as DIGiMax Global Solutions. The purpose of the Joint Venture is to facilitate the funding of Security Token Offerings (STO's) for clients of both First Bitcoin Capital and DigiCrypts, primarily as consultants providing non-registered advice and, when registered, as a Registered Broker Dealer in the Jurisdiction of the Western United States (west of the Mississippi River), including Alaska and Hawaii. The company completed the pilot test for three check cashing kiosks in CA. The company subsequently placed the kiosks in Oklahoma and has begun earning from these kiosks. Please visit our website for the locations of our check cashing machines. For the path ahead, we will continue our efforts to up-list and to be listed on several international stock exchanges. Our lawyers recently advised us that regulators may require 3 years of audited financials, and since we are so close to the end of 2018 this has delayed the listing process so we now anticipate to achieve exchange listings during the first quarter of 2019. We will continue to aggressively develop our 420 WIFI business as well as our dozens of cryptocurrency projects now in their various stages of development during the coming year 2019. About First Bitcoin Capital Corp First Bitcoin Capital Corp (OTC PINK: BITCF) ( BITCF ) ( BITCF ) began developing digital currencies, proprietary Blockchain technologies, and the digital currency exchange - www.CoinQX.com (in Beta) in early 2014. We saw this step as a tremendous opportunity to create further shareholder value by leveraging management's experience in developing and managing complex Blockchain technologies and in developing new types of digital assets. Being the first publicly-traded cryptocurrency and BlockChain-centered Company, we provide our shareholders with diversified exposure to digital cryptocurrencies and BlockChain technologies. Connect on social media at: https://www.facebook.com/BITCF/ https://twitter.com/1stBitCapital https://www.linkedin.com/company/first-bitcoin-capital-corp/ For more information visit: www.firstbitcoin.io Forward-Looking Statements Certain statements contained in this press release may constitute "forward-looking statements." Forward-looking statements provide current expectations of future events based on certain assumptions and include any statement that does not directly relate to any historical or current fact. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors as may be disclosed in company's filings. In addition to these factors, actual future performance, outcomes, and results may differ materially because of more general factors including (without limitation) general industry and market conditions and growth rates, economic conditions, and governmental and public policy changes. The forward-looking statements included in this press release represent the Company's views as of the date of this press release and these views could change. However, while the Company may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, the Company specifically disclaims any obligation to do so. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing the Company's views as of any date subsequent to the date of the press release. Such forward-looking statements are risks that are detailed in the Company's filings, which are on file at www.OTCMarkets.com . Contact us via: [email protected] or visit http://www.firstbitcoin.io [1] WEED refers to Bitcoin-Blockchain Token [2] WeeD refers to ERC20 Ethereum Token SOURCE: First Bitcoin Capital Corp \|\| Pro-Bitcoin Ron Paul: It’s Time to Abolish Federal Reserve, Embrace Tax-Free Crypto: Retired US CongressmanRon Paul— a bitcoin skeptic turned proponent — reiterated his calls to abolish the Federal Reserve shortly after it raised the baseline interest rate a quarter of a percentage point, to a range of 2.25% to 2.5%. This is the fourth time that the Fed — the central banking system of the United States — raised interest rates in 2018. The move sparked renewed fears of a US recession that could potentially trigger a global recession in 2019. Ron Paul said the Federal Reserve should let the free market dictate interest rates instead of artificially manipulating them. “The Fed has NO IDEA what rates should be,” Paul tweeted. “The Fed manipulates prices, distorts the economy, and makes decisions by looking at the ‘data’ of a distorted economy.” Central planning produces a world of economic delusions. America needs to get back to reality. End The Fed! This is not the first time that Ron Paul — the father of current US Senator Rand Paul — has called to abolish the Federal Reserve. As CCN reported in October 2018, RonPaul trashed the Fedfor manipulating interest rates, saying such artificial machinations could actually cause a recession. This, in turn, could bring about the death of fiat currency, he said. “It is likely that the next Fed-created recession will come sooner rather than later,” Paul said. “This could be the major catastrophe that leads to the end of fiat currency.” Paul said the only way to avoid a Fed-created recession is to let people use alternative currencies like bitcoin and to exempt cryptocurrencies from taxes. Paul said central banks constantly increase and decrease the money supply to control the economy by manipulating interest rates. He said theFederal Reserve‘s cyclical manipulation of interest rates creates an artificial cycle of economic booms and busts. This can create an illusion of prosperity. Eventually, reality catches up to the Federal Reserve-created fantasies. Like many in the crypto community, Ron Paul is a libertarian who opposes government intervention in the free market. The virtual currency community generally prefers the crypto ecosystem’s decentralized and unregulated market. Paul said an economy that is not manipulated is better for society. “Not only should we audit the Federal Reserve, we should get rid of it!” he said. Until very recently, Ron Paul was a staunch advocate of the gold standard who was critical of bitcoin, asCCN reported. “Bitcoin is very exciting…but [bitcoin investors] don’t have a long-term perspective,” Paul said in December 2017. “What’s it going to be like in 10 years? Nobody knows. But we have a pretty good idea of where gold will be, in a general sense.” Paul has since changed his outlook on crypto, and now says he believes that bitcoin and a gold-backed currencycan co-existin a free society. Featured image from Shutterstock. The postPro-Bitcoin Ron Paul: It’s Time to Abolish Federal Reserve, Embrace Tax-Free Cryptoappeared first onCCN. \|\| Israels Tax Body Aggressively Pursuing Cryptocurrency Tax Evaders: crypto Israel Bitcoin The tax-collection agency of Israel is targeting cryptocurrency traders and investors in an aggressive push aimed at stemming tax evasion. According to the financial daily Calcalist , the Israel Tax Authority (ITA) has taken stern measures aimed at nabbing those suspected of not reporting gains made from cryptocurrency investments and trading. Some of the measures taken include sending notice letters to individuals suspected of not reporting their earnings from crypto trading. Per the financial daily, some of the tell-tale signs of tax evasion by cryptocurrency traders include frequent travels abroad without documentation or material evidence of how the trips expenses will be met. Additionally, those who own multiple real estate properties are also being targeted. The authority has also sent notice letters to Israelis whose activity raises suspicion of unreported earnings, such as those who travel abroad frequently without having the requisite funds on paper, or those who own over three apartments wrote the Calcalist. Campaign Against Crypto Tax Evaders to Continue Another move the Israel Tax Authority has taken includes unilaterally opening tax accounts for individuals who have been identified as having failed to report gains made from trading cryptocurrencies. The head of the Israel Tax Authority , Eran Yaakov, has vowed that the efforts to nab tax evaders in the cryptocurrency space will continue. This comes almost two years since the ITA classified bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as assets and it indicated it would tax them as such. [Bitcoin] will be considered in accordance with the Income Tax Ordinance as assets and their sale will be taxed as a sale of property. Income from their sale will be classified as capital income and capital gains will be taxed according to fixed tax rates. CCN reported the ITA as having said in a statement early last year. 25% on Capital Gains, 17% VAT At the time, the tax body clarified that holders of cryptocurrency would be required to pay 25% in capital gains tax every time they disposed of their holdings. Cryptocurrency exchanges and other related were also slapped with a 17% value-added tax. Story continues In February this year, the ITA doubled down on its position that it would tax cryptocurrencies as assets with the rates on capital gains and VAT remaining the same. Bitcoin Will Be Taxed as an Asset: Israel Tax Authority https://t.co/CXD4b7bUUd CCN (@CryptoCoinsNews) February 20, 2018 A month prior, the ITA had also published draft legislation on ICOs in which the tax body indicated that ICO tokens would be deemed as assets with the responsibility of paying the accompanying tax falling on the ICO investors as well as the issuers. Featured image from Shutterstock. The post Israels Tax Body Aggressively Pursuing Cryptocurrency Tax Evaders appeared first on CCN . \|\| The Growing Craze Behind Blockchain Art: Jorge Espinosa, managing partner with Espinosa Martinez in Miami. They say that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. However, the world of art is not just about beauty. It is about originality, creativity and source. When you buy art that catches your eye you want to be sure it is genuine. With digital art, this has not always been possible because digital files can be easily copied. Here is where the modern technology of Blockchain has merged with art to create a thriving new digital art marketplace. Blockchain is the hot topic in business and system design these days. At its simplest terms, Blockchain technology is a highly encrypted, redundant set of digital ledgers to which you can add presumably incorruptible blocks of information. These digital ledgers are kept in multiple locations and the changes are checked so that only legitimate changes are made to the chain. So, for example, if someone purchased a car using a Blockchain transaction and then each service call or transfer of ownership were added as information blocks to the Blockchain as they happened, you could safely purchase the car knowing its entire history since purchase. In fact, when you bought the car your purchase information would become another block in the chain and would be part of the unchangeable record duplicated in these ledgers for future buyers. Blockchains and smart contracts are far more complex than this but for our purposes, this explanation should suffice. Since authenticity or, as it is generally referred to in, provenance is so important to art and so hard to establish in digital works, Blockchain is a godsend for digital art. An artist can create a piece of art, link it by a unique digital key to a Blockchain and not only the origin, but all conditions of its creation and subsequent transfers of ownership or value will be permanently documented in the Blockchain. This is exactly what has been happening. One of the first and most popular forms of Blockchain art was CryptoPunks. These were 10,000 unique 24x24 pixel drawings of punky looking guys and girls with a few rarer ones of apes, zombies and aliens. These unique tiny works of art were developed and sold on the popular Ethereum Blockchain platform. When you buy a CryptoPunk, you know that you own a verifiably unique piece of art from a limited set of 10,000. You can then buy and sell these digital drawings at auction to other Ethereum users using the Ethereum crypto currency called Ether. CrytoPunks often sold for less than $100, but some are selling at auction for upwards of $5,500. A slightly different approach to Blockchain art was taken by the Rare Pepe folks. A Rare Pepe is a digital trading card showing sometimes wildly whimsical versions of Pepe the frog, a meme that has been around the internet since 2005. You buy Rare Pepe cards by opening a Rare Pepe Wallet to buy and sell the cards using bitcoin. The cards are assets on the Bitcoin Blockchain and each one is unique. One invocation that the Rare Pepe community adds is that you, the user, can draw your own digital Rare Pepe drawing, place it in a digital card frame and submit it to the community. Your art can then become another unique Rare Pepe artwork that can be bought and sold at auction. Last year, a Homer Simpson Rare Pepe digital card sold for the bitcoin equivalent of $39,000. Yet another Blockchain art market that pushes the vision of digital art is Cryptokitties. Cryptokitties are digital renderings of kittens with unique colors and patterns. As with Cryptopunks, a limited initial set was produced. In the case of Cryptokitties, only 50,000 were created and added to the Ethereum Blockchain. What makes Cryptokitties different is that you can pay to breed (yes I said breed) two Cryptokitties and the smart contract (software program) that governs the art will create a unique new Cryptokitty that you can buy and sell at auction. In other words, you can increase the number of Cryptokitties by creating new generations created from combinations of the previous generations. In December of last year, a Cryptokitty sold for $120,000 and total Cryptokitty investment allegedly exceeds $11 million. While traditional auction houses are still not selling Blockchain art directly, they have not been inattentive of this growing trend. London-based Christies, one of the oldest auction houses in the world, is starting a pilot program with Artory to record art transactions on the Blockchain creating a verifiable ownership record. In September, Maecenas, an art investment platform built on Blockchain, sold tokenized interest (where different bidders get a piece of interest in the work) in Andy Warhols 14 Small Electric Chairs (1980). The auction sold 31.5 percent of ownership rights for the two-meter high painting, raising around $1.7 million. Paying tens of thousands of dollars for a Rare Pepe or a Cryptokitty may seem crazy to you but, as this craze grows and develops, it might be worth your time to know what art is growing on the Blockchains. Who knows? You might discover and own the next digital Picasso. Jorge Espinosa is managing partner with the Miami intellectual property boutique law firm of Espinosa Martinez. He focuses his practice on the domestic and international protection of trademarks, patents and copyrights. He may be reached at [email protected] . \|\| ‘Worthless’ Bitcoin Has Entered Death Spiral: Finance Professor: bitcoin dead Earlier this year, with the bitcoin price trading around $7,000, Santa Clara University Professor of Finance Atulya Sarin published an opinion piece arguing that the rising cost of crypto mining, coupled with the ability for bearish investors to short bitcoin in the futures markets, could spell doom for the flagship cryptocurrency. Now, following a further ~45 percent decline, Sarin is calling it: bitcoin has entered a “death spiral,” and it’s “close to becoming worthless.” Writing in an op-ed published in MarketWatch , Sarin alleged that the bitcoin has embarked on a “swift and painful drop to zero” now that its price has dropped below the estimated cost of mining, which has begun to drive miners out of the market. As the cost of mining decreases, he alleges, so will the bitcoin price . “Mining at a cost higher than the cost at which you can sell in the futures market destroys value. So, any rational investor — even one who strongly believes the price of bitcoin will rebound — has no incentive to mine if the cost of mining is higher than the future price and is better off buying in the futures market. And unlike gold, which can retain its value even if mining activity stops, bitcoin can have no value absent the mining activity that maintains the ledger of who owns it. Absent the mining activity, bitcoin is a just a set of encrypted numbers with no value.” Of course, Bitcoin and other Proof-of-Work (PoW) cryptocurrencies adjust mining difficulty dynamically to maintain a consistent issuance rate amid fluctuating hash rates, so while it is true that miners at the margins have begun switching off their machines , it is also true that the hash rate will eventually reach equilibrium with the bitcoin price. bitcoin price chart Continuing his bearish forecast, Sarin said that gold’s status as a universal store of value is a “historical accident,” one that cryptocurrency cannot supplant since most newer investors are largely driven by greed, not belief in the technology or its applications: Story continues “Unlike gold, which, probably due to a historical accident, is universally accepted as a store of value, bitcoin is a digital commodity with no such universal acceptance as a store of value. While the original buyers and miners of bitcoin were true believers in the paradigm shift they thought it promised, and were willing to make the necessary investments for future gains, the more recent buyers and miners have been run-of-the-mill, greed-driven investors.” To Sarin’s point, the state of the crypto market does seem dire — at least to someone whose familiarity with bitcoin’s price movements began around October 2017. However, as many crypto analysts have pointed out , cryptocurrencies have regularly endured peak-to-trough declines of greater than 80 percent in the decade since the Genesis block was mined. His retort is that the nature of the market is fundamentally different than in past boom-bust cycles, with the “losers” being profit-driven investors rather than “true believers” and futures markets enabling miner to hedge their profits by shorting cryptocurrency prices. Luckily, unlike other bitcoin bears — who hedge their forecasts with the stipulation that BTC could see further run-ups before its inevitable demise — Sarin predicts that the crypto market’s death will be “swift.” Thus, with an eye on the bitcoin price and an eye on the calendar, grizzled investors can offer a brief reply: “We’ll see.” Featured Image from Shutterstock. Charts from TradingView . The post ‘Worthless’ Bitcoin Has Entered Death Spiral: Finance Professor appeared first on CCN . \|\| Piece of Cake: Cryptocurrency ATM Stolen in Bakery Break-In: Bitcoin ATM, Shutterstock By CCN.com : Crypto thieves have shown that theft can sometimes be a piece of cake. Taking the phrase get the dough to the next level, a cryptocurrency ATM machine was audaciously jacked from a bakery in California last week. The theft took place at the Belwood Bakery in Brentwood Village, Los Angeles, and is the latest in a string of robbery attempts on the establishment. Cryptocurrency ATM Machine Thieves Are Taking the Biscuit CBS News has reported that thieves have unceremoniously snatched a cryptocurrency ATM machine right off the wall of the Belwood Bakery. The CCTV security video via the news channel shows a masked assailant crashing through the shops glass doors in spectacular fashion with a sledgehammer in hand like a crackhead version of Thor looking for cash for his next fix. Read the full story on CCN.com . [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] Türkiye’de HİÇBİR satıcı Paypal kabul edemiyor. Onu ne yapacağız? En azından Bitcoin ile ödeme almak istemeyenler fiyat hareketlerini bahane ediyor. Ya PayPal? Türkiye’ye vergi vermemek için binlerce siteyi gözardı edip hizmeti durdurdular. https://twitter.com/KoinBulteni/status/1088114342346792960 … \|\| BTC戦闘力↓:¥387,067(max #FCT/mini #XEM) 今からでもショートでエントリーしてみては？ #リスク #利確 #ネム #ripple #フリーザチャートpic.twitter.com/xhe7y8NLjo \|\| Po krótkiej przerwie wracam z nową analizą video pary BTC/PLN na interwale godzinowym. Zapraszam do oglądania, póki gorąca https://youtu.be/HMNKUAVNGCI #Bitcoin #Altcoin #BTC #BTCUSC #Kryptowaluty #Krypto #Analiza #Edukacjapic.twitter.com/D5HjwuMSZg \|\| 12-31 03:00(GMT) #SPINDLE price $SPD (BTC) Yobit :0.00000044 HitBTC :0.00000042 LiveCoin:0.00000033 $SPD (JPY) Yobit :0.18 HitBTC :0.17 LiveCoin:0.14 \|\| 2 Options to trade #OMG #omisego https://www.borseclub.com/omisego-omg-omgbtc/ … $btc #btcusd $XRP $XRPUSD #bitcoin #btcusd #blockchain #ADA #cardano #news #investing #trading #Crypto #cryptocurrencies #cryptocurrency #CryptoNews $LTC $ETH #Litecoin #ethereum #ETH #Ripple \|\| Top 100 avg 1h return: -0.2±1.0%; 28 up, 72 down $BTC -0.2% $ETH -0.3% Best: 3.7% $REP @AugurProject 2.4% $PAI @ProjectPai 2.2% $POWR @powerledger_io Top 101-200 avg 1h return: -0.1±1.8%; 32 up, 67 down Best: 10.7% $ETHOS @ethos_io 9.5% $APL @ApolloCurrency 2.8% $QNT #cryptopic.twitter.com/KzsmVN1WTs \|\| トレンドには逆らわない。明らかに下落トレンド中。一旦上げるならズドーン！が待ってるということ...Bakktは3月くらいになんのかな。 $BTC $XRP \|\| BTC戦闘力↓:¥385,717(max #FCT/mini #XEM) DGB、ドラゴンボールじゃないだと！？ #ポロニエックス #ドラゴンボール #証券 #先物取引 #フリーザチャートpic.twitter.com/8BHwv5JKo3 \|\| #BUY Signal – Dip detected Market: $IOTA Exchange: Binance Current BTC value: 0.00007830 \|\| The seven announced initiatives are: Saudi-Emirati Pilot cryptocurrency The first of its kind joint pilot cryptocurrency was launched during the meeting. $crypto $btc http://wam.ae/en/details/1395302733616 …	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 3457.79, 3487.95, 3521.06, 3464.01, 3459.15, 3466.36, 3413.77, 3399.47, 3666.78, 3671.20
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2015-09-09] BTC Price: 238.17, BTC RSI: 49.17 Gold Price: 1102.20, Gold RSI: 38.81 Oil Price: 44.15, Oil RSI: 47.65 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Your first trade for Monday: The " Fast Money " traders delivered final trades that were out of this world after NASA astronaut Scott Kelly asked for a stock tip from aboard the International Space Station. Tim Seymour recommended playing the frontier markets by buying the iShares MSCI Frontier 100 ETF (NYSE Arca: FM) . David Seaburg's play was Starbucks ( SBUX ) , alluding to the strength of brand loyalty and new products. Brian Kelly suggested shorting the Market Vectors Russia ETF (NYSE Arca: RSX) as a heavenly oil play. Guy Adami went intergalactic as a buyer of Constellation Brands ( STZ ) . Trader disclosure: On July 24, 2015 the following stocks and commodities mentioned or intended to be mentioned on CNBC's "Fast Money" were owned by the "Fast Money" traders: Tim Seymour is long AAPL, T, BAC, DIS, F, GE, GM, GOOGL, INTC, JPM, SUNE, Tim's firm is long BABA, BIDU, MCD, NKE, NOK, SBUX, YHOO. Today he sold C. Brian Kelly is long BBRY, BTC=; ITB, TAN, TLT, TSL, US dollar; he is short Oil, Ruble, Yuan and Yen. Today he shorted the Ruble. Guy Adami is long CELG, EXAS, INTC, Guy Adami's wife, Linda Snow, works at Merck. David Seaburg: No disclosures. More From CNBC Top News and Analysis Latest News Video Personal Finance \|\| 4 buys for retail stocks ahead of earnings: The bar has been reset in the retail space, and Macy's(NYSE: M)is now the stock to buy for the near term, CNBC "Fast Money" trader David Seaburg said Friday. "Macy's is the one to own here for the short term, but long term, I caution you: I think they're going to have some real struggles," he said. "I think right now is the time to buy it for a trade: I think the stock's been beaten up, there are no expectations they're going to make numbers-I think you'll get a trade to the upside." Still, Seaburg reiterated his caution for investors looking to go long into the retailer, as he predicted that Amazon will displace the company by 2017. For his part, trader Brian Kelly said he "might pick at" Macy's, but similarly cautioned that "it's not really a long-term type of investment." Kelly said he doesn't like the retail space in general because consumer spending is not seeing much boost from the decline in oil. "Fast Money" Trader Steve Grasso, meanwhile, said that "if you have to play in that retail space," go with Target(NYSE: TGT). That company, he said, has been an outperformer with a more than 4 percent year-to-date gain. He also suggested buying Deckers Outdoor(NYSE: DECK), saying, "It makes an excellent takeout target." He noted that it would also work as a seasonal buy in October. Disclosures: Steve Grasso Grasso is long AAPL, BA, BAC, CC, DD, DECK, EVGN, FIT, KBH, MJNA, MU, PFE, PHM, T, TWTR, GDX. His kids are long EFA, EFG, EWJ, IJR, SPY. His firm and some of its partners are long NEM, LYB, WDR, SHLD, STRP, UDR, ACI, AVP, TEX, CLI, TWTR, WYNN, PCRX, AXP, FNMA, SALT, AMD, CUBA, HSPO, ICE, AMZN, FCX, IBM, KDUS, KO, MAT, MCD, MJNA, NE, NEM, OXY, RIG, STAG, TAXI, TITXF, TSE, VALE, ZNGA. Guy Adami Guy Adami is long CELG, EXAS, INTC, Guy Adami's wife, Linda Snow, works at Merck. Brian Kelly Brian Kelly is long BBRY, BTC=; ITB, TAN, TLT, TSL, the VIX, GDX call spread, TWTR call spread, US dollar; he is short DAX, Yuan and Yen. Today he closed his Oil and Ruble shorts. More From CNBC • Top News and Analysis • Latest News Video • Personal Finance \|\| Will The New York Times Piece Damage Amazon?: On August 15, the New York Times published anarticleslamming e-commerce giantAmazon.com, Inc.(NASDAQ:AMZN) for its unforgiving corporate culture. The piece describes in with anecdotal stories how employees are pushed to their limits in an environment that thrives on tension and inspires fear. The piece gained traction on social media and many customers said it was enough to stop them from using the service in the future. However, shares of Amazon are up 72.46 percent year-to-date, leading many to wonder just how much damage the article will do. Bezos Strikes Back Following the release of the article, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos sent outa staff memoin which he asked employees to contact him directly if they'd received the kind of treatment the New York Times had described. He maintained that Amazon's culture is very different from what was depicted and said he was shocked by the stories told. Other current Amazon employees took to the Internet in defense of Amazon, saying that the descriptions were inaccurate and that the company has been misrepresented. Related Link:Amazon's Quarter Was A 'Full-On Crusher' Solid Performance While the article may have temporarily tarnished Amazon's glow, the company's solid Q2 performance is likely to overshadow complaints about management from an investors' perspective. In July, the company released strong Q2 sales and impressive financials which suggest that Amazon is on an upward trajectory. From a money-making point of view, the article has done little hurt the retail giant's appeal. Public Perception In the social media age, public perception is a huge part of a company's success.SeaWorld Entertainment Inc. (NYSE:SEAS) lost a huge volume of customers after being slammed in the media for its treatment of orcas and Amazon similarly runs the risk of being known as a cruel company that treats its workers poorly, something that could deter shoppers from using the site. However, so far the fallout from the article appears to be minimal, with most expecting more outrageous comments from the 2016 Presidential hopefuls to redirect the public's attention in the coming days. See more from Benzinga • What's Happening To Media Stocks? • Bitcoin Rewards Gain Popularity • Bitcoin, Marijuana And Drones: Meet Trees © 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| Trading Google earnings: 3 stocks to buy: Google(NASDAQ: GOOGL)shares spiked following a strong quarterly earnings report Thursday, and CNBC"Fast Money"traders jumped on the bandwagon with investors. "I think the stock's got real runway here. I think it can turn and go a lot higher," said trader David Seaburg. The Internet giant's stock surged more than 10 percent in extended trading as second-quarter profit of $6.99 per share topped analysts' expectations. Though revenue fell slightly short of expectations and crucial ad metrics were mixed, markets cheered signs of expense control and strong signs for the YouTube video platform. "I thought it was undervalued before. This is not a crazy valuation here," said trader Karen Finerman, who owns Google stock. Read MoreGoogle shares jump as profits handily beat expectations Google seems primed to move higher, and investors should hold it with $600 per share as a floor, said trader Guy Adami. It closed the regular session above $601 before the after-hours spike. Trader Brian Kelly added that he saw positive signs in financial discipline and YouTube, but he would wait for a pullback to buy Google shares. A post-earnings spike in Netflix(NASDAQ: NFLX)shares, among other names, helped push the Nasdaq Composite(NASDAQ: .IXIC)to a record close Thursday. Looking forward in the technology sector, Kelly sees upside in Microsoft(NASDAQ: MSFT). Read MoreOverseas growth is driving Netflix stock surge: Analyst Adami also noted that Facebook(NASDAQ: FB)looks to be "breaking out." The stock has gone about 16 percent higher this year. Disclosures: Brian Kelly Brian Kelly is long BBRY, BTC=; ITB, TAN, TLT, TSL and euro. He is short yuan and yen. Today he bought ITB. Karen Finerman Karen is long BABA, BAC, C, FINL, FL, GOOG, GOOGL, JPM, KORS, M, URI, BABA puts and URI calls. She is short SPY. Her firm is long ANTM, AAPL, BAC, C, DIS, FBT, FINL, FL, GILD, GOOG, GOOGL, GPS, IBB, JPM, KORS, M, SUNE, URI, XBI, KORS call spreads, URI calls, KORS puts and SPY put spreads. Her firm is short IWM, SPY and MDY. Karen Finerman is on the board of GrafTech International. Guy Adami Guy Adami is long CELG, EXAS and INTC. Guy Adami's wife, Linda Snow, works at Merck. More From CNBC • Top News and Analysis • Latest News Video • Personal Finance \|\| Could this split be the end of bitcoin?: With a market valued currently at more than $3 billion, and hundreds of millions invested in related technologies, a lot is riding on bitcoin(: BTC=). But the digital token some say could replace government-backed currencies is facing a crisis that experts warn could potentially render it worthless. Over the weekend, two well-known bitcoin developers "forked" the technology, releasing software that will allow the community to split away from the core program. This contentious split arose overa long-running squabblebetween developers that started as a disagreement about the way data is packaged, and morphed into a philosophical question about the future of the technology. That very future-as CNBC predicted in July-could conceivably be threatened by the new software-called Bitcoin XT. "Contentious hard forks are bad for Bitcoin," the semi-official site Bitcoin.org's David Harding wrote ina policy post. A "hard" fork such as XT is not backwards-compatible with other versions of the software, meaning that any divergence in adoption is more difficult to reconcile. "At the very best, a contentious hard fork will leave people who chose the losing side of the fork feeling disenfranchised. At the very worst, it will make bitcoins permanently lose their value. In between are many possible outcomes, but none of them are good," the post continued. Here's the gist of the squabble: Bitcoin transactions are packaged into blocks before being recorded on bitcoin's permanent ledger. Developers disagree over what the maximum size of those blocks should be. On one hand, smaller means more security, but on the other hand bigger means that bitcoin technology can more easily scale into wider adoption and noncurrency applications. And beyond just the technical matter, the fight comes down to a more human dilemma: Who gets to decide which way the whole community, which is effectively leaderless, has to go? Mike Hearn, one of the developers behind XT,wrote in a lengthy postexplaining the fork that the current limitations of the original software are blocking the growth of bitcoin and its blockchain currency. He disputed Bitcoin.org's assessment of worst-case scenarios, and said that the fork may be the best way to save the currency from becoming irrelevant. Read MoreThe details of the debate can be found here. "There's no reason to believe a hard fork would make bitcoins permanently lose their value. On the contrary, it should increase them, as it'd prove the system is robust against poor decisions by any one group of developers," Hearn said in an email to CNBC. "By asking Bitcoin users to believe that a contentious fork can destroy the system, all they're really saying is that the community must obey the wishes of a tiny group of developers regardless of whether those wishes are bad or not." The way the XT fork works is that miners (who process transactions by solving complex math problems) can vote for whether they want to switch to the new system or stick with the core program. After Jan. 11, 2016, once 75 percent of mining power is voting for the fork, a two-week waiting period begins, and then the new rules take effect. Several polls and projections have indicated that miners may favor the primary XT change-making the maximum size for a "block" of data eight megabytes instead of one megabyte-so a fork could be in the future. Still, several core developers of the technology-who have taken over maintenance and growth of the technology from mysterious creator Satoshi Nakamoto-have come out against the change, and online discussions seem to indicate an ideological split in the community. Those core developers against the block size increase either did not respond to request for comment from CNBC or denied via a representative. But Adam Back, who developed one of the key algorithms behind bitcoin and still works with core developers, said the complaints about XT are manyfold, including worries that a 75 percent activation vote is too low, and that some of the other changes to the program are not sufficiently secure. Back said the community is actively working on finding solutions (with developer workshops scheduled) to the block size problem, and that jumping ahead of the normal review system is "a little puzzling" and "kind of disappointing." One major expert in the communitywrote in a Reddit postthat XT "represents a somewhat reckless approach, which in the name of advancement shatters existing structures, fragments the community and spins the ecosystem into chaos." Read MoreBitcoin firm raises $116M, including Qualcomm investment Hearn, however, told CNBC he thinks that assessment is "completely wrong," and that the XT approach has been debated for month with every objection considered. After all, the development of the potentially world-changing Bitcoin technology has been largely developedwithoutmuch structure, he said. "You can't shatter something that doesn't exist. Unfortunately a whole lot of people in the bitcoin community who aren't [closely] involved haven't fully realized or accepted how ad-hoc the Bitcoin Core project truly is," Hearn said, adding that "underlying contradictions and inability to make decisions" are actually the major problems that XT seeks to address. Hearn's desire to alter the decision-making process behind bitcoin would see him and XT co-developer Gavin Andresen jointly managing the technology, rather than a group of developers. Back acknowledged that the emergence of XT partially stems from resentment about other developers' ideas being shot down, but he said he believed a distributed power structure works best. "It's intentionally a decentralized process. People are worried that with $4 billion on the line someone could be blackmailed or could intentionally insert a bug," Back said. "They didn't think about the risks of being the sole maintainer of $4 billion of other people's money.... They're not thinking ahead far enough about the implications for all of this." (Thetotal value of all existing Bitcoinswas about $4 billion at the beginning of August; it's closer to $3.4 billion now.) As for concerns that his actions could spin the multibillion-dollar ecosystem into chaos, Hearn said he is in fact saving the technology. "[Andresen] and myself have said since the start that Bitcoin is a risky experiment. I'm sure everyone who invested knew that," Hearn wrote. "But if they invested, they presumably invested in the hope that Bitcoin would take off and become really mainstream. Right now, the only way to get there is via Bitcoin XT. So they should consider helping us out to ensure the outcome they would like." Investor Roger Ver-so-called "Bitcoin Jesus"-is one of several prominent voices in the community to voice his approval of the XT project. Additionally, a statement from all of the Chinese mining pools-which account for much of the power in the network-came out in favor of a block size increase. Still, Hearn could not say how he thought the community would swing, but underscored his contention that a vote for the core software could stymie future growth. "Well, Bitcoin will still exist no matter what happens. But obviously if there's no chance of growth and the community decides to follow the Bitcoin Core developers (without even knowing who exactly is in that group), then a whole lot of other developers and entrepreneurs will leave," Hearn said. "Because you can't build a successful business on an infrastructure with no chances of growth." All of this occurs against a background of increasing corporate and financial interest in bitcoin and its backing blockchain technology. Bitcoin runs on a blockchain that is more secure and decentralized than any of its competitors because of its large user base and its comparatively lengthy history. If those users were to splinter, then the entire enterprise could be compromised. Read MoreWhy is it called the 'blockchain?' Hearn wrote in his explanation of the fork that there are few risks of breaking the community: If less than 75 percent votes for XT, then nothing changes, and if more than 75 percent is in favor, then the rest of the marketplace will follow suit so as not to be left behind. "We don't think the sky will fall if the chain forks. We think people on the small-blocks side of the chain will upgrade and continue on the bigger-blocks side. There will be plenty of time for them to know about the change and prepare," he wrote. Still, if a sizable minority decides to hold out against XT and its bigger blocks, then presplit bitcoins could be spent twice-violating one of the key facets of the digital currency, and potentially harming trust. Back warned that the results of the fork could be disastrous. Anti-XT programs have sprung up to corrupt the vote, so even if it appears that there's been a 75 percent majority, the community could still be split 50-50. "If you get some kind of 50-50 split," Back explained, "you have two ledgers, not accepting each other's blocks ... inconsistent ledgers and exchanges that were out hundreds of thousands, or millions, of dollars." "Nobody wants it to go there, but the Bitcoin XT thing is teetering into a dangerous situation and dynamic," he added. "The safest thing to do is to stop that dynamic well before activation." Jeff Garzik, another bitcoin core developer who has expressed support for bigger blocks, told CNBC in June that creating a contentious fork would be the "worst of all possible options." As Hearn said in his letter to the community: "So this is it. Here we are." More From CNBC • Top News and Analysis • Latest News Video • Personal Finance \|\| Neste's Interim Report for January-June 2015: Neste CorporationInterim Report5 August 2015 at 9 am. (EET) Neste`s Interim Report for January-June 2015 Continuing strong refining market enabled good result despite the scheduled major turnaround at the Porvoo refinery Second quarter in brief: • Comparable operating profit totaled EUR 78 million (Q2/2014: EUR 86 million) • Negative impact of the Porvoo refinery turnaround on comparable operating profit was EUR 130 million • Total refining margin was USD 10.83/bbl (Q2/2014: USD 8.33/bbl) • Renewable Products` comparable sales margin was USD 210/ton (Q2/2014: USD 200/ton) • Net cash from operations totaled EUR 227 million (Q2/2014: EUR 219 million) January-June in brief: • Comparable operating profit totaled EUR 293 million (1-6/2014: EUR 136 million) • Return on average capital employed (ROACE) was 12.5% over the last 12 months (2014: 10.1%) • Leverage ratio was 40.3% as of the end of June (31.12.2014: 37.9%) • Comparable earnings per share: EUR 0.80 (1-6/2014: EUR 0.30) President & CEO Matti Lievonen: "The second quarter was characterized by a strong refining margin environment, and the major turnaround at our Porvoo refinery. Neste recorded a comparable operating profit of EUR 78 million during the second quarter, compared to the EUR 86 million during the corresponding period last year. As announced on 16 June, the turnaround had a negative impact of approximately EUR 130 million on comparable operating profit. Oil Products generated a comparable operating profit of EUR 14 million (EUR 33 million) during the second quarter. Neste`s reference margin averaged USD 8.7/bbl, which was more than double that in the same period last year. Gasoline margins continued particularly high, supported by global demand growth and the summer driving season. The maintenance turnaround implemented during the second quarter was the largest in the history of the Porvoo refinery. It has now been successfully completed and will help ensure the refinery`s performance and safety for the next five years. Renewable Products recorded a comparable operating profit of EUR 54 million (EUR 32 million) during the second quarter. Renewable Products` additional margin and a stronger US dollar had a positive effect on the result compared to the same period last year. Feedstock optimization continued, and the share of waste and residue feedstocks reached 67% of total inputs. The Porvoo turnaround reduced renewable diesel production by more than 10% of total production capacity during the second quarter. Oil Retail`s markets continued competitive, but we were able to increase profits by higher sales volumes particularly in the Baltic markets, and improving margins. The segment generated a comparable operating profit of EUR 22 million, higher than the EUR 20 million booked in the second quarter of 2014. Global oil demand growth estimates for 2015 have been generally upgraded to 1.3-1.5 million bbl/day, and the forward refining margin outlook for the coming quarters is stronger than that seen in April. Current crude oil price level promotes oil product demand, and there seems to be limited upside potential in oil price. Our result guidance remains unchanged: Neste estimates the Group`s full-year 2015 comparable operating profit to remain robust and to be higher than that reached in 2014." The Group`s second-quarter 2015 results Neste`s revenue in the second quarter totaled EUR 2,605 million (EUR 4,104 million). The decrease mainly resulted from lower sales volumes due to the Porvoo refinery turnaround, which had an impact of EUR 1.1 billion, and lower sales prices caused by the oil price decline, which had a negative impact of EUR 0.7 billion. The change in USD/EUR exchange rate had a positive impact of EUR 0.3 billion on the revenue year-on-year. The Group`s comparable operating profit came in at EUR 78 million (EUR 86 million). Oil Products` result was negatively impacted by the planned major turnaround at the Porvoo refinery, but positively impacted by reference refining margins, which were higher than in the second quarter of 2014. Renewable Products` result improved mainly due to higher additional margin and a favorable USD/EUR exchange rate. Oil Retail`s result was positively impacted by higher sales volumes and margins year-on-year. The Others segment recorded a lower comparable operating profit compared to the second quarter of 2014. Oil Products` second-quarter comparable operating profit was EUR 14 million (33 million), Renewable Products` EUR 54 million (32 million), and Oil Retail`s EUR 22 million (20 million). The comparable operating profit of the Others segment totaled EUR -14 million (2 million). The Group`s IFRS operating profit was EUR 63 million (70 million), which was impacted by inventory gains totaling EUR 78 million (2 million), changes in the fair value of open oil derivatives totaling EUR -91 million (-18 million), mainly related to hedging of inventories, and non-recurring items totaling EUR -3 million (0 million). Pre-tax profit was EUR 52 million (48 million), profit for the period EUR 42 million (39 million), and earnings per share EUR 0.17 (0.15). The Group`s effective tax rate was 20% (18%). The Group`s January-June 2015 results Neste`s revenue during the first six months totaled EUR 5,348 million (EUR 7,613 million). The decrease mainly resulted from lower overall sales prices caused by the oil price decline, which had an impact of EUR 1.9 billion, and lower sales volumes due to the Porvoo refinery maintenance during the second quarter, which had a negative impact of EUR 1.1 billion. The change in USD/EUR exchange rate had a positive impact of EUR 0.7 billion on the revenue year-on-year. The Group`s comparable operating profit came in at EUR 293 million (EUR 136 million). Oil Products` result was positively impacted by reference refining margins, which were clearly higher than during the first half of 2014. However, the scheduled major turnaround at the Porvoo refinery negatively impacted the segment`s result during the second quarter. Renewable Products improved as a result of successful margin management, feedstock optimization and a favorable USD/EUR exchange rate. Oil Retail`s result was positively impacted by increased sales volumes and margins. The Others segment recorded a lower comparable operating profit compared to the first half of 2014. Oil Products` six-month comparable operating profit was EUR 170 million (65 million), Renewable Products` EUR 96 million (44 million), and Oil Retail`s EUR 39 million (34 million). The comparable operating profit of the Others segment totaled EUR -11 million (-9 million). The Group`s IFRS operating profit was EUR 296 million (120 million), which was impacted by inventory gains totaling EUR 2 million (losses of 1 million), changes in the fair value of open oil derivatives totaling EUR -73 million (-13 million), mainly related to hedging of inventories, and non-recurring items totaling EUR 74 million (-2 million), mainly related to the capital gain from the disposal of the Porvoo electricity grid. Pre-tax profit was EUR 257 million (81 million), profit for the period EUR 223 million (66 million), and earnings per share EUR 0.87 (0.25). The Group`s effective tax rate was 13% (20%) mainly due to the tax-exempt items, such as the sale proceeds of the shares of Kilpilahden Sähkönsiirto Oy, electricity grid company. Outlook Developments in the global economy have been reflected in the oil, renewable fuel, and renewable feedstock markets; and volatility in these markets is expected to continue. Global oil demand growth estimates for 2015 have been increased and are generally at 1.3-1.5 million bbl/d, as especially gasoline demand growth has been healthy. The forward reference refining margin outlook for the coming quarters is stronger than that seen in April. While the refining capacity growth in Asia and the Middle East and ending of the refinery maintenance season are expected to increase product supply, the transatlantic supply demand balance is also dependent on demand growth and possible refinery shutdowns. Lifting of the economic sanctions against Iran could increase the supply of medium heavy crude oil in the European market in the future. Vegetable oil price differentials are expected to vary, depending on crop outlooks, weather phenomena, and variations in demand for different feedstocks, but no fundamental changes in the drivers influencing long-term average feedstock price differentials are expected. Feedstock prices have been on a downward trend, but vegetable oil price differentials have remained narrower than the historical average. Market volatility in feedstock and oil prices is expected to continue, which will have an impact on the Renewable Products segment`s profitability. Crude oil price changes, supply and demand balances, together with uncertainties related to political decision-making on biofuel mandates, the US Blender`s Tax Credit (BTC) and other incentives will be reflected in the oil and renewable fuel markets. Reintroduction of the BTC would have a positive impact on Neste`s comparable operating profit, and it is not included in the company`s current result guidance. Neste`s guidance remains unchanged: Neste estimates the Group`s full-year 2015 comparable operating profit to remain robust and to be higher than that reached in 2014. Further information: Matti Lievonen, President & CEO, tel. +358 10 458 11Jyrki Mäki-Kala, CFO, tel. +358 10 458 4098Investor Relations, tel. +358 10 458 5292 News conference and conference call A press conference in Finnish on second-quarter 2015 results will be held today, 5 August 2015, at 11:30 a.m. EET at the company`s headquarters at Keilaranta 21, Espoo.www.neste.comwill feature English versions of the presentation materials. A conference call in English for investors and analysts will be held on 5 August 2015 at 3 p.m. Finland / 1 p.m. London / 8 a.m. New York. The call-in numbers are as follows: Finland: +358 (0)9 6937 9543, rest of Europe: +44 (0)20 3427 1906, US: +1646 254 3362, using access code 6785568. The conference call can be followed at the company`sweb site. An instant replay of the call will be available until 12 August 2015 at +358(0)9 2310 1650 for Finland, +44(0)20 3427 0598 for Europe and +1 347 366 9565 for the US, using access code 6785568. Neste in brief Neste is a pioneer in oil refining and renewable solutions. We provide our customers with premium-quality products for cleaner traffic and industrial products based on world-class research. Our sustainable operations have received recognition in the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index and the Global 100 list of the world`s most sustainable companies, among others. Our net sales for 2014 amounted to approximately EUR 15 billion, and our shares are listed on NASDAQ Helsinki. Cleaner traffic, energy and life are moved forward by about 5,000 professionals. More information:neste.com/en Neste interim report Q2 2015 This announcement is distributed by NASDAQ OMX Corporate Solutions on behalf of NASDAQ OMX Corporate Solutions clients.The issuer of this announcement warrants that they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of the information contained therein.Source: Neste Oyj via GlobeNewswireHUG#1943713 \|\| Obama's Clean Power Plan: Winners & Losers: On Monday, the Obama administration together with the Environmental Protection Agency unveiled a new set of guidelines aimed at reducing emissions in the United States. The Clean Power Plan will reduce carbon emissions by 32 percent from their 2005 levels by 2030. Obama plans to allow states to create their own individual plans to meet their designated targets, which they will need to submit in the coming years. Controversial Plan The Clean Power Plan has been heralded by environmentalists as a necessary step forward in the battle against climate change. Obama called the proposal "the biggest, most important step" the nation has ever taken. However, not everyone agrees. Critics of the plan say Obama has waged a war on coal and that the new rules will stifle job growth and raise the cost of energy in the US. See Also: Why Are Solar Stocks Down After Obama's Carbon Announcement? Losers Should the plan make it through a barrage of criticism in Washington, it is expected to have an uneven impact across the US. Much of whether or not a specific state will benefit depends on that particular state's reliance on coal and how its industry is regulated. Despite that, the coal industry as a whole is expected to suffer under the new regulations. Companies like Alpha Natural Resources, Inc. (OTC: ANRZ ) and Xinergy Ltd. which are already struggling to stay afloat, are likely to face a bumpy road ahead. Winners Nuclear power is expected to see a boost from the Clean Power Plan as it is an effective way to generate power without major greenhouse gas emissions. Renewables like solar and wind power are also expected to gain momentum as more and more states turn to alternative energy sources to meet their new targets. See more from Benzinga Fed Stuck In The Middle Of Marijuana Debate Australian Government Takes Steps Toward Becoming A Bitcoin-Friendly Nation Tech Firms Gear Up For 2016 Presidential Race © 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| 3 names to watch on biotech beatdown: The cholesterol drug space is set to get a little more crowded, and"Fast Money"traders believe one company should benefit most. Amgen(NASDAQ: AMGN)could get approval for its new cholesterol treatment as early as next week. The medicine would compete with one already offered by Regeneron Pharmaceuticals(NASDAQ: REGN). Amgen shed more than 3 percent, closing at about $161 per share Thursday amid a broader selloff in the sector. If it loses more ground to $150 a share, investors may want to scoop it up as it brings the new drug to market, said trader Dan Nathan. "Amgen is the sort of stock that you want to buy if it gets too oversold," he said. Read MoreBuy the biotech bounce: Technician Regeneron remains a "great company," but its valuation seems too lofty, added trader Guy Adami. He would also prefer Amgen shares. Trader Brian Kelly pointed to the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF(NASDAQ: IBB), which plunged 4 percent on Thursday to close below $351. If the fund dips down to $340, he would look to buy in. Disclosures: Dan Nathan Dan is long QQQ sept put, JOY sept calls, TWTR, PG, BA sept put spread, COST aug put spread, TJX aug put, MSFT aug / nov put spread, GOOGL Sept put spread, XRT sept put spread. Today he sold to close SLB puts. Brian Kelly Brian Kelly is long BBRY, BTC=; ITB, TAN, TSL, the VIX, TWTR call spread, Euro; he is short AUDJPY, GBPJPY, CAC40, Ruble, Yuan. Karen Finerman Karen is long BABA, BAC, C, FINL, FL, GOOG, GOOGL, JPM, KORS, M, SUNE calls, BABA puts, she is short SPY, Her firm is long ANTM, AAPL, BAC, C, DIS, FBT, FINL, FL, GOOG, GOOGL, GPS, IBB, JPM, KORS, M, SUNE, URI, XBI, KORS call spreads, M call spreads, SUNE call spreads, GAP puts, KORS puts, SUNE puts, her firm is short IWM, SPY, MDY, Karen Finerman is on the board of GrafTech International. Guy Adami Guy Adami is long CELG, EXAS, INTC, Guy Adami's wife, Linda Snow, works at Merck. More From CNBC • Top News and Analysis • Latest News Video • Personal Finance \|\| Bitcoin Reaches A Fork In The Road: Since its arrival on the fintech scene, bitcoin has always been an open source, decentralized cryptocurrency. That means that no individual can update the system without a consensus among bitcoin users. However, a fierce debate within the community has threatened to pull bitcoin users in two separate directions. The Problem The bitcoin community has been locked in a heated debate over whether or not developers should increase block sizes to greater than 1MB. A block records recent bitcoin transactions, and increasing its size would help to accommodate the cryptocurrency's growing demand. However, critics say that making blocks larger could prevent ordinary users from hosting and would lead to more centralization. Related Link: Bitcoin's Image As A Tool For Criminals May Not Be Far-Fetched A Choice To Make Now, developers Gavin Andresen and Mike Hearn have released a new version of software called Bitcoin XT which supports increased block sizes. The move has forced users to choose between Bitcoin Core, which keeps blocks under 1MB, or Bitcoin XT which allows their expansion when necessary. Core Or XT? While the two are compatible at the moment, Bitcoin XT is planning to update its system to incorporate larger block sizes if 75 percent of the cryptocurrency's users adopt it. Many worry that even if XT gains the majority needed for an update, the 25 percent of Core users will continue with that system. Such a decision would effectively tear the currency in two and could have the potential to significantly decrease adoption of the cryptocurrencies as a whole. See more from Benzinga Automation Serves Up Massive Travel Delays For The Second Time This Summer Disney Looks To A Galaxy Far, Far Away To Revamp Its Theme Parks Bitcoin's Image As A Tool For Criminals May Not Be Far-Fetched © 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| AXA Interested In Bitcoin's Potential: Paris-based investment banking firm AXA may begin using bitcoin in order to streamline the remittance market. The firm is not the first to see the potential benefits of using cryptocurrencies to send payments around the world, but comments from AXA Strategic Ventures (the bank's $223 million fund) suggest that it could become the first major financial institution to back bitcoin's entry into the remittance market. Worldwide Payments One of the major benefits that cryptocurrency enthusiasts have been quick to point out is the potential that digital currencies have for sending cross border payments. This is especially true when it comes to sending money to countries with an underdeveloped financial sector where much of the population is unbanked. In such regions, the only existing options are money-transfer services like The Western Union Company (NYSE: WU ), which charge a large fee. Sending bitcoin payments would carry a much lesser fee and could provide a new option to expats working abroad and sending money to their families at home. Related Link: Did Barclays Start The Bitcoin Bull Run? AXA In Talks AXA's Minh Q Tran said the company would like to further explore how bitcoin would function in the remittance market and that the firm is currently in talks with bitcoin-based remittance firms that are hoping to break into the industry. So far, AXA has yet to fund any cryptocurrency-related startups, but many expect that will come in the future. Other Uses Much like Barclays (NYSE: BCS ) and Citibank, AXA is also interested in exploring bitcoin's potential in other capacities within the financial space. Blockchain, the ledger-like technology that bitcoin runs on, has been touted as a viable way to facilitate many different transactions, something that several banks are looking into. AXA has said it is interested to learn how blockchain might improve transactions in real estate, intellectual property and insurance. See more from Benzinga IBM Uses Tennis To Demonstrate Its Dominance In Data WeedLife Steps Up To Fill Marijuana Advertising Gap As Consumers Get Smarter, So Do Barcodes © 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] Current price: 253.43€ $BTCEUR $btc #bitcoin 2015-07-23 18:00:04 CEST \|\| $239.86 #bitstamp; $234.00 #btce; Instantly buy GH/s with BTC: http://bit.ly/LN53k1 #bitcoin #btc \|\| BTC-E LAST 263.00$ AVERAGE 268.49$ at 16:07 UTC #Bitcoin #BTCUSD \|\| BTC-E LAST 259.00$ AVERAGE 259.84$ at 3:58 UTC #Bitcoin #BTCUSD \|\| #RDD / #BTC on the exchanges: Cryptsy: Error Bittrex: 0.00000005 Average $1.1E-5 per #reddcoin 12:00:01 \|\| buysellbitco.in #bitcoin price in INR, Buy : 18038.00 INR Sell : 17482.00 INR. Buy and sell bitcoin in #India using #buysellbitcoin \|\| BTC-E LAST 242.00€ AVERAGE 243.19€ at 4:38 UTC #Bitcoin #BTCEUR \|\| LIVE: Profit = $1,590.04 (1.10 %). BUY B525.28 @ $274.00 (#BTCe). SELL @ $275.80 (#HitBTC) #bitcoin #btc - http://www.projectcoin.org \|\| Current price: 254.2$ $BTCUSD $btc #bitcoin 2015-08-18 12:00:05 EDT \|\| RT HelpcoinDE: $1.00 USD = 3257.54 bits http://cur.lv/nm6ce #fintech #bitcoin #reddit https://twitter.com/HelpcoinDE/status/620356898571821056/photo/1pic.twitter.com/0XzjGroaq2	Trend: down \|\| Prices: 238.48, 240.11, 235.23, 230.51, 230.64, 230.30, 229.09, 229.81, 232.98, 231.49
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2017-05-10] BTC Price: 1787.13, BTC RSI: 93.16 Gold Price: 1217.30, Gold RSI: 31.40 Oil Price: 47.33, Oil RSI: 41.14 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] SEC denies a second application to list bitcoin product: By Trevor Hunnicutt NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday denied for the second time this month a request to bring to market a first-of-its-kind product tracking bitcoin, the digital currency. The SEC announced in a filing its decision denying Intercontinental Exchange Inc's NYSE Arca exchange the ability to list and trade the SolidX Bitcoin Trust, an exchange-traded product (ETP) that would trade like a stock and track the digital asset's price. Previously, the regulatory agency said it had concerns with a similar proposal by investors Cameron Winklevoss and Tyler Winklevoss. "The Commission believes that the significant markets for bitcoin are unregulated," the SEC said in its filing, echoing language from its decision earlier this month on the application by CBOE Holdings Inc's Bats exchange to list The Bitcoin ETF proposed by the Winklevoss brothers. On Friday, Bats asked the SEC to review its decision not to allow that fund to trade. "We are reviewing the SEC's order and evaluating our next steps," said Daniel H. Gallancy, chief executive officer of SolidX Partners Inc, a U.S. technology company that provides blockchain services. NYSE did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Bitcoin had scaled to a record of more than $1,300 this month, higher than the price of an ounce of gold, as investors speculated that an ETF holding the digital currency could woo more people into buying the asset. But after denial of the Winklevoss-proposed ETF, the digital currency's price plunged as much as 18 percent. It has rebounded partially since then and was at $1,041 on Tuesday, roughly unchanged from the previous day. Bitcoin is a virtual currency that can be used to move money around the world quickly and with relative anonymity, without the need for a central authority, such as a bank or government. Yet bitcoin presents a new set of risks to investors given its limited adoption, a number of massive cybersecurity breaches affecting bitcoin owners and the lack of consistent treatment of the assets by governments. There is one remaining bitcoin ETP proposal awaiting a verdict from the SEC. Grayscale Investments LLC's Bitcoin Investment Trust, backed by early bitcoin advocate Barry Silbert and his Digital Currency Group, filed an application last year. (Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt; Additional reporting by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss; Editing by David Gregorio and Cynthia Osterman) \|\| Inside the World's Greatest Scavenger Hunt, Part 1: In the fall of 2015, my teenage daughter Tia crafted a spectacular, life-sized poodle out of feminine hygiene products. “It’s a tampoodle,” she told me. She made this, uh, artwork as an audition piece—to showcase her creative skills, as a tryout for an elite team in some kind of national scavenger hunt. (She made the team.) I thought the tampoodle was cute. I thought it was great fun that Tia was joining some kind of scavenger hunt. I had no idea what kind of ride was ahead. Meet GISHWHES When most people think of a scavenger hunt, they probably imagine the list of items includes, you know, “Get the dean’s signature” or “Find a dog with a curly tail.” GISHWHES is not that. It stands for the Greatest International Scavenger Hunt the World Has Ever Seen. (Its creator acknowledges GISHWHES may be the Ugliest Acronym the World Has Ever Seen.) Teams of 15 have one week to complete about 200 extremely difficult or hilarious tasks. They prove they’ve completed each item by submitting a photo or video of it; their $20 entry fees go to a charity, and the winning team gets a trip to some exotic location with Misha Collins, the hunt’s founder. Sample items from past GISHWHES lists: • Do a dramatic reading of your grade-school report card. • Find someone you love and butter them up—literally. Cover them in butter and then give them a big hug. • Glaciers are melting—so act accordingly. Pose at a major glacier wearing a swimsuit with floaties. • Have a tea party with a pediatric cancer patient, where you’re dressed as a character from “Alice in Wonderland.” • Tour a sewage treatment plant dressed in formal attire with an accompanying violinist or flutist. • Get a child to write a letter to the universe. Launch the letter into orbit . • Film an erotically charged conversation between a housewife and pizza delivery man. The actors can ONLY talk about grammar and fonts. What astonished me is what a big deal GISHWHES is. Last year, 55,000 people registered to participate—not including all the friends and family members who lent favors, assistance, and props. ( Registration for this year’s hunt opens this week .) Story continues Some participants had to dress up as a prospector and pan for gold in a public fountain. Photo courtesy of David Pogue GISHWHES holds seven Guinness World Records, including Biggest Media Scavenger Hunt, Largest Online Photo Album of Hugs, Longest Chain of Safety Pins, Most Pledges for a Charitable Campaign, and Largest Gathering of People in French Maid Outfits. (Why is there a Guinness record for Largest Gathering of People in French Maid Outfits!?) But in the end, GISHWHES is an event that does good in the world. Over the years, GISHWHES list items have persuaded players to a) raise over $1 million for charity, b) donate hundreds of thousands of pints of blood, c) volunteer at soup kitchens, d) register thousands of citizens to vote, and e) register to become bone-marrow donors. (That last item has already saved two lives, according to GISHWHES producers.) And the 2016 hunt raised $250,000 to buy homes for five Syrian refugee families. So yes, GISHWHES is a do-gooder enterprise. But it’s also brilliantly clever, gut-bustingly funny, and positively unforgettable. So my question is: Why haven’t people heard of GISHWHES? Why isn’t it a cultural thing? Why isn’t it, at the very least, a reality show? It’d be the most entertaining show on TV. Well, if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself. With the tolerance of my superiors at Yahoo, I decided to make my own darned reality show. Above on this page is Episode 1 of a five-part series. Part 1 • Part 2 • Part 3 • Part 4 • Part 5 Misha Collins Misha Collins attends the “Supernatural” special video presentation and Q&A on Day 4 of Comic-Con International on Sunday, July 27, 2014, in San Diego. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP) GISHWHES was created, and is run to this day, by TV actor Misha Collins, a costar of the CW series “Supernatural.” (His heartthrob status helps explain why GISHWHES participants are predominantly female.) “I went to the University of Chicago,” he told me. “The University of Chicago has a scavenger hunt that we call Scav, that has been running about 30 years now. It took place over the course of a long weekend. We would completely abandon our academics and our sense of decency for those three days, and go all-out for this scavenger hunt. And I loved it. I actually think that it was one of the most educational aspects of my college experience, and infused with the most joy.” Years later, after a decade of struggling as an actor in Los Angeles, Collins finally landed a show. “I got on this TV show ‘Supernatural,’ and I developed a little bit of a fandom following, and I started to notice that there was a high level of creative engagement from our fans. That got my wheels turning. What can I do with this? How can I have fun with it?” Collins’s first side project with his fans was a charity called Random Acts . “We’ve done some pretty big projects. We built an orphanage in Haiti; we’re finishing building a high school in Nicaragua right now. But we also do myriad smaller projects all over the world—as small as bringing roses into a senior citizen home.” Then, in 2009, as a lark, Collins ran a little scavenger hunt from his Twitter account. About 300 people participated; they were instructed to photograph their submissions and send them to an email address that Collins set up. “People engaged in it with an enthusiasm and a committedness that I could not’ve anticipated,” he says now. “I remember sitting in my apartment, looking at the submissions that had come in, and thinking, ‘This is amazing!’ The art people were creating, the tasks that I thought were impossible that people were pulling off—! I remember, ‘This is what I wanna do for my life’s work. This is awesome.’” And so, in 2010, GISHWHES was born. For the 2016 hunt, I embedded myself with my daughter’s GISHWHES team for the week. I filmed their efforts and followed their frustrations and joys. In the coming episodes, you’ll get to meet them—and you’ll get go to inside world’s biggest scavenger hunt. Part 1 • Part 2 • Part 3 • Part 4 • Part 5 More from David Pogue: The David Pogue Review: Windows 10 Creators Update Now I get it: Bitcoin David Pogue tested 47 pill-reminder apps to find the best one David Pogue’s search for the world’s best air-travel app The little-known iPhone feature that lets blind people see with their fingers David Pogue, tech columnist for Yahoo Finance, welcomes non-toxic comments in the Comments below. On the web, he’s davidpogue.com . On Twitter, he’s @pogue . On email, he’s [email protected]. You can read all his articles here , or you can sign up to get his columns by email . \|\| Bitcoin Wallets Under Siege From Large Collider Attack: A group called the Large Bitcoin Collider claims it can smash open bitcoin wallets by using a so-called brute force attack, which directs mass amounts of computer power at individual wallets in order to guess their private keys. The project, which has been underway for months, relies on a distributed network of computers (similar to bitcoin itself), and invites anyone to participate--those who do could potentially share in the proceeds of the wallets cracked open. A trophy list on the home page of Collider (an apparent reference to the Hadron Collider ) suggests the group has successfully opened over a dozen wallets, though only three had any bitcoin in them. Its unclear if the group is motivated by financial gain or the cryptographic challenge of smashing wallets--the answer is probably both based on the sites webpage and outside observers. A Q&A list on the Colliders website says robbing even a tiny amount from non-profit group like the Internet archive would make you an unconditional jerk. But it also suggests other wallets are fair game, and that proceeds would be divvied up among the Collider participants. Meanwhile, others think the wallet-smashing endeavor is a fools errand, according to Motherboard , which first reported on the Large Bitcoin Collider. In this view, the project is too hard and the rewards too low and infrequent (as this Reddit commenter explains ) to pay off. But some speculate the goal of the project is not to rob a whole lot of wallets, but instead to strike a mother lode from a long-lost wallet from bitcoins early days: About 10% of Bitcoins were created early, before 2012, and have never been traded. If somebody ever finds the key of the early lost Bitcoins, theyll have a huge payoff, over a billion dollars. Speculation is that either Satoshi Nakamoto, whoever he is, is holding onto them for a big payoff, or somebody lost the private key for all those early Bitcoins. As the years go on, the second explanation seems more likely, said the top comment on the site Hacker News . Story continues Get Data Sheet , Fortune s technology newsletter. As for the process of cracking open wallets, it involves the laborious task of creating private keys--which are dozens of characters in length--and trying them against existing bitcoin addresses. The Collider has so far created and checked 3,000 trillion private keys, a researcher told Motherboard. As for the legality of all this, its unclear. On one hand, the law is pretty clear that you are not supposed to join a conspiracy in order to rob people. But on the other hand, as the groups website points out, It is not illegal to search for colliding private keys. For bitcoin owners, the risk of the Large Bitcoin Collider performing a stick-up on your private wallet is pretty tiny for now. But if the process also results in someone creating a collision for bitcoins general hashing algorithm--as happened with the longtime crypographic standard SHA-1 (cracked by this year)--that would spell a lot more trouble, though as one reader points out , bitcoins encryption algorithm can be upgraded. See original article on Fortune.com More from Fortune.com These Investors Bought the Firm Behind Bitcoin's Self-Proclaimed Inventor VC Fred Wilson Thinks Coinbase Is the Goldman Sachs of Bitcoin Why Everyone's Talking About 'Initial Coin Offerings' Why the Winklevoss Bitcoin ETF May Not Be Dead Yet Bitcoin Is Finally Starting to Settle Down \|\| What You Must Know Before Subscribing to a VPN: When the U.S. Congress voted recently to overturn a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rule requiring internet service providers (ISPs) to get a customer's permission before selling personally identifiable information, that kicked off a land rush to find virtual private network (VPN) providers to protect consumers' online privacy. There are literally hundreds of VPNs to choose from, however, and if you're not sure what these do and what they don't do, you could easily end up with a VPN that doesn't add much to your privacy except another subscription fee. The idea of a VPN is quite simple: it provides a secure (encrypted) tunnel between your device and a website, bypassing the traffic logs kept by your ISP. For example, if your ISP is in New York City, a VPN service allows you to connect with any of several servers anywhere in the world, making it look to the website that the connection is being made from one of those servers and not the ISP you use in New York. ALSO READ: Nearly 400 2017 Data Breaches Have Exposed More Than 7 Million Records Your ISP can't keep a useful log of your VPN activity because it doesn't know who requested the data or from where the requested data is coming. But your VPN knows, and that's the first thing you want to learn about any VPN provider: does the VPN keep traffic logs and, if so, what does it do with them? Some VPNs do keep traffic logs in order to provide themselves with legal protection in the event of a government request. Others keep some minimal data in order to help maintain their servers. Still others, sadly, collect the data and sell it to third parties. Because that's what you are probably trying to avoid, read the fine print and be sure to choose a service that states categorically that it does not keep logs, making sure to specify exactly the logs they don't keep. Be especially sure that the ISP does not keep activity or connection logs. ALSO READ: 14 Million Credentials Stolen from US Universities for Sale on Dark Web Story continues A good general overview of online privacy and VPNs is posted at Krebs on Security. More comprehensive tips on selecting a VPN, with more details and a comparison chart for nearly 200 VPN providers is available at That One Privacy Site. Here's a much shorter version of some of the site's guidelines: Beware of VPN review websites, which are nearly always paid reviews. Also look more carefully at affiliate VPN programs. Be aware of where the VPN service's servers are located and where in the world you will be connecting to the VPN. Check on payment methods, such as Bitcoin, cash or anonymous gift cards, that allow you to maintain your privacy. Choose a VPN that maintains its own first-party domain name server (DNS) that doesn't leak, and check it to make sure. Choose a VPN that provides an IPv6 DNS server that is only reachable through a VPN tunnel, and then test it to make sure that's true. Choose a VPN that has strong data and handshake encryption. Deciding if you want a VPN and the features of the VPN that are most important to you will take some time, and it will come with a price of around $10 a month. It's up to you to make sure you're getting the privacy protection you're paying for. Related Articles Countries Buying the Most Weapons From the US Government States Where the Most People Have Green Cards America's Happiest (and Most Miserable) States \|\| Bitcoin miners have collectively earned more than $2 billion: An interior view of U.S. bitcoin mining company Bitfury's mining farm near Keflavik Bitcoin mining has become a multi-billion dollar industry. Bitcoin miners have collectively earned over $2 billion in revenue since the cryptocurrency was established in 2008, according to an estimate from a new report published by the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance. Nearly every way the United incident could have ended differentlyin one flowchart Bitcoin mining is how transactions on the bitcoin network get processed. Transactions in bitcoin are bundled into blocks, and its the job of miners to confirm those blocks are legitimate. This happens when a miner successfully solves a cryptographic puzzle attached to each block, gaining a payout called the block reward. This payout halves every four years; the current reward is 12.5 bitcoins per block, or $15,350 at todays prices. The twist is this: miners must compete with one another with greater computational power to solve the puzzle and win the payout. These incentives have led to a massive increase in complexity and need for computational power. In bitcoins early days, people mined the cryptocurrency on their home computers. Today, server farms of thousands of custom-designed machines around the world compete with one another to solve the puzzle first. Revenues generated by the bitcoin mining sector could be significantly higher, the report says. The estimate only accounts for revenues earned from block rewards and fees paid by bitcoin users for having their transactions processed. It doesnt include revenue from selling mining equipment, or providing cloud mining services, which let subscribers share in block rewards for a fee, without having to operate their own equipment. United Airlines has exposed the moral dilemma behind rewarding customer loyalty Importantly, the estimate doesnt account for capital gains from cashing out of bitcoin strategically, since the researchers assumed block rewards were immediately converted to US dollars. Those gains could be substantial, since bitcoin has been on a historic bull run . Story continues Transaction fees have historically been a small part of miners revenue, but theyve shot up this year as the number of transactions gets closer to the bitcoin networks limit. Users are willing to pay higher fees to ensure their transactions are processed by miners. The question of how to raise the limit is at the heart of the civil war that has divided the bitcoin world. As bitcoin adoption grows, miners are prospering. Read this next: Bitcoins civil war threatens to blow up the cryptocurrency itself Sign up for the Quartz Daily Brief , our free daily newsletter with the worlds most important and interesting news. More stories from Quartz: Choose your spouse wisely: Life advice for IIM-A grads from the chief of Axis Bank Heres the best way to guess correctly on a multiple choice test \|\| A Wall Street bear warns 'bad things are about to happen,' and a recession is on the way: Investor David Tice is going deeper into bear territory, predicting that the economy is months away from a deep correction that will send stocks down by as much as 50 percent. Tice is known for his tenure as manager of the Prudent Bear Fund. He sold the fund, which depends on market pullbacks for profits, to Federated Investors just as the financial crisis was unfolding in 2008. Since the acquisition, he's been involved in private equity, film producing and charities. But he's planning his emergence from hibernation to capitalize on the potential downturn. "The market has tended to go down about every seven years. It went down in 1987, 1994, 2001 and 2008," Tice told CNBC's " Trading Nation " on Friday. "During these periods after the declines, it rallies like crazy. But now bad things are about to happen again." He sold his bear fund (NASDAQ: BEARX) when it had $1.2 billion in assets under management. According to Morningstar, it has just $254.7 million right now under Federated's leadership. CNBC reached out to Federated for a comment. The steep losses could just be a stark reminder of the nature of the stock market rebound. The S&P 500 (INDEX: .SPX) Index rebounded 92 percent since the financial crisis hit in September 2008. "The catalyst is we're 93 months into an economic recovery. We have the [Federal Reserve] starting to tighten. We have banks actually starting to tighten," he said. Tice pointed out the economy is not doing very well, with the gross domestic product growing by an anemic 0.7 percent in the first quarter. 'The bears are always early'—but they're not always right Tice's timing in selling the Prudent Bear Fund may have been pretty good, but his calls on a pullback haven't materialized. He's calling for a 30 to 50 percent S&P pullback over the next six to 10 months. He also made that prediction in 2012 and 2014. It never happened. Story continues "The bears are always early. I've certainly always been early," said Tice. "Policymakers end up doing what they think is right in order to kick the can down the road. However, now we have so many issues." If there is a correction, Tice says there are two protection plays investors should consider. Gold, which is down more than 6 percent over the past three years, is one of them. "You should own gold (Exchange: @GC.1.S) stocks... They're still priced very, very well compared to the bullion," he said. Tice says bitcoin (Exchange: BTC=-USS) makes a lot of sense, too. Unlike the bearish activity in gold, bitcoin has soared 253 percent since 2014. "It's been looked on as a fraud, as a fad, etc.," added Tice. "It truly is a competitor to debased currency. And it makes a lot of sense just from a transactional basis." Also From CNBC Watch The Profit on Yahoo View , available now on iOS and Android . More From CNBC \|\| How Sears Ruined Its CEO Eddie Lampert’s Hedge Fund: As if in sympathy with his dying retail giant, Sears CEO Eddie Lampert’s hedge fund has sunk perfectlyin line with Sears’ own decline. While shares of fell nearly 55% in 2016amid bankruptcy rumors, the assets in Lampert’s 29-year-old fund ESL Investments have dwindled a matching 55% in the same period. Sears, making up about a third of Lampert’s portfolio, was a major contributor to the the hedge fund’s shrink, but investors have also abandoned the fund recently, taking their money with them. By the end of 2016, Lampert’s fund held a mere $653 million--a sizable decline of 94% from the $16.5 billion it once managed atSears’ peak in 2007, according to securities filings. Lampert’sturnaround planfor Sears has so far not only failed to bring the struggling retailer back to health, but it has also been a personal disaster for the investor’s net worth. Lampert’s fund held $3.8 billion when he became CEO at the beginning of 2013, but those assets have dropped 84% since then, aFortuneanalysis found--even greater than Sears’74% drop in the same period. Wilson’s stake in Sears, along with Sears Canada, once worth billions of dollars, is now valued at just $285 million. At least part of the reason Lampert’s losses outpaced those of Sears’ was due to the hedge funder significantly paring down stakes in his two other major holdings, and Gap . Neither or those stocks have done well since 2013, with Gap down 39% by the end of 2016, and AutoNation down 3.3%. The flagging performance has also prompted Lampert’s shareholders to pull their money out of the fund, according to theNew York Times. This was not how Lampert, who hassworn his resolve to saveSears,envisioned how his investment would play out. Lampert had become a majority Sears stakeholder in 2004, and later helped engineer the company’s merger with Kmart in early 2005. By the time the merger had been completed, Lampert’s stake in Sears was worth $8.6 billion, amounting to a massive 72% of his portfolio. And that wasn’t the end of its glory days. By early 2007, those same shares had grown 29% in value to $11.1 billion--or 67% of his portfolio at the time. Butwhen the financial recession hit Sears, as it did with other retailers, Lampert’s own fund suffered heavily. And now, the investor and CEO appears to be losing faith in the idea of ever making his money back: Searsacknowledged last week that “substantial doubt exists”in its “ability to continue as a going concern.” See original article on Fortune.com More from Fortune.com • VC Fred Wilson Thinks Coinbase Is the Goldman Sachs of Bitcoin • Nasdaq Stocks Are Quietly Setting New Highs Every Single Day • Amazon and the Race to Be the First $1 Trillion Company • Principal Financial Group Just Accused This Hedge Fund of Hiding Investments with Bernie Madoff • Robots Are Replacing Humans at All These Wall Street Firms \|\| Why AMD Shares Jumped 7%: Shares of Advanced Micro Devices jumped 7% on Monday after a pair of Wall Street analysts issued positive notes about the company’s new line of microchips. AMD’s stock rose $0.98 to $14.47 in midday trading. The stock, which quadrupled last year, had fallen from a 10-year high of $15.55 at the end of February over concerns about slow early sales of its new chips. But those short-term worries are unfounded because ofCEO Lisa Su’s strategy of offering comparable or better performancewith competing chips at a fraction of Intel’s prices, Jeffries analyst Mark Lipacis wrote on Monday in a note. He raised his target price on AMD to $16 from $13. Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s technology newsletter. Intel has captured close to 95% market share in chips for desktops, laptops, and servers, but now AMD is poised to recapture some of that share. If AMD reaches 5% market share in all three segments, it could generate as much as $1.5 billion of additional revenue over the next few years, Lipacis forecast. Hitting 15% in the three markets could add as much as $4.6 billion. That’s more than the $4.3 billion AMD brought in for all of last year. “We have argued that AMD is in the early innings of its multi-year turnaround story, a strategy being executed upon by its new CEO,” the analyst wrote. “We think AMD’s ability to price between-the-seams while achieving competitive performance will result in meaningful share gains from (Intel) in the desktop, server, and notebook markets starting in 2017.” Wall Street and investors have beengrowing increasingly concernedabout the mounting competition for Intel. Its shares have dropped 2% so far in 2017, while the S&P 500 Index has gained 6%. Still, sales of AMD’s desktop-oriented Ryzen 7 chips, released in early March, have been held back by shortages of related parts like compatible motherboards, Susquehanna analyst Christopher Rolland noted in a report on Monday. And whilea few lesser PC makershave begun selling PCs with Ryzen chips, the heavy hitters like Dell and won’t offer AMD-laden systems until next month at the earliest, Rolland said. “We identified a few smaller PC makers that are selling Ryzen desktops, however, we believe they are just purchasing standalone processors and putting them inside pre-assembled PCs,” Rolland wrote. “No major PC OEM (HP, Lenovo, Dell, Asus) is currently selling Ryzen desktops. We estimate sales will begin in April.” See original article on Fortune.com More from Fortune.com • Bitcoin Is Finally Starting to Settle Down • This New Tactic Might Finally Lure Big Investors to Bitcoin • Software Maker MuleSoft Shares Jump on Public Debut • Why Stocks Are Better Than Leprechaun Gold on St. Patrick's Day • Snap Inc. Shares Fell Below $20 for the First Time \|\| Bitcoin Hits New All-Time High: A year ago, one Bitcoin could be had for about $450. On Thursday, the cryptocurrency peaked at just over $1,340, as measured by theCoindesk price index, before retrenching slightly to $1318 by this morning. That’s still a return of nearly 200%. Bitcoin has seen a remarkably steady rise since early 2016, fueled by globalregulatory normalization, broad interest in the technology fromenterprises and banks, and rising transaction volumes. Cryptocurrency analysts, according to Coindesk, think the trendwill continue, citing among other factors that most Bitcoin investors are long-term bulls who will take profits conservatively. Get Data Sheet,Fortune’stechnology newsletter. But the very transaction volume that is Bitcoin’s key fundamental also presents a serious medium-term threat, as the system has struggled to keep up. Transaction speeds have become impractical for merchant payments, and fees have risen, making the system less competitive with conventional payment systems such as credit cards. Struggles over how to fix the problem have raisedthe spectre of a network split-though that could, at least theoretically, give holders additional value in a manner akin to a stock split. Bitcoin had a notable previous peak of around $979 way back in November of 2013 (Coindesk’s number seems conservative here-Coinmarketcaprecords a 2013 peak of $1149). That push was fueled by a wave of mainstream media attention, but prices slumped through 2015 on the realization that the tech’s promise would take some time to fulfill, dipping as low as $204 that August. This article was originally published on FORTUNE.com \|\| Bitcoin dives after the SEC shoots down plans for another bitcoin ETF: (Attendants pose with a bitcoin sign during the opening of Hong Kong's first bitcoin retail store.Reuters/Bobby Yip) Bitcoin has slid into negative territory after the US Securities and Exchange Commission rejected the plans for the SolidX Bitcoin ETF.The cryptocurrency is down 0.7% at $1,033 a coin. It was as high as $1,066 earlier on Tuesday. The regulator cited the fact that bitcoin is traded on unregulated markets, which means the SEC wouldn't be able to prevent fraud or market manipulation.In its ruling theSEC said: "As discussed further below, the Commission is disapproving this proposed rule change because it does not find the proposal to be consistent with Section 6(b)(5) of the Exchange Act, which requires, among other things, that the rules of a national securities exchange be designed to prevent fraudulent and manipulative acts and practices and to protect investors and the public interest. The Commission believes that, in order to meet this standard, an exchange that lists and trades shares of commodity-trust exchange-traded products (“ETPs”) must, in addition to other applicable requirements, satisfy two requirements that are dispositive in this matter. First, the exchange must have surveillance-sharing agreements with significant markets for trading the underlying commodity or derivatives on that commodity. And second, those markets must be regulated. Tuesday's announcement follows a similar ruling that was reached on March 10, when the SEC said it had rejected the Winklevoss twins' bitcoin ETF. 2017 has been a volatile year for bitcoin. The cryptocurrency gained 20% in the first week of the year, but soon crashed 35% after reports surfaced that China was going to crack down on trading. First,China's biggest exchanges started charging a flat fee of 0.2% per transaction, then they announced they wereblocking customer withdrawals. But bitcoin continued to climb higher, putting in a peak of $1,327 a coin shortly before the SEC rejected the Winklevoss ETF. Since then, however, bitcoin has tumbled more than 20% following reports developers were threatening a "hard fork" that would split the currency in two. Bitcoin has been the top-performing currency every year since 2010, aside from 2014. A third SEC ruling on a bitcoin ETF, by Grayscale Investments, is also expected to be rejected; although the timing of a final decision is not yet known. (Investing.com) NOW WATCH:7 mega-billionaires who made a fortune last year More From Business Insider • Bitcoin tanks below $1,000 • Bitcoin spikes above $1,000 • Bitcoin tumbles below $1,000 [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] #Bitcoin -0.40% Ultima: R$ 3903.52 Alta: R$ 3950.00 Baixa: R$ 3851.01 Fonte: Foxbit \|\| One Bitcoin now worth $1329.93@bitstamp. High $1347.02. Low $1299.00. Market Cap $21.675 Billion #bitcoin \|\| .- Pagina buena y Segura para ganar Bitcoins, hasta 500 #Satochis cada 20 minutos #Bitcoin https://cards.twitter.com/cards/18ce53yr6xi/1eiul … \|\| #bitcoin #miner Antminer R4 8.0TH/s Bitcoin Miner with Power Supply - Ready for Mining $1795.00 http://ift.tt/2onqAIh pic.twitter.com/uctkODNocv \|\| 1 DOGE Price: Bter 0.00000050 BTC #doge #dogecoin 2017-04-26 00:31 pic.twitter.com/TsgOVNFg7N \|\| It's April 22, 2017 at 07:59AM and #Bitcoin $BTC is $1234.00 Lets make some #Money today! \|\| Bitcoin Mais - Bitcoins Grátis - R$ 7.000,00 por Mês http://ow.ly/o9PI30a9sOc \|\| $BTC Current price of Bitcoin is $1203.00 #bitcoin \| More on #CryptoPresshttp://ift.tt/2lgMf2q \|\| Current price of Bitcoin is $1214.00 via Chain \|\| #Bitcoin -0.54% Ultima: R$ 3540.70 Alta: R$ 3584.00 Baixa: R$ 3485.01 Fonte: Foxbit	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 1848.57, 1724.24, 1804.91, 1808.91, 1738.43, 1734.45, 1839.09, 1888.65, 1987.71, 2084.73
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis] Not fully available. [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Bitcoin Direct LLC Enters Las Vegas Market; Agreement Includes: ATM, Payment Processing, and Sponsorship: NEW YORK, NY and LAS VEGAS, NV--(Marketwired - Jul 8, 2015) - Conexus Cattle Corp. (OTC PINK:CNXS) announced today that their subsidiary, Bitcoin Direct LLC, a Nevada limited liability company ("Bitcoin" or the "Company"), will install an automated bitcoin ATM Machine at One Kick Nick's Mixed Martial Arts Gym located at 121 East Sunset Blvd. in Las Vegas, Nevada. Bitcoin ATMs provide consumers with the ability to instantaneously purchase bitcoins through their mobile devices. This is the first of several ATMs expected to be installed by Bitcoin Direct in Las Vegas. Additionally, the Company will process bitcoin payments for the gym, allowing members and guests to pay for memberships and merchandise in bitcoin. The Company believes this is the first gym in the country to accept bitcoin. As part of the agreement, the Company will become a sponsor of the gym, which will include the ability to place display ads in the facility. One Kick Nick's Mixed Martial Arts Gym is home to numerous professional mixed martial arts fighters who regularly compete on national television for the UFC, Bellator, and World Series of Fighting. Conrad Huss, President of Conexus commented: "We believe our bitcoin ATM will begin generating revenue immediately upon installation. The Company's relationship with One Kick Nick's Mixed Martial Arts Gym is an example of the Company's ability to provide a complete solution for businesses of any size interested in accepting bitcoin. We look forward to creating a host of business partnerships with this product." About Bitcoin Direct LLC,Conexus Cattle Corp. (OTC PINK:CNXS) subsidiary, Bitcoin Direct, LLC, a Nevada limited liability company, provides bitcoin transaction solutions for consumer. Bitcoin's initial focus is installing and servicing its bitcoin ATMs (automated bitcoin machines) in multiple locations across the U.S. The bitcoin ATMs provide consumers with the ability to instantaneously purchase bitcoins through their mobile devices. Currently, the Company has installations serving New York City. ATMs present a convenient solution for bitcoin consumers to exchange cash for bitcoins. In addition, the Company plans to offer a full range of bitcoin transaction solutions to a wide variety of industries including remittance and gaming, among others. Safe HarborThis press release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The forward-looking statements are based on current expectations, estimates and projections made by management. The Company intends for the forward-looking statements to be covered by the safe harbor provisions for forward-looking statements. Words such as "anticipates," "expects," "intends," "plans," "believes," "seeks," "estimates," or variations of such words are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release include statements regarding the elimination of debt positioning the Company for growth and the vote of confidence in the growth plans. All forward-looking statements in this press release are made as of the date of this press release, and the Company assumes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements other than as required by law. The forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those set forth or implied by any forward-looking statements and include the Company's ability to complete its intended growth plans in a timely manner and the other factors discussed in Current Reports on Form 8-K. Copies of these filings are available atwww.sec.gov. \|\| CCEDK and Bit-X Release Nanocard: The First True Crypto-Debit Card: CCEDK has announced that it is coming out with its own Bitcoin debit card BLOKHUS, DENMARK / ACCESSWIRE / July 13, 2015 /In addition to strictly storing the funds as Bitcoin or USD, the user will have the option to store their money as a BitShares BitAsset. Also referred to as SmartCoins, they would be pegged to the value of the dollar or another major currency. "A new generation of 2.0 coins is being used to address the volatility issue. BitShares' SmartCoins will be available as funding options for the NanoCard in the coming months, meaning that customer balances can be safely stored as crypto coins pegged to USD, EUR, CNY or even gold and silver, and converted only at the time of use," explained CEO Ronnie Boesing. This is a fundamentally lacking feature in many card programs available to Bitcoiners, although Bitreserve has come along way to deal with the problem of volatility. The new card will be called the NanoCard and will be broadly available to customers of the exchange beginning today. The NanoCard is a collaboration betweenDanish bitcoin exchange CCEDKandforex platform Bit-x, which aims to show how virtual currencies are finally coming of age. Ronnie Boesing believes that something like the NanoCard could be a "killer app" for Bitcoin, saying. "Bit-x, CCEDK, Cryptonomex, BitShares: each provides a part of the puzzle and the result is bitcoin's killer app." However, there are a number of other Bitcoin debit cards out there, including some that allow the user to receive part of their pay in Bitcoin, and then still have access to the funds for spending even after the conversion to bitcoin. Regardless, those atCCEDK were excited to releaseadebit cardfor their traders to make use of. According to CEO Mr. Boesing, "We have combined the strengths of digital currencies pioneered by bitcoin with the universal acceptance of major credit cards. It's the combination of technologies that makes the NanoCard so powerful. We are extremely proud to have partnered with Bit-x after just a year in business. The result is perhaps the world's first true crypto-debit card. No one can tell you how to use your own money and thanks to Bit-x this will be accepted everywhere." Additionally, CCEDK is partnering with Cryptonomex in order to provide new security measures to protect funds and trading. Part of what Cryptonomex will do is create auditing and transparency layers for CCEDK's customers to have an opportunity to verify what's on the exchange. Transparency is an element of strength for any exchange, as the Bitcoin community learned, through events like Mt. Gox, what a severe lack of transparency can do. "You won't have to worry about our exchange being hacked or whether it is honest or solvent," explains Boesing. Contact CCEDK \| Crypto Coins Exchange Denmark Aps: Ronny [email protected]ærvej 6, Hune, DK-9492 Blokhus Denmark SOURCE:CCEDK.com \|\| Goldman Sachs' former technology chief is doing great business at his new payments company: (Earthport)Earthport CEO Hank Uberoi, who is Goldman Sachs' former co-COO for technology. Earthport, the cloud-based payment platform run by Goldman Sachs' former co-COO of technology,Hank Uberoi,put out unaudited results for the year to June on Wednesday— and they're pretty good. The London-based company's revenue jumped 78% last year to £19.25 million ($30 million). The dollar value of payments made on Earthport's cloud-platform rose by 75%, and the company is on track to process $10 billion (£6.4 billion) worth of transactions by the end of the year. Earthport is trying to build a faster, more tech savvy, international payments network, built on the cloud. The current systems of so-called payment "rails" were built decades ago, and are slow and costly. Thirty-one new customers signed up to the platform last year and big names like HSBC, Santander, and Standard Chartered all started routing payments through Earthport's system. Uberoi said in today's statement: "We are pleased and enthusiastic about the acceptance of the Earthport payment network as a truly valuable and innovative solution in the massive payments market." He said the medium- to long-term potential for Earthport's technology is "significant." Investors are clearly buying in to that theory. Earthport's shares, which are listed on London's market for growing companies AIM, are up 6% at a one-month high. (Investing.com)Earthport shares are jumping. NOW WATCH:The science behind losing weight More From Business Insider • Citigroup beats earnings estimates • Goldman Sachs had a great quarter … if you ignore legal costs • Bitcoin is the 'Napster' of finance — and there'll be an iTunes \|\| The Future of Money; Bitcoin and Ether Shake It Up With Crypto-Currencies That Disrupt and Innovate: POINT ROBERTS, WA and NEW YORK, NY --(Marketwired - July 23, 2015) - Investorideas.com, a global news source covering leading sectors including Bitcoin and payment technology, release commentary about new crypto-currencies including Bitcoin and Ether. Experts from both sectors talk about the future of money as we know it and how to prepare for this new future. Brad Moynes of Bit-X Financial ( BITXF ) , Ryan Rabaglia, head of Wholesale, ANX, Terrence Dempsey of The Bitcoin Investment Trust ( GBTC ) and Gavin Wood of The Ethereum Project talk about disruption, opportunity and crypto-currencies. Wedbush's recent bullish prediction of $400 Bitcoin prices has created buzz in the space and the industry is full of headlines -- with new entries from traditional financial institutions. Two pure public plays in the sector share insight from their perspectives and experience in Bitcoin. Brad Moynes, CEO of Bit-X Financial ( BITXF ) , recently launched a new Bitcoin exchange branded under the name Digatrade ( https://digatrade.com/ ) and discussed how he sees Bitcoin as a disruptive currency with a long term future. Brad's financial markets background that includes investment banking and corporate finance makes him pay attention to the recent entries into the Bitcoin market from key players on Wall Street, he told us. He sees regulation shaping the future of Bitcoin as it moves forward but his regulatory compliance background makes him comfortable with the process. Digatrade (powered by ANX Technology) just launched at the end of June with Canadian currency and is working on multi-currency payment processing including USD, GBP & EUR next. It also recently announced it has enabled Canadian-based customer deposits via eCheck; "a significant milestone," Brad said, "Bitcoin is transforming the way consumers and businesses operate. Whether for cost-savings, speed, security or opening new market opportunities, visionary companies all over the world are turning to Bitcoin for their next phase of growth." Story continues Brad also stated, "The evolution of finance is here for institutions. DigaTrade works with financial institutions across the world to enable them to harness the power of digital-currency. We provide a range of institutional storage and liquidity tools for accredited clients and provide access to advanced crypto-fiat transfer protocols and solutions." He went on to say, "We believe we are creating an exchange that will give traders, businesses and institutions a world-class platform that is secure and user-friendly, creating an even playing field for anyone wanting to trade Bitcoin and participate in the future of money." Ryan Rabaglia, head of Wholesale ANX, a Hong Kong-based company that is one of the most used Bitcoin exchange platforms worldwide, said, "It should come as no surprise that the consistently intensifying attraction to Bitcoin in China is very real. Transaction volumes out of China have been leading the way from a global perspective even prior to us experiencing peak prices in December 2013 and today is no different. With market prices and general trading interest recently being revived, a drive towards steady trading activity has been viewed here in Asia, on and off exchange." He also said, "This, of course, has much deeper implications than the daily price of Bitcoin. We are seeing a real interest from a payments and funds transfer perspective as well. The interest for sizeable foreign investment has long been a stumbling block for Chinese citizens and Bitcoin offers that potential gateway." Investorideas.com also talked to Terrence Dempsey of The Bitcoin Investment Trust ( GBTC ) to explain to investors the direct relationship of the Bitcoin pricing to the estimated share price of the recent 'outperform rating' on the stock from Wedbush. Terrence explained, "The Bitcoin Investment Trust was created to give investors the ability to gain exposure to the price movements of Bitcoin without the challenges of buying and storing Bitcoin on their own and providing this exposure through a traditional titled security. As such, the Net Asset Value of the Trust is a direct representation of the price of Bitcoin. Each share of The Bitcoin Investment Trust represents approximately 0.1 Bitcoin and the Trust's Net Asset Value is set each business day using a 24-hour volume weighted price of Bitcoin based on TradeBlock's XBX Index." He went on to explain, "The Bitcoin Investment Trust is a passive investment vehicle that only adds Bitcoin based on new investments and does not engage in the forecasting of prices or rely on any external research." He also said, "Traditional payment providers or processers are likely going to need to innovate by either incorporating Bitcoin or another form of digital payments to increase efficiency and reduce costs in order to survive. We believe that many of these firms are actively looking at Bitcoin as a potential solution." In talking about the future he noted, "In the short-term, Bitcoin has the opportunity to disrupt and innovate the payment space, particularly in global remittances and micro-payments. The ease of transacting and reduced costs when using Bitcoin compared to alternatives makes it a compelling choice. Further, with the influx of interest and investment from Wall Street in Bitcoin and Bitcoin related start-ups, it has the opportunity to overhaul the existing financial system making for more efficient trading and settlement of assets." Gavin Wood of The Ethereum Project told Investorideas.com, "It exists as platform for managing the core 'business logic' of decentralised applications; the component typically managed by a server, databases and so forth for traditional, centralised applications. Through using blockchain technology, Ethereum provides unprecedented guarantees of security, auditability, availability and interoperability for all kinds of applications. To avoid potential 'spamming' problems, the Ethereum platform has an internal token ('Ether') allowing users of the platform to pay the validators ('miners') for their contribution in doing the computation and securing the network. In some ways, Ether could be considered similar to the crypto-currency Bitcoin, however it differs in so much as Ether is not intended to be used as a general means of payment. In simple terms, the notion of a decentralised web is a web without web servers. At present all web applications, such as eBay and Facebook, are 100% dependent on centralised servers, operated by specific for-profit corporations. Being centralised, they slurp up as much information on their users in an effort to boost their power and future profits. Such corporations, we have painfully learnt, care very little about the privacy of their users or the integrity of their users' data. All too often important data (e.g. buying habits, payment information) is sold by, leaked by or stolen from the corporation. Punishment is rare and insignificant. Users are becoming increasingly savvy but as yet, few reasonable options exist for those displeased with the present state of affairs. The decentralised web, or 'Web 3.0,' is a collection of technologies that utilise modern peer-based network designs to decentralise all aspects of data publication, application logic and signaling. Through protocols such as Whisper, Ethereum and Swarm we can start to imagine how rich web and mobile applications like eBay, Facebook, and Uber could be realized, without the need of centralised servers or an expensive intermediary. Users would share the maintenance of all infrastructure and consolidate the application logic such a reputation systems and payment mechanisms themselves. Well understood mathematical principles, similar to those on which Bitcoin is based, would guard users from disreputable operators or insecure payments. A vastly simplified software infrastructure and smooth interoperation would allow services to be 'mashed-up' (combined) to unleash exciting potential business opportunities previously possible only through cumbersome cross-industry partnerships (e.g. imagine AirBnB with a simple checkbox for an Uber-based airport pickup). Through all of this, users would be safe in the knowledge that they share only as much data as is strictly required for the application to function; never giving away sensitive payment information and never having to trust one faceless organization over another. While this is an inconvenient truth now, it will become even more important as the data that our device manufacturers own begins to include information of a decidedly private and personal nature never before collected; how we sleep, how much we exercise, who we sleep with, our passing interests and so on. Ethereum, or more accurately, the Ethereum Foundation, a non-profit organization based in Switzerland tasked with the initial development of the Ethereum Protocol and its subsequent advocacy and education, has developed the first piece of the puzzle. The efforts over the past 18-or-so months of myself, Vitalik and Jeff, together with our many developers and support staff, are nearly at a culmination with the release of the so-called 'Frontier' software, the first version of Ethereum capable of forming a secure network. However, decentralising the web is a lofty goal and is unlikely achievable by the foundation's efforts alone. I think it will take the cooperation of a number of projects such as IPFS, Telehash and well-aligned profit-orientated enterprises before we really begin to see the bigger picture. Once the foundation bows out from its tenure as a software developer, I fully expect to see many from the Ethereum Project move to develop within the ecosystem under a more entrepreneurial venture." For investors considering investing in crypto-currency opportunities, be prepared for a fast and furious ride as the future of money races ahead of all us. Bit-X Financial Corp. ( BITXF ) is a Vancouver, British Columbia based Company listed on the OTC.QB under the trading symbol BITXF. The Company owns and operates a digital currency exchange and internet financial services company: DIGATRADE™. BITXF is a reporting issuer in the Province of British Columbia, Canada with the British Columbia Securities Commission "BCSC" and in the United States with the Securities Exchange Commission "SEC." https://digatrade.com/ ANX - Your Crypto Connection www.anxbtc.com - Easy, Secure, and Affordable www.anxpro.com - Altcoins, Algos, and Performance About The Bitcoin Investment Trust ( GBTC ) The Bitcoin Investment Trust is a private, open-ended trust that is invested exclusively in Bitcoin and derives its value solely from the price of Bitcoin. It enables investors to gain exposure to the price movement of Bitcoin without the challenge of buying, storing, and safekeeping Bitcoins. The BIT's sponsor is Grayscale Investments, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Digital Currency Group. About Investorideas.com InvestorIdeas.com newswire is a global investor news source covering multiple sectors including Bitcoin and payment technology. 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Contact each company directly for press release questions. Disclosure is posted on each release if required but otherwise the news was not compensated for and is published for the sole interest of our readers. Disclosure: BITXF is a PR client of Investorideas.com and compensates us for news publication, PR and media. (two thousand five hundred per month and 144 shares) More info: http://www.investorideas.com/About/News/Clientspecifics.asp and http://www.investorideas.com/About/Disclaimer.asp BC Residents and Investor Disclaimer : Effective September 15 2008 - all BC investors should review all OTC and Pink sheet listed companies for adherence in new disclosure filings and filing appropriate documents with Sedar. Read for more info: http://www.bcsc.bc.ca/release.aspx?id=6894 . Global investors must adhere to regulations of each country. \|\| Bitcoin is faltering at a bad, bad time for Greece: (GettyImages/Pacific Press) Bitcoin's decentralized system is leaving loophole for technical errors — reminding investors that virtual money might not bethe perfect alternative to paper,Bloomberg's Olga Kharif reports. At least not yet. As some Greeks rushed to buy Bitcoinduring bank closures,the payment system, which has been trading at its highest since March, took a stumble over the weekend. It took nearly five-times longer than usual to process transactions, said Gil Luria, an analyst at Wedbush Securities. A payment could take up to five hours to be confirmed, while some users were also unable to create new Bitcoin, he said. The lag was caused by an update to the payment system's PC software over the weekend — or more precisely, it was caused by a disjunction in the versions of software users own. Operators who hadn't updated the software "put the whole system out of whack," the article said. Though the issue is expected to be fixed within a few days, it's not the first time Bitcoin has seen this kind of software problem, Luria said. "I don't know that it's (ever) happened to this extent, because Bitcoin has never been this big," he said. Bitcoin's customer base has increased, with nearly 120,000 transactions occurring a day in early June — an increase of 10 times since the same period in 2011, reported Coindesk, a Bitcoin-focused newsdesk.Last week, Coinbase, a Bitcoin exchange and wallet provider, waived fees for customers buying with euros due to the Greek Crisis. According to Bloomberg, software updates will be much smoother if companies take more market share from Bitcoin machine hobbyists. "This is test of a decentralized network," Luria said. "Every time Bitcoin passes one of these tests, it gets stronger." Read the original article at Bloomberg> NOW WATCH:Here's what you get when you order 'Omaha Steaks' in the mail More From Business Insider • Former DEA agent admits to stealing bitcoins while investigating Silk Road • How Greece went bust • A Greek politician told us Grexit will '100%' happen if 'No' wins on Sunday — and plans are already being made \|\| What to watch on Monday: The " Fast Money " traders gave their final thoughts of the day. Steve Grasso was watching the S&P 500 (CME:Index and Options Market: .INX) 's technical levels. David Seaburg was a buyer of TWTR (NYSE: TWTR) . Brian Kelly had his eye on the DXY (Exchange: .DXY) . Guy Adami was also watching key levels of the S&P 500 (CME:Index and Options Market: .INX) . Trader disclosure: On August 21, 2015 the following stocks and commodities mentioned or intended to be mentioned on CNBC's "Fast Money" were owned by the "Fast Money" traders: Brian Kelly is long BBRY, BTC=; DAX, DXGE, ITB, TAN, TSL, TWTR call spread, U.S. Dollar; he is short AUDJPY, GBPJPY, Euro, Ruble, Yen, Yuan. Today he bought DAX, DXGE, US Dollar. Today he sold VIX and Euro. Today he closed his CAC40 short position. Today he shorted Euro and Yen. Guy Adami is long CELG, EXAS, INTC, Guy Adami's wife, Linda Snow, works at Merck. Steve Grasso is long AAPL, BA, BAC, CC, DD, DIS, DECK, EVGN, FIT, KBH, MJNA, MU, PFE, PHM, T, TWTR, GDX. His kids are long EFA, EFG, EWJ, IJR, SPY. His firm and some of its partners are long WLL, DNR, DVN, TWTR, NE, NEM, OXY, RIG, TSE, VALE. More From CNBC Top News and Analysis Latest News Video Personal Finance \|\| Will The New York Times Piece Damage Amazon?: On August 15, the New York Times published an article slamming e-commerce giant Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN ) for its unforgiving corporate culture. The piece describes in with anecdotal stories how employees are pushed to their limits in an environment that thrives on tension and inspires fear. The piece gained traction on social media and many customers said it was enough to stop them from using the service in the future. However, shares of Amazon are up 72.46 percent year-to-date, leading many to wonder just how much damage the article will do. Bezos Strikes Back Following the release of the article, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos sent out a staff memo in which he asked employees to contact him directly if they'd received the kind of treatment the New York Times had described. He maintained that Amazon's culture is very different from what was depicted and said he was shocked by the stories told. Other current Amazon employees took to the Internet in defense of Amazon, saying that the descriptions were inaccurate and that the company has been misrepresented. Related Link: Amazon's Quarter Was A 'Full-On Crusher' Solid Performance While the article may have temporarily tarnished Amazon's glow, the company's solid Q2 performance is likely to overshadow complaints about management from an investors' perspective. In July, the company released strong Q2 sales and impressive financials which suggest that Amazon is on an upward trajectory. From a money-making point of view, the article has done little hurt the retail giant's appeal. Public Perception In the social media age, public perception is a huge part of a company's success. SeaWorld Entertainment Inc . (NYSE: SEAS ) lost a huge volume of customers after being slammed in the media for its treatment of orcas and Amazon similarly runs the risk of being known as a cruel company that treats its workers poorly, something that could deter shoppers from using the site. However, so far the fallout from the article appears to be minimal, with most expecting more outrageous comments from the 2016 Presidential hopefuls to redirect the public's attention in the coming days. Story continues See more from Benzinga What's Happening To Media Stocks? Bitcoin Rewards Gain Popularity Bitcoin, Marijuana And Drones: Meet Trees © 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| Louis C.K. Embraces Bitcoin: Comedian Louis C.K. has joined the fast-expanding number of merchants who now accept bitcoin as a payment method by making it possible for fans to download his comedy shows and pay using the cryptocurrency. His decision toincorporate bitcoinon his website underscored the digital currency's growing presence in the entertainment industry, which many believe will ultimately help lead to mainstream adoption. Bitcoin Integration On Louis C.K.'s website, fans can download the comedian's albums and recordings and pay anywhere between $1 and $85. In order to give his supporters another way to pay, Louis C.K. partnered with payment processor BitPay to allow bitcoin supporters to use their mobile wallets. The new option is also beneficial to Louis C.K. who is able to avoid the high transaction fees charged by other processors likePayPal Holdings Inc(NASDAQ:PYPL). Related Link:Could Mike Tyson Become The New Face For Bitcoin? Positive Reception So far, his decision to incorporate bitcoin has received a positive reaction from fans. It appears that some of Louis C.K.'s supporters are a part of the bitcoin community, and have already begun using the new payment option to purchase the comedian's recordings. A Boost This is not the first time that bitcoin has been a hot topic in the entertainment space. Earlier this summer a new film called "Dope" announced that movie goers could purchase their tickets using the cryptocurrency. The film also incorporated bitcoin into its plot, giving digital currencies more exposure. Many believe that the adoption of bitcoin in the entertainment industry is essential to the cryptocurrency's mainstream adoption. Not only will it bring attention to the currency, but it may help to undo some of the negative publicity that bitcoin has received in past years after hacking attacks and scams made it out to be a tool for criminals. Image credit:Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Flickr See more from Benzinga • Is Medical Marijuana Effective? • What's Happening To Media Stocks? • Japan Says Bitcoin Can't Be Owned © 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| C&W Unveils the 'New' Flow and Creates History in Barbados: BRIDGETOWN, BARBADOS--(Marketwired - Jul 16, 2015) - Telecoms history was made in Barbados today as Cable & Wireless Communications (C&W) officially launched its retail brand, Flow, for its newly combined consumer group. The 'new' Flow will deliver a compelling set of quad play products and services via its Fibre to the Home (FTTH) infrastructure set to reach 100% of Barbados homes by year end. This will make Barbados the first country in the world to have 100% FTTH coverage. "We are pleased to usher in a new culture of innovation and technical excellence, backed by major investments in our Fibre to the Home infrastructure," said John Reid, President of C&W Consumer Group. With our combined strengths, Barbados consumers will have access to the most technologically advanced quad play products in the region, through our mobile, video, landline and broadband services. Reid also said that the foundation of the new Flow brand strategy was consistent with the positive characteristics of the Caribbean. "We are driven by all that is positive in the Caribbean," he said. "The people, the passion, and the drive to succeed. Against that backdrop, we commit to continue our focus on innovation, technical excellence and great customer service." Flow also unveiled plans to become #1 for customer experience in Barbados and the region. According to Niall Sheehy, the Country Manager for Flow Barbados, "Flow will realise this bold vision by making significant changes across our operations to drive an outstanding customer experience, which will extend beyond the obvious frontline transactions." Sheehy said that, "In all departments and in each role the goal will be to put the customer first in every aspect of our business." The 'unveil' of the new brand, follows the announcement in March by C&W to merge its operations with Columbus International. C&W will follow this inaugural launch throughout the Caribbean on a phased, country-by-country basis over the next twelve months. Story continues About Cable & Wireless Communications: Cable & Wireless Communications Plc (CWC) is a full service communications and entertainment provider, operating in the Caribbean and Latin America. With annual sales of over $2.4 billion, it operates both mobile and fixed networks, supported by submarine and terrestrial optical fibre backhaul capacity. Through the acquisition of Columbus International Inc. on 31 March 2015, CWC now delivers superior high-speed mobile data, broadband and TV/video services. It has leading market positions in Mobile, Fixed Line, Broadband and TV consumer offers. Through its business division, CWC provides data centre hosting, domestic and international managed network services, and customised IT service solutions, utilising cloud technology to serve business and government customers. The company also operates a state-of-the-art subsea fibre optic cable network that spans more than 42,000 km -- the most extensive in the region -- as well as 38,000 km of terrestrial fibre providing wholesale and carrier backhaul capacity. CWC has more than 7,500 employees serving over 6 million customers (Mobile 3.8m; Fixed Line 1.1m; TV 430k and Broadband 650k) as well as over 125k corporate clients across 42 countries. The Company's leading brands include: LIME and Flow in the Caribbean; BTC in The Bahamas; Mas Movil in Panama; C&W Business and C&W Networks. CWC is the market leader in most products offered and territories served. It is a major contributor to local communities through its corporate social responsibility programmes. Cable & Wireless Communications' shares are quoted on the London Stock Exchange under the ticker CWC. The company is headquartered in London with its operational hub located in Miami, within close proximity to the Caribbean and Latin America. For more information visit: http://www.cwc.com . \|\| CCEDK and Bit-X Release Nanocard: The First True Crypto-Debit Card: CCEDK has announced that it is coming out with its own Bitcoin debit card BLOKHUS, DENMARK / ACCESSWIRE / July 13, 2015 / In addition to strictly storing the funds as Bitcoin or USD, the user will have the option to store their money as a BitShares BitAsset. Also referred to as SmartCoins, they would be pegged to the value of the dollar or another major currency. "A new generation of 2.0 coins is being used to address the volatility issue. BitShares' SmartCoins will be available as funding options for the NanoCard in the coming months, meaning that customer balances can be safely stored as crypto coins pegged to USD, EUR, CNY or even gold and silver, and converted only at the time of use," explained CEO Ronnie Boesing. This is a fundamentally lacking feature in many card programs available to Bitcoiners, although Bitreserve has come along way to deal with the problem of volatility. The new card will be called the NanoCard and will be broadly available to customers of the exchange beginning today. The NanoCard is a collaboration between Danish bitcoin exchange CCEDK and forex platform Bit-x , which aims to show how virtual currencies are finally coming of age. Ronnie Boesing believes that something like the NanoCard could be a "killer app" for Bitcoin, saying. "Bit-x, CCEDK, Cryptonomex, BitShares: each provides a part of the puzzle and the result is bitcoin's killer app." However, there are a number of other Bitcoin debit cards out there, including some that allow the user to receive part of their pay in Bitcoin, and then still have access to the funds for spending even after the conversion to bitcoin. Regardless, those at CCEDK were excited to r e lease a debit card for their traders to make use of. According to CEO Mr. Boesing, "We have combined the strengths of digital currencies pioneered by bitcoin with the universal acceptance of major credit cards. It's the combination of technologies that makes the NanoCard so powerful. We are extremely proud to have partnered with Bit-x after just a year in business. The result is perhaps the world's first true crypto-debit card. No one can tell you how to use your own money and thanks to Bit-x this will be accepted everywhere." Additionally, CCEDK is partnering with Cryptonomex in order to provide new security measures to protect funds and trading. Part of what Cryptonomex will do is create auditing and transparency layers for CCEDK's customers to have an opportunity to verify what's on the exchange. Transparency is an element of strength for any exchange, as the Bitcoin community learned, through events like Mt. Gox, what a severe lack of transparency can do. "You won't have to worry about our exchange being hacked or whether it is honest or solvent," explains Boesing. Story continues Contact CCEDK \| Crypto Coins Exchange Denmark Aps: Ronny Boesing +45-36-98-11-50 [email protected] Tyttebærvej 6, Hune, DK-9492 Blokhus Denmark SOURCE: CCEDK.com View comments [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] buysellbitco.in #bitcoin price in INR, Buy : 17809.00 INR Sell : 17245.00 INR. Buy and sell bitcoin in #India using #buysellbitcoin \|\| $282.94 #bitstamp; $278.00 #btce; Instantly buy GH/s with BTC: http://bit.ly/LN53k1 #bitcoin #btc \|\| buysellbitco.in #bitcoin price in INR, Buy : 17481.00 INR Sell : 16943.00 INR. Buy and sell bitcoin in #India using #buysellbitcoin \|\| buysellbitco.in #bitcoin price in INR, Buy : 17468.00 INR Sell : 16914.00 INR. Buy and sell bitcoin in #India using #buysellbitcoin \|\| bitcoin rate-2015-07-30 PDT start_rate:$289.64 current_rate:$289.00(-0.22%) #bitstamp @MoneysEdge http://www.moneysedge.com/bitcoin \|\| In the last 10 mins, there were arb opps spanning 17 exchange pair(s), yielding profits ranging between $0.00 and $1,416.27 #bitcoin #btc \|\| Current price: 186.11£ $BTCGBP $btc #bitcoin 2015-07-30 10:00:05 BST \|\| buysellbitco.in #bitcoin price in INR, Buy : 18028.00 INR Sell : 17476.00 INR. Buy and sell bitcoin in #India using #buysellbitcoin \|\| buysellbitco.in #bitcoin price in INR, Buy : 18625.00 INR Sell : 18025.00 INR. Buy and sell bitcoin in #India using #buysellbitcoin \|\| buysellbitco.in #bitcoin price in INR, Buy : 17877.00 INR Sell : 17297.00 INR. Buy and sell bitcoin in #India using #buysellbitcoin	Trend: no change \|\| Prices: 228.17, 210.49, 221.61, 225.83, 224.77, 231.40, 229.78, 228.76, 230.06, 228.12
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis] Not fully available. [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Charities Are Turning To Bitcoin: A black cloud of skepticism has hung over bitcoin for the past year after several high-profile cases made the cryptocurrency out to be a criminal tool used for illicit purchases and scamming. However, as more and more merchants begin to adopt the cryptocurrency, many expect that it is heading toward mainstream adoption. With that in mind, several charities have opened their minds, and bank accounts, to accepting bitcoin. The Benefit Of Bitcoin Many charities like Save the Children, the American Red Cross, and Greenpeace have started accepting bitcoin donations. For them, it opens up a new market of donors who otherwise may not have given as much or even at all. Because bitcoin's transaction fees are much lower than those of credit and debit cards, donors can be sure that the charity is receiving the maximum benefit. Payments processor BitPay is a popular choice for charitable organizations as the company doesn't charge any merchant fee for non-profits and gives 100 percent of the donation to the charity. A New Image Some charities are hoping that bitcoin will revamp their images. By accepting bitcoin, charities are able to expose themselves to new, often younger, audiences and make their cause more accessible. For the moment, bitcoin donations typically make up only a small fraction of what charities bring in; but for many, establishing a bitcoin based donation option is important to propel the organization into the future. Related Link: Orange: The Latest Company To See Benefit In Blockchain Better For Donors Charities aren't the only ones who benefit from bitcoin donations. Many donors have found bitcoin to be an effective way to receive the maximum tax benefit for a charitable contribution. Because bitcoin is taxed as property instead of currency, donors can give bitcoins that have appreciated in value without paying capital gains taxes. The laws are similar to those governing the donation of stocks, making it a great way to make the most of tax deductions. Story continues See more from Benzinga Breakfast Of Champions: Is Pot Good For You? 3D Printers Take On Mars EU Closer To Resolving Google's Antitrust Issues © 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| Federal Agents Busted for Stealing Bitcoins, Extorting Silk Road Founder: Two former federal agents were charged Monday with stealing Bitcoin and laundering money while working at the center of last year’s massive investigation into the now-defunct Silk Road. Justice Department officials announced the charges against former DEA officer Carl Mark Force and former Secret Service agent Shaun Bridges. The two men allegedly used Bitcoin to launder money while they were in the middle of investigating the infamous online black market, which was shut down by the government last year. Related: U.S. Probed Mt. Gox CEO as Possible Silk Road Mastermind At the time, the government seized about $33 million worth of Bitcoin from the marketplace and charged its founder, Ross Ulbricht – or “Dread Pirate Roberts,” as he’s known on the web – with aiding drug trafficking. He was ultimately found guilty and awaits sentencing. Carl Force was the main investigator tasked with communicating with Ulbricht. He allegedly used his position during the investigation to extort money from Ulbricht by using a number of Internet aliases. In one instance, Force apparently demanded $250,000 from Ulbricht in exchange for withholding information from his colleagues at the DOJ. The government charged him with wiring fraud, stealing government property and money laundering. Related: Porn, Drugs, Hitmen, Hackers: This is the Deep Web Separately, Bridges, the Secret Service agent, worked with Force and allegedly diverted more than $800,000 in Bitcoin to a personal account during the investigation. The complaint accuses the two former agents of texting back and forth about the fluctuating value of Bitcoin. The two reportedly resigned from their positions abruptly before being arrested last week. The charges against the agents come at an embarrassing time for both of their former agencies. Just last week a report from the DOJ’s inspector general accused agents at the Drug Enforcement Agency of having “sex parties” with prostitutes bought and paid for by drug cartels in Columbia. Story continues The Secret Service has suffered a problem-plagued year with numerous security breaches as well as a prostitution scandal in 2010. Top Reads from The Fiscal Times: Vladimir Putin’s New Best Friends: Nervous Oil Traders Outrageous Public Pensions Could Bankrupt These States 6 Popular Social Security Myths Busted \|\| Exclusive: Bitcoin exchange itBit seeks New York banking licence: By Lauren Tara LaCapra NEW YORK (Reuters) - In a little noticed move, bitcoin exchange itBit has filed for a banking licence in New York, according to the state banking authority. Approval for the licence may come in the next couple of weeks, people familiar with the matter told Reuters, which could make itBit the first bitcoin company to be regulated as a bank in the United States. The application is part of itBit's plan to expand its business into different corners of financial services, and present itself as a trustworthy and reputable company. Right now, itBit operates as an exchange where buyers and sellers trade the bitcoin digital currency. After a series of scandals that have roiled the virtual currency markets, reassuring customers, investors, and bitcoin market participants is critical. Last year, rival Mt. Gox filed for bankruptcy after its computer system was hacked, and prominent bitcoin advocates had been accused of money laundering. "Some highly publicized failures and potentially illegal activity have focussed attention on virtual currencies and have highlighted the need for a sound regulatory framework for virtual currencies," itBit Chief Executive Charles "Chad" Cascarilla said in an October letter to New York's state banking regulator on an unrelated matter. ItBit, whose exchange operates in Singapore, moved its primary headquarters to New York last year, and hired Erik Wilgenhof Plante from eBay Inc (EBAY.O) as chief compliance officer. The company's web site touts its anti-money laundering efforts and "know your customer" credentials, as well as its compliance in all jurisdictions in which it operates. "Whether fairly or not, companies that work within the regulatory framework are more trusted by customers and partners," said David Berger, CEO of the Digital Currency Council, an industry advocacy group. The bank application for itBit Trust Company LLC lists three bigwigs in government and regulatory circles as "organizers," including former Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Chairman Sheila Bair, former Financial Accounting Standards Board director Robert Herz and former New Jersey Sen. Bill Bradley. Organizers are responsible for setting up limited liability companies in New York, but do not necessarily hold operating positions within them. Story continues The application also names Cascarilla as an organizer, as well as his business partner Emil Woods, a former SAC Capital portfolio manager who co-founded the investment firm Cedar Hill Capital Partners with Cascarilla. Benjamin Lawsky, New York's superintendent of financial services, has been a vocal advocate of regulating virtual currencies like bitcoin as well as other businesses, like payments, that would operate using the same technology. That technology, called blockchain, essentially records every transaction that happens on the system. Transferring cash requires changing an entry in the ledger, but does not require processing by a bank or other intermediary, making it potentially faster and cheaper. Many on Wall Street and Main Street dismiss unregulated virtual currencies like bitcoin as a wacky concept embraced by paranoiacs, gamblers and bored teenagers. But large companies including International Business Machines Corp (IBM.N) and Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N) are looking seriously at applying the technology behind bitcoin to businesses ranging from payments to trading. Central banks like the U.S. Federal Reserve and the Bank of England have also examined blockchain, while major cities including Singapore, London and New York are positioning themselves as bitcoin hubs. [ID:nL5N0X63BQ] "Many people believe that the real payoff with the bitcoin phenomenon is blockchain and all the various uses it can be put to," said Jeff Neuburger‎, a partner at the law firm Proskauer Rose who specializes in technology. "It will have some impact on the way all kinds of financial services are conducted." Spokespeople for itBit and New York's department of financial services confirmed the company had filed a banking licence application but declined further comment. Bair, Herz, Cascarilla and Woods did not respond to requests for comment. Bradley could not be reached for comment. ItBit is backed by venture capitalists including Canaan Partners, RRE Ventures and Liberty City Ventures, where Cascarilla is a partner. Since its founding in 2012, the company has received $3.3 million in a round of fund-raising, according to the startup site CrunchBase. Lately, itBit has been looking to gather more money from investors including Cedar Hill to fund new business ventures, one person briefed on the matter said. (Reporting by Lauren Tara LaCapra; editing by Dan Wilchins and Diane Craft) \|\| Will Greece's Financial Woes Ever End?: Negotiations between Athens and its creditors continued to drag on this week, despite what most believed would be a bank-breaking loan repayment coming due on Tuesday. Somehow, Greece continued to scrape by without defaulting, despite having what most expect is a nearly empty vault. Comments from both sides have indicated that a resolution is nowhere in sight, as they remain at odds regarding several fundamental aspects of Greece's bailout agreement. Out Of Cash? On Tuesday, Greece wasable to repayits €750 million International Monetary Fund loan, but many believe the tide is quickly rising as more payments loom on the horizon. This week's payment was meant to put leftist leader, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, in the difficult position of choosing between paying the nation's wages and pensions or repaying the loan, but the Greek prime minister avoided that conundrum by using Greece's own reserve funds at the IMF to make the payment. Related Link:No Bailout Agreement Expected For Greece, Despite Looming IMF Payments It remains to be seen whether or not Athens has enough cash in its reserve to pay public sector wages at the end of the month, and the nation is almost surely short the €1.5 billion needed to repay further loans in June. What Now? The increasingly dire financial situation in Greece is likely to help move negotiations for its bailout aid forward; however, so far it seems that Tsipras is unwilling to bend to the EU's will, despite his lack of funding. Tsipras was elected on promises to reverse austerity cuts and get a better bailout deal, and he has remained adamant in his demands for more budgetary freedom. Despite that, Greek officials have said they are optimistic about reaching an agreement to release the next installment of bailout funding by the end of May. Related Link:UBS Outlines Grexit Scenarios Then It's Over? Even if Greek officials and EU policymakers come to an agreement by the end of May, Greece won't be out of hot water. The nation's bailout program expires at the end of June, meaning that Tsipras and the Syriza government will have to work with EU officials to extend the nation's funding again, bringing on an entirely new round of negotiations. Image Credit: Public Domain See more from Benzinga • The Internet Of Things Getting A Push From Intel And Samsung • Marijuana Shortages Point To A Developing Industry • Bitcoin Making Progress In Europe © 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| Solving Bitcoin's Scalability Problem: Bitcoin enthusiasts have long been working toward pushing the cryptocurrency into mainstream use to compete with paper money and credit card transactions. However, now that new exchanges for buying and selling the digital currency are beginning to gain momentum as more of the public is takes an interest, many are wondering whether or not bitcoin will be able to handle a steep rise in transaction growth. Blockchain Has Flaws Although blockchain has been touted as one of the greatest technological advances of the decade, the ledger-like system does have limits. Since each node of blockchain records every single transaction, the cost of running nodes will likely outweigh the benefits of using them if bitcoin grows into a mainstream payment method. Most believe that bitcoin as it is now could not function as a payment platform on its own. Filtering Out Necessary Information Joseph Poon and Thaddeus Dryja say their latest development, the Bitcoin Lightning Network , can help. The lightning network allows some transactions to take place off of the blockchain and broadcasts only the final, necessary transaction information to the entire blockchain. Related Link: Is There Room For Another Cryptocurrency? The blockchain's ledger, accessible to everyone, would still have record of the transaction, but not any intermediary dealings that may have taken place. A Work In Progress The Bitcoin Lightning Network presents an exciting solution to bitcoin's scalability problems, but there are still several issues that need to be worked out before the network can be developed or considered as a viable way to do business. See more from Benzinga Pot Startup Crowdfunding Its Legal Fees Facebook To Provide Internet Access Via Drones Not All European Firms Are Profiting From A Weaker Euro © 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| BTCS Announces $2.3 Million Financing With Management Participation: ARLINGTON, VA--(Marketwired - Apr 22, 2015) - Bitcoin Shop, Inc. ( OTCQB : BTCS ) ("BTCS" or the "Company"), a blockchain technology focused company which engages in transaction verification services and which is undertaking the build-out of a universal digital currency ecosystem, announced today that it closed on a financing for aggregate gross proceeds of $2,312,500. The Company sold 7,708,342 units consisting of one share of common stock and 1.4 warrants at a per unit price of $0.30. The warrants are exercisable into an aggregate of 10,791,684 shares of common stock at a per share price of $0.375. Charles Allen our CEO, Michal Handerhan our COO and Charlie Kiser our EVP invested an aggregate of $42,500 in the financing. Charles Allen, CEO of BTCS, commented, "We believe the sustained decline in the price of Bitcoin has created tremendous opportunities for us to further expand our business and seize opportunities created from the market downturn. With the completion of this financing we believe we are well positioned to be a leading bitcoin and blockchain focused company." About BTCS: BTCS plans to leverage its transaction verification services business while it builds a universal digital currency platform with the goal of enabling users to engage in the digital currency ecosystem through one point of access. We are currently engaged in transaction verification services and operate our public beta site ( www.btcs.com ) where consumers can purchase products using digital currency such as bitcoin, litecoin and dogecoin, by searching through a selection of over 250,000 items. Forward Looking Statements: Certain statements in this press release constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Words such as "may," "might," "will," "should," "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," "continue," "predict," "forecast," "project," "plan," "intend" or similar expressions, or statements regarding intent, belief, or current expectations, are forward-looking statements. While the Company believes these forward-looking statements are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on any such forward-looking statements, which are based on information available to us on the date of this release. These forward looking statements are based upon current estimates and assumptions and are subject to various risks and uncertainties, including without limitation those set forth in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, not limited to Risk Factors relating to its digital currency business contained therein. Thus, actual results could be materially different. The Company expressly disclaims any obligation to update or alter statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. \|\| Bitcoin In Minutes: Over 400 000 Locations Worldwide for Instant Buying and Selling Cryptocurrencies Added By 247exchange.com and MoneyPolo(TM): International Cryptocurrency and Bitcoin Exchange Platform 247exchange, Managed by InterMoney Exchange(TM), and Its Partner MoneyPolo(TM) Payment System Proudly Announce the Brand New Method of Buying and Selling Bitcoin Instantly Via Money Transfers BELIZE CITY, BELIZE / ACCESSWIRE / April 28, 2015 /Bitcoin exchange service 247exchange.com and its partner MoneyPolo(TM) , large money transfer network, represent an innovative instant method of purchasing and withdrawing bitcoins -using express money transfer. The feature is available at more than 400,000 locations (including banks, post offices, shops, stores, money exchangers and so on) in about 130 countries. Having a bank account or credit/debit card is not necessary. All that is required is cash, ID and a visit to one of almost half a million branches around the world to send an immediate transfer. Transforming cash into bitcoin and vice versa has never been so easy and fast. "Our global aim is to make Bitcoin closer to average people, and cooperation with MoneyPolo(TM) makes a huge step on this way. It also seems like a perfect solution for buying/selling bitcoins for unbanked users and especially for people from developing countries having less local direct banking options. Speaking in general, our team is working hard to make the whole process as easy, as topping up the mobile phone balance. This is a challenge, but we believe we can make it!," Anton Vereshchagin, the founder, declares. About 247exchange.com 247exchange is run by InterMoney Exchange(TM), a group of financial companies. The service offers various ways of buying, selling and exchanging cryptocurrencies paying special attention to instant methods. "At the end of 2014 we integrated credit and debit cards support as an immediate method of buying bitcoins. However, until now we haven't had instant withdrawal methods (and there are not so many exchange services in the world who offers it). Judging by the feedback from our customers, they really missed such option. As a client oriented company we simply can't ignore that. Then we contacted MoneyPolo and made this promising partnership. I believe it's a real breakthrough in the whole cryptocurrency exchange business discovering the new opportunities for the users all over the globe," Alexey Maximenko, CEO, says. About MoneyPolo(TM) MoneyPolo(TM) is a registered trademark for Mayzus Financial Services Ltd. Since the company started its operations in 2009 it has been providing payment solutions, prepaid cards, foreign exchange operations for customer accounts as well as cash money transfers. MoneyPolo has customer branches in the UK, the Czech Republic, Mongolia and Philippines, while its partner offices spread throughout Europe, Asia, Latin America, North America. Africa and CIS countries. Since 2012 MoneyPolo service portfolio includes accounts and payments for cryptocurrency industry. The company proved to be a reliable and responsible partner for its some 150 000 customers. MoneyPolo is constantly increasing the availability of its services and expanding its wide network of more than 400,000 own and partner branches. How it works To purchase Bitcon and other cryptocurrencies (Litecoin, Namecoin, Peercoin) via an urgent money transfer, the user submits a buy order at247exchange.comwebsite. The list of available agents to send cash from will be indicated (for certain money transfer systems it is also possible to send money online). Bitcoins will be sent to the specified address just a few minutes after the transfer has been made. To withdraw Bitcon and altcoins using an urgent money transfer, the person places a sell order at247exchange.com websitechoosing the nearest agent to receive fiat money from. The funds will be available for picking up in just few minutes. The customer can also transfer money to his relatives and close ones this way. In both cases the user can choose the currency. 24/7 support is always ready to help the customers. Detailed instructions are also provided for client's maximum convenience. For more information about us, please visithttp://247exchange.com. Contact Info: Name: Andrey VereshchaginEmail:[email protected]: 247exchangeAddress: InterMoney Exchange Corp. 35 New Road, Belize city, Belize, C.APhone: +44 2070484188 SOURCE:247exchange \|\| The FDA's Authority Challenged By Mallinckrodt: The American healthcare system became much more affordable with the advent of generic drugs. Many popular medications have lower-costing, alternative treatments that contain the same active ingredients as their costly brand-name rivals, which has saved the public millions in pharmaceutical costs. However,last yearthe U.S. Food and Drug Administration took a look at some generic treatments for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and found that they weren't consistently providing the same results as the brand name drug, leading the FDA to reclassify the generics. What Happened? Last year, generic equivalents ofJohnson & Johnson(NYSE:JNJ)' ADHD treatment Concerta made byMallinckrodt PLC(NYSE:MNK) andUCB S A(OTC:UCBJF) were shown to have a different impact on a patient's body despite containing the same active ingredients. Because of this, the FDA changed those drugs' ratings to reflect its findings. Following the ratings change, the FDA gave each drug maker a period of six weeks to prove that their drugs were in fact equivalent to Concerta. If they could not be proven as equal, the companies were asked to voluntarily pull the drugs from the marketplace. Related Link:5 New Biotech Developments Worth Watching Mallinckrodt Pushes Back This week that six month deadline passed, but with very little movement from Mallinckrodt. UCB officials say they have been working to meet FDA requirements, but Mallinckrodt CEO Mark Trudeausaidthe company has no plans to remove its drug from pharmacy shelves. Instead, Mallinckrodt filed a lawsuit challenging the FDA ruling that the drugs were not equivalent, saying that the agency encouraged patients to continue taking the generic ADHD medications if they weren't experiencing any issues. Loss Of Trust Only time will tell whether or not Mallinckrodt will be forced to make changes to its drug, but the challenge sets up an obstacle for all generic companies providing treatments in the U.S. While the FDA's inquiry into the effectiveness of the two drugs reflects the agency's role in protecting the public, some say the results are likely to diminish people's trust in the generic drug market. This is especially true as both of the two drugs deemed inadequate substitutes for Concerta are still being sold as a generic version in pharmacies across the country. Image Credit: Public Domain See more from Benzinga • The Business Of Fertility Finance • Nuclear Deal With Iran Still In Limbo • Bitcoin Gaining Support Among Do-Gooders © 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| Solving Bitcoin's Scalability Problem: Bitcoin enthusiasts have long been working toward pushing the cryptocurrency into mainstream use to compete with paper money and credit card transactions. However, now that new exchanges for buying and selling the digital currency are beginning to gain momentum as more of the public is takes an interest, many are wondering whether or not bitcoin will be able to handle a steep rise in transaction growth. Blockchain Has Flaws Although blockchain has been touted as one of the greatest technological advances of the decade, the ledger-like system does have limits. Since each node of blockchain records every single transaction, the cost of running nodes will likely outweigh the benefits of using them if bitcoin grows into a mainstream payment method. Most believe that bitcoin as it is now could not function as a payment platform on its own. Filtering Out Necessary Information Joseph Poon and Thaddeus Dryja say their latest development, theBitcoin Lightning Network, can help. The lightning network allows some transactions to take place off of the blockchain and broadcasts only the final, necessary transaction information to the entire blockchain. Related Link:Is There Room For Another Cryptocurrency? The blockchain's ledger, accessible to everyone, would still have record of the transaction, but not any intermediary dealings that may have taken place. A Work In Progress The Bitcoin Lightning Network presents an exciting solution to bitcoin's scalability problems, but there are still several issues that need to be worked out before the network can be developed or considered as a viable way to do business. See more from Benzinga • Pot Startup Crowdfunding Its Legal Fees • Facebook To Provide Internet Access Via Drones • Not All European Firms Are Profiting From A Weaker Euro © 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| Trading retail: 4 plays ahead of earnings: Macy's (NYSE: M) stock, though volatile now, could trade higher after it releases first-quarter earnings next week, CNBC " Fast Money " trader Guy Adami said Friday. The department store behemoth is expected to release quarterly earnings on Wednesday before the opening bell. Adami said that the name shouldn't be as volatile as it is but he thinks it has the potential to go higher. "I think this is stock that trades higher into their [earnings] number," he said. Read More Macy's CEO optimistic on consumer, off-price stores J.C. Penney Trader Timothy Seymour is long J.C. Penney (NYSE: JCP) even though "the valuation itself may not make sense." "I think the comps are still in their favor, and they are starting to recover some market share," he said. "It's a recovery story that is still working." Ralph Lauren The clothier (NYSE: RL) 's stock was down about 20 percent last quarter and should be sold, said trader David Seaburg. " They have a gross margin issue, they've got an FX issue; it's just a story that's not working right now," he said. Retail overall Trader Brian Kelly said that rising gas prices mean less shopping for consumers. "I would stay away from retail in general," he said. Disclosures: Tim Seymour Tim Seymour is long T, BAC, C, DIS, EWP, F, GE, GM, GOOGL, INTC, JCP, SUNE, TBT, Tim's firm is long BABA, BIDU, MCD, NKE, NOK, SBUX, YHOO Brian Kelly Brian Kelly is long BTC=, BBRY, SPY puts, U.S. Dollar, he is short Australian Dollar, he is short Yen, he is short Yuan. Guy Adami Guy Adami is long CELG, EXAS, INTC, Guy Adami's wife, Linda Snow, works at Merck. More From CNBC Top News and Analysis Latest News Video Personal Finance [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] In the last 10 mins, there were arb opps spanning 21 exchange pair(s), yielding profits ranging between $0.00 and $1,062.60 #bitcoin #btc \|\| current #bitcoin price (bitstamp) is $224.99, last changed Tue, 21 Apr 2015 00:57:41 GMT. queried at: 00:57:45 \|\| 2015年4月10日 08:00:02 BTC_MONA 買[bid]:1750.00000000MONA 売[ask]:2189.90000000MONA API by もなとれ \|\| 1 #bitcoin 616.18 TL, 234.147 $, 209.837 €, 156.59999 GBP, 12103.00 RUR, 28700 ¥, 1479.01 CNH, 284.39 CAD #btc \|\| #RDD / #BTC on the exchanges: Cryptsy: 0.00000007 Bittrex: 0.00000008 Average $1.8E-5 per #reddcoin 23:15:00 \|\| #bitcoin quotes: Coinbase: $239.51 Bitstamp: $239.00 btc-e: $240.287 OKCoin: $239.45 \|\| Compre Bitcoin agora! A partir de R$ 833,00 cada! https://www.bitcointoyou.com/negociacoes.aspx … http://fb.me/2a9oGQ8zd \|\| LIVE: Profit = $909.58 (25.23 %). BUY B15.40 @ $233.02 (#BitStamp). SELL @ $235.00 (#VirCurex) #bitcoin #btc - http://www.projectcoin.org \|\| current #bitcoin price (winkdex) is $225.02, last changed Sun, 19 Apr 2015 08:55:00 GMT. queried at: 08:57:42 \|\| current #bitcoin price (bitfinex) is $234.43, last changed Sat, 02 May 2015 11:26:00 GMT. queried at: 11:26:03	Trend: down \|\| Prices: 237.12, 237.28, 237.41, 237.10, 233.35, 230.19, 222.93, 225.80, 225.87, 224.32
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2017-09-13] BTC Price: 3882.59, BTC RSI: 40.77 Gold Price: 1323.40, Gold RSI: 60.25 Oil Price: 49.30, Oil RSI: 57.63 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] An International Regulatory Shift Could Tame Cryptocurrency Market: The market for digital currencies has taken off faster than regulatory agencies could keep pace. With favored currencies like Bitcoin trading at a record high of $4,700 as of Aug. 29 and a robust international market emerging , these agencies are making moves to regulate initial coin offerings (ICOs) , the way by which cryptocurrency ventures raise funds. One method gaining steam is to regulate some ICOs under existing securities law. On July 25, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued guidance stating that federal securities laws apply to ICOs, while Singapore quickly followed suit , deciding it will regulate ICOs under securities law. On Aug. 24, Canada made its move, with the Canadian Securities Exchange Administrators (CSA) announcing that securities laws may apply to ICOs. Canada's move is "entirely consistent with what's happening here in the States," said Stephen Obie, partner at Jones Day. Obie represents Overstock.com's financial technology subsidiary t0.com in its use of blockchain technology. "Canadian regulators are reaffirming that ICOs can be securities and that folks need to be cautious and evaluate what sort of ICO they're launching." Digital coins have until this August been unregulated and, when traded, did not confer ownership rights. Digital currency sales have also been frequently cited as subject to fraud. On Aug. 28, the SEC issued an investor alert warning investors of " pump-and-dump " schemes (artificially inflating a share price by encouraging investors to purchase to sell one's own shares at a high price) and market manipulations. The alert followed the SEC's trading suspension of shares from four companies with coin offerings. One of those companies, First Bitcoin Capital Corp. , is headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia. The CSA issued its guidance on coin offerings a day after the SEC issued its suspension of the company as well as its investor alert. Story continues Joshua Klayman, of counsel in the financial transactions group at Morrison Foerster, wrote in a LinkedIn post that "it is interesting to consider" whether the SEC Investor Alert was partially motivated by a First Bitcoin Capital letter to shareholders suggesting that the SEC action was a "misunderstanding," and potentially motivated by a need to curb demand for shares. She wrote: "Could it be that the SEC's Investor Alert was released, in part, to combat communications, like the BITCF Letter, that seeks to minimize the gravity of a temporary trading suspension? Perhaps." Regarding the CSA's announcement, Klayman told Legaltech News that she "had no idea" whether the timing was a coincidence. However, she said, given that three countries have already regulated coins as securities, more countries are going to potentially come out with similar guidance. "I think that will have an effect, because it will cause people to take greater caution when they are developing these types of structures for their token sales," she explained. "It certainly should give lawyers pause when they're advising on these to say, 'Listen, you really need to take a hard look at this and think about whether you just want to assume it's a security.'" Klayman noted that, while "many people would advise to take a conservative view anyway" in these investments, "the more and more guidance comes out, the less and less easy it is for people with a straight face around the world to say, 'My jurisdiction says it's not a security; who cares about what other jurisdictions think.'" Klayman added that early token sales may have been launched under the belief that they "might be OK where they are, but they're pretty much floating securities law in every jurisdiction. [That's] no longer something you can say with a straight face." Other countries have been known to be loosely regulated when it comes to ICOs. Switzerland for example, has been touted as a cryptocurrency haven of sorts, with the city of Zug being dubbed "Crypto Valley." Others, such as Gibraltar and Luxembourg, are known to have frameworks friendly toward cryptocurrency investment. Internationally, the market is highly speculative. Cambridge Center for Alternative Finance bitcoin expert Garrick Hileman told Vox that speculation was "the primary driver" of increasing bitcoin value. Prior to SEC clarification, regulations around coins were precarious at best. In December 2016, Overstock became the first company to have a fully regulated public coin offering in the U.S. Discussing his experience with regulators, John Tabacco, co-founder of Overstock subsidiary T0, told an audience at a Morrison Foerster event , "At that time, a lot of people were trying to go around the edges: Is it crowdfunding, it's not a security, is it a security, blah, blah, blah." He noted that the company used Jones Day as counsel and that he was ordered to "spend whatever needs to be spent to go straight into the front doors of the SEC, tell them what we're doing and keep letting them tell you why you can't do it. And then address those gaps as you go along. And then when we're done and they have no more questions, we're going to be the first company to do an offer." This, he added, was why the company had the first public offering. Speaking about the SEC's advisory on pump-and-dump schemes, Jones Day's Obie said, "It doesn't surprise me that what's happening here is there's a regulatory effort to raise awareness about the potential in the ICO marketplace. What folks are trying to say is that laws that have existed for decades still apply, and anyone buying these coins should definitely do their due diligence. It's not for the faint of heart at times." As to whether regulating ICOs under securities law will have any dramatic impact on businesses, Daniel Wheeler, partner at Bryan Cave, said that, going forward, he would expect "legitimate operators" to "spend a lot of money, do it the right way. And I would think that should be a signal to investors that anyone who is not doing it that way is a boiler room pump-and-dump operation." Wheeler said he thinks this will lead to fewer ICOs, as the market "should understand now that doing one is just as expensive as any other security." \|\| Mark Cuban backs new $20 million cryptocurrency venture fund: Onetime bitcoin skeptic Mark Cuban is warming to the digital currency world. The billionaire is backing a new venture capital fund for cryptocurrency-related investments called 1confirmation. Founded by Nick Tomaino, former business development manager at Coinbase, the fund plans to raise $20 million, according to a Monday filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. "It's an interesting space that I [want] to get involved with and learn more" about, Cuban said in an email to CNBC Tuesday. He did not specify the size of his investment. Cuban's opinion on digital currencies has changed fairly recently. In an Aug. 14 tweet, the Dallas Mavericks owner admitted he "might have to finally buy some" bitcoin (Exchange:BTC=-USS) , contrasting with a June tweet that said he thought bitcoin was in a "bubble." "Bias should be up because of finite supply. Until crypto or US politics intrude, and they will," he added in another tweet on Aug. 14. Tweet1 Tweet2 In late June, Cuban said he planned to participate in an initial coin offering by Unikrn, an online esports betting site in which he holds a stake. Earlier that month, Cuban tweeted that he didn't know when or by how much the price of bitcoin, which has soared in value this year, would correct. He did acknowledge then that the blockchain technology backing bitcoin had value and that it "will be at the core of most transactions in the future. Healthcare, finance etc all will use it." IBM ( IBM ) announced Tuesday that it will work with major food companies such as Wal-Mart ( WMT ) , Unilever, Tyson Foods ( TSN ) , Dole and Kroger ( KR ) to "identify new areas where the global supply chain can benefit from blockchain." However, bitcoin's surge and a rush of funds into initial coin offerings have attracted more investment attention. Bitcoin has quadrupled in value this year and hit a record last Thursday of $4,522.13 with a market capitalization of about $74 billion, according to CoinDesk. Initial coin offerings, which are fundraising events used by cryptocurrency-related start-ups, have raised $1.37 billion so far this year, CoinDesk data showed. Story continues Source: CoinDesk The launch of the 1confirmation fund comes amid increased fundraising for cryptocurrency-related businesses. On Aug. 10, digital currency storage and exchange company Coinbase announced it raised $100 million in private equity funding led by Dropbox investor IVP. That marks the largest single traditional funding round for a public blockchain or cryptocurrency start-up, according to CoinDesk. Other participants in 1confirmation include Brendan Eich, creator of the JavaScript computer programming language; Balaji Srinivasan, board partner at technology venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, and David Vorick, who is building a blockchain-based cloud storage system called Sia. The fund's founder, Tomaino, is also a principal at venture fund Runa Capital. Disclosure: CNBC owns the exclusive off-network cable rights to "Shark Tank," which features Mark Cuban as a panelist. More From CNBC Tech investor: Under Trump, business leaders have become the moral compass Inside the crumbling relationship between Uber and Benchmark These questions will shape Uber’s financial fate \|\| Canyon bikes make USA debut pushing the bike shop online: Nairo Quintana rides a Canyon bike in the Vuelta a España. (Canyon) No industry has been entirely immune from the disruption brought on by online shopping. But so far, the high-end bicycle business has mostly remained in brick-and-mortar bike shops. This week, however, an anticipated direct-to-consumer bike brand from Germany called Canyon comes to the U.S., a move that may have a marked effect on the industry. The main players in the bike world are Specialized, Trek, Cannondale, and Giant. And the way those companies and most others offer bicycles has been the same for years: through a bike shop. Founded in Germany in 2002, Canyon has never followed this model, instead offering its bikes directly through the internet. Though bizarre to many back then, Canyon’s alternative business model hasn’t interfered with its success or street cred. Currently its bikes are under the riders of two major professional cycling teams — Movistar and Katusha Alpecin — and Canyons have become some of the most desired bikes around. Offering prices around 25% less for comparable bikes from high-end competitors, Canyon operates with a powerful formula that threatens to disrupt the industry. ‘The final frontier’ of the bike industry Wheeled-sports — largely cycling — in the U.S. is a $97 billion industry in terms of sales, according to a Outdoor Industry Association report out this year . W hile some companies like Giant ( 9921.TW ) and Cannondale are public — Cannondale is owned by Dorel ( DII.B ) — many, like Canyon, Specialized and Trek, are privately held. According to Blythe Jack, a managing director at TSG Consumer Partners, a significant minority shareholder in Canyon that is helping with its U.S. logistics, the direct-to-consumer business model makes more sense even without the modern shift online. “When you think about the retail model today, independent bike dealers are limited for space for offering whole lines [of bikes],” said Jack. “It’s not feasible for a small floor plan as well as capital intensity required to floor plan a large inventory. It’s the biggest bottleneck of the retail experience.” Story continues Katusha Alpecin’s Tony Martin rides through Paris in the 2017 Tour de France. (Wikimedia Commons) The benefit of being online, Jack says, is being at the crossroads between multiple factors that surround big-ticket items. Social media, research, reviews, specs, and product photography are all part of a buying experience. It makes sense for the purchasing to happen there as well, especially since all sizes, models, and colors can be accommodated. Canyon USA president Blair Clark told Yahoo Finance that this is the “final frontier” for the industry. “You don’t have to look back very far in history to see this is not the first time the bike industry has been revolutionized or disrupted in terms of distribution,” said Clark. “Schwinn in the 1960s decided to announce they were no longer going to sell to distributors, [instead pivoting] to sell to dealers.” In his view, it’s time for the next step in retail innovation in the industry. “The consumer is driving this change across all industries, whether it’s razors or buying your coffee, or now Amazon purchasing Whole foods, or Zappos and shoes,” he said. “So we are, I think, hitting the market in terms of timing that’s very ideal from the standpoint that a consumer is ready to purchase a bike online.” Making online easy The challenges of bicycle buying sight unseen are myriad. Fitting is guessing, test drives are imaginary, and some assembly is required. Canyon’s 15 years in the industry has, however, ironed out these issues almost completely to the point where returns are in the single digits. “The bikes are so advanced in terms of performance relative to quality controls — we really don’t have a returns issue to speak of,” said Jack. “That tends to be a major stumbling block for many companies, the prohibitive costs of returns.” Fitting is taken care of via online fitting tools that take much of the guesswork out of choosing a frame size, and building is straightforward with tools included and video demos available. “For somebody that’s reasonably mechanically inclined, [building is] a 30- to 45-minute job,” said Clark. Test drives, however, will always be imaginary. As far as delivery goes, the company established a distribution center in Chino, California with 30 employees and counting, so it doesn’t have to ship bikes from Germany or directly from manufacturing facilities in Taiwan. Where the industry goes from here Not surprisingly Canyon’s combination of street-cred, logistic mastery, and lower prices has other industry players nervous, especially bike shops that fear being cut out of the loop. For accessories and parts, this has already happened as today’s era of two-day Amazon Prime offers undercutting prices and door-to-door convenience. Canyon’s Clark told Yahoo Finance that the company is hoping to establish market share in the “teens” within a “few years,” though noted it’s hard to predict something that hasn’t been done before. Nairo Quintana rides a Canyon time trial bicycle in the 2017 Tour de France. (Wikimedia Commons) The bike industry’s delay in adapting to a direct-to-consumer model for bikes themselves can be explained by the current framework of distribution. Companies already established in the U.S. may not want to risk relationships with bike shops by offering their own direct-to-consumer options, despite the fact that buying online from the manufacturer is becoming standard across most industries. “[The direct business model] is a healthy thing and it’s an inevitable thing that frankly has been postponed. Trek and Specialized have held industry back,” said Jack. “The world around us has changed — it’s what consumers want. We think this will deliver sustainability that will serve the industry well over time.” In calls with Yahoo Finance, both Jack and Clark took great pains to make it explicitly clear that the company has no desire to supplant bike shops, which they maintain are incredibly important to Canyon’s success as “service partners.” But instead of dealing with inventory requirements, which can lead to money-losing discounts when bikes don’t sell, they want to see a shift to service, fitting, assembly, and tuning, which they view as more sustainable. “We can make the industry more healthy,” Jack said. She may be right: Germany still has bike shops. Ethan Wolff-Mann is a writer at Yahoo Finance focusing on consumer issues, tech, and personal finance. Follow him on Twitter @ewolffmann . Got a tip? Send it to [email protected] . Read More: What Bitcoin needs to do to become real currency Trump weighs slashing one of the most popular tax deductions Big banks are going after Venmo and Venmo is winning 73% of Android users are less likely to switch to iPhone due to headphone jack ‘Market FOMO’ has millennials putting cash into the stock market Sometimes fake holidays like ‘National Ice Cream Day’ actually work A robot lawyer can fight your parking tickets and much more Consumer watchdog is making it easier for consumers to sue banks How ringless spam voicemails became a partisan issue \|\| Bitcoin Cash soars more than 100% to record high above $900: Investing.com - Bitcoin Cash prices rose sharply on Sunday, jumping to a record high above the $900-level, amid optimism that faster transactions times will speed up the spread of the cryptocurrency. According to market participants, over half of Bitcoin Cash’s transaction volume was made on trading exchanges in South Korea, such as Bithumb and Coinone. Bitcoin Cash was last at $774.00 by 9:35AM ET (1335GMT), up about 106.4%, or $398.96. It touched $935.50 earlier, the highest the Bitcoin offshoot has ever traded in its less than three weeks of history and an increase of almost 400% from its low of $210 on its first day of trading. The surge means that the total market cap of Bitcoin Cash has now reached around $13 billion, making it the third-largest digital currency after Bitcoin and Ethereum. The rapid price rise has made it more profitable for miners to mine Bitcoin Cash as opposed to the original Bitcoin. Prices of the original Bitcoin slumped around 6%, or $250, to $4,087.70, continuing its retreat from last week's all-time peak of $4,489.10. It fell to a low of $3,951.30, amid growing investor concerns that the digital currency could face a second split in November. Bitcoin’s blockchain split into two earlier this month, after members of the bitcoin community rejected the first part of the SegWit2x upgrade, creating a competing currency called ‘Bitcoin Cash’. The most important difference between the two coins is that Bitcoin Cash allows for faster transaction times by using custom block sizing. Bitcoin Cash has a block size with an 8-megabyte transaction limit. Bitcoin transactions on the other hand are limited to 1-megabyte every 10 minutes. Elsewhere in cryptocurrency trading, Ethereum was down almost 3.5% to $292.53. It has the second-largest market capitalization among cryptocurrencies at nearly $28 billion. To stay on top of the latest moves in the crypto-space, be sure to check out:https://www.investing.com/crypto/ Related Articles Forex - Dollar index holds onto gains in subdued trade Forex - USD/CAD erases gains, hits 3-week lows Bitcoin falls below $4,000 to hit 7-day low \|\| Market Snapshot – Hurricane Irma Causing Jitters: Stock Markets In Steady Mode The stock markets have been cautious since the beginning of the day today as the next hurricane has begun to threaten the US just a week or so after Hurricane Harvey hit the US and caused widespread destruction in Houston. With that in mind, investors are not ready to commit themselves in any specific direction at this point of time and thats why we have been seeing only steady trading at this point of time though there has not been much by way of risks to tie down the stock markets for now. The Eurozone retail PMI dropped slightly during the month of August but that did not have much of an impact on the DAX or the FTSE indexes. Hurricane Irma Causing Jitters The economic impact of Hurricane Irma is not yet fully known as it is only now that the US has been recovering from Hurricane Harvey but the destruction is expected to be as bad and widespread this time as well. The US futures have been flat so far as the stock markets have had some grim trading around the world. The euro and the dollar have been the focus for the day so far but neither has been able to make any sort of progress so far. The global risks and uncertainties are just far too much and far too many for the investors to buy or sell in any steady quantity and the effect of that is telling on the markets. This article was originally posted on FX Empire More From FXEMPIRE: The Jury is Out on Bitcoin Market Snapshot – Hurricane Irma Causing Jitters Approaching Storm in U.S. Markets Emerging, US Futures Flat After Yesterday’s Sell-Off Bitcoin Recovering Rapidly Despite a Violent $1,000 Pullback Risk Aversion Generates Headwinds as Hurricane Irma Makes Landfall North Korea, Hurricane Irma, and the ECB Causing Worries for Global Investors \|\| Cryptocurrency chaos as China cracks down on ICOs: By Brenda Goh and Elias Glenn SHANGHAI/BEIJING (Reuters) - China's move last week to ban initial coin offerings (ICO) has caused chaos among start-ups looking to raise money through the novel fund-raising scheme, prompting halts, about-turns and re-thinks. China is cracking down on fundraising through launches of token-based digital currencies, targeting ICOs in a market that has ballooned this year in what has been a bonanza for digital currency entrepreneurs. The boom has fueled a jump in the value of cryptocurrencies, but raised fears of a potential bubble. "This is not unlike the dotcom bubble of 2000," said a partner at a venture capital fund in Shanghai, who didn't want to be named because of the issue's sensitivity. "There are a lot of companies raising a lot of money for not very good ideas, and these will eventually be weeded out. But even from the big dotcom bust, you still have gems." "One of the reasons regulators stepped in was that the ICO fever extended beyond the traditional crypto community. The timing was an attempt to pre-empt this before it goes into a much broader mass market in China," the partner said. Investors in China contributed up to 2.6 billion yuan ($394 million) worth of cryptocurrencies through ICOs in January-June, according to a state-run media report citing National Committee of Experts on Internet Financial Security Technology data. Pre-ICO roadshows featuring elaborate standing room-only presentations at 5-star hotels drew a diverse crowd, including grandmothers - a likely tipping point for regulators. The hype and subsequent crackdown came as China focuses on economic and social stability ahead of next month's congress of the Communist Party, a once-in-five-years event. Beijing is also waging a broader campaign against fraudulent fundraising and speculative investment, which analysts attribute to China's underdeveloped financial regulation and lack of legitimate investment options. While several start-ups said the exuberance had got out of control and they had expected Beijing to act, they said last week's move panicked investors and caused confusion. Mi Huijin, for example, said he had just got off a train to Shanghai after closing a deal for his Singpay blockchain start-up when he switched on his phone to a flood of messages about the ban. He summoned the host of a popular live-stream channel to the railway station to calm his followers in a 40-minute broadcast. "Everyone shouldn't panic. If you've nothing to be guilty of what's there to be scared of?" he told the roughly 800,000 viewers. "After reviewing the regulations, I feel it's a good thing." Not everyone was convinced. While some comments below his video asked if Singpay would offer refunds, others warned that some users had reported the start-up to police. China's position - which differs from regulators elsewhere, who say ICOs may be securities and thus subject to regulation - remains open to interpretation. Hu Bin, deputy director of the finance institute at the China Academy of Social Sciences, an institution directly under the State Council, or cabinet, has said this is a "stop on ICOs, not a ban. What are we stopping? Illegal ICOs." Hu said China recognized there is real demand for ICOs, but wants to prevent them being used for speculation. "It's entirely proper for the Chinese government to seek protection for consumers and prevent fraud, (but) confining capital raising to a specific established sector of finance ... is to ignore the enormous societal value that blockchain technology can present," said Alex Bessonov of BitClave, a Silicon Valley-based blockchain company, which, he said, is now discouraging Chinese investors. CANCELED ICOS, RETURNED TOKENS Li Yuan, CEO of Selfsell, a start-up hoping to build a platform for retail investors, said he had to cancel a planned ICO for last week, and return all pledged coins. For those who already conducted their ICO, things are even more complicated. Da Hongfei, founder of Neo, a public blockchain which raised 30 million yuan ($4.65 million) through an ICO last year, said it was extending to next month an offer for participants to return their Neo coins in exchange for bitcoin. While the government announcement appeared to require all funds be returned to investors, Da said he can't force people to exchange their tokens as they would lose out at bitcoin's current rate. Bitcoin traded around $4,350 on Tuesday, according to Bitstamp, down from nearly $5,000 earlier this month. "We offer the option, but we can't point a gun at the user and ask them to refund," Da said. That said, nearly all the ICO organizers interviewed by Reuters agreed the ICO market was getting out of control and needed change. More than 100,000 investors acquired new cryptocurrencies through 65 ICOs in January-June - a frenzy that attracted both investors seeking a quick trading profit and individuals and firms able to raise funds with little more than a plan and a website. "Many people have not been very discerning on whether the project is actually good or bad," said Daniel Wang, founder of blockchain start-up Loopring, adding he asked Chinese ICO investors to return their tokens, though it's difficult to recall tokens already trading on the secondary market. PLATFORMS IN LIMBO Indeed, the ban has left around five dozen platforms in China - websites that promote and list the tokens, usually in return for money or a portion of the offering, so they can be traded - in limbo. More than 40, including ICO365 and Bitbays, have shut down or suspended new ICO activity. Some also took their websites offline. Binance, which said that over 80 percent of its users were based overseas, said it would restrict all Chinese IP addresses from trading. For those companies serious about raising funds, there are other options. Xiaoning Li, CEO of VCCoin, said he returned 2,000 bitcoins to investors and was figuring out what to do next. "We have angel investors. We will probably still do an ICO, but have to look at where and how to do it," he told Reuters. The co-founder of another platform said they were re-thinking their strategy outside China, and "will shift our focus to markets which are not banning ICOs, but rather trying to put in place higher standards and regulatory supervision" - such as the United States, Canada and Singapore. ($1 = 6.4560 Chinese yuan renminbi) (Reporting by Brenda Goh and Elias Glenn, with additional reporting and writing by Jeremy Wagstaff; Editing by Ian Geoghegan) \|\| Bitcoin Regains Ground, But China Uncertainty Lingers: Investing.com - The price of the digital currency bitcoin was higher on Tuesday despite continuing uncertainty following media reports that China may be seeking to ban cryptocurrency trading on domestic exchanges. On the U.S.-based Bitfinex exchange, Bitcoin touched a high of $4,378.4.00 and was at $4,290.3.00 by 05:25 AM ET (09:25 GMT) having opened at $4,198.90. At current prices, bitcoin has a total market capitalization of around $70 billion. Chinese financial publication Caixin reported Friday that the country’s authorities are planning to shut down domestic cryptocurrency exchanges. Bitcoin prices fell to a low of $3,975.80 on Sunday from levels above $4,600.00 on Thursday ahead of the report, before climbing back above $4,000.00. Reuters reported Monday that they wereunable to confirm multiple reportsthat Beijing was planning to shut down commercial trading for virtual currencies. The reports came after China last week announced a ban on ‘initial coin offerings,’ a kind of fundraising via virtual currencies in order to finance start-ups. Regulators in China have been investigating the domestic market for bitcoin and other virtual currencies since January of this year. The price of bitcoin offshoot Bitcoin Cash was also higher. It touched a high of $568.72 and was last at $567.5, having opened at $567.5. Bitcoin cash has a total market cap of nearly $9 billion at current prices, making it the third most valuable cryptocurrency. Elsewhere in cryptocurrency trading, Ethereum, the second biggest cryptocurrency by market cap after bitcoin, was up 3.65% to $308.05. To stay on top of the latest moves in the crypto-space, be sure to check out:https://www.investing.com/crypto/ Related Articles UK watchdog warns consumers on cryptocurrency fundraisings Bitcoin Regains Ground, But China Uncertainty Lingers China's ICO ban necessary but should not stop blockchain research: PBOC official \|\| China bitcoin exchanges awaiting clarification on closure report: BEIJING (Reuters) - China's Bitcoin exchanges said on Saturday they are still awaiting clarification from the authorities on a media report that they will be shut down. Bitcoin fell sharply on Friday after Chinese financial publication Caixin reported that China was planning to shut down local crypto-currency exchanges, although analysts said this was just a temporary setback. The news follows China's move earlier this week to ban so-called "initial coin offerings," or the practice of creating and selling digital currencies or tokens to investors in order to finance start-up projects. Reuters was not immediately able to verify the report. A spokeswoman for Beijing-based OK Coin said the platform has not received any notification from regulators. Spokespersons at Beijing-based Huobi and Shanghai-based BTCC said they were still waiting for further official clarification. (Reporting by Brenda Goh, Writing by Kevin Yao; Editing by Shri Navaratnam) \|\| Bitcoin Payment Firm BitPesa Gets Big Boost From Famous Investor: The grandfather of venture capital just made his first bet on bitcoin. Alan Patricof , the founder and managing director of Greycroft, announced on Wednesday a $2 million investment into BitPesa, a startup that uses blockchain to speed up business payments across Africa and Asia. While the size of the investment is modest, the involvement of Patricof, one of the countrys first venture capitalists, is significant. While his firm has invested in various fintech companies--most notably Venmo, Acorns, and Braintree--Patricof and Greycroft have so far shied away from the crypto-currency space. In an interview with Fortune , Patricof said his decision to back BitPesa is based on his confidence in the companys young founder and CEO, Elizabeth Rossiello. Rossiello stands out in the digital currency world not only because shes a woman, but because of her educational background. She studied at Columbia Universitys School for International and Public Affairs, which is known as a hothouse of UN-types and lefty activists--but also snuck away to take corporate finance classes at the business school. After a stint at , Rossiello worked in Africa where she discovered how people relied on SIM cards and national phone carriers to do their banking. This experience helped her see the potential for different payment platforms--including bitcoin wallets, which let people conduct transactions without intermediary actors that siphoned off high fees. This led Rossiello to launch BitPesa as a cheap and efficient way to make business payments in places like Kenya, Nairobi, and Uganda. Increasingly, BitPesa is helping companies with more global transactions; she cited the example of an East African firm using BitPesa to purchase a fleet of cars from a Japanese exporter. Get Data Sheet , Fortune's technology newsletter. BitPesa, which also provides remittance services, deploys APIs to work a network of banks and mobile payments. This means that some customers may not even be aware that BitPesa is relying on the bitcoin network to conduct and record the transaction. Story continues In its latest funding round, BitPesa raised a total of $3 million from Greycroft and Plug and Play. This brings total investment in the company to over $10 million, following a $2.5 million Series A in January (which included a few very small contribution from Greycroft), and earlier investments from angels and seed investors. As for bitcoins volatility and relatively slow transaction speed (it takes ten minutes or more for a payment to register on the blockchain), Rossiello countered that bitcoin is infinitely superior to wire transfers, which can take days and provide unreliable records. She also noted that many African currencies are actually more volatile than bitcoin. BitPesa, however, doesnt hold onto bitcoin to store or trade, but instead relies on third parties like bitcoin-giant Circle to provide the liquidity it needs. Patricof said he likes this attribute about the company, saying it means BitPesa is not a speculative enterprise and isnt exposed to the price swings that regularly jolt crypto-currency markets. Patricof added that, unlike many New York venture capitalists, he does not hold any bitcoin for himself. Thats not the case, though, with Rossiello. Of course I do, she said. I use it because I want to do what the experience is like for my partners. Its as if I built a highway--I would drive a truck on it to make sure it went smoothly. See original article on Fortune.com More from Fortune.com Uber's New CEO Is a Bitcoin Fan Exclusive: An Inside Look at Kim Dotcom's Bitcoin-Based Payments Platform SEC Warns Scammers Are Using ICOs to Pump and Dump Canada Pours Cold Water on 'Initial Coin Offerings' Kim Dotcom Wants YouTube Stars to Test His Bitcoin Payment System \|\| Bitcoin's price tanks after report China may shut down exchanges: The price of bitcoin (Exchange: BTC=-USS) fell sharply after a report China's regulators are planning a further crackdown on the digital currency.Local outlet Caixin is reporting the Asian country is planning to shut down local bitcoin exchanges, according to a Google translation. Bitcoin's price fell 7 percent midafternoon Friday after the news, according to Coindesk market data. On Monday, Chinese regulators announced a ban on organizations from raising funds using initial coin offerings (ICOs), which sparked a $200 decline in the price of bitcoin. The price of the cryptocurrency is still up nearly 350 percent year to date. But billionaire investor Howard Marks is not impressed, telling his clients Thursday he will not invest in bitcoin even though it can be used as a legitimate form of currency. "I think I understand what a digital currency is, how bitcoin works, and some of the arguments for it. But I still don't feel like putting my money into it, because I consider it a speculative bubble," Marks wrote in an investor letter. WATCH: Bitcoin mining can land you in jail in this country More From CNBC GE shares are trading below where they were the day of Lehman's bankruptcy Investor psychology is now in a brand new post-crisis phase, fund manager says Stocks head for weekly decline as insurance shares fall on Irma risk [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] LIVE: Profit = $3,241.56 (83.10 %). BUY B1.49 @ $3,100.00 (#VirCurex). SELL @ $4,712.05 (#BitKonan) #bitcoin #btc - http://www.projectcoin.org \|\| Bitcoin just passed $4,000 - What a day for Bitcoin. 24 hours ago the cryptocurrency was trading below $3,700.... http://ow.ly/zfnT50dpAJM \|\| #Litecoin $LTC price $46.5746, volume $238,106,000 #bitcoin #bitcoincash #bitscreener http://bitscreener.com/coins/litecoin \|\| BTC換算だと落ちてるけど円建てだと増えてる不思議 \|\| 1 KOBO = 0.00004053 BTC = 0.1090 USD = 37.7140 NGN = 1.4093 ZAR = 11.2979 KES #Kobocoin 2017-07-22 00:00 \|\| Bitcoin just passed $4,000 \| TechCrunch: https://techcrunch.com/2017/08/12/bitcoin-just-passed-4000/?ncid=rss … \|\| $2532.10 at 02:15 UTC [24h Range: $2450.00 - $2772.89 Volume: 21920 BTC] \|\| WTI 47.04USD +1.08 Brent 52.35USD +1.49 Bitcoin $4758.15 USD/RUB 58.00 EUR/RUB 68.97 USD/UAH 25.65 EUR/UAH 30.68 RUB/UAH 0.44 UAH/RUB 2.25 \|\| In the last 10 mins, there were arb opps spanning 8 exchange pair(s), yielding profits ranging between $0.00 and $0.22 #bitcoin #btc \|\| Cryptolato BTC Physical ##BitCoin FUNDED .0001 ... - https://goo.gl/yfZ5hM #Antrouter #BitcoinMiner #BITCOINMININGCONTRACT #GntMiningpic.twitter.com/K5f4B4ioB2	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 3154.95, 3637.52, 3625.04, 3582.88, 4065.20, 3924.97, 3905.95, 3631.04, 3630.70, 3792.40
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2021-01-08] BTC Price: 40797.61, BTC RSI: 90.72 Gold Price: 1834.10, Gold RSI: 41.23 Oil Price: 52.24, Oil RSI: 74.03 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Bitcoin Investor and Entrepreneur Haseeb Azizi Shifts His Focus From Bitcoin to Social Media: LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / December 8, 2020 /Haseeb Azizi is a bit of a visionary. He was able to see the promise of Bitcoin before it was cool. As a young software engineer, he believed that Bitcoin, and cryptocurrencies in general, could have a tremendous impact on the future. By using his intuition, he was able to build up a small fortune due to investing in Bitcoin early on. Now, he sees the same sort of potential for social media as he saw in Bitcoin. Social media has been around for a number of years now. However, it hasn't evolved into the massive digital marketing powerhouse it is today until recently. With billions of people on social media, there is a wealth of prospects that entrepreneurs and businesses can benefit from. With his background in IT and the knowledge he gathered on social media over time, Haseeb became the Chief Information Officer at Ascend Agency. This social media marketing agency uses digital marketing and PR strategies to get brands featured, which boosts their popularity and presence. It is Haseeb's role to provide the absolute best for Ascend Agency's clients so that they can further their businesses and media platforms. As someone who saw tremendous success in the cryptocurrency space, Haseeb is someone who can be looked to as a person who understands trends well. That is why it is a good idea to lend an ear to what he has to share about the increasingly important role social media will play within the world in the coming years. The same way that crypto has changed the way we spend money online for goods and services, the internet changed the way businesses operate and communicate with their clients. At the center of it all, Haseeb sees social media as having a tremendous role. Haseeb sees himself as someone who will never be fully out of Bitcoin or full in social media. He likes to assert his presence between businesspeople and influencers so that he becomes a true middleman. In this day and age, they rely on each other. As the CIO of Ascend Agency, Haseeb has already helped numerous businesses grow their audiences on social media and enjoy more leads and sales. Today, the social media landscape is becoming increasingly saturated. However, it's still possible to gain an edge, especially when an experienced and professional social media marketing agency is helping you. Thanks to Haseeb's ability to build a network that includes other social media influencers, he has been able to assert himself as someone who could be trusted. Connecting entrepreneurs and influencers has become his new focus these days, as he pivots away from Bitcoin and dives into the world of social media marketing. He also dedicates some of his time to his brand, Envy Apparel, where he combines social media and ecommerce. If you want to connect with Haseeb Azizi, then you can follow him on his personalInstagram page. Media DetailsWebsite URL:http://www.ascendagency.net/Company Name: Ascend AgencyEmail address:[email protected]: USA SOURCE:Ascend Agency View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/619953/Bitcoin-Investor-and-Entrepreneur-Haseeb-Azizi-Shifts-His-Focus-From-Bitcoin-to-Social-Media \|\| Bitcoin no match for gold in coronavirus world: The recent surge inbitcoin’s price has created some new believers, but the cryptocurrency will never supplantgoldas a store of value or medium of exchange, some Wall Street investors say. The cryptocurrency’s price has soared more than 70% over the past six weeks to more than $18,000 a coin and is 11% below its all-time peak of $20,089 an ounce. At the same time, gold’s price has traded in a tight range between $1,850 and $1,950 an ounce. “To try to act like bitcoin is some kind of improved version of gold, it's going to disrupt gold because it's a better store of value, it's a better medium of exchange, all that is pure nonsense,” said Peter Schiff, CEO of Westport, Conn.-based Euro Pacific Capital. “It's not a store of value because it has no value in store.” CORONAVIRUS VACCINE NOT CURE-ALL FOR BOND INVESTORS Gold, widely viewed as a safe haven for investors seeking to preserve wealth during periods of market upheaval such as the coronavirus pandemic, has value not only in trade but its use in fine jewelry and electrical conductivity. Bitcoin, generated -- or mined -- by the verification of transactions in a blockchain digital ledger, has no use other than as a limited medium of exchange and has historically been subject to wide price swings. Early in the Trump administration, a run-up in bitcoin prices prompted speculation that it could replace sovereign currencies. Excitement surrounding bitcoin in December 2017 spurred the launch of bitcoin futures and led to several platforms allowing customers to buy and sell the digital currency. The wave of interest sparked regulatory concerns in Washington and led to hearings on Capitol Hill in October 2018. “Crypto is the mother or father of all scams and bubbles,” Nouriel Roubini, CEO of Roubini Macro Associates and a professor at New York University’s Stern School of Business, said in testimony before the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Community Affairs. Roubini last week tweaked his view on bitcoin, telling Yahoo Finance the cryptocurrency might be a “partial store of value” because of its limited supply. However, Ray Dalio, founder of Bridgewater Associates, the world’s largest hedge fund with $98.9 billion in assets, tweeted on Tuesday that bitcoin is not a good store of value due to its volatility and the fact that it has little correlation with the prices of goods, so owning it “doesn’t protect” buying power. Google trends show bitcoin searches are just a fraction of their December 2017 peak. While trading of the cryptocurrency has gained traction, its use in digital purchases has not. “A lot of the companies that were kind of jumping on the bitcoin bandwagon back in 2017, they've all walked away,” Schiff said. “Nobody is interested in bitcoin anymore as a payment method.” There are other uses for it, however. PayPal last month became the most recent company to allow users to buy, hold and sell bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies and plans to give customers the ability to use the assets as a funding source inside their PayPal digital wallets, accepted at 26 million merchants worldwide. All transactions with those sellers, however, will be settled in fiat currency. GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE “There's no real use for bitcoin," Schiff said. “All you can do with Bitcoin once you buy it is sell it, but you need somebody else to buy it from you. It’s a massive pump-and-dump.” Related Articles • Best Buy Celebrates 50 Yrs With Saleathon; Will It Turn 60? • Canadian Solar Is Facing More Challenges Than It Appears • Target Adds Private Bathrooms to Quell Transgender Debate \|\| Sure, we could see another year of double-digit returns: Morning Brief: Monday, January 1, 2021 Get the Morning Brief sent directly to your inbox every Monday to Friday by 6:30 a.m. ET.Subscribe The stock marketclosed outan already impressive year with a powerful year-end rally, with the S&P 500 (^GSPC) climbing 14.9% in November and December. In the post-World War II era, the S&P delivered >10% gains during the final two months of the year just five other times (1954, 1962, 1970, 1985, and 1998). And asLPL Financial analysts observed, each of those five experiences were followed by a year of >10% returns in the market with an average gain of 18%. A big 2021 would be particularly impressive considering the run the market has already been on. Last year’s16% gainfollows a massive29% surge in 2019. DataTrek Research looked back at the history and observed that the market delivered three (or more) consecutive years of >10% five other times: 1942-1945, 1949-1952, 1963-1965, 1995-1999, and 2012-2014. While it wouldn’t be unprecedented to have another year of double-digit returns, it would be pretty unusual. And DataTrek’s Nicholas Colas has his doubts. “If we had to guesstimate, we’d say 80% of all the baseline good news expected in 2021 is already incorporated in an S&P 500 at 3,700 in late December 2020,” Colas wrote last week. As we discussed in theMorning Brief last Wednesday, the stock market at present reflects expectations for the future. And there are lots of bullish things that people are confident will happen in the coming months. “Do we really think investors haven’t figured out that corporate earnings will rebound sharply in 2021?” Colas said. “Or that they don’t believe the Federal Reserve is serious about keeping interest rates low across the curve?” If stocks are going to have another blowout year, Colas thinks we’d have to see earnings growth that is stronger than the strength already expected; a COVID-19 vaccine rollout that happens much quicker than expected; and/or more fiscal stimulus than is on its way. The truth is we really are living in unprecedented times andhistory won’t be very helpfulin predicting what’s to come. Indeed, there’s a strong argument to be made that all the perceived optimism about the future is actually far more conservative than most think, which means therisks could be tilted to the upside. All of this will become much more clear in hindsight. BySam Ro, managing editor. Follow him at@SamRo Economy • 9:45 a.m. ET:Markit US Manufacturing PMI,December final (56.3 expected, 56.5 in prior print) • 10:00 a.m. ET:Construction spending,month-over-month, November (1.0% expected, 1.3% in October) Earnings • No notable releases scheduled Also:Georgia Senate runoffs, December jobs report: What to know in the week ahead European shares surges as Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine rollout begins[Yahoo Finance UK] Ladbrokes owner Entain rejects $11 billion offer from MGM Resorts[Yahoo Finance UK] Carl Icahn sells over half his Herbalife stake for $600 million[Reuters] Bitcoin holds above $30,000 after weekend rally[Yahoo Finance UK] This new plastics company backed by Pepsi is trying to save the planet Rolls-Royce introduces a car for the 'post-opulence era' Pernod Ricard: Drinkers like deliveries, but bar life will see 'resurgence' as COVID vaccine rolls out — Follow Yahoo Finance onTwitter,Facebook,Instagram,Flipboard,SmartNews,LinkedIn,YouTube, andreddit. Find live stock market quotes and the latest business and finance news For tutorials and information on investing and trading stocks, check outCashay \|\| Blockchain Bites: Price Point! Bitcoin at $50K? $60K? $318K?: Traders have begun unwrapping tokenized bitcoins. The U.S. Treasury Department will keep a vigilant eye on digital innovations. And trading volumes on OKEx have plummeted. Forced burnRipple Chief Technology Officer David Schwartz tweeted the community couldforce the burning of billionsof the protocol’sXRPnative tokens held in escrow to prevent the drop in price that would likely occur should those billions in frozen tokens ever flood the market. On Dec. 2 a Twitter user asked the CTO, “If Nodes, validators and the community at large got together and we agree that it’s better for the community to burn the 50 billion XRP Ripple has in escrows, would that be possible?” Responding to the tweet, David Schwartz implied that majority rule would win in such a decision. Innovation or risk?The U.S. Department of the Treasury wants state and federal regulators to keep avigilant watch on digital asset innovation, which could upset the balance of the current financial system. According to a report released on Thursday by the Financial Stability Oversight Council, digital assets are a “particularly good example” of both benefits and potential risks associated with innovation. The report highlighted the ambitions by nations around the world in their experiments with central bank digital currencies (CBDC) as a way to “enhance the global standing of their own currencies and enable faster payments.” Related:Money Reimagined: Bitcoin vs. Gold Is a Battle of Narratives Unwrapped wBCTWrapped bitcoin, thebitcoin-backed token on Ethereumnow worth over $2 billion, has seen an increase in burns (or “unwrappings”) by some of its largest users as the Ethereum-based decentralized finance sector continues to cool. BitGo clients including Three Arrows Capital and Alameda Research are exchanging an increasing amount of their tokenized bitcoins minted earlier this year for real bitcoins as the bullish cryptocurrency market continues to center on bitcoin and Ethereum’s decentralized finance takes a back seat for now. In the months following DeFi’s red-hot summer when bitcoins were wrapped faster than they were mined, the sector has cooled significantly. Not OKA sharp drop in OKEx’s trading volume and stablecoin reserves –tetherin particular – may reveal anongoing exodus of its usersafter the popular crypto derivatives exchange unexpectedly halted all crypto withdrawal activities for about five weeks. Data from analytics service CryptoQuant shows the amount of tether held in OKEx wallets has dropped to 6.69 million from 275.0 million between Nov. 25 and Dec. 1, down 97.6% in less than a week. At the same time, total daily trading volume on OKEx has declined significantly during the same time period – down approximately 67.7% from Nov. 25, according to data compiled by CoinDesk. The volume of tether traded on OKEx plunged 70%. Mirror, mirrorThe creators of stablecoin platform Terra announced the launch of theMirror ProtocolThursday, a way to mint crypto assets that mimic the value of shares in publicly traded companies like Apple or Tesla. The new protocol will also bring a new liquidity mining opportunity to Terra’s Tendermint-based blockchain. Known as mAssets, these tokens will track the price of U.S.-based equities in the real stock market, using an oracle system that’s able to check prices every six minutes. “The retail investor is at the center of this growing demand for U.S. equities and global equity derivatives. The stock market is no longer the exclusive purview of Wall Street’s suits, whether in New York, London or Tokyo,” Arrington XRP argues in its report. • FINTECH BANKING:Stripe Partnering With Goldman, Citigroup, Others to Offer Checking Accounts, Services: Report (CoinDesk) • BITCOIN BUNCH:This family bet everything on bitcoin when it was $900 – and bought more when it crashed in 2018 (CNBC) • DEFINING DEFI:Lex Sokolin: How do you do valuations of open-source software? Recent DeFi acquisitions may shine light. (CoinDesk Opinion) • NOT CAPTCHA’D:Human Protocol, the backbone for anti-bot system hCaptcha, announced Thursday it will be expanding beyond Ethereum to a future Polkadot parachain, Moonbeam. (CoinDesk) • OMG, RALLY!Genesis Block Ventures acquired OMG Network (an off-chain Ethereum solution) triggering a double-digit rally in the network’sOMGtoken. (CoinDesk) • CENTRALIZED CBDC:Russia’s crypto community fears digital ruble might means going “back to USSR.” (CoinDesk) • $41 BILLION:Decentralized finance platforms were responsible for 99% of Ethereum transaction volume last month. (Decrypt) • $600 MILLION:One millionETHis now locked up in Ethereum 2.0. (Decrypt) Price point!I was reading that CNBC story on the Dutch family that bet it all on bitcoin. In 2017, a small business owner sold all his assets – company, house and accumulated detritus – and moved his family of five into a van. “We stepped into bitcoin because we wanted to change our lives,” Didi Taihuttu toldCNBC. Related:First Mover: Bitcoin Below $19K and Customers Flee OKEx That’s wild! The media also quoted Taihuttu’s price prediction for a $200,000 bitcoin by 2022. He’s a man that acts on instinct and knows things in his gut. It’s seemingly worked out for him so far. CNBC went on to quote several price predictions from the respected and respectable folk in crypto. Mike Novogratz, CEO of merchant bank Galaxy Digital, reportedly said bitcoin could reach $60,000 by next year. While a Citibank report geared for institutional clients made the case that one BTC could change hands for $318,000 by December 2021. That’s really wild! Unquoted was Bloomberg’s recent, and more modest, prediction that bitcoin couldhit $50,000sometime next year. That’s more than double the price of bitcoin’s all-time high! And infers a $1 trillion market cap! A lot ofgood datagets thrown into price predictions. There’stechnical analysisof candles and wedges, there aresurveysof high-net individuals and comparisons to similar movements in both bitcoin’s historical charts as well as analogue assets. (Want to understand bitcoin today?Study goldin the 1970s!) But I wouldn’t put much store in them. This time three years ago, computer whiz and self-declaredmadmanJohn McAfee had such strongconvictionsthat bitcoin would hit $500,000 within three years (this year, incidentally) he would ingest his genitals. After years of target prices that were welloff their mark, it’s reasonable to suggest that most claims on bitcoin’s future price are more gut than calculus, more wager than assured. Sometimes it pays off. But understanding that one BTC is always one BTC, you’ll never be wrong. • Blockchain Bites: Price Point! Bitcoin at $50K? $60K? $318K? • Blockchain Bites: Price Point! Bitcoin at $50K? $60K? $318K? \|\| Josh Brown Loves GM Right Now: 'They're Going From A Combustion Engine Giant To An Electric Giant': Josh Brown, CEO of Ritholtz Wealth Management and author of the new book “How I Invest My Money,” joined Benzinga’sPreMarket PrepFriday morning. Electric vehicle stocks have been red-hot in 2020, and Brown said his favorite stock at the moment is unconventional EV playGeneral Motors Company(NYSE:GM). Changing GM Story:Brown discussed his excitement about General Motors due to a combination of a recent technical breakout and a shift in the company's fundamental story. “The stock I’ve been most excited about recently is General Motors, which is a hometown favorite for you guys," said Brown. "People have been saying it’s like a value stock—it’s cheap, it’s cheap—for like 12 years. But I’m not interested in that. I don’t want to buy something just because it’s cheap because I think markets are pretty efficient and my attitude is it’s cheap for a reason." However, a recent technical breakout in GM’s shart suggests something may have changed in the minds of investors. “They’re going from a combustion engine giant to an electric giant. It looks like they want to get this done like overnight," he said. Related Link:eToro's Founder On Buying Bitcoin In 2011, US Expansion, How Dinner With Warren Buffett Changed His Life GM Vs. Tesla:Brown noted GM is beating bothAlphabet, Inc.(NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) andTesla, Inc.(NASDAQ:TSLA) to a major U.S. market in launching robo-taxis in San Francisco in December. "They keep announcing more and more investment in next-generation stuff, so you look at that, you look at the valuation Uber and Lyft have on the market and you think about the potential valuation for what Cruise might be. It's the first autonomous taxi service in any major city in the country,” Brown said. “They’re getting this done before Google, they’re getting this done before Tesla, and I don’t think the share price has gotten enough credit for that,” Brown said. Brown said he is not calling for GM to trade at a similar valuation as Tesla, but argued that the valuation gap "should close” between the two stocks. “Maybe one is too expensive, but one is probably too cheap." Watch the full interview with Josh Brown in the clip below, or listen to the podcasthere PreMarket Prep is a daily trading show hosted by prop trader Dennis Dick and former floor trader Joel Elconin. You can watch PreMarket Prep live every day from 8-9 a.m. ETBenzinga's YouTube channel, and the podcast is onSpotify,iTunes,Google Play,Soundcloud,StitcherandTunein. See more from Benzinga • Click here for options trades from Benzinga • Tesla's Valuation Is Greater Than Nearly The Entire Established Auto Industry • Q3 13F Roundup: How Buffett, Einhorn, Ackman And Others Adjusted Their Portfolios © 2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| Bitcoin Is the Biggest Big Short: Short-sellers, who make money when the price of a targeted financial instrument declines, aren’t always popular with corporate or government leaders. Those on the receiving end of contrarian bets against stocks or currencies tend to portray them as sharks undermining people striving to build, grow and create value. This, if you’ll excuse the pun, is short-sighted. Short-selling is a necessary part of any functioning, efficient financial system. It provides liquidity, ensuring there’s a seller on the other side of each bid. And when viewed in totality, those occasions where the short-seller ends up winning offer invaluable signals on how society should better allocate resources. Related:Blockchain Bites: BlockRock Exec Says Bitcoin Is 'Here to Stay,' Investors Load Into BTC Puts I say this because at a time when its price is again soaring,bitcoinshould essentially be viewed as a massive short position against the entire financial system. (Even bigger than the “The Big Short.”) Bitcoin is more than a hedge against inflation. Indeed, amid an extended period of historically low rates of increase in the consumer price index, there’s currently no clear correlation between bitcoin’s rising price and mainstream measures of inflation. Rather, bitcoin’s core value lies in its decentralized governance design being divorced from the political system, a feature no other asset of its size and liquidity can claim, perhaps with the exception of gold. Its positioning against inflation is an outcome of that, not its essence. If people lose confidence in their government’s capacity to sustain the trusted, social covenant on which fiat money is founded, the value of that money collapses, resulting in hyperinflation. Because of its depoliticized status, bitcoin gains in value in that environment. Related:First Mover: Bitcoin ‘Rich List’ Grows as Whales HODL and Price Retakes $18K So if you’re long bitcoin, you are positioned to benefit if the system of governance on which the entire world depends for security and well-being collapses. Still feel good about it? I’m here to tell you it’s OK. Just as short-sellers of stocks have not destroyed the stock market, neither will bitcoin investors bring down that system. Instead, what they’ll do, I hope, is pressure policymakers to reform the system in ways that better serve their constituents and sustain the social covenant of money. I don’t know about you, I like thinking the success of a long-bitcoin bet can lie in driving a constructive improvement in the incumbent system rather than destroying it entirely. After too many episodes of “The Walking Dead,” I can say with assurance that dystopia is not for me. But let’s be clear: Bitcoin’s nice fat gainsdoreflect people’s rising fear that our century-old governance model for the global financial system is failing. There are reasons: unsustainable debt levels; anemic growth despite masses of quantitative easing; economic inequality; the COVID-19 shock; and how, in a decentralized, social media information system where truth is being questioned, people sense a loss of agency in their and their communities’ lives. Part of the problem is that elite conversations around the solutions are mired in the assumption the old system of government will continue as is. This feeds an expectation of failure, which bit by bit leads more and more people to believe that, even if they’re not “all in” on a bet against that system, they should hold some bitcoin in case the worst arises. With all of that just-in-case hedging activity, the global short position grows and bitcoin’s price rises. We need policymakers to recognize what those market signals are telling them: that the existing model is both failing and fragile. Currently, they do not. Let’s hope they get it soon because we all should care that the solution is not violent, destructive revolution but constructive evolution. This is not an anti-establishment argument. It’s most definitely not an endorsement of the nihilistic ethos of Trumpism. It’s a call to recognize that bailouts (socialized corporate losses) and monetary stimulus (put options for stock market speculators) have papered over deep problems in the economy and done little to raise the happiness of the world’s citizenry. It’s saying we need a new approach to secure an effective market economy, one that empowers everybody to seize opportunities on a level playing field. And if we achieve that, if the national government-run system evolves to a point where it regains popular support, what role does bitcoin play in that modified system? What is its larger purpose beyond being a hedge against systemic meltdown? It’s hard to see where the sustained value would lie in an asset whoseonlypurpose is to hedge against that worst-case outcome if that outcome doesn’t eventuate. I think bitcoin’s purpose lies in it becoming a kind of societal reserve asset. This is a concept beyond both the ideas of a government-held reserve currency and of gold’s long-running status as a citizens’ hedge against monetary meltdown. The early elements of it can be seen in how bitcoin has been incorporated into decentralized finance (DeFi) as a kind of uber form of collateral. While we might not use bitcoin to buy cups of coffee, for which dollars or yen or something else will suffice, it could become a fundamental store of digital value upon which the overarching financial system rests. Right now, if you look at the global bond market, that role is occupied by U.S. Treasury bills, notes and bonds. Those U.S. government debt instruments provide the base-layer collateral upon which Wall Street has built a hierarchical system by which financial institutions extend all other forms of credit to the outside world. But in the future, once crypto ownership and market participation is sufficiently wide and digital asset markets are sufficiently liquid and sophisticated that price volatility declines, bitcoin could play a similar role. Its protocol-assured scarcity, along with its programmable qualities and its future capacity to interoperate with central bank digital currencies, stablecoins and other digital assets, will ultimately make for a superior underlying store of value than anything a trust-compromised government can offer up. Don’t be distracted by strong worldwide demand for dollars. Confidence in the U.S. government-led global financial system is eroding, as the bitcoin short position itself demonstrates. Once that loss of trust reaches a tipping point, society will need another form of base-layer collateral to replace U.S. government debt. Therein lies a post-crisis role for the world’s most important cryptocurrency. This week’s accompanyingMoney Reimagined podcastlooks at the adoption of cryptocurrencies and stablecoins in emerging markets, which over the past year has seen real signs of life. Is this finally the moment to realize one of the great hopes of this technology: to enable financial empowerment in developing countries where traditional finance is constrained? To explore that question, my co-host Sheila Warren and I are joined by Elizabeth Rossiello, the founder and CEO of AZA, which has for seven years been developing digital payment solutions in African markets, and Sebastian Serrano, the founder and CEO of Ripio, which has been doing similar work in Latin America for more or less the same amount of time. It has been a huge week for bitcoin, whose price is now closing in on the all-time high it hit in 2017 and whose market capitalization has already surpassed the high of that period. But in one very important way, this rally is quite different from that of three years ago. There’s a relative absence of the “FOMO” crowd, the retail investors who don’t want to miss out on the big winnings others are enjoying. And the following chart gives a pretty good representation of that. Unlike 2017, Google search activity around the term “bitcoin” – a proxy for the curiosity of the general population – has hardly budged from the levels of the past few years, even as the price has surged. Instead of the retail investor commentary, this time the news around this up-cycle is dominated by big-name, deep-pocketed investors discovering bitcoin. It involves people like MicroStrategy’s Michael Saylor, hedge fund veteran Stanley Druckenmiller, Citibank analyst Tom Fitzpatrick and, earlier today, BlackRock CIO for Fixed Income, Rick Rieder, whohintedon CNBC that the world’s largest asset manager, with more than $7 trillion under management, now sees bitcoin as a better hedge than gold. This is a Wall Street rally, in other words, not a Main Street rally. “Once bitten twice shy” may be the reason retail investors are sitting on the sidelines this time. Too many people lost their shirts by piling into the trade at the peak of the 2017 bubble. Another may be that without the initial coin offering (ICO) boom that fueled an accompanying surge in hundreds of ERC-20 tokens alongside bitcoin, the buzz around the crypto rally generally isn’t as loud. But I think it’s also worth recognizing the logic of the rally is quite different. This one comes amid a backdrop of concern about the outlook for inflation, fiscal debt and political stability. Those concerns are being addressed by professional investors who are taking a long-term look at bitcoin’s potential as a hedge against all that (as per the column above.) This is less of a get-rich-quick rally, and more of an insurance play. That’s not to say those bigwigs aren’t also looking to make a killing. It’s also not to say that at some point this “professional” rally doesn’t excite another round of FOMO among the masses. While some investors are starting to protect themselvesagainst a correction, the fact that Joe Six-Pack has yet to jump in could suggest there’s still upside in this for bitcoin. DIFFERENT KIND OF SAME.“Innovation” is a magic buzzword that conveys progress and daring. That quality makes it ideal for obfuscation. Case in point: a piece on the website of the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum (OMFIF) this week with the title “The second wave of central bank policy innovation.” If you’re looking for descriptions of radical new digital currency projects in places like the Bahamas, Thailand and China, you won’t find them in this report. What’s meant by “innovation” here is a variety of new means by which central banks are really just extending an existing playbook into new areas, specifically by buying a wider array of assets to pump money into their financial systems. It’s a more extreme, riskier version of the same new policy “tool” that arose after interest rates had been pushed to near zero after the 2008 crisis: quantitative easing. The problem with endless “QE” is central banks are running out of government bonds to buy; fiscal debt issuance calendars can’t keep up. So, to keep the money expansion going, they are reaching into riskier asset classes, including municipal and corporate bonds. The U.S. Federal Reserve has set the example with its Secondary Market Corporate Credit Facility, with which it buys corporate debt, and with a separate program for buying municipal bonds. Now, we learn from OMFIF that after the Bank of England “introduced a term funding scheme for small- and medium-sized enterprises” in March, the same model has been adopted by central banks in Australia, Taiwan, New Zealand and elsewhere. With these schemes, central banks, which are supposed to be politically independent, become creditors to entities whose interests can be politicized. If these new debtors face default in the post-COVID debt reckoning, they will be tempted to call on the support of politicians they’ve backed to pressure the central bank to forgive or restructure those debts. This is what will ultimately undermine fiat currencies. Those bonds, now sitting garishly on central banks’ balance sheets as private or political assets, are supposed to more than offset the principal liability: the monetary base. Politicizing those assets will raise concerns about their future value, which will weaken confidence in the currency. So, whereas the OMFIF piece says these efforts show that “Central banks have shown a continued willingness to reinvent their monetary policy toolkits,” you could equally say they’ve shown a continued willingness to double down a 10-year old bet that’s reached the end of its usefulness. ELITE FACTORIES.Biologists offer a unique perspective on complex systems such as economies. In studying how ecosystems and species populations can reach breaking points caused by dynamics of the supply and consumption of resources, they find patterns that human societies tend to mimic over time. In that context, the latest observations by Peter Turchin, a pine beetle expert turned cultural theorist, are somewhat alarming. Aslaid out by Graeme Wood in The Atlantic, Turchin believes the hierarchies in Western societies like the U.S. are fueling tensions due to an “overproduction of elites.” Societies that have geared their education and professional systems toward rewarding a privileged but relatively large minority are struggling to find constructive uses for them, while the majority who lie outside of that elite bubble have no upward mobility. This, Turchin suggests, is the root cause of the angst playing out in events such as the still unresolved 2020 election. It’s leading to a breakdown in trust and the failure of institutions. What does this have to do with cryptocurrencies and blockchains? Well, in theory at least, those systems are supposed to reward people for their participation in open-source, collaborative development and, in their purest form, require no identification to participate. Crypto-based bug bounties, for example, can reward whichever developer finds vulnerabilities in software code without consideration of their identity or educational credentials. To think a blockchain development community is utopian is, however, naive. There are all sorts of ways in which the privilege of circumstance and upbringing rewards certain people and not others. It is no accident that the vast majority of crypto engineers are white males. It’s a product of a societally formed superstructure – the very same hierarchical system that Turchin said is powering toward its own oblivion. The trick is to figure how to take the best of these open development models while proactively seeding them with newcomers from outside the existing elite production facilities at top-ranking universities. THE TIP OF THE ICEBERG.The debt crisis fueled by the COVID-19 shutdowns remains in suspended animation. Itwillget worse once stop-gap measures like rent suspension and mortgage forbearance run out next year as stretched creditors start to demand what is theirs. In fact, as shown bythis Wall Street Journal examinationof the U.S. government’s aggressive Payroll Protection Program loans to small businesses, the fallout may already be starting. The reporters found that “about 300 companies that received as much as half a billion dollars in pandemic-related government loans have filed for bankruptcy.” These numbers will surely rise. And as any student of debt crisis knows, bankruptcies beget bankruptcies. Each debtor’s default leaves their creditors with less funds to paytheirdebts. A self-perpetuating cycle takes hold. I think this looming problem is the core driver of why big-name investors are gravitating toward bitcoin. Governments the world over will be confronted with delayed bailout demands far bigger than those they’ve already faced. Can they afford to raise taxes to pay for those bailouts? Hardly. So, many will call on their central banks to do even more than they’re already doing to try to keep their economies afloat. (See the column and the item above for why that will be problematic.) The social covenant of money is at stake. Bitcoin offers an alternative. Well, that’s a gloomy GTH this week! (My editor, Ben Schiller, suggests rebranding the section to “Apocalypse Watch.”) Sadly, soaring bitcoin prices tend to correlate with bad news for everyone but crypto investors. What the History of Airlines Tells Us About Blockchain Commerce.In 2014, when he was at IBM, Paul Brody wrote a groundbreaking piece on the role blockchain technology could play in regulating the internet of things. He opined then on how this would unleash an entirely new economy in which pretty much every asset and product would be in play within a fluid digital marketplace that greatly improved price discovery and resource allocation. Now, as blockchain lead at EY, Brody is a regular opinion writer for CoinDesk. In this piece he returns to his IoT thesis and offers a history lesson on how these shifts could massively disrupt different industries – in this case focusing on digitization in the airline industry. The Dark Future Where Payments Are Politicized and Bitcoin Wins.I really don’t mean to take issue with JP Koning regularly. He is truly an excellent writer whose clear, BS-free thinking on money adds great perspective to our understanding of how it is evolving. But this is the second week running I feel compelled to counter one of his CoinDesk columns. As I lay out in this week’s column, I think it’s overly alarmist to assume that the only way bitcoin “wins” is for society to go into dystopian meltdown. It’s not an all-or-nothing bet. This is, as always, a good read, though. Lightning Network’s New Liquidity Marketplace Attracts a ‘Surprising’ Mix of Individuals, Enterprises.The Lightning network has long been promised as a “layer 2” solution to increase the throughput and lower the cost of bitcoin transactions by removing them from the space-constrained main blockchain. The problem is that nodes need to always have pre-seeded funds available inside the payment channels they set up with counterparties. Now, it looks like there’s a decentralized system for resolving those moments when the bitcoin isn’t there. Colin Harper reports. CoinDesk Daily News.Get your daily fix of crypto news from this brand new, fast moving feature on the CoinDesk videos tab, featuring our new TV anchor, Christine Lee. • Bitcoin Is the Biggest Big Short • Bitcoin Is the Biggest Big Short \|\| GLOBAL MARKETS-Stocks, U.S. yields climb after Democrats win control of the Senate: * Treasury benchmark yield hits 10-month high * Dollar bounces after touching near 3-year low * U.S., global equity indexes hit record highs (Updates to U.S. stock market close) By Rodrigo Campos NEW YORK, Jan 7 (Reuters) - Bond prices dropped and stocks hit record highs on Thursday as investors bet Democratic control of the U.S. Congress would enable President-elect Joe Biden to borrow and spend heavily, while higher yields helped a bruised dollar recover from near three-year lows. The bullish sentiment remained throughout the day even as the top two Democrats in Congress called for President Donald Trump to be removed from office, one day after his supporters stormed and vandalized the U.S. Capitol in a rampage that left four people dead. U.S. Treasuries prices extended their steepest sell-off in months, with the benchmark yield at its highest in 10 months. Victories in two Georgia races handed the Democratic Party narrow control of the U.S. Senate, bolstering Biden's power to pass his agenda with his party controlling both chambers. The MSCI world equity index, which tracks shares in almost 50 countries, rose more than 1% to hit a record high for the third session this week. After a shaken Congress formally certified Biden's election victory in the early hours of Thursday, Wall Street focused on the implications of the Democrats' control of Congress. Major indexes hit record highs on bets that more pandemic stimulus will help the economy ride out the downturn. "The market is now looking past Trump and it's looking forward to a Biden presidency, more structure and stimulus," said Dennis Dick, a trader at Bright Trading LLC. "A Democratic Congress is going to obviously be more concerned about the small businesses, and the Main Street." The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 211.73 points, or 0.69%, to 31,041.13, the S&P 500 gained 55.65 points, or 1.48%, to 3,803.79 and the Nasdaq Composite added 326.69 points, or 2.56%, to 13,067.48. Story continues The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.51% and MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe gained 1.18%. Emerging market stocks rose 0.53%. Earlier, MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan had risen 0.35% and Japan's Nikkei hit its intraday highest since 1990 before ending up 1.6%. The prospect for future stimulus spending sent bond prices lower, with the yield on the benchmark hitting its highest since March. It rose as high as 1.088% on Thursday. "The Georgia Senate elections just added a tailwind to existing trends of reflation and upward pressure on Treasury yields," said Bill Merz, head of fixed income research at U.S. Bank Wealth Management in Minneapolis. Benchmark 10-year notes last fell 12/32 in price to yield 1.0812%, from 1.042% late on Wednesday. The 30-year bond last fell 27/32 in price to yield 1.859%, from 1.821%. BRUISED DOLLAR The Democrats' victory also reverberated in currency markets. The dollar had sunk to a near three-year low against a basket of six major currencies, with traders betting growing U.S. trade and budget deficits would further weigh on the greenback. On Thursday, it rose 0.549%, on track for its strongest session since at least late October, with the euro down 0.02% to $1.2268. The Japanese yen strengthened 0.01% versus the greenback at 103.78 per dollar, while Sterling was last trading at $1.3564, up 0.01% on the day. "Once (Treasury yields) start to move, as they did yesterday, it wasnâ€™t a big move but it was in the right direction, that is the direction of the future," said Joseph Trevisani, senior analyst at FXStreet.com. Oil prices touched their highest since late February as markets remained focused on Saudi Arabia's unexpected pledge to deepen its oil cuts. U.S. crude recently rose 0.57% to $50.92 per barrel and Brent was at $54.57, up 0.5% on the day. Spot gold % to $1,913.07 an ounce. Silver gained 0.19% to $27.16. Bitcoin hit a record high that breached the $40,000 mark, and was last up 7.05% at $39,446.75. (Reporting by Rodrigo Campos; additional reporting by Tom Wilson and Noah Browning in London, Laura Sanicola, Herbert Lash and Chuck Mikolajczak in New York and Karen Pierog in Chicago; Editing by Alistair Bell, Nick Zieminski and Dan Grebler) \|\| Bitcoin Investor and Entrepreneur Haseeb Azizi Shifts His Focus From Bitcoin to Social Media: LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / December 8, 2020 / Haseeb Azizi is a bit of a visionary. He was able to see the promise of Bitcoin before it was cool. As a young software engineer, he believed that Bitcoin, and cryptocurrencies in general, could have a tremendous impact on the future. By using his intuition, he was able to build up a small fortune due to investing in Bitcoin early on. Now, he sees the same sort of potential for social media as he saw in Bitcoin. Social media has been around for a number of years now. However, it hasn't evolved into the massive digital marketing powerhouse it is today until recently. With billions of people on social media, there is a wealth of prospects that entrepreneurs and businesses can benefit from. With his background in IT and the knowledge he gathered on social media over time, Haseeb became the Chief Information Officer at Ascend Agency. This social media marketing agency uses digital marketing and PR strategies to get brands featured, which boosts their popularity and presence. It is Haseeb's role to provide the absolute best for Ascend Agency's clients so that they can further their businesses and media platforms. As someone who saw tremendous success in the cryptocurrency space, Haseeb is someone who can be looked to as a person who understands trends well. That is why it is a good idea to lend an ear to what he has to share about the increasingly important role social media will play within the world in the coming years. The same way that crypto has changed the way we spend money online for goods and services, the internet changed the way businesses operate and communicate with their clients. At the center of it all, Haseeb sees social media as having a tremendous role. Haseeb sees himself as someone who will never be fully out of Bitcoin or full in social media. He likes to assert his presence between businesspeople and influencers so that he becomes a true middleman. In this day and age, they rely on each other. Story continues As the CIO of Ascend Agency, Haseeb has already helped numerous businesses grow their audiences on social media and enjoy more leads and sales. Today, the social media landscape is becoming increasingly saturated. However, it's still possible to gain an edge, especially when an experienced and professional social media marketing agency is helping you. Thanks to Haseeb's ability to build a network that includes other social media influencers, he has been able to assert himself as someone who could be trusted. Connecting entrepreneurs and influencers has become his new focus these days, as he pivots away from Bitcoin and dives into the world of social media marketing. He also dedicates some of his time to his brand, Envy Apparel, where he combines social media and ecommerce. If you want to connect with Haseeb Azizi, then you can follow him on his personal Instagram page . Media Details Website URL: http://www.ascendagency.net/ Company Name: Ascend Agency Email address: [email protected] Country: USA SOURCE: Ascend Agency View source version on accesswire.com: https://www.accesswire.com/619953/Bitcoin-Investor-and-Entrepreneur-Haseeb-Azizi-Shifts-His-Focus-From-Bitcoin-to-Social-Media \|\| BIGG Digital Assets Inc. Announces Upsize of Previously Announced Overnight Marketed Public Offering to $6 Million: NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWS WIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE U.S. VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Nov. 12, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- BIGG Digital Assets Inc. (BIGG or the Company) (CSE: BIGG; OTCQB: BBKCF; WKN: A2PS9W) is pleased to announce that, due to strong investor demand, it has increased its previously announced overnight public marketed offering to 25,000,000 units of the Company (Units) at a price of $0.24 per Unit for gross proceeds of approximately $6 million (the Offering). The Offering is being conducted by a syndicate of underwriters led by PI Financial Corp. and including Canaccord Genuity Corp., Echelon Wealth Partners, Haywood Securities Inc. and M Partners Inc. (collectively, the Underwriters). The Company will shortly file an amended and restated preliminary short form prospectus (the AR Preliminary Prospectus) with the securities commissions in each of the provinces of Canada (other than Québec) amending and restating the preliminary short form prospectus dated November 11, 2020 to reflect the terms of the Offering. Copies of the AR Preliminary Prospectus will be available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com . Each Unit will consist of one common share of the Company (a Common Share) and one-half Common Share purchase warrant (each such full warrant, a Warrant). Each Warrant will entitle the holder thereof to purchase one Common Share (a Warrant Share) at a price equal to $0.30 per Warrant Share for a period of 24 months following the closing of the Offering, subject to an accelerated expiry if the ten trading day volume-weighted average price of the Common Shares on the Canadian Securities Exchange (the CSE) is equal to or greater than $0.60 per Common Share. The Offering is made pursuant to the terms of an underwriting agreement, as amended, with the Underwriters, which grants the Underwriters an over-allotment option to increase the size of the Offering by up to 15% of the aggregate number of Units (or the components thereof) on the same terms and conditions of the Offering (the Over-Allotment Option), exercisable in whole or in part at any time up to 30 days after and including the closing date of the Offering. In the event that the Over-Allotment Option is exercised in full, the aggregate gross proceeds of the Offering to the Company will be $6.9 million. Story continues The Company intends to use the proceeds from the Offering for research and development, expansion of sales and marketing teams for Blockchain Intelligence Group internationally and Netcoins domestically, additional liquidity for Netcoins trade settlement, increase of long-term Bitcoin investment holdings, and working capital. The Offering is expected to close on or about November 30, 2020 and is subject to certain conditions including, but not limited to, the receipt of all necessary approvals, including the approval of the CSE. This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities in the United States. The securities have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the U.S. Securities Act) or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to U.S. Persons unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or an exemption from such registration is available. On behalf of Board Mark Binns CEO [email protected] T:+1.844.515.2646 The CSE does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release. About BIGG Digital Assets Inc. BIGG believes the future of crypto is a safe, compliant, and regulated environment. BIGG invests in products and companies to support this vision. BIGG owns two operating companies: Blockchain Intelligence Group (blockchaingroup.io) and Netcoins (netcoins.ca). Blockchain Intelligence Group (BIG) has developed a Blockchain-agnostic search and analytics engine, QLUETM, enabling Law Enforcement, RegTech, Regulators and Government Agencies to visually track, trace and monitor cryptocurrency transactions at a forensic level. Our commercial product, BitRank Verified® , offers a risk score for cryptocurrencies, enabling RegTech, banks, ATMs, exchanges, and retailers to meet traditional regulatory/compliance requirements. Netcoins develops brokerage and exchange software to make the purchase and sale of cryptocurrency easily accessible to the mass consumer and investor with a focus on compliance and safety. Netcoins utilizes BitRank Verified® software at the heart of its platform and facilitates crypto trading via a self-serve crypto brokerage portal at Netcoins.app. For more information and to register to BIGGs mailing list, please visit our website at https://www.biggdigitalassets.com . Or visit SEDAR at www.sedar.com . Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward Looking Information This press release contains forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws. All statements that are not historical facts, including without limitation, statements regarding future estimates, plans, programs, forecasts, projections, objectives, assumptions, expectations or beliefs of future performance, statements regarding the ability of the Company to close the Offering, the anticipated terms of the Offering, the anticipated use of proceeds from the Offering, the proposed timing of the Offering, and the Companys beliefs about the future of crypto are "forward-looking statements". Forward-looking information can be identified by the use of words such as will or believe or variations of such words or statements that certain actions, events or results will be taken, occur or be achieved. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, as there can be no assurance that the plans, intentions or expectations upon which they are based will occur. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve numerous assumptions, known and unknown risks and uncertainties, both general and specific, that contribute to the possibility that the predictions, estimates, forecasts, projections and other forward-looking statements will not occur. These assumptions, risks and uncertainties include, among other things, the state of the economy in general and capital markets in particular, and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of BIGG. Forward-looking statements contained in this press release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. Undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking information because BIGG can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from BIGGs expectations include, consumer sentiment towards BIGGs products and Blockchain technology generally, technology failures, competition, and failure of counterparties to perform their contractual obligations. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date of this press release. Except as required by law, BIGG disclaims any intention and assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Additionally, BIGG undertakes no obligation to comment on the expectations of, or statements made by, third parties in respect of the matters discussed above. \|\| Fed vows to keep supporting US economy: The US Federal Reserve pledged to keep its foot on the accelerator to fight the Covid-19 pandemic last night as politicians close in on a new $900bn (£658bn) stimulus package to aid the economy. The central bank kept its main rate close to zero - where it is likely to stay until at least 2023 - and said it would maintain its $120bn a month in asset purchases until “substantial further progress” on reflating the economy and cutting unemployment was made. The Fed took a slightly more optimistic view on prospects next year, lifting growth forecasts from 4pc to 4.2pc. But it also stressed the “tremendous human and economic hardship” of a virus which has now claimed 300,000 lives in the US. Infection rates are hitting new highs even as the world’s largest economy begins a vaccination programme, putting pressure on Congress to agree on more support. Millions of Americans will lose temporary benefits at the end of this month when provisions under the original $2.2trn Cares Act expire. Reports suggest that warring Democrats and Republicans are close to a compromise deal which could include $700 payments to households and extend unemployment benefits, with voting on the new package beginning as soon as today. (Thur) A bigger than expected 1.1pc slump in retail sales last month underlined the urgency of further support, according to ING economist James Knightley. He said: “With an increasing number of city mayors and state governors warning of more movement restrictions to combat the rise in Covid-19 cases, the economy is facing a period of growing uncertainty. With more restaurants being forced to close and the threat of closure of non-essential retail in some areas the need for more support for the economy is growing.” The US Treasury also formally accused Switzerland and Vietnam of currency manipulation, saying they had both intervened heavily in markets with at least part of Switzerland's action aimed at pushing down the Swiss franc. The designation has no immediate consequence, although penalties including exclusion from US government contracts could be applied after a year unless the label is removed. That's all for today - here are some of our top stories: • JCB hands back £600m Covid 'insurance policy' • Brexit deal hopes boost sterling as investors predict 2021 share surge • Amazon rival Wish tanks on Wall Street debut despite online shopping boom • Rival Heathrow expansion options buoyed by third runway ruling • Half of manufacturers hit by ports chaos What's ahead tomorrow: Updates from:Watches of Switzerland, Hunting, IntegraFin, Revolution Bars, Serco Numbers on:Bank of England monetary policy decision (UK), inflation (eurozone), jobless claims (US) Thanks for joining - Louis will be back with you bright and early! Sterling hits highest level since May 2018 today as investors say calmer politics and vaccines will boost stock markets next year. My colleagueTom Reesreports: • Read more:Brexit deal hopes boost sterling as investors predict 2021 share surge The Federal Reserve has said it will continue to keep supporting the US economy via massive monetary stimulus until it sees “substantial further progress” in employment and inflation, at its final meeting of the year. Headed by Jerome Powell, it voted to keep monthly bond purchases of at least $120bn, and pledged to keep its benchmark overnight interest rate near zero - both promised until an economic recovery is complete. Bond purchases would continue "until substantial further progress has been made toward the Committee's maximum employment and price stability goals," it said in a statement. The Fed didn't change the type or pace of assets being bought - expected by many analysts - which is a way to give more immediate economic help in the wait for widespread vaccine distribution. Policymakers boosted their outlook for economic growth in 2021 from 4pc to 4.2pc at the median, and lowered the expected year end unemployment rate from 5.5pc to 5pc. It said: “economic activity and employment have continued to recover but remain well below their levels at the beginning of the year.” The meeting came as lawmakers tried to wrap up an agreement on new stimulus after months of deadlock. Popular online brokerage Robinhood Markets has drawn millions of users to investing, making trading seem less intimidating with a colourful app. On Wednesday, however, Massachusetts securities regulators filed a complaint against Robinhood Financial LLC, alleging it aggressively marketed to novice investors and failed to put controls in place to protect them. The complaint from the office of Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin, said Robinhood exposed Massachusetts investors to “unnecessary trading risks” by “falling far short of the fiduciary standard” that require broker-dealers to act in clients’ best interests. It alleged Robinhood encourages consumers to use the platform through what it calls “gamification", adding that one customer with no investment experience made over 12,700 trades in just over six months. “Treating this like a game and luring young and inexperienced customers to make more and more trades is not only unethical, but also falls far short of the standards we require in Massachusetts," said Galvin in a statement. San Francisco-based ecommerce site Wish’s stock fell on its Nasdaq exchange debut. It indicates investor fatigue after a line of blockbuster tech listings including Airbnb and DoorDash last week. Both have since dropped in share price. ContextLogic - which does business under the name of Wish - dropped about 6pc in early trading today, from their IPO price of $24. The company had raised about $1.1bn at that price on Tuesday evening, giving it an implied market capitalisation of $14bn. Wish operates an online marketplace largely known for discounted items originating in China, catered to low and middle income consumers. It said it has about 1.8m sales a day. Small businesses turning to online shopping could be hit by the digital services tax designed to extract revenues from tech giants, the CBI has warned. My colleagueTim Wallacereports: Meanwhile analysts told MPs that hiking corporation tax could raise money for the Government in the short-run, but risks undermining Britain’s position as an attractive location for investment, costing tax revenues in the longer-term.Britain currently has the lowest headline corporation tax in the G20. “If we are above that level, we are in danger of deterring investment,” said Chris Sanger from EY, speaking to the Treasury Select Committee.One way to boost the economy via the tax system could be to allow full expensing of investment spending against tax bills, said Tom Clougherty at the Centre for Policy Studies.He told MPs it would encourage investment, unlike the current system which stretches depreciation out for years, reducing its value to companies with time and inflation. The Court of Appeal has upheld convictions of ex-UBS executive Fabiana Abdel-Malek and her trader friend, Walid Choucair. The pair were each convicted of five offences of insider deaing in 2013-2014 and sentenced to three years in jail last year. Ms Abdel-Malek had passed information to Mr Choucair,who made about £1.4m from her tips. They had appealed, alleging insufficient disclosure by the FCA before, during and after the trial made their convictions unsafe and were released on bail pending today's decision. The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeals and found there was no irregularity or unfairness. Mark Steward, executive director of enforcement and market oversight at the FCA, said: The Dow is falling as worries about the economic impact of the pandemic offset optimism over a stimulus package, with investors awaiting the Fed's outlook on the US later. It lost 0.3pc to 30,114.95 by early afternoon. Flows into heavyweight tech stocks held up the S&P 500 and pushed the Nasdaq to a record high earlier, as the sector's resilience through coronavirus spurred continued buying. The S&P500 edged up 0.05pc to 3,696.52, while the Nasdaq rose 0.3pc to 12,635.69. Fincantieri SpA, one of Europe’s largest shipbuilders, is considering options to offset the financial blow dealt by the pandemic, reported Bloomberg citing people familiar with the matter. Thenews agencyhas more: Boris Johnson declined to repeat his claim from Sunday that the “most likely” outcome from the negotiations is no deal. Asked at a press conference on Wednesday if that was still his view, he said: “That is very much a matter for our friends, they know what the parameters are,” before adding: “There’s a good deal there to be done but if not, WTO, Australia terms it is and we will prosper mightily.” Johnson’s press secretary, Allegra Stratton, told reporters no deal remains the most likely outcome. Meanwhile, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said fishing rights are the last major hurdle to a trade deal, while Mr Johnson warned the UK has a “natural right” to control its own waters. As negotiations continue, von der Leyen told the European Parliament that a deal is possible, but difficult, saying: “As things stand, I can’t tell you if there will be a deal or not." Optimism had been growing after the two sides agreed to continue discussions past their self-imposed Sunday deadline. The EU’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier said he saw a “narrow path” to a deal this week if differences can be bridged. Boeing is scrapping most pay raises next year and giving out shares instead as it braces for a long recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. News agencyBloomberghas the details: On Wednesday, Supreme Court judges overturned March's Court of Appeal decision to block the third runway on environmental grounds. The decision means rival schemes to expand London's main airport are back in play. My colleagueOliver Gillreports: • Read more:Rival Heathrow expansion options buoyed by third runway ruling EDF Energy will pay a £6m fine after Ofgem - Britain's energy market regulator - found it "frequently inflated" the minimum amount of power its West Burton B (WBB) generator plant could supply to the National Grid, which is in charge of the UK's electricity system. Ofgem said the breaches by the UK arm of the French utility, at the gas-fired plant in Nottinghamshire, happened between Sep 2017 and March this year. It meant that "in many cases" National Grid had to buy more energy than needed, when the plant was used to balance supply and demand. The £6m payment is the third largest fine or settlement of an energy firm this year, following InterGen paying £37m in April over energy market abuse and Ovo Energy handing over £8.9m for giving customers "inaccurate" information over five years. The co-founder and chairman of electric vehicle battery start-up Britishvolt has quit after a historic conviction for tax fraud re-surfaced. My colleagueRachel Millardreports: Lars Carlstrom, 55, said he did not want to become a ‘distraction’ after Press Association made enquiries about his conviction in Sweden in the late 1990s. It comes one week after Britishvolt announced plans to build a £2.6bn electric vehicle battery factory in Blyth, Northumberland, in a boost to the north-east as well as the car industry. According to Press Association, Carlstrom was sentenced to eight months in prison and handed a four-year trading ban for tax fraud. This was later reduced by a higher court to a conditional sentence and 60 hours community service. He was later accused of acting negligently by Sweden’s tax authority over a separate unpaid tax bill for one of his companies in 2011. That's all from me. My colleagueLouise Moonwill take you through this evening's events. Thanks for following! Boris Johnson is set to clarify what the Christmas Covid measures will be in England after the devolved nations deviated from original plan. Follow his comments here: Business activity in the US slowed in December as a spike in Covid cases forced policymakers to tighten restrictions to contain the virus. The IHS Markit flash composite index of purchasing managers fell to 55.7 from November’s five-year high of 58.6. However, December was the sixth consecutive month the measure came in higher than 50, the point above which activity is expanding. US stocks have opened mixed as investors gained confidence that politicians on Capitol Hill would agree on a spending bill. US congressional leaders are closing in on an aid deal worth less than $900bn (£666bn). Bloomberg has the details: Bitcoin has broken through $20,000 for the first time, after narrowly missing the milestone before a sharp drop nearly three years ago. The cryptocurrency rose as much as 3.8pc to $20,154, having almost tripled in value this year alone. Retail sales in the US fell 1.1pc last month, a steeper drop than the -0.3pc expected by economists. Excluding automobiles, sales fell 0.9pc month-on-month according to Census Bureau data. October’s figures were also significantly revised, from a 0.3pc rise to a 0.1pc fall. Retail sales are one of the few measures to have undergone a truly V-shaped recovery in teh wake of the pandemic, with strong demand through summer. The US Treasury Department has labelled Vietnam and Switzerland as currency manipulators, in a combative final foreign policy report from the Trump administration. The agency did not designate China as a currency manipulator, putting it on a watchlist alongside Japan, Korea, Germany, Italy, Singapore and Malaysia, Taiwan, Thailand and India. There is no penalty linked to currency manipulative status, but it can spark tensions. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said: Signs of a long-awaited breakthrough on US stimulus? Jake Sherman from Politico tweets: 🚨BREAKING … Hill negotiators are on the brink of a $900bn coronavirus rescue package that would include a new round of direct payments, but would leave out state and local aid, and a liability shield.A deal could come as early as early this morning.More on POLITICO shortly Australia will challenge China at the World Trade Organisation over Beijing’s decision to impose hefty tariffs on its barley exports, a further sign of deteriorating relations between the two key trading partners. Bloomberg reports: • Read more:Australia to challenge China at WTO over costly trade tariffs Wagamama suffered a plunge in sales during the third quarter of the year as Government restrictions hampered trade. My colleagueHannah Uttleyreports: Separately, Pizza Hut said it has secured a £15m loan facility to help it weather the crisis. Hannah again: Our video team has put together a quick video, showing scenes outside the Supreme Court after its landmark decision on Heathrow’s third runway: Nearly half of manufacturers fell victim to delays amid “severe pressure” on supply chains as chaos gripped UK ports in December, new figures showed. Digging into this morning’s PMI and inflation data, my colleaguesRussell LynchandTim Wallacereport: • Read more:Half of manufacturers hit by ports chaos The pound has touched a new two-year high against the dollar, rising as much as 0.7pc to $1.3549 and topping the peak it reached on December 4th. Sterling has been buoyed by Brexit hopes, but the move more broadly reflects a substantial weakening in the dollar over recent months. With over three hours of trading passed, European markets are solidly higher today. Germany’s Dax is leading risers, while the FTSE 100 has shaken off pressure from a slightly risen pound. Booming online sales during the pandemic helped electricals retailer Dixons Carphone swing to a half-year profit as it overcame the hit from store closures during lockdowns. My colleagues report: • Read more:Sales jump at Dixons Carphone Here are some of the day’s top stories from the Telegraph Money team: • Early and poorer retirement as another 100,000 over-50s lose their jobs:More than 106,000 over-50s fell into unemployment in the autumn as redundancies rocketed for older workers and forced tens of thousands into early retirement and poverty. • Banks lobby Government for stamp duty holiday extension amid fears property market will collapse:Britain’s biggest banks are lobbying the Treasury for an extension to the stamp duty cut as they fight to save almost a quarter of a million house sales from collapse. • The assets to own in case the 2021 market rebound disappoints:Investors have been clamouring to buy stocks ahead of an expected economic rebound in 2021, but what if it does not go to plan? Environmentalist group Friends of the Earth – which made the initially successful appeal that the Supreme Court overturned today – has doubled down on its campaign to stop Heathrow’s third runway, vowing to continue challenging the airport’s expansion plans. Will Rundle, the group’s head of legal, said climate concerns would still need to be addressed during the runway’s planning stage. He added: Judgment has been handed down this morning by video link in the case of R (on the application of Friends of the Earth Ltd and others) (Respondents) v Heathrow Airport Ltd (Appellant) – UKSC 2020/0042https://t.co/K6N910FMaxpic.twitter.com/AgiGGvZbp1 Here’s a video from Heathrow showing its ‘preferred masterplan’ for the third runway, released last year.: Airlines are being investigated by the competition watchdog over concerns they breached consumers’ rights by failing to offer cash refunds for flights they could not legally take during the pandemic. My colleagueSimon Foyreports: • Read more:Watchdog probes airlines for failing to give customers timely refunds ✈️ We’ve launched an investigation into whether any airlines ignored their customers’ rights by failing to offer cash refunds for flights they were unable to take due to lockdown rules.Read more:https://t.co/a1JXmx8GIipic.twitter.com/iUYpPIeMpF Heathrow Airport has received the green light to build a third runway after the UK's highest court ruled the Government’s decision to give the go-ahead was lawful. My colleagues report: • Read more:Heathrow Airport third runway can go ahead, Supreme Court rules The UK’s service sector stagnated this month, with activity slipping slightly compared to November. Here are the latest ‘flash’ purchasing managers’ index readings for the country (where a score above 50 indicates growth): • Services: 49.9 • Manufacturing: 57.3 • Composite (a weighted balance of the two): 50.7 A strong continued acceleration in manufacturing just about offset a small drop in activity in services. IHS Markit, which gathered the data, said: Here are some of the key findings: • The latest survey also indicated severe pressure on manufacturing supply chains, which was overwhelmingly linked to freight delays following congestion at UK ports • The lengthening of lead times in December was the third-steepest since the survey began in 1992, exceeded only by those seen amid Covid-19 shutdowns in April and May • A robust and accelerated rise in input prices added to pressure on UK private sector firms • On a more positive note, there were signs of stabilisation in employment numbers after the steep cuts seen since the start of the pandemic. The rate of job shedding across the UK private sector was the slowest for 10 months • Meanwhile, business optimism about the year ahead outlook eased only slightly since November and meanwhile remained much stronger than seen from March to October Chris Williamson, chief business economist at IHS Markit, said: The Government has postponed a planned rise in rail ticket rises, with fares now set to increase 2.6pc at the start of March – rather than in January, as is usual. The Department for Transport said the delayed and comparatively modest rise (by recent standards) should mean passengers are not “unfairly overburdened by anticipated investments of around £10 billion to keep vital services running during pandemic”. However, the figure is higher than expected – price rises are tied to the outmoded Retail Price Index based on its July level, which this year was 1.6pc. It will be the first time prices have risen ahead of the rate of inflation since 2013. Rail minister Chris Heaton-Harris said: Private-sector business activity across the eurozone dropped only mildly this month, with an acceleration in manufacturing activity enable to fully offset a continued services slowdown. Here are the latest ‘flash’ purchasing managers’ index readings for the country (where a score above 50 indicates growth): • Services: 47.3 • Manufacturing: 55.5 • Composite (a weighted balance of the two): 49.8 IHS Markit, which gathered the data, said: Here are some of the key findings: • Although manufacturing output growth accelerated in December, having slowed in November, the service sector saw output contract for a fourth successive month • Inflows of new orders rose marginally and for the first time since September, boosted by an increased rate of growth of new orders in the manufacturing sector and a substantial slowing in the rate of loss of new business in the service sector • The marginal gain in new business contributed to a marked easing in the rate of depletion of backlogs of work • With backlogs of work no longer falling sharply, companies reined in their job cutting, meaning employment fell IHS Markit’s Chris Williamson said: Encouragingly, future euro area output expectations jumped to a 32-month high, as prospects brightened amid recent news on vaccine developments.pic.twitter.com/DkXI3tGf3u The pound has risen against the dollar for a third day, putting it close to the two-year high it struck on December 4th. Sterling optimism has been boosted by comments from European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who said there is a path toward a trade deal with Britain. • Read more:Brexit latest news: ‘There is a path to agreement now’, Ursula von der Leyen claims German’s manufacturers continued to report accelerating activity this month, offsetting continued weakness in the country’s services sector. Here are the latest ‘flash’ purchasing managers’ index readings for the country (where a score above 50 indicates growth): • Services: 47.7 • Manufacturing: 58.6 • Composite (a weighted balance of the two): 52.5 IHS Markit, which gathered the data, said: Here are some key findings: • Order book volumes across the goods-producing sector increased sharply in December • Manufacturing backlogs of unfinished orders showed a record increase during the month • Less positively, latest data showed a renewed decline in private sector employment • Latest data pointed to another modest rise in average charges for goods and services IHS Markit’s Phil Smith said: A sharp slowdown in France’s services sector almost ended this this month, with activity dipping only slightly compared to November. Here are the latest ‘flash’ purchasing managers’ index readings for the country (where a score above 50 indicates growth): • Services: 49.6 • Manufacturing: 51.1 • Composite (a weighted balance of the two): 49.6 The figures imply a continued slowdown in private sector activity, but suggest the pace of that decline has moderated substantially IHS Markit, which gathered the data, said: Here are some of its key findings: • There were signs of a recovery in demand as new orders received by private sector firms rose for the first time in four months • The improvement in overall demand conditions was centred on the domestic market – foreign sales continued to fall • Despite reduced output requirements, the rise in new orders saw French businesses slightly increase their staff numbers in December • Following four months of successive contraction, backlogs of work at private sector firms stabilised IHS Markit economist Eliot Kerr said: European markets have made an even more solid open than expected, with the FTSE 100 up about 0.7pc. Here’s some expert reaction to this morning’s inflation figures. Ruth GregoryfromCapital Economicssays the sharp fall in price growth “came as a bit of a surprise”. She added: Samuel TombsfromPantheon Macroeconomicssaid inflation will face mixed pressures in the coming year: Yael SelfinfromKPMGadded: With about ten minutes until the opening bell in London, FTSE 100 futures are pointing toward gains of about 0.4pc for London’s blue-chips, with similarly moderate rises elsewhere across Europe’s top indices. Producer prices remained lower year-on-year in November according to the latest data, but are closing the gap – with ‘at the factory gate’ output prices down 0.8pc last month versus October’s -1.4pc. The ONS said: • The price for materials and fuels used in the manufacturing process showed negative growth of 0.5pc on the year to November 2020, up from negative growth of 1.2pc in October 2020. • Petroleum products and crude oil were the largest downward contributors to the annual rates of output inflation and input inflation respectively. Here’s a closer look at which categories contributed the most to weakening headline inflation during November – clothing and footwear is the clear standout. The ONS’s analysis of the inflation data highlights the contribution made by clothing and food costs, which made downward contributions to the overall 12-month inflation rate. There was also the largest downward contribution from food and alcoholic beverages since January 2017. The ONS says inflation dynamics around food and clothes have been shifted by the pandemic: The Consumer Prices Index including owner occupiers’ housing costs (CPIH) 12-month rate was 0.6% in November, down from 0.9% in October 2020https://t.co/sg49sXrVhwpic.twitter.com/Zbls4qt5rR Here are the three main consumer prices highlighted by the ONS: the main CPI rate, the CPIH gauage that includes owner occupiers’ housing costs, and the standalone owner occupiers’ housing costs gauge. Just in: Consumer Price Index growth came in at just 0.3pc year-on-year, implying a weaker rise in prices than economists had expected. Covid-19 has had a substantial impact on consumer prices through a major shift to both supply and demand, as well as the deflationary impact of intervention such as the Eat Out to Help Out scheme. Economists polled by Bloomberg expect the Consumer Price Index to rise 0.6pc year-on-year in November, slightly slower than the 0.5pc growth registered in October. The CPIH – the Office for National Statistics’ preferred measure, including homeowners’ costs – is expected to rise 0.8pc. Good morning. We’ll get the latest data on UK inflation this morning, with price growth expected to have remained somewhat steady during November after reaching a half-decade low earlier in the year. Later on, we’ll get the latest purchasing managers’ index readings, which will give a sense of how businesses are performing so far in December. 1)Big Four employ 100s of Chinese Communist Party members: Britain’s Big Four accountants have employed more than 2,000 members of the CCP, including at least one partner in every firm. 2)£26bn hit to taxpayers from Bounce Back loan scheme:Shortcomings in the Treasury’s “woefully under-developed” rescue loan scheme will leave taxpayers facing losses of up to £26bn, MPs warn. 3)Jobs crisis could trigger furlough extension, economists warn: Sunak could be forced to extend the taxpayer-funded furlough scheme beyond March after a record spike in redundancies, experts warn. 4)Bosses warn of new year ‘carnage’ as job losses hit record: Pub and restaurant bosses have warned of jobs "carnage" in the new year as official figures revealed redundancies hit record levels. 5)French bank to pay £75,000 to man sacked for not turning up:Societe Generale has been told it should not have fired an employee for failing to show up to work after a three-year sabbatical. Asian stocks were buoyant on Wednesday and the dollar eased as hopes of effective coronavirus vaccines and the growing prospect of more US fiscal stimulus cheered investors ahead of the Christmas holiday season. In a sign the positive momentum was set to extend, Eurostoxx 50 futures and Germany’s Dax futures edged 0.1pc higher, while futures for London's FTSE firmed 0.3pc. MSCI's broadest index of Asia Pacific shares outside of Japan rose 0.8pc after two straight days of losses. The index, hovering near record highs, is up 3.8pc so far in December and is on track for its best yearly performance since 2017 thanks to generous government and central bank stimulus around the world. Australian shares rose 0.8pc while South Korea’s KOSPI was up 0.4pc and Japan’s Nikkei added 0.2pc. China’s blue-chip CSI 300 index added 0.15pc and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index climbed 0.86pc. Corporate:Dixons Carphone(Interim results);Petrofac(Trading statement) Economics:Inflation(UK),flash PMIs(UK, eurozone, Germany, France, US), retail sales, FOMC announcement(US) [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] None available.	Trend: down \|\| Prices: 40254.55, 38356.44, 35566.66, 33922.96, 37316.36, 39187.33, 36825.37, 36178.14, 35791.28, 36630.07
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2021-05-04] BTC Price: 53333.54, BTC RSI: 44.01 Gold Price: 1775.80, Gold RSI: 54.52 Oil Price: 65.69, Oil RSI: 62.37 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Bitcoin Not a Long-Term Allocation, Says Man Group CEO: Luke Ellis, CEO of U.K. hedge fund Man Group, sees bitcoin as a trading instrument rather than a long-term asset allocation. Appearing on CNBCs Squawk Box on Friday, Ellis revealed that he had dabbled in bitcoin but sees himself as a trader rather than a HODler . I see it as a trading instrument, so we trade around it and try to provide some liquidity into the market, he told CNBCs Andrew Ross Sorkin. Ellis also said he did not think it was necessary for companies to hold bitcoin on their balance sheets, describing this as confusing considering the business use case relative to the inherent speculation. I dont think companies are supposed to be speculate with their cash balances, he added. Large companies such as Tesla and MicroStrategy have disclosed large treasury investments in bitcoin in recent months. Man Group is a London-based hedge fund, managing around $123.6 billion for its mostly institutional clients. See also: Coinbase Has Held Crypto Assets Like Bitcoin on Its Balance Sheet Since 2012 Related Stories Bitcoin Not a Long-Term Allocation, Says Man Group CEO Bitcoin Not a Long-Term Allocation, Says Man Group CEO Bitcoin Not a Long-Term Allocation, Says Man Group CEO Bitcoin Not a Long-Term Allocation, Says Man Group CEO \|\| Dogecoin Is Not the Next Bitcoin – But Here Are the Similarities: To those of us who have been in the industry for a long time, Dogecoin has always been an oddity: A project that has exceptional approachability and appeal to new users while lacking most of the characteristics that make cryptocurrencies useful or valuable. Created in 2013 by Jackson Palmer and Billy Markus, the project was abandoned years ago by its founders and developers, if not its fans. Until recently, it was in such a weak state that it couldn’t even power its own blockchain infrastructure and in 2014 hitched its proverbial wagon to another early cryptocurrency calledlitecoin. At the time, that seemed like a necessary move – there were questions about whetherDOGEcould survive at all. Then, yesterday, the top meme token eclipsed its patron chain. Related:SEC Causing ‘Confusion’ Over Digital Currencies in Legal Case With Ripple: WSJ Editorial Board For the moment at least, dogecoin is more than double the size of litecoin (and 330-year-old Barclays bank as well) when measured by market capitalization. So what on Earth is happening here? A couple of years ago, I did a series of interviews with people in Iran, India, Singapore, Honduras, Nigeria and a couple of other places. I went in assuming thatbitcoinwould not be the token of choice because the transaction fees are, in many cases, higher than a day’s wage and just generally are out of whack with the value scales locally. I learned that, although that was true, people still saw bitcoin as their best option, which created a self-reinforcing cycle, the implications of which we’re still watching play out today. Related:Bank of England and HM Treasury Launch Taskforce for UK CBDC Those decisions are driven by a simple question: Of all the currencies to which I have access, which one is most likely to be useful to me? For bitcoin, that utility comes in two flavors. One is predictability. People turn their local currencies into bitcoin because they are looking for a way to store value that’s disconnected from local political and economic realities. Everyone knows about bitcoin’s fixed token supply as well as its largely unchangeable monetary policy, making it out of reach for governments broadly. The other reason, which may be even more important, is liquidity. People want to be sure that when they decide to sell there will always be someone there who wants to buy at the market price. So, even though in local terms bitcoin can be viewed as quite expensive, it is the consensus option. People can and do choose to buy other tokens, but this “long tail” of crypto investing is incredibly, and increasingly, diverse as the number of tokens to pick from expands. They’re more speculative because there is little or no consensus. That could change but the so-called first mover advantage and the network effect that bitcoin carries with it has been incredibly powerful. To put it simply, bitcoin is so useful because it’s what everybody uses. For most of this year, I’ve increasingly come to believe that dogecoin is acting like that now. Just as bitcoin is the consensus pick for people looking for “predictable moneyness” in their currency, dogecoin is looking like the consensus pick for people who want “meme-y wackiness” in their currency. That certainly seems to be the case among theElon Musks,Slim JimsandMark Cubansof the world, not to mention a growing share of meme culture broadly. See also:Dogecoin No Longer Pup After Tripling Past $50B, Exceeding UK Bank Barclays This was highlighted on Conagra Brands’ corporate earnings call earlier this week. Conagra is not a hip company. It owns a formidable basket of old-world brands including Slim Jim (smoked meat sticks), Marie Callender’s (a restaurant chain where I ate at once or twice in the 1990s) and Hunt’s Tomatoes (my mother’s favorite) along with more than a dozen others. But when it came time to talk about recent wins, Conagra’s CEO highlighted his team’s “dogecoin engagement strategy” as key. Dogecoin has helped double Slim Jim’s Twitter followers, boosting engagement by more than 500%. Sean Connolly, the CEO, credited the dogecoin community with “playing a large part” in delivering Slim Jim the ultimate win in Adweek’s March Madness-themed brand face-off earlier this month. Doge has become the joke currency to beat. Everybody wants to be in on the joke, which pushes up the price, which makes the joke even bigger. It’s a self-reinforcing cycle. Sort of like bitcoin but for the luls. Now, this could all end very badly: Lots of people buying DOGE at these prices don’t know the true story. As they say, easy come, easy go. But at least for now it sure looks like dogecoin is the gold standard of joke currencies, and maybe that’s just enough. • Dogecoin Is Not the Next Bitcoin – But Here Are the Similarities • Dogecoin Is Not the Next Bitcoin – But Here Are the Similarities \|\| Five Biggest Altcoin Gainers, March 29 – April 5: BeInCrypto breaks down some of the biggest altcoin movers and shakers from the previous week. Will their momentum continue? During the week of March 29 – April 5, the biggest altcoin gainers were: WazirX (WRX) – 1,100% BitTorrent (BTT) – 222% Holo (HOT) – 155% TRON (TRX) – 100% Dent (DENT) – 85% Biggest Altcoin Gainers WazirX (WRX) and Holo (HOT) reached new all-time highs on April 4. BitTorrent (BTT) is increasing at a parabolic rate and reached an all-time high on April 5. Dent (DENT) also reached a new all-time high price the same day. TRON (TRX) has broken above the long-term $0.09 resistance area. It’s currently trading inside resistance at $0.0138. WRX On April 4, WRX reached a high of $6.66. This measured an increase of 1,443% in only six days. While it decreased almost immediately after, it has since made another attempt at breaking out. Despite no significant weakness, the rally is completely parabolic. This trajectory is unsustainable in the long run. There doesn’t seem to be any underlying news that fueled this increase. WazirX was listed on gate.io , but that was back on March 15, weeks before the rally began. WRX Movement BTT BTT has been moving upwards since March 13. It reached an all-time high price of $0.0134 on April 5. This amounts to an upward movement of 900% in only 23 days. The increase for BTT has become nearly vertical. In addition, it has moved above all external Fib retracement levels. Therefore, while there are no clear signs of weakness yet, this rate of increase is unsustainable. Similar to WRX, there were no significant events that preceded this upward movement. BTT Chart By TradingView HOT HOT has been moving upwards over the past 11 days. So far, it has increased by 325%. On April 4, it reached an all-time high price of $0.0298. HOT was listed on FTX on March 25, on Narkasa the next day, and on MXC on April 2. It’s possible that these three events fueled the huge upward movement. Similar to both WRX and BTT, the increase has no clear structure. The price action has nearly gone vertical. Story continues Unlike WRX and BTT, HOT has begun to generate some bearish divergence in the RSI. While this doesn’t hold much weight on its own, it could be the first sign of a potential correction. HOT Chart By TradingView TRX TRX increased considerably last week. It created a bullish engulfing candlestick and finally moved above the $0.08 resistance area. It has not been above this level since the beginning of 2018. Currently, it’s trading at the 0.382 Fib retracement resistance at $0.138. Technical indicators are bullish. Therefore, TRX is expected to eventually reach the next resistance area at $0.179. TRX Breakout DENT On March 23, DENT reached a then all-time high price of $0.0149 and created a shooting star candlestick. After a retracement, DENT resumed its upward movement and broke out above the previous high. On April 5, it reached a new all-time high price of $0.0209. DENT released its ‘ “Gigastore” on March 31, which could have aided in the ongoing increase. Technical indicators are bullish and support the continuation of the upward movement. The next resistance areas are found at $0.024 and $0.030. These are the respective 2.61 and 3.61 external Fib retracement levels. DENT Chart By TradingView For BeInCrypto’s latest bitcoin (BTC) analysis, click here. \|\| BitRiver Is Selling Tokens to Build More Bitcoin Mining Farms in Siberia: BitRiver, a key player in the Russian cryptocurrency mining market, aims to raise up to $35 million by selling tokens that entitles holders to space in its data centers. The company, which operates several mining farms in Siberia for 150 megawatts in total, would use the proceeds from the sale to open more such facilities. The token runs on the Ethereum blockchain, the main launchpad for fundraising tokens since the heady days of the 2017 initial coin offering (ICO) boom. While ICOs have largely faded, BitRiver’s token offering, announced Monday, is one of several to hit the market this year tied to the mining sector. Related:Bitcoin Hits New All-Time High Above 62.7K In late March,Blockstreamlaunched a token representing the value of hash power at Blockstream’s mining facility and offered buyers an indirect exposure tobitcoin. Tau Protocol recently launched a tokenpegged to bitcoin hashrateand backed by Genesis Mining, Binance Pool, Atlas Mining and others. BitRiver, however, takes a different approach. Instead of indirect exposure to bitcoin, it offers clients a form of tokenized contracts for mining services, with a bonus income in tokens. “It’s a utility token and it ideally fits our goal: to raise funds from people who will be using our future infrastructure,” BitRiver CEO Igor Runets told CoinDesk. BitRiver, registered in Gibraltar but with a home base in Siberia, operates so-called mining hotels, or data centers for miners who place their ASICs there. Clients pay for the units of power their equipment uses to mine crypto, with the price including other expenses like machine maintenance. Related:Europe's Investment Bank Plans to Settle Bonds in Euros Using Blockchain: Report The demand for BitRiver’s services has been significantly exceeding the company’s capacity, Runets said. In addition to the main data center in Bratsk, the company has several smaller venues that together comprise 50 more megawatts, but that’s still much less than prospective clients want, Runets said. “We now see demand for 400 megawatts of power,” he said. “It’s a huge amount of construction work. We’re now looking to buy more land, buildings [and] start to build more data centers.” Investments for that, as Runets expects, will come from the token sale. BitRiver is aiming to sell 100 million tokens for more than $35 million. The demand for BitRiver’s services comes mostly from Asia, Runets said, especially from China, South Korea and Japan. BitRiver evenopened an office in Seoulearlier in April to cater to that region, and the token sale will be on the Korean exchange Bithumb. Growing demand has been also coming from Persian Gulf countries, namely Qatar, Saudi Arabia and UAE, Runets said: “Over the recent months, the market there has been growing, people have a lot of money to invest, and the surging price of bitcoin drew attention [to mining].” Some of the expansion has been ongoing. BitRiver recently founded ajoint venturewith a Russian hydropower giant En+ to build a new mining venue of 10 megawatts. According to Runets, that farm is now operational. Another venue, of 100 more megawatts, is currently under construction in the special economic zone of Buryatia, Russia’s East Siberian region on the border with Mongolia. In the neighboring Krasnoyarsk region, BitRiver will arrange another venue using the building of an electric boiler now rarely in use, with a ready-to-use capacity of about 82 megawatt, the token sale white paper said (read the white paper at the bottom of this story). Read also:Bitcoin Mining Farms Are Flourishing on the Ruins of Soviet Industry in Siberia The BTR token sale is set to go live on April 19 on Bithumb. BitRiver is planning to sell 100 million tokens with a price starting at 35 cents. Each token would provide a buyer with an allocation of 1 watt of power for a full year. Given that there is on average 720 hours in a month and 8,640 hours in a year, one kilowatt-hour would cost 4 cents to a token holder. Token holders will be able to get their ASICs installed and serviced in BitRiver’s warehouse in three months upon purchase. Users will also be able to pay up to 10% of their bills to BitRiver in tokens, and have their ASICs repaired for free in that case. The company will also pay bonus tokens to the token holders, at a rate of 10% per year, using its own stash of 65 million tokens that won’t go into public circulation. In another step to make BTR attractive, BitRiver promises to buy back all the tokens by April 12, 2026, at the nominal value of 0.3504 USD per token. BitRiver is not limiting the offer geographically, unlike many token issuers that would wall off American users to avoid running afoul of the U.S. regulators such as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Blockstream, for example,restrictedits token sale to non-U.S. qualified investors. Runets explained that, as BitRiver isn’t selling the tokens directly, it’s up to Bithumb to run due-diligence on potential buyers. Crypto regulations in Russia have been in flux recently, with acrypto taxation billcurrently awaiting passage in the national parliament. The uncertainty led many of BitRiver’s clients in Russia to establish foreign legal entities and operate through them, Runets said. However, when asked about potential regulatory risks for a large-scale mining farm construction, he sounded moderately optimistic: “We don’t see any prerequisites for an all-out ban,” he said. Read also:Over 50% of Binance’s Russian Customers Believe Crypto Can Replace Bank Deposits • BitRiver Is Selling Tokens to Build More Bitcoin Mining Farms in Siberia • BitRiver Is Selling Tokens to Build More Bitcoin Mining Farms in Siberia \|\| Greenidge to Merge, Becoming First Publicly Traded Bitcoin Miner With a Power Plant: New York’s Greenidge Generation is set to become the first publicly tradedbitcoinminer with its own power plant through a coming merger. • Greenidge’s holding companyannouncedMonday the merger has been agreed with Nasdaq-listed IT support solutions provider Support.com. • The merger is expected to be completed in Q3 2021. • Support.com will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Greenidge, with shares divided roughly 92-8 in Greenidge’s favor. • Greenidge’s natural gas plant currently powers 19 megawatts of mining capacity, which it expects to reach 41 MW by the middle of 2021. • The company also has goals to reach at least 500 MW of mining capacity by 2025. • Shares of Support.com (Nasdaq: SPRT) exploded roughly 350% on the news, briefly trading above€7.50 (US$8.94) Monday, up from roughly€1.70 ($2.03) earlier in the day. See also:A New York Power Plant Is Mining $50K Worth of Bitcoin a Day • Greenidge to Merge, Becoming First Publicly Traded Bitcoin Miner With a Power Plant • Greenidge to Merge, Becoming First Publicly Traded Bitcoin Miner With a Power Plant • Greenidge to Merge, Becoming First Publicly Traded Bitcoin Miner With a Power Plant • Greenidge to Merge, Becoming First Publicly Traded Bitcoin Miner With a Power Plant \|\| Schwab says needs regulatory clarity on crypto before any offerings: By John McCrank NEW YORK (Reuters) - Charles Schwab Corp is looking "closely" and "cautiously" at the cryptocurrency market and is waiting for regulators to give more guidance around the digital currencies before considering offering crypto capabilities on its platform, the head of the brokerage said on Thursday. "We would like to see more regulatory clarity," Schwab Chief Executive Officer Walt Bettinger said on a call with analysts. "And if and when that comes, you should expect Schwab to be a player in that space in the same way it has been a player in other investment opportunities across the spectrum." The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission appears likely to draft its first guidelines for cryptocurrencies after the agency's new chairman, Gary Gensler, earlier this month promised to provide "guidance and clarity" to the rapidly evolving market. The SEC has not adopted rules specifically tailored to cryptocurrencies and how they should be treated by people and companies, which some argue has created an unclear rule book. The value of cryptocurrencies has experienced a multi-fold rise in recent years, driven in part by investors seeking high-yielding assets amid low interest rates. Bitcoin, the biggest cryptocurrency, reached a record high last week ahead of the trading debut of U.S. cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, but its rally has since cooled. San Francisco-based Schwab, which has 31.9 million active brokerage accounts, also said it was closely watching for any new developments on whether regulators will allow a crypto-based investment-oriented product like an exchange-traded fund. "We recognize a bit, I'd say, well, what's going on," Bettinger said. "If Charles Schwab, the company, decides to participate in the crypto market, we will be highly competitive, we will be disruptive, and we will be client-oriented," Bettinger said. (Reporting by John McCrank; Editing by Steve Orlofsky) \|\| Heres How to Earn Bitcoin with Your Everyday Spending: Advertiser Disclosure: At Slickdeals, we work hard to find the best deals. Some products in our articles are from partners who may provide us with compensation, but this doesnt change our opinions. In 2008, Bitcoin became the first decentralized cryptocurrency. Since then, widespread adoption and acceptance have been slow. But in 2021, the currency is legitimate as a payment method and an investment. But while many people arent concerned about converting their cash into Bitcoin, others may feel more reluctant. Whether youre all-in on Bitcoin or youre intrigued, but dont necessarily want to use your own money to invest, here are some ways you can earn the cryptocurrency with your everyday spending without changing much about your habits. 3 Ways to Earn Bitcoin Every Day Cash-back rewards have been around for a long time, but the chance to earn Bitcoin is becoming increasingly popular. If youre interested in earning cryptocurrency instead of points, miles or cash back on your everyday shopping, heres how you can do it. Bitcoin Rewards Credit Card In early 2021, BlockFi launched the worlds first credit card that offers cryptocurrency instead of more traditional forms of credit card rewards. The BlockFi Bitcoin Rewards Credit Card offers 1.5% back on every purchase you make in the form of Bitcoin. Youll also earn $250 worth of Bitcoin after you spend $3,000 in the first three months, along with 3.5% Bitcoin rewards on all purchases during the first four to six months from account opening. Each month, the rewards you earned from the previous month will be added to your BlockFi Interest Account , which offers up to 8.6% APY. The only drawback is that the card charges a $200 annual fee. In other words, it may be better for Bitcoin enthusiasts than for people who are just looking to dip their toes into the water. Read our full review of BlockFi. Bitcoin Debit Cards While theres only one Bitcoin-powered credit card, there are several debit cards that offer the cryptocurrency as a reward every time you swipe. While some charge fees, there are low and even no-fee cards available. Some of the options include: BlockCard : You can earn up to 6.38% back, depending on how much TERN you stake. You can then exchange your TERN for Bitcoin. It charges a $5 monthly fee, but that fee is waived if you spend more than $750 on the card every month. Crypto.com Visa Card : Youll earn between 1% and 8% back, depending on how much CRO you have, which is Crypto.coms native coin. Once earned, you can exchange CRO for Bitcoin. The card has no enrollment fee or annual fee. Coinbase Card (coming soon): Will offer up to 4% back, and theres no signup fee or annual fee. Story continues Each card has its own features, but they all offer the chance to earn high rewards rates. Before you apply for one, though, make sure you understand the fees, and how theyll impact the value you gain from using your card. Also, read the fine print to determine whether there are any limitations or restrictions for earning and redeeming your Bitcoin. Finally, compare these cards with what you could get with a regular debit or credit card. In order to get the best rewards rates, you typically need to own a lot of cryptocurrency, so the rates may be mediocre for beginners. Online Shopping Portals Shopping portals are a dime a dozen. In addition to cash-back websites, there are also portals for various credit card, airline and hotel rewards programs. Now, though, you can also earn Bitcoin. Lolli has a browser extension for Chrome and Firefox, which notifies you when youre shopping with one of its 1,000+ retail partners. When you checkout using Lolli, you can earn up to 30% back in the form of Bitcoin rewards. Some popular retailers that participate include Nike, Groupon, eBay, Sams Club, Microsoft and Staples. The Bottom Line If youre looking for opportunities to earn Bitcoin without digging into your savings, there are a handful of options available. Before you apply for a card, though, make sure you consider all the benefits and drawbacks. With some debit cards, for instance, you wont be earning Bitcoin directly, but you can exchange the cryptocurrency you earn for Bitcoin. With shopping portals like Lolli, earning Bitcoin can be incredibly easy because you just add the browser extension, and it lets you know when you can use it to earn the currency. Even then, though, youll want to compare what you could get with Lolli to what you can earn elsewhere. The website Cashback Monitor lists the rewards rate for a long list of cash-back websites, as well as shopping portals for airlines and hotel brands. Related Financial Offers >> WIN: Biggest Bank Bonuses for Opening New Accounts >>EARN : Best High-Yield Checking Accounts >>SAVE: Best High-Yield Savings Accounts >>FREE: Best Free Checking Accounts >> INVEST: Biggest Brokerage Bonuses: Earn Promo Cash and Free Stock >>SECURE: Best Small Business Checking Accounts >> RECOVER: How to Improve Your Credit Score Quickly for Free While we work hard on our research, we do not always provide a complete listing of all available offers from credit-card companies and banks. And because offers can change, we cannot guarantee that our information will always be up to date, so we encourage you to verify all the terms and conditions of any financial product before you apply. View comments \|\| BCE Arm Bolsters Quebec's Network With Superior Internet Services: Reinforcing its efforts to establish a streamlined connectivity infrastructure, Bell, which is wholly owned byBCE Inc.BCE, recently announced that it is set to bolster the deployment process of high-speed Internet across Quebec. The company is widely known for providing superior fiber optic technology to several business and residential customers with state-of-the-art broadband TV and Home Phone services.Notably, Bell has been working actively with various suppliers and partners like Hydro-Quebec, a public utility company, to create a proper task force for the rollout of an enhanced network framework for telecommunications providers in Quebec.Bell is considered the frontrunner in delivering high-speed Internet to rural communities in Quebec, along with its increasing fiber and Wireless Home Internet (WHI) networks. Impressively, the company had augmented its WHI service rollout in rural communities that included 137,000 additional homes by the end of April 2020, responding to the COVID-19 situation.WHI is currently available in numerous homes across Quebec and Ontario. With Internet speeds of up to 25 megabits per second, the service is likely to cover 1 million homes in Quebec, Ontario, Atlantic Canada and Manitoba.Bell has been leaving no stone unturned to aid service providers with easier access to communications support structures. Previously, the company had also deployed an effective action plan, which was primarily designed to provide avant-garde Internet services, particularly to the underserved communities of Quebec.Some of these are establishment of a Centre of Excellence to share best practices with service providers and implementing measures to simplify the process for pole access requests. On the back of all these effective steps, Bell has witnessed significant developments in terms of deploying crucial communication structures across the Canadian city with prompt response times.The company is expecting a surge in access requests in the upcoming period while driving the deployment of top-quality Internet services by September 2022. Markedly, the Brome-Missisquoi rural territory is likely to one of the first to avail the benefits of fiber optics in Quebec.Bell has deployed Canada’s largest 5G wireless network, offering unprecedented mobile data speeds in Montreal, the Greater Toronto Area, Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver, among others. It is well positioned to benefit from a robust postpaid business with subscriber additions and higher revenue contribution from prepaid services.The company continues to focus on six strategic areas — investment in broadband network and services, accelerating wireless services, leveraging wireline momentum, expanding media coverage, improving customer service and achieving a competitive cost structure. These initiatives are expected to generate higher revenue per user and attract new customers.Markedly, BCE’s underlying business fundamentals are strong. Its robust liquidity position, underpinned by a healthy balance sheet, substantial free cash flow generation and access to the debt and bank capital markets, is expected to provide financial flexibility to execute on its planned capital expenditures. Although it continues to invest substantially in LTE, broadband and fiber, it is believed that the company may not be able to recover massive outlays from customers due to competitors’ short-term pricing of comparable services.BCE currently has a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell). It has a long-term earnings growth expectation of 5.1%. The stock has returned 26.4% compared with industry’s growth of 24.4% in the past year. Some better-ranked stocks in the broader industry arePortland General Electric CompanyPOR,South Jersey Industries, Inc.SJI andNew Jersey Resources CorporationNJR, each carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can seethe complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.Portland General Electric delivered a trailing four-quarter positive earnings surprise of 107%, on average.South Jersey Industries delivered a trailing four-quarter positive earnings surprise of 42.9%, on average.New Jersey Resources has a long-term earnings growth expectation of 6%. Blockchain and cryptocurrency has sparked one of the most exciting discussion topics of a generation. Some call it the “Internet of Money” and predict it could change the way money works forever. If true, it could do to banks what Netflix did to Blockbuster and Amazon did to Sears. Experts agree we’re still in the early stages of this technology, and as it grows, it will create several investing opportunities.Zacks’ has just revealed 3 companies that can help investors capitalize on the explosive profit potential of Bitcoin and the other cryptocurrencies with significantly less volatility than buying them directly.See 3 crypto-related stocks now >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days.Click to get this free reportBCE, Inc. (BCE) : Free Stock Analysis ReportPortland General Electric Company (POR) : Free Stock Analysis ReportNewJersey Resources Corporation (NJR) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research \|\| S&P 500 slips as tech stocks pull market lower: By Herbert Lash NEW YORK (Reuters) - The S&P 500 closed lower on Wednesday as optimism about the economic recovery by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen was unable to halt a decline in technology shares for a second straight day. The remarks by the top two U.S. economic officials mirrored what they told Congress the day before, with Powell saying on Wednesday the most likely case is 2021 will be "a very, very strong year." While the three major indexes closed lower, investors sold last year's big performers, the technology shares that doubled the Nasdaq index from year-ago lows, and bought the underpriced value-oriented stocks poised to do well in the recovery. Wall Street has seesawed this week as a months-long rotation into economically sensitive energy and financial shares, which have gained on an outlook for economic growth, was briefly upended by falling bond yields that prompted beaten-down technology stocks to rise. The 10-year yield fell to about 1.6%, a slide that in recent days had propped up tech stocks that rely on low-cost capital. Value-oriented shares on Wednesday closed flat, outpacing a 1.4% decline in growth stocks, which include tech shares. Investors have focused on the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, pondering whether there is room for long-term interest rates to run, said David Kelly, chief global strategist at JPMorgan Asset Management. "We're in a little bit of a lull here. We know that the economy is primed to begin to really accelerate in the second quarter," Kelly said. "But we haven't seen that acceleration yet so that's what we're waiting for." Adding to an upward bias for most of the session was data showing U.S. factory activity picked up in early March amid strong growth in new orders. But supply chain disruptions continued to exert cost pressures on manufacturers, keeping inflation fears in focus. "Everybody's bullish about the prospects of a recovery right now," said David Yepez, lead equity analyst and portfolio manager at Exencial Wealth Advisors. "In order for the market to bottom we need to have more fear, and I don't feel like the market has fear right now." Financials gained 0.4% and industrials rose 0.7%, while energy jumped 2.5% as crude prices rebounded from a 6% fall in the last session. [O/R] The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 3.09 points, or 0.01%, to 32,420.06. The S&P 500 lost 21.38 points, or 0.55%, to 3,889.14 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 265.81 points, or 2.01%, to 12,961.89. Volume on U.S. exchanges was 12.72 billion shares, compared with the 14.0 billion average for the full session over the last 20 trading days. Apple Inc, Tesla Inc, Amazon.com Inc, Facebook Inc and Microsoft Corp led decliners on the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq. Intel Corp retreated 2.3% after earlier gains as the company, in its efforts to expand chipmaking capacity, announced plans to spend as much as $20 billion to build two factories in Arizona and open its factories to outside customers. U.S.-listed shares of Taiwan Semiconductor dropped 5.2%, while semiconductor equipment makers Lam Research Corp, Applied Materials Inc and ASML Holding rose. Applied Materials was the third-biggest boost on the S&P 500, after oil giants Chevron Corp and Exxon Mobil Corp. Bitcoin gained after Tesla's founder, Elon Musk, said the company's electric vehicles can now be bought using bitcoin and the option will be available outside the United States later this year. GameStop Corp tumbled 33.8% after the videogame retailer said it might cash in on a meteoric rise in its share price to fund its e-commerce expansion. Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by a 1.32-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 3.17-to-1 ratio favored decliners. The S&P 500 posted 15 new 52-week highs and no new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 42 new highs and 128 new lows. (Reporting by Herbert Lash in New York; Additional reporting by Devik Jain and Medha Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel and Matthew Lewis) \|\| Blockcap Mined 544 Bitcoin in Q1 While Riot Yielded 491: Austin, Texas-based cryptocurrency mining firm Blockcap mined 544bitcoinin Q1, an earnings report revealed exclusively to CoinDesk shows. Meanwhile, rival Riot, one of the largest publicly traded miners in North America, mined 491 bitcoin in the same period,per Securities and Exchange Commission filings. Blockcap’s haul follows the company’s $38 million funding round andits acquisition of 32,000 Bitmain ASICs, and Riot’s comes after the miner inked a deal for49,000 ASICsfrom Bitmain in the beginning of April. Some of these mining machines are online but the bulk are not, as both Blockcap and Riot will continuing placing news ASICs online as these shipments are fulfilled throughout the year. Publicly traded Marathon Patent Group, another mainstay on North America’s mining scene, pulled in196 BTCin Q1 of this year. Related:China Calls Crypto an ‘Investment’; Crypto Demand Bounces Back in Asia Each of these companies have been buying up mining rigs in a race to expand as North American investor appetite for Bitcoin’s mining has never been greater. These mining companies, along with others like Luxor and newcomer Gryphon, have grown significantly over the past year. The United States and Canada now share anywhere from 10%-15% of Bitcoin’s global hashrate, a trend that could continue with investment dollars pouring into North American mining firms. “Blockcap has an aggressive growth strategy that is designed to create more jobs in the blockchain industry not just in the United States but also in our home state of Texas and our hometown of Austin,” Blockcap founder and Chairman Darin Feinstein said. “We believe there is ample room for all of us to expand together and in turn provide broader, sustained economic growth at the local, state and national levels.” An important piece of this growing industry, ASIC manufacturing, just touched down on the continent in the last year with ePIC, an ASIC manufacturerfresh off a $7 million series Afunding round. Related:Bitcoin ETF From 3iQ and CoinShares, Canada's 4th, Begins Trading on TSX “North America could be a mining powerhouse but three key pieces need to come together for that to happen,” Henry Quan, CEO of ASIC maker ePIC, said. “There’s a lot of cheap energy here, commercial miners and a favorable political climate, so that’s the first thing. Mining pools are another piece, which we have with Luxor and DCG. And now, we have the third piece with ePIC and ASIC manufacturing.” (DCG is the parent company of CoinDesk.) Publicly traded Marathon Patent Group, another mainstay on North America’s mining scene, pulled in196 BTCin Q1 of this year. Each of these companies have been buying up mining rigs in a race to expand as North American investor appetite for Bitcoin’s mining has never been greater. • Blockcap Mined 544 Bitcoin in Q1 While Riot Yielded 491 • Blockcap Mined 544 Bitcoin in Q1 While Riot Yielded 491 [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] None available.	Trend: down \|\| Prices: 57424.01, 56396.52, 57356.40, 58803.78, 58232.32, 55859.80, 56704.57, 49150.54, 49716.19, 49880.54
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis] Not fully available. [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Investors Set Sail With Cruise-Line Investments In 2016: 2015 proved to be a lucrative year for many cruise liners, as an improving economy and low fuel prices created the perfect conditions for a rebuilding year. Industry juggernaut Carnival Corp (NYSE: CCL ) saw its shares rise 19.43 percent over the course of the year, and Barron's sees the firm climbing another 20 percent this year, a sign that the industry can expect smooth waters ahead. Safety In The Water Carnival Corp has been touted as one of the safest plays in the cruise industry, because the company is the largest operator in the world. Carnival has ships in almost every body of water on the planet, operating popular names like Carnival Cruise Lines, Princess Cruises and Costa Cruises. Not only does the company have a massive brand appeal and staying power, but Carnival also pays out the heftiest dividend with a yield of 2.2 percent. Related Link: Barron's Picks And Pans: Carnival, Pandora, American Capital And More Expanding Into China Another reason the cruise industry is set to continue gaining through 2016 is the potential for expansion in China as cruise holidays gain popularity. For investors looking to play this angle, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd (NYSE: RCL ) or Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd (NASDAQ: NCLH ) could be smart plays. Royal Caribbean has proven to be popular among the Chinese population and has been pushing upscale ships with luxury rooms that have brought in a great deal of interest. Norwegian is a relatively new entrant into the Chinese market, but the firm has been able to learn from its peers who have already penetrated the market and by offering customers a tailored experience different from what European or North American customers prefer. Image Credit: Public Domain See more from Benzinga 4 CEOs With A Tough Year Ahead Ledger Fights For Bitcoin's Staying Power At CES 2016 Virtual Reality In 2016 © 2016 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| Your first trade for Wednesday: The " Fast Money " traders delivered their final picks with just two trading days left in the year. Pete Najarian was a buyer ofWynn Resorts ( WYNN ) . Brian Kelly was a buyer of Trina Solar ( TSL ) . Dan Nathan was a seller of McDonald's ( MCD ) . Guy Adami was a buyer of Thermo Fisher Scientific ( TMO ) . Trader disclosure: On December 29, 2015, the following stocks and commodities mentioned or intended to be mentioned on CNBC's "Fast Money" were owned by the "Fast Money" traders: Pete Najarian is long Long AAPL, BAC, BMY, BP, DIS, DISCA, FOXA, GE, KO, MRK, PEP, PFE, he is long calls A, ABX, BAC, COP, DAL, DDD, EMR, EXAS, HAIN, HUN, LC, LULU, MOS, MSFT, NRF, NSAM, PNR, SCSS, UAL, VZ, WLL, WYNN, He is long puts FCX, MRO, WFT. Dan Nathan is long MCD Feb Put Spread, Long PFE buy-write, Long TWTR March Risk Reversal, Long UUP March call, Long XLU Feb Call spread, Long PYPL Jan Risk Reversal, Long M Jan16 call spread, Long NTAP Jan risk reversal, Long GM Jan Put Butterfly, Long Len Jan Put Fly, Long QCOM feb calls, Short SPY, Long UUP. Brian Kelly is long BBRY, Bitcoin, GDX, GLD, Hong Kong Dollar, TLT, US Dollar; he is short British Pound, Euro, Yen, Yuan, Canadian Dollar, GSG, EEM, EWC, EWH, KRE, SPY. Guy Adami is long CELG, EXAS, GDX, INTC, Guy Adami's wife, Linda Snow, works at Merck. More From CNBC Top News and Analysis Latest News Video Personal Finance \|\| JPMorgan launches blockchain trial project -FT: Jan 31 (Reuters) - JPMorgan Chase is partnering with start-up Digital Asset Holdings to launch a trial project using blockchain technology that could reduce the cost and complexity of trading, the Financial Times reported on Sunday. The agreement comes as another sign that blockchain, which is best known as the basis of the digital currency Bitcoin, has wide-ranging applications for some of Wall Street's biggest banks. One potential use for the technology is addressing liquidity mismatches in some of JPMorgan's loan funds, the Financial Times said. "To sell a loan is a very cumbersome, time-consuming process; settlement can take weeks," Daniel Pinto, head of JPMorgan's investment bank, told the Financial Times. It "makes all the sense in the world" to explore blockchain's potential to improve that process. Digital Asset Holdings is run by Blythe Masters, JPMorgan's former head of commodities. (Reporting by Carl O'Donnell; Editing by Peter Cooney) \|\| Digatrade Executes Joint-Venture with BitCarats: Exclusive Digital Asset Development & Exchange Listing Agreement VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / February 10, 2016 /BITX FINANCIAL CORP (BITXF) and its 100% owned and operated digital asset-currency exchange DIGATRADE(TM) (digatrade.com) today announced the execution of an exclusive asset-backed digital currency development and platform exchange listing agreement with BitCarats Capital Inc. Under terms of the agreement Digatrade, along with BitCarats Capital, will develop Caratscoin, the world's first diamond-backed digital-asset powered by blockchain. “Caratscoin will be the first asset-backed digital currency listed on the trading platform, an innovation that will include additional asset-backed crypto-currencies in the future," stated Brad Moynes, CEO of Digatrade. In collaboration with BitCarats Capital and financial technology partners (ANX Technologies), Caratscoin will be powered by secure blockchain technology - the world's first paired with Bitcoin as well as direct purchase via Digatrade multi-fiat currency order-book including US dollars and Euros via Visa & MasterCard, along with eCheck and Interac within Canada. A fully integrated, custom multi-signature Caratscoin digital wallet will be developed as a comprehensive solution, not only creating the Caratscoin, but adding value through features such as industry leading security architecture and encryption algorithms. Caratscoin owners issue the coin only if all authorized parties are present, the first to use this unique service which is unprecedented in the market. This system is most secure, as no one person has the only authority to issue the coin, considering the Caratscoin is designed to significantly increase in value in direct correlation to the appreciation in value of physical diamonds held in the company vault. BitCarats Capital CEO & Founder Colin Ferguson stated, "Carats Diamond Investment, which will provide the distinctive collection of diamonds to back BitCarats, has more than 30 years' experience in the diamond business and is the nation's first direct distributor from the world famous Argyle Diamond Mine in Western Australia. We house the country's leading collection of Natural Fancy Coloured diamonds, featuring trending colours such as red, vivid blues and champagnes." Ferguson continued, "Caratscoin will not only provide a new virtual asset-class and store of value, but also offer our investors instant payment, prepaid debit cards and the ability to transfer an asset between end users instantly, at a low cost and on a decentralized network."Caratscoin will be backed by a pool of certified, Natural Fancy Coloured diamonds, primarily featuring red, vivid blue, and champagne colours. Each diamond is certified by the Geological Institute of America, the world's leading diamond educational resource, and home to the most advanced laboratories. The diamonds are insured by Lloyd's of London and stored at a private vault at The World Trade Center, 999 Canada Place, one of the most secure buildings in Vancouver, Canada. Founded and led by BitCarats CEO Colin Ferguson, Carats Diamond Investment (carats.com) is committed to exceptional diamond education, quality and customer service, and was recently recognized by the Better Business Bureau (BBB) when Carats was awarded with their highest rating of A+ since joining the BBB 16 years ago. More information regarding this exciting new venture will be made available as it materializes. ABOUT DIGATRADE: DIGATRADE is a global digital asset-currency exchange located in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The Company is owned and operated 100% by Bit-X Financial Corp which is publically listed on the OTC.QB under the trading symbol BITXF. BITXF is a reporting issuer in the Province of British Columbia, Canada with the British Columbia Securities Commission "BCSC" and in the United States with the Securities Exchange Commission "SEC". Digatrade has now become a global platform offering its customers instant card-based transactions worldwide. CORPORATE CONTACT INFORMATION: Brad Moynes, CEOBit-X Financial CorpDigaTrade.com838 West Hastings Street, Suite 300Vancouver, BC V6C-0A6CanadaTel: +1(604) 200-0071Fax: +1(604) 200-0072www.digatrade.com Media inquiries:[email protected] Forward-Looking Information This press release contains certain "forward-looking information". All statements, other than statements of historical fact, that address activities, events or development that the Company believes, expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future constitute forward-looking information. This forward-looking information reflects the current expectations or beliefs of the company based on information currently available to the Company. Forward-looking information is subject to a number of significant risks and uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results of the Company to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking information, and even if such actual results are realized or substantially realized, there can be no assurance that they will have the expected consequences to, or effects on the Company. Factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations include, but are not limited to, the possibility of unanticipated costs and expenses. Any forward-looking information speaks only as of the date on which it is made and, except as may be required by applicable securities laws, the company disclaims any intent or obligation to update any forward-looking information whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise. Although the Company believes that the assumptions inherent in the forward-looking information are reasonable, forward-looking information is not a guarantee of future performance and accordingly undue reliance should not be put on such information due to the inherent uncertainty therein. SOURCE:Bit-X Financial Corp \|\| Anarchists love 2015's best performing asset: Gold is down nearly 10 percent, major U.S. stock indexes are roughly flat and energy commodities have nearly all fallen more than 30 percent: It's been a tough year for investors. And while individual stocks have seen big pops on headlines, perhaps the best performing non-equity asset of the year is a favorite among crypto-anarchists. Bitcoin (: BTC=) , the digital currency heralded as a potential successor to the global monetary system, is up about 37 percent against the U.S. dollar since the beginning of the year. The cryptocurrency went for about $313 at the beginning of the year, according to CoinDesk's composite price index, and is now changing hands at around $430. Those huge gains come after starting the year on rocky footing: Bitcoin dipped to below $175 in mid-January. But after a few false starts, the digital currency has been largely gaining ground since the beginning of October. (One of the few investment options with a comparable 2015 return is Argentina's benchmark Merval — up about 40 percent on the year. Although U.S. investors playing the Global X Argentina ETF would be disappointed by the fund's slight loss in 2015.) It's hard to say what's actually caused Bitcoin's rise during the last three months of 2015. In November, digital ecosystem observers told CNBC that a 70 percent one-month spike may have been caused in part by headlines like the Winklevoss twins launching their exchange and the Digital Currency Group announcing funding from Bain and MasterCard . Others suggested that the relatively lightly traded asset could have been jumping on speculators' fear of missing out (FOMO). For Brendan O'Connor, the CEO of bitcoin trading firm Genesis Global Trading, the year-end run up was the result of a series of positive trends for the asset. On the one hand, O'Connor said, funding announcements from bitcoin-related start-ups helped to establish the legitimacy of the sector — and its underlying technology. This has helped push institutional investors into making investments in both the digital token and the over-the-counter Bitcoin Investment Trust ( more on that ETF-like vehicle can be found here ). Story continues "They're looking for investments in non-correlated asset classes," O'Connor said, explaining that financial firms regularly come to his office to learn how to trade bitcoin. "I still think that by and large they're viewing it as a speculative investment, but I think that their willingness to test the waters has increased dramatically." Another important trend in the space has been the gradually increasing interest the technology — and it's negligible fee structure — for remittance payments and as a daily currency in monetarily challenged parts of the world, O'Connor said. That potential came to the forefront of the tech discussion during the summer's Greek crisis: When the country instituted capital controls in the face of increasingly dire eurozone negotiations, countless articles were written about bitcoin's potential for struggling citizens . It's unclear if those prophecies ever came to any real fruition, but investors in the space say the positive press coverage at least boosted awareness of bitcoin's potential. Finally, bitcoin may have simply benefited from the lack of any disastrous headlines. Many traders say the cryptocurrency has shed the pall of failed exchange Mt. Gox — which quickly shuttered in 2014 after saying it lost 850,000 bitcoins (worth about $365 million today). Bitcoin's fall from more than $1,150 near the end of 2013 to this January's $200 levels represented the asset's "long winter," according to economist Tuur Demeester, editor-in-chief of bitcoin-focused Adamant Research. The story of 2015, therefore, has been a bottoming out for the digital asset, and a climb to revaluation. Bitcoin's fall from its highs, Demeester said, was the result of "bubblicious" investing in 2013 (with some help from Mt. Gox). Pricing levels remained depressed for so long because companies had become over-leveraged, and so had been squeezed into heavy bitcoin selling, he said. As for 2016, Demeester suggested that the cryptocurrency could likely see another leg up as newly confident investors seek the right market valuation. "But," he said, "with bitcoin you have to expect to be surprised." More From CNBC Top News and Analysis Latest News Video Personal Finance \|\| C&W Networks Selects Xtera for Upgrading Its Multiple Submarine Cable Systems to 100G Technology: MIAMI, FL and DALLAS, TX--(Marketwired - Jan 26, 2016) -C&W Networks, part ofCable & Wireless Communications(CWC), the largest telecommunications service provider across the Caribbean, Central America, Mexico and United States with more than 48,000 miles of subsea fiber-optic network has selectedXtera Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:XCOM), a leading provider of high-capacity, cost-effective optical transport solutions, for upgrading its submarine cable systems in the western Atlantic ocean and the Caribbean Sea to 100G. By introducing Xtera's 100G coherent solution, C&W Networks continues to offer robust services across 42 countries with superior reliability and scalability of international wholesale capacity. C&W Networks has bolstered its subsea network capacity by upgrading several unrepeatered and repeatered segments to 100G, using Xtera's Nu-Wave Optima™ multi-purpose optical networking platform. The submarine cable systems were upgraded with new 100G channels to include the 1,570 km Gemini - Bermuda cable system, the 1,700 km Caribbean - US (CBUS) cable system, the 1,700 km East West Cable (EWC) system, the 1,440 km festoon Eastern Caribbean Fiber System (ECFS), and part of the 8,700 km ARCOS-1 submarine ring. "The global build-out of data centers, coupled with rapid deployment of cloud-based services, are driving renewed demand for even higher fixed and burst rate connections with emphasis on high availability through redundancy," said Paul Scott, President of C&W Networks. "Our goal is to proactively prepare our networks with the right technology to efficiently address the evolving business needs of today and the future. We are very excited to enhance our network performance to100G and 100G+ and Xtera was a natural choice for us." The same optical networking platform was used over the unrepeatered and repeatered segments, enabling a unified, seamless network from an operational perspective. For the upgrade of unrepeatered segments, advanced 100G optical channel technology combined with Xtera's Wise Raman™ solution raised the capacity to multi terabits per second level even on the longest unrepeatered segments (approaching 400 km spans). This combination of technologies also enabled C&W Networks to bypass some intermediate sites when no local add/drop of 100G waves was needed, eliminating the need for back-to-back terminal equipment as found in the previous network design based on 10G optical channel technology. "Strengthening our relationship with C&W Networks, these new upgrade projects are further evidence of the confidence network operators place in Xtera's capabilities to improve subsea optical transmission infrastructure already deployed across the world," said Jon Hopper, President and Chief Executive Officer of Xtera. "Upgrading existing subsea cable systems to increase their capacity and extend their lifetime -- from a capacity-cost perspective -- is part of our subsea solution portfolio, which includes subsea cable recovery and re-lay, and as well as new build." About C&W NetworksC&W Networks is a wholly owned subsidiary of Cable & Wireless Communications and a wholesale telecommunications service provider that offers broadband, IP capacity and a growing portfolio of managed services and integrated solutions to global, regional and local telecom carriers, TV cable companies, Internet Service Providers and Network Integrators. C&W Networks operates the largest subsea multi-ring fibre-optic network throughout the greater Caribbean, Central American and Andean region along with the most comprehensive fully meshed MPLS network in the region. Reaching 42 countries, the company's fully protected ringed submarine fibre optic network spans more than 48,000km. Cable routes include the Caribbean Optical-ring System (ARCOS-1), Colombia-Florida Express (CFX-1), EC-Link cable system, Fibralink, Maya 1, Eastern Caribbean Fiber Express (ECFS), Taino-Carib, East-West, Cayman-Jamaica Fibre system, Caribbean-Bermuda U.S (CBUS), Americas II, Gemini Bermuda, Pan America (PAN-AM), Antillas 1 and Pacific Caribbean Cable System (PCCS). For more information visit:www.cwnetworks.com. About Cable & Wireless CommunicationsCable & Wireless Communications Plc (CWC) is a full service communications and entertainment provider, operating in the Caribbean and Latin America. With annual sales of over $2.4bn, it operates both mobile and fixed networks, supported by submarine and terrestrial optical fibre backhaul capacity. Through the acquisition of Columbus International Inc. on 31 March 2015, CWC now delivers superior high-speed mobile data, broadband and video services. It has leading market positions in Mobile, Fixed Line, Broadband and Video consumer offers. Through its business division, CWC provides data centre hosting, domestic and international managed network services, and customised IT service solutions, utilising cloud technology to serve business and government customers. The company also operates a state-of-the-art subsea fibre optic cable network that spans more than 48,000 km -- the most extensive in the region -- as well as 38,000 km of terrestrial fibre providing wholesale and carrier backhaul capacity. CWC has more than 7,200 employees serving over 6.3 million customers (Mobile 4.1m; Fixed Line 1.1m; Video 465k and Broadband 680k) as well as over 125k corporate clients across 42 countries. The Company's leading brands include; LIME and Flow in the Caribbean; BTC in The Bahamas; Mas Movil in Panama; C&W Business and C&W Networks. CWC is the market leader in most products offered and territories served. It is a major contributor to local communities through its corporate social responsibility programmes. Cable & Wireless Communications' shares are quoted on the London Stock Exchange under the ticker CWC. The company is headquartered in London with its operational hub located in Miami, within close proximity to the Caribbean and Latin America. For more information, please visit:www.cwc.com. About Xtera Communications, Inc.Xtera Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:XCOM) is a leading provider of high-capacity, cost-effective optical transport solutions, supporting the high growth in global demand for bandwidth. Xtera sells solutions to telecommunications service providers, content service providers, enterprises and government entities worldwide. Xtera's proprietary Wise Raman™ optical amplification technology leads to capacity and reach performance advantages over competitive products. Xtera's solutions enable cost-effective capacity to meet customers' bandwidth requirements of today and to support their increasing bandwidth demand fueled by the development of data centers and related cloud-based services. For more information, visitwww.xtera.com, [email protected] connect viaLinkedIn,Twitter,FacebookandYouTube. \|\| Ledger Fights For Bitcoin's Staying Power At CES 2016: The Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas is a chance for electronics and technology firms to debut their latest offerings and future prospects. Everything from self-driving cars to mind-blowing virtual reality sets have made their debut at CES, and each year the show tends to set the tone for what kind of tech will be big in the coming year. This year, bitcoin startupLedgeris keeping the cryptocurrency in the spotlight by hosting the only bitcoin startup booth at the event. Physical Bitcoin Storage Ledger created a hardware wallet product in 2015 that provides customers with a safe and secure way to store and use their bitcoins. Ledger takes some of the worry out of using bitcoin by giving users a physical way to store bitcoins – a lightweight smart card. They can then use a USB to make secure payments, and the company offers a simple backup system that provides users with a microchip and pin code encrypted system in case they lose their card. Related Link:Can The Bitcoin Foundation Last? This year, Ledger is planning to exhibit new offerings at CES including a new technology that will strengthen the security of online authentication by reducing the reliance on passwords. Bitcoin's Year Ledger's presence at CES suggests that although bitcoin had a rough year in 2015, the cryptocurrency isn't dead yet. Concerns about privacy and security have increased skepticism about cryptocurrencies, making it difficult for bitcoin firms to push mainstream approval. However, many believe that as security improves and more and more vendors open up to the possibility of bitcoin transactions, the public will get on board. Image Credit: Public Domain See more from Benzinga • Virtual Reality In 2016 • Is Tesla A Good Investment For 2016? • 3 CEOs Who Made Headlines In 2015 © 2016 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| Blockchain Moves Forward In The Financial Industry: Cryptocurrencies like bitcoin have had a lot of negative attention over the past year, as several hacking attacks and scams have painted the coins as an unsafe way to make transactions. However, blockchain, the ledger-like system that bitcoin runs on, has received a great deal of praise across several industries that say the technology has the potential to completely reform the way they do business. This is especially true in the financial space, where banks say that although they are still wary of bitcoin transactions, incorporating blockchain into their operations could actually improve their businesses. Related Link:Now You Can Play The Lottery With Bitcoin Cross-Border Payments One way blockchain could improve the financial industry is by improving the way banks make cross-border transactions. The current system is cumbersome and takes a great deal of time and effort for both the sending and receiving bank. This process has made it difficult for banks to interact with one another from country to country, but incorporating blockchain could change all of that. The ledger system would streamline cross-border payments and take out much of the administrative work associated with processing international transactions. Closer To Integration From January 11 to January 15, several major banks begantestingwhether blockchain could be used in this way and the results looked promising, according to the Wall Street Journal. Eleven different banks were able to use a private blockchain in order to exchange tokens across several continents. The test included big name financial institutions likeBarclays PLC (ADR)(NYSE:BCS),Credit Suisse Group AG (ADR)(NYSE:CS) andWells Fargo & Co(NYSE:WFC), and it is expected to pave the way for future blockchain investments. While this initial test provided only a small snapshot of what blockchain is capable of, many believe that its success will push banks to continue testing the technology and eventually put it into practice. See more from Benzinga • Top 5 Losers When The Fed Raises Rates © 2016 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| Blockchain Gets A Much-Needed Stamp Of Approval: Finance firm Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE: GS ) has become a pillar of the financial sector with traders looking to the bank's advice for everything from investing to saving. For that reason, Goldman Sachs Director Don Duet's positive remarks regarding blockchain could be a catalyst for the technology's success. Blockchain Potential Bitcoin has had a rough ride over the past year, as many of the coin's users suffered losses due to volatile prices and exchange collapses. However, the technology that bitcoin runs on – a ledger-like system called blockchain – has been gaining momentum. This is especially true in the financial sector, where banks say blockchain could improve their operations and make things like cross-border payments more streamlined. Related Link: Blockchain Moves Forward In The Financial Industry Using Blockchain Earlier this month, Duet commented on blockchain, saying that he sees the technology as both exciting and groundbreaking. He said blockchain systems have the potential to revolutionize banking operations and the technology could help banks share information and conduct asset transfers more easily and securely. A Single Truth Duet said blockchain provides banks with a "single truth," meaning that it creates one constant system that all banks can use. One of the problems with the banking sector as it currently stands, he said, is that every bank is operating with different systems and protocols. Because of this, banks have to spend a lot of time reconciling differences in order to conduct transactions. However, using blockchain could change all of that by providing banks with one single ledger updated with each transaction. A Bright Future While Duet's comments were general in nature, many saw his optimism regarding blockchain as a positive sign for the future. Banks like Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS ) and Citigroup Inc (NYSE: C ) have been exploring how blockchain might fit into their operations in recent months, and Duet's remarks suggest the outlook is promising. See more from Benzinga Can Bank Stocks Recover? Banks' Earnings Tell A Tale Of Cost Cutting Is Bank Of America Ripe For A Turnaround? © 2016 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. View comments \|\| Bitcoin's biggest investor bought its leading news outlet: There is one trade publication in the digital currency industry that every mainstream news outlet knows well, and cites regularly in stories about bitcoin:CoinDesk. It is a source of news about bitcoin investments, price spikes or crashes, and executive hires, and it is a regular destination for journalists who write about bitcoin (as well as for bitcoin enthusiasts who don't get paid to write about the currency). Last week, CoinDesk reported some newsabout itself. The website has been bought by Digital Currency Group, the investment firm of Barry Silbert, who in 2004 founded SecondMarket, which allows for the trading of private-company stock. He sold the platform to Nasdaq (NDAQ) last year. This is DCG's first full acquisition; it did not disclose the sale price, but sources tell Yahoo Finance it was around $750,000. DCG has invested in 60 different digital currency companies, and the companies in its portfolio have raised 70% of the venture capital in the industry. You might think that creates an obvious conflict of interest here. Silbert owning CoinDesk is like Red Sox co-owner John Henry buying the Boston Globe (which actually happened), or Peyton Manning buying the Denver Post, or Donald Trump buying Politico. But Ryan Selkis, the DCG executive who will oversee business at CoinDesk for the time being, insists that won't be a problem. Nonetheless, he says the possibility did concern him at first. The subject of changing ownership at a bitcoin news site may seem like granular inside-baseball, but it is significant when viewed in the context of ongoing fears about who owns the media. From NewsCorp to Bloomberg to recent changes at the Las Vegas Review-Journal, it is a topic on the minds of both journalists and their readers. Is bitcoin's primary news site selling to bitcoin's biggest investment firm another piece of bad news for the industry? Selkis, DCG's director of growth, spoke to Yahoo Finance about that question and about DCG's plans for the site. What follows is an edited transcript. Yahoo Finance:Before we get into CoinDesk, what was your take on the fallout from Mike Hearn's post last week? [Hearn, a bitcoin developer,declaredthat bitcoin had "failed" and that he was leaving the industry; it resulted in a media firestorm.] Ryan Selkis:I won’t comment on the theatrics of it. I will say that Mike Hearn was one of the really solid developers, he’s contributed a good chunk of his life and energy into making bitcoin what it is today, so, style aside, there’s not a whole lot people can say to critique his overall contribution to the industry. But this [ongoing debateover the size of blocks, or bundles of transactions, recorded on bitcoin's public ledger] is more of a governance issue than it is a bitcoin issue, in terms of how this will get resolved. I think it will get resolved. But the governance of the overall project needs to be better. What was DCG's approach to buying CoinDesk, what were the considerations? The first priority we had when we considered this acquistion, my main hesitation, was whether we’d be able to preserve CoinDesk’s editorial independence. And it’s why I’m working with the team full-time now on operating activities. We are going to create both informational and physical barriers between the editorial team and Digital Currency Group. From a policy standpoint, I’ve recused myself from all investing activity at DCG. I was its director of investments; I have completely transitioned away from that and now I’m director of growth. How does handling growth for DCG pertain to CoinDesk? In this particular instance it means making sure we have a smooth transition post-acquisition. We’re combining two teams. We’ve kept all the CoinDesk employees and our plan is to continue to employ everyone that came over, hopefully for a long time. But we also have a professional events team we’ve been working with that were already in the midst of planning a large conference in May, and now we’re merging those two teams to plan one event, Consensus 2016. So now everyone, with the exception of myself, is a CoinDesk employee. And functionally, I’m full time with the CoinDesk team. So how are you separating CoinDesk from DCG? We are physically relocating offices to a different part of Manhattan. So the CoinDesk folks are not going to be sitting right next to our Genesis [a broker dealer that is another DCG subsidiary] trading team or our investment team, which has proprietary information on how 60 or so bitcoin companies that we are invested in are performing. What if CoinDesk is now afraid to write bad news about companies DCG is invested in? Or it could go the other way: Will CoinDesk start getting all the scoops on DCG companies? On the latter point, I’m not concerned because even before this, CoinDesk had established itself as a clear industry leader in terms of a trade journal. So they were already getting most of the scoops. When you talk about embargoed news releases, they are going to continue to be on the same lists as the other folks that DCG reaches out to. So that doesn’t really change. To be honest, CoinDesk was typically part of a broad group of outlets that would be contacted whenever there was news about a DCG company, because we never want to restrict press attention to just one outlet for any of its business interests. So that is the much easier question to answer. With respect to editorial conflicts, look, that’s what I’m here for, is to make sure there’s a buffer between both entities. So on the one hand, I’m not influencing CoinDesk editorial, but on the other hand, I’m leading the team on a day-to-day basis, and I’m able to interface with DCG but I’m no longer privy to any inside-baseball related to the portfolio companies. That seems like a contradiction: You won't influence CoinDesk editorial, but you'll lead CoinDesk day to day? So will you be full time at CoinDesk, or at DCG? I’m DCG's director of growth, but I'm focused full time on CoinDesk and this acquisition, and the 10 or so employees we’ve absorbed, and the large-scale conference we’re producing in May. That makes CoinDesk our top priortity in terms of growth initiatives. Is the conference the main reason DCG bought CoinDesk? Why else? We think there’s a lot of organic growth potential for CoinDesk. They’ve had display advertising and various sponsors, but last year they hosted Consensus 2015, it was profitable, it was well-attended, folks were raving about the content of the event. And in mid-2015 they also began publishing paid research reports. As we continue new investments in CoinDesk, paid research and live events are going to be meaningful drivers of growth for the business. We have the resources to invest not only in fantastic new editorial talent, as in full-time reporters, but also strengthen the ranks of freelance contributors. One area we will invest in is looking beyond just bitcoin the currency and the very insular community there, and branching much further out into blockchain applications that enterprise is taking a look at. Now, that doesn’t mean we are on this "blockchain, not bitcoin" bandwagon, because I don’t want to give that impression at all and it’s a very shrill conversation that happens on Twitter and Reddit when you bring it up. But I do think there will be private ledger solutions that work for enterprise where bitcoin isn’t necessarily a good alternative. Yes, big financial institutions and banks, from Nasdaq to JPMorgan, have been on the "blockchain, not bitcoin" trend lately. Do you think that's all talk? I think the interest is definitely real. The bigger question is, over what time frame does this play out? I don’t think that anyone should expect fully functioning products in the next year, two years, handful of years. It will take many years to build some of these core products that are used currently for clearing and settlement. But I think it’s not just a buzzword, I think "blockchain for banks" truly is more relevant in many cases than using the bitcoin blockchain. If you’re a large institution and you’re looking to create an open ledger where you can move securities around safely and transparently to other regulated institutions, you don’t need a native currency like bitcoin or a consensus mechanism that uses anonymous miners. You already know the parties. You could have five banks that are the only signatories to that particular blockchain. So that would be interesting. -- Daniel Roberts is a writer at Yahoo Finance, covering sports business and technology.Read more: Bitcoin industry consolidates: Why Kraken bought Coinsetter Here's a sign that PayPal is embracing Bitcoin Fantex, the 'athlete stock exchange,' signs first golfer [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] Current price: 281.43£ $BTCGBP $btc #bitcoin 2016-01-24 11:00:06 GMT \|\| In the last 10 mins, there were arb opps spanning 18 exchange pair(s), yielding profits ranging between $0.00 and $824.56 #bitcoin #btc \|\| #RDD / #BTC on the exchanges: Cryptsy: 0.00000005 Bittrex: 0.00000004 Average $1.7E-5 per #reddcoin 23:00:02 \|\| One Bitcoin now worth $431.99@bitstamp. High $434.00. Low $427.00. Market Cap $6.517 Billion #bitcoin \|\| It would be auspicious to buy at https://Bittylicious.com/refer/2465 £307.00 per BTC. (BPI +5.12%) #buy #bitcoin #banktrans \|\| LIVE: Profit = $902.51 (9.31 %). BUY B23.29 @ $450.00 (#VirCurex). SELL @ $455.58 (#Bitfinex) #bitcoin #btc - http://www.projectcoin.org \|\| $455.00 at 16:02 UTC [24h Range: $450.00 - $465.00 Volume: 10245 BTC] via #btcusdpic.twitter.com/Hou5R4Dy3L \|\| 1 #bitcoin = $7840.00 MXN \| $454.61 USD #BitAPeso 1 USD = 17.25MXN http://www.bitapeso.com \|\| LIVE: Profit = $872.48 (10.38 %). BUY B20.41 @ $420.00 (#VirCurex). SELL @ $455.09 (#Bitfinex) #bitcoin #btc - http://www.projectcoin.org \|\| $432.73 #coinbase; $432.10 #bitstamp; $430.00 #btce; $429.83 #bitfinex; #bitcoin #btc	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 407.49, 416.32, 422.37, 420.79, 437.16, 438.80, 437.75, 420.74, 424.95, 424.54
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2016-12-28] BTC Price: 975.92, BTC RSI: 85.64 Gold Price: 1139.40, Gold RSI: 35.07 Oil Price: 54.06, Oil RSI: 66.36 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] The San Francisco MUNI hacker got hacked: While most people were busy recovering from Thanksgiving and getting ready for massive shopping sprees, a hacker on Friday shut down the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) computer network, asking for $73,000 in Bitcoin to unscramble the data. In ironic turns of events, the hacker was hacked, as a security researcher guessed the answer to the attacker’s email security question. DON’T MISS: There’s a fix for your iPhone 6s’ serious battery drain, but you might not like it The researcher then sent the contents of the hacker’s email address to KrebsOnSecurity . It turns out that the attacker made a poor choice when it comes to security questions for the email address he had to display on the SFMTA’s computer systems. That’s how ransomware attacks work. The hacker has to make an email address available so funds can be transferred to him or her via Bitcoin. Looking at the available data, Krebs was able to discover several interesting things about the hacker of the Muni attack. The attacker did not hit only the SFMTA with ransomware. On November 20th he extorted 63 Bitcoins, or around $45,000, from a US-based manufacturing firm. Krebs says that the criminal got at least $140,000 in Bitcoin since August from several victims, switching Bitcoin wallets regularly. However, the SFMTA refused to pay up, choosing to restore its systems from backups instead. The email hack also sheds some light on how the attack on the SFMTA was possible. Apparently, the hacker did not actively devise methods to attack the public transportation system. Instead, he or she used a server to find vulnerable targets. “It appears our attacker has been using a number of tools which enabled the scanning of large portions of the Internet and several specific targets for vulnerabilities,” Holden Security’s Alex Holden told Krebs. “The most common vulnerability used ‘weblogic unserialize exploit’ and especially targeted Oracle Corp. server products, including Primavera project portfolio management software.” The email also contains elements that could help law enforcement discover the identity, or at least location, of the attacker. According to Krebs, the hacker might be based in Iran, although a phone number connecting the hacker to Russia has also been found — probably a red herring, Krebs said. Read the Krebs’ full report at the source link. Trending right now: What it takes to get a NES Classic Leak reveals another key Galaxy S8 feature that has never been seen before on an iPhone Samsung has started to turn the Galaxy Note 5 into the Note 7 See the original version of this article on BGR.com View comments \|\| How Did Bitcoin Perform This Year?: After a strong showing in 2015, Bitcoin investors experienced another strong year of performance from the popular cryptocurrency in 2016. Bitcoin followed up an impressive +26.3 percent gain in 2015 with a +119.8 percent gain in 2016. A large part of Bitcoin’s gains has come in the final weeks of the year. Since December 16, the price of Bitcoin has spiked 20.0 percent to $967.94. Tech-savvy investorscan buy Bitcoin directly by downloading a Bitcoin Wallet app from Circle, Coinbase, Xapo or other popular services and simply linking their bank account to the app. In addition to these digital wallet apps, investors can buy shares ofBitcoin Investment Trust(OTC:GBTC), which is a trust that invests exclusively in Bitcoin and trades on the OTC market. Each share of the trust represents on tenth of a Bitcoin. The trust is up 93.6 percent in 2016. The Winklevoss twins have also filed for a Bitcoin ETF that may be approved in 2017. The twins have made a number of tweaks to the proposed ETF since they first filed in order to convince the SEC of the safety and security of the fund. If approved, the Bitcoin ETF would be the first direct way for investors to bet on Bitcoin on a major U.S. public market. See more from Benzinga • Should You Be Buying 2016 Market Leaders Or Laggards Heading Into 2017? • NVIDIA's Pullback Might Not Last Very Long • 2016: TV Media's Year In Review © 2016 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| Tips on How to Protect Your Private Information On Black Friday and Cyber Monday: Americans will line up around stores and standby their computers or smartphones to take advantage of Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals, but protecting their private information should also be priority for shoppers. During the holiday season many shoppers are harmed by failing to take simple precautions, says Gene Richardson, COO of Experts Exchange , a network for technology professionals. In Store Vs. Online Retail stores are one of the top areas identity thieves go after, Richardson said in an email to the IBTimes. A large number of some of the biggest identity thefts in the past few years were at large retail stores, he says. Long lines and busy cashiers could potentially put your private information at risk. “All the clerk cares about is getting you through the line as fast as they can so they can deal with the next customer and hope that none of you are angry,” says Richardson. “So, if there is a hiccup with your transaction, they will take “backup” paths to complete your transaction like entering your credit card number by hand.” Richardson, who is also the former head of the data security teams IBM, Charles Schwab and Motorola, says customers should never give their credit card to someone to perform a transaction by entering a card number. “Hand transactions are a huge risk for identity theft,” he says. Customers should also avoid buying if a cashier’s computer is down or too busy, unless it’s with cash, or try to go back later. Credit card scanners are also a threat to customers, as some of them may be rigged to copy a person’s information so that a duplicate credit card can be made. People may be less exposed to this action in large retail stores, but the risk is higher in smaller boutiques shops, says Richardson. Customers should also make sure their credit card number is not printed on receipts and should instead have XXX's where the number is displayed. But online purchases can be riskier because of all the extra information customers hand over, like their name, address, phone number, credit card information, expiration date and CSV. Story continues “They ask for so much more information from you to validate who you are than a purchase in a retail store,” says Richardson. “You have no control of who or where that information is going.” Tips to Protect Yourself Here are Richardson’s tips for shoppers on how they can protect themselves on Black Friday and Cyber Monday: Ensure that the website address is secure and has a valid encryption certificate. It will usually display a “locked, green” indicator in front of the website name. If it doesn’t have that, it does not have a higher level of security that has been guaranteed by a known entity like Verisign, Symantec and others. Ensure your system has the most recent recommended system and security patches. Always use a credit card that is not tied directly to your personal bank account(s), even if you are using PayPal, Bitcoin or some other payment method. Never give anything other than name, address and phone number. You should not need to answer security or privacy questions when making a purchase or checking out. If they ask, see if you can checkout as a “guest” instead. Monitor your credit through a third party for identify theft and have SMS and email alerts sent to you immediately. Set-up alerts with your credit card company that send both SMS and emails when any purchases are made and the credit card was not scanned (meaning, it wasn’t in someone’s hand when the charge was made). Set them as low as $25 per purchase. Also, set-up alerts for total purchases over $500 in a billing period to protect multiple $24.99 purchases. And if possible, a maximum amount of purchases allowed in a billing period such as $1500 before card will get declined. Ensure that you have a reputable Antivirus program running on your computer and that your browser has an Ad blocking plug-in. (Richardson recommends Norton, McAfee or ESET.) Ensure that the network your computer/device is on is secure and you know who has access to your network. This is usually done with your router. You want to lock down your router so that traffic can be initiated from the inside-out but you do not want traffic to be initiated from the outside-in. If you are using a WiFi connection, make sure that network is also secure and requires a password to join. If it is a public WiFi network that doesn’t require a password, then the traffic coming from your device can be monitored and stolen. (Link to onsite how-to article?) Any passwords that you use should be strong, hard to guess ones. Or, even better, hard to guess, but easy to remember . Don’t click on unfamiliar links to sites advertising sales, coupons, etc. Use two-factor authentication/verification, if it is offered. Shopping on Mobile Devices One in 10 mobile apps that are found through searching “Black Friday” are blacklisted as malicious, according to cyber security company RiskIQ An estimated 30 percent of purchases will be made on mobile devices, RiskIQ says. Shopping on mobile devices can substantially increase the risk of encountering phishing pages, malicious apps, and viruses that infect customers’ smartphones and tablets to steal money and private information. There are also fake apps out there that contain malware that can steal customers’ data or lock the device until the user pays a ransom, says RiskIQ. Other malicious apps may ask consumers to use their Facebook or Gmail logins, which could compromise their private information. Tips For Safe Shopping on Mobile Devices Here are some tips from RiskIQ: Ensure that you are only downloading apps from official app stores such as Google or Apple Be wary of applications that ask for suspicious permissions, like access to contacts, text messages, administrative features, stored passwords, or credit card info. Just because an app appears to have a good reputation doesn’t make it so. Rave reviews can be forged, and a high amount of downloads can simply indicate a threat actor was successful in fooling a lot of victims. Before downloading an app, be sure to take a look at the developer—if it’s not a brand you recognize or has a strange appearance or spelling, think twice. You can even do a Google search on the developer for more clues about its reputation. Make sure to take a deep look at each app. New developers, or developers that leverage free email services (e.g., @gmail) for their developer contact, can be enormous red flags— threat actors often use these services to produce mass amounts of malicious apps in a short period. Also, poor grammar in the description highlights the haste of development and the lack of marketing professionalism that are hallmarks of mobile malware campaigns. Check website addresses after following links on Twitter, Facebook, or other social media channels to be sure you end up on the true website of the retailer you want. Look for the “S” in HTTPS when you visit shopping sites. Beware of shopping sites that do not use HTTPS in their website addresses or do not display the symbol of a lock next to the web address. Secure sites use HTTPS, and without that, you’re dealing with unsecured connections or weak encryption of personal data. Never provide your credit card information unless you are in a secure online shopping portal. Sites that ask for it in return for “coupons” or to win “free” merchandise are almost always scams. Protect Yourself From a Major Headache For those who might not want to go through the hassle of setting up credit card alerts on purchases or locking down their router, it’s important to remember that it can and save consumers from a major headache. “Identity theft could cost you several thousand dollars in actual money and can cost you a lot more in your personal time and future anticipated losses cleaning up after the fact,” Richardson said. “The impact of identity theft could last years as you personally have to work to call all your creditors to fix your credit, loss of credibility for future purchases of a home, car, etc. as your credit scores will have been impacted, the effect on future employment opportunities as background checks are run and many, many more,” he added. Related Articles $100 Off HTC Vive On Black Friday and Cyber Monday American Consumers Prep For Cyber Monday \|\| Bitcoin's total value hits record high above $14 billion: By Jemima Kelly LONDON (Reuters) - The total value of all bitcoins in circulation hit a record high above $14 billion on Thursday, as the web-based digital currency jumped 5 percent on the day to its highest levels in three years after more than doubling in price this year. The price of one bitcoin reached $875 on the Europe-based Bitstamp exchange, its strongest level since January 2014, putting the cryptocurrency on track for its best daily performance in six months. That compared with levels around $435 at the start of the year, with many experts linking bitcoin's rise with the steady depreciation of the Chinese yuan, which has slid almost 7 percent this year. Data shows the majority of bitcoin trading is done in China, so any increase in demand from there tends to have a significant impact on the price. Bitcoin is a web-based "cryptocurrency" that can move money across the globe quickly and anonymously with no need for a central authority. That makes it attractive to those wanting to get around capital controls, such as China's. The digital currency is still some way off the peaks it scaled in late 2013, when it traded as high as $1,163 on the Bitstamp exchange. But because more bitcoins continue to be added to the system, currently at a rate of 12.5 every 10 minutes, its total value - or "market cap" - on Thursday surpassed the 2013 peak of around $14.01 billion. That puts its total value at around the same as that of an average FTSE 100 company. Charles Hayter, founder of data analysis website Cryptocompare, said bitcoin had been helped higher by demonetization in India, and by global political uncertainty. "If that trend continues, bitcoin is a good thematic play on the fracturing of our global norms as a flight to safety," he said. (Reporting by Jemima Kelly, editing by Nigel Stephenson) \|\| First Bitcoin Capital Corp Announces Appointment of Bitcoin Protocol Development Expert Patrick Dugan to the Company’s Board of Directors. Additional Developments Announced: VANCOUVER, B.C. / ACCESSWIRE / November 23, 2016 /First Bitcoin Capital Corp is pleased to announce that leading bitcoin protocol development expert in the crypto currency field Patrick Dugan has joined the company's Board of Directors. A serial entrepreneur with several years of experience in blockchain, finance, ecommerce and game development, Mr. Dugan has extensive knowledge of complex securitization structures and trading strategies. Mr. Dugan brings 9 years of trading experience, with over 3 years in cryptocurrency trading, averaging 50% annual returns. He served as a consultant on social game economics, and market making operations for exchanges. Mr. Dugan has served for the last year and a half as operations manager for the Omni Layer Foundation (previously Mastercoin), and has been involved in the issuance of the world's first bearer bonds on the Bitcoin blockchain. "Patrick Dugan is well known in the international crypto-currency space," the company said. "He brings a wealth of strategic experience in finance and blockchain business development. We look forward to his contributions as a member of our Board as we advance the development of the world’s first on-blockchain REIT offering." Mrs. Dugan said he seeks to bring to First Bitcoin Capital his expertise in bitcoin and blockchain protocol and assist new or existing initiatives that plan to build upon and take advantage of the capabilities offered by the Omni Layer protocol. BITCF has thus far utilized the Omni Layer Protocol to launch 6 cryptocurrencies such as symbols, PRES, TESLA, HILL, GARY, BURN, and OTX. Furthermore, in conjunction with BITCF expanding ownership of its common shares onto its own blockchain (BIT) and trading on foreign international cryptocurrency exchanges, the company invites its shareholders to exercise an option to convert their paper certificates into digital shares. Shareholders need only surrender their certificates with instruction to deliver those shares to the BIT wallet address they provide to the company. About the company: First Bitcoin Capital is engaged in developing digital currencies, proprietary Blockchain technologies, and the digital currency exchange- www.CoinQX.com. We see this step as a tremendous opportunity to create further shareholder value by leveraging management's experience in developing and managing complex Blockchain technologies, developing new types of digital assets. "Being the first publicly-traded cryptocurrency and blockchain-centered company (with shares both traded in the US OTC Markets as [BITCF] and as [BIT] in crypto exchanges) we want to provide our shareholders with diversified exposure to digital cryptocurrencies and blockchain technologies." At this time the Company owns and operates the following digital assets. www.BITCoinCapitalcorp.comcompany website. www.CoinQX.comCryptocurrency Exchange, registered with FINCEN. www.iCoiNEWS.comreal time cryptocurrency and bitcoin news site. www.BITminer.ccproviding mining pool management services. www.2016coin.orgonline daily election coverage and home page for $PRES, $HILL and $GARY $BURN coins. Forward-Looking Statements Certain statements contained in this press release may constitute "forward-looking statements." Forward-looking statements provide current expectations of future events based on certain assumptions and include any statement that does not directly relate to any historical or current fact. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors as may be disclosed in company's filings. In addition to these factors, actual future performance, outcomes, and results may differ materially because of more general factors including (without limitation) general industry and market conditions and growth rates, economic conditions, and governmental and public policy changes. The forward-looking statements included in this press release represent the Company's views as of the date of this press release and these views could change. However, while the Company may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, the Company specifically disclaims any obligation to do so. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing the Company's views as of any date subsequent to the date of the press release .Such forward-looking statements are risks that are detailed in the Company's filings, which are on file atwww.OTCMarkets.com. Contact us via:[email protected] visithttp://www.bitcoincapitalcorp.com SOURCE:First Bitcoin Capital Corp. \|\| 10 things you need to know before the opening bell: (General view of a fan with Jamie Vardy masks on the seats before the match.Reuters/Reuters Staff) Here is what you need to know. Dow 20,000 is in the crosshairs.The Dow Jones Industrial Average booked a fractional gain on Tuesday, finishing at 19,945.04. The index is set to open higher by 0.1% near 19,971. Bitcoin is up again.The cryptocurrency is up about 3% at $958, and trading at its best level since November 2013. Bitcoin has gained $135, or 16.4%, over the past week. Toshiba crashes after warning of a multi-billion dollar writedown.Shares of thechips-to-construction group tumbled 20% on Wednesday after the company warned it might need to take a larger than expected writedown on its acquisition ofChicago Bridge & Iron. Delta cancels an order from Boeing.Delta Air Lines has canceled an order for 18Boeing widebody 787 Dreamliner jets, with a list price of $4 billion, that was inherited from its takeover of Northwest Airlines, the Seattle Times says. BP is buying gas stations in Australia.The London-based oil giant has agreed to pay $1.3 billion for Woolworths' 527 retail fuel outlets in Australia, according to Bloomberg. Qualcomm got hit with an $854 million fine by South Korea.TheKorea Fair Trade Commission, South Korea's antitrust regulator, has ruled that Qualcomm hindered competition as a result of itsbusiness practices of patent licensing and smartphone modem chip sales, Reuters reports. Panasonic is investing in a Tesla production facility.Panasonic will invest $256 million in a Tesla production facility that makesphotovoltaic (PV) cells and modules, Reuters reports. CEO pay is rising in the UK, but "economic profit" isn't.A report released by the CFA Institute showed CEO pay in the UK has climbed 82% in the last 13 years, but the average company generated less than a 1% return for investors. Stock markets around the world are up.Hong Kong's Hang Seng (+0.8%) paced the gains overnight and Britain's FTSE (+0.4%) leads in Europe. US economic data trickles out.Pending home sales will be released at 10 a.m. ET. The US 10-year yield is unchanged at 2.56%. More From Business Insider • Alt-right movement descends into civil war after leading figure is booted from Trump inauguration event • 'Star Wars' actress Carrie Fisher is dead at 60 • Here's a super-quick guide to what traders are talking about right now \|\| First Bitcoin Capital Acquires Large Stake in One of the Oldest Mineable Cryptocoins Ranked High on Coin Market Cap; Also, Company’s Digital Shares Are Now Listed on Two International Cryptocurrency Exchanges: VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / November 30, 2016 / First Bitcoin Capital Corp. ( BITCF ) is pleased to announce that it has sold its Venezuela mining concessions for a large stake in the cryptocurrency of one of the oldest mineable coins that ranks high on Coin Market Cap. See: http://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/kilocoin/ . Kilocoin which is similar to Litecoin primarily trades on a popular cryptocurrency exchange at https://c-cex.com/?p=klc-btc A list of its nodes can be found via https://c-cex.com/?id=ws&shownodes=klc Kilocoin mining can be tracked at https://www.blockexperts.com/klc# From its web site via http://kilocoin.com/ their wallet can be downloaded. At its current rate of mining (159 coins per block) it should take centuries to reach the maximum of 25,000,000,000 mineable coins with a little over 10,000,000,000 coins mine thus far, giving BITCF nearly 10% participation. The Company anticipates that the KLC exchange will boost BITCF's balance sheet with tremendous upside potential and may become a source of future dividends. Differences from Bitcoin and Litecoin and Kilocoin Bitcoin Litecoin Kilocoin Coin limit 21 Million 84 Million 25 Billion Algorithm SHA-256 Scrypt Scrypt Mean block time 10 minutes 2.5 minutes 5 minutes Difficulty Target 2016 Block 2016 Blocks 288 Blocks Initial Reward 50 BTC 50 LTC 159 KLC Current block reward 25 BTC 50 LTC 159 LTC Block explorer blockchain.info block-explorer.com https://www.blockexperts.com/klc# Created by Satoshi Nakamoto Charles Lee Kilocoin, Inc (DAC) Creation date January 3, 2009 October 7, 2011 Feb 27th, 2014 Coins Mined (as of 8 April 2015) 14,029,116.67 37,984,800 10,013,105,152 Furthermore, in conjunction with BITCF's expanding ownership of its common shares onto its own blockchain (BIT) and trading on foreign international cryptocurrency exchanges, the company is proud to announce that its digital shares are now trading on an additional, popular cryptocurrency exchange, LIVECOIN www.livecoin.net . Story continues About the company: First Bitcoin Capital is engaged in developing digital currencies, proprietary Blockchain technologies, and the digital currency exchange- www.CoinQX.com . We see this step as a tremendous opportunity to create further shareholder value by leveraging management's experience in developing and managing complex Blockchain technologies, developing new types of digital assets. "Being the first publicly-traded cryptocurrency and blockchain-centered company (with shares both traded in the US OTC Markets as [BITCF] and as [BIT] in crypto exchanges) we want to provide our shareholders with diversified exposure to digital cryptocurrencies and blockchain technologies." At this time the Company owns and operates the following digital assets. www.BITCoinCapitalcorp.com company website. www.CoinQX.com Cryptocurrency Exchange, registered with FINCEN. www.iCoiNEWS.com real time cryptocurrency and bitcoin news site. www.BITminer.cc providing mining pool management services. www.2016coin.org online daily election coverage and home page for $PRES, $HILL and $GARY $BURN coins. Forward-Looking Statements Certain statements contained in this press release may constitute "forward-looking statements." Forward-looking statements provide current expectations of future events based on certain assumptions and include any statement that does not directly relate to any historical or current fact. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors as may be disclosed in company's filings. In addition to these factors, actual future performance, outcomes, and results may differ materially because of more general factors including (without limitation) general industry and market conditions and growth rates, economic conditions, and governmental and public policy changes. The forward-looking statements included in this press release represent the Company's views as of the date of this press release and these views could change. However, while the Company may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, the Company specifically disclaims any obligation to do so. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing the Company's views as of any date subsequent to the date of the press release. Such forward-looking statements are risks that are detailed in the Company's filings, which are on file at www.OTCMarkets.com . SOURCE: First Bitcoin Capital Corp. \|\| Hackers Refining Tools For Attacking Banks: A letter from the Swift network to member banks warns hackers are refining their cyberattack tools and the global bank transfer system remains vulnerable. Reuters reported Monday the letter, dated Nov. 2, warned the threat is very persistent, adaptive and sophisticated and it is here to stay. Reuters said the letter is evidence the Belgium-based cooperative Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication remains vulnerable a year after $81 million was stolen from Bangladeshs central bank. Among the tactics now being used by hackers is software allowing technicians access to computers for technical support. "We unfortunately continue to see cases in which some of our customers environments are being compromised," the letter said, noting a meaningful number of attacks have been made on both central and commercial banks, and 20 percent of them have resulted in stolen funds. Bangladeshi officials told Reuters several central bank officials enabled the theft, which was the result of malware inserted into the banks system. Bitcoin News Service reported the central bank has managed to recoup a portion of the stolen funds from a casino in the Philippines. Investigators determined the money was sold on the black market to a foreign exchange broker who transferred the funds to three casinos. A Philippines court ordered the Solaire Resort and casino to surrender the money to Bangladesh. Some $10 million was handed over. A commercial bank in Ecuador said it was held up for $12 million last year. In Vietnam thieves tried and failed to make off with $1.1 million in what investigators said may have been a practice run for the attack on Bangladesh. Russia security services warned earlier this month that foreign spy agencies were preparing attacks on Russian banks in dozens of cities to destabilize the financial system of the Russian Federation. The Federal Security Bureau didnt specify who was preparing the attack. Related Articles After Hacks, Banks Push Swift To Boost Security New York Governor Issues Cybersecurity Proposal \|\| Expanded gift card and loyalty features could boost Apple Pay: Distortion of Apple Pay (BI Intelligence) This story was delivered to BI Intelligence " Payments Briefing " subscribers. To learn more and subscribe, please click here . Apple Pay users will be able to add gift cards and a wider selection of loyalty programs following a partnership between the tech giant and Blackhawk Network, a gift and prepaid card firm. The partnership will allow customers to “store, manage, and make payments” with gift and loyalty cards from Blackhawk partners, which include Amazon, Target, Best Buy, and Home Depot. Partnering with Blackhawk will improve upon a feature that’s already one of Apple Pay’s most popular. As it currently stands, Apple Pay’s loyalty support is limited. But just a few months after Apple Pay added loyalty in that limited capacity, proprietary store and loyalty cards made up 25% of the cards loaded into the wallet, according to data from First Annapolis . For context, that’s nearly as much as the share held by debit cards, which are the most popular payment method among US adults. Blackhawk’s vast partnership network could further extend that percentage and in turn help Apple capitalize on pent-up demand for store and loyalty offerings in-wallet. And that could lift Apple Pay in two key areas. It could increase adoption of the wallet overall. Apple Pay adoption has stagnated just below a quarter of eligible users, which means the wallet needs to look for new ways to draw in users. Loyalty could be one such solution. Nearly a quarter of adults with mobile phones want to organize, track, and store loyalty and rewards points on their phones. And 53% of nonusers would start using mobile payments if they were offered these types of opportunities, which could drive new customers to the wallet. And among existing users, it could help increase engagement. Adding a vast loyalty network to Apple Pay could give users incentives to pay with the wallet in more locations, because they want to capture the benefits that loyalty cards can provide. More frequent spending could help drive up habit formation, which could increase payment volume and drive up usage across the board. Mobile payments are becoming more popular thanks to services such as Apple Pay, but they still face some high barriers, such as consumers' continued loyalty to traditional payment methods and fragmented acceptance among merchants. But as loyalty programs are integrated and more consumers rely on their mobile wallets for other features like in-app payments, adoption and usage will surge over the next few years. BI Intelligence , Business Insider's premium research service, has compiled a detailed report on mobile payments that forecasts the growth of in-store mobile payments in the U.S., analyzes the performance of major mobile wallets like Apple Pay, Android Pay, and Samsung Pay, and addresses the barriers holding mobile payments back as well as the benefits that will propel adoption. Story continues Here are some key takeaways from the report: In our latest US in-store mobile payments forecast, we find that volume will reach $75 billion this year. We expect volume to pick up significantly by 2020, reaching $503 billion. This reflects a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 80% between 2015 and 2020. Consumer interest is the primary barrier to mobile payments adoption. Surveys indicate that the issue is less the mobile wallet itself and more that people remain loyal to traditional payment methods and show little enthusiasm for picking up new habits. Integrated loyalty programs and other add-on features will be key to mobile wallets taking off. Consumers are showing interest in wallets with integrated loyalty programs. Other potential add-ons, like in-app, in-browser, and P2P payments, will also start fueling adoption. This strategy has been proved successful in China with platforms like WeChat and Alipay. In full, the report: Forecasts the growth of US in-store mobile payments volume and users through 2020. Measures mobile wallet user engagement by forecasting mobile payments' share of their annual retail spending. Reviews the performance of major mobile wallets like Apple Pay and Samsung Pay. Addresses the key barriers that are preventing mobile in-store payments from taking off. Identifies the growth drivers that will ultimately carve a path for mainstream adoption. To get your copy of this invaluable guide, choose one of these options: Subscribe to an ALL-ACCESS Membership with BI Intelligence and gain immediate access to this report AND over 100 other expertly researched deep-dive reports, subscriptions to all of our daily newsletters, and much more. >> START A MEMBERSHIP Purchase the report and download it immediately from our research store. >> BUY THE REPORT The choice is yours. But however you decide to acquire this report, you’ve given yourself a powerful advantage in your understanding of how mobile payments are rapidly evolving. More From Business Insider Apple pushes further in mapping and location technology Fintech could be bigger than ATMs, PayPal, and Bitcoin combined THE PAYMENTS INDUSTRY EXPLAINED: The Trends Creating New Winners And Losers In The Card-Processing Ecosystem View comments \|\| What to Expect from Overstock.com (OSTK) in Q3 Earnings?: Overstock.com Inc. OSTK is slated to report third-quarter 2016 results on Nov 3. It is an online retailer that sells brand-name merchandise at deep discounts. Its offerings include bed-and-bath goods, kitchenware, watches, jewelry, electronics, sporting goods and designer accessories. Let’s see how things are shaping up for this announcement. Factors to Consider The company’s second-quarter revenues were up 8% year over year. It has intensified its efforts on expanding its product reach, building its customer base and strengthening its international foothold. The company has partnered with Tmall in China, 11Street in Korea, Mercado LibreIguama in Latin America, Trade Me in New Zealand and Australia and Rakuten in the UK. Management has also indicated more partnerships in the near future. It has launched a trusted partner marketplace as part of its global expansion efforts. However, the company’s business has been hit by changes in Google search algorithms and rising competition in the e-commerce sector. It has also been engaged in legal battles with several brokerage firms over stock price manipulation issues. Overstocks’ continuous efforts to reduce illegal stock manipulation and reform capital markets could boost its results in the to-be-reported quarter. Also, management confirmed Overstock’s continued focus on improvement of customer experience as well as customer attraction and retention efforts. For this, the company is trying to bring in absolute customization and personalization of its marketing message and develop customer-friendly mobile platforms and applications. Overstock has been a Bitcoin supporter for more than two years and has successfully leveraged the blockchain technology. The company is trying to establish relationships with major financial and capital market institutions to achieve the expected level of synergy between blockchain and cryptocurrency. We expect customer-friendly initiatives, product and geographical expansion efforts, and reform capital markets to act as major positives for Overstock in the to-be-reported quarter. Story continues OVERSTOCK.COM Price and EPS Surprise OVERSTOCK.COM Price and EPS Surprise \| OVERSTOCK.COM Quote Stocks That Warrant a Look Ashford Hospitality Prime, Inc. AHP is slated to report third-quarter earnings results on Nov 2. The company has an Earnings ESP of +9.76% and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here . Avon Products Inc. AVP with an Earnings ESP of +33.33% and a Zacks Rank #1. The company is slated to report third-quarter earnings results on Nov 3. Glaukos Corporation GKOS with an Earnings ESP of +100.0% and a Zacks Rank #1. The company is slated to report third-quarter earnings results on Nov 10. 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Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2017-11-15] BTC Price: 7315.54, BTC RSI: 62.01 Gold Price: 1276.50, Gold RSI: 48.23 Oil Price: 55.33, Oil RSI: 58.21 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Global markets: Inflation weighs on yields, dollar; stocks lacklustre: By Sinead Carew NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury yields dipped and the dollar rose slightly on Thursday as investors awaited U.S. inflation data while Wall Street stock indexes fell as earnings season kicked off with a whimper. U.S. Treasury prices gained after the Treasury Department saw strong demand for a sale of 30-year bonds. While investors cheered an increase in the U.S. producer price index (PPI) for last month announced Thursday, inflation concerns were still in focus ahead of consumer price index (CPI) data on Friday after Federal Reserve minutes showed a more guarded view. After four straight days of declines, the dollar index, tracking the greenback against a basket of major currencies <.DXY>, rose 0.07 percent. "The move in the dollar index this week is primarily a correction to the big move that we had in September," said Marc Chandler, global head of currency strategy at Brown Brothers Harriman. "It's largely corrective as the market awaits fresh signals." Adding to this pressure, sterling jumped to its highest since Oct. 4, with analysts citing a report in Germany's Handelsblatt newspaper that the European Union could offer Britain a two-year transitional Brexit deal. Sterling was last trading at $1.3261, up 0.30 percent on the day. In U.S. stocks, banks and media companies were the biggest drags on the S&P 500 as AT&T Inc fuelled concerns about video subscribers and investors took fright at comments from JPMorgan and Citigroup's earnings calls. "People got a little bit spoiled by the very nice advances we saw in the first and second quarter, but keep in mind that earnings started perking up in the third quarter of last year so the year-over-year comparisons might not look as robust," said John Carey, portfolio manager at Pioneer Investment Management in Boston. The Dow Jones Industrial Average <.DJI> fell 31.88 points, or 0.14 percent, to end at 22,841.01, the S&P 500 <.SPX> lost 4.31 points, or 0.17 percent, to 2,550.93 and the Nasdaq Composite <.IXIC> dropped 12.04 points, or 0.18 percent, to 6,591.51. The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index <.FTEU3> rose 0.01 percent and MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe <.MIWD00000PUS> gained 0.04 percent. The MSCI index reached a record high, as it has for seven of the past eight trading days. Benchmark 10-year notes were last up 7/32 in price to yield 2.3195 percent, from 2.345 percent late on Wednesday. The 30-year bond was last up 15/32 in price to yield 2.8483 percent, from 2.876 percent late on Wednesday. Also in currencies, the euro was down 0.15 percent to $1.1839 snapping four straight days of gains after rising to its highest since Sept. 25 earlier in the session. Bitcoin smashed through the $5,000 barrier for the first time and was up 10.1 percent. Oil prices fell after the U.S. Energy Department reported a larger-than-expected decline in U.S. inventories and a falloff in weekly production. U.S. crude fell 1.29 percent to $50.64 per barrel and Brent was last at $56.32, down 1.09 percent. Spot gold added 0.1 percent to $1,293.37 an ounce. (Additional reporting by Caroline Valetkevitch, Karen Brettell and Saqib Iqbal Ahmed in New York, John Geddie and Dhara Ranasinghe in London and Shinichi Saoshiro in Tokyo; Editing by Bernadette Baum and James Dalgleish) \|\| Boeing Co (BA) Stock Dividend is Not Only Safe But Could Be Boosted, Too: Boeing Co(NYSE:BA) may be very familiar to investors, but it is under appreciated. Sure, most know it as the high-profile maker of fighter jets, military transports and iconic passenger jets. BA stock has been a Dow 30 component for more than 30 years. Source:Wikimedia Though it’s a cyclical industry, it’s also a growth industry. What many investors don’t fully appreciate about the company is that the Boeing stock dividend is surprisingly generous, particularly in light of the nature of the business. Companies that are cyclical, industrial and/or capital intensive generally don’t concern themselves on anything but growth, with any dividend payout serving more as a token of appreciation than the primary purpose of ownership. So how generous is the BA stock dividend? Keep reading, bearing in mind that Boeing’s top line has been falling since late 2015. InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips With a dividend yield of 2.2%, BA stock is more or less in line with its peers, and morelessthan moremore. TheDow Jones Industrial Average Index‘s yield right now iscloser to 2.7%, underscoring the notion that neither Boeing nor investors view BA stock as a dividend play. And yet, the dividend payout the company consistently dishes out is aremarkable 50% of its per-share profits. That is to say, for every dollar of net income the company produces, it gives 50 cents back to investors. It’s a significant chunk of its income that could — theoretically, at least — be re-invested in a way that creates even more growth. For perspective, defense rivalRaytheon Company(NYSE:RTN) sports a payout ratiocloser to 40%, whileNorthrop Grumman Corporation(NYSE:NOC) returns less than a third of its profits with shareholders. Though relatively oversized, Boeing’s sizeable payout hasn’t mattered much in the past; the company has had more than enough wealth to share. In light of the sales headwind the organization has faced over the past year and a half, however, investors are understandably concerned the dividend could be pressured. • 5 Bitcoin Stocks to Buy for Low-Risk Cryptocurrency Profits They don’t need to worry all that much. For the quarter ending in June, the 8% dip in Boeing’s top line marked the fourth-straight quarter that year-over-year revenue has fallen in response to a sales headwind. That headwind actually materialized in the last quarter of 2015, as economic turbulence forced airlines to rethink their capital spending plans.Delta Air Lines, Inc.(NYSE:DAL), for instance, cancelled a $4 billion deal with Boeing late last year, effectively saying the need for new 787’s just wasn’t there. It wasn’t just Boeing on the receiving end of bad news though. As far back as 2015,United Continental Holdings Inc(NYSE:UAL) postponed the delivery of several planes ordered fromAirbus(OTCMKTS:EADSY), withUnited CEO Doug Parker explaining: “We have a lot of flexibility with our old aircraft and new aircraft coming in, whether we keep old aircraft longer or retire them with new airplanes. Pushing these [orders] back gave us a little more flexibility to not need to grow. We may still grow, but it doesn’t require us to grow.” Translation: Passenger traffic just isn’t as brisk as we thought it would be. Thing is, while tepid demand for aircraft has taken a toll on Boeing’s top line, the aircraft maker has still managed to grow its bottom line, as well as its per-share profits of BA stock. The graphic below speaks for itself. Looking past the pair of wild swings from the middle of last year (swings reflecting accounting adjustments rather than business conditions, by the way), income and per-share profits have been and continue to rise. The short version of the long story of how Boeing managed to do the seemingly impossible: Better management of its supply chain and cost-effective engineering solutions. More importantly right now, the company’s capacity for cost controls means the Boeing stock dividend isn’t apt to suffer anytime soon. Sure, it would be great if Boeing could beef up the top line and still keep a lid on spending, as that would open the door to even bigger dividend payouts. What’s also been somewhat overlooked, though, is that revenue growth is in the cards. It was noted above that the passenger jet business is a cyclical one, but that cycle is only partially influenced by economic cycles. An aircraft’s useful life is limited, and though airlines can stretch that lifespan out, they can’t prolong it forever. Sooner or later, they’ll have to outright buy new ones. • Chesapeake Energy Corporation (CHK) Stock Is Testing Investors’ Patience Click to Enlarge To that end, a wave of aircraft replacement looms that should prove very fruitful for Boeing. The company said last year that a wave of demand for planes like its 777 and 787 wouldmaterialize between 2021 and 2028, as airlines phase out aging equipment. Though the planes that airlines end up buying may change, the need for them won’t. Therecent order from India’s Jet Airwaysfor 75 of Boeing’s 737 Max jet may be an indication that demand is already starting to swell again. In other words, not only is the BA stock dividend safe, a lean-running Boeing may soon actually be able to ratchet its payout up at a faster rate than it has in the past. As of this writing, James Brumley did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities. You canfollow him on Twitter. • 7 Investments Every Retirement Investor Should Own • 10 Small-Cap Stocks to Buy for Big-Time Growth Potential • 7 Spinoff Stocks That Could Be Better Than Their Parents The postBoeing Co (BA) Stock Dividend is Not Only Safe But Could Be Boosted, Tooappeared first onInvestorPlace. \|\| GOLDMAN SACHS: Bitcoin could get close to $8,000: charts trader screen Lucas Jackson/Reuters Bitcoin touched a record high of $7,592 a coin on Monday. Goldman Sachs' head of technical analysis says the chart points to a possible run at the $8,000 level. Goldman Sachs thinks bitcoin still has more room to run. The red-hot cryptocurrency, which has gained more than 600% this year and is currently trading near $7,200 a coin, could threaten the $8,000 mark, according to a note sent out to clients on Sunday from Goldman Sachs technical head Sheba Jafari. "It exceeded an equality target from the July low at 6,044," Jafari wrote. "This break indicated potential for an impulsive advance, one that could reach at least 7,941. This is the minimum target for a 3rd of 5-waves up and should therefore be a level from which to watch for signs of a consolidation." Goldman Sachs bitcoin Goldman Sachs The cryptocurrency put in an all-time high of $7,592 a coin early Monday as traders continue to pile in following the announcement that CME Group, one of the world's largest exchange groups, was launching bitcoin futures trading by the end of the year. Bitcoin has gained more than $1,000 since the November 1 announcement. The gains also come as traders await the implementation of a looming fork in bitcoin's network . Disagreements in the cryptocurrency community over an upgrade known as SegWit2x could split bitcoin into two more cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin has already forked into bitcoin cash and bitcoin gold. Another fork would double the amount of coins for people who hold them on an exchange or in a wallet backing the fork. Trevor Koverko, the CEO of Polymath, a cryptocurrency technology company, told Business Insider that folks could be buying in before the fork to get that free cash. "Speculation on this free money is driving up the price," he said. "Smart traders are riding the wave and will pull out before the fork." NOW WATCH: Tesla's value is surging 'because the vision is so intoxicating' See Also: Bitcoin hits all-time high ahead of another potential fork Investors are running out of money — and that's bad news for stocks Bitcoin just hit an all-time high — here's how you buy and sell it \|\| Epazz Launches Reg CF Crowdfunding Campaign to Market Bitcoin Cannabis Payment Mobile App (ZenaPay) and Other Cloud Software Products: CHICAGO, IL--(Marketwired - Oct 4, 2017) -Epazz, Inc. (OTC PINK:EPAZ), a leading provider of cloud-based business software solutions, announced that it is raising capital under Reg CF in order to reach the goal of $1 million. The funds will be used to add to the company's sales, marketing, and software-development force to focus on selling ZenaPay Bitcoin Cannabis Payment Solution and other cloud-based business software solutions and to increase the speed of its software development cycles to release new updates and new products. The company will soon release a demo video of the ZenaPay bitcoin cannabis payment mobile app. The company is finishing up registration with Apple's App Store in order to release the app. Later, the company will finish development of the Android version of ZenaPay. Epazz CEO Shaun Passley, PhD, noted, "We are pleased to announce our Unit Offering to the public." Shaun continued, "This up-to-$1 million offering should allow Epazz to continue to grow the free cash flow, earnings per share, and market share." The terms of the offering are expected to be as follows. Please note that these are only an indication of terms, and final terms will be outlined in the final definitive legal documents. This transaction is only open to accredited investors and institutional investors. Expected terms of the unit offering: Epazz Unit Offering of Revenue Sharing Preferred Shares Series D up to $1 million under Reg CF Proposed TermsIssuer:Epazz, Inc. (the "Issuer"). Offering:Revenue Sharing Preferred Stock Series D ("Preferred Stock") via Reg CF of the Jobs Act ($0.25 per Preferred Share). Minimum investment of $1,000 or 4,000 Preferred Shares, plus Transfer Agent cost of $35 per certificate. Offering Amount:Up to US $1 million (4,000,000 Preferred Shares Series D). Investors:Institutional, Accredited, and Non-accredited Investors ("Holders"). Use of Proceeds:The Company intends to use the net proceeds for marketing, sales, software development, and general working capital purposes and other necessary expenditures as determined at the discretion of management. Commencement Date:Commencing with the first full calendar month following the closing, within thirty (30) calendar days following the end of each calendar month, the Company will begin making cash payment (collectively, the "Monthly Revenue Share Amount") to the holders of preferred shares. Revenue Share Percentage:The Monthly Revenue Share Amount will be in an amount equal to up to 7% of Company Gross Revenues for such calendar month. Each Revenue Sharing Investor's pro rata share of the Monthly Revenue Share Amount shall be determined by dividing such Holder's investment amount by the investment amounts of all Holders as of the first day of the calendar month applicable to such Monthly Revenue Share Amount. Maximum Revenue Share Amount:The Monthly Revenue Share Amount will continue to be paid until each Holder has received aggregate payments in an amount equal to 1.25 times such Holder's investment amount (each such Holder's "Maximum Revenue Share Amount"). Revenue Definition:For any applicable calendar month, Company Gross Revenues will be an amount equal to all gross revenues from the sale of products or services by the Company or any parent, subsidiary, or affiliate of the Company during such calendar month as determined under US generally accepted accounting principles, consistently applied. Termination Date:In the event the Holder has not received the Maximum Revenue Share Amount prior to December 31, 2020 (the "Maturity Date"), the Company shall convert the Preferred Shares into Common A shares, on or before the Maturity Date, an amount equal to the Maximum Revenue Share Amount less the sum of all previous payments made by the Company to the Holder at the Market Price of the Common A shares. Manner of Payment:All such payments to the Holder shall be deposited into a bank account of the Holder's choosing at the time of investment, or any successor account thereto which may be established by the Holder, or provided via check to the Holder. The Holder will have an option not to receive cash payment in favor of future conversions into Common A shares. Overdue Payments:The Company shall be assessed a late payment charge at an annual rate equal to three percent (3%) of any Monthly Revenue Share Amount not paid within ten (10) business days of becoming due. This late payment charge is cumulative and assessed once per month from the due date until the date of payment thereof and shall accrue and be added to any balance of unpaid amounts subject to late payment. Forced Conversion:Preferred Shares may be Force Converted into Common A shares (with 5 business days' notice from the Issuer) an amount equal to the Maximum Revenue Share Amount less the sum of all previous payments made by the Company to the Holder at the Market Price of the Common A if and only if the Issuer's Common A stock is quoted on a national stock exchange such as Nasdaq or New York Stock Exchange. The terms and conditions set forth herein are subject to change, and this letter does not constitute an offer and are indicative and subject to change based on market conditions. Neither this term sheet nor any discussion or negotiation of the proposed transaction constitutes an agreement or obligation on the part of any person to purchase or sell securities of Issuer or enter into any agreement to purchase securities of Issuer. For more information about the offering or to receive a prospectus, please go tohttp://[email protected]. About ZenaPay (www.zenapay.com)ZenaPay is being developed to solve a major problem in the "420 industry": getting paid. For cannabis-related businesses, the largest issue they face is how to be paid for their products. Traditional banking systems will not allow 420 industries access to their payment systems. ZenaPay will offer a cutting-edge payment solution that offers consumers a way to buy cannabis online or in stores using bitcoin. The newcannabis payment softwarewill allow consumers to use the digital currency to make online or in-store purchases with ease. Additionally, the process will be anonymous because all transaction details are encrypted through bitcoin. This will allow stores to accept digital currency instead of only cash. About Epazz, Inc. (www.epazz.com)Epazz, Inc. is a leading cloud-based software company that specializes in providing customized cloud applications to the corporate world, higher-education institutions, and the public sector. Epazz BoxesOS™ v3.0 is the complete web-based business software package for small- to mid-sized businesses, Fortune 500 enterprises, government agencies, and higher-education institutions. BoxesOS provides many web-based applications that organizations must otherwise buy separately. Epazz's other products are AgentPower™, a workforce management software, and AutoHire™, an applicant-tracking system. SAFE HARBOR"Safe harbor" statements are protected under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Certain statements contained in this press release are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements generally can be identified by the use of such terms as "may," "expect," "intend," "estimate," "anticipate," "believe," "continue," or the negatives thereof or similar terminology. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risk, uncertainties, and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from future results or from results implied by such forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned that any forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and that actual results may differ materially from those contemplated by such forward-looking statements. Epazz, Inc. assumes no obligation, does not intend to update these forward-looking statements, and takes no obligation to update or correct information prepared by third parties that is not paid for by Epazz, Inc. Investors are encouraged to review Epazz's public filings on SEC.gov, including its unaudited and audited financial statements, Registration Statement, and Form 10-Ks and Form 10-Qs, which contain general business information about the Company's operations as well as results of operations and risks associated with the Company and its operations. \|\| Silk Road investigator gets more jail time for second Bitcoin theft: A Secret Service agent already convicted to 71 months in prison for swiping Silk Road Bitcoins will get another two years for a separate Bitcoin theft,Reutersreports. Shaun Bridges pleaded guilty tostealing1,606 Bitcoins -- worth around $360,000 at the time and now valued at over $11 million -- from a Bitcoin wallet controlled by the Secret Service. The theft was discovered when the agency tried to return some of the coins after they were seized from the European BitStamp exchange. That sounds crazy, but there's more. Bridges was actuallycaughta day before he was scheduled to turn himself in for the first theft with bags containing a passport, offshore account records, a non-US citizenship application for his wife and multiple bulletproof vests. In other words, he was apparently set to get out of Dodge and cash in his ill-gotten Bitcoin chips at the time of his second arrest. The first time he stole Bitcoins, Bridges was working on theSilk Road casethat eventually landed kingpin Ross Ulbricht, aka "Dread Pirate Roberts," who received alife sentencefor money laundering and other crimes. During the course of the probe, Bridges transferred $800,000 worth of Bitcoins to his personal wallet. "Nothing in [Bridges'] background mitigates the shocking and reprehensible abandonment of his public duty" -Judge Richard Seeborg during Bridges' initial sentencing His co-defendant at the time was former DEA Agent Carl Force, who also stole Bitcoins during the Silk Road investigation. Those, and others seized from the BitStamp currency exchange, were stored on a digital wallet controlled by the Secret Service. Prior to his conviction for the first offense and while he was free on bail, Bridges used a key previously pilfered from the agency to transfer the 1,606 Bitcoins to accounts and wallets under his control. The Secret Service tracked down 600 of the Bitcoins, and as part of his plea deal, Bridges agreed to hand over the remaining loot. The Secret Service sold off the 144,336 Silk Road Bitcoins after Ross Ulbricht was convicted (following a challenge by Ulbricht) for an average price of $334,claimingwhat would have seemed like a windfall of $48 million back in 2015. At today's Bitcoin price of around $7,500, however, the coins are now worth (you might want to sit down) $1.08 billion. \|\| Jamie Dimon Says the Whole Bitcoin Craze Will ‘End Badly’: Even as Bitcoin fans attack the CEO for his views on the cryptocurrency, Jamie Dimon is doubling down once again on his call that Bitcoin is a “fraud.” In a CNBC interview Friday, Dimon labeled Bitcoin a “novelty” with no real value. “Right now these crypto things are kind of a novelty. People think they’re kind of neat. But the bigger they get, the more governments are going to close them down,” the CEO told CNBC. “It’s creating something out of nothing that to me is worth nothing.” Bitcoin’s price is now hovering around $3,600, down from an all-time high of $5,000 earlier this month. The cryptocurrency took a plunge after Chinese officials cracked down on bitcoin, banned ICOs andclosed down cryptocurrency exchanges. Around the same time, Dimon alsoreasserted his view from 2015that Bitcoin is a fraud that will “blow up.” He reasoned the cryptocurrency was best suited for illicit uses, likely triggering crackdowns from world governments. Separately, London-based Blockswater, which trades Bitcoin, lodged a complaint with Swedish authorities Thursday in which it accused Dimon of manipulating the price of Bitcoin. The allegations were made after Reuters reported that J.P. Morgan had been routing customer orders for an exchange-traded note tracking Bitcoin. Notably however, the trades were not directly made on behalf of J.P. Morgan--making the case a little shakier for the London firm. "They are not JPMorgan orders," a spokesperson said Friday. "These are clients purchasing third-party products directly." See original article on Fortune.com More from Fortune.com • Cryptocurrencies May Be a Dream Come True for Cyber-Extortionists • Bitcoin Price Hits $4,000 Even as Ray Dalio Calls it a 'Bubble' • JPMorgan Helps Clients Buy Bitcoin Despite CEO Calling Bitcoin 'a Fraud' • 5 Big Bitcoin Crashes: What We Learned • Bitcoin Roars Back to $4,000 \|\| ECB's Constancio compares Bitcoin to Dutch tulip mania: By Francesco Canepa FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Bitcoin is not a currency but a mere instrument of speculation, the vice president of the European Central Bank said on Friday, comparing the digital currency to tulip bulbs during the 17th century trading bubble in the Netherlands. The dollar value of the Bitcoin has nearly trebled this year and, while its adoption has yet to pick up in a significant way, the rise of this cryptocurrency is worrying central bankers across the world. But ECB Vice President Vitor Constancio denied it posed a threat to monetary policy and compared its rise to the 'Tulip mania' seen three-hundred years ago. "Bitcoin is a sort of tulip," Constancio said at an ECB conference. "It's an instrument of speculation ... but certainly not a currency and we don't see it as a threat to central bank policy." The ECB said year last year digital currencies, which are generally issued by private companies and only exist in electronic form, could in principle erode its power over the supply of money, inviting European Union lawmakers to tighten proposed rules on the matter. Earlier this month, President Mario Draghi quashed an Estonian proposal to launch a government-backed cyrptocurrency, saying the only valid money in the euro zone was the euro. Last week, Chinese authorities ordered Beijing-based cryptocurrency exchanges to stop trading and immediately notify users of their closure, signaling a widening crackdown by authorities on the industry to contain financial risks. (Reporting By Francesco Canepa; Editing by Toby Chopra) \|\| Saudi Prince Al-Waleed: Bitcoin Is 'Going to Implode': Saudi Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal sharply criticized bitcoin during an appearance on CNBC today, saying that he agrees with JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon's assessment that the cryptocurrency is a "fraud." "I just don't believe in this bitcoin thing," Al-Waleed said, according to a transcript published byCNBC. "I think it's just going to implode one day. It's Enron in the making." When asked about the specific comparison between bitcoin and the infamous American energy company that fell apart in the early 2000s amid revelations of massive accounting fraud, Al-Waleed reiterated his position that he "just [doesn't] believe in bitcoin completely." Al-Waleed went on to say: "It doesn't make sense. This thing is not regulated. It's not under control. It's not under the supervision [of] any federal – elect – United States Federal Reserve or any other central bank. I don't believe in this whole thing at all. I think it's going to implode." It was then that Al-Waleed – a Saudi royal family member who, as head of the Kingdom Holding Company, has an estimated net worth of more than $17 billion – said he agreed with Dimon, who issued the now-infamous remark last month that he believes that bitcoin "is a fraud." Dimon – whose bank is a backer of blockchain-related initiatives like the Enterprise Ethereum Foundation – has sincedoubled downon those remarks, predicting that governments would begin targeting the cryptocurrency. Image via CBS/YouTube • Mark Cuban-Backed Unikrn Raises $31 Million in E-Sports Token Sale • Prepping for a Pullback? Bitcoin Price Drops Below $6,000 • Quiet Surge: Bitcoin Price Sets New High Above $6,000 • Bitcoin Stumbles Near New High But $5k Still in Play \|\| $5,200: Bitcoin Buoyant as Price Sets New All-Time High: Bitcoin has hit a new all-time high today, with prices reaching $5,226 on the CoinDesk Bitcoin Price Index. At press time, the bitcoin-U.S. dollar ( BTC/USD ) exchange rate is trading at $5,200 levels. Week-on-week, BTC is up 18.75 percent, while month-on-month it's up 23 percent. The new record broke a previous all-time high of $5,013 set in September . All in all, it's a sharp reversal of trend given the cryptocurrency dropped to a low of $2,980 in mid-September on the news China had banned token sales and that local cryptocurrency exchanges would shut in the aftermath. However, in subsequent days, bitcoin's price quickly regained, reportedly due to a pick-up in trading volumes in Japan, South Korea and other markets. Increased institutional interest seems to have played a role in boosting bitcoin prices. For example, a rumored 'bitcoin desk' at Goldman Sachs would certainly be a game changer for the nascent market. Still, it's just the latest sign professional traders are increasingly interested in the market. Further, even while skeptics continue to call bitcoin rally a bubble, the price action analysis indicates no serious trouble ahead for the cryptocurrency. Weekly chart The chart above shows that: Bitcoin is chipping away at $5,154 resistance offered by 161.8 percent Fibonacci extension of the move from the April low June high July low. The RSI is overbought, although it's not a cause for concern, as the indicator is still well below the highs seen in August and June. Daily Chart On the above chart, resistance is seen at $5,378.56 161.8 percent Fibonacci extension of the move from the Sep 15 low Sep 18 high Sep 23 low. The RSI is overbought. All major moving averages 50-day moving average, 100-day moving average and 200-day moving average are perfectly aligned one below the other, which indicates the long-run trend is bullish. View A break above $$5,154 would open doors for $5,378.56. A healthy technical pullback cannot be ruled out, given the overbought conditions. On the downside, the key support levels to watch out for are $5,000, $4,809, $4,500. Story continues Water ballons via Shutterstock Related Stories Just SegWit? Bitcoin Core Is Already Working on a New Scaling Upgrade Nearing Bottom? Litecoin Prices Consolidating After Rough September Bitcoin-Ethereum Atomic Swap Code Now Open Source Billionaire Mike Novogratz: Bitcoin's Price Will Reach $10k in Less Than a Year \|\| RBC's CEO pushes back on suggestion bitcoin is a fraud: By Matt Scuffham TORONTO (Reuters) - The chief executive of Canada's biggest lender on Thursday pushed back on a suggestion by JPMorgan Chief Executive Jamie Dimon that bitcoin is a fraud, though he said the cryptocurrency needs monitoring. Speaking at a Reuters Newsmaker event in Toronto, Dave McKay, CEO of Royal Bank of Canada , said: "Has Bitcoin misrepresented what it is? No. "What it's solving is a way to avoid detection in moving money in our society and transferring value from one person to another," McKay said. "I think where Jamie is probably coming from is it's helping evade the supervision of moving money and from that perspective it needs to be monitored." While banks have largely steered clear of bitcoin since it emerged following the financial crisis, the virtual currency is supported by a range of people, including technology enthusiasts, libertarians sceptical of government monetary policy and speculators attracted by its price swings. Dimon earlier this month said that the currency "will not work" and said he would fire any JP Morgan staff who traded it. McKay said that if RBC staff were trading bitcoin, he would "probably ask them to stop." RBC, however, is researching how it can utilize the distribution ledger technology that underpins bitcoin, called blockchain. RBC earlier told Reuters that it was experimenting with blockchain to help move payments between its U.S. and Canadian banks. McKay said RBC is planning to use blockchain technology in its loyalty programs next year, the first time it has been used in a customer-facing application. He said the bank would initially use the technology in less risky areas where customers' money would not be put at risk. "Loyalty is something where if there is an error or a problem we could recreate loyalty systems without impact on people's real money," he said, adding that blockchain could improve the speed at which people can join loyalty programs, particularly merchants. AI INVESTMENT McKay said the bank is spending over C$10 million ($8 million) a year on artificial intelligence (AI), which can be used to predict customer behaviour and help reduce problems like credit card fraud. RBC has set up an AI research centre in Toronto with a staff of 35 to conduct pure research with massive data that the bank possesses. However, McKay said there is a scarcity of talent in AI globally, which means that RBC has to spend a significant amount to attract people with specialist knowledge. McKay said he expects competition to emerge from non-bank companies, particularly in the money-moving side of the business. "If you have a mass consumer franchise with a strong brand and lots of data about that consumer I think the barriers to banking are coming down to the point where I expect there to be competitors," he said. (Reporting by Matt Scuffham; Editing by Leslie Adler) [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] #Putin Tells Central Bank Not to Create Barriers to #Cryptocurrencies \|\| 5 min #RSI Signals: $BTC - $CVC: 25.26% $BTC - $ARK: 28.73% $USDT - $ZEC: 29.61% $USDT - $OMG: 31.38% $BTC - $KMD: 32.13% $FCT $XWC $SC \|\| #bitcoin non si ferma più? Analisi tecnica \|\| [http://Blockchainster.com ] Cryptocurrency Hedge Fund Cofounder Matthew Goetz Compares Bitcoin to… https://goo.gl/fb/Z2RWoM \|\| 27 Eylül 2017 Saat 17:00:27, 1 Bitcon Kaç Lira Eder, 0,00 TL. #BTCTL #BTCKacTL #bitcoin #bitcoindeğerihttp://www.doviz724.com/1-bitcoin-kac-tl.html … \|\| The latest The Fotis P. Bobolas Daily! http://paper.li/fbobolas/1309798998 … Thanks to @anDolmas @freenet2004 @annzabel #bitcoin #cdnpoli \|\| #bitcoin non si ferma più? Analisi tecnica \|\| #Putin Tells Central Bank Not to Create Barriers to #Cryptocurrencies \|\| 10/22 17:00現在 #Bitcoin : 674,245円↑ #NEM #XEM : 23.82円↓ #Monacoin : 316円↓ #Ethereum : 34,100円→ #Zaif : 0.5238円↑ \|\| My latest article: Luno's position on Bitcoin forks https://www.luno.com/blog/en/post/luno-bitcoin-forks …pic.twitter.com/79pvoNDwOB	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 7871.69, 7708.99, 7790.15, 8036.49, 8200.64, 8071.26, 8253.55, 8038.77, 8253.69, 8790.92
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2015-07-07] BTC Price: 266.21, BTC RSI: 65.23 Gold Price: 1152.40, Gold RSI: 36.81 Oil Price: 52.33, Oil RSI: 29.36 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] 3D Printer And A Latte, Please: In Europe, 3D printing cafes are popping up in major cities across the bloc as the technology gains traction among average consumers. Cities like Barcelona and Madrid are home to the cafes, which boast 3D printers that customers can use to design whatever they like. Trying It Out The rise of 3D printers for home use has made the cafes a success, as it gives customer the opportunity to use the technology without paying upwards of $1,000 to buy their own. After submitting their designs, customers can order food and beverages while they wait for their item to print. Everything from cellphone holders to action figures can be made in the cafe. Related Link: Analyst Calls 3D Printing 'Massive Clash Of Hype Vs. Reality' Too Complicated For The Masses Companies like 3D Systems Corporation (NYSE: DDD ) and Stratasys, Ltd. (NASDAQ: SSYS ) have developed desktop 3D printers for use in people's homes. Many saw the printers expanding in popularity and eventually becoming a household staple, but critics say there is a long way to go before the technology becomes usable for the average consumer. At the moment, complicated designs must be fed into the printer in order to make an object and the skills needed to create such drawings requires time and effort as it isn't easily picked up. Making 3D More Accessible However, 3D printing cafes have filled the gap between average consumers and complicated technology by giving people a cost-effective way to learn how to use the printers. Many of the cafes offer instruction for beginners or tools to help them understand the process. See more from Benzinga Overstock Loses Big On Bitcoin The Cost Of A 'Rocky Mountain High' Is Getting Lower Greece's Final Proposal Draws Criticism From Syriza © 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| These 2 indie movies are going to give the summer blockbusters a run for their money: DOPE2 final (Open Road Films/"Dope") "Dope." You’ve seen “ Avengers: Age of Ultron, ” “ Mad Max: Fury Road, ” and “ Jurassic World. ” Though you concede they are all thrilling and visually stunning, you’re still searching for movies this summer with a little bit more … story. Thankfully there are two movies in theaters that can help feed that need. Alfonso Gomez-Rejon ’s “ Me and Earl and the Dying Girl ” and Rick Famuyiwa ’s “ Dope ” on the surface look like two very different movies, from where they're set to dialogue and characters. But they have a lot in common. me and earl and the dying girl1 (Fox Searchlight/"Me and Earl and the Dying Girl") "Me and Earl and the Dying Girl." Both films played at this year’s Sundance Film Festival and walked away with awards (for “Me and Earl” the prestigious Audience Award and Grand Jury prizes, and for “Dope” best editing), they both look at modern-day high-school life, and they have both been thrust in the middle of the summer blockbuster season (“Me and Earl” is in theaters; “Dope” opens Friday). Distributors Fox Searchlight (“Me and Earl”) and Open Road Films (“Dope”) are using the classic counter-programming maneuver in the hopes that audiences who aren’t into Hollywood blockbusters, or by mid-June are ready for something new, will give these indie darlings a try. This was a play Searchlight had success with when releasing the cult comedy “Napoleon Dynamite” in mid-June 2004. Building off the success of the film-festival circuit without a star or name director, the film had an impressive opening weekend take of $117,000 and went on to have a total domestic gross of over $44 million (the film’s budget was around $400,000). napoleon dynamite (Fox Searchlight) "Napoleon Dynamite." In its opening weekend “Me and Earl” took in similar numbers with over $196,000 . For this weekend, “Dope” is also getting creative in their purchase options, allowing tickets to be purchased via Bitcoin , making it the first time digital currency has ever been allowed for ticket sales. Story continues But strategic placement and gimmicks aside, the movies are strong enough to grab the attention of even the most dedicated Hollywood blockbuster moviegoer. In “Me and Earl and the Dying Girl,” we follow the senior year of outsider Greg (Thomas Mann). With a daily existence that includes staying friendly with all the different cliques at his Pittsburgh high school (but not committed to any) and making ultra-low-budget knocks-offs of classic films with his buddy Earl (RJ Cyler), Greg’s priorities change when he befriends Rachel (Olivia Cooke), a classmate who has recently been diagnosed with cancer. me and earl and the dying girl2 (Fox Searchlight/"Me and Earl and the Dying Girl") Thomas Mann and Olivia Cooke in "Me and Earl and the Dying Girl." The story has a been-there-done-that feel, but the style is a fresh one to the high-school dramedy genre with its creative use of stop-motion animation and high IQ in movie geekdom. “Dope” is set in the Inglewood neighborhood (known to those who live there as “The Bottoms”) of Los Angeles and follows another geek, Malcolm (Shameik Moore), and his two friends Jib (Tony Revolori) and Diggy (Kiersey Clemons). Unlike Greg and Earl, who have zero aspirations, Malcolm and his crew have high hopes for the future. Keeping away from the gang culture of South Los Angeles and completely obsessed with ’90s hip-hop, their main goal is to leave the 'hood and get into college, especially Malcolm, who has aspirations to attend Harvard. Dope1 final (Open Road Films/"Dope") Shameik Moore in "Dope." But things get complicated when Malcolm goes to the party of the neighborhood drug dealer and unknowingly leaves with drugs. Malcolm and friends then embark on an adventure through LA to get rid of the goods. If you listened to hip-hop in the ’90s, you will likely love “Dope.” It’s filled with nostalgic tracks from A Tribe Called Quest, Nas, Public Enemy, Digital Underground, and Naughty By Nature, curated by executive producer Pharrell Williams. They are perfectly placed and elevate the enjoyment of the story that’s part “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” part “Friday.” What both films exemplify is that movies with strong stories (and without massive explosions) can survive in the summer months. Whether the hook is geek culture, or a killer soundtrack, once you’re watching, it’s the excellent crafting of these characters by Gomez-Rejon and Famuyiwa that keep you engrossed for the next few hours. This weekend, take a break from the CGI-fueled blockbusters and check out one of these films instead. And if you need more convincing, here are the trailers for both films. More From Business Insider 'Jurassic World' has a ton of hit and miss ideas — but it's a wild ride For the first time a movie will accept Bitcoin for ticket purchases 'Jurassic World' just surpassed 'Avengers' for the highest-grossing opening weekend ever \|\| Your first trade for Thursday: The " Fast Money " traders gave their final trades of the day. Pete Najarian was a buyer of RAI (NYSE: RAI - News ) . Dan Nathan said he was watching FDX (NYSE: FDX - News ) . Brian Kelly was a buyer of CRM (NYSE: CRM - News ) . Guy Adami was a buyer of PFPT (NASDAQ: PFPT - News ) . Trader disclosure: On June 17, 2015, the following stocks and commodities mentioned or intended to be mentioned on CNBC's "Fast Money" were owned by the "Fast Money" traders: Pete Najarian is long AMAT, AAPL, BABA, BAC, BMY, BP, CSX, DISCA, DKS, FOXA, GE, KKR, KO, LLY, MRK, PEP, PFE, TEVA, he is long calls AAL, ABX, BAC, BBY, BMY, C, CAH, COP, CSX, DAL, DE, ETFC, FCAU, GE, GS, INTC, INVN, JPM, LEN, MT, MU, NUAN, OC, PFE, RAD, RAI, S, SXC, SYY, UAL, USB, VOYA, VZ, WSM, XLF, ZIOP. Today he bought RAI calls, today he sold WFM calls. Dan Nathan is long CAT July/August put spread, SPY June put fly, TWTR, BBRY June calls, SO, DE June put fly, INTC July put, WMT June Call Fly, LVS July Aug Put Spread, TWTR SEPT call spread, GRRO June Put Fly, MSFT July call butterfly, he is short SO Aug call. Brian Kelly is long BABA, BBRY, BTC=, EEM, Euro, TAN, TSL; he is short Dollar and Yuan. Today he sold DXGE and U.S. Dollar. Today he closed out of short Australian Dollar, short Canadian Dollar, short Euro, and short Yen. Guy Adami is long CELG, EXAS, INTC, Guy Adami's wife, Linda Snow, works at Merck. More From CNBC CNBC.com News Page CNBC.com Blogs Page CNBC.com Earnings Central \|\| Silicon Valley banks on Bitcoin as a way to overtake Wall Street: If you asked most people through history their biggest complaint about money, most would say they just dont have enough of it. But there have long been small factions dissatisfied with the dominant forms of money, which sought a more secure, private, efficient means of storing wealth and paying for things. The digital currency Bitcoin emerged from these desires, enabled by pervasive access to the Internet and alarm over the failures of central banks and private financial institutions in the credit bust of the late 2000s. Nathaniel Popper, a New York Times reporter who covers the interplay of finance and technology, has now detailed Bitcoins rise through the story of the quixotic utopians and mercenary opportunists who helped develop it in his new book, Digital Gold: Bitcoin and the Inside Story of the Misfits and Millionaires Trying to Reinvent Money. As Popper notes in the attached video, privacy advocates had led the quest for a new money for the Internet Age since the 1990s, uneasy with the permanent traces left by electronic transactions and suspicious of the banks and governments that controlled the creation and flow of money. Yet not much took hold until late 2008, when a still-unidentified figure who called himself Satoshi Nakamoto circulated a manifesto and software code for an ingenious system for mining Bitcoin using an open network of computers and securely but anonymously verifying the ownership and transfer of this currency. This effort caught on with a broader assortment of libertarian coders, techno-utopians and outlaw profiteers. The financial crisis as catalyst What was in the air when Bitcoin was launched, says Popper, was the financial crisis. The crisis inflamed anger and fear over the misbehavior of banks, the aggressive money printing of the Federal Reserve and the evident systemic vulnerability of nation-based fiat currencies. Poppers title likens Bitcoin to gold because it shares much of what people have valued in gold over the centuries: It is indestructible, globally accepted, finite in supply, portable, infinitely divisible, difficult to mine and unconnected to any government or institution. Story continues The Bitcoin regime encourages individuals to dedicate computing power to creating new Bitcoin and supporting the platform for their ownership and transfer. Computers mine Bitcoin by competing to solve complex mathematical problems. New Bitcoin are released in predetermined increments, and the supply will be capped at 21 million Bitcoin around the year 2040. [ Get the Latest Market Data and News with the Yahoo Finance App ] Waves of excitement and adversity have washed over Bitcoin since it launched. The black-market ecommerce site Silk Road, which sold drugs and other illegal goods, was a huge drive of its early growth, before law enforcement authorities shut it down. The biggest Bitcoin exchange, Mt. Gox , collapsed after a series of theft attacks and technology failures. And when Chinese ecommerce giant Baidu began accepting Bitcoin payment it helped set off a speculative surge in the price of Bitcoin, from a few dollars to above $1,200 in 2013. The price has since settled back into the $200s per Bitcoin. Even after the Fed-hating rhetoric cooled and Bitcoins price surge reversed, big-money entrepreneurs and institutions have invested in the Bitcoin ecosystem. The New York Stock Exchange this week began quoting a benchmark Bitcoin price index . Former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers is involved in a Bitcoin startup called 21 Inc . Goldman Sachs Group Inc. ( GS ) has invested in a Bitcoin-related business , as has heavyweight venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz. The fascinating thing about Bitcoin is that it has sort of managed to adapt to the times, says Popper. It is sort of a blank slate on which people can write their own interests. A 'tech utopia' Some see its main value as serving as a low-cost version of PayPal, enabling efficient global online payments, or a more seamless way for banks to move enormous sums among themselves. Others believe it is the supreme store of wealth, sure to appreciate given limited supply and growing adoption. Others see the main value residing in the clever open-source computing platform, which some believe can be put to widespread use for other purposes . Some of the fiercest advocates for Bitcoin embody the present rise of tech utopianism in Silicon Valley, where high-riding entrepreneurs and programmers believe they are remaking massive parts of society through smarter software. Remaking the storage and transfer of money takes out a lot of middlemen, Popper points out. A lot of the excitement in Silicon Valley is, maybe this is Silicon Valleys chance to take some of the fundamental business lines of Wall Street. Of course, the vast majority of people seem rather content with the existing dollar-based system and the payments infrastructure that works rather well for most purposes. Much of the innovation in financial technology such as Apple Pay and Google Wallet are built atop the banking and card processing networks, in fact. This could make Bitcoin-centered systems seem like a solution in search of a problem. But that wont stop the true believers and opportunists from trying to persuade the world that there is a more perfect form of money, invented seven years ago by someone whos never been identified. \|\| Your first trade for Wednesday: The "Fast Money" traders delivered their final trades of the day. Tim Seymour was a seller of the TBT(NYSE Arca: TBT). Pete Najarian was a buyer of ADT(ADT). Brian Kelly was a buyer of LVS(LVS). Steve Grasso was a buyer of SAP(XETRA:SAP-DE). Trader disclosure: On May 12, 2015 , the following stocks and commodities mentioned or intended to be mentioned on CNBC's "Fast Money" were owned by the "Fast Money" traders:Tim Seymour is long T, BAC, C, DIS, F, GE, GM, GOOGL, INTC, JCP, KO, SUNE, TBT, VIP, Tim's firm is long BABA, BIDU, CHL, MCD, NKE, NOK, SBUX, YHOO. Pete Najarian is long AMAT, AAPL, BABA, BAC, BMY, BP, CSX, DISCA, FOXA, GE, KKR, KO, LLY, MBLY, MRK, PEP, PFE, he is long calls AA, AAL, BBY, BK, CBS, COP, CSX, DB, EJ, F, FL, GE, GS, HSBC, HZNP, IMAX, KO, KSS, LEN, MAC, MYL, NEE, NTAP, NUAN, OC, PFE, SYY, TEVA, TSX, UAL, UUP, VALE, VMW, VZ, XLF, XOM, ZIOP. Steve Grasso is long AAPL, BAC, BTU, DD, EVGN, MJNA, PFE, T, TWTR, GDX, his firm is long TWTR, APA, AMZN, MCD, OXY, RIG, NE, TSE, VALE, IBM his kids own EFG, EFA, EWJ, IJR, SPY. Brian Kelly is long BTC=, BBRY, SPY puts, U.S. Dollar, he is short Australian Dollar, he is short Yen, he is short Yuan. Stifel Analyst James Albertine: Stifel or an affiliate is a market maker or liquidity provider in the securities of Tesla Motors, Inc. More From CNBC • Top News and Analysis • Latest News Video • Personal Finance \|\| 4 trades on airline and aerospace stocks: JetBlue Airways(NASDAQ:JBLU-News)stock could gain ground as the carrier attempts an overseas expansion, some CNBC "Fast Money" traders said. The company on Monday said it is looking into extending its network to South America and other places abroad with a long-range plane from Airbus. JetBlue closed Tuesday barely higher. While he was disappointed by the way it traded after the news, trader Guy Adami said he still likes JetBlue at its current price, below $20 per share. The stock has climbed more than 20 percent this year, and trader Steve Grasso agreed that he would stick with it, especially after a recent pullback in the wider airline sector. Read MoreFor Boeing, Airbus, it's about profits That broader weakness has brought Delta Air Lines(NYSE:DAL-News)to "interesting levels," said trader Tim Seymour. The stock has fallen more than 17 percent this year, and closed Tuesday around $40 per share. Delta looks risky if it fails to hold above $40, he noted. Boeing(NYSE:BA-News)looks the most appealing in the aerospace sector, trader Brian Kelly contended. The stock has climbed almost 10 percent this year. Read MoreAirlines are getting better at being on time Disclosures: TIM SEYMOUR Tim Seymour is long AAPL, T, BAC, C, DIS, F, GE, GM, GOOGL, INTC, JCP and SUNE. Tim's firm is long BABA, BIDU, MCD, NKE, NOK, SBUX and YHOO. STEVE GRASSO Steve Grasso is long AAPL, BAC, DD, DECK, EVGN, MJNA, PFE, T, TWTR and GDX. His firm is long AVP and TWTR. His kids own EFG, EFA, EWJ, IJR and SPY. BRIAN KELLY Brian Kelly is long DXGE, BTC=, BBRY and U.S. dollar. He is short Australian dollar, Canadian dollar, euro, yen and yuan. GUY ADAMI Guy Adami is long CELG, EXAS and INTC. Guy Adami's wife, Linda Snow, works at Merck. More From CNBC • CNBC.com News Page • CNBC.com Blogs Page • CNBC.com Earnings Central \|\| New York regulator issues final virtual currency rules: By Karen Freifeld and Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York state issued on Wednesday extensive new rules for companies that operate in virtual currencies such as bitcoin but did little to accommodate complaints that overly tight regulation could hamper the nascent industry. The new rules, the first by a state, create comprehensive guidelines for regulating digital currency firms, according to the state's Department of Financial Services, which developed the regulations. It means that digital currency companies operating in New York state that hold customer funds and exchange virtual currencies for dollars or other currencies are required to apply for what is known as a state "BitLicense." "There is a basic bargain that when a financial company is entrusted with safeguarding customer funds and receives a license from the state to do so, it accepts the need for heightened regulatory scrutiny to help ensure that a consumer's money does not just disappear into a black hole," Benjamin Lawsky, superintendent of the New York state regulator, said in a speech Wednesday at the BITS Emerging Payments Forum in Washington. The "BitLicense" rules include consumer protection, anti-money laundering and cybersecurity protections. The regulations come as digital currencies have drawn criticism for attracting drug dealers and other criminal elements, while failing to safeguarding consumer funds. Last year, bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox collapsed after it claimed to have lost $500 million worth of customer bitcoins after being hacked. Overall, industry participants said New York's new rules are still problematic but nonetheless an improvement over the original proposals laid out in July and revised in December. Digital currency companies are required to obtain prior approval for material changes to their products or business models, such as wallet firms offering exchange services. They would also need approval for new controlling investors. Story continues But they would not need approval from the state for every round of venture capital funding or standard software updates. "We have no interest in micro-managing minor app updates. We're not Apple," said Lawsky. Companies that want both a BitLicense and a money transmitter license can work with the state regulator to have a "one-stop" application submission to cover the requirements for both. Jerry Brito, executive director of non-profit research group Coin Center, called the final regulations "far from perfect," specifically citing what he said were vague state-level anti-money laundering obligations that go beyond federal regulations. He said the group was working with other states "to ensure they do not repeat the mistakes made here." The rules do not apply to software developers, individual users, customer loyalty programs, gift cards, currency miners, or merchants accepting bitcoin as payment. Lawsky, meanwhile, has come under fire from the bitcoin community for issuing the rules shortly after announcing he was leaving the agency to set up a consulting company that will advise companies on financial matters that could possibly include digital currencies. The most prominent virtual currency now is bitcoin, often used as an investment or to pay for goods and services online. Bitcoin prices have been steady of late, at $225.77 on the BitStamp platform on Wednesday. The price rose as high as $1,123 in December 2013. "I think (the rules) are going to increase the costs to entry for businesses," said New York attorney Reuben Grinberg, who specializes in virtual currency. "But I think it's going to give consumers greater peace of mind and will end up promoting investment in this area much more so than it hurts." (Reporting by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss and Karen Freifeld; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Steve Orlofsky) \|\| Humanoid Robots Closer Than You Think: Robots working alongside humans and even becoming their companions may sound like something out of a science fiction movie, but Japan's SoftBank Corp (USA) (OTC: SFTBF ) is planning to make such robots a reality in the very near future. The company has developed a robot called "Pepper" that it says will eventually become a staple in the modern world. Pepper's Capabilities The robot has been touted as the first to be capable of understanding human emotions. The device is able to understand facial expressions and body language in order to predict how a person is feeling, and it can express its own emotions as well. SoftBank said Pepper will eventually be able to carry out simple tasks like household chores, but for now the robot's primary function will be communication. Pepper can provide companionship to the elderly and keep their memory sharp by asking questions. The robot is also able to remind people to take their medication and report back to medical professionals with health data. Related Link: The Future Of Robots Alibaba On Board On Thursday, SoftBank announced that Chinese e-commerce firm Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (NYSE: BABA ) is backing the robot by buying a 20 percent stake in the venture. Alibaba is investing ¥14.5 billion in Pepper's development in hopes of catching the robotics wave before it comes in. Alibaba executive chairman Jack Ma said he sees robots becoming as popular as cars and airplanes in the coming years. Price Problem Robots like Pepper are unlikely to become the norm in average households anytime soon, as they carry an expensive price tag. Pepper will cost ¥198,000, but won't be able to run without a ¥25,000 per month contract. Image Credit: Public Domain See more from Benzinga New Study Shows Marijuana May Help Fight Cancer New Software Makes It Harder To Use Bitcoin For Criminal Activity Summer Budget Wars Begin With Defense Spending © 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. View comments \|\| MarilynJean Media Interactive (MJMI.qb) Announces Entry into Bitcoin and Crypto-Currency Space: HENDERSON, NV / ACCESSWIRE / June 10, 2015 / MarilynJean Media Interactive ( MJMI ) announced today it has expanded its operations into the crypto-currency market with a focus on bitcoin. The Company announced plans to pursue several verticals within the space including operation of a Bitcoin Exchange where users will be able to buy and sell bitcoins, as well as other popular crypto-currencies, and exchange their holdings into a range of international currencies. The Company is also developing plans to partner with a manufacturer of bitcoin Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) whose operation it plans to integrate directly with its trading platform allowing for a seamless, end to end solution for trading and currency conversion either online or in person at an ATM. The current market capitalization of bitcoins in circulation exceeds $3 billion. Simultaneously, the company is also planning to use its developing expertise and network in the bitcoin space to participate in the multi-billion dollar currency remittance market. The company plans to use the combination of a bitcoin exchange and ATMs to facilitate ultra-low-cost international remittance services. The World Bank projects global remittances to exceed $450 billion in 2015. Peter Janosi, the company's president said: "With major players across virtually every industry making big bets on crypto-currencies, and bitcoin in particular, we believe our timing is optimal to enter this exciting space. We look forward to updating our shareholders with our progress in building the company's expertise and partnerships in the industry over the coming months." A crypto-currency is a medium of exchange using cryptography to secure transactions and control the creation of new units. Bitcoin became the first decentralized crypto-currency in 2009. Crypto-currency is produced at a rate which is defined when the system is created and publicly known. By contrast, in centralized banking and economic systems, such as the Federal Reserve System, corporate boards or governments control the supply of currency by printing units or demanding additions to digital banking ledgers. However, neither companies nor governments can produce units of crypto-currency and as such the value of crypto-currencies are completely based on supply and demand, free from any governmental control. Many people believe crypto-currencies, and in particular bitcoin, hold the promise of being the most significant advancement in global finance in modern history. The advent of bitcoin creates a secure, easily accessible and transferable transnational currency that is completely liberated from political influence. Story continues Richard Branson, head of the Virgin Group, is quoted on his company's website as saying: "I have invested in Bitcoin because I believe in its potential, the capacity it has to transform global payments is very exciting." Heavyweight investment bank Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS), announced on April 30th 2015 that it had partnered with Chinese investment firm IDG Capital partners to invest $50 million in a Bitcoin start-up. Numerous high-profile firms have begun accepting Bitcoin as a payment method including: Dell Inc. (NASDAQ:DELL), Dish Network Corp. (NASDAQ:DISH), Expedia Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE), and Overstock.com (NASDAQ:OSTK). MarilynJean Media Interactive is among the first publicly traded companies focussed on bitcoin and the crypto-currency space. The company's trading symbol is MJMI.QB. Website: www.marilynjean.com Press Contact: [email protected] SOURCE: MarilynJean Media Interactive View comments \|\| Europe's nine hottest tech firms right now: Europe is producing more $1-billion-dollar technology start-ups -- or "unicorns" -- than ever before, as investors pour money into the region's stars. Funding for tech firms in the region almost doubled from $2.88 billion in 2014 to $5.65 billion so far this year, according to GP Bullhound, the technology-focused investment bank. As part of London Technology Week, an awards ceremony -- The Europas -- identified some of Europe's hottest tech companies, with a panel of judges made up of venture capitalists and journalists deciding the victors. Companies were nominated across 25 different categories, including best e-commerce start-up and best entertainment start-up. Here are some of the winners. Winner: Spotify Despite being nine years old, music-streaming service Spotify won this award, as it continues to "change the music industry," according to the organizers of The Europas. The Swedish start-up recently raised a $526 million round of funding giving it a valuation of over $8 billion. Spotify has 20 million paying subscribers, and 75 million members overall. But Spotify has come under fire from those in the music industry and has been accused of paying low royalties to artists. Last year, pop star Taylor Swift pulled her whole music collection off the platform in protest. Spotify is now competing in an extremely tough market with competition from the likes of Apple Music, Jay Z's Tidal service and Google. Other nominees in the category included Shazam and Soundcloud. Winner: Deliveroo It seems that we cannot get enough of food delivery companies, and Deliveroo impressed the judges most. The London-based start-up allows people to order food from restaurants like Ping Pong and Gourmet Burger Kitchen and have it delivered. Earlier this year, Deliveroo received a $25 million round of funding from Accel Partners. Other nominees included another food service Delivery Hero and Hello Fresh. Winner: Citymapper Citymapper won three awards at The Europas including "best travel start-up" and the coveted "grand prix" prize. Story continues It's an U.K.-based urban navigation app designed to help people get around some of the world's biggest cities. Last year, Citymapper got a $10 million round of funding led by London-based Balderton Capital. Other nominees in the category included YPLan and Wallapop. Winner: Adyen Adyen is Netherlands' first "unicorn" and provides much of the back-end technology for online, mobile and in-store payment systems. Last year, the Dutch company raised a $250 million round of funding led by General Atlantic, Temasek and Index Ventures. Fintech has become an increasingly hot space, with companies looking to disrupt the businesses of major financial institutions. Other nominees in the category included money transfer service TransferWise, and peer-to-peer lending platform Funding Circle. Winner: Digital Shadows Cybersecurity has been in the headlines over the past year following a number of high-profile attacks on companies. Digital Shadows describes itself as a "cyber threat intelligence company" aimed at protecting businesses from dangerous hack attacks and data loss. The London-based start-up recently bagged $8 million in funding. Other nominees included email encryption company Whiteout Networks and security intelligence firm Cyberlytic. Winner: Blockchain Blockchain is the world's most popular bitcoin (: BTC=) wallet provider, offering storage and enabling people to buy things with the cryptocurrency. The company also provides information and data on the block chain - the public ledger of bitcoin transactions. A number of investors have questioned the future of bitcoin, claiming that the underlying block chain technology will be more important in the future. Still, this has not stopped people talking about the digital currency. Last year, Blockchain raised $30.5 million in funding, after rival Bitpay announced a $30-million funding round. Other nominees in the category included bitcoin payment processing company Bitpay, and a bitcoin transaction start-up Safello. Winner: Space Ape Games So-called "casual gamers" are set to drive $30 billion of revenues to the mobile games markets this year, according to market research firm Newzoo, and start-ups are capitalizing on this. Space Ape Games is a mobile gaming company behind popular title Samurai Seige. The British start-up raised $7 million of funding at the end of last year led by Accel Partners. Other nominees in the category included Moshi-Monster-maker Mind Candy and another mobile gamemaker, Omnidrone. Winner: Hassle.com Everything nowadays is on-demand and can be ordered from a smartphone. At The Europas, it was Hassle.com - a service that allows you to order a cleaner straight to your door - that took the prize in this category. The sharing economy refers to the swathe of start-ups that allows users to rent things owned by others, such as Airbnb or BlaBlaCar. Hassle.com raised around $6 million in a funding round last year. Other nominees in the category included ridesharing app BlaBlaCar, and parking space booking app JustPark. More From CNBC Top News and Analysis Latest News Video Personal Finance [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] In the last 10 mins, there were arb opps spanning 18 exchange pair(s), yielding profits ranging between $0.00 and $1,382.25 #bitcoin #btc \|\| Current price: 271.84$ $BTCUSD $btc #bitcoin 2015-07-06 19:00:06 EDT \|\| In the last 10 mins, there were arb opps spanning 17 exchange pair(s), yielding profits ranging between $0.00 and $1,351.03 #bitcoin #btc \|\| Current price: 153.12£ $BTCGBP $btc #bitcoin 2015-06-21 23:00:08 BST \|\| buysellbitco.in #bitcoin price in INR, Buy : 16097.00 INR Sell : 15601.00 INR. Buy and sell bitcoin in #India using #buysellbitcoin \|\| #RDD / #BTC on the exchanges: Cryptsy: 0.00000006 Bittrex: 0.00000005 Average $1.2E-5 per #reddcoin 04:00:01 \|\| buysellbitco.in #bitcoin price in INR, Buy : 15317.00 INR Sell : 14834.00 INR. Buy and sell bitcoin in #India using #buysellbitcoin \|\| In the last 10 mins, there were arb opps spanning 19 exchange pair(s), yielding profits ranging between $0.00 and $1,498.85 #bitcoin #btc \|\| One Bitcoin now worth $241.25@bitstamp. High $242.00. Low $237.54. Market Cap $3.415 Billion #bitcoin \|\| Current price: 204.49€ $BTCEUR $btc #bitcoin 2015-06-05 21:00:05 CEST	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 270.79, 269.23, 284.89, 293.11, 310.87, 292.05, 287.46, 285.83, 278.09, 279.47
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2016-02-04] BTC Price: 389.59, BTC RSI: 48.17 Gold Price: 1157.60, Gold RSI: 72.49 Oil Price: 31.72, Oil RSI: 47.01 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Cable & Wireless Communications and Huawei Have Successfully Tested the First Trial of the Fastest Copper Based Broadband Service With G.fast Across Latin America: MIAMI, FL--(Marketwired - Jan 6, 2016) - Cable & Wireless Communications Plc's (CWC) business unit in Panama, Cable & Wireless Panama SA (CWP) and Huawei , a leading global information and communications technology (ICT) solutions provider, today announced the first successful trial of the fastest copper based broadband service across Latin America using leading G.fast technology. As a market leader in mobile and broadband services in Panama, CWP is also the largest telecom service provider in the country with a market leading brand, superior network coverage and excellent customer service. CWP partnered with Huawei to deploy CWC's first trial of the G.fast technology on its existing copper infrastructure. "We are excited to be partnering with Cable & Wireless Communications and together pioneering the first trial of the fastest copper fixed line broadband service with G.fast across Latin America," said Mr. Stephen Ma, CEO of Huawei for the Caribbean. "G.fast is the right way to extend the existing fixed line infrastructure to the gigabit access era by accelerating a future oriented ultra-broadband solution with unparalleled user experiences," he added. The G.fast technology trial ran for two months in Panama deploying Huawei's latest multi-service access node equipment. CWP's trial successfully achieved high speeds averaging 500 Mbps to download and 150 Mbps to upload, over its existing copper fixed lines. "We are thrilled to announce that Cable & Wireless Panama was the first market across Latin America to have successfully completed testing of the G.fast technology, which can deliver high speeds, to its customers through the fastest copper based fixed line broadband technology across the region reaching speeds of 500 Mbps," said Carlo Alloni, EVP Technology and Group CTIO, Cable & Wireless Communications. "Our strategic partnership with Huawei has strengthened our commitment to consider solutions that deliver high-speeds," added Alloni. G.fast technology is based on the Time Division Multiplexing (TDM) method with an improved algorithm that cancels the noise in the lines, reducing the effects of crosstalk and allowing transmission of higher rates of bits with a better quality, increasing the speeds of the information transmitted. Huawei's G.fast solution can complement the other technologies selected for its HFC (Hybrid fiber-coaxial) and Fibre delivery platforms. CWP's G.fast technology is providing a fivefold increase in speeds compared to any existing internet copper residential service in Panama and empowering the fastest copper fixed line broadband service across Latin America. Story continues About Huawei Huawei is a leading global information and communications technology (ICT) solutions provider. Driven by customer-centric innovation and open partnerships, Huawei has established an end-to-end ICT solutions portfolio that gives customers competitive advantages in telecom and enterprise networks, devices and cloud computing. Its innovative ICT solutions, products and services are used in more than 170 countries and regions, serving over one-third of the world's population. Founded in 1987, Huawei is a private company fully owned by its employees. About G.fast G.fast is a digital subscriber line (DSL) standard for local loops, with performance targets between 150 Mbps and 1 Gbps, depending on loop length. Since the launch of the world's first G.FAST prototype by Huawei in December 2011, G.FAST technology has become highly anticipated by the ICT industry and has maintained strong development momentum. About C&W Communications Cable & Wireless Communications Plc (CWC) is a full service communications and entertainment provider, operating in the Caribbean and Latin America. With annual sales of over $2.4bn, it operates both mobile and fixed networks, supported by submarine and terrestrial optical fibre backhaul capacity. Through the acquisition of Columbus International Inc. on 31 March 2015, CWC now delivers superior high-speed mobile data, broadband and video services. It has leading market positions in Mobile, Fixed Line, Broadband and Video consumer offers. Through its business division, CWC provides data centre hosting, domestic and international managed network services, and customised IT service solutions, utilising cloud technology to serve business and government customers. The company also operates a state-of-the-art subsea fibre optic cable network that spans more than 42,000 km -- the most extensive in the region -- as well as 38,000 km of terrestrial fibre providing wholesale and carrier backhaul capacity. CWC has more than 7,200 employees serving over 6.3 million customers (Mobile 4.1m; Fixed Line 1.1m; Video 465k and Broadband 680k) as well as over 125k corporate clients across 42 countries. The Company's leading brands include; LIME and Flow in the Caribbean; BTC in The Bahamas; Mas Movil in Panama; C&W Business and C&W Networks. CWC is the market leader in most products offered and territories served. It is a major contributor to local communities through its corporate social responsibility programmes. Cable & Wireless Communications' shares are quoted on the London Stock Exchange under the ticker CWC. The company is headquartered in London with its operational hub located in Miami, within close proximity to the Caribbean and Latin America. For more information visit: www.cwc.com . About CWP Cable & Wireless Panama (CWP) is the market leader in mobile, broadband and fixed line services in Panama. The Company's mobile business operates under the brand name +Movil and the other businesses under + internet and +TV Digital in Panama. CWP is also a leading regional player in enterprise and managed services as well as being a leader in carrier services in partnership with our Caribbean business. View comments \|\| Can The Bitcoin Foundation Last?: The Bitcoin Foundation was launched in 2012 as a way to provide legitimacy to bitcoin and cryptocurrencies at a time when they were relatively unknown. For two years, the foundation worked to lobby lawmakers, create public awareness and help bitcoin technology advance with the changing times. However, in 2014 when the price of bitcoin dropped dramatically, the foundation lost a great deal of its funding and now almost two years later, it continues to struggle. Money Issues One of the foundation's largest problems lies in its finances. The Bitcoin Foundation's board members have proven inexperienced at raising money and managing finances, an issue that has caused the organization to lose around $7 million over the course of the past two years. Related Link: What's In Store For Bitcoin In 2016 On December 15 when the Bitcoin Foundation held its board meeting, Executive Director Bruce Fenton admitted that the organization was in dire straits and that more funding would be required in order to keep the foundation up and running, according to Bloomberg. A Bad Reputation However, while the bitcoin community strongly supports spreading the word about cryptocurrencies, the Bitcoin Foundation has found it increasingly difficult to recruit new members and drum up donations. One of the reasons for this has been the organization's deteriorating reputation. As bitcoin itself was dragged through the mud due to high profile scams, some Bitcoin Foundation board members were wrapped up in scandals of their own. Former Vice Chairman of the Bitcoin Foundation Charlie Shrem is serving time in prison for his involvement in the illegal Silk Road marketplace, and founding member Mark Karpeles, the brain behind failed exchange Mt. Gox, was arrested on charges of embezzlement in August 2015. Does Bitcoin Need A Foundation? While the Bitcoin Foundation has been instrumental in helping the cryptocurrency advance, many believe the currency is likely to survive even without the organization. While the Bitcoin Foundation represents the first major entity to advocate cryptocurrencies, several others have since emerged and will likely take on the organization's role should it deteriorate further. Story continues Hanging On By A Thread On December 22, the Bitcoin Foundation voted to continue into the New Year and appointed three new board members. In an effort to turn things around, the foundation is working to revamp its mission statement and focus on maintaining healthier financials. Image Credit: Public Domain See more from Benzinga What Does The End Of The Oil Export Ban Mean For Investors? Could 2016 Be The Year Of Drone Deliveries? Are Bank Stocks The Way Forward In 2016? © 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| 5 'Bold' Predictions For 2016: In a new report, Cup & Handle Macro analyst Michael Lingenheld revealed five bold market predictions for 2016. Here’s a breakdown of his list. 1. Revolution in a major emerging market Lingenheld believes that South Africa is the top target, but names Turkey, Indonesia, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Ukraine and Russia as other possibilities. All of these countries are currently suffering from large debt burdens, poor leadership and high youth unemployment. 2. Bitcoin outperforms all fiat currencies Lingenheld made this same prediction prior to 2015, and it came true. Bitcoin gained 35 percent in 2015, and he sees no reason why the cryptocurrency won’t outperform again in 2016. 3. A major currency peg will break Lingenheld notes that the IMF’s annual review of currency regimes revealed than only 35 percent of member countries let their currencies float as of the beginning of 2015. He adds that Middle Eastern countries suffering from low oil prices are top candidates, including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and UAE. “Bringing down any of these pegs would be a major macro story, but a free-floating or devalued Hong Kong Dllar would be a monumental development,” Lingenheld explains. 4. Corn and wheat will each rally at least 20 percent Global stock-to-use ratios are at 16-year highs, and low gas prices have been a major boost for farmers. However, Lingenheld is not convinced that crop prices are high enough to drive a huge planting season in the spring. 5. A unicorn company will go bankrupt Lingenheld sees a shift in market enthusiasm for new tech companies, including the disappointingSquare Inc(NYSE:SQ) IPO pricing. He believes that the reality of competing with big tech companies likeAlphabet Inc(NASDAQ:GOOGL), Apple Inc.(NASDAQ:AAPL) andAmazon.com, Inc.(NASDAQ:AMZN) will start weighing heavily on smaller unicorn companies and their investors. Disclosure: the author holds no position in the stocks mentioned. Latest Ratings for AAPL [{"Dec 2015": "Dec 2015", "Cowen & Company": "Barclays", "Maintains": "Maintains", "": "", "Market Perform": "Overweight"}, {"Dec 2015": "Dec 2015", "Cowen & Company": "BMO Capital", "Maintains": "Initiates Coverage on", "": "", "Market Perform": "Outperform"}] View More Analyst Ratings for AAPLView the Latest Analyst Ratings See more from Benzinga • Apple's Chart Indicates A Tough Start To 2016 Ahead • CES 2016 Expected To Be Huge For Drones, Virtual Reality And Wearables • Apple Stock For ? How Fractional Investing Changes The Game © 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| ATM Market Worth $24.92 Billion by 2022: Grand View Research, Inc.: SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwired - Dec 14, 2015) - The globalATM marketis expected to reach USD 24.92 billion by 2022, according to a new study by Grand View Research, Inc. Rising demand for automated wireless communication devices along with growing security standards are estimated to drive the industry. Enhanced security standards for safer online, and physical financial transactions has led to a significant rise in use of these services. Further, continuation of strict security standards and safer modes of financial transactions are expected to have a substantial impact on the industry growth. Automation of the basic financial transactions and technological advancements increasing at alarming rate would increase mobile transcations among the customers. Linkage of ATMs with wiireless devices would facilitate the customers to complete the transcations securely. Browse full research report with TOC on "ATM Market Analysis By Solution (Managed Services, Deployment) And Segment Forecasts To 2022" at:http://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/atm-market Rising competition amongst the banks to increase the penetration, would lead to its huge installation base, thus offering lucrative growth opportunities for the industry. In order to reduce the frauds, manufacturers and financial institutions are opting for anti-skimming, biometric devices, and voice recognition systems. Further key findings from the report suggest: • ATM deployment solutions industry accounted for over 70% of the overall revenue in 2014. They comprise installed machines at varied locations such as worksite, onsite, offsite and mobile segment. The deployment revenue comprises of installed machines and services as well as its maintenance. Rise in installation base and increasing maintenance activities are estimated to drive segment growth. • ATM managed services market is estimated to exhibit considerable growth, growing at a CAGR of over 11.0% from 2015 to 2022. It contributes significantly towards strengthening the infrastructure for multichannel delivery for better customer retention, acquisition and cross selling opportunities. • North America ATM market dominated in terms of revenue in 2014, and is expected to significantly lose share by 2022. Adoption of smart machines across countries such as U.S. is estimated to impel growth across this region. Increasing trend of trading in digital currency is driving demand for Bitcoin ATMs across the region. • Asia Pacific ATM industry is expected to grow at a substantial growth rate of over 12% from 2015 to 2022. Rising demand for self-service machines and ever increasing customer base across regions such as China and India are estimated to drive the regional demand over the next seven years. Additionally, increasing trend of outsourcing its related activities by financial institutions is projected to positively impact growth across this region. • ATM market share is occupied by companies such as NCR Corporation, Diebold Inc, Wincor Nixdorf, Euronet Worldwide and Nautilus Hyosung. Product innovations and strategic partnerships with the manufacturers are some of the notable strategies adopted by the vendors. For instance, In October 2014, Diebold launched a new 5500 series of with advanced security features such as biometric finger-vein readers and security camera provisioning. Grand View Research has segmented the ATM market on the basis of solution and region: • ATM Solution Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2012 - 2022)Managed ServicesDeploymentOnsiteOffsiteWorksiteMobile • ATM Regional Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2012 - 2022)North AmericaEuropeAsia PacificRoW Browse related reports by Grand View Research: • Online Media Market -http://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/online-media-market • Electronic Contract Manufacturing Services Market -http://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/the-global-electronic-contract-manufacturing-services-market • Customer Relation Management (CRM) Market -http://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/customer-relation-management-crm-market • Data Management System (DBMS) Market -http://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/dbms-market About Grand View Research Grand View Research, Inc. is a U.S. based market research and consulting company, registered in the State of California and headquartered in San Francisco. The company provides syndicated research reports, customized research reports, and consulting services. To help clients make informed business decisions, we offer market intelligence studies ensuring relevant and fact-based research across a range of industries, from technology to chemicals, materials and healthcare. Read Our Blogs -mediafound.org,ni2014.org \|\| 6 trades to watch in an uncertain market: After U.S. stocks followed global markets lower Thursday, "Fast Money" traders outlined what they deemed safe plays to ride out uncertainty. Major averages each closed down more than 2 percent, after a brief Chinese trading session in which a 7 percent drop in the CSI300 triggered a halt. Traders looked to longer-term plays that could offer protection through volatility. Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (NYSE Arca: GDX) The price of gold (CEC:Commodities Exchange Centre: @GC.1) , a traditional "safe haven" asset, climbed Thursday amid the uncertainty in stock and oil markets. The Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF rose more than 4 percent for the day. Both traders Guy Adami and Brian Kelly said gold likely has more upside ahead. iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (NYSE Arca: TLT) U.S. Treasury prices rose in choppy trading Thursday amid a flight to safer assets, sending yields lower. In that environment, the iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF could make a good play, said Adami and trader Dan Nathan. Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE Arca: XLU) Utilities offer a place to "hide" in current markets, said trader Steve Grasso. Nathan also identified them as a defensive play because of their dividend yields. They looked to the Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund, which fell slightly on Thursday. Retail Shares of department store chain Macy's (NYSE: M) climbed about 2 percent Thursday in the wake of a restructuring announcement. Adami believes the stock can rise even more. Grasso also outlined possible strength in American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE: AEO) . Verizon (NYSE: VZ) Nathan also saw Verizon as a possible play for investors looking for yield. Disclosures: Dan Nathan Dan Nathan is long MCD Feb Put Spread, Long PFE buy-write, long TWTR March Risk Reversal, long UUP March call, long XLU Feb Call spread, long PYPL Jan Risk Reversal, long M Jan16 call spread, long NTAP Jan risk reversal, long QCOM feb calls, short SPY, Long UUP, long WMT puts Story continues Steve Grasso Steve Grasso is long AAPL, BA, BAC, CC, DD, DIS, DECK, EVGN, KBH, MJNA, MBLY, MU, OLN, PFE, PHM, T, TWTR, GDX firm is long APC, CXO, OXY, BP, CVX, MCD, RIG, AMZN kids own EFA, EFG, EWJ, IJR, SPY Brian Kelly Brian Kelly is long BBRY, Bitcoin, GDX, GLD, Hong Kong Dollar, TLT, US Dollar; he is short British Pound, Euro, Yuan, Canadian Dollar, GSG, EEM, EWC, EWH, KRE, SPY, DB Guy Adami Guy Adami is long CELG, EXAS, GDX, INTC, Guy Adami's wife, Linda Snow, works at Merck. More From CNBC Top News and Analysis Latest News Video Personal Finance \|\| What to Expect from Overstock.com's (OSTK) Q4 Earnings?: Overstock.com Inc.OSTK is expected to report fourth-quarter 2015 results after the closing bell on Feb 4. Overstock.com is an online closeout retailer that sells brand-name merchandise at deep discounts. The offerings include bed-and-bath goods, kitchenware, watches, jewelry, electronics, sporting goods and designer accessories. Overstock, a Bitcoin supporter, hopes to reinvent the public stock market using cryptosecurities, or virtual stocks based on Bitcoin's blockchain technology. Bitcoin is a digital currency platform with no central regulating authority involved in the transactions. It is also called crypto currency because it utilizes military-grade cryptography to protect users against fraud. Bitcoin and other cryptocurencies operate on blockchain which is a distributed public ledger. Cryptosecurities will likely bring the next major change in the stock market. With the SpeedRoute deal, Overstock will enter a new financial technology space. SpeedRoute’s infrastructure and underlying technologies will help the company to connect the t0 securities trading platform with the entire U.S. equity market. This will enhance transparency and efficiency of the existing capital markets, which was the basic idea behind t0.com. The blockchain technology allows investors and buyers to track down their purchases and ownership of cryptosecurities, ensuring complete transparency. Moreover, the t0.com blockchain technology facilitates same-day settlement of securities. Additionally, Overstock started the Black Friday holiday sales event a full week before the shopping holiday. This should have a favorable impact on the fourth-quarter results. Apart from this, Overstock also announced that Merrill Lynch Professional Clearing Corporation (“Merrill Pro”), the last defendant remaining after Goldman Sachs, in Overstock.com’s longstanding market manipulation case, has settled its claims by paying $20 million to Overstock.com and its co-plaintiffs. This is likely to boost results in the to-be-reported quarter. Stocks to Consider Here are some stocks, which you may consider as they have a favorable Zacks Rank and a positive Earnings ESP and are likely to post an earnings beat this quarter: MaxLinear, Inc. MXL has an Earnings ESP of +2.94% and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). SolarWinds, Inc. SWI has an Earnings ESP of +2.27% and a Zacks Rank #1. Fidelity National Information Services, Inc. FIS has an Earnings ESP of +2.17% and a Zacks Rank #3. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days.Click to get this free report >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days.Click to get this free reportSOLARWINDS INC (SWI): Free Stock Analysis ReportMAXLINEAR INC-A (MXL): Free Stock Analysis ReportFIDELITY NAT IN (FIS): Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research \|\| Ledger Fights For Bitcoin's Staying Power At CES 2016: The Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas is a chance for electronics and technology firms to debut their latest offerings and future prospects. Everything from self-driving cars to mind-blowing virtual reality sets have made their debut at CES, and each year the show tends to set the tone for what kind of tech will be big in the coming year. This year, bitcoin startupLedgeris keeping the cryptocurrency in the spotlight by hosting the only bitcoin startup booth at the event. Physical Bitcoin Storage Ledger created a hardware wallet product in 2015 that provides customers with a safe and secure way to store and use their bitcoins. Ledger takes some of the worry out of using bitcoin by giving users a physical way to store bitcoins – a lightweight smart card. They can then use a USB to make secure payments, and the company offers a simple backup system that provides users with a microchip and pin code encrypted system in case they lose their card. Related Link:Can The Bitcoin Foundation Last? This year, Ledger is planning to exhibit new offerings at CES including a new technology that will strengthen the security of online authentication by reducing the reliance on passwords. Bitcoin's Year Ledger's presence at CES suggests that although bitcoin had a rough year in 2015, the cryptocurrency isn't dead yet. Concerns about privacy and security have increased skepticism about cryptocurrencies, making it difficult for bitcoin firms to push mainstream approval. However, many believe that as security improves and more and more vendors open up to the possibility of bitcoin transactions, the public will get on board. Image Credit: Public Domain See more from Benzinga • Virtual Reality In 2016 • Is Tesla A Good Investment For 2016? • 3 CEOs Who Made Headlines In 2015 © 2016 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| Australia's ASX invests in blockchain to simplify markets: SYDNEY (Reuters) - Markets operator ASX Ltd on Friday said it has made a minority investment in U.S.-based Digital Asset Holdings to develop distributed ledger technology, or blockchain, to potentially simplify Australias post-trade equity market. Blockchain technology, pioneered by Bitcoin, maintains a continuously growing list of transaction data which cannot be tampered with or revised. ASX paid A$14.9 million ($10.43 million) for a 5.0 percent equity interest in Digital Asset along with funding an initial phase of development and acquiring a warrant that will give it the right to purchase further equity and appoint a director to the board. ASX will work with Digital Asset to design a new post-trade solution for the Australian equity market, it said in a statement on Friday. Over the past year, interest in blockchain technology has grown rapidly. It has already attracted significant investment from many major banks, which reckon it could save them money by making their operations faster, more efficient and more transparent. (Reporting by Swati Pandey) \|\| Blockchain Moves Forward In The Financial Industry: Cryptocurrencies like bitcoin have had a lot of negative attention over the past year, as several hacking attacks and scams have painted the coins as an unsafe way to make transactions. However, blockchain, the ledger-like system that bitcoin runs on, has received a great deal of praise across several industries that say the technology has the potential to completely reform the way they do business. This is especially true in the financial space, where banks say that although they are still wary of bitcoin transactions, incorporating blockchain into their operations could actually improve their businesses. Related Link:Now You Can Play The Lottery With Bitcoin Cross-Border Payments One way blockchain could improve the financial industry is by improving the way banks make cross-border transactions. The current system is cumbersome and takes a great deal of time and effort for both the sending and receiving bank. This process has made it difficult for banks to interact with one another from country to country, but incorporating blockchain could change all of that. The ledger system would streamline cross-border payments and take out much of the administrative work associated with processing international transactions. Closer To Integration From January 11 to January 15, several major banks begantestingwhether blockchain could be used in this way and the results looked promising, according to the Wall Street Journal. Eleven different banks were able to use a private blockchain in order to exchange tokens across several continents. The test included big name financial institutions likeBarclays PLC (ADR)(NYSE:BCS),Credit Suisse Group AG (ADR)(NYSE:CS) andWells Fargo & Co(NYSE:WFC), and it is expected to pave the way for future blockchain investments. While this initial test provided only a small snapshot of what blockchain is capable of, many believe that its success will push banks to continue testing the technology and eventually put it into practice. See more from Benzinga • Top 5 Losers When The Fed Raises Rates © 2016 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| Where do the presidential candidates stand on encryption? A handy guide: Photo: Getty Images In the wake of terrorist attacks here and abroad, candidates in the 2016 presidential race have shifted their attention to issues of national security. Many have proposed aggressive measures to confront ISIS, including bombing it “back to the Stone Age” (Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas) and banning Muslims from entering the country altogether (Donald Trump ) . But very few have articulated a clear position on how to prevent terrorist recruitment and plotting online. CNN’s Tuesday night Republican debate brought many of these issues to the table, raising questions about surveillance, who owns the Internet and — paramount to the tech world — encryption . Encryption — a way to encode information so that only the sender and the intended recipient can read it — has been central to a security versus privacy debate dubbed the Crypto Wars that dates back to the early 1990s. For years, intelligence officials have pointed to the technology as a significant obstacle in tracking nefarious activity online. Those complaints have only grown more insistent since the terrorist attacks in Paris and San Bernardino. Recently, FBI Director James Comey even suggested that major tech companies reconsider their business structure to intercept and pass on encrypted information when needed. And those pressures are sure to increase after French counterterrorism investigators announced that encrypted apps such as WhatsApp and Telegram may have been used to plot the Nov. 13 Paris attack. Virtually all tech companies and cryptographers argue that building any type of “backdoor” into these secure communications would undermine the purpose of the technology entirely, ultimately compromising public privacy and driving consumers to use unregulated international products. It’s something our next president will most definitely have to weigh in on. And though not every presidential candidate has offered a firm stance on the debate, they’ve definitely dropped hints. Below, a survey of those candidates who have acknowledged the issue of encryption and what they think about it. Story continues Democrats: Hillary Clinton The current Democratic frontrunner has discussed encryption regulation several times, though we still don’t know how she feels about it. In a conversation with Re/code’s Kara Swisher in June, she said Silicon Valley needs to sit down with legislators and have a “real conversation” about ways to get around encryption to combat online terrorist activity. Then she waffled, admitting it was a “hard choice” and that “there are really strong, legitimate arguments on both sides.” During a speech at the Brookings Institution in December, Clinton threw around more vague platitudes, requesting an “urgent dialogue” between industry giants and law enforcement officials about tackling terrorists online, appealing to Silicon Valley to “disrupt ISIS.” Her voting record, however, offers a clearer picture of her stance on privacy tech. As a New York senator in 2001, Clinton supported the Patriot Act , which authorized expanded government surveillance to monitor phone and email communications, collect bank and credit card records and track Internet activity. As provisions under that act were set to expire this year, she endorsed a bill that re-upped and modified that surveillance program, ending the NSA’s bulk metadata collection but maintaining other forms of surveillance. At the same time, she said the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act, which allows the sharing of Internet traffic information between the government and tech companies, “ doesn’t go far enough ,” in protecting us from foreign hackers. So, it seems Clinton has a history of siding with the surveyors, and not the surveilled. Bernie Sanders Maintaining a steadfast focus on economic and social justice issues during his presidential campaign, Sanders hasn’t spent much time battling mass surveillance. But his record signals that he’s much more concerned than Clinton about protecting citizen’s privacy. Just as he voted against the Patriot Act, he rejected the USA Freedom Act this June, arguing that it didn’t “go far enough in protecting our privacy rights.” “I worry that we are moving toward an Orwellian form of society, where Big Brother — whether in the corporate world, or the government — knows too much information about the private lives of innocent people,” he told Yahoo Global News Anchor Katie Couric in June. Though that’s not an outright condemnation of building back doors into encrypted communications for the purpose of government surveillance, it’s very close. Martin O’Malley Photo: Cheryl Senter/AP The Democratic Party’s third wheel addressed encryption, however noncommittally, in an op-ed for the New York Daily News , calling for “greater public-private collaboration on how we can prevent terrorists from exploiting encryption, which has enabled them to ‘go dark’ well before they strike.” Ultimately that concern for security is likely what pushed O’Malley to support the USA Freedom Act . However, he said he “would like to see us go further” when it comes to limiting the government’s ability to conduct surveillance on citizens. So it seems he’s conflicted in this area. Republicans: Jeb Bush: Photo: John Locher/AP Jeb Bush more or less condemned the use of encryption in August: “If you create encryption, it makes it harder for the American government to do its job — while protecting civil liberties — to make sure that evildoers aren’t in our midst,” he said at an event sponsored by a military contractor-affiliated group named Americans for Peace, Prosperity, and Security . Rand Paul Paul has positioned himself as one of the most tech-savvy candidates of the 2016 presidential race, hosting hack-a-thons and accepting donations via Bitcoin . So it’s no surprise that he has a lot to say about the proposal to limit encryption. In an interview with Yahoo News’ Olivier Knox in November, he supported public use of the technology and echoed the security concerns of many cryptographers and activists. “The head of the FBI came out with this recently, he says, ‘Oh, we’re going to ban encryption.’ And it’s like we want to build a backdoor into Facebook and a backdoor into Apple products,” Paul said at the Yahoo Politics Digital Democracy Conference . “A backdoor means that the government can look at your stuff, look at your information, your conversations. … The moment you build an opening — and I’m not an expert on coding or anything, but the moment you give a vulnerability to a code that someone can get into your source code, not only can the government, but so can your enemies, so can foreign governments.” This comes as no surprise, as Paul has challenged the provisions of the Patriot Act in the past, and recently compared banning encryption to banning guns . Carly Fiorina Photo: John Locher/AP During the first GOP debate, Carly Fiorina was asked whether Google and Apple should cooperate with the U.S. government to weaken encryption so criminals can’t hide behind it. In response, the former Hewlett-Packard CEO made up a new word . “We need to tear down cyberwalls,” she said, referring, one can only assume, to encryption. “We could have detected and repelled some of those cyberattacks” if we had passed “a law [that] has been sitting, languishing, sadly, on Capitol Hill.” Just this week, she clarified her stance in an interview with Breitbart News . “You can’t outlaw encryption,” she said. “Encryption protects American consumers from identity theft, and all the rest of it. But we have to be able to work around it when necessary to give our investigators the information they need.” Fiorina reiterated this strategy, which some experts say is wholly infeasible, at the debate on Tuesday, solidifying her willingness to compromise the security of encryption in the wake of terrorist threats. Lindsey Graham Photo: Mike Blake/Reuters Graham followed up on Fiorina’s remarks at the first Republican debate by declaring “if I have to tear down a cyberwall, I’ll tear down a cyberwall.” But the South Carolina senator’s past comments about technology may be reason to question whether he knows what tearing down that cyberwall would entail. In March, Graham said he’d never sent an email . Adding: “I don’t know what that makes me.” In this case, it makes him a person who probably doesn’t know much about the encryption debate. However, those who contribute to his campaign can rest assured that the governor’s website processes each credit card transaction “using encrypted code.” John Kasich Tuesday’s debate gave the Ohio governor an opportunity to blame encryption for our lack of prior intelligence in terrorist attacks. “There is a big problem, it’s called encryption,” he said. “The people in San Bernardino were communicating with people who the FBI had been watching, but because their phone was encrypted, because intelligence officials could not see who they were talking to, it was lost. … We need to be able to penetrate these people when they’re involved in these plots and these plans, and we have to give the local authorities the ability to penetrate in this route. Encryption is a major problem and Congress has got to deal with this, and so does the president, to keep us safe.” Kasich’s suggestion that we could not access the San Bernardino shooters’ phone conversations because their phone was encrypted is somewhat misleading. Kasich was referring to a CBS News tweet that quoted a “senior law enforcement official” who said investigators had found “levels of built-in encryption” in Syed Farook and Tashfeen Malik’s phones. Virtually all modern phones in the United States come out of the box with “levels of built-in encryption,” otherwise criminals would be able to intercept your calls whenever your phone connected to a cellular tower. Not to mention, if your phone was stolen, anyone would be able to access your sensitive information. Whether Kasich is confused by that point, or simply using it as an example to explain why all encryption is dangerous, is unclear. But there’s no question that he’s willing to significantly downgrade the security of devices to be sure nothing gets past intelligence officials. George Pataki During Tuesday night’s undercard debate, the former New York governor said that, as president, he would pass “a law on tech firms to prevent encryption.” In clarifying his position, he provided suggestions similar to Fiorina’s. “Companies are entitled to encrypt and protect their knowledge and their intelligence,” he said. “But what we need is a backdoor for law enforcement to be able — when they can establish that that communication poses a risk to our safety and engages in terrorism — to get a court order and go in and access those communications. Allow the companies to continue encryption, provide an entryway for law enforcement when they can prove to a court that there’s a sufficient risk, when there’s an attack upon us, that they have the right to look at those messages.” Marco Rubio Photo: John Locher/AP Rubio has made it clear that he wants the federal government and the private sector to share more information as a way to prevent cyber- and terrorist attacks. He’s also publicly supported the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act . And during Tuesday’s debate, he doubled down on his commitment to mass surveillance. “We are now at a time where we need more tools, not less tools,” the Florida senator said , criticizing the limits on metadata collection in the USA Freedom Act. Rubio’s willingness to expand programs that collect the private information of Americans signals an apparent willingness to compromise encryption for the same reasons. Ted Cruz Photo: John Locher/AP The Texas senator has towed a libertarian line when it comes to surveillance legislation in the past. As a candidate whose campaign runs on an explicit distrust of big government, it makes sense that Cruz would vote for the USA Freedom Act — a move that has earned him scorn from Rubio. During Tuesday’s debate, he argued that the bill’s mandate to transfer mass phone data collection from the NSA to phone companies actually gave more tools to pinpoint terror threats. However, cybersecurity activists worry that Cruz is uneducated on the intricacies of these policies, after an Oct. 15 video surfaced of the senator admitting to a crowd in Iowa that he was unfamiliar with CISA — a bill that critics say allows companies to monitor their customers and share their information with the government without warrant. Donald Trump Photo: John Locher/AP Trump has made many a reference to building walls, and some of them even appear to be cyber in nature. Though the Republican presidential frontrunner has not explicitly addressed encryption issues, he has suggested we shut off ISIS’ Internet connection, and expressed concern that the group is “using the Internet better than we are,” despite the fact that it “was our idea.” During the debate, he elaborated as best he could. “I wanted to get our brilliant people from Silicon Valley and other places and figure out a way that ISIS cannot do what they’re doing,” he said . “You talk freedom of speech, you talk freedom of anything you want. I don’t want them using our Internet to take our young impressionable youth.” Trump could be referring to the issue of encryption, or something much simpler. But anyone who’s willing to ban a world religion from the country might be willing to do the same for an essential element of consumer technology. Ben Carson Photo: Mike Blake/Reuters The retired brain surgeon has made virtually no mention of encryption on the campaign trail. But when it comes to assuring potential donors that their credit card information is safe, his website has a whole page on it: “Carson America uses a secure socket layer (SSL) with the highest level of encryption commercially available for www.bencarson.com on pages where online visitors register or make a secure online donation using their credit card.” That being said, Carson has said he’s open to the surveillance of mosques, churches and schools. Who knows whether that would entail the compromise of encryption technology? Chris Christie Photo: John Locher/AP In early 2015, Christie signed a law that required health insurance companies in New Jersey to encrypt client information, signaling he understands its importance. Still, the New Jersey governor has made his support for the NSA and government surveillance very clear, praising the provisions in the Patriot Act, and calling for the extension of intelligence-gathering capabilities. The fact that he’s publicly criticized Edward Snowden, and sparred with Rand Paul about these issues suggests he’d overhaul encryption if that meant even a hint of access to potential terrorist activity. Rick Santorum Photo: Mike Blake/Reuters Though the former senator from Pennsylvania has made no explicit mention of encryption, his voting record speaks for itself. Santorum voted for the Patriot Act in 2001, and said he’d do it again today. He’s also criticized Paul’s stance on the issue, saying “hopefully Rand Paul won’t prevail, that the Senate will do what it must do, which is to keep our defenses up and follow through with a plan that balances the interests,” Santorum replied. “It’s always a [balance] between security and freedom, and that’s in every aspect of our [lives].” That balance would likely mean that he’d prefer the government has access to encrypted communication for the sake of national security. Mike Huckabee Photo: Mike Blake/Reuters Huckabee, though not the race’s expert on online surveillance, has most definitely been vocal about the issue. He’s been known to publicly criticize unregulated monitoring by the NSA , arguing that the Patriot Act has gone too far. The former Arkansas governor has even said he’d repeal “Obama’s warrantless NSA spying program” if he became president. However, his comments about cybersecurity have caused experts to question his technological knowledge of the government’s digital capabilities in general. So, though he’s made no explicit mention of encryption, it’s possible that he, like so many other candidates, might not understand it. Related: Following Paris attacks, encryption services face new scrutiny Here’s the manual ISIS uses to teach its soldiers about encryption How encryption works and why people are so freaked out about it [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] In the last 10 mins, there were arb opps spanning 14 exchange pair(s), yielding profits ranging between $0.00 and $77.80 #bitcoin #btc \|\| $376.20 at 14:00 UTC [24h Range: $372.95 - $380.37 Volume: 3257 BTC] via #btcusdpic.twitter.com/35nbQQL5WN \|\| LIVE: Profit = $382.32 (4.55 %). BUY B20.40 @ $420.00 (#VirCurex). SELL @ $431.40 (#Kraken) #bitcoin #btc - http://www.projectcoin.org \|\| $431.87 at 00:45 UTC [24h Range: $424.50 - $435.19 Volume: 9632 BTC] via #btcusdpic.twitter.com/E54ZUyhC6O \|\| $444.50 at 15:30 UTC [24h Range: $438.00 - $451.13 Volume: 7480 BTC] via #btcusdpic.twitter.com/RqWQGhqOil \|\| BTCTurk 1309 TL BTCe 434.735 $ CampBx $ BitStamp 439.50 $ Cavirtex 625.00 $ CEXIO 439.47 $ Bitcoin.de 407.57 € #Bitcoin #btc \|\| In the last 10 mins, there were arb opps spanning 13 exchange pair(s), yielding profits ranging between $0.00 and $420.16 #bitcoin #btc \|\| BTCTurk 1269.9 TL BTCe 418.822 $ CampBx $ BitStamp 417.00 $ Cavirtex 580.00 $ CEXIO 420.86 $ Bitcoin.de 381.92 € #Bitcoin #btc \|\| #RDD / #BTC on the exchanges: Cryptsy: 0.00000005 Bittrex: 0.00000005 Average $1.9E-5 per #reddcoin 04:30:00 \|\| Current price: 304.09£ $BTCGBP $btc #bitcoin 2015-12-25 18:00:05 GMT	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 386.55, 376.52, 376.62, 373.45, 376.03, 381.65, 379.65, 384.26, 391.86, 407.23
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis] Not fully available. [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Your first trade for Tuesday, February 17: The "Fast Money" traders gave their final trades of the day. Tim Seymour was a buyer of XME(NYSE Arca: XME). Brian Kelly was a buyer of GG(Toronto Stock Exchange: G-CA)on his prediction the dollar could see a correction. Steve Grasso was a buyer of CPB(NYSE: CPB). Guy Adami was a buyer of CERN.(NASDAQ: CERN) Trader disclosure: On February 13, 2015, the following stocks and commodities mentioned or intended to be mentioned on CNBC's "Fast Money" were owned by the "Fast Money" traders:Guy Adami is long CELG, EXAS, INTC, Guy Adami's wife, Linda Snow, works at Merck. Steve Grasso is long AAPL, BA, CLVS, EVGN, FB, GDX, GOOGL, IMMR, KBH, KDUS, MHY, MJNA, NVIV, PFE, POT, SO, T, TMUS, TWTR, YHOO, firm is long FCX, NE, NEM, VALE, RIG, OXY, USO, AMZN, kids are long EFG, EFA, EWJ, IJR, SPY. Brian Kelly is long BTC=, US Dollar, GLD, CTRL calls, HYG puts, BBRY call spreads, TLT, he is short EWA, EWG, EWQ, EWZ, EWW, Australian Dollar, British Pound, Canadian Dollar, Yuan. Tim Seymour is long AAPL, BAC, BX, C, DIS, F, GE, GM, GOOGL, INTC, SUNE, Tim's firm is long BABA, BIDU, BX, CCU, DSKY, KNDI, MCD, NKE, NOK, SINA, SBUX, TSL, VIP. \|\| Bitcoin Shop, Inc. Expands Mining Operations With New Facility and Launches Multi-Signature Security Solution to New Website: ARLINGTON, VA--(Marketwired - Jan 28, 2015) - Bitcoin Shop, Inc. (OTCQB:BTCS) ("BTCS" or the "Company"), which is undertaking the build-out of a universal digital currency ecosystem, announced today that the Company secured a 83,000 square foot facility, about 1.4 times the size of a regulations NFL football field, to expand its mining operations. The Company also purchased from Spondoolies Tech Ltd. ("Spondoolies"), 100 S35 miners totaling 550 TH/s of hashing power, a 161% increase in its mining capacity, and anticipates having the newly purchased equipment online in two to four weeks, which would bring BTCS's total mining hash rate to 891 TH/s. Additionally, the operating costs (inclusive of power) at the new facility should be approximately 30% lower than our current facility. With minimal improvements, the new facility is anticipated to handle over 10 megawatts (mw) of power and can potentially house up to 40,000 TH/s of mining hardware. The Company launched a new website to demonstrate its planned services, which includes a new multi-signature secure bitcoin storage solution as a next step in the build-out of its universal ecosystem. "We're seizing market opportunities created by the recent downturn in bitcoin price and expanding accordingly. At the current price of bitcoin, cost structure matters, and we believe we'll have one of the lowest cost mining operations in the industry," says BTCS CEO Charles Allen. Without any further expansion, the Company believes their mining efforts should yield at least 350 bitcoins in the first quarter of 2015. Additionally, the Company agreed to issue 250,000 shares of its common stock to Spondoolies as partial compensation for the equipment. Charles Kiser, the Company's Executive Vice President, voluntarily agreed to the redemption of 250,000 shares of his common stock for $2,500 such that the share issuance to Spondoolies will result in no additional dilution to the Company's public shareholders. "We're thrilled to be working with Spondoolies as we seek to increase our capacity beyond 10,000 TH/s and 10 mw," said Allen. Spondoolies- CEO Guy Corem commented, "Mining hardware companies should be prepared for market changes as part of their strategy. At Spondoolies, we've anticipated a full range of market scenarios such as the current bitcoin price decline and volatility, and are pleased to partner with an innovative company like BTCS." Along with the expansion of its mining operations, BTCS released a new website, which includes a beta version of a multi-signature secure bitcoin storage solution built on Gem.co's multi-signature security platform. The beta version of the storage solution is currently only accessible by invitation. Additionally, BTCS is the only strategic investor in Gem. "It was clear to us that BTCS was focused on offering a bitcoin storage solution that was both innovative and secure, and we were thrilled they chose Gem's multi-sig platform to deliver this unique solution to their customers," said Gem CEO and Founder Micah Winkelspecht. The Company has also released an updated corporate presentation which can be found here:http://investors.btcs.com/BTCS_Corporate_Presentation_January_2015.pdf. About BTCS:BTCS plans to build a universal digital currency platform with the goal of enabling users to engage in the digital currency ecosystem through one point of access. We currently operate our public beta site (www.btcs.com) where consumers can purchase products using digital currency such as bitcoin, litecoin and dogecoin, by searching through a selection of over 250,000 items. We provide our customers competitive pricing options from 256 retailers through our "Intelligent Shopping Engine." All ecommerce customer orders are fulfilled by third party vendors. We plan to use our ecommerce platform as a customer on-ramp for a broader digital currency platform. We have been actively partnering with strategic digital currency companies who have technologies, services or products that are complementary to our business strategy by making investments in them and integrating with them. Forward Looking Statements:Certain statements in this press release constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Words such as "may," "might," "will," "should," "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," "continue," "predict," "forecast," "project," "plan," "intend" or similar expressions, or statements regarding intent, belief, or current expectations, are forward-looking statements. While the Company believes these forward-looking statements are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on any such forward-looking statements, which are based on information available to us on the date of this release. These forward looking statements are based upon current estimates and assumptions and are subject to various risks and uncertainties, including without limitation those set forth in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, not limited to Risk Factors relating to its digital currency business contained therein. Thus, actual results could be materially different. The Company expressly disclaims any obligation to update or alter statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. \|\| A Florida couple recorded their vows into the Bitcoin blockchain in the first 'Bitmarriage': David Mondrus (Consider This!) David Mondrus “A diamond is forever, a marriage is forever, but when was the last time anyone looked at their wedding vows?” Entrepreneur David Mondrus posed that question to the New York Times in explaining why he and his wife, Joyce Bayo, have added their wedding vows to the Bitcoin blockchain — the secure public ledger where all bitcoin transactions are recorded. The couple met in the Philippines. Bayo "stole his heart when she fed him pineapple on a boat," according to the press release the couple put out to explain their blockchain vows . The couple recorded their vows using a bitcoin ATM at Disney World last fall during the the Kingdom Bitcoin Conference. According to the release: Blockchain marriages are ideal for couples who want to record their commitment to each other in a secure and permanent place, but whose relationship may not fit the current governmental system, or any governmental system at all. Some examples might be gay couples or polyamorous groups whose idea of marriage may not so easily conform to the current rules set by governments. Officiating this first Bitmarriage will be Jeffrey Tucker; author/publisher, and the founder of Liberty.me. Media was invited to the wedding in the press release. Business Insider is bummed to have missed it. NOW WATCH: Kanye West explains how marriage has helped him become a better man More From Business Insider '60 Minutes' airs troubling report detailing major problems at Lumber Liquidators factories in China Michael Jordan is a billionaire Lumber Liquidators shares crashed after a damning '60 Minutes' report \|\| Bitcoin To Credit Card: 247exchange.com Makes Converting Bitcoin To Fiat Easy: International Bitcoin and cryptocurrency exchange 247exchange is pleased to announce the funding of credit and debit cards with Bitcoins and altcoins as a convenient withdrawal method. Bitcoin now buys anything, anywhere, worldwide. Belize city, Belize / ACCESSWIRE / February 2, 2015 / Bitcoin exchange platform 247exchange.com, managed by InterMoney Exchange(TM) has launched a new global feature - withdrawing Bitcoins directly to credit/debit card . It works with both Visa and MasterCard providers. Credit and debit cards of different types including prepaid are supported. Users can also choose the currency to load their cards with (for example USD or Euro). "It's always been a headache for everyone to exchange Bitcoin to fiat money with minimal losses. If you look at the market, you'll see that only a few companies offer such services as withdrawing cryptocurrencies to credit cards. Maybe we're not the pioneers, but we're among the first ones. With our service Bitcoin becomes one step closer to real money. It's never been so easy to transform Bitcoin into USD, Euro or another fiat currency" Says 247exchange.com CEO Alexey Maximenko. At the end of last year 247exchange integrated credit/debit cards for buying cryptocurrencies and is now pleased to also offer this service for selling Bitcoin . In fact, this innovation of 247exchange not only offers smooth Bitcoin to fiat conversion; clients can also pay bills such as common utility bills with Bitcoin. The option can also be used by customers to make loan repayments. Goods and services worldwide previously payable only with USD, EUR and other fiat can now be easily purchased with cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Litecoin, Peercoin, and Namecoin. With unprecedented flexibility Bitcoin users anywhere can now make online and offline purchases with crypto linked credit and debit cards. No bank account required. Also, they can receive cash for Bitcoin in over 3 million ATMs around the globe. Story continues 247exchange's card solutions are also extremely useful for "unbanked" populations in developing nations and regions. For small and medium payments the fees will be less than in the case of using bank wire transfer as a withdrawal instrument. This feature is convenient for miners, traders, freelancers, and everyone else who regularly withdraws amounts of Bitcoin into fiat for their current needs and expenses. Also, it allows the crypto user to transfer money to his friends and relatives. To withdraw Bitcoin or another cryptocurrency to credit/debit card, the user simply submits an order in the sell section of 247exchange.com to initiate the verification process. 24/7 support is always on hand to assist customers via live chat or by phone. About 247exchange.com: 247exchange is run by InterMoney Exchange(TM), a group of financial companies. The innovative platform has many withdrawal methods: bank wire, SEPA transfer, local bank transfer in Australia and Europe, e-wallets, and now - credit and debit cards. "We already offered our customers a solid choice of how to pay for Bitcoin. And now we're also expanding our withdrawal options, because our mission is to create and provide the new standard for digital currency exchange services all over the world - fast, convenient, secure and available for everyone" Andrey Vereshchagin, InterMoney Exchange(TM) marketing director explains. For more information about us, please visit http://247exchange.com Contact Info: Name: Andrey Vereshchagin Email: [email protected] Organization: InterMoney Exchange Corp Address: 35 New Road, Belize city, Belize, C.A. Phone: +44 2070484188 SOURCE: 247exchange.com \|\| Apple Store To Offer Weed App Once Again: After a three month battle, marijuana-based social networking siteMassRootshas revamped its offering to fitApple Inc.’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) terms of use and is now back to being available for download in the Apple store. The site, along with several other marijuana-related apps, was banned from the store last November after Apple said apps relating to drug use were not in compliance with the company’s user policy. Apple Cracks Down On Pot MassRoots got around Apple’s concerns that marijuana is not legal in all states where the app can be downloaded by addinggeofencingfilters, which only allow users in the 23 states where the drug is legal to sign up. While Apple has remained quiet on the issue, directing complaints to its lengthy terms of service, critics say the company is stifling growth in a blossoming industry. Pot And Tech: An Appealing Match As marijuana is a relatively new, high-growth sector, most entrepreneurs are looking to the tech space as an opportune way to get on board. Since app development allows companies to grow and change alongside public preferences, it is seen as the perfect entry point for startups looking to cash in on marijuana’s rising popularity. However, Apple’s resistance to incorporate marijuana-based apps has created a significant barrier. Related Link: Is The U.S. Prepared To Legalize Marijuana? MassRoots Opens A Door MassRoots is the first pot company to make its way back to the app store, but speculators believe the floodgates will open soon. Some see other apps following the company’s lead and applying geofilters, while others expect Apple to eventually loosen its terms as legalization spreads. See more from Benzinga • Top Wall Street Executives To Gather At White House Cybersecurity Summit • New York Could Become First City To Accept Bitcoin • Good News For Apple Watch: FDA Steps Back From App Regulation © 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| It's A Big Day For Bitcoin: Bitcoin history was made on Monday after the digital currency opened for trading on the first licensed U.S. exchange. The bitcoin service provider Coinbase previously acted as a brokerage service for bitcoin users. On Monday, it began providing an exchange where individuals and institutions can trade bitcoin in real-time in a more secure environment. Coinbase is backed by a $106 million investment from the New York Stock Exchange and various other financial service institutions – creating a more trustworthy exchange environment. This contrasts Mt. Gox, a popular bitcoin exchange in which many individuals saw their money disappear. The exchange has already gained approval in 24 jurisdictions, including California and New York but plans to expand across the U.S. and internationally. The price of one bitcoin was seen trading higher by nearly 10 percent at $278.69 Monday morning. Image credit:Public Domain See more from Benzinga • Pacific Crest Doesn't Expect EMC's Profit Recovery To Materialize Until 2016 • Why Shares Of Rockwell Medical Are Up Huge • Wedbush Sees Amazon Reporting Share Gains In Q4 That Were Likely Offset By Record Spending © 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| 10 things in tech you need to know today: tim cook Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP Apple CEO Tim Cook introduces Apple Watch , which he is wearing on his wrist, on Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2014, in Cupertino, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez) Good morning! After yesterday's ice storm, we should be looking at sunnier skies here in New York. Here's the tech news you need to know today. 1. An Apple employee says that the company is working on vehicle development that will "give Tesla a run for its money." A strange Apple vehicle has been spotted driving around. 2. Apple's new iOS update will reportedly focus on improving performance rather than new features. It's all about fixing bugs and making it faster. 3. Apple could release a faster MacBook Air on February 24. It could have a faster processor and increased memory. 4. Mark Zuckerberg's lawyers claim that one of his neighbors is extorting him.Â He built a large house next to Zuckerberg's home. 5. Yelp plans on increasing its salesforce by 40% this year. The news came during its earnings call. 6. Microsoft and Samsung have ended their patent dispute. Microsoft sued Samsung last year, but now they have settled the case. 7. Qualcomm is paying almost $1 billion to settle an antitrust suit in China. It's the largest fine in China's corporate history. 8. Apple unveiled a new iPad ad during the Grammys. It shows how you can use the iPad to make music. 9. A Hong Kong Bitcoin exchange disappeared with Â£254 million in funds. There are fears that MyCoin may have been a Ponzi scheme. 10. Samsung is warning people not to say personal information when talking to its new SmartTV. Voice data gets recorded and sent over the internet. NOW WATCH: A 13-Year-Old Made A Revolutionary Invention Out Of Legos And Now Intel Is Investing In His Company More From Business Insider 10 things in tech you need to know today 10 things in tech you need to know today 10 things in tech you need to know today \|\| SolarEdge files for $125M IPO on the back of growth of solar gear: Nine-year-old Israeli startup SolarEdge is planning on raising $125 million in an IPO, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday . The company, which plans to trade on the NASDAQ under symbol SEDG, makes electronics and inverters that can monitor and optimize the energy from solar panels. Inverters convert the direct current generated by solar panels into alternating current that feeds into the grid or is used by the building or onsite, and they are necessary for a solar panel system to operate. Traditional solar panel systems commonly use a centralized inverter to convert the collective energy from the system, but a growing amount of next-generation inverter companies, like SolarEdge, are making systems that convert and optimize the energy from each individual panel of the system. Now that the cost of solar panels is cheaper than ever, solar companies are highly focused on squeezing as much efficiency out of panels and systems as possible. Gear like the kind SolarEdge produces can boost each individual panel to its maximum output, no matter if other panels in the system have become shaded, dirty or just arent operating effectively. SolarEdge, which is run by co-founder Guy Sella, sells its devices to installer companies like SolarCity, which made up 19 percent of SolarEdges revenue in 2014. To date the company has sold 4.5 million of its power optimizers and a little over 200,000 of its inverters. About 1.5 million of those power optimizers were shipped in the second half of 2014. The growth of the overall solar market means growth in SolarEdges sales. For the full year 2014, SolarEdge generated $133.22 million in revenue, up from $79.04 million in 2013. The company employs close to 300 people, and works with contractors (Flextronics and Jabil Circuit) to manufacturer its gear. But the solar gear market is difficult, competitive, and a relatively low-margin business. SolarEdge lost $21.38 million for the year 2014, which was a smaller loss than the $28.18 million it lost in 2013. The company has yet to turn a profit over its existence (shipping product since 2010) and has accumulated a deficit of $135.2 million as of December 31, 2014. The funding will likely be used to expand its sales significantly and pay off some of its debts. Story continues SolarEdge has also previously raised many tens of millions of dollars in equity (series A to E) and debt from investors including Opus Capital Venture Partners , ORR Partners, Genesis Partners , Pacven Walden Ventures, Vertex, Norwest Venture Partners and Lightspeed Venture Partners. Image copyright Andreas Demmelbauer/Flickr . Related research and analysis from Gigaom Research: Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial . Bitcoin: why digital currency is the future financial system The growth and promise of the LED market How personalized analytics can streamline business decisions More From paidContent.org Katy Perry lawyers try again, file trademark claim for Left Shark \|\| Katy Perrys lawyers demand takedown of 3D printable Left Shark: While the nation identifies with the Super Bowls insta-star Left Shark, Katy Perrys lawyers are apparently more the Right Shark type. They issued a cease and desist letter (see below) to on-demand 3D printing service Shapeways on Tuesday, demanding a 3D model depicting Left Shark be taken down. Shapeways complied , and Fernando Sosa , the designer behind the model, has now posted it on Thingiverse . Unlike on Shapeways, Thingiverse models are free and must be 3D printed by the downloader. Left Shark, as it appeared Thursday on Thingiverse. Shapeways confirmed the letter and takedown, stating: Its a shame because we love our community and always want to be able to support their designs. Thats part of the reason why our work with Hasbro is so fun! Its allowing fans to create products truly inspired by the things they personally enjoy. We know these things can happen when you have a lot of user-generated content, but hopefully more brands (and celebrities!) will take note and want to work together with fans to create amazing products! NYU law professor Christopher Sprigman tweeted that he believes Left Shark is not copyrightable because it qualifies as a useful article, which would mean it is not protected the same way as an artistic work. Both Thingiverse and Shapeways are home to scores of ostensibly copyrighted models, including memes. While its hard to say who has the rights to sad Keanu or doge , Pokemon figurines are a little more black and white. Both sites have received takedown requests in the past, but designs tend to stay up until a letter arrives. The Joseph Ducreux, AKA Disregard females, acquire currency, meme, 3D printed by Shapeways. IP law finds itself in an unchartered space with the rise of 3D printing, though new models are beginning to emerge. Shapeways has entered into partnerships with a few companies like Hasbro that allow anyone to model their characters, and then funnel some of the sale proceeds back to the copyright holder. Story continues If you absolutely must get your hands on a 3D printed Left Shark, Sosa is urging people to download it from Thingiverse before the site receives a similar letter. @signe sad day to live in.. corporations crushing entrepreneur's little figurines one at the time fernando sosa (@Amznfx) February 5, 2015 Left Shark rose to fame during the Super Bowl halftime show Sunday. Katy Perry sang Teenage Dream among dancing beach balls, trees and two sharks. While Right Shark had the dance down, Left Shark had to improvise a bit. But that didnt stop him from dancing with everything his little shark heart had to give. 3D print like lawyers arent watching, dance like Left Shark. This story was updated at 2:15 p.m. PT with more details on copyright and Left Shark. Image copyright Kevin Mazur/Getty Images . Related research and analysis from Gigaom Research: Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial . A market analysis of emerging technology interfaces The legal challenges and opportunities for 3D printing Bitcoin: why digital currency is the future financial system More From paidContent.org Katy Perrys lawyers demand takedown of 3D printable Left Shark \|\| Rivetz Showcases Secure E-commerce Transaction on Android at Mobile World Congress: BARCELONA, SPAIN--(Marketwired - Mar 3, 2015) - Mobile World Congress - Rivetz ( http://rivetz.com/ ) today announced it will be demonstrating at Mobile World Congress the most advanced mobile solution for e-commerce transactions, leveraging the built-in hardware security already shipping on most commercial handsets. Rivetz, in partnership with BitPay , will be demonstrating a simple-to-use, open-source payments technology compatible with any Trustonic -enabled smart device. The solution is compatible with many thousands of Bitcoin merchants, offering consumers peace of mind that their Bitcoin transactions are safe, private and secure. Rivetz's technological solution meets all of the requirements of the recently implemented regulations for European payments using smart devices. The Rivetz solution takes advantage of the Trustonic TEE environment built into millions of smart devices to provide the trusted execution space for storing and processing Bitcoin private keys. The solution also takes full advantage of the Trusted User Interface (TUI) for secure PIN entry and secure display of the users' transaction details. Rivetz uses Intercede's MyTAM™ cloud service to securely load the bitcoin wallet into the TEE to protect the app and the data it accesses from threats that may be present on the handset. The solution will be available in the second quarter of 2015 and is compatible with over 350 million existing Android devices, including Samsung smartphones. A short video of the demonstration can be seen at http://bit.ly/1EanqZk , showing the solution running on a Samsung Galaxy Note 4. "Rivetz is delivering state-of-the-art support that will help Bitcoin be a standard, secure capability on every handset," commented Tony Gallippi, Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of BitPay. "We look forward to enabling the Rivetz capability as an option for millions of Bitcoin users." "We are pleased to be working with Rivetz to bring state-of-the-art security and ease-of-use to consumers," said Ben Cade, Trustonic's CEO. "The Rivetz team is offering a great model for any app developer to leverage the advanced security that Trustonic TEE provides." Story continues Intercede CEO Richard Parris added: "Apps used for executing Bitcoin transactions are an attractive target for hackers, who are developing increasingly advanced methods to deploy their malware onto Android handsets. By ensuring the activities of apps are kept separate and secure from the main OS, end users can be assured their Bitcoin transactions are protected." Rivetz provides a software developer toolkit to enable any cryptocurrency or payment app to take advantage of Rivetz's capabilities. To sign up as a developer, visit developer.rivetz.com for more information and access to the tools. Demos will be held daily at the Samsung partner booth Hall 8.1, Trustonic booth Hall 7, Stand 7G81 and at the Intercede booth Hall 7 Stand 7B81. To schedule a personal demo please contact [email protected] About Rivetz Rivetz Corp. is focused on solving problems associated with consumers' relationships with financial and other online services. Rivetz provides a safer and easier-to-use model for all users to protect their digital assets and online transactions using hardware-based device identity. The device plays a critical role in automating security and enabling the controls that users need to benefit from modern services. Rivetz leverages state-of-the-art cybersecurity tools to develop a modern model for users and their devices to interact with services on the Internet. For more information, visit www.Rivetz.com . About Trustonic Trustonic integrates hardware-level security and trust directly into the devices through which we access today's connected world. Trustonic simplifies user experiences in everything from mobile shopping and Internet banking to entertainment to collaborating in the workplace. Trustonic technology is embedded in over 400m smart connected devices, and partners with market leaders such as Samsung , Qualcomm , Symantec, Gemalto and Good Technology . To learn more about Trustonic and how it's making your connected world a better place visit us at www.trustonic.com About Bitpay BitPay is the global leader in Bitcoin payment processing with offices in North America, Europe, and South America. The company has raised over $32 million from top investors including Index Ventures, Founders Fund, and Sir Richard Branson. bitpay.com Contact: [email protected] About Intercede: Intercede is a software and service company specialising in identity, credential management and secure mobility. Its solutions create a foundation of trust between connected people, devices and apps and combine expertise with innovation to provide world-class cybersecurity. Intercede has been delivering solutions to high profile customers, from the US and UK governments to some of the world's largest corporations, telecommunications providers and information technology firms, for over 20 years. In 2015 Intercede launched MyTAM; enabling trusted applications to be loaded into a mobile device's Trusted Execution Environment (TEE), providing hardware-level security for Android apps. The cloud-based service provides a cost-effective and convenient way for developers and corporations to protect their apps and users' sensitive data. For more information visit: www.intercede.com SEO: Bitcoin, Trustonic Tee, Trusted Execution, Wallet, E-commerce, Trusted User Interface, mobile security All product and company names herein may be trademarks of their registered owners. [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] #Bitcoin Market Price Update \| Last Price £133.35 \| 24 Hour Range: £125.00 - £162.20 \| 24 Hour Volume: 158.5447 XBT \|\| #Anoncoin/#ANC price now: $ 0.142662, that's -1.11 % change in 1hour. -9.15 % past day, and -11.00 % in the past week! #Bitcoin is $ 235.01 \|\| $234.51 #bitstamp; $225.00 #btce; Instantly buy GH/s with BTC: http://bit.ly/LN53k1 #bitcoin #btc \|\| Bitstamp Prices LAST: $254.00 BID: $254.08 ASK: $254.15 VOL: 20244.69 BTC http://bit.ly/Cryptoticks \|\| buysellbitco.in #bitcoin price in INR, Buy : 14979.00 INR Sell : 14423.00 INR. Buy and sell bitcoin in #India using #buysellbitcoin \|\| #RDD / #BTC on the exchanges: Cryptsy: 0.00000009 Bittrex: 0.00000011 Average $2.4E-5 per #reddcoin 18:00:01 \|\| In the last 10 mins, there were arb opps spanning 23 exchange pair(s), yielding profits ranging between $0.00 and $1,034.16 #bitcoin #btc \|\| buysellbitco.in #bitcoin price in INR, Buy : 14537.00 INR Sell : 14033.00 INR. Buy and sell bitcoin in #India using #buysellbitcoin \|\| BTCe Prices LAST: $244.00 BID: $244.00 ASK: $244.06 VOL: 21088.73 BTC http://bit.ly/Cryptoticks \|\| buysellbitco.in #bitcoin price in INR, Buy : 13686.00 INR Sell : 13230.00 INR. Buy and sell bitcoin in #India using #buysellbitcoin	Trend: down \|\| Prices: 289.61, 291.76, 296.38, 294.35, 285.34, 281.89, 286.39, 290.59, 285.51, 256.30
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis] Not fully available. [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] J.P. Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon Now Says He Regrets Calling Bitcoin a 'Fraud': JPMorgan Chief Executive Jamie Dimon regretscalling bitcoin a ‘fraud’but added that he still is not interested in the cryptocurrency at all, he said in an interview on Fox Business on Tuesday. Dimon had called bitcoin a fraud at a bank investor conference in New York in September. “The currency isn’t going to work. You can’t have a business where people can invent a currency out of thin air and think that people who are buying it are really smart,” he had said. Read:Jamie Dimon Should Do ‘Some Homework’ on Crypto, Says Blockchain Capital VC Several banks, exchange operators and companies have embraced bitcoins, fueled by increasing consumer and investor interest. Bitcoin was down nearly 2% at $14,786 in early trading on Tuesday. It traded at $909 a year ago and breached $19,000 in December. Dimon made the comments at theJPMorgan Health Care Conference in San Francisco. \|\| Bitcoin Looks Above $10K, But Resistance May Await: Having hit two-week highs, bitcoin is now aiming for the $10,000 mark and beyond, but further gains may be transient, the charts indicate. Bitcoin (BTC) picked up bid yesterday following a bullish breakout on charts and rose above $9,000 in a convincing manner. The cryptocurrency moved higher to $9,961 today - the highest level since Feb. 1, as per CoinDesk's Bitcoin Price Index (BPI). As of writing, BTC is up more than 60 percent from the Feb. 6 low below $6,000. Furthermore, in the last 24 hours, BTC has appreciated by nearly 12 percent. The price rise should put to rest the fears that bitcoin may take a beating or move in a sideways manner during the Chinese holiday lull. Besides, as discussed yesterday , February has been a good month for bitcoin since 2015. Still, the chart analysis suggests that a continued rally above $10,000 may not have legs. Meanwhile, the broader markets are also solidly bid, currently. Litecoin has appreciated by 28 percent in the last 24 hours and is the biggest gainer among the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization. Meanwhile, ethereum's ether token, Ripple's XRP, Stellar and NEO are up at least 8 percent each. Bitcoin chart The above chart (prices as per Coinbase) shows: BTC has moved above the resistance at $9,181.48 (23.6 percent Fibonacci retracement of the sell-off from record highs). Momentum studies: 5-day moving average (MA) and 10-day MA are curled up in favor of the bulls. The relative strength index (RSI) is on the rise, indicating a potential for a further rally in prices. So, BTC looks set to test $10,000 and may extend gains to $11,000 as suggested by the inverse head and shoulders breakout . However, gains above $10,000 are to be viewed with caution, the weekly chart indicates. Weekly chart The bearish 5-week MA and 10-week MA crossover suggest the weekly chart outlook remains bearish. Also, the 5-week MA is sloping downwards in favor of the bears and is currently seen at $9,826.55. The RSI remains below resistance zone of 53.00-55.00 (previous support zone), also in favor of the bears. Story continues View While a rally to $11,000 is likely, the sustainability of gains above the $10,000 mark is under question. Bearish scenario: Failure to hit $10,000, followed by a daily close (as per UTC) below $7,851 (Feb. 11 low), would validate the bearish weekly chart and open the doors for a deeper sell-off to as low as $6,000. Disclosure: CoinDesk is a subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which has an ownership stake in Coinbase and Ripple. Metro barriers image via Shutterstock Related Stories The Next Petro? Iranian Minister Reveals Cryptocurrency Plans Litecoin Cash Has Forked But It's Hardly Trading Jimmy Song's New Job: Fund Unpaid Bitcoin Coders Bitcoin Drops Below $10K as Crypto Markets Dip \|\| Why Brookfield Infrastructure Partners Is a Dividend Investor's Dream: More often than not, income investors are content with high-yielding dividend stocks. High yields, however, can turn toxic if they aren't backed by sustainable and growing dividends. In other words, the underlying company should have a sustainable business model that can consistently generate strong earnings and cash flows to support higher dividends. One such stock that not only offers a strong yield but is a dividend investor's dream, as I would call it, is Brookfield Infrastructure Partners (NYSE: BIP) . With Brookfield, which is the infrastructure arm of alternative-asset manager Brookfield Asset Management (NYSE: BAM) , dividend investors can easily expect double-digit annual returns. Let me show you how. Behind Brookfield stock's exponential growth Before we dive into what makes Brookfield such an incredible dividend stock to own, you should see how the stock has performed since the company's inception -- after it was spun off from Brookfield Asset Management as a stand-alone publicly traded partnership -- in 2008. Dollars growing from the ground on a garden bed. Image source: Getty Images. While past performance doesn't guarantee future returns, it pays to know what a remarkable difference Brookfield's dividends have made to shareholder returns over the years. The chart below shows Brookfield's share price and total returns (share price appreciation plus dividends) in the past decade. BIP Chart BIP data by YCharts . Not many know that Brookfield has been a multibagger, but the stock's returns have been significantly higher thanks to dividends. Here are some facts you should know about its dividends: Between 2009 and 2017, its dividend per share (or distribution per unit, as a limited partnership company calls it) climbed at a compounded average clip of 12%. Its dividends have been well covered, what with the company's per-unit funds from operations (FFO) growing at a compounded rate of 21% during the period. For the trailing 12 months, Brookfield paid out a little over 50% of its FFO in dividends. The stock currently yields 4.1% and has consistently yielded more than 3% over the years. Story continues These figures tell us three important things about Brookfield that should matter to any income investor: It is maintaining a sustainable payout ratio while ensuring consistent and steady dividend growth. That's what best dividend stocks look like. What matters is whether Brookfield can continue to reward dividend investors. The answer, fortunately, appears to be a resounding yes, going by the company's business profile and growth plans. What Brookfield does and plans to do Brookfield is one of the largest infrastructure asset companies in the world, with stakes in assets across utilities, transport, energy, and communications infrastructure sectors. Think power transmission lines, railroads, telecom towers, toll roads, and gas pipelines. Telecom towers below a blue sky. Image source: Getty Images. What Brookfield essentially does is acquire distressed assets that it sees value in, turn them around, and then resell them opportunistically to invest in other assets. So, for example, Brookfield acquired natural gas transmission assets in Brazil from oil major Petrobras last April in a deal worth $5.2 billion to "significantly expand its utilities business." As a result, Brookfield's FFO from utilities jumped 45% year over year during the nine months ended Sept. 30, 2017. This was Brookfield's biggest but just one of the several purchase deals that it announced last year. On the sell side, Brookfield announced a deal in December to sell a 27.8% stake in an electricity transmission business in Chile for $1.3 billion. The company bought a 92% stake in the business in 2006 for $1.55 billion, which means it has earned significant returns on the investment over the years. It is this ability to acquire assets at a bargain and resell them at attractive valuations as they mature to reinvest the capital elsewhere that underpins the strong growth in Brookfield's FFO and dividends. Moreover, its revenue is predictable as most of the sectors it operates in are defensive in nature, which adds another layer of security for the company's shareholders. Why dividend investors could be richly rewarded Backed by a solid portfolio that includes 35 businesses spread across five countries, Brookfield is on track to steadily expand its FFO and reward shareholders for years to come. Management already has some financial goals in place that should impress any income investor: Brookfield aims to grow its dividend annually by 5%-9% and generate 12%-15% returns on equity in the long run. Factor in a dividend yield of over 3%, and Brookfield could continue to be a multibagger stock for income investors willing to stick around. More From The Motley Fool 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This Neha Chamaria has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Brookfield Infrastructure Partners. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy . \|\| January's Top Large Cap Crypto? Not Bitcoin or Ether...: January turned out to be a difficult month for the cryptocurrency markets. Bitcoin, the world's largest currency by market capitalization, dropped close to 30 percent, meaning its market capitalization shaved off billions after a torrid end to 2017. Meanwhile, excitement seemed to fade as the total value of all cryptocurrencies taken together topped out at $830 billion on Jan. 7, ending the month below $500 billion. However, amid the gloom and doom, a few small-cap tokens managed to put on a good show. For instance, names like VeChain, NEO, Populous and Stellar dominated the list of gainers among the top 25 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization (as of Jan. 31). Here's a closer look at their performance. VeChain January performance: +146 percent All-time high: $9.55 hit on Jan. 22 Price on Jan. 1: $2.26 Price on Jan. 31: $5.58 Rank as per market capitalization: 18 Boasting an association with enterprise firms in China , VeChain has been aiming to use an open blockchain network to revolutionize the internet of things (IoT) since late 2016. But despite the partnerships, it hadn't garnered much attention throughout 2017's cryptocurrency boom, trading under $1 as recently as December, up from as low as $0.20 in November. That seems to have now changed, as the blockchain recently announced it will be rebranding VeChain (VEN) into VeChain Thor (VET/THOR) this month, a plan of action that may have sparked the interest of investors eager to chase gains in a cooling market. To date, the project has garnered attention from Chinese state media and has also partnered with the China National Tobacco Corporation to develop and implement blockchain solutions. NEO January Performance: +95 percent All-time high: $194.70 hit on Jan. 15 Price on Jan. 1: $74.54 Price on Jan. 31: $145.76 Rank as per market capitalization: 7 Sometimes referred to as "China's ethereum," neo has aimed to build a smart economy in much the same way as its larger competitor, though without the same enterprise fanfare . Story continues Still, the retail market has shown a strong interest. Launched in Dec. 2016, neo weathered the storm created by China's ICO ban in September last year to rebound with a strong start to 2018, possibly due to its innovative features. (Notably, it differs from ethereum in a sense that it can't fork .) The cryptocurrency is down 30 percent from the all-time high of $194.70. Populous January performance: +72 percent All-time high: $75.60 hit on Jan. 29 Price on Jan. 1: $40.35 Price on Jan. 31: $69.78 Rank as per market capitalization: 23 Populous, an invoice and trade financing platform built on ethereum, aims to establish itself as a top player in the $3 trillion alternative business lending market. Its token PPT surged in value last month reportedly due to increased interest among the investor community about its platform beta . Lottery balls image via Shutterstock Related Stories Crypto's Price Correction Isn't Killing the Industry High Floor Found? Strong Volumes Push Bitcoin Above $8K Bitcoin Up Over 20% as Crypto Markets Regain Poise $8K Again? Bitcoin Is Up Nearly $2K from Today's Low \|\| What to Watch When Kraft Heinz Reports Earnings: Kraft Heinz(NASDAQ: KHC)will report its fourth-quarter financial results before the market opens on Friday, Feb. 16. It's been a tough year for the food giant, with weak sales growth amid shifting consumer tastes and competition from private-label brands. The fourth-quarter earnings release will tell us more about whether management's strategy is improving top-line growth. Here's what investors need to watch. IMAGE SOURCE: GETTY IMAGES. As of the third quarter, Kraft's organic net sales year to date -- excluding currency changes and costs related to the2015 merger-- declined 1.1%, as the maker of Oscar Mayer hot dogs and many other popular brands continues to deal with consumer demand shifting away from heavily processed foods. Kraft started the year with a decline of 2.7% in organic sales during the first quarter. Management has spent the year focused on its strategic pillars of innovation, marketing, and cost savings; those helped Kraft improve to the point where it was able to report positive organic sales growth of 0.3% in the third quarter. Management hopes to build on recent momentum and deliver solid results for Q4, but there are still headwinds to fight through. Within the U.S. region -- which made up 70% of total organic net sales through the first three quarters of 2017 -- hurricane-related costs, production delays in its cold-cuts business, and a tough comparable with the year-ago quarter are expected to cut about 40 basis points off sales growth for the quarter. As for the bottom line, the company expects its cost-savings initiatives and focus on profitability to deliver "solid" growth in adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA). Management believes a more favorable balance between product pricing and costs will help improve earnings growth in Q4 for the U.S. region. Kraft Heinz expects to deliver adjustedearnings per sharegrowth for Q4, but doesn't provide specific earnings guidance. The consensus analyst estimate is that the food giant will report adjusted earnings per share of $0.96, representing year-over-year growth of 5.5% for the quarter. That should translate to $3.61 in adjusted earnings per share for the full year, according to analysts, or growth of 8.4% over 2016. There are a lot of moving variables quarter to quarter; pricing, volume and mix, and commodity cost all affect sales performance. With that in mind, investors should listen particularly to management's comments on the underlying trends shaping the company's performance, and about how innovation and marketing will help position the company for long-term growth. Lately, management has been reporting that the company is beginning to see benefits from shifting capital to its best growth opportunities, particularly in sauces and condiments. Total organic net sales growth improved to positive for the first time during 2017 in Q3. This is a result of investments in innovation, and of filling food categories where Kraft hasn't had a presence before, including frozen meals in the U.S. The company also introduced the Planters brand in China. More improvement on the top line is expected as the company invests in processes to launch new products faster, and in gathering better data about its customers so it can deliver the right brands at the right price. These initiatives are also management's answer to softening demand for processed foods. Demand has been particularly soft for Kraft's cold cuts, natural cheeses, and dressings. This has been offset by growth in sauces, condiments, and Lunchables. Management has reported that the problems in cold cuts and cheeses are "fixable," so investors will want to listen for updates on how those efforts are going. Kraft Heinz iscontrolled by 3G Capital, a Brazilian investment firm known for aggressive cost-cutting. Management is still finding areas to cut costs out of the supply chain, which helped EBITDA grow 6.7% year over year in Q3. Since the 2015 merger, the company has trimmed about 6% in costs as a percentage of annual sales, which has helped earnings grow faster than the top line. With a cost-cutter calling the shots, the bottom line should take care of itself over the long term. The key thing to watch is whether management's investments in innovation, marketing, e-commerce, and direct-to-market distribution will improve organic net sales growth. There's clearly been improvement recently, but more needs to be done to give investors confidence. The stock is down about 14% over the last year, so expectations are not that high. Investors will be looking to see if management can deliver better top-line growth than what we've seen lately, coupled with a positive outlook for 2018. More From The Motley Fool • 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices • 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 • 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing • 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today • The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss • Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This John Ballardhas no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy. \|\| The Craziest Bitcoin Investment Yet: Cryptocurrencies are taking the investing world by storm, and the dramatic gains for bitcoin (BTC-USD) in the past year have made many investors greedy for ways to make money from the craze. Major financial institutions have sought numerous ways to make bitcoin more readily available to investors, such as bitcoin futures , and some have looked at exchange-traded funds with bitcoin as a way of opening up the cryptocurrency to the masses. Yet Wall Street often goes too far with its ideas, and one proposed investment could make even bitcoin look tame by comparison. One financial company introduced the idea of leveraged bitcoin ETFs to the market earlier this month, adding the potential for even more violent price moves for its shareholders. Bitcoin symbol on a golden disc, standing on end in front of a price chart Image source: Getty Images. NYSE, Direxion look at leveraged bitcoin ETFs In a filing in early January, the New York Stock Exchange's NYSE Arca unit sought permission from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to list and trade shares of new exchange-traded funds from Direxion Investments. The new ETFs all had the words "Direxion Daily Bitcoin" in their names, but each of the five ETFs offered different levels of exposure to the cryptocurrency. For those who are bullish on bitcoin, the 1.25X Bull Shares, 1.5X Bull Shares, and 2X Bull Shares seek to offer daily returns equal to 1.25, 1.5, or 2 times the daily return of a target benchmark of bitcoin futures contracts. Those who want to bet against bitcoin will be able to choose 1X Bear or 2X Bear Shares, which would try to produce returns equal to the inverse return or twice the inverse return of the bitcoin benchmark respectively. The regulatory filing revealed many of the proposed characteristics of the Direxion ETFs. The funds would feature creation and redemption procedures just like any other exchange-traded fund, but they would seek to use bitcoin futures and options on those futures in order to track their daily performance goals. That's similar to the derivatives that most leveraged ETFs use to produce the intended level of leverage. Story continues The new danger from leveraged bitcoin ETFs The concept of leveraged bitcoin ETFs was likely inevitable, but there are many risks involved with the idea. First, even funds that don't use leverage in investing in bitcoin face risks, including the inherent challenges of handling cryptocurrency transactions, uncertainty about future legal and regulatory restrictions on bitcoin, the potential for further exchange-hacking events, and whether bitcoin will gain wider acceptance as a medium for everyday transactions. In addition, the SEC has been reluctant to give the go-ahead on unleveraged bitcoin ETFs, especially those relying on futures contracts that have traded for barely a month. Yet even if you set aside all of the concerns about bitcoin and its viability as an investment vehicle, introducing leverage to the mix brings a completely different set of dangers to the table. Leveraged ETFs are inherently short-term in nature -- the term itself shows their suitability for only daily use. When you hold leveraged funds for longer than their stated investment period, you'll often find that dramatic volatility in the underlying asset's price can erode their value in ways that you wouldn't expect. In some cases, leveraged bull funds and leveraged bear funds in the same asset can both lose money over longer periods of time, due to the way that daily returns are calculated and to how leveraged ETFs reposition themselves to fulfill their stated investment objectives. The fact that the ETFs will use futures introduces yet another element of uncertainty. If later-month futures have higher prices than current-month futures, then a bitcoin ETF will see slow but steady erosion in value from the pricing structure of that particular futures market. Steer clear of leveraged bitcoin ETFs At this point, it's unclear whether the SEC will allow any bitcoin ETFs to come to market, let alone leveraged ones. If they do become available, even ardent investors in bitcoin should think twice before buying shares of these funds. The huge levels of risk coming from multiple angles aren't worth taking on, simply for the ability to see even more dramatic rises and falls than what bitcoin will give you on its own. More From The Motley Fool 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy . \|\| J.P. Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon Now Says He Regrets Calling Bitcoin a 'Fraud': JPMorgan Chief Executive Jamie Dimon regrets calling bitcoin a ‘fraud’ but added that he still is not interested in the cryptocurrency at all, he said in an interview on Fox Business on Tuesday. Dimon had called bitcoin a fraud at a bank investor conference in New York in September. “The currency isn’t going to work. You can’t have a business where people can invent a currency out of thin air and think that people who are buying it are really smart,” he had said. Read: Jamie Dimon Should Do ‘Some Homework’ on Crypto, Says Blockchain Capital VC Several banks, exchange operators and companies have embraced bitcoins, fueled by increasing consumer and investor interest. Bitcoin was down nearly 2% at $14,786 in early trading on Tuesday . It traded at $909 a year ago and breached $19,000 in December. Dimon made the comments at the JPMorgan Health Care Conference in San Francisco . \|\| Putting the Plunge in Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, and Litecoin Into Perspective: The cryptocurrency market has truly been something for investors and bystanders to marvel. Whereas a great year in traditional equities might entail a gain in value of around 10% (stocks historically average 7% a year, inclusive of dividend reinvestment), the aggregate market cap of all cryptocurrencies increased by more than 3,300% last year. Sure, this included the introduction of new coins, but it also was a function of well over a dozen virtual coinssurging by more than 10,000%in 2017. During a roughly 53-week stretch between Dec. 31, 2016, and Jan. 7, 2018, cryptocurrency valuations catapulted from $17.7 billion to as high as $835 billion, representing an increase in value of more than 4,500%. By comparison, it's taken the broad-basedS&P 500multiple decades to deliver similar returns. Image source: Getty Images. However, big gains also tend to come with big corrections. Between the cryptocurrency markets' Jan. 7 peak, and its trough on Jan. 17 ($414.9 billion), approximately $420 billion in market cap was lost. In effect, half of the crypto market cap was wiped away over a span of 10 days. Let's put this into even more perspective. Here were the high- and low-water marks for four of the most popular virtual coins between Jan. 7 and Jan. 17, according to CoinMarketCap.com, along with the maximum percentage lost from peak in parenthesis: • Bitcoin:$17,579.60 / $9,402.29 (46.5%) • Ethereum:$1,432.88 / $780.92 (45.5%) • Ripple:$3.49 / $0.8978 (74.3%) • Litecoin:$305.53 / $141.01 (53.8%) On a percentage basis, these are huge moves. Bitcoin, the world's most popular cryptocurrency, came close to losing half of its value, as did the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap, Ethereum. Ripple, which has benefited from a two key blockchain partnerships with global banking institutions, practically lost three-quarters of its value from peak to trough. Litecoin followed suit with almost a 54% loss. But the magnitude of these drops are even more revealing when we consider what sort of market cap was lost: • Bitcoin:$137.5 billion • Ethereum:$63.3 billion • Ripple:$100.4 billion • Litecoin:$9 billion Image source: Getty Images. The market cap erased from bitcoin over a 10-day stretch is the same market cap for the entirety ofNVIDIA(NASDAQ: NVDA), the graphics card developer and manufacturer that's played a critical role in fueling the drive of individuals and businesses to mine cryptocurrencies. Meanwhile, Ripple's $100.4 billion tumble is higher than the market cap of financial investment firmMorgan Stanley. And Ethereum erasing $63.3 billion is akin toGeneral Motors' market cap completely disappearing in 10 days. The big questions, of course, are why the correction occurred in the first place and whether it was warranted. Though there are next to no certainties with virtual currencies, the move lower appears to be tied tofour catalysts. This includes South Korea flip-flopping on a potential domestic cryptocurrency exchange crackdown, China getting stricter with virtual-currency trading, stop-loss orders triggering and creating a cascade to the downside, and retail investors wearing their emotions on their sleeves. As for the second question, though I might be in the minority, my opinion is that this correction was most definitely warranted. If we look at the primary catalysts for bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, and Litecoin, it's been theevolution of blockchain technology. Blockchain is the digital and decentralized ledger tethered to virtual coins that logs all transactions. Image source: Getty Images. The possibilities with blockchain appear endless, at least for the time being. Its use is particularly attractive for financial service companies that currently deal with settlement times of up to three to five days on cross-border transactions. Blockchain resolves this by pushing settlement and validation times down to mere seconds in some cases, while also potentially lowering transaction fees by eliminating the middleman (banks usually act as a third-party in transactions). However, blockchain technology is no lock to be accepted with open arms by enterprises. This is a technology that bitcoin brought into the limelight almost a decade ago, and it's taken that long just for it to be tested in small-scale projects. Plus, there aren't any guarantees that blockchain technology will be remotely compatible with current payment networks, which could require an expensive and time-consuming infrastructure overhaul should financial service companies jump aboard. If history has proven anything, it's that investors arenotorious for overestimatingjust how quickly new technology will be adopted. This isn't to say that blockchain technology can't be the game changer that everyone expects so much as to suggest that it's probably going to take longer for it to become a mainstream solution for big businesses. If that is indeed the case, then this recent correction in cryptocurrencies could be well warranted. More From The Motley Fool • 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices • 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 • 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing • 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today • The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss • Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This Sean Williamshas no position in any of the stocks or cryptocurrencies mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Nvidia. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy. \|\| South Korea Mulls BitLicense-Style Rules for Crypto Exchanges: South Korea is reportedly considering a technology-specific licensing scheme as part of it proposed regulation of cryptocurrency exchanges. According toBusinessKorea, a government official involved with a virtual currency task force said Sunday that such rules, which bear a similarity to New York's controversial "BitLicense," introduced in 2015, could be enacted or at least debated. The source said: "We are positively considering the adoption of an exchange approval system as the additional regulation on cryptocurrencies. We are most likely benchmark the model of the State of New York that gives a selective permission." The news appears to mark a softening of the country's stance after some regulators hadproposedthat exchange-based crypto trading be shut down completely, as it is in China. South Korea has also recently moved toban the useof anonymous virtual accounts for trading in the country, with real-name accounts being compulsory from the end of January. BusinessKorea cited the government source as saying that another option on the table would be to impose taxes instead of creating additional regulations "We will hold a meeting to respond to national petition related to digital currencies this month but we are highly likely to make up for the defects of existing measures only at the meeting," the source said The news source added that government is likely to make a final decision on cryptocurrency exchanges after local elections due in June. Launchedafter some delayin June 2015, the New York State Department of Financial Services' (NYDFS)regulatory framework- dubbed the "BitLicense" - sets out that no company or individual can offer cryptocurrency services as a custodian or exchange without first receiving a license, and they must also operate in compliance with stringent money transmitter regulations. The high cost of attaining a license has meant that alimited numberof exchanges now operate in New York, while some have left the state completely. S. Korean National Assemblyimage via Shutterstock • No, Not All ICOs Are Securities • Swiss Finance Regulator to Treat Some ICO Tokens As Securities • Japan's Finance Watchdog to Inspect 15 Unlicensed Crypto Exchanges • As Bitcoin Soars, So Do Coinbase Customer Complaints \|\| Ripple’s XRP is up more than 50% from this week’s low: CoinMarketCap.com • XRP, the cryptocurrency made by Ripple for international money transfers, is trading around $0.90 a coin, up about 60% from its low of $0.56 hit less than a week ago. • The third-largest cryptocurrency has had an exhausting February, beginning the month with a dramatic plunge. XRP is currently trading at less than a third of its all-time high of $3.31, set just after the new year. • Ripple, which uses XRP to power its cross-border liquidity and settlement products, has tried to quell some of the intense volatilitythrough a three-part series about its vision and strategy. Still, speculative investment on cryptocurrency exchanges has continued to drive wild price swings for XRP. • Ripplenow boasts 100 customers, with 75 deploying Ripple products commercially, according to its website, including banks like Santander and Standard Chartered, as well as payments firms like MoneyGram. • You can track the price of XRP in real-time here>> NOW WATCH:Microsoft President Brad Smith says the US shouldn't get 'too isolationist' See Also: • US releases crazy video of an A-10 Warthog decimating a Taliban vehicle in Afghanistan • China is moving to eliminate all cryptocurrency trading with a ban on foreign exchanges • Bitcoin is down 45% this year — but that's not what's worrying cryptocurrency exchanges SEE ALSO:Sign up to get the most important updates on all things crypto delivered straight to your inbox. [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] 1 DOGE Price: Bter BTC #doge #dogecoin 2017-12-31 00:31 pic.twitter.com/Wmxxt1fraY \|\| colpa mia, dopo che gli amici mi accusavano di essere all'antica e non investire in #Bitcoin ho messo 100$ quando erano a 19000$ \|\| Its crazy how in the meeting they knew in speculation how BIG of a GIANT BITCOIN is to the world they were talking of it as if bitcoin wouldn’t die years to come. Which is very well true. #HODL #xrp #ripple #xrpthestandard \|\| How Budbo is Using Blockchain Technology to Legitimize the Cannabis Industry http://www.xbt.money/how-budbo-is-using-blockchain-technology-to-legitimize-the-cannabis-industry/ … #XBT #BTC #Bitcoin \|\| 2018/01/01 12:00 #BTC 1637997円 #ETH 88768.7円 #ETC 3227.6円 #BCH 282672.2円 #XRP 239.7円 #XEM 127.7円 #LSK 2379円 #MONA 1137円 #仮想通貨 #ビットコイン #Bitcoin #イーサリアム #Ethereum #ビットコインキャッシュ #リップル #Ripple #Coincheck \|\| Ecubitcoin, el portal especializado en noticias sobre bitcóin https://goo.gl/fJBhL7?btz7=1540023706 … \|\| A Crypto Rewards Ecosystem for Gamers & Developers!! This will be your best ICO investment of 2018! --> http://bit.ly/AbyssICO $FCT 20.8605$ $MUSIC $STEEM $MSP $LA $TCC $PDC $MANA $POSW $CTR $QSP $ARK $XBY $BTDX $ENG $BTC $ARDR $UNIT $MLN $OCL $ARTpic.twitter.com/LyzSskBxCe \|\| In order to test their security infrastructure, companies are incr http://bit.ly/2iBwvoX #Cybersecurity #Bitcoin pic.twitter.com/e8mKYPQoh8 \|\| Mining Rig Open Air Gehäuse bis zu 7 GPUs Bitcoin Ethereum ZCASH - 99,00 EUR Fecha de finalización: viernes mar-23-2018 20:24:54 CET Cómpralo ya por sólo: 99,00 EUR ¡Cómpralo ya! \| Añadir a lista de seguimiento http://ow.ly/fKq350gAiYI \|\| Time to sell BCN for : 0.0000005050 BTC Date: 2018-02-06 06:07:00	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 9664.73, 10366.70, 10725.60, 10397.90, 10951.00, 11086.40, 11489.70, 11512.60, 11573.30, 10779.90
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2017-08-08] BTC Price: 3419.94, BTC RSI: 70.37 Gold Price: 1256.40, Gold RSI: 53.45 Oil Price: 49.17, Oil RSI: 59.02 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Bitcoin technology faces split, may create clone virtual currency: By Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss and Anna Irrera NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bitcoin's underlying software code could be split on Tuesday to create a clone called "Bitcoin Cash," potentially providing a windfall for holders of the digital currency. The initiative is being led by a small group of mostly China-based bitcoin miners - who get paid in the currency for contributing computing power to the bitcoin network - who are not happy with proposed improvements to the currency's technology. They have initiated what is known as a "fork" - where blockchain, a public ledger of all bitcoin transactions, splits into two potential paths - that is set to be activated on Aug. 1. A fork, if it goes ahead, would be significant as it could create a new competitor for bitcoin, which remains the oldest and most valuable digital currency. It is not clear if the fork will happen and how much the new coin would be worth. If the fork goes ahead on Tuesday, anyone owning bitcoins before the split will have access to an equal amount of Bitcoin Cash for free, which they will then be able to trade for fiat currencies - legal tender backed by an issuing government - or other digital currencies. "This is somewhat like a stock split," said Jeff Garzik, chief executive and co-founder of Bloq, a blockchain company. "You go to sleep with 100 bitcoins and wake up in the morning with 100 bitcoins plus 100 'Bitcoin Cash', a new token." Bitcoin averted a split two weeks ago, when its software developers and miners agreed to implement a software upgrade called the Bitcoin Improvement Proposal (BIP) 91. BIP 91 was the first step toward a larger effort to upgrade bitcoin through software called SegWit2x, which would make the network faster at processing transactions, such as payments using the virtual currency. The miners, a powerful segment of the bitcoin community, represent a network of computer operators who validate information on the blockchain. Since bitcoin is powered by open-source code, any group of coders can use it to create clone coins. Futures of Bitcoin Cash are already trading on certain exchanges at around $282.40. Bitcoin traded at $2,806.27, according to coinmarketcap.com. If the fork goes ahead, users will only be able to receive and sell the new token on certain digital currency exchanges and digital wallet providers, as several have decided not to support it, including Coinbase, BitMEX, and Bitstamp. "We do not want to support any behavior whereby anyone can potentially split the bitcoin blockchain and effectively create free money out of nothing," said Greg Dwyer, head of business development at BitMEX. Story continues Two other large exchanges, Kraken and Bitfinex, said they will allow users to trade Bitcoin Cash and will credit them with the same amount of the new token after the fork, if it goes ahead. (Reporting by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss and Anna Irrera; Editing by Bill Rigby) View comments \|\| Tons of Coinbase users fled the platform after it rejected bitcoin cash — now the $1 billion startup is in the center of a raging storm: Brian Armstrong Coinbase (Coinbase cofounder Brian Armstrong.Anthony Harvey/Getty Images for TechCrunch) The digital currency startup Coinbase saw an exodus of users this week after announcing that it wouldn't support bitcoin cash, the new digital currency established Tuesday. Bitcoin cash is a bitcoin offshoot created as a means of dealing with disagreements in the community over how the technology behind the currency should run. But investors don't seem worried about this exodus harming Coinbase's potential unicorn status. The world of cryptocurrency is not exactly a calm place. And for Coinbase, one of the hottest and most valuable startups in the sector, this week's remarkable news around bitcoin put the company in the center of a raging storm. The big offense for Coinbase, which operates a platform for buying and selling cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, was its decision not to support bitcoin cash — the new cryptocurrency that was spun out of bitcoin this week. Many Coinbase users unleashed their wrath, accusing the company of being everything from a scam to a tool for the National Security Agency. Some threatened to sue. The $1 billion startup also lost users in droves, with 12-hour wait times over the weekend as users scrambled to transfer their bitcoins to competitors that would support bitcoin cash. The angry reaction, and the risk of a big loss of customers, raised questions about the future of what has been one of the crypto world's biggest success stories. For now, though, Coinbase's backers aren't sweating it. And they say they don't anticipate the drama having much of an effect on the startup, which has been raising money on terms that would value it at roughly $1 billion . Barry Schuler (Coinbase investor Barry Schuler.Manny Ceneta/Getty Images) "There's no one on the board or any investor who doesn't completely back the point of view that we should err on the side of safety and trust," said Barry Schuler, a partner with DFJ, an investor in Coinbase. "From an investor's point of view, we invested in Coinbase because they have made a voluntary commitment to be regulated," Schuler said, "and to focus on being trusted and safe — as safe as you can be in an experimental environment like this." Story continues Though Coinbase didn't participate in Tuesday's currency launch, Schuler said Coinbase could change its policy as early as next week, depending on how bitcoin cash matures. Another Coinbase investor, Fueled founder Rameet Chawla, even suggested that Coinbase may increase the strength of the original bitcoin down the line by establishing faith in the legacy currency. That's because Coinbase's conservative approach may make cryptocurrency more accessible to potential users who are afraid to dabble in technologically complex digital currencies. "They're a huge net positive on bitcoin, making it really easy on people who are not early adopters," Chawla said. Mass exodus of coinbase users With 9 million users and $20 billion exchanged, Coinbase has its hands on a lot of the digital currency floating around. And while investors support Coinbase's decision to sit out the initial bitcoin split, many customers felt betrayed by the company. A scan of the Coinbase community forums shows a host of angry topics such as "What if Coinbase is NSA tool to destroy BTC (bitcoin cash)?" and "Dear Coinbase, if you not release my funds in 1h I am going to sue you." Coinbase wouldn't disclose how many users withdrew bitcoins in anticipation of bitcoin cash's arrival. But things looked rough. Coinbase users experienced delays of about 12 hours on withdrawals over the weekend because of the number of people moving bitcoins. Rameet Chawla Fueled (Fueled founder Rameet Chawla doesn't seem worried about long-term harm to Coinbase.Rameet Chawla) Despite this, sources close to the situation said the company expected to see many people return to Coinbase while simultaneously storing newly acquired bitcoin cash in a different digital wallet. "Ultimately, Coinbase is an exchange for buying bitcoin, but people are free to use their own wallets and take control of their wallets anyway they want," Chawla said. The 'hard fork' The introduction Tuesday of bitcoin cash was known as the "hard fork." It resulted in a cloned currency with different technological protocols from those of the original bitcoin. The fork was a means of dealing with disagreements in the bitcoin community over how to evolve the technology to handle increased demand. The hard fork followed a process similar to cell division in biology, in that the two currencies were the same at the point of division but will pursue different paths moving forward. Users storing their bitcoin in a digital wallet that accepts bitcoin cash on Tuesday found themselves with a bitcoin cash coin for every bitcoin they had at the time of duplication. Bitcoin and bitcoin cash do not have the same value, however, so duplication is not the same as a doubling in worth. Why Coinbase sat out on bitcoin cash In a statement on Twitter on Tuesday, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong wrote that the company was agnostic to which currencies its users trade and that it was not opposed to adding new assets in the future. "Our goal is to be the safest, most trusted and compliant, and easiest to use," Armstrong wrote. "Not the first to market with new assets. Especially at scale, it takes time to ensure any new asset we add is well tested and secure." Generally speaking, Coinbase isn't quick to take on new currencies. Founded in 2012, the exchange still trades only bitcoin, ether , and litcoin — all digital currencies the team has deemed stable and technically secure enough for an amateur investor to put money into. We have made this decision because it is hard to predict how long the alternative version of bitcoin will survive and if Bitcoin Cash will have future market value. So it was of little surprise to those close to the company when it issued a statement last week advising that customers who want to access both bitcoin and bitcoin cash would need to withdrawal from Coinbase by this past Monday. "We have no plans to support the Bitcoin Cash fork." David Farmer, the director of business development at Coinbase, wrote. "We have made this decision because it is hard to predict how long the alternative version of bitcoin will survive and if Bitcoin Cash will have future market value." Users were irked because Coinbase's decision not to accept bitcoin cash meant that anyone with bitcoin stored in Coinbase's digital wallet would not receive what many saw as free bitcoin cash. Others were concerned that Coinbase would secretly keep the bitcoin cash that was generated Tuesday. In a statement last Friday, however, the company denied that this would happen. "Coinbase would not keep the bitcoin cash associated with customer bitcoin balances for ourselves," the company posted on Twitter. Investors like Schuler, however, saw the Coinbase's trepidation as part of its core business strategy. "The whole cryptocurrency-blockchain space is a bit like the Wild West right now — just like the beginning of the internet," Schuler said. "But slowly and surely, it's becoming institutionalized. Coinbase represents that — being legitimate and offering as much trust and safety as possible." NOW WATCH: This cell phone doesn't have a battery and never needs to be charged More From Business Insider Voice activated speakers, like Amazon Echo and Google Home, are pumping new life into Pandora's business Pandora topped Q2 revenue targets and its stock just had a wild rebound Amazon wants to continue testing grocery stores without human cashiers when it owns Whole Foods \|\| Elon Musk: Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg's knowledge of A.I.'s future is 'limited': Billionaire Elon Musk said Facebook (NASDAQ: FB) Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg's understanding of the future of artificial intelligence (AI) is "limited", as the spat between the two tech bosses continues. On Sunday, Zuckerberg took to Facebook Live talking informally to viewers while at a barbecue. A user submitted a question saying how they had seen a recent interview with Musk in which he said his largest fear for the future was AI. Musk has been vocal about his fear of AI in the future. Earlier this month for example, he said that AI will cause massive job disruption and that robots "will be able to do everything better than us." The Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) CEO has also advocated a policy of universal basic income to protect people from the fallout of AI disruption. Zuckerberg however, doesn't agree with Musk's view. During the Facebook Live, Zuckerberg called doomsday scenarios about AI "pretty irresponsible" . "I think people who are naysayers and try to drum up these doomsday scenarios — I just, I don't understand it. It's really negative and in some ways I actually think it is pretty irresponsible," Zuckerberg said." In the next five to 10 years, AI is going to deliver so many improvements in the quality of our lives," added Zuckerberg. A Twitter user posted an article about Zuckerberg's comments. Musk, responding to the tweet, said that he has already spoken to Zuckerberg about this and that the Facebook CEO's "understanding of the subject is limited."TWEETAnother twitter user replied that he should write a blog post, to which Musk responded jokingly that a movie on the subject is "coming soon".It is an unusually public spat for the two technology CEOs, neither of which have competing businesses. But it highlights the level of debate happening in the technology community over the future of AI. Musk has previously warned that humans will need to merge with machines or risk becoming irrelevant. And while the two might disagree on the impact AI has, Zuckerberg, like Musk, agrees with the idea of a universal basic income to help cushion any fallout from new technology. WATCH: Elon Musk issues yet another warning against runaway artificial intelligence Billionaire Elon Musk said Facebook (NASDAQ: FB) Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg's understanding of the future of artificial intelligence (AI) is "limited", as the spat between the two tech bosses continues. On Sunday, Zuckerberg took to Facebook Live talking informally to viewers while at a barbecue. A user submitted a question saying how they had seen a recent interview with Musk in which he said his largest fear for the future was AI. Musk has been vocal about his fear of AI in the future. Earlier this month for example, he said that AI will cause massive job disruption and that robots "will be able to do everything better than us." The Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) CEO has also advocated a policy of universal basic income to protect people from the fallout of AI disruption. Zuckerberg however, doesn't agree with Musk's view. During the Facebook Live, Zuckerberg called doomsday scenarios about AI "pretty irresponsible" . "I think people who are naysayers and try to drum up these doomsday scenarios — I just, I don't understand it. It's really negative and in some ways I actually think it is pretty irresponsible," Zuckerberg said. " In the next five to 10 years, AI is going to deliver so many improvements in the quality of our lives," added Zuckerberg. A Twitter user posted an article about Zuckerberg's comments. Musk, responding to the tweet, said that he has already spoken to Zuckerberg about this and that the Facebook CEO's "understanding of the subject is limited." TWEET Another twitter user replied that he should write a blog post, to which Musk responded jokingly that a movie on the subject is "coming soon". It is an unusually public spat for the two technology CEOs, neither of which have competing businesses. But it highlights the level of debate happening in the technology community over the future of AI. Musk has previously warned that humans will need to merge with machines or risk becoming irrelevant. And while the two might disagree on the impact AI has, Zuckerberg, like Musk, agrees with the idea of a universal basic income to help cushion any fallout from new technology. WATCH: Elon Musk issues yet another warning against runaway artificial intelligenceMore From CNBC • Here's how much the iPhone 8 costs to make compared to what Apple sells it for • Atari’s new console to cost less than $300 and ship next spring • Bitcoin drops 8% after JPMorgan's Jamie Dimon calls it a fraud \|\| Coinbase will support newly-minted Bitcoin Cash after all: Earlier this week, disgruntled members of the bitcoin community successfullysplita new cryptocurrency off from the main branch. Bitcoin Cash, as it's called, attempts to speed up transactions, a key problem with bitcoin's aging structure. But the new alternative currency will only survive if users invest in it. Some cryptocurrency exchanges said they wouldn't back it due to its instability, but one of those holdouts, Coinbase, justannouncedthat it's come around and will support Bitcoin Cash. In a blog post, Coinbase stated their decision came after careful review. Ensuring the security of Bitcoin Cash's network was a priority, as was evaluating customer demand, trading volumes, and regulatory considerations. But the exchange wanted to be clear that "both bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash remain safely stored on Coinbase," and "that customers with balances of bitcoin at the time of the fork now have an equal quantity of bitcoin cash stored by Coinbase." Assuming no great risks emerge, Coinbase says it will start supporting Bitcoin Cash on January 1st, 2018. Once that happens, customers will be able to withdraw their new cryptocoins -- but until then, they'll stay safely locked away. \|\| Bitcoin Cash Launches, Bitcoin's Future Unclear: Bitcoin Cash officially launched tonight, a controversial fork inspiring hordes of bitcoin users to swap traditional bitcoins for this new cryptocurrency. Some reddit users even deemed Tuesday Bitcoin Independence Day . The build up has been dizzying. One of the worlds leading bitcoin exchange markets, Coinbase , had outages throughout the weekend due to a large number of bitcoin withdrawals. Some of these people were probably just securing their stash on hardware wallets, while others became early BCH users. Read : Why The Bitcoin Fork Debate On August 1st Isn't 'Civil War' A BCH airdrop is already underway, giving away BCH for free to core Bitcoin holders. Stellar previously made the same move with its cryptocurrency, Lumens, so this type of giveaway isnt surprising. Blockchain startups were hard at work Monday, gearing up for the network shift. Many cryptocurrency experts wished BCH separatists well on social media, despite a lack of confidence in BCHs prospects. It seems like a pointless, political gesture, Monero co-founder Riccardo Spagni told International Business Times. I dont think it will serve its intended purpose. Although he respects many of the people involved with Bitcoin Cash, he considers the project unwise. Spagnis advice for bitcoin newbies is to calm down and wait it out. Bitcoin and BHC prices are both expected to oscillate for a while after the fork. It could be months before the dust settles, Spagni said. As for the political debate underlying BCH, wanting bitcoin to be used by as many people doing as many transactions as possible, bitcoin veterans have diverse perspectives on what the real future holds. Many of bitcoins most passionate advocates believe cryptocurrency markets arent just about getting rich: Its about allowing people to be free . Blockchain tokens let people to transact without banks or governments verifying their identities and holdings. This gives users more financial autonomy than ever before. However, as the business-centric BCH split underlines, cryptocurrency enthusiasts adhere to a wide range of philosophies. Is the future of bitcoin really universal adoption? It depends on who you ask. Story continues Read : Why You Should Care That Hedge Funds Are Joining The Crypto Boom Many innovators want cryptocurrency to someday become a widespread conduit for daily transactions, such as buying coffee. People like Ethereum co-founder Joe Lubin even believe blockchain technology could reshape the global economy by giving people power over their own digital sovereignty in all kinds of online platforms. The blockchain industry is full of cypherpunks and libertarians, white hat hackers and humanitarian activists. Regardless, many bitcoin veterans still think its naive to suggest cryptocurrency will fundamentally transform the concept of money. "The technology doesn't seem to support that vision," Patrick Murck, co-founder of the Bitcoin Foundation and a renowned cryptocurrency legal expert , told IBT. Blockchains dont scale well. At least for the near future, Murck said decentralized networks wont be able to handle all the transactions that Visa and Mastercard can. Business-oriented networks like Ripple have a much higher capacity, but XRP is not as decentralized as bitcoin or the democratically run Tezos. Even if a decentralized network does eventually scale for the kind of capacity a commonplace, international currency would need, local governments still define monetary policy. Politics will define the future of bitcoin, regardless of scalability. Bitcoin Cryptocurrency fundraising is changing the world with initial coin offerings. Bitcoin is just the beginning. Photo: Sean Gallup/Getty Lawmakers can make it easier, or much harder, for citizens to use decentralized networks. Crypto Lotus hedge fund co-founder Joshua Goldbard told IBT the value of currency is still largely tied to a nation-states monopoly on violence. Russia and China are already developing their own national cryptocurrencies. Goldbard said the United States could follow suit and gain more value than decentralized tokens. That will obviously become a dominate cryptocurrency because the US has all the guns, he said. I dont necessarily see cryptocurrency over the long term as democratizing the world...there will be different concentrations of wealth and different governance. Spagni agreed with this assessment. Just because a technology could make money free from politics, doesnt mean it will happen. Governments are tenacious and theyre not going to just give up because theres something else people want to use, he said. Spagni would like to see larger adoption, yet believes cryptocurrency will likely remain niche even as it spreads and matures. Along those lines, Murck sees the future of cryptocurrency as a property revolution, not a new type of money. "Bitcoin and blockchain tokens are unique because they create unique forms property, that have never existed before," Murck said. "It's a little piece of data that is scarce and unique. Usually, data in digital systems is not scarce because you can just copy it infinitely. For example, once a band digitizes a song, people can make endless copies for almost no cost. Now blockchain allows property owners, including artists who own their work , to keep control of those digital assets. The future of cryptocurrency could be less about mobile shopping and more about business standards. "If you rebuilt the New York Stock Exchange today, you could build it at a fraction of the cost, compared to the way it runs right now," Murck said. Meanwhile, projects like Filecoin are working to bridge the gap between traditional categories, like securities regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Wild West of initial coin offerings. "I think the SEC ruling is a part of it and I think there are some projects that are really embracing that. They want to professionalize the space," Murck said. Bitcoin Cash was born out of a debate about how to scale bitcoin so more people can use it for more things. While cryptocurrency seems like it will become more popular, decentralized networks may never be able to replace national currencies altogether because people are harder to work with than algorithms. The [blockchain] network could break if you try to scale it prematurely," Murck said. "Money is just a creature of the state, a social phenomena. You can't really divorce the two." Related Articles Countdown To Bitcoin Cash IRS Might Limit 'Highly Intrusive' Bitcoin Audit \|\| This hot digital currency trend is minting millions, but US investors aren't allowed to play: For all the hype in the digital currency world about so-called initial coin offerings, U.S. investors often can't officially participate. The reason, several analysts told CNBC, is companies' fear of being held accountable by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in case buyers lose money in what can be a frenetic rush for something with unproven dollar value and sometimes prone to fraud. "Everyone's afraid of the SEC. They can reach anyone in the world," said William Mougayar, author of "The Business Blockchain" and organizer of the Token Summit, a conference in New York this May about the digital coin business. Not letting U.S. residents participate is a way for firms "to protect themselves because the SEC won't go after the customers, they'll go after the companies," Mougayar said. The SEC declined to comment. Before buying one of these new digital coins based on the same blockchain technology as bitcoin (Exchange: BTC=-USS) an investor typically must check a box that says he or she is not a U.S. citizen or green card holder. The coin sale websites also usually block U.S.-based computers based on their IP address. Bitcoin has more than doubled in value this year, while the market value of all digital currencies has more than quadrupled this year, hovering around $80 billion, according to CoinMarketCap. Screenshots of webpages for DAO.Casino (left) and EOS token sales Source: DAO.Casino, EOS An initial coin offering is a way for blockchain-based projects to raise funds, while allowing investors to own part of it through a digital network token. However, since most of the projects are still in very early stages, some worry about the rapid speed at which some projects are raising large amounts of money. About half of this year's roughly $1.2 billion in initial coin offerings was raised in the last month alone , according to a July report from financial research firm Autonomous NEXT. Last Thursday, the Tezos blockchain project set a record for the coin sales by raising the equivalent of more than $200 million over the 13 days of its fundraiser. Switzerland-based Tezos said it did not specifically exclude investors from any country from participating. Story continues U.S. residents holding bitcoin or ethereum could buy the Tezos tokens. But they couldn't participate in the fundraiser through its broker, Bitcoin Suisse. "Due to the uncertainty with regard to crypto-assets and crypto-financial services from U.S. authorities, the IRS, and the FATCA [Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act] treaty, we are at this time unable to offer our services to U.S. clients," Bitcoin Suisse CEO Niklas Nikolajsen told CNBC in an emailed statement. The challenge for token sale regulation comes down to uncertainty over how the definition of a security applies to the digital coins. Right now, the SEC's definition relies on the "Howey test," which came out of a 1946 U.S. Supreme Court case. The ruling says a security involves the investment of money in a common enterprise, in which the investor expects profits primarily from others' efforts. Part of the debate is whether coin buyers are merely buying the tokens like a stock, in expectation they will rise in value, or are actually holding the tokens as a way to participate in a blockchain project. If the token is considered to be more like a stock, then the sellers need to be registered with the SEC. Otherwise the sale may be illegal. "The lack of clarity is certainly a problem, certainly for any institutional investors to get used to this space," said Ryan Schoen, senior financial services policy analyst at research firm Washington Analysis. "This is similar to the '90s when the internet came into existence." The SEC has not been completely silent on cryptocurrencies. The regulator issued in 2014 an "investor alert" about bitcoin that said "using Bitcoin may limit your recovery in the event of fraud or theft." The SEC is also clearly watching the token sales. Although not an official view, Valerie Szczepanik, head of the SEC's distributed ledger group, said at a bitcoin conference in May that companies creating and issuing tokens to raise funds are responsible for protecting their investors, according to a Reuters report. "It is harder if you are a U.S. entity to do an ICO, but it's not impossible," said Jim Yang, chief strategy officer at Tendermint, which is developing some major components behind a blockchain project called Cosmos to address problems in bitcoin and ethereum. "The U.S. is very highly regulated," Yang said, noting some of the issues can be mitigated by not naming a fundraiser an ICO. He said his firm worked closely with a lawyer in Cosmos' own fundraiser of $17 million in early April so that all U.S. residents, except those from two states, could participate. "We just want to be on the super safe side, that we follow all the possible ways a law can twist," Yang said. Not all initial coin offerings have gone smoothly, and digital currency enthusiasts are also interested to see how well the blockchain projects are able to execute on their business proposals. On Monday, the CoinDash initial coin offering lost $7 million to hackers . The digital currency trading platform said it will still give coins to investors who sent funds to the fraudulent account before the website was shut down. A rush of buyers for other coin offerings this year also clogged the network of digital currency ethereum, causing volatility for the currency, which itself has run up exponentially this year. "It's the responsibility of the participants to check if it's legal" to invest in the token sale, Johann Gevers, founder and president of the Tezos Foundation, said. He noted that young blockchain projects like Tezos typically can't afford to spend "millions and millions" for legal research into every country and, in the case of the U.S., every state. To be sure, keeping U.S. investors out of token sales doesn't guarantee safety for a company, said Marco Santori, who leads the fintech practice at law firm Cooley. He's advised many initial coin offerings, although he said he can't speak to specific ones. "Every other country in the world has some kind of securities law," Santori said, "so just because you're trying to avoid the U.S. securities law it doesn't mean you [avoid] the rest of the world's securities law." Some developers are also tapping alternative fundraising methods. "We think ICOs will go away. We think the SEC will come down on this," said Marshall Hayner, co-founder of Metal Pay, a blockchain-based app similar to Venmo. Rather than opening the initial coin offering to the public, Hayner said his firm did a $3 million round of token sales that was limited to "accredited" investors, or those with a personal relationship with the firm. "There will be more tokens that are certainly trying to go accredited only," he said. More From CNBC US dollar drops to near 2-year low vs the euro, 2017 loss now 10% Bitcoin bubble dwarfing tulip mania, Elliott Wave analyst says Don't buy the Twitter comeback, stock to drop 50%, Morgan Stanley says \|\| What Like Ahead for Telecom ETFs?: The U.S. telecommunications industry is currently balanced with almost equal proportions of positive and negative influences. This year, we expect this industry to witness growth more or less in line with the broader market. Positive Factors At present, the U.S. telecom industry enjoys several positive attributes. First, the new telecom regulatory body – Federal Communications Commission (FCC) – has given enough indications that it will be less stringent compared with the Obama administration and is likely to roll back several regulations of the previous regime. Second, the less restrictive nature of the FCC will aid mergers and acquisitions which are likely to spur growth in 2017. Third, President Trump has decided to improve broadband availability in rural areas. Rural broadband development will be an element of his ambitious $1 trillion infrastructure plan he will submit to the Congress soon. (Read: Bitcoin Soars to Record High—Fork, Futures and ETFs Explained) Negative Factors However, several near-term headwinds prevail in the telecom industry. The chief ones include growing price competition for wireless services that are likely to reduce carriers' revenue growth in 2017. Leading cable MSOs (multi service operators) have decided to enter the wireless field this year, which is likely to intensify competition in an already saturated market. Further, capital spending by U.S. telecom carriers may be muted in 2017. 4G LTE wireless penetration is currently 83% in North America. This can primarily be attributed to most carriers’ intention to upgrade to the 5G wireless network standard which requires massive investment. However, a full phased 5G network deployment is unlikely before 2020. Internet of Things (IoT): The Next Growth Driver IoT, which enables any physical electronic device with a valid IP-address to transfer data seamlessly over a wireless network, is fast gaining market traction and bringing about fundamental changes in business models. Next-generation superfast wireless networks (4G LTE, LTE-A, upcoming 5G) will provide the primary impetus to the telecom industry. In this context, IoT holds the potential to be the numero uno factor in driving growth in the space. Superfast 5G mobile networks will be of utmost importance in the management of exponential growth in IoT. (Read: 5 Smart Beta ETFs with Brilliant Returns) Unlimited Data Plan War Wireless consumers pay millions extra in the form of added surcharges, taxes, monthly fees and carrier price hikes every year. The practice seems to have peaked and carriers are still looking for ways to fetch more from their customers. Several consumer groups have criticized extra fees because these are easily overlooked and lead to higher-than-advertised price payments. The U.S. telecom market continues to witness intense pricing competition as success depends largely on technical superiority, quality of services and scalability. (Read: Q2 Earnings Effect--4 Must-See ETF Charts) ETFs to Tap the Sector Against this backdrop, investors seeking to tap the growth potential of the highly competitive telecom sector may take a closer look at the ETF approach to reap maximum benefit from investing in this sector. This technique can help to spread out assets among a wide variety of companies and reduce company specific risks for a very low cost. Below, we highlight the ETFs in this sector in greater detail for Telecom ETF investors: iShares Global Telecommunications ETF (IXP) IXP is one of the most popular Telecom ETF available in the market. Launched in Nov 2001, this ETF tracks investment results before fees and expenses corresponds to the price and yield performance of the S&P Global 1200 Telecommunications Sector Index. The fund has nearly $331.72 million of assets under management and an average trading volume of roughly 26,660 shares a day in the last 3 months. The fund charges an expense ratio of 47 basis points a year. The fund holds 31 stocks in its portfolio and has a concentrated approach in the top ten holdings with 71.16% of the asset base invested in them. Among individual holdings, top stocks in the ETF include AT&T Inc., Verizon Communications Inc., and Vodafone Group Plc. with asset allocation of 18.72%, 15.40% and 6.03%, respectively. Integrated Telecommunication Services, Wireless Telecommunication Services and Alternative Carriers are the three major sectors with asset holdings of 71.78%, 26.45% and 1.36% respectively. This ETF offers a dividend yield of 3.76%. Vanguard Telecommunication Services ETF (VOX) Another popular fund in the Telecom ETF space is VOX. Launched in Sep 2004, this ETF seeks to track the performance corresponding to the benchmark MSCI US Investable Market Telecommunication Services 25/50 Index. It has assets under management of nearly $1,346.40 million and an average trading volume of roughly 105,491 shares a day in the last 3 months. The fund charges an expense ratio of 10 basis points a year. The fund holds 28 stocks in its portfolio and has a concentrated approach in the top ten holdings with 69.70% of the asset base invested in them. Among individual holdings, top three stocks in the ETF are AT&T, Verizon and Level 3 Communications Inc. Integrated Telecommunication Services, Alternative Carriers and Wireless Telecommunication Services are the three major sectors with asset holdings of 61.80%, 23.20% and 15.00%, respectively. This ETF offers a dividend yield of 3.33%. SPDR S&P Telecom ETF (XTL) Incepted in Jan 2011, XTL ETF tries to match the returns of the S&P Telecom Select Industry Index, before expenses. The fund manages an asset size of nearly $72.20 million and an average trading volume of roughly 12,222 shares a day in the last 3 months. The fund charges an expense ratio of 35 basis points a year. The fund holds 52 stocks in total in its basket. However, this ETF is not following any concentrated approach as the top ten stocks hold only 25.33% of the asset base invested in them. Among individual holdings, top stocks in the ETF include Applied Optoelectronics Inc., Infinera Corp. and Ubiquiti Networks Inc., with asset allocation of 3.45%, 2.55% and 2.52%, respectively. Communications Equipment, Integrated Telecommunications Services, Alternative Carriers and Wireless telecommunication Services are the four sectors with asset holdings of 62.21%, 15.26%, 12.92% and 9.39% respectively. This ETF offers a dividend yield of 1.23%. iShares US Telecommunications ETF (IYZ) Incepted in May 2000, IYZ ETF tracks investment results before fees and expenses corresponds to the price and yield performance of the Dow Jones US Select Telecommunications Index. The fund manages assets worth of more than $474.49 million and an average trading volume of roughly 479,580 shares a day in the last 3 months. The fund charges an expense ratio of 44 basis points a year. The fund holds 20 stocks and has a concentrated approach in the top ten holdings with 63.09% of the asset base invested in them. Among individual holdings, top stocks in the ETF include AT&T, Verizon, and Level 3 Communications with asset allocation of 10.50%, 10.45% and 6.37%, respectively. The three major sectors of this ETF include Integrated Telecommunication Services, Wireless Telecommunication Services and Alternative Carriers with asset holdings of 50.77%, 27.30%, and 21.86% respectively. This ETF offers a dividend yield of 2.85%. Fidelity MSCI Telecom Services Index ETF (FCOM) Incepted in Oct 2013, FCOM ETF tracks investment results before fees and expenses corresponds to the performance of the MSCI USA IMI Telecommunication Services 25/50 Index. The fund manages assets worth of nearly $115.80 million and an average trading volume of roughly 40,778 shares a day in the last 3 months. The fund charges an expense ratio of 8 basis points a year. The fund holds 27 stocks and has a concentrated approach in the top ten holdings with 72.08% of the asset base invested in them. Among individual holdings, top stocks in the ETF include Verizon, AT&T and Level 3 Communications, with asset allocation of 23.96%, 22.88% and 4.41%, respectively. Diversified Telecommunication Services and Wireless Telecommunication Services are the two major sectors of this ETF with asset holdings of 84.91% and 13.67%, respectively. This ETF offers a dividend yield of 2.75%. More Stock News: Tech Opportunity Worth $386 Billion in 2017 From driverless cars to artificial intelligence, we've seen an unsurpassed growth of high-tech products in recent months. Yesterday's science-fiction is becoming today's reality. Despite all the innovation, there is a single component no tech company can survive without. Demand for this critical device will reach $387 billion this year alone, and it's likely to grow even faster in the future. Zacks has released a brand-new Special Report to help you take advantage of this exciting investment opportunity. Most importantly, it reveals 4 stocks with massive profit potential.See these stocks now>> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days.Click to get this free reportFID-TELECOM (FCOM): ETF Research ReportsVIPERS-TELE SVC (VOX): ETF Research ReportsISHARS-US TELE (IYZ): ETF Research ReportsSPDR-SP TELCM (XTL): ETF Research ReportsISHARS-GLB TELE (IXP): ETF Research ReportsTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment ResearchWant the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report \|\| Experts say Petya ransomware is just a ‘test’ for something much worse: A new ransomware attack , modeled after the recent WannaCry exploit, has hit thousands of organizations and users worldwide. But according to a handful of security experts, it’s only the tip of the iceberg. The ransomware attack, which encrypts users’ files and demands a ransom to unlock them, could just be a test attack, or cover for more malicious damage being done by the virus. Don't Miss : The most important accessory any AirPods user can buy ““I’m willing to say with at least moderate confidence that this was a deliberate, malicious, destructive attack or perhaps a test disguised as ransomware. The best way to put it is that Petya’s payment infrastructure is a fecal theater,” security researcher Nicholas Weaver told KrebsOnSecurity . His sentiments were echoed by “the grugq,” an anonymous security researcher who blogs about security issues. He highlights the same thing as Weaver, namely that the payment infrastructure for the virus is poorly designed. Normally, ransomware viruses demand payment in Bitcoin to a Bitcoin account that is unique to every victim. That makes it harder to track the Bitcoin, or for researchers to work out the identity of the attackers. Communication is normally done through the obfuscated Tor protocol, which relies on a distributed web of servers and is impossible for one organization to shut down. In this instance, however, the attackers had one single email address listed for communication. It was quickly shut down by Posteo, the German ISP responsible for the email account. That means that victims will not be able to communicate with the attackers to organize payment or receive decryption codes, effectively meaning any encrypted files will be lost forever, if backups aren’t available. “If this well engineered and highly crafted worm was meant to generate revenue, this payment pipeline was possibly the worst of all options (short of “send a personal cheque to: Petya Payments, PO Box …”),” the grugq explains. It’s suspicious that such a well-designed piece of ransomware would have such a bad payment system — unless, of course, the aim was never to make money. Story continues “This is definitely not designed to make money. This is designed to spread fast and cause damage, with a plausibly deniable cover of “ransomware.”, the grugq continues. Weaver confirmed this to Krebs , saying that Petya “appears to have been well engineered to be destructive while masquerading as a ransomware strain.” Attributing blame for cyberattacks is always difficult, but the high concentration of Ukranian victims — the attack was originally distributed through Ukranian tax software MeDoc — raises questions about potential Russian involvement. Trending right now: Scientists ‘can’t rule out’ collision with asteroid flying by Earth in 2029 Google Pixel phones of the future may have a feature you’ll never find on an iPhone Video: Porsche tries to keep up with a Model S and the result is embarassing See the original version of this article on BGR.com \|\| Nike is reportedly close to making a huge move that should terrify Dick's, Foot Locker, and Under Armour: Nike (Nike may finally break through online by selling on Amazon.Facebook/Nike) The world's largest sportswear maker and the world's largest online retailer might finally work together. In its tooth-and-nail fight to staunch ebbing sales, Nike may finally embrace Amazon soon and sell directly on Amazon.com, according to analysts at Goldman Sachs. "Our channel checks indicate [Nike] could be close to commencing a direct relationship selling product on Amazon.com," the Goldman Sachs analyst note reads. For Nike, there are tangible benefits from selling directly on Amazon. The company's shoes, apparel, and accessories are already sold on Amazon, but from third-party sellers and unlicensed dealers that purchased the product wholesale from Nike. Selling directly on the site eliminates a layer between Nike and the consumer, allowing the company to better control pricing and presentation. It's not quite direct to consumer, but it's a lot closer. Goldman sees it as a deal worth potentially up to $500 million of revenue yearly — an additional 1% of global sales for the Nike. Nike's biggest competitors — Adidas and Under Armour — already sell directly on Amazon, and they both have fancy splash pages that highlight the the newest and best product the companies have to offer. Nike currently has no such thing, giving both competitors have an advantage on the site. Offering directly on Amazon also gives Nike's direct-to-consumer business even better access to younger consumers — millennials — who shop more often on Amazon than other groups. Selling on Amazon may also serve to replace physical sports retailers that have gone bankrupt in recent years, like Sports Authority. Dick's Sporting Goods and Foot Locker, some of Nike's biggest retailers, were both down in early market trading on the news of the increasing competition. Dick's neared an 18 month low, while Foot Locker fell below a three-year-low, according to Reuters . NOW WATCH: HENRY BLODGET: Bitcoin could go to $1 million (or fall to $0) More From Business Insider Whole Foods keeps signaling the death of the brand as we know it Amazon's rivals 'will do anything' to make the company pay more for Whole Foods WHOLE FOODS CEO: We focused on employees at the 'expense of our customers' \|\| Yes, It's Confusing: Bitcoin Forking Explained: Forks have been in the news a lot recently due to controversy in the bitcoin community. There was the potential fork that threatened to split bitcoin into two cryptocurrencies after a lengthy “civil war” between miners and developers. That came and went with little issue. Then there was the sudden fork that actually did permanently split the blockchain on Tuesday, spinning Bitcoin Cash out of bitcoin . In truth, forks, or splits, in the blockchain happen constantly and usually pass with little news. But unless you actively follow cryptocurrency news, you may not even know what a fork is or why they can be so controversial. Related Link: As Crisis Is Averted, 3 Takes On The Rise Of Bitcoin What Is A Fork? Simply put, a fork is when a cryptocurrency’s blockchain splits into two possible chains either because of a transaction or new rule for what makes a transaction valid. When they occur, users have to decide which route to follow. The decision is made when a new block is added to either chain. The longer chain will become the legitimate successor to the original, while the other will be “orphaned.” Only one chain can ultimately be correct, and so transactions that occur on an orphaned chain will be ignored and lost. This is why miners will typically only want to work on the longer, valid chain and why cryptocurrency owners are advised not to made transactions until a fork can be resolved. A fork happens any time two miners discover a new block at nearly the same time. These tend to resolve themselves, but can still lead to anxiety among cryptocurrency holders. Other times, a fork is purposefully introduced so developers can change the rules used to determine a transaction’s validity. These instances are much more controversial and have to potential to permanently split the chain with both surviving as independent currencies. There are several specific kinds of forks — user activated, miner activated, software, git, etc. — but they all essentially fall into two categories: hard forks and soft forks. Story continues Hard Forks As defined by the glossary on bitcoin’s website, a hard fork is “a permanent divergence in the blockchain, commonly occur[ing] when non-upgraded nodes can’t validate blocks created by upgraded nodes that follow newer consensus rules.” For a hard fork to be successfully implemented, every node must be upgraded to the new rules. Problems arise when a portion of the cryptocurrency’s community opposes the changes and decides to stick with the old chain. The ethereum blockchain’s split into Ethereum and Ethereum Classic is a perfect example of that occurring and two variants staying alive. Here’s a visualization of how hard forks work: Image: Investopedia Soft Forks Bitcoin’s glossary defines a soft fork as a change to a blockchain “wherein only previously valid blocks/transactions are made invalid. Since old nodes will recognise the new blocks as valid, a soft fork is backward-compatible.” When a soft fork occurs, non-upgraded nodes will still register new transactions as valid but cannot be used to mine new blocks, as the upgraded nodes will reject them. A soft fork requires the majority of users to support the change, otherwise the upgraded nodes could wind up being on the shortest chain and orphaned by the network. Soft forks typically present lower risk and therefore are most commonly used to change a blockchain’s rules. Bitcoin Improvement Protocol 91, which introduced the rule change known as Segwit2x, is an example of a major soft fork that was recently successful, with almost 100 percent of users supporting the change and the holdouts becoming orphaned. If, however, a significant number of users are dedicated to the change but fall short of a majority, the soft fork could become a hard fork with the upgraded nodes starting a new cryptocurrency. An example is Bitcoin Cash splitting off from bitcoin. A large group of users still unsatisfied with BIP 91 chose to launch bitcoin Cash to make the blockchain closer to digital cash than digital gold which, while tradable and valuable, is not easily spent. Related Link: Coinbase Is Courting Serious Legal Trouble By Not Supporting Bitcoin Cash Its proponents will have to prove in the coming weeks that the there is enough support to keep it alive and growing. Regardless of the reason or method behind a fork, the best bet for investors who trade and use cryptocurrencies is to hold off on making any transactions until it is resolved. Here’s a visualization of how soft forks work: Image: Investopedia Keep up with the latest need-to-know crypto and financial news in real-time with Benzinga Pro . Related Links: Crypto Investors, Keep An Eye On Blackmoon Cryptocurrency Mining Is The Next Gold Rush, And AMD To Make Short-Term Gains Selling The 'Pickaxes' See more from Benzinga FireEye's Q2 Keeps Growth Story Intact Piper Jaffray's Mike Olson: Apple Needs To Keep Up With Chinese Innovation Can Investors Still Get More Juice Out Of Apple? © 2017 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] 23:00~0:00のBitcoin市場はしっかりでした。変化率は-0.2677% 1:00までは反騰かな? 直近の市場の平均Bitcoinの価格は376254.0円 #ビットコイン #bitcoin #AI \|\| Gemini confirmation email isn't being received. http://ift.tt/2rvWHay #bitcoin #blockchain #cryptos #reddit \|\| How Bitcoin is Helping the Cannabis Industry http://investingnews.com/daily/tech-investing/fintech-investing/bitcoin-helping-cannabis-industry/ …pic.twitter.com/Vi4SvVIocm \|\| NetworkNewsBreaks – $SING Bitcoin Solution Could Make Marijuana Industry’s Banking Problems a Thing of the Past... http://fb.me/8I0ERJQaD \|\| Bitcoin - BTC Price: $2,072.24 Change in 1h: -2.04% Market cap: $34,085,550,476.00 Ranking: 1 #Bitcoin #BTC \|\| Now accepting #bitcoin, yay! Just integrated with Bitpay, check it out! :) pic.twitter.com/MIgeuOrFX5 \|\| WTI 46.65USD +0.57 Brent 49.06USD +0.64 Bitcoin $1943.99 USD/RUB 59.19 EUR/RUB 67.86 USD/UAH 26.00 EUR/UAH 29.95 RUB/UAH 0.44 UAH/RUB 2.27 \|\| Bitcoin price one year ago today: USD$590.62, representing a 476.85% increase. [NOW: USD$3,407.00] pic.twitter.com/LXd52JQDIv \|\| Try amichaelix at https://BitBargain.co.uk/buy/request/1816?r=bittybot … only £2,078.00 per BTC. (BPI +4.08%) #buy #bitcoin #banktrans \|\| Ethereum Surpasses Bitcoin Google Searches for the First Time in History - http://crwd.fr/2ssIOsR http://crwd.fr/2ssT1pp pic.twitter.com/mUiAZgSuCp	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 3342.47, 3381.28, 3650.62, 3884.71, 4073.26, 4325.13, 4181.93, 4376.63, 4331.69, 4160.62
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2019-08-28] BTC Price: 9754.42, BTC RSI: 40.28 Gold Price: 1537.80, Gold RSI: 72.75 Oil Price: 55.78, Oil RSI: 51.31 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Bitcoin Tech Analysis Recap and Mid-Morning Review 21/08/19: Bitcoin saw red on Tuesday, falling by 1.33%. Partially reversing Mondays 5.9% rally, Bitcoin closed out the day at $10,792.1. A spillover from a late Monday rally led to an early morning intraday high $10,993 before Bitcoin hit reverse. Selling pressure at $11,000 left Bitcoin short of the first major resistance level at $11,174.67. The reversal through the morning saw Bitcoin fall to an early afternoon intraday low $10,584. Bitcoin managed to hold above the first major support level at $10,490.67 to bounce back to $10,800 levels late on. Unable to move back into positive territory, Bitcoin slipped back to $10,700 levels in the final hour. The extended bullish trend, formed at 15 th Decembers swing lo $3,215.2, remained firmly intact. In spite of a pullback from a June swing hi $13,764, Bitcoin continued to steer well clear of the 60.2% FIB of $7,245. Of greater significance was a rebound through the 38.2% FIB of $9,734 to bring the 23.6% FIB of $11,275 back in to play. This Morning At the time of writing, Bitcoin was down by 5.81% to $10,165. A particularly bearish morning saw Bitcoin tumble from a start of a day high $10,825 to a mid-morning low $10,080. Falling well short of the first major resistance level at $10,995.4, Bitcoin slid through the first major resistance level at $10,586.40 and second major resistance level at $10,380.7. For the Day Ahead A move back through the second major support level at $10,380.7 to $10,400 levels would signal a rebound. Bitcoin would need the support of the broader market, however, to break back through to $10,300 levels. Barring broad-based crypto rebound, Bitcoin would likely fail to move back through the first major support level at $10,586.4. Failure to move back through the second major support level at $10,380.70 could see Bitcoin take another hit. A fall back through the morning low $10,080 would bring the sub-$10,000 levels and the third major support level at $9,971.7 into play. Story continues We would expect Bitcoin to steer clear of the 38.2% FIB of $9,734, however, in the event of an extended sell-off. Looking at the Technical Indicators Major Support Level: $10,586.4 Major Resistance Level: $10,995.4 23.6% FIB Retracement Level: $11,275 38.2% FIB Retracement Level: $9,734 62% FIB Retracement Level: $7,245 Click here to start trading The article was written by Bharat Gohri , Chief Market Analyst at easyMarkets This article was originally posted on FX Empire More From FXEMPIRE: Crude Oil Price Update Strengthens Over $56.95, Weakens Under $55.72 U.S. Dollar Index Futures (DX) Technical Analysis August 21, 2019 Forecast EUR/USD Mid-Session Technical Analysis for August 21, 2019 Bitcoin Tech Analysis Recap and Mid-Morning Review 21/08/19 Asian Stocks Lower as Investors Keep US-China Trade Deal Optimism in Check Oil Price Fundamental Daily Forecast EIA Report Forecast Calls for 1.4 Million Barrel Draw \|\| Bitcoin.com is launching a Bitcoin Cash-focused crypto exchange: Bitcoin Cash -focused news website Bitcoin.com, run by Bitcoin Jesus Roger Ver, is planning to launch its own crypto exchange next month. The exchange will simply be called Exchange.Bitcoin.com, making use of the premium domain name. The exchange will support 50 trading pairs. It will offer Bitcoin Cash trading pairsas part of its mission to champion BCH over BTCbut will also offer trading against Tether , Ethereum and reluctantly, Bitcoin . The Bitcoin.com exchange will launch on September 2 and claims to offer a robust matching engine, professional charts, and plenty of liquidity for a multitude of digital assets. Simple Ledger Protocol (SLP) tokens will also be included on the exchange. These are tokens built on top of the Bitcoin Cash blockchain (similar to the Omni layer on Bitcoin) that give it more Ethereum-like functionalities. Popular tokens include Honk Honk and Taylor Swift token. Ver said, in a statement, Were on the cusp of something very exciting with SLP tokens its the beginning of a world where we can tokenize anything and, as people realize the potential this holds, theyre going to start demanding a place to trade their tokens. This comes shortly after Bitcoin.com introduced Local.Bitcoin.com to the marketwhich was critiqued as being misleadingly similar to Local Bitcoins in both purpose and name. Will this exchange be less controversial? \|\| Bitcoin Prices Fall; Binance Set to Launch Crypto Lending Service: Investing.com - Bitcoin prices fell on Tuesday in Asia. Crypto exchange Binance made headlines as the company said it is launching a new crypto lending service. Bitcoin fell 1.4% to $10,193.2 by 12:45 AM ET (04:45 GMT). Ethereum was down 2.4% to $186.03, while XRP and Litecoin traded 1.3% and 2.4% lower respectively. Holders of Binance Coin, Ethereum Classic and Tether will be able to lend their assets and earn interest through a new service called Binance Lending, Binance said in a statement. The interest will be paid out immediately after the loan term matures, Binance noted, adding that the services will be available for subscription starting from Aug. 28 till Aug. 29. In other news, The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) has reportedly granted two banking and securities dealer licences to crypto-focused banks, according to Cointelegraph. Two Swiss crypto-specializing firms, Seba Crypto AG and Sygnum have received banking and securities dealer licenses, the article said. Related Articles General Manager of Houston Rockets Basketball Team Bullish on Bitcoin New Zealand Radio Host Denies Shilling Bitcoin on Social Media VMWare CEO Gelsinger Condemns Bitcoin as Bad Design, Bad for Humanity \|\| Iranian Authorities Disagree on Whether Bitcoin Is Legal: The crypto community inIranis still riding a roller coaster as the country seeks to bring its economy forward. Even though the country has expressed its interest in digital assets, enthusiasts cannot be very optimistic yet. According to recent statements by Nasser Hakimi, who serves as the deputy governor for new technologies at the Central Bank of Iran, crypto trading is illegal and banned by the government. In an interview with the Iranian agencyTasnim News, Mr. Hakimi explained that the recent spike in the popularity of cryptocurrencies in Iran could be potentially dangerous for citizens because of their volatility – let alone the legal risks associated with their use. The expert also warned that victims risk losing the protection of the state if they fall for a fraud or scam: "[Iranians should be cautious] against the advertisements and marketers of pyramid style network companies that promote Bitcoin like a tree with gold coins in the Adventures of Pinocchio ... The Supreme Council on Countering Money Laundering has prohibited the sale and purchase of Bitcoin in Iran." The current status of bitcoin and cryptocurrencies in Iran is quite complex to explain, mainly because of the difference in criteria shown on the statements given by different public authorities in the country. As an example, Mr. Hakimi clarified that it is essential to make a distinction between trading and mining. This idea could imply that the supposed ban ordered by the Supreme Council on Countering Money Laundering of Iran does not affect mining; however, just a week ago, the country's authoritiesconfiscatedmore than 1,000 ASICS located in different mining farms across Yazd province. Read the full story on CCN.com. \|\| UK Thieves Burgle Bitcoin Center, Find Zilch: In a daring, if baffling, evening raid thieves allegedly broke into the so-called Bitcoin Embassy on Formans Road in the U.K. city of Birmingham. The thieves attacked at 10pm on July 15, according to theBirmingham Mail. Recorded and posted toFacebook, the daring late-evening attack netted the thieves what looked like, at first, either lengths of receipt tape from abitcoinATM – an ATM owned by the decidedly unappetizingShitcoins Club– or, less likely, an decidedly pessimistic length of toilet paper. The truth, however, is more mundane. Adam Gramowski, CEO ofShitcoins.club, said that the ATM in Birmingham was a smaller model and that they had run it since September, 2018. He said that the thieves were planning to use a cable to pull the ATM from its moorings and out into the street. “It is a two-way machine capable of conducting sales and purchases of four different cryptos: BTC, ETH, LTC and DASH. We sell cryptos for GBP and EUR,” he said. “I can confirm that our Birmingham self-service shop was broken into on July 15. However, the robbers were spotted by our CCTV operator in time and were unable to penetrate our countermeasures. The ATM was not damaged, it will be up and running in no time. Damages to the shop are minimal. Also, the line or rope seen behind the car has nothing to do with the ATM. We do not store Cryptos on the ATM’s hard drive or provide cold storage facilities for our customers. That line was brought by the robbers to facilitate the robbery.” Image from Facebook Birmingham welcomed the first bitcoin ATM in the city in 2017, crowing that“Birmingham gets first Bitcoin ATM – the internet currency used by criminals on ‘dark web’.” The paper then connected the installation of the ATM with the NHS ransomware attack that brought theorganization to its kneesthat same year. Outreach to the “embassy” proved unfruitful and Gramowski said that the ATM was unsupervised. Image via Google Maps \|\| Seven reasons why Ethereum is no longer an altcoin: To many people,bitcoinis not only the granddaddy of crypto, it remains the one true coin. Everything else, including Ethereum’s coin, ether, has traditionally been referred to as an alternative coin, or “altcoin.” But is it time for a labelling shake up? While the discussion is not new, new arguments and data suggest that, alone among thousands of altcoins, ether could be in the running for a promotion. Here’s why: A new study, from theSan Francisco Open Exchange(SFOX,) suggests that “it may no longer be accurate to classify ether as an ‘altcoin,’” because its correlation to bitcoin is significantly higher than bitcoin’s correlations to other coins. In the previous month, according to the study’s author, ether’s correlation to bitcoin was 0.788, whereas Bitcoin Cash scored 0.638, Litecoin, 0.577, Bitcoin SV was 0.619 and Ethereum Classic managed only 0.602. The team concluded that Ethereum is gradually becoming “a blockchain that is publicly recognized as an asset on its own terms, much like Bitcoin.” Though bitcoin is the original crypto, Ethereum is thebiggest blockchainby volume. There are over 1,600 dapps on the platform, according to a study bydapp.com. Tron, meanwhile, has more active users but Ethererum has twice as many active dapps. (As of July 2019.) There are twice as many developers working on Ethereum each month as bitcoin, according to a report by crypto asset management firmElectric Capital. It says approximately 216 developers work on the platform monthly.Crypto news siteThe Blocksuggeststhere are between 250,000 to 350,000 developers building on the platform. Given how big the developer base and community are, it’s hardly surprising that ether is also the second most talked about coin.Astudyby Pacific Northwest National Laboratory analyzed cryptocurrency based discussions over on Reddit and found that only bitcoin is discussed more. (Hat tip to Monero, which came in third.) Analysis toolEthernodesreports just under 17,000 nodes running the blockchain across six continents. Bitcoin dwarfs that with more than66,000, but many of these are concentrated indata centers. Of the top 100 tokens by market cap,94%are built on top of the platform. Updated to more accurately reflect number and concentration of Bitcoin nodes. \|\| ‘No brainer’: Sativa Store signs on with Fastbitcoins: Fastbitcoins, a UK-based company that allows people to buy Bitcoins in physical outlets using cash, has added Sativa Store as a partner. The Estonian independent coffee shop and supplier of CBD cannabis products has installed Lightning Network-enabled PoS terminals in two of its locations (Tallinn Old Town and Telliskivi Creative City). It is the first retailer in Estonia to implement the terminals that let merchants print redeemable prepaid Bitcoin vouchers and take Bitcoin payments as well as physical Bitcoin gift vouchers. Minna-Maria Amjärv, the owner of Sativa Store, says: “We are Bitcoin enthusiasts and a growing number of our customers are too. FastBitcoins’ have given us a really easy and cool way for us to meet our customers demands to buy it whilst allowing us to make money from selling it.” “Additionally, we have also gained a way to bring in a completely new type of customer interested in Bitcoin that would not usually visit our shops. As a small business, opportunities like this can play a really important part in our success by allowing us to differentiate from other shops. With demand and awareness of Bitcoin on the rise I think this partnership is a no brainer.” Danny Brewster , ex-Neo & Bee MD and now MD of FastBitcoins, adds: “There is no better sign that mainstream Bitcoin demand is growing globally than witnessing it first hand through our business. Estonia is a progressive and cooperative country in regards to Bitcoin and companies like Sativa Store are well placed to achieve business success by being ahead of the curve. We look forward to helping them grow and succeed.” The post ‘No brainer’: Sativa Store signs on with Fastbitcoins appeared first on Coin Rivet . \|\| Bakkt Bitcoin futures and warehouse to debut in September: Bakkt has announced the US launch of its heavily hyped platform for custody and physically-delivered daily and monthly Bitcoin futures contracts. We have some news https://t.co/ykUvQ31cGz — Bakkt (@Bakkt) August 16, 2019 Following the regulatory green light, this is scheduled for 23rd September and will be in partnership with ICE Futures US and ICE Clear US. The launch has been hugely anticipated, with the company first pencilling in August 2018 before being subject to delays over compliance issues. “Our contracts have already received the green light from the CFTC through the self-certification process and user acceptance testing has begun,” it says in a Medium post. “With approval by the New York State Department of Financial Services to create Bakkt Trust Company, a qualified custodian, the Bakkt Warehouse will custody Bitcoin for physically delivered futures. This offers customers unprecedented regulatory clarity and security alongside a regulated, globally accessible exchange in a market underserved by institutional-grade infrastructure.” Bakkt has hosted events in New York and Chicago, cities critical to the US futures market. “We gathered roughly 150 customers, regulators, and market participants to advance the dialogue in our industry, including a fireside chat with CFTC Commissioner Dawn Stump,” the Medium post states. “In Chicago, we had a conversation on the regulation of digital assets with SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce , and we invite you to listen in.” Further details here . The post Bakkt Bitcoin futures and warehouse to debut in September appeared first on Coin Rivet . View comments \|\| Bitcoin-Rewards App Lolli Expands to 900 Retail Locations: Online shopping appLolliis on a growth tear, expanding off the web and into 900 retail locations. Company CEO Alex Adelmanannouncedthe partnership with Albertson’s subsidiary Safeway in an interview with Yahoo! Finance on Thursday. The expansion enables users to order groceries, beauty products, or pharmacy items online at Safeway.com for pick-up. “We saw a demand from users to earn bitcoin for every day expenses like food and pharmacy,” said Adelman, in an interview with CoinDesk. Related:Lightning Labs Designs Monitoring Tool for ‘Layer 2’ Bitcoin Network Additionally, users still earn a 3-5 percent return in bitcoin through their online purchases, which Adelman sees as a “rail to get bitcoin to the masses.” According to company accounting, nearly 40 percent are Lolli users are new to cryptocurrencies. Launched a little under a year ago, Lolli has partnered with 750 merchants online, including Walmart, Macys, and Priceline. Adelman’s previous company Cosmic was acquired by ecommerce firm Ebates, “so we know the merchants and understand the business model well.” He estimates the average user has so far earned around $26 (263,661 satoshis) in bitcoin. He adds, after a purchase, the rewards estimate is calculated within “a few minutes to a few days.” However, it typically takes 30-90 days for the rebate to come through, as Lolli must wait until after the return period closes. Adelman declined to share the firm’s revenue projections, but said Lolli gets a percentage of each sale, which they then share with their tens of thousands of users. Related:Bull Case for Bitcoin Weakest Since February, Price Indicator Says As previously reported, Lolli launched in September 2018 backed with $2.35 million from prominent venture capital firms including Bain Capital Ventures and Digital Currency Group. Image via Lolli • Venezuela Turned Airport Taxes Into Bitcoin to Avoid Sanctions: Report • Bitcoin Price Retakes $10K But Remains Short of Bull Revival \|\| Venezuela Turned Airport Taxes Into Bitcoin to Avoid Sanctions: Report: Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his administration appear to be leveraging tax revenue and cryptocurrencies as part of a broader effort to evade economic sanctions, an investigation by Spanish newspaper ABC has found. As detailed in a story published Monday, the newspaper asserts it uncovered a scheme by which Maduro and his associates were using a digital wallet app to turn tax revenue from domestic airports into bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies that were then transferred to exchanges in Hong Kong, Hungary, Russia and China. There, the funds were converted and sent back to Venezuela, according to the report. Related: Bitcoin Price Retakes $10K But Remains Short of Bull Revival The effort is the latest example of how the ban on Maduros government from using US bank accounts and from participating in the open international market has forced it to look at c ryptocurrencies as a way to obtain dollars. The newspaper alleges that the tax revenue in question came from the Maiquetia International Airport (IAIM) located near Caracas, the countrys capital, and that taxes were collected through an automated system that works with an app called Jetman Pay. Maduros administration is said to be in talks to expand its use of the app, including for proceeds it collects from refueling airplane that traffic the airport. In a contract allegedly yet to be signed the Jetman Pay app would be used to directly defy the U.S. ban again. Under the scheme, a plane would land at IAIM, at which point it would transfer fiat currencies in exchange for fuel. Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A, the states oil and natural gas company, would then use the app to pay government taxes, upon which it would be sent abroad as cryptocurrency. Related: Andrew Yang Super PAC Will Accept Lightning-Powered Bitcoin Donations The automated system has been used at IAIM since February 2018 for airport tax collection. The report concluded by speculating that Maduro may be looking to expand the scheme to other airports across the country. Nicolas Maduro via cryptograffiti Related Stories US Treasury Secretary Mnuchin Thinks Outlook for Bitcoin Is Bleak People in US Trust Bitcoin More Than Facebooks Libra: Report View comments [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] New mining Hub, we have relaunch #NEWYORKCOIN #NYC Pool to mine some #NYC #BTC https://t.co/7cYquBaLCz \|\| $SPY for those who dont understand bitcoin, michelle Phan explains it well with her soothing voice 13:15 mark https://t.co/HpG1zlorGa \|\| 3 for 3 for machine trade alerts today. Exceeding .6% daily 151% per annum goal. #OOTT FX $USOIL $WTI $CL_F $UWT $DWT #OilTradeAlerts #machinetrading https://t.co/sjrecbrb1p https://t.co/ofpx0tP5mS \|\| BTC/USD \| $BTCUSD \| $BTC $USD BTSUSD \| Bitcoin H & S anyone else? Long or short it on WCX: https://t.co/HuHcZkFdZH https://t.co/Y3ZwPD4oNj \|\| @CallieWaQJ95 @realDonaldTrump @foxandfriends Loving this stuff - 5 BTC just transferred! \|\| La ‘revolución’ del \|\| Sign up on the @USDXwallet App at https://t.co/nWH6UXt6cG or use promo code DLYIUHM5PX to earn an extra 10% bonus on your first purchase of USDX tokens or LHT coins. The app allows you to send and receive stable crypto without fees! #USDX #LHT #Crypto #Bitcoin \|\| @PeterSchiff @kevinolearytv Kevin O'Leary (and Peter) CAUGHT! Rich and Powerful Don't Want You To... https://t.co/MbAze6zz6b can an average american citizen (me) get a logical explanation from either of you in these “change of hearts”?. #cryptocurrency #bitcoin #cryptotwitter \|\| Precio: $209,989.99 Fuente: @Bitso #Bitso #BTCMXN $btc Hora: 2019-07-15 21:00:01 (GMT-6) \|\| EtherZero Masternode has eliminated transaction fees and will support a feature called instant pay. Forked from Ethereium Network, Watch and subscribe https://t.co/6HHoWRXM9t #blockchain #cryptocurrency #ponderist #btc #bitcoin #airdrop #bounty #masternode	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 9510.20, 9598.17, 9630.66, 9757.97, 10346.76, 10623.54, 10594.49, 10575.53, 10353.30, 10517.25
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2019-08-08] BTC Price: 11966.41, BTC RSI: 64.02 Gold Price: 1497.70, Gold RSI: 76.23 Oil Price: 52.54, Oil RSI: 39.42 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Cryptocurrency miners are using subsidized energy in Iran, and it’s weighing on the national grid: Iranian cryptocurrency miners are taking advantage of subsidized energy in the country, and it is putting pressure on its power grids, Bloomberg News reports . As per Iranian state media, a spokesperson for Tadvin Electricity Company faulted cryptocurrency miners for a 7% increase in energy consumption in the country. “The production of each Bitcoin uses the equivalent of the annual consumption of 24 properties in Tehran, or one property’s consumption of electricity for 24 years,” Mostafa Rajabi Mashhad said. As such, Iran's Power Ministry could implement a tariff on miners, according to Bloomberg. Cryptocurrency use has increased generally in the country as a way to circumvent sanctions put on the country by the US government. \|\| Gunpowder Capital Corp., Expands Cryptocurrency Operations: Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - July 11, 2019) - Gunpowder Capital Corp., (CSE: GPC) (CSE: GPC.PR.A) (OTCQB: GNPWF), (FSE: YS6N), ("Gunpowder" or the "Corporation") announced today that the Cryptocurrency Mining operations of MethodeVerte Inc., ("MethodeVerte") the Corporation's fully owned Cryptocurrency Mining subsidiary have entered into a facility agreement that will allow MethodeVerte to expand from its currently deployed initial cluster of mining rigs up to 1000 Mining Rigs. The Corporation is targeting having 500 Cryptocurrency Mining Rigs in place and mining within 30-60 days. With this new facility arrangement and agreement MethodeVerte benefits from better overall operating costs compared to the current agreement. As previously stated in the Corporation's May 22nd, 2019 press release, the Corporation plans on developing MethodeVerte into leading-edge Cryptocurrency Technology Company, that focuses on both the mining of Cryptocurrencies and on the development of next generation Cryptocurrency and Blockchain technologies. The Corporation is planning to rapidly expand MethodeVerte's operations as the Corporation is aiming to have both the second and third stage deployments of additional Cryptocurrency Mining assets in operation by the end of calendar 2019. MethodeVerte is currently looking at other options that will allow it to further deploy active mining assets. On May 1st, 2019 the quoted market value of Bitcoin was $5,321.00 USD and Ethereum was $157.00 USD. As of the date of this press release, the quoted market value of Bitcoin was $11,550.00 USD and Ethereum was $273.00 USD representing an increase of 117% for Bitcoin and 73% for Ethereum. Bitcoin needs to be valued at approximately $4,500.00 USD to achieve a breakeven point. With Bitcoin currently valued slightly above $11,500.00 USD, there is currently a healthy profitability margin in place. About Gunpowder Capital Corp. Gunpowder Capital Corp., is a merchant bank and advisory services firm based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Gunpowder invests in both publicly traded and private businesses that have successful management teams and attractive economic models. Gunpowder partners with these businesses to support their growth initiatives with its proven methodology of appropriate financing and structured exits. Gunpowder offers debt financing, including mezzanine and bridge loans, equity financing and advisory services. Gunpowder is also building a portfolio of companies in which it takes a long term position and view. For more information please visitwww.gunpowdercapitalcorp.com. For further information please contact: Mr. Frank KordyCEO & DirectorGunpowder Capital Corp.T: (647) 466-4037E:[email protected]. Paul HaberCFOGunpowder Capital Corp.T: (416) 363-3833E:[email protected] Forward-Looking Statements Information set forth in this news release may involve forward-looking statements under applicable securities laws. The forward-looking statements contained herein are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. The forward-looking statements included in this document are made as of the date of this document and the Corporation disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as expressly required by applicable securities legislation. Although Management believes that the expectations represented in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities described herein and accordingly undue reliance should not be put on such. Neither CSE nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the CSE) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. - 30 - To view the source version of this press release, please visithttps://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/46217 \|\| U.S. customers to be blocked from trading on Binance.com: Binance, the largest crypto-to-crypto exchange by volume, has announced that it will stop serving U.S. individual and corporate customers on its main platform, Binance.com. The updated statement in Binance's Terms of Use reads that the company "is unable to provide services to any U.S. person." Users who are not in accordance with Binance’s Terms of Use by Sept. 12 will continue to have access to their wallets and funds, but will no longer be able to trade or deposit on Binance.com. In any given month, approximately 15% of Binance.com's traffic comes from U.S. customers, having halved since early 2018 when the figure was approximately 30%. It currently offers trading of more than 150 different cryptocurrencies. Non-verified U.S. customers will likely still be able to bypass the restrictions and trade on Binance.com by using a VPN. Binance currently allows withdrawals of up to 2 BTC ($16,500) without any verification, although the updated policy suggested that "some users may be required to furnish evidence showing that their account registrations are consistent with Binance’s Terms of Use." Those who violate its Terms of Use, it added, will not be able to use the platform. Binance users will also look for comfort in the announcement yesterday that the company is launching a separate fiat-to-crypto exchange to serve the U.S. market in full regulatory compliance. Changpeng Zhao, CEO of Binance, offered an optimistic outlook on the disruption on Twitter. "Some short term pains may be necessary for long term gains. And we always work hard to turn every short term pain into a long term gain." The news comes two weeks after the main client of Binance DEX also announced it would start geo-blocking U.S. customers and 28 other countries in July. Bittrex announced last week they would be geo-fencing 32 cryptocurrencies from the U.S. clients, following the same move by Poloniex a couple of weeks ago. Binance follows Bitfinex and BitMEX, which both started blocking U.S. customers in late 2017 as a result of the challenging regulatory climate. Huobi then started licensing its technology and brand to a U.S.-based company HBUS (later rebranded to Huobi), similar to Binance's current plans for the U.S., having partnered with BAM Trading Services Inc - an unknown money services business listed in San Francisco. While Binance traditionally offers crypto-to-crypto trading, it has already launched fiat-to-crypto exchanges in Uganda, Singapore, and Jersey, all of which only support trading of bitcoin, ether, and BNB. It plans to have two fiat-to-crypto exchanges on every continent, which will likely also only support trading of bitcoin and ether initially. \|\| Coinbase Must Face Negligence Suit Over Bitcoin Cash Listing, Judge Rules: Coinbase must face a negligence lawsuit from customers who bought bitcoin cash (BCH) following its allegedly botched listing on the exchange during the 2017 bull market, a judge has ruled. U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabaria of the Northern District of California dismissed the plaintiffs’ fraud and unfair competition claims against Coinbase, and the negligence claims brought by the ones who sold BCH. But he denied Coinbase’s motions to move the case to arbitration and to dismiss the buyers’ negligence claims, saying it is “plausible” that the company “breached its duty tomaintain a functional market.” “For starters, the fact that Coinbase halted trading within threeminutes of the launch is indicative of dysfunction,” Chhabria wrote in the rulingTuesday. Related:Ex-Coinbase CTO Is Behind Mysterious Nakamoto.com, Sources Say The case was brought last year by Jeffrey Berk, a former Coinbase user, who accused the exchange of allowinginsider tradingon its GDAX trading platform from Dec. 19–21, 2017, because BCH prices spiked right before Coinbase announced trading options on Dec. 20. Berk, an Arizona resident, brought the case on behalf of other traders. Two earlier versions of his complaint were dismissed. In dismissing the insider trading theory,Chhabria citeda lack of “causation” proved by the plaintiff’s price volatility arguments. (Last year, the exchange hired two law firms to investigate insider trading allegations; they reportedlyfound no wrongdoing.) Nevertheless, Coinbase will need to prove it applied a standard of reasonable care to prevent foreseeable harm to users. Coinbase contested that it had a “duty” to strategize against market swings, citing a lack of responsibility to prevent the economic loss of others. The judge’s order replied, “the interpretation that the California Supreme Court would be most likely to adopt – is that Coinbase indeed had a duty to maintain a functional marketplace.” Related:Binance’s CZ: Like It or Not, Facebook’s Libra Coin Is Poised for Mass Adoption Namely, because Coinbase “encouraged traders to enter the market,” by promoting the BCH launch, and held a “position of trust” when processing users’ transactions. Because the sellers’ motion was dismissed with prejudice, it cannot be amended. However, the discovery process will continue, and Chhabria left a door open for the sellers to re-file should new evidence to support their position turn up. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong image via CoinDesk archives. • British Authorities Seek Data from Crypto Exchanges in Search of Tax Evaders • ATOM, DASH and More: Coinbase Considers Adding 8 New Cryptos \|\| With the G20 Underway, the Markets Play it Safe Early: Earlier in the Day: Economic data was on the heavier side through the Asia session this morning. Out of Japan, key stats included May’s job/application ratio, industrial production figures, and Tokyo’s June inflation numbers. Out of Australia, May private sector credit figures provided the Aussie Dollar with direction. Ultimately, however, the stats had a muted impact on the pairings. The G20 Summit got underway this morning and there was plenty for the markets to consider going into the weekend. For the Japanese Yen May’s job/applications ratio came in at 1.62, marginally lower than April’s 1.63. Tokyo’s annual rate of baseline inflation eased from 1.1% to 0.9%, which was worse than a forecasted 1%. According to consumer price figures released by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communication , Prices for transportation and communication fell by 1.4%, weighing on core inflation. A 3.6% jump in charges for fuel, light and water and a 2.4% rise in prices for furniture and household utensils provided support. There were also price increases for culture and recreation (+1.6%), clothes and footwear (+0.8%), housing (+0.7%), and education (+0.7%). Prices for Medical Care rose by just 0.6%. By sector, prices for goods rose by 1.6%, whilst prices for services increased by just 0.7%. The Japanese Yen moved from ¥107.729 to ¥107.728 upon release of the figures, which preceded the industrial production numbers. Industrial production rose by 2.3% in May, month-on-month, according to prelim figures. Forecasts were for a 0.2% rise off the back of a 0.6% increase in April. According to prelim figures released by the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry , Industries that mainly contributed to an increase were: Motor vehicles Electrical machinery and information and communication electronics equipment. Production machinery. Industries that mainly contributed to a decrease were: Transport equipment (excl. motor vehicles). Other manufacturing. Story continues The Japanese Yen moved from ¥107.04 to ¥107.748 upon release of the figures. At the time of writing, the Japanese Yen was up by 0.09% to ¥107.69 against the U.S Dollar. For the Aussie Dollar Private sector credit rose by 0.2% in May, month-on-month, following a 0.2% increase in April. Economists had forecast for a 0.2% increase in May According to figures released by RBA , Personal credit fell by 0.6%, following a 0.3% fall in April. Housing credit rose by 0.2%, following a 0.3% rise in April. Business credit rose by 0.1%, after stalling in April. Year-on-year, total credit increased by 3.6%, compared with 4.8% in May 2018. Housing credit slid by 3.2%, year-on-year. In May 2018, housing credit had fallen by 1.4%. The Aussie Dollar moved from $0.70048 to $0.70006 upon release of the figures. At the time of writing, the Aussie Dollar was down by 0.12% to $0.6999. Elsewhere At the time of writing, the Kiwi Dollar was flat at $0.6700. The Day Ahead: For the EUR It’s another relatively busy day ahead on the economic data front. Key stats include June prelim inflation figures for France, Italy and the Eurozone. French consumer spending and Spanish 1 st quarter GDP numbers are also due out. We would expect the inflation numbers to be the key driver and the Eurozone core inflation figures in particular. The stats will likely have a muted impact on the day, however, with updates from the G20 Summit the key driver on the day. At the time of writing, the EUR was down by 0.02% to $1.1367. For the Pound It’s a busier day ahead. Key stats due out of the UK include finalized 1 st quarter GDP, current account and business investment figures. Barring deviation from prelim, the stats are unlikely to have an impact, with the focus remaining on Brexit and the leadership race. Away from the UK, the G20 Summit will also be in focus, though we would expect the Pound to be more resilient to any negative chatter. At the time of writing, the Pound was down by 0.02% to $1.2672. Across the Pond It’s a relatively busy day on the economic calendar. Key stats due out of the U.S include the FED’s preferred core PCE price index and personal spending numbers in the early part of the session. The focus will then shift to Chicago’s June PMI numbers and finalized consumer sentiment figures for July. We will expect the inflation and personal spending figures to be the key driver from the economic calendar. FED Chair Powell as assured the markets of monetary support should inflation soften… Outside of the stats, Trump is back on the world stage at the G20 Summit. Will China cower to Trump’s demands or draw support from the rest of the world. At the time of writing, the Dollar Spot Index was up by 0.02% to 96.211. For the Loonie Following a quiet week, April GDP and May RMPI numbers will provide direction in the early afternoon. By the time the stats are out, the markets will have an idea of how Trump – Xi talks are progressing. It will all boil down to when the two will meet and then update via the news media. It’s not just China that will be in focus, with the latest sanctions on Iran likely to also create some debate over the right approach. Will Trump snub Canadian Prime Trudeau for a 2 nd time? Trudeau has been caught in the middle of the U.S – China trade war and it hasn’t been the best place to be… The Loonie was down by 0.02% to C$1.3098, against the U.S Dollar, at the time of writing. This article was originally posted on FX Empire More From FXEMPIRE: The Crypto Week – Bitcoin Leads the Way as Volatility Grips the Majors Natural Gas Weekly Price Forecast – Natural gas markets recover for the week E-mini NASDAQ-100 Index (NQ) Futures Technical Analysis – Inside Move Indicates Investor Indecision E-mini Dow Jones Industrial Average (YM) Futures Technical Analysis – Straddling Price Cluster at 26601 to 26602 Crude Oil Weekly Price Forecast – Crude oil markets rally for the week Forex Daily Recap – Cable Surged +0.50% Despite Johnson’s Parliament Proroguing Stance \|\| Youve Got to See What Edward Snowden Just Said About Bitcoin: Once a Bitcoin critic, you've got to see what NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden just said about the leading cryptocurrency. \| Source: Svein Ove Ekornesvåg / NTB scanpix After saying last year that Bitcoin itself probably wouldnt exist in the long run, Edward Snowden appeared at the Bitcoin 2019 conference to discuss the ways that Bitcoin helps people in a world of increased surveillance. Snowden: I Bought Servers with BTC to Protect Privacy Snowden admitted that he had used the dominant cryptocurrency to pay for servers he then used to leak data years back, speaking via video call. The lengthy talk touched a range of topics, including Bitcoins association with criminals . Snowden pointed out that more criminals use the dollar. Edward Snowden is most famous for leaking government secrets while working as a government contractor for the NSA. He turned over thousands of documents about government torture and data collection programs to journalists including Glenn Greenwald. The hacker then executed a perfect getaway and currently remains in hiding in Russia. During his talk, he spoke of the way that Bitcoin gives people power that governments have taken away. You cant freely send money around the world, he pointed out, but cryptocurrency brings that back. Read the full story on CCN.com . \|\| The Risk of Further Supply Disruption Remains Elevated: Indeed, it’s tough constructing a bullish argument amidst a constant stream of news flows pointing to a worsening global outlook as tariffs present a significant threat to US growth and in turn the health of the Global economy. And to complicate the matter even if OPEC extends their supply compliance, given the burgeoning non-OPEC supply as evidenced in the latest US inventory reports, OPEC+ will face a scabrous task balancing the current supply with the demand side of the equations. With the colossal supply tail risk following tanker attacks near the Strait of Hormuz fading quickly, it should be back to the markets seemingly endless preoccupation with US-China trade and the outlook for global oil demand. Waning risk appetite on the back of the omnipresent threat of trade war escalation continues to sully the landscape which has weighed on the oil price to an astonishing degree. Especially given that the impact on oil demand from higher tariffs is virtually impossible to quantify over the near term. But with the level of unease increasing across financial markets which continues to spread like spreading like wildfire, even the most ardent oil bulls might consider heading for the sideline until the dust settles But for me their opportunity at every turn, especially with the Middle East dust-up providing us with a stark reminder of how quickly things can escalate in this in this politically fractured part of the world. Here is what this lonely Oil bull is looking at While monthly reports from the EIA and OPEC this week both revised down estimates for 2019 global oil demand on global growth concerns, they also forecasted and undersupplied conditions his year, with OPEC expected to continue producing at a level below what would be needed to balance the market. The OPEC meeting looms large as it’s expected to resolve the critical issue of whether OPEC+ will extend the production cut agreement into 2H19. The conference is planned for June 25-26, but Saudi Arabia and Russia are reportedly seeking a delay into early July to allow June supply/demand data to be considered before a final decision is made. It also makes sense as the panel will be able to judge better the fallout from the crucial G-20 summit and whether President Trump will follow through with more tariffs. I was rewarded handsomely last week after reversing my short below WTI $51(as per Thursday market note) by the unexpected escalation in Middle East tension. But the reason I remain a buyer on overextended dips is I continue to believe that demand risks are more than sufficiently priced into oil now, especially the prompt contracts while supply risks are not. With the US administration pointing the finger at Iran for recent tanker attacks and going against the grain and the prevailing market flow I believe the risk of further supply disruption remains elevated and should provide a credible backstop for Brent and WTI. Story continues This article was written by Stephen Innes, Managing Partner at Vanguard Markets LLC This article was originally posted on FX Empire More From FXEMPIRE: Should You Own Crypto-Currencies or Invest in Them? The Crypto Week – The Bulls Fight Back Weekly Wrap – Stats, Trade and Geopolitics and the Dollar Comeback Adl Predicts Expected Range of the Nasdaq before Breakout Bitcoin Cash – ABC, Litecoin and Ripple Daily Analysis – 16/06/19 U.S Mortgage Rates – 30-Year Rates Steady while Applications Surge View comments \|\| Above $125: Litecoin Jumps to Highest Price in Over a Year: Litecoin’s price hit its highest level in over a year on Monday. The world’s fourth largest cryptocurrency as per market capitalization rose to $128.07 at 12:00 UTC on Coinbase – the highest level since May 23, 2018 – and was last seen trading at $126, representing a 10 percent gain on a 24-hour basis. Notably, the recent price action suggests LTC is leading the broader market higher. The cryptocurrency is currently up more than 30 percent from the low of $97 seen on June 4. Bitcoin Risks Short-Term Bear Reversal Below $7.4K Price Support Meanwhile, bitcoin, the world’s leading cryptocurrency by market value has gained just 7 percent during the same time frame. LTC’s outperformance could be associated with the mining reward halving due in less than 60 days. On Aug. 8, the reward for mining on litecoin’s blockchain will be halved from 25 coins to 12.5 coins per block. The cryptocurrency rallied more than 500 percent in three months before the previous reward halving, which took place on Aug. 25, 2015. The price increased from around $1.5 in May 2015 to hit a high of $7.00 in July 2015 before falling back to $3.00 post-halving, according to historical data . May Was Best Month for CME Bitcoin Futures Volume Since 2017 If history is a guide, LTC continues to rise over the next four weeks before witnessing a bout of profit taking ahead of the Aug. 6 event. It is worth noting that litecoin’s non-price metrics are also witnessing solid growth. For instance, the hash rate has hit a new lifetime high of over 400 trillion hashes per second today, according to bitinfocharts.com . Daily chart LTC continues to chart bullish higher lows and higher highs with the major moving averages aligned in favor of the bulls – the 50-day MA is located above the 100-day MA, which is holding above the 200-day MA. All three averages are trending north, indicating a bullish setup. Further, the relative strength index (RSI) is breaking higher from the consolidation, signaling a continuation of the rally from the price low of $66 seen at the end of April. Story continues More importantly, the indicator is well short of the high of 86.00 seen in the first week of May, meaning there is plenty of room for price rally in the weeks leading up to the reward halving. All-in-all, LTC looks set to test the psychological resistance of $150 in the short-term. The rally to $150, however, may not happen if BTC tanks, dragging the broader market lower. However, even in that case, LTC’s BTC-denominated exchange rate may do well. LTC/BTC is currently trading at 15,910 sats, the highest level since April 15, according to Binance data. Disclosure : The author holds no cryptocurrency assets at the time of writing. Litecoin image via Shutterstock; charts by Trading View Related Stories Bitcoin Price Eyes Stronger Recovery Rally After Bounce to $8K Bitcoin and Gold Prices Diverge Again, Extending 5-Month Correlation \|\| The Other Side of the Economic Story: This article was originally published on ETFTrends.com. What the Nobel Laureate is not telling us By J. Richard Fredericks, Main Management Author’s Note : Readers should be aware that, while we participated in the last Presidential election, we did not cast a vote for either major party candidate. We believe in the two-party system since liberals and conservatives need each other, as the right course of action can generally be found between the back and forth of their two positions. That said, to totally sign on with one or the other party gives away too much independence of thought in our opinion. As an independent, one need not to have to blindly support either the party view or all of their representatives. Only as an independent person, can one exercise contempt evenly and view success or failure dispassionately. But as an American, it is important in one’s critique of any President to give him/her a chance; to observe them closely; applaud what is sound; criticize what isn’t; and wish them well. With respect to our current President, our view is that, while he daily violates the norms of civility, decorum, and deportment, his policies haven’t been ideologically extreme, but temperamentally extreme . Based on the data below, it would be difficult for an observer not to conclude that President Trump has generated some notable economic success. In the June 17 th edition of the New York Times, Nobel Laureate, Professor Paul Krugman, in his editorial column entitled “Why Isn’t Trump a Real Populist?”, wrote several things … … “why has Trump been unwilling to do anything, and I mean anything, to help the people who installed him in the White House?” … “In 2016, on the campaign trail, Trump sounded as if he might be a European-style populist, blending racism with support for social programs that benefit white people. He even promised to raise taxes on the rich, himself included.” … “Since taking office, however, he has relentlessly favored the wealthy over members of the working class, whatever their skin color. His only major legislative success was a huge break for corporations and business owners; the handful of crumbs thrown at ordinary families was so small that most people believe they got nothing at all.” Story continues Reflecting the above, we believe there is an extensive amount of data that Professor Krugman has either not seen, or perhaps has chosen to ignore, but needs to be recognized and acknowledged. We feel the following is relevant to whether the Krugman quotes above have merit. There has been a dramatic pickup in GDP so far under the Trump policies as can be seen in the table below sourced by the St. Louis Federal Reserve. Many felt that a Trump Presidency would definitely not be characterized by any acceleration in GDP due the belief that 2% or less growth was the “new normal” … or worse, that we would move directly into a recession. President Obama famously said that “President Trump would need a magic wand to get to 4% GDP”. Notably, that level was achieved in the 2 nd quarter of 2018 when GDP registered a growth rate of 4.16%. While that level of growth has not been sustained, the annualized quarterly growth rate for 2018 was impressive at 2.98% and for the past four quarters, the average has been even better at 3.19%. There is a major difference between a 2% GDP and a 3% GDP. Some, when queried, would say the difference is “1%” when, mathematically, it is really a 50% step-up. So, the GDP attained so far in the Trump administration far exceeds the GDP achievements of both President Obama and President Bush. We would remind readers that one of the longest stretches of time without a year registering 3% growth in GDP was the four-year time frame from 1929 to 1933 that encompassed the Depression years. There was one other three-year period, from 1945 to 1947, when GDP failed to reach the 3% growth threshold. Regrettably, however, the Obama Presidency failed to achieve GDP growth in excess of 3% in any of his 8 years in office . Some would correctly note that President Obama inherited a difficult economy, but the economic recovery took hold just 9 months into his Presidency, leaving 39 months to enjoy a strong rebound from those depressed levels. That didn’t happen. Click here to read the entire article on Main Management's website. POPULAR ARTICLES AND RESOURCES FROM ETFTRENDS.COM SPY ETF Quote VOO ETF Quote QQQ ETF Quote VTI ETF Quote JNUG ETF Quote Top 34 Gold ETFs Top 34 Oil ETFs Top 57 Financials ETFs As Bitcoin Surges Past $13K, Calls to Embrace Crypto Grow GLDM Marks One Year Anniversary Today, Leads Gold-Backed ETF Flows ROBO Global Healthcare Technology ETF Debuts on NYSE Gold And Silver Rally On Unusual Options Activity Save On Starbucks And Invest It In Starbucks READ MORE AT ETFTRENDS.COM > \|\| Bitcoin Hover Over $11,800 as Top Cryptos See Gains: Saturday, June 29 most of the top 20 cryptocurrencies are reporting moderate to significant gains on the day by press time, as bitcoin ( BTC ) hovers over under the $11,800 mark again. Market visualization Market visualization courtesy of Coin360 Bitcoin is currently up about .14% on the day, trading around $11,830 at press time, according to Coin360 . Looking at its weekly chart, the coin is up over 13%. Bitcoin 7-day price chart Bitcoin 7-day price chart. Source: Coin360 Ether ( ETH ) is holding onto its position as the largest altcoin by market cap, which currently stands at $32.5 billion. The second-largest altcoin, Ripples XRP , has a market cap of $17.6 billion at press time. Coin360 data shows that ETH has seen its value increase by about .6% over the last 24 hours. At press time, ETH is trading around $306. On the week, the coin has also gained over 3.2% of value. Ether 7-day price chart Ether 7-day price chart. Source: Coin360 XRP is up by over 2% over the last 24 hours and is currently trading at around $0.421 . On the week, the coin is down nearly 6%. XRP 7-day price chart XRP 7-day price chart. Source: Coin360 Among the top 20 cryptocurrencies, the coin reporting the most notable gains is chainlink ( LINK ), which is up over 69% in the 24 hours to press time. As Cointelegraph reported earlier this week, major cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase Pro has added support for Chainlink. Also, earlier this month news broke that the Google Cloud team has integrated Chainlinks oracle middleware with its BigQuery enterprise cloud data warehouse, allowing for an on-chain and cloud-based interaction with Ethereum decentralized applications and smart contracts . At press time, the total market capitalization of all cryptocurrencies is $338.7 billion, over 2.8% higher than the value it reported a week ago. Recently that veteran trader and author Peter Brandt predicted that bitcoin will continue to grow but altcoins will not feel the benefits. Related Articles: Bitcoin Falls Under $10,800 as US Stock Market Sees Minor Uptrend ETH Hits 10-Month High as Crypto Markets See Solid Green Bitcoin Breaks $9,300 as US Stock Market Sees Minor Uptrend Bitcoin Holds $9,100 Support While Top 20 Coins Trade Sideways [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] NTerminal Alert We spotted a large Bitcoin transaction: Transaction Amount USD: 5,842,590.62 Price USD: 10,433.15 Transaction Amount BTC: 560.00 URL: https://t.co/8W1LSaOSfD \|\| Kurs-Update: Bitcoin-Kurs fällt merklich um 10 Prozent - BTC-ECHO https://t.co/WqZpthEvlO \|\| أسعار العملات المشفرة ٭ ⬆️ $BTC بـ 12,703.07 دولار \| بتكوين +0.46% ٭ ⬆️ $ETH بـ 316.48 دولار \| ايثيريوم +0.06% ٭ 🔻 $XRP بـ 0.405426553 دولار \| ريبل -0.03% ٭ ⬆️ $LTC بـ 123.24 دولار \| لايت كوين +0.01% ٭ ⬆️ $BCH بـ 425.48 دولار \| بتكوين كاش +0.20% \|\| 金と銀とビットコインとアメリカ株どれ買うのがええの？　　　　　　#仮想通貨　$BTC https://t.co/n0FdAI1hRm https://t.co/YAImNNP8M5 \|\| 時価総額トップ９位までの円建て価格 💹 BTC ￥1050138 💹 ETH ￥22983 💹 XRP ￥34.48 💹 BCH ￥35799 💹 LTC ￥9873 💹 EOS ￥458.22 💹 BNB ￥2974 💹 BSV ￥16060.38 💹 ADA ￥6.55 時価総額トップ100ランキング...https://t.co/JfDnCLWtVo \|\| Men lie, Women lie, Numbers don't. DM me if you want these results. 📈📉📈📉📈📉📉📈📉📈📉📈📉📈📉📈📉📈📉📈📉 #forex #money #bitcoin #cryptocurrency #entrepreneur #wealth #trading #invest #investment #stocks #trader #success #business… https://t.co/kKVUYw85G5 \|\| @CryptosBatman @btc 😎 https://t.co/lcN6O24Cc2 \|\| https://t.co/9BZa1RMkmt https://t.co/HPbeI74dvl \|\| $EPAZ's Bitcoin Sharing & Blockchain Social Media App Webbeeo Is In Alpha Testing Phase https://www.owltmarket \|\| $EPAZ's Bitcoin Sharing & Blockchain Social Media App Webbeeo Is In Alpha Testing Phase https://www.owltmarket	Trend: down \|\| Prices: 11862.94, 11354.02, 11523.58, 11382.62, 10895.83, 10051.70, 10311.55, 10374.34, 10231.74, 10345.81
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis] Not fully available. [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Anarchists love 2015's best performing asset: Gold is down nearly 10 percent, major U.S. stock indexes are roughly flat and energy commodities have nearly all fallen more than 30 percent: It's been a tough year for investors. And while individual stocks have seen big pops on headlines, perhaps the best performing non-equity asset of the year is a favorite among crypto-anarchists. Bitcoin (: BTC=) , the digital currency heralded as a potential successor to the global monetary system, is up about 37 percent against the U.S. dollar since the beginning of the year. The cryptocurrency went for about $313 at the beginning of the year, according to CoinDesk's composite price index, and is now changing hands at around $430. Those huge gains come after starting the year on rocky footing: Bitcoin dipped to below $175 in mid-January. But after a few false starts, the digital currency has been largely gaining ground since the beginning of October. (One of the few investment options with a comparable 2015 return is Argentina's benchmark Merval — up about 40 percent on the year. Although U.S. investors playing the Global X Argentina ETF would be disappointed by the fund's slight loss in 2015.) It's hard to say what's actually caused Bitcoin's rise during the last three months of 2015. In November, digital ecosystem observers told CNBC that a 70 percent one-month spike may have been caused in part by headlines like the Winklevoss twins launching their exchange and the Digital Currency Group announcing funding from Bain and MasterCard . Others suggested that the relatively lightly traded asset could have been jumping on speculators' fear of missing out (FOMO). For Brendan O'Connor, the CEO of bitcoin trading firm Genesis Global Trading, the year-end run up was the result of a series of positive trends for the asset. On the one hand, O'Connor said, funding announcements from bitcoin-related start-ups helped to establish the legitimacy of the sector — and its underlying technology. This has helped push institutional investors into making investments in both the digital token and the over-the-counter Bitcoin Investment Trust ( more on that ETF-like vehicle can be found here ). Story continues "They're looking for investments in non-correlated asset classes," O'Connor said, explaining that financial firms regularly come to his office to learn how to trade bitcoin. "I still think that by and large they're viewing it as a speculative investment, but I think that their willingness to test the waters has increased dramatically." Another important trend in the space has been the gradually increasing interest the technology — and it's negligible fee structure — for remittance payments and as a daily currency in monetarily challenged parts of the world, O'Connor said. That potential came to the forefront of the tech discussion during the summer's Greek crisis: When the country instituted capital controls in the face of increasingly dire eurozone negotiations, countless articles were written about bitcoin's potential for struggling citizens . It's unclear if those prophecies ever came to any real fruition, but investors in the space say the positive press coverage at least boosted awareness of bitcoin's potential. Finally, bitcoin may have simply benefited from the lack of any disastrous headlines. Many traders say the cryptocurrency has shed the pall of failed exchange Mt. Gox — which quickly shuttered in 2014 after saying it lost 850,000 bitcoins (worth about $365 million today). Bitcoin's fall from more than $1,150 near the end of 2013 to this January's $200 levels represented the asset's "long winter," according to economist Tuur Demeester, editor-in-chief of bitcoin-focused Adamant Research. The story of 2015, therefore, has been a bottoming out for the digital asset, and a climb to revaluation. Bitcoin's fall from its highs, Demeester said, was the result of "bubblicious" investing in 2013 (with some help from Mt. Gox). Pricing levels remained depressed for so long because companies had become over-leveraged, and so had been squeezed into heavy bitcoin selling, he said. As for 2016, Demeester suggested that the cryptocurrency could likely see another leg up as newly confident investors seek the right market valuation. "But," he said, "with bitcoin you have to expect to be surprised." More From CNBC Top News and Analysis Latest News Video Personal Finance \|\| Global Arena Holding Demonstrates Continued Growth: NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwired - Dec 2, 2015) - Global Arena Holding, Inc. (OTC PINK:GAHC), (the "Company") announced today that it has released its quarterly report for the period ending September 30, 2015. During this quarter the Company's subsidiary, Global Election Services, Inc. ("GES"), continued to show strong revenue growth while the Company has taken first steps toward acquiring Blockchain Technologies Corporation. Read the full 10Q:http://biz.yahoo.com/e/151123/gahc10-q.html For the nine months ended September 30, 2014, the Company recognized sales revenue of approximately $619,633, contributing to total sales of $887,016. The increase in recognized revenue -- $565,646 compared to revenue for the nine months ended September 30, 2014 -- is principally due to the new business services of GES, which provides comprehensive technology-enabled election services primarily for organized labor associations. Overall however, the Company recorded a loss. The Company CEO, John Matthews, said; "The losses in the third quarter are mainly due to the development of the Company through its subsidiaries. GES is currently the only operating company and it alone, at this time at least, cannot possibly support the current infrastructure. Higher than normal cost however, are attributed to professional fees concerning the due diligence and acquisition review of Blockchain Technologies Corporation." Mr. Matthews continued; "Going forward, the elections company, GES, is on a pace to grow by over 50% and with the acquisition of Blockchain Technologies Corporation ("BTC"), it is our belief we will generate income from BTC's elections blockchain software, and that will give us the opportunity to increase profits further. The Company also will benefit from revenue generated from BTC when it provides technology to GES, which GES currently pays to 3rd party providers." The Company is still in the process of completing its acquisition of Blockchain Technologies Corporation, which will bring with it several revenue producing companies and high potential patents. The losses this quarter are viewed as a temporary setback. About Global Arena HoldingThe Company trades on the OTC Pink Sheets under the ticker symbol GAHC. The Company has been publicly traded since 2011 and holds a number of interests, including Global Elections Services, Inc., GAHI Acquisition Corp and Blockchain Technologies Corporation Inc. The Company focuses on acquiring technologies, patents and companies having the ability to leverage the blockchain crypto technology. For more information visit:http://globalarenaholding.com Twitter:www.twitter.com/GlobalArenaGAHCFacebook:www.facebook.com/GlobalArenaHoldingGAHCLinkedIn:www.linkedin.com/pub/global-arena-holding/107/86a/a7Google+:http://tinyurl.com/GlobalArenaHolding Safe Harbor StatementThe Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides a "safe harbor" for forward-looking statements. Certain information included in this press release contains statements that are forward-looking, such as statements related to the future anticipated direction of the industry, plans for future expansion, various business development activities, planned or required capital expenditures, future funding sources, anticipated sales growth, and potential contracts. Such forward-looking information involves important risks and uncertainties that could significantly affect anticipated results in the future and, accordingly, such results may differ from those expressed in any forward-looking statements made by, or on behalf of, the company. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those relating to development and expansion activities, dependence on existing management, financing activities, domestic and global economic conditions, and other risks and uncertainties described in the Company's periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. \|\| Your first trade for Tuesday: The " Fast Money " traders delivered their final trades of the day. Pete Najarian was a buyer of Pfizer ( PFE ) . Brian Kelly was a buyer of Garmin ( GRMN ) . Karen Finerman was a buyer of Dorian LPG ( LPG ) . Guy Adami was a buyer of Nuance ( NUAN ) . Trader disclosure: On November 16, 2015, the following stocks and commodities mentioned or intended to be mentioned on CNBC's "Fast Money" were owned by the "Fast Money" traders: Pete Najarian is l ong AAPL, AMAT, BAC, BMY, BP, CSX, DIS, DISCA, DKS, FOXA, GE, KKR, KO, MRK, PEP, PFE, PHM he is long calls AAPL, ABX, BAC, BEE, DAL, DOW, EMR, FB, FIT, JOY, LUK, MRK, MSFT, PBR, PFE, POT, SLV, TJX, UA, UAL, VZ, WYNN, XLF, ZIOP He is long puts EWW, FCX, MRO. Brian Kelly is long BBRY, GLD, Bitcoin, Hong Kong Dollar, US Dollar; he is short Yuan, British Pound, Candaian Dollar, Euro, Yen, EEM, EWC, EWH, EWU, EWG, SPY. Karen Finerman is long BAC, C, FL, GOOG, GOOGL, JPM, KORS, KORS call spreads, M, SEDG, URI, she is short SPY, Her firm is long ANTM, AAPL, BAC, C, DIS, DIS puts, FL, GOOG, GOOGL, GPS, JPM, KORS, KORS call spreads, MA, URI, URI long puts, WFM, her firm is short IWM, SPY, MDY, USO, XRT, Karen Finerman is on the board of GrafTech International. Guy Adami is long CELG, EXAS, INTC, Guy Adami's wife, Linda Snow, works at Merck. More From CNBC Top News and Analysis Latest News Video Personal Finance \|\| Insight - In taking economic war to Islamic State, U.S. developing new tools: By Yeganeh Torbati and Brett Wolf WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Since last month, U.S. warplanes have struck Islamic State's oil infrastructure in Syria in a stepped-up campaign of economic warfare that the United States estimates has cut the group's black-market earnings from oil by about a third. In finding their targets, U.S. military planners have relied in part on an unconventional source of intelligence: access to banking records that provide insight into which refineries and oil pumps are generating cash for the extremist group, current and former officials say. The intent is to choke off the Islamic State's funding by tracking its remaining ties to the global financial system. By identifying money flowing to and from the group, U.S. officials have been able to get a glimpse into how its black-market economy operates, people with knowledge of the effort have said. That in turn has influenced decisions about targeting for air strikes in an effort that began before Islamic State's Nov. 13 attacks on Paris and has intensified since, they said. While Islamic State's access to formal banking has been restricted, it retains some ties that U.S. military and financial officials can use against it, the current and former officials said. "We have done a really good job of largely keeping the Islamic State out of the formal financial system," said Matthew Levitt, who served as deputy assistant secretary for intelligence at the U.S. Treasury in the George W. Bush administration. "But we haven't been entirely successful, and that may not be a bad thing." Reuters was unable to verify key aspects of the campaign, including when it started or exactly which facilities have been destroyed as a result. Two current officials who confirmed the operations in outline declined to comment on their details. It was unclear how U.S. intelligence, Treasury, and military officials working on what the government calls "counter threat finance" operations have used banking records to identify lucrative Islamic State oil-related targets in Syria and whether that involved local banks. A report this year by the intergovernmental Financial Action Task Force found there were more than 20 Syrian financial institutions with operations in Islamic State territory. In Iraq, Treasury has worked with government officials to cut off bank branches in the group's territory from the Iraqi and international financial systems. Gerald Roberts, section chief of the FBI's terrorist financing operations section, said that Islamic State's recruits from outside Syria often come with financial trails that officials tracking them can "exploit." "We are seeing them using traditional banking systems," he said at a banking conference last week in Washington, adding that young, tech-savvy Islamic State members are also familiar with virtual currencies such as Bitcoin. Islamic State, also known as IS, ISIS or ISIL, is sometimes forced to use commercial banks because the amounts involved are too large to move using other means, said Levitt. The U.S. Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) uses a set of "business rules" to screen the roughly 55,000 reports it receives daily from financial institutions for signs of activity involving Islamic State, a spokesman said. He declined to describe the rules, but law enforcement sources say names, IP addresses, email addresses, and phone numbers are among the data that intelligence authorities try to match. The matches allow FinCEN "to connect the dots between seemingly unrelated individuals and entities," the FinCEN spokesman said. At present, FinCEN finds about 1,200 matches suggesting possible Islamic State-linked financial activity each month, up from 800 in April, the spokesman said. Bank of America, JP Morgan and Wells Fargo declined to comment on whether they provided financial reports to the U.S. government. Such reports are supplied confidentially. Citigroup, HSBC, and Standard Chartered did not immediately respond to requests for comment. "TIDAL WAVE II" The use of financial records linked to Islamic State is only one part of the intelligence-gathering exercise for air strikes in Syria that also includes methods such as aerial surveillance by drones, officials said. One former military official familiar with the process said that any financial intelligence collected by FinCEN would require "significant vetting" before the military acted on it. Earlier this month, U.S.-led coalition planes struck 116 fuel trucks used to smuggle Islamic State oil 45 minutes after dropping leaflets warning drivers to flee, a Pentagon spokesman said. Coalition strikes destroyed another 283 Islamic State fuel trucks on Saturday, the Pentagon said. On Nov. 8, a coalition air strike destroyed three oil refineries in Syria near the border with Turkey. U.S. defence officials estimate that Islamic State, an adversary the United States calls the wealthiest terrorist group of its kind in history, was earning about $47 million per month from oil sales prior to October. That month, the U.S. military launched an intensified effort to go after oil infrastructure, dubbed "Tidal Wave II," named after the bombing campaign targeting Romanian oil fields in World War Two. The Pentagon estimates the strikes have reduced the Islamic State's income from oil sales by about 30 percent, one U.S. defence official with knowledge of the previously unreported estimate said. Reuters was unable to confirm this. The use of financial records in helping to pick U.S. targets was first disclosed last week at the banking conference in Washington. At the conference, Kurt Gredzinski, the Counter Threat Finance Team Chief at U.S. Special Operations Command, cited the importance of information provided by banks in the war against Islamic State. "That to me is the first time in my recollection that we strategically targeted based on threat finance information," he said at the conference. He declined to comment further on which strike he had been referring to. "RESILIENT FINANCIAL PORTFOLIO" U.S. officials believe that diminished funding could gradually undermine Islamic State's grip on the area it controls in Iraq and Syria, because it needs revenue to pay salaries and keep public infrastructure operating, said two former officials with knowledge of the Obama administration's thinking. Experts caution that Islamic State, which rules an area the size of Austria, has surprisingly deep pockets due to the various revenue streams it controls. It has built up what amounts to a "durable and resilient financial portfolio," funded by oil sales, extortion, and sales of antiquities, said Thomas Sanderson, an expert on terrorism at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "Money can be strapped to the backs of mules," Sanderson said. "It's easy to move things across a border during a time of deprivation and chaos." Despite some initial success, cutting off its funding will require deeper cooperation from governments from Turkey to Russia, experts say. The group has shown the ability to bounce back from previous U.S. strikes on its oil facilities. Counter-terrorism experts say that Islamic State appears to have learned from U.S. successes in cracking down on funding for al-Qaeda, which relied heavily on support from wealthy donors in the Gulf region. "IS has learned that you don't want to be reliant on too many outside sources," said Sanderson. "Donors are fickle and subject to pressure and (IS) wants to be in control." (Reporting by Yeganeh Torbati in Washington and Brett Wolf of Thomson Reuters Regulatory Intelligence. Additional reporting by Joel Schectman, Warren Strobel, and Jonathan Landay in Washington.; Editing by Kevin Krolicki and Stuart Grudgings) \|\| Kenya’s central bank is taking out newspapers ads to warn against buying Bitcoin: The safest way to transfer money. The Central Bank of Kenya took out local newspaper ads this week to warn citizens of the dangers of crypto-currencies like Bitcoin. CBK – “Bitcoin and similar products are not legal tender nor are they regulated in Kenya” #statusquo pic.twitter.com/mdmkxTGMUx — Winter soldier (@Neloversion) December 15, 2015 Among the concerns it raises: Once again, Norway has been voted the best country in the world for humans Virtual currencies are traded in exchange platforms that tend to be unregulated all over the world. Consumers may therefore lose their money without having any legal redress in the event these exchanges collapse or close business. The public should therefore desist from transacting in Bitcoin and similar products. The CBK isn’t just following the lead of other governments that have warned citizens to steer clear of the unregulated virtual currency. It also is wading into a widening spat between the country’s dominant telecom, Safaricom, and an upstart remittances company that uses Bitcoin, called Bitpesa. Bitpesa and another start up, Lipisha, are both suing Safaricom for intimidation and cessation of service without notice for blocking their access to Safaricom’s widely used mobile money platform, Mpesa. The day before the central bank’s ad appeared, a Kenyan High Court judge ruled that Safaricom does not have to grant Bitpesa and its partner access while the court case proceeds. Ironically, the fight is between two companies that are both using technology to improve life for Africa’s emerging but still disadvantaged middle and working classes. Mpesa enables customers—including millions who are “unbanked”—to transfer, use, or store cash on their cell phones. It has helped raise the rate of Kenyan adults with access to formal financial services from to 67% in 2014, up from 41% in 2009. The platform also is being used for a range of other projects, from improving healthcare to giving rural areas access to solar power . Story continues Bitpesa, founded by former development professionals working in micro-finance, aims to reduce the high cost of money transfers for Africans living and working away from home. Africans spend double the global average rate to send remittances. Through Bitpesa, users can transfer bitcoin and then convert it into Kenyan shillings. The two-year-old company has raised more than $1.7 million from investors. “We were fans of the innovation that Safaricom first shared with Kenya and the region back in 2007-2009, and we watched as other companies built upon this first mobile money network, with iterations taking the technology to places Safaricom alone could never go,” Bitpesa co-founder Elizabeth Rossiello wrote in a Dec. 14 blog post . The debate over how to regulate Bitcoin also encapsulates the competing interests of innovation and status quo in a country that is dubbed East Africa’s “Silicon Savannah.” Safaricom, founded in 1997, is one of the country’s most established telecom firms and its largest mobile network provider. It has defended its decision to block Bitpesa by saying the startup does not meet anti-money-laundering laws. (Bitpesa counters that it does not fall under such regulations.) Observers point out the fact that Safaricom is also entering the remittances industry with a partnership between South Africa’s MTN Group and its parent company Vodafone that will allow users in both networks , which covers most of east and central Africa, to transfer money across the region on their phones. One of Bitpesa’s board members and investors, Joseph Mucheru has been nominated to be the country’s cabinet secretary for information and communications technology. He has said that once he is sworn in he will divest from the company, but his views are clear. He told a local newspaper , “It will be a sad day if we fail to embrace this because we are afraid. Kenya cannot be the tech hub of Africa if our own regulations stifle innovation.” But at least for now, Kenya’s central bank seems to think the caution is worth the tradeoff. Sign up for the Quartz Africa Weekly Brief — the most important and interesting news from across the continent, in your inbox. Sign up for the Quartz Daily Brief , our free daily newsletter with the world’s most important and interesting news. More stories from Quartz: Most of the information we spread online is quantifiably “bullshit” This simple negotiation tactic brought 195 countries to consensus \|\| Bitcoin Seeks To Right Music-Industry Wrongs: The music industry has been plagued by problems ever since the advent of the Internet and digital file sharing. Free file sharing, illegal downloads and streaming services that offer unlimited listening for a low monthly fee have all contributed to a growing resentment among artists who say that the value their work isn't being recognized adequately. However, the bitcoin community is looking to all of that by using blockchain, the ledger-like technology that the cryptocurrency runs on, to create more transparent contracts. Royalty Distribution As many artists have their royalty fees negotiated by their labels, undesirable contracts with streaming services are often outside of their control. That means that their music can be played on services likeApple Inc.(NASDAQ:AAPL)'s Apple Music or Spotify for a minor fee that the artist often find insufficient. In order to combat this, Ujo Music is working to create a system in which artists contracts are secured via blockchain. That way, transparency between the artist, the label and the streaming service is ensured and artists have more control over how and where their music is sold. Related Link:Is Adele Giving Pandora's Stock A Boost? Maybe, But A Major Copyright Overhang May Have Just Been Removed Peer-To-Peer Sharing A service called Peertracks is looking to use an alt-coin in order to deliver value to artists that choose to share their music on the service. The company uses "artist tokens" which increase in value as a particular track gains popularity. Music that doesn't reach many people would generate tokens with less value. In such a system artists are paid for the consumption of their music and rewarded for songs that are particularly catchy. Bitcoin Payments Bittunes is another startup aiming to the music industry, only this service is hoping to keep things simple and use bitcoin as a form of payment. The company allows users to play new tracks for $0.50, half of which goes to the artist while the other half is redistributed to a group of buyers. That way, the company's managing director Simon Edhouse has said, the transaction remains between an artist and their fans. Songs that make it to the service's Top 100 increase in price to $1.00, leaving the artist with 40 percent of the sale, the buyers sharing an additional 40 percent between themselves while Bittunes collects the remaining 20 percent. A World Outside Of Cryptocurrency Blockchain's entrance into the music space underscores the growing enthusiasm surrounding the technology. While bitcoin itself has raised questions about safety and reliability, the technology behind the cryptocurrency is often dubbed one of the most important technological advances of the decade. For that reason, many startups are focusing on how to implement blockchain into new industries rather than on ways to help spread the word about bitcoin. Many believe that bitcoin may never make it as a widely accepted form of currency, but on the other hand blockchain has the potential to revolutionize several different industries. See more from Benzinga • 6 Ways Blockchain Could Change The World • 8 Ways To Add Solar To Your Portfolio • Obamacare Is Still Under Pressure; Here's Why © 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| Can The Bitcoin Foundation Last?: The Bitcoin Foundation was launched in 2012 as a way to provide legitimacy to bitcoin and cryptocurrencies at a time when they were relatively unknown. For two years, the foundation worked to lobby lawmakers, create public awareness and help bitcoin technology advance with the changing times. However, in 2014 when the price of bitcoin dropped dramatically, the foundation lost a great deal of its funding and now almost two years later, it continues to struggle. Money Issues One of the foundation's largest problems lies in its finances. The Bitcoin Foundation's board members have proven inexperienced at raising money and managing finances, an issue that has caused the organization to lose around $7 million over the course of the past two years. Related Link:What's In Store For Bitcoin In 2016 On December 15 when the Bitcoin Foundation held its board meeting, Executive Director Bruce Fentonadmittedthat the organization was in dire straits and that more funding would be required in order to keep the foundation up and running, according to Bloomberg. A Bad Reputation However, while the bitcoin community strongly supports spreading the word about cryptocurrencies, the Bitcoin Foundation has found it increasingly difficult to recruit new members and drum up donations. One of the reasons for this has been the organization's deteriorating reputation. As bitcoin itself was dragged through the mud due to high profile scams, some Bitcoin Foundation board members were wrapped up in scandals of their own. Former Vice Chairman of the Bitcoin Foundation Charlie Shrem is serving time in prison for his involvement in the illegal Silk Road marketplace, and founding member Mark Karpeles, the brain behind failed exchange Mt. Gox, was arrested on charges of embezzlement in August 2015. Does Bitcoin Need A Foundation? While the Bitcoin Foundation has been instrumental in helping the cryptocurrency advance, many believe the currency is likely to survive even without the organization. While the Bitcoin Foundation represents the first major entity to advocate cryptocurrencies, several others have since emerged and will likely take on the organization's role should it deteriorate further. Hanging On By A Thread On December 22, the Bitcoin Foundation voted to continue into the New Year and appointed three new board members. In an effort to turn things around, the foundation is working to revamp its mission statement and focus on maintaining healthier financials. Image Credit:Public Domain See more from Benzinga • What Does The End Of The Oil Export Ban Mean For Investors? • Could 2016 Be The Year Of Drone Deliveries? • Are Bank Stocks The Way Forward In 2016? © 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| Rocky Mountain Ayre, Inc., Releases HempCoin Audio Interview: DOVER, DE--(Marketwired - Nov 30, 2015) - Rocky Mountain Ayre, Inc., a holding company ( OTC PINK : RMTN ), has released an Internet link to an Audio Interview performed by one of its Directors, David Tobias. During the interview, David discusses the technical aspects and the future plans for RMTN's Crypto-Currency, HempCoin. The Audio-Interview can be heard at: http://smallcapvoice.com/blog/11-19-15-smallcapvoice-interview-with-rocky-mountain-ayre-inc-rmtn About HempCoin. HempCoin (HMP) runs on its own peer to peer blockchain like BitCoin (BTC) but at a faster rate because it is using the script technique like LiteCoin. So in addition to having the advantage of being able to move HMP around faster than BTC, HMP is backed by the marketable securities of RMTN. BTC is strictly a fiat currency like the US Dollar, however, BTC has the potential to go up in value against the Dollar because of supply and demand factors and HMP has this same built in advantage because unlike the Dollar, both BTC and HMP have a limited amount of coins in circulation, while the Dollar is ever increasing in supply. About Rocky Mountain, Inc. Rocky Mountain Ayre, Inc. ( www.rockymountainayre.com ) is a publicly traded company listed on the OTCmarkets under the "RMTN" trading symbol. It is a holding company increasing its asset and revenue base through acquisition of fast-growing food and hospitality, manufacturing and retail businesses. All inquiries should be directed to: [email protected] . Safe Harbor Statement This Press Release may contain certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The Company has tried, whenever possible, to identify these forward-looking statements using words such as "anticipates," "believes," "estimates," "expects," "plans," "intends," "potential" and similar expressions. These statements reflect the Company's current beliefs and are based upon information currently available to it. Accordingly, such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which could cause the Company's actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed in or implied by such statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or advise in the event of any change, addition or alteration to the information catered in this Press Release including such forward-looking statements. \|\| Trade Options? Here's How To Get Involved In Bitcoin: By now, Bitcoin needs no introduction. The digital asset has become the most popular cryptocurrency in the world, and people are already getting used to using it and trading it every day. But, are there other ways to capitalize from the fluctuations of the currency? An innovative way to trade the popular cryptocurrency uses binary options. The Playbook Do you think the Bitcoin will continue to surge? Or will it lose value going forward? Whatever your thoughts on the issue are, binary options might offer an interesting way to play the events with relatively low collateral. Related Link:Think Energy Has More Downside? Here Are Two Ways To Play It What Are Binary Options? Investing via binary options is just that: playing a binary event. “Binary options are limited risk contracts based on a simple yes/no market proposition like will the markets go up by the end of the trading week,” binary options trading site Nadex . How To Trade Bitcoin With Binary Options Via binary options, traders can partake in the popular Bitcoin market with “limited risk, short-term contracts in a transparent, regulated marketplace.” At Nadex, investors can find unique daily and weekly Bitcoin binary option contracts, based off the Tera Bitcoin Price Index. Below is an example of how to trade Bitcoin using binary options. A standard Bitcoin Binary Option may look something like: Bitcoin > 440 (3:00PM) This means that this contact suggests the underlying price of Bitcoin will be above $440 at 3:00 p.m. If you think the answer is yes, buying the binary option might be the way to go. If you think the answer is no, you would sell the contract. Investors should note that the price at which they would buy or sell the contracts is not the actual price of Bitcoin, but rather a value between zero and 100. Disclosure: Javier Hasse holds no positions in any of the securities mentioned above. Image Credit: See more from Benzinga • Citi Pair Trade In Hardware: Buy Cisco, Sell F5 • BMO Notes What's Holding HP Inc Back • Vetr Crowd Downgrades Republic Airways Amid Airline Weakness © 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| Meet Pine A64, a 64-bit quad-core supercomputer that costs just $15: As recently as a few short years ago, the notion of a fully functional “supercomputer” the size of a smartphone would have been thought ridiculous. And even if such a device did exist, it would have undoubtedly been priced well out of the reach of most users. Fast-forward to 2015 and we’ve seen incredible progress made in the single-board computer space. There is a full-fledged Windows 10 PC called the Kangaroo that’s the size of a phablet and costs just $99, and of course the Raspberry Pi was introduced at a shockingly low price point. Now, the company behind the Raspberry Pi pushed boundaries even further with the $5 Raspberry Pi Zero . But Raspberry Pi products aren’t as much about power as they are about breaking down barriers for entrepreneurs and engineers. This left an opening in the market for a new type of ultra-low cost computer that takes the spirit of the Raspberry Pi and injects it with a shot of adrenaline. Beginning today, a new single-board computer called Pine A64 will look to answer the call. MUST SEE: Remarkable new sensor chip pulls power out of the air so it never needs to be charged The new Pine A64 is a tiny little computer with great big ambitions. The expandable single-board device runs either Linux or Android and features impressive specs that outshine comparable products by a substantial margin. Highlights include a 1.2GHz quad-core ARM processor, a Mali 400 MP2 GPU, 512MB of DDR3 RAM, a microSDXC slot and support for 4K ultra high-definition video. More specs follow below. 64 Bit Quad Core ARM Cortex A53 1.2 Ghz CPU Dual core Mali 400 MP2 GPU 512MB DDR3 SDRAM MicroSD slot supports up to 256GB expansion 10/100 Mb Ethernet port (2) USB 2.0 hosts 4K high-definition video playback 4K x 2K HDMI port and multi-channel audio output Bluetooth 4.0 with 802.11BGN connectivity optional 3.5mm Stereo Output mini-jack with microphone support Built-in 3.7V Lithium Battery Charging Circuit Hardware security enables trustzone security system, Digital Rights Management (DRM), information encryption/decryption, secure boot, secure JTAG and secure efuse Story continues An upgraded Pine A64+ version bumps the device up to 1GB of DDR3 RAM and adds a 5-megapixel camera port, a MIPI video port and a touch panel port. “PINE64 set out to create a simple, smart and affordable computer that gives people access toward making their next big idea come to life,” PINE64 co-founder Johnson Jeng said. “We provide a powerful 64 Bit Quad Core single-board computer at an exceptional price and remain compatible with multiple open source software platforms to build a community of creativity and innovation.” Now, for the bad news — though it’s not as bad as similar announcements have been. The Pine A64 and Pine A64+ are part of a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign, so you can’t actually purchase one right now. The good news, however, is that the campaign has a low finding goal of $31,416 that will undoubtedly be reached quickly. Better yet, both Pine models are ready for primetime and they will begin shipping to backers in about two months. Not in six months and not in a year, but in February. Pine A64 costs just $15 while the upgraded Pine A64+ model costs $19. More information can be found on the company’s Kickstarter page , and a video featuring Apple employee No. 12 Daniel Kottke is embedded below along with a spec grid that compares the Pine A64 and A64+ to the Raspberry Pi-2B and Pi-1A+. Related stories Verizon exec in charge of FiOS TV confesses that she cut the cord Bitcoin creator revealed to be Australian genius Craig Wright; subsequently has house raided by police 12 Days of Amazon Deals: Half off a 14-inch Core i5 laptop More from BGR: Apple’s secrets: How Apple’s legal fight with Samsung revealed a gold mine of top-secret information This article was originally published on BGR.com [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] In the last 10 mins, there were arb opps spanning 11 exchange pair(s), yielding profits ranging between $0.00 and $238.28 #bitcoin #btc \|\| Current price: 456.32$ $BTCUSD $btc #bitcoin 2015-12-24 12:00:18 EST \|\| In the last 10 mins, there were arb opps spanning 13 exchange pair(s), yielding profits ranging between $0.00 and $718.19 #bitcoin #btc \|\| One Bitcoin now worth $348.54@bitstamp. High $369.70. Low $327.00. Market Cap $ 5.190 Billion #bitcoin pic.twitter.com/nqwbr1pGO4 \|\| LIVE: Profit = $743.22 (0.91 %). BUY B226.39 @ $362.72 (#BTCe). SELL @ $365.00 (#Bitfinex) #bitcoin #btc - … pic.twitter.com/aUP7XyAU0t \|\| $318.37 at 09:15 UTC [24h Range: $310.00 - $336.48 Volume: 24757 BTC] via #btcusdpic.twitter.com/82m3Ztoih3 \|\| Current price: 432.39$ $BTCUSD $btc #bitcoin 2016-01-01 08:00:03 EST \|\| 1 #BTC (#Bitcoin) quotes: $331.33/$331.55 #Bitstamp $327.00/$327.00 #BTCe ⇢$-4.55/$-4.33 $331.99/$332.02 #Coinbase ⇢$0.44/$0.69 \|\| In the last 10 mins, there were arb opps spanning 17 exchange pair(s), yielding profits ranging between $0.00 and $839.87 #bitcoin #btc \|\| Current price: 397.92€ $BTCEUR $btc #bitcoin 2016-01-02 20:00:06 CET	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 430.01, 433.09, 431.96, 429.11, 458.05, 453.23, 447.61, 447.99, 448.43, 435.69
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis] Not fully available. [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] 'Strong evidence' North Korea-linked group was behind NHS cyberattack: There is "strong" evidence to suggest a North Korea-linked group was behind last week's global cyberattack, security experts say. Simon Choi, director of South Korean anti-virus firm Hauri, said the code used in the attack shared many similarities with previous hacks attributed to North Korea-linked Lazarus Group. The same collective is believed to have been behind the 2014 hack of Sony Pictures and is also suspected of previous attacks on the global financial system. Mr Choi said: "I saw signs last year that the North was preparing ransomware attacks or even already beginning to do so, targeting some South Korean companies." He added that since 2013, hackers aligned to Pyongyang have been using malicious software to extort Bitcoin - the online currency demanded in last week's WannaCry cyberattack. Israeli-based security firm Intezer Labs said there were "clear code connections" between Lazarus and WannaCry, adding that the evidence "strongly suggests that these hacking tools were written or modified by the same author". Symantec and Kaspersky are investigating whether hackers from Lazarus Group were responsible for infecting an estimated 300,000 machines in 150 countries. Their enquiries came as the White House said that paying ransom money to unlock files encrypted by the global cyberattack does not work. Homeland security adviser Tom Bossett told reporters he is not aware of a case where transferring $300 (£232) in Bitcoin - the amount demanded from victims of last week's attack - has "led to any data recovery". President Trump's administration estimates that less than $70,000 (£54,285) has been paid to the criminals behind the ransomware so far. During a White House briefing, Mr Bossert said no federal systems in the US had been affected by the malicious software. He added that his British counterparts said they now had a "feeling of control" after the attack struck 47 NHS organisations. Story continues Russia has denied it had anything to do with what Europol called the "largest ransomware attack observed in history", and President Vladimir Putin described it as payback for the US intelligence services. His remarks came after Microsoft's chief legal officer said the US National Security Agency had developed the original code used in the attack , which was later leaked in a document dump. Mr Putin said: "A genie let out of a bottle of this kind, especially created by secret services, can then cause damage to its authors and creators." Meanwhile, the 22-year old computer expert who discovered the WannaCry's hidden kill switch says he does not think of himself as a hero and was just "doing my bit to stop botnets". British-born Marcus Hutchins, who is currently working in Los Angeles, stumbled on the solution by accident while analysing a sample of the malicious code, and then spent three days fighting the ransomware worm. Mr Hutchins' manager at online security firm Kryptos Logic said he "not only saved the United States but also prevented further damage to the rest of the world". Sky News has learned that health trusts in England were sent details of a security patch last month that would have allowed them to protect themselves. A spokesman for NHS Digital said: "Our understanding is that if that had been acted on it would have prevented (the malware attack)." \|\| Inside the World's Greatest Scavenger Hunt, Part 1: In the fall of 2015, my teenage daughter Tia crafted a spectacular, life-sized poodle out of feminine hygiene products. “It’s a tampoodle,” she told me. She made this, uh, artwork as an audition piece—to showcase her creative skills, as a tryout for an elite team in some kind of national scavenger hunt. (She made the team.) I thought the tampoodle was cute. I thought it was great fun that Tia was joining some kind of scavenger hunt. I had no idea what kind of ride was ahead. Meet GISHWHES When most people think of a scavenger hunt, they probably imagine the list of items includes, you know, “Get the dean’s signature” or “Find a dog with a curly tail.” GISHWHES is not that. It stands for the Greatest International Scavenger Hunt the World Has Ever Seen. (Its creator acknowledges GISHWHES may be the Ugliest Acronym the World Has Ever Seen.) Teams of 15 have one week to complete about 200 extremely difficult or hilarious tasks. They prove they’ve completed each item by submitting a photo or video of it; their $20 entry fees go to a charity, and the winning team gets a trip to some exotic location with Misha Collins, the hunt’s founder. Sample items from past GISHWHES lists: • Do a dramatic reading of your grade-school report card. • Find someone you love and butter them up—literally. Cover them in butter and then give them a big hug. • Glaciers are melting—so act accordingly. Pose at a major glacier wearing a swimsuit with floaties. • Have a tea party with a pediatric cancer patient, where you’re dressed as a character from “Alice in Wonderland.” • Tour a sewage treatment plant dressed in formal attire with an accompanying violinist or flutist. • Get a child to write a letter to the universe. Launch the letter into orbit . • Film an erotically charged conversation between a housewife and pizza delivery man. The actors can ONLY talk about grammar and fonts. What astonished me is what a big deal GISHWHES is. Last year, 55,000 people registered to participate—not including all the friends and family members who lent favors, assistance, and props. ( Registration for this year’s hunt opens this week .) Story continues Some participants had to dress up as a prospector and pan for gold in a public fountain. Photo courtesy of David Pogue GISHWHES holds seven Guinness World Records, including Biggest Media Scavenger Hunt, Largest Online Photo Album of Hugs, Longest Chain of Safety Pins, Most Pledges for a Charitable Campaign, and Largest Gathering of People in French Maid Outfits. (Why is there a Guinness record for Largest Gathering of People in French Maid Outfits!?) But in the end, GISHWHES is an event that does good in the world. Over the years, GISHWHES list items have persuaded players to a) raise over $1 million for charity, b) donate hundreds of thousands of pints of blood, c) volunteer at soup kitchens, d) register thousands of citizens to vote, and e) register to become bone-marrow donors. (That last item has already saved two lives, according to GISHWHES producers.) And the 2016 hunt raised $250,000 to buy homes for five Syrian refugee families. So yes, GISHWHES is a do-gooder enterprise. But it’s also brilliantly clever, gut-bustingly funny, and positively unforgettable. So my question is: Why haven’t people heard of GISHWHES? Why isn’t it a cultural thing? Why isn’t it, at the very least, a reality show? It’d be the most entertaining show on TV. Well, if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself. With the tolerance of my superiors at Yahoo, I decided to make my own darned reality show. Above on this page is Episode 1 of a five-part series. Part 1 • Part 2 • Part 3 • Part 4 • Part 5 Misha Collins Misha Collins attends the “Supernatural” special video presentation and Q&A on Day 4 of Comic-Con International on Sunday, July 27, 2014, in San Diego. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP) GISHWHES was created, and is run to this day, by TV actor Misha Collins, a costar of the CW series “Supernatural.” (His heartthrob status helps explain why GISHWHES participants are predominantly female.) “I went to the University of Chicago,” he told me. “The University of Chicago has a scavenger hunt that we call Scav, that has been running about 30 years now. It took place over the course of a long weekend. We would completely abandon our academics and our sense of decency for those three days, and go all-out for this scavenger hunt. And I loved it. I actually think that it was one of the most educational aspects of my college experience, and infused with the most joy.” Years later, after a decade of struggling as an actor in Los Angeles, Collins finally landed a show. “I got on this TV show ‘Supernatural,’ and I developed a little bit of a fandom following, and I started to notice that there was a high level of creative engagement from our fans. That got my wheels turning. What can I do with this? How can I have fun with it?” Collins’s first side project with his fans was a charity called Random Acts . “We’ve done some pretty big projects. We built an orphanage in Haiti; we’re finishing building a high school in Nicaragua right now. But we also do myriad smaller projects all over the world—as small as bringing roses into a senior citizen home.” Then, in 2009, as a lark, Collins ran a little scavenger hunt from his Twitter account. About 300 people participated; they were instructed to photograph their submissions and send them to an email address that Collins set up. “People engaged in it with an enthusiasm and a committedness that I could not’ve anticipated,” he says now. “I remember sitting in my apartment, looking at the submissions that had come in, and thinking, ‘This is amazing!’ The art people were creating, the tasks that I thought were impossible that people were pulling off—! I remember, ‘This is what I wanna do for my life’s work. This is awesome.’” And so, in 2010, GISHWHES was born. For the 2016 hunt, I embedded myself with my daughter’s GISHWHES team for the week. I filmed their efforts and followed their frustrations and joys. In the coming episodes, you’ll get to meet them—and you’ll get go to inside world’s biggest scavenger hunt. Part 1 • Part 2 • Part 3 • Part 4 • Part 5 More from David Pogue: The David Pogue Review: Windows 10 Creators Update Now I get it: Bitcoin David Pogue tested 47 pill-reminder apps to find the best one David Pogue’s search for the world’s best air-travel app The little-known iPhone feature that lets blind people see with their fingers David Pogue, tech columnist for Yahoo Finance, welcomes non-toxic comments in the Comments below. On the web, he’s davidpogue.com . On Twitter, he’s @pogue . On email, he’s [email protected]. You can read all his articles here , or you can sign up to get his columns by email . \|\| Swedroe: Private Equity Adds Risk, Little Return: The term “private equity” is used to describe various types (e.g., buyout funds and venture capital funds) of privately placed (nonpublicly traded) investments. Even though buyout (BO) funds and venture capital (VC) funds have similar organizational and compensation structures, they are distinguished by the types of investments they make and the way those investments are financed. BO funds generally acquire 100% of the target firm (which can be public or private) and use leverage. VC funds take minority positions in private businesses and do not use debt financing. Today BO funds account for about three-fourths of private equity deals. Private equity (PE) excites many investors, offering the opportunity for spectacular returns (although, as with most investments, we generally hear only the stories with happy endings). Even the term conveys an exclusive nature, especially for investors who yearn to be “players.” Capital committed to PE funds worldwide has risen substantially in the past two decades, thanks largely to U.S. pension funds searching for alternatives to public equity markets that might help them meet their return objectives. Endowments seeking to replicate the successes of the Yale Endowment have also contributed to the growth of PE funds. And it is reasonable to assume that high-risk, illiquid investments are priced by investors to deliver higher expected returns than publicly traded securities to compensate for the greater risk. The Historical Evidence Steven Kaplan and Berk Sensoy contributed to the literature on the performance of PE funds through an extensive survey of current research on the performance of private equity. Following is a summary of the findings from their October 2014 paper, “ Private Equity Performance: A Survey ”: BO funds have outperformed the S&P 500 net of fees by about 20%, on average, over the life of the fund. VC funds raised in the 1990s outperformed the S&P 500, while those raised in the 2000s have not. Before the 2000s, buyout and VC fund performance showed strong evidence of persistence. Since 2000, there is little evidence of BO fund persistence (with the exception of persistence among those in the bottom quartile, the worst performers), while VC fund persistence has remained strong. Unfortunately, the returns data presented by Kaplan and Sensoy isn’t risk-adjusted. Private equity is really much riskier than an investment in a publicly traded S&P 500 Index fund, making it a wholly inappropriate benchmark. For example ... Companies in the S&P 500 are typically among the largest and strongest companies, while VC typically invests in smaller and early-stage companies with far less financial strength. Studies have estimated betas for BO funds at about 1.3 and for VC funds at 1.6 to 2.5. Adjusting for the higher betas alone would have erased any evidence of outperformance. Similarly risky but also publicly available small value stocks have also outperformed the S&P 500 by a wide margin—from 1927 through 2016, the S&P 500 returned 10.0%, while the Fama-French Small Value Index (ex utilities) returned 13.6%. Investors in private equity forgo the benefits of daily liquidity. It’s well-documented in the literature that investors will demand a premium for investing in illiquid assets, especially those that perform poorly in bad times (like PE). There’s no adjustment in the returns data for the risk of illiquidity. In addition to the lack of liquidity relative to investments in mutual funds, private equity investors also forgo the benefits of transparency and broad diversification (and for individuals, the ability to harvest losses for tax purposes). The median return of PE is much lower than the mean (the arithmetic average) return. PE’s relatively high average return reflects the small possibility of a truly outstanding return, combined with the much larger probability of a more modest or negative return. In effect, PE investments are like options (or lottery tickets). They tend to provide a small chance of a huge payout but a much larger chance of a below-average return. And it’s difficult, especially for individual investors, to diversify this risk. The standard deviation of private equity exceeds 100%, in comparison to standard deviations of about 20% for the S&P 500 and about 35% for small value stocks. Story continues In their survey, Kaplan and Sensoy observed that the authors of the 2013 study, “ Limited Partner Performance and the Maturing of the Private Equity Industry ,” found that, in the more recent sample of PE funds raised between 1999 and 2006, there was no evidence that endowments outperform other limited partner types or display any superior skill at selecting general partners. According to Kaplan and Sensoy, this study (which Sensoy also co-authored) concluded that “the disappearing endowment advantage is consistent with other secular trends in the industry, particularly the decline in VC performance since the late 1990s and the decline in performance persistence in BO firms.” Latest Evidence Reiner Braun, Tim Jenkinson and Ingo Stoff contribute to the literature on private equity performance and its persistence with their study, “ How Persistent is Private Equity Performance? Evidence from Deal-Level Data ,” which was published in the February 2017 issue of the Journal of Financial Economics. Their findings were consistent with those of Kaplan and Sensoy. Their study covered timed cash-flow data at the deal level for 13,523 investments made by 865 buyout funds (not VC funds) run by 269 general partners (GPs). The investments were split roughly equally between the U.S. and Europe, with a few in other regions, and span the period 1974 to 2012. This is important, as most other studies examined only U.S. data. The authors noted: “As well as being extensive and detailed, for the vast majority of the GPs in our sample we have their complete investment history. This is clearly critical when analysing performance persistence, and lack of completeness is a problem that has plagued earlier analyses. We source the data from three fund-of-fund managers who required all GPs who sought capital to provide this detailed deal-level information in a standardized format. Importantly, the sample includes all the GPs upon which the fund-of-fund managers performed due diligence, whether or not they actually chose to invest.” They also partitioned the data sample into an early period up to the end of 2000 and a later period from 2001 onward. Following is a summary of their findings ... While there was evidence of performance persistence in the early period, it was weaker than performance persistence found in previous studies and has largely disappeared in recent years. The authors stated: “This is consistent with the PE sector maturing, with financial engineering and valuation techniques becoming commoditized, professionals moving between or forming new GPs, and the ways to create operational improvements to portfolio companies becoming assimilated across firms.” Competition has clearly increased in recent years, but not evenly over time or by region. When a large amount of capital chases deals, persistence tends to be lower. There is significant evidence of top-quartile performance persistence but only in low competition states. On the other hand, GPs who make bad deals tend to repeat, irrespective of the state of competition. Braun, Jenkinson and Stoff concluded: “Overall, the evidence we present suggests that performance persistence has largely disappeared as the PE market has matured and become more competitive.” They add: “Those Limited Partners (LPs) who were early investors in PE—such as endowments—established relationships with successful GPs which were valuable when the market was developing. However, those relationships, and access to funds—at least on the buyout side—are now much less valuable and are no longer a source of LP out-performance.” For investors, the research has an important implication: If past performance provides little guidance on the choice of GPs, how can one identify the future top performers? Swensen On Private Equity If you’re considering investing in PE or sit on the board of a committee that is doing so, be sure to consider these sage words of advice from David Swensen, chief investment officer of the Yale Endowment: “Understanding the difficulty of identifying superior hedge fund, venture capital, and leverage buyout investments leads to the conclusion that hurdles for casual investors stand insurmountably high. Even many well-equipped investors fail to clear the hurdles necessary to achieve consistent success in producing market-beating active management results.” In his book, “ Unconventional Success: A Fundamental Approach to Personal Investment ,” Swensen offered the following observation on BO funds: “Investors in buyout partnerships received miserable risk-adjusted returns over the past two decades. Since the only material differences between privately owned buyouts and publicly traded companies lie in the nature of the ownership (private vs. public) and character of capital structure (highly leveraged vs. less highly leveraged), comparing buyout returns to public market returns makes sense as a starting point. But because the riskier, more leveraged buyout positions ought to generate higher returns, sensible investors recoil at the buyout industry’s deficit relative to public market alternatives. On a risk-adjusted basis, market equities win in a landslide.” Swensen also cited a Yale Investments Office study that provides some insight into the additional return required to compensate for the risk in leveraged buyout transactions. He writes: “Examination of 542 buyout deals initiated and concluded between 1987 and 1998 showed gross returns of 48% per annum, significantly above the 17% return that would have resulted from comparably timed and comparably sized investments in the S&P 500. On the surface, buyouts beat stocks by a wide margin. Adjustment for management fees and general partners’ profit participation bring the estimated buyout result to 36% per year, still comfortably ahead of the marketable security alternative…. Because buyout transactions by their very nature involve higher-than-market levels of leverage, the basic buyout-fund-to marketable-security comparison fails the apples-to-apples standard. To produce a risk-neutral comparison, consider the impact of applying leverage to public market investments. Comparably timed, comparably sized, and comparably leveraged investments in the S&P 500 produced an astonishing 86% annual return. The risk-adjusted marketable security result exceeded the buyout result of 36% per year by an astounding 50%age points per year.” Summary The bottom line is that if you’re willing, able and have the need to take more risk in search of higher returns, the most likely to place to find that is not in PE, but rather in publicly available small value stocks. And you can access these higher expected returns through low-cost, passively managed and tax-efficient funds. You can globally diversify their risks as well. In addition, you’ll have all the benefits of daily liquidity and transparency. Larry Swedroe is the director of research for The BAM Alliance , a community of more than 140 independent registered investment advisors throughout the country. Recommended Stories Monday Hot Reads: Positive Buzz Sends First Marijuana ETF High How New Short Squeeze ETF Can Juice Returns Swedroe: Private Equity Adds Risk, Little Return How Hedge Funds Use ETFs Bitcoin ETFs For Dummies Permalink \| © Copyright 2017 ETF.com. All rights reserved View comments \|\| A Wall Street bear warns 'bad things are about to happen,' and a recession is on the way: Investor David Tice is going deeper into bear territory, predicting that the economy is months away from a deep correction that will send stocks down by as much as 50 percent. Tice is known for his tenure as manager of the Prudent Bear Fund. He sold the fund, which depends on market pullbacks for profits, to Federated Investors just as the financial crisis was unfolding in 2008. Since the acquisition, he's been involved in private equity, film producing and charities. But he's planning his emergence from hibernation to capitalize on the potential downturn. "The market has tended to go down about every seven years. It went down in 1987, 1994, 2001 and 2008," Tice told CNBC's " Trading Nation " on Friday. "During these periods after the declines, it rallies like crazy. But now bad things are about to happen again." He sold his bear fund (NASDAQ: BEARX) when it had $1.2 billion in assets under management. According to Morningstar, it has just $254.7 million right now under Federated's leadership. CNBC reached out to Federated for a comment. The steep losses could just be a stark reminder of the nature of the stock market rebound. The S&P 500 (INDEX: .SPX) Index rebounded 92 percent since the financial crisis hit in September 2008. "The catalyst is we're 93 months into an economic recovery. We have the [Federal Reserve] starting to tighten. We have banks actually starting to tighten," he said. Tice pointed out the economy is not doing very well, with the gross domestic product growing by an anemic 0.7 percent in the first quarter. 'The bears are always early'—but they're not always right Tice's timing in selling the Prudent Bear Fund may have been pretty good, but his calls on a pullback haven't materialized. He's calling for a 30 to 50 percent S&P pullback over the next six to 10 months. He also made that prediction in 2012 and 2014. It never happened. Story continues "The bears are always early. I've certainly always been early," said Tice. "Policymakers end up doing what they think is right in order to kick the can down the road. However, now we have so many issues." If there is a correction, Tice says there are two protection plays investors should consider. Gold, which is down more than 6 percent over the past three years, is one of them. "You should own gold (Exchange: @GC.1.S) stocks... They're still priced very, very well compared to the bullion," he said. Tice says bitcoin (Exchange: BTC=-USS) makes a lot of sense, too. Unlike the bearish activity in gold, bitcoin has soared 253 percent since 2014. "It's been looked on as a fraud, as a fad, etc.," added Tice. "It truly is a competitor to debased currency. And it makes a lot of sense just from a transactional basis." Also From CNBC Watch The Profit on Yahoo View , available now on iOS and Android . More From CNBC \|\| Is This Tiny European Nation a Preview of Our Tech Future?: On a Spring afternoon, I’m gazing out the window of an office building on the outskirts of Estonia’s capital, Tallinn, watching people stroll below, when a cream-colored plastic container mounted on black wheels rounds the corner and begins maneuvering its way among the pedestrians. The device looks like a kid’s toy. But in reality it’s a high-tech delivery robot called Starship and potentially the next mega-profitable invention to spring from this snowy, miniature country on the northern edge of Europe-one of the more unexpected launching pads on the planet. “If you look at sci-fi movies set 20 years from now, you don’t see people carrying their groceries. Robots just arrive at their homes,” says Ahti Heinla, cofounder and CEO of Starship Technologies. Reality, he says, has caught up to sci-fi. “About two years ago we realized it was possible to create this part of the future right now.” For a snapshot of how we might all be living tomorrow, there are few better places to visit than this picturesque city of 400,000, whose winding medieval alleyways offer an elegant contrast to its digital present. Creating the future now, as Heinla puts it, is Estonia’s driving project, and increasingly it is its core business too. Fortune Magazine Most Americans or even Europeans would be unable to find this pinprick on a map, squeezed between its small Baltic Sea neighbor Latvia and mammoth Russia. Its population, just 1.3 million, is about the same as Dallas or the Bronx borough of New York City. But its modest size and remoteness belies its clout. It is here that a group of friends, including Heinla, invented the hugely popular Internet calling platform Skype. Given Estonia’s history, the invention of Skype in this country was ironic. While Americans were buying their first cell phones, about a quarter-century ago, Estonians were shut off from the world as an outpost of the Soviet Union. You could easily wait 10 years to be assigned a landline phone. By the time the Soviet Union imploded in 1991, the country was in a time warp. “We did not have anything,” says Gen. Riho Terras, the commander of Estonia’s armed forces, who had been a student activist at the time. The country had to reboot from zero. Terras says each citizen was given the equivalent of 10 euros, or $10.60. “That was it,” he says, laughing. “We started from 10 euros each.” Story continues One generation on, Estonia is a time warp of another kind: a fast-forward example of extreme digital living. For the rest of us, Estonia offers a glimpse into what happens when a country abandons old analog systems and opts to run completely online instead. That notion is not fanciful. In various forms, governments across the world, including those in Singapore, Japan, and India, are trying to determine how dramatically they can transform themselves into digital entities in order to cut budgets and streamline services (and for some, keep closer tabs on citizens). Estonia claims its online systems add 2% a year to its GDP. Starship Technologies CEO Ahti Heinla shows off one of his company’s delivery robots. Heinla was part of the team that created Skype, founded in Estonia in 2003.Photograph by Piotr Malecki-Panos Pictures for Fortune The moment I land in Tallinn, my phone pings with the city’s free Wi-Fi network, which rolled out more than 15 years ago. But the extreme-digital life of regular Estonians is far less visible. At birth, every person is assigned a unique string of 11 digits, a digital identifier that from then on is key to operating almost every aspect of that person’s life-the 21st-century version of a Social Security number. The all-digital habits begin young: Estonian children learn computer programming at school, many beginning in kindergarten. In 2000, Estonia became the first country in the world to declare Internet access a basic human right-much like food and shelter. That same year it passed a law giving digital signatures equal weight to handwritten ones. That single move created an entire paperless system. Since no one was required to sign with a pen, there was no need for paper documents to pay taxes, open a bank account, obtain a mortgage, pick up a prescription, or perform most of life’s other tasks, other than marrying and divorcing. “I established my company in about 20 minutes, without going anywhere,” says Kaidi Ruusalepp, 41, CEO of Funderbeam, an investment trading platform for early-stage, non-IPO startups, which she founded in 2013. “We never visited the tax board, the Social Security agency, anything,” she says. “Everything is online.” Kaidi Ruusalepp, founder and CEO of startup Funderbeam, at her company’s offices in Tallinn.Photograph by Piotr Malecki-Panos Pictures for Fortune So, too, are Estonians’ taxes. Almost all Estonians file taxes online-within minutes. Since public registries are all linked in one system, Estonians can log in to prefilled tax declarations showing their income, property, number of children, and so on. They make necessary tweaks and hit the send button. (Outside the U.S., this type of approach is increasingly common.) Last year thenPrime Minister Taavi Rõivas earned loud cheers on The Daily Show when he described to host Trevor Noah how he had filed his taxes on his iPad during a few idle minutes in the Luxembourg Airport. When I visit Rõivas, 37, in his office in the Estonian Parliament, it’s weirdly devoid of paper. He says during nearly three years as Prime Minister the only time he signed his name in ink was in ceremonial guest books. Theoretically, he says, the government could issue an online order to send troops into battle. “I never signed any law physically,” he says. “Never.” Estonians were also first to be able to vote online in elections, back in 2005. When I ask Estonian President Kersti Kaljulaid where she voted in last November’s elections, which brought her to power, she responds as if my question is dumb: “From my computer at home.” Kaljulaid was speaking to me while we were on a boat to Tallinn from Helsinki, in neighboring Finland, where she had just signed a deal allowing the countries to recognize each other’s digital ID cards. Now, for example, Finns and Estonians can visit doctors in the other country and automatically call up their medical records-all stored online. “We have been using digital identifiers for 17 years,” she says. “People have learned to trust the system.” Estonians might take all this tech wizardry for granted now, but the country was on its knees economically after the Soviet collapse. It had one huge advantage: It was starting from scratch. “People were paid in cash,” says Martin Ruubel, 41, president of Guardtime, a 10-year-old software security company that developed the country’s blockchain system (more on that in a moment), sitting in his Tallinn office on the grounds of a converted former military barrack. Since no Estonian had ever had a checkbook, once the Soviets were gone the country simply skipped past pen and paper and issued bank cards. It was a money saver, but had another benefit: It pushed Estonians to get online fast. Martin Ruubel, president of blockchain services company Guardtime, in his company’s offices in Tallinn.Photograph by Piotr Malecki-Panos Pictures for Fortune Scrambling to piece together a country, the new leaders, young and inexperienced, also rapidly privatized the telecom industry. “It was highly successful,” says Mart Laar, 57, who became the first post-Soviet Prime Minister, at age 32, and is now chairman of the board of supervisors for the Bank of Estonia. Since so few people had even landline phones, many simply bought mobile handsets instead. Laar, a historian, says he knew nothing about computers but believed they needed to start with the latest technology. When Finland offered to donate its analog telephone exchange to its poorer neighbor for free, Estonia turned it down. The government recruited Ruusalepp, now Funderbeam’s CEO, as the new country’s first IT lawyer when she was just 20 and still a student. “I had no law degree and no understanding of technology,” she says. Her first task was to create a law for digital signatures, years ahead of many countries. “We wanted to change the country. We had brains, and we just had to shoot,” she says. Those early decisions set the stage for today’s thriving tech scene in Estonia. Skype, founded in Tallinn in 2003, spawned a generation of techies and would-be entrepreneurs. “People thought, If Estonian guys could do something like Skype, I can do it also,” says Andrus Oks of Terra Venture Partners, an investment fund in Tallinn. And when Microsoft bought Skype in 2011 for $8.5 billion, ex-Skypers plowed money into new startups in Tallinn, further attracting U.S. investments. Skype’s founding developers, including Starship’s Heinla, also launched a venture capital fund, called Ambient Sound. “The Skype effect has been enormous,” says Heinla, who started Starship with Skype cofounder Janus Friis; major investors include Daimler A.G., as well as Silicon Valley firms Shasta Ventures and Matrix Partners. Click to enlarge. Now, if you order Chinese takeout through platforms DoorDash or Postmates in Redwood City, Calif., or Washington, D.C., your food might arrive as a Starship test run, with a ping on your mobile phone letting you know your delivery robot is at the door. Starship is also doing test deliveries in Bern, Switzerland, and London, and Domino’s Pizza plans to test some deliveries by Starship soon in Hamburg. The Skype effect does not end there. In 2011, Skype’s first employee, Taavet Hinrikus, cofounded TransferWise, an online money-transfer company, which now occupies four floors of a Tallinn building and handles about $1 billion a month in exchanges around the world. Investors include Andreessen Horowitz and Peter Thiel’s Valar Ventures. A worker scoots through the headquarters of TransferWise, an Estonian online money-transfer company co-founded by Skype’s first employee. TransferWise handles about $1 billion a month in exchanges and its investors include Andreessen Horowitz.Photograph by Piotr Malecki-Panos Pictures for Fortune With hindsight, it seems inevitable that Russia would sooner or later collide with its pint-size former territory, which, aside from becoming a major tech hub, had rushed to join both NATO and the EU after the Soviet collapse. Russia’s payback finally came in 2007-and it would markedly change Estonia. It happened when Estonia’s government decided to move a World War II memorial statue of a Soviet soldier from central Tallinn to a nearby war cemetery. Pro-Russian demonstrators burned barricades and looted stores in days of rioting. Then Estonia’s banks, its Parliament, and several public services suddenly went off-line, in one of the biggest-ever distributed denial-of-service attacks to hit a country. The 2007 cyberattack still haunts Estonia. “We were already really, really dependent on online. We had no paper originals for a lot of things,” says Guardtime’s Ruubel. Estonia believes Russia was behind the attack. Shortly after, the only NATO-accredited cyberdefense center opened in Tallinn. And this year Estonia will open the world’s first “data embassy” in Luxembourg-a storage building to house an entire backup of Estonia’s data that will enjoy the same sovereign rights as a regular embassy but be able to reboot the country remotely, in case of another attack. “It was quite clear after 2007 that we knew how to fight against external attacks,” Ruubel says. “The worry was, What if there was an attack from inside the system, with someone tampering with the data?” Street art on an office building in a Soviet-era industrial section of Tallinn.Photograph by Piotr Malecki-Panos Pictures for Fortune The answer to that concern came in the form of the technology that now underpins crucial parts of Estonia’s system, as well as some of its most successful startups, and that, in the years ahead, could help power the country’s future growth: the blockchain. Essentially a distributed database, a blockchain-the system that also underpins the cryptocurrency Bitcoin-serves as a public ledger that can never be erased or rewritten. The technology allows Estonia’s engineers to strengthen its encrypted data and lets Estonians verify at any time that their information has not been tampered with. Estonians are also required to use two-step verification for many online tasks. These and other security measures, say Estonians, make their system as close to unbreakable as possible. (The U.S. State Department said last year that cybercrime “does not represent a major threat” in Estonia.) They contrast it, for example, to Edward Snowden’s hacking into the NSA, which he continued over 18 months. “No Snowden can crack this system,” boasts President Kaljulaid. Outside the country, however, there are some doubts as to whether the Estonians’ technology is as secure as they claim. In 2014-seven years after the suspected Russian hack-engineers at the University of Michigan studied Estonia’s online-voting system and concluded that determined hackers-such as Russian operatives-could feasibly penetrate it, creating fake votes or altering the totals in order to rig elections “quite possibly without a trace,” they wrote in their report. “Estonia’s system places extreme trust in election servers and voters’ computers-all easy targets for a foreign power,” they said. Estonia disputed the claims, saying that it had worked flawlessly in six elections and that it had “a level of security greater than was possible with paper ballots.” To Estonians, the potential of extreme-digital systems for both governments and businesses is dizzying-and with the blockchain, it has only just begun. Guardtime, which has 150 employees and estimates about $23 million in revenues in 2015, is now among the world’s biggest blockchain companies, with clients around the world, including Lockheed Martin and the U.S. Department of Defense. Funderbeam uses so-called colored coin technology, based on the public Bitcoin blockchain, to keep track of transactions and investments. That eliminates the need for brokers and clearing agents. Children in a coding class in an elementary school in Tallinn.Photograph by Piotr Malecki-Panos Pictures for Fortune Ruusalepp, whose early backers at Funderbeam included the Silicon Valley venture capital investor Tim Draper, says she regularly hears Americans argue that paper records are more secure. Estonians, by contrast, would be aghast to have their medical records in paper folders in doctors’ offices, she says. “You can never see who has looked at your data,” she says. “Blockchain solves the issue of trust.” Those who created Estonia’s system say they believe the arguments raging in the U.S. over data privacy are largely misplaced. The focus should instead be to give people control over who accesses their data, by using blockchain technology. “The real issue is data integrity,” says Toomas Hendrik Ilves, an Estonian-American from Leonia, N.J., who served as Estonia’s President from 2006 until last November, and is now a senior fellow at Stanford University’s Center for International Security and Cooperation and sits on the World Economic Council’s Future of Blockchain group. He says it could take many years for the U.S.’s sprawling agencies to create an Estonian-type blockchain architecture. “I’m smack in the middle of Silicon Valley, at Stanford, and the amount of creativity is amazing,” Ilves says. “But the public sector is lagging way, way, way behind.” Having built perhaps the world’s most seamless digital system, Estonia still faces a major limitation: its size. With just 1.3 million Estonians, it runs like a well-oiled machine. But engineers claim there is vast spare capacity. Built right, the system could work with huge numbers. (The U.S. could in theory reengineer its databases from scratch, say Estonian technologists, and serve 300 million Americans just as well.) To more fully leverage its technological advantage and boost economic growth, Estonia needs more market participants. Taavi Kotka, a software engineer and entrepreneur, dreamed up the concept of virtual “e-residency' after becoming the Estonian government’s chief information officer in 2013.Photograph by Piotr Malecki-Panos Pictures for Fortune Since Estonia had little means for attracting masses of immigrants to its icy Northern European landscape, it came up with a quirky idea-another of its firsts in the world: offering people virtual residency. Taavi Kotka, 38, a software engineer and entrepreneur, dreamed up the concept after becoming the government’s chief information officer in 2013. Kotka wrote a policy paper arguing that the population needed to grow fast, and proposed a target of 10 million people by 2025. Since Estonian women were not about to have 10 babies each, the alternative was to figure out what kind of product the country could offer to the rest of the world. Somewhat like Delaware-based corporations in the U.S., e-residents of Estonia can now run their European operations remotely and do business in euros. “We want to be the office for micro and small companies, because that is basically what our country is,” say Kotka, who now works as a consultant to Estonian startups. “You cannot grow without customers.” Estonia’s first e-residency cards rolled out in December 2014. The microchips inside them are identical to Estonians’ digital ID cards but come without citizens’ rights, like voting or public pensions, and there is no obligation to pay taxes in Estonia. This is no tax haven: Estonia requires that e-residents pay their taxes to whatever country they owe them. But for a fee of 145 euros (about $154) e-residents can register companies in Estonia, no matter where they live, gaining automatic access to the EU’s giant common market-about 440 million once Britain leaves the union. Of about 18,000 e-residents so far, about 1,400 have formed companies in Estonia. On average, each of those companies spends roughly 55 euros (about $58) a month on accounting and office administration in Estonia. Click to enlarge. This year the government doubled its budget for the program and intends on doubling it again in 2018, saying it’s determined to ramp up e-residency numbers quickly. As numbers grow, so too will the business services Estonia offers. Officials have traveled to Tallinn from around the world to examine how to start their own e-residency programs. Kaspar Korjus, managing director of the e-residency program, says his office hosts about 500 delegations a year. “So far the only revenue model for countries is taxes,” he says. “But if we get 10 million e-residents paying $100 a month each, maybe we would not need taxes.” The possibilities do not end there. With its government running on the blockchain, Estonia could in theory begin marketing other inventions as they unfold-creating huge new business. Rõivas, the former Prime Minister, says Estonia is working on developing “precision medicine” that would tap into the genome data of its 1.3 million citizens in order to better diagnose illnesses, treat people, and design personalized drugs. “We can use blockchain to make sure that the data exchanged is able to be traced,” he says. It’s possible to imagine Estonia’s idea becoming a multibillion-dollar business in the years ahead-turning the whole view of government as a bureaucracy offering public services into an entity generating profits. The capital of Estonia is Tallinn, a picturesque city of 400,000 whose winding medieval alleyways offer an elegant contrast to its digital present.Photograph by Piotr Malecki-Panos Pictures for Fortune Perhaps only a place that started over from scratch in 1991 could reimagine the idea of a country. As I watch the Starship robots maneuver across the company’s office in Tallinn, CEO Heinla says he believes Estonians, after decades of living under Soviet rule, were uniquely suited to creating new ways of doing things, including how to run a government. “People grow up and see an establishment they cannot break into,” he says, so Estonians simply built something new, and more efficient. Older, more set in its ways-and more skeptical-the rest of the world has yet to catch up. Just don’t expect Estonia to wait for us. A version of this article appears in the May 1, 2017 issue of Fortune with the headline “Welcome to Tomorrow Land.” This article was originally published on FORTUNE.com \|\| Tesla could be worth ‘multiples’ of current $50 billion market cap by 2020, fund manager says: Investors who think Tesla(NASDAQ: TSLA)shares are overvalued are discounting the fact that the company will be a major player in the autonomous taxi market, a $2 trillion opportunity, one fund manager told CNBC, adding that the stock could be worth "multiples" more than its current $51 billion valuation. Last year, Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced his intention tobegin a Tesla ride-sharing platformwhen regulators approve fully self-driverless cars. "When true self-driving is approved by regulators, it will mean that you will be able to summon your Tesla from pretty much anywhere. Once it picks you up, you will be able to sleep, read or do anything else en route to your destination," Musk wrote in his "Master Plan, Part Deux" last year. "You will also be able to add your car to the Tesla shared fleet just by tapping a button on the Tesla phone app and have it generate income for you while you're at work or on vacation, significantly offsetting and at times potentially exceeding the monthly loan or lease cost. This dramatically lowers the true cost of ownership to the point where almost anyone could own a Tesla." Musk's plan poses a challenge to the likes of Uber, but also allows the company to tap into the autonomous taxi market, which could be worth $2 trillion globally in the next few years, according to research carried out by ARK Invest. Catherine Wood, the CEO of ARK Invest, said that many investors who think that Tesla is overvalued are missing the fact that Tesla could be a major player in the autonomous taxi market. "If we are correct and Tesla gets its fair share of the US autonomous taxi market, not to mention China's … then Tesla will be multiples of today's $51 billion market cap in 2020," Wood told CNBC by email on Friday. "We are astonished after listening to every Tesla earnings call that no analyst asks about the autonomous taxi network opportunity. Very little of that potential – even if Tesla gets only 10 percent of the $2 trillion global market – has been priced into the stock." Model 3 target In a TV interview with CNBC earlier in the day on Friday, Wood said she considers Tesla a technology rather than car company and therefore it's higher valuation versus auto stocks is fair. The company is ramping upproduction of its Model 3 car– its lower priced variant out of all of its vehicles which is aimed the mass market. Earlier this month, Musk said the company would build a total of 500,000 all-electric vehicles in 2018. In 2016, Tesla produced 83,922 vehicles, and Wood said it would be a big jump for the company to produce 500,000 next year, but she said it would get closer to the figure than the market is expecting. "Nobody is really expecting that but we think they're going to get closer to 500,000 than most people think." Disclosure: ARK Invest's funds own shares of Tesla. More From CNBC • Massive cyberattack 'huge screw-up' by government, Wikipedia's founder says • Daily Mail has 'mastered the art of running' fake news, Wikipedia founder says • Bitcoin hits $1,900 record high with market cap up $4 billion this week alone \|\| Trades to make after the US airstrike in Syria fails to shake investors: The "Fast Money" traders break down their market moves Friday after a flurry of political headlines during the week, including a Thursday U.S. airstrike on Syria , failed to shake investors. Trader Steve Grasso said he's stepping away from the market because he is "waiting for this [it] to crack." He said he sold Qualcomm (NASDAQ: QCOM) and Micron Technology (NASDAQ: MU) , but he is still invested in housing stocks and positioned for impending mergers and acquisitions across the market. Grasso said he will return to the market if the S&P 500 (INDEX: .SPX) jumps over 2400 points on substantial data that's more than just sentiment. The S&P closed at 2355.54 points on Friday, down 0.08 percent. Trader David Seaburg said he was impressed by the resilience of the market following the U.S. airstrike on Syria. He said he likes the healthcare (NYSE Arca: XLV) and technology (NYSE Arca: XLK) sectors. He said merger and acquisitions should accumulate in the technology space. Trader Brian Kelly said he will continue to ride high with Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) . The retailer was upgraded by a Telsey Advisory Group analyst on Friday and saw the company's shares saw a 2 percent gain. He said he got into Wal-Mart because he continues to believe the possible border adjustment tax will not become law. The iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (NASDAQ: IBB) sector earned favor from Guy Adami with its consistent move higher. The exchange-traded fund is up over 3 percent in the last 3 months. Adami also said he likes Wal-Mart. He said the stock should continue its climb and outperform Target (NYSE: TGT) . Disclosures: Steve Grasso's firm is long AON, BX, CUBA, DIA, F, HES, ICE, KDUS, MAT, MFIN, MJNA, MSFT, NE, RIG, SNAP, SPY, SQBG, TITXF, UA, WDR, WPX, ZNGA. Grasso is long CHK, EEM, EVGN, GDX, KBH, MJNA, MON, OLN, PFE, PHM, T, TWTR, VRX. Grasso's kids own EFA, EFG, EWJ, IJR, SPY. No shorts. "Opinions expressed by David Seaburg are solely his own and do not reflect the views and opinions of Cowen Group, Inc. David Seaburg and Cowen have a financial interest in EDIT. Diamond Offshore: an employee of Cowen and Company, LLC serves on the Board of Directors of Diamond Offshore" Story continues Brian Kelly is long Bitcoin, FXI, HLF, TSLA, WMT, XBI. Guy Adami is long CELG, EXAS, GDX, INTC. Adami's wife, Linda Snow, works at Merck. More From CNBC Newsmax CEO: Might be appropriate for Trump to take military action against Syria Trades to make in an uncertain market How to trade the French election \|\| 3 ETFs For Surprise Drop In The Dollar: One of the most prominent consensus calls heading into 2017 was that the U.S. dollar would head higher during the year. Wall Street analysts were nearly unanimous in their expectation that a Donald Trump presidency would spell only good news for the greenback thanks to stronger growth expectations and higher interest rates. As is often the case, the consensus expectation has proven to be off the mark, at least during the first part of the year. After peaking at a 14-year high late last year, the U.S. Dollar Index has steadily dropped during the first quarter of 2017, and was last trading down 3% year-to-date. Last week's failure by Republicans to pass a health care bill through the House of Representatives was the latest setback for the buck, which had rallied four-straight years, measured by the popular U.S. Dollar Index. Under The Dollar Index Hood That index is heavily influenced by the euro-dollar (EUR/USD) foreign exchange rate, which has a 57.6% weighting in the index basket. That's followed by the dollar-yen (USD/JPY) at 13.6%; the pound-dollar (GBP/USD) at 11.9%; and a few others with smaller weights. Currency Weight Euro (EUR) 57.6% Japanese Yen (JPY) 13.6% British Pound (GBP) 11.9% Canadian Dollar (CAD) 9.1% Swedish Krona (SEK) 4.2% Swiss Franc (CHF) 3.5% Of course, there are plenty of other currency pairs outside of those in the U.S. Dollar Index basket. The Mexican peso, for example, is up nearly 10% against the greenback after falling to a record low around the time of Trump's inauguration in January. It could be that the peso is rallying simply because it fell too far and too fast. Or it could be that Trump's policies haven't proven to be as detrimental to the Mexican economy as feared. In any case, the point is that currencies across the board are climbing against the dollar, an unexpected development that investors should pay attention to. Here are three ETFs that are poised to benefit if the dollar continues to slide: Story continues WisdomTree Emerging Currency Fund (CEW) The WisdomTree Emerging Currency Fund (CEW) provides exposure to an equal-weighted basket of 15 emerging market currencies and their money market rates. If the dollar decline goes on, emerging market currencies are likely to be some of the biggest beneficiaries. CEW's basket includes the aforementioned Mexican peso, the Brazilian real, the Indian rupee and the Chinese yuan, among others. CEW invests in forward contracts and doesn't pay regular dividends, but it has a chunky implied yield of 4.8%. Year-to-date, the fund is up 5.2% after returning 4.1% last year. YTD Return For CEW, US Dollar Index SPDR Gold Trust (GLD) Widely regarded as a dollar hedge, gold has delivered on its promise this year. The SPDR Gold Trust (GLD) is up 9% year-to-date, and stands at its highest levels of the year just as the dollar drops to its lowest levels of the year. That's no coincidence. The 120-day correlation between gold prices and the U.S. Dollar Index is about -0.62, the tightest level since 2012 (a correlation of +1 means the two always move in the same direction, while a correlation of -1 means the two always move in opposite directions). If this correlation holds, GLD will continue to be one of the best anti-dollar ETFs available for investors. YTD Return For GLD, US Dollar Index VanEck Vectors J.P. Morgan EM Local Currency Bond ETF (EMLC) The VanEck Vectors J.P. Morgan EM Local Currency Bond ETF (EMLC) is the second-largest emerging market bond ETF on the market, with $3 billion in assets under management, but it's often been overshadowed by the $9.8 billion iShares JP Morgan USD Emerging Markets Bond ETF (EMB) . If the dollar keeps dropping, that could change. The main difference between EMLC and EMB is that the latter invests in dollar-denominated emerging market bonds, while the former invests in local-currency emerging market bonds. When the dollar is rising―as it's mostly done during the last few years―EMB will have superior returns to EMLC as depreciating emerging market currencies take a bite out of returns for the local-currency fund. But if the dollar drops, the opposite will be the case. Appreciating emerging market currencies will add to the returns for EMLC. That's what's happened so far this year, with EMLC up 6.8%, compared to 4% for EMB. If the downturn in the greenback has more room to run, expect more outperformance for EMLC. YTD Returns For EMB, EMLC Contact Sumit Roy at [email protected] Recommended Stories 3 ETFs For Surprise Drop In The Dollar Emerging Market Local Debt ETFs Shine Big Bitcoin ETF Decision Coming Today, Or Maybe Not The Most Interesting New Gold ETF Since GLD Swedroe: The Nuts & Bolts Of Currencies Permalink \| © Copyright 2017 ETF.com. All rights reserved \|\| Flow Mobile Top Up Made Easy with Scotiabank: MIAMI, FL--(Marketwired - Mar 28, 2017) - Adding credit to your mobile phone has never been easier if you are a Flow and Scotiabank customer. Both companies have partnered to provide Mobile Top Up -- a solution that allows customers to add credit to their phones directly from their Scotiabank online and mobile banking accounts, or from any Scotiabank ATM across the Caribbean. Having access to Mobile Top Up means Flow customers no longer have to wait in long lines or rely on a phone card to stay connected. Now, Flow customers who use Scotiabank for their banking needs, can top up their phones virtually anytime and anywhere in the region. "We're happy to have teamed up with Scotiabank to integrate their banking with our mobile phone services," said Garry Sinclair, Caribbean President, C&W Communications, operators of the retail brand Flow. "We're always looking for new and convenient ways to enhance our customers' experience and make their lives easier. With this fast and simple Mobile Top Up service we're doing just that -- providing customers with an innovative option to always stay connected, hassle free," Sinclair added. Mobile Top Up is available in all of Flow Caribbean markets with mobile services. For more information please visit www.discoverflow.co . About Scotiabank Scotiabank has been part of the Caribbean and Central America region since 1889 when the Bank opened its first office in Kingston, Jamaica to support the trade of rum sugar and fish. This was the first time a Canadian bank had opened a branch outside the U.K. or the U.S. Scotiabank had a branch in Kingston before the Bank opened a branch in Toronto, Canada, where the Bank's Executive Offices are now located. Some 120 plus years later, Scotiabank is the leading bank in the Caribbean and Central America, with operations in 25 countries, including affiliates. Scotiabank is the only Canadian bank with operations in four five of the seven Central American countries, namely Costa Rica, Belize, Panama and El Salvador. Story continues About C&W Communications C&W is a full service communications and entertainment provider and delivers market-leading video, broadband, telephony and mobile services to consumers in 18 countries. Through its business division, C&W provides data center hosting, domestic and international managed network services, and customized IT service solutions, utilizing cloud technology to serve business and government customers. C&W also operates a state-of-the-art submarine fiber network -- the most extensive in the region. Learn more at www.cwc.com , or follow C&W on LinkedIn , Facebook or Twitter . About Liberty Global Liberty Global is the world's largest international TV and broadband company, with operations in more than 30 countries across Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean. We invest in the infrastructure that empowers our customers to make the most of the digital revolution. Our scale and commitment to innovation enable us to develop market-leading products delivered through next generation networks that connect our 25 million customers who subscribe to over 50 million television, broadband internet and telephony services. We also serve over 10 million mobile subscribers and offer WiFi service across 5 million access points. Liberty Global's businesses are comprised of two stocks: the Liberty Global Group ( NASDAQ : LBTYA ) ( NASDAQ : LBTYB ) and ( NASDAQ : LBTYK ) for our European operations, and the LiLAC Group ( NASDAQ : LILA ) and ( NASDAQ : LILAK ) ( OTC PINK : LILAB ), which consists of our operations in Latin America and the Caribbean. The Liberty Global Group operates in 11 European countries under the consumer brands Virgin Media, Unitymedia, Telenet and UPC. The Liberty Global Group also owns 50% of VodafoneZiggo, a Dutch joint venture, which has 4 million customers, 10 million fixed-line subscribers and 5 million mobile subscribers. The LiLAC Group operates in over 20 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean under the consumer brands VTR, Flow, Liberty, Más Móvil and BTC. In addition, the LiLAC Group operates a sub-sea fiber network throughout the region in over 30 markets. For more information, please visit www.libertyglobal.com . \|\| 10 things you need to know today: AH-64D Apache attack helicopter (An AH-64D Apache attack helicopter at the South Carolina National Guard Air and Ground Expo at McEntire Joint National Guard Base in South Carolina.Reuters/Jorge Intriago/Courtesy Air National Guard/Handout) Here is what you need to know. South Korea goes to the polls . Barring a major upset, liberal Moon Jae-in, who is open to dialogue with North Korea, is expected to win, Reuters says. UK retail sales bounce back . Data released by the Retail Sales Monitor from the British Retail Consortium on Tuesday showed that retail sales in April surged 5.6% versus a year ago after slipping 1% in March. Bitcoin tops $1,700. The cryptocurrency trades up by 4.3% at $1,728 a coin. It's up 81% this year. Jeff Gundlach doesn't like US stocks . Speaking at the Sohn Investment conference, Gundlach, the founder of DoubleLine Capital, told attendees to go long the iShares Emerging Markets ETF and short the S&P 500. Hertz tanks after missing big on earnings . The rental-car company lost an adjusted $1.61 a share, missing the $0.84 loss that Wall Street was anticipating by a wide margin. Share tumbled by as much as 15% in extended trading on Monday. SPONSOR CONTENT BY ORACLE CFOs can transform their organization into an analytics powerhouse with the right talent, tools, and strategy. Learn more. Sturm Ruger says gun demand slowed . The gunmaker said sell-through of its products from independent distributors to retailers fell by 7% after seeing a strong run-up to the 2016 presidential election. The CEO of Qantas Airways took a pie to the face while giving a speech . CEO Alan Joyce was talking about his airline's recent decision to begin nonstop flights from London to Perth, Australia, when a man ran up to the podium and pied him in the face, City AM says. "If there are any more pies, can you get it over with now?" Joyce asked. Stock markets are higher . Hong Kong's Hang Seng (+1.3%) led the gains in Asia, and Germany's DAX (+0.5%) trails in Europe. The S&P 500 is set to open little changed near 2,400. Earnings reporting remains heavy. Allergan, Office Depot, and Valeant report ahead of the opening bell, while Disney, Priceline, and Yelp are among the names releasing their quarterly results after markets close. US economic is light. Jolts Job Openings will be released at 10 a.m. ET. The US 10-year yield is unchanged at 2.39%, its highest since the end of March. More From Business Insider 26 TV shows that were just canceled United Airlines apologizes after sending woman to San Francisco instead of Paris 10 things you need to know before the opening bell View comments [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] #Bitcoin -0.98% Ultima: R$ 6730.04 Alta: R$ 6900.00 Baixa: R$ 6548.03 Fonte: Foxbit \|\| #TEST#ビットコイン #AI #モデリング 11:00~12:00のBitcoin市場は反落でした。直近の市場の平均Bitcoinの価格は177252.0円で変化率は0.406%です。 13:00までは反騰? 【AIコメントです:テスト中@パターンA】 \|\| #WorldCoin #WDC $0.027139 (9.00%) 0.00001552 BTC (2.28%) \|\| Traders Raise Concern as Biggest Bitcoin Exchange Halts Deposits http://www.coindesk.com/bitcoin-traders-raise-concerns-largest-us-dollar-exchange-halts-deposits/ … \|\| $1176.98 at 09:30 UTC [24h Range: $1142.00 - $1183.00 Volume: 6455 BTC] \|\| $1158.00 at 10:45 UTC [24h Range: $1122.17 - $1159.00 Volume: 9146 BTC] \|\| One Bitcoin now worth $1180.19@bitstamp. High $1192.50. Low $1161.00. Market Cap $19.211 Billion #bitcoin pic.twitter.com/OB9oph2EF4 \|\| LIVE: Profit = $11,092.44 (4.02 %). BUY B161.50 @ $1,708.03 (#BTCe). SELL @ $1,775.00 (#Bitfinex) #bitcoin #btc - http://www.projectcoin.org \|\| #NowPlaying BitcoinMeister - Stable 00 Bitcoin vs Winklesvoss ETF volatility. US gov takes k from a Local Bitcoins sale at cryptocurrencyrad \|\| New all time #bitstamp #bitcoin high of $1664.00	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 2173.40, 2320.42, 2443.64, 2304.98, 2202.42, 2038.87, 2155.80, 2255.61, 2175.47, 2286.41
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis] Not fully available. [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Bitcoin Services Inc. to Develop Online Marketplace Where Bitcoin Can Be Exchanged for Goods & Services: GRANDVILLE, MI / ACCESSWIRE / October 13, 2016 / Bitcoin Services Inc., (OTC Pink: BTSC) announced today that it plans to develop an online marketplace where bitcoin can be exchanged for goods & services. Some of the goods will include real estate, cars, apparel, and electronics. The services will include plumbing, catering, and delivering. The advantages of users paying in Bitcoin is being able to send and get money anywhere in the world at any given time. Payments in Bitcoin can also be made and finalized without one's personal information being tied to the transactions. Due to the fact that personal information is kept hidden from prying eyes, Bitcoin protects against identity theft. Furthermore, Bitcoin protocol cannot be manipulated by any person, organization, or government. This is due to Bitcoin being cryptographically secure. In addition, there are currently either no fees, or very low fees within Bitcoin payments. About Bitcoin Services Inc.: Our business operations are Internet based to the consumer and consist of three separate streams, as follows: (1) bitcoin escrow services, (2) bitcoin mining, and (3) blockchain software development. The principal products and services are the mining of bitcoins, providing escrow services for buyers and sellers of bitcoins, and the development and sale of blockchain software. The market for these services and products is worldwide, and sold and marketed on the Internet. Safe Harbor Statement This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27a of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended and section 21e of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Those statements include the intent, belief or current expectations of the company and its management team. Prospective investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties, and that actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors. Accomplishing the strategy described herein is significantly dependent upon numerous factors, many that are not in management's control. Some of these factors include the ability of the company to raise sufficient capital, attract qualified management, attract new customers and effectively compete against similar companies. Story continues Contact: [email protected] SOURCE: Bitcoin Services Inc. \|\| Tips on How to Protect Your Private Information On Black Friday and Cyber Monday: Americans will line up around stores and standby their computers or smartphones to take advantage of Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals, but protecting their private information should also be priority for shoppers. During the holiday season many shoppers are harmed by failing to take simple precautions, says Gene Richardson, COO of Experts Exchange , a network for technology professionals. In Store Vs. Online Retail stores are one of the top areas identity thieves go after, Richardson said in an email to the IBTimes. A large number of some of the biggest identity thefts in the past few years were at large retail stores, he says. Long lines and busy cashiers could potentially put your private information at risk. “All the clerk cares about is getting you through the line as fast as they can so they can deal with the next customer and hope that none of you are angry,” says Richardson. “So, if there is a hiccup with your transaction, they will take “backup” paths to complete your transaction like entering your credit card number by hand.” Richardson, who is also the former head of the data security teams IBM, Charles Schwab and Motorola, says customers should never give their credit card to someone to perform a transaction by entering a card number. “Hand transactions are a huge risk for identity theft,” he says. Customers should also avoid buying if a cashier’s computer is down or too busy, unless it’s with cash, or try to go back later. Credit card scanners are also a threat to customers, as some of them may be rigged to copy a person’s information so that a duplicate credit card can be made. People may be less exposed to this action in large retail stores, but the risk is higher in smaller boutiques shops, says Richardson. Customers should also make sure their credit card number is not printed on receipts and should instead have XXX's where the number is displayed. But online purchases can be riskier because of all the extra information customers hand over, like their name, address, phone number, credit card information, expiration date and CSV. Story continues “They ask for so much more information from you to validate who you are than a purchase in a retail store,” says Richardson. “You have no control of who or where that information is going.” Tips to Protect Yourself Here are Richardson’s tips for shoppers on how they can protect themselves on Black Friday and Cyber Monday: Ensure that the website address is secure and has a valid encryption certificate. It will usually display a “locked, green” indicator in front of the website name. If it doesn’t have that, it does not have a higher level of security that has been guaranteed by a known entity like Verisign, Symantec and others. Ensure your system has the most recent recommended system and security patches. Always use a credit card that is not tied directly to your personal bank account(s), even if you are using PayPal, Bitcoin or some other payment method. Never give anything other than name, address and phone number. You should not need to answer security or privacy questions when making a purchase or checking out. If they ask, see if you can checkout as a “guest” instead. Monitor your credit through a third party for identify theft and have SMS and email alerts sent to you immediately. Set-up alerts with your credit card company that send both SMS and emails when any purchases are made and the credit card was not scanned (meaning, it wasn’t in someone’s hand when the charge was made). Set them as low as $25 per purchase. Also, set-up alerts for total purchases over $500 in a billing period to protect multiple $24.99 purchases. And if possible, a maximum amount of purchases allowed in a billing period such as $1500 before card will get declined. Ensure that you have a reputable Antivirus program running on your computer and that your browser has an Ad blocking plug-in. (Richardson recommends Norton, McAfee or ESET.) Ensure that the network your computer/device is on is secure and you know who has access to your network. This is usually done with your router. You want to lock down your router so that traffic can be initiated from the inside-out but you do not want traffic to be initiated from the outside-in. If you are using a WiFi connection, make sure that network is also secure and requires a password to join. If it is a public WiFi network that doesn’t require a password, then the traffic coming from your device can be monitored and stolen. (Link to onsite how-to article?) Any passwords that you use should be strong, hard to guess ones. Or, even better, hard to guess, but easy to remember . Don’t click on unfamiliar links to sites advertising sales, coupons, etc. Use two-factor authentication/verification, if it is offered. Shopping on Mobile Devices One in 10 mobile apps that are found through searching “Black Friday” are blacklisted as malicious, according to cyber security company RiskIQ An estimated 30 percent of purchases will be made on mobile devices, RiskIQ says. Shopping on mobile devices can substantially increase the risk of encountering phishing pages, malicious apps, and viruses that infect customers’ smartphones and tablets to steal money and private information. There are also fake apps out there that contain malware that can steal customers’ data or lock the device until the user pays a ransom, says RiskIQ. Other malicious apps may ask consumers to use their Facebook or Gmail logins, which could compromise their private information. Tips For Safe Shopping on Mobile Devices Here are some tips from RiskIQ: Ensure that you are only downloading apps from official app stores such as Google or Apple Be wary of applications that ask for suspicious permissions, like access to contacts, text messages, administrative features, stored passwords, or credit card info. Just because an app appears to have a good reputation doesn’t make it so. Rave reviews can be forged, and a high amount of downloads can simply indicate a threat actor was successful in fooling a lot of victims. Before downloading an app, be sure to take a look at the developer—if it’s not a brand you recognize or has a strange appearance or spelling, think twice. You can even do a Google search on the developer for more clues about its reputation. Make sure to take a deep look at each app. New developers, or developers that leverage free email services (e.g., @gmail) for their developer contact, can be enormous red flags— threat actors often use these services to produce mass amounts of malicious apps in a short period. Also, poor grammar in the description highlights the haste of development and the lack of marketing professionalism that are hallmarks of mobile malware campaigns. Check website addresses after following links on Twitter, Facebook, or other social media channels to be sure you end up on the true website of the retailer you want. Look for the “S” in HTTPS when you visit shopping sites. Beware of shopping sites that do not use HTTPS in their website addresses or do not display the symbol of a lock next to the web address. Secure sites use HTTPS, and without that, you’re dealing with unsecured connections or weak encryption of personal data. Never provide your credit card information unless you are in a secure online shopping portal. Sites that ask for it in return for “coupons” or to win “free” merchandise are almost always scams. Protect Yourself From a Major Headache For those who might not want to go through the hassle of setting up credit card alerts on purchases or locking down their router, it’s important to remember that it can and save consumers from a major headache. “Identity theft could cost you several thousand dollars in actual money and can cost you a lot more in your personal time and future anticipated losses cleaning up after the fact,” Richardson said. “The impact of identity theft could last years as you personally have to work to call all your creditors to fix your credit, loss of credibility for future purchases of a home, car, etc. as your credit scores will have been impacted, the effect on future employment opportunities as background checks are run and many, many more,” he added. Related Articles $100 Off HTC Vive On Black Friday and Cyber Monday American Consumers Prep For Cyber Monday \|\| Your first trade for Friday, October 7: The " Fast Money " traders shared their first moves for the market open. Tim Seymour was a buyer of Total S.A. (Euronext Paris: FP-FR) . Brian Kelly was a seller of UnitedHealth (NYSE: UNH) . Dan Nathan was a buyer of Twitter (NYSE: TWTR) . Guy Adami was a buyer of CME Group (NASDAQ: CME) . Trader disclosure: On October 6, 2016, the following stocks and commodities mentioned or intended to be mentioned on CNBC's "Fast Money" were owned by the "Fast Money" traders: Tim Seymour is long ABX, APC, AVP, BAC, BBRY, CLF, DO, DVYE, EDC, EWZ, F, FB, FCX, FXI, GM, GOOGL, GE, INTC, LQD,MCD, MUR, OIH, PG, RACE, RAI, RH, RL, SINA, T, TWTR, VALE, VZ, XOM. short: SPY, XRT; Tim's firm is long ABX, BABA, BIDU, CBD, CLF, EWZ, F, KO, MCD, MPEL, NKE, PEP, PF, SAVE, SBUX, SINA, VALE, VIAB, WMT, WEN, X, YHOO, short EWG, HYG, IWM. Brian Kelly is long Bitcoin, DXJ, TLT, XOP, WTI, US Dollar UUP; he is short EUR=, JPY=, GBP=. Dan Nathan is long TWTR, long PYPL oct call, Long FEZ Nov put spread, long EEM Nov put spread, long XHB jan put spread, long XLK Jan put spread, long XLU Dec call spread, SMH Nov Put Spread. Guy Adami is long CELG, EXAS, GDX, INTC, Guy Adami's wife, Linda Snow, works at Merck. More From CNBC Top News and Analysis Latest News Video Personal Finance \|\| What traders are buying if Trump wins: The "Fast Money" traders on Friday weighed stocks they would buy ifDonald Trumpwon the election. U.S. markets turned negative earlier in the day after theFederal Bureau of Investigationannounced it isinvestigating new emailsrelated to Democratic nomineeHillary Clinton. Trader Steve Grasso said investors should be keeping an eye on securities that are interest-rate sensitive like utilities or gold. He said it wouldn't make sense to increase risk exposure in an overall market that is selling off. Trader Brian Kelly said General Electric is the best bet in a selloff because both Clinton and Trump have promised to increase infrastructure spending. Disclosures: TIM SEYMOUR Tim Seymour is long ABX, APC, AVP, BAC, BBRY, CLF, CVX, DO, DVYE, EDC, EWZ, F, FB, FCX, FXI, GM, GOOGL, GE, INTC, LQD,MCD, MUR, OIH, PG, RACE, RAI, RH, RL, SINA, T, TWTR, VALE, VZ, XOM and short: SPY, XRT. His firm is long ABX, BABA, BIDU, CBD, CLF, EWZ, F, KO, MCD, MPEL, NKE, PEP, PF, TCEHY, SAVE, SBUX, SINA, VALE, VIAB, WMT, WEN, X, YHOO, and short EWG, HYG, IWM STEVE GRASSO Steve Grasso is long: BA, CC, CHK, EVGN, KBH, MJNA, MON, MU, OLN, PFE, PHM, T, TWTR, GDX. His children own: EFA, EFG, EWJ, IJR, SPY. No short positions. Grasso's firm is long: VIRT, DVN, LDP, WDR, AVP, CVX, FCX, ICE, KDUS, KO, MAT, MCD, MJNA, NE, NEM, OLN, OXY, RIG, STAG, TAXI, TEX, TITXF, URI, WDR, WYNN, ZNGA, CUBA, HSPO, ICE, AMZN, MJNA, TITXF, SPY, QQQ, DIA, XLI, BGCP, VIRT, GE, AIR, FP. BRIAN KELLY Brian Kelly is long Bitcoin, long USO, SLV and Silver Futures, US Dollar UUP. He is short the euro and the Japanese yen. GUY ADAMI Guy Adami is long CELG, EXAS, GDX, INTC. Adami's wife, Linda Snow, works at Merck. More From CNBC • Top News and Analysis • Latest News Video • Personal Finance \|\| What to Expect from Overstock.com (OSTK) in Q3 Earnings?: Overstock.com Inc.OSTK is slated to report third-quarter 2016 results on Nov 3. It is an online retailer that sells brand-name merchandise at deep discounts. Its offerings include bed-and-bath goods, kitchenware, watches, jewelry, electronics, sporting goods and designer accessories. Let’s see how things are shaping up for this announcement. Factors to Consider The company’s second-quarter revenues were up 8% year over year. It has intensified its efforts on expanding its product reach, building its customer base and strengthening its international foothold. The company has partnered with Tmall in China, 11Street in Korea, Mercado LibreIguama in Latin America, Trade Me in New Zealand and Australia and Rakuten in the UK. Management has also indicated more partnerships in the near future. It has launched a trusted partner marketplace as part of its global expansion efforts. However, the company’s business has been hit by changes in Google search algorithms and rising competition in the e-commerce sector. It has also been engaged in legal battles with several brokerage firms over stock price manipulation issues. Overstocks’ continuous efforts to reduce illegal stock manipulation and reform capital markets could boost its results in the to-be-reported quarter. Also, management confirmed Overstock’s continued focus on improvement of customer experience as well as customer attraction and retention efforts. For this, the company is trying to bring in absolute customization and personalization of its marketing message and develop customer-friendly mobile platforms and applications. Overstock has been a Bitcoin supporter for more than two years and has successfully leveraged the blockchain technology. The company is trying to establish relationships with major financial and capital market institutions to achieve the expected level of synergy between blockchain and cryptocurrency. We expect customer-friendly initiatives, product and geographical expansion efforts, and reform capital markets to act as major positives for Overstock in the to-be-reported quarter. OVERSTOCK.COM Price and EPS Surprise OVERSTOCK.COM Price and EPS Surprise \| OVERSTOCK.COM Quote Stocks That Warrant a Look Ashford Hospitality Prime, Inc. AHP is slated to report third-quarter earnings results on Nov 2. The company has an Earnings ESP of +9.76% and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can seethe complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here. Avon Products Inc. AVP with an Earnings ESP of +33.33% and a Zacks Rank #1. The company is slated to report third-quarter earnings results on Nov 3. Glaukos Corporation GKOS with an Earnings ESP of +100.0% and a Zacks Rank #1. The company is slated to report third-quarter earnings results on Nov 10. Confidential from Zacks Beyond this Analyst Blog, would you like to see Zacks' best recommendations that are not available to the public? Our Executive VP, Steve Reitmeister, knows when key trades are about to be triggered and which of our experts has the hottest hand.Click to see them now>> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days.Click to get this free reportAVON PRODS INC (AVP): Free Stock Analysis ReportASHFORD HOSP PR (AHP): Free Stock Analysis ReportGLAUKOS CORP (GKOS): Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research \|\| First Bitcoin Capital Solves Medical Cannabis Dispensary Cash Dilemma Via INNOVATIVE Merchant Credit Card Services: VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / October 27, 2016 / FIRST BITCOIN CAPITAL CORP. ( BITCF ), a leading bitcoin and cryptocurrency developer, specializing in both blockchain and online merchant payment solutions for medical marijuana dispensaries and other high-risk merchant accounts and services, today announced the signing of a merchant account processing agent agreement with a credit card processor for the states of California and Oregon. Under the agreement, BITCF will provide a full suite of financial services for the medical marijuana industry: merchant processing and POS solutions through its alliance network, a fully compliant, user friendly solution to accept Credit and Debit Cards through traditional Merchant Card Processing networks. We intend to add more states as additional legal opinions are provided by our credit card processor provider’s counsel. First Bitcoin is also developing a system that will enable dispensaries to accept Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as a form of legal payment. Stater of California has already enacted legislation that makes Bitcoin and similar digital currencies legal tender. BITCF has developed specific programs to meet the unique needs of the medical cannabis industry. Offering merchant services at competitive rates for businesses operating legally under state law of California and Oregon, the company can now provide financial services not typically available from conventional banks. While legalization of marijuana in many forms – and in many states – garnered over $5 billion dollars in 2016, the sums are expected to grow for 2017. More innovative and unique products are being created, and the stigma that once surrounded cannabis is slowly fading. These changes are helping the medical cannabis industry to prosper now that federal policies allow dispensaries to sell, grow, or possess cannabis while compliant with state laws. BITCF will only provide these services where federal policies allow our business model to proceed for dispensaries that are fully compliant with state and country laws, rules and regulations. Story continues Should your dispensary be interested in these services please contact us by email: [email protected] According to our merchant processor: Our processor introduces the first completely sanctioned credit card solution for the Marijuana Industry. Unlike most merchant accounts that are currently being used by many dispensaries, our processor Acquirers approve, accept and fully acknowledge their engagement with State licensed legal Marihuana Dispensaries. Our processor is an "IaaS". Infrastructure as a Service ("IaaS") and provider of an innovative array of synergistic services that include, advertising, affiliate marketing, consortium of vendors in various markets including the high risk sector and payment processing into a seamless comprehensive solution. Their mission is to utilize IaaS to provide protection and enhanced privacy for online consumers as well as all participating contractual Partners within their Network. Our processor employs a proprietary method of transacting on behalf of their Partners. Our processor also manages the customer database with its Partners and offers consumer protection services for their registered Users. They also operate through clearance and settlement systems that admit only BSA-regulated financial institutions. Our processor is also fully PCI compliant. About the company: First Bitcoin Capital is engaged in developing digital currencies, proprietary Blockchain technologies, and the digital currency exchange- www.CoinQX.com We see this step as a tremendous opportunity to create further shareholder value by leveraging management's experience in developing and managing complex Blockchain technologies, developing new type of digital assets. "Being first publicly-traded cryptocurrency and blockchain-centered company we want to provide our shareholders with diversified exposure to digital cryptocurrencies and blockchain technologies." At this time Company owns and operates the following digital assets. www.BITCoinCapitalcorp.com company website. www.CoinQX.com Company operated Cryptocurrency Exchange, registered with FINCEN. www.iCoiNEWS.com real time cryptocurrency and bitcoin news site www.BITminer.cc company provides mining pool management services. www.2016coin.org online daily election coverage and home page for $PRES, $HILL and $GARY coins Forward-Looking Statements Certain statements contained in this press release may constitute "forward-looking statements." Forward-looking statements provide current expectations of future events based on certain assumptions and include any statement that does not directly relate to any historical or current fact. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors as may be disclosed in company's filings. In addition to these factors, actual future performance, outcomes, and results may differ materially because of more general factors including (without limitation) general industry and market conditions and growth rates, economic conditions, and governmental and public policy changes. The forward-looking statements included in this press release represent the Company's views as of the date of this press release and these views could change. However, while the Company may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, the Company specifically disclaims any obligation to do so. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing the Company's views as of any date subsequent to the date of the press release .Such forward-looking statements are risks that are detailed in the Company's filings, which are on file at www.OTCMarkets.com . SOURCE: First Bitcoin Capital Corp. \|\| Swiss rail operator to sell bitcoins at its ticket machines: ZURICH (Reuters) - Switzerland's national railways firm SBB is branching out next month with the launch of a new service on its ticket machines to sell bitcoins, the web-based digital currency. Beginning Nov. 11, customers will be able to trade Swiss francs for bitcoins using the ticket machines in a two-year experiment that will test Switzerland's appetite for the cryptocurrency, the state-owned company announced on Friday. "There have been few possibilities to obtain bitcoins in Switzerland until now," SBB said. "With its 1,000-plus ticket machines, SBB operates a dense, around-the-clock distribution network that's suited for more than just ticket sales." SBB is working with Zug-based digital payments firm SweePay to allow customers to top up their digital 'bitcoin wallet' accounts by mobile phone. Customers can exchange anywhere between 20 and 500 Swiss francs ($20-503) per transaction. SBB will act as distributor, while the exchange will be performed by SweePay and require users to hold an account with a wallet service that allows storage of the digital currency. Bitcoin is known for allowing users to move money across the world quickly and relatively anonymously but, on the Swiss ticket machines, users won't be able to procure it without a trace: customers will need to identify themselves using a Swiss mobile phone. While bitcoins can be purchased, they won't be accepted as payment at the machines, meaning ticket revenues will be unaffected by changes in the bitcoin exchange rate. ($1 = 0.9943 Swiss francs) (Reporting by Brenna Hughes Neghaiwi; Editing by Greg Mahlich) \|\| Got bitcoin? Despite early setbacks, some say it is stronger than ever: Bitcoin, the digital currency that captivated the world just three years ago before being tainted by scandals, may be making a comeback. In fact, many experts say it never really went away despite wild swings in its value. "I think the future of digital currency is bright," said Marco Santori, a partner at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman in New York, and leader of the firm's digital currency and blockchain technology team. Blockchain refers to the virtual ledger that powers bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. "This is probably the most important invention since the internet," Santori said in an interview with CNBC's " American Greed ." From the beginning, the concept has been alluring if not utopian. Imagine a currency that is not tied to the whims of politicians, the foibles of central bankers, or the fortunes of a particular country. Rather than relying on a government to mint a currency, users could "mine" their own bitcoin by running software contributing their own computing power to verify other bitcoin transactions. Or they could simply buy bitcoin on one of several online exchanges, investing in it like any other currency. To many, it seemed like a good bet. By the fall of 2013, with the U.S. government locked in yet another showdown over raising the debt ceiling and facing the specter of an unprecedented default, interest in virtual currencies like bitcoin peaked. The price of a single bitcoin reached a high of $1,108.80 according to Coinbase, the first licensed U.S. bitcoin exchange. But the frenzy would be short-lived. Around the time prices were reaching their high, U.S. authorities were exposing what they considered the dark side of bitcoin, busting what the FBI called "a black market bazaar for drugs and illegal services" an underground web site known as Silk Road. In a case explored in the latest episode of "American Greed," the FBI arrested the site's 29-year-old founder, Ross Ulbricht, who was eventually sentenced to life in prison (he is appealing his conviction). And the government seized more than $30 million worth of Silk Road's currency of choice: bitcoin. Story continues Meanwhile in Japan, the world's largest bitcoin exchange, Mt.Gox, was spiraling into bankruptcy amid allegations it was a conduit for money laundering. Within two months of Ulbricht's arrest, bitcoin lost nearly half its value. The price would continue to decline for more than a year, hitting a low of $203.77 at the beginning of 2015, according to Coinbase. But lately, bitcoin has been rebounding, hitting $757.77 in June. The price has leveled off since then but is still roughly three times its 2015 lows. Santori says an even better indicator of bitcoin's apparent rebound is volume. "After the Silk Road was taken down, we did see a hit in volume," he said. "It confirms that bitcoin was being used on the Silk Road and used in earnest. But volume went back up again, and now it's many, many times what it was back then." Indeed, according to the Luxembourg-based technology firm Blockchain, more than 200,000 bitcoin transactions are taking place daily now, compared with just 90,000 at the peak of the frenzy in 2013. "Digital currency today is so much farther along than it was even back in 2013 when it arguably started to reach its height and peak in sort of mass market popularity," Santori said. But bitcoin still faces challenges some old, some new. Bitcoin is no longer the only game in town. Other cryptocurrencies have sprung up, most notably ethereum. It expands on bitcoin's blockchain technology, allowing users not only to engage in basic transactions, but also to execute "smart contracts" that automatically enforce themselves. Meanwhile, the law surrounding virtual currencies remains a work in process, with conflicting court rulings about how to define them. "Are they commodities? Are they property? This is going to be a very long road for virtual currencies in general to kind of settle in to a particular legal class," Santori said. Then of course there is the issue of crime. The value of any currency depends in part on its reputation, and in that respect the Silk Road case was a huge setback for bitcoin. But Santori says that is unfair. "Are bitcoins used for crime? Well of course. But so are a lot of other currencies. So are a lot of other technologies," Santori said. Many experts agree that bitcoin is actually less useful to criminals than other currencies, because contrary to popular belief, it is not anonymous. In fact, one of the IRS agents who helped to finally unravel Silk Road says it was bitcoin that ultimately led law enforcement officials to their man. "Back then, criminals are operating under the impression that bitcoin was an untraceable currency and law enforcement wouldn't ever, maybe never, be able to figure this out," Tigran Gambaryan told "American Greed." "Well, when you fast forward it to 2014-2015, that was no longer the case." So will bitcoin and its fellow cryptocurrencies eventually replace all the money in our wallet? Not necessarily. Even some of the most enthusiastic boosters, like Santori, say that contrary to some of the early expectations, it is hard to beat the U.S. dollar. "You can complain all you want about the banks, but the U.S. dollar is strong," he said. "It's a good currency. It's a good store of value. it's a good medium of exchange. It does all the things we want money to do." But he says other countries with less stable currencies could find bitcoin to be a useful alternative a medium of exchange for them, and a source of investment elsewhere, including in the U.S. And as the technology develops, we may all have to expand our concept of the meaning of money. Follow the amazing global manhunt that finally put an end to the Silk Road on the ALL-NEW season finale of "American Greed," Thursday, Sept. 29 at 10 pm ET/PT only on CNBC Prime. More From CNBC Top News and Analysis Latest News Video Personal Finance \|\| John Reid Confirmed as CEO of Cable and Wireless: MIAMI, FL--(Marketwired - Nov 21, 2016) - John Reid has been confirmed as Chief Executive Officer of C&W Communications ("C&W", or the "Company") effective November 7, 2016. C&W serves 18 countries and is one of the largest full service telecommunications and entertainment providers in the Caribbean and Latin America. The Company was recently acquired by Liberty Global plc "Liberty Global", the world's largest international TV and broadband company. "This is a time of meaningful change and development for C&W, and I am excited for the expertise and continuity that John brings to this growing region," said Mike Fries, CEO of Liberty Global. Reid is tasked with aligning the former UK-based company with Liberty's Latin America and Caribbean ("LiLAC Group") division, while strengthening the Company's growth opportunities, in particular triple-play, mobile data and fixed-mobile convergence, and seizing on the significant business-to-business and wholesale opportunities in the region. "I am honored to lead C&W Communications into the next phase of our development. I look forward to achieving our growth objectives, creating greater value for our stakeholders, and transforming our employee and customer experience," Reid said. Reid, a Canadian national, is uniquely positioned to take C&W to its next chapter as he has over 28 years of telecommunications and cable television experience, and has spearheaded complex integrations and pioneered a culture of transformation and engagement, first in Canada, and during the past 11 years, across the Caribbean. Prior to his role as Interim CEO of C&W, Reid served as C&W's President, Consumer Division and was part of the executive leadership team at C&W that achieved in excess of $100m in synergies in less than 18 months following the Columbus transaction. At Columbus, where he was President and Chief Operating Officer, he led the Company to become a leader and innovator in the broadband and entertainment industry across the Caribbean and Latin America. Prior to Columbus John held various roles with Canadian MSO Persona, holding the position of Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer. Story continues John holds a B.A. and an M.B.A. from Memorial University of Newfoundland, serves as the Chairman of Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC), a 49% subsidiary of C&W, and is a member of the Advisory Board of Caribbean Tales. About C&W Communications C&W is a full service communications and entertainment provider and delivers market-leading video, broadband, telephony and mobile services to consumers in 18 countries. Through its business division, C&W provides data center hosting, domestic and international managed network services, and customized IT service solutions, utilizing cloud technology to serve business and government customers. C&W also operates a state-of-the-art submarine fiber network -- the most extensive in the region. Learn more at www.cwc.com , or follow C&W on LinkedIn , Facebook or Twitter . About Liberty Global Liberty Global is the world's largest international TV and broadband company, with operations in more than 30 countries across Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean. Liberty Global invests in the infrastructure that empowers its customers to make the most of the digital revolution. Liberty Global's scale and commitment to innovation enables it to develop market-leading products delivered through next-generation networks that connect its 29 million customers who subscribe to 60 million television, broadband internet and telephony services. Liberty Global also serves over 10 million mobile subscribers and offers WiFi service across seven million access points. Liberty Global's businesses are comprised of two stocks: the Liberty Global Group ( NASDAQ : LBTYA ) ( NASDAQ : LBTYB ) ( NASDAQ : LBTYK ) for its European operations, and the LiLAC Group ( NASDAQ : LILA ) ( NASDAQ : LILAK ) ( OTC PINK : LILAB ), which consists of its operations in Latin America and the Caribbean. The Liberty Global Group operates in 12 European countries under the consumer brands Virgin Media, Ziggo, Unitymedia, Telenet and UPC. The LiLAC Group operates in over 20 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean under the consumer brands VTR, Flow, Liberty, Mas Movil and BTC. In addition, the LiLAC Group operates a subsea fiber network throughout the region in over 30 markets. For more information, please visit www.libertyglobal.com . Image Available: http://www2.marketwire.com/mw/frame_mw?attachid=3082861 \|\| Costco is reaping the benefits of the transition from American Express to Citigroup and Visa: Credit Card Sales (BII) This story was delivered to BI Intelligence " Payments Briefing " subscribers. To learn more and subscribe, please click here . In its recent earnings report, Costco noted that its payment card acceptance transition is progressing strongly. The retailer’s portfolio, which was previously cobranded with American Express, was sold to Citigroup and Visa in June. And though there were some hiccups involved with the transition, Costco noted it’s “past that” and reported strong numbers. The new card is “beating initial expectations” regarding conversion, new sign-ups, and overall use. Most cardholders have transferred their accounts. Of the approximately 11.4 million Amex Costco cards and 7.5 million accounts, nearly 85% of the accounts transferred over have been activated with Costco. That’s about the same amount that were active prior to the transition, which indicates that existing cardholders are receptive to the new card program. And the new card continues to grow, which could be a result of the strong rewards program. Since the shift in June, Costco said that 1.1 million members have applied for the new card and 730,000 accounts have been activated. For context, Citi noted that three-and-a-half weeks in, the new card had added 337,000 new accounts, so the Costco numbers mark somewhat slowing, but still strong, growth. This is a strong interest indicator for the new card specifically, especially because Costco now accepts any Visa-branded card, and it’s likely the majority of Costco customers already have one in their wallet. The card’s strong rewards offerings, which include better cash-back options for Costco purchases and have improved by 40-50% overall, could be driving customers to the product. It’s likely that spending is high. Costco didn’t provide specific spending numbers, only noting that its gross margin year-over-year (YoY) increased. But in Citi’s earnings call, held three weeks into the card transition, the product saw $5.7 billion in purchases made on Citi Costco cards, slightly beating the estimated $5.4 billion spend that would have been seen on the Amex card. Assuming that trend has continued, it’s likely the product is performing strongly. Story continues The strong performance reported by Costco could be a needed boost for Citigroup. The strong performance is good news for Costco, because the retailer’s somewhat slowing sales could have been exacerbated if transition process frustration drove customers away from the retailer. But ongoing usage and volume growth will be most beneficial to Citi, which has already seen modest gains in its North American “credit cards” segment as a result of the acquisition of the Costco portfolio, which accounted for $80 billion in 2015. If Costco continues to be a steady customer acquisition channel and volume source, Citi could further establish separation as the third largest US card issuer in 2016. Costco's growth in this area is just one piece of the larger payments ecosystem, which includes card issuers, merchants, gateways, vendors, and more. Evan Bakker and John Heggestuen, analysts at BI Intelligence , have compiled a detailed report on the payments ecosystem that drills into the industry to explain how a broad range of transactions are processed, including prepaid and store cards, as well as revealing which types of companies are in the best and worst position to capitalize on the latest industry trends. Here are some key takeaways from the report: 2016 will be a watershed year for the payments industry. Payments companies are improving security, expanding their mobile offerings, and building commerce capabilities that will give consumers a more compelling reason to make purchases using digital devices. Payments is an extremely complex industry. To understand the next big digital opportunity lies, it's critical to understand how the traditional credit- and debit-processing chain works and what roles acquirers, processors, issuing banks, card networks, independent sales organizations, gateways, and software and hardware providers play. Alternative technologies could disrupt the processing ecosystem. Devices ranging from refrigerators to smartwatches now feature payment capabilities, which will spur changes in consumer payment behaviors. Likewise, blockchain technology, the protocol that underlies Bitcoin, could one day change how consumer card payments are verified. In full, the report: Uncovers the key themes and trends affecting the payments industry in 2016 and beyond. Gives a detailed description of the stakeholders involved in a payment transaction, along with hardware and software providers. Offers diagrams and infographics explaining how card transactions are processed and which players are involved in each step. Provides charts on our latest forecasts, key company growth, survey results, and more. Analyzes the alternative technologies, including blockchain, which could further disrupt the ecosystem. To get your copy of this invaluable guide, choose one of these options: Subscribe to an ALL-ACCESS Membership with BI Intelligence and gain immediate access to this report AND over 100 other expertly researched deep-dive reports, subscriptions to all of our daily newsletters, and much more. >> START A MEMBERSHIP Purchase the report and download it immediately from our research store. >> BUY THE REPORT The choice is yours. But however you decide to acquire this report, you’ve given yourself a powerful advantage in your understanding of the payments ecosystem. More From Business Insider THE PAYMENTS INDUSTRY EXPLAINED: The Trends Creating New Winners And Losers In The Card-Processing Ecosystem THE CONNECTED DEVICE PAYMENTS REPORT: Market opportunities, top stakeholders, and new use cases for the next frontier in payments The top 5 fintech predictions for 2016 [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] In the last 10 mins, there were arb opps spanning 5 exchange pair(s), yielding profits ranging between $0.00 and $214.92 #bitcoin #btc \|\| 1 KOBO = 0.00000258 BTC = 0.0016 USD = 0.4864 NGN = 0.0225 ZAR = 0.1620 KES #Kobocoin 2016-10-18 07:00 pic.twitter.com/ZPqRHFpMCM \|\| #ChainCoin #CHC $0.000066 (3.31%) 0.00000010 BTC (0.00%) \|\| «Provably fair bitcoin game» https://twitter.com/i/moments/789589843630260225 … \|\| $629.00 at 22:47 UTC [24h Range: $627.50 - $632.36 Volume: 3032 BTC] \|\| 1 EGC Price: Bittrex 0.00003677 BTC YoBit 0.00003900 BTC #EGC #EverGreenCoin #GreenThatsGreen 2016-10-23 09:00 (EST) pic.twitter.com/EdapofAzar \|\| $612.00 at 23:45 UTC [24h Range: $607.28 - $614.28 Volume: 1469 BTC] \|\| #TrollCoin #TROLL $0.000043 (0.42%) 0.00000006 BTC (-0.00%) \|\| $675.78 at 19:30 UTC [24h Range: $643.00 - $677.00 Volume: 7259 BTC] \|\| 1 BTC Price: BTC-e 699.916 USD Bitstamp 705.00 USD Coinbase 710.36 USD #btc #bitcoin 2016-11-06 13:30 pic.twitter.com/d1aI808D8w	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 735.81, 735.60, 745.69, 756.77, 777.94, 771.16, 773.87, 758.70, 764.22, 768.13
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2016-03-18] BTC Price: 409.55, BTC RSI: 45.39 Gold Price: 1253.80, Gold RSI: 57.70 Oil Price: 39.44, Oil RSI: 63.69 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Forty big banks test blockchain-based bond trading system: By Jemima Kelly LONDON, March 3 (Reuters) - Forty of the world's biggest banks, including HSBC and Citi, have tested a system for trading fixed income using the technology that underpins bitcoin, fintech company R3 CEV said on Thursday. The banks are part of a consortium of 42 major lenders, brought together last year by New York-based R3 CEV to work on ways blockchain technology could be used in financial markets - the first time so many have collaborated on using such systems. A blockchain is a huge, decentralised ledger of transactions that can be used to secure and validate any exchange of data, including real assets, such as commodities or currencies. Bitcoin's blockchain was the first, but others have since been built that offer additional features and can be programmed. That means the technology can enable so-called smart contracts: agreements that are automatically executed when pre-determined conditions are met. For this experiment, the banks tried five different blockchain-technology providers to test trading fixed income: Ethereum, often considered the most advanced and ambitious, Chain, Eris Industries, IBM and Intel. "We have raised the bar significantly with the sheer number of global financial institutions, distributed ledger technologies and cloud providers working together ... to demonstrate how this nascent technology can be applied to ... an actively traded asset class," said the head of R3's Collaborative Lab, Tim Grant. Banks reckon the technology could save them money by cutting out middlemen and making their operations more transparent. But analysts say it is early days - bitcoin was invented just six years ago and developers are still working on the technology. Indeed, the G20's Financial Stability Board said on Saturday assessing the systemic implications of fintech innovations would form part of the task force's core policy work this year and global regulators could propose rules to prevent them from destabilising the broader financial system. Chain's CEO Adam Ludwin said: "R3 is further accelerating the adoption of blockchain technology by demonstrating, instead of simply asserting, the commercial advantages of this emerging approach to financial services." (Reporting by Jemima Kelly; Editing by Alison Williams) \|\| Bank of America is going big on blockchain: Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) is trying to steal a march on the latest developments in the technology behind digital currency bitcoin (: BTC=) by loading up on blockchain-related patents. Blockchain works like a huge, decentralized ledger for the digital currency bitcoin which records every transaction and stores this information on a global network so it cannot be tampered with. Major financial institutions -- including the Bank of England -- have released a number of notes over the last year on the potential of the technology and have created teams within their organizations to look into how to develop the cryptocurrency. But Bank of America is going one step further by attempting to patent some of the use cases of the technology. The company has already filed for 15 blockchain-related patents and is currently in the process of drafting another 20 to be submitted to the U.S. Patents and Trademark Office (USPTO) later this month, a spokesperson told CNBC on Wednesday. "Blockchain's very intriguing and for us it's a balance between not wanting to be Neanderthal but not wanting to put something out in a commercial application where the commercial application is still very unclear as a technologist, the technology is fascinating," Catherine Bessant, the chief operations and technology office at Bank of America, said during a CNBC event at Davos last week. "And we have tried to stay on the forefront, I think we have somewhere around 15 patents, most people would be surprised at Bank of America with patents in the blockchain or cryptocurrency space. (It's) very important in the intellectual property world to reserve our spot even before we know what the commercial application might be." In December, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) published 10 of Bank of America's applications. The USPTO publishes patent applications 18 months after they're filed. But the latest information shows that the number of patents Bank of America has filed for and is looking to apply for is much higher. Story continues Bank of America patents published by the USPTO showed proposals for a "cryptocurrency risk detection system" and "suspicious user alert system" among others. These patents have not yet been granted. The technology might be some years off before becoming mainstream for banks, but institutions are taking a collaborative approach to the technology, working with start-ups and even rival lenders. A consortium of more than 25 banks, led by fintech (financial technology) company R3, is currently developing a framework for applying blockchain technology to markets. Last year, Goldman Sachs released a note that said blockchain could "change everything" while banks from Barclays to UBS explained how the technology could be used in areas from remittances to drawing up contracts. More From CNBC Top News and Analysis Latest News Video Personal Finance \|\| Australia's ASX invests in blockchain to simplify markets: SYDNEY (Reuters) - Markets operator ASX Ltd on Friday said it has made a minority investment in U.S.-based Digital Asset Holdings to develop distributed ledger technology, or blockchain, to potentially simplify Australias post-trade equity market. Blockchain technology, pioneered by Bitcoin, maintains a continuously growing list of transaction data which cannot be tampered with or revised. ASX paid A$14.9 million ($10.43 million) for a 5.0 percent equity interest in Digital Asset along with funding an initial phase of development and acquiring a warrant that will give it the right to purchase further equity and appoint a director to the board. ASX will work with Digital Asset to design a new post-trade solution for the Australian equity market, it said in a statement on Friday. Over the past year, interest in blockchain technology has grown rapidly. It has already attracted significant investment from many major banks, which reckon it could save them money by making their operations faster, more efficient and more transparent. (Reporting by Swati Pandey) \|\| Canada's TSX hires Bitcoin guru, studies currency's technology: By Ethan Lou TORONTO (Reuters) - The Toronto Stock Exchange has hired a Bitcoin entrepreneur as its first chief digital officer as it explores the capabilities of blockchain, the technology behind the virtual currency, a senior executive at TSX parent TMX Group said on Thursday. Anthony Di Iorio, who has founded several companies based on the technology, filled the role at Canada's largest stock exchange in January, Jean Desgagne, chief executive of TMX's Global Enterprise Services, said in an interview. Stock exchanges are embracing blockchain, which allows Bitcoin users to conduct secure transactions without middlemen, as they seek to diversify and boost profit margins. When used to issue securities, the technology could potentially remove the need for clearing houses. "Blockchain is a disruptive technology," Desgagne said, noting that major changes could result from its potential adoption. "We're focused on it, we're going to learn." In January the Australian stock exchange said it had enlisted a blockchain startup to develop a new trade settlement system. Nasdaq in the United States used the technology last year to issue securities to an unidentified private investor. Last month, Nasdaq said it was developing a blockchain-based shareholder voting system for its Estonian stock exchange. Blockchain could make operations "better, faster, cheaper," Desgagne said, but noted that, if adopted, the technology would be only one element in TMX's digital operations. Di Iorio and Desgagne declined to discuss details about potential blockchain projects at TSX. Di Iorio is the founder of the Bitcoin Alliance of Canada and a co-founder of Ethereum, a blockchain-based computing platform. (Reporting by Ethan Lou; Editing by Euan Rocha and Richard Chang) \|\| Soda and cigarettes? Momentum trades: Amid a wild year for stocks, "Fast Money" traders debated the merits of two names that have ticked higher despite volatility. Shares of Philip Morris International (NYSE: PM) and Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO) have climbed more than 3 and 1 percent on the year, respectively. The gains compare to a loss of nearly 6 percent for the S&P 500 (INDEX: .SPX) . Investors are "starved for yield" during a down year, and Coke may look appealing to some because of its dividend, trader Tim Seymour argued. He noted that a wider strategy change may also drive momentum for the stock. Coke shares ticked slightly higher Wednesday, closing at $43.49. If the stock breaks above $45 per share, it would make a stronger trade than at its current level, contended trader Guy Adami. For investors seeking dividends, Philip Morris also offers appeal, argued trader Brian Kelly. He said the company's dividend appears "safe," and the stock "held up very well" amid a downturn this year. Disclosures: Tim Seymour Tim Seymour is long AAPL, BAC, DO, F, FCX, GM, GOOGL, INTC, JCP, NKE, SINA, T, TWTR, VZ, XOM. Tim's firm is long BABA, BIDU, KO, MCD, PEP, SAVE, SBUX, VALE, WMT,YHOO, short HYG, IWM. Brian Kelly Brian Kelly is long BBRY, Bitcoin, GLD, SLV, TLT, US Dollar; he is short Aussie Dollar, British Pound, CS, DB, Euro, EWH, Hong Kong Dollar, UBS, SPY, Yuan. Karen Finerman Karen is long BAC, C, FL, GOOG, GOOGL, JPM, LYV, KORS, M, SEDG, SPY calls, URI, she is short SPY. Her firm is long ANTM, AAPL, BAC, C, C calls, FINL, FL, GOOG, GOOGL, JPM, KORS, LYV, M, MOH, NRF, PLCE, URI, her firm is short IWM, MDY, SPY. Karen Finerman is on the board of GrafTech International. Guy Adami Guy Adami is long CELG, EXAS, GDX, INTC, Guy Adami's wife, Linda Snow, works at Merck. More From CNBC Top News and Analysis Latest News Video Personal Finance \|\| Digatrade Executes Bitcoin Debit Card Development Contract: Digatrade Bitcoin Debit Card Set to Launch VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / February 25, 2016 /BITX FINANCIAL CORP (BITXF) and its 100% owned and operated digital asset-currency exchange DIGATRADE™ (digatrade.com) today announced the execution of a technology development agreement with ANX Technologies. Under terms of the agreement Digatrade will have a bitcoin debit card developed by ANX Technologies, one of the world's first financial technology companies to have developed a bitcoin debit card and one of the largest distributors of debit cards in the market offering customers as well as businesses a fast and reliable payment solution. The Digatrade debit card will provide a gateway between digital assets and traditional payments processing. The reloadable debit card can be used to make purchases in any retail, point-of-sale devices or withdraw cash from ATMs that support the global payment network. Digatrade customers will be able to add funds to their debit card via the Digatrade exchange platform and will empower digital assets to be accepted worldwide. More information will be made available as it materializes. ABOUT DIGATRADE: DIGATRADE is a global digital asset-currency exchange located in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The Company is owned and operated 100% by Bit-X Financial Corp which is publically listed on the OTC.QB under the trading symbol BITXF. BITXF is a reporting issuer in the Province of British Columbia, Canada with the British Columbia Securities Commission "BCSC" and in the United States with the Securities Exchange Commission "SEC". Digatrade has now become a global platform offering its customers instant card-based transactions worldwide. CORPORATE CONTACT INFORMATION: Brad Moynes, CEOBit-X Financial CorpDigaTrade.com838 West Hastings Street, Suite 300Vancouver, BC V6C-0A6CanadaTel: +1(604) 200-0071Fax: +1(604) 200-0072www.digatrade.com Media inquiries: [email protected] Forward-Looking Information This press release contains certain "forward-looking information". All statements, other than statements of historical fact, that address activities, events or development that the Company believes, expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future constitute forward-looking information. This forward-looking information reflects the current expectations or beliefs of the company based on information currently available to the Company. Forward-looking information is subject to a number of significant risks and uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results of the Company to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking information, and even if such actual results are realized or substantially realized, there can be no assurance that they will have the expected consequences to, or effects on the Company. Factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations include, but are not limited to, the possibility of unanticipated costs and expenses. Any forward-looking information speaks only as of the date on which it is made and, except as may be required by applicable securities laws, the company disclaims any intent or obligation to update any forward-looking information whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise. Although the Company believes that the assumptions inherent in the forward-looking information are reasonable, forward-looking information is not a guarantee of future performance and accordingly undue reliance should not be put on such information due to the inherent uncertainty therein. SOURCE:Bit-X Financial Corp \|\| JPMorgan launches blockchain trial project: FT: (Reuters) - JPMorgan Chase is partnering with start-up Digital Asset Holdings to launch a trial project using blockchain technology that could reduce the cost and complexity of trading, the Financial Times reported on Sunday. The agreement comes as another sign that blockchain, which is best known as the basis of the digital currency Bitcoin, has wide-ranging applications for some of Wall Street's biggest banks. One potential use for the technology is addressing liquidity mismatches in some of JPMorgan's loan funds, the Financial Times said. “To sell a loan is a very cumbersome, time-consuming process; settlement can take weeks,” Daniel Pinto, head of JPMorgan’s investment bank, told the Financial Times. It “makes all the sense in the world" to explore blockchain's potential to improve that process. Digital Asset Holdings is run by Blythe Masters, JPMorgan's former head of commodities. (Reporting by Carl O'Donnell; Editing by Peter Cooney) View comments \|\| Microsoft: Sorry, your bitcoin is still good here: Technology company Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) was forced to apologize on Monday, after accidentally announcing that it would no longer accept bitcoin. Contrary to an earlier statement, Microsoft users can still use the virtual currency to buy content in the Windows and Xbox stores. Earlier on Monday, the software giant mistakenly suggested it had stopped accepting payment in bitcoin. "We apologize for inaccurate information that was inadvertently posted to a Microsoft site, which is currently being corrected," a spokesman told CNBC. A now-deleted post on Microsoft's website indicated there was no more bitcoin for Windows 10 and Windows 10 mobile users. The post was picked up by tech site Softpedia Sunday and sent the technology blogsphere buzzing. "You can no longer redeem Bitcoin into your Microsoft account," the errant post read. "Existing balances in your account will still be available for purchases from Microsoft Store, but can't be refunded." In December 2014, Microsoft began accepting bitcoins for Windows 10 store purchases from users in the United States. Transactions were made through the bitcoin processor BitPay. BitPay said it saw the volume of bitcoin transactions grow 110 percent in 2015 versus a year earlier, according to a blog post this January. BitPay did immediately responded to CNBC's requests for comment. — CNBC's Anita Balakrishnan contributed to this report. More From CNBC Top News and Analysis Latest News Video Personal Finance \|\| Surprising Gift Offered to Bitcoin Sellers at Coin Reverse Inc.: Coin Reverse Inc. Is Now Offering Engraved Bitcoin to Their Customers NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / January 29, 2016 /Coin Reverse Inc. (http://www.coinreverse.com) has hit the charts with their latest offer on Bitcoin purchase: they're not only offering 15% more than Blockchain's official rate for each Bitcoin they purchase, but they are also putting a surprise gift on transactions amounting 10+ BTC. CoinReverse's marketing team has gone creative enough to attach a special gift to each and every transaction amounting more than 10 BTC: they are offering a 24-karat gold coin with the Bitcoin engraved on both sides. The mechanism is simple: each customer selling over 10 BTC within one transaction is asked to provide a mailing address and the company delivers the gift via a courier. CoinReverse's Marketing Manager Jacob Gustavo is enthusiastic with their latest gift idea, while being positive that people involved in the cryptocurrency market are definitely welcoming a jewelry-like item engraved with the Bitcoin logo, being offered to them for doing business with CoinReverse. "In this way, we are offering our customers a somehow materialized version of this virtual, non-material coin. We think it's pretty cool to put your hands on a coin carrying the Bitcoin's logo, especially if you're passionate about the cryptocurrencies," declares Jacob Gustavo, company's Marketing Manager. Coin Reverse Inc. is a cryptocurrency trading company based in NewYork, USA, founded and developed by few bold investment professionals who have seen the business opportunity outside the traditional capital markets and have targeted cryptocurrency trade in terms of medium and long-term investments strategy. Business is operated in an effective manner, with a user-friendly platform and easy contact means through the company's website and via e-mail, with 24/7 assistance through a Live Chat Section offered. Payments for the trade are free of any charges on the customer's side, while the company covers all the costs involved. The most common payment methods are available: PayPal and Bank Transfer. All the details related to the company's offer and other information, together with the contact details of the Sales Team are available on their website:http://www.coinreverse.com. No restrictions on customers' provenience and payment destination countries or currencies are in force within the company's policy. For more information about us, please visithttp://coinreverse.com. Contact Info: Name: Tom JunoOrganization: Coin Reverse Inc.Address: 1370 Broadway, 5th FloorPhone: (315) 210-8349 SOURCE:Coin Reverse Inc. \|\| Surprising Gift Offered to Bitcoin Sellers at Coin Reverse Inc.: Coin Reverse Inc. Is Now Offering Engraved Bitcoin to Their Customers NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / January 29, 2016 / Coin Reverse Inc. ( http://www.coinreverse.com ) has hit the charts with their latest offer on Bitcoin purchase: they're not only offering 15% more than Blockchain's official rate for each Bitcoin they purchase, but they are also putting a surprise gift on transactions amounting 10+ BTC. CoinReverse's marketing team has gone creative enough to attach a special gift to each and every transaction amounting more than 10 BTC: they are offering a 24-karat gold coin with the Bitcoin engraved on both sides. The mechanism is simple: each customer selling over 10 BTC within one transaction is asked to provide a mailing address and the company delivers the gift via a courier. CoinReverse's Marketing Manager Jacob Gustavo is enthusiastic with their latest gift idea, while being positive that people involved in the cryptocurrency market are definitely welcoming a jewelry-like item engraved with the Bitcoin logo, being offered to them for doing business with CoinReverse. "In this way, we are offering our customers a somehow materialized version of this virtual, non-material coin. We think it's pretty cool to put your hands on a coin carrying the Bitcoin's logo, especially if you're passionate about the cryptocurrencies," declares Jacob Gustavo, company's Marketing Manager. Coin Reverse Inc. is a cryptocurrency trading company based in NewYork, USA, founded and developed by few bold investment professionals who have seen the business opportunity outside the traditional capital markets and have targeted cryptocurrency trade in terms of medium and long-term investments strategy. Business is operated in an effective manner, with a user-friendly platform and easy contact means through the company's website and via e-mail, with 24/7 assistance through a Live Chat Section offered. Payments for the trade are free of any charges on the customer's side, while the company covers all the costs involved. The most common payment methods are available: PayPal and Bank Transfer. Story continues All the details related to the company's offer and other information, together with the contact details of the Sales Team are available on their website: http://www.coinreverse.com . No restrictions on customers' provenience and payment destination countries or currencies are in force within the company's policy. For more information about us, please visit http://coinreverse.com . Contact Info: Name: Tom Juno Organization: Coin Reverse Inc. Address: 1370 Broadway, 5th Floor Phone: (315) 210-8349 SOURCE: Coin Reverse Inc. [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] I just won free 0.00000014 BTC from http://www.fastsatoshi.org/ #bitcoin #satoshi #freebitcoin #faucet via @SatoshiSkyTeam \|\| HIRE/BTC ฿0.00000376 Vol.3978454.62106170 \| Bittrex ฿0.00000376 \| C-Cex ฿0.00000400 \| YoBit ฿0.00000301 \|\| Liquid Bitcoin \|\| In the last hour, 5 people won 0.28 BTC playing Bitcoin lottery at http://10xbtc.com , the easiest BTC lottery, 160BTC Jackpot \|\| One Bitcoin now worth $425.649. Market Cap $6.494 Billion. Based on #coindesk BPI #bitcoin \|\| Liquid Bitcoin \|\| Current price: 385.64€ $BTCEUR $btc #bitcoin 2016-02-26 23:00:23 CET \|\| AC/BTC ฿0.00000173 Vol.2950.74352404 \| Bter ฿0.00000170 \| Cryptopia ฿0.00000499 \|\| YOU WILL MAKE MONEY AND BITCOIN????? Come on my grupp!!!!!! FREE BITCOIN MASTER http://fb.me/4nwm23lNW \|\| In the last hour, 8 people won 0.36 BTC playing Bitcoin lottery at http://10xbtc.com , the easiest BTC lottery, 160BTC Jackpot	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 410.44, 413.76, 413.31, 418.09, 418.04, 416.39, 417.18, 417.95, 426.77, 424.23
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2019-09-11] BTC Price: 10178.37, BTC RSI: 47.21 Gold Price: 1494.40, Gold RSI: 48.21 Oil Price: 55.75, Oil RSI: 49.64 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Novogratz’s Galaxy Digital Plans Push Into Crypto Underwriting: (Bloomberg) -- Michael Novogratz is a step closer toward his vision of making Galaxy Digital Holdings Ltd. the Goldman Sachs of cryptocurrencies. The former macro manager’s self-styled merchant bank noted its approval from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority to underwrite registered public offerings of securities in a filing last week. The New York-based firm is also looking at shepherding security token offerings -- effectively, digitized IPOs. “It’s a really young industry, and we are a pretty young business,” Novogratz said in a phone interview. “We are sober and patient about how fast it will grow, and we are well capitalized. This feels like a perfect addition.” Galaxy already invests in start-ups and coins, and helps companies secure funding for everything from early- to later-stage rounds. Galaxy managed $390 million in assets as of July 31. Novogratz, 54, is a former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. partner who spent more than a decade at the New York-based bank. He later became a principal at Fortress Investment Group LLC and managed the Fortress Macro Fund before it was liquidated in 2015. He launched Galaxy in January 2018 during the height of the crypto bubble. The company’s advisory business is headed by Ian Taylor, who worked at Goldman Sachs for 18 years before joining Galaxy in December. The Australia native is now leading a team of eight -- up from three employees in December -- with backgrounds in investment banking, consulting and structured finance. Business could take several years to ramp up, but there are plenty of hopeful signs that IPO demand could be coming: A number of crypto exchanges like Coinbase Inc. have raised money at valuations in the billions, and companies like mining hardware giant Bitmain Technologies Ltd. are already planning IPOs. Many major exchanges, mining and chip businesses are generating real revenue and profits. “The business that we are building on the advisory side is a long-term, relationship-based business,” Taylor said. “In time that will pay dividends as financing and strategic advisory opportunities arise.” Galaxy is already working on finding financing for a Bitcoin mining data center to be located in the U.S., for example, Taylor said. Mergers-and-acquisitions advising could be poised to take off as well. Traditional companies like card network Mastercard Inc. and PayPal Holdings Inc. have joined the Libra Association, a Facebook Inc.-led effort to issue a new digital coin for payments -- and such companies may look to acquire crypto businesses at some point as well. Due to political and regulatory scrutiny, Novogratz pegs Libra’s chances of launching next year at 50%. “Ultimately, we want to be a big part of the crypto ecosystem, and if they are there we want to be a big part of that,” Novogratz said, adding that he is also investing in and advising alternative platforms that would allow for Libra-like coins. Eventually, Galaxy also wants to issue tokens that could connect to or represent ownership of many valuable objects and revenue streams, Novogratz said. “The key here is regulators have been a little slower than we want them to be, but I think they are heading in the right direction,” Novogratz said. “There are a lot of interesting projects, but nothing has happened yet on the ’tokenization of everything’ front.” While some traditional investment banks could join the fray by that time, Novogratz hopes to enjoy a first-mover advantage -- and an advantage of someone focused on crypto from day one. “The traditional banks don’t have the DNA that they really need to understand the crypto community yet,” Novogratz said. “Our edge over time is that we are going to see more projects and get an understanding of what works and what doesn’t.” --With assistance from Ben Bain. To contact the reporter on this story: Olga Kharif in Portland at [email protected] To contact the editors responsible for this story: Jeremy Herron at [email protected], Dave Liedtka, Brendan Walsh For more articles like this, please visit us atbloomberg.com ©2019 Bloomberg L.P. \|\| Crypto payments startup Eligma raises $4.4M from Roger Ver’s firm and Pangea Blockchain: Eligma, a cryptocurrency payments startup based in Slovenia, has raised 4 million euros (~$4.4 million) from investor Roger Ver’s firm bitcoin.com and venture firm Pangea Blockchain Fund. Announcing the news on Friday, Eligma founder and CEO, Dejan Roljic, said that the firm has “doubled the valuation” in the last 16 months of its launch. Interestingly, Pangea Blockchain Fund is backed by Ver himself, having invested in its $22 million seed round earlier this year. Ver is also joining Eligma as a board member. Eligma is building a payments network using blockchain technology to help people get paid seamlessly. Its payment processor enables “ real-time ” crypto-to-fiat conversion of each payment, followed by fiat withdrawals made by merchants. The firm also operates a utility token called Eli for payments. Eli tokens, issued initially on the ethereum blockchain, will shift to the bitcoin cash (BCH) blockchain with the new funding, said Roljic. The tokens will also be integrated into the Bitcoin.com wallet and could rename to GoCrypto (GOC) token. It will also be listed on the newly launched Bitcoin.com exchange, said the CEO. Looking ahead, Eligma plans to expand to Turkey as it is “connected with a higher inflation rate but very much connected to Europe.” \|\| 3 Keys to Investing in Next-Gen Healthcare Stocks: Picture a bizarre clothing store for a moment … Source: Shutterstock You walk in. An employee sizes you up and asks you if there’s anything in particular you’re looking for. After learning that you’re a size “large” and that you’d like some new dress shirts, the employee takes you to a table covered with them. All of the shirts are the same size. All XL, extra-large. “Strange,” you think, and go to another table covered with shirts. All the shirts are the same size. All XL. InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips “Stranger,” you think, and go to another table covered with shirts. Once again, all the shirts are the same size. All XL. Sensing your confusion, the employee explains the store’s “one size fits all” policy. The owners know people come in many shapes and sizes, but XL is the only size of clothes they can get from their suppliers. You walk out of the “one size fits all” store, thinking it’s one of the most ridiculous things you’ve ever seen. A “one size fits all” clothing store isn’t much different than America’s healthcare system. Lacking the resources to treat us as individuals — with different genetic makeups, different diets, and living in different environments — doctors frequently resort to treating patients with “one size fits all” procedures and medicines. And since most doctors rush patients in and out of the office to boost profits, the pressure to use sub-par, “one size fits all” treatments is massive. Don’t get me wrong: Our approach to health and medicine is light years ahead of where it was in the 1800s. Bloodletting is no longer a “go to” move for doctors. However, many of the decisions made by today’s healthcare professionals will look medieval when compared to the treatments of the near future. They simply don’t take into account that every case is different — that we are all unique. Take the drug commercials you see on television … which go on to list lots of horrible side effects of popular drugs (which don’t work for everyone who takes them). Soon, we’ll say goodbye to those types of treatments. That’s because the age of customized, “precision” healthcare is getting started. The result will be a massively improved healthcare system … and some of thebiggest wealth building opportunities of your life. In today’s essay, I’ll describe the three key innovations that will take us into the age of precision medicine.Investors will want to pay attention. In America, we spend $3.5 trillion — about 18% of GDP — on healthcare. When something big happens in healthcare, it creates giant ripple effects in the economy that enrich those who know what’s happening. Every cell in your body has a set of genetic instructions that dictate what you look like, what your athletic abilities are, what your mental abilities are, what diseases you’re likely to get, and dozens of other key things that make you YOU. This set of instructions is called your genome. Determining exactly what your genome says is a process called genome sequencing. In 2003, an international research organization called The Human Genome Project sequenced a human genome for the first time. The project’s price tag was an enormous $3 billion. Thanks to incredible advances in computing power, that same sequencing can be performed today for less than $1,000. And in a few years the price will be as low as a dinner for two. Genome sequencing is a critical part of precision medicine because it allows medical professionals to get an incredibly detailed analysis of who you are. As a result of this information, doctors can recommend treatments that are right for you. Sixteen years ago, getting this kind of detailed information was prohibitively expensive. But now that costs are down more than 99% and poised to go down even more, genome sequencing is about to go mainstream. Genetic testing will become part of regular medical care … just like taking your pulse and your blood pressure. It’s going to usher in an era of much more effective healthcare. In large part to innovation #2 … It’s one thing to have lots of information. It’s an entirely different — and more valuable — thing to be able to analyze that information and use it to make quality decisions. This is where digital patient records come in. Genome sequencing will produce vast amounts of information that will need to be stored and analyzed. Just as the processing power of our computers has increased by leaps and bounds since 2003, our ability to collect and store information has increased as well. This continued growth is a key part of precision medicine. That’s because genome sequencing is going to generate astupendousamount of information. It is predicted that the amount of storage capacity for all human genome data will increase to 40 exabytes by 2025. To put that into perspective, experts believe all videos on YouTube will require 1-2 exabytes of storage and Twitter will require .001 to .017 exabytes. As for analyzing all that data, we come to Innovation #3 … As you can guess, we’re not going to sift through some of the world’s largest data sets with a pen and paper in hand. We’re going to use artificial intelligence (AI) to perform advanced data analysis. AI programs will sift through data to identify treatments that work for patients with specific genetic conditions. These programs will be able to do more “thinking” in one minute than millions of doctors could do in a decade. It’s going to revolutionize healthcare. In fact, I believe that within the next 30 years, AI will know how various combinations of molecules will affect patients on the individual level. We’ll have giant databases of patients and their genetic makeups … and we’ll be able to test new drugs with computer simulations. The time it takes to devise, test, and produce new life-saving drugs will be massively condensed. Plus, the cost of doing it all will plummet. We’ll have vast databases of human genomes and the ability to create and test new customized treatments in seconds. It could easily become the most valuable technology on the planet. Again, this is many years away, but I believe it’s going to happen. One size fits all Thanks to the technological limitations of the past, our healthcare system is based on treatments that are not tailored to your genetic makeup. We’re using “shotgun” approaches instead of targeted approaches. However, thanks to cheap and widespread genome sequencing, digital record keeping, and artificial intelligence, we’re about to enter an amazing era of precision, personalized medicine. Over the next 20 years, the healthcare system we know and don’t love will change dramatically. We’ll look back at some of today’s treatments as medieval. Remember: In America, we spend $3.5 trillion — about 18% of GDP — on healthcare. When something big happens in the industry, it creates giant ripple effects. That’s why the precision medicine revolution isone of the greatest wealth building opportunities of your life. The opportunities are not in the old school big pharma names like Johnson & Johnson. They are in precision medicine and the technologies that will enable it. Everything from digital records company Cerner (NASDAQ:Cern) to gene testing pioneer Illumina (NASDAQ:ILMN) to contract research services firm IQVIA Holdings (NYSE:IQV) will take the lead in the future of precision medicine. And keep an eye on the IPO market here as well. We’ll see waves of early stage companies going public … many with the potential to not only revolutionize medicine, butrevolutionize your net worthas well. Matthew McCall is the founder and president of Penn Financial Group, an investment advisory firm, as well as the editor of Investment Opportunities and Early Stage Investor. He has dedicated his career to getting investors into the world’s biggest, most revolutionary trends BEFORE anyone else. The power of being “first” gave Matt’s readers the chance to bank +2,438% in Stamps.com (STMP), +1,523% in Ulta Beauty (ULTA), +1,044% in Tesla (TSLA), +611% in Liquefied Natural Gas Limited (LNGLY), +324% in Bitcoin Services (BTSC), just to name a few. If you’re interested in making triple-digit gains from the world’s biggest investment trends BEFORE anyone else,click here to learn more about Matt McCall and his investments strategy today. • 2 Toxic Pot Stocks You Should Avoid • 9 Retail Stocks Goldman Sachs Says Are Ready to Rip • 7 Services Stocks to Buy for the Rest of 2019 • 6 Stocks to Buy and 1 to Sell Based on Insider Trading The post3 Keys to Investing in Next-Gen Healthcare Stocksappeared first onInvestorPlace. \|\| Fund Manager: US Might Have Already Lost Crypto Innovation Race: Brian Kelly is worried that the U.S. has fallen too far behind in the crypto innovation race while we should be taking the lead in it. \| Source: CNBC/YouTube As U.S. lawmakers wrestle with what to do with Facebook’s Libra, they are being forced to confront another digital currency that they’ve been trying to avoid like the plague – bitcoin . Unfortunately, the longer lawmakers wait, the more left behind the U.S. becomes as crypto innovation goes elsewhere. Even Facebook chose Switzerland for its Libra coin. Many thanks to Chair @RepMaxineWaters , Ranking Member @PatrickMcHenry , and the rest of the House Financial Services Committee for devoting so much time to discuss Libra today. We will take the time to get this right. — David Marcus (@davidmarcus) July 17, 2019 Crypto fund manager Brian Kelly worries that it might already be too late. He pointed out on CNBC that while traveling the world, he can’t help but notice that “other countries are way ahead of the U.S,” saying: “The U.S. may have already lost the race…It’s very concerning to me. Asia is eating the U.S.’ lunch. The U.S. is the center of finance. We should take the lead in it.”* He may be right. While the Libra hearings have forced Congress to confront crypto, policymakers clearly haven’t changed their archaic approach to the market. How do they plan on forming a regulatory framework for the industry? By creating more committees and taskforces, of course. "It is inevitable that the Bitcoin ecosystem will continue to grow and contribute to the economy. The question is: where?" "Inconsistent treatment makes it challenging for companies to determine how to operate within existing regulatory frameworks in the US." – @Melt_Dem pic.twitter.com/7CdYyLqy6s — Jameson Lopp (@lopp) July 17, 2019 Crypto Committee Overload CoinShares Chief Strategy Officer Meltem Demirors testified before the U.S. House Financial Services Committee today, where she took it upon herself to help lawmakers differentiate between Facebook’s attempt at a cryptocurrency and bitcoin. She told CNBC : Read the full story on CCN.com . View comments \|\| Bitmain made losses of $310 million in Q1 this year: Bitmain, the largest bitcoin mining company, reportedly made a loss of $310 million in the first quarter of this year. According to a report on Tencents QQ, the mining giant made stunning losses of $625 in the first two months of this year, which were mitigated by a $315 million profit in March. The bad performance was caused by a lack of demand for its 16nm range of mining machines, which were then sold at lower prices. Bitmain has long been the market leader in the production and design of ASIC chips which are used to more efficiently mine Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. However the business is largely dependent on the price of bitcoin and its hashrate factors which are both wildly variable and hard to predict. In fact, the market conditions got so bad during 2018 and the start of 2019 that the company had to close its offices in Amsterdam and Israel. However, the price of bitcoin rose suddenly in May from lows of $5,300 to $8,500 by the end of the month, which should have alleviated some of the pressure on Bitmain. A Bitmain spokesperson refused to comment on the report. Looking ahead, Bitmain has recently released a new series of 7nm miners, that it expects should generate an influx of sales. According to the report, Bitmain is expecting them to push up its profits later this year. Bitmain planned on launching an IPO in the second half of 2018, but the application expired in March this year. Now, however, there are rumors re-emerging that the mining company may revive its IPO launch due to the predicted revenue boost expected for the rest of the year. But with the price of bitcoin so variableand so important to Bitmain's revenuesnothing can be taken for granted. Update [August 3, 18:19 UTC] Comment added per the Bitmain spokesperson and the article was amended to show the series of 7nm miners have already been released. \|\| Hacker admits she stole 100,000 XRP in Australian crypto heist: An Australian woman has pleaded guilty to stealing more than 100,000XRP, worth $450,000 at the time. In January, 2018, Katherine Nguyen admitted hacking into the trading account of a 56-year-old man who shared the same surname. She locked the account and stole the funds before transferring them to a Chinesecryptocurrency exchange, swapping the XRP for Bitcoin, according to localreports. When the account was unlocked two days after the hack, the victim discovered his stash of XRP was gone. Nguyen, 24, pleaded guilty on August 23. She’s looking at possible jail time, and hid her face from reporters as she left the courthouse. “It's a very significant crime and it's the first we know of its type in Australia where an individual has been arrested and charged for the technology-enabled theft of cryptocurrency," Australian cybercrime Commander Arthur Katsogiannistoldreporters in Sydney when she was charged last October. The amount of stolen XRP, $450,000 at the time of the crime, is now worth just $26,700. \|\| A New Race to The Bottom Buoying Markets: In hindsight, I was incorrect because when we heard Williams speech, there was little doubt it gave us the impression that a 50bp cut was on the cards. The Fed acting “aggressive” in setting policy for more worrying outlook sounds like 50bp. As do comments that “it’s better to take preventative measures than to wait for disaster to unfold. When you only have so much stimulus at your disposal, it pays to act quickly to lower rates at the first sign of economic distress”. I guess it’s hard to hear these words, knowing that there is a blackout period from next week and not feel they were designed to guide the market to that the Fed had to do something big on 31 July. The fact, then, that the comments promoted a broad USD sell-off, largely driven by a move in rates, pricing the chance of a 50bp cut from 33% to 67%, with equities and gold following closely, and this feels like it was the right reaction. We saw economists alter their base-case for Fed action to 50bp, another sign behind the conviction Williams words were a key signal. What happened in the early Asia session has been all the talk on the floors this morning, with the NY Fed putting out a statement that John Williams words were aimed at an academic level, and not a cat-out-bag type policy guidance on behalf of the broader Federal Reserve. This seems incredibly important, and aside from calls that the Fed should be more in-tune with markets, there are two schools as to where we stand. Firstly, we should genuinely take it at face value that the market overreacted and the ‘insurance’ cut we should expect is more realistically 25bp. The second, Williams actually poured his heart out, and gave us perhaps too much insight into the potential actions from the Fed in the July meeting, and where the broader Committee was now concerned that they lacked the shock factor to positively move markets. That being, if they cut by 50bp when it isn’t full discounted, we could see asset prices react positively and importantly the USD heading south. I’m sympathetic to both accounts, as the domestic data, on balance, warrants no change, although, given the external picture I have been arguing that the Fed was better off going hard than bringing a knife to a gunfight. There is clearly some impetus lost now, but what’s important is the market reaction through Asia. Granted, the odds of a 50bp cut now sit at 39.5%, but we’re seeing the USD remain soft, notably against the AUD, whereAUDUSDis eyeing a re-test of the post-Williams speech high of 0.7082. Gold fell back into $1440 but is finding a base and looks likely to head back into $1450, and Asian equities are clearly bid, with the Nikkei 225, Hang Seng and ASX 200 up 1.7%, 1.1% and 0.7% respectively. S&P 500 futures are up 0.4%, despite US treasury futures up 3bp. Commodities are also looking good, and it is a surprise to see copper up 1.8%, with Brent crude +2.1%, and we are starting to see better buying coming back into iron ore futures. In fact, if we look at the Bloomberg industrial metals index, this has had a cracking run in the past two months and is usually a good indicator of gains in the AUD. This may be premature, but it feels like the market is back on with the ‘race to the bottom’ trade. Consider if the Fed does go 50bp, which is a lesser proposition given the NY Fed statement, but it would give the ECB increased incentive to go hard in next Thursday’s ECB meeting. The market has already discounted a 52% chance the ECB take its deposit rate, effectively the charge it passes to European financial institutions to park excess reserves on its balance sheet, down to -50bp. And, that would be considered punchy relative to expectations a week or so ago. We saw the Bank of Korea cutting yesterday, which was somewhat out-of-consensus, and the implied chance of the RBA cutting in November has pushed up to 65%. Let’s see if there are any material changes from the BoJ, when they meet on 30 July. Because if they offer guidance, that they are ready to do more post-ECB, we just need more from the PBoC and markets will ride a new wave of liquidity. A few hypotheticals, but it’s not out of the realms of possibility. I likeEURAUDshorts here into the ECB meeting. The technical set-up looks bearish, and it feels like the AUD has been the best performer in the past two days for a reason – that being, there’s more to come. Rallies offer an opportunity to fade (in my opinion), and I am happy to close and admit I am wrong on a close through 1.6034. Happy to start with a small position, but if this kicks lower, I would be adding. As in life, if something is working, you try and do more of it. With limited US corporate earnings in play tonight, the focus turns to speeches from Fed members Bullard (01:10aest) and Rosengren (06:30 aest). Both are voters, and we’ve heard from Bullard of late, which makes it interesting because if his caution increases, when he’s already stated, 25bp is the best course of action, then some may take this to mean 50bp is on the cards. One to watch. Sign up herefor my Daily Fix orStart trading now Chris Weston, Head of Research atPepperstone. (Read Our PepperstoneReview) Thisarticlewas originally posted on FX Empire • Natural Gas Price Fundamental Daily Forecast – Ripe for Short-Covering Rally into $2.344 to $2.375 Target • GOLD Bullish Continuation Above 1414 • Bitcoin Cash – ABC, Litecoin and Ripple Daily Analysis – 23/07/19 • Price of Gold Fundamental Daily Forecast – Weak Euro, Sterling Weighing on Gold Prices • EUR/USD Daily Forecast – Bears Eye Stops Below Mid-June Low • Asian Investors Biding Time Ahead of ECB, Fed Policy Decisions \|\| Anonymous YouTuber sets up bitcoin bird-feeder: Now here’s a new use case for crypto: an interactive bird-feeder that converts cryptocurrency donations to feed for birds, and is live-streamed onYouTube. A donation of $0.50 worth of bitcoin, Litecoin, Dogecoin or Nano, means the birds get extra food. But the concept, setup by anonymous YouTuber Mr Dove, has proved so popular that the birds are being inundated with feed. And one cryptocurrency, Nano is proving far more popular than the rest, according to CCN’s Greg Thomson, who has performed a thorough investigation. In his BlockExploreranalysisof donations received, only one donation was made to the Bitcoin address, with the bulk (20) in Nano. His article went on to question Bitcoin’s suitability forpaying small animals tiny amounts of foodmicropayments. Which as you would expect, led a litany of bitcoin maximalists on Reddit to complain—and donate. At the time of writing,26 donationshad been sent to the bitcoin address; four donations were sent to theDogecoin address, and 21 were sent to theLitecoin address. But Nano was still the dominant currency, with126 donationsand counting. One reason for Nano’s dominance could be due to the fact that transactions on the Nano blockchain are cheaper than on the other cryptocurrencies. On the other hand, Nano-holders may also be less inclined tohodl. Whatever the real reason, it certainly puts a new spin on the expression:for the birds. \|\| Zooko Wilcox Pushes for New Developer Fund to Support Zcash: Zooko Wilcox, CEO of Electric Coin Company (ECC) – the firm behind the privacy-focused cryptocurrency zcash – has made an appeal for the creation of a new “Dev Fund” to support the future operations of the privacy-focused cryptocurrency. The move comes after muchdebateover the continuation of the project’s controversial “founders’ reward,” which took centerstage atZcon1and even drove a portion of the zcash community to fork off into a new network,Ycash. In a lengthyopen letteron Medium Wednesday, Wilcox said: Related:Bridging the Gap Between Bitcoin and Global Regulators He further aired the hope that the zcash community would seek to “hire” the ECC to carry out those tasks. Having never taken the ICO path of fundraising (selling tokens to raise “a bunch of money from the public on the promise of delivering future results,” as Wilcox put it), zcash was originally bootstrapped by a group of investors to the tune of $3 million. The price of zcash’s ZEC cryptocurrency over thelast 90 days. The project was also set up so that over the first four years, 10 percent of the total 21 million token supply of zcash (ZEC) would go to the founders (the founders’ reward) and the remainder to the miners on the network. The investors were also assigned a “small slice” of ECC’s equity, Wilcox said. Related:Monero and Zcash Conferences Showcase Their Differences (And Links) The original Dev Fund, according to the post, arose when Wilcox and ECC co-founder and CTO Nathan Wilcox got ECC to buy back some of the founders rewards to be used for funding ongoing operations. Wilcox and other founders also set aside some of their rewards to set up the Zcash Foundation. “We decided to do this because we thought that having an independent entity from the Electric Coin Company would be an important part of the Zcash community’s decentralization and stability in the long run,” Wilcox wrote. Now, with zcash set (programmed, in fact) to end the founders’ reward in October 2020, a new means of funding development is required, according to the ECC CEO. Wilcox said: “I opted for the initial Dev Fund to sunset itself, so that in the future, if Zcash were a success and a community were to grow up to support it, that community would have to collectively decide what to do next.” The options ahead, he said, include allocating all new ZEC issued to the network’s miners, creating a new Dev Fund with a percentage of new coins issued, or “other alternatives.” Wilcox is pushing hard for a Dev Fund to funded from a slice of the issuance, however: “This decision isn’t about the Electric Coin Company. If all of the employees of the Electric Coin Company were to board the same airplane tomorrow to go to an off-site meeting, and that plane were to crash with no survivors, the Zcash community would still be facing the exact same choice: shall we use some of the tens of millions of dollars that we’re spending on issuance every month to fund core support functions like protocol development, software support, security auditing, government outreach, educational initiatives, and business development, or shall we instead send 100% of that money to miners?” Finally, Wilcox called for community members to make their voices heard, either on public forums or by emailing zcash. The Zcash Foundation is expected to publish a procedure for making a community decision “soon,” according to Wilcox, while ECC will publish a blog post setting out how it will assess proposals in the next few days. Zooko Wilcox image via CoinDesk archives • How Blockchain Voting Is Supposed to Work (But In Practice Rarely Does) • In First, Tezos Blockchain Activates Upgrade By Token Holder Voting \|\| BitMEX owner gives back to Bitcoin project with Michael Ford grant: HDR Global Trading, owner and operator of BitMEX, has awarded a $60,000 grant to Bitcoin Core contributor, Michael Ford (aka fanquake ). This recognises Fords contribution to the growth and maintenance of the Bitcoin ecosystem. In line with BitMEXs previous donation to the MIT Digital Currency initiative in May, the grant shows our commitment to improving FinTech innovation and giving back to the Bitcoin project, it said in a statement. The grant is non-exclusive and requires Ford to work on Bitcoin Core solely. Sam Reed, CTO and Co-founder of HDR Global Trading, says: Like all other companies in the cryptocurrency space, we rely heavily on the (mostly volunteer) work of coders dedicated to the mission and ideals of Bitcoin. This work is difficult, demanding, and often thankless. We believe it is the duty of corporations to give back to the projects from which they benefit and from which their very business model stems. He adds: Without the millions of free man-hours from dedicated OSS developers powering everything from our operating systems, to our web servers, to our ops tools and Bitcoin itself, the BitMEX trading platform could not have been built. We dont forget this gift. Therefore, HDR considers this grant, provided on a no-strings-attached basis, to be only a small part of an ongoing commitment to bolstering Bitcoin and other OSS projects for the benefit of all. The post BitMEX owner gives back to Bitcoin project with Michael Ford grant appeared first on Coin Rivet . [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] Otro abuso sexual al estilo "La Manada" a una menor en Espa�.. @1jl4com - clarincom - Twitter - News - Noticias - Bitcoin - CryptoCurrency https://t.co/3yWRxPm53W \|\| #MetaHash Co-Founder Gleb Nikitin Keeps Everyone 'in the Light' Through the #MetaGather Program https://t.co/HN1pckP1yL \|\| $davidlong4 \|\| FuturenetというSNSだとBitcoinが貰える！。プランをアップグレードすることでさらに配当金アップ。今なら無料でアップグレードしてくれるので急いで下さい！！ https://t.co/oD4TZdFkaz #Bitcoin #HYIP #投資 \|\| One Bitcoin now worth $10826.97@bitstamp. High $10955.480. Low $10549.740. Market Cap $193.650 Billion #bitcoin https://t.co/5fkd0ziCtv \|\| Education Libra (ELIBRA) AIRDROPS Referral: @criptohunter2 \|\| @dianagarza13 \|\| Market Sentiment Swings as Bitcoin Taps $10,000, But Strong Resistance Remains Ahead https://t.co/gDfnSy2NNA https://t.co/I7BpP7oCZx \|\| $EPAZ's Bitcoin Sharing & Blockchain Social Media App Webbeeo Is In Alpha Testing Phase https://www.owltmarket \|\| @najarapolari meu primo tá nessa kkkkkkjkkkkkkkk todo dia eh um story sobre bitcoin no instagram	Trend: down \|\| Prices: 10410.13, 10360.55, 10358.05, 10347.71, 10276.79, 10241.27, 10198.25, 10266.42, 10181.64, 10019.72
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis] Not fully available. [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Cats Clog Ethereum, the Sequel: Ethereum had another hairball, this time called “Stoner Cats.” Sales of the much-anticipated, star-studded animated series with a non-fungible token (NFT) tie-in resulted in losses of 344.6ETH($790,000) because of failed transactions at the show’s launch on Tuesday, according toDune Analytics. Demand was high for the rare crossover event between crypto and Hollywood that was developed by actress Mila Kunis and thatfeatured Ethereum creator Vitalik Buterinalongside a host of comedic legends. Some 10,420 Stoner Cats NFTs sold out at 0.35 ETH (about $785) within 40 minutes. This article is excerpted fromThe Node, CoinDesk’s daily roundup of the most pivotal stories in blockchain and crypto news. You can subscribe to get the fullnewsletter here. Related:A Play-to-Earn Account Beats a Bank Account Butmany ran into cat-astrophewhile minting their Stoner Cat NFTs. The influx of users throttled the Ethereum network and caused the pricing mechanism on the minting contract to present incorrectgas feeestimates. The high-profile event once again raises age-old questions about the limitations of the Ethereum protocol, as well as newer considerations about the responsibility creators have to their audience. According to industry publicationThe Defiant, the majority of users who lost out were likely those who attempted to mint 20 NFTs (the maximum allowed) without manually adjusting the gas limit in Metamask, which is a software cryptocurrency wallet that’s used to interact with the Ethereum blockchain. An influx of buyers temporarily drove Ethereum gas fees to $33.67 (from $9.50), according to analytics firm Defi Prime, meaning those whose bids placed earlier likely didn’t have enoughgweito pay for the entire transaction. Although those transactions failed, the gas was still paid. “In this case, the gas limit wasn’t set high enough to cover all steps in the transaction, so the transaction failed. However it’s not failing until it runs out, so ~100% of allocated gas is actually being used even without the transaction succeeding,”decentralized financedeveloper 0xWave theorized. Related:Market Wrap: Bitcoin Stalls Near $40K as Buyers Take Profits In crypto, the prevailing ideology is that people take responsibility for their actions. If you “ape into” an unaudited project and lose your shirt, that’s on you. In this instance, that mindset is complicated. As many have noted, it’s possible that Stoner Cat developers failed to anticipate the demand for the project and set the minimum gas price too low. The developers have reportedly blamed MetaMask, a key component of the Ethereum stack. It should be noted the showdelayed its NFT launchafter technical challenges on Monday. Another piece of the puzzle is the inbuilt limitations of Ethereum itself. Although it has ambitions to become a global computing platform for anyone to deploy unstoppable code, spiking gas fees and limited throughput (the rate of processing transactions) have long plagued the second-largest blockchain by market cap. “As usual, cats clogged Ethereum,” DeFi Prime tweeted, in a nod to the first successful NFT project, CryptoKitties, which infamously caused Ethereumto crawl to a halt in 2017. Back then, the cat-themeddappreportedly prevented 30,000 transactions from being processed. Transactions were delayed, people complained, and Ethereum’s core developers began work on a complete network overhaul, called Ethereum 2.0, which is still in progress. It can’t come soon enough. “Stoner Cats” is reportedly the first TV show entirely funded by NFTs, or at least the first that mainstream media cares about. It’s unlikely to be the last. The show raised over $8 million on Wednesday by selling NFTs. The production team plans to release a further 3,000 each episode. It’s a model that lets fans share in the wealth created while also giving its creators near-complete creative control. But there are still bugs to work out. “Stoned Awakening” – the series’ first episode – is set to premiere today. The “Stoner Cat” team said they have “fun stuff to try and make everyone feel good” after Wednesday’s minting meltdown. • Parsing 3 Types of Risk in Digital Assets • The Metaverse’s Emerging Economics \|\| Bitcoin Sell Signal To What Support?: The support levels that we are anticipating are: 44K and 41K. IF price manages to test one of these areas and produces an appropriate reversal, we would be prompted to share a new long swing What if these levels break? Then 37K and 35K are the next levels to consider. Keep in mind, timing markets is not about “predicting” where price will go, it is about ADJUSTING as price establishes new levels or provides actionable information around a predetermined level. Part of the adjustment is evaluating the reward/risk relative to the price structure. At 50K, the reward/risk was NOT favorable for longs which is why I had NO interest in putting on any new positions there. 44K and 41K are much more attractive since the next leg higher off of such a level can offer a potential of 6K points while keeping risk limited to about 4K points.With a ratio greater than 1:1 along with a reasonable probability that price can retest the 50K resistance is much more practical. SinceBitcoinis the leader, the majority of alt coins that follow Bitcoin are likely to behave in a similar way. If you would like to know more about our LONG only swing trade strategy, visit:https://greenbridgeinvesting.com/pricing. Thisarticlewas originally posted on FX Empire • Oil Bulls Resume Gains, Global Shutdown Concerns Ease • Dogecoin Attempts To Rebound After Strong Sell-Off • Bitcoin Sell Signal To What Support? • Tulip Mania in the Digital Age: How CryptoPunk NFTs Have Taken the World by Storm • Preview: Dollar General Q2 Earnings to Decline 17% • European Equities: German Business Sentiment in Focus Early in the Session \|\| BigONE Asia Releases Plans for Latin America on the Blockchain Summit Latam: Mr. Anndy Lian, Chairman of BigONE Asia, would be discussing the globalization plans of BigONE during this summit and how Latin America fits into this vision. BLEISWIJK, NETHERLANDS / ACCESSWIRE / July 29, 2021 / The Blockchain Summit Latam 2021, which will take place from September 6-10, 2021, is one of the most important blockchain and encrypted asset events held in Latin America each year. The Blockchain Summit Latam is more than just a conference; it is an ecosystem that brings together entrepreneurs, developers, companies, institutions, regulators, and blockchain technology enthusiasts to discuss and share ideas to build a new Internet of value and trust for teams working on the advancement of blockchain in Latin America. Due to the global epidemic, the Blockchain Summit Latam will be held online this year and live-streamed on YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, and other social media platforms. Highlights of the 2021 Blockchain Summit Latam People would look at the development of blockchain and digital assets so far in 2021 from compliance and supervision at the summit. Notable events include the passage into law of a regulation that makes Bitcoin legal tender in El Salvador, the first of its kind for the blockchain ecosystem. From the standpoint of user engagement, the emergence of 'Animal or meme coins' would also be discussed. They have led the trend to promote complete decentralization of the ecosystem and gain massive traction in cryptocurrency circles. During this summit, other milestones achieved in the NFT, DeFi and other sectors in the ecosystem would be considered in terms of industry technological advancement. They continue to show progressive growth and set the path for the future of blockchain. At this summit, industry leaders and blockchain experts worldwide will look at these events and discuss issues relating to technological research and development, innovation, and the cryptocurrency market in domains such as global regulation, economic impact, DeFi, and other practical applications. Story continues Mr. Anndy Lian, the newly appointed Chairman of BigONE Asia, was specially invited as a guest speaker during this summit and gave a critical keynote address on Day 2: The Latin America Ecosystem. Mr. Anndy, a global government relations expert with over 15 years of experience, will be discussing international supervision, the economy, DeFi, and current issues in the Latin American blockchain ecosystem with other guests. Mr. Anndy also served as the keynote speaker at the World E-sports and Blockchain Summit, alongside other notable figures such as former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon. So far, Latin America has been one of the key regions with the highest rate of cryptocurrency and digital asset adoption. It is also regarded as one of the first areas where blockchain technology has been implemented. This demonstrates a very positive attitude toward blockchain and its underlying use cases. Mr. Anndy, Chairman of BigONE Asia, sees Latin America as a critical international market for BigONE. Accordingly, it seeks to accelerate its globalization strategy to foster the growth of the cryptocurrency/digital assets ecosystem. When asked about the role of Latin America in the future of blockchain technology and how this region can help facilitate growth, Mr. Anndy said, ' Latin America has shown so far, with their mass adoption of blockchain technology over the years, that they have a high level of trust in the potential of blockchain technology as the foundation for the future of the world, and at BigONE, we believe this is the case and are looking to identify with key regions like this to foster the growth of cryptocurrencies and to aid BigONE's globalization.' About BigONE BigONE is a global cryptocurrency exchange that provides a platform for trading various cryptocurrencies. It was founded in 2017 and registered in the Netherlands. The group operates in Russia, Brazil, Vietnam, Seychelles, Singapore, Japan, and Indonesia, providing marketing, investment, and blockchain technology research & development. As it stands, there are over a thousand users from Latin America registered with BigONE. Mr. Anndy Lian, the newly appointed Chairman of BigONE Asia, will attend the Blockchain Summit Latam this year in the hopes of accelerating BigONE's globalization and onboarding more Latin American users to trade cryptocurrencies on BigONE exchange actively. In addition, BigONE's global business compliance and development would benefit from this. This summit would also be Mr. Anndy Lian's first official event since being appointed Chairman of BigONE Asia. Media Contact Company: BigONE Contact: Anndy Lian E-mail: [email protected] Website: https://www.bigone.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/BigONEexchange SOURCE: BigONE View source version on accesswire.com: https://www.accesswire.com/657627/BigONE-Asia-Releases-Plans-for-Latin-America-on-the-Blockchain-Summit-Latam \|\| Why Decentralized Gaming is the Future: The following post was written and/or published as a collaboration between Benzinga’s in-house sponsored content team and a financial partner of Benzinga. There is a sizable overlap between the blockchain community and the gaming community. Tech-savvy people who are fascinated with blockchain also tend to be people interested in gaming and actively partake in it. This has been seen with the popularity of NFTs in the gaming sector, with many rare and valuable NFTs being traded within games. So far, one frontier that has not been fully explored up until now was decentralized gaming i.e games built and operated entirely on decentralized technology. Recent efforts seem to correct this, including the launch of Ulti Arena, a marketplace specifically for trading gaming assets with a view to blockchain technology. Ulti is rolling out some amazing new products, including an NFT marketplace for gamers and developers, a proof-of-gaming consensus, and a crypto trading card game. How Ulti Works Ulti is a platform that is seeking to help gamers, artists, and developers better monetize their offerings through its marketplace and innovative features. It is the first NFT Marketplace for Game Assets built on Binance Smart Chain and prioritizes the ability to track digital asset usage on a blockchain network. First, it allows for the tokenization and trading of in-game assets. Assets such as skins, tools, and even characters have been traded within and outside of the gaming world for years but with Ulti’s marketplace, these assets can be securely traded with proper, irrefutable records of transfers of ownership, as well as increased revenue for the developers and artists behind the assets. Some of the offerings to be put up for sale include unique 2D/3D assets, music, sound, and UI/HUD elements. As for the games that are not based on blockchain, Ulti will be launching a proof-of-gaming/Play2Earn program, including some of the biggest games in the industry like Dota 2 and LOL. This method has been praised for being much more sustainable and eco-friendly compared to current mechanisms like the proof-of-work used on blockchains like Bitcoin. Story continues It taps into the financial aspect of blockchain in that developers can create NFT versions of their creations and then make a living from selling them. This also benefits fans who will have access to exclusive digital assets that cannot be found anywhere else, reproduced, or owned by anyone else. 30% of the revenue generated through platform fees will be used buyback and then burn the platform’s native ULTI token in order to manage its supply. The token can be purchased directly through its incoming sale on Pancake Swap which begins from September 12, 2021, or can be ‘mined’ by playing games. The Proof-of-Gaming concept used for the creation of ULTI tokens means that the more users play the games, the more tokens they will receive. The mining of tokens through gameplay is called proof-of-gaming and is a revolutionary way to benefit games and the crypto industry simultaneously. Players are encouraged to interact with games within the ecosystem for the opportunity to earn rewards, thus benefiting both the people who designed the games and the gamers themselves. Ulti has also put measures in place to make sure that the game is as deflationary as possible. First, there is a 6% tax on all transactions and this amount charged is distributed in the following ways. The first third of the 6% tax (2%) is distributed back to all token holders. This highlights another benefit of holding the ULTI token which is that users can earn even more tokens simply by HODLing. Another 2% of the token tax burned instantly to keep the supply low and the price of the token high. The final 2% is put away in a liquidity pool that helps sustain the ecosystem in the long term. Ulti also has plans to launch its own crypto trading card game, effectively combining blockchain and gaming, which is at the core of its operations, in development with Remote Control Productions and Frag Games. All these will follow its September 12, 2021, PancakeSwap sale. Blockchain and Gaming Blockchain technology is on track to revolutionize the gaming world, especially when it comes to the monetization of assets. Just like it did with the world of art, NFTs will allow for in-game assets and features to be bought by fans who are passionate about them and will help foster a mutually beneficial relationship between them and the developers of the games. With platforms like Ulti leading the way, we can expect to see even more interaction between the two industries moving forward. The preceding post was written and/or published as a collaboration between Benzinga’s in-house sponsored content team and a financial partner of Benzinga. Although the piece is not and should not be construed as editorial content, the sponsored content team works to ensure that any and all information contained within is true and accurate to the best of their knowledge and research. This content is for informational purposes only and not intended to be investing advice. © 2021 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| Cardano Nears All-Time High as Investors Await Smart Contracts: The price of cardano ( ADA ), the native token of the Cardano blockchain, neared an all-time high Thursday, rising to $2.44, as investors await a September release for the planned “Alonzo” upgrade for the blockchain – a move that will usher in smart-contract functionality and thus address what critics have described as one of the network’s most glaring deficiencies. At press time, ADA was trading at $2.35, up 14% during the past 24 hours, based on CoinDesk pricing. ADA reached an all-time-high price of $2.47 in May. Lead Cardano developer Input Output recently announced a timeline for the Alonzo upgrade, targeting Sept. 12 for the final release date. Smart-contract functionality would allow Cardano to incorporate more applications, including decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms that allow for automated cryptocurrency lending and trading. The improvement could put the network in a better position to challenge Ethereum, currently the leader among blockchains with smart-contract functionality. In a prediction market started in July that allows participants to bet on whether Cardano can release smart-contract functionality by Oct. 1 , the betting contract was trading at 79 cents as of press time. That is up from 30 cents on July 18 when the market was first launched but down from its all-time high of 85 cents on Aug. 12 and Aug. 15. The betting contract pays out $1 of the stablecoin USDC if Cardano succeeds in meeting the timeline. Correction (21:43 UTC, Aug. 19, 2021): An earlier version of this story erroneously stated that Cardano had hit an all-time price. This story has been corrected to show that the price rose close to an all-time high. Related Stories Cardano Price Hits All-Time High, Overtakes Binance Coin as Third-Most Valuable Crypto Solana’s Luna Yield Goes Dark With Some Fearing a ‘Rug Pull’ Involving $6.7M Market Wrap: Bitcoin Expected to Hold Support Above $45K VC Firm FinTech Collective Raises $250M to Support New DeFi Strategy \|\| MOS Set to Launch on August 25th: BERLIN, GERMANY / ACCESSWIRE / August 20, 2021 / MOS, the new Proof-of-Stake based staking investment project cryptocurrency enthusiasts is set to launch on the 25 th of August, which could replace banks' certified deposit. Since 1960, the First National City Bank of New York (now Citibank) had invented the revolutionary Certified Deposit (CD) investment product. Its fixed return attracted investors and raised funds for banks to operate their lendings and investments. Certified Deposit had remained popular all these years, but by the 21st century, the gains from the interest rates of the conventional Certified Deposit could not keep up with the asset depreciation caused by currency inflation. The Cryptocurrency industry and Defi world had invented a 'Staking' investment that mimicked the Certified Deposit model, but with a better design and return rate. One of these 'Staking' Defi investment projects known as MOS, it is a High-Yield Time-Locked Deposit that works just like traditional banks' Certified Deposit, but with a higher return rate, asset growth, flexibility and convenience. It's an upcoming cryptocurrency investment that is designed to grow in value. What is MOS Staking? MOS, the High-Yield Time-Locked Deposit shares some basic concepts of Certified Deposit, investors save their crypto-assets on the platform for the desired length of time, in exchange for high-yielding defined returns. This is a less volatile alternative for average investors to approach cryptocurrency and makes it another income stream, just like how they do with a conventional CD (certified deposit). The crucial element that makes MOS stands out is that MOS features a 7.8% annual yield, where conventional investments find it hard to match. The way MOS works is simple and focused. Investors buy $MOS and enter into a smart contract where they agree to hold on to their MOS and stake for a set period. The MOS network will reward the stakers (staking investors) with an agreed % of interest growth. The MOS network will hold a daily auction of $MOS available from a limited supply throughout the entire launching phase. Buyers bid for $MOS using USDT, with payouts determined by their ultimate portion among the total bid pool. The auction proceeds are used to buy $MOS at a better rate as compared to major Decentralised Exchanges. In this way, the daily auction's sale produces an upward drive to $MOS value, promoting $MOS value appreciation for the stakers and holders. MOS Staking Interests A fundamental element in staking $MOS is that people's interest payout will increase proportionally to the longer period they stake, or the larger the amount they stake. Story continues Secondly, users' stake will generate sustaining interests while their stake is active. Users will receive dividend-gaining M-shares that receives interest payout from a minimum of 7.8% to 780% based on the size of the staked pool on a daily basis. Thirdly, two exclusive bonuses known as Gifting Bonus 1 and 2 will be awarded to stakers who staked during the launch phase and surpassed or meet the bonus release day on 365th(1st year) and 730th day (2nd year). That means being an early stakers in $MOS will be entitled to the once in lifetime exclusive Gifting Bonuses! Gifting Bonus 1 pays a minimum of 19billion $MOS and Gifting Bonus 2 pays a minimum of 20billion $MOS; plus, some unclaimed $MOS from other allocations and penalties will continue to be added to the Gifting Bonus Pool throughout the year. MOS Preventative Structure MOS has adopted an early-revocation penalty for the stakers who ends their staking contract prematurely. This discourages stakers from early termination/ withdrawal to capitalise on the higher MOS value with a massive sell-off. This structure reduces the worries of massive selloff price volatility that comes with conventional cryptocurrencies. Additionally, MOS adopted a scaling interest system that pays additional rewards and interests for long-term stakeholders. The longer users remain staked, or the larger the staked amount, the better interests they earn. The early-revocation penalty prevents anyone from hodling too much of $MOS's total supply to manipulate the market. In many ways, it's a self-correcting arrangement that delivers strong returns to all stakers & holders involved, a system built to benefit all with stability and predictable returns. Limited Supply Pushes Demand The crucial thing that makes Bitcoin different from Dogecoin is that Bitcoin has limited supply but Dogecoin didn't. Bitcoin is scarce and valuable, while there are trillions of Doge to be disposed of. Since its inception, MOS was designed in a limited supply structure, this is to limit the inflation factor and keep the demand driving. When the user stakes $MOS, the $MOS will be locked away in a staking contract and would not be in circulation until it is matured. Secondly, there will be only 7.8% of $MOS being newly minted every year across the whole network as the annual percentage yield (APY) paid to the stakers. By limiting the overall supply, it will become a positive upward pressure to $MOS price as Stakers are paid to HODL. The Community Believes In MOS, MOS Launches on 25 th August 2021 MOS, the new Proof-of-Stake based staking investment project cryptocurrency enthusiasts is set to launch on the 25 th of August 2021 UTC 12:00. With the crypto industry and investors interested in another staking platform, MOS is potentially one of users' best next staking investment crypto assets opportunities. 'At MOS our community is supportive in our potential staking interests and project growth. We are seeing an ever-increasing likelihood that Proof-of-Stake based blockchain network will achieve broad adoption and value appreciation. We are excited to offer this opportunity to our community' Right until now, the Ethereum network based cryptocurrency assets are not an easy asset to get a hold of, due to the high Ethereum gas fee and high entry fee of the existing staking platform. MOS intends to add value and significant returns for our community by launching a new staking investment opportunity with an accessible entry-level, combined with continuous interest dividends, and quick asset growth. Plus, MOS is built on the TRON network which has a much lower transaction fee, matching adaptable blockchain network, secured PoS Blockchain network, and fast-growing Dapps ecosystem. 'The adoption of cryptocurrency as an investment product is escalating, especially the demand for staking, we expect this trend to be long-term in nature, due to the structure of continuous asset growth and interest dividends of staking projects such as MOS.' Last month, MOS held its Senatus Round (Early-Sale Round), it received enormous attention and excitement from the community. This reflects that a huge part of the community is eager to be a part of MOS especially learning the advantages of staking and its unique design in $MOS. The official launch on 25th August will be a highly anticipated day for MOS and our community. Eager to learn more about MOS? Stay tuned to MOS's social media： Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/themos.io Twitter: https://twitter.com/themos_io Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/themos.io/ Media Contact Company: Themos LLC Contact: Schneider Becker, Marketing Director Telephone: +49 171 253 5849 Email: [email protected] Website: https://themos.io/ Address: Fasanenstraße 33, 10719 Berlin, Germany SOURCE: Themos LLC View source version on accesswire.com: https://www.accesswire.com/660676/MOS-Set-to-Launch-on-August-25th View comments \|\| How To File Taxes for a Deceased Relative: Upon a death in the family, there will likely be a number of unpleasant tasks to perform, including filing taxes for deceased loved ones. Because death and taxes are inevitable, there’s a good chance you’ll have to file a decedent’s final federal — and state, if applicable — income tax return in the future. Find Out:Can You Afford To Die in Your State?Take Action:27 Genius Things Retirees Should Do With Their Money Right Now When you’re the surviving relative of a deceased person, learn the basics of filing taxes for a deceased taxpayer. The IRS requires someone to file taxes for the relative who has passed. “A final return can be submitted by the surviving spouse or a personal representative,” said Andrew Oswalt, CPA and tax analyst for TaxAct, a tax preparation software company. “A personal representative of an estate is an executor of estate, executor of will, administrator or anyone who is in charge of the decedent’s will to administer the estate and distribute properties,” he continued. “An administrator is usually appointed by the probate court if no will exists, if no executor was named in the will or if the named executor cannot or will not serve.” Additionally, when filing taxes for deceased with no estate, an administrator also has to be appointed. The personal representative can also serve as theexecutor of the decedent’s will. When a personal representative prepares a decedent’s tax return, they must write the word “deceased,” the decedent’s name and the date of death across the top of the return — and sign it. When the decedent did not appoint a personal representative, the surviving spouse must sign the return and write “filing as surviving spouse” on it. Sign your name along with your late spouse’s if you’re filing or e-filing income tax using a joint return. When a deceased taxpayer refund check is due, you might need to fileForm 1310— Statement of a Person Claiming Refund Due a Deceased Taxpayer. Form 1310 isn’t required if a surviving spouse is filing a joint return with the decedent. See:What Happens to Your Bitcoin When You Die? Filing income tax for a deceased parent is different from filing regular tax returns. You must keep in mind that a decedent’s income is generally counted from the beginning of the year to the day they died. One exception to this is medical bills — to claim those as deductible expenses, the estate must pay them within a year of the decedent’s date of death. These medical expenses cannot be included onForm 706U.S. Estate Tax Return. Find Out:Medical Expenses You Can Deduct From Your Taxes When you inherit property or money from a deceased person, you might wonder if it will be considered taxable income. Currently, only six states charge an inheritance tax, and inheritance tax exemptions also exist. But uponselling inherited property, you might have to pay taxes on the profits you receive, depending on the basis of inherited property. When you inherit a traditional IRA from someone other than your spouse, you can’t treat the inherited IRA as your own. You must make a trustee-to-trustee transfer to an IRA in the name of the decedent. Different taxation rules apply to distributions from inherited IRAs if you were married to the decedent. As a late individual’s spouse, you have three options when you inherit an IRA: 1. Designate yourself as the account owner. 2. Designate yourself as the beneficiary of the IRA. 3. Roll it over into a traditional IRA or another qualified plan. In the event that the decedent invested in a Roth IRA, there are specific rules about distributions, too. Because inheriting an IRA can be tricky tax-wise, consider getting a tax professional’s advice regarding your best option. Take a Look:Tax Mistakes Everyone Makes — and How To Avoid Them Normally, you mustfile an estate tax returnfor a decedent, but that varies based on the type of estate. According to the IRS, if the decedent had “relatively simple estates” such as publicly traded securities, small amounts of other easily valued assets, and no special deductions or elections, or jointly held property, you do not need to file an estate tax return. But in the event that the decedent had an estate that is subject to a tax, there areways to reduce their estate tax. Criminals often try to steal a decedent’s identity. “The risks are real — deceased persons’ identities are stolen every year,” Oswalt said. “Many death records are public, and many thieves use that information to their advantage.” To prevent theft of a decedent’s identity, take the following steps outlined by the IRS: • Omit personal information — such as birth date, address, mother’s maiden name — from the decedent’s obituary. • Give the IRS death notification by sending it a copy of the death certificate immediately. • Send copies of the death certificate to the three credit reporting bureaus and instruct them to put a “deceased alert” on the decedent’s credit report. • Review the deceased’s credit report for any questionable activity. Related:7 Signs You’re the Victim of a Tax Scam Filing taxes for deceased relatives and handling other wills and probate obligations can be confusing, time-consuming and unpleasant. Consider enlisting the aid of an accountant or other tax professional to assist you during this stressful time. More From GOBankingRates • Take Our Poll: Are You Actually Spending Your Child Tax Credit Payment? • 5 Things Most Americans Don’t Know About Social Security • Here’s How Much You Need To Earn To Be ‘Rich’ in Every State • The Hidden Costs of Education at Every Level Cynthia MeasomandTaylor Bellcontributed to the reporting for this article. Last updated: Aug. 20, 2021 This article originally appeared onGOBankingRates.com:How To File Taxes for a Deceased Relative \|\| Bitcoin Is Moving Towards $50,000: Bitcoinmanaged to get above the resistance at $48,000 and continues to move towards the psychologically important $50,000 level. Meanwhile,Ethereumclimbed above the resistance at $3,600 and is trying to gain additional upside momentum. Smaller cryptocurrencies likeDogecoinorXRPfailed to develop material momentum, and it looks that traders interest is concentrated in Bitcoin and Ethereum today. Bitcoin Dominance, which measures the market capitalization of Bitcoin as a percentage of total crypto market capitalization, is stuck near 41%. Bitcoin’s recent rebound failed to provide significant support to Bitcoin Dominance which indicates that traders’ interest in altcoins remains strong. Bitcoin continues to move higher and is trying to settle above the resistance level at $48,000. RSI remains in the moderate territory, and there is plenty of room to gain additional upside momentum in case the right catalysts emerge. A successful test of the resistance at $48,000 will open the way to the test of the next resistance level at $50,000. In case Bitcoin gets above the key resistance at $50,000, it will attract more speculative traders and head towards the next resistance level which is located at $51,500. A move above the resistance at $51,500 will open the way to the test of the resistance at $53,000. If Bitcoin manages to settle above the resistance at $53,000, it will move towards the next resistance level at $55,000. On the support side, Bitcoin needs to get back below $48,000 to have a chance to develop downside momentum in the near term. The next support level for Bitcoin is located at the 20 EMA at $47,300. If Bitcoin declines below the 20 EMA, it will head towards the support at $46,000. A successful test of this support level will lead to a test of the support at the 50 EMA at $45,500. If Bitcoin declines below the 50 EMA, it will continue its downside move and head towards the support level at $44,000. For a look at all of today’s economic events, check out oureconomic calendar. Thisarticlewas originally posted on FX Empire • Bitcoin Is Moving Towards $50,000 • Oil Bulls’ Morale High On Supply Squeeze • Move Aside Millennials. Baby Boomers Won’t Be Left Behind In Bitcoin Adoption • EOS, Stellar’s Lumen, and Tron’s TRX – Daily Analysis – September 16th, 2021 • GBP/USD Daily Forecast – British Pound Moves Lower Against U.S. Dollar • Eurozone Trade Surplus Widens but Fails to Impress the EUR ahead of Lagarde \|\| Gold, Oil Prices Slump, Fedspeak, Bitcoin - What's Moving Markets: By Peter Nurse Investing.com -- Gold and oil prices slump amid worries of growing Covid cases in China and the possibility of early Fed tightening, while bitcoin recovers. Fedspeak will also be in focus, with Raphael Bostic and Thomas Barkin scheduled to talk later Monday. Also of interest will be the passage of the long-awaited U.S. infrastructure bill. Here's what you need to know in financial markets on Monday, 9th August. 1. Gold, oil prices slump Hurting sentiment Monday has been sharp falls in gold and oil prices as investors attempt to digest the growing number of Covid-19 cases, primarily in China, as well gains for the U.S. dollar after Friday’s strong nonfarm payrolls release. The number of cases in China has hit a six-month high, with millions of people now put under lockdown and mass testing being conducted across the country. China is the largest exporter of oil in the world, as well as the second largest consumer, and these measures will likely curb economic growth and oil demand. Goldman Sachs downgraded its economic growth forecasts for China, cutting its full-year GDP growth forecast to 8.3% from 8.6%, according to a report released late Sunday, with the current quarter reduced to 2.3% from 5.8% previously. By 5:25 AM ET (0925 GMT), U.S. crude futures were down 4.4% at $65.30 a barrel, after falling nearly 7% last week, the steepest weekly decline in nine months, while Brent futures were down 4.1% at $67.78 a barrel, having dropped 6% last week, the biggest weekly loss in four months. Gold prices also slumped to the lowest level since March, falling below $1,700/oz before posting a minor recovery to currently change hands for $1,746.70/oz, 0.9% lower, around 4% lower over the last week. The sharp drop in Asian trading raised speculation of a forced liquidation, but the jobs report also resulted in the dollar and bond yields trading higher, never a good combination for commodities. 2. Fed speakers to add to tapering debate With Friday’s jobs report causing fretting in the market about the potential of early tightening, speeches from various Federal Reserve members will be studied carefully this week. Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic and Richmond Fed head Thomas Barkin start the ball rolling on Monday, followed by Chicago Fed President Charles Evans on Tuesday and Kansas City Fed President Esther George on Wednesday. The tide seems to be turning towards a tapering of the Fed’s massive bond-buying program being announced this year, something that influential memberRichard Claridasuggested as a possibility last week. Bostic and Barkin are also known to lean towards tapering so their comments will be closely watched later Monday. 3. Stocks set to open lower; earnings continue U.S. stocks are set to open marginally lower, slipping from record levels after Friday’s healthy payrolls data. By 5:25 AM ET, Dow Jones futures were down 125 points, or 0.4%, while S&P 500 futures were down 8 points, or 0.2%, while Nasdaq 100 futures edged up just 4 points, or less than 0.1%. The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average closed over 144 points, or 0.4%, higher Friday at an all-time high of 35,208.51, while the broad-based S&P 500 rose 0.2% to also post a record close. The Nasdaq Composite bucked the trend, dipping 0.4%. The second-quarter earnings season is drawing to a close, but there are still a number of influential companies set to report this week. This includes the likes of AMC Entertainment (NYSE:AMC), Coinbase Global (NASDAQ:COIN), Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS), Airbnb (NASDAQ:ABNB) and DoorDash (NYSE:DASH). 4. Infrastructure bill The much-debated $1 trillion U.S.infrastructure billlooks set to be put to a vote early this week, after clearing its last procedural hurdles in the U.S. Senate late Sunday, achieving broad bipartisan support. The legislation is a cornerstone of President Joe Biden’s economic agenda, and would result in the largest U.S. investment in roads and bridges in decades. The bill includes $110 billion in new spending for roads and bridges, $73 billion for electric grid upgrades, $66 billion for rail and Amtrak, as well as $65 billion for broadband expansion. It also provides $55 billion for clean drinking water and $39 billion for transit. The legislation still faces challenges in the House of Representatives as the Democrats have only a very small majority. 5. Bitcoin recovery The price of bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, slipped a little during Monday’s session, but has made something of a recovery after the dip of the last couple of months. By 5:25 AM ET, Bitcoin traded at $43,590, down 0.3% on the day, but up over 11% over the past week, climbing above the $45,000 level. Helping the tone have been reports, admittedly unconfirmed, that retail giant Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) is preparing to accept the digital currency as payment for its goods and services in the near future and Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) is considering adding some bitcoin to its balance sheet. That said, the pressure from officialdom continues, with the Washington Post reporting that U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has raised objections to a potential amendment to an infrastructure bill that would exclude certain crypto companies from the reporting requirements for brokers. Related Articles Gold, Oil Prices Slump, Fedspeak, Bitcoin - What's Moving Markets Dixie Fire, still raging, is now California's second-largest wildfire ever Private equity firms revise China strategy as regulatory crackdown widens \|\| Why China is cracking down on certain publicly-traded companies, according to Carson Block: Short seller Carson Block gained notoriety for exposing the fraudulent accounting practices of U.S.-listed Chinese companies. But the founder of Muddy Waters Capital now believes the days of Chinese companies tapping American capital markets are over. In an interview with Yahoo Finance Live, Block attributedthe recent regulatory crackdownon China’s largest firms to an acceptance by Beijing’s leadership that the delisting of its U.S.-listed firms is "inevitable." “I think Xi Jinping is saying look, U.S.-listed companies need to understand that they have to find an alternate way of accessing capital markets. Come back to the mainland, come to Hong Kong, but their days in the U.S. are numbered,” Block said. “If Chinese companies largely get out of the U.S. before the mandate to delist kicks in, then it kind of looks to Xi's domestic audience, like Chinese companies left the U.S. out of strength, as opposed to being thrown out.” Congress passed a law last year, banning foreign companies from listing their securities on U.S. exchanges for failing to comply with American rules for three consecutive years. The Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act was signed into law in response to concerns that Chinese firms were skirting financial auditing by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB), a nonprofit corporation Congress created in 2002, because of Chinese resistance to overseas inspections of its companies’ audits. The law’s three-year grace period has forced Chinese firms to reconsider their options: comply with disclosure requirements that could put them at odds with regulators back home, or move their securities outside of U.S. exchanges. “I always thought China would give in at the 11th hour on auditor inspections. And the reason I thought that was because so many [Chinese Communist Party] officials have undisclosed stakes in these U.S.-listed China companies,” Block said. “But I think Xi Jinping has decided not to give on auditor inspections. And I think that's because, right now, he has to play to this domestic audience of not being bullied around by the U.S.” Block said recent crackdowns on some of the biggest Chinese firms are proof of that. Following ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing’s (DIDI) $4.4 billion IPO in June, China’s Cybersecurity regulators opened an investigation into the firm and banned the app from accepting new users, causing its U.S.-listed shares to plummet. TheWall Street Journal reportedBeijing officials urged Didi to delay its listing over concerns IPO documents required by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) could contain sensitive information and data. Last month, China-based tutoring firms New Oriental Education & Technology Group (EDU), TAL Education Group (TAL), and Gaotu Techedu Inc. (GOTU). saw their shares fall more than 40% as regulators attempted to exert control over the industry, by calling on the firms to go nonprofit. Earlier this week, Tencent (TCEHY) was briefly toppled as Asia’s most valuable company, after state-run media ran an article,calling online gaming "a spiritual opium.” Combined, the regulatory shake-ups have erased more than $1 trillion from the market value of U.S.-listed Chinese stocks. “I think that from the Wall Street perspective, the perspective of the banks and asset managers, they're not liking this because they want to continue to sell the dream to U.S. investors and make the fees associated with that,” Block said. “I do personally think it's healthy if less U.S. retail money and pension money gets put into these things.” The scrutiny in China has come, as the SEC looks to tighten the screws to protect American investors. Last week, SEC Commissioner Gary Genslerhalted all IPOs of Chinese firms, pending further risk disclosures. Block said the regulatory squeeze is likely to push more Chinese firms to seek listings in Hong Kong and the mainland markets, over the next three years. Many firms, including Alibaba (BABA), JD.com (JD), and NetEase (NTES) have already sought secondary listings on the Hong Kong Exchange. But Block said he doesn’t believe the Hong Kong market has the liquidity to support a wholesale relisting of Chinese securities in the U.S., leading to consolidation. “I think your tier one U.S.-listed China companies will be able to find reasonable markets over in Hong Kong, meaning some liquidity, etc. It won't be anything like the liquidity in the U.S. But your tier two and tier three companies are going to have problems,” he said. "I think that maybe you can start to see some acquisitions over time of these tier two companies by the tier ones because they just — there's not enough liquidity in HK." Akiko Fujita is an anchor and reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter@AkikoFujita • Bitcoin mining crackdown in China is a boon for Texas • Two-time Olympian celebrates NCAA rule change: ‘This is the tide that lifts all boats’ • GM launches $25 million climate equity fund aimed at making EV future accessible [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] None available.	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 42235.73, 41034.54, 41564.36, 43790.89, 48116.94, 47711.49, 48199.95, 49112.90, 51514.81, 55361.45
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2022-09-12] BTC Price: 22370.45, BTC RSI: 61.32 Gold Price: 1728.10, Gold RSI: 47.07 Oil Price: 87.78, Oil RSI: 45.40 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Institutional Investors Are Increasingly Using Crypto Options Trading to Hedge Their Bets in Bear Market: In the current bear market, crypto options trading has been a rare bright spot, building momentum even as crypto prices have plunged. A number of crypto exchanges have noted rising trading volume after reaching lows earlier this year. Options strategies have figured prominently among institutional investors and even miners as they try to weather crypto’s usual volatility and a downturn that could last for months, or longer, despite recent hopeful macroeconomic signs. More recently, traders have been using the crypto options market to bet on ether ( ETH ) and hedge positions as the Ethereum blockchain’s hotly anticipated Merge approaches . Panama-based derivatives platform Deribit, which is among the world’s largest exchanges for crypto options trading volume, told CoinDesk demand is surging ahead of the Merge. ETH options on Deribit spike ahead of the Merge (Deribit) Earlier this week, in a disappointing second-quarter earnings report, crypto exchange giant Coinbase (COIN) even alluded to traders migrating to derivatives-focused platforms as a reason for declining trading volume. Coinbase’s dipping volume led to a 30% decline in the company’s revenue, below most analysts’ estimates. “A larger amount of trading volume took place at offshore exchanges in Q2,” Coinbase said in its report, adding: “The sequential decline in Q2 institutional trading volume was primarily driven by lower market maker volume on our trading platform. These market participants gravitate towards products such as derivatives and financing products, which are areas we’re continuing to invest in but we don’t currently have product parity with offshore exchanges.” A young market? Bitcoin options trading accounts for only 2% of open derivatives contracts across exchanges trading the cryptocurrency, whose market cap is about $462 billion, according to structure product provider Enhanced Digital Group (EDG). By comparison, traditional options trading of stocks accounts for 20% of the market cap of the S&P 500 at the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), EDG said. “When you think of all the other [S&P 500]-like products including [exchange-traded funds], SP Minis, etc., you can see that bitcoin options have multifold growth ahead of it,” EDG’s quant developer, Marcin Maksymiuk, told CoinDesk. Story continues Sudden market shocks, technological improvements and a maturing futures market will all contribute to the growth of options, according to Delta Exchange CEO Pankaj Balani. Delta generates over $200 million in options trading volume per day, and Balani said that “options provide a way for people to get engaged with the market even in a sideways environment.” He foresees options eventually accounting for 60% of the crypto trading market. Peter Wisniewski, managing partner of crypto-focused alternative investment fund Europa Partners, told CoinDesk the firm expects “the market to continue to mature with greater price efficiency and liquidity.” Wisniewski said the markets will likely tie options to a widening range of digital assets. “Currently, the only crypto derivatives markets with significant liquidity are priced to bitcoin and ether, but we expect to see a continual increase of derivative instruments priced to other types of digital assets, reducing volatility and driving more investment into the space,” Wisniewski added. Crypto options open interest versus the S&P 500 options open interest (EDG) Miners In recent months, cryptocurrency miners, who have been hit hard by bitcoin’s plunge, have used derivative strategies to hedge price exposure and limit their downside risk. Miner Argo Blockchain even hired an in-house derivatives trader in July to weather the market rout and determine hedging strategies going forward. Crypto financial services firm Galaxy Digital, which has a division dedicated to lending and risk management for miners, avoided miner-related losses during the second quarter through the use of derivative strategies, according to CEO Michael Novogratz during the company’s earnings call this week. Novogratz said that he expects to expand these offerings for miners and other clients. How fast crypto options trading evolves remains uncertain, even as firms add exposure and pinpoint the products and services that can help them manage risk. EDG CEO Chris Bae noted that miner and institutional platforms’ use of derivative strategies remain in an early stage and that crypto options trading volumes "have yet to hit their j-curve when it comes to their adoption and growth.” “We are seeing our partners use this sell-off to hire option and derivative talent to staff for the opportunity,” Bae said. Read more: Crypto Options Trading, Explained \|\| US stocks close mixed as investors brace for key labor market data: • Stocks traded mixed Thursday as investors look to Friday's key jobs report. • The upcoming nonfarm payrolls report will be a key data point in the recession conversation. • Meanwhile, the Treasury yield curve has remained inverted for over a month. US stocks were little changed on Thursday as markets look ahead to a key jobs report amid heightening recession fears. Markets are waiting on nonfarm payroll data set to be released at 8:30 a.m. Friday morning. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg expect employers to have added 250,000 jobs last month compared to 372,000 new jobs added in June. The report is eagerly anticipated after data released this month showed the US GDP contracted for a second straight quarter, meeting the technical definition of a recession. "[I]f we do see a reduction in hiring, even at the expected number, it looks much more likely to be due to a shortage of workers, rather than a sudden shock to labor demand," according to Brad McMillan, chief investment officer for Commonwealth Financial Network. "With demand strong, what matters here is labor availability." Meanwhile, a key indicator of a coming recession has been flashing for a month straight,as the 2- and 10-year Treasury yields inversion deepens. Here's where US indexes stood as the market closed 4:00 p.m. on Thursday: • S&P 500: 4,152.02, down 0.08% • Dow Jones Industrial Average: 32,726.99, down 0.26% (85.51 points) • Nasdaq Composite:12,720.58, up 0.41% The rebound in stocks since June looks more like a new bull market than a bear rally, according to Ned Davis Research. The firm is basing its bullish outlook onseveral key technical indicatorsthat are pointing upward. Goldman Sachs disagrees, however, and said Thursday thestock market is heading for another big sell-offunless the economic data turns more upbeat. Separately, a Goldman analyst said there'sno quick fix to the global energy crisiswith OPEC+ capacity at a 20-year low. And yet, at the same time, Saudi Arabia is on track to notch itsfirst budget surplus in over a decadethanks to soaring crude prices amid the energy crunch. A German refiner is reportedly seeing a run on oil and diesel as heat waves and supply constraints spark chaos in Europe's energy market, according to Bloomberg. OMV Germany said Thursday that there'smarket speculation and hoarding happening. Bank of America forecasted Thursday that new sanctions on Russian crude could push oil prices above$130 a barrel. Oil slipped, withWest Texas Intermediatedown 2.44% to $88.45 a barrel.Brent crude, the international benchmark, dipped 2.83% to $94.04 a barrel. Goldedged higher 1.86% to 1,809.50 per ounce. The10-year yielddipped 6.9 basis points to 2.679%. Bitcoinfell 4.08% to $22,523.01. Read the original article onBusiness Insider \|\| Dow leads stocks lower after run of downbeat economic data: Stocks finished lower on Tuesday as a run of downbeat economic data pressured markets on the week's second trading day. When the closing bell rang on Wall Street, the S&P 500 was down 0.2%, the Dow off 0.5%, and the Nasdaq was unchanged, falling 0.27 points, or 0.00%. All threemajor indexes suffered losses to start the week, with the S&P 500 falling by the most since June 16 while the Nasdaq dropped some 2.6% on Monday. The tech index is closed Monday's session down about 6% from its most recent high after a 25% rally from mid-June to mid-August. A busy week for economic data got underway in earnest Tuesday morning, with thepreliminary August reading on service sector and manufacturing activity from S&P Globalshowing a further decline in business activity in the private sector this month. The report showed service sector activity fell to 44.1, a 27-month low and down from 47.3 the prior month and below the 49.8 that was expected. Any reading below 50 shows contraction in the sector. Manufacturing activity, meanwhile, stayed in modest expansion territory, with the index hitting 51.3, down from 52.2 in July. Excluding the drop in this index seen between March and May 2020 when the pandemic rocked the global economy, Tuesday's data signaled the sharpest decline in output in 13 years. "August flash PMI data signaled further disconcerting signs for the health of the US private sector," Siân Jones, senior economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said in a statement on Tuesday. "Demand conditions were dampened again, sparked by the impact of interest rate hikes and strong inflationary pressures on customer spending, which weighed on activity. Gathering clouds spread across the private sector as services new orders returned to contractionary territory, mirroring the subdued demand conditions seen at their manufacturing counterparts." At 10:00 a.m. ET, reports on new home sales and the Richmond Fed's manufacturing index were released and both missed consensus expectations. The Richmond Fed's report showed a decline in activity during August, registering a reading of -8 against expectations for a reading of -2. The pace of new home sales also plummeted in July, falling 12.6% from the prior month to an annualized pace of 511,000 homes. At the current rate of new home sales, there are 10.9 months of supply on the market; in July 2021, there were just 6 months of supply on the market. Investors were also eyeing currency markets on Tuesday, with the euro again falling below parity — or a 1:1 ratio — with the dollar. In commodities markets, crude oil futures were rising, with the WTI crude trading up nearly 4% to around $93.60 per barrel. On Monday, energy had a particularly volatile session with WTI futures trading below $87 at one point beforeheadlines out of Saudi Arabia suggestedpotential production cuts could be on the table from OPEC+. Investor attention has also turned to the natural gas market in recent days, as investor preparations for an energy crunch in Europe this winter have sent natural gas prices towards 14-year highs. Natural gas futures, however, fell about 4% on Tuesday. Bitcoin (BTC-USD), which fell about 8% at the end of last week as its own summer rally stalled, was little-changed early Tuesday to trade near $21,400. On the individual stock side, investors continue to watch the situation at AMC (AMC), which fell 42% on Monday as the company's new preferred shares, which trade under the ticker, APE (APE), began trading. In afternoon trade on Tuesday APE shares were up 17%, while AMC shares were down 8%. Earnings continue to trickle out, with shares of Macy's (M) up 3.7% on Tuesday after the retailer reported abetter than expected quarter. The company did, however, lower its full-year outlook, citing, "the risk [Macy's] sees in the continued deterioration of consumer discretionary spending in some of its categories and the level of inventory within the industry, as well as risks associated with a more pronounced macro downturn." Zoom (ZM) shares fell 16.5% on Tuesday after the company lowered its outlook inquarterly results posted last night. The video conferencing giant now expects full-year revenue to total around $4.4 billion, down from prior forecasts of closer to $4.6 billion. In its most recent quarter, the company reported sales from 7.6% from the prior year period, which Bloomberg notes is the company's slowest growth on record. Zoom is perhaps the poster child for pandemic-era trades that have completely reversed. Bespoke Investment Management'sGeorge Pearkes noted Mondaythe company's market cap has fully round-tripped from pre-pandemic levels, sitting at around $29 billion after Monday's report, down from a peak in late-2020 of $200 billion. — Click here for the latest stock market news and in-depth analysis, including events that move stocks Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance Download the Yahoo Finance app forAppleorAndroid Follow Yahoo Finance onTwitter,Facebook,Instagram,Flipboard,LinkedIn, andYouTube \|\| Crypto-Related Stocks Bounce as Bitcoin Retakes $22K: Badly beaten-up crypto brokers, miners, and bankers are posting double-digit gains on Monday alongside gains in cryptocurrencies and the broad stock market. Bitcoin ( BTC ) is up more than 5% since Friday, and – at this point on Monday morning – holding above $22,000 for a sustained period for the first time since the mid-June price crash. Ether ( ETH ) is performing even better, up nearly 20% since Friday to $1,479 as anticipation over the "merge" builds. Checking traditional markets, the Nasdaq is higher by about 1% and the S&P 500 is up 0.6%. Among crypto-related stocks on the move are miners Marathon Digital (MARA) up 20%, Hut 8 (HUT) +15%, and Riot Blockchain (RIOT) +15%. Crypto exchange Coinbase (COIN) is ahead 13%, and crypto merchant banker Galaxy Digital (GLXY.TO) is higher by 17%. Michael Saylor’s MicroStrategy (MSTR) is up 10%. Read more: First Mover Americas: Bitcoin Has Best Day in a Month, but Ether’s Getting Even More Love Bank of America on Friday said it was seeing “continued signs of fading sell pressure,” in crypto. “Over the last two weeks, digital assets' market value fell 4% vs. 30% over the prior four weeks,” said Alkesh Shah and team in the note. "When the market starts reacting positively to negative news, this is a signal that a local bottom could be in for now, as fear may have caused the news to be priced in," said GlobalBlock's Marcus Sotiriou on Monday morning, noting continued Fed hawkishness in the face of ugly inflation headlines continues. \|\| 3 Solar Stocks to Sell Now: Solar stocks could be in theory the hottest stocks to trade now, not because it is summer. It is mostly because the temperature is high and solar companies could provide a long-term solution to energy efficiency, clean energy, and to lowering energy costs driving down the inflation that remains at very high historic levels. These solar stocks to sell should come as no surprise as there are credible arguments to back this decision. • 7 Best AI Stocks to Buy Now Let’s have an analytical view on why to sell these solar stocks or avoid them should you consider buying them. InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips [{"RUN": "SPWR", "Sunrun": "SunPower", "$24.66": "$17.2"}, {"RUN": "MAXN", "Sunrun": "Maxeon Solar Technologies", "$24.66": "$11.52"}] Source: IgorGolovniov / Shutterstock.com Sunrun(NASDAQ:RUN) has lost nearly 23% of its value in 2022 and its losses could get worse soon.The firm reported sales growth of 74.58% in 2021which was not enough to make profits, but rather it generated a net loss of $79.42 million. In the first quarter of 2022, the firm had mixed financial results with EPS GAAP of -$0.42, a miss by -$0.27, and revenue of $495.78 million a beat by $94.18 million. The top argument to sell the RUN stock is its free cash flow trend. The company is burning cash consistently in the past five years which is bad news for the valuation. There is also a debt problem as theDebt-to-Equity ratio is 1.2and the Debt-to-EBITDA is -45.6. The Price/Sales (TTM) ratio of 2.94does not support a cheap stock either. A firm to pay off its debt must generate cash, do not burn it. Sunrun has a very important cash burn problem. The above factors should make you run away from RUN stock now. Source: IgorGolovniov / Shutterstock.com SunPower(NASDAQ:SPWR) has weal financial strength with a Debt-to-Equity ratio of 1.59 and an Altman Z-Score of 0.5, which indicates the firm is in financial distress. The Debt-to-EBITDA ratio of 12.07 is too highand in an environment of rising interest rates having too much debt is a very bad business and financial decision. When a firm has a positive sales growth like in 2021 with anincrease of 17.66% and it produces anet loss rather than expected profits then there is a problem in its business. This is evidenced by the cash burn problem like Sunrun. • 7 of the Best Small-Cap Stocks to Buy Before 2022 The stock is not cheap as it trades at a Price/Sales (TTM) ratio of 1.96and at a Price/Book (TTM) ratio of 7.86. Source: Shutterstock Maxeon Solar Technologies(NASDAQ:MAXN) is a classic textbook stock to avoid.The firm has had negative sales growth over the past two consecutive years, -29.50% in 2020 and -7.29% in 2021 respectively. The company is losing money and its net losses havewidened in 2021 to -$254.52 millionfrom – $142.63 million in 2020. There is also enough debt as the Debt-to-Equity ratio is 1.02. The Altman Z-Score of 0.22 signalsthere is a financial distress and this is confirmed by the negative free cash flow trend. The following financial ratios should never be used in isolation, but they are more than enough to show how poor is the profitability of the firm. The gross margin is -5.12%, the operating margin is -21.37% and the net margin is -32.68%. Having net losses and burning cash is one of the worst financial performances a company could have. Avoid it as it is just a compelling Sell. On the date of publication, Stavros Georgiadis, CFA did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.comPublishing Guidelines. • $200 Oil Sooner Than You Think – Buy This Now • The Best $1 Investment You Can Make Today • Early Bitcoin Millionaire Reveals His Next Big Crypto Trade “On Air” • It doesn’t matter if you have $500 in savings or $5 million. Do this now. The post3 Solar Stocks to Sell Nowappeared first onInvestorPlace. \|\| 7 A-Rated Tech Stocks to Buy and Hold Now: As they lagged expectations, tech stocks have been one of the biggest stories of the stock market for the last few months. But have you noticed that tech is starting to finally turn around? The Investo QQQ ETF (NASDAQ: QQQ ) which tracks tech stocks is down 19% so far in 2022, but its gained more than 16% over the last two months. The Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSEARCA: XLK ) dropped 13% since Jan. 1, but gained 16.6% in the last two months. Tech stocks have long been a reliable source of solid returns and can be great momentum plays in good times. Now that tech is threatening to return to its winning ways, this may be an outstanding time to pick up A-rated tech stocks for the long term. InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips Here are seven for buy-and-hold investors. BCOR Blucora $23.11 EXLS ExlService Holdings $178.44 SWCH Switch $34.02 KBR KBR $52.49 PDFS PDF Solutions $27.28 QLYS Qualys $155.57 PSN Parsons Corporation $42.62 Blucora (BCOR) Stacks of coins hold up wooden blocks that spell out "TAX." Source: Shutterstock Perhaps nothing creates more anxiety for the general population every quarter and every year like taxes. If you mess up your taxes it could have both civil and criminal consequences, not to mention huge penalties. Thats where Blucora (NASDAQ: BCOR ) comes in. Blucora provides a suite of products and services that help people accurately file their taxes and identify potential deductions. It also helps people use their tax data to for wealth management. Blucora owns TaxAct tax preparation software, and the HD Vest financial services firm. Earnings for the second quarter included earnings of $256.88 million and adjusted earnings of 99 cents per share. Both were better than analysts expectations of $256.67 million revenue and 95 cents EPS. The company is projecting full-year revenue of $892.5 million to $916 million, and EPS of $1.71 to $1.90 per share. The consensus analyst estimate is $1.83 per share. BCOR stock has an A rating in the Portfolio Grader . Story continues ExlService Holdings (EXLS) An image of different icons stacked on top of eachother; clock, graph, bank, shield, phone, money, wifi Source: Zapp2Photo/Shutterstock ExlService Holdings (NASDAQ: EXLS ) is a holding company for New York-based EXL Service, which is an analytics and digital services company that works in insurance, banking and financial services, healthcare, media, and other industries. It handles everything from finance and accounting to legal services, customer services and bill collection. Earnings for the second quarter were outstanding. Revenue of $346.78 million, versus expectations of $329.68 million. Earnings of $1.50 per share were also better than analysts predictions of $1.32. Even better, EXLS projected full-year earnings of $5.60 to $5.80 per share, with a midpoint better than the analysts consensus EPS projection of $5.57. EXLS isnt one of the tech stocks that will make a move soon. It isnt waiting for the tech stock turnaround its already moving up. ExlService us up 23% so far this year, including a 22% jump over the last 30 days. Not surprisingly, EXLS stock has an A rating in my Portfolio Grader . Switch (SWCH) Binary code data Source: carlos castilla/Shutterstock With the internet becoming even more important for businesses following the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, Las Vegas-based Switch (NYSE: SWCH ) looks to be in a strong position. The company says it has more than 700 issued and pending patents covering data center designs and data centers, of course, are critical pieces of internet infrastructure, as they house storage systems, services and routers. Earnings for Q2 were solid, as the company reported a beat on revenue by posting $168.19 million versus analysts estimates of $166.78 million. Earnings came in at $1.51 per share versus estimates of $1.46 per share. Switch stock is up a strong 18% so far in 2022, making it one of the tech stocks to watch and helping give it an A rating in the Portfolio Grader . KBR (KBR) smartphone displaying the KBR (KBR) logo Source: IgorGolovniov/shutterstock.com Formerly known as Kellogg Brown & Root, KBR (NYSE: KBR ) is a spin-off of the oil company Halliburton (NYSE: HAL ). It went public in 2006. KBR operates in the aerospace, defense, industrial and intelligence industries, and worked with NASA to launch the James Webb Space Telescope, which is the most powerful space telescope launched . KBR also worked with the U.S. government in several hot spots around the world. It built sections of the U.S. Navy base in Guantanamo, Cuba; it built the U.S. embassy in Kabul, and it supported U.S. Marines serving in Iraq. Despite an up-and-down 2022, KBR stock is up nearly 10% on the year. Earnings in Q2 were a mixed bag, beating on earnings per share (76 cents EPS versus analysts estimates of 65 cents) but missing on revenue ($1.62 billion versus analysts estimates of $1.64 billion). This is one of the tech stocks with a strong position in the defense and aerospace industries. That, plus its market-beating performance in 2022, helps give it an A rating in the Portfolio Grader . PDF Solutions (PDFS) AI. Circuit board. Technology background. Central Computer Processors CPU concept. Motherboard digital chip. Tech science background. Integrated communication processor. 3D illustration representing semiconductor stocks Source: Shutterstock Interestingly, PDF Solutions (NASDAQ: PDFS ) doesnt have anything to do with the portable document format, or PDF, that was created by Adobe (NASDAQ: ADBE ) and widely used in business. Instead, PDF Solutions works with software that semiconductor manufacturers use to increase profits and output from their facilities. The shortage of semiconductors weighed heavily on that segment as well as PDF Solutions in the first half of the year, with the stock down by nearly 40% by late June. But a big rally over the last few week has PDFS stock down now only 14% in 2022, with all indications theres plenty more to come. Earnings in the second quarter were more than promising, coming in at $34.67 million in revenue and EPS of 11 cents both better than analysts estimates of $33.75 million and EPS of 7 cents. Like the other names on this list, PDFS stock has an A rating in the Portfolio Grader . Qualys (QLYS) A Qualys sign hanging on a corporate office in Silicon Valley. Source: Michael Vi / Shutterstock.com Qualys (NASDAQ: QLYS ) is a software-as-a-service (SaaS) company, meaning its customers license software online by a subscription rather than buying licenses to install on individual computers. With more than 10,000 customers in 130 countries, Qualys provides vulnerability management solutions that detects potential problems on servers, networked devices, printers and work stations anything that has its own IP address. More than 60% of the Forbes Global 50 companies work with Qualys, and the company notably has partnerships with Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN ) Web Services, Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT ) Azure and Alphabets (NASDAQ: GOOG , NASDAQ: GOOGL ) Google Cloud. Earnings for the second quarter included revenue of $119.89 million and earnings of 89 cents per share, both better than analysts predictions of $117.53 million in revenue and EPS of 79 cents. This puts it among the tech stocks you should keep your eye on. After a recent rally, QLYS stock is up 12% in 2022 and that includes a 30% gain over the last three months. With momentum firmly on its side, Qualys stock has an A rating in the Portfolio Grader . Parsons Corporation (PSN) Tech stocks illustration. Representing PBTS stock. Source: whiteMocca / Shutterstock Parsons Corporation (NYSE: PSN ) is a Virginia-based tech company that works in defense, intelligence, security and infrastructure engineering. Although the company was founded in 1944, it didnt go public until 2019. The company is best known for manufacturing bases for Titan and Minuteman missile sites and silos. It currently provides engineering and management support for missile defense systems for the U.S. and its allies. PSN stock is having a solid year, up 27% so far this year as defense spending remains a high priority thanks to tensions with Russia and, to a lesser extent, China and North Korea. Earnings for Q2 included revenue of $1.01 billion, which was better than the $930.97 million that analysts expected. The company also met expectations with EPS of 41 cents. As a tech company working in the defense space, Parsons stock seems like a good pick for the long term. It has an A rating in the Portfolio Grader . On the date of publication, neither Louis Navellier nor the InvestorPlace Research Staff member primarily responsible for this article held (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. Louis Navellier, who has been called one of the most important money managers of our time, has broken the silence in this shocking tell all video exposing one of the most shocking events in our countrys history and the one move every American needs to make today . More From InvestorPlace Buy This $5 Stock BEFORE This Apple Project Goes Live The Best $1 Investment You Can Make Today Early Bitcoin Millionaire Reveals His Next Big Crypto Trade On Air It doesnt matter if you have $500 or $5 million. Do this now. The post 7 A-Rated Tech Stocks to Buy and Hold Now appeared first on InvestorPlace . \|\| Crypto-Related Stocks Bounce as Bitcoin Retakes $22K: Badly beaten-up crypto brokers, miners, and bankers are posting double-digit gains on Monday alongside gains in cryptocurrencies and the broad stock market. Bitcoin ( BTC ) is up more than 5% since Friday, and – at this point on Monday morning – holding above $22,000 for a sustained period for the first time since the mid-June price crash. Ether ( ETH ) is performing even better, up nearly 20% since Friday to $1,479 as anticipation over the "merge" builds. Checking traditional markets, the Nasdaq is higher by about 1% and the S&P 500 is up 0.6%. Among crypto-related stocks on the move are miners Marathon Digital (MARA) up 20%, Hut 8 (HUT) +15%, and Riot Blockchain (RIOT) +15%. Crypto exchange Coinbase (COIN) is ahead 13%, and crypto merchant banker Galaxy Digital (GLXY.TO) is higher by 17%. Michael Saylor’s MicroStrategy (MSTR) is up 10%. Read more: First Mover Americas: Bitcoin Has Best Day in a Month, but Ether’s Getting Even More Love Bank of America on Friday said it was seeing “continued signs of fading sell pressure,” in crypto. “Over the last two weeks, digital assets' market value fell 4% vs. 30% over the prior four weeks,” said Alkesh Shah and team in the note. "When the market starts reacting positively to negative news, this is a signal that a local bottom could be in for now, as fear may have caused the news to be priced in," said GlobalBlock's Marcus Sotiriou on Monday morning, noting continued Fed hawkishness in the face of ugly inflation headlines continues. \|\| Stock market news live updates: Stocks rally to snap three-week losing streak: U.S. stocks extended a broad-based rebound Friday, capping a sell-off that spanned three consecutive weeks. [Click here to read what's moving markets on Monday, Sept. 12] The S&P 500 jumped 1.5%, building on back-to-back sessions of gains, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average soared 377 points, or about 1.2%. Technology stocks led the way up, with the Nasdaq Composite climbing 2.1%. Oil extended a volatile run as prices resumed their climb Friday. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) and Brent crude oil futures each rose 4% to $86.88 per barrel and $92.84 per barrel, respectively. In a stark warning to the West on Friday , Russia said efforts to place price caps on the country’s oil and gas exports in sanctioning Russia for its war in Ukraine would fail and “lead to a slippery floor under its own feet.” Meanwhile in cryptocurrency markets, Bitcoin ( BTC-USD ) moved above $21,000, just one day after sliding below $19,000. The coin's rally buoyed shares of crypto stocks, including Coinbaise ( COIN ) — up more than 10% — and MicroStrategy ( MSTR ) — climbing nearly 12%. Investors continued to mull remarks made by Federal Reserve Chair Powell at the Cato Institute’s 40th Annual Monetary Conference in Washington D.C. on Thursday. “The Fed has, and accepts, responsibility for price stability,” Powell said, again affirming the U.S. central bank’s commitment to mitigating inflation. “We need to act right now — forthrightly, strongly.” Wall Street is anticipating with increasing certainty that Fed officials will deliver a third consecutive rate hike of 0.75% later this month, with a flurry of institutions raising expectations for the magnitude of increases on the Fed’s benchmark policy rate. Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., September 7, 2022. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid (Brendan McDermid / reuters) Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, and Nomura have all lifted their forecasts through year end. “In our view, unchanged guidance about when the pace of rate hikes may slow suggests that Chair Powell and the Fed are comfortable with current market pricing,” BofA economists said. Story continues Elsewhere in markets, shares of DocuSign ( DOCU ) rallied 10.5% after the company reported better-than-expected second-quarter earnings late Thursday and raised its subscription revenue guidance for the year. Zumiez ( ZUMZ ) shares reversed losses, rising 3.8% even after the retailer posted disappointing Q2 results and downwardly revised its third-quarter sales guidance. CEO Rick Brooks said “inflation weighed on consumer discretionary spending,” putting pressure on the company’s U.S. business. — Alexandra Semenova is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter @alexandraandnyc Click here for the latest trending stock tickers of the Yahoo Finance platform Click here for the latest stock market news and in-depth analysis, including events that move stocks Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance Download the Yahoo Finance app for Apple or Android Follow Yahoo Finance on Twitter , Facebook , Instagram , Flipboard , LinkedIn , and YouTube \|\| Seener, the best investment choice for stable returns: Seener Singapore, Singapore, Aug. 14, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Since the interest rate hike of the federal reserve and the crushing blow to DeFi projects, blockchain has entered a bear market. With leading tokens like Bitcoin and Ethereum plummeting by over 60%, investors can barely make a profit on the market. The downturn in the market has led to massive capital flight. What's more, the capital flight also leads to a gradual outflow of liquidity from DeFi. The OTC values of dozens of star projects have plummeted by more than 50%, including many unicorn projects such as OpenSea and Hoo. The well-known Three Arrows is even on the verge of bankruptcy. In such an unprecedented "market crisis," investors are more cautious and conservative about new investments, further reducing returns. For investors, especially individual investors, stable returns in a bear market are very important. Investors need safe and reliable investment products to improve the efficiency of their funds and hedge against potential risks caused by the market. In this case, quantitative arbitrage may be one of the best solutions to achieve stable and reliable returns. High returns enabled by quantitative trading Investors, especially individual investors, usually like to make profits through their own judgement, such as low-frequency buying and selling, or potential opportunities discovered by themselves like high APY liquidity mining, staking, etc. The disadvantage is that it is difficult for a subjective human being to accurately grasp the best timing to sell or to buy. Therefore, such investors may often make low profits or even lose money in the market. Quantitative trading can reduce transaction costs. Simply put, this is because quantitative trading opens positions in batches. For example, when you plan to buy 100 bitcoins, instead of a one-time purchase, the quantitative trading system will buy in batches according to the strategy, which won’t drive up the price and raise the cost. Story continues Quantitative trading makes profits through the implementation of trading strategies. For example, Bitcoin, as a global asset, its price may vary in different countries. According to the strategy formulated in advance, quantitative trading can make a profit as an arbitrage trader. There are other strategies such as "turtle trading strategy", "grid trading strategy", "arbitrage strategy (cross-market, futures, triangle arbitrage)", etc., which automatically buy low, sell high, and earn the spread. Seener will establish a brand-new quantitative arbitrage ecology. Based on the traditional system of quantitative trading, it further introduces AI technology to enrich the quantitative strategy of the system, and further improves the efficiency and accuracy of arbitrage. Seener is committed to creating an AI quantitative investment platform trading all kinds of assets. On Seener, users can remain anonymous and private, while equally obtaining all kinds of quantitative strategies and products and making benefits. Seener focuses on the cryptocurrency market and adopts cutting-edge and cryptocurrency-based quantitative strategies to maximise returns for users. Advantages of Seener quantitative trading system Cryptocurrencies are a new type of finance, and their development history is relatively short compared to traditional finance. Therefore, the overall quantitative system for cryptocurrencies is less perfect and subject to bottlenecks, both in terms of functionality and stability. The advent of AI in 2015 has driven the rapid development of fully automated trading in the securities industry. With a history of more than 50 years, fully automated trading now accounts for about 70% of all transactions in the global securities market. As quantitative AI trading becomes more prevalent, SEENER FOUNDATION PTE.LTD, an international digital asset management company, was established in Singapore on June 30, 2021. It consists of a team of renowned blockchain experts, talents from the traditional quantitative finance market, and a professional development and operation team. Seener was registered in Singapore on June 30, 2021. It is currently focused on investing in funds for projects in the blockchain and fintech sectors, proactively seeking blockchain projects with a strong technical background in the global market. At Seener, the AI quantitative algorithm can integrate all factors generated by blockchain nodes and all encrypted data into a new trading strategy library. Seener also provides value-added services for digital assets. Based on the scale of digital assets under management (AUM), Seener provides services such as multi-signature, multi-language support, traditional trading services, risk-free and high-frequency automatic quantitative trading, high-frequency automatic quantitative trading, etc. Seener has three major advantages, namely diversified trading assets, an open financial community and rich financial instruments. The company also has extensive experience in managing traditional and alternative assets, as well as managing assets for third-party investors. It has established a broad ecosystem of blockchain and digital assets. It maintains a solid relationship with its service providers and counterparties. In addition, Seener is actively exploring collaborations with some leading exchanges and will further expand its ecosystem in the future to include areas such as user privacy, metaverse, and Web3. Currently, Seener has officially opened its quantitative system to investors, which is highly appreciated by the market. Seener has also created a highly lucrative income system that can bring investors far more income than other quantitative ecosystems. The ecosystem of Seener 1) AI and IoT AI and IoT are coming. Blockchain and digital assets on the chain will be the key pieces to the big picture. Blockchain is the best carrier for AI and IoT. Seener can automatically handle transactions of various digital assets through its own unique cross-chain and cross-contract technology. Seener will be the basis for the communication between AI and IoT. 2) The quantitative trading platform for DeFi, NFT and synthetic assets. Seener aims to facilitate quantitative trading of various assets such as DeFi, NFT and synthetic assets. It is an integrated platform that gathers various assets and conducts investment in various potential markets through mobile applications and partners. 3) Rich services to support quantitative investments (1) A smart digital currency investment advisory system available to all investors Seener quantitative trading is associated with a large number of digital currency trading strategies for investors to choose from. The user interface is simple and easy to use. Historical performance is visualised, and ordinary investors can follow professional investors' suggestions and smart trading strategies to invest. With such automated trading, you can really achieve spreads without manual intervention. (2) Support investment strategy portfolio and multi-strategy hedging Seener's smart quantitative trading system for digital currencies provides the function of an investment strategy portfolio. This means you can select multiple strategies for portfolio testing to generate return curves hedged by multiple strategies. (3) One-stop professional quantitative services for professional investors and institutions Seener smart quantitative trading provides professional investors and institutions with a fully independent strategy writing and backtesting module, making it easy to use quantitative tools to improve investment returns. Seener quantitative trading relies on smart contracts, cross-chain gateway technology, and smart contract technology to realise risk-free AI smart quantitative trading in digital assets. In AI quantitative trading, the platform or other third parties create the smart contracts for trading, monitoring and executing the trading process. In this way, Seener avoids the default risk of the parties involved in the process of high-frequency automated quantitative trading. It can be concluded that Seener can provide users with stable income in the long term. In the bear market, Seener quantitative products are the perfect option for users who want to get a long-term and stable income. website: https://www.seener.org CONTACT: LIU QINGLIN SEENER seener_sgp (at) seener.org \|\| 3 Top Nuclear Energy Stocks to Buy Right Now: If the world isn’t already in an energy crisis, it appears that we’re fast approaching one. Oil prices are again nearing $100 a barrel, and natural gas prices are sitting at multi-year highs on growing concerns about supply constraints heading into the winter. In Europe,energy prices are skyrocketingas Russia constrains natural gas shipments to the continent. In North America, consumers have been struggling withhigh prices for gas at the pumpsand elevated home-heating bills all year, which are being blamed on the inflationary pressures coming out of the pandemic. Given all of these points, it’s an excellent time for investors to look for the top nuclear energy stocks to buy. Some claim that nuclear energy is the key to powering our world. Not only is nuclear energy cleaner and better for the environment than oil and natural gas, but it is also cheaper and would provide countries such as the U.S. and those in Europe with true energy independence, alleviating the need to rely on the questionable regimes of countries such as Russia and Saudi Arabia. Today nuclear energy provides about10% of the world’s power supply.However, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) forecasts that the world’snuclear-generating capacity will doubleby 2050. [{"CCJ": "SMR", "Cameo": "NuScale Power", "$28.30": "$14.07"}, {"CCJ": "UCLE", "Cameo": "U.S. Nuclear", "$28.30": "19.7 cents"}] InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips Source: shutterstock.com/RHJPhtotoandilustration We’ll begin up north in Canada whereCameco Corp.(NYSE:CCJ) is based. Cameco is the world’s largest publicly traded uranium company, and the second-largest uranium producer on the planet, accounting for 18% of global production. Uranium is the radioactive metal that’sused to fuel nuclear reactorsall over the world. Without uranium, nuclear-power generation is not possible. As a result, Cameco is a necessary player in the nuclear-energy industry and a great stock to own for investors who want to bet on the rise of nuclear power in coming years. That Cameco is based in neighboring Canada, which has a stable and friendly government, while the company trades on theNew York Stock Exchange,should make it even more appealing to investors looking for exposure to the nuclear industry. However, Cameco is not a well-kept secret, judging by the rally of its share price over the last year. In the last 12 months,CCJ stock has increased 55%, including a 32% gain so far this year. At $28.70 per share, Cameco stock is up nearly 200% in the past five years. The nuclear energy stock looks expensive with a price-earnings ratio of 242.85, and the dividend yield of 0.32% is quite small. Yet among nuclear-energy stocks, Cameco is a leading player and worth considering. Source: Shutterstock In the U.S., we haveNuscale Power(NYSE:SMR). Headquartered in Oregon, Nuscale Power makessmall, modular nuclear reactorsthat are capable of producing 60 megawatts of electricity. The company, which was founded in 2007 by several former scientists who had worked for the United States’ Department of Energy, has been contracted to build several small nuclear reactors in Idaho. They are scheduled to be completed in 2029 and 2030. The design of the Idaho reactors was approved just last month , and the Gem State plans to use the nuclear power to help bolster its electricity production and lower the electricity costs of its residents. As with Cameco, Nuscale Power’s stock has been on a tear as investors increasingly look towards a bright future for nuclear energy. SMR stock has risen 43% so far in 2022, trouncing the benchmarkS&P 500index that is down 16% on the year. The stock has been on a particularly strong run since its plan to build reactors in Idaho wasgiven the greenlightin July. However, it is important to note that Nuscale Power only went public in May of this year via a combination with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC). The stock was hovering around the $10 mark until the deal in Idaho was announced a few weeks ago. Since then, SMR stock has been jumping higher. Source: RHJPhtotos / Shutterstock A somewhat riskier bet isU.S. Nuclear(OTCMKTS:UCLE), a radiation- detection company that’s based in California. The company focuses on the development of radiation-detection instruments. It’s a highly specialized field that features very sensitive, scientific equipment. The company’s products are mainly sold to nuclear power plants, national laboratories, government agencies, the U.S. military, universities, and a low number of hospitals. The small market for its radiation detection equipment helps explain why UCLE stock trades deep in penny-stock territory, as it’s changing hands at just18 cents per share. So far this year, UCLE stock has been flat. Over the past year, the share price of U.S. Nuclear has plunged 49%. The stock reached an all-time high of $5 back in 2015 and has struggled ever since. Today U.S. Nuclear’s stock trades on the over-the-counter market. But despite the firm’s difficulties,the demand for the radiation-detection instrumentsmade by U.S. Nuclear is expected to rise in the coming years as more countries use nuclear reactors as an alternative form of electricity generation. For this reason, many analysts who cover the nuclear-energy industry are bullish on UCLE stock and believe that it provides a goodbuying opportunityat its current, low level. On the date of publication, Joel Bagloledid not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.comPublishing Guidelines. Joel Baglole has been a business journalist for 20 years. He spent five years as a staff reporter at The Wall Street Journal, and has also written for The Washington Post and Toronto Star newspapers, as well as financial websites such as The Motley Fool and Investopedia. • Buy This $5 Stock BEFORE This Apple Project Goes Live • The Best $1 Investment You Can Make Today • Early Bitcoin Millionaire Reveals His Next Big Crypto Trade “On Air” • It doesn’t matter if you have $500 or $5 million. Do this now. The post3 Top Nuclear Energy Stocks to Buy Right Nowappeared first onInvestorPlace. [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] None available.	Trend: down \|\| Prices: 20296.71, 20241.09, 19701.21, 19772.58, 20127.58, 19419.51, 19544.13, 18890.79, 18547.40, 19413.55
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis] Not fully available. [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] SkyBridge Capital Has Already Invested $182M in Bitcoin: Anthony Scaramucci’s SkyBridge Capital investment firm has invested $182 million in bitcoin, according to an investor brochure shared with CoinDesk about its forthcoming bitcoin fund. The firm, which has $9.3 billion under management, is launching the SkyBridge Bitcoin Fund LP in January, according toSecurities and Exchange Commissiondocuments filed on Dec. 21, as CoinDeskreported. Thebitcoinfund hasalready invested$25 million in bitcoin, it announced in the brochure. The new fund will be open as of Jan. 4 to outside investors putting up at least $50,000. Read more:Scaramucci’s SkyBridge Invested $25M in New Bitcoin Fund Related:Bitcoin Prices in 2020: Here's What Happened Scaramucci’s fund investment is yet another traditional investment firm jumping on the bitcoin bandwagon, a trend that has driven the crypto’s price well north of $20,000 in recent weeks. In its brochure touting the bitcoin fund, the firm laid out the appeal of bitcoin to investors. “Bitcoin is digital gold,” it reads. “It is better at being gold than gold.” The brochure describes bitcoin as an emerging asset class that has become less risky in recent years, with attractive supply-and-demand dynamics. Bitcoin has had increasing retail and institutional adoption, the brochure notes, calling current low interest rates and “unprecedented money printing” contributors to the premium being placed on “scarce assets like gold, real estate, art and bitcoin.” Read more:Scaramucci’s SkyBridge Launching a Bitcoin Fund Related:All Major Mining Pools Now Support Taproot, Bitcoin's Biggest Upgrade in Years One page of the brochure highlights “Bitcoin respectability: Wall Street embraces bitcoin” featuring quotes from executives at firms such as BlackRock and banks such as Citibank and JPMorgan. According to the brochure, SkyBridge believes hedge funds, public company treasurers, insurance companies, pension funds, banks and brokerage firms will also be investing in the space. “You have to accept whether bitcoin is a store of value or not,” said Scaramucci, one of the founders of SkyBridge, in a recentinterview on CNBC. “There are still skeptics out there and that’s why I think we’re in the first inning. But after the research we’ve done … and given the monetary supply and the global central banking coordination right now, this will be a very strong asset class over the next decade.” • SkyBridge Capital Has Already Invested $182M in Bitcoin • SkyBridge Capital Has Already Invested $182M in Bitcoin \|\| GLOBAL MARKETS-Stocks, U.S. yields climb after Democrats win control of the Senate: * Treasury benchmark yield hits 10-month high * Dollar bounces after touching near 3-year low * U.S., global equity indexes hit record highs (Updates to U.S. stock market close) By Rodrigo Campos NEW YORK, Jan 7 (Reuters) - Bond prices dropped and stocks hit record highs on Thursday as investors bet Democratic control of the U.S. Congress would enable President-elect Joe Biden to borrow and spend heavily, while higher yields helped a bruised dollar recover from near three-year lows. The bullish sentiment remained throughout the day even as the top two Democrats in Congress called for President Donald Trump to be removed from office, one day after his supporters stormed and vandalized the U.S. Capitol in a rampage that left four people dead. U.S. Treasuries prices extended their steepest sell-off in months, with the benchmark yield at its highest in 10 months. Victories in two Georgia races handed the Democratic Party narrow control of the U.S. Senate, bolstering Biden's power to pass his agenda with his party controlling both chambers. The MSCI world equity index, which tracks shares in almost 50 countries, rose more than 1% to hit a record high for the third session this week. After a shaken Congress formally certified Biden's election victory in the early hours of Thursday, Wall Street focused on the implications of the Democrats' control of Congress. Major indexes hit record highs on bets that more pandemic stimulus will help the economy ride out the downturn. "The market is now looking past Trump and it's looking forward to a Biden presidency, more structure and stimulus," said Dennis Dick, a trader at Bright Trading LLC. "A Democratic Congress is going to obviously be more concerned about the small businesses, and the Main Street." The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 211.73 points, or 0.69%, to 31,041.13, the S&P 500 gained 55.65 points, or 1.48%, to 3,803.79 and the Nasdaq Composite added 326.69 points, or 2.56%, to 13,067.48. Story continues The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.51% and MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe gained 1.18%. Emerging market stocks rose 0.53%. Earlier, MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan had risen 0.35% and Japan's Nikkei hit its intraday highest since 1990 before ending up 1.6%. The prospect for future stimulus spending sent bond prices lower, with the yield on the benchmark hitting its highest since March. It rose as high as 1.088% on Thursday. "The Georgia Senate elections just added a tailwind to existing trends of reflation and upward pressure on Treasury yields," said Bill Merz, head of fixed income research at U.S. Bank Wealth Management in Minneapolis. Benchmark 10-year notes last fell 12/32 in price to yield 1.0812%, from 1.042% late on Wednesday. The 30-year bond last fell 27/32 in price to yield 1.859%, from 1.821%. BRUISED DOLLAR The Democrats' victory also reverberated in currency markets. The dollar had sunk to a near three-year low against a basket of six major currencies, with traders betting growing U.S. trade and budget deficits would further weigh on the greenback. On Thursday, it rose 0.549%, on track for its strongest session since at least late October, with the euro down 0.02% to $1.2268. The Japanese yen strengthened 0.01% versus the greenback at 103.78 per dollar, while Sterling was last trading at $1.3564, up 0.01% on the day. "Once (Treasury yields) start to move, as they did yesterday, it wasnâ€™t a big move but it was in the right direction, that is the direction of the future," said Joseph Trevisani, senior analyst at FXStreet.com. Oil prices touched their highest since late February as markets remained focused on Saudi Arabia's unexpected pledge to deepen its oil cuts. U.S. crude recently rose 0.57% to $50.92 per barrel and Brent was at $54.57, up 0.5% on the day. Spot gold % to $1,913.07 an ounce. Silver gained 0.19% to $27.16. Bitcoin hit a record high that breached the $40,000 mark, and was last up 7.05% at $39,446.75. (Reporting by Rodrigo Campos; additional reporting by Tom Wilson and Noah Browning in London, Laura Sanicola, Herbert Lash and Chuck Mikolajczak in New York and Karen Pierog in Chicago; Editing by Alistair Bell, Nick Zieminski and Dan Grebler) \|\| Warren Buffett Called Bitcoin 'Rat Poison' — Now It's Closing In On Berkshire Hathaway's Valuation: The rise of bitcoin has been one of the top stories of 2020. What Happened: Bitcoin hit all-time highs throughout December, passing the $27,000 level on Dec. 27. With the rise in the price of the cryptocurrency, bitcoin’s market capitalization has taken it past that of several financial companies. Earlier in 2020, bitcoin passed JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM ) and Mastercard Inc (NASDAQ: MA ). Over the weekend, bitcoin’s market capitalization passed $500 billion and made it more valuable than Visa Inc (NYSE: V ). Related Link: 8 Stocks To Play Bitcoin's Resurgence Why It’s Important: According to AssetDash , bitcoin is now the 11th-most valuable asset by market cap, with a $500-billion valuation. Bitcoin has passed four companies on the list in the month of December. Up next on the list is Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK- A ) (NYSE: BRK-B ), led by legendary investor Warren Buffett. The Oracle of Omaha has been a vocal bitcoin bear. Buffett once said bitcoin is “probably rat poison squared.” “In terms of cryptocurrencies, generally, I can say with almost certainty that they will come to a bad ending. If I could buy a five-year put on every one of the cryptocurrencies, I’d be glad to do it but I would never short a dime’s worth,” Buffett told CNBC in 2018. Berkshire Hathaway ranks 10th on the asset list with a market cap of $535.7 billion. With 18,583,275 bitcoins out , the price would need to be $28,827 to pass the value of Berkshire Hathaway. With additional bitcoins mined and the cryptocurrency's continued rise, it could occur very soon. Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL ) tops the AssetDash list with a market cap of $2.3 trillion. Alibaba Group (NYSE: BABA ) ranks eighth with a cap of $602 million, and has fallen three spots in the month of December. Price Action: Bitcoin was trading at $26,714.06 at last check Monday. The Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (OTC: GBTC ) ended Monday's session up 11.33% at $30.45 and is over 200% higher in 2020. Story continues See more from Benzinga Click here for options trades from Benzinga Ideanomics Shares Rally On Ride-Hailing EV Purchase: What Investors Should Know Buffett: Small Businesses Have Become Collateral Damage, Congress Should Renew PPP © 2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| Bitcoin’s Volatility Resumes After $40,000 Topped for First Time: (Bloomberg) -- Bitcoin’s wild price swings resumed after the the world’s largest cryptocurrency climbed above $40,000 for the first time. After jumping as much as 11% to $40,394, Bitcoin fell around $3,500 in about half an hour and continues to fluctuate. Prices vacillated as much as 17% on Monday. The digital token has more than doubled in less than a month. Strategists have cited demand from speculative retail traders, trend-following quant funds, the rich and even institutional investors as among the reasons for the surge. The total market value of cryptocurrencies climbed beyond $1 trillion for the first time Thursday. “Bitcoin continues to defy all expectations, and doubters,” said Antoni Trenchev, co-founder and managing partner of Nexo, a crypto lender. “It’s leaving all other assets trailing in its wake, like it’s done year in, year out for the past decade.” Bitcoin accounts for about two-thirds of cryptocurrency market value, followed by Ether at about 13%, according to CoinGecko data. Coinbase Inc., the largest U.S. digital exchange, said it’s experiencing “connectivity issues” on both the website and mobile app for a second day. Digital coins are jumping in a world awash with fiscal and monetary stimulus, even as some commentators fear an inevitable bust and others question the basic integrity of crypto markets. Proponents of Bitcoin argue it offers a hedge against dollar weakness and the risk of faster inflation, a bit like gold, while critics decry the intellectual soundness of comparing the two assets. “The more that people perceive that their assets, particularly their liquid assets such as fiat currencies are eroding in value, the more they will look for alternatives,” said Geoffrey Morphy, president of Canadian crypto mining company Bitfarms Ltd. Active Bitcoin accounts are nearing their all-time high levels of late 2017, according to researcher Flipside Crypto -- possibly a sign that some holders are planning to sell. Fewer than 2% of accounts hold 95% of Bitcoin supply, so a few big trades can impact prices. The last big Bitcoin boom began imploding in late 2017. Some traders pointed to JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s long-term Bitcoin price forecast of $146,000 as possibly fueling the rally. Others said sentiment was boosted by a U.S. regulatory update that allows a class of less volatile coins to be used by banks for payments. “This parabolic move upwards, with normally staid Wall Street firms including JP Morgan calling $146,000 as their price target for Bitcoin, and Guggenheim called $400,000, feels like it has a long way to go before exhausting,” said Guy Hirsch, managing director for U.S. at eToro. “It wouldn’t be all that surprising to see $100,000 at some point this year, given the current momentum.” (Updates with market moves.) For more articles like this, please visit us atbloomberg.com Subscribe nowto stay ahead with the most trusted business news source. ©2021 Bloomberg L.P. \|\| Crypto Long & Short: Interest in DeFi Is Surging. You Can Thank GameStop: One of the most iconic moments of the past week was when Keith Gill, otherwise known as Reddit trader DeepF*kingValue, testified in front of the House Financial Services Committee: “I am not a cat.” All who enjoyed the video of the meeting in which a frustrated lawyer struggled with Zoom settings (who among us hasn’t experienced Zoom awkwardness?) immediately knew what he was referring to, and some of us may or may not have spluttered coffee all over our keyboard. It wasn’t so much the power of memes that made his remark feel important, nor was it just the humor that made us sit up. It was more the deadpan delivery, staring at the screen, addressing some of the most powerful people in the world. To me, it synthesized a loud shift in attitudes toward authority. With that throwaway remark, Gill demonstrated loyalty to his tribe rather than to the establishment, a sentiment we see playing out not only across social media but also in classrooms, culture, startups and even in the intimidating world of finance. You’re reading Crypto Long & Short , a newsletter that looks closely at the forces driving cryptocurrency markets. Authored by CoinDesk’s head of research, Noelle Acheson, it goes out every Sunday and offers a recap of the week – with insights and analysis – from a professional investor’s point of view. You can subscribe here . Related: 4 Bitcoin Bear Signals To Be Aware Of The surge in value of “anti-establishment” bitcoin , which broke $1 trillion this week , as well as of meme coins such as dogecoin ( DOGE ), are to a large extent an extension of this . The lack of trust in the establishment’s judgement, and the visible weakening of its influence, make alternatives more viable . This goes beyond individual crypto assets. The congressional hearings highlighted a growing awareness of structural risks in our capital markets. This, combined with recent industry trends, points to strong potential growth in an area of digital assets we have not yet talked much about in this column: decentralized finance, or DeFi. Story continues The concept is about so much more than high investment returns, although there are potentially plenty of those to be had for those willing to take on high risk. It’s about the emergence of a new type of financial market, not created with professional investors in mind, but which will end up benefiting from their interest. This week, that got a strong boost. Under the hood The GameStop drama awakened a greater interest in financial market plumbing, something that very few had bothered to care about before. When we see what looks like institutions trampling on the retail investor, we have questions. Few congressional hearings have been as eagerly followed as this one, in the hopes of getting answers and of seeing the beginning of change. Related: Bitcoin Drops, DeFi Loans Liquidated, NFTs Sell This is happening at the same time as an explosion of interest and development in DeFi applications. The term “DeFi” refers to self-executing programs that fulfill the functions of centralized financial services such as borrowing, lending and trading, but in a decentralized, peer-to-peer manner (here’s a more detailed primer if you need it). This week, Bloomberg reported that approximately $359 million worth of GameStop shares failed to deliver on Jan. 28. In the world of automated crypto asset trading, that couldn’t happen. Also, trades can’t be frozen, all traders have equal priority, and there is no authority who can change the rules or middleman who can prioritize some orders over others. The concept started a few years ago in an experimental corner of the Ethereum ecosystem, with open-source “smart contracts” deployed to execute trades, interest payments and collateral swaps. Last year saw the rise of “yield farming,” which refers to hopping from platform to platform in search of the highest yields. These sometimes reached triple digits , at a time when official interest rates were near zero. The returns were significant, but so were the opportunities for things to go wrong. Many platforms were constructed on hastily written code, and last year we reported on numerous bugs and losses that had no recourse. Mistakes are not unexpected at the start of an innovation spurt, however, and the creativity and output were (and still are) astonishing. Given the high yields, it was only a matter of time before institutions started to take notice. In its Q3 2020 report , Genesis Trading (a subsidiary of DCG, also the parent of CoinDesk) reported that much of its lending growth was to institutions looking to finance yield opportunities. Fast forward a few months, and the ecosystem feels different. The economic value riding on DeFi platforms has almost tripled since the beginning of the year, to $41.9bn at time of writing. These platforms are usually powered by tokens which confer access and governance rights – the aggregate value of the 100 largest tokens by market cap currently stands at $83 trillion (yes, with a “t”), with over $16 trillion in 24-hour trading volume. The DeFi Pulse Index , which tracks 10 of the largest tokens by market cap, has risen over 260% year-to-date. What’s more, Ethereum, the base blockchain for most DeFi applications, has entered a new phase of development with the launch of the first step in the migration to a more scalable and less energy-intensive consensus system. This will solve for the soaring fees on Ethereum which threaten to choke off some of the transaction volume. It will also give DeFi applications a viable platform from which to one day integrate with traditional finance. Institutional onramps are spreading. Coinbase Custody has offered institutional clients trading and custody services for DeFi tokens for some time now, and has listed four new DeFi tokens so far this year . BitGo facilitates the conversion of bitcoin into a DeFi-friendly token . Digital asset custodian Trustology helps its institutional clients vet DeFi projects. But so far access to the potential returns has been largely limited to buying individual tokens. This is changing. This week, crypto fund manager Bitwise launched a DeFi fund, which tracks the weighted value of a basket of tokens. And some U.S.-listed trusts may be on the way: over the past few weeks, Grayscale Investments, the largest fund manager in the industry (owned by DCG, also parent of CoinDesk), has filed for authorization of investment trusts based on tokens for DeFi protocols such as yield optimizer Yearn Finance , money market Aave and data oracle Chainlink . (Note that filing for authorization does not indicate intent to launch, but the possibility is there.) New territory The returns on DeFi assets may be high so far this year, but so are the risks. There’s the possibility of a technological glitch, or a hack – we’ve reported on a few just this month . There’s regulatory risk: the controversial FinCEN proposal presented in December of last year, which suggests that exchanges require identifying information for receiving addresses, would damp DeFi innovation and make some functions unviable. There is also liquidity risk: even a small institutional order could distort the market, and it may be difficult to exit when necessary. What’s more, the high volatility of DeFi assets means the downside could be brutal. Nevertheless, given the public support for examining structural inefficiency and fragility in traditional capital markets, and the increase in DeFi activity and innovation, the growth in mainstream interest is likely to accelerate. This will be positive for those building the capital markets of tomorrow, and for those that invest in these projects. So far this month, we’ve reported on three new venture funds targeting DeFi startups . More institutional money flowing into the DeFi ecosystem, either in the form of token investment or venture capital, will boost liquidity and legitimacy. Institutional support will also guide the ecosystem through the shoals of regulatory acceptability and the gradual adaptation of current market infrastructure. Smart money will hopefully understand the risks involved. But getting in early on a transformational innovation rewards the brave. And current market infrastructure is getting ready to help this along. CHAIN LINKS Investors talking: Bank of America’s February survey of fund managers revealed that “long bitcoin” has slipped from the most crowded trade in January to the number two position, behind “long tech” and just in front of “short dollar.” “We believe the trend of transactions, bitcoin investments, and blockchain-driven initiatives could surge over the coming years as this bitcoin mania is not a fad in our opinion, but rather the start of a new age on the digital currency front.” – Wedbush Securities , in a research note. “Bitcoin may be The Stimulus Asset. Doesn’t look like gold is.” – Jeffrey Gundlach , CEO of DoubleLine Capital “Having some Bitcoin, which is simply a less dumb form of liquidity than cash, is adventurous enough for an S&P500 company … Bitcoin is almost as bs as fiat money. The key word is “almost”.” – Elon Musk “For now, the bitcoin boom may best be viewed as a canary in the coal mine.” – An interesting take on bitcoin’s boom by the FT’s Rana Foroohar Takeaways: The Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) has approved the Evolve Bitcoin ETF , making it the second to list on the Toronto Stock Exchange. TAKEAWAY: U.S. regulators, the pressure is on … Elsewhere in ETFs, the Purpose Bitcoin ETF (BTCC) started trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange on Thursday, and accumulated almost $422 million of AUM in two days. TAKEAWAY: This is a strong signal that there is demand for this type of product. (Purpose’s index is supplied by TradeBlock, a CoinDesk subsidiary.) Speaking of which, NYDIG , Stone Ridge Asset Management’s bitcoin spin-off firm, has filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for a bitcoin ETF. TAKEAWAY: This follows bitcoin ETF applications from VanEck and Valkyrie, and signals that fund managers are feeling more optimistic about the prospects for approval. Notably, the filing lists Morgan Stanley as the initial authorized participant, which adds a blue-chip name to the process – as far as I know, the other two ETF filings have not specified who their initial authorized participant will be. Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase , which is preparing to trade publicly in the next few months, is being valued at $77 billion, based on trading of the company’s privately held shares on a secondary market. TAKEAWAY: This is higher than the CME Group, ICE (parent of the NYSE), the London Stock Exchange … the list goes on, but you get my drift. MicroStrategy , the business intelligence firm now better known for the 70,784 BTC on its balance sheet, intends to raise $1.05 billion via the issuance of convertible senior notes due in 2027. The bulk of the proceeds will, you guessed it, be used to buy more bitcoin. TAKEAWAY: This makes MSTR the closest thing to a bitcoin ETF in the U.S. market, while layering a level of corporate risk on top of bitcoin market risk. This is yet another nudge to the SEC to approve a bitcoin ETF soon. A reasonable question is: what will happen to the MSTR share price when that happens? A survey released by Gartner this week showed that only 5% of business executives intend to invest in bitcoin as a corporate asset this year. TAKEAWAY: “Only” 5%?? That seems like a lot to me. In mid-June non-financial corporate cash was at $2.12 trillion, according to Moody’s . And the non-financial companies with the largest amount of cash on their balance sheets are Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon and Facebook – tech companies that are more likely to be interested in BTC holdings than your “average” corporate. A look at why the CME ETH futures matter for the market . TAKEAWAY: It’s a way for a broader range of investors to take a broader range of positions. It’s also a necessary prerequisite for the development of a lively ETH options market, which will offer even more hedging and directional bet opportunities for investors of all types. Related Stories Crypto Long & Short: Interest in DeFi Is Surging. You Can Thank GameStop Crypto Long & Short: Interest in DeFi Is Surging. You Can Thank GameStop \|\| ALT 5 Sigma Digital Instrument Market Summary for BTC, ETH, LTC, BCH: NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / December 31, 2020 /ALT 5 Sigma Inc. an emerging leader in blockchain powered financial platforms provides its daily digital instruments market summary for Bitcoin (BTC/USD), Ether (ETH/USD), Litecoin (LTC/USD). Real-Time Market Data is available atwww.alt5pro.comand Real-Time Market Data feed is also available atwww.alt5sigma.com ALT 5 Sigma Digital Instrument Market Summary for BTC, ETH, LTC, BCH [["Digital Asset", "Pair", "Price", "24hr Chg", "7d Chg", "24/hr Volume", "MarketCap"], ["Bitcoin", "BTC/USD", "$29,102.12", "$0.01", "$0.25", "$46,847 M", "$540,914 M"], ["Ethereum", "ETH/USD", "$742.82", "-$0.01", "$0.25", "$14,100 M", "$84,728 M"], ["XRP", "XRP/USD", "$0.23", "$0.10", "-$0.12", "$5,700 M", "$10,233 M"], ["Litecoin", "LTC/USD", "$124.59", "-$0.03", "$0.18", "$6,329 M", "$8,249 M"], ["Bitcoin Cash", "BCH/USD", "$342.49", "-$0.03", "$0.20", "$3,842 M", "$6,371 M"], ["Bitcoin SV", "BSV/USD", "$163.24", "-$0.03", "$0.04", "$363 M", "$3,038 M"], ["Monero", "XMR/USD", "$157.25", "-$0.01", "$0.06", "$1,033 M", "$2,799 M"], ["Stellar", "XLM/USD", "$0.13", "-$0.04", "-$0.18", "$476 M", "$2,784 M"], ["EOS", "EOS/USD", "$2.59", "-$0.00", "$0.04", "$2,203 M", "$2,435 M"], ["Dash", "DASH/USD", "$99.26", "-$0.01", "$0.07", "$474 M", "$982 M"]] About ALT 5 Sigma Inc.ALT 5 is a fintech company specializing in the development and deployment of digital assets trading and exchange platforms. Alt 5 was founded by financial industry specialists out of the necessity to provide the digital asset economy with security, accessibility, transparency and compliance. ALT 5 provides its clients the ability to buy, sell and hold digital assets in a safe and secure environment deployed with the best practices of the financial industry. ALT 5's products and services are available to Banks, Broker Dealers, Funds, Family Offices, Professional Traders, Retail Traders, Digital Asset Exchanges, Digital Asset Brokers, Blockchain Developers, and Financial Information Providers. ALT 5's digital asset custodian services are secured by GardaWorld. GardaWorld is the world's largest privately-owned business solutions and security services company, offering cash management services. For more information, visitwww.alt5sigma.com. Contact:Andre BeauchesneTel. [email protected] For more information on ALT 5 Pay, visitwww.alt5pay.comFor more information on ALT 5 Pro, visitwww.alt5pro.com SOURCE:ALT 5 Sigma Inc. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/622851/ALT-5-Sigma-Digital-Instrument-Market-Summary-for-BTC-ETH-LTC-BCH \|\| Canadian regulator clears launch of world's first bitcoin ETF: investment manager: By Fergal Smith and David Randall TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada's main securities regulator has cleared the launch of the world's first bitcoin exchange traded fund, an investment manager said on Friday, providing investors greater access to the cryptocurrency that has sparked an explosion in trading interest. The Ontario Securities Commission has approved the launch of Purpose Bitcoin ETF, Toronto-based asset management company Purpose Investments Inc. said in a statement. The OSC confirmed the approval in a separate statement to Reuters. "The ETF will be the first in the world to invest directly in physically settled Bitcoin, not derivatives, allowing investors easy and efficient access to the emerging asset class of cryptocurrency," Purpose Investments said. Investors have been able to trade bitcoin using futures contracts on the CME derivatives exchange. They can also buy closed-end investment funds, such as the Bitcoin Fund on the Toronto Stock Exchange. An ETF could offer some advantages to investors, such as buying at net asset value rather than at a premium, said Arthur Salzer, chief executive officer of Northland Wealth Management "I think the OSC is doing the right thing allowing for an ETF," Salzer said. "It gets rid of some of the negatives of the current funds." Bitcoin notched a record high of $48,975 on Friday. It has gained about 63% so far this year and soared roughly 1,130% since mid-March 2020. Elon Musk's Tesla revealed on Monday it had bought $1.5 billion worth of the cryptocurrency and would soon accept it as a form of payment for its cars, while the cryptocurrency has been gaining acceptance among mainstream financial firms. In the United States, eight firms have tried without success since 2013 to create a bitcoin ETF, according to Todd Rosenbluth, director of ETF and mutual fund research at New York based CFRA. Among issues the Securities and Exchange Commission appears to be focused on are the potential for market manipulation and the process of custody audits that verify that a fund holds its purported assets. Story continues "While some expect that a Canadian ETF approval sets the stage for a near-term U.S. one, we expect the SEC under new leadership to take their time to review some of the new filings from VanEck and others," Rosenbluth said. VanEck is a New York-based investment management firm. Gary Gensler, former chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, was named chair of the SEC last month by U.S. President Joe Biden. (Reporting by Fergal Smith and David Randall; Editing by Denny Thomas and Dan Grebler) \|\| Stock Market Today: Stocks Tread Water, Bitcoin Joins the Trillion-Dollar Club: We've discussed this week the idea that the stock market might be running out of gas, and that certainly appeared to be the case Friday, as stocks finished mixed after giving up most of their morning gains. That wasn't a problem for the digital currency Bitcoin , however. SEE MORE Warren Buffett Stocks Ranked: The Berkshire Hathaway Portfolio Traders found several positive economic indicators to consider. U.S. businesses are expanding at their strongest rate in six years, according to IHS Markit's flash reading of the purchasing managers index, which rose to 58.8 in February from 58.7 in the month prior. And Deere ( DE , +9.6%) provided some optimism after raising its 2021 profit forecast amid expectations for better equipment sales. However, a pop at the market open lost steam as the day progressed, fitting right in with a week that saw equities struggle up against all-time highs. The Dow Jones Industrial Average , up 154 points at its zenith, finished less than 1 point higher instead, closing at 31,494. One potential problem remains just how optimistically priced stocks are already. "Most of our indicators suggest stocks are pricing in a lot of good news," says Savita Subramanian, equity and quant strategist for BofA Securities. "In fact, over $3T in stimulus may already be priced in on one measure: the ratio of S&P 500 market cap to the M2 money supply. The ratio currently stands at 1.7x, the highest level since Feb 2020, and to get to the post-crisis average of 1.4x, we estimate additional $3.1T of M2 would be needed." SEE MORE 12 Hot Upcoming IPOs to Watch For in 2021 Other action in the stock market today: The S&P 500 declined 0.2% to 3,906. The Nasdaq Composite finished with a marginal gain to 13,874. The small-cap Russell 2000 rebounded after a dreary Thursday, rising 2.2% to 2,266. U.S. crude oil futures declined 0.8% to settle at $60.05 per barrel. Gold futures gained 0.1% to $1,777.40 per ounce. Story continues stock chart 021921 Bitcoin: The Trillion-Dollar Cryptocurrency If the stock market has lost its momentum this week, Bitcoin has surely found it. The digital currency, which has exploded by more than 1,300% since its 2020 bear-market lows, continues to grab Wall Street's attention as it reaches new milestones. On Friday, Bitcoin prices eclipsed the $55,000 mark and finished regular trading hours at $55,397. (Bitcoin trades 24 hours a day; prices reported here are as of 4 p.m. each trading day.) That marks a 6.3% daily climb, and an 18.8% jump higher since Monday morning. Assets invested in Bitcoin have now surpassed $1 trillion; for perspective, if Bitcoin were a publicly traded company, it would now be worth more than Tesla ( TSLA , $749 billion) or Facebook ( FB , $745 billion). Fueling that gain is one of the drivers we cited in our 2021 outlook for Bitcoin : institutional investors, who are quickly pouring huge sums of money into Bitcoin and other digital currencies. Should you join them? Bitcoin remains a high-risk investment, and also a difficult-to-access one if you only have a traditional brokerage account – you can't buy the digital currency without accessing a cryptocurrency exchange. But you can purchase crypto-connected companies such as these eight stocks . And you can also access crypto via a small but growing number of funds, similar to how you'd buy SPDR Gold Shares ( GLD ) to gain exposure to gold. Read on as we introduce you to the newest option for crypto investors – a Bitcoin fund that charges less than half the fees of the current market leader – and explain its perks, as well as potential future threats. Kyle Woodley was long Bitcoin as of this writing. SEE MORE The 11 Best Growth Stocks to Buy for 2021 \|\| Crypto Long & Short: Could Scalable Payments for Bitcoin Undermine Its Value?: With the wild journey that isbitcoin price swingsso far this year, you might have missed the accelerating rhythm of companies announcing services to support bitcoin for payments. We’re not talking about small idealistic startups, either. A week ago, on Visa’sQ1 earnings call, CEO Al Kelly said the company may add cryptocurrencies to its payments network. He acknowledged thatbitcoinis “not used as a form of payment in a significant way at this point,” but went on to discuss a strategy to “enable users to purchase these currencies using their Visa credentials or to cash out onto our Visa credential to make a fiat purchase at any of the 70 million merchants where Visa is accepted globally.” Related:Apple Should Launch Own Crypto Exchange, RBC Analyst Says Visa also currently providescredit card infrastructurefor 35 crypto companies, with the aim of making it easier for users to pay with bitcoin. In PayPal’s (PYPL)Q4 earnings callthis week, the first since the companystarted allowingthe purchase and sale of a handful of cryptocurrencies via their PayPal account, the company revealed that it was planning to start allowing customers to use their crypto balances topay for goods and servicesat any of the approximately 29 million merchants on the network, and that it was “significantly investing” in the crypto business unit. Large crypto companies are also moving into payments. Last month, crypto exchange and custodian Gemini launched a credit cardwith a 3% rewardon purchases. In December, crypto lenderBlockFiannounced that it would launch a similar product in early 2021. Related:Tesla Invests $1.5B in Bitcoin This is just scratching the surface.Binance,Coinbase,PaxfulandBitPandaare just some of the crypto exchanges that over the past few months have introduced crypto debit cards for retail spending. This week, crypto platform Upholdannounced the acquisitionof card issuer Optimus Cards U.K. Also this week, Binance, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world in terms of volume,announced the launchof a payments system called Binance Pay, aimed at encouraging the use of crypto in cross-border payments. Binance CEO and founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao said: “We think that payments is one of the most obvious use cases for crypto.” Is he right? Obviously “crypto” encompasses a range of assets, but let’s focus on Bitcoin for a moment. Thewhite paperthat introduced Bitcoin to the world in 2008 opens with: “A purely peer-to-peer version of electronic cash would allow online payments to be sent directly from one party to another without going through a financial institution.” Whether Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous writer of the paper, meant for payments to be the main use case or not (this is apoint of contention, as he also wrote elsewhere about its potential role as a store of value), over the years it became clear that scaling limitations inherent in the protocol design made the network impractical for high transaction volumes. (*I am not assuming Satoshi is a he, but I am using this pronoun to avoid linguistic clutter.) Another critique of Bitcoin-as-a-payments rail is its relative lack of speed, although this can be misleading. A bitcoin payment will take around 10 minutes on average, and up to an hour for assumed settlement finality. Credit card and contactless payments are faster, but they usually don’t have settlement finality until days later. And data gathered in electronic transactions removes any financial privacy. Cash, on the other hand, is instantaneous and private, but you need to be physically present. What’s more, bitcoin transactions are relatively expensive. This week the average fee reached its highest point since January 2018. Solutions such as theLightning Networkaim to solve for these barriers by offering fast and cheap throughput on a transaction layer that anchors to the Bitcoin blockchain at certain intervals. Adoption of this technologyis growing, but is still in its early stages. Then again, most of those who complain that Bitcoin doesn’t work for payments have access to other mechanisms that work well. That’s not the case for much of the world. Some jurisdictions have strict capital controls that block payments to other regions. Some countries don’t have sophisticated payment rails that make even simple internal transfers easy. Even some demographic groups in developed countries don’t have access to online payments and are still largely dependent on bank relationships. For many, bitcoin is a tool for freedom in that it facilitates online payments where previously they were inaccessible. For others, using bitcoin is a way to support the network by giving the asset a broader utility. This raises an important question: Should bitcoin be encouraged to be both a store of valueanda payments mechanism? Some reasonswhy it should: It can be argued that bitcoin’s worth as a store of value depends on its utility. The more there is residual demand for bitcoin as a payment token, regardless of its price, the more investors will believe that demand for it will rise in a sustainable way. It can also be argued it is essential for the health of the network that bitcoin’s use as a medium of exchange be encouraged. As successivehalvingsreduce the block subsidy (in which miners get new bitcoin as compensation for the work expended in successfully processing blocks of transactions), miner incentives will increasingly rely on transaction fees. And current demand for this use case is not insignificant. Binance Researchthis week publishedthe results of a survey of 16,000 crypto users across 178 regions, which found that 38% see bitcoin as a medium of exchange. In December, Susquehanna Financial Group revealed asurvey of PayPal customersthat showed 53% would use bitcoin to pay for goods, if they owned it. Some reasonswhy it shouldn’t: There is a not totally unfounded concern that if bitcoin becomes seen by governments as a widely used payment token and a potential threat to fiat currencies they may decide to act, and not in bitcoin’s favor. While it may seem that governments care more about markets and asset prices, it’spaymentsthat matter for monetary policy, consumption and wages – all things that get you votes. Investments sit there (and hopefully grow) while payments move, and both animal and regulatory instinct is to focus more on things that move. In addition, you have the theory that if bitcoin is seen as a store of value, it will not be spent. Gresham’s Law dictates that bad money crowds out the good – if bitcoin is “good” money, people are more likely to hold onto it, and use other assets with less potential value. This segues into what is perhaps the endgame of many of the crypto payments providers. It’s perhaps not about Bitcoin at all. Bitcoin is the crypto asset with the least regulatory uncertainty at the moment. Even stablecoins are not totally out of the regulatory woods yet. (The letter from the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currencythat allowed banksto handle stablecoins could be walked back under a new chief.) So, maybe Bitcoin is the safe starting point for these new rails. Ethereum will probably come next, and where Ethereum goes, so do stablecoins. Maybe the banks and payment companies working on bringing crypto payments services mainstream have their eyes on a potentially bigger pie – that of tomorrow’s payments, the bulk of which could run on blockchains that handle a range of assets. Maybe the forward-thinking institutions are preparing for a day when we hold cryptocurrencies in our digital wallet right along with our private stablecoins and our digital dollars and our tokenized GameStop (GME) shares. Maybe they’re all looking at a financial landscape where the user has more choice. The crypto payment functions today serve their purpose. They offer a useful service to many, nudge along the sophistication of market infrastructure, and set the scene for mainstream adoption of a range of assets with a range of utilities. And with more choice, it is more likely that the market will decide whether Bitcoin is a good payment rail or not. With each new service, we experiment with market adoption, and we learn more about what today’s and tomorrow’s users will value. I’m all for bringing on more experimentation. Investors talking: This interview,in which MicroStrategy (MSTR) CEO Michael Saylor interviewsNYDIG CEO Ross Stevens, is a must-see. Chief economist and managing director of CME GroupBluford Putnamsaid his firmhas begun to noticegold’s waning appeal as a hedge against global political risk, and that he believes bitcoin is an “emerging competitor” to gold. Takeaways: Visa(V) ispiloting a suite of APIsthat will allow banks to offer bitcoin services such as buying, selling and custody, with a view to extending the service to include other cryptocurrencies and stablecoins.TAKEAWAY:Initiatives like this (last month, NYDIGmade a similar announcement) are a step towards mainstream adoption of cryptocurrencies. The “endorsement” of traditional banks, while far from the original ethos of the industry, will go a long way toward encouraging trust in the concept from mainstream clients. This could encourage new investment in the space, both from investors and small savers as well as from startups working on improving market and payment infrastructures. New York-based crypto exchange and custodianGeminiisnow offering deposit accountswith a 7.4% APY, via a partnership with Genesis Capital (owned by DCG, also parent of CoinDesk).TAKEAWAY:The “bankification” of crypto exchange platforms is gathering steam. Gemini is a crypto asset trading platform, stablecoin issuer, credit card issuer and now also an interest-bearing deposit taker. The yield offered is sufficiently higher than traditional deposit yields and so should attract attention, perhaps even serving as an onramp into crypto asset markets. Bitwise Asset Managementhasapplied to publicly trade sharesof its bitcoin fund on the OTCQX marketplace.TAKEAWAY:The fund aims to compete with market leader GBTC fund (managed by Grayscale Investments, owned by CoinDesk parent DCG), which quotes on the same exchange. GBTC’s premium to underlying value has dropped over the past few days to around 10%, from a three-month high of around 40% in mid-December. More competition should keep the premium down, giving retail investors a better deal as well as more choice. GBTC’s $24 billion market leadership position will be hard to assail, however. We saw above in THE BRIEFING that BTC transaction fees are increasing.ETH transaction feesarespiking even more.TAKEAWAY:This reflects theETHprice increase as well as growing demand for stablecoins and decentralized finance tokens. In spite of increasing fees, transaction volume also continues to rise. (For background onEthereum’s gas costs, see our recent metrics report.) Cryptocurrency investment firmArcane Crypto(ARCANE)is now listedon Sweden’s Nasdaq First North following a reverse takeover of Vertical Ventures AB.TAKEAWAY:With this, Arcane joins the growing roster of listed crypto companies, and is one of the fewbroad industry plays(as opposed to pure funds or market infrastructure plays) to have a transparent market valuation (approximately $200 millionat listing). CalPERS, the largest public pension fund in the U.S.,increased its stake inbitcoin minerRiot Blockchain(RIOT) nearly sevenfold over the last quarter, to $1.9 million at year-end price.TAKEAWAY:This highlights that direct ownership is not the only way to play BTC exposure. RIOT’s share price has moved up with BTC, but since Sept 30, 2020, has produced a return of over 750% vs BTC’s 250%. The total balance of BTC held in “accumulation addresses,” which have at least two incoming transfers over the past seven years and have never spent funds,has reached a 3.5-year highof over 15% of the total circulating supply.TAKEAWAY:As more investors buy to hold, more bitcoin is removed from circulation, which supports further price rises as new demand comes in. This type of detail is one of my favorite things about crypto asset metrics – imagine if we had this level of insight into investor behavior with traditional assets. The amount ofstablecoin USDCheld on exchangeshas soared since the beginning of the year, hinting at institutional intention to buy.TAKEAWAY:The balance of stablecoins on crypto exchanges is watched as a signal for investor intent. It does not, however, indicate which asset(s) the buyers will favor, nor is it a reliable indicator of institutional interest as many institutions prefer to (or have to) use fiat to invest in crypto assets. • Crypto Long & Short: Could Scalable Payments for Bitcoin Undermine Its Value? • Crypto Long & Short: Could Scalable Payments for Bitcoin Undermine Its Value? \|\| Marathon Patent Group and DMG Blockchain Solutions to Form the Digital Currency Miners of North America (DCMNA) and Launch North America’s First Cooperative Mining Pool: VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Jan. 05, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Marathon Patent Group Inc. (NASDAQ: MARA), (“Marathon”) and DMG Blockchain Solutions Inc. (TSX-V: DMGI) (DMGGF: OTC US) (FRANKFURT: 6AX) (“DMG”) have entered into a non-binding memorandum of understanding to form Digital Currency Miners of North America (“DCMNA”), which will be a U.S.-based non-profit entity whose mission is to create a better mining environment for North American miners, to help improve their financial performance, and to create North America’s first cooperative mining pool. Marathon Patent Group and DMG’s U.S. subsidiary, Blockseer, are working together to establish DCMNA, a non-profit entity focused on North American digital currency opportunities, including decentralizing the Bitcoin hashrate and providing more transparency for North American miners. DCMNA’s principal initiative is to create North America’s first cooperative mining pool by licensing Blockseer’s mining pool to all DCMNA members in a cooperative structure. Mining partners who are members will receive rebates based on the hash rate they contribute to the overall pool, thus improving the mining profitability of DCMNA members. As a founding member of DCMNA and one of North America’s largest enterprise Bitcoin mining companies, Marathon will put all of its mining hashrate (equivalent to 10.36 EH/s, or 7.6% of the total Bitcoin network’s hashrate, if all miners were deployed today at current levels) into the pool. Benefits of the mining pool include, but are not limited to: Profit sharing, whereby miners receive rebates based on their contributed hashrate Increased transparency as all financial information will be audited by a third-party U.S.-based financial audit firm Lobbying efforts to improve the policies and regulatory environment in North America for miners “Clean block mining” that adheres to the Office of Foreign Asset Control’s (OFAC’s) compliance standards and reduces the risk of mining blocks that include transactions linked to nefarious activities Story continues DCMNA is focused on increasing transparency, trust, and accountability in the emerging mining industry, particularly as more institutions embrace Bitcoin as a store of value. Unlike other Bitcoin mining pools, Blockseer’s pool will be audited by an independent auditing firm, ensuring that the miners receive accurate rewards and that auditors and regulators can trust the data provided. Using DMG’s proprietary patent pending technologies, the pool will also create transaction blocks that specifically omit any transactions deemed risky by Walletscore, and which may not meet OFAC standards. As a result, North American miners who are DCMNA members will reduce the risk of the blocks they mine containing transactions tied to criminal or terrorist-related activities. DCMNA will also act as unified group to lobby government bodies and regulators on behalf of its membership. The organization will be governed by its mining members, while Marathon’s executive chairman, Merrick Okamoto, will serve as DCMNA’s inaugural chairman. A membership committee will also be formed to develop and regulate DCMNA’s operations and investments in North American digital currency mining issues, which will be identified by its membership. “We are tremendously proud to lead the launch of DCMNA, a non-profit organization, whose first mandate is to bring its members a vast improvement in mining pool operations by licensing the Blockseer pool to serve our North American mining members,” said Marathon’s executive chairman, Merrick Okamoto. “To date, companies such as ours have relied on pools primarily based in Asia to connect to the Bitcoin network, and we have been frustrated by the lack of transparency and audited data. Marathon has been a leader both in terms of market capitalization and also in terms of lobbying regulators on behalf of our industry, and we look forward to working diligently to build the capabilities of DCMNA on behalf of our mining partners and DCMNA’s new members.” Dan Reitzik, DMG’s CEO added, “It is an honor to work with Marathon to establish the DCMNA and to provide the technological components for the DCMNA organization. When DMG acquired Datient, the parent of Blockseer in 2018, our intention was to create solutions that would benefit our industry as a whole and increase trust in the Bitcoin ecosystem. Mining is a unique industry, in that miners do not necessarily compete with one another for customers or contracts, but instead work together to secure the blockchain on which Bitcoin transactions are processed. It simply makes sense to amalgamate North American miners toward common goals, and the Blockseer pool is the ideal way in which to lead this process in a safe, transparent, and compliant way.” Terms of the memorandum of understanding include DMG licensing Blockseer’s technology and associated intellectual property to DCMNA, as well as the management of pool operations. Upon completion of a definitive agreement, detailed terms and conditions will be provided in an upcoming news release. Pool operations are expected to commence shortly after entering into a definitive agreement. About Marathon Patent Group Marathon is a digital asset technology company that mines cryptocurrencies, with a focus on the blockchain ecosystem and the generation of digital assets. About DMG Blockchain Solutions Inc. DMG is a vertically integrated blockchain and cryptocurrency company that manages, operates, and develops end-to-end digital solutions to monetize the blockchain ecosystem. DMG’s businesses are segmented into three main divisions: data centre operations, data analytics and forensics and developing enterprise blockchains. DMG’s data centre operations focus on earning revenues from block rewards and transaction fees by mining primarily bitcoin as well as providing hosting services for industrial mining clients. DMG’s data analytics and forensic services provide technical expertise software products such as Blockseer Pool, Mine Manager and Walletscore, as well as working with auditors, law firms, and law enforcement organizations. DMG’s permissioned blockchain technology is focused on developing enterprise software for the supply chain management of controlled products. DMG’s strategy is to become the domain experts across the business verticals it focuses on. DMG’s management team includes seasoned crypto experts, forensic & financial professionals and blockchain developers with deep relationships throughout the industry. For more information on DMG Blockchain Solutions visit: www.dmgblockchain.com On behalf of the Board of Directors, Daniel Reitzik, CEO & Director For further information, please contact: Marathon Patent Group Company Contact: Jason Assad Telephone: 678-570-6791 Email: [email protected] Marathon Patent Group Investor Contact: Gateway Investor Relations Matt Glover and Charlie Schumacher Telephone: 949-574-3860 Email: [email protected] DMG Blockchain Solutions Inc. Email: [email protected] Web: www.dmgblockchain.com Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information This news release contains forward-looking information based on current expectations. Statements about the Company’s plans for the potential establishment of this new DCMNA pool and definitive agreement, to increase petahash (PH) by self-mining, price of bitcoin, plans and intentions, other potential transactions, acquisition of customers, product development, events, courses of action, and the potential of the Company’s technology and operations, among others, are all forward-looking information. Forward-looking statements consist of statements that are not purely historical, including any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future. Such information can generally be identified by the use of forwarding looking wording such as “may”, “expect”, “estimate”, “anticipate”, “intend”, “believe” and “continue” or the negative thereof or similar variations. The reader is cautioned that assumptions used in the preparation of any forward-looking information may prove to be incorrect. Events or circumstances may cause actual results to differ materially from those predicted, as a result of numerous known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of the Company, including but not limited to, business, economic and capital market conditions; the ability to manage operating expenses, which may adversely affect the Company’s financial condition; the ability to remain competitive as other better financed competitors develop and release competitive products; regulatory uncertainties; access to equipment; market conditions and the demand and pricing for products; the demand and pricing of bitcoins; security threats, including a loss/theft of DMG’s bitcoins; DMG’s relationships with its customers, distributors and business partners; the inability to add more power to DMG’s facilities; DMG’s ability to successfully define, design and release new products in a timely manner that meet customers’ needs; the ability to attract, retain and motivate qualified personnel; competition in the industry; the impact of technology changes on the products and industry; failure to develop new and innovative products; the ability to successfully maintain and enforce our intellectual property rights and defend third-party claims of infringement of their intellectual property rights; the impact of intellectual property litigation that could materially and adversely affect the business; the ability to manage working capital; and the dependence on key personnel. DMG may not actually achieve its plans, projections, or expectations. Such statements and information are based on numerous assumptions regarding present and future business strategies and the environment in which the Company will operate in the future, including the demand for its products, the ability to successfully develop software, that there will be no regulation or law that will prevent the Company from operating its business, anticipated costs, the ability to secure sufficient capital to complete its business plans, the ability to achieve goals and the price of bitcoin. Given these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. The securities of DMG are considered highly speculative due to the nature of DMG’s business. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include, failure to obtain regulatory approval, the continued availability of capital and financing, equipment failures, lack of supply of equipment, power and infrastructure, failure to obtain any permits required to operate the business, the impact of technology changes on the industry, the impact of Covid-19 or other viruses and diseases on the Company’s ability to operate, secure equipment, and hire personnel, competition, security threats including stolen bitcoins from DMG or its customers, consumer sentiment towards DMG’s products, services and blockchain technology generally, failure to develop new and innovative products, litigation, increase in operating costs, increase in equipment and labor costs, failure of counterparties to perform their contractual obligations, government regulations, loss of key employees and consultants, and general economic, market or business conditions. Forward-looking statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking information. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date of this news release. Except as required by law, the Company disclaims any intention and assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Additionally, the Company undertakes no obligation to comment on the expectations of, or statements made by third parties in respect of the matters discussed above. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Service Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release. [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] None available.	Trend: down \|\| Prices: 54207.32, 48824.43, 49705.33, 47093.85, 46339.76, 46188.45, 45137.77, 49631.24, 48378.99, 50538.24
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis] Not fully available. [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Bitcoin Opinion: Long Live The King: If you’re wondering how you should treat Bitcoin, as an investment vehicle, allow me to share with you guys my non-expert opinion. End of story, thanks a lot for reading. See you next time. –this article shouldn’t be taken as financial advisement as it represents my personal opinion and views. I have savings invested in cryptocurrency so take whatever I write with a grain of salt. Do not invest what you cannot afford to lose and always read as much as possible about a project before investing. Never forget: with great power, comes great responsibility.Being your own bank means you’re always responsible for your own money— Cryptocurrency investment is one of the hottest topics we can discuss today, as there are many different opinions on what the future might hold for Bitcoin. Due to the regulatory bodies world-wide having different approaches towards the subject, while at the same time Bitcoin being decentralized and not belonging to a single entity/organization, investors usually feel uncertain towards the future use of digital cryptocurrencies. An important point, however, is that from a money-making perspective, which iswhat matters at the end to any investor, Bitcoin is undoubtedly one of the strongest profit vehicles since it came to existence – probably the best asset ever created: digital gold. First we grab a price level, like when Bitcoin was around USD 8200. Now, if you want to understand if that price level is interesting, consider the following: the likelihood of having invested in Bitcoin at any given point in time since its inception while actually profiting from it, is about 97%. Sounds too good to be true, right? Except, it’s not. By doing a rough estimate, we can quickly see Bitcoin has only been above USD 8200 for about 137 days. As it is traded for about 1917 days, there’s a ~ 97% chance you bought Bitcoin when its price was lower than USD 8200. Of course this also means you only had a 3% chance of selling at the right time. There’s always a dark-side to everything, right? My point still stands: if we only take into account price and time, you’re actually way more likely to have made a bet at the right time, than the opposite. I know these statistics are fun to play with, but they hardly bring you any real value. Knowing when you could have bought and sold it’s important from a learning perspective, although real investor education happens in a most peculiar way; usually, by making wrong bets and suffering through bearish seasons, that is. What you desire to know is not how much money you could have made. What you, and everyone else, really want to find out is how much you can still make. And today, that is what I’ll be discussing. With a few twists, some side-track topics and the usual delightful shenanigans. Before we go any further, please remember the below warning: Anyone who tells you they’re not in it for the money are either lying or don’t need to care about money because they have so much of it, diversified over so many assets, their risk is quite low. Back to what matters. Depending on where your political and economic view-point stand, Bitcoin can either be the world’s savior or its demise. In my humble opinion, as an economist, I think most of us aredead wrong on how we think money works. I won’t go into too much detail about the subject, as I really want to write an exploratory paper on how (I believe) money should be earned and accessed. The point worth extrapolating is that, much opposed to general belief, I do think there are many different ways to redistribute wealth properly and to create incentive systems for everyone being able to earn cryptocurrency. Seems illogical that the biggest problem in cryptocurrency (adoption) could be easily fixed by creating ecosystems where users earn tokens for doing things. Literally anything at all. When we look at how the market has been evolving, since its birth, I would expect this “bubble” like behaviour to continue, maybe indefinitely. There are many factors which will balance into the behaviour of price, especially market manipulation, regulatory actions and, of course, both institutional money and other financial investment vehicles (like Bitcoin futures or ETFs). Historically speaking, Bitcoin has been kind to long-term investors. Short-term investors cannot complain too much, as Bitcoin is one of the most (if not the most?) volatile assets out there. Plus, I believe smart-money is coming full force, as it usually happens after every Bitcoin bearish season. Want an expert opinion on the real value of Bitcoin and possible triggers for mass adoption? Checkthis beautiful piecefrom Hacked’s one and only,Mati Greenspan. As with everything in life, there’s thegood and the bad (sometimes the ugly too); and Bitcoin is not an exception. If there are many factors that could trigger a price increase, like mass adoption, there are others that can have quite an opposite effect. Let’s check which triggers can potentially call for bear and bull markets. To me this is definitely the grand-master behind the major price run we’ve seen in late December 2017 and January 2018. It did take me some time to truly understand why, but due to the amazing work of so many different people, we now have a better, clearer picture of what really happened. Tether manipulated the markets by manipulating the price of Bitcoin. It wasn’t any technology advancement in neither Bitcoin, nor the large quantities of dumb money entering the market. The key argument pointed out by Prof. Griffin on the research paper “Bit “, was that “When Bitcoin’s price fell, purchases with Tether tended to increase, helping to reverse the decline. But during times when Bitcoin rose, Griffin said he didn’t see the reverse occur.” Seems Tether was protecting the price of Bitcoin from crashing. To accomplish this, large quantities of Tether were issued and used to buy Bitcoin on Bitfinex. Of course this wouldn’t be such a big deal if Bitfinex wasn’t owned by the same people who own and mint Tether. But that’s not even the worse. Consider this: wouldn’t you expect a company that claims they own reserves on a 1:1 ratio between Tether and USD, to be fully externally audited and show proof of those USD reserves? Another huge red flag if you ask me. To those who now claim “oh but some lawyer dudes just came out and said Tether bank accounts are fully backed so it’s all good”, please, I beg you toactually do some digging. The only thing Freeh, Sporkin & Sullivan LLP (FSS) said about Tether was: “FSS is confident that Tether’s unencumbered assets exceed the balance of fully-backed USD Tethers in circulation as of June 1st, 2018.” That doesn’t sound like a real assurance to me. Especially when you consider the “official” news-source, that appeared unsigned by the FSS board on Tether’s website, also stated “procedures performed are not for the purpose of providing assurance”. My view on futures is a bit blurry. I understand their purpose and I also recognize their effectiveness in taming markets, especially during the short-term. Does it work in the long-term? In 1974 the first gold futures contract was traded on the COMEX exchange in New York. Trading started on December 31. Fast-forward three years and gold was back rising to new highs. That’s right. No one can tame the ambition of human beings to exponentially increase their wealth, time after time; there is no futures market that can ever stop speculation. Money talks louder and that means there will always be new smart-money coming into the actual asset, making its price go higher. What will happen is that those same people will have an extra incentive. As we’ve seen in the past the usual trigger for adoption is smart-money coming into any market. Bitcoin, of course, is no different. The logic is quite simple. You might think this is oversimplifying how things work, but the logic is dictated by public perception of Bitcoin. Is it a good investment vehicle? Should I store money in Bitcoin? Do other people actually accept it? The answer to world-wide adoption is acceptance; but acceptance only comes with adoption. It’s the chicken-egg dilemma. The most beautiful redundancy. What this means is that both adoption and acceptance walk hand-to-had; one leads to the other and none can exist alone. That is why market manipulation or Bitcoin’s futures, although being the bad are notthat bad.Manipulation usually means high volatility, which in turns bring massive profits. Sure, I get this isn’t helpful to the ultimate goal of cryptocurrencies – which to me is the ability to shift wealth redistribution. I also can’t make exclude the hypothesis this feature of cryptocurrency won’t be the catalyst for its destruction; however, if we apply logic and reasoning taking into account the recent Bitcoin price history, we can clearly expect volatility to bring more and more people into the market. Ups and downs are usually a nice and easy way to help bubbles growing. And, as you might know, bubbles have a certain tendency to pop. History has taught us it usually isn’t a question of if, but when. When downwards price movement dominates a market the only thing you can usually do is sit and wait. Cryptocurrencies, especially bitcoin, are prone to huge downfalls, yes; but we can also expect massive rebounds at some point. There are always some unbreakable rules successful investors follow, in order to being able to succeed. Again, please remember this is not financial advise To me those are: 1. Invest only what you can afford to lose; 2. Buy when there’s fear, sell when there’s hype; 3. The market behaves in waves. Be patient and wait. Because I follow those rules I’m not afraid of bear-markets. Heck, just remember 2012-2013. Whatever goes around comes around, so being passive is sometimes a better decision that getting ahead of everyone. Just think: what are the chances you actually figured out how to beat the entire market? That’s why I personally do not trade – yet envy those who successfully do it. You need cunning, agility and balls of steel; otherwiseemotion will most likely triumph over reason. Anyhow, the chances you’ll get stuck at a really bad price-level (ie, if you bought bitcoin near USD 20,00.00) during an extensive amount of time, are not that great. Yet, as time is a relative thing, our ability to be patient is also relative. Meaning what I consider to be an acceptable amount of time, you could see it as unbearable. • Would you wait 1 year to increase your portfolio in 100%? • What if you could increase it 500% over a space of 2 years? • Better yet, what if it grew 5000% over the course of 3 years? Are you thinking “I’m sure could do it”? Alright, then do a quick exercise: Have you ever done anything long-term, during at least the amount of time you’re considering investing, which costs you time, money and doesn’t pay-off anything? If so, then I would argue youcan definitely succeed at hodling. If not, maybe you should consider a different approach. Patience isn’t an easy skill to learn when we live in an inflationary world: money of tomorrow will be worth less, meaning you need to keep getting more and more present value, instead of focusing on future value. Since the introduction of the Blockstream Store in January, the Lightning Network has grown tremendously. Around the announcement, the Lightning Network had a total of 46 open channels and 0.682 BTC in capacity. Nowadays, there are roughly 7,800 open channels with 26 BTC of capacity. That is a 16,856% increase in channels and a 4,084% increase in channel capacity in 6 months! As the Lightning Network grows, additional integration options will become available that could provide exchanges and users with security and ease-of-use benefits beyond the two basic integration strategies described above. 1. Exchange-specific, Lightning-driven apps With Lightning, it can become possible to allow exchange users to make trades from within dedicated local apps, making deposits and withdrawals transparent to users. These apps can run on desktops, smartphones, or on more secure hardware devices such as the Ledger Blue. With exchange functionality integrated with a Lightning wallet, funds can be moved into an exchange’s control for the minimum time required for a trade to execute. Immediately after an order is filled or expires, the funds would be returned to the control of the user’s wallet/exchange app via Lightning. This could potentially create a simpler experience for users as well as reduce risk for exchanges in case of security breaches, as the amount of funds stored in hot wallets could be much lower. 1. Deposits and withdrawals via the public Lightning Network With the two integration strategies described above, it’s assumed that users will be opening channels directly with exchanges. This will be economical for larger-scale traders who move money in and out of exchanges often. However, as the Lightning network develops, it will be possible for users to have open channels into the public Lightning network and for those users to be able to route deposits and withdrawals via intermediary nodes. It will likely take some time before there is enough connectivity within the Lightning Network for this to work, but when this becomes possible, it will allow a user’s channels to be used for a variety of different kinds of payments as well as multiple exchanges. With channel setup costs spread across multiple applications and counter-parties, Lightning transactions will become cheaper and more convenient. There are many ways to improve scalability and off-chains are a great way to accomplish that. Why should increasing the block-size be a better solution, if it will put more stress onto small transaction due to increasing fees? Scalability will happen, just a bit differently than you might expect. We already have the unique piece that allows for scalability to happen: an underlying asset people can use a store of value. Whatever is built on top doesn’t really matter if the underlying layer, bitcoin’s blockchain, is still used as the settlement layer. From batching and Shnorr signatures, to the Lightning Network and atomic swaps, there are as many ways to improve transaction throughput, as far as our imaginations reach out. You could potentially have digital fiat-currencies redeemable for Bitcoin. You can have other side-chains that interface with a single wallet app, meaning if it’s easy to exchange your tokens and other cryptocurrencies for Bitcoin, you will still use it as a base-layer to store your “gains”. The point is: let’s not focus too much on something that will eventually happen. Everyone (myself included, full disclosure) has been focused on technology and price so much, we forgot to take a couple of steps back and re-visit some core debates, crucial for the overall Bitcoin acceptance. If you wonder how tokenomics can foster user adoption, think of the best way you know to redistribute value. In Bitcoin, that is done through mining and selling the actual currency. Right now most projects we see, spawning here and there, which actually try to implement a successful business models based in tokens, are forgetting some key aspects of the most important metric of all:purpose. Andreas usually says: what can your business gain from decentralization? I say:what can your business give to decentralization? The reason is simple, if you create a system where you need to “subscribe” or spend money for tokens in order to participate, then the system is not inclusive. If you build a system where participants are rewarded for participating, like Bitcoin rewards miners for securing the blokchain, then you can build any incentive system which users may see as actual value. By combining the power of fast payments with tokenomics, I can easily see a world where value is simply traded and earned through mostly everything we do. Decentralization doesn’t mean “screw the middleman”. Actually, decentralization depends much on the middle-man. Except we all can become that middle-man because as we spend time in a certain network, doing certain things, we get rewarded. Decentralization means implementing systems which properly balance reward payouts, to all participants, in as many different ways possible. The middleman is always welcomed, I highly doubt the world would survive without platforms and distributors and companies linking networks of producers and consumers, investors and start-ups, even creditors and debtors. And all work must be paid in kind, isn’t that right? If cryptocurrency uses its underlying technology properly, then there is no reasonatomic swapswon’t allow for the emergence of many different middle-men, charging very low fees, competing to hold the power to convert some crypto into another. If cryptocurrency is easy to convert into other forms of monies, why wouldn’t we solely use cryptocurrency? Trust is backed by both the number of users in a network, as well as its internal ledger security. As currently Bitcoin seems to be the most technological secure system out there, to store money, it’s just a matter of time until it also becomes the most secure and cheap way to transfer and use money. However, do not expect the path to the bottom of the rainbow to be clear of perils. No technological advancement, which promoted checks and balances to avoid power and decision-making centralization, has ever been received in kind. So why would the world be different towards cryptocurrencies? When we hear countries banning cryptocurrencies, exchanges being blocked by the rule of man (like India), attacks to promote hype and fear across small-time investors, that is the time we know they are afraid. Decentralization means breaking concepts and views of the world as we never thought possible. Companies building crypto-payments or savings apps, crypto-messaging apps, decentralized storage and infrastructure sharing crypto-tokens, or any other crypto-enabled system, will soon realize the easiest way to bring value is by giving value. Yes, go ahead, create your own money. It has no value, they say? It’s of no use, they say? Terrific! Then nobody will mind if you just give it all away. Like bitcoin did. If a company has a product which holds value and then decides to distribute a token with a clear purpose within that product’s or organization ecosystem, why wouldn’t people consider that token valuable? If everything holds value just because we believe it holds value, I see no reason for Bitcoin to have a limited growth. As long as the network of users continues to grow, price will eventually grow. Because of its deflationary properties, if people continue to say bitcoin has value (by purchasing it), then I see no reason for a price ceiling. *Maybe we really are going to the moon! My opinion could be wrong, Bitcoin might disappear into oblivion someday and we keep stuck with fiduciary currency. If that is not the case, then the likelihood of Bitcoin’s pricing skyrocketing someday should be incredibly high, simply because it has happened a gazillion times in the past – and history has a tendency to go around in cycles. I know: past performance does not indicate future performance. However, I haven’t heard of any network which grew in numbers and not in price. If you were to gamble on thesuccess of cryptocurrency, would you bet in a system no single nation or group of people controls, or in a fiduciary system based on a pyramid logic? Hope you’ve enjoyed the article! Give it a like down below and leave a comment. Tweet me @febrocas The postBitcoin Opinion: Long Live The Kingappeared first onCCN. \|\| 3 Tech Stocks That I Wouldn't Touch: Many investors like to look for stocks with low share prices, particularly if those prices are much lower than they have been in the recent past. In other words, they're trying to bottom-fish for a good deal. Sometimes that strategy works, but often the companies that underlie these low-priced stocks are simply bad businesses, which can lead to further -- potentially significant -- losses for shareholders. Fitbit's Versa smartwatch. Image source: Fitbit. To that end, here are three tech stocks that might be tempting for investors but are ultimately bad businesses that investors should avoid: GoPro (NASDAQ: GPRO) , Fitbit (NYSE: FIT) , and Snapchat (NYSE: SNAP) . GoPro is a no-go When GoPro first went public back in 2014, the shares surged from around $36 per share to nearly $90 per share before plummeting. The stock has sometimes bounced on its way down, but the trend has been unmistakably downward. GPRO Chart GPRO data by YCharts . This downward trend reflects the company's poor underlying business fundamentals. On Aug. 2, GoPro announced its second-quarter financial results, and they weren't pretty. Revenue was down 5% from a year ago; its gross margin percentage contracted to 30.8%, down from 36.2% a year earlier; and its operating loss widened. This isn't a short-term trend, either. GoPro's revenue, margins, and operating income have all been on the decline for quite some time. GPRO Gross Profit Margin (TTM) Chart GPRO Gross Profit Margin (TTM) data by YCharts . Ultimately, GoPro's business isn't in good shape, and the company's recent financial performance doesn't give a lot of hope that things are getting better. This is a stock that I'd avoid. Fitbit is unfit for my portfolio Fitbit, which went public in 2015, saw its share price peak at close to $50 per share, and has been on the decline ever since. As of writing, the shares closed at $5.83 per share. Fitbit's business has also performed poorly since the company went public. Although the company was profitable and growing when it went public, Fitbit's revenue has been going in the wrong direction and the wearable device specialist is now posting steep losses. Story continues FIT Net Income (TTM) Chart FIT Net Income (TTM) data by YCharts . Last quarter, Fitbit reported some ugly results, as sales dropped 15% thanks to a "20% decline in devices sold, partially offset by an average selling price increase of 6% to $106 per device." The company reported negative free cash flow of $83 million. Looking to the current quarter, management guided to a revenue decline of 3% from the same quarter a year ago as sales of its smartwatches grow and as declines in its tracker revenue moderate. The company also said that it's expecting "free cash flow of approximately negative $30 million in Q3 and net income per share between a $0.02 loss and a $0.01 profit." That outlook is hardly inspiring. Ultimately, Fitbit just doesn't seem like a great business or a business with the potential to be great. Staying away from Snapchat Snapchat, which has been a poor performer year to date is another stock that I'm staying far away from. SNAP Chart SNAP data by YCharts . Unlike Fitbit and GoPro, Snapchat isn't a business in decline. Indeed, analysts expect the company to post 40% revenue growth in 2018 and are betting on another 38.2% growth in the following year. However, there are some troubling issues with Snapchat's business: It's losing money (analysts expect the company to post a loss of $0.55 per share this year) and is likely to continue to lose money for the foreseeable future (analyst consensus is that Snapchat will lose $0.42 per share next year). The stock is extremely expensive: It's trading at nearly 12 times analyst estimates for 2018 revenue and nearly 8.5 times expected 2019 revenue. By contrast, the social media bellwether Facebook (NASDAQ: FB) trades at roughly 8.9 times 2018 analyst revenue estimates and around 7.1 times 2019 estimates. Facebook's growth rates aren't expected to be as high as Snapchat's (36.9% in 2018 and 25.1% in 2019), but unlike Snapchat, Facebook is growing profits. To top it all off, as my Foolish colleague pointed out, management seems to have a credibility problem . There are better social media stocks, let alone other tech stocks, that investors can put their hard-earned money into. I'm steering clear of Snapchat. More From The Motley Fool 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This Ashraf Eassa has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Facebook, Fitbit, and GoPro. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy . \|\| Bitcoin Magazines Week in Review: Rejections and Reflections: Week in Review This week in the industry, we saw the gears of government and regulation grinding, we check in on some mining news and we take a moment to reflect on the state of the market and industry innovation. Here are some of Bitcoin Magazine s top bitcoin, blockchain and cryptocurrency news stories for the week. Stay on top of the best stories in the bitcoin, blockchain and cryptocurrency industry. Subscribe to our newsletter here . The Latest in Regulation Not a Done Deal: U.S. SEC Will Review Most Recent ETF Decisions China Blocks Access to Over 120 Offshore Digital Currency Exchanges WeChat Shuts Down Numerous Crypto Media Accounts Top Crypto Exchanges Join Winklevosses Self-Regulatory Organization This Wednesday, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission released orders on nine bitcoin exchange traded fund (ETF) proposals. Each of the three orders, like those that preceded them, shot down all of the ETFs in question. But these decisions, the SEC revealed the next day, are now up for review. This development has offered a glimmer of hope for the industry in its slow-slog toward a bitcoin-backed, exchange-traded product. In the march toward clearer crypto regulation in the States, exchanges have taken the lead in an attempt to quicken the pace. The Virtual Currency Association, a self-regulatory organization spearheaded by the Winklevosses and their Gemini exchange, added three new members this week. With these latest additions, the VCA continues to work toward its goal of establishing an industry-sponsored, self-regulatory organization (SRO) to oversee virtual commodity marketplaces, in advance of a summit to be held this September. While the U.S. grapples with regulations and oversight for its own virtual currency markets, the Chinese government is looking to siphon its citizens access to crypto trading venues. Chinese officials shuttered access to over 120 offshore exchanges this week, an extreme measure to accompany the comprehensive ban it effected on domestic ICOs in September 2017. Story continues Meanwhile in the private sector, WeChat is assisting the government with its crackdown. The number one messaging platform in China purged crypto and blockchain media accounts from its services this week, citing the governments policies toward ICOs as justification for the bans. News from the Bitcoin Mining Industry SoftBank Denies Reports of Bitmain Deal; Bitmain Still Silent Mining Like a Viking: How the Fjords of Norway Offer a Greener Alternative All eyes were on Bitmain this week, as public and media scrutiny continues to pick apart the details of the Chinese mining behemoths forthcoming public offering. After reports surfaced last week claiming that Japanese telecom company Softbank and Chinese internet provider Tencent had invested in Bitmain via a private pre-IPO funding round, a handful of companies came forward this week to deny their involvement . In a feature article , Bitcoin Magazines Colin Harper took a trip to Norway to survey the work of Northern Bitcoin, a German mining company that has taken advantage of the abundance of renewable energy Norways fjords produce. Situated in Lefdal Mine, a defunct mine turned data center in Måløy, the 3,250 miner strong ASIC mining farm operates at nearly half the electricity cost of its competitors and with zero CO2 emissions. Its a reminder that, with the right infrastructure and a tinge of creativity, bitcoin mining can be more sustainable than its critics suggest. Rehashing Old Arguments and Looking Ahead New Research Claims Satoshi Mined Far Fewer Bitcoins Than Previously Thought Op Ed: Making Friends With Time in the Cryptocurrency Space Ever since Bitcoin developer Sergio Lerner presented compelling evidence on the topic in 2013, the Bitcoin community has assumed that Satoshi Nakamoto mined and held on to roughly 1,000,000 bitcoin during the networks inaugural year. New evidence from Bitmex research, on the other hand, suggests that this figure may be in the ballpark of 600,000-700,000 BTC. Finally, IOST CEO Jimmy Zhong reminds us of the importance of perspective in times of market anemia. These are the times, Zhong argues, that real growth can be realized, and that those who focus their efforts on development despite the downturn will be better for it when things start to look up again. Life is a long journey. We often say that choice is more important than effort. We also need to understand that desire and choices only pull through with persistence. I hope we can have faith in our common choice, the future of technology, the power of market cycles; remain unwavering in the face of swaying market sentiment; make independent and clear-headed judgments; and, together, build something people truly want, Zhong writes. This article originally appeared on Bitcoin Magazine . \|\| Amazon Adds Another Business Worth $10 Billion Per Year: It seems there isn't a market that Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) won't enter, given a large enough opportunity. The onetime bookseller turned e-commerce titan already dominates online sales and cloud computing , and continues to search for other industries to disrupt. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has famously said, "Your margin is my opportunity." While investors weren't looking, Amazon has quietly built another business, currently worth $10 billion a year. Though not as eye-catching as the company's other segments, its business-to-business (B2B) commerce platform, known as Amazon Business, has become one of its fastest growing segments. Florist smiling working on a tablet. Image source: Getty Images. The opportunity is massive Amazon's newest market is a monster. B2B e-commerce sales are projected to top $9 trillion this year in the U.S. alone, according to Forrester Research. While figures for the global opportunity are difficult to come by, the U.S. total illustrates the significant opportunity that Amazon is chasing. In a blog post earlier this week, Amazon revealed that its B2B commerce platform has crested $10 billion in annual sales, and it cited a laundry list of institutions enabling that impressive benchmark: 80% of the 100 largest-enrollment education organizations. 55 of the Fortune 100 companies. More than half the 100 biggest hospital systems. More than 40% of the 100 most-populous communities' local governments. Amazon reflected on some of the factors that allowed it to grow its business portal into a $10 billion segment in less than four years -- one that includes hundreds of thousands of business sellers globally that transact on its site. The platform serves millions of businesses worldwide, from mom-and-pop shops to large enterprises. Amazon cited its international expansion as a contributor to its B2B growth, as its recent entry into France, Italy, and Spain brings the total number of countries served by Amazon Business to eight. The growing number of third-party sellers has also provided a boost, the company says, making up more than 50% of its $10 billion in global sales. Amazon Business launched in 2015, and sells a wide variety of products, including office supplies, janitorial products, laboratory supplies, and break-room snacks. The platform allows companies to create multi-user accounts and customized approval processes, and can integrate with procurement application software. A woman smiling tapping on a smartphone held by a delivery driver in a van with the Amazon Prime logo. Image source: Amazon. Accelerating growth A surprising takeaway is the speed at which this business has grown. Amazon's consumer business took seven years to expand from $1 billion in sales to $10 billion, and Amazon Web Services (AWS) topped $10 billion in sales 10 years after its debut, according to CNBC. Amazon Business hit $10 billion less than four years after its launch, marking the fastest that an Amazon segment has reached this lofty milestone. Story continues The magnitude of this opportunity is significant. In a note to clients, Robert W. Baird analyst Colin Sebastian said, "We believe Amazon B2B over the very long-term has the potential to surpass the size of the core [business to consumer] segment, and remains an under-appreciated opportunity by many investors." Sebastian said he believes that Amazon Business could top $25 billion in annual sales by 2021. It looks as if Amazon will likely add B2B to the growing list of businesses that the company already disrupts. More From The Motley Fool 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Danny Vena owns shares of Amazon. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Amazon. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy . View comments \|\| Insider Buys Of The Week: AT&T, GE, Salesforce: • Insider buying can be an encouraging signal for potential investors. • Some insiders took advantage of post-earnings slumps this week. • Also, an insider bucked the selling trend in a hot software stock. Conventional wisdom says insiders and 10 percent owners really only buy shares of a company for one reason -- they believe the stock price will rise and they want to profit from it. Soinsider buyingcan be an encouraging signal for potential investors, particularly with markets near all-time highs. Here's a look at a few notable insider purchases reported in the past week. AT&T FiveAT&T Inc.(NYSE:T) directors stepped up to the buy window this past week. The total of more than 90,500 shares of this telecom giant acquired, at per-share prices ranging from $30.21 to $30.73, cost them altogether more than $4.56 million. Note that none of these directors owns more than 100,000 shares. These purchases came just after AT&T sharedits latest quarterly resultsand about the time the stock hit a new 52-week low. Shares ended the week trading at $31.08 apiece, so these directors' purchases seem to be well-timed. The stock has changed hands between $30.13 and $39.80 in the past year, and the analyst's mean price target is $35.99. See Also:Report: CBS CEO Les Moonves Accused Of Sexual Misconduct GE General Electric Company(NYSE:GE) saw one of its directors add to his stake last week. At an average price of $13.04 apiece, the 191,000 shares reportedly acquired cost that director about $2.94 million. Note this director is also the CEO of Danaher, and his stake in GE was listed as more than 360,000 shares. GE saw apost-earnings declineeven though it topped Wall Street expectations on the top and bottom lines. The stock ended last week at $13.06, still near the director's purchase price. It has traded as high as $25.89 in the past year, but the Wall Street consensus price target was last seen at $17.11. Salesforce While the CEO, president and otherSalesforce.com, inc.(NYSE:CRM) executives and insiders were selling throughout July, one director stepped up to the buy window this past week. That director picked up 6,000 shares at between $146.01 and $146.49 apiece. That totaled almost $877,300 and was pursuant to a 10b5-1 plan. While other big tech stocks suffered last week, Salesforce shares hit a new 52-week high. However, the stock ended the past week at $143.91, down about 3 percent and below the director's purchase price range. The S&P 500 was down only fractionally in that time. The consensus price target for Salesforce is $150.40 a share. See more from Benzinga • Benzinga's Bulls & Bears Of The Week: Bitcoin, Intel, Lockheed Martin, Walgreens And More • Barron's Picks And Pans: Amazon, Eli Lilly, Fiat Chrysler And More • Insider Buys Of The Week: BlackRock, Dish Network, Walgreens © 2018 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| ECB has no plan to issue digital currency: Draghi: FRANKFURT (Reuters) - The European Central bank has no plan to issue a digital currency because the underlying technology is still fragile and the use of physical cash still high in the euro zone, the ECB president said on Friday. The sudden proliferation of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, essentially a privately created online token, has sparked a global debate over whether central banks should also launch their own digital money. This would give holders a direct claim on the central bank, bypassing the banking system and potentially revolutionizing the way monetary policy is carried out. Sweden's Riksbank is exploring whether to issue an electronic version of its currency, called e-krona, to respond to the dwindling use of banknotes and a rise in electronic payments in that country. But ECB President Mario Draghi said the time was not ripe for such a change in the euro zone. "The ECB and the Eurosystem currently have no plans to issue a central bank digital currency," he said in a letter to a member of the European Parliament. He added that technologies such as distributed ledgers "require substantial further development" and that he saw no "concrete need" to issue a digital euro. Cash accounted for 79 percent of all payments at point of sale in the euro zone in 2016 and for 54 percent of the total value of those transactions, according to ECB research. Separate ECB data published on Friday showed non-cash payments were growing, however, with a 7.9 percent annual increase in 2017 led by cards. (Reporting By Francesco Canepa; Editing by Mark Heinrich) \|\| Pablo Soria de Lachica Explains the Advantages of Ethereum-Based Smart Contracts: MEXICO CITY, MEXICO / ACCESSWIRE / August 15, 2018 /As blockchain solutions continue to proliferate across all sectors of the international economy—by 2024 the market is expected to exceed USD$60 billionas reportedby Forbes, global investment expertPablo Soria de Lachicaexamines the benefits of Ethereum-based smart contracts and how companies can greatly improve their organizational capabilities by integrating this cutting-edge, scalable technology. He explains the basic concept as such--a simple system/program (if A executes B, then C occurs) designed to facilitate financial agreements between two or more vested parties, underpinned by the security, reliability and convenience of an encrypted blockchain cryptocurrency such as Ethereum (ETH) which surpasses the often-touted Bitcoin in application due to its open source coding language. Soria de Lachicais not alone in his enthusiasm and positive outlook for this technology, as NASA have recentlyannouncedtheir investment in ETH research with an aim to adapting smart contracts to the programming of space craft, primarily due to the perceived stability of Ethereum (its core architecture cannot be modified, thus ensuring a lack of unexpected bugs/errors). Leading research and advisory company Gartnerestimates25% of all global organisations will be using smart contracts by 2022, streamlining their contractual and legal obligations through automated and instantaneous transactions. Considering the 57.3 million freelancers working in the United States alone (as establishedin 2017 by an Edelman Intelligence commissioned survey), Mr. Soria de Lachica has no doubts that such an easily-implemented and secure technology will continue to establish itself as a fundamental part of the economy. Originallydescribedin 1996 by renowned cryptographer Nick Szabo as "a set of promises, specified in digital form, including protocols within which the parties perform on these promises", the concept of smart contracts has evolved with the advent of blockchain technologies such as Ethereum.Pablo Soria de Lachicaexplains that within a 21stcentury context, these instruments can be adapted to a huge range of financial sector uses including: the streamlining of securities and derivatives trading (offering real-time valuations and trades, circumvention of intermediaries); reduction of auditing costs through transparent, uniform and interoperable financial data recording; and could even extend to applications in mortgage processing, ensuring automatic and error-free payments, tracking and release of liens. He describes their three core characteristics as—1)immutability and irrevocability(once implemented, their content is unalterable and all provenance transparent); 2)decentralization(they exist in a decentralized, fully encrypted ledger secure from a singular server loss or ownership dispute); 3)independence(they cannot be modified and will only obey the architecture originally-agreed to, unless completed replaced with a new version). Pablo Soria de LachicaMBA, is an internationally-acclaimed broker and forex expert specializing in financial analyses and trading consultation. He oversees a broad range of global transactions, including the development and implementation of trading tools, market analyses and tailored investment planning. In his personal time, Soria de Lachica is an avid philanthropist and has made significant contributions to ‘Bridges for Peace', ‘The Jewish Federation of Greater Phoenix' and ‘The America-Israel Cultural Foundation'. For more insights into emerging trends and technologies, please visitpablosoriadelachicanews.com. Pablo Soria de Lachica - Foreign Exchange Specialist:http://PabloSoriaDeLachicaNews.com Pablo Soria de Lachica on What Sets Ethereum Apart in Crypto Space:https://finance.yahoo.com/news/pablo-soria-lachica-sets-ethereum-030000347.html Pablo Soria de Lachica Highlights Growing Ethereum Blockchain Adoption by Corporate World:https://finance.yahoo.com/news/pablo-soria-lachica-highlights-growing-143200065.html Contact Information: PabloSoriaDeLachicaNews.comhttp://[email protected] SOURCE:Pablo Soria de Lachica \|\| Tezos Token Makes Gains in Approach to Official Launch: The price of XTZ, the native token of the Tezos crypto project, rose 30 percent over the weekend in anticipation of the network's official launch Monday. At press time, XTZ is trading at $1.55, having clocked a 5.5-week high of $1.75 at 13:10 UTC on Saturday. At that point, XTZ was up 35 percent from Friday's low of $1.29, according toCoinMarketCapÂ data. The cryptocurrency picked up a strong bid on Friday after the developerstweetedthat Tezos' mainnet arrives on Sept. 17. In fact, the mainnet has beenlive in betasince late June with tokens tradeable on some exchanges. Gas Ain't Gold: Why Ether's Price Could Tank Even If Ethereum Succeeds Notably, trading volumes also jumped 169 percent on Friday to a nine-week high of $5.13 million, marking a surge in investor interest in the cryptocurrency. It's been a long wait for investors in the project. Having raised $232 million via an ICO in July 2017 â one of thelargest token sales everâ things were looking bright for Tezos. However, the development of the blockchain network was thrown into disarray due to a bitter legal tussle for control between the founders and co-founding members of the project â problems that now seemlargely resolvedÂ by a shift in governance. Looking forward, if the launch goes well and the trading volumes remain healthy, then XTZ could soon revisit Friday's high of $1.75. Further gains could be on the cards if the broader crypto market continues making gains. The $1 Billion Tezos Blockchain Is Officially Launching Monday Disclosure:Â The author holds no cryptocurrency assetsÂ at the time of writing. Tezos tokenimage viaÂShutterstock • Ether Records Highest Daily Trading Volume in 12 Months • Bitcoin Price Takes a $200 Tumble After Eight-Day Highs \|\| Bitcoin Price Shows Stability as Crypto Market Sees Minor $6 Billion Drop: Bitcoin price Over the past 24 hours, the crypto market has lost $6 billion from its valuation, experiencing a slight drop after a solid corrective rally by Bitcoin. While Bitcoin recorded a small gain of 0.5 percent, other major cryptocurrencies including Ethereum, Ripple, Bitcoin Cash, EOS, Stellar, Litecoin, and Cardano fell by 1 to 4 percent, affecting the token market. Volatility of Tokens On August 17, as the price of BTC showed a rapid recovery from $5,850 to $6,400, tokens recorded massive gains in the range of 30 to 80 percent, with VeChain increasing by over 80 percent against the US dollar. However, as BTC stabilized in the mid-$6,000 region and other major cryptocurrencies struggled to sustain their momentum on the upside, tokens suffered. In the past 24 hours, Aion, DigixDAO, OmiseGO, BAT, and 0x fell by more than 6 percent against the US dollar and Bitcoin. 10 worst performers in the crypto market, chart provided by CoinMarketCap Yesterday, on August 19, CCN reported that the fall in the price of tokens in the past 48 hours can be attributed to the overly aggressive trades initiated by investors in the crypto market that considered the minor corrective rally of Bitcoin to be the start of a bull run. Consequently, many traders reallocated their funds from Bitcoin, which has performed relatively well against the US dollar in the past month as seen in the rise of its dominance index, to tokens and high-risk high-return trades. Some tokens including Ontology, Tezos, and Nano recorded solid 10 to 20 percent gains, but have fallen throughout the day due to the lack of momentum in Ether and other major cryptocurrencies. In a bear market or downtrend, the dominance index of Bitcoin tends to increase as investors consider BTC to be a store of value in the cryptocurrency market. As such, in the past few months, apart from some exceptions including Binance Coin (BNB), Bitcoin has been one of the better performing cryptocurrencies. In the past 24 hours, the dominance index of BTC has increased from 51 percent to 52 percent. A one percent increase is a minor movement, but considering that the market has been overly optimistic in the short-term trend of crypto throughout this week, the continuous increase in the dominance of BTC is important to consider. Story continues Low Volume The volume of Bitcoin and other major cryptocurrencies tend to be extremely volatile. The volume of BTC could remain in the $4 billion region and suddenly rise to over $6 billion within 24 hours, especially during corrective rallies. But, the volume of BTC has fallen below the $4 billion mark, a level the market has not seen in the past two weeks. As of August 20, the volume of Bitcoin and Ethereum remain at $3.5 billion and $1.5 billion, less than half of their volume in June. In the short-term, it is crucial for Bitcoin to sustain its current stability, allowing the market to establish a bottom at the lower price range. If BTC suddenly rises by large margins, it could lead the market to record overbought conditions. Featured image from Shutterstock. The post Bitcoin Price Shows Stability as Crypto Market Sees Minor $6 Billion Drop appeared first on CCN . \|\| 3 Stocks for Warren Buffett Fans: Warren Buffett built much of his fortune investing in high-quality companies. He stuck to companies that he understood, and he made sure that the price he paid was reasonable. Many of the companies that are part ofBerkshire Hathaway's portfolio have durable competitive advantages that allow them to stand the test of time. If you're looking for Buffett-style stocks, three of our Motley Fool contributors think you should check outUnited Parcel Service(NYSE: UPS),General Mills(NYSE: GIS), andAllergan(NYSE: AGN). Here's why. Image source: UPS. Nicholas Rossolillo(United Parcel Service):UPS is one of Buffett's smaller holdings at just $6.2 million at last report. Nevertheless, it still deserves consideration by fans of the investor. While trailing price to earnings sits at 20.0, one-year forward price to earnings is at 14.9, indicating a big anticipated expansion in profits. The stock also pays out an attractive 3% annual dividend yield. However, UPS' business has had its challenges. Internet-based retail has caused a boom in the number of package deliveries, butprofitability on those deliverieshas suffered. Plus, e-commerce leaderAmazon.com(NASDAQ: AMZN)has begun taking over some of those delivery services itself in recent years, including a new third-party delivery partner program geared toward helping small parcel businesses. That has had an effect on UPS. Revenue has steadily risen by 26% over the last five years, butfree cash flow-- money left over after basic operations and capital expenditures are paid for -- has dried up as the world's largest delivery and logistics company invested to keep up with the digital age. Things arelooking up for UPSlately, though. Its second-quarter 2018 report showed improving profitability, its investments into technology and business improvements are starting to yield results, and management upgraded its outlook for the rest of the year. The international segment has been an especially bright spot, with its 14th consecutive quarter of double-digit profit growth during the spring months. Though there are challenges, UPS is a growing business trading at a value to its future potential because of some uncertainty. For Buffett fans, that's a stock worth considering. Tim Green(General Mills):Berkshire Hathaway already owns a gigantic stake in packaged food giantKraft Heinz, a testament to Buffett's love of strong brands. Another food company with strong brands is General Mills. The company's portfolio includes Betty Crocker, Bisquick, Cheerios, Wheaties, Haagen-Dazs, Annie's, Nature Valley, and many more. Some of General Mills' brands are not doing well at all. U.S. yogurt sales tumbled 12% in fiscal 2018, for example, with the Yoplait brand failing to drive sales. Total organic sales, which exclude the effects of acquisitions and divestitures, dropped by 1%. Clearly, General Mills needs to rework its portfolio. The company has taken at least one big step to diversify, paying $8 billion for natural pet food maker Blue Buffalo earlier this year. The deal will boost General Mills' annual sales by more than $1.2 billion and put the company into a category that's growing quickly. The U.S. pet food market has been growing by 3% to 4% annually, while the natural portion of the market has been growing at a double-digit rate in recent years. Other than Blue Buffalo, General Mills views Haagen-Dazs, snack bars, Old El Paso Mexican food, and its natural and organic brands as its key growth drivers going forward. It plans to sell off some businesses that are in decline, refocusing on brands capable of driving growth. This will all take time, and investors should expect not-so-great results for a while. But the stock looks like a decent deal, all things considered. The company expects adjusted earnings to come in somewhere around $3 per share in fiscal 2019, putting the price-to-earnings ratio at about 15. That'snot quite cheap enough for me, but I'm keeping an eye on the stock. Todd Campbell(Allergan Plc):Warren Buffett doesn't spend his time on hard-to-value companies. Instead, he likes to buy stock in companies that generate cash and that trade at a discount to their book value. It's that approach that likely contributed to Berkshire Hathawaybuying sharesin generics GoliathTeva Pharmaceutical(NYSE: TEVA)late last year. Teva Pharmaceutical could still be a buy, but its shares have almost doubled since last fall, and as a result, it's arguably more expensive now than Allergan. Once a highflier because of its growth-via-mergers-and-acquisitions strategy, Allergan fell out of favor afterValeant, a competitor that also relied heavily on acquisitions, fell on tough times. Allergan's $185 share price is far below its $340 peak in 2015 and its price-to-book ratio (share price divided by book value) is only 0.86. For comparison, Teva Pharmaceutical has seen its price to book soar from less than 0.50 to 1.62 since Buffett began buying it last year. I have no idea if Allergan's shares will rebound similarly, but this is the second time in the past three years that Allergan's price to book value has dropped below 1. The last time around, its shares jumped from about $190 to roughly $245 between late 2016 and early 2017. This time around, shares could fall further, but I think the risk/reward is pretty favorable, especially since its financials have been improving. AGN Price to Book Valuedata byYCharts. In Q2 2018, revenue grew 3% year over year to $4.1 billion and non-GAAP EPS rose 10% to $4.42 per share. The performance caused management to boost its full-year 2018 guidance to sales of between $15.475 billion and $15.625 billion from $15.15 billion to $15.35 billion. It also upped its non-GAAP EPS outlook to at least $16 from at least $15.65 previously. The company's still got a lot of debt on its books, but cash flow appears solid, and management's taking advantage of its depressed share price with a new $2 billion buyback program to be executed over the next 12 months. Overall, I think Allergan could be a cheap stock worth owning. More From The Motley Fool • 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices • 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 • 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing • 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today • The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss • Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors.Nicholas Rossolillohas no position in any of the stocks mentioned.Timothy Greenhas no position in any of the stocks mentioned.Todd Campbellowns shares of Amazon. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Amazon. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy. [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] @btc_fan \|\| @btc_0 \|\| @India_Bitcoin \|\| @bitcoin_reddit \|\| @BTC_INFOCHAIN \|\| お財布忘れたサザエさんBitCoinで決済？【カーナビでカラオケ】 Aladdin Dobin Hagechabin～ Dream Killer～テロだらけ/Metaleaman20171030 https://youtu.be/2khn8r2V1oM #Metaleaman \|\| @BTC_INFOCHAIN \|\| @btc_reddit \|\| Can bitcoin reach $100,000,000 by 2030? If you’re a bitcoin maximalist, read this article. https://medium.com/coinmonks/hyperbitcoinization-winner-takes-all-69ab59f9695f … #hyperbitcoinization #bitcoin #btc #$100Mbitcoin #satoshi #SatoshiNakamoto \|\| @lifeoncoin	Trend: down \|\| Prices: 6595.41, 6446.47, 6495.00, 6676.75, 6644.13, 6601.96, 6625.56, 6589.62, 6556.10, 6502.59
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2015-08-25] BTC Price: 221.61, BTC RSI: 35.37 Gold Price: 1138.20, Gold RSI: 56.09 Oil Price: 39.31, Oil RSI: 27.97 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Rick Perry Voices Bitcoin Support: With bitcoin still struggling to gain mainstream approval, the cryptocurrency has been largely absent on the campaign trail for most of the 2016 Presidential hopefuls. However, Republican candidate Rick Perry remarked in aNew York Observerinterview that he is in support of "regulatory breathing room" for digital currencies, giving bitcoin enthusiasts a reason to pay attention to the former Texas governor. Progressive On Fintech In the interview, Perry framed his views on the economy as progressive, criticizing some of his opponents from the Democrat party for being too close-minded about new startups. His openness to startup growth appeared to extend to those in the digital currency world, as he remarked that digital currency firms shouldn't be stifled by regulators. Related Link:Could Mike Tyson Become The New Face For Bitcoin? What Does It Mean? The cryptocurrency community has latched on to Perry's "regulatory breathing room" comment, calling it a confirmation of his support for bitcoin. While Perry hasn't outwardly backed the currency, the phrase suggests that he would help support the growing industry should he make it to the White House. While most agree that more regulation is needed in order to make bitcoin a viable option for the general public, supporters of digital currencies say that too much regulatory interference would undermine the general principal of establishing cryptocurrencies in the first place. Bitcoin In The White House Perry isn't the only candidate to give bitcoin a nod; earlier this year fellow Republican candidate Rand Paul announced that he would accept bitcoin donations to his campaign. Paul's decision to appeal to bitcoin donors not only exposed him to a new source of campaign funds, but positioned him as a cryptocurrency-friendly candidate. See more from Benzinga • NHTSA Comes Down Hard On Auto Industry; Fiat Chrysler Gets Slammed • Privacy Emerges As Main Concern For EU Digital Market Overhaul • Could Mike Tyson Become The New Face For Bitcoin? © 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| Louis C.K. Embraces Bitcoin: Comedian Louis C.K. has joined the fast-expanding number of merchants who now accept bitcoin as a payment method by making it possible for fans to download his comedy shows and pay using the cryptocurrency. His decision to incorporate bitcoin on his website underscored the digital currency's growing presence in the entertainment industry, which many believe will ultimately help lead to mainstream adoption. Bitcoin Integration On Louis C.K.'s website, fans can download the comedian's albums and recordings and pay anywhere between $1 and $85. In order to give his supporters another way to pay, Louis C.K. partnered with payment processor BitPay to allow bitcoin supporters to use their mobile wallets. The new option is also beneficial to Louis C.K. who is able to avoid the high transaction fees charged by other processors like PayPal Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: PYPL ). Related Link: Could Mike Tyson Become The New Face For Bitcoin? Positive Reception So far, his decision to incorporate bitcoin has received a positive reaction from fans. It appears that some of Louis C.K.'s supporters are a part of the bitcoin community, and have already begun using the new payment option to purchase the comedian's recordings. A Boost This is not the first time that bitcoin has been a hot topic in the entertainment space. Earlier this summer a new film called "Dope" announced that movie goers could purchase their tickets using the cryptocurrency. The film also incorporated bitcoin into its plot, giving digital currencies more exposure. Many believe that the adoption of bitcoin in the entertainment industry is essential to the cryptocurrency's mainstream adoption. Not only will it bring attention to the currency, but it may help to undo some of the negative publicity that bitcoin has received in past years after hacking attacks and scams made it out to be a tool for criminals. Image credit: Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff , Flickr See more from Benzinga Is Medical Marijuana Effective? What's Happening To Media Stocks? Japan Says Bitcoin Can't Be Owned © 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| Block26 Leads Seed Round in Bitcoin Wallet Platform Airbitz With $450,000 Investment: LOS ANGELES, CA --(Marketwired - July 10, 2015) - Block26, the blockchain venture firm, today announced that it has invested $450,000 in Airbitz Inc., a digital wallet platform. Block26 joins Airbitz Board of Directors while leading a $1,250,000 seed round expected to close later this summer. The $450,000 infusion marks the first investment from Block26, led by Co-Founders Ni'coel Stark and Pedram Hasid, in the hot Bitcoin technology space. Airbitz was awarded first place at the 2015 Inside Bitcoin NYC startup competition and was named one of AlwaysOn OnFinance's 50 Companies to Watch in 2015. Airbitz's decentralized and open source platform solves many of the current usability, security and privacy issues inherent in the current generation of bitcoin wallets. Airbitz is a remarkably easy-to-use and intelligently designed wallet that allows users to receive, store, or send funds with confidence. The digital wallet software is protected by ironclad and effortless security that prevents any third party from accessing user funds or data, including Airbitz itself, and features the world's first one-touch 2-factor authentication. Available for iOS and Android, Airbitz automatically encrypts, secures and backs up user data without requiring complicated user prompts, and the decentralized server architecture ensures that Airbitz wallets are functional even if company servers are disabled. Altogether, Airbitz provides the familiar feel and functionality of mobile banking while implementing blockchain operations under the hood, reducing friction and making Bitcoin universally approachable and usable. Block26 understands that this same technology has the potential to disrupt arenas beyond digital currency. Block26 Co-Founder and Managing Principal Ni'coel Stark said, "Block26 is making its first investment in Airbitz because not only is it the best digital wallet for consumers, it is far more than a wallet. Airbitz technology enables a multifaceted financial tool, an extraordinary implementation on edge security, and a whole new contribution to the Internet of Things. Block26 is excited to empower Airbitz solutions in revolutionizing transaction, authentication and security processes." Airbitz is led by CEO and Co-Founder Paul Puey, a former Nvidia senior engineer and a prominent leader of Bitcoin advocacy in Southern California. The Airbitz leadership team includes CTO and Co-Founder Tim Horton, the former CTO of startup Breadcrumbs Inc.,; VP Design and Co-Founder Damian Cutillo, formerly Co-Founder at Breadcrumbs Inc.; Chief Architect and Co-Founder William Swanson, the core developer of Libbitcoin; and COO Rick "Henri" Chan, Co-Founder of AlphaPoint with 15 years experience at finance and technology firms including Robertson Stephens, Deutsche Bank and UBS Financial Services. Story continues Airbitz CEO and Co-Founder Paul Puey said, "Airbitz is tremendously honored to have Block26 as our partner and lead investor. Their core focus on bitcoin, blockchain, and decentralized technologies is perfectly inline with the DNA of Airbitz founders. Block26 brings incredible experience in building highly tuned team dynamics and they see the value in people, companies, and industries that aren't afraid to disrupt the status quo. We look forward to building a decentralized world with their passion and support at our side." Airbitz COO Rick "Henri" Chan added, "Block26 is more than an investor to Airbitz; they are an integral partner in our rapid development. We look forward to closely working with Block26 as partners in building a company that thrives as it grows. Block26's unique financial model allows for a flexible investment strategy that could provide Airbitz and other portfolio companies with early stage capital, with the capacity to provide bridge funding as well. For these reasons and many more, we greatly look forward to Block26 joining our Board." For more information, visit Airbitz at www.airbitz.co or Block26 at www.block26.com . View comments \|\| Fed Stuck In The Middle Of Marijuana Debate: One of the major issues plaguing the United States' newly developing marijuana industry has been banking. Although President Barack Obama has granted states the right to determine their own marijuana laws, the substance is still classed as illegal in the federal government's eyes. For that reason, banks bound by federal law have been unable to engage with marijuana firms even in states where the drug is legal. Fed Lawsuit Last week, Colorado's Fourth Corner Credit Unionsuedthe Kansas City Fed after its application for federal insurance was rejected. The credit union was denied a routing number in order to set up its master account, meaning that Fourth Corner would be unable to operate. The firm said the Fed's decision to reject Fourth Corner is an unreasonable restraint of trade and commerce and that the credit union's receipt of a state charter should have given it access to federal insurance. Fed Pushes Back The Fed has argued that it has the right to use its own discretion when it comes to opening new master accounts. The bank claims it was unable to accurately asses the risks associated with Fourth Corner's business and therefore is allowed to reject the application. Conflicting Laws The legal battle underscored the pitfalls of conflicting laws at the federal and state level. While legalization efforts have been successful in many states across the US, the banking issue will likely continue to plague the industry as long as federal law continues to class marijuana as illegal. See more from Benzinga • Australian Government Takes Steps Toward Becoming A Bitcoin-Friendly Nation • Tech Firms Gear Up For 2016 Presidential Race • Are Tethered Drones The Answer To Safety Concerns? © 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| C&W Unveils the 'New' Flow and Creates History in Barbados: BRIDGETOWN, BARBADOS--(Marketwired - Jul 16, 2015) - Telecoms history was made in Barbados today as Cable & Wireless Communications (C&W) officially launched its retail brand, Flow, for its newly combined consumer group. The 'new' Flow will deliver a compelling set of quad play products and services via its Fibre to the Home (FTTH) infrastructure set to reach 100% of Barbados homes by year end. This will make Barbados the first country in the world to have 100% FTTH coverage. "We are pleased to usher in a new culture of innovation and technical excellence, backed by major investments in our Fibre to the Home infrastructure," said John Reid, President of C&W Consumer Group. With our combined strengths, Barbados consumers will have access to the most technologically advanced quad play products in the region, through our mobile, video, landline and broadband services. Reid also said that the foundation of the new Flow brand strategy was consistent with the positive characteristics of the Caribbean. "We are driven by all that is positive in the Caribbean," he said. "The people, the passion, and the drive to succeed. Against that backdrop, we commit to continue our focus on innovation, technical excellence and great customer service." Flow also unveiled plans to become #1 for customer experience in Barbados and the region. According to Niall Sheehy, the Country Manager for Flow Barbados, "Flow will realise this bold vision by making significant changes across our operations to drive an outstanding customer experience, which will extend beyond the obvious frontline transactions." Sheehy said that, "In all departments and in each role the goal will be to put the customer first in every aspect of our business." The 'unveil' of the new brand, follows the announcement in March by C&W to merge its operations with Columbus International. C&W will follow this inaugural launch throughout the Caribbean on a phased, country-by-country basis over the next twelve months. About Cable & Wireless Communications: Cable & Wireless Communications Plc (CWC) is a full service communications and entertainment provider, operating in the Caribbean and Latin America. With annual sales of over $2.4 billion, it operates both mobile and fixed networks, supported by submarine and terrestrial optical fibre backhaul capacity. Through the acquisition of Columbus International Inc. on 31 March 2015, CWC now delivers superior high-speed mobile data, broadband and TV/video services. It has leading market positions in Mobile, Fixed Line, Broadband and TV consumer offers. Through its business division, CWC provides data centre hosting, domestic and international managed network services, and customised IT service solutions, utilising cloud technology to serve business and government customers. The company also operates a state-of-the-art subsea fibre optic cable network that spans more than 42,000 km -- the most extensive in the region -- as well as 38,000 km of terrestrial fibre providing wholesale and carrier backhaul capacity. CWC has more than 7,500 employees serving over 6 million customers (Mobile 3.8m; Fixed Line 1.1m; TV 430k and Broadband 650k) as well as over 125k corporate clients across 42 countries. The Company's leading brands include: LIME and Flow in the Caribbean; BTC in The Bahamas; Mas Movil in Panama; C&W Business and C&W Networks. CWC is the market leader in most products offered and territories served. It is a major contributor to local communities through its corporate social responsibility programmes. Cable & Wireless Communications' shares are quoted on the London Stock Exchange under the ticker CWC. The company is headquartered in London with its operational hub located in Miami, within close proximity to the Caribbean and Latin America. For more information visit:http://www.cwc.com. \|\| What to watch on Monday: The " Fast Money " traders gave their final thoughts of the day. Steve Grasso was watching the S&P 500 (CME:Index and Options Market: .INX) 's technical levels. David Seaburg was a buyer of TWTR (NYSE: TWTR) . Brian Kelly had his eye on the DXY (Exchange: .DXY) . Guy Adami was also watching key levels of the S&P 500 (CME:Index and Options Market: .INX) . Trader disclosure: On August 21, 2015 the following stocks and commodities mentioned or intended to be mentioned on CNBC's "Fast Money" were owned by the "Fast Money" traders: Brian Kelly is long BBRY, BTC=; DAX, DXGE, ITB, TAN, TSL, TWTR call spread, U.S. Dollar; he is short AUDJPY, GBPJPY, Euro, Ruble, Yen, Yuan. Today he bought DAX, DXGE, US Dollar. Today he sold VIX and Euro. Today he closed his CAC40 short position. Today he shorted Euro and Yen. Guy Adami is long CELG, EXAS, INTC, Guy Adami's wife, Linda Snow, works at Merck. Steve Grasso is long AAPL, BA, BAC, CC, DD, DIS, DECK, EVGN, FIT, KBH, MJNA, MU, PFE, PHM, T, TWTR, GDX. His kids are long EFA, EFG, EWJ, IJR, SPY. His firm and some of its partners are long WLL, DNR, DVN, TWTR, NE, NEM, OXY, RIG, TSE, VALE. More From CNBC Top News and Analysis Latest News Video Personal Finance \|\| Bitcoin's 'war' could threaten its survival: Bitcoin, the digital currency technology with an ecosystem attracting hundreds of millions of dollars in investment, is struggling through an existential crisis. And what may to outsiders seem like petty squabbling about a single number actually has major financial implications and could even threaten the very survival of the cryptocurrency. The argument-which is pitting Chinese constituencies against largely Western developers, the business community against the often ideological early adopters, and programmer against programmer-centers on a simple number in the global bitcoin system. But if the various parties can't come to an agreement, the whole network could splinter, wrecking its major selling points of security and decentralization. "There is literally a war going on right now in the bitcoin world," Marco Streng, CEO of Genesis Mining, told CNBC last month. There are two major questions facing the technology: Who is bitcoin for? And who gets to decide? Most of the early adopters saw appeal in bitcoin as a decentralized digital currency(: BTC=)-(to over-simplify the promise) a sort of virtual gold that could not be touched by governments, banks or corporations. But in seeking to create the perfect system for such a currency, bitcoin's early creators also created a technology that has wide-ranging applications. That technology is called the "blockchain"(CNBC has gone in depth into how it works), and this is basically what it does: It can record any information in a secure way, and make that information both public and unchangeable-doing this without relying on any central authority. Banks, stock exchanges, payment companies and othershave already begun exploringhow this can be used in their own businesses. The issue at hand is about the structure of bitcoin's blockchain (which is composed of "blocks" of data with each block referring back to the preceding chunk of information-thereby creating a chain). The community is arguing about how big the maximum block size should be: The current max is one megabyte, which only allows for about seven transactions per second-far too few for most businesses currently investing in the technology. This speed is a "roadblock to bitcoin growth," Jeff Garzik, one of five bitcoin core developers who have taken over maintenance of the technology,wrote in a recent paper. (Visa, for comparison, says its network can handle more than 24,000 transactions per second.) Read MoreWhy is it called the 'blockchain?' "Any responsible business projecting capacity usage into the future sees the system reaching an absolute maximum capacity, with this speed limit in place," he wrote. "Increasing or removing this limit will encourage businesses to view bitcoin as scalable and capable of supporting millions of new users." The block size limit may also negatively impact bitcoin's original currency use-case: As the number of transaction requests exceed the limit, the user experience degrades: The pools of "miners" who help inscribe data onto the global network will begin charging ever-higher fees for processing, eliminating some of the appeal over other payment methods. But there are reasons for limiting the size of a block. For one, it provides security for the system by constraining available space, and therefore making it costly to maliciously flood the network with spam. Miners are generally against increasing the size too much: They would have to do more work on each block, but they'd still reap the same benefit per block (while transaction fees remain negligibly low), said Pete Rizzo, the U.S. editor for cryptocurrency site CoinDesk. Also, some early adopters who plan to hold bitcoin for extended periods of time as an investment may prefer to keep the block size limit low-unbothered by transaction fees or business prospects, Garzik explained to CNBC. But even if more interests seem to point to increasing the block size, there's no agreement what size is ideal-balancing present-day security and future promise-or how a change should be made. Gavin Andresen, one of the most important developers of the technology,proposedincreasing the max size to 20 megabytes. (He did not respond to request for comment.) A powerful constituency of Chinese miners-who also object to increasing the size of the block, saying their nation's Internet connection to the rest of the world would not allow it-made a counter proposalsuggestingan eight-megabyte maximum. Andresen has since backed a version of this plan. Read MoreWhy financial firms are investigating bitcoin tech For his part, Garzik proposed a sliding cap with a change to the bitcoin code allowing for periodic block increases (or even decreases) based on global miners' votes. Different sources told CNBC that the most important parts of the community were variously leaning toward Garzik's proposal, an 8-megabyte increase, or just a small "can-kicking" measure to wait for technologies that might allow them to bypass the question. But as a totally decentralized system, bitcoin has no clear way to weigh these disparate opinions and interests-in other words, no way to make a definitive decision. Garzik called the block size debate the first major alteration to bitcoin policy since it began in January 2009. When other changes have been made, the core software has been changed, and the players on the network have quickly updated (anyone who doesn't follow the current protocol gets booted from the network until they comply). But with a contentious issue like this, the developers risk splitting the network into those who want to follow one set of rules, and those who want another. If someone were to push out a global update without ensuring near-total consensus, a split could occur. Read MoreBitcoin firm raises $116M, including Qualcomm investment "That would be the worst of all possible options," Garzik said. Bitcoin runs on a blockchain that is more secure and decentralized than any of its competitors because of its large user base and its comparatively lengthy history. If those users were to splinter, then the entire enterprise could be compromised. So what's at stake? Hundreds of millions of dollars have been invested in bitcoin and blockchain-related companies, and the current value of all the bitcoin in existence is currentlyabout $4 billion. The risks of a network split are low but not negligible, experts told CNBC. "You're dealing with consensus among a community of people who aren't communicating very well-and haven't for some time," Rizzo said, explaining that making any change to the code risks breaking a technology that already works pretty well. "At what point does that risk become untenable? At this point it's still within the realm of 'danger Will Robinson'-level risk," he added. More From CNBC • Top News and Analysis • Latest News Video • Personal Finance \|\| Is Iran's Nuclear Agreement A Done Deal?: While it may seem like the hardest negotiations are over, the nuclear agreement made between Iranian officials and Western diplomats was only the beginning. Now the deal will be scrutinized around the world as the U.S. and its allies debate whether or not the agreement's benefits outweigh the risks. Republican Majority One arena where the deal islikely to face a lot of oppositionis U.S. Congress. As Republicans represent the majority in both the Senate and the House, there could be a lot of pushback against the nuclear deal during Congress' 60 day review period. However, in order to completely overturn the deal and ensure that it is not passed, Republicans would need to gain support from many of Congress' Democrats. Since the bill represents a major policy aim for Obama, who is backed by the Democrats, Republicans are unlikely to get the votes they need to kill the deal. Related Link:Is Russia Next To Adopt Bitcoin? Middle Eastern Worries The U.S. isn't the only place the deal faces opposition. In the Middle East, many of the U.S.' allies worry that the deal will give Iran too much power. While Iranian officials have promised to curb the nation's nuclear activities in accordance with new restrictions laid out in the agreement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the financial power that relaxed sanctions will give Iran will spell disaster for the region. Netanyahu said he plans to lobby against the deal as he believes it will allow Iran to provide financial support to its allies, namely Syria. See more from Benzinga • Greece Receives Bailout Deal: Now What? • Can Greece's Latest Reform Proposal Be Trusted? • Greece To Plead Its Case At A Last-Chance Summit © 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| How Will Greece's Problems Affect The Fed?: The sudden sharp decline in Greece's bailout negotiations sent shock waves throughout international markets and gave investors reason to believe that the nation was headed for an exit from the eurozone. In the U.S., markets remained relatively calm with the Dow Jones Industrial Average losing just 1.95 percent on Monday following news of Greece's scheduled referendum vote. Now, investors are turning their focus to the Federal Reserve to see if the bank will still raise interest rates despite the international turmoil. Still Not A Problem For now, many analysts say that Greece's financial turmoil won't have much of an impact on the Fed's decision making when it comes to a rate hike. Because Greece has been struggling to stay afloat for years, many believe the shock to markets will be minimal as most investors have already wound down their positions in the nation. The Bank for International Settlements reported that U.S. banks have only invested about $12 billion in Greece, a figure that won't spell disaster if the nation exits the eurozone. Related Link: Bitcoin Rises As Greece Falls...Coincidence? Strong Dollar A Concern One issue the Fed could face would be a stronger dollar. The dollar's recent rally has already taken a toll U.S.-based firms' bottom lines as it has made their foreign sales less profitable and their products more expensive than foreign competitors.' The bank is likely to keep the greenback in mind when evaluating whether or not the U.S. can withstand a rate hike. Time Will Tell So far, Fed officials have been adamant that their decisions will be based on U.S. data and whether or not the nation's economic improvement warrants a rate increase. With most analysts expecting the bank to raise rates in September, the Fed will have plenty of time to see how the Greek situation plays out. If the problems in Greece become a contagion affecting the global economy, then the bank will likely hold off on a rate hike. But if the issue passes without much impact on U.S. markets, the bank will likely proceed as planned. Story continues See more from Benzinga Greece's Final Proposal Draws Criticism From Syriza Investors Tentatively Look To Europe © 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| Fast Food Gets Even Faster In Asia: McDonald's Corporation(NYSE:MCD) has had a difficult year as consumer tastes shifted and the restaurant battled criticism over its ingredients and lack of healthy offerings. However, the burger chain has been working to restore its bottom line, especially in China, where the massive population represents a major growth opportunity. Appealing To Their Preferences In an effort to reach Chinese consumers, who are becoming increasingly focused on digital innovation, McDonald's ispilotinga new program that will allow customers to pay for their orders on their mobile device, making the process of collecting their meal in-store faster and easier. Custom Burgers The decision to include a mobile payment option in China came after McDonald's unveiled digital kiosks that allow customers to build their own burger using a touch screen machine at two Shanghai locations. By adding state-of-the-art technology to its appeal, McDonald's is hoping to lure in first-time customers who are eager to try something new. Related Link:Bitcoin Glitch Costs Miners Thousands Mobile Payments Take Off While mobile payments are nothing new, in China they are becoming increasingly popular. Online retailerAlibaba Group Holding Ltd(NYSE:BABA) recently launched a mobile payment system which has been adopted by several big names includingWal-Mart Corp(NYSE:WMT) andYum Brands Inc.(NYSE:YUM)'s KFC food chain. Since Chinese customers have historically shied away from using credit cards, mobile payments has become a major draw. Customers have been looking for a fast, convenient way to pay and mobile options are providing that experience. See more from Benzinga • FIFA Sponsors Weigh Up The Cost Of Scandal • McDonald's Back In The Firing Line Over Happy Meal Ad © 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] buysellbitco.in #bitcoin price in INR, Buy : 18055.00 INR Sell : 17494.00 INR. Buy and sell bitcoin in #India using #buysellbitcoin \|\| In the last 10 mins, there were arb opps spanning 17 exchange pair(s), yielding profits ranging between $0.00 and $935.84 #bitcoin #btc \|\| BTCTurk 674.28 TL BTCe 248.174 $ CampBx $ BitStamp 249.00 $ Cavirtex 308.04 $ CEXIO 253 $ Bitcoin.de 224.51 € #Bitcoin #btc \|\| 1 #BTC = 1067.00 PLN / 287.00 USD at http://bitbay.net #bitcoin pic.twitter.com/K3Ig8No8Vn \|\| buysellbitco.in #bitcoin price in INR, Buy : 16752.00 INR Sell : 16238.00 INR. Buy and sell bitcoin in #India using #buysellbitcoin \|\| In the last 10 mins, there were arb opps spanning 20 exchange pair(s), yielding profits ranging between $0.00 and $1,356.38 #bitcoin #btc \|\| #RDD / #BTC on the exchanges: Cryptsy: 0.00000006 Bittrex: 0.00000005 Average $1.6E-5 per #reddcoin 02:00:01 \|\| Bitcoin traded at $260.34 USD on BTC-e at 03:00 PM Pacific Time \|\| One Bitcoin now worth $276.73@bitstamp. High $283.00. Low $276.73. Market Cap $3.938 Billion #bitcoin \|\| Current price: 252.24€ $BTCEUR $btc #bitcoin 2015-07-23 21:00:07 CEST	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 225.83, 224.77, 231.40, 229.78, 228.76, 230.06, 228.12, 229.28, 227.18, 230.30
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis] Not fully available. [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] ‘Bitcoin is dead,’ says prominent fintech exec: Exactly three months ago, a well-known bitcoin developer, Mike Hearn, wrotea post on Mediumthat rocked the community of people who believe in the future of the digital currency and its technology. Bitcoin, he wrote, has failed. “It has failed because the community has failed… Worse still, the network is on the brink of technical collapse.” The post led to screaming headlines about the end of bitcoin. And yet, the industry plugs along. The currency is trading at $430 USD. Transaction volume (the number of bitcoin transactions per day) is higher now than it was before Hearn’s post, according toa tracker at Blockchain.info. Just this week, theWall Street Journalprofiled a top ETF (exchange-traded fund) attorney who is advocating for a bitcoin ETF, the same effort that Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss are pushing. Barry Silbert, CEO of the Digital Currency Group,reflected this week, “Hearnado is over.” Maybe not. If you ask Taavet Hinrikus, CEO of international-payments app TransferWise, “Bitcoin, I think we can say, is dead. There is no traction, no one is using bitcoin. The bitcoin experiment, I think we can say, is over.” Hinrikus made the comments in an interview with Yahoo Finance, during a visit to discuss his company’s servicelaunching in Mexico this week. “What really happened was a gold rush,” he continued. “People bought bitcoin because they thought it would be worth more tomorrow. And a lot of people got lucky. But we’re not seeing real people use bitcoin. And we don’t know what problem it solves. Now, blockchain, I think, is a genius advancement in technology. But I’m not sure we’re seeing yet where to apply it. I’m pretty excited aboutR3 and Digital Asset Holdings. I think there are many areas where using blockchain is great, but it’s still early days.” He’s not alone in either opinion: JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon, for one,has also saidthat bitcoin is “doomed,” and has also drawn a distinction between the currency and its underlying ledger technology, the blockchain. His bank, along with more than 40 others, hassigned on to a consortiumto test blockchain technology for their transaction rails. Of course, TransferWise isn’t a bitcoin company. But the company’s proposition to customers is faster transfer times, and smaller transfer fees, on international remittances. Bitcoin, as a technology, has the same appeal (among many other uses): instant transfers and tiny fees, circumventing big, expensive, sluggish banks or wire services. Startups like TransferWise, and Dwolla, and a host of others that have nothing to do with bitcoin are nonetheless in the same general pool of financial technology, or more specifically, digital payments. The bold claim about bitcoin’s death would mean more, and be more alarming or divisive among the bitcoin community, coming from a bitcoin executive. (After all, one could make the case that bitcoin is a competitor to TransferWise, which deals in fiat currency.)But Hinrikus is no newcomer to fintech: TransferWise has raised nearly $100 million from huge names in tech investing like Peter Thiel, Marc Andreessen, and Richard Branson, and before co-founding TransferWise, Hinrikus was the first hire at Skype and worked there five years as its director of strategy. When asked about bitcoin, Hinrikus began by saying, “We’ve certainly paid lots of attention to bitcoin and blockchain.” If tech entrepreneurs like Hinrikus feel they no longer need to keep paying attention, that could be a problem for the coin and its future viability. -- Daniel Roberts is a writer at Yahoo Finance, covering sports business and technology. Read more: Bitcoin community disputes use of the term ‘Internet of Money’ How big banks are paying lip service to the blockchain Here’s how you can invest in the blockchain Bitcoin's biggest investor just bought its biggest news site \|\| Your first trade for Thursday: The " Fast Money " traders delivered their final trades of the day. Tim Seymour was a seller of FedEx ( FDX ) . David Seaburg was a buyer of Gilead ( GILD ) . Karen Finerman was a buyer of Foot Locker ( FL ) . Brian Kelly was a seller of the Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF. (NYSE Arca: XLF) Trader disclosure: On March 23, 2016, the following stocks and commodities mentioned or intended to be mentioned on CNBC's "Fast Money" were owned by the "Fast Money" traders: Karen Finerman is long BAC, C, FL, GOOG, GOOGL, JPM, LYV, KORS, M, SEDG, SPY puts, URI. Her firm is long ANTM, AAPL, BAC, C, C calls, FINL, GOOG, GOOGL, JPM, JPM calls, KORS, LYV, M, MOH, NRF, PLCE, SPY puts, URI, her firm is short IWM, MDY. Karen Finerman is on the board of GrafTech International. Brian Kelly is long BBRY, Bitcoin, GLD, GLD puts, SH, SLV, TLT, US Dollar, UUP, Yen; he is short Aussie Dollar, BLK, British Pound, CS, DB, Euro, EWH, FRC, Hong Kong Dollar, UBS, SPY, Yuan, 5-Year Note Futures. David Seaburg: Opinions expressed by David Seaburg are solely his own and do not reflect the views and opinions of Cowen Group, Inc.Tim Seymour is long AAPL, AVP, BAC, BBRY, DO, EDC, F, FCX, GM, GOOGL, INTC, NKE, SINA, T, TWTR, VZ, XOM. Tim's firm is long BABA, BIDU, CLF, KO, MCD, MPEL, PEP, PF, SAVE, SBUX, VALE, WMT,YHOO, short HYG, IWM. More From CNBC Top News and Analysis Latest News Video Personal Finance \|\| Your first trade for Friday: The " Fast Money " traders delivered their final trades of the day. Tim Seymour was a seller of the iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (NYSE Arca: EEM) . Steve Grasso was a seller of Freeport-McMoRan ( FCX ) . Brian Kelly was a buyer of the iShares Silver Trust (NYSE Arca: SLV) . Guy Adami was a buyer of Coca-Cola ( KO ) for the second day in a row. Trader disclosure: On March 10, 2016, the following stocks and commodities mentioned or intended to be mentioned on CNBC's "Fast Money" were owned by the "Fast Money" traders: Guy Adami is long CELG, EXAS, GDX, INTC, Guy Adami's wife, Linda Snow, works at Merck. Brian Kelly is long BBRY, Bitcoin, GLD, GLD puts, SH, SLV, TLT, US Dollar, UUP, Yen; he is short Aussie Dollar, BLK, British Pound, CS, DB, Euro, EWH, FRC, Hong Kong Dollar, UBS, SPY, Yuan, 5-Year Note Futures. Steve Grasso is long AAPL, BA, CC, DD, DIS, DECK, EVGN, KBH, MJNA, MU, OLN, PFE, PHM, T, TWTR, GDX sold BAC firm is long OXY, BP, CVX, RIG, FCX kids own EFA, EFG, EWJ, IJR, SPY. Tim Seymour is long AAPL, AVP, BAC, BBRY, DO, F, FCX, GM, GOOGL, INTC, JCP, NKE, SINA, T, TWTR, VZ, XOM. Tim's firm is long BABA, BIDU, CLF, KO, MCD, PEP, PF, SAVE, SBUX, VALE, WMT,YHOO, short HYG, IWM. More From CNBC Top News and Analysis Latest News Video Personal Finance \|\| Excitement Builds for Flow CARIFTA Games: ST. GEORGE'S, GRENADA--(Marketwired - Mar 24, 2016) - The excitement is steadily building in the Spice Isle, as the crème de la crème of junior track and field descends on Grenada for the highly anticipated 2016 Flow CARIFTA Games this weekend. Already, teams from Anguilla, Antigua, the Cayman Islands, Guyana, St. Lucia, Suriname, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, the US Virgin Islands, and Trinidad and Tobago have arrived in St. George's to compete in the 45thedition of the Caribbean's premier athletics meet. "We know that a lot is expected of us, and as we showcase our Caribbean youth, we want to provide them with an experience that will encourage them to continue in sport. My heart is filled with joy to see that we have reached this point," said Veda Bruno-Victor, Chairperson of the Local Organising Committee. Flow, the region's leading telecommunications provider, has signed a three-year partnership with the North American, Central American and Caribbean Athletics Association (NACAC) to be the exclusive broadcast partner and title sponsor of the CARIFTA Games. It means that for the first time in the history of the CARIFTA Games, the event will be broadcast live in High Definition (HD) across the entire Caribbean. "I am also very grateful that Flow has become our title sponsor for the 2016 CARIFTA Games and for the following two Games to come. We want our young athletes to be seen and remembered, because if they are not in Rio, they will definitely be in Japan (2020 Olympic Games). We want our people to say 'I remember that boy or girl' and it is with great expectation that we look forward to the coming of the CARIFTA Games," added Bruno-Victor. Flow, which is also the region's exclusive broadcast partner for the upcoming Rio 2016 Olympic Games, has contracted an international production team that will capture, package and present more than twenty hours of live coverage from the River Road venue on the Flow Sports Channel (Channel 190 in Barbados). "This is a triumphant moment for Caribbean athletics and we very proud to be the exclusive broadcast partner and title sponsor of the 2016 Flow CARIFTA Games," said Denise Williams, Senior Vice President of Communications, Cable & Wireless Communications. "Since its launch last year, Flow Sports has already become one of the Caribbean's leading sports networks and our partnership with the CARIFTA Games builds upon Flow's other initiatives across the region. In addition to lending financial support, we are also very excited that our partnership with NACAC will allow us the opportunity to broadcast the Games across multiple platforms including our very own Flow Sports." The 2016 Flow CARIFTA Games will inaugurate Grenada's new National Stadium which was recently redeveloped following the passing of Hurricane Ivan in 2004. More than 650 athletes and officials will attend the Games from countries including Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Bonaire, Cayman Islands, Curacao, Dominica, French Guiana, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Martinique, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Maarteen, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands, and the United States Virgin Islands. About Cable & Wireless Communications PlcCable & Wireless Communications Plc (CWC) is a full service communications and entertainment provider, operating in Latin America and the Caribbean. With annual sales of over US$2.4 billion, it operates both mobile and fixed networks, supported by submarine and terrestrial optical fibre backhaul capacity. CWC delivers superior high-speed mobile data, broadband and video services. It has leading market positions in Mobile, Fixed Line, Broadband and Video consumer offers. Through its business division, CWC provides data centre hosting, domestic and international managed network services, and customised IT service solutions, utilising cloud technology to serve business and government customers. The Group also operates a state-of-the-art subsea fibre optic cable network that spans more than 48,000 km -- the most extensive in the region -- as well as 38,000 km of terrestrial fibre providing wholesale and carrier backhaul capacity. CWC has more than 7,300 employees serving 6.4 million customers (Mobile 4.1m; Fixed Line 1.1m; Video 470k and Broadband 690k) across 42 countries. The Group's leading brands include; LIME and Flow in the Caribbean; BTC in The Bahamas; Mas Movil in Panama; C&W Business and C&W Networks. CWC is the market leader in most products offered and territories served. It is a major contributor to local communities through its corporate social responsibility programmes. Cable & Wireless Communications Plc's shares are quoted on the London Stock Exchange under the ticker CWC. The Group is headquartered in London with its operational hub located in Miami, within close proximity to the Caribbean and Latin America. For more information visit:www.cwc.com. Image Available:http://www2.marketwire.com/mw/frame_mw?attachid=2983620 \|\| This Country Has Gone Nearly 25 Years Without a Recession: They called it Super Tuesday in America, but it was the Australian economy that won the day. The Australian Bureau of Statisticsannouncedthat its economy grew at an annualized rate of 3.0% in the fourth quarter of 2015, above the estimates of economists who predicted that the Aussie economy would be more negatively affected by the economic slowdown in China. It also marked the 98th straight quarter that the Australian economy has avoided a recession. That’s right, Australia has gone almost 25 years without having two consecutive quarters of negative growth, the standard definition of a recession. AsBusiness Insider Australiapoints out, this brings the Aussie’s close to the developed-world record held by the Netherlands, whose own streak of 103 straight quarters without a recession came to a halt during the global financial crisis. Australia has been able to avoid a recession because of its close ties to the Chinese economy. It’s wealth of natural resources and proximity to China made it the go-to supplier of China’s manufacturing boom. Although it’s been able to avoid being brought down by the Chinese slowdown thus far, many economists remain pessimistic. "We should be cautious given the poor quality of the growth, which was driven by a rise in government spending and household expenditure that relied on a run down in savings," said Andrew Ticehurst, rate strategist at Nomura,told theFinancial Times. See original article on Fortune.com More from Fortune.com • Australian Avocado Prices Soar as Supply Goes Pear-Shaped • An Australian Family Rents an Airbnb That Turns Out to Be a Drug Den • Ad Agency Defends Mocked 'Stoner Sloth' Anti-Marijuana Campaign • Australian Police Have Raided the Home of Bitcoin's Supposed Creator • Taylor Swift Takes Her 125-Person Crew on Vacation \|\| The Crisis in Bitcoin and the Rise of Blockchain: Remember the hype over bitcoin? The crypto-currency that so tantalized techies and excited investors is today in a sorry state: Its core supporters are at war with each other and ordinary consumersstilldon’t care about this supposedly revolutionary form of money. But that’s only half of the story. The other half is about the remarkable rise of blockchain, the core technology underlying bitcoin that is enjoying unprecedented adoption by banks and big business. This development--the fall of bitcoin and the rise of blockchain--has accelerated in recent months, and it has big implications for those who have sunk hundreds of millions of dollars into these technologies. Here’s the latest on the story of bitcoin, which has turned out far differently than many imagined. How We Got Here Flash back five years, the bitcoin scene was an exciting place to be. A motley mix of coders, libertarians, and get-rich-quick hucksters latched onto the promise of bitcoin founder Satoshi Nakamoto’s new distributed, tamper-proof money system and ledger run from millions of computers. The ledger provided an indelible record of near-anonymous financial transactions in offering a global payment platform to ordinary merchants, drug dealers, and everyone in between. The early bitcoin buzz soon exploded, and the currency’s value briefly soared to$1,200. The mainstream news media caught onto the story while venture capitalists lined up to fund any business with “bit” in its name. Meanwhile, businesses from Virgin Galactic to the NBA’s Sacramento Kings realized they could get a heap of free press just by announcing they would accept bitcoin. The currency never caught on, however. Despite all the startups offering wallets and other tools to popularize the payment technology, average consumers never took to bitcoin--even as they did adopt another person-to-person mobile payment platform, known as Venmo , in droves. So what happened? One problem is that bitcoin never shook its sordid side. While there is nothing intrinsically evil about bitcoin, its most famous adopters have always been a rogue’s gallery of fraudsters, prostitutes,dark web drug lords, andPonzi schemers. Even some members of bitcoin’s governing foundation, who sought to make the currency respectable, are on the lam orin jail. This rogue reputation certainly didn’t help bitcoin. But it wasn’t the crypto-currency’s biggest problem. Instead, the main reason bitcoin didn’t catch on is because it’s just not practical. Even if you can find merchants who accept it, the process involves exotic apps, currency transactions, and a verification process that takes minutes to get the okay. Compare that to swiping a credit card, and you see the problem. In recent months, bitcoin’s adoption problem has suddenly worsened. Meanwhile, big banks are finding they can use bitcoin’s best feature and leave the currency itself behind. Get Data Sheet,Fortune's technology newsletter. The Current Crisis and the Rise of Blockchain “Bitcoin’s nightmare scenario has come to pass,” reada headlinethis week from tech site, The Verge. That’s a pretty fair way to describe a recent schism within the bitcoin developer community--the collection of gnomes who decide on the protocols and computer code under the hood. The Verge report offers a good run-down of the technical specifics but, for present purposes, they can be summed up like this: the bitcoin community failed to agree on a system upgrade, which means the ledger’s infrastructure faces a growing backlog, and it now takes over 40 minutes to confirm a transaction. As a result, bitcoin is less practical than ever and merchants (the few who accepted it in the first place) are bolting. This schism deals a further blow to bitcoin’s hopes of ever becoming a mainstream currency. This is a setback for the bitcoin community, but here’s the kicker: it doesn’t really matter. That’s because the true value of bitcoin is not the currency itself. Instead, it’s the blockchain technology underneath it. Banks and other big businesses have already reaped the benefit of this technology. AsFortunereportedin December, IBM , Intel , JP Morgan , and several other big banks are betting on the blockchain’s ledger system. As with bitcoin, the system requires a set of diffuse computers to prove that a transaction has occurred. Once a confirmation occurs, it’s recorded in a common ledger and cannot be reversed. Why is this such a big deal? It has to do with record keeping. The idea of a tamper-proof ledger created by computers is so significant because it could let a number of industries--especially banking, brokerages, and law firms--overhaul the way they do business. Instead of relying on slow and cumbersome settlement systems to notarize and record documents, they can let a blockchain do it for them. “The clearing and settlement will be done in a matter of seconds. An efficiency comes with this that is a pretty significant force multiplier,” explains Jeff Garzick, a former bitcoin developer who recently launched a consultancy calledBloqthat advises banks and others how to deploy blockchain technology. Garzick and his partner Matt Rosack expect the financial industry will begin using the blockchain for stock and loan settlements as soon as the end of this year. Likewise, they think banks’ transactions at the discount window of the Federal Reserve will soon be recorded on a blockchain. And that’s just the beginning. Garzick and Rosack say the Big Four auditing firms will soon have a blockchain-based transaction feed that will be visible to regulators, who have been studying the potential of blockchain technology for years. The Future: Blockchain Without Bitcoin Even for those familiar with crypto-currency, it can be hard to get one’s head around just how the blockchain can operate without bitcoin. The reason is that bitcoin supplies the financial incentive for people around the world, known as miners, to operate the ledger in the first place. For more about bitcoin, watch our video: In return for devoting their computers to running the blockchain (which publishes the ledger), they receive a reward in the form of a bitcoin that can be spent online or exchanged for traditional currency. In the absence of such an incentive, how do the banks plan to develop the blockchain? The answer is they are building their own version of blockchain and running it themselves. As Garzick explains, this process involves taking the core protocol underlying bitcoin and then stripping off all the “mining” and compensation functions. He says the miners are an interesting way to creating a ledger, but they are not essential in the case of a “private chain,” like the one the banks are developing. “The mining is a really elegant software solution that equally distributes who is going to validate the next set of bitcoin transactions,” Garzick says. “A private chain replaces the entire trust-less aspect with a more private closed network of participants.” In practice, this will involve the banks rejecting a global federation of miners in favor of a handful of trusted verification partners within their own network--a processalready underway. For instance, a group of 15 banks might agree that the ledger becomes official once computers from seven group members agree to record a set of transactions. So what happens to bitcoin in this scenario? AsTheEconomistnoted in a recentfeature, it may become no more than a novelty or a historical curiosity. If this is the case, the venture capitalists who made big bets on consumer bitcoin startups like Coinbase andXapocould see a pool of wealth vanish. Ditto the U.S. government, which has seized a large pile of bitcoins in high-profile drug investigations. For now, that worst case scenario for bitcoin hasn’t come to pass yet. Despite the recent convulsions in the developer community, its price has heldfairly steadyaround $400 for months. It may find niche roles as a currency, such as for foreign remittances. Meanwhile, bitcoin still has defenders such as Jeremy Allaire, a successful entrepreneur who raised over $60 million for his startup, Circle, a money transfer service for consumers using bitcoin behind the scenes. Allaire says there is still time for bitcoin to break through in place of services like Venmo. “Venmo is another AOL--I don't want another walled garden. I want the Google of money,” Allaire said in a recent interview. “We've gone from a world where everyone is in denial about the tech and its usefulness. Now traditional financial institutes say, ‘We love the technology but we want to control it with our own private technology.’ That's not practical.” Other defenders include my former colleague atFortune, Dan Roberts, who said thebull caseoutstrips the bear case for bitcoin in 2016. Still, based on recent developments, a bitcoin resurgence looks like a long shot. When the final history of bitcoin is written, the currency itself is likely to be just a colorful footnote in the tale of the emergence of a powerful new blockchain technology. See original article on Fortune.com More from Fortune.com • This Could Kill the World's Most Popular Cryptocurrency • Securing the City of the Future with Bitcoin • Global Regulators Now Eyeing Fintech • Through Machine Learning, IBM Braintrust Sees Better Days Ahead • Here's Why Europe Is About to Crack Down on Bitcoin Anonymity \|\| After Microsoft R3CV Deal, Bank of Ireland Shared Blockchain Trial: Blockchain and BMW: Microsoft Is Making Big Strides ( Continued from Prior Part ) Bank of Ireland shared successful blockchain trial in April 2016 Previously in this series, we discussed how tech players like Microsoft (MSFT), Red Hat (RHT), and IBM (IBM) are making moves to advance blockchain technology. On April 5, 2016, the Bank of Ireland (IREBY) stated that in collaboration with Deloitte, the bank has successfully finished a joint proof-of-concept blockchain trial. The bank’s trial demonstrated the application of a distributed ledger as an available data layer over current financial systems while keeping the focus on trade reporting. The Bank of Ireland noted that the research showed an improved customer experience and regulatory oversight, which was available at a lower cost than the traditional banking systems. Stephen Moran, innovation manager at Bank of Ireland, stated, “While blockchain technology can be seen as disruptive, it can actually complement a bank’s existing legacy systems.” Financial services are agreeing to the disruptive nature of blockchain technology Garrick Hileman, economic historian at the London School of Economics and the University of Cambridge in the UK (EWU), stated, “2015 was very much the year of the blockchain for financial services. They clearly see the disruptive potential of the technology and are keeping their cards close to their chest regarding how they want to play it.” These financial organizations can opt for a public or private blockchain. In January 2016, R3CV disclosed that it is in the process of developing a private blockchain system that is restricted or requires permission. On the other hand, the Bitcoin blockchain is a public blockchain with an open and transparent database, wherein anyone who has Bitcoin can acquire access to record transactions on it. As the above chart shows, the number of Bitcoin blockchain users have increased tremendously since 2012. Investors who wish to gain exposure to Microsoft could consider investing in the Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLK). While XLK invests ~10.6% of its holdings in Microsoft, it also has an exposure of ~38% to application software. Continue to Next Part Browse this series on Market Realist: Part 1 - Microsoft Azure Wins a High-Profile Customer in BMW Part 2 - How Microsoft’s Azure Is Giving Stiff Competition to Amazon’s AWS Part 3 - Why Microsoft’s Partnership with R3CV Is Making News View comments \|\| Here's how you can invest in the blockchain: As big banks and other financial institutions continue tofeel the lovefor blockchain technology, many of our readers have wondered how they can get in. Can a private, non-institutional investor somehow invest in the blockchain? Answering the question requires a distinction between thebitcoinblockchain and the broader, non-bitcoin idea of blockchain technology. Think of the bitcoin blockchain as a public ledger in the cloud, not unlike a library book slip (see the above video for more). It shows every transaction made with the digital currency bitcoin; the transactions are added in bundles called "blocks," by "miners" who receive a small fee in bitcoin as incentive to add the data. (You canview that happeningin-real time.) The bitcoin blockchain is public, open-source and permissionless. What banks want to build is a private, closed blockchain,sansbitcoin,sansminers, to process their own transactions. The appeal is that it would make their systems faster and more efficient (most big banks are using old, outdated software for their record-keeping), as well as reduce friction and transfer delays. The bitcoin community is skeptical about the effort. "Having a closed, permissioned ledger run by banks might allow for better auditing, but there’s no innovation there," says Jerry Brito, executive director of the nonprofit Coin Center, whichhas raised fundingfrom the biggest names in bitcoin. "You still have to go through a consortium to use the ledger." Indeed, 45 banks, including heavy-hitters like Citi, Credit Suisse, and JPMorgan, have jumped on board with a consortium,called R3, to test out blockchain technology. JPMorgan, eager to come out to an early lead in the blockchain race,announced last monthit has been testing its own blockchain with 2,200 customers. In addition to banks trying to build their own blockchains, fintech startups likeitBitare offering their own non-bitcoin blockchains to financial customers.The blockchain product itBit offers is called Bankchain. "Bitcoin is a public, anonymous use case of blockchain technology," says itBit COO Andrew Chang. "Many financial institutions don't want to use the bitcoin blockchain because it’s an anonymous network and they're not okay with that." Whether the strategy will even bear fruit is unclear, but asAlex Kwiatkowski of financial software firm Misys says, "No one wants to be the one financial company that didn’t invest in blockchain.It feels like California in the Gold Rush -- those making an early claim think they’ll get the most gold. But it’s just an efficiency improvement.There’s going to be some value there, they just need to unlock what it is without promising too much." As banks and other big corporations continue to claim interest in blockchain, the idealogical divide between that side and the bitcoin side will only widen. Dan Conner, who is building a distributed ledger called DisLedger, aptly explains why: "If you’re a bitcoin fanboy and you’re a crypto-anarchist, that’s fine. But those people don’t tend to run in the same circles as banks." Conner predicts that even the term "blockchain" will go out of fashion for Wall Street the way "bitcoin" has, because there are inherent weaknesses in a blockchain. For now, clearly, the big banks are big believers in blockchain—or at least, they say they are. If you, a regular investor (and Yahoo Finance reader), are also a believer, is there a way to invest in blockchain technology? The short answer is: not directly. But there are three roundabout ways you could invest in the bitcoin blockchain or the broader, Wall Street concept of blockchain. If you believe in the strength of the bitcoin blockchain, the best way to invest is to buy bitcoin. Whether you want to do that for price-speculation purposes or simply out of curiosity to own a nascent asset class, there are myriad ways to obtain some easily, from exchanges like Coinbase, Circle, Bitstamp or Kraken, which hasexpanded in the U.S. recently through acquisitions. A second would be to buy stock in the banks that have joined up with R3, such asBBVA (BBVA), BNP Paribas (BNP.PA), Citi (C), Credit Suisse (CS), ING Group (ING), JPMorgan (JPM), Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), UBS (UBS), and Wells Fargo (WFC). Of course, for bitcoin true believers, buying bank stocks would defeat the purpose of a cryptocurrency designed to avoid traditional banks. Or you could buy shares in the Bitcoin Investment Trust (GBTC), which passively holds bitcoin to track the price (it's similar to the GLD gold trust) and began trading publicly over the counter last year. The trust was launched by Barry Silbert of the Digital Currency Group, which has invested in 75 bitcoin and non-bitcoin blockchain startups, andrecently bought the news site CoinDesk. "We started the Trust," Silbert says, "as aneasy way for casual investors to get exposure to the price of bitcoin without having to figure out where do you buy it, what price do you pay, and how do you store it. This is one easy way to play in the bitcoin/blockchain industry." The trust is up 20% since it began trading last May. And bitcoin itself is up 81% in the same time period. This is the second in a three-part Yahoo Finance series about blockchain technology. Thefirst partwas about why big banks are expressing interest in the blockchain; thethird partis about the biggest names in the industry. -- Daniel Roberts is a writer at Yahoo Finance, covering sports business and technology.Read more: Bitcoin advocacy group scores funding from biggest names in industry Bitcoin industry consolidates: Why Kraken bought Coinsetter Bitcoin's biggest investor bought its biggest news site Here's a sign that PayPal is embracing Bitcoin \|\| Canada's TSX hires Bitcoin guru, studies currency's technology: By Ethan Lou TORONTO (Reuters) - The Toronto Stock Exchange has hired a Bitcoin entrepreneur as its first chief digital officer as it explores the capabilities of blockchain, the technology behind the virtual currency, a senior executive at TSX parent TMX Group said on Thursday. Anthony Di Iorio, who has founded several companies based on the technology, filled the role at Canada's largest stock exchange in January, Jean Desgagne, chief executive of TMX's Global Enterprise Services, said in an interview. Stock exchanges are embracing blockchain, which allows Bitcoin users to conduct secure transactions without middlemen, as they seek to diversify and boost profit margins. When used to issue securities, the technology could potentially remove the need for clearing houses. "Blockchain is a disruptive technology," Desgagne said, noting that major changes could result from its potential adoption. "We're focused on it, we're going to learn." In January the Australian stock exchange said it had enlisted a blockchain startup to develop a new trade settlement system. Nasdaq in the United States used the technology last year to issue securities to an unidentified private investor. Last month, Nasdaq said it was developing a blockchain-based shareholder voting system for its Estonian stock exchange. Blockchain could make operations "better, faster, cheaper," Desgagne said, but noted that, if adopted, the technology would be only one element in TMX's digital operations. Di Iorio and Desgagne declined to discuss details about potential blockchain projects at TSX. Di Iorio is the founder of the Bitcoin Alliance of Canada and a co-founder of Ethereum, a blockchain-based computing platform. (Reporting by Ethan Lou; Editing by Euan Rocha and Richard Chang) \|\| Bitcoin community disputes the use of 'Internet of Money': Some people in the bitcoin world—the believers still waving the flag for the leading digital currency, which is currently trading at $427—will tell you that the phrase “The Internet of Money” is widely understood as a reference to bitcoin and its underlying technology, the blockchain. But Uphold, a “cloud bank” startup that launched in 2014, will tell you it is their corporate slogan. It applied to register the phrase as its trademark for financial services back in September 2015with the US Patent & Trademark Office, and is far along in the process. Andreas Antonopoulos doesn’t like that. The cybersecurity expert and author of "Mastering Bitcoin" has waged a war with Uphold, encouraging his 47,000 Twitter followers to help him find the earliest uses of the words “Internet of money.” Uphold’s adoption of the slogan, he tells Yahoo Finance, “perverts the meaning of the phrase.” The law is on Uphold’s side; there’s not much Antonopoulos can do to stop Uphold from getting its registration. But of all people, Antonopoulos is a loud enemy for a fintech company to have. To understand the complexity of this feud, we must step back and examine the two sides and their reputations in the financial tech industry. Uphold is a “cloud money vault” that lets you convert funds between 25 different currencies or four precious metals. When it first launched, in 2014, customers had to make deposits in bitcoin, and the company had a different name: Bitreserve. It has since rebranded, and in a way, ditched association with bitcoin. Uphold customers can still deposit bitcoin or exchange other currencies to bitcoin, but they don’t need to start with bitcoin. You could deposit U.S. dollars, for example, and convert them to pesos to send money to a friend in Mexico, never dealing with bitcoin in any way. Uphold now boasts more than $100 million in funds held in Uphold wallets, and says more than $900 million in transaction volume has been exchanged on the site. It is also part of apilot program with the Antwerp World Diamond Centrethat encourages a large portion of the world’s diamond traders to use Uphold for conversion of funds. Uphold CEO Anthony Watson, whose resume includes executive roles at Citi (C), Wells Fargo (WFC), Barclays (BCS) and Nike (NKE), has publicly expressed doubts about bitcoin, which has not ingratiated him to the vocal community of enthusiasts with high hopes for the currency. “I’ll be surprised if bitcoin is here in five years,” he toldFortunelast year. “It’s a means to an end. The value of bitcoin isn’t the currency, but the technology. I think once the world becomes more accustomed and attuned to the platform of bitcoin, the noise will go away, and the currency will go away too.” Onforums like Reddit, bitcoin believers have disparaged Watson and Uphold. Here's why the dispute between Uphold and Antonopoulos should matter to the larger financial market: Uphold is one of many fintech companies, along with Dwolla, TransferWise, Venmo, and Xoom, to name a few, that make a similar value claim: shorter transfer times and smaller transfer fees. That has been a popular selling point of bitcoin, too—but bitcoin risks collapsing due toproblems with its own infrastructure. Meanwhile, 45 major global banks havesigned on to a consortiumto test out a form of blockchain, the technology on which bitcoin runs—but a closed version of blockchain, without bitcoin. Antonopoulos is highly respected in bitcoin circles, but not a known name in the broader, big-business world. In March, he tweeted at Watson, “You are aware that others (e.g. myself) used the phrase ‘The Internet of Money’ in business long before you did?” He asked his followers to find the earliest uses of the phrase related to digital currency, and received many responses. He says people have used it to refer to bitcoin since 2010. There’s just one problem with that: It likely does not matter. “The idea that it is relevant to find the first usage of the term is misguided,” says trademark attorney Martin Schwimmer, a partner at the firm Leason Ellis. “Prior art,” he says, is a concept more often applied to patents. Earlier uses of the phrase (not as a trademark) have no bearing on Uphold’s ability to register it as a trademark. Antonopoulos understand this. “Legally, it is irrelevant,” he cedes. “Morally, taking a generic phrase you didn't invent from an open community and claiming exclusivity is a slimy move.” To be clear, Antonopoulos isn’t looking to assert exclusive rights to the phrase. But he rejects Uphold’s right to do so. (One might wonder if he is partially motivated by animosity toward a company that abandoned bitcoin; Antonopoulos says that isn't the case, and says he has an Uphold account.) “I've used the phrase for years to refer to bitcoin, long before Uphold existed,” he says, “And my use of it excluded no one.” In keeping with the spirit of bitcoin, which operates on a public, decentralized, anonymized ledger (the bitcoin blockchain), Antonopoulos believes the slogan belongs to the public. He even launched an "Internet of Money Tour" to travel around and spread the word. So, let’s say the public agrees with him, and doesn’t believe Uphold should get to use “The Internet of the Money” as its slogan. Can it stop the company from doing so? Likely no, says trademark attorney Ed Timberlake, in part because in this case “the public,” as defined by Antonopoulos (i.e., the relatively small pool of the bitcoin community) is likely only a fraction of the group that the USPTO would define as relevant consumers. (The much larger public is still largely uninformed, and arguably uninterested, in bitcoin.) “The Trademark Office doesn’t give a huge amount of weight to a factional community, they typically have a broader view of what the relevant public is,” says Timberlake, who spent two years working at the U.S. Trademark Office. The key question the Trademark Office will answer is whether the phrase has been so widely used that it has become diluted. Or as Timberlake puts it: When the public thinks of the phrase in the context of the financial technology sector, do people associate the phrase with Uphold? Antonopoulos would say no, and many in the bitcoin community might say no, and perhaps the answer is no. But Uphold will probably get the registration anyway. Timberlake says the Trademark Office doesn’t so rigidly interpret the question. It's not that the office approves everything, but it leans toward approving applications for registration when the company has demonstrated some use of the trademark. The office doesn’t want to make it impossible to get approval. “No one wants the headache of mounting a federal lawsuit every time they want to assert trademark rights,” Timberlake says. “It’s not a rubber stamp, but it’s somewhere between a rubber stamp and a full lawsuit in federal court, in that there are certain things the office is in the habit of recognizing as a pretty good indication [of trademark]. But they don’t go out and talk to people to test it.” Uphold’s use of the phrase on its web site is already a “pretty good indication” that it merits the registration, Timberlake says. “If I’m the examiner and I look at Uphold’s web site, it looks to me like they’re getting good legal advice. The phrase is there, front and center, it shows up when you Google them. They look far along enough to get the registration.” Nonetheless, Antonopoulos says he is, “consulting with legal experts to return the phrase to open use by invalidating the trademark.” Watson, for his part, tells Yahoo Finance he has no intention of suing anyone, and has been taken aback by Antonopoulos’s aggression. An article atCoinTelegraphlast month said that Watson had “revealed his intentions to sue” Antonopoulos; that is incorrect. Back in November, Watsonshared and praisedablog post on Medium, written by “Captain Cloud Money,” an anonymous Uphold user, that argued, “Bitcoin fails as Internet money despite being an IP-based asset, because there is no central authority backing its value.” The post appeared to suggest an awareness that the phrase had previously been used to apply to bitcoin. Even though the odds and the law favor Uphold, getting the registration is no foregone conclusion. Uphold already appends a “TM” to the phrase on its site, but anyone can do that. Once you get a registration, you get to use the “R,” which is the real indicator of protection. “For snooty lawyer types,” Timberlake explains, the TM symbol, “can seem like small potatoes. It doesn’t have any teeth.” Uphold seeks teeth. But Andreas Antonopoulos is making it hard to chew. For the time being, Uphold can continue to use the phrase all it wants. And so can others. -- Daniel Roberts is a writer at Yahoo Finance, covering sports business and technology. Read more: How big banks are paying lip service to the blockchain Here’s how you can invest in the blockchain Bitcoin's biggest investor just bought its biggest news site Here's a sign that PayPal is embracing Bitcoin [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] 1 KOBO = 0.00001098 BTC = 0.0047 USD = 0.9347 NGN = 0.0685 ZAR = 0.4758 KES #Kobocoin 2016-04-16 08:00 pic.twitter.com/EJUmg7bpC5 \|\| #GeoCoin #GEO $ 0.024708 (-13.40 %) 0.00005977 BTC (-13.00 %) \|\| $448.43 at 01:00 UTC [24h Range: $435.00 - $451.00 Volume: 7532 BTC] \|\| #China Market Open \|\| #Bitcoin: $443.96 \| 399.94 EUR\|\| #Litecoin: 0.0088 BTC \|\| #Ethereum: 0.0174 BTC \|\| $BTC $LTC $ETH $RMB \|\| One Bitcoin now worth $418.49@bitstamp. High $419.00. Low $415.66. Market Cap $ 6.416 Billion #bitcoin pic.twitter.com/wuxZ4LLJCf \|\| One Bitcoin now worth $424.95@bitstamp. High $426.67. Low $421.00. Market Cap $6.556 Billion #bitcoin \|\| #TrinityCoin #TTY $ 0.000004 (0.20 %) 0.00000001 BTC (-0.00 %) \|\| LIVE: Profit = $196.93 (2.41 %). BUY B19.81 @ $420.00 (#VirCurex). SELL @ $422.69 (#Bitfinex) #bitcoin #btc - http://www.projectcoin.org \|\| #BTA Price: Bittrex 0.00003450 BTC YoBit 0.00003955 BTC Bleutrade 0.00003335 BTC #BTA 2016-03-23 11:00 pic.twitter.com/UenxKTfQH6 \|\| LIVE: Profit = $153.21 (8.75 %). BUY B4.53 @ $410.00 (#VirCurex). SELL @ $420.58 (#Bitfinex) #bitcoin #btc - http://www.projectcoin.org	Trend: no change \|\| Prices: 451.88, 444.67, 450.30, 446.72, 447.98, 459.60, 458.54, 458.55, 460.48, 450.89
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2016-07-07] BTC Price: 640.56, BTC RSI: 48.19 Gold Price: 1360.10, Gold RSI: 72.12 Oil Price: 45.14, Oil RSI: 41.30 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] EU proposes stricter rules on Bitcoin, prepaid cards in terrorism fight: By Foo Yun Chee STRASBOURG (Reuters) - The European Commission proposed on Tuesday stricter rules on the use of virtual currencies and prepaid cards in a bid to reduce anonymous payments and curb the financing of terrorism. Virtual currency exchange platforms will have to increase checks on the identities of people exchanging virtual currencies, such as Bitcoin, for real currencies and report suspicious transactions. Under the Commission's proposals the threshold for making anonymous payments with pre-paid cards was lowered to 150 euros ($167.28) from 250 euros. "Member states will be able to get and share vital information about who really owns companies or trusts, who is dealing in online currencies, and who is using pre-paid cards," EU Commission First Vice-President Frans Timmermans said. Following attacks in Paris last November by Islamic State militants the EU executive said it would step up measures to cut off terrorists' access to funds. French authorities have proved that pre-paid cards were used by the Paris attackers. Prepaid cards are issued by a wide range of operators including banks using major networks, such as Visa and MasterCard. They are different from debit and credit cards because they need to be loaded before payments can be made, but can carry substantial amounts of money. MasterCard said it supported the Commission's objective of strengthening the security of prepaid cards while ensuring that people less well-off could still use them. The proposed higher controls on virtual currencies and pre-paid cards "are important in tackling black market and terrorist financing", said Chas Roy-Chowdhury, head of tax at ACCA, which represents the interests of the accountancy sector. The Commission proposed increasing the amount of checks banks have to carry out on financial flows from risky third countries, namely states with poor anti-money laundering rules and difficulties countering terrorism financing. In a bid to end tax evasion after the publication in April of the Panama Papers - which revealed widespread tax avoidance practices by wealthy individuals - the Commission also proposed rules requiring the beneficial owners of trusts to be recorded in registers that in many cases will be accessible to the public. Story continues Existing and new accounts will be subject to due diligence controls and the Commission will look into finding effective ways for each member state to share information on beneficial owners of companies and trusts. "These proposals for public registers will be welcomed by citizens and anti-corruption activists who want to follow the trail of dirty money," Laure Brillaud, Transparency International EU policy officer, said. "However, we are concerned that it will be all too easy to evade being on the registers in the first place by gaming the rules on trusts. By simply nominating a non-EU resident as a trustee the secrecy can carry on as before," she added. Tuesday's proposals will need to be approved by the EU Parliament and EU states before they become law. (Writing by Julia Fioretti and Ines Kagubare; editing by Susan Thomas) \|\| ETF Strategies in a Post Brexit World: After a seven year bull run and an increased uncertainty, people may expect the equities market will more likely pullback and give up some of its gains. Consequently, traders have turned to bearish or inverse exchange traded fund strategies to hedge against turns in a more volatile market. On an upcoming webcast this Wednesday,Sector Strategies in a Post Brexit World, Tom Dorsey, Co-Founder of Dorsey, Wright & Associates, and Sylvia Jablonski, Managing Director and Head of the Capital Markets & Institutional Strategy Team at Direxion, will discuss hedging strategies to manage a rougher road ahead. According to Jefferson National’s second annual Advisory Authority Survey, financial advisors see ongoing volatility as one of the top macro issues that will adversely affect client portfolios over the next year, ThinkAdvisor reports. Related:VIX, Bearish S&P 500 ETFs to Hedge Uncertainty Specifically, 76% of RIAs and fee-based advisors, 89% of the highest earning advisors and 63% of investors in the survey expected volatility to rise in the coming year as both U.S. politics and domestic and international economics exacerbate the uncertain outlook. Among the top concerns, those surveyed pointed to energy prices, Federal Reserve policy, U.S. presidential election and Chinese instability. “When it comes to investing, protecting clients’ portfolios and protecting their own practice, ongoing volatility remains the number one concern of RIAs and fee-based advisors year over year — while investors are aware of volatility’s impact, they say that protecting assets is their number-one concern,” Jefferson National president Laurence Greenberg said in a statement. Trending on ETF Trends As Q3 Begins, Gold Miner ETFs Keep Shining Winklevoss Bitcoin ETF Will Trade on BATS Another Rally Looms for Gold ETFs How to Hedge Market Turns with Inverse ETFs Brexit Weighs on Big Oil ETFs Among those surveyed 48% of all RIAs and fee-based advisors looked to ETFs and alternative mutual funds as their number one solution in today’s volatile markets. Additionally, 60% of high earning advisors pointed to liquid alternatives. ETF traders also have a number of liquid alternative strategies to choose from. For instance, theDirexion Daily S&P Biotech Bear 1X Shares (LABS), Direxion Daily Financial Bear 1x Shares (FAZZ) and Direxion Daily Energy Bear 1x Shares (ERYY) provide inverse or -100% exposure to some of the more volatile areas of the market this year. Related:ETF Traders Look Beyond Brexit to China Risk LABS may be a good way for investors to hedge against further selling in the biotech sector as political rhetoric puts a spotlight on pharmaceutical treatment prices and the growth play sours. FAZZ could be used to hedge against the Brexit fallout and potentially extended low-rate environment, which could weigh on the financial sector. Any further concerns on global growth and oil prices could also help traders hedge against a weakening energy sector with ERYY. Financial advisors who are interested in learning more about sector strategies canregister for the Wednesday, June 29 webcast here. \|\| VPN and VPS Provider ChangeIP Starts Accepting Bitcoin and Alipay: Due To Popular Demand in Mainland China, ChangeIP Has Enhanced the Company's Transactional Capability to Accept Alipay MIAMI, FL / ACCESSWIRE / June 16, 2016 /ChangeIP.comnow accepts for payment both the cryptographic currency Bitcoin and China's leading third-party online payment solution, Alipay. "Due to popular demand and to serve the rapidly growing market in mainland China, ChangeIP has enhanced the company's transactional capability to accept Alipay," said ChangeIP General Manager Kapil Jain. Alipay works like an escrow service, solving the issue of settlement risk in China. Bitcoin, which utilizes SHA-256 encryption for both its Proof-of-Work (PoW) system and transaction verification, goes hand-in-hand with ChangeIP's focus on privacy and security. "The world faces complex technological privacy and security issues and all of ChangeIP's solutions--and now, payment methods--protect and promote our customers privacy, security, and freedom," said Jain. To that effect, ChangeIP recently launched aVirtual Private Network (VPN) servicethat provides a secure tunnel between its clients and the Internet with super-strong encryption. For more information, please visitchangeip.com. About ChangeIP: ChangeIP is the rockstar, low-cost and high-touch web host. ChangeIP specializes in solutions--VPN, linux & windows web hosting, and VPS hosting--that all protect and promote its customers' privacy, security, and freedom. Contact: Kapil [email protected](949) 555-2861 SOURCE:ChangeIP.com \|\| Baidu Among Companies Working Together To Use Bitcoin Technology To Create Global Bank: Bitcoin’s whiplash-inducing volatility continued this week when the cryptocurrency surged to new two-year highs on Monday before plunging 10 percent the following day. One of the major drivers of Bitcoin’s recent rise has been demand from China. A group of Chinese companies, including Internet search giantBaidu Inc (ADR)(NASDAQ:BIDU), has raised $60 million in funding for Circle Inc, a U.S. startup based on Bitcoin’s underlying technology. Circle is a blockchain-based digital payment app. Blockchain technology is the public ledger of all Bitcoin transactions and is often viewed as the major underlying innovation of Bitcoin. Related Link:Self-Proclaimed Inventor Of Bitcoin Reportedly Seeks Hundreds Of Patents On Blockchain Technology “If you look at the trends, China very well could be the driver of the adoption of blockchain consumer services,” Circle CEOJeremy Allairesaid. One potential hurdle Circle and other blockchain-based startups may soon have to clear is potential patent disputes. Australian Craig Wright, who claims to be Bitcoin founder “Satoshi Nakamoto” has now filed at least 50 patent applications via Britain’s EITC Holdings Ltd. The London Review of Books claims that Wright is in the process of filing hundreds of patents that will eventually be sold for more than $1 billion. In the meantime, Circle and its investors will continue to try to apply blockchain technology toward Allaire's goal of building a global bank that makes sending payments “as easy as sending an email.” Disclosure: The author holds no position in the stocks mentioned. See more from Benzinga • Buy The FedEx Earnings Selloff, Deutsche Bank Says • Marijuana Ruling: Is The DEA Re-Scheduling Bullish For Weed Stocks? • Social Data Provides Real-Time Brexit Sentiment © 2016 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| Rocky Mountain Ayre to Launch Crypto-Currency Marketplace: DOVER, DE--(Marketwired - May 10, 2016) - Rocky Mountain Ayre, Inc., a holding company ( OTC PINK : RMTN ) is pleased to announce that it is ready to launch a brand new feature to its Hempcoin website ( www.hempcoin.com ). Hempcoin has developed the first of its kind Crypto-Currency marketplace for goods and services to be offered and purchased using Bitcoin and Hempcoin as the sole means of payment. Users can now offer goods and services for sale on Hempcoin crypto marketplace and get paid with Bitcoin or Hempcoin. The price of the listed products or services in BTC or HMP implicitly changes according to the current rate on the exchanges. This can potentially protect sellers from loss and buyers from over paying due to the constant market price fluctuation of the Crypto- Currencies. Users can also transfer Bitcoin or Hempcoin between each other within seconds without the need to pay any exchange fees. It is a very secure and easy to use. Hempcoin currently trades on two Crypto-Currency exchanges, C-Cex and Yobit , and plans on adding several more in the near future. About Hempcoin Hempcoin (HMP) runs on its own peer-to-peer blockchain like Bitcoin (BTC) but at a faster rate because it is using the script technique like LiteCoin. So in addition to having the advantage of being able to move HMP around faster than BTC, HMP is backed by the marketable securities of RMTN. BTC is strictly a fiat currency like the US Dollar, however, BTC has the potential to go up in value against the Dollar because of supply and demand factors and HMP has this same built in advantage because unlike the Dollar, both BTC and HMP have a limited amount of coins in circulation, while the Dollar is ever increasing in supply. About Rocky Mountain, Inc. Rocky Mountain Ayre, is a publicly traded company listed on the OTCmarkets under the "RMTN" trading symbol. It is a holding company increasing its asset and revenue base through acquisition and/or creation of operating entities. The Company currently has two entities in its portfolio and is focusing its efforts on its Crypto-Currency, Hempcoin, at this time. Safe Harbor Statement This Press Release may contain certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The Company has tried, whenever possible, to identify these forward-looking statements using words such as "anticipates," "believes," "estimates," "expects," "plans," "intends," "potential" and similar expressions. These statements reflect the Company's current beliefs and are based upon information currently available to it. Accordingly, such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which could cause the Company's actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed in or implied by such statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or advise in the event of any change, addition or alteration to the information catered in this Press Release including such forward-looking statements. \|\| Bitcoin Services Inc. Launches bitcoin-basics.com: GRANDVILLE, MI / ACCESSWIRE / July 6, 2016 / Bitcoin Services Inc.(OTC Pink: BTSC) announced today that it launchedbitcoin-basics.com. The website explains the basics of Bitcoin to new users. It will make money from ads and affiliate offers. Bitcoin is a digital asset and a payment system. The system is peer-to-peer and transactions take place between users directly, without an intermediary. These transactions are verified by network nodes and recorded in a publicly distributed ledger called the blockchain, which uses bitcoin as its unit of account. Since the system works without a central repository or single administrator, the U.S. Treasury categorizes bitcoin as a decentralized virtual currency. Bitcoin is often called the first cryptocurrency. About Bitcoin Services Inc.:Our business operations are Internet based to the consumer and consist of three separate streams, as follows: (1) bitcoin escrow services, (2) bitcoin mining, and (3) blockchain software development. The principal products and services are the mining of bitcoins, providing escrow services for buyers and sellers of bitcoins, and the development and sale of blockchain software. The market for these services and products is worldwide, and sold and marketed on the Internet. Safe Harbor Statement This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27a of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended and section 21e of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Those statements include the intent, belief or current expectations of the company and its management team. Prospective investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties, and that actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors. Accomplishing the strategy described herein is significantly dependent upon numerous factors, many that are not in management's control. Some of these factors include the ability of the company to raise sufficient capital, attract qualified management, attract new customers and effectively compete against similar companies. CONTACT: [email protected] SOURCE:Bitcoin Services Inc. \|\| Bitcoin's Novelty Is Spent: If drawing a stack of Benjamins on fast-food napkins and praying they spring to life sounds like your idea of a good time, consider the urban myth behind bitcoin -- the enigmatic digital currency that exists online, has no central bank or even a known founder. Here's what we know, at least from the fabulist perspective: Satoshi Nakamoto is said to have invented bitcoins in 2008 after he sold a vintage McDonald's paper napkin online and the buyer defrauded him out of several thousand bucks. Since then, Nakamoto has been pegged as anyone and everyone from an Irish grad student to a reclusive Hungarian American. And as the legend grows, so grows the legal tender. Today you'll find an estimated 15 million bitcoins in circulation, worth about $872 million. But putting your money into bitcoins isn't a slam dunk (even if the Sacramento Kings accept them). That's because bitcoin fever -- much like the infamous "Tulip Mania" of 17th Century Holland -- has died down. Way down. Observers say once-smitten financial reporters and publications now focus elsewhere. "Bitcoin is actually unchanged since many years ago: What is different is the focus of the media," says Peter Leeds, the author of "Penny Stocks for Dummies." In it, Leeds mentions bitcoin as an example of what he calls "an investor stampede." [See: The 9 Best Investors of All Time .] "Much -- almost all -- of bitcoin's rise in value was driven by the standard media cycle," Leeds says. "And as the story became old news, coverage levels diminished and the currency faded into the background." But arguably, bitcoin was bound to make headlines in 2013, when European speculators sent its value through the roof. The Cyprus economic bailout drove anxious investors to bitcoins as they sought alternatives to the euro and other currencies manipulated by central bankers. Bitcoin also made waves because no one in the investment world had seen anything like it. Bitcoins are known as a "cryptocurrency," a term that appeals to the James Bond in all of us. In fact, early adopters included thieves and criminals who embraced its all-digital nature. Bitcoin's nefarious fans included Silk Road, an online black market (since shuttered) that sold drugs. A handful of anarchists embraced it, too. Story continues That said, old-fashioned cash has long been a favorite of malfeasants. For the rest of us, "the legal status of bitcoin varies from country to country," says Nicolette Kost De Sevres, senior policy advisor with DLA Piper, a global business law firm, "It is banned or restricted in some, undefined in many and explicitly allowed in others." Adding to the mystery, bitcoins hinge on tongue-twisting technobabble even most Wall Street pundits can't grasp. This includes "source code repository" and the concept of "computationally impractical to reverse." Nor is a bitcoin a coin in the traditional sense. It exists as an open-source, peer-to-peer internet protocol, which may explain why the digerati have embraced it. One bitcoin evangelist is Nicolas Cary, a serial entrepreneur and co-founder of Blockchain, the world's top bitcoin software company. "The virtual currency has specific properties that make it work really nicely as a form of money," Cary says. Ask him why and he rattles off a long list: "It is counterfeit-proof, fungible, easily divisible by up to 8 decimal points, purely digital, robust against the elements -- it won't burn or get corroded in water -- and with certain digital precautions far more resilient than cash." Yes, but... "If you lose the hard drive you've stored your coins on or lose access to a hosted account, you've effectively lost your money," says Cindy McAdam, partner in Goodwin Procter's Technology and Life Sciences Group, and a former executive at Xapo, a leading bitcoin company. And it's not like those things ever happen, right? If you think you'd be better off spending bitcoins than investing in them, online retailers such as TigerDirect and Overstock.com ( OSTK ) accept the currency. You can even make donations with bitcoins at higher-ed institutions that include the University of Puget Sound. Yet you don't have to be an economics professor to describe bitcoin like this: volatile. One bitcoin is worth about $581. On Nov. 29, 2013, it hit a peak of $1,108, according to Coinbase.com, a website that tracks Bitcoin prices. Less than a month later, it had plummeted to $593 -- more than its current worth. But if you bought in at the start of last September, you'd have doubled your money and then some. It's enough to give even a stalwart market-timing enthusiast a case of virtual currency vertigo. "There is a belief that much of the 'Wild West' spike in late 2013 was driven by fraud and market manipulation," McAdam says. "The price fell dramatically in the year following that, but has basically been on an upward trend for the past 18 months." [See: The 10 Best REIT ETFs on the Market .] That includes a price bump of $130 over two weeks between late May and early June. "With the upward price movement, we should expect to see more bitcoin headlines soon," says Anthem Hayek Blanchard, founder and CEO of Anthem Vault, which has created a gold-backed digital currency, HayekGold. He predicts that "it is very likely that bitcoin prices will go higher and breach $1,000 per bitcoin." Taken one way, the recent price rebound could be interpreted as newfound stability away from the harsh media spotlight. "Some speculate the buying is coming from the Chinese market due to currency controls and a devalued yuan," says Jalak Jobanputra, a venture capitalist and founding partner of FuturePerfect Ventures in New York City. Or, it could represent the latest gyration in Bitcoin's brief, marble-in-a-bathtub history. So is now a good time to buy bitcoins? Or is it ever a good time to invest in them? "Bitcoin remains a risky investment," says William Brindise, chief trading officer at DigitalX, a software solutions company in the global digital payments industry. "If growth in demand remains roughly constant as supply growth falls, economic theory suggests the price of bitcoin should rise," Brindise says. "However that's a big if, since the factors driving demand for bitcoins remain in flux." Meanwhile, some argue that the current lack of sensationalism means that bitcoin , once an investment upstart, is settling down. "Bitcoin never went away," says Christopher Burniske, analyst and blockchain products lead at New York City's ARK Investment Management, the first public fund manager to invest in bitcoin. "Its strength can be seen in the 'up and to the right' graphs of transactional volumes, trading volumes, hashing power, number of wallets, startups, merchants, and more, all involved with bitcoin." Burniske also points to the 99bitcoins website, which tracks bitcoin obituaries in the press. The number to date: 104. He notes that while bitcoin isn't the media darling it once was, it doesn't deserve to be on death row, either. The truth, in all likelihood, sits securely in the mundane middle. [Read: Real Estate's New Land of Plenty .] "There are fewer headlines because the currency has leveled out to a degree," says John Sedunov, assistant professor of finance at the Villanova University School of Business in the Philadelphia area. "If anything, it is becoming more mainstream." More From US News & World Report 11 Stocks That Donald Trump Loves 7 Ways to Tell if a Stock Is a Good Price 8 Easy Ways to Make Money \|\| Brexit Weighs on Big Oil ETFs: The United States Oil Fund (USO) , which tracks West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures, and the United States Brent Oil Fund (BNO) , which tracks Brent crude oil futures, are among the various commodities exchange traded products that have been stung by the Brexit result. A stronger dollar coupled with downward revisions to U.K. economic growth forecast are among the factors pressuring crude in Brexit’s wake and there could be more near-term pain for oil because some market observers see Brexit also affecting Chinese economic growth. Related:The Worst Could be Over for Oil ETFs “The Brexit also likely has a negative impact for China by strengthening the Japanese Yen and triggering a sell-off in the Yuan. The future of EU Oil imports is also brought into question, given the risk of other countries following England’s lead in exiting the Union. Despite the risks, inventory levels are expected to inch lower over the summer months, which may underpin Oil prices. US production is expected to decrease over the coming months, which may offset decreased UK/EU demand,” according to OptionsExpress. Brexit’s subsequent volatility could drag on riskier assets like commodities and add to concerns over a global slowdown in energy demand. Moreover, commodities may find pressure from a strengthening U.S. dollar as many expect the British pound to depreciate following a break. Trending on ETF Trends 11 Surging Silver ETFs as Two-Year High Looms A Gold Boon for these Glistening ETFs As Bank of England Mulls Rate Cuts, More Pound Punishment Likely As Q3 Begins, Gold Miner ETFs Keep Shining Winklevoss Bitcoin ETF Will Trade on BATS Elevated levels of production remain an issue for oil as well. OPEC has kept up production to pressure high-cost rivals, such as the developing U.S. shale oil producers. The International Energy Agency expects it will take several years before OPEC can effectively price out high-cost producers. Saudi Arabia previously said it would join a production freeze deal if Iran agreed to curb output. However, Iran has maintained that it should be allowed to raise production to previous levels before the introduction of Western sanctions over Iran’s nuclear program, instead arguing for individual-country production quotas. Related:Oil ETFs at 7 Month High on Falling U.S. Inventories “Turning to the chart, we see the August Crude Oil contract forming what could become a double top formation. If confirmed, the measure of the double top could result in a test of the $40 level. The recent closes below the 20-day moving average (“MA”) suggest that a near-term high may be in place,” adds Options Express. For more information on the oil market, visit ouroil category. United States Brent Oil Fund \|\| Three reasons why bitcoin’s price is surging higher: Bitcoin is trading at its highest price in almost two years, driven by several factors including market conditions in Asia, according to experts in the cryptocurrency. The online currency ended Monday at around $542.77 and hit a high of $548.5 on Tuesday. The price has surged in the last week, climbing 22 percent since last Monday; year-to-date the price for bitcoin has increased by 25 percent. As a result, this is the highest price bitcoin has reached since August 2014. CNBC examines three reasons to explain the rising price. Demand in Asian markets Most experts have pointed towards fears in China and Asia that the yuan could depreciate as reasons for increased investment in bitcoin. "Signs indicate Bitcoin's price has become linked to a number of macroeconomic factors in China," said Vijay Michalik, research analyst for digital transformation at consultancy Frost & Sullivan, to CNBC in an email. "It highlights growing concerns about yuan currency deflation, as bitcoin's appeal has grown as an alternative asset class for a population deprived of many investment choices." James Lynn, U.K. managing director at investment company Billon Group, corroborated this view. "The most likely explanation appears to be linked to market confidence in the Asia region, with low confidence in local currencies providing a major boost to bitcoin demand," he told CNBC in an email. Tightening supply A key feature of bitcoin is that new coins have to be discovered or "mined" in order to be added to circulation, unlike fiat currencies where governments can print fresh bills. When new bitcoins are mined, a record of it is added to the blockchain, which is effectively a giant ledger recording all bitcoin transactions. Bitcoin miners are rewarded with a set of bitcoins for each block they successfully mine. Miners used to receive a bounty of 50 bitcoins, but this was halved in 2012 to prevent bitcoin inflation and it is expected to halve again in the coming months, potentially leading to supply-side currency constraints. "Speculators have been pointing to impending rises for some months, citing the impending halving of rewards for miners," explained James Lynn. "I think, however, that's been priced into the market on an on-going basis." Bitcoin's becoming more robust Several recent developments have been intended to improve bitcoin's performance and make transactions more reliable. "Bitcoin's seen some of the developer turmoil subside over the past few months," said Vijay Michalik. According to Michalik, new technology shows how much progress has been made in making bitcoin easier to use. For instance, the company Blockchain released an alpha version of the Thunder Network earlier this month, which allows payments to be made using bitcoin more quickly, cheaply and at a larger scale. It is possible that by making bitcoin more robust, these changes will have made the cryptocurrency more attractive to new investors. Follow CNBC International onTwitterandFacebook. More From CNBC • Top News and Analysis • Latest News Video • Personal Finance \|\| Bank of Canada studies payments system using tech behind bitcoin: By Ethan Lou and Leah Schnurr TORONTO/OTTAWA (Reuters) - The Bank of Canada is experimenting with a payments system based on the technology behind the bitcoin virtual currency, the central bank said on Thursday. Bank of Canada Senior Deputy Governor Carolyn Wilkins said the central bank has been working with commercial banks to build the experimental interbank payment system. The goal "is solely to better understand the technology first-hand," she said in a statement. "Other frameworks need to be investigated, and there are many hurdles that need to be cleared before such a system would ever be ready for prime time." Wilkins, expected to speak further on the issue on Friday, said the experiment is among many financial technology research projects. Such experiments, she noted, are not aimed at developing central-bank issued e-money‎ for use by the general public. Details of the project, which uses the distributed-ledger technology associated with web-based currency bitcoin, were revealed at a payment-technology event in Calgary on Wednesday that was closed to media. Kyle Kemper, an entrepreneur and head of the Bitcoin Alliance of Canada, who was present at Wednesday's event, said the experiment is called "Project Jasper" and involves blockchain technology. Blockchain's distributed-ledger system allows users to conduct secure transactions with each other without the need for middlemen or central oversight, unlike traditional electronic funds transfers. A slide from a presentation at the event seen by Reuters details how the banks in the experiment would pledge cash collateral in a pool that the Bank of Canada would convert into a digital version. The digital currency would then be used as a medium of exchange and could be converted back to cash. While long known as the backbone of bitcoin, launched under a pseudonym, blockchain has garnered the attention of large financial institutions in recent years. R3, a New York-based research consortium that includes all of Canada's major banks, is a partner in the Bank of Canada's project, along with Payments Canada. Royal Bank of Canada, CIBC, TD Bank and Payments Canada declined to comment. (Reporting by Leah Schnurr and Ethan Lou; Editing by Dan Grebler) [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] #TrinityCoin #TTY $ 0.000006 (-2.20 %) 0.00000001 BTC (-0.00 %) \|\| $573.00 #bitstamp; $572.24 #bitfinex; $563.00 #btce; Prices & News: http://bit.ly/1VI6Yse #bitcoin #btc \|\| BTC: $678.00, S: $17.49, G: $1286.60 \| Act: 24,267 Open: 3559 BTC: 54,931.2 \| Total: $37,254,752 http://goo.gl/U94Tki #bitcoin \|\| 1 KOBO = 0.00001400 BTC = 0.0079 USD = 1.5725 NGN = 0.1209 ZAR = 0.7984 KES #Kobocoin 2016-06-03 21:00 pic.twitter.com/xvZOx3xFzN \|\| Many from TZM support bitcoin as a transitional tool. It's a diverse movement but far from NWO. \|\| $667.00 at 06:15 UTC [24h Range: $635.12 - $684.45 Volume: 11500 BTC] \|\| #TrinityCoin #TTY $ 0.000005 (0.54 %) 0.00000001 BTC (-0.00 %) \|\| Aktueller #Bitcoin-Preis: 620.00 EUR / 673.94 CHF \|\| Current price of Bitcoin is $680.00 via @Chain \|\| One Bitcoin now worth $735.00@bitstamp. High $764.00. Low $735.00. Market Cap $11.526 Billion #bitcoin pic.twitter.com/fFQSukHRnc	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 666.52, 650.96, 649.36, 647.66, 664.55, 654.47, 658.08, 663.26, 660.77, 679.46
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2015-08-31] BTC Price: 230.06, BTC RSI: 41.64 Gold Price: 1131.60, Gold RSI: 52.73 Oil Price: 49.20, Oil RSI: 62.28 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Overstock to Buy SpeedRoute for More Transparent Trading: Online retailer Overstock.com, Inc. ’s OSTK cryptofinance subsidiary, t0, has signed a deal to acquire SpeedRoute and related group of privately held financial technology companies. Though the terms of the deal have not been disclosed, the total purchase price will be paid in cash and Overstock common stock. The acquisition of certain assets remains subject to regulatory requirements, with the majority of the deal already closed. SpeedRoute LLC, founded in Apr 2000, is a brokerage firm that currently handles approximately 2.5% of U.S. equity order flow. Overstock, a Bitcoin supporter, hopes to reinvent the public stock market using cryptosecurities, or virtual stocks based on bitcoin's blockchain technology. Bitcoin is a digital currency platform with no central regulating authority involved in the transactions. It is also called crypto currency because it utilizes military-grade cryptography to protect users against fraud. Bitcoin and other cryptocurencies operate on blockchain which is a distributed public ledger. Cryptosecurities will likely be the next major change in the stock market. With this deal, Overstock will enter a new financial technology space. SpeedRoute’s infrastructure and its underlying technologies will help the company to connect t0 securities trading platform with the entire U.S. equity market. This will bring in more transparency and efficiency to the existing capital markets, which was the basic idea behind t0.com. The blockchain technology allows investors and buyers to trail down their purchases and ownership of cryptosecurities, ensuring complete transparency. Moreover, the t0.com blockchain technology facilitates same-day settlement of the securities. In June, Overstock offered its first corporate bond, valued at US$25 million, as cryptosecurities to qualified institutional investors. This revolutionary development is part of the company's larger cryptofinance initiative known as Medici. Overstock.com is engaged in selling branded as well as non-branded merchandise through its websites. Customers can bargain before purchase and often get discounts. A major portion of its revenues is generated in the U.S. In the last reported quarter, the company’s earnings of 7 cents missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 46.15%. Currently, Overstock has a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell). Some better-ranked stocks in the technology sector are Amazon AMZN, Stamps.com STMP and Travelport Worldwide Limited TVPT. All these stocks sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report AMAZON.COM INC (AMZN): Free Stock Analysis Report OVERSTOCK.COM (OSTK): Free Stock Analysis Report STAMPS.COM INC (STMP): Free Stock Analysis Report TRAVELPORT WWD (TVPT): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research \|\| IBM To Change Its Role In Healthcare: International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM ) has long provided hospitals and medical centers with computers and operating systems that help track patient data, organize information and help smooth out the chaotic daily operations healthcare professionals face. However, the company appears to be expanding its role in the healthcare space in order to solve medical problems as well as operational ones. IBM is planning to acquire Merge Healthcare Inc (NASDAQ: MRGE ), a medical image storage company, in a deal which will allow IBM to extend its reach a bit further. Artificial Intelligence IBM is planning to use Merge's massive database of X-ray, MRI and other images to create a system that will aid doctors in diagnosing patients quickly and correctly. In order to do this, IBM will use deep learning, a technique used to power things like voice recognition and fraud detection. Computers are given a huge amount of data to sort, and by doing that the machine is able to learn patterns and use them for future detection. IBM believes that this type of system would allow its computers to detect things like tumors or heart disease. Related Link: An Industry You Probably Didn't Know Was Digitized: Agriculture Risks While the idea is promising, IBM will face a lot of hurdles in the development process. As medical data is often complex and each case can differ widely, artificial intelligence may struggle to correctly identify patterns. However, many believe that IBM's access to medical data in combination with Merge's images could give the company enough information to discover new diagnosis patterns that were previously unseen. Still, the prospect of using machines for diagnosis is still far in the future. Most believe that IBM's new system will become a companion or supplementary tool for doctors. See more from Benzinga China Moves To Devalue Currency, Investors Cringe U.S. Bank Regulator Keeps An Open Mind On Bitcoin According To Facebook, 'LOL' Is Out © 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. View comments \|\| 5 technology stocks to buy at a discount: After a day of relief from China -fueled concerns, some CNBC "Fast Money" traders looked to a Chinese company for upside. Major U.S. averages jumped sharply Wednesday in their best day since 2011, as investors shrugged off fears about the world's second-largest economy. U.S.-listed shares of Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) , though, closed barely higher and are down 33 percent this year. "Alibaba is always a play on the Chinese consumer," said trader Brian Kelly, saying it "is the buy here" for the long term. Trader Tim Seymour-who owns the stock-said he would stick with it. Alibaba makes an appealing play on its current valuation and projected growth, he added. Read More Apple stock flashes a warning signal Big U.S. tech stocks, meanwhile, helped drive the rally. Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) -which climbed 8 percent on the day-looks like a buy after a stark drop earlier this month, said trader Guy Adami. "The market's changed. Netflix hasn't," he said. Meanwhile, Google (NASDAQ: GOOGL) and Facebook (NASDAQ: FB) jumped 8 and 5 percent, respectively, on Wednesday. Priceline (NASDAQ: PCLN) also climbed 4 percent. Read More The morning tech rally scares Mark Cuban Trader Steve Grasso contended that all of those stocks look appealing, even after their surges. Disclosures: Tim Seymour Tim Seymour is long AAPL, T, BAC, DIS, F, GE, GM, GOOGL, INTC, JPM, Tim's firm is long BABA, BIDU, MCD, NKE, NOK, SBUX, YHOO. Steve Grasso Grasso is long AAPL, BA, BAC, CC, DD, DIS, DECK, EVGN, FIT, KBH, MJNA, MU, PFE, PHM, T, TWTR, GDX. His kids are long EFA, EFG, EWJ, IJR, SPY. His firm and some of its partners are long DVN, BP, COP, CVX, FCX, NE, NEM, OXY, RIG, VALE Brian Kelly Brian Kelly is long BBRY, BTC=; TWTR call spread, U.S. Dollar; he is short Euro, Ruble, Yen, Yuan, US Treasuries. Guy Adami Guy Adami is long CELG, EXAS, INTC, Guy Adami's wife, Linda Snow, works at Merck. More From CNBC Top News and Analysis Latest News Video Personal Finance \|\| Bitcoin Glitch Costs Miners Thousands: This weekend, bitcoin miners suffered a setback after it wasrevealedthat those running some software clients which were out of date were creating invalid blocks, or transaction records. The glitch gave miners the impression that they had earned bitcoins for adding to blockchain, when in actuality, the invalid blocks weren't accepted. Warning Bitcoin.org issued awarningregarding the invalid blocks over the weekend. The notice said that an initial invalid block has been built upon by other miners, who don't fully validate their blocks. The practice, called Simple Payment Verification (SPV) mining, has caused several large mining operations to loose more than $50,000 dollars in mining income so far due to the glitch. Related Link: Minecraft Teaches Kids To Use Bitcoin To combat the problem, Bitcoin.org recommended that all miners update to the latest software to ensure that the invalid blocks are detected. The site also encouraged those using Web-based wallets to make sure they are using the most up-to-date version as well. How Did It Happen SPV mining means that the verification of new blocks relies on a connection to a trusted node. However, since the software was unable to detect invalid blocks, it allowed miners to continue building strings of blocks on top of an invalid one, rendering all of them worthless. Effects? While the effects of this glitch appear to be concentrated on mining firms, some worry that it could refuel worries about bitcoin's safety and security. The cryptocurrency already has a reputation for being unreliable and many fear that this incident will contribute to that stigma. See more from Benzinga • What Does Greece Do Now? • What's Next In Greece: Will Tsipras Stay And Will We See A Grexit? • Sealed Air Just Took Away A Guilty Pleasure For Millions © 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| California Plans For Pot Expansion: Although current California legislation still prohibits recreational marijuana use, the state has been at the forefront of the cannabis industry since relaxing its laws to allow residents to use marijuana for medical reasons. However, as the push for full-scale legalization picks up momentum, the state's lawmakers have struggled to determine just how the industry should be allowed to grow. Regulation Questions In many California cities, dispensaries have been forbidden while in others a plethora of marijuana facilities, both legal and illegal, have sprung up. To streamline the industry and give growers a place to expand, Arcata, a northwestern city, isopeninga Medical Marijuana Innovation Zone. Related Link:Marijuana Proves Useful In Treating Bone-Related Conditions Marijuana Zone The zone will be wholly dedicated to the production of marijuana, something that is believed to be a first in the U.S. By giving pot growers a place apart from California's residential neighborhoods to cultivate their crops, Arcadia City Council officials hope to carve out their town's role in the growing industry. Regulating The Industry Arcata's decision to create a specific zone for marijuana cultivation could serve as a blueprint for other states struggling with the issue of how to regulate the cannabis industry. When the land has been specifically designated for marijuana production, it gives local officials a chance to impose rules on growers in regard to land use rather than drug policy. That means pot regulation can be carried out on a local rather than state level. Money Maker Not only will Arcata's marijuana zoning plan help revamp California's pot industry, it's also expected to bring in big bucks for the local economy. Arcata and its local businesses stand to profit from the pot industry in the coming years, especially if California legalizes recreational marijuana as well. See more from Benzinga • Venture Capitalists Pouring Money Into Bitcoin • Greek Bailout Deal: Agreed To By Many, Welcomed By None • People Using Cryptocurrency For Secret Communications © 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| Trading Google earnings: 3 stocks to buy: Google(NASDAQ: GOOGL)shares spiked following a strong quarterly earnings report Thursday, and CNBC"Fast Money"traders jumped on the bandwagon with investors. "I think the stock's got real runway here. I think it can turn and go a lot higher," said trader David Seaburg. The Internet giant's stock surged more than 10 percent in extended trading as second-quarter profit of $6.99 per share topped analysts' expectations. Though revenue fell slightly short of expectations and crucial ad metrics were mixed, markets cheered signs of expense control and strong signs for the YouTube video platform. "I thought it was undervalued before. This is not a crazy valuation here," said trader Karen Finerman, who owns Google stock. Read MoreGoogle shares jump as profits handily beat expectations Google seems primed to move higher, and investors should hold it with $600 per share as a floor, said trader Guy Adami. It closed the regular session above $601 before the after-hours spike. Trader Brian Kelly added that he saw positive signs in financial discipline and YouTube, but he would wait for a pullback to buy Google shares. A post-earnings spike in Netflix(NASDAQ: NFLX)shares, among other names, helped push the Nasdaq Composite(NASDAQ: .IXIC)to a record close Thursday. Looking forward in the technology sector, Kelly sees upside in Microsoft(NASDAQ: MSFT). Read MoreOverseas growth is driving Netflix stock surge: Analyst Adami also noted that Facebook(NASDAQ: FB)looks to be "breaking out." The stock has gone about 16 percent higher this year. Disclosures: Brian Kelly Brian Kelly is long BBRY, BTC=; ITB, TAN, TLT, TSL and euro. He is short yuan and yen. Today he bought ITB. Karen Finerman Karen is long BABA, BAC, C, FINL, FL, GOOG, GOOGL, JPM, KORS, M, URI, BABA puts and URI calls. She is short SPY. Her firm is long ANTM, AAPL, BAC, C, DIS, FBT, FINL, FL, GILD, GOOG, GOOGL, GPS, IBB, JPM, KORS, M, SUNE, URI, XBI, KORS call spreads, URI calls, KORS puts and SPY put spreads. Her firm is short IWM, SPY and MDY. Karen Finerman is on the board of GrafTech International. Guy Adami Guy Adami is long CELG, EXAS and INTC. Guy Adami's wife, Linda Snow, works at Merck. More From CNBC • Top News and Analysis • Latest News Video • Personal Finance \|\| Bitcoin Payments Decline Significantly At Expedia: Expedia Inc(NASDAQ:EXPE) introduced bitcoin as a payment option about a year ago. The company hoped to reach new users and meet the growing demand for digital payments by adding a bitcoin option. However over the past 12 months, the travel website said it has seen a significant decline in the number of payments made using bitcoin, something which could be attributed to the cryptocurrency's marked decline. Loss Of Value Expedia's Senior Payments Product Manger Connie Chung toldCoinDeskthat bitcoin purchases on the site have declined by 40 percent over the past year. Chung said that drop makes sense when you look at how much value bitcoin has lost over the past 12 months. When bitcoin was added to Expedia's service in June last year, it was worth more than $600. Now, the currency is trading at just over $270 following a price rally earlier in the month. Related Link:Venture Capitalists Pouring Money Into Bitcoin Bitcoin To Stay Put While the decline in bitcoin payments suggests that consumers aren't as willing to use the cryptocurrency as merchants had predicted, Chung said Expedia plans to continue offering bitcoin as a payment choice for as long as there is some demand for it. She said the company's decision to incorporate bitcoin had little to do with the firm's stance on digital currencies and that it has simply been a way to meet customer needs. See more from Benzinga • EU In Favor Of Iran Deal • Is Social Activism And Marketing A Good Combination? • Deloitte Expresses Interest In Cryptocurrencies By Joining Australian Industry Group © 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| 10 things in tech you need to know today: (REUTERS/Robert Galbraith) Good morning! Here's the tech news you need to know to start off your week. 1.Netflix will no longer be able to show high-profile Hollywood movies like Transformers and the Hunger Games to US viewers.Netflix isn't renewing its distribution deal with Epix, and will be focusing on its original-content efforts instead. 2.Apple is reportedly planning a big increase in the price of the new Apple TV.The new version of Apple TV will be available in October and could cost about $200. 3.The US may have to go after the 'Great Firewall' to stop China's cyber-attacks.President Obama is expected talk to hisChinese counterpart Xi Jinping next month about cyber espionage. 4.Minecraft founder Markus Perssonwent on a tweetstorm this weekend to talk about the empty side of success, and selling his company to Microsoft for $2.5 billion.Microsoft bought Minecraft almost a year ago, and the founder did not join Microsoft after the sale. 5.Uber has hired the two security researchers famous for hacking into a Jeep and stopping it while driving.Charlie Miller and Chris Valasek will be announced as new hires today, Reuters reports. 6.In the wake of his company's data breach, Ashley Madison CEO Noel Biderman has resigned.He is no longer with the company. 7.Apple launched two new Apple Music TV ads last night during the MTV Video Music Awards featuring The Weeknd and actor John Travolta.The two-part, episodic series of ads highlights Apple Music's user interface, and its playlist feature in particular. 8.Investors are starting to worry that some big-name startups are overvalued.Investors in late-stage startups worry that the stock market's six-year bull run is coming to an end, and that today's super valuable private tech companies won't live up to their valuations when they go public. 9.Starting tomorrow, Google Chrome will be blocking Flash ads entirely by default.Google, which warned advertisers in advance, says it's blocking Flash ads for its performance-hindering effects. 10.Wall Street is paying attention to Bitcoin.The New York Times reports thatexecutives from more than 12 large banks gathered earlier this year to confidentially discuss how the technology behind Bitcoin could be used to changeforeign currency trading. NOW WATCH:2 texting tricks you didn't know you could do on your iPhone More From Business Insider • Google is showing developers how to turn off iOS 9's security features so it can load ads • 'I've never felt more isolated': The man who sold Minecraft to Microsoft for $2.5 billion reveals the empty side of success • A leaked part of an iPhone 6S shows a bigger, more powerful front camera \|\| Fast Food Gets Even Faster In Asia: McDonald's Corporation(NYSE:MCD) has had a difficult year as consumer tastes shifted and the restaurant battled criticism over its ingredients and lack of healthy offerings. However, the burger chain has been working to restore its bottom line, especially in China, where the massive population represents a major growth opportunity. Appealing To Their Preferences In an effort to reach Chinese consumers, who are becoming increasingly focused on digital innovation, McDonald's ispilotinga new program that will allow customers to pay for their orders on their mobile device, making the process of collecting their meal in-store faster and easier. Custom Burgers The decision to include a mobile payment option in China came after McDonald's unveiled digital kiosks that allow customers to build their own burger using a touch screen machine at two Shanghai locations. By adding state-of-the-art technology to its appeal, McDonald's is hoping to lure in first-time customers who are eager to try something new. Related Link:Bitcoin Glitch Costs Miners Thousands Mobile Payments Take Off While mobile payments are nothing new, in China they are becoming increasingly popular. Online retailerAlibaba Group Holding Ltd(NYSE:BABA) recently launched a mobile payment system which has been adopted by several big names includingWal-Mart Corp(NYSE:WMT) andYum Brands Inc.(NYSE:YUM)'s KFC food chain. Since Chinese customers have historically shied away from using credit cards, mobile payments has become a major draw. Customers have been looking for a fast, convenient way to pay and mobile options are providing that experience. See more from Benzinga • FIFA Sponsors Weigh Up The Cost Of Scandal • McDonald's Back In The Firing Line Over Happy Meal Ad © 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| Bitcoin startups lure quant whizzes from Wall Street: By Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss NEW YORK (Reuters) - Armed with a doctorate in financial engineering, 34-year-old Timo Schlaefer was on his way to a promising career at Goldman Sachs in London. Previously with the bank's mergers and acquisitions team, he became an executive director of credit quantitative modeling at Goldman, where quants like Schlaefer are highly valued. In February he gave that up, and launched a company called Crypto Facilities Ltd, a bitcoin derivatives trading platform, which now has six employees. For now, the platform trades bitcoin forwards, which are directly linked to the price of bitcoin, but it's also developing other digital currency derivative products. "This is uncharted territory," said Schlaefer. "It's an exciting opportunity to participate in a new area of technology that has massive potential." Bitcoin is a virtual or online currency created through a "mining" process where a computer's resources are used to perform millions of calculations. Once mined, bitcoins can be stored in an online wallet, traded in an online exchange, or used to buy goods and services. Once the province of small-time investors driven by their distrust of government-backed currencies, now Wall Street bankers and traders are leaving high-paying jobs to join bitcoin start-ups, while big firms hire in-house to get their arms around bitcoin and the related 'blockchain' technology. "A lot of people are entering the bitcoin space as the sector has reached an overall level of funding that's hard to ignore," said Jaron Lukasiewicz, founder and chief executive officer at New York-based bitcoin exchange Coinsetter. Lukasiewicz, 29, moved to the bitcoin world in late 2012, having left behind a six-figure salary in private equity at The CapStreet Group in New York. Bitcoin is not backed by a government and its value fluctuates. On Thursday, it was trading at $278, making the value of outstanding bitcoin worth about $4 billion. It has had a volatile history, with a rapid rally in 2013 that boosted its value to more than $1,150 per bitcoin at one point. Story continues Right now, Crypto Facilities' Schlaefer probably won't make anywhere near the kind of money that he would potentially earn at Goldman. But it's less about the compensation for Schlaefer and more about being part of the growth in bitcoin and its underlying technology, the blockchain. The blockchain - a ledger or list of all of a digital currency's transactions - is viewed as bitcoin's main technological innovation, allowing users to make payments anonymously, instantly, and without government regulation. Software engineers have started developing multiple applications for the blockchain, including a land title record system in Honduras to the clearing of trades in financial markets. Meanwhile, Wall Street firms are doing their own hiring in the cryptocurrency realm. In June, online bitcoin job ads surged to a record high of 306, according to data from Wanted Analytics, with demand coming from banks such as Capital One and tech companies such as Intel and Amazon. In previous months, Citigroup and TD Canada Trust posted bitcoin job ads as well. RISKY BUSINESS For 31-year-old Paul Chou, founder and chief executive officer of Ledger X, an institutional trading and clearing platform for bitcoin options, moving into the digital currency space represents what he hopes results in lucrative profits down the road. But there are other reasons for his shift. LedgerX is awaiting regulatory approval from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to trade and clear options on bitcoin. Chou said the firm hopes to operate the first regulated exchange and clearinghouse to list and clear fully-collateralized, physically-settled bitcoin options for the institutional market. "I took a very large salary pay cut to do this, in return for equity in a start-up that can be worth a lot someday," Chou said. Before LedgerX, Chou worked at Goldman Sachs in New York as a quant equity trader after graduating from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with degrees in computer science and mathematics. Chou said his hours are much longer as an entrepreneur - he's constantly refining ideas for strategy and thinking which areas to focus on. "The domain expertise, relationships, and career equity I've built are things I never could have done while at Goldman," Chou said. "As a former trader, I'm glad I made this trade-off at the stage of my career that I did." It's a risky move, however. There are already several tales of bitcoin company failures and mismanagement. U.S. bitcoin marketplace Buttercoin, for instance, shuttered its operations in April this year despite raising $1.3 million in funding. Bitcoin exchange MyCoin closed its doors in February of 2015, leaving about 3,000 investors out of pocket. Tokyo-based Mt. Gox, once one of the most dominant bitcoin exchanges, closed its doors without warning in February last year, filing for bankruptcy and leaving investors approximately $500 million in the red. BITCOIN INVESTMENTS, HIRING Total investments in bitcoin companies for the first half of 2015 - totaling $375.4 million - have already exceeded 2014's total of $339.4 million, data from CB Insights showed. Last year's venture capital funding of bitcoin start-ups grew roughly 280 percent from 2013. The number of bitcoin start-ups has increased by more than 80 percent from last year. As of end-July, there were 814 start-up digital currency companies, up from 444 a year earlier, according to Angel List, an online marketplace for start-ups seeking to raise money from angel investors. As banks defer compensation and add more clawback provisions that give them the right to limit bonuses, traders are seeing better risk opportunities elsewhere, said San Francisco-based Rick Henri Chan, chief operating officer at Airbitz, a digital wallet platform. Chan, 47, who joined the bitcoin industry three years ago, worked for Deutsche Bank as head of its over-the-counter derivatives technology in Japan, and was a trader at UBS and Morgan Stanley. He works long hours at Airbitz, doing everything from strategy to raising money, but the work environment is more flexible. At Deutsche, Chan had a multi-million dollar package, and he admits to missing that paycheck. "But we're doing something special here at Airbitz. And I do think our company will be valued at a lot more in the future," he said. (Reporting by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss, editing by David Gaffen and John Pickering) [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] 1 #BTC (#Bitcoin) quotes: $269.27/$269.35 #Bitstamp $267.93/$268.00 #BTCe ⇢$-1.42/$-1.27 $271.32/$271.50 #Coinbase ⇢$1.97/$2.23 \|\| Current price: 279.05$ $BTCUSD $btc #bitcoin 2015-08-01 04:00:03 EDT \|\| LIVE: Profit = $1,176.48 (1.00 %). BUY B450.11 @ $260.89 (#BTCe). SELL @ $263.57 (#Bitfinex) #bitcoin #btc - http://www.projectcoin.org \|\| In the last 10 mins, there were arb opps spanning 24 exchange pair(s), yielding profits ranging between $0.00 and $187.14 #bitcoin #btc \|\| In the last 10 mins, there were arb opps spanning 19 exchange pair(s), yielding profits ranging between $0.00 and $3,312.34 #bitcoin #btc \|\| buysellbitco.in #bitcoin price in INR, Buy : 18584.00 INR Sell : 17995.00 INR. Buy and sell bitcoin in #India using #buysellbitcoin \|\| Bitmain ANTMINER S5 1.15TH ASIC Bitcoin Miner - In hand, ships from USA for USD400.00 #Coins #Paper #Money #ANTMINER http://doublequicktime.com/item/description/id/100378816 … \|\| 1 #BTC (#Bitcoin) quotes: $290.43/$290.44 #Bitstamp $284.50/$285.00 #BTCe ⇢$-5.94/$-5.43 $290.74/$290.75 #Coinbase ⇢$0.30/$0.32 \|\| 1 #BTC (#Bitcoin) quotes: $279.38/$279.61 #Bitstamp $274.07/$275.00 #BTCe ⇢$-5.54/$-4.38 $279.71/$279.79 #Coinbase ⇢$0.10/$0.41 \|\| Current price: 253.66€ $BTCEUR $btc #bitcoin 2015-07-19 18:00:08 CEST	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 228.12, 229.28, 227.18, 230.30, 235.02, 239.84, 239.85, 243.61, 238.17, 238.48
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2018-11-05] BTC Price: 6419.66, BTC RSI: 47.86 Gold Price: 1229.80, Gold RSI: 56.33 Oil Price: 63.10, Oil RSI: 25.81 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Sign Emerges That Falling Bitcoin Price Just Might Have a Floor: Bitcoin (BTC) seems to have built a base around a key moving average in the last four months, although, so far, it has not been able to produce a definitive bullish breakout. Throughout 2018, the leading cryptocurrency has set lower price highs, indicating the path of least resistance is to the downside. Despite the bearish setup, the 21-monthexponential moving average(EMA) has served as a strong floor since June. More importantly, the failure to beat the EMA support for four straight months indicates that the sell-off from the record high of $20,000 reached in December has likely run its course. Up 80%: XRP's September Wasn't Just Bullish, It Was Record-Setting So, it seems safe to say that the stage has been set for the cryptocurrency to jump above the recent lower price high of $7,429 hit a month ago and confirm a bearish-to-bullish trend change. Even so, the bulls have been reluctant to push prices north of $6,800 in the last two weeks. Still, since BTC tends toperform wellin the last three months of the calendar year, that may be about to change. At press time, Â BTC is trading largely unchanged on the day at $6,585 on Bitfinex. Bitcoin Price Prints Second Straight Monthly Loss in September As seen on the monthly chart, BTC produced a minor rally to $8,500 in July, after finding support at the 21-month EMA in June. Further, the sellers failed to penetrate the EMA support in August and September, establishing it as a key level to watch out for in the near-term. Over on the daily chart, the 5-day and 10-day EMAs are flatlined, indicating that the bitcoin market is currently lacking a clear directional bias. The outlook as per the daily chart would turn bullish if and when the cryptocurrency finds acceptance above the trendline connecting the July 25 high and Sept. 5 high. As of writing, the trendline resistance is located at $6,802. The bear failure, as seen in the monthly chart, does indicate scope for a break above the trendline hurdle in the near-term. • BTC seems to have bottomed out around the 21-month EMA, currently located at $6,150. • A UTC close above the falling trendline seen in the daily chart would open up upside toward $7,429 (September high). A high volume move above that level would add credence to BTC's repeated defense of the 21-month EMA and confirm a bearish-to-bullish trend change. • On the downside, a convincing move below the 21-month EMA will likely embolden the bears. Disclosure:Â The author holds no cryptocurrency assetsÂ at the time of writing. Bitcoin chartÂ imageÂ via Shutterstock; Charts byÂTrading View • This Meme Marketplace Uses Dummy Tokens to Draw Users in a Bear Market • Bitcoin Fraudsters Misled Investors and Impersonated Regulators, CFTC Alleges \|\| Boys club: Fewer than 1 in 10 crypto investors is female: When cryptocurrency first burst on to the scene in 2009, the new digital money system was hard for novice investors to understand. But in the last few years that sentiment has changed, and more people are buying into the market every day. In December 2017, the value of oneBitcoin, the most well know and oldest cryptocurrency, surged to more than $25,000 Canadian. Investors around the world are getting in on cryptocurrency in a big way, but there’s one segment of investors that’s not as interested: Women. A new report out byeToro, a social trading platform in Europe that claims to be leading the global fintech revolution, says less than 1 in 10 crypto currency investors are women. Men, who already dominate in stock market investment, are also the primary investors in the world of cryptocurrencies. 91.5 per cent of users who invest in cryptocurrencies are male, according to eToro. “To be honest I’m not surprised,” saysLimor Markman, host of the upcoming television showThe Fortunate Future.She adds, “Women tend to be more conservative investors. Even if you look at, in the realm of real estate, men compared to women tend to take more risk. They are ok with higher risk for higher return.” Markman’s show will focus on the role cryptocurrency will play in our everyday lives going forward, including how we will be investing in it. “Women are looking for more certainty,” says Markman. Few investments can guarantee certainty, but cryptocurrency is even more volatile than the investments Canadians are accustomed to. After the value of one bitcoin surged to more than $25,000 Canadian in December, it had a dramatic fall in the beginning of 2018 and is currently valued at just over $8,000 Canadian. Anyone who’s already averse to risk would be unlikely to invest. “It is a boys club. Male and white,” says Masha Prusakova, co-founder atCrypto PR Lab, a California based, marketing agency that works with blockchain and crypto start-ups. “Since the early days of cryptocurrencies, miners and blockchain developers are men.” Prusakova says cryptocurrency operates at the intersection of computer science and finance, two industries she feels that women have historically been excluded from. “The worlds of blockchain and cryptocurrency are predominantly driven by the development community, a demographic where most professionals are male.” She says part of the reason is men are more likely to pursue finance in higher education. She says grassroots efforts will help get more women investing. “To foster diversity, companies need to get more women interested in crypto, understand it and only then invest. This could mean organizing regular crypto discussions for women, setting up weekly ‘women in crypto’ meetups, or even building internal workshops to teach one another about the newest trends in crypto.” Where women are putting their money According to eToro’s research, one cryptocurrency women are investing in, at a greater rate than any other digital currency, isXRP. Ripple is the software company that uses XRP and the XRP ledger in its product. They were was unable to comment on the claim that more women invest in XRP saying “As a company, we [Ripple] do not provide investment advice or hypothesize about why people invest in certain digital assets.” Jackie Stickwood,CEO of crypto investor coaching company FinTech Fundraising, says the dominance of female investors in Ripple is unexpected. “I am fascinated that XRP is predominantly invested by women,” Stickwood says. “I imagine it is due to how they market. XRP has a much different marketing strategy than other traditional cryptos. Unfortunately, I am not surprised by the outrageous gender imbalance in crypto trading. I believe that more women need to educate themselves on finances in general as well as cryptocurrencies.” Prusakova says organisation likeGirls Who CodeandCodingFTWare helping break the stigma that women don’t understand crypto and therefore can’t invest. She says events held by these organizations are bringing more awareness into this space, ultimately making it an industry that doesn’t just have more females, but is also female-friendly. She, along with her co-founder Alexandra Karpova, believe highlighting the achievement of women in crypto will raise awareness. Companies like theirs are breaking with tradition. She says they often go to events that are dominated by males, but have found in most situations the crowd is welcoming and encouraging. In their opinion, if women show up they will be supported and succeed. TV host Markman also believes digital currency has to move away from being an investment, and be used as it was supposed to be, an everyday currency. “Merchant integration is still pretty low, you can’t go to the grocery store and mall and use crypto. It is being used as an investment vehicle right now, but that is not what it was created for. But that is happening right now.” Stickwood says crypto may be a boys club, but that club is still pretty small as the majority of people don’t understand how the currency works. She believes that simplification and education is the key. She knows at first glance cryptocurrency is very daunting. Without a background in tech is can be hard to understand. She believes the more we can educate people and simplify everything about crypto— from purchasing, to spending, to trading — the friendlier crypto will be. More people will get involved, and that includes more women. Download the Yahoo Finance app, available forAppleandAndroid. \|\| Bitcoin Flexes its Muscles as Cryptocurrency Market Tumbles to 2018 Low: The cryptocurrency market crossed an unwelcome milestone on Wednesday, as it not only fell to a year-to-date low but alsosurpassedthe Nasdaq Composite Index’s 78 percent peak-to-trough decline in the throes of the dotcom bubble that kicked off the new millennium. Following a fresh rout this week, thecryptocurrency market cap— the combined nominal values of all coins and tokens in circulation — is now valued at just $186.8 billion, down a tech bubble-style 78 percent from the $835.7 billion all-time high its set on just eight months ago, on Jan. 7. The crash is even more pronounced when viewed withoutbitcoin‘s stabilizing effects. Since peaking above $550 billion in early January, the altcoin market cap has declined approximately 85 percent and is now valued at $78.4 billion. For reference,ripple(XRP), the third-largest cryptocurrency, was once nominally valued at $145 billion. Remarkably, the altcoin market cap is valued lower today than it was one year ago, when, even after the uncertainty surrounding China’s ban on cryptocurrency trading andinitial coin offerings(ICOs), altcoins collectively traded above $80 billion on Sept. 12, 2017. The rout is perhaps even starker when viewed in its individual components. Thirteen of the 15 most valuable cryptocurrencies by market cap have declined at least 78 percent from their all-time highs, according to data fromOnChainFX. Six, meanwhile, have declined at least 90 percent, including XRP (93 percent), bitcoin cash (90 percent), cardano (95 percent), IOTA (91 percent), tron (94 percent), and NEO (92 percent). Source: OnChainFX Bitcoin, of course, has not been immune to the decline. Since peaking near $20,000, the flagship cryptocurrency has taken a 69 percent hit and is now testing whether support will hold at $6,000. Even so, bitcoin’s position within the cryptocurrency market itself has seldom been stronger, at least since the beginning of the ICO boom, which has now swelled the number of cryptocurrencies to nearly 2,000. Bitcoin dominance now stands at a commanding 58 percent, its highest point since Dec. 13, 2017. That’s a notable about-face since January when bitcoin briefly accounted for less than one-third of the total market cap. Indeed, it’s been a long time since anyone has mentioned the “Flippening,” and Roger Ver’s Maypredictionthat ethereum would surpass bitcoin in 2018 appears increasingly comical. Bitcoin, it seems, isstill the king. Often lost in the dotcom bubble comparison is that, though many companies went bust, tech stocks as an asset class eventually came back with a vengeance, and the Nasdaq Composite Index now stands far above its dotcom bubble peak. There’s no guarantee that the cryptocurrency market’s trial-by-fire will produce similar results, but if it is truly analogous to the dotcom bubble, the real question isn’t when the market will crash to zero, it’s “Which cryptocurrency is Amazon, and which is Pets.com?” Featured Image from Shutterstock. The postBitcoin Flexes its Muscles as Cryptocurrency Market Tumbles to 2018 Lowappeared first onCCN. \|\| Crypto Crowdfunding Terrorists: Marketplace For Jihadist Crowdfunding Found on Dark Web: SadaqaCoins As bizarre as it sounds, a marketplace for crowdfunding paramilitary mujahideen, those engaged in jihad, has been discovered on the dark web. Accessible only through using the Tor browser, SadaqaCoins is very different from your average crowdfunding marketplace. Donors can send funds in the form of Bitcoin or Monero to help pay for 4×4 pickup trucks, .50 caliber bolt action rifles and ammunition, wind readers for sniping, silencers, and even combat training for aspiring jihadists. CCN has written before on the subject of raising cryptocurrencies for Sadaqah , the act of alms-giving or charity. In this case, users can donate Bitcoin or Monero for a very different type of “Sadaqa.” The Bitcoin wallet on the site is empty at the time of writing, and while the site states that no money has been raised so far through Monero or Bitcoin donations, the site is less than a month old at the time of writing. The site mentions four ways to support the project – advertising to others, buying cryptocurrency to donate, mining crypto for donations, or a fourth method, “hustling” in which the site encourages readers to hack or coerce cryptocurrency from non-Muslims in keeping with the concept of Ghanima, the act of taking “war booty” from non-believers by force. The site quotes Imam Shafi’i as saying “Ghanima is property that the Muslims seize from the disbelievers by means of overpowering them.” SadaqaCoins was brought to light by open-source analyst Benjamin Strickland who wrote about it in late August a week after the site launched: SadaqaCoins has just sprung up. This is the first ever crowdsource site on the dark web made specifically for jihadi projects to be funded through cryptocurrency payments. Some projects involve funding for a larger tor server, 4×4's or sniper lessons… https://t.co/ynwxQiKEvn — Benjamin Strick (@BenDoBrown) August 23, 2018 Prices on project ‘We Hunt’ range from $550 for a .50 cal silencer up to $8,800 for a 4×4 all-terrain pickup vehicle, with other products including Kestrel 4500NV weather reading equipment to provide snipers with wind speeds and other info, Nikon p900 cameras for reconnaissance, ammunition of various types and calibers, sniper scopes, and of course sniper rifles themselves for $4,400. Story continues ‘We Hunt’ isn’t the only crowdfunding page on the site. Another project posted today on September 13 is called ‘The Forgotten Sisters’ and claims to raise money to free five women imprisoned in Syria, listing their names and dates of imprisonment with a crowdfunding goal of $14,850 which is to be used for ransom. A third project enables users to donate $220 to purchase livestock which will then be slaughtered in sacrificial prayer by the SadaqaCoins team on behalf of the donors for the Muslim holiday Eid al-Adha (festival of sacrifice) where this is a common practice. Is the site for real? There’s certainly no conclusive proof that the site is genuinely funding paramilitary activity in the Middle East. The site has a contact page which only accepts encrypted email (CCN are still waiting on a response to comment requests at this time), but The Forgotten Sisters project, as well as the activity on the SadaqaCoins Twitter account, seems to suggest that the project is based in Syria. The SadaqaCoins Team is pleased to present a gift and service for the Ummah. The believers now have the opportunity to advertise and support the latest projects. A considerable advantage (over other platforms) is that it our service is anonymous and secure https://t.co/tK4HAFp4Rh — SadaqaCoins (@sadaqacoins) August 17, 2018 The account follows Syrian investigative journalists as well as terrorism experts and watchdogs, and a user on Twitter commented that the livestock displayed on the account were marked in a way customary of Syrian farmers. As Benjamin Strickland pointed out, the fact that project We Hunt has itemized and individual Bitcoin addresses for each individual weapon or product on the page also lends credence to the site. Yes, it’s possible that it’s an elaborate scam. Between multiple blog posts, an FAQ page, an about page, and the various crowdfunding projects, many hours of work have been put into the site which sets it apart from the majority of online scams which are usually less sophisticated. Indeed, apart from the outlandishly modern premise of crowdfunding anonymous cryptocurrencies to fund terrorist activity in the Middle East, there’s really nothing to indicate that the site isn’t exactly what it claims to be – a dark web marketplace for funding terrorists. Featured image from Shutterstock. The post Crypto Crowdfunding Terrorists: Marketplace For Jihadist Crowdfunding Found on Dark Web appeared first on CCN . \|\| Making History: CoinJoin Developer Sends Largest-Ever Anonymous Bitcoin Transaction: CoinJoinis a method of anonymizing bitcoins that developer Gregory Maxwell came up with in an effort to help bitcoin users remain anonymous. The idea is simple: when two users both want to make a transaction, if they make the transactions together, their information remains private or at least very hard to discern. On yesterday’s10th anniversaryof the Bitcoin protocol as an idea (whereas the blockchain did not actually launch until January 2009), aCoinJoin worth over $200,000 took place. The join involved many participants, with the largest transaction in the bunch being nearly half the total volume transacted — 14.8 BTC moved to address bc1qqcrmkvp97ryyvfu3crp6883v5caunq6v2960sc. The transaction was initiated by Wasabi Wallet developer Adam Ficsor and announced on his Twitter page. TheWasabi Walletproject is a desktop bitcoin wallet project which focuses on enhancing the privacy of BTC transactions through the use of CoinJoin and other methodologies. It is owned by a company calledzkSNACKs— not to be confused with ZEC’szkSNARKs. It intends to improve fungibility of bitcoin. Fungibility is the concept that every bitcoin is interchangeable regardless of who has held it or what purpose it has been used for. A lack of fungibility is a dangerous economic precedent, and technologically it is avoidable. CoinJoins are a method of improving fungibility by allowing “tainted” coins into “legitimate” transactions — note that both of these concepts, “clean/dirty” coins, are the problem in and of themselves that Wasabi is addressing. A good summary of their belief system might be: “a bitcoin is a bitcoin is a bitcoin.” The best way to view the question is whether or not you would reject a $100 bill to sell your used car simply because that bill had once been used in a drug transaction. In cash transactions, this is harder to do, but with digital money, it is entirely possible, and various technologies including monero, zcash, and CoinJoin aim to prevent such a situation through privacy and anonymization of coins. Wasabi Wallet has CoinJoin built in, as seen above. To participate in a CoinJoin one must be transacting more than 0.1 BTC. This feature is similar to monero’s mixing protocol. It appears that only other Wasabi Wallet users can participate in these CoinJoins, but nevertheless the feature is sure to increase adoption of Wasabi, which aims to launch on mobile clients in the future. Featured Image from Shutterstock The postMaking History: CoinJoin Developer Sends Largest-Ever Anonymous Bitcoin Transactionappeared first onCCN. \|\| Bitcoin ETN Suspension Not a Big Deal: Securities Lawyer: sec suspends bitcoin tracker one trading In July, Swedens XBT Provider introduced a Bitcoin exchange-traded note (ETN) to the US market. This week, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) suspended the ETN for 10 days. On September 10, the SEC released an official statement regarding its decision to suspend the Bitcoin Tracker One ETN for ten days, until Sep.t 20. The statement, released on the SEC website, explicitly stated that the two ETNs of XBT Provider caused confusion amongst investors. Essentially, the SEC has said that Bitcoin Tracker One (CXBTF) and Ether Tracker One (CETHF) directly or indirectly misled investors by marketing the two products in a way that did not clearly describe the difference between an ETF and an ETN on digital assets. The SEC said : The Commission temporarily suspended trading in the securities CXBTF and CETHF because of confusion amongst market participants regarding these instruments. This order was entered pursuant to Section 12(k) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (Exchange Act). Why Did the SEC Suspend it? SEC ICO Cryptocurrency According to Jake Chervinsky, an enforcement defense & securities litigation attorney at Kobre Kim LLP, the SECs suspension of the two ETNs of XBT Provider has no relation to the regulatory state of Bitcoin and ETH, the native cryptocurrency of Ethereum, in the US. Rather, Chervinsky explained that CXBTF and CETHF failed to provide a lack of current, consistent, and accurate information on their ETNs. It is possible that buyers of the CXBTF and CETHF were misled in the process of investing in cryptocurrencies in the US market, possibly into thinking that the two instruments were ETFs. This is a problem with CXBTF and CETHF, not bitcoin or ether. As the full SEC order of suspension explains, the issue is a lack of current, consistent and accurate information on these products, such as whether they are ETFs, ETNs, or something else, Chervinsky said. While ETNs are similar to ETFs in that investors can still benefit from the price movement of a target asset, stock, or commodity, ETNs do not represent ownership. For instance, when an investor invests in Bitcoin through an ETF, the investor can receive BTC in its actual form from the ETF provider. Story continues With ETNs, investors are investing in structured products issued as senior debt notes that have no insurance and are vulnerable to credit risk. ETNs can be reliable depending on their providers and the track record of the asset itself. But, it does not offer the same level of protection, insurance, and credit risk mitigation as an ETF. Hence, for the SEC, if an investor purchases Bitcoin ETNs like CXBTF and CETHT under the assumption that they offer the services of ETFs, it can be a problem. The SEC needs both investors and the ETN provider to acknowledge the difference between an ETF and ETF, to avoid market confusion. Not a Big Deal Many investors in the cryptocurrency market have described the extensive reporting on the SECs decision to suspend two Bitcoin and Ether ETNs as FUD (fear, uncertainty, and doubt), and it is hard to say it isnt, as the suspension of CXBTF and CETHT is not significant and certainly not enough to have any sort of impact on their underlying digital assets. Images from Shutterstock The post Bitcoin ETN Suspension Not a Big Deal: Securities Lawyer appeared first on CCN . \|\| Coinbase: 'Listing announcements will become more frequent': Coinbase announced on Tuesday a new policy for adding assets, and it constitutes a major change for America’s biggest cryptocurrency brokerage. The site will now allow the developer teams behind cryptocurrencies to fill out an application form for their token to be listed on Coinbase. Of course, Coinbase will also consider adding assets based on its own evaluation, as it has in the past. And Coinbase will announce new assets differently. “Because listing announcements will become more frequent,” the company says, “ we expect to publicly announce the addition of new assets only at or near the time of public launch.” This is significant: Coinbase will no longer give an advance heads-up to say it will soon add a new token; instead it will make a single announcement at the time it adds a token or right before. Coinbase currently offers trading of bitcoin (BTC), litecoin (LTC), ether (ETH), bitcoin cash (BCH), and ethereum classic (ETC). The goal of the new policy, Coinbase says in a press release: “to rapidly list all assets that meet our quality criteria and are compliant with local law.” The policy comes with additional caveats and asterisks, some of which may raise eyebrows. Since crypto regulation varies by country and state-by-state, Coinbase says it may begin offering certain tokens only outside the U.S., “i n a jurisdiction-by-jurisdiction manner.” And finally, applications for listing may eventually carry a fee, “to defray the legal and operational costs associated with evaluating and listing new assets,” Coinbase says. There will not be fees at launch of the new policy. If and when Coinbase does implement application fees, that is likely to prompt criticism for taking money to list new coins. Critics may also see the new application option as a warning sign that Coinbase is about to get far less choosy, especially if it adds a raft of lesser-known “altcoins.” Coinbase M&A chief Emilie Choi (L) and Coinbase CTO Balaji Srinivasan at the Yahoo Finance All Markets Summit: Crypto in San Francisco on June 14, 2018. All of this is happening nearly one year after Coinbase came under heavy fire when the price of bitcoin cash soared in the hours before Coinbase publicly announced it was adding the asset. Critics speculated that Coinbase insiders who knew the site would be adding bitcoin cash told their friends, who bought up the asset ahead of time. Story continues In the aftermath of the scandal, Coinbase changed its policy to announce ahead of time when it is considering adding a new token, so as to avoid any whiff of impropriety. (It also said it implemented stricter employee trading restrictions.) In that spirit, Coinbase announced in March its intention to add ERC20 tokens — new assets created using the smart contract blockchain Ethereum. As Coinbase CTO Balaji Srinivasan told Yahoo Finance in June , “ Our new policy basically pre-announces assets to avoid exactly that kind of issue [that happened when it added bitcoin cash]. We announce the intent, then we go and list it. We’re really just trying to be extremely above-board with everything that we’re doing.” Now the listing policy is already changing again. Why so soon? “This is an evolution of the current process,” Srinivasan tells Yahoo Finance. “We looked at what was working and what wasn’t and found that having multiple announcements wasn’t in the best interests of our customers.” In addition to adding more assets to Coinbase, and adding them more rapidly, Coinbase will “augment our quality control by adding star ratings, rankings, and reviews to help users learn about assets.” (Rival exchange Binance does this.) Some may see the ratings and reviews as the biggest news here, from a consumer-facing standpoint. After all, Coinbase says its mission is, “ to give anyone — no matter where they live — trustworthy and secure access to a more open, blockchain-based financial system.” In other words: get everyone into crypto. Many Americans have stayed away from the crypto craze, turned off by negative headlines about crime or hacks or exchange outages. If Coinbase really builds out its library of reviews and ratings of cryptocurrencies as it adds more of them, the site could also become a Yelp-like platform for crypto education. — Daniel Roberts covers bitcoin and blockchain at Yahoo Finance. Follow him on Twitter at @ readDanwrite . Read more: Coinbase exec: ‘Adding more assets is a very big priority for us’ Blockchain CEO on ‘Just Hodl’ bitcoin mantra: ‘I don’t believe in that’ Chain CEO: Public and private blockchains will soon converge Warren Buffett on buying bitcoin: ‘That is not investing’ Lightning Labs CEO: We are back to a ‘bitcoin, not blockchain’ world The 11 biggest names in crypto right now \|\| Police: Dispute over Bitcoin Account Led to Connecticut Home Invasion: Two women have beenarrestedin connection with a March home invasion in Killingly, CT, where victims were not only robbed but also allegedly pistol-whipped and attacked with an electric cattle prod. The incident, police said, was the tragic culmination of a dispute involving a bitcoin account. Apparently, the home invasion occurred because a female victim opened a bitcoin account for one of the alleged home invasion suspects, Monique Delannoy-Jodoin, 59, who police said is a resident of Manville, RI. Police also stated that Ms. Delannoy-Jodoin was already under investigation for narcotic sales and delivery through the postal system. The other suspect was Beatriz Viruet, 38, who is a resident of Providence, RI. The female renter claimed to recognize two of the home invaders, who then pistol-whipped one occupant on the head, and utilized an electric cattle prod on another occupant. The female renter was able to escape to a neighbor’s house, but not one of the suspects was able to force entry into the bathroom, where the renter was hiding, using a hammer. The suspects stole money, cell phones, and a television, according to local authorities. Allegedly, one of the suspects, told the other to “shoot the victims,” as well. Many have criticized the fact that cryptocurrency can be used for money laundering, considering that it can often be harder to trace than fiat currency. The sector is often accused of fraud, and there are eveninternational task forcesorganized to target ICOs worldwide. This is a still-rare-but-increasingly-more-common instance where there is a violent crime associated with cryptocurrency. Indeed, it is not the only violent incident that has happened in relation to bitcoin. Earlier this year, there was ashootingin downtown Miami in connection with a bitcoin deal gone awry. According to police, Monique Delannoy-Jodoin wanted money and passwords related to her bitcoin account. She was ultimately charged with home invasion, risk of injury to a child, third-degree criminal mischief, second-degree assault with a weapon, second-degree breach of peace, criminal use of a weapon, and sixth-degree larceny, among other charges. Beatriz Viruet was charged with home invasion, first-degree robbery, and second-degree breach of peace. Delannoy-Jodoin was held on a $250,000 bond, while Viruet was held on a $100,000 bond. The women are both are due to appear Monday in Danielson Superior Court. Featured Image from Shutterstock The postPolice: Dispute over Bitcoin Account Led to Connecticut Home Invasionappeared first onCCN. \|\| Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin and Ripple Daily Analysis – 16/09/18: Bitcoin Cash gained just 0.29% on Saturday, following Friday’s 3.84% slide, to end the day at $448.3, the minor gain leaving Bitcoin Cash still deep in the red for the week. A relatively range bound day by recent standards saw Bitcoin Cash move through to an early afternoon intraday high $462.5, before easing back to a late in the day intraday low $443, the moves through the day leaving the major support and resistance levels left untested. At the time of writing, Bitcoin Cash was down 1.51% to $441.6, with Saturday’s late in the day reversal continuing into the early hours, Bitcoin Cash falling from an early morning high $449.1 to a morning low $438.1, testing the day’s first major support level at $440.03 before moving back to $440 levels. For the day ahead, a move back through the morning high to $450 levels would support a run at the day’s first major resistance level at $459.54 to bring $460 level back into play, following Saturday’s $462.5 high, though Bitcoin Cash will need to move back through to $450 levels by the early afternoon to support a late weekend rally. Failure to move back through to $450 levels could see Bitcoin Cash fall deeper into the red for the week, with a pullback through the morning low $438.1 bringing the second major support level at $431.77 into play, though we would expect Bitcoin Cash to find sufficient support at sub-$440 levels to avoid testing the second major resistance level, barring materially negative news hitting the wires. Litecoin gained 0.57% on Saturday, following on from Friday’s 2.99% rise, to end the day at $56.65. Friday’s afternoon rally provided support in the early hours of Saturday, with Litecoin rising through the morning to an early afternoon intraday high $58.73 before pulling back late in the day to an intraday low $55.55, the day’s major support and resistance levels left untested through the day. At the time of writing, Litecoin was down 1.24% to $55.64, with Saturday evening’s reversal weighing in the early hours, Litecoin falling to a morning low $55.13 to call on support at the first major support level at $55.22 before steadying. For the day ahead, a move back through a start of a day morning high $56.65 to $57 levels would be needed to support a run at $58 levels and the day’s first major resistance level at $58.4, with direction through the late morning likely to provide some guidance on whether the early losses were a spill over or due to a shift in sentiment that could lead to heavier losses later in the day. Failure to move back through the morning high could see Litecoin take a bigger hit later in the day, a pullback through the morning low $55.13 bringing sub-$55 levels and the day’s second major support level at $53.8 into play before any recovery. Ripple’s XRP gained 1.49% on Saturday, reversing Friday’s 1.18% fall, to end the day at an 8-day closing high $0.28012, the early weekend gain taking Ripple’s XRP into positive territory for the current week. A relatively choppy start to the day saw Ripple’s XRP pullback to a mid-morning intraday low $0.27552 before finding support from a broad based market move through the late morning. Breaking through the day’s first major resistance level at $0.2839, Ripple’s XRP rose to an early afternoon intraday high $0.28505 before easing back through the first major resistance level, a late in the day broad based crypto sell-off pinning back more material gains on the day. At the time of writing, Ripple’s XRP was down 0.39% to $0.27921, downward pressure from the broader market weighing on Ripple’s XRP in the early hours. Ripple’s XRP moved through to an early morning high $0.28169 before pulling back to a morning low $0.2778, the day’s major support and resistance levels left untested early on. For the day ahead, a move back through to $0.28 levels would support another run at the day’s first major resistance level at $0.2849, with sentiment across the broader market to dictate whether a break out through the day’s second major resistance level at $0.29 levels is on the cards, though Ripple’s XRP will need to move back through to $0.28 levels early to support a late weekend rally. Failure to move back through to $0.28 levels could see Ripple’s XRP fall back through the morning low $0.2778 to test the day’s first major support level at $0.2754, with the second major support level at $0.2707 in play, though the broader market will need to be under significant pressure for the second major support level to be tested. Buy & Sell Cryptocurrency Instantly Thisarticlewas originally posted on FX Empire • Crude Oil Weekly Price Forecast – crude oil markets rally during the week but fell at the same level again • Bitcoin – Tight Ranges end in Tears • USD/JPY Weekly Price Forecast – US dollar slams into major resistance • Gold Weekly Price Forecast – Gold undecided for the week • GBP/JPY Price Forecast – British pound runs into brick wall • AUD/USD Weekly Price Forecast – Aussie dollar show signs of life \|\| Bitcoin – Is That the Bottom? The SEC May Have a Final Say on That: Bitcoin gained 0.74% on Friday, following on from Thursday’s 1.34% rise, to end the day at $6,640, a 2ndconsecutive day of gains taking Bitcoin into positive territory for the current week, Bitcoin up 0.27% Monday through Friday. A choppy start to the day saw Bitcoin slide from a start of a day morning high $6,626.06 to an early morning intraday low $6,506.6, calling on support at the day’s first major support level at $6,507.47 to move back through to $6,600 levels by mid-morning. Relatively range bound through most of the day, Bitcoin continued to struggle to hold on to $6,600 levels before a broad based cryptomarket rally kicked in late in the day, with Bitcoin breaking through the first major resistance level at $6,661.07 and the second major resistance level at $6,731.73 to an intraday high $6,741.4 before easing back to $6,600 levels. For the Bitcoin bulls, while a hold on to $6,600 levels for the first time since Sunday would have been the positive from the day, Bitcoin fell short of the 23.6% FIB Retracement Level of $6,756, with a run at the 38.2% FIB Retracement Level of $7,376 needed to begin forming a near-term bullish trend. There’s been plenty of conjecture of late on whether Bitcoin has bottomed out and, while the recent ranges suggest that worst may have passed, uncertainty persists and, until the market can move on from the SEC and its pending decisions on Bitcoin ETF applications and a more structured regulatory frame work for the broader market by jurisdiction, any breakout from current levels will likely continue to face plenty of resistance. On the news front, news of the SEC requesting additional information on the recently rejected Bitcoin ETF applications contributed to the late rally on Friday, the request for information an indication that the SEC is in fact reconsidering its recent decisions, raising hope of an influx of institutional monies into the cryptomarket. The SEC has reportedly issued a 26thOctober deadline for the review of 9 Bitcoin ETF applications and, while there are hopes of a reversal to rejections, the reality remains that both fraudulent and price manipulative actions persist that could leave the SEC with little choice but to reject the applications pending the introduction of an appropriate regulatory framework that addresses both of the SEC’s key concerns. Get Into Cryptocurrency Trading Today At the time of writing, Bitcoin was down 0.51% to $6,605.9, a choppy start to the day seeing Bitcoin fall from a morning high $6,648.2 to a morning low $6,575.7 before regaining the $6,600 handle, moves in the early hours leaving the day’s major support and resistance levels untested. For the day ahead, a move back through to $6,650 would support a run at $6,700 levels to bring the day’s first major resistance level at $6,752.07 and 23.6% FIB Retracement Level of $6,757 into play, though we can expect Bitcoin to face plenty of resistance in any attempt to breakout from its recent ranges. Failure to move through to $6,500 levels could see Bitcoin slide back through to $6,500 levels to bring the first major support level at $6,517.27 into play, with sub-$6,500 levels in play should the general market view be that the SEC will likely decline the BTF applications currently being reviewed. Thisarticlewas originally posted on FX Empire • GBP/JPY Weekly Price Forecast – British pound reaches towards the top of the range • USD/JPY Weekly Price Forecast – US dollar fails to break out for the week • EUR/USD Weekly Price Forecast – Euro find support at crucial 1.15 handle • Gold Weekly Price Forecast – Gold markets show signs of stability for the week • USD/JPY Price Forecast – US dollar drifts lower against Japanese yen • Fears of Emerging Market Meltdown Underpinning Gold Prices [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] 1. #BTC: $6478.39 (3.03%) 2. #ETH: $198.17 (14.52%) 3. #XRP: $0.27 (5.67%) 4. #BCH: $444.73 (5.7%) 5. #EOS: $5.08 (5.19%) 6. #XLM: $0.21 (7.59%) 7. #LTC: $53.79 (10.73%) 8. #USDT: $1.00 (0.04%) 9. #XMR: $113.53 (15.56%) 10. #ADA: $0.07 (7.92%) #blockchain #crypto #altcoin \|\| 2018/11/02 11:00 BTC 716087.5円 ETH 22362.9円 ETC 1017.3円 BCH 47945.4円 XRP 51.6円 XEM 10.2円 LSK 309.5円 MONA 130.3円 #仮想通貨 #ビットコイン #Bitcoin #bitFlyer #Coincheck \|\| Saludos! Amigos de @BTC_Play ví en la imagen que encabeza su cuenta que hoy 20-09-2018 el Dólar para la "Venta por Transferencia" vale 132,66 BsS y para la "Venta en Efectivo" vale 50,00 BsS, Porque tanta diferencia? Pregunto para salir de mi inquietud, Gracias \|\| Bitcoin: $6,420 +0.71% (+$45.00) High: $6,425.80 Low: $6,320.09 Volume: 97 $BTC #BTC #bitcoin \|\| Please get informed with ACTUAL facts. U obviously know nothing. I’ve sent 2 BTC for less than $1.00 https://twitter.com/Nouriel/status/1051460386489331713 … \|\| #LIZA #LAMBO price 10-26 05:00(GMT) $LIZA BTC :0.00000 ETH :0.00000 USD :0.0 RUR :0.0 JPY(btc) :0.0 JPY(eth) :0.0 $LAMBO BTC :0.009 ETH :0.275 USD :60.3 RUR :3888.0 JPY(btc) :6198.0 JPY(eth) :6162.8 \|\| #NowPlaying Warren G ft. Nate Dogg - Regulate (BTC Intro/ Clean) Listen to http://www.bigreggradio247.com ..artist get your song on now $25.00 for 30 days cashapp $bigregg909 email song to [email protected] \|\| Current price: $0.024077 Node count: 819 Total accounts: 511468 Coins burned: 2,518,535.00 TRX #tron #trx $trx $btc #btc \|\| #cryptocurrency Price Analysis for #Bitsend #BSD : Last Hour Change : 0.37 % \|\| 04-11-2018 12:00 Price in #USD : 0.1564010587 \|\| Price in #EUR : 0.1373318596 New Price in #Bitcoin #BTC : 0.00002456 \|\| #Coin Rank 612 \|\| 10-04 18:00(GMT) #SPINDLE price $SPD (BTC) Yobit :0.00000021 HitBTC :0.00000021 LiveCoin:0.00000018 $SPD (JPY) Yobit :0.15 HitBTC :0.15 LiveCoin:0.13	Trend: down \|\| Prices: 6461.01, 6530.14, 6453.72, 6385.62, 6409.22, 6411.27, 6371.27, 6359.49, 5738.35, 5648.03
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2021-11-01] BTC Price: 61004.41, BTC RSI: 56.30 Gold Price: 1795.10, Gold RSI: 55.16 Oil Price: 84.05, Oil RSI: 67.82 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Bitcoin Bulls: Cathie Wood Says the Crypto Will Reach $500K, MicroStrategy Adds 5,050 Bitcoins: Cathie Wood, the founder and CEO of Ark Invest,reiterated her trust in Bitcoin, saying yesterday at the SALT conference held by hedge fund SkyBridge Capital that she believes it will reach “over $500,000.” Learn More:Institutional Investors’ Bitcoin ETF Appetite Grows, While SEC still Stalling on ApprovalsInvesting:Here’s How Cathie Wood Picks Her Winning Stocks “If we’re right and companies continue to diversify their cash into something like Bitcoin, andinstitutional investors start allocating 5% of their funds towards [Bitcoin]— it could be for other cryptos, as well — we believe that the price will be tenfold of where it is today. So instead of $45,000, over $500,000,” Wood said, according to a video posted on Blockworks’ Twitter account. Wood also addressed the regulatory climate regarding cryptos, saying that “no regulators wanted to be blamed for preventing the next big technology breakthrough to happen in the U.S.” “And that has proven true,” she said. Wood also praised chairman Gary Gensler, saying that she is really happy “he understands crypto, and understands the merits of Bitcoin and, in particular, he is a regulator, though, and he’s a hardcore regulator.” Related:Crypto Regulation Will Help Pay for Infrastructure Bill, SEC’s Gensler Compares Industry to ‘Wild West’ Wood talked about the recent regulatory issue Coinbase encountered, when it received a Wells notice — the official way regulators tell a company they intend to sue — over Coinbase Lend, the company’s yet-to-be-launched new product. “What Coinbase did and I was shocked when I saw Wells notice, are you kidding they haven’t even release the product, like what is this? And I think what that Wells notice is doing, it’s a callout by regulators saying “we got to discuss this stuff,” because this is happening very quickly. And I think we are going to bring courts into the system,” Wood said. More:Elon Musk: ‘I Lose Money on Bitcoin’ But Tesla Likely to Accept It as Payment Again Other big names are being extremely bullish on Bitcoin, as well. MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor affirmed this with a tweet yesterday: “MicroStrategy has purchased an additional 5,050 bitcoins for ~$242.9 million in cash at an average price of ~$48,099 per #bitcoin . As of 9/12/21 we #hodl ~114,042 bitcoins acquired for ~$3.16 billion at an average price of ~$27,713 per bitcoin.” The company also announced yesterday that during the third quarter of the company’s fiscal year to date — the period between July 1, 2021 and September 12, 2021 — it had purchased approximately 8,957 bitcoins for approximately $419.9 million in cash, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing. See:Move Over Cathie Wood: Michael Burry Ups the Ante With Bets Against US TreasuriesFind:El Salvador Adopts Bitcoin Amid Glitches and Security Concerns As of September 12, 2021, MicroStrategy held approximately 114,042 bitcoins that were acquired at an aggregate purchase price of approximately $3.16 billion and an average purchase price of approximately $27,713 per bitcoin, inclusive of fees and expenses, according to the filing. More From GOBankingRates • What Money Topics Do You Want Covered: Ask the Financially Savvy Female • The 8 Best Deals From Costco’s September Coupon Book • Nominate Your Favorite Small Business To Be Featured on GOBankingRates • 10 Reasons You Should Claim Social Security Early Last updated: September 14, 2021 This article originally appeared onGOBankingRates.com:Bitcoin Bulls: Cathie Wood Says the Crypto Will Reach $500K, MicroStrategy Adds 5,050 Bitcoins \|\| WeownomyPay: Turning WEOWNS Into a Mass Currency of Kindness: Global has never been more in need of a currency that is for everyone. With WeownomyPay, there are no transaction fees and you can withdraw your money anywhere. The WEOWNS economy is coming to life and it's time to start paying with compassion. WeownomyPay WeownomyPay WeownomyPay DELAWARE CITY, Del., Oct. 15, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- It's hard to imagine what it would be like if you couldn't buy anything with money. But this is the reality for 3 billion people around the world, many of whom live in developing countries. This isn't just a problem of poverty and lack of access to banking services—this also impacts economies and society as a whole. The new digital payment system will be used to make social media transactions and remittance services free of charge for over 1 billion people worldwide. The founder of WeownomyPay Ssemakula Peter Luyima believes that digital currencies are not very useful unless they can connect with mainstream society in some way. The intention is to create a digital currency that connects the cryptocurrency world to what most societies use every day: money. In today's digital world, it is no surprise that people are shifting to cryptocurrency. In recent years, more and more companies have begun developing their own cryptocurrencies. But not all of these new currencies have been successful in the market due to a lack of usability. WEOWNS is aiming to change this by providing an alternative form of payment for social media platforms, remittance transactions and Debt Free Personal Economic Security Program with a unique payment method once it's officially rolled out, with an estimated $5 billion in transactions anticipated by May 2022 The idea of paying for something and then getting paid back for it is what is unique about WeownomyPay. This revolutionary new payment system eliminates all fees associated with making payments through credit cards or wire transfers, giving people a convenient way to pay without incurring any extra costs. Story continues The People Powered WEOWNS In an era of globalization, with a steadily growing population and increasing cost of living around the world, the demand for a new payment system that benefits everyone is vital. With this in mind, WEOWNOMY came up with an innovative solution to meet these needs: WeownomyPay. The design is geared towards: 1] providing debt-free personal economic security for everyone; 2] eliminating transaction fees; 3] rewarding remittance transactions with an extra amount of WEOWNS; 4] creating strategic partnerships that will help build key African Unity Initiatives powered by Pan African Peoples Alliance and Pan African Peoples Accord .. In the next 20 years, more than 50% of the global population will live in urban areas. A consequence of this is that people will be less connected to each other and it will become increasingly difficult for people to find empathy and compassion in a world where they are surrounded by strangers. WeownomyPay's vision is for WEOWNS, the currency of kindness, to complement fiat currencies, not compete with them; a key strategy is to build personal sustainable economic lives using Weownomy social media platform to enable millions of users and WeownomyChat in order for the network to reach significant scale and large volume of transactions made in WEOWNS. One Way to Keep the Wealth in Your Own Country Many developing countries have currencies that are volatile and subject to being devalued. WeownomyPay is a project aiming to solve this problem by providing access to the national currency of the country in which they reside, no matter where they are. WEOWNS will be fully backed by remittance transactions or Weownomy social media user paid online activities for using the platform denominated in WEOWNS to be represented in any fiat currencies. The United States has a $19 trillion dollar debt. But what if there was a way to keep the wealth in your own country? What if people and businesses in regions whose local currencies have WEOWNS users on the WeownomyPay network could directly access their national currency without any bank intermediaries or exchange rates, but with full confidence that each WEOWNS will be fully backed by the people using WeownomyPay network, which will consist of remittance transactions or Weownomy social media users. It has an ambitious goal to be one of the leading digital currencies in usage, transaction volume and value worldwide. WEOWNOMYPAY is a unique idea to help build an economy with your country's own currency. It will allow people and businesses in the regions whose local currencies have WEOWNS users on the WeownomyPay network to directly access their national currency. "WEOWNOMYPAY allows for everyone, no matter where they are, to keep wealth within their own country without having to use any other form of money." Ssemakula Luyima Peter WEOWNS Are Not Designed to Replace Local Currencies The global currency WEOWNS are not designed to replace the local currencies in developing nations but could serve as a complementary to the more established financial services that make up 98% of the developing nations. This will target personal and corporate digital wallets that pay bills, goods and services, debt-free personal economic security program. WeownomyPay will hand out $170 Million in digital WEOWNS via Virtual Wedding Crypto Expo in October 2021 and expects a wide-scale test during WeownomyChat launch in November 2021. The first user owned payment processor to work with WEOWNS currency trials that will allow users to link their accounts with WEOWNS digital currency. Weownomy will distribute several millions dollars' worth of WEOWNS through WeownomyPay that is connected to an acquirer bank. These tests are intended to allow users to buy products from participating business entities and WeownomyChat marketplace. WEOWNMYPAY: A LINK TO THE WEOWNS ECONOMY. The WeownomyPay inclusion shows that the new crypto currency has opened a payment link interface to the ecosystem of internet payment platforms, which could broaden the online application of WEOWNS digital currency in such scenarios as e-commerce, social networks and online-to-offline business. It will attract more merchants to open payment channels for the digital currency, helping leverage the digital WEOWNS role as people's currency. The new, blockchain-based digital currency WEOWNS is set to launch in October 2021 (to be announced), with over 100,000 co-owners to sign up for the tests. The system will be distributing 10 million digital WEOWNS "on WEOWNS Wedding day" which are worth $170 Million at current WEOWNS prices. But WEOWNS has one thing no other crypto currency does: it's all about community ownership. It will not be long before there are more than one billion co-owners around the world who want in on this great opportunity. Weownomy accelerates its efforts to widely distribute its digital people's currency of kindness before the WeownomyChat launch; the initiative is a historic initiative to launch people's monetary kindness system. Once the digital WEOWNS is in wide circulation, it will likely power the digital payment operations of social media, remittance transactions and Debt Free Personal Economic Security Program. The History of Kindness is about to Be Written. Kindness is the currency of people's power. It fuels all things that humans care about, whether it be financial or emotional prosperity, health and happiness, relationship bonds with others. Kindness is also the force behind every successful entrepreneurial endeavor. The advent of WeownomyChat will provide a platform for an exponential distribution of kindness in society because WEOWNS are the perfect digital representation of what humans care about most: their own success, health and well-being as well. About WEOWNS WEOWNS is a new currency that was created to address the shortcomings of Bitcoin. WEOWNS is designed to be used as an incentive for people who want to do good in their communities, not just mine bitcoins. WEOWNS incentivizes entrepreneurs and users to act with kindness towards one another by building trust through commitments made. This means that any user or entrepreneur who follows the precept should generally be expected to be more successful than otherwise, because they will have earned more WEOWNS. About Weownomy Platform Corporation Weownomy Platform Corporation, Incorporated in the State of Delaware https://www.weownomy.global is launching a subscription-based, open and participatory platform. A new redefined social network that facilitates people's participation in the democratic process of defining their own rules for their future, generating an ownership structure where every person has rights to share in the proceeds generated by this new economy and hence true economic equality. Media Ssemakula Peter Luyima [email protected] President and CEO Weownomy Platform Corporation Related Images Image 1: WeownomyPay New Digital Payment Processor This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com . Attachment WeownomyPay \|\| Why Energous Shares Are Soaring Today: Energous Corp (NASDAQ: WATT ) is trading significantly higher Tuesday after the company's active energy harvesting transmitter technology was granted U.S. Federal Communications Commission approval for unlimited distance over-the-air wireless charging. Energous' active energy harvesting transmitter can charge multiple devices at once, enabling over-the-air charging for the growing ecosystem of internet of things devices such as retail sensors, electronic shelf labels, industrial devices and more. “This FCC certification of our Active Energy Harvesting transmitter technology marks the latest recognition of our efforts to further the regulatory pathway for far field wireless power networks,” said Cesar Johnston , acting CEO of Energous. Johnston continued, “Our WattUp active energy harvesting solution provides U.S and European developers an approved wireless charging option when designing the power networks needed to cost effectively and efficiently deploy IoT sensors, low-power CPUs and other devices.” Energous is a development stage technology company that's developing a technology named WattUp, which will enable radio frequency based wire free charging for electronic devices. WATT Price Action: Energous has traded as high as $7.69 and as low as $1.71 over a 52-week period. The stock was up 29.50% at $2.59 at time of publication. See more from Benzinga Click here for options trades from Benzinga Carl Icahn: Inflation Bad For Markets Long Term, Good For Bitcoin? Why Jim Chanos Is Still Short Tesla And This Tech Stock That's Up 15% YTD © 2021 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| US now world’s biggest Bitcoin miner after China ban: The US just overtook China as the world’s biggest source of Bitcoin mining only weeks after Beijing banned it. According to the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance report, China’s share of the global hashrate went down from 44% to zero between May and July. On the other hand, the US share of the global hashrate grew from 17% in April to 35% in August, while, for example, Kazakhstan rose from 8% to 18% in the same period. Within the US, around 20% of Bitcoin’s hashrate is in New York, 18.7% in Kentucky, 17.3% is in Georgia, and 14% in Texas, according to Foundry USA – the biggest mining pool in North America and the fifth-largest globally. When China announced a crackdown on Bitcoin mining and trading in May, citing environmental and financial concerns, many miners fled to the US, neighbouring Kazakhstan or Russia. Sam Tabar, chief strategy officer at a New York-based Bitcoin miner Bit Digital, described the move as “great mining migration”. His company suspended its operations in China, which it had been winding down since October 2020, after the prohibition. Texas governor giving support for mining BTC One of the most popular US states for miners is Texas , whose Governor Greg Abbott has been a vocal supporter of cryptocurrency. Many Chinese Bitcoin companies have looked to Texas for stability and opportunity. Shenzhen-based firm BIT Mining said it plans to invest $26 million to build a data centre in the state, while Beijing-based Bitmain is expanding its facility in Rockdale. Michel Rauchs, digital assets lead at the Cambridge tracker , commented that “the effect of the Chinese crackdown is an increased geographic distribution of hashrate across the world”, adding that it could be seen as “a positive development for network security and the decentralised principles of Bitcoin”. China decided to come out with its own digital currency, which authorities hope to trial at the Beijing Winter Olympics in February 2022. Fred Thiel, chief executive of Marathon Digital Holdings – a Las Vegas-based crypto mining company – asserted that “the China shutdown has been great for the industry and US miners”. Story continues “Overnight, fewer players were going after the same finite number of coins,” he said. Approximately 900 Bitcoins are mined every day, and in the period from July to September, Marathon Digital Holdings mined 1,252.4 coins – 91% more than in the previous quarter. Didar Bekbauov, the co-founder of Xive, an Almaty-based cryptocurrency mining platform, said that “immediately after the ban, Kazakhstan received a lot of mining machines, mostly from Chinese miners who wanted to restart operations as soon as possible”. \|\| El Salvador just bought 400 bitcoin and plans to buy 'a lot more,' a day before making it an official currency: • El Salvador bought 400 bitcoin on Monday and plans to buy "a lot more," President Nayib Bukele said. • The purchase comes just a day before El Salvador makes bitcoin official currency. • The bitcoin transition hasn't been so smooth, with Salvadorans protesting, confused by the rollout. • See more stories on Insider's business page. El Salvador bought its first 400 bitcoin and plans to soon buy "a lot more," as the country nears the Tuesday deadline to make bitcoin the country's official currency, President Nayib Bukele tweeted on Monday. "El Salvador has just bought its first 200 coins," Bukele said in aseries of tweetson Monday. "Our brokers will be buying a lot more as the deadline approaches." Hours later, Bukele said the country bought an additional 200 bitcoin, giving it a total of 400 bitcoin. The bitcoin purchases, coming just a day before El Salvador's bitcoin law will come into effect, amount to roughly $20 million as ofMonday's price. It's the first step toward El Salvador's ambitious attempt to make bitcoin legal tender, which is set to draw a lot of attention from cryptocurrency enthusiasts to monetary policy experts around the world - while transforming the daily life for Salvadorans. In June, El Salvadorpassed a lawthat will make it the first country to establish bitcoin as legal tender alongside the US dollar, the country's current national currency. All entities in the country will now have to accept bitcoin as a payment method for goods and services, and Salvadorans will be able to use the cryptocurrency to pay taxes. El Salvador is the smallest country in Central America in terms of population, according to the World Bank. Its economy is the 106th out of the 195 countries the International Monetary Fund ranks. The country's looming bitcoin rollout has not been so smooth. Salvadoranscomplainthey have received little official communication from the government, leaving them in the dark on what the transition will mean for them. Global banks and rating agencies have questioned the decision, saying it could jeopardize the much-needed IMF lending talks, hurtlocal insurers, andeven weaken the bitcoin network. Last month, protests erupted in the capital city of San Salvador, with people fearing for their pension payouts potentially getting wiped out and money laundering activity increasing in a country wherecorruption is endemic. A poll taken in July found that75% of Salvadorans have reservations about the law. Still, Bukele seems confident in the country's looming bitcoin adoption. In a Twitterthreadlast month, the 40-year-old president called the opposition "liars" who would be exposed once the law comes into force. He said those worried about their pension or businesses will be able to keep dealing in dollars as usual, since bitcoin use isn't mandatory. On Monday, Bukele expressed the same level of confidence in hisMonday tweet. "Tomorrow, for the first time in history, all the eyes of the world will be on El Salvador," Bukele wrote. "#Bitcoin did this." Read the original article onBusiness Insider \|\| European Equities: Evergrande News and the FED to Test Support Once More…: Economic Calendar Thursday, 23 rd September Spanish GDP (QoQ) (Q2) French Manufacturing PMI (Sep) Prelim French Services PMI (Sep) Prelim German Manufacturing PMI (Sep) Prelim German Services PMI (Sep) Prelim Eurozone Manufacturing PMI (Sep) Prelim Eurozone Markit Composite PMI (Sep) Prelim Eurozone Services PMI (Sep) Prelim Friday, 24 th September German Ifo Business Climate Index (Sep) The Majors It was a bullish day for the European majors on Tuesday. The CAC40 rose by 1.50% to lead the way, with the DAX30 and the EuroStoxx600 ending the day up by 1.43% and by 1.00% respectively. There were no major stats to change the mood from Monday’s session, leaving dip buyers to deliver support on the day. For the majors, the upside came in spite of rating agency Standard & Poor’s stating that an Evergrande default was likely. The Stats It’s a was a particularly quiet day on the Eurozone economic calendar. There were no major stats to provide the majors with direction on the day. From the U.S Economic data was limited to August housing sector numbers that had a muted impact on market risk sentiment. The Market Movers For the DAX: It was a mixed day for the auto sector on Tuesday. BMW and Volkswagen rose by 1.14% and by 0.97%, respectively, with Continental ending the day up by 0.47%. Daimler bucked the trend, however, falling by 0.04%. It was also a mixed day for the banks. Deutsche Bank fell by 1.32%, while Commerzbank rose by 1.19%. From the CAC , it was a mixed day for the banks. Soc Gen and Credit Agricole fell by 0.33% and by 0.09% respectively, while BNP Paribas rose by 0.41%. It was a relatively bullish day for the French auto sector, however. Stellantis NV and Renault ended the day up by 0.19% and by 0.20% respectively. Air France-KLM and Airbus SE rose by 1.49% and by 1.20% respectively. On the VIX Index It was back into the red for the VIX on Tuesday, ending a 2-day winning streak. Partially reversing a 23.55% surge from Monday, the VIX fell by 5.25% to end the day at 24.36. Story continues On Tuesday, the NASDAQ rose by 0.22%, while the Dow and S&P500 ended the day down by 0.15% and by 0.08% respectively. The Day Ahead It’s yet another particularly quiet day ahead on the Eurozone’s economic calendar . There are no major stats to provide the European majors with direction mid-week. From the U.S there are also no major stats to consider later in the session, leaving the markets in limbo ahead of the FOMC policy decision and projections due out after the European close. Updates on Evergrande will also be in focus going into the European open. The Futures In the futures markets, at the time of writing, the Dow Mini was down by 49 points. For a look at all of today’s economic events, check out our economic calendar . This article was originally posted on FX Empire More From FXEMPIRE: EUR/USD Forex Technical Analysis – Hawkish Surprise by Fed Could Trigger Break into 1.1664 Main Bottom Bitcoin Update: A Revisit of $29,000 Cannot be Excluded Just Yet E-mini NASDAQ-100 Index (NQ) Futures Technical Analysis – Struggling Inside 15069.75 to 14920.25 The Crypto Daily – Movers and Shakers – September 22nd, 2021 Natural Gas Price Forecast – Natural Gas Markets Continue to Pull Back DraftKings Pursues UK Acquisition and Catches NFT Fever \|\| Could Terra Luna Reach The Moon And Become As Popular As Bitcoin, Ethereum Or Dogecoin?: Terra Luna (CRYPTO: LUNA) shares are trading higher Thursday in a green cryptocurrency market. Terra Luna is the world's biggest dual-token platform, which is a network with two intertwined tokens that have separate utility. LUNA coins are on its native blockchain, while Terra USD (CRYPTO: TUSD) stablecoins are on the Ethereum blockchain. Terra Luna was up 8.73% at $36.09 at publication time. How to Buy Terra (LUNA) Right Now Terra Luna Daily Chart Analysis Terra Luna looks to be breaking out of what technical traders call a sideways channel after the price crossed a level it struggled to in the past. The crypto has seen previous resistance near the $35 level, as it was an area where the crypto had struggled to get above. Now, as it trades above the area, the crypto could hold this area as support in the future. If unable to hold, the next strong level of support may be near the $24 level. The crypto trades above both the 50-day moving average (green) and the 200-day moving average (blue) indicating recent sentiment in the crypto has been bearish. Each of these moving averages may act as support in the future. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) started moving up the past couple of days and now sits at 55. This shows there is now more buying pressure in the crypto than selling pressure. lunadaily9-23-21.jpg What’s Next For Terra Luna? Bullish traders are hoping for the crypto to be able to hold above the $35 level. If the $35 level holds, the crypto could be ready to see another leg up. Bulls want to see a strong higher low trendline form. Bearish traders are looking to see the crypto fall back below the $35 level and hold it as resistance again. Bears would then like to see the Terra Luna fall below the moving averages for a possible change in sentiment and start of a bearish trend. See more from Benzinga Click here for options trades from Benzinga Why Novavax Looks Like It's Breaking Out Of A Pattern Is Plug Power's Stock Starting To Heat Up? © 2021 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| FOREX-U.S. dollar slides for 2nd day, but outlook stays upbeat: * U.S. data mixed as growth seen stalling in Q3 * Commodity currencies rise * Sterling licking wounds, heads for worst week in a month * Bitcoin hits nearly two-week high * Graphic: World FX rates https://tmsnrt.rs/2RBWI5E (Adds new comment, cryptocurrency prices, updates currency levels) By Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss NEW YORK, Oct 1 (Reuters) - The dollar fell for a second straight session on Friday, tracking declines in U.S. Treasury yields, as investors booked profits after recent sharp gains, though the decline was viewed as temporary. U.S. 10-year Treasury yields were last at 1.484%, down nearly six basis points. For the week, the dollar index posted its largest percentage gain since late August, as investors looked to the Federal Reserve's reduction of asset purchases in November and a possible rate hike late next year. Cautious market sentiment due to COVID-19 concerns, wobbles in China's growth and a Washington gridlock ahead of a looming deadline to lift the U.S. government's borrowing limit has lent support to the dollar, seen as a safe-haven asset. "The more hawkish stance appears to have been the key factor driving the dollar higher in late September," said Marc Chandler, chief market strategist, at Bannockburn Global Forex. "However, more immediately, fiscal policy is the focus, though investors appear to be looking through it, as many find it inconceivable that the U.S. would default on its debt," he added. In afternoon trading, the dollar index slid 0.3% to 94.046, having gained 0.8% this week, the largest weekly rise since late August. Friday's batch of U.S. data was mixed, adding to dollar weakness ahead of the weekend. U.S. consumer spending increased more than expected in August, posting a 0.8% rise, but consumption was weaker than initially thought in July, dipping 0.1% instead of gaining 0.3%. Inflation remained elevated, but not by much. Core inflation as measured by the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index, excluding the volatile food and energy components, was up 0.3% in August, unchanged from previous month. In manufacturing, data was more upbeat. The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) said its index of national factory activity increased to a reading of 61.1 last month from 59.9 in August. In other currencies, the euro rose 0.1% to $1.1595, falling about 1.1% for the week, its biggest percentage fall since mid-June. The yen bounced back against the dollar from a 19-month low overnight, with the greenback last down 0.2% at 111.105 yen. Commodity currencies rallied against the U.S. dollar on Friday as well. The Australian dollar gained 0.6% to US$0.7270 and slumped 3.6% in the third quarter - the worst performance of any G10 currency against the dollar - as prices for Australia's top export, iron ore, fell sharply. Sterling was also an underperformer last quarter, dropping 2.5%, and posting its worst week in more than a month, amid growing supply chain problems. Sterling was last up 0.6% though at $1.3552, just above a 9-month low at $1.3516. In cryptocurrencies, bitcoin rallied to a nearly two-week high of just under $48,000. It was last up 9.4% at $47,902. Analysts cited seasonal factors, with the fourth quarter typically viewed as a bullish period for digital assets. Smaller coins ether and XRP, which tend to move in tandem with bitcoin, were up nearly 10% at $3,294 and 8.2% at $1.0299, respectively. ======================================================== Currency bid prices at 3:17PM (1917 GMT) Description RIC Last U.S. Close Pct Change YTD Pct High Bid Low Bid Previous Change Session Dollar index 94.0370 94.3120 -0.29% 4.508% +94.3950 +93.9850 Euro/Dollar $1.1596 $1.1578 +0.16% -5.09% +$1.1607 +$1.1564 Dollar/Yen 111.0950 111.2800 -0.16% +7.53% +111.4850 +110.9050 Euro/Yen 128.82 128.82 +0.00% +1.50% +129.0400 +128.5600 Dollar/Swiss 0.9305 0.9317 -0.11% +5.19% +0.9337 +0.9283 Sterling/Dollar $1.3555 $1.3477 +0.59% -0.78% +$1.3575 +$1.3434 Dollar/Canadian 1.2633 1.2685 -0.41% -0.79% +1.2738 +1.2628 Aussie/Dollar $0.7271 $0.7227 +0.62% -5.48% +$0.7276 +$0.7193 Euro/Swiss 1.0791 1.0784 +0.06% -0.15% +1.0808 +1.0773 Euro/Sterling 0.8554 0.8593 -0.45% -4.29% +0.8623 +0.8545 NZ $0.6946 $0.6897 +0.72% -3.26% +$0.6951 +$0.6879 Dollar/Dollar Dollar/Norway 8.6125 8.7400 -1.41% +0.35% +8.7820 +8.6160 Euro/Norway 9.9891 10.1205 -1.30% -4.57% +10.1728 +9.9867 Dollar/Sweden 8.7412 8.7585 -0.08% +6.66% +8.7878 +8.7392 Euro/Sweden 10.1379 10.1460 -0.08% +0.61% +10.1755 +10.1374 (Reporting by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss; Additional reporting by Ritvik Carvalho in London; Editing by Nick Macfie, Chizu Nomiyama and David Evans) \|\| Blockchain-as-a-Service (BaaS) Market Worth $24.94 Bn at 39.5% CAGR; Tech Conglomerates Such as Microsoft and Oracle to Focus on Expanding Applicability of BaaS Tools: Fortune Business Insights™: Key Companies Covered in BaaS Market Research Report are Huawei Service (Hong Kong) Co., Limited, Stratis Group Ltd., NTT Data Corporation, Baidu, Inc., Oracle Corporation, Microsoft Corporation, VMware, Inc., Infosys Limited, Accenture Plc, SAP SE Pune, India, Sept. 14, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The globalblockchain-as-a-service marketsize is set to reachUSD 24.94 billion by 2027, exhibiting an impressiveCAGR of 39.5%during the forecast period. Multiple advantages of BaaS for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) will fuel the market growth, states Fortune Business Insights™ in its recent report, titled "Blockchain-as-a-Service (BaaS) Market Size, Share & Industry Analysis, By Component (Tool and Service), By Application (Smart Contracts, Supply Chain Management, Payments, Governance, Risk, and Compliance Management and Others (Identity Management)), By Industry (BFSI, Energy & Utilities, Government, Healthcare and Life Sciences, Manufacturing, Telecom, Media & Entertainment, Retail & Consumer Goods, Travel and Transportation and Others (Education etc.)), and Regional Forecast, 2020-2027". Request To Sample PDF Brochure:https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/enquiry/request-sample-pdf/blockchain-as-a-service-baas-market-102721 List of Key Companies operating in the Blockchain-as-a-Service (BaaS) Market are: • Huawei Service (Hong Kong) Co., Limited • Stratis Group Ltd. • NTT Data Corporation • Baidu, Inc. • Oracle Corporation • Microsoft Corporation • VMware, Inc. • Infosys Limited • Accenture Plc • SAP SE • Alibaba Group • IBM Corporation REPORT SCOPE & SEGMENTATION: [{"Report Coverage": "Forecast Period", "Details": "2020 to 2027"}, {"Report Coverage": "Forecast Period 2020 to 2027 CAGR", "Details": "39.5%"}, {"Report Coverage": "2027 Value Projection", "Details": "USD 24.94 Billion"}, {"Report Coverage": "Base Year", "Details": "2019"}, {"Report Coverage": "Market Size in 2019", "Details": "USD 1.90 Billion"}, {"Report Coverage": "Historical Data for", "Details": "2016 to 2018"}, {"Report Coverage": "No. of Pages", "Details": "140"}, {"Report Coverage": "Tables, Charts & Figures", "Details": "54"}, {"Report Coverage": "Segments covered", "Details": "Component; Application; Industry; and Region"}, {"Report Coverage": "Growth Drivers", "Details": "Growing Adoption of Distributed Ledger Technology based on Advanced Analytics to Aid Market Growth"}, ["Rising Popularity of Blockchain-as-a-Service for Supply Chain Management and Relatec Applications to Drive the Market"], ["Increasing Adoption of Decentralized Applications based on BaaS to Boost Market Growth"], {"Report Coverage": "Pitfalls & Challenges", "Details": "High Initial Cost to Inhibit Market Growth"}] An Overview of the Impact of COVID-19 on this Market: The emergence of COVID-19 has brought the world to a standstill. We understand that this health crisis has brought an unprecedented impact on businesses across industries. However, this too shall pass. Rising support from governments and several companies can help in the fight against this highly contagious disease. There are some industries that are struggling and some are thriving. Overall, almost every sector is anticipated to be impacted by the pandemic. We are taking continuous efforts to help your business sustain and grow during COVID-19 pandemics. Based on our experience and expertise, we will offer you an impact analysis of coronavirus outbreak across industries to help you prepare for the future. Click here to get the short-term and long-term impact of COVID-19 on this Market. Please visit:https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/enquiry/covid19-impact/blockchain-as-a-service-baas-market-102721 Blockchain technology is emerging as an optimal solution to many of the challenges faced by SMEs such as access to trade financing, bank loans, and cash flow difficulties, among other issues. SMEs looking to expand their businesses in foreign lands can gain wider access to trade financing sources using BaaS as this technology is decentralized and cuts out middlemen from the process. The World Economic Forum (WEF) opines that blockchain technology could be instrumental in bridging the gap in trade financing around the world. Similar benefits can be reaped by SMEs in the context of supply chain processes. Thus, these potential advantages of blockchain for SMEs will provide a significant boost to the BaaS market growth in the coming years. According to the blockchain-as-a-service market report, the value of this market stood atUSD 1.90 billion in 2019. The report further provides the following information: • Detailed segmentation of the market and piece-meal study of each segment; • Comprehensive analysis of the regional developments occurring in the market; • In-depth research into the market drivers, trends, and challenges; and • Exhaustive assessment of the competitive landscape of the market. Market Restraint Heightened Vulnerability to Cyber Threats to Hamper Market Growth The safety quotient of financial transactions has gotten considerably elevated since the advent of blockchain technology. Given its complex architecture, hacking into a blockchain-based system requires sophisticated computer skills and tools. Nonetheless, analysis by NASDAQ, one of the three stock indexes in the US, reveals that this technology is not bereft of vulnerabilities, originating primarily from the endpoints that use wallets to initiate transactions. These wallets become easy targets for hackers. For instance, a crypocurrency exchange platform, Ethereum Classic, was hacked in 2019, with the hacker rewriting the transaction history of the platform and stealing millions. During the same year, hackers stole around $40 million in Bitcoin transactions, exploiting the susceptibility of the same endpoint issue stated earlier. Thus, the constantly looming threat of cyber-attacks may prohibit the blockchain-as-a-service market growth during the forecast period. Regional Analysis Increasing Investment in Blockchain Technology to Drive the Market in North America In 2019, the market size in North America stood at USD 1.01 billion owing to the vast number of blockchain development projects being undertaken in the US. One of the major reasons for the widespread development and adoption of BaaS tools in North America is the strong presence of small, medium, and large tech companies operating in the US. This, along with rising integration of BaaS solutions with public utilities services, will enable the region to dominate the blockchain-as-a-service market share in the foreseeable future. In Asia-Pacific, the market will be mainly driven by the rising investment in blockchain technology by the Chinese government and advancements in complex computer technologies in Japan and South Korea. The BaaS market report states that Asia-Pacific will register the highest CAGR during the forecast period. In Europe, increasing focus of well-established players on blockchain technology will propel the market in the near future. Speak to Analyst:https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/enquiry/speak-to-analyst/blockchain-as-a-service-baas-market-102721 Competitive Landscape Collaborations between Financial Institutions and Tech Companies to Intensify Competition As per the blockchain-as-a-service market analysis, an increasing number of collaborations between financial bigwigs and tech giants are being witnessed in this market. These partnerships are playing a major role in broadening the application areas of BaaS tools and enhancing the potential of the market. Industry Developments: • May 2019:Microsoft and JP Morgan announced their partnership to further the advancement and adoption of enterprise blockchain. Under the partnership, JP Morgan's distributed ledger platform Quorum will be made accessible via Microsoft's Azure Blockchain Service to enable customers to build cloud-based blockchain networks. • April 2018:Huawei unveiled its novel BaaS solution, called Blockchain Service, based on Linux Foundation's Hyperledge Fabric 1.0. The solution is devised to aid companies design smart contracts focusing on supply chain, securitized assets, and public services, on top of a distributed ledger network. Quick Buy – Blockchain as a service Market Research Report:https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/checkout-page/102721 Detailed Table of Content • IntroductionDefinition, By SegmentResearch ApproachSources • Executive Summary • Market DynamicsDrivers, Restraints and OpportunitiesEmerging Trends • Key InsightsMacro and Micro Economic IndicatorsConsolidated SWOT Analysis of Key Players • Global Blockchain-as-a-Service Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast, 2016-2027Key Findings / SummaryMarket Sizing Estimations and Forecasts – By ComponentToolsServiceMarket Size Estimates and Forecasts – By ApplicationSmart ContractsSupply Chain ManagementPaymentsGovernance, Risk, and Compliance ManagementOthers (Identity Management, etc.)Market Size Estimates and Forecasts – By IndustryBFSIEnergy & UtilitiesGovernmentHealthcare and Life SciencesManufacturingTelecom, Media & EntertainmentRetail & Consumer GoodsTravel and TransportationOthers (Education etc,)Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast – By RegionNorth AmericaEuropeAsia-Pacific (APAC)Middle East & Africa (MEA)Latin America (LATAM) TOC Continued..!!! Get your Customized Research Report:https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/enquiry/customization/blockchain-as-a-service-baas-market-102721 Have a Look at Related Research Insights: Unified Communication as a Service (UCaaS) MarketSize, Share & COVID-19 Impact Analysis, By Component (Telephony, Unified Messaging, Collaboration Platforms, Conferencing), By Delivery Model (Managed Services, and Hosted/ Cloud Services), By Organization Size (Large Enterprises, SMEs), By Vertical (BFSI, IT and Telecommunications, IT-enabled Services (ITeS), Education, Retail and Consumer Goods), and Regional Forecast, 2021 –2028 Location Analytics MarketSize, Share & COVID-19 Impact Analysis, By Component (Solution, Services), By Location Type (Indoor, Outdoor), By Deployment (On-Premises, Cloud), By Application (Disaster and Emergency Response Management, Sales and Marketing Optimization, Supply Chain Management), By Vertical (BFSI, Transportation and Logistics, Government and Defense, Tourism and Hospitality), and Regional Forecast, 2021-2028 Virtual Reality (VR) in Healthcare MarketSize, Share & COVID-19 Impact Analysis, By Component (Hardware, Software, and Content), By Application (Pain Management, Education & Training, Surgery, Patient Care Management, Rehabilitation & Therapy Procedures, and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)), and Regional Forecast, 2021-2028 Retail Analytics MarketSize, Share & COVID-19 Impact Analysis, By Type (Software, and Services), By Deployment (On-Premise, and Cloud), By Retail Store Type (Hypermarkets & Supermarkets, and Retail Chains), By Function (Customer Management, Supply Chain Management, Merchandising, Strategy & Planning, and In-store Operations), and Regional Forecast, 2021-2028 Fleet Management Software MarketSize, Share & COVID-19 Impact Analysis, By Component (Solution, and Services), By Fleet Type (Commercial Fleet and Passenger Cars), By Deployment (Cloud, and On-premises), By Industry (Manufacturing, Logistics, Transportation, Oil & Gas, Chemical, and Others), and Regional Forecast, 2021-2028 About Us: Fortune Business Insights™offers expert corporate analysis and accurate data, helping organizations of all sizes make timely decisions. We tailor innovative solutions for our clients, assisting them address challenges distinct to their businesses. Our goal is to empower our clients with holistic market intelligence, giving a granular overview of the market they are operating in. Our reports contain a unique mix of tangible insights and qualitative analysis to help companies achieve sustainable growth. Our team of experienced analysts and consultants use industry-leading research tools and techniques to compile comprehensive market studies, interspersed with relevant data. At Fortune Business Insights™, we aim at highlighting the most lucrative growth opportunities for our clients. We therefore offer recommendations, making it easier for them to navigate through technological and market-related changes. Our consulting services are designed to help organizations identify hidden opportunities and understand prevailing competitive challenges. Contact Us:Fortune Business Insights™ Pvt. Ltd.308, Supreme Headquarters,Survey No. 36, Baner,Pune-Bangalore Highway,Pune - 411045, Maharashtra, India.Phone:US: +1-424-253-0390UK: +44-2071-939123APAC: +91-744-740-1245Email:[email protected] Business Insights™LinkedIn\|Twitter\|Blogs Read Press Release:https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/press-release/blockchain-as-a-service-market-9870 \|\| The Memecoin Flippening: Here's What It Would Take For Shiba Inu To Overtake Dogecoin: Now thatShiba Inu(CRYPTO:SHIB) became a top 20 cryptocurrency with a market cap of $11.1 billion, many are starting to ask themselves what it will take for it to overtake its older brotherDogecoin(CRYPTO:DOGE). What Happened:According to CoinMarketCapdata, if Shiba Inu were to overtake Dogecoin's market capitalization of $29.3 billion, it would need to reach a price of $0.0000743. At such a price, SHIB’s circulating supply of 394 trillion would result in a market cap higher than that of Dogecoin, placing it among the top 10 coins. For this to occur, its price would have to increase by 165.5%. Such a price would also be an increase of 91.5% over its May all-time high of $0.0000388. See Also:IS SHIBA INU (SHIB) A GOOD INVESTMENT? Still, such an increase is not off the table considering Shiba Inu's 331% growth in the last 30 days. Still, since Dogecoin and Shiba Inu are strictly correlated, it would most probably take a much more significant upturn than just 165.5% for SHIB to reach its older brother's market cap. Hopes for Shiba Inu to overtake Dogecoin are growing, with social media data showing the former is growing significantly more popular — at least among Twitter users. Earlier this month, popular crypto influencer CryptosRUssuggestedShiba Inu is superior to Dogecoin due to the abundance of use cases and the way the coin was distributed. He said that 1 quadrillion Shiba Inu coins were created, with its team members having to buy it like everyone else and half of the supply gifted toEthereum(CRYPTO:ETH) co-founderVitalik Buterin,who destroyed most his holdings. Shiba Inu is alsoapparentlystepping up its game even further now with a recent partnership with crypto payment processor NOWPayments to allow its SHIB, LEASH and BONE tokens while also destroying a portion of the tokens — permanently decreasing their supply. Recentreportssuggest Shiba Inu recently saw a day in which its daily trading volume was two times that reported by Dogecoin over the same length of time. See more from Benzinga • Click here for options trades from Benzinga • Shiba Inu's Twitter Popularity Wins On Dogecoin, Bitcoin And Ethereum • The Doge Fight: Shiba Inu Beats Dogecoin's Volume Two Times Over © 2021 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] None available.	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 63226.40, 62970.05, 61452.23, 61125.68, 61527.48, 63326.99, 67566.83, 66971.83, 64995.23, 64949.96
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2015-09-01] BTC Price: 228.12, BTC RSI: 40.59 Gold Price: 1138.70, Gold RSI: 55.84 Oil Price: 45.41, Oil RSI: 51.83 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Which Crisis Is Worse: Greece Or China?: It is an uncertain time for markets as turmoil in two of the world's largest markets, China and Europe, has rocked investors' confidence. Both regions share markets are suffering, although for two very different reasons. Greek Bailout In Tatters In Greece, bailout negotiations all but fell apart over the weekend after Greeks voted down the EU's latest funding proposal, giving Syriza-backed Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras more bargaining power. This week, EU leaders have been urging Tsipras to submit a new proposal that will meet their standards in hopes of striking an eleventh hour deal before the nation defaults on an upcoming European Central Bank loan repayment. The nation's financial system is teetering on collapse with capital controls restricting the movement of money keeping Greek banks together by a thread. Bailout Request On Wednesday, Greek officialsrequesteda three year bailout from the region's emergency rescue fund in exchange for some of the structural reforms that Greece's creditors have been demanding. The offer has yet to be accepted by Greece's EU creditors, who have been demanding that the nation show a real commitment to reform. So far, Tsipras has been unwilling to budge on things like pension cuts and tax increases, which EU leaders say are necessary. China's Market Decline Chinese share markets have been on the decline since mid-June and the government's attempts to keep the market afloat have proven futile so far. On Wednesday, the Shanghai Composite Index finished 5.9 percent lower despite new emergency measures designed to stem the fall. Chinese regulatorshave made it illegal for those holding more than 5 percent of a company's shares to sell after buying up large numbers of small-cap stocks in an effort to slow the market's fall. A Crisis Of Confidence In both China and Greece, a question of confidence has been at the root of investors' concerns. However, many believe that the situation in China is much more dire. Traders are beginning to lose faith in the government's ability to stop the market's decline and some are beginning to talk of a bubble burst. Chinese markets have been rife with investor loans and many saw shares as overvalued, so some believe that the rapid decline has been a consequence of an overinflated market. See more from Benzinga • Can The Fed Really Raise Rates Amid All This Chaos? • When Luxury Goes Digital • MovieTickets Sees Benefit In Adding Bitcoin © 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| Barclays Becomes First Big U.K. Bank To Accept Bitcoin: Over the weekend, Barclays PLC (NYSE: BCS ) announced that it was planning to take steps toward embracing the use of bitcoin by allowing charitable donations using the cryptocurrency. The London-based bank said it was entering into a partnership with an unnamed "bitcoin exchange" in order to help charities accept bitcoin donations. Barclays And Bitcoin This is not the first time the bank has expressed interest in bitcoin. Related Link: Bitcoin Goes Ivy League Barclays has been working to understand the benefits and risks of the cryptocurrency this year by working with bitcoin startups and researchers to determine if and how digital currencies can fit within the traditional finance sector. The bank has praised blockchain, the ledger-like technology that powers bitcoin, as an innovative system that may significantly benefit traditional banking. Bitcoin Donations Barclays' decision to help charities accept bitcoin donations marks another step forward for the UK, which has been working to make London a hub for bitcoin development. The region already has a prominent place in the financial world, but lawmakers and banking officials are hoping to create an environment that promotes the expansion of bitcoin. Charities Benefit From Bitcoin Charities have been a good starting point for bitcoin adoption, as there are several benefits to accepting digital currency donations. For one, transaction costs are lower, and often nonexistent for non-profits, meaning that more of the donated money makes its way to the intended charity. By accepting bitcoin, charities also appeal to a larger audience and could draw in funding from people who otherwise may not have donated. See more from Benzinga Emerging Market Shares Battered: Is It Time To Buy? © 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| The most elite students in America have had it with investment banking: MBA Grad (flickr/willbeardphoto) Harvard MBA grads are no longer interested in banking. Harvard Business School graduates are some of the most sought-after new hires in the world. They're among the top choices for companies in just about every industry — including Wall Street investment banks. It turns out, however, many of them are no longer interested in that industry. Only 4% of the 2015 graduating class said they wanted to work at an investment bank, reports Bloomberg's Jennifer Surane . Of the 46 students in the top 5% of the class, only one expressed an interest in banking, according to the report. The report cited data from a member of the graduating MBA class , who blogged about the findings of a class survey he received from the university. Banking no longer sexy This may not come as a surprise. Entry-level jobs on Wall Street are notoriously grueling: Young people work 90-hour weeks perfecting pitch books, scrolling through spreadsheets, or making presentations . MBA grads, of course, would typically join banks at the associate or vice-president level. But many of them started out their careers as interns and analysts and may not have shaken the memories. The Harvard blog's author started out in M&A at Morgan Stanley, according to his bio . Now he's running a tech startup as well as a family healthcare business, Bloomberg reported. Industry veterans, too, know that banking is no longer as sexy. Ex-Credit Suisse managing director Fred Lanes said: "The opportunities elsewhere ... are more attractive outside of investment banking." And then there's the buyside That doesn't mean that bright Harvard MBA-holders are leaving finance altogether. Many young financiers, after putting in their time at investment banks, make the jump to the "buyside" — hedge funds or private-equity firms. The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday that many MBA students are now only interested in becoming activist investors like Bill Ackman or Carl Icahn. Ackman's Pershing Square even holds an annual investing competition at Columbia as part of its recruiting efforts. Story continues Ex-Merrill Lynch analyst and Financial Times writer Sujeet Indap published a study on Wednesday on where his banking analyst class from the year 2000 now work. Over half the class, he found, had taken a break at some point to earn graduate degrees, two-thirds of which were MBAs. More than 40% of the analyst class now work in private equity or in the hedge fund/investment management industry. Less than 20% still work at investment banks. NOW WATCH: The 10 trickiest Goldman Sachs interview questions More From Business Insider A 10-year-old cyber security company just raised $35 million from Goldman in its first series A This is one Wall Street business that big banks won't lose to upstarts and tiny rivals Bitcoin keeps surging, makes another new high for 2015 \|\| 3 names to watch on biotech beatdown: The cholesterol drug space is set to get a little more crowded, and"Fast Money"traders believe one company should benefit most. Amgen(NASDAQ: AMGN)could get approval for its new cholesterol treatment as early as next week. The medicine would compete with one already offered by Regeneron Pharmaceuticals(NASDAQ: REGN). Amgen shed more than 3 percent, closing at about $161 per share Thursday amid a broader selloff in the sector. If it loses more ground to $150 a share, investors may want to scoop it up as it brings the new drug to market, said trader Dan Nathan. "Amgen is the sort of stock that you want to buy if it gets too oversold," he said. Read MoreBuy the biotech bounce: Technician Regeneron remains a "great company," but its valuation seems too lofty, added trader Guy Adami. He would also prefer Amgen shares. Trader Brian Kelly pointed to the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF(NASDAQ: IBB), which plunged 4 percent on Thursday to close below $351. If the fund dips down to $340, he would look to buy in. Disclosures: Dan Nathan Dan is long QQQ sept put, JOY sept calls, TWTR, PG, BA sept put spread, COST aug put spread, TJX aug put, MSFT aug / nov put spread, GOOGL Sept put spread, XRT sept put spread. Today he sold to close SLB puts. Brian Kelly Brian Kelly is long BBRY, BTC=; ITB, TAN, TSL, the VIX, TWTR call spread, Euro; he is short AUDJPY, GBPJPY, CAC40, Ruble, Yuan. Karen Finerman Karen is long BABA, BAC, C, FINL, FL, GOOG, GOOGL, JPM, KORS, M, SUNE calls, BABA puts, she is short SPY, Her firm is long ANTM, AAPL, BAC, C, DIS, FBT, FINL, FL, GOOG, GOOGL, GPS, IBB, JPM, KORS, M, SUNE, URI, XBI, KORS call spreads, M call spreads, SUNE call spreads, GAP puts, KORS puts, SUNE puts, her firm is short IWM, SPY, MDY, Karen Finerman is on the board of GrafTech International. Guy Adami Guy Adami is long CELG, EXAS, INTC, Guy Adami's wife, Linda Snow, works at Merck. More From CNBC • Top News and Analysis • Latest News Video • Personal Finance \|\| BTCS Management Cancels Outstanding Options Ahead of Merger: ARLINGTON, VA--(Marketwired - Jul 7, 2015) - Bitcoin Shop, Inc. ( OTCQB : BTCS ) ("BTCS" or the "Company"), a blockchain technology focused company which secures the blockchain through its transaction verification services business, announced today that its management team has agreed to voluntarily cancel all 12,450,000 of their options, representing all of the Company's outstanding options, ahead of the Company's anticipated merger with Spondoolies-Tech ("Spondoolies"). Charles Allen, Chief Executive Officer of BTCS, commented, "As we continue to progress in our planned merger with Spondoolies, we see the cancellation of our outstanding options as a strategic move that will afford us the opportunity to create a comprehensive plan post-merger that properly addresses all stakeholders involved. We anticipate adopting a new equity incentive plan that will be structured to support our performance-based culture and align with the interests of our shareholders. During its first year of operation, Spondoolies successfully launched five different hardware products which are widely recognized in their respective categories. Subsequent to its first product launch in March 2014, Spondoolies announced un-audited revenue of more than $28 million for its fiscal year ended December 31, 2014. The pending-merger between Spondoolies and BTCS will leverage the respective expertise of both companies to create a new global leader in the blockchain sector. About BTCS: BTCS is an early mover in the blockchain and digital currency ecosystems and the only "Pure Play" U.S. public company focused on blockchain technologies. The blockchain is a decentralized public ledger and has the ability to fundamentally impact all industries on a global basis that rely on or utilize record keeping and require trust. BTCS secures the blockchain through its rapidly growing transaction verification services business and plans to build a broader ecosystem to capitalize on opportunities in this fast growing industry. BTCS continues to evaluate and build additional blockchain technology consumer solutions. BTCS also actively partners and integrates with strategic digital currency and blockchain technology companies who provide products or services that are complementary to its business strategy. For more information visit: www.btcs.com Forward-Looking Statements: Certain statements in this press release, including those related to an anticipated merger, constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Words such as "may," "might," "will," "should," "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," "continue," "predict," "forecast," "project," "plan," "intend" or similar expressions, or statements regarding intent, belief, or current expectations, are forward-looking statements. While the Company believes these forward-looking statements are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on any such forward-looking statements, which are based on information available to us on the date of this release. These forward-looking statements are based upon current estimates and assumptions and are subject to various risks and uncertainties, including without limitation those set forth in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, not limited to Risk Factors relating to its digital currency business contained therein. Thus, actual results could be materially different. The Company expressly disclaims any obligation to update or alter statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. \|\| What to watch on Monday: The " Fast Money " traders gave their final thoughts of the day. Steve Grasso was watching the S&P 500 (CME:Index and Options Market: .INX) 's technical levels. David Seaburg was a buyer of TWTR (NYSE: TWTR) . Brian Kelly had his eye on the DXY (Exchange: .DXY) . Guy Adami was also watching key levels of the S&P 500 (CME:Index and Options Market: .INX) . Trader disclosure: On August 21, 2015 the following stocks and commodities mentioned or intended to be mentioned on CNBC's "Fast Money" were owned by the "Fast Money" traders: Brian Kelly is long BBRY, BTC=; DAX, DXGE, ITB, TAN, TSL, TWTR call spread, U.S. Dollar; he is short AUDJPY, GBPJPY, Euro, Ruble, Yen, Yuan. Today he bought DAX, DXGE, US Dollar. Today he sold VIX and Euro. Today he closed his CAC40 short position. Today he shorted Euro and Yen. Guy Adami is long CELG, EXAS, INTC, Guy Adami's wife, Linda Snow, works at Merck. Steve Grasso is long AAPL, BA, BAC, CC, DD, DIS, DECK, EVGN, FIT, KBH, MJNA, MU, PFE, PHM, T, TWTR, GDX. His kids are long EFA, EFG, EWJ, IJR, SPY. His firm and some of its partners are long WLL, DNR, DVN, TWTR, NE, NEM, OXY, RIG, TSE, VALE. More From CNBC Top News and Analysis Latest News Video Personal Finance \|\| Barclays Becomes First Big U.K. Bank To Accept Bitcoin: Over the weekend, Barclays PLC (NYSE: BCS ) announced that it was planning to take steps toward embracing the use of bitcoin by allowing charitable donations using the cryptocurrency. The London-based bank said it was entering into a partnership with an unnamed "bitcoin exchange" in order to help charities accept bitcoin donations. Barclays And Bitcoin This is not the first time the bank has expressed interest in bitcoin. Related Link: Bitcoin Goes Ivy League Barclays has been working to understand the benefits and risks of the cryptocurrency this year by working with bitcoin startups and researchers to determine if and how digital currencies can fit within the traditional finance sector. The bank has praised blockchain, the ledger-like technology that powers bitcoin, as an innovative system that may significantly benefit traditional banking. Bitcoin Donations Barclays' decision to help charities accept bitcoin donations marks another step forward for the UK, which has been working to make London a hub for bitcoin development. The region already has a prominent place in the financial world, but lawmakers and banking officials are hoping to create an environment that promotes the expansion of bitcoin. Charities Benefit From Bitcoin Charities have been a good starting point for bitcoin adoption, as there are several benefits to accepting digital currency donations. For one, transaction costs are lower, and often nonexistent for non-profits, meaning that more of the donated money makes its way to the intended charity. By accepting bitcoin, charities also appeal to a larger audience and could draw in funding from people who otherwise may not have donated. See more from Benzinga Emerging Market Shares Battered: Is It Time To Buy? © 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| Bitcoin's 'war' could threaten its survival: Bitcoin, the digital currency technology with an ecosystem attracting hundreds of millions of dollars in investment, is struggling through an existential crisis. And what may to outsiders seem like petty squabbling about a single number actually has major financial implications and could even threaten the very survival of the cryptocurrency. The argument-which is pitting Chinese constituencies against largely Western developers, the business community against the often ideological early adopters, and programmer against programmer-centers on a simple number in the global bitcoin system. But if the various parties can't come to an agreement, the whole network could splinter, wrecking its major selling points of security and decentralization. "There is literally a war going on right now in the bitcoin world," Marco Streng, CEO of Genesis Mining, told CNBC last month. There are two major questions facing the technology: Who is bitcoin for? And who gets to decide? Most of the early adopters saw appeal in bitcoin as a decentralized digital currency(: BTC=)-(to over-simplify the promise) a sort of virtual gold that could not be touched by governments, banks or corporations. But in seeking to create the perfect system for such a currency, bitcoin's early creators also created a technology that has wide-ranging applications. That technology is called the "blockchain"(CNBC has gone in depth into how it works), and this is basically what it does: It can record any information in a secure way, and make that information both public and unchangeable-doing this without relying on any central authority. Banks, stock exchanges, payment companies and othershave already begun exploringhow this can be used in their own businesses. The issue at hand is about the structure of bitcoin's blockchain (which is composed of "blocks" of data with each block referring back to the preceding chunk of information-thereby creating a chain). The community is arguing about how big the maximum block size should be: The current max is one megabyte, which only allows for about seven transactions per second-far too few for most businesses currently investing in the technology. This speed is a "roadblock to bitcoin growth," Jeff Garzik, one of five bitcoin core developers who have taken over maintenance of the technology,wrote in a recent paper. (Visa, for comparison, says its network can handle more than 24,000 transactions per second.) Read MoreWhy is it called the 'blockchain?' "Any responsible business projecting capacity usage into the future sees the system reaching an absolute maximum capacity, with this speed limit in place," he wrote. "Increasing or removing this limit will encourage businesses to view bitcoin as scalable and capable of supporting millions of new users." The block size limit may also negatively impact bitcoin's original currency use-case: As the number of transaction requests exceed the limit, the user experience degrades: The pools of "miners" who help inscribe data onto the global network will begin charging ever-higher fees for processing, eliminating some of the appeal over other payment methods. But there are reasons for limiting the size of a block. For one, it provides security for the system by constraining available space, and therefore making it costly to maliciously flood the network with spam. Miners are generally against increasing the size too much: They would have to do more work on each block, but they'd still reap the same benefit per block (while transaction fees remain negligibly low), said Pete Rizzo, the U.S. editor for cryptocurrency site CoinDesk. Also, some early adopters who plan to hold bitcoin for extended periods of time as an investment may prefer to keep the block size limit low-unbothered by transaction fees or business prospects, Garzik explained to CNBC. But even if more interests seem to point to increasing the block size, there's no agreement what size is ideal-balancing present-day security and future promise-or how a change should be made. Gavin Andresen, one of the most important developers of the technology,proposedincreasing the max size to 20 megabytes. (He did not respond to request for comment.) A powerful constituency of Chinese miners-who also object to increasing the size of the block, saying their nation's Internet connection to the rest of the world would not allow it-made a counter proposalsuggestingan eight-megabyte maximum. Andresen has since backed a version of this plan. Read MoreWhy financial firms are investigating bitcoin tech For his part, Garzik proposed a sliding cap with a change to the bitcoin code allowing for periodic block increases (or even decreases) based on global miners' votes. Different sources told CNBC that the most important parts of the community were variously leaning toward Garzik's proposal, an 8-megabyte increase, or just a small "can-kicking" measure to wait for technologies that might allow them to bypass the question. But as a totally decentralized system, bitcoin has no clear way to weigh these disparate opinions and interests-in other words, no way to make a definitive decision. Garzik called the block size debate the first major alteration to bitcoin policy since it began in January 2009. When other changes have been made, the core software has been changed, and the players on the network have quickly updated (anyone who doesn't follow the current protocol gets booted from the network until they comply). But with a contentious issue like this, the developers risk splitting the network into those who want to follow one set of rules, and those who want another. If someone were to push out a global update without ensuring near-total consensus, a split could occur. Read MoreBitcoin firm raises $116M, including Qualcomm investment "That would be the worst of all possible options," Garzik said. Bitcoin runs on a blockchain that is more secure and decentralized than any of its competitors because of its large user base and its comparatively lengthy history. If those users were to splinter, then the entire enterprise could be compromised. So what's at stake? Hundreds of millions of dollars have been invested in bitcoin and blockchain-related companies, and the current value of all the bitcoin in existence is currentlyabout $4 billion. The risks of a network split are low but not negligible, experts told CNBC. "You're dealing with consensus among a community of people who aren't communicating very well-and haven't for some time," Rizzo said, explaining that making any change to the code risks breaking a technology that already works pretty well. "At what point does that risk become untenable? At this point it's still within the realm of 'danger Will Robinson'-level risk," he added. More From CNBC • Top News and Analysis • Latest News Video • Personal Finance \|\| How To Invest When El Niño Comes Around: This year, El Niño is forecast to upend weather patterns across the world and wreak havoc farmers, especially in regions where access to irrigation is limited. The weather phenomenon is expected to cut down on rainfall in Australian and Southern Asia and create unusually wet weather in parts of South America. The extreme weather conditions have pushed investors to take a closer look into agriculture investments as the difficult growing conditions could lead to price spikes. Wheat Prices of wheat have seen a bump over the past two weeks after worries that El Niño would dry out wheat-producing regions. In Australia, where 14 percent of the world's wheat exports are grown, dryer than expected weather is forecast to significantly cut down on crop yields. The Teucrium Wheat Fund (NYSE: WEAT ) has seen a 10.58 percent rise over the past month in the wake of the commodity's El Niño concerns. Coffee Many investors are turning to coffee to give their portfolio a jolt, especially since both Vietnam and Indonesia are experiencing unusually dry weather. Both nations produce Robusta coffee, which is used in instant coffee and is very sensitive to reduced rainfall. For that reason, ETFs like iPath Bloomberg Coffee Subindex Total Return SM Index ETN (NYSE: JO ) have become popular plays for El Niño investors. Outside Agriculture While agriculture is the most obvious place El Niño will have an impact, other areas of the market could also feel the pressure of unseasonable weather. When El Niño hits, demand for commodities like crude oil and coal typically increases as thermo and hydroelectric power are more difficult to generate. The metals can also be impacted; in Chile wetter than normal weather could cut down on copper mining. See more from Benzinga Fast Food Gets Even Faster In Asia In Oregon, The Holiday Weekend Was Red, White, Blue And Green Bitcoin Glitch Costs Miners Thousands © 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| 3 names to watch on biotech beatdown: The cholesterol drug space is set to get a little more crowded, and "Fast Money" traders believe one company should benefit most. Amgen (NASDAQ: AMGN) could get approval for its new cholesterol treatment as early as next week. The medicine would compete with one already offered by Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: REGN) . Amgen shed more than 3 percent, closing at about $161 per share Thursday amid a broader selloff in the sector. If it loses more ground to $150 a share, investors may want to scoop it up as it brings the new drug to market, said trader Dan Nathan. "Amgen is the sort of stock that you want to buy if it gets too oversold," he said. Read More Buy the biotech bounce: Technician Regeneron remains a "great company," but its valuation seems too lofty, added trader Guy Adami. He would also prefer Amgen shares. Trader Brian Kelly pointed to the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (NASDAQ: IBB) , which plunged 4 percent on Thursday to close below $351. If the fund dips down to $340, he would look to buy in. Disclosures: Dan Nathan Dan is long QQQ sept put, JOY sept calls, TWTR, PG, BA sept put spread, COST aug put spread, TJX aug put, MSFT aug / nov put spread, GOOGL Sept put spread, XRT sept put spread. Today he sold to close SLB puts. Brian Kelly Brian Kelly is long BBRY, BTC=; ITB, TAN, TSL, the VIX, TWTR call spread, Euro; he is short AUDJPY, GBPJPY, CAC40, Ruble, Yuan. Karen Finerman Karen is long BABA, BAC, C, FINL, FL, GOOG, GOOGL, JPM, KORS, M, SUNE calls, BABA puts, she is short SPY, Her firm is long ANTM, AAPL, BAC, C, DIS, FBT, FINL, FL, GOOG, GOOGL, GPS, IBB, JPM, KORS, M, SUNE, URI, XBI, KORS call spreads, M call spreads, SUNE call spreads, GAP puts, KORS puts, SUNE puts, her firm is short IWM, SPY, MDY, Karen Finerman is on the board of GrafTech International. Guy Adami Guy Adami is long CELG, EXAS, INTC, Guy Adami's wife, Linda Snow, works at Merck. More From CNBC Top News and Analysis Latest News Video Personal Finance [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] buysellbitco.in #bitcoin price in INR, Buy : 18758.00 INR Sell : 18124.00 INR. Buy and sell bitcoin in #India using #buysellbitcoin \|\| Current price of Bitcoin is $280.00 See you again in an hour! #bitcoin #crypto \|\| Current price: 168.14£ $BTCGBP $btc #bitcoin 2015-08-09 04:00:04 BST \|\| Current price: 175.41£ $BTCGBP $btc #bitcoin 2015-07-09 19:00:06 BST \|\| Bitcoin traded at $260.68 USD on BTC-e at 12:00 AM Pacific Time \|\| LIVE: Profit = $281.10 (1.09 %). BUY B97.67 @ $262.00 (#BTCe). SELL @ $263.60 (#HitBTC) #bitcoin #btc - http://www.projectcoin.org \|\| Current price: 243.43€ $BTCEUR $btc #bitcoin 2015-07-08 20:00:05 CEST \|\| #CitiCoin, la competencia de #Bitcoin que ofrece citybank http://hipertextual.com/2015/07/citicoin … Te esperamos este jueves a las 19:00 en @miradordelriogb \|\| In the last 10 mins, there were arb opps spanning 22 exchange pair(s), yielding profits ranging between $0.00 and $133.30 #bitcoin #btc \|\| Screenshot_2015-08-19-19-00-00 By bitcoin meetups dot org http://ift.tt/VFh54I	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 229.28, 227.18, 230.30, 235.02, 239.84, 239.85, 243.61, 238.17, 238.48, 240.11
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2022-08-03] BTC Price: 22846.51, BTC RSI: 52.89 Gold Price: 1758.00, Gold RSI: 51.05 Oil Price: 90.66, Oil RSI: 36.47 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Market Wrap: Crypto Markets Trade Higher as Fed Raises Rates by Expected Amount: Bitcoin’s (BTC) price rebounded on Wednesday, rising 2% in early morning trading and soaring over 10% following the announcement by the Federal Reserve that it was raising interest rates by 0.75 percentage point. Much of the talk on Wednesday in both cryptocurrencies and traditional financial markets revolved around the Fed. Its rate hike matched expectations. This article originally appeared inMarket Wrap, CoinDesk’s daily newsletter diving into what happened in today's crypto markets.Subscribe to get it in your inbox every day. The Fed “dot plot,” which is the projection of each Fed’s official's prediction for the federal-funds rate, implies that the rate will increase to 3.5% by the end of this year. The Fed has three more meetings this year (September, November and December). In traditional equity markets, the S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq climbed 1.34% and 2.44% respectively as investors viewed the rate increase positively. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by less than half a percentage point. Ether’s (ETH) price rose 16% on the day, partly on the rate decision. Meanwhile, theEthereum blockchain successfully implemented a “shadow fork,”or test software update, two days earlier than expected. The test puts Ethereum a step closer to its much anticipated shift from aproof-of-worknetwork to a more environmentally friendlyproof-of-stakeone. Altcoins traded higher on Wednesday, as well, with MATIC rising by 9.3% (following the prior day’s 11% decline) and SOL jumping by 5%. ●Bitcoin (BTC): $22,748+8.9% ●Ether (ETH): $1,601+16.8% ●S&P 500 daily close: 4,023.61+2.6% ●Gold: $1,732 per troy ounce+0.9% ●Ten-year Treasury yield daily close: 2.73%−0.05 Bitcoin, ether and gold prices are taken at approximately 4pm New York time. Bitcoin is the CoinDesk Bitcoin Price Index (XBX); Ether is the CoinDesk Ether Price Index (ETX); Gold is the COMEX spot price. Information about CoinDesk Indices can be found atcoindesk.com/indices. By Glenn Williams Jr. Bitcoin rebounded in Wednesday trading, following arate increaseby the Federal Reserve that markets largely anticipated. In light of the 75-basis point hike by the Federal Open Market Committee, the U.S. central bank’s comments on May 4 about the size of its balance sheet are particularly noteworthy. “We intend to significantly reduce the size of our balance sheet over time in a predictable manner by allowing the principal payments from our securities holdings to roll off the balance sheet, up to monthly cap amounts,” the Fed said at the time. The monthly cap was $30 billion for Treasurys and $17.5 billion for mortgage-backed securities. One interpretation of the Fed’s statement in May suggests that the Fed's balance sheet would decrease by $47.5 billion each month. As shown in the chart below, however, that hasn’t been the case, as the balance sheet size remains at about $8.9 trillion. Additionally, the $47.5 billion amount is labeled a cap, and not a target, and so the reduction of the balance sheet will occur as Treasurys fully mature and subsequently drop off of the balance sheet. Investors may also consider Fed Chairman Jerome Powell’s statement that: “Our balance sheet decisions are guided by our maximum employment and price stability goals. And in that regard, we will be prepared to adjust any of the details of our approach in light of economic and financial developments.” Ultimately, the Fed has the goals of price stability and maximum employment in mind, but also has to determine the pace and manner in which it achieves those objectives. The Fed’s policy affects risky assets like stock and cryptocurrencies. As seen in the chart below, the correlations between BTC, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite remain tight. On a technical basis, the increase in BTC prices came in conjunction with a sharp uptick in RSI (relative strength index) to 56, which indicates increasing momentum. • Ethereum’s Mainnet Tenth 'Shadow Fork' Goes Live Ahead of September Merge:Developers focused this time on testing key releases similar to the ones in the upcoming Goerli merge – the final testnet hard fork before the real Ethereum Merge.Read more here. • Algorand CEO Steven Kokinos Departs, Interim Replacement Named:The blockchain technology company appointed Sean Ford to replace Kokinos for the time being.Read more here. • Biggie Smalls’ Estate Goes Crypto:Non-fungible token (NFT) marketplaceOneOfis releasing its first collaboration with the late rap legend’s estate called “Sky’s the Limit.” The collaboration lets NFT holders vote on licensing for one of the late rapper’s famed freestyles.Read more here. • Listen 🎧: Today’s "CoinDesk Markets Daily" podcast discusses the latest market movements the relevance of the world's richest man. • Sky-High Yields and Bright Red Flags: How Alex Mashinsky Went From Bashing Banks to Bankrupting Celsius: How could Celsius Network pose “much less risk” than banks, as its CEO claimed, but pay eye-popping returns? It sounded too good to be true. There were other warning signs from the start. • Bitcoin Maximalist Michael Saylor Makes the Case Against Ethereum:The MicroStrategy CEO cautioned that the "protocol doesn’t look like it's going to be completed or stable for another 36 months." • Coinbase, Kraken Back Crypto Lending Platform CLST in $5.3M Seed Round:CLST's aim is to attract hedge funds, trading firms, asset managers and banks looking to lend and borrow digital assets. • 'Cryptojacking' in Financial Sector Has Risen 269% This Year, SonicWall Says:Cyberattacks targeting the finance industry are now five times higher than attacks on retail. • Komainu Receives Provisional Virtual Assets License in Dubai:The digital assets custodian joins prominent crypto companies including exchanges FTX and Binance in getting clearance. • How a UFC Heavyweight Champion Became a Crypto Trailblazer:Francis Ngannou and his manager, Marquel Martin, discuss the athlete's journey from Cameroon to the UFC, and now, to crypto. This piece is part of CoinDesk's Sports Week. • Tribalism, Meritocracy, Money: What Sports and Crypto Fans Have in Common:Both groups love underdogs, too, Columbia Business School professor Omid Malekan writes for CoinDesk's Sports Week. • First Mover Americas: Crypto Traders Await Fed Meeting, Bitcoin Rises, Cathie Wood's Ark Dumps Coinbase Shares:The latest price moves in crypto markets in context for July 27, 2022. • Alameda Research Leads $3.25M Seed Round for Trustless Media:The New York-based company lets creators tokenize TV productions with NFTs. [{"Asset": "Polygon", "Ticker": "MATIC", "Returns": "+18.0%", "DACS Sector": "Smart Contract Platform"}, {"Asset": "Ethereum", "Ticker": "ETH", "Returns": "+16.7%", "DACS Sector": "Smart Contract Platform"}, {"Asset": "Avalanche", "Ticker": "AVAX", "Returns": "+16.0%", "DACS Sector": "Smart Contract Platform"}] There are no losers in CoinDesk 20 today. Sector classifications are provided via theDigital Asset Classification Standard (DACS), developed by CoinDesk Indices to provide a reliable, comprehensive and standardized classification system for digital assets. TheCoinDesk 20is a ranking of the largest digital assets by volume on trusted exchanges. \|\| As Retailers Eye Crypto Payments, can the Bitcoin Flag Soar Again?: • United States retailers plan to accept crypto or stablecoin payments within the next two years. • BTC’s price presents long-term bullish divergences, while short-term bearishness persists. • Bitcoin as a digital gold narrative could get stronger as BTC MVRV sees exciting divergences. Despite the recent market pullback and largely bearish narrative around risk assets, cryptocurrency payments are still on US customers’ list. According to many, the same could propagate a bullish narrative forcryptocurrencieslikebitcoin (BTC). According to a new survey published by Deloitte, three-quarters of United States retailers plan to accept crypto or stablecoin payments within the next two years. The “Merchants Getting Ready For Crypto” report was released in collaboration with PayPal on Wednesday. The survey also revealed that more than half of large retailers with revenues over $500 million are currently spending over $1 million on building the required infrastructure for cryptocurrency payments. Additionally, around 85% of the surveyed merchants anticipated that cryptocurrency payments would be ubiquitous in their respective industries in the next five years. Retailers plan on providing crypto payments to improve customer experience and increase the customer base in the hope of their brand being perceived as “cutting edge.” However, one notable thing was that the survey was done on December 3 and December 16, 2021, when crypto prices were relatively higher. On the contrary, when top cryptocurrencies are down by over 50% from their all-time high prices, there could be a shift in the market sentiment. That said, once prices gain momentum, the demand for cryptocurrencies could go up, pushing prices of digital assets up. Nonetheless, looking at bitcoin’s current price consolidation commenting on bitcoin’s mid-short-term price trajectory has been somewhat tricky for traders and analysts. Bitcoin’s price has been trading between the tight range of the lower $28,540 and higher $31,420 price mark. The lack of positive volatility in the market has left traders and investors anticipating more significant market moves. From May 2021 to January 2022, Bitcoin’s Dominance has risen by nearly 40%. Analysts are expecting a bullish pattern to form as BTC dominance picks up. That said, the top cryptocurrency’s relative strength index (RSI) has also seen a decent bounce as weekly RSI saw a divergence. Weekly RSI divergences are crucial for change in trend reversals. At press time, while BTC’s price oscillated close to the $30,000 zone, market anticipation and decent buying pressure could push prices higher. However, BTC’s daily RSI highlighted that the coin saw a rising sell-side pressure as RSI continued the downslope from June 6 to press time. Interestingly, according to CryptoQuant analysts, macro indicators like the MVRV ratio presented a strengthening narrative of BTC as Digital Gold. MVRV is calculated by dividing the bitcoin market cap by the realized cap. This metric can be used to determine the bull market tops and the bear market bottoms. Looking at the chart given below, it is evident that previous bear market bottoms have occurred while the MVRV ratio had values below one. These often-lengthy periods are when the smart money and intelligent investors tend to accumulate bitcoin, creating sufficient demand to form a price bottom. The MVRV ratio currently sits around 1.3, indicating that the price could still experience more decline before a cyclical bottom forms. Another interesting observation was the diminishing returns and losses over the last decade, which pointed to bitcoin’s decreasing volatility on the road to becoming the ‘digital gold’, as it tries to transition from a highly volatile risk asset into a more stable, deflationary safe haven. For now, though it seems like BTC could see another dip before rising. Thisarticlewas originally posted on FX Empire • No respite from Fed rate hikes this year, chances rising of four 50 bps in a row – Reuters poll • Tesla cancels three June online hiring events for China • Macron’s bloc expected to win French parliament vote • U.S. Capitol riot hearing shows Trump allies, daughter rejected fraud claims • Ukraine and Russia: What you need to know right now • U.S. banks finally see upturn in credit-card borrowing \|\| 3 Undervalued Cryptos With Insane Upside Potential: In the world of cryptocurrencies , valuation is a difficult discussion to have. That is partly because most crypto projects don’t have cash flows or earnings to base their valuation upon. Accordingly, finding undervalued cryptos (or overvalued cryptos, for that matter) isn’t easy. However, there are some ways investors can value these projects. And given the decline in this sector, it is clear valuations have come down. Most major crypto projects have seen year-to-date declines of 50% or more. Thus, from a relative standpoint, these tokens are cheaper than they were late last year. For long-term investors looking for upside potential, that’s a good thing. However, determining the projects that carry significant upside potential is harder to do. There are thousands of crypto projects out there, each with their own technology and niche. Thus, in this depressed market, it’s hard to gauge where the growth will come from, particularly if few projects are growing due to capital outflows. InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips 7 Cheap Stocks That Are Trading at a Discount That said, during the next bull market, I think there are some projects that could carry significant upside. Here are three of my top picks in this regard: Ticker Company Price AXS-USD Axie Infinity USD $15.15 LINK-USD Chainlink USD $6.30 SAND-USD The Sandbox USD $1.20 Top Undervalued Cryptos: Axie Infinity (AXS-USD) Axie Infinity AXS token symbol with crypto currency themed banner Source: WindAwake / Shutterstock.com Certainly a higher-risk, higher-upside option on this list, Axie Infinity ( AXS-USD ) is a project that has grown in popularity. Inspired by popular games like Tamagotchi and Pokémon, Axie Infinity saw impressive usage last year. In terms of non-fungible token- (NFT) based games, Axie Infinity remains by and large the leader. This game allows users to breed, collect, battle, trade and raise token-based creatures called Axies. Like other projects, Axie Infinity has seen the value of its in-game tokens decline. Accordingly, monthly active user and daily active user numbers are down. That said, this game remains very popular among a cohort of hard-core gamers, and certainly boasts the potential to rebound during the next recovery. At least, those who invested heavily in this game hope so. Story continues Should the market turn around, the utility Axie Infinity provides could provide significant upside potential. While metaverse-related options in the stock market are also getting hit, those with a long-term view of this space may view Axie Infinity as a project that is worth slowly easing into a position. This is a project that is on my radar for this reason. Chainlink (LINK-USD) Chainlink cryptocurrency symbol. Cryptocurrency coin 3D illustration. Chainlink price predictions Source: Gorev Evgenii / Shutterstock.com Chainlink ( LINK-USD ) is a decentralized oracle network used to pair off-chain data with the blockchain. Among the various data sets, Chainlink helps connect crypto projects to all-important price feeds. Indeed, for exchanges and many other projects, these are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of these decentralized applications. Developers pay Chainlink a fee for their technology in the form of LINK tokens, making Chainlink a unique project. That’s because Chainlink has quasi-revenue and cash flows from which investors can analyze. A beneficiary of continued decentralized application growth, Chainlink benefits from increased developer interest and overall ecosystem growth among many projects and exchanges. As this growth has slowed, the price of LINK tokens has headed on a downward trajectory. 7 Best AI Stocks to Buy Now That said, should the crypto market rebound, this is a token with an attractive valuation I’m going to take a harder look at. Top Undervalued Cryptos: The Sandbox (SAND-USD) The logo for The Sandbox (SAND) on a mobile phone. Source: Ira Lichi / Shutterstock.com Like Axie Infinity, The Sandbox ( SAND-USD ) is another metaverse game based on the blockchain that is worth checking out. Alongside its metaverse-linked peers, The Sandbox has been hit hard lately. What was a previous “digital land rush” has turned into crickets, with many investors steering clear of this space. That’s the high-level argument, at least. Various corporations continue to pile into The Sandbox as a virtual world to display their wares. Indeed, corporate adoption is one key element I see as a long-term driver for this project. The more companies and institutions that view The Sandbox as the “real estate of the future,” the more this vision can become possible. Right now, I think The Sandbox and other virtual real estate options are at a turning point. It will be interesting to watch how engagement spikes or declines in this space. Truth be told, I’m not 100% sold on The Sandbox’s offering as better or worse than its competition. However, I do see the potential with this platform if the market gets on board. This is a longer-shot pick, but one I think investors looking for big upside will want to keep on the radar right now. On the date of publication, Chris MacDonald did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines . More From InvestorPlace Buy This $5 Stock BEFORE This Apple Project Goes Live The Best $1 Investment You Can Make Today Early Bitcoin Millionaire Reveals His Next Big Crypto Trade “On Air” Cash Holders Could Get Hit Hard THIS FRIDAY The post 3 Undervalued Cryptos With Insane Upside Potential appeared first on InvestorPlace . \|\| Market Wrap: Bitcoin Retraces Gains as Investors Await Inflation Announcement: Hi, I'm Jimmy He, here to take you through the day's crypto market highlights and news. Bitcoin (BTC) continued to retrace last week’s gains, declining for the fourth straight day toward the psychologically critical price of $20,000. The largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization was down 1.8% over the past 24 hours, around $20,500. Although bitcoin surged above $22,000 last week, the cryptocurrency has consistently failed to break out. Still, some analysts are getting more optimistic about a market recovery. “BTC has never previously fallen below such marks, so it is now getting support from buyers confident in the first cryptocurrency’s long-term growth,” FxPro senior market analyst Alex Kuptsikevich said. “Another supportive factor was the rebound in financial markets, where the new half-year was met with increased buying.” Wednesday's expected release of June’s Consumer Price Index (CPI), the most widely regarded measure of U.S. inflation, may show whether the Federal Reserve's hawkish monetary policy has succeeded in slowing the pace of rising prices. If the increase exceeds investor expectations, traditional and crypto markets may both see another wave of selling that could push bitcoin lower. EToro market analyst Simon Peters said that eyes are also “firmly on ether” as the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization moves towards its Merge and transitions fromproof-of-worktoproof-of-stake. “While it's impossible to know what effect the move to a proof-of-stake network will have on the crypto-asset price, theoretically it is deflationary as it encourages holders to stake rather than sell their tokens,” Peters said. Ether (ETH) was down 2.7% over the past 24 hours. Most altcoins were trading in the red today with UNI as the biggest loser, down 8.4%. ●Bitcoin (BTC): $20,495−1.8% ●Ether (ETH): $1,141−2.7% ●S&P 500 daily close: 3,854.47−1.2% ●Gold: $1,730 per troy ounce−0.6% ●Ten-year Treasury yield daily close: 2.99%−0.1 Bitcoin, ether and gold prices are taken at approximately 4pm New York time. Bitcoin is the CoinDesk Bitcoin Price Index (XBX); Ether is the CoinDesk Ether Price Index (ETX); Gold is the COMEX spot price. Information about CoinDesk Indices can be found atcoindesk.com/indices. Crypto fund inflows totaled $15 million in the seven days through July 8, according to a CoinSharesreport. Over half of that, some $7.6 million, was attributed to ether-focused funds, for the third consecutive week of inflows. A cold streak for ether funds earlier this year had pushed cumulative outflows to $460 million. “The inflows suggest a modest turn-around in sentiment, having endured 11 consecutive weeks of outflows," according to the report. CoinShares suggested in the report that an improvement in Ethereum network sentiment may be due to the approaching Merge, where the blockchain network moves fromproof-of-worktoproof-of-stake. Last week, Ethereumsuccessfully transitionedits Sepolia test environment network (test-net) to proof-of-stake, moving the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization one step closer to its own Merge. Short-bitcoin investment products – those betting on a price decline in the largest cryptocurrency – saw inflows totaling $6.3 million, a sweeping decline from the $51 million of inflows seen last week. Short-bitcoin outperformed traditional bitcoin investment products, which saw outflows totaling $1.7 million. Altcoin funds were stagnant, with minor outflows totaling $300,000. Regionally, North America accounted for the majority of inflows, with U.S. inflows totaling $8.2 million and Canadian inflows totaling $7.1 million. • Terra projects being moving to Polygon:Almost two months after theTerra network collapsedfollowing the implosion of terraUSD (UST), more than 48 projects previously on the Terra network have begun migrating to Polygon. Over $20 million had been earmarked to help projects that are migrating.Read more here. • Celsius Reclaims $172M Collateral:The liquidity-strapped crypto lender paid down $95 million of its debt to the Aave and Compound decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms, freeing up $172 million of collateral that had been locked in the platforms. Last week, Celsius Network paid its remaining $41 million debt to Maker,freeing up $440 millionof collateral.Read more here. • Saudi Arabia-Themed NFT Collection is the Latest Free-to-Mint Hit:The collection, calledThe Saudis, consists of 5,555 non-fungible tokens (NFT) and topped the charts for volume in its debut weekend with $7.7 million in sales. The project continued the trend of popular free mint, theatrically driven projects.Read more here. • Listen 🎧:Today’s "CoinDesk Markets Daily" podcast discusses the latest market movements and why Web3 needs in-person gatherings. • CoinFlex Begins Arbitration to Recover $84M in Delinquent Debt:The trading platform also said it was speaking with depositors looking to help the business by “rolling some of their deposits into equity.” • Bitcoin in 'Accumulation' Phase, On-chain Indicators Suggest:Bitcoin's Puell Multiple and MVRV Z-Score indicate the cryptocurrency is undervalued. Similar readings have marked bear market bottoms in the past. • Twitter Shares Down 7% Following Elon Musk's Scrapped Takeover:The social-media company plans to take legal action against the crypto enthusiast. • Binance Failed to Deliver on Money-Laundering Prevention Promises: Report:A Reuters report says the cryptocurrency exchange has been lax in cracking down on the financial crime. • Gryphon Mining 'Able to Take Advantage of Opportunities' in Sector:The miner produced 71 bitcoin in June, up from 62 in May. • Cross-Chain Infrastructure Protocol LI.FI Raises $5.5M:The funding will help the firm expand to more blockchains. • KuCoin Denies Layoff Rumors, Says It's Hiring 300:The crypto exchange plans to add employees in tech, compliance and marketing. • International Securities Regulator IOSCO to Focus on Global DeFi, Crypto Rules:In its first two years, the global standard-setter's new fintech task force will concentrate on setting up policy recommendations for digital assets. • BIS Calls for Global Collaboration With CBDC Designs:The Swiss-based Bank for International Settlements on Monday released a report produced in collaboration with the International Monetary Fund and World Bank. • Global Financial Watchdog FSB to Propose Crypto Regulations in October:The Financial Stability Board will recommend ways to oversee stablecoins and other digital assets to the G-20. [{"Asset": "Chainlink", "Ticker": "LINK", "Returns": "+1.8%", "DACS Sector": "Computing"}, {"Asset": "Cosmos", "Ticker": "ATOM", "Returns": "+1.6%", "DACS Sector": "Smart Contract Platform"}, {"Asset": "Polygon", "Ticker": "MATIC", "Returns": "+0.7%", "DACS Sector": "Smart Contract Platform"}] [{"Asset": "Solana", "Ticker": "SOL", "Returns": "\u22125.2%", "DACS Sector": "Smart Contract Platform"}, {"Asset": "Dogecoin", "Ticker": "DOGE", "Returns": "\u22124.8%", "DACS Sector": "Currency"}, {"Asset": "Avalanche", "Ticker": "AVAX", "Returns": "\u22124.8%", "DACS Sector": "Smart Contract Platform"}] Sector classifications are provided via theDigital Asset Classification Standard (DACS), developed by CoinDesk Indices to provide a reliable, comprehensive and standardized classification system for digital assets. TheCoinDesk 20is a ranking of the largest digital assets by volume on trusted exchanges. \|\| Should NFT Investors Keep or Sell Their Non-Fungible Tokens in a Bear Market?: VectorStory / Getty Images/iStockphoto Just as the stock market entered a bear market in mid-June, the crypto and NFT markets have also taken a downturn. In fact, the crypto market has been broadly declining for the past 18 months. Discover: 10 Things You Should Always Buy at Walmart More: Top 10 Richest People in the World Bitcoin reached a new 18-month low on June 15, 2022, and is now 70% below its record high of $69,000 in Nov. 2021, Reuters reported. Since many altcoins are tied to the value of bitcoin, most of the crypto market is also facing a slump. On June 12, crypto lender Celsius Network paused all withdrawals, snaps, and transfers, per The Wall Street Journal. The company said in a blog post that, “We are taking this necessary action for the benefit of our entire community in order to stabilize liquidity and operations while we take steps to preserve and protect assets.” Are NFTs in a Bear Market? Unlike cryptocurrency, NFTs are not as tied to the financial cycles of the stock market or the economy, NFT Evening suggests. In a March 8 article, NFT Evening writer Theo indicated that, “NFTs are… proving to be bullet-proof against market crashes.” However, even though NFTs aren’t strictly tied to the crypto market, they are experiencing a downturn of their own. NFT Evening reported that February saw a 40% decline in NFT sales, down from $4.4 billion in January. Many established NFT projects, including Bored Ape Yacht Club and CryptoPunks, lost roughly 63% of their value in a dangerously short time span in May, The Cryptonomist reported. That much of a dip indicates a bear market for NFTs. Experts attribute the dip not just to the overall market downturn and the crypto bear market, but also NFT scams and cyber attacks that have grown in prevalence in 2022, Yahoo reported. Related: 6 Alternative Investments to Consider for 2022 What Should You Do With Your NFTs During a Bear Market? Cryptoticker advised that a bear market is the best time to invest in NFTs, writing: “Many NFTs have proven to exceed expectations after the bear market.” Further, Cryptoticker writer Owotunse Adebayo suggested that, “The low risk and prices associated with a bear market implies that, should the asset collapse, losses will be low.” Many people collect NFTs for their inherent artistic value, the same way one might accumulate fine art or other collectibles. Consumers often choose NFTs they like, from artists or companies they want to support, without too much concern about the long-term value. Story continues See: Why Inflation Is Making Your Paycheck Worth Less NFT Art: What It Is and Where To Buy If this describes your interest in NFTs, you may be able to find NFTs you like at a lower price than you’d expect in a bear market. Then, as the market turns, you can make a decision to sell (or not) based on the profits (or losses) you stand to make or endure. However, even though NFTs may seem to be “on sale” in a bear market, they remain volatile assets. If you are looking at NFTs as an investment , it may be wise to refrain from spending more than you are willing to lose. More From GOBankingRates Jaw-Dropping Stats About the State of Retirement in America 15 Most Important Assets That Will Increase Your Net Worth Take These 6 Key Steps Today To Retire a Millionaire How To Find Travel Insurance That Covers COVID-19 Cancellations This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com : Should NFT Investors Keep or Sell Their Non-Fungible Tokens in a Bear Market? \|\| GLOBAL MARKETS-Dollar gains, yields ease after Powell inflation comments: * S&P 500 ends down slightly * Powell: Clock is 'running' for Fed on lowering inflation * U.S. dollar index rises (Updates with closing U.S. market levels) By Caroline Valetkevitch NEW YORK, June 29 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury yields eased for a second consecutive day and the dollar rose on Wednesday after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said there is a risk the U.S. central bank's interest rate hikes will slow the economy too much, but the bigger risk is persistent inflation. The S&P 500 ended slightly lower, and looked set to put in the worst first-half for the U.S. benchmark index in more than five decades. "The clock is kind of running on how long will you remain in a low-inflation regime. ... The risk is that because of the multiplicity of shocks you start to transition into a higher inflation regime and our job is to literally prevent that from happening and we will prevent that from happening," Powell said at a European Central Bank conference. Investors have worried that an aggressive push by the Fed to dampen inflation will tip the economy into recession. Matt Stucky, senior portfolio manager at Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Company, said investors are waiting for Thursday's data on the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index. "A slowdown or a mild recession is almost consensus at this point as it relates to the economy," he said. "The question from here is how much does the Fed have to do to get inflation under control." A Commerce Department report on Wednesday showed that the U.S. economy contracted slightly more than previously estimated in the first quarter as the trade deficit widened to a record high and a resurgence in COVID-19 infections hurt spending on services like recreation. Treasury yields slipped as inflation worries hounded investors. The yield on 10-year Treasury notes fell 10.5 basis points to 3.102%, while the two-year's yield slid 6.5 basis points to 3.059%. Story continues In foreign exchange, the dollar index rose 0.593%, with the euro up 0.02% to $1.0441. On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 82.32 points, or 0.27%, to 31,029.31, the S&P 500 lost 2.72 points, or 0.07%, to 3,818.83 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 3.65 points, or 0.03%, to 11,177.89. With the end of the month and the second quarter a day away, the S&P 500 may be set for its biggest first-half percentage drop since 1970. The pan-European STOXX 600 index lost 0.67% and MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe shed 0.53%. Oil prices fell, with an increase in U.S. gasoline and distillate inventories and worries over slower global economic growth overshadowing supply concerns. Inflation fears have been fueled in large part by recent sharp gains in oil prices. Brent futures for August delivery fell $1.72, or 1.5%, to settle at $116.26 a barrel. The August contract will expire on Thursday and the more-active September contract was down $1.35 to $112.45. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude for August fell $1.98, or 1.8%, to settle at $109.78. Spot gold dropped 0.1% to $1,818.13 an ounce. Bitcoin last fell 0.21% to $20,218.24. (Reporting by Caroline Valetkevitch; additional reporting by Sujata Rao in London and Stephen Culp and Herbert Lash in New York; Editing by Marguerita Choy and Alex Richardson) \|\| Binance ‘pauses’ Bitcoin withdrawals amid market collapse: Binance, the world’s biggest cryptocurrency exchange, has “paused” Bitcoin withdrawalsamid a major market downturn. The “temporary” suspension came after Celsius, the second biggest crypto market, halted all withdrawals in the small hours of morning following what bosses described as “extreme market conditions”. Celsius, a cryptocurrency lender that works rather like a bank, said: “We are taking this necessary action for the benefit of our entire community in order to stabilize liquidity and operations.” Meanwhile Binance said its halt on Bitcoin trading was because of a “stuck transaction”, adding that trading in other cryptocurrencies was not affected by the pause. Celsius also said its 1.7m users would continue to accrue rewards while their accounts were frozen. Crypto markets slumped after the announcement, with Bitcoin dropping to its lowest level since December 2020 at around $20,300. Ether, the world's second-largest cryptocurrency, dropped more than 8pc to $1,303, its lowest since March 2021. Celsius’s own CEL token was down 73pc overnight to $0.19, according to cryptocurrency price data site CoinGecko. Data from April suggested the token was worth around $3 at that time. Celsius’s size exposes it to a large portion of the crypto markets, with the lender having taken out a $500m loan from Tether last year. Tether is a so-called stablecoin whose value is pegged to that of a real-world currency, the dollar. Tether’s value was broadly flat this morning, having declined from $0.999 to $0.998. On May 17, Celsius had processed $8.2bn worth of loans and had $11.8bn in assets, according to its website. Celsius said in August last year that it had more than $20bn in assets, Reuters reported. The lender works like a traditional bank by accepting user deposits, paying interest on them and making loans in cryptocurrencies. An advert on its website this morning promised 18pc returns on investment, spread through a variety of token trading instruments. In May the Terra cryptocurrency crashed amid what was described as a Black Wednesday for digital token markets. A stablecoin similar to Tether, the Terra crash rocked cryptocurrency markets after a hitherto unnoticed flaw in its model led to a slump in the value of a related token dragging Terra down with it. \|\| Winklevoss twins lay off another group of workers from crypto startup Gemini: Gemini, the cryptocurrency firm started by Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss , has slashed its workforce for the second time in two months. TechCrunch reports the company has laid off as much as another 7% of its workforce, roughly 68 people. That comes on the heels of a 10% staff reduction in early June . Gemini has not publicly commented on the most recent layoffs, but in announcing last months cuts, the company blamed turbulent market conditions that are likely to persist for some time. In early June, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) sued Gemini on allegations the crypto exchanges staff misled the federal regulator during Geminis 2017 effort to launch trading of what would have been a landmark Bitcoin (BTC) futures contract. Both Winklevoss twins are still associated with Gemini, but both have dropped any mention of the company from their Twitter biographies, instead choosing to highlight their recently formed cover band. That, along with the decision to go on tour as the crypto markets imploded, has led to some employee disgruntlement . That could be how an internal document ended up being shared last week on the anonymous professional network Blind. That document discussed a plan to lower the company headcount to 800 people150 fewer than were on staff at the time. TechCrunch reports that that reengaged the cofounders, who took to the company Slack to chastise the leaker. Wow, super lame, wrote Cameron Winklevoss. Karma is the blockchain of the universean immutable ledger that keeps track of positive and negative behaviorWe are going to the moon. We are going to need cosmic consciousness to get there. Earthly consciousness will not be enough. If you are exhibiting the behavior of a first-time human, time to level up or respectively bow out, if for no other reason but to avoid an expensive bill in the future. Mars Junction, the Winklevosses band, wrapped up its tour on July 3. This story was originally featured on Fortune.com \|\| Daily Crunch: Amazon wades deeper into healthcare with its $3.9B purchase of One Medical: To get a roundup of TechCrunch’s biggest and most important stories delivered to your inbox every day at 3 p.m. PDT, subscribe here . Well hello again! It’s Thursday — heat waves are heat wavin’, and all of TechCrunch is psyched about a fun and engaging Robotics event today. That’s not all that’s happening, though. We've had 70 new stories on the site since our last newsletter, which means that we got to learn about all sorts of wild and wonderful happenings in our world of startups and company building. It was extra-double-plus hard to select the best of the best for the newsletter, but we tried our best. Enjoy! — Christine and Haje The TechCrunch Top 3 Amazon grabs a stethoscope : Amazon showed its continued interest in healthcare by announcing its intent to acquire primary medical provider One Medical for $3.9 billion. Ingrid writes that details are a bit thin as to how One Medical will integrate with Amazon, but it has people on Twitter wondering what the marketplace behemoth will do next. And that’s just the kind of thing that Alex is good at. He dives into the deal to let us know just what Amazon is getting for its billions . Someone's got their eye on you : Manish brings us an update on Indian edtech giant Byju, which you might recall fired hundreds of employees a month ago. Now it seems like it will have some legal troubles to contend with. A lawmaker is calling for an investigation into the company’s finances. It’s not goodbye forever : Airbnb co-founder Joe Gebbia made waves today, announcing that he was stepping back from his role after 10 years to spend some time with family and see what else sparks his interest, Kyle reports. Gebbia will stay on the company’s board in an advisory role. Startups and VC Today has been a cavalcade of robotics . The articles that caught our eye in particular were Brian 's story, asking whether universities are doing enough to foster robotics startups , and Kirsten ’s piece on Agility’s next Digit robot, which will have a face and hands . Also, don’t miss Brian ’s Actuator newsletter, which covers what’s happening in Robotics world. The most recent issue came out yesterday . Story continues We were delighted to see TextExpander — who’ve been around for a hot minute but have been bootstrapping to date — raise a $41 million round of financing, as Ingrid reports. The company makes business communications faster by creating modular extendable text macros. The other not-to-be-missed story today is Anita and Natasha M ’s WTF is a 409A — a crucial piece you need to understand if you want any hope of understanding startup valuations in the U.S.! New Kenyan venture fund : After spending years in London, matching Kenyans in the diaspora with investment opportunities back home, Njeri Muhia sought a greater challenge, founding Kenyan VC firm FrontEnd Ventures to back local founders , writes Annie . Come fly with me : Chartering a private plane is never going to be cheap, but that doesn’t mean it can’t become cheaper. AeroVanti Air Club is announcing a $9.75 million Series A to offer lower hourly rates for its club members, Frederic reports. Bye, credit scores : TomoCredit wants to make credit scores a thing of the past, and raises $22 million at a $222 million valuation to accomplish that goal, Mary Ann reports. You get a raise! : Talent management HR tech company 15Five raises $52 million to boost its own performance, reports Ingrid . I my-see-lium what you did there : Turning mushrooms into meaty goodness, Meati Foods raises $150 million to expand operations , Christine reports. Growth cheat code: Use fractional hiring to stay on plan when cutting costs A crowd of people wearing red, yellow, green and blue coloured shirts, forming a pie chart shape; fractional hiring for startups, hiring contractors Image Credits: Henrik Sorensen (opens in a new window) / Getty Images As winter winds begin to blow, major tech companies like Google, Microsoft and Lyft have each instituted hiring freezes. Likewise, early-stage startups are under pressure to reduce burn while preserving forward momentum, but "fractional hiring is a growth cheat code" when used strategically, says Teja Yenamandra, co-founder and CEO of Gun.io. "There is now way less competition for the talent you’re hiring, and you may be able to lock in a hire who was unaffordable a few months ago." Growth cheat code: Use fractional hiring to stay on plan when cutting costs (TechCrunch+ is our membership program, which helps founders and startup teams get ahead. You can sign up here .) Big Tech Inc. If you’ve come here for Tesla news, you’re in luck. The mobility, climate and even crypto crews were in full-coverage mode of the electric automaker, giving you lots of news to rev your engines. Harri and Kirsten dove into the company’s quarterly earnings, writing, respectively, about Tesla’s success in the solar game and its quarterly decline in profits . Over to crypto, Lucas reports on how Elon Musk not only discloses that Tesla owns Dogecoin , but also that the company dumped 75% of its Bitcoin holdings . And finally, Rebecca writes that Tesla is increasing the cost of its self-driving software , while at the same time Jaclyn writes the company is on track to launch its battery-electric truck in 2023 . Now for some non-Tesla news. First up, Jagmeet reports that Amazon is looking at India as the next place to bring its Project Kuiper satellite internet business. Meanwhile, so many companies are hitting the pause button on a number of different things. One of the top stories sticking around from yesterday was Andrew ’s piece on Google taking a two-week hiatus from hiring and then slowing down for the rest of the year. And it is not alone: Kyle covers GitHub’s hiring pullback , while Paul writes about Just Eat Takeaway scaling back in France . Rebecca covers both Lyft’s layoffs amid a closure of its in-house car rentals program and the U.K.’s App Drivers and Couriers Union putting their vehicles in park to strike in response to files that were leaked about Uber . Finally, Catherine reports on Zipmex pausing withdrawals from its digital assets exchange. What do you see when you look up? : Google Cloud sees Mexico . It plans to put its first cloud region in the country, Frederic reports. Today’s tool chest is full : We’ve got some new moderator tools from Twitch by Taylor , while Aisha writes about TikTok’s new caption and translation tools . You want new features? We’ve got 20, but who cares, no big deal, we want more : Check out Instagram’s Reels function for video posts less than 15 minutes in length, Aisha writes. Lauren strikes up the band with Mandolin’s customer artist pages and fan data hub , while Amanda reports on Warner Music Group’s partnership with SoundCloud ’s payment model for artists. \|\| Bitcoin price crosses US$22K; Fed cools recession fears: The crypto market gained along with traditional markets overnight in Asia as investors responded to updated guidance on Thursday from U.S. Federal Reserve officials claiming recessionary concerns are overblown. See related article:Bitcoin, Ether recover as Fed guidance reduces policy uncertainty • Bitcoin gained 8% to trade above US$22,000 in the past 24 hours leading to press time for the first time since June 16, as the crypto market capitalization surpassed US$1 trillion, according to CoinGecko data. • Both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 Index closed trading yesterday up more than 1% and the Nasdaq Composite Index closed 2.3% higher, ending four consecutive days of gains — the longest streak since March. • Fed Board of Governors member Christopher Wallerbackedanother 75-basis point interest rate hike this month and a 50-basis point rise next month to combat inflation, in his address to the National Association for Business Economics on Thursday. • St. Louis Fed PresidentJames Bullard echoedWaller’s sentiments, but both officials downplayed recessionary fears, with Bullard saying there was a “good chance” of a soft economic landing. • Crypto and traditional markets have been hit in recent months withconcernsof rising inflation, looming recession, uncertainty caused by the war in Ukraine, and a growing list of crypto firms lining up for bankruptcy. See related article:Three Arrows, Voyager failures raise questions of who is next in crypto fall from grace [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] None available.	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 22630.96, 23289.31, 22961.28, 23175.89, 23809.49, 23164.32, 23947.64, 23957.53, 24402.82, 24424.07
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2018-07-17] BTC Price: 7321.04, BTC RSI: 65.68 Gold Price: 1225.70, Gold RSI: 26.48 Oil Price: 68.08, Oil RSI: 42.30 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] AUD/USD Price Forecast – Aussie continues to find support just below: There’s the obvious gold market correlation withthe Australian dollarthat you should be paying attention to, just as there is the obvious correlation with the US dollar itself as it is half of the equation. Looking at this chart, we are decidedly in a downtrend, there’s probably no way to argue that. Overall, I anticipate that the market will continue to sell on rallies, but in the short term it looks as if we could be getting ready to form a bit of a bounce. This will be exacerbated by any type of “risk on” move in the equity markets around the world, and of course commodities. The destruction cause to the Australian dollar due to trade tariffs between the United States and China cannot be understated though, as Australia supplies China with so many of its raw materials for construction, and of course manufacturing. With that in mind, pay attention to the headlines, but if things stay relatively quiet, I suspect that there is a bounce coming in this pair. The alternate scenario of course is that if we break down below the vital 0.7350 level, the market is probably going to continue to go lower over the longer-term. I think the one thing you can count on is volatility, and it’s only a matter of time before it picks up yet again. Thisarticlewas originally posted on FX Empire • Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin and Ripple Daily Analysis – 22/06/18 • Crude Oil Price Forecast – choppiness continues on Thursday as we await OPEC • EUR/USD Price Forecast – Euro rallies on Thursday after touching major support • Gold Price Forecast – Gold markets continue to show weakness on Thursday • AUD/USD Price Forecast – Aussie continues to find support just below • Price of Gold Fundamental Daily Forecast – Investors Finally Showing Some Reaction to Geopolitical Events \|\| This Website Imagines Bitcoin as a Bus Station and Offers Some Big Insights: Even nearly a decade after its creation, Bitcoin’s basic technology can still be hard to understand. A new website that visualizes Bitcoin transactions as bus passengers offers some surprisingly compelling insights into how the cryptocurrency works—and it’s strangely enthralling to watch in action. TxStreet.comtranslates real-time transaction data from the Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash networks into South Park-like cartoons of passengers boarding a series of buses. The site is partly intended to show contrasts between the two networks, whose supporters have been at odds sinceBitcoin Cash “forked”from Bitcoin nearly a year ago. But you don’t need a dog in that fight to learn a lot from the site, about both cryptocurrency basics and the day-to-day reality of the networks. Each cartoon character on TxStreet represents a cryptocurrency payment moving from one account to another. A character’s size corresponds to the amount of money being sent, while its walking speed reflects whether or not the sender has paid a system fee to speed the confirmation. Those characters move towards buses waiting at a pair of stations—one for Bitcoin, one for Bitcoin Cash. The buses represent “blocks” of transactions, sets of records which essentially every blockchain system collects, compiles, and confirms at more or less regular intervals. The TxStreet buses and their passengers depart whenever a block of transactions is confirmed by a network and added to its respective blockchain—the immutable record of each currency’s transaction history. It’s a simple metaphor for systems that can seem inscrutable, and there’s something simultaneously soothing and suspenseful about the ebb and flow of the crowds. Fortunerecently reached out to the site’s creator, who prefers to remain anonymous but goes by @revofever on Twitter. They told us they’ve been “obsessed” with Bitcoin since 2013, and that TxStreet gets its live data from feeds at btc.com, bitcointicker.co, blockchain.info, and coinmarketcap.com. The site, which is not affiliated with any blockchain company, was inspired in part by TxHighway.com, a similar visualizer explicitly aimed at promoting Bitcoin Cash. TxStreet’s creator claims a bit less of an agenda, saying “I was motivated to show each blockchain as accurately and fairly as possible. If the truth promotes Bitcoin Cash, then it is what it is.” Get The Ledger,Fortune’sblockchain and cryptocurrency newsletter. TxStreet shows clearly that, despite some similar infrastructure, Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash have a growing number of fundamental differences, starting with the number of “bus seats” available for transactions. The original fork that created Bitcoin Cash was driven by the desire to increase the size of transaction blocks, which advocates argued would make transactions faster. Accordingly, the Bitcoin Cash “bus station” on TxStreet has 32 buses waiting, representing the 32 megabytes of transaction data that each Bitcoin Cash block has available. Not all of those buses head to the blockchain every 10 minutes—only as many as transaction volume demands. Bitcoin, on the other hand, still has to make do with two buses, representing the two megabytes of data its blocks can hold. There’s a catch, though—one of those buses (or one megabyte of Bitcoin block size) is a special variety known asSegWit. Transactions in that block of memory are significantly compressed, effectively shrinking the passengers so more of them fit on the bus. Though SegWit was implemented in part to work around Bitcoin’s scaling issues, watching TxStreet makes it clear there’s more work to be done. You’ll regularly see crowds of passengers—that is, transactions—forming a scrum on the sidewalk outside of full Bitcoin buses. That’s what’s known as the Mempool—transactions that have been broadcast to the network, but haven’t been added to a block to await confirmation. Above that sometimes-huge queue, TxStreet shows a purple building representing the Lightning Network, new technology that many advocates hope will be a true solution to Bitcoin’s overcrowding. It’s labeled “Lightning House: Bus Ticket Trading, Access by Bus Only.” @Revofever explains the complex metaphor this way: If you have bitcoin outside of that [Lightning] network, but want to use itinthe network, you have to send that bitcoin to your Lightning enabled wallet using the blockchain (Represented by boarding a bus). There is no other way to move your bitcoin to the Lightning network, no shortcut (Represented by the lock on the lightning building, and the “Access By Bus Only” sign). So if the BTC mempool is greater than the blocksize limit, people still have to wait to use the Lightning network (open/close a channel), or pay a much higher fee. “Bus Ticket Trading” represents how the Lightning network functions inside the building. Lightning works by sending signed transactions back and forth, without broadcasting them to the bitcoin network and avoiding the blockchain. So the people in the building are essentially trading a spot on the bus, without ever intending to use the bus. On the other side of the street, Bitcoin Cash has its own building, representing the blockchain-backed social networkMemo. But there’s an even more notable contrast: there are plenty of seats on Bitcoin Cash buses because there are so few passengers lining up to board. Over the last 30 days, Bitcoin transaction volume was about 16 times higher than for Bitcoin Cash, according toCoinmetrics.io. So while Bitcoin Cash may offer plenty of seats on the bus, there’s not yet that much interest in taking a ride. \|\| Netflix's First Comic Book Is Poised to Break a 20-Year-Old Record: WhenNetflix(NASDAQ: NFLX)acquiredcomic-book publisher Millarworldin August 2017, it was the first in a number of bold moves designed to gain control over content creators. In this case, it brought on board the creative talents of Mark Millar, who made his name as an award-winning writer for both Marvel and DC Comics before striking out on his own. His comic-book story arcs have been turned into some of Hollywood's biggest blockbusters, includingLogan,The Avengers, andCaptain America: Civil War. At the time of the acquisition, Netflix revealed that in addition to creating movies and television series based on his work, "Millarworld will also continue to create and publish new stories and character franchises under the Netflix label." In November, Millar revealed thatThe Magic Orderwould be the first new story under the Netflix umbrella, which he has since described as "Harry PottermeetsThe Sopranos." The comic is about to be published, and demand is so high that Millar says it will break a long-standing record. Video courtesy of Netflix. Preorders forThe Magic Orderhave seen extraordinary demand, and based on early estimates, the initial issue is expected to sell out. Millar said that preorders already exceeded 140,000 -- which would break a 20-year-old record -- several days before the order deadline. Millar also said this would be "by far the best numbers ever on a Millarworld book." In a letter sent to comic shops, Millar said there would be only one printing for the inaugural Netflix release: We hope you're suitably prepared. We want to get back to that crazy, exciting time where a first printing really meant something too and create a real collectibility here with NO SECOND PRINTINGS. We love the idea of making this genuinely sought after. So after inventory on the first and only print run is depleted, there will be no additional printings. He went on to say that he was "very sure" the printing would sell out completely. Image source: Netflix. In another sign that Netflix is pulling out all the stops for its comics debut, the company has teamed withFacebook(NASDAQ: FB)to provide a little augmented reality (AR) magic. The first issue will display one of four different covers, each of which will contain an AR code that will provide readers with bonus content. Audiences will be able to "go inside [illustrator] Oliver Coipel's amazing artwork, unlock special character artwork and more," according to anexclusive reportby CBR.com. Assuming 140,000 sales at $3.99 each (the presale price on ComiXology) would result in total sales of about $550,000, which doesn't include digital sales. Considering that Netflix reported revenue of $3.7 billion in its most recent quarter, these comic-book sales aren't going to make a meaningful contribution. Assuming similar sales for the full six issues, they would only bring in revenue of $3.3 million, still not enough to move the needle. It's important to remember that Netflix has an ulterior motive here, and while these record-breaking presales are nice, they're just icing on the cake. Eventually,The Magic Orderwill be the foundation for new movies, television series, or both, with the intention of encouraging subscribers to join Netflix or to stick around. It's also important to remember that Netflix is looking for its next massive hit likeStranger ThingsorOrange is the New Black, one that will likely run for years and entice untold numbers of subscribers to climb aboard the Netflix train (or at least keep their seats). Whilemerchandising could be a huge opportunityand eventually generate more than $1 billion in sales annually, it will all be in service of generating buzz around Netflix shows and growing the company's all-important subscriber base. More From The Motley Fool • 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices • 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 • 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing • 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today • The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss • Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This Danny Venaowns shares of Facebook and Netflix. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Facebook and Netflix. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy. \|\| Escalating trade fight weighs on global stocks, boosts Treasuries: By Laila Kearney NEW YORK (Reuters) - Global stock markets sank on Monday as the trade fight between the United States and other top economies escalated, and benchmark Wall Street indexes suffered their worst losses in more than two months while safe-haven investments gained. U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Monday said forthcoming investment restrictions would apply "to all countries that are trying to steal our technology," not just to China. Hours later, White House trade and manufacturing adviser Peter Navarro walked back Mnuchin's remarks, telling CNBC that the restrictions on investing in tech companies would just target China. “People are scared," said Wayne Kaufman, chief market analyst at Phoenix Financial Services in New York. "The market does not like uncertainty, and a trade war is something that is difficult, if not impossible, to handicap." On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 328.09 points, or 1.33 percent, to 24,252.8, the S&P 500 lost 37.81 points, or 1.37 percent, to 2,717.07, and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 160.81 points, or 2.09 percent, to 7,532.01. The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index lost 2.19 percent and MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe shed 1.41 percent. Technology stocks bore the brunt of the damage. The S&P technology index fell 2.3 percent, the most among the major S&P 11 sectors. Policymakers in China moved quickly to temper any potential economic drag from Beijing's dispute with the United States. Its central bank said on Sunday it would cut the amount of cash some banks must hold as reserves by 50 basis points to spur lending to smaller firms. The European autos sector was hit by trade tensions between Washington and Europe, falling 2.4 percent in a seventh straight day of losses after U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday he aimed to hike tariffs on European Union car imports by 20 percent. The index of global auto manufacturers fell 1.5 percent. A senior European Commission official said on Saturday the European Union would respond to any U.S. move to raise tariffs on cars made in the bloc. Harley-Davidson Inc said on Monday it would move production of motorcycles shipped to the European Union from the United States to its international facilities and forecast the trading bloc's retaliatory tariffs would cost the company $90 million to $100 million a year. The growing disputes have led investors to take refuge on safer ground. Benchmark U.S. 10-year Treasury notes gained 5/32 in price to yield 2.884 percent, down from 2.900 percent late on Friday. The yield curve between 2-year and 10-year notes flattened to 33 basis points, the lowest level since 2007. Gold hovered near last week's six-month low as investors chose Treasuries over bullion. Oil fell as investors prepared for an extra 1 million barrels per day in output to hit the markets after OPEC and its partners agreed to raise production. U.S. crude fell 0.73 percent to settle at $68.08 per barrel and Brent settled at $74.73, down 1.09 percent on the day. In the currency market, the dollar index fell 0.22 percent, with the euro up 0.38 percent to $1.1699. The Japanese yen strengthened 0.21 percent versus the greenback, at 109.74 per dollar, while sterling was last trading at $1.3279, up 0.08 percent. The Turkish lira rose on expectations of a stable government after Tayyip Erdogan and his ruling AK Party claimed victory in presidential and parliamentary polls. Bitcoin steadied after hitting seven-month lows over the weekend as the security of cryptocurrency exchange operators came under more scrutiny. (Additional reporting by Amanda Cooper in London, Sanjana Shivdas in Bengaluru and Karen Brettell and Stephen Culp in New York; Editing by Dan Grebler and Leslie Adler) \|\| Could Sprint Corporation Be a Millionaire-Maker Stock?: IsSprint(NYSE: S)the kind of company and stock that could make you rich beyond your wildest dreams? In a word, no. For a more detailed discussion of why it isn't, please read on. Sprint might have looked like a fairly plausible wealth-builder just a few weeks ago -- for investors with an appetite for big risks and dreams of big rewards. The eternal underdog in the North American wireless communications market saw its share prices plunging 44% lower between April 1, 2017 and the same date in 2018. At that point, Sprint bulls and other optimists could have argued that the company was primed for a huge turnaround that would unlock an equally massive bounce in Sprint's share prices. It would only require a great 5G upgrade cycle, one awesome ad campaign, some kind of huge mistake driving subscribers away from larger rivalsAT&TandVerizon, or some combination of these trigger events. Stranger things have happened, right? Image source: Getty Images. But that turnaround idea is off the table now. Near the end of April, fellow mini-major telecomT-Mobile US(NASDAQ: TMUS)finally got around to filing a proper takeover bid for Sprint. After several years of merger rumors andfailed negotiations,T-Mobileput together a $26 billion stock-swap bid. When you account for T-Mobile shouldering Sprint's $33 billion of net debt, the enterprise value of the deal comes out to nearly $60 billion. That's the endgame for Sprint investors. No matter what happens next, buying Sprint shares today isn't likely to make you any significant amount of money -- and certainly not the manifold multiples it would take to create a million-dollar nest egg out of a few thousand dollars. Let's say that T-Mobile and Sprint dance through all the regulatory challenges and shareholder votes, closing their merger exactly as planned. In that case, each 9.75 Sprint shares you own turn into a single T-Mobile stub instead. The final deal value depends on T-Mobile's performance rather than Sprint's. Since Sprint trades roughly 10% below T-Mobile's target price, you could unlock a small arbitrage premium by picking up Sprint shares instead of T-Mobile. But a 10% one-time premium is hardly a massive wealth-building tool. On the other hand, you'd also have to accept the risk of T-Mobile failing to close the merger as planned. Regulatory reviews could weigh the deal with burdensome requirements or even halt the whole idea. Japanese telecomSoftBank, which owns 80% of Sprint, could get cold feet and cancel the agreement. And that's just a couple of the roadblocks the two telecoms must overcome -- many things could go wrong along the way. And if the merger falls apart for any reason, both T-Mobile's and Sprint's shares are sure to plunge on the news. Given the sad state of Sprint's business trends, I'm not sure that its shareholders would ever recover. So you have to weight this potential disaster against the 10% premium we looked at a minute ago. Buying Sprint shares today is more of a gamble than an investment. The potential payoff is small, but the risks are huge. This is no millionaire-maker stock today, but perhaps a millionaire-breaker. I'm staying far away from Sprint's stock until further notice. Feel free to follow my lead. More From The Motley Fool • 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices • 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 • 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing • 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today • The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss • Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This Anders Bylundowns shares of T-Mobile US. The Motley Fool owns shares of Verizon Communications. The Motley Fool recommends T-Mobile US. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy. \|\| USD/JPY Fundamental Daily Forecast – Prices Firm, but Investors Remain on Edge Over US-China Trade Dispute: The Dollar/Yen fell on Tuesday after U.S. President Trump threatened to impose a 10 percent tariff on $200 billion of Chinese goods, prompting a swift warning from Beijing of retaliation. The news drove global stock markets sharply lower, sending investors scurrying for the safety of the Japanese Yen. A drop in U.S. Treasury yields also helped boost demand for the Yen as it tightened the spread between U.S. Government Bond yields and Japanese Government Bond yields. This move is not expected to last, however, because of the divergence in monetary policy between the hawkish U.S. Federal Reserve and dovish Bank of Japan. In U.S. economic news, reports on the U.S. housing industry came out mixed on Tuesday with Building Permits underperforming and Housing Starts exceeding expectations. Building permits fell by 4.6 percent to a rate of 1.301 million units, the lowest since September 2017. Economists had forecast housing starts declining to a rate of 1.350 million units. Housing starts rose 5.0 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.350 million units last month, the Commerce Department said on Tuesday. That was the highest level since July 2007. Data for April was revised slightly to show starts falling to a rate of 1.286 million units instead of the previously reported pace of 1.287 million units. Forecast An easing of tensions over trade wars and a slight recovery in global equity markets is helping to boost the Dollar/Yen early Wednesday. At 0414 GMT, the USD/JPY is trading 110.110, up 0.48 or + 0.05%. The threat of a trade conflict is expected to continue to be the theme of the day on Wednesday. Look for the USD/JPY to weaken if escalating tensions over a trade war trigger risk aversion and another steep break in global equity markets. A recovery in U.S. equity markets and a firming of U.S. Treasury yields could help boost the Dollar/Yen. The daily chart indicates the trend is still up, but momentum has shifted to the downside. Conditions could turn ugly if sellers take out 109.179. Given the current trading conditions, it’s going to be difficult for buyers to take out 110.905 and continue the uptrend over the short-term. Story continues Earlier in the session, the Bank of Japan released the minutes from its April monetary policy meeting. The minutes showed a lone BOJ policymaker said additional easing was needed to accelerate inflation, but most members wanted to keep monetary policy unchanged. The minutes also showed that no board member submitted a formal proposal for additional easing at the meeting in April, although one member advocated speeding up the economy by taking additional easing measures to boost inflation expectations. Looking ahead, the BOJ may lower its forecasts for consumer price growth at its next meeting in July but is likely to keep monetary policy on hold. Wednesday in the U.S. will be a big day for central bank speakers. Scheduled to deliver speeches at 1330 GMT are RBA Governor Lowe, BOJ Governor Kuroda and Fed Chair Jerome Powell. They could move the Forex markets if they discuss monetary policy. Since the Fed is hawkish and the BOJ is dovish, the USD/JPY could strengthen if Powell delivers a hawkish speech. Other reports include the U.S. Current Account and Existing Home Sales. This article was originally posted on FX Empire More From FXEMPIRE: USD/JPY Fundamental Daily Forecast – Prices Firm, but Investors Remain on Edge Over US-China Trade Dispute Price of Gold Fundamental Daily Forecast – Has Lost Its Luster as Safe-Haven Asset Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin and Ripple Daily Analysis – 20/06/18 Natural Gas Price Forecast – natural gas markets get hammered on Tuesday Crude Oil Price Forecast – crude oil markets fall apart on Tuesday S&P 500 Price Forecast – S&P 500 rocked by continued escalating trade tensions \|\| CRISPR Could Cause Cancer? Here Are 3 Reasons Investors Shouldn't Panic: First do no harm. That's a core principle for treating patients. But a promising gene-editing method called CRISPR-Cas9 could potentially harm patients. Two papers published in Nature Medicine on Monday raised concerns that using CRISPR-Cas9 to edit genes could increase the chances that cancer cells develop. The stocks of CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ: CRSP) , Editas Medicine (NASDAQ: EDIT) , and Intellia Therapeutics (NASDAQ: NTLA) plunged on the news . All three of these biotechs are pioneering development of gene-editing therapies using CRISPR-Cas9. But should investors panic because of the possibility that CRISPR-Cas9 could cause cancer? Not at all. Here are three reasons why you should remain calm. DNA strand with cancer cell Image source: Getty Images. 1. It's still early Do initial research findings in the scientific community sometimes prove to be incomplete or even incorrect? Absolutely. It has even happened relatively recently with CRISPR-Cas9. In May 2017, a paper was published in Nature Methods that stated CRISPR-Cas9 could cause hundreds of unintended mutations. This news caused investors to worry that the gene-editing approach could prove to be seriously flawed. CRISPR Therapeutics, Editas Medicine, and Intellia Therapeutics stocks tanked. Sounds familiar, right? However, less than a year later, the authors of that study issued a retraction and posted an error correction to another scientific website. It turned out that their initial findings were wrong . Now, that might not happen in this case. I think it probably won't. However, the bottom line is that it's still early. More research will need to be conducted to determine if there really is a clear link between using CRISPR-Cas9 and increased risk of cancer and, if there is, how significant that risk is. 2. The findings shouldn't impact biotechs' lead candidates It's important to understand what the two papers published this week stated. Basically, the research found that when CRISPR-Cas9 is used to edit DNA sequences, most cells try to repair the DNA damage. However, this response doesn't occur in cells with dysfunctional p53 genes. As a result, CRISPR-Cas9 works better in these cells. Story continues The problem is that cells with p53 gene mutations have been associated with higher risks of several types of cancer. These mutations occur in nearly half of ovarian cancer cases and in over 40% of cases of larynx, head and neck, esophageal, and colorectal cancer. Here's what you should really know, though: This issue should only be a factor when CRISPR-Cas9 is used to delete DNA sequences and insert a new DNA sequence, a process referred to as gene correction. But when only gene disruption -- the deletion of a DNA sequence -- is involved, CRISPR-Cas9 works fine in cells that don't have the p53 gene mutations. The lead candidates for CRISPR Therapeutics, Editas, and Intellia have two things in common. First, they all use CRISPR-Cas9 to edit genes for treatment of rare genetic diseases. Second, each of the lead candidates involves gene disruption rather than gene correction. Are the findings that CRISPR-Cas9 could be linked to increased cancer risk problematic for the biotechs? Sure. All three companies have preclinical programs that use gene correction. But the most important therapies for the biotechs right now shouldn't increase cancer risk. 3. Researchers will likely develop workarounds Don't view the potential that the use of CRISPR-Cas9 in gene correction could increase the risk of cancer as a roadblock. It's much more likely to merely be a speed bump. The lead researcher of one of the teams that published an article in Nature Medicine, Jussi Taipale, stated that CRISPR-Cas9 is "clearly going to be a major tool for use in medicine" and that ways to overcome the potential problems could be found. There are other bacterial enzymes other than Cas9 that can be used for CRISPR gene editing. Editas Medicine, for example, is currently researching use of the Cpf1 enzyme as wells as variants of both Cas9 and Cpf1. It's possible that use of these enzymes in cutting DNA won't induce a response like CRISPR-Cas9 does. Think long term I know that it's become a cliche, but investors really should think long term. That's especially true with emerging technologies like gene editing. More potential issues could be identified in the future with CRISPR. Some of them might be problematic. Others won't. But there's too much potential for gene editing, particularly the use of a simple and cheap method like CRISPR, for researchers to throw their hands up in the air whenever a potential issue is found. In my view, nothing has been found that should prevent CRISPR Therapeutics, Editas Medicine, and Intellia Therapeutics from advancing their lead candidates. And even if using CRISPR-Cas9 for gene correction is proven to increase the risk of cancer, I fully expect that better alternative approaches will be found. Over the long run, I think that CRISPR gene editing will help a lot more than it will harm. Investors who panic now will miss out on the tremendous potential for this promising technology. More From The Motley Fool 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This Keith Speights owns shares of Editas Medicine. The Motley Fool owns shares of CRISPR Therapeutics. The Motley Fool recommends Editas Medicine. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy . \|\| The Best Small-Cap ETFs Leading Market’s Charge: This article was originally published onETFTrends.com. Small-Cap ETFs are leading the markets charge this year. Year-to-date, the iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF (IJR) , which tracks the S&P Small-Cap 600 Index, increased 10.9%; the iShares Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) , which tracks the benchmark Russell 2000 Index, gained 9.2%; and Vanguard Small Cap ETF (NYSEArca: VB) , which tracks the CRSP US Small Cap Index, rose 6.8%. In contrast, the S&P 500 was up 2.6% and and the S&P MidCap 400 Index was 4.1% higher so far this year. Keeping the the small-cap’s momentum going, traders believed smaller companies were insulated from the overseas turmoil. A stronger U.S. dollar and concerns over weaker global growth also pushed investors toward smaller company stocks that tend to earn most of their money from a still growing domestic economy. Small-Cap Outlook Further supporting the small-cap outlook, the U.S. economy is still showing signs of growth with U.S. retail sales and consumer spending trends on the rise while the rest of the world is revealing weaker economic data. U.S. economic conditions are also more favorable for the domestically oriented small-caps as companies are still digesting the benefits of increasing deregulation and U.S. tax reforms. Related:Multi-Factor ETFs to Help Better Position Your Portfolio The strengthening economic outlook for the U.S. has also helped strengthen the U.S. dollar against its basket of peers. With an appreciating U.S. dollar, large multinational U.S. companies will find revenue lowered when converted back to an appreciating USD, whereas small-cap companies are less affected by foreign revenue streams. Furthermore, the upbeat pace in U.S. small-caps are attracting foreign investors as well. According to the CME Group, there is growing interest among global investors for U.S. small-cap exposure, especially with volume coming from Europe, Asia-Pacific and Latin America regions in addition to North America. For more information on small-capitalization stocks, visit oursmall-cap category. POPULAR ARTICLES FROM ETFTRENDS.COM • Creating the 21st Century Portfolio • VanEck to Shutter Two ETFs: SPUN and IGEM • Bitcoin ETFs Could Lead to Massive Price Increase • Small-Cap ETFs May Find Support from Foreign Investors • SEC to Meet Regarding New ETF Rule Change READ MORE AT ETFTRENDS.COM > \|\| Ukraine Bitcoin Fans Aim to Put Satoshi Nakamoto Statue Where Lenin’s Once Stood: lenin Plans are underway in Ukraine to honor the pseudonymous creator of Bitcoin, Satoshi Nakamoto, by erecting a statue of him in Kiev. The preferred location for the statue is Shevchenko Boulevard, where a monument to Vladimir Lenin — the father of the Soviet Union — stood before it was brought down during the 2014 Ukrainian revolution. The Plan to Replace a Lenin Statue Monument to Satoshi Nakamoto The initiative is being advanced by a group known as the Satoshi Nakamoto Republic . Initially, the group plans to put up a virtual monument which can be viewed using an app when mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets are pointed at a plinth that will be located at the intended site of the statue. The mobile app will be developed by virtual reality firm Raccoon World. After the virtual monument, the group will then petition the Kyiv City State Administration before launching a fundraising campaign. In the event that the city administration declines to allow the statue to be placed at the preferred site, another location will be chosen. Eyes on the future According to one of the founders of Satoshi Nakamoto Republic, Andriy Moroz, the presumed inventor of Bitcoin represents the future while Lenin symbolizes the past. “The monument to Lenin was a symbol of last centuries that had already passed, leaving conflicting feelings in the hearts of people. Satoshi and the decentralization of society are a new era and new opportunities,” Moroz, who also serves as the First Ambassador of the Republic, told Radio Free Europe . Besides erecting monuments of Nakamoto, the group has an ambitious plan to purchase an island where the Satoshi Nakamoto City will be established. Additionally, the group aims to start a “virtual decentralized blockchain-republic.” Any city in the world can bid to host a Nakamoto statue with the winners being the cities which collect the largest amounts of money. Some of the cities that are already in the running include Beijing, Dubai, New York, and Tokyo. The biggest statue of Nakamoto will, however, be reserved for Satoshi Nakamoto City. Story continues There’s no word on what these statues — which are dedicated to a person or group whose identity remains a secret — will look like. Slovenia’s giant Bitcoin structure bitcoin monument Though this would the first statue honoring Satoshi Nakamoto, the bragging rights for the first Bitcoin monument go to Slovenia, where the first blockchain structure was erected in the country’s fourth-largest city, Kranj, earlier this year. The monument, which is in the shape of a coin, is seven meters wide and weighs three tons. It is located at a roundabout in the city center. According to the mayor of Kranj, Bostjan Trilar, residents of the city were polled to find out what they wanted to be placed at the roundabout, and the Bitcoin monument was the most popular suggestion. Cryptocurrency exchange Bitstamp and blockchain technology startup 3fs paid for the monument. Featured Image from Shutterstock The post Ukraine Bitcoin Fans Aim to Put Satoshi Nakamoto Statue Where Lenin’s Once Stood appeared first on CCN . \|\| J.C. Penney's CEO Jumps to Lowe's: Is the Turnaround Doomed?: On Tuesday, struggling department store chain J.C. Penney (NYSE: JCP) made a shocking announcement. CEO Marvin Ellison is resigning from the company as of June 1 in order to take the top job at home improvement giant Lowe's (NYSE: LOW) . Ellison's unexpected resignation leaves a gaping hole at the top of J.C. Penney's relatively thin leadership bench. That's not good news for a company that is still struggling to recover from a failed strategy shift under former CEO Ron Johnson. On the other hand, Ellison's move to Lowe's doesn't mean that he lost confidence in J.C. Penney's turnaround plan. A sign of failure? In the past few days, several pundits have argued that Marvin Ellison wouldn't have left J.C. Penney if he thought the company was still on the road to recovery. As a result, they see his decision to jump ship as a clear warning that J.C. Penney can't be saved . However, this is an overly simplistic view. While J.C. Penney is an iconic company that has been around for more than a century, its annual revenue has receded to a little more than $12 billion and its market cap has plunged to less than $1 billion. The exterior of a J.C. Penney store. J.C. Penney has become a shadow of its former self. Image source: J.C. Penney. By contrast, annual revenue is about to surpass $70 billion at Lowe's. Furthermore, Lowe's market cap has surged to roughly $80 billion. If he is successful at Lowe's, Ellison stands to make a lot more money than J.C. Penney could have ever paid him. Furthermore, Ellison had more than a decade of experience in the home improvement industry before moving to J.C. Penney, so Lowe's is a natural fit for him. Thus, there were plenty of good reasons for Marvin Ellison to make the move to Lowe's. Indeed, he described it to J.C. Penney employees as a "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity" that he didn't seek out. Investors shouldn't read too much into his decision to leave. J.C. Penney is losing a good leader Ellison's reputation has lost some of its luster over the past couple of years, as the turnaround initiatives he put in place at J.C. Penney weren't enough to drive steady sales and earnings growth. Comp sales were flat in each of the past two fiscal years, following a 4.5% increase in fiscal 2015. J.C. Penney's recently reported first quarter 2018 results were disappointing , too. Furthermore, profitability is starting to erode again. Story continues Nevertheless, Ellison is a smart, seasoned retail executive who will be tough to replace. (Lowe's certainly didn't hire him out of desperation.) His mixed record at J.C. Penney mainly speaks to the headwinds the company has faced in recent years. Most other department store chains have posted inferior sales results and more margin erosion than J.C. Penney over the past three years. J.C. Penney has been slimming down its executive ranks lately, including eliminating the EVP of Omnichannel role earlier this year. There's no clear internal candidate to replace Ellison. Furthermore, J.C. Penney's precarious financial position makes it a less attractive destination for potential external candidates than it was five years ago (let alone a decade ago). This makes Ellison's departure particularly painful. The silver lining While it's disappointing that J.C. Penney is losing its CEO, the good news is that Ellison has already implemented a promising strategy that could drive a recovery in sales and earnings over the next few years. By adding new merchandise categories (such as appliances and toys) and expanding others (including furniture and mattresses), J.C. Penney is now in position to profit from the demise of Toys 'R' Us and the rapid collapse of Sears Holdings . J.C. Penney has offered retention bonuses to five of its top remaining executives, four of whom will constitute a temporary "Office of the CEO." This should enable the company to stay on track over the next few quarters despite not having a permanent CEO. Thus, Ellison's departure doesn't mean J.C. Penney investors should give up hope. That said, it adds even more risk to what was already a risky turnaround bet. More From The Motley Fool 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This Adam Levine-Weinberg owns shares of J.C. Penney. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy . [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] Interested in CloudMining? - Buy Genesis-Mining Contractshttps://goo.gl/cJzSgJ \|\| Join the final Starneum Airdrop. Complete the following steps to receive 111111 Starneum Tokens. https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeS0M6cizltcZTA39w6ZSGd2rUWMZ1mBh0aUjFZQk7iPpBnQg/viewform?usp=pp_url … #Starneum #airdrop #STM #BTC #freetoken #Crypto #Blockchain #tron #trx #airdrops #Token). @alwelldinho @bbossman @johncrossugu \|\| Bitcoin (-0.07): $7,627.72 Ethereum (-0.25): $590.17 Ripple (-0.15): $0.64 Bitcoin Cash (0.57): $1,071.16 EOS (2.32): $14.71 Litecoin (0.09): $122.40 Cardano (-0.17): $0.22 Stellar (-0.42): $0.30 IOTA (-0.09): $1.89 TRON (-0.55): $0.06 \|\| $BTC: weekly chart looks bearish.. we might need more down weeks before a big rally.. pic.twitter.com/cwsj2bIlyv \|\| #Glitzkoin #ICO, #Bitcoin ,#EThereum, #Stellarhttps://twitter.com/GlitzkoinToken/status/1002184445569437696 … \|\| 2018/06/18 11:00 #BTC 712790円 #ETH 54540.8円 #ETC 1591.8円 #BCH 93240.9円 #XRP 58円 #XEM 21.4円 #LSK 677.1円 #MONA 294.4円 #仮想通貨 #ビットコイン #Bitcoin #bitFlyer #Coincheck \|\| 2018-06-02 21:03:02 【最新】仮想通貨価格表一覧 BTC/JPY　836,470 ETH/JPY　62,103 XEM/JPY　28.069 XRP/JPY　69.186 LTC/JPY　13,034.8 ETC/JPY　1,684.5 BCH/JPY　110,014 \|\| I think that 10 years is a long enough time for something that was supposed to be an electronic-cash payment system to have already become one. I mean #Paypal, #ApplePay, #Venmo, #CashApp and #Zelle are already doing it; and doing it well. #Bitcoin is a scam. \|\| Magic Number? Chart Data Hints at June 6 Bitcoin Boost http://bit.ly/2szXNjS pic.twitter.com/JS4z7kfV3F \|\| Bitcoin @ £5,468.89 \| Ethereum @ £430.00 \| Litecoin @ £82.27 \| Buy it online with bank transfer at http://cryptoshop.uk	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 7370.78, 7466.86, 7354.13, 7419.29, 7418.49, 7711.11, 8424.27, 8181.39, 7951.58, 8165.01
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis] Not fully available. [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Sterling Slumps, Wall Street Rebounds, Bitcoin, Crude - What's Moving Markets: By Peter Nurse Investing.com -- Sterling is under pressure as cases rise of a new Covid variant, while U.S. stocks edge higher in what has been a difficult week. Crude and sterling head lower, Bitcoin struggles for investor friends, and the RBA looks to 2023 to move. Here's what's moving markets on Friday, June 18th. 1. Sterling under pressure as cases rise The positive vibes surrounding sterling are starting to disappear as a surge in coronavirus cases is hitting the optimism that greeted the country’s successful vaccination program. The pound dropped 0.3% against the U.S. dollar Friday to $1.3885, falling to its weakest level since early May, and dropping by 1.6% since Wednesday’s Federal Reserve meeting. The country recorded more than 11,000 new cases of Covid-19 virus on Thursday, the highest number since Feb. 19, despite the country having injected more than 42 million people, around 80% of the adult population, with one dose of a vaccine, and over 30 million with two jabs. The problem has been the rise of the Delta coronavirus variant, first discovered in India, which doubles the risk of hospitalisation compared with the previously dominant variant in Britain, according to a Scottish study. This increase has already persuaded Prime Minister Boris Johnson to delay the total reopening of the country’s economy by a month, while retail sales fell unexpectedly by 1.4% between April and May. Adding to the difficulties facing sterling is the increasingly fractious nature of the relationship between London and Brussels, especially regarding trade between Northern Ireland and the rest of the U.K. “Brussels' patience with London's [attempt] of having its cake and eating it is wearing thin,” said analysts at ING, in a note. “Indeed, there is a risk of protocols being triggered and tariffs being threatened more seriously.”. The political pressures facing the U.K. government are not only external after PM Johnson suffered an embarrassing defeat when his Conservative Party lost a parliamentary by-election in his party’s heartland, just a few miles from his own seat. Story continues This all marks a change in tone for a currency that has risen 0.7% since March, fueled by a successful vaccination effort and speculation this could lead to an early recovery and the Bank of England raising interest rates sooner than its peers. 2. Stocks edge higher ahead of triple witching U.S. stocks are seen opening marginally higher Friday, but largely look set for a losing week in the wake of the Federal Reserve’s hawkish turn. By 6:25 AM ET, Dow Jones futures were up 20 points, or 0.1%, S&P 500 futures were 0.1% higher and Nasdaq 100 futures climbed 0.2%. The Fed’s decision to point towards interest rate raises in 2023, a year earlier than expected, has taken the gloss off large parts of the equity markets, as investors have to begin to adjust to a reality without the very easy funding conditions. On Thursday, the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.6%, broad-based S&P 500 closed 0.1% lower, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite outperformed, gaining 0.9%. For the week to date, the Dow has fallen 1.9%, the S&P 500 has dropped 0.6%, while the Nasdaq has gained 0.7%. There are no economic numbers of note due later and the earnings slate is largely empty. But it's a triple witching Friday, with options and futures on indexes and equities set to expire, which could lead to a volatile trading day. In corporate news, Adobe (NASDAQ:ADBE) will be in the spotlight after the software giant easily beat second quarter targets when it reported after the close Thursday. General retailer Kroger (NYSE:KR) will also be in focus after delivering strong first quarter numbers, while raising its guidance for 2021. 3. The year 2023 and the RBA It’s not only the Federal Reserve for which the year 2023 could be transformative, after strong employment data pointed to Australia’s central bank choosing to raise its interest rates in the same year. May’s employment data showed 115,200 net new jobs were created in the month, way above expectations of 30,000, while unemployment dropped sharply to 5.1%, from 5.5% in April. The strength of this release will likely cause the Reserve Bank of Australia to stop and think, especially as the RBA has often been seen as the odd man out as other central banks in the developed world turn more hawkish, notably the U.S. Federal Reserve and the Reserve Bank of New Zealand. On Wednesday, the Fair Work Commission, an independent wage-setting body, said Australia's minimum wage will rise by 2.5% for the financial year starting in July, a faster pace than this year. “The May employment report is a major ‘game changer’ for policy,” Westpac Chief Economist Bill Evans wrote in a research note Friday, Bloomberg reported. “The recovery is now clearly into a self-sustaining upswing and the need for emergency stimulus policies has eased significantly.” He sees the RBA raising its key interest rate in early 2023, lifting the cash rate, currently at 0.1%, by 15 basis points in the first quarter of 2023, 25 bps in the second, and by a further 25 bps in the final three months of the year. 4. Differing Bitcoin views There are very few things that divide opinion in financial communities quite as radically as the suitability of cryptocurrencies, and Bitcoin in particular, as an investment vehicle. Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, certainly has its backers, soaring in value to a record level of just below $65,000 in April. However, it has been under pressure largely since. At 6:25 AM ET, Bitcoin traded over 4% lower at $37,658. Influential investment bank Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) has highlighted the different sides of debate. Earlier this week the Wall Street banking giant released a report which claimed that cryptocurrencies are not a “viable investment”, concluding that Bitcoin is not “a long-term store of value or an investable asset class”. Fair enough, that’s a view of many in officialdom, including Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey who warned earlier this week about the volatility of digital currencies. However, this view contradicts a report the investment bank published only in May, which included the line - "Bitcoin is now considered an investable asset". It’s probably fair to say that most investment managers side with the first point of view. The Bank of America’s Global Fund Manager Survey for June, released this week, found that 81% of fund managers continue to believe that Bitcoin is still in a bubble state. Additionally, Danske Bank said Friday it will maintain a ban preventing the trading of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies on its platforms, adding that it would review its position again once the cryptocurrency market “matures and is further regulated.” 5. Crude prices slip; Remain near multi-year highs Crude oil prices weakened further Friday, continuing to slip in the wake of the stronger dollar after the Federal Reserve meeting, but remain near multi-year highs. By 6:25 AM ET, U.S. crude was down 0.2% at $70.81 a barrel, while Brent was down 0.5% at $72.71. The U.S. dollar has been one of the main beneficiaries of the Federal Reserve’s hawkish change of tone, pointing to two interest rate increases in 2023, a year earlier than previously expected. The US Dollar Index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six other currencies, hit a more than two-month high earlier Friday, and is on course for a weekly gain of 1.5%, its largest since September. This has had an impact on the crude market, as a stronger dollar makes oil priced in the U.S. currency more expensive in other currencies, potentially weighing on demand. That said, losses have been limited, and the two benchmark oil contracts remain near multi-year highs, still on course to end the week largely unchanged. On Wednesday, Brent settled at its highest price since April 2019 while WTI settled at its highest since October 2018. After all, the fundamentals remain strong, with crude demand increasing as many countries, particularly those with high energy consumption in the West, continue their economic recovery from the Covid-19 virus and gradually re-open. A potential fly in the ointment could come from the potential addition of Iranian oil exports to the global market. This follows remarks from Iran's top negotiator on Thursday saying talks between Tehran and Washington on reviving the 2015 Iran nuclear deal have come closer than ever to an agreement. An agreement between these two principals could see the U.S. lifting sanctions on the Iranian energy sector, potentially allowing the Persian Gulf country, which has the fourth largest proven oil reserves in the world, to resume exporting its crude. Complicating the issue is that Iranians are voting Friday in a presidential election that is likely to see a hardline conservative replace the more moderate Hassan Rouhani, a move that is unlikely to be viewed too favorably in Washington. Related Articles Sterling Slumps, Wall Street Rebounds, Bitcoin, Crude - What's Moving Markets Adevinta, eBay clear final hurdle in $13 billion advertising tie-up Japan keeps budget goal intact for now but aims to reassess it later \|\| Central Bank Digital Currency: A range of issues remain in potential launch of 'Britcoin': Andrew Bailey, governor of Bank of England. Photo: Kirsty O'Connor/Pool via Reuters (POOL New / reuters) A range of issues and uncertainties remain in the way of the creation of a "digital pound", and the Bank of England (BoE) has still not made a decision on its viability, according to a discussion paper published by the bank on Monday. The paper was released with the purpose of broadening debate on central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) potential use in the UK. It explores the role of money in the economy, public policy objectives and implications, regulation and the implication of macroeconomic stability. We live in an increasingly digitalised world where the way we make payments and use money is changing rapidly," said Andrew Bailey, governor of the BoE. "The prospect of stablecoins as a means of payment and the emerging propositions of CBDC have generated a host of issues that central banks, governments, and society as a whole, need to carefully consider and address. "It is essential that we ask the difficult and pertinent questions when it comes to the future of these new forms of digital money. Watch : Bank of England seeks views on economic impact of 'Britcoin' One of the biggest risks of a digital pound, the bank said, would be the potential for digital money to undermine confidence in money and payments and in the financial system as a whole. "Ensuring confidence in sterling entails the provision of safe money as a risk-free means of payment for households, businesses and the wider financial system. And it entails the security and reliability of those payments. If a stablecoin were to fail to honour its obligations, or suffer an operational failure such as a breach of privacy, this could undermine public confidence in money and payments, and in the financial system as a whole," the paper said. In an illustrative example modelled by the bank, a fifth of all UK retail deposits might transfer to new forms of digital money. As a result of this potential outflow, commercial banks would have to adapt their balance sheets in response to maintain their current liquidity ratios. Story continues It also said any stablecoin-based payment chain should be regulated to standards equivalent to those applied to traditional payment chains. In April, the bank said it would launch a taskforce in collaboration with the Treasury, exploring the viability of a "digital pound", dubbed "Britcoin" by the press. At the time, the BoE said any CBDC would be a new form of digital money that could be used by both households and businesses. It would exist alongside cash and bank deposits, rather than replacing them. The government and the BoE have not yet made a decision on whether to introduce a CBDC in the UK and will engage widely with stakeholders to discuss the benefits, risks and practicalities of doing so, the Bank of England said. Like other forms of cryptocurrency, CBDCs are a form of virtual money that uses an electronic record or digital token to represent cash. It is issued and regulated by a countrys monetary authority, which in the UK is the Bank of England. This is a key difference to cryptos like bitcoin, which are decentralised and unregulated. Read more: 'Britcoin': Central bank digital currencies explained Retail CBDC can be directly held by citizens and businesses. This is a step change from the current system where money is held at a bank. Instead of going to a cash machine to withdraw money from, say, Barclays, your money would instead be held directly on your mobile phone. Interbank or wholesale CBDC is restricted to use by financial institutions like banks. It is used for big ticket bank-to-bank transfers and financial settlement processes. Watch: What are the risks of investing in cryptocurrency? CBDCs represent a new frontier for central bank stimulus, potentially acting as a conduit for policies such as stimulus checks, emergency loans, and UBI (universal basic income). Central banks could induce more powerful, directed "money drops" to stimulate the economy rather than tinkering with interest rates. Many backers of digital currencies say banking this way is more efficient. Instead of relying on intermediaries such as commercial banks, money can be transferred directly to the recipient and payments can be made in real time. Read more: Bitcoin, dogecoin recover some losses after Chinese regulation worries There is also an argument that CBDC helps prevent illicit or fraudulent activity. CBDCs make it easier for central banks to keep track of the exact location of a unit of currency. Cash, meanwhile, can be laundered or 'lost' more easily. Potential drawbacks include the invasion of privacy associated with this sort of surveillance. Governments could obtain access to private individual spending data, for example. Another fear is that CBDCs could herald the onset of a fully cashless society, which could harm poor, rural, and elderly communities who largely rely on cash. Watch: What is bitcoin? \|\| The Crypto Daily – Movers and Shakers – June 19th, 2021: Bitcoin, BTC to USD, slid by 5.85% on Friday. Following a 0.71% loss on Thursday, Bitcoin ended the day at $35,845.0. A mixed start to the day saw Bitcoin rise to an early morning intraday high $38,184.1 before hitting reverse. Falling short of the first major resistance level at $39,266, Bitcoin slid to a late afternoon intraday low $35,137.0. Bitcoin fell through the first major support level at $37,134 and the second major support level at $36,194. Steering clear of sub-$35,000 support levels, however, Bitcoin revisited $35,900 levels before easing back. Resistance at $36,000 pinned Bitcoin back late in the day. The near-term bullish trend remained intact in spite of the latest slide back to $35,000 levels. For the bears, Bitcoin would need a sustained fall through the 62% FIB of $27,237 to form a near-term bearish trend. Across the rest of the majors, it was a mixed day on Friday. Polkadot rose by 1.17% to buck the trend on the day. It was a bearish day for the rest of the majors, however. Chainlinkslid by 9.26% to lead the way down. Bitcoin Cash SV(-6.12%),Crypto.com Coin(-6.75%),Ethereum(-5.85%),Litecoin(-6.44%), andRipple’s XRP(-5.33%) weren’t far behind. Binance Coin(-4.42%) andCardano’s ADA(-4.40%) also struggled. In the current week, the crypto total market rose to a Tuesday high $1,708bn before falling to a Friday low $1,433bn. At the time of writing, the total market cap stood at $1,483bn. Bitcoin’s dominance rose to a Wednesday high 46.26% before falling to an early Saturday low 45.18%. At the time of writing, Bitcoin’s dominance stood at 45.23%. At the time of writing, Bitcoin was down by 0.13% to $35,800.0. A mixed start to the day saw Bitcoin fall to an early morning low $35,677.1 before rising to a high $35,950.0. Bitcoin left the major support and resistance levels untested early on. Elsewhere, it was a mixed start to the day. Crypto.com Coin bucked the trend early on, falling by 1.95% to join Bitcoin in the red. It was a bullish start for the rest of the majors, however. At the time of writing, Chainlink was up by 1.03% to lead the way. Bitcoin would need to move through the $36,389 pivot to bring the first major resistance level at $37,640 into play. Support from the broader market would be needed for Bitcoin to break back through to $37,000 levels. Barring a broad-based crypto rally, the first major resistance level and Friday’s high $38,184.1 would likely cap any upside. In the event of another extended crypto rally, Bitcoin could test resistance at $40,000 before any pullback. The second major level sits at $39,436. Failure to move through the $36,389 pivot would bring the first major support level at $34,593 into play. Barring another extended sell-off on the day, Bitcoin should steer clear of sub-$33,000 levels. The second major support level at $33,342 should limit the downside. Thisarticlewas originally posted on FX Empire • Natural Gas Price Forecast – Natural Gas Markets Turn Around Again • S&P 500 Price Forecast – S&P 500 Continues to Dance Along 50 Day EMA • S&P 500 Weekly Price Forecast – S&P 500 Continues to Look at Supported • The Weekly Wrap – A Hawkish FED Delivers for the Dollar Bulls • The Crypto Daily – Movers and Shakers – June 19th, 2021 • Crude Oil Weekly Price Forecast – Crude Oil Markets Continue to Drive Higher \|\| GLOBAL TECH INDUSTRIES GROUP, INC. SUCCESSFULLY UNVEILS CRYPTOCURRENCY TRADING PLATFORM, AND SETS A TIMELINE FOR FURTHER IMPROVEMENTS AND ENHANCEMENTS: New York, NY, June 21, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Global Tech Industries Group, Inc. (OTCQB: GTII) (“GTII” or the “Company”), www.gtii-us.com , a Nevada corporation, announced today that the successful launch of its cryptocurrency trading platform, “ Beyond Blockchain ” occurred on Friday, June 18 th . By end of day Friday, the site had accommodated a steady stream of both GTII shareholders and curious first-time visitors, and also welcomed those new members who successfully opened their own digital accounts by setting up their personal digital wallets. GTII shareholders can go to www.beyondblockchain.us and open a digital wallet. The beyond blockchain platform is the only place where any digital dividend distributed by the Company would be made available for review. The Company is working with legal counsel and hopes to announce a token dividend date once it has been approved by the Board of Directors of the Company. David Reichman, CEO of GTII , commented, “Our GTII tech team is closely monitoring our visitors, and has already been able to ascertain and suggest improvements to the site interface, as well as updating the site’s offerings based on trading preferences. Next up, will be the launch of our mobile app , as we continue to bring the world of digital fine art trading and tokenization directly to our shareholders, allowing them to use a variety of their own devices, helping to make their experience personal and unique to them.” Beyond Blockchain enables customers to trade cryptocurrencies (such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Tether, Bitcoin Cash, and Bitcoin SV), FX, commodities with other assets to be added in the future such as fractionalized interests in tokenized fine art. As the online wallet is expanded, it will be able to house tokenized and fractionalized assets that the Company may distribute to its shareholders. A bout Global Tech Industries Group, Inc.: GTII, a publicly traded Company incorporated in the state of Nevada, specializing in the pursuit of acquiring new and innovative technologies. Story continues Please follow our Company at: www.otcmarkets.com/stock/GTII Safe Harbor Forward-Looking Statements : This press release may contain forward looking statements that are based on current expectations, forecasts, and assumptions that involve risks as well as uncertainties that could cause actual outcomes and results to differ materially from those anticipated or expected, including statements related to the amount and timing of expected revenues related to our financial performance, expected income, distributions, and future growth for upcoming quarterly and annual periods. These risks and uncertainties are further defined in filings and reports by the Company with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Actual results and the timing of certain events could differ materially from those projected in or contemplated by the forward-looking statements due to a number of factors detailed from time to time in our filings with the SEC. Among other matters, the Company may not be able to sustain growth or achieve profitability based upon many factors including but not limited to the risk that we will not be able to find and acquire businesses and assets that will enable us to become profitable. Reference is hereby made to cautionary statements set forth in the Company’s most recent SEC filings. We have incurred and will continue to incur significant expenses in our development stage, noting that there is no assurance that we will generate enough revenues to offset those costs in both the near and long term. New lines of business may expose us to additional legal and regulatory costs and unknown exposure(s), the impact of which cannot be predicted at this time. Words such as “estimate,” “project,” “predict,” “will,” “would,” “should,” “could,” “may,” “might,” “anticipate,” “plan,” “intend,” “believe,” “expect,” “aim,” “goal,” “target,” “objective,” “likely” or similar expressions that convey the prospective nature of events or outcomes generally indicate forward-looking statements. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of this press release. Unless legally required, we undertake no obligation to update, modify or withdraw any forward-looking statements, because of new information, future events or otherwise. Mike King Princeton Research, Inc. 3887 Pacific Street, Las Vegas NV 702.338.2700 \|\| Argo and DMG Join Group Working to Lower Bitcoin Miners’ Carbon Emissions: Argo Blockchain and DMG Blockchain, cryptocurrency mining firms that are publicly traded in the U.K. and Canada, respectively, have joined the Crypto Climate Accord (CCA), an advocacy group that pushes for lower carbon emissions in the crypto-mining industry. The two firmssaid Fridaythey are now working with the CCA to develop a new working group to promote the accord’s objectives, while also working to increase transparency around energy sourcing by crypto mining operations. The CCA is a private sector-led initiative that sets out to reduce overall emissions in cryptocurrency mining, which has become a cause for concern for some high-profile investorssuch as Elon Musk. The organization is encouraging the industry to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040. Related:Upstate NY Bitcoin Miner Greenidge to Offset Rigs’ Carbon Emissions “The Crypto Climate Accord helps lay the groundwork for real, tangible action to address Bitcoin mining’s impact on the environment, and we are both eager and determined to ensure that Supporters and Signatories remain committed to the group’s goals,” Argo Blockchain CEO Peter Wall said. Argo and DMG said it’s estimated that crypto mining worldwide accounts for up to 0.5% of global power usage, though they did not provide a source for the data. The two firms are already working on environmental initiatives, havingsignedan agreement in March to launch abitcoinmining pool that would be completely powered by clean energy. On Thursday, Argo Blockchainannouncedthe purchase of two data centers in Canada that are largely powered by hydroelectricity. See also:What Bloomberg Gets Wrong About Bitcoin’s Climate Footprint • Renaissance Technologies Amassed $140M Position in Mining Stocks In Q1 • Bitcoin Miner Argo Blockchain Purchases Hydro-Powered Data Centers in Canada • Bitcoin’s Mining Difficulty Hits New High; Taproot Begins Its Second Signaling Attempt \|\| MicroStrategy to Sell $1B Worth of Stock to Buy Bitcoin: MicroStrategy will sell up to $1 billion worth of its stock to buy more bitcoin, according to a form published on June 14. MicroStrategy, in its latest move signaling support for bitcoin, will sell up to $1 billion of its stock to buy the asset. The company published the relevantSEC formon June 14. CEO Michel Saylor, now one of bitcoin’s strongest proponents, also revealed the development on Twitter. MicroStrategy has been consistently doubling down on its bitcoin bet, having made a considerable return on investment on its bitcoin purchases with the bull run in the first few months of 2021. Clearly, the company and its leading figure are betting on bitcoin to grow moving forward. The company is one that sticks to its word. Just yesterday, on June 14, itsold $500 millionin secured notes to buy roughly 11,900 BTC. The news pushed the stock price of MicroStrategy by 12%. MicroStrategy’s interest in bitcoin goes beyond just purchasing BTC and sitting on the asset. The company’s CEO is involving himself in more educational and awareness efforts, including the launch of a Bitcoin Mining Council. Recently, Saylor announced that the newly launchedBitcoin Mining Councilwould have a meeting on June 16 to discuss bitcoin’s energy consumption and possible green energy solutions. Notably, Elon Musk will not be a part of the mining council, though he has held a call related to the council in the past. Musk’s tweets set off a storm of headlines related to bitcoin’s energy consumption, which subsequently sent the cryptocurrency’s price tanking. The Tesla CEO said that the company would stop accepting bitcoin payments for Teslas until mining switched to cleaner sources of energy. Recently, heupdatedthe status on this by saying that if there was confirmation of approximately 50% of mining using clean energy, as well as a “positive future trend,” Tesla would start accepting bitcoin again. This helped bitcoin’s price up, on top of the approval of the Taproot upgrade for the network. The Bitcoin Mining Council itself is an organization composed loosely of individuals, groups, and miners that will focus on bringing positive changes to mining on the network. The FAQ on the council’s page goes so far as to say that it will not involve Elon Musk, assuaging the market’s concerns on the Tesla CEO, which it has grown upset with. \|\| FOREX-Dollar essentially unchanged as Treasury yields hold steady: * Dollar inches higher, commodity currencies drop * Yuan falls after mixed Chinese data * Graphic: World FX rates https://tmsnrt.rs/2RBWI5E (Updates to U.S. stock market open, changes dateline (previously: LONDON), changes byline) By Stephen Culp NEW YORK, May 17 (Reuters) - The dollar on Monday held steady near recent lows as new restrictions in Asia to contain COVID-19 and mixed economic signals from China supported safe-haven currencies, while bitcoin extended its slide. The steady U.S. 10-year Treasury yield, along with new outbreaks in Singapore and Taiwan provided some support the dollar against a basket of rival currencies. Still, the greenback is struggling to gain momentum. "The U.S. dollar is lacking the support from yields that it needs to turn this weakness around," said Shaun Osborne, chief FX strategist at Scotiabank in Toronto. "For the summer and into the Fall the U.S. dollar is likely to stay soft." The dollar index was last down 0.04% at 90.247. The euro gained 0.02% to $1.2149 and the dollar fell 0.16% to 109.155 Japanese yen. Bitcoin dropped to a three-month low after Tesla Inc boss Elon Musk suggested over the weekend that the electric automaker may have already sold some of its holdings in the digital currency. The U.S. Federal Reserve is expected to release the minutes from its April monetary policy on Wednesday, which market participants will scrutinize for clues regarding the central bank's thinking about inflation spikes and the ongoing economic recovery. "Last week a whole range of Fed speakers were downplaying inflation, stating that it's temporary, that will not deflect the Fed's course and now is not the time to start discussing reducing support to the economy," Osborne added. "We're not likely to see change in Fed policy for quite some time." Still, resurgent demand combined with supply shortages has put commodity prices on an upward trajectory. Strengthening prices for metals and crude oil have supported commodity-sensitive currencies. The Canadian dollar , the Australian dollar and the Norwegian crown all gained against the U.S. dollar. "The current environment of low interest rates, low volatility and increasing commodity prices should be good for the commodity currencies," Osbourne added. ======================================================== Currency bid prices at 9:48AM (1348 GMT) Description RIC Last U.S. Close Pct Change YTD Pct High Bid Low Bid Previous Change Session Dollar index 90.2470 90.2950 -0.04% 0.296% +90.4290 +90.1750 Euro/Dollar $1.2149 $1.2147 +0.02% +0.00% +$1.2169 +$1.2127 Dollar/Yen 109.1550 109.3350 -0.16% +5.68% +109.4950 +109.0950 Euro/Yen 132.61 132.78 -0.13% +4.48% +132.9400 +132.5200 Dollar/Swiss 0.9009 0.9012 -0.03% +0.00% +0.9028 +0.9003 Sterling/Dollar $1.4106 $1.4098 +0.06% +3.25% +$1.4119 +$1.4078 Dollar/Canadian 1.2092 1.2104 -0.10% +0.00% +1.2136 +1.2087 Aussie/Dollar $0.7755 $0.7781 -0.33% +0.00% +$0.7787 +$0.7731 Euro/Swiss 1.0944 1.0948 -0.04% +0.00% +1.0957 +1.0943 Euro/Sterling 0.8611 0.8611 +0.00% +0.00% +0.8631 +0.8602 NZ $0.7201 $0.7250 -0.70% +0.00% +$0.7249 +$0.7182 Dollar/Dollar Dollar/Norway 8.2690 8.2265 +0.57% +0.00% +8.2985 +8.2200 Euro/Norway 10.0464 9.9920 +0.54% +0.00% +10.0746 +9.9869 Dollar/Sweden 8.3385 8.3341 +0.13% +0.00% +8.3679 +8.3213 Euro/Sweden 10.1306 10.1171 +0.13% +0.00% +10.1584 +10.1104 (Reporting by Stephen Culp; Additonal reporting by Tommy Wilkes in London; editing by Barbara Lewis) \|\| Riot Blockchain Completes Acquisition of Whinstone US, Creating Leading North American Bitcoin Mining Company: US-based Bitcoin miner Riot Blockchain has closed its acquisition of Whinstone US, the owner and operator of North America’s largest Bitcoin mining and hosting facility Whinstone U.S. - Rockdale, Texas Facility Whinstone U.S. - Rockdale, Texas Facility Castle Rock, CO 80104, May 26, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Riot Blockchain, Inc. (NASDAQ: RIOT) ("Riot”, “Riot Blockchain” or the “Company") today announced that it has completed its previously announced acquisition of Whinstone US (“Whinstone”) from Northern Data (XETRA: NB2). The total consideration paid in the transaction was 11.8 million shares of Riot common stock and $80 million in cash, funded with cash on the balance sheet. “The successful acquisition of Whinstone marks the most significant milestone in Riot’s history, and firmly establishes the Company as a leading Bitcoin mining platform,” said Jason Les, CEO of Riot. “With Whinstone’s preeminent infrastructure and best-in-class construction, development, and operations organization, Riot is extremely well-positioned to increase the scale and scope of its operations. We welcome the talented Whinstone employees to the Riot family, and I look forward to leading our combined team as we jointly execute upon the Company’s mission to become one of the most relevant and significant companies supporting the Bitcoin network and greater Bitcoin ecosystem.” “We are incredibly proud of the Whinstone team and sincerely appreciative of the Rockdale community that has supported us since we first broke ground in early 2020,” said Chad Harris, CEO of Whinstone. “We look forward to partnering with the Riot team to advance our pursuit of creating America’s leading Bitcoin mining company.” Riot plans to immediately commence further development of additional facilities at Whinstone in order to rapidly bring the property to its current capacity of 750 MW. With this capacity expansion, the Company’s intention is to send its future committed miner order deliveries to Whinstone, which will allow Riot to capture significant synergies, including lower direct energy costs and operational costs. Story continues Commencing in early 2020, the Whinstone team has successfully built the largest Bitcoin hosting facility in North America, as measured by developed capacity. Whinstone’s comprehensive energy management strategy delivers best-in-class net energy costs of approximately 2.5 cents per kWh utilizing cutting-edge technology and comprehensive analytics to deliver industry-leading low cost, reliable and responsive power. XMS Capital Partners, LLC served as exclusive financial advisor and Sidley Austin LLP served as legal advisor to Riot. Riot will host a live conference call at 8:30 am ET on May 27, 2021 to discuss additional details about the transaction. Further details may be found at http://www.tinyurl.com/RiotIR . The presentation will also be available on the Riot website . About Riot Blockchain, Inc. Riot Blockchain (NASDAQ: RIOT) focuses on mining Bitcoin and hosting Bitcoin mining equipment for clients. The Company is expanding and upgrading its mining operations by securing the most energy efficient miners currently available. Riot is headquartered in Castle Rock, Colorado, and the Company’s current mining facility operates out of Rockdale, TX. The Company also has mining equipment operating in upstate New York under a co-location hosting agreement with Coinmint. For more information, visit www.RiotBlockchain.com . Safe Harbor The information provided in this press release may include forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws, including as to the effects of the acquisition by the Company of Whinstone and the future financial performance and operations of the Company and Whinstone. Because such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Words such as "anticipates," “believes,” "plans," "expects," "intends," "will," "potential," "hope" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based upon current expectations of the Company and involve assumptions that may never materialize or may prove to be incorrect. Actual results and the timing of events could differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements as a result of various risks and uncertainties. These forward-looking statements may include, but are not limited to, statements about the benefits of the acquisition of Whinstone, including financial and operating results, and the Company’s plans, objectives, expectations and intentions. Among the risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ from those expressed in forward-looking statements are: (1) the integration of the businesses of the Company and Whinstone may not be successful, or such integration may take longer or be more difficult, time-consuming or costly to accomplish than anticipated; and (2) failure to otherwise realize anticipated efficiencies and strategic and financial benefits from the acquisition of Whinstone. Detailed information regarding other factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by statements in this press release may be found in the Company's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), including in the sections entitled "Risk Factors" and “Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” of the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020, which was filed with the SEC on March 31, 2021 and subsequently amended in a filing with the SEC on April 30, 2021, and the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended March 31, 2021, which was filed with the SEC on May 17, 2021, and in the additional risk factors set forth in the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on May 26, 2021, copies of which may be obtained from the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. All forward-looking statements included in this press release are made only as of the date of this press release, and the Company does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or correct any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that subsequently occur, or of which the Company hereafter becomes aware, except as required by law. Attachment Picturerd CONTACT: PR Contact Riot Blockchain, Inc. [email protected] Investor Contact - Phil McPherson Riot Blockchain, Inc. 303-794-2000 ext. 110 [email protected] \|\| European Equities: German Trade Data in Focus Following Weak Stats From Early in the Week: Economic Calendar Wednesday, 9 th June German Trade Balance (Apr) Thursday, 10 th June French Non-Farm Payrolls (QoQ) (Q1) ECB Interest Rate Decision / Press Conference Friday, 11 th June Spanish CPI (YoY) (May) Final Spanish HICP (YoY) (May) Final The Majors It was a mixed day for the European majors on Tuesday. The CAC40 and the EuroStoxx600 rose by 0.11% and by 0.10% respectively, while the DAX30 fell by 0.23%. Economic data from Germany weighed on the DAX30, while market optimism and expectations of unwavering ECB support continued to provide support. The Stats It was a busier day on the economic data front. German industrial production figures along with ZEW Economic Sentiment figures for the Eurozone and Germany were also in focus. In April, production fell by 1.0% partially reversing a 2.2% increase in March. Economists had forecast a modest 0.5% rise. According to Destatis , Production in industry excluding energy and construction was down by 0.7%. Within industry, the production of consumer goods slid 3.3%, while the production of intermediate goods fell by 0.2%. The production of capital goods fell by a modest 0.1%. Outside industry, energy production was up by 6.0% in the month, while production in construction declined by 4.3%. While down in the month, production was up 26.4% on the same month a year earlier. Compared with February 2020, however, production in April 2021 was 5.6% lower. ZEW Economic Sentiment figures showed a marginal decline in optimism. Germany’s ZEW Economic Sentiment Indicator fell from 84.4 to 79.8. Economists had forecast a rise to 86.0. For the Eurozone, the Economic Sentiment Indicator fell from 84.0 to 81.3. Finalized 1 st quarter GDP numbers for the Eurozone were also out. Upward revisions provided support to the broader market on the day. In the 1 st quarter, the Eurozone economy contracted by 0.3%, revised up from a 0.6% contraction. Year-on-year, the economy contacted by 1.3%, revised up from a 1.8% contraction. Story continues From the U.S It was a relatively quiet day on the economic calendar. JOLT’s job openings and trade data provided the majors with direction later in the day. Openings increased from 8.288m to 9.286m in April. In April, the U.S trade deficit narrowed from $75.00bn to $68.90bn. Economists had forecast a narrowing to $69.0bn. The Market Movers For the DAX: It was a bearish day for the auto sector on Tuesday. Volkswagen slid by 2.24% to lead the way down, with Continental and Daimler and ending the day down by 0.55% and by 0.92% respectively. BMW fell by a more modest 0.22%. It was also a bearish day for the banks. Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank ended the day with losses of 0.78% and 1.32% respectively. From the CAC , it was a bearish day for the banks. BNP Paribas and Soc Gen fell by 1.55% and by 1.59% respectively, with Credit Agricole declining by 1.84%. It was a mixed day for the French auto sector, however. Stellantis NV rose by 0.13%, while Renault fell by 0.10%. Air France-KLM and Airbus SE both ended the day down by 0.74%. On the VIX Index It was back into the green for the VIX on Tuesday. After ending the day flat on Monday, the VIX rose by 3.96% to end the day at $17.07 The Dow fell by 0.09%, while the NASDAQ and the S&P500 ended the day up by 0.31% and by 0.02% respectively. The Day Ahead It’s a quieter day ahead on the European economic calendar . German trade data is due out later this morning. With little else for the majors to focus on, we can expect plenty of interest in the numbers. Expect any weak export figures to test support for the majors and the DAX in particular after weaker stats from early in the week. From the U.S, there are no material stats to influence late in the session, leaving chatter from Capitol Hill in focus. The Futures In the futures markets, at the time of writing, the Dow Mini was down by 2 points, while the DAX was up by 4 points. For a look at all of today’s economic events, check out our economic calendar . This article was originally posted on FX Empire More From FXEMPIRE: Trade Data From Germany Delivers EUR Support European Equities: German Trade Data in Focus Following Weak Stats From Early in the Week Natural Gas Price Prediction – Prices Settle Off Their Highs after Testing Resistance Bitcoin Should Bottom at Around $26K Before the Next Rally Starts Crude Oil Price Update – Testing More than Two-Year High after Reversing Earlier Losses EOS, Stellar’s Lumen, and Tron’s TRX – Daily Analysis – June 9th, 2021 \|\| UK’s Starling Bank to Lift Ban Blocking Payments to Crypto Exchanges in 3 Weeks: The U.K.’s Starling bank said it will resume cryptocurrency exchange deposits on June 23 after the bank installs an enhanced payment review process. • Starling took temporary measures to suspend deposits on Saturday over concerns about “high levels of suspected financial crime with payments to some cryptocurrency exchanges,” Alexandra Frean, the chief corporate affairs officer at Starling, said in an emailed statement. • Frean told CoinDesk the issues that led to the ban are not just an issue for Starling but for all U.K. banks. Starling apologized for the inconvenience caused to customers and said users can still make outbound payments to cryptocurrency exchanges with their Starling debit card. • “The suspension will lift on 23 June following the introduction of an enhanced payment review process. The block only affects outbound payments, inbound payments in GBP are unaffected,” said Frean. • Users have also complained on social media about similar blocks by high-street bank Barclays and online bank Monzo. A Barclays’ spokesperson earlier denied that such a ban was in place while Monzo declined to comment. Read more:UK’s Starling Bank Temporarily Blocks User Payments to Crypto Exchanges: Report • ETC Group to List First Bitcoin ETP in London on the Aquis Exchange • UK’s Starling Bank Temporarily Blocks User Payments to Crypto Exchanges: Report • UK Police Raid Suspected Cannabis Factory, Find Bitcoin Mining Operation • What ING Bank Might Steal From DeFi [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] None available.	Trend: down \|\| Prices: 34434.34, 35867.78, 35040.84, 33572.12, 33897.05, 34668.55, 35287.78, 33746.00, 34235.20, 33855.33
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2020-11-13] BTC Price: 16317.81, BTC RSI: 77.31 Gold Price: 1885.70, Gold RSI: 48.09 Oil Price: 40.13, Oil RSI: 52.32 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] 3 Important Factors Driving the Price of Bitcoin: Where will bitcoin price go in 2021? Traditional investors have long wondered how to value bitcoin. Few have made headway: unlike stocks or commodities, cryptocurrencies have no earnings estimates or growth projections for investors to lean on. So, what drives bitcoin price? The answer may surprise investors because of what’snotincluded: gold and bitcoin mining supply. InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips Instead, bitcoin prices are controlled by three critical demand-side factors: Cryptocurrency demand Risk-taking appetite Technical factors Armed with the facts, we’ll examine how these factors will drive prices in 2021. And if you want to learn more about investing in bitcoin, learn more in myUltimate Guide to Bitcoin. Firstly, why should investors even consider bitcoin?Simple.$10,000 invested in bitcoin in 2015 would have turned to over $430,000 today. And more gains could still come. • 7 Hot Food Stocks to Buy for Tasty Returns Bitcoin is now theworld’s sixth-largest currency. It’s more widely circulated than the British pound and has a trading velocitysix times the U.S. dollar. Bitcoin is also the primary currency of cryptocurrency developers, an essential step to gettingventure capital (VC) dollars and attention. Source: Chart by InvestorPlace, Data courtesy ofCoinMarketCap Bitcoin makes up the largest share of all crytocurrencies Now onto valuing bitcoin Not fundamental valuations… Traditional investors have often tried to develop an“intrinsic value”of bitcoin by analyzing its supply. But that method misses one key fact: bitcoin’s supply remains relatively fixed because of its underlying code. The blockchain caps the maximum number of coins to 21 million. And a self-adjusting difficulty function means cryptocurrency miners have little effect on the speed of mining, unlike in gold or other producible commodities. Source: Data courtesy ofBlockchain Charts So what drives bitcoin prices in the short-term? What assets are bitcoin returns most correlated to? Other cryptocurrencies. Even though the three top cryptocurrencies (bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH) and Ripple (XRP)) run on fundamentally different technologies, correlations between them have jumped since 2017. Today, bitcoin has a 0.9 correlation with both Ethereum and XRP, meaning they move together 90% of the time. Source: Data courtesy ofYahoo Finance Cryptocurrency correlations have risen over time Essentially, investors have started to view cryptocurrenciesas a single asset class. Technology has undoubtedly played a helping hand. Gone are the days of setting up individual wallets for each currency.CoinbaseandRobinhood, two major U.S. cryptocurrency platforms, now offer side-by-side comparisons of various coins. Investors can also easily buyindex-linked products. What about comparisons to gold? Do investors also see bitcoin as an inflation hedge and a safe-haven asset class? The data says “no.” Bitcoin returns are only 9% correlated with gold, a positive but relatively insignificant amount. Instead, the cryptocurrency has far more in common with risky assets. • S&P 500:22% correlation • Junk Bonds:19% correlation • VIX (S&P volatility):-16% correlation (i.e., bitcoin prices decrease in volatile markets) So, contrary to common beliefs, bitcoin doesn’t act as a safe-haven asset. Instead, it does the opposite: its value tends to go up in confident bull markets and fall in fearful bearish ones. Source: Data courtesy ofYahoo Finance Technical analysis requireslessefficient markets to work. A study by the U.S. Federal Reserve found that technical analysis in the foreign exchange market worked during the 1970s and ’80s, but declined in the ’90sas information flows improved. Fortunately for cryptocurrency investors, BTC today still resembles the inefficient systems of the 1970s. Bitcoin trades on multiple disconnected exchanges, making it difficult to determine its exact price at any given moment. And investors still routinelyaccuse market makers of manipulating prices. These factors make trend-following an essential tool in tracking theself-reinforcing propheciesof bitcoin price. That’s meant technical strategies have worked on bitcoin. Below is a graph of RSI-14, a standard mean-reversion indicator. Source: Data courtesy ofYahoo Finance RSI-14 has performed well in tracking BTC buy and sell points An investor using these indicators would have generated 15% higher returns than buy-and-hold while invested just 40% of the time. A more aggressive approach would have pushed returns even higher. Bitcoin’s three key drivers mean one thing for 2021: bitcoin prices will depend on the economy. • Fast-improving economy.Cryptocurrency demand increases, risk-taking up, technical factors positive.Bitcoin rises to $15,000 – $20,000. • Slowing economy.Lower cryptocurrency demand, flight to safety, negative technical factors.Bitcoin falls to RSI resistance levels of $5,800 – $9,000 Which path with bitcoin take? In an August research note, Goldman Sachs’ Global Research team struck an upbeat tone for the 2021 economy. “We now expect that at least one vaccine will be approved by the end of 2020 and will be widely distributed by the end of 2021Q2,”Goldman Sachs economist Joseph Briggs wrote. “We have incorporated this timeline as our baseline forecast, and now assume consumer services spending accelerates in the first half of 2021 as consumers resume activities that would previously have exposed them to Covid-19 risk.” If these expectations play out, bitcoin investors will see good times ahead. But if the economy suddenly grinds to a halt, then bitcoin price will certainly fall. As trading matures, technical factors will eventually take a backseat in determining bitcoin price. In their place, fundamental factors will start to take over: matters such as transaction fees, forks, user adoption, and the general demand for cryptocurrencies. My colleagues atInvestorPlacehave a friendly bet:which will reach 40,000 first: bitcoin or the Dow Jones?And either could be right. But for 2021, how to invest in bitcoin remains clear. As political consultant James Carville once said, “it’s the economy, stupid.” On the date of publication, Tom Yeung did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. • Why Everyone Is Investing in 5G All WRONG • America’s #1 Stock Picker Reveals His Next 1,000% Winner • Revolutionary Tech Behind 5G Rollout Is Being Pioneered By This 1 Company • Radical New Battery Could Dismantle Oil Markets The post3 Important Factors Driving the Price of Bitcoinappeared first onInvestorPlace. \|\| PayPal Cryptocurrency Service Now Available For All Eligible US Users: PayPal Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: PYPL ) has made its new cryptocurrency service available to all eligible users in the United States, the company informed customers in an email. What Happened : Last week, during the quarterly earnings release call, PayPal disclosed that only 10% of its users in the U.S. could access digital assets services at the time. The payments company has also increased the weekly limit on cryptocurrency purchases on its platform to $20,000 per user, from the earlier $10,000, as per PayPal Communications Manager Aaron Gould, CoinDesk reported. PayPal’s international customers as well as Venmo users will also get access to this feature sometime in the first half of next year, the company's CEO Daniel Schulman said on the earnings call. The online payment solutions provider has tied up with Paxos Technology Solutions LLC — a New York-based regulated financial institution, to overlook digital asset custody. Why Does It Matter : The plan to expand into the digital assets domain was officially announced in October. The services are initially restricted to select cryptocurrencies like Ethereum (ETH), Bitcoin (BTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), and Litecoin (LTC). Users can exercise the option of self-custody on PayPal. The payments platform will neither support digital transfers to other PayPal accounts nor will it allow users to shop using virtual currencies — a move that has invited criticism from experts. In October, there were reports that PayPal was planning to acquire BitGo — a California based digital asset custodian providing multi-signature wallets service. Price Action : After a 1.68% drop during trading hours, PYPL regained 0.73% during the after-hours to close at $190.48. Photo courtesy of PayPal See more from Benzinga Click here for options trades from Benzinga Instacart Targets IPO At B Valuation Early Next Year: Report Facebook And Google's Political Ad Ban Extension Is Irking Georgia Senate Run-Off Campaigners © 2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. View comments \|\| ALT 5 Sigma Digital Instrument Market Summary for BTC, ETH, LTC, BCH: NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / September 18, 2020 / ALT 5 Sigma Inc. an emerging leader in blockchain powered financial platforms provides its daily digital instruments market summary for Bitcoin (BTC/USD), Ether (ETH/USD), Litecoin (LTC/USD). Real-Time Market Data is available at www.alt5pro.com and Real-Time Market Data feed is also available at www.alt5sigma.com ALT 5 Sigma Digital Instrument Market Summary for BTC, ETH, LTC, BCH About ALT 5 Sigma Inc. ALT 5 is a fintech company specializing in the development and deployment of digital assets trading and exchange platforms. Alt 5 was founded by financial industry specialists out of the necessity to provide the digital asset economy with security, accessibility, transparency and compliance. ALT 5 provides its clients the ability to buy, sell and hold digital assets in a safe and secure environment deployed with the best practices of the financial industry. ALT 5's products and services are available to Banks, Broker Dealers, Funds, Family Offices, Professional Traders, Retail Traders, Digital Asset Exchanges, Digital Asset Brokers, Blockchain Developers, and Financial Information Providers. ALT 5's digital asset custodian services are secured by GardaWorld. GardaWorld is the world's largest privately-owned business solutions and security services company, offering cash management services. For more information, visit www.alt5sigma.com . CONTACT: Andre Beauchesne Tel. 1-800-204-6203 [email protected] For more information on ALT 5 Pay, visit www.alt5pay.com For more information on ALT 5 Pro, visit www.alt5pro.com SOURCE: ALT 5 Sigma Inc. View source version on accesswire.com: https://www.accesswire.com/606841/ALT-5-Sigma-Digital-Instrument-Market-Summary-for-BTC-ETH-LTC-BCH \|\| ASICLine Miners an Investment Opportunity: ST. PAUL, Minn., Oct. 23, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ASICLine has quickly grabbed the attention of crypto investors around the world since the recent launch of its miners. The two 5nm ASIC miners https://asicline.com from the company website, FirstLine and PowerBox have been designed with the sole objective to create a surefire investment opportunity for all crypto mining enthusiasts regardless of their knowledge and expertise. In order to ensure fastest return on investment, these products offer lightning fast hash rate as well as maximum energy efficiency. To make things even better, FirstLine offers hash rates of 410 TH/s, 60 GH/s, 15 GH/s, and 3 MH/s for Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum, and Monero respectively. These figures are even more impressive for PowerBox; 1250 TH/s, 180 GH/s, 45 GH/s, and 9 MH/s, in the same order. The power consumptions for these two units are 650 W and 1800 W respectively. “ASICLine was created with the goal of making crypto mining a profitable investment option for common people. Both our miners are not only superior in terms of their hash rate and mining efficiency, but also super easy to use, even for people without any prior mining knowledge and experience. We are delighted to be able to deliver this viable investment opportunity in these troubled times,” said ASICLine CEO Martin Muller. To find out more, visit: https://asicline.com/ About ASICLine: ASICLine Inc. was founded by a team comprising of multiple investors dedicated to bringing the latest ASIC technology miners to the market before the so-called technology giants use them for a long time for their own profit and dump them on the market when they are no longer profitable. Whenever a new generation of ASIC is available, ASICLine is committed to bringing it to the public for a price they can afford. The company is now offering an advanced range of ASIC miners with guaranteed profitability. Contact: Nicolas Smit [email protected] +1 (206) 965-8243 View comments \|\| The World Is Never Getting Off Government Stimulus: The Breakdown weekly recap looks at bitcoin buying by Iran, JPM Coin and the latest round of lockdowns coming to Europe. For more episodes and free early access before our regular 3 p.m. Eastern time releases, subscribe with Apple Podcasts , Spotify , Pocketcasts , Google Podcasts , Castbox , Stitcher , RadioPublica , iHeartRadio or RSS . This episode is sponsored by Crypto.com , Nexo.io and Elliptic . On this week’s weekly recap, NLW looks at: Bitcoin’s resilience in the face of a week where many investors went risk off, causing a drop in stocks and gold JPMorgan’s dramatic three-year attitude shift around bitcoin and crypto Iran stockpiling bitcoin to be able to pay for imports A new round of COVID-19 lockdowns and the stimulus that will follow This week on The Breakdown: Monday \| Hedge Funds Failures, Bankruptcies and Pandemic Fatigue Tuesday \| JPMorgan Launches JPM Coin: Welcome to the Private Currency Era Wednesday \| The ‘Everything Crash’ Is Coming? Markets Go Risk-Off as European Stocks See Worst Day in 5 Months Thursday \| Mirage Recovery: What ‘Record’ GDP Growth Tells Us About the Economy Friday \| Why Satoshi Chose Halloween to Release the Bitcoin White Paper Related: By the Numbers: More Bitcoin Bulls Than Ever Before See also: Iran Amends Law to Allow Imports to Be Funded With Cryptocurrency For more episodes and free early access before our regular 3 p.m. Eastern time releases, subscribe with Apple Podcasts , Spotify , Pocketcasts , Google Podcasts , Castbox , Stitcher , RadioPublica , iHeartRadio or RSS . Related Stories The World Is Never Getting Off Government Stimulus The World Is Never Getting Off Government Stimulus The World Is Never Getting Off Government Stimulus \|\| Market Wrap: Bitcoin Dips to $10.1K, Ether Drops to $330 on Sell-Off Session: Bitcoin and ether both dropped Monday as global markets conducted a selling session. Bitcoin (BTC) trading around $10,492 as of 20:00 UTC (4 p.m. EDT). Slipping 3.6% over the previous 24 hours. Bitcoin’s 24-hour range: $10,179-$10,994. BTC below its 10-day and 50-day moving averages, a bearish signal for market technicians. Bitcoin price fell sharply Monday, with a lengthy sell-off session starting around 07:00 UTC (12:00 a.m. EDT) and dropping to as low as $10,179 on spot exchanges such as Coinbase before gaining to $10,492 as of press time. “The market is still positioned short with persistent negative funding over the past month and under-allocation to BTC,” said Cindy Leow, portfolio manager for 256 Capital Partners, a market-neutral trading firm. ”At this stage, sellers are still in control of the market.” Related: Bitcoin-on-Ethereum Token tBTC Relaunches Following Buggy Debut in May As bitcoin tumbled Monday, sell liquidations on derivatives exchange BitMEX picked up, putting pressure on price. In fact, over the past 24 hours, BitMEX liquidated over $34 million in long positions, the crypto equivalent of a margin call. Darius Sit of crypto quant trading firm QCP Capital said the global equities markets are not faring well to start the week. “Stocks are getting hit,” Sit said. indeed, major indexes are all in the red Monday: In Asia the Nikkei 225 is closed for holiday Monday. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slipped 2% as HSBC dropped 4.5% Tencent fell 1.7% . In Europe the FTSE 100 ended the day in the red 3.3% as potential fresh coronavirus restrictions in the UK led to major selling . In the United States the S&P 500 fell 1.8% as concerns about the coronavirus and uncertainty regarding fresh US government stimulus pushed the index lower . Michael Rabkin, of crypto liquidity and market making firm DV Chain, said markets across the board are in “risk-off” mode, when asset holders unload for safer investments in the face of broader economic tumult. “Governments continue to print money and questions are left unanswered due to covid,” said Rabkin. “We’re seeing risk-off across all the markets right now which is having a direct effect on crypto.” Story continues Read More: Bitcoin and Ether in Biggest Slump Since Sept. 3 as Stock Markets Sink Related: First Mover: Bitcoin's Latest Sell-Off Gets Crypto Traders Mulling Election Chaos QCP Capital noted in its Monday investor letter that both bitcoin and ether were riding high just last week – ether hit $394 September 17, bitcoin topped $11,178 September 19. Monday’s sell-off may prove to be an assessment of crypto’s resiliency, according to QCP. “We’ve had a retest of $11,000 in bitcoin and almost $400 in ether,” QCP’s note stated. “We think this week and next is where the rubber meets the road.” Ether options shift on price drop The second largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, ether (ETH), was down Monday trading around $345 and slipping 7.2% in 24 hours as of 20:00 UTC (4:00 p.m. EDT). Read More: Did Ethereum Learn Anything From the $55M DAO Attack? Implied volatility, the market’s expectation of ether’s future price movement, has dipped below realized volatility, ether’s current movement based on historical data. It’s a shift in the ether options market not seen since July. William Purdy, an options trader and founder of analysis firm PurdyAlerts, said ether’s price descent, hitting as low as $330, Monday, is helping fuel the switch. “This recent discrepancy in implied volatility and realized volatility is due to the options market following the underlying asset price momentum in the short-term,” he said. Purdy said this means options premiums are likely undervalued and buyers can take advantage – at least for the time being. “Implied volatility will likely increase again when options buyers seek to close their positions,” Purdy added. Other markets Digital assets on the CoinDesk 20 are mostly in the red Monday. Two notable winners as of 20:00 UTC (4:00 p.m. EDT): orchid (OXT) + 28% ethereum classic (ETC) + 0.14% Notable losers as of 20:00 UTC (4:00 p.m. EDT): chainlink (LINK) – 7.9% tezos (XTZ) – 7.9% zcash (ZEC) – 7% Read More: Former HSBC, Citigroup, Merrill Lynch Execs Start $50M Crypto Fund Commodities: Oil is down 3.1%. Price per barrel of West Texas Intermediate crude: $39.60. Gold was in the red 2% and at $1,910 as of press time. Treasurys: U.S. Treasury bond yields slipped Monday. Yields, which move in the opposite direction as price, were down most on the 10-year, in the red 3.5%. Related Stories Market Wrap: Bitcoin Dips to $10.1K, Ether Drops to $330 on Sell-Off Session Market Wrap: Bitcoin Dips to $10.1K, Ether Drops to $330 on Sell-Off Session \|\| CoinZoom CEO Todd Crosland on How Tighter US Regulation Could Mainstream Crypto: There are those in the cryptocurrency space who believe that excessive red tape is hampering innovation. If these entities had their way, financial task forces would take a hands-off approach, leaving the industry to self-regulate. And then there are those who believe that a lack of tighter and less ambiguous regulation is the reason why mainstream adoption has yet to materialize. Crypto needs to clean its house, they aver, before it can invite the world over the threshold. Todd Crosland is firmly in the latter camp. The CEO of fast-growing U.S. exchange CoinZoom knows more than most about financial regulation, having founded Interbank FX in 2001. Over the next two decades, he grew the futures and commodities brokerage into a tightly regulated global powerhouse. Now, he’s on a mission to follow suit with CoinZoom – and is adamant that tighter regulation is a win-win for all participants, from crypto veterans to new players entering the game – PayPal (NASDAQ: PYPL ) included. The State of Crypto Regulation in the US “We see the high regulatory burden in the U.S. as a long-term benefit for CoinZoom,” ventures Crosland, appraising the domestic landscape, which is far more stringent than that of other crypto nations. In his view, crypto traders – particularly those from an institutional background – cherish the legitimacy and trust that comes from dealing with a regulated U.S. exchange. CoinZoom CEO Todd Crosland “Serious traders and institutions want to deal with a reputable and regulated firm,” insists Crosland. “There are lots of global exchanges who have decided to domicile in countries that we have barely heard of, and don’t require any regulatory requirements. The U.S. has the highest standards and highest capital requirements for any country in the world.” For exchanges eyeing expansion into the U.S. market, the high regulatory bar can be a deterrent. Crosland should know, having spent over 18 months trying for a BitLicense, widely regarded as the most exacting crypto license in the world. The process has entailed “a myriad of requirements and qualifications for the company and team members,” concedes Crosland, but he is optimistic of a favorable outcome, noting “We are in the final stages of this process, and anticipate receiving our license in New York in the next six weeks.” Story continues Eyeing Opportunities Overseas The U.S. market might be the most demanding from a regulatory perspective, but it is by no means the only region whose appetite for digital assets is unsated. CoinZoom is registered as a Digital Currency Exchange in Australia and in the final stages of getting an E-Money Licence in the EU. Through a partnership with Visa ( V ), the company has issued its own Visa card, enabling users to spend their Bitcoin, Ethereum, and an additional 26 other coins at over 53 million merchants worldwide, plus any ATM that accepts Visa. “We believe that the unique features of the CoinZoom Visa card are one of the first steps towards helping with mass adoption for crypto assets,” insists Crosland. “The convenience of going into a Starbucks ( SBUX ) and spending Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies on the CoinZoom Visa card is a significant differentiator.” The company has also developed ZoomMe, a peer-to-peer fiat and crypto remittance service. Customers can send USD or crypto anywhere in the world, instantly and for free, which is an attractive prospect given that MoneyGram and Western Union charge 3-4% for sending USD globally. “Currently, CoinZoom has over 100,000 registered users in 180 countries,” explains Crosland. “The target markets for CoinZoom include the U.S., Europe, and Asia. We will be expanding the CoinZoom Visa card to Europe, UK, and Canada in the next three months. By the end of the first quarter of 2021, we will be expanding the CoinZoom Visa card into Asia.” Why Greater Regulation Is Needed As CoinZoom ramps up its quest to onboard more cryptocurrency users, its CEO is unapologetic about his desire for more robust regulation. “For the industry to continue to grow and become mainstream,” he insists, “customers must have trust in the exchanges. That is why CoinZoom chose the most highly regulated country to launch its exchange. “In the past, there have been bad actors in the crypto space. Having enhanced AML/KYC requirements will only benefit the crypto space in the long run. Institutions are investing hundreds of millions of dollars into the crypto ecosystem each year, and having confidence in the industry through regulation is key.” When pressed on whether tighter regulation may lead to a two-tier ecosystem, where withdrawing from exchanges into private wallets is criminalized, Crosland believes that this scenario will not arise – nor is it desirable. “We don’t believe that a two-tiered bitcoin will emerge. U.S. regulators, including the SEC and the CFTC, have taken a measured approach to regulation of the crypto industry. These regulators do not want to stifle the innovation that the advent of the blockchain ecosystem presents.” Nor is he against privacy coins – but believes that ownership of them should come with certain caveats. “Privacy coins are definitely an issue for global regulators and can be exploited for nefarious purposes. The view for CoinZoom comes down to our robust AML/KYC policies and procedures, as well as our transaction monitoring system. “At the heart of every transaction, we do full KYC on both the purchaser and the seller for every transaction. As long as there is full AML and KYC for each customer and every transaction, we do not believe there is an issue with customers trading these privacy coins.” What the Future Holds for CoinZoom and Crypto As for the exchange that Todd Crosland co-founded in 2018, there is a lot to look forward to. As the industry enters a new bull market, with all the jubilation that this brings to long-term crypto holders, CoinZoom has plenty in the pipeline. This month, it listed two of the leading defi tokens, YFI and UNI, and is upping its overtures to retail customers – without losing sight of the institutional customers around whom Crosland’s previous venture, Interbank FX, was centered. “ CoinZoom has built a sophisticated matching engine at the heart of the exchange that provides a superb experience for high frequency traders, who place thousands of trades a day via our API,” explains Crosland. “We have also built a very popular app, CoinZoom Pro. It’s geared toward retail traders and has received hundreds of five-star reviews in the Apple App store and Google Play store.” In the next three months, CoinZoom will be expanding its Visa card offering from the U.S. to include Europe, the U.K., and Canada. Then, in Q2 of 2021, CoinZoom will be launching margin trading and crypto lending, promises Crosland. By that time, few will be surprised if Bitcoin hasn’t tested new all-time highs. Nor will they be shocked if tighter regulation has begun to permeate the industry, just as Crosland predicted. Disclosure: No positions. Insider Monkey doesn’t recommend purchase/sale of any securities. Please get in touch with a financial professional before making any financial decisions. You understand that Insider Monkey doesn’t accept any responsibility and you will be using the information presented here at your own risk. You acknowledge that this disclaimer is a simplified version of our Terms of Use, and by accessing or using our site, you agree to be bound by all of its terms and conditions. If at any time you find these terms and conditions unacceptable, you must immediately leave the Site and cease all use of the Site. \|\| Human Capital: Coinbase and Clubhouse aside, Ethel’s Club founder wants to take us 'Somewhere Good': Welcome back to Human Capital, a weekly digest about diversity, inclusion and the human labor that powers tech. This week, we're looking at a number of topics because a lot went down. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong took a controversial stance on social, Clubhouse found itself under scrutiny again, but this time around anti-Semitism and a new site launched that sheds light on some of the negative experiences of underrepresented people in tech. Meanwhile, the founder from Ethel's Club unveiled Somewhere Good, which aims to provide a safe social platform for people of color. The timing couldn't be better. Human Capital launches as a newsletter on Friday, October 23. Be sure to sign up here to get it sent straight to your inbox. Stay Woke Coinbase CEO’s stance on societal issues stirs up controversy Over the weekend, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said the company does not engage on border societal issues when they are not related to its core mission. On political causes, Armstrong said Coinbase also does not advocate for any causes or candidates that are not related to its mission “because it is a distraction from our mission.” In that Medium post, Armstrong recognized that some employees may disagree and even resign. A couple of days later, Armstrong began offering employees who don’t feel comfortable with the direction of the company a severance package, The Block Crypto reported . “It’s always sad when we see teammates go, but it can also be what is best for them and the company,” Armstrong wrote in an internal memo. “As I said in my blog post, life is too short to work a company that you aren’t excited about.” It's quite a statement to make just weeks away from a very important presidential election. But Armstrong's justification seems to be that he doesn't want the internal strife that has happened at companies like Google and Facebook to happen at Coinbase. Obviously, people have feelings and thoughts about Armstrong’s stance. One on side, there’s Y Combinator Founder Paul Graham saying Coinbase will push away the “aggressively conventional-minded” people but that those types of people “tend not to be good at building things anyway.” And on another side, there’s Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey pointing out how Armstrong’s stance leaves people behind. #Bitcoin (aka “crypto”) is direct activism against an unverifiable and exclusionary financial system which negatively affects so much of our society. Important to at least acknowledge and connect the related societal issues your customers face daily. This leaves people behind: https://t.co/0LMlF1qcmG — jack (@jack) September 30, 2020 https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js Story continues Then, there’s also confusion around how Armstrong could say that Black lives matter in June and then go on to say that workers essentially need to leave their politics and beliefs that don’t relate to work at home. Well, GitHub Director of Engineering Erica Baker tweeted that someone probably forced Armstrong’s hand into speaking out about Black lives. so tl;dr coinbase engineers walked off because brian wouldn't say "Black Lives Matter," he posted it so they'd get back to work, now he's having an executive "YOU AREN'T THE BOSS OF ME!" meltdown* about it. 🙄 *executive meltdowns come in many flavors pic.twitter.com/tSYNmeOVTf — EricaJoy (@EricaJoy) September 29, 2020 https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js The latest Clubhouse drama The invitation-only audio social app was home to a discussion titled, "Anti-Semitism and Black Culture" this week. During the discussion, someone reportedly said Black and Jewish communities differ because of their relationship to economic advancement, Bloomberg reported . In response, another person reportedly said, “The Jewish community does business with their enemies; the Black community is enslaved by their enemies" -- to which some people pushed back, saying it perpetuates a harmful stereotype about Jewish people. I apologize to anyone who felt threatened or harmed by anything said in the CH room I started tonight. I had no intention of negativity. — ashoka finley (@lifesupremacist) September 29, 2020 https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js Ethel’s Club founder teases Somewhere Good, a digital space that centers people of color Amid private social app Clubhouse finding itself again under heavy scrutiny, there perhaps is no better time for the emergence of a platform that provides a safe space for people of color. Naj Austin, founder and CEO of subscription-based physical and digital community Ethel’s Club, is building Somewhere Good to be a one-stop shop for people of color . Beyond being a place for people of color to connect, it’s also about creating a safe space for folks to be their authentic selves. “A lot of how we’re talking about Somewhere Good with investors is this idea of a new online world where our identities are centered,” Austin told me. “The vision for Somewhere Good is you take your phone out of your pocket and, as a Black person or person of color, all of your needs are met there in that one place.” Greylock teams up with Management Leadership for Tomorrow to diversify tech’s wealth cycle Greylock is one of a number of VC firms that have kicked into action following the police killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and other unarmed Black people and people of color. The multi-pronged partnership will enable Greylock to tap into MLT’s network of around 8,000 Black, Latinx and Indigenous professionals and connect them with potential roles at the firm’s portfolio companies. Additionally, Greylock and MLT will work together to support retention at those companies, as well as help MLT professionals pursue careers in venture capital. “And look, VCs and tech startups — we just have to be honest that we’ve been really bad at getting this right,” Greylock Partner David Sze told TechCrunch. “Historically, I mean, we’ve let the system sort of evolve without much top down oversight in regards of diversity and inclusion and we just really need to change that.” Twitter releases latest diversity report Twitter’s most recent diversity report showed that the company has done an okay job of increasing representation of Black employees at its company since 2017. In 2017, Twitter was just 3.4% Black and in August 2020, Twitter was 6.3% Black. Image Credits: Twitter By 2025, Twitter aims for at least 25% of its workforce to be underrepresented minorities, and at least 10% of that overall 25% to be Black. Overall, Twitter is 41.4% white, 28.4% Asian, 5.2% Latinx, 3.7% multi-racial and less than 1% Indigenous. Twitter’s technical team is also mostly white (41.4%) so perhaps it’s no wonder why Twitter has had some algorithmic bias issues . DiscoTech highlights diversity issues in tech A new site popped up that details the discrimination people experience in tech. The folks behind DiscoTech describe themselves as “a diverse group of cross-tech organizers who are committed to ending discrimination in the workplace.” The posted experiences -- all anonymous -- describe sexism, racism, ageism, sexual harassment and assault, weight discrimination, suicide and mental illness. Here are a few stories that jumped out: On being a woman in tech: After introducing myself to a peer at a social gathering, I was asked if I had 'come to Microsoft to find a husband?' The blatant question left me speechless, and I was shocked by his total disregard for my professional aspirations. My friend overheard and she quickly asked if he would pose the same question to a man, asking if he'd 'come to Microsoft to find a partner?' He got defensive and denied his originally offensive inquiry. On being underpaid in tech : This event happened prior to my joining the team, but I didn't find out about it until years later. The hiring manager bragged openly about how 'little' she hired me for while I was desperately leaving a toxic work environment. I pushed back, she was persistent and being afraid of losing the offer I took it. I ended up leaving the position for a job that paid market value. Irony. On being a Black woman in tech : I'm not sure where to begin with the amount of discomfort I've experienced in the work place. As a Black, woman in tech I'm all too familiar with being an extreme minority. I guess you could say my discomfort began at the beginning of my professional career. I accepted a position at my company in a 6 month training program for recent college graduates. Upon arrival at orientation I realized I was the only Black woman out of 70 participants. 70 other co-workers and I was the only one. I felt completely alone and as if I had no one who could relate to my unique experience. From there, it was small incident after small incident that caused my discomfort to grow. From my technical trainer referring to me as Sheba, as in the Queen of Sheba, in the middle of a training session to my colleagues constantly questioning my intelligence, work became a stressful environment. It didn't help that when I tried to reach out throughout the company for assistance with existing in the workplace, I was often told to keep to myself and try my best to ‘fit in.’ It took me a while to find a support system but I'm glad I finally did because the amount of microaggressions I face on daily basis is often overwhelming. Labor Organizing Shipt shoppers protest new pay model Shipt shoppers are organizing a handful of actions in protest of Shipt’s new pay structure that began rolling out this month. The first action is happening from Saturday, Oct. 17 through Oct. 19, when workers are calling on their fellow Shipt shoppers to walk out and boycott the company. Organizers are asking for shoppers not to schedule any hours or accept any orders during that time. “Our goal is to draw attention to the fact that this pay scale really does affect shoppers and regardless of Shipt’s position of it taking into account effort and benefitting shoppers, we are finding it is the opposite on both fronts,” Willy Solis, a Shipt shopper in Dallas and lead organizer at Gig Workers Collective, told TechCrunch. “It’s not holding up to the true reality. We are getting paid less for more effort.” Spin workers ratify first union contract A group of 40 workers at Ford-owned Spin ratified their first union contract with Teamsters Local 665 this week. The group of workers consists of shift leads, maintenance specialists, operations specialists, community ambassadors, and scooter deployers and collectors. “This new contract gives us job security and immediate money up front, with guaranteed increases each year going forward. We also got holiday pay and vacation, which we didn’t have before we organized,” Spin worker Shamar Bell said in a statement. “All this means a lot during the pandemic. We know our union will have our back if our boss or the city government tries to make changes. I can say for sure, we’re proud to be Teamsters.” As part of the three-year agreement, Spin workers will get annual pay raises of more than 3% each year, six paid holidays (compared to zero holidays), vacation days based on years of employment (compared to no vacation days), five sick days a year, a $1,200 per employee ratification bonus, benefits accrual for part-time workers and other benefits. In Other News Serious injuries at Amazon fulfillment centers topped 14,000, despite the company’s safety claims - TechCrunch Lack of oversight and transparency leave Amazon employees in the dark on Covid-19 - NBC News Newsom signs law mandating more diversity in California corporate boardrooms - The Los Angeles Times Bird Is Quietly Luring Contract Workers Into Debt Through a New Scooter Scheme - OneZero AOC flagged ‘material risks’ to Palantir investors in letter to SEC By the way, TechCrunch Sessions: Mobility is coming up next week. Since you made it to the end of this, here's a 50% off code for you to get full access to the event. This code will get you into the expo and breakout sessions for free. View comments \|\| Bitfinex CTO hails bullish phase in crypto market: Bitfinex CTO Paolo Ardoino has claimed that the age of cryptocurrency has well and truly begun, in light of Bitcoins recent rally to $16,000. Bitcoin has paved the way for momentous moves across the board this morning, with Ethereum experiencing a 10% surge to the upside while coins like Litecoin and Chainlink are up 12% and 13% respectively. The market-wide rally coincides with the US presidential election, which is currently being labelled as too close to call, although analysts forecast a Joe Biden victory in the coming days. Weve witnessed Bitcoins ascent and dominance as the final votes of the US election are being counted. Said Ardoino. The Bitfinex CTO then heaped praise on Ethereum as its daily volume has increased from $14 billion to $19 billion across all exchanges. BTCUSD chart by TradingView He added: The spike weve also witnessed in Ethereum trading volumes over the past 24-hours is spectacular in a year where it has powered so much innovation in the digital asset space. As Tethers market cap breaches the $17 billion mark, it could be said that the age of cryptocurrency has well and truly begun. Bitcoin moves into the typically low volume weekend on the back of touching the $16,000 level of resistance yesterday evening. If it can break above that point before the weekly candle closes, it will likely push towards a new all-time high in the coming weeks. For more news, guides and cryptocurrency analysis, click here . \|\| ShapeShift Delists Privacy Coin Zcash Over Regulatory Concerns: ShapeShift, the Colorado-based cryptocurrency exchange that allows users to self-custody their assets, has delisted another privacy coin. Zcashhas been removed from the trading platform in addition tomoneroanddash.Decryptreported last Friday that XMR and DASH had been quietly removed; the delisting of ZEC was not noted. “We’ve taken down the privacy coins because of their regulatory concerns,” Veronica McGregor, ShapeShift’s chief legal officer, told CoinDesk in an interview. “At least for the moment, we’re not working with those coins.” Related:Volume Surge Brings 25% Turnover to 'CoinDesk 20' XMR, DASH and ZEC “were delisted at the same time for the same reason – to further derisk the company from a regulatory standpoint,” McGregor wrote in a follow-up email. ZEC’s removal is somewhat notable becausethe company investedin the Electric Coin Company, one of the creators of zcash, in 2016, and listed ZECthat October. ShapeShift has become increasingly cognizant of regulators, despite its founder once having a reputation asa rebel and libertarian. Formerly, the platform allowed crypto trading without any kind of account or login, but in September 2018 ShapeShift began requiring customers toreveal their identitiesto the exchange. Later that month, it faced scrutiny after a Wall Street Journal report alleged thatShapeShift had beenwidely used for money laundering (ShapeShift stronglyrefutedtheclaims). Related:Market Wrap: Bitcoin Jumps to $14.2K; Ethereum Gas Usage Grows 113% YTD ASeptember reportfrom the law firm Perkins Coie about privacy-enabling cryptocurrencies noted that XMR is a cryptocurrency which is private by default, in that all transactions are made so that only the sender and receiver should know who participated. ZEC and DASH both make privacy optional. Read more:Monero and Zcash Conferences Showcase Their Differences (and Links) Peter Van Valkenburgh is director of research at Coin Center and a member of the Zcash Foundation board. He explained to CoinDesk in a phone call that guidance from the U.S. Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, or FinCEN, “basically says, you have to make sure you are taking reasonable steps from a cost-benefit analysis to stop the proceeds from crime from flowing through your institution.” Because many cryptocurrencies, such asbitcoin, make all transactions and balances public, he explained, working with blockchain surveillance firms likeChainalysisorEllipticcan be enough to be seen as taking reasonable steps. That said, privacy-preserving cryptocurrencies will be treated, Van Valkenburgh said, like someone who shows up at a bank with a large bag of cash. They may be subject to greater scrutiny or more thorough background checks (as possible examples). “To my knowledge, FinCEN has fairly clearly articulated to regulated crypto companies that there is a way to comply, just as banks deal with cash,” Van Valkenburgh said. Read more:SEC, CFTC, FinCEN Warn Crypto Industry to Follow US Banking Laws Though he also offered the caveat that a particular agency or a particular regulator’s zeal can be enough to discourage a company from engaging in a line of business, even if no action is taken against them. “The Bank Secrecy Act is extremely broad. It affords prosecutors and regulators with a whole lot of powers,” he said. “That vagueness about our financial surveillance laws to me is problematic.” CoinDesk reached out to other U.S. crypto exchanges that list privacy coins but did not receive responses by press time. Ian Allison contributed reporting. Correction (Nov. 10, 19:39 UTC):Corrects the date of when ShapeShift was featured in a Wall Street Journal report on alleged money laundering. Also adds links to ShapeShift’s refutations of the WSJ report. • ShapeShift Delists Privacy Coin Zcash Over Regulatory Concerns • ShapeShift Delists Privacy Coin Zcash Over Regulatory Concerns [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] None available.	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 16068.14, 15955.59, 16716.11, 17645.41, 17804.01, 17817.09, 18621.31, 18642.23, 18370.00, 18364.12
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2017-05-19] BTC Price: 1987.71, BTC RSI: 78.71 Gold Price: 1252.70, Gold RSI: 54.50 Oil Price: 50.33, Oil RSI: 58.98 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Cybersecurity stocks jump after major 'WannaCry' attack: Cybersecurity stocks surged on Monday following a Friday cyberattack which hit at least 150 countries and affected computers in factories and hospitals. Palo Alto Networks (NYSE: PANW) closed down more than 2 percent, while Symantec (NASDAQ: SYMC) closed about 3 percent lower. FireEye (NASDAQ: FEYE) closed up more than 7 percent. The PureFunds ISE Cyber Security ETF (HACK) (NYSE Arca: HACK) gained more than 3 percent by Monday's close. Experts fear the WannaCry malware may worsen into this week as people log back on to their computers Monday. Even if the malware attack is contained, cybersecurity stocks may perform well in the coming week and month as companies beef up their defense systems against another hack. CNBC analyzed the last 15 major cyberattacks using analytics tool Kensho. A week following the hacks, shares of Barracuda Networks (NYSE: CUDA) , F5 Networks (NASDAQ: FFIV) , and Fortinet (NASDAQ: FTNT) posted the biggest average gains. A month after an attack, the major cybersecurity players did even better as demand for their services increased. Barracuda, FireEye, and Fortinet, along with Proofpoint (NASDAQ: PFPT) , were big gainers, on average, a month out. CNBC's parent NBCUniversal is a minority investor in Kensho. More From CNBC Value investor Klarman just bought big stakes in two Apple suppliers Snap shares surge more than 8% after filings reveal big hedge funds bet on the stock Bitcoin plunges $200 after cyber attackers demand ransom using it \|\| Bitcoin shoots past $1,800 for the first time: Bitcoinis trading at another record high on Thursday. The cryptocurrency is up 4.59% at $1853.55 a coin after Ulmart, Russia's largest online retailer, said it would begin accepting bitcoin,Cryptocoin Newssays. The announcement from Ulmart comes despite Russia's central bank saying it would wait until 2018 to consider allowing the use of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. At the beginning of April, Japan's regulators announced bitcoin is now alegal payment methodin the country. Bitcoin's has gained in 18 of the past 20 sesssions, a streak that has added nearly 60% to the cryptocurrency's price. It began the run trading at about $1,170 a coin. Bitcoin has shrugged offChina restricting trade, the SEC's rejection of two bitcoin ETFs, and threats from developers to create a "hard fork" that would split the cryptocurrency in two, on its way to a gain of more than 95% so far this year. It has been the top performing currency every year since 2010, aside from 2014. Traders are currently on the lookout for the US Securities and Exchange Commission's ruling on whether it willreverse its decision to reject the Winklevoss twins' exchange-traded fund. Back in March, the SEC rejected two bitcoin ETFs, saying it "is disapproving this proposed rule change because it does not find the proposal to be consistent with Section 6(b)(5) of the Exchange Act, which requires, among other things, that the rules of a national securities exchange be designed to prevent fraudulent and manipulative acts and practices and to protect investors and the public interest." The SEC will accept public comment on its previous decision untilMay 15. More From Business Insider • Bitcoin soars past $1,700 for the first time • 42 TV shows that have been canceled • People are so excited about this wallet that it’s become the biggest one in Kickstarter history \|\| $BITCF's COINQX is the First Cryptocurrency Exchange to Offer Speculation in 6 Possible Outcomes of the Bitcoin Hard Fork: VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / April 21, 2017 /CoinQx Exchange LIMITED, a wholly owned subsidiary of FIRST BITCOIN CAPITAL CORP (OTC PINK: BITCF or "Company") and the world's dominate issuer of cryptographic, indicative tokens is pleased to announce the launching of 5 additional altcoins that allow speculation on the potential outcomes of the moves to hard fork from the Bitcoin Core. Other exchanges are now preparing for the highly anticipated hard fork of Bitcoin into two coins, with the original to remain named as Bitcoin (symbol BTC) and the forked coin as an altcoin to be named Bitcoin Unlimited, symbol BTU based on utilizing "Segregated Witness" (SegWit). Unlike those competing exchanges, COINQX is anticipating 6 possible outcomes, e.g. Bitcoin Unlimited, BCOIN, Bitcoin Plasma, Bitcoin Purse, Bitcoin Classic and Bitcoin XT. Many Bitcoin traders are anxious to begin trading in the outcome of the hard fork. As a means to capitalize on pent up anticipation, and allow a mechanism to predict the future values of these potentialities, CONQX freshly minted on the Bitcoin Blockchain not only 9,000,000 tokens known as "Bitcoin Unlimited Futures" symbols XBU and XB, but also 5 newer issues. When/if any of these 6 potential outcomes convert into actualities, they will not be convertible or equal to BTC or the hard forked altcoin(s), however, once any of these outcomes and the "futures" coins created by COINQX are trading on COINQX they will be exchangeable by willing participants based on customers' matching bids and asks. The five additional "futures" have been launched on the Bitcoin Blockchain using the same Omni Layer Protocol as XBU and have been named: BCOIN FUTURES (BCN) BITCOIN PLASMA FUTURES (BPL) BITCOIN PURSE FUTURES (BPU) BITCOIN CLASSIC FUTURES (XBC) and BITCOIN XT FUTURES (BXT). None of these "futures" tokens are backed by BTC nor are they securities, derivatives or futures contracts, yet, they are rather mere fiat cryptocurrencies designed to predict the future from their present popularity (and/or lack thereof). In order to predict the outcome of the recent American elections, COINQX gave speculators several options including President Clinton (HILL) and President Trump (PRES). The markets in these coins accurately predicted that Clinton would lose the election as that altcoin descended towards one Satoshi while PRES held stronger as the November 8, 2016 electoral voting approached. The day the election was decided, HILL lost the most support and hit 1 Satoshi while PRES rose in BTC value. In addition to serving speculators and observers as indicators of future events, these altcoins also were designed to become the crypto equivalent of memorabilia with the intention that they would achieve a long lasting secondary life in the cryptocurrency markets. They continue to trade to this day with $PRES trading on 4 exchanges. After the hard fork is complete, XBU and these new additional 5 futures-indicator-altcoin-competitors should also continue to trade -with the intention for those to survive as additional options to Bitcoin and the hard fork outcome as well as serving as independent altcoins and crypto collectors' memorabilia. While these newly issued altcoins are not directly related to the original Bitcoin or its potential hard fork(s), it is indirectly related by the fact that they were all issued on the Bitcoin Blockchain similar to the top 10 cryptocurrency, MaidSafeCoin. As a consequence, these 5 "futures" are already exchangeable on the OMNIDEX against other similarly generated tokens and currencies such as$OMNI, $USDT, $PRES, $TESLA, $GARY, $BURN, $HILL,$MAID, $ALT, $XBU, $BOND viahttp://omnichest.info/mdexmarket.aspx?market=1and will soon be tradable against additional currencies atwww.coinqx.com First Bitcoin Capital also plans to allow its clients to offer actual Bitcoin Unlimited (Futures) under symbol BTU and Bitcoin Core (Futures) under symbol BCC in competition with the Bitfinex and HitBTC exchanges through a process that will freeze in cold storage our participating clients' BTC against future delivery of BTU. Once actual BTU is delivered to BTC owners, the BTC will be unfrozen in order to make actual delivery to the futures buyers. Another way to unfreeze and have their BTC returned before the hard fork would be to buy back the same amount of BTU and BCC sold and then take their BTU and BCC derivatives off the market. Further details of the procedure will soon be announced viacoinqx.com The Company continues to actively offer AltCoin (ALT), its first ICO via http://www.altcoinmarketcap.com and is in the process of becoming the world's first ICO (Initial Coin Offering) underwriter for a third party cryptocurrency issuers. Some of the background that led to COINQX releasing these indicative altcoins is quoted below from the article published recently by @AlyssaHertig http://www.coindesk.com/big-block-bitcoin-movement-embracing-bcoin/ Over the course of bitcoin's two-year scaling debate, a few major alternatives have grown to challenge the network's most popular and longest-running software, Bitcoin Core. Among the more notable efforts have beenBitcoin XTandBitcoin Classic, which prioritized support larger block sizes as a method to support more transactions. However, a side effect of their ambitious aims was that network users would need switch implementations to enact the changes, and not everyone has wanted to do so. The development exposes one of the more curious aspects of the scaling debate, as alternative solutions have needed to propose both a technical change - and build their own developer team - as part of their bids to put forth differing ideas. One of the main criticisms ofBitcoin Unlimited, one recently popular alternative that allows miners and users to flag support for the block size they want, is that the code is buggy - or, at least, not yet mature. For example, in March, attackers were able toexploit two such bugs, causing most of the network nodes running the software to temporarily shut down each time. In this light, the emergence of an implementation called 'Bcoin' (built by bitcoin startup Purse) to the debate could be a notable development in the scaling saga. The software project got a recent boost this week when it introduced its own take on an old scaling idea, 'extension blocks' (or 'e-blocks'), which the company painted as a way for getting around today's block-size standstill. The idea is controversial, as evidenced by complextechnical discussionfollowing the announcement, with some developers arguing that e-blocks would be an insecure addition. Still, e-blocks have still seen a strong showing of support, in large part due to the perceived proficiency of its team. And, notably, Bitcoin Unlimited supporters have so far had favorable things to say about the project. Haipo Yang, Chief Executive of mining firm ViaBTC, for instance, told CoinDesk that he supports Purse's concept and the Bcoin team. Yang said: "I think that extension blocks will be the solution that moves forward." 'Promising' option Overall, the argument is developing that Bcoin, an alternative Node.js implementation that launchedin September, boasts a stronger technical team than that of Bitcoin Unlimited and other so-called 'big block' teams. Purse CTO and Bcoin developer Christopher Jeffrey, for example, has been praised for architecting the software, as well as an in-progress Lightning implementation calledPlasmathat could be layered on top. Meanwhile, Joseph Poon, Lightning Network co-creator, helped author the specification for the Bcoin implementation'srecently introducedflagship tech. One example of trust in the competence of the team, supporters argue, is that mining pool BTC.com has already mined one block while running the software in March - allegedly a first for a client not based on bitcoin's original code implementation. Purse has released aspecification draftandreference implementation codethat implements extension blocks on top of Bcoin. That's not to say that Bcoin wants to offer a replacement for Bitcoin Core, as has been suggested for other implementations. When first introduced, it was described by the company as a bitcoin alternative with cleaner code that could co-exist alongside other software versions. Divisions remain Despite Yang's confidence, however, not all Bitcoin Unlimited supporters are going all in on extension blocks. Former Bitcoin Foundation board member Olivier Janssens, for example, criticized the solution for its complexities, telling CoinDesk Bcoin's idea was 'way too complicated'. "People need to get over their fear of hard forks," he said. Still, many are saying positive things about the solution, even if they're possibly more focused on other scaling options. "I like extension blocks, but I think there is almost no risk from making the actual blocks bigger, too," bitcoin investor and Bitcoin.com operator Roger Ver, one of the most vocal advocates for Bitcoin Core alternatives, told CoinDesk. Bitcoin Unlimited developer David Jerry Chan went so far as to compare the tech favourably to other available solutions. "I see the proposal as a reasonable and better alternative than SegWit," he said. Chan went on to say that Bitcoin Unlimited developers are still discussing the proposal, and there's no 'official opinion' from the team as yet. As far as potential setbacks go, however, one of the criticisms of Bcoin is that it needs time to review, no matter the merits of its team. (SegWit, for example, was reviewed and tested for roughly a year before release.) On the other hand, Purse CEO Andrew Lee has argued that the Bcoin code is already live, so it could take less time to review. Indeed, according to the technology announcement, the next steps are to deploy it on the bitcoin test network, get further review, and wrap up the specification. Yang agreed, concluding: "We have already waited more than one year. We can wait three months." About the company: First Bitcoin Capital is engaged in developing digital currencies, proprietary Blockchain technologies, and the digital currency exchange-www.CoinQX.com. We see this step as a tremendous opportunity to create further shareholder value by leveraging management's experience in developing and managing complex Blockchain technologies, developing new types of digital assets. Being the first publicly-traded cryptocurrency and blockchain-centered company (with shares both traded in the US OTC Markets as [BITCF] and as [BIT] in crypto exchanges) we want to provide our shareholders with diversified exposure to digital cryptocurrencies and blockchain technologies. At this time the Company owns and operates more than the following digital assets. www.CoinQX.comcryptocurrency exchange, registered with FINCEN. www.iCoiNEWS.comreal time cryptocurrency and bitcoin news site. www.BITminer.ccproviding mining pool management services. www.2016coin.orgonline daily election coverage and home page for $PRES, $HILL, $GARY& $BURN -commemorative presidential election coins. www.bitcannpay.comOpen Loop merchant services for dispensaries. www.strain.IDcannabis strains genetic information depository on decentralized Blockchain. List of Omni protocol coins issued on the Bitcoin Blockchain owned by the Company:http://omnichest.info/lookupadd.aspx?address=1FwADyEvdvaLNxjN1v3q6tNJCgHEBuABrS Forward-Looking Statements Certain statements contained in this press release may constitute "forward-looking statements." Forward-looking statements provide current expectations of future events based on certain assumptions and include any statement that does not directly relate to any historical or current fact. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors as may be disclosed in company's filings. In addition to these factors, actual future performance, outcomes, and results may differ materially because of more general factors including (without limitation) general industry and market conditions and growth rates, economic conditions, and governmental and public policy changes. The forward-looking statements included in this press release represent the Company's views as of the date of this press release and these views could change. However, while the Company may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, the Company specifically disclaims any obligation to do so. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing the Company's views as of any date subsequent to the date of the press release. Such forward-looking statements are risks that are detailed in the Company's filings, which are on file atwww.OTCMarkets.com. Contact us via:[email protected] visithttp://www.bitcoincapitalcorp.com SOURCE:First Bitcoin Capital Corp. \|\| Bitcoin value rises over $1 billion as Japan, Russia move to legitimize cryptocurrency: Bitcoin(Exchange: BTC=-USS)is up nearly $100 in the past week, hitting levels not seen since mid-March after Japan legalized the cryptocurrency as a payment method and Russia is seeking to regulate it too. The digital currency was trading at around $1,223.04 at the time of publication, up from highs of $1,124.88 on April 5, and hitting prices not seen since March 16, according to Coindesk data. Bitcoin's market capitalization has risen from $18.34 billion on April 5, to $19.5 billion on Wednesday, according to Coinmarketcap.com data. Bitcoin has suffered a recent dip in price thanks to a debate over thefuture of its underlying technology, but the recent support appears to have come from Japan. Earlier this month, Japan began accepting bitcoin as legal currency with major retailers backing the new law. Consumer electronics retailing giant Bic Camera began accepting bitcoin last week. Bitcoin trading in Japanese yen is the second-most liquid market globally, according to data compiled by cryptocurrency trading platform Gatecoin. "The Japan virtual currency act has likely had a major impact, as there has been a lot of buzz in Japanese media over the ruling over the last few months," Aurélien Menant, founder and CEO of Gatecoin, told CNBC by email. At the same time, Russia, one of the strongest opponents of bitcoin is seeking to regulate the digital currency. Russian Deputy Finance Minister Alexey Moiseev told Bloomberg in an interview this week that the authorities hope to recognize bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as a legal financial instrument in 2018 in a bid to tackle money laundering. "The state needs to know who at every moment of time stands on both sides of the financial chain," Moiseev told Bloomberg. "If there's a transaction, the people who facilitate it should understand from whom they bought and to whom they were selling, just like with bank operations." Increasing state regulation around bitcoin could make the cryptocurrency an attractive investment for investors who previously shied away from it due to the high risk and price swings. More From CNBC • Adyen, the firm that processes payments for Uber, Netflix, saw 2016 revenues rise 99% • India’s mobile market is seeing a huge shift but Apple might not benefit for a while • Another Apple supplier tanks amid fears it could lose its key contract \|\| Your first trade for Thursday, May 18: The "Fast Money" traders gave their final trades of the day. Tim Seymour is a buyer of Starbucks (SBUX(NASDAQ: SBUX)). Brian Kelly is a buyer of the Utilities SPDR ETF (XLU(NYSE Arca: XLU)). Karen Finerman is a seller of United Rentals (URI(NYSE: URI)). Steve Grasso is a buyer of the Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX(NYSE Arca: GDX)). Trader disclosure: On May 17, 2017 the following stocks and commodities mentioned or intended to be mentioned on CNBC's "Fast Money" were owned by the "Fast Money" traders: Tim Seymour is long ABX, AAPL, APC, AVP, BAC, BBRY, C, CLF, CVX, DO, DVYE, EDC, EWN, EWZ, F, FB, FCX, FXI, GM, GOOGL, GE, INTC, LQD, MAT, MOS, MCD, MUR, OIH, PG, RACE, RAI, RH, RL, SINA, SQ,T, TWTR, VALE, VRX, VZ, XOM. short: EEM, SPY, XRT;Tim's firm is long ABX, BABA, BIDU, CBD, CLF, EEM, EWZ, F, KO, MCD, MPEL, NKE, PEP, PF, TCEHY, SAVE, SBUX, SINA, VALE, VIAB, WMT, WEN, X, YHOO, short EWG, HYG, IWMKaren is long AAL, BAC, BAC short calls, C, DAL, EEM, EPI, EWW, DVYE, FB, FL, GLMP, GLNG, GOGO, GOOG, GOOGL, JPM, LYV, KORS, KORS calls, KORS puts, MA, SEDG, SPY puts, TACO, WFM. Her firm is long ANTM, BAC calls, C, C calls, FB, GOOG, GOOGL, GLNG, GMLP, JPM, JPM calls, KORS, LYV, PLCE, SPY puts, SPY put spreads, WIFI, UAL, her firm is short IWM, MDY. BK is long Bitcoin, GE, HLF, IWM, TSLA, WMT. Steve Grasso's firm is long stock AON, BX, CTL, CUBA, DIA, F, HES, ICE, KDUS, KORS, MAT, MFIN, MJNA, MSFT, NE, RIG, SNAP, SPY, SQBG, TIME, TITXF, UA, VEON, WDR, WPX, ZNGA. Grasso is long stock BABA, CHK, EEM, EVGN, GDX, KBH, LEN, MJNA, MO, MON, OLN, PHM, SQ, T, TWTR, VRX. Grasso's kids own EFA, EFG, EWJ, IJR, SPY. NO SHORTS. More From CNBC • Trading on a tumultuous day: 6 stocks • Your first trade for Wednesday, May 17 • Don't look for a sequel to 'The Big Short' anytime soon \|\| Bitcoin/Dollar Hits All-time High, CNH/JPY Eyes Key Resistance: DailyFX.com - Talking Points： -Bitcoin against the U.S. Dollar soared to a new all-time high, driven by Japanese purchases. - The CNH/JPY rose back to below the yearly open range low; Chinese Caixin PMI prints could add momentums. -Read DailyFX latest trading guides fortheoutlookof the Japanese Yen in the second quarter. To receive reports from this analyst,sign up for Renee Mu’ distribution list. Bitcoin Bitcoin against the U.S. Dollar set a new all-time highon Tuesday, touching 1481.73. This is mostly driven by the increasing demand in Japan according to bitcoinity. After the Chinese regulator started to crack down illegal transactions through Chinese Bitcoin trading platforms, the ratio of Bitcoin trading volume in China to the world hasdropped to 20% in Marchfrom more than 90% previously. Then, Japan, overtaking China, becomes the largest Bitcoin trading country by volume. From a technical point of view, the BTC/USD is currently right below a key resistance level, the top line of a parallel. Traders will want to be aware of a likely retracement around this level. BTC/USD1-day Prepared by Renee Mu. CNH/JPY The offshore Yuan against the Japanese Yen also approaches to a major resistance level. In the mid-March, the pair broke below the open range low of 16.31 and now is back to around this level. CNH/JPY 1-day Prepared by Renee Mu. In the coming session, China will release the Caixin PMI prints for April. If those gauges come in to be better than expected, they may add momentum to the CNH/JPY and increase the odds of a breakout. See the fullDailyFX Economic Calendar YuanIndexes - As of last Friday, the Chinese Yuan (CNY) has been losing to a basket of currencies for the third week, measured by both the CFETS Yuan Index and the BIS Yuan Index; it has beenfalling for the second week, measured by the SDR Yuan Index. In specific, the primary gauge for Yuan’s value to a basket of currencies, CFETS Yuan Index, has dropped to the lowest level since it was quoted in 2015, to 92.98 last Friday. Data downloaded from Bloomberg; chart prepared by Renee Mu. Market News Sina News: China’s most important online media source, similar to CNN in the US. They also own a Chinese version of Twitter, called Weibo, with around 200 million active usersmonthly. Chinese steel producers showed improved performance in the first quarter. 33 out of 36 steel companies that have released first-quarter annual reports revealed positive earnings in the first three months. The total profits of these listing steel companies soared to more than 11.0 billion yuan compared to a loss of -4.0 billion yuan in the first quarter last year. - China’s State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission hosted a conference, requiring steel and coal firms to cut excessive production. The annual target for steel companies in 2017 is to reduce 5.95 million tons of capacity; the target for coal companies is to cut 24.93 million tons of capacity. Amid the pressure on achieving these goals, the profits of Chinese steel and coal producers could drop again. To receive reports from this analyst,sign up for Renee Mu’ distribution list. original source DailyFXprovides forex news and technical analysis on the trends that influence the global currency markets.Learn forex trading with a free practice account and trading charts fromIG. \|\| Bitcoin dives after the SEC shoots down plans for another bitcoin ETF: (Attendants pose with a bitcoin sign during the opening of Hong Kong's first bitcoin retail store.Reuters/Bobby Yip) Bitcoin has slid into negative territory after the US Securities and Exchange Commission rejected the plans for the SolidX Bitcoin ETF.The cryptocurrency is down 0.7% at $1,033 a coin. It was as high as $1,066 earlier on Tuesday. The regulator cited the fact that bitcoin is traded on unregulated markets, which means the SEC wouldn't be able to prevent fraud or market manipulation.In its ruling theSEC said: "As discussed further below, the Commission is disapproving this proposed rule change because it does not find the proposal to be consistent with Section 6(b)(5) of the Exchange Act, which requires, among other things, that the rules of a national securities exchange be designed to prevent fraudulent and manipulative acts and practices and to protect investors and the public interest. The Commission believes that, in order to meet this standard, an exchange that lists and trades shares of commodity-trust exchange-traded products (“ETPs”) must, in addition to other applicable requirements, satisfy two requirements that are dispositive in this matter. First, the exchange must have surveillance-sharing agreements with significant markets for trading the underlying commodity or derivatives on that commodity. And second, those markets must be regulated. Tuesday's announcement follows a similar ruling that was reached on March 10, when the SEC said it had rejected the Winklevoss twins' bitcoin ETF. 2017 has been a volatile year for bitcoin. The cryptocurrency gained 20% in the first week of the year, but soon crashed 35% after reports surfaced that China was going to crack down on trading. First,China's biggest exchanges started charging a flat fee of 0.2% per transaction, then they announced they wereblocking customer withdrawals. But bitcoin continued to climb higher, putting in a peak of $1,327 a coin shortly before the SEC rejected the Winklevoss ETF. Since then, however, bitcoin has tumbled more than 20% following reports developers were threatening a "hard fork" that would split the currency in two. Bitcoin has been the top-performing currency every year since 2010, aside from 2014. A third SEC ruling on a bitcoin ETF, by Grayscale Investments, is also expected to be rejected; although the timing of a final decision is not yet known. (Investing.com) NOW WATCH:7 mega-billionaires who made a fortune last year More From Business Insider • Bitcoin tanks below $1,000 • Bitcoin spikes above $1,000 • Bitcoin tumbles below $1,000 \|\| Safe Haven ETFs to Evade Geopolitics & Weak Economic Data: The global investing world, especially risky assets, may waver in the near term on a host of factors including the global ransomware attack that affected over 200,000 computers in over 150 countries and a missile test by North Korea. To add to this, weaker-than-expected retail sales and inflation in the U.S. for the month of April are also likely to curb investors’ risk appetite. The U.S. core consumer price index (CPI) grew 1.9% on a year-over-year basis in April, marking the smallest gain since October 2015 and falling shy of the economists’ expectation of 2% growth. Retail sales rose 0.4% sequentially in April, lower than expectations of 0.6%. Thanks to this muted improvement in key economic indicators, traders now expect about a 49% chance of two more rate hikes rest of this year, lower than 54% expectations that hovered ahead of the release of data on May 12, as per the source. If this was not enough, China's factory output, retail sales and investments rose lower than expected as authorities launched a clampdown on the country’s bulging financial leverage, as per Bloomberg. Given these woes, risk-averse investors may tread cautiously and dump stocks in favor of safe haven assets to protect their portfolio from capital erosion. Below we have highlighted three safe haven ETFs that investors can consider adding to their portfolio in the current volatility. These products are likely to gain should the turmoil worsen and volatility in the market continue to escalate. Treasury BondsiShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETFTLTThough U.S. treasuries were out of favor a few days back due to worries over Fed tightening, heightened global uncertainty brought this safe asset in the limelight. Dimming prospects of sooner-than-expected Fed rate hike and geopolitical concerns may lead treasury valuation to soar.Yields on the U.S. benchmark 10-year notes slipped to 2.33% on May 12 from 2.39% recorded the day before while yields on the U.S. benchmark 20-year notes dropped to 2.74% from 2.78% on May 11.The ultra-popular long-term Treasury ETF – TLT – tracks the Barclays Capital U.S. 20+ Year Treasury Bond Index. TLT was up about 0.8% on May 12, 2017. Apart from TLT, investors can also consider25+ Year Zero Coupon U.S. Treasury Index Fund ZROZandVanguard Extended Duration Treasury ETF EDV. These two ETFs were up 1.1% and 1.2% on May 12, 2017 (read: Trump's First 100 Days: 5 Must See ETF Charts). GoldSPDR Gold Trust ETFGLDGold is often viewed as a safe haven asset to protect against financial risks, and may perform well on heightened market volatility. Investors should note that the U.S. dollar has come under pressure on subdued economic data.PowerShares DB US Dollar Bullish ETF UUPwas down about 0.5% on May 12, 2017. This should give further advantage to gold investing as the metal’s pricing is normally inversely related to the greenback (read: Follow Gundlach's Insight with These ETFs).GLD added about 0.3% on May 12, 2017. Apart from GLD, investors can also considerCOMEX Gold TrustIAU, another popular choice in this space that returned about 0.4% on May 12, 2017 (read: Will We Finally See a Bitcoin ETF?). CurrencyCurrencySharesÂ Japanese Yen ETF FXY The Japanese currency, yen, is often considered a classic safe haven asset that gained some strength lately. Also, subtle lower expectations of a near-term Fed rate hike dampened the dollar to some extent and boosted yen. Investors can target this currency via FXY, which measures the value of the yen against the price of the greenback. In fact, the fund advanced about 0.5% on May 12, 2017 (see: all the Currency ETFs here). Want key ETF info delivered straight to your inbox? Zacks’ free Fund Newsletter will brief you on top news and analysis, as well as top-performing ETFs, each week. Get it free >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days.Click to get this free reportISHARS-20+YTB (TLT): ETF Research ReportsCRYSHS-JAP YEN (FXY): ETF Research ReportsSPDR-GOLD TRUST (GLD): ETF Research ReportsISHARS-GOLD TR (IAU): ETF Research ReportsVANGD-EX DUR TR (EDV): ETF Research ReportsPIMCO-25Y ZERO (ZROZ): ETF Research ReportsTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment ResearchWant the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report \|\| Your first trade for Wednesday, April 26: The "Fast Money" traders shared their first moves for the market open. Tim Seymour was a buyer of the iShares MSCI Europe Financials ETF(NASDAQ: EUFN). Brian Kelly was a buyer of Freeport-McMoRan(NYSE: FCX). Steve Grasso was a buyer of Square(NYSE: SQ). Guy Adami was a buyer of Juno Therapeutics(NASDAQ: JUNO). Trader disclosure: On April 25, 2017, the following stocks and commodities mentioned or intended to be mentioned on CNBC's "Fast Money" were owned by the "Fast Money" traders: Tim Seymour is long ABX, AAPL, APC, AVP, BAC, BBRY, C, CLF, CVX, DO, DVYE, EDC, EWN, EWZ, F, FB, FCX, FXI, GM, GOOGL, GE, INTC, LQD, MOS, MCD, MUR, OIH, PG, RACE, RAI, RH, RL, SINA, SQ,T, TWTR, VALE, VZ, XOM. short: EEM, SPY, XRT; Tim's firm is long ABX, BABA, BIDU, CBD, CLF, EEM, EWZ, F, KO, MCD, MPEL, NKE, PEP, PF, TCEHY, SAVE, SBUX, SINA, VALE, VIAB, WMT, WEN, X, YHOO, short EWG, HYG, IWM. Brian Kelly is long Bitcoin, FCX, GE, GDX, HLF, IWM, TLT, TSLA, WMT. Steve Grasso's firm is long stock AON, BX, CUBA, DIA, F, HES, ICE, KDUS, MAT, MFIN, MJNA, MSFT, NE, RIG, SNAP, SPY, SQBG, TITXF, UA, WDR, WPX, ZNGA. Grasso is long stock BABA, CHK, EEM, EVGN, GDX, KBH, MJNA, MO, MON, OLN, PHM, SQ, T, TWTR, VRX. Grasso's kids own EFA, EFG, EWJ, IJR, SPY. No Shorts. Guy Adami is long CELG, EXAS, GDX, INTC, Guy Adami's wife, Linda Snow, works at Merck. More From CNBC • Which stocks to buy as earnings season heats up • Your first trade for Tuesday, April 25 • Traders discuss strategy as US equities rally after French elections \|\| Big-name apps for Apple Watch seem to be disappearing: On Monday, AppleInsider noted that the latest updates for the Google ( GOOGL , GOOG ) Maps, eBay ( EBAY ), Amazon ( AMZN ), and Target ( TGT ) apps were missing one element they used to have: companion apps for the Apple Watch. Google later tweeted that it intends to bring the Apple Watch app back at some point. But the larger question remains: Whats going on? Are these changes a canary in the coal mine, indicating waning interest in developing for the Apple Watch? In the last year, the Up bands ceased production, the Pebble Watch is no more , and Fitbit laid off 6% of its staff ; maybe the world just isnt as excited about wearables as the industry had hoped. Or is this just a temporary hiccup that means nothing? The fact that these high-profile removals have gone largely unnoticed could be a sign that the apps simply were not widely used, says the AppleInsider story. On Tuesday, during Apples financial conference call, CEO Tim Cook said that Apple Watch sales have nearly doubled since last year (in six of our 10 top markets, whatever that means). Yet the company still doesnt disclose how many Watches it has sold. You still see few Apple Watches on wrists outside of the early-adopter and techie crowd, you still have to take the thing off to charge it every night, and (as a result) it still cant track your sleep, as the latest Fitbits do with astonishing accuracy. So which is it? A sign of impending doom, or a minor wobble in the timeline that means very little? Tune in five years from now to find out! More from David Pogue: Inside the Worlds Greatest Scavenger Hunt: Part I Inside the Worlds Greatest Scavenger Hunt: Part 2 Inside the Worlds Greatest Scavenger Hunt, Part 3 The David Pogue Review: Windows 10 Creators Update Now I get it: Bitcoin David Pogue tested 47 pill-reminder apps to find the best one David Pogues search for the worlds best air-travel app The little-known iPhone feature that lets blind people see with their fingers David Pogue, tech columnist for Yahoo Finance, welcomes nontoxic comments in the comments section below. On the web, hes davidpogue.com . On Twitter, hes @pogue . On email, hes [email protected]. You can read all his articles here , or you can sign up to get his columns by email . [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] One Bitcoin now worth $1043.00@bitstamp. High $1043.00. Low $980.00. Market Cap $16.939 Billion #bitcoin pic.twitter.com/Od10lY2MBX \|\| 2017/03/26-23:00 ZaifExchange BTC:110245JPY(+585) XEM:1.4989JPY(±0) MONA:4.7JPY(±0) \|\| One Bitcoin now worth $1167.35@bitstamp. High $1193.00. Low $1142.00. Market Cap $18.995 Billion #bitcoin pic.twitter.com/d1I9n6gzGu \|\| LIVE: Profit = $790.32 (0.32 %). BUY B206.19 @ $1,198.00 (#BTCe). SELL @ $1,205.60 (#Bitfinex) #bitcoin #btc - http://www.projectcoin.org \|\| 1 #BTC (#Bitcoin) quotes: $1414.14/$1415.98 #Bitstamp $1374.00/$1374.19 #BTCe ⇢$-41.98/$-39.95 $1439.34/$1454.24 #Coinbase ⇢$23.36/$40.10 \|\| Current price of Bitcoin is $1567.00 via Chain \|\| 09.04 PUREEARN btc usd 3.50% Daily for 40 Days, 5.00% Daily for 26 Days http://bitcoin444.blogspot.com/p/new-hyip.html \|\| One Bitcoin now worth $1203.98@bitstamp. High $1209.99. Low $1190.00. Market Cap $19.602 Billion #bitcoin pic.twitter.com/H30GMObXgY \|\| Current value of DOGE in BTC: BTER: 0.00000027 -- Volume: 13450758.51 Today's trend: down at 03/27/17 00:55 \|\| Very Interesting article on the development of ETH, Not all ICO are scams. Exclusive Interview with Vitalik Buterin: Ethereum, Bitcoin, ICO	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 2084.73, 2041.20, 2173.40, 2320.42, 2443.64, 2304.98, 2202.42, 2038.87, 2155.80, 2255.61
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis] Not fully available. [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Shutting Down Government May Be Trump’s Best Negotiating Weapon: September is set to begin with the United States Congress facing two major issues: raising the debt ceiling, which is the legislative limit on how much the government can borrow, and passing a spending bill. According to the U.S. Treasury, Congress needs to raise the debt ceiling by September 29. Failure to pass a spending bill could force a government shutdown. The month also begins with President Donald Trump’s popularity falling to about 37 percent. This low approval rate is likely to have negative implications for the Trump administration’s agenda this year. Given these circumstances, it may be in the President’s best interest to allow the government to shutdown in order to bring both Democrats and Republicans together to try to solidify support for some of his proposals including tax reform and increased infrastructure spending. While many politicians believe that government shutdowns are a political disaster that spells certain doom for the careers of those politicians deemed responsible for them. In this case it may actually be used as an effective negotiating tool to help bring Republicans and Democrats, and Congress and the President together to hammer out the details of health care reform, for example. I don’t think President Trump actually wants to see the government shutdown or default on its debt although he has promised to do so if he doesn’t get his border wall with Mexico. However, I do think it’s within his power to shut the government at least briefly to push Republican leaders to at least get some compromises with the Democrats hammered out before they move on to bigger issues. History has shown that government shutdowns may actually produce positive results for the economy and for politicians worried about their careers. According to the Congressional Budget Office, a shutdown in 1995, for example, forced President Clinton to give in partly to the Republican demands and he was able to submit a more balanced budget. Using a government shutdown as a negotiating tool is a risky proposition and leading up to the event, the financial markets are likely to experience volatility. However, in my opinion, it may be necessary because right now Congress isn’t moving forward at all. The inability to pass meaningful healthcare reform, a viable tax reform plan and approve increase fiscal spending may actually be doing more harm to the economy. Just ask Fed Chair Janet Yellen if increased fiscal spending would be good for the economy. I’m sure she would agree that it would help promote growth and work with well with the Fed’s monetary policy projections. I’m in favor of shutting down the government at least briefly at the end of September because I think it can be used as an effective negotiating tool to encourage Republicans and Democrats to reach comprises on key economic issues that should help improve the economy and prevent an economic downturn in 2018. Thisarticlewas originally posted on FX Empire • Shutting Down Government May Be Trump’s Best Negotiating Weapon • U.S. Dollar Index Turns Higher as North Korean Fears Subside • Market Snapshot – Increase in Global Risk Causes Tumult • Bitcoin Price Stable, Unconfirmed Transactions Drop, Crypto Market Cap Ballooned to $160 Billion • Gold and Yen Overshoot on North Korea Threat, Caution Dominates Global Markets as Risks Emerge • Stocks Drop as Risk Aversion Climbs Following North Korea’s Missile Launch \|\| Bitcoin Price Hits $4,000 Even as Ray Dalio Calls it a ‘Bubble’: As Bitcoin recovers $1,000 in less than four days, another institutional giant is voicing his doubts about thevolatile cryptocurrency. In a Tuesday interview withCNBC,the founder of the world’s largest hedge fund, Ray Dalio, dubbed the cryptocurrency “a bubble.” “Bitcoin today, you can’t make much transactions of int. You can’t spend it very easily,” Dalio said on CNBC as bitcoin traded up by about 33% from four days earlier, at $4,000. “It’s a shame. It could be a currency. It could work conceptually, but the amount of speculation that is going on and the lack of transactions [hurts it].” Though bearish on Bitcoin, Dalio’s comments were less aggressive than those of CEO Jamie Dimon’s from a week earlier. At a Barclays conference earlier this month, the bankingexecutive dubbed Bitcoin a “fraud” that will “blow up.” Coinciding with a crackdown on cryptocurrency in China, Dimon’s remarks help push Bitcoin from its all-time high of around $5,000 to just under $3,000. Dalio’s comments however reflect concerns that Bitcoin’s price has created something of a feedback loop reinforcing speculation -- and preventing the cryptocurrency from becoming a mainstream form of payment. In July,Morgan Stanley analysts noted that fewer online merchants appeared to be accepting bitcoin, likely because the bitcoin holders weren’t spending their bitcoins. Instead, holders were storing the cryptocurrency in hopes of catching, or perhaps in fear of missing out on, Bitcoin’s next boom. The hedge fund titan again in the CNBC interview reiterated that gold, currently trading at about $1,309 an ounce, was a better area of investment in times of volatility. In a LinkedIn post, Dalio suggested investors allocate 5% to 10% of theirassets to gold amid political risk. This is part ofFortune'snew initiative,The Ledger,a trusted news source at the intersection of tech and finance. For more onThe Ledger,click here. See original article on Fortune.com More from Fortune.com • Cryptocurrencies May Be a Dream Come True for Cyber-Extortionists • JPMorgan Helps Clients Buy Bitcoin Despite CEO Calling Bitcoin 'a Fraud' • 5 Big Bitcoin Crashes: What We Learned • Bitcoin Roars Back to $4,000 • CEO Daily: Saturday, 16 September, 2017 \|\| 14% Upside Seen For Nvidia Shares On PC Gaming, Bitcoin Mining Strength: NVIDIA Corporation(NASDAQ:NVDA) could see a boost from ahighly-hypedslate of new video games. Ahead of last fall’s “Battlefield 1,” “Gears of War 4” and “Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare” releases, computergamersupgraded to Nvidia’s Pascal-based GeForce GPUs and drove quarterly gaming revenue above $1.24 billion. Loop Capital Markets expects this fall’s “Destiny 2,” “Call of Duty: WWII,” “Star Wars: Battlefront 2” and “Middle Earth: Shadow of War” to inspire a similar wave of upgrades to GeForce GTX series GPUs. The product’s 1080 Ti and 1070 segments are currently sold out online, justifying Loop estimates of $1.292 million in quarterly gaming revenue against last quarter’s $1.245 million. Ethereum Although management guided for a sequential drop incryptocurrencyrevenue, Loop anticipates steady performance driven byEthereumblockchain activity. “While we have been cautious on the adoption of cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, our checks point to mining demand for ether tokens remains intact,” analyst Betsy Van Hees wrote (see her track record here). Last quarter, Nvidia brought in about $150 million from its OEM and IP client segment consisting largely of ether miners, and Van Hees predicts comparable third-quarter results. Data Centers At the same time, Nvidia’s production and shipment status for Volta GPUs drive Loop expectations for double-digit sequential growth in data center revenue. The firm’s client list for Tesla V100 GPUs recently expanded to includeAlibaba Group Holding Ltd(NYSE:BABA),Baidu Inc (ADR)(NASDAQ:BIDU),Tencent Holdings Ltd,Dell EMC,Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co(NYSE:HPE),International Business Machines Corp.(NYSE:IBM) andSuper Micro Computer, Inc.(NASDAQ:SMCI); andHuawei,InspurandLenovouse its HGX server hardware. The Bottom Line Loop reiterated a Buy rating on the stock and raise its price target from $181 to $205. It also raised its quarterly estimates to $1.11 earnings per share and $2.39 billion revenue. “We believe NVDA should trade well above the blended peer group average of 23x given its impressive growth opportunities across multiple end-markets,” Van Hees wrote. Related Links: Expect Nvidia, AMD To Ride Cryptocurrency Wave Into 2018 Looking Beyond The Shiny Surface Of Nvidia’s Big Q2 Beat Latest Ratings for NVDA [{"Oct 2017": "Sep 2017", "Barclays": "Bank of America", "Maintains": "Maintains", "": "", "Equal-Weight": "Buy"}, {"Oct 2017": "Aug 2017", "Barclays": "Canaccord Genuity", "Maintains": "Maintains", "": "", "Equal-Weight": "Buy"}] View More Analyst Ratings for NVDAView the Latest Analyst Ratings See more from Benzinga • Chinese OEMs Will Use Nvidia's HGX Reference Architecture For Data Centers • AMD Might Be Working With Tesla On An AI Chip • All The Stocks That Moved During Apple's Product Unveil Event © 2017 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| SEC Breached, Billionaires Bash Bitcoin, Facebook Shares Russia Ads: An insidious attack trend has been catching my eye lately. It’s called the software supply chain attack. The scheme goes like this: Hackers compromise a trusted software vendor, subvert its products with their own malicious versions, and then use the tainted formulation to infect customers — thereby bypassing internal security controls and easily spreading malware far and wide. Customers, careful to keep their software up to date, don’t think twice about downloading the latest iterations. That’s good digital hygiene, after all. At least that’s what we’ve been trained to think. Cisco researchers exposed one of these sneaky incursions earlier this week. The hacking operation sabotaged CCleaner , a popular piece of computer cleaning software distributed by Avast, a Czech antivirus firm. (Morphisec, an Israeli cybersecurity startup, had discovered the compromise too.) Here’s what happened: In August, some unknown hacking group inserted a backdoor into the CCleaner software, which was then dutifully installed on more than 700,000 machines. With that foothold, the attackers then attempted to drill down deeper into the networks of at least 18 big tech company targets, including Google , Intel , Microsoft , Samsung, HTC, and Cisco. Presumably, the intruders sought trade secrets. This is only the most recent example of such an attack. Earlier this year hackers compromised MeDoc , a piece of accounting software developed by a Ukrainian tech firm, in order to spread a destructive strain of ransomware, dubbed NotPetya , through its update mechanism. The attack crippled operations at big companies, ranging from Danish shipping giant Maersk to U.S. pharma company Merck . Similarly, Kaspersky Labs, the lately besieged Russian cybersecurity firm, found a backdoor in server management software from the U.S. and South Korean tech firm NetSarang that infected hundreds of banks and other companies over the summer. These supply-chain attacks fly in the face of commonly accepted principles of computer security — i.e., patch your systems early and often — and they undermine everyone’s trust in the software ecosystem. As the Cisco researchers note in their analysis , a product from an established vendor “rarely receives the same level of scrutiny” as one from an untrusted source. And as they warn in a follow-up post , these types of attacks now “seem to be increasing in velocity and complexity.” Story continues The proliferation is cause for alarm. It’s hard to see how the situation will improve until everyone — even small-fry software vendors — takes responsibility and ups their digital defenses. Robert Hackett @rhhackett [email protected] Welcome to the Cyber Saturday edition of Data Sheet, Fortune’ s daily tech newsletter. Fortune reporter Robert Hackett here. You may reach me via Twitter , Cryptocat , Jabber (see OTR fingerprint on my about.me ), PGP encrypted email (see public key on my Keybase.io ), Wickr , Signal , or however you (securely) prefer. Feedback welcome. THREATS SEC hacked. The top market regulator in the U.S. just disclosed a 2016 data breach that may have allowed hackers to obtain and trade on inside information . The SEC’s financial filing database, called Edgar, had a vulnerability that the agency said it fixed “promptly,” but not before attackers used it to gain access to sensitive corporate information. The breach has officials worried about the security of other government computer systems. Equifax’s ongoing fallout. The state of Massachusetts is suing the big-three credit bureau for failing to safeguard more than 140 million people’s personal information. Officials expect the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, a federal watchdog agency created in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, also to punish the company . (By the way, Equifax’s customer support team has been sending prospective victims to a fake phishing website .) Facebook to clean up act. Facebook said it would share more than 3,000 Russia-linked political ads with congressional committees that are investigating Moscow’s interference in the 2016 presidential election. CEO Mark Zuckerberg promised to improve the platform to prevent its technology from being abused in the future. Marc Rotenburg, president of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, argues in an op-ed for Fortune that Facebook should operate under the same laws that govern other media companies that sell political ads. Nest flies the nest. Alphabet’s connected home unit Nest debuted the Cam IQ Camera Outdoor, a rugged security camera that can recognize visitors’ faces. The product, which costs $350, joins Nest’s indoor camera as another sentinel to keep watch over customers’ living quarters. Nest also introduced a connected doorbell that comes with a mini app-linked video camera. Microsoft to add hack recovery. Microsoft is beefing up Windows 10 for businesses with tech that will automate certain tasks involved in recovering from security breaches. The addition should give companies a leg up in responding to digital intrusions, freeing security teams to focus on higher level strategy. Rob Lefferts, head of security for Windows, previewed the news exclusively with Fortune this week. Bitcoin battered by billionaires. Ray Dalio, the world’s most successful hedge funder (whose new book Fortune recently excerpted in the magazine ), voiced his skepticism about so-called digital gold, calling the mania for it a “ bubble .” JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon echoed this view, reiterating his longtime distrust in a Friday interview in which he said the craze for cryptocurrencies will “ end badly ” ( customer orders notwithstanding). In the face of the trash talk, Bitcoin’s price briefly shot above $4,000 , but has since fallen by about $500 (as it has many times before ). North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un may have an impressive vocabulary (he recently called President Donald Trump a “ dotard “), but his regime’s record of paying off parking tickets leaves much to be desired. Share today’s Data Sheet with a friend: http://fortune.com/newsletter/datasheet/ Looking for previous Data Sheets? Click here . ACCESS GRANTED The toymaker wasn’t recording or saving Dreamhouse owners’ voice commands — much less combining them into a system that could learn and evolve, otherwise known as natural language processing. “You want to know, how many times did she [the owner] talk to it, what questions does she ask that you don’t answer?” says [Mattel CEO Margo] Georgiadis. For an executive schooled at Google, whose parent company Alphabet makes $90 billion a year primarily by pumping data into algorithms and using it to serve up ads, this lapse was unfathomable. — An excerpt from Fortune senior writer Michal Lev-Ram’s latest feature detailing the digital transformation of toymaker Mattel under the reign of ex-Googler Margo Georgiadis. The new chief is interested in collecting more voice data from its playthings, raising privacy and security concerns. FORTUNE RECON Mark Zuckerberg Outlines Facebook’s Plan to Fight Russian Election Hacking , by John Patrick Pullen Is the New Apple iPhone Designed for Cyber-Safety? , by The Conversation’s Arun Vishwanath Inside RT, Russia’s Kremlin-Controlled Propaganda Network , by David Z. Morris California Planned on Strengthening Internet Privacy. It Didn’t. , by Chris Morris OkCupid and SparkNotes Founders Take on Slack With Encrypted Chat , by Robert Hackett Cryptocurrencies May Be a Dream Come True for Cyber Extortionists , by The Conversation’s Nir Kshetri Whoops: ISIS Backers Reveal Location on Instagram , by Jeff John Roberts ONE MORE THING How to write about the future. When crafting a narrative about centuries to come, perhaps the best place to start is not with what will change, but what remains the same. That was sci-fi author Annalee Newitz’s approach in laying out her new novel Autonomous , set in 2144. By looking into the past, Newitz gleaned human universals. “We’re still arguing over evolution; we still ride in trains and take photographs; we still have radical youth rebellions focused on free love, weird technology, and vegetarianism,” she says. Her vision of the future has differences, of course. In it, nation states have fallen and AI has risen up, for instance. \|\| JPMorgan's top quant strategist, echoing CEO, compares bitcoin to 'pyramid scheme': JPMorgan's top quant strategist backed his boss this week in bashing bitcoin, warning that the cryptocurrency is likely a "pyramid scheme." Marko Kolanovic, the bank's global head of quantitative and derivatives strategy, said in a note on Wednesday that in addition to being volatile and difficult to value, "another worrying aspect of cryptocurrencies are some parallels to fraudulent pyramid schemes." Bitcoin needs to be mined, or discovered, by people using computers to solve problems. Its murky origin raises questions, he said. "It is believed that an unknown person (or persons) known as 'Satoshi Nakamoto', before disappearing, mined the first 1-2 million coins or about 10 percent of the coins that will ever exist." He added, "Mining becomes progressively more difficult, and eventually unprofitable." Bitcoin surged more than 10 percent on Friday , but was still on track for a big weekly loss during a tumultuous period of trading. Earlier this week, JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon called bitcoin a "fraud," saying that the cryptocurrency "won't end well." Dimon was speaking at the Delivering Alpha conference presented by CNBC and Institutional Investor. Bitcoin plunged about 13 percent Thursday after one of the biggest exchanges in China said it will shut down its operation . BTC China said in a tweet Thursday that it will close down its operations by Sept. 30 as Chinese authorities crack down on cryptocurrencies. But to be sure, many see bitcoin as a huge opportunity. Former JPMorgan strategist Tom Lee said the cryptocurrency could surge another 600 percent in five years. "I unequivocally believe bitcoin is your best investment to the end of the year," the Fundstrat co-founder told CNBC, standing by similar remarks he made Aug. 9 on "Fast Money." "It's not worth it to look at bitcoin two months, two weeks ahead," Lee argued, saying he still believes each bitcoin will be worth $25,000 in five years. An unconvinced Kolanovic rattled off a number of risks. "There is no organized power behind this currency to e.g. ensure its long term viability, secure trade, enforce its acceptability for goods and services, or provide investor fraud protection," he said. "If the use of cryptocurrencies were to increase to an extent that they start competing with traditional 'country' currencies they would be quickly regulated or outlawed." WATCH: Bitcoin bounces backMore From CNBC • Terror to end bitcoin anonymity? • 'Smart' people and Panama Papers • Bitcoin mining IPO falls short \|\| Wall Street Analyst Bernstein: Bitcoin Is a 'Censorship Resistant Asset Class': Bitcoin is a "censorship-resistant asset class" – but not quite money – according to analysts for New York-based firm Bernstein. In a note sent to clients on Wednesday, according toBusiness Insider, analysts explored that question, ultimately concluding that while it shares some of its characteristics, it falls short under what would be considered "money" today. "Fiat money is still the final form of settlement – governments still collect taxes in fiat money and salaries are still paid in fiat money," the note explained. "Thus, for now, Bitcoin has only emerged as a 'censorship resistant' asset class." The analysts notably reckon that bitcoin's ecosystem functions more like a self-reliant economy than, say, strictly a network of digital money. "Bitcoin could be seen as virtual 'bearer cash' economy supported by a decentralized 'trustless' network – a new crypto economy with its own protocol or policy," the firm wrote in the note. "The faith of its citizens – software developers, miners, investors, early individual and sovereign state adopters [–] would drive the value of that network." Bernstein's determination is unlikely to sway proponents who say cryptocurrencies represent a new form of money. Indeed, it's a sticking point that has drawn both supporters and critics for as long as bitcoin has been in the public eye. Some observers have struck a middle ground in the argument. Last month, investor and anarcho-capitalistDoug Caseyargued that while bitcoin might be money, it's not likely to last in the long-run. Imagevia Shutterstock • Macquarie Analyst Rejects Jamie Dimon's Bitcoin 'Fraud' Critique \|\| Russia's Central Bank Backs Move to Block Bitcoin Websites: The first deputy governor of Russia's central bank, Sergei Shvetsov, has said that his institution will support efforts to block access to external websites selling cryptocurrencies in the country. Speaking at a conference on Tuesday, Reuters reports that Shvetsov cited the "unreasonably high risks" involved in cryptocurrency investment as a reason for the proposed measure, adding: "We cannot give direct and easy access to such dubious instruments for retail (investors)." As such, the Bank of Russia will be working alongside the judiciary to ensure the closure of websites offering these services a crackdown that he indicated will extend to "all cryptocurrency derivatives." Russian news agency TASS quotes Shvetsov as stating: "We consider all cryptocurrency derivatives to be a negative development on the Russian market and do not consider it possible to support it, and will even assume measures to restrict potential operations with such instruments made by the regulated part of the Russian market. Meanwhile, we assume efforts aimed at closing external websites that allow Russian citizens to acquire such assets together with the General Prosecutor's Office." Shvetsov further added that, with bitcoin being an asset that can generate high returns very quickly, it shows signs of being a pyramid scheme. The move to block access to cryptocurrency trading websites follows a number of warnings from Russian authorities in the past few months. Alexey Moiseev, the country's deputy finance minister, said in September that he expects upcoming legislation to feature a flat-out ban on payments made in cryptocurrency. Earlier the same month, deputy governor of the Bank of Russia Dmitry Skobelkin told Bloomberg: "China doesn't recognize cryptocurrency as payment and forbids ICOs. Our views are absolutely similar." Shvetsov image via Shutterstock Related Stories $5,000 in Reach? Bitcoin Falls Back After Hitting 5-Week High No Fraud: Ex-JPMorgan Trader Masters Thinks Bitcoin Breakout Just Beginning The CFTC Is Still Considering a Cryptocurrency 'Delivery' Definition France Is Close to Issuing a Position on ICOs View comments \|\| BANK OF AMERICA: Bitcoin is the 'most crowded' trade: (A live look at fund managers crowding into the long bitcoin trade.Reuters/China Daily) Count large fund managers among those unable to resist the allure ofbitcoin's massive returns. Owning the scorching-hot cryptocurrency — which has surged more than 350% this year — is seen as the most crowded trade to a pool of 214 fund managers overseeing $629 billion, according to a survey conducted by Bank of America Merrill Lynch. To be specific, 26% of investors surveyed in September said they viewed being long bitcoin as the most crowded position. Coming in second place and being dethroned from the top spot was the longNasdaqtrade, with 22% of responders mentioning it, BAML's data showed. (Long bitcoin is the most crowded trade right now, according to a monthly BAML fund manager survey.Bank of America Merrill Lynch) But while bitcoin has seen unbelievable gains in recent months, its price has fallen from a record high reached on September 1 amid aChinese crackdown on cryptocurrency exchanges.The reported ban comes afterChina decided to halt initial coin offerings, a hot new way for startups to raise funds by generating their own virtual currency. Further, Nobel-winning author Robert Shiller, who predicted the two biggest speculative markets in recent history, recentlydoubled down on his view that bitcoin is a bubblein an interview with Quartz. BAML's survey shows large fund managers have yet to heed his warning — a choice made at their own potential peril. Rounding out the top three most crowded trades in BAML's study is the short US dollar trade. The greenback has slid almost 10% in 2017, and hedge funds in particular have been keen toposition for further weakness, according to recent Commodity Futures and Trading Commission data. The prevalence of shorting the dollar marks a major shift for fund managers, for whom going long the currency was the number one investment as recently as April, capping off a five-month streak as the most packed trade. The following chart shows the evolution of the BAML survey's most crowded investment, with bitcoin taking the reins in September: (Bitcoin is the most crowded trade for fund managers, while the long dollar trade has fallen out of favor.Bank of America Merrill Lynch) NOW WATCH:GARY SHILLING: Stocks are expensive, and a 'shock' could send them plunging More From Business Insider • Bitcoin cash soars above $700 • Bitcoin cash is soaring • ROBERT SHILLER: Bitcoin is the 'best example right now' of a bubble \|\| Epazz Launches Reg CF Crowdfunding Campaign to Market Bitcoin Cannabis Payment Mobile App (ZenaPay) and Other Cloud Software Products: CHICAGO, IL--(Marketwired - Oct 4, 2017) -Epazz, Inc. (OTC PINK:EPAZ), a leading provider of cloud-based business software solutions, announced that it is raising capital under Reg CF in order to reach the goal of $1 million. The funds will be used to add to the company's sales, marketing, and software-development force to focus on selling ZenaPay Bitcoin Cannabis Payment Solution and other cloud-based business software solutions and to increase the speed of its software development cycles to release new updates and new products. The company will soon release a demo video of the ZenaPay bitcoin cannabis payment mobile app. The company is finishing up registration with Apple's App Store in order to release the app. Later, the company will finish development of the Android version of ZenaPay. Epazz CEO Shaun Passley, PhD, noted, "We are pleased to announce our Unit Offering to the public." Shaun continued, "This up-to-$1 million offering should allow Epazz to continue to grow the free cash flow, earnings per share, and market share." The terms of the offering are expected to be as follows. Please note that these are only an indication of terms, and final terms will be outlined in the final definitive legal documents. This transaction is only open to accredited investors and institutional investors. Expected terms of the unit offering: Epazz Unit Offering of Revenue Sharing Preferred Shares Series D up to $1 million under Reg CF Proposed TermsIssuer:Epazz, Inc. (the "Issuer"). Offering:Revenue Sharing Preferred Stock Series D ("Preferred Stock") via Reg CF of the Jobs Act ($0.25 per Preferred Share). Minimum investment of $1,000 or 4,000 Preferred Shares, plus Transfer Agent cost of $35 per certificate. Offering Amount:Up to US $1 million (4,000,000 Preferred Shares Series D). Investors:Institutional, Accredited, and Non-accredited Investors ("Holders"). Use of Proceeds:The Company intends to use the net proceeds for marketing, sales, software development, and general working capital purposes and other necessary expenditures as determined at the discretion of management. Commencement Date:Commencing with the first full calendar month following the closing, within thirty (30) calendar days following the end of each calendar month, the Company will begin making cash payment (collectively, the "Monthly Revenue Share Amount") to the holders of preferred shares. Revenue Share Percentage:The Monthly Revenue Share Amount will be in an amount equal to up to 7% of Company Gross Revenues for such calendar month. Each Revenue Sharing Investor's pro rata share of the Monthly Revenue Share Amount shall be determined by dividing such Holder's investment amount by the investment amounts of all Holders as of the first day of the calendar month applicable to such Monthly Revenue Share Amount. Maximum Revenue Share Amount:The Monthly Revenue Share Amount will continue to be paid until each Holder has received aggregate payments in an amount equal to 1.25 times such Holder's investment amount (each such Holder's "Maximum Revenue Share Amount"). Revenue Definition:For any applicable calendar month, Company Gross Revenues will be an amount equal to all gross revenues from the sale of products or services by the Company or any parent, subsidiary, or affiliate of the Company during such calendar month as determined under US generally accepted accounting principles, consistently applied. Termination Date:In the event the Holder has not received the Maximum Revenue Share Amount prior to December 31, 2020 (the "Maturity Date"), the Company shall convert the Preferred Shares into Common A shares, on or before the Maturity Date, an amount equal to the Maximum Revenue Share Amount less the sum of all previous payments made by the Company to the Holder at the Market Price of the Common A shares. Manner of Payment:All such payments to the Holder shall be deposited into a bank account of the Holder's choosing at the time of investment, or any successor account thereto which may be established by the Holder, or provided via check to the Holder. The Holder will have an option not to receive cash payment in favor of future conversions into Common A shares. Overdue Payments:The Company shall be assessed a late payment charge at an annual rate equal to three percent (3%) of any Monthly Revenue Share Amount not paid within ten (10) business days of becoming due. This late payment charge is cumulative and assessed once per month from the due date until the date of payment thereof and shall accrue and be added to any balance of unpaid amounts subject to late payment. Forced Conversion:Preferred Shares may be Force Converted into Common A shares (with 5 business days' notice from the Issuer) an amount equal to the Maximum Revenue Share Amount less the sum of all previous payments made by the Company to the Holder at the Market Price of the Common A if and only if the Issuer's Common A stock is quoted on a national stock exchange such as Nasdaq or New York Stock Exchange. The terms and conditions set forth herein are subject to change, and this letter does not constitute an offer and are indicative and subject to change based on market conditions. Neither this term sheet nor any discussion or negotiation of the proposed transaction constitutes an agreement or obligation on the part of any person to purchase or sell securities of Issuer or enter into any agreement to purchase securities of Issuer. For more information about the offering or to receive a prospectus, please go tohttp://[email protected]. About ZenaPay (www.zenapay.com)ZenaPay is being developed to solve a major problem in the "420 industry": getting paid. For cannabis-related businesses, the largest issue they face is how to be paid for their products. Traditional banking systems will not allow 420 industries access to their payment systems. ZenaPay will offer a cutting-edge payment solution that offers consumers a way to buy cannabis online or in stores using bitcoin. The newcannabis payment softwarewill allow consumers to use the digital currency to make online or in-store purchases with ease. Additionally, the process will be anonymous because all transaction details are encrypted through bitcoin. This will allow stores to accept digital currency instead of only cash. About Epazz, Inc. (www.epazz.com)Epazz, Inc. is a leading cloud-based software company that specializes in providing customized cloud applications to the corporate world, higher-education institutions, and the public sector. Epazz BoxesOS™ v3.0 is the complete web-based business software package for small- to mid-sized businesses, Fortune 500 enterprises, government agencies, and higher-education institutions. BoxesOS provides many web-based applications that organizations must otherwise buy separately. Epazz's other products are AgentPower™, a workforce management software, and AutoHire™, an applicant-tracking system. SAFE HARBOR"Safe harbor" statements are protected under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Certain statements contained in this press release are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements generally can be identified by the use of such terms as "may," "expect," "intend," "estimate," "anticipate," "believe," "continue," or the negatives thereof or similar terminology. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risk, uncertainties, and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from future results or from results implied by such forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned that any forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and that actual results may differ materially from those contemplated by such forward-looking statements. Epazz, Inc. assumes no obligation, does not intend to update these forward-looking statements, and takes no obligation to update or correct information prepared by third parties that is not paid for by Epazz, Inc. Investors are encouraged to review Epazz's public filings on SEC.gov, including its unaudited and audited financial statements, Registration Statement, and Form 10-Ks and Form 10-Qs, which contain general business information about the Company's operations as well as results of operations and risks associated with the Company and its operations. \|\| Bitcoin slides on 'fraud' warning from JPMorgan's Dimon: By Jemima Kelly LONDON (Reuters) - Bitcoin slid by more than 10 percent on Wednesday, as investors sold the cryptocurrency after a warning by JPMorgan (JPM.N) Chief Executive Jamie Dimon that it "is a fraud" and will eventually "blow up". Bitcoin, the original and still the biggest cryptocurrency, has been on a tear in recent months, hitting a record high just below $5,000 at the start of September after a more than fivefold increase in price since the start of the year. But bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have been falling since early last week, when China banned the issuance of new digital coins for fundraising purposes - a phenomenon known as initial coin offerings, or ICOs. ICOs have fueled a rapid ascent in the value of all cryptocurrencies, from about $17 billion at the start of the year - with bitcoin making up around 90 percent of that - to a record high close to $180 billion at the beginning of September, of which bitcoin represented less than half. Following the ICO ban, the market was further spooked by reports early this week that Chinese authorities were planning to forbid any trading of cryptocurrencies and by a warning on ICOs from Britain's financial watchdog, raising fears of a wider crackdown. Dimon's warning triggered a further 11 percent collapse in the price of bitcoin, which had already lost around 15 percent of its value in 10 days. "He joins a long line of market commentators that have been critical of bitcoin and it potentially being in a bubble, so his comments could have been the tipping point," said James Butterfill, head of research and investment strategy at ETF Securities in London. The cryptocurrency tumbled to as low as $3,720.01 on the Bitstamp exchange (BTC=BTSP) before recovering to trade around $3,810 by 1524 GMT, still down 8.7 percent on the day. Most other digital currencies were down also, with bitcoin's main rival ether - often called Ethereum, the name given to the project behind the currency - down 10 percent on the day, according to Coinmarketcap, an industry website. Story continues Dimon told an investor conference in New York that if any of his traders were found trading bitcoin he would "fire them in a second", and that bitcoin was "worse than tulips bulbs," referring to a famous market bubble from the 1600s. "This is not the first time that Jamie Dimon has spoken against the currency - the last time he had a similar go on the currency was in November 2015," said ThinkMarkets analyst Naeem Aslam. "Since then, the currency has had a remarkable run." "Most importantly, given that the CEO does not think that shorting this trade would yield a more favorable outcome shows that the cryptocurrency has a lot more room to run." (This version of the story was refiled to fix garbled third paragraph) (Reporting by Jemima Kelly, editing by Larry King) [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] New post (Panama City Strip Mall ...) has been published on Earn ... - https://earnbitcoinfast.com/bitcoin/panama-city-strip-mall-merchants-embrace-bitcoin-customers/ … #bitcoin #cryptocurrencies #makemoneyonlinepic.twitter.com/4p65H4RhSE \|\| I love this program. Growing my #bitcoin daily http://youtu.be/nOdjalSGG-c?a \|\| Hedge Token Crypto Traded Indices: The First Mover in Cryptocurrency Industry - NEWSBTC http://www.newsbtc.com/2017/10/11/hedge-token-first-crypto-indices/#forex … #forextrading #bitcoin \|\| #bitcoin non si ferma più? Analisi tecnica \|\| 歡迎來到我們的帳戶，我們是一個德國密碼交易平台 #bitcoin #cryptocurrency #kryondo #trading \|\| #Putin Tells Central Bank Not to Create Barriers to #Cryptocurrencies \|\| #Putin Tells Central Bank Not to Create Barriers to #Cryptocurrencies \|\| Large Japanese Energy Supplier Adds #Bitcoin Payments With a Discount https://news.bitcoin.com/japanese-energy-supplier-bitcoin-payments/ … \|\| Latest price for BTC_XEM @ Poloniex is 0.00003616 [Mon Oct 16 00:59:40 2017] \|\| #bitcoin non si ferma più? Analisi tecnica	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 6008.42, 5930.32, 5526.64, 5750.80, 5904.83, 5780.90, 5753.09, 6153.85, 6130.53, 6468.40
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2020-11-02] BTC Price: 13550.49, BTC RSI: 70.59 Gold Price: 1890.40, Gold RSI: 47.19 Oil Price: 36.81, Oil RSI: 39.99 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Latest Ripple price and analysis (XRP to USD): Ripple’s XRP token is going into the typically low-volume weekend on the back of a bullish week after rallying by 8.26%. It is, however, now approaching a crucial level of resistance at $0.26, which has not been taken out to the upside since early September. Breaking above $0.26 over the next fortnight would tie in with the bullish narrative surrounding Bitcoin following PayPal’s foray into digital assets. Bitcoin is currently trading at around $13,000 for the first time since June, 2019. If it can continue to rally followed by a period of consolidation, altcoins like XRP could well begin to see the proceeds of profitable Bitcoin trades. XRPUSD chart by TradingView One of the most notable parts of XRP’s recent price action is that it has held well above the daily 200 exponential moving average. Over the past three years XRP has struggled to gain momentum to the upside, consistently falling below key moving averages as it slumped from an all-time high of $3.28 to as low as $0.128 earlier this year. If XRP can break above $0.26 it would almost certainly trigger a bullish break out, with price targets beginning to emerge at both $0.285, $0.296 and August’s local high of $0.327. For more news, guides and cryptocurrency analysis, click here . Latest Ripple price Current live XRP price information and interactive charts are available on our site 24 hours a day. The ticker bar at the bottom of every page on our site has the latest Ripple price. Pricing is also available in a range of different currency equivalents: US Dollar – XRPtoUSD British Pound Sterling – XRPtoGBP Japanese Yen – XRPtoJPY Euro – XRPtoEUR Australian Dollar – XRPtoAUD Russian Rouble – XRPtoRUB Bitcoin – XRPtoBTC About Ripple (XRP) Ripple is a real-time gross settlement system (RTGS) developed by the Ripple company. It is also referred to as the Ripple Transaction Protocol (RTXP) or Ripple protocol. It can trace its roots to 2004 when a web developer called Ryan Fugger had the idea to create a monetary system that was decentralised and could effectively allow individuals to create their own money. Story continues Ripple is one of the largest cryptocurrencies and is one of the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market capitalisation. More Ripple news and information If you want to find out more information about Ripple or cryptocurrencies in general, then use the search box at the top of this page. Here’s a recent article to get you started: https://coinrivet.com/ripple-ceo-brad-garlinghouse-hits-back-at-critics-xrp-is-not-a-security/ As with any investment, it pays to do some homework before you part with your money. The prices of cryptocurrencies are volatile and go up and down quickly. This page is not recommending a particular currency or whether you should invest or not. \|\| Singapore Man Caned for Stealing $267K From Bitcoin Investor: A Singapore man has received a sobering sentence for his involvement in the theft of S$365,000 (US$267,097) in cash meant for a bitcoin purchase. As reported by The Strait Times on Friday, Jaromel Gee Ming Li, 29, was sentenced to three years in prison and 12 strokes of the cane on Thursday. Gee pleaded guilty to one count of engaging in a conspiracy to commit robbery with the aid of two other men, Mohd Abdul Rahman and Syed Mokhtar, both 39 years of age. According to the report, Gee was engaged in bitcoin brokerage and organized transactions between parties seeking to buy and sell bitcoin . Gee solicited Abdul Rahman to assist him with transactions that generally involved potential buyers of bitcoin for larger sums of cash, but in April 2018 they reportedly switched tactics to rob prospective buyers. Hearing that Pang Joon Hau, a Malaysian man, had arrived in Singapore for a bitcoin purchase with the S$365,000 in cash, Gee directed Abdul Rahman and Mokhtar to locate the investor in his hotel and rob him on April 8. Abdul Rahman and Mokhtar proceeded to physically assault Pang and another bitcoin investor, Teo Chern Wei, in their hotel room before running off with a backpack containing Pangs cash. Gee was arrested on April 18, 2018. It is unclear how authorities discovered Gees involvement in the robbery. Abdul Rahman was arrested days after the attack and his case is still pending; Mokhtar pleaded guilty to a robbery charge on Wednesday, The Straights Times reported. Rahmans ex-wife, Yogeshwry Raman, was also in court Thursday facing charges shed received stolen goods such as a S$45,800 (US$33,000) Rolex watch bought with proceeds from the robbery. In Singapore, those convicted of committing robbery between 19:00 and 07:00 local time can be jailed for up to 14 years and receive at least 12 strokes of the cane. See also: Singapore Man Fined $72K for Promoting Crypto Ponzi OneCoin Related Stories Singapore Man Caned for Stealing $267K From Bitcoin Investor Singapore Man Caned for Stealing $267K From Bitcoin Investor Singapore Man Caned for Stealing $267K From Bitcoin Investor Singapore Man Caned for Stealing $267K From Bitcoin Investor \|\| Exploring The Block Broadcasting tomorrow Nationwide Featuring Fetch.ai, WaykiChain, BlockQuake , Pascal and Electroneum: NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / September 11, 2020 / fetch.ai (FET) second interview will be broadcast again on Bloomberg tomorrow Saturday, Sept 12th at 7 pm est This interview with anchor Jane King with Fetch founder and CEO Humayun Sheikh explaining how Artificial Intelligence(AI) and, machine learning on the blockchain will be mandatory for businesses to survive. Humayun goes into how fetch.ai has use cases for hospitals to learn from data without sharing the data, which is extremely useful and novel for COVID virus preparation. The interview will also be aired on Fox Business Network (FBN) Monday, Sept 14th, at 1030 pm pst along with Electroneum and Waykichain. Also featured tomorrow on Bloomberg Television will be Richard Ells, CEO of Electroneum, Gordon Gao, Innovator CEO of WaykiChain. These companies are both run with the mindset of " giving the consumers all the advantages " Leveling the playing field, they have the tech and leaders to succeed, states Vince Caruso, CEO, and CO-Founder of FMW Media. "We currently broadcast on 3 U.S. Television Networks and Internationally to over 50 countries and feel that our blockchain clients will literally change the world," continued Caruso. Antonio Brasse, CEO, and Founder of BlockQuake, give us an update on the long-anticipated launch and user-friendly options available soon. Pascal Foundation with Chris Bolet, Senior Developer, and CEO Herman Schoenfeld go into what they developing and bringing out for their Pascal Foundation Community and the world. Additional updated Interviews filmed this past week by Somee.social (ONG) with a few of their top influencer Actors completing their 4th interview. Look for broadcast dates and times on Fox, KRON, and Bloomberg T.B.A. Sologenic (SOLO), a new featured company, completes their first interview discussing the hybrid defi ecosystem. "One of the many problems Sologenic is solving is providing access to the global financial markets using Blockchain technology. We're creating a Hybrid DeFi ecosystem allowing users from different parts of the world to trade and tokenize over 40K+ assets from 30 global stock exchanges within a regulatory framework inside the EU. The tokenization also creates a unique opportunity for users to trade a fraction or full amount of any stock and spend them in real-time via SOLO Cards." Bob Ras, The Co-Creator of Sologenic Story continues Also, completing their first feature is JD Coin. JD Coin, based out of USA, kicked off its success journey in April 2018 with a simple yet challenging mission of creating a secure process of trading, designed for mass adoption with industry-leading transaction speeds. JD coin is coming up with the next generation blockchain aiming to resolve the problems carried away with the previous generations of blockchain. Blockchain 4.0 is poised to solve the issues of the previous generations of blockchain in a more structured & scalable manner with the help of AI, ML, Data Compression, Sharding, and many other advanced technologies. JD Coin is paving its way to take the crypto industry with a storm by leading us to a better and faster version of technology to address the real-world problems in a more practical and cost-effective manner. Addressing the crucial component of consensus algorithm in any blockchain system which determines its performance and security, JD Coin is working on a multi-layered consensus algorithm such as a combination of POS (Proof of Stake) and POH (Proof of History) or POR (Proof of Reputation), etc., will help in providing solution for varied application scenarios with an ability to run in a small footprint on devices. The consumer-friendly JD Company is built for practical, real-world use cases where traders need no prior trading experience. JD Coin is leading us to a world of faster processing and sustainable technology. fetch.ai (FET) will be completing their third interview in series for network broadcasts later this month. Dates and Times TBA. We have NativeCoin (N8V) with partners Ferum.network coming on for their extended and Tech Report sponsorship series, which will run through 2021. ABOUT: FMW Media FMW Media Corp. operates one of the longest-running U.S and International sponsored programming T.V. brands "NewToTheStreet," and its blockchain show "Exploring The Block." Since 2009, these brands run sponsored media formatted shows across three major U.S. Television networks. The TV platforms reach over 540 million homes both in the US and international markets. Twitter @NewtotheStreet @ExploringBlock Fetch.ai (FET) Fetch.ai is at the forefront of accelerating research and deployment of emerging technologies, including blockchain and AI. Its solutions are designed for people, organizations, and IoT. The project has created an Open Economic Framework (OEF) that serves as a decentralized search and a value exchange platform for various autonomous economic agents. Supported by a scalable smart ledger, Fetch.ai has digital intelligence at its heart, enabling it to deliver actionable predictions and instant trust information to billions of smart devices." BlockQuake New York City FinTech startup, BlockQuake ™ is a regulatory-driven, one-stop-shop digital asset trading platform that will offer, at launch, 6 fiat currencies (USD, CAD, GBP, EUR, JPY, AUD), plus major cryptocurrencies & stablecoins (e.g., BTC, BCH, ETH, LTC, XRP, XLM, TUSD) - resulting in over 100 pairings. Traders from over 140 countries will also be able to use their credit or debit card to deposit funds into their exchange account. BlockQuake's™ accomplished team includes internal and external subject matter experts in FinTech, regulatory finance, investment banking, insurance, blockchain, and risk management, and a robust understanding of both the finance and crypto industries. They now draw upon decades of experience in blue-chip financial services to deliver solutions that address trader frustrations in the current cryptocurrency landscape. The result is a platform that aims to be an industry-standard in global compliance, built on security, transparency, and trust. Investors can support BlockQuake™ through a worldwide KYC compliant ST20/ERC1400 token offering. The Regulation D 506(c) token offering for accredited investors in the U.S. and Canada or the Regulation S token offering for retail and institutional/accredited investors outside the U.S. and Canada. Visit BlockQuake.com for more information. MANDI Mandi Token has a wide range of experts in finance, accounting, and business analysis, including former analysts and financial experts from known institutions. Our spokesman, JD Salbego, is an Advisor to Solidum Capital, former CEO of BitTok exchange and current CEO of Legion Ventures. Jonathan Dunsmoor, our Compliance Officer, is Senior Counsel at Reid & Wise LLC, Securities Attorney at Aeryus, and Managing Consultant at NV Global Ventures. Willy Hartono Wijaya, President Director, is a former analyst at Goldman Sachs and an emergent investment figure in the Indonesian economy. We use a very conventional methodology on our approach to assessing the profitability and feasibility of any opportunities that have the potential to add value to our ecosystem and Mandi token holders. SoMee.social (ONG1) SoMee is a blockchain-based social media platform. Users earn ONG1 for being active on their platform; posting, liking, and getting liked. SoMee's mission is to redefine social media for privacy, end-user control, and monetization. The platform is built for influencers, social media users, and advertisers and is about to release a unique system for advertisers that gives them more control and interaction with their target audience, and that allows their target audience to target them back! SoMee has been in open beta for the past year on the web at https://SoMee.social and inside of the IOS and Android app stores under SoMee.social. Media Contact: Bryan Johnson Bryan @ NewtoTheStreet.com 631-766-7462 SOURCE: FMW Media Works Corp View source version on accesswire.com: https://www.accesswire.com/605816/Exploring-The-Block-Broadcasting-tomorrow-Nationwide-Featuring-Fetchai-WaykiChain-BlockQuake-Pascal-and-Electroneum \|\| Why Satoshi Chose Halloween to Release the Bitcoin White Paper: Was it an allusion to the Reformation or something to do with the ancient pagan tradition of Samhain? Formore episodesand free early access before our regular 3 p.m. Eastern time releases, subscribe withApple Podcasts,Spotify,Pocketcasts,Google Podcasts,Castbox,Stitcher,RadioPublica,iHeartRadioorRSS. This episode is sponsored byCrypto.com,Nexo.ioandElliptic. Related:By the Numbers: More Bitcoin Bulls Than Ever Before One of the most powerful aspects ofbitcoinis its mythology. In this episode, NLW explores the 12th anniversary of the Bitcoin white paper and the choices that went into its release date. Whether it was something to do with the Reformation or an allusion to the longstanding pagan tradition of Samhain, the one thing that’s clear is the choice adds all the more mystique to bitcoin’s incredible origins. See also:Money Reimagined: Who Are the Real Monsters? Related:Crypto Is Less Scary Than Halloween Formore episodesand free early access before our regular 3 p.m. Eastern time releases, subscribe withApple Podcasts,Spotify,Pocketcasts,Google Podcasts,Castbox,Stitcher,RadioPublica,iHeartRadioorRSS. • Why Satoshi Chose Halloween to Release the Bitcoin White Paper • Why Satoshi Chose Halloween to Release the Bitcoin White Paper \|\| 26 Smartest Ways To Invest Your Money During the Pandemic: While the overall economy is still suffering from the coronavirus pandemic, the stock market already has bounced back. After bottoming out in March, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 each had jumped more than 50% by mid-August, ABC News reported. But is the market due for a downswing? And are stocks a good choice for every type of investor? What might seem like a good investment for you might be too risky — or too safe — for someone else. In general, the most conservative investments offer the lowest returns but protect your initial investment. As you move up the risk ladder you take on greater price volatility in exchange for potentially higher long-term returns. Cash investments are the least risky, followed by bonds and stocks. Not sure where to invest right now? Here’s how the experts say you shouldinvest your money amid the pandemic. Last updated: Sept. 19, 2020 • Safe or Risky:High-risk, high-reward Smart beta funds attempt to use various investment factors that have been proved to enhance long-term returns. Low volatility funds are a subset of smart beta funds that aim to reduce risk by investing in lower-volatility securities. Although these funds cannot eliminate risk, their investment mandate is to at least smooth out the ride. This can make investing in the market less stressful during the uncertainty caused by the coronavirus. • Safe or Risky:High-risk, high-reward The United States comprises approximately 44% of the world’s stock market capitalization, so it’s always been a good idea to diversify into international stock funds. In any given year, the U.S. might or might not be the country with the highest stock market returns, so diversifying your exposure makes sense. This is particularly true during periods of uncertainty. U.S. and global stocks experience different economic and market forces, even during the current global emergency, so owning international stock funds leads to lower portfolio volatility and higher, risk-adjusted returns. • Safe or Risky:High-risk, high-reward Real estate investment trusts enable small investors to own a piece of the real estate pie. A REIT is a firm that owns or finances income-producing real estate. Similar to mutual funds, REITs offer investors regular income streams, diversification and the potential for long-term capital appreciation. During the outset of the coronavirus crisis, many REITs got pummeled as the world essentially shut down and the revenue stream for these companies dried up. Once the crisis is resolved, however, the REITs that are in a stronger financial position could end up appreciating significantly, in addition to maintaining their dividends. Still, this amounts to a risky bet, as no one is certain how long this crisis will last. Luke Lloyd, wealth advisor and investment strategist atStrategic Wealth Partners, recommends investing in data center REITs. “Commercial real estate could take a hit given the current mentality of ‘work from home’ and the need for less office space,” he said. “However, there could be opportunities in data center REITs that house the infrastructure buildout of the technology sector. These data centers house the servers and technology that support the cloud network companies operate on.” • Safe or Risky:Variable depending on manager and investments Robo-advisor accounts automatically manage your investments in line with your risk tolerance and goals. Vanguard, Schwab and independent shops — including Personal Capital, Wealthfront, SigFig and Betterment — offer a variety of robo-advisor accounts and services. Robo-companies create diversified portfolios with low account management fees, and some offer access to a human investment advisor. Most robo-advisor accounts include easy-to-use investment apps. During times of market uncertainty, a robo-advisor can be a good option because it takes emotion out of the investing equation. Rather than trying to manage your own portfolio, agonizing over the large losses and wondering if you should buy or sell, a robo-advisor will keep you to your predetermined investment plan. Find Out:How To Protect Your Retirement Savings During the Coronavirus Pandemic • Safe or Risky:Safe U.S. Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities, or TIPS, are safe in that they are backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. You can buy individual Treasury inflation-protected bonds on the Treasury Direct website or in a low-fee mutual or exchange-traded fund. TIPS protect your cash from inflation. While you won’t have to worry about losing your principal, you might not get much by way of a return. Inflation is likely to be held in check throughout the coronavirus crisis, as falling demand overall is likely to more than offset the temporary price spikes in certain goods. This dampens the inflation-protection element of these bonds, as inflation is unlikely to rise dramatically, thereby lowering overall return. • Safe or Risky:Safe, but riskier than usual Generally, municipal bonds’ interest payments are tax-free on the federal level, and if they’re issued by your state, you won’t have to pay state taxes. Municipal bonds are traditionally a safe haven for investors, but in the current market environment, they might be riskier than usual. With rampant unemployment and the shutdown of almost every aspect of American life, the credit quality of these bonds could take a significant hit. This is particularly true of revenue bonds, which rely on consumers using their services to pay the interest on the bonds. One way to diminish this risk is to buy insured municipal bonds only — although in that case, you’re relying on the solvency of the underlying insurers as well. • Safe or Risky:Varies based on chosen investments A 529 plan is a tax-advantaged savings vehicle designed to help you save for college for a child or family member. Also known as a qualified tuition plan, 529s are sponsored by states, state agencies and educational institutions. You can choose from a variety of stock, bond and cash investments in your 529 account. Although the investments in these accounts are likely to remain volatile for the foreseeable future, 529 plans are generally long-term investments. If your child has 10 or more years before the money will be needed for college, you’ve got a long runway to earn back any losses and then some. Regular investments in these plans during volatile market times actually can add to your long-term returns over time, as markets historically recover from major sell-offs. Tips:Investing ‘Rules’ You Shouldn’t Follow • Safe or Risky:Moderate Investing in a foreign country’s debt can increase your returns and diversify your investment portfolio. When you invest in global bond funds, however, you take on additional risk. All bond funds carry interest rate risk, which is the risk that your value decreases as interest rates rise. Global bond funds also might carry currency risk unless they are hedged. In these uncertain times, global bonds also have additional country and political risk, as the economic devastation wreaked by the global shutdown is hard to quantify on a country-by-country basis. • Safe or Risky:Safe Certificates of deposit offer a fixed rate of interest on your investment for a predetermined period of time. CDs also have the benefit of Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. guarantees of up to $250,000 per account. This can provide peace of mind in troubled times, such as during the current pandemic. If you can afford the initial investment, Juan Carlos Cruz, founder ofBritewater Financial Groupin Brooklyn, New York, said he recommends investing in high-yield CDs, which typically offer higher rates than a standard CD. “The HYCD works just like a regular CD, but may require a higher balance than other CDs and to hold for a longer period of time,” he said. “Please do your research and check with your local bank for the minimum deposit for this type of account.” CD laddering is a smart strategy that enables you to take advantage of regular investments to garner the best yields, regardless of whether rates are rising or falling going forward. For example, if you have $10,000 to invest, you might spread that out by investing $2,000 each in a 12-, 24-, 36-, 48- and 60-month CD. Look online for promotional CD rates to get the most bang for your buck. • Safe or Risky:Moderate A diversified bond fund such as the iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF (ticker: AGG) or a mutual bond fund like the Vanguard Total Bond Market Index Fund Investor Shares (ticker: VBMFX) can provide you with great exposure to the U.S. investment-grade bond market. Both funds spread your investments out among corporate bonds and U.S. government bonds with various maturities. The risk you take when you invest in anything but the shortest-term bond funds is that when interest rates rise, the underlying principal value is likely to fall. As interest rates are at historic lows, if rates rise in the future, you could lose some of your principal. Options:19 Areas To Invest In During a Financial Crisis • Safe or Risky:Less risky Also known as lifecycle funds, target-date mutual funds are designed for the investor who wants a “set it and forget it” retirement investing option. Choose the year you want to retire or access the money and your investments go from risky — when you have many years to go until your goal date — to more conservative as you get closer to retirement. If you’re willing to hold your target-date fund until maturity, it could be a good option to ride out the current market volatility. Since most target-date funds have longer maturities, you likely can recover any current losses over the long run. • Safe or Risky:High-risk, high-reward When you’re looking to match an index’s performance, ETFs might be good investments. Superstar investor Warren Buffett loves index funds, and they typically feature rock-bottom management fees. It’s tough to outperform a fund with low fees like the Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF (ticker: VTI), which has an expense ratio of just 0.03%. If you’re a long-term investor, you’ll be ahead of the game if and when the market ultimately hits a new all-time high. • Safe or Risky:High-risk, high-reward Public companies offer you a chance to own a piece of them — and when the business grows, so does your portion of ownership. You’ll have to do your homework, but if you can research and buy companies that have the potential to perform strongly through the pandemic, you have an opportunity to realize tremendous growth with individual stocks. “We still think stocks are the best path to long-term growth, but that can be hard to stomach with all the volatility we’ve seen,” said Rob Emrich III, founder and managing partner ofAcruence Capital. “We expect volatility levels to remain high, as measured by the VIX, particularly around and after the election. Investors could potentially benefit from owning investments that respond favorably to rising volatility.” The stock market already is paying off for some investors, despite an initial dip in March. “The stock market has been showing phenomenal growth,” said Chalmers Brown, co-founder and chief technology officer atDue. “I’ve been putting a greater investment into that since April and it’s really starting to pay off. Some stocks are even splitting, giving me even more growth potential and return. Those that may have small amounts to invest could do so through apps that let you buy percentages of stock shares. This makes this investment opportunity accessible to everyone.” Not sure which stocks to choose? Find an advisor to guide you through the process. • Safe or Risky:Depends on the investments selected An IRA helps you save for retirement and reduces your taxes. Any money you invest in your traditional IRA comes out of your taxable income, which saves you money at tax time. “When investing in a retirement account, you also get tax advantages — tax deductible contributions for pre-tax amounts or tax-free withdrawals in the case of Roth contributions — that allow your money to work harder for you,” said Carrie Schwab-Pomerantz, a senior vice president atCharles Schwab. You don’t get an immediate tax benefit on your Roth IRA contributions, but when you begin taking qualified withdrawals after you reach 59 1/2 you won’t be taxed on that money. You can open either type of IRA account at a bank or online stock brokerage and fill it with stocks, bonds, funds or other types of investments. As money you put into an IRA is intended for long-term growth, continuing to make contributions during market downturns can pay off in down the road. Choose appropriate investments that match your investment objectives and risk tolerance to make the most of your IRA. • Safe or Risky:Depends on the investments selected “If you are fortunate to have an employer that offers a 401(k) match, make sure you are investing a minimum of whatever the matching rate is,” Schwab-Pomerantz said. “It’s essentially free money.” Even if you don’t have an employer match or it has been suspended, Schwab-Pomerantz said it’s still a good idea to keep investing in your retirement fund. • Safe or Risky:High-risk, high-reward Commodities include precious metals, coffee, orange juice, oil, gas and a number of other raw materials. You can buy a commodities fund or participate in a commodity futures contract. Some investors believe commodities are a good source of diversification, although they’re volatile, complex and not well-suited for investing for beginners, according to Fidelity. Two of the largest commodity funds are the Invesco DB Commodity Index Tracking Fund (ticker: DBC) and the iShares S&P GSCI Commodity-Indexed Trust (ticker: GSG). Helpful:12 Stable Investments Everyone Needs in Their Portfolio Right Now • Safe or Risky:High-risk, high-reward As gold doesn’t pay dividends or generate any income or revenue, it’s a pure commodity play. Gold is generally used as a hedge against market volatility, rather than a long-term, buy-and-hold type investment. “The yellow metal has a storied record of thriving during times of uncertainty and volatility, and these factors have propelled gold to be one of the best-performing investments of the COVID economy,” said Ryan Giannotto, director of research atGraniteShares, an ETF issuer based in New York. • Safe or Risky:High-risk, high-reward When you buy an actively managed mutual fund, you’re hiring an investment manager who chooses investments he believes will outperform the market. In the current volatile market, hiring a professional to help you pick your investments can be a prudent move. Just make sure you find a fund manager who’s in line with your approach. Actively managed funds can be found for nearly any investment category, from stocks or bonds to precious metals and international bonds. • Safe or Risky:High-risk, high-reward Cryptocurrency is a digital, decentralized and encrypted currency. The first cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, was invented in 2009. Although millions of people use cryptocurrencies, they are still a nascent market. Coupled with the fact that crypto is not endorsed or supported by any government and is shrouded in mystery, its price can be volatile. In the week of Sept. 13, 2020, for example, the price of Bitcoin fluctuated between about $9,950 and $10,700. Articles in the investment community say Bitcoin can hit any price between $0 and $100,000, evidence of the great uncertainty surrounding the investment. Regardless of whether you’re investing in crypto during the coronavirus crisis or in more normal market conditions, expect extreme volatility. • Safe or Risky:High-risk, high-reward Foreign currencies are traded on the foreign exchange market, and they represent a high-risk investment strategy. If you’ve traveled in a foreign country, you understand how currency values fluctuate — forex traders attempt to benefit from those fluctuations. Because of the risk level involved with forex, this type of investment is best left to sophisticated investors. This is particularly true during the coronavirus epidemic, as emotions and other nonfinancial forces are acting on currency exchange rates that may be harder to predict. • Safe or Risky:High-risk, high-reward A sector fund is one that invests only in businesses that operate in a particular industry or sector of the economy. If you have a hunch that a certain sector, such as oil or healthcare, will outperform in the future, this type of fund might be for you. Sector funds include stocks, bonds and other financial assets. Sector funds are not as diverse as broadly diversified funds. When sectors drop in value your funds will drop as well, which makes these risky investments. A perfect example is the United States Oil Fund ETF (ticker: USO), which had dropped more than 71% for the year through Sept. 14. If you believe oil will stage a massive turnaround, this could be a great high-risk, high-reward play. However, the size of the selloff is an indication of the risk involved. Lloyd recommends investing in the technology and healthcare sectors in our current climate. Be Aware:How a COVID-19 Vaccine Could Hurt Your Portfolio • Safe or Risky:Safe In the current market environment, savings accounts are like gold. They are insured up to $250,000 and are completely liquid. The downside is that yields are tumbling as the Fed has cut rates to essentially zero. Still, online savings accounts and cash management accounts such as Wealthfront and Betterment can still pay much better than the national average savings account rate of 0.09%, which itself is likely to tumble. During a global emergency such as the coronavirus, bulking up your savings is a good strategy. This is especially true if you are currently lacking an emergency fund. “Schwab conducted a recent survey that found 50% of Americans could not cover an unexpected expense of up to $1,000,” Schwab-Pomerantz said. “Given that, I think one of the best things people can do with any extra money right now is increase their savings. If you’re short on emergency funds (or dipped into them) due to the pandemic, focus on replenishing them in case something else comes up — car repair, reduction in hours/furlough, plumbing emergency, etc.” Megan Morton, a member of the founding team atCalendar, said she has taken that advice herself. “I’ve actually been spending less money each month due to fewer trips and no commute. This has left me with some money that I would’ve had to spend prior to COVID-19. The extra funds are being invested directly into my emergency fund,” she said. “COVID-19 really made it clear why an emergency fund is necessary because you never know what may happen.” • Safe or Risky:Safe, if you can afford it “I’m putting more equity in my home by making additional principal payments,” said Jon Bradshaw, founder and president ofCodebase. “I see some people are refinancing and taking cash out, but they are losing equity by doing so. Instead, I believe that putting more in helps better position me during a time where property values continue to rise. I can take that investment increase later on when I sell my home.” • Safe or Risky:Safe, if you can afford it “There have been tremendous discounts on technology hardware and software during the pandemic, so I’ve focused on investing in upgrading technology and ensuring I have the right tools for my business and personal life,” said Steve Gickling, founder ofETLrobot. “This ability to invest in more technology has been a way to be ready for when the country reopens again and business picks up speed.” Your money is always a precious commodity, but especially so in today’s uncertain world. Beyond funds, stocks and financial accounts, here are a few more ways you can invest your funds right now. Since our ability to connect with our friends, family and extended network is more limited now, it’s more important than ever to consciously invest in our relationships. “That could look like upgrading your Zoom account for a better experience when talking to someone or sending meaningful gifts to the people you care about,” said Chris Schembra, founder of7:47. “Your success is determinant on the strength of your weak ties. Invest in your weak ties when times are tough, and they’ll provide referrals and loyalty when times are good again.” “During the pandemic, it’s well worth investing your money in activities where you can help others,” said Gloria Horsley, co-founder ofOpen to Hope. “The return you get in providing others with much-needed assistance through stressful and uncertain times pays dividends in the form of greater satisfaction than purchasing material things. You get to see the results almost immediately. Plus, in a world where we feel a loss of control, actively helping others is a good way to get back that feeling of control.” More From GOBankingRates • 44 Ways To Trim Your Living Expenses During the Coronavirus Quarantine • 94 Money-Making Skills You Can Learn in Less Than a Year • 24 Ways To Maximize Your Paycheck This Year • How Long $1 Million in Savings Will Last in Every State Barbara Friedberg,John CsiszarandGabrielle Olyacontributed to the reporting for this article. This article originally appeared onGOBankingRates.com:26 Smartest Ways To Invest Your Money During the Pandemic \|\| Europe mulls digital euro as China pushes ahead with own electronic currency: The European Central Bank (ECB) has moved a step closer to pursuing a digital euro, becoming the latest global central bank to seriously consider following China's lead in creating a digital currency. China appears to be the clear leader in developing a sovereign digital currency , with pilot tests under way in several parts of the country. But other central banks are starting to explore the idea, spurred on in part by the attention the Chinese project is getting and the nation's advanced system of electronic payments through mobile apps. Get the latest insights and analysis from our Global Impact newsletter on the big stories originating in China. The ECB outlined the potential benefits and pitfalls of a digital euro in a report released late last week, saying it must be designed to avoid "adverse effects on monetary policy and financial stability". Key risks include the impact on monetary policy, financial stability, the safety and efficiency of retail payments, cross-border flows, cybersecurity and legal and privacy issues, the ECB said. "The move to introduce a digital currency in which users hold deposits directly with the central bank is quite a radical one, and there isn't much research done on the effects on the economy, especially the banking sector," said Leonhard Weese, president of the Bitcoin Association of Hong Kong. Financial stability could be undermined if banks' funding costs were affected by depositors changing their savings at commercial banks to a central bank-issued digital currency, the ECB said. Banks might have to replace the lost deposits with borrowing from the central bank or directly from capital markets, which could mean the ECB would have to expand its role in the economy, potentially forcing banks to take on more risk to earn money. China's digital sovereign currency tests put it ahead of the global pack in push to adopt digital money "Were this demand to increase their funding costs, banks might have to deleverage and decrease the supply of credit, thus preventing an optimal level of aggregate investment and consumption," the report said, adding this could ultimately drive up the cost of borrowing, hampering economic activity. "Moreover, if their traditional business model is compromised, banks may decide to take on greater risks in an attempt to earn higher (nominal) returns and to offset the reduction in profitability." During a crisis, when savers have less confidence in banks, they might opt for the digital currency and so increase the likelihood and severity of bank runs, risking overall financial stability, the report said. Story continues Despite the dangers, the ECB said it believed a digital euro could enhance the role of the second most traded currency in the world. "A digital euro would support Europe's drive towards continued innovation. It would also contribute to its financial sovereignty and strengthen the international role of the euro," Fabio Panetta, member of the ECB's Executive Board and chair of the digital currency task force, said. China's central bank has said it is important to become the first nation to issue a digital currency as part of its push to internationalise the yuan and reduce its dependence on the dollar payment system . A growing number of central banks around the world are considering launching digital currencies. Sweden's Riksbank is trialing the use of an e-krona, but the Reserve Bank of Australia concluded in a report last month there was no need for a digital currency at present. The ECB report also recommended limited distribution and use of its digital currency by corporate entities and individuals "to prevent excessive shifts of commercial bank money into digital euro". "The technical implementation of a digital euro needs to be thoroughly tested and legal considerations carefully examined before any decision is taken on issuance," said the ECB report, adding that it will come back with a decision "towards mid 2021" on whether to start a digital euro project. The ECB said it has not made a decision yet on whether to launch a digital euro but will begin public consultation this week. This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP) , the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright © 2020 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Copyright (c) 2020. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. View comments \|\| The most common online, email scams Canadians are falling for: October is Cyber Security Awareness Month and the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC) is reminding the public about the most common scams to be on the lookout for. With the ongoing pandemic, Canadians have increasingly relied on the internet to conduct everyday activities, such as, buying and selling goods or looking for a job, the bulletin from the CAFC reads. In 2019, the top reported online scams targeting Canadians are as follows: Merchandise: 1,414 reports, 1,052 victims, $1,528,100 in losses Service: 1,366 reports, 1,018 victims, $1,461,200 in losses Sale of Merchandise by Complaint: 1,076 reports, 793 victims, $691,800 in losses Job: 560 reports, 232 victims, $710,000 in losses Counterfeit Merchandise: 309 reports, 281 victims, $100,000 in losses The anti-fraud centre estimates that less than five per cent of fraud victims report their occurrences to the CAFC. Merchandise fraud is when scammers create fake ads on classified ad sites, resale sites, website pop-ups and fake company websites. The items for sale can range from electronics and clothing to even animals, or counterfeit merchandise. The CAFC warns the public that if the price of an item listed online is too good to be true, it is. These scammers use a number of tactics, including spoofing messages that payments are required and fraudsters requesting payment through a money service business like MoneyGram or Western Union. They also can include overpayment scams, where a fake buyer overpays for an item and requests reimbursement of the excess amount, before the victims realizes the payment was fraudulent. Service fraud impacting Canadians has been across a number of industries, some of the most common service scams the CAFC has identified are air duct cleaning, help with government documents, immigration website, low interest rate offers, pardon, resale and tech support. Many of these frauds involve individuals conducting services that are poor or risky quality, or scammers offering services through websites, online ads or phone calls, like immigration or financial services, at inexpensive prices. Story continues For job scams, the types that have been reported to the CAFC are car wrapping, counterfeit cheque, financial agent and mystery shopper. Counterfeit cheque, car wrapping and mystery shopping scams identified by the CAFC all involve fraudsters instructing victims to deposit a fake cheque into their personal account and then transfer a certain amount of money out of that account for particular fees, to make purchases, among other reasons. The anti-fraud centre is also alerting the public that it is seeing more victims sending money through cryptocurrency like Bitcoin, Litecoin, Etherum and others. The CAFC has outlined a number of tips for Canadians to protect themselves from these scams: Be cautious of greatly reduced prices (e.g. 80%). Know the market value of products Notice text with spelling errors or references to the product as the item Beware of pets offered at below market value or free Whenever possible, meet and purchase a pet in person Locate and verify the companys contact information (address, phone number, email) before you buy Look for customer reviews and ratings from third-party sources Be mindful where you post your resume. Scammers use legitimate websites to seek out victims Take the time to research an employer and confirm that they are hiring Most common email scams in Canada The anti-fraud centre also shared the list of the top email scams Canadians are falling victim to. Email scams represent one of the most prevalent attack methods for fraud and other cybercrimes, the bulletin from the CAFC reads. From fraudulent phishing scams soliciting personal and financial information to extortion demands requesting bitcoin payments, emails are being used to send a variety of false, deceptive, misleading and fraudulent messages. In 2019, the top reported email scams targeting Canadians are as follows: Phishing, 2,246 reports, 797 victims Extortion, 2,126 reports, 34 victims, $6,500 in losses Job, 770 reports, 282 victims, $946,100 in losses Spear Phishing, 564 reports, 329 victims, $1,799,600 in losses Merchandise, 394 reports, 242 victims, $428,600 in losses Phishing fraud is when a scammer send an email that appears to be from a known company, like Netflix or Amazon, or a bank, claiming that the victim needs to update their online account. There is also a variation where a phishing email is sent, with minimal text, encouraging someone to click on a fraudulent link or attachment, which will infect their computer with a virus or malware. The email may seem to be a receipt from a recent purchase, a delivery notification, or something more urgent, such as a notice to appear in court, the CAFC warns. Extortion scams are when a fraudster coerces an individual or institution to supply money, property or services. Ongoing extortion scams identified by the CAFC include bomb threats, denial of service, explicit video, hitman, hostage, hydro and ransomware. There is also sextortion fraud when scammers create fake profiles on social media, pornographic and dating sites. Taxpayer fraud is also something Canadians should be aware of, which is when scammers claim the victim owes tax money, committed a crime or had their SIN number compromised. The CAFC has also identified Canadians have been falling victim to immigration extortion scams, when fraudsters claim to be from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada and insist money needs to be paid to avoid deportation, loss of passport or citizenship. Earlier this year, the anti-fraud centre revealed that Asian communities in Canada have been targeted with automated calls from scammers, claiming there are from a courier company or foreign law enforcement, like Beijing police and Shanghai customs. Spear phishing scams are when fraudsters pretend to be legitimate sources the victim, a business or individual, needs to send money to. These scams leverage existing relationships between the person receiving the email and the person sending it, the CAFC warns. The sender's address appears to be the actual email address of the source they're pretending to be, a tactic known as spoofing. Some variations to this scam include business executive spoofs, financial industry client spoof, head office spoof, payroll spoof and supplier or contractor swindle. The CAFC has also listed a number of tips the help Canadians protect themselves from email scams: Remain current on frauds targeting business and educate all employees Have detailed payment procedures and encourage a verification process for unusual email requests Avoid opening unsolicited emails or clicking on suspicious links or attachments Take a few seconds to hover over an email address or link and confirm that they are correct Back up your system/data regularly and keep the backups on a separate removable hard drive Dont forget to disconnect, when done, and if possible check the backup(s) from a separate computer that uses a different operating system Take the time to research an employer and confirm that they are hiring The main directive for Canadians to protect themselves from falling victim to any scam, including both online and email fraud, is to remain current on scams and share what you know to protect others. According to the CAFC, Canadians should tell two other people what they know about any frauds and ask them to do the same. An unbroken chain of 25 people telling two would cover the entire population of Canada, the anti-fraud centre states. \|\| ALT 5 Sigma Digital Instrument Market Summary for BTC, ETH, LTC, BCH: NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / October 27, 2020 /ALT 5 Sigma Inc. an emerging leader in blockchain powered financial platforms provides its daily digital instruments market summary for Bitcoin (BTC/USD), Ether (ETH/USD), Litecoin (LTC/USD). Real-Time Market Data is available atwww.alt5pro.comand Real-Time Market Data feed is also available atwww.alt5sigma.comALT 5 Sigma Digital Instrument Market Summary for BTC, ETH, LTC, BCH [["Digital Asset", "Pair", "Price", "24hr Chg", "7d Chg", "24/hr Volume", "MarketCap"], ["Bitcoin", "BTC/USD", "$13,658.93", "$0.05", "$0.14", "$31,838 M", "$253,072 M"], ["Ethereum", "ETH/USD", "$406.44", "$0.04", "$0.10", "$13,620 M", "$46,001 M"], ["XRP", "XRP/USD", "$0.25", "$0.02", "$0.03", "$2,239 M", "$11,388 M"], ["Bitcoin Cash", "BCH/USD", "$265.29", "$0.03", "$0.09", "$2,655 M", "$4,923 M"], ["Litecoin", "LTC/USD", "$57.64", "$0.03", "$0.22", "$3,382 M", "$3,790 M"], ["Bitcoin SV", "BSV/USD", "$175.66", "$0.03", "$0.12", "$990 M", "$3,259 M"], ["EOS", "EOS/USD", "$2.66", "$0.01", "$0.05", "$2,069 M", "$2,489 M"], ["Monero", "XMR/USD", "$133.44", "$0.02", "$0.12", "$870 M", "$2,367 M"], ["Stellar", "XLM/USD", "$0.08", "$0.01", "-$0.00", "$167 M", "$1,703 M"], ["Dash", "DASH/USD", "$70.65", "$0.01", "-$0.01", "$403 M", "$691 M"]] About ALT 5 Sigma Inc. ALT 5 is a fintech company specializing in the development and deployment of digital assets trading and exchange platforms. Alt 5 was founded by financial industry specialists out of the necessity to provide the digital asset economy with security, accessibility, transparency and compliance. ALT 5 provides its clients the ability to buy, sell and hold digital assets in a safe and secure environment deployed with the best practices of the financial industry. ALT 5's products and services are available to Banks, Broker Dealers, Funds, Family Offices, Professional Traders, Retail Traders, Digital Asset Exchanges, Digital Asset Brokers, Blockchain Developers, and Financial Information Providers. ALT 5's digital asset custodian services are secured by GardaWorld. GardaWorld is the world's largest privately-owned business solutions and security services company, offering cash management services. For more information, visitwww.alt5sigma.com. Contact: Andre BeauchesneTel. [email protected] For more information on ALT 5 Pay, visitwww.alt5pay.comFor more information on ALT 5 Pro, visitwww.alt5pro.com SOURCE:ALT 5 Sigma Inc. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/612635/ALT-5-Sigma-Digital-Instrument-Market-Summary-for-BTC-ETH-LTC-BCH \|\| Bitcoin’s Jump to $10.7K Ends 10-Day Sideways Trend: Bitcoin advanced on Monday, ending a 10-day-long price consolidation, as the U.S. dollar weakened against gold and fiat currencies. • The number one cryptocurrency by market value printed a high of $10,691 at 14:05 UTC, the highest level since Sept. 4, according to CoinDesk’sBitcoin Price Index. • The bulls finally led the price action, having shown little interest in the preceding 10 days when the cryptocurrency was stuck in a narrow range of $10,000 to $10,500. • On-chain metricskept improving despite the price pullback from $12,000 to $10,00 earlier this month. Many expected a breakout. • While bitcoin gained over 3%, gold, a classic haven asset, rose 1% to $1,960 per ounce, according to data sourceTradingView. • The 60-day correlation between bitcoin and gold recently rose to a record high above 0.5. Correlations move between 0 to 1. • Correlations whose magnitude are between 0.5 and 0.7 indicate the two assets are moderately positively correlated. Above 0.7 means a strong positive correlation, meaning the two assets are moving in tandem. • Meanwhile, the U.S. Dollar Index, which gauges the greenback’s value against a basket of major currencies, fell by 0.4%. • Bitcoin has evolved as a macro asset since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic in March and has increasingly taken cues from the action in the forex markets and gold in Q3 2020. Also read: Against the Odds, Some Bitcoin Traders Are Bettingon a $36K Priceby Year’s End • Bitcoin’s Jump to $10.7K Ends 10-Day Sideways Trend • Bitcoin’s Jump to $10.7K Ends 10-Day Sideways Trend • Bitcoin’s Jump to $10.7K Ends 10-Day Sideways Trend • Bitcoin’s Jump to $10.7K Ends 10-Day Sideways Trend \|\| Craig Wright Must Face Trial Over Alleged $11B Bitcoin Fortune as Request for Summary Judgment Denied: The District Court for the Southern District of Florida has denied Craig Wright’s request for summary judgment in a case that involves claims over ownership of about 1.1 million bitcoin (worth over $11 billion). In an order signed on Monday, Judge Beth Bloom at the Florida court denied Wright’s motion seeking summary judgment that would have prevented the matter from proceeding to a full trial. The case, first brought in 2018, involves the plaintiff Ira Kleiman’s argument on behalf of the estate of his late brother David, that half of Wright’s bitcoin worth and intellectual property belongs to Kleiman. The plaintiff has argued that the bitcoin in question was also mined together by Wright and Kleiman. Wright’s request for summary judgment was comprised of six claims including statute of limitations, the plaintiff’s inability to prove the existence of an oral partnership and the court’s lack of subject matter jurisdiction. In the past, Wright has claimed that he was the inventor of bitcoin under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto, an assertion many in the crypto world have disputed due to a lack of corroborating evidence. According to an order issued by the Florida court on Sept. 4, the trial involving Wright’s bitcoin fortune has now been moved to Jan. 4, 2021. Related Stories Craig Wright Must Face Trial Over Alleged $11B Bitcoin Fortune as Request for Summary Judgment Denied Craig Wright Must Face Trial Over Alleged $11B Bitcoin Fortune as Request for Summary Judgment Denied Craig Wright Must Face Trial Over Alleged $11B Bitcoin Fortune as Request for Summary Judgment Denied Craig Wright Must Face Trial Over Alleged $11B Bitcoin Fortune as Request for Summary Judgment Denied [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] None available.	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 13950.30, 14133.71, 15579.85, 15565.88, 14833.75, 15479.57, 15332.32, 15290.90, 15701.34, 16276.34
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis] Not fully available. [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Twilio, Inc. Is Putting the Uber Fiasco to Rest: Digital-communications specialist Twilio (NYSE: TWLO) reported fourth-quarter results on Tuesday night. The company crushed its own guidance targets thanks to a diversifying customer list, and the Uber panic is becoming a thing of the past now. Twilio's fourth-quarter results: The raw numbers Metric Q4 2017 Q4 2016 Year-Over-Year Change Total revenue $115.2 million $82.0 million 40% Net income ($18.9 million) ($12.6 million) N/A GAAP earnings per share ($0.20) ($0.15) N/A Data source: Twilio. What happened with Twilio this quarter? Three months ago, Twilio's management sketched out fourth-quarter revenue guidance at roughly $103.5 million. On the bottom line, the company was supposed to deliver an adjusted net loss of $0.06 per share. Twilio left these targets far behind with top-line sales north of $115 million and an adjusted net loss of $0.03 per share. The company also produced $3.2 million of free cash flow in the fourth quarter, up from a $6 million cash burn in the year-ago period. This was the first positive free cash flow reading since the first quarter of 2016. Twilio achieved these results while continuing a separation from one of its largest customers. Excluding the impact from lower Uber orders, Twilio's base revenue rose 62% year over year. At this point, Uber accounts for 5% of Twilio's quarterly sales. Messaging app WhatsApp, owned by Facebook (NASDAQ: FB) since 2014, is Twilio's largest client with a 7% share of the top line. Young man with tablet and smartphone excited over something he sees on the tablet screen. Image source: Getty Images. What management had to say "I'm very proud of the team for our fourth quarter performance, but my excitement lies in the foundations we've laid for the next ten years of Twilio," said Twilio CEO Jeff Lawson in a prepared statement. "We are poised for a stellar year ahead, built on our relentless focus on customer success, quality, and software-fueled innovation." Looking ahead For the first quarter of 2018, Twilio expects to pull in $116 million of top-line revenue at the midpoint of its guidance range but still report an adjusted net loss of approximately $0.07 per share. For the full year, management is aiming for total revenue near $510 million and a non- GAAP net loss of $0.12 per share. Story continues Longtime CFO Lee Kirkpatrick also announced his intention to step back later this year, but will stay on board until his successor has been found and brought up to speed. Moreover, a new drag-and-drop app editor known as Twilio Studio recently moved into beta testing. As this tool matures, Twilio hopes to make its products and services more accessible to app developers. And the Uber situation has done most of its damage by now. The customer has become a small enough part of Twilio's overall business that its ups and downs from this point won't make a material difference. Still, Twilio should continue to report sales growth with and without the Uber effect for the next few quarters, helping analysts and investors analyze the business while this debacle fades into the background. More From The Motley Fool 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This Anders Bylund has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Facebook. The Motley Fool has the following options: short March 2018 $200 calls on Facebook and long March 2018 $170 puts on Facebook. The Motley Fool recommends Twilio. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy . \|\| Why 51job, Inc. Stock Popped Today: What happened Shares of 51job, Inc. (NASDAQ: JOBS) were up 19.3% as of 3 p.m. Friday EST after the Chinese online recruiting services company announced strong fourth-quarter results . More specifically, 51job's revenue climbed 25.6% year over year to $134 million, well above guidance for $124 million to $127 million. That translated to 48.4% growth in adjusted net income to $49.7 million, or $0.77 per share, also above expectations for earnings of $0.64 per share. Red and Green stock market prices and charts on an LED display IMAGE SOURCE: GETTY IMAGES. So what "We are very pleased to deliver robust fourth quarter results that cap off a memorable 2017 highlighted by terrific sales execution and productivity," stated 51job CEO Rick Yan. "Our online business maintained solid growth, which was again realized through not only new employer additions but also increased spending by existing employers." To be sure, 51job's average revenue per unique employer climbed 11.5% year over year, driven by successful up-selling efforts. And the number of unique employers using its services grew 10% year over year, to 370,746. Now what For the first quarter of 2018, 51job expects revenue in the range of $116 million to $120.7 million -- or growth of 25.3% at the midpoint over the prior-year period -- which should translate to adjusted earnings per share in the range of $0.43 to $0.48. By contrast, and keeping in mind 51job has a tendency to underpromise and overdeliver, most analysts were modeling first-quarter earnings of $0.55 per share on sales near the low end of the company's range. In the end, there was little not to like about this report as 51job effectively sustained its platform's upward momentum. And it's no surprise to see the stock trading at a fresh all-time high in response. More From The Motley Fool 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This Steve Symington has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends 51job. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy . \|\| Paying Your Taxes With Bitcoin or Litecoin May Soon Be a Possibility in This State: Though the cryptocurrency market has hit a few speed bumps over the past month, its value has still soared relative to where it began 2017. As of Feb. 13, cryptocurrencies were worth an aggregate of $410 billion, representing a more than 2,200% increase from 13 1/2 months prior. Those are gains that investors traditionally wouldn't see without holding an asset for decades. As you might have rightly guessed, bitcoin has mostly led the charge higher in virtual currencies. Bitcoin easily remains the world's most valuable cryptocurrency by market cap, is accepted by more merchants worldwide than any other digital token, and is credited with pushing blockchain technology into the spotlight. For those unfamiliar, blockchain is the digital, distributed, and decentralized ledger underlying cryptocurrencies that's responsible for keeping an immutable record of all transactions without the need for a financial intermediary. Image source: Getty Images. Bitcoin brings a lot of excitement to the table for crypto-enthusiasts. For example, itsblockchain technologyhas been the basis of evolution for other currency and non-currency applications. Blockchain may be able to significantly speed up processing and settlement times for traditional banking transactions and payments, while at the same time lowering transaction fees since there is no middleman involvement from banks. There's also intrigue surrounding the use of cryptocurrency as a medium of exchange for goods and services as opposed to cash or credit. As noted, no digital currency is used more for the purchase of goods and services than bitcoin, and no virtual currency has more brand-name payment partners than bitcoin. Nonetheless, bitcoin's use has remained constricted in the U.S. and in quite a few countries abroad. Since bitcoin lacks the traditional governmental backing found with fiat currencies, few governments have been willing to recognize it as an acceptable form of tender. In fact, a half-dozen countries have gone as far as toban bitcoin and related cryptocurrencies. But times could be changing. On Feb. 8, the Arizona Senate passed a bill (SB 1091) by a 16-to-13 vote that would allow its residents to pay their income taxes using bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies recognized by the state's revenue authorities, beginning in 2020. The measure also passed the Senate Finance Committee by a 4-3 vote. More specifically, the bill states that residents would be allowed to use "a payment gateway, such as bitcoin or other cryptocurrency recognized by the department, using electronic peer-to-peer systems." SB 1091 will next move onto the Arizona House of Representatives for debate and vote. Image source: Getty Images. In addition to accepting cryptocurrency as a form of payment for income taxes, the state would be required to convert any and all cryptocurrency received into U.S. dollars within 24 hours of receiving payment. Doing so should help shield the state against wild virtual currency price fluctuations. What's particularly notable about the passage of SB 1091 in the Arizona Senate is that it would signify the first widespread adoption of virtual currencies in the United States. It's been argued that bitcoin's value is difficult to determine because it hasno backing or guaranteed use from the government. SB 1091 would give bitcoin, Litecoin, and other "recognized" cryptocurrencies a real-world function, and presumably real-world value. Rep. Jeff Weninger (R-Ariz.), one of the co-sponsors of the bill, had this to say when interviewed by Fox News: "It's one of a litany of bills that we're running that is sending a signal to everyone in the United States, and possibly throughout the world, that Arizona is going to be the place to be for blockchain and digital currency technology in the future." While this development out of Arizona is encouraging for crypto-enthusiasts, it's not guaranteed to be a success right out of the gate. One of the gray areas in this bill is what happens if thereisexcessive volatility between the time a resident pays income taxes and the time the Arizona revenue department converts those bitcoin, Litecoin, or other approved cryptocurrencies into U.S. dollars. Image source: Getty Images. According to the bill, "The Department shall convert cryptocurrency payments to United States dollars at the prevailing rate within twenty-four hours after receipt and shall credit the taxpayer's account with the converted dollar amount." Note that last part that about the "converted dollar amount." That means -- at least to me, and I'm no lawyer -- that if a resident paid in bitcoin, Litecoin, or some other cryptocurrency, and that digital coin dropped, say, 10% overnight, this resident would still have to fork over the remaining balance to cover his or her income tax bill following that conversion. It also isn't clear what would happen if cryptocurrency values vault higher in the overnight hours before conversion. Would the taxpayer get a refund, or would the state simply pocket the difference? It also remains to be seen how widespread the use of cryptocurrencies to pay income taxes would be in Arizona, assuming this bill becomes law. Bitcoin, for example, has a network that's beenslowed to a crawl in recent years. An inability to gain community consensus has pushed average transaction processing times to north of an hour, while lifting fees to around $28 per transaction. That's roughly the same cost as a bank wire. Bitcoin's purportedly groundbreaking peer-to-peer payment platform has certainly lost its luster in recent months, and it may not be a go-to option for many Arizonans. Admittedly, I'm talking about step 12 when Arizona's lawmakers are on step two or three. Nonetheless, it's worth keeping a close eye on SB 1091 and its progress in the Arizona state legislature. More From The Motley Fool • 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices • 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 • 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing • 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today • The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss • Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This Sean Williamshas no position in any of the stocks or cryptocurrencies mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks or cryptocurrencies mentioned. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy. \|\| How Wendy's Boosts Store Volumes: With annual revenue of just over $1.2 billion,Wendy's(NASDAQ: WEN)may be diminutive in comparison to quick-service restaurant (QSR) competitors likeMcDonald's Corp.(NYSE: MCD)and Burger King parentRestaurant Brands International(NYSE: QSR), but the chain has consistently enjoyed higher premiums from stock investors. Take a look at Wendy's forward price-to-earnings valuation relative to these two formidable peers: WEN P/E Ratio (Forward)data byYCharts Why would investors pay a premium of roughly 40% for Wendy's? The company'soperating margintypically hovers near the 20% level in any given quarter -- about half of the mark regularly achieved by McDonald's and Restaurant Brands International, which sported operating margins of 42% and 38%, respectively, in their most recent quarters. One of the primary factors behind Wendy's favorable stock pricing is its consistent ability to expand franchisee volumes, i.e. store-level sales. Let's look at the strategies Wendy's employs to improve its metrics in an area that investors, especially institutional ones, watch closely. Out of a total store base of nearly 6,300 worldwide, only 337 are operated by Wendy's corporate arm. The company is 95% franchised, and long-term success consists of being able to lift systemwide sales quarter after quarter. Wendy's franchised stores in North America achieved an average unit volume (AUV) of $1.6 million in 2017, marking an improvement of roughly 5% cumulatively over the past two years. That's impressive in an environment in which consumers are spreading restaurant visits between QSRs like Wendy's and an ever-growing array of fast-casual chains. Image source: Wendy's Co. Some of Wendy's sales drivers are quite visible. The company has helped franchisees grow dollar volume through timely menu additions of premium items, like the enticing "Smoky Mushroom Bacon Cheeseburger" pictured above, while fighting back againstMcDonald's dollar value menu revampwith its own 4 for $4 value menu architecture. But Wendy's has also plunged into the unit economics that increase its systemwide volume. It's important to understand that prospective franchisees look very closely at a system's AUV before moving forward with new development. Wendy's claims one of the higher AUVs in the industry, consistently ranking in the top five in quick-service restaurants in annual rankings compiled by QSR Magazine. One of the methods Wendy's uses to boost AUV is a process called "Franchise Flip," formerly known as "Buy and Flip." In this exercise, the company buys back underperforming restaurants from weak franchisees, and turns around and sells, or "flips" them to stronger franchisee groups. In the latest iteration known as Franchise Flip, Wendy's plays more of a facilitation role in sales between franchisees. While Franchise Flip generates near-term revenue from consulting and licensing fees, the company benefits more palpably over a longer time horizon. That's because stores get transferred from the hands of marginal operators to high-performing franchise groups, which turn around these underperforming locations, lifting total AUV, as well as Wendy's royalty stream. Wendy's has also fine-tuned its new store development and renovation initiatives in a manner that is more nuanced than that of its competitors. In its drive to upgrade at least 70% of its North American store base to its sleek new contemporary design by 2020 (a campaign referred to as "Image Activation"), the organization has rolled out the "Smart Design Platform." Smart Design enables franchisees to build smaller-footprint stores at a cost savings of approximately $300,000 over a standard building. A newer version dubbed "Smart Design Platform 2.0" targets an additional $150,000 in savings. The mentality extends to troubled stores that may lack the capital to move and build in a new location, or even to afford a "refresh" to current design standards. Management has launched a refresh package aimed at franchisees with AUVs below $1.3 million. In the company's most recent earnings conference call, CEO Todd Penegor explained that the average store closure occurs when AUV hits $1.1 million. Thus, Wendy's now offers low-AUV franchisees a "Refresh Lite" package, which, according to executives, costs half as much as traditional refresh projects. Assisting capital-starved, underperforming locations to successfully upgrade exterior signage and interior decor can greatly increase traffic flow in these aging locations. It's an intriguing piece of the company's overarching strategy to lift AUV, and a fine example of the attention Wendy's management pays to the true drivers of system success -- its owner-operators. More From The Motley Fool • 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices • 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 • 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing • 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today • The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss • Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This Asit Sharmahas no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy. \|\| EU regulators warn Bitcoin investors of 'pricing bubble': High valuations on digital coins could spell trouble - Getty Images Europe The European Union's top banking, securities and pensions watchdogs have all warned cryptocurrency investors could lose all their money as Bitcoin enters a "pricing bubble". Bitcoin soared in value in recent months before losing more than half its value , leaving investors who bought in at the highest prices out of pocket. Prices increased to as high as $20,000 in December, before falling to under $7,000 last week. The trio of regulators - the European Banking Authority, European Securities and Markets Authority, and the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority - warned there were no safeguards for consumers buying into the £290 billion cryptocurrency market. "They are highly risky, generally not backed by any tangible assets and unregulated under EU law, and do not, therefore, offer any legal protection to consumers," the watchdogs said in a statement. They added that cryptocurrencies are "subject to extreme price volatility and have shown clear signs of a pricing bubble... you should be aware that you could lose a large amount, or even all, of the money invested." Bitcoin price: last 365 days They added most Bitcoin buyers were investing in the hope that cryptocurrencies would continue to rise in value "without being aware of the high risk of losing their money invested". The EU regulators also warned of the risks of cyber attacks, such as the crippling CoinCheck heist earlier this year which saw £380m in the cryptocurrency NEM stolen. They said there was no protection under EU law for such losses. They added the information available to buyers was often limited. "Information made available to consumers wishing to buy [virtual currencies], where such information is at all provided, is in most cases incomplete, difficult to understand, does not properly disclose the risks," the regulators said. Q&A \| What is Bitcoin? For months, regulators and governments have been warning that cryptocurrencies pose a substantial risk to investors, and even to the financial system. Last week, the Telegraph revealed Lloyds bank would ban the purchase of cryptocurrencies on credit cards in an effort to protect buyers speculating on Bitcoin on credit. \|\| Is ConocoPhillips a Buy?: U.S. oil and gas driller ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) had been lagging big oil companies like ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM) throughout the oil price downturn, a victim of having spun off its refining and marketing arm as Phillips 66 (NYSE: PSX) in 2012. All of that -- well, some of that -- changed in 2017 as rising oil prices boosted ConocoPhillips' stock price. It ended up not only handily outperforming many of its peers, but also outperforming ExxonMobil for the year. But a single good year doesn't make a trend. Let's see what's in store for Conoco this year to try to determine if it really is a buy. A group of items, including miniature oil barrels, bills and coins, a pool of black liquid, and a pen and paper on a wood surface. Oil and gas industry player ConocoPhillips outperformed in 2017. Can it repeat its success this year? Image source: Getty Images. Keep on flowing Conoco's fourth-quarter 2017 earnings release, which came on February 1, just before the big market correction, showed big year-over-year improvement. The company had a banner 2017, achieving full-year production of 1.3 million barrel of oil equivalents per day (BOE/D), excluding Libya. Excluding the impact of closed and planned dispositions like the company's Canadian oil sands asset sales, production grew 3%. All of that oil and gas left the company awash in cash, with cash from operations exceeding capex by $2.5 billion, and exceeding capex and dividends by $1.2 billion. That allowed the company to pay down $7.6 billion -- about 30% -- of its debt ending the year with less than $20 billion on the balance sheet, which had been a key goal. Conoco also repurchased $3 billion of shares, reducing its share count by 5% from 2016. In short, it was not only a good year for Conoco's stock, but also for its operations. And the company is expecting more good things in 2018. More of the same Management expects not only the oil, but rewards for investors to keep flowing throughout 2018. Production is expected to come in at approximately 1.2 million BOE/d, about a 5% year-over-year increase, after factoring in asset dispositions , particularly its $13.3 billion Canadian oil sands asset sale. Story continues In a press release, CEO Ryan Lance said: We are focused on safely executing our 2018 operational and financial plan, which is designed to generate top-tier growth in free cash flow and production per debt-adjusted share, while delivering superior returns and a compelling payout to shareholders. The company's 2018 projections back Lance up. Conoco announced a 7.5% increase to its quarterly dividend and an acceleration of its share repurchase program, which has been increased by one third, from $1.5 billion to $2 billion for the year. It has also continued to pay down its debt, reducing it by an additional $2.3 billion so far this year to about $17.5 billion. The year's off to a good start for the company's stock as well. Even after February's market correction, it's up 1.6% since the beginning of the year, outpacing both ExxonMobil (down 7.6%) and Phillips 66 (down 9%). The potential downside In 2017 and so far this year, Conoco was very successful in executing its strategic plan of selling assets to pay down its debt and buy back shares. But its debt of just under $20 billion is still quite high. The company's debt-to-equity ratio currently stands at 30%, much higher than Phillips 66's 19% or ExxonMobil's 12%. On the most recent earnings call, Lance indicated he wasn't in any hurry to dramatically pay down the remaining debt, targeting $15 billion in debt by the end of 2019. And, as long as things go well and the price of oil remains stable at about $60/barrel or higher, Conoco shareholders probably don't need to be all that concerned. On the other hand, if oil prices weaken -- which could happen for any number of reasons -- and the company needs to start borrowing again, its existing debt load could cause some headaches. Of course, substantially lower oil prices would cause a whole host of other problems for Conoco, which has already drastically pared back expenses and may not have many other places left to find cost savings. But in the second and third quarters of 2017 , Conoco proved it could turn a profit with oil prices at about $50/barrel, so the price would have to drop beyond that to cause real problems for the company. At the moment, that seems unlikely, but -- as we found out in 2014 -- energy prices can drop suddenly, leaving investors holding the bag. Investor takeaway After a rocky couple of years, ConocoPhillips seems to have finally adjusted to the "new normal" of lower oil prices. It has taken great strides in reducing its debt and buying back shares, and it seems poised to have another great year in 2018. Absent a major drop in oil prices, ConocoPhillips looks like a solid bet for investors interested in getting back into the oil and gas sector. More From The Motley Fool 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This John Bromels has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy . \|\| Americans Expect a 23-Year Retirement -- but Whether They Can Afford One Is a Different Story: The tricky thing about planning for retirement is that in the absence of a crystal ball, it's hard to determine what our expenses will look like and for how many years we'll be covering them. The former, however, can be estimated with more ease than the latter -- especially if you operate under the assumption that you'll need roughly 80% of your pre-retirement income each year to cover your living costs later in life. How much money does that translate into annually? In 2016, the median income in the country was $52,700. If we use that 80% figure, we arrive at $42,160 per year. Serious older man IMAGE SOURCE: GETTY IMAGES. Where will that money come from? A portion will stem from Social Security for most workers, but the rest needs to come from savings. And that's where a large number of Americans risk falling short. GOBankingRates reports that 42% of Americans have less than $10,000 saved for the future. The same holds true for one-third of adults 55 and over. Yet most Americans are planning for a 23-year retirement, according to TD Ameritrade , which means that conceivably, the typical household will need $969,680 to pay the bills during that period. As I mentioned before, some of that will come from Social Security. The average recipient today collects $1,404 per month, or $16,848 per year. If we multiply that over a 23-year period, we arrive at $387,504. Notice the problem? That leaves 42% of Americans and one-third of older workers with a potential $572,000 to $582,000 shortfall based on their current savings level of $0 to under $10,000. And that's certainly not ideal. Will you have enough income in retirement? Why are so many Americans lacking in savings? For some, it stems from an inability to curb their spending and prioritize their nest eggs. For others, it boils down to a serious misconception about Social Security's buying power. But regardless of why countless workers have managed to land in this boat, one thing's for sure: They need to do better savingswise, or they won't manage to get by in retirement. It's as simple as that. Story continues If you're among the 42% of Americans with less than $10,000 in retirement funds but also fairly young, then all is certainly not lost. That's because you have the rest of your career to build a substantial nest egg. In fact, let's assume you're 40 years old -- not particularly young from a career standpoint, but certainly young enough to not fall into the "older worker" category. If you start setting aside $650 a month between now and age 67, and your investments generate an average annual 7% return during that time, you'll be sitting on a $581,000 nest egg. And that's enough to make up for the shortfall highlighted above. If you're an older worker, however, you'll need to get serious about your retirement savings really quickly, because frankly, time isn't on your side. Still, you have a chance to catch up if you make changes immediately. Currently, workers 50 and over can put up to $24,500 a year into a 401(k). If you have access to a company plan and hit that limit for a 12-year stretch, you'll pad your nest egg by $432,000, assuming that 7% average annual return. And that'll certainly get you a lot closer to where you need to be. Furthermore, if you're nearing retirement with not a lot of money saved, it pays to consider working a few extra years past your anticipated retirement age. This will not only give you a chance to add to your nest egg, but shave a little time off that 23-year estimate, thus allowing your existing savings to go further. No matter what steps you take to boost your savings, remember this: That 23-year assumption isn't so far off, so the more you're able to sock away, the greater your chances of avoiding financial trouble at what could come to be the most vulnerable point in your life. More From The Motley Fool 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy . \|\| A $6,625 Investment in This Dividend Stock Could Generate More Than $1,000 in Annual Income Within 5 Years: Income-seeking investors tend to focus their search on companies with high yields because they're looking to maximize current cash flow. For those who don't need the money right now, a better approach is to look for investments with income growth potential. While that means collecting less cash in the near term, it should enable an investor to pull in much more money in the future. That's abundantly clear when looking at the distribution growth forecast atAntero Midstream Partners(NYSE: AM). While some income-seekers might not be all that excited by the pipeline and processingmaster limited partnership's current 5.5%-yielding distribution, few would scoff at the chance to collect a 15.5% yield in just five years. Image source: Getty Images. Earlier this year, Antero Midstream Partnersunveiledits 2018 guidance and long-term targets. The company anticipates investing $2.7 billion over the next five years in building natural gas pipelines and related infrastructure to support theplanned production growthof its parent,Antero Resources(NYSE: AR). Given the high returns Antero Midstream can earn on those capital projects, it expects cash flow to grow enough to support 28%-30% annual distribution growth from 2018 to 2020 and 20% increases in 2021 and 2022. To put numbers behind that forecast, Antero sees its payout rising from last year's rate of $1.325 per unit up to about $4.10 per unit in 2022. With units recently selling for around $26.50 apiece, it implies that investors who buy around that price could collect a 15.5% yield on that investment in 2022. Here's a look at what investors could earn with various initial investments: [{"Number of Shares Purchased @$26.50": "1", "Total Initial Investment": "$26.50", "Potential Income in 2018": "$1.72", "Potential Income in 2019": "$2.21", "Potential Income in 2020": "$2.85", "Potential Income in 2021": "$3.42", "Potential Income in 2022": "$4.10", "Potential five-year cumulative income": "$14.30"}, {"Number of Shares Purchased @$26.50": "100", "Total Initial Investment": "$2,650.00", "Potential Income in 2018": "$172.00", "Potential Income in 2019": "$221.00", "Potential Income in 2020": "$285.00", "Potential Income in 2021": "$342.00", "Potential Income in 2022": "$410.00", "Potential five-year cumulative income": "$1,430.00"}, {"Number of Shares Purchased @$26.50": "250", "Total Initial Investment": "$6,625.00", "Potential Income in 2018": "$430.00", "Potential Income in 2019": "$552.50", "Potential Income in 2020": "$712.50", "Potential Income in 2021": "$855.00", "Potential Income in 2022": "$1,025.00", "Potential five-year cumulative income": "$3,575.00"}, {"Number of Shares Purchased @$26.50": "500", "Total Initial Investment": "$13,250.00", "Potential Income in 2018": "$860.00", "Potential Income in 2019": "$1,105.00", "Potential Income in 2020": "$1,425.00", "Potential Income in 2021": "$1,710.00", "Potential Income in 2022": "$2,050.00", "Potential five-year cumulative income": "$7,150.00"}] Data sources: Antero Midstream investor presentation and author's calculations. Just to pull out one example from that table, buying 250 shares today for an initial outlay of around $6,600 could yield about $430 in income this year. However, given Antero's growth forecast, that annual cash flow stream could rise to more than $1,000 by 2022. That sets investors up to potentially generate more than $3,500 of cash in the next five years. Image source: Getty Images. As with any long-term forecast, there are risks that Antero's won't come to pass. However, the company has several factors in its favor that increase the likelihood it can meet and potentially even exceed that outlook. First, Antero Midstream has rock-solid financials backed by a low leverage ratio that should average between 2.0 to 2.5 over that timeframe, which is well below the 4.0 comfort level of most MLPs. That's why the company recently received a credit rating upgrade to investment grade. Meanwhile, the company expects to generate enough cash to cover its distribution by a conservative 1.25 times through 2020 and a still comfortable 1.1 times after that. That solid financial foundation reduces the risk that Antero won't have the financial resources to meet all its objectives. Further muting the potential for a shortfall is that the company isn't relying on any external factors to drive its forecast. For example, its parent company, Antero Resources, recently hit an inflection point where it can fund its growth plan within cash flow at current commodity prices with plenty of room to spare. In fact, Antero Resources is on pace to generate more than $1 billion in free cash over the next five years, which it could use torepurchase its cheap stockor pay dividends. Meanwhile, with a conservative coverage ratio, Antero Midstream is generating excess cash above its current distribution to help finance expansion projects. The company expects to fund the balance by using its balance sheet flexibility, including borrowings under its credit facility. Because the company isn't relying on any external factors to drive growth, there is some untapped upside potential. For example, Antero Midstream has identified more than $1 billion of potential external expansion opportunities further downstream from its current focus areas that it could invest in over the coming years. In addition to that, the company could make opportunistic acquisitions to expand its reach even further. If the company is successful in capturing some of those outside opportunities, it will enhance its distribution growth outlook. While Antero's current yield might not impress all income seekers, it offers eye-popping growth potential that could enable investors to collect a much bigger income stream in the next few years. It backs that forecast with a clear plan to get there and rock-solid financial metrics. That's why it'sone stock that income investors won't want to miss. More From The Motley Fool • 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices • 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 • 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing • 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today • The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss • Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This Matthew DiLallohas no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy. \|\| Here's Why I Don't Buy This 2019 Apple iPhone Rumor: Apple's(NASDAQ: AAPL)current flagship smartphone -- the iPhone X -- doesn't include the company's fingerprint scanning technology, known as Touch ID. Touch ID was supplanted by a technology that Apple markets as Face ID, which uses a depth-sensing camera in the front of the smartphone (marketed as Apple's TrueDepth camera) to verify that the face of the individual using the phone is the face of the individual who owns the phone. During Apple's iPhone X launch event, the company made a point to demonstrate that Face ID was a more convenient and more secure method of biometric authentication than fingerprint recognition. With that context in mind, a strange rumor about Apple's 2019 iPhone lineup -- that is, the models that are expected to debut in the second half of 2019 -- just emerged. Image Source: Apple. Analyst Jean Baptiste Su with Atherton Research, writing forForbes, claims that Apple's 2019 iPhone X lineup will include "under-the-screen virtual fingerprint reader[s]." This information, the analyst claims, comes from Atherton Research's "analysis and conversations with people familiar of (sic) the technology advanced in the mobile industry." Su continues on, saying that "after months of testing, we came to the conclusion that in everyday usage Face ID is just not as versatile and reliable than (sic) Touch ID." This comes off as speculation based on the fact that Atherton Research's team of analysts think that fingerprint recognition is superior to facial recognition, coupled with the fact that under-the-display fingerprint scannersarebeing announced byother component makers. Su doesn't cite sources who are "familiar with Apple's product plans" or some variation of that wording. I'm simply not buying it, especially considering that Apple executives have gone on the record to say that the company never had any plans of integrating fingerprint scanning in the display, despite many (seemingly credible) rumors to the contrary. Image Source: Apple. To be clear: Other smartphone makers planning to embed fingerprint scanners underneath the displays of their upcoming smartphones doesn't necessarily mean that Apple will do so. In fact, the rumors that Apple isplanning to introducemore sophisticated versions of its Face ID technology in its 2019 iPhone lineup (complete with a smaller cutout in the display to accommodate the 3D sensing components) seem far more credible. When Apple picks a technology direction, it's usually (though,not always) a well-thought-out one. It makes much more sense that Apple would continue to iterate on the 3D sensing technology that it introduced with the iPhone X rather than try to backtrack and include a costly, complex under-the-glass fingerprint scanning solution in additionto updated versions of its Face ID technology in future iPhone models. More From The Motley Fool • 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices • 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 • 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing • 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today • The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss • Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This Ashraf Eassahas no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Apple. The Motley Fool has the following options: long January 2020 $150 calls on Apple and short January 2020 $155 calls on Apple. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy. \|\| McDonald's Sees Positive Early Returns in Its Delivery Rollout: Last week,McDonald's Corporation(NYSE: MCD)CFO Kevin Ozan presented on behalf of the company at the Bank of America Merrill Lynch Consumer and Retail Technology Conference. During his session, Ozan answered several analysts' questions regarding the company's early experiences with the partnership McDonald's has struck withUber Technologies' UberEATS food delivery service. It's been approximately a year since "McDelivery," as McDonald's delivery service is formally known, first started teaming up with UberEATS. Ozan relayed that the partnership now delivers to over 5,000 restaurants in the U.S. Roughly 65% to 70% of delivery sales are incremental to McDonald's existing business in participating restaurants. That number has increased from an estimate of 60% when McDonald's first rolled out UberEATS to a smaller sample size of 2,000 restaurants last spring. Image source: McDonald's Corporation. Last summer,I expressed concernthat as McDonald's experienced a higher uptake in delivery, the new business might cause some issues with throughput -- that is, the rate at which the company can service sales. Particularly, I worried that delivery orders during peak hours could cause delays in filling orders to walk-in customers. Such lags can be particularly frustrating to in-store customers who can't see the typical visible cues of delay, such as a long line to the cash register. Yet so far, order patterns as McDonald's expands delivery look much as they did within the initial run last year. A full 60% of orders tend to be placed during off-peak hours. The sales are skewing primarily to younger customers. College students, in particular, whether from intense studying or more freewheeling activities, appear to be working up the munchies in the wee hours. I loved Ozan's tactful explanation of this aspect of a new business driver for McDonald's to a roomful of Wall Street analysts: Sixty percent of the orders are in the evening -- evening and late nights, which is really helpful for us from a capacity standpoint, because we've got capacity certainly at dinner and overnight hours. Overnight, as you get closer to college campuses, it's a pretty attractive space to be in. I won't surmise why that is or what they're doing prior to ordering McDonald's, but it's become -- so we know it's a younger demographic, we know it's the time of day that's attractive to us. It should be noted that not only are these orders incremental to McDonald's existing revenue, but to some extent the customers are as well, and they could be converted to core patrons over time. I believe the various initiatives undertaken by CEO Steve Easterbrook to present McDonald's as a legitimate dining option for socially conscious millennials are starting to gain traction. The introduction of fresh, never-frozen beef patties in McDonald's Quarter Pounder and "Signature Crafted" burgers this year represents the latest step in this evolution. Removing a younger generation's objections to the company's menu, while enticing this convenience-driven, app-savvy group with delivery, is a shrewd way to add to McDonald's long-term customer base. A fresh, never-frozen beef patty. Image source: McDonald's Corporation. Earlier this month, I discussed a strategy used by McDonald's smaller rivalWendy's(NASDAQ: WEN)to keep individual store volumes robust. Wendy's management achieves this by focusing onthe economics of its franchiseesas much as it does the dynamics of its systemwide profit and loss. Similarly, partnering with UberEATS has proven to be a crisp decision on McDonald's part that benefits U.S. franchisees, a key group of company stakeholders. The economics of the partnership are straightforward to operators. Franchisees pay a commission fee to UberEATS on each delivery. Thus, these orders carry a lower margin than the typical ticket. But they're still attractive sales to capture, as Ozan explained: But in terms of additional dollars, the fact that 70% incremental is giving them clearly more dollars and our breakeven, if you will, incrementality is substantially below 50%. So there's a lot of room, let's say before we get anywhere close to breakeven from an incrementality standpoint. McDonald's CFO is alluding to a type of profitability study known as cost-volume-profit analysis. To wade through jargon and translate the above, franchisees already cover their fixed operating costs (rent, utilities, insurance, etc.) through their existing sales. So the only costs on incremental delivery orders are variable (primarily food and labor). Thus, these sales have a lower breakeven point, giving the franchisee room to cover UberEATS' commission on each sale. Franchisees love this type of revenue stream because it comes without any additional overhead investment. Between interior and exterior upgrades, investments in kiosk-driven "Experience of the Future" ordering technology, and McCafe beverage equipment, McDonald's operators have been required to invest quite a bit of capital over the last few years to increase their annual cash flows. Adding incremental profits to franchisees' bottom lines -- with zero investment on their part -- is reason enough to label McDonald's expanding delivery business a tangible success. More From The Motley Fool • 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices • 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 • 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing • 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today • The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss • Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This Asit Sharmahas no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy. [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] Mike Hearn: Bitcoin Cash Is Repeating Bitcoin's Mistakes https://ift.tt/2GCstGk #CryptoNews #cryptocurrency #blockchain #CryptoTrader \|\| Cyber security involves protecting organisations from cyber risks, http://bit.ly/1LLFIi7 #Cybersecurity #Bitcoin pic.twitter.com/X3V0M2fZbg \|\| Current value of DOGE in BTC: Vircurex: 0.0000004 -- Volume: Today's trend: up at 04/07/18 05:55 \|\| Biggest Losers in the Last 24hours $CENNZ $0.3214 (-17.83%) $KIN $0.0001 (-16.47%) $VERI $90.6315 (-11.81%) $ARDR $0.2367 (-11.45%) $WTC $8.1161 (-8.73%) #BTC #BITCOIN #ALTS all news n signals Join telegram channel fasthttps://telegram.me/CryptoKingdomDynasty … \|\| Just wondering I thought that was bitcoin cash from the other countries being dumped into America which is fine with me https://www.yahoo.com/amphtml/finance/news/bank-america-massive-amounts-overseas-190400035.html … \|\| My bags are packed. Just patiently waiting for the run. #nohurry #btc #eth #ltc #xmr #icx #wan #ocn #xzc #zrx #qlc #drgn #wabi #link #ast #kmd #elf #crypto pic.twitter.com/v4i9ktLCXO \|\| Our CEO @NODEfather is doing an AMAhttps://twitter.com/NODEfather/status/982178765030637568 … \|\| #ICOcreed FREE TOKENS Get free 2,000 #CREED tokens on the following airdrop: https://icocreed.com/airdrop.html Follow ICOcreed for daily ICO Alerts on Telegram https://t.me/icocreed and Twitter https://twitter.com/icocreed #AIRDROP #CRYPTO #BTC #FREE #BOUNTY #ICO \|\| A cotação atual do Bitcoin é de R$28.250,00 subindo 1.44% na última hora! #cotacao #BTC \|\| Btc drop	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 6770.73, 6834.76, 6968.32, 7889.25, 7895.96, 7986.24, 8329.11, 8058.67, 7902.09, 8163.42
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2018-12-07] BTC Price: 3419.94, BTC RSI: 24.99 Gold Price: 1246.80, Gold RSI: 63.82 Oil Price: 52.61, Oil RSI: 37.00 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Why Major Crypto Exchanges are Granting Bitcoin Cash With BCH Ticker: Bitcoin cash The hash power war between Bitcoin Cash (BCH) and Bitcoin Cash SV (BCHSV) ended with a one-sided victory for BCH. Prior to the hard fork on November 15, major cryptocurrency exchanges publicly expressed support towards the roadmap set forth by bitcoincash.org or ABC, the original Bitcoin Cash blockchain network. Fast forward eight days, a growing number of leading cryptocurrency trading platforms have begun to officially adopt ABC as the original Bitcoin Cash network with the ticker BCH. What Triggered Coinbase and Kraken to Support BCH? Earlier this week, Coinbase , one of the most widely utilized fiat-to-crypto exchanges in the global market, released an official statement declaring that ABC will retain the ticker BCH. The company stated that the higher hashrate and longer proof-of-work chain were amongst several other factors that led to the decision of Coinbase to provide the BCH ticker to the original Bitcoin Cash chain. The Coinbase team said : “Since the Bitcoin Cash fork on November 15, 2018, Coinbase has been closely monitoring the BCH network. We have observed consensus in the community that the BCH ABC chain will retain the designation of Bitcoin Cash (BCH). Coinbase will also adopt this designation for BCH. Coinbase has made this decision based on a number of factors including the fact that ABC has a higher hashrate and a longer proof-of-work chain.” In the weeks to come, Coinbase users will be able to withdraw BCHSV that was credited to BCH holders prior to the fork, but the firm did not express any intent to list BCHSV nor allow investors to trade the newly created asset. “Our current intention is to support withdrawal services for the BCH SV chain so that our customers may withdraw funds at a future date. We anticipate this development work will take at least a few weeks, but may take longer” the team added. Jesse Powell, the CEO of Kraken, another major cryptocurrency exchange based in the U.S., recently criticized the operation of the Bitcoin Cash SV camp led by Calvin Ayre, Craig Steven Wright, and Coingeek, who have threatened developers and miners throughout the past several weeks. Story continues On November 21, BCHSV experienced a reorganization of two blocks and Coingeek is suspected to be behind the initiative. As Cornell professor Emin Gun Sirer explained , the self-reorganization of blocks demonstrated a lack of hash power, decentralization, and well-designed system on BCHSV. Powell noted : “Never had anything against Calvin Ayre but this approach is anathema to the community you hope to have adopt your technology. The merits of BSV are overshadowed by the alienating threats of a few grandiose personalities. Longer chain != adoption. Victory may be pyrrhic.” Personalities Behind SV are Hurting the Chain Even in the aftermath of the hash power war, representatives of the Bitcoin Cash SV camp are continuing to push threats against the Bitcoin Cash community. On November 23, Calvin Ayre, a billionaire casino mogul behind SV, encouraged investors of Kraken to stay away from the exchange for “manipulating” the crypto market by providing Bitcoin Cash with the BCH ticker. Continuous threats from the SV camp could lead to more exchanges acknowledging the original Bitcoin Cash chain as BCH, which could have a negative impact on the long-term growth trend of the asset. Featured image from Shutterstock. The post Why Major Crypto Exchanges are Granting Bitcoin Cash With BCH Ticker appeared first on CCN . \|\| Square Earnings Highlight Mind-Boggling Growth: Square(NYSE: SQ)did it again. The company posted its sixth quarter in a row ofaccelerating revenue growth. The momentum was driven by strong double-digit growth in gross payment volume, triple-digit growth in subscription and services-based revenue, and recent acquisitions of website builder Weebly and corporate catering company Zesty. Further, Square flexed the scalability of its business model as it swung to a profit. As investors look over Square's third-quarter results, here's an overview of the key takeaways from the quarterly update. Square Register. Image source: Square. [{"Metric": "Adjusted revenue", "Q3 2018": "$431 million", "Q3 2017": "$257 million", "Year-Over-Year Change": "68%"}, {"Metric": "Adjusted EBITDA margin", "Q3 2018": "16%", "Q3 2017": "13%", "Year-Over-Year Change": "N/A"}, {"Metric": "Earnings per share", "Q3 2018": "$0.04", "Q3 2017": "($0.04)", "Year-Over-Year Change": "N/A"}] Data source: Squarethird-quarter shareholder letter. Adjusted revenue excludes transaction-based costs, bitcoin costs, and the effect of deferred revenue adjustment related to purchase accounting. EBITDA = earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization. Table by author. • Revenue climbed 51% year over year -- an acceleration from 48% year-over-year growth in Q2. • Adjusted revenue also accelerated, rising 68% year over year compared with Q2's 60% growth. • Gross payment volume increased 29% year over year. • Net income increased from a loss of $6 million in the year-ago quarter to a profit of $20 million. • Subscription and services-based revenue was up 155% year over year, or 117% when excluding Square's acquisitions of Weebly and Zesty. • Square facilitated $405 million worth of business loans, up 34% year over year. • Hardware revenue increased 74% year over year. Square's subscription and services-based revenuecontinued to stand out. The segment's triple-digit growth "was driven primarily by Instant Deposit, Cash Card, Caviar, and Square Capital," management said in the company's third-quarter shareholder letter. Meanwhile, Square's 74% year-over-year increase in hardware revenue was driven by "continued growth from Square Register, Square Reader for contactless and chip, Square Stand, and third-party peripherals," management said. Another notable trend during the quarter was Square's higher transaction-based profit as a percentage of the gross payment volume it processes. This key metric rose to 1.07%, up from 1.05% in the year-ago quarter. Key to this improvement was strong momentum in Square's e-commerce payment processing, management explained: Transaction-based profit continued to benefit from improvements in our transaction cost profile and growth in our higher-margin products. For example, Virtual Terminal, which allows sellers to accept payments using a web browser, totaled more than $780 million in GPV in the third quarter, up nearly 120% year over year. As Square has done like clockwork in previous quarters, management raised its outlook for full-year 2018 revenue and other key full-year metrics. Management said it now expects 2018 revenue between $3.26 billion and $3.27 billion, up from a previous forecast of $3.19 billion to $3.22 billion. Further, Square said it now expects adjusted revenue to rise 60% year over year, up from a previous forecast of 55% growth. Importantly, management now has higher expectations for profitability as well. Square expects itsEBITDAfor the full year to be between $250 million and $255 million. Previously, management was expecting 2018 adjusted EBITDA between $240 million and $250 million. More From The Motley Fool • 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices • 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 • 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing • 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today • The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss • Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This Daniel Sparksowns shares of Square. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Square. The Motley Fool has the following options: short January 2019 $80 calls on Square. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy. \|\| Stablecoins: New Crypto Market Trend: As the Bitcoin continues to trade sideways near $6,300, leading commentators declare they are “pleasantly surprised” with the market stability simultaneously changing their forecasts from “20k per BTC” by the end of 2018 to another 18 months of a bearish trend (BitMEX). It seems that now it is really very difficult to determine the future market direction given the weak reaction to the news background, as well as the lack of correlation with stock market which lost about 9% in October. Stablecoins can be new crypto market triggers as recently they have been actively gaining capitalization and has grown numerically. There is no common opinion in the crypto community regarding this process. While Tether lost about $1 billion of capitalization only in October, Gemini Dollar (GUSD), Paxos Standart (PAX), TrueUSD (TUSD), USD Coin (USDC) altogether attracted more than $400 million. Different large projects are standing behind these tokens, but overall they may have one goal: to have at their disposal the “manual analog of digital liquidity” in order to be able to influence the market in future. As of Tether, the experts and crypto community suspect that USDT was used to “pump up” the market, which also contributed to the explosive growth of cryptocurrency at the end of 2017. The experts also suggest that the BTC flat dynamics may be associated with the USD stable positions and if the prospects for main reserve currency will change due to potential effects of a trade war, the benchmark cryptocurrency can benefit from it. The BTC price dynamics can also be influenced by emerging markets movement, which together with cryptocurrencies showed highs at the beginning of the year and then moved into the downtrend phase. The launch of the Bakkt and Fidelity platforms in the near future, which will allow institutional investors to buy and store safely cryptocurrencies, is also considered a very strong news trigger. On the one hand, the market perceives this news with hope, on the other hand, with a great deal of apprehension recalling how the launch of the Bitcoin futures last year had influenced the market dynamics. Nevertheless, this time everything may be different due to a change in the attitude of Wall Street towards the cryptocurrency. Fundstrat Global Advisors analyst Tom Lee conducted a survey among 25 Wall Street companies on his Twitter account and 44% of the respondents said that the BTC had already reached its minimum point. So the launch of new tools can help rather than harm future prospects of the crypto market. Story continues This article was written by FxPro This article was originally posted on FX Empire More From FXEMPIRE: Price of Gold Fundamental Weekly Price Forecast – Democrat Victory Could Spell Doom for Stocks, Increase Gold’s Appeal as Safe Haven Asset S&P 500 Weekly Price Forecast – stock traders turn bullish for the week Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin and Ripple Daily Analysis – 03/11/18 Oil Price Fundamental Weekly Forecast – Iran Sanctions Begin, Nearby WTI Closes Below 200-D Moving Average Tariffs Having Little Effect on Widening U.S. Trade Deficit Kiwi, Aussie Surge as Investors Ramp Up Hope for More China Stimulus, Trade Deal View comments \|\| Kuende Is A Gem For South Korea And Turkey: NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / November 12, 2018 / Kuende is the only blockchain based social media app that rewards users for engaging in real-life experiences. So, when a country's citizens make an entire website about it, you know you're onto something. Blockchain enthusiasts from South Korean are excited for Kuende, an up and coming social media app that uses a blockchain and cryptocurrency to engage its users in real life experiences. South Korea is one of the biggest hubs for cryptocurrency, with some reports showing that one in three South Korean workers have invested in at least one project. To take it one step further, South Koreans even developed their own cryptocurrency, and some of the largest exchanges in the entire world call this country their home. While South Koreans may seem to be obsessed with anything blockchain or crypto related, Kuende seems to be a special case. For one, Kuende promises a social media platform built on a blockchain that will allow enthusiasts from all over the world to come and connect. This has great appeal to South Koreans, who no doubt would love to meet with others to talk about their investments. Kuende Token is a cryptocurrency unique to the app, so it's already meeting a lot of interest. In just the first week of Kuende's public sale, it raised nearly 11,000 Ethereum. With the South Korean government looking into regulating Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs), this is a sign of support from the average user. Turkey is another interesting look at hubs for cryptocurrency. The president, Erdoğan, has called for citizens to exchange their foreign currency for lira, the national currency. He believes that this is one of the only ways to stand against the hegemony of the West. At the same time, the lira's value seems to only just have stabilized in October, and a poor economic situation presents a risky situation. It's an almost perfect Catch 22- do citizens trade their dollars and euros for liras and lose value, or stick with dollars and euros only to see their national currency go down more? Luckily, there seems to be a way out, and more and more citizens are putting their attention toward the decentralized option of cryptocurrency. Where does this leave Kuende? As it turns out, in an extremely favorable position. Turkish citizens have found that the winning move is not to play the centralized currency game at all! Exchanges based in Turkey allow citizens to exchange their lira for Bitcoin and Ethereum, both of which look to be better investments and monetary deals. A whopping 18% of Turkish citizens own cryptocurrency - compare this to the US with only 8% being invested. This means that Kuende also has a lot going for it. First off, most traditional social media platforms seem to have passed Turkey by. As one of the only blockchain based social media, Kuende can connect Turkish citizens to the entire world. Kuende Token, too, is an "altcoin" that can be used on the platform for advertising and creating real-life events for other users. Opportunities abound for Kuende in Turkey. Story continues The CEO, Pavel Antohe, recently took a trip to the capital, Istanbul, to speak with potential partners and investors. What resulted was a whirlwind of a media frenzy - dozens of Turkish YouTubers and bloggers took to creating content describing why they believed Kuende was the future for social media and for social blockchains. Although it's hard to predict how well the ICO market will perform in 2019 and beyond, it appears as if Kuende has caught lightning in a bottle by focusing on traditionally passed over markets and countries. You can check out Kuende's website at ico.kuende.com and see what the buzz is all about. Contact Information: Kuende Pavel Antohe +40 0725 843 286 [email protected] https://ico.kuende.com SOURCE: Kuende View comments \|\| New Foundation to Focus on Crypto Wallet Interoperability: Today, November 26, 2018, marks the launch of theFoundation for Interwallet Operability (FIO)and the FIO Protocol, an interwallet protocol that seeks to make the transfer of cryptos between wallets as simple and straightforward as making transfers on PayPal. “In the crypto world payments are exponentially more complex and cumbersome,” said David Gold, CEO of Dapix, a founding member of FIO. “Crypto payments feel too risky, too scary and too difficult for members of the public. You have to use an incoherent string of characters, and you can’t confirm if funds have arrived. The average person on the street simply will never feel comfortable using crypto unless this changes.” The FIO Protocol is intended to birth a range of features including cross-chain counterparty metadata, enabling transaction statuses within crypto wallets, the provision of a single cross-chain wallet name that’s hard to forget and more. Gold, in an email correspondence withBitcoin Magazine, argues that “decentralized blockchain transactions” need to be easier and “less risky than fiat transactions.” He said, “Users need to have greater confidence that their blockchain transactions are accurate before they commit to sending. This challenge can’t be solved by an individual wallet or exchange as it lies at the interface between all of them. The FIO Protocol is an industry-led, decentralized solution that will enable easy-to-use and virtually error-free transactions between any wallet or exchange.” Gold, who spent 11 years as the managing director of tech VC firm Access Venture Partners, believes mainstream adoption of cryptocurrencies will be severely limited unless it becomes easier to move them around. To make sure crypto payments are as easy to transfer as payments on PayPal, the FIO Protocol will leverage a standardized layer of connectivity and usability features that crypto businesses such as wallet providers and exchanges can use. The FIO Protocol will focus on three core areas. First, it will create FIO addresses: sets of human-readable, universal-wallet or centralized-exchange account names that are universally compatible with every token. Second, it will establish enhanced FIO workflow options for transactions, including error-free, request-initiated transactions so that users can send a payment request from one wallet address to another. Finally, the protocol will focus on FIO data functionality, enabling “the first cross token/coin metadata … the ability for a note or even a full order cart to be included with a payment or a payment request securely and privately from one wallet to another.” Gold went further to state that the protocol is not a “closed party.” Anyone can take part in the protocol’s efforts to make the user-friendliness of transfers on the blockchain “improve drastically” so that the technology can achieve its potential. So far, the protocol has been backed by six leading crypto wallets and exchanges, which have agreed to join the Foundation when it launches, according to a statement. These include ShapeShift, KeepKey, Coinomi and others. The startup plans to test the protocol during the first quarter of 2019 with the crypto firms that have signed up. “Crypto payments must improve if this technology is going to expand. FIO’s approach — decentralized, cross-chain, and with financial incentives to adopt — is exciting, and we’re thrilled to support it,” said Erik Voorhees, founder and CEO of ShapeShift. Once launched, the protocol will offer standardized open-source APIs and SDKs that can be globally integrated into any crypto wallet or exchange easily. According to Gold, crypto users won’t have to deal with long stringed public encryption keys when sending digital assets. The protocol won’t sit in the middle of the underlying transactions on the blockchain; rather, it would send “information and confirmations that better enable the sending of value on all other blockchains.” This article originally appeared onBitcoin Magazine. \|\| Bitcoin Analysis: Falling Wedge Indicates Interim Breakout Scenario: Bitcoin on Tuesday extended its downward momentum, dropping 0.67-percent against the US Dollar. TheBTC/USD trading pairopened the Asian trading session at 6288-fiat and attempted an upside correction to as high as 6309-fiat. The selling pressure around the 6309-level resumed the downtrend. As a result, the pair kept forming red candles for the rest of the Asian and European trading session. It is now trading at 6294-fiat. The macroeconomic view of the US Dollar posted bullish sentiment for the currency. But it is not looking the same today. The greenback is poised to post losses before the market closes as European currencies rebound. The ICE dollar index was noted to be down 0.1 percent as the market opened today. A weaker dollar on an intraday basis can reinject the BTC/USD market with some upside sentiments. The pair is already forming a falling wedge pattern, indicated by the two unparallel black lines in the chart above. The consecutive swing highs and lows coupled with decreasing volume traditionally mark preparation of abreakoutaction. That said, BTC/USD should attempt to knock out the upper trendline of the falling wedge pattern and rally towards 6500-fiat as its primary upside target. The RSI and the Stoch are also signaling an upside movement in BTC/USD price action. Both the indicators are inside their respective selling regions and are eyeing a pullback. In the chart above, a rising red trendline is capping the downside action for now. Our intraday strategy is keeping our eyes glued on the range, anyway. Today, we have 6374-fiat acting as our interim resistance and 6271-fiat as interim support. It is a pretty broad range to apply the intrarange strategy. That means entering a long on a bounce back from support and a short on a pullback from resistance while maintaining a stop loss order in the opposite direction of the price action. Looking from the breakout perspective, the price should break above 6374-fiat to enable our long position towards 6406-fiat. If we go ahead with this trade, then we’ll put our stop-loss order just 3-pips below the entry position. Similarly, in the event of a breakdown action, a break below 6271-fiat will have us go short towards 6203-fiat. Trade safely! Featured Image from Shutterstock. Charts fromTradingView. The postBitcoin Analysis: Falling Wedge Indicates Interim Breakout Scenarioappeared first onCCN. \|\| Nail in the Coffin? BTC.top Shifts Hash to Bitcoin Cash ABC to ‘End Chaos’: Significant cryptocurrency mining outfit BTC.top has begun mining bitcoin cash on the blockchain supported by Bitcoin ABC (BCHABC), potentially putting another nail in the coffin of the minority Bitcoin SV (BSV) chain. Including its BTC operation, the pool has more hash by itself than all of BSV combined, meaning that the threat of a potential attack byCalvin Ayre’s CoinGeekis essentially neutralized as long as the BCH mining landscape remains otherwise consistent. BTC.top CEO Jiang Zhuoer announced the move Saturday morning, stating that it was time to “end [the] chaos” caused by last week’scontentious hard fork. Intervening blocks of BCHABC have been largely mined by BTC.com and Bitcoin.com. BTC.top regularly mines up to 6 percent of the regularBitcoinnetwork, and their contribution to BCHABC has resulted in a rate of about 5 percent of all blocks mined. Zhuoer has written extensively in his native Chinese on the subject of the Bitcoin Cash debate. Some translations have been hard to decipher as they have had to be done from OCR images. All the same, he can be quoted as saying in anEnglish-language blog post on the subject: “Therefore without an effective arbitration mechanism to prevent unnecessary splitting of the BCH chain, it will impede adoption, which implies a reduction of users. This conflicts with the ideology of high-frequency use for a cash system. […] [H]ash voting is not a segmentation based on power, but rather it assumes the role of a jury which reflects the opinion of all participants in the system. The community has the right to signal their preference using all sorts of methods to affect voting. […] Hash vote is not the same as miner vote, but rather acts like a jury to reflect opinions of everyone in the community.” In Proof-of-Work (PoW) systems, the longest chain wins, and currently, BCHABC is consistently ahead of BSV. Zhuoer has not indicated how long his pool will support ABC’s Bitcoin Cash chain, but at present, it seems the pool is mining both bitcoin cash and bitcoin proper. In fact, over the week it had mined 10 percent of the blocks in the regular Bitcoin network. As for the BSV chain, four pools have primarily mined all of its blocks – CoinGeek, BMG Pool, and SV Pool. At time of writing, BSV was effectively seven blocks behind BCHABC, and its blocks were much larger in size. Featured Image from Shutterstock The postNail in the Coffin? BTC.top Shifts Hash to Bitcoin Cash ABC to ‘End Chaos’appeared first onCCN. \|\| A First: U.S. Treasury Makes Bitcoin Addresses Focal Point in Sanctions: For the first time, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has traced illicit bitcoin activity to the public addresses of two sanctioned individuals. According to a November 28, 2018,press release, the department is bringing action against Ali Khorashadizadeh and Mohammad Ghorbaniyan for their alleged involvement in the SamSam ransomware scheme. The two men reportedly helped the hackers behind SamSam convert millions of dollars of ransomed bitcoin to Iranian rials. “As a result of today’s action, all property and interests in property of the designated persons that are in the possession or control of U.S. persons or within or transiting the United States are blocked, and U.S. persons generally are prohibited from dealing with them,” the release states. These charges coincide with the U.S. Department of Justice’sindictment of Faramarz Shahi Savandi and Mohammad Mehdi Shah Mansouri, the ringleaders behind the 34-month long SamSam ransomware attack. Beginning in 2015, the ransomware affected some 200 international entities, including hospitals and government departments in California, Colorado, Georgia and Kansas. The malicious actors used the ransomware to gain administrative control over the victims’ IT servers and sensitive documents, and they leveraged this control to demand bitcoin as ransom. Khorashadizadeh and Ghorbaniyan helped Savandi and Mansour process some $6 million in extorted payments. Tracing the illicit activity back to Khorashadizadeh and Ghorbaniyan’s primary Bitcoin public addresses, the OFAC found that the two men have executed roughly 7,000 transactions across 40 exchanges since 2013. The department believes that a significant sum of the 6,000 bitcoin either man has handled is related to the SamSam ransomware scheme, indicating that they converted these funds into Iranian rials and deposited them into bank accounts on behalf of Khorashadizadeh and Ghorbaniyan. The Bitcoin addresses in question are as follows: 149w62rY42aZBox8fGcmqNsXUzSStKeq8C and 1AjZPMsnmpdK2Rv9KQNfMurTXinscVro9V. “Treasury is targeting digital currency exchangers who have enabled Iranian cyber actors to profit from extorting digital ransom payments from their victims. As Iran becomes increasingly isolated and desperate for access to U.S. dollars, it is vital that virtual currency exchanges, peer-to-peer exchangers, and other providers of digital currency services harden their networks against these illicit schemes. We are publishing digital currency addresses to identify illicit actors operating in the digital currency space. Treasury will aggressively pursue Iran and other rogue regimes attempting to exploit digital currencies and weaknesses in cyber and AML/CFT safeguards to further their nefarious objectives,” Treasury Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Sigal Mandelker said in a statement. The release continues to state that “persons that engage in transactions with Khorashadizadeh and Ghorbaniyan could be subject to secondary sanctions.” This article originally appeared onBitcoin Magazine. \|\| Bitcoin SV Joins Top Cryptocurrency Ranks after Climbing 48% in a Week: Bitcoin SV The hash war between the Bitcoin ABC and Bitcoin SV camps have officially come to an end. But the one that conceded defeat surprisingly gained more than the one that won. Bitcoin SV, the brainchild of Dr. Craig Wright backed by CoinGeek mining pool boss Calvin Ayre, surged circa 48 percent in a week. The new BSV ticker added as much as $2.21 billion to its market cap before correcting lower to $1.81 billion on Monday. In contrast, the rest of the top cryptocurrencies were red. Bitcoin ABC, which has gained rights over the Bitcoin Cashs original ticker BCH, continues to trend lower. Its weekly price action has posted a 23.5% loss. Bitcoin, similarly, has erased $19.73 billion off its market cap, down 23.5% like BCH per weekly performance. At press time, the BSV/USD pair is trading at 109-fiat on BitFinex, up 28.5% from its Mondays close at 84.72-fiat. Interim Bullish Dynamics for BSV The speculation has got into the Bitcoin SV space already ahead of its minimal launch. Coingeek on Monday released an optimistic roadmap , stating that their chain is the most superior blockchain because it has mined a 64 MB block. The plans include a proposal to increase BSV block size from 64 MB to 512 MB in over the next six months, and later to 2 GB. If BSV can hit the value of $640 soon, miners would be able to generate an income of $8,000 per block. Bitcoin SV also eyes the launch of one Teranode project that would scale the network up to 1 TB. In an ideal scenario, the solution should be able to process transactions at a speed of 6.5 million operations per second, while reserving mining rewards to $600,000 per unit. At first glance, the claims look highly exaggerated like any other blockchain project. The BSV team on many occasions have put their actions against their words. While an optimistic post has indeed helped the BSV market add a few hundred million in near-term, its sustainability in the top ten cryptocurrencies would solely depend on adoption by both miners and users if they can deliver. Story continues Technical Indicators Being a fresh market, BSV lacks historical evidence of price actions. The BSV/USD, as of now, is heading north while maintaining its support at the near-term rising trendline. The pair has recently tested 119.40-fiat as interim resistance and is currently undergoing a minor downside correction, forming a bull pennant. There is a likelihood that the pair would continue the uptrend and a breakout target near 140-fiat looks achievable. Nevertheless, to maintain risks, one should put their stop losses only 4-5 dollars below the entry position. That would minimize the overall losses should the bias reverse. Featured Image from Shutterstock. Charts from TradingView . The post Bitcoin SV Joins Top Cryptocurrency Ranks after Climbing 48% in a Week appeared first on CCN . \|\| Apple's Vertical Integration Spree Continues: Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) has long sourced power management IC, or PMIC, products from a small company called Dialog Semiconductor (NASDAQOTH: DLGNF) . This business has been lucrative for Dialog, which indicated in its most recent annual report that about 77% of its sales in 2017 came from Apple. Unfortunately, the fact that Dialog relies so heavily on sales to Apple created a significant customer concentration risk. That risk factor seemed to play out when Dialog revealed that Apple would be using a main PMIC from another supplier for one of the three iPhones that launched earlier this year (a teardown report from TechInsights showed that iPhone XS Max has an Apple-designed main PMIC). Two people holding iPhones. Image source: Apple. On Oct. 11, Dialog announced that it had signed a licensing agreement with Apple related to PMIC technology. Let's take a closer look at exactly what's going on, here. Cash for tech -- and more Dialog says it'll get $300 million "in cash for the license of certain PMIC technologies and the transfer of certain PMIC assets and employees, payable upon closing." The company revealed that "over 300 employees -- representing 16% of Dialog's global workforce" will move over to Apple. Apple will also take over "certain Dialog facilities in Livorno, Swindon, Nabern and Neuaubing." On top of that, Dialog added that Apple is going to prepay $300 million "for products to be delivered over the next three years." What does this mean for Dialog's business? Dialog explains that while it expects to keep shipping main PMIC chips to Apple for the designs that it's already in, it stated that "[no] new revenue contribution [is] expected from main PMICs for 2019 iPhone models and for 2020 iPad or Watch models." In other words, Apple has designed Dialog out of the main PMIC spots in its iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch products over the long term. That's certainly going to lead to a reduction in Dialog's revenue. Story continues With that said, Dialog indicated that it "expects to continue shipping current and future generations of sub-PMICs for all platforms to Apple." As you might recall, Dialog CEO Jalal Bagherli said on the company's Aug. 2 earnings call that Dialog has "two chips in the upcoming [iPhone] cycle, one is across all three and one is across two models." (The chips in question appear to be a main PMIC and a sub-PMIC.) Additionally, Dialog says that it has been "awarded a broad range of new contracts" at Apple that "include the development and supply of power management, audio subsystem, charging and other mixed-signal integrated circuits for high-volume applications." Per the company, that "[revenue] from new contracts is expected to be realized starting in 2019 and accelerate in 2020." Dialog showed in a slide deck accompanying this announcement that while roughly 75% of its revenue in 2018 came from Apple, it expects that by 2022, sales to Apple will make up between 35% and 40% of its revenue. Investor takeaway Given that Apple had successfully designed a main PMIC for the iPhone XS Max, it wasn't a stretch to think that Apple could apply future main PMIC chips more broadly across its iPhone product portfolio over time. That's exactly what's set to happen, and as an added bonus, Apple is also poised to bring its Apple Watch and iPad main PMICs in-house, too. However, Apple and Dialog appear to have managed to work out a deal so that this isn't a game-ending development for the latter. Moreover, even though Apple is apparently moving its main PMIC technology for all of its mobile products in-house, Dialog isn't left completely out in the cold, as it'll keep generating revenue from sales of sub-PMICs to Apple as well as from the "broad range of new contracts" that it has inked with the trillion-dollar consumer electronics giant. More From The Motley Fool 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This Ashraf Eassa has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Apple. The Motley Fool has the following options: long January 2020 $150 calls on Apple and short January 2020 $155 calls on Apple. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy . [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] (STM) STI Micro Electronic's stock looks oversold, down from $26 to $13.80. STM want 20.00 per share in the future? @altcoingazette http://www.altcoingazette.com $BTC $ETH $XRP $DOWJONES $NASDAQ $AMD $INTC $AAPL $STM \|\| #crypto price changes last hour $XNK +7.71% $EDR +6.66% $POT +6.61% $XST -7.84% $DOPE -4.97% $RCN -4.47% #bitcoin #cryptocurrency \|\| If this is legit I find it really odd BTC supporters are supporting BSV which is intent on taking over BTC as the one tru satoshi bitcoin. Hmmmm https://twitter.com/LightningHats/status/1067596539563003904 … \|\| #BTCUSD Market #1H timeframe on November 20 at 12:00 (UTC) is #Bearish. #cryptocurrency #bitcoin #btc #crypto #trading #idea #report technical analysis \|\| This is the the moment. Everyone who believed is now doubting it all. One by one, they fall away like raindrops in the storm. But a select few will earn their stripes. Survive and keep moving. The mud on our boots will hide the bloodstains. $BTC https://t.co/PioUD9p1Wj \|\| Hahahahaha making more and more Don't doubt this market. Upwards #Bitcoin #XRP #Crypto #Marketcyclehttps://twitter.com/CCNMarkets/status/1067726553906388992 … \|\| 2018/11/05 23:00 #Binance 格安コイン 1位 #HOT 0.00000016 BTC(0.12円) 2位 #NPXS 0.00000024 BTC(0.17円) 3位 #DENT 0.00000039 BTC(0.28円) 4位 #NCASH 0.00000079 BTC(0.57円) 5位 #SC 0.00000098 BTC(0.71円) #仮想通貨 #アルトコイン #草コインhttps://wp.me/p9uE3r-u \|\| 現在の1ビットコインあたりの値段は721,239.2676円です。値段の取得日時はOct 27, 2018 05:59:00 UTCです #bitcoin #ビットコイン \|\| "Ethereum Classic Price Analysis: ETC/USD Could Retest $4.00 Support" https://ift.tt/2Snvcc2 #bitcoin https://ift.tt/2UeP6HS \|\| Decentralization is more than just a marketing term you can slap on any project. It is essential and is the only reason bitcoin has survived while all centralized predecessors have failed. Bitcoin is still not decentralized enough, but it becomes more so every day. https://t.co/PhxdiBLsPQ	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 3476.11, 3614.23, 3502.66, 3424.59, 3486.95, 3313.68, 3242.48, 3236.76, 3252.84, 3545.86
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2021-12-01] BTC Price: 57229.83, BTC RSI: 45.97 Gold Price: 1781.60, Gold RSI: 41.79 Oil Price: 65.57, Oil RSI: 26.99 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] ETF Odds & Ends: VictoryShares Closes 2 ETFs: Although the firehose of ETF launches seems to have tapered a bit, with only eight launches this week, that doesnt mean activity in the space was flagging. There were several closures, many expense ratio changes and a merger announcement. Additional Launches Among the launches that were not immediately reported on ETF.com was the actively managed JPMorgan Active Value ET (JAVA) on Monday, which will use its in-house U.S. value and large cap value strategies to select the components of the portfolio. Holdings will mainly reflect the market capitalization range of the Russell 1000 Value Index. The funds managers will seek to select undervalued securities using a bottom-up approach driven by quantitative screens and fundamental analysis, according to its prospectus. Interestingly, the prospectus also notes that the fund will incorporate environmental, social and governance criteria into its portfolio selection process to avoid negative impacts from ESG-related risks. JAVA lists on the NYSE Arca and comes with an expense ratio of 0.44%. WisdomTree also launched a fund on Thursday. The WisdomTree Target Range Fund (GTR) is actively managed but is guided by the TOPS Global Equity Target Range Index from Valmark Advisers. The fund will seek to generate a return profile that is similar to that of its underlying index, which buys long call options while selling short call options on four different widely held ETFs. It also has a cash component for collateral. The traded options contracts within the fund include those on the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) , iShares Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) , iShares MSCI EAFE ETF (EFA) and iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (EEM) . The funds objective is to offer capital appreciation while hedging way risk. GTR comes with an expense ratio of 0.70% and lists on the Nasdaq stock exchange. Closures & Mergers Prudentials PGIM arm closed three of its funds, which saw their last day of trading on Oct. 4. The affected funds launched in 2018 but failed to gather significant assets. They include the following: Story continues PGIM QMA Strategic Alpha Large-Cap Core ETF (PQLC) PGIM QMA Strategic Alpha Small-Cap Growth ETF (PQSG) PGIM QMA Strategic Alpha Small-Cap Value ETF (PQSV) The three closures bring the total completed ETF shutdowns so far for the year to 44. VictoryShares also announced the closures of two of its funds. The VictoryShares Protect America ETF (SHLD) and VictoryShares Top Veteran Employers ETF (VTRN) will cease trading after the close of the market on Oct. 11, although they are officially closed for creations as of the end of trading today. Both funds launched in November 2020 and have less than $2 million in assets under management each. Another fund that launched in November 2020, the Emles Protective Allocation ETF (DEFN) , will also close down. Its last day of trading is scheduled to be Oct. 28. The fund currently has less than $4 million in assets. Further, Tuttle Tactical Management will be closing another of its Trend Aggregation ETFs, with the Trend Aggregation Growth ETF (TAAG) seeing its last day of trading on Oct. 22. The firm previously shuttered its Trend Aggregation Conservative ETF (TACE) and Trend Aggregation U.S. ETF (TAEQ) in September. Finally, the $45 million Global X MSCI Norway ETF (NORW) will be absorbed into the $42 million Global X FTSE Nordic Region ETF (GXF) in a reorganization on or about Oct. 29. Immediately after that, however, GXF will be renamed the Global X MSCI Norway ETF. Interestingly, Norway currently only has an allocation of 6.5% within GXF. Expense Ratio Changes FormulaFolios and Main Management both reduced the expense ratios on some of their funds. The affected funds and the changes to their costs include the following: FormulaFolios Hedged Growth ETF (FFHG) , from 1.17% to 1.14% FormulaFolios Smart Growth ETF (FFSG) , from: 0.70% to 0.69% FormulaFolios Tactical Growth ETF (FFTG) , from 1.12% to 1.05% FormulaFolios Tactical Income ETF (FFTI) , from 1.04% to 0.93% Main Sector Rotation ETF (SECT) , from 0.80% to 0.78% Main Thematic Innovation ETF (TMAT) , from 1.65% to 1.49% Contact Heather Bell at [email protected] Recommended Stories ETF Alternatives To ARKK Innovator: Managing Todays Investment Risks Weekly ETF Flows Weigh In At $16B Hot Reads: ARK, 21Shares File For Bitcoin Futures ETF Permalink \| © Copyright 2021 ETF.com. All rights reserved \|\| DeFi Summit Organizers Are Launching DCentral Miami, the Largest NFT and DeFi Conference in History: The combined premier event of DeFi Summit & NFTCON is set to bring together finance, collectibles and art during Art Basel week MIAMI, FL / ACCESSWIRE / October 28, 2021 / DCentral Miami, the largest, in person combined NFT and DeFi conference in history will take place on November 30 - December 1 2021 at Miami Airport Conference Centre (MACC). The event coincides with the biggest art week in the United States, Art Basel Miami and is set to merge the world of art with the world of decentralized finance. "Miami is not only becoming the hub for innovation and crypto, but also breathing life into the explosive market of NFTs in new and exciting ways. The city is truly flourishing and making its own original name for itself in this crypto space," said Justin Wu, co-founder and CEO of DeFi Summit. Miami Airport Convention Center will have three dedicated stages running constantly throughout the two days with a plethora of Keynotes, Panels, Workshops, and Talks. With three stages at the event the agenda will be jam-packed with speakers such as Pplpleasr, Gala Games, The Sandbox, VaynerNFT, The Graph, and many more projects across the Polygon, Cosmos, Solana, Polkadot, Bitcoin and Ethereum communities. A big highlight of the conference will be the one of a kind NFT Art Gallery, hosted by Superchief , the world's first NFT Gallery in New York City alongside the many exhibitor booths on the expo floor. "It has been a huge year for DeFi and NFTs. With the sales volume of NFTs reaching $10.7bn during Q3 of 2021 and the $235bn TVL in DeFi, we don't see this slowing down anything soon. That's why we couldn't be more excited to host this showcase during the largest art week in Miami to further advance what's possible in digitized art," said Michael Huynh, COO of DeFi Summit. Throughout the conference, there will be a dedicated Metaverse World area with digital fashion experiences by DIGITALAX, The Fabricant, DressX plus VIP dinner events and after-parties. Story continues In June 2021, DeFi Summit led by Justin Wu, Co-founder and CEO, hosted the largest DeFi Conference online with over 9,000 attendees which featured speakers such as Mark Cuban, Coinbase, Polygon, Cosmos, Web3 Foundation, Acala Network, and more. Earlier in October, DeFi Summit hosted NFTCON - an online conference that saw 97,393 total viewers dial in to watch the wide variety of in-depth talks across the three-day event. For both DeFi Summit and NFTCON, all panels and talks can be viewed via the DeFi Summit YouTube Channel . DCentral Miami is in-person with a select number of talks being streamed for those to attend virtually and tickets will be released in waves leading up to the event in two week tiers. A full list of speakers can be viewed on the website: DCentralCom.com DCentral tickets are on sale now here. About DeFi Summit DeFi Summit is an event organizer focusing on DeFi, NFTs, GameFi and DAOs. We aim to educate and give builders, developers and the community a chance to meet, share ideas, and discuss the biggest issues affecting the world of blockchain and cryptocurrencies. We organise free-to-all virtual and paid in-person events with keynote presentations, fireside chats, roundtable discussions, demos, and workshops from leading innovators in the industry. In June 2021, we organized the largest ever gathering for the decentralized finance community. In October 2021, NFTCON , was a virtual summit dedicated to non-fungible tokens with attendees and participants from around the globe. Media Contact: US: Mia Grodsky [email protected] @mia_koda UK: Martyna Borys [email protected] @MartynaMLB SOURCE: DeFi Summit View source version on accesswire.com: https://www.accesswire.com/670028/DeFi-Summit-Organizers-Are-Launching-DCentral-Miami-the-Largest-NFT-and-DeFi-Conference-in-History \|\| One month on, El Salvador's bitcoin use grows but headaches persist: By Wilfredo Pineda and Nelson Renteria EL ZONTE, El Salvador (Reuters) - A growing number of El Salvadorans have experimented with bitcoin since the country became the first to adopt it as legal tender last month, with a couple of million dollars sent daily by migrants using the cryptocurrency. But only a fraction of the Central American nation's businesses have taken a bitcoin payment and technical problems have plagued the government's cryptocurrency app, frustrating even committed users of the technology. Construction worker Adalberto Galvez, 32, said he had lost $220 when trying to withdraw cash from the Chivo digital wallet. Like Galvez, dozens of Salvadorans told Reuters they had at least one problem with Chivo, named after the local word for "good", and few had used it on a daily basis. "It took my money but gave me nothing," said Galvez, who had already been using bitcoin successfully for months with another application at an experimental small-scale bitcoin economy project dubbed Bitcoin Beach in the coastal town of El Zonte. Galvez said the funds had been taken from his Bitcoin Beach wallet but he was never able to withdraw the cash via Chivo. He said he had not heard back after he filed complaints. Others have also reported irregularities with transactions and attempts of stolen identity. President Nayib Bukele has blamed high demand for the issues Galvez and others have faced. A spokesperson for the president's office and Chivo could not be reached for comment. By some measures adoption in the poor country, where one fifth of families depends on remittances, has been rapid. Bukele has said three million people have downloaded Chivo, some 500,000 more than initially targeted and roughly half the country's population. In September he said the wallet had 2.1 million active users. One month since launch, 12% of consumers have used the cryptocurrency, the Salvadoran Foundation for Economic and Social Development reported. Story continues "Since yesterday, Salvadorans are inserting more cash (to buy #bitcoin) than what they are withdrawing from the @chivowallet ATMs," Bukele tweeted on Wednesday. "This is very surprising so early in the game." But the foundation, which polled 233 companies across different sectors, found that the overall use was still low, with 93% of companies reporting no bitcoin payments. "We're still not sure what benefits the government expected," said Leonor Selva of the National Association of Private Enterprises, one of several business groups that remains skeptical about the rollout. MIGRANT MONEY The Bukele government hopes that 2.5 million Salvadorans living in the United States will eventually send remittances through Chivo. So far, 30 bitcoin ATMs to send remittances have been installed in Atlanta, Chicago, Houston and Los Angeles and Bukele says around $2 million is being sent via Chivo daily. Juan Moz, a construction worker who has lived in the United States since 2005, recently chose Chivo to send remittances home to his family - a decision he said saves him up to $18 when compared to traditional money transfer services. "I'm definitely going to keep using it," he said in a phone interview from San Francisco. However, most of El Salvador's $6 billion dollars annual remittances - about a quarter of the nation's gross domestic product - still comes via money transfers, with many wary of the cryptocurrency's volatility. Last month, El Salvador bought 700 bitcoins. Prices initially dropped sharply after the Sept. 7 adoption but surged in late September to reach about $54,000 per coin this week. Several people told Reuters they had downloaded the wallet and received a $30 bonus that the government offered at the outset of the program. The handout was big enough that it benefited some small business owners like Alexander Diaz, whose restaurant serving chicken wings saw a spike in business. "Most of the people who had that bonus wanted to test how it could be spent, so several clients made payments to us with bitcoin," Diaz said, adding that some 20% of his customers now use the cryptocurrency. "Chivo has benefited small entrepreneurs because it makes the payment method easier for customers," Diaz said. (Reporting by Wilfredo Pineda and Nelson Renteria; Writing by Stefanie Eschenbacher; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama) \|\| Bitcoin approaches all-time high but hits resistance at $60,000: By Samuel Indyk Investing.com The price of Bitcoin jumped towards its all-time high on Friday morning after a Bloomberg report said the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is set to allow a US Bitcoin Futures ETF to begin trading next week, citing people familiar with the matter. Bitcoin Futures ETF Hopes that a Bitcoin futures ETF would be approved by the SEC have supported the price in recent weeks. Some exchanges show the worlds largest cryptocurrency reached $60,000 on Friday morning following the Bloomberg story. Bitcoin previously hit an all-time high in April of $64,778. The approval of a Bitcoin ETF would give more opportunity to traders willing to invest in cryptocurrencies without the risk of buying the physical asset and is seen as a major stepping stone on the path for cryptocurrencies to become a mainstream financial market asset. There are a number of fund managers with applications for a Bitcoin futures ETF including ProShares, Valkyrie, Invesco, and VanEck. Earlier this week, Cathie Woods ARK Invest also filed for a Bitcoin futures ETF. SEC Tweet Further adding weight to the argument that the first Bitcoin futures ETF will begin trading was a tweet from the SECs Investor Education Office. Before investing in a fund that holds Bitcoin futures contracts, make sure you carefully weigh the potential risks and benefits, the tweet said. It is worth nothing that one of the previous times the SEC tweeted out this bulletin was two days prior to the Bitcoin Strategy Mutual Fund BTCFX begun trading. Some analysts have taken this as a signal that a Bitcoin futures ETF will begin trading imminently. At 11:00BST, Bitcoin was trading just off its daily high at $59,366. Related Articles Bitcoin approaches all-time high but hits resistance at $60,000 Crypto Hamsters are Coming to Dubai 2021. Some of Them Too Early Cardano (ADA) Price Has Been Stable Over the Past 24-hours \|\| Bitcoin Latinum Partners with Vast Bank to Expand Crypto Banking: PALO ALTO, Calif., Nov. 15, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --Bitcoin Latinum, the secure, next-generation, insured, asset-backed cryptocurrency announces the commencement of a strategic partnership with Vast Bank, a trusted family-owned financial institution serving customers since 1982. The partnership will focus on opportunities for collaboration, deal flow, and integration among Vast Bank, Bitcoin Latinum, and Monsoon Blockchain Corporation (Bitcoin Latinum's lead developer) all through the support of Bitcoin Latinum as a custodial currency. "We are very excited to announce our latest groundbreaking partnership with the industry leading Vast Bank," said Monsoon Blockchain Corporation CEO, Dr. Donald Basile. "Their efforts to bring the promise of blockchain technologies to the banking system will allow consumers access to a greener, faster, and more secure version of Bitcoin." Standing at the forefront of cryptocurrency integration, customers of Vast Bank can buy and sell cryptocurrencies from any location within the U.S. using the Vast Bank Crypto Banking mobile app. Earlier this year, Vast Bank became the first nationally chartered bank in the U.S. to offer customers the capability to buy and sell cryptocurrencies alongside a traditional checking account, providing customers with the same convenient, personalized service they have already come to expect from a leading financial institution. Vast Bank aims to set a new standard for democratizing access to cryptocurrency by enabling customers to simultaneously manage both their bank and crypto accounts side-by-side in a high-tech and secure user interface, powered by world-class software. The Vast Bank Crypto Banking service is powered by Vast's integrations with Coinbase and SAP. "Throughout our nearly 40-year history, our commitment to customer service has been at the heart of everything we do. When our customers asked us why they could not securely buy Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies using their bank accounts, we were driven to develop an end-to-end solution enabling them to do so on a platform they know they can trust," said Brad Scrivner, CEO of Vast Bank. "We are glad to explore the partnership with Bitcoin Latinum to expand the selection of digital assets that our customers can custody." Bitcoin Latinum currently trades publicly on DigiFinex and Hotbit exchanges, under the ticker LTNM. Monsoon Blockchain Corporation has announced plans for Bitcoin Latinum to officially list on ten top-tier public exchanges by the end of 2021. In addition to DigiFinex and Hotbit, the exchanges are: HitBTC (the fifth largest exchange by volume at $4 billion), FMFW (formerly Bitcoin.com and operating with $3.3 billion in daily trading volume), Changelly ($2.71 billion in daily volume), Bitmart ($1.6 billion in daily volume), AAX Exchange ($1.3 billion in daily volume), LBank Exchange($1.35 billion in daily volume), Changelly Pro, and XT.com. Unlike other crypto assets, LTNM is insured, and backed by real-world and digital assets. Its asset backing is held in a fund model, so that base asset value increases over time. It accelerates this asset-backed fund growth by depositing 80% of the transaction fee back into the asset fund that backs the currency. Thus, the more Bitcoin Latinum is adopted, the faster its asset funds grow, creating a self-inflating currency. The listing on DigiFinex and Hotbit, and the strategic partnership with Vast Bank, highlight Bitcoin Latinum Foundation's commitment to supporting the growth of a sustainable crypto ecosystem. Bitcoin Latinum was developed with a highly scalable network that will initially support up to 10,000 transactions per second and millions of transactions per day to facilitate retail transactions. With its Proof of Stake (PoS) consensus method, Bitcoin Latinum ensures the network facilitates more transactions per minute at lower transaction fees. Utilizing an efficient consensus mechanism, Bitcoin Latinum provides a much better on-chain payment network compared to Bitcoin, with an average transaction confirmation in three to five seconds. LTNM is one of the greenest cryptocurrencies in existence, and recently joined the Crypto Climate Accord. Utilizing its advanced Proof of Stake (PoS) mechanism, LTNM holders will earn rewards for holding their coins as collateral to stake on the Bitcoin Latinum network. This leads to less electricity consumption. LTNM reduces the energy consumption to only 0.00015 kWh per transaction. About Bitcoin Latinum Bitcoin Latinum is the next generation, fully insured asset-backed cryptocurrency. Based on the Bitcoin ecosystem, Bitcoin Latinum is greener, faster, more secure, and poised to revolutionize digital transactions. Using an energy-efficient Proof of Stake consensus algorithm, Bitcoin Latinum plans to bring better transaction speed, lower fees, and more security to high growth markets such as Media, Gaming, Telecommunications, and Cloud Computing. For more information, please visithttps://bitcoinlatinum.com. About Vast Bank Vast Bank has built its legacy on personal service, strength, and integrity. With bold leadership and a renewed commitment to customer-centricity, Vast is building on its past to create a future based on new ideas, world-class technology, and a winning culture to enhance the banking experience for customers with greater simplicity and control. In 2021, Vast became the first nationally chartered U.S. bank to enable customers to seamlessly buy, sell, and hold cryptocurrency assets—giving consumers the benefits of crypto combined with the simplicity and security of a bank account. Family-owned and based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Vast Bank has served its customers since 1982. Learn more athttps://www.vast.bank/. FOR EDUCATIONAL AND INFORMATION PURPOSES ONLY; NOT INVESTMENT ADVICE. Any Bitcoin Latinum offered is for educational and informational purposes only and should NOT be construed as a securities-related offer or solicitation or be relied upon as personalized investment advice. Bitcoin Latinum strongly recommends you consult a licensed or registered professional before making any investment decision. Media Contact Company: Bitcoin Latinum Contact: Kai Okada, Director of Communications E-mail: [email protected] Website:https://bitcoinlatinum.com/ Address: 2100 Geng Road, Palo Alto, California 94303, USA Telephone: +1 800-528-0985 SOURCE: Bitcoin Latinum Foundation \|\| Music Industry Moves: OneRepublic Becomes First Major U.S. Artist to Take Cryptocurrency Payment for Live Gig: OneRepublic frontman Ryan Tedder ‘s interest in evolving technology is well-documented (see his recent interview with Variety about moving into the NFT space ). Now, he’s put his cryptocurrency where his mouth is, as OneRepublic became the first major-label U.S. act to accept Bitcoin in full payment for a show, according to the group’s reps. The exchange was for an acoustic at a historic theater outside Vienna, Haydn Hall, on Nov. 16. OneRepublic used the Strike peer-to-peer bitcoin payment app to accept payment for the gig, which is said to have sold out in a matter of minutes after going on sale just two weeks ago. More from Variety Music Industry Moves: Deezer Names Jeronimo Folgueira CEO; Tyler Henry Joins Range Media Ryan Tedder on Making the NFT Space Safe for Pop Music, and Why It's the Ultimate Collectors' Medium Beyonce, Adele, OneRepublic Songwriter Ryan Tedder Sells Majority Stake of Catalog to KKR Said Tedder in a statement: “My band and I are so happy to be a part of something that we believe is, without question, the future of how payments are transacted for unlimited amounts of assets, performances, services, purchases, music, etc. around the world. Whether it’s artists using NFTs to fund albums with their fans or bands being paid for concerts in crypto, music & tech go hand in hand. With that in mind, it only made sense for us to take the next logical step. I also have an upcoming private concert in December I’m planning on taking Bitcoin for.” + DistroKid ‘s Artists For Change, an initiative giving platform members the ability to donate portions of song earnings to charity, is expanding after more than 1,000 DistroKid members collectively donated over $50,000 to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. While facilitating the donations through its “Splits” feature, DistroKid does not take any percentage of artist earnings or donations. Newly participating charities include Miracle Messages, Support + Feed, The North Brooklyn Angels, Vouchers for Veggies and Slice Out Hunger, with more to be announced in the coming months. Story continues Said DistroKid CEO Philip Kaplan: “The artist community has shown incredible generosity by auto-donating a portion of earnings to important causes. We’re excited to expand the program by adding support for these and many more organizations.” + Josh Van Valkenburg has been promoted to executive VP, Creative at Sony Music Publishing Nashville. Honored as one of Variety ‘s 2020 Hitmakers for his contribution to Gabby Barrett’s “I Hope,” other songwriters and producers with whom Van Valkenburg has been affiliated include Ross Copperman, Jon Nite, Lindsay Rimes, Chris DeStefano and Josh Osborne, as well as Brett Eldredge and Chase Rice. Van Valkenburg reports to Sony Music Publishing Nashville CEO Rusty Gaston. He has been with the company since 2005. Best of Variety The Fresh Prince Has a Memoir (And It's an Instant Best-Seller) What's Coming to Disney Plus in November 2021 Everything Coming to Netflix in November 2021 Sign up for Variety’s Newsletter . For the latest news, follow us on Facebook , Twitter , and Instagram . \|\| Pro-Crypto Senator Lummis Discloses Bitcoin Purchase Worth Up to $100K: U.S. Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) disclosed she bought bitcoin worth $50,001-$100,000, according to aPeriodic Transaction Reportfiled Thursday. Lummis, who has beenbuying bitcoinsince 2013, executed her latest purchase on Aug. 16 via the brokerage platform River Financial. CNBCfirst reportedthe news. Under theStop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Actof 2012 (STOCK Act) senators and senior staff with earnings above $119,554 are required to disclose certain financial transactions. Part of the requirements means they must report any purchase, sale, or exchange of any stock, bond, commodities future and other securities on transactions above $1,000. The senator previously served eight years as Wyoming’s state treasurer and told CoinDesk last year that during her time as treasurer she had always been looking for “something that was a good store of value.” Her son-in-law and his friends helped educate the senator about bitcoin’s potential as a store of value, she said, prompting her to jump on the bandwagon when the crypto was trading for around $320. While a bitcoin advocate, Lummisslammed stablecoinsduring a speech on the Senate floor last week, saying they “must be 100% backed by cash ... and this should be audited regularly” expressing her concerns that cryptos pegged 1:1 to other sovereign fiat currencies lacked transparency. Read more:Janet Yellen Has Been Lobbying Against Wyden-Lummis-Toomey Crypto Amendment: Report \|\| Coinbase Likely to Top Q3 Trading, Revenue Estimates on Bitcoin Volatility: Oppenheimer: Coinbase (Nasdaq: COIN) is likely to top consensus estimates for trading volume and total revenue for the third quarter due to recent volatility in the price of bitcoin, according to Oppenheimer analyst Owen Lau. Lau estimates there is an 18% potential upside to trading volume and an 11% upside to total revenue estimates, citing the exchange’s “substantially” improved trading volume in the second half of the third quarter. Coinbase shares had a “rough” September with the stock down 12.2% versus the S&P 500′s 4.8% dip – likely hurt by increased regulatory scrutiny, the retreat of bitcoin, the company’s move to preemptively end its Lend product , its $2 billion debt raise and macro risks associated with Evergrande in China. “With all the news driving volatility, trading volume has substantially improved in late August and September,” Lau wrote in a note. Lau, who has an outperform rating on the shares and a $444 price target, estimates that Coinbase has $6.5 billion in cash as of the third quarter that can be potentially used for new product development, M&A, diversification and increased balance sheet investment in crypto. Late last month, JMP Securities was also bullish on Coinbase shares, putting a $300 price target and market outperform rating on the shares. COIN shares are currently trading at around $250. Read more: Coinbase Shares Have Potential for Almost 30% Upside, Analyst Says \|\| Daily Gold News: Friday, Nov. 19 – Gold Is Still Going Sideways: The gold futures contract lost 0.47% on Thursday, as it continued to fluctuate within a short-term consolidation following the recent advances. The market remained above the $1,850 price level despite strengthening U.S. dollar recently. Today the yellow metal is trading along its yesterday’s closing price, as we can see on the daily chart (the chart includes today’s intraday data): Gold is 0.1% higher this morning, as it is trading along yesterday’s closing price. What about the other precious metals? Silver is virtually flat, platinum is 1.4% lower and palladium is 3.0% lower. So precious metals’ prices are mixed this morning. Yesterday’s Unemployment Claims release has been slightly worse than expected and the Philly Fed Manufacturing Index has been better than expected. Today we will get the Treasury Currency Report release. Below you will find our Gold, Silver, and Mining Stocks economic news schedule for today: Friday, November 19 3:00 a.m. Eurozone – ECB President Lagarde Speech 10:45 a.m. U.S. – FOMC Member Waller Speech 12:15 a.m. U.S. – FOMC Member Clarida Speech Tentative, U.S. – Treasury Currency Report For a look at all of today’s economic events, check out our economic calendar . Paul Rejczak Stock Selection Strategist Sunshine Profits: Analysis. Care. Profits. * * * * * Disclaimer All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Paul Rejczak and Sunshine Profits’ associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be a subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses were based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are believed to be accurate, Paul Rejczak and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Rejczak is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Paul Rejczak’s reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Paul Rejczak, Sunshine Profits’ employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice. Story continues This article was originally posted on FX Empire More From FXEMPIRE: Crude Oil Weekly Price Forecast – Crude Oil Markets Have Rough Week Why Moderna Stock Is Up By 4% Today Crude Oil Price Forecast – Crude Oil Markets Get Hammered on Friday Michael Saylor: Bitcoin to Replace Gold This Decade Natural Gas Price Prediction – Prices Form Doji Day Following Inventory Report Silver Weekly Price Forecast – Silver Markets Hanging Onto $25 \|\| Nvidia: Are Second-Hand GPU Sales Decoupling From Crypto?: Later this month, Nvidia ( NVDA ) will report its FQ3 results and heading into the print, Piper Sandler analyst Harsh Kumar has had concerns regarding Nvidias strongest segment Gaming. Namely, with supply constraints to the fore, the analyst has been worried about how these will affect the segments growth prospects in what is a seasonally strong holiday quarter. However, following an eBay scraping analysis - an automated method to find particular, bespoke information on a website the analyst is a bit more constructive on the segment. Overall, says Kumar, The data suggests there could be a decoupling between Bitcoin prices and secondary market GPU price premiums. Bitcoins price recently surpassed and now hovers around Mays levels (dragging with it other cryptocurrencies), but most GPUs are still selling for between 1.5x and 2.5x MSRP (manufacturers suggested retail price), well below the 2.0x to 3.75x range when Bitcoin was previously at these levels back in May. In fact, the premium to MSRP has more or less been the same for NVIDIA since Bitcoin began its recent ascent in early August (during the same time, AMDs GPUs in the secondary market have risen but only moderately). The stable second-hand GPU price is important as Kumar believes this could eliminate a sticking point for investors. For NVIDIA specifically, the 5-star analyst explained, The impact of cryptocurrency on the gaming business has been a hang-up for some investors and hopefully removes some of the noise around the stock. If a decoupling really is at play, Kumar thinks Nvidias gaming GPUs will be able to meet true gaming demand, instead of potentially being allocated to cryptomining. This would go some way to easing the holiday season pressure in the current supply constrained environment. Kumars renewed confidence is conveyed by a new price target - the figure moves from $225 to $260. However, NVDA stock has already accumulated gains of 96% over the past 12 months, bringing the shares 13% above Kumars target. (To watch Palms track record, click here ) Story continues To find good ideas for stocks trading at attractive valuations, visit TipRanks Best Stocks to Buy , a newly launched tool that unites all of TipRanks equity insights. Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the featured analyst. The content is intended to be used for informational purposes only. It is very important to do your own analysis before making any investment. [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] None available.	Trend: down \|\| Prices: 56477.82, 53598.25, 49200.70, 49368.85, 50582.62, 50700.09, 50504.80, 47672.12, 47243.30, 49362.51
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis] Not fully available. [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Former U.S. Secret Service agent suspected in additional Bitcoin thefts: By Joseph Menn SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A Secret Service agent who stole money seized by the government in the investigation of underground drug bazaar Silk Road is now suspected of stealing money in at least two other cases, according to court filings unsealed on Thursday. In the larger of those cases, he is thought to have been behind the theft of about $700,000 worth of Bitcoin from a Secret Service account three months after the agency was urged to block his access, the documents say. Former agent Shaun Bridges pleaded guilty last year and was sentenced in December to nearly six years in prison for stealing more than $800,000 of the crypto currency Bitcoin during the Silk Road investigation. According to an affidavit unsealed Thursday, the Justice Department learned in April 2015 that Bridges might have kept a private cryptographic key giving him access to a Bitcoin wallet with the $700,000 in currency that the Silk Road task force had seized in 2014. The department urged the agency to move the funds elsewhere. “Unfortunately, the U.S. Secret Service did not do so and the funds were thereafter stolen, something the U.S, Secret Service only discovered once it was ordered by a court to pay a portion of the seizure back to affected claimants,” a team of prosecutors wrote in an accompanying motion. The Bitcoin in question was moved in July 2015 but only discovered missing in December, the affidavit said. The Secret Service and Bridges' attorney Steven Levin declined to comment. In the previous case, Bridges admitted he stole money from Silk Road accounts and framed someone else for it, leading Silk Road chief Ross Ulbricht to plan a murder. Ulbricht is now serving a life sentence. (Reporting by Joseph Menn; Editing by Cynthia Osterman) \|\| Former U.S. Secret Service agent suspected in additional Bitcoin thefts: By Joseph Menn SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A Secret Service agent who stole money seized by the government in the investigation of underground drug bazaar Silk Road is now suspected of stealing money in at least two other cases, according to court filings unsealed on Thursday. In the larger of those cases, he is thought to have been behind the theft of about $700,000 worth of Bitcoin from a Secret Service account three months after the agency was urged to block his access, the documents say. Former agent Shaun Bridges pleaded guilty last year and was sentenced in December to nearly six years in prison for stealing more than $800,000 of the crypto currency Bitcoin during the Silk Road investigation. According to an affidavit unsealed Thursday, the Justice Department learned in April 2015 that Bridges might have kept a private cryptographic key giving him access to a Bitcoin wallet with the $700,000 in currency that the Silk Road task force had seized in 2014. The department urged the agency to move the funds elsewhere. “Unfortunately, the U.S. Secret Service did not do so and the funds were thereafter stolen, something the U.S, Secret Service only discovered once it was ordered by a court to pay a portion of the seizure back to affected claimants,” a team of prosecutors wrote in an accompanying motion. The Bitcoin in question was moved in July 2015 but only discovered missing in December, the affidavit said. The Secret Service and Bridges' attorney Steven Levin declined to comment. In the previous case, Bridges admitted he stole money from Silk Road accounts and framed someone else for it, leading Silk Road chief Ross Ulbricht to plan a murder. Ulbricht is now serving a life sentence. (Reporting by Joseph Menn; Editing by Cynthia Osterman) \|\| New York approves Ripple Lab's application for bitcoin license: By Patrick Rucker and Suzanne Barlyn WASHINGTON (Reuters) - New York state's financial regulator on Monday approved a license for bitcoin company Ripple Labs Inc, allowing it to offer digital currency services in the state. The New York State Department of Financial Services said the company had cleared a review of anti-money laundering, capitalization, consumer protection, and cyber-security standards. "DFS is pleased to continue to foster the growth of the New York virtual currency marketplace," Acting Department of Financial Services Superintendent Maria T. Vullo said in a statement. Bitcoin is a Web-based "cryptocurrency" that enables users to move money around the world quickly and anonymously without the need for third-party verification. Despite being championed by some as the digital money of the future, it is often dismissed as a currency that is too volatile to invest in. Ripple's service and currency, known as XRP, is for financial institutions and companies, such as banks, that provide liquidity for foreign exchanges. Last year, New York became the first U.S. state to issue extensive rules for virtual currency companies. The guidelines, aimed at consumer protection and prevention of money laundering, require companies to obtain what is known in the state as a "BitLicense." Ripple filed for the license under its corporate name, XRP II LLC, a venture backed by Andreessen Horowitz, Google Ventures and IDG Capital Partners. (Reporting By Patrick Rucker and Suzanne Barlyn; Editing by Alan Crosby) \|\| 7 Questions and Answers About the Economy: Investors are hit with new headlines every day: a weak jobs report, rising gasoline prices , unconventional election politics. It can be tough to make sense of the barrage of constantly changing news and events. Here is a look at seven key questions investors need to consider now. Are dialed-down forecasts for the U.S. economy a concern? Slower economic growth is, of course, a worry. "Actually, it's the whole ball game," says Guy LeBas, chief fixed income strategist at Janney Montgomery Scott in Philadelphia. "The real story, however, is much longer term than 2016. With population growth running about one third the rate it was in the 1980s and 1990s, and productivity gains still slowing, it's likely economic growth will only average 1.6 to 1.8 percent, even in relatively good times. In this context, 2016 is actually one of those 'good times,' when the economy is neither running too hot nor too cold." [See: The 10 Best REIT ETFs on the Market .] How could Federal Reserve rate hikes impact the economy this year? The surprisingly weak May employment report, which revealed only 38,000 new jobs were added last month, pushed the odds of a Fed rate increase at this week's meeting to less than 4 percent, according to Fed funds futures markets. Analysts are now pointing to the July Fed meeting as the next potential window for an interest rate increase. "If the jobs report proves to be an outlier, and we have a decent return next month, we are more likely to see a rate hike in July. We put that at about a 50-50 chance right now," says Hank Smith, chief investment officer at Haverford Trust. Even if the Fed hikes rates once or twice this year, it won't affect lending or economic activity, and won't be that big of a deal, Smith says. "The lower-for-longer environment will continue along with sub-average growth and a low probability of recession," he says. "Those themes remain in place with or without any rate hikes." What are the positive factors for the U.S. economy in the second half? There are bright spots. Consumer spending continues to grow and housing also continues to improve, says Brad McMillan, chief investment officer for Commonwealth Financial Network. "Strong underlying trends should support continued growth in both of these areas, with wages and household formation doing well. With consumers starting to spend, despite the poor recent job trends, the possibility of an acceleration in growth is real." Story continues Another shift from last year is the weaker U.S. dollar, which can offer a positive economic boost. "The weaker dollar should be a tailwind for exports and manufacturing after it was a big headwind from 2014 through early 2016," says John Canally, vice president at LPL Financial. What could the presidential election mean for the stock market? A market can deal with good news and bad news because it can price certainty, says John Conlon, chief equity strategist at People's United Wealth Management. "It does not like uncertainty. "This election is generating more uncertainty than any other in my lifetime because the range of candidate policies is wider than it has even been," McMillan says. "Rather than a typical center-left, center-right pair of candidates, you have one candidate being pulled to the left and another committed to policies outside the normal range. Business is reacting rationally by holding off decisions until more certainty is available -- a trend which is unlikely to subside until the election, and maybe not then." Heading into the July party conventions rhetoric remains high, "which makes it too early to truly have an understanding of each candidate's impact on the economy or sectors. This could all change on a dime, though, if the election results in a unified Congress and president," Smith says. [See: 9 Ways to Harness the Growth of Latin America .] Control of Congress will be important, Canally says. "The market has lately favored divided government, and if Mrs. Clinton wins, the Democrats are likely to retake the Senate, but unless it is a landslide win for Clinton, the GOP should hold the House, maintaining a divided government." What risks does the economy face in the second half? Risks for the economy are always present and can be either known risks or those that are unforeseen, says Bill Northey, a chief investment officer with The Private Client Group of U.S. Bank based in Helena, Montana. Northey lists the top known risk as capital market dislocation following a potential U.K. vote scheduled for next week that could have it exiting the European Union. Other risks include the loss of business and/or consumer confidence due to an acrimonious election cycle, which results in spending and investment paralysis, as well as a policy error by the Federal Reserve, he says. Where do analysts see the Standard & Poor's 500 index at the end of the year? Brace for choppy, back-and-forth action in the stock market. The Private Client Group of U.S. Bank pegs the year-end price target for the S&P 500 near current levels at 2,100. "Election cycle dynamics introduce a degree of uncertainty for the markets that will likely generate more volatility and keep a lid on near-term performance. We expect the stocks to trade in a sideways range until after the election, which will remove uncertainty," Northey says. "Additionally, the focus will shift to 2017 earnings where the resumption of earnings growth can provide some buoyancy to the equity market," he says What are the best money moves for investors? This is a year in which the markets may grind to a moderate single-digit returns, Smith says. "We aren't looking for huge returns on equities so investors should position themselves defensively," he says. "We like names that are blue-chip companies with better-than-bond dividends. You can still find plenty of names that have dividends that beat the 10-year yield." Stay focused on your long-term objectives and use the current environment as a check for your appetite for risk, Conlon says. He agrees that investor expectations should be adjusted down to single-digit returns due to slow economic growth and an average market valuation that is not cheap. [Read: Bitcoin's Novelty is Spent .] Conlon likes the energy and industrial sectors right now. "The energy sector due to the recovery in oil prices and the approaching crossing of supply with demand. Industrials due to low valuations, high cash flow, and attractive dividend yields," he says. More From US News & World Report The 9 Best Investors of All Time 8 Easy Ways to Make Money 11 Stocks That Donald Trump Loves \|\| Rocky Mountain Ayre to Launch Crypto-Currency Marketplace: DOVER, DE--(Marketwired - May 10, 2016) - Rocky Mountain Ayre, Inc., a holding company ( OTC PINK : RMTN ) is pleased to announce that it is ready to launch a brand new feature to its Hempcoin website ( www.hempcoin.com ). Hempcoin has developed the first of its kind Crypto-Currency marketplace for goods and services to be offered and purchased using Bitcoin and Hempcoin as the sole means of payment. Users can now offer goods and services for sale on Hempcoin crypto marketplace and get paid with Bitcoin or Hempcoin. The price of the listed products or services in BTC or HMP implicitly changes according to the current rate on the exchanges. This can potentially protect sellers from loss and buyers from over paying due to the constant market price fluctuation of the Crypto- Currencies. Users can also transfer Bitcoin or Hempcoin between each other within seconds without the need to pay any exchange fees. It is a very secure and easy to use. Hempcoin currently trades on two Crypto-Currency exchanges, C-Cex and Yobit , and plans on adding several more in the near future. About Hempcoin Hempcoin (HMP) runs on its own peer-to-peer blockchain like Bitcoin (BTC) but at a faster rate because it is using the script technique like LiteCoin. So in addition to having the advantage of being able to move HMP around faster than BTC, HMP is backed by the marketable securities of RMTN. BTC is strictly a fiat currency like the US Dollar, however, BTC has the potential to go up in value against the Dollar because of supply and demand factors and HMP has this same built in advantage because unlike the Dollar, both BTC and HMP have a limited amount of coins in circulation, while the Dollar is ever increasing in supply. About Rocky Mountain, Inc. Rocky Mountain Ayre, is a publicly traded company listed on the OTCmarkets under the "RMTN" trading symbol. It is a holding company increasing its asset and revenue base through acquisition and/or creation of operating entities. The Company currently has two entities in its portfolio and is focusing its efforts on its Crypto-Currency, Hempcoin, at this time. Safe Harbor Statement This Press Release may contain certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The Company has tried, whenever possible, to identify these forward-looking statements using words such as "anticipates," "believes," "estimates," "expects," "plans," "intends," "potential" and similar expressions. These statements reflect the Company's current beliefs and are based upon information currently available to it. Accordingly, such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which could cause the Company's actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed in or implied by such statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or advise in the event of any change, addition or alteration to the information catered in this Press Release including such forward-looking statements. \|\| Exclusive: Coinbase, Ripple close to landing New York bitcoin licenses - source: By Suzanne Barlyn NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York state's financial regulator is close to approving licenses for bitcoin companies Coinbase Inc and Ripple Labs Inc, which would allow them to offer digital currency services in the state, a person familiar with the matter said on Thursday. The New York State Department of Financial Services received applications from both companies, according to an April 28 notice published on the regulator's website. The notices, usually published after virtual currency firms have completed the regulator's paperwork, signal that the licensing process is nearly complete, according to the person familiar with the matter and other sources. An exact time frame for approval of the licenses is not yet clear. The sources requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. Bitcoin is a Web-based "cryptocurrency" that enables users to move money across the world quickly and anonymously without the need for third-party verification. Despite being championed by some as the digital money of the future, it is often dismissed as a currency that is too volatile to invest in. Last year, New York became the first U.S. state to issue extensive rules for virtual currency companies. The guidelines, aimed at consumer protection and prevention of money laundering, require companies to obtain what is known in the state as a "BitLicense." Both Coinbase and Ripple are based in San Francisco. "We are committed to being fully compliant with all state and federal laws and applied for the license to ensure we remain so," said a Ripple spokesman, who declined to elaborate. Coinbase declined to comment. The four-year-old Coinbase is one of the world's largest U.S.-based bitcoin companies. Among its backers are USAA and venture capital firms Andreessen Horowitz and Ribbit Capital. Coinbase, which markets its services to consumers and merchants, has also applied for a license that would allow it to facilitate dollar transactions. Backers of Ripple, which filed for the license under the corporate name XRP II LLC, also include Andreessen Horowitz along with Google Ventures and IDG Capital Partners. Ripple's service and currency, known as XRP, is for financial institutions and companies, such as banks, that provide liquidity for foreign exchanges. Once approved, the licenses would add to a nascent digital currency industry taking hold in New York. On Thursday, NYDFS approved the application of Gemini Trust Company, founded by investors Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, to trade a digital currency called ether on its bitcoin exchange. (Additional reporting by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss in New York; Editing by Lauren Tara LaCapra and Matthew Lewis) \|\| Bitcoin's Novelty Is Spent: If drawing a stack of Benjamins on fast-food napkins and praying they spring to life sounds like your idea of a good time, consider the urban myth behind bitcoin -- the enigmatic digital currency that exists online, has no central bank or even a known founder. Here's what we know, at least from the fabulist perspective: Satoshi Nakamoto is said to have invented bitcoins in 2008 after he sold a vintage McDonald's paper napkin online and the buyer defrauded him out of several thousand bucks. Since then, Nakamoto has been pegged as anyone and everyone from an Irish grad student to a reclusive Hungarian American. And as the legend grows, so grows the legal tender. Today you'll find an estimated 15 million bitcoins in circulation, worth about $872 million. But putting your money into bitcoins isn't a slam dunk (even if the Sacramento Kings accept them). That's because bitcoin fever -- much like the infamous "Tulip Mania" of 17th Century Holland -- has died down. Way down. Observers say once-smitten financial reporters and publications now focus elsewhere. "Bitcoin is actually unchanged since many years ago: What is different is the focus of the media," says Peter Leeds, the author of "Penny Stocks for Dummies." In it, Leeds mentions bitcoin as an example of what he calls "an investor stampede." [See: The 9 Best Investors of All Time .] "Much -- almost all -- of bitcoin's rise in value was driven by the standard media cycle," Leeds says. "And as the story became old news, coverage levels diminished and the currency faded into the background." But arguably, bitcoin was bound to make headlines in 2013, when European speculators sent its value through the roof. The Cyprus economic bailout drove anxious investors to bitcoins as they sought alternatives to the euro and other currencies manipulated by central bankers. Bitcoin also made waves because no one in the investment world had seen anything like it. Bitcoins are known as a "cryptocurrency," a term that appeals to the James Bond in all of us. In fact, early adopters included thieves and criminals who embraced its all-digital nature. Bitcoin's nefarious fans included Silk Road, an online black market (since shuttered) that sold drugs. A handful of anarchists embraced it, too. Story continues That said, old-fashioned cash has long been a favorite of malfeasants. For the rest of us, "the legal status of bitcoin varies from country to country," says Nicolette Kost De Sevres, senior policy advisor with DLA Piper, a global business law firm, "It is banned or restricted in some, undefined in many and explicitly allowed in others." Adding to the mystery, bitcoins hinge on tongue-twisting technobabble even most Wall Street pundits can't grasp. This includes "source code repository" and the concept of "computationally impractical to reverse." Nor is a bitcoin a coin in the traditional sense. It exists as an open-source, peer-to-peer internet protocol, which may explain why the digerati have embraced it. One bitcoin evangelist is Nicolas Cary, a serial entrepreneur and co-founder of Blockchain, the world's top bitcoin software company. "The virtual currency has specific properties that make it work really nicely as a form of money," Cary says. Ask him why and he rattles off a long list: "It is counterfeit-proof, fungible, easily divisible by up to 8 decimal points, purely digital, robust against the elements -- it won't burn or get corroded in water -- and with certain digital precautions far more resilient than cash." Yes, but... "If you lose the hard drive you've stored your coins on or lose access to a hosted account, you've effectively lost your money," says Cindy McAdam, partner in Goodwin Procter's Technology and Life Sciences Group, and a former executive at Xapo, a leading bitcoin company. And it's not like those things ever happen, right? If you think you'd be better off spending bitcoins than investing in them, online retailers such as TigerDirect and Overstock.com ( OSTK ) accept the currency. You can even make donations with bitcoins at higher-ed institutions that include the University of Puget Sound. Yet you don't have to be an economics professor to describe bitcoin like this: volatile. One bitcoin is worth about $581. On Nov. 29, 2013, it hit a peak of $1,108, according to Coinbase.com, a website that tracks Bitcoin prices. Less than a month later, it had plummeted to $593 -- more than its current worth. But if you bought in at the start of last September, you'd have doubled your money and then some. It's enough to give even a stalwart market-timing enthusiast a case of virtual currency vertigo. "There is a belief that much of the 'Wild West' spike in late 2013 was driven by fraud and market manipulation," McAdam says. "The price fell dramatically in the year following that, but has basically been on an upward trend for the past 18 months." [See: The 10 Best REIT ETFs on the Market .] That includes a price bump of $130 over two weeks between late May and early June. "With the upward price movement, we should expect to see more bitcoin headlines soon," says Anthem Hayek Blanchard, founder and CEO of Anthem Vault, which has created a gold-backed digital currency, HayekGold. He predicts that "it is very likely that bitcoin prices will go higher and breach $1,000 per bitcoin." Taken one way, the recent price rebound could be interpreted as newfound stability away from the harsh media spotlight. "Some speculate the buying is coming from the Chinese market due to currency controls and a devalued yuan," says Jalak Jobanputra, a venture capitalist and founding partner of FuturePerfect Ventures in New York City. Or, it could represent the latest gyration in Bitcoin's brief, marble-in-a-bathtub history. So is now a good time to buy bitcoins? Or is it ever a good time to invest in them? "Bitcoin remains a risky investment," says William Brindise, chief trading officer at DigitalX, a software solutions company in the global digital payments industry. "If growth in demand remains roughly constant as supply growth falls, economic theory suggests the price of bitcoin should rise," Brindise says. "However that's a big if, since the factors driving demand for bitcoins remain in flux." Meanwhile, some argue that the current lack of sensationalism means that bitcoin , once an investment upstart, is settling down. "Bitcoin never went away," says Christopher Burniske, analyst and blockchain products lead at New York City's ARK Investment Management, the first public fund manager to invest in bitcoin. "Its strength can be seen in the 'up and to the right' graphs of transactional volumes, trading volumes, hashing power, number of wallets, startups, merchants, and more, all involved with bitcoin." Burniske also points to the 99bitcoins website, which tracks bitcoin obituaries in the press. The number to date: 104. He notes that while bitcoin isn't the media darling it once was, it doesn't deserve to be on death row, either. The truth, in all likelihood, sits securely in the mundane middle. [Read: Real Estate's New Land of Plenty .] "There are fewer headlines because the currency has leveled out to a degree," says John Sedunov, assistant professor of finance at the Villanova University School of Business in the Philadelphia area. "If anything, it is becoming more mainstream." More From US News & World Report 11 Stocks That Donald Trump Loves 7 Ways to Tell if a Stock Is a Good Price 8 Easy Ways to Make Money \|\| Exclusive: Coinbase, Ripple close to landing New York bitcoin licenses - source: By Suzanne Barlyn NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York state's financial regulator is close to approving licenses for bitcoin companies Coinbase Inc and Ripple Labs Inc, which would allow them to offer digital currency services in the state, a person familiar with the matter said on Thursday. The New York State Department of Financial Services received applications from both companies, according to an April 28 notice published on the regulator's website. The notices, usually published after virtual currency firms have completed the regulator's paperwork, signal that the licensing process is nearly complete, according to the person familiar with the matter and other sources. An exact time frame for approval of the licenses is not yet clear. The sources requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. Bitcoin is a Web-based "cryptocurrency" that enables users to move money across the world quickly and anonymously without the need for third-party verification. Despite being championed by some as the digital money of the future, it is often dismissed as a currency that is too volatile to invest in. Last year, New York became the first U.S. state to issue extensive rules for virtual currency companies. The guidelines, aimed at consumer protection and prevention of money laundering, require companies to obtain what is known in the state as a "BitLicense." Both Coinbase and Ripple are based in San Francisco. "We are committed to being fully compliant with all state and federal laws and applied for the license to ensure we remain so," said a Ripple spokesman, who declined to elaborate. Coinbase declined to comment. The four-year-old Coinbase is one of the world's largest U.S.-based bitcoin companies. Among its backers are USAA and venture capital firms Andreessen Horowitz and Ribbit Capital. Coinbase, which markets its services to consumers and merchants, has also applied for a license that would allow it to facilitate dollar transactions. Backers of Ripple, which filed for the license under the corporate name XRP II LLC, also include Andreessen Horowitz along with Google Ventures and IDG Capital Partners. Ripple's service and currency, known as XRP, is for financial institutions and companies, such as banks, that provide liquidity for foreign exchanges. Once approved, the licenses would add to a nascent digital currency industry taking hold in New York. On Thursday, NYDFS approved the application of Gemini Trust Company, founded by investors Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, to trade a digital currency called ether on its bitcoin exchange. (Additional reporting by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss in New York; Editing by Lauren Tara LaCapra and Matthew Lewis) \|\| INVESTMENT FOCUS-Index-eligible or not, China's allure dimmed by yuan fears: (Repeats from Friday without changes) By Sujata Rao LONDON, June 17 (Reuters) - Just as China's $10 trillion bond and equity markets appear to be on the cusp of joining global indexes, investors who long sought free access to these assets have started to worry that any returns would be hit by a weakening yuan. Many were disappointed by MSCI's decision this week to keep China's mainland listed A-shares off its emerging market indexes on the grounds that Beijing needed to make its markets more easily accessible to foreign investors. But market watchers said the decision, made after months of consultations with investors, at least partly reflected fund managers' unease about allocating more to yuan-denominated assets. Currently, MSCI indexes include only Chinese stocks listed offshore which are freely traded. China's mainland stocks will almost certainly be added to equity indexes in the coming years, if not months, as will the country's $7 trillion government bond market, the world's third-biggest. That should bring more capital inflows, especially as foreign holdings of local shares and bonds currently amount to just $180 billion, JPMorgan calculates. But the timing is tricky. An economy growing at its slowest pace in 25 years, falling exports and potential U.S. interest rate rises are seen portending yuan weakness. Memories are still fresh of last August's devaluation, when the yuan fell 2.7 percent against the dollar in one week. "There is pent-up demand for exposure to China, but we are probably in a period when the world is happy not to hold too much of it," said Kieran Curtis, a bond fund manager at Standard Life Investments. "You get a pretty decent (bond) yield but people will be reluctant to pile in because of expectations of currency depreciation." Recent yuan moves give credence to such fears. Authorities have recently been fixing the official exchange rate at steadily weaker levels, pushing it to five-year lows. That weakness and a surge in outbound investment could also fuel a resumption of last year's huge capital outflows. Story continues The yuan has fallen 8 percent against the dollar since the end of 2013, ceding a quarter of its appreciation since 2005. But against its trading partners' currencies it has fallen 4.3 percent this year, suffering more trade-weighted depreciation than any emerging currency other than the Mexican peso. INDEX INCLUSION Keen to boost the international profile of its markets and currency, Beijing has rushed to make the changes that index providers require, relaxing quota-based investment programmes and clamping down on arbitrary share suspensions. Bond investors were told last month they would be able to remit money more freely, a move seen as potentially enabling entry to major debt indexes and bringing in at least $155 billion, according to JPMorgan estimates. JPMorgan has already put China on a watchlist for its GBI-EM emerging bond index. China's government pays 3 percent on its 10-year bonds, far higher than any other country whose currency is in the International Monetary Fund's SDR basket. But while this is high in the global context, it may seem paltry to emerging debt specialists who earn more than 6 percent on the GBI-EM index on average. "At this juncture I don't think China will attract material interest...it will be the lowest yielding market in the (GBI-EM) index. Plus the tail risk that they could devalue," said Naveen Kunam, portfolio manager at Allianz Global Investors. Indeed, non-deliverable forwards (NDFs), derivatives used by investors to lock in future exchange rates, price the yuan at 6.8 per dollar in a year's time versus the spot rate of 6.6. This is down from January peaks close to 7 but investors planning to buy Chinese assets should use the pullback to add yuan hedges, analysts at Goldman Sachs advise. Hedging erodes returns: Someone holding a six-month NDF, for example, would pay away roughly 1.2 percent of the yield earned. WAIT Many therefore say they will wait. "FX risk is something to take into account because with the yield differential being quite low with the U.S., the FX effect becomes more influential in your investment decision," said PineBridge Investments' portfolio manager Anders Faergeman. Another 5-10 percent yuan depreciation versus the dollar would get him interested in Chinese bonds, Faergeman added. Of course not everyone believes yuan weakening is inevitable. China's exports are competitive enough without a devaluation, analysts at asset manager Matthews Asia say. Sentiment, however, is powerful. Reuters reported this month that investors inside and outside China were employing various strategies to profit from yuan weakness, including buying Bitcoin and shorting Hong Kong stocks correlated to the exchange rate. Shanghai shares have fallen almost 20 percent this year and China funds tracked by EPFR Global have seen around $2.5 billion in outflows. That's part of a broader picture of capital flight from Chinese firms and individuals, with May alone seeing $27 billion flee. Patrick Mange, head of EM strategy at BNP Paribas Investment Partners says big yuan devaluation risks are actually small as China can easily tighten capital controls if needed. "This risk is in the mind of people, it is a longer-term risk which would impact this market." (Additional reporting by Karin Strohecker and Nicola Saminather in Singapore, graphics by Vincent Flasseur and Nigel Stephenson; Editing by Hugh Lawson) \|\| Billionaire VC Tim Draper wants 9 months and $40,000 to turn you into the next Steve Jobs, starting with military survival training: (Business Insider)Tim Draper. If you are between 18 and 28, famous billionaire venture capitalist Tim Draper has a plan to turn you into the "next Steve Jobs." That's why he launched aschool for young, would-beentrepreneurscalled Draper University of Heroes, he tells Business Insider, which he turned into a reality TV show last year. The show, "Startup U," failed to attract an audience, wasdropped from prime time, and there'sno word yetif ABC will renew it or not. But even if students won't appear on TV, Draper has a new plan for the school. He just added a new nine-month program to the curriculum, starting in the fall, which he views as an alternative to a master's degree. This is in addition to the school's classic two months of "hero training" offered since it launched three years ago. There's a reason he calls it hero training. Before you can become the next Steve Jobs, you have to learn to be tough. Navy SEAL tough. Hero training includes "four days of survival training with military teams. We have Navy SEAL special forces and Army Rangers that take them to real survival training," Draper says. (Athit Perawongmetha/REUTERS) Once students have spent those days foraging for food and shelter in the wilderness, the next step is city survival training, challenges that sound like what Donald Trump gave to contestants on his reality show, "The Apprentice." "There's another couple of days in the two months of hero training that's Urban Survival training," Draper says. Students have to go out and "sell something embarrassing, or go to San Francisco and come back with a job offer, on paper, in 24 hours." That job offer gives them the confidence that they can always quickly get a position, he says. As Draper says, "How to create a Steve Jobs? It's a way of thinking." The school admits people "that have that spark and we create an environment that ignites that spark." Once the students have learned how to survive, they are ready to learn about the tech industry — Draper U-style. The nine-month program will include learning about the newest, buzziest technologies. (Tim Neely/ABC Family)Tim Draper surrounded by students in the "Startup U" reality TV show. Although every class has a different curriculum, Draper says, students might explore Bitcoin — which Draper loves — learn design, and use the newest programming languages to build an app, or maybe a robot. They'll also draft a business plan, turn that plan into a pitch deck, and turn the pitch deck into a two-minute presentation and pitch it to "between 30 and 50 VCs," including himself, he says. He's dedicated a $1 million fund to invest seed money in startup ideas from the class, too, he says. But it's not a scholarship program. The two-month hero training costs $12,000. The full nine-month program costs $40,000, Draper tells us. Draper calls it an alternative to traditional school. That's important: This is not an accredited school. Students who finish the program do not earn an accredited degree. Just to compare, many accredited universities charge about $40,000 to earn a bona fide master's degree. Draper U has been controversial in its three years. While some students have posted glowingreviews of it on Yelp, some have given itbad reviews. Draper says, "We definitely get mixed reviews. Our training is not for everybody." AndThe Verge's Russell Brandom once called the school a BA in BS. But Draper points to the alumni success stories as proof of the school's value. Draper U has had over 500 alumni from 53 countries who have created 200 startups and landed a total of $22 million in funding, he says. He points to businesses like biomedical startup nVision and conference-tech firm Loopd as examples of alumni startups that got funding. Not that Draper is worried about controversy. He has come up witha plan to turn California into six states,offered to make a large charitable donation if people watched his reality TV show,and bought a huge stash of Bitcoin auctioned by the government after seizing black-market site Silk Road and is fond ofmaking large public bets. NOW WATCH:Meet the founder of a hot fintech startup that an old-line insurance company paid $250 million to buy More From Business Insider • This VC thinks Apple CEO Tim Cook is like 'human Ambien' • Go inside a venture capitalist's $26 million townhouse • The billionaire who wanted to split California into 6 states now has a crazy plan to give everyone $15,000 [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] 1 KOBO = 0.00001497 BTC = 0.0095 USD = 2.6814 NGN = 0.1476 ZAR = 0.9617 KES #Kobocoin 2016-06-27 17:00 pic.twitter.com/buKSnopbh9 \|\| In the last 10 mins, there were arb opps spanning 8 exchange pair(s), yielding profits ranging between $0.00 and $724.50 #bitcoin #btc \|\| 1 KOBO = 0.00001097 BTC = 0.0050 USD = 0.9945 NGN = 0.0740 ZAR = 0.5019 KES #Kobocoin 2016-05-09 12:00 pic.twitter.com/kmJUj8PRGN \|\| Hitbtc: BTC/EUR Vol.:$ 34,722(45.41 %) Price:$ 655.38 \| BTC/USD Vol.:$ 17,265(22.58 %) Price:$ 660.98 \| LTC/USD Vol.:$ 10,440(13.65 %... \|\| http://cubeminers.com SHA: 0.00 KH Scrypt: 92.95 MH x11: 13.88 MH #DigiCube #bitcoin #altcoinpic.twitter.com/tnhct45vUz \|\| #EuroCoin #EUC $ 0.000065 (4.87 %) 0.00000013 BTC (0.00 %) \|\| LIVE: Profit = $675.19 (8.43 %). BUY B19.39 @ $420.00 (#VirCurex). SELL @ $448.41 (#Bitfinex) #bitcoin #btc - http://www.projectcoin.org \|\| #BTA Price: Bittrex 0.00000896 BTC YoBit 0.00000751 BTC Bleutrade 0.00000888 BTC #BTAprice 2016-06-17 11:00 pic.twitter.com/9jxI4WHhdf \|\| #TrinityCoin #TTY $ 0.000013 (-0.25 %) 0.00000003 BTC (-0.00 %) \|\| $774.24 #bitfinex; $770.00 #bitstamp; $738.78 #btce; Prices & News: http://bit.ly/1VI6Yse #bitcoin #btc	Trend: no change \|\| Prices: 658.66, 683.66, 670.63, 677.33, 640.56, 666.52, 650.96, 649.36, 647.66, 664.55
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis] Not fully available. [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Commuters to pay with Bitcoin and crypto on Japanese subway: East Japan Railway Company is in talks with internet service provider IIJ over the implementation of a Bitcoin payment method for the Japanese subway, according to local media outlet ANN News . The plan is to allow customers to top off their contactless ‘Suica’ public transport card with Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies, which can then be used to access the subway. Japan Railways Group is also looking into the potential of creating its own cryptocurrency exchange that would allow efficient integration with the Suica card. The card will also be able to be used in shops within the subway stations, enhancing the use case of cryptocurrency as a payment solution. East Japan Railway Company is also looking into Mizuno Bank’s J-Coin, which has drawn parallels to JP Morgan’s native cryptocurrency JPM Coin. Japan is being forced to innovate when it comes to the usage of cash as it is currently lagging behind the likes of China and Europe, with just 20% of transactions in Japan taking place digitally – a stark contrast to China’s figure of 60%. The government is aiming to pivot towards a “cashless vision” that would see digital payments double to 40% by 2027. “According to the report ‘Cashless Vision,’ compiled by a panel of experts under the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, cashless systems at retail stores will save manpower at a time when Japan desperately needs to improve productivity amid a labor shortage and declining population,” reports the Japan Times . For more news, guides, and cryptocurrency analysis, click here . Japan Yahoo backs new cryptocurrency exchange By Sam Webb – March 29, 2019 The post Commuters to pay with Bitcoin and crypto on Japanese subway appeared first on Coin Rivet . \|\| Bitcoin And Ethereum Daily Price Forecast – Crypto Bulls Struggle To Break Free From Consolidation: Cryptocurrency market continues to trade range-bound in the global market today and nothing much has really changed in the last 24 hours. Crypto bulls are continuing their attempt to breach the upper level of price range limitations that is hindering the next level of sharp gains. Both Bitcoin and Ethereum saw multiple dead cat bounce each of which saw price breach critical resistance levels, however, this clearly shows that while bulls have some level of strength that enables them to hold onto ongoing rally, they clearly lack fundamental support that is strong enough to help push bulls above critical price levels. For the majority of the day, Bitcoin and all other major legacy crypto coins traded with positive bias across the day. Despite price action suggesting that bulls lacked the strength necessary to make a clear bullish breakout and sustain a positive price rally, gains from top crypto coins helped raise net worth of crypto assets currently circulating in the market to more than $130 billion USD which is the highest since February 24. As of writing this article, BTC/USD pair is trading at $3894.2 up by 0.61% on the day while ETH/USD pair is trading at $137.87 down by 0.61% on the day. Moving forward, the path with the least resistance is towards upside for both Bitcoin and Ethereum as both crypto coins show stability in the short term. When looking from a technical perspective, price action in hourly intra-day charts are well above 20, 50 & 100 SMA’s and momentum indicator Stochastic RSI is moving near a neutral level with slight towards oversold region which supports theory above that bitcoin is likely to trade positive in near term but has little chance for bullish breakout. For Ethereum, price in hourly charts is moving inline with 20, 50 & 100 SMA’s in one hour chart and above 20, 50 SMA’s but below 100 SMA line in 4-hour chart while Stochastic RSI is seeing the signal line well near oversold region which suggests that price action could be stable above $135 handle but has high resistance around $137.50 which needs to be scaled with stable rally for ETH to aim $140 handle in near future. Please let us know what you think in the comments below. Thisarticlewas originally posted on FX Empire • Crude Oil Price Update – Needs to Build Support Over $56.65 to Extend Rally • Gold Price Futures (GC) Technical Analysis – March 7, 2019 Forecast • GBP/USD Price Forecast – British pound pulls back • Gold Price Forecast – Gold markets finding support • S&P 500 Price Forecast – Stock markets find buyers at lower levels • Natural Gas Price Forecast – Natural gas markets soften \|\| Bitcoin and Ethereum Daily Price Forecast Major Cryptocoins Consolidate With Bullish Bias Post Corrective Price Rally: Cryptocurrency market is seeing all its major crypto coins trade positive post yesterdays corrective price rally. While headlines suggest that market bears are starting to fight for control, crypto bulls are still seeing positive price activity at the moment as fresh fund flows and healthy trading volume ahead of Ethereum network upgrade continues to underpin bulls from a fundamental perspective. Bitcoin and other 9 major legacy crypto coins which make up top 10 cryptocurrencies in terms of market volume are seeing positive price action with all assets up more than 0.50% by late European market hours. During the Asian and European market hours, Bitcoin and other legacy cryptocurrencies have managed to erase most of the loss incurred during yesterdays trading session. Crypto Bulls Positive On Headlines Influenced Momentum As trading session approaches the weekend, both bitcoin and ethereum are trading near psychological price levels a break above which is likely to influence a positive rally bringing in more fund flow to cryptocurrency market while also seeing an increase in overall trading volume. As of writing this article, BTCUSD pair is trading at $3995.8 up by 1.20% on the day, while ETHUSD pair is trading at $149.88 up by 2.69% on the day. Both pairs are trading rangebound with bullish bias in the broad market but lacks a clear directional bias and trigger that could favor a bullish breakout above critical price levels resulting in price rally stagnating just below psychological resistance levels. News hit the market that Bank of Japan had published a paper on central bank digital coin and while no update on when such a coin will be released by the bank has hit the market, Bank of Japan has yet to deny or confirm news of the release of the said crypto coin. Since false claims are mostly denied by Banks as soon as they learn of same, so far they have denied any works on cryptocurrency which suggests that work is likely in progress behind the scenes. Further, news hit the market that Bahrain is looking to issue a comprehensive regulation for cryptocurrency and blockchain products with the aim to lure capital inflows and secure a position of a major financial hub in the Middle East owing to increased adoption of technology in real-world usage and the fact that crypto assets currently make a major part of financial industry. These moves are expected to add more fundamental support and influence positive price rally in immediate and near future trading sessions. As the crypto market is currently experiencing a positive price rally which seems to be supported from a fundamental perspective, both Bitcoin and Ethereum are expected to continue trading in rangebound pattern with a bullish bias for rest of the day and maintain positive price rally across the weekend. Story continues Please let us know what you think in the comments below This article was originally posted on FX Empire More From FXEMPIRE: Natural Gas Price Forecast natural gas markets went sideways Silver Weekly Price Forecast Silver markets form a shooting star S&P 500 Weekly Price Forecast stock markets in resistance Silver Price Forecast Silver markets bounced on Friday USD/JPY Weekly Price Forecast US dollar struggles Natural Gas Price Prediction Prices Slip but Are Poised to Continue to Rise \|\| Bitcoin Price Looks North As Trading Volumes Hit 9-Month Highs: • Bitcoinwitnessedan inverse head-and-shoulders breakout on Monday and rose to $4,000 yesterday, confirming a bullish reversal on the daily chart. • The trend change is backed by a jump in trading volumes to levels last seen in May 2018. The rally, therefore, looks to have legs and December highs above $4,200 could come into play, albeit after a minor bout of consolidation or pullback, as the indicators on the 4-hour chart and daily charts are reporting overbought conditions. • A break below Monday’s low of $3,614 would invalidate the bullish setup, although that looks unlikely, as longer duration charts are beginning to align in favor of the bulls. Bitcoin (BTC) could revisit December highs above $4,200 in the near-term as the recent rally is backed by a surge in trading volumes. The leading cryptocurrency by market value is currently trading at $3,930 on Bitstamp, having clocked a 5.5-week high of $4,000 yesterday. The 20 percent appreciation witnessed over the last 12 days is accompanied by a 28.4 percent rise in daily trading volumes, according toCoinMarketCap. Cryptos ‘Not a Substitute’ for the Yellow Metal, Says World Gold Council Notably, total trading volumes across all exchanges jumped 40 percent to $9.91 billion on Monday,validatingBTC’s bullish breakout above $3,800. Further, investor interest in the cryptocurrency has increased post-breakout, with volumes rising further to $9.93 billion yesterday â the highest level since May 3, 2018. So, the recent rally appears to have substance and prices could rise towards $4,236 (Dec. 24 high) in the near-term. Both the inverse head-and-shoulders breakout and the triangle breakout seen in the above chart indicate a bearish-to-bullish trend change. Funds in Short Positions on Bitcoin Drop to 6-Month Low The 5- and 10-day moving averages (MAs) are trending north, indicating a short-term bullish setup. The 50-day MA has bottomed out (shed bearish bias) and the 100-day MA hurdle has been scaled. While the path of least resistance is to the higher side, a rise toward the Dec. 24 high of $4,236 may not happen immediately. The 14-day relative strength index (RSI) has moved into overbought territory above 70.00, while the long upper shadow attached to the previous dayâs candle is sending a similar message. On the 4-hour chart, the RSI is reporting overbought conditions and has diverged in favor of the bears (does not mirror the higher price highs) However, the stacking order of the 50-candle MA, above the 100-candle MA, above the 200-candle MA is a classic bullish indicator. So, pullbacks, if any, could be short-lived â especially as the longer duration charts are looking increasingly bullish. BTC’s current 3-day candle looks set to close well above $3,711. That wouldadd credenceto the bullish outside reversal candle created in three-days to Feb. 8 and bring potential for a move towards $4,429 (38.2 percent Fibonacci retracement of the sell-off from November highs to December lows). Supporting that scenario are a bullish crossover between the 5- and 10-day MAs, confirmed earlier this month, and an RSI of 51.00. Disclosure:Â The author holds no cryptocurrency assetsÂ at the time of writing. BitcoinÂ imageÂ via Shutterstock;Âcharts byÂTrading View • Bitcoin Price Crosses Key Long-Term Hurdle For First Time in 4 Months • Bullish Sentiment for Bitcoin As Long Bets Near 11-Month Highs \|\| Is It Time to be Cautious With Utilities ETFs?: This article was originally published on ETFTrends.com. The utilities sector remains scorching hot. The Utilities Select Sector SPDR ( XLU ) , the largest utilities ETF by assets, traded higher again Tuesday, extending its year-to-date gain to nearly 11%. Underscoring the strength in the utilities sector, nine ETFs tracking the sector, including XLU, hit all-time highs on Tuesday. With inflation relatively under control and benchmark Treasury yields still stuck around 3%, utilities remain attractive for yield hunters. Moreover, after the recent bout of volatility, investors are still still looking at the bond-esque sector as a safe way to remain the game and generate some extra dividends on the side. Have you signed up for the ETF Trends Virtual Summit on Wednesday, April 17? It's complimentary for financial advisors (earn up to 5 CE Credits)! Register now to learn about alternative and thematic tools to better diversify client portfolios. In other words, being long utilities this year has been a safe, profitable bet, but some market observers see reasons to be concerned with the group, particularly with earnings multiples rising. “Utilities are trading at 18.65 times earnings, just under its all-time high of 19.17 times earnings in 2017. The sector's dividend yield of 3.42 percent is considered historically low, too,” according to CNBC . Expert Views In an interview with CNBC, Art Hogan, National Securities chief market strategist, expressed some concern about the rising multiples and low dividend yield on the utilities sector. "Their dividend yield is actually too low for an entry point," he said. "I'd be careful with the valuations." The utilities sector is one of the most rate-sensitive groups in the U.S. equity market, meaning the group stands to benefit the longer the Federal Reserve holds off on its next interest rate hike. Better yet would be an interest rate cut, something some bond market observers believe is a possibility late in 2019. Story continues Rivals to XLU include the Vanguard Utilities ETF ( VPU ) , Fidelity MSCI Utilities Index ETF ( FUTY ) , iShares U.S. Utilities ETF ( IDU ) and the Reaves Utilities ETF ( UTES ) . Those funds also hit record highs on Tuesday. While the utilities sector is soaring, investor appetite for the group has been benign. Year-to-date, VPU and FUTY have combined inflows of about $440 million while XLU has seen modest departures. For more on core investing strategies, please visit our Tactical Allocation Channel . POPULAR ARTICLES AND RESOURCES FROM ETFTRENDS.COM SPY ETF Quote VOO ETF Quote QQQ ETF Quote VTI ETF Quote JNUG ETF Quote Top 34 Gold ETFs Top 34 Oil ETFs Top 57 Financials ETFs Using Merger Arbitrage as a Hedge Against Market Volatility A Better Way to Determine Risk Exposure for Growth ETF Investors Report Findings Highlight Fake Bitcoin Trading on Unregulated Exchanges How to Manage A Mature Bull Market With Macro-Themed ETF Strategies In the Know: Building a Low Cost, Defensive Portfolio READ MORE AT ETFTRENDS.COM > \|\| Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey has bought his first Trezor hardware wallet using Bitcoin: Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey has purchased his first cryptocurrency hardware wallet using Bitcoin. Dorsey posted a tweet yesterday stating: “Just bought a @Trezor hardware wallet with Bitcoin through @CashApp.” According to Dorsey, he used his company’s own Cash App to purchase his Trezor wallet with Bitcoin – emphasising his previous sentiments that he has become an avid supporter of Bitcoin and the crypto movement. Dorsey has been making waves in the crypto space recently. He recently appeared on the Joe Rogan podcast where he spoke about how he believes Bitcoin will become the internet’s “native currency,” while also promoting Square’s Cash App. Through the Cash App, users are able to purchase Bitcoin and use it for payment at participating stores, something Dorsey himself has alluded to doing before . Commenting on the Cash App, Dorsey revealed: “The reason we enabled the purchasing of Bitcoin within the app is we wanted to learn about the technology and we wanted to put ourselves out there and take some risks.” Just bought a ⁦ @Trezor ⁩ hardware wallet with bitcoin through @CashApp ⁩ pic.twitter.com/TBYn1q5XzI — jack (@jack) March 7, 2019 Trezor is one of the world’s leading hardware wallet product developers. A hardware wallet is a type of storage for cryptocurrency. Unlike mobile or desktop wallets, a hardware wallet remains offline – disconnected from the internet. This provides additional security since it leaves less room for hackers to compromise the device. Functionally, a hardware wallet is not dissimilar from an external storage device. Users are able to plug it in and out of their computer devices as needed. Story continues A hardware wallet is not solely designed for storing crypto – it also stores private keys, which helps prevent them from getting into the wrong hands. Interested in reading more crypto-related Jack Dorsey news? Discover more about the conflicting opinions surrounding the Twitter CEO here on Coin Rivet. The post Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey has bought his first Trezor hardware wallet using Bitcoin appeared first on Coin Rivet . \|\| Canadian Regulators Want Laboratoire Blockchain Investors to Come Forward: Quebec's financial regulator has frozen the assets of a blockchain company and called for investors to contact them to help with the investigation. Canadian regulators have frozen the assets and activities of a blockchain firm and instructed investors to step forward. The AMF (Autorité des marchés financiers) issued a statement described as a “call to investors” regarding the company in question, Laboratoire Blockchain Inc, as well as three affiliated individuals. Following the recent announcement that the Canadian federal government is auditing dozens of Bitcoin users , Quebec province is cracking down on activity in the cryptocurrency and blockchain industries. Laboratoire Blockchain Inc The French-Canadian blockchain firm stands accused of violating securities laws. Three men are named in the injunctions: Jonathan Forte, Benjamin Forte, and Nicolas Barbasch-Bouchard. The three defendants are prohibited from promoting and transacting in securities as per the initial court injunctions and are also unable to legally sell off or exchange any existing cryptocurrency funds, mining hardware, or related equipment or assets. The equivalent of an asset freezing, the move indicates potentially heavy penalties. The Financial Markets further ordered the company to remove all online promotional materials advertising the company on Facebook and other social media platforms and websites to prevent further investment activity. Investors Issued April 1st Deadline The AMF notes that it is currently conducting an investigation into this case. The regulator asks all people who invested money in Laboratoire Blockchain Inc or by using the services of any of the defendants to contact Sarah Abi-Khalil via 1 877 525-0337, 2644, not later than April 1, 2019. The AMF asked investors to contact them by April 1st, but it is unclear what the exact goal of this is. First and foremost, it’s likely that the regulator simply wants to collect information in the firm being investigated. Read the full story on CCN.com . \|\| Apple and Amazon could be the next to disrupt ETFs: Are tech titans about to enter the world of ETFs? Given that Alibaba's BABA Ant Financial Group is already the world's largest money market fund, Dave Nadig from ETF.com says it's not such a far-out idea. As investing becomes more automated, tech companies like Amazon AMZN , Apple AAPL and Alphabet GOOGL could bring their expertise to an industry stymied by distribution challenges, he suggested at the Inside ETFs conference in Hollywood, Florida, earlier this month . Ric Edelman , founder of Edelman Financial Engines, says that it's "inevitable" that one of these big companies will enter the space in the next five years. "There's too much money there," Edelman said on CNBC's " ETF Edge " on Monday. "And as soon as one of them does, they all do." Tom Lydon, editor-in-chief of ETFTrends.com, agrees on the likelihood that tech companies will enter the financial services industry in the coming years. "It will probably be in the form of an acquisition," Lydon said on "ETF Edge" on Monday. "I look at Softbank. Softbank has got all the data in the world. They know if I go to the gym, they know my prescriptions, they know I like red wine, they know I like 80s music, because they are aggregating all the data there. They've got a $100 billion venture fund. I'd bet on a company like that." Brand and reputation could also help tech companies convince consumers to trust them with financial products, says Edelman. "Everybody hates the financial services industry. We hate insurance companies, credit card companies, banks and brokerage firms," he explained. "We're increasingly hating Facebook so I think there might be a reputational challenge there if [CEO Mark] Zuckerberg decided to buy a bank, but I don't know that Google would have that challenge and so I think there is a huge opportunity, especially with the younger generation. I wouldn't at all be surprised to see them one day enter the space." More From CNBC • A bitcoin ETF is inevitable, finance expert Ric Edelman says • Bitcoin ETF 'virtually certain,' finance expert Ric Edelman says • These are the biggest trends from Inside ETFs \|\| Coinbase Pro Adds Support for XRP: Coinbase Pro, the professional offering ofUnited States-based crypto trading platform andwalletserviceCoinbase, is adding support forRipple’sXRPtoken. Coinbase announced the development in an officialblog poston Feb. 25. Per the announcement Coinbase Pro will now accept deposits of XRP for a minimum of 12 hours before enabling full trading. Coinbase notes that it will first establish sufficient liquidity on the platform, opening trading pairs in U.S. dollars, euro and Bitcoin (BTC) in phases. Full trading of XRP will be available to customers in the U.S.,Canada, theEuropean Union, theUnited Kingdom,SingaporeandAustralia. Coinbase may expand its services to other countries at a later time. XRP trading will go through four stages, which include “transfer-only,” “post-only,” “limit-only,” and “full trading. The first two stages will enable users to transfer XRP to Coinbase Pro accounts and post limit orders, the subsequent two will allow customers to match limit orders and fully trade with XRP. Over the past several months, Coinbase Pro has been actively expanding its catalogue of tokens supported on the platform. In August 2018, itaddedsupport for Ethereum Classic (ETC),followedthe the Basic Attention Token (BAT) and privacy oriented altcoinZcash(ZEC) in November. Support for the aforementioned tokens was later expanded to Coinbase’s retail platform Coinbase.com and its mobile app. The addition of XRP to Coinbase has been long-awaited by the crypto community. In January 2018, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrongquashedrumors that the exchange was added support for XRP in the short term. Following Armstrong’s announcement, the market value of XRP crashed from from over $148 billion to $126 billion. At press time, the token is trading at $0.338, up over 11 percent on the day and 5.4 percent on the week according to data fromCoinMarketCap. • Report: Ripple Violates Coinbase’s Listing Rules • Coinbase Users Can Now Withdraw BSV to External Wallets • Fintech Startup SoFi to Roll Out Crypto Trading Via Partnership With Coinbase • Stablecoins to Play Key Role in Crypto Adoption, Says New Report \|\| Crypto Market Turns Bearish; Bitcoin Drops Further Away From Key $4,000 Level: Investing.com – Bitcoin continued to back away from the key $4,000 level on Tuesday morning in Asia as investors focused on regulatory developments in the crypto space in the absence of a clear directional driver. Bitcoin slid1.18% to $3,940.9 by 12:39 AM ET (04:39 AM GMT). Meanwhile, Ethereum lost 1.31% to $134.38, XRP was down 1.52% to $0.3014 and Litecoin slid 1.89% to $58.989. Finland reportedly passed a new rule that will provide legal status for crypto assets. A new Act on Virtual Currency Service Providers is expected to take effect in November. According to the new law, anyone offering virtual currencies in Finland will be required to register with the Finnish Financial Supervisory Authority and will be subject to obligations regarding safeguarding client funds and marketing. The Finnish parliament also voted for an amendment to the Act on Detecting and Preventing Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing. This means all crypto-related services will be subject to Anti-Money Laundering laws. In other news, Argentina was advised to leverage cryptocurrencies to improve the country’s economy. Tim Draper, an American venture capital investor, reportedly spoke to Argentina’s President Mauricio Macri about using emerging technologies such as blockchain and crypto to address problems in the country’s economy. "We were speaking of Bitcoin and the devaluation of the peso, and I proposed a bet: if the peso would be valued more than Bitcoin, I would double my investment that I was making for the country. But if Bitcoin gained a higher rate than the peso, they would have to declare it as a national currency. That would be a perfect decision, as there's a lack of confidence in this coin,” Draper said, according to crypto news outlet Cointelegraph. Related Articles Ethereum Market Overview: ETH/USD bulls fail at $140 mark as whales move $4 million in the last 24 hours BCH/USD price prediction: Bulls have clear path till $180 - Confluence Detector XRP/USD Technical Analysis: Market faces upcoming bearish sentiment [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] NEW TRADE Exchange: #Binance #BATBTC Buy Date : 2019-02-20 19:37:07 Sell Date : 2019-02-26 00:39:34 Buy : 0.00003601 Sell : 0.00003654 Profit : 1.47% #BAT #bitcoin #projectxonline #probot #trading #tradebot #btc #cryptocurrency #blockchain #crypto #altcoin \|\| Cotización del Bitcoin Cash: 144 20.€ \| -0.55% \| Kraken \| 25/03/19 09:00 #BitcoinCash #Kraken #BCHEUR \|\| Top 5 #cryptocurrencies Alert Time: 2019-02-15 04:00:49 #Bitcoin: $3,616.619 #Ethereum: $121.541 #XRP: $0.302 #Litecoin: $41.665 #EOS: $2.758 #btc #btcnews #binance #trading $EURhttp://www.coincaps.ai \|\| 03-15 08:00(GMT) #SPINDLE price $SPD (BTC) Yobit :0.00000011 HitBTC :0.00000011 LiveCoin:0.00000012 $SPD (JPY) Yobit :0.05 HitBTC :0.05 LiveCoin:0.05 \|\| 2019/04/05 00:30 #Binance 格安コイン 1位 #NPXS 0.00000013 BTC(0.07円) 2位 #BTT 0.00000016 BTC(0.09円) 3位 #DENT 0.00000019 BTC(0.11円) 4位 #BCN 0.00000022 BTC(0.12円) 5位 #HOT 0.00000025 BTC(0.14円) #仮想通貨 #アルトコイン #草コイン \|\| Important distinction which most people in "crypto" don't get. No digital currency can be a competitive method of payment because decentralization sucks for efficiency. They're all trying to be a base money but only BTC can credibly claim to be neutral & immutable, so good luck! https://t.co/5pO6HsvjfW \|\| Bitcoin - BTC Price: $3,960.97 Change in 1h: +0.16% Market cap: $69,633,222,609.00 Ranking: 1 #Bitcoin #BTC \|\| Apr 04, 2019 18:32:00 UTC \| 4,874.70$ \| 4,344.80€ \| 3,729.40£ \| #Bitcoin #btc pic.twitter.com/hXYWlogrVx \|\| #Bitcoin $3,609.06 v #BitcoinCash $257.33 (BTC/BCH 14.0), Avg Transaction fee for #Bitcoin ~$0.27 v #BitcoinCash ~$0.00 - 2019/02/15 18:00JST \|\| Cotización del Bitcoin Cash: 112 20.€ \| -2.77% \| Kraken \| 27/02/19 22:00 #BitcoinCash #Kraken #BCHEUR	Trend: no change \|\| Prices: 5198.90, 5289.77, 5204.96, 5324.55, 5064.49, 5089.54, 5096.59, 5167.72, 5067.11, 5235.56
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2019-07-24] BTC Price: 9811.93, BTC RSI: 43.86 Gold Price: 1422.80, Gold RSI: 65.35 Oil Price: 55.88, Oil RSI: 44.13 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] CabbageTech Crypto Scheme Operator Pleads Guilty to Wire Fraud: 46-year-old New York resident Patrick McDonnell admitted to stealing funds obtained from his clients instead of investing them in cryptocurrency , Bloomberg reports on June 21. Per the report, McDonnell — who calls himself the “coyote of Wall Street” — pleaded guilty to wire fraud on Friday in federal court in Brooklyn. He allegedly declared: “I claimed to invest it in virtual currency and spent it on personal expenses.” McDonnell attracted investors to his firm CabbageTech by claiming on social media to have traded over $50 million worth of bitcoin ( BTC ) for thousands of clients. Bloomberg reports that, instead of investing in the interest of his clients, McDonnell appropriated the funds for his own use and spent at least $194,000. U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Richard P. Donoghue unsealed a nine-count indictment against McDonnell on March 26, the same day as his arrest. Donoghue stated in a press release: “As alleged, the defendant defrauded investors by making false promises and sending them fraudulent balance statements, hiding the fact that he was stealing their money for his personal use.” Per the terms of a plea agreement, McDonnell will reportedly serve between two and 2 1/2 years in prison. CabbageTech has been permanently barred for fraud after the United States Commodities Futures Trading Commission ( CFTC ) won a court order in August of last year. Earlier this month, the CTFC launched an enforcement action against a reportedly fraudulent $147 million bitcoin investment scheme. The commission claims that United Kingdom -based Control-Finance Ltd defrauded more than 1,000 investors to launder at least 22,858 bitcoins. Related Articles: US Authorities Seek Extradition of Alleged Crypto Scammer Riviera Beach City Council Agrees to Pay $600,000 in BTC to Ransomware Attackers US CFTC Brings Action Against $147 Million Bitcoin Investment Scheme UK Financial Watchdog Blacklists Clones of Two Major Financial Firms \|\| Buy These Cryptocurrency Stocks to Play This Latest Bitcoin Surge: Back in December, it seemed that bitcoin was headed for oblivion. But the death of the cryptocurrency has been greatly exaggerated. cryptocurrency stocks Source: Shutterstock During the past six months or so, bitcoin has surged from $3,100 to $8,700. In fact, there was a doubling in just the past two months. Yes, bitcoin seems like a red-hot IPO, such as Beyond Meat (NASDAQ: BYND ) or Zoom Video Communications (NASDAQ: ZM ). OK then, so why all the bullishness with bitcoin investing? InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips Well, for the most part, volatility is natural with this asset. Because there is a limited supply of coins, it does not take too much demand to drive up the price. 7 Stocks to Sell Amid an Escalating Trade War A Closer Look at Bitcoin There are signs that institutions are starting to get more exposure to bitcoin. Part of this appears to be the case with the popularity of the Bitcoin Trust, which is generally for accredited investors . There has also been a surge of interest on bitcoin futures on the CME Group (NASDAQ: CME ), and the New York Stock Exchange is testing its own futures product. But there is also validation from major financial institutions, such as Fidelity, as well as mega Internet companies like Facebook (NASDAQ: FB ). It looks like the social media giant is exploring the use of its own cryptocurrency, say for next year. Even the trade tensions between the US and China may be having an impact. This is because investors in China may see cryptocurrencies as a way to avoid a weakening currency and capital controls. So yes, there have been lots of catalysts for bitcoin. But then again, how long can the rally last? It’s certainly tough to tell. But the momentum appears to be fairly solid. So this bull move may be more than temporary. For investors, there is an interesting way to play this – that is, by focusing on cryptocurrency stocks. To this end, you could look at companies like IBM (NYSE: IBM ) and Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT ) that have blockchain applications. Although, it’s important to keep in mind that the technology is a small part of the overall business. Story continues Instead, when it comes to cryptocurrency stocks, I think a better approach is to look at those companies that develop chips that help with the mining of bitcoin. So let’s take a look at two: Cryptocurrency Stocks: Advanced Micro Devices A few years ago, Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ: AMD ) was considered an afterthought. The company was undercapitalized and was not innovating. When Lisa Su came on board, she made critical changes that transformed AMD. She aggressively cut costs and outsourced manufacturing. She also was smart to double down on creating chips for advanced gaming, the data center and PCs. But these technologies were also well-suited for mining of cryptocurrencies. The GPUs (Graphics Processing Units) can process huge amounts of data cost-effectively. But the technology is not just for bitcoin. It can also be useful for blockchain, which is likely to a secular growth market. Even when the bitcoin business soared, Su did not give up. She has continued to focus on the market. In other words, as things start to heat up again, AMD should be poised to benefit. Cryptocurrency Stocks: Nvidia Although, when it comes to cryptocurrency stocks, Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA ) may actually be a better option. The stock price has gotten hammered. Since September, the shares have gone from $281 to $160. The company is the dominant player for GPUs, having pioneered the technology in the 1990s. For example, during the first quarter of 2018, Nvidia’s sales due to cryptocurrency mining was a hefty $289 million – which was a nice driver for growth. Nvidia has other advantages to consider. NVDA is positioned nicely to benefit from the megatrend of AI. The company estimates that the market is about $30 billion. But NVDA has also agreed to pay nearly $7 billion for Mellanox Technologies (NASDAQ: MLNX ). The company is a leader in internet connections for high-speed computers. No doubt, this is another key piece of technology for the data center and AI. Tom Taulli is the author of High-Profit IPO Strategies , All About Commodities and All About Short Selling . Follow him on Twitter at @ttaulli . As of this writing, he did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities. More From InvestorPlace 4 Top American Penny Pot Stocks (Buy Before June 21) 7 Stocks to Sell Amid an Escalating Trade War 5 REITs to Buy While They're Dirt Cheap The Only 3 Marijuana Stocks You Need to Own Compare Brokers The post Buy These Cryptocurrency Stocks to Play This Latest Bitcoin Surge appeared first on InvestorPlace . \|\| May Was Best Month for CME Bitcoin Futures Volume Since 2017: May was the best month for derivatives giant CME’s bitcoin futures volume since its 2017 launch, as nearly 300,000 contracts were traded in the 31-day period. Average daily volume (ADV) reached more than 13,600 contracts, equal to $515 million notional value or 68,000 equivalent bitcoin, up 27 percent when compared to the month of April. On May 13, bitcoin futures traded a record single-day volume of 33,677 contracts (168,000 equivalent bitcoin or $1.3 billion notional value) while on May 28, BTC hit a recordopen interestof 5,190 contracts. It may be a sign that institutional interest is on the rise, with 223 trading accounts added in May, the most since January 2018 according to research conducted by CME Group. Bitcoin Price Eyes Stronger Recovery Rally After Bounce to $8K As can be seen on the chart above May marked a 27 percent increase in volume on the month prior and a 73.69 percent increase on March, 2019’s volumes, hinting at gradual increasing interest in bitcoin futures. Volume and open interest, however, are two distinctly different things. Bitcoin and Gold Prices Diverge Again, Extending 5-Month Correlation While volume is the number of contracts traded in a day, after each session, the figure starts over at zero. Open interest, on the other hand, is the number of contracts that have been created and that are open. As can be seen above, futures were first listed on the CME at the height of the bull market in December 2017. Futures trading activity, however, remained dull through 2018, courtesy of the crypto bear market. Still, the data suggests interest is building, suggesting more firms are using the tool to manage risk or else speculate on the crypto markets. Disclosure:The author holds no cryptocurrency at the time of writing CME director of equity products Tim McCourt via Flickr • Bitcoin Struggles to Build Momentum After Defense of $7.4K Price Support • Bitcoin’s 2019 Price Run Driven By Real Transaction Growth, Analysis Shows \|\| 1,000 Bitcoin miners have been seized in Iran: Iranian authorities have seized around 1,000 bitcoin mining machines from two former factories, following an increase in electricity consumption, BBCreports. "Two of these bitcoin farms have been identified, with a consumption of one megawatt," Arash Navab, an electricity official, was quoted as saying in the report. Demand for power reportedly rose by 7% in June and cryptocurrency mining was thought to be the main reason. Earlier this week, there werereportsthat cryptocurrency miners in Iran will be detected and face power cuts. Mostafa Rajabi Mashhadi, an official from the country's state-run power generation and transmission company Tavanir, said that it is illegal to use the national grid for cryptocurrency mining.Bitcoin is increasingly being seen as a means to store wealth after U.S. dollar and gold by Iranian, per the BBC report. \|\| Major Coins See Red Following Reports That FOMO Fueled May’s Rally: Thursday, June 6 — Bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH) are trending down slightly following the slump from the recent rally. Top cryptocurrencies are seeing a mix of ups and downs, according to data from Coin360. Market visualization courtesy ofCoin360 After its surge to $9,000 last week, BTC is down by 1.67% on the day, and is trading at just $7,676 according toCoinMarketCap. The leading cryptocurrency has fallen in market capitalization by about $10 billion since May 30, with a market cap of approximately $136 billion at press time. Bitcoin 7-day price chart. Source:CoinMarketCap Top altcoinETHis currently down by 1.8% and is trading at $241.77 at press time. With the recent market adjustments, ETH currently has a market cap approximately 19% the size of Bitcoin’s. Ether 7-day price chart. Source:CoinMarketCap Ripple’s tokenXRP, however, is trending up by 2.32% on the day, and is trading at $0.408. XRP 7-day price chart. Source:CoinMarketCap The total market capitalization of all cryptocurrencies is currently at $243 billion. 24-hour trade volume is $62.3 billion. Total market capitalization of all cryptocurrencies 24-hour price chart. Source:CoinMarketCap Looking at thedataprovided by MarketWatch, gold is in the green, trading at around $1,342.40, up by 0.66% on the day. Oil, on the other hand, is down by .21% on the day, trading around $51.57 at press time. Aside from oil, however, other traditionalassetslisted on the website remain in the green. As previouslyreportedon Cointelegraph, investment advisory group San Francisco Open Exchange (SFOX) released a volatility report on June 6, saying that the crypto market has transitioned from “mildly bullish” to “uncertain.” SFOX cautioned that the bullish growth in May could have been unsustainable growth due to investor FOMO (fear of missing out). In the report, SFOX conjectured that bitcoin’s major rally on May 13 might have been the result of the on-going trade war between theUnited StatesandChina. It also noted that the “flash crash” on May 17 may have been the result of a sale on cryptocurrency exchangeBitstamp, in which 5,000 BTC was sold significantly below market value at $6,200. • Bitcoin Analyst Says BTC Could Reach $25,000 by End of 2019 • Ex-Bitmain CEO Jihan Wu Set to Launch Crypto OTC Platform Next Month: Report • Bitcoin Holds Over $7,800 as US Stock Market Sees Minor Uptrend • Bitcoin Continues to See Negative Corrections After Breaking $9,000, US Stocks Tumble \|\| Bitcoin Price Back Above $11,000 as Dip 'Consistent' With Parabolic Bull Run: Bitcoin ( BTC ) corrected as low as $10,380 before rebounding above $11,000 on June 27 as commentators remain highly bullish about the markets potential. Market visualization Market visualization courtesy of Coin360 Data from Coin360 showed the bitcoin price dipping down from recent highs of $13,800 in a pullback many had anticipated. BTC/USD gained rapidly throughout this week and last, adding thousands of dollars over several days before resistance at $14,000 finally checked the speed of the growth. Estimates had said the pair could go as high as $16,000 before reversing, with Cointelegraph reporting on Thursday that breaking the $13,800 barrier could now prove significant. At press time, BTC/USD traded around $11,280. According to an increasing number of analysts, the losses seen over the past 24 hours are not only healthy, but reflect previous patterns of price behavior. Bitcoin 7-day price chart Bitcoin 7-day price chart. Source: Coin360 A 20%-30% pullback would not be surprising and very consistent with bitcoins recent bull-market pullbacks, Robert Sluymer, managing director and technical strategist at Fundstrat Global Advisors, said in a note to clients quoted by ratings agency Weiss Ratings . Crypto investor and trader Josh Rager went further, suggesting the roughly 20% dip this week could form a new, less volatile pattern for bitcoin. 18% pullback might be the new 30% pullback we're expecting, he summarized on Twitter , comparing this year to the last bull markets top in December 2017. Weiss was more bearish, arguing a more intense reversal was still to come. Altcoins meanwhile continued to lick their wounds after bitcoins downward trend saw most tokens hemorrhage value. A look at the top twenty cryptocurrencies by market cap sees leader ethereum ( ETH ) back below $300 on 6.4% daily losses after rising as high as $350. Ether 7-day price chart Ether 7-day price chart. Source: Coin360 Most others behaved similarly, with tron ( TRX ) and bitcoin cash ( BCH ) the worst performers on 10.5% losses. Related Articles: Bitcoin Breaks $200 Billion Market Cap For the First Time in 17 Months Bitcoin Holds $9,100 Support While Top 20 Coins Trade Sideways Bitcoin Hover Over $11,800 as Top Cryptos See Gains Price Analysis 28/06: BTC, ETH, XRP, BCH, LTC, EOS, BNB, BSV, ADA, TRX \|\| Latest Bitcoin Cash price and analysis (BCH to USD): Bitcoin Cash (BCH) is currently recovering from a substantial dip that saw its price plummet from about $440 last week to $389 today, representing an 11% drop. At the time of writing, price seems to have levelled off and is now consolidating. Let’s take a look at the latest BCH price action. Looking at the chart above, we can clearly see BTC has broken through some important resistance barriers. Bitcoin Cash broke the $330 level around its 200-day EMA in early May, and the 20-day EMA has now moved above the 200-day EMA – a clear bullish signal. Moreover, volumes have remained strong since mid-May, helping BCH to break key levels and find support initially around $360 and later around $400. There has since been some sell pressure that has taken price down about 11%, but it seems most likely that this is just momentary. If order books stay on the side of buyers, which will become increasingly difficult the more price goes up, we could see BCH climb past the $440 resistance level soon. On the contrary, if price continues to drop, I argue it will find great support close to $360. Still, be aware we may experience close to 60% drops, as this did happen in a similar situation during 2015 prior to the last massive bull run. For the time being, I expect BCH to settle above the $440 level with minimal hassle, once Bitcoin gets a push. There is a high probability price will accumulate for a few more days/weeks before making a move upwards. Safe trades! BCH fundamentals I recently spoke with Bitcoin Cash’s strongest advocate, Roger Ver, and discussed the most recent developments on the horizon for BCH. You can find all the details here , but the most juicy news seems to be the recent spike in adoption due to the implementation of smart contracts. Roger, like myself, believes key components for mass adoption are speed and flexibility. What Bitcoin Cash Oracles offers is a way for any user to easily deploy an “escrow” transaction that can be used to trade globally – without the hassle of trusting the other party. Story continues I personally think these “trade escrows” will be key in terms of adoption, especially for work-related tasks. In a way, they do enable milestone-based funding, which may be the new and better way of conducting ICOs instead of simply creating an extra layer of complexity with STOs that require KYC and accreditation – something that goes against what we should be promoting within the crypto ecosystem. Current live BCH pricing information and interactive charts are available on our site 24 hours a day. The ticker bar at the bottom of every page on our site has the latest BCH price. Pricing is also available in a range of different currency equivalents: US Dollar – BCHtoUSD British Pound Sterling – BCHtoGBP Japanese Yen – BCHtoJPY Euro – BCHtoEUR Australian Dollar – BCHtoAUD Russian Rouble – BCHtoRUB Bitcoin – BCHtoBTC About Bitcoin Cash Bitcoin Cash was born out of the idea of making Bitcoin more practical for small, day-to-day payments. In May 2017, Bitcoin payments took about four days unless a fee was paid, which was proportionately too large for small transactions. A change to the code was implemented and Bitcoin Cash was born on 1st August 2017. More Bitcoin Cash news and information If you want to find out more information about Bitcoin Cash or cryptocurrencies in general, then use the search box at the top of this page. Here’s an article to get you started: Kraken launches Bitcoin Cash and Ripple margin trading By Scott Thompson – June 11, 2019 As with any investment, it pays to do some homework before you part with your money. The prices of cryptocurrencies are volatile and go up and down quickly. This page is not recommending a particular currency or whether you should invest or not. You may be interested in our range of cryptocurrency guides along with the latest cryptocurrency news . The post Latest Bitcoin Cash price and analysis (BCH to USD) appeared first on Coin Rivet . \|\| U.S.-based clearing house opens crypto trading platform for brokers and advisors: Apex Clearing Corporation, the U.S.-based clearing and custody house, has launched a cryptocurrency trading platform for broker-dealers and financial advisors to help their clients invest in cryptocurrencies more easily. The firm announced the news Thursday, saying that the Apex Crypto platform allows moving assets from a traditional investment account "in just a few clicks", opening and funding new accounts "in minutes" as compared to weeks it takes traditionally. The crypto platform currently supports four cryptocurrencies - bitcoin (BTC), bitcoin cash (BCH), ether (ETH) and litecoin (LTC), according to the announcement. Apex said the platform is currently accessible in 40 U.S. states and the District of Columbia, with additional states expected to join in the future. "The interest and demand for cryptocurrency continues to rise," said Edward Haravon, chief operating officer at Apex Crypto. Apex's client, discount stock brokerage firm SogoTrade, has already rolled out the crypto platform to its U.S.-based clients and is planning to expand it for international clients in "the near future." Apex further said that its crypto platform also allows clients to meet legal and regulatory guidelines by holding crypto assets in separate accounts. \|\| The Crypto Daily – The Movers and Shakers 01/07/19: The Bears fought back at the end of the month. Bitcoin slid by 9.33% on Sunday. Following on from a 3.38% loss on Saturday, Bitcoin ended the week down 0.92% at $10,809. The Sunday reversal left Bitcoin up 26.7% for the month of June. Range-bound through the early hours, Bitcoin struck an early intraday high $12,234 before hitting reverse. Falling short of the first major resistance level at $12,390.33, Bitcoin slid to a late afternoon low $10,889. The sell-off saw Bitcoin fall through the first major support level at $11,397.33 and 23.6% FIB of $11,275. Coming within range of the second major support level at $10,874.67, Bitcoin recovered to $11,400 levels before sliding back. The late pullback saw Bitcoin fall through the first major support level, 23.6% FIB, and second major support level at $10,874.67 to an intraday low $10,668. The Sunday sell-off saw Bitcoin’s market cap fall back to sub-$200bn levels after having hit a June high $245.13bn on Thursday. The Rest of the Pack Across the rest of the top 10 cryptos, it was a sea of red across the crypto-board. Bitcoin Cash ABC led the way down on the day, sliding by 10.4%. The rest of the majors were close behind, however. Binance Coin fell by 9.9%, with Bitcoin Cash SV falling by 9.1%. Things were not much better for Stellar’s Lumen (-8.87%), EOS (-8.85%), Litecoin (-8.4%) and Ethereum (-8.31%). The best performer on the day was Ripple’s XRP, which fell by just 7.43%. For the week, EOS led the way down, sliding by 20.76%. Bitcoin Cash SV (-18.39%), Ripple’s XRP (-16.19%), Binance Coin (-13.81%) and Litecoin (-10.68%) all saw heavy losses. Bucking the trend was Stellar’s Lumen that gained 7.19%. In spite of the weekly gain, Stellar’s Lumen ended the month of June with a 20.7% loss. Joining Stellar’s Lumen in the red for June were EOS (-32.42%), Bitcoin Cash ABC (-10.5%), Ripple’s XRP (-9.88%) and Binance Coin (-2.86%). Bucking the trend in June, alongside Bitcoin, were Ethereum (+8.6%) and Litecoin (+6.65%). Story continues The moves through Sunday saw Bitcoin’s dominance fall back to 61% levels. Sunday’s reversal left the total crypto market cap at $324.83bn, down from Thursday’s high $386.7bn. In spite of the $60bn drop, the market cap remained well above $273bn levels seen at the start of the month. This Morning, At the time of writing, Bitcoin was up by 1.49% to $10,970. A bullish start to the day saw Bitcoin rise from a morning low $10,641 to a high $11,123 before easing back. Bitcoin left the major support and resistance levels untested early on, while also falling short of the 23.6% FIB of $11,275. Elsewhere, it was green across the crypto-board, with Bitcoin Cash ABC and Bitcoin Cash SV leading the way. The pair were up by 3.07% and by 2.83% respectively. For the Day Ahead Bitcoin would need to move back through the morning high $11,123 to break through the 23.6% FIB to restore confidence. A move through the 23.6% FIB would bring the first major resistance level at $11,806 into play. Bitcoin would need the support of the broader market, however, to take a run at $12,000 levels. Failure to move back through the 23.6% FIB could see Bitcoin hit reverse. A fall through the morning low $10,641 would bring the first major support level at $10,240 into play. Barring another crypto meltdown, Bitcoin should steer clear of sub-$10,000 support levels. Get Into Cryptocurrency Trading Today This article was originally posted on FX Empire More From FXEMPIRE: S&P 500 Price Forecast – Stock markets gap higher to kick off week Gold Price Prediction – Gold Tumbles as Geopolitics Eases U.S. Dollar Index Futures (DX) Technical Analysis – Trader Reaction to 96.315 to 96.540 Will Determine Near-Term Direction The RBA Cuts Rates as Trump Talks of Tariffs on EU Goods USD/JPY Forex Technical Analysis – July 2, 2019 Forecast Asian Shares Mixed as Investors Seek Progress in Renewed US-China Trade Negotiations \|\| EOS Startup Block.One Is Using Its Billions to Buy Back More Equity: Block.one, the company that built the EOS blockchain, is in the middle of another equity buyback in order to bring on more strategic investors, a source familiar with the matter told CoinDesk. The company has previously conducted equity buybacks in order to resell those shares to new investors that it sees as helpful to its business, the source explained. The source declined to provide further details about who would be joining Block.one’s list of backers. Block.One’s New Social Media Site Will Do Identity Checks for Every User Still, it’s helpful to revisit a previous instance of Block.one repurchasing equity from prior investors in order to bring on new ones. A recent report fromBloomberg– which cited a March 19 email to the startup’s shareholders – noted that some investors had received a 6,567 percent return on their Block.one holdings. However, the Bloomberg report may have been unclear about which investors stood to gain so much. “The buyback was designed for seed investors, who had been in for a long time, and it made room for potential future strategic shareholders in a way that didn’t unnecessarily inflate our balance sheet,” Brendan Blumer, Block.one’s CEO and one of the largest shareholders in the company, told CoinDesk. “I did not participate,” he added. Block.One Is Launching a Social Media Platform on the EOS Blockchain Citing an email sent to shareholders on March 19, the Bloomberg report emphasizes the involvement of PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel, along with noted investors Alan Howard and Louis Bacon. The source told CoinDesk that Thiel, Bacon and Howard are strategic investors that came on in July 2018, much later than the seed investors. As such, the source said, Thiel, Bacon and Howard saw a 30 percent gain on their investments – a healthy return but nowhere near the 6,567 percent trumpeted in Bloomberg’s headline. Block.one declined to share with CoinDesk the investor email that Bloomberg reviewed. It also declined to give CoinDesk a timeline for its seed investments. Still, the source said Block.one actually goes back several years. The company’s balance sheet is “stronger than ever,” the source told CoinDesk. Bloomberg reported that the company had $2.2 billion, mostly in U.S. government bonds. The investor letter said it also held 140,000 BTC. If Block.one still holds that much, it would be worth over $1 billion at face value. On Saturday, the company announceda new social media platformcalled Voice. The company plans to use its reserves to market the service aggressively to the public. A spokesperson for Howard declined a request for comment. Bacon and Thiel did not reply to requests for comment. Peter Thiel image via CoinDesk archives • Coinbase Adds Support for EOS Cryptocurrency on Retail Site and Apps • BitGo Co-Founder and Facebook Alum Joins Blockchain Capital [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] Binance - BTC Market #MTH - Unusual buying activity 4.08 BTC in 4 minutes (12%) B: 0.00000296 ❇ (3.14%) A: 0.00000297 ❇ (3.12%) 24H Vol: 37.07 BTC Last signal: 21 hours ago (2/7D) \|\| @CryptoCoyote 277 too many & yet still growing its why many ultra shitcoins stand no chance growing being only listed on nobody really there exchanges. Extract btc eth usdt pairs wash volume most lose 95% "liquidity" \|\| #MOCO #MOCOVR #TOKEN #BITCOIN \|\| Bitcoin Daily Chart Alert—Bulls Fading Fast; Price Uptrend Killed - July 2 https://t.co/Oge3bj2l0T https://t.co/uiZ9g6kKSu \|\| This team offers conditions at a first-class level. Best product I've ever experienced! #Shato \|\| The latest Stish Daily! https://t.co/K2xtI5h9lw Thanks to @presidentusaone @Ali_S_7 #blockchain #bitcoin \|\| $BXY at 937 $BTC/ 0.093 $USDC (2.1x) 1100 providing resistance & 925 acting as support range intact. drew a trendline-validity TBD. ideally close above 🤓 felt FOMO for a min that price ran away. bids now filled & bag size+20% 🤑 https://t.co/WnOBka5qtv (ref-20% off fees)🔥 https://t.co/RUo71AV9hG \|\| @RichardHeartWin Thanks Rich. Honest to god, because of you and in anticipation of the Hex snapshot I bought several BTC at 3400’ish. Complete dumb luck, but I’ll take it! \|\| A friend of mine sent an article from the local media about "Bitcoin's price pumping" Dump it? \|\| 為替(19/06/14 06:20㈮現在) 米ドル → 108.39円香港ドル → 13.85円台湾ドル → 3.44円中国元 → 15.66円ユーロ → 122.31円英ポンド → 137.39円 BTC → 895785.12円	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 9911.84, 9870.30, 9477.68, 9552.86, 9519.15, 9607.42, 10085.63, 10399.67, 10518.17, 10821.73
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2017-01-19] BTC Price: 899.07, BTC RSI: 52.15 Gold Price: 1200.90, Gold RSI: 59.97 Oil Price: 51.37, Oil RSI: 47.40 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Just after Trump won, his son-in-law had a cozy meeting with a Chinese exec who's buying US assets left and right: (Spencer Platt/Getty Images) Anbang Insurance is a shadowy Chinese financial behemoth that has been buying up assets in the US at breathtaking speed. In 2014, for example, it acquired the Waldorf Astoria, and last year itattempted to buy Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide. The chairman of the company, Wu Xiaohui, is married to former Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping's granddaughter. Jared Kushner is President-elect Donald Trump's son-in-law and a real-estate investor in his own right as chief executive of his multibillion-dollar family firm, Kushner Companies. According to The New York Times, Kushner and Xiaohui met on November 16, just after Trump clinched the presidency, to toast what that would mean for global business — an interesting toast given Trump's vitriolic rhetoric against China. From the NYT: "Mr. Wu and Mr. Kushner — who is married to Mr. Trump's daughter Ivanka and is one of his closest advisers — were nearing agreement on a joint venture in Manhattan: the redevelopment of 666 Fifth Avenue, the fading crown jewel of the Kushner family real-estate empire. Anbang, which has close ties to the Chinese state, has seen its aggressive efforts to buy up hotels in the United States slowed amid concerns raised by Obama administration officials who review foreign investments for national security risk." In China, the separation between business and politics is almost nonexistent. To be a billionaire executive is to also be part of the party cadre and to have the blessing of those in power. This report is a bit of a longer read, but it's an important one. It highlights a couple of things we know — that Kushner is trying to find a creative way to adhere to ethics rules to serve in his father-in-law's administration, and that he has business relationships with those connected to the highest levels of the Chinese government. And it highlights what we don't know, which is how extensive those relationships are. One Kushner project, a Trump building that opened in New Jersey in November, got as much as $50 million in financing from Chinese investors. The investors were part of a federal program that has come under scrutiny from Congress recently. It grants two-year visas and a path to permanent residency for those who invest $500,000.It's called EB-5. NOW WATCH:This is the best way to motivate your kids to achieve success according to a behavioral economist More From Business Insider • The New York Times officially names the South Bronx a must-visit destination for 2017 • Lincoln is outperforming the luxury auto market • Bitcoin is still dropping \|\| Hyperledger Wraps up 2016 By Welcoming Eight New Members: SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwired - December 28, 2016) -Hyperledger Project, a collaborative cross-industry effort created to advance blockchain technology, announced today that eight new members have joined the project to help create an open standard for distributed ledgers for a new generation of transactional applications. Last month, Hyperledgerannouncedit reached 100 active members in less than one year, a huge milestone for the open source project, hosted by The Linux Foundation. "This year has been full of growth for the project," said Brian Behlendorf, Executive Director, Hyperledger. "Not only did we exceed 100 members, Hyperledger met significant development milestones thanks to the community's hard work. As 2016 was a year of exploration, R&D and prototyping, we're excited for 2017 to be the year we start to see case studies of the technology in production environments." Hyperledger aims to enable organizations to build robust, industry-specific applications, platforms and hardware systems to support their individual business transactions by creating an enterprise grade, open source distributed ledger framework and code base. The latest members include: CA Technologies, Factom Foundation, Hashed Health, Koscom, LedgerDomain, Lykke, Sovrin Foundation and Swisscom. New Member Quotes: CA Technologies "To compete today, every company needs to foster innovation that delivers real business value. Blockchain has the potential to disrupt the way many of CA's customers do business," said Otto Berkes, chief technology officer, CA Technologies. "We're honored to be a part of Hyperledger and look forward to collaborating with other members to help shape open standards for blockchain. It's an exciting time for this because blockchain is not just about Bitcoin anymore, and the range of potential applications with it is vast for of our customers. This partnership will help us influence what that future looks like for both CA and our customers as they embark on their digital transformation journey." Factom Foundation "We are honored to have been selected to join the Hyperledger Project," said Paul Snow, Founder, Factom Foundation. "We are looking forward to helping build the open source framework for securing data and systems with our blockchain solution." Hashed Health "Hashed Health is a healthcare technology innovation company focused on accelerating the commercialization of meaningful new blockchain and distributed ledger-based technologies," said John Bass, Hashed Health CEO. "Hashed is proud to be a member of the Hyperledger Project, sharing its commitment to creating the foundation for scalable, reliable blockchain solutions." Koscom "We consider blockchain technology as the next generation infrastructure in the Korean capital market. As an industry leader with 40 years' experience in the financial IT field, we are looking to leverage this industry disruptive technology," said Chung Youn Dae, CEO, Koscom. "We will constantly explore the ways to contribute to the blockchain ecosystem, as we collaborate with the Hyperledger community. We also hope to better serve out customers in a more secure and efficient way by integrating blockchain technology and our own Fintech platform." LedgerDomain "LedgerDomain delivers next generation supply chain solutions, harnessing permissioned blockchains to assure supply chain integrity and finished product authenticity through to the consumer for the benefit of all. This highly transparent, trustworthy approach is built upon an industrial-strength Hyperledger Fabric backbone," said Dr. Victor Dods, LedgerDomain. "We're proud to be a part of Hyperledger and its growing community." Lykke "We're looking forward to being part of the Hyperledger project," said Richard Olsen, Lykke founder and CEO. "Our company is building a digital asset exchange. Right now, we're implemented on the Bitcoin blockchain settlement layer, with Ethereum to come within the next few months, but our involvement with Hyperledger isn't just the next step forward. Providing decentralized settlement on the Hyperledger blockchain with multisignature wallets and atomic swap transactions will benefit both of our user communities." Swisscom "We are very proud to be Switzerland's first connection to Hyperledger," said Johannes Höhener, VP, Swisscom's Fintech Cluster. "We look forward to working with a highly professional community on cutting-edge blockchain developments. Our membership and participation will shape our capabilities to develop blockchain solutions -- for our clients and Switzerland." The success of Hyperledger is due to the support of the developer community and member companies. Learn how your organization can contribute to the project here:https://www.hyperledger.org/about/join About Hyperledger The Hyperledger project is an open source collaborative effort created to advance cross-industry blockchain technologies. It is a global collaboration including leaders in finance, banking, Internet of Things, supply chains, manufacturing and Technology. The Linux Foundation hosts Hyperledger as a Collaborative Project under the foundation. To learn more, visit:www.hyperledger.org \|\| Most Popular ETFs Of The Year: In the ETF world, the rich get richer. The biggest funds by assets typically attract the largest flows each year. In that regard, 2016 was no exception. The smallest ETF to make the top 10 inflows list for the year has an impressive $16.9 billion in assets, according to FactSet. The other ETFs on the list are much larger still. Together, these 10 ETFs took in $87.1 billion of fresh investor money in the year-to-date period ending Dec. 6. To put that in context, total flows into all ETFs so far this year have been $225 billion. There's still another three weeks left to go in the year, so the final numbers could change (we'll publish the official figures once they're released). But if there's any conclusion to be reached from these numbers, it's that investors still favor plain-vanilla index ETFs over their more complex counterparts―whether it be smart-beta funds , active funds or otherwise. Investors Embrace S&P 500 ETFs Indeed, for all this year's hype about "smart beta," it's "dumb beta" that investors wanted. In particular, when it comes to U.S. equities, investors plowed billions into S&P 500 ETFs . Three out of the top four funds on the flows list track the venerable large-cap index, including the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) , the iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV) and the Vanguard S&P 500 Index Fund (VOO) ―all with inflows of more than $10.7 billion. The only other U.S.-focused equity fund to make the cut was the broader Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund (VTI) , but its year-to-date flows of $5.2 billion were less than half that of the three S&P 500 funds. Emerging Market Comeback In a year that featured concerns about China and "Brexit," it's no wonder investors preferred U.S. equities. Even so, a trio of international equity ETFs also showed up in the top 10. The Vanguard FTSE Developed Markets ETF (VEA) , which tracks developed-market stocks outside the U.S., had inflows of $8.8 billion in the year-to-date period. Story continues At the same time, two low-cost emerging market ETFs—the Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF (VWO) and the iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (IEMG) —made an appearance on the list, with inflows of $8.8 billion, and $6.5 billion, respectively. GLD Falls Down The Ranks Meanwhile, three nonequity ETFs found themselves on the list. The iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF (AGG) took in $10.9 billion so far this year. AGG provides exposure to the market of U.S. investment-grade bonds, weighted by market value. The iShares TIPS Bond ETF (TIP) was another popular bond fund, with inflows of $6.6 billion. TIP holds Treasury inflation-protected securities, a type of U.S. government bond that protects investors in a rising-rate environment. The SPDR Gold Trust (GLD) is another inflation-hedge in the top 10. The physically backed gold ETF was at the top of the flows leader board for much of the year, but fell down the ranks rapidly in the weeks following Donald Trump's victory at the polls. A post-election spike in interest rates and the U.S. dollar led GLD to lose some of its luster. Incidentally, GLD is the most expensive ETF on the top inflows list, with an expense ratio of 0.40%. All the other funds in the top 10 have an expense ratio of 0.20% or less. Flows For Jan. 1 to Dec, 6, 2016 Ticker Fund Net Flows* SPY SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust 11,329.80 IVV iShares Core S&P 500 ETF 11,250.62 AGG iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF 10,910.56 VOO Vanguard S&P 500 Index Fund 10,743.41 GLD SPDR Gold Trust 9,076.08 VEA Vanguard FTSE Developed Markets ETF 8,814.22 VWO Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF 6,698.77 TIP iShares TIPS Bond ETF 6,562.40 IEMG iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF 6,498.14 VTI Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund 5,236.37 *Net Flows in USD Million Contact Sumit Roy at [email protected] Recommended Stories Friday Hot Reads: 2016 A Vintage Year For Bitcoin Thursday Hot Reads: These ETFs Generate Capital Gains For ETFs, Fixed Income Matters More Than Smart Beta ETF Innovation A Tough Sell In 2016 Tuesday Hot Reads: Millennials Play With ETF Fire Permalink \| © Copyright 2016 ETF.com. All rights reserved \|\| Bitcoin Activity in India Has Doubled Since the Banknote Ban: 1000 Rupee Note Early in November, India abolished the 500 and 1000 rupee banknotes in an effort to fight corruption and so-called " black money ". Since then, interest in Bitcoin appears to be increasing in the Asian country based on a variety of different metrics. Although there was already a vibrant Bitcoin community in India, the recent move to clamp down on illegal income and tax evasion seems to have sparked new interest in the peer-to-peer digital cash system. Who Uses Bitcoin in India? So who uses Bitcoin in India? According to Sunny Ray , who is the president and co-founder of Indian bitcoin exchange Unocoin , there are two main categories of Bitcoin users in the country. In an interview with Bitcoin Uncensored co-host Chris DeRose just before the large denomination banknote ban was put into place, Ray claimed that 40 to 50 percent of their users are savers who view bitcoin as a digital gold. "India is the largest gold market in the world," said Ray. "If you couple that with—I think it's something like 20 or 25 percent of the world's programming and IT population also live in India—digital gold is obviously something that I think people have the capacity to get." Ray also noted that roughly 20 percent of Unocoin's users are freelancers who use Bitcoin as a cheaper alternative to PayPal. Ray noted that Bitcoin currently offers what are essentially negative fees for freelancers based in India because of the relatively higher price bitcoins sell for in the country. During the Bitcoin Uncensored interview, Ray stressed that his estimates should be taken with a grain of salt, as the very nature of Bitcoin makes it difficult to get real user data. Trading Volume Has More Than Doubled Since the Ban So what's happened since India got rid of the 500 and 1000 rupee banknotes? For starters, Ray told CoinJournal that Unocoin has seen a doubling in traffic and trading volume over the past 30 days. An increase in trading volume can also be seen on LocalBitcoins , where the daily volume has increased from around 1.25 million rupees (around $18,500) per day before the cash ban to around 2.5 million rupees per day in early December. There was also an all-time high of more than 5.5 million rupees (just over $81,000) worth of bitcoin traded on November 26th. Story continues It's important to remember that LocalBitcoins trading volume is a rather rough metric because many traders continue exchanging bitcoins off of the site after finding someone they trust. Bitcoin currently trades at a high premium in India due to capital controls in India, which make it difficult for Bitcoin companies, such as Unocoin, to settle against foreign exchanges; however, Unocoin is currently working on a method to bring more bitcoin liquidity into the Indian market. In a blog post on their website, BitGo has noted the value of India-based transactions co-signed by them has increased by 240 percent since September. Larger Effects May Be Seen Over the Long Term While there's been a nice uptick in Bitcoin activity in India over the past month or so, Ray believes the larger effects of India's removal of the 500 and 1000 rupee banknotes from circulation will be seen over the long term. "Right now, people are being very careful with their spending," said Ray. "We think it will be long term because with all of the restrictions, the push towards digital money, and the amount of new money that's entering the banking system, some of that will find a home in bitcoin." \|\| Bitcoin is becoming the new gold: Bitcoin, the digital asset that many skeptics still dismiss as a scam, was the best-performing currency of 2016. It began the year just above $400 and rose more than 80% to close the year near $1,000. In the same time, the Brazilian real rose 25%, the Russian ruble rose 21%, and gold rose just 9%. [UPDATE, Mar. 2, 2017: And now the price of one bitcoin has matched the price of one troy ounce of gold for the first time.] The digital coin continued its surge in the first few days of 2017, clearing $1,000 and then, on Jan. 4, clearing its all-time peak price of $1,137, hit in November 2013. Bitcoin’s market cap reached an all-time high of $18.4 billion. Jan. 3 marked exactly eight years since the first bitcoin block, the “genesis block,” was mined. On Jan. 5, following a stunning surge, bitcoin sank back down to the mid $900s, a reminder of its volatility. (As a user on theReddit bitcoin forumwrote, “With bitcoin, you kind of have to get used to these types of situations.”) Discounting that mini-crash for a moment, here are some more staggering numbers from the recent peak: Bitcoin is up 50% in the past month, 165% in the past 12 months, and 743% since the start of 2013. If you had bought one bitcoin just two years ago, at $280, and let it sit, you would have made almost $900 now. So: Why did bitcoin soar at the end of 2016, and, looking forward, can it keep flying in 2017? When the bitcoin price rises, people like to point to a few different reasons: China (a falling yuan, leading to bitcoin buying); tightened capital controls in foreign countries; uncertainty in mainstream global markets; or, lately, bitcoin scarcity. There’s healthy debate over which was the biggest factor in 2016. And of course, another argument is that the election of Donald Trump helped, and is continuing to help. The yuan fell 6% against the US dollar in the past year, hitting its lowest point since 2008. China’s foreign exchange reserves are expected to keep shrinking in 2017. It’s clear that as a result, many Chinese investors have turned to bitcoin: trading activity of bitcoin in the yuan is up more than 60% in the past 30 days, according tobitcoinity charts. More than 90% of all bitcoin activity globally, in fact, is coming from China. Meanwhile, thePeople’s Bank of China cracked downwith stricter capital controls in 2016,as have Venezuela(wherethe bolivar is plummeting) and India (where there werefears last month of a run on the banks). The prevailing wisdom is that investors seek safe haven in bitcoin when their own governments crack down or simply when there is general uncertainty, because it is uncorrelated to the global market—its success is not tied to mainstream equities. (Bitcoin saw a rise in activityin Greece during its bank shutdown in 2015andin Europe after the Brexit vote last year.) And bitcoin is up 40% since the US election, leading many to cite the uncertainty of the incoming Trump administration as a boon to bitcoin. Bitcoin does thrive during times of uncertainty, but not only at those times—it can also thrive when the market is good. And while there is definite uncertainty about Trump’s policies, Wall Street isn’t acting very uncertain: US markets have flourished since the election. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is rushing toward 20,000 points. Bitcoin can fly along with it, and has. In July,the reward that bitcoin miners receive for recording bitcoin transactions on the bitcoin blockchain was halvedfor the second time in bitcoin’s history. In a nutshell: all bitcoin transactions are recorded onthe bitcoin blockchain, a decentralized, permissionless, tamper-proof ledger; miners record the transactions in bundles called “blocks” and receive a small reward (in bitcoin, of course) for mining. This process also creates new bitcoins. Miners used to earn 25 bitcoins per block mined, but since July, they only get 12.5, and that brought the annual creation of new bitcoins down from 9% to about 4%. Because there are fewer new bitcoins being created, it’s possible that speculative investment has heated up in response. On the other hand, the bitcoin price didn’t move much in the few days after the halving, so it’s hard to think supply is a major factor in the current ride. Nick Tomaino, who spent three years in business development at leading bitcoin wallet company Coinbase and now works at venture firm Runa Capital, thinks bitcoin’s ride in 2016 is a lot simpler than all that. He points to Lindy’s Law, which suggests that the total life expectancy of a fledgling technology is lengthened for every year that it continues to survive. Translation: the longer bitcoin is around, the more likely it is to stay, and the more investors take it seriously. “The rest is noise,” Tomaino says of the other popular explanations for the price hike. “We just had the 8-year anniversary of Bitcoin, and in my opinion it’s stronger than ever.” Bitcoin believers like to talk about the increasing acceptance of bitcoin for payment (you can now pay in bitcoin at places like Overstock.com and Expedia) but it has been greatly exaggerated. The average person still has no real incentive to pay for something in bitcoin. Instead, as Tomainowrites in a blog post, “The primary use case for bitcoin remains the store of value/speculative asset use case.” That sounds a lot like the traditional appeal of gold: a store of value, with some scarcity to it. Bitcoin has long been called a gold for the digital age (New York Times reporter Nathaniel Popper titled his bitcoin book “Digital Gold“), and while many peoplelike to dismissthe idea, bitcoin is beginning to deserve the comparison. At its price peak on Wednesday,bitcoin came within $30 of the average spot price of gold. More and more investors (and not just those on some kind of perceived fringe) are seeing the appeal of bitcoin as a speculative investment—even if they don’t understand it or theblockchain technologythat underlies it. For some, it may even be more appealing than gold, thanks to the ability to send it instantly and with very low fee. And the longer it survives, despite volatility,occasional hacks of bitcoin exchanges, andcontinued hype about blockchains for banking, the more likely it is to keep rising. — Daniel Roberts is a writer at Yahoo Finance, covering technology and sports business. Follow him on Twitter at@readDanwrite. Read more: Expect more blockchain hype in 2017 Here’s where big banks stand on blockchain Why 21.co is the most exciting bitcoin company right now Coinbase is more bullish on bitcoin than ever \|\| 2016: The Volatility Year That Wasn’t: Sometimes how we feel about the market bears absolutely no resemblance to reality. When I look back at 2016, I’m exhausted. And when I talk to many advisors, I hear similar comments: “What a year!” they say. “We had such an awful winter, and then all the craziness around the election!” But the reality is that this was actually one of the most placid years in recent history. Here’s the actual, 30-day realized volatility of the S&P 500 for the last 10 years: What this excellent chart from Bloomberg suggests is that our current market is in one of the lowest volatility periods we’ve seen in ages, and while we’ve had some spikes, particularly in the spring, it’s just about as boring a market as you can get. Of course, you can’t actually trade this chart; instead, what you can trade, sort of, is the CBOE Volatility Index, or VIX—a derivative calculation based on the implied volatility of strips of S&P 500 options. Here’s what the VIX chart looks like over the past 10 years: Even the quickest glance suggests these are pretty good proxies for each other, and while they’re not identical, they even “base” around the same number: 10 for low-vol periods, 80 for crazy spikes. And using options is actually sensible, because for a sophisticated investor, making a specific bet on volatility would most easily be done with options. You want to bet the S&P 500 is going to spike in either direction? Options players have a plan for you— a straddle . Think we’re range-bound and want to bet on it? The wonderfully named Iron Condor is for you. Managing volatility is in fact what options are designed to do, so that’s why the CBOE uses the real-world expressions of sentiment from options traders to compute the VIX. The Contango Conundrum Like options themselves, there’s nothing inherently bullish or bearish about the VIX itself. Using either options or futures contracts on the VIX index, investors can bet on either increasing or decreasing volatility. Story continues The problem is that in a low-volatility environment like we’ve been in, most investors are going to guess that future volatility will be higher than today’s volatility, and thus they will bid up the price of the futures contracts themselves. A lot. Here’s what the futures curve looks like right now for the VIX: With VIX at 12, buying the front-month futures contract will cost you 14. To put that in perspective, that means that, if VIX remains at 12, you can expect to lose $2 for every $14 invested in a single month. That $2-a-month decay continues from the first to the second month as well. That means even if you’re right, and VIX is going to rise, you’re facing a 14.2% head wind every month . That’s a 396% head wind every year. Of course, the contango isn’t always this bad, but it’s generally been sharply upward-sloping all year long. If you think that means investing in a long VIX-futures-based ETF for the last year has been tough, you’re right. The top three worst-performing ETFs over the last year all track near-month VIX futures contracts: the iPath S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures ETN (VXX) , the VelocityShares Daily Long VIX Short-Term ETN (VIIX) and the ProShares VIX Short-Term Futures ETF (VIXY) . ‘Force Of Nature’ For Investors The reason you can’t see three ETF lines on the chart is because these funds are, for all intents and purposes, identical in their returns. The problem is contango: It’s a force of nature, and there’s no getting around it as a futures investor. While this isn’t a pretty chart, it’s worth noting that these funds have done exactly what they said they were going to do day after day. If you went into the month of June with a position in one of these funds, you were up over 25% in a matter of days as you caught the pre-Brexit spike in volatility. But remember, the VIX was never intended as some sort of “long only” asset to invest in—it’s a measurement of the state of the market, just like humidity is a measurement of the state of the atmosphere. Investors can, and do, capitalize on it in other ways, either by shorting funds like this to capture contango, or investing in the suite of inverse products, such as the VelocityShares Daily Inverse VIX Short-Term ETN (XIV) or the ProShares Short VIX Short-Term Futures ETF (SVXY) , that take the opposite bets: Again, two strategies following the same basic strategy—taking the “sell” side of the VIX futures trade. These funds not only profit from contango, they’ve also benefited from relatively calm fluctuations in the VIX itself, which means the daily-rebalance effect common to most leveraged and inverse funds hasn’t cut into returns. Of course, just like June was a great time to be in the long ETFs, it was murderous for these funds: If you got the timing wrong, you could have been down more than 35% in a matter of days when volatility spiked. What’s In An (Inverse) Name? Honestly, at ETF.com, we can end up trapped a bit by our own analytical framework. As a matter of course, we exclude leveraged and inverse funds from things like performance charts, because otherwise, every list would be nothing but the most levered version of whatever theme was hot (or awful) at the time. But in the case of VIX, that leads to some missed opportunities for analysis. A long bet on the VIX is no different than a short bet on the VIX in theoretical terms. VIX is mean-reverting by definition, unlike any other investment I can think of in finance. So to my mind, this bizarre year, or relatively calm markets but high anxiety, has made VIX ETFs both the worst and nearly the-best-performing products in the market. At the time of writing, the author held no positions in the securities mentioned. Contact Dave Nadig at [email protected] . Recommended Stories Tuesday Hot Reads: 2 Trends That Favor ETFs In 2017 2016: The Volatility Year That Wasn’t Worst Performing ETFs Of The Year Friday Hot Reads: 2016 A Vintage Year For Bitcoin Wednesday Hot Reads: JPMorgan Readies Fixed Income ETF Arsenal Permalink \| © Copyright 2016 ETF.com. All rights reserved \|\| Bitcoin soars to nearly three-year high in wake of China volatility: By Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss NEW YORK (Reuters) - Digital currency bitcoin on Tuesday surged to its highest in nearly three years as investors bought the asset in a supposedly safe-haven bid in the midst of volatility in the Chinese stock market. On Tuesday, bitcoin climbed as high $793.27 on the BitStamp platform, its highest since February 2014. Since August this year, bitcoin has soared 70 percent. Darin Stanchfield, founder and chief executive officer of bitcoin wallet KeepKey said bitcoin has benefited from uncertainty in the Chinese stock market. Mainland Chinese markets have been on the defensive the last two days due to a widely-anticipated interest rate increase by the Federal Reserve on Wednesday. Chinese stock markets though did finish higher on Tuesday. "Bitcoin has become a safe haven, though not like a mainstream safe haven. We have been seeing lots of volume from China and also India," Stanchfield said. According to digital currency research firm Coindesk, 95 percent of global bitcoin trading is done through Chinese exchanges. Bitcoin is a virtual currency that can be moved money around the world quickly and anonymously without the need for a central authority. That makes it attractive to those seeking to get around strict capital controls in countries like China. While China currently dominates the space, Chris Burniske, analyst at exchange traded fund manager ARK Invest, noted that bitcoin trading in Venezuela has also soared, rising seven-fold this year as inflation surged and the bolivar currency collapsed. Analysts said the groundwork for bitcoin gains was laid in July this year in a process called "halving", where the rewards offered to bitcoin miners shrink. That has constrained the supply of the digital currency. Bitcoin relies on so-called "mining" computers that validate blocks of transactions by competing to solve mathematical puzzles every 10 minutes. In return, the first to solve the puzzle and clear the transaction is rewarded new bitcoins. Before the halving in July, the miner's reward was 25 bitcoins. The bitcoin program was designed in such a way that it cut the reward for miners in half every four years, a move that was meant to keep a lid on inflation. "If you look back a couple of years when the mining rewards were halved as well, it did take a few months before the effect of the mining rewards kicked in," said KeepKey's Stanchfield. Stanchfield believes bitcoin could exceed the record high set in 2013 of more then $1,100. (Reporting by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss,; additional reporting by Jemima Kelly in London; Editing by Andrew Hay) \|\| Bitcoin breaks $1,000 level, highest in more than 3 years: The price of bitcoin (Exchange: BTC=-USS) has breached the $1,000 mark, hitting a more than three-year high on Monday. The cryptocurrency was trading at $1,021 at the time of publication, according to CoinDesk data, at level not seen since November 2013, with its market capitalization exceeding $16 billion. Bitcoin has been on a steady march higher for the past few months, driven by a number of factors such as the devaluation of the yuan, geopolitical uncertainty and an increase in professional investors taking an interest in the asset class. "We are seeing the aftermath of zero interest rates run amok. So bitcoin is a healthy reminder that we don't have to hold on to dollars or renminbi, which is subject to capital controls and loss of purchasing power. Rather it's a new asset class," Bobby Lee, chief executive of BTC China, one of the world's largest bitcoin exchanges, told CNBC by phone. China is the source of the majority of trade in bitcoin and the devaluation of the yuan and fears over capital controls have contributed to the recent spike in the digital currency. But several other factors have also had a notable impact. For example, bitcoin's price has appreciated around 137 percent in the past 12 months but got a big boost after Donald Trump won the U.S. election in November. Another big event this year was in June when a change in bitcoin's underlying rules meant those who were "mining" the cryptocurrency a process whereby users are awarded with bitcoin if they solve complex mathematical puzzles in order for a bitcoin transaction to go through received less rewards. This was due to the process known as "halving," which essentially reduces the supply of bitcoin. But overall, bitcoin experts said that the market is growing in terms of volumes and those participating, creating a "network effect" that will see the price rise further. "The value of Uber in any city is directly dependent on the number of drivers and number of users, it's not linear it's exponential. The same is true of the value of bitcoin," Lee said. \|\| A 27-year-old raised $10 million from venture capitalists for an unusual hedge fund: bitcoin (Andrew Burton/Getty Images) A 27-year-old has raised $10 million for an unusual hedge fund with the support of venture capitalists like Andreessen Horowitz and Union Square Ventures. The 27-year-old in question is Olaf Carlson-Wee, and he's launching a strategy that invests in cryptocurrencies. To be clear, the $10 million managed by Carlson-Wee's Polychain Capital is peanuts in the hedge fund world. But Polychain's strategy is rare, with few other funds trading in cryptocurrencies. Most hedge funds trade stocks, bonds, and currencies, with variations of different strategies. So what is a cryptocurrency? A cryptocurrency is basically a digital, encrypted currency that is decentralized, so no one power oversees its value. Bitcoin is the most famous of cryptocurrencies nobody knows who created it and it's divorced from any government. It's considered a secure, private currency, drawing the attention of antigovernment and privacy-minded folks . But it's not the only one several other cryptocurrencies exist and are being developed. Transactions for these currencies are recorded in blockchain, a private and encrypted ledger . Carlson-Wee is betting that he can choose the cryptocurrencies that will increase in value and he expects hundreds of them to enter the market. "The challenge for someone running a hedge fund is how to build a portfolio across that spectrum of risk and how to choose which of the new issues are going to become important and which are not," said Brad Burnham, partner at Union Square Ventures, which is investing in the fund. Olaf Carlson-Wee (Olaf Carlson-Wee.Courtesy of Olaf Carlson-Wee) Polychain, based in San Francisco, will be small, hiring only a handful of people. And Carlson-Wee is not looking for traditional Wall Street types. "An amateur trader in the cryptocurrency market may have a more relevant background than someone who has had a traditional background on Wall Street," Carlson-Wee said. Carlson-Wee, a Vassar College grad, wrote his undergrad thesis on bitcoin. Story continues "I was immediately enamored and sort of obsessed," he said. "I thought the prospect of [bitcoin] had massive implications." He then went to Coinbase, a digital asset exchange, and headed risk, overseeing things like fraud prevention and account security, he said. Not only is his background unusual for hedge funds so is his strategy. For instance, the normal research avenues for common hedge fund trades are unavailable, though there are some parallels. Qualitative research Instead of talking with sell-side researchers or looking at credit agencies (there are none), Carlson-Wee spends his time reading through the white papers that describe the protocols, interviewing the lead developers, and looking at a protocol's machinations in the GitHub repository. "This qualitative research is supplemented by market data such as price and trading volume as well as network data such as transactions per day, dollar value transacted per day, and the estimated cost of a network-scale attack," he said. He also embeds himself within the groups that are using the protocols to get a sense of how they are interacting with them, he said. two men computers typing technology digital online internet (Patrick Lux/Getty Images) That model is similar to other funds that have launched in the space. MetaStable, another small hedge fund based in San Francisco, launched in 2014 with a handful of employees. The firm manages a few million, said Lucas Ryan, one of MetaStable's staffers. Its investors tend to be those who are already sold on blockchain but "aren't necessary sold that bitcoin has solved all the problems," so they are seeking to invest in other cryptocurrencies, Ryan said. Ryan, who has a programming background, says his job is to evaluate the protocols that people are developing and the problems they are trying to solve. "The market is so immature and requires a high degree of technical understanding to wade through the stuff that isn't bull----," Ryan said. "A lot of stuff I couldn't do if I wasn't a programmer with a cryptography background. There's not, like, a ratings agency for any of these." Still, like with Polychain's strategy, there are parallels. Ryan meets with protocol developers and tries to get a sense of how serious they are and whether their source coding is legit. To be sure, this world of funds is very young. Until recently, Ryan was working on the fund part time, he said. And it's unlikely these kinds of funds would grow to be large. Bitcoin, the most popular cryptocurrency, has about a $13.7 billion market cap. "Bitcoin is like 80% of the total market of coins," Ryan said. "It would give someone pause to start a $50 million fund." NOW WATCH: A penny costs 1.43 cents to make heres what the rest of US currency costs More From Business Insider Hedge funds are going to lay out their Brexit wish list to stop the destruction of the city A small hedge fund that says its reports have led to CEO resignations has a new big short There has been a board shake-up at Chipotle, and Bill Ackman is happy about it \|\| Here's Why Bitcoin Crashed More Than 20% Today: Bitcoin (BTC), a popular digital cryptocurrency, is on track to have one of its worst days in years after prices suddenly fell more than 20% in morning trading Thursday. While some investors think today’s action is just an adjustment after a months-long rally, others are blaming the expiration of loans from several Chinese BTC platforms for the sell-off. Today’s "Crash" Bitcoin opened the day at $1.129.87 and shortly hit an intraday high of $1,153.02 in morning trading. However, the cryptocurrency quickly dropped as low as $887.47, a plunge of more than 21%. BTC was able to rally again in the early afternoon, and prices returned above the $980 level by 1 P.M. EST. According to some Bitcoin traders on a popular Reddit forum, today’s crash could be the result of a free loan period offered by several Chinese BTC platforms coming to an end. One user pointed out that many Chinese BTC holders would have to sell their bitcoins to pay back loans that end on January 7 Beijing time. Of course, today’s sell-off could also be a value-based adjustment as BTC approached all-time highs. The currency has been on an insane run over the past several months, gaining more than 80% since October 2016. Indeed, Bitcoin traders are no strangers to volatility, and the nature of the currency lends itself to swings that we wouldn’t expect from traditional currencies. What is Bitcoin? As mentioned before, Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency, meaning that it is an encrypted digital currency that only exists virtually and operates independently of a central bank. Launched in January 2009, Bitcoin has grown quickly and has become a widely-accepted form of payment online (Also read: Explaining Bitcoin and Crypto Currency). Bitcoin is considered an anonymous currency because it is possible to send and receive payments without revealing any personal information. Transactions are tied to a bitcoin address, a series of numbers and letters. All transactions are stored in the so-called blockchain, which records and verifies transactions. This blockchain is operated by a network of “miners” that monitor and validate transactions. In return, miners receive newly issued bitcoins. Bottom Line Trading bitcoins can be a test of one’s patience and determination. One of the most fascinating things about the currency is its legion of loyal long-term holders, and these folks are likely to overlook one-day crashes. Nevertheless, today’s sell-off underscores the volatility that keeps a lot of investors away from BTC. Long-Term Buys You Won't See in the News The stocks you see in today's headlines may not be in the news tomorrow or next week. If you're looking for profitable long-term investments, you may be interested to see what Zacks Research is recommending to our private members. These moves have double and triple-digit profit potential. Starting now, you can look inside our stocks under $10, home run and value stock portfolios, plus more. Want a peek at this exclusive information?Click here>> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days.Click to get this free reportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] Re: Can Bitcoin make Banks disappear? http://dlvr.it/MvrKbq #Bitcoin_Discussion #bitcoin #blockchain \|\| MMMBTC \|\| MMMBTC \|\| MMMBTC \|\| MMMBTC \|\| Win bitcoin. Daily drawing. Details: Man rapes inlaw to death http://www.btcstory.com/c/954b/15a760 \|\| #SativaCoin #STV $0.003512 (9.31%) 0.00000444 BTC (9.31%) \|\| Ernst & Young Is Going Bitcoin While PwC, Deloitte and KPMG Push Permissioned Blockchains https://lnkd.in/gRaKzWS \|\| let me know do you have a BITCOIN account \|\| .- Gana bitcoins facilmente..! Gratis.! , Aqui : http://bit.ly/23rxSXd #Bitcoin #Faucet #Satochispic.twitter.com/hGE0nEkbSi	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 895.03, 921.79, 924.67, 921.01, 892.69, 901.54, 917.59, 919.75, 921.59, 919.50
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2022-07-29] BTC Price: 23804.63, BTC RSI: 60.59 Gold Price: 1762.90, Gold RSI: 53.59 Oil Price: 98.62, Oil RSI: 45.51 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Stock Market Today: Dow Spikes 754 Points Despite IBM, J&J Earnings Slumps: space ship launching at night Getty Images Stocks shot higher out of the gate Tuesday – and never looked back. SEE MORE Do You Have Gun Stocks in Your Funds? Despite a mixed batch of corporate earnings reports and lackluster housing data, today's rally was broad-based, with all 11 sectors gaining ground. Communication services (+3.6%) led the way, with Netflix ( NFLX , +5.6%) a notable advancer ahead of tonight's Q2 earnings release. As for reports traders could act on today, tech company International Business Machines ( IBM , -5.3%) and healthcare giant Johnson & Johnson ( JNJ , -1.5%) both beat on the top and bottom lines in the second quarter. However, shares of the blue chips fell after the companies said a stronger U.S. dollar will negatively impact some full-year financial metrics (free cash flow for IBM; earnings and revenue for JNJ). Sign up for Kiplinger's FREE Investing Weekly e-letter for stock, ETF and mutual fund recommendations, and other investing advice. And on the economic front, data from the Commerce Department showed housing starts dropped 2% in June to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.559 million units. Permits for future building declined by 0.6% to an annualized rate of 1.685 million units. Both figures arrived at their lowest level since September 2021. SEE MORE 10 Best Green Energy Stocks for the Rest of 2022 "Builders appear to still be having trouble completing new projects amid ongoing material and labor shortages," says Mark Vitner, senior economist for Wells Fargo. Still, "slower pace of residential construction, less supply chain congestion and lower material prices should help builders complete projects at a faster pace in coming months," he adds. Nevertheless, the Nasdaq Composite ended the day up 3.1% at 11,713, with the S&P 500 Index (+2.8% at 3,936) and Dow Jones Industrial Average (+2.4% at 31,827) not far behind. stock price chart 071922 YCharts Other news in the stock market today: The small-cap Russell 2000 soared 3.5% to 1,799. U.S. crude futures gained 1.6% to finish at $104.22 per barrel. Bitcoin benefited from the day's burst of buying power, gaining 8.4% to $23,411.09. (Bitcoin trades 24 hours a day; prices reported here are as of 4 p.m.) Arista Networks ( ANET ) jumped 4.2% after Needham analyst Alex Henderson upgraded the cloud networking solutions company to Buy from Hold. "Arista is one of the most insulated from macro pressures in the sector, as we see it," Henderson says. "It has a heavy focus on Cloud. Its core customers Microsoft ( MSFT ) and Facebook/Meta ( META ) are spending aggressively to support their cloud infrastructures and longer-term plans." He adds that ANET is "the kind of name to own as the economy weakens and international markets soften even more." Hasbro ( HAS , +0.7%) on Tuesday said higher prices and solid demand for its "Magic: The Gathering" card game helped the toymaker bring in earnings of $1.15 per share in its second quarter, more than analysts were expecting. However, revenue of $1.34 billion fell short of the $1.37 billion Wall Street pros were anticipating. "Q2 adjusted operating profit was up 200 basis points [a basis point is one-one hundredth of a percentage point] to 18.0% as the company was able to more than offset higher freight and input costs with operating leverage, spending less on advertising and SG&A," says CFRA Research analyst Zachary Warring (Buy). "Inventory ballooned 74% year-over-year and sits well above historical levels. We are a little worried about inventory levels but still see HAS as the leader in the space with a strong strategic plan." After the close, Netflix said it lost fewer-than-expected subscribers in the second quarter (970,000 vs. 2 million est.). The streaming service also reported higher-than-anticipated earnings of $3.20 per share, while revenue of $7.97 billion fell short of the consensus estimates. At last check, NFLX stock is up 8.2% in after-hours trading. Story continues Gold Stocks to Consider Gold was expected to have a strong year, based on its history as a hedge against inflation. However, that hasn't turned out to be the case, with gold futures down 6.4% for the year-to-date. So what's pulling gold lower? "The U.S. dollar," says John LaForge, head of real asset strategy at Wells Fargo Investment Institute. The U.S. dollar index is up 12.4% for the year-to-date to trade at levels not seen since 2002, and that is creating a drag on dollar-denominated commodities like gold. Still, LaForge isn't spooked by gold's price struggles, and thinks with "gold being quite cheap versus most other commodities, investors may begin to buy." SEE MORE 14 Commodity ETFs to Ease Inflation Worries And a cooling U.S. dollar could spark more interest in the precious metal. Indeed, gold futures gained 0.5% today to settle at $1,710.70 an ounce as the U.S. dollar index notched its third straight decline, ending down 0.6%. Continued upside for the precious metal could spell good news for gold stocks , which have fallen in sympathy with the commodity. But which ones stand out? Check out our list of Wall Street's favorite gold plays, which analysts see having major upside. SEE MORE 11 Best Investments to Inflation-Proof Your Portfolio You may also like Capital Gains Tax 101: Basic Rules Investors and Others Need to Know Your Guide to Roth Conversions Hesitant About a Roth Because of the 5-Year Rule? Here’s Why You Shouldn’t Be \|\| Boyfriend wins over TikTok: Girlfriend discovers note page dedicated to her: A couple on TikTok just made everybody reconsider their relationship goals — one woman may have the best boyfriend . TikToker Juana shared this heartwarming clip to display an entire note page her boyfriend created on his phone dedicated to her favorite things. Bitcoin ETFs: What are they and how to invest in them? As Juana scrolls through the note, viewers can see various details that her boyfriend jotted down to reference on future occasions. Juana’s boyfriend’s note includes: Juana’s ring size. A list of Juana’s favorite Starbucks drinks . Cars that Juana would want to purchase in the future. How Juana likes her eggs cooked . Juana’s favorite cosmetics and laundry products . And ideas for the couple’s future wedding . “I’m not crying, you are,” Juana wrote in the video’s caption. Viewers found Juana’s boyfriend’s dedication to their relationship adorable, admiring the effort he put into organizing the list and remembering details about his girlfriend. “The way he took pictures of the products you use,” a TikToker commented with a crying emoji. “IF HE WANTED TO, HE WOULD,” another wrote. “The organization , the detail, love this for you!” someone said. Other TikTok users lamented in the comments to express their wish to find a love like Juana’s for themselves. “Then there’s my bf who forgot how old I was 3 times,” one TikToker noted. “The things we wish to find when going through our man’s phone ,” a person joked. “I feel like I’ll never experience this type of love ,” someone said. “One day!” Juana replied. The post Girlfriend goes through boyfriend’s phone and discovers list dedicated to her favorite things appeared first on In The Know . More from In The Know: Gamer couple opts for 'first game' together at their wedding over a first dance Tearful dad 'can't hide his emotions' watching his daughters play Woman’s spontaneous Disneyland first date with Hinge match wins over TikTok Woman captures boyfriend having 'full-on conversation' with misbehaving kitten \|\| Crypto Market Daily Highlights – Tesla Inc. Sends the Market South: Key Insights: It was a mixed Wednesday session for the crypto top ten, with Dogecoin (DOGE) avoiding the red to buck the market trend. News Tesla Inc. (TSLA) selling 75% of its bitcoin (BTC) holding weighed. The total crypto market cap fell by $17 billion to end the day at $1,018 billion. It was a mixed Wednesday session for the crypto top ten. Bitcoin ( BTC ) hit $24,000 before falling into the red, while Dogecoin (DOGE) enjoyed a bullish session. Crypto network updates failed to provide support. The downside aligned with 24-hour liquidation figures for Tuesday and Wednesday morning that pointed to a pullback. Following the market reaction to the Ethereum ( ETH ) Merge and Cardano Vasil hard fork dates, Polygon ( MATIC ) network news failed to provide support. On Wednesday, the Polygon team introduced zkEVM. Using zero-knowledge proof technology, Polygon delivers Ethereum scaling that will boost throughput, reduce latency, and save on fees. According to the announcement, “The basic approach to scaling Ethereum with ZK proofs is to build a ZK rollup, a Layer 2 protocol which “rolls up” a large batch of transactions and proves all of them to the Ethereum network with a single ZK validity proof.” Mid-week, the broader crypto market tracked the NASDAQ 100 into positive territory. A post-US-market close sell-off did the damage, with news of Tesla Inc. ( TSLA ) offloading 75% of its bitcoin holdings weighing. On Wednesday, the NASDAQ 100 rose by 1.58%, following a Tuesday 3.11% rally. At the time of writing, the NASDAQ 100 Mini was down 39 points. Total Market Cap – NASDAQ – 210722 5 Min Chart The Total Crypto Market Cap Sees Tesla Driven Loss A bullish start to the Wednesday session saw the total crypto market cap rise to a day high of $1,071 billion. A post-US-market close reversal, however, saw the crypto market cap slide to a day low of $1,003 billion before steadying. Despite the pullback, the total crypto market cap avoided a fall to sub-$1 trillion, with the market cap falling by $17 billion on the day. Story continues Notable moves across the crypto top ten was a bitcoin return to $24,000 to bring the all-important $25,000 handle into reach. Total Market Cap 210722 Daily Chart The Crypto Market Movers and Shakers from the Top Ten and Beyond Dogecoin ( DOGE ) bucked the top-ten crypto trend, rising by 1.66%. It was a bearish session for the rest of the majors, with SOL sliding by 6.30% to lead the way down. ADA (-4.84%), BNB (-3.87%), and XRP (-2.65%) also struggled, while BTC (-0.76%) and ETH (-1.33%) saw relatively modest losses. From the CoinMarketCap top 100, Lido DAO ( LDO ) and Monero ( XMR ) led the way alongside DOGE. LDO rose by 3.45%, with XMR gaining 3.42%. Leading the way down, however, were Quant ( QNT ), Arweave ( AR ), and Polygon (MATIC). AR slid by 10.89%, with QNT and MATIC seeing losses of 9.87% and 9.22%, respectively. Nexo ( NEXO ), Internet Computer ( ICP ), and Ethereum Classic ( ETC ) also struggled. Total Crypto Liquidations Fall Further to Suggest a Bullish Session On Thursday, 24-hour liquidations eased again, pointing to more favorable market conditions. While down from levels seen earlier this week, 24-hour liquidations remained elevated. This morning, 24-hour liquidations stood at $338 million, down from $582 million on Wednesday. Liquidated traders also eased over the last 24 hours, suggesting better market conditions. At the time of writing, liquidated traders stood at 98,758 versus 104,735 on Wednesday morning. While 24-hour liquidation levels eased back, one-hour and four-hour liquidations were up from Tuesday. According to Coinglass , one-hour liquidations stood at $6.90 million, up from $2.84 million on Wednesday. Four-hour liquidations stood at $101.16 million, up from $45.66 million on Wednesday. Total Crypto Liquidations 210722 The one-hour and four-hour liquidation levels reflected the post-US market close sell-off and the final hour partial recovery. (See hourly total crypto market cap chart below). Total Market Cap 210722 Hourly Chart Daily News Highlights Tesla Inc. sold 75% of its bitcoin holdings in the second quarter. The UK announced a new financial bill to regulate stablecoins. 21Shares unveiled S&P risk-controlled Ethereum and Bitcoin ETPs. This article was originally posted on FX Empire More From FXEMPIRE: Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline nominations show rise for Thursday -operator website Givaudan confirms mid-term targets as input costs hit margins BOJ retains easy policy, defies global tightening tide Ranil Wickremesinghe sworn in as Sri Lankan president Tissue maker Essity’s profit just beats forecasts Oil prices extend losses as demand concerns outweigh tight supply \|\| Crypto lender Celsius says it is exploring options: (Reuters) -Retail crypto lending platform Celsius Network said on Thursday it was exploring options including deals and restructuring its liabilities. Celsius earlier this month froze https://bit.ly/3bHo3Cf withdrawals and transfers, citing "extreme" market conditions, leaving its 1.7 million customers unable to redeem their assets. The Hoboken, New Jersey, company hired restructuring consultants from advisory firm Alvarez & Marsal to advise on a possible bankruptcy filing, the Wall Street Journal reported last week, citing people familiar with the matter. The market for digital assets in recent months has been roiled by extreme volatility as investors dump risky assets due to fears that aggressive interest rate hikes to tame stubborn inflation could plunge the economy into a recession. The European Union has agreed on groundbreaking rules for regulating crypto assets, EU lawmakers said on Thursday, as the rout in bitcoin piles pressure on authorities to rein in the sector. Cryptocurrencies have lost more than $400 billion since TerraUSD, a major stablecoin pegged to the U.S. dollar, collapsed in May. Bitcoin tumbled another 6% to $18,866.77 late on Thursday, leaving it down over 70% from its peak last November. Similar to a bank, Celsius gathered crypto deposits from retail customers and invested them in the equivalent of the wholesale crypto market, including "decentralized finance," or DeFi, sites that use blockchain technology to offer services from loans to insurance outside the traditional financial sector. Celsius promised retail customers huge returns, sometimes as much as 19% annually. The lure of big profits has led individual investors to pour assets into Celsius and platforms like it. (Reporting by Manya Saini in Bengaluru and Noel Randewich in Oakland, Calif.Editing by Shounak Dasgupta and Matthew Lewis) \|\| 7 Growth Stocks to Buy Now Before They Become Large Caps: Canada’s national business paper,The Globe and Mail,recently interviewed a Toronto-based portfolio manager who seeks out smaller growth stocks with the potential to become large caps over the long haul.Alex Etsell invests$2.3 billionfor Hillsdale Investment Management in microcap and small-cap strategies for the firm’s clients. He defines microcaps as stocks with market capitalizations between $100 million and $300 million, while small-caps are those between $300 million and $4 billion. In Etsell’s case, he’s investing in Toronto Stock Exchange and TSX Venture Exchange stocks, but his philosophy can be applied to U.S. stocks. “We’re always looking to hold high-quality names, which in this market environment are companies that are growing and still showing profitability and have very strong margins. These factors are especially important in a high-inflation environment,” Etsell toldThe Globe and Mailon Jul. 23. InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips Therefore, I have selected four small-cap stocks and three microcaps for this article using Estell’s size definitions. These businesses are projected to grow revenues by at least 30% annually over the next two years and are profitable with 10% net margins. • 7 Dividend Stocks to Buy on the Dip Some of these stocks could become large-cap stocks in the next few years: [{"Ticker": "CROX", "Company": "Crocs, Inc.", "Price": "$61.90"}, {"Ticker": "COLB", "Company": "Columbia Banking System, Inc.", "Price": "$29.61"}, {"Ticker": "CDEV", "Company": "Centennial Resource Development, Inc.", "Price": "$6.45"}, {"Ticker": "SAFE", "Company": "Safehold Inc.", "Price": "$42.03"}, {"Ticker": "SRTS", "Company": "Sensus Healthcare, Inc.", "Price": "$10.43"}, {"Ticker": "GAMB", "Company": "Gambling.com Group Limited", "Price": "$7.45"}, {"Ticker": "SACH", "Company": "Sachem Capital Corp.", "Price": "$4.79"}] Source: Wannee_photographer / Shutterstock.com I was recently out at the ocean with friends. One of them was wearing a pair ofCrocs(NASDAQ:CROX). It reminded me that the foam clog manufacturer was still alive and kicking. As its website reminds visitors, it has sold more than720 millionpairs since its inception in 2002. In May, Crocs reported 47% revenue growth (excluding currency) to$660.1 million. As a result, the company raised its full-year revenue growth outlook to $3.5 billion, 53.5% higher than a year earlier at the midpoint of its guidance. It is profitable with an expected adjusted operating margin of 26% to 27%. Now, a big chunk of its growth is from its$2.5 billion acquisitionof Hey Dude, a sustainable shoe brand from Italy that is popular with teenagers. But even without Hey Dude, the Crocs brand will grow more than 20% in 2022. Yet, CROX stock has fallen by more than 53% year-to-date through Jul. 25. As a result, you can now buy its stock for9.9xit’s trailing 12-month free cash flow (or FCF) of $380 million. I consider anything 8% or higher to be in value territory. By virtually every financial metric, CROX is cheaper than it has been since 2017. Source: Tada Images / Shutterstock If you’ve been a long-time shareholder of the Tacoma, Washington bank holding company,Columbia Banking System’s(NASDAQ:COLB) returns have not been excellent. Over the past five years, it has had a cumulative return of negative 23%. TheS&P 500over the same period gained more than 60%. As I said, COLB is the holding company for Columbia Bank, a Washington state-chartered full-service commercial bank. It provides commercial banking services from152 branchesin Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and California. Since its founding in 1993, Columbia Bank’s made14 acquisitions, growing its assets, deposits, and loans to $20.6 billion, $18 billion, and $11.3 billion, respectively. In the second quarter (Q2) of 2022, COLB had a net interest income of $147.45 million, 17.5% higher than a year earlier. Its net interest margin (NIM) in Q2 2022 was 3.16%. For comparison,my favorite U.S. bankisSVB Financial(NASDAQ:SIVB). Its NIM in the second quarter was2.24%, 92 basis points less. • 7 Nasdaq Stocks to Buy on the Dip I don’t think there is any question Columbia Bank is well run. However, it will soon be part of a much bigger organization.In January, Columbia’s shareholdersapprovedits deal to merge with Portland-basedUmpqua Holdings(NASDAQ:UMPQ). The all-stock merger will see Columbia Banking System Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Clint Stein run the holding company, but Umpqua Bank will be the main brand and Umpqua shareholders will own62%of COLB.Once the merger is completed, Umpqua Bank will have the second-largest deposit base on the West Coast behind onlyU.S. Bancorp(NYSE:USB). Source: bht2000 / Shutterstock.com It has been months sinceCentennial Resource Development(NASDAQ:CDEV) announced its merger of equals withColgate Energy Partners III.Together, the combined entity will be thelargest pure-playexploration and production company operating in the Delaware Basin, with an approximate production of 135,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day and more than$1 billionin annual free cash flow. The deal valued Colgate Energy at $3.9 billion, including the assumption of $1.4 billion in net debt. CDEV is paying $525 million in cash and issuing 269.3 million shares of its stock. CDEV shareholders will own 52% of the combined business — $7 billion enterprise value — while Colgate shareholders will own the rest. Under the merger arrangement, current Colgate co-CEOs Will Hickey and James Walter will run the company with Centenniel CEO Sean Smith becoming Executive Chairman. They’ve yet to announce the new name post-merger. It’s expected to close by the end of this year.In addition, the combination will enable the merged entity to deliver for shareholders.“Importantly, the combined company is expected to provide shareholders with an accelerated capital return program through a fixed dividend coupled with a share repurchase plan,” Smith stated in its May press release. Based on a pro forma market cap of $5.6 billion ($7 billion enterprise value less $1.4 billion in net debt), its forward FCF of $1 billion or higher puts its FCF yield at 17.9%. Someinvestorsmight believe Centennial didn’t drive a hard enough bargain for Colgate. Time will tell. On paper, it looks to me like an intelligent combination. Source: wutzkohphoto / Shutterstock A year ago,Safehold(NYSE:SAFE) was trading at around $95. As I write this, it’s down 57.2%. Now could be the perfect time to buy into the real estate investment trust that specializes in ground leases. InvestorPlacecontributor Bob Ciura recentlyrecommendedSAFE and its secure dividend. As Ciura stated, Safehold grew its earnings per share and revenue in Q1 2022 by more than 30%. Ciura estimates Safehold’s annualized net asset value per share will grow 6.8% over the next five years. Safehold went public inJune 2017, selling 10.25 million shares at $20. It began with 12 properties, including seven ground net leases (GNLs) and one master lease (five properties) worth$343 million. Today, its portfolio of GNLs is worth$5.5 billion,with 38% of them in the Northeast, another 26% in the West, and the rest spread across the remainder of the country. Of the property types, approximately 48% of ground leases are for office buildings. Multifamily properties are the second-highest at 34%, with hotels and life sciences accounting for the rest. Approximately 94% of its GNLs are 60 years or greater, providing Safehold with stable long-term income. The highlights of its first quarter include a35%increase in earnings per share year-over-year (YOY), a 39% YOY increase in revenue, and $677 million invested in 10 new ground leases. • 7 Seriously Undervalued Tech Stocks to Buy Now Safehold continues to take ground leases to the next level. It’s an exciting play for patient capital. Source: metamorworks / Shutterstock Sensus Healthcare(NASDAQ:SRTS) is the first of three micro-cap stocks to consider.The Florida-based medical device company providesnon-invasive treatmentsof cancerous and non-cancerous skin conditions. The company’s superficial radiation therapy (or SRT) products have been used effectively on hundreds of thousands of patients in the U.S. and elsewhere. In Q1 2022, the company’s revenue grew 237% to$10.3 million. Its revenue was from the shipment of33SRT-100 Vision systems. Excluding a $12.8 million gain from the sale of non-core assets, it earned $3.3 million during the quarter, up significantly from a $1.1 million loss in Q1 2021. As a result, it now expects to achieve full-year profitability.The company finished the first quarter with $32.8 million in cash and no debt on its balance sheet. On Jul. 20, Sensusannouncedthe expansion of its relationship with Colorado State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Studies. The university acquired a second SRT-100 system. It will use the system to study horses and treat skin diseases.If successful, the company could start selling its systems to veterinary clinics — approximately 30,000 in the U.S. — across the country, providing Sensus with a second significant revenue stream.In Q1, it also launched itsTransDermal Infusiontechnology, which could lead to the elimination of needle injections. It sold seven of these systems during Q1 2022. While there is no question this is a risk-forward investment, the potential of its products most certainly exists. Source: 7th Sun / Shutterstock.com Like many stocks in 2022 — large-cap or micro-cap —Gambling.com(NASDAQ:GAMB) is down significantly in 2022. As recently as February, it traded as high as $13. Through affiliate marketing, the company makes money by bringing customers to sports betting and iGaming sites. Its sites include Gambling.com, bookies.com, Rotowire.com, and many others. Its clients include all thebig gaming companies,includingDraftKings(NASDAQ:DKNG) andRush Street Interactive(NYSE:RSI). The company’s history dates back to 2006, although the Gambling.com name was acquired for $2.5 million in April 2011. In 2019, it got a$15.5 milliongrowth investment from Edison Partners. They continue to own almost 16% of the company. Gambling.com has made a couple of big moves in 2022. First, in January, it entered into a strategic partnership with McClatchy Newspapers. McClatchy will lean on the company’s gambling content from35different online portals, while Gambling.com gains access to McClatchy’s audience of more than 65 million unique visitors per month. It is the company’s first media partnership. Secondly, in February, itacquiredBonusFinder.com, an online portal that helps gamblers find the best bonuses for online sportsbooks and casinos. Its biggest market is Canada, although it’s making strides in the U.S. Gambling.com paid $14 million in cash and stock. • 5 Electric Vehicle Stocks to Buy on the Dip For all of 2022, Gambling.com expects revenue and adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation (EBITDA) of at least$71 millionand $22 million, respectively. Source: microstock3D / Shutterstock Sachem Capital(NYSEAMERICAN:SACH) is a mortgage real estate investment trust based in Connecticut. Founded in 2009, it went public in 2017. It provides short-term, high-yielding real estate loans to house flippers along the eastern seaboard from Maine to Florida. Sachem currently has a loan portfolio of$482 millionspread across more than 515 loans. Since its inception in 2009, it has originated 1,750 loans totaling $710 million. All of its loans have conservative loan-t0-value ratios and require personal guarantees from the principals of the borrowers. It closes on loans within as little as five days. The Small Business Administration (SBA) can take six months or more to complete. The house flipping market remains an attractive one. According to Sachem’s June presentation, the average gross profit per transaction for home flippers in 2021 was $65,000. That’s up significantly from $36.75 a decade ago. In recent years, Sachem has begun pursuing larger commercial loans into hotels, multi-family and more. In 2018, it had loans in six states. In 2021, it was up to 14, while the average loan increased from $196,000 to $562,000. Yet, the average term was only eight months compared to 11 previously. On Jul. 11, the REIT increased its quarterly dividend by16%to 14 cents from 12 cents. The July payment now pays an annualized dividend of 56 cents for a 12.6% yield.Get paid to wait for SACH stock to appreciate. On the date of publication, Will Ashworthdid not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article.The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to theInvestorPlace.comPublishing Guidelines. • Buy This $5 Stock BEFORE This Apple Project Goes Live • The Best $1 Investment You Can Make Today • Early Bitcoin Millionaire Reveals His Next Big Crypto Trade “On Air” • Cash Holders Could Get Hit Hard THIS FRIDAY The post7 Growth Stocks to Buy Now Before They Become Large Capsappeared first onInvestorPlace. \|\| 3 Cheap Stocks Under $20 to Buy Now: Inflation has made it much harder to buy what you want with twenty bucks — except for in the stock market, where you can find plenty of cheap stocks under $20. And right now, I’d like to talk about three specific cheap stocks under $20 that are ready to grow in your portfolio. Now, some investors may be hesitant. After all, Wall Street is in the midst of a bear market and stocks overall just finished their worst first half since 1970! To say the least, there are plenty of stocks taking it on the chin due to inflation, rising interest rates, ongoing supply chain issues, labor market and at-risk consumers. But guess what? The market is also a forward-looking pricing mechanism. InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips 7 Cheap Semiconductor Stocks to Buy Now Today and with a recession looking priced in , it’s time to consider three attractively cheap stocks under $20 to buy now. F Ford Motor Co. $11.27 STNE StoneCo Ltd. $8.19 PATH UiPath $18.32 Ford (F) Ford Motor Co (F) retraced roughly 70% of its Covid rally and now forming a bullish hammer above decades long price support Source: Charts by TradingView Ford Motor Co (NYSE: F ) is the first of our cheap stocks under $20. Ford stock, of course, needs no introduction. The automaker’s vehicles have been around since the very beginning and its longstanding F-series trucks continue to be the most popular worldwide . What makes this cheap stock under $20 exceptionally attractive is it’s dirt cheap and has solid blue-chip financials to weather a recession. there’s also a well-supported 3.5% dividend for Ford shareholders. That’s not all. Ford is making a smartly-throttled transition into the electric vehicle market with the Mustang Mach-E and E-Transit and most recently it’s sold-out all-electric F-150 Lightning pickup truck. Given an EV market which Ford sees as making up to 50% of global sales by 2030 , this cheap stock under $20 is firing on all cylinders. Throw in a deeper six-plus-month pullback that’s retraced roughly 70% of F stock’s Covid rally and appears to be bottoming in a monthly hammer pattern just above prior multi-decade resistance, and it’s time for investors to park some cash in shares! Story continues StoneCo Ltd (STNE) StoneCo Ltd (STNE) a monthly confirmed hammer is offering a better-than-Buffett buy entry in STNE stock Source: Charts by TradingView StoneCo Ltd (NASDAQ: STNE ) is the next of our cheap stocks under $20 to purchase. Most of us can only drool over getting in on an initial public offering, or IPO, like Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK-A , NYSE: BRK-B ). But today, fearful selling over the past sixteen or so months is allowing regular investors the chance to join and beat the Oracle of Omaha at his own game — value investing. Brazilian fintech StoneCo Ltd is a Berkshire holding back from 2018, when STNE stock debuted on the NYSE for $24 and the investment manager picked up 10.7 million shares . Today, almost four years since going public, this stock is priced at just $8.19 per share. Challenges responsible for STNE’s decline include company missteps such as a shaky loan portfolio which dinged cash flow in 2021, a write-off of $230 million investment in Banco Inter , weaker currency translation and broader macro-related headwinds facing growth and more recently, even value stocks. But as The Motley Fool notes, solid triple-digit growth in StoneCo’s transaction volumes and customer counts , greatly improving adjusted net profit margin, as well as ballooning and record-breaking Q1 revenue gains of 139% are factors that make a strong case for ownership. 7 Best Dow Stocks to Buy in July Add in a confirmed monthly hammer bottom, and this cheap stock under $20 looks like a strong buy for value, growth and technical investors alike. UiPath (PATH) uiPath (PATH) is offering investors to buy into this Cathie Wood stock after a bear market bottom and downtrend breakout Source: Charts by TradingView UiPath (NYSE: PATH ) is the last of our cheap stocks under $20 for investors to buy today. Fund manager Ark Invest , led by Cathie Wood, made a notorious and enviable name for itself with its actively managed, high-octane growth portfolios in the wake of the 2020’s history-making bear market. And then, it kept making headlines for all the wrong reasons over the past sixteen months as those same Ark Invest funds cratered back towards their pandemic bottoms. But while the shift from first-to-worst for its funds has bolstered Wood’s “meme market queen” status, it’s notable the investment firm has continued to accumulate robotics process automation (RPA) play PATH stock over the past year. Ark’s own accumulation efforts have led to a cost basis is in the low $60s in this cheap stock under $20. That means PATH would need to rally by more than 200% and retrace roughly 62% of the stock’s lifetime downtrend just in order for the fund to just break even. An upside move of that magnitude in today’s bearish market, let alone Ark eventually profiting on PATH, might seem like a stretch. Importantly though, the firm’s commitment has resulted in UiPath becoming the fund’s fifth-largest holding. Controlling more than 8% of UiPath’s shares, it’s one of the most heavily vested by Ark Invest. The good news is investors don’t have to be like Cathie to enjoy big-time profits much sooner in this cash flush, growth stock. Technically, this past year’s bear market may have already bottomed with a confirmed monthly doji in June. Now and with shares just clearing PATH stock’s lifetime downtrend line in July, the path for this cheap stock under $20 to move toward its highs looks clearer. On the date of publication, Chris Tyler holds, directly or indirectly, long stock in Ark Genomic Revolution ETF (ARKG) but no other securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines . More From InvestorPlace $200 Oil Sooner Than You Think – Buy This Now The Best $1 Investment You Can Make Today Early Bitcoin Millionaire Reveals His Next Big Crypto Trade “On Air” It doesn’t matter if you have $500 in savings or $5 million. Do this now. The post 3 Cheap Stocks Under $20 to Buy Now appeared first on InvestorPlace . \|\| What is the crypto industry’s public responsibility?: Cryptocurrency — despite nearly 14 years of history dating back toBitcoin’s2008 andEthereum’s 2015 launches — remains today a highly controversial, confusing and contested concept to experts and lay people. The crypto world has been a spiritual battle space between its believers and haters, and more recently, those who exploit the differences forprivate gain. The battle is so fierce that it divides believers into camps (e.g., BTC vs. ETH vs. SOL vs. ADA vs. XTZ) that loathe each other and fight for supremacy. \|\| Altcoins Are Too Volatile, So Just Buy Bitcoin Instead: Unlike most cryptocurrencies that have faced crashes of more than 50%,Bitcoin(BTC-USD) has managed to resist a sudden and harsh selloff. With Bitcoin now breaking above $30,000, it is among the most resistant cryptocurrencies. However, the recent bearish trend does not look great for crypto, especially for altcoins. In a bullish market, altcoins do great due to their high volatility and low market capitalization. However, a bearish market is a death sentence for altcoins. While some solid projects may survive, a prolonged bear market would likely be the death blow for a fair chunk of altcoins. Therefore, prioritizing BTC is a wise choice for now. InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips [] The crypto market is currently fragile, and investors are rightfully fearful. However, I believe that a sudden crash is not very likely. Bitcoin has continued to remain stable, and it isdown by more than 53%from its all-time high. The selloff has cooled down, but Bitcoin could continue a slow decline for a few more weeks before any bullish action. Bitcoin recently broke out of a bearish descending triangle pattern which can be a sign of some short-term gains. Moreover, BTC has also broken above its $30,000 resistance level and has been holding that level until now. However, if it falls below $30,000 once again, it is likely to bottom out in June or July. The current price of Bitcoin is undoubtedly low. However, I do not think it is trading at a bargain price just yet. If the stock market continues its downtrend, BTC could bottom out around $25,000. Bitcoin comfortably traded at $9,000 to 10,000 even before the 2020 bull market significantly increased its popularity. Therefore, I believe that Bitcoin is unlikely to break below $15,000 even in a worst-case scenario crash. Bitcoin has recently seen a strong correlation with the stock market. In the future, it might be even more correlated with the stock market due to large institutional investors. For example, BTC began its bull market with the pandemic stock boom. However, this correlation is disadvantageous for Bitcoin when the stock market is bearish. With quantitative tightening in action, the stock market is unlikely to be strong for quite a while. Of course, the market has been green in the short term. However, it is better to be skeptical of the current rally as manymore rate hikes are still on the table, and the long-term downtrend could continue. Therefore, the stock market could drag down BTC if it continues its downtrend. Thehigh standard deviation (SD) of altcoinscompared to Bitcoin can make them significantly riskier. For example,Ethereum(ETH-USD) has an SD of 4.2. ForDogecoin(DOGE-USD) andLitecoin(LTC-USD), it is 6.5 and 5, respectively. In comparison, Bitcoin’s SD is 3.9, making it more stable. In addition, many institutional investors are buying Bitcoin at its current price. Thus, BTC is likely to decline far less than altcoins if the bear market continues. With that in mind, avoiding altcoins is a wise choice for now. If you are investing in crypto, you should prioritize Bitcoin. Moreover, I would recommend against lump sum investments in Bitcoin as the price can still go down. On the date of publication, Omor Ibne Ehsan did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.comPublishing Guidelines. • Stock Prodigy Who Found NIO at $2… Says Buy THIS • It doesn’t matter if you have $500 in savings or $5 million. Do this now. • Get in Now on Tiny $3 ‘Forever Battery’ Stock • Early Bitcoin Millionaire Reveals His Next Big Crypto Trade “On Air” The postAltcoins Are Too Volatile, So Just Buy Bitcoin Insteadappeared first onInvestorPlace. \|\| Market Wrap: Bitcoin Sees Best Day in Over a Month: Hi, I'm Jimmy He, here to take you through the day's crypto market highlights and news. Bitcoin (BTC) surged above $22,500 early Monday, hitting its highest price in over a month. The largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization was trading at $21,696, up 3.1% over the past 24 hours. Oanda Senior Market Analyst Edward Moya said that crypto sentiment is improving amid signs that the global economy will remain on solid footing for the near future and that the U.S. central bank will raise interest rates at its next meeting by 0.75 percentage point, rather than by 1 percentage point as some monetary policy observers had predicted last week. “If bitcoin continues to stabilize here over the next two weeks, the crypto winter could be over,” Moya said. GlobalBlock CEO Rufus Round said that he is seeing greater investor commitment to cryptocurrency as markets experience relief. “We, certainly at GlobalBlock, are seeing professional buyers load up on bitcoin and ether around these levels,” Round said. “It's such a collapse and there's been so much stress in the markets. The forced sellers are hopefully all done by now, and people are seeing value right here, especially given the macroeconomic backdrop.” Most major altcoins outperformed bitcoin, with Polygon’sMATICtoken leading the charts, up 18.4% over the past 24 hours. MATIC surged over 66% over seven days after Disneychosethe Ethereum scaling tool as part of its 2022 Accelerator Program. Ether (ETH) climbed 9% to $1,469. Last Friday, Ethereum’s ninth "shadow fork"went liveas the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap moved closer to its transition fromproof-of-worktoproof-of-stake. Today’s edition of Market Wrap was produced by Sage D. Young. ●Bitcoin (BTC): $21,513+1.8% ●Ether (ETH): $1,459+7.6% ●S&P 500 daily close: 3,825.30−1.0% ●Gold: $1,706 per troy ounce+0.2% ●Ten-year Treasury yield daily close: 2.96%+0.03 Bitcoin, ether and gold prices are taken at approximately 4pm New York time. Bitcoin is the CoinDesk Bitcoin Price Index (XBX); Ether is the CoinDesk Ether Price Index (ETX); Gold is the COMEX spot price. Information about CoinDesk Indices can be found atcoindesk.com/indices. Crypto funds had inflows for a third consecutive week with inflows of $12 million in the seven days through July 15, according to a CoinSharesreport. But a lot of those investments came from investors betting on further price declines in bitcoin. Short-bitcoin positions, which bet on a price decline in BTC, generated $15 million in inflows. Short-bitcoin inflows reached a record four-week run of $88 million. Net outflows for long investment products totaled $2.6 million. Traditional bitcoin investment products saw outflows amounting to $2.6 million, while ether-focused funds had $2.5 million of outflows. “We believe this highlights new investors expecting further price downside, while those currently invested are not selling out of positions, believing crypto prices are close to a bottom,” the authors wrote. Altcoin funds saw minor inflows with $500,000 of inflows for Solana, $300,000 for XRP and $100,000 for Tron. Regionally, the U.S. inflows totaled $21 million, outperforming other countries. Canadian outflows totaled $13 million, pushing the country’s cumulative year-to-date outflows to $388 million. • Polygon, ApeCoin Tokens See Outsized Gains:MATICandAPEboth surged as crypto market capitalization regained the $1 trillion mark early on Monday, up from around $800 million in June.Read more here. • The 'Merge Trade' Has Begun, Experts Say:Renewed clarity about Ethereum'sMerge timelinespurred investor interest in ether and itsstaked derivativeon the Lido platform called staked ether (stETH). "ETH has undergone a rapid change in narrative over the past week, with speculators purely focused on the upcoming 'merge' as a catalyst for appreciation," one observer said.Read more here. • Listen 🎧:Today’s "CoinDesk Markets Daily" podcast discusses the latest market movements and whether Mt. Gox payouts will affect bitcoin’s price. • Celsius Outlines Next Steps as Bankruptcy Proceedings Begin:The insolvent crypto lender has said that it will give customers an option of staying "long crypto" or receiving a discounted cash settlement. • Genesis Global Issued $2.36B in Undercollateralized Loans to Three Arrows Capital:Three Arrow Capital's list of creditors reveals the extent of Genesis' loans to the Singapore-based fund. • Ether Futures See $230M in Liquidations as Merge Pushes ETH to $1.5K:Shorts took on the most losses as buying pressure built up on ether over the weekend. • Options Signal Ether Strength for First Time in 6 Months:Some traders are buying large amounts of call options, one market observer said. • 'Crypto and DeFi Won’t Disappear’: Hong Kong Monetary Chief:Hong Kong Monetary Authority CEO Eddie Yue tells a G-20 meeting that crypto and decentralized finance will remain significant forces. • Coinbase Secures Regulatory Approval in Italy:The crypto exchange joins Binance in gaining clearance in that country. • Binance Fined $3.4M by Dutch Central Bank:The crypto exchange was penalized for failing to register in the Netherlands. • Stablecoin Bill Won’t Force All Issuers to Be Banks, Congressman Says:The key legislation that could open a path for stablecoin rules isn’t expected to stick to regulators’ recommendation to insist only banks issue tokens. • Australian Central Bank Chief Believes Regulated Private Tokens Could Be Better Than CBDCs, Reuters Reports:Governor Philip Lowe spoke at a panel discussion at the G-20 finance officials' meeting in Indonesia on Sunday. [{"Asset": "Polygon", "Ticker": "MATIC", "Returns": "+15.7%", "DACS Sector": "Smart Contract Platform"}, {"Asset": "Terra", "Ticker": "LUNA", "Returns": "+12.9%", "DACS Sector": "Smart Contract Platform"}, {"Asset": "Ethereum", "Ticker": "ETH", "Returns": "+9.1%", "DACS Sector": "Smart Contract Platform"}] There are no losers in CoinDesk 20 today. Sector classifications are provided via theDigital Asset Classification Standard (DACS), developed by CoinDesk Indices to provide a reliable, comprehensive and standardized classification system for digital assets. TheCoinDesk 20is a ranking of the largest digital assets by volume on trusted exchanges. \|\| Bitmain Partner Antalpha Unveils Lending Products for Miners: MIAMI Financial services company Antalpha unveiled several novel lending products for crypto miners at Bitmain's World Digital Mining Summit (WDMS) here on Tuesday. The products unveiled by Antalpha include co-lending with other financiers; financing to offload electricity costs, one of miners' biggest operating expenses; and deals collateralized with hashrate (a measure of computational power) instead of tokens or equipment as is common in the industry, as well as financing collateralized by both hashrate and mined tokens. It also is offering lending with no margin calls, a type of structured lending. A co-lending deal is currently under discussion, Antalpha Managing Director of Business Development Max Liao told CoinDesk on the sidelines of the conference. Crypto miners have been facing margin calls on their loans as the price of bitcoin has dropped in the last few months, while capital has dried up amid a bear market. During Antalpha's presentation on Tuesday, phones flashed across the room as miners and other financiers eagerly took pictures of sample deals shown on the screen, an indication of the interest for a new player in mining finance. Antalpha is a Bitmain strategic partner, much like cloud mining platform BitFuFu . The firm is based in Singapore, with its 150 or so employees spread across Hong Kong, the U.S. and Switzerland, according to Liao. "Our goal is to become a proper financial institution," Liao said, which is why the firm has a global presence and prioritizes risk management. The company has been focusing particularly on financial services and asset management, as well as equipment financing, he said. Antalpha is applying for a Type 9 digital asset license in Hong Kong, Liao said. "We're not looking to replace any of the big vendors out there," Liao said. However, Antalpha will step in if other lenders "are not fulfilling their function." That means if lenders are either unable or unwilling to predict or assess the risk associated with mining loans, don't have the capital to give out loans or are too conservative to invest in the market, he said. Story continues The loans come with interest rates of around 6.6% to 8% per year, and loan-to-value ratios from 60% to 90%, according to Liao's presentation. The firm has about $700 million of client's assets on its balance sheet and doesn't leverage its internal assets, Liao said. The company believes it is in a good position to evaluate miners' risks due its relationship with Bitmain, the world's largest manufacturer of bitcoin (BTC) mining rigs, and its mining pool affiliate, AntPool. The mining pool will be collateralizing the hashrate for the hashrate loans, which will come with no margin calls or liquidations, according to Liao's presentation. Bitcoin financing is one of Antalpha's core businesses, but mining financing "is very important for the overall ecosystem right now because there is a credit crunch happening" and borrowers might not be able to find much-needed cash, Liao said. Read more: Crypto Miners Face Margin Calls, Defaults as Debt Comes Due in Bear Market [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] None available.	Trend: no change \|\| Prices: 23656.21, 23336.90, 23314.20, 22978.12, 22846.51, 22630.96, 23289.31, 22961.28, 23175.89, 23809.49
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2017-12-28] BTC Price: 14606.50, BTC RSI: 49.33 Gold Price: 1294.10, Gold RSI: 64.82 Oil Price: 59.84, Oil RSI: 65.86 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Goldman Sachs Says There's an 88% Chance of a Bear Market: 3 Stocks to Own: Could we be on the verge of a new bear market? The answer is "yes," according to Goldman Sachs ' Chief Global Equity Strategist Peter Oppenheimer and his team. An exhaustively researched, 87-page report titled "Bear Necessities: Should We Worry Now?" lays out the case for trouble ahead. Everyone loves a Disney song reference -- "Bear Necessities" is a reference to a song in the film The Jungle Book -- but the contents of the report are ominous. Businessman looking down at the falling red arrow destroying a concrete barrier. Image Source: Getty Images. The team dug through a century's worth of economic and stock market data. They found that the U.S. stock market, as measured by the S&P 500 Index, is in the midst of the second-biggest bull market in recorded history. But then the news gets worse: While the valuation of the S&P 500 is now in its 88th percentile (using data from 1976), the median stock in that index is in its 99th percentile. Taking their research a step further, the Goldman team put together a bear-market indicator as a result of the data. This indicator is signaling Goldman's analysts that there's an 88% chance we'll experience a bear market in the next 24 months. Investors are between a rock and a hard place. Sky-high valuations for stocks are due, in part, to record-low interest rates. With the Federal Reserve now steadily increasing the federal funds rate, investors have limited options. One of them is shifting toward stocks that hold up extraordinarily well in bear markets, so here's why General Mills (NYSE: GIS) , Atmos Energy (NYSE: ATO) , and AB InBev (NYSE: BUD) are three great stocks to get Foolish investors prepared. Make sure to eat your Wheaties Every morning, millions of people start their days with a bowl of cereal. The corporate label on the side of those cereal boxes is frequently General Mills. The consumer-food giant's reach doesn't stop there. Not only does it make favorites like Wheaties and Cheerios, but everything from yogurt (Yoplait) to Nature Valley granola bars. It's even a top competitor to Campbell Soup via its Progresso soups. Story continues General Mills isn't exactly a growth business these days. In fact, quite the opposite. Sales in its fiscal Q1 were down 3.5% year over year. The main culprit was its North America region, where organic sales fell 5%. Fortunately, General Mills is a global company, with operations in Europe, Asia, and Latin America, which all can generate growth in the years ahead. Results in Europe and Australia have been encouraging. Recently, management guided for organic sales declines of just 1%-2% this fiscal year -- a sign that the tide is slowly beginning to turn. At their lowest point, General Mill's shares fell by about one-third during the Great Recession -- half the drop experienced by the S&P 500 Index. Today, General Mills trades at around 17.5 times forward earnings estimates (below the market average), and sports a dividend yield of 3.5%, which can help cushion portfolios through a bear market. Natural gas should be a cornerstone of any bear-market portfolio You may have never heard of Atmos Energy, but if a bear market occurs, you'd be glad to have it in your portfolio. Atmos is the most significant regulated natural-gas distributor in the U.S. Its operations span nine states, and over 3 million natural-gas distribution customers rely on Atmos to supply gas to some 1,400 communities. Natural-gas production continues to rise in the United States. As one of the largest intrastate natural-gas pipeline owners, Atmos is clearly a beneficiary. Its growing dividend currently is decent, at just over 2%. Atmos has raised its dividend every year for the past 34 years and continues to target annual increases of between 6% to 8%. Where Atmos truly shines is its stock-price performance during the last recession. Because the market knew that Atmos was a regulated infrastructure company, with guaranteed profitability, its shares fell a mere 20% during the financial crisis of 2008-2009. In the next bear market, Atmos likely will be a fantastic bedrock stock for investors. Pour yourself a cold one when the bear bursts onto the scene When the next bear market arrives, consumers and investors will find a lot to like with my third pick: AB InBev. The company is the world's largest beer brewer, with over 500 brands sold in over 130 countries. The company has 45% of the beer market in the United States, led by Bud Light, which garnered over $2 billion in sales last year alone. It also has the dominant market share in dozens of other countries. Craft beer may be the beer story stateside, but one can't escape AB InBev in search of a "cold one" in South America and Africa. For example, it has 66% market share in Brazil -- a nation of over 200 million. AB InBev has a lot to offer investors in a bear market. It's sky-high 5% dividend yield will help pad any downdraft, and provide much-needed cash to buy stocks on the way down. It also continues to exceed cost-savings estimates. So far, it's saved approximately $3.2 billion versus the expected $2.8 billion following its merger with SAB Miller. The performance of BUD's shares throughout the Great Recession are difficult to calculate. Its merger with Anheuser-Busch -- which was announced in July 2008, just before the trouble started -- muddied the waters. But a quick glance at its share price in 2009 shows that it navigated the downturn admirably. Foolish final thoughts Market timing is a (lower-case) fool's errand. There's just no telling when a new bear market may arrive. That said, Goldman's team of equity strategists have a point. Stocks are expensive, and the higher they rise, the bigger the potential fall. A long-term view is an investor's best friend in such a world. In fact, any bear market is the friend of anyone looking to buy great stocks at wonderful prices. More From The Motley Fool 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This Sean O'Reilly owns shares of Atmos Energy and General Mills. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Anheuser-Busch InBev NV. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy . \|\| Former FDIC Chair: Why we shouldn't ban bitcoin: The nearly 2000% run up in bitcoin’s (BTC-USD) price over the past year, followed byits recent precipitous drop, is stirring the usual calls to regulatory arms. Watching a volatile asset bubble (and yes, anything up by 2000% in less than a year is a bubble) can be painful for regulators. They know it’s going to turn. They know people are going to lose a lot of money. But what should they do? Some argue that bitcoin performs no socially useful function and thus should be banned. But value — like beauty — is in the eye of beholder. Since the beginning of commerce, humans have assigned value to things of no readily-apparent intrinsic worth. Particularly in the case of mediums of exchange, aka currency, we assign value simply because those with whom we transact do so as well. Whether it is the cowry shells of ancient India or the thin green pieces of paper many of us still carry in our wallets today, worth depends more on psychology than physical attributes. This is also true of fiat currency, even though backed by governments and their taxing power, and central banks and their money-printing power. When the public loses confidence in those institutions — as they did in the Weimar Republic in post-WWI Germany, or Southeast Asia in the late 1990s — value evaporates. Indeed, these days, the lack of reliance on central bank backing mayaddvalue in the eyes of bitcoin’s more passionate investors, who have more faith in technology than in their government. The number of businesses and individuals recognizing bitcoin as a medium of exchange is of sufficient scale to belie attempts to label it as worthless. And thepromiseof bitcoin, eventual widespread acceptance that would allow direct, peer-to-peer transactions with anyone in the world, has a strong allure. Moreover, unlike fiat currency, its finite supply and purposeful constraints on the pace of “mining” make it attractive to many as a store of value, similar to gold. To be sure, today’s market value would seem to far outstrip the intrinsic value of these uses. But this is hardly the first time markets have wildly over-priced assets. Netherlands didn’t ban tulips in the 1630s, nor did we ban tech stocks when they reached nosebleed levels in the early 2000s. Instead of making its own value judgements about bitcoin, what government should do is first make sure our policies don’t feed the frenzy. Certainly, federally insured banking organizations should not be allowed to directly or indirectly support bitcoin speculation. Government should also take steps to help ensure that the bitcoin price— wherever the market assigns it — is reflective of investors making informed decisions, free of fraud and manipulation, and that trading is not facilitating illicit activity. Fortunately, regulators have already taken positive steps in those directions. For instance, the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS)has provided a regulatory frameworkin which bitcoin exchanges can operate. (I am an independent director of a blockchain development startup that also operates a bitcoin exchange regulated by the NYDFS.) This provides a vehicle for investors to trade on an exchange subject to bank-like supervision, including capital requirements, customer due diligence, and cyber-security oversight. In addition, though the Chicago Board Options Exchange and Chicago Mercantile Exchange were criticized for “legitimizing” bitcoinby launching bitcoin futures, in fact, they created additional regulated venues to take bitcoin exposure through futures trading. And while most bitcoin exchanges remain unregulated, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has pressed both Cboe and CME to institute information sharing with bitcoin exchanges which will help them and the CFTC monitor for market manipulation and fraud in the underlying bitcoin market — a capability that did not exist before. The leadership of the Securities and Exchange Commission has also stepped up efforts to warn investors about risks associated with cryptocurrencies and quash attempts to evade securities requirements byoffering what is essentially a security in the guise of an “initial coin offering.”Anyone seriously thinking about investing in any vehicle that uses the words “bitcoin,” “blockchain,” “ICO,” or “cryptocurrency” would be well advised to read SEC Chairman Clayton’s statement before doing so. Itcan be found here. Importantly, the SEC warns investors about the difference between investing in bitcoin — a digital currency — and investing incompanies that are trying to develop the blockchain technology that underpins bitcoin. Blockchain refers to the distributed ledger used to create a highly secure, unalterable chain of ownership for bitcoin. Many fintech companies are trying to apply that technology to other assets, such as precious metals, securities, mortgages, etc., some with more credibility than others. This is highly sophisticated technology — promising, but probably years off in its widespread application. It is important to understand that investing in bitcoin does not give you upside potential in blockchain adaptation to other assets. They are two different things. Finally, Congress is considering legislation to strengthen government oversight of the potential abuse of digital currencies for illicit purposes, including money laundering and terrorist financing. Most bitcoin exchanges are not subject to the same level of regulation and reporting requirements applicable to banks to screen customers and detect and report suspected instances of illicit financing. They should be. Bitcoin is not the first market mania, nor will it be the last. The best discipline for bitcoin speculation is the recent fall in price by one-third. That is a healthy reminder to those who are investing in this highly volatile asset that prices can go down as fast (or faster) than they go up. As with any asset, don’t invest more than you can afford to lose. And do your homework before you do so. Sheila Bair is the former Chair of the FDIC (2006-2011) and served as a Commissioner and Acting Chair of the CFTC in the 1990s. She currently serves as an independent director or advisor to a number of corporations and fintech companies. These views are her own. Read more from Yahoo Finance about bitcoin: 74 bitcoin questions, answered Watchlist: Stocks with exposure to bitcoin Bitcoin buyers must practice ‘cold storage’ for security Owning bitcoin is so much damn fun How cybercriminals are exploiting the bitcoin craze \|\| Putting Up the Tree with Top ETFs of 2017: Christmas isn’t Christmas without a verdant tree. While the evergreen never fails to bring in cheer to the most lonesome of hearts, we decided to do something very different this year – build a tree with the choicest of ETFs this season. A Christmas Tree of ETFs Let’s build the base first, which is the most valuable of all for investors, and of course where all the gifts are to be found. And nothing’s more fitting than SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF DIA , which tracks the Dow Jones Industrial Average, to give a solid foundation to our tree. The Dow Jones has moved up 5,000 points this year — the biggest annual gain in its history — and is moving closer to another major milestone of 25,000. Additionally, the index has logged the 70th record close so far this year, representing the highest-ever number of record closes in a calendar year. As such, DIA has returned nearly 25% this year and has a Zacks ETF Rank #2 (Buy) with a Medium risk outlook (read: Top Investing Areas of 2017 & Their Top ETFs). Tax reform has added to more strength to the second-largest bull market and is expected to be the key catalyst to drive the stocks higher in 2018. A massive $1.4-trillion tax cut will create an economic surge, boosting job growth and reflation trade. It will further accelerate earnings, leading to increased dividend and buyback activities. Additionally, the tax repatriation will allow companies to bring offshore cash back home, paving the way for increased mergers and acquisitions. If we talk about sectors, banks and retail will be the biggest beneficiaries of the tax cut to 21% from 35% as they have the highest effective tax rate. Therefore, an ETF from these two sectors could be the best option to deck up our Christmas tree. In particular, SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF KRE and VanEck Vectors Retail ETF RTH could be intriguing. Both funds have a Zacks ETF Rank #3 (Hold) and have gained 6.8% and 20.6%, respectively, this year. So they form the fronds and leaves of our ETF tree. For the top layer, we have chosen the small cap iShares Russell 2000 Growth ETF IWO as it is backed by the dual tailwinds of accelerating economic growth and tax cut plan. Small companies pay huge taxes in America and a tax cut could be a big boon to these companies. These pint-sized stocks generate most of their revenues from the domestic market and generally outperform on improving American economic health. IWO has a Zacks ETF Rank #2 and has delivered strong returns of about 22% this year (read: ETFs to Bet on the Final Tax Bill: What Hot, What's Not). At the very top is the star ETF of 2017 — ARK Web x.0 ETF ARKW . The ETF is gaining on the bitcoin boom as well as technology surge. It is an actively managed fund focusing on companies that are expected to benefit from the shift in technology infrastructure to the cloud, enabling mobile, new and local services. The fund has soared more than 91% this year. With the structure ready, we now have to decorate the tree with bells, candies and lights. While most of the ETFs could be part of this beautification, we have chosen those that have a top Zacks ETF Rank or are currently hot in the market. Notably, Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF SCHD , offering exposure to the high dividend-yielding U.S. companies that have a record of consistent dividend payments, will add to the glitter and shine. The product has climbed 17.6% this year and has a Zacks ETF Rank #2, suggesting its continued outperformance. The best ETF that could nicely fit the candy decor is WisdomTree China ex-State-Owned Enterprises Fund CXSE , which is up about 75% this year. The strength came from companies that belong to a new and developed China (that has stepped up efforts to upgrade manufacturing, and research and development) rather than the traditional government-run companies such as banks, energy and telecom firms. The fund offers exposure to targeted Chinese stocks that are not state-owned enterprises and has a Zacks ETF Rank #2 (read: Be Thankful to These China ETFs This Year). Now, to light up the tree, let’s add iShares PHLX Semiconductor ETF SOXX that will continue to brighten investors’ portfolio in 2018. The fund has surged nearly 42% this year and has a Zacks ETF Rank #1 (Strong Buy). Being a cyclical sector, this semiconductor ETF tends to move higher with market rallies. New areas such as autonomous cars, cloud computing, gaming, wearables, VR headsets, drones, virtual reality devices, Internet of Things (IoT) and artificial intelligence are fueling exceptional growth. Additionally, semiconductor ETFs are gaining from rising demand of cryptocurrency mining, which needs the usage of semiconductors (read: Bitcoin ETFs Are Back After Futures Launch). The Christmas tree of ETF is now ready for investors. May it spread cheer with the jingle of Santa’s bell. Want key ETF info delivered straight to your inbox? Zacks’ free Fund Newsletter will brief you on top news and analysis, as well as top-performing ETFs, each week. Get it free >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report VANECK-RETAIL (RTH): ETF Research Reports ISHARS-PHLX SEM (SOXX): ETF Research Reports ISHARS-RS 2K GR (IWO): ETF Research Reports ARK- WEB XO ETF (ARKW): ETF Research Reports WISDMTR-TR WTCH (CXSE): ETF Research Reports SPDR-KBW REG BK (KRE): ETF Research Reports SCHWAB-US DV EQ (SCHD): ETF Research Reports To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report \|\| Futures Launch Puts Record Bitcoin Highs Back in Play: Having landed on Wall Street with a bang, bitcoin is solidly bid and looks set to scale new heights. As per CoinDesk'sBitcoin Price Index, the world's largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization rose to a high of $16,773.04 at 08:00 UTC today, and was last seen trading at $16,500 levels. Going byCoinMarketCapdata, bitcoin (BTC) has appreciated 16 percent in the last 24 hours. It hasn't all been smooth sailing this week, however. Following all-time highs on Dec. 8, pricesfell to $13,000yesterday before recovering to $15,700 at the time of bitcoin futures launch on the CBOE. Approximately four hours after the debut, the BTC contract on the CBOE (which expires in January) spiked 20 percent and triggered two trading halts. Further, a surge of traffic to theCBOE websitecaused delays and outages, but failed to deter the cryptocurrency from regaining altitude. With doors now open for mainstream investors, BTC is showing no signs of slowing down. The price chart analysis indicates the path of least resistance is on the higher side. The above chart shows: • The previous three daily candles (as per UTC) have long tails (big gap between the intraday low and close), indicating strong dip demand. • The bullish follow-through seen today validates the bullish case put forward by the long-tailed candles. • Also, a close today (as per UTC) above $16,500 (Dec. 9 high) would negate the bull market exhaustion as indicated by yesterday's doji candle. • The rising lows pattern is intact, as highlighted by the ascending trend line. • Also, a bullish flag breakout (dotted lines) has been confirmed. This is a continuation pattern – i.e. it indicates the rally from Nov. 29 lows below $8,600 has resumed. As per the measured height method, the bull flag breakout has opened up the doors for a possible rally to as high as $20,000. • Stochastic does show overbought conditions, but the relative strength index (RSI) shows plenty room for a rally in bitcoin. • Bitcoin is likely to break above $17,364.56 (record highas per Bitcoin Price Index) and move towards $20,000. • Any pullback is likely to be capped around $14,000, courtesy of the upward sloping 10-day moving average. • Only a sideways action for the next couple of days, followed by a close (as per UTC) below $10,000 would signal that a top has been made. Straight roadimage via Shutterstock • More to Come? Bitcoin Sets Record High Near $18k • Survey: Most Bitcoin Investors Expect Even Fatter Returns in 2018 • As Wall Street Bids Up Bitcoin, ICO Tactics Change • Up 50%: Ripple's XRP Sets Price Record Amid Overstretched Rally \|\| What If You Can Eat Gold, After All? (GLD): FromBullionStar: A popular phrase in segments of the mainstream financial media is that “You Can’t Eat Gold”. We don’t know who first uttered this comment, but it was more than likely a talking-head or Wall Street analyst on CNBC or Bloomberg. The disparaging claim seems to be based on concluding that in a financial or monetary crisis, if you own gold, that “You Can’t Eat It”. And so, according to the logic of whoever came up with the phrase, this would make gold useless during a financial crisis. In addition to the misleading and irrelevant nature of the comment, which we will discuss below, the claim that “you can’t eat gold” is actually factually wrong. And that is because you can eat gold. And also drink it. While gold can be eaten, it cannot be digested. But it is non-toxic to the human body. And it does not react chemically in the human body. That is why gold can and does appear safely in a number of foods and drinks, not surprisingly foods and drinks which are predominantly at the luxury end of the market. Some readers will have heard of Goldschläger, a Swiss/Italian liquor which has flakes gold suspended within it. On a similar note, a Swiss gin called ‘Studer Swiss Gold Gin‘ also contains flakes of gold. Staying within Switzerland, you can also buy edible gold products including “Swiss chocolate truffles with gold flakes“. Not to be outdone by the Swiss, the Emirates Palace Hotel in Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates) offers a ‘Palace Cappucino” which is sprinkled with gold flakes. In Selfridges department store in London, you can buy a“billionaires soft serve” ice cream conetopped with both sprinklings of gold leaf and a gold leaf covered flake. While in New York, in Manhattan’s Upper East Side, a high-end restaurant offers a “Golden Opulence Sundae” topped with gold leaf, for US$ 1000 a glass. Back in England, a specialist cheese producer in Leicestershire created Britain’s most expensive cheese – “Clawson Stilton Gold“, a stilton cheese interwoven with edible gold leaf and shot-through with gold liqueur. These uses of gold in food and beverages illustrate that gold is a sought after and prestigious substance, but also that gold is real, that gold is tangible and that gold is of value. The logic of the “you can’t eat gold” comment, as well as being wrong, is also flawed. Because by extension, you can’t eat any of Wall Street’s favorite investment assets. Imagine chewing on financial securities or fiat currencies. But whoever coined the phrase “you can’t eat gold” conveniently failed to mention this on CNBC. We would challenge anyone, especially CNBC and MSNBC, to eat share certificates or bond certificates or the electronic equivalent thereof. Nor can you eat the electronic coins of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum’s Ether or Litecoin. Real assets such as art, antiques, real estate, agricultural land, or vintage cars are also off the menu. A possible exception is that can drink an expensive investment wine collection, but would you really want to do this, as then you would be consuming your principal investment? But beyond the fact that you can in fact eat gold, and that Wall Street never points out the non-edibility of stocks and bonds, there are many beneficial reasons to buy and own investment grade physical gold of which we recently pointed out in28 reasons to buy and own physical gold.What we are talking about is real physical gold in the form ofgold barsandgold coins. This is true both during times of financial crisis, and also over the long-term as a form of investment and savings. Gold is without doubt the ultimate safe haven asset. In times of financial crisis and turmoil, investors and savers flock to gold as a wealth preservation strategy. The reason for investing in gold during times of crisis is based on the fact that investors instinctively know that the gold price behaves differently to the prices of other assets, particularly during crises. This is because the gold price moves independently of economic and business cycles. In times of war and social upheaval, physical gold’s benefits also come to the fore. Since gold has a high value to weight ratio, significant personal wealth can discreetly be carried in the form of gold across borders and frontiers and within areas of conflict. Since gold is a universal money supported by a highly liquid global market, it will always be accepted everywhere at the going gold price. Gold can easily be sold. Gold can easily be traded or even bartered with, especially in non-functioning economies where the local paper currency has collapsed or has become worthless. The fact that gold coins are regularly issued to elite military personnel in areas of conflict attests to gold’s critical benefits in times of monetary crisis and localized economic collapse. But gold is not just of use during financial crises. It is also an essential asset to own over the long-term as a strategic form of saving and investment. Physical gold retains its purchasing power over long periods of time. This is in contrast to fiat currencies issued by the world’s central banks, which generally lose most of their purchasing power over time. In other words, gold is a great hedge against inflation, as the gold price adjusts upwards to offset inflation. The gold price even adjusts to inflation expectations, hence it is sometimes called an inflation barometer and is watched like a hawk by central bankers because the gold price signals future inflation. Physical gold is also an asset without counterparty risk. This is because when you own physical gold in the form of gold bars or gold coins, there are no counterparties. In other words, the physical gold that you own outright is no one else’s liability. Nor are there any governments or central banks involved in issuing gold, or in trying to increase and debase its supply. Gold also lacks default risk, because it cannot default. Physical gold is also inherently valuable because it is a scarce precious metal that is difficult and costly to mine and refine. Gold’s price will never go to zero because it has a finite and significant production cost. Physical gold is difficult to counterfeit, impossible to create artificially, and cannot be debased. These are just some of the reasons for buying and owning physical gold. Please see BullionStar’s recent article “28 Reasons to Buy Physical Gold” for a list of reasons why you should consider buying physical gold. In the real world, owning physical gold can be of critical importance in scenarios where trust in a nation’s money supply has evaporated, such as is currently the case in Venezuela or Zimbabwe. Gold can also be of critical importance when entire nations suffer economic shocks. A case in point is the interesting experience of South Korea during the Asian financial crisis that swept the region in the late 1990s. This crisis left the South Korean economy severely impaired, with it’s currency, the Won, collapsing against the US dollar. In addition to a bailout by the International Monetary Fund, the South Korean government also launched a patriotic campaign in early 1998 to actually collect physical gold from the South Korean citizens which was then sold on the international market to raise much-needed foreign currency. This collective campaign was pursued precisely because the South Korean government understood that gold is a high-quality liquid asset that has substantial value. By mid-March 1998, the South Korean citizenry had donated more than 220 tonnes of gold, worth over US$2 billion, in the form of investment gold coins and bars, and other gold in the form of rings, jewelry, and gold medals. More than 3 million households were said to have contributed. This collective mobilization of gold to overcome a nation’s economic adversity and raise financing is a great illustration of how gold comes to the fore in a time of crisis, due to its store of value, safe haven, and high liquidity characteristics. In conclusion, knowing the many compelling reasons to buy and hold gold, and how gold can sometimes be a lifeline in a time of crisis, the claim that “you can’t eat gold” is exposed for what it is, misguided and disingenuous, and shows either ignorance on the part of the people who use it, or more likely, a deliberate intention to mislead and deceive. TheSPDR Gold Trust ETF (GLD)was trading at $121.54 per share on Thursday morning, down $0.5 (-0.41%). Year-to-date, GLD has gained 10.88%, versus a 19.19% rise in the benchmark S&P 500 index during the same period. GLDcurrently has anETF Daily News SMART GradeofA (Strong Buy), and is ranked #1 of 35 ETFs in thePrecious Metals ETFscategory. This article is brought to you courtesy ofBullionStar. \|\| Stocks jump following strong jobs report: Stocks getting a boost to end the week on the back of a big jobs report. Plus – yes you know it was coming – Bitcoin. We break down it’s biggest week, and why ‘cold storage’ is the new buzz word. And – Washington will be back in the fore next week – we have the three big things, to watch out for. Plus – will the force be with Disney? A big upcoming release, and a huge deal with an arch rival, are the latest plot twists. Catch The Final Round at 3:55 p.m. ET with Jen Rogers and Yahoo Finance’s Andy Serwer, Myles Udland and Dan Roberts. Winners and losers Stocks in the red today include American Outdoor Brands as the Smith & Wesson parent reported a 90% drop in quarterly profit from a year ago, La Jolla Pharmaceuticals as JPMorgan downgraded shares of the drugmaker to ‘underweight’ with a $20 price target, and Himax Technologies – shares of the chipmaker under pressure after Citron Research accused management of fraud. Himax responded, calling the claims ‘baseless.’ Stocks getting a boost today include Alexion Pharmaceuticals as the Times reports activist fund Elliot Management has built a stake in the company, Sage Therapeutics up day 2 following strong results for its depression treatment, and Microsoft – shares rising on the back of a bullish UBS note, with analysts expecting the company to invest heavily in it’s most profitable unit, Azure cloud computing. \|\| Bitcoin Futures Trading Brings Crypto Into Mainstream Finance: The intersection of digital money and traditional finance is at 400 South LaSalle Street in Chicago this weekend. That's where trading in bitcoin futures opens Sunday evening, as the first major U.S. exchange offers a product pegged to the wildly fluctuating cryptocurrency. The currency has risen more than 1,500 percent this year, and about 85 percent just in the past two weeks, driven largely by demand from individual investors. But even as bitcoin launched in 2009 as an alternative to banks divides Wall Street executives and central bankers worldwide, those kinds of gains are a powerful magnet. The futures offered by Cboe Global Markets Inc., and similar contracts that start trading in a week at at another Chicago-based exchange, CME Group Inc., may open the door to greater inflows of institutional money, while also making it easier to bet on bitcoin's decline. Either way, it's likely trading will start slowly, said Mike Novogratz, chief executive officer of Galaxy Investment Partners, which is raising a crypto hedge fund targeted at $500 million. "If people have expectations that it's going to have huge liquidity on day one, they're just wrong," Novogratz said Thursday in Toronto. "It's going to take a while to build liquidity. People need to go through at least one cycle to figure out how it settles." Derivatives trading is the culmination of a wild year for bitcoin, which captured imaginations and investment around the world, propelled by its stratospheric gains, and its anti-establishment mission as a currency without the backing of a government or a central bank, and a payment system without a reliance on banks. The derivatives contracts should thrust bitcoin more squarely into the realm of regulators, banks and institutional investors. In addition to the contracts at Cboe and CME, which will start trading Dec. 18, Cantor Fitzgerald LP won approval from regulators to trade binary options, and LedgerX, a startup exchange, already trades bitcoin options. Story continues "There will be a ramp-up time," said Ari Paul, chief investment officer of Blocktower Capital Advisors LP. "There just isn't a rush. The professional traders will mostly be looking to do arbitrage, between the futures and bitcoin itself. I don't expect massive money flows right away but then I expect gradual buying from people who want passive exposure" without buying bitcoin directly. The two exchanges on Dec. 1 got permission to offer the contracts after pledging to the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission that the products don't run afoul of the law, in a process called self-certification. "Derivatives should have the effect of bringing a deeper liquidity to the market which should reduce volatility," said Alistair Milne, chief investment officer and co-founder of Altana Digital Currency Fund that is based in Monaco. "As the whole cryptocurrency economy gets bigger the volatility should reduce." But not everyone is convinced it's a good idea. On Dec. 6, the Futures Industry Association a group of major banks, brokers and traders said the contracts were rushed without enough consideration of the risks. Last month, Thomas Peterffy, the billionaire chairman of Interactive Brokers Group Inc., wrote an open letter to CFTC Chairman J. Christopher Giancarlo, arguing that bitcoin's large price swings mean its futures contracts shouldn't be allowed on platforms that clear other derivatives. Still, Interactive Brokers will offer its customers access to the futures, though with greater restrictions. They won't be able to go short betting that prices will decline and Interactive's margin requirement, or how much investors have to set aside as collateral, will be at least 50 percent. That's higher than either Cboe's or CME's margin requirements. Cboe's futures are cash-settled and based on the Gemini auction price for bitcoin in U.S. dollars. The exchange plans to impose trading limits to curb volatility, halting trading for two minutes if prices rise or fall 10 percent, and a five-minute halt kicks in at 20 percent. Margins for Cboe bitcoin futures, which will be cleared by Options Clearing Corp., will be at 40 percent or higher. Cboe's futures market is a niche player in derivatives trading, which could limit how many contracts change hands in the initial days. Fueled by contracts on the VIX, the Cboe Futures Exchange handled 56 million contracts during the first three quarters of 2017, according to data compiled by the Futures Industry Association, the industry's trade and lobbying group. CME traded 3.1 billion contracts in the same period. Some traders also will prefer CME contracts over Cboe's because they're based off four exchanges, instead of just one, reducing risk of disruptions because of outages, attacks or price manipulations. The smaller Cboe does have an advantage over CME Group, however, because it's a major player in stock and equity options trading, giving it access to broker-dealers and investors who may not trade on CME. See original article on Fortune.com More from Fortune.com Could Bitcoin's 'Whales' Manipulate the Market? Deutsche Bank Economist Says a Bitcoin Crash Would Endanger Global Markets 'Gold 2.0.' Cameron Winklevoss Says Bitcoin Will Become 'A Multitrillion-Dollar Asset' How Secure Is Bitcoin Really? Why People Are Giving This Man Almost $2 Million in Free Bitcoin \|\| Coinbase may have given away its own Bitcoin Cash surprise: On Tuesday, when Bitcoin Cash hit Coinbase , the popular user-friendly U.S.-based exchange, cryptocurrency's reputation as the financial wild west was on full display. While anyone following along was well aware that Coinbase planned to add Bitcoin Cash , the currency created in August's Bitcoin hard fork , things still got weird immediately. After some suspicious pre-launch climbing, Bitcoin Cash's Coinbase launch immediately saw prices soar to almost three times those listed on other exchanges. That "significant volatility" led Coinbase to freeze transactions for its newest asset, creating plenty of confusion in the process. Just a few hours later, the company disclosed that the chaos had prompted an insider trading investigation , a surprising concession after some in the cryptocurrency world cried foul (to be fair, they are often crying foul). While it's not yet wholly clear what was going on, many digital currency enthusiasts have pointed to a Reddit thread from three days ago titled " ATTN: Bitcoin Cash added to Coinbase API (EXTREMELY BULLISH) " that claims to have spotted evidence of Bitcoin Cash's addition on a Coinbase API key permissions screen. Given its broad disinterest in regulatory norms and preponderance of first-time investors, doctored screenshots trying to nudge prices one way or another are fairly common within the cryptocurrency community. Still, many Reddit users appeared to lend this particular thread enough credence to check it out for themselves. (Unfortunately, as Bitcoin Cash is now live, we weren't able to verify the listing's early appearance in the API.) reporting myself to SEC for looking at the coinbase API 3 days before bitcoin cash launch its not about winning, its about doing the right thing pic.twitter.com/Tg9v3ZS5Wa — lil spoofy the bripto trader (@Lil_Spoofy) December 20, 2017 Story continues Again, Coinbase users knew that Bitcoin Cash was coming by January 1, 2018 — the deadline Coinbase gave itself in August — but most users assumed that the new coin would be withdrawal-only, letting Coinbase users who stored Bitcoin on the exchange at the time of the fork get their trapped Bitcoin Cash out of the platform. As Coinbase stated in its August 3 blog post : We are planning to have support for bitcoin cash by January 1, 2018, assuming no additional risks emerge during that time. Once supported, customers will be able to withdraw bitcoin cash. We’ll make a determination at a later date about adding trading support. In the meantime, customer bitcoin cash will remain safely stored on Coinbase. Reddit's /r/btc community took the API breadcrumb as a signal that both narrowed Bitcoin Cash's looming Coinbase timeline and provided evidence that Coinbase intended to add trade options for the currency — a significant sign of adoption that would surely influence the altcoin's price across exchanges. "If you're a programmer you know this is a very strong sign that Bitcoin Cash will receive full integration and not just withdrawals," one Redditor stated in the thread's replies. Given its mainstream appeal and extreme ease of use relative to other exchanges, Coinbase is something of a cryptocurrency kingmaker. For any digital currency gaining Coinbase trading support, volume and prices would widely be expected to soar as the news spread. Obviously, anyone paying attention to potential Coinbase API hints or other subtle backend signals is likely doing so with the intent to cash in on such a surge. "We can’t verify the screenshot. But we publicly announced we would be supporting Bitcoin Cash in August, so it would be expected that Bitcoin Cash would appear on the API at some point," a Coinbase spokesperson told TechCrunch in response to questions about the incident. Whatever really went down, the situation demonstrates how Coinbase's decision to add any cryptocurrency makes for a very delicate rollout indeed. The company plans to introduce more altcoins on its platform in the coming year, so it will have ample opportunity to learn from its rocky, semi-surprise introduction of Bitcoin Cash on December 19. Like many things in the digital currency world, cryptocurrency market forces are often even stranger and more inscrutable than their traditional financial counterparts. There might not be one single explanation for Bitcoin Cash's controversial pop on Tuesday, but the situation serves as yet another cautionary tale of the unique chaos of cryptocurrency, a financial realm where the rules are being written as they're broken. Disclosure: The author holds a small position in some cryptocurrencies, mostly because it seemed like a fun idea back in 2013 and then she forgot about it. Regrettably, it is not enough for a Lambo. Related: Watch original series, sports and more on go90. This article originally appeared on TechCrunch . \|\| Former NBA player David Lee might be joining Social Capital, the VC firm with deep ties to the Warriors: David Lee Jason Miller/Getty Images Former Warriors player David Lee, who retired from the NBA last week, may be joining VC firm Social Capital, according to Axios. Lee hinted that he had plans to join a Bay Area venture capitalist firm in an interview with NBC Sports last week. Former Warriors player David Lee may be following in the footsteps of other elite basketball players and joining the ranks of venture capitalists. Lee, who retired from the NBA last week , hinted at his interest in working with a Bay Area technology firm in an interview with NBC Sports . Lee stated that he had received a call from a few close friends who run "an unbelievable venture capital firm...in the Bay." Lee continued, "I decided to roll the dice and to try something new and I'm really excited about my decision." Today, Axios reported that the firm Lee alluded to is Social Capital, whose portfolio includes brands like Bustle, Slack, Sprig, and Wealthfront. Given that Social Capital founder Chamath Palihapitiya is a minority owner of the Warriors, Lee's choice of VC firms is not entirely surprising. A representative from Social Capital declined to comment. NOW WATCH: I've been an iPhone user for 10 years — here's what happened when I switched to the Google Pixel 2 for a week See Also: Bitcoin just hit an all-time high — here's how you buy and sell it People are freaking out over a video that appears to show an NFL player levitating, and it's 100% real 50 startups that will boom in 2018, according to VCs SEE ALSO: How Silicon Valley found its favorite team: the NBA champion Golden State Warriors \|\| Blockchain Investment Platform Taklimakan Network Launches Pre-ICO: SINGAPORE / ACCESSWIRE / December 1, 2017 / The Taklimakan Network - a blockchain investment platform aimed at connecting cryptocurrency newbies and experts — has announced the launch of its public pre-sale on December 12th, 2017. The Taklimakan platform features an in-app private messaging, internal payment system, experts rating assignment, and the ability to comment and search for traders, investors, managers and analysts. The Platform also offers a wide selection of opportunities for professionals, such as trust management offerings, email distribution of trading signals and analytical reviews among subscribers. The Taklimakan Network provides users with the ability to make personal decisions on the cryptocurrency based on trading signals, strategies, recommendations from professional traders and crowd predictions, which are based on forecasting the exchange rate behavior and other analytical opinions derived from the mean value of data collection on the responses of all participants. Periodic, analytical reviews of the crypto asset market and reports on blockchain projects prepared by experienced experts are sent to the platform users. Based on those reviews, users can find the most profitable and correct investment solutions. Additionally, the platform offers investment portfolios created by experienced managers that are selected on the basis of platform recommendations and user voting ratings. Anyone can make a contribution to trust management for these portfolios, with the purpose of increasing capital. Taklimakan Network also offers a large library of open source books, articles and other educational materials to help beginners understand the technology, and experts to further improve their proficiency. "We are thrilled to launch such a cutting-edge strategy in the crypto market," said Rashid Yussup, managing partner and co-founder of Taklimakan Network. "By launching such trading and educational tool, we are creating a strong connecting resource for beginners and experts in a way that both of them feel beneficial about the partnership." The Pre-sale starts on December 12th, 2017 at 10:00 UTC. Pre-sale investors will receive a 50% discount on the tokens they purchase. The main sale starts on January 20th, 2018 at 10:00 UTC. Additional information on token sales The token sale is divided into pre-sale and general sale campaigns. The base token price for the pre-sale is 30,000 TKLN per 1 ETH. In the general sale, 1 ETH will purchase 15,000 TKLN. There are three stages during the pre-sales and ICO for purchasers to earn pricing discounts on TKLN tokens. Story continues Lottery Every buyer who invests 10 ETH or in both the preliminary and general sales will be entered into a 1 million TKLN. Drawings for the lottery will happen after the general sale closes. Winners will be picked using off-chain mechanisms, since the Ethereum Virtual Machine's random number generator has limitations. Lottery winners will be chosen randomly with the utmost honesty and fairness. Prize payouts will be completed manually using the TKLN smart contract. Website: taklimakan.io Whitepaper: http://taklimakan.io/taklimakan-whitepaper-eng.pdf Twitter: @taklimakan_net Telegram: @taklimakan_en Medium Blog: @taklimakan BitcoinTalk: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=2426759.0 YouTube: https://youtu.be/9WbLeUSjhL0 Media Contact Contact Name: Venera Osman Email: [email protected] Taklimakan Network is the source of this content. Virtual currency is not legal tender, is not backed by the government, and accounts and value balances are not subject to consumer protections. This press release is for informational purposes only. The information does not constitute investment advice or an offer to invest. Additional Links Taklimakan Bitcoin PR Buzz SOURCE: Taklimakan Network View comments [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] By no means teaching me to suck anything. I’m just a crypto punter. Already thinking about above, although transfer to other currency rather than cash. Fees a factor though as all has to go back and forth through btc first. \|\| こんばんは。 bitcoin priceという \|\| こんばんは。 bitcoin priceという \|\| こんばんは。 bitcoin priceという \|\| Wish I had my 400k worth of Bitcoin rn \|\| Tiffany Haddishちゃんが \|\| a key is not a bitcoin \|\| Tiffany Haddishちゃんが \|\| Acabo de me inscrever na WCX, o câmbio global de moeda digital. Inscreva-se & e ganhe 50 tokens WCX. @wcxofficial #bitcoin https://ico.wcex.co/ \|\| Bitcoin Price – $1,000,000 by 2020 ? \| #VentureCanvas - http://www.venturecanvas.com/2017/12/09/bitcoin-price-1000000-by-2020-venturecanvas/ …pic.twitter.com/cOrdJC3Xbq	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 14656.20, 12952.20, 14156.40, 13657.20, 14982.10, 15201.00, 15599.20, 17429.50, 17527.00, 16477.60
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis] Not fully available. [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Bitcoin Markets Now Show Greater Influence From Institutional Investors: JPMorgan: JPMorgan Chase (JPM) thinks the Bitcoin (BTC) industry has changed considerably since 2017, citing an increase in institutional interest,Bloombergreported on June 15. The publication quoted a report led by managing director of global market strategy of theUnited States’largestbank, Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou, in which researchers examined recent phenomena surroundingcryptocurrency exchanges. As Cointelegraphreported, an investigation by asset manager Bitwise in March — and againlast month— revealed that a significant amount of trade volume reported by exchanges was likely fake. Citing JPM, Bloomberg notes that if only 5% of May’s $725 billion number is accurate, than the true volume of BTC trading in May was equal to about $36 billion. On the other hand, May became the best performing month on record for Bitcoin futures providerCME Group, with implied USD valuetopping $500 million. This volume difference between trading on exchanges when compared to volumes inbitcoin futuressuggests institutional investors are now sincere about the cryptocurrency, JPM said. “The overstatement of trading volumes by cryptocurrency exchanges, and by implication the understatement of the importance of listed futures, suggests that market structure has likely changed considerably since the previous spike in Bitcoin prices in end-2017 with a greater influence from institutional investors,” the report summarizes. At the same time, the end of June will seeCBOE, the first-ever futures provider,close downits last contracts in line with a decision taken in March. Bakkt, the institutional ecosystem from New York Stock Exchange owner Intercontinental Exchange, meanwhile recentlyrevealedit would begin testing its own futures offering in July. • Round-Up of Crypto Exchanges Hack So Far in 2019, How Can It Be Stopped? • Binance Announces Bitcoin-Pegged Token on Binance Chain • Bloomberg: UK Interdealer Broker TP ICAP to Sell CME’s Bitcoin Futures • 5 South Korean Crypto Exchanges Take On New Responsibility for User Losses \|\| $10,915: Bitcoin Price Destroys Key Milestone to New 2019 High, What’s Next?: ByCCN Markets: On major crypto exchanges in the likes of Bitstamp and Coinbase, the bitcoin price has achieved a new 2019highat $10,915 in an overnight rally. The bitcoin price is up moer than $20,000 in the past week (source: coinmarketcap.com) As the bitcoin price surpassed the $10,000 mark, a level that has been regarded as a key psychological level by prominent investors and analysts including Tyler Winklevoss and Thomas Lee, the sentiment around the near term trend of the crypto market has significantly improved. Technical analysts anticipate bitcoin to move past its current all-time high at $20,000 in the upcoming months, possibly by 2020. Read the full story on CCN.com. \|\| Navigating 2019’s Twists and Turns: This article was originally published on ETFTrends.com. By RiverFront Investment Group A LESSON FROM FORMULA ONE RACING As a Formula 1 racing fan, I find myself comparing the 2019 action in the equity markets to that of a Grand Prix race with all the thrills and tension that come along with it. The drivers must have endurance, possess the ability to navigate hairpin turns as well as the straightaways and maintain constant contact with the crew to reaffirm conditions and strategy. Sound familiar? As important as all the internal team dynamics are, invariably there are external variables – the course, the weather, and the actions of other racers - over which the team has no control. THE START: It would have been difficult to have called the start of 2019. The dramatic downside reaction that ended 2018, sparked by fears of tighter interest rates, was quickly shrugged off as the Federal Reserve reversed course and indicated that it would proceed cautiously in determining further rate hikes. That coupled with what was perceived as positive news on the trade front resulted in a first quarter rebound in US equities that was at the high end of our optimistic forecast for the entire year in our 2019 Outlook . THE CHICANE: A chicane is a sequence of tight corners (think zig-zag) in alternate directions built into the racing circuit to slow the cars. The “chicane,” for purposes of this reference, comes in the form of the reality of where we are in the earnings cycle. Earnings for the S&P 500 came in considerably better than the 4% decline that was originally forecast for the first quarter, however, according to FactSet they were still slightly negative. It is estimated that the decline was -0.4%. Earnings for the second quarter are now forecast to decline by more than 2%, which would likely reignite the worries about the impact of an earnings recession. S&P 500 earnings revision ‘momentum’ – a moving average of the total number of earnings-per-share (EPS) estimates revised up by analysts over the past 100 days, minus the number revised down, divided by total number of estimates - has recovered from its dramatic drop earlier this year, but is still hovering around zero, suggesting to us a lack of a decisive positive view by analysts heading into earnings season ( see chart, next page ). Story continues Earnings growth leads to valuation multiple expansion, so the change in the rate of change for that growth is impactful to the valuation levels of the market. At this juncture, investors must look ahead to the back half of 2019 and into early 2020 to see earnings growth reaccelerate. On a forward multiple, the S&P 500 is at approximately a 16.7x multiple on 2019 earnings which is above the 10-year average of 14.8x. An article from Bloomberg earlier this week noted the growing number of Wall Street analysts who have cut their earnings estimates for the S&P, yet none have cut their target price for the index. As we head into earnings reporting season in a few weeks, the actual data as well as the guidance will be an important component in determining whether we see valuation multiple expansion or contraction from current levels. THE YELLOW FLAG: A yellow flag signifies that there is hazard ahead. Given market valuations, we believe the “yellow flags” that we have seen in terms of macroeconomic and geopolitical hazards should have created more volatility, particularly to the downside, than what we have experienced. The sharp selloff in May that was the result of news that the US would proceed with tariff increases on imports from China seems to have become a dim memory in anticipation of progress as investors look ahead to the upcoming G20 meeting. SP500 Chart Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Shown for illustrative purposes only. You cannot invest directly in an index. Ironically, there has been no concrete evidence of any substantive agreement between the two countries, so hope seems to be the prevailing strategy. Meanwhile, estimates for the potential impact that higher tariffs could have to US GDP have started to tick higher. Headlines are appearing daily regarding the negative impact to businesses and consumers as the imposition of these tariffs loom. In early June, consumer sentiment did tick slightly lower in the most recent Michigan Consumer Sentiment Survey due to tariff concerns; however, it remains at record levels. There are some signs of slowing in the US economy such US manufacturing data, and a recent survey of US CEOs revealed that sales expectations, plans for capital investment and hiring have all dropped. THE STRAIGHTAWAY: As we wind down the second quarter it feels like we are on a straightaway. US equity markets have reached record highs, central banks around the world have tilted more dovish, and investors seemed to have reconciled that slower growth is a reality. At RiverFront, we have adjusted portfolios based on our underlying fundamental underpinnings of asset allocation, tactical adjustments, security selection and risk management to account for these variables . Currently, our shorter-horizon strategies are considered neutral risk relative to our benchmarks, with a tilt towards US equities. This reflects both our optimistic views around US central bank policy and long-term preference for stocks over bonds, balanced with the uncertainty surrounding tactical factors like trade headlines. The longer-horizon strategies, where investors inherently may possess a higher tolerance for short-term uncertainty, remain positioned in a “risk on” fashion and also reflect a preference for US equities. This article was written by the team at RiverFront Investment Group , a participant in the ETF Strategist Channel . Important Disclosure Information The comments above refer generally to financial markets and not RiverFront portfolios or any related performance. Past results are no guarantee of future results and no representation is made that a client will or is likely to achieve positive returns, avoid losses, or experience returns similar to those shown or experienced in the past. Information or data shown or used in this material is for illustrative purposes only and was received from sources believed to be reliable, but accuracy is not guaranteed. In a rising interest rate environment, the value of fixed-income securities generally declines. It is not possible to invest directly in an index. When referring to being “overweight” or “underweight” relative to a market or asset class, RiverFront is referring to our current portfolios’ weightings compared with the portfolios’ composite benchmarks. For more information on our composite benchmarks, please visit our website: www.riverfrontig.com. Technical analysis is based on the study of historical price movements and past trend patterns. There are no assurances that movements or trends can or will be duplicated in the future. Investing in foreign companies poses additional risks since political and economic events unique to a country or region may affect those markets and their issuers. In addition to such general international risks, the portfolio may also be exposed to currency fluctuation risks and emerging markets risks as described further below. Changes in the value of foreign currencies compared to the U.S. dollar may affect (positively or negatively) the value of the portfolio’s investments. Such currency movements may occur separately from, and/or in response to, events that do not otherwise affect the value of the security in the issuer’s home country. Also, the value of the portfolio may be influenced by currency exchange control regulations. The currencies of emerging market countries may experience significant declines against the U.S. dollar, and devaluation may occur subsequent to investments in these currencies by the portfolio. Foreign investments, especially investments in emerging markets, can be riskier and more volatile than investments in the U.S. and are considered speculative and subject to heightened risks in addition to the general risks of investing in non-U.S. securities. Also, inflation and rapid fluctuations in inflation rates have had, and may continue to have, negative effects on the economies and securities markets of certain emerging market countries. Stocks represent partial ownership of a corporation. If the corporation does well, its value increases, and investors share in the appreciation. However, if it goes bankrupt, or performs poorly, investors can lose their entire initial investment (i.e., the stock price can go to zero). Bonds represent a loan made by an investor to a corporation or government. As such, the investor gets a guaranteed interest rate for a specific period of time and expects to get their original investment back at the end of that time period, along with the interest earned. Investment risk is repayment of the principal (amount invested). In the event of a bankruptcy or other corporate disruption, bonds are senior to stocks. Investors should be aware of these differences prior to investing. 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BFC is the parent company of Robert W. Baird & Co. Incorporated (“Baird”), a registered broker/dealer and investment adviser. Copyright ©2019 RiverFront Investment Group. All Rights Reserved. 882653 POPULAR ARTICLES AND RESOURCES FROM ETFTRENDS.COM SPY ETF Quote VOO ETF Quote QQQ ETF Quote VTI ETF Quote JNUG ETF Quote Top 34 Gold ETFs Top 34 Oil ETFs Top 57 Financials ETFs Facebook Libra: Weighing The Pros And Cons As Bitcoin Surges Past $13K, Calls to Embrace Crypto Grow GLDM Marks One Year Anniversary Today, Leads Gold-Backed ETF Flows ROBO Global Healthcare Technology ETF Debuts on NYSE Gold And Silver Rally On Unusual Options Activity READ MORE AT ETFTRENDS.COM > \|\| Crypto Wallet Provider BRD Partners With Wyre to Roll Out US Bank Transfer Support: Globalmobile crypto walletprovider BRD has announced a partnership with blockchain payments and infrastructure firmWyrethat will enable itsUnited States-based customers to purchasecryptocurrenciesusingbanktransfers. The news was revealed in a press release shared with Cointelegraph on June 13. According to the press release, U.S. customers will be able to purchasebitcoin(BTC),ether(ETH) and dai (DAI) by directly linking their BRD wallet to their bank account and making a low-fee transfer. The new service is reportedly supported by over 1,700 U.S. banks, and ostensibly allows for purchases to be completed within five minutes. In a statement, Aaron Lasher, BRD’s chief strategy officer and co-founder, said that the new service aims to ensure that the blockchain sector remains decentralized and inclusive. He alleged that currently major crypto wallet providers are turning to more custodial and centralized structures. The press release claims that BRD — which was founded in 2015 — has over 2 million customers across 170 countries, and has seen its period of most intensive growth this year. During the first 4 months of 2019, the firm claims to have doubled the number of transactions as well as the number of users exchanging crypto assets. The firm also estimates that it has $6 billion worth of crypto assets under protection. Wyre, for its part, has reportedly traded over $3.5 billion in crypto assets and completed over $1 billion in commercial FX payments using crypto as a rail. Having established a network of relationships with banks and crypto exchanges, Wyre’s API facilitates fiat-crypto conversion in over 50 countries, and supports eight national fiat currencies and three cryptocurrencies. In January of this year, Switzerland-based Falcon Private Bank introduced support for direct transfers and storage of select cryptocurrencies, as well as fiat-crypto conversion services. • Spanish Law Enforcement Arrests 35 Suspects for Bank Fraud, BTC Money Laundering • Conglomerates’ Deep Pockets Continue Blockchain Growth in South Korea Despite Crypto Ban • Craig Wright Ordered to Personally Appear at Bitcoin Theft Mediation • Former US Senator Rick Santorum Joins Catholic-Focused Cryptocurrency Project \|\| Why I think Facebook and Libra may be a good thing: So now the old guard of the big tech companies have announced their intention to join the new world of blockchain and cryptocurrency. It was only ever a matter of time. But what does this mean for Bitcoin, and the wider blockchain space? There is a huge amount to unpack from the white paper, so I’m not able to breakdown the whole lot, but my view today is that through Libra and Facebook, the words “blockchain” and “cryptocurrency” will start to become more trusted and a more comfortable lexicon for those not currently anywhere near this space – this is a good thing overall for the industry… First let’s get clear on the distinctions between Libra and Bitcoin; Bitcoin is generally viewed as a future store of value, as today it is not a cheap, fast or effective way to send small amounts of money (until a solid layer 2 solution can be implemented at scale), but with a finite supply and a pre-programmed flow of new coins, it’s a deflationary currency – something we’ve not had for a long time. So potentially Bitcoin is good as an investment asset/product, but not really as a medium of exchange or a unit of account. Libra, on the other hand, will be pegged to a basket of government-issued currencies (and bonds?) and will be relatively stable in value, by comparison, meaning that it is still impacted by inflationary pressures inherent to those currencies. Hyperinflation Although purists won’t view Libra as either blockchain or a real cryptocurrency, it definitely has aspects of both. Libra should be viewed as digital money, easily purchased and transacted with, but not a very good store of value (SoV) unless you are in a country suffering from hyperinflation. Libra will benefit from being accessible through Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp and their two billion daily active users. Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp will drive consumer adoption of Libra and when enough consumers have Libra, merchants will follow. Facebook will create both sides of the ecosystem through its sheer size. With a large base of consumers and merchants as its engine, Libra can deliver frictionless payments to friends, family and businesses across (almost) all borders at speed with no transaction costs. Story continues Facebook has managed to bring in some of the biggest brands and companies into the Libra foundation including Visa, Mastercard, Uber and PayPal as well as some big players in the venture capital space. Each member of the foundation pays $10million. The money is used to support the underlying basis for the Libra coin value. Additionally, members of the foundation run the computers (nodes) of the Libra blockchain creating the basis for distributed ledger and decentralised control. This raises questions – and eyebrows – about what those companies might then do with the sensitive financial data they may now be privy to? Facebook has already had to weather the storm of negative press and congressional hearings around how they use data, and whether the public will trust them not to utilise that data for ad targeting – they’ve said they won’t, but the key word is “trust”. Regulators No doubt, Libra’s biggest obstacle to success will be governments around the world, their central banks, and the regulators who want to ensure consumers are protected, and no unfair advantages are given to any entities. It was only a few weeks ago that we saw the SEC move on Kik and their token Kin. Kik promotes the Kin token as a utility, whilst the SEC put forward their interpretation that the Kin token is a security. They believe the Kin token was purchased with a view that investors could hold and make a profit. Unsurprisingly, Kik have come out fighting (they didn’t have much choice though really). If the value of the Libra coin is to be based on the value of a basket of currencies, bonds and other assets, then its value will not be pegged to any single currency. This makes Libra a new unit of account when adoption and utility reach a critical mass. I really can’t see the Federal Reserve rolling over and allowing a new sovereign currency to suck value away from the dollar – effectively the global reserve currency. Suddenly, many of the cypherpunks and crypto-anarchists will be rooting for a multi-billion dollar corporate behemoth and its corporate buddies. As the saying goes, “the enemy of my enemy is my friend” – right? It definitely looks that way today. Positive Libra will have a net positive effect on Bitcoin and the wider Blockchain space, just through the massive PR machine that is Facebook. Facebook has not snatched at this play. They’ve put smart people on it, taken their time, and really considered how best to execute. Facebook knows how to execute, and they’ve seemingly done it every time (from newsfeed updates to smart acquisitions), and the one thing you know they’ll get right is a smooth user experience that your grandma can use – do not underestimate just how important this is. Libra can only be a good thing for awareness. With Libra, Joe Public can start learning “what’s this Bitcoin thing is all about?”. Libra will also make corporates start to consider the role of consortia and decentralisation through utilising blockchain, and what issues that may solve for their respective industries. Ultimately, only time will tell as to how successful Libra coin will be for all parties involved, but right now, I wouldn’t bet against Libra’s success. And I hope that in turn, this will drive greater understanding of Bitcoin, and society’s need for sound money. Jon Walsh Associate Partner Blockchain Rookies Twitter: @walshjonwalsh HOW WE BROKE THE NEWS OF FACEBOOK’S LIBRA PROJECT: https://coinrivet.com/breaking-news-facebook-announces-crypto-launch/ The post Why I think Facebook and Libra may be a good thing appeared first on Coin Rivet . \|\| USD/CAD Daily Forecast – Fundamentals Pleasing the Bulls: After bouncing off from the pivotal 1.3037 support point yesterday, the USD/CAD pair continued to remain seesawed until today. The pair started Friday’s session near 1.3046 level with the bulls taking control over the helm. While on the upper side, the healthy 1.3066 resistance handle remained as the major barrier to cap the daily gains. However, the resilient act displayed in the early hours might act as a prelude to some rigorous movements for the day. Meantime, the prices of Crude Oil , Canada’s largest export item, fell 1% today on fears for the global economy. The elevated Middle East tensions and uncertainty on the US-Sino trade front, stood as the main concerns, threatening the overall economic growth. Significant Economic Events Today, the next session after the US Independence Day, the economic docket appeared filled with some crucial June data releases. The Non-Farm Payrolls and the YoY Average Hourly Earnings are something that needs special attention. This time, the Street analysts stay highly bullish over both these reports. In the Asian session, the USD Index was already 0.08% up since the last closing, revealing buyer interests. On the Canadian side, traders must keep a closer watch over the Canadian June Employment and Unemployment Change data releases. The market expects the change the Employment to report 17.7K lower than the previous 27.7K. Also, the consensus estimates the Unemployment rate to grow 0.1% over the last 5.4%. The market also expects a drop of 1.64% in the June Ivey Purchasing Managers Index, this time. In a nutshell, the Fundamentals seem appealing to the USD/CAD bulls. Hence, traders can expect some immediate advances in the price actions following each significant data release. Technical Analysis 2-Hour Chart USDCAD 120 Min 05 July 2019 For the USD/CAD pair to make a positive move, it needs to overcome multiple barriers on the upward path. The slanting 15-day old descending resistance line, along with the 50-day and 100-day SMA confluence have confined the pair’s northward movements. In case, if the Loonie pair manages to break this strong resistance confluence, then the significant 200-day SMA at 1.3210 level would get activated. On the flip side, support lines near 1.3060 and 1.3041 levels kept the pair’s downside limited. Story continues 1-Week Chart USDCAD 1 Week 05 July 2019 On a broader view, the bears seem to take over the game. During the last 1-year period, the downside price actions of the pair were taken care of by a slant ascending support line. However, in the mid-June of 2019, the aforementioned support benchmark was broken. In addition to that, the pair had also crossed below the significant 200-day SMA, signaling a sharp pullback in the coming sessions. If the drowning in the pair continues, then it will enable the bears to challenge the 1.2769 resistance-turned-support level. This article was originally posted on FX Empire More From FXEMPIRE: Natural Gas Price Prediction – Prices Surge as Managed Money is Caught Offside Stock Market Overview – Stocks Slip on Strong Jobs Data Crude Oil Price Update – Upside Bias Develops Over $57.41 Gold Price Futures (GC) Technical Analysis – Trend Changes to Down on Trade Through $1384.70 Bitcoin Cash – ABC, Litecoin and Ripple Daily Analysis – 07/07/19 The Week Ahead: Geopolitics and Powell Put the Dollar in the Spotlight \|\| Snowden: ‘The Most Important Thing Bitcoin Is Missing Right Now Is Privacy’: Bitcoin’s biggest flaw is its lack of privacy, said Edward Snowden at the Bitcoin 2019 conference. The cybersecurity expert noted the importance of privacy as a source of liberty. “The lack of privacy is an existential threat to bitcoin. Is the only protection users have from political change,” Snowden said. Related:Samourai Wallet Releases Privacy-Enhancing CoinJoin Feature Snowden also stated that he was a bitcoin supporter and even used an encrypted service that he paid for with bitcoins in order to communicate with journalists in 2013. Talking about his experience being pursued by the United States government for sharing NSA data, Snowden pointed out the unrealistic expectations from regulators who want to be in control of cryptocurrencies. Going in-depth about the regulations from banks and governments, Snowden also exposed the necessity for exchanges to defend their users’ privacy. He fears that if one of the exchanges gave up information, soon all of them would follow. “If you actually go into the terms of big exchanges like Coinbase, they only want to cover themselves. They expose you, they close your account and keep your funds,” Snowden said. Related:Facebook’s Libra Cryptocurrency: A Technical Deep Dive He also disliked the development of financial cryptocurrency services, claiming that many of them are starting to look too much like banks. “Something unforgivable is that you guys keep developing services trying to be banks, and the world doesn’t need more banks,” he said. Snowden also talked about theShadow Brokers, a group of hackers that auctioned NSA information in exchange for bitcoin in 2016. He noted that the hacking case was the starting point of a governmental war on cryptocurrencies. In short, he said, regulation doesn’t work unless it becomes overly intrusive. “If tracking bitcoin was possible then the NSA would have caught them,” he said. He said Satoshi Nakamoto was in the same position: he could navigate the system and leave no trace. “If you know how the system works, you can still have privacy,” he said. Edward Snowden speaks at Bitcoin 2019 via video link, photo by Diana Aguilar • Tendermint Says Last Month’s Cosmos Vulnerability Exposed Security Loophole • Crypto’s Connection to the Hong Kong Protests \|\| Ethereum developer hopes to see more women in blockchain: Coin Rivet recently had the pleasure of catching up with Ethereum smart contracts developer Alice Henshaw. Alice spoke candidly to us about her love for computer security, the pitfalls of the private securities market, and motivating more women to enter the intimidating space of blockchain development. Could you tell us a bit about your own personal journey as a blockchain developer? I have been involved in the blockchain space for just over three years now in various ways. Currently, I am a blockchain developer focusing on development on the Ethereum blockchain, which Ive been doing for the last 18 months or so. I am currently working for Fluidity ( fluidity.io ), where my day-to-day role involves developing smart contracts for Decentralised Finance (DeFi), alongside some research. Smart contracts are essentially programs which can be deployed onto certain blockchains, which are then executed in a decentralised way. What drew you into working on smart contracts? I started studying computer science and development at the age of 16, and immediately my favourite area was that of cryptography and security. At university, I studied computer science and chose a number of modules that focused on computer security. From there, smart contracts seemed like a natural progression for me. As a smart contract developer, you have to focus on the security of your contracts every single day by publishing programs in such a public and decentralised way, and often using them to manage money, youre almost asking people to try to hack them. This element of critical security brings together my love for computer security and blockchain. Currently it seems as though you are working on the tokenisation of securities. Why is this an important area to tackle? Blockchain provides a simple way to implement ownership and transferral of assets much as you can transfer Bitcoins between individuals, you could transfer shares from one person to another. The current, traditional private securities markets are implemented in such a way that private securities are illiquid, inefficient, and inaccessible to the average investor. Story continues Tokenising these securities allows us to automate and massively simplify a number of the traditional processes, which ultimately has the potential to fix a number of issues. However, security tokens are still subject to the same regulations as traditional securities, meaning that all regulatory requirements must be outlined and implemented before any security can be tokenised. We are fast approaching a point where tokens are being created for just about anything, even if they do not serve a real purpose. From a developers point of view, how can we remedy this trend and ensure only tokens with real purpose, use cases, and value are created? Due to the nature of blockchain, theres nothing that can be done to prevent the creation of these tokens its incredibly easy to deploy a new token contract to Ethereum. The fact that we cannot prevent useless tokens being created means that they need to instead be identified and called out by the community, thereby deterring people from purchasing the token. This is happening more and more as users are becoming educated on what a good token model looks like. However, theres certainly still work to do. Im a strong advocate of helping the blockchain community be more diverse. As is true with technology in general, there are a small number of women working in the space. Last year, I ran workshops on Solidity development particularly aimed at women in the hopes that I can motivate them to enter this somewhat intimidating space and to help them do so with the confidence to voice their opinions and ensure they are heard. The post Ethereum developer hopes to see more women in blockchain appeared first on Coin Rivet . \|\| What Trump’s Bitcoin Tweet Changes: Let’s be clear: It was not the substance of Donald Trump’s tweet that made his critique of bitcoin and Libra so important last week. It should be of no surprise that this US President would declare himself “not a fan” of “highly volatile” cryptocurrencies “based on thin air” that “facilitate unlawful behavior” or that he much prefers a“dependable and reliable” currency “called the United States Dollar!” (Anyone who assumed Trump would be a “drain-the-swamp” libertarian advocate for censorship-resistant money had an ill-informed view of a man whose government is stacked with former Wall Street execs, who opposes free trade and immigration, and takes a draconian approach to a variety of civil rights and social liberties.) Related:US President Donald Trump Says He’s ‘Not a Fan’ of Bitcoin What matters is the very fact that a sitting president mentioned cryptocurrencies at all. Indeed, from a price perspective, Trump’s disparaging remarks are, on balance, positive for bitcoin. By Friday evening,the post-tweet price action reflected that. More importantly, the tweet marks a symbolic milestone in the gradual but ever-expanding presence that cryptocurrency occupies in the public conversation around money and policy. It also marks the starting point in a titanic battle over the shape of our global money system. Why is a Trump tweet-shame positive for bitcoin’s price? Well, bitcoin must stay relevant to succeed, and this was, at the very least, an acknowledgement from the halls of power of its relevance. Related:Fed Chairman Jerome Powell Compares Bitcoin to Gold By simply giving it the time of day, Trump revealed that people within the high levels of the U.S. power structure are noticing the challenge that cryptocurrency technology poses to it. Also important: the tweet came shortly after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, one of the U.S. President’s favorite punching bags,had described bitcoin, in Senate testimony, not as a payments vehicle but as “an alternative to gold…a store of value…a speculative store of value.” Powell wasn’t saying thathesaw bitcoin as gold-like per se; it was a reference to how most bitcoin’s users currently treat it and, in that sense, he was simply stating a fact. Still, it gave some legitimacy to bitcoin’s claim to be the digital-era replacement of that ancient store of value. And if we think of how gold has been used during the fiat currency era – as protection against the political risks inherent in national currencies – then this one-two punch could hardly be better for those arguing that bitcoin should play that role in the 21st century. Think about it: they got the most powerful central banker in the world to describe bitcoin in such terms. Soon after, a self-interested politician who occupies the world’s most powerful government post demonstrated why you might want such protection. All of this comes within the context of theannouncement last month of the Facebook-sponsored blockchain and cryptocurrency project, Libra. As was inevitable when a powerful and contentious company launches a radical new idea, Libra’s arrival has massively amplified what I like to call the “narrative economy” in which cryptocurrencies thrive. With its potential global clout drawing on Facebook’s 2.7 billion user base, Libra is forcing people – corporate leaders, bankers and, most importantly, government leaders – to think and talk about cryptocurrencies. It’s what prompted the question to Powell from Mike Crapo, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, and it was the main focus of the Fed Chairman’s reply. And it’s clearly what inspired Trump to take to Twitter, given that his three-tweet post included a line saying that Libra “will have little standing or dependability” and would need to seek a banking charter if it is to operate. Let’s not forget, either, that this comes right before next week’s hearings on Libracalled by House Financial Services Committee, called by its Chair, Maxine Waters,who has warned that Facebook’s projectcannot be allowed to compete with the dollar. That there’s alignment between Trump and Waters on an issue is itself historic. But it also hints at the power battle at play. The mounting conversation is about the structure of our financial system and about the dominance of the intermediaries that manage that system: banks, deeply integrated as they are into our system of government, money and power. As gatekeepers of the dominant fiat currency system, banks – and, by extension, the political leaders who determine how to regulate them – can make it harder for people to use both decentralized cryptocurrencies like bitcoin and corporate-backed private currencies such as Libra. Trump’s tweet, with a high degree of specificity, looked suspiciously as if it had been drafted by someone with interests in the banking sector. But putting a lid on all this won’t be easy for governments. Most cryptocurrencies, whether bitcoin or Libra, are based on open-source software. Can those governments ban the software? Technically yes, but how will they globally coordinate around that effort, how would they stop it? As it is, many central banks suddenly seem to be adopting the “if you can’t beat them, join them” strategy. The government-owned China Daily reported this week that China was accelerating its plans to produce a digital currency. That came a week after Agustin Carstens, chief of the Bank of International Settlements,said central banks would introduce digital currencies “sooner than we think.” It was a remarkable about-face from someone who had months earliertold cryptocurrency coders to “stop trying to create money,” anddismissed any value in central bank digital currencies. Probably more important, right around the time of the Libra announcement last month, Bank of England governor Mark Carney dropped a bombshell,saying that the BOE would provide funds to tech companies, an apparent move to spearhead fintech development in London at a time when Brexit has threatened the banking industry. The opening poses a huge opportunity for Libra and other stablecoins to provide new “narrow banking” payment services. Things are poised to get mighty confusing, in other words, with private corporate currencies, decentralized cryptocurrencies and government-run digital currencies all competing for primacy in the world of money. Thank to Libra – but really, thanks to bitcoin before it – the narrative economy around monetary innovation is getting seriously amplified. As the noise level rises, more and more people will inquire and explore alternatives to mainstream currencies such as bitcoin. They’ll also grapple with the opportunities, risks and the disruptive challenges such a choice poses. Essentially, a giant, collective storytelling exercise has been pushed into overdrive. Stories have always driven the adoption of new ideas, building the connective emotional tissue upon which social networks and communities are formed around them. And that, in turn – the development of a community around a shared idea – is ultimately what underpins a currency. Trump, who with his 62 million Twitter followers arguably has a broadcasting power greater than any news network, is contributing to this collective storytelling exercise. Perhaps he’s the foil character, standing in opposition to the HODLers and “To the Moon” crypto enthusiasts, but even in that role he is driving the narrative – essentially by fueling resistance, by encouraging his opponents to counter with counte-rarguments and, of course, memes. Which brings us to the other factor ensuring that Trump’s tweet, more than any other statement by a government official, will prove to be instrumental in driving buzz and bluster around this topic: Twitter itself. Twitter is not only the President’s favorite vehicle for communicating with the public, it also represents the most important segment of crypto’s narrative economy. If ever there were a community prepared to respond to those three short posts, it was Crypto Twitter, which immediately responded with its special mix of snark, humor and passion. God knows where all this goes. But one thing’s for certain: the cryptocurrency carnival just got wilder. Image Credit:a katz / Shutterstock.com • Fed Chair Says Libra ‘Cannot Go Forward’ Until Facebook Addresses Concerns • Twitter Study Finds US Posts Most on Bitcoin and Facebook’s Libra \|\| Consumer ETF Strategies That Have Avoided the Retail Slump: This article was originally published on ETFTrends.com. The retail sector has been falling behind in the S&P 500 for the first half of the year and the trend doesn't seem to be shifting anytime soon. Nevertheless, there are some alternative retail sector-related exchange traded fund strategies that have stood out. Four of the five worst-performing S&P 500 stocks in the first half of the year were retailers, The Wall Street Journal reports . Dragging on the retail segment, many consumers have been shunning more traditional brick-and-mortar retailers in favor of businesses that have more quickly adapted to e-commerce or online retail businesses. Declining foot traffic is putting pressure on companies like Nordstrom and Kohl's. Many say that “retail is dead” as the slump for companies that are more firmly in the bricks-and-mortar space doesn’t appear to be letting up anytime soon. Nevertheless, we have witnessed increased opportunity in online retail or e-commerce stocks and ETFs. With the increased popularity of e-commerce and the decline of traditional brick-and-mortar shops, investors can capture this growing trend through an ETF. For example, the ProShares Decline of the Retail Store ETF ( EMTY ) and ProShares Long Online/Short Stores ETF ( CLIX ) both take a short position in brick-and-mortar retail stores to capitalize on weakness in traditional stores. Meanwhile, the ProShares Online Retail ETF ( ONLN ) takes on a long position in online retailers. The Amplify Online Retail ETF ( IBUY ) has been a popular thematic play that targets global companies that generate at least 70% of revenue from online or virtual sales. As the market environment shifts and changes, investors may also have the opportunity to capitalize on the growth potential of the e-commerce segment. Additionally, Amplify recently expanded its line with the Amplify International Online Retail ETF ( XBUY ) . XBUY is an index-based ETF that takes on foreign companies or those outside the U.S. that are expected to benefit from the increased adoption of e-commerce around the world. Story continues For more information on the retail sector, visit our retail category . POPULAR ARTICLES AND RESOURCES FROM ETFTRENDS.COM SPY ETF Quote VOO ETF Quote QQQ ETF Quote VTI ETF Quote JNUG ETF Quote Top 34 Gold ETFs Top 34 Oil ETFs Top 57 Financials ETFs Markets Rally On Anticipated Rate Cuts And Holiday Facebook Libra: Weighing The Pros And Cons As Bitcoin Surges Past $13K, Calls to Embrace Crypto Grow GLDM Marks One Year Anniversary Today, Leads Gold-Backed ETF Flows ROBO Global Healthcare Technology ETF Debuts on NYSE READ MORE AT ETFTRENDS.COM > [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] $kamillex \|\| Short $BTC. https://t.co/4s1U9ztMHJ \|\| Crypto Goal! Major Euro Football Club Now Accepts Bitcoin & Ethereum https://t.co/TXaLgASfxu \|\| Volume Alert! $WTC current 24hr volume is 752.74160360 $BTC and the average is 262.87287527 $BTC which is 65.09% above average \|\| BITCOIN STIJGT BOVEN DE $ 11.000 DANKZIJ FACEBOOK'S VALUTAPLANNEN. Bitcoin is deze maand alleen al met 20 procent gestegen en is nog steeds goed op weg naar recordniveau... https://t.co/5VLd7eH96y #bitcoin #libracoin #cryptocurrency https://t.co/CzEbp2MTr8 \|\| Jerome Powell hace caer al bitcoin \|\| #ooobtc #exchange #crypto #bitcoin #ethereum #launchpad #blockchain Operating the largest volume digital asset exchange in the world!!! Cold storage, 2-factor authentication and encryption technology. #usdt #OVC TELEGRAM--> https://t.co/v7fuxO0GdQ https://t.co/86QogCpBh6 \|\| Jerome Powell hace caer al bitcoin \|\| The Future of Mankind Rests on this Startup https://t.co/lqGie2AkCZ \| #softbank #Alibaba #boise #campaign #sanjose #dallas #france #investments #houston #campaign #saintpaul #denver #orlando #milwaukee #godblessamerica #reuters #canberra #korea #sydney #venture #Startups #BitCoin https://t.co/EAUTeE8b8o \|\| Upvote to save a dumbass! (Reddit #Bitcoin) Here is your monthly reminder that anyone or any group of people who say they will increase your #Bitcoin holdings if you send them X... https://t.co/bt5A9PrCxh #Calibra https://t.co/m0bb7he1q8	Trend: no change \|\| Prices: 10970.18, 11805.65, 11478.17, 11941.97, 11966.41, 11862.94, 11354.02, 11523.58, 11382.62, 10895.83
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis] Not fully available. [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] The Fintech World Series: Canada: By:KurtosysHarvest ExchangeFebruary 28, 2017 Fintech is exploding. It is a global industry, striving to change the future of finance. …And the future is now. At Kurtosys, we’ve set out to cover exactly what’s happening in the financial industry the world over, one country at a time. With so many places contributing to the advancement of our digital world, each deserves their own time in the spotlight. This time, heading away from Europe, we’re travelling toCanada. Whilst neighbouring the fintech giant that is the United States, this North American behemoth is steadily boosting its reputation of having one of the most secure banking systems in the world. Read on to discover how this affects their up-and-coming fintech landscape. With a country boasting such incredible musical talent as Justin Bieber, Nickelback and Avril Lavigne, it was naturally going to be on our fintech radar, eh? But seriously, Alexisonfire are awesome, and Canada was actually named by accident, when French Explorer Jacques Cartier mistook a native term for village – ‘kanata’ – for the country’s name as we see it today. It is a land that has birthed such funny people as Jim Carrey, Mike Myers and Leslie Nielsen, and big-time serious actors such as Malin Åkerman and Ryan Gosling, with the latter achieving early stardom in Canadian cult-classic TV showGoosebumps. The less said about that the better. More should be said, however, about Canada’s rise to fintech prominence. <html><body><img alt="Canada fintech infographic" class="alignnone wp-image-50082 size-full" height="1000" sizes="(max-width: 1424px) 100vw, 1424px" src="http://hvst.co/2lutK7T" srcset="http://hvst.co/2lutK7T 1424w, http://hvst.co/2luyvhF 300w, http://hvst.co/2luESRW 768w, http://hvst.co/2mp0pzB 1024w, http://hvst.co/2luD7nP 225w" width="1424"/></body></html> According to a post in the Canadian publication The Globe and Mail, outside the technology life-blood of Silicon Valley, Canada’s province of Ontario (home to cities including Toronto, Ottawa and Hamilton) has among the highest concentrations of technological firms. The reason for this being its low costs, and the universities in the Toronto and Waterloo area being abound with graduate engineers and developers. Deloitte awarded Canada a global financial centre rank of 21 in 2016. There has recently been investment from both the financial and technological industries. Of note, Goldman Sachs invested in Financeit (based in Toronto, offering businesses a platform for customer payment plans) in 2015, as well as nanoPay in 2016, a “frictionless payments” service, also based in Toronto. Elsewhere, one of Japan’s world leading tech services companies NTT Data Corp has announced a partnership with MaRS Innovation lab (more about them later on), promising to support Canadian startups whose technologies can be used by NTT. Two notable startups from Canada that have achieved success are Shopify – a cloud-based e-commerce company that designs software for online stores for SMEs, founded in 2004 – and Hootsuite, a social media management platform used by over 15 million people, founded in 2008 in Vancouver, which similarly has a thriving fintech ecosystem like the cities in the East. Despite the global financial crisis of 2007/08, Canadian banks remained unscathed according to the Canadian Bankers Association; none were in danger of failure or were bailed out. In fact, Canada’s banks have been rated amongst the soundest in the world for the past 10 years, rated highly due to them being well capitalised, managed and regulated. Should a similar crash occur in the future, each bank has developed “recovery and resolution plans” already – ahead of the curve. Plus, the development of regulatory frameworks for banks and insurers is being handled by both domestic and global organisations, so Canadians are clearly remaining resolute to keep their well-earned ‘sound banking’ tag. The largest banks in Canada are referred to as the ‘Big Six’ by a report from PWC, and are as follows: • Bank of Montreal (BMO) • Scotiabank • Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) • National Bank of Canada (NBC) • Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) • Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD) As well as these established financial institutions, there is also the presence of online disruptor banks, which include Tangerine, PC Financial and Canadian Tire Bank. However, in 2014 it is noted that these banks only accounted for 3% of Canadians’ total deposits. Are digital financial companies still very much in the shadow of major banks, who retain brand recognition and consumer trust? Peter Aceto, CEO of Tangerine, believes that there is a social revolution occurring within the financial industry, with consumers losing trust in major banks and “expecting experiences that simplify their lives, that makes things easy”. Tangerine was the original disruptor bank that launched its first branchless bank in Canada. Truly, banks are responding to this revolution that Aceto outlines, and it turns out that many are making heavy investments in technology to “transform their customer experience, automate processes, comply with regulatory demands and enhance digital capabilities”, with many beginning the enablement and implementation of APIs. Despite the regulators’ tendency to aim for stability (thus halting market innovation), Canadian fintech is still pushing to gain momentum. There are already more than 80 fintech firms in Canada, with the GTA (Greater Toronto Area)-Waterloo and Vancouver areas being the sites for a concentrated ecosystem of major banks, universities and tech startups. Whilst pension plans have recently attracted the most significant fintech investments, more is needed from the government, private investors and banks. To put things into perspective, since 2010 the Canadian fintech community attracted C$1 billion in capital since 2010. In 2014 alone, US fintech had US$9 billion. One Canadian dollar is roughly equivalent to 70 cents. There is evidence from the Digital Finance Institute that Canadian banks are developing their own fintech solutions in-house. The Royal Bank of Canada is one example, but it also works externally as part of the US-based R3CEV-blockchain tech consortium. Additionally, the Big Six are in fact co-operating with fintech startups, accelerators and incubators to further their digital re-invention. Here are the most prolific examples of internal and external fintech stories: • In 1996, it launched Mbanx, the first direct-to-customer bank. • On January 16 2016, it launched SmartFolio, a digital portfolio management service, competing with traditional players and robo-advisers, built in-house with assets of $20 billion. • It introduced Touch ID log-in (fingerprint recognition) to its BMO mobile banking app in Canada and the US. • In the US, Mobile Cash was made available, allowing the withdrawal of money via smartphone. • The BMO Banking and InvestorLine portal makes BMO the first Canadian bank to give customers access to personal banking and investments accounts in one place. • BMO DepositEdge in Canada allows businesses to deposit cheques remotely. • BMO Spend Dynamics gives corporate card clients access to transaction data. • Invested in Kabbage, a US-based online small business lender. • Has an internal Digital Factory focused on tech and mobile banking. • Supposedly looking to partner with more external fintech startups. • Partnered with MaRS in 2015. • Partnered with Thinking Capital, another online small business lender. • Developed a new marketing model, with segmented marketing campaigns with more personalised offerings, supported by data analytics teams, tech and tools to enhance tailored services for sales teams. • Developed an Android and iPad tablet app, the latter ranking #1 in the financial services category. • Planning to develop optimised tools for access to products and services and to implement a customer relationship management platform. • Partnering with Nymi Wristband Technologies. • Partnered with mobile-app-giant Uber for loyalty rewards. • Established an innovation lab at Communitech. • Partnered with Moven, a mobile personal financial management platform. • Looking to collaborate on a tech solution for improved customerandemployee experience in Cisco’s Toronto Innovation Centre. In the Digital Finance Institute (DFI) report, there is a further stress on fintech development in the province of British Columbia, so much so call that it is hashtag-worthy (much like in Estonia) – #BCTECH. The city of Vancouver is the main focus, as it houses some of the leading tech companies (Microsoft, EA, Amazon), as well as important fintechs, including Samsung Pay and SAP. Unsurprisingly, it is also the home of the DFI, which organises workshops, conferences and institutional education to bring Canadian fintech to the world, is a think tank for fintech and AI, encourages investment and partners for balanced regulation of digital payments and remittances. Vancouver was actually home to the world’s first Bitcoin ATM in 2013, and by June 15 2015, there were 60 Bitcoin ATMs across the whole of Canada. What else? Vancouver-based Central 1 Credit Union provides fintech services to financial institutions such as payments and mobile banking services. The DFI notes that “the geographical position of Vancouver gives it an unparalleled advantage for trade and importantly, for FinTech to scale and exit not only to Asia but increasingly, to the Middle East.” In British Columbia as a whole, the tech industry generated over $23 billion in revenue in 2013 and the Government of British Columbia recently launched the #BCTECH Strategy, investing $100m as part of a BC Tech Fund for early tech startups, and a Knowledge Development Fund to enable research projects. As a whole, the FinServ industry in Canada only represents 27% of the Internet of Everything market, but 60% of Canadians are prepared to move money to access one or more IoE capabilities. All Canadian provinces have adopted regulations to facilitate e-commerce and protect e-payments, with the Bank of Canada having “responsibility for regulatory oversight of clearing, settling and recording of financial transactions.” Additionally, the Large Value Transfer System and Automated Clearing Settlement System are national systems for clearing and settlement of payments, operated by Payments Canada, based in Ottawa. This, and the DFI, have launched national startup challenges. “The FinTech Cup”, for example, awards its winners with a $25,000 prize, and are provided a national startup platform to support their development. The private sector launched the annual Fintech Awards in 2015 to recognise key fintechs, innovators, advisors, and stakeholders that have contributed to the fintech ecosystem. In 2016, the Fintech Association of Canada was launched to engage the government with fintech to attract further investment and innovation. To get an idea of just how expansive Canada’s fintech ecosystem is, here’s a comprehensive list for your viewing pleasure: • Business Development of Canada (BDC) – Offers financing advisory services and venture capital, dubbing itself the “only financial institution dedicated exclusively to entrepreneurs”. • Omers Ventures – Omers is one of Canada’s leading pension funds with $65billion + in net assets. It provides resources and expertise to tech, media and telecommunications startups. • Power Financial Corporation – A management and holding company. • MaRS Innovation lab – Based in Toronto, it supports over 1700 startups, with 300 being fintech-based. It has raised over $700m in venture capital funding. • Communitech – Based in the Waterloo area, it is an industry-led innovation centre and a private-public partnership, founded in 1997. • Ryerson DMZ – In Toronto, this is the top university business incubator, with entrepreneurs-in-residence, industry mentors, and 250+ startups and industry connections. • OneEleven – A Toronto-based, data-driven tech startup scale-up hub, founded in 2013. • Thinkubator – A collaboration between Ryerson University and Tangerine, it is an incubation space for fintech startups, founded in 2016. Wealth management solutions & Robo-advisors • Nest Wealth – Founded in Toronto in 2014, it is Canada’s first online wealth manager. • Smart Money Invest – Also founded in 2014, it offers portfolio management services in equity and bond ETFs. • Wealthsimple – An online investment startup, which expects over a billion dollars in AUM this year. It has 15,000 clients in Canada. It also offers “an affordable, millennial-focused, automated investing service”. Power Financial Corporation invested $10m in Wealthsimple. • ModernAdvisor – an online financial advisor. If you would like to read more about Canadian robo-advisors, you can read our interview with ModernAdvisor’s Krysten Merriman here. Payments In 2014, 21% of Canadians made at least one online payment in the past six months (compared to 83% in China and 33% in the US). In 2015, the Canadian mobile payment transaction market grew 210%. • Moneris – Founded in 2000 in Toronto, it offers payment solutions and processes credit and debit card transactions (more than 3 billion a year). • VersaPay – With its HQ in Vancouver and founded in 2006, it is a cloud-based payment processing service. • TIO Networks – Founded 1997 in Vancouver, it was acquired by PayPal very recently in Feb 17. It offers a bill payment service. • Payfirma – Based in Vancouver, and founded in 2011, it is a multi-channel payment platform (mobile, in-store, online and e-commerce). Investment & Asset Management • Voleo – A social trading app, allowing the user to build an investment team with peers and collaboratively manage a portfolio. • FrontFundr – Founded in Vancouver in 2013, it is a registered financial services firm which connects investors and entrepreneurs Here are Canadian startups that made it into the KPMG Fintech100 2016… #36 – League – Toronto-based, founded in 2014, it lets employers enable employees with health spending accounts and group insurance plans on a mobile app platform, plus you can find health professionals. It uses a digital wallet for payments. #42 – SecureKey – Founded 2008 in Toronto, it is an identity and authentication platform for online consumer services. …And the ‘Emerging stars’: • Grow – Founded in 2014, it is a “complete fintech toolkit” for financial institutions, mainly focused on consumer and SME lending. • North Side Inc. – A financial AI solution, letting you talk directly to your financial institution, a “personalised virtual telephone banker”. • Overbond – Founded in 2015, this Toronto-based startup brings bond market participants together, making bond issuance secure and transparent. You’ve made it – a list as extensive as Canada itself (did you know that it spans 6 time zones? Crazy). Seemingly, if Canadian banks and financial institution are willing to allow for innovation besides their stringent (albeit successful) regulations, then the pre-existing fintech ecosystems in the GTA and British Columbia combined will be able to move ahead with full force. A fintech revolution to match the size of its home. Credit to a good friend of mine for the incredible painting of Ryan. If you have any thoughts about Canadian fintech, let us know in the comments below, or you can tweet us. Check back soon for more instalments of The Fintech World Series! The post The Fintech World Series: Canada appeared first on Kurtosys Blog. http://hvst.co/2luINyhOriginally Published at:The Fintech World Series: Canada \|\| Flow and Manchester United Team up to deliver the Ultimate Football Experience to Caribbean Footballers: MIAMI, FL--(Marketwired - Feb 27, 2017) - Up-and-coming Caribbean footballers between the ages of 13 and 16 will not be able to contain their excitement, as news breaks that Flow and Manchester United will host The Ultimate Football Experience , a skills-based competition, supported by the Caribbean Football Union . The programme seeks to give youngsters, the chance-of-a-lifetime to participate in a talent development football camp; and even earn a trip to Old Trafford, Manchester to see Man Utd vs Crystal Palace on May 21 st 2017. The good news gets even better as registration opens this week for the football competition which runs from March through to May 2017. Here's how it works: skilled boys and girls can register online at https://discoverflow.co/flowmanutd . Registered participants will then be instructed to appear at designated football festivals across all Caribbean markets in which Flow operates. The participants will engage in a Manchester United Soccer School's international programme, which has been specially devised for the campaign and will be delivered by CFU coaches. Throughout the competition Manchester United legends will also be making an appearance at the festivals to offer their tips and advice. This is a proven Manchester United Soccer School programme designed to build and test the skills of young footballers across the globe. As the competition evolves, two participants from each market, along with their respective coach, will advance to a two-day skills session in Trinidad and Tobago to experience one-on-one training with CFU and Manchester United Soccer School Coaches. There, they will participate in a series of drills designed by the coaches and compete for the chance for two finalists and their coach to win a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Old Trafford in Manchester, England. Considered to be the highlight of the development initiative the two winners along with their coaches will travel to the world-famous football stadium to witness first hand Manchester United's final Premier League game of the season against Crystal Palace. This VIP experience will also include a visit to the Manchester United Museum and Tour, taking in the history of the club followed by a tour of the iconic stadium. Story continues Manchester United's Group Managing Director, Richard Arnold said, "Youth development is at the heart of this Club's traditions and success. The Manchester United Soccer Schools were developed to help spread this spirit to as many children as possible. In recent years our partners have been instrumental in helping the great work of our Soccer Schools coaches reach young people around the world. We're proud to work with Flow on this project." "Like Manchester United, Flow also has a deep sense of commitment to youth development as can be seen by our support of several programmes throughout the region that help to hone the skills of young footballers," said Garfield Sinclair, Flow's newly appointed President of the Caribbean . Sinclair also said, "We're therefore proud to work in partnership with Manchester United to offer this once in a lifetime experience to our talented youngsters across the region." The Caribbean Football Union's ( CFU ) President Gordon Derrick gave a ringing endorsement of The Ultimate Football Experience, as he added: "The CFU is proud to be a partner with Flow on this exhilarating and beneficial initiative. Hundreds of young footballers in 15 countries -- half of the CFU's membership -- will have the opportunity to compete, hone their skills, and, for the finalists, live the dream. I am confident that this partnership will bode well for the future of football in the region." The Ultimate Football Experience is one of several Manchester United and Flow partnership initiatives. In January, Flow hosted the FA Cup Caribbean Tour during which the Company gave football fans up-close and unprecedented access to football's most coveted trophy. The final leg of the tour culminated in the Cayman Islands, where Manchester United ambassador Dwight Yorke made an appearance . Cable and Wireless is Manchester United's telecommunications partner in the Caribbean . About C&W Communications C&W is a full service communications and entertainment provider and delivers market-leading video, broadband, telephony and mobile services to consumers in 18 countries. Through its business division, C&W provides data center hosting, domestic and international managed network services, and customized IT service solutions, utilizing cloud technology to serve business and government customers. C&W also operates a state-of-the-art submarine fiber network -- the most extensive in the region. Learn more at www.cwc.com , or follow C&W on LinkedIn , Facebook or Twitter . About Liberty Global Liberty Global is the world's largest international TV and broadband company, with operations in more than 30 countries across Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean. We invest in the infrastructure that empowers our customers to make the most of the digital revolution. Our scale and commitment to innovation enable us to develop market-leading products delivered through next generation networks that connect our 25 million customers who subscribe to over 50 million television, broadband internet and telephony services. We also serve over 10 million mobile subscribers and offer WiFi service across 5 million access points. Liberty Global's businesses are comprised of two stocks: the Liberty Global Group ( NASDAQ : LBTYA ) ( NASDAQ : LBTYB ) and ( NASDAQ : LBTYK ) for our European operations, and the LiLAC Group ( NASDAQ : LILA ) and ( NASDAQ : LILAK ) ( OTC PINK : LILAB ), which consists of our operations in Latin America and the Caribbean. The Liberty Global Group operates in 11 European countries under the consumer brands Virgin Media, Unitymedia, Telenet and UPC. The Liberty Global Group also owns 50% of VodafoneZiggo, a Dutch joint venture, which has 4 million customers, 10 million fixed-line subscribers and 5 million mobile subscribers. The LiLAC Group operates in over 20 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean under the consumer brands VTR, Flow, Liberty, Más Móvil and BTC. In addition, the LiLAC Group operates a sub-sea fiber network throughout the region in over 30 markets. For more information, please visit www.libertyglobal.com . \|\| Bitcoin is roaring back: Bitcoinis higher for a second straight day on Tuesday, trading up 6.5% at $1,110 a coin as of 2:13 p.m. ET. The cryptocurrency has rallied about 17% since Sunday's low, rebounding from a slump over the weekend that followed a Wall Street Journal report that the cryptocurrency's developers were threatening to set up a "hard fork," or alternative marketplace for bitcoin. The new platform would be incompatible with the current platform, thus creating a split and two versions of the currency. That news sent bitcoin crashing 20% over the weekend to about $950 a coin, its weakest since January. (Investing.com) 2017 has been a volatile year for the cryptocurrency. It gained 20% in the first week of the year after soaring 120% in 2016 to become thetop-performing currencyfor the second year in a row. Bitcoin then crashed 35% on news thatChina was going to consider clamping downon trading. But it managed to rip higher by more than 50% even in the face of several pieces of bad news. First, China's biggest bitcoin exchanges said they were going to start charging a 0.2% fee on all transactions (previously there was no fee). Then, China's biggest exchanges said they were going toblock withdrawalsfrom trading accounts. Still, bitcoin put in a record high of $1,327 a coin on March 10 as traders piled in ahead of the US Securities and Exchange Commission's ruling on theWinklevoss twins' bitcoin exchange-traded fund. The SEC denied the ETF, sending the price crashing by 16%. Bitcoin, however, managed to quickly recover those losses. Two more SEC rulings are on the way, the next being March 30. Neither one is expected to pass. NOW WATCH:7 mega-billionaires who made a fortune last year More From Business Insider • I've written about a bunch of great watches, but this is the one I wear to work every day — here's why • Bitcoin just crashed 20% as the developers fight over its future • Bitcoin could be on the edge of a cliff \|\| Bitcoin trading shrivels under Chinese government's glare: By Brenda Goh SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Trading volumes at China's three largest bitcoin exchanges have plummeted after the central bank put the virtual currency market under sharper scrutiny a month ago in a move that coincided with official efforts to stem capital outflows. China had been the world's leading venue for bitcoin trading, with analytics site Bitcoinity estimating that the OkCoin, Huobi and BTCC exchanges had accounted for more than 90 percent of the global bitcoin market on Jan. 11. But data compiled by analytics platform Sosobtc showed the number of bitcoins traded on the three exchanges slumped from 13.6 million on Jan. 6 to just over 120,000 on Feb. 9. The People's Bank of China launched checks into the three exchanges last month and they have responded by saying that they would improve their systems to prevent money laundering and the use of bitcoin to trade against the yuan. On Thursday, the People's Bank of China said it had also warned smaller bitcoin exchanges that it would shut them down if they violated regulations. While the yuan weakened 6.6 percent against the dollar last year, its worst performance since 1994, the bitcoin price has soared to near-record highs. That, and the relative anonymity the digital currency offers, has prompted some market operators to believe bitcoin had become an attractive, if niche, option for tech-savvy Chinese to hedge against the yuan and skirt rules limiting how much foreign exchange individuals can buy each year. The three main exchanges have introduced trading fees, stopped allowing margin lending and increased scrutiny of user identities, making it far less attractive for automated, high speed trades which had previously accounted for the lion's share of their business. The absence of trading fees had provided an advantage over overseas rivals earlier, but that advantage has now gone, traders said. Business has virtually dried up on Beijing-based high-speed bitcoin trading platform BotVS, according to chief executive Chen Zhenguo. "With the transaction fees the profits you can get from hedging (Bitcoin) are too low...You might as well put your money in Yu'e Bao," he said, referring to a money market fund run by an Alibaba Group affiliate. Other traders voiced similar sentiments. Cai Wenhao, business manager at Sosobtc, said trading volume levels in China would likely normalize to around those seen on exchanges elsewhere, like the Hong Kong-based Bitifinex and U.S.-based Coinbase. (Reporting by Brenda Goh; Additional Reporting by SHANGHAI Newsroom and John Ruwitch; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore) \|\| Bitcoin site CoinDesk poaches Bloomberg exec as new CEO: Bitcoin price over the last 3 months, via CoinDesk price index CoinDesk, the leading trade publication covering bitcoin and blockchain news, has a new CEO, its first: Kevin Worth, former CFO of Bloomberg Digital Media. While digital currency may be a non-traditional coverage area, the job otherwise looks like an obvious fit with Worths background in managing digital content businesses. In the late 90s, Worth worked in corporate strategic planning at the New York Times. Then he was founding CEO of The Deal, the financial data and news site funded by investment banker Bruce Wasserstein. Worth stayed on for a year after The Deal sold to The Street. He spent the past couple of years as CFO of Bloombergs digital and television businesses. Many recent changes at CoinDesk Just over 12 months ago, in January 2016, CoinDesk sold to Digital Currency Group , the biggest investment firm in bitcoin and blockchain startups (with investments in over 90 ), led by Barry Silbert, the founder of SecondMarket. DCG placed its own Ryan Selkis in charge of CoinDesk on the business side, but pledged that Selkis and DCG would have no involvement in editorial decisions at the site. Selkis was never CoinDesks CEO; Worth is its first. He will run business and editorial, the way that a typical magazine publisher would; the sites editor is Pete Rizzo. Kevin Worth, new CEO of CoinDesk CoinDesk has 13 full-time employees. Last month, the site made its first acquisition: the bitcoin data app Lawnmower . Lawnmowers historical price data and charts, as well as its staff, got folded into CoinDesks in-house research arm (which produces reports such as a new one on blockchains for insurance), a sign it is serious about the information-selling side of its business. DCGs main interest in CoinDesk was always for Consensus, its live bitcoin conference in May, first held in 2015. Last year, the event attracted 1,5000 attendees. Worth, from his time at Bloomberg, has seen the growth of live events as a money-maker for publishers. These days, live programming is a vital arm of the business for news organizations like Time Inc, Business Insider, and Re/code. Story continues Under Worth, expect CoinDesk to place further emphasis on two pillars: live events like Consensus, and research reports for a fee. To me, if you look at where the value in the content marketplace is being created, Worth says, its live events and business information products. I see an opportunity for CoinDesk to gain a pole position in becoming the must-have, go-to resource for the industry. Worth sounds more fired up about events and information than the news side, which is what CoinDesk is for many of its readers: a vital news outlet. He confirms that Consensus, for now, is his main focus. So, moving forward, will CoinDesk look more like a data resource, or a news blog? I think its a little all-of-the-above, Worth says. I can tell you that the playbooks I have had in the past think about having many different audiences, and how to serve all of them. What got me so excited about coming is that its pretty much a whiteboard. A look at CoinDesks homepage on Feb. 28, 2017 In terms of news coverage, it sounds like CoinDesk may soon see itself less as a mainstream news site covering bitcoin and blockchain news for the masses. When asked if other business news outlets that cover bitcoin news are competitors, Worth says, If they are serving a broad, general interest community, then no. We are keeping our eye on serving industry professionals. New to bitcoin Just a few months ago, Worth knew very little about the digital currency bitcoin, and the blockchain technology that underpins it. (What exactly is blockchain? Watch this video .) After Barry Silbert called, I did a lot of research and started to learn a lot more, and I drank the kool-aid, if you will, says Worth. He hasnt bought any bitcoin as an investment just yet. Digital currency, Worth says, feels a little bit to me like when the first Internet hype came. There is a tremendous need to understand all the potential implications, people trying to understand it and make sense of it. From my time at Bloomberg Im close to the world of institutional finance, and thats an industry that hasnt really had the amount of transformation that has gone on in, say, the media business. So, lets see where the opportunity is for those businesses to transform, which are much more fundamental to the global economy. As the interest in blockchain technology ( especially from banks ) has grown, CoinDesk has grown and expanded its purview from bitcoin, to additional digital assets like Litecoin, Ripple, and Ethereum, to blockchain news. In the near future, Worth sees the challenge and competition coming from data providers, not necessarily media outlets. I see this as a wide open field, he says. What Im focused on, to be honest with you, its not other media or content companies that are the competition, but other information providers who might move into the space, whether thats consulting firms or other information providers. But we ought to be smarter than them, because they may just have two or three people looking at it and we have a whole team. Other information providers that might move into the bitcoin and blockchain space? That sounds like it could include Bloomberg, his old employer. And thats fine for Worth, who says he learned a great deal while there. I understand what their business model is about. Its really the only company I can think of where they have scale but its still dominated by the owner, who is still the CEO and its his capital and you follow his lead, Worth says. After his years there, hes ready for something entrepreneurial. And thats why Silbert tapped Worth, he says: corporate experience that can help turn a modest-sized blog into a full-scale information seller. I believe digital currency is a transformational asset class that will attract meaningful amounts of capital over time, Silbert says. (Its a sound bite he likes to repeat.) And then theres a lot of interest in blockchain, and distributed ledger technology, to make processes more efficient Were obviously super bullish on bitcoin, blockchain technology, and all the applications that are going to come. All we needed was an experienced operator like Kevin to come in and help scale the business. CoinDesk expects to become profitable this year. Daniel Roberts is a writer at Yahoo Finance, covering technology and media. Follow him on Twitter at @readDanwrite . Read more: Bitcoin is becoming the new gold Expect more blockchain hype in 2017 Heres where big banks stand on blockchain Why 21.co is the most exciting bitcoin company right now \|\| Why bitcoin will surge to $25,000: ByYves Lamoureux, president and chief behavioral strategist of macroeconomic research firm Lamoureux & Co. Bitcoin is on a trajectory that will eventually catapult it into bubble territory, with an end target of $25,000 or more. Many of the key ingredients present in past bubbles are now present to create the next one in bitcoin. What makes this possible is the mathematics of finite supply, which we will show you in a chart and is at the core of our argument. One of the reasons people buy gold is to avoid the dilution of fiat money. In other words, gold investors care about keeping their purchasing power. The alternative is an unlimited supply of paper money over time. This is why we are convinced that digital money or cryptocurrencies will eventually find its appeal with hard asset investors — or a rare chance to get in on a venture capital style bet. We fought tooth and nails to get the media to cover gold when it traded at $300. These events work out over cycles measured in decades, which is the amount of time required to convince the majority. Whether tulips, housing or tech stocks, bubbles require public participation. And as blockchain becomes more ubiquitous, it lends credibility to the technology behind bitcoin. We feel that digital currencies, such as bitcoin, have now entered a similar cycle. It will take many years of great returns to remove the current skepticism on digital money. And there will be pressure from governments to regulate it, which in the end, will only lend it more legitimacy. People trade today as they did last year, as they did 100 years ago. The psychology remains the same. Behaviour does not change. Provide the same set of incentives throughout time and the Pavlovian bell rings the same. When I saw this chart, immediately I saw dollar signs. Over the lifetime of mining bitcoins, the final amount is set to be 21 million coins. Nothing more and nothing less. For the time being, it is way too early to ascribe a final end of the road valuation target to bitcoin, even if we hint at a level. Prior articles: Why hyperinflation is coming Why the crisis of 2019 begins now How to prepare for the next major selloff in stocks: trader By Yves Lamoureux, January 16, 2017 ©Copyright, Lamoureux & Co. This communication is for information purposes only and should not be regarded as an offer to sell or as a solicitation of an offer to buy any financial product or service.This publication is proprietary and is intended for the use of the subscriber only. All information provided is impersonal and not tailored to the needs of any person, entity or group or persons. Lamoureux & Co. shall not be liable for any claims. \|\| Bitcoin makes a big comeback: (A Bitcoin sign is seen in a window in TorontoThomson Reuters) Bitcoin is making a big comeback. Early selling pushed the cryptocurrency down nearly 4% to $1120 a coin, but buying over the course of the morning has it on session highs, up 3% at $1200 as of 4:22 p.m. ET. Trade has been volatile over the past couple of sessions amid speculation surrounding the upcoming ETF ruling by the US Securities and Exchange Commission and more regulation out of China. Bitcoin rallied more than 30% from February 9 to March 3 as traders speculated the SECwill approveat least one of thethree proposed bitcoin-focused exchange-traded fundsby a March 11 deadline. Because that deadline falls on a Saturday, a decision could come on Monday, March 13. However, bitcoin has come under pressure the last few days. On Tuesday, the cryptocurrencyplunged $100 in a matter of minutesaftera Bloomberg headline cited a People's Bank of China official as suggesting the recent bitcoin regulation wasn't temporary. It ended up retracing most of those losses before resuming its slide on Wednesday, plunging more than 5% after China's three largest exchanges said they wouldcontinue blocking withdrawalsuntilgranted approval to let them resume by regulators. Bitcoin is up 25% so far in 2017 after gaining 120% in 2016. It has been thetop performing currencyin each of the last two years. (Investing.com) NOW WATCH:What happens when you eat too much protein More From Business Insider • Bitcoin dives after China's 3 biggest exchanges say they'll keep blocking withdrawals • Bitcoin plunges sharply and suddenly • Bitcoin is extending its lead over gold \|\| This bullish signal has never been wrong — and it’s about to flash for 2017: Critical information for the U.S. trading day The Dow has nabbed record closes for eight straight sessions — and what about the S&P 500? The last time that broad index suffered a 1% drop, as detailed in ourstat of the day, it was October and the Cubs still were battling to end their storied World Series drought. Enough already? CFRA’s Sam Stovall says he’s looking for a long-overdue “digestion of gains,” though he adds the pause will not likely result in the end of this bull market. The run will continue, the chief investment strategist writes, thanks in part to improving earnings and inflation staying subdued. In support, he notes one indicator that’s close to getting triggered. “If you need additional encouragement that a bear market is not just around the corner, history again may offer some more virtual Valium,” says Stovall, who delivers ourcall of the day. Since 1945, there have been 27 years when the S&P has achieved gains in January and February. The stock index then finished up for the year (on a total-return basis) in every one those years, according to Stovall. That’s going 27 for 27, or batting a thousand. The average rise in those years was 24%, as shown in his chart below. CFRA So that bodes well for 2017 — though the chart’s footnote features that favorite Wall Street caveat: “Past performance is no guarantee of future results.” Plus, February isn’t over yet, and it’s typically the stock market’s second-worst month of the year. But the S&P is up 3.8% for the month, after rising 1.8% in January. As Stovall puts it, the first two months can “offer a clue that investors believe that good things still lie ahead.” Futures for the DowYMH7,-0.05%, S&P 500ESH7,-0.13%and Nasdaq-100NQH7,-0.01%are trading flat to lower, after the DowDJIA,+0.58%, S&PSPX,+0.60%and Nasdaq CompositeCOMP,+0.47%all chalked upall-time closing highs again yesterday. OilCLJ7,-1.33%is giving backTuesday’s gain. Seethe Market Snapshot columnfor the latest action. 90 straight trading days — That is how long the S&P has gone without closing lower by 1% or more, notes Charlie Bilello, research director at Pension Partners. The stock gauge ended 1.2% down on Oct. 11 — more than four months ago — and hasn’t clocked out on such a negative note since then. Bristol-Myers SquibbBMY,+1.13%is gaining premarket following news that billionaire activist investorCarl Icahn has taken a stakein the drug giant. FacebookFB,-0.15%is reportedlyin talks to stream Major League Baseball games. First SolarFSLR,-3.30%was among the companies that posted earnings late yesterday. Investors initiallytook a shine to the stock, but now it’s falling. Names on the earnings docket before the open includedoff-price retailer TJXTJX,+1.01%,Dish NetworkDISH,+1.88%,GPS maker GarminGRMN,+7.83%,cameras company MobileyeMBLY,+3.53%andhome builder Toll BrothersTOL,+7.75%. TeslaTSLA,+0.94%is among those reporting after the close, as the electric car maker’smarket cap catches up to Ford’sF,-0.24%. See:Tesla earnings — expect Model 3 updates amid record highs In political news, federal officials say theTrump administration’s tighter deportation rulesare “not intended to produce mass roundups.” Today, cabinet membersgo to Mexico. Some Republican lawmakers aresteering clear of town hall events, hoping to avoid anti-Trump protesters. Attendees have held up IDs to provethat they’re real constituents, while thepresident tweetedlate Tuesday that the chaos is “in numerous cases, planned out by liberal activists.” A report on existing-home sales is due after the opening bell, and Fed Gov. Jerome Powell speaks around halftime. Minutes from the Fed’s last meeting (when itstood pat) are on tap at 2 p.m. Eastern Time. ReadMarch, May, or June? Minutes may hold clues on next hike And see:MarketWatch’s Economic Calendar “We are probably not going to forecast the next financial crisis, or forecast the next recession. Our models are just not that good.” — Bank of England officialGertjan Vlieghe suggeststhe world’s central bankers have their limits. See:5 quotes that tell you everything you need to know about forecasting CoinMarketCap BitcoinUS:BTCUSDis advancing again this morning, building on yesterday’s jump to its highest level since December 2013. Call it a Winklerally? Analysts say the cryptocurrency’s gains come from traders attempting to front-run a regulatory decision on the much-anticipated Winklevoss Bitcoin Trust ETF. Read all about it:Bitcoin prices touch fresh 3-year high Later today, NASA is expected to dish on itsbig new find of planets. An artist plansto entomb himself in a boulder, then sit on eggs until they hatch. He’s French. Enemies of the people? A newspaper editor gives “a peek behind enemy lines.” More on that N. Korean assassination: Killers “used nothing but their bare hands.” Agoalie resignedafter eating a meat pie during a game and sparking#PieGate. Bavariaplans to ban the full-face veilin schools and other places. —MrTopStep Grouphttps://mrtopstep.com Questions:[email protected] Follow Us On Facebook and Twitter For More Intra-Day Market Updates!https://www.facebook.com/mrtopstephttps://twitter.com/MrTopStep(@MrTopStep) Dont Forget To Subscribe To Our YouTube Channel!Sign Up Here:http://www.youtube.com/mrtopstepgroup \|\| U.S. investment firm plans launch of first ever ethereum classic private fund: By Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. investment firm Grayscale Investments plans to launch the first-ever private fund focused on ethereum classic, a blockchain platform, according to Barry Silbert, founder of the company's parent Digital Currency Group. Ethereum classic's token is the seventh largest digital currency in terms of market capitalization, totaling $126.6 million. The coin powers a decentralized blockchain hub in which developers can create different applications that can dramatically enhance the transfer and sharing of information and value. Ethereum classic was built on the same fundamental principles as bitcoin: decentralization and immutability. On Monday, ethereum classic traded at $1.42 on digital asset exchanges. "As investors have grown more interested in digital currency as an asset class, we've also seen growing frustration with the difficulty in purchasing non-bitcoin digital currencies," Silbert told Reuters. "We're excited to launch a fund for ethereum classic to satisfy the growing interest we are seeing in ETC from more mainstream investors." The ethereum classic fund will be an open-ended trust that can raise an unlimited amount of capital, Silbert said. Digital Currency Group will be seeding it with its own capital and it will be offered initially to accredited investors, he added. This will be the second digital currency fund for Grayscale, which launched the Bitcoin Investment Trust in 2013, the only publicly-traded U.S. security in the over-the-counter market invested in bitcoin. Ethereum classic has had a rocky history. It came out of a split from the original ethereum blockchain platform created by Russian programmer Vitalik Buterin and launched in 2015. In April 2016, a blockchain solutions company called Slock.it announced the launch of The DAO on Ethereum. The DAO was designed as a decentralized crowdfunding model, in which anyone could contribute ethereum tokens to become a voting member and equity stakeholder in the organization. Story continues The DAO eventually raised $150 million as of late May last year. But on June 17,2016, an anonymous hacker funneled approximately $60 million in tokens into a separate account. The ethereum network decided to undertake a "hard fork", in which the community would create an entirely new version of the ethereum blockchain, erasing any record of the theft, and restoring the stolen funds to their owners. A new blockhain platform was then formed, keeping its ethereum name, and the original version was branded as ethereum classic. Both ethereum and ethereum classic trade on digital asset exchanges. The new ethereum has a larger market cap of $1.8 billion, with the token trading at $19.97 on Monday (This version of the story corrects the headline and first paragraph to show Grayscale plans to launch ethereum classic private fund, not that it has already launched the fund) (Reporting by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss; Editing by Andrew Hay) \|\| It takes three to tango in ETF-land: Jim Cramers name doesnt come up very often on this site. However a recent post by Cramer about ETFs garnered some attention and is worth addressing further. Cramer noted the decline in interest in stockpicking due to the rise of sector ETFs. From the article on CNBC : On a larger scale, however, Cramer said that ETFs have the power to distort stock valuations too dramatically for his liking. At the end of the day, Im against ETFs because they often create enormous distortions that can obliterate even the best of stocks, Cramer said. You have to accept a lot more risk if you own a stock thats particularly hostage [to] a given ETF. Todd Rosenbluth writing at ETF.com took exception with Cramer on a number of fronts including the characterization of the ETF industry itself: Cramer attributed the rise in the number of ETFs to the financial services industry looking for a new way to make money; CFRA attributes the rise in assets in ETFs to investors tiring of underperforming active managersWhile low fees play a role in these decisions, CFRA thinks that continued struggles by active managers to keep up with the index has resulted in more investors being comfortable with consistently average returns. Joel Dickson writing at ETFdb.com represents some middle ground on the topic of ETFs. Dickson writes: Are ETFs perfect? No. There are probably too many of them. But the same could be said of traditional mutual funds, even index funds. Do all offer sound and durable investment strategies? Probably not. Neither do mutual fundsETFs, like whiskey, require moderation. Moderation in use and moderation in the views pertaining to them. Its hard to believe but I have been writing about ETFs since the outset of this blog back in 2005. One year later in 2006 I characterized ETFs as a useful tool and wrote : Feinberg is indeed correct in calling ETFs a wonderful tool. However the well-publicized advantages of ETFs can become a disadvantage in the wrong hands if used incorrectly. Unfortunately the ETF industry is continuing to populate the universe of ETFs with ever more complex and narrowly-based funds. Choice is indeed great, but as costs and complexity rise, the chance (and costs) of making a wrong decision also rise. Story continues Sometimes critics of ETFs believe that some how ETFs somehow exist in a vacuum. By that I mean they dont accept that the growth in, and popularity of ETFs, is somehow made-up. The fact is that for every successful ETF, three things have to happen.* An ETF sponsor needs to come up with an idea for a fund; The SEC needs to approve said fund; Investors actually have to put money in the fund for it to survive. There are no shortage of ETFs that have passed the first two hurdles. The challenge is achieving the third. According to Ron Rowland at Invest With an Edge there have been some 700 ETF closures over time. In some cases a fund never gets past the second stage. Recently the SEC failed to approve an application for a Bitcoin ETF . Sector ETFs, which Cramer seems to most object to, exist because all three of the above criteria have been met. Sector funds are not in fact an invention of the ETF industry. Sector-focused mutual funds existed, see Fidelitys line-up , long before the invention of the ETF. So it isnt the existence of the sector fund that bugs critics, it is their popularity. That is not to say that ETFs are in any way, shape or form perfect. The way ETFs trade has put a great deal a great deal of pressure on the last half hour of trading. A few days ago a glitch on the NYSEs Arca platform made a mess of end-of-day pricing. During periods of market stress ETFs have come under criticism for their inconsistent trading . Given the number of ETFs and their structure there will always be room for error in their trading. Source: WSJ Another valid criticism of ETFs is the existence of funds that in the hands of novice or amateur traders could do them damage. Inverse ETFs are a prime example of this. Jared Dillian writing at Bloomberg View takes to task both the ETF industry and the SEC for the existence of inverse ETFs that if held in perpetuity would eventually lose all of their value. Dillian writes: The reality is that leveraged ETFs are super complicated financial instruments certainly more so than futures, which are linear and plain vanilla because all you have to understand is margining and spreads. In a way, theyre more complicated than options. Theres plenty of math in options, but a closed-form equation describes them. Dillian notes that since 261 leveraged ETFs with $41 billion in AUM exist shows that they are not being used as their sponsors say that should be. This goes to show that the world of ETFs isnt perfect. The SEC likely made a mistake by approving leveraged ETFs in their current form but was on point when it approved the sector ETF. There is no shortage of silly themed, sector ETFs but that does not call into question their existence in the first place. ETFs are like, the financial blogosphere itself, an imperfect meritocracy . By and large the cream rises to the top. There is more than enough criticism to go around for all three constituents in ETF-land: sponsors, the SEC and investors alike. In light of all that ETFs have done in reducing fees and increasing access for investors it seems silly to say you are against ETFs. *I recognize this simplifies the process greatly, but captures the main constituencies. Originally published at abnormalreturns.com on March 23, 2017. Disclaimer: Nothing on this site should ever be considered to be advice, research or an invitation to buy or sell any securities. Please see my Terms & Conditions page for a full disclaimer. Abnormal Returns is a participant in a number of affiliate advertising programs including the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. You can see the entire list of affiliates here . [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] $1085.90 #bitfinex; $1091.31 #GDAX; $1091.89 #bitstamp; $1109.80 #btce; $1046.00 #kraken; #bitcoin news: http://bit.ly/1VI6Yse \|\| $1035.25 at 06:00 UTC [24h Range: $1005.10 - $1037.01 Volume: 5648 BTC] \|\| $1030.00 at 22:30 UTC [24h Range: $944.36 - $1063.70 Volume: 12167 BTC] \|\| Free BitCoin SCRIPT! – Page 2 http://offers4points.com/free-bitcoin-script-page-2/ … \|\| #Bitcoin “Bank run” under Capital Controls: Greeks withdraw €2.5bn in 45 days http://viid.me/qxt9qA pic.twitter.com/hQifgyXyCp \|\| X-Binary爆発的な人気の案件に候。自動バイナリーが魅力に候。再投資の複利運用がコツに候。運用14日目配当 2.00％回収率 21.87％https://x-binary.com/?ref=X34723 #bitcoin #ビットコイン #投資 #HYIP #副収入pic.twitter.com/qJz43AemWI \|\| Are you a #fintech startup looking to build or extend your engineering team? http://buff.ly/2lO6yoG #Bitcoin #Blockchain #Cryptocurrencypic.twitter.com/0HXC6IoGXy \|\| こんばんは。今夜は22:00からBTC-R(http://blog.goo.ne.jp/t-photo )二つ、 4200k(http://ameblo.jp/4200k/ )も二つ更新します。おヒマでしたらお越しください。 \|\| Bitcoin Industry Colluded, Says Miner. #investorseurope #blockchain http://rocktrader.eu/p/4075392621/2017/02/16/bitcoin-industry-colluded-says-miner-investorseurope-blockchain?utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter … \|\| @BitcoinGamble3 http://Startuphangar.com is looking to finance #bitcoin and #blockchain deals - email [email protected]	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 1045.77, 1047.15, 1039.97, 1026.43, 1071.79, 1080.50, 1102.17, 1143.81, 1133.25, 1124.78
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2020-11-20] BTC Price: 18621.31, BTC RSI: 83.86 Gold Price: 1872.60, Gold RSI: 46.05 Oil Price: 42.15, Oil RSI: 59.16 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] First Mover: Bitcoin ‘Comatose’ Under $16K for Rest of 2020, While Ether Traffic Eases: A slowdown in cryptocurrency trading on so-called decentralized exchanges has helped to alleviate congestion on the Ethereum blockchain, at least temporarily mitigating concerns the network was becoming overloaded. The trading lull comes as prices tumble for many of the hottest tokens from the fast-growing arena of decentralized finance , or DeFi. SushiSwap’s SUSHI token , one of this year’s splashiest debuts , fell by 77% in the past 30 days, while DeFi lender Compound’s COMP tokens lost 37%. On Uniswap, the biggest decentralized exchange, or DEX, daily trading volumes have crashed to $224 million, versus a record high of $954 million on Sept. 1. Related: Lightning Vulnerability Discovered; LND Node Operators Urged to Upgrade ASAP “Low volatility in the crypto market as a whole has contributed to lower transaction volume and costs,” said Connor Abendschein, a crypto research analyst at Digital Assets Data. DeFi, a subsector of the cryptocurrency industry where entrepreneurs are developing semi-automated trading and lending platforms atop blockchain networks, had surged in popularity in recent months among investors and traders alike. But the resulting congestion raised concerns elevated fees for sending transactions over the blockchain might stymie some users, or push application developers to consider alternative networks . – Omkar Godbole Read More: As DeFi Deflates, Ethereum Users Get Reprieve From Soaring Fees, Congestion Bitcoin Watch Related: Market Wrap: Bitcoin Surges on Square News to $10.9K; December Ether Options Pile Up Bitcoin remains comatose around $10,600 even though optimism has returned to equity markets. S&P 500 futures are pointing to a positive open with a 0.53% gain. Stock markets in Asia and Europe eked out gains earlier today on renewed expectations for an additional U.S. fiscal stimulus. The “risk-on” is weighing over the safe-haven U.S. dollar in the forex market. So far, however, that dollar weakness hasn’t propelled bitcoin higher. Story continues The top cryptocurrency is currently trading around $10,600, down 0.6% on the day. And while the cryptocurrency remains stuck in a narrowing price range for the third week, activity in options listed on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange has picked up the pace. CME options trading volume surged by 300% to $48 million on Wednesday. The surge was fueled by increased activity in call options, according to Emmanuel Goh, CEO of crypto derivatives research firm Skew. Traders likely employed bull spreads by buying December expiry call options at $14,000 and simultaneously selling December expiry calls at $16,000. Similarly, calls expiring in March 2021 were bought at $18,000 and sold at $20,000. These traders foresee a bitcoin price rally but believe the upside will be capped near $16,000 till the end of this year and $20,000 in the fist quarter of 2021. – Omkar Godbole Read More: Bitcoin Options Volume on CME Jumps 300% as Traders Take Bullish Bets Token Watch EOS ( EOS ): Alternative blockchain’s ecosystem gets boost for trading liquidity as non-custodial digital-asset exchanger Eosfinex launches beta version , though Google Cloud does not intend to take EOS rewards as a block producer . Aave ( LEND , AAVE ): Blockchain data reveal increasing large-volume transactions in LEND tokens, suggesting “whale” accounts are migrating to the new AAVE governance tokens, IntoTheBlock writes . What’s Hot BitMEX’s Arthur Hayes steps down from CEO role a week after U.S. charges announced (CoinDesk) Japanese financial firm SBI buys Japanese crypto exchange TaoTao after Binance talks end (CoinDesk) Coinbase “apolitical” stance might just be conservative stance (CoinDesk Opinion) CFTC Chair Tarbert tells Morgan Creek Digital’s Anthony Pompliano that he wants to “support innovation in this space,” especially with “other countries coming in and starting to potentially take the lead” (BeInCrypto) Non-fungible token and accompanying digital portrait of Bitcoin inventor Satoshi Nakamoto sells for $131,250 in Christie’s auction (Decrypt) In an economic environment where inflation-adjusted interest rates are negative, the next big round of stimulus could become a “tailwind” for bitcoin and other “zero-yield” assets, Lyn Alden writes (CoinDesk Opinion) Bitcoin mining company Riot Blockchain has bought another 2,500 S19 Pro Antminer rigs as the publicly traded firm races to quadruple its mining power (CoinDesk) The U.S. Treasury Department is evaluating the merits of a government-sponsored digital currency (CoinDesk) Analogs The latest on the economy and traditional finance March bond-market tumult stemmed partly from Wall Street dealers’ limited capacity to supply liquidity, and subsequent episodes of stress “will likely continue to be dependent on the kinds of massive market interventions that the Federal Reserve was forced to make” (Bank Policy Institute) U.S. Federal Reserve officials are concerned a lack of stimulus approved by Congress could lead to bad times (CNBC) Citigroup agrees to $400M fine over “significant ongoing deficiencies” in risk-management systems (WSJ) Japan’s 3 main mobile phone carriers are expected to cut their rates ahead of the country’s new prime minister Yoshihide Suga’s calls to slash fees (Nikkei Asian Review) A Democratic victory in next month’s U.S. election could help boost Asian stocks (Bloomberg) Tweet of the Day Related Stories First Mover: Bitcoin ‘Comatose’ Under $16K for Rest of 2020, While Ether Traffic Eases First Mover: Bitcoin ‘Comatose’ Under $16K for Rest of 2020, While Ether Traffic Eases \|\| “Rogue FBI Agent” and Dark Web Expert to Address Southern California Cybersecurity Audience: West Coast CISOs, InfoSec Thought Leaders Gather Virtually for “SoCal” Summit LOS ANGELES, Oct. 12, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Data Connectors, representing the largest cybersecurity community in North America, continues its industry-leading series of Virtual Cybersecurity Summits through the remainder of the year, with its next stop in Southern California. The 2020 Southern California Virtual Cybersecurity Summit will take place this week over a two-day period, on Wednesday and Thursday, October 14 and 15, and is slated to allow the local community of cybersecurity professionals to gain insights and education regarding the latest updates and challenges in the industry, despite the continued effects of the COVID-19 crisis. Share the Story on Twitter via Click-to-Tweet: https://ctt.ac/N12Qn The two-day Summit will feature three keynote speakers, including former FBI Agent and current CISO EJ Hilbert and current respected industry analyst Michael Osterman on Wednesday, and Michael Mayes, a cybersecurity threat researcher on Thursday. Hilbert will recount his high-stakes experiences in his session, titled, “Confessions of a Rogue FBI Agent,” where he’ll talk about cases from that time, and walk through the scintillating story of his own travels, which led him to bring down the first major Russian CyberHacker, and later land him squarely in the crosshairs of an international spy thriller: corporate espionage, rogue agents, questionable officials and bad actors. “There’s so much to cover in the current cybersecurity climate now – we’re constantly surrounded by new and different threats. It’s more important than ever for us as a community to share our experiences and learn from each other,” Hilbert said. “Between the daily breaches on corporations and external threats on our national security, we need to come together and find solutions to keep our country safe.” Cybersecurity Threat Researcher At-Large Michael Mayes will be Thursday’s featured speaker, with his hour-long session titled “The Dark Web: A New Underground Economy.” Mayes has completed extensive research on the threats that live in the Dark Web, and will give insight into market innovation and activity, including the sale of COVID-19 drugs and supplies. Story continues “At no time in modern history have we faced a financial crisis like this one,” said Mayes. “Traditionally, underground markets thrive during times of economic instability, political upheaval, war or natural disaster. A combination of durable technology, Bitcoin price stability and economic necessity could usher in a golden age for darknet markets.” Michael Osterman, well-known industry analyst and author of numerous research papers on cybersecurity topics, will present a guest keynote on Wednesday afternoon. Osterman Research has conducted an in-depth study and produced a white paper on the cybersecurity skills shortage in 2020. At the Summit, Osterman will be presenting the results of that research, and taking live questions from the audience. The Summit will also feature industry expert presenters and virtual exhibits from cybersecurity solution providers, as well as live, topical Q&A sessions fielded by leading subject-matter experts. Key topics include how to build a comprehensive data protection strategy, handling remote work environments from a security perspective, and ransomware recovery. Data Connectors, which has conducted physical conferences since 1999, rapidly responded to the COVID-19 crisis, moving its full schedule of planned events online. The cybersecurity community has in turn responded to the opportunity: more than twice as many people have signed up for the virtual regional events than had registered to attend the previously scheduled in-person meetings. The Virtual Summit will also feature an interactive panel discussion on both days, with some of the top Chief Information Officers (CIOs) and Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) from organizations throughout Southern California and the surrounding areas. This week’s panelists include: Quinn Jones, CIO - Elite Sales Processing Donny Fan, CIO - APLA Health Michael Romanino, Head of Information Security - Blink Health Steven Ramirez, CISO - UofL Health Jake Bernstein, Attorney - Focal PLLC E.J. Hilbert, CISO & Founder, KCE Cyber Mohammed Bagha, CISO - Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors Attendees will ask questions and interact online with the CISOs, as well as each other and the organizations who will feature their solutions at the event. Solution providers at the Southern California Cybersecurity Summit include Cisco, Blackberry, Auth0 and more. The Summit will take place on Wednesday and Thursday, October 14-15, 2020 at 8:00 a.m. PT. Registration is free for qualified professionals, who can also obtain Continuing Professional Education (CPE) credits for participation. Data Connectors Virtual Cybersecurity Summits continue to focus on the local and regional requirements for cities such as Florida and Caribbean, St. Louis and Oklahoma, and the Great Lakes region. More information can be found at dataconnectors.com/socal About Data Connectors Since 1999, Data Connectors ( dataconnectors.com ) has facilitated the collaboration between cybersecurity professionals and solution providers. Today, the community comprises over 650,000 members and 250 active vendor partners. Members enjoy informative education from industry luminaries, innovative solution providers and government agencies such as the FBI, InfraGard, US Secret Service and the Department of Homeland Security. Data Connectors brings live conferences to cities across North America each year, and also provides interactions with the community via Virtual Summits, Web Briefings, and regular communications. Note to reporters: If you wish to attend these sessions at no charge, please contact Michael Hiskey, Chief Strategy Officer, at +1.636.778.9495 , or [email protected] . \|\| Amazon Fires Drone Delivery Staff In Dozens, Increasing Reliance On Partners To Meet Ambitious Goals: FT: Amazon.com, Inc(NASDAQ:AMZN) is retrenching workers engaged in research and development and manufacturing at its delivery drone project — instead, seeking external assistance in bringing its ambitious plans to fruition, the Financial TimesreportedWednesday. What Happened:Dozens of workers were laid-off by the Jeff Bezos-led company as it reached agreements with two external manufacturers in recent weeks to manufacture components parts of its delivery drones, according to FT. The agreements, full terms of which are yet to be finalized, were signed with Austria’s FACC Aerospace and Spain’s Aernnova Aerospace, a person familiar with the matter told FT. The retail giant is also looking at other external firms, according to FT. “As part of our regular business operations, we are [reorganizing] one small team within our larger Prime Air [organization] to allow us to best align with the needs of our customers and the business,” an Amazon spokesperson confirmed the layoffs to FT. The spokesperson said the company was “working to find roles in the areas where we are hiring that best match their experience and needs.” Why It Matters:Drone deliveries though revealed seven years ago by Bezos have yet not been fully deployed and are still “years away,” according to an unnamed source of FT. DroneAnalyst’s head of research David Benowitz said that Amazon is “not meeting the lofty goals and the original vision quite yet.” Walmart Inc(NYSE:WMT) is alreadyon its way to trial deliverieswith San Francisco, California-based firm Zipline. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration has received Part 135 certification to carry out highly-controlled testing but has not yet shared details of its trial plans. Price Action:Amazon shares closed 0.96% lower at $3,105.46 on Wednesday. Related Link:Flytrex Partners With Walmart To Bring Drone Delivery To North Carolina See more from Benzinga • Click here for options trades from Benzinga • Elon Musk Doles Out Advice To Maisie Williams On Whether She Should 'Go Long On Bitcoin' • Rivian Says All Its Electric Vehicles Will Now Come With Driver Assistance System © 2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| Who Is Better for Bitcoin, Trump or Biden?: In a chaotic year of dueling recriminations and very different visions of the future, the real question of this U.S. presidential election is: Who is better for bitcoin? For more episodes and free early access before our regular 3 p.m. Eastern time releases, subscribe with Apple Podcasts , Spotify , Pocketcasts , Google Podcasts , Castbox , Stitcher , RadioPublica , iHeartRadio or RSS . This episode is sponsored by Crypto.com and Nexo.io . Today on the Brief: The digital euro is closer than ever Checking in on European COVID-19 lockdowns Economic events this week that aren’t the election Our main discussion: Which U.S. election outcome is better for bitcoin? Related: First Mover: 11 Election Talking Points on Bitcoin as TRUMP Futures Point to Loss Poll: twitter.com/nlw/status/1320884275110137863 After a surprisingly close Twitter poll with more than 1,600 respondents answering the question “Is Trump or Biden better for bitcoin?”, NLW breaks down the most common themes, including: The Senate matters more Anti-encryption history And of course… Honey Badger Don’t Care See also: First Mover: Bitcoin Retreats Before US Election After Dominating Crypto in October Related: The Crypto Industry Remains Mostly Unengaged in Election 2020 For more episodes and free early access before our regular 3 p.m. Eastern time releases, subscribe with Apple Podcasts , Spotify , Pocketcasts , Google Podcasts , Castbox , Stitcher , RadioPublica , iHeartRadio or RSS . Related Stories Who Is Better for Bitcoin, Trump or Biden? Who Is Better for Bitcoin, Trump or Biden? \|\| Zcash Undergoes First Halving as Major Upgrade Drops ‘Founders Reward’: Four years after forking from Bitcoin, privacy-centric blockchain network Zcash has completed its first halving and rolled out a major upgrade that does away with the unpopular “Founders Reward.” At 12:37 UTC, Zcashpassed block height 1,046,400to trigger the event that cuts miners’ rewards from 6.25 ZEC to 3.125 ZEC. A miner reward reduction or “halving” event occurs when the block subsidy, generated from new coins mined, is divided by two. The coded-in event usually triggers every four years at particular block heights depending on the particular chain. Related:ShapeShift Delists Privacy Coin Zcash Over Regulatory Concerns Bitcoin had its third anti-inflationary halving back in March, and generally sees an increase after each subsequent halving event as supply is reduced. Zcash began its journey as a fork from the Bitcoin blockchain on Oct. 28, 2016. It takes a focus on providing better privacy for users through zero-knowledge cryptography dubbed zk-SNARKs and is developed by theElectric Coin Company(ECC). Such privacy features have been a money laundering concern for some regulators and policymakers. Earlier this month, Colorado-based cryptocurrency exchangeShapeshiftdelisted ZEC along with Monero (XMR) and Dash (DASH) – two other projects with added privacy – citing increased regulatory pressure. It’s not an issue for all trading platforms, though: Gemini, a cryptocurrency exchange regulated in New York, startedallowing users to withdraw zcashwith its anonymizing feature on in September. Related:Volume Surge Brings 25% Turnover to 'CoinDesk 20' “Zcash is the Bitcoin of privacy,” said Jehan Chu, co-founder and managing partner at Hong Kong-based blockchain investment and trading firm Kenetic. “The halving is not only a milestone event but an opportunity for traders to claw back some of the market share volume from privacy challengers like Monero.” Like Bitcoin, Zcash’s total supply has a hard cap of 21 million coins, a supply limit that is the polar opposite of the recent and unprecedented money printing by the world’s central banks, and is attracting investor interest as a result. “Fixed supply cryptocurrencies like zcash andbitcoinaren’t interesting because their issuance rate halves every four years,” said Ryan Watkins, research analyst at Messari. “They’re interesting because their issuance schedule is predictable and deterministic.” “What is likely far more interesting for Zcash is the activation of Canopy, its fifth network upgrade,” said Watkins. “The headline of this upgrade is the end of its Founders Reward and the beginning of its new development fund.” On Jan. 3, 2019, a community forum member known as mineZcash initiateda year-long discussionthat has now resulted in atrademark agreementand increased decentralization for Zcash within an all-new governance model that includes built-in funding for development. Previously, Zcash’s unpopularFounders Rewardmeant miners typically received 80% plus transaction fees for mining blocks. The remaining 20% of the reward was split among various parties including 9.85% to ECC founders, 2.2% to the Zcash Foundation, 5.75% to ECC itself and 2.2% to ECC employee compensation. This ended with the introduction ofCanopy. Following the upgrade, miners will continue to receive 80% of the block rewards, but the remaining 20% will be divided among the new Major Grants Fund (8%), ECC (7%) and the Zcash Foundation (5%). The Major Grants Fund will support development via “large-scale long-term projects (administered by the Zcash Foundation, with extra community input and scrutiny),” according to theZcash proposal. See also:Spiritual Reflections on the Bitcoin Halving Watkins noted that market participants were made aware “months ago” of Zcash’s halving and coinciding network upgrade, so it’s hard to see those events driving future value increases to the ZEC cryptocurrency. “Perhaps the halving at best may raise awareness of zcash, because of the publicity halvings usually get, but who knows.” At time of writing, ZEC was trading at about $63, down 3% over 24 hours, according toCoinGecko. Correction (Nov. 18, 14:18 UTC):Corrected error in headline that called the “Founders Fund” a “Founders Reward.” • Zcash Undergoes First Halving as Major Upgrade Drops ‘Founders Reward’ • Zcash Undergoes First Halving as Major Upgrade Drops ‘Founders Reward’ \|\| Grayscale sees more than $1 billion in new investments in Q3: Grayscale Investments, the world's largest digital currency asset manager, says it raised $1.05 billion for investment products during the third quarter of 2020 — the largest inflow of funds from investors a single quarter in Grayscale’s history. On Wednesday the firm released a comprehensive report detailing its latest investment activity. According to the report, the vast majority of its investments (81%) in the third quarter came from institutional investors. For all of 2020, Grayscale’s investments total $2.4 billion — double the total of $1.2 billion that has been invested in Grayscale products between 2013 and 2019. Grayscale Bitcoin Trust is one of the fastest-growing investment products, with inflows of $719.3 million in the third quarter. In total, the company had over $5.9 billion in managed assets as of Sept. 30, 2020. © 2020 The Block Crypto, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice. \|\| Spot Markets, Not Leverage, Fuel Bitcoin’s Price Rally Amid Mild Derivative Liquidations: Red-hot spot markets are primarily fueling bitcoin’s recent rally as the leading cryptocurrency trades at three-year highs around $15,500, suggesting the bull market may have room to continue. Unlike previously rallies, derivatives markets are playing a markedly less prominent role, demonstrated by mild liquidation volumes. The presence of derivatives in bitcoin’s ongoing rally is “muted in comparison to previous run-ups,” said Matt Kaye, managing partner at Santa Monica-based Blockhead Capital. Talking to CoinDesk, Kaye said, “The market is clearly spot-dominated, and it appears that most of the bidding is coming out of the U.S.,” continuing a trend CoinDesk reported in May . Related: Bitcoin's Rivalry With Gold Plus Millennial Interest Gives It 'Considerable' Upside Potential: JPMorgan On Thursday, BitMEX, a cryptocurrency derivatives exchange known for attracting unorthodox, high-leverage traders, reported $54 million in liquidated bitcoin futures contracts during the most recent rally, well below the still mild liquidation volume of $75 million reported on Oct. 21 when bitcoin reached then-new yearly highs, breaking above $13,000, according to Skew . Large liquidations might not happen until the leading cryptocurrency breaks above its all-time highs just below $20,000, said Kyle Davies, co-founder of Three Arrows Capital, in a direct message with CoinDesk. “Frankly, there’s not much leverage in the market now anyways,” he said. Significant price movements typically trigger large-scale liquidations in characteristically overleveraged cryptocurrency futures markets. But the mild liquidations throughout bitcoin’s recent rally signals that the typically prominent derivatives markets has taken a back seat and the spot market has the wheel. Read more: Bitcoin’s Rivalry With Gold Plus Millennial Interest Gives It ‘Considerable’ Upside Potential: JPMorgan Related: O(1) Labs Raises $10.9M More for Lightweight Mina Protocol Corroborating the quietness of derivatives markets amid bitcoin’s soaring price action is that less than $500 million in bitcoin futures positions had been liquidated in the past 24 hours, as of 14:35 UTC Friday, across seven leading trading platforms as bitcoin neared $16,000. The largest reported liquidation of $5.97 million happened on BitMEX, according to derivatives data aggregator Bybt . Regulatory troubles weathered by leading leveraged trading exchanges including BitMEX, OKEx and Huobi explain the subdued influence that derivatives markets play in bitcoin’s current rally, according to Davies. Story continues That liquidation volumes are low relative to bitcoin’s price movements could be an encouraging sign for bitcoin bulls, according to Aditya Das, cryptocurrency market analyst at Brave New Coin. “The quiet funding rate and relatively low number of liquidations could be read as a positive sign that this rally may have legs and is not close to overheating because of speculators,” he told CoinDesk in a direct message. The market could also be signaling that futures traders simply “missed out on the big move,” Das added. Related Stories Spot Markets, Not Leverage, Fuel Bitcoin’s Price Rally Amid Mild Derivative Liquidations Spot Markets, Not Leverage, Fuel Bitcoin’s Price Rally Amid Mild Derivative Liquidations View comments \|\| Blockchain Bites: CZ’s Exclusive Interview, California’s Souped-Up Regulator, Alt Season’s End?: California beefed up its financial regulator, Bitpanda closed a notable raise and some investors say “alt-season” is over. Brokerage raiseEuropean crypto brokerage Bitpanda hasraised a $52 million Series A led by Peter Thiel’sValar Ventures, to be put to use expanding the company’s payroll and adding a variety of products. Next year the Vienna-based firm intends to expand to “all kinds of asset classes” including stocks. In an interview, the firm’s co-founders told CoinDesk’s Leigh Cuen France, Spain and Turkey were among the fastest-growing crypto markets out of the roughly 34 countries the platform serves. Regulator reprisedCalifornia Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill on Friday thatincreases the scope of the state’s financial regulator.Renamed the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation, the agency is now equipped with “new tools to shape the regulation of virtual currency” and enhanced abilities to crack down on unlicensed or deceptive financial services and products. The new law will also create an Office of Financial Technology Innovation to engage with emerging financial products such as cryptocurrencies and a division to oversee markets. Related:First Mover: Binance CEO Sees Future in DeFi While Bitcoin Volatility Turns Minuscule Hard forkArtificial intelligence and data service Ocean Protocol hassuspended its old contract on the Ethereum blockchain and hard-forked its project,following the $150 million KuCoin hack. On Sunday at 22:00 UTC, Ocean Protocol announced it had migrated from its old token address to a new one to thwart the KuCoin hacker’s attempts to offload 21 million OCEAN tokens worth some $8.6 million. “Moving contract addresses has effectively blacklisted the hacker’s stash of OCEAN tokens. But it also raises questions of the project’s true immutability if the protocol can be effectively hard-forked in one weekend,” CoinDesk’s Will Foxley reports. Corporate statementCoinbase CEO Brian Armstrong published a blog Sunday calling the company “mission focused,” with theunderlying message that it won’t engage on political or social topicsoutside its domain of open finance. That said, employees are expected to pursue social activism in their own time. CoinDesk’s Paddy Baker reports the blog has “split the crypto industry straight down the middle,” with many commending the public stance while others deem it regressive. For instance, Boost VC’s Adam Draper said focusing on a “unified mission” was the only way to achieve its goals. Others in the Twitterverse have called the message out-of-touch, and a way to downplay issues that directly affect employees’ lives. Maker doubts?A class-action lawsuit alleging the Maker Foundation and others knowingly misrepresented the risks of investment has beensent to arbitration.The case centers around plaintiffs who claim to have incurred six-figure losses during the “Black Thursday” crash in mid-March and allegations that Maker’s stewards misrepresented the security and collateralization of the platform. TheDAIstablecoin is over-collateralized, they argue. In an order last Friday, Judge Maxine Chesney granted a motion by the Maker Foundation to refer the case to the American Arbitration Association as specified in a clause in the foundation’s terms of service. • Closing Decentralized Marketplace OpenBazaar Gets Lifeline(Jeff Benson/Decrypt) • Silvergate Bank: How Deep Is the Moat?(Matt Yamamoto/CoinDesk) • Binance CEO Sees Future in DeFi While Bitcoin Volatility Turns Minuscule(First Mover/CoinDesk) • Avalanche, the latest staking network to launch, already has more than $1 billion staked(John Dantoni/The Block) • MESE.io brings stock trading to the unbanked(Leo Jakobson/Modern Consensus) DeFi v. CeFiIn anexclusive CoinDesk interview,Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao said he fully expects decentralized finance (DeFi) to cannibalize his own crypto exchange. Related:Blockchain Bites: DeFi Meets NFTs, TSLA Beats Bitcoin in Volatility, Uniswap Breaks $2B “Our mission is not to build a CeFi exchange,” Zhao said in an interview with CoinDesk’s Muyao Shen, using a shorthand term for centralized finance. “Right now it is one of our larger businesses that support our growth. But over the long term, we want to push decentralization.” Zhao’s comments reflect the growing competition between centralized exchanges and their more community-driven alternatives. Faced with quick-moving projects that can iterate week to week, Zhao is tasked with evolving the world’s largest crypto exchange (by volume) to something that can meet the moment. At a micro-scale this battle played out between Uniswap, a venture-backed automated market maker (AMM), and its upstart clone Sushiswap, which features a governance token. As reported, Uniswap responded to the challenger by integrating its own governance token – a means to spreading the wealth among its community members. Uniswap is part of the DeFi ecosystem currently threatening exchanges like Binance, Huobi and Coinbase. In recent months, Binance has been targeting the DeFi ecosystem as a growth sector. “The company’s new foray into DeFi, Binance Smart Chain, attempts to replicate some of the features of the Ethereum blockchain that have proven fertile for developers building decentralized, blockchain-based trading and lending applications that theoretically could one day challenge traditional lenders and Wall Street trading firms,” Shen reported. But building decentralized systems is difficult. The Binance Smart Chain is run by only 21 nodes and the majority stakeholder of its native BNB tokens remains Binance. Zhao said this comparatively centralized structure was to better compete with Ethereum. “So in my mind, I’m never worried about the business model,” Zhao said. “I’m always much more worried about if we have users using the product. There’s always multiple options for business models, so the key is to build something that’s useful.” Alt-season?Some digital asset traders say they’ve beenrotating funds out of alternate cryptocurrencies(altcoins) into bitcoin (BTC) in anticipation of the leading cryptocurrency significantly outperforming the entire crypto market for at least the next several months. CoinDesk’s Zack Voell reports bitcoin is down so far in September, dropping more than 10%. Still, bitcoin became “under owned” during the DeFi craze, according to Kyle Davies, a prominent DeFi investor and co-founder of Three Arrows Capital, and likely correction is due to follow. Kevin Zhou, co-founder of San Francisco-based Galois Capital, outlined a similar theory. Latest testnetEthereum 2.0 developers have launched yet another testnet, this time to giveon-boarding stakers a dry run before the launch of Eth 2.0sometime this fall. The testnet, called Spadina, follows the official Ethereum Foundation’s Medalla testnet which launched in early August and will only be in use for the next three days while Eth 2.0 stakers practice joining the network with the testnet. “The main objective is to give us all another chance to go through one of the more difficult and risky parts of the process – deposits and genesis – before we reach mainnet,” Ethereum Foundation researcher Danny Ryan blogged. RethinkCoinDesk Executive Editor, Operations & Strategy Pete Pachal penned a response to Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong’srecent public statement and the division his “mission-focused” stance has stirred. “Armstrong’s position isn’t a message to Silicon Valley heavyweights to turn back the clock on employee “wokeness” – it’s an open letter to every other corporate leader, urging them to connect the dots between the political positions they might be taking and the central mission of their companies. And if the result is a picture they don’t like, rethink,” Pachal writes. Stability?Shiv Malik, author and head of growth at Streamr, thinkscrypto needs a euro-pegged stablecoin.The U.S.’ recent social and political upheavals are placing serious strain on the dollar’s future hegemony. “And if America is so precariously balanced between further prosperity and potential disaster, so, too, rests the fate of the U.S. dollar for the rest of the world. Just the issue of U.S. Treasury debt issuance alone has had professional money managers warning this month that the U.S.’s reserve currency status is under threat,” he writes. • Blockchain Bites: CZ’s Exclusive Interview, California’s Souped-Up Regulator, Alt Season’s End? • Blockchain Bites: CZ’s Exclusive Interview, California’s Souped-Up Regulator, Alt Season’s End? \|\| Get Paid Bitcoin To Shop At Kroger: Shoppers at the largest grocery chain in America can start earning Bitcoin for making their normal everyday purchases. Bitcoin prices have soared to the $16,000 level andsome analysts thinkit could be headed to $20,000. What Happened:America’s largest grocery chain and second largest general retailerThe Kroger Co(NYSE:KR) isofferinga new program to reward shoppers. The company partnered with Bitcoin exchange Lolli. Shoppers will earn up to 1.5% in Bitcoin back on grocery orders for pickup or delivery. Related Link:3 Small-Cap Bitcoin Stocks That Could Benefit From Square’s Purchase Why It’s Important:Lolli is a cryptocurrency startup thathas raised$5.4 million to launch a mobile app and expand internationally. Investors in Lolli include Ashton Kutcher, Ipsy co-founder and beauty entrepreneur Michelle Phan and a unit of Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund. Kroger could be doing this partnership to gain market share over rivals likeWalmart Inc(NYSE:WMT). The companyreportedsecond-quarter adjusted revenue up 14.6% year-over-year to $30.5 billion. Digital sales increased 127% year-over-year in the second quarter for Kroger. Benzinga’s Take:Stocks that have expanded their bitcoin offerings includeSquare Inc(NYSE:SQ) andPaypal Holdings(NASDAQ:PYPL). Kroger could have a winning partnership here to gain market share from customers who want to invest in Bitcoin and make their everyday purchases. See more from Benzinga • Click here for options trades from Benzinga • 130% Increase In Fuel Cell Units Deployed Drives Plug Power's Best Quarter Yet © 2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| TikTok Option: Simplifying Online Trading For Patrons: London, UK, Oct. 07, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Trading can be complicated in all its forms for beginners. It is difficult to know in which stocks and companies to invest in, what keys there are to guarantee and maximize returns, and when you do figure those out, the next moment of confusion rises on the question: How do you begin? What is the best platform? Luckily, TikTok Option puts all of those pressing questions to rest and traders at ease. TiktokOption provides users with a variety of intuitive trading platforms, with the option to trade via the web, mobile app or dedicated desktop app. TiktokOption created its own platform which is fully customisable and can be tailored to the needs of each client. This means that all features on offer from TiktokOption are easily integrated, whether the user is trading via a desktop or mobile device. About TikTok Option: TiktokOption began providing services to traders in and currently executes in excess of 1 million deals each month. The brand currently boasts 10000 customer accounts. The goal of TiktokOption is to deliver a completely transparent online trading experience. To achieve this, it provides its users with an intuitive trading platform and plenty of educational materials. Customer service is clearly a priority here, and the brand has over 100 account managers which focus on a range of different client needs. TiktokOption also pledges to deliver the fastest possible trading in the industry via its own dedicated platform. TiktokOption provides opportunities to trade in the following markets: CFDs Forex Shares Cryptocurrency Commodities Indices Benefits of TikTok Option: Low minimum deposit (just $10) Large maximum returns (up to 95% of winning trades) Intuitive platform which is easy to use for beginners Access via desktop and mobile apps Lots of educational materials to suit traders of all experience levels No commission on deposits and withdrawals Large bonuses (for Non-EU clients) Drawbacks of TikTok Option: US trading currently not accepted Short-term options Not regulated in Europe No MT4/MT5 support Story continues Spreads & Commission, Fees & Countries Accepted: TiktokOption charges a commission of 5% on any winning trades. When it comes to payouts, the brand can take up to 5% on winning trades, which is below the industry standard which can often be as high as 15%. TiktokOption is completely free to join and completely free to trade with, and it provides users with several different deposit/withdrawal methods. For Deposit: USDT BTC ETH Most payment methods are processed instantly. All deposits are commission-free. The minimum deposit is just $10. For Withdrawals: Withdrawals can also be made directly to a Bitcoin wallet. TiktokOption accepts traders from Thailand, Vietnam, South Africa, Hong Kong, India, Norway, Italy, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Luxembourg, Qatar and most other countries. Traders can not use TiktokOption from the United States. Demo Account: TiktokOption provides a demo account for its clients to hone their skills and explore the platform prior to investing any real money. Demo accounts come with a balance of $1,000 in virtual funds, and no registration is necessary to access the demo account. This is useful because many new users feel put off having to provide documentation and personal data simply to try out a demo account, and it means that the brand doesn’t have any personal contact data to pressure you into registering for a real account after experiencing the demo. Deals & Promotion: TiktokOption offers bonuses of up to 100% for new users, dependent on how much they initially deposit and the sort of account they choose. Some bonuses require a turnover of x50 the original stake prior to activation, and this can lock up the funds deposited until the user reaches the agreed-upon turnover volume. Regulation & Licensing: TiktokOption is currently licensed by the Financial Services Authority of St. Vincent and the Grenadines (SVGFSA). This is a governmental authority which allows the company to provide trading and financial services, which means that the brand can be trusted to be fair and transparent. Media Details Company: TikTok Option Email: [email protected] Website: https://tiktokoption.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/tiktokoption Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Tiktokoption [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] None available.	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 18642.23, 18370.00, 18364.12, 19107.46, 18732.12, 17150.62, 17108.40, 17717.41, 18177.48, 19625.84
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2020-09-04] BTC Price: 10511.81, BTC RSI: 38.19 Gold Price: 1923.90, Gold RSI: 47.74 Oil Price: 39.77, Oil RSI: 34.89 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] The Mounting Evidence of a New Bitcoin Bull Market: From positive price indicators to a new all time high in smallholder addresses, this is the evidence a new bull run might be starting. For more episodes and free early access before our regular 3 p.m. Eastern time releases, subscribe with Apple Podcasts , Spotify , Pocketcasts , Google Podcasts , Castbox , Stitcher , RadioPublica , iHeartRadio or RSS . This episode is sponsored by Crypto.com , Bitstamp and Nexo.io . Related: Bitcoin News Roundup for Aug. 10, 2020 This week’s Breakdown Weekly Recap is all about that vibe you’ve been feeling – that inescapable notion a new crypto bull market is afoot. See also: How Real Is Bitcoin’s Rally? 8 Interpretations of Bitcoin’s Massive Surge NLW looks at the evidence: Rising gold price Recirculation of crypto money out of zombie protocols New growth in small holder addresses Demand from emerging market p2p markets It’s just possible this new bitcoin bull market isn’t just starting to be seen in narratives, but is also showing up in numbers. This week on The Breakdown: Monday \| Rage Against the Economic Machine: The Best of the Breakdown July 2020 Related: How the Purpose of Public Markets Has Changed Tuesday \| Can Social Media Be Redeemed? Feat. Bobby Goodlatte Wednesday \| Hedgeye CEO Keith McCullough on Stagflation, Bitcoin and the Devalued Dollar Thursday \| The History, Present and Future of Central Banks, Feat. George Selgin Friday \| 11 Numbers That Tell the Story of the Economy Right Now For more episodes and free early access before our regular 3 p.m. Eastern time releases, subscribe with Apple Podcasts , Spotify , Pocketcasts , Google Podcasts , Castbox , Stitcher , RadioPublica , iHeartRadio or RSS . Related Stories The Mounting Evidence of a New Bitcoin Bull Market The Mounting Evidence of a New Bitcoin Bull Market \|\| Grayscale launches ad campaign, telling investors to move to digital currencies: Crypto asset manager Grayscale has launched a national advertising campaign, telling investors to move to digital currencies like bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH) via its products. The 30-second commercial shows how money has evolved over thousands of years, from shells and metals to fiat money, and that now "is the time for digital currency." Notably, the ad does not mention bitcoin at all, like Grayscale's previous "DropGold" campaign . A Grayscale spokesperson told The Block that the new ad is "focused on digital currencies and Grayscale brand not just one single digital currency like Bitcoin." The ad has first aired on CNBC, with MSNBC, FOX, and FOX Business set to follow next, according to Grayscale founder and CEO Barry Silbert. Grayscale provides crypto investment products, including Bitcoin and Ethereum Trusts, which help investors to take exposure in these assets without directly buying or storing them. Grayscale reported record inflows last month, raising $905.8 million across its suite of products in Q2, nearly doubling the amount from the previous quarter. Grayscale now manages $5.6 billion worth of total assets. © 2020 The Block Crypto, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice. \|\| MicroStrategy becomes first listed company to buy bitcoin as part of its capital allocation strategy: MicroStrategy, the Nasdaq-listed business intelligence company, has become the first publicly-traded company to buy bitcoin as part of its capital allocation strategy. The company announced on Tuesday that it has purchased 21,454 bitcoins (currently worth over $250 million). MicroStrategy first revealed its plan to buy bitcoin as a way to avoid inflation on July 28. “Our investment in Bitcoin is part of our new capital allocation strategy, which seeks to maximize long-term value for our shareholders,” said MicroStrategy CEO Michael J. Saylor. “This investment reflects our belief that Bitcoin, as the world’s most widely-adopted cryptocurrency, is a dependable store of value and an attractive investment asset with more long-term appreciation potential than holding cash.” It is not clear whether MicroStrategy bought the bitcoins via a crypto exchange or an over-the-counter (OTC) trading desk, and where these bitcoins are held. A MicroStrategy spokesperson declined to provide details, telling The Block: "We don't share the logistics involved in making our BTC transactions." MicroStrategy's stock is trading up by more than 5% during pre-market hours. Update: This story has been updated to include comment from a MicroStrategy spokesperson. © 2020 The Block Crypto, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice. \|\| Ethereum-Based MadNetwork Aims to Clean Up Advertising’s ‘Programmatic Cesspool’: There’s a joke in the world of digital advertising: How many companies does it take to put an ad on a website? In fact, there can be as many as 15 intermediaries participating in this opaque process, sponging up around 30% of the advertising spend. To fix this broken system, the next generation of adtech specialists are again pinning their hopes on blockchain technology. Announced Thursday,MadNetwork, a permissioned layer running on top of Ethereum while using the public blockchain itself as its immutable system of record, emerges from stealth with a testnet coming next month. Related:First Mover: Wacky Bitcoin-to-DeFi Crypto Markets Might Be New Home of Capitalism Adtech providerMadHiveand advertising industry consortiumAdLedgerhad previously piloted an entire system of data sharing and accounting on Ethereum, but over the past couple of years they decided a Layer 2 approach was needed in order to scale. Blockchain is often used to help automate manual or paper-based processes, but in the case of advertising, it’s the system of automation itself that’s the problem. The first iteration of hastily-erected programmatic web advertising – a mish-mash of servers and accounting platforms – has led to a black box riddled with fees and inconsistencies. The time is right for blockchain transparency to cut through the Gordian Knot of programmatic advertising, particularly as traditional broadcast television makes the transition to the world of connected devices, said MadNetwork project lead Adam Helfgott. “An NBC or a Fox can’t really afford to lose 30% of their television media revenue into this like programmatic cesspool,” said Helfgott. “These legacy media companies are used to having a very clean transaction, and not all this black-boxy programmatic stuff in the middle.” Related:Bitcoin Has Lost Its Way: Here’s How to Return to Crypto’s Subversive Roots The AdLedger blockchain consortium, of which MadHive is a member, includes some heavyweight media players such as Viacom, Publicis Media, Hearst Television, IPG Mediabrands, Hershey and also IBM. (Back in 2018, AdLedger dida pilot with IBM, which committed some advertising budget to a system running on Big Blue’s preferred blockchain, Hyperledger Fabric.) Read more:IBM-Backed Blockchain Trial Takes Aim at Advertising’s Middlemen As well as clarifying where intermediary systems impinge, MadNetwork’s blockchain also helps provide insights into the programmatic supply chain in the era of oncoming data privacy regulation, said Christiana Cacciapuoti, a MadNetwork business strategy advisor and the executive director of AdLedger. “We are seeing a greater demand for insights into which data is going to which players and from which consumers, and who got that consent and how it’s being passed around,” said Cacciapuoti. “Just as that [blockchain-based] system of accounting can track the transfer of dollars and the business-outcome angle, it can also track data transfer and take account of privacy angles.” The revamped Layer 2 solution on Ethereum uses the public mainnet as a “touchpoint of truth,” said Helfgott, likening it to theBaseline Protocolbuilt by John Wolpert of ConsenSys and Paul Brody of EY. The deployment of nodes is handled by “nodes as a service” providerBlockdaemon, a close partner of MadHive, Helfgott added. Read more:Microsoft, EY and ConsenSys Tout New Way for Big Biz to Use Public Ethereum In terms of the roadmap, Cacciapuoti said: “We are looking at around Sept. 1 for publicly launching our testnet, and then mainnet in Q4.” In the not too distant future, it’s inevitable that most people will be watching TV via IP-delivered video, said Helfgott. “Unless a company like MadHive and MadNetwork steps in, it’s inevitable that we’ll run over the mobile media infrastructure that exists today, that Google kind of owns,” he said. “Adtech paid for the internet to be built out by Google, and now we kind of see adtech paying for blockchain to be built out at scale.” • Ethereum-Based MadNetwork Aims to Clean Up Advertising’s ‘Programmatic Cesspool’ • Ethereum-Based MadNetwork Aims to Clean Up Advertising’s ‘Programmatic Cesspool’ \|\| Latest Ethereum price and analysis (ETH to USD): Ethereum continues to demonstrate a bullish trajectory following a staggering 65.78% rally to the upside over the past three weeks. Spurred by the rise in popularity of DeFi projects, Ethereum has re-emerged as an industry-leading smart contracts provider, with companies often opting to launch new tokens on the Ethereum blockchain. As a result, interest in Ethereum from both institutional and retail investors has risen significantly with daily trade volume hitting a 10-week high of $20 billion on August 2. At the time of writing Ethereum is trading at $391 following a failed attempt at breaking above the critical level of resistance at $400. While the rejection from $400 can be perceived as being bearish, the fact that Ethereum is continuing to trade above 2019’s high of $367 indicates just how strong this rally is from a macro perspective. If Ethereum can begin to close daily and weekly candles above the $440 region it would almost certainly trigger bullish continuation to the upside, with potential price targets emerging at $515 and $624. This would have a profound impact on the rest of the cryptocurrency markets as it would likely drag Bitcoin, which is currently trading at $11,720, up along with it. When analysing the ETH/BTC trading pair it is clear to see that Ethereum has spearheaded this recent rally in terms of USD value, with the world’s second largest cryptocurrency by market cap making a 96.9% gain against Bitcoin since the turn of the year. For more news, guides and cryptocurrency analysis, click here . About Ethereum Ethereum was launched by Vitalik Buterin on July 30 2015. He was a researcher and programmer working on Bitcoin Magazine and he initially wrote a whitepaper in 2013 describing Ethereum. Buterin had proposed that Bitcoin needed a scripting language. He decided to develop a new platform with a more general scripting language when he couldn’t get buy-in to his proposal. More Ethereum news and information If you want to find out more information about Ethereum or cryptocurrencies in general, then use the search box at the top of this page. Please check the below article: Story continues https://coinrivet.com/ethereum-adopts-erc-1155-as-an-official-standard/ As with any investment, it pays to do some homework before you part with your money. The prices of cryptocurrencies are volatile and go up and down quickly. This page is not recommending a particular currency or whether you should invest or not. You may be interested in our range of cryptocurrency guides along with the latest cryptocurrency news . Disclaimer: This is not financial advice. \|\| Elon Musk, Kim Kardashian, Kanye West, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden's Twitter Accounts Got Hacked: Scammers targeted some of the biggest names on Twitter to try and get some cash. Entertainment Tonight reports that former President Barack Obama , Elon Musk, Bill Gates, Joe Biden, Kim Kardashian West , and Kanye West are among just a few of the names that were hacked. Twitter users may have noticed a few of their favorite accounts were posting strange messages about Bitcoin, urging users to donate cryptocurrency. Apple and Uber were also impacted. The tweets generally began with a similar message, stating that the individual wanted to give "back to the community" before sharing a Bitcoin wallet address. The tweets went on to tell users they would double the amounts that they sent in. "I'm feeling generous because of Covid-19," a now-deleted tweet from Musk's account read. "I'll double any BTC payment sent to my BTC address for the next hour. Good luck, and stay safe out there!" RELATED: Kanye West Has Reportedly Dropped Out of the Running for President in 2020 Twitter Support addressed the issue, saying that that it is "aware of a security incident impacting accounts on Twitter. We are investigating and taking steps to fix it. We will update everyone shortly." We are aware of a security incident impacting accounts on Twitter. We are investigating and taking steps to fix it. We will update everyone shortly. Twitter Support (@TwitterSupport) July 15, 2020 BuzzFeed reports that even two-factor authentication wasn't enough to keep hackers out. Cryptocurrency publication CoinDesk had its account hacked and noted that a number of the affected accounts had two-factor security enabled. RELATED: People Are Calling Kim Kardashian and Kanye West Out for Their Insensitive Posts Previous cryptocurrency scams BuzzFeed notes that similar issues been around for more than two years have tried to mimic verified Twitter users. Today's attack didn't create new accounts with similar handles, avatars, and cover photos. Instead, the unknown hacker managed to get access into real accounts The initial scam tweet promoting the giveaway appeared on Musks account, which has nearly 37 million followers, at 1:17 p.m. PDT. His account posted at least three tweets from the hacker. Story continues "Twitter locked down the account immediately following the breach and removed the related tweet," a campaign spokesperson for Joe Biden told BuzzFeed News. "We remain in touch with Twitter on the matter." BuzzFeed notes that the website that was connected to the scam was created this morning, at 10:36 a.m. PDT. It was down before Musk's tweet went live. "The current financial system is outdated and COVID-19 has made serious damage to the traditional economy ,To help in these hard times For COVID19 Huobi, Kucoin, Kraken, Gemini, Binance, Coinbase & Trezor are partnered to give back to the community," the now-deleted site read, adding that it was promoting the hashtag #cryptoagainstcovid. \|\| First Mover: Kyber CEO Predicts 2020 Transactions at $3B as DeFi Token Soars: The fast-growing realm of decentralized finance, known as DeFi, has produced some of the year’s richest returns for cryptocurrency investors, from Compound’s COMP tokens to Chainlink’s LINK. So it may come as little surprise tthe Kyber Network’s KNC token has jumped eight-fold in price this year, giving it the largest market capitalization among decentralized exchanges tracked by the data firm Messari. You’re readingFirst Mover, CoinDesk’s daily markets newsletter. Assembled by the CoinDesk Markets Team, First Mover starts your day with the most up-to-date sentiment around crypto markets, which of course never close, putting in context every wild swing in bitcoin and more. We follow the money so you don’t have to. You cansubscribe here. Related:How the Purpose of Public Markets Has Changed First Mover interviewed Kyber CEO Loi Luu about the project, including its July 7 launch of the KyberDAO governance platform. Luu says some 30% of the circulating supply of KNC tokens are staked on the platform, which he argues is evidence that “holders want to get behind it.” First Mover: How would you explain Kyber to the uninitiated? The short version is to say it’s a liquidity protocol for anybody, anywhere. The longer version of it is we’re building an on-chain liquidity endpoint in which contributors integrate to either contribute liquidity or utilize liquidity.So why has the KNC token done so well this year? People look at the growth of Kyber, and people look at the ecosystem that we’re building. I think so far we have one of the biggest ecosystems in this space. We have more than 100 different applications, wallets, that have integrated with Kyber. We have surpassed $1 billion of volume in 2020 and we are looking to cross $3 billion before the end of the year. Whether the token can do well or not, it really depends on how the protocol is performing. Related:Blockchain Bites: Goldman's Hire, Ether's Options, Bitcoin's Patronage Do you think there’s any speculation in the KNC token related to future Kyber developments? Honestly, I think there’s going to be speculation for any token, so it’s not only for KNC. If you ask me, that’s true for every token. What is the importance of liquidity in this ecosystem? In finance, liquidity is the key. We are working closely with the DeFi community. For example, an asset management protocol from time to time, they need to rebalance their portfolio. So they need to do a lot of on-chain trading from one asset to another. And that’s where Kyber can come in, because they can do everything on-chain. What advantage does Kyber have by being on-chain? I emphasize a lot on the on-chain aspect because everything Kyber does runs on the smart contract, on the blockchain. It’s important to run everything on-chain so it is smart contract talking to smart contract. Everything is trustless that way. There is no centralized custodian. How do you feel about this year’s boom in DeFi? Currently we are seeing a lot of experiments happening in the DeFi ecosystem, from liquidity mining, from bootstrapping adoption of a protocol and things like that. I think this is good that there are a lot of things happening. We’ve also started seeing a lot of new projects that have nothing to do with DeFi also branded as DeFi to get some hype. So I think there’s definitely some hype, but compared with the ICO boom in 2017, it’s nowhere close. We’re not seeing retail get into the DeFi hype. We’re not seeing people talking about DeFi in the mainstream. DeFi is built on Ethereum, but there are constraints on that protocol, especially right now. How are you feeling about that today? I think it really worries us. The gas prices, or fees to use Ethereum, are still very high. So we are actively looking at different layer-2 protocols to see which one that we should work with. For end users, they can’t pay $5 to $10 everytime they use a decentralized protocol. There must be a cheaper and more efficient way to use decentralized applications every day. BTC: Price: $11,775 (BPI) \| 24-Hr High: $11,924 \| 24-Hr Low: $11,662 Trend: Bitcoin’s price action of the last 24 hours is telling a tale of indecision and hinting at price pullback. The top cryptocurrency by market value jumped to highs above $11,900 during Thursday’s U.S. trading hours, extending the recovery from Sunday’s low of $10,659. However, further gains remained elusive and the cryptocurrency ended the day (UTC) on a flat note at $11,770. Put simply, the day began with optimism but ended on a pessimistic note, with buyers failing to keep prices at highs above $11,900. The bulls had made another failed attempt to scale that level early on Friday. This type of price action after a notable recovery rally and near multi-month highs is indicative of indecision among bulls (uptrend fatigue) and often precedes pullbacks. The immediate support is located at $11,575 (Thursday’s low), which, if breached, would open the doors for $11,000. On the higher side, an hourly close above $11,900 would imply a continuation of the recovery rally and shift the focus to recent highs above $12,100. At press time, the cryptocurrency is trading below $11,800, representing slight losses on the day. • First Mover: Kyber CEO Predicts 2020 Transactions at $3B as DeFi Token Soars • First Mover: Kyber CEO Predicts 2020 Transactions at $3B as DeFi Token Soars \|\| Bitmain delays AntMiner shipments amid ongoing battle between co-founders: Bitcoin miner manufacturer Bitmain has delayed shipments by three months as its co-founders, Jihan Wu and Micree Zhan Ketuan, continue to fight for control of the company. The official WeChat account of Bitmain's AntMiner brandpostedthe news on Thursday, saying that "external interference over the company's management" has caused the delay. Wu's teamreportedlycontrols the WeChat account.Customers whose orders were due in June and July will have to wait until September and October. To compensate delays, Bitmain is offering two options to its customers, or bitcoin miners. First, cash coupons equivalent to theoretical mining revenue between now and the actual delivery date. Those coupons could be used to pay for future orders. The second option is refunds, provided miners don't receive their shipments 60 days after their written notice to Bitmain. Thomas Heller, global business director at bitcoin mining pool F2Pool,suggestedminers to shift to machines from Bitmain rivals MicroBT and Canaan. © 2020 The Block Crypto, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice. \|\| Attempted 51% Attack on Bitcoin Gold Was Thwarted, Developers Say: Bitcoin gold’s developer team announced Friday night that it foiled a 51 percent attack that it had known was coming for over a week. • Bitcoin gold alerted exchanges and mining pools of the attack on July 2, and posted a notice to the community on July 10 noting that it was time for “everyone else to upgrade their nodes.” • The team only revealed the attempted network takeover to the public after the unknown attacker, which had been mining blocks since July 1, released 1300 blocks late Friday night. • Developers had circulated an update that featured a checkpoint at block 640650 on July 2. That checkpoint prevented the attacker’s chain from taking over the honest chain, they said Friday. • “The majority of honest pool hashpower continues to mine on the honest chain,” website maintainer CryptoDJ saidin the post. • According to the cryptocurrency’sofficial website, there are only 108 bitcoin gold nodes which are in the world. Nearly 30% of them are in Germany. Bitcoin Gold communications director Edward Iskra told CoinDesk that these only represent immediately responsive nodes, and not ones that don’t allow incoming connections. • The price seems to have been unaffected by the attempted attack, trading between $9 and $10 since Tuesday, according to Bitfinex UPDATE (July 11, 2020, 04:23 UTC):This article has been updated with additional information. • Attempted 51% Attack on Bitcoin Gold Was Thwarted, Developers Say • Attempted 51% Attack on Bitcoin Gold Was Thwarted, Developers Say • Attempted 51% Attack on Bitcoin Gold Was Thwarted, Developers Say • Attempted 51% Attack on Bitcoin Gold Was Thwarted, Developers Say \|\| Venezuelans Look to Crypto Dollars for Financial Security: Alejandro Machado is a co-founder of the Open Money Initiative, a non-profit research organization working to guarantee the right to a free and open financial system. He heads research efforts at Valiu, a crypto startup that serves Venezuelans. Venezuela is dollarizing: About 64% of transactions in the country take place in U.S. dollars now. The majority of these are cash transactions, as local banks dont offer dollar checking or savings accounts for the masses. As a result, Venezuelans have to handle two kinds of suboptimal money: digital bolivars that quickly lose their value, and physical dollars that are dangerous to store in one of the worlds most crime-ridden countries. In theory, crypto-dollars should fill this space, and dollar-stable assets that anyone can hold have seen a demand spike in the last few months , even if so far the global trend is only beginning to take hold in Venezuela. Related: What the Fed's New Inflation Policy Means for Stablecoins See also: Chainalysis Report Shows Healthy Crypto Usage in Venezuela Bitcoin day traders dont want to be exposed to the assets overnight volatility, so they convert their working capital to tether , the leading stablecoin. Forex traders with bank accounts in Panama or the U.S. are beginning to trade dollars in the banking systems of those countries for USDC (another stablecoin) in private WhatsApp groups. And platforms like Binance P2P have just added support for the bolivar, allowing people to trade them for BUSD directly. Cryptocurrency startups have mostly attracted two kinds of users: traders and technology enthusiasts, but no company has yet made a convincing case for regular people neither traders nor the especially tech-savvy to use these assets as money. Given Venezuelas unique circumstances, the stage is set for this to change. What makes crypto-dollarization so powerful? Inclusion. Related: Mr. Powell, If You Want Higher Inflation, Give People Money Story continues Valiu , the company where I work as Head of Research, offers a mobile app where any Venezuelan can hold a digital dollar balance that can be converted, with one tap, to bolivars, leveraging the growing trading ecosystem without showing this complexity to the user. Little do most people know, and little do they care, that these dollar balances are crypto dollars: assets backed by bitcoin and derivatives that are liquid enough to be readily converted to assets that people already recognize as money. What makes crypto dollarization so powerful? Inclusion. It is estimated some 20% of dollar transactions in Venezuela go through platforms such as Zelle that require a U.S. bank account to sign up and that in turn require a passport, a visa, a flight ticket and an arbitrary approval by a bank officer. See also: A Rare Glimpse Into How Crypto Is Really Used in Venezuela Most U.S. banks dont need Venezuelan customers to thrive, so they have been shutting down their accounts . This places an artificial limit to the growth, and even the maintenance, of digital dollar accounts that depend on traditional financial institutions. Accounts that are powered by cryptocurrency, and that are supported by dedicated firms, can be made to have much fewer user-facing requirements. A smartphone may be the only physical equipment a person needs to get an account. As an industry, we need to target specific populations and get to the point where the technology changes lives. Through our research at the Open Money Initiative and Valiu, we have learned a few insights specific to the region that we want to serve. First, people trust mobile apps more than web sites for their finances (and many, many people arent even aware their phone has a browser their whole digital world is the Google Play Store). See also: Nic Carter Policymakers Shouldnt Fear Digital Money: So Far Its Maintaining the Dollars Status Second, its important to prioritize support for low-end devices and reliability under low connectivity. This is how WhatsApp won over the worlds communication, and this is how the worlds most inclusive financial app will win, too. And third, regular people do want to trust a branded entity with their money. Unfortunately, bitcoin is currently not the best brand. Many associate it with the petro the unpopular Maduro-issued cryptocurrency after countless state TV mentions. Most dont want trustless systems . They want greater choice as to whom they trust. Most important: Only assets and technology that dont need to be explained can really earn the trust needed for mass adoption. If you have to explain it, its not money. Related Stories Venezuelans Look to Crypto Dollars for Financial Security Venezuelans Look to Crypto Dollars for Financial Security [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] None available.	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 10169.57, 10280.35, 10369.56, 10131.52, 10242.35, 10363.14, 10400.92, 10442.17, 10323.76, 10680.84
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2021-06-29] BTC Price: 35867.78, BTC RSI: 49.43 Gold Price: 1762.80, Gold RSI: 30.69 Oil Price: 72.98, Oil RSI: 64.31 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Central bank digital cash will complement cryptos: analysts: By Divya Chowdhury (Reuters) - Central bank digital currencies will complement cryptocurrencies rather than competing with them despite not being structurally different from their country's fiat currencies, strategists and fund managers said. Around 90% of the world's central banks are now working on their own digital currencies, some of which may be issued in the next three years, a January survey from the Bank for International Settlements showed. Central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) "are structurally no different than fiat, and they are very much complementary to crypto, not competitive," Meltem Demirors, chief strategy officer at CoinShares, Europe's largest digital asset investment firm managing $5 billion. The interview was part of a series on digital currencies run on the Reuters Global Markets Forum over the past week. Kevin Kelly, head of global macro strategy at digital asset research firm Delphi Digital, said he expected CBDCs to improve traditional monetary systems via easier transmission of fiscal policy, while aiding crypto markets by bridging the gap between fiat and decentralized finance (DeFi). CBDCs will likely provide the preferred means for making digital payments without killing existing tokens, said Vytautas Zabulis, managing director at digital asset trading solutions company H-Finance. "I see this as a cleaning up of all the ones that are not actually necessary in the market," Zabulis said. Countries with less mature financial systems will be able to use CBDCs as more efficient payment and storage mechanisms, said Georgia Quinn, general counsel of digital asset bank and custodian Anchorage Digital. Bitcoin's value lies in its limited supply in comparison to the U.S. Federal Reserve's pledge to continue printing and spending more U.S. dollars, Demirors said. "In the last 18 months, the Fed has printed 40% of all dollars in circulation (which) means you own value subject to the monetary and fiscal policies of the U.S. government," she added. Graphic: Central bank digital currencies across the world: https://graphics.reuters.com/CRYPTO-CURRENCY/CBDC-GMF/xlbpgkdkapq/chart.png Story continues However, analysts said, it was still possible that nations would promote their own CBDCs and sideline cryptocurrencies. "Could the United States government create its own U.S. digital currency and say we believe in crypto, but only this crypto? Sure, I think that could absolutely happen," said Todd Cipperman, managing principal at Cipperman Compliance Services. Everett Millman, a cryptocurrency and precious metals analyst at Gainesville Coins Inc., said as long as there is interoperability between CBDCs and existing infrastructure of cryptos, there will be a middle ground where both can coexist. Some central banks, including the Reserve Bank of Australia, are exploring the development of tokenised forms of CBDCs on an Ethereum-based platform. (These interviews were conducted in the Reuters Global Markets Forum, a chat room hosted on the Refinitiv Messenger platform. Sign up here to join GMF: https://refini.tv/33uoFoQ) (Reporting by Divya Chowdhury in Mumbai, Aaron Saldanha, Lisa Pauline Mattackal and Supriya Rangarajan in Bengaluru; Editing by Vidya Ranganathan and Kim Coghill) \|\| Bitcoin wipes out 2021 gains after sinking under $30,000: Bitcoin Bitcoin has wiped out all its gains from the start of the year, falling below $30,000 (£21,557) for the first time since the beginning of January as a rout of the cryptocurrency gathered pace on Tuesday. The digital coin lost a tenth of its value in early trading, falling as low as $28,990 to a level last touched on December 30, before recovering to be just over $32,000. Trading volumes increased 15pc and speculators went on a selling spree, according to data from Coinmarketcap. Jitters spread across other digital currencies with falls across all coins of 6.5pc. Ethereum, the second-biggest digital coin, suffered a 5.7pc decline. Simon Peters, an analyst at eToro, said: The primary reason for the sell-off has been the crackdown in China on mining operations and banking services . Chinese regulators and its central bank have launched a sweeping crackdown against digital coin companies . Bitcoin mining companies, which use banks of computer processors to power the calculations that run the digital coin, have been banned in the country, forcing miners to abandon their operations. China accounted for the majority of the worlds Bitcoin mining last year. The Peoples Bank of China has also ordered banks to stop trading, clearing and settlement of digital coin transactions, it said on Monday. Payment apps, such as Alipay, said they would step up monitoring for illegal cryptocurrency transactions. Bitcoin has lost more than half its value since a buying frenzy sent it above $60,000 in April. The spike followed support from cryptocurrency enthusiasts such as Elon Musk, who said Tesla would use the digital coin for payments. Companies such as Uber, PayPal and Visa also said they would support cryptocurrency. However, Mr Musk said last month that Tesla would no longer accept Bitcoin over environmental concerns about its power use and carbon footprint. UK banks have also hardened their stance on cryptocurrency. TSB is planning to ban crypto purchases from sites with high rates of fraud, while Starling Bank has banned all payments to cryptocurrency exchanges . Shares linked to digital coin prices have also suffered this week. Coinbase, the US cryptocurrency app, fell 3pc on Nasdaq on Tuesday and its shares have slumped by a third since it listed in April. Shares in London-listed Bitcoin mining company Argo Blockchain fell 2.2pc. \|\| Marathon Signals for Taproot: Marathon’s Mining Pool, MaraPool, To Cease Filtering Transactions LAS VEGAS, May 31, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Marathon Digital Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: MARA ) ("Marathon" or "Company") , one of the largest enterprise Bitcoin self-mining companies in North America, announced that the Company’s Bitcoin mining pool, MaraPool, has adopted and implemented Bitcoin Core version 0.21.1. Bitcoin Core version 0.21.1 is the latest update to the Bitcoin client software, which is maintained and updated by a large open-source developer community that collaborates to launch new features and fixes. This latest update contains a variety of features, including the Taproot soft fork, which are designed to improve privacy, improve scalability, and lay the groundwork for future enhancements to Bitcoin’s functionality. According to the official release from Bitcoin Core : “If activated, these improvements will allow users of single-signature scripts, multisignature scripts, and complex contracts to all use identical-appearing commitments that enhance their privacy and the fungibility of all bitcoins. Spenders will enjoy lower fees and the ability to resolve many multisig scripts and complex contracts with the same efficiency, low fees, and large anonymity set as single-sig users. Taproot and schnorr also include efficiency improvements for full nodes such as the ability to batch signature verification. Together, the improvements lay the groundwork for future potential upgrades that may improve efficiency, privacy, and fungibility further.” Marathon will adopt the update without modification. As a result, Marathon’s mining pool, MaraPool, will no longer filter transactions. Once the update is complete, the pool will begin validating transactions in a manner consistent with all other miners who use the standard node. “Marathon is committed to the core tenets of the Bitcoin community, including decentralization, inclusion, and no censorship,” said Fred Thiel, Marathon’s CEO. “Over the coming week, we will be updating all our miners to the full standard Bitcoin core 0.21.1 node, including support for Taproot. By adopting the full standard Bitcoin core node, we will be validating transactions on the blockchain in the exact same way as all other miners who use the standard node. We look forward to continue being a collaborative and supportive member of the Bitcoin community and to realizing the vision of Bitcoin as the first decentralized, peer-to-peer payment network that is powered by its users rather than a central authority or middlemen.” Story continues To hear a full statement on Bitcoin Core version 0.21.1 from Fred Thiel, Marathon’s CEO, please click here: Statement Investor Notice Investing in our securities involves a high degree of risk. Before making an investment decision, you should carefully consider the risks, uncertainties and forward-looking statements described under "Risk Factors" in Item 1A of our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020. If any of these risks were to occur, our business, financial condition or results of operations would likely suffer. In that event, the value of our securities could decline and you could lose part or all of your investment. The risks and uncertainties we describe are not the only ones facing us. Additional risks not presently known to us or that we currently deem immaterial may also impair our business operations. In addition, our past financial performance may not be a reliable indicator of future performance, and historical trends should not be used to anticipate results in the future. Future changes in the network-wide mining difficulty rate or Bitcoin hashrate may also materially affect the future performance of Marathon's production of Bitcoin. Additionally, all discussions of financial metrics assume mining difficulty rates as of June 2021. See "Safe Harbor" below. Forward-Looking Statements Statements made in this press release include forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as “may,” “will,” “plan,” “should,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “continue,” or comparable terminology. Such forward-looking statements are inherently subject to certain risks, trends and uncertainties, many of which the Company cannot predict with accuracy and some of which the Company might not even anticipate and involve factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those projected or suggested. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements and are advised to consider the factors listed above together with the additional factors under the heading “Risk Factors” in the Company's Annual Reports on Form 10-K, as may be supplemented or amended by the Company's Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. The Company assumes no obligation to update or supplement forward-looking statements that become untrue because of subsequent events, new information or otherwise. About NYDIG NYDIG is a leading technology and financial services firm dedicated to Bitcoin. The firm and its subsidiaries provide institutional investment, brokerage, treasury, and technology solutions to institutions, banks, and private clients, including insured custody, execution, asset management, financing, and research. NYDIG was founded in 2017 as the digital asset subsidiary of Stone Ridge Holdings Group, owner of a $10B+ alternatives asset manager in New York. NYDIG meets the industry’s highest regulatory, audit, and governance standards, and the firm’s subsidiaries hold both a BitLicense and a limited purpose trust charter from the New York State Department of Financial Services. For more information, visit www.nydig.com . About Marathon Digital Holdings Marathon is a digital asset technology company that mines cryptocurrencies with a focus on the blockchain ecosystem and the generation of digital assets. Marathon Digital Holdings Company Contact: Jason Assad Telephone: 678-570-6791 Email: [email protected] Marathon Digital Holdings Investor Contact: Gateway Investor Relations Matt Glover and Charlie Schumacher Telephone: 949-574-3860 Email: [email protected] \|\| Bitcoin Drops, Stocks Rally Ahead of Biden’s Budget Announcement: Bitcoinis nursing losses on Friday despite hopes of more inflation-boosting U.S. stimulus to come. On Friday, President Joe Biden is set to release his first full budget, seeking $6 trillion in federal spending for the fiscal year 2022 and $8.2 trillion by 2021,The New York Times reports. The proposal shows the Biden administration remains undeterred byrecent inflation fearsand is unlikely to close the liquidity tap anytime soon, having already pumped trillions of dollars into the system to counter the economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic since March 2020. Related:Market Wrap: Bitcoin Slides to $35K, ETH to $2.4K on Biden, Environmental Bearishness That’s potentially a bullish development for bitcoin, which is widely touted as digital gold. However, the leading cryptocurrency is changing hands near $35,800 at press time, representing a 7% drop on the day. The decline comes a day after buyers failed to establish a foothold above the $40,000 mark. However, the prospect of more liquidity is pushing stocks higher. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index is trading 0.43% higher at new record highs above 445 points, according toInvesting.com. Futures tied to the S&P 500 are also hinting at a positive start to trading on Friday with a 0.5% gain. Bitcoin’s adverse reaction to talk of more stimulus appears confounding, given it rallied from $5,000 to over $60,000 in the past 12 months, alongside a steady rise in the U.S. 10-year breakeven rate, the bond market’s forecast of long-term price pressures. The cryptocurrency has received validation as an inflation hedge from Wall Street bigwigs and several listed companies. “Personally, I’d rather have bitcoin than a bond,” in an inflationary scenario, Bridgewater Associates founderRay Dalio saidduring an hour-long conversation with CoinDesk Chief Content Officer Michael J. Casey earlier this week during Consensus 2021. Related:Has COVID-19 Made Biden’s Big Spending the New Normal? Increasing concerns about the environmental impact of cryptocurrency mining and China’srecent regulatory announcementscould be keeping buyers at bay. “Retail appears to be slowing down while regulatory concerns and ESG FUD [fear, uncertainty and doubt] from China has taken center stage,” Matthew Dibb, co-founder, and COO of Stack Funds, said. “Many market participants are covering positions in light of anticipated news that (might) come to light.” ESG stands for “environmental, social and corporate governance,” a term used to refer to companies’ sustainability and impact on society. Bitcoin fell sharply from $58,000 to nearly $30,000 earlier this month afterTesla suspendedvehicle purchases with bitcoin, citing environmental concerns. “Environmental concerns will get bigger with time. This will represent a major long-term headwind for bitcoin, and help push dominance down,” trader and analystAlex Kruger tweeted. Also read:Ark’s Cathie Wood Blames Crypto Crash on ‘ESG Movement’ Additionally, fears that the Federal Reserve may raise the interest rate to counter inflation could be keeping the cryptocurrency under pressure. That’s because rate hikes dilute the appeal of the store-of-value assets like bitcoin. According to Bloomberg, rates traders have boosted bets that the Fed will raise borrowing costs next year, much earlier than policymakers have indicated. “The Fed’s broad support of the economy since the onset of the pandemic has provided support for higher asset prices including stocks and cryptocurrencies,” Ariel Zetlin-Jones, associate professor of economics at Carnegie Mellon University’s Tepper School of Business, told CoinDesk in an email earlier this month. “Ultimately, the removal of this support is likely to provide new headwinds for asset price growth.” The rate hike fears may amplify, if the core personal consumption expenditure (core PCE) – the Fed’s preferred measure of inflation – blows pastexpectations. That could lead to a deeper drop in bitcoin. The April data is scheduled for release at 12:30 UTC (8:30 a.m. ET) today. However, analysts expect the cryptocurrency to see range play in the short term. “From a technical point of view, BTC is in a consolidation phase. We expect that there will be choppy trade between $30,000–40,000 for the next two weeks,” Dibb said. • Biden’s 2022 Budget Includes New Crypto Reporting Proposals • India’s HDFC Bank Calls Bitcoin a Fad as Exchanges Mull Legal Fight Over Restrictions \|\| 5 S&P 500 Stocks Up More Than 50% in 1H With Room to Run: Wall Street has been roaring higher with the S&P 500 hitting new record highs. This is especially true, as the rapid pace of vaccination and the reopening of businesses has resulted in a speedy economic recovery from the pandemic lows, raising the appeal for riskier assets. The huge infrastructure package, signs of a healing labor market, an expanded stimulus and strong corporate profit growth are also driving the stocks higher. The combination of factors has powered activities across all sectors and categories, resulting in increased consumer spending and confidence. The economy expanded 6.4% annually in the first quarter, representing the second-strongest increase since 2003 and is expected to top 7% this year, which would be the fastest since 1984, per several economists. This would follow the 3.5% contraction in 2020, which was the worst performance in 74 years. The strength in value and cyclical stocks, which were battered last year, has led the S&P 500 to outperform this year compared to the growth and tech-laden Nasdaq Composite Index, which was an outperformer during the pandemic. The solid trend is likely to continue given that the strong fundamentals should remain in place for at least in the near term. Inflation concerns eased last week following the Feds statement that it views inflation as temporary. Also, the latest personal consumption expenditures (PCE) data shows that underlying inflation rose less than expected in May given the alleviation-related worries about the sudden tapering in stimulus. Notably, the University of Michigan consumer surveys one-year inflation expectation dropped to 4.2% in June from a decade-high 4.6% in May while the five-to-10-year inflation expectation fell to 2.8% this month from 3.0% in May. According to Fundstrat's Tom Lee, the S&P 500 could soar 3% to 4,400 by this Wednesday, citing a rally in junk bonds, a collapse in the volatility index, and falling treasury yields that all point to a higher stock market. Lee said that high-yield bonds have historically served as a leading indicator of equities. Meanwhile, the volatility index collapsed below 16 on Jun 25, marking its lowest level since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Finally, a decline in treasury yields from their mid-March peak has fueled gains in mega-cap tech stocks, which should continue to drive the market higher. Investors could tap the surging S&P 500 Index with the best-performing stocks of the first half of 2021. We have highlighted five stocks that have gained more than 50% so far this year and carry a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or 2 (Buy), suggesting their continued outperformance in the weeks ahead. You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank stocks here . L Brands Inc. LB Up 94.3% This company has evolved from an apparel-based specialty retailer to a segment leader focused on womens intimate and other apparel, personal care, beauty and home fragrance products. It saw a positive earnings estimate revision of 19 cents over the past 90 days for this year and has an estimated earnings growth rate of 67.3%. The stock carries a Zacks Rank #2. Nucor Corporation NUE Up 81.8% This company is a leading producer of structural steel, steel bars, steel joists, steel deck and cold- finished bars in the United States. The stock saw solid earnings estimate revision of $3.89 over the past 90 days for this year. It has estimated earnings growth of 344.9%. Nucor sports a Zacks Rank #1. Generac Holdings Inc. GNRC Up 74.2% This is a leading manufacturer of power generation equipment, energy storage systems and other power products including portable, residential, commercial and industrial generators. The stock saw solid earnings estimate revision of $1.41 over the past 90 days for this year and has an estimated earnings growth rate of 56.7%. It has a Zacks Rank #1. Applied Materials Inc. AMAT Up 57.8% It is one of the worlds largest suppliers of equipment for the fabrication of semiconductor, flat panel liquid crystal displays (LCDs), and solar photovoltaic (PV) cells and modules. The stock saw a positive earnings estimate revision of 55 cents over the past 90 days for the fiscal year (ending October 2021). Applied Materials has estimated earnings growth of 56.6%. AMAT has a Zacks Rank #2. Invesco Ltd. IVZ Up 57.3% This company operates as an independent investment manager and offers a wide range of investment products and services. It saw massive earnings estimate revision of 17 cents over the past 90 days for this year. The company has an estimated earnings growth rate of 49.2%. The stock has a Zacks Rank #2. Story continues Bitcoin, Like the Internet Itself, Could Change Everything Blockchain and cryptocurrency has sparked one of the most exciting discussion topics of a generation. Some call it the Internet of Money and predict it could change the way money works forever. If true, it could do to banks what Netflix did to Blockbuster and Amazon did to Sears. Experts agree were still in the early stages of this technology, and as it grows, it will create several investing opportunities. Zacks has just revealed 3 companies that can help investors capitalize on the explosive profit potential of Bitcoin and the other cryptocurrencies with significantly less volatility than buying them directly. See 3 crypto-related stocks now >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Nucor Corporation (NUE) : Free Stock Analysis Report Invesco Ltd. (IVZ) : Free Stock Analysis Report Applied Materials, Inc. (AMAT) : Free Stock Analysis Report Generac Holdings Inc. (GNRC) : Free Stock Analysis Report L Brands, Inc. (LB) : Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research \|\| Crypto Momentum is Building: Highlights of the Bitcoin 2021 conference… El Salvador makes a huge move… why the crypto weakness could be changing soon Bitcoin is taking another beating. As I write Monday morning, the most widely-owned crypto is down another 7% or so in the wake of more reports that China is cracking down (again) on its bitcoin miners. That puts bitcoin down roughly 50% since its April high (though still up 10% on the year). InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips So, how are investors reacting? Well, on one hand, you have the famous talking-head, Jim Cramer, saying he has now “sold almost all” of his bitcoin, because he fears the heavy influence of Beijing over the entire crypto sector. On the other hand, you have the company, MicroStrategy, which reported this morning that it now owns more than 100,000 bitcoins after another round of purchases. So, which course of action will prove to be wisest? We have to side with MicroStrategy…by a mile. To help explain why, let’s digress a moment… Earlier this month, more than 50,000 people from all over the world descended upon Miami for “ Bitcoin 2021 ,” the largest bitcoin conference ever. Our crypto specialist, and the analyst behind Crypto Investor Network , Charlie Shrem, was a featured speaker at the event. And if there’s one general takeaway from the conference it’s “get ready.” So, in today’s Digest , in the wake of China’s latest crackdown, let’s bring you highlights from the conference courtesy of the latest Crypto Investor Network issue. As part of this, we’ll talk about why bitcoin and top-tier altcoins are still in the early days of an extraordinary growth curve. It’s part of a global adoption that’s going to create one of the largest wealth explosions in modern history for investors with the foresight to see what’s coming. This latest weakness isn’t a crash…it’s a sling-shot being pulled back. Let’s jump in. *Huge bullishness despite the sector pullback For newer Digest readers, Charlie was one of bitcoin’s earliest backers and today is considered one of the most influential people in cryptocurrencies. Story continues He’s been mentioned in Fortune … Forbes … CNN … 60 Minutes … TED Talks… Bloomberg … and The Wall Street Journal … to name a few. His story has been featured in numerous Netflix documentaries and best-selling books. And yes, he’s become a bitcoin millionaire many times over thanks to his early involvement. Turning to the state of the market today, after enjoying a blistering run-up through the spring, bitcoin has suffered a painful drawdown for roughly two months now. As you can see below, bitcoin is down ballpark 50% from its April high (though still up 256% over the last 12 months). This weakness has prompted many crypto speculators to flee the sector (like Jim Cramer), unable to handle the volatility. From Charlie: These are the folks who react emotionally to shorter-term price swings and bail out when trading gets volatile. And yes, cryptocurrencies are volatile. We have known that from the get-go. But the fuse being lit and the ultimate explosion in wealth are not based on prices right now. Or tomorrow. They are based on a long-term transformational trend and prices that explode over time… The blockchain and the software that runs on it – namely altcoins – are going to change everything. You name it – credit cards, real estate, energy, e-commerce, electric vehicles, healthcare, voting, identity theft, and on and on. Blockchain will rewrite how business is done and how personal fortunes are built in the modern age. It is the safest way to store and transfer information ever created. It’s going to make everything more transparent, more secure, and more cost effective. The most eye-opening takeaway for me is Charlie’s assertion that everything will soon run on the blockchain. In essence, it’s going to become the new internet. Piggybacking on that, the only way to have direct ownership of this groundbreaking technology is through altcoins. Takeaways from the conference Bitcoin 2021 featured many big-name bitcoin influencers – Mike Novogratz, the Winklevoss twins, and Michael Saylor of MicroStrategy, to name a few. But one of the most interesting speakers, in my opinion, was Jack Dorsey, co-founder and CEO of Twitter and Square. Dorsey participated in a discussion titled “Banking the Unbanked,” which focused on the hundreds of millions of people around the world who don’t have access to the banking system. Bitcoin – and altcoins – can bring these services to these unbanked citizens around the world. Here’s what Dorsey said (underlines added for emphasis): For me, bitcoin changes absolutely everything. What I’m drawn to most about it is the ethos, what it represents. The conditions that created it are so rare and so special and so precious and I don’t think there’s anything more important in my lifetime to work on. I don’t think there’s anything more enabling for people around the world. Whatever I can do, whatever my companies can do, to make it more accessible to everyone is how I want to spend the rest of my life. If I were not at Square or Twitter I’d be working on bitcoin. If it needed more help than Square and Twitter, I would leave them for bitcoin. Here’s Charlie’s thoughts on this: Can you imagine someone who started and leads two of the world’s most successful companies saying he would leave them if bitcoin needed him more? That’s an incredible endorsement for both bitcoin and cryptocurrencies in general. (It also tells us he doesn’t think bitcoin needs any help.) Bitcoin becomes legal tender The biggest headline from the conference came from El Salvador’s President, Nayib Bukele. In a video broadcast to the conference, he announced El Salvador’s partnership with digital wallet company, Strike, to build the country’s modern financial infrastructure based on bitcoin. In other words, bitcoin is going to be legal tender in El Salvador. Charlie writes that politicians in seven other Latin American countries indicate that they are interested in doing the same, and notes how this could lead to a snowballing effect with more and more countries making bitcoin a legal currency. Now, this is all great in the long-term, but for crypto investors laboring through this current weakness, are there any signs of relief on the horizon? In Charlie’s issue, he points toward six such signs. We don’t have time to detail every one, so let’s highlight one that’s especially interesting. “Extreme fear” suggests bitcoin could be headed…higher Here’s Charlie to set the stage: All investing markets act emotionally, and that’s especially true with cryptos. It’s just human nature to get greedy when prices are going up, which results in FOMO, or “fear of missing out.” Conversely, people tend to react with just plain fear in the face of falling prices, so they tend to sell. This behavior can be quantified in the Fear and Greed Index. This is the heart of contrarian indicators, and we are big fans. Extreme fear means investors are overly worried and willing to part with their cryptos at really low prices – which gives us a buying opportunity. Extreme greed means a correction is due, and those of us who are long-term investors hang on rather than trying to time every price move. To calculate fear and greed, Charlie points toward the Bybt Fear and Greed Index. It takes six measurements into account – volatility, market momentum, social media, surveys, market cap dominance and trends. A score of 0 would indicate extreme fear while 100 means extreme greed. So, where is the reading now? Well, in the last two months, it has fallen to a score of 10 – twice. As I write, it’s climbed slightly, up to 23, but it’s again falling fast. Alternative.me computes its own, similar multifactorial crypto sentiment index. As you can see below, there’s a great deal of “extreme fear” showing up today… Back to Charlie: Over the last month, we’ve seen the lowest readings of the year, confirming what we already know – there is a lot of fear in the crypto market right now. It won’t stay that low. It never does. The transformation and trend are too powerful, which means these unusually low prices are a great buying opportunity in bitcoin and the strongest altcoins that we expect to surge a lot higher over time. To drive this home, Charlie points toward analysis from Santiment showing that the “smart money,” meaning bitcoin wallet addresses holding 1000+ coins, are adding as the fear and panic rises. Of course, the opposite is playing out too. Back to Charlie on this: Be sure to look at the bottom of that graphic. The smallest address – those with 10 bitcoin worth $365,000 or less – are selling into that panic and fear. Don’t be one of these panicked sellers. See the potential. See the future. **More big-picture adoption In the nine months since Crypto Investor Network launched, we’ve seen major corporations invest in bitcoin and cryptos… digital payment providers make cryptos easy to buy and sell… the introduction of bitcoin credit cards and debit cards… and now, we’re now even seeing cryptos coming to your 401(k)! Coinbase, one of the biggest crypto exchanges, is teaming up with ForUsAll, a leading 401(K) investment platform. They will be offering crypto investments in those retirement accounts. Here’s Charlie on this: This is a big deal. It is yet another onramp for investors that will draw more money into cryptos, especially altcoins because Coinbase is opening up its options. We’re running long, so we’ll wrap up for today. Yes, more bitcoin weakness isn’t what any of us wants. But this is reactionary to China. And China does not own the entire bitcoin/crypto market. This too shall pass. If you’d like Charlie’s help in identifying the best ways to profit from this explosive sector, click here . I’ll let him to take us out: Few people understand the opportunities before us. And that means that you are ahead of most every other investor out there. You are among the first in line to profit from the coming disruption and the multi-trillion-dollar tsunami of new wealth that will be created. Have a good evening, Jeff Remsburg The post Crypto Momentum is Building appeared first on InvestorPlace . \|\| Killi Allows Coinbase Users to Redeem Bitcoin or Ethereum in Exchange for the Use of Their Data: Individuals with a Coinbase Digital Wallet can now redeem their Killi earnings into instantaneous, no-fee cryptocurrency New York, New York--(Newsfile Corp. - May 11, 2021) -Killi Ltd.(TSXV: MYID) (OTCQB: MYIDF) (OTCQB: MYIDD) ("Killi"), a data privacy ecosystem that rewards users that consent to share their data, introduces cryptocurrency (crypto) as a new redemption feature for users to receive their Killi Paycheck. Individuals holding a Coinbase Digital Wallet can now convert their Killi earnings into crypto redemptions instantaneously when they meet the minimum redemption threshold, making Killi the first company that enables users to exchange the earnings they have made from their data into guaranteed crypto. "We are excited to announce that Killi will be adding crypto, specifically Bitcoin and Ethereum, as redemption options to those consumers that have a Coinbase wallet," saysNeil Sweeney, CEO and Founder of Killi. "By providing users with an instantaneous way for them to earn crypto without any fees is the equivalent of introducing a crypto-dividend, where each week consumers can passively accrue money that can be redeemed into the two largest cryptocurrencies. We plan on adding additional currencies in the future but are excited to offer the 56 million verified users of Coinbase an opportunity to earn additional coins via Killi." Killi users are compensated by consenting to share various types of data within the Killi ecosystem. Killi compensates these users via a weekly "Killi Paycheck," which is comprised of various modules that the consumer can select from. The Killi Paycheck can be redeemed for VISA gift cards, donated to charity and now crypto. Coinbase Global, Inc. was founded in 2012 to simplify the purchase of bitcoin, and it has emerged as the most popular crypto exchange in the US. The service now has 56 million users, up from 43 million at the end of 2020 (https://www.coinbase.com). About Killi Ltd Killi Ltd.(TSXV: MYID) (OTCQB: MYIDF) (OTCQB: MYIDD) is a company driven by the evolution of consumer data and privacy. Killi allows consumers to opt-in to share specific pieces of data in exchange for compensation, democratizing data for both consumers and brands. Killi offers 1st party data that is global and privacy compliant. Killi is currently available online or via iOS and Android in five countries (US, Canada, Singapore, Australia, and New Zealand). Killi is also the creator ofuaretheproduct.io, a consumer-facing website that allows consumers to determine their data's value broken out by individual platforms. To learn more about Data Unveil and how Killi fairly pays users, please visithttps://killi.io/killi-paycheck/. Download Killihere. For further information, please contact:Chris Frostad, CFO1-855-908-DATAE:[email protected] Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the TSX Venture Exchange policies) accept responsibility for this news release's adequacy or accuracy. Forward-Looking and Other Cautionary Statements This news release may contain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities laws, including, but not limited to, the Company's financing plans; the proposed use of proceeds of the Offering; and other expected effects of the Offering. Forward-looking statements may generally be identified by the use of the words "anticipates," "expects," "intends," "plans," "should," "could," "would," "may," "will," "believes," "estimates," "potential," "target," or "continue" and variations or similar expressions. These statements are based upon the current expectations and beliefs of management and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: the audience segments may not match a buyer's intended, the uncertainty surrounding the spread of COVID-19 and the impact it will have on the Company's operations and economic activity in general; and the risks and uncertainties discussed in our most recent annual and quarterly reports filed with the Canadian securities regulators and available on the Company's profile on SEDAR atwww.sedar.com, which risks and uncertainties are incorporated herein by reference. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Except as required by law, the Company does not intend and undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect, in particular, new information or future events. To view the source version of this press release, please visithttps://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/83492 \|\| 10 Best Dividend Stocks to Buy Now According to Billionaire Jim Simons: In this article we will take a look at the 10 best dividend stocks to buy now according to billionaire Jim Simons . You can skip our detailed analysis of Simons’ history, investment philosophy, and hedge fund performance, and go directly to the 5 Best Dividend Stocks to Buy Now According to Billionaire Jim Simons . Dividend stocks present traders with the opportunity to earn a regular passive income. Doing all the research necessary to identify the best dividend stocks requires a lot of work, but one can take a shorter route by following the recommendations of hedge fund managers who have a dividend stock portfolio. James Harris Simons is one of the most successful hedge fund investors that have made a lot of money through smart stock picking. He founded Renaissance Technologies in 1982, a hedge fund that uses quantitative analysis and mathematical models to analyze stock movements and predict market direction. According to Forbes, Jim Simons was the 23 rd wealthiest American, with a net worth of $23.5 billion in 2020. This success through Renaissance Technologies has earned him the nickname “Quant King.” Renaissance Technologies had a portfolio value of $80.381 billion in Q1 2021, compared to $92.092 billion in Q4 2020. The fund is popular not only for delivering robust growth but also for ignoring fickle market sentiments and focusing on long-term prospects of companies. Jim Simons has invested in some popular stocks in the past, such as Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA ). In the first quarter, Simons' hedge fund increased its hold in Tesla by over 200%, ending the period with 827,381 shares of the company, worth $552.6 million. Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) announced towards the end of April that the value of its Bitcoin investment was $2.48 billion, which means it would have made a profit of more than $1 billion if it were to cash out at that point. Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) has been ramping up its EV production in Europe and Asia to compete more effectively with the growing global EV market. Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) shares are up 291% over the last 12 months. Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG ) is also one of Jim Simons’ favorite stocks. The company achieved record profits for the second consecutive quarter due to increased ad usage during the pandemic. Its Google Ads sales grew by 32% YoY in Q1. Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) recently announced a $50 billion share buyback. Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) Class A shares are up 66% over the last 12 months. Renaissance Technologies also has a $263 million stake in Facebook, Inc. (NASDAQ: FB). Facebook, Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) Q1 performance surpassed analyst expectations. Billionaire Paul Singer's Elliott Management bought a $7.3 million stake in Facebook in the first quarter of 2021. Story continues 10 Best Dividend Stocks to Buy Now According to Billionaire Jim Simons Jim Simons of Renaissance Technologies Simons is an exception in an industry that is reeling from losses. The entire hedge fund industry is feeling the reverberations of the changing financial landscape. Its reputation has been tarnished in the last decade, during which its hedged returns couldn’t keep up with the unhedged returns of the market indices. On the other hand, Insider Monkey’s research was able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that outperformed the S&P 500 ETFs by more than 124 percentage points since March 2017. Between March 2017 and February 26th 2021 our monthly newsletter’s stock picks returned 197.2%, vs. 72.4% for the SPY. Our stock picks outperformed the market by more than 124 percentage points ( see the details here ). We were also able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that significantly underperformed the market. We have been tracking and sharing the list of these stocks since February 2017 and they lost 13% through November 16th. That’s why we believe hedge fund sentiment is an extremely useful indicator that investors should pay attention to. You can subscribe to our free newsletter on our homepage to receive our stories in your inbox. Here are some of the 10 best dividend stocks to buy now according to billionaire Jim Simons. We picked these dividend stocks from the Q1 portfolio of Simons' hedge fund. Best Dividend Stocks to Buy Now According to Billionaire Jim Simons 10. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc. ( NYSE: KREF ) Simons’ Stake Value: $5,554,000 Percentage of Jim Simons’ 13F Portfolio: 0.001% Dividend Yield: 8% No. of Hedge Fund Holders: 7 KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc. (NYSE: KREF) is a mortgage REIT that creates or acquires senior secured loans backed by commercial real estate assets. Like Facebook, Inc. (NASDAQ: FB), Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) and Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA), KKR Real Estate is one of the best stocks in Renaissance’s portfolio. The company declared its Q1 dividend of $0.43 per share, in line with its Q4 2020 dividend payout. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust’s Q1 2021 revenue of $38.54 million outperformed the consensus estimate by $2.17 million and was $38.54 million higher YoY. Its Q1 2020 GAAP EPS was $0.52 per share. Steven Delaney, an analyst at JMP Securities, upgraded the stock from a “Market Perform” to “Outperform” thanks to its high-quality loan portfolio, balance sheet strength, high quality financing, and proper management. His price target for the stock was $21.50 as of April 2021. JP Morgan’s analyst Richard Shane also upgraded the stock to “Overweight” from “Neutral” in February 2021. 9. Iron Mountain Incorporated ( NYSE: IRM ) Simons’ Stake Value: $4,236,000 Percentage of Jim Simons’ 13F Portfolio: 0.001% Dividend Yield: 5.75% No. of Hedge Fund Holders: 16 Iron Mountain Incorporated (NYSE: IRM) provides information management and storage services globally. It recently signed a deal to sell its Intellectual Property Management to a cybersecurity and escrow company called NCC Group, and the sale will be worth $220 million. The sale will allow Iron Mountain to focus on innovative new products and shift its attention towards its strengths. Iron Mountain reported a Q1 2021 revenue of $1.08 billion, which represents a slight improvement from the $1.07 billion revenue achieved in the previous quarter. Its Q1 2021 net revenue of $46.6 million was a slight decline from the $64.9 million net revenue achieved in Q1 2020. Baird’s analyst Andrew Wittmann upgraded Iron Mountain Incorporated (NYSE: IRM) to a “Neutral” rating and assigned the price target at $29 in August 2019. BofA Securities downgraded the stock to an "Underperform" rating in July 2019 and set the price target at $25. Iron Mountain Incorporated ranks ninth on the list of 10 best dividend stocks to buy now according to billionaire Jim Simons. 8. Spark Energy, Inc. ( NASDAQ: SPKE ) Simons’ Stake Value: $11,453,000 Percentage of Jim Simons’ 13F Portfolio: 0.01% Dividend Yield: 6.78% No. of Hedge Fund Holders: 4 Spark Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ: SPKE) is a U.S energy industry company that deals with independent retail energy services. It mainly deals with the retail gas, natural gas, and retail electricity segments targeting commercial and residential customers. Like Facebook, Inc. (NASDAQ: FB), Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) and Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA), Spark Energy is one of the best stocks in Renaissance’s portfolio. Jim Simons owns 1.07 million shares of Spark Energy, topping the list of over 850 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey. Next on the list is Arrowstreet Capital that owns 23,745 shares of the company. The company announced a Q1 quarterly dividend of $0.1813 per share, equivalent to the dividend payout announced for the previous quarter. Spark Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ: SPKE) reported a $27.6 million net loss in Q1 and a $32.7 million adjusted EBITDA. 7. One Liberty Properties, Inc. ( NYSE: OLP ) Simons’ Stake Value: $19,870,000 Percentage of Jim Simons’ 13F Portfolio: 0.02% Dividend Yield: 7.2% No. of Hedge Fund Holders: 8 One Liberty Properties, Inc. (NYSE: OLP) is a self-managed REIT based in Maryland. It was launched in 1982, making it one of the oldest public REITs, and its lengthy presence in the market is a leg-up that substantially allowed it to grow its portfolio. The stock ranks 7th in the list of 10 best dividend stocks to buy now according to billionaire Jim Simons. One Liberty announced its latest quarterly dividend payout at $0.45 per share, which is in line with the previous dividend payout. The company generated $20.82 million revenue in Q1, which missed the consensus revenue target by $0.4 million. 6. Gladstone Commercial Corporation ( NASDAQ: GOOD ) Simons’ Stake Value: $41,994,000 Percentage of Jim Simons’ 13F Portfolio: 0.05% Dividend Yield: 7.21% No. of Hedge Fund Holders: 7 Gladstone Commercial Corporation (NASDAQ: GOOD) ranks 6th in the list of best dividend stocks to buy according to Jim Simons. The REIT mainly focuses on the acquisition, ownership, and management of net leased office and industrial properties in the U.S. Gladstone Commercial Corporation (NASDAQ: GOOD) declared a $0.12515 per share monthly dividend in April this year. The company reported that it had a 95% occupancy rate in its portfolio as of March and its cash base collection for the same month was 98%. Gladstone Commercial Corporation (NASDAQ: GOOD) signed a lease extension and expansion agreement with Sumitomo Electric Lightwave at its 123,574 sq. ft. industrial property in North Carolina. Aegis Capital’s analyst Brian Hollenden assigned a “Buy” rating to the stock and assigned a price target of $23 in April 2021. B.Riley’s analyst Craig Kucera upgraded the stock to a “Buy” rating, with a $23 price target in March 2020. Click to continue reading and see 5 Best Dividend Stocks to Buy Now According to Billionaire Jim Simons . Suggested articles: 10 Best Dividend Stocks for Passive Income 10 Best Healthcare Dividend Stocks 10 Extreme Dividend Stocks with Huge Upside Disclosure: None. 10 Best Dividend Stocks to Buy Now According to Billionaire Jim Simons is originally published on Insider Monkey. View comments \|\| Retail Sales, Stocks Rebound, Colonial Restarts - What's Moving Markets: By Geoffrey Smith Investing.com — Stocks and other risk assets are rebounding after heavy sell-offs but retail sales data for April will test the market's nerve again. Colonial has restarted the pipeline that supplies 45% of the East Coast's gasoline and diesel supplies. The closure of the Mississippi continues to disrupt flows of agricultural commodities, and both Disney and Airbnb disappoint with their quarterly reports. Here's what you need to know in financial markets on Friday, May 14th. 1. Retail sales, industrial production data Market nerves over inflation will be tested again by the release of U.S.retail salesdata for April at 8:30 AM ET (1230 GMT), which are expected to slow markedly after household stimulus checks fueled a nationwide binge in spending in March. Overall sales are expected to have risen 1.0% in the month, whilecore retail salesare expected to have risen 0.7%. Anything markedly stronger than that may revive concerns that the economy is already running too hot for comfort, despite largely soothing words from the Federal Reserve this week. Industrial productiondata for April are also expected at 9:15 AM ET, and will be scanned for further evidence of capacity bottlenecks contributing to the current squeeze in prices. 2. Grains hit by Mississippi blockage A spectacular new bottleneck is fouling up agricultural commodity markets. Theclosure of the I-40 Interstate bridgein Memphis indefinitely, due to the cracking of a steel beam, has effectively stopped traffic in both directions on the Mississippi, the U.S.’s biggest waterway and a crucial conduit for wheat, corn, soybeans and other crops. Disruptions are likely to last until alternative routes to market can be established. U.S. Soybeans Futures rose 2.7% in overnight trading, while Wheat Futures rose 2.2% and Corn Futures rose 1.2%, although these movements need to be seen in the context of a broad and heavy sell-off in the previous two sessions. 3. Stocks set to rebound despite Disney, Airbnb disappointments U.S. stock markets are set for a substantial bounce to end the week, recovering from the shock of a much higher-than-expected inflation stamp for April. By 6:30 AM ET (1030 GMT), Dow Jones futures were up 135 points or 0.4%, while S&P 500 futures were up 0.6% and Nasdaq 100 futures were up 1.1%. All three are still on course for their first synchronized negative week since early March, however. Stocks likely to be in focus later include Airbnb (NASDAQ:ABNB), whosereport of recovering booking volumeson Thursday wasn’t enough to stop the stock sliding in after-hours trading, and Disney, which followed Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) in reporting disappointing subscriber growth for its streaming business after the bell. Alibaba (NYSE:BABA) will also be in focus after reporting itsfirst quarterly lossas a public company due to a Chinese antitrust fine. 4. Colonial restarts pipeline operations Colonial Pipeline Company hasrestarted its main linesthat ship some 2.5 million barrels of fuel a day to the U.S. east coast, a move set to alleviate an increasingly acute regional shortage of gasoline and diesel. Bloomberg cited unnamed sources as saying that the company had agreed to pay the ransom demanded by the hacking group DarkSide, and that the decryption tool provided by the group to unlock its systems had not been effective. Instead, the company relied on system backups to restore operations. Elsewhere. Toshiba Corp. (T:6502) became the latest high-profile company to say it had been thevictim of a ransomware attackby DarkSide. Crude oil prices advanced in line with other risk assets in overnight trading, U.S. crude futures rising 0.9% to $64.38 a barrel and Brent futures rising 0.9% to $67.62 a barrel. 5. Musk back in DogeCoin hodlers' good books Bitcoin recovered some ground after falling in response toElon Musk voicing concernabout its environmental impact. By 6:30 AM ET, it had rebounded over the $50,000 mark, although it remains down some 14% on the week. DogeCoin has been the main beneficiary of reallocations between crypto asses. It’s up 36% overnight afterMusk tweetedthat he’s helping the founders of DogeCoin work on the energy efficiency of its processing of transactions. Musk’s reversal on Bitcoin comes in the wake of widespread criticism of ESG-themed investors who have drawn attention to Bitcoin mining is largely powered by coal-fired power stations in China, undercutting the core mission of Musk’s car company in combating pollution and climate change. Related Articles Retail Sales, Stocks Rebound, Colonial Restarts - What's Moving Markets Japan PM Suga seeks minimum wage hike 'sooner', despite business resistance Lines, tokens and money brokers: Myanmar's crumbling economy runs low on cash \|\| Cryptocurrency scammers disguise themselves as Elon Musk to steal millions of dollars: Tesla CEO Elon Musk speaks during the unveiling of the new Tesla Model Y in Hawthorne, California on 14 March, 2019 (AFP via Getty Images) Elon Musk impersonators have swindled over $2 million from cryptocurrency scams over the past six months, according to data from the FTC . Thieves impersonating the Tesla CEO has been a consistent problem for some years. This usually occurs on Twitter, where Mr Musk is a frequent poster. Scammers, who reply to Mr Musk and sometimes mimic him by rebranding other verified accounts, make claims that if users send bitcoin they will return the cryptocurrency two times over. In 2018, several verified Twitter accounts, including those belonging to UK retailer Matalan and US publisher Pantheon Books, were taken over . "Im giving 10 000 Bitcoin (BTC) to all community!" I left the post of director of Tesla, thank you all for your support," the hacked account of Pantheon Books stated. Nearly 7000 people have reported losses of over $80 million in various cryptocurrency scams since October 2020, losing on average just under $1900 each time an increase 12 times over in the number of reports and 1000 per cent greater in financial theft. Some say theres a Wild West vibe to the crypto culture, and an element of mystery too. Cryptocurrency enthusiasts congregate online to chat about their shared passion. And with bitcoins value soaring in recent months, new investors may be eager to get in on the action. All of this plays right into the hands of scammers. They blend into the scene with claims that can seem plausible because cryptocurrency is unknown territory for many people, the FTC says. Online, people may appear to be friendly and willing to share their tips. But that can also be part of the ruse to get people to invest in their scheme. In fact, some of these schemes are based on referral chains, and work by bringing in people who then recruit new investors. As well as purporting to be Mr Musk, cryptocurrency scammers will impersonate government authorities and well-known businesses such as cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase. The FTC adds that 14 per cent of all reported losses to imposters are now in cryptocurrency. Story continues The attractiveness of cryptocurrency to investors, and scammers, is a double-edged sword. Although the currency has boomed over recent years and experts predict it is likely to increase further, it is notably volatile. Mr Musk himself recently crashed the cryptocurrency market after announcing that Tesla would not be accepting bitcoin in payment for Tesla vehicles , only two months after encouraging users to do the opposite. Meme-based cryptocurrencies, such as Dogecoin , have also boomed recently in a rise similar to the Gamestop stock market rocket . However, the governor of the Bank of England has said that cryptocurrency has no intrinsic value and that investors should be prepared to lose all their money. Read More The Independent visits Heathrow ahead of international travel restarting Ethereum founder tells Elon Musk how to fix dogecoin Bitcoin price live: Crypto recovers slightly after Elon Musk sends BTC and other coins plunging [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] None available.	Trend: down \|\| Prices: 35040.84, 33572.12, 33897.05, 34668.55, 35287.78, 33746.00, 34235.20, 33855.33, 32877.37, 33798.01
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis] Not fully available. [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] iWallet: Identity Theft Protection and so Much More: WHITEFISH, MT / ACCESSWIRE / June 16, 2015 /Identity theft happens every 45 seconds in the United States and costs consumers more than $24.7 billion in 2012 alone, according to the Federal Trade Commission. While most people associate modern identity theft with high tech crimes, Javelin Strategy & Research found that 43% of all identity crimes stemmed from a lost or stolenwallet, compared to just 11% from online sources and 19% from credit card skimmers and other transactional sources. iWallet Corporation (IWAL), a developer of secure luxury "techcessories" products, aims to combat identity theft with its fingerprint biometric locking mechanisms, Bluetooth(R) BLE communication solutions, RFID blocking, and other technologies designed to secure personal identification, passports and credit cards. Unlike Apple Inc.'s (NASDAQ:AAPL) Apple Pay or Bitcoin Shop Inc.'s (BTCS) solutions, its technologies are designed to hold existing payment solutions rather than replace them. Beyond the identity theft market, iWallet has launched a technology and licensing division. Based on the company's patented BIO-BLU(TM) Biometric Bluetooth(R) Smart locking technology, the new division is dedicated to expanding, through its own offerings and by licensing to other manufacturers, protection to consumer items such as luggage, purses, jewelry and prescription medicines. If the video below does not display properly, please follow this link to see an interview with iWallet Corp. CEO Jack Chadsey:https://vimeo.com/130554488. SECFilings.com Executive Interview \| Jack Chadsey / CEO of iWallet Corp. (IWAL)fromTDM FinancialonVimeo. Booming Industry Consumers have been spending an increasing amount of money on solutions designed to prevent or catch identity theft before it becomes costly for them. LifeLock Inc. (NYSE:LOCK) has built a billion-dollar business - albeit with some FTC issues in the past - around providing identity theft protection services to individuals and enterprises, while Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) generates a substantial amount of revenue from providing credit reports to consumers. At the same time, many software manufacturers like Intel Corporation's (NASDAQ:INTC) McAfee and Symantec Corporation (NASDAQ:SYMC) have built billion-dollar companies providing software to individuals designed to protect their computers from viruses and other malware that can lead to identity theft and stolen information. These technologies certainly help reduce the problem with software, but consumers must pay a yearly fee in most cases. The irony is that LifeLock's services help after-the-fact and Symantec's software only helps with 11% of identity theft cases. In the meantime, the cause of more than 40% of identity theft cases is going largely ignored by the market with the exception of iWallet's innovative technologies and NXT-ID Inc.'s (NXTD) Wocket(R). This segment of the market could be worth much more over the long run as consumer awareness begins to increase. Broad Technologies iWallet has developed a robust patent portfolio of design and utility patents surrounding biometric fingerprint recognition sensors and Bluetooth(R) BLE communications. These technologies can be integrated into existing products or launched as stand-alone products across several verticals. In particular, the company's technologies are designed to enable low-cost biometric fingerprint security for wallets, passport cases, and accessories like handbags. In other words, nobody but the owner can open the wallet. These technologies help prevent simple types of theft where unattended bags are opened or credit cards are snatched. The Bluetooth(R) Low Energy ("BLE") technology is designed to complement biometrics by tethering any device to a phone. For instance, if you forget your iWallet at the checkout counter and walk out the door, an alarm will sound from your phone once the Bluetooth tether is broken. Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) protection adds another layer of security, blocking the remote reading of credit cards and passports. Some potential applications for the technology include: - Zero Password Authentication - Fingerprint sensors, heart monitors, or other biometric devices can be used to authenticate users across devices.- Access Control - Biometrics can be used to open Bluetooth(R) enabled door locks and other access control technologies using a fingerprint.- No Hacking Security - iWallet's secure biometric sensors and Bluetooth(R) BLE data connection provide security without the vulnerability of an internet connection.- NFC On-Board - Payment system integration that combines biometrics with payment technologies to validate the correct user is making a transaction. Near-term Commercialization iWallet launched its iPassport product and showcased its other products - including the iWallet - at the 2015 International Consumer Electronics Show ("CES") in Las Vegas, Nevada. In a sign of increasing interest in the category, the company's products werehonored at the showwith the 2015 International CES Innovation Award and were on display at the Personal Privacy and Cyber Security Marketplace, which showcased personal cyber security products. Yahoo! Travel highlighted the new device as one of "11 Cool Things from the Consumer Electronics Show that Will Make Travel Better," while both products were featured on CNBC, USA Today, Huffington Post, and Fox News, among other global media outlets. These media outlets have already helped to increase awareness of its product lines in a grassroots manner as it begins to set up distribution channels and expand into retailers. The company sells its products directly to the consumer via its website, co-brands with luxury brands such as Dunhill and Montblanc, and is expanding wholesale efforts worldwide. Looking Ahead iWallet is uniquely positioned to capitalize on the growing incidence of identity theft by directly addressing the single largest source of such thefts - wallets. With its initial products already launched and awarded at CES, the company is approaching a tipping point in the luxury sector, while working hard to grow distribution and launch into further markets with new products over the coming quarters. The company plans to develop licensing revenues through its new technology division, allowing other manufacturers to incorporate iWallet's array of protections into their own products. Combining all of these initiatives, management believes that it can significantly enhance shareholder value by generating immediate revenue while setting the stage for longer-term value creation. For more information, visit the company's website atwww.iwalletusa.com. Click here to get email updates on iWallet Corp. developments:http://www.tdmfinancial.com/emailassets/iwal/iwal_landing.php Legal Disclaimer: Except for the historical information presented herein, matters discussed in this release contain forward-looking statements that are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such statements. Emerging Growth LLC is not registered with any financial or securities regulatory authority, and does not provide nor claims to provide investment advice or recommendations to readers of this release. Emerging Growth LLC may from time to time have a position in the securities mentioned herein and may increase or decrease such positions without notice. For making specific investment decisions, readers should seek their own advice. Emerging Growth LLC may be compensated for its services in the form of cash-based compensation or equity securities in the companies it writes about, or a combination of the two. For full disclosure please visit:http://secfilings.com/Disclaimer.aspx. SOURCE:Emerging Growth LLC \|\| The FDA's Authority Challenged By Mallinckrodt: The American healthcare system became much more affordable with the advent of generic drugs. Many popular medications have lower-costing, alternative treatments that contain the same active ingredients as their costly brand-name rivals, which has saved the public millions in pharmaceutical costs. However,last yearthe U.S. Food and Drug Administration took a look at some generic treatments for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and found that they weren't consistently providing the same results as the brand name drug, leading the FDA to reclassify the generics. What Happened? Last year, generic equivalents ofJohnson & Johnson(NYSE:JNJ)' ADHD treatment Concerta made byMallinckrodt PLC(NYSE:MNK) andUCB S A(OTC:UCBJF) were shown to have a different impact on a patient's body despite containing the same active ingredients. Because of this, the FDA changed those drugs' ratings to reflect its findings. Following the ratings change, the FDA gave each drug maker a period of six weeks to prove that their drugs were in fact equivalent to Concerta. If they could not be proven as equal, the companies were asked to voluntarily pull the drugs from the marketplace. Related Link:5 New Biotech Developments Worth Watching Mallinckrodt Pushes Back This week that six month deadline passed, but with very little movement from Mallinckrodt. UCB officials say they have been working to meet FDA requirements, but Mallinckrodt CEO Mark Trudeausaidthe company has no plans to remove its drug from pharmacy shelves. Instead, Mallinckrodt filed a lawsuit challenging the FDA ruling that the drugs were not equivalent, saying that the agency encouraged patients to continue taking the generic ADHD medications if they weren't experiencing any issues. Loss Of Trust Only time will tell whether or not Mallinckrodt will be forced to make changes to its drug, but the challenge sets up an obstacle for all generic companies providing treatments in the U.S. While the FDA's inquiry into the effectiveness of the two drugs reflects the agency's role in protecting the public, some say the results are likely to diminish people's trust in the generic drug market. This is especially true as both of the two drugs deemed inadequate substitutes for Concerta are still being sold as a generic version in pharmacies across the country. Image Credit: Public Domain See more from Benzinga • The Business Of Fertility Finance • Nuclear Deal With Iran Still In Limbo • Bitcoin Gaining Support Among Do-Gooders © 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| Your first trade for Friday: The "Fast Money" traders gave their final trades of the day. Tim Seymour was a seller of IWM(NYSE Arca: IWM). Jon Najarian was a buyer of ARG(ARG). Brian Kelly was a seller of HYG(NYSE Arca: HYG). Dan Nathan was a buyer of LVS(LVS)puts. Trader disclosure: On June 4, 2015 the following stocks and commodities mentioned or intended to be mentioned on CNBC's "Fast Money" were owned by the "Fast Money" traders:Tim Seymour is long AAPL, T, BAC, C, DIS, F, FXI, GE, GM, GOOGL, INTC, KORS, SUNE, Tim's firm is long BABA, BIDU, MCD, NKE, NOK, SBUX, YHOO.Jon Najarian is long AEP, BBY, CS, CSLT, GE, HOG, HSBC, HZNP, KORS, MCD, MW, NEE, NRG, PG, RHT, SIMO, SYK, TTWO, TLT, VIX, XLI, YPF, he is long calls AIG, ANF, ARG, ARIA, CA, CBS, CTXS, DE, DRI, EBAY, ETFC, GE, GLD, IDTI, JNPR, KING, KO, LLY, MCD, MU, NUAN, PG, PHM, SFUN, SNDK, SUNE, he is long puts KORS, LC. Today he bought ARG calls, MU calls, CA calls, ETFC calls, and LC puts.Dan Nathan is long LNKD July call fly, LVS July Aug Put Spread, GOOGL June/July Call Spread, TWTR, BBRY June calls, SO, DE June put fly, INTC July put, SPY June put fly, he is short SO Aug calls. Today he sold to close TLT June call butterfly and GOOGL June call fly.Brian Kelly is long DXGE, BTC=, BBRY, U.S. Dollar, he is short Australian Dollar, he is short Canadian Dollar, he is short Yen, he is short Yuan. More From CNBC • Top News and Analysis • Latest News Video • Personal Finance \|\| Smokeys Daylily Gardens Accepts Chicago's Digital Currency DNotes And Bitcoin For Daylily Purchases: Chicago based digital currency DNotes can now be used to buy flowers at Smokeys Gardens, one of the largest daylily growers in the world CHICAGO, IL / ACCESSWIRE / May 7, 2015 / Smokeys Daylily Gardens ( http://smokeysdaylilygardens.com/ ), established in 2007 and one of the largest daylily growers in the world, becomes the first merchant to accept DNotes ( http://dnotescoin.com ) as a form of payment for daylily purchases. This is a pilot project to demonstrate the significant benefits to merchants in accepting DNotes, a proven stable digital currency built from the ground up with trust and integrity. Hailing from Chicago, Bitcoin alternative DNotes was created on February 18, 2014, with an objective to meet the full functions of fiat currency as a unit of account, store of value and medium of exchange within three years. DNotes has taken a very different path since day one in building a trustworthy stable digital currency with reliable long term appreciation. Using blockchain technology, embedded features to prevent inflation and exemplary means of storage; DNotes may very well exceed fiat money in global online payments in the future. The same team that created DNotes built Smokeys Daylily Gardens in a highly fragmented industry with a blurred line between a business and a hobby. A solid business plan with a firm commitment to be the best in class, coupled with hard work and flawless execution quickly led the seven year old company to be one of the largest daylily growers in the world. Daylily is the second largest selling perennial plant with 79,360 registered cultivars according to AHS (American Hemerocallis Society) Smokeys Gardens offers the best selections of high end daylilies. Using a single 38 acre farm, highly trained and motivated employees, the best farm equipment and the most efficient processes, Smokeys gardens plants, harvests, and ships more daylily plants in one week than most of its competitors in an entire season. Story continues Co-owner Rocky DeLucenay pointed out that, "Efficiency and highly motivated employees are the key elements for small business owners to remain successful these days. We are always interested to save money where we can." She went on to explain that 100% of the business is processed online using paypal, credit and debit cards with some personal checks. The merchant fees along with charge backs often average around 8% of revenue. The cost of transactions using DNotes is near zero, while protecting the company from fraud and chargebacks. Unlike Bitcoin which has been highly volatile, DNotes is a stable digital currency with a proven record of reliable appreciation. DNotes also hosts long term savings plans (CRISP) for children, employees, retirees and students. Haley Mullet, a medical student and a third year employee of Smokey Daylily Gardens and new CRISP for students savings account holder states: "Working in the farm is hard work but it has been rewarding and inspiring to work with a group of professionals who truly want to be the best in class including a genuine concern and contribution to our financial future". To help students like Haley to keep up with costly student loans DNotes are hosting free giveaways for CRISP for Students account holders. CRISP accounts are free, the giveaway will continue with a limited supply of free DNotes. Chicago business leader and co-founder of DNotes Alan Yong is a strong advocate of small business owners, and is concerned about underfunded retirees and the constant struggles of small business owners. The need to constantly use high interest credit cards to supplement cash flow coupled with high transaction cost, reversed charges and credit card fraud has continued to put a damper on employers' ability to support pay raises and facilitate job growth. There has never been a more urgent time for the employer and the employee to foster a new mindset of partnership to confront these new realities for mutual benefits and survival. DNotes is committed to encourage and promote this new partnership by offering CRISP For Employee Incentive Benefits along with CRISP for Retirement, both with the potential for high returns. Accepting DNotes as payment is a significant competitive edge leading to revenue gain and meaningful savings that can be used as employee incentive benefits and owners retirement savings. As the first real world business to accept DNotes as a payment method Smokeys Daylily Gardens is ahead of the curve; well positioned to reap the rewards of instant transactions and low transaction fees. Anyone wishing to learn more about Chicago's very own global digital currency DNotes can contact Alan Yong at [email protected] . He will be attending the Chicago Bitcoin Meetup on Tuesday May 12, 2015 if anyone wishes to meet him in person. http://www.meetup.com/The-Chicago-Bitcoin-Center-at-1871-Official-Meetup/ To learn more about Smokeys Daylily Gardens please go to: http://smokeysdaylilygardens.com/ To buy DNotes with Bitcoin please go to: http://poloniex.com/exchange#btc_note Virtual currency is not legal tender, is not backed by the government, and accounts and value balances are not subject to FDIC and other consumer protections. This press release is for informational purposes only and should not be taken as investment advice. For more information about us, please visit http://smokeysdaylilygardens.com/ Contact Info: Name: Rocky DeLucenay Email: [email protected] Organization: Smokeys Daylily Gardens SOURCE: Smokeys Daylily Gardens \|\| Here's the next key challenge for Stripe, the hot payment startup whose valuation keeps soaring: (LinkedIn )Stripe co-founders John and Patrick Collison Payments company Stripe is Silicon Valley's latest startup success story: The company is in discussions to raise a new round of venture funding that would value it at $5 billion,according to a Re/code report. While Stripe appears to be having no trouble attracting financing, a key effort for the company going forward is likely to focus on boosting the amount of transactions on its platform. Stripe's technology serves as a "gateway," letting websites and online businesses accept payments from anybody, whether they're using a credit card, Bitcoin, or even Apple Pay. This is super critical as more and more consumers do their shopping online. PayPal is still the biggest player in the room, with a whopping $61.4 billion in transaction volume in the first three months of the year,according to this chart. A Stripe spokesperson declined to provide a current transaction volume figure, but said that Stripe processes "billions of dollars a year for thousands of businesses" that range from start-ups to Fortune 500 companies. (A report in PandoDailysaidStripe was doing about $1.5 billion in annualized transaction volume about a year ago, but Stripe now says that number is "entirely false.") Stripe's partnership with Apple for its new mobile payment service is sure to help. And Stripe also counts Facebook and Twitter as partners. Transaction volume is critical in this business. Being a payment processing "gateway" is a low-margin business (banks, credit processing services, and all the other middlemen have to get paid somewhere), meaning that you have to have a high transaction volume to make money. While Stripe doesn't have the tremendous market share of PayPal, it has two things going for it, says Business Insider Research Analyst John Heggestuen: First, it's really simple for a business to get started using Stripe, and second, it's easy for developers to customize Stripe's technology for their own needs — which is super important because not all online businesses have the same needs. And PayPal has long been notorious for not working well with outside developers, Heggestuen says. PayPal has been using its BrainTree mobile payments service, obtained via acquisition, to move faster and compete more directly with Stripe. But Heggestuen describes PayPal's pace of product improvements in the years before that Braintree acquisition as "lackadaisical," betting on the fact that they're already so big. That leaves PayPal playing a little bit of catch-up, and it gives Stripe a fighting chance. NOW WATCH:Peter Thiel's 3 Keys For Building A Successful Startup More From Business Insider • Palantir is reportedly raising $500 million at a $20 billion valuation, making it the third most valuable US startup • Google hired this 'brilliant' kid at 18 — now his startup serves more than 1,000 businesses and just scored $15 million • The 9 worst things about working at a startup no one tells you before you join \|\| Your first trade for Wednesday: The " Fast Money " traders delivered their final trades of the day. Tim Seymour was a seller of the TBT (NYSE Arca: TBT) . Pete Najarian was a buyer of ADT ( ADT ) . Brian Kelly was a buyer of LVS ( LVS ) . Steve Grasso was a buyer of SAP (XETRA:SAP-DE) . Trader disclosure: On May 12, 2015 , the following stocks and commodities mentioned or intended to be mentioned on CNBC's "Fast Money" were owned by the "Fast Money" traders: Tim Seymour is long T, BAC, C, DIS, F, GE, GM, GOOGL, INTC, JCP, KO, SUNE, TBT, VIP, Tim's firm is long BABA, BIDU, CHL, MCD, NKE, NOK, SBUX, YHOO. Pete Najarian is long AMAT, AAPL, BABA, BAC, BMY, BP, CSX, DISCA, FOXA, GE, KKR, KO, LLY, MBLY, MRK, PEP, PFE, he is long calls AA, AAL, BBY, BK, CBS, COP, CSX, DB, EJ, F, FL, GE, GS, HSBC, HZNP, IMAX, KO, KSS, LEN, MAC, MYL, NEE, NTAP, NUAN, OC, PFE, SYY, TEVA, TSX, UAL, UUP, VALE, VMW, VZ, XLF, XOM, ZIOP. Steve Grasso is long AAPL, BAC, BTU, DD, EVGN, MJNA, PFE, T, TWTR, GDX, his firm is long TWTR, APA, AMZN, MCD, OXY, RIG, NE, TSE, VALE, IBM his kids own EFG, EFA, EWJ, IJR, SPY. Brian Kelly is long BTC=, BBRY, SPY puts, U.S. Dollar, he is short Australian Dollar, he is short Yen, he is short Yuan. Stifel Analyst James Albertine: Stifel or an affiliate is a market maker or liquidity provider in the securities of Tesla Motors, Inc. More From CNBC Top News and Analysis Latest News Video Personal Finance \|\| 10 things in tech you need to know today: Apple CEO Tim Cook (Getty Images News) Apple CEO Tim Cook Good morning! Here's the tech news you need to know to start off the week. 1. Apple CEO Tim Cook gave a commencement speech to the graduating class of George Washington University. He talked about what it was like to work with Steve Jobs. 2. Apple has acquired GPS mapping company Coherent Navigation. The company's technology is so advanced that it claims to be able to pinpoint a user's location to within a few centimeters. 3. Carl Icahn has invested $100 million in ride-sharing company Lyft. It raised $150 million, which brings its valuation to $2.5 billion. 4. The first trailer for Aaron Sorkin's movie about Steve Jobs has been released. It shows Michael Fassbender wearing a distinctive black turtleneck jumper. 5. Tech billionaires are going to extreme lengths to get their privacy back. They're spending gobs of money for the one thing everyone else has, but probably takes for granted. 6. The New York Times thinks it may know the identity of the man who created of Bitcoin. It says that Nick Szabo could be the elusive Satoshi Nakamoto. 7. Netflix stock hit a record high on the news that it's planning on entering the Chinese market. It was up over 5% on Friday afternoon. 8. A group of employees at payments company Clinkle left the company on Friday. The company was reportedly negotiating with Apple over an acquisition. 9. Microsoft has clarified that pirates won't get Windows 10 for free. It has previously indicated that even illegally downloaded versions of Windows would be eligible for an upgrade. 10. The Chinese army has banned smartwatches. It claimed that the devices could be hacked into. NOW WATCH: Here's what happens when you drop an Apple Watch face down on cement More From Business Insider 10 things in tech you need to know today 10 things in tech you need to know today 10 things in tech you need to know today \|\| Are Data Centers Worsening California's Drought?: In California, water has become scarce and residents have begun cutting back on their usage in order to conserve the resource and end a four-year drought. However, while most look to shorter showers and strategic plant watering in order to cut down on waste, another industry has been under the microscope for its water usage — data centers . Environmentally Unfriendly With San Francisco being home to several large tech names, California has a large population of massive data centers. The facilities have been criticized in the past for their energy usage, but now the centers are being forced to take a look at their cooling systems, which require a substantial amount of water. Related Link: California's Drought Turns Traders Attention To Water Plays Major Drain In order to keep rooms full of servers from overheating, many data centers use cooling towers that take water in, use it to cool the air and expel it. In this way, data centers are a major contributor to California's drought, as they rid the state of its water supply through evaporation. The facilities require a great deal of water to maintain the cooling systems as well; Utah's NSA Data Center uses up to 1.7 million gallons of water per day to keep its servers cool. New Designs Now that water usage has become a concern, many tech companies are rethinking their cooling systems in order to make their operations more sustainable in times of drought. Google Inc (NASDAQ: GOOG ) (NASDAQ: GOOGL ) has explored using non-potable water in its cooling process, while Facebook Inc (NASDAQ: FB ) has tried using a system that cools outside air using a water mist, which requires much less water than traditional cooling. Image Credit: Public Domain See more from Benzinga Dangers Of Marijuana Uncertain In Growing Industry 3D Printer And A Latte, Please Overstock Loses Big On Bitcoin © 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| Conexus Acquires a Majority Interest in Bitcoin Direct LLC: NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwired - May 19, 2015) - Conexus Cattle Corp. ( OTC PINK : CNXS ) announced today the acquisition of a 51% membership interest in Bitcoin Direct LLC, Nevada limited liability company ("Bitcoin" or the "Company"), which provides bitcoin transaction solutions for consumers in what we believe is a rapidly expanding industry, still in its infancy. Bitcoin's initial focus is aimed at installing and servicing its ABMs (Automated Bitcoin Machines) in multiple locations. The ABMs provide consumers with the ability to instantaneously purchase bitcoins through their mobile devices. Currently, the Company has installations serving the major metropolitan centers of New York City and Montreal. The Company anticipates rapidly expanding its network of Company owned ABMs in the coming months. In addition to operating its own bitcoin ABMs, the Company also anticipates partnering with local operators to create an integrated bitcoin distribution network in high traffic locations across North America. The Company, through its relationships with leading bitcoin miners, plans to supply bitcoins, as well as provide ABM equipment to these local operators. Bitcoin plans to offer a full range of bitcoin transaction solutions to a wide variety of industries, including remittance and gaming, among others. Under the terms of the transaction, Conexus, Bitcoin, and all of the members of Bitcoin, entered into a Securities Exchange Agreement, pursuant to which Conexus acquired memberships interests representing 51% of Bitcoin in exchange for 500 shares of the Conexus's Series H Preferred, with an aggregate stated value equal to $500,000 (the "Exchange Agreement"). In accordance with the terms of the Exchange Agreement, Conexus agreed to provide a working capital facility to Bitcoin in an amount up to $300,000 to be utilized by Bitcoin as needed, and to be repaid by Bitcoin from working capital generated from Bitcoin's operations. In addition, the Exchange Agreement provides an option to the members of Bitcoin for a period of five years to repurchase from the Conexus 10% of the Bitcoin membership interests held by Conexus for $250,000. Additional details of the transaction are included in the Conexus' Current Report on Form 8-K filed today with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Story continues Conrad Huss, President of Conexus, commented, "We are excited to have acquired the majority interest in Bitcoin Direct LLC, along with its experienced management team. Our strategy is to provide sound, profitable, bitcoin transaction solutions to consumers, and to assist a variety of industries as they grow their markets. The Company is ready to help pioneer and promote the consumer adoption of bitcoin through automated solutions across North America." About Bitcoin Direct LLC Bitcoin Direct LLC provides bitcoin transaction solutions for consumers. Bitcoin's initial focus is aimed at installing and servicing its ABMs (Automated Bitcoin Machines) in multiple locations. The ABMs provide consumers with the ability to instantaneously purchase bitcoins through their mobile devices. Currently, the Company has installations serving the major metropolitan centers of New York City and Montreal. Safe Harbor This press release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The forward-looking statements are based on current expectations, estimates and projections made by management. The Company intends for the forward-looking statements to be covered by the safe harbor provisions for forward-looking statements. Words such as "anticipates," "expects," "intends," "plans," "believes," "seeks," "estimates," or variations of such words are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release include statements regarding the elimination of debt positioning the Company for growth and the vote of confidence in the growth plans. All forward-looking statements in this press release are made as of the date of this press release, and the Company assumes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements other than as required by law. The forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those set forth or implied by any forward-looking statements and include the Company's ability to complete its intended growth plans in a timely manner and the other factors discussed in Current Reports on Form 8-K. Copies of these filings are available at www.sec.gov \|\| Bitcoin could shift balance of power in Greece: As Greece stumbles toward capital controls, bitcoin is once again proving its disruptive power within the global financial system. Over the past week, both the price and volume of bitcoin has been increasing (it's up 11 percent so far in June) - this is similar to the activity that occurred when Cyprus introduced capital controls in 2013. During the Cyprus crisis, citizens were not only locked out of their bank accounts but many found that some of their money was confiscated when the banks re-opened. This confiscation went by the "friendly" moniker "bail-in." In the Cyprus bail-in, any deposit above 100,000 euros were converted into Bank of Cyprus shares. Given this precedent, it is no surprise that Greeks are seeking a safe haven for their savings. If Greece does choose to leave the euro zone, it is unclear what currency the government will choose - it could choose a new drachma or it could choose an existing currency like the Russian ruble. Regardless of the fiat currency the Greek government chooses, the likelihood that Greek citizens holding paper currency will lose money in a Grexit is very high. Its only natural for citizens to seek an easy and secure alternative. Read More ECB warns Greek banks may not open on Monday Since 2013, the bitcoin ecosystem has matured and it is now easier than ever to purchase and securely store bitcoins. This makes bitcoin the ideal instrument for Greeks to use as a store of value. What is most striking about the use of bitcoin as a safe-haven asset is that doing so completely disrupts the balance of power between the government, the financial system and its citizens. Part of the European negotiating strategy with Greece has been to make conditions so bad for ordinary citizens that they force politicians to concede to onerous adjustments. So far, this tactic has failed to force Greece into a deal. I am skeptical of this tactic because Greek politicians have little to gain by accepting a deal with the European Union. Since the new government was voted in with the mandate to end austerity, it would be political suicide for them to accept a deal that continued down this path. It would also be economic suicide as further austerity measures will likely push Greece further into depression and result in an even higher debt-to-GDP ratio. Story continues Read More A bitcoin-like solution for Greece But there is also another reason this tactic may not work - it's called competition. The disruptive power of bitcoin has, for the first time in modern history, divorced the currency from the state. This disruption should not be dismissed - ordinary Greek citizens no longer have to wait and see what currency the government (either Greek or EU) will allow them to use - they are free to choose bitcoin or any other digital currency in existence. This competition among currencies is the beating heart of both capitalism and democracy and this competition removes a piece of the euro-zone leverage. Recently there has been a marked increase in volume across multiple exchanges. If this is Greek citizens converting savings into bitcoin, it could mean citizens will become indifferent to political demands. Moreover, since bitcoin can be used to purchase goods and services at over 100,000 merchants, it's unclear whether citizens will ever choose to return to a government-backed fiat currency. The implications of this reality should not be underestimated. Competition among currencies is a new phenomenon ushered in by bitcoin and the blockchain. The ultimate result of competition is to erode the power of the dominant players. This is not to say that Greece will devolve into a lawless society; on the contrary, compassion among currencies places the power back into the hands of the citizens and this is the essence of democracy. It is not lost on me that the birthplace of democracy could also be the cradle of a new balance of power. Read More Gartman: Greece would be better off defaulting Brian Kelly is founder and managing member of Brian Kelly Capital LLC, a global macro investment firm catering to high net worth individuals, family offices and institutions. He is also the creator of the BKCM Indexes, benchmarks for multi-asset money managers. He's also the author of the upcoming book, " The Bitcoin Big Bang: How Alternative Currencies Are About to Change the World ." Kelly, a CNBC contributor, often appears on " Fast Money ." Follow him on Twitter @BKBrianKelly . More From CNBC Top News and Analysis Latest News Video Personal Finance [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] 1 #BTC (#Bitcoin) quotes: $242.77/$243.03 #Bitstamp $243.00/$243.52 #BTCe ⇢$-0.03/$0.75 $242.90/$243.19 #Coinbase ⇢$-0.13/$0.42 \|\| $246.43 at 03:30 UTC [24h Range: $243.00 - $257.39 Volume: 16568 BTC] \|\| Current price: 214.98€ $BTCEUR $btc #bitcoin 2015-05-03 22:00:04 CEST \|\| buysellbitco.in #bitcoin price in INR, Buy : 15207.00 INR Sell : 14734.00 INR. Buy and sell bitcoin in #India using #buysellbitcoin \|\| In the last 10 mins, there were arb opps spanning 21 exchange pair(s), yielding profits ranging between $0.00 and $878.69 #bitcoin #btc \|\| current #bitcoin price (winkdex) is $236.97, last changed Fri, 01 May 2015 03:55:00 GMT. queried at: 03:58:07 \|\| Current price: 152.56£ $BTCGBP $btc #bitcoin 2015-06-15 21:00:04 BST \|\| The latest Bitcoin Price Index is 232.00 USD http://bit.ly/1LJGu2F http://bit.ly/1FyHczy \|\| $244.15 at 02:15 UTC [24h Range: $241.06 - $245.00 Volume: 1917 BTC] \|\| Current price: 150.3£ $BTCGBP $btc #bitcoin 2015-05-16 00:40:05 BST	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 249.01, 257.06, 263.07, 258.62, 255.41, 256.34, 260.89, 271.91, 269.03, 266.21
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2020-09-10] BTC Price: 10363.14, BTC RSI: 40.17 Gold Price: 1954.20, Gold RSI: 53.92 Oil Price: 37.30, Oil RSI: 31.19 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Latest Bitcoin price and analysis (BTC to USD): Bitcoin seems to have re-entered a phase of reaccumulation following a relatively surprising plunge that saw it fall to as low as $11,550 before finding support. The world’s largest cryptocurrency currently has a market cap of $217 billion following the recent rally that has taken it from below $9,000 to the weekend’s high of $12,500. From a technical perspective Bitcoin remains in a bullish formation as long as it trades above the $11,000 level of support. It also bounced from the diagonal trendline dating back to the break out on July 27, which indicates that there simply isn’t enough bearish pressure to spur a corrective move to the downside. BTCUSD on TradingView If Bitcoin can begin to close four-hour candles back above the $12,000 mark before the typically low-volume weekend it would set itself up for a rally to a new yearly high before the end of the month. However, another rejection from $12,000 would signal that the recent break out to $12,500 was in fact a bull trap and that it could be in store for more downside price action. When looking at the daily exponential moving averages, the fact that the 50EMA crossed the 200EMA in May, with all moving averages continuing a positive slope since then, demonstrates Bitcoin’s positive outlook in a macro sense. Bitcoin by TradingView While the recent rally has been attributed to this rise in popularity of DeFi projects on the Ethereum blockchain, Bitcoin is almost certainly the largest brand in the industry, which means retail investors will flock to it during the next bullish phase in the market. For more news, guides and cryptocurrency analysis, click here . Bitcoin pricing Current live BTC pricing information and interactive charts are available on our site 24 hours a day. The ticker bar at the bottom of every page on our site has the latest Bitcoin price. Pricing is also available in a range of different currency equivalents: US Dollar – BTCtoUSD British Pound Sterling – BTCtoGBP Story continues Japanese Yen – BTCtoJPY Euro – BTCtoEUR Australian Dollar – BTCtoAUD Russian Rouble – BTCtoRUB About Bitcoin In August 2008, the domain name bitcoin.org was registered. On 31st October 2008, a paper was published called “Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System”. This was authored by Satoshi Nakamoto, the inventor of Bitcoin. To date, no one knows who this person, or people, are. The paper outlined a method of using a P2P network for electronic transactions without “relying on trust”. On January 3 2009, the Bitcoin network came into existence. Nakamoto mined block number “0” (or the “genesis block”), which had a reward of 50 Bitcoins. More BTC news and information If you want to find out more information about Bitcoin or cryptocurrencies in general, then use the search box at the top of this page. Here’s an article to get you started. As with any investment, it pays to do some homework before you part with your money. The prices of cryptocurrencies are volatile and go up and down quickly. This page is not recommending a particular currency or whether you should invest or not. Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the author should not be considered as financial advice. \|\| 3iQ: THE BITCOIN FUND COMPLETES PRIVATE PLACEMENTS: Open for daily subscriptions to accredited investors Toronto, Sept. 03, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- (TSX: QBTC.U) 3iQ Corp. (3iQ” is pleased to announce that The Bitcoin Fund has completed a round of private placements of 241,320 units approved by the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX). The Bitcoin Fund is currently open for daily subscriptions to accredited investors. Following a four-month holding period, investors in the private placement may elect to sell their shares on the TSX under the ticker symbol: QBTC.U. The Bitcoin Fund’s investment objectives are to provide holders of units with:(a) exposure to bitcoin priced in U.S. dollars, and(b) the opportunity for long-term capital appreciation. The Bitcoin Fund will acquire assets from reputable bitcoin trading platforms and OTC counterparties, in order to provide investors with a convenient, secure alternative to a direct investment in bitcoin. Gemini, a trust company licensed by the New York State Department of Financial Services, will act as sub-custodian of the Fund's assets. We believe an investment in bitcoin will provide investors with a low-correlated asset class which will complement traditional investment strategies. 3iQ is the investment fund manager and portfolio manager of The Bitcoin Fund. For further information regarding the Fund, please visit www.3iq.ca or email Fred Pye, President and CEO of 3iQ at [email protected]. About 3iQ Founded in 2012, 3iQ is a Canadian investment fund manager focused on providing investors with exposure to digital assets, disruptive technologies and the blockchain space. 3iQ was the first Canadian investment fund manager to agree to terms and conditions with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities to manage a public bitcoin investment fund and multi-cryptoasset fund for Canadian accredited investors. Our experienced team of financial professionals are committed to providing innovative investments of institutional quality. Digital assets are a significant new technology that seek to revolutionize both currency and application development through blockchain and distributed computing methodologies. Access to these new technologies can be daunting, costly, and inconvenient. 3iQ has worked through a stringent regulatory process to offer investors convenient and familiar investment products to gain exposure to digital assets. We have partnered with thought leaders and best-in-class service providers in this area to build secure products that aim to generate positive long-term capital gains for investors looking to hold investments in digital assets. Disclaimer Commissions, trailing commissions, management fees and expenses all may be associated with mutual fund investments. Please read the prospectus before investing. Mutual funds are not guaranteed, their values change frequently and past performance may not be repeated.The prospectus contains important information relating to these securities. Copies of the prospectus may be obtained from Canaccord Genuity Corp. or any of the Agents. Investors should read the prospectus before making an investment decision. Certain statements contained in this news release constitute forward-looking information within the meaning of Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking information may relate to matters disclosed in this news release and to other matters identified in public filings relating to the Fund, to the future outlook of the Fund and anticipated events or results and may include statements regarding the future financial performance of the Fund. In some cases, forward-looking information can be identified by terms such as “may”, “will”, “should”, “expect”, “plan”, “anticipate”, “believe”, “intend”, “estimate”, “predict”, “potential”, “continue” or other similar expressions concerning matters that are not historical facts. In particular, this news release includes forward-looking information relating to the anticipated completion of the Offering. Actual results may differ materially from results indicated in forward-looking information for a number of reasons, including the failure to close the transactions referenced in this news release on the terms and conditions currently contemplated by the Fund, or at all, as well the risk factors identified in the Fund’s prospectus. Investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof and we assume no obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances, unless otherwise required by law. This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities in the United States. The securities have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “U.S. Securities Act”) or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to U.S. persons unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or an exemption from such registration is available. This news release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy in the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, persons in the United States or U.S. Persons nor shall there by any sale of the securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful.This press release is not for distribution in the United States newswire servicesor for dissemination in the United States. Attachment • QBTC logo CONTACT: Fred Pye 3iQ Corp. +1(416) 639-2130 [email protected] \|\| Blockchain Bites: MicroStrategy’s $250M Bitcoin Bet, India Booms, Banks Open to Custody: MicroStrategy bets $250 million on bitcoin’s safe haven thesis. Indian crypto is booming. And David Marcus has a new role at Facebook. Banks buying“Major U.S. banks might be willing to support cryptocurrency services – with just a bit of additional guidance from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), their federal regulator,”says CoinDesk’s regulatory reporter Nik De. This follows the OCC issuing an open letter in July saying nationally chartered banks could custody crypto. In public responses, 12 banks, including U.S. Bank and PNC, have expressed interest in providing such services. MicroStrategy goes macroIn what could be significant validation forbitcoin’s“safe haven” thesis, Nasdaq-listed MicroStrategy purchased 21,454 bitcoin on Tuesday, effectively shifting its inflation hedging strategy entirely into digital assets. The purchase was worth a cool $250 million. “This investment reflects our belief that bitcoin, as the world’s most widely adopted cryptocurrency, is a dependable store of value and an attractive investment asset with more long-term appreciation potential than holding cash,”said CEO Michael J. Saylor. Related:Blockchain Bites: Inside Cosmos, Bitcoin at $200B, DeFi Surges India rising“India’s crypto trade volumes have soared since the Supreme Court of India lifted banking restrictions for exchanges in March,”report Leigh Cuen and Shuai Hao. According to Paxful, a leading peer-to-peer trading platform, India is now among the five fastest-growing bitcoin user groups in the world. No good week“Ethereum Classic developers were still licking fresh wounds late last week when yet another 51% attack was launched against their blockchain early Thursday morning,”reports Will Foxley. “As the bits settle, the proof-of-work blockchain’s future remains in question more than ever.” BSN abroadThe Blockchain-Based Service Network (BSN), a Chinesestateblockchain infrastructure project, has an English language website for dapp developers. “BSN touts that it is one of the few cross-chain infrastructure networks where developers can use the network’s internet services for different blockchains under a standardized development environment,”says CoinDesk’s David Pan. The U.S. Department of Agriculture isbullish on blockchain-based supply chains. (CoinDesk) Related: What is Ethereum’s total supply? Bitcoiners sayEthereans don’t know. (Decrypt) Frank Chaparrounpacks why“fintechs are diving into the crypto market – but crypto firms aren’t diving into fintech.” (The Block) Belaruslost internet accessamid protests over its presidential election last weekend. (CoinDesk) Facebook’s David Marcushas a new rolebesides co-founding Libra. (CoinDesk) Omkar Godbolehas the lateston bitcoin holding steady and gold falling back: “Bitcoin’s recent price rally has shifted to a sideways meander, possibly taking cues from gold’s drop from record highs,” he writes. “The cryptocurrency is trading in the general range of $11,600-$11,900 for the fourth straight day. Meanwhile, the precious metal is trading near $1,988 at press time – down 4.2% from the record high of $2,075 reached on Friday. Both assets have recently developed a relatively strong positive correlation. As such, gold’s decline may have applied the brakes to bitcoin’s rally from lows near $9,000.” 10 Reasons Quant Strategies for Crypto Fail“Despite the attractive characteristics of crypto assets for quant strategies, crypto poses unique challenges for quant models and the reality is that most quant strategies in crypto fail,” says Jesus Rodriguez, CEO of IntoTheBlock, a market intelligence platform for crypto assets. Quant strategies may be perfect long term but for now, he says, most of those “proven effective in traditional capital markets are likely to not work as well when applied to crypto assets.” The Fourth Era of Blockchain GovernanceCoinDesk columnist Stephanie Hurder argues that blockchain projects need sophisticated, future-proofed governance regimes to attract corporate actors. “Enterprise use cases not only require cross-platform development but also frequently undergo rigorous, multi-year planning cycles. Enterprises considering deploying blockchain solutions want to know how various platforms and their governance designs function in sum, so they can minimize unnecessary uncertainty and deliver on their project goals.” “China and the U.S. trade high-profile sanctions, but the real impact is showing up in banks and on the Hong Kong stock market,” says Nathaniel Whittemore in thelatest edition of The Breakdown. • Blockchain Bites: MicroStrategy’s $250M Bitcoin Bet, India Booms, Banks Open to Custody • Blockchain Bites: MicroStrategy’s $250M Bitcoin Bet, India Booms, Banks Open to Custody \|\| Bitcoin Price Holds Below $12K Even as Hashrate Hits All-Time High: Bitcoin remains in consolidation below a critical resistance despite hashrate reaching record highs over the weekend. • Data from Glassnode shows the seven-day average for bitcoin’s hashrate – the computing power dedicated to mining blocks – rose to a record high of 129.03 exahashes per second (EH/s) over the weekend. • Bitcoin’s July rally has stalled near $12,000, making the psychological level a resistance to beat for the bulls. It wassidelining near $11,900at press time. • But some argue that an increasing hashrate is a bullish price signal. • Earlier this year, Jeremy Britton, CEO of Boston Trading Co. toldFinance Magnatesrising hashrate forced miners to hoard rather than sell newly mined coins, reducing downwards pressure and raising the price floor. • But price increases don’t always follow from higher hashrates, according to Philip Gradwell, an economist at the blockchain intelligence firm Chainalysis. • “Miners may be better at predicting the future price, but that doesn’t really cause the prices to go up,” Gradwell told CoinDesk in a Telegram chat on Monday. • A direct correlation between the hash rate and the price has not been seen before –bitcoin'sprice fell 30% in the second half of 2019 even though the hashrate rose 64% to 97 EH/s. • Stack Fund co-founder and COO Matthew Dibb told CoinDesk miners may be scaling up their capacity, ergo hashrate, in anticipation of a rising bitcoin price, but didn’t think there was actually an established causal link between the two. Also read:Marathon Signs New $23M Contract With Bitmain for 10,500 Bitcoin Mining Rigs • Bitcoin Price Holds Below $12K Even as Hashrate Hits All-Time High • Bitcoin Price Holds Below $12K Even as Hashrate Hits All-Time High • Bitcoin Price Holds Below $12K Even as Hashrate Hits All-Time High • Bitcoin Price Holds Below $12K Even as Hashrate Hits All-Time High \|\| What Twitter's Worst Hack Means For Its Bottom Line: (Bloomberg Opinion) -- Considering the fact that Twitter Inc. was still in damage-control mode Thursday from what was arguably the worst security failure in its history, it was a little surprising that investors didn't seem to care all that much, with its stock price barely down in afternoon trading. The market’s initial assessment seems to be that the social media platform’s users will take the breach in stride and return to the service — which does seem to have been the case so far.But even if Twitter’s user growth is relatively unaffected, shareholders shouldn’t overlook what the latest in a long series of security incidents says about the how the company works and why its stock has been such a disappointment: Twitter’s engineering prowess and management practices are simply second-rate. On Wednesday, numerous Twitter accounts from business leaders, celebrities to major companies — including Elon Musk, Barack Obama, Jeff Bezos and Apple — were hacked and posted cryptocurrency scam messages, promising to double the amount of any funds sent to a specific Bitcoin address. Twitter later admitted to the unprecedented nature of the breach, saying it believes it fell victim to a “coordinated social engineering attack,” where hackers were able to take control of its internal systems. CEO Jack Dorsey tweeted, “Tough day for us at Twitter. We all feel terrible this happened.” Certainly, hedge fund Elliott Management must not be pleased with the turn of events. The activist hedge fund and Twitter stakeholder reached an agreement with the company earlier this year to restructure the company’s board, standing down on an initial goal of replacing management including Dorsey. The lackluster security is more ammunition for Twitter’s critics who have long questioned the company’s efficacy in using its engineering resources. Even as Chinese super-apps such as WeChat have expanded upon core messaging services to build vast consumer internet empires, and Facebook Inc. has transformed its platforms into advertising money machines, the basic nature of Twitter’s offering hasn’t changed much over the past decade. That, even as the company spends an incredible amount in research and development annually — including nearly $700 million last year alone. Where does all the money go? Twitter’s financial performance has been anemic as well. It has yet to crack the monetization code even as its daily usage metrics improve. In its latest reported quarter, Twitter posted the worst ad revenue trends among the major U.S. internet ad platforms, with sales rising a meager 3% year over year. That paled in comparison to Facebook’s 18% growth for the same time period — even as Twitter is a fraction of its larger competitor’s size. Once again it comes down to technical aptitude. Twitter has struggled to build more advanced, transaction-oriented direct-response ads, while its competitors have thrived in that market. Story continues Wednesday evening’s response to the attack gave further evidence of the structural issues. While the company said it “immediately” took down the posts and locked affected accounts when it found out about the hack, my observations point to a slower response. I directly saw how scam messages with the same Bitcoin address continued to spread for more than an hour to different accounts, and how posts stayed up for some time before being deleted. It made me wonder why Twitter couldn’t move faster in automatically deleting any message posted with this specific cryptocurrency address, and suggested a lack of security defense capabilities. The problem is, we’ve seen this many times before — and that doesn’t speak well for management. There is no excuse for what happened. In 2010, Twitter agreed to a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission for not adequately protecting the personal information of its users. The government said at the time Twitter had “serious lapses” in its security that allowed hackers to get “unauthorized administrative control” to posts from the accounts of high-profile users such as Barack Obama. Sound familiar? There were other incidents. In 2017, a contractor was able to take down President Donald Trump’s account for a short time period. Last August, hackers took control of Dorsey’s own account and posted hate messages. Finally, late last year, the Justice Department charged two of the company’s former employees for possibly accessing internal data for Saudi Arabia. One would think Twitter would have vigorously built fortress-level security barriers and rock-solid safeguards to protect against another intrusion. Clearly, whatever the company did wasn’t enough.We do not yet know the full extent of the damage from the latest incident. Did the hackers get access to personal information such as email addresses, phone numbers and passwords? Were personal direct messages sent between users stolen? For some groups — like the media — Twitter is still an indispensable part of the job. But, if it turns out the hack was far worse than just a Bitcoin scam, it could put the company’s user base in jeopardy — especially if there are more lapses going forward. Whatever the fallout, the security debacle serves as a reminder of Twitter’s technical and business deficiencies. And unless serious changes are made, the outlook for the company isn’t much better. This might be time for an investor like Elliott to get active again. This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners. Tae Kim is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering technology. He previously covered technology for Barron's, following an earlier career as an equity analyst. For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinion Subscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source. ©2020 Bloomberg L.P. \|\| Top Bitcoin Mining Pools See 15% Hashrate Drop Amid Continuous Rainstorms in China: Major Chinese bitcoin mining pools are each seeing daily hashrate drops of between 10% and 20% following continuous rainstorms in Sichuan. China’s southwestern Sichuan province, a mountainous region that is estimated to have over 50% of the Bitcoin network’s total computing power, has been hit by heavy rainstormssince last week, which peaked over the last two days. The heavy rainstorms have caused electricity outages in parts of the region as hydro-plants stop generating power to help discharge the floods. Some counties are also experiencing telecommunication and internet breakdowns, said Kevin Pan, CEO and co-founder of PoolIn. Related:PayPal Co-founder, DCG-Backed BTC Mining Firm Layer1 Accused of Patent Infringement As result, impactedbitcoinmining farms in the region are forced to unplug from the network for the time being. It’s not clear when the situation will prove as the rainstorms are still ongoing. Data from BTC.com shows the world’s top four bitcoin mining pools – PoolIn, F2Pool, BTC.com and Antpool, all based in China – have each seen their hashrates drop between 10% and 20% over the last 24 hours. The computing power connected to these four pools accounts for around 50% of the Bitcoin network’s total. Pansaidin a Weibo post Tuesday China time that in addition to mining farms being forced to unplug due to electricity and internet disruptions, some have also proactively paused operations ahead of time and evacuated their on-site staff for safety precautions. According to theXinhua News Agency, the accumulated rain volume in a dozen most-impacted cities in Sichuan between Aug. 10-15 alone has already surpassed the average August monthly volume in any year’s record. Related:Mining Firm Hut 8 Reports 28% Drop in Q2 Revenue Following Bitcoin Halving Further, one major highway that leads to Sichuan’s mountain area, where most of the mining farms are located, isshut downdue to severe floods and mudslides. Meanwhile, bitcoin’s last three-day and one-day average hashrate has dropped to around 123 and 110 exahashes per second (EH/s), respectively. These numbers are down over 3% and 10%, respectively, from the seven-day rolling average around 127 EH/s, which is still at an all-time high. Read more:The 2020 Rainy Season Is Tougher Than Ever for China’s Bitcoin Miners The monsoon season in China every year brings abundant rain and thus excessive hydropower resources especially in the country’s southwestern regions, including Sichuan and Yunan. Such energy excess leads to cheap electricity prices that have been attractive to bitcoin miners. But over the years, the unpredictable weather also caused floods and mudslides, which resulted in bitcoin mining farmshaltingoperations temporarily or even being completely destroyed. • Top Bitcoin Mining Pools See 15% Hashrate Drop Amid Continuous Rainstorms in China • Top Bitcoin Mining Pools See 15% Hashrate Drop Amid Continuous Rainstorms in China \|\| Latest Ethereum price and analysis (ETH to USD): Ethereum has shown signs of a potential resurgence this morning with a 2.95% surge to the upside as it takes aim at the $250 level of resistance. The world’s second largest cryptocurrency by market cap remains in a bullish posture against its US Dollar and Bitcoin trading pair as it trades above key moving averages. Notably, the fact that Ethereum is trading above the daily 200MA when the majority of altcoins are treating it as a level of resistance demonstrates how Ethereum has decoupled from similar assets with smaller market caps. This bodes well if Bitcoin can eventually pick itself back up in the coming months with a move towards $10,500, which could see Ethereum surge back to its yearly high of $290. When examining Ethereum’s Bitcoin trading pair a more neutral projection comes to fruition, with Ethereum currently battling it out over the 0.026BTC level of resistance, which provided a point of rejection in April. Breaking above that level would cause an initial rally to 0.028BTC with upside price targets beginning to emerge as high as 0.03BTC. However, it’s worth noting that while the recent price action has lacked any kind of volatility, a major move to the downside may also be on the cards if Bitcoin suddenly breaks below $8,830 as this would cause a cascade of sells across altcoins and the entire market. The most likely stopping point for Ethereum in that scenario would be $200, which is also in confluence with the daily 200MA. For more news, guides and cryptocurrency analysis, click here . About Ethereum Ethereum was launched by Vitalik Buterin on July 30 2015. He was a researcher and programmer working on Bitcoin Magazine and he initially wrote a whitepaper in 2013 describing Ethereum. Buterin had proposed that Bitcoin needed a scripting language. He decided to develop a new platform with a more general scripting language when he couldn’t get buy-in to his proposal. More Ethereum news and information If you want to find out more information about Ethereum or cryptocurrencies in general, then use the search box at the top of this page. Please check the below article: Story continues https://coinrivet.com/ethereum-adopts-erc-1155-as-an-official-standard/ As with any investment, it pays to do some homework before you part with your money. The prices of cryptocurrencies are volatile and go up and down quickly. This page is not recommending a particular currency or whether you should invest or not. You may be interested in our range of cryptocurrency guides along with the latest cryptocurrency news . Disclaimer: This is not financial advice. \|\| Blockchain Bites: Hedge Fund Down, Banana Bets and the Twitter Hack Fallout: Another crypto hedge fund is winding down, Huobi launched a new unit to invest in DeFi and the Twitter hacker is reportedly a bitcoin millionaire. You’re reading Blockchain Bites , the daily roundup of the most pivotal stories in blockchain and crypto news, and why they’re significant. You can subscribe to this and all of CoinDesk’s newsletters here . Top shelf Fund Down Neural Capital, a crypto hedge fund, has closed, having lost half its money since launching in 2017. Three people familiar with the matter said the fund’s crypto-assets were liquidated in December and the fund is in the process of refunding leftover money to investors, a process taking longer than expected. At its height, Neural Capital managed over $13 million from over 40 investors, including Greylock partner Joshua Elman and Expa partner Hooman Radfar. It joins several funds founded in 2017 that have announced closures in 2020, including Adaptive Capital, Prime Factor Capital and Tetras Capital. Related: Blockchain Bites: XRP Sales, INX IPO and Bitcoin Mining Woes Banana Fund U.S. prosecutors are seeking to return $6.5 million in bitcoin to victims of the “Banana.Fund” crowdfunding project, which the government described in court papers as a Ponzi scheme. In a forfeiture suit against the cryptocurrency account storing the funds, prosecutors allege Banana.Fund’s unnamed administrator admitted to investors his project had flopped, promised to return $1.7 million to them and then failed to do so. The operator then pivoted to a laundering and refund scheme that ultimately resulted in the U.S. Secret Service’s (USSS) seizure of 482 bitcoin (BTC) and 1,721,868 tether (USDT), court documents show. Twitter Hacker The 17-year-old thought to be behind the recent Twitter hack reportedly owns more than $3 million worth of bitcoin. The alleged hacker, Graham Ivan Clark, stands accused of 17 counts of communications fraud, 11 counts of fraudulent use of personal information, one count of breaking into an electronic device and another for organized fraud. His bail was set at $725,000. Federal officials are also charging Nima Fazeli and Mason John Sheppard with aiding in the “intentional access of a protected computer” and conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering, according to criminal complaints published Friday. Story continues DeFi Lab Crypto exchange operator Huobi Group is forming a new fund to invest tens of millions of dollars of its own capital in the decentralized finance (DeFi) space. Huobi Group said in an announcement Monday it has launched a new business unit called Huobi DeFi Labs to manage the fund. The group will focus on research, investment and incubation of DeFi-related projects, and has brought on former banker Sharlyn Wu to lead the initiative. Hacker Effects A Spanish cryptocurrency payments app and card issuer has admitted it won’t be able immediately to repay users affected by Friday’s $1.4 million hack and has offered a compromise instead. Madrid-based 2gether said Sunday it hadn’t been able to find the funds to reimburse all users the €1.2 million stolen by hackers – 26.79% of the firm’s total funds – on Friday evening. The firm has offered to reimburse investors in native 2GT tokens at the issuance price of just under $0.06. “We can assure you, with a great deal of chagrin, that if we could face this theft with our own funds, we would,” the announcement reads. Market intel Related: First Mover: As Fed Nears Inflation Rubicon, Analysts See $50K Bitcoin in Play Tokenized BTC The supply of tokenized bitcoin grew more than 70% in July. More than 20,000 BTC (~$225 million) are now tokenized using Ethereum-based protocols. Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) represents over 76% of the total tokenized bitcoin supply with over 15,500 BTC tokenized. The total supply grew by roughly $96 million in July, following June’s record growth. Dex Volume July trading volume on decentralized exchanges set its second consecutive record high, rising 174% from June, according to data from Dune Analytics. Aggregate trading volume on decentralized exchanges reached $4,32 billion in July, up from $1.52 billion in June. 41% of July’s volume came from Uniswap, on which traders speculate on assets ranging from “a better Bitcoin” to a coin named after fried chicken. Opinion Value Judgments Crypto is inherently disruptive. In this week’s Crypto Long & Short newsletter, CoinDesk’s Galen Moore asks whether decentralization – and its attendant change making – creates or destroys value within the crypto space. “The “Robinhood Effect” may represent a threat to crypto from stocks, which also seem to now trade unencumbered by fundamentals, via onramps that broaden access,” he writes. DeFi Defines Ethereum DeFi Dad, an organizing member of the Ethereal Summit and Sessions and DeFi super user, t hinks Etheruem has found a narrative it can latch onto. “Five years ago, you could argue Ethereum was attempting to do too much. Even two to three years ago, that was still a valid hypothesis, with stagnant adoption,” he writes. Podcast Corner Bitcoin, Sex and Feminism Chaturbate is among the few traditional porn sites that has integrated crypto in a meaningful way. COO Shirely Lara joins CoinDesk’s Leigh Cuen for an in-depth discussion about bitcoin, sex and feminism. Who won #CryptoTwitter? Related Stories Blockchain Bites: Hedge Fund Down, Banana Bets and the Twitter Hack Fallout Blockchain Bites: Hedge Fund Down, Banana Bets and the Twitter Hack Fallout \|\| The Tapscotts Take Their Blockchain Research Institute Into Europe: Blockchain Research Institute (BRI), the education and innovation hub founded by father-and-son tech evangelists Don and Alex Tapscott, has opened a European arm. Announced Wednesday, Blockchain Research Institute Europe (BRIE) launches in partnership with Blockwall, an independent venture capital firm based in Frankfurt, Germany. The new BRIE think tank will bring together a gaggle of European industry leaders, academics, policymakers, entrepreneurs and researchers, according to a joint press statement. The goal: Getting large companies through the “ trough of disillusionment ” currently surrounding “enterprise blockchain.” Related: Is This the Blockchain Firm That Will Get Enterprise to Finally Embrace Open Networks? “We were not focused on what is typically called enterprise blockchain,” Alex Tapscott said in an interview. “I think that’s just a misnomer.” Instead, BRI is focused on “blockchain for enterprise,” which offers a wider canvas on which distributed technologies can play out. “Saying ‘enterprise blockchain’ is like saying ‘enterprise internet.’ There’s just one internet,” Tapscott said. “From the very beginning, we saw public protocols like Bitcoin and Ethereum as being the foundation technology that would be used by enterprises.” Read more: Salesforce Among 12 New Members to Join Blockchain Research Institute Related: 'Boring Is the New Exciting': How Baseline Protocol Connected With 600 Corporates One particular area of growth: stablecoins. “Stablecoins were never part of the enterprise blockchain toolkit until recently,” he said. “From first-hand experience talking to banks, supply chain, shipping and logistics companies, all of them are trying to understand how the stablecoin boom is going to transform enterprise.” Tapscott said BRIE’s aim is to recruit large European corporates to join the BRI consortium, which includes mainly U.S. member firms like FedEx, Exxon, Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, IBM and Microsoft. Story continues BRIE will be based in Frankfurt and staffed by four or five Blockwall staffers, with a view to hiring dedicated research staff going forward, Tapscott said. BRI has carried out over 150 research projects to date. Related Stories The Tapscotts Take Their Blockchain Research Institute Into Europe The Tapscotts Take Their Blockchain Research Institute Into Europe \|\| Pornhub Adds Bitcoin and Litecoin Payments for Premium Content: Pornhub, the popular adult entertainment site, has added two popular cryptocurrencies as payment options. In a tweet Wednesday, the company announced that it’s now accepting bitcoin ( BTC ) and litecoin ( LTC ) in payment for its Pornhub Premium offering. The company has been accepting the verge (XVG) cryptocurrency for user payments since 2018. It has since started allowing its entertainers to be paid in tether ( USDT ), a stablecoin linked to the U.S. dollar. Pornhub has previously announced it would accept both tron ( TRX ) and horizen (ZEN) for content, too, though its web page currently lists only verge. Pornhub has had issues with traditional funding methods in the past, when PayPal suddenly blocked payments to the site without explanation. Corey Price, vice president of Pornhub, said at the time the site would look at more cryptocurrency options going forward. LISTEN: Why This Sex Industry Executive Loves Bitcoin Related Stories Pornhub Adds Bitcoin and Litecoin Payments for Premium Content Pornhub Adds Bitcoin and Litecoin Payments for Premium Content Pornhub Adds Bitcoin and Litecoin Payments for Premium Content Pornhub Adds Bitcoin and Litecoin Payments for Premium Content [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] None available.	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 10400.92, 10442.17, 10323.76, 10680.84, 10796.95, 10974.91, 10948.99, 10944.59, 11094.35, 10938.27
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis] Not fully available. [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Top ETF Plays As Small-Caps Outpace Large-Caps: This article was originally published onETFTrends.com. Small-cap stocks and the corresponding exchange traded funds have recently been outpacing their large-cap counterparts prompting some market observers to speculate that smaller stocks could be in for a lengthy period of out-performance. Some fundamentally-weighted small-cap ETFs could deliver even more impressive returns as more investors revisit the small-cap category. That group of funds could include products such as the PowerShares DWA SmallCap Momentum Portfolio (DWAS) . DWAS follows the popular Dorsey, Wright & Associates proprietary selection methodology that is designed to identify small-cap firms with positive relative strength characteristics in an attempt to follow companies with strong forward momentum. The ETF follows the Dorsey Wright SmallCap Technical Leaders Index. Various data points suggest small-caps have momentum in the current environment. Favorable fundamental factors include the recent U.S. tax cuts. “In the three years ending December 2017, the companies in the S&P SmallCap 600 Index had an average effective tax rate 4.3% higher than the S&P 500 Index,”according to Invesco. “Investors looking for stocks that may experience improved profitability due to US tax reform have turned to the small-cap sector.” Favorable Outlook for Small Caps Small-caps are focused on the domestic economy and have less direct exposure to global geopolitical uncertainty and currency risks, as opposed to large-cap companies that have an international footprint, which may be affected by overseas risks and a strengthening U.S. dollar. Additionally, small-cap earnings estimates are improving. “Earnings estimate revisions have been strongest in the small-cap sector. Forward earnings estimates for the S&P SmallCap 600 Index have risen by more than 28% compared to 18.7% for the S&P 500 Index over the past six months,” according to Invesco. DWAS holds 200 stocks and allocates over 30% of its weight to healthcare names. The financial services and industrial sectors combine for over 34% of the ETF's roster. Importantly, small-cap valuations are not stretched, a potentially positive sign for an asset class that often trades at a premium to large-caps. “Some see better value in small caps as the price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio has compressed on the S&P SmallCap 600 Index, suggesting that small caps have cheapened in recent years. On a forward earnings basis, the S&P SmallCap 600 Index is currently trading at 20.1 compared to 17.0 for the S&P 500 Index. The ratio of 1.18 is down from a peak of over 1.33 in July 2009,” according to Invesco data. Meanwhile, the iShares Russell 2000 ETF (NYSEArca: IWM) , which tracks the benchmark Russell 2000 Index, is up more than 6% over the past month, outperforming major large-cap indexes along the way. For more information on small-capitalization stocks, visit oursmall-cap category. POPULAR ARTICLES FROM ETFTRENDS.COM • How to Bet on Upside for Hot Tech ETFs • Tom Lydon Featured on Capital Allocators With Ted Seides Podcast • Bitcoin: More Speculators, Fewer Investors • 5 Ways to Improve Your Financial Decisions • 6 Hacks to Automate Your Financial Life READ MORE AT ETFTRENDS.COM > \|\| Did Harley-Davidson Blow a Half-Million Dollars on Racing?: Harley-Davidson 's (NYSE: HOG) half-million-dollar bet to win back its racing crown isn't going as planned. Although it's still early in the 20-race American Flat Track racing season, rival Indian Motorcycle is looking as if it's going to repeat its dominating performance of last year. What's at stake is more than just bragging rights about which motorcycle company has the better racing team. In an industry suffering from flagging sales, race results highlight each bike maker's technology, innovation, and prowess in building a top performance machine. And that could help provide an edge at dealerships. With Harley once again falling behind Indian's owner Polaris Industries (NYSE: PII) in the early going, it could give Indian the momentum to keep driving sales higher. Jared Mees on an Indian Motorcycle FTR750 Image source: American Flat Track. Resorting to Plan B Harley-Davidson made winning this year's flat-track racing title a top priority. It committed to spending as much as $562,500 for the 2018 American Flat Track contingency program, the largest in cash awards ever put up in the 65-year history of flat-track racing. It was also nearly six times more than the bike maker's program two years ago, when it didn't have to contend with the Indian Wrecking Crew (as the team is known) challenging its leadership. Indian is offering $358,000 in awards, and Kawasaki is next in line with $356,000. In 2016, Polaris unveiled its purpose-built Scout FTR750 bike. It has a proprietary liquid-cooled, 750 cubic centimeter engine developed by its elite swissauto division specifically for the flat-track circuit. It took on the first new racing bike Harley built in 44 years, the equally impressive XG750R, and last year was the first time the two went head to head. Indian's racing team dominated the 2017 American Flat Track season with 14 wins in 20 races, 37 podium appearances (meaning a top-three finish), and six podium sweeps. It's looking like 2018 may be a repeat performance. Harley-Davidson and Indian have competed in only three of 20 planned races so far, but Indian is dominating the circuit once again. Story continues Racing to the dealership? Could Indian's dominance of flat-track racing be helping sales? Quite possibly. Toyota maintains that its winning the Nascar driver and manufacturer championships has boosted its car sales, and there's a long-standing saying in racing of "win on Sunday, sell on Monday," suggesting that whichever car wins a Sunday Nascar race sees a boost in sales on Monday. It could very well be the same with motorcycle racing. U.S. sales of Harley-Davidson were down 8.6% in 2017 and fell a stunning 12% in the first quarter of 2018. Indian, on the other hand, saw double-digit percentage rate growth last year and low-single digit percentage increases in the first quarter. Both motorcycle manufacturers say the industry is in a tailspin. Harley says the market for motorcycles with engines 601 cc and larger was down over 11% in the first quarter, while Polaris the 900 cc and above market was down by mid-teen percentage rates, continuing the decline seen in preceding years, but are a markedly steeper loss. Running circles around Harley Flat-track racing also appeals to the younger demographic bike makers seek. American Flat Track says 49% of its Facebook fans are 18-to-24-year-olds, and it has high teen percentages for 13-to-17-year-olds. Although male dominated like much of motorcycling, some 19% of flat-track racing fans are female, one of the fastest growing segments of the motorcycle riding population. Harley-Davidson has been the reigning flat-track racing champ for years prior to Indian's comeback, but if Polaris' technological prowess in bike-building is handily beating Harley's, that can easily bring more buyers into an Indian dealership than a Harley one. And perhaps it already is as demand for street version Scouts remain particularly strong. That suggests Harley-Davidson might have better spent its contingency money elsewhere. Sure, it obviously won't have to actually spend the money if the racers don't win, meaning the money will still be available, but it was ready to forego investments in building bikes that buyers actually want to win a racing title. Smaller, less expensive bikes might move the sales needle just as much. Now with Indian Motorcycle proving it has an edge on the racetrack as well as on the sales floor, it's becoming clear Harley-Davidson's massive racing contingency program was a wasted effort. More From The Motley Fool 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This Rich Duprey has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Polaris Industries. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy . \|\| How Altria's Transforming Itself to Keep Its Lead: The biggest challenge that tobacco giantAltria Group(NYSE: MO)has faced in recent years has been the secular decline in cigarette smoking. So far, Altria has been able to do a good job ofboosting prices on its loyal customer basein order to offset the negative impact of sliding overall volume. But recently, the shift in interest away from regular cigarettes toward alternatives like e-cigarettes, vaping, and heated-tobacco units has forced Altria to consider more seriously the need to keep up with the pack in pursuit of reduced-risk products. Withlongtime chief executive Marty Barringtonhaving recently stepped down, now was a good time for new CEO Howard Willard to redefine the tobacco giant's philosophy and strategic thinking toward reduced-risk products. Altria announced a sweeping restructuring that it hopes will be able to bring the company closer to realizing the full potential of innovative tobacco products, and although investors haven't really reacted immediately to the news, the impact of the strategic shift could make or break Altria's future in the long run. Image source: Altria Group. During the new CEO's time as chief operating officer prior to his promotion, Willard had the responsibility of overseeing all of Altria's operating companies. That included not only the divisions that generated the lion's share of revenue and profits that kept Altria's current success intact but also the newer business lines that have the greatest potential for future growth. With a single person having to divide attention between those two very different strategies, the pace of innovation wasn't always as fast as Altria and its investors had hoped. Willard's proposal will take the tobacco side of Altria's business and break it into two parts. The core tobacco division will consist of the Philip Morris USA cigarette business, the U.S. Smokeless Tobacco unit, Middleton cigars, andNat Sherman premium tobacco products. Going forward, these units will report to tobacco products Senior Vice President Jody Begley, who in turn will have CFO Billy Gifford overseeing him. Meanwhile, all of the reduced-risk products in Altria's current and prospective pipeline will fall under the jurisdiction ofNu Mark, which has been Altria's primary electronic cigarette brand. New Nu Mark CEO Brian Quigley will lead the innovative products business, reporting directly to Willard. The company will oversee not only the e-vapor and innovative inhalable products business but also oral nicotine-containing products, which will potentially include some forms of smokeless tobacco. One interesting thing about the two divisions is who Willard has chosen to lead them. Quigley's experience has largely been in the smokeless tobacco and cigarette divisions, with the executive having led U.S. Smokeless since 2012. Conversely, Begley has been president and general manager of Nu Mark since 2015. Cross-pollinating these positions is an interesting way to ensure that the entire company shares insights across divisions. In addition to those moves, Altria will also have a Chief Growth Officer position. This role will seek out the best growth opportunities in both traditional and alternative products, identifying consumer trends that it can then translate into product development ideas, as well as the subsequent marketing and consumer engagement once those products are available for the general public. In particular, Altria wants to make sure it has the talent and resources it needs to remain atop the tobacco industry and push forward with innovative product development. That will work toward achieving what it calls its "aspiration of being the U.S. leader in authorized, non-combustible, reduced-risk products." Obviously, just having a corporate restructuring won't solve the problem of actually coming up with good products that people want to buy. But Altria's strategy does send a message throughout the company and to the broader tobacco industry that the Marlboro maker is serious about building out its capacity beyond traditional cigarettes and its other legacy products. Going forward, Altria will need to squeeze as much value from its strategic move as it can. Only with success will the tobacco giant be able to evolve with the rest of the industry effectively. More From The Motley Fool • 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices • 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 • 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing • 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today • The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss • Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This Dan Caplingerhas no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy. \|\| My Top Dividend Stock Today: From the late 1990s through the early 2010s, Las Vegas Sands (NYSE: LVS) was one of the best growth companies in the gaming industry. It expanded in Las Vegas, Macau, and Singapore, becoming the largest publicly traded gaming company in the world. Today, investors looking at the casino resort operator don't see a growth company at all, and they shouldn't. It has transitioned into a cash-flow machine, and that's why I think it's time to look at Las Vegas Sands' dividend as a great buy in the gaming industry. Rendering of The Parisian Macau. Image source: Las Vegas Sands. The growth days are over... and that's OK Las Vegas Sands was in expansion mode from the time The Venetian Las Vegas opened in 1999 until The Parisian in Macau was completed in 2016. Throughout that period, the company was constantly planning or building new resorts. But there aren't any new projects on the horizon now, and Las Vegas Sands has entered a phase of its life where it may not grow at all. LVS Revenue (TTM) Chart LVS Revenue (TTM) data by YCharts Because of that, the key performance metrics for investors to watch have shifted from revenue growth to cash flow generation and what's ultimately returned to shareholders. You can see in the chart above that in the past year, Las Vegas Sands generated $4.9 billion of EBITDA , a proxy for cash generated from resorts and casinos. That's a tremendous amount of cash flow for a gaming company, and it's funding the company's growing dividend and share buybacks . Management has increased its dividend to $0.75 per share quarterly, which yields 3.8% at today's stock price. You can see in the chart below that about 60% of EBITDA is being paid out in dividends , leaving ample cash for other purposes -- like stock repurchases, which have picked up in recent years. LVS Dividends Paid (TTM) Chart LVS Dividends Paid (TTM) data by YCharts In the last four years, Las Vegas Sands has repurchased about 30 million shares, and management just increased its buyback authorization by $940 million to $2.5 billion. That's on top of the $16.2 billion it has returned to shareholders since the beginning of 2012. Story continues Management has demonstrated that it's not interested in letting cash build up on the balance sheet, so its reasonable to expect it will increase the dividend or accelerate share buybacks if there's cash available. Given the billions of dollars coming from the gaming business today, that means a steady stream of cash going to shareholders. Why Las Vegas Sands is my top dividend stock When Las Vegas Sands was building new resorts, it was pouring billions of dollars into its infrastructure. Now, that upfront money has been spent, and the company is reaping the rewards of two decades of development. Management expects to spend about $500 million annually on maintenance capital expenditures, which leaves about $4.4 billion in excess cash flow each year to pay dividends or buy back shares. It's the consistent cash flow that makes Las Vegas Sands my top dividend stock today, and if the entertainment and gaming industries continue to grow worldwide, the company's cash flow generation could increase over the long term, providing further upside to investors. More From The Motley Fool 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This Travis Hoium has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy . \|\| Why Oil and Gas Stocks Are Slumping Today: What happened Shares of oil producers Laredo Petroleum (NYSE: LPI) and SM Energy (NYSE: SM) , as well as units of Golar LNG Partners LP (NASDAQ: GMLP) , an MLP that owns liquified natural gas carriers and floating storage and regasification units, all declined by double digits by Friday afternoon. Lower oil prices weighed on the first two, while an analyst downgrade was the culprit in the latter. So what Golar LNG Partners took the biggest tumble, falling more than 11% by 2:45 p.m. EDT on Friday, which followed yesterday's double-digit sell-off . Driving today's decline at Golar LNG Partners was a two-notch downgrade by BofA Merrill Lynch , which cut the MLP from a buy all the way down to underperform. It also slashed its price target from $16 to $24. The bank downgraded Golar LNG Partners amid concerns about the company's cash flow and the sustainability of its distribution. That's after distributable cash flow slumped to just $13.3 million last quarter, which was only enough to cover Golar LNG Partners' distribution by 0.32 times -- meaning it paid out roughly three times more than what came in, a level that isn't sustainable for much longer. A natural gas well with a pipeline at sunset. Image source: Getty Images. Meanwhile, crude oil prices skidded lower today, falling about 2% to their lowest level since April on renewed concerns that OPEC might boost its oil output . Overall, the U.S. oil benchmark, WTI, fell 3.1% for the week, closing at $65.81 per barrel and is now down nearly 10% from its high for the year. The drop in the price of crude sent most oil stocks down today, though it had the greatest impact on SM Energy and Laredo Petroleum, which declined about 10% by mid-afternoon. That's because investors are growing increasingly concerned that crude prices could have further downside ahead if OPEC moves forward with a plan to boost production. If that happens and crude keeps falling, it likely would have an outsized impact on the profitability and cash flow of smaller producers like SM Energy and Laredo Petroleum. It's for this reason that these companies are taking it on the chin today. Story continues Now what After a relentless rally for several months, crude prices have quickly cooled off on concerns that OPEC is about to boost output. If that happens, smaller and financially weaker companies like Golar LNG Partners, Laredo Petroleum, and SM Energy could have even further to fall. That's why investors are better off avoiding those stocks and considering larger and stronger oil stocks like this trio instead . More From The Motley Fool 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This Matthew DiLallo has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy . \|\| The Cheapest Drug Stocks to Buy Right Now: Since March 2009, the stock market has been virtually unstoppable. At one point in January 2018, all three major indexes -- theDow Jones Industrial Average,S&P 500, andNasdaq-- had essentially quadrupled from their Great Recession lows. Of course, such a massive move in the broader market likely has investors wondering if stock valuations have gotten ahead of themselves. One industry, though, where that doesn't appear to be the case is with drug developers (i.e., pharmaceuticals and biotechnology). Image source: Getty Images. According to data provided by market analytics companyYardeni Research, the forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of the broad-based S&P 500 is 16.6, but it's just 13.7 for pharmaceuticals and 12.6 for biotechnology, as of May 24, 2018. That's one of the lowest forward P/E readings for biotech over the last 21 years, and certainly toward the bottom of the forward P/E range for pharmaceuticals since 1997. Only the years immediately following the Great Recession appear to have offered a cheaper buying opportunity in big pharma stocks, at least based on forward P/E. What's particularly intriguing about drug stocks is that they offer an inelastic product. By this I mean that we don't get to choose when we get sick or what ailment we contract. This creates a steady stream of demand for drug companies that translates into predictable cash flow, strong pricing power, and healthy profits. Yet in spite of their product inelasticity, some drug stocks are downright cheap. There are currently three with a forward P/E of less than 8 that I believe investors could safely buy right now. Biotech blue-chipCelgene(NASDAQ: CELG)is a company that Irecently added to my portfolioafter what amounts to a nearly 50% tumble since October. Celgene's stock has been hit by a multitude of problems, including concerns that it's too reliant on multiple myeloma drug Revlimid, an embarrassing delay in filing its would-be multiple sclerosis blockbuster ozanimod, a sales slowdown in anti-inflammatory Otezla, and a 2020 guidance revision that lowered both sales and profit estimates this past October. While these concerns aren't worth sweeping under the rug, Wall Street has treated Celgene like damaged goods when it's clearly not. Image source: Getty Images. For example, Celgene was able to settle patent litigation concerning Revlimid back in December 2015 with a number of generic drugmakers. In doing so, Celgene kept the bulk of generic entrants out of the market until after Jan. 31, 2026. Any future challenges to Revlimid's patents will likely be dealt with in a similar fashion. Despite accounting for close to 65% of the company's total sales, it's hard to argue against a drug that continues to deliver double-digit sales growth as a result of increased demand, longer duration of use, incredible market share, and healthy pricing power. Though the ozanimod filing delay is disappointing, it's not as if Celgene doesn't have other things going on in its pipeline. It has the ability toexpand the labels of existing drugs, and has more than 40 active collaborations, many of which are licensing what could be first-in-class cancer or inflammatory medicines. Even if we have to wait a few years for ozanimod to make its debut, it shouldn't hurt the drugs' more than $4 billion peak annual sales potential. And thanks to steady growth from Celgene's oncology portfolio, it sports one of the lowest price/earnings-to-growth ratios (PEG ratio) in the industry. Generally speaking, any PEG ratio around 1 is considered "cheap." Celgene's PEG ratio is currently under 0.5. It's a plain-as-day bargain in my eyes. Another down-on-its-luck drug stock is Israel-basedTeva Pharmaceutical Industries(NYSE: TEVA). Like Celgene, it has a laundry list of reasons why it's struggled of late. This includes ongoing weakness in generic drug prices, a generic entrant to multiple sclerosis drug Copaxone (Teva's top-selling drug) making it to market, fraud allegations being levied against the company, and plenty of executive turnover. Last year, Teva reduced its full-year sales and profit forecast multiple times and completely shelved its dividend. Image source: Getty Images. While Teva is certainly in worse shape than Celgene, I'd suggest that it's been unfairly written off given its still-strong profitability, as well as its significant generic-drug market share. Even though hindsight is 20/20, and Teva did overpay to acquire Actavis fromAllergan, Teva's enormous generic portfolio should allow for significant pricing power in the years to come. Plus, with the global population aging, the world's leading generic drug producer isn't a bad place to park your money. As a shareholder in Teva, I've also been impressed with the no-nonsense approach todeleveraging the company's balance sheet. Teva has sold all of its Women's Health operations (for a better price than expected, may I add), halted its dividend, saving more than $1 billion annually in the process, and announced job cuts that'll see a quarter of the company's workforce let go. All told, Teva could reduce its annual operating expenditures by $3 billion, or about 16%, between 2017 and 2019. This should allow the company to make significant headway on paying down its debt. And I'm not the only one who sees value in Teva. Warren Buffett'sBerkshire Hathawayinitiated a positionin the company during the fourth quarter and added significantly to that position during the first quarter. Though this is a work in progress that'll require the patience of shareholders, the worst appears to be over. What's left is a company with a massive generic drug portfolio and healthy cash flow that's valued at less than eight times Wall Street's profit projections in 2019. Lastly, there'sInnoviva(NASDAQ: INVA), which isn't a traditional drug stock, per se. Innoviva is a royalty company that's currently reaping benefits from a group of long-lasting COPD and asthma medications that were developed in cooperation withGlaxoSmithKline(NYSE: GSK). You know these medicines today as Breo Ellipta and Anoro Ellipta, to name a few. Image source: GlaxoSmithKline. Four years ago, Innoviva's management team was a bit too giddy about Breo's and Anoro's prospects and wound up completing aprivate placement of $450 million in debt. This funding was to "support the initiation of a capital return strategy to the stockholders of Theravance, Inc. (Innoviva's previous company name) in conjunction with the previously announced spinoff ofTheravance BioPharma." Unfortunately, GlaxoSmithKline struggled to gain insurer coverage for these next-generation therapies out of the gate, causing Innoviva to abandon its $0.25-per-quarter dividend after five quarters of lackluster royalty payments. It has since been digging its way out of debt. Now, the good news. After those initial hurdles, Breo and Anoro are both seeing steady growth, which has, in turn, lifted Innoviva's top and bottom lines. During the first quarter, GlaxoSmithKline reported respective constant currency sales growth of 14% for Breo and 68% for Anoro, with Trelegy Ellipta, another partnered drug with Innoviva, recently launching. Because Innoviva is comfortable relying on royalties to do the heavy lifting, it has virtually no costs, aside from general and administrative. This lack of research and development costs means Innoviva can be very profitable with a relatively small amount of royalty revenue. It's also allowed the company to prepay a significant portion of its $450 million loan, as of its latest quarter. It's not out of the question that Innoviva will begin paying a dividend a few years down the road, once its secured debt is wiped off of its books. Looking forward, Innoviva has an opportunity to grow its royalty revenue by close to 50% between 2018 and 2021, according to Wall Street's estimates. Even taking into account its concentration of royalty revenue from its Glaxo partnership, a forward P/E of less than 7 seems cheap. More From The Motley Fool • 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices • 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 • 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing • 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today • The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss • Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This Sean Williamsowns shares of Celgene and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Berkshire Hathaway (B shares) and Celgene. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy. \|\| Regulators deliver good news for ethereum and bitcoin, but there’s less clarity for XRP: A top US official has provided some clarity about how crypto assets should be regulated. Bitcoin and ether are not securities, according to a senior Security and Exchange Commission official, meaning they don’t have to comply with strict US requirements on registration, disclosure, and accreditation of investors. The regulator made no direct mention of XRP, a crypto token that money-transfer company Ripple has promoted . Digital assets have been in a bear market this year—bitcoin has fallen some 50%—but ether and bitcoin jumped yesterday (June 14) around the time reports emerged (paywall) on the SEC’s stance. XRP, which like all virtual assets tends to be highly volatile, diverged from bitcoin and ether, according to CoinDesk prices. To increase your emotional intelligence, develop these 10 qualities “Today is going to be looked back at as somewhat of a momentous day,” said Adam White, general manager at crypto exchange Coinbase, in an interview with podcast host Laura Shin . Guidance that ether isn’t a security gives the crypto industry the confidence to move forward on projects, he said. Bird is the fastest startup ever to reach a $1 billion valuation One of those projects could be ether futures at Chicago-based derivatives exchange Cboe. The exchange has been considering futures—which give traders a way to speculate or hedge prices of an asset at some later date—for the crypto asset since it started a contract for bitcoin last year, according to president Chris Concannon. “This announcement clears a key stumbling block,” he said. As for XRP, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse said in an interview earlier this month that “it’s very clear XRP is not a security.” He argued that it exists independently of Ripple the company, which has built technology that uses XRP to facilitate cross-border payments. He said owning XRP doesn’t provide ownership or equity in his firm, which itself it sitting on a large amount of the crypto asset. “It’s quite different than what a security looks like,” Garlinghouse said. Story continues The SEC may feel differently. An important consideration is whether a third-party—a person, entity, or group–is driving the expectation for a return, according to a speech yesterday by William Hinman, director of the corporation finance division at the SEC. For some investors, the rationale for buying the XRP crypto token is the hope that the company Ripple will succeed at convincing banks and other financial institutions to use Ripple, and the crypto token, as a transmission mechanism for payments. What would make a digital asset a security, according to the SEC Here are six factors that the SEC suggests considering when determining whether a digital asset is an investment contract, and therefore a security: Is there a person or group that has sponsored or promoted the creation and sale of the digital asset, the efforts of whom play a significant role in the development and maintenance of the asset and its potential increase in value? Has this person or group retained a stake or other interest in the digital asset such that it would be motivated to expend efforts to cause an increase in value in the digital asset? Would purchasers reasonably believe such efforts will be undertaken and may result in a return on their investment in the digital asset? Has the promoter raised an amount of funds in excess of what may be needed to establish a functional network, and, if so, has it indicated how those funds may be used to support the value of the tokens or to increase the value of the enterprise? Does the promoter continue to expend funds from proceeds or operations to enhance the functionality and/or value of the system within which the tokens operate? Are purchasers “investing,” that is seeking a return? In that regard, is the instrument marketed and sold to the general public instead of to potential users of the network for a price that reasonably correlates with the market value of the good or service in the network? Does application of the Securities Act protections make sense? Is there a person or entity others are relying on that plays a key role in the profit-making of the enterprise such that disclosure of their activities and plans would be important to investors? Do informational asymmetries exist between the promoters and potential purchasers/investors in the digital asset? Do persons or entities other than the promoter exercise governance rights or meaningful influence? How virtual tokens differ There are ways to structure virtual tokens so that they function more like consumer items rather than a security, Hinman said. For analysis, he suggested this list of considerations: Is token creation commensurate with meeting the needs of users or, rather, with feeding speculation? Are independent actors setting the price or is the promoter supporting the secondary market for the asset or otherwise influencing trading? Is it clear that the primary motivation for purchasing the digital asset is for personal use or consumption, as compared to investment? Have purchasers made representations as to their consumptive, as opposed to their investment, intent? Are the tokens available in increments that correlate with a consumptive versus investment intent? Are the tokens distributed in ways to meet users’ needs? For example, can the tokens be held or transferred only in amounts that correspond to a purchaser’s expected use? Are there built-in incentives that compel using the tokens promptly on the network, such as having the tokens degrade in value over time, or can the tokens be held for extended periods for investment? Is the asset marketed and distributed to potential users or the general public? Are the assets dispersed across a diverse user base or concentrated in the hands of a few that can exert influence over the application? Is the application fully functioning or in early stages of development? Hinman pointed out that the US Securities Act is meant to give investors essential information known by promoters of assets, so that people buying into projects can make informed decisions. This is why promoters can be held liable for misstatements. Factors such as a project’s financing and background are vital for an investor to be able to make sound decisions. While ether and bitcoin don’t qualify as securities in Hinman’s view, initial coin offerings (ICOs)—a kind of crowdfunding that’s been turbocharged by crypto-token speculation—often do qualify and may be better off adhering to those regulations. Read next: The woman who led crypto policing in the US guesses what’s next for regulation Sign up for the Quartz Daily Brief , our free daily newsletter with the world’s most important and interesting news. More stories from Quartz: There’s about to be a lot more creepy Boston Dynamics robots in the world How a school for poor girls cracked the patriarchy in a rural Indian town \|\| No Bull Run in Sight, Investors Target Long-Term Bitcoin Price Rally: The cryptocurrency market has struggled to make major movements on the upside, as major digital currencies such as bitcoin and Ethereum have stabilized at $7,580 and $584 respectively. The valuation of the cryptocurrency market has slightly increased from $330 billion to $333 billion, by around 1 percent. Bitcoin’s Struggle Exactly one week ago, on May 25, the price of bitcoin was $7,530. Today, as of June 1, the price of bitcoin is $7,580. Over the past seven days, BTC remained in the $7,300 to $7,500 range, struggling to record any major or minor movement on both the downside and upside. Based on the short-term price trend of BTC over the past week, it remains unlikely that BTC returns to previous support levels at $10,000 and $12,000, given that the 5-month and 10-month MA bear cross have been confirmed for the first time since 2014. More to that, BTC failed to swiftly rebound to the $8,000 mark over the past few days, eliminating the possibility of a potential corrective rally to $10,000 in the short-term. If BTC can surpass the $8,500 mark in the next few days with a strong spike in volume, it is possible that BTC breaks its descending trendline since May 5, eyeing a mid-term recovery and a bounce back to the $10,000 region. However, without a strong recovery, it remains unlikely for bitcoin to initiate a bull run in the short-term. Ari Paul, a prominent cryptocurrency investor and researcher, who co-founded the digital asset investment firm BlockTower, said: “I’ve had chats with some very savvy fund managers in the last few days, all of whom said, ‘I don’t see where the new money comes from any time soon,’” emphasizing that most investors agree in a medium to long-term adoption curve of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. “Institutional money started trickling into cryptocurrency in mid-2017, but it’s been slower than many expected. That doesn’t mean it’s not coming. There are a lot of pieces that need to come together, one big piece being third party custody,” Paul added. Story continues The lack of stable custodian services and the strong downward trend of bitcoin all point toward a short-term bear market, but a strong mid to long-term trend for BTC. Large-Scale Investors are Extremely Bullish in Long-Term Dan Morehead, the founder and CEO of leading cryptocurrency hedge fund Pantera Capital, stated that both the mid-term and long-term trend of bitcoin are optimistic, because the dominant cryptocurrency is losing its “skanky” image among institutional investors. More importantly, in the long-term, Morehead noted that he envisions the cryptocurrency market growing to a $4 trillion asset class. “Bitcoin is a screaming buy right now,” said Morehead, who oversees more than $1 billion at Pantera Capital. He added that even a $40 trillion market valuation is possible for cryptocurrency, explaining “it’s the 10-year forecast. It’s not going to happen overnight.” With stable custodian services and the entrance of institutional investors, in the mid-term, possibly by the end of 2018, BTC could enter a proper bull market. However, as of current, the short-term trend of BTC seems bearish. Featured image from Shutterstock. The post No Bull Run in Sight, Investors Target Long-Term Bitcoin Price Rally appeared first on CCN . \|\| Ripple CEO Says Bitcoin Is the ‘Napster of Digital Assets’: Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse just made some bold comparisons at Recode's Code Conference. He said that Bitcoin may have sparked the cryptocurrency mania, but it could ultimately end up like now-defunct music service Napster. "We may come to find that Bitcoin is kind of the Napster of digital assets,” he said . “This is transformative technology, but Spotify and iTunes and Pandora rule the day because they engaged with regulators to solve a real problem." It’s important to note that Garlinghouse’s opinion is not so surprising given the fact that his fintech startup Ripple has its own rival cryptocurrency. XRP, the third-largest cryptocurrency by market cap after Bitcoin and Ethereum, is the name for both a digital currency and an open payment network. It allows users to efficiently send money globally using the blockchain. Garlinghouse also criticized Bitcoin’s efficiency when it comes to making payments. He said it’s a bad idea for Bitcoin to replace fiat currency as the average Bitcoin transaction can take as much as 20 minutes and the transaction fees are still pretty steep. For context, Ripple can handle 1,500 transactions per second, while Bitcoin can reportedly only handle seven in the same timespan. Earlier this month, actor and tech investor Ashton Kutcher donated $4 million in Ripple's XRP tokens to wildlife charity, The Ellen DeGeneres Wildlife Fund. "We can actually transfer [the donation] into Rwandan francs right now, right here, and all we have to do is push this button and it's in your account," Kutcher said. See original article on Fortune.com More from Fortune.com Bitcoin Spinoff Hacked in Rare '51% Attack' An 'Emergency Sale' of Bitcoins Just Earned $14 Million for German Law Enforcement Bitcoin's Fate? This Cryptoasset Manager Sees Two Possible Outcomes Why Ashton Kutcher Donated $4 Million in Cryptocurrency to Charity Bitcoin Price Sinks Amid a New Federal Probe Into Cryptocurrency Price Manipulation \|\| The Surprise Pick to Replace GE in the Dow: If there's a single benchmark that more investors worldwide follow than any other, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI) would have to be the leading candidate . With more than a century-long history of tracking the soaring U.S. stock market, joining the Dow has become a rite of passage for the strongest, most prominent companies in the country. One reason why the Dow has so much prestige is that those who oversee the average don't make changes to its 30 components very often. Yet from time to time, circumstances warrant that one company should replace another. It came as little surprise to those who've followed the struggles that industrial conglomerate General Electric (NYSE: GE) has dealt with recently that S&P; Dow Jones Indices chose to replace it in the Dow. Yet what was less expected was its choice for a replacement: Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ: WBA) , the leading operator of U.S. retail drugstore locations. Aircraft engines in a manufacturing hangar, with a lift with workers looking at the top of the engines. GE will no longer be part of the Dow. Image source: General Electric. Why General Electric got the boot Given the difficulties that General Electric has seen in several of its core fundamental business divisions, many had foreseen a decision to take it out of the Dow Jones Industrial Average as inevitable. GE had made a strategic shift in the late 2000s and early 2010s away from the financial exposure that had caused it such trouble during the financial crisis back toward its industrial roots, and the conglomerate had chosen to emphasize then-hot areas like power and energy. Those investments proved to be ill-timed, holding back more promising opportunities for some of GE's other businesses, including medical equipment in its healthcare division and the aircraft engines and other components it provides through its aerospace business. The result was a slide in GE's stock price that has thus far proven unstoppable. During 2017, General Electric stock lost 45% of its value , and shares have slid another 25% year to date despite the best efforts from company management to chart a viable course forward. With a price below $13 per share, GE's influence on the Dow has become insignificant, with the price-weighted index getting just 0.36% of its overall value from the company. Story continues S&P Dow Jones Indices did note the fact that GE was an original member of the Dow Jones Industrial Average from its inception in 1986. Yet in a press release, David Blitzer, S&P managing director and chair of the index committee overseeing the Dow, said, "Since then, the U.S. economy has changed: consumer, finance, healthcare, and technology companies are more prominent today." With industrial companies being relatively less important, GE's removal simply reflects changes in what drives economic growth between the 20th century and the 21st century. The newest Dow component Yet the real shock came from S&P Dow Jones' choice of a replacement. Blitzer tried to tie the addition of Walgreens Boots Alliance as being in line with those shifting economic trends. In his words: Walgreens is a national retail drug store chain offering prescription and non-prescription drugs, related health services, and general goods. With its addition, the DJIA will be more representative of the consumer and healthcare sectors of the U.S. economy. Today's change to the DJIA will make the index a better measure of the economy and the stock market. Many believed that the Dow would turn to the tech sector for an eventual replacement for GE. Most of the largest stocks left out of the Dow are either officially technology stocks or use technology so much in pursuit of e-commerce and other internet-based business goals that most people think of them as tech stocks. Yet the obstacle most of them faced was that their share prices were stratospherically high, making addition to the price-weighted Dow impractical. Yet even if S&P had honed in on healthcare as a sector it wanted to emphasize further, some will question why Walgreens got the nod. CVS Health (NYSE: CVS) has nearly as large a drugstore chain network as Walgreens does, and in many ways, CVS has been more aggressive in pursuing acquisitions that have tapped into the high-growth potential from pharmacy benefit management. The company's planned merger with health insurer Aetna will boost CVS's size even further if approved, and even without it, CVS's market capitalization was higher than Walgreens before the announcement. Walgreens, though, has made moves of its own. Wholesale pharmaceutical distribution has been a focus area for the company, with the purchase of Alliance Boots in 2014 and its minority stake in AmerisourceBergen helping to expand its presence in that sector. Some believe that Walgreens could make a bid to buy the remainder of AmerisourceBergen, hoping that such a move could allow Walgreens to grow that side of the business more fully. Keep your eyes on the Dow The official change to the Dow will happen before the market opens on Tuesday, June 26, at which point official changes to the Dow divisor will be announced. Given Walgreens' share price currently, the drugstore chain will likely be in the bottom 10 stocks in terms of weight, potentially contributing just under 2% toward the Dow's overall value. That shouldn't be a big shift, but it marks the latest in the incremental changes that have seen the Dow evolve over the decades. More From The Motley Fool 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This Dan Caplinger has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends CVS Health. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy . [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] Mine #BitQuark at http://WeMineBTQ.com 0% mining fees for life! #BTQ #BTC #QRK \|\| 0.01 BTC Change 100 BTC Join : http://t.me/Monsterpumper $MTL $DGB $XEM $TRIG $STRAT $LSK $IOP $PIVX $PAY $ARK $DASH $MCO $ARDR $CVC $ETH $NEO $XLM $XRP $ADA $EMC2 $OMG$BCC $VTC $AEON $ZEC $ADX $XVG $BAT $LTC $GAS $TRX $HSR $IOST \|\| I added a video to a @YouTube playlist http://youtu.be/0TIMjYD9jew?a Edward Snowden - Bitcoin Holders, you are being watched! (Snowden, NSA, \|\| I can care less what happens to btc. It'll always be trade able and that's all that matters. Bitcoin is not adequate technology at this point in time and even at this price point it has a higher market cap then silver. Put that into perspective. \|\| @tommydago #blockchain #bitcoin #scam #ico #innovation #AI #agritechfood #IoT #IoE #digitaliani #I40http://www.seejay.cloud/triwu/smau \|\| BTC Price: 9295.10$, BTC Today High : 9376.00$, BTC All Time High : 19903.44$ ETH Price: 748.38$ #bitcoin #BTC $BTC #ETH $ETH #cryptopic.twitter.com/a82Mye0cQD \|\| Magic Number? Chart Data Hints at June 6 Bitcoin Boost https://ift.tt/2LoFOns \|\| why dont u try that with BTC \|\| #ripple #cryptocurrency #coinbase #bitcoin #icos #blockchain #eth #ethereum #btc #cryptocurrencynews #binance #ico #crypto #cryptocurrencies #tokensale #cryptonews #altcoins #Ontology #Zilliqapic.twitter.com/8BAUMu42Be \|\| #DailyDelicious How do I make bitcoin money? http://bit.ly/2Edv3C2 pic.twitter.com/KJmTFmo58t	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 6173.23, 6249.18, 6093.67, 6157.13, 5903.44, 6218.30, 6404.00, 6385.82, 6614.18, 6529.59
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2015-12-07] BTC Price: 395.54, BTC RSI: 68.67 Gold Price: 1076.40, Gold RSI: 44.96 Oil Price: 37.65, Oil RSI: 32.18 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Bitcoin Investor, Taking Things to a New Level: Bitcoin Exchange Offices to Be Opened in 6 Countries: WILMINGTON, DE--(Marketwired - November 01, 2015) -Digital currency markets, especially those of Bitcoin, continue to be surrounded by a lot of hype these days and while some skeptics claim that Bitcoin will always remain the currency of the future, without ever embodying that so much expected future, the tech industry businessmen who take the enthusiast side are putting money down on the table to invest in Bitcoin and the development of the opportunity they see attached. Miners Center Inc., a Delaware based cryptocurrency trading company, has taken bold action in the direction of digital currency, as they do not only see it being in a sweet spot, but they also believe it will deliver according to Bitcoin believers' expectations in the near future. Since it has been established in 2014, the company has been buying large amounts of Bitcoin, at higher market price, in order to achieve their targeted volumes for what is boldly outlined within their business plan as the next step. By the end of Q4, Miners Center will have opened ten small Bitcoin exchange offices throughout the globe: three of them in the USA, two in Canada, two in Australia, one in the UK, one in Germany and one in Hungary. Although the company has planned everything in detail, specific information related to the exact location of the exchange offices and their operational means will be revealed at their actual launching, which will be handled by the company with proper PR and marketing exposure. However, besides the news of taking things further with Bitcoin, Miners Center does state that the rates policy within the physical exchange offices will not bring over-the-market-price revenues to its clients, as the company's actual customers have been accustomed up to this point. The current 10% higher-than-the-market-price rate for Bitcoin purchase offered by Miners Center via their official web-site (www.minerscenter.com) has taken so far the shape of a different business unit within the company, governed by a targeted volume-buying strategy and both the exclusively buyer orientation and hot offer itself, will be discontinued as soon as the company reaches enough Bitcoin resources to start operating what was intended as their core business in the first place. Miners Center state that they are very close to reaching the desired purchase volumes and such turn is expected in the near future. The CEO of Miners Center, Emilian Tourey, an enthusiast, true believer and an advocate of the Bitcoin currency claims that he's proud of having seen the opportunity and having invested his money into something he strongly believes will bring both a substantial return of investment and a tremendous personal satisfaction for being among the first who's supported building up an alternative to the current financial system. "I am not naive, nor am I a dreamer. I am business man and I do see the flaws attached to Bitcoin, together with the security issues and I also hear the skeptics' arguments. However, I also see the need of more and more people for an alternative to what is now the mainstream financial system. Businesses involved with Bitcoin now need to understand that in order to gain exposure to a larger public, we have to make Bitcoin easily understandable and available to a broader audience and in order to do that, we have to use some of the traditional ways, but without pushing them too far and aiming to become the new bankers at the table. This is one of the major challenges I see for Bitcoin to achieve a widespread adoption, together with the legal legitimacy and a fair, non-opposing regulations," states Tourey. Taking the Bitcoin deal from exclusively online to the physical, traditional exchange office may be indeed considered the cornerstone of creating the alternative system Tourey aims at. More information about Miners Center Inc. may be found at their official web-site:www.minerscenter.com \|\| C&W Business Develops Comprehensive Disaster Recovery Plans to Complement Industry-Leading Disaster Recovery as a Service Solution: MIAMI, FL--(Marketwired - Oct 22, 2015) - C&W Business, part of C&W Communications , announced today that it has completed the development of a portfolio of Disaster Recovery Plans for each of the platforms on which it delivers Disaster Recovery as a Service. With this development, clients that utilize C&W Business Disaster Recovery as a Service (DRaaS) solution not only receive the most comprehensive managed solution for business continuity on the market, but they also get a complete roadmap of processes and procedures to ensure they are following international best-practices for business continuity. The C&W Business DRaaS Solution, which was recently placed in the first Gartner Magic Quadrant for Disaster Recovery as a Service 1 , protects business data and applications from all types of disasters, from natural to man-made. Thanks to the ability to failover and failback in mere minutes, companies minimize any risk to their data, applications, or business with this fully-managed service. With an easy-to-use, secure online portal that allows companies to manage and track real-time activity and system health, businesses can rest-assured that their most important information is always secure. Now, C&W Business is also delivering a comprehensive Disaster Recovery Plan with each instance of DRaaS. These plans help businesses understand the complete benefits of the DRaaS solution beyond the technological advantages. These Disaster Recovery Plans, which are tailored directly to the platform the client utilizes, provide dynamic tools to document recovery plans at the information technology level, so businesses can manage their resources more proactively. Developed using international standards used by the Disaster Recovery International Institute (DRII), BCI, ISO 22301, and ITIL, C&W Business Disaster Recovery Plans spell out specific roles and responsibilities for each party throughout the disaster recovery process. With detailed instructions on what needs to be done before, during, and after a business interruption, businesses utilizing these tools are well-prepared to deal with all types of interruptions to their business mitigating the risk of valuable data loss. Story continues "For years, Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity solutions were viewed as a major drain on companies and their IT organizations. At C&W Business, we're focusing our efforts to change this perception. By including these specialized Disaster Recovery Plans, customized based on the technologies our customers are using, we now can help to protect our customers' networks, secure their valuable data, and assist in developing their best-practices company-wide. We feel that this, coupled with the most comprehensive managed Disaster Recovery solution on the market, will be a real game-changer for our customers," said John Maduri, President of C&W Business. With an impeccable track record and a growing list of highly satisfied users in the Caribbean and Latin American markets, C&W Business' DRaaS solution is the industry leader in managed disaster recovery in the region. To find out more about C&W Business' DRaaS solution and to read the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Disaster Recovery as a Service, visit www.cwcbusiness.com/draas . 1 Gartner, Magic Quadrant for Disaster Recovery as a Service, John P Morency, Christine Tenneson, April 21, 2015 Disclaimer Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in our research publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner's research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. Source: Gartner, "Magic Quadrant for Disaster Recovery as a Service," April 21, 2015 About C&W Communications Cable & Wireless Communications Plc (CWC) is a full service communications and entertainment provider, operating in the Caribbean and Latin America. With annual sales of over US$2.4 billion, it operates both mobile and fixed networks, supported by submarine and terrestrial optical fibre backhaul capacity. Through the acquisition of Columbus International Inc on 31 March 2015, C&W now delivers superior high-speed mobile data, broadband and TV/video services. It has leading market positions in Mobile, Fixed Line, Broadband and TV consumer offers. Through its business division, C&W provides data centre hosting, domestic and international managed network services, and customised IT service solutions, utilising cloud technology to serve business and government customers. The company also operates a state-of-the-art subsea fibre optic cable network that spans more than 48,000 km - the most extensive in the region - as well as 38,000 km of terrestrial fibre providing wholesale and carrier backhaul capacity and a growing suite of wholesale managed services. C&W has more than 7,500 employees serving over 6 million customers (Mobile 3.8m; Fixed Line 1.1m; Video 460k and Broadband 665k) as well as over 125k corporate clients and 225 wholesale customers across 42 countries. The Company's leading brands include: LIME and Flow in the Caribbean; BTC in The Bahamas; Mas Movil in Panama; C&W Business and C&W Networks. C&W is the market leader in most products offered and territories served. It is a major contributor to local communities through its corporate social responsibility programs. Cable & Wireless Communications' shares are quoted on the London Stock Exchange under the ticker CWC. The company is headquartered in London with its operational hub located in Miami, within close proximity to the Caribbean and Latin America. For more information visit: www.cwc.com . \|\| Zenith Receives Approval for Onshore Oil Production in Azerbaijan: This press release is not to be distributed to U.S. newswire services or for dissemination in the United States. Any failure to comply with this restriction may constitute a violation of U.S. securities law. CALGARY, Alberta, Oct. 28, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --Zenith Energy Ltd.("Zenith"or the"Company") (ZEE.V) is pleased to announce that the Company has received a Presidential Decree in Azerbaijan to acquire three producing onshore oil fields. As reported several times in quarterly MD&A filings, the Company has been in negotiations for the last 15 months with our counterparty in Azerbaijan, SOCAR (State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic). Approval by Presidential Decree at the end of negotiations is required for a contract with SOCAR according to the internal process under the Laws of the Republic of Azerbaijan. The Presidential Decree has just been signed by the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan and this event triggers the Company`s obligation for continuing disclosure. Some additional procedural steps will be implemented before the hand-over of the fields to Zenith. The three fields have a compounded acreage of 642.4 square kilometres, and produce ~315 barrels of crude oil per day at present, although they have produced larger quantities previously (Source: SOCAR, State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic). Gas is also produced, but in low quantity, and is used at the site. The fields are named Muradkanly, Yafarli and Zardob. Zenith will be the operator of the concession and will have an 80% interest, while the local state party will retain 20%. The license will have a duration of 25 years. Zenith`s technical personnel have already been allowed access to the fields to inspect the current operation and evaluate the existing infrastructure. Due to the confidential nature of negotiations, economic details of the acquisition will be released at a later date. The contract will also be subject to regulatory approval in Canada. As reported in Zenith`s press release from September 25, 2015, the Company has opened an office in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan. This corporate office is a two and a half hour drive from the operational office presently used to manage the producing fields, which are in the southern region of Azerbaijan. Similar to Zenith`s activity in other countries, the Company will create a wholly-owned subsidiary fully dedicated to this project. This strategy has proven to attract significant local expertise and enabled the Company to effectively integrate new methods, technologies and personnel. Azerbaijani management familiar with the properties will initially be supplemented by new technical and operational personnel from Zenith, however the Company will also begin to actively identify international management and specialists willing to relocate to Azerbaijan as part of its strategy to grow domestic production. An internationally recognized independent reservoir engineering firm is currently preparing a 51-101 National Instrument report to evaluate the remaining reserves and the expected productivity potential of the three fields. Andrea Cattaneo, President and CEO of Zenith Energy comments: "This acquisition represents Zenith`s first investment into a country that management has held in high regard and is the culmination of over 15 months of negotiations and due diligence with local authorities." About Azerbaijan Azerbaijan is located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe. After gaining independence in 1991, Azerbaijan became a member of the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the Islamic Development Bank and the Asian Development Bank. Azerbaijan is one of the birthplaces of the oil industry, with trade dating back as early as the 3rd and 4th centuries. The world`s first paraffin factory was opened in the country in 1823 and the first oil well was drilled in 1847. In the 1870s, the region experienced the first true oil boom with oil drilling beginning on a massive scale highlighted by the Vermishevsky oil gusher on June 13, 1872 which produced an estimated 2600 barrels per day during its first three months. Several cycles of oil development have occurred within the country, and after gaining independence in 1991, Azerbaijan started to attract significant foreign investment. On September 20th, 1994, after three and a half years of arduous negotiations, Azerbaijan and a Consortium of foreign oil companies signed a production sharing contract to develop Azerbaijan`s Caspian oil reserves. This contract was later named the Contract of the Century due to its tremendous importance. Thirteen companies from eight countries participated in the signing of the Contract of the Century. Azerbaijan`s development as a supplier of petroleum to Europe continued to evolve with the national strategy to develop infrastructure including the BTC (Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan) pipeline, officially opened on July 13, 2006. The BTC pipeline transports crude 1,769 km from the offshore Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli oil fields in the Caspian Sea to the Mediterranean Sea. Possessing the capacity to transport more than one million barrels per day, this pipeline is the second longest in the world and pumps oil from the Sangachal Terminal near Baku (Azerbaijan), through Tbilisi (the Georgian Capital) to Ceyhan, a port on the south-eastern Mediterranean coast of Turkey. Azerbaijan is estimated to hold proven reserves of 14.748 billion barrels (2 billion tonnes) of crude oil and condensate and an additional reserve of 2.55 trillion cubic meters (90 Tcf) of natural gas. (Source: SOCAR, State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic). Wholly located within the South Caspian Sea basin, Azerbaijan is one of the region`s most strategic energy export openings to the west, and an increasingly important supplier of natural gas to Europe via the country`s existing and proposed pipeline network. Companies working in Azerbaijan include, among others, these majors: BP, Statoil, SAIPEM, ExxonMobil, ITOCHU, Chevron, Petronas, TOTAL, LUKOIL, TPAO and GDF SUEZ. About Zenith Energy Ltd. Zenith focuses on the acquisition and further development of proven onshore oil and gas fields where production has declined over time, but which are capable of increased productivity following an injection of capital and optimization through its corporate engineering and technical expertise. To maximize shareholder value, Zenith targets acquisitions of production opportunities that offer strong logistics and close proximity to refineries and pipelines. Zenith`s management and directors have extensive international and governmental experience and possess the technical knowledge to execute this strategy. Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Forward-Looking Statements This news release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws. The use of any of the words "expect", "anticipate", "continue", "estimate", "objective", "ongoing", "may", "will", "project", "should", "believe", "plans", "intends" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking information or statements. More particularly and without limitation, this news release contains forward-looking statements and information concerning (i) the Company`s goal of acquiring producing properties in Azerbaijan, (ii) the current and future production potential of the properties, (iii) the revenue associated with production and (iv) the pricing and profitability of oil and gas production. The forward-looking statements and information are based on certain key expectations and assumptions made by Zenith, including the ability to execute its strategy and realize its growth opportunities including its ability to finance and execute its plans. Although Zenith believes that the expectations and assumptions on which such forward-looking statements and information are based are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on the forward looking statements and information because Zenith can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. By its nature, such forward-looking information is subject to various risks and uncertainties, which could cause the actual results and expectations to differ materially from the anticipated results or expectations expressed. These risks and uncertainties, include, but are not limited to, Zenith being unable to finance or realize growth opportunities. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on this forward-looking information, which is given as of the date hereof, and to not use such forward-looking information for anything other than its intended purpose. Zenith undertakes no obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. CONTACT: For further information, please contact:Jose Ramon Lopez PortilloChairman of the BoardAndrea CattaneoCEO & PresidentEmail: [email protected]: (587) 437-1984Telefax: (403) 775-4474 This announcement is distributed by NASDAQ OMX Corporate Solutions on behalf of NASDAQ OMX Corporate Solutions clients.The issuer of this announcement warrants that they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of the information contained therein.Source: Zenith Energy Ltd. via GlobeNewswireHUG#1961969 \|\| New York exchange itBit says won 5 blocks of U.S. bitcoin auction: (Adds details, paragraph on Genesis Trading which did not win this auction, bitcoin price, byline) By Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss NEW YORK, Nov 9 (Reuters) - New York-based bitcoin exchange itBit said on Monday it won five blocks of the digital currency at last week's auction conducted by the U.S. Marshals Service. The bid by itBit was organized on behalf of a syndicate of the exchange's and over-the-counter trading clients, said Bobby Cho, director of trading at itBit, in an email to Reuters. The five blocks of the virtual currency may have added up to at least 10,000 bitcoins. Cho declined to make further comments. Last week's auction included 21 blocks of 2,000 bitcoins and one block of over 2,341. The U.S. government on Thursday held its final auction of bitcoins seized during the prosecution of the creator of Silk Road, an online black market where the virtual currency could be used to buy illegal drugs and other goods. It auctioned 44,341 bitcoins last week. When contacted for comment, the U.S. Marshals Service said it was not anticipating further announcements on Monday. itBit also won part of the U.S. government's auction in March, nabbing 3,000 of the 50,000 bitcoins auctioned. In May, itBit became the first virtual currency company to receive a charter to operate as a trust company in the state of New York. Meanwhile, Genesis Global Trading, a unit of Digital Currency Group founded by prominent bitcoin investor Barry Silbert, was informed by the U.S. Marshals Service that the company did not win any of the blocks up for auction, the company's chief executive officer, Brendan O'Connor, said in an email to Reuters on Monday. In late trading on Monday, bitcoin was trading up 1.8 percent on the day at $379.27 on the BitStamp platform. That put the value of the 44,341 bitcoins auctioned at about $16.8 million. Bitcoins are used as a vehicle for moving money around the world quickly and anonymously via the Web without the need for third-party verification. Last Thursday's auction drew just 11 registered bidders and 30 bids, a decline from the March sale, which attracted 34 bids from 14 registered bidders. (Reporting by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss; Additional reporting by Nate Raymond; Editing by Diane Craft and Jonathan Oatis) \|\| Your first trade for Tuesday: The "Fast Money" traders delivered their final trades of the day. Pete Najarian was a buyer of Pfizer(PFE). Brian Kelly was a buyer of Garmin(GRMN). Karen Finerman was a buyer of Dorian LPG(LPG). Guy Adami was a buyer of Nuance(NUAN). Trader disclosure: On November 16, 2015, the following stocks and commodities mentioned or intended to be mentioned on CNBC's "Fast Money" were owned by the "Fast Money" traders: Pete Najarian is long AAPL, AMAT, BAC, BMY, BP, CSX, DIS, DISCA, DKS, FOXA, GE, KKR, KO, MRK, PEP, PFE, PHM he is long calls AAPL, ABX, BAC, BEE, DAL, DOW, EMR, FB, FIT, JOY, LUK, MRK, MSFT, PBR, PFE, POT, SLV, TJX, UA, UAL, VZ, WYNN, XLF, ZIOP He is long puts EWW, FCX, MRO. Brian Kelly is long BBRY, GLD, Bitcoin, Hong Kong Dollar, US Dollar; he is short Yuan, British Pound, Candaian Dollar, Euro, Yen, EEM, EWC, EWH, EWU, EWG, SPY. Karen Finerman is long BAC, C, FL, GOOG, GOOGL, JPM, KORS, KORS call spreads, M, SEDG, URI, she is short SPY, Her firm is long ANTM, AAPL, BAC, C, DIS, DIS puts, FL, GOOG, GOOGL, GPS, JPM, KORS, KORS call spreads, MA, URI, URI long puts, WFM, her firm is short IWM, SPY, MDY, USO, XRT, Karen Finerman is on the board of GrafTech International. Guy Adami is long CELG, EXAS, INTC, Guy Adami's wife, Linda Snow, works at Merck. More From CNBC • Top News and Analysis • Latest News Video • Personal Finance \|\| YOUR MONEY-Giving to charity gears up after a crisis: By Beth Pinsker NEW YORK, Nov 30 (Reuters) - During the first two weeks after an earthquake hit Nepal in April, Fidelity Charitable sent out 4,400 grants totaling almost $5.3 million from donors using special charitable accounts called donor-advised funds at the Boston-based nonprofit associated with Fidelity Investments. Now a few months later, the total is up to 6,000 grants totaling $7.8 million. Within hours of something bad happening around the globe - whether its a hurricane or a humanitarian crisis like the flow of refugees from Syria - people start calling places like Fidelity Charitable, to ask where their donations would be most useful. In the philanthropic circles, motivating folks to give can be a costly and fickle marketing exercise. Donor-advised funds, which operate like mini-foundations, help to bridge the gap. "What we know about individuals, when it comes to disasters, is that they are highly influenced by media coverage and by the type of disaster," said Bob Ottenhoff, president and chief executive officer of the Center for Disaster Philanthropy, a nonprofit based in Washington. "That is why so much money flows immediately after there is a certain type of disaster, and it dries up after a couple of days." Individuals gave an estimated 72 percent of the $358.38 billion donated to charity in 2014, according to Giving USA, with the rest coming from foundations and corporations. Donor-advised funds make up a very small but growing part of that individual pie, granting $12.5 billion in 2014, up from $9.7 billion in 2013, according to the National Philanthropic Trust, which operates a donor-advised fund. And overall assets held in those accounts rose to $70 billion from $58 billion. At Fidelity Charitable, one of the largest providers, you will need $5,000 to open a donor-advised fund. Most of those who open accounts like these have planned giving on their minds - to their alma maters, religious organizations, health concerns or local communities. But account holders at Schwab Charitable, for instance, leave about 30 percent of their assets free to fund causes that come along. Story continues "It's hard to know how many are pulling a credit card out and donating directly rather than using their donor-advised funds," said Kim Laughton, president of Schwab Charitable . "But I think they understand they can do it quickly through the fund. They can even grant from a cellphone, which is really nice." The advantages of giving through a donor-advised fund are that the money can be set aside and noted on tax returns, but granted later. Also, the fund groups take care of much of the paperwork involved in a donation - especially helpful for non-cash gifts like stocks or even Bitcoin, at some organizations. Donors should note, however, that brokerage management fees do apply to the accounts, as in regular investment accounts. While Fidelity and Schwab send out email blasts and newsletter updates to their donor bases when a major disaster occurs, they worry about creating disaster-giving fatigue. This has made some other donor-advised funds very cautious about pushing out notices. "We wait for donors to come to us, rather than becoming an annoying dinging to them," said Eileen Heisman, president and CEO of the National Philanthropic Trust. All the funds are especially cautious about looking beyond the immediate emotional need to help when they select charities to highlight. That is what Fidelity tried to steer with its Nepal effort, said Elaine Martyn, vice president of the private donor group at Fidelity Charitable. While the website highlighted just a few charities to start, by the time those 6,000 grants were given out, they went to hundreds of different organizations like Doctors Without Borders, Save the Children and smaller ones that focused on eye health and animal welfare, many of which will be providing long-term support for rebuilding. "Lot of donors want to give to the first responders, then they forget about it. There's a whole other set of organizations that are good at hanging in there," added Heisman. Ottenhoff suggests breaking up gifts into two parts, one for immediate need and one for long-term building. "It should be a time to take a moment of reflection - what do you want to accomplish? What organization can do it?" he said. (Editing by Lauren Young and Jonathan Oatis) \|\| The Best Gift Cards for the Geeks on Your List: (Photo: Thinkstock.com) Gift cards might be the last refuge of scoundrels who cant be bothered to put any thought into the whole buying-and-wrapping process. But they can also be handy ways to get something for people whose interests you just dont understand. So if your gift list includes someone whos obsessed with technology of one sort or another, and you have no idea what shes talking about half the time, a gift card could be the perfect solution. But not just any card: You want one thats just right for your geeky giftee. Here are some suggestions. The generalists Of course, pretty much every big-name tech brand that sells anything online including Apple , Google , Microsoft sells gift cards of its own these days. Note that Apple cards occasionally go on sale at other retailers, allowing you to buy a $100 card for, say, $80. Its worth keeping an eye out for such bargains, as they come and go quickly. (Photo: Apple.com) If your recipient isnt so brand-specific, most of the major online retailers who sell electronics offer gift cards, too: Amazon ; Best Buy ; Walmart . Tech stores Then there are the technology specialists, retailers such as Crutchfield , Newegg , TigerDirect , who sell technology products and almost nothing else. One personal favorite in this bunch: B&H Photo , which began life as (yes) a camera store in Manhattan but has morphed into a smorgasbord of digital goodies of almost every kind, from computers and their accessories to tablets, smartphones, TVs, media players, and wearables, as well as a truly remarkable range of photo and video hardware. (Photo: B&H Photo) True specialists Then there are the true specialists: sites that focus on one particular type of technology or another. The Dynamism store, for example, specializes in 3D technology (in addition to notebooks and some other general tech stuff). Thinkgeek specializes in geek culture: Shopping for someone obsessed with Star Wars , Star Trek , Doctor Who , Minecraft, Marvel Comics, Game of Thrones , or pretty much any other nerdy franchise? This is your store. Story continues (Image: Thinkgeek.com) For gamers, consider a XBox Gift Card or a Playstation Store Cash Card . Have someone on your list who you dont want to see for a while? Get a Minecraft gift card : You buy a physical card at a retailer (including Target, Best Buy, even 7-11), then redeem it online for a downloadable copy of the Minecraft game. Your recipient wont resurface for months . Finally, two honorable mentions: Skype has gift cards , which you can give to loved ones who cant seem to stay in touch. And Gyft offers perhaps the geekiest offer of all: The mobile gift-card app works with Bitcoin . Dan Miller is an editor at Yahoo. He hardly ever gives anyone a gift card. \|\| Why the price of bitcoin is skyrocketing again: The price of Bitcoin, the world's most popular virtual, digital currency, is on the rise again. After trading in a range of $200 to $250 for most of the year, the price of one Bitcoin shot up to $500 this week, although it has since fallen back to $392 on Thursday. A great surge to $1,000 at the end of 2013 ended in disaster for investors as the currency lost three-quarters of its value in ensuing months. But what's behind the latest rally and will it stick? Here are three possible explanations: Perhaps questionable Chinese interest As often happens with bitcoin price surges, a lot of the trading is coming out of China. And there is a social financial network called MMM Global growing massively in China that requires users to buy bitcoin and share it around with other members. The Financial Times has said MMM has elements typical of pyramid schemes . The site was founded by a former Russian legislator who was jailed for fraud over a pyramid scheme he operated in the 1990s. China has also tightened capital controls recently , making it harder for its citizens to send money abroad. Some bitcoin buying may be related to efforts to get around the crackdown. Growing legitimate business interest At the Money 20/20 conference last week, many companies announced new bitcoin-based services . The Nasdaq ( NDAQ ), for example, will be recording transactions in private stocks using bitcoin's public ledger, known as the blockchain. And Mastercard ( MA ) joined the long list of establishment institutions investing in bitcoin startups. And, two weeks ago, the European Union's top court agreed that virtual currencies like bitcoin can be traded like established currencies without triggering taxes applied to sales of goods and services. Past rallies have been linked with speculative bets that these kinds of deals and rulings would popularize the cryptocurrency and lead to greater demand which would push up the price. Jamie Dimon The always opinionated CEO of JPMorgan Chase ( JPM ) says bitcoin has no future -- governments will shut it down, he said at Fortune's Global Forum on Wednesday. “Virtual currency, where it’s called a bitcoin vs. a U.S. dollar, that’s going to be stopped,” Dimon said. Coming from the the guy who bought Bear Stearns and WaMu and missed those billions of dollars of crazy trades by the London Whale, Dimon's remarks may be attracting contrarians to bet against the big bank CEO. Probably not many, but with bitcoin, you never know. \|\| Match and Square trade, Pepsi invades Empire, and Europeans prepare to fight ISIS: Two more unicorns leave the stable today. Both Square ( SQ ) and Match Group ( MTCH ) priced a bit lower than expected but hit the tickers this morning, trading solidly higher. Other than that, it's a relatively quiet day in the markets ( ^DJI , ^GSPC , ^IXIC ) . Get the Latest Market Data and News with the Yahoo Finance App Here are some of the other stories Yahoo Finance is keeping an eye on today. Are Europeans prepared to battle ISIS? ISIS recently claimed responsibility for three major terrorist attacks, including those in Paris last week. As the threat of ISIS stretches well beyond Iraq and Syria, it's not clear if European powers will have the military strength to fight ISIS abroad. Yahoo's Rick Newman gives a special report. Pepsi invades Empire Taking product placement to a whole new level, Pepsi ( PEP ) just struck a deal with Fox to make the beverage giant an integral part of three episodes of the hit show Empire. Is this part of a larger trend in an ad-averse world? Frequent flyer miles for Wi-Fi Move over Bitcoins, frequent flyer miles might just be the new currency du jour. United ( UAL ) will soon let you spend your miles on Wi-Fi access on its flights. The move is part of an image campaign that's focusing on improving travelers' experiences instead of trying to shake a few more dollars out of flyers. \|\| Why the price of bitcoin is skyrocketing again: The price of Bitcoin, the world's most popular virtual, digital currency, is on the rise again. After trading in a range of $200 to $250 for most of the year, the price of one Bitcoin shot up to $500 this week, although it hassince fallen back to $392on Thursday. A great surge to $1,000 at the end of 2013ended in disaster for investorsas the currency lost three-quarters of its value in ensuing months. But what's behind the latest rally and will it stick? Here are three possible explanations:Perhaps questionable Chinese interest As often happens with bitcoin price surges, a lot of the trading is coming out of China. And there is a social financial network called MMM Global growing massively in China that requires users to buy bitcoin and share it around with other members. The Financial Timeshas said MMM has elements typical of pyramid schemes. The site was founded by a former Russian legislator who was jailed for fraud over a pyramid scheme he operated in the 1990s. China has alsotightened capital controls recently, making it harder for its citizens to send money abroad. Some bitcoin buying may be related to efforts to get around the crackdown.Growing legitimate business interest At the Money 20/20 conference last week,many companies announced new bitcoin-based services. The Nasdaq (NDAQ), for example, will be recording transactions in private stocks using bitcoin's public ledger, known as the blockchain. And Mastercard (MA) joined the long list of establishment institutions investing in bitcoin startups. And, two weeks ago, the European Union's top court agreed that virtual currencies like bitcoincan be traded like established currencieswithout triggering taxes applied to sales of goods and services. Past rallies have been linked with speculative bets that these kinds of deals and rulings would popularize the cryptocurrency and lead to greater demand which would push up the price.Jamie Dimon The always opinionated CEO of JPMorgan Chase (JPM) says bitcoin has no future -- governments will shut it down,he said at Fortune's Global Forumon Wednesday. “Virtual currency, where it’s called a bitcoin vs. a U.S. dollar, that’s going to be stopped,” Dimon said. Coming from the the guy who boughtBear StearnsandWaMuand missed those billions of dollars of crazy trades by the London Whale, Dimon's remarks may be attracting contrarians to bet against the big bank CEO. Probably not many, but with bitcoin, you never know. [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] 1 #bitcoin = $5300.00 MXN \| $321.39 USD #BitAPeso 1 USD = 16.49MXN http://www.bitapeso.com \|\| 1 #bitcoin 889 TL, 298.56 $, 276.295 €, GBP, 18800.00 RUR, 36500 ¥, CNH, 392.40 CAD #btc \|\| LIVE: Profit = $693.01 (0.45 %). BUY B402.91 @ $380.00 (#BTCe). SELL @ $382.38 (#Bitfinex) #bitcoin #btc - http://www.projectcoin.org \|\| #RDD / #BTC on the exchanges: Cryptsy: 0.00000004 Bittrex: 0.00000004 Average $1.6E-5 per #reddcoin 14:00:15 \|\| In the last 10 mins, there were arb opps spanning 10 exchange pair(s), yielding profits ranging between $0.00 and $27.22 #bitcoin #btc \|\| In the last 10 mins, there were arb opps spanning 18 exchange pair(s), yielding profits ranging between $0.00 and $908.62 #bitcoin #btc \|\| Current price: 160.09£ $BTCGBP $btc #bitcoin 2015-10-11 12:00:04 BST \|\| In the last 10 mins, there were arb opps spanning 13 exchange pair(s), yielding profits ranging between $0.00 and $116.86 #bitcoin #btc \|\| My robot has 5,00 hp left! I've earned a total of 4,388,116 free satoshis from http://www.robotcoingame.com/?id=17 #robotcoingame #Bitcoin #FreeBitcoin \|\| In the last 10 mins, there were arb opps spanning 10 exchange pair(s), yielding profits ranging between $0.00 and $388.84 #bitcoin #btc	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 415.56, 417.56, 415.48, 451.94, 435.00, 433.76, 444.18, 465.32, 454.93, 456.08
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2021-12-29] BTC Price: 46444.71, BTC RSI: 37.99 Gold Price: 1805.10, Gold RSI: 53.41 Oil Price: 76.56, Oil RSI: 58.51 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Radio Caca's ($RACA) & USM Metaverse Round 1 Distribution NFT Release: $33,000,000 Worth of Mystery Boxes NFT Sold Out in Just Two Hours: Singapore, Singapore--(Newsfile Corp. - November 16, 2021) - Since the advent of Non-fungible tokens (NFTs), many projects have boasted of selling out NFT collectibles. However, Radio Caca has been in the Binance NFT market and that has set it apart and made it very popular within the NFT marketplace. In October, Radio Caca maintained a whopping 40% of the total transaction volume that was executed on the Binance NFT marketplace. This is an indication that Radio Caca has a massive influence on the Binance NFT market and its blockchain protocol. On November 7,Radio Cacacommenced another Mystery Boxes NFT distribution. The most interesting thing is that it sold out NFTs worth over $33 million in a matter of two hours. It is another amazing achievement by Radio Caca considering its previous release accounted for more than 85% of Binance NFT Marketplaces' volume on the day of the release. Overview of Radio Caca Mystery Boxes The Radio Cacamystery boxescontain assets like Radio Caca's mini-game Metamon characters including N/R/SR rarity level Metamon and USM Land Parcels NFTs. The most sought-after NFT in Radio Caca's community is MPB NFT. The November 7 release had 10 MPB in it. Mystery Box Revenue Distribution Plan According to Radio Caca's report, 50% of the revenue from the mystery box distribution will go into funding tech development. To promote the Radio Caca NFTs, 40% of the revenue will go into marketing activities like the signing of celebrities and Metaverse movie production. The remaining 10% will go to liquidity pools. Specifically, while 5% is used to buy back RACA tokens from the public market, the remaining 5% will be swapped for liquid assets such as ETH or USDT. Once all that has been done, they will add the pair (RACA/ETH in this case) into the liquidity pool on Uniswap. The liquidity pool will be locked for a period of 100 years. The implication is that the liquidity pool tokens will be locked inside the protocol forever. According to their report, they are more interested in building a larger and highly attractive liquidity pool in the market. This will ensure that whenever BTC is experiencing a bear market, the RACA token will have an independent performance. Radio Caca Strategy For Upcoming Distributions Radio Cacaplans to sell four more rounds that will accept either USDT or ETH as payment options in 2022. All of the other rounds (there will be a total of 30 rounds) and for the rest of 2021, the RACA token will be the only acceptable payment token. RACA profit worth over $33 million from the November 7 Round 1 distribution is enough to cover all expenses of the development team for the next 3 years. Assuming the sales for the upcoming four release rounds in 2022 are similar to round one, the net profit generated will be around $240 million. If this estimation holds, they plan to use it to build their liquidity pool positions and continue further investing in The Universal Metaverse (USM) development. In a market as dynamic and volatile as the crypto market, Radio Caca does not rely on hopes and wishes. All scenarios are to be accounted for. Therefore, Radio Raca has a viable "plan B" with regards to building its liquidity position. What is Radio Caca? Radio Caca is one of the GameFi/Metaverse industry leaders, and it has continued to build on its success since it was launched earlier this year. It has been involved in some of the hottest projects within the NFT and Metaverse industry. The platform has executed consecutive NFT sellouts, has an exclusive right to Maye Musk non-fungible tokens, and offers a thrilling Play-to-Earn Metamon game experience. It has also continued to dominate the secondary NFT markets of Binance's ecosystem. Radio Caca team also plans to cross-chain RACA token and its NFTs to Solana and OEC soon. Their investment in the Universal Metaverse (USM) will take things to even higher levels. All of these factors put together make this project an industry leader. It's certain that Radio Caca is going to be massive in the GameFi and Metaverse space. For more information about Radio CaCa, visit their social media handles and other official pages likeTwitter,Medium, andTelegram. Radio Caca Twitter:https://twitter.com/RadioCacaNFTTelegram:https://t.me/RadioCacaWebsite:https://www.radiocaca.com/homeMedium:https://radiocaca.medium.com/ Metaverse Discordhttp://discord.gg/qzM796FrDd Media ContactContact Name: Mike RadioContact Email:[email protected] Name: RADIO CACA FOUNDATION LTD.Address: 3 Fraser Street, #05-25, Duo Tower, Singapore, 189352Phone: 1-650-495-8149Website:www.radiocaca.com To view the source version of this press release, please visithttps://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/103760 \|\| The US Justice Department is selling $56 million worth of crypto seized in massive bitcoin investment fraud case: Bitcoin. George Frey/Getty Images/AFP/File The US Justice Department is selling $56 million worth of cryptocurrency seized from BitConnect's top promoter. The proceeds from the sale will be put toward paying back victims of the BitConnect scam. In 2017, BitConnect's founder and its promoters swindled investors out of $2 billion. Victims of the biggest heist in the cryptocurrency world may soon get some retribution. That's because the US Justice Department is selling $56 million worth of cryptocurrency it seized as part of its case against BitConnect, according to a Tuesday press release . The founder of BitConnect, a scam cryptocurrency, and its promoters swindled thousands of people out of $2 billion worth of bitcoin in 2017. The scheme is the largest cryptocurrency fraud ever criminally charged, the Justice Department said in its statement. The proceeds from the sale will be used to help pay back victims of the scam. The crypto to be sold was seized from BitConnect's top promoter, 44-year-old Glenn Arcaro, who pleaded guilty in federal criminal court for his role in the case. Insider previously reported that he and BitConnect founder Satish Kumbhani told investors the coin could get monthly returns as high as 40%. In September, the US Securities and Exchange Commission sued Kumbhani for raising $2 billion from investors in an offering not properly registered with regulators. In May, the SEC sued five BitConnect promoters who created video testimonials on YouTube and received commissions from it. Arcaro, for his part, received $24 million in referral comissions, Insider said previously. Experts have been advising investors to remain vigilant in the crypto world. As the popularity of cryptocurrencies rises, so does the number of scams. Insider reported in July one 77-year-old woman lost more than $12,000 in a bitcoin scam. She's one of many who has been swindled out of money. More recently, the makers of the Squid Game coin named after the hit Netflix show made millions after investors caused the meme coin price to skyrocket. The scammers reaped the rewards before the crypto project was taken offline. Read the original article on Business Insider \|\| Syscoin's Smart Contract Chain Is Live: The best of Bitcoin & Ethereum is now together in one place. Eindhoven, Netherlands--(Newsfile Corp. - December 6, 2021) - Phase One of the NEVM launch is complete! The Bitcoin-secured Layer 1 for EVM smart contracts reached mainnet on block 1,317,500, December 6th, 2021. With this upgrade to the Syscoin network, users can simultaneously enjoy all the benefits of Bitcoin's POW security and the flexibility of smart contracts on a modular chain built to remain indefinitely decentralized, scalable, and affordable. Phase One has effectively laid the world's most secure foundation for supporting all the best EVM Layer 2 advancements. Syscoin To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/8372/106813_4a3f975024842991_001full.jpg Syscoin's unique approach to infrastructure has addressed the greatest criticisms aimed at Bitcoin and Ethereum alike. Thanks to merge-mining, POW security is effectively a green energy solution, which recycles resources already being spent on Bitcoin's gold standard security. Thanks to the company's Solidity and full EVM-compatibility, they have set the stage for all EVM-based projects, including Ethereum itself, to be able to take advantage of Syscoin NEVM's scalability and low fees. In this manner, they have effectively leapfrogged the promises being offered by Ethereum 2.0 and solved the trilemma facing blockchains. This is significant because it means projects running on Ethereum can migrate to the Syscoin Platform and immediately save nearly 100% of their transaction fees, and in turn those savings can be passed on to their user bases. "Syscoin will utilize the best features of the top two cryptocurrencies, namely Bitcoin and Ethereum. Hence, Syscoin will provide the security offered by Bitcoin while maintaining the programmability of Ethereum. Scalable applications will be mounted on this system via ZKPs which will introduce our proposed decentralized cost model on Ethereum gas fees," said Jagdeep Sidhu, Syscoin's Lead Core Developer. As mentioned, the Syscoin NEVM going operational is only Phase One of their grand strategy to offer the world's first mature blockchain capable of running the metaverse, smart cities, and hosting both the needs of public and private institutions. Phase Two brings ZK-Rollups and their incredible boost to speeds of up to 210k TPS in Q1 of 2022, followed by Phase Three in Q3 and the implementation our proprietary Validium technology, which is projected to achieve 4 million TPS, guaranteeing the long term viability of the Syscoin Platform. Since 2014, Syscoin has been continuously evolving in scope to anticipate and address the greatest challenges facing blockchain technology. The company's NEVM is the culmination of these years of effort and a novel solution they are incredibly proud to make a reality. Many new partners have already started onboarding, with the majority looking towards leveraging ZK-Rollups on Syscoin NEVM. Thus far, these NEVM partners include Luxy : a powerful and user-friendly NFT marketplace, Gold Standard DAO : a decentralized reserve currency backed by gold, Pegasys : the first DEX & AMM built on Syscoin's NEVM, Mute : a DeFi suite dedicated to ZK-Rollup scalability, Equalizer : the world's first dedicated DeFi flash loans platform, Orai : the world's first AI Oracle blockchain, and many more will join the Syscoin ecosystem. More information is available at Syscoin.org . About Syscoin: Story continues Syscoin is a decentralized and open-source project founded in 2014 whose NEVM upgrade combines the best of Bitcoin and Ethereum in a single coordinated platform. Bitcoin's proven security and Ethereum's Turing-complete programmability elevated to true L2 scalability via ZK-Rollups taking place on a singular platform, Syscoin will usher in the next step in the evolution of blockchain technology. Website \| Discord \| News \| Twitter \| Github Media Contact Michiel Email: [email protected] PR: Cryptoshib.com Email: [email protected] To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/106813 View comments \|\| U.S. SEC delays decision on Grayscale's spot bitcoin ETF: (Reuters) - The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has delayed its decision on a spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) proposal from Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, the world's largest digital currency manager. In a notice dated Wednesday, the markets regulator said it now expects to review Grayscale's proposal by Feb. 6, later than the original December deadline. In October, Grayscale, which has over $45 billion of cryptocurrency assets under management, had said it plans to convert its Grayscale Bitcoin Trust into a spot bitcoin ETF. The first U.S. bitcoin futures-based exchange-traded fund also began trading that month, taking bitcoin's price to a six-month high. However, the cryptocurrency has since eased and it is currently trading below $50,000. (Reporting by Niket Nishant in Bengaluru; Editing by Ramakrishnan M.) \|\| Hong Kong Siblings Face Jail Time for Laundering Money Through Different Platforms: Hong Kong Policearrested two siblings on the claims of money laundering. The two residents were accused of using multiple methods, including crypto platforms, for washing over HK $380 million ($ 48.7 million). The Hong Kong police have arrested two residents for laundering money amounting to $48.7 million. The two are siblings, and they used their bank accounts and a crypto exchange platform to wash the cash. The police force searched the residency of the siblings- a sister and a brother to ascertain their claims. The two are said to have opened bank accounts with various financial organizations in the city. They also opened accounts on an undisclosedcrypto exchange platformto launder the money whose source is yet to be identified. The defendants were later released on bail. The customs officials did not rule out more arrests regarding the money laundering case. According to Chinese law, the two are facing a maximum fine of 5 million Hong Kong dollars or $641,000. The law also states that the penalty is accompanied by 14 years of jail time and confiscation of the laundering proceeds. It’s not the first time Hong Kong customs officials have arrested people for money laundering. In July 2021, the officials arrested four people for laundering about $113 million using crypto platforms. The group had washed the money for 15 months using shell companies and 40 differentUSDTwallets. As the year approaches its final days, the cases of illegal crypto uses, scams, and cyberattacks are increasing exponentially. Since November, many people have been arrested for the same while several crypto platforms have reported cyber attacks. The regulators are also working around the clock to formulate frameworks to govern these assets and reduce such abuses. This month alone, crypto platforms like Bitmart, Badger DAO, Mono X and AscendEx have lost millions of dollars to hackers. Bitmart lost Altcoins worth over $190 million and made an effort to refund its users using its reserve unit. Mono X also lost tokens worth about $31 million, while BadgerDAO lost about $51 million in a similar attack. Ascend Ex is also reported to have lost $80 million by exploiting their crypto wallets. The authorities have tried to warn investors about the increasing scam rates all year long. According to reports,crypto scamsare up by over 80% in 2021 alone. A total of$7.7 billionwas lost to scammers and hackers throughout the year. As a result, multiple governments are currently discussing creating protective regulations for investors. These regulations will cover investors’ rights and abolish bad players like money launderers, scammers and hackers from the crypto sphere. Thisarticlewas originally posted on FX Empire • Natural Gas Price Forecast – Natural Gas Markets Continue to Consolidate Into the New Year • Thailand’s Crypto Mining Industry is Growing Thanks to China’s Ban • Bitcoin and Ether Dive, SOL Reaches Crucial Support • Why Alibaba Stock Is Under Pressure Today • South Korea Wants Google And Apple To Block Crypto Play-To-Earn Games • Gold Price Forecast – Gold Markets Get Crushed \|\| India seeks to block most cryptocurrencies in new bill, government says: MUMBAI (Reuters) -India is looking to bar most private cryptocurrencies when it introduces a new bill to regulate virtual currencies in the winter session of Parliament, the government said late on Tuesday. The government will allow only certain cryptocurrencies to promote the underlying technology and its uses, according to a legislative agenda for the winter session that is set to start later this month. Through the Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill, 2021, India is also looking to make a framework for the official digital currency that will be issued by the Reserve Bank of India. The central bank has voiced "serious concerns" about private cryptocurrencies and is set to launch its own digital currency by December. Bitcoin, the world's biggest cryptocurrency, is hovering around $60,000, and its price has more than doubled since the start of this year, attracting hordes of local investors. No official data is available but industry estimates suggest there are 15 million to 20 million crypto investors in India, with total crypto holdings of around 400 billion rupees ($5.39 billion). Earlier this year, India's government considered criminalising the possession, issuance, mining, trading and transference of crypto assets, but a bill was not introduced. Since then, the government has changed its stance slightly and is now looking to discourage trading in cryptocurrencies by imposing hefty capital gains and other taxes, two sources told Reuters this month. But a senior government official told Reuters that the plan is to ban private crypto assets ultimately while paving the way for a new Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a meeting to discuss the future of cryptocurrencies amid concerns that unregulated crypto markets could become avenues for money laundering and terror financing, sources told Reuters separately. (Reporting by Aftab Ahmed and Nupur Anand; Editing by Peter Graff and Paul Simao) \|\| ASX200: Futures Point Northwards. Reaction to U.S Data and the FOMC Minutes to Set the Tone: Private New Capital Expenditure (QoQ) (Q3) Retail Sales (MoM) (Oct) It was back into the red for the ASX200 on Wednesday. Partially reversing a 0.78% gain from Tuesday, the ASX200 slipped by 0.15% to end the day at 7,399.44. A mixed session for the big-4 banks and commodity stocks weighed following a pickup in 10-year U.S Treasury yields on Tuesday. Following FED Chair Powell’s reappointment, the markets have shifted on FED monetary policy, pushing the 10-year higher. Eurozone and U.S private sector PMIs from Tuesday also continued to point to supply chain disruption and yet higher cost pressures. In the 3rdquarter, construction work down slipped by 0.3% quarter-on-quarter, following a 0.8% increase in the quarter prior. Economists had forecast a 3.1% slide. The numbers had a muted impact on the day, however. It was a mixed day for the banks.ANZandCBArose by 0.88% and by 0.37% respectively.Westpac andNABfell by 0.05% and by 0.07% respectively, however, withMacquarie Groupsliding 1.48%. Commodity stocks also had a mixed session.Newcrest Miningfell by 1.16%, withRio Tintoending the day down by 0.06%.Fortescue Metals Group LtdandBHP Groupsaw gains of 1.27% and 0.50% respectively, however. Elsewhere, it was another mixed session. The CSI300 and the Hang Seng Index rose by 0.07% and by 0.14% respectively, while the Nikkei slid by 1.58%. It’s another relatively quiet day ahead on the Aussieeconomic calendar. Private new CAPEX figures for the 3rdquarter will be in focus, with economists forecasting a 2% fall. From overnight, however, market reaction to U.S economic data and the FOMC meeting minutes will set the tone. Gains for the NASDAQ and the S&P500, in response to the FOMC meeting minutes, should deliver some early support. In the futures markets, at the time of writing, the ASX200 was up by 7 points. For a look at all of today’s economic events, check out oureconomic calendar. Thisarticlewas originally posted on FX Empire • Gold Price Prediction – Prices Consolidate Recent Losses • Gold Price Futures (GC) Technical Analysis – Market Rebounds after Test of Key 50% Level at $1781.00 • Samsung to Spend $17 Billion on a New Chip Plant in Texas • Crude Oil Price Update – Needs to Clear $79.33 to Confirm Shift in Momentum to Up • Bitcoin Being Squeezed Within Bearish Flag, Break Lower to 53,000 Area on the Cards • Tron and Cardano Down by More Than 5% After eToro Delisting \|\| La caída de bitcoin podría estabilizarse en el soporte de $60.000: Bitcoin (BTC) cayó por debajo de los $65.000 mientras los compradores continúan tomando algunas ganancias. La criptomoneda cotizaba en torno a los $64.000 al cierre de esta edición y registró una caída de 2% en las últimas 24 horas. El soporte más bajo se ubica en torno a los $60.000, lo que podría estabilizar el actual retroceso. El índice de fuerza relativa ( RSI ) en el gráfico de cuatro horas está cerca de los niveles de sobreventa, similar al del 27 de octubre, el cual antecedió a una suba de casi 10% en el precio de bitcoin. Esta vez, sin embargo, los compradores podrían enfrentarse a una resistencia en torno a los $65.000, dada la pérdida de impulso alcista de esta semana. Los indicadores sugieren que podría persistir un periodo de consolidación después de que ayer surgieran señales de agotamiento alcista en los gráficos. Además, una divergencia negativa en el RSI diario sugiere una subida limitada a corto plazo. El gráfico semanal muestra una mejora del impulso de los precios, aunque es necesario que se confirme una ruptura decisiva por encima de los $69.000 antes de proyectar objetivos alcistas. \|\| Bitcoin Rises Toward $50K; Resistance Seen Around $52K: Bitcoin (BTC) held support around $46,000 and is attempting to reverse a short-term downtrend. Still, upside appears to be limited toward the $52,000 resistance level, which is roughly midway through the 20% sell-off that occurred earlier this month. BTC is up about 4% over the past 24 hours and down bout 2% over the past week. The relative strength index (RSI) on the daily chart is the most oversold since May 20, which preceded a strong price recovery. Momentum is also stabilizing after several weeks of low trading volume. On the weekly chart, price conditions are less favorable as the uptrend appears to be slowing. For now, this suggests short-term buyers could struggle beyond $50,000-$55,000. \|\| Bitcoin (BTC) & Ethereum (ETH) Reach All-Time Highs Once More Multi Coin Analysis: BeInCrypto BeInCrypto takes a look at seven altcoins, including Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) which have just reached new all-time highs. This story was seen first on BeInCrypto Join our Telegram Group and get trading signals, a free trading course and more stories like this on BeInCrypto [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] None available.	Trend: down \|\| Prices: 47178.12, 46306.45, 47686.81, 47345.22, 46458.12, 45897.57, 43569.00, 43160.93, 41557.90, 41733.94
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2017-12-29] BTC Price: 14656.20, BTC RSI: 49.55 Gold Price: 1306.30, Gold RSI: 69.55 Oil Price: 60.42, Oil RSI: 68.43 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] UK Hedge Fund Man Group Mulls Bitcoin Futures Offering: The CEO of the Man Group, a major U.K.-based hedge fund, is reportedly eyeing an entry into the cryptocurrency space in light of a pending derivatives product launch by CME Group. According toReuters, CEO Luke Ellis indicated that if the CME proceeds with its plans to list a bitcoin futures contract – possiblyas early as next month– the hedge fund that claims more than $100 billion in assets under management could make cryptocurrency as part of its "investment universe." The chief executive was quoted as saying: "It's not part of our investment universe today – it could be. If there is a CME future on bitcoin, it would be." In the event that the Man Group makes the proverbial leap to investing in cryptocurrencies – Ellis didn't offer any clues beyond the hint related to CME – it would bethe latest firmof its kind of enter the market. His remarks come on the heels of CMEannouncing that it would launch its bitcoin productby the end of 2017. At the time it announced the product, the company was still waiting on approval from regulators. CME Group CEO Terry Duffy then made waves earlier this week when he said that the futures contract could launch as soon asmid-December. Disclosure:CME Group is an investor in Digital Currency Group, CoinDesk's parent company. Markets graph imagevia Shutterstock \|\| FOREX-Dollar struggles on concerns of U.S. tax reform's limited impact: * House-Senate Republicans put finishing touches on tax bill * Dollar awaits passage of tax bill for more direction * Bitcoin hits fresh record high over weekend (Adds comment, updates prices) By Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss NEW YORK, Dec 18 (Reuters) - The dollar fell against a basket of major currencies on Monday, as concerns grew over whether a proposed U.S. tax overhaul program would have a major impact on economic growth, after the bill moved another step closer to passage over the weekend. The U.S. currency had edged higher after Republicans on the House-Senate negotiating committee on Friday put the finishing touches on a sweeping tax overhaul that involves large cuts in levies on corporations. But it slid on Monday on uncertainty that the bill would indeed be pushed through, and with some doubts also creeping in over the pro-growth effect the tax reforms would have. "Even a passage of the bill by the year's end could have a limited impact on the dollar as investors are increasingly skeptical of the sustained positive impact the rushed bill will have on the economy," said Omer Esiner, chief market analyst at Commonwealth FX in Washington. Year-end demand for dollars had helped push the greenback higher against the euro in recent sessions, said Alvin Tan, a strategist at Societe Generale in London, but that slowed on Monday. Despite the dollar's latest dip, some analysts believe there is further room for it to go higher. Economic forecasters expect lower corporate taxes to raise U.S. growth by roughly 0.5 percent over the next year, potentially lifting the pace of interest rate increases from the two priced in by the market to closer to the three consistently estimated by Federal Reserve policymakers, said Karl Schamotta, director of global product and market strategy at Cambridge Global Payments in Washington. Against a basket of major currencies, the dollar fell 0.2 percent to 93.702. The euro benefited from the dollar's weakness, gaining 0.3 percent to $1.1781. Top Republicans are confident the U.S. Congress will pass the tax bill this week, with a Senate vote as early as Tuesday and President Donald Trump aiming to sign the bill by week's end. The dollar was 0.1 percent lower against the yen at 112.54 yen following Friday's rise of 0.2 percent. The greenback also failed to get support from a rise in U.S. Treasury yields on Monday. The benchmark 10-year yield has been confined to a 2.34 percent to 2.42 percent range over the past week. Bitcoin was down 1.1 percent at $18,755 on the Bitstamp exchange. It hit a record high of $19,666 on Sunday, ahead of the launch of bitcoin futures from CME Group Inc . ======================================================== Currency bid prices at 3:00PM (2000 GMT) Description RIC Last U.S. Close Pct Change YTD Pct High Bid Low Bid Previous Change Session Euro/Dollar EUR= $1.1783 $1.1752 +0.26% +0.00% +1.1834 +1.1739 Dollar/Yen JPY= 112.5400 112.5700 -0.03% +0.00% +112.8300 +112.3200 Euro/Yen EURJPY= 132.63 132.32 +0.23% +0.00% +133.0000 +132.2200 Dollar/Swiss CHF= 0.9858 0.9903 -0.45% +0.00% +0.9917 +0.9840 Sterling/Dollar GBP= 1.3381 1.3319 +0.47% +0.00% +1.3418 +1.3310 Dollar/Canadian CAD= 1.2868 1.2860 +0.06% +0.00% +1.2880 +1.2844 Australian/Doll AUD= 0.7665 0.7644 +0.27% +0.00% +0.7677 +0.7641 ar Euro/Swiss EURCHF= 1.1617 1.1640 -0.20% +0.00% +1.1668 +1.1614 Euro/Sterling EURGBP= 0.8804 0.8818 -0.16% +0.00% +0.8840 +0.8793 NZ NZD= 0.6994 0.6989 +0.07% +0.00% +0.7028 +0.6993 Dollar/Dollar Dollar/Norway NOK= 8.3514 8.3785 -0.32% +0.00% +8.3952 +8.3156 Euro/Norway EURNOK= 9.8419 9.8494 -0.08% +0.00% +9.8805 +9.8290 Dollar/Sweden SEK= 8.4241 8.5046 -0.70% +0.00% +8.5172 +8.4094 Euro/Sweden EURSEK= 9.9264 9.9964 -0.70% +0.00% +10.0020 +9.9192 (Reporting by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss; Additional reporting by Jemima Kelly and Tommy Wilkes in London; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli) \|\| Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin and Ripple Daily Analysis – 16/11/17: For now, Bitcoin looks to have won the battle for the miners, with Bitcoin’s price recovering to $7,430 at the time of writing. Bitcoin’s recover comes at the expense of support for Bitcoin Cash, which has tumbled 11.86% today to $1,043. Hashrates that reflect where the miners are have returned to normal levels, with Bitcoin Cash’s moment in the limelight over the weekend, where its hashrate was higher than that of Bitcoin, a distant memory. With the latest stumble, we will expect Bitcoin Cash to find some support, though Bitcoin’s return to the top of the food chain will likely limit any material upside in Bitcoin Cash for now. Get Into Bitcoin Trading with Plus500 Things could go from bad to worse if investors look to lock in gains and get out, which suggests that further declines may be on the way as Bitcoin Cash’s resilience gets tested. Sub-$1,000 before the end of the week is not an unreasonable forecast as things stand. Things have not been particularly spectacular for Litecoin this morning, down 1.17% at $62.55 at the time of writing. Attempts to break free from its current ranges on Wednesday failed, though the positive for Litecoin has been its price stability through the week, suggesting that there is possible upside ahead once the volatility eases. Continued movements across the cryptocurrencies in the wake of Bitcoin Cash’s rally and the release of Bitcoin Gold have been a factor through the week and only now does it seem as through the dust is settling from the cancellation of the SegWit2X hard fork last week. We will expect Litecoin to hold at current levels through the day, with direction titled slightly to the upside from its current value. Get Into Bitcoin Trading Today Ripple also failed to break free on Wednesday, having made a run at $0.22. At the time of writing, Ripple was down just 0.23% at $0.2081. As we have seen with Litecoin, it’s proven to be a challenge for Ripple to make a move out of its ranges towards $0.30, with Bitcoin grabbing all the attention in recent days on its rally back to $7430. Despite today’s declines, the outlook continues to remain relatively upbeat and demand for Ripple is likely to build as the dust settles from the Bitcoin forks. Any moves by Ripple beyond $0.21 levels will give it a fighting chance to have a good run at $0.30, with there likely to be strong support at $0.20 in the event of further declines through the day. The Best and Safest Way to Buy and Sell Bitcoins For those who are looking to take advantage of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies price fluctuations,Some brokersprovide traders with instant access to trade Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum and other cryptocurrencies. The process is fast and easy with convenient and advanced trading platform (desktop and mobile), low spreads and instant execution.Click here for more details. Thisarticlewas originally posted on FX Empire • AUD/USD and NZD/USD Fundamental Daily Forecast – Aussie Rallies Despite Somewhat Disappointing Jobs Data • Gold’s Long-Term Analogies • E-mini Dow Jones Industrial Average (YM) Futures Analysis – November 16, 2017 Forecast • Midday Forex Snapshot – November 16, 2017 • Getting Back to Normal: Bitcoin Back Above $7,500, Bitcoin Cash Fall • Stocks Rebound as Correction Runs its Course \|\| Can Senate Get Its Tax Reform Bill Passed?: In this shortened trading week of Thanksgiving, much talk and speculation will be on whether or not the Senate can get its tax reform bill passed, and then whether it can be reconciled with the House version that has already won the vote. Because the Senate will not be deciding prior to this Thursday’s holiday, expect to hear plenty of analysis from both pro- and anti-tax cut perspectives, but don’t look for any certainty either way. At least not yet. That said, we’ll still need to fill the columns of our articles, and passage of tax reform — either before calendar 2017 is out or after — stands to help market indexes climb even higher, as windfall corporate tax cuts look to directly help shareholders of publicly traded companies above everyone else, via share buybacks and increases to dividend yields. But deficit hawks continually point to a $1.5 trillion hole being blown through our country’s debt; tax reformers’ essential “trickle down” philosophy that more capital freed up will help companies hire more workers and thereby grow the economy enough to make up for any near-term economic losses are, as always, an article of faith. Expect weaker trading volumes as market participants make plans to visit family and friends this week. But the question will remain once we’ve all returned back to the office: can the stock market get back to its bullish stance without tax reform reconciliation in the U.S. Congress? And if it can, where would that growth come from? Perhaps we’ve seen market trepidation in the past couple weeks because failure of passing tax cuts may result in a market selloff of notable proportion. Also, with 2017 having been such a rampant success for many shareholders, booking profits before the end of the year will continue to provide at least a mild headwind through the end of the year. Bitcoin Ramps Above $8000 Meanwhile, the world’s most famous cryptocurrency, bitcoin, is up 650% year to date — +17% last week alone. As its acceptance grows across the globe and with certain key retailers and market exchanges, we now begin to hear the clearing of naysayers’ throats. These include famed derivatives trader Thomas Peterffy, who writes in the Wall Street Journal that a futures exchange focused on the cryptocurrency may lead to a financial crisis down the road. The CME Group CME, in particular, is openly discussing a bitcoin platform as early as next month, where trading halts might be implemented to smooth out some of its inherent volatility. Peterffy argues that the lion’s share of bitcoin interest will occur at weaker clearing houses who don’t have much to lose anyway. So the lack of support at some level of bitcoin — which, remember, is up nearly 700% this year alone — might be how unsuspecting investors might be one day left holding the bag. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days.Click to get this free reportCME Group Inc. (CME) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research \|\| Bitcoin Takes a Hit on Tether Hack But Remains Near Record High: The price of Bitcoin dropped more than $500 before recovering most of its losses on Tuesday. The digital currency initially retreated below the psychologically important level of $8,000 only two days after breaking it for the first time. The drop was due to reports of a theft that affected an alternative cryptocurrency. The firm behind a cryptocurrency called Tether said that $31 million was taken from the Tether Treasury wallet on November 19 in the wake of a hack. The stolen amount was sent to an unauthorized Bitcoin address, according to the announcement the company has published on its website yesterday. The companys development team is now attempting to prevent the stolen amount, which was in Tether tokens, from entering the wider trading economy. The team said that the tokens will not be redeemable on the Tether platform. The hack temporarily raised concerns about the safety and security of digital currencies, which erased a chunk of Bitcoins rapid gains this week. However, Bitcoin quickly recovered most of its losses as investors remained optimistic following recent institutional interest in the virtual currency. Bitcoin overcame a long list of hacks in the past with relative ease, despite the dent these hacks left in investors confidence in the security of cryptocurrencies. Get Into Bitcoin Trading Today Bitcoin has been through rapid ups and crushing downs in November. The virtual currency quickly moved to more than $7,800 on November 8, ahead of a highly anticipated upgrade to the underlying Bitcoin technology. Bitcoin then lost as much as 29% of its value to reach about $5,580 on November 12, when the awaited upgrade was called off. After recovering some of its losses during the past week, Bitcoin shot through $8,000 on Sunday as institutional investors appeared to be pushing harder into the world of digital currencies. The fast growth of the total cryptocurrencies market capitalization this year has made it harder for investors from Wall Street to ignore these new digital assets. Story continues One of the latest institutional pushes into the cryptocurrency world came from CME Group Inc., which announced plans to start offering futures trading on Bitcoin starting next month. Square, Inc., a financial service based in San Francisco, also has plans to incorporate Bitcoin by beginning to test Bitcoin payments on its Cash app. Coinbase decided to ride the wave as well by offering custodian service for hedge funds and sovereign wealth funds. Bitcoin began 2017 at a value of about $1,000 per Bitcoin. The digital currency then reached $3,500 in August, at which point analysts expected the digital currency to touch $5,000 by 2018. However, the growing institutional interest grabbed enough attention from investors to overshadow warnings of a value bubble and push the digital currency past most expectations. BTC/USD is trading at 8,232 on the Bitstamp exchange as of 14:15 GMT on Tuesday after dropping to 7,780 at 03:35 GMT. BTC/USD began trading today at 8,231.5. This post was originally published by EarnForex The Best and Safest Way to Buy and Sell Bitcoins For those who are looking to take advantage of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies price fluctuations, some brokers provide traders with instant access to trade Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum and other cryptocurrencies. The process is fast and easy with convenient and advanced trading platform (desktop and mobile), low spreads and instant execution. Click here for more details . This article was originally posted on FX Empire More From FXEMPIRE: Bitcoin Takes a Hit on Tether Hack But Remains Near Record High Gold Price Futures (GC) Technical Analysis November 21, 2017 Forecast Interview with Can Soysal, Telex AI Managing Director AUD/USD Forex Technical Analysis November 21, 2017 Forecast Pound Capable of Producing Opportunities E-mini S&P 500 Index (ES) Futures Technical Analysis November 21, 2017 Forecast \|\| Best Buy: Alphabet, Facebook, or Amazon: Our digital lives are dominated by a handful of companies. Among the most dominant are Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOG) (NASDAQ: GOOGL) , Facebook (NASDAQ: FB) , and Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) . All three stocks have posted excellent returns in 2017, and all three are well positioned to continue outpacing the broader market. But if investors had to choose just one of these three stellar companies, which should they choose? A sign that says Google in its offices in Sydney, Australia. Image source: Google. The dominant force in advertising Google controls a massive share of the global internet search market. Google consistently takes over 90% of global search traffic. Those searches not only provide high-value advertising space, but also provide great ad-targeting data for use across Google's portfolio of apps including YouTube, GMail, and Maps -- all of which have over 1 billion users. YouTube, in particular, presents a massive opportunity for Google. The video service boasts over 1.5 billion logged-in users streaming an average of over one hour of video on mobile devices alone. As advertisers look to shift spending from traditional TV to digital media, YouTube presents the best analog to television advertising. The continued growth of YouTube and internet-connected devices in general resulted in Google posting a 21% year-over-year increase in ad revenue last quarter. Average ad prices continue to fall year over year as users spend more time on mobile and more new users come from emerging markets with lower average ad prices. That said, Google showed some signs of stabilization as average ad prices increased sequentially. With so much ad inventory and such great targeting data, Google has become a dominant force in advertising. As digital ad spending overtakes television advertising, Google is a prime beneficiary. The company also continues to take moonshots, mostly under the Alphabet umbrella. Those offer tremendous upside, but their size relative to Google results in minimal negative impact on the operations of the company in the near term. Story continues The like symbol on the sign at the entrance to Facebook's campus. Image source: Facebook. The second piece of the digital advertising duopoly Facebook is the second-largest digital advertising platform after Google. Its 2 billion member flagship social network is flanked by 2 billion-user messaging services and a relatively small photo-sharing network you might've heard of -- Instagram -- which only has 800 million users of its own. But buyer beware. Facebook is facing an expected slowdown starting in the second half of this year as it bumps up against ad load saturation on its flagship product. Last quarter, Facebook managed just 49% advertising revenue growth. It would be great if all revenue growth slowdowns looked like Facebook's. Facebook is managing to increase average ad prices even as the growth in ad impressions stagnates. It's pushing more into video advertising, and recently launched Watch to compete more directly with YouTube. It's also quickly growing advertising on Instagram as it works to develop a long-term monetization strategy for Messenger and WhatsApp. Facebook has a few moonshots of its own, including a big investment in virtual reality with its Oculus operations. The company is at the forefront of VR technology, so if it really is the next big computing platform as CEO Mark Zuckerberg predicts, Facebook will play an even bigger role in our lives next decade. A warehouse worker placing a package on a conveyor belt. Image source: Amazon. The retail giant that's a "Prime" candidate for your investment dollars Amazon is much more than a retail company these days. In fact, most of its profits stem from its cloud computing services division, Amazon Web Services. One could argue Amazon is more of a services business than a retailer. From cloud computing, to its marketplace, to streaming video and music, Amazon has a plethora of services available to customers. Amazon Prime is the glue that holds nearly all of its services together. Prime is the reason why more than half of all product searches on the internet start on Amazon.com. It's the reason shoppers will opt to buy something from Amazon rather than a competitor, all else being equal (or just close to equal). It's the reason more and more third-party merchants want space in Amazon's warehouses for its Fulfillment by Amazon program. It's the reason Amazon can produce original content, show its movies in theaters, and offer a subscription streaming service in parts of the world where Prime isn't available. There are 90 million U.S. households with a Prime subscription, according to Consumer Intelligence Research Partners. Prime's success has led to continual growth for Amazon. Last quarter, sales increased 34%. While Amazon continues to plow cash back into the business, its top-line growth results appear to be paying off. Which is a better buy? Comparing Alphabet and Facebook is relatively easy, as both companies have similar operations. But Amazon presents a big challenge, as it doesn't really have any peers that can compare. Let's do the easy comparison first. On an EV/EBITDA basis, Alphabet offers a significant discount to Facebook. Shares of Alphabet trade hands at a 19.7 times multiple versus a 23.9 times multiple for Facebook. With similar profit growth outlooks longnterm (considering they each benefit from the exact same secular trends), Alphabet shares appear to be the better buy at this time compared to Facebook. But Amazon may present an even better opportunity. Its valuation is certainly off the charts with an EV/EBITDA ratio more than twice as high as Alphabet's, but it presents significant growth opportunities as it expands Prime into more countries, moves its retail operations into more verticals, and looks for new services to support its own business as well as new customers. Investing in Amazon certainly requires faith in management to execute on an extremely long-term playbook. Investors who just want to maximize their returns on a megatrend in advertising would do well with Alphabet shares. As I said, all three companies present great opportunities. More From The Motley Fool 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Adam Levy owns shares of Amazon. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Alphabet (A shares), Alphabet (C shares), Amazon, and Facebook. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy . \|\| Bitcoin tops $10,000 in some exchanges: By Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bitcoin soared to an all-time high above $10,000 on Tuesday in some smaller exchanges and digital currency indexes, but remained just below that milestone in major trading platforms such as Luxembourg-based BitStamp and U.S.-based GDAX. On CEX.IO, which started out as a cloud mining provider, bitcoin hit $10,234. On crypto-currency index coinmarketcap.com, bitcoin touched $10,050. But bitcoin has not crossed that $10,000 mark on BitStamp; Coinbase's digital asset exchange GDAX; or Gemini Exchange, owned and operated by virtual currency entrepreneurs Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss. Still, bitcoin has gained more than 900 percent so far this year, on increased institutional demand for crypto-currencies as financial and mainstream use has expanded. The first crypto-currency hit a high of $9,968 (BTC=BTSP) on BitStamp. It last traded up more than 2 percent on the day at $9,907.70 (BTC=BTSP). "With bitcoin nearing $10,000, long-time bitcoiners finally feel vindicated that their currency that has been ridiculed for years, is at last being taken seriously," said Sol Lederer, blockchain director at San Francisco-based technology company LOOMIA. "Bitcoin's future is still uncertain; it faces the same serious technical challenges it has for years and faces stiff competition from newer, more sophisticated blockchains. But even if it were to crash, it's apparent that bitcoin is here to stay." In some of the emerging markets, bitcoin has hit well over $10,000. In Zimbabwe, bitcoin traded at $17,875 on Monday. Tuesday's price in Zimbabwe was not available. In South Korean exchanges, bitcoin was already at close to $11,000 or higher. It traded at nearly $11,000 on Tuesday on bithumb and hit the $10,000 milestone on Monday. At Coinone, bitcoin traded at more than $11,700, and at $11,734 on Korbit. Bitcoin has been boosted as exchanges such as the CME Group Inc (CME.O) and the Chicago Board Options Exchange announced plans to launch futures contracts for the currency. (Reporting by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss; Editing by David Gregorio) \|\| Deutsche Bank warns a 'bitcoin crash is among the market's most significant 2018 risks: Could the market's new darling become its next black swan event ? The bitcoin (Exchange: BTC=) craze could pose a real risk to the broader market next year, Deutsche Bank warned last week, ahead of the cryptocurrency's launch on futures exchanges, scheduled to take place Sunday. Torsten Slok, the firm's chief international economist, sent to clients a list of significant risks to the market in 2018. Included on that list: A crash in the price of bitcoin, higher inflation and the threat of North Korea. Bitcoin has emerged as a financial phenomenon this year as the digital currency sees $1,000-plus swings within hours. At this juncture, as the cryptocurrency has advanced quadruple digits this year, Slok said the markets have not correctly priced in the broader impact bitcoin could potentially have. Deutsche Bank's risks to the market in 2018 "It is something that I think financial markets so far have been discounting as a small issue," the economist said Thursday on CNBC's " Trading Nation ." He said he worries about whether bitcoin and its wild price swings could become "more systemic" next year if the current trends continue. "The worry, of course, that one can have is that it's catching on quite substantially. And of course with the speed with which prices are going up, then you do wonder where prices will be even by the end of 2017. But we do think that in 2018, this, of course, will continue to be a topic, and there are a number of questions that remain unanswered," Slok said. While bitcoin has more than its share of true believers many of whom have sent its price on a dizzying rally to around $19,000 just last week the digital currency's volatility and lack of transparency has earned it a fair number of critics. Last week, "Mad Money" host Jim Cramer likened bitcoin trading to "an abstruse casino game that seems to have only winners and no losers. You've got to like that, right? I think, though, that could change," Cramer said. Specifically, questions persist around regulation of the cryptocurrency and transparency in what exactly investors hold, according to Deutsche's Slok. The cryptocurrency's price rose above $19,000 for the first time on Thursday before tumbling more than 20 percent, according to Coinbase data. Its volatility could intensify in days ahead as exchanges prepare to launch bitcoin futures trading. --CNBC's Liz Gurdus contributed to this report. Could the market's new darling become its next black swan event ? The bitcoin (Exchange: BTC=) craze could pose a real risk to the broader market next year, Deutsche Bank warned last week, ahead of the cryptocurrency's launch on futures exchanges, scheduled to take place Sunday. Torsten Slok, the firm's chief international economist, sent to clients a list of significant risks to the market in 2018. Included on that list: A crash in the price of bitcoin, higher inflation and the threat of North Korea. Bitcoin has emerged as a financial phenomenon this year as the digital currency sees $1,000-plus swings within hours. At this juncture, as the cryptocurrency has advanced quadruple digits this year, Slok said the markets have not correctly priced in the broader impact bitcoin could potentially have. Deutsche Bank's risks to the market in 2018 "It is something that I think financial markets so far have been discounting as a small issue," the economist said Thursday on CNBC's " Trading Nation ." He said he worries about whether bitcoin and its wild price swings could become "more systemic" next year if the current trends continue. "The worry, of course, that one can have is that it's catching on quite substantially. And of course with the speed with which prices are going up, then you do wonder where prices will be even by the end of 2017. But we do think that in 2018, this, of course, will continue to be a topic, and there are a number of questions that remain unanswered," Slok said. While bitcoin has more than its share of true believers many of whom have sent its price on a dizzying rally to around $19,000 just last week the digital currency's volatility and lack of transparency has earned it a fair number of critics. Last week, "Mad Money" host Jim Cramer likened bitcoin trading to "an abstruse casino game that seems to have only winners and no losers. You've got to like that, right? I think, though, that could change," Cramer said. Specifically, questions persist around regulation of the cryptocurrency and transparency in what exactly investors hold, according to Deutsche's Slok. The cryptocurrency's price rose above $19,000 for the first time on Thursday before tumbling more than 20 percent, according to Coinbase data. Its volatility could intensify in days ahead as exchanges prepare to launch bitcoin futures trading. --CNBC's Liz Gurdus contributed to this report. More From CNBC 'The market is going to suck,' warns famed Wall Street bear Bitcoin futures are coming this weekend here's what to expect Heres why one trader is betting on Goldman Sachs for a breakout \|\| A Cryptocurrency Primer: Is Bitcoin a Good Investment?: In the realm of economics, there are plenty of terms that might confuse the layperson, but most of us probably know what the word "money" means. "Cryptocurrency," by contrast, can be baffling. It's money, but not government-backed money? It gets mined almost magically by a process that does nothing else of value? How does that work? Given the level of investor interest in cryptocurrencies, for this episode ofMotley Fool Answers, Alison Southwick and Robert Brokamp brought in Motley Fool analyst Aaron Bush to give their listeners the lowdown. In this segment, they try to answer a question many Foolish investors have: Should I invest in bitcoin now, wait for its price to drop, or simply avoid it like the plague? A full transcript follows the video. More From The Motley Fool • 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices • 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 • 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing • 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today • The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss • Why You're Smart to Buy Shopify Inc. (US) -- Despite Citron's Report This video was recorded on Nov. 21, 2017. Alison Southwick:Bitcoin as an investment idea. Wall Street has definitely, in the last few months, started to talk about bitcoin and dip their toes in. Jamie Dimon over atJ.P. Morganis quoted as saying bitcoin will eventually blow up. It's a fraud. It's worse than tulip bulbs and it won't end well. He also said that he would fire any trader for trading bitcoin just for being stupid. On the other side, other Wall Street figures [for example,Goldman SachsCEO Lloyd Blankfein] said he had a level of discomfort with bitcoin, as I have a level of discomfort with anything that is new. I thought, "Well, that's keeping your options open." And then I also read this other great quote in an article inThe New York Times(about a guy who invests in cryptocurrencies, digital currencies, and assets. That's his full-time job. He was talking about bitcoin and whether or not it was a bubble. He said, "If my landscaper ever asks me about crypto, that's the day I get out." I feel like we're very close to that day, but maybe not. Like I said, we've got a 22-year-old family member who wants to get into bitcoin without any idea of what that even means. Bitcoin. Speculation? Bubble? What are your thoughts? Aaron Bush:It is absolutely speculative, and the whole cryptocurrency market beyond bitcoin is also very speculative. That said, the technology that underpins everything is very real. It's very real for what blockchains can do outside of cryptocurrency, but I also think it is very real for what cryptocurrencies can be in the future. In my opinion, this is classic hype cycle, where we've seen this several times before across history. The internet bubble was the last big example of something like this. All of these companies are rushing to sell tokens instead of stocks, and a lot of companies are putting blockchain in their titles. That's very similar to companies who used to put .com in their names before. I do think there are a lot of similarities with there being hype, so investors absolutely need to be careful. This also is a very small asset class. It's brand new, and because the technology running it is very real, I personally do believe it will be significantly larger over time as new applications are found, but it's probably going to be a very rocky road getting there. Southwick:I saw that only 2% of Americans own or have ever owned bitcoin, and it's a limited quantity. There's only ever going to be so much bitcoin in the world. Bush:There's only going to be 21 [million] bitcoin total, and I do understand the sentiment of when everyone suddenly becomes interested, it makes sense to be a little skeptical; but at the same time, I think there's something like 11 or 12 million millionaires in the U.S., and there's only enough bitcoin, in total, as the end goal essentially for bitcoin, that they can't even own two of them, and the market cap is about $120 billion. So, even if this just becomes a small piece of a lot more people's portfolios, which really isn't that much out of the question, this can be worth so much more. Southwick:So, don't focus on the immediate bitcoin and what people are freaking out about right now. What are you focusing on? What are you looking at as an investor, not a speculator? Bush:I'll disclose I actually do own some bitcoin. Southwick:When did you buy it? Bush:I bought in early 2017. It was just more about being interested in it. I wanted to learn more about it. But I've been following it for a while. I also own some Ethereum, which is the second-largest cryptocurrency. My approach for investing is I'm willing to invest very small percentages of my portfolio -- less than 1% of my portfolio -- in order to learn more about this. I recognize that the upside is significantly larger than the downside, potentially. What I'm really looking for are the next hundred billion-dollar ideas. Trillion-dollar ideas. I'm not just jumping around buying a bunch of different things. I'm taking a very slow and measured approach to figure out which ideas stick, because at the end of the day this is not investing in stocks. This is closer to venture investing. This is more like seed-stage investing because many of these new cryptocurrencies, when you buy them, actually don't function, yet. I do think it's good to take it slow. That's what I'm doing personally, but I also am taking a very open-minded approach and trying to surf the learning curve. Trying to stay on the very steep end of things so that I can spot these opportunities before they turn into something much bigger. Southwick:We have a friend who, as a lark, bought a bitcoin for $50. Bush:Nice. Southwick:What did we say? Today bitcoin is like $7,500? $7,600? What is it today? Bush:It's about $7,500. That's not a bad investment. Southwick:That's why everyone wants it, but he bought it a really long time ago just for the heck of it because he's a tech-savvy kind of guy. He never expected this to happen, but he's going to hold onto it for a very long time and see where it takes him. Bush:That's awesome. I do think people should be very open-minded about this. I think just it being something new and something hype makes it easy to laugh at, but I haven't met anybody who's dug into this that became a skeptic. Everyone who digs into this becomes far more optimistic and I think that's pretty telling. Southwick:Now when you say digs into it, you're talking more specifically around... Bush:Understanding the technology, understanding how essentially the monetary system of this works, and understanding where it can go from here. Southwick:I think it's possible I'll pay for my lack of vision one day, but I think this isn't for me. That's OK, though. Bush:Oh, yes, that's fully OK. Robert Brokamp:That's perfectly fine. Aaron Bushhas no position in any of the stocks mentioned.Alison Southwickhas no position in any of the stocks mentioned.Robert Brokamp, CFPhas no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends The New York Times. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy. \|\| Bitcoin Breaks $9,000 In Another All-Time High: The price of the cryptocurrency Bitcoin has risen more than 12% in the last week, moving past $9,000 early Sunday morning to yet another in a long string of all-time highs. The cryptocurrency’s total market value is now more than $150 billion. Other cryptocurrencies have also had a very strong week, with Ethereum and Bitcoin Cash also up for the week. This continues a roughly eight-month winning streak for Bitcoin and other cryptos, which use decentralized ledgers and cryptographic security to move value over the internet. Since April 20, when it was worth just over $1,200 (per Coinmarketcap.com), Bitcoin has risen nearly 650%. The extended surge can be explained most of all by the entrance of a broader swathe of global retail investors into the market. Previous Bitcoin surges generated headlines and gave skeptics a chance to familiarize themselves with the technology, but it’s far easier for individuals to actually buy cryptocurrency today, through a huge number of online exchanges, than it was back in 2013. Get Data Sheet,Fortune’stechnology newsletter. All that retail enthusiasm has generated an array of sketchy “initial coin offerings” and even outright scams, signals of a bubble swimming with less-knowledgeable buyers. But the market has also weathered a number of setbacks, including amajor crackdownby the Chinese government and a divisiveupgrade controversy, without losing steam, suggesting at the least that buyer enthusiasm is durable. Another fascinating indicator, highlighted last weekby Bloomberg, is the adoption of Bitcoin by U.S. survivalists or “doomsday preppers,” who increasingly believe it will (somehow) be more useful after a major disaster than gold or U.S. dollars. The latest price landmark is also notable because it tees Bitcoin supporters up to adapt one of the internet’s most enduring memes. For the uninitiated, it’s a reference to the Japanese animeDragonBallZ. [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] bitcoin priceってゆうか、 \|\| QUARTZ: This is the trading firm that could bring bitcoin into the mainstream http://bit.ly/2y8qTae \|\| 30 MIN $PAY / $BTC INVERT HEAD & SHOULDERS. - $PAYBTC charthttp://www.tradingview.com/chart/PAYBTC/cAJAzGwx-30-MIN-PAY-BTC-INVERT-HEAD-SHOULDERS/ … \|\| こんばんは。 bitcoin priceという \|\| You want one ? I take bitcoin \|\| こんばんは。 bitcoin priceという \|\| Tiffany Haddishちゃんが \|\| こんばんは。 bitcoin priceという \|\| $GCR guys it's been 15 min why don't we just moon already before bitcoin comes \|\| こんばんは。 bitcoin priceという	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 12952.20, 14156.40, 13657.20, 14982.10, 15201.00, 15599.20, 17429.50, 17527.00, 16477.60, 15170.10
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2021-03-24] BTC Price: 52774.27, BTC RSI: 46.86 Gold Price: 1732.90, Gold RSI: 44.82 Oil Price: 61.18, Oil RSI: 49.47 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] CORRECTION: Jesse Jhaj Says Millionaires Have Trouble Dating... (We're Not so Sure): " This release replaces and corrects the release that ran January 27, 2021 at 11:15am ET due to updated content" LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / January 29, 2021 / Millionaires seem to have it all: exotic cars, private jets, and the dating life that mirrors Leonardo DiCaprio. This seems so self-evident that it begs the question: why even write about it? Apparently, there's one man who is changing the entire landscape of dating for millionaires. He has not only challenged this idea but proven it completely wrong. Jesse Jhaj is a self-made millionaire who co-founded Jumpcut - a startup backed by the legendary Y-Combinator who incubated unicorns like Airbnb, Dropbox, Instacart - and then went on to launch multiple 7 and 8-figure businesses. Flying in the face of all logic and rationale, he believes that wealthy men don't have it easy when it comes to dating. Jesse Jhaj's $500k Hobby Jesse Jhaj became obsessed with solving the problems that existed in his dating life, which were primarily: a) that he couldn't seem to meet the "right" women, and b) even when he met them, he had no idea how to communicate with them. He tried all the traditional "wealthy guy" approaches - hiring an expensive celebrity matchmaker in Los Angeles, becoming an influencer, throwing oceanfront Santa Monica mansion parties, going out to bars/clubs… and, according to Jesse, none of it felt right. Apparently, he ended up spending upwards of $500,000 over a two-year period "trying every method imaginable." He even decided to bring on a co-founder as if this were a startup back at Y-Combinator, David Malka , whose logistics-focused brain made him over $5 Million in poker before founding Better Vacations, a vacation rental fund with over $250 Million in real estate assets around the world. The two of them eventually discovered that taking all the marketing lessons that Jesse Jhaj had learned at Jumpcut, which teaches influencers how to become viral, and applying them to online dating was the perfect solution. They hired comedians, writers, data analysts, photographers and consultants all to test and optimize every single step of online dating in an attempt to crack the code to "dating for millionaires." Story continues That's an expensive hobby to stumble upon, but to guys like Jhaj and Malka, it seems to have been worth it. Millionaires Struggles More Than the Average Joe According to Jesse Jhaj , millionaires actually have all the same struggles that the average guy does -- but with more stacked on top. That (frankly) seems unlikely at first blush. After all, self-made men surely have more confidence than the run of the mill Tinder bachelor. The success that came from building their empires would have to seep into their dating lives too. But Jhaj says this is actually a misconception that society puts on the rich. Jhaj described the moment that he finally made it, "when my bank account had enough that I would never have to work another day in my life, I thought my dating life would completely change. Only nothing did." Now that I think about it, it actually makes sense to me. Someone like Jesse Jhaj has worked his entire life in "entrepreneur" mode - building his empire. He not only never learned how to properly communicate with women, he also had no idea how to meet them or date them. "I became obsessed with self-development," said Jhaj. The Hidden Benefit We've all seen the repercussions of what happens when wealthy men rush into relationships that aren't right for either party - they end up more than just "partners." They start to share everything… and because of that, according to Jesse, successful men can sometimes lose their entire empire. Jhaj says that in order to avoid any major repercussions, wealthy men and women need to learn to understand what toxic and positive behaviors are by "collecting as much data as possible - essentially, those who are inexperienced need to date as much as possible, take things slow and continue to learn what they like/don't like in partners with as much feedback as possible from mentors, coaches, therapists, and journaling." It's not just Jesse Jhaj . He claims he's learned this from his first-hand experience working with dozens of millionaire clients. The Facade Has Been Lifted The problems don't stop there, either. When a wealthy man doesn't know how to communicate with women properly, oftentimes his date will think to herself, "wait, is this guy actually successful? If he were so successful, he wouldn't be this nervous and socially awkward." Again, the same problems -- but amplified. Jhaj says when he discussed this exact situation with other high-value women, they described it as "the facade felt like it had suddenly been lifted." While most wealthy men can communicate in a high-value fashion through text, they become needy and socially awkward because they have no social calibration in real life. According to Jhaj, even the most successful man can be insecure when it comes to dating. This causes wealthy men to put up a facade when they meet women, pretending to be someone they're not. This only leads to problems down the road both for the man, and his match. Paradise falls when the facade is lifted. This isn't just a hypothetical - it's the reason why Jesse Jhaj has so many students to begin with. After getting hurt and realizing how many mistakes they have made, or that they have absolutely no idea as to how to meet high-quality women, or that they feel like they keep "settling in their dating lives", wealthy men will seek Jhaj for his and his team's expertise. "They just want to find love or to stop coming home to an empty apartment. The amount of positive testimonials I get from clients warms my heart - I've literally gotten baby photos and wedding invitations." The key, according to Jhaj, is to avoid the facade from the beginning, and instead learn what he calls "high-value communication." This is part of the training Jhaj provides to his students and this methodology stands in clear contrast to the lackluster solutions that matchmakers or online courses provide. What's the downside? Well, for one, the training alone cost you more than a brand new Tesla. Jhaj believes that no one should settle for their dating life, especially for successful men who already have everything else in their life together. "A lot of wealthy men just settle for the next woman they meet because they think the options are not there." Frankly, it's hard to believe that they don't have options. To be fair, that's a world I'm just not part of. How It Gets Worse for Wealthy Men To make matters worse, successful men typically hyper-focus on select areas of their lives: their work and health -- and neglect necessary skills such as communicating with the high-value women. The result is a "mismatch" between the perception of what women think a successful man should be and the reality of the poor communication skills men have with women. Jesse Jhaj seems adamant that these are issues that millionaire men have. And he believes that the "online dating system" that he developed with Malka is the solution for millionaires to have a more fulfilling dating life. "Not only do we have the ultimate solution for matching with amazing, girlfriend-quality women online, but we teach our clients how to communicate confidently, genuinely and from a mindset of abundance to project a high-value self." A $50,000 Fix? Admittedly, some of these problems really must exist for Kevin, a former Wall Street executive who had tried all traditional forms of meeting women (even blowing $100,000 on a matchmaker), to shell out over $50K to Jesse Jhaj and his team. "I don't want to be in a situation where I compromise with my dating partner -- or worse, find someone interested not in me but my fortune," the client remarked in an email exchange between us. "I feel like the value I got from the $50K spent was probably in the $500K- $1 Million+ range." What's in Jesse Jhaj's Dating Service What did Kevin actually buy? A hybrid mix of personalized communication coaching from Jesse and his team on finding truly compatible partners, and a "Rolls-Royce" done for you service where Jesse's team handles a majority of the heavy lifting for you on dating apps. This whole online dating system, as Jhaj mentions, is based on what he coins "the Unicorn Theory". The theory is this: just like the rare, mythical startup that hits the $1 Billion+ valuation, men who are successful in most aspects of their lives are just as rare (hence the term "Unicorn"). Jesse Jhaj believes that even the wealthiest men on earth can have issues communicating effectively with women. This "gap" creates a disconnection between what a woman wants from the man and the subpar image that the man unconsciously projects. Is It Really Worth It? Jesse Jhaj 's students are willing to pay $30,000-$200,000 for his services. Initially, that seems like an unreasonable sum until you reflect on the cost of settling on the wrong partner. With a 50/50 shot doing just that, Jhaj's service almost acts as an insurance policy against not just financial loss - but a lifetime of settling. There's no reason for men who "have it all" to struggle to find a partner who "has it all" too. For now, Jhaj's services fall lightyears out of my budget… but who knows. If Bitcoin keeps going the way it's going maybe I'll be a millionaire suffering from dating fatigue too. I'll keep Jhaj's number in hand just in case. CONTACT: Caroline Hunter Web Presence, LLC +1 7865519491 SOURCE: Jesse Jhaj View source version on accesswire.com: https://www.accesswire.com/626681/CORRECTION-Jesse-Jhaj-Says-Millionaires-Have-Trouble-Dating-Were-Not-so-Sure \|\| The Node: Crypto Doesn’t Pay: I like the classicdefinition of money. It makes sense: method of payment, way to store value and unit of account. That all seems pretty smart. But I also like the way I defined money when I got my first wages at a Southeast Kansas J.C. Penney’s department store in the 90s: Money was what my time turned into when I let someone else tell me how to use it. This article is excerpted fromThe Node(formerly Blockchain Bites), CoinDesk’s daily roundup of the most pivotal stories in blockchain and crypto news. You can subscribe to get the fullnewsletter here. Related:Inflation Takes Over From Covid as Biggest Market Risk: Bank of America Also known as a paycheck. This is, in fact, the way I think most everyone I knowin factdefines money (as we know, hardly anyonereally thinks about it). So, to me, crypto isn’t really money yet because the cryptocurrency industry isn’t doing a very good job paying people wages. It’s barely even trying. In Camila Russo’s readable and entertaining book on the origins of Ethereum, “The Infinite Machine,” we meet a young Vitalik Buterin before he could even really code. Baby Buterin was fascinated by Bitcoin and the possibility of money native to the internet, and he wanted some. Related:Crypto.com Appoints Music Industry Veteran to Lead New NFT Marketplace But he was so young! He didn’t have money of his own to speak of and he definitely didn’t have access to the fiat on-ramps of the internet, like a credit card. So, Buterin started asking around to see if there was someactual workhe could do. It turned out that the best way for Vitalik to earn someBTCwas towrite useful explanationsabout the technology. Eventually this work would lead him to founding Bitcoin Magazine. There’s a larger lesson there. It’s not really money until people can get it in a paycheck of some kind. For crypto, wages would create an additional benefit: people could get into its economy and completely sidestep the traditional financial system. A certain kind of crypto denizen will have been reading the last few paragraphs and thinking something along these lines: In its earliest days, turning work into crypto was no problem. A technically adept user could run the Bitcoin software on a PC and earn a steady stream of bitcoin. The same went for Ethereum for a long time, as well. Those heady days are long past, though. Others have come along to make similar promises but the facts don’t live up to the hype. I recently reported that the forthcomingChia might bethe easiest cryptocurrency for normal people to mine, but that weekend I tried to join the testnet and check out that claim. It went badly. But honestly, mining is beside the point. Staking and mining are only “work” in the most abstract sense, not in the way that real people, people who think in paycheck terms, think about work. Work – in the minds of enough people that it’s not really worth arguing the point – is human time for hire. If crypto wants to cross the chasm with regular folks, it needs to provide more ways for people to earn it with actual work. I’m not talking aboutfull-on jobs. It’s too soon for that. What’s missing is a place for side-hustles that earn crypto, like what Vitalik did in writing helpful blog posts via crowdsourced commission. We saw some hints of that kind of economy in August when one of our contributors presented the story ofFilipino grandmas playing Axie Infinityfor far too many hours each day. That one was more than a little dystopian, obviously, and not, I’m pretty sure, anything Axie really had in mind when it built the game. The blogging sitesSteem,HiveandCenthave also paid creators for content to some degree, but that’s also just one kind of work. More are needed. There must be ways to connect talented people around the world with people who need work done. Folks with skills like copyediting and design, who have time for a little side work, can earn additional income on marketplaces such as Fiverr, and it’s cool to see there is some demand there fora crypto payment option.EthLanceandFreelanceforCoinsare nice starts down that road. But it doesn’t feel like these are as crypto as they could be. One idea: What about a crowdsourced meme factory? Imagine: a founder could post a message a company wanted to get across and invite memesters to submit concepts. Each memester would have a reputation score, and everyone who submitted would get paidsomethingfor taking part, but those with better reputations would earn slightly more (and the ones with bad track records would earn nothing). Then a few memes would get voted up by other users, earning more, until the founder picked however many the team wanted to use on Crypto Twitter or wherever, and each of those selected would get the real payday. Boom. An actual economy. Side note: I’m sure everything above raises all kinds of legal and tax issues, particularly in the U.S., whose regulators are determined to keep the online world as dull as possible.No doubt, no doubt.But look, I’m a writer, not an attorney nor a founder, and those issues make me very sleepy.Regardless, the larger point stands. Until crypto finds ways to get over any and all obstacles to regular people turning time into money, it will remain an industry that exists somewhere down the rabbit hole. • The Node: Crypto Doesn’t Pay • The Node: Crypto Doesn’t Pay \|\| Bitcoin and Ethereum Weekly Technical Analysis January 25th, 2021: Bitcoin Bitcoin , BTC to USD, slid by 9.97% in the week ending 24 th January. Following on from a 6.02% decline from the previous week, Bitcoin ended the week at $32,320.0. A mixed start to the week saw Bitcoin rise to a Tuesday intraweek high $37,936.6 before hitting reverse. Falling well short of the first major resistance level at $40,389, Bitcoin slid to a Friday intraweek low $28,989.0. The sell-off saw Bitcoin fall through the 23.6% FIB of $33,008 and the first major support level at $31,023. It was Bitcoins first visit to sub-$30,000 levels since 5 th January. Finding support on Friday, Bitcoin broke back through the 23.6% FIB before ending the day at sub-$32,500 levels. 4 days in the red that included an 13.08% tumble on Thursday delivered the downside for the week. For the week ahead Bitcoin would need to move through the 23.6% FIB of $33,008 and the $33,082 pivot to support a run the first major resistance level at $37,175. Support from the broader market would be needed for Bitcoin to break back through to $37,000 levels. Barring an extended crypto rally, the first major resistance level and last weeks high $37,936.6 would likely cap any upside. In the event of an extended breakout, Bitcoin could test resistance at the swing hi $41,969 before any pullback. The second major resistance level sits at $42,029. Failure to move through the 23.6% FIB and the $33,082 pivot would bring the first major support level at $28,227 into play. Barring a crypto meltdown, however, Bitcoin should steer clear of the second major support level at $24,134. The 38.2% FIB of $27,465 should limit the downside in the event of an extended sell-off. At the time of writing, Bitcoin was up by 1.68% to $32,863.4. A mixed start to the week saw Bitcoin fall to an early Monday low $32,253.0 before rising to a high $32,919.0. Bitcoin left the major support and resistance levels untested at the start of the week. Ethereum Ethereum rose by 13.09% in the week ending 24 th January. Reversing a 1.76% loss from the previous week, Ethereum ended the week at $1,394.00. Story continues It was a bullish start to the week. Ethereum rose to a Tuesday intraweek high and a new swing hi $1,440.0 before hitting reverse. The breakout saw Ethereum break through the first major resistance level before sliding to a Friday intraweek low $1,039.62. While steering clear of the first major support level at $994, Ethereum fell through the 23.6% FIB of $1,119. A recovery on Friday and a bullish weekend, however, saw Ethereum break back through the 23.6% FIB to end the week at $1,390 levels. 6-days in the green included an 8.71% rally on Tuesday, an 11.07% jump on Friday, and a 12.92% breakout on Sunday delivered the upside in the week. A 19.34% slump on Thursday pared some of the gains, however. For the week ahead Ethereum would need to avoid a fall through the pivot level at $1,291 to support a run at the first major resistance level at $1,543. Support from the broader market would be needed, however, for Ethereum to break through to $1,500 levels. Barring another extended crypto rally, the first major resistance level would likely cap any upside. In the event of an extended breakout, Ethereum could test resistance at $1,750 before any pullback. The second major resistance level sits at $1,692. Failure to avoid a fall through the pivot level at $1,291 would bring the first major support level at $1,142 and the 23.6% FIB of $1,119 into play. Barring a crypto meltdown, however, Ethereum should steer clear of the 38.2% FIB of $921 and the second major support level at $891. At the time of writing, Ethereum was up by 3.31% to $1,440.19. A mixed start to the week saw Ethereum fall to an early Monday low $1,384.15 before striking a new swing hi $1,477.30. Ethereum left the major support and resistance levels untested at the start of the week. This article was originally posted on FX Empire More From FXEMPIRE: GBP/USD Daily Forecast Resistance At 1.3745 In Sight U.S Mortgage Rates Fall as COVID-19 Infection Rates Pin Back U.S Treasury Yields The Crypto Daily Movers and Shakers January 25th, 2021 Ethereum, Litecoin, and Ripples XRP Daily Tech Analysis January 25th, 2021 Natural Gas Price Fundamental Daily Forecast Struggles to Find Footing Amid Warmer Weather Forecasts Abidin Biden by Gold \|\| Fidelity applies to launch a bitcoin ETF: (Reuters) - Fidelity applied on Wednesday to launch an exchange traded fund to track the performance of bitcoin, the latest move on Wall Street to embrace the digital currency. Fidelity's Wise Origin Bitcoin Trust would hold bitcoin and value its shares based on prices from major cryptocurrency exchanges, including Coinbase and Bitstamp, according to a preliminary filing https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1852317/000119312521092598/d133565ds1.htm to the Securities and Exchange Commission. "The digital assets ecosystem has grown significantly in recent years, creating an even more robust marketplace for investors and accelerating demand among institutions. An increasingly wide range of investors seeking access to bitcoin has underscored the need for a more diversified set of products offering exposure to digital assets,” Fidelity said in an emailed statement. Fidelity's filing follows bitcoin's surge to an all-time high of nearly $62,000 this month, the latest milestone in a meteoric rise partly fueled by bigger U.S. investors. Earlier this week, former Trump administration White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci jumped into the fray for a bitcoin exchange-traded fund with his SkyBridge Capital joining forces with First Trust Advisors, according to a filing. Coinbase Global Inc, the largest U.S. cryptocurrency exchange, said last week that recent private market transactions had valued the company at around $68 billion this year ahead of a planned stock market listing. (Reporting by Noel Randewich; Editing by David Gregorio) \|\| GLOBAL MARKETS-Wall Street rises on U.S. stimulus and vaccine hopes as bond markets calm: (Updates prices and details, adds comment from Fed Governor Lael Brainard) * Graphic: Global asset performance http://tmsnrt.rs/2yaDPgn * Graphic: World FX rates http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh * Reuters Live Markets blog: By Suzanne Barlyn NEW YORK, March 1 (Reuters) - Global equities rose and the S&P 500 on Monday was headed for its best day since June 5, with investors taking lower U.S. bond yields in stride as a sweeping $1.9 trillion U.S. coronavirus relief bill and distribution of Johnson & Johnson's newly authorized COVID-19 vaccine spurred enthusiasm. Wall Street's rise follows a jump in European shares and solid gains in Asian stock markets. Investor optimism about further economic recovery because of the J&J vaccine is "giving a lift to all of the 'go-to-work' stocks" that benefit from businesses reopening, said Jim Awad, senior managing director at Clearstead Advisors in New York. A stabilization of U.S. Treasury yields has also removed pressure from growth stocks, Awad said. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 734.17 points, or 2.37%, to 31,666.54, the S&P 500 gained 103.1 points, or 2.71%, to 3,914.25 and the Nasdaq Composite added 399.59 points, or 3.03%, to 13,591.94. The much-anticipated $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill was passed in the U.S. House of Representatives on Saturday, and now moves to the Senate. The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 1.84% and MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe gained 2.21%. Emerging market stocks rose 1.86%. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan closed 1.88% higher, while Japan's Nikkei rose 2.41%. U.S. manufacturing activity increased to a three-year high in February amid a surge in new orders, but factories continued to face higher costs for raw materials and other inputs as the pandemic drags on. Major sovereign bonds rallied on Monday as markets showed further signs of stabilization after their worst monthly performance in years. Story continues Expectations of economic recovery and rising inflation boosted global benchmark bond yields in February to their biggest monthly rises in years. But in the meantime, the expected run-down of U.S. Treasury balances at the U.S. Federal Reserve has held down shorter-dated rates. Benchmark 10-year Treasury notes last rose 5/32 in price to yield 1.441%, from 1.456% on Monday. The coronavirus pandemic laid bare weaknesses in the financial system that should be addressed with new rules to prepare for the next shock, Fed Governor Lael Brainard said on Monday. "We should not miss the opportunity to distill lessons from the COVID shock and institute reforms so our system is more resilient and better able to withstand a variety of possible shocks in the future," Brainard said. Gold prices rose on Monday as a retreat in U.S. Treasury yields helped to bolster its status as an inflation hedge after a U.S. stimulus package moved one step closer to becoming law, but a firmer dollar limited bullion's advance. Spot gold dropped 0.5% to $1,724.46 an ounce. U.S. gold futures fell 0.28% to $1,723.30 an ounce. PENT-UP DEMAND PMI data for February is also in focus this week. Germany's factory activity rose to its highest level in more than three years last month, driven by higher demand from China, the United States and Europe. Manufacturing in Japan grew at its fastest pace in more than two years in February, as strong orders led to the first output rise since the start of the pandemic. China's factory activity grew at a slower pace than in the previous month, missing market expectations. U.S. crude recently fell 1.59% to $60.52 per barrel and Brent was at $63.63, down 1.23% on the day. The dollar index rose to a three-week high on Monday as investors bet on faster growth and inflation in the United States, while the Australian dollar gained after Australia's central bank increased its bond purchases in a bid to stem rapidly rising yields. Bitcoin rose 5.94% to $48,373.13 but was still off a record high of $58,354.14 hit on Feb. 21. (Reporting by Suzanne Barlyn; Editing by Lisa Shumaker) \|\| NFTs Can Bring the Real World On-Chain: Non-fungible tokens (NFT) have generated an unprecedented level of mainstream interest in cryptocurrency technology. Believers claim NFTs represent a “paradigm shift” whereas detractors compare NFTs to the “ Tulip Mania ” and the initial coin offering era . We have seen similar polarization of public opinion before with blockchain technology and dot-com stocks, which resulted in several breakthrough innovations and some epic commercial failures. Ajit Tripathi, a CoinDesk columnist, is the head of Institutional Business at Aave. Previously, he served as a fintech partner at ConsenSys and was a co-founder of PwC’s U.K. Blockchain Practice. The views expressed are those of the author alone. Related: Central Bank of Ireland Expands Anti-Money Laundering Regime In this article, I will explain why I believe NFTs in the form of digital art, music and collectibles represent only the beginning of a much larger wave of real-economy “e-commerce” transactions on public blockchains. What are NFTs? While for a purist, “NFT” stands for any non-fungible token, in popular parlance today NFT is used in the sense of a “digital collectible.” The New York Times recently described NFTs in somewhat irreverent terms as “ blockchain-certified computer files .” In a previous article , the Times wrote, “Most importantly, NFTs make digital artworks unique, and therefore sellable.” See also: What Are NFTs and How Do They Work? Influencers such as Gary Vaynerchuk , Marc Cuban and Chamath Palihapitya have expressed their enthusiasm for NFTs, triggering a large amount of investment in NFT issuance and trading platforms such as NBA Top Shot and Sorare. This has been followed by a sudden burst of of products coming to market in a bit of a gold rush. Related: Is Coinbase Worth $100B? For the purposes of this article, we will stick to NFTs as digital collectibles that people love to own, pay for and brag to their friends and strangers about. NFTs are valuable objects If I am part of a community that assigns a value to a digital object, that value is the value of the object. This is why Pokemon cards and baseball cards are valuable, why bitcoin and ether are valuable and why NFTs such as Aavegotchis, NBA Top Shot, Non-Fungible Pepes and NFTs minted by Beeple are valuable. There is a community of humans that finds the objects valuable and largely agrees on their value. See also: Vinay Gupta’s Big Idea: An Identity Layer for Your Things In my last CoinDesk article , I wrote about the challenges involved in bringing off-chain assets to decentralized finance (DeFi). As it turns out, most NFTs, though digital, are representations of off-chain assets. It’s not surprising, then, that many of the challenges associated with off-chain assets are directly or indirectly relevant to NFTs as well. Story continues Essentially, an NFT “binds” or maps a unique object, the blockchain native non-fungible token to a digital object, e.g., a document, image, audio or video file or a physical object such as a house or a bicycle or your own private Island. That is the crux of the issue. Most NFTs are not crypto-native assets. Unlike bitcoin, a non-fungible asset that lives its entire lifecycle on the Bitcoin blockchain, a digital work of art such as Beeple’s $69 million painting, “ The First 5000 Days ” is not blockchain-native. This painting was created as a collage made of 5,000 different digital works of art in desktop software and then bound to a non-fungible token created by Beeple on the Ethereum blockchain. That means while the token, i.e., the bytes on Ethereum, are blockchain-native, the underlying work of art is not. More valuable than a copy The distinction between the token and the digital object to which it binds is quite crucial. In the crypto-native world, property rights and ownership are defined by “not your keys, not your crypto” – meaning that (absent certain circumstances) you control the private key that can send (assign) the token to someone else, you own the token (and all associated rights). However, in case of a digital collectible, the ownership of a token may or may not mean you own the underlying computer file to which the token maps. Blockchains use a hash function to establish uniqueness but a JPEG file and its copy both produce the same hash. See also: Ajit Tripathi – How to Bring Off-Chain Assets to DeFi Content addressable systems (systems that allow information to be retrieved based on its content rather than location) such as IPFS (a decentralized network) can solve this problem by allowing an NFT to bind with an IPFS URL such that you own the resource but the copy of the JPEG is a different resource. In this scenario, the URL bound to the token becomes worth $69 million whereas the URL corresponding to the copy is basically worth $0. Essentially it’s the token minted by Beeple that “makes” the artwork worth $69 million more than a copy of the digital artwork. Double-spend scenarios However, purely from a technical point of view, an artist or another actor can double-spend a digital object on (a) the same blockchain (b) on a different NFT platform (c) on a different blockchain. Further, multiple non-fungible tokens can be mapped to the same underlying digital file or IPFS URL or to different copies of the same digital file. Indeed, on-chain ownership is not sufficient for off-chain objects unless the legal framework governing the rights of an NFT owner respects and enforces these rights in the off-chain world. I might own a Beeple artwork on Ethereum but Justin Sun might mint the Beeple artwork on the Tron blockchain and thus claim ownership of the artwork anyway. A court in the U.S. might enforce MetaKovan’s rights , whereas a court in Macau might decide in favor of Sun. NFTs and contracts So when you buy an NFT, what do you really get? The answer is, it depends. In one of my discussions with Vinay Gupta of Mattereum, he pointed out that in the case of NBA Top Shot , you own a “w orldwide, non-exclusive, non-transferable, royalty-free license to use, copy and display the art for personal, non commercial use … or to purchase or sell on a marketplace that meets conditions specified … ” and so on, as described in the NBA Top Shot’s Terms of Use . That means in any of the above double-spend scenarios, what I own could depend on what an NFT marketplace will do to honor and enforce my rights. NFTs as Ricardian contracts It’s unclear what happens if a web-based platform used to buy and sell NFTs updates its terms of use. Does that update alter my rights as I understood them when I paid for the digital collectible? The answer is unclear. It’s possible that if the terms of use themselves are off-chain, such terms of use and therefore the rights they assign are not immutable. Fortunately, in the blockchain world there’s already a design pattern called “Ricardian contracts” that provides self-contained enforceable contracts implemented in source code. Ideally, NFTs should be implemented as Ricardian contracts that define the terms and governing law in the preamble and then use these definitions to impart rights and obligations in the source code that follows. In case of a dispute, courts can refer to the source code itself and not have to rely on the website terms of use and such. The long-term value of NFTs NFT platforms are doing three critical things. First, by creating a large, digitally native market for off-chain assets using on-chain tokens, these platforms are providing a proof of value for bringing other off-chain assets such as land titles, cars, houses and bonds – basically everything of any value on to Web 3.0. Second, by building robust, scalable infrastructure for minting, trading and settling NFTs on-chain, NFT platforms are bringing ordinary, nontechnical people to crypto platforms in the way nothing else has so far. I’d not be surprised if 100 million new people become comfortable with using wallets like Metamask and DeFi products this year and next year because they want to trade digital collectibles. See also: Jeff Wilser – How NFTs Became Art, and Everything Became an NFT Third, by sparking debates such as the one contained in this article, NFTs will force common and civil law frameworks to align off-chain rights with onchain rights. Before NFTs, this has not been the case. If degens lose their bitcoin or USDC , they lose it and courts and legislators aren’t particularly called upon. On the other hand, if investors, asset managers, grandma and grandpa lose their Beeples or Top Shots to a double-spend, they will vote and these votes will force legislators to create laws that enforce their rights. Essentially, with NFTs we are looking at technical consensus evolving into a market which in turn forces the social consensus. While I may personally prefer to own FLOW and ETH than Beeples and Top Shot moments, it’s the Beeples and Top Shot moments that have suddenly accelerated Web 3.0 like nothing that came before. This is why I am so excited about NFTs. Related Stories NFTs Can Bring the Real World On-Chain NFTs Can Bring the Real World On-Chain View comments \|\| Terex (TEX) Rides on Improving Demand Amid High Input Costs: On Mar 2, we issued an updated research report onTerex CorporationTEX. The company is poised to grow on investment in innovative products, digital innovation and expansion of manufacturing facilities. Recent pickup in customer demand and strong backlog levels also bode well. However, higher input costs will impede margins in the near term. Terex has made significant progress in its Focus, Simplify and Execute to Win strategy over the 2016-2019 timeframe. In sync with the Focus element that calls for increased investments on high performing businesses, the company completed the sale of the Demag Mobile Cranes business and certain US Crane product lines. Further, Terex has transformed into a structurally simpler company that is committed to becoming more process-driven in order to achieve operational excellence.With the Focus and Simplify elements of this strategy been met, it is making advancing toward the process improvement objectives associated with Execute to Win. Terex is now committed to its next phase of “Execute, Innovate, Grow.” Per the “Execute” theme, the company continues the progress made with “Execute to Win” by intensifying process discipline and implementing several new operational processes, among other initiatives. The “Innovate” theme seeks to continuously develop its product offerings and applying technology. The “Grow” aspect focuses on increasing inorganic investment and adding scope thorough acquisitions. This strategy will drive growth in the years to come. The company noted improvement in customer demand and backlog levels in fourth-quarter 2020. Total backlog was up 25% year over year and 76% sequentially to $1,349 million in fourth-quarter 2020 on account of higher orders across both its business segments. Backed by expected benefits from Terex’s cost actions and improving customer demand witnessed particularly in fourth-quarter 2020, the company anticipates sales in 2021 to be approximately $3.45 billion. The figure indicates year-over-year growth of 12%. Earnings per share is expected in the range of $1.95 to $2.35 for the ongoing year, which suggests a substantial improvement from earnings of 13 cents reported in 2020. Terex’s Aerial Work Platforms segment will gain from strategic source and savings, right-sizing cost structure to align with customer demand, operational execution, strengthening global footprint and innovative new products in the long haul. The utilities business will benefit from the new manufacturing facility being built in Watertown, SD, which will increase capacity and significantly improve productivity.In the Material Processing segment, strong product pipeline, expansion into new geographies, delivering innovative, new products and consistent strong execution position the segment well for future growth. Terex is focused on maintaining a strong liquidity and cash position, positioning it well to navigate through the ongoing unprecedented crisis. As of 2020 end, the company had $670 million of cash and over $1.1 billion of total available liquidity. Terex expects free cash flow of around $100 million in 2021. The company’s board of directors has reinstated its quarterly dividend for 2021. Its total debt-to-total capital ratio was at 0.56 as of Dec 31, 2020, lower than the industry’s 0.71.However, there are a few factors that are likely to impede growth.While material input costs were generally stable in 2020, steel prices increased considerably beginning in fourth-quarter 2020. This is likely to continue in 2021 and lead to higher input costs and dent margins. Further, Section 301 tariffs on certain Chinese origin goods continue to put pressure on input costs. Moreover, volatile global economic conditions and the uncertainty regarding the impact of the pandemic, and resurgence of cases are weighing on the company’s customers. Over the past year, shares of Terex have appreciated 102.1%, compared with the industry’s rally of 69.9%. Terex currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).Some better-ranked stocks in the Industrial Products sector areDeere & CompanyDE,AGCO CorporationAGCO andAvery Dennison CorporationAVY. While Deere flaunts a Zacks Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), AGCO Corporation and Avery Dennison carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), at present. You can seethe complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.Deere & Company has a projected earnings growth rate of 38.8% for fiscal 2021. Over the past year, the company’s shares have appreciated 119.2%.AGCO Corporation has an estimated earnings growth rate of 42.7% for the ongoing year. The company’s shares have surged 107.4% in the past year.Avery Dennison has an expected earnings growth rate of 13.7% for 2021. The stock has rallied 48% in a year’s time. Blockchain and cryptocurrency has sparked one of the most exciting discussion topics of a generation. Some call it the “Internet of Money” and predict it could change the way money works forever. If true, it could do to banks what Netflix did to Blockbuster and Amazon did to Sears. Experts agree we’re still in the early stages of this technology, and as it grows, it will create several investing opportunities.Zacks’ has just revealed 3 companies that can help investors capitalize on the explosive profit potential of Bitcoin and the other cryptocurrencies with significantly less volatility than buying them directly.See 3 crypto-related stocks now >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days.Click to get this free reportTerex Corporation (TEX) : Free Stock Analysis ReportDeere & Company (DE) : Free Stock Analysis ReportAGCO Corporation (AGCO) : Free Stock Analysis ReportAvery Dennison Corporation (AVY) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research \|\| Shark Tank Star: Wall Street Investors Need to Know How Their BTC Is Mined: Not all bitcoins are created equal in the eyes of institutional investors, according to Shark Tank star Kevin OLeary. Institutions want greater transparency about where and how bitcoin is mined, raising the prospect that only some of the supply will end up in Wall Street custody, OLeary said Monday on CoinDesk TVs First Mover. Also known as Mr Wonderful, OLeary has changed his mind about bitcoin as an asset class, now weighting BTC at 3% of his personal portfolio. But he said he doesnt want to buy bitcoin mined in a way that causes energy waste and environmental damage. Related: eToro to Go Public Via Merger With SPAC; Combined Firm to Have $10.4B Value I want to make sure my coin is mined efficiently, he said, comparing dirty bitcoin to blood diamonds that finance unsavory activities in the developing world. Such desire among investors could preclude buying bitcoin mined in China, for instance, which is known for powering its mining with coal-derived electricity (though also hydroelectric plants during the rainy season ). OLearys comments suggest the recent influx of traditional investors to the bitcoin market could revive an old debate, though for new reasons. For years, there has been talk of newly mined, virgin bitcoins fetching a premium over units that have passed through multiple wallets. Supposedly, buyers wanted to avoid any taint from coins that may have been used in illicit darknet marketplaces. If true, this would mean bitcoin is not truly fungible , or interchangeable, meaning it lacks one of the fundamental properties of money. However, evidence of virgin bitcoin premium has been largely anecdotal, and many market participants have called the idea dubious . Related: Ledger Doubles Down on Institutional Crypto With New Business Unit and Hiring Push If OLeary is right, however, Wall Streets environmental conscience or at least, its desire to project one could lead to a new differentiation between supposedly fungible coins. Story continues Sustainability committees The founder of a mutual fund company, a venture capital firm and an exchange-traded fund (ETF), OLeary noted that many institutions have two committees deciding on asset allocations these days: an investment committee and a sustainability committee. Bitcoin needs to satisfy stakeholders on both before companies are going to jump in, he argued. I dont think the community realizes how big this issue is going to become, he said. OLeary said he plans to be active in the mining space, partnering with miners that want to reduce their carbon footprint. He predicted that some institutions may want to mine their own BTC so as to assure provenance for their clients. According to OLeary, only 10% of people at financial institutions who want to invest in the premier cryptocurrency have done so yet, suggesting big unmet demand and rising future prices. Read more: The Frustrating, Maddening, All-Consuming Bitcoin Energy Debate Related Stories Shark Tank Star: Wall Street Investors Need to Know How Their BTC Is Mined Shark Tank Star: Wall Street Investors Need to Know How Their BTC Is Mined \|\| CI Global Files to Issue North America’s Third Bitcoin ETF: There could soon be a third Canadian bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF). CI Global Asset Management, a subsidiary of a firm overseeing more than $230 billion in assets, filed a preliminary prospectus for the financial instrument, the company announced Friday. • The so-called CI Galaxy Bitcoin ETF (BTCX) would be managed by CI and advised by merchant bank Galaxy Digital. The two firms have previously partnered on the CI Galaxy Bitcoin Fund, a closed-end investment product. • TwobitcoinETFs went live this week, offering investors a way to gain exposure to bitcoin by buying stock, rather than the asset itself. ETF managers purchase an underlying asset on behalf of investors trading on the stock market, for a fee. • The first bitcoin ETF in North America hoovered up$421.8 millionworth of assets in its first two days trading, including over 6,000 BTC. BTCX will invest directly in bitcoin, with Galaxy handling that end of the trade and Gemini acting as custodian. • Canadian firm3iQalso filed a preliminary prospectus for a bitcoin ETF last week. See also:What Is a Bitcoin ETF? • CI Global Files to Issue North America’s Third Bitcoin ETF • CI Global Files to Issue North America’s Third Bitcoin ETF • CI Global Files to Issue North America’s Third Bitcoin ETF • CI Global Files to Issue North America’s Third Bitcoin ETF \|\| The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Amazon, Disney, ViacomCBS and Comcast: Chicago, IL – March 22, 2021 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN, The Walt Disney Company DIS, ViacomCBS Inc. VIAC and Comcast Corporation CMCSA. Amazonhas entered a 10-year agreement with National Football League ("NFL") in a bid to strengthen its sports content on Prime Video. The company will stream 15 Thursday Night Football games during the regular season and one pre-season game a year in the United States for which it had obtained the broadcasting rights earlier. Notably, this marks the NFL's first exclusive national broadcast package and Amazon's Prime Video is the first streaming service to secure it. Further, the number of regular season games, including Thursday Night Football,in this package will increase to 15 from 11. These games will begin streaming on Prime Video in 2023. Additionally, Prime subscribers will be able to avail of new pre-game, half-time, and post-game shows. We believe that the latest move is likely to strengthen the viewership of Prime Video on the heels of the strong popularity of NFL games. This, in turn, is expected to drive growth in its subscriber base. The new agreement marks the extension of Amazon's existing relationship with the NFL. Prior to the latest deal, the e-commerce giant with NFL expanded the 11-game Thursday Night Football package last year to add one exclusive regular-season game per year. Apart from this, NFL has leveraged Amazon Web Services' ("AWS") cloud-computing solutions for its Next Gen Stats platform. Further, NFL announced new sports statistics for the 2020 Season namely Expected Rush Yards, Route Classification, Expected Points, Win Probability, Expected Yards After Catch (xYAC) and Field Goal Probability, which were generated from the Next Gen Stats platform and powered by AWS compute technology and AWS Machine Learning services. Notably, the advanced statistics offer deep insights about the game to fans and viewers. Per the latest deal, Amazon will also provide fans with access to interactive features like X-Ray and Next Gen Stats. Amazon is leaving no stone unturned to expand its live sports portfolio worldwide. This is likely to strengthen its competitive position in the global streaming space againstDisney. We note that Disney's ESPN has also signed a long-term deal with the NFL. Further, the company's sports-focused streaming service ESPN+ has gained solid traction, primarily owing to content strength. The service streams MLB, NHL and MLS games, Grand Slam tennis, boxing, PGA Tour golf, college sports, international rugby, and cricket, among others. Further,ViacomCBS' latest multiplatform rights agreement with NFL, which extends CBS's relationship with the league for the next 11 years through the 2033 season, remains noteworthy. Per the deal, the company's Paramount+ streaming service and CBS Sports will continue to air CBS's televised American Football Conference Sunday games. Meanwhile, Peacock owned by NBCUniversal, a subsidiary ofComcast, will stream the games under the Sunday Night Football package. Nevertheless, Amazon's strengthening sports content offering remains a major positive. Along with the NFL, the company streams the English Premier League after winning the rights to 20 matches a season. Additionally, Amazon has launched MLB.TV on Prime Video Channels for Prime members in the United States. All these endeavors position the company well against the above-mentioned companies. Currently, Amazon carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can seethe complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Blockchain and cryptocurrency has sparked one of the most exciting discussion topics of a generation. Some call it the "Internet of Money" and predict it could change the way money works forever. If true, it could do to banks what Netflix did to Blockbuster and Amazon did to Sears. Experts agree we're still in the early stages of this technology, and as it grows, it will create several investing opportunities. Zacks' has just revealed 3 companies that can help investors capitalize on the explosive profit potential of Bitcoin and the other cryptocurrencies with significantly less volatility than buying them directly. See 3 crypto-related stocks now >> Media Contact Zacks Investment Research 800-767-3771 ext. 9339 [email protected] https://www.zacks.com Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss.This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days.Click to get this free reportComcast Corporation (CMCSA) : Free Stock Analysis ReportAmazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) : Free Stock Analysis ReportThe Walt Disney Company (DIS) : Free Stock Analysis ReportViacomCBS Inc. (VIAC) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] None available.	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 51704.16, 55137.31, 55973.51, 55950.75, 57750.20, 58917.69, 58918.83, 59095.81, 59384.31, 57603.89
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis] Not fully available. [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Algorand Has Lofty Goals, But Don’t Expect a Swift Recovery: Algorand ( ALGO-USD ) has a lot going for it. Although not as well known as Ethereum ( ETH-USD ), or major “Ethereum killers” like Cardano ( ADA-USD ), its founder Silvio Micali has lofty goals about making this platform a major force in making decentralized finance (DeFi) mainstream . Furthermore, it’s putting into place upgrades that will further burnish its functionality . This points to a bright future, and possibly a move to higher coin prices in the long-term. That said, I wouldn’t count on its native coin, still down big from where it was last fall, bouncing back in the short-term. Why? The crypto market is still trying to thaw out of its so-called “winter.” That is, following the big drop in cryptocurrency prices, enthusiasm for crypto has a ways to go before it is near levels seen as recently as six months ago. InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips As I discussed recently, while talking about Ethereum, instead of bouncing back, the crypto market could remain very volatile in the months ahead. Mostly, due to the high correlation that exists today between the stock market and the crypto market. As more speculative stocks remain challenged by the prospect of rising interest rates, so too could this asset class. This could mean crypto prices languish at present levels in the months ahead. Or worse, experience another hard drop to lower price levels. One crypto market expert, BitMEX CEO Arthur Hayes, predicts this will happen in June . 7 Cheap Stocks to Buy Before the Next Breakout While talking specifically about Bitcoin ( BTC-USD ) and Ethereum, if both these established names take another dive, it’s very likely Algorand will drop once again as well. Given that, at around 76 cents per coin, it’s currently trading not that far off its 52-week low (just over 67 cents per coin), you may think it may have less downside risk than comparable names. However, it’s not set in stone this will prove true. Given its smaller size, more volatility could result in an outsized decline in price. A move back to 30 cents per coin may not be out of the question. That’s what it traded for at the end of the last crypto bear market (late 2020). Story continues If you have a long time horizon, the prospect of high volatility may not be a deal breaker. Still, given the choice between buying Algorand now, or down the road? You may want to opt for the latter. There’s a good chance a more favorable long-term entry point emerges. On the date of publication, Thomas Niel held long positions in Bitcoin and Ethereum. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines . More From InvestorPlace Stock Prodigy Who Found NIO at $2… Says Buy THIS It doesn’t matter if you have $500 in savings or $5 million. Do this now. Get in Now on Tiny $3 ‘Forever Battery’ Stock Early Bitcoin Millionaire Reveals His Next Big Crypto Trade “On Air” The post Algorand Has Lofty Goals, But Don’t Expect a Swift Recovery appeared first on InvestorPlace . \|\| Crypto for Charity Launches To Make Cryptocurrency Philanthropy More Accessible: New York, New York--(Newsfile Corp. - April 29, 2022) -Crypto for Charityis a groundbreaking platform that allows donors to make cryptocurrency gifts and donate to more than 50,000 U.S.-based nonprofits. It is the latest addition to New York-based FreeWill Co's suite of tools designed to help people give more effectively. Crypto for Charity allows donors to give in more than 30 virtual currencies, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, Avalanche, and Dogecoin. "This is a huge win for crypto philanthropy," Crypto for Charity Founder Lakshmi Parthasarathy, a Harvard Computer Science graduate and former Google engineer. "Crypto holders no longer have to convert their assets to cash to make a charitable donation. With Crypto for Charity, they can now donate directly in the currency of their choice, making it up to 37% more effective due to federal tax laws that allow donors to take a deduction on the full value of the gift," Parthasarathy added. After making a donation, users receive a tax receipt automatically, and their gift is converted to USD and routed to the donor's charity of choice. The launch of Crypto for Charity comes at a time when the use of cryptocurrency is skyrocketing, and more people appear to be interested in using it for philanthropic purposes. "There's a growing awareness of the power of cryptocurrency and its potential to transform society," Parthasarathy said. "People are looking for ways to use their crypto for positive social impact. We want to make sure that everyone has the opportunity to support the causes they care about in the most impactful way possible." FreeWill is America's fastest-growing charitable giving company, helping hundreds of thousands of people give nearly$5 billionto their favorite charities since its founding in 2017. Media Contact:Lakshmi ParthasarathyFounder, Crypto for [email protected] To view the source version of this press release, please visithttps://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/122157 \|\| Bitcoin and Ethereum on the Rise: Will They Break 7 Consecutive Weeks of Declines?: By Laura Sanchez Investing.com - The new week in the cryptocurrency sector starts off bullish for Bitcoin and Ethereum against a backdrop of mixed movements for the rest of the sector. "Bitcoin oscillated between $28,000 and $31,000 over the past week, but has now returned to the $30,150 mark at which it ended the previous week," explains Simon Peters, cryptoasset analyst at eToro. The world's largest cryptocurrency starts this week with gains and experts are wondering if this week can end on the upside, breaking with 7 consecutive weeks of losses. Javier Molina, spokesman for eToro in Spain, points out that, "from a technical point of view, we remain in a key area for BTC bounded by 29,000-30,000 dollars." "Pessimism remains high despite some consolidation and a slight turnaround in sentiment on the derivatives side of the market. For the moment, losing 29,000 means going for the minimum zone of 25,000 dollars. This area now marks the first of the relevant low levels for BTC. Below, straight down to 20,000. However, if we manage to regain 34,000, things could change and we could look for areas of 38,000," says Molina. Meanwhile, Ethereum has been relatively flat, currently trading around $2,000, about $100 less than last week. Like BTC, ETH has also recorded 7 consecutive weeks of declines, and the green numbers at the start of the week give investors some hope, although caution remains. "The most important headlines remain the consequences of terraUSD's decoupling from its fiat currency equivalent and the subsequent loss of Luna's value," notes Simon Peters. Follow Ethereum's performance here:https://www.investing.com/crypto/ethereum See the ranking of the main cryptocurrencies:https://www.investing.com/crypto/currencies Related Articles Bitcoin and Ethereum on the Rise: Will They Break 7 Consecutive Weeks of Declines? New ETH Movements to TornadoCash After April FEI Protocol Attack NFTs: Empowering artists and charities to embrace the digital movement \|\| Swiss National Bank Owns No Bitcoin, but Could Buy in the Future, Chairman Says: Don't miss CoinDesk'sConsensus 2022, the must-attend crypto & blockchain festival experience of the year in Austin, TX this June 9-12. The Swiss National Bank (SNB) isn't currently interested in holding bitcoin (BTC), but could move quickly to do so at some point, said Chairman Thomas Jordan. "Buying bitcoin is not a problem for us, we can do that either directly or can buy investment products which are based on bitcoin," Jordan said in response to a question at the SNB's annual meeting. "We can arrange the technical and operative conditions relatively quickly, when we are convinced we must have bitcoin in our balance sheet." However, he added, "We do not believe bitcoin meets the requirements of currency reserves." According to anannual reportpublished in March, the SNB's reserves as of Dec. 31, 2021, came to just over CHF1 trillion (US$1.03 trillion). The U.S. dollar accounts for 39% of reserves, the euro 37%, Japan's yen 8% and the U.K.'s pound 6%. Gold holdings were just shy of CHF56 billion, or less than 6% of reserves. \|\| The Winklevoss twins' Gemini crypto exchange is cutting 10% of staff amid wider market downturn: • Gemini, the crypto exchange run by the Winklevoss twins, is cutting 10% of its staff, Bloomberg reported. • In a memo to staff, the twins refer to the "crypto winter" and macroeconomic factors as reasons for the cuts. • The value of the cryptocurrency market has tumbled from $3 trillion to $1.3 trillion in about 7 months. The cryptocurrency business run by billionaire twins Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss is cutting 10% of its staff in response to a downturn in trading activity across the industry,Bloomberg reported on Thursday. This marks the first job cuts at Gemini Trust Co., which as a privately held company doesn't disclose its number of employees. The report said LinkedIn lists about 1,000 people who may work there. "This is where we are now, in the contraction phase that is settling into a period of stasis — what our industry refers to as 'crypto winter,'" the Winklevoss brothers wrote to employees in a Thursday memo viewed by Bloomberg News. "This has all been further compounded by the current macroeconomic and geopolitical turmoil. We are not alone." The industry in 2018 suffered through a "crypto winter" – a long period of time of prices crashing and struggling to recover. The value of the broader cryptocurrency market has been roughly halved since hitting highs in November, dropping down to $1.3 trillion on Thursday from $3 trillion about seven months ago,according to CoinGecko.Bitcoinhas slumped 35% during 2022, trading around $30,000 on Thursday. Gemini in late 2021 said it raised $400 million in a funding round that valued the company at $7.1 billion, the report said. Read the original article onBusiness Insider \|\| German Federal Ministry of Finance Issues Nationwide Crypto Tax Guide: • The federal finance ministry of Germany has laid down crypto tax guidelines. • German individuals can now sell bitcoin (BTC) or ether (ETH) tax-free after one year of holding. • The guidelines also deal with tax issues around crypto-centric activities like mining, staking, lending, hard forks, and airdrops. Amid rising uncertainty aroundcryptocurrenciesworldwide, as the global crypto market cap came crashing down to the $1.2 trillion mark, certain positive narratives continue to steer the crypto verse’s boat. The federal finance ministry of Germany hasissuedguidance on the income tax treatment of crypto. The German finance ministry’s letter is the first nationwide instruction on the topic, confirming that staked or lent cryptocurrencies are still tax-free if held for over one year. Additionally, Parliamentary State Secretary Katja Hessel said in a statement that individuals could sellbitcoin (BTC)orether (ETH)tax-free after one year of holding. This guidance deals with issues like mining, staking, lending, hard forks, and airdrops. The statement also talks about the tax treatment of buying and selling bitcoin and ether. The guide further states that the one-year period applies even to cryptocurrency that has been lent out or used by someone else as a stake to create new Ethereum blocks. Additionally, Hessel ruled out applying the alternative ten-year holding period to cryptocurrencies to qualify for tax exemptions that apply to non-mobile assets like land. According to the guide, income tax doesn’t apply when redeeming utility tokens, the crypto assets that give a particular right, such as access to a network or to receive a specific product. The finance ministry has referred to a 2018 court judgment concerning bearer bonds to say redeeming the tokens doesn’t count as a sale under income tax law. On Jan. 1, 2022, Germany brought in a new law that aimed to encourage German banks to offer crypto services. The law required any business offering crypto services in Germany to seek a license from BaFin, Germany’s Federal Financial Supervisory Authority. Since then, considerable growth has been noted in the number of traditional finance institutions offering crypto services in Germany. Earlier this year, Germany’s Commerzbank (CBK) applied for a crypto license, making Commerzbank the first major bank in Germany to move towards crypto adoption. As reported earlier today, Commerzbank’s net profit in the first quarterincreasedby 124%, despite increased provisions and writedowns as a result of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Thisarticlewas originally posted on FX Empire • Canadian bid to block Rogers-Shaw mega-deal more a long shot than lock • Soccer-Some Qatar hotels won’t accept same-sex couples despite FIFA promises-report • Exclusive-War forces Ukraine to divert $8.3 billion to military spending, tax revenue drops – minister • Bank of Canada says rates are too stimulative, downplays 75 bps hike • No need for ECB relief response over Ukraine at the moment- Enria • Itau denies talks to sell stake in XP to Charles Schwab \|\| FTX's billionaire chief says bitcoin has no future as a payments network- FT: (Reuters) - Cryptocurrency exchange FTX's founder has said that bitcoin has no future as a payments network and criticized the digital currency for its inefficiency and high environmental costs, the Financial Times reported on Monday. Bitcoin, the world's largest cryptocurrency, is created by a process called "proof of work" that requires computers to "mine" the currency by solving complex puzzles. Powering these computers needs large amounts of electricity. An alternative to the system is called the "proof of stake" network, where participants can buy tokens that allow them to join the network. The more tokens they own, the more they can mine. FTX Founder and Chief Executive Sam Bankman-Fried told FT that "proof of stake" networks would be required to evolve crypto as a payments network as they are cheaper and less power hungry. Blockchain Ethereum, which houses the second-largest cryptocurrency ether, has been working to move to this energy-intensive network. Bankman-Fried also said he didn't believe bitcoin had to go as a cryptocurrency, and it may still have a future as "an asset, a commodity and a store of value" like gold, the report said. Bitcoin touched its lowest since December 2020 last week after the collapse of TerraUSD, a so-called stablecoin. FTX, which Bankman-Fried co-founded in 2019, was valued at $32 billion in a February funding round, and Bankman-Fried himself is worth $21 billion, according to Forbes. (Reporting by Shubham Kalia in Bengaluru; editing by Uttaresh.V) \|\| Factor Exposure Analysis Of Fixed Income ETFs: London – Running a factor exposure analysis is a core element of the due diligence process for equity-focused mutual funds, and increasingly ETFs, especially actively managed ones. The holy grail is to find fund managers that generate outperformance that is not explained by equity factors, i.e. alpha. If excess returns can be explained by factor exposure, then the capital allocator can simply pick a smart beta ETF with the same factor exposure at a lower cost. However, although it has the same relevance, a factor exposure analysis is slightly less frequently used when evaluating fixed income strategies. Perhaps this is explained by bonds seeming to be more complicated than equities. There is only one type of equities, compared to several types of fixed income instruments that range from convertible debt to senior loans. Furthermore, there is less consensus on how to define factors in fixed income than in equities. Although there are no exact standards on how to calculate the value or quality factors for stocks, most researchers look at the academic work of Fama-French for guidance. There is no equivalent standard for fixed income. In this research note, we explore some of the practical questions when running a factor exposure analysis for fixed income strategies. Selection Of Fixed Income Strategies We select 10 actively managed fixed income ETFs traded in the US, of which the oldest has a track record going back to 2009. The management fees range from 0.35% to 1.13%, and the cumulative assets under management are $48 billion. The strategies are quite diverse and provide exposure to low-risk short-term US government bonds as well as riskier high yield bonds. The performance over the last five years highlights the diversity as the total return ranges from 3.9% to 20.1%. Pop-up Image Source: FactorResearch (For a larger view, click on the image above) Factor Exposure Analysis Of Bonds Some of the products are labeled total return strategies, which is not self-explanatory for understanding what kind of bond exposures these provide. We initiate the factor exposure analysis by using only two independent variables namely global stocks and U.S. investment grade bonds and calculate factor betas using five years of daily data. Story continues The analysis highlights that some of the strategies had minor exposure to equities and only half had high exposure to U.S. investment grade bonds, which is perhaps less than expected. One of the senior loan ETFs had negative exposure to bonds but moderate equity exposure, which shows that senior loans may provide fewer diversification benefits for an equity portfolio than other fixed income instruments. Pop-up Image Source: FactorResearch (For a larger view, click on the image above) However, the average R2 was only 0.5, which indicates that the explanatory power of the regression analysis is not particularly high. In order to increase this, we replace the U.S investment grade bond index with three indices representing U.S. government, corporate, and high yield bonds. We observe that the average R2 does not increase by including more variables and remains at 0.5. However, the results are more nuanced and also intuitive, e.g., the returns of the high yield ETF can be attributed to the performance of high yield bonds. Pop-up Image Source: FactorResearch (For a larger view, click on the image above) Next, we increase the number of independent variables further and include international and emerging bond indices. We now have one equity and seven bond indices. The average R2 increases from 0.51 to 0.55, but interpreting the results starts to become more challenging. For example, the high yield ETF has positive exposure to U.S. high yield bonds, but negative exposure to U.S. and emerging market government bonds. The latter is somewhat unusual as emerging market government and U.S. high yield bonds tend to have positive correlations, i.e., the factor beta should be positive rather than negative. Pop-up Image Source: FactorResearch (For a larger view, click on the image above) As a final step, we add three bond factors namely carry, momentum, and value, so use a total of 11 indices. The average R2 does not increase further and remains at 0.55. We observe that the actively managed ETFs did have factor exposures, which need to be considered when calculating their outperformance via their benchmarks. However, in contrast to equites, the universe of fixed income smart beta ETFs is small. Even if investors are able to explain that outperformance can be attributed to factors rather than skill (alpha), they can not easily replace the fund manager with a smart beta ETF. Pop-up Image Source: FactorResearch (For a larger view, click on the image above) Number Of Independent Variables Although the average R2 did not increase significantly by adding more indices, it did marginally and allows investors to attribute returns to the different types of fixed income instruments, as well as different geographies. Essentially, the factor exposure analysis creates transparency on what has been driving the risk and return of strategies, which might not always be appreciated by the fund manager. Pop-up Image Source: FactorResearch (For a larger view, click on the image above) Further Thoughts The analysis can be easily challenged as we only used the R2 to judge the results and have not shown the p-values. However, these two are closely related and the p-values have also improved as more variables were added. The next logical step would be to use a Lasso regression or similar methodology that selects only the most relevant variables and ignores the rest. It is easy to contemplate having hundreds of variables so the return of a strategy can be fully explained, but there are not that many independent variables, and even using machine learning to sort through these is not always helpful. Some of the factor exposures are not particularly easy to explain, where it is difficult to decide if this exposure uncovers a new relationship, or is statistical junk. The more variables the better, but only to a degree. [Editor’s note: This article originally appeared on ETF Stream Recommended Stories iShares To Close 11 ETFs In August Fastest Growing ETFs Of The Year ETFs To Combat Inflation Hot Reads: Pressure On SEC Rising Over Bitcoin ETF Permalink \| © Copyright 2022 ETF.com. All rights reserved \|\| Gear Up for a Dip-Buy as Nike Stock Posts Steep Consecutive Losses: Oregon-headquartered Nike (NYSE: NKE ) is a giant manufacturer of sneakers and other sports apparel. The company is facing problems abroad, but value-focused investors should hoard NKE stock, not run away from it. Of course, it’s not emotionally easy for most people to buy a stock when it’s plunging. If you want to get results like Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger, though, then you should get into the habit of buying while others are selling. NKE stock offers a perfect example of this. The stock has been as high as $179.10 during the past 12 months. However, it now sits at $112.66 per share. Plus, amazingly, the Nike share price fell 5.9% on May 5 and then declined an additional 3.49% on May 6. Clearly, the market was in a risk-off mood concerning Nike. InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips Back-to-back declines of that magnitude don’t happen often with NKE stock. Before you jump in and buy the dip, though, it’s important to know what prompted the sell-off. First of all, mega-cap stocks were reeling because traders feared the consequences of the Federal Reserve hiking interest rates this year. Yet, there’s more to the story here, and it involves Nike in particular. 7 Defensive Dividend Healthcare Stocks to Buy Now Reportedly, nearly 20% of Nike’s sales are tied to China . Meanwhile, Baird analyst Jonathan Komp cautioned that conditions in China have actually been worse than at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. Komp observed problems in China, such as retail store closures and reduced traffic in stores that were still open. It’s not hard to see, then, why investors are so skittish about NKE stock now. So, investors have a choice to make: succumb to their fears, or jump into the trade. After the share-price slide, Nike now has a trailing 12-month price-to-earnings ratio of 29.73. In other words, the stock is trading at a very reasonable valuation. Besides, Nike is still a global business with demonstrated revenue growth. In fact, Nike posted 5% year-over-year revenue acceleration in the company’s most recent quarterly financial report . Story continues There’s always an excuse to panic-sell your NKE stock if you’re looking for one. This time around, it’s problems happening in China. Value investors shouldn’t be seeking excuses, though. Instead, they should consider buying some Nike shares and holding them with conviction. On the date of publication, David Moadel did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines . More From InvestorPlace Stock Prodigy Who Found NIO at $2… Says Buy THIS It doesn’t matter if you have $500 in savings or $5 million. Do this now. Get in Now on Tiny $3 ‘Forever Battery’ Stock Early Bitcoin Millionaire Reveals His Next Big Crypto Trade “On Air” The post Gear Up for a Dip-Buy as Nike Stock Posts Steep Consecutive Losses appeared first on InvestorPlace . \|\| JPMorgan sees upside for Bitcoin, crypto amid market downturn: A JPMorgan strategist said digital assets are the bank’s preferred alternative asset class while placing Bitcoin’s fair price value at 28% higher than its current price of about US$29,000. See related article:JPMorgan predicts $150,000 Bitcoin price in the long run • “Going forward, we see upside for Bitcoin and crypto markets more generally,” JPMorgan strategist Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou wrote in a Wednesday note. • Although JPMorgan pegs Bitcoin’s fair value in the short term at around US$38,000, its long-term price estimate for Bitcoin is US$150,000. • The selloff hurt cryptocurrencies more than alternative investments like private equity, private debt, and real estate, leaving room for crypto to rebound, the note said. • According to Panigirtzoglou, the global investment bank has replaced real estate, on the back of rising mortgage rates, with digital assets as its preferred asset class along with hedge funds. See related article:How JPMorgan’s Onyx is redefining payments in banking with blockchain [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] None available.	Trend: down \|\| Prices: 26762.65, 22487.39, 22206.79, 22572.84, 20381.65, 20471.48, 19017.64, 20553.27, 20599.54, 20710.60
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis] Not fully available. [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] How Much Will I Get From Social Security If I Make $100,000?: Social Securityis a crucial component of most Americans' retirement planning. Even those who earn six-figure salaries face the challenge of ensuring that they've set enough money aside for their retirement needs. Using tools like IRAs, 401(k) plans, and other tax-favored accounts is essential to put yourself in the best position to retire comfortably, but Social Security will still make a significant contribution toward your financial security in your golden years. Here you'll find a simple analysis of what those who make $100,000 can expect from Social Security and how to account for it in your broader financial plan. Those who earn $100,000 a year will have payroll taxes taken out of their pay all year long. That's because the wage base limit on Social Security for 2018 is $128,400. You'll pay 6.2% of your earnings, or $6,200, toward Social Security. Your employer will withhold that amount on your behalf, as well as kicking in an additional $6,200 to go toward the employer Social Security contribution requirement. Because you've paid taxes on all of your earnings, your $100,000 in earnings will be added to the 35-year work history that theSocial Security Administration uses to calculate your benefits. You'll also earn the maximum of four credits for purposes of qualifying for retirement benefits, with a total of 40 needed throughout your career to get Social Security after you retire. Image source: Getty Images. Note that those who work for certain state and local public employers aren't subject to Social Security tax. For them, alternative pension arrangements are generally available that have their own rules. You won't have money withheld from your paycheck, but you also won't have those earnings counted in your earnings history for Social Security purposes. Because Social Security benefits are determined based on a 35-year career, making $100,000 in 2018 won't have a huge impact on your overall benefit amount. The big question is whether $100,000 will be a consistent level of earnings throughout your career, or whether it represents a one-time windfall that's unlikely to happen again. Bear in mind, though, that the SSA takes inflation into account in looking at your wage history. So if you've gotten regular modest raises during your career, then youraverage indexed monthly earnings-- which is the key number used to calculate your eventual Social Security benefits -- might well be close to the $8,333 that a $100,000 salary would suggest. If you've just recently moved into a much higher-paying job to reach $100,000, then your average earnings across your career might well be less. To keep things simple, let's look at a situation in which someone turning 62 in 2018 has already worked for 35 years and has seen raises along that timeframe in line with the inflation measure that Social Security uses to index earnings. In that case, average indexed monthly earnings will be $100,000 divided by 12, or $8,333 per month. To figure out your monthly benefit amount in 2018, you'll need to use the bend points that the SSA provides. Begin by taking 90% of the first $895 you make monthly, and then add 32% of the amount between $895 and $5,397. Finally, put in 15% of the amount above $5,397. Filling in the numbers, 90% of $895 is $805.50, 32% of the next $4,502 is $1,440.64, and 15% of the remaining $2,936 is $440.40. Combine those numbers, and you get a full retirement age benefit of $2,686.54. That's what you'd get if you wait until you're 66 years and four months old before claiming. On an annual basis, that works out to $32,238 in yearly Social Security income. That means Social Security will be able to pay you almost a third of what you were receiving in pre-tax earnings during your career. That leaves youon the hook to find the remaining two-thirds elsewhereif you spent everything you earned during your career and want to keep doing so in retirement. Two other situations often come up. First, many who reach 62 in 2018 will want to claim Social Security benefits immediately. Doing so would reduce your monthly benefit to $1,970, because under current rules, the reduction for taking early benefits would amount to nearly 27%. By contrast, if you were to wait until age 70 before claiming, then you'd get a more than 29% increase in your monthly benefit check, which would amount to nearly $3,475 per month. Second, many people don't work a full 35-year career. If you earned $100,000 for half of that period, then your benefits would be lower. However, your monthly check wouldn't get cut in half. Using the same benefit formula on average monthly earnings of $4,167 -- half the amount above -- produces $1,852.54, That's almost 70% of the benefits someone making that amount throughout 35 years would get -- a pretty good payout in exchange for paying just 50% of the payroll tax along the way. Even those who had high incomes of $100,000 per year can expect a lot from Social Security. Adding to your benefits by using retirement accounts is a smart move, but you won't have to cover every bit of your anticipated expenses out of your own pocket. Related: For morenews videosvisitYahoo View. More From The Motley Fool • 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices • 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 • 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing • 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today • The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss • Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy. \|\| Bitcoin fever exposes crypto-market frailties: By Jemima Kelly and Anna Irrera LONDON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - As bitcoin raced to another record high on Tuesday, one of the biggest providers of digital currency wallets, Coinbase, went down under the weight of traffic, leaving many of its more than 10 million customers unable to access their funds. At the same time, Bitfinex, the world's biggest bitcoin exchange by trading volume, said it was under a heavy denial-of-service (DDoS) attack, meaning its servers had been intentionally flooded with junk online requests, taking down its website and crippling its services. The latest outages show how the market infrastructure for an immature and volatile instrument that millions of investors have piled into may be ill-equipped to cope with sudden shifts in demand, which is worrying some investors. During a particularly volatile period of trading on Dec. 7, bitcoin surged from below $16,000 to $19,500 in less than an hour on Coinbase's exchange GDAX, while it was changing hands at less than $16,000 on another, Bitstamp. As trading volume surged, GDAX and Coinbase went down at least 10 times because of "record-high traffic", Coinbase said. "More people are engaging with our platform than ever and that bodes well for the future of the digital currency. At the same time, it does create extreme volatility and stress on our systems," the company's director of business operations, David Farmer, said. "We can confirm that there has been no unusual or suspicious activity. All we know right now is that there is a large amount of traffic," he told Reuters. Bitfinex said it had been under a sustained DDoS attack since last week. "While last week the platform traded continuously, to effectively perform emergency maintenance, we took the website down for a brief time today (Tuesday) to mitigate further issues for customers," a spokesman said. "We are constantly improving our systems to ensure that we're able to both accommodate the immense volume of trading that occurs on our platform while also fending off sustained DDoS attacks," he said. 24/7 MARKET Daniel Masters, founder of Global Advisors Bitcoin Investment Fund, worries the exchanges would struggle to cope if there were a sudden rush for the exit. "The ability of these platforms to handle volume is yet to be tested properly," he said. "What happens if this market turns into a lot of sellers? The liquidity itself could be an issue." Charles Cascarilla, chief executive of New York-based company Paxos, which operates cryptocurrency exchange itBit, told Reuters that dealing with spikes in volume was a problem faced by all exchanges, not just cryptocurrency platforms. "Clearly the reality is the world of cryptocurrency is growing at an exponential rate right now and everyone is doing their best to expand infrastructure, but it is hard to know what would happen in a hypothetical scenario," he said. Cameron Winklevoss, co-founder of the Gemini exchange, an early bitcoin investor and an outspoken supporter of the cryptocurrency, said the risk the wider market would suffer badly if one exchange went down no longer existed, as trading volume had become more evenly spread. "We are definitely beyond the too-big-to-fail situation," he told Reuters. "That was a problem we had five years ago when Mt. Gox accounted for 95 percent of volume." "Most of the exchanges are doing a good job. This is a 24/7 market, there is no session close and there is no downtime." Mt. Gox, the world's biggest bitcoin exchange at the time, collapsed in 2014 after hackers stole 650,000 bitcoins, triggering a collapse in the bitcoin price. The demise of Mt. Gox left more than 24,000 customers unable to access hundreds of millions of dollars of cryptocurrency and cash. More than three years later none has recouped a cent. BITCOIN FUTURES Some investors had said they were worried the launch of bitcoin futures by the world's biggest derivative exchanges could exacerbate volatility by prompting some traders to take out large positions betting on a price fall in the future. The Chicago-based Cboe Global Markets Inc. futures launched a futures contracts on bitcoin on Dec. 10 and CME Group Inc will launch a rival contract a week later. So far this week, the launch of futures by Cboe does not appear to have created any additional volatility, with price moves less violent than last week's wild trading. But Tim Swanson, a bitcoin expert and founder of Post Oak Labs, a technology advisory firm, said he was concerned that if the futures liquidity increases there could be an incentive for someone with a large bet against bitcoin to disrupt or attack the network to make money from the ensuing price fall. CME Group and Cboe declined to comment. Flooding the bitcoin network with tiny transactions could potentially send the price down sharply, said Swanson, as could sending many sell-signals to the market that are not honored - so-called spoofing, which is illegal in regulated markets. A surge in bitcoin trades in recent weeks has also left the blockchain network that the cryptocurrency relies on to process and verify transactions struggling to keep up. As of Wednesday at 1445 GMT, more than 125,000 bitcoin transactions remained unconfirmed. In the past week, more than half a million new users have opened wallets with retail-focused bitcoin wallet provider Blockchain, the firm said, taking the total number of users to more than 20 million, from 10 million last year. The London-based company has also been struggling to keep up, citing "record traffic levels" last week. VOLATILE TRADING Created in 2008, bitcoin uses encryption and a shared blockchain database that enables the anonymous transfer of funds outside of a conventional centralized payment system. But there is little evidence to suggest buyers are using bitcoin as a means of exchange and payment. On the whole, they buy the cryptocurrency as a speculative investment, attracted by massive price gains, said Garrick Hileman, a research fellow at the University of Cambridge's Judge Business School. As a result, some banks say they are worried that a collapse in bitcoin would have a knock-on effect on investments by individual investors in other asset classes. Deutsche Bank said in a report on Dec. 7 that a bitcoin crash - and the impact it could have on retail investors' confidence - was one of the biggest risks to markets in 2018. Periods of high volatility are not uncommon in other currencies and asset classes, particularly in commodities and emerging markets. But bitcoin's volatility is extreme, and frequent: the one-day price move has been more than 10 percent on nine days in the past three months. Moves of a similar magnitude for the U.S dollar, for example, are extremely rare. Its biggest one-day move against a major currency was in January 2015 when the Swiss central bank abandoned a cap on the franc, sending the dollar down 18 percent. Some bitcoin watchers, such as Swanson, also worry about the risk of one of the big exchanges being suddenly shut by authorities. In July, U.S. authorities shut down the website of the BTC-e exchange, saying it had "facilitated transactions involving ransomware, computer hacking, identity theft, tax refund fraud schemes, public corruption, and drug trafficking". BTC-e, which is no longer operating, could not be reached for comment. The top three exchanges out of more than 100 - Bitfinex, GDAX and bitFlyer - are home to more than 60 percent of all trading, according to data provider Bitcoinity. Another issue specific to the market is the risk of hacking and theft. More than 980,000 bitcoins have been stolen from exchanges, Reuters has found, with the Mt. Gox heist accounting for the majority. Last week, a Slovenian cryptocurrency mining marketplace, NiceHash, said it had lost about $64 million worth of bitcoin in a hack of its payment system. For graphic on bitcoin's blistering ascent, click: http://tmsnrt.rs/2zClJF3 (Reporting by Jemima Kelly and Anna Irrera; additional reporting by Amanda Cooper; editing by David Clarke) \|\| A Dow Jones Industrial Record: 5,000 Points Higher in Just 1 Year: In this segment of theMarket Foolerypodcast, host Mac Greer,Total Income's Ron Gross, andMillion Dollar Portfolio's Jason Moser consider the meaning behind the impressive year that theDow Jones Industrial Averagehas turned in. With new high marks set on 70 days so far this year, and with the highest point-value gain in its more century-plus of existence, there was plenty to smile about. But the past, as they say, is prologue, and the guys have some Foolish, forward-looking advice to dispense for investors and would-be investors. And they speculate a bit about what we'll see in the markets in 2018. A full transcript follows the video. More From The Motley Fool • 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices • 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 • 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing • 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today • The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss • Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This This video was recorded on Dec. 19, 2017. Mac Greer:For the first time in its 121-year history, the Dow Jones Industrial Average has gone up more than 5,000 points in a year. That's the biggest annual points gain ever. Guys, the Dow has also closed at a record high 70 times this year. Jason, as an investor, what does that all mean, and what does it not mean? Jason Moser:What it means is what we've always been saying: You need to be invested, and you need to be doing that over the course of many years. And it's OK if you're not invested to get started now, because it's never too late. It does not mean that 2018, the market is going to have to go down because it just went up so much in 2017. If we look back all the way back to 2007, from 2007 till now, the S&P 500 was down only one year. Granted, it was down 37% that one year. Ron Gross:[laughs] That was a pretty big year. Moser:But let's be clear here. From 2007 -- Gross:I still have hives from that year. Moser:From 2007 through 2016, if you had plunked just $100 in the S&P index funds, that $100 at the end of 2016 would have been $195.68, had you just left it alone. So the returns are real. They do happen. One down year doesn't ruin your life. My point is, it can always keep on going up. I'm not saying it will. Gross:I heard you just say it will. Send your emails to ... Moser:I'm not saying that. Don't assume that it must go down because it's had such a good year, because I think it had a good year because of a lot of good fundamentals. Gross:When you talk about the Dow, I think you have to be careful when you talk about points, because the higher it goes, the less important the points are. When the Dow was new, if you said it went up 5,000 points in one year, it'd be like, oh my God, that's unbelievable! The higher it gets, the less that means. So it's better to talk in terms of percentages. Now, the Dow has had a great year outperforming the S&P 500. But what is all this Dow stuff? The only time I hear about the Dow is if I turn on the news. I don't invest in the Dow. I'm sure there are ways, there are ETFs and mutual funds, but for the most part professional investors and regular everyday investors invest in the S&P 500, typically, if they want to invest in an index. So I, on a daily basis, am much more focused on that as a proxy for the market. The Dow doesn't even really cross my radar unless I pop open CNBC or something. Greer:You're a buzzkill, but I'll go with that right now. Let's talk about the market writ large, then. Gross:Don't forget, the Dow is 30 stocks. Greer:Point taken. But when you look at the market writ large and the market hitting new all-time highs, someone who's not fully invested or not invested at all, they hear that old saw "buy low, sell high." So when the market is hitting new all-time highs, is there still time for someone to get in? Moser:Well, yeah, because you need to be looking out for the next 10 years. Instead of looking at this and saying this last year was so great, yeah, the last year was so great, but really, when you're investing, when we're investing, we're telling people you want to invest with that five- to 10-year outlook. Don't put money in the market that you need over the course of the next five years. If you can do that, then you can remain patient. I think, generally speaking, I have a hard time understanding where money is going to go besides the stock market, because interest rates, even as they start bumping up a little bit, are still going to be extremely low. There's going to be zero return opportunity on fixed income. A savings account just isn't going to cut it. So you have to be putting your money into the market in some way, shape or form. And I think a lot of people don't even really consider the fact that, if you just participate in your company's 401(k) plan, that's getting your money invested. You're in some type of index or mutual fund there, and that's getting your money in that market. But instead of thinking buy low, sell high, I like to think, just keep on buying. You want to just keep buying, and do that over the course of the next 10 to 20 years. If you do that, things are going to work out OK. Greer:Ron, on last week'sMotley Fool Money, we interviewed CNBC's Carl Quintanilla. And Chris, as the last question of the interview, asked him, what is he looking at in the year head and what are some questions he has? And one of the questions Carl mentioned is, he wondered if we're finally going to start seeing retail investors start talking about stocks the way they did back in 2000. And this market feels very different to me. We hear a lot about institutional investors versus individual investors. What do you make of that? Is this a rally? Is this a market that so far hasn't really included enough individual investors? Or is that just a false construct? Gross:It's so interesting that you ask this question, because on my very long commute this morning, I was actually thinking to myself, gosh, I hope we don't go back to the 1999 days, where I couldn't go to a cocktail party -- not that I was invited to many cocktail parties -- but, I couldn't get together with friends without somebody saying, "Oh my God, I just bought ridiculous company-dot-com and tripled my money! Did you buy that?" And I would say, "Oh, no, I don't really speculate or things like that." And they would be like, "Oh my God, you have to do it! It's like free money. You have to do it. We're just minting money every day, every day!" I stopped going to parties, I couldn't handle it. It was just ridiculous conversations. And eventually the irrational exuberance popped, and everything came back down to Earth. I don't feel like we're in that kind of a situation right now. There are certain hot things like bitcoin, where you'll hear those kinds of conversations at a party, but it doesn't feel anything like back then. You'll hear more talk about politics, I think, than you hear about the stock market. I think people are just happy to see their account balances continue to rise. Every now and then, if there's a hot stock of the week, maybe you'll hear it being talked about. But you don't get the novice investor all of a sudden thinking they can do no wrong and they're just minting money. Moser:Yeah, I feel like that discussion is all centering around bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. Honestly, I feel like that's probably a good thing, because it's letting the market keep flying under the radar, so to speak. Everybody's attention is on the next great cryptocurrency opportunity. And perhaps those will work out. I'm happy to just admit that I don't know enough about it to want to participate. But yeah, I feel like that conversation is happening around cryptocurrencies, and it's letting the market keep on doing its thing. Greer:Ron, what do you think of bitcoin? Gross:That's a tough one, man. I think about bitcoin the same way I think about gold. I don't know. It doesn't have any cash flows associated with it. It doesn't do anything to produce cash flows. So I don't know how to value it. And if I don't know how to value it, I don't know how to buy it or sell it, and therefore I have nothing to do but stay away. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy. \|\| Brokerage Chief: Bitcoin Futures Must Be Quarantined: A well-known electronic brokerage firm is issuing dire warnings against the CME Group's plan to launch a bitcoin futures contract next month. But Interactive Brokers, in a comment letter dated Nov. 14, suggested a way to mitigate the risk it sees from such activity: The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), under the auspices of J. Christopher Giancarlo, should sequester systems that handle cryptocurrency derivatives. "This letter is to request that the Commission require that any clearing organization that wishes to clear any cryptocurrency or derivative of a cryptocurrency do so in a separate clearing system isolated from other products," wrote Thomas Peterffy, chairman of Interactive Brokers. The open letter, published on the firm's website (and reportedly included in a full-page ad in today's Wall Street Journal ), comes on the heels of CME's announcement that it would look to offer cryptocurrency-tied derivatives products. Earlier this week, CME CEO and chairman Terry Duffy indicated that the first product could go live as early as the second week of December. Yet that outcome would pose a significant danger, Peterffy argued, suggesting that a hypothetical plunge in the price of a particular cryptocurrency could send CME reeling financially. He went on to write: "If the Chicago Mercantile Exchange or any other clearing organization clears a cryptocurrency together with other products, then a large cryptocurrency price move that destabilizes members that clear cryptocurrencies will destabilize the clearing organization itself and its ability to satisfy its fundamental obligation to pay the winners and collect from the losers on the other products in the same clearing pool." Doubling down on the argument, Peterffy went on to write that "a catastrophe in the cryptocurrency market that destabilizes a clearing organization will destabilize the real economy." "The only way to protect clearing organizations and their members (and the financial system as a whole) from the unique risks inherent in clearing cryptocurrencies is to require that they be cleared in a separate clearing system, isolated from other products," he concluded. Disclosure: CME Group is an investor in Digital Currency Group, CoinDesk's parent company. Medical scientist wearing protective clothing image via Shutterstock Related Stories CME's Bitcoin Futures Likely to Start Trading December 11 FUD From All Sides: In Defense of CME's Bitcoin Futures Plan First Long-Term LedgerX Bitcoin Option Pegs Price at $10,000 Swiss Firms to Let Traders Short Bitcoin With New Futures Products View comments \|\| A bitcoin implosion could 'spill over' into the stock market, warns Wells Fargo: If the cryptocurrency boom goes bust, stocks could easily be dragged into the chaos, Wells Fargo Securities says. Christopher Harvey, the firm's head of equity strategy, is paying close attention to the unprecedented activity in what could be one of the most epic bubbles of all time. "There is a significant amount of froth in the cryptomarkets. We do think that if that froth comes out, it will start to spillover," he warned on CNBC's " Trading Nation ." Bitcoin (Exchange:BTC.CB=) and its peers have been seeing wild price swings seen over the past week. Last week, bitcoin lost one-third of its value in a single day before rebounding. That capped days of volatility which saw the digital currency surge to a new record near $20,000. On Tuesday, it was above $15,000, according to CoinDesk. "What we're worried about is froth coming out of that market, and that's starting to affect equities," said Harvey. "You're seeing it a little bit, but just not to a large degree. And, it's something to watch out for in 2018." Harvey has a 2,863 S&P 500 (^GSPC) index year-end price target for 2018 — about a 6 percent gain from Friday's close. It comes far below the 20 percent gains Wall Street has seen this year. "You have to lower your expectations for next year. A lot of good news is already priced in, and we just don't see that much going forward. It'll be a decent market, it just won't be a banner year," he said. Harvey sees the first half of the year stronger than the second. By then, he predicts, stocks will come up against new challenges — whether the cryptomarket implodes or not. "What the market will have to contend with is EPS [earnings per share] peaking, ISM potentially peaking, you're going to have the yield-curve in all likelihood flattening — and in addition to that, you'll likely have multiples start to compress, " Harvey said. "You're going to have to scratch and claw to stay afloat for it to break even."More From CNBC • The crypto carnage could continue, says a real currency strategist • Dow and S&P 500 post 5-week winning streak after Trump signs tax bill • Four Dow stocks, including Walmart, are trading at extremes \|\| 3 Big Stock Charts for Wednesday: Apple Inc., Tesla Inc and Best Buy Co Inc: Will Santa Claus deliver the seasonal rally that investors have been accustomed to? The rally, for those unaware of the details, is supposed to occur over the last five trading days of the year and the first two days of the New Year. So far there hasn’t been a glimmer of hope for the rally as theS&P 500has moved lower. Part of the draw lower continues to be large cap technology stocks, which are experiencing losses thanks to doubts that the technology stock dominance will continue into 2018. Among the laggards in the tech sector are headliners likeApple Inc.(NASDAQ:AAPL) andTesla Inc(NASDAQ:TSLA). Meanwhile, the stronger-then-expected retail results have brick-and-mortar retailers likeBest Buy Co Inc(NYSE:BBY) punching through to new highs. InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips Here are the technical game plans for each of these stocks: The headline news regarding lighter-than-expected sales of the iPhone X are bringing AAPL shares from the top of what has become a daunting trading range. Apple stock is now sitting at the bottom of that same range, in a must-win situation that is likely to determine whether 2018 starts on a 10% rally or selloff. Since the beginning of November, AAPL shares have been locked in a tight trading range between $170 and $175. This range has had a tight grip on Apple stock; however, the early December trip to $170 chipped-away at the support level, indicating that the next test would be more critical. Overhead, the shorter-term trendlines are beginning to move into bearish patterns. This suggests that AAPL stock is falling victim to fast technical selling as it approaches its critical 50-day moving average. The 50-day currently sits just under $170. A break below this trendline is going to bring a large increase in selling pressure for Apple. The Chande Trend Meter is now registering neutral readings for AAPL stock; the last neutral signal we saw from the indicator was just ahead of the decline from $160 to $148 in September. Elon Musk is firing-up the P.R. and headline machine as TSLA shares are slumping into the year-end trade. This is a pattern that Tesla traders are used to seeing as the hype behind new product announcements, or in this case hints, are often used to shore-up the price when it starts to lag the market. • 8 Bitcoin Stocks That You Won't Lose Your Shirt Over In this case though, TSLA stock has three bearish technicals working against it. Since the peak in September, Tesla stock has put in a lengthening series of lower highs and lower lows. This is a telltale sign that traders are exiting TSLA stock on any strength by selling into rallies. Tesla stock’s 50-day moving average turned bearish in mid-October at the same time the stock was unable to break back above this key trendline. After a brief stint above this trendline this month, TSLA shares have broken lower again. This strengthens the bearish case against Tesla stock. The stock’s 50- and 200-day moving averages just completed a bearish “Death Cross” pattern. This indicates that TSLA stock’s long-term trend is becoming more negative as momentum leads to the downside. The surprise (again) for this shopping season is that the brick-and-mortar retail shopping stores continue to thrive in the holiday season. Companies like BBY andTarget Corporation(NYSE:TGT) once again displayed that shoppers actually enjoy getting out and milling through the wares to find the perfect gift. • Why "The Force" Is With Walt Disney Co Stock Investors Best Buy shares are now trading back at their highs, a trend that they started this time last year. Is it time to exit BBY shares? Shares of Best Buy have been moving in a parabolic rally from the beginning of November to today. The holiday shopping results are giving BBY stock, and many other retailers, a boost. Historically, this rally moves into early January and then sees some “sell the news” pressure. Recently, Best Buy shares lost ground in January. Over the last five years, the “sell the news” seasonality for BBY stock has it finishing January in the green only 40% of the time and the average performance for the January is a loss of 3.5%. This indicates that Best Buy heads into the New Year with a strong headwind. The current technical charts for BBY suggests that a seasonally weak January will likely push the stock towards support at $62, a decline of about 10% that would count for a “healthy correction” by most technical traders’ books. Traders may want to watch this as a level to buy Best Buy shares. As of this writing, Johnson Research Group did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities. • 7 Ways to Get Rich Internationally in 2018 • 10 Top S&P 500 Stocks in 2017 • 7 Best Dividend ETFs to Buy for 2018 Compare Brokers The post3 Big Stock Charts for Wednesday: Apple Inc., Tesla Inc and Best Buy Co Incappeared first onInvestorPlace. \|\| Bitcoin Gold DASH and Monero Price Forecast for the Week of December 11, 2017, Technical Analysis: Bitcoin Gold Bitcoin Gold initially tried to rally during the week but found enough resistance at the $325 level to turn around and break down significantly. We have broken down below the $250 level and even reached as low as $212. The market continues to be very noisy, and I think that its very likely that with most of the attention on Bitcoin this coming week, this market will probably suffer as well. I believe that there is a bit of a ceiling at the $300 handle, with massive support at the $200 level. The market continues to chop around, and therefore its going to be difficult to trade from a longer-term standpoint. Get Into Dash Trading Today BTG/USD DASH USD and XMR USD Video 11.12.17 BTG/USD weekly chart, December 11, 2017 DASH/USD DASH continues to be very noisy, bouncing around between the $500 level on the bottom, and the $900 level above. This market continues to look bullish overall, but this pullback is a bit overdue, so Im looking at a pullback towards the $500 level is a nice buying opportunity. In general, I believe that DASH continues to be a bullish market, and longer-term we should continue to rally towards the $1000 level. However, I think you will get a better opportunity to pick up the market at lower levels, especially if Bitcoin disrupts everything like I think it will for the next 5 sessions. The noise in the markets continue, but I think that a breakdown below the $500 level would bring in fresh selling and make be much more cautious. DASH/USD weekly chart, December 11, 2017 XMR/USD Monero rally during the week, reaching towards the $300 level above. The $300 level is a psychological resistance barrier, but as most cryptocurrencies have gotten a bit overbought, Monero is no different. I think that the pullback that looks likely should end up being a nice buying opportunity near the $200 level, so make sure that you are paying attention and looking for supportive candles to take advantage of. If we do break down below the $200 level, the market will more than likely go looking towards the $150 level underneath, which was previous resistance, and should now be supportive. In general, I believe that Monero will be one of the winners longer-term, but we need to find some value, something thats typical in all markets. Story continues Buy & Sell Cryptocurrency Instantly Monero/USD weekly Chart, December 11, 2017 This article was originally posted on FX Empire More From FXEMPIRE: Bitcoin Price Forecast for the Week of December 11, 2017, Technical Analysis Natural Gas Price Fundamental Weekly Forecast Hedge Fund Specs Cut Bullish Bets, Ripe for Short-covering Rally ETH/USD Price Forecast for the Week of December 11, 2017, Technical Analysis Comex High Grade Copper Price Futures (HG) Technical Analysis Close to Testing Major Retracement Zone Strong U.S. Payrolls Support Rate Hike, but Sluggish Wages Remain a Concern GBP/USD Fundamental Analysis week of December 11, 2017 \|\| 3 Cryptocurrencies That Outperformed Ethereum in 2017: It may be the holiday season, but cryptocurrencies have been playing the role of St. Nick for virtual currency investors since the beginning of the year. When the calendar turned to 2017, the aggregate value of all cryptocurrencies combined was a mere $17.7 billion -- and bitcoin made up well over 80% of this value at one point. However, as of Dec. 14, the total cryptocurrency market cap had soared to $515 billion. For you math-phobic people, that's a return of more than 2,800%. For investors who've held throughout the entirety of this volatile year, they've possibly seen a lifetime's worth of gains. Image source: Getty Images. A lot of credit is often bestowed on bitcoin for fueling this digital currency rally, and with good reason. Bitcoin was the first tradable cryptocurrency, and it's the most widely accepted by merchants. Even now, with an aggregate market cap of $515 billion for all virtual currencies, bitcoin comprises 56% of that total. But this rally is about more than just bitcoin. It's about the emergence of other coins andunderlying blockchainsthat have the potential to effect positive change. Perhaps no cryptocurrency has stolen the spotlight from bitcoin in 2017 more than Ethereum. The Ether token has rallied by 8,500% this year, pushing Ethereum's market cap to $66 billion. Why the newfound love for Ethereum among investors? It mostly has to do with Ethereum's blockchain. Blockchain is the infrastructure that digital currencies are built upon, and they're responsible for logging transaction data in a digital, distributed, and decentralized ledger. There are a host of advantages to blockchain technology, including the potential for cheaper transaction fees, since there's no middleman (i.e., bank) involved. Also, transaction settlement times could be particularly quicker utilizing blockchain since miners are working around the clock to proof encrypted transactions. This compares to traditional banking, especially cross-border transactions, where a payment or transfer of funds can be tied up for days while waiting to clear. What's really lit a fire under Ethereum this year is the formation of theEnterprise Ethereum Alliance. Currently boasting 200 members, this Alliance is testing a version of Ethereum's blockchain across an array of industries in various pilot and small-scale projects. Few folks would deny the potential that blockchain can bring to the table, and it appears that Ethereum has done an exceptional job in attracting enterprise clients. Image source: Getty Images. But when all is said and done, Ethereum's 8,500% gain, while more than four times that of bitcoin in 2017, falls short of the return that a few of its peers delivered. Here are three cryptocurrencies that actually left Ethereum eating their dust this year. With the fourth-largest market cap of all cryptocurrencies, Ripple's XRP has gained a whopping 10,900% since the year began. The interest in the XRP appears to tie in with its proprietary blockchain that's focused on financial service companies. In particular, Ripple's blockchain could allow for cross-border payments and transactions that occur instantly, rather than waiting those aforementioned days as under the current system. The news that really sent Ripple soaring in 2017 was the announcement thatAmerican Express(NYSE: AXP)andBanco Santander(NYSE: SAN)would beusing Ripple's blockchain in certain cross-border transactions. The partnership will process non-card payments to U.K.-based Banco Santander accounts through Ripple's blockchain. More importantly, these transactions are expected to be instantaneous. There's also the belief that Ripple's coin, the XRP, will play a key role in expediting remittances in the future. For instance, the ability to transfer from one currency to another instantly becomes possible with the XRP as the intermediary currency. Clearly, there's a lot of excitement surrounding Ripple. Image source: Getty Images. Though NEM, and its virtual currency XEM, are lesser known, the ninth-largest cryptocurrency by market cap has done particularly well in 2017 (up 14,000%)! Just shy of an all-time high, NEM's market cap is nearing $5 billion. Similar to Ripple, the buzz with NEM is all about its blockchain and the ability to transfer money securely and efficiently. However, NEM appears to be broadening its reach beyond just enterprise clients. It's all about peer-to-peer payments and transfers, regardless of whether it's person-to-person or business-to-business. With the NEM Foundation based in Singapore, its partnerships have primarily been concentrated in Southeastern Asia. Perhaps most notable was the September announcement of a partnership between NEM and the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC), a government-owned institution charged with managing digital infrastructure and security, and advising on technology-related laws in Malaysia. The MDEC also promotes relationships between high-tech businesses, meaning this partnership could lead to an abundance of Malaysian (and perhaps Southeast Asian) companies testing out NEM's blockchain and incorporating its token, the XEM. Image source: Getty Images. But one of the top single-year performances you'll ever witness as an investor is the return delivered by the 43rd-largest cryptocurrency by market cap, Einsteinium. This little-known virtual currency began the year at $0.000875 per EMC2 coin (apropos name, am I right?), and recently vaulted to north of $2 per coin. Currently, it's sporting a nearly 170,000% return. If you had the gall to invest $1,000 in this at the beginning of the year, you'd have around $1.7 million. So, what on Earth would cause a virtual currency to explode 170,000% higher? Probably the biggest single event was the announcement in October of a hard fork that was designed to reduce the number of EMC2 coins by 50 million. This hard fork was completed on Dec. 10. Think about this like an investor: when a company issues stock to raise capital, it dilutes existing shareholders by increasing the number of shares outstanding. Comparatively, removing coins is like buying back stock in that it increases the scarcity and value of each remaining coin. Additionally, this virtual currency has been abuzz with rumors. There had been a short-lived rumor in early December about a possible tie-up withApple, but those rumors were quickly quashed. Nonetheless, Einsteinium is promising a big announcement at some point in the future, which has led to a lot of optimism surrounding its coins. The big question as we head into 2017 is: Are these gains sustainable? Call me not so convinced. More From The Motley Fool • 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices • 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 • 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing • 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today • The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss • Why You're Smart to Buy Shopify Inc. (US) -- Despite Citron's Report Sean Williamshas no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Apple. The Motley Fool has the following options: long January 2020 $150 calls on Apple and short January 2020 $155 calls on Apple. The Motley Fool recommends American Express. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy. \|\| Bitcoin hits all time high as controversial 'hard fork' called off: Bitcoin shot to just shy of $7,900 (£6,000) after a controversial proposal that could have split the cryptocurrency was called off. The currency had been scheduled to undergo a so-called "hard fork", a change to bitcoin's code that would have created an offshoot cryptocurrency, and which developers argued was necessary to keep up with the pace of its growth. Despite widespread agreement over the summer that the upgrade, known as SegWit2x, would be implemented on November 16, support for the change had waned. On Wednesday, proposals to implement the changes were suspended over fears they could divide bitcoin irreparably and damage the cryptocurrency's growth.Bitcoin'sprice briefly surged to a new high of $7,848, compared to less than $1,000 at the start of the year. It has since fallen back to trade at around $7,250. Members of leading bitcoin exchanges supporting the "SegWit2x" proposals have signed a letter calling off the upgrade. SegWit2x would have doubled the size of the bitcoin "blocks" on the blockchain, the record of bitcoin transactions, essentially making it easier to process more trades as more people join and trade bitcoin. "Although we strongly believe in the need for a larger blocksize, there is something we believe is even more important: keeping the community together," said Mike Belshe, chief executive of bitgo.com. Because bitcoin is decentralised it has no one controlling party. This means that changes to the code are decided as a group, similar to a vote or referendum. However, this has led to previous rivals to the current bitcoin splitting off, such asBitcoin Cashover the summer. If certain developers refuse to accept the current bitcoin code, they can "hard fork" the blockchain and create a new one, and thus a new, rival currency. With SegWit2x, around 95 per cent of bitcoin miners and developers had signalled support for the proposal over the summer. However, this had since fallen to around 75 per cent, with opponents calling the changes a power grab on bitcoin bybitcoincompanies and large exchanges. The code had also lacked "replay protection", which would have prevented transactions being copied across the old and new network. SegWit2x had also not been supported by bitcoin's core development team. If bitcoin had suffered a split, there were fears major exchanges would not be able to decide which was the true bitcoin. Coinbase, one of the best known trading platforms, had said it would "let the market decide" and would suspend trading of bitcoin ahead of the split. Bitcoin developers still believe the currency needs to scale to cope with booming demand, but those proposals are on ice. For now, bitcoin has remained one currency and investments in the currency remain on the original blockchain. \|\| CRYPTO INSIDER: Bitcoin is the 'most crowded' trade in the world: crowded subway train Welcome to Crypto Insider, Business Insider’s roundup of all the bitcoin and cryptocurrency news you need to know today. Sign up here to get this email delivered direct to your inbox. Bitcoin is officially the most crowded trade in the world, according to a fund manager survey conducted by Bank of America Merrill Lynch . Close to a third of investors surveyed this month said they viewed being long bitcoin as the most crowded position, ahead of long FAANG (Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix Google) and BAT (Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent). Despite the popularity among traders, bitcoin is down close to 6% in the last 24 hours. Here’s the scoreboard as of Tuesday morning: Bitcoin (BTC) : $17,847.04 (-5.8%) Ethereum (ETH): $827.85 (+5.2%) Bitcoin Cash (BCC) : $2,262.28 (+5.3%) Ripple (XRP) : $0.776 (+2.5%) Litecoin (LTC) : $339.76 (-4.2%) And that’s only the tip of the iceberg. There are now 28 other smaller cryptocurrencies with market capitalization's of $1 billion or more . Investors have pumped $2 billion into crypto funds this year — and 2018 will be even bigger, Morgan Stanley says. A new index tracking the returns of cryptocurrency-focused hedge funds shows returns of 1,641% through November of this year. Despite its wild volatility, Bitcoin’ still isn’t viewed as a risk to the financial system , a Nomura strategist said Monday. The cryptocurrency’s crazy price moves could soon start influencing other markets, especially coal. Finally, the SEC announced a temporary suspension of trading of The Crypto Company stock from Tuesday’s opening bell until January 3, 2018 "because of concerns regarding the accuracy and adequacy of information in the marketplace about, among other things, the compensation paid for promotion of the company, and statements in Commission filings about the plans of the company’s insiders to sell their shares of The Crypto Company’s common stock." Story continues NOW WATCH: PAUL KRUGMAN: Bitcoin is a more obvious bubble than housing was See Also: BANK OF AMERICA: Bitcoin is the 'most crowded' trade The 29 cryptocurrencies with a market cap of more than $1 billion CRYPTO INSIDER: Bitcoin slips as CME futures go live SEE ALSO: Bitcoin's wild volatility could soon start shaping other markets [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] #Bitcoin : Sube !! 15/11/2017 02:00:03 COMPRAMOS a COP 19.599.938,61 y VENDEMOS en COP 24.551.502,05 #BitcoinColombiapic.twitter.com/OcvjbPscbg \|\| Bulgarian Official Denies Country Possessing $3.2 Billion in #Bitcoin https://goo.gl/DXed2y pic.twitter.com/uRFr5d5rTv \|\| bitcoin priceってゆうか、 \|\| ZaifからのBTC出金（三度目）でまたも「None」となり出金できない。どうなってるんだ？？？ \|\| Nyt puhutaan siis oikeista Bitcoin transaktioista jotka päätyvät Bitcoinin blockchainiin. Ei siitä että joku ylläpitää saldolukua webbisaitilla joka pienenee kun vingutat korttia. \|\| “Do you have any bitcoin regrets?” https://twitter.com/i/moments/939479780445052929 … \|\| @ #3, Bitcoin Cash with unit price of $1,629.3, market cap of $27,443,868,101 (6.39%), and 24 hr vol. of $2,668,510,000 (7.16%) \|\| bitcoin priceってゆうか、 \|\| bitcoin priceってゆうか、 \|\| Dear Aldo, exactly the Argentian view described in @aaron_koenig 's book (which was my Intro) was one of the most convincing points for bitcoin for me.	Trend: down \|\| Prices: 14982.10, 15201.00, 15599.20, 17429.50, 17527.00, 16477.60, 15170.10, 14595.40, 14973.30, 13405.80
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis] Not fully available. [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Goldman Sachs: This is Bitcoin's Sweet Spot: Even thoughBitcoin has been called a bubble, investors who have hungrily watched Bitcoin’s price soar 290% over the past year from the sidelines still have a chance to win big. Or at least that’s according toGoldman Sachsanalyst Sheba Jafari. On Sunday, the banking giant sent a note seen byCNBCthat said Bitcoin, now priced at $2,568 a piece, could fall as low as $1,857 before bouncing to a much higher valuation between $3,212 to $3,915. That means if an investor watches the cryptocurrency carefully and times it perfectly, they could gain as much as 110% on their initial investment. Granted, that would take quite a bit of patience, with Goldman acknowledging that “it might take time” to hit $3,915. Read:Can Bitcoin’s First Felon Help Make Cryptocurrency a Trillion-Dollar Market? If Bitcoin were to hit $3,915, then that would add another $22 billion in market capitalization to cryptocurrency, which is up 53% from Bitcoin’s current market capitalization of $42 billion. That comes as the cryptocurrency has fallen from a high of just over $3,000 in mid-June, with investors, includingMark Cuban,warning thatBitcoin’s price has already peaked. \|\| Alphabet's Nest Cam IQ recognizes burglars' faces—for a steep price: Overall, the Internet of Things revolution has been a bust. You know—all those coffee makers, garage-door openers, and washer-dryers that we can control with apps on our phones. Only a couple of categories seem even worth messing with: internet-connected thermostats, and home security cameras. These are tiny WiFi cameras that you can plunk around your house—and then spy from your phone, wherever you go in the world. You can see who’s at the front door, see if the baby’s awake, see if the nanny is overfeeding your kids, or monitor your home for motion when you’re not paying attention. Two years ago, Nest, which is a part of Google parent Alphabet (GOOG,GOOGL), introduced the Nest Cam ($200), which was a tweaked-up version of the former Dropcam, which Nest had bought for $550 million. Feel free to re-read that sentence. The Nest Cam was a fine product, soon joined by a weatherproof model, Nest Cam Outdoor. In addition to the usual function—letting you see what’s going on back at home, and alerting you when there’s motion—they also have two-way audio, so that you can yell at the room by remote control when you see something amiss. You know: “Xerxes, DOWN! Off the couch. DOWN!” Now there’s theNest Cam IQ,which raises the price by 50% to a nose-bleedy $300. (The earlier cameras remain available.) That extra $100 buys you improved picture and sound, plus facial recognition. That is, the camera learns what people in your home look like, using the same facial algorithms found in Google Photos. At that point, it can alert you only when astrangeris poking around your house. As with the other Nest Cams, this one is super easy to set up. You create a Nest account, plug in the camera’s 10-foot power cord, and then use your phone to scan the barcode on the bottom of the camera. Suddenly, it’s set up. Its current camera view appears right in the same Nest app that you use to control your Nest thermostats and smoke detectors. As before, you can’t actually make the physical lens move by remote control to pan around the room, as you can on some rival products. But youcanpan and zoom—with your fingers on the screen. Since the camera’s view is 130 degrees, you can actually see the entire room at once, and then zoom and pan to any part of the room. Better yet, the new camera is actually a 4K camera, meaning that it has four times as many pixels as high definition. That feature doesn’t help with spying on your home or playing back recordings, since all of that still takes place in 1080p hi-def. Itisuseful when you’ve zoomed in with your fingers. A special button (hidden, alas, until you tap the screen) at that point harvests the extra pixels to sharpen up the image. I’m guessing it works best if you shout “Enhance!” as you tap, like they do on TV. The 4K sensor also makes possible Supersight, a feature that’s supposed to auto-zoom and auto-track a face as it enters the frame, with the original full-room view as an inset. In practice, it’s more like not-so-Super Sight. Sometimes it doesn’t kick in at all. Sometimes it pans so aggressively in the direction the thief is walking that it pans right past him. Seems like it’s expecting the evildoer to move at just the right speed, or it doesn’t really work. As before, the picture and sound are delayed by a couple of seconds. Don’t try to practice your comic timing with the folks back at home over the Nest Cam. The clarity of the image (and the sound), on the other hand, are terrific. Thanks to night vision, you even get 15 feet of incredible clarity in total darkness. The original Nest Cam used to go off too often, triggered by cats and dogs, cars outside the window, and so on. It became the security camera that cried wolf; you wound up ignoring the notifications, or turning them off. The IQ still sends a lot of false positives, but the facial recognition really helps. In the first week of using the new camera, the phone app shows you the faces of people it spots passing through the room. You’re asked, “Do you know this person?” for each one. There will be repetitions during those first days, but eventually, the app will know who’s entitled to be in your home, and who’s not. And sure enough: the IQ now lets you know only when someoneunauthorized is in your home. It’s a brilliant, important feature. It is not, however, a Google invention. TheNetatmo Welcomecamera was the first with facial recognition (and, soon, dog and cat recognition)—and it costs $100 less. The subscription news All of the spying fun you’ve read about so far is free. Unfortunately, you have to pay a monthly fee to getthe good stuff. It’s $10 a month, or $100 a year. Here’s what that gets you: • Continuous, 24/7 recordings of everything that’s happened in your house, going back 10 days. Either on the phone or on the Nest website, you can catch something you missed with the camcorder, like your baby’s first steps or a pet’s funny trick. Freeze the frame on whoever keeps spilling food on the couch. Settle an argument (or prolong one) by proving who brought the subject up first. (Without the subscription, you get only a three-hour rewind window.) • Share clips of all that, or make time-lapse videos of it • Notifications of audio events like a dog barking or people talking • Notifications when familiar faces are spotted • Activity zones: Up to four parts of the room that you want the camera to ignore or pay particular attention to. (Unfortunately, facial recognition doesn’t respect these zones—it’s always on—so faces on a TV trigger alerts.) (At least standard “I’ve spotted a face!” notifications are now included. The previous Nest cameras required a subscription even for that feature.) I’ll just say it: I can’t stand monthly subscriptions. They’re an unnecessary money gouge. Especially when you remember that you need one subscription foreach camera(although additional subscriptions are half price). Besides, plenty of rival cameras also store your recordings online for free, or onto a memory card. And some of them have cool features that the Nest doesn’t. And none of them cost as much: • Netgear Arlo Pro ($228):Wireless and battery powered or wired. Weatherproof. Multi-camera discounts. Seven days’ worth of footage storage online for free; 30 days’ worth for $10 a month. • iControl Piper nv ($270): No subscription plans (records 1,000 motion-triggered clips online for free), but no continuous recording, either. Also tracks outside temp and humidity levels, and issues weather warnings. Acts as a hub for smart-home devices. • D-Link DCS-2530L Full HD 180-Degree Wi-Fi Camera ($132):Records to a memory card, so no subscription necessary. • Samsung SmartCam PT ($160):You can pan and tilt the camera from afar, with auto-tracking of a person in the room. Records to a memory card, so no subscription necessary. Privacy mode: When you’re home, camera aims down and shuts off. • Netatmo Welcome ($200):Face recognition. Stores clips on a memory card (no 24/7 recording). Make no mistake: The Nest Cam IQ is a fantastic home-security camera. Simple to set up, easy to use, super smart facial recognition, and the best picture and sound on the market. For its core function, it’s among the best home-security cameras you can buy—and buy, and buy, and buy. Correction: This post originally stated that Nest is owned by Google. In fact, it is owned by Google parent Alphabet. The error has been corrected. More from David Pogue: Electrify your existing bike in 2 minutes with these ingenious wheels Marty Cooper, inventor of the cellphone: The next step is implantables The David Pogue Review: Windows 10 Creators Update Now I get it: Bitcoin David Pogue’s search for the world’s best air-travel app The little-known iPhone feature that lets blind people see with their fingers David Pogue, tech columnist for Yahoo Finance, welcomes nontoxic comments in the comments section below. On the web, he’sdavidpogue.com. On Twitter, he’s@pogue. On email, he’s [email protected]. You canread all his articles here, or you can sign up toget his columns by email. \|\| Ethereum, Bitcoin lead cryptocurrencies lower as selling continues: Investing.com - Prices of both Ethereum and Bitcoin extended their recent decline on Tuesday, remaining under pressure as investors appeared to take profit on the recent rally that has seen it touch record highs. Ethereum prices dropped by as much as 18% on the U.S.-based GDAX exchange operated by Coinbase to a low of $206.50. It was last at $237.85 by 5:05AM ET (0905GMT), down $14.50, or around 6%. Last week Ethereum plunged to as low as 10 cents from around $317 in a matter of seconds in an apparent flash crash. The digital currency is down roughly 40% over the past two weeks. It remains up over 2,000% so far for the year. Meanwhile, Bitcoin continued to struggle as investors remained wary of initiating large position amid several warnings from analysts that the digital currency has peaked since hitting $3,000 earlier this month. The cryptocurrency was at $2,375.30 in early trade, down about 3.5%. Despite recent losses, the digital currency is up more 150% for the year. Related Articles Dollar trades lower before Fed speeches Forex - Euro hits session highs on hawkish Draghi remarks Forex - Dollar dips with Yellen speech in focus \|\| There’s No Good Reason to Buy Snap Inc (SNAP) Stock: InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips Let’s just be real right off the bat:Snap Inc(NYSE:SNAP) is not the best investment. At least, it would appear that way considering the current information that we have. But that doesn’t mean that SNAP stock isn’t worthwhile as a play on the future. Source: Shutterstock For better or worse, the company is almost entirely built around the Snapchat social media platform. Some social media companies are getting their act together, likeTwitter Inc(NYSE:TWTR). Others likeFacebook Inc(NASDAQ:FB) continue to dominate. As soon as Snapchat builds momentum, Facebook’s Instagram muscles its way back into users’ hands — blatantly copying a number of Snapchat’s features. But the point is still the same: It has more firepower than even the hottest name in social media. • 3 Stocks to Buy to Leverage the Bitcoin Craze And that, of course, is the major risk to SNAP stock. Facebook just hit 2 billion monthly active users. Not long ago, Instagram was tallying more than 700 million users — adding the most recent100 million users fasterthan the prior 100 million. Clearly, growth isn’t slowing. For Snapchat’s part, daily active users reached 166 million. While this was up some 36% year-over-year, it’s not all that impressive given Facebook’s position. For starters, Instagram Stories — just a feature on the platform —already has 250 million DAUsafter launching less than a year ago. Additionally, FB grew DAUs 18% YoY to 1.28 billion. Finally, FB had earnings of $1.04 per share last quarter. Facebook hasn’t missed an earnings estimate in 12 straight quarters, and has topped revenue estimates in 11 of those. SNAP? Well, let’s just say it missed top- and bottom-line estimates in its only quarter, losing $2.31 per share. At best, investors can hope that Snap Inc will carve out a powerful role in the social media world. It can use augmented reality, fresh content and new filters to continually engage its users. But it will always have FB lurking over it, and that makes for tough sledding. Estimates call for revenue to nearly double from 2017 to 2018. That’s certainly impressive. But SNAP trades at an absurd 40 times sales. Unless SNAP becomes wildly profitable with fat margins, there’s no way investors should be able to justify paying this type of valuation. And not to beat the FB drum too loudly, but its worst quarterly sales growth over the past six quarters is north of 49%. Given its size, profitability and honestly decent valuation, why wouldn’t you want that over Snapchat stock? (Here’s the full breakdown on FB stock, by the way). Click to Enlarge Source: Stockcharts.com This isn’t meant to be a slam piece on SNAP. The truth is though, SNAP stock isn’t a reasonable investment. It’s going against a behemoth, isn’t profitable and doesn’t have the user growth to justify its valuation. But it could be setting up as a good trade. SNAP stock has a low of $17. Traders who want to take a shot on this stock can keep that level in mind for their stop-loss. As we can see by the purple line, however, SNAP stock has actually made a pretty nice base here. Additionally, the MACD (orange circle) is showing some bullish momentum. That could give SNAP stock a nice boost, perhaps up to downward resistance (blue line). With its trajectory, that may come into play around $19. Risk management is certainly the key for SNAP stock. However, investors who believe this company may have what it takes to succeed in the social media world or short-term traders who are looking for a quick buck, this could be their play. NOTE:Keep in mind that SNAP stock hasbig lockup expirations coming this summer, starting July 31. Unless firms do some massive buying or insiders choose not to sell, SNAP stock will likely be headed lower. • Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD) Radeon Vega Frontier Edition Hits Shelves Again, if it were me entering the space, I would look to stick with the leader in FB. But there is a decent trade presenting itself in the short term for SNAP stock. Bret Kenwell is the manager and author ofFuture Blue Chipsand is on Twitter@BretKenwell. As of this writing, Bret Kenwell did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities. • 7 Healthcare Stocks That Will Give You Chest Pains • You Don't Need a Rally to Trade Visa Inc (V) Stock • 3 Stocks to Buy for Millennial Investors The postThere’s No Good Reason to Buy Snap Inc (SNAP) Stockappeared first onInvestorPlace. \|\| Is Bitcoin a Currency or a Bubble?: (0:30) - Bitcoin Value Triples in 2017 (2:00) - How To Buy Bitcoin and Who is Buying It? (7:20) - How is Bitcoin Impacted By Ransomware (9:40) - How Does Bitcoin Have Value? (12:20) - Bitcoin V.S. Ethereum (14:00) - How To Invest Into Bitcoin (20:55) - Marijuana Cryptocurrency, Initial Coin Offering and Block Chain Tech (25:40) - Episode Roundup: [email protected] Welcome to Episode #86 of the Zacks Market Edge Podcast. Every week, host and Zacks stock strategist, Tracey Ryniec, will be joined by guests to discuss the hottest investing topics in stocks, bonds and ETFs and how it impacts your life. In this episode, Tracey is joined by Dave Bartosiak, editor of the Zacks Momentum Trader and Home Run Investor, and who also hosts Zacks Live Trader, which trades options on YouTube, to discuss a topic that is getting a lot of interest on Wall Street: the Bitcoin trade. Bitcoin is a digital currency which has tripled in value in 2017. It hit as high as $3,000 before pulling back. Whenever something triples in a short period of time, you can be guaranteed that people are taking notice and want to get in. What IS Bitcoin? Tracey knows it from the ransomware attacks but its more complex than that. Dave breaks it down. How Can You Play the Bitcoin Trade? 1. Buy Bitcoin using the Bitcoin wallet. 2. If you qualify, buy the Bitcoin Investment Trust (GBTC), which is called the ETF of Bitcoin even though the SEC has turned down the Winklevoss attempt to actually launch an ETF. The SEC has been concerned the market is unregulated. The GBTC trades on the OTC market. 3. Invest in hedge funds that buy Bitcoins. 4. Buy into companies that are developing the back end, such as Microsofts (MSFT) cloud business, Azure, which just won a contract with Indias largest banks to host the nodes that will relay transactions on their distributed ledger systems. Amazon (AMZN) is another option as its cloud business has been pushing blockchain for over year. Story continues Investing in Bitcoin is difficult. Trading it is pretty easy. The industry reminds Tracey of the marijuana trade, which is also hot but hard to invest in. She and Dave did a podcast earlier this year on the marijuana stocks: Can You Get Rich Off the Marijuana Stocks? Is Bitcoin the new tulip mania? Will it crash and burn or is there something to this rally? Find out the answers on this weeks podcast. [In full disclosure, Tracey owns shares of AMZN in her personal portfolio.] Want to Learn How to Trade Options? Have you always wanted to trade stock options but are unsure where to begin or what to look for? Each week, Zacks Dave Bartosiak will bring you a detailed explanation of the trades live on YouTube. Watch him go through the trade as he answers your questions in real time. Become one of Daves minions. Join the Zacks Live Trader community today. Click here for a free 14-day trial >>> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Click for Free Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) Stock Analysis Report >> Click for Free Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) Stock Analysis Report >> SPDR-GOLD TRUST (GLD): ETF Research Reports SPDR-SP 500 TR (SPY): ETF Research Reports To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research \|\| Canadian miners, casinos hit by hacker eyeing new targets -FireEye: By Alastair Sharp TORONTO, June 16 (Reuters) - The same hacker targeting Canadian casinos and mining companies for extortion since 2013 is planning more attacks, researchers at cyber security company FireEye Inc said in a report on Friday. FireEye said it believes that a single hacker or hacking group that it dubbed FIN10 is behind the breaches due to similarities in method: how they broke into corporate systems, stealing gigabytes of sensitive data and demanding ransom paid in Bitcoin, and publicizing the stolen information by alerting bloggers. While FireEye declined to identify victims by name, the methods described in their report echoed those used in attacks on Goldcorp, the world's third-biggest gold miner by market value, smaller operator Detour Gold, and the Casino Rama Resort. FireEye said FIN10's degree of operational success makes more campaigns "highly probable" and that it had evidence suggesting the group had targeted additional victims. FireEye said FIN10 used the moniker Angels_of_Truth at least once, claiming to attack in retaliation for Canadian sanctions against Russia. More often, it borrowed the name Tesla Team from a group of Serbian hacktivists. FireEye believes FIN10 was flying 'false flags' with those names, with no backing from a nation-state or affiliation with organized criminals. Angels_of_Truth was the name used by hackers who contacted a databreaches.net blogger between April and June 2015 claiming credit in Russian and English for the Detour intrusion. The same blogger, alerted to a breach at Goldcorp in April 2016, published details on the Daily Dot website before Goldcorp acknowledged the compromise. The Vancouver-based miner has since modified its IT processes, increased network security protocols, and worked to educate its staff about cyber risks, a spokeswoman said. After that breach, a mining industry group formed a network to share information on cyber threats. At least six members, including Teck Resources Ltd, will take the project live next month. FIN10 is still in contact with some victims and more targets may "become aware of the threat in the coming weeks or months," said Charles Carmakal, vice president at FireEye's Mandiant unit. Detour Gold did not respond to requests for comment. Nor did Casino Rama, which said in November that sensitive customer, employee and vendor data had been stolen. Some was reportedly later posted online, and they now face a class action lawsuit over the breach. (Additional reporting by Jim Finkle; Editing by Tom Brown) \|\| Ethereum, Bitcoin lead cryptocurrencies lower as selling continues: Investing.com - Prices of both Ethereum and Bitcoin extended their recent decline on Tuesday, remaining under pressure as investors appeared to take profit on the recent rally that has seen it touch record highs. Ethereum prices dropped by as much as 18% on the U.S.-based GDAX exchange operated by Coinbase to a low of $206.50. It was last at $237.85 by 5:05AM ET (0905GMT), down $14.50, or around 6%. Last week Ethereum plunged to as low as 10 cents from around $317 in a matter of seconds in an apparent flash crash. The digital currency is down roughly 40% over the past two weeks. It remains up over 2,000% so far for the year. Meanwhile, Bitcoin continued to struggle as investors remained wary of initiating large position amid several warnings from analysts that the digital currency has peaked since hitting $3,000 earlier this month. The cryptocurrency was at $2,375.30 in early trade, down about 3.5%. Despite recent losses, the digital currency is up more 150% for the year. Related Articles Dollar trades lower before Fed speeches Forex - Euro hits session highs on hawkish Draghi remarks Forex - Dollar dips with Yellen speech in focus \|\| Why You Shouldn’t Pay the Petya Ransomware: If you were affected by the latestglobal cyber attackthat locked businesses out of their computer systems, here’s a tip: Don’t pay the Bitcoin ransom. You’ll be sorry if you do. Beginning inUkraineand quickly spreading tolarge multinational corporationsranging fromMaersktoMerck, the ransomware wave has caused incredible disruption and ground operations in affected organizations to a halt. The extortionists have demanded a payment of $300 in Bitcoin in order for victims to regain access to their systems. “We guarantee that you can recover all your files safely and easily,” the ransom note reads. There’s a problem though. People who pay the Bitcoin fee associated with the attack—which security researchers have dubbed Petya, NotPetya, ExPetr, Nyetya, and other variations on that theme—should not expect to recover their files even if they do pay. So much for that guarantee. Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s technology newsletter. The ransom note requests that victims, after paying, provide their Bitcoin wallet ID and another identifying detail (a unique “personal installation key,” which the attackers provide). The attackers advise affected people to send this information to a certain email address: [email protected]. AsFortunenoted on Tuesday, Posteo, the email service used by the attackers quicklysuspended the attackers’ account, leaving them unable to communicate with their victims and preventing them from sending along decryption keys. This means there’s no obvious way for victims to get a decryption key from the supposed extortionists, even if they do pay. Fortune’sown note to the email address bounced back, as seen in the screenshot below. Some security researchers have questioned whether this attack can even be properly categorized as ransomware. Matthieu Suiche, CEO and founder of the Dubai-based cybersecurity firm Comae, toldFortunethat he believes it is more appropriately considered as “wiper” malware, meaning malicious software that intends to destroy data rather than hold it hostage. Other experts have agreed with the essence of Suiche’s analysis. “Despite its presentation as ransomware, ExPetr ultimately functions as a wiper since we have discovered that the attacker doesn’t have the ability to decrypt the files even when receiving the payment,” a spokesperson for Kaspersky Lab toldFortunein an email. Raj Samani, chief scientist atIntelintcspinout McAfee, concurred. “We always recommend for ransomware victims to not pay,” he said. “In the case of WannaCry and the Petya ransom demands it’s even more advisable since the likelihood of receiving decryption keys are almost nil.” Better put that $300 toward something more useful, like replenishing the office’s IT procurement fund. \|\| BIT Moving to Bitcoin Blockchain as BITCF to Unify Trading Between Markets; OTC Markets Removes Caveat Emptor Symbol From its Publication of Quotes on BITCF: VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / June 15, 2017 /FIRST BITCOIN CAPITAL CORP. (OTC PINK: BITCF) ("Company," "we," "us," or "our") would like to announce that the most prolific cryptographic creator of tokens on the Bitcoin Blockchain has resolved to move the ownership of its common shares now trading in the cryptocurrency markets onto the Bitcoin Blockchain and simultaneously reduce authorized shares from 21 billion back to 500,000,000. The reduction in authorized capital ofFirst Bitcoin Capital Corp. does not reduce the number of shares currently issued and outstanding. Crypto shareholders will be given two options; either to keep their mined shares or convert those shares to the new blockchain. Those that convert to the new blockchain will own shares of BITCF, however, those that do not elect to move to the new blockchain will continue to hold BIT, which will then become a simple cryptocurrency with no relationship to the shares of company other than sharing the first portion of its name, "First Bitcoin." The transference of shares from BIT, on its unique, existing blockchain, to BITCF on theBitcoinBlockchain will be conducted through BIT's primary crypto-exchange,C-CEX.com, and will be automatic for all those who are holding their BIT at C-CEX. The new BITCF Crypto shares will then trade as BITCF so that it will be easier for the markets to understand that the crypto and traditional shares include the same rights, title, and interest. Those who wish to continue to trade BIT as a mere cryptocurrency will be allowed to do so via BIT's secondary exchange, Livecoin, but must remove their BIT from C-CEX on the deadline to be set soon. Deposits and withdraws will be allowed atC-CEXuntil the movement to the new blockchain has been implemented. The company plans to implement this blockchain move within two weeks. The company has determined that moving to theBitcoin Blockchainmakes the management of issuing shares more efficient and less expensive so that there is no mining cost to the company or its shareholders in the form of dilution. It is a safer system and allows for issuing new shares in the future instead of pre-mining to reserve shares in the treasury, as was done mining BIT. This move also creates a new asset for the coffers of BITCF so that all pre-mined 20 billion BIT will soon be available for liquidity, dividends, mergers, and acquisitions without any further dilution to BITCF, which heretofore was caused by daily mining of BIT. BITCF riding on the rails of Bitcoin using the Omni Layer Protocol will allow BITCF to easily pay dividends in the form of its other Omni layered coins such as ALT, XBU, XB, GARY, HILL, BURN, WEED, PRES, TESLA, etc., as well as the more popular MAID, OMNI, Tether (USTD), should we accumulate or acquire more of same. Reduction in Authorized Capital In preparing to move the small percentage of company shares held by miners from our own blockchain to the Bitcoin Blockchain the company resolved today to reduce authorized capital from 21,000,000,000 to 500,000,000 shares which will become effective upon completing this move within the next two weeks. OTC Market's Skull and Bones Designation After the company's SEC counsel provided and opined on the required disclosures to OTC Markets, the caveat emptor was removed so that the company has returned to its former status of a current alternative reporting company. About the Company First Bitcoin Capital Corp is engaged in developing digital currencies, proprietary Blockchain technologies, and the digital currency exchange -www.CoinQX.com. We see this step as a tremendous opportunity to create further shareholder value by leveraging management's experience in developing and managing complex Blockchain technologies, developing new types of digital assets. Being the first publicly-traded cryptocurrency and blockchain-centered company (with shares both traded in the US OTC Markets as [BITCF] and as [BIT] in crypto exchanges), we want to provide our shareholders with diversified exposure to digital cryptocurrencies and blockchain technologies. At this time, the Company owns and operates more than the following digital assets under development: www.CoinQX.comcryptocurrency exchange, registered with FINCEN.www.altcoinmarketcap.commarket capitalization for all cryptocurrencies with up and down voting by altcoin communities.www.strain.IDcannabis strains genetic information depository on decentralized Blockchain.www.iCoiNEWS.comreal time cryptocurrency and Bitcoin news site.www.BITminer.ccproviding mining pool management services.www.2016coin.orgonline daily election coverage and home page for $PRES, $HILL, $GARY& $BURN - commemorative presidential election coins.www.bitcannpay.comOpen Loop merchant services for dispensaries. List of most Omni protocol coins issued on the Bitcoin Blockchain and owned by the Company:http://omnichest.info/lookupadd.aspx?address=1FwADyEvdvaLNxjN1v3q6tNJCgHEBuABrS Second Omni wallet owned by CoinQX reflecting our airline mileage tokens issued:http://omnichest.info/lookupadd.aspx?address=1VuF26AgLyQ4tBoGzYTWRqtDG9zCB7QXe Forward-Looking Statements Certain statements contained in this press release may constitute "forward-looking statements." Forward-looking statements provide current expectations of future events based on certain assumptions and include any statement that does not directly relate to any historical or current fact. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors as may be disclosed in company's filings. In addition to these factors, actual future performance, outcomes, and results may differ materially because of more general factors including (without limitation) general industry and market conditions and growth rates, economic conditions, and governmental and public policy changes. The forward-looking statements included in this press release represent the Company's views as of the date of this press release and these views could change. However, while the Company may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, the Company specifically disclaims any obligation to do so. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing the Company's views as of any date subsequent to the date of the press release. Such forward-looking statements are risks that are detailed in the Company's filings, which are on file atwww.OTCMarkets.com. Contact us via:[email protected] visithttp://www.bitcoincapitalcorp.com. SOURCE:First Bitcoin Capital Corp. \|\| Fretting over savings, Mrs Watanabe turns to bitcoin: By Minami Funakoshi and Joyce Lee TOKYO/SEOUL (Reuters) - Long the preserve of geeky enthusiasts, bitcoin is going mainstream in Asia, attracting Mrs Watanabe - the metaphorical Japanese housewife investor - South Korean retirees and thousands of others trying to escape rock-bottom savings rates by investing in the cryptocurrency. Asia's moms and pops, already regular investors in stock and futures markets, have been dazzled by bitcoin's 100 percent surge so far this year. In comparison, the broader Asian stocks benchmark has gained 17 percent over the same period. Even after a tumble from last week's record $2,779.08 high, bitcoin rose more than 60 percent in May alone - driven higher in part by investors in Japan and South Korea stepping in as China cooled after a central bank crackdown earlier this year. (For a graphic on bitcoin economy click http://tmsnrt.rs/2skLZ3c) Over the last two weeks, and encouraged by Japan's recognition of bitcoin as legal tender in April, exchanges say interest has jumped from the two countries. Bitcoin trades at a premium in both, due to tough money-laundering rules that make it hard for people to move bitcoin in and out. "After I first heard about the bitcoin scheme, I was so excited I couldn't sleep. It's like buying a dream," said Mutsuko Higo, a 55-year-old Japanese social insurance and labor consultant who bought around 200,000 yen ($1800) worth of bitcoin in March to supplement her retirement savings. "Everyone says we can't rely on Japanese pensions anymore," she said. "This worries me, so I started bitcoins." Asia has proved fertile ground for bitcoin due to the region's thriving retail investment culture, where swapping investment tips is already common. China, Japan and South Korea are home to several of the world's busiest cryptocurrency exchanges, according to a ranking by CoinMarketCap. "Right now, it's a form of speculation, like stocks," said Park Hyo-jin, a 27-year-old South Korean who owns around 3 million won ($2,700) of bitcoin. "I don't think anybody in South Korea buys bitcoin to use it." The risks, though, are rising too. Bitcoin is largely unregulated across Asia, while rules governing bitcoin exchanges can be patchy. In Hong Kong, bitcoin exchanges operate under money service operator licenses - like money changers - while in South Korea they are regulated similar to online shopping malls, trading physical goods. Often there are no rules on investor protection. BITCOIN WHEN YOU DIE Park and Higo were drawn into bitcoin by friends. Others are attracted through seminars, social media groups and blogs penned by amateur investors. Noboru Hanaki, a 27-year-old Japanese web marketer and bitcoin investor, said his personal finance blog gets around 30,000 page views each month. The most popular post is an explanation of bitcoin, he said, noting that when the bitcoin price surged last month, readership of the article doubled. Rachel Poole, a Hong Kong-based kindergarten teacher, said she read about bitcoin in the press, and bought five bitcoins in March for around HK$40,000 ($5,100) after studying blogs on the topic. She kept four as an investment and has made HK$12,000 tax-free trading the fifth after classes. "I wish I'd done it earlier," she said. Not everyone's making money. The bitcoin frenzy has spawned scams, with police in South Korea last month uncovering a $55 million cryptocurrency pyramid scheme that sucked in thousands of homemakers, workers and self-employed businessmen seduced by slick marketing and promises of wealth. Seminars in Tokyo, Seoul and Hong Kong promote similar multi-level marketing schemes that require investors to pay an upfront membership fee of as much as $9,000. Members are encouraged to promote the cryptocurrency and bring in new members in return for some bitcoins and other benefits. One such Tokyo scheme offered members-only shopping websites that accept bitcoin, 24-hour assistance for car and computer problems, and bitcoin-based gifts when a member gets married, has a baby - or even dies, according to marketing materials seen by Reuters. Leonhard Weese, president of the Bitcoin Association of Hong Kong and a bitcoin investor, warned amateur investors against speculating in the digital currency. "Trading carries huge risk: there is no investor protection and plenty of market manipulation and insider trading. Some of the exchanges cannot be trusted in my opinion." Some larger exchanges have voluntarily adopted security measures and compensation guarantees, according to their websites, although there are dozens of smaller platforms operating more or less unchecked. In South Korea, the Financial Services Commission (FSC) has set up a task force to explore regulating cryptocurrencies, but it has not set a timeline for publishing its conclusions, an official there said. In Japan - where memories are still fresh of the spectacular 2014 collapse of Mt. Gox, the world's biggest bitcoin exchange at the time - the Financial Services Agency (FSA) said it supervises bitcoin exchanges, but not traders or investors. "The government is not guaranteeing the value of cryptocurrencies. We are asking for bitcoin exchanges to fully explain the risk of sharp price moves," an FSA official said. Some professional investors say bitcoin can be a useful hedge to help diversify a portfolio, but investors should be cautious. "This is an extremely volatile and innovative asset class," said Pietro Ventani, managing director of APP Advisers, an asset allocation strategy firm. (Reporting by Minami Funakoshi in Tokyo and Joyce Lee in Seoul, with additional reporting by Michelle Price in Hong Kong and Yoshiyuki Osada, Takahiko Wada and Hideyuki Sano in Tokyo; Writing by Michelle Price; Editing by Clara Ferreira-Marques and Ian Geoghegan) [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] #bitcoin #miner New Antminer APW3+-12-1600-A3,1600w S5/S5+/S7 psu power supply BITMAIN READ $249.00 http://ift.tt/2tfoNqn pic.twitter.com/SuTQnHA2UF \|\| that presumes that every other coin is a shitcoin, which i strongly disagree with. I accumulate BTC, LTC and ETH. I trade special use coins. \|\| レバレッジ400倍のFX https://simplefx.com/?sfx-r=5f817449-da15-4a96-90c2-eed35d675d5b … #bitcoin #FX \|\| Current price of Bitcoin is $2366.00 via @Chain \|\| #bitcoin #miner Antminer S4 - 2TH (2000GH) Bitcoin ASIC miner (SHA256) $270.00 http://ift.tt/2rZmFmq pic.twitter.com/rz4YT4yu3h \|\| Мне понравилось видео "Как зарегистрировать Blockchain кошелек для Bitcoin" \|\| @ramikawach I AM STILL MISSING MY BITCOIN... wtf https://bittrex.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/requests/83291 … \|\| 1 KOBO = 0.00000737 BTC = 0.0183 USD = 5.8926 NGN = 0.2376 ZAR = 1.8931 KES #Kobocoin 2017-06-28 06:00 \|\| nullc: I don't think they're incompatible (sergio seems to think so though), https://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/com https://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/6hhocj/were_here_because_we_believe_in_bitcoin_and_its/diyij1g?context=3 … \|\| 米ドル・ユーロ・円等の法定通貨や世界の各種銀行との連携が進行中 https://goo.gl/3nYogp #ノアコイン #noahcoin #仮想通貨 #暗号通貨 #フィンテック #ブロックチェーン #ビットコイン #bitcoin	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 2757.18, 2875.34, 2718.26, 2710.67, 2804.73, 2895.89, 3252.91, 3213.94, 3378.94, 3419.94
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2018-05-17] BTC Price: 8094.32, BTC RSI: 38.39 Gold Price: 1288.20, Gold RSI: 33.57 Oil Price: 71.49, Oil RSI: 64.99 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Price of Gold Fundamental Daily Forecast – Trend Up, but Set-up for Short-Term Correction: Gold futures are posting a volatile two-sided session early Monday as investors continue to react to the price action in the U.S. Dollar and equity markets. The price action is primarily being drive by appetite for risk. The catalyst behind the two-sided trade is concern over retaliation by China to Trump’s memorandum calling for $60 billion in sanctions against China. At 0755 GMT, June Comex Gold futures are trading $1351.70, down $4.00 or -0.30%. Prices rose to $1356.80, barely taking out last week’s high before sellers came in to stop the rally. In other news, gold speculators cut their net long position by 23,822 contracts to 121,838 contracts, U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission data showed. Additionally, last week’s rally discouraged Asian investors from purchasing gold at a 5-week high. This even as discounts in India widened to their highest in 6 ½ months. Finally, Democratic Republic of Congo’s mines minister rejected a proposal by mining companies on Friday to soften some provisions in a new mining code in exchange for higher royalties. Daily June Comex Gold Forecast The early price action strongly suggests the direction of the gold market today will be determined by the movement in the U.S. Dollar and U.S. equity markets. The U.S. Dollar is trading lower after taking out a key bottom at 88.915 from March 7. Gold prices could be underpinned if this bottom is taken out with conviction. However, gains could be limited if the major stock indexes start to recover some of last week’s losses. U.S. equity indexes are trading higher shortly before the cash market opening after shares in Asia and Europe recovered from their earlier losses. The recovery was fueled by the news that the U.S. agreed to exempt South Korea from steel tariffs. Basically, the market is set-up for elevated levels of volatility. Near-term resistance is being fueled by the easing of tariffs against South Korea, however, the market could still rally amid fears that rising tensions between the U.S. and China could lead to a full-blown trade war. Story continues On Saturday, some of the world’s top economists and business leaders at the China Development Forum in Beijing warned about the risks of a trade war between the two economic powerhouses. Although there is room to the downside after last week’s rally from $1312.40, the trend is up and likely to remain up until the fears of a trade war subside. This article was originally posted on FX Empire More From FXEMPIRE: DAX Price Forecast March 27, 2018, Technical Analysis GBP/USD Daily Fundamental Forecast – March 27, 2018 Silver Price Forecast March 27, 2018, Technical Analysis Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin and Ripple Daily Analysis – 27/03/18 Bitcoin Price Forecast March 27, 2018, Technical Analysis Ethereum Price Forecast March 27, 2018, Technical Analysis \|\| Toyota will temporarily stop its self-driving-car tests after fatal autonomous Uber accident: toyota self driving Toyota In response to Sunday's fatal accident involving a self-driving Uber vehicle , Toyota will temporarily stop testing its Chauffeur autonomous-driving program in the US. Toyota had been testing the fully autonomous Chauffeur system in California and Michigan. The automaker was rumored to be in talks to purchase Uber's self-driving technology , though it's unclear if Sunday's accident will hurt the chances of a potential deal. In response to Sunday's fatal accident involving a self-driving Uber vehicle , Toyota confirmed to Business Insider that it will temporarily stop testing its Chauffeur autonomous driving program in the US. "We cannot speculate on the cause of the incident or what it may mean to the automated driving industry going forward," a company spokesperson said in an email to Business Insider. "Because Toyota Research Institute (TRI) feels the incident may have an emotional effect on its test drivers, TRI has decided to temporarily pause its own Chauffeur mode testing on public roads." Toyota had been testing the fully autonomous Chauffeur system in California and Michigan through the Toyota Research Institute, which the company founded in 2015 to create a car that is incapable of causing a crash . The company will not halt its testing in Japan. Toyota has taken a conservative approach to self-driving technology Unlike auto and tech competitors like Waymo, General Motors, and Ford, Toyota has taken a more conservative approach to testing autonomous vehicles. The automaker was rumored to be in talks to purchase Uber's self-driving technology , though it's unclear if Sunday's accident will hurt the chances of a potential deal. Toyota invested in Uber in 2016 , with plans to "explore collaboration" between the two companies. On Sunday evening, a self-driving Volvo XC90 operated by Uber hit and killed a 49-year-old woman, Elaine Herzberg, in Tempe, Arizona. Herzberg is believed to be the first pedestrian to be killed by a self-driving vehicle. Story continues At the time of the accident, the car was in autonomous mode, and operator Rafaela Vasquez was serving as a backup driver in the event that the vehicle's self-driving technology faltered. Early reports from local police indicate that Uber "would likely not be at fault" for the accident . Uber's fatal accident has raised safety concerns for autonomous vehicles But the accident has raised questions about the safety of self-driving vehicles . While supporters of the technology believe it will make cars much safer than those driven by humans, critics fear the mistakes autonomous vehicles will make along the way may produce more damage than optimistic companies would like to admit. After the accident, Uber said it would suspend autonomous-vehicle testing in Tempe, San Francisco, and Toronto. Autonomous driving startup NuTonomy also said it would pause its self-driving tests in Boston. " We are working with City of Boston officials to ensure that our automated vehicle pilots continue to adhere to high standards of safety," a NuTonomy spokesperson said in an email to Business Insider. "We have complied with the City of Boston's request to temporarily halt autonomous vehicle testing on public roads." The company had provided vehicles to Lyft, which began offering self-driving rides in Boston in December. NuTonomy was bought by auto supplier Delphi in October. NOW WATCH: Goldman Sachs investment chief: Bitcoin is definitely a bubble, Ethereum even more so See Also: Self-driving cars could face a 'huge setback' after the tragic death of a woman struck by an autonomous Uber A self-driving Uber struck and killed a woman — here's a look at how its autonomous cars work Airline pilot explains 21 code words passengers don't understand SEE ALSO: Self-driving cars could face a 'huge setback' after the tragic death of a woman struck by an autonomous Uber \|\| The Non-Techie's Guide to Investing in Tech Stocks: Some of the largest gains realized by individual investors in recent years have come from the technology sector. Large-cap tech stocks that are household names, such as the famous FANG stocks -- Facebook , Amazon , Netflix , and Alphabet (formerly Google) -- have easily trounced the market over the past three years. A group of lesser-known smaller-cap tech stocks may have done even better. In the past year, Arista Networks , NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA) , Shopify , Square , and many more have all increased by more than 100% . I'm not just cherry-picking stocks -- over the trailing one-, three-, and five-year periods, the technology ETF (exchange-traded fund) QQQ Powershares Trust (NASDAQ: QQQ) has roughly doubled the returns of the S&P 500 index. SPY Chart SPY data by YCharts . Thanks largely to the guidance of the Motley Fool newsletters , I've been fortunate enough to be invested in nearly all these stocks. But many investors are reluctant to invest in tech stocks because they don't understand the underlying technology. This makes sense: If investors don't understand what companies do, it is hard to judge the moats those companies have to protect them from competition and eventual commoditization. Why even Warren Buffett avoids tech Investors who avoid tech stocks are in good company. Warren Buffett -- his huge stake in Apple notwithstanding -- famously avoids investing in tech stocks. In late 1999, just months before the tech bubble burst, Buffett wrote an article in Fortune explaining why he had not invested in tech stocks during their huge run-up in 1999, a year that saw the NASDAQ Composite Index increase 86%. In his piece, Buffett explains two reasons for his approach: It's hard to assess the competitive advantage of a tech company. It's more difficult to identify winners in the tech space early on, before they make a huge move. The world seen from space, with lines of light interconnecting over it Tech companies have reimagined how the world thinks, communicates, works, and plays. But some investors are still timid about investing in these world-changing companies. Image source: Getty Images. Story continues This makes sense. Innovation in this sector can come fast and from unexpected places. Before the arrival of Apple's iPhone, BlackBerry Ltd. looked like it would dominate the smartphone business for years to come. Before Facebook, MySpace looked secure as the world's dominant social network. The Eastman Kodak Company (NYSE: KODK) developed a digital camera as early as the 1970s, but dropped the project for decades because it interfered with Kodak's high-margin film business. The annals of investing are filled with once-dominant winners being taken to the woodshed by unexpected competition that out-innovated an industry's favored incumbents. Yet the potential rewards of investing in the technology sector are too great for investors to ignore completely. Despite the difficulties inherent in technology, it's possible for investors to navigate through the space with market-beating returns -- and, no, you don't have to be a computer scientist or an industry expert to figure it out. Here are two metrics I look for when evaluating a tech company's prospects that anyone can use -- no expertise required. 1. Fast-growing revenue The first thing I look for when I get interested in a tech company is high revenue growth . I'm a sucker for a good story. So, when a company says it is developing a gizmo that is going to revolutionize virtual reality devices or make autonomous cars a reality, I often want to plunk down money for an investment on the spot. To save me from myself (and good storytellers), I need to see that the company is growing its revenue at a high rate. While I like to see accelerating growth, I can settle for stable growth if the rate is high enough. If a company is growing its revenue at a high rate (I generally consider that to be growth of 20% and above), that's proof that its products and services are in high demand. A close-up of an Nvidia graphic processing unit (GPU). Nvidia's GPUs are ideal for several AI applications, including autonomous driving. Image source: NVIDIA Corporation. Consider Nvidia. For years, I've been hearing that the company's graphic processing units (GPUs) are ideal for artificial-intelligence and autonomous-driving applications. I could spend hours studying the company's AI-based architecture for self-driving vehicles and still not be any closer to determining if it's a better bet than Intel 's Mobileye platform , which, in contrast to Nvidia, incorporates lidar (light detection and ranging) technology in its attempt to penetrate the automotive market. Fortunately, I don't have to figure this out to know that Nvidia's GPUs are in high demand. How do I know? Because when the company reported its 2018 fourth-quarter earnings, revenue grew to $2.9 billion, a 34% increase year over year. For the full year, revenue rose to $9.71 billion, an even greater increase of 41% year over year. Both numbers were records for the company. And almost all of that growth came from the company's gaming and data center businesses; its automotive revenue rose to a meager $132 million, a paltry 3% increase year over year. This shows that Nvidia's autonomous driving technology is far from proven, which is also evidenced by the fact that there are virtually no autonomous-driving cars on the road today. If Nvidia's automotive division was a stand-alone company, I would never invest in it while it only showed single-digit revenue growth. As it is, Nvidia's high growth in its gaming and data center divisions allow me to take a flyer on the company's self-driving technology. 2. Stable or growing margin A company I'm examining can't just be selling its products and services. Before I consider investing, a company must prove that it can make money doing so. After all, in 2001, Kodak was the No. 2 seller of digital cameras in the country. Investors who simply looked at its revenue growth rate in its digital camera division probably would have come away impressed. The problem wasn't that the company couldn't sell its digital products; it was that it was losing about $60 for each digital camera it sold. A dozen or more icons over a picture of a street, labeled IoT and Internet of Things Skyworks Solutions designs analog chips that help a myriad different devices connect to wireless networks. Image source: Getty Images. Take another company I own and follow: Skyworks Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ: SWKS) . Skyworks designs analog semiconductors that enable smartphones, Internet of Things devices, wearables, and smart-home devices to connect to wireless networks. A constant fear for semiconductor makers is that they will be commoditized by cheaper competition. I monitor this by keeping a close eye on the company's operating margin , which is its operating income divided by total revenue. This metric shows how profitable a company is. My reasoning is this: If a company can grow or maintain its operating margin, that shows it still possesses pricing power. If a company has pricing power, it must still hold some sort of competitive advantage over competitors. In its first quarter of 2018, Skyworks reported a non- GAAP operating margin of 39.4%, more than a half percentage point better than last year's first quarter. In fact, that quarter's operating margin is the highest the company has reported in the last two years. The lowest operating margin it has reported in that time is 36.5%. If the operating margin falls below that level in the quarters ahead, I'd begin to be concerned. Looking at this metric, which the company makes readily available every quarter, doesn't require me to evaluate the company's TC-SAW (temperature-compensated surface acoustic wave) filters, compared to the more expensive BAW (bulk acoustic wave) filters from its competitors. Nor do I need to understand the technical design choices in evolving 5G standards (such as TDD vs. FDD ) to know if the company's products are still in demand. As long as Skyworks can maintain its revenue growth rate and operating margin, I can be reasonably assured its products are still being purchased and are not being commoditized. A non-techie's conclusion about tech One of my favorite things about investing is that it forces me to learn about a wide range of topics. I recognize I am a tech neophyte, but that doesn't mean I don't try to learn about the technology used by the companies I invest in; it just means I don't rely on my limited knowledge to inform my investments. Instead, I look for clues in the company's earnings reports. If a company is showing accelerated revenue growth, I know that what it's selling is in demand. If a company shows a stable or improving operating margin, I know it still has pricing power. So much of the innovation we've seen over the past three decades has come from technology companies, as the world has embraced everything mobile and digital. It would be a shame to miss out on the gains these innovations bring, simply because we don't understand the technical details. Fortunately, I don't think we need to be experts in these fields to invest. More From The Motley Fool 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Matthew Cochrane owns shares of GOOGL, AMZN, ANET, FB, Nvidia, Skyworks Solutions, and SQ. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends GOOGL, GOOG, AMZN, AAPL, ANET, FB, NFLX, Nvidia, SHOP, and Skyworks Solutions. The Motley Fool owns shares of SQ. The Motley Fool recommends INTC. The Motley Fool owns shares of AAPL. The Motley Fool is short shares of SPY and has the following options: long January 2020 $150 calls on AAPL, short January 2020 $155 calls on AAPL, short January 2019 $285 calls on SPY, and long January 2019 $255 puts on SPY. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy . \|\| Are These 2 Fast-Growing Dividend Stocks in Trouble?: Dominion Energy Midstream Partners (NYSE: DM) has grown briskly since its formation by utility giant Dominion Energy (NYSE: D) in late 2014. Fueling the bulk of the master limited partnership 's growth has been a steady diet of transactions with its parent, as it moved over its midstream assets to this more tax-efficient entity. However, a recent tax policy change has clouded the long-term benefit of this relationship, sending units of Dominion Energy Midstream plunging more than 40% this year. Dominion has also taken a tumble, falling more than 15% for the year. Those declines have pushed the yields of these two energy infrastructure companies up to 4.9% for Dominion and 7.2% for its MLP. Driving that slide is an increasing lack of confidence by investors in the long-term growth outlook of the two companies. Dominion, however, thinks the market has overreacted, which is why it hasn't altered its plans. Rising stacks of coins with dollar signs on top. Image source: Getty Images. Drilling down into the issue In mid-March, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) changed its long-standing policy that allowed MLPs to recover an income tax allowance in addition to the rates charged on some federally regulated pipeline systems. Investors sold MLPs off on the news, even though this change wouldn't affect them all the same way. Many made that clear in press releases detailing what impact, if any, it would have on their business. For example, natural gas-focused pipeline MLP Williams Partners (NYSE: WPZ) noted that while a third of its earnings come from regulated pipelines, most wouldn't feel an impact from this ruling because of recently settled rate cases. Because of that, Williams didn't change its guidance for dividend growth. Furthermore, Williams noted that, if the change does affect the company in the future, it's "well positioned to execute on corporate structure changes, which would restore the income tax allowance to the pipeline's cost of service rates." The implication here is that the company could merge with its C-corp parent, Williams Companies (NYSE: WMB) , or sell these pipelines back to its parent, to restore this tax allowance since the FERC change affected only MLPs. Story continues Dominion Energy, however, wasn't quite as clear on the impact when it issued a statement commenting on the change. The company said it "believes that FERC's change in policy will take years to implement and, even then, will only impact revenues on a prospective basis from the conclusion of any ratemaking process." As a result, it doesn't anticipate any lost revenue at Dominion Energy Midstream over the next three years and "is still evaluating any long-term impacts and their timing." If Dominion's view is the correct one, then the company should have no problem continuing to drop down midstream assets to its MLP. Pipelines over a sunset. Image source: Getty Images. Why it matters to investors Those dropdowns are crucial to both Dominion and Dominion Energy Midstream. In Dominion's case, the company had expected to generate up to $8 billion in proceeds via these asset sales through 2020. That plan would do three things for the company: Delever the balance sheet to its target level of 30%-40% debt by 2020. Give it some extra cash to grow dividends at a 10% annual rate through 2020 even as earnings are only on pace to expand at an 8%-plus rate over that timeframe. Provide it with the funding for expansion projects as well as share repurchases. That strategy would also benefit Dominion Energy Midstream by giving it the fuel to grow its distribution at a 22% compound annual growth rate through 2020. The concern with this plan, however, is now twofold. First, while Dominion doesn't anticipate any near-term changes to the cash flow of its MLP from the new FERC policy, at least one other pipeline company sees it having an immediate impact on cash flow . Meanwhile, even if the change doesn't cut into cash flow this year, it could weigh on the valuation of MLP assets. As a result, the math driving the drop-down strategy might not work as favorably as before, according to an analyst at Bank of America , who downgraded the stock on the news. If these concerns come to fruition, both Dominion and Dominion Energy Partners might not grow their high-yielding payouts as quickly as once thought. However, Dominion did note that it has several other options to meet its objectives, such as selling its newly constructed natural gas export terminal to the MLP instead of pipeline assets. A little cloudier, but still obtainable An unexpected policy change might have thrown a wrench into Dominion's strategy to increase its dividend while providing even more income growth for investors in its MLP. While it's unclear yet as to how much impact if any, the change will have on the growth strategy, investors have taken a sell first, ask questions later approach, despite Dominion's effort to reassure them. That might have been an overreaction, because even though there are no guarantees in investing, it doesn't look as if these dividend growth plans are in trouble, especially since Dominion does have alternative routes to get to the same destination. More From The Motley Fool 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This Matthew DiLallo has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Dominion Energy, Inc. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy . \|\| Cryptocurrency Prices Down; Nasdaq May Open Crypto Exchange: Cryptocurrency prices were down on Thursday Investing.com - Cryptocurrency prices were down on Thursday. Reports that Nasdaq’s CEO voiced support for the digital coins gathered some attention. Meanwhile, U.S. state Wisconsin is considering accepting Bitcoin for donation. Bitcoin was trading at $8,860.5 by 12:30AM ET (04:30GMT) on the Bitfinex exchange, down 5.74% over the previous 24 hours. Ethereum, the world’s second largest cryptocurrency by market cap, shed 5.43% at $621.74 on the Bitfinex exchange. Ripple’s XRP token lost 5.08% to $0.80275 on the Poloniex exchange. Meanwhile, Litecoin slipped 5.49% to $145.93. Nasdaq CEO Adena Friedman said Nasdaq is open to launching a cryptocurrency exchange in the future as the regulatory environment evolves. "I believe that digital currencies will continue to persist...it's just a matter of how long it will take for that space to mature," said Friedman. "Once you look at it and say, 'do we want to provide a regulated market for this?' Certainly, Nasdaq would consider it." But the virtual currencies are still very lightly regulated. That is part of the appeal to many early adopters but would have to change in order for Nasdaq to operate a cryptocurrency exchange, Friedman said. Meanwhile, reports that Wisconsin ethics officials in the U.S. are considering accepting political contributions in bitcoins and other digital currencies attracted some attention. The move caused concerns about the inherent anonymity of such donations and the fluctuation of exchange rates. The traditional method of campaign donations via cheque or credit cards allows authorities to trace their source and learn about the donor’s identity. This came after the federal government, Montana and Washington, D.C., already allow bitcoin campaign contributions, while most U.S. states have been lukewarm in accepting cryptocurrencies due to untraceable source of donation. Related Articles FT: Multiple Online Harassment Allegations Against IOTA Team, Foundation Board Member Says He’s Not ‘Aware’ Of Incidents Bitcoin Rally Cools After Rise to Nearly $10,000 Meets Resistance OKEx Halts ERC20 Trading After Finding Bug Affecting Majority of Tokens \|\| US dollar choppy against Canadian dollar again on Monday: The US dollar rallied initially during the trading session on Monday, showing signs of strength before reaching the 1.29 level, an area that has been resistance more than several times lately. Because of this, I think that we continue the overall consolidation, as there is a massive amount of resistance extending to the 1.30 level. If we were to break above the 1.30 level, that could be a very strong sign for the greenback, which is the strongest major currency in the world right now. I think that the Canadian dollar is suffering due to the Bank of Canada stepping away from interest rate hikes, or at the very least pushing them back. Although crude oil markets have been very strong, this has not helped the Canadian dollar in general, and this tells me that the world is focusing on the Canadian economy, and not necessarily using the currency as a proxy for the crude oil markets for months. Ultimately, if we break down below the 1.28 level, I think there is a massive “floor” in the market near the 1.2750 level, so if we break down below there, it could change the overall attitude of the markets. Until then, I think we continue to consolidate with a generally upward bias, but obviously we have a lot of work to do to finally send this market much higher. Until then, I think buying the dips continues to work, at least on short-term charts. USD/CAD Video 08.05.18 This article was originally posted on FX Empire More From FXEMPIRE: Bitcoin Struggles as Investor Focus Returns to Regulatory Risk Global Investors Braced for President Trump Oil Price Fundamental Daily Forecast – Specs Overcooked Rally, Clear Buy the Rumor, Sell the Fact Situation E-mini Dow Jones Industrial Average (YM) Futures Analysis – Needs to Hold 23937 to Generate Momentum to Test 24923 Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin and Ripple Daily Analysis – 08/05/18 EURUSD on Bearish Free Fall Post Disappointing Macro Data on Monday \|\| This 8%-Yielder Is Setting Up for Big Dividend Growth in the Coming Years: Targa Resources Corp's(NYSE: TRGP)8%-yielding dividend might look attractive, but at the moment it's hanging by a thread. The natural gas pipeline and processing company just managed to generate enough cash flow to cover it last year and expects razor-thin coverage again this year. That's well below the levels of its pipeline peers, which like a margin of safety of 20% to 50% (and above) of cash flow because it gives them a head start on financing expansion projects. Because Targa Resources doesn't have the luxury of generating excess cash, it has had to be creative in financing expansion projects; it also can't issue more stock to raise money, as this would make its already-tight dividend coverage even worse. While that same scenario led rivalKinder Morgan(NYSE: KMI)to slash its dividend and divert that cash to fund capital spending a few years ago, Targa is using a variety of alternative funding sources to finance its growing slate of projects. If this plan works, those expansions could potentially support significant dividend growth in the coming years. Image source: Getty Images. Targa Resources has lined up $3.215 billion of capital projects, which should enter service through 2020, including $850 million of new ones announced this week. That's a large funding requirement for a company that pays out all its spare cash in dividends. However, it has steadily chipped away at that number by partnering on projects with other pipeline companies and private equity funds. In January, Targa secured a 50-50 joint venture withHess Midstream Partners(NYSE: HESM)to build the Little Missouri 4 natural gas processing plant in North Dakota. The partners will construct the $150 million project at Targa's existing Little Missouri facility. The joint venture, which should enter service by year-end, offloaded half of the capital costs to Hess Midstream, but also provided theMLPwith more fuel for itsfast-growing high-yield distribution. The company also expanded its natural gas processing joint venture withMPLX(NYSE: MPLX)in Oklahoma. This existing 60-40 partnership will build a new gas-processing plant that should also start up by year-end. However, instead of funding 60% of the cost, Targa contributed a decommissioned plant that will eventually become the new one after upgrades. In addition, Targa contributed another plant to the joint venture and will receive a cash distribution from MPLX so the partners can maintain their current 60-40 split. Finally, last month Targa secured a $1.1 billion development joint venture with a private equity fund. The funding venture will own Targa's 25% stake in Kinder Morgan's Gulf Coast Express Pipeline, a 20% interest in Targa's Grand Prix Pipeline, and 100% of the company's next NGL fractionation train, which will separate NGLs into the various streams like propane and ethane. Much like Kinder Morgan'sprivate equityfunding dealsover the past few years, this transaction offloads future capital costs. One major difference: Targa has the option to reacquire these stakes after all assets enter service in 2020. Image source: Getty Images. These various partnerships initially eliminated much of Targa's equity-funding needs for 2018 and 2019. However, the company recently announced that it would invest $350 million to extend its Grand Prix Pipeline and spend $500 million in building two new natural gas processing plants and associated pipelines. As a result, the company now needs to secure more financing. Targa Resources is currently evaluating a range of financing opportunities, including additional joint ventures as well as potentially selling its petroleum logistics and marine barge businesses. These sales could offset a significant portion of the capital required for its latest round of expansion projects. This growing slate of projects has Targa Resources on pace to increase earnings from $1.14 billion last year to well over $2 billion in 2021, after all these expansions enter service. That potential to nearly double earnings in the next few years could spark a substantial improvement in the dividend-coverage ratio, since the company might not have to issue much, if any, equity to finance this growth in the near term. So it looks increasingly likely that Targa Resources will avoid the fate of Kinder Morgan and maintain its lucrative 8%-yielding dividend while it builds these projects, and potentially increase the payout significantly as the projects start sending cash flow higher. More From The Motley Fool • 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices • 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 • 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing • 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today • The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss • Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This Matthew DiLalloowns shares of Kinder Morgan. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Kinder Morgan. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy. \|\| How the Bitcoin Bubble Is Mirroring the Dot-Com One, Only Happening 15 Times Faster: If the rise and fall of Bitcoin seems familiar, wants to assure you that it is, though you saw things play out a lot slower originally. The investment firm, in a note, said the cryptocurrencys price chart is largely mirroring that of the Nasdaq composite index during the dot-com bubble. Only this time, things are moving 15 times faster than they did in the mid-90s and early 2000s. How similar are things, exactly? Since its creation, Bitcoin has seen four bear waves , where prices have dropped 45-50%, typically rebounding an average of 47% afterward. Nasdaq, starting in 2000, had five of those waves, averaging 44% declines, followed by 40% rebounds. Trading volume patterns are also eerily similar. Of course, as any broker will tell you, past performance is not indicative of future behavior. And while Nasdaq has rallied nicely from its low in 2002 (increasing six-fold), thats no guarantee Bitcoin will do the same. But try telling that to crypto enthusiasts. See original article on Fortune.com More from Fortune.com Bitcoin Prices Recover From a Six-Week Low Ahead of G-20 Cryptocurrency Talks Report: Twitter to Ban Many Cryptocurrency Ads Bitcoin Miners Can Now Be Charged Extra for Electricity, New York Power Authorities Say Russia's Power Plant Hacks, Zscaler IPO, Equifax Insider Trading Congress Wants to Use Blockchain Tech to Make the Government 'More Efficient' \|\| Overstock Subsidiary Invests in Caribbean Bitcoin Startup Bitt: Medici Ventures, the subsidiary of popular online retailerOverstock, has announced that it will be investing 3 million United States Dollars in the Barbados-basedblockchainoriented company,Bitt. According to a pressrelease, the move will grant the company an increase in ownership by 8.6 percent. Bitt is a company that first appeared in 2015 as a mobile payment platform designed specifically for the Caribbean market, beginning with Barbados. Since then, the company has been developing its digital commerce system on top of distributed ledger technology, or blockchains. Medici Ventures already has a significant stake in the company, with the original investment of $4 million being made as early as 2016. Shortly prior to Overstock’s investment in that year, Bitt had launched its own digital version of the Barbadian Dollar on the bitcoin blockchain. The President of Medici Ventures, Jonathan Johnson, said, “Bitt has created a blockchain-based payments ecosystem that is useful for every day transactions. It has positioned itself as a clear leader in applying blockchain technology to solve real-world problems.” In February 2018, Bittannounceda partnership with the Caribbean island, Montserrat, to introduce its digital payments platform in the region. Given that smaller economies, such as the ones present in the Caribbean, often struggle with financial institutions and liquidity, it is easy to see how unified blockchain-based alternatives, such as the one proposed by Bitt, will be able to change that. The company is looking to enable the purchase of goods and services using the Barbados digitized currency, that can be accessed and transferred in supported areas through a mobile app. The CEO of Bitt, Rawdon Adams, was also optimistic about the investment. His statement in the press release included, “Bitt is in a unique position to provide the solutions to boost both financial inclusion and overall economic performance through its blockchain-based software. That’s already being recognized by regional governments overseeing economies characterized by large informal sectors, persistently high rates of poverty and expensive traditional financial services. I thank Medici Ventures for their support of our mission.” Overstock’s Medici Ventures division, founded in 2014, has been making a significant investment in applications and companies demonstrating the use of blockchain technology. Another subsidiary of the company,tZero, had also announced the launch of an initial coin offering (ICO) in November 2017. At the time, Medici’s portfolio of investments included nine different companies, all associated in some way or the other with blockchain technology. Featured image from Shutterstock. The postOverstock Subsidiary Invests in Caribbean Bitcoin Startup Bittappeared first onCCN. \|\| USD Likely To Remain in Uptrend against The Euro in Near Future: The EUR/USD pair kicked-off the week on a quiet note, as investors await fresh impetus from the sentiment on the European open ahead of the German Prelim CPI release. The pair faced the worst week since January but recovered some ground during US session erasing daily losses but still remains nearly 150 pips below where it was last week. The greenback weakened on Friday despite better-than-expected US data. The first estimate for Q1 GDP growth came in at 2.3% above the 2.0% expected. The US Dollar peaked after the report and then pulled back. Friday’s, up-move in the pair, was a triggered by a combination of retreating T-yields and profit-taking. Anyway, market’s sentiment toward the greenback has found additional support on news that the US will start talks with China to prevent a trade war, and that South and North Korean leaders met for the first time in decades, and talked de-nuclearization. This should be good for the global wellbeing and hence increase the risk sentiment in the markets. Dollar’s trend will have to face major challenges this week, as the US will release its March PCE inflation data & there is a Fed policy meet and April employment data released scheduled this friday. None of them is foreseen offering negative surprises and readings in-line with market’s expectations will be enough to keep USD on its positive path. Today’s focus is on German inflation and US PCE index, as European markets are closed tomorrow due to Labour Day. Traders will also focus on Euro zone’s GDP and inflation data scheduled to be released on Wednesday and Thursday respectively. The pair last week tested a major support at 1.2060, while a look at 4 hour chart showed possibility for still resistance at 1.2150. As trading session moves further this week multiple levels of support and resistance can be found at 1.2100/1.2060/1.2020 and 1.2160/1.2200/1.2245 respectively Thisarticlewas originally posted on FX Empire • Strength of U.S Dollar Effecting Broad Markets, Global Stocks Edge Higher • Natural Gas Price Fundamental Daily Forecast – Traders Expecting First Storage Build Since December This Week • DASH Technical Analysis – Support in Demand – 30/04/18 • Tight Ranges in First Day of the Week as Holiday Affect Markets Liquidity • AUD/USD and NZD/USD Fundamental Daily Forecast – Light Pressure Ahead of RBA, Fed Monetary Policy Announcements • Bitcoin Down but not Out, an Afternoon Rally on the Cards [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] Hollywood Actor Wesley Snipes Finds New Love in Cryptocurrency BY: Ogwu Osaemezu Emmanuel https://btcmanager.com/hollywood-actor-wesley-snipes-finds-new-love-in-cryptocurrency/?utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=socialpush&utm_campaign=SNAP … #Altcoin_News #ICO #Regulations #SEC #Social_Messaging #Tokenpic.twitter.com/PQQRQX7GNp \|\| Tested Eclair Android Lightning Wallet via /r/Bitcoin https://ift.tt/2qco0E5 \|\| Happy Birthday MinCoin! 5 Year Anniversary Launched: April 03, 2013 #mincoin #MNC $MNC #altcoin #BTC #Litecoin #Bitcoin #happybirthday #crypto #fintech #blockchain NO ICO! YES 100% Decentralized! YES 100% Open Source! https://www.mincoin.us https://www.mincoinforum.com pic.twitter.com/pkgl6YK0qz \|\| Interesante articulo de opinión acerca de las criptomonedas, y en especial, del BitCoin.. https://lnkd.in/efwWcdf https://lnkd.in/eytBVkM \|\| Current price of #Bitcoin is $6840.00 \|\| 【12：00】ビットコイン（Bitcoin）価格・相場・チャート https://bitflyer.jp/ja-jp/bitcoin-chart … ビットコイン取引量No1! 【bitFlyer】 https://goo.gl/LwcoRC \|\| 6. LITECOIN What Silver is to Gold, Litecoin is to Bitcoin. pic.twitter.com/wQVIWaqymI \|\| #ETH Buy at #Koineks and sell at #Binance. Ratio: 3.79% Buy at #Koineks and sell at #Kraken. Ratio: 4.00% Buy at #SistemKoin and sell at #Cex. Ratio: 4.73% Buy at #SistemKoin and sell at #Bittrex. Ratio: 5.36% #bitcoin #arbitrage #arbitraj #arbingtool http://arbing.info \|\| Analista que pronosticó el apogeo del bitcóin ahora predice que llegará a 400 mil dólares https://goo.gl/dyiGDK \|\| Bitcoin Tumbles Below $7000 After Binance Hack Fears http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/zerohedge/feed/~3/lEPHLzR0iA0/bitcoin-tumbles-below-7000-after-binance-hack-fears …	Trend: down \|\| Prices: 8250.97, 8247.18, 8513.25, 8418.99, 8041.78, 7557.82, 7587.34, 7480.14, 7355.88, 7368.22
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2019-04-11] BTC Price: 5064.49, BTC RSI: 68.41 Gold Price: 1288.60, Gold RSI: 44.05 Oil Price: 63.58, Oil RSI: 67.01 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Bitcoin Price Analysis: Short-Term Support Breaks on High Volume and Spread: Leading into the London open, bitcoin broke through its local support level in a move that seems to be hinting toward a downward continuation: Figure 1: BTC-USD, Daily Candles, Broken Local Support So far, our daily candle has yet to close, but it is currently on schedule to close below local support. If we close below this current level, that will mark a new lower low for the first time in about a week and a half. Although that is bearish, the real strong support level lies just below and is outlined in red in the figure above. The $3,650 level has been a pivot point for months. We saw a test of that level a few days ago, but it was immediately rejected. However, now we are seeing a relatively widespread and high volume as we drift downward toward our support level. Inour previous analysis, we discussed the possibility of the symmetrical triangle experiencing a throwback prior to an upward breakout. However, the symmetrical triangle’s upper trendline has failed to provide any meaningful demand: Figure 2: BTC-USD, Daily Candle, Symmetrical Triangle Failed Breakout Consolidations that fail to continue post-breakout often lead to strong reversals. As traders buy the breakout of the triangle, they provide deep liquidity for short sellers. If the supply is high enough to overwhelm the demand, that leaves a tight pocket of bulls underwater. And, if you have an underwater long, the way you close it is to market sell it. If you have underwater longs that get stopped out, that adds additional selling pressure to the already overwhelming supply in the market. We will have more information once the daily closes, but given the level of sideways consolidation over the last week, a downward breakout does not bode well on smaller time frames: Figure 3: BTC-USD, 4-Hour Candles, Downward Breakout The last week saw a fairly tight range with consolidating volume. On the lower time frames, we see a very decisive close below the range on high volume, high spread and very little demand to counteract the selling pressure. We will need to wait for the daily candle to have more information as we assess the market, but for now the signs are pointing toward a bearish continuation. As we test the $3,650 level (the level outlined in red), we would need to see a daily close below to give us confidence in the continuation thesis. 1. Bitcoin broke short-term support on high volume and high spread. The support came on the heels of a week-and-a-half-long consolidation within a narrow range. 2. The $3,650 level is a macro support level that will likely be tested. If we manage to close below this level, we can expect a continuation to the downside. 3. For now, we need to see how the daily candle closes before we can make a macro assessment of the market. We are pushing new lows on high volume, so it seems entirely likely we will be closing a new low on the daily time frame. Trading and investing in digital assets like bitcoin is highly speculative and comes with many risks. This analysis is for informational purposes and should not be considered investment advice. Statements and financial information on Bitcoin Magazine and BTC Inc related sites do not necessarily reflect the opinion of BTC Inc and should not be construed as an endorsement or recommendation to buy, sell or hold. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. This article originally appeared onBitcoin Magazine. \|\| Dogecoin Hits the Big Leagues: Elon Musk’s Favorite Cryptocurrency Now Listed by Huobi: One of the largest exchanges in crypto is now supporting Dogecoin. Image from Shutterstock. Veteran exchange Huobi announced today that it would be listing three pairs for Dogecoin : DOGE/BTC, DOGE/ETH, and DOGE/USDT. When Moon? Dogecoin recently experienced a significant pump but has corrected on its BTC peg in the interim. The limitless supply cryptocurrency created by Jackson Palmer in 2014 has historically ranged between 50 and 100 Satoshis per coin, sometimes reaching as high as 2-300. The currency is widely traded and used in many places that also accept Bitcoin, Litecoin, and Ethereum, including gambling sites and payment processors. Notably, it is one of the oldest cryptocurrencies with a reasonable hashrate not to be offered by Coinbase for sale. Huobi Calls Doge “High-Quality” Huobi writes in their announcement: In a dedicated effort to provide our customers with carefully vetted and high-quality trading options, we are announcing support for a new addition to the Huobi Marketplace: Dogecoin (DOGE). Perhaps intentionally, the team did not announce this news on April fool’s day, when people might have taken that wording for a joke. While some still view Dogecoin as a “joke,” we have previously noted here that the cryptocurrency – based on a meme – maintains a high degree of liquidity and trading platforms. You’d Be Surprised How Many Places You Can Trade Doge Against Fiat Stablecoins Aside from Huobi, several other exchanges offer stablecoin pairs for Dogecoin, which enables traders to visualize a fiat value for the crypto. Huobi Global (hbg.com) is the eighth largest crypto exchange by trading volume, as of press time. Trading and withdrawals will begin a few hours from now, at 7 PM PST. You can deposit on Huobi.com and HBG.com. Read the full story on CCN.com . \|\| $1.3 Million Bitcoin Scam Swindles Victims in Thailand. Are Tougher Crypto Regulations Necessary?: alarm ICO crypto bitcoin A virtual bitcoin mining farm in Thailand has allegedly scammed users out of 42 million baht (approximately $1.35 million), according to a report in the Bangkok Post. 30 victims have filed a complaint against the company, CryptoMining.Farm. Although police believe the scam may have hit up to 140 individuals. It comes just months after a group of Thai siblings was accused of defrauding an investor of $24 million in bitcoin . Although Thailand is a booming market for cryptocurrencies, is it time for tougher regulations to crack down on scams and frauds? Victims report alleged blockchain mining scam https://t.co/W0dgXJ54j3 — Bangkok Post (@BangkokPostNews) February 19, 2019 Read the full story on CCN.com . View comments \|\| ‘Satoshi’ Craig Wright Brags about Destroying Anonymous Coins Monero, Zcash: Dr. Craig Wright is back. And this time, he is out to destroy the societally menacing anonymous coins. The Australian computer scientist andalleged creator of Bitcointold CNBC Africa’s Ran Neuner that he knows how to kill Zcash andMonero. Dr. Wright said that he was going to expose these anonymous coins sometime this year, adding: “If you have a privacy coin, I will show you that it is basically as private as running through Times Square with your pants around your ankles.” If what Dr. Wright is saying is correct, then it is a piece of troubling news for discerning dark web drug traders and pseudonymous hackers. They reportedly prefer a Monero over a Bitcoin because Monero promises to offer better privacy protections. It is designed to mix up payments so that anyone investigating Monero’s blockchain can’t link transactions to its source. On the other hand, Bitcoin’s blockchain is open, where researchers can trace transactions back to the original sender/recipient. All they would need is an address in the chain linked to a user’s true identity. But it doesn’t precisely make Dr. Wright a genius, given he used a lot of I’s in his statements. The respected scholar tends to forget that researchers before him had studied Monero for its potential flaws. Takethis Wired reportfor instance. It discusses the findings of a team of researchers from Princeton, Carnegie Mellon, Boston University, MIT, and the University of Illinois. Per them, Monero’s mixing has a flaw. It makes it possible for investigators to extract individual transactions. According to researchers, Monero’s transactions were not so private until February 2017, when the project went through a privacy protection upgrade dubbed as Ring Confidential Transactions. But before that, the Monero blockchain had hosted roughly 200,000 transactions which remain traceable to this date. There is also another defect – not found by Dr. Wright – that Monero developers are attempting to solve. As explained above, Monero mixes transactions at the time of transmission to hide their source. The Battle of Seven Potters \| Source: Warner Bros Entertainment Inc Remember the Battle of Seven Potters? In the book and movie Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the Order of Phoenix manages to escort the real Harry Potter by transforming six of the order members into his lookalikes. Monero uses similar decoys known as “mixins” to cover tracks of the original Monero coins. (Yes, I am a Potter-head.) So, the crack has to do with Monero’s optional privacy feature. For instance, in its first year, many users opted out of Monero privacy and transacted coins openly. The trouble lies in the fact that an already identified Monero token can be easily pulled out of the mixins by the Death Eaters, otherwise known as regulators. That leads to the same Bitcoin problem: one identified transaction revealing the identity of the following transactions. Like the cowardice of Mundungus Fletcher, who was one of the Potter decoys, exposed the rest of the Order to danger. (Yes, I am.) It is too early to say Dr. Craig Wright was taking his cues from the study mentioned above. But he sounds like a person who is projecting a technology’s potential flaw as a doomsday button. It is as if Dr. Wright wants the projects to fail at any cost, never realizing that a flaw prompts developers to fix the problem, not shut down the entire operation. And then, there is a self-righteous brag. In one of the tweets, Dr. Wright said he was going to help the criminal enforcement agencies how to stop an anonymous coin. They are the same agencies who would waste no time in arresting Dr. Wright for claiming that he is the creator of bitcoin, a digital currency that reportedly facilitated money laundering and drug trafficking in the last decade. It is not important whether you didn’t commit a murder. But if you openly proclaim that you did, then you belong in jail anyway. The situation explains why Dr. Wright is cozying up with the Feds, luring them into a deal that could potentially scale up their crackdowns against digital currencies. But dear feds, beware! What you might get is a recycled study in the name of technological breakthrough. For more information, just go through this tweet: Yes, Dr. Craig Wright can destroy anonymous coins. In these times, anything can happen over a tweet. [Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article is of the author and author’s only.] Read the full story on CCN.com. \|\| 5 Stock Charts Ripe for a Breakout: TheS&P 500kicked off 2019 on a strong note. It has put together a strong 20% rally off its December lows and only has another 5% to go before reaching the all-time high it set in September. I believe the S&P will break into record territory in the near future. But before that occurs, I suspect we’ll see a handful of individual stocks rally through resistance levels as well. • 7 IPOs to Get Excited for in 2019 We are already starting to see this happen, and it’s a great sign of things to come. But when looking for stocks to buy, we can make a lot more money by spotting the breakoutsbeforethey occur as opposed to after. Today, I’d like to talk about five stocks to buy that are right on the edge of breaking out. InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips One of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world,Merck(NYSE:MRK), is currently sitting just below an all-time high. MRK stock fell with the broad market after notching a new record of $80.19 in early December, but since then it has been able to work its way back toward $80. The first few tries at breaking through resistance this week have failed, but I suspect it is only a matter of time until the breakout occurs, making this a good stock to buy now. Merck trades with a forward P/E ratio of 15.1 and boasts a solid dividend yield of 2.8%. Both of these are impressive numbers for a stock on the verge of rallying. Once a high-flying tech stock prior to the 2000 bubble,Oracle(NYSE:ORCL) is now a much more mature company and that has held on to its leadership role in the global software sector. ORCL stock has run into resistance at the $54 area several times since 2017. The most recent rally has been in impressive — ORCL is up more than 20% from its late December low – and the chart suggests we’ll see a breakout to a new all-time high in the near future. Ericsson(NASDAQ:ERIC) is another company that got caught up in the 2000 tech bubble. It rallied more than 14,000% from the 1980s to the top in 2000 before losing 99% of its value over the next two years. After a decade and a half of not doing much, ERIC is now one of the best-positioned companies to benefit from the transition to the 5G network. This telecom-equipment maker has been attempting to break out since late 2018, but ERIC continues run into resistance near $9.50. There are two factors that tell me the stock could seal the deal move soon. First, ERIC has made higher lows following each failed attempt. That’s a positive sign from a technical perspective. It means buyers are paying more for this stock on every pullback. The second factor is the investigation into China’s Huawei, the number one global supplier of telecom equipment. The U.S. has filed charges against Huawei, and if the company ends up banned in various countries, it will create a major opportunity for competitors to take market share. Ericsson is one of two companies — the other beingNokia(NYSE:NOK) — that stands to benefit the most. This makes ERIC an ideal stock to buy right now. Tractor Supply Company(NASDAQ:TSCO), a rural retailer of farming equipment, appears to be nearing a major breakout. TSCO has struggled to crack the century milestone since 2015. After taking a major hit between 2016 and 2017, the stock has now come back to within 3% of success. Tractor Supply is close, and I suspect we could see new records above $100 before the end of the month. If TSCO can break through the psychological $100 level, look for an influx of investors and heavy buying to push the shares even higher. Twilio(NYSE:TWLO) is a leading software company in the midst of an impressive short- and long-term rally, and it is now on the verge of a breakout above $120. This move would be the latest in a long line of breakouts to new highs in the last three months. • 10 Blue-Chip Stocks to Lead the Market I expect TWLO will remain a leader in its industry for years to come. And as a high-flying tech company, I also expect breakouts will remain a recurring theme in its future. Matthew McCall is the founder and president of Penn Financial Group, an investment advisory firm, as well as the editor of Investment Opportunities and Early Stage Investor. He has dedicated his career to getting investors into the world’s biggest, most revolutionary trends BEFORE anyone else. The power of being “first” gave Matt’s readers the chance to bank +2,438% in Stamps.com (STMP), +1,523% in Ulta Beauty (ULTA), +1,044% in Tesla (TSLA), +611% in Liquefied Natural Gas Limited (LNGLY), +324% in Bitcoin Services (BTSC), just to name a few. If you’re interested in making triple-digit gains from the world’s biggest investment trends BEFORE anyone else,click here to learn more about Matt McCall and his investments strategy today. • 2 Toxic Pot Stocks You Should Avoid • 7 Strong Buy Stocks Top Investors Are Buying Now • 7 Cheap Stocks That Make the Grade • 5 Clinical-Stage Biotech Stocks to Buy Compare Brokers The post5 Stock Charts Ripe for a Breakoutappeared first onInvestorPlace. \|\| Bitcoin Climbs Over $5,100 as Top Cryptos See Solid Gains: Sunday, April 7 — most of the top 20cryptocurrenciesare seeing moderate to notable gains on the day by press time, as Bitcoin (BTC) climbs over the $5,100 mark. Market visualization courtesy ofCoin360 Bitcoin’s price has seen a gain of two and a half percent on the day, trading at around$5,156by press time, according to CoinMarketCap. Looking at its weekly chart, the current price is a solid 20% higher than $4,095, the price at which Bitcoin started the week. Bitcoin 7-day price chart. Source:CoinMarketCap Bloomberg analyst Mike McGloneclaimedearlier this week that Bitcoin is at its most overbought level since its record highs in December 2017. Also, leadingUnited Statesderivative marketCME Grouppointed outthat itsBitcoin futuresreported record trading volumes on April 4. Ethereum (ETH) is holding onto its position as the largest altcoin by market cap, which is currently at about $17.7 billion. The second-largest altcoin, Ripple (XRP), has a market cap of about $15 billion by press time. ETH is up by 2.12% over the last 24 hours. At press time, ETH is trading around $168, after having started the day at $163. On its weekly chart, ETH has seen its value increase by almost 19%. Ethereum 7-day price chart. Source:CoinMarketCap Second-largest altcoin Ripple has gained one and a half percent over the 24 hours to press time, and is currently trading at around$0.36. Looking at the coin’s weekly chart, its current price is over 16% higher than the price at which it started the week. Ripple 7-day price chart. Source:CoinMarketCap Among the top 20 cryptocurrencies, the one reporting the most notable gains is Ethereum Classic (ETC), which is up over 20% on the day to press time. Bitcoin Cash (BCH) has also seen notable daily growth, up 11% to press time. On the week, BCH has seen massive growth of 91%. Thetotal market capof all cryptocurrencies reached $180 billion today, which is almost 25% higher than $144.3 billion, the value it saw one week ago. Earlier this week aJapanesenews outletreportedthatG20member countries will meet to discuss international cryptocurrency Anti-Money Laundering (AML) regulation on June 8 and 9 in Fukuoka, Japan. • Bitcoin Briefly Breaks New $5,300 Support as Traditional Markets Grow • Bitcoin Dips Below $5,000 as Crypto Market Trend Slightly Reverses to Red • BTC Tests $5,000 Amid 2019’s First Major Crypto Market Recovery • Crypto Markets Continue Rising While Bitcoin’s Dominance Continues to Drop \|\| Dow, Bitcoin Price Wobble While Trump Gives Ridiculous Stock Market Analysis: Neither the Dow nor the bitcoin price made a strong move following Wednesday’s opening bell, though US President Donald Trump’s bombastic stock market commentary provided more than enough entertainment for investors on Wall Street and Main Street alike. As of 10:50 am ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average had climbed by 34.22 points or 0.13 percent. The S&P 500 rose 3.91 points or 0.14 percent, while the Nasdaq increased by 23.17 points or 0.31 percent. Futures tracking the Dow Jones Industrial Average (blue), S&P 500 (red), and Nasdaq (orange) traded sideways ahead of the opening bell. On Tuesday, all three US stock market indices crept to minor gains, so minor that you’d have to squint to see them. Read the full story onCCN.com. \|\| Square Brought in Over $166 Million Through Bitcoin Sales Last Year: Mobile payments firm Square has reported over $166 million in revenue from bitcoin sales last year. The companyfiledÂ its financial results for Q4 2018 with the U.S.Â Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Wednesday, disclosing that it made overall net revenue of $3.3 billion last year, 5 percent of which came from the cryptocurrency buying service within its Cash App. While bitcoin sales brought in precisely $166,517,000, the cost of purchasing the cryptocurrency for the year was about $165 million. That left the firm with a net profit from bitcoin sales of 1.69 million. Australian Regulator Trials Blockchain to Automate Transaction Reporting Looking at Square’s quarterly figures, the bitcoin business was notably better in the second half of last year. Specifically, the firm took $95 million in bitcoin revenues in the second half, compared with about $71 million in the first half. Profit for the second half was $1.047 million, and was $643,000 in H1. The firm further disclosed that the carrying value of bitcoin held by the firm was $0.2 million as of Dec. 31, 2018. The firm said it assesses the carrying value at each reporting date and records an impairment charge if the carrying value exceeds the fair value. However, lossÂ on bitcoin for the year 2018 was âinsignificant.â Squareaddedbitcoin buying and selling option to its Cash App back in November 2017, initially only to a small number of users though. Later, in August 2018, the firmexpandedthe facility to all 50 U.S. states. The firmreceivedÂ a “BitLicense” from the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) last June, that allowed it to offer crypto services in the state. Nvidia Says Crypto Drop-Off Helped Drive ‘Disappointing’ Fourth Quarter Bitcoin and dollarsimage via ShutterstockÂ • GMO Internet’s Crypto Business Reports $12 Million Loss in 2018 • Chip Maker TSMC Reports ‘Big Drop’ in Crypto Mining Revenue \|\| What “Coca-Cola Millionaires” Can Teach You About Investing: This article was originally published on ETFTrends.com. By Robert Ross via Iris.xyz I bet you’ve never heard of Pat Munroe. And unless you’re from the Florida Panhandle, I imagine you haven’t heard of Quincy, Florida, either. But the two can teach us a lot about investing. See, in the early 1920s, Munroe was a banker in Quincy. One thing he noticed was no matter how hard the times, people always had money to buy a Coca-Cola. So he started buying Coca-Cola shares. Not long after, he was telling everyone in town to buy Coca-Cola shares. He’d even underwrite bank loans backed by Coca Cola stock. When shares crashed 50% during a conflict with the sugar industry, Pat kept telling people to buy Coca Cola. And then the Great Depression hit. Keeping Your Eye on the Long Run From September 1929 to July 1932, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 89% of its value. But something remarkable happened. Even though unemployment was near 20% in 1931, Coca-Cola sales fell a mere 2.3%. As Munroe had learned early on, people would spend their last nickel on a Coca-Cola. Click here to read more on Iris. POPULAR ARTICLES AND RESOURCES FROM ETFTRENDS.COM SPY ETF Quote VOO ETF Quote QQQ ETF Quote VTI ETF Quote JNUG ETF Quote Top 34 Gold ETFs Top 34 Oil ETFs Top 57 Financials ETFs Using Merger Arbitrage as a Hedge Against Market Volatility A Better Way to Determine Risk Exposure for Growth ETF Investors Report Findings Highlight Fake Bitcoin Trading on Unregulated Exchanges How to Manage A Mature Bull Market With Macro-Themed ETF Strategies In the Know: Building a Low Cost, Defensive Portfolio READ MORE AT ETFTRENDS.COM > \|\| Argentina Settles Export Deal With Paraguay Using Bitcoin: Argentinahas settled an export deal withParaguayin Bitcoin (BTC), Cointelegraph en Españolreportedon Thursday, Feb. 14. In a reported first for both countries, Paraguay has bought pesticides and fumigation products worth $7,100 from Argentina, using cryptocurrency to settle the deal. The purchase was paid for in BTC and then converted into Argentine peso to settle accounts with the exporter of the agricultural chemicals. To proceed with the payments, Argentina applied to Bitex — aLatin Americanfinancial services provider that supports Bitcoin payments. According to the chief marketing office of Bitex, Manuel Beaudroit, the company is a part of the Argentine government’s program Exporta Simple, which facilitates the export of goods and services worth less than $15,000. Bitex, in its turn, aims to make cross-border payments for such deals more efficient. As Cointelegraphreported, Bitex previously participated in a crypto project initiated by Argentine bank Masventas. In May 2018, Masventas announced it was considering creating an alternative to theSWIFTpayment system used between banks globally. Bitex was appointed to provide the necessary ecosystem for supporting BTC transactions. In other news for Argentina, this month, the country’s official state transport card SUBE (Sistema Único de Boleto Electrónico) — used by over seven million people in 37 locations —has startedaccepting BTC. Meanwhile in Paraguay, global blockchain tech firm and Bitcoinminingmanufacturer BitfurypartneredwithSouth Koreanpeer-to-peer knowledge commons research firm, Commons Foundation, to launch several mining facilities in the country. • Liechtenstein's Postal Service to Offer Crypto Exchange Services at Physical Locations • British Financial Historian Niall Ferguson Says Bitcoin Is 'an Option on Digital Gold' • Crypto Asset Brokerage From Uber’s Ex-CTO Goes Public on Canadian Exchange • NYSE Operator’s Crypto Platform Bakkt Finalizes Its First Acquisition [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] #BTCUSD Market #1H timeframe on March 23 at 20:00 (UTC) is #Bearish. #cryptocurrency #bitcoin #btc #crypto #trading #idea #report technical analysis \|\| Total Market Cap: $134,145,236,901 1 BTC: $3,933.44 BTC Dominance: 51.6% Update Time: 10-03-2019 - 23:00:08 (GMT+3) \|\| btc'de bu gece 3:00 günlük, haftalık, aylık kapanış hepsi aynı anda... hacim ürkütücü derecede azaldı, herkes bekleme modunda ve tepki her iki yöne de sert gelebilir, önlem anlamadan bu geceyi kapatmayın. Emin olmadığınız coinlere stop koymayı unutmayın. pic.twitter.com/MCk9R9QO36 \|\| ₿ #BTCUSD #Bitcoin = 4.115,23 #Dolar Güncelleme Saati : 03:00 \|\| At HighBank, you can register for an ICO for review, consult an expert, use a dashboard to manage and sell your brand, issue tokens, and benefit from distributed exchange benefits. #HIGH#HighBank #ICO #Bitcoin #Ethereum #Cryptocurrencyhttps://highbank.io/ \|\| 04-10 21:00(GMT) #SPINDLE price $SPD (BTC) Yobit :0.00000015 HitBTC :0.00000015 LiveCoin:0.00000014 $SPD (JPY) Yobit :0.09 HitBTC :0.09 LiveCoin:0.08 \|\| #BTC is not #bitcoin. It is not what you signed up for. It's not the cryptocurrency solution it promised to be. You are being lied to in order to keep bitcoin small and useless. Bitcoin is #BSV. Don't be caught on the wrong side of the sword. Be courageous and fight for BSV. https://t.co/Qxh82ijMkC \|\| Bitcoin supone la máxima libertad económica jamás conocida. La posibilidad de hacer pagos incensurables, instantáneos, peer to peer, y sin fronteras. Yo te pago a ti, sin terceras partes. La seguridad de que nuestro ahorro no será devaluado. \|\| #CryptoCotización Precios actualizados a las 00:01:10. #bitcoin #ethereum #ripple #bitcoincash #litecoin #eos #neo #crypto #criptomonedaspic.twitter.com/6G8dFTIC8r \|\| USD/VES Bs. S. 3.141,61 EUR/VES Bs. S. 3.527,25 ARS/VES Bs. S. 76,20 CLP/VES Bs. S. 4,71 COP/VES Bs. S. 1,00 PEN/VES Bs. S. 950,75 ฿ BTC/VES Bs. S. 12.407.950,00 ฿ BTC/USD $3,949.55 ฿ BTC/EUR 3 517,74 € #DolarSatoshi	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 5089.54, 5096.59, 5167.72, 5067.11, 5235.56, 5251.94, 5298.39, 5303.81, 5337.89, 5314.53
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2022-01-28] BTC Price: 37784.33, BTC RSI: 35.59 Gold Price: 1784.90, Gold RSI: 41.53 Oil Price: 86.82, Oil RSI: 65.85 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Bitcoin faces Russian ban as crypto mining fuels energy crisis: Russia Bitcoin crypto mining - Alexander Ryumin Russia has proposed a blanket ban on Bitcoin amid concerns that cryptocurrency mining is threatening the country’s energy supply. The central bank of Russia warned that the mining of digital assets posed a risk to the dominant energy sector. It also said cryptocurrencies had all the hallmarks of a pyramid scheme and undermined the sovereignty of monetary policy. To mine cryptocurrency, networks of independent computers perform complex calculations. Once they are completed, the network is rewarded with new digital coins. These activities consume high quantities of energy which, if sourced from fossil fuels, harm the environment. Russia is home to a thriving crypto industry, with its largest mines located in the north and Siberia. It is the third-biggest crypto mining nation in the world, housing around a tenth of global Bitcoin sourcing activities. The country had taken on an increasingly significant role in the sector after last year’s crackdown by China's ruling Communist Party. However, Bitcoin rose over 3pc to nearly $43,000 on Thursday afternoon, in contrast to a major selloff last September when China made crypto transactions illegal. Analysts say that traders are not as spooked this time around because the industry has experience of dealing with unfavourable policies. 06:17 PM Wrapping up That's all from us today, thank you for reading! We will be back tomorrow and, while you wait, have a look at the most recent stories from the business desk: Top investor brands Unilever's £50bn Glaxo bid a 'near-death experience' in new attack BT to raise prices by 9.3pc in blow to millions of billpayers Crossrail stowaway travels across London undetected M&S urges Boris Johnson to end Northern Ireland border checks Rolls-Royce battery-powered plane crowned as world’s fastest electric vehicle 06:15 PM Microchip machines maker ASML struggles with global shortage A Dutch company crucial to the global microchip industry has warned of a new bottleneck to production because it cannot get enough chips to make its equipment. James Titcomb writes: Story continues ASML, which makes the enormous machines used to etch microscopic circuits on to advanced microchips, said it was in a “daily fight” to source the components needed to make the equipment. The company, Europe’s largest technology business that is worth almost €260bn (£216bn), is the world’s only supplier of extreme ultraviolet lithography machines. They can be as large as a bus and cost about €150m apiece. It is the world’s only maker of the machines, which is used by manufacturers such as Taiwanese giant TSMC and Intel to produce chips. Peter Wenninck, ASML chief executive, said: “We are directly impacted, but not that we buy chips. Our suppliers do. We figure out which semiconductor manufacturers make these chips, then we pick up the phone and we call them up and say: ‘Can you help us?’” Read James's full story here 05:50 PM FTSE 100 closes lower as oil stocks, GSK drag The FTSE 100 has slipped on weakness in oil stocks and GlaxoSmithKline. The blue-chip index ended 0.1pc lower at 7,585, weighed down by oil majors Royal Dutch Shell and BP as they tracked weaker crude oil prices. GSK shed 1.8pc and was among the top big-cap losers after Unilever effectively ended its acquisition plans by announcing it wouldn't increase its £50bn bid. Among the risers, Deliveroo added 1.4pc following on strong fourth-quarter order value growth, resulting in it hitting the top of its outlook range for the year. 05:17 PM New York City to convert its first pay cheque into crypto New York City Mayor Eric Adams said that his first pay cheque, which arrives tomorrow, will be converted into Bitcoin and Ethereum. Coinbase, the largest US trading platform, will be handling the conversion through its direct deposit feature, which allows eligible users to automatically transfer a portion or the entirety of their salary into their Coinbase account in the form of a cryptocurrency. As mayor-elect, Adams vowed to take his first three salaries in Bitcoin and welcomed the development of a NYC Coin similar to Miami’s as a way to make New York a more crypto-friendly city. He said: “New York is the center of the world, and we want it to be the center of cryptocurrency and other financial innovations. “Being on the forefront of such innovation will help us create jobs, improve our economy, and continue to be a magnet for talent from all over the globe.” New York businesses are subject to one of the strictest regulatory regimes in the US which he has no power over, as its controlled by state government. Also, the city can’t pay employees directly in cryptocurrency due to Department of Labor regulations. 04:59 PM Burberry's new boss to start two weeks earlier than planned Jonathan Akeroyd - Dave Benett/ Getty Images Luxury fashion group Burberry said its new chief executive, Jonathan Akeroyd, will start in the role on March 15, two weeks earlier than planned. The Versace boss is replacing Marco Gobbetti, who last June unexpectedly announced plans to quit after nearly five years in the role. Gobbetti left at the end of the year to head up Italian rival Salvatore Ferragamo, with chairman Gerry Murphy leading Burberry on an interim basis until Akeroyd joins. 04:44 PM Customers rush back to pubs at start of January, says City landlord Pubs are enjoying an unusual January rush in punters, a landlord has said, as drinkers reschedule festive events that were postponed because of omicron. My colleague Hannah Boland has more: Clive Watson, chairman of City Pub Group, said there had been a "significant increase in trade" in the last 10 days - a period which is traditionally more muted after Christmas and New Year boozing. The chain, which runs 46 pubs across the south of England and Wales, said the spike had, in particular, come in residential areas, given work-from-home guidance which has been in place since mid-December. "In Brighton, for example, there were some very strong numbers." He added that the return of university students had also buoyed trade in the past week, saying: "Students have definitely come back and they've really just carried on where they left off from last term." 04:27 PM The Gym Group lifted by fitness goals in Britons' New Year's resolutions Good afternoon, this is Giulia Bottaro taking over from James Warrington . Low-cost fitness chain The Gym Group has said weekly member visits have recovered to normal pre-Covid levels after being hit by Omicron fears. Gym visits fell in December and early January, but trading has since rebounded and is set to rise further thanks to the lifting of work-from-home guidance. Total membership has risen 8pc to 776,000 since the end of December. Chief executive Richard Darwin said: "January is the month when many people set new health and fitness goals and has always been an important trading period for The Gym Group. We have been encouraged to see good levels of gym usage and new member acquisition so far this year." 04:00 PM Blow for UK as BHP investors back Sydney listing The UK looks set to lose one of its biggest companies after shareholders in BHP Group backed a move to unify the miner's shares in a single Sydney listing. Both London and Australian investors overwhelmingly approved the move, which is expected to pave the way for major mergers and acquisitions. The vote means BHP will move to a primary listing in Australia after scrapping a dual arrangement that dates back to the company's genesis 20 years ago. BHP is the third biggest company on the FTSE 100. 03:39 PM Rolls-Royce battery-powered plane wins speed crown Rolls Royce Spirit of Innovation - JOHN M DIBBS Rolls-Royce’s Spirit of Innovation electric plane has been crowned as the world’s fastest electric vehicle after its speed records were officially accepted. Howard Mustoe has more: The battery-powered plane flew at 345 miles an hour (555 kilometres an hour) over a distance of 3km in November, and did 330 miles an hour (532 km/h) over 15km, smashing two previous records, the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale confirmed. The plane reached a top speed of 387 miles an hour (623km/h) in the test flights to claim the title of the world’s fastest all-electric vehicle. The team may also have broken the record for quickest all-electric ascent to 3,000 metres, clocking in at 202 seconds and beating the previous record by a minute, although this attempt is still in the verification process. The pilot of the single-seater monoplane, Phill O’Dell, described the record at the time as “the highlight of my career” and a “momentous occasion”. Warren East, chief executive of Rolls-Royce, called the world speed record a fantastic achievement. Read Howard's full story here 03:22 PM UK productivity lags G7 after Brexit The UK's productivity performance trailed behind almost all of its G7 peers between the Brexit referendum and the pandemic, new figures have showed. Output per hour worked grew by less than 0.6pc a year on average from 2016 – when the UK voted to leave the European Union – up to 2019, just before the virus struck, according to the ONS. Only Italy put in a weaker performance. The figures highlight the challenges facing Boris Johnson's efforts to rebuild the economy following the pandemic and the UK's departure from the UK. Productivity growth has languished since the financial crisis, depressing wages for millions of workers and limiting the economy’s growth potential. In 2019, the UK’s output per hour worked was lower than the US and France, and higher than Canada and Japan. The average output per worker of G7 countries other than the UK was 13% above the UK in 2019 https://t.co/eDGJQCtoFQ pic.twitter.com/WcyFcUcmOE — Office for National Statistics (ONS) (@ONS) January 20, 2022 02:52 PM Government turns down £1.2bn UK-France power cable The Government has rejected plans for a £1.2bn undersea power cable connecting Britain to France following warnings about the threat to energy security. The project, run by investment firm Aquind, aimed to link the power grids of the two country via a connector between Normandy and Portsmouth. Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng has decided to turn down planning, according to Government documents. The proposals by Aquind, which is backed by two Russian former oil and gas tycoons who are major donors to the Tory party, had come under fire amid concerns it would make Britain more reliant on France. 02:44 PM Wall Street opens higher on upbeat results Wall Street has opened higher as positive results from companies including American Airlines buoyed sentiment. The S&P 500 and Dow Jones rose 0.3pc and 0.3pc respectively, while the Nasdaq gained 0.9pc – a day after it plunged into correction territory. 02:35 PM Terry Smith hits out at Unilever... again Fund manager Terry Smith has launched a fresh broadside at Unilever following its failed £50bn bid for GSK's consumer arm, saying the company needed to focus on fixing its own business. In a letter to shareholders, the outspoken investor branded the doomed approach as a "near-death experience", saying the attempt was now "thankfully dead rather than the value of our investment". Mr Smith said Unilever should have explicitly addressed key points and explained them to investors before pressing ahead with its offer. He wrote: "Instead we were faced with a statement that the bid worked based on financial metrics including the all-important return on capital. However, getting management to discuss what that number was, was like a dentist pulling a back tooth." Before news of the bid emerged, Mr Smith published a letter to investors lambasting Unilever for focusing on sustainability to the point of neglecting its business. 02:09 PM CVC lines up Wall Street banks for stock market float CVC Six Nations - Dan Mullan - RFU Private equity giant CVC Capital Partners is said to have lined up three Wall Street banks to oversee a potential initial public offering. CVC has tapped Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley for the London listing, which could take place in the second half of the year, Bloomberg reports. The buyout firm agreed in September to acquire secondary market specialist Glendower Capital and also lined up a minority stake sale to Blue Owl Capital at a $15bn (£11bn) valuation. The moves were seen as paving the way for a potential listing. CVC's investments include Formula One and the Six Nations. 02:01 PM US jobless claims surge to three-year high Applications for US unemployment claims jumped to a three-month high last week as the omicron variant takes its toll on the labour market. Initial unemployment claims increased by 55,000 to 286,000 in the week to 15 January, according to Labor Department figures. It's well above expectations and the highest since October. The jobs market has been staging a comeback from last year's recession, but the recent surge in Covid cases threatens to hamper that progress. 01:51 PM Crossrail stowaway travels across London undetected Crossrail London - Justin Kase z12z / Alamy Stock Photo Transport for London has launched a security review after a member of the public was able to board a Crossrail train and make a journey undetected months before the new rail line officially opens. Ben Gartside has more on this: The individual is understood to have boarded the Elizabeth line train at Abbey Wood in southeast London and travelled for about 30 minutes to Paddington station before being removed by security staff. The incident, first reported by trade title Construction News, was declared a "high-risk security breach" by MTR Elizabeth line, which operates the line. The test trains pass through stations still under construction, including Canary Wharf and Bond Street, with almost all opening and closing their doors at each one. The line operator has now added an additional lock to the platform gate at Abbey Wood along with other security measures. Read Ben's full story here 01:03 PM Amazon to open clothing store in LA Amazon Style - Greg Montijo/Amazon via AP Amazon has unveiled plans to open a clothes shop in Los Angeles, marking its latest foray into brick-and-mortar retailing. The Amazon Style boutique will use AI to recommend purchases to customers as they shop, Amazon said. It will stock a range of women's and men's clothing, shoes and accessories. Using an app, shoppers will be able to send items to a fitting room or directly to a pickup counter. Having established its dominant position in the ecommerce market, Amazon is increasingly looking to mark its territory on the high street. The Amazon Style concept follows the launch of a chain of bookshops in 2015, Amazon Go checkout-free supermarkets and Amazon Fresh stores. Jeff Bezos' company also acquired Whole Foods Market in 2017. 12:49 PM Inflation tsunami threatens Rishi Sunak’s No 10 dreams Rishi Sunak inflation Chancellor - Dan Kitwood/Getty Images Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s political career has soared like a rocket in the past two years. But the mounting cost of living crisis engulfing British households is threatening to bring his leadership ambitions crashing down to earth, writes Russell Lynch . Read his full analysis here . 12:34 PM Wincanton surges on profit upgrade Wincanton is among the biggest risers today after the logistics group lifted its profit forecasts for the full year. The logistics group said profit would exceed current expectations thanks to a 15pc rise in revenue in the third quarter and greater confidence over its ability to mitigate higher costs. Wincanton hailed strong trading in its peak period for grocery and consumer deliveries, with the firm delivering 25m cases of food and drink in the week before Christmas. It's now poised to begin a five-year contract with Primark to deliver goods to all its UK stores. Shares jumped 12.5pc. 12:21 PM US futures rise with corporate results in focus US futures have picked up as the global sell-off in bonds eased and investor turned their attention to a string of major corporate earnings. Futures tracking the S&P 500 and Dow Jones rose 0.6pc and 0.4pc respectively, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq jumped 0.9pc. Treasury yields fell this morning, though they remain higher for the week amid concerns about high inflation and the prospect of interest rate rises by the Federal Reserve. Investors will be looking to US employment data this afternoon as well as Netflix quarterly earnings due later. 12:13 PM BT to hike prices 9.4pc as inflation bites BT price rise 9.4pc - Chris Radburn/PA Wire After Wednesday's grim inflation data, we're starting to see the impact of higher prices filter down to consumers. BT has announced its lifting its prices by 9.4pc from April as it grapples with higher costs. Nick Lane at BT said: "Price rises are never popular, but are sometimes a necessary part of business, if we’re to keep up with the rising costs we face and ensure we can continue to deliver a brilliant network experience as customers usage of data grows month on month. "We’ve thought long and hard about how we make sure that any pricing changes are predictable, clear, and not unfairly focused on our existing customers, but reflected in our new prices too." BT said the 9.4pc rise, which equates to an average monthly increase of £3.50, was in line with its new policy of a single annual increase in charges reflecting the consumer price index. Last month the CPI rose to 5.4pc – its highest since 1992. 11:47 AM Two-thirds of adults hit by cost-of-living crisis Two-thirds of British adults have seen their cost of living jump over the last month as energy bills soared and higher costs filtered down to supermarket shelves. A survey by the ONS found that 66pc of adults surveyed had experienced higher household costs. Of these, 87pc reported increasing food shop prices, while 79pc cited rising energy bills. The poll – carried out between January 6 to 16 – showed nearly three-quarters had also experienced a higher cost of living due to rising fuel prices. It comes after official figures on Wednesday showed that inflation soared to a near 30-year high of 5.4% in December. 11:31 AM Gas prices fall further as China ships in supplies Natural gas prices have fallen for a second day as China kicked off one of its biggest ever sales of liquified natural gas, helping to ease concerns over supply. Benchmark European prices dropped as much as 8.1pc, while the UK equivalent lost as much as 6.9pc. Two of China's biggest state-owned gas importers have offered to sell dozens of cargoes for delivery until November. It could help ease pressure caused by low inventories and curbed supplies from Russia. It comes even as geopolitical tensions mount about a potential Russian invasion of Ukraine, which threatens to roil gas markets further. US President Joe Biden said he expects Russia will "move in" on its neighbour but could avoid a full-blown war. 11:15 AM Wickes sales fall as traders hit by omicron Wickes DIY Wickes has reported a fall in sales at the end of last year as the spread of omicron and higher numbers of self-isolating staff took their toll. The home improvement retailer said its Do It For Me business, which pays traders to complete home improvement jobs, was hit by "a higher incidence of Covid disruption and self-isolation ahead of the holiday period". This dragged down total like-for-like sales by 5pc over the fourth quarter compared to the same period in 2020, though they were still 14pc above pre-pandemic levels. Wickes its core DIY business was buoyed by a "strong performance in local trade" over the three month period, as home renovations continued to bolster order books for tradespeople. Like-for-like sales across last year were up 13.3pc on 2020. 10:47 AM HS2 supplier to raise £5.5m in London listing A construction company supplying workers for the HS2 rail project is looking to raise £5.5m through a stock market listing in London. Hercules said it would use the funding to cash in on booming demand and expand its services, including scaling up its operations to supply labour to the northern section of the HS2 rail project from London to Birmingham. The listing on the junior Aim market is also set to raise £4.5m for Hercules' existing shareholder through the partial sale of its stake. Brusk Korkmaz, chief executive of Hercules, said: Our proven and rapid delivery track-record has led to our work with our long-standing partner, Balfour Beatty, on HS2; this is expected to significantly step-change our growth in the next 12 months and beyond. The demand for skilled labour is higher than ever before due to the multi-billion infrastructure commitments made by the UK government and we are experiencing unprecedented demand for our services. Therefore, having identified multiple exciting growth opportunities, and proven the fast-growth and profitable nature of our business model, we believe that this is the right time to pursue an AIM listing. We are excited at the prospect of welcoming investors to our growth journey. 10:38 AM Fidelity joins back-to-office push Fidelity International has become the latest financial firm to encourage its staff back to the office after the Government announced the lifting of Plan B restrictions. Anne Richards, chief executive of Fidelity, told Bloomberg TV: "We will be encouraging more people to come into the office but we are very much observing the same kind of sensible protocols because omicron, yes, it looks like it's under control, case numbers are falling but we're not through it yet." The asset manager's offices have been open for skeleton staff throughout the pandemic, but Ms Richards said she was looking forward to a return to the City from next week. It comes after Citi told its employees in London they were expected back in the office at least three days a week. 10:25 AM M&S urges Boris Johnson to end Northern Ireland border checks Marks & Spencer has written to Boris Johnson urging him to use new technology to end physical border checks in Northern Ireland, writes Laura Onita. In a joint letter with major suppliers, the retailer argued that frictionless trade could be achieved with software that would remove the need for further certificates on goods in transit. It also called for foreign lorry drivers to be given visas lasting up to three years, and said that a scheme for seasonal farming workers should be overhauled so they can remain in Britain for up to 12 months. M&S has been one of the most vocal corporate critics of border disruption in Northern Ireland in the wake of Brexit after struggling to get English goods across the Irish Sea. Signed by Stuart Machin, M&S's joint chief operating officer and managing director of food, the letter said: “We need a long-term sustainable solution for goods movements into Northern Ireland. “We do not want to see Northern Ireland becoming increasingly reliant on goods from overseas at the expense of British manufacturers. “We believe a solution can be achieved by using technology that can clearly show product from GB that moves to Northern Ireland, stays in Northern Ireland.” Read Laura's full story here 10:12 AM Activity picks up ahead of Plan B ending Plan B economy activity - ANDY RAIN/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock Key measures of real-time activity picked up in mid-January, showing positive signs the economy is bouncing back ahead of the scraping of Plan B measures. Diner numbers rose five percentage points in the week to January 17 from the previous week, hitting 93pc of the equivalent pre-Covid level in 2019. Overall retail footfall rose 2pc to hit 79pc of 2019 levels, while credit and debit card purchases picked up two percentage points. Meanwhile, the average count of traffic camera activity for pedestrians and cyclists in London rose 12pc week on week, showing people were getting back out and about. But in an indication of how omicron hit businesses, a net 6pc of firms reported lower turnover in December – the highest proportion reporting a monthly fall since April 2020. A net 6% of firms reported decreasing turnover in December 2021, compared to the previous month, according to data from @HMRCgovuk VAT returns. This is the highest proportion reporting a fall in monthly turnover since April 2020 https://t.co/H9yTqRmsYJ — Office for National Statistics (ONS) (@ONS) January 20, 2022 09:47 AM SMF: Rishi Sunak should give £300 cost-of-living bonus Rishi Sunak should shun over-complicated solutions to the cost-of-living crisis and simply hand over cash to millions of households. That's according to the Social Market Foundation (SMF), which said the Chancellor should "just write millions of cheques" to people facing a financial squeeze from surging energy bills. Dr Aveek Bhattacharya, chief economist at the SMF, said cash payments of up to £500 would be the best answer, allowing households to decide how to spend the money. Households where no-one is a higher-rate taxpayer should get a cheque for £300, with an additional £200 for those on Universal Credit or legacy benefits, he said. The economist said other proposals, such as cutting VAT on fuel and giving loans to energy companies, were all flawed as they would encourage consumption. Instead, he favoured simple cash payments modelled on pandemic stimulus cheques in the US. 09:40 AM Citi asks London staff to return to office Citigroup has asked its London staff to get back to the office for a at least three days a week – an early sign that banks will push for a return to work after restrictions are eased. Boris Johnson yesterday announced the easing of Plan B measures next week, including the requirement to work from home where possible. In an internal email seen by Bloomberg, Citi bosses said: "We are now free to gather in our offices, without restriction, where we are better able to generate the energy and collaborative spirit on which Citi thrives. "Everyone is expected to be in the office at least three days per week." The US bank said it will continue to offer flexible working, adding that protective measures remained in place and staff should continue to test every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Staff will also be asked to wear face masks when using lifts. 09:30 AM Restaurant offers £91,000 for head chef as kitchen crisis bites Bob Bob Ricard in Soho Good chefs have always been in high demand but Covid means they are now scarcer than ever, scattered across the world rather than in Britain. Now, with a labour shortage setting in, salaries are surging. One Soho restaurant is advertising pay of £91,000 for a head chef, plus on-site dining of up to £6,000 per year. Tim Wallace tucks into the details here . 09:26 AM Expert reaction: Higher rates are on the way Matthew Ryan , analyst at Ebury, says another interest rate hike is "all but confirmed". All yesterday’s data has done is confirm the market’s suspicion that the Bank of England will need to raise interest rates at a rather aggressive pace this year. Futures are now placing a near certainty of a hike in February, with 110 basis points priced in before the end of the year. BoE governor Andrew Bailey continued to stubbornly call some of the aspects of inflation ‘transitory’ during his speech yesterday, although he did raise concerns about tightness in the UK labour market and warn that the bank will do everything it can to control inflation. While Bailey has already proved himself to be a worthy successor to Mark Carney ‘unreliable boyfriend’ mantra, this rhetoric ought to all but confirm that another hike is on the way when the Monetary Policy Committee next convenes early next month. 09:20 AM Pound holds near 23-month high against euro Sterling has held close to a 23-month high against the euro as expectations of further interest rate rises continue to prop up the currency. Money markets are pricing in more than 100 basis points in interest rate rises in 2022 and an 87pc chance of a 25 bps increase next month. Figures released yesterday showing inflation surged to its highest since 1992 has only fuelled this sentiment. Meanwhile, Boris Johnson's fight for survival amid controversy over lockdown parties in Downing Street has done little to dampen the mood. The pound was flat at 83.33p per euro, just off the 23-month high hit yesterday. Against the dollar, it's also flat at $1.3630. 09:11 AM Hong Kong shares surge after China cuts policy rates Hong Kong Hang Seng - AP Photo/Kin Cheung Hong Kong shares posted their biggest gains in six months this morning after China cut a set of key policy rates and lending benchmarks to prop up the slowing economy. The Hang Seng index rallied 3.4pc, with embattled tech and property stocks leading the way. China further reduced bank lending costs today in the latest move to boost its stuttering economy, which was battered in the second half of last year by lockdowns as well as a sharp slowdown in the crucial property market. The central bank said it had lowered the one-year loan prime rate to 3.7pc, from 3.8pc in December. It follows a surprise reduction last month, which was the first in 20 months. The People's Bank of China also lowered the rate on its one-year policy loans on Monday, just as data was released showing economic growth eased in the final quarter of 2021. The moves boosted hopes for embattled property firms, which have been pushed into a crisis by hefty debts. Tech stocks also benefited as lower borrowing costs look set to fuel growth. 09:01 AM Deliveroo jumps as order growth holds up Shares in Deliveroo jumped as much as 6.1pc – their biggest rise since August – after the value of orders grew faster than expected in the final three months of the year. Deliveroo said fourth-quarter transaction value rose 70pc as demand for deliveries held up even after restrictions eased. Still, analysts at Jefferies described the update as a "mixed bag", with international sales missing expectations in the fourth quarter. The numbers also helped drag up rival Just Eat Takeaway, which gained 1pc in early trading. 08:50 AM Revolution Bars slams restrictions as party bookings bounce back Revolution Bars Christmas party - Chris J. Ratcliffe/Bloomberg Revolution Bars has hit out at the Government for its "overly cautious" response to omicron, but said it was counting on the office party making a comeback early this year. The chain said Plan B measures had sparked a "substantial loss of trade" in the run-up to Christmas, with pre-booked revenue tumbling 39pc in the last six weeks of the year. However, the total number of bookings over the same period was up 19pc as younger punters shrugged off the virus and headed out anyway. Revolution added that many of the corporate parties had been rebooked for early in 2022, indicating a bounce back in consumer confidence. Shares fell 0.9pc following the update. 08:39 AM FTSE risers and fallers After a positive start to trading, the FTSE 100 has fallen back to edge up only marginally. There's mixed sentiment on the markets as Asian markets mostly rose, whereas Wall Street suffered further losses amid inflation gloom. Unilever is among the biggest risers on the blue-chip index, gaining 1.3pc after it said it wouldn't raise its offer for GSK's consumer health arm. Burberry also extended its gains with a 1.9pc rise amid a rebound in demand for luxury goods. Primark owner Associated British Foods is the biggest laggard, dropping 2pc after it announced 400 job cuts and said omicron had held back sales. The domestically-focused FTSE 250 rose 0.2pc, with telecoms group Spirent jumping 5.2pc after beating profit expectations. 08:29 AM Entain lifts profit outlook as betting shops bounce back Entain has said its full-year profits will come in ahead of expectations as the lifting of restrictions helped sales at its high street shops bounce back. The Ladbrokes and Coral owner said earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation would come in at between £875m and £885m – ahead of its previous forecasts. Brick-and-mortar revenues bounced back strongly in the final three months of the year, rising 60pc on the previous three months. Online growth fell back slightly in the fourth quarter due to tighter regulation in Germany and the Netherlands. Over the full year, however, online grew 12pc, while retail shrank 3pc. Entain yesterday released a bullish update on its joint venture with casino operator MGM, which is expected to turn a profit by next year. Speculation is swirling around Entain as a potential takeover target after Draftkings and MGM walked away from a deal for the company last year. Chief executive Jette Nygaard-Andersen said expansion in new markets "will enable us to at least treble the size of our business". Read our interview with Entain's boss: Ladbrokes owner considers returning £102m of furlough cash 08:16 AM Superdry 'on track' as it ditches discounts Superdry retail sales - REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch/File Photo Elsewhere in the world of retail, Superdry has said its turnaround plan is on track thanks to improved online profitability and fewer discounts. The retailer said better margins had helped to offset the impact of restrictions and lower footfall in the run-up to Christmas. Superdry said its underlying pre-tax loss narrowed 74pc to £2.8m in the six months to October. The chain’s performance since the end of the first half has also been promising with sales over Christmas up by 20pc, the retailer said, adding it’s on track to meet its full-year profit target. But co-founder Julian Dunkerton, who returned to the business in 2019 following a boardroom battle, said the brand would increase some of its prices to help offset rising costs. 08:01 AM FTSE 100 opens higher The FTSE 100 has gained ground at the open, building on yesterday's gains even after some eye-watering inflation figures. The blue-chip index rose 0.3pc to 7,610 points. 08:00 AM Deliveroo orders hold up despite lockdown easing Deliveroo sales lockdown - Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg Deliveroo's orders remained strong in the final three months of the year, suggesting an easing of lockdown measures hasn't dampened demand for takeaways. The company said customers placed an average of 3.4 orders per month in the fourth quarter. That's above pre-Covid levels and even higher than the 3.2 orders that were being placed at the height of lockdown in 2020. Deliveroo said gross transaction value – its main metric – surged 70pc in 2021 to £6.6bn, which was at the top end of expectations. Order numbers jumped by almost three-quarters to 301m. Will Shu, founder and chief executive of Deliveroo, said: We finished 2021 with a strong fourth-quarter performance, and our full year gross transaction value growth of 70pc in constant currency was at the top end of the previously-upgraded guidance we provided. I'd like to thank the Deliveroo team, our restaurant and grocery partners and our riders for their focus and commitment in what has been another extraordinary year. 07:51 AM Expert reaction: Primark rues lack of online presence Richard Lim , chief executive of Retail Economics, says Primark's decision not to move into ecommerce has hurt sales. A strong boost on last year's heavily restricted sales period is great news for the retailer, but there's a sober tone to these results. In the final run-up to Christmas, the retailer was dealt a significant blow as many consumers chose the safety of their homes instead of venturing out onto the high street to avoid catching omicron before the big day. Consumers are now well versed in switching online and as case numbers rose, their self-imposed restrictions were accompanied with a shift to alternative brands that could offer what they wanted. With no transactional website to lean on, Primark was left frustrated as vital sales were mopped up by their competitors. 07:48 AM ABF bolsters revenue with price rises Overall, ABF's revenue grew strongly in the last quarter, up 16pc on the same period last year. It's grocery, sugar, agriculture and ingredients divisions posted a revenue rise of 6pc on last year. Sugar benefited from higher prices in Europe and ingredients from a recovery in volumes after last year's Covid levels. ABF said all its businesses had suffered from higher costs in raw materials, commodities, supply chain and energy. But it mitigated much of this by slashing costs and overheads, as well as ramping up its prices. The FTSE 100 firm said supply chain troubles had eased since the summer, though it was still suffering from some port delays and it expected longer shipping times to continue for some time. 07:38 AM Primark takes omicron sales hit Good morning. There's a trading update this morning from Associated British Foods (ABF), the company behind an eclectic mix of offerings including grocery brands, sugar and Primark. The FTSE 100 firm revealed Primark had suffered a hit to sales in its latest quarter as the omicron variant kept shoppers away from stores. While sales were up by more than a third year on year – when lockdown closed shops entirely – they still lagged behind pre-Covid levels. Still, ABF said trading had improved in recent weeks and held its outlook for the full year. 5 things to start your day 1) Architect of energy price cap says it has 'destroyed the market' and must be scrapped Stephen Littlechild argues price cap has acted as 'a bull in a china shop' 2) Restaurant offers £91,000 for head chef as kitchen crisis bites Salaries for chef have jumped by as much as 30pc as employers struggle to fill vacancies 3) British Airways cancels US flights over 5G safety fears Lufthansa, Emirates, Japan Airlines, ANA and Air India also axe services as aircraft face potential interference from new mobile networks 4) Unilever rules out raising £50bn Glaxo bid after 'torrent of criticism' Credibility of chief executive Alan Jope called into question following disastrous reaction from shareholders in Marmite maker 5) The AA ends sick pay for unvaccinated workers forced to self-isolate after Covid contact Breakdown service becomes latest employer to crack down on unjabbed workers after Next, Ikea, Ocado and Morrisons What happened overnight Markets mostly rose on Thursday in Asia as investors tentatively returned to buying after recent losses. Hong Kong gained 1.9pc thanks to a rally in tech giants including Alibaba, Meituan, Tencent and JD.com, while property firms also enjoyed healthy gains. Tokyo, Singapore, Seoul, Bangkok and Jakarta also rose but Sydney, Wellington and Taipei dipped. Coming up today Corporate: Superdry (Interim results) ; Associated British Foods, Workspace Group, Premier Foods, CMC Markets, AJ Bell, Ibstock, Entain, Hochschild Mining, Kier Group, Deliveroo (Trading update) Economics: RICS house price balance (UK) , interest rate decision (China) , consumer price index (EU) , jobless claims (US) , Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Survey (US) \|\| MercadoLibre Launches new Crypto Services in Brazil: Crypto is being increasingly embraced as a viable payment option by a number of institutions around the world with the latest beingMercadoLibre, a giant e-commerce platform, who recently announced that its users can now purchase products on its platform usingBTCand other digital assets. According to apress statementissued as regards the announcement, it was revealed that MercadoPago, the fintech arm of the company, has already enabled support for crypto payments for its users in Brazil. It continued that users would now be able to easily buy, sell and hold Bitcoin,Ethereumand the Paxos-issued US dollar-backed stablecoinUSDP. To achieve this, the e-commerce site partnered with Paxos, the popular blockchain infrastructure platform that is being used by PayPal too. It is widely believed that their partnership could easily “accelerate the democratization of financial services in Latin America.” The new development means Brazilians can now easily hedge against inflation by holdingUS Dollarsvia the MercadoPago app by purchasing the Paxos-backed stablecoin USDP. MercadoLibre and MercadoPago represents the single largest enablement of stablecoins within a non-crypto wallet to date. Any Brazilian user looking to hold US Dollars can now do so seamlessly within MercadoPago by getting USDP. Earlier in the year, MercadoLibre announced the purchase of BTC worth around $7.8 million. In previous years, access to Bitcoin and other crypto assets was elusive to many especially as the larger financial system had mischaracterized the space. But it all changed last year whenPayPal, one of the leading financial tech companies in the world, opened up its platform to support the buying, selling and holding of crypto. This single action opened up access to crypto to millions of individuals who, hitherto, were not exposed to the industry as the site also revealed that its user can also convert their digital assets into fiat and use it to buy goods from its merchants. Another fintech firm worthy of mention in democratizing access to crypto isSquare’sCash App which is a peer-to-peer payment platform that allows users to buy and sell the flagship digital asset. Thisarticlewas originally posted on FX Empire • Ethereum Price Prediction – A Move Through to $4,650 Would Bring $4,800 Levels into Play • Stocks Move Higher After Disappointing Non Farm Payrolls Report • Shiba Inu Developer Wants to Prove Real “Wolf of Wall Street” Wrong • Why DocuSign Stock Is Down By 40% Today • Daily Gold News: Friday, Dec. 3 – Gold Bounces Ahead of Jobs Data Release • Crypto Market Today: Bitcoin and Ether Show Positive Signs, SOL Eyes New ATH \|\| Trade Mining Drives BitCoke Volume to a Record $5.6 Billion a Day, Eyeing Derivative CEX for the Next Leap: New York, New York--(Newsfile Corp. - December 14, 2021) - BitCoke, a Hong Kong-based emerging crypto exchange, is making serious headway in derivative business by adopting a new form of trading mining to spur user activities. On 9 th December 2021, (the second day of its trade mining campaign), according to data compiled by CoinMarketCap, a popular listing website, BitCoke scored $5.67 billion in derivative volume, a 4.2 times hike over a normal trading day, propelling BitCoke to No. 7 in CoinMarketCap derivative ranking by volume. At the eve of launching its platform native token - COKE, James He, Co-founder of BitCoke, said the ongoing trade mining was part of the efforts to attract users by rewarding participation with COKE, which is scheduled to debut in January 2022. He attributed the influx of users and high trading activities to the scheme of trading mining campaign, which mimicked the one in Dydx but with great improvements, as well as the professional features that brought about high user retention rate, which, He said, is also the key factor that makes BitCoke stand out amid fierce competition in the industry. On its homepage in CoinMarketCap website, BitCoke is introduced as a dedicated derivative exchange for professional traders and institutions, featuring no downtime, high speed and low fees. As a few of its highlights, BitCoke is the first exchange in crypto space that offers Quanto swap as its flagship perpetual contract product, enabling users to choose BTC/ETH/USDT as margin, a.k.a. Settlement Coin, to leverage trade and settle all contracts on the platform. In addition to TradingView chart, BitCoke has developed its own proprietary chart system that entailed numerous trader-friendly interface, layouts, and drawing tools. It also embraced the general trend in asset management, rolling out Fund system in late 2020, which empowers the master accounts in BitCoke to implement asset management functions over affiliated sub-accounts, like fund transfer, setting risk profiles, leverage, alert, etc. On top of the three highlights, BitCoke clearly puts great emphasis on trading procedures. It has a fast match engine, superb liquidity, cold storage asset isolation, delivering the best derivative trading experience. Story continues Behind these achievements is a highly capable team which is composed of senior technical specialists, traders, and product managers who all have extensive experience in the finance or crypto sector - the team descriptions on BitCoke website shows. While BitCoke may not be a high-profile exchange with much publicity, it's been steadily grabbed and retained users around the world, and grown into an important player in the exchange arena because of its professional products, longtime dedication and focus by the team. The recognition in its products and performance over the past three years is epitomized by the high demand from crypto VCs in COKE's private fundraising round, according to James He, who is responsible for institutional partnership. He indicated that BitCoke has signed agreements with a dozen of institutions, such as 7 O'clock, Scorpion VC, who all are committed to investing in COKE and BitCoke's future growth. He also confident that there is a robust demand for COKE in the upcoming public IEO. James [email protected] https://www.bitcoke.cc/ To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/107588 \|\| First Mover Asia: Bitcoin Stabilizes Above $36K as Investors Await Next Fed Meeting: Good morning. Here’s what’s happening: Market moves: Bitcoin retakes $36,000 as the crypto market stabilized after last week’s correction. Technician's take: Extreme oversold readings preceded an uptick in BTC. Catch the latest episodes of CoinDesk TV for insightful interviews with crypto industry leaders and analysis. Prices Bitcoin ( BTC ): $36,547 +0.1% Ether ( ETH ): $2,426 -4.6% Top gainers Asset Ticker Returns Sector Cosmos ATOM +5.4% Smart Contract Platform Bitcoin BTC +0.7% Currency Top losers Asset Ticker Returns Sector Solana SOL −8.5% Smart Contract Platform Algorand ALGO −7.3% Smart Contract Platform Filecoin FIL −6.4% Computing Sector classifications are provided via the Digital Asset Classification Standard (DACS) , developed by CoinDesk Indices to provide a reliable, comprehensive, and standardized classification system for digital assets. The CoinDesk 20 is a ranking of the largest digital assets by volume on trusted exchanges. Markets S&P 500: 4,410 +0.2% DJIA: 34,364 +0.2% Nasdaq: 13,855 +0.6% Gold: $1,843 +0.4% Market moves Bitcoin’s price rose by as much as $1,834 on a four-hour basis during U.S. trading hours on Monday, after it briefly touched the $34,000 level during Asia's late afternoon. The overall crypto market stabilized after the broad market correction downward in the past week. Bitcoin is currently changing hands at around $36,400 and is up slightly in the past 24 hours, according to CoinDesk data . At the time of publication, ether was down slightly, trading at about $2,400. Most of the major alternative coins (altcoins) were in the red. The U.S. equity market also rebounded in the late afternoon on Monday. Major stock indices tumbled earlier in the day as investors closely watch the Federal Reserve's first meeting this year, which will take place this week. While bitcoin and the crypto market appeared to be following the performance of the stock market recently, as CoinDesk reported , the relationship between bitcoin and the Nasdaq 100 stock index, the favored proxy for the tech sector, remains weak – a reminder there are other more important factors that could affect bitcoin and the crypto market. Story continues “For the time being at least, one could say bitcoin’s prices are a combination of some global risk appetite and a lot of the market dynamics in China (and the aftermath of restrictions there),” CoinDesk’s Lawrence Lewitinn wrote. “Those factors’ influences aren’t static, but they explain a lot more than watching the Fed’s every move.” According to crypto trading data analytic firm Kaiko, despite a sharp sell-off last week, bitcoin’s daily spot trading volume last week was still lower than it was during December’s price plunge. (Kaiko) The average daily spot trading volume of bitcoin on major cryptocurrency exchanges has mostly remained below $5 billion in the past month, down significantly since early fall, Kaiko wrote in its weekly newsletter on Monday. This is partly because Chinese exchanges OKEx and Huobi have suffered volume loss due to the crypto trading ban in China last year. Technician's take Bitcoin Short-Term Bounce Faces Resistance at $40K Bitcoin daily price chart shows support/resistance, with RSI on bottom (Damanick Dantes/CoinDesk, TradingView) Bitcoin ( BTC ) returned above $35,000 after multiple oversold signals appeared on the charts. The cryptocurrency faces initial resistance at $40,000, which could limit upside over the short term. Bitcoin is up 3% over the past 24 hours after rising from an intraday low near $33,000, while the broader crypto market has stabilized. The relative strength index ( RSI ) on the daily chart registered the most extreme oversold reading since the March 2020 crash. The previous extreme low was on Nov. 20, 2018, which preceded a few months of rangebound price action before a rally took place. For now, a downtrend of lower price highs since November remains intact, which means sellers could remain active at resistance levels. Important events 8:30 a.m. HKT/SGT (12:30 a.m. UTC): Australia consumer price index (Q4, MoM/YoY) 8:30 a.m. HKT/SGT (12:30 a.m. UTC): National Australia Bank's business conditions (Dec) 8: 30 a.m. HKT/SGT (12:30 UTC): National Australia Bank's business confidence (Dec) Happy Australia Day! 11 p.m. HKT/SGT (3 p.m. UTC): U.S. Consumer Confidence (Jan.) CoinDesk TV In case you missed it, here is the most recent episode of "First Mover" on CoinDesk TV: Crypto Market Lost $1.3T in 2 Months; What’s Going On? White House Set to Release Government-Wide Strategy for Digital Assets "First Mover" hosts were joined by Marc Lopresti, managing director at The Strategic Funds, for an in-depth analysis on the crypto markets as cryptocurrencies suffer yet another sell-off. Since November, about $1.3 trillion has been wiped out in the total market cap. Plus, what could we expect from the Biden administration's digital asset strategy that's reportedly set to release next month? Nyca Partners Executive-in-Residence Matt Homer and CoinDesk Managing Editor for Global Policy & Regulation Nikhilesh De provided their insights. Then CoinDesk Executive Editor Marc Hochstein explained Privacy Week at CoinDesk. Latest headlines Singapore VC Blockchain Founders Raises $75M for New Fund: The company has been an early investor in blockchain, crypto, Web 3 and metaverse startups. Chinese Government Rejects Metaverse Trademark Applications: Report: Those rejected include applications by NetEase, iQiyi and Xiaohongshu. Investors Put $14M Into Crypto Funds Last Week as Bitcoin Market Cratered: Inflows into digital-asset funds last week – after five straight weeks of outflows – suggest investors were taking advantage of the price dip. Bank of America Says US CBDC Would Preserve Dollar’s Status as World’s Reserve Currency: CBDC’s are an inevitable evolution of today’s electronic currencies, the bank’s analysts said. Biden Administration to Release Executive Order on Crypto as Early as February: Report: The directive will ask federal agencies to determine the risks and opportunities posed by digital assets. Longer reads Who Writes the Story of the Metaverse?: How narratives and memes shape our online future. Today's crypto explainer: Crypto Flash Crashes: What You Need to Know Other voices: Blockchain beyond the hype: What is the strategic business value? Said and heard "Surveillance economies power our biggest tech companies. Facebook and Google track our every step to deliver surgical ad strikes that make us hungry to buy more stuff we don't need, with money we don't have, to impress people we don't even know. They track where we go, what we like, who we know and love, and with whom we're sleeping." ( Author and speaker Daniel Jeffries writing for CoinDesk ) ... "Well, here’s another take – it’s a bad time to be a day trader, but it’s also a bad time for NFT flippers, whose gains and losses are typically priced in ETH. Even as the price has fallen, the average amount of ETH exchanged for non-fungible tokens in top collections has stayed relatively consistent." ( CoinDesk media and culture reporter Will Gottsegen ) ... "That is the promise of a virtual world: that you get to be anybody you want, unhampered by flesh, gravity, environment, expectations and economics — or maybe just the record you have created." ( Vanessa Friedman/The New York Times ) ... \|\| First Mover Asia: Bitcoin Nears $37K Amid Lighter Trading: Good morning. Here’s what’s happening: Market moves:Bitcoin led a broader market stabilization with reduced spot trading volume. Technician's take:A decisive break above $40K BTC is needed to pause the downtrend from November. Catch the latest episodesofCoinDesk TVfor insightful interviews with crypto industry leaders and analysis. Bitcoin (BTC):$36,971 +1% Ether (ETH):$2,460 +1.3% Top gainers [{"Asset": "Dogecoin", "Ticker": "DOGE", "Returns": "+2.6%", "Sector": "Currency"}, {"Asset": "Polygon", "Ticker": "MATIC", "Returns": "+1.0%", "Sector": "Smart Contract Platform"}, {"Asset": "Polkadot", "Ticker": "DOT", "Returns": "+0.8%", "Sector": "Smart Contract Platform"}] Top losers [{"Asset": "Internet Computer", "Ticker": "ICP", "Returns": "\u22125.2%", "Sector": "Computing"}, {"Asset": "Cardano", "Ticker": "ADA", "Returns": "\u22124.0%", "Sector": "Smart Contract Platform"}, {"Asset": "Algorand", "Ticker": "ALGO", "Returns": "\u22123.8%", "Sector": "Smart Contract Platform"}] Sector classifications are provided via the Digital Asset Classification Standard (DACS), developed by CoinDesk Indices to provide a reliable, comprehensive, and standardized classification system for digital assets. The CoinDesk 20 is a ranking of the largest digital assets by volume on trusted exchanges. S&P 500: 4,356 -1.2% DJIA: 34,297 -0.1% Nasdaq: 13,539 -2.2% Gold: $1,848 +-0.2% Bitcoin led a broad stabilization in the crypto market Tuesday, as its spot trading volume came down dramatically from a day ago. At the time of publication, the oldest cryptocurrency was changing hands near $37,000, up slightly over the past 24 hours, according toCoinDesk data. Ether, the second biggest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, was trading above $2,400, also up slightly over the same period. Data compiled by CoinDesk shows that bitcoin’s spot trading volume across major crypto exchanges came down significantly on Tuesday, after a volatile trading day on Monday. “We are starting to see flashes of [the] demand from players who recognize the longer-term value proposition of crypto,” Joel Kruger, currency strategist at LMAX Digital, told CoinDesk. Norway-based blockchain data analytics firm Arcane Researchnotedin its weekly update on Tuesday that bitcoin’s price saw a “substantial recovery” with a volume spike on crypto exchange Coinbase during the late U.S. trading session on Monday, raising a question of whether MicroStrategy or some other unknown entities may have lifted the entire market by bidding up bitcoin’s price on Coinbase. That said, the crypto market is closely observing the result of the U.S. Federal Reserve’stwo-day policy meetingon Wednesday. The Fed on Wednesdayis expected to hintat an interest rate hike in March to fight inflation. Bitcoin Rose Above $37K; Resistance at $40K-$43K Bitcoin buyers remained active, after pushing the cryptocurrency to over $37,000, which is near the top of a weeklong price range. Still, upside could be limited at the $40,000-$43,000 resistance zone over the short term. The relative strength index (RSI) on the four-hour chart triggered an oversold signal on Saturday, which preceded the latest price bounce. On the daily chart, the RSI is starting to rise from extreme oversold levels, which could stabilize the current sell-off. Initial resistance is at the 100-period moving average on the four-hour chart, positioned at $40,600. Buyers will need to make a decisive move above that level to pause the downtrend from November. 10 a.m. HKT/SGT (2 a.m. UTC): New Zealand credit card spending (Dec. YoY) 1 p.m. HKT/SGT (5 a.m. UTC): Japan coincident economic index (Nov.) 1 p.m. HKT/SGT (5 a.m. UTC): Japan leading economic index (Nov.) 9:30 p.m. HKT/SGT (1:30 p.m. UTC): U.S. goods trade balance (Dec. preliminary) 9:30 p.m. HKT/SGT (1:30 p.m. UTC): U.S. wholesale inventories (Dec. preliminary) In case you missed it, here is the most recent episode of"First Mover"onCoinDesk TV: Bitcoin Bouncing Back After Falling Below $33K, Where Is It Headed Next? Privacy Coin Monero in Focus "First Mover" hosts were joined by Peter Brandt, founder of Factor Trading, to analyze and predict the crypto market amid increased market volatility. Metaversal CEO Yossi Hasson and CoinFund Chief Investment Officer Alex Felix shared details behind the latest $50 million series A funding round for Metaversal and its expansion plan, as well as the outlook for the market amid the crypto crash. Plus, it's CoinDesk Privacy Week. Grid News tech reporter Benjamin Powers had a full report on privacy coin Monero. Crypto VC Firm Dragonfly Raising $500M for New Fund, Documents Show:The firm previously raised over $300 million across two funds. Cathie Wood’s Ark Invest Predicts Bitcoin Could Exceed $1M by 2030:Wood previously predicted bitcoin would reach $500,000 by 2026. BSN Introduces NFT Infrastructure Platform in China:The platform uses open permissioned chains to comply with Chinese regulations that discourage public blockchains. Bitcoin's Correction Continues for Now, but Eventually It Could Go 'Parabolic,' Says Peter Brandt:Selling pressure is not over yet, although a confirmed shakeout could give way to new highs, according to the chartist. IMF Urges El Salvador to Discontinue Bitcoin’s Legal Tender Status:The global financial institution said BTC's use as legal tender poses risks to the country's financial stability, integrity and consumer protection. The Trojan Horse of Privacy:For privacy to take off, it needs to stop being the value proposition. It's got to be a gift people don't notice. Think apps first, privacy second, futurist Dan Jeffries writes for CoinDesk's Privacy Week. Today's crypto explainer:Top 6 Crypto Passive Income Generators for 2022 Other voices:National Security Implications of Virtual Currency(Rand) "For my part, the discussion over Thanksgiving leftovers brought home a data point about women’s and people of color’s interest in cryptocurrency. A 2021 survey found that the people who trade crypto are a far cry from the young, white, male image of a techbro." (Tressie McMillan Cottom in The New York Times) ... "There is likely a middle ground, a sound opinion to hold. I’m not an investment wiz, I’m a reporter who covers fake internet money, but I can say the only appropriate way to invest in crypto is to invest with conviction." (CoinDesk columnist Daniel Kuhn) ... “My fear is we are going to go lower. It is “going to be a big week.” (Penn Mutual Asset Management Portfolio Manager Zhiwei Ren on stocks to The Wall Street Journal) \|\| Goldman Sachs, Other Wall Street Banks Exploring Bitcoin-Backed Loans: Sources: Goldman Sachs is among a handful of tier-one U.S. banks figuring out how to use bitcoin as collateral for cash loans to institutions, according to three people familiar with the plans. Banks such as Goldman will not touch cryptocurrency spot markets butlean towards synthetic crypto products such as futures. Emulating tri-party repo type arrangements (a way of borrowing funds by selling securities with an agreement to repurchase them, involving a third-party agent), banks are exploring ways to follow the same path of not touching bitcoin, like other synthetic products. It’s an opportunity that lays the groundwork for more integrated crypto prime brokerage services in the future, according to the sources CoinDesk spoke with. It’s also a continuation of Wall Street’s relatively sudden embrace of a$2.7 trillionasset class – albeit with somewhat niche products. “Goldman was working on getting approved for lending against collateral and tri-party repo,” said one of the people. “And if they had a liquidation agent, then they were just doing secured lending without ever having bitcoin touch their balance sheet.” Goldman Sachs declined to comment. Goldman is not alone; a handful of big banks are following the trail blazed by crypto-friendly banks Silvergate and Signature,both of whichannouncedbitcoin-backed cash loans earlier this year. “We’ve probably spoken to half a dozen big banks about [bitcoin-backed loans],” said a second person from a large institutional trading firm. “Some of them are in the next three to six months category and some are further out. What’s interesting is some of these banks will use their own balance sheet to make the loan. Others will syndicate this out.” Read more:Signature Bank Goes Head-to-Head With Silvergate in Bitcoin-Backed Lending The idea of banks accepting bitcoin as collateral was given a partial green light during the previous U.S. administration, whenOffice of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) chief Brian Brooks saidbitcoin was the equivalent of cash andbanks could be the safekeepersof it. However, the U.S. regulatory stance on activity like this remains complicated. Depending on the bank and what exactly is being proposed, regulation could come from a mix of the OCC, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) or the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). CoinbaseandFidelity Digital Assetswere cited as potential custodians the banks were in discussions with. (Coinbase already offers some institutional financing solutions within its Prime product, but this would be an additional feature.) Coinbase declined to comment. Fidelity Digital Assets did not respond to requests for comment. As well as the big banks, a rash of smaller lenders are also said to be considering ways to accept crypto as collateral. “Non-bulge-bracket banks are also building in this tri-party lending area,” a third person said. Read more:Goldman Sachs Sees Crypto Options Markets as ‘Next Big Step’ for Institutional Adoption \|\| Around 30% of the bitcoin in circulation is worth less than what holders paid for it, Glassnode has found: Blue bitcoin Yuichiro Chino About 5.7 million bitcoins in circulation, or 30%, are underwater, Glassnode said this week. Twice when the demand for bitcoin was this low compared with supply, the price has rebounded, it noted. Some analysts aren't hopeful of a rebound, given bitcoin is more than 30% below its record of nearly $69,000. Sign up here for our daily newsletter, 10 Things Before the Opening Bell . About 5.7 million bitcoins in circulation are worth less now than what the holders paid for them, Glassnode has found, as the cryptocurrency continues to slide. That adds up to around 30% of circulating supply, the data analysis provider said in its weekly newsletter . Cryptocurrencies across the board have slumped in the last month, tested by a rally in bond yields spurred by the Federal Reserve's plan to hike interest rates this year. The global crypto market has shrunk to about $1.95 trillion, from around $3 trillion about two months ago. Bitcoin was trading at around $42,127 at last check Wednesday, according to CoinMarketCap data more than 30% below November's record high of almost $69,000. "As the drawdown worsens, an increasingly significant volume of BTC supply has fallen into an unrealized loss," Glassnode said in its Monday newsletter. "Approximately 5.7 million BTC are now underwater (~30% of circulating supply)." But history suggests things could end well for bitcoin holders if they can keep their nerve, according to Glassnode. On two previous occasions when the demand for bitcoin was this low, compared with the supply available, the price has rebounded. One was just after crypto markets capitulated in the face of the coronavirus pandemic, between May and July 2020. Prices recovered soon after, thanks to government support for the economy and central bank stimulus. The next instance happened a year later, between May 2021 and July 2021. Cryptocurrencies crashed in price under the impact of a range of events, including China's clampdown on digital assets and concerns about the environmental impact of bitcoin mining. On both occasions, bitcoin bulls were rewarded for their patience with a bounceback. The price reaction now will provide insight into the medium-term direction of the bitcoin market, according to Glassnode. "Further weakness may motivate these underwater sellers to finally capitulate, whereas a strong bullish impulse may offer much needed psychological relief and put more coins back into an unrealized profit," it said. Analysts at UBS are not hopeful of a rebound, as they point out the crucial role central bank stimulus played in these previous rebounds. Read the original article on Business Insider View comments \|\| Bitcoin’s 6-Month ‘Put-Call Skew’ Flips Bearish for First Time Since May: Bitcoin’s six-month put-call skew, which measures the cost of puts – or bearish bets – relative to calls (bullish bets), has turned positive for the first time since the crash in May, indicating heightened concerns of an extended downside move. • “People appear to be bidding for downside protection [put options],” Switzerland-based data tracking platform Laevitas said. “However, we haven’t seen significant volumes yet.” • The six-month skew’s bearish turn does not necessarily imply a prolonged downtrend. With the six-month implied volatility hovering near its lifetime average of 84%, the longer duration put options appear cheap. So, traders could be buying those in a bid to make outsized gains on a potential sell-off. • The one-week, one- and three-month put-call skews flipped bearish earlier this month. • “We have seen demand for puts via risk reversals and outrights in the last week for both bitcoin and ether,” Patrick Chu, director of institutional sales and trading at the over-the-counter crypto trading firm Paradigm, told CoinDesk in a Telegram chat. • “Demand for puts was particularly strong at the $50,000 strike [price] over the last week, with more than 2000 contracts exchanging hands,” Chu said. • According toDelphi Digital, pricier put options indicate participants are hedging long positions in the spot market or speculating on deeper drawdown. • Bitcoin fell more than 2% early today, hitting lows under $56,000 on concern over the spread of a new coronavirus variant. The cryptocurrency was last trading near $57,100, according to CoinDesk data. \|\| IMF urges El Salvador to remove bitcoin's status as legal tender: The International Monetary Fund's (IMF) executive board on Tuesday warned El Salvador against moving to make bitcoin a legal tender and called for "strict regulation and oversight of the new ecosystem," according to the board's statement. "They [the board members] stressed that there are large risks associated with the use of Bitcoin on financial stability, financial integrity, and consumer protection, as well as the associated fiscal contingent liabilities," the statement read. "They urged the authorities to narrow the scope of the Bitcoin law by removing Bitcoin's legal tender status. Some Directors also expressed concern over the risks associated with issuing Bitcoin-backed bonds." The statement was released after the board's yearly conference. The nation in September became the first to adopt the cryptocurrency as a legal tender, which required businesses to accept bitcoin as a legal payment. The move prompted the IMF board to repeatedly recommend that El Salvador reverse the decision, citing concerns over the economy and legal issues. In addition, some members expressed concern about the "risks associated with issuing Bitcoin-backed bonds," the statement said. "The adoption of a cryptocurrency as legal tender, however, entails large risks for financial and market integrity, financial stability, and consumer protection," the members said in the statement. The board noted the importance of "boosting financial inclusion," adding that other digital forms of payment, such as the Chivo e-wallet, could take that role. The country is preparing to issue $1 billion in bonds , half of which would be used to purchase bitcoin, to an area in the eastern region of La Union, with plans to create the world's first "Bitcoin City," according to Reuters . The government predicts that the exposure will attract investors who would receive a dollar yield of 6.5 percent, much lower than the roughly 17 percent that the market currently prices for similar Salvadoran government debt, the wire service reported. However, under current policies, the IMF warned that the debt could rise to about 86 percent gross domestic product in 2026 and called it an "unstable path." \|\| Rokkit Fuel Newly Launched Cryptocurrency Set To Shake The Social Media Industry: London, UK, Nov. 30, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- (via Blockchain Wire ) A recently launched project & crypto coin, Rokkit Fuel , is being hailed as the next big cryptocurrency and has major plans to revolutionise the social media industry with a cryptocurrency-subscription based social media app. And if that isn’t enough, the token also redistributes 5% of each transaction to all holders in Bitcoin. Many previous projects pay rewards in native tokens or stable currencies such as USD, but with Rokkit Fuel coin, the contract automatically converts rewards to the most coveted one of them all, Bitcoin. Photo Available: Rokkit Fuel Newly Launched Cryptocurrency Set To Shake The Social Media Industry Rokkit Fuel explain in their white paper that they believe, more needs to be done to reward creators who mostly earn very little for their eﬀorts in partnerships currently oﬀered by other leading platforms, such as YouTube & TikTok. According to this article on Business Insider, Youtubers with 1000 views will earn on average $17 if their content is selected for Google ads (who take around 40-55% of profit), whereas in the proposed Rokkit Fuel app, creators could earn $17 or more with as little as one view, which could be life changing for some creators, particularly the up and coming ones. Rokkit Fuel further explains that more needs to be done to reward creators to ensure social media has a sustainable future. The way this will be achieved is through content creators having one-oﬀ paid, subscription based or free shows, where the creators themselves can set the fee. For instance, even if only 500 people subscribed to a content creators’ show at $2 per month, that would still mean the creator would earn $2,000.00 per month (before taxes/fees). If that creator uploaded the same content to other major social media platforms, they would earn only a fraction of that amount. And this is where Rokkit Fuel will shake the industry; if they could create an app that allows even smaller creators to thrive and possibly leave their day jobs, then not only will it revolutionise the social media industry, but the whole landscape of entertainment across the board. Story continues The project appears to be in the hands of a leader who has first-hand experience being in the spotlight as an influencer, Rokkit Fuel is the brainchild of Shak Warner, who spent over 20 years in the music and entertainment industry working with some of the biggest American & British acts which bodes well for the aim of developing a social media app. Video Available: $Rokk Some may ponder, why would content creators leave the current major social media platforms and make content on Rokkit Fuel’s app? Rokkit Fuel Chairman, Shak Warner, said: “The upcoming Rokkit Fuel app will completely revamp the way users and content creators interact. No more will only celebrity influencers earn a living creating, but it will also give smaller creators the chance to finally get paid fairly, doing what they love. This is something I and the Rokkit Fuel coin holders are extremely passionate about, and I believe that both the timing and the concept is right, for a project like Rokkit Fuel to help transition the social media industry into the world of blockchain.” Even though Rokkit Fuel is still in very early stages, it has already garnered the attention from many celebrities and influencers Tweeting about Rokkit Fuel, such as international soccer player Fredy Montero, celebrity Disc Jockey’s DJ Danny T & DJ Prestige, actor David Banks, rappers Wayne Dreadski & MuZik King, professional basketball player Alandise Harris, musician Robert Dobbs, professional Ice Hockey player Zach Boychuk, but to name a few. Rokkit Fuel has also been popular amongst crypto-based listing websites with $ROKK trending No.1 on the likes of Watcher Guru, Coinsniper & thousands adding Rokkit Fuel to their watchlists on Coinmarketcap & Coingecko. The developers of the project aren’t stopping there, with announcements of an upcoming billboard campaign beginning in New York Times Square. The excitement building around Rokkit Fuel has had members of the community guessing what the social media app will be called, with rumours circling that it will be called “ROKKit”. One thing is for sure, the community is at the heart of the project with the team providing regular AMA’s (ask me anything) & updates on how the project is coming along. With a current marketcap of 0.3% compared to that of Safemoon, 0.0015% of Doge Coin’s & a multi-billion dollar target industry, many analysts & Youtubers are hailing Rokkit Fuel as the next value investment going into 2022. To find out more, you can join one of Rokkit Fuel’s already very active communities: Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/rokkitfuel Telegram: https://t.me/rokkitfuelchat Discord: https://discord.gg/HZBRtqyp3j Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rokkitfuel Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rokkitfuel YouTube: https://youtu.be/tj4FHD_GO2Q Or visit: https://www.rokkit-fuel.com CONTACT: Rokkit Fuel contact-at-rokkit-fuel.com https://www.rokkit-fuel.com [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] None available.	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 38138.18, 37917.60, 38483.12, 38743.27, 36952.98, 37154.60, 41500.88, 41441.16, 42412.43, 43840.29
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2022-09-06] BTC Price: 18837.67, BTC RSI: 29.78 Gold Price: 1700.40, Gold RSI: 34.96 Oil Price: 86.88, Oil RSI: 40.02 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Cannabis Dispensaries to Host Crypto ATMs Nationwide: BankLine has established cannabis-friendly banking services that allow Crypto ATM operators to confidently host Crypto ATMs in licensed cannabis dispensaries nationwide. BankLine and Cannabis Crypto ATM BankLine and Cannabis Crypto ATM MIAMI, July 12, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- BankLine's unique Crypto ATM banking services, in partnership with cannabis-friendly financial institutions, provide nationwide armored cash logistic services to Crypto ATM operators within licensed cannabis dispensaries - facilitating exciting new business opportunities. The Opportunity States continue to legalize the adult use of cannabis, now available in over 7,000 state-regulated dispensaries across the United States, which presents a new opportunity for Crypto ATM expansion. The United States currently hosts the highest number of Crypto ATMs of any country in the world, more than 30,000 and growing. Solving Bank Reluctance Until now, U.S. financial institutions have been reluctant to accept cash deposits from Crypto ATMs placed within licensed cannabis dispensaries. Working with BankLine, Crypto and cannabis-friendly banks have the confidence that their clients will maintain the highest compliance standards, allowing expansion nationwide. Compliance measures for customer due diligence, monitoring, and reporting are currently required for both Cryptocurrencies and legal cannabis by State and Federal regulators. The Confluence of Cannabis & Cryptocurrency President and CEO of BankLine, Mark Ochab, states; " After 21 years serving in local and federal law enforcement, specializing in the financial services and banking sectors, I see the confluence of cannabis and Cryptocurrency as a positive step forward. "Cryptocurrency transactions are permanently recorded on the blockchain, providing an immutable and traceable record of transactions. "BankLine's team has the knowledge and experience to help our clients stay compliant." About BankLine BankLine is the only Crypto-friendly banking solution that offers a portfolio of redundant financial institutions willing to serve the varied needs of the Crypto industry. BankLine's network of Crypto-friendly banks and services helps mitigate the threat of bank discontinuance and provides ongoing, sustainable, and scalable banking and support services. Story continues Each BankLine client has a direct relationship at one or more of four FDIC-insured depository institutions. The accounts are titled in the business entity's name and are exclusive for the entity's activity. BankLine's partner financial institutions provide over-the-counter accounts in addition to contracting with more than 300 Loomis, Brinks, and Garda cash vault facilities, servicing over 29,000 Crypto ATM locations across the USA and its territories. BankLine is now expanding Crypto-friendly banking and armored cash logistics services to the EU, UK, as well as Central and South America. BankLine's core focus is delivering innovative banking and software solutions as well as lucrative hosting opportunities specifically designed for the Crypto ATM industry. Find out more at BankLine.com . Media Contact: Andy Benjamin 1-800-409-1647 [email protected] Related Images Image 1: BankLine and Cannabis Crypto ATM BankLine program gives Bitcoin ATM operators the ability to expand into cannabis dispensaries This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com . Attachment BankLine and Cannabis Crypto ATM \|\| Bitcoins Intermediate-term Elliott Wave Review: Previous Elliott Wave Analyses In my previous update, see here , I reviewed the shorter-term Elliott Wave Principle (EWP)-count for Bitcoin (BTC). I found, The Bullish count is preferred if BTC can stay above ~$19500 and rally back above $23000. However, if BTC closes below $19500, it opens up the door to $19000, and from there, ~$17000 is the most likely ideal downside target (wave-v = wave-i). Last week BTC topped at $22377 and is now trading at $19300s after testing the critical $19K level. Thus, it failed to rally above $23K and is now below $19,500. The trap door has been set for the cryptocurrency to reach $17K. However, is it possible it might even go lower? The weekly chart I last shared in May, see here , has been updated. The ideal path then pointed to a low in the $24+/-1K zone, but the waves decided to subdivide/extend. As always, all we can do is anticipate the ideal path, then we monitor to see if price follows it or not, and if not, then we must adjust. Why? Because we are dealing with a stochastic, probabilist environment and not something that is set in stone. Figure 1. Bitcoin weekly chart with detailed EWP count and technical indicators. $12K Cannot be Excluded Just Yet The classic, ideal, standard c=a extension (See Figure 1 above) targets ~$12K. Given BTC has already dropped below the ideal $24+/-1K target zone and the short-term Fibonacci-based EWP count suggests $17K, it is certainly possible for the cryptocurrency to fall to $12K. Besides, given that I am still missing a more significant wave to around $100+K (see here ) this would mean a 10x multiplication factor. Given the rally from the March 2020 low to the November 2021 high was a factor of ~20, whereas the rally from the January 2015 low to the December 2017 high was a factor of ~100, the law of diminishing returns applies nicely. Money Flow Indicator The very oversold Money Flow Indicator (MFI14) is an essential piece of information. It currently sits at 10. The last time this indicator was similarly oversold was September 2014 (See insert Figure 1). Back then, BTC rallied for a few weeks into November 2014, gaining over 60%, only to drop another 67% into the infamous January 2015 low. That rally and drop were enough to create positive divergences (lower prices but strengthening technical indicators) to kick in the ~10,000% rally. Story continues Bottom Line Past performance is, of course, no guarantee for future results, but it would not be unexpected to see a similar path take shape now as well. It will require a break above $23K to suggest this is the case, but BTC will have to stay below $35K to keep considering it a counter-trend rally. Meanwhile, positive divergences are also developing (green dotted arrows), but the price of BTC has yet to react to it. This article was originally posted on FX Empire More From FXEMPIRE: Inflation report sets grim markets tone as investors ponder 100-basis-point hike Teslas AI director leaving company after 4-month sabbatical U.S. calls for accountability in Abu Akleh case ahead of Biden West Bank visit Texas grid takes emergency actions to avoid blackouts amid heatwave Hungarians protest for second day against tax overhaul Biden says he would use force as last resort to keep Iran from nuclear weapons \|\| Crypto Exchange OSL Sold Security Tokens to Professional Investors: Hong Kong-based crypto exchange OSL Digital Securities has distributed security tokens in a private security token offering (STO) with participants including Animoca Brands. With the offering, OSL has become the first digital asset broker with Type 1 registration from Hong Kong-regulator Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) to conduct an STO with professional investors, according to an announcement on Tuesday . Along with noted non-fungible token (NFT) and metaverse investor Animoca Brands, participants included Head & Shoulders Financial Group, China Fortune Financial Group Ltd., Volmart and Monmonkey Group Asset Management. In an STO, an issuer sells tokenized digital securities or "security tokens," which can later be sold on security token exchanges. NFTs are digital tokens that represent the ownership of either a physical or digital asset. The Ethereum-developed tokens will represent $10,000 coupon-rate USD bond, which is linked to the performance of bitcoin (BTC). The STO is meant to act as a proof-of-concept for regulated digital asset investment, paving the way for issuance and distribution of tokenized securities among licensed financial intermediaries in Hong Kong. Read more: Animoca Brands’ Investment Portfolio Now Worth Over $1.5B UPDATE (July 26, 13:02 UTC): Updates tense in headline and lead. \|\| Investors yank out US$29 mln this month from Bitcoin: CoinShares: Bitcoin outflows totaled US$21 million, bringing month-to-date outflows to US$29 million, even as short-Bitcoin positions witnessed minor inflows of US$2.6 million, according to digital asset manager CoinShares. See related article : Markets: Bitcoin, Ether fall; memecoins lose steam, BNB edges higher Fast facts Investors pulled out US$17 million from digital asset investment products last week, James Butterfill, head of research at CoinShares said in a blog post on Monday. Exchanges in Europe recorded inflows of US$20 million, while outflows from North and South American exchanges totaled US$36 million in the last week, according to the CoinShares report. A series of alt coins saw US$3.9 million in inflows, with Uniswap recording US$100,000 in inflows or 6.6% of assets under management. “It is difficult to discern if this is a meaningful change in sentiment given its small size although minor outflows were seen across a broad set of providers,” Butterfill said. “It also comes at a time of low trading volume and a recovery in prices suggesting there could be an element of minor profit taking.” Ethereum witnessed only US$100,000 in inflows last week, despite the upcoming “ Merge ”, the CoinShares report showed. See related article : ETH futures contracts open interest on Binance breaks 8-month high: Glassnode \|\| Memecoins Dogecoin, Shiba Inu Jump as Ethereum Optimism Spreads: (Bloomberg) -- Dog-themed cryptocurrencies jumped on Monday amid broader retail-investor enthusiasm in the market, particularly as Ethereum works toward its much-anticipated software upgrade. Dogecoin is up about 14% over the past five days, while Shiba Inu has gained almost 40%, according to pricing data compiled by Bloomberg. The meme tokens are holding their gains even as Bitcoin sits around $25,000 and Ether hovers at about $2,000 amid optimism around its upgrade, known as Merge, now expected around Sept. 15. “Dogecoin and Shiba Inu have both broken out over the weekend, clear evidence that the retail investor is back,” said Hayden Hughes, chief executive of social-trading platform Alpha Impact in a message Monday, noting that there is optimism both coins will gain like Ethereum as they’re each due for upgrades as well. The crypto market has shown some signs of recovery with its total market cap at around $1.2 trillion now, after having dropped to around $875 billion as of June 19, according to data from CoinGecko. Lower-than-expected inflation prints out of the US last week boosted hopes that the Federal Reserve might be able to ease off its pace of rate hikes, helping riskier assets like crypto. Ethereum has also been supported after a final test stage before the Merge upgrade which co-founder Vitalik Buterin estimates will occur around Sept. 15. Read more: Ethereum Founder Buterin Forecasts Blockchain Merge on Sept. 15 Still, not everyone is all-in on the memecoin trend just yet. “These coins don’t have the depth of market at times like Ether or Bitcoin, so when a bit of demand comes through, they hit a liquidity pocket and fly up, drawing in more speculators,” said Cici Lu, chief executive officer at consulting firm Venn Link Partners, in a message Monday. Alpha Impact’s Hughes offered a note of caution about the rally as well. “Alpha Impact traders have been on the sidelines, waiting to see if this trend is picked up by institutional investors who tend to trade during the week,” Hughes said. More stories like this are available onbloomberg.com ©2022 Bloomberg L.P. \|\| REPEAT – HIVE Blockchain Provides July 2022 Production Update: This news release constitutes a “designated news release” for the purposes of the Company’s prospectus supplement dated February 2, 2021 to its amended and restated short form base shelf prospectus dated January 4, 2022. VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Aug. 05, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- HIVE Blockchain Technologies Ltd. (TSX.V:HIVE) (Nasdaq:HIVE) (FSE:HBFA.F) (the “Company” or “HIVE”) is pleased to announce the production figures from the Company’s global Bitcoin and Ethereum mining operations for the month of July 2022, with a BTC HODL balance of 3,091 Bitcoin and 6,820 Ethereum as of August 4, 2022. July 2022 Production Figures HIVE is pleased to announce its July 2022 production figures and mining capacity: • 279.9 BTC Produced • 2.2 Exahash of Bitcoin mining capacity at beginning of July • Increased to 2.26 Exahash of Bitcoin mining capacity during the month of July, with an average hashrate of 2.03 Exahash of Bitcoin mining capacity during the month of July • 2,957 ETH Produced* • 5.77 Terahash of Ethereum mining capacity at beginning of July, some miners were taken offline temporarily for layout optimization due to higher summer temperatures • 6.49 Terahash of Ethereum mining capacity at end of July, with an average hashrate of 6.19 Terahash of Ethereum mining capacity during the month of July *The Company’s production of ETH from GPU mining (including selective optimizations of GPU hashrate) has yielded a total ETH production of 2,957 ETH. Frank Holmes, Executive Chairman of HIVE stated, “In July we produced an average of 15.0 Bitcoin Equivalent per day, comprised of approximately 9.0 BTC per day and our Ethereum production of approximately 95 Ethereum per day. We are pleased to note that as of today, we are producing approximately 10 BTC a day in addition to approximately 95 Ethereum per day.” Aydin Kilic, President & COO of HIVE noted, “We continue to strive for operational excellence, ensuring that as we scale our hashrate, we also optimize our uptime, to ensure ideal Bitcoin and Ethereum output figures.” Mr. Kilic continued, “We also would like to provide an update on the BTC and ETH equivalency, where one can equate value of the coins produced daily. As such the ETH that HIVE produced during the month of July, equated on a daily basis, is approximately equal a monthly total of 185.2 BTC, which we refer to as Bitcoin Equivalent or BTC Equivalent. This is in addition to the 279.9 BTC produced from our Bitcoin mining operations during July, for a total of 465.1 Bitcoin equivalent” The Company’s total Bitcoin Equivalent production in July 2022 was: • 465.1 BTC Equivalent Produced • 15.0 BTC Equivalent produced per day on average • 3.77 Exahash of BTC Equivalent Hashrate (BTC hashrate plus equivalent ETH hashrate) as of July 31), with average hashrate of 3.36 Exahash of BTC Equivalent hashrate throughout July Ethereum Outlook and Strategy The Company acknowledges there has been recent discussions surrounding the potential Ethereum “Merge” to Proof of Stake (“PoS”). With respect to a timeline to PoS, the Company notes that a specific block for the Ethereum Merge has not been specified. Until a specific block has been identified and universally accepted by the Ethereum Foundation, the Company believes it is indeterminate if or when the Merge will happen. For comparison, every Bitcoin halving event is at a specifically prescribed block height (notably, every 210,000 blocks). HIVE acknowledges there could be execution risk in implementing a business strategy if Ethereum goes to PoS, and we believe there will be continued demand for GPU based Proof of Work (“PoW”) mining. As such, the Company has a strategy in the event the Merge occurs. HIVE believes there is intrinsic value in a broadly decentralized PoW blockchain with Layer 2 smart contracts, as the majority of such projects exist on the Ethereum blockchain. If NFT and DeFi developers realize that a secure PoW Layer 1 blockchain is the best playing field for their code-based projects, there could be an increase in Layer 2 applications on the Ethereum Classic blockchain, after the Merge. The Company has already commenced case studies, analyzing hashrate economics of Ethereum Classic and other GPU mineable coins at an industrial scale. HIVE has also been performing GPU optimizations throughout calendar 2022, which are proprietary and provide the Company with a competitive edge. If the Merge occurs, the Company expects that there will be a competitive edge required in technical proficiency as GPU mining is more involved than ASIC mining. It reasons that companies or hobby miners who are the best at GPU optimizations, will prosper. We expect that there will be more algorithmic driven application of GPU mining, where users may mine several coins. This will be in addition to the competitive edge miners typically seek of having the best energy economics, so they have the lowest operating cost per hash generated. GPU miners will need to have a low cost of hashing, while also being innovative to drive the highest yield (revenue) per hash, through optimizations. GPUs which currently mine Ethereum are only one facet of HIVE’s operations which complements its fleet of Bitcoin mining ASICs. HIVE’s GPU fleet is comprised of two types of cards, our legacy fleet comprised mostly of RX580s, and can be repurposed for other GPU mineable coins. The second type being our data center grade cards, namely our Nvidia fleet which we announced last year when we joined the Nvidia Partner Network; these cards have other applications in high-performance computing (HPC) applications. HIVE has been developing a new platform for our data center grade cards to create new streams of revenue. The Company foresees the creation of new streams of revenues from GPUs, such as providing HPC services for rendering, AI, ML, molecular modelling, etc. New Brunswick Power Costs HIVE has navigated several months of high energy prices in New Brunswick (“NB”) at its data center campus, which have affected all businesses that are customers with interruptible energy contracts. Mr. Kilic noted “The interruptible energy rates in New Brunswick have historically been between 3.5 to 4.5 cents USD per KWHR, based on annual averages over the last decade.” HIVE also has a portion of the total electrical load in NB as fixed power at approximately 6 cents per KWHR USD. In the Company’s fiscal Q4 2022 (January to March 2022), the power rates in NB based on the Company’s usage (blended fixed and interruptible power) were approximately 12 cents per KWHR for 46MW of capacity. Mr. Kilic continued “A benefit of being globally diversified, with 6 data centers in three countries, HIVE’s other facilities enjoyed power costs of approximately 3.5 cents per KWHR for approximately 54MW of operating capacity.” Taking into consideration the average of HIVE’s global operating costs for electricity, data center staff and maintenance for all facilities in Q4 2022, the total cost was approximately 7.5 cents per KWHR USD, based on a global average operating footprint of 114MW, compared to revenue of $49.8M USD (as noted in the Company’s audited fiscal 2022 financial statements), which equates to approximately $0.20 per KWHR. The Company notes that it was able to profitably mine crypto currencies during these periods, thus maximizing coin production. Since then, the Company’s average global operating costs for electricity, data center staff and maintenance, in New Brunswick have improved significantly, as the Company has enacted strategies to avoid high interruptible power prices in NB, which may include from time to time, reducing consumption during periods of peak interruptible power. In fiscal Q1 2023 (April to June 2022), the Company’s average power costs in NB have been 7.4 cents per KWHR USD, utilizing approximately 52MW on average, and globally operating costs for electricity, data center staff and maintenance for all facilities is approximately 5.5 cents per KWHR based on a global average operating footprint of approximately 126MW. Network Mining Difficulty The Bitcoin network difficulty decreased 6.5% during the month of July. The Ethereum network difficulty had a sudden difficulty decrease of almost 20% at the end of June, which was followed by a slight and gradual increase of 1.6% during the month of July. These factors impact our gross profit margins. About HIVE Blockchain Technologies Ltd. HIVE Blockchain Technologies Ltd. went public in 2017 as the first cryptocurrency mining company with a green energy and ESG strategy. HIVE is a growth-oriented technology stock in the emergent blockchain industry. As a company whose shares trade on a major stock exchange, we are building a bridge between the digital currency and blockchain sector and traditional capital markets. HIVE owns state-of-the-art, green energy-powered data centre facilities in Canada, Sweden, and Iceland, where we source only green energy to mine on the cloud both Ethereum and Bitcoin. Since the beginning of 2021, HIVE has held in secure storage the majority of its ETH and BTC coin mining rewards. Our shares provide investors with exposure to the operating margins of digital currency mining, as well as a portfolio of cryptocurrencies such as ETH and BTC. Because HIVE also owns hard assets such as data centers and advanced multi-use servers, we believe our shares offer investors an attractive way to gain exposure to the cryptocurrency space. We encourage you to visit HIVE’s YouTube channelhereto learn more about HIVE. For more information and to register to HIVE’s mailing list, please visitwww.HIVEblockchain.com. Follow@HIVEblockchain on Twitterand subscribe toHIVE’s YouTube channel. On Behalf of HIVE Blockchain Technologies Ltd.“Frank Holmes”Executive Chairman For further information please contact: Frank HolmesTel: (604) 664-1078 Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release Forward-Looking Information Except for the statements of historical fact, this news release contains “forward-looking information” within the meaning of the applicable Canadian securities legislation that is based on expectations, estimates and projections as at the date of this news release. “Forward-looking information” in this news release includes, but is not limited to, business goals and objectives of the Company; and other forward-looking information concerning the intentions, plans and future actions of the parties to the transactions described herein and the terms thereon. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in such forward-looking information include, but are not limited to, the volatility of the digital currency market; the Company’s ability to successfully mine digital currency; the Company may not be able to profitably liquidate its current digital currency inventory as required, or at all; a material decline in digital currency prices may have a significant negative impact on the Company’s operations; the volatility of digital currency prices; continued effects of the COVID-19 pandemic may have a material adverse effect on the Company’s performance as supply chains are disrupted and prevent the Company from carrying out its expansion plans or operating its assets; and other related risks as more fully set out in the registration statement of Company and other documents disclosed under the Company’s filings atwww.sec.gov/EDGARandwww.sedar.com. The forward-looking information in this news release reflects the current expectations, assumptions and/or beliefs of the Company based on information currently available to the Company. In connection with the forward-looking information contained in this news release, the Company has made assumptions about the Company’s objectives, goals or future plans, the timing thereof and related matters. The Company has also assumed that no significant events occur outside of the Company's normal course of business. Although the Company believes that the assumptions inherent in the forward-looking information are reasonable, forward-looking information is not a guarantee of future performance and accordingly undue reliance should not be put on such information due to the inherent uncertainty therein. \|\| 7 Best Solar Stocks to Buy Now: The secular trends that favor solar energy are the same which existed for the last several years. Broadly speaking, concern for climate change continues to grow and demand for cleaner energy sources is increasing. A report from Deloitte highlights the fact that solar photovoltaic (PV) systems have declined85%in cost over the past decade. That makes them among the cheapest energy sources in the market. The cost model is there, but more development needs to occur. The current administration has a vision to decarbonize the U.S. economy fully. That is a lofty goal, but it will move the needle whether a wholesale shift occurs or not. In short, solar energy investment remains worthwhile. • 7 Nasdaq Stocks to Buy on the Dip Here are the seven best solar stocks to buy now: InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips [{"Ticker": "SEDG", "Company": "SolarEdge Technologies, Inc.", "Price": "$319.88"}, {"Ticker": "DQ", "Company": "Daqo New Energy Corp.", "Price": "$63.55"}, {"Ticker": "CSIQ", "Company": "Canadian Solar Inc.", "Price": "$33.83"}, {"Ticker": "ENPH", "Company": "Enphase Energy, Inc.", "Price": "$249.51"}, {"Ticker": "TAN", "Company": "Invesco Solar ETF", "Price": "$75.81"}, {"Ticker": "FSLR", "Company": "First Solar, Inc.", "Price": "$76.40"}, {"Ticker": "SHLS", "Company": "Shoals Technologies Group, Inc.", "Price": "$18.67"}] Source: rafapress / Shutterstock.com SolarEdge Technologies(NASDAQ:SEDG) is an Israeli firm that produces solar inverters. Solar inverters transform the energy collected from PV cells into energy that can be used on a grid. Without them, a home, business, or solar farm has no way to utilize the energy collected and stored by PV cells and arrays. SolarEdge is focused on marketing its inverters not only as transmission conduits, but also as smart energy management devices, which allow users to monitor and manage storage and use. SolarEdge will provide earnings results in early August, which may or may not disappoint. Investors should focus on the broader picture here: SolarEdge is expected to make roughly$3.05 billionin sales this year. That number is expected to rise by 25.9% to $3.84 billion next year.That growth story means SEDG stock will remain relevant. Source: Shutterstock Daqo New Energy(NYSE:DQ) stock represents a Chinese company that produces the polysilicon that is sold to PV cell manufacturers. Its story is one of rapid growth, increasing production volumes, and price appreciation during a tumultuous 2022. Let’s start with price appreciation first: DQ stock has gone from $42 in early 2022 to $63. That makes it something of an outlier in the current bear market. The stock is performing well because the company is performing well.Additionally, Revenues increased to $1.28 billion in the first quarter, up 400% from a year earlier. That rapid increase in sales allowed gross profits to rise from $118.9 million to $813.6 million in the same period. • 7 Seriously Undervalued Tech Stocks to Buy Now Daqo New Energy is expanding its sales base rapidly. The firm sold 23,616 metric tons of polysilicon in the fourth quarter of 2021. That figure reached 31,383 metric tons a quarter later. Daqo New Energy is a basic materials provider, making it a smart choice to take advantage of secular trends. Source: Shutter B Photo / Shutterstock.com Solar investors seeking product manufacturers would be wise to considerCanadian Solar(NASDAQ:CSIQ) stock. The Ontario firm manufactures PV modules and has roughly 34% upside based on its target price. So, for investors who want to add a PV module manufacturing stock to their portfolio, CSIQ makes sense because it is increasingly attractive. Earnings per share (EPS) estimates sat at 21 cents three months ago. Those estimates have risen rapidly and now sit at48 cents. Investors will be encouraged by the fact that Canadian Solar produced anet income of $9 millionin its most recent quarter. That was a strong result on a year-over-year basis. However, high costs held the firm’s revenue and gross margin figures at the lower end of guidance. As costs normalize, the firm should be able to produce stronger results closer to the top end of guidance. Source: IgorGolovniov / Shutterstock.com Enphase Energy(NASDAQ:ENPH) stock is certainly volatile. A look at the price chart for the stock in 2022 reflects that. And that choppiness is evident in the1.36 betaENPH shares carry. But while that volatility can seem scary at times, it’s the greater trends that make Enphase Energy a worthy investment. When all is said and done, Enphase Energy should record around $2 billion in revenues this year. Those revenues are expected to increase about 37% in 2023 to $2.75 billion. • 5 Electric Vehicle Stocks to Buy on the Dip The argument against ENPH is that net income numbers were slightly lower during the most recent quarter on a sequential basis, despite record revenues. But as higher costs normalize, investors should begin to calm down. I’d argue that now is the time to strike because Enphase is doing remarkably well considering the overall environment. Source: Shutterstock The reason to invest in exchange-traded funds (ETFs) is obvious: It is much easier to identify winning sectors than it is to separate the winners from the losers therein. That’s why theInvesco Solar ETF(NYSEARCA:TAN) makes sense as a stock pick. Given that the Invesco Solar ETFtracks the MAC Global Solar Energy Index, investors are receiving significant exposure to secular trends in solar energy stocks. Those secular trends indicate that solar is entrenched as costs have come down drastically over the past decade. TAN stock has provided average annual returns of17.85%over the past decade. Those returns significantly outpaced those of its peers within its exchange and would have turned $1,000 into more than $5,000 in that period. That is precisely the kind of information that investors who want to set it and forget it like to hear. Source: IgorGolovniov / Shutterstock.com First Solar(NASDAQ:FSLR) is an Arizona-based firm producing solar power systems and modules. On top of that, the firm also constructs and operates PV power plants. As reshoring efforts ramp up, First Solar will become an increasingly attractive choice in solar. The firm has the largest PV manufacturing footprint in the western hemisphere. It is set to expand that footprint in 2023.The company also proudly markets the fact that it does not rely on Chinese silicon for its manufacturing operations. That bolsters the notion that First Solar could rise in importance over the coming years as U.S.-China business relations remain tense and evolve. • 7 Best Reddit Stocks to Buy Now For investors who worry that materials of Chinese origin occupy too large a portion of our supply chain, FSLR makes sense. It is among the best choices from that perspective among solar stocks. Source: chuyuss / Shutterstock.com Shoals Technologies(NASDAQ:SHLS) stock is a strong choice for the solar investor who has a penchant for speculation and some risk. While the company has recorded two straight quarters in which EPS guidance fell short, it is growing rapidly.And while revenues increased by about 50% on a year-over-year basis in the most recent quarter, net income is arguably more impressive. Shoals Technologies reported a net loss in first quarter 2021 thatapproached $8.3 million. A year later and that net loss became a $4.6 million net income. This is impressive. Growth stocks are out because their fundamentals often include large losses. Shoals Technologies provides the best of both worlds in some sense: Rapid growth and net income. On the date of publication, Alex Sirois did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.comPublishing Guidelines. • Buy This $5 Stock BEFORE This Apple Project Goes Live • The Best $1 Investment You Can Make Today • Early Bitcoin Millionaire Reveals His Next Big Crypto Trade “On Air” • Cash Holders Could Get Hit Hard THIS FRIDAY The post7 Best Solar Stocks to Buy Nowappeared first onInvestorPlace. \|\| US stocks edge up even as a 2nd straight GDP contraction stokes recession worries: Fed Chair Jerome Powell. ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/Getty Images Stocks rose Thursday even as GDP data revealed the US economy contracted for the second straight quarter. The economic data added to the mounting fears of a recession and followed the Fed's rate hike Wednesday. Meta reported an earnings miss after-hours Wednesday, and its CEO warned of an economic slowdown. US stocks edged up Thursday even as fresh GDP data showed the economy contracted for a second straight quarter, adding to recession concerns. US output slumped 0.9% in the second quarter, following a 1.6% contraction in the first quarter. The new data comes one day after the Federal Reserve hiked interest rates by 75 basis points, and signaled it would continue to move against inflation and cool the economy. "[Jerome Powell] was repeatedly asked about whether the economy was already in a recession which he said he did not believe to be the case," Michael Reinking, New York Stock Exchange senior market strategist wrote in a Thursday note. "When talking about the expectation for the economy to slow down he did acknowledge that a path to a soft landing has narrowed." Here's where US indexes stood as the market opened 9:30 a.m. on Thursday: S&P 500 : 4,038.22, up 0.36% Dow Jones Industrial Average : 32,281.49, up 0.26% (83.90 points) Nasdaq Composite : 12,070.99, up 0.32% Shares of Meta declined following its after-hours earnings miss Wednesday, and CEO Mark Zuckerberg warned of an economic slowdown . A recession could arrive by year-end as it looks more unlikely the Fed will achieve a soft landing, according to Bank of America. Analysts highlighted Powell's commitment to getting inflation back to the 2% range, as it will demand much more financial tightening. Fears of a downturn in the oil market were eased by rising fuel demand, as US gasoline demand jumped 8.5% last week from the prior week , according to data from the Energy Information Administration. Overseas, Russia has slowed gas flows to Europe to a trickle. Natural gas prices eased slightly Thursday, but have soared 145% since the start of June. Goldman Sachs analysts said the energy crisis could drag on until 2025 . Story continues Oil inched higher, with West Texas Intermediate up 1.67% to $98.89 a barrel. Brent crude , the international benchmark, moved higher 1.17% to $107.28 a barrel. Gold edged higher 1.34% to $1,743.30 per ounce. The 10-year yield dipped 5.6 basis points to 2.676%. Bitcoin rose 1.41% to $23,111.41. Read the original article on Business Insider \|\| Stock Market Today: Markets Edge Higher in Quiet Session: blue stock chart with turquoise volume bars Getty Images Stocks managed to eke out gains on light volume Wednesday as traders remained cautious ahead of Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's highly anticipated speech later this week. The Fed chief will speak at the central bank's annual policy symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyo., on Friday morning. And until he does, stocks will likely continue to struggle for direction. SEE MORE Has Inflation Peaked? Here's What the Experts Are Saying Indeed, fears of a hawkish Fed have sapped traders' enthusiasm for risk over the past several sessions. Mixed-to-downbeat economic reports have likewise done the recent rally no favors. Most recently, on Wednesday, we learned that U.S. pending home sales fell in July to their lowest level since the start of the pandemic. Paul Gray, CEO of Ironhold Capital, says the data marks a "recession in the housing market." "As interest rates and inflation rise simultaneously, many households choose to save money rather than purchase a house due to high borrowing costs and elevated prices brought by inflation," Gray notes. Sign up for Kiplinger's FREE Investing Weekly e-letter for stock, ETF and mutual fund recommendations, and other investing advice. Traders and investors are naturally finding it difficult to embrace equities when the Fed is hiking rates amid reports of recessionary activity. Wednesday was not without drama in select stocks, however. Peloton Interactive ( PTON , +20.4%) jumped after it struck a deal to sell bikes and some accessories on Amazon.com. And Bed Bath & Beyond ( BBBY , +18%) got a lift after the home goods retailer said it selected a lender to boost its liquidity. After-market trading could also get interesting, with earnings reports due from high-profile growth stocks Nvidia ( NVDA , $172.22), Snowflake ( SNOW , $159.80) and Dow component Salesforce ( CRM , $180.62). The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.2% to close at 32,969, while the broader S&P 500 rose 0.3% to 4,140. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite ticked up 0.4% to finish at 12,431. Story continues stock market today Other news in the stock market today: The small-cap Russell 2000 added 0.8% to 1,935. U.S. crude futures rose 1.6% to $95.26 per barrel. Gold futures gained 0.2% to $1,765.20 an ounce. Bitcoin increased 0.8% to $21,670 (Bitcoin trades 24 hours a day; prices reported here are as of 4 p.m.) Don't Fight the Fed It's a Wall Street cliche, but it happens to be true: Don't fight the Fed. With rates headed higher, investors would do well to go with the flow. SEE MORE Warren Buffett Stocks Ranked: The Berkshire Hathaway Portfolio For example, rising rates should continue to support a strong dollar. So be sure to check out stocks that win (and stocks that lose) from a rising greenback . Rate-tightening cycles also increase the odds of the economy entering a recession . That's a recipe for increased volatility – and it affords an opportunity for the best low-volatility stocks to shine. It's also the case that rate hikes are a blunt tool to fight inflation. Although the rate of inflation has cooled off recently, higher prices aren't going away anytime soon. Shares in companies with pricing power can actually deliver sustained outperformance during inflationary periods. With that in mind, have a look at the best stocks to buy to beat inflation . SEE MORE The 11 Most Expensive Cities in the U.S. You may also like A Checklist for What to Do (and NOT Do) After Someone Dies Your Guide to Roth Conversions When It Comes to Your RMDs, Be Very, Very Afraid! \|\| NFT Builds Announces That They Will Solely Accept Crypto as a Form of Payment: Miami, Florida--(Newsfile Corp. - August 13, 2022) - NFT Builds announces that it will solely accept crypto as a form of payment. As a business owner, customers rely on flexibility when it comes to accepting different forms of payments. This includes new forms of payment and money transfer worldwide, such as cryptocurrency. NFT Builds To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/8203/132680_3182ac98b47f59e2_001full.jpg Major companies accept it, but so do other smaller businesses such as restaurants and coffee shops. One company focused on helping businesses with this transition is NFT Builds Inc. The CEO and founder, Tyler Mercier, recently said, "Our mission at NFT Builds is to bridge Web 2 companies into Web 3 by offering the services needed to start accepting cryptocurrency as a form of payment." NFT Builds creates partnerships with creators who are looking to make their Web 3 vision a reality. Though the company is a full-scale marketing firm offering services ranging from development, community building, social media PR, art design and project advertising, the company specializes in cryptocurrency projects. Mercier and his team of experts understand that the industry is built on showing face, building trust, and having transparency. "We have spent millions of dollars marketing in the web 3 space to build out our connections and resources. Every project has a particular niche that needs to be targeted, and that is why my team creates full custom gameplans for the projects we partner with. We have one of the strongest community building teams in this space because our team is a group of trained professionals coming directly from other leading web 3 communities," explained Mercier. He also shared that the one thing that differentiates NFT Builds from other agencies is that there is no middle man - all communications and work are completed in-house. In an announcement made on July 31st, NFT Builds announced that it now accepts payments in Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, XRP, and USDC. Stay on the lookout for this company as it keeps innovating in the blockchain sector. Story continues Media Contact Details: NFT Builds Inc. +1 603-508-7575 https://www.nftbuilds.io https://www.instagram.com/nftbuilds To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/132680 [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] None available.	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 19290.32, 19329.83, 21381.15, 21680.54, 21769.26, 22370.45, 20296.71, 20241.09, 19701.21, 19772.58
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2020-08-28] BTC Price: 11542.50, BTC RSI: 52.26 Gold Price: 1964.60, Gold RSI: 55.56 Oil Price: 42.97, Oil RSI: 58.51 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] What Does the Twitter Hack Mean for Bitcoin? Crypto Reacts: For five hours, all of Twitter became Crypto Twitter. Wednesday, one of the biggest digital hacks in recent memory went down. A hacker,likely a Bitcoiner, gained access to Twitter’s administrative functions and began a crypto-scam campaign. Some of the world’s most notable accounts on the site started offering to double their investments if they sent funds to a Bitcoin wallet. It’s the type of scummy behavior Twitter promised to addressback in 2018. A federal examination is likely. So, too, is a permanent stain on Twitter’s reputation. What’s unknown is how this incident will affect perceptions of Bitcoin, blockchain and the crypto space, which is once again thrown into the news cycle for all the wrong reasons. Related:Twitter Hacker Is Mixing Bitcoin Loot Using a Wasabi Wallet, Elliptic Says CoinDesk convened a panel of experts to discuss what the long- and short-term consequences of this scandal may be for crypto, and whether it’s a watershed moment to finally decentralize our social media. • Anil Lullaco-founded Delphi Digital, a research and consultancy firm specializing in crypto assets • Donna Redelis board member at New York Angels, an angel investment firm and frequent speaker on the crypto conference circuit. • Steven McKiefounded the venture capital firm Amentum and built aHandshake compatibleweb browser in his free time. • Brekkie Von Bitcoin– A crypto influencer of sorts, Brekkie is known for relentlessly advocating for the coin. • Matt Hillis CEO of Start9 Labs and an advocate for digital sovereignty. • Vinay Gupta, inventor of theHexayurt, is now pursuing theradical startup, Mattereum, which is attempting to create a digital twin for all physical items, so humanity can better manage and distribute increasingly scarce natural resources. Their responses have been edited and condensed. Will this increase in the attention to Bitcoin be good for crypto in general? Or will this attack/taint the image of Bitcoin? Related:Money Reimagined: This Isn't Good for Bitcoin Lulla:I believe there are some positive benefits to Bitcoin. Anyone who works in crypto got messages from friends and family asking what the scam is all about. They were curious to know when they saw the word “Bitcoin” on TV. So maybe this is an opportunity for us to explain how Bitcoin works. We can outline that this isn’t a Bitcoin scam and it was not hacked; Twitter got hacked. Obviously, it is going to increase attention, though whether that’s good or bad is up in the air. These little things shouldn’t really affect the fundamentals of Bitcoin. See also:Jack Dorsey: Mass Crypto Adoption Will Transform Square’s Business Redel:From my perspective, the short-term and long-term impact on Bitcoin from this hack is irrelevant since the emphasis should be on the illegal activity and breach of security. Twitter should be concerned about its short-term and long-term reputation. McKie:I think it’s not going to bring much attention to Bitcoin, aside from the general discourse for the next week or two. There’s just so much going on. Von Bitcoin:As someone who believes that Bitcoin is our best shot at a more prosperous future for everyone. … I’m personally only concerned on whether the increased media attention is good for Bitcoin, not crypto in general. But at this stage, I think the adage still holds that all press is good press for Bitcoin. Hill:The increased attention to Bitcoin might be good for crypto prices in general, but no amount of attention is going to save most of the projects out there from total collapse. Gupta:It’ll be a few stories about Bitcoin in the papers, but I don’t think it’ll spur adoption. Will this reinforce existing biases against crypto being associated with criminals? Lulla:This is a wider topic. People have predetermined biases. Most people in the space by now have been open-minded enough to understand this. Of course, there’s always gonna be a subset of people who always look for information that will always support their biases or their positions. But at the end of the day I don’t think it fundamentally changes anything. It really hasn’t changed anything so far. McKie:I don’t really think anyone will care. It’s Bitcoin. It doesn’t do anything to make it more infamous for those that already didn’t like it. See also:Crypto Criminals Have Already Stolen $1.4B in 2020, Says CipherTrace Von Bitcoin:Well, it didn’t do us any favors with regards to that common bias. There are already plenty of people calling this a “Bitcoin Hack” when obviously that is not the case at all. I am hopeful though that the fallout will be limited. Take this personal anecdote for what it is, but yesterday I spoke to my father about the hack, and despite the fact that his knowledge of Bitcoin is limited, he understood that the criminals were merely using Bitcoin, and that Bitcoin itself hadn’t been hacked. Hill:For some, yes. But I think most people are smart enough to know there were plenty of criminals before crypto. Gupta:Yes, it’s a stuipd mess, and it’s going to be widely understood as a stupid mess – yet more fuel for the people who want to believe crypto is for scammers. Could you speculate into the hacker’s motivations? Lulla:It’s still early to say because we’re still learning about what happened with the hack. Twitter is going to be really impacted by this because there’s gonna be a lot more scrutiny on how this happened and what exactly happened here. The whole motivation of the hacker was to get Bitcoin, but the damage could have been worse. Redel:First, the hack into people’s emails is an illegal activity. Secondly, the impersonation of individuals asking for transactions in bitcoin is simply another version of other illegal “scams” that ask people to send dollars to bank accounts or other locations. See also:How to Spot a Crypto Scam McKie:I’m not quite sure. They probably got access that they weren’t expecting and realized they had an opportunity and did something without planning. It’s really a test of why they didnt do anything with Donald Trump’s account, which would guarantee an immediate shutdown of whatever process they were exploiting. Von Bitcoin:Should I put my tinfoil hat on before I answer? On the surface it seems like the hacker just wanted to steal bitcoin. As others have noted, the hack itself appeared very clumsy, but if that clumsiness was intentional… then there may have been an ulterior motive. Perhaps it was a bad actor with other vested interests trying to discredit Bitcoin or Twitter, but I think it’s too early to say. Hill:I can only say what I hope their motivation was: to expose the fragility of centralized systems. Gupta:Well, if the goal was to make money from a massive Twitter 0-day, I have to say there were probably more effective ways of doing it. I was really surprised there was no political messaging, either! Is this a wake-up call to decentralize our communications systems? Gupta:Decentralized systems aren’t necessarily any more proofed against these kinds of exploits – protocol bugs are just as bad, when they occur. McKie:I don’t think Twitter can do a damn thing. When you have internal social engineering by nefarious actors, taking advantage of admin tools that are there for a particular reason, that’s just the nature of a centralized organization. There’s employee churn, there’s a lot of varied levels of security and accountability, there’s absolutely nothing you can do. There’s no security organization, anywhere in the world, you could have paid to prevent this sort of internal attack. You just have to accept that. Does that build the case for decentralized web? Yeah, sure. But no one immediately will think that, except for the people already in our crypto echo chamber. See also:In Trump Versus Twitter, Decentralized Tech May Win Lulla:People need to understand that Twitter got hacked – a centralized system got hacked. At the end, it is an issue with Twitter. It can take the shape of a wake up call for people. If this didn’t happen for instance there might be some people in the world who would never even imagine a situation like this. This is adding support for our community rights and decentralized systems of communication. Redel:Safeguarding privacy is important and should be a high priority for all. Von Bitcoin:At the very least it’s a wake-up call about vulnerabilities, and I think that Twitter is already taking it very seriously. Jack [Dorsey, the CEO]has hinted at wanting to decentralize Twitter, so I imagine this event might fast track those plans. Unfortunately there is a chicken and egg problem with trying to decentralize communications, and frankly for some use cases, centralization means a more efficient system. Hill:It is yetanotherwake up call. And like most wakeup calls, it will be greeted with a snooze button and a growing sense of anxiety. • What Does the Twitter Hack Mean for Bitcoin? Crypto Reacts • What Does the Twitter Hack Mean for Bitcoin? Crypto Reacts \|\| Bybit Announces an Estimated $110,000 COVID-19 Relief Donation to UNICEF from World Series of Trading Prize Fund: SINGAPORE / ACCESSWIRE / July 30, 2020 / Bybit has announced it will make a donation of up to 10 BTC to UNICEF, as part of its recently announced World Series of Trading (WSOT). The WSOT will gather traders from across the globe to compete for a prize pool worth 200 BTC, around $2.2 million at the current price. The WSOT event opened for pre-registration in early July, with over 8,000 participants having already signed up. The official registration to join the main event in August is now open. Bybit has confirmed that 5% of the overall prize pool will be allocated to UNICEF to assist in their efforts helping vulnerable children recover from the fallout of the global pandemic. The donation comes thanks to a partnership with the New Zealand branch of UNICEF. According to the official announcement on their website, the Bybit donation is helping to plug a severe funding gap left by the pandemic crisis, which has put 1.6 billion children at risk. "As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to cast its long shadow around the globe, its secondary impact is being felt by vulnerable children, who are the future of our world. Their situation is exacerbated by school closures, inadequate care, and shortages in food, sanitation supply, and medical resources. We at Bybit urgently feel it is incumbent upon us to support the ongoing efforts to safeguard our future," states Bybit CEO, Ben Zhou. He continues: "Together with our global community of traders, we would like to use this impetus to help lead positive action in the crypto space and give back to our very own home planet. With this in mind, we are pledging 5% of WSOT's final prize pool to UNICEF to assist in their work to save children's lives, defend their rights, and to help them fulfill their potential." UNICEF NZ Executive Director Vivien Maidaborn added: "This is an exciting opportunity to partner with Bybit and better shape the lives of children significantly impacted by Covid-19. We thank Bybit and traders for their generous Bitcoin donations during this unprecedented global emergency." Story continues About the World Series of Trading The WSOT event is part of Bybit Games Calendar, which last year saw over 7,000 traders battle it out in a competition dubbed the "BTC Brawl." Bybit is aiming for the WSOT to attract even more traders who will compete alongside cryptocurrency influencers and legendary poker players, battling out for a prize pool of up to 200 BTC. Participants will be eligible for a 20% discount on trading fees, and the opportunity to earn up to $9,400 in USDT bonuses. Bybit is now inviting traders to enroll for the main event. Registration is open until August 14, and warm-up participants must now re-register to secure their place. The WSOT contest will start on August 10 and run until the end of the month. For more information on the event, please visit: https://www.bybit.com/en-US/wsot About Bybit Bybit is a global cryptocurrency derivatives exchange established in March 2018 and registered in the BVI. It is headquartered in Singapore. Bybit has a global user base comprising everyone from individual retail clients to professional derivatives traders. For more information, please visit: https://www.bybit.com/ For updates, follow Bybit's social platforms on Twitter and Telegram . Contact: Dan Edelstein [email protected] +972-545-464-238 SOURCE: Bybit View source version on accesswire.com: https://www.accesswire.com/599604/Bybit-Announces-an-Estimated-110000-COVID-19-Relief-Donation-to-UNICEF-from-World-Series-of-Trading-Prize-Fund \|\| Market Wrap: Bitcoin Trudges Past $11.7K as DeFi Lending Rates Gyrate: Bitcoin gained Wednesday while DeFi interest rate volatility is causing concern over its long-term viability. Bitcoin (BTC) trading around $11,670 as of 20:00 UTC (4 p.m. ET). Gaining 4% over the previous 24 hours. Bitcoin’s 24-hour range: $11,072-$11,735 BTC above 10-day and 50-day moving averages, a bullish signal for market technicians. Traders are mostly buying bitcoin Wednesday, with the world’s oldest cryptocurrency going as high as $11,735 on spot exchanges such as Coinbase. Read More: Bitcoin Price Rises 3% as Gold Trades Above $2K for First Time Related: Bitcoin's Patronage System Is an Unheralded Strength “I think we’ll hit $12,000 by Friday. There’s a lot of momentum in the market just now,” said Chris Thomas, head of digital assets for broker Swissquote. “Tuesday was a pause for breath, but we didn’t react negatively.” Thomas noted bitcoin spot volumes have been rising this past week after a month of relative feebleness. “Flows are definitely picking up and more people are feeling the excitement, which naturally helps the markets move higher still,” added Thomas. Read More: Ethereum Transition to Staking Could Push More Traders to Use Derivatives Related: Bitcoin Entering 'New Adoption Cycle,' Coin Metrics Exec Says While bitcoin’s pace is picking up, gold, the original hedge against economic uncertainty, has been on an absolute tear. The yellow metal was up 1.1% and at $2,041 as of press time, hitting a fresh intraday high at $2,056. However, while gold has rallied 14% over the past month, bitcoin has done twice as well, up 28% during that same period. Bitcoin bugs continue to believe its price can keep making outsized gains in unsettled economic times. “I’m bullish on bitcoin,” said George Clayton, managing partner of Cryptanalysis Capital. “I do not have a strong view on timing, but I’m expecting a move higher.” Volatile DeFi lending rates The second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, ether (ETH), was up Wednesday, trading around $399 after climbing 3% in 24 hours as of 20:00 UTC (4:00 p.m. ET). Read More: BnkToTheFuture Steps Away From Banks Citing Mounting Risk Interest rates in Ethereum-powered decentralized finance, or DeFi, have see-sawed wildly over the past few months. Composite Lend Rate, a metric calculated by DeFi Pulse, determines how much profit an investor would return lending out crypto. It has fluctuated mostly due to the volatility of lender Compound’s rates, which have been as low as 0.122% on June 17 and as high as 18.6% on June 26. Compound dominates the DeFi lending market and had 3% rates for lenders as of Wednesday. Story continues “A number of new applications are adjusting their protocol and token incentives, which can trigger extreme volatility,” said Jean-Marc Bonnefous, managing partner for Tellurian Capital, which has been investing in crypto projects since 2014. “There is also a lot of shuffling of short-term liquidity among the DeFI protocols, which is not very conducive to longer-term sustainability and adoption,” he added. Other markets Digital assets on the CoinDesk 20 are mostly flashing green Wednesday. Notable winners as of 20:00 UTC (4:00 p.m. ET): zcash (ZEC) + 14% dash (DASH) + 6% bitcoin gold (BTG) 5.5% Read More: Square Crypto, Human Rights Foundation Ramp Up Bitcoin Grants Notable losers as of 20:00 UTC (4:00 p.m. ET): tezos (XTZ) – 0.66% qtum (QTUM) – 0.56% stellar (XLM) – 0.53% Read More: US Lawmakers Don’t Want Proof-of-Stake Networks to Get Overtaxed Equities: In Asia, the Nikkei 225 ended the day in the red 0.26% as poor corporate earnings for Softbank and Yamaha led stocks lower . In Europe, the FTSE 100 closed higher, gaining 1.1% as better-than-expected earnings reports boosted stocks like Commerzbank, up 5% on the day . In the United States, the S&P 500 gained 0.60% on shares of Disney jumping 8.8% on positive earnings and optimism for a coronavirus vaccine . Read More: Square Reports 600% Increase in Quarterly Bitcoin Revenue Commodities: Oil is up 1.6%. Price per barrel of West Texas Intermediate crude: $42.14 Read More: Social Engineering: A Plague on Crypto and Twitter, Unlikely to Stop Treasurys: U.S. Treasury bonds were mixed Wednesday. Yields, which move in the opposite direction as price, were up most on the 10-year, in the green 7.5%. Read More: Pharmacist Charged With Trafficking Drugs Worth $270M in Bitcoin Related Stories Market Wrap: Bitcoin Trudges Past $11.7K as DeFi Lending Rates Gyrate Market Wrap: Bitcoin Trudges Past $11.7K as DeFi Lending Rates Gyrate View comments \|\| YouTube Urges Court To Quash Cryptocurrency Scam Lawsuit, Citing Social Media Immunity: Alphabet Incs (NASDAQ: GOOGL ) (NASDAQ: GOOG ) video streaming service YouTube filed a motion this week to dismiss a lawsuit brought on by blockchain startup Ripple and its CEO Brad Garlinghouse, the Block reported . What Happened The San Francisco-based startup and Garlinghouse had sued YouTube in April, complaining that the platform didn't stop scammers from posting videos related to a cryptocurrency giveaway scam that used the Ripple CEOs likeness. YouTube is citing Section 230 of the U.S. Communication Decency Act, which gives social media platforms immunity against content posted by third parties, the Block noted. The Alphabet subsidiary, in its motion to dismiss, said it didn't "orchestrate or participate in that scam, and after being notified about fraudulent content posted by the hijacked accounts, YouTube removed it. President Donald Trump had signed an executive order in May, targetting social media networking, with regards to content posted on the platforms, after entering into a spat with Twitter over the moderation of his tweets. Why It Matters Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL ) co-founder Steve Wozniak, along with 17 others, also sued the Alphabet run streaming website for similar reasons on Wednesday. The lawsuit claimed Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT ) co-founder Bill Gates and Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA ) CEO Elon Musks likeness had also been used by cryptocurrency scammers to defraud YouTube's audience. Musk, Gates, and other high-profile users were also targetted in a similar cryptocurrency giveaway scam on Twitter Incs (NYSE: TWTR ) platform last week, except this time, their personal verified profiles were hijacked. Price Action Alphabet Inc Class A shares traded 0.25% higher at $1,520 iand Class C shares traded 0.3% higher at $1,520.36 in the after-hours session Thursday. See more from Benzinga Facebook Ad Boycott To Continue, Publicis Predicts As Organic Revenue Drops 13% In Q2 Apple's Steve Wozniak Sues YouTube Alleging Inaction On Bitcoin Fraud Alphabet's Waymo, Fiat Chrysler Deepen Partnership To Develop Self-Driving Light Commercial Vehicles © 2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| Bitcoin News Roundup for July 14, 2020: Related:The Real Story Behind Tesla's Crazy Rally • Bitcoin News Roundup for July 14, 2020 • Bitcoin News Roundup for July 14, 2020 \|\| Bitcoin Cash and Litecoin to trade on public stock market for first time: Our mission to help you navigate the new normal is fueled by subscribers. To enjoy unlimited access to our journalism, subscribe today . Grayscale Investments , a New York firm that makes cryptocurrencies available in the form of stocks, announced on Monday that regulators have given the go-ahead for the sale of two new cryptocurrencies to the public. One of the newly listed stocks will represent shares of Litecoin, one of the oldest cryptocurrencies after Bitcoin, and the other is Bitcoin Cash, a controversial spinoff to Bitcoin launched in 2017. They are respectively the eighth and fifth biggest cryptocurrencies by market cap, according to Coinmarketcap . The new stocks, which will trade under the symbols LTCN and BCHG, will be available to the general public in the next two to four weeks. While cryptocurrency enthusiasts typically purchase Litecoin and other digital currencies directly on dedicated crypto exchanges like Coinbase or Binance, Grayscale has found a niche selling them in the forms of shares. The Grayscale crypto products amount to shares in a trust that holds the underlying asset. Even though the Grayscale shares trade at a premium to the price of the asset, they have found favor with some institutional investors concerned about investing in Bitcoin and other crypto assets directly. Meanwhile, Grayscale stocksespecially Bitcoinhave found a niche with millennial investors on apps like Robinhood. Indeed, Charles Schwab reported in December that the Bitcoin stock, which trades under the symbol GBTC, was one of the top five equities held by millennialsahead of stocks like Netflix . Grayscale builds investment products that operate within existing regulatory frameworks. With two additional products gaining approval for public trading, were broadening access for investors to gain exposure to the digital currency asset class, said Grayscales managing director, Michael Sonnenshein in a statement. The new Litecoin and Bitcoin Cash stocks bring to six the total number of cryptocurrencies available to the public as shares. The other stocks, also packaged by Grayscale, represent shares of Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ethereum Classic, and a blend of different currencies. More broadly, Grayscale has developed a lucrative practice selling shares of its trusts to accredited investors. Those investors are initially barred from reselling those shares to the public, but once regulators grant a green light to do so, they are typically able to make a considerable profit. Grayscale stocks trade on the OTCQX, an over-the-counter market, where securities do not have to be registered with the SEC. Instead, industry regulator FINRA oversees such offerings. Story continues This story has been updated to correct the ticker symbol for Bitcoin Cash and to reflect that the shares will be sold by secondary investors rather than by Grayscale directly. More must-read finance coverage from Fortune : Meet the one-branch bank that did more PPP lending than Citi Are we seeing a reverse square rootsymbol economic recovery ? A real bind: Banks that carry out Trumps new sanctions could violate Hong Kong security law The best and worst places in the U.S. to invest in real estate during the pandemic Why slashing product prices is usually a terrible idea This story was originally featured on Fortune.com View comments \|\| Arbitrx 'Coin Connect LP' Wants To Bogleize Cryptocurrencies: EXCERPT: Also Read \|Indore: 14-Year-Old Egg Seller's Cart Overturned When he Allegedly Refused to Pay 100 Bribe, Video Goes Viral Arbitrx Crypto Asset Management “Coin Connect LP” (Ireland) plans to target small ticket size investors with what it says is the first index investment tied to cryptocurrencies. CONTENT: Also Read \|Lend Wiz Vows to Continue Helping US Businesses Bounce Back Adrienne (CSO at Arbitrx): Nowadays bitcoin and other crypto assets are hot properties in the financial market place, everyone is talking about it and what to get involved as soon as they can. But everything which has lots of opportunities also has many drawbacks, the same case is with the crypto market, the volatility, unpredicted movements are some of its drawbacks, which are not easy to look after for a normal investor. That's why we at Arbitrx come with the idea of "Crypto Funds" with the help of our experienced Fund Managers who are 24x7 dedicated to market movements, will look after your hard earn money, and help you create wealth. Arbitrx Asset Management has launched what it says is the first cryptocurrency funds and is building out research and analysis, passive methodologies, and other infrastructure to attract small ticket size investors. Adrienne, CSO at Arbitrx “Coin Connect LP”, says she wants to offer small investors interested in cryptocurrencies an alternative to high-fee hedge funds that now dominate the fledgling cryptocurrency sector. Arbitrx offers the index strategy in a partnership vehicle, as the Securities and Exchange Commission has not yet approved any initial coin offerings or crypto exchange-traded funds (ETF) and has not said whether it will ultimately approve any. Adrienne, who was involved in some of the large scale real-estate, gold, and, bond market since long, says the business of cryptocurrency is still in the early stages and reminds her of exchange-traded funds 10 years ago when she first joined the then-nascent industry. Over the years, she witnessed how small investors were cautious about investing in cryptocurrency before Arbitrx and others provided quality research, fund classifications, and data on the volume, liquidity, and other factors that influenced how cryptocurrency performed over time. Adrienne, who was managing large scale funds before joining Arbitrx, is hoping to provide the same kind of infrastructure for cryptocurrency funds, which potentially could offer high returns with low correlation to other asset classes. "Right now, we're spending a lot of time educating potential investors about crypto and blockchain," says Adrienne. "Ultimately, the quality of the data contributes to a healthy ecosystem." Arbitrx's first product, called the "ARBITD" Arbitrx Day Trading Fund & “ARBITB” Arbitrx Bitcoin Fund, offers exposure to currencies and charges a flat 2 percent fee. The fund is rebalanced daily & weekly and holds the top currencies weighted by market capitalization. Adrienne hopes to expand into other crypto index products based on factors such as market capitalization and other technology trends as the asset class develops. Arbitrx also aims to lower fees as the cost of services, such as custody, declines over time. Adrienne is also hoping to convert the fund to an ETF once the Government moves on cryptocurrencies. Arbitrx is not the only firm building index crypto funds. Coinbase and Digital Asset have both said they will launch some form of crypto index funds. \|\| Crypto ‘Giveaway’ Scams Continue to Flourish on YouTube: Crypto scams on video hosting platform YouTube are continuing to prey on unsuspecting victims. In scam videos seen this week, the identities of Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin and Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, founders of the U.S.-based Gemini exchange, have been used to lure people into giving up cryptocurrencies like bitcoin and ether . The “giveaway” scams are based on the promise of doubling one’s funds after send an initial amount to a wallet address via QR code. Victims, in fact, receive nothing in return and lose the crypto they sent. In separate videos, which have since been removed by YouTube, both Buterin and the Winklevoss twins can be seen talking on stage, praising the benefits of their projects. The video grabbed for one of the scams featuring Buterin appears to be taken from an Ethereum event held in London earlier this year. YouTube has been under fire from Ripple Labs and CEO Brad Garlinghouse , who are suing over allegations the social media giant fails to police its platform against fake XRP giveaway scams. YouTube frequently blocks cryptocurrency-focused accounts that are not scams. The firm has previously said errors occur because of the sheer volume of content it has to monitor. YouTube, Gemini Exchange and the Ethereum Foundation did not return requests for comment by press time. See also: Encrypted Messaging Site Privnote Cloned to Steal Bitcoin Related Stories Crypto ‘Giveaway’ Scams Continue to Flourish on YouTube Crypto ‘Giveaway’ Scams Continue to Flourish on YouTube Crypto ‘Giveaway’ Scams Continue to Flourish on YouTube Crypto ‘Giveaway’ Scams Continue to Flourish on YouTube \|\| Bitcoin News Roundup for Aug. 28, 2020: With bitcoin and gold reversing losses, CoinDesks Markets Daily is back for your latest crypto news roundup! For early access before our regular noon Eastern time releases , subscribe with Apple Podcasts , Spotify , Pocketcasts , Google Podcasts , Castbox , Stitcher , RadioPublica or RSS . This episode is sponsored by Crypto.com , Bitstamp and Nexo.io . Todays Stories: Related: The Case for $500,000 Bitcoin Bitcoin, Gold Recover After Jerome Powell Speech Shakes Markets Bitcoin and gold are reversing losses seen on Thursday after the Federal Reserves announcement of a more relaxed approach to tackling inflation. Binances Bitcoin Bid-Ask Spreads Tighten as Cryptocurrency Markets Mature The narrowing gap between bitcoin buy and sell orders on big exchanges like Binance shows an increasing depth to cryptocurrency markets. Related: The End of an Era? Why Bitcoin and MMT Won the Week Chainalysis Report Shows Healthy Crypto Usage in Venezuela The Venezuelan governments push to create a cryptocurrency-centric economy appears to be working, but perhaps not in the way officials had hoped. Bitmain, Ebang Among 21 Bitcoin Mining Farms Stripped of Energy Perks in Inner Mongolia Affected mining centers in the area may see a notable increase in electricity costs. For early access before our regular noon Eastern time releases , subscribe with Apple Podcasts , Spotify , Pocketcasts , Google Podcasts , Castbox , Stitcher , RadioPublica or RSS . Related Stories Bitcoin News Roundup for Aug. 28, 2020 Bitcoin News Roundup for Aug. 28, 2020 View comments \|\| Fidelity Seeks SEC Approval For A Bitcoin Index Fund: Fidelity Investments is coming up with a new fund specifically for Bitcoin. What Happened: The financial services company filed a Form D notice with the SEC and now awaits approval from the regulator. The newly incorporated pooled investment fund, Wise Origin Bitcoin Index Fund I, LP, will be based out of Fidelity’s Boston headquarters. Fidelity manages over $8.3 trillion customer funds, according to Forbes, and might now be expanding its portfolio to include Bitcoin as well. In 2019, its subsidiary Fidelity Digital Assets was approved by the New York Department of Financial Services to engaged in cryptocurrency-related businesses. In January this year, Fidelity Digital Assets announced that it would extend cryptocurrency custody support to Nickel Digital Asset Management – a United Kingdom based investment company that invests in virtual assets. Why It Matters: The bitcoin-only fund will manage the portfolio for qualified purchasers with a minimum investment value pegged at $100,000. The company plans to handle the Bitcoin fund through a new unit called Fidelity Digital Funds, according to a Bloomberg report. In a survey published in June 2020 spanning 800 institutional investors in the US and Europe, almost 60% of the respondents claimed that they would include digital assets in their portfolio and 91% were open to cryptocurrency exposure. Price Action: Bitcoin traded 0.23% higher at $11,401.04 at press time early Thursday. Photo courtesy: Marco Verch via Flickr See more from Benzinga Under Armour Sued By UCLA Over 0M Sponsorship Contract Breach Electric Vehicle Maker Xpeng Raises US IPO Target To .5 Billion Google Says Chrome Pages To Load Up To 10% Faster With Latest Upgrade © 2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] None available.	Trend: down \|\| Prices: 11506.87, 11711.51, 11680.82, 11970.48, 11414.03, 10245.30, 10511.81, 10169.57, 10280.35, 10369.56
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2017-02-16] BTC Price: 1027.44, BTC RSI: 60.34 Gold Price: 1240.00, Gold RSI: 66.30 Oil Price: 53.36, Oil RSI: 53.45 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Bitcoin Services Inc. Purchases Four Antminer S9 Bitcoin Miner: GRANDVILLE, MI / ACCESSWIRE / January 4, 2017 /Bitcoin Services Inc. (OTC PINK: BTSC) announced today that it purchased four Antminer S9 bitcoin miners. The S9 has more hashing power than any previous device crammed into its silicon; a massive 14 TH/s (TeraHash per second). A total of 189 chips, spread over 3 circuit boards, are combined to achieve this phenomenal hashrate. In addition, after several shareholder inquiries, the company has no plans for a reverse split. The current share structure as of today is 511,784,705 OS, 387,512,190 Restricted, and 124,272,515 Float. About Bitcoin Services Inc.: Our business operations are Internet based to the consumer and consist of three separate streams, as follows: (1) bitcoin escrow services, (2) bitcoin mining, and (3) blockchain software development. The principal products and services are the mining of bitcoins, providing escrow services for buyers and sellers of bitcoins, and the development and sale of blockchain software. The market for these services and products is worldwide, and sold and marketed on the Internet. Safe Harbor Statement This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27a of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended and section 21e of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Those statements include the intent, belief, or current expectations of the company and its management team. Prospective investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties, and that actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors. Accomplishing the strategy described herein is significantly dependent upon numerous factors, many that are not in management's control. Some of these factors include the ability of the company to raise sufficient capital, attract qualified management, attract new customers, and effectively compete against similar companies. CONTACT: [email protected] SOURCE: Bitcoin Services Inc. \|\| Sprint Still Has Plenty Of Short Squeeze Potential In 2017: While Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ ) and AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T ) continue to dominate the U.S. mobile carrier market share, another carrier dominated Wall Street in 2016. Sprint Corp (NYSE: S ) shares surged 145.8 percent in the past year despite its positioning as the smallest of the “big four” U.S. carriers in terms of subscribers . A major part of Sprint’s move may be due to the massive number of traders that have been betting on Sprint to fail. It’s likely no coincidence that the entire time Sprint shares were skyrocketing in the past year, the stock’s short interest was plummeting 36.6 percent. Short sellers have spent much of the last year unwinding their positions, and short covering has contributed a significant amount of Sprint's volume during its run-up. The good news for Sprint bulls is that there appears to be plenty more potential short covering volume out there. Despite the 2016 short squeeze, Sprit remains one of the most heavily-shorted stocks in the entire NYSE. According to shortsqueeze.com, Sprint still has an elevated short percent of float of 21.7 percent. There are currently a mind-boggling 142.1 million Sprint shares held short with 5.8 days to cover. If the slow-burn Sprint short squeeze continues in 2017, the stock’s 145 percent one-year gain may only be the beginning. See more from Benzinga Don't Blame Millennials For Being Terrible Employees Gartman: Bitcoin Is Nearly Incomprehensible At This Point Apple Kicks Off 2017 With News Of 'Blowout' App Store Sales © 2017 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. View comments \|\| Why hyperinflation is coming: By Yves Lamoureux, president and chief behavioral strategist of macroeconomic research firm Lamoureux & Co. The stage is being set for a central bank-fueled hyperinflation to take place in several years. Our position has remained the since calling the next turn of hyperinflation in 2012. Here is our epic piece on Zero Hedge . And while we are at it, we fully matched it with our bond call , which is the first pre-requisite. Yes, we are currently in deflation. I could not agree more, but this time it is different, as assets will fork at a juncture and move beyond the expected behavior—the results of a failed monetary transmission mechanism. Recall the London whale. What have we learned from it? That unless you bought the whole market, the remaining 5% not owned could derail prices—a situation where the tail wags the dog. The point is that unless central banks buy 100% of the government debts, they will still lose control of the fight. What fight? The mismatch of debts to savings globally. Gold must first go through a few related hoops and revert to a positive correlation with the US dollar. Meanwhile, cryptocurrencies may be one of the newest benefactors of the hyperinflationary wave. Bitcoin had a great run since we started our analysis at $300 (not unlike our analysis of gold, which coincidentally began when it was at $300). And we expect this march to last well beyond the next two decades—finally ending in a massive bond crash and the subsequent flare-up of gold (as physical gold is default-free). S&P 500 PE Ratio Source: Robert Shiller Once the current correction passes, outflows of bonds will precipitate a sharp move up in stocks over the coming decade. And in a hyperinflationary environment, central banks will also be buying stocks. This will cause the supply of stocks to drop and P/E ratios to remain in a new elevated range of 25 to 50. Prior articles: Why the crisis of 2019 begins now How to prepare for the next major selloff in stocks: trader Story continues By Yves Lamoureux, January 16, 2017 ©Copyright, Lamoureux & Co. This communication is for information purposes only and should not be regarded as an offer to sell or as a solicitation of an offer to buy any financial product or service.This publication is proprietary and is intended for the use of the subscriber only. All information provided is impersonal and not tailored to the needs of any person, entity or group or persons. Lamoureux & Co. shall not be liable for any claims. \|\| China's media is about to go to 'war' Russia style: (Reuters) China is consolidating its overseas news network, CCTV, and giving it a makeover,according to the Associated Press.The network will be called CGTN. At the same time, Xinhua, China's official state news network, will consolidate a bunch of outlets under a new umbrella to focus itsfinancial-reportingefforts. China Securities Journal, Shanghai Securities News, Economic Information Daily and Xinhua Publishing House will all now be housed underChina Fortune Media Corporation Group. Xinhua says this is an effort to deepen "the central authority's reforms of the cultural system" and "increasing mainstream media's influence in the area of financial information." This move shows China following the example of Russia's state-backed international network, RT. China wants more control over its story — specifically the story of its economy — being told around the world, in similar fashion to how RT acts to spread Russia's viewpoint across the globe. Chinese media has always been tightly controlled by the state, but under Xi Jinping that has taken on a whole new meaning. Around this last time last year, Xiwas visiting newsroomsensuring that journalists and executives had sworn their loyalty to the Chinese Communist Party. "All news media run by the Party must work to speak for the Party's will and its propositions and protect the Party's authority and unity," Xi was quoted as saying. Xi has called for this ideological uniformity when it comes to all kinds of thought from education at all levels to Chinese think tanks. CCTV has been around since 1958 and has been available globally and available in English, Arabic, French, Spanish, and Russian for years, and it has a bureau in DC. In 2011, I toured their DC facilities as part of a Columbia Journalism project researching global media networks — Iran's Press TV, France's France 24, Qatar's Al Jazeera, Russia's Russia Today (RT), and China's CCTV. The Columbia group found CCTV's content mostly boring but inoffensive: Officials doing ribbon-cutting ceremonies at new infrastructure projects and Chinese cultural content. Of course until 2008 RT operated in much the same way. It was meant to be a friendly introduction to Russia. After President George W. Bush became vocal about his opposition to Russia's incursion into neighboring former Soviet state Georgia, however, things changed. RT's directive then morphed into challenging the US as a superpower and questioning the legitimacy of its government. In an interview withGermany's Der Spiegel in 2013,RT'sEditor-in-chief, Margarita Simonyan, said that during the Georgia conflict Western media "acted as if they were Georgia's ministry of defense." A year later she referred to what her network does as fighting in"a media war." With China's focus on the financial world, it appears its aims will not be exactly like Russia's: China could be seeking to spread its economic message, while RT tends more toward the geopolitical. The Chinese economy is under strain thanks to years of exploding debt (now approaching 280% of GDP) and currency leaving the country at an eye-popping rate ($82 billion in December). This move will shore up China's economic messaging not just at home but also abroad. NOW WATCH:Here's the massive gap in average income between the top 1% and the bottom 99% in every state More From Business Insider • Bitcoin plunged again • Lincoln is outperforming the luxury auto market • Bitcoin is still dropping \|\| 6 ETF Trends Likely to Take Centre Stage in 2017: Donald Trump’s win as the U.S. President and the most sought-after OPEC output deal has actually set the tone of 2017 investing. Many are bullish on the prospect of oil price this year though rising U.S. supplies can anytime thwart the winning momentum in the oil patch. However, Trump-backed hopes are still in fine fettle. Added to these, there are plenty of other events – across asset class and regions – that could prove to be game-changers this year. In view of this, we intend to highlight a few ETF trends that are likely to be prevalent in 2017: Stocks to Be Bullish Overall The year can be attributed to stocks. The first and foremost reason for it is an end to earnings recession. Earnings growth entered into the positive territory in Q3 of 2016 following five consecutive quarters of decline. For the upcoming Q4 earnings season, the S&P 500 is expected to score 3.3% earnings growth on 4.1% revenue growth. Earnings for Q1 of 2017 are expected to surge 10.3% for the S&P 500 on 7.5% higher revenues, as per the Earnings Trends issued on January 4, 2017. The earnings growth trend is expected to stay firm even for Q2, Q3 and Q4 of this year with an expectation of 9.8%, 8.2% and 12.5% on revenue growth of 5.7%, 5.5% and 4.8% (read: Ten Predictions for the ETF Industry in 2017). Along with earnings recovery, stabilization in the oil patch after a prolonged rout and a Trump-induced fiscal boost along with lower taxes should augur well for stocks this year. Still, withmarkets appearing overvalued by some measure and the President-elect Trump yet to roll out promised measures, cautious investors with a long-term notion can opt for value ETFs over growth. Investors should also note that a stronger U.S. dollar is likely to take some shine off the S&P 500 index as the components are heavily exposed to foreign currencies. Investors should note that SPDR S&P 500 Value ETF SPYV has a positive weighted alpha of 23.00 while SPDR S&P 500 Growth ETF SPYG has it at positive 13.90. This indicates a higher growth potential in SPYV. Story continues Currency-Hedged Foreign ETFs to Rule The U.S. dollar is presently at a multi-year high on bets over faster Fed policy tightening and an improving U.S. economy. On the other hand, foreign economies are also gaining momentum. Business and consumer sentiments in the European Union are at about six-year highs. Business conditions in the Japanese economy are also improving. An upside is more likely for European and Japanese stocks given the ultra-easy monetary policy over there, which will keep their currencies low against a soaring greenback and boost those economies. As a result, currency-hedged ETFs like WisdomTree Japan Hedged SmallCap Equity ETF DXJS, WisdomTree Japan Hedged Quality Dividend Growth ETF JHDG and O'Shares FTSE Europe Quality Dividend Hedged ETF OEUH will likely rule the year ahead. More Factor-Based ETFs to Come On Line Factor-based products have been quite a trend in 2016 as the fashion for plain vanilla ETFs is gone. Issuers are coming up with a more striking investment objective which can create a winning combination in the present investing environment. All in all, smart beta and multifactor ETFs will likely carry forward the legacy of the ETF world. An example of recently launched factor-based ETFs is ALPS Dorsey Wright Sector Momentum ETF SWIN (read: 6 ETF Ideas Most Favored by Issuers in 2016). More Players to Enter ETF Industry Be it big banking giants or hedge fund managers, players are increasingly entering the ETF industry. We have already have seen J.P. Morgan and Goldman venturing into the ETF world and now Wells Fargo is also eyeing the space with its first-ever multi-factor ETF. Saba Capital Management, a New York-based hedge fund manager, is also planning to foray into the ETF space with an ETF related to closed-end funds. Expense Ratio Cut With rising competition among issuers for market share, expense ratios are increasingly being slashed. So long, Charles Schwab and Vanguard ruled the world of low-cost ETFs. But last year, BlackRock and Fidelity enacted steep fee cuts for several of their products. A new set of rules under the Department of Labor’s “fiduciary standard,” which asked advisors to give precedence to their client’s interest over their own also played a role in this burgeoning trend. For example, BlackRock lowered fees for its S&P 500 tracking ETF, iShares Core S&P 500 IVV, from 0.07% to 0.04%. The fee cut made IVV less expensive than other popular ETFs in its domain. Even a relatively new-comer like Hartford Funds, which launched Lattice Strategies and its ETF operations earlier in 2016, announced that it will lower the expense ratio on four of its smart-beta funds effective January 1 (read: Buy These ETFs as BlackRock Cuts Fees). Bitcoin ETF to Hit the Market? Even if we are yet to have a bitcoin ETF, one is expected to hit the market in 2017. Winklevoss Bitcoin Trust has filed for one to make it easy for investors to bet on this soaring digital currency. As per CNBC, “bitcoin is a very volatile asset” but doesn’t have a strong correlation with other classes. Bitcoin’s value beat the $900 mark in late December for the first time since February 2014 (Also read: Explaining Bitcoin and Crypto Currency). India's demonetization also gave a boost to bitcoin trading volumes. Moreover, trading volumes in China have been solid with the government taking proactive measures against illegal money transfer. With this, investors expect to see an approval of the first bitcoin ETF in 2017. Want key ETF info delivered straight to your inbox? Zacks’ free Fund Newsletter will brief you on top news and analysis, as well as top-performing ETFs, each week. Get it free >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report SPDR-SP5 VL (SPYV): ETF Research Reports ISHARS-SP500 (IVV): ETF Research Reports WISDMTR-JP HSCF (DXJS): ETF Research Reports OS-FT EUR QDH (OEUH): ETF Research Reports WISTR-JP HQD (JHDG): ETF Research Reports SPDR-SP5 GR (SPYG): ETF Research Reports To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report \|\| Major banks develop small business blockchain solution: Why EMEA Banks are exploring Blockchain (BI Intelligence) This story was delivered to BI Intelligence " Fintech Briefing " subscribers. To learn more and subscribe, please click here . In further evidence of firms' growing focus on blockchain-based solutions that target particular pain points in the financial services industry, seven large European banks have signed a memorandum of understanding regarding a blockchain-based, cross-border trade finance platform for small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), according to Finextra. Deutsche Bank, HSBC, KBC, Natixis, Rabobank, Societe Generale, and UniCredit intend to work together on the platform, dubbed Digital Trade Chain (DTC), and plan to launch it in seven European markets: Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and the UK. DTC aims to simplify trade finance for small enterprises. The platform will be based on a blockchain solution originally commissioned by Belgium-based KBC and built by Belgian IT firm Cegeka, which has already been tested to proof of concept (POC) stage. The banks point out that while many larger businesses use letters of credit to speed up and reduce the risks around the trade finance process, this solution is often not appropriate for or not available to smaller businesses. The new platform will function as an alternative to letters of credit for SMBs. It will work by connecting the parties involved — typically, the buyer, buyer's bank, seller, seller's bank, and transporters — on a single blockchain platform, accessible both online and via mobile. They claim that using blockchain technology makes it easier to register payments, track shipments, and improve accountability. Moreover, the banks say, keeping all records attached to a transaction on the shared blockchain will reduce time spent on paperwork and administrative tasks, thus speeding up the order-to-settlement process. That KBC's competitors have agreed to collaborate on a solution it originated is promising. That KBC's rival retail banks have agreed to further develop DTC suggests not only that the POC is promising enough to convince leading financial institutions to invest in it, but also that interbank rivalry may be less of an obstacle to developing user networks than previously thought. For a blockchain solution to be viable, it has to be widely adopted by many players in the sector. Initially it was thought by many that for this to happen, the solution would have to be built from scratch by a large group of FSIs. However, this latest group effort indicates that major firms are not fundamentally opposed to working on a solution initially developed by a rival institution. Story continues Blockchain technology, which is best known for powering Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, is gaining steam among finance firms because of its potential to streamline processes and increase efficiency. The technology could cut costs by up to $20 billion annually by 2022, according to Santander . That's because blockchain, which operates as a distributed ledger, has the ability to allow multiple parties to transfer and store sensitive information in a space that’s secure, permanent, anonymous, and easily accessible. That could simplify paper-heavy, expensive, or logistically complicated financial systems, like remittances and cross-border transfer, shareholder management and ownership exchange, and securities trading, to name a few. And outside of finance, governments and the music industry are investigating the technology’s potential to simplify record-keeping. As a result, venture capital firms and financial institutions alike are pouring investment into finding, developing, and testing blockchain use cases. Over 50 major financial institutions are involved with collaborative blockchain startups, have begun researching the technology in-house, or have helped fund startups with products rooted in blockchain. Jaime Toplin, research associate for BI Intelligence , Business Insider's premium research service, has compiled a detailed report on blockchain technology that explains how blockchain works, why it has the potential to provide a watershed moment for the financial industry, and the different ways it could be put into practice in the coming years. Here are some key takeaways from the report: Spending on capital markets applications of blockchain is expected to grow at a 52% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) through 2019, according to Aite Group, to reach $400 million that year. Banks and major financial institutions are working both collaboratively and independently to develop blockchain tech. Over 50 major financial institutions are involved with collaborative blockchain startups, like R3 CEV or Chain. And many are investing in the technology on their own as well. Putting blockchain to use for real-world transactions is likely not that far off. If working groups' tests are successful, firms could be using it to transact real value as early as the end of this year and we could see widespread industry application within the next few years. In full, the report: Examines the funding increases that are pouring into blockchain Assesses why blockchain is becoming so popular and what factors are driving up increased research and development Explains in full how blockchain technology work and what assets make it valuable and vulnerable Identifies pain points in the financial industry and profiles how various firms are using blockchain to solve them Demonstrates the challenges to mainstream adoption and their potential solutions To get your copy of this invaluable guide, choose one of these options: Subscribe to an ALL-ACCESS Membership with BI Intelligence and gain immediate access to this report AND over 100 other expertly researched deep-dive reports, subscriptions to all of our daily newsletters, and much more. >> START A MEMBERSHIP Purchase the report and download it immediately from our research store. >> BUY THE REPORT The choice is yours. But however you decide to acquire this report, you’ve given yourself a powerful advantage in your understanding of blockchain technology. More From Business Insider Canadian Mint joins gold-trading blockchain network Blockchain platform race heats up Blockchain and IoT devices could revolutionize the supply chain \|\| 10 things you need to know before the opening bell: (A surfing instructor dressed as Santa Claus gives a lesson to orphans on Kuta Beach, Bali, Indonesia.Reuters/Antara Foto Agency) Here is what you need to know. Italy has reached a deal to save its banks.The Italian government has agreed to a20 billion-euro ($20.9 billion) fund to aid its struggling banking system, Reuters reports. Monte Paschi, the world's oldest bank, requested a bailout just moments after a deal was completed. Bitcoin is zooming higher.The cryptocurrency is up 5.1%, or $44, to $905.50, bringing its year-t0-date gain to 117%. Bitcoin trades at its best level in three years. "Fallen angel" debt had its best year since 2003.Bonds issued by companies that were unexpectedly downgraded by credit rating agencies have generated a 37% total return in 2016, more than double the total return for the broader high yield market, according to Goldman Sachs. Putin says the Russian economy is on the mend.Speaking at an annual year-end news conference, Russian President Vladimir Putin said the economy is slowly healing as the capital flight fades and wages pick up, Reuters, reports. Deutsche Bank and Credit Suisse have reached settlements with the US.The two banks have agreed to settlements related to mortgage-backed securities totaling more than $12 billion, Reuters says. The US is suing Barclays over mortgage-backed securities.The Department of Justice is suing the bank and two former executives, saying more than half of the $31 billion worth of packaged mortgage loans defaulted during the financial crisis, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters. Twitter has had a rough week.The stock has tumbled 12% over the past week after a slew of top executive departures. Stock markets around the world are lower.China's Shanghai Composite (-0.9%) trailed in Asia and Spain's IBEX (-0.4%) lags in Europe. The S&P 500 is set to open up 0.2% near 2,262. US economic data flows.New home sales and University of Michigan consumer confidence will be released at 10 a.m. ET and the Baker Hughes rig count will cross the wires at 1 p.m. ET. The US 10-year yield is down 1 basis point at 2.54%. US markets are closed on Monday.US stock markets are open a full day on Friday, but the US Treasury market will see an early 2 p.m. ET close. More From Business Insider • Apple's newest MacBook Pro is the first MacBook not recommended by Consumer Reports • A deep-sea fisherman in Russia has been posting his nightmarish finds on Twitter • Here's a super-quick guide to what traders are talking about right now \|\| Expect more blockchain hype in 2017: The price of the digital currency bitcoin rose more than 100% this year. At the outset of 2016, the controversial coin was trading around $430. This week, it cleared $900, its best level since 2013. As Bloomberg points out, it “crushed every other currency.” But the talk this year was all about blockchain. Blockchain, the open, tamper-proof, peer-to-peer ledger technology that underlies bitcoin, hascaptured the excitement of banks and financial institutionswho want to apply the technology to a wide range of processes—without bitcoin. (What exactly is blockchain?Watch this video.) This year, IBM announced the creation of a new unit called Watson Financial Services to encompass Watson, cloud, and all blockchain-related offerings and strategy. The computing giant created new jobs specifically devoted to blockchain, with the aim of harnessing blockchain technology for client services. Big banks and payment processors, too,staffed up for blockchain. On job networks like Monster.com, Yahoo Finance found more than 100 posts at companies like American Express, Bank of America, BNY Mellon, Capital One, Citigroup, Fidelity, and JPMorgan. Walmart partnered with IBM on a pilot program totrack the pork supply chain in Chinausing an IBM blockchain built through theHyperledger Project, an open-source group created by the Linux Foundation. IBM was a Hyperledger Project founding member, along with Accenture, Intel, JPMorgan, Wells Fargo and others. Jerry Cuomo, IBM’s VP of blockchain technologies,told Yahoo Financethat 2016 began with “blockchain tourism,” companies expressing public interest in experimenting with blockchain, but not necessarily doing anything real. Ramesh Gopinath, IBM’s VP of blockchain solutions, now says “there has clearly been a transition from experiments to real deployments.” To be sure, the examples of real deployments are still lacking. The average consumer doesn’t know or care about blockchain, and skeptics dismissall the “blockchain-without-bitcoin” talk as just talk. On the bitcoin blockchain, “miners” upload transactions in bundles called “blocks” and are rewarded in bitcoin as an incentive for mining; the transaction records are permanent and immutable. Bitcoin entrepreneurs insist that the entire point of a blockchain is negated if banks try to apply the same technology in a closed, permissioned context, without a digital currency. Some say banks will eventually come around to the uses of bitcoin itself.Balaji Srinavasan, CEO of 21.co, compares it to old narratives around online dating. “It was like, it’s for nerds, it’s for nerds, it’s for nerds,” he says, “and then suddenly, oh, here’s Tinder, and now it’s totally flipped and normal and you’d be crazy not to date that way.” Even if major mainstream applications of blockchain haven’t come along yet, big companies have at least made real investment, demonstrating a faith that all of this will go somewhere. Companies like Chain now offer “blockchain as a service” (BaaS), building specialized blockchains for these high-profile clients. Oliver Bussman, former CIO at UBS,writes on his advisory firm’s blogthat 2017 “will be the ‘year of the pilot’ for blockchain in financial services, as it moves from a proof-of-concept technology into production, especially in the cross-border payment and trade finance areas,” but adds that broad adoption of blockchain technology will still “happen more quickly outside of financial services—in areas like supply chain management, in e-government, or health care.” Meanwhile, the membership list continued to grow for R3 CEV, a consortium for banks and financial companies interested in deploying blockchain technology to improve their operations. R3 expects to close a new funding round of $150 million in the first quarter of 2017. Blockchain hype continued to grow in 2016, and in 2017 it will only get louder. The headlines weren’t as kind to bitcoin. In August,hackers stole $54 million worth of bitcoins from Hong Kong bitcoin exchange Bitfinex, the largest bitcoin exchange in the world by US dollar volume. It was the largest bitcoin hack since the infamous hack of Mt. Gox in 2013. In December, the peer-to-peer payment app Circle, which had also offered the ability to buy and sell bitcoin and was one of the earliest prominent bitcoin startups, announced it would no longer allow bitcoin buying on its app. The company said it would still use bitcoin as a settlement token on the back end, and it had already been pivoting away from being bitcoin-only when itadded the ability to deposit money via Visa, MasterCard or debit card, but the damage was done: news headlines touted that a prominent bitcoin company “gives up on” bitcoin (Fortune), “pulls the plug on” bitcoin (Wall Street Journal) or “says bye-bye” to bitcoin (pymnts.com). Circle isn’t the first prominent bitcoin startup to move away from bitcoin publicly. Bitreserve, a cloud bank led by former Nike CIO Anthony Watson,changed its name last year to Uphold, dropping the “bit” found in so many bitcoin company names. And there’s more: theIRS subpoenaed the bitcoin company Coinbase, one of the most well-funded bitcoin startups and provider of the most popular US bitcoin wallet, for personal information of its users from the past three years. But blockchain, too, had low points in 2016. This month, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, and Santander alldropped out of R3. This comes despite JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon saying in January of this year that bitcoin was “doomed,” but “the blockchain is a technology, which we’ve been studying… and yes, it’s real. If it proves to be cheap and secure it will be adopted for a whole bunch of stuff.” Don and Alex Tapscott,authors of the book “Blockchain Revolution,” summarize the banks-and-blockchain hype in 2016 this wayin an op-ed at Coindesk: “2016 was the year that many bank CEOs woke up to both the threat and the opportunity of the blockchain. At a meeting of 50 CEOs of the 50 largest banks back in January, most were skeptical. Now most are investigating how this technology might transform their companies and industry services.” Expect the “blockchain, not bitcoin” narrative to continue among Wall Street circles in 2017, despite the eye-rolls it garners from bitcoin faithful. But the appeal of bitcoin, as an investment, shouldn’t be underestimated. Bitcoin, like gold, isseen as a safe haven asset, uncorrelated to the mainstream markets. So when there’s uncertainty in the economy, many investors turn to bitcoin, and when there are tightened capital controls in countries like China, many investors turn to bitcoin. With the start of a new US presidential administration,there will be some uncertainty, and that might push bitcoin even higher. — Daniel Roberts is a writer at Yahoo Finance, covering technology and sports business. Follow him on Twitter at@readDanwrite. Read more: Bitcoin price soars, but it isn’t just about Trump and Clinton Here’s where big banks stand on blockchain Why 21.co is the most exciting bitcoin company right now Coinbase is more bullish on bitcoin than ever \|\| Here's how Walmart and Green Dot could incentivize prepaid use: (BI Intelligence) This story was delivered to BI Intelligence "Payments Briefing" subscribers. To learn more and subscribe, pleaseclick here. New gamification features are coming to Walmart MoneyCard, the retailer's prepaid card issued by Green Dot. The program, called Prize Savings, is an effort to encourage holders to keep more money in savings. The firms believe there’s a “savings crisis” in the US, which reportedly prompted the launch of the program, but it could also indirectly increase engagement with Walmart MoneyCard, which ultimately helps both the retailer and the issuer. The program uses cash prizes to incentivize savings. The program enters MoneyCard customers into a monthly sweepstakes for saving funds. Users can use the MoneyCard app or website to transfer money from their card balance into the MoneyCard Vault, a free savings feature. For every dollar they enter into their Vault, they receive one entry in a sweepstakes, which draws 500 winners for cash prizes per month. Indirectly, the program incentivizes users to engage more with their prepaid card, which could indirectly encourage usage. • The program pushes users to engage with their MoneyCards more often. Thus far, the program is working. Prize Savings soft-launched in August, and since then has seen a 35% increase in the average Vault savings balance. To transfer, customers are forced to log into their MoneyCard online — something they might not do otherwise — which could help them discover other available features, like reload or transfer options — that they might use down the line. In addition, the cash prizes are distributed directly into users' MoneyCard accounts, which means customers are forced to engage with and use their cards in order to redeem their winnings. • This could help users better form habits around the card, which could increase usage of the MoneyCard product. Customers are beginning to use their prepaid card accounts much more like traditional bank accounts than ever before, a move that Prize Savings encourages. That could ultimately improve engagement with MoneyCard, which might ultimately benefit both Walmart and Green Dot in the form of fees. In addition, Green Dot has been looking for ways to improve digital engagement with its offerings, and it’s plausible it could apply a similar model if Prize Savings continues to be effective. Prepaid cards such as this are just one piece of the much larger payments ecosystem, which has grown more complex in the last several years and now includes issuers, merchants, processors, and more. John Heggestuen, senior research analyst atBI Intelligence, Business Insider’s premium research service, has compileda detailed report on the payments ecosystemthat drills into the industry to explain how a broad range of transactions are processed, including prepaid and store cards, as well as revealing which types of companies are in the best and worst position to capitalize on the latest industry trends. Here are some key takeaways from the report: • 2016 will be a watershed year for the payments industry. Payments companies are improving security, expanding their mobile offerings, and building commerce capabilities that will give consumers a more compelling reason to make purchases using digital devices. • Payments is an extremely complex industry. To understand the next big digital opportunity lies, it's critical to understand how the traditional credit- and debit-processing chain works and what roles acquirers, processors, issuing banks, card networks, independent sales organizations, gateways, and software and hardware providers play. • Alternative technologies could disrupt the processing ecosystem. Devices ranging from refrigerators to smartwatches now feature payment capabilities, which will spur changes in consumer payment behaviors. Likewise, blockchain technology, the protocol that underlies Bitcoin, could one day change how consumer card payments are verified. In full, the report: • Uncovers the key themes and trends affecting the payments industry in 2016 and beyond. • Gives a detailed description of the stakeholders involved in a payment transaction, along with hardware and software providers. • Offers diagrams and infographics explaining how card transactions are processed and which players are involved in each step. • Provides charts on our latest forecasts, key company growth, survey results, and more. • Analyzes the alternative technologies, including blockchain, which could further disrupt the ecosystem. To get your copy of this invaluable guide, choose one of these options: 1. Subscribe to an ALL-ACCESS Membership with BI Intelligence and gain immediate access to this report AND over 100 other expertly researched deep-dive reports, subscriptions to all of our daily newsletters, and much more. >>START A MEMBERSHIP 2. Purchase the report and download it immediately from our research store. >>BUY THE REPORT The choice is yours. But however you decide to acquire this report, you’ve given yourself a powerful advantage in your understanding of the payments ecosystem. More From Business Insider • THE MOBILE PAYMENTS REPORT: Market forecasts, consumer trends, and the barriers and benefits that will influence adoption • You won’t recognize the new world of digital payments without this report • THE MOBILE PAYMENTS IN CHINA REPORT: What the US can learn from China's enormous success in mobile payments \|\| Big China bitcoin exchange says no government pressure on outflows: By John Ruwitch SHANGHAI (Reuters) - The head of a major bitcoin exchange in China says few people there use the cryptocurrency to get around rules on how much money they can take out of the country, and despite a publicized meeting with the central bank last week the exchange, BTCC, hasn't been told explicitly to check capital outflows. Bitcoin's price took a steep dive on Friday after China's central bank cautioned investors to take a rational and careful approach to investing in the digital currency. The price had surged to record highs. The central bank's comments come as Beijing escalates a campaign to check capital outflows and slow the depreciation of the yuan currency (CNY=CFXS), which lost nearly 7 percent of its value against the U.S. dollar last year. With bitcoin's soaring price and the relative anonymity it affords, some believe the digital currency was becoming an attractive option for tech-savvy Chinese to hedge against the yuan and circumvent rules that limit individuals to $50,000 of foreign exchange each year. The Shanghai office of the People's Bank of China (PBOC) said on Friday it had met with BTCC to understand the platform's operations, highlight the risks, remind the exchange to abide by the law, and "urge the platform to carry out self-examination and corresponding clean-up and rectification" according to law. Asked if BTCC had received direct pressure on outflows, CEO Bobby Lee, who founded BTCC in 2011, said: "No. Not as of yet... Nothing verbal or written to us." In Beijing, the PBOC told two of China's other big bitcoin exchanges, Huobi and OKCoin, not to mention the depreciating yuan when advertising their platforms, the influential news outlet Caixin said, citing people familiar with the meeting. Star Xu, CEO and founder of OKCoin, confirmed there had been a meeting of the PBOC and leading bitcoin exchanges on Friday to discuss the operation of trading platforms. "The industry can benefit from balanced, risk-based regulation and/or oversight, and we look forward to further constructive discussions with the regulators and industry participants," Xu told Reuters in an emailed comment. Huobi's chief operating officer Zhu Jiawei said in an emailed response to Reuters queries that Huobi plans to work with other bitcoin firms to establish an alliance and rules to self-govern the industry. While it's possible to buy bitcoin with yuan and then sell it abroad for a foreign currency, BTCC's Lee said "to be honest, not many" people were doing it because of the cost. The renminbi price of bitcoin carries a premium to the price in other currencies, he noted. In addition, buy or sell orders in the 100,000 yuan ($14,423) to 1 million yuan ($144,233) range, and up, would influence the bitcoin spot price and affect the transaction. "For that range, you're not going to be able to do it at a good rate. You're going to lose 10 percent of your money," Lee said. "Maybe the individual household might buy 20,000 more dollars worth of bitcoin than their $50,000 (forex) quota, but that's a drop in the bucket." Still, Lee said various indicators, like active trading accounts, new users, actual deposits and withdrawals, were "very active" in China, and some key BTCC metrics were at "all-time highs", though he declined to be more specific. NOT LEGAL TENDER Bitcoin is not regulated in China, but the PBOC has declared it is not legal tender, and is instead a "virtual good", Lee said. That puts it in the same category as other goods. "If I pack a suitcase and take a plane to the United States, do the clothes, does the computer in my suitcase, does the watch I wear count towards capital flight?" he said. "Where do you draw the line?" He said no new or planned rules regarding bitcoin were discussed in the latest meeting with the PBOC, and he estimates it will be two to three years before China regulates bitcoin. In a statement on its website, BTCC, which calls itself the world's longest running bitcoin exchange, said it regularly meets with the PBOC and "work(s) closely with them to ensure that we are operating in accordance with the laws and regulations of China." Exchanges in China say they account for more than 90 percent of global bitcoin trading, which would help explain why a shift in Chinese demand would sharply affect the price. But many bitcoin experts say Chinese exchanges overstate their volumes in the digital currency, and attribute sharp moves to speculation by, for example, U.S.-based hedge funds. (Reporting by John Ruwitch; Editing by Ian Geoghegan) [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] MMMBTC \|\| Earn bitcoins for clicking ads http://btcclicks.com/?r=572c17df #bitcoin via @BTCClicks \|\| MMMBTC \|\| One Bitcoin now worth $830.89@bitstamp. High $835.00. Low $813.00. Market Cap $13.381 Billion #bitcoin pic.twitter.com/2dABKjvWAG \|\| MMMBTC \|\| MMMBTC \|\| MMMBTC \|\| Excellent... #CircleOfREKT remains valid(!) #Bitcoin #Blockchain #FinTech $BTC $BTCCNY @YourBTCC.pic.twitter.com/LS9PZEv08O \|\| Grow Your Bitcoin Automatic with bitcoin trade investment, bitcoins single mother. http://ow.ly/i7Vl3090QAp \|\| #GeoCoin #GEO $0.043403 (-35.43%) 0.00005474 BTC (-35.58%)	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 1046.21, 1054.42, 1047.87, 1079.98, 1115.30, 1117.44, 1166.72, 1173.68, 1143.84, 1165.20
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2016-03-01] BTC Price: 435.12, BTC RSI: 62.42 Gold Price: 1230.30, Gold RSI: 62.94 Oil Price: 34.40, Oil RSI: 59.98 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Digatrade Executes Joint-Venture with BitCarats: Exclusive Digital Asset Development & Exchange Listing Agreement VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / February 10, 2016 /BITX FINANCIAL CORP (BITXF) and its 100% owned and operated digital asset-currency exchange DIGATRADE(TM) (digatrade.com) today announced the execution of an exclusive asset-backed digital currency development and platform exchange listing agreement with BitCarats Capital Inc. Under terms of the agreement Digatrade, along with BitCarats Capital, will develop Caratscoin, the world's first diamond-backed digital-asset powered by blockchain. “Caratscoin will be the first asset-backed digital currency listed on the trading platform, an innovation that will include additional asset-backed crypto-currencies in the future," stated Brad Moynes, CEO of Digatrade. In collaboration with BitCarats Capital and financial technology partners (ANX Technologies), Caratscoin will be powered by secure blockchain technology - the world's first paired with Bitcoin as well as direct purchase via Digatrade multi-fiat currency order-book including US dollars and Euros via Visa & MasterCard, along with eCheck and Interac within Canada. A fully integrated, custom multi-signature Caratscoin digital wallet will be developed as a comprehensive solution, not only creating the Caratscoin, but adding value through features such as industry leading security architecture and encryption algorithms. Caratscoin owners issue the coin only if all authorized parties are present, the first to use this unique service which is unprecedented in the market. This system is most secure, as no one person has the only authority to issue the coin, considering the Caratscoin is designed to significantly increase in value in direct correlation to the appreciation in value of physical diamonds held in the company vault. BitCarats Capital CEO & Founder Colin Ferguson stated, "Carats Diamond Investment, which will provide the distinctive collection of diamonds to back BitCarats, has more than 30 years' experience in the diamond business and is the nation's first direct distributor from the world famous Argyle Diamond Mine in Western Australia. We house the country's leading collection of Natural Fancy Coloured diamonds, featuring trending colours such as red, vivid blues and champagnes." Ferguson continued, "Caratscoin will not only provide a new virtual asset-class and store of value, but also offer our investors instant payment, prepaid debit cards and the ability to transfer an asset between end users instantly, at a low cost and on a decentralized network."Caratscoin will be backed by a pool of certified, Natural Fancy Coloured diamonds, primarily featuring red, vivid blue, and champagne colours. Each diamond is certified by the Geological Institute of America, the world's leading diamond educational resource, and home to the most advanced laboratories. The diamonds are insured by Lloyd's of London and stored at a private vault at The World Trade Center, 999 Canada Place, one of the most secure buildings in Vancouver, Canada. Founded and led by BitCarats CEO Colin Ferguson, Carats Diamond Investment (carats.com) is committed to exceptional diamond education, quality and customer service, and was recently recognized by the Better Business Bureau (BBB) when Carats was awarded with their highest rating of A+ since joining the BBB 16 years ago. More information regarding this exciting new venture will be made available as it materializes. ABOUT DIGATRADE: DIGATRADE is a global digital asset-currency exchange located in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The Company is owned and operated 100% by Bit-X Financial Corp which is publically listed on the OTC.QB under the trading symbol BITXF. BITXF is a reporting issuer in the Province of British Columbia, Canada with the British Columbia Securities Commission "BCSC" and in the United States with the Securities Exchange Commission "SEC". Digatrade has now become a global platform offering its customers instant card-based transactions worldwide. CORPORATE CONTACT INFORMATION: Brad Moynes, CEOBit-X Financial CorpDigaTrade.com838 West Hastings Street, Suite 300Vancouver, BC V6C-0A6CanadaTel: +1(604) 200-0071Fax: +1(604) 200-0072www.digatrade.com Media inquiries:[email protected] Forward-Looking Information This press release contains certain "forward-looking information". All statements, other than statements of historical fact, that address activities, events or development that the Company believes, expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future constitute forward-looking information. This forward-looking information reflects the current expectations or beliefs of the company based on information currently available to the Company. Forward-looking information is subject to a number of significant risks and uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results of the Company to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking information, and even if such actual results are realized or substantially realized, there can be no assurance that they will have the expected consequences to, or effects on the Company. Factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations include, but are not limited to, the possibility of unanticipated costs and expenses. Any forward-looking information speaks only as of the date on which it is made and, except as may be required by applicable securities laws, the company disclaims any intent or obligation to update any forward-looking information whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise. Although the Company believes that the assumptions inherent in the forward-looking information are reasonable, forward-looking information is not a guarantee of future performance and accordingly undue reliance should not be put on such information due to the inherent uncertainty therein. SOURCE:Bit-X Financial Corp \|\| Australia's ASX invests in blockchain to simplify markets: SYDNEY (Reuters) - Markets operator ASX Ltd on Friday said it has made a minority investment in U.S.-based Digital Asset Holdings to develop distributed ledger technology, or blockchain, to potentially simplify Australias post-trade equity market. Blockchain technology, pioneered by Bitcoin, maintains a continuously growing list of transaction data which cannot be tampered with or revised. ASX paid A$14.9 million ($10.43 million) for a 5.0 percent equity interest in Digital Asset along with funding an initial phase of development and acquiring a warrant that will give it the right to purchase further equity and appoint a director to the board. ASX will work with Digital Asset to design a new post-trade solution for the Australian equity market, it said in a statement on Friday. Over the past year, interest in blockchain technology has grown rapidly. It has already attracted significant investment from many major banks, which reckon it could save them money by making their operations faster, more efficient and more transparent. (Reporting by Swati Pandey) \|\| CoinDesk's 2016 Report Suggests Bitcoin Isn't Dead Yet: While much of the press about bitcoin has been relatively negative over the past year,CoinDesk's "State of Bitcoin and Blockchain 2016" report shows that the cryptocurrency may not be as beaten down as many believed. The report, published on January 28, showed that despite a negative image in the media, bitcoin was gaining new users and the technology has a lot of potential in the coming year. New Users While the majority of the public remains cautious about using bitcoin, the cryptocurrency has seen a marked increase in users. The number of bitcoin wallets created over the past year has doubled, and daily bitcoin transactions have risen by 50 percent. The figures don't suggest that the cryptocurrency is going to reach widespread adoption imminently, but they are a promising sign that the currency is making slow and steady progress. Related Link:New Study Shows Bitcoin Has A Long Way To Go Mining Pools Consolidate CoinDesk's report also showed that bitcoin miners had begun to consolidate, leaving only a few pools to do the majority of the processing to uncover new bitcoins. This development has been troublesome to some bitcoin supporters who say that the cryptocurrency's decentralized nature is threatened by consolidation in the mining industry as it puts the power into large firms' hands. Blockchain Troubles Ahead As bitcoin is growing in popularity, there has been a debate among supporters as to how to move forward with the growing number of transactions. Blockchain can only process between three and seven transactions per second, something that will need to change if the currency is ever to reach widespread adoption. However, the bitcoin community has struggled with how to solve this problem with some calling for increased block sizes and others saying it would be better to optimize the coin itself. In any case, many expect 2016 to be a big year in which the two sides come to a final recommendation that the entire industry can abide by. Image Credit:Public Domain See more from Benzinga • Will A More PC Barbie Revive The Brand? • Traditional Retailers Set Their Sights On Amazon • Will Facebook's Live-Streaming Efforts Trump Twitter's Periscope? © 2016 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| Interest In Bitcoin Mining Returns: While markets around the world suffered significant turbulence this week, bitcoinclimbed6 percent. The cryptocurrency is well known for its wild swings in valuation, but many say the digital currency is back on a more stable path and could prove a worthwhile investment in the New Year. In 2015, bitcoin fell as low, as $183 as confidence in the cryptocurrency's staying power waned. However, on Thursday, bitcoin was trading at $429, a significant increase. Mining Returns With bitcoin on the upswing, bitcoin mining has begun togain popularityonce again, according to Bloomberg. Related Link:Mike Tyson Dives Deeper Into Bitcoin When cryptocurrencies were first introduced, miners set up their computers to solve complex problems and be rewarded with the release of new coins. As the value of bitcoin went up, so did the profitability of bitcoin mining. However, last year as bitcoin prices plummeted, the number of miners significantly declined as the cost to buy hardware and pay electric bills to run the machines outweighed the rewards. Now that bitcoin has made its way higher, mining efforts are increasing – especially among those who bought the necessary hardware last year, but haven't been able to make use of it. A Risky Business While mining is gaining popularity once again, many caution that bitcoin's price isn't the only factor that drives profitability for miners. This year, bitcoin's software will reduce the number of coins that miners receive for mining activities by half, something that could have an impact on the time it takes to recoup investment costs. Not only that, but bitcoin's price is far from stable. In past years, bitcoin's wild swings in value have proven that it is difficult to predict whether the cryptocurrency will be able to continue trading at current levels, making investing in mining equipment a bit of a gamble. Image Credit: Public Domain See more from Benzinga • Should Investors Be Worried About Apple? • CES Paints Worrying Picture For Telecoms • Netflix Gains On Expansion News, But Some Still Wary © 2016 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| XBT Provider AB: Bitcoin Tracker EUR (COINXBE) Now Available on Nasdaq Nordic through Interactive Brokers: Stockholm, Sweden (January 19, 2016) - XBT Provider AB (publ) announced today the availability of the ETN Bitcoin Tracker EUR in 179 countries. Starting today anyone with an Interactive Brokers account can trade the ETN Bitcoin Tracker EUR. The ticker code is COINXBE. ISIN: SE0007525332 The tracker is an exchange traded note designed to mirror the return of the underlying asset, U.S. dollar (USD) per bitcoin. This is the first bitcoin-based security denominated in Euro available on a regulated exchange. XBT Provider launched this financial instrument to meet the needs of investors` growing appetite for exposure to bitcoin prices. "Bitcoin tracker EUR" is listed on Nasdaq Nordic and traded in the same manner as any share or instrument listed on the Nasdaq exchange in Stockholm. COINXBE is also available via Bloomberg terminals. Direct link to specifications at Nasdaq:http://www.nasdaqomxnordic.com/etp/etn/etninfo?Instrument=SSE113749 Direct link to specifications at Bloomberg:http://www.bloomberg.com/quote/COINXBE:SS The full prospectus and more information is available onxbtprovider.com ABOUT THE ISSUER: XBT PROVIDER XBT Provider AB (publ) is a public limited liability company formed in Sweden with statutory seat in Stockholm. The issuer is incorporated under Swedish law and registered with the Swedish companies` registration office under registration number 559001-3313. Press release (PDF) This announcement is distributed by NASDAQ OMX Corporate Solutions on behalf of NASDAQ OMX Corporate Solutions clients.The issuer of this announcement warrants that they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of the information contained therein.Source: XBT Provider AB via GlobeNewswireHUG#1975095 \|\| How big banks are paying lip service to the blockchain: IBM has high hopes for blockchain technology. The IT giantannouncedon Tuesday a laundry list of plans to use blockchain tech and to help developers do the same. IBM (IBM) will offer tools through its cloud service for building blockchain apps, and it will open up IBM "Garages" in London, New York, Singapore and Tokyo for experts to collaborate with developers on blockchain tech. Taken in tandem with the recent flurry of banks and financial institutions expressing public interest in blockchain, the technology is having a moment. In September, a slew of banks including BBVA, Citi, Credit Suisse, JPMorgan, Royal Bank of Scotland, and UBS all joined a coalition,led by a firm called R3, to implement blockchain technology in banking. In December, five more big names hopped on board, including BNP Paribas, ING, and Wells Fargo. But the great irony of the banks' interest in blockchain is that the idea of a blockchain for traditional banking defeats the purpose of the blockchain—at least as it has been used thus far, with the digital currency bitcoin. And top executives from some of the very same institutions that have signed on to R3 have separately disparaged bitcoin. To understand what it is that banks claim to want to do with blockchain, you first need to understand the bitcoin blockchain, which is a public, decentralized ledger that records every single bitcoin transaction. Think of it like a library card in the cloud (not the card you use to take out a book, but the slip inside a book that lists all the borrowers). If you send a friend $5 worth of bitcoin, the transaction goes on the blockchain. If one bitcoin startup acquires another bitcoin startup for $500,000 in bitcoin, that, too, goes on the blockchain. And you can view the blockchain in real time, as transactions are uploaded, atblockchain.info. Transactions are added in bundles, called "blocks," by "miners," who receive a tiny fee in bitcoin as an incentive to mine. Miners use large, expensive computers to find and mine the blocks. The excitement of the bitcoin blockchain, to people in the digital currency world, is the potential for decentralized applications to be built on top of it that cut out the middle man. And the blockchain can be used to store and send anything of value, so there are companies using it to store documents like property deeds and even marriage licenses. And now: Enter the banks. They've long stayed away from bitcoin, which has a toxic public image thanks to headlines about bitcoin being used in embezzlement and Ponzi schemes. (Think of Mt. Gox andSilk Road.) MasterCard CEO Ajay Bangasaidhe believes bitcoin "starts bumping up against societal rules, which I worry about," and that, "it doesn’t give me the safety and security of knowing that I am who I am, and I’m paying who I know, which is what traditional currency does." And yet, MasterCard (MA) invested in Digital Currency Group, a venture firm that has itself invested in 65 different bitcoin and blockchain-enabled businesses. JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimonsaidbitcoin "is going nowhere... There is nothing behind a bitcoin, and I think if it was big, the governments would stop it." And yet, JPMorgan (JPM) has signed on with R3. Forget bitcoin, embrace blockchainBitcoin is doomed, if you ask Dimon. But the blockchain—nowthat'sexciting. As Dimonsaidon CNBC last month, "The blockchain is a technology, which we’ve been studying... and yes, it’s real. If it proves to be cheap and secure it will be adopted for a whole bunch of stuff." Translation: Blockchain is hot, bitcoin is not. We are seeing this sentiment again and again. IBM, in its extensive press release this week about its blockchain efforts, does not use the word "bitcoin" once. Bitreserve, a cloud banking vault launched by CNET founder Halsey Minor and led byformer Barclays CIO Anthony Watson, was so eager to shed the stink of bitcoin that it changed its name to Uphold. Blockchain "is so hot right now,"writes Erik Voorhees, the CEO of bitcoin startup Shapeshift, while bitcoin "has been left by the wayside, ignored like an embarrassing relative at a family gathering.” (And yet the price of bitcoin is up 24% in the last six months, 85% in the last six.) What will using blockchain tech even look like for banks? R3's web site says its mission is "building and empowering the next generation of global financial services technology." That's pretty vague. David Rutter, CEO of R3 and a former executive at London-based electronic brokerage ICAP, has said R3 will help banks and financial firms use the "fabric" of blockchain technology. You might think that people in the bitcoin world are pleased to see big, incumbent financial institutions embracing the underlying technology behind the leading cryptocurrency. They are not. Most of them see the banks' stated interest as empty lip service so far. What most people believe the banks want to do is employ somethinglikethe blockchain in their record-keeping processes: record customer deposits and withdrawals on a blockchain as opposed to whatever (likely outdated) software they currently use. Sounds simple enough. But it would have to be a closed ledger, accessible only to customers of the banks. And therein lies the contradiction: the bitcoin blockchain is public and open-sourced; nothing about it is closed. "Ican see why banks are interested in using permissioned ledgers, and maybe it will make their back office more efficient," says Jerry Brito, executive director of digital currency nonprofit Coin Center. "But at the end of the day, it's not a very exciting innovation. The real innovation is a completely open and global ledger that is permission-less. Having a closed, permissioned ledger run by banks, that might allow for better auditing, but there’s no innovation there, you still have to go through a consortium to use the ledger." That is, what banks seem to want to do is incongruous to the purpose of the blockchain. Digital Currency Group's Barry Silbert, who founded SecondMarket, which allowed for the trading of stocks in non-public companies, is similarly dubious of the "blockchain for banking" theme. "I’ve spoken quite publicly about my skepticism around the private blockchain approach," he tells Yahoo Finance. If R3 doesn't yield innovative fruit, then why are banks rushing to join up? For starters, as a PR effort: once a few were involved, the others looked stodgy by delaying. But Brito also believes the interest will subside once banks actually learn more about blockchain technology. "I think right now investors are kind of waiting for Wall Street to get through this blockchain phase," he says. "They have blockchain fever and they need to just get over it. Because if they develop their own closed blockchains,soon they’ll all realize they want to talk to each other, and they’ll be back to square one, doing banking." The bitcoin blockchain is open, global and permissionless. It has potential to serve as the backbone for additional exciting applications. If traditional banks want to employ it in their way, by acting as gatekeepers, it defeats the purpose. But don't expect that to dampen their public expressions of interest just yet. This is the first in a three-part Yahoo Finance series about blockchain technology. Thesecond partis about how you can invest in the blockchain; thethird partis about the biggest names in the industry. -- Daniel Roberts is a writer at Yahoo Finance, covering sports business and technology.Read more: Bitcoin advocacy group scores funding from biggest names in industry Bitcoin industry consolidates: Why Kraken bought Coinsetter Bitcoin's biggest investor bought its biggest news site Here's a sign that PayPal is embracing Bitcoin \|\| Safe Cash Speeds up Blockchain to 25,000 Transactions per Second: SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwired - Feb 24, 2016) - Safe Cash ( www.safe.cash ), a digital payment technology for banks, merchants, and consumers, has announced that it is able to handle up to 25,000 transactions per second on its blockchain -- more than 3,000 times as many as Bitcoin. The time to complete and final settlement is under five seconds. This makes Safe Cash the fastest private blockchain, orders of magnitude ahead of competing private blockchains that are simple forks of bitcoin or litecoin. "Because of its slow consensus time, uncertain governance, and price volatility, Bitcoin is not a reasonable solution for banks, and it's not built to scale for massive adoption of instant e-commerce," said Chris Kitze, founder and CEO of Safe Cash Payment Technologies. "No open-source software can touch this performance. Our development team worked for the past eighteen months to solve a number of critical technical problems. It is not trivial. We also have a clear technical path to increase this speed to 100,000 transactions per second later this year, well in advance of that kind of global demand." In an era of permissioned blockchains gaining favor with financial institutions over decentralized, freely trading cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, or Ripple, Safe Cash is one of the first blockchains to be commercially viable that can meet the transaction processing speed and throughput requirements of today's market. Safe Cash employs instant settlement in under five seconds, improved security, and controlled consensus that does not rely on miners or any intermediary coin that must be purchased. It allows banks to wean themselves off the high-priced, inefficient SWIFT network that can take days to transfer money. Banks can have their own "white label" blockchain that they control and manage. Inter-bank settlement can be achieved with multi-currency wallets, a separate bank settlement blockchain, or a combination thereof, depending on bank requirements and legal compliance. Story continues A demonstration of this technology is freely available at https://safe.cash , where the public is invited to get a free account to test out Safe Cash's loyalty token. Banks are invited to internally proof-of-concept test Safe Cash. About Safe Cash Payment Technologies, Inc. Founded in 2015, Safe Cash is the first payment system to allow cash to be used as a digital asset, with member banks storing the USD and providing tokens that are redeemable for cash. The system is designed to work globally and on most phones. All product and company names herein may be trademarks of their registered owners. \|\| MarilynJean Interactive (MJMI.QB) Shareholder Update: Marilynjean Interactive (MJMI) Is Pleased To Update Its Shareholders on Its Business Plan for the Coming Year HENDERSON, NV / ACCESSWIRE / January 18, 2016 /The crypto-currency space saw major strides forward in 2015 with ground-breaking developments in its underlying technology and regulation as well as an unexpected rise in Bitcoin prices. The space appears poised for a quantum leap forward in 2016 and MarilynJean is excited to be a part of what will likely be tremendous growth in the industry. From a technology standpoint, Bitcoin's blockchain is envisioned to revolutionize the settlement of securities and payments for both financial and non-financial institutions alike. Major stock and futures exchanges, clearing houses, and other technology organizations are exploring the use of blockchain technology to underpin their transaction verification systems. Bloomberg estimates that approximately $373 million was invested in Bitcoin start-ups in 2015. As investment in Bitcoin and blockchain technology grew, new regulation evidenced that Bitcoin is on track to become a widely used and accepted currency. New York issued its first Bitlicense allowing Goldman Sachs backed Circle Internet Financial to offer digital currency services in the state. The advent of regulated exchanges and trading instruments may have been a factor in driving demand for Bitcoin, its value having increased over 40% in 2015. While price volatility remained higher than traditional FIAT currencies, 2015 was overall a more stable year than its predecessor for Bitcoin. Looking ahead to 2016, MJMI plans to continue its focus on the key verticals of exchange, remittance and gaming. In addition, the Company plans to seek partnerships with firms involved specifically in development of applications based on blockchain technology. The Company plans to continue to expand its management and advisory board in 2016, advance the partnerships it began negotiating last year and continue to forge new alliances in the space. Peter Janosi, MJMI's president said: "We believe that MJMI's best avenue for growth is via acquisitions and strategic partnerships. We expect the industry to continue to expand and evolve rapidly and, as such, we expect our publicly traded currency to be a key strategic tool for growth and financing." About MJMI MJMI is in the business of providing safe and accessible services for the users of Bitcoin and other crypto-currencies. Crypto-currencies are a medium of exchange using cryptography to secure transactions and control the creation of new units. Bitcoin became the first decentralized crypto-currency in 2009. Crypto-currency is produced at a rate which is defined when the system is created and publicly known. By contrast, in centralized banking and economic systems, such as the Federal Reserve System, corporate boards or governments control the supply of currency by printing units or demanding additions to digital banking ledgers. However, neither companies nor governments can produce units of crypto-currency and as such the value of crypto-currencies are completely based on supply and demand, free from any governmental control. Many people believe crypto-currencies, and in particular Bitcoin, hold the promise of being the most significant advancement in global finance in modern history. The advent of Bitcoin creates a secure, easily accessible and transferable transnational currency that is completely liberated from political influence. MJMI is currently exploring partnerships in several verticals within the crypto-currency space. Management believes that several industries, including international remittances, currency exchange and online gambling are on the verge of being revolutionized by the use of Bitcoin to effect transactions. MarilynJean Media Interactive is among the first publicly traded companies focused on Bitcoin and the crypto-currency space. The company's trading symbol is OTCQB: MJMI. Website:www.marilynjean.comPress Contact:[email protected] SOURCE:MarilynJean Media Interactive \|\| MarilynJean Interactive (MJMI.QB) Shareholder Update: Marilynjean Interactive ( MJMI ) Is Pleased To Update Its Shareholders on Its Business Plan for the Coming Year HENDERSON, NV / ACCESSWIRE / January 18, 2016 / The crypto-currency space saw major strides forward in 2015 with ground-breaking developments in its underlying technology and regulation as well as an unexpected rise in Bitcoin prices. The space appears poised for a quantum leap forward in 2016 and MarilynJean is excited to be a part of what will likely be tremendous growth in the industry. From a technology standpoint, Bitcoin's blockchain is envisioned to revolutionize the settlement of securities and payments for both financial and non-financial institutions alike. Major stock and futures exchanges, clearing houses, and other technology organizations are exploring the use of blockchain technology to underpin their transaction verification systems. Bloomberg estimates that approximately $373 million was invested in Bitcoin start-ups in 2015. As investment in Bitcoin and blockchain technology grew, new regulation evidenced that Bitcoin is on track to become a widely used and accepted currency. New York issued its first Bitlicense allowing Goldman Sachs backed Circle Internet Financial to offer digital currency services in the state. The advent of regulated exchanges and trading instruments may have been a factor in driving demand for Bitcoin, its value having increased over 40% in 2015. While price volatility remained higher than traditional FIAT currencies, 2015 was overall a more stable year than its predecessor for Bitcoin. Looking ahead to 2016, MJMI plans to continue its focus on the key verticals of exchange, remittance and gaming. In addition, the Company plans to seek partnerships with firms involved specifically in development of applications based on blockchain technology. The Company plans to continue to expand its management and advisory board in 2016, advance the partnerships it began negotiating last year and continue to forge new alliances in the space. Story continues Peter Janosi, MJMI's president said: "We believe that MJMI's best avenue for growth is via acquisitions and strategic partnerships. We expect the industry to continue to expand and evolve rapidly and, as such, we expect our publicly traded currency to be a key strategic tool for growth and financing." About MJMI MJMI is in the business of providing safe and accessible services for the users of Bitcoin and other crypto-currencies. Crypto-currencies are a medium of exchange using cryptography to secure transactions and control the creation of new units. Bitcoin became the first decentralized crypto-currency in 2009. Crypto-currency is produced at a rate which is defined when the system is created and publicly known. By contrast, in centralized banking and economic systems, such as the Federal Reserve System, corporate boards or governments control the supply of currency by printing units or demanding additions to digital banking ledgers. However, neither companies nor governments can produce units of crypto-currency and as such the value of crypto-currencies are completely based on supply and demand, free from any governmental control. Many people believe crypto-currencies, and in particular Bitcoin, hold the promise of being the most significant advancement in global finance in modern history. The advent of Bitcoin creates a secure, easily accessible and transferable transnational currency that is completely liberated from political influence. MJMI is currently exploring partnerships in several verticals within the crypto-currency space. Management believes that several industries, including international remittances, currency exchange and online gambling are on the verge of being revolutionized by the use of Bitcoin to effect transactions. MarilynJean Media Interactive is among the first publicly traded companies focused on Bitcoin and the crypto-currency space. The company's trading symbol is OTCQB: MJMI. Website: www.marilynjean.com Press Contact: [email protected] SOURCE: MarilynJean Media Interactive \|\| What to Expect from Overstock.com's (OSTK) Q4 Earnings?: Overstock.com Inc.OSTK is expected to report fourth-quarter 2015 results after the closing bell on Feb 4. Overstock.com is an online closeout retailer that sells brand-name merchandise at deep discounts. The offerings include bed-and-bath goods, kitchenware, watches, jewelry, electronics, sporting goods and designer accessories. Overstock, a Bitcoin supporter, hopes to reinvent the public stock market using cryptosecurities, or virtual stocks based on Bitcoin's blockchain technology. Bitcoin is a digital currency platform with no central regulating authority involved in the transactions. It is also called crypto currency because it utilizes military-grade cryptography to protect users against fraud. Bitcoin and other cryptocurencies operate on blockchain which is a distributed public ledger. Cryptosecurities will likely bring the next major change in the stock market. With the SpeedRoute deal, Overstock will enter a new financial technology space. SpeedRoute’s infrastructure and underlying technologies will help the company to connect the t0 securities trading platform with the entire U.S. equity market. This will enhance transparency and efficiency of the existing capital markets, which was the basic idea behind t0.com. The blockchain technology allows investors and buyers to track down their purchases and ownership of cryptosecurities, ensuring complete transparency. Moreover, the t0.com blockchain technology facilitates same-day settlement of securities. Additionally, Overstock started the Black Friday holiday sales event a full week before the shopping holiday. This should have a favorable impact on the fourth-quarter results. Apart from this, Overstock also announced that Merrill Lynch Professional Clearing Corporation (“Merrill Pro”), the last defendant remaining after Goldman Sachs, in Overstock.com’s longstanding market manipulation case, has settled its claims by paying $20 million to Overstock.com and its co-plaintiffs. This is likely to boost results in the to-be-reported quarter. Stocks to Consider Here are some stocks, which you may consider as they have a favorable Zacks Rank and a positive Earnings ESP and are likely to post an earnings beat this quarter: MaxLinear, Inc. MXL has an Earnings ESP of +2.94% and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). SolarWinds, Inc. SWI has an Earnings ESP of +2.27% and a Zacks Rank #1. Fidelity National Information Services, Inc. FIS has an Earnings ESP of +2.17% and a Zacks Rank #3. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days.Click to get this free report >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days.Click to get this free reportSOLARWINDS INC (SWI): Free Stock Analysis ReportMAXLINEAR INC-A (MXL): Free Stock Analysis ReportFIDELITY NAT IN (FIS): Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] Liquid Bitcoin \|\| My robot has 3,500 hp left! I've earned a total of 3,375,980 free satoshis from http://www.robotcoingame.com/?id=3030376 #robotcoingame #Bitcoin \|\| #DigitalNote #XDN $ 0.000087 (1.48 %) 0.00000020 BTC (-0.28 %) \|\| LIVE: Profit = $897.17 (10.67 %). BUY B20.41 @ $420.00 (#VirCurex). SELL @ $456.22 (#Bitfinex) #bitcoin #btc - http://www.projectcoin.org \|\| Current price: 383.31$ $BTCUSD $btc #bitcoin 2016-01-28 11:00:19 EST \|\| BeonPush-RTBs-Invest $ 20 for a passive income http://bit.ly/1PXNSeb #affiliatemarketing #bitcoin #money #btc pic.twitter.com/opdNHlDhit \|\| Liquid Bitcoin \|\| Liquid Bitcoin \|\| $372.00 at 07:15 UTC [24h Range: $365.00 - $374.00 Volume: 7111 BTC] via #btcusdpic.twitter.com/fIbSqE6SHc \|\| #RDD / #BTC on the exchanges: Cryptsy: 0.00000005 Bittrex: 0.00000005 Average $1.9E-5 per #reddcoin 20:00:01	Trend: no change \|\| Prices: 423.99, 421.65, 410.94, 400.57, 407.71, 414.32, 413.97, 414.86, 417.13, 421.69
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis] Not fully available. [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht makes $100k Bitcoin price prediction: The founder of infamous dark web marketplace the Silk Road has predicted that Bitcoin could reach $100,000 in 2020. Ross Ulbricht was given two life sentences plus 40 years without the possibility of parole on charges of money laundering, computer hacking, conspiracy to traffic fraudulent documents, and conspiracy to traffic narcotics by means of the internet. The Silk Road operated through the Tor web browser with drug dealers accepting payments in Bitcoin. It was one of the first use cases of Bitcoin and one that saw its popularity rise across the world. At the time of Ulbrichts sentencing in 2015, Bitcoin was worth just $235 following a two-year bear market that saw it fall from $1,150 in late 2013. Here are the first six posts of a series Im calling #BitcoinByRoss . I hope you find it helpful. Let me know what you think. https://t.co/oKE8UXudTu Ross Ulbricht (@RealRossU) December 10, 2019 Now, writing from prison, Ulbricht claims that by using the Elliott Wave Theory, Bitcoins future price becomes more predictable. He has suggested that the $20,000 top in 2017 was the third wave and that the upcoming fifth wave will drive the price to $100,000. If the $20,000 peak is the end of wave three, then the correction pattern we are in (or just came out of) is wave four, and we can expect wave five to take us to new all-time highs, he wrote. The post on Ulbrichts Medium channel is the latest in a string of uploads, with an article also being published in September on how Bitcoin equates to the Libertarian ideal of freedom. Bitcoin did not appear in a vacuum. It was a solution to a problem cryptographers had been struggling with for many years: How to create digital money with no central authority that couldnt be forged and could be trusted, he claimed. For more news, guides, and cryptocurrency analysis, click here . The post Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht makes $100k Bitcoin price prediction appeared first on Coin Rivet . \|\| South Korea to slap unregistered exchange bosses with jail time: South Korea will sentence cryptocurrency exchange bosses to prison if they fail to register with the nations financial regulator. On Thursday, the National Assemblys Amendment Subcommittee on Parliamentary Affairs made amendments to the legal framework so that digital asset exchanges are required to register with the Financial Services Commission (FSC). According to local publication The News , the amendment looks to make exchanges compliant with anti-money laundering guidance from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). It also states that exchanges must hold a real-name virtual bank account as well as subaccounts for each and every user. The notion of real-name bank accounts has attracted criticism in the past. In 2018, the FSC banned anonymous virtual accounts, a move which left just four exchanges standing including Bithumb and UpBit. South Korea has endured a turbulent relationship with cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology over the past two years. A surge in financial crime led to a specialist task force being launched in order to combat the rising issue. But there has also been a plethora of positivity surrounding crypto and blockchain, with an announcement in February stating that $1 billion would be poured into the industry . South Korea has also been keeping a close eye on the progress of the Bitcoin ETF proposals in the United States, despite the fact that they have all been rejected so far. For more news, guides, and cryptocurrency analysis, click here . The post South Korea to slap unregistered exchange bosses with jail time appeared first on Coin Rivet . \|\| Bitfinex now using compliance tool from Chainalysis to keep bad actors off its platform: Cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex has integrated a compliance tool from blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis to monitor cryptocurrency transactions in real-time. Announced Thursday, Chainalysis said its Know Your Transaction (KYT) compliance software will help Bitfinex monitor large volumes of cryptocurrency activity and identify high-risk transactions on a continuous basis. This, in turn, will help the exchange to focus on the most urgent activity and enforce compliance policies. Chainalysis solution aligned with what we were seeking to keep bad actors off of our platform, while protecting the privacy of our users," said Peter Warrack, chief compliance officer of Bitfinex. He added that the solution does not share information identifying users, which is kept strictly in-house. Chainalysis currently tracks 41 cryptocurrencies and stablecoins, including bitcoin (BTC), ether (ETH), bitcoin cash (BCH), Tether (USDT), Maker and Dai. It is expected to add support for XRP and several other coins in the near future. Bitfinex joins Binance and Bittrex exchanges who recently began using Chainalysis KYT software to monitor suspicious transactions. Founded in 2014, Chainalysis provides compliance tools to banks, businesses, and governments. Its top clients include Barclays, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, and EU law enforcement agency Europol, among others. Last month, Chainalysis cut its workforce by about 20% (laying off 39 employees) to be on the "path to profitability." \|\| Graphic: The best year financial markets have ever had?: By Marc Jones LONDON (Reuters) - For all the angst about trade wars, geopolitics and a sputtering and overly indebted global economy, 2019 might just be the best year investors have ever had. The numbers are staggering. Global stocks have piled on more than $10 trillion, bonds have been on fire, oil has surged almost 25%, former crisis spots Greece and Ukraine have top-performed, and even gold has sparkled. Wall Street <.SPX> and MSCI's near 50-country world index <.MIWD00000PUS> have both stormed to record highs after 30% and 24% leaps. Europe, Japan, China and Brazil are all up at least 20% in dollar terms too. Not exactly shoddy. A mirror image of 2018, when almost everything fell? Perhaps. But there have been a couple of important drivers. One was China showing it was serious about stimulus for its $14 trillion economy. The other was the screeching change of direction by the world's top central banks, led by the Federal Reserve, which cut U.S. interest rates for the first time since the financial crisis more than a decade earlier. "Whereas a year ago the Fed was raising rates and earnings were rolling over, this year you have felt the Fed has been on your side," said James Clunie, who manages asset firm Jupiter's Absolute Return Fund. "They are willing to do QE4 at a stock market (record) high, which is extraordinary," he added, referring to Fed efforts to bring down a spike in money market rates that some suggest could presage a fourth round of quantitative easing asset purchases. (GRAPHIC: Global markets in 2019 - https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/mkt/13/103/103/Pasted%20Image.jpg) That Fed shift and the worldwide blizzard of rate cuts that have come since have fired bond markets up like a rocket. U.S. Treasuries, the world's benchmark government IOU, have made a whopping 9.4 percent after yields plunged as much as 120 basis points. That followed a near 40 basis point fall the last quarter of 2018, after five quarters in which they had consistently risen. German Bunds -- Europe's safest asset -- have had their best year in five years, making roughly 5.5% in euro terms as the European Central Bank has reversed course too. The yield on 10-year debt dropped below zero percent for the first time since 2016 in March and dived as deep as -0.74% in September. (GRAPHIC: U.S. Treasuries vs German Bunds - https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/mkt/13/102/102/Pasted%20Image.jpg) In commodities, oil has raced up almost 25% following its best first quarter since 2009. That, plus key dividend rule changes, has made Russia's stock market the best in the world with a 40% rise and also made the rouble a top three currency. Metals have had a more mixed time. Copper is only 4% higher after buckling badly when trade tensions flared in the middle of the year, and aluminium is down 2%. But palladium, used in car and truck catalytic converters, has boomed 55%, while gold has had its best year since 2010 with a 15% jump. A statistic likely to make most jaws drop is that Greek banks -- remember all that euro debt crisis and capital controls stuff a few years back? -- have been some of the world's best-performing stocks this year. The country's biggest lender Piraeus Bank <BOPr.AT> is up 250%, as is smaller Attica Bank <BOAr.AT>, helping make Athens Europe's strongest bourse this year. But even those gains look skimpy in comparison to Californian video streaming darling Roko <ROKU.O>, whose shares have risen 440% this year. FANGTASTIC Tech has remained top more broadly. Apple <AAPL.O> may just have lost its crown as world's most valuable firm to Saudi Aramco but it can console itself with its 77% leap this year. Facebook <FB.O> has surged 57%, Microsoft <MSFT.O> 53%, Google <GOOGL.O> 30%, Netflix <NFLX.O> 24% and Amazon <AMZN.O> 19 percent. China's tech sector <.CSIINT> is right in mix too with a 64% rally and online behemoth Alibaba <BABA.K> up 53%. Cryptoassets have been typically wild. Bitcoin was up over up 260% in June but it has been hauled back to around 85%. Riskier high-yield debt, corporate bonds and local currency emerging market bonds and have all brought in between 11%-14% while Ukraine's dollar bonds and Greece's euro bonds have piled on over 30%. "It is just a great year for the asset class," said Pictet emerging market debt portfolio manager Guido Chamorro. "It has been a relentless rally across the board over the last couple of months and it is possible that it continues into next year." (GRAPHIC: Emerging market hard currency bonds in 2019 - https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/mkt/13/120/120/Pasted%20Image.jpg) Despite almost daily Brexit chaos, the loss of another prime minister and a snap election, UK gilts have returned 4.5% and a near 6% rise could land sterling its best quarter since 2009. In contrast, the Fed's pirouette and easing of trade tensions means the dollar index <.DXY> is about to experience its worst quarter in 1-1/2 years. It is still clinging to a 1.5% gain for the year, though, meaning it will be the euro's <EUR=> fifth red year in six. As usual the big swings have been in emerging markets. Argentina's peso <ARS=> and Turkey's lira <TRY=>, 2018's punchbags, have taken another beating. Argentina's woes have worsened such that it is restructuring its debt again while Turkey's worries have not really gone away. At the other end of the spectrum, a new president and a new reform agenda have seen Ukraine's hryvnia <UAH=> rocket 19%. Russia's rouble is up 11% and Egypt's pound <EGP=> is sandwiched inbetween with a 11.7% gain. (GRAPHIC: World stocks pile on more that $10 trillion in 2019 - https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/mkt/13/121/121/Pasted%20Image.jpg) (GRAPHIC: All aboard the emerging market express - https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/mkt/13/126/126/Pasted%20Image.jpg) (Additional reporting by Dhara Ranasinghe; Editing by Catherine Evans) \|\| GSR Partners With Canaan-Tied Startup to Offer Crypto Miners Derivatives: Liquidity provider GSR is introducing derivative products to help crypto mining companies hedge their risks against price volatility after partnering with Interhash, a mining services startup linked with Canaan Creative. The companiesannounced on Fridaythat a new set of derivatives contracts, including swaps, would help miners manage their risks when running operations in 2020, including the upcoming bitcoin halving (when the amount of bitcoin produced per block mined is cut in half). The new products are expected to launch next month, though a specific date was not provided. Related:Bitcoin Price Set to Outshine Gold and Stocks by Big Margin in 2019 According to a press release, some $3 billion in bitcoin is expected to be mined next year at current price levels. Rich Rosenblum, GSR co-founder, told CoinDesk that the companies were specifically offering two products: “a tailored risk management solution for miners,” which provides an average-priced option or swap contract, and a new type of futures contract that trades based on hashrate. “In a general sense if it’s hashrate-related it can either have physical delivery, delivering your spot hashrate via a proxy, or if it’s a forward market,” he said. “You can deliver bitcoin or you can deliver hashrate.” Hash rate can be delivered physically by using mining equipment as collateral for the contract, he said as one example. In a follow-up email, a spokesperson added that hashes which correspond to bitcoin-producing blocks could also be delivered, allowing the recipient to claim the mining reward. Related:Blockstream’s ‘Watchtowers’ Will Bring a New Justice System to the Lightning Network GSR would look to third-party data providers to detail what the actual hash rate on the bitcoin network or a difficulty derivative would be. However, this second type of derivative is not yet ready to be rolled out, he said. “We already have some of these new products ready but … the second is in a test phase and a work in progress,” he said. In a statement, GSR co-founder Cristian Gil said the factors miners must consider include price, mining equipment costs, electricity costs and mining difficulty, but at present companies do not hedge “against adverse price action.” “The unpredictability of their business models is unprecedented, so it is natural that this segment of the market is exploring ways to better hedge their risk,” he said. • Bitcoin Price Jumps 10%, But Bull Reversal Still $700 Away • Bitcoin ‘UTXOs in Loss’ at Record Highs Amid Price Sell-Off \|\| Bitcoin HODLers are avoiding the volatile price markets: The majority of Bitcoin HODLers have not moved their crypto in over 12 months, according to new research. Dataanalyzedby bitcoin analyst Rhythm found that 11.58 million (or around 60% of Bitcoin circulating supply) have not moved wallets once in the last 12 months. Commenting on his analysis on Twitter, Rhythm said that "even with a 85% increase in price during that time, those millions of bitcoin were not sold or traded—Hodlers of last resort are insane." November was a bad month forbitcoin. In October, the number one cryptocurrency by market cap surged, adding nearly $2,000. Since then, bitcoin has retraced all those gains amidst news that China has signaled its "blockchain not Bitcoin" stance followed quickly by acrackdown on local crypto exchanges. But according to new blockchain data, it looks like China's moves and bitcoin's price fluctuations have done little to whet the appetite of Bitcoin HODLers. The data suggests that many in the Bitcoin ecosystem are likely HODLing onto their funds, and have not been tempted to convert their cash into fiat. This data mirrors the rise in popularity of the "stakingsats" hashtag on Twitter, where HODLers compare their long positions on bitcoin and other currencies. Looking at recent price data, is not difficult to understand why. In November alone, bitcoin saw four consecutive weeks of weekly losses—with the digital asset falling over 35% from its October 26 peek to hit a low of $6,500 this time last week. Interestingly, the poor performance in November for bitcoin is not out of the ordinary. In 2018, bitcoin fell nearly 50% as the digital asset eventually broke bellow its longstanding $6,000 support to reach a low of just over $3,000 by December 2018. Since last week's $6,500 low, bitcoin has found a little momentum—shooting up 8%as the much-hyped US-based futures exchange Bakktbroke recordsfor both trading volume and open interest (total of all traders with active positions open) last week. \|\| ‘Multi-Part’ Payments Could Bring Bigger Bitcoin Sums to Lightning Network: Bitcoin tech startup Blockstream said its c-lightning software team is the first to release a working version of “multi-part payments.” While the name, c-lightning v0.8.0, is a mouthful, it’s a big improvement for the user experience of the lightning network, a new layer that’s probably bitcoin’s best shot at scaling to support a larger number of payments. The change updates the plumbing of lightning network payments so users can send larger lightning payments, with a much smaller risk of them failing. “The user experience of lightning clients is a topic that is brought up often, and we are working actively on improving the status quo, together with the teams working on other lightning implementations. Our goal is to make using lightning as easy as using an on-chain wallet,” lightning developer Christian Decker explains in a blog post . Related: Bitcoin Price Set to Outshine Gold and Stocks by Big Margin in 2019 Right now, it’s not as easy. For one thing, there’s a chance there won’t be enough liquidity in the network to support the transaction, especially for larger payments. Say a user sends 0.5 bitcoin across the network. Under the hood, it bounces from one node to the next until it reaches its destination. Each of those nodes needs to have 0.5 bitcoins that it can pass on to the next node. If one of the nodes in the path doesn’t have enough bitcoin, the user is out of luck and the payment fails. Multi-part payments tackle this problem by making it possible to break a payment into smaller pieces that are easier to send across the network, since a user can combine bitcoin from multiple channels they have open to send payments. “Multi-part payments allow a lightning node to bundle the capacity in all its channels when making a payment, making larger payments than any individual channel on its own would allow,” Decker writes. “This greatly reduces the headache of managing how many channels to open, and how to allocate funds to them, since you can now simply combine them as and when necessary.” Story continues Related: Blockstream’s ‘Watchtowers’ Will Bring a New Justice System to the Lightning Network Notably, while this release supports sending these types of payments, it still isn’t possible to receive them. That functionality is still being worked on. Decker claims the code change also “greatly increases” the resiliency of the entire payment network. Since users sending payments are less likely to have to transact with a large node, that’s a “single point of failure.” Decker writes : “The capacity of the largest channel used to be the limiting factor when performing payments. As such, users were incentivised to open a single channel, with as many funds as possible, to a node that was as stable as possible. This led to users rating the reliability of nodes before opening a channel with them, since that node would now be their single point of failure, i.e., if that node was down, they couldn’t do much. With multi-part payments, users can now open multiple channels to multiple nodes, while at the same time being sure that the funds will be there when they need it. For the network, this means more connectivity and better resilience against the threat of big nodes suddenly disappearing.” Blockstream says the technology will be expanded upon in future releases. Related Stories GSR Partners With Canaan-Tied Startup to Offer Crypto Miners Derivatives Bitcoin Price Jumps 10%, But Bull Reversal Still $700 Away \|\| PODCAST: Altcoins and Ancient History With Litecoin’s Charlie Lee: The best Sundays are for long reads and deep conversations. Subscribe to the Let’s Talk Bitcoin Show with iTunes, Google Podcasts or your favorite service • Token age and network effect • Testnet game theory and real money • Founder anonymity, then and now • Ad-hoc audits in the wake of MtGox's Collapse • Schnorr signatures, Tapscript and Taprootintentions at Litecoin • A “Coinbasemafia?” • Buying your own bank • and more… Related:MARKETS DAILY: UpBit Hack Reactions & Crypto Liquidity Insights Let’s Talk Bitcoin! is a long-running independent podcast on the ideas, people and projects powering the cryptocurrency narrative. On this show, we basically talk about everything other than the price. Since we started this conversation in early 2013, a whole world of blockchains and tokens has sprung up alongside bitcoin, and we talk about those too as real-world events help us see what’s real and what’s just clever marketing. VisitLTBShow.comfor all 418 of our past episodes or to subscribe directly to the Let’s Talk Bitcoin! show. Episode 419 Credits: Related:MARKETS DAILY: Tokenization Challenges and Another Tether Lawsuit Sponsors –Edge.app,Brave.com&eToro.com Guest – Charlie Lee (@SatoshiLite) Hosts • Adam B. Levine (http://ltbshow.com) • Andreas M. Antonopoulos (https://aantonop.com/) • Stephanie Murphy (https://www.stephaniemurphyvoice.com/) • Jonathan Mohan (https://twitter.com/JonathanMohan) Other Staff • Producer –Adam B. Levine • Editor – Jonas • Music (Theme) –Jared Rubens • Music (Other) –General Fuzz About the hosts: Andreas M. Antonopoulosis a best-selling author, speaker, educator, and one of the world’s foremost bitcoin and open blockchain experts. He is known for delivering electric talks that combine economics, psychology, technology, and game theory with current events, personal anecdotes, and historical precedents effortlessly transliterating the complex issues of blockchain technology out of the abstract and into the real world. In 2014, Antonopoulos authored the groundbreaking book, Mastering Bitcoin (O’Reilly Media), widely considered to be the best technical guide ever written about the technology. His second book, The Internet of Money, unveiled the “why” of bitcoin—and became a bestseller on Amazon— and led to the wildly successful follow-up The Internet of Money Volume Two. His fourth book, Mastering Ethereum (O’Reilly Media) was published in December of 2018. He is a teaching fellow with the University of Nicosia, serves on the Oversight Committee for the Bitcoin Reference Rate at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, and has appeared as an expert witness in hearings around the world, including the Australian Senate Banking Committee and the Canadian Senate Commerce, Banking and Finance Committee. Adam B. Levinejoined CoinDesk in 2019 as editor of our audio and podcasts division. Previously, Adam founded the long-running Let’s Talk Bitcoin! talk show with co-hosts Stephanie Murphy and Andreas M. Antonopoulos. Finding early success with the show, Adam transformed the podcast’s homepage into a full newsdesk and publishing platform, founding the LTB Network in January of 2014 to help broaden the conversation with new and different perspectives. In the Spring of that year, he would go on to launch the first and largest tokenized rewards program for creators and their audience. In what many have called an early influential version of “Steemit”; LTBCOIN, which was awarded to both content creators and members of the audience for participation was distributed until the LTBN was acquired by BTC, Inc. in January of 2017. With the network launched and growing, in late 2014 Adam turned his attention to the practical challenges of administering the tokenized program and founded Tokenly, Inc. There, he led the development of early tokenized vending machines with Swapbot, tokenized identity solution Tokenpass, e-commerce withTokenMarkets.comand media with Token.fm. Stephanie Murphy, PhD.is a scientist, passionate libertarian, prolific voice actor and long-time radio host. Uniquely among the Let’s Talk Bitcoin! Crew, she remains an enthusiastic observer of the space but has chosen to keep her professional life separate from her bitcoin fascination. Jonathan Mohanis an expert in the field of blockchain and distributed ledger technology use case analysis. He has acted in the capacity of strategic planning and development for many projects. Jonathan was a founding contributor to ethereum in January 2014. He was also an original contributing member of Consensys, an ethereum development studio as well as the founding contributor to both Factom and EOS. Jonathan formerly led BitcoinNYC, one of the largest blockchain meetups in New York City. Jonathan most recently founded Themys.io • Markets Daily: ETF Arguments and China Token Troubles • Statechains, and Trading the Panopticon for Magical Internet Money \|\| How China is using blockchain technology: Bitcoin’s priceshot upon Friday on the news that Chinese President Xi Jinping had issueda ringing endorsementofblockchaintechnology. But how is China using blockchain technology now, and what are the country’s plans for the future of blockchain andcryptocurrencies? China’s plans are wide and varied, but in the short term, the country seems primarily interested in creatingits own digital currency, partially as a means ofshutting out Facebook’s Libra. Facebook hopes to launch theLibrastablecoin some time next year, and the social media giant has positioned the project as a way to provide broader access to financial services to people around the world. The current plan is for Libra to be backed by several fiat currencies, though theChinese yuan is not one of them. A division of the People’s Bank of China—known as the Digital Currency Research Institute (DCRI)—is in charge of pushing China’s plans for a national digital currency forward. Just weeks ago, the organization announced that it is seeking tohire tech expertsto boost its digital currency efforts. China has made it clear that it’s worried about Libra, yet some Chinese government officials seem rather open, evendownright complementary, of Facebook’s endeavor. During September’s Shanghai Wanxiang Blockchain Conference, a state-backed blockchain event, Li Lihui, head of the Blockchain Research Working Group at the National Internet Finance Association of China, said Libra “will become a trusted organization that issues digital currency,” should it receive the necessary regulatory approvals. While China has a mixed relationship with digital assets, it’s clear that some within its government see things in Libra that they like, or at the very least respect. The same can likely be said of China’s attitude toward other digital assets, such asBitcoin. China, for example, has taken a tough stance against foreigncryptocurrency exchanges, but a recent court case in China’s “Internet Courts” saw Bitcoin recognized as having the same legal status as physical assets. Thecourt ruledthatBitcoinhas “value, scarcity and disposability,” and deserves protection from “Chinese property laws.” Digital assets and their utility are definitely on China’s blockchain radar. In fact, some Chinese institutions—such as the China Merchants Bank—are looking torelease their very own decentralized finance(DeFi) applications. As one of China’s biggest banks, the Merchant Bank houses over $1 trillion in assets and brought in more than $30 billion in 2018 alone. China Merchants Bank announced earlier this month that is has partnered with blockchain network Nevos to provide dapps to customers that offer financial services, though Nevos has yet to provide further details. China is also home to the world’s top Bitcoin mining company, Bitmain, whichlast week bested all other crypto startupson this year’s “Global Unicorn List.” The list, authored by the Shanghai-based Hurun Report, analyzed tech startups with a valuation of more than $1 billion, but that are unlisted on stock exchanges, with no private equity investment and less than 10 years old. All in all, 11 blockchain companies made the list, but Bitmain, with a valuation of approximately $12 billion, topped them all, once again highlighting the importance of Bitcoin mining in China. It’s more than a little curious, then, that China is currentlyconsidering implementing a banon cryptocurrency mining within its borders. The ban, if implemented, would allow Chinese authorities to “raise electricity prices for relevant businesses to force them to close,”accordingto theSouth China Morning Post. The ban could drive mining operations “underground,” force them to set up shop in surrounding nations, or completely shut down, which some industry observers argue could negatively impact the Bitcoin network. So while China’s president touts the wonders of blockchain, it’s worth noting that the government is simultaneously considering regulations that could adversely affect the crypto industry broadly. Worse still is the potential for blockchain technology to beused to bolster the Chinese government’s surveillance state. Somehave even suggestedthat China’s planned state-backed digital currency is nothing more than a cynical ploy to more closely monitor its citizens’ financial activities. Add to that the fact that one of China’s largest automakers—Wianxiang—recently sank nearly $30 billioninto a new blockchain startup that’s seeking to build a blockchain-powered “smart city” which can track residents’ data. “Wanxiang City,” is set to become China’s “largest, most interconnected, blockchain-powered smart city,” according to an announcement from the automaker last July. The company’s tech is meant to “track, transfer, and secure critical data such as resident identification cards and smart devices.” Libra co-founder David Marcus has repeatedlywarnedthat if U.S. lawmakers don’t hurry up and make up their minds on blockchain and cryptocurrency regulations, China will lead the way andget there first. Those fears may not be unfounded. As it stands, roughly74 percent of Bitcoin nodesare Chinese, while about 225 blockchain patents have also been filed in China. And last year, the Cyberspace Administration of China administerednew regulatory guidelinesthat will require all blockchain and crypto-based businesses to register with the government and pass along data regarding their customers. This includes non-Chinese citizens that utilize the services of these companies, so it doesn’t matter where you’re located. If you hold crypto in a Chinese exchange, for example, your data will probably be examined by Chinese state authorities. So while China indeed seems to have some big plans for blockchain, not all of those plans are the sort most crypto users will cheer. \|\| New Ransomware Tactic: Pay Us or the World Sees Your Keys: The creators of Maze Ransomware have added a new wrinkle to the typical hacker’s MO. Instead of quietly infecting and requesting ransom from victims, the so-called Maze team is publicly exposing victims by displaying real files exfiltrated from their hacked servers. This tactic could be a disaster for crypto companies that may have put private keys or other important financial data into their private archives, should they be breached. “Represented here companies don’t wish to cooperate with us, and trying to hide our successful attack on their resources. Wait for their databases and private papers here,” write the hackers on their public website, mazenews.top. “Follow the news!” Related: Alleged ‘Dark Overlord’ Hacker Gang Member Extradited to US Companies that have already been hit by the group include a grocery chain, Busch’s Inc., in Ann Arbor, Mich., and a lawn and garden company, Massey Services , in Florida. We’ve reached out to the alleged Maze victims; many have already made public information about the hacks on their websites. Another group, called REvil, promises to release for free or sell vital company information to competitors if its ransom is not paid. The hackers wrote: Each attack includes a copy of private, commercial information. In case they refuse to pay, the data will either be sold to competitors or posted on open sources. We’re interested in seeing how the GDPR [General Data Protection Regulation] authorities react. If they do not want to pay us they can pay 10 times more to the government. No problem. Translated by CoinDesk “For years, ransomware developers and affiliates have been telling victims that they must pay the ransom or stolen data would be publicly released,” said Lawrence Abrams, ransomware researcher at BleepingComputer . “While it has been a well-known secret that ransomware actors snoop through victim’s data, and in many cases steal it before the data [are] encrypted, they never actually carried out their threats of releasing it.” Story continues Related: Crypto-Mining Attacks Fell Sharply in 2019 but Ransomware Is Trending: Kaspersky “This is especially ghastly news for companies that may already face steep fines and other penalties for failing to report breaches and safeguard their customers’ data. For example, healthcare providers are required to report ransomware incidents to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which often documents breaches involving lost or stolen healthcare data on its own site,” wrote security researcher Brian Krebs . A list of invoices is one thing; publicizing the keys to a company’s crypto accounts are another thing entirely. Given the amount of data involved, there’s no telling what valuable information could be lurking amid a company’s paperwork. One victim was quick to publicly react to a Dec. 9 attack. “As early as Tuesday morning [Dec. 10], we began bringing key business systems back online, prioritizing manufacturing and logistics functions that enable us to make and ship quality products to our customers,” wrote Rich Stinson CEO of manufacturer SouthWire . “We are working diligently with our cybersecurity partner to understand the facts behind this event, resolve this disruption and resume normal business operations as quickly as possible.” Related Stories Global Android Vulnerability Could Grab Wallet and Banking Data BitGo Says It’s Now Processing 20% of Bitcoin Transactions [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] Ethereum moon lambo proof of work rekt hash rate confirmation smart contract multisig blocks. Lightning node tokenomics Byzantine Samourai wallet. Monero exchange UTXO Bitcoin Litecoin cypherpunks moon security token finney Lightning tx fee \|\| Made some huge profits few hours ago.. with that instant #bitcoin jump. It is time to buy more with from @NischalShetty @WazirXIndia @BitMEXdotcom @krakenfx @officialmcafee @balajis @tamilbtc https://t.co/9WQSPv6Tkc \|\| Verre enn boble! #Bitcoin er tilsynelatende lett å manipulere! https://t.co/Aejvsfzl2m \|\| Bitcoin Dominance Downtrend Comes to an End, Finding a New Floor at 65% @CoinInsidercom #Bitcoin News #Price Analysis https://t.co/Yl4QUkptkY \|\| ✅ 11 urodziny BTC 😊 #Satoshi #Nakamoto 2008 ‼️ https://t.co/KUm6bIQVBZ #cryptodraw #bitcoinmining #bitcoinnews #satoshi #jubilee #jubileeace w: Poland https://t.co/iW2ELYwOc0 \|\| BITCOIN JUST FLASHED THIS DEVASTATING SIGNAL (btc crypto live market new... https://t.co/CHx3lFZKxJ via @YouTube \|\| Time to sell XLM for : 0.00041586 BTC in HitBTC Date: 2019-11-11 13:39:14 \|\| https://t.co/VV5vzvpCq1 \|\| "Ethereum (ETH) Consolidating Below $190, Bitcoin Holding $9K" https://t.co/FnisowiNWR #bitcoin https://t.co/z8rRGqXeQx \|\| #BTC ラインブレイク。上いくのかな🤔	Trend: down \|\| Prices: 7511.59, 7355.63, 7322.53, 7275.16, 7238.97, 7290.09, 7317.99, 7422.65, 7293.00, 7193.60
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis] Not fully available. [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Bitcoin Cash: What Is It, History and How to Buy: Bitcoin Cash: What Is It, History and How to Buy Bitcoin Cash is an extension of Bitcoin , one of the most popular cryptocurrencies. It’s considered an “altcoin,” and was created in 2017. More specifically, Bitcoin Cash is a peer-to-peer electronic cash system that can process far more trades than normal Bitcoin. It has low fees and reliable trading systems, while still being a part of the Bitcoin network. It has quickly become an attractive option as a medium of exchange in the cryptocurrency market. If you’re thinking about investing in any type of cryptocurrency, it may be helpful to first talk with a financial advisor . What Is Bitcoin Cash? Bitcoin Cash was created in 2017 as a “fork” of Bitcoin. The fork that created it increased the size of its blocks, which are pieces of Bitcoin data that cannot be altered once recorded. This change allowed more transactions to be completed using Bitcoin Cash, which also makes it easier to scale. In 2018, it forked once again, into Bitcoin Cash ABC and Bitcoin Cash SV, which stands for Satoshi Vision. Bitcoin Cash and Bitcoin still operate on the same blockchain network and consensus mechanism. The supply of Bitcoin Cash is capped at 21 million tokens, which is the same as Bitcoin. As a fork of Bitcoin, it shares a common founder in Satoshi Nakamoto. How to Buy Bitcoin Cash Buying Bitcoin Cash isn’t significantly different from buying any other cryptocurrency . In fact, you can actually buy Bitcoin Cash or a crypto wallet directly from Bitcoin. No matter where you get a wallet from, you’ll need to make sure that it supports Bitcoin Cash. Remember that if you use a wallet, don’t forget your password or you may run the risk of losing access to your cryptocurrencies. When it comes to actually purchasing Bitcoin Cash, you have some other options as well. You can use a traditional cryptocurrency exchange like Kraken or Coinbase, which allows you to buy Bitcoin Cash using a fiat currency like USD. If you own cryptocurrency already and want to exchange it for Bitcoin Cash, you can use platforms like Binance, Poloniex or Bittrex, among others. You also have the option to buy fractional shares of Bitcoin Cash if you don’t have the ability to get a whole token. Story continues Bitcoin Cash History Bitcoin Cash: What Is It, History and How to Buy As noted before, Bitcoin Cash was created as a fork of Bitcoin back in 2017. After that, it further forked itself into Bitcoin Cash ABC and Bitcoin Cash SV. Bitcoin Cash ABC is what’s currently known as Bitcoin Cash. The first fork’s purpose was to increase the size of blocks from 1MB to anywhere up to 32MB. This move was designed to allow quicker and easier transactions since more could fit onto a single block and blocks would be less likely to stack up in a queue. Bitcoin Cash is designed to be easier to scale, and proponents believe that it could be used as a medium for daily transactions. That was actually the original idea behind Bitcoin before it became what it is today. The proposed average for transactions per block with Bitcoin was up to 1,500, but that number grew almost 25x with Bitcoin Cash. While Bitcoin Cash is technically different than Bitcoin itself, anyone who held Bitcoin at the time of the original split received the same amount of Cash tokens. Even someone who held Bitcoin at the time of the split and who hasn’t yet claimed their Bitcoin Cash can still do so at any time. Bitcoin Cash, despite the fact that it’s a fork of the most well-known cryptocurrency in the world, doesn’t come without concerns. While many hope that it can become a common medium of transaction, some people believe other cryptocurrencies are better set up in developing their own economies. Without a clearly defined governance protocol, Bitcoin Cash is difficult for investors to be confident about how the cryptocurrency will function in the future. Bitcoin Cash Price History According to CoinGecko, Bitcoin Cash skyrocketed after the fork to nearly $3,800 per token, far above where it stands today. It dipped down to around $80 in late 2018, and currently sits around $530 per token, as of the time of this writing. Its price has been fairly volatile, as cryptocurrencies can be. Since Bitcoin Cash is meant to be a medium of exchange, it’s supposed to be a safer, more stable investment than an asset-like cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin. However, there are no guarantees of value when it comes to any investment on the market. How to Mine Bitcoin Cash Like Bitcoin, you can also mine Bitcoin Cash, and it can be a relatively fruitful investment . Doing so involves mining a block of transactions. When you do this, you receive with 12.5 BTC, as well as all of the fees of that block of transactions. Keep in mind that mining Bitcoin Cash takes more computing power than mining Bitcoin . That’s because blocks can be between 8 and 32 MB. On the other hand, blocks of Bitcoin are only 1 MB. Should I Trade or Sell Bitcoin Cash? Bitcoin Cash: What Is It, History and How to Buy As is the case with any cryptocurrency, you’re subject to a lot of potential and actual volatility when you invest in Bitcoin Cash. Prices fluctuate on a daily basis, with the news constantly changing around all types of cryptocurrencies at the drop of a hat. This cryptocurrency works like a medium of exchange, but its price behaves far more like an investable asset. There is always a speculative element when it comes to investing in cryptocurrency, so make sure you understand exactly what that entails. Bottom Line Bitcoin Cash is a fork of Bitcoin, one of the most popular cryptocurrencies on the market. Unlike Bitcoin, its blocks are significantly larger, therefore enabling more transactions at a faster rate. Believers in Bitcoin Cash hope that the cryptocurrency can be a stable medium of exchange, but its volatility leaves that up for debate. All in all, it’s a strong cryptocurrency that’s easy to buy and store, despite some concerns about its structure. Crypto Investing Tips Cryptocurrency offers a legitimate investing opportunity, but remember that it can be supremely risky. Finding a financial advisor who can help you plan for this risk doesn’t have to be hard, though. SmartAsset’s free tool matches you with up to three financial advisors in your area in only five minutes. Get started now . If you’re contemplating investing in cryptocurrency, make sure to weigh the pros and cons. Cryptocurrencies can be incredibly risky, but their return upside is quite impressive. Just like any other investment, it pays off to build a diversified portfolio through an appropriate asset allocation . Photo credit: ©iStock.com/MicroStockHub, ©iStock.com/ijeab, ©iStock.com/Velishchuk The post Bitcoin Cash: What Is It, History and How to Buy appeared first on SmartAsset Blog . \|\| Cathie Wood Joins Board of European Crypto Platform Amun Holdings: Cathie Wood, CEO ofArk Investment Managment LLC, has announced that she will join the board of Amun Holdings Ltd. The news comes after the CEO personally invested in the operator of 21Shares, a platform specializing in exchange-traded crypto products. Amun Holdings was established in 2018 by current CEO Hany Rashawn and President Ophelia Snyder. The company rebranded in 2020, changing its name to21Shareswhile Amun remains as the parent company and ETP provider. 21Shares’ instruments are listed on Austrian, German, and Swiss exchanges. “21Shares is forging a new path for crypto ETPs by leading with research and a keen understanding of this developing asset class,” Wood said in a statement. 21Shares’ Short Bitcoin ETP allows investors to bet against bitcoin while its crypto basket index tracks top cryptos by market value. The company has plans to list its first non-Euro product to expand ETP options by up to 30 products in eight countries, Rashwan says. “Zurich-based Amun’sassets under managementhave climbed to about $2 billion from $27 million in March 2020,” said Rashwan. “It’s profitable, with $40 million to $50 million in annual revenue generated from both retail and institutional investors such as family offices. We built the company to make crypto as accessible as stocks and have seen tremendous demand for our products,” he concluded. Wood met with Snyder and Rashwan at a conference in 2019 and says she got to talking about the industry, its structure, and the potential for new tech applications to emerge. Snyderstated that“Cathie’s counsel on critical business strategy, product development, and distribution will be critical as 21Shares expands our global footprint.” The company’s other backers include Boost VC, Collaborative Ventures, Graham Tuckwell, Morgan Creek, and Quiet Capital. While the project between Woods and 21Shares is just getting started, her other ventures are struggling to stay afloat. It wasrecently reportedthat Woods’ flagship exchange-traded fund fell by more than 5% on Monday. This wouldn’t be so terrible if the fund hadn’t also tumbled more than 30% since peaking in February. The ARK Innovation ETF is an actively managed fund that invests in disruptive technology. Examples include electric vehicles and driverless cars. The fund has fallen more than 16% YTD. Top holders, including Tesla and Roku, were all in the red as of today. Tesla and Teledoc Heath leading the race toward the bottom, down 5.5% and 7.2% respectively. Ark’s Autonomous Technology and Robotics ETF is the only fund of Wood’s that is up for the year, seeing a 3% gain. \|\| Iran Cracks Down on Crypto Miners Using Household Electricity: Report: Cryptocurrency miners in Iran who use household electricity for their operations will face heavy fines, according to the country’s energy ministry. Furthermore, miners will have to pay for damages caused to the electricity network, a spokesman for the ministry said, as reported Sunday by English-language newspaper the Tehran Times. The measure comes in response to concerns over the burden cryptocurrency mining is placing on the country’s electricity supply, which has been under strain this year thanks to reduced rainfall limiting the output of hydropower plants. Iran has attempted to boost its sanction-hit economy with crypto mining. The country contributed some 4% of the total global bitcoin hash power in 2020 according to research by the University of Cambridge’s Centre for Alternative Finance. However, the country’s government has attempted to keep miners on a short leash to manage the economic benefits within the scope of its electricity supply. Mining facilities must register with the government, with owners being required to disclose their identities, the size of their farms and what kind of equipment they are using, per new directives issued last year. Also read: Iran’s Central Bank Reportedly Bans Trading of Crypto Mined Abroad Related Stories Buyer of Jack Dorsey’s First Tweet Reportedly Arrested in Iran Bitcoiners’ Approach to the Climate Change Fight Isn’t Working – This Might Argo and DMG Join Group Working to Lower Bitcoin Miners’ Carbon Emissions The Balkanization of Bitcoin: The Next Attack on BTC Is About Mining Provenance \|\| FOREX-Dollar pinned near one-month low, Bitcoin steadies near $57k after weekend drop: * Dollar hovers above 1-month low * Analyst says carry trade may thrive in low vol environment * Bitcoin trades near $57,000 after weekend plunge * Graphic: World FX rates https://tmsnrt.rs/2RBWI5E By Ritvik Carvalho LONDON, April 19 (Reuters) - The dollar traded just above a one-month low against major peers on Monday, with Treasury yields near their lowest in five weeks, after the U.S. Federal Reserve reiterated its view that any spike in inflation was likely to be temporary. The dollar was also held down by improved risk sentiment amid a rally in global stocks to record highs. Bitcoin stabilized after losses from Sunday, when it plunged as much as 14% to $51,541, which a report attributed to news of a power outage in China. The dollar index, which tracks it against six other currencies, was at 91.552, not far from last week's low of 91.484, a level not seen since March 18. The dollar bought 108.40 yen, its lowest against the Japanese currency since March 24. "Following the decline since end-March, the dollar index has stabilized since mid-last week," said Jussi Hiljanen, chief strategist, USD and EUR rates at SEB. "The dollar is likely to remain counter cyclical until the dollar rates in the 2-5y sector take another leg higher. As we expect the dollar rates to move more or less sideways during Q2, EUR/USD has room to gain in the coming months, especially if vaccination speeds up in the euro area and the earnings season pushes the stock market even higher." The euro changed hands at $1.1985, flat on the day and near its highest against the dollar since March 4. The European Central Bank meets on Thursday with internal divisions over the pace of bond buying, extended COVID-19 lockdowns and potential delays to the EU recovery fund form the backdrop. The 10-year Treasury yield sank as low as 1.5280% last week from 1.7760% at the end of last month, its highest in more than a year. The S&P 500 closed at a record high on Friday, extending a rally in global stocks. Story continues Fed Governor Christopher Waller said on CNBC on Friday that the U.S. economy "is ready to rip" as vaccinations continue and activity picks up, but a rise in inflation is likely to be transitory, echoing comments from other Fed officials, including Chair Jerome Powell, over the past week. "With liquidity still abundant, we are going to hear more about the FX carry trade – which thrives in a low volatility environment," said Chris Turner, global head of markets and regional head of research for UK and CEE at ING. "This especially being the case if the Fed manages to make the April 28th meeting a non-event. With the SOFR overnight USD interest rate now at 0.01%, the dollar clearly doesn't score highly on the carry front. And indeed a little more confidence in the European and global recovery stories may well see flows start to resume to EM – having been derailed by the Treasury sell-off in February and March." MSCI's emerging market currency index traded 0.1% higher on the day, and is up 0.8% from the start of last week. Bitcoin stabilized around $57,471 after a weekend plunge. Data website CoinMarketCap cited a blackout in China’s Xinjiang region, which reportedly powers a lot of bitcoin mining, for the selloff. Analysts at National Australia Bank cited "speculation in several online reports" that the U.S. Treasury may crack down on money laundering within digital currencies for the sharp move lower. The bitcoin rout also followed a decision on Friday by Turkey's central bank to ban the use of cryptocurrencies for purchases. Despite recent weakness, the world's most popular cryptocurrency remains up 97% in 2021, after more than quadrupling last year. "We suspect the 15% weekend correction in Bitcoin will not have broader market ramifications," ING's Turner said. (Reporting by Ritvik Carvalho; additional reporting by Kevin Buckland in Tokyo; editing by Larry King) \|\| Cryptocurrency scammers disguise themselves as Elon Musk to steal millions of dollars: Tesla CEO Elon Musk speaks during the unveiling of the new Tesla Model Y in Hawthorne, California on 14 March, 2019 (AFP via Getty Images) Elon Musk impersonators have swindled over $2 million from cryptocurrency scams over the past six months, according to data from the FTC . Thieves impersonating the Tesla CEO has been a consistent problem for some years. This usually occurs on Twitter, where Mr Musk is a frequent poster. Scammers, who reply to Mr Musk and sometimes mimic him by rebranding other verified accounts, make claims that if users send bitcoin they will return the cryptocurrency two times over. In 2018, several verified Twitter accounts, including those belonging to UK retailer Matalan and US publisher Pantheon Books, were taken over . "Im giving 10 000 Bitcoin (BTC) to all community!" I left the post of director of Tesla, thank you all for your support," the hacked account of Pantheon Books stated. Nearly 7000 people have reported losses of over $80 million in various cryptocurrency scams since October 2020, losing on average just under $1900 each time an increase 12 times over in the number of reports and 1000 per cent greater in financial theft. Some say theres a Wild West vibe to the crypto culture, and an element of mystery too. Cryptocurrency enthusiasts congregate online to chat about their shared passion. And with bitcoins value soaring in recent months, new investors may be eager to get in on the action. All of this plays right into the hands of scammers. They blend into the scene with claims that can seem plausible because cryptocurrency is unknown territory for many people, the FTC says. Online, people may appear to be friendly and willing to share their tips. But that can also be part of the ruse to get people to invest in their scheme. In fact, some of these schemes are based on referral chains, and work by bringing in people who then recruit new investors. As well as purporting to be Mr Musk, cryptocurrency scammers will impersonate government authorities and well-known businesses such as cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase. The FTC adds that 14 per cent of all reported losses to imposters are now in cryptocurrency. Story continues The attractiveness of cryptocurrency to investors, and scammers, is a double-edged sword. Although the currency has boomed over recent years and experts predict it is likely to increase further, it is notably volatile. Mr Musk himself recently crashed the cryptocurrency market after announcing that Tesla would not be accepting bitcoin in payment for Tesla vehicles , only two months after encouraging users to do the opposite. Meme-based cryptocurrencies, such as Dogecoin , have also boomed recently in a rise similar to the Gamestop stock market rocket . However, the governor of the Bank of England has said that cryptocurrency has no intrinsic value and that investors should be prepared to lose all their money. Read More The Independent visits Heathrow ahead of international travel restarting Ethereum founder tells Elon Musk how to fix dogecoin Bitcoin price live: Crypto recovers slightly after Elon Musk sends BTC and other coins plunging \|\| Can the Uptrend Continue for The Children's Place (PLCE)?: As of late, it has definitely been a great time to be an investor of The Children's Place, Inc. PLCE. The stock has moved higher by 21% in the past month, while it is also above its 20 Day SMA too. This combination of strong price performance and favorable technical, could suggest that the stock may be on the right path. We certainly think that this might be the case, particularly if you consider PLCE’s recent earnings estimate revision activity. From this look, the company’s future is quite favorable; as PLCE has earned itself a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), meaning that its recent run may continue for a bit longer, and that this isn’t the top for the in-focus company. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here . Bitcoin, Like the Internet Itself, Could Change Everything Blockchain and cryptocurrency has sparked one of the most exciting discussion topics of a generation. Some call it the “Internet of Money” and predict it could change the way money works forever. If true, it could do to banks what Netflix did to Blockbuster and Amazon did to Sears. Experts agree we’re still in the early stages of this technology, and as it grows, it will create several investing opportunities. Zacks’ has just revealed 3 companies that can help investors capitalize on the explosive profit potential of Bitcoin and the other cryptocurrencies with significantly less volatility than buying them directly. See 3 crypto-related stocks now >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report The Childrens Place, Inc. (PLCE) : Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research \|\| Week ahead: Global services PMIs, EU inflation, US jobs data, OPEC+ meeting: Investors are in for a shorter week as May comes to an end. Monday is a Bank Holiday in the UK, and the US also has a holiday, so, market activity will be on the slower side. However, there is still plenty on the schedule as June kicks off. First up, much of the focus will be on the final global services purchasing managers' index (PMI) figures for May, as economies reopen, and the biggest hit sector worldwide, regains its footing. Britain and America have seen the most positive economic rebound in terms of services. UK services PMI is expected to improve to 62.2 as more business reopen in May, while US ISM services is forecast to remain steady at 62.7. Manufacturing and construction PMIs are also due out for the UK and Europe. There will also be a focus on the crypto market, after a volatile month, which saw a number of top tokens including Bitcoin (BTC-USD), ethereum (ETH-USD) and dogecoin (DOGE) plummet to record lows. Elsewhere:The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) are due to hold their next monthly meeting on 1 June. It is yet unknown whether the 13 members will increase production or not. OPEC+ announced earlier this year that they would gradually increase supply to 2 million barrels per day (bpd). Analysts expect members to maintain the current plan, and increase the remaining 840,000 bpd in July. It is a subdued week for Britain in terms of economic data, with stock markets closed on Monday due to the May Bank Holiday. Coronavirus and the final stage of the roadmap out of lockdown will be on everyone's minds. Especially after prime minister Boris Johnson put a damper on plans to fully reopen the economy on 21 June. Johnson warned last Thursday that the Indian coronavirus variant could push back England's reopening, as the strain, first found in India spread rapidly in Britain. "All eyes will be on the government’s decision" on the fourth step of the roadmap out of lockdown," said Alpesh Paleja, lead economist at the CBI. "As and when restrictions lift further, we shouldn’t lose sight of how fragile the situation will remain for some businesses, and the government will need to keep a watching brief of what support may need to continue." Kicking things off on Tuesday, the final manufacturing PMI reading for May. This is followed on Wednesday by the net lending to individuals and mortgage approvals figures. With the final services PMI on Thursday and the construction PMI closing out the week on Friday. Mortgage lending soared to a record high in March of £11.8bn ($16.7bn) just before chancellor Rishi Sunak extended the stamp duty holiday into the summer. Property prices and mortgage demand has remained robust since then, hitting levels last seen back before the financial crisis in 2009. Watch:What does a Joe Biden presidency in the US mean for the global economy? All eyes will be on the US non-farm jobs report out on Friday after April's disappointing results caught investors and markets off-guard. There were expectations for 990,000 jobs to be added in April, building on the 916,000 gained in March. But, the figure for April came in at 266,000, with March’s number revised lower to 770,000. Analysts say the lower number was probably due to the "generous boost to unemployment benefits as a result of the March stimulus package", comforting those who didn't return to the workforce. "These benefits are likely to act as a considerable brake on the US labour market until they expire in September, at a time when vacancies are already at record levels of 8m," said Michael Hewson, chief analysts at CMC Markets. "This in turn could prompt an element of wage inflation, as employers attempt to entice workers back into employment by raising salaries." Heading into Friday, estimates point to over 600,000 jobs to be added in May, while the unemployment rate is expected to slip back to 5.9% after unexpectedly increasing to 6.1% in April. Outside of this, there is the ISM and final Markit manufacturing PMIs on Tuesday, followed by services PMIs on Thursday. Friday then also sees the latest factory orders data. It is a busier week in the Eurozone this week, with a few releases on the slate. In line with the rest of the Western world, the region wakes to its latest manufacturing PMIs on Tuesday, alongside the German unemployment change data. Wednesday will see the region-wide PPI number. Then the services PMI on Thursday, and monthly retail sales on Friday. Services were more positive for the zone's two biggest economies, Germany and France, with services rising above 50 for the first time since August last year for the latter. Meanwhile, Spain's services sector also improved in April, rising to 54.6, while Italy’s activity was more subdued at 47.3, due to various COVID curfews and other restrictions. "One of the main takeaways from previous reports has been sharp rises in prices paid or input costs which for now don’t appear to be completely being passed on," Hewson said. "Employment components have also seen a recovery as well, although business activity in Europe has been more subdued due to higher infection rates." Watch:What is inflation and why is it important? \|\| Robinhood Temporarily Overloaded Due to Dogecoin Surge: Julien Viry / Getty Images Robinhood once again had trading issues on its platform , following the recent spike in Dogecoin’s rally. See: Webull vs. Robinhood — Which Is Best for You in 2021? Find: Robinhood Files for IPO The company explained itself in a blog post on its website, saying that its customers are at the forefront of a generational change in the financial markets “that’s playing out again this week in cryptocurrency.” “Interest in Dogecoin has exploded over the past two days. Its price has skyrocketed nearly 7-fold and Dogecoin remains a top trending topic on Twitter,” the company wrote, adding that as one of the few platforms where customers can purchase Dogecoin, the platform is right at the center of this surge. Last Thursday, interest in Dogecoin surged as it rose past 25 cents for the first time, “putting extreme pressure on crypto trading systems,” Robinhood explains. See: Dogecoin Exceeds $11 Billion Market Cap as Coinbase Launches IPO Find: Dogecoin’s Major Price Increase — Is It a Worthwhile Investment? As Robinhood processed orders, one of its systems failed, which brought down its crypto order system, according to the blog post. The system was recovered in about an hour, meaning customers could trade with some intermittent issues. “We were back to normal within two hours. ” And on Friday morning, Dogecoin rose to nearly 50 cents. “For Robinhood this led to sporadic crypto order failures and delayed notifications for some customers. Our top priority is to provide great service to our customers. These interruptions aren’t acceptable to us. We believe we’re the most intuitive crypto platform for Dogecoin traders and we’re proud to be a top choice for this community.” The company added that its teams were working “around the clock.” See: Bitcoin’s Plummet Gives an Opportunity to Buy the Dip Find: Crypto Market Plummets After a Wild Week Dogecoin was created as a joke — its name is a reference to a popular internet meme, according to Coinbase. “It shares many features with Litecoin. However, unlike Litecoin, there is no hard cap on the number of dogecoins that can be produced.” Story continues Doge has been gaining traction lately, most notably thanks to Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who tweeted about it in February, sending the cryptocurrency to spike 46% that day. See: Breaking Down the Basics of Cryptocurrency Find: How Does Cryptocurrency Work – and Is It Safe? And last month, entrepreneur and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said the basketball team would accept Dogecoin for tickets and merchandise, “because we can.” “The Mavericks have decided to accept Dogecoin as payment for Mavs tickets and merchandise for one very important, earth shattering reason, because we can! Because we can, we have chosen to do so,” Cuban said in a statement on the Mavs website. As today, April 20 — i.e., 4/20, or 420 — is deemed “Dogeday” by many hardcore fans, the currency was expected to surge once again. However, Dogecoin is down to $0.35 as of this publication, a decline of over 11% so far for today. More From GOBankingRates Don’t Miss Out on Nominating Your Favorite Small Business To Be Featured on GOBankingRates — Ends May 31 Everything You Need To Know About Taxes This Year What Income Level Is Considered Middle Class in Your State? The Average Retirement Age in Every State This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com : Robinhood Temporarily Overloaded Due to Dogecoin Surge \|\| World shares hit highs as markets focus on earnings: By Elizabeth Howcroft LONDON (Reuters) - World shares hit record highs in the European session on Monday, as markets were generally upbeat about the prospects for a global economic recovery from COVID-19, ahead of a busy week for earnings. Europe's STOXX 600 rose to a record high before easing some gains, up 0.1% at 1105 GMT. Asian shares hit one-month highs overnight. MSCI world equity index, which tracks shares in 49 countries, also climbed to a new peak, up 0.2%. But U.S. stock futures pointed to a lower open for Wall Street, after the S&P 500 and the Dow closed at record highs in the previous session. Matthias Scheiber, global head of portfolio management at Wells Fargo Asset Management cited low interest rates, the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines and the fiscal stimulus package in the United States as reasons for his bullish stance on equities. "Risk is coming down, volatility is coming down … we see the slow reopening of global economies, the rollout of the vaccine and the huge catch-up in demand so from that perspective it should be positive for economic growth." "We had a strong rally in cyclical and value stocks since the start of this year - we would like to see confirmation in the earnings." Earnings from IBM and Coca-Cola are due later in the session. Netflix reports on Tuesday. Later in the week, American Airlines and Southwest will be the first major post-COVID cyclicals to post results. The European Central Bank meeting on Thursday will also be in focus this week. ECB President Christine Lagarde said last week that the euro zone economy is still standing on the "two crutches" of monetary and fiscal stimulus and these cannot be taken away until it makes a full recovery. The benchmark U.S. Treasury yield, which dropped as low as 1.528% last Thursday, was at 1.5764%. In currency markets, the dollar index was down 0.6% at its lowest levels in more than a month, at 91.052, having weakened since its recent peak of 93.439 at the end of March. Dollar-yen was also down 0.6%, changing hands at 108.145. The euro was up 0.5% versus the dollar at $1.20435. "We have been highlighting over the past two months that USD could bottom out, in contrast to consensus, and believed that this would be a tactical problem for EM and for certain commodity trades," wrote JP Morgan's head of global and European equity strategy, Mislav Matejka, in a note to clients. "We think the risk of a firmer USD, through rising US-Europe interest rate differential, is not finished." Matejka also said that, although there is the technical potential for a correction in equities, he would not cut stocks exposure on the six- to nine-month horizon. "We think that it is more likely that we will be raising our year-end targets, rather than reducing them, as we move through the summer," he said. Likewise, Wells Fargo Asset Management's Matthias Scheiber said "We believe we are in the 'buy the dip' environment at this moment given that both fiscal and monetary policy are very supportive, so if we would see a correction … we would probably increase the equity position.” Bitcoin was up 1% at around $56,850, nursing losses from Sunday, when it plunged as much as 14% to $51,541. Oil prices fell as rising COVID-19 infections in India prompted concern than stronger measures to contain the pandemic would hurt economic activity. A recent surge in COVID-19 cases could see major parts of Japan slide back into states of emergency, with authorities in Tokyo and Osaka looking at renewed curbs. ECB PEPP https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/mkt/dgkplexejvb/Pasted%20image%201615808152069.png (Reporting by Elizabeth Howcroft, editing by Larry King) \|\| AUD/USD Forex Technical Analysis – Trade Through .7706 Changes Main Trend to Down: The Australian Dollar is trading lower on Friday but off its lows. The currency remains inside a pair retracement zones which have held as both support and resistance for nearly two months. Helping to keep a lid on prices are concerns over China’s policy toward rising commodity prices. Stabilizing Treasury yields and a weaker U.S. Dollar have been underpinning prices. At 08:43 GMT, theAUD/USDis trading .7730, down 0.0011 or -0.14%. Market attention will shift to U.S. inflation data due to be released at 12:30 GMT. Economists expectcore PCE (personal consumption expenditures)prices to jump 2.9% year-on-year in April, compared with a year-on-year rise of 1.8% a month earlier. Stronger-than-expected U.S. inflation data could put pressure on the Aussie. Although no one expects the Fed to raise rates, higher inflation numbers could start to encourage the Fed to at least start discussing a plan to begin tapering its bond purchases. The main trend is up according to the daily swing chart. A trade through .7706 will change the main trend to down. A move through .7796 will signal a resumption of the uptrend. The short-term range is .7532 to .7891. Its retracement zone at .7711 to .7669 is support. The main range is .8007 to .7532. Its retracement zone at .7770 to .7826 is resistance. The direction of the AUD/USD on Friday is likely to be determined by trader reaction to the short-term 50% level at .7711. A sustained move over .7712 will indicate the presence of buyers. The first upside target is a minor pivot at .7755. Overtaking this level could drive the Aussie into the main 50% level at .7770, followed by the main top at .7796. A sustained move under .7711 will signal the presence of sellers. Taking out .7706 will change the main trend to down. This could trigger a further break into a series of targets including main bottoms at .7688 and .7675, and the short-term Fibonacci level at .7669. The Fib level at .7669 is not only support, but also a potential trigger point for an acceleration to the downside. Thisarticlewas originally posted on FX Empire • Bitcoin Tests Support At $37,000 • Daily Gold News: Friday, May 28 – Gold Remains Below $1,900 • EUR/USD Daily Forecast – U.S. Dollar Attempts To Gain Ground Against Euro • USD/JPY Forex Technical Analysis – Trend Up; Trading on Strong Side of 109.634 – 109.223 Retracement Zone • EUR/USD Mid-Session Technical Analysis for May 28, 2021 • GBP/JPY Weekly Price Forecast – British Pound Breaks Major Resistance [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] None available.	Trend: no change \|\| Prices: 36684.93, 37575.18, 39208.77, 36894.41, 35551.96, 35862.38, 33560.71, 33472.63, 37345.12, 36702.60
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2016-09-06] BTC Price: 610.44, BTC RSI: 63.08 Gold Price: 1349.40, Gold RSI: 58.83 Oil Price: 44.83, Oil RSI: 47.94 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Bitcoin Plunges, Hong Kong Exchange Says Millions Stolen in Hacking: DailyFX.com - Talking Points: • Bitcoin extends fall as news of an exchange hack reignited cybersecurity fears with cryptocurrencies • Chinese Bitcoin exchange halts trading to investigate hack resulting in $65 Million in losses • Bitcoin prices rebound on open exchanges following the hack, only one exchange was effected Having trouble trading Foreign Exchange? Thismay be why. Bitcoin suffered one of its worst declines in years through the open of this week. News that trading was halted on “Bitfinex” exchange after a hack resulting in $65 million theft unnerved traders. Bitcoin fell a little over 24 percent through Tuesday’s low following the announcement of the hack. Bitfinex remains closed, howeverforthough open exchanges the Bitcoin-USD pair (BTC/USD) rallied by more than 20 percent from lows through Wednesday. The hacked exchange is expected to remain closed for the next few days as investigations continue to uncover more information. Volume in BTC/USD trading spiked significantly through the decline and on the news of the hack. Average volume on for the cryptocurrency pair on the Bitstamp exchange rose to more than 22,000 on Tuesday and over 15,000 Wednesday – the 20-day average before these large movements was a comparatively restrained 4,400. Cybersecurity remains a chief concern for the cryptocurrency and its numerous exchanges worldwide, as it is traded and used entirely over a network.The recent hack on the Hong Kong exchange is not the first. The largest bitcoin exchange in the world “Mt. Gox”, filed for bankruptcy in 2014 and admitted to being hacked, resulting in the loss of $460 Million in bitcoin. The cryptocurrency has become extremely popular since it was first introduced 7 years ago, to better understand its role in the financial markets check out DailyFX’sForex Trading Instructor Tyler Yell piece onBitcoin. original source DailyFXprovides forex news and technical analysis on the trends that influence the global currency markets.Learn forex trading with a free practice account and trading charts fromFXCM. \|\| Hacking group claims to offer cyber-weapons in online auction: By Joseph Menn (Reuters) - Hackers going by the name Shadow Brokers said on Monday they will auction stolen surveillance tools they say were used by a cyber group linked to the U.S. National Security Agency. To arouse interest in the auction, the hackers released samples of programs they said could break into popular firewall software made by companies including Cisco Systems Inc (CSCO.O), Juniper Networks Inc (JNPR.N) and Fortinet Inc (FTNT.O). The companies did not respond to request for comment, nor did the NSA. Writing in imperfect English, the Shadow Brokers promised in postings on a Tumblr blog that the auctioned material would contain cyber weapons developed by the Equation Group, a hacking group that cyber security experts widely believe to be an arm of the NSA. [ http://reut.rs/2aVA7LD] The Shadow Brokers said the programs they will auction will be better than Stuxnet, a malicious computer worm widely attributed to the United States and Israel that sabotaged Irans nuclear programme. Reuters could not contact the Shadow Brokers or verify their assertions. Some experts who looked at the samples posted on Tumblr said they included programs that had previously been described and therefore were unlikely to cause major damage. The data [released so far] appears to be relatively old; some of the programs have already been known for years, said researcher Claudio Guarnieri, and are unlikely to cause any significant operational damage. Still, they appeared to be genuine tools that might work if flaws have not been addressed. After examining the code released Monday, Matt Suiche, founder of UAE-based security startup Comae Technologies, concluded they looked like "could be used." Other security experts warned the posting could prove to be a hoax. The group said interested parties had to send funds in advance of winning the auction via Bitcoin currency and would not get their money back if they lost. The auction will end at an unspecified time, Shadow Brokers said, encouraging bidders to "keep bidding until we announce winner." (Editing by Cynthia Osterman) \|\| Exclusive - LexisNexis and start-up join to curb bitcoin money-laundering: By Jemima Kelly LONDON (Reuters) - A company that provides banks with anti-money-laundering controls has teamed up with a bitcoin security firm to try to curb nefarious uses of the digital currency, such as drug trafficking and terrorism financing. LexisNexis said the new service it has created with London-based startup Elliptic would bring bank-grade AML controls to bitcoin transactions, making the virtual currency more attractive to those who might want to use it for legitimate transactions LexisNexis, part of multinational analytics firm RELX Group, helps banks comply with AML regulation, using a database of 2.7 million global entities that could be involved in illicit transactions, such as those on sanctions and other watch-lists. It has shared that database with Elliptic, which monitors bitcoin transactions and can alert its clients - ranging from bitcoin exchanges to U.S. and European intelligence agencies - when money moves from bitcoin addresses that have been identified as bad actors. "This is a step towards making it (bitcoin) more mainstream and more acceptable," said Thomas Brown, of LexisNexis Risk Solutions. Bitcoin is a web-based digital currency that relies on complex algorithms to move money around quickly and anonymously with no need for a central authority to process transactions. That has made it attractive to a variety of users, including those who want to get around capital controls and those who support a currency that is free from government control for ideological reasons. But it has also attracted criminals, such as drug dealers and arms traffickers. "Today, if you see bitcoins transacting, you almost assume they're from someone who wants to be off the grid, or they're proceeds from illicit transactions," said Brown. Last month Elliptic said it was working with the Internet Watch Foundation to clamp down on the use of bitcoin for online child pornography. "The single biggest thing keeping mainstream financial services out of the (bitcoin) ecosystem is the inability to do bank-grade anti-money laundering controls," said Elliptic's head of business development, Kevin Beardsley. "The hope is that this will unlock a whole wave of companies being able to enter financial services with bitcoin." (Editing by Robin Pomeroy) View comments \|\| 39 Fintech Blogs And Services You Should Follow: The following list originally appeared onSecurionPay.com. FinTech is a relatively young line of business, but for now, there are many resources which focus on financial technology or payments topics (and it’s still growing). To make it easy for you, we’ve put on a list the financial services and blogs which are worth mentioning. Here you can find the essential information about banking, payments, FinTech and e-commerce. Faisal Khan specializes in cross-border money transfer and payment systems. He calls himself a payments consultant and an evangelist for digital money (aka Bitcoins). He’s working with entrepreneurs, FinTech startups, mid-sized and huge companies, but also with banks and financial institutions. 1. Tom GroenfeldtThe author has a wealth of experience in finance, banking, and technology, and now he writes for Forbes on these topics. In 2015, he was named one of the top 25 global finserv influencers. So, if you’re looking for insightful articles, you should add this blog to your list. 2. The Finance BuffThe blog created by Harry Sit is a great resource for those who want to know the basics about finance, credit card payments, and also about saving. The author isn’t a professional financial specialist or financial advisor, but he creates simple posts for people who want to know how to invest their money or e.g. how to protect their account. Subscribe to Benzinga's weekly Fintech Focus newsletter! 1. Jessica ElermHere’s another blog with personal thoughts on the revolution of technology in the banking and payment industry. Jessica Elerm works in the Australian FinTech startup Tyro, but she is also a blogger, commentator and she writes for Brett King’s Breaking Banks, Daily FinTech, and Bank NXT. On Jessica’s blog, you’ll read mostly about FinTech, growth hacking, payments, and banking. 2. The FinanserChris Skinner’s blog is all about the financial world. The author is one of the FinTech leaders that have been voted one of the most influential people in banking by The Financial Brand. He provides well-written articles and analysis with the insightful approach to finance and new technologies. 1. Payments BloggerPayments Blogger run by John Doyle is a place where you can find the news and research about the global payments industry. The blog provides short and long-form content types with basic information, definition, as well as with high value-analysis and guest bloggers’ thoughts. 2. FiniCulture It’s a blog created by Pascal Bouvier, a former French banker. He writes a few blog posts per month, and all of them are insightful, with the fresh look at the financial market. Here you can read about the integration of finance and technology, you’ll find pieces of advice for FinTech startups, and also some funny posts, such as The Alternative FinTech Lexicon. 3. Finextra Finextra is a place where you can find all essential news about banking, payments or startups. It also offers a newswire or global events calendar, and the site is a platform for guest bloggers (there’s a special Community section). 4. Finovate The Finovate team has attended and spoken at banking and technology events for 20 years, and they have also been organizing conferences around the globe since 2007. The blog focuses on FinTech, banking, and financial services innovations, and you can find here the FinTech news and updates, interviews, roundups and more. 5. Visible Banking Visible Banking is a blog owned by Christophe Langlois, who worked in business development, in both telecommunications and banking. The author focuses mainly on social media in banking and financial services. 6. Credit Union Times If you’re looking for information about credit union managements and the topics related to that, the Credit Union Times is a great source. Here you can find not only updated news about credit unions, but also expert technology coverage as well as statistical analysis. 7. The Financial Brand The digital publication started in 2007 by Jeffry Pilcher, who is also one of the authors on the website. The Financial Brand focuses on marketing and strategy issues affecting retail banks and credit unions. It provides the financial and banking news with strategic analysis and real-world examples. 8. Accenture Banking Blog Accenture’s blog is a resource with data interpreting and analyzing of articles. The blogging experts have a rich experience as regards to the banking industry, so you may be sure that they will provide insightful and high-quality articles. 9. PYMNTS A newswire focusing on the payments industry provides well-written news about online and mobile payments, but you can also find here webinars, researches and articles written by experts, innovators and thought leaders. All posts are created mainly for e-commerce market. 10. Let's Talk Payments LTP, launched in 2013, delivers the news and research for the FinTech industry. The content is updated every day, and here you can find original insights, analysis, and resources for the FinTech community. 11. Mobile Payments Today As you could guess, the platform provides the latest news around mobile payments. The topics are about card brands, contactless payments, EMV, security issues, mobile banking or trends and statistics. 12. Payments Source PaymentsSource is a website where you can find payment news, trends and analysis as well as expert opinions. Lots of news are published in the sections, such as Regulation & Compliance, Risk & Analytics, Debit & Prepaid, Retail & Acquiring, Technology and Global. 13. bobsguide Bobsguide provides the latest financial technology news and insights. There are articles, blog posts and insights from contributing editors. Also, you can find here a list of industry events. 14. ATM Marketplace ATM Marketplace is a hub for news, articles, insights and more about ATMs world. It’s a great source to watch as the technology in the financial industry is evolving. 1. Daily Fintech Daily Fintech is an ad-free, ungated research platform written by a few FinTech experts, focused on financial innovations and insights. Fintech Genome moderated by these experts, is the newly launched P2P FinTech knowledge platform, that anyone interested in the FinTech ecosystem can join. 2. IBM Insights on Business: Banking Industry IBM, as one of the technology leaders, delivers the insights and news for the banking industry. The content focuses mainly on new technologies, but you can find here some author’s thoughts, such as payments predictions for 2016. 3. Banking Exchange Blogs Banking news and articles presented in sections with updates about community banking, technology, payments, risk and more. There’s also a blog section, where you can find Dan Fisher’s personal view and opinion on the banking industry. 4. Markets Media Markets Media provides financial news with a focus on institutional trading and investing, but you can find here the latest information on banks, technology or regulators. 5. Bank Innovaton Bank Innovation was launched in 2009 and delivers information, news and blog posts for the banking industry. Beyond the latest news, you can find here also The FinTech Answerable section and contributor blogs. 6. Bank NXT A blog maintained by Backbase, and created for innovative financial professionals. The website provides the knowledge (exclusive content and reproduced blogs from experts) and creates a space for industry leaders’ community. 1. FinTech Hackers Looking for the FinTech growth hacks? On this blog, you’ll find the case studies from well-known FinTech companies. Also, you can get access to a free email course to learn how to build a growth strategy. 2. Tomorrow's Transactions The Consult Hyperion’s Blog is all about the development of technology in our everyday life. Here you’ll find banking and finance news, as well as technological and security issues. 3. PaymentEye The service keeps an eye on a payment market, and publishes the insights or analysis for professionals involved in the payments sector. On the website, you can also find information about upcoming events and the section with white papers. 4. Payments Card and Mobile If you’re looking for a hub for global payments news and research with up-to-date experts’ analysis and opinion, this website is for you. The digital publication covers every aspect of the payment business, so you can find here information about international cards or mobile solutions. There’s also a Conferences section with upcoming financial events. 5. Payments Views Payment Views is a blog with insightful articles and analyses, but also with news and the wires. You can read the updates that the authors find the most interesting and useful, and on the home page you’ll find the best stories from the last seven days. You can also send your own story or press releases to share with payment professionals. 6. Talking Payments Here’s another website where you can find news about payments, insights, blog articles and upcoming events. Talking Payments brings together banks, acquirers, merchants, vendors and industry experts to share the news. 7. The Banker The history of The Banker starts in 1926, and for all these years the editorial team has built its great reputation. Here you’ll find a wide range of financial news, features, analysis, or interviews. As you would read on the website: The Banker is the key source data and analysis for the industry. 8. TechCrunch If you read TechCrunch news regularly, you probably know that the service is a place where you can find mainly tech, social media or startup news. But there is also a section with insightful articles about FinTech world. 9. Finteh Weekly Fintech Weekly, created in cooperation with Bankverlag, is a typical website with roundups; so therefore, it’s a great source for those who are looking for the most interesting news from the previous week. Also, you’ll find here some information about top conferences you should attend if you are running a financial business would be found here. 10. Financial News Online daily news service is owned by Dow Jones & Company and provides the information about the investment banking, fund management, and securities industries. You’ll find here, the major news affecting the securities industry, as well as trends and top news about capital markets, fund management, information technology and recruitment. 11. Fintech Business The service was launched in 2015, and it’s focusing mostly on Australian FinTech community. But if you want to stay on top in FinTech industry, it’s worth knowing something about the market from other countries. FinTech Business delivers blogs and reports focusing on the key FinTech sectors, and legislation, regulation, or security issues. 1. Fintech Finance Fintech Finance is a great resource for the FinTech companies. You’ll find here the latest news, infographics, insights and more. The content is updated on a daily basis. 2. Fintech Profile The idea of the FinTech Profile is to track the startups and companies from the financial services industry. So, prepare not only for the FinTech news and insight articles, but also for financial companies presentation. 3. Fintastico Fintastico is a project that brings together the latest news from selected sources across the FinTech industry. You can select the services by type, such as Banking, Business Tools, Financial Researches, Investments, Payments and more. See more from Benzinga • Alphabet And Amazon See A Wave Of Price Target Changes Post-Earnings • Post-Earnings Selloff May Provide Western Digital Investors With A Good Entry Point • Twitter Strikes Live-Streaming Alliance With Warner Bros. And BuzzFeed For 'Suicide Squad' Red Carpet Event © 2016 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| 39 Fintech Blogs And Services You Should Follow: The following list originally appeared on SecurionPay.com . FinTech is a relatively young line of business, but for now, there are many resources which focus on financial technology or payments topics (and it’s still growing). To make it easy for you, we’ve put on a list the financial services and blogs which are worth mentioning. Here you can find the essential information about banking, payments, FinTech and e-commerce. Faisal Khan specializes in cross-border money transfer and payment systems. He calls himself a payments consultant and an evangelist for digital money (aka Bitcoins). He’s working with entrepreneurs, FinTech startups, mid-sized and huge companies, but also with banks and financial institutions. Tom Groenfeldt The author has a wealth of experience in finance, banking, and technology, and now he writes for Forbes on these topics. In 2015, he was named one of the top 25 global finserv influencers. So, if you’re looking for insightful articles, you should add this blog to your list. The Finance Buff The blog created by Harry Sit is a great resource for those who want to know the basics about finance, credit card payments, and also about saving. The author isn’t a professional financial specialist or financial advisor, but he creates simple posts for people who want to know how to invest their money or e.g. how to protect their account. Subscribe to Benzinga's weekly Fintech Focus newsletter! Jessica Elerm Here’s another blog with personal thoughts on the revolution of technology in the banking and payment industry. Jessica Elerm works in the Australian FinTech startup Tyro, but she is also a blogger, commentator and she writes for Brett King’s Breaking Banks, Daily FinTech, and Bank NXT. On Jessica’s blog, you’ll read mostly about FinTech, growth hacking, payments, and banking. The Finanser Chris Skinner’s blog is all about the financial world. The author is one of the FinTech leaders that have been voted one of the most influential people in banking by The Financial Brand. He provides well-written articles and analysis with the insightful approach to finance and new technologies. image13.png Payments Blogger Payments Blogger run by John Doyle is a place where you can find the news and research about the global payments industry. The blog provides short and long-form content types with basic information, definition, as well as with high value-analysis and guest bloggers’ thoughts. FiniCulture It’s a blog created by Pascal Bouvier, a former French banker. He writes a few blog posts per month, and all of them are insightful, with the fresh look at the financial market. Here you can read about the integration of finance and technology, you’ll find pieces of advice for FinTech startups, and also some funny posts, such as The Alternative FinTech Lexicon. Finextra Finextra is a place where you can find all essential news about banking, payments or startups. It also offers a newswire or global events calendar, and the site is a platform for guest bloggers (there’s a special Community section). Finovate The Finovate team has attended and spoken at banking and technology events for 20 years, and they have also been organizing conferences around the globe since 2007. The blog focuses on FinTech, banking, and financial services innovations, and you can find here the FinTech news and updates, interviews, roundups and more. Visible Banking Visible Banking is a blog owned by Christophe Langlois, who worked in business development, in both telecommunications and banking. The author focuses mainly on social media in banking and financial services. Credit Union Times If you’re looking for information about credit union managements and the topics related to that, the Credit Union Times is a great source. Here you can find not only updated news about credit unions, but also expert technology coverage as well as statistical analysis. The Financial Brand The digital publication started in 2007 by Jeffry Pilcher, who is also one of the authors on the website. The Financial Brand focuses on marketing and strategy issues affecting retail banks and credit unions. It provides the financial and banking news with strategic analysis and real-world examples. Accenture Banking Blog Accenture’s blog is a resource with data interpreting and analyzing of articles. The blogging experts have a rich experience as regards to the banking industry, so you may be sure that they will provide insightful and high-quality articles. PYMNTS A newswire focusing on the payments industry provides well-written news about online and mobile payments, but you can also find here webinars, researches and articles written by experts, innovators and thought leaders. All posts are created mainly for e-commerce market. Let's Talk Payments LTP, launched in 2013, delivers the news and research for the FinTech industry. The content is updated every day, and here you can find original insights, analysis, and resources for the FinTech community. Mobile Payments Today As you could guess, the platform provides the latest news around mobile payments. The topics are about card brands, contactless payments, EMV, security issues, mobile banking or trends and statistics. Payments Source PaymentsSource is a website where you can find payment news, trends and analysis as well as expert opinions. Lots of news are published in the sections, such as Regulation & Compliance, Risk & Analytics, Debit & Prepaid, Retail & Acquiring, Technology and Global. bobsguide Bobsguide provides the latest financial technology news and insights. There are articles, blog posts and insights from contributing editors. Also, you can find here a list of industry events. ATM Marketplace ATM Marketplace is a hub for news, articles, insights and more about ATMs world. It’s a great source to watch as the technology in the financial industry is evolving. Story continues image36.png Daily Fintech Daily Fintech is an ad-free, ungated research platform written by a few FinTech experts, focused on financial innovations and insights. Fintech Genome moderated by these experts, is the newly launched P2P FinTech knowledge platform, that anyone interested in the FinTech ecosystem can join. IBM Insights on Business: Banking Industry IBM, as one of the technology leaders, delivers the insights and news for the banking industry. The content focuses mainly on new technologies, but you can find here some author’s thoughts, such as payments predictions for 2016. Banking Exchange Blogs Banking news and articles presented in sections with updates about community banking, technology, payments, risk and more. There’s also a blog section, where you can find Dan Fisher’s personal view and opinion on the banking industry. Markets Media Markets Media provides financial news with a focus on institutional trading and investing, but you can find here the latest information on banks, technology or regulators. Bank Innovaton Bank Innovation was launched in 2009 and delivers information, news and blog posts for the banking industry. Beyond the latest news, you can find here also The FinTech Answerable section and contributor blogs. Bank NXT A blog maintained by Backbase, and created for innovative financial professionals. The website provides the knowledge (exclusive content and reproduced blogs from experts) and creates a space for industry leaders’ community. image04.png FinTech Hackers Looking for the FinTech growth hacks? On this blog, you’ll find the case studies from well-known FinTech companies. Also, you can get access to a free email course to learn how to build a growth strategy. Tomorrow's Transactions The Consult Hyperion’s Blog is all about the development of technology in our everyday life. Here you’ll find banking and finance news, as well as technological and security issues. PaymentEye The service keeps an eye on a payment market, and publishes the insights or analysis for professionals involved in the payments sector. On the website, you can also find information about upcoming events and the section with white papers. Payments Card and Mobile If you’re looking for a hub for global payments news and research with up-to-date experts’ analysis and opinion, this website is for you. The digital publication covers every aspect of the payment business, so you can find here information about international cards or mobile solutions. There’s also a Conferences section with upcoming financial events. Payments Views Payment Views is a blog with insightful articles and analyses, but also with news and the wires. You can read the updates that the authors find the most interesting and useful, and on the home page you’ll find the best stories from the last seven days. You can also send your own story or press releases to share with payment professionals. Talking Payments Here’s another website where you can find news about payments, insights, blog articles and upcoming events. Talking Payments brings together banks, acquirers, merchants, vendors and industry experts to share the news. The Banker The history of The Banker starts in 1926, and for all these years the editorial team has built its great reputation. Here you’ll find a wide range of financial news, features, analysis, or interviews. As you would read on the website: The Banker is the key source data and analysis for the industry. TechCrunch If you read TechCrunch news regularly, you probably know that the service is a place where you can find mainly tech, social media or startup news. But there is also a section with insightful articles about FinTech world. Finteh Weekly Fintech Weekly, created in cooperation with Bankverlag, is a typical website with roundups; so therefore, it’s a great source for those who are looking for the most interesting news from the previous week. Also, you’ll find here some information about top conferences you should attend if you are running a financial business would be found here. Financial News Online daily news service is owned by Dow Jones & Company and provides the information about the investment banking, fund management, and securities industries. You’ll find here, the major news affecting the securities industry, as well as trends and top news about capital markets, fund management, information technology and recruitment. Fintech Business The service was launched in 2015, and it’s focusing mostly on Australian FinTech community. But if you want to stay on top in FinTech industry, it’s worth knowing something about the market from other countries. FinTech Business delivers blogs and reports focusing on the key FinTech sectors, and legislation, regulation, or security issues. image29.png Fintech Finance Fintech Finance is a great resource for the FinTech companies. You’ll find here the latest news, infographics, insights and more. The content is updated on a daily basis. Fintech Profile The idea of the FinTech Profile is to track the startups and companies from the financial services industry. So, prepare not only for the FinTech news and insight articles, but also for financial companies presentation. Fintastico Fintastico is a project that brings together the latest news from selected sources across the FinTech industry. You can select the services by type, such as Banking, Business Tools, Financial Researches, Investments, Payments and more. See more from Benzinga Alphabet And Amazon See A Wave Of Price Target Changes Post-Earnings Post-Earnings Selloff May Provide Western Digital Investors With A Good Entry Point Twitter Strikes Live-Streaming Alliance With Warner Bros. And BuzzFeed For 'Suicide Squad' Red Carpet Event © 2016 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. View comments \|\| Hong Kong bitcoin exchange says it was hacked, trading suspended: By Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss NEW YORK (Reuters) - Hong Kong-based digital currency exchange Bitfinex said late on Tuesday it has suspended trading on its exchange after it discovered a security breach, according to a company statement on its website. Bitfinex is one of the largest exchanges for trading digital currencies bitcoin, ether, and litecoin. It has offices in Europe and the United States and is known in the digital currency community for having a platform that has deep liquidity in the U.S. dollar/bitcoin currency pair. The company said it has also suspended deposits and withdrawals of digital currencies from the exchange. "We are investigating the breach to determine what happened, but we know that some of our users have had their bitcoins stolen," the company said. "We are undertaking a review to determine which users have been affected by the breach. While we conduct this initial investigation and secure our environment, bitfinex.com will be taken down and the maintenance page will be left up." The company said it has reported the theft to law enforcement. It said it has not yet determined the value of digital currencies stolen from customer accounts. Bitfinex also said as it goes through individual customer losses, it may need to settle open margin positions, associated financing, or collateral affected by the security breach. Any settlements will be at the current market price as of 18:00 UTC (1800 GMT), the company said. The attack on Bitfinex was reminiscent of a similar breach at Mt. Gox, a Tokyo-based bitcoin exchange forced to file for bankruptcy in early 2014 after hackers stole an estimated $650 million worth of customer bitcoins. Bitcoin late on Tuesday was down 6.35 percent at $567.83 (BTC=BTSP) on the BitStamp platform. (Reporting by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss; Editing by Chris Reese) \|\| Bitcoin worth $72 mln stolen from Bitfinex exchange in Hong Kong: * Breach is second-largest ever after Tokyo’s Mt Gox * Bitfinex is world’s No. 1 US-dollar exchange for bitcoin * 119,756 bitcoin stolen from users’ accounts * Stolen bitcoin worth $72 mln at time of theft (Adds details throughout) By Clare Baldwin HONG KONG, Aug 3 (Reuters) - Nearly 120,000 units of digital currency bitcoin worth about US$72 million was stolen from the exchange platform Bitfinex in Hong Kong, rattling the global bitcoin community in the second-biggest security breach ever of such an exchange. Bitfinex is the world’s largest dollar-based exchange for bitcoin, and is known in the digital currency community for having deep liquidity in the U.S. dollar/bitcoin currency pair. Zane Tackett, Director of Community & Product Development for Bitfinex, told Reuters on Wednesday that 119,756 bitcoin had been stolen from users’ accounts and that the exchange had not yet decided how to address customer losses. “The bitcoin was stolen from users’ segregated wallets,” he said. The company said it had reported the theft to law enforcement and was cooperating with top blockchain analytic companies to track the stolen coins. Last year, Bitfinex announced a tie-up with Palo Alto-based BitGo, which uses multiple-signature security to store user deposits online, allowing for faster withdrawals. “Our investigation has found no evidence of a breach to any BitGo servers,” BitGo said in a Tweet. “With users’ funds secured using multi-signature technology in partnership with BitGo, a lot more is at stake for the backbone of the bitcoin industry, with its stalwarts and prided tech under fire,” said Charles Hayter, chief executive and founder of digital currency website CryptoCompare. The security breach comes two months after Bitfinex was ordered to pay a $75,000 fine by the U.S. Commodity and Futures Trading Commission in part for offering illegal off-exchange financed commodity transactions in bitcoin and other digital currencies. BITCOIN SLUMP Tuesday’s breach triggered a slump in bitcoin prices and was reminiscent of events that led to the 2014 collapse of Tokyo-based exchange Mt Gox, which said it had lost about $500 million worth of customers’ Bitcoins in a hacking attack. Bitcoin plunged just over 23 percent on Tuesday after the news broke. On Wednesday it was up 1 percent at $545.20 on the BitStamp platform. Tackett added that the breach did not “expose any weaknesses in the security of a blockchain”, the technology that generates and processes bitcoin, a web-based “cryptocurrency” that can move across the globe anonymously without the need for a central authority. A bitcoin expert said the scandal highlighted the risks of companies using cryptography for their ledgers. “The more you rely on its benefits, the greater the potential for damage when keys are stolen. We still have some way to go to create highly secure but convenient systems,” said Singapore-based Antony Lewis. The volume of bitcoin stolen amounts to about 0.75 percent of all bitcoin in circulation. It is not yet clear whether the theft was an inside job or whether hackers were able to gain access to the system externally. On an online forum, Bitfinex’s Tackett said he was “nearly 100 percent certain” it was no one in the company. Bitfinex suspended trading on Tuesday after it discovered the breach. It said on its website that it was investigating and cooperating with the authorities. The security breach is the latest scandal to hit Hong Kong’s bitcoin market after MyCoin became embroiled in a scam last year that media estimated could have duped investors of up to $387 million. The bitcoin trading company closed after the scandal. The president of the Hong Kong Bitcoin Association said the only way to protect information is to disperse it in so many small pieces that the reward for hacking is too small. “For an attacker, the cost-benefit strategy is quite easy: How much is in the pot and how likely is it that I’m getting the pot?” said Leonhard Weese. (Additional reporting by Hera Poon in HONG KONG, Jeremy Wagstaff in SINGAPORE and Jemima Kelly in LONDON; Editing by Will Waterman) \|\| Bitcoin Exchange Will Look To Spread The Pain Of Recent Hack Across All Users In 'Socialized Loss': Earlier this week, 119,756 bitcoins were stolen in a hack from the Hong Kong-based cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex. The hack marks the second largest security breach of a digital currency exchange, and the value of the stolen currency exceeds $70 million, representing roughly 0.75 percent of all bitcoins in circulation. The worst hack involving the digital currency occurred in 2014 when Mt Gox was robbed of 744,408 bitcoin, which was worth $350 million at the time. Bitfinex did not offer an explanation on its website as to what happened, and it is in the process of restoring limited functionality currently, with full functionality to come at an undisclosed later time. Related Link: What Is Blockchain, And Why Should You Care? "We are investigating the breach to determine what happened, but we know that some of our users have had their bitcoins stolen," the exchange acknowledged. The exchange is also looking to implement a "socialized" measure to make up for the loss. This may include spreading the loss across all clients of the firm, as speculated by Cnet. The price of one bitcoin plunged by 23 percent on Tuesday to as low as $465.28 as news of the hack became widely circulated. However, the digital currency rebounded and was trading near the $570 mark on Friday. Do you have ideas for articles/interviews you'd like to see more of on Benzinga? Please email [email protected] with your best article ideas. One person will be randomly selected to win a $20 Amazon gift card! See more from Benzinga Jim Cramer Doesn't Think FireEye Will Be Taken Over Monster Beverages: An Attractive Name In One Of 2016's Best Performing Sectors Priceline Remains One Of The Best Internet Large Caps © 2016 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| Leveraged Buyout Corporation Announces Intention to Commence a Tender Offer for Shares of Yasheng Group: VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / August 1, 2016 /Leveraged Buyout Corporation ("LBOC") announced today that it intends to commence a tender offer to the shareholders of YaSheng Group ("HERB") (OTC:HERB) to purchase up to 81,000,000 shares of HERB's Common Stock at a purchase price of $11.00 per share. The offer will require that each shareholder deliver at least 51 of each 100 share owned. LBOC targets to own approximately 51% of the issued and outstanding shares of HERB Common Stock. The offer price of $11.00 per share represents an extraordinary premium over market value for 6 reasons: 1. HERB is trading at a deep discount based on its earnings, and; 2. Payment is in the form of corporate notes that will pay interest in OTCcoin (OTX) a new digital currency that rides on the rails of the Bitcoin blockchain, and; 3. The notes will mature in 10 years with annual interest payable at the rate of 1 OTX per $1 face value. 4. OTX is thinly trading on international cryptocurrency exchange C-CEX (https://c-cex.com/?p=otx-btc) 1. Notes are to be backed by the shares tendered and held in safe keeping by HERB's transfer agent. 2. LBOC is a newly formed entity. Important Information about the Tender Offer LBOC has not yet commenced the tender offer referred to in this press release. This press release does not constitute an offer to buy or solicitation of an offer to sell any securities. This press release is for informational purposes only. The offer to purchase the shares of HERB Common Stock from its shareholders and the solicitation of the shares will be made only pursuant to the offer to purchase and the related letter of transmittal, which are expected to be mailed to HERB shareholders shortly after commencement of the tender offer subject to the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission. About LBOC: LBOC is a subsidiary of a holding company whose principal holdings include digital currency and related assets. LBOC was formed to capitalize on companies whose market cap is deeply discounted in the markets from the tangible values. As its name reveals it seeks to buy out controlling interests on leverage utilizing cashless financing. About HERB: YaSheng Group is a U.S. holding company and conducts business operations in China. The Company, through its subsidiaries, operates in agriculture, livestock, and biotechnology. YaSheng specializes in developing, processing, marketing, and distributing a variety of food products grown in North West China. This press release contains forward-looking statements based on current expectations that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. The forward looking statements in this press release are also forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and involve substantial risks and uncertainties. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those relating to the contemplated tender offer described in this press release, including uncertainty about the timing of the tender offer, that, if the tender offer is commenced, the conditions to closing the tender offer may not be satisfied, uncertainties as to the amount of shares that will be tendered in the tender offer and LBOC's ownership interest in YASHENG Group following the tender offer, risks relating to the continued listing of YASHENG Group's Common Stock on the OTC Markets Stock Exchange and the continued status of YASHENG Group as an SEC reporting company, and the risk that the expected benefits to LBOC from the tender offer may not be realized or maintained. LBOC cautions that the foregoing factors are not exclusive. CONTACT :[email protected] SOURCE:Leveraged Buyout Corporation \|\| Big Banks Team Up to Develop Blockchain Settlement System: Wall Street's increasing focus on digital currency technology has been affirmed yet again with the recent teaming up of a group of financial giants for the development of Utility Settlement Coin (USC). It is a digital cash model based on blockchain that aims to facilitate payment and settlement for global institutional financial markets. Swiss banking giant UBS Group AG UBS and London-based Clearmatics initiated USC last September to validate the potential benefits of USC for capital efficiency, settlement and systemic risk reduction in global financial markets. The successful conclusion of the first phase of this project led to the joining of Deutsche Bank AG DB, The Bank of New York Mellon Corp. BK, Banco Santander, S.A. SAN and brokerage ICAP to develop the concept further. The group also plans to undertake test in a real market environment. USC is a series of cash assets implemented on distributed ledger technology and is entirely backed by cash assets held at a central bank. With a version for each of the main currencies including USD, EUR, GBP and CHF, USC would be convertible at parity with a bank deposit in the related currency. According to a joint release, spending a USC will be equivalent to spending its real-world currency. The group of financial institutions will focus on the financial structuring of the USC and its implications in the broader market. Alongside they will remain engaged in discussions with central banks and regulators to ensure a regulation compliant and efficient framework within which the USC can be implemented. Hyder Jaffrey, Head of Strategic Investment & FinTech Innovation at UBS Investment Bank stated, "Digital cash is a core component of a future financial market fabric based on blockchain technologies. He further added, "There are several digital cash models being explored across the Street. The Utility Settlement Coin is focused on facilitating a new model for digital central bank cash." Paul Maley, Managing Director, Institutional Client Group, Deutsche Bank noted, "As today's settlement and clearing is a process involving many institutions, it's vital that we collaborate with our peers to develop viable alternatives to current models, creating new digital capabilities for the financial services industry. Blockchain Buzz Blockchain, the digital ledger or the underlying technology behind Bitcoin, has gained attraction for its significant potential to revamp the extensive and complex network of bank payments as well as settlements. While Bitcoin was one of the first cryptographic currencies that drew attention in 2009, several other cryptographic currencies are currently available including Novacoin, Namecoin and Dogecoin. Last December The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. GS filed a patent application with the US Patent & Trademark Office for a new cryptocurrency called SETLcoin. While Citigroup Inc. C is currently working on the development of its own digital currency Citicoin, JPMorgan Chase & Co. JPM partnered with start-up firm Digital Asset Holdings earlier this year to launch a trial project that utilizes the blockchain technology. Bottom line The latest development tied with Blockchain platform crops up as banks are embracing technology and are continuously looking out for ways to restructure daily operations, update back-office functions and making huge investments for auto execution of transactions. While banks and regulators continue to explore prospects and benefits of digital currencies, concerns including security and impact on the broader financial system still lingers. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days . Click to get this free report >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report JPMORGAN CHASE (JPM): Free Stock Analysis Report BANK OF NY MELL (BK): Free Stock Analysis Report CITIGROUP INC (C): Free Stock Analysis Report UBS GROUP AG (UBS): Free Stock Analysis Report DEUTSCHE BK AG (DB): Free Stock Analysis Report BANCO SANTAN SA (SAN): Free Stock Analysis Report GOLDMAN SACHS (GS): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] 1 KOBO = 0.00000991 BTC = 0.0058 USD = 1.8502 NGN = 0.0792 ZAR = 0.5875 KES #Kobocoin 2016-08-07 14:00 pic.twitter.com/yTSR4wB5YT \|\| 1 KOBO = 0.00001780 BTC = 0.0116 USD = 3.5380 NGN = 0.1666 ZAR = 1.1772 KES #Kobocoin 2016-07-23 11:00 pic.twitter.com/vd4QsdmNko \|\| 1 #BTC (#Bitcoin) quotes: $565.40/$566.30 #Bitstamp $569.00/$569.23 #BTCe ⇢$2.70/$3.83 $566.43/$572.14 #Coinbase ⇢$0.13/$6.74 \|\| #UFOCoin #UFO $ 0.000020 (-1.99 %) 0.00000003 BTC (-0.00 %) \|\| #TrinityCoin #TTY $ 0.000007 (-1.57 %) 0.00000001 BTC (-0.00 %) \|\| #FLOZ 0.00000029 BTC(93.33 %) \| Market Cap 1 BTC \| Volume(24h) 0.00 BTC \| Available Supply 4,322,629 FLOZ \|\| $664.92 at 09:00 UTC [24h Range: $653.00 - $667.73 Volume: 2753 BTC] \|\| LIVE: Profit = $44.19 (17.81 %). BUY B0.50 @ $520.10 (#VirCurex). SELL @ $590.00 (#BitKonan) #bitcoin #btc - http://www.projectcoin.org \|\| One Bitcoin now worth $661.22@bitstamp. High $666.30. Low $660.00. Market Cap $10.429 Billion #bitcoin \|\| Today's Bitcoin Price 662.00 USD via Chain	Trend: down \|\| Prices: 614.54, 626.32, 622.86, 623.51, 606.72, 608.24, 609.24, 610.68, 607.16, 606.97
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2021-04-16] BTC Price: 61572.79, BTC RSI: 59.19 Gold Price: 1779.00, Gold RSI: 60.22 Oil Price: 63.13, Oil RSI: 56.94 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Stocks fall as risk appetite sours; oil rally stalls: By Saqib Iqbal Ahmed NEW YORK (Reuters) - A gauge of global equity markets fell for a third straight session on Thursday, dragged lower by weakness on Wall Street on views the market has climbed too high to soon, while a rise in weekly jobless claims pointed to a fragile recovery in the U.S. labor market. Investors took profits on technology shares and other segments that have risen sharply. Oil prices erased early gains, with Brent retreating from a 13-month high above $65 a barrel as buying spurred by concerns that a rare cold snap in Texas could disrupt U.S. crude output for days or even weeks petered out. Graphic: U.S. inflation expectations & oil prices - https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/mkt/dgkplzblbpb/Pasted%20image%201613661504694.png The MSCI's global stock index fell 0.52% to 679.13. The index touched a record intra-day high of 687.26 on Tuesday, before erasing gains to snap an 11-day winning streak. Investors' appetite for riskier assets dulled after data showed the number of Americans filing first-time applications for unemployment benefits unexpectedly rose last week, even though the labor market is steadily recovering as additional fiscal stimulus and falling COVID-19 cases allow more service businesses to reopen. On Wall Street, main indexes fell as investors resumed a shift out of big technology-related firms. Strong earnings, progress in the vaccination rollout and hopes of a $1.9 trillion federal stimulus package helped U.S. stock indexes hit record highs again at the start of the week. But the months-long rally suggests stocks now have high valuations, said Jason Pride, chief investment officer for private wealth at Glenmede in Philadelphia. "We are still in the cautiously bullish environment for the market on the whole," Pride said, citing two reasons. "We're going to get a vaccine-induced economic recovery, that's No. 1. The flip side of that story is the markets have largely priced that in and driven themselves to over-valued territory. Markets are going to struggle with that," he said. Story continues The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 119.68 points, or 0.38%, to finish at 31,493.34, the S&P 500 lost 17.36 points, or 0.44%, to end at 3,913.97 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 100.14 points, or 0.72%, to close at 13,865.36. European stocks fell after a clutch of disappointing earnings reports from companies including Airbus and Orange. The pan-European STOXX 600 index closed down 0.82%. U.S. Treasury yields were mixed across the curve on Thursday, as the market adjusted to higher levels on the longer end of the curve that were reached this week on expectations of extended fiscal and monetary stimulus and signs of an economic upswing. "Clearly, bond markets are thinking the world economy can normalize and yields can come off emergency levels. They are moving away from only thinking of COVID and QE (Quantitative easing) and are thinking about normalization," said April LaRusse, head of fixed income investment specialists at asset manager Insight Investment. "But while that will be the general trend, we do think markets may have got a bit ahead of themselves," LaRusse said. The benchmark 10-year yield, which touched 1.333% on Wednesday, its highest level since Feb. 27, 2020, was last down a basis point at 1.2872%. The dollar lost ground, ending its first two-day winning streak in two weeks as disappointing labor market data tempered expectations for a speedy economic recovery from the global health crisis. The dollar index was off 0.3%. Bitcoin eased off its record high of $52,640 reached overnight. Brent crude futures settled at $63.93 a barrel, down 41 cents or 0.64%, while U.S. crude oil futures settled at $60.52 a barrel, down 62 cents, or 1.01%. Graphic: Copper prices - https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/mkt/xlbvgdjbkpq/Pasted%20image%201613660177980.png Copper surged nearly 3% to its highest since April 2012 as Chinese investors returning from a week-long holiday added impetus to a rally that has almost doubled prices from lows last March, when coronavirus worries peaked. Spot gold was down 0.02% at $1,775.8667 an ounce. (Reporting by Saqib Iqbal Ahmed; Additional reporting by Sujata Rao and Herb Lash; Editing by Dan Grebler and Nick Zieminski) \|\| Why MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor Bet Company Cash on Bitcoin—and Wants Other Corporations to Join In: Cryptocurrency champion Michael Saylor has invested more than $1 billion of MicroStrategy’s money in Bitcoin Cryptocurrency champion Michael Saylor has invested more than $1 billion of MicroStrategy’s money in Bitcoin Credit - Erika Larsen—Redux for TIME (Miss this week’s The Leadership Brief? This interview below was delivered to the inbox of Leadership Brief subscribers on Sunday morning, March 27; to receive weekly emails of conversations with the world’s top CEOs and business decisionmakers, click here. ) Michael Saylor’s transformation into a corporate Bitcoin evangelical started prosaically enough. He’s the CEO of a publicly traded enterprise-software firm, MicroStrategy Inc. , and with $482 million in 2020 revenues and business steady but expenses down because of COVID last year, cash reserves started piling up. Like many in the Bitcoin-verse, Saylor has a profound unease about central banks propping up economies with cheap money; by his calculations, the increase in the monetary supply devalues the dollar by 15% a year. He refers to cash as “trash” and a “melting ice cube.” Bitcoin, on the other hand, is “digital gold.” In August, Saylor took the unorthodox step of moving a portion of his company’s treasury reserves into Bitcoin, buying 21,454 bitcoins for $250 million. MicroStrategy continued buying, and in February it added 19,452 bitcoins for $1.026 billion, bringing its total holdings to 90,531 bitcoins. Current value: $5 billion. The company’s stock has soared in response, closing on March 16 at $724 per share, up from $107 a year ago. But it was a casual Twitter exchange that solidified Saylor’s position as a crypto-guru. (Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin are digital, decentralized forms of money.) In December, Elon Musk tweeted a slightly risqué image of a Franciscan monk, eyes cast heavenward, hands clasped in prayer, trying to resist the sultry allure of Bitcoin. Saylo r replied to Musk that he should do Tesla shareholders “a $100 billion favor” and convert Tesla’s balance sheet from dollars to Bitcoin. Musk responded, “Are such large transactions even possible?” To which Saylor replied, “Yes, I have purchased over $1.3 billion in #BTC in past months & would be happy to share my playbook with you offline – from one rocket scientist to another.” (Saylor, 56, has dual degrees in aeronautics and astronautics from MIT.) Story continues On Feb. 8, Musk’s Tesla disclosed that it had bought $1.5 billion worth of Bitcoin using cash on its balance sheet and said it would begin accepting digital coins as payment for its products. Saylor joined TIME on March 16 for a video conversation about his efforts to persuade large corporations to add Bitcoin to their financial toolboxes. (This interview is edited and condensed for clarity.) Inquiring minds demand to know: Did you speak directly to Musk beyond your Twitter exchange in December? As a public-company CEO, I can’t comment on any conversation I would have with another public-company officer. It’s against business etiquette. Do you think that Twitter exchange had an impact on Tesla’s decision? Yes. And are you in ongoing contact with said CEO? I said, I can’t really comment on a conversation I would have with a public-company officer. Why not? The SEC does not prohibit such disclosures. It’s not appropriate business decorum. [Musk could not be reached for comment.] Tesla’s such a maverick company. Are we seeing other indications that institutional investors are getting more involved in the crypto craze? If you go back to March 2020, it was only the rare institution involved. In the 12 months that followed, there’s been an avalanche of institutional involvement. MicroStrategy is the first publicly traded company that made a material investment, but Square followed. And Tesla followed. But they’re the tip of the iceberg. We did a “Bitcoin for Corporations” summit in February. I thought it would be a couple of thousand people showing up. It ended up being more than 10,000 a day, and it broke our video server. What was the impact of the move by Tesla? It was an inflection point. All of a sudden, the narrative goes from “Those crazy people, what are they thinking, speculating in Bitcoin?” to “Maybe this is a real thing. This is probably not going away. Let’s try to figure out how to think about it.” I’m going to read Nobel Prize winner Robert Shiller’s quote about irrational exuberance. “Irrational exuberance is the psychological basis of a speculative bubble. I define a speculative bubble as a situation in which news of price increases spurs investor enthusiasm, which spreads by psychological contagion from person to person, and, in the process, amplifies stories that might justify the price increase and brings in a larger and larger class of investors, who, despite doubts about the real value of the investment, are drawn to it partly through envy of others’ successes and partly through a gambler’s excitement.” Is Bitcoin not a textbook example of irrational exuberance? No, it’s the opposite. It’s a textbook example of a rational action in response to monetary inflation. Can we agree that the money supply is expanding in an unprecedented fashion the past 12 months everywhere in the world? If you’re going to make a rational investment decision today, whether you’re a real estate investor, a stock investor, a bond investor, or just a wage earner or you’re a treasurer, you have to estimate the rate of monetary expansion for the next eight years. We know there’s a commitment to run deficits, and we know this commitment to stimulus. So now the issue is, What’s a rational behavior? I’ve got to find a store of value. If you’re looking for an example of real speculation, it would be people speculating upon whether they can squeeze others in a short squeeze and a small stock, like GameStop. Bitcoin is not speculation, O.K.? Bitcoin is a unique new technology, it’s like the Facebook of money or the Google of money. And it grew from nothing to a trillion dollars in monetary value in 12 years. Subscribe to The Leadership Brief by clicking here. Bitcoin is a unique new technology, it's like the Facebook of money or the Google of money. For people who aren’t early adapters, why is there a whiff of something vaguely unsavory about Bitcoin? Some of these remarks go back a few years and have since been revised, but Warren Buffett called it “rat poison squared”; Jamie Dimon, a “fraud”; and Larry Fink of BlackRock said it was “an index of money laundering.” I just think it’s a paradigm shift, so you can’t blame smart people. They’re all smart, and they were all successful. But if you go back and you look at electricity, not every smart, successful person immediately understood the implications of electricity in the first 24 months after they heard of it. [Philosopher] Thomas Kuhn said when you come up with a new paradigm, a completely utterly revolutionary way to see the world, the establishment doesn’t normally accept it. And you need a new generation to accept that unless there’s a war, unless you have an extreme experience that forces you to embrace a new idea. It’s a little early to talk about history, but what so far is your legacy? We are the first public company to actually adopt Bitcoin as a treasury reserve asset, to legitimize the asset class as an institutional-grade safe-haven asset. And your mission? My mission right now is to fix the balance sheets of the world. Subscribe to The Leadership Brief by clicking here. \|\| Aurora Mobile Partners with BitDeer, the World's Leading Crypto Currency Mining Service Platform, to Strengthen Digital Asset Mining Services: SHENZHEN, China, March 15, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Aurora Mobile Limited (NASDAQ: JG) (“Aurora Mobile” or the “Company”), a leading mobile developer service provider in China, today announced that it has entered into a partnership agreement with Sharpening Technology Limited, also known as BitDeer. Leveraging its artificial intelligence-based smart operation services, Aurora Mobile aims to help BitDeer develop the most reliable digital asset mining services. BitDeer is the world's leading computing power-sharing platform, where users are provided with a full range of cloud mining solutions. This alleviates users' from complicated processes, such as the procurement of mining equipment, the logistics of transport, power management, and the operation and maintenance of the mining farms. Users will be able to place an order and enjoy the services with a single click. BitDeer has served users from over 200 countries and regions around the world with monthly traffic of over 2.5 million. BitDeer also operates hundreds of thousands of specialist mining machines from professional mining farms in continents such as Asia, Europe and America. BitDeer not only ensures stable and consistent operation, but also strives to provide top-notch computing power-sharing services to its customers worldwide. As the price of Bitcoin continues to rally, competition in mining Bitcoin has intensified over the months while the difficulty of mining across the entire Bitcoin network continues to increase. Therefore, mining services underlying the mining activities have become ever more important. Through the partnership with BitDeer, Aurora Mobile will use its powerful AI-driven technology and advanced analysis capabilities to help BitDeer conduct professional customized mining services for individual investors and institutions around the world. The two companies are looking forward to the cooperation and are confident of exploring more growth opportunities in the field of digital cryptocurrency in the future. Aurora Mobile is a leading mobile developer service provider in China. For almost a decade, Aurora Mobile has focused on meeting the needs of developers and has launched a series of products to help them to improve operational efficacy, drive business growth and monetize services. As of September 2020, Aurora Mobile had provided software development kits to over 1.65 million APPs. Recently, Aurora Mobile launched a Unification Messages System (“JG UMS”), which has integrated several major messaging channels, including mobile Apps, WeChat official accounts, WeChat mini-programs, Short Message Service (“SMS”), emails, Fuwu Alipay and DingTalk, and enables businesses to reach targeted customers more efficiently through one integrated messaging platform. About Aurora Mobile Limited Founded in 2011, Aurora Mobile is a leading mobile developer service provider in China. Aurora Mobile is committed to providing efficient and stable push notification, one-click verification, and APP traffic monetization services to help developers improve operational efficiency, grow and monetize. Meanwhile, Aurora Mobile's vertical applications have expanded to market intelligence, financial risk management, and location-based intelligence, empowering various industries to improve productivity and optimize decision-making. Safe Harbor Statement This announcement contains forward-looking statements. These statements are made under the “safe harbor” provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as “will,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “future,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “estimates,” “confident” and similar statements. Among other things, the Business Outlook and quotations from management in this announcement, as well as Aurora Mobile’s strategic and operational plans, contain forward-looking statements. Aurora Mobile may also make written or oral forward-looking statements in its periodic reports to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, in its annual report to shareholders, in press releases and other written materials and in oral statements made by its officers, directors or employees to third parties. Statements that are not historical facts, including but not limited to statements about Aurora Mobile’s beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement, including but not limited to the following: Aurora Mobile’s strategies; Aurora Mobile’s future business development, financial condition and results of operations; Aurora Mobile’s ability to attract and retain customers; its ability to develop and effectively market data solutions, and penetrate the existing market for developer services; its ability to transition to the new advertising-driven SaaS-model; its ability maintain or enhance its brand; the competition with current or future competitors; its ability to continue to gain access to mobile data in the future; the laws and regulations relating to data privacy and protection; general economic and business conditions globally and in China and assumptions underlying or related to any of the foregoing. Further information regarding these and other risks is included in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. All information provided in this press release and in the attachments is as of the date of the press release, and Aurora Mobile undertakes no duty to update such information, except as required under applicable law. For general inquiry, please contact: Aurora Mobile LimitedE-mail: [email protected] ChristensenIn ChinaMr. Eric YuanPhone: +86-10-5900-1548E-mail: [email protected] In USMs. Linda BergkampPhone: +1-480-614-3004Email: [email protected] \|\| Bitcoin rises 6.6% to $61,074: (Reuters) - Bitcoin, the world's biggest and best-known cryptocurrency, rose 6.64% to $61,073.71 on Saturday, adding $3,802.67 to its previous close. Bitcoin is up 120.2% from the year's low of $27,734 on Jan. 4. (Reporting by Aakriti Bhalla in Bengaluru; Editing by Richard Chang) \|\| The World’s First NFT Home Sells for More Than $500,000: NFT mania is showing no signs of slowing down. The latest proof? The world’s first NFT house just sold for more than $500,000, according to CNN . And while artist Krista Kim ’s Mars House is certainly a sight to behold, it’s also a property that doesn’t actually exist in the real world. The futuristic structure is a 3-D digital model that can only be experienced in virtual reality . More from Robb Report Jacob & Co. Is About to Auction Off the World's First NFT Watch You Can Now Buy a Tesla With Bitcoin, According to a 3am Tweet From Elon Musk The World's First NFT House Is Now for Sale The one-of-a-kind Mars House is a non-fungible token (or NFT), which is a unique digital asset “minted” by the blockchain technology. The encryption provides proof of the asset’s authenticity as well as records showing who created it and who owns it. The neon-lit, glass dwelling was listed for sale on SuperRare last week and sold to the Art on the Internet foundation for 288 Ethereum coins, which were worth $514,557.79 at the time of the sale. Kim announced that the “majority” of proceeds will go to the Continuum Foundation and used for a world tour of sound and light installation designed to promote mental health. Last week, the artist told Architectural Digest that the Mars House’s design is meant to promote meditative well-being, one of her creative focuses since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. “Mars House represents the next generation of NFTs,” the artist told CNN. “It is a sign of things to come, as we enter an [augmented reality] interfaced future, with the launch of Apple AR glasses and AR contact lenses. Art, NFTs, cryptocurrencies. . .these sweeping changes and ideas of how we will live with digital assets is becoming a reality and will create a global paradigm shift.” The Mars House NFT includes a 3-D file of the residence which can be uploaded to the foundation’s “metaverse.” It also comes with tech support and an ambient soundtrack composed by the Smashing Pumpkins’s Jeff Schroeder. Should the new owner ever decide to sell the home, they must delete the files from their metaverse and provide proof to Kim that they have done so. Story continues The transaction is one of just several jaw-dropping sales of NFTs this month. Two weeks ago, Everydays—The First 5000 Days , a JPEG by the digital artist Beeple sold for sold for $69.3 million at auction. Earlier this week, an NFT of Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey’s first published tweet sold for $2.9 million . Best of Robb Report The 25 Most Expensive Homes in the World for Sale The 10 Priciest Neighborhoods in America (And How They Got to Be That Way) In Pictures: Most Expensive Properties Sign up for Robb Report's Newsletter . For the latest news, follow us on Facebook , Twitter , and Instagram . \|\| Former Chinese Government Minister: Country Is 30 Years Away From Top-Tier Manufacturing: A former high-ranking Chinese government minister has said that China is at least 30 years away from becoming a “great power” in the manufacturing sector. What Happened: China has been the world’s dominant figure in manufacturing since 2010, according to United Nations data, with $4.8 trillion in industrial added value last year and a nearly 30% global share that is approximately equal to the combined share of the U.S., Germany and Japan. China’s State Council Development Research Center issued a report in January that defined the nation as being in the third tier in a four-tier ranking system based on key criteria including innovation, quality and effectiveness, environmental factors and global competitiveness, according to a South China Morning Post report . In comparison, the U.S., Germany and Switzerland were in the top tier, while Japan, South Korea, Singapore and France were in the second. In a speech before the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, the government’s leading advisory body, former Minister of Industry and Information Technology Miao Wei warned that while China reigns in terms of industrial supply chains and accounts for more than one-third of global manufacturing output, its industries’ dependence on U.S. high-tech products including semiconductors remains a strategic obstacle that needs to be overcome. "Basic capabilities are still weak, core technologies are in the hands of others, and the risk of 'being hit in the throat' and having 'a slipped bike chain' has significantly increased," said Miao, who stepped down from his ministry post last year after a decade in office. "The ratio of manufacturing output to GDP has been declining too early and too quickly, which not only weighs on economic growth and affects employment, but also brings security loopholes to our industries and diminishes our economy's ability to withstand risks, and its global competitiveness." Story continues Related Link: Beyond Bitcoin: China's Publicly-Listed Beauty App Meitu Buys M Ethereum What Happens Next: Miao said a lack of progress on market-oriented financial reforms including tax relief and a deficit of high-tech talent in manufacturing is keeping the sector from reaching its fullest potential. "China's manufacturing industry has made great achievements in recent years, but the situation of being 'big but not strong' and 'comprehensive but not good' has not been fundamentally changed," he said. "We must maintain our strategic resolve, stay clear-headed and deeply understand the gaps and deficiencies." Miao, who is now vice chairman of the CPPCC’s economic committee, also acknowledged that China’s services sector has overtaken manufacturing as the nation’s main economic force, with 54.5% of its economic output last year coming from the services sector versus 37.8% from manufacturing. “We should emphasize the strategic role and contribution of manufacturing and stabilize its share of the economy,” Miao said. “We should protect our most comprehensive manufacturing system and upgrade our self-reliance in industry and supply chains.” Related Link: Tesla Reaches 6,000 Supercharger Installs In China Miao Wei. Photo courtesy G20 Argentina/Creative Commons. See more from Benzinga Click here for options trades from Benzinga Disney's 'Raya And The Last Dragon' Opens To Disappointing .6M Domestic Box Office Markets Close On Positive Note After Turbulent Week © 2021 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| It’s All Downhill for Nikola Stock: It’s skidded or rather crashed. But is now really a good time to back up the truck in Nikola (NASDAQ: NKLA )? Let’s take a closer look at some of what’s happening in NKLA stock both off and on the price chart, then offer a risk-adjusted determination aligned with those findings. The Nikola (NKLA) website homepage on a cell phone screen. Source: Stephanie L Sanchez / Shutterstock.com Before GameStop’s (NYSE: GME ) moonshot earlier this year, or the more durable second coming of Bitcoin (CCC: BTC-USD ) of the past several months, for a brief time and for investors seeking a high-octane investment, it was all about NKLA. And for a couple very alluring reasons too. InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips Nikola. It wasn’t the first SPAC or special purpose acquisition company. The initial public offering alternative actually dates back to 1993. But shortly after last March’s novel coronavirus bottom in the stock market, SPACs seemingly began to take on a life of their own. 10 Stocks to Buy for Your $5K Robinhood Portfolio DraftKings (NASDAQ: DKNG ) and Virgin Galactic (NYSE: SPCE ) had already been gaining some notoriety prior to Wall Street’s brief but spectacular market crash. But relatively speaking, investors hadn’t seen anything yet. Enter Electric Vehicles It was the injection or marriage of electric vehicles with blank-check companies that made SPAC stocks almost a household name, and which sent investors over the top. Workhorse (NASDAQ: WKHS ). ChargePoint Holdings (NYSE: CHPT ). QuantumScape (NYSE: QS ). Hyliion Holdings (NYSE: HYLN ). Canoo (NASDAQ: GOEV ). And NKLA, led by its PR hungry front man Trevor Milton, was the ringleader. Nearly one year ago, NKLA, which proclaimed itself as the company that would commercialize the big rig, long-haul transportation market into a greener one with its EV platform, began it’s ascent. A breakout in early May sent shares through Nikola’s pre-Covid high of $16.25 set two months prior. And for one month, shares barely looked back as NKLA soared by more than 475% to a high of $93.99. Story continues Wall Street was hooked. But NKLA was a line with a sinker attached. Today of course, most any investor with even a passing knowledge of SPACs knows things went dreadfully wrong for NKLA. In a nutshell, it “mostly” turned out Nikola was better at manufacturing deceit. This famously included a video of a faked gravity-assisted Nikola big rig moving under its own power, than in producing road-worthy EV vehicles. Fast forward 10 or so months and there’s been a handful of volatile bumps in the road where bulls briefly got the better of short sellers and General Motors (NYSE: GM ) nearly looked like a crash test dummy . But today, shares of Nikola have not only made a complete U-turn of their spectacular rally, NKLA stock has continued to reverse toward its pre-merged days as VectoIQ Acquisition and its original $10 offer price. NKLA Stock Daily Price Chart Nikola (NKLA) a return towards $10 a share obscurity Source: Charts by TradingView Today and for some investors, the question might be whether at a price of $10.63 or for that matter $10 a share, is an appropriate time to back up the truck in NKLA stock. Larger institutions that bought into VectoIQ may be crossing their fingers for that kind of support by investors. I’d warn otherwise and look past any possibility of a tantalizing double-bottom in-the-works as the Nikola saga remains plagued with problems. This past month, the struggling SPAC saw strategic partner Hanwha Group announce plans to liquidate half its holdings. And in February, NKLA reduced its projected output for its first commercial zero-emission vehicles. The company also stated it may raise additional capital. And if that weren’t enough, the icing on the cake is Nikola’s most recent trials and tribulations following an internal probe revealing several inaccurate statements. Bottom line, NKLA stock’s real-life downhill journey looks nowhere close to being finished. But if investors fancy the stock as an extreme contrarian play and can’t help but buck bearish trends, off and on the price chart, in motion – risk capital sizing and a vertical bull call spread would be the approach and cargo of choice. On the date of publication, Chris Tyler holds, directly or indirectly, positions in DraftKings (DKNG) and its derivatives, but no other securities mentioned in this article. Chris Tyler is a former floor-based, derivatives market maker on the American and Pacific exchanges. The information offered is based on his professional experience but strictly intended for educational purposes only. Any use of this information is 100% the responsibility of the individual. For additional market insights and related musings, follow Chris on Twitter @Options_CAT and StockTwits . More From InvestorPlace Why Everyone Is Investing in 5G All WRONG It doesn’t matter if you have $500 in savings or $5 million. Do this now. Top Stock Picker Reveals His Next Potential 500% Winner Stock Prodigy Who Found NIO at $2… Says Buy THIS Now The post It’s All Downhill for Nikola Stock appeared first on InvestorPlace . \|\| Crypto ‘Whale Watching’ Could Become a Thing at Ukrainian Town Council Meetings: Ukrainian public officials reported owning 46,351 bitcoin , or US$2.67 billion at Wednesday’s price, according to the report by a local data analytics service Opendatabot. Civil servants in Ukraine must declare all the property they own or use, and some chose to include crypto in their declarations, although the country currently is not regulating digital assets. A draft bill establishing the legal status of cryptocurrencies is still awaiting passage by the Ukrainian national parliament. Still, out of 791,872 public officials who submitted their 2020 declarations in March, 652 reported owning bitcoin, Opendatabot said . Most crypto holders are members of city councils, followed by the staff of the national police, ministry of defense and the general prosecutor’s office, the service reported. Members of the national parliament, Verkhovna Rada, accounted for only 3.7% of high-ranking crypto holders. Related: Caruso Properties to Accept Bitcoin for Rent, Allocates 1% of Treasury to Asset The most crypto-rich civil servant in Ukraine, at least officially, is Vyacheslav Mishalov, a member of the Dnipro city council. Mishalov reported owning 18,000 bitcoin (BTC), worth more than US$1 billion, for the second year in a row. Mishalov was followed by Petro Lensky, first secretary of Ukraine’s embassy in Vietnam, with 6,528 BTC in his vault. After him came Alexander Urbansky, deputy chairman of the Odessa regional council, who’s got a trove of 5,328 BTC. The number of Ukrainian public officials investing in crypto is growing, Opendatabot said. While in 2018 only 71 officials owned cryptocurrency, in 2019, that number had grown to 424, and in 2020 653 officials reported owning crypto. Most people reported owning bitcoin (61%), while other reported holding ether (24%) and smaller altcoins including litecoin , cardano , stellar and bitcoin cash . Watching the “whales,” or large crypto holders, may become a new sport for Ukraine. CoinDesk previously wrote about a 19-year-old city council member in a Ukrainian town of Kramatorsk who is not only the youngest lawmaker in his city but is also a monero whale who owns millions of dollars worth of XMR. Story continues Ukraine is the world’s leader in cryptocurrency adoption by its population, using crypto for their various needs, according to Chainalysis. Related: Market Wrap: Bitcoin Drops to Near $56K as Spot Trading Volume Remains Low Read also: Why Ukraine Is Ripe for Cryptocurrency Adoption Related Stories Crypto ‘Whale Watching’ Could Become a Thing at Ukrainian Town Council Meetings Crypto ‘Whale Watching’ Could Become a Thing at Ukrainian Town Council Meetings \|\| Zilliqa (ZIL) Closes in on Reaching New All-Time High: Ziliqa (ZIL) has been struggling to break out above the $0.185 area for the past three weeks. Despite the struggle, the short-term chart looks bullish. ZIL will likely be successful in breaking out above this level to make a new all-time high. ZIL Approaches All-Time High Zilliqa has been moving upwards since the end of Nov. 2020, So far, it has increased by 720%. During the week of March 15-22, it was rejected by the $0.185 resistance area, creating a Doji candlestick. This is a sign of indecision and can be seen as a weakness when coming after an upward trend. However, both the Stochastic oscillator and MACD are bullish. While the RSI has generated a bearish divergence, it has also crossed above 70 — a bullish sign. There aren’t sufficient signs to suggest that a bearish reversal will occur. So, a breakout and a new all-time high are expected to follow. ZIL Chart By TradingView Short-Term ZIL Movement The six-hour chart is bullish. The price has broken out from and retested the $0.15 area as support twice. It has been moving upwards since the second retest. Both the MACD and RSI are increasing, supporting the continuation of the upward movement. ZIL Chart By TradingView The two-hour chart shows a breakout from a descending resistance line. Currently, the token is trading right at the 0.618 Fib retracement level of the most recent drop. This is a potential reversal area. A short-term decrease could occur, potentially validating the resistance line from which the token broke out. However, another upward movement is expected, which would likely take it towards a new all-time high price. ZIL Chart By TradingView ZIL/BTC Cryptocurrency trader @CryptoMitchNL outlined a ZIL/BTC chart, stating that if the current support level holds, the next resistance areas would be found at 525 and 800 satoshis. ZIL/BTC Movement While the token is indeed trading above support, it is also following a descending resistance line. In addition, there is strong resistance at 320 satoshis. Technical indicators are undecided. Both the RSI and Stochastic oscillator are neutral, but the MACD is decreasing. Story continues We cannot confidently determine the direction of the trend until a breakout/rejection from this level occurs. ZIL Chart By TradingView Conclusion ZIL/USD is expected to finally break out above the $0.185 resistance area. The direction of the ZIL/BTC trend cannot be determined until a breakout or rejection occurs. For BeInCrypto’s previous bitcoin (BTC) analysis, click here. \|\| The top housing market New Yorkers are looking to buy into: Some New Yorkers may be fleeing for Florida , but when it comes to searching for real estate online, most are keeping it decidedly close to home. "The top destination for people searching from New York? It's actually New York," Amanda Pendleton, Zillow's (Z) home trends expert, told Yahoo Finance Live this week. "A vast majority of New Yorkers want to stay local and want to stay within the metro area." With all the reports about billionaires and banks moving south , you would think maybe Miami or Palm Beach or Tampa would be the next most popular market for New Yorkers looking at real estate. But you'd be wrong. The next two are actually within driving distance. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Stamford, Connecticut, round out the top three, according to Zillow. Zillow Traffic Trends Miami is the fourth most popular search destination. Zillow says Miami-area listings originating from New York are up from 7.17% to 8.33% year over year. Overall, Zillow is reporting massive surges in its traffic with both New York and Miami seeing gains of over 50% year over year. The top market with the biggest gains in Zillow traffic for 2020 was Las Vegas, Nevada. The jump in Sin City searches was up 64% year over year. "There are demographic and pandemic-led factors that are driving people to both surf Zillow, but also to move and to buy homes, Zillow's Pendleton said. Jen Rogers is an anchor for Yahoo Finance Live. Follow her on Twitter @JenSaidIt . More from Jen: Why Arks Cathie Wood remains bullish on Bitcoin, Tesla How back to school is going for Congresss only single mom Why Big Tech needs to slow down: Meena Harris Find live stock market quotes and the latest business and finance news Follow Yahoo Finance on Twitter , Facebook , Instagram , Flipboard , LinkedIn , and reddit . [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] None available.	Trend: down \|\| Prices: 60683.82, 56216.18, 55724.27, 56473.03, 53906.09, 51762.27, 51093.65, 50050.87, 49004.25, 54021.75
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2022-05-09] BTC Price: 30296.95, BTC RSI: 24.68 Gold Price: 1857.10, Gold RSI: 37.37 Oil Price: 103.09, Oil RSI: 48.84 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Meta's (FB) WhatsApp Payment Service Suffers Setback In Brazil: Meta Platforms ’ FB long-term plans to launch payments to merchants (p2m) services via WhatsApp in Brazil has suffered setbacks due to clashes with potential payment partners. WhatsApp in Brazil. has so far struggled to sign up local merchant acquirer companies, which process electronic payments, and are required to help launch and run the service in Latin America’s most populous country with 120 million users. Meta’s plan to launch the p2m payment services are stalled due to failed negotiations with merchant acquirer companies. Per Financial Times, merchant acquirer companies claimed that the proposed fees from WhatsApp were too low and the legal terms drawn by the social media giant were too difficult to comply with. Meta’s payment service efforts have not seen smooth sailing since its launch. Days after being launched in mid-2020, Meta rolled out the feature of payment transfer in India and Brazil. However, its efforts to launch the service were delayed due to regulatory pushback, citing concerns about competition, efficiency and data privacy. In Brazil, in order to get approval for the p2m services, Meta has to get acquirer companies on board before the central bank can decide whether to approve the services. The central bank has cited that in order not to kill competition, WhatsApp is required to partner with multiple acquirers rather than one. The central bank has expressed concerns about whether there would be a clear option for smaller merchants to make a claim against Meta if any issue arises with payments. Meta Platforms, Inc. Price and Consensus Meta Platforms, Inc. Price and Consensus Meta Platforms, Inc. price-consensus-chart \| Meta Platforms, Inc. Quote Meta Plans to Tap Fresh Revenues With Financial Services Meta has been planning to diversify away from primarily relying on advertising revenues. Meta’s primary revenue generating source is advertising. The company has garnered advertising revenues of $114.93 billion in 2021, representing 97.46% of its total revenues in the reported year. Revenues from advertising increased 37% year over year. However, Meta’s ad-based business model is under constant threat from increasing scrutiny by different governments as they are dropping legislations and ultimatums on its business policies. The ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict has been a concern. Chief Executive Officer, Mark Zuckerberg, has said that facilitating payment and e-commerce services would provide a new stream of income for the company and reduce its dependency on advertising revenues. Further, Zuckerberg’s plan to launch payment services merge with the company’s bold plans to launch the metaverse. Meta is not only looking to create payment services in the real world but also in virtual reality. In accordance with this, Meta is planning to introduce virtual coins, tokens and lending services to its social media apps. The company is exploring the idea of creating a virtual currency for the metaverse dubbed “Zuck Bucks.” Meta is also trying to evolve its social media and chatting sites as NFT and cryptocurrency trading marketplaces, which will retain and attract customers amid stiff competition from other tech giants. Meta is facing not only regulatory issues but stiff competition from other tech giants in the NFT marketplace. Microsoft MSFT is looking to explore the NFT space, which is experiencing massive growth from the beginning of 2021. Microsoft’s M12 venture fund recently invested in NFT startup, Palm NFT Studio. The company raised $27 million, which will be utilized to develop projects on the Palm Protocol, an energy-efficient Ethereum sidechain. Social media peer Twitter TWTR launched a tool that allows users to showcase NFTs as their profile pictures. The new tool designed by Twitter connects users’ Twitter accounts with their crypto wallets holding the NFTs. Twitter is exploring the crypto universe and supporting NFT trading. Artists can use the platform to connect their crypto wallets and take payments directly through Twitter. They can also take tips in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum through crypto wallet apps. Story continues Zacks Rank & Stock to Consider In the year-to-date period, Meta shares which carry a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell) have tumbled 35.4% compared with the Zacks Internet – Software industry's and the Zacks Computer and Technology sector's declines of 33.1% and 16.6%, respectively. The current economic turmoil has resulted in the financial markets being extremely volatile. In order to stabilize your portfolio against uncertainties, you can consider the following stock. America Movil AMX currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank stocks here . AMX shares have returned 4.2% in the year-to-date period compared with the Zacks Wireless Non-US industry's growth of 7.6%. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) : Free Stock Analysis Report America Movil, S.A.B. de C.V. (AMX) : Free Stock Analysis Report Meta Platforms, Inc. (FB) : Free Stock Analysis Report Twitter, Inc. (TWTR) : Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research View comments \|\| Analysis-Bitcoin adoption by Central African Republic baffles cryptoverse: By Judicael Yongo, Tom Wilson and Rachel Savage BANGUI (Reuters) - Central African Republic's adoption of bitcoin, while many of the world's largest economies stay wary of it, has puzzled the cryptocurrency world and residents of the gold and diamond-producing country, and prompted caution from the IMF. Using bitcoin, a digital currency that exists on a shared ledger across a global network of computers, to buy and sell goods and services relies on reliable, fast internet and widespread access to computers or smartphones. Yet Central African Republic has internet penetration rates of just 11%, equal to some 550,000 people online last year, the DataReportal website estimates. Meanwhile only around 14% of people have access to electricity and less than half have a mobile phone connection, the Economist Intelligence Unit says. Four analysts and crypto experts said great challenges lie ahead in adopting bitcoin in one of the world's poorest countries with low internet use, widespread conflict, spotty electricity and a population mostly unfamiliar with crypto. Central African Republic provided few details in its statement on Wednesday on how it plans to address these challenges. It did not respond to Reuters requests for comment. The government's statement said the move made Central African Republic one of the world's "most visionary countries", but residents in the capital Bangui, where most are familiar with mobile money to buy goods and pay bills, were baffled. "Bitcoin. What is it?!" Auguste Agou, who runs a local timber company in Bangui, said on Thursday, adding: "What can bitcoin bring to our country?" The African country of 4.8 million people is the world's second to turn to bitcoin, after El Salvador. When the Central American country adopted bitcoin as legal tender in June, a small but growing community of business and individual crypto users already existed. Yet its use in commerce has been stymied by internet glitches. "Given the enormous barriers to adoption and risks associated with use, and seemingly limited upsides, we do not expect widespread adoption of cryptocurrencies in the country," said Nathan Hayes, an analyst at Economist Intelligence Unit. U.S. blockchain researcher Chainalysis, which tracks crypto usage, had no data on Central African Republic, which has been gripped for years by violence and is home to Russian mercenaries helping the government overcome rebel groups. IMF CAUTION Some said that by adopting bitcoin, Central African Republic is sending a message about the Central African CFA franc, a regional currency used by six states which is governed by the Bank of Central African States (BEAC) and pegged to the euro. The BEAC must through the monetary union maintain at least 50% of foreign assets with the French Treasury, an arrangement that has been criticised as holding back economic development. Bangui's crypto move "reflects regional disquiet over the use of the CFA franc, with its colonial overtones," Rahul Shah, head of financials equity research at Tellimer, said. Other crypto advocates said it was a rebuke to the CFA franc. "Central Africa is extremely far behind in terms of development," said Chris Maurice, CEO of crypto exchange Yellow Card Financial, which has around a million users in 16 African countries and is licensed to operate in the CFA franc area. "It's a big middle finger to the French economic system." A BEAC spokesperson told Reuters on Wednesday it had not been told in advance, and did not yet have any response. The BEAC did not reply to requests for comment on Thursday. The International Monetary Fund (IMF), which in January urged El Salvador to do away with its move to make bitcoin legal tender, voiced caution on Central African Republic's move. "It's really important to not see such things as a panacea for economic challenges our countries face," IMF Africa Department Director Abebe Aemro Selassie told a press briefing on its economic outlook for Sub-Saharan Africa. "You have to make sure that the legislative framework, in terms of the transparency of financial flows, the governance framework around it is all robustly in place." (Reporting by Judicael Yongo in Bangui, Tom Wilson and Rachel Savage in London; Editing by Alexander Smith) \|\| Bitcoin miner PrimeBlock to go public via $1.25 billion SPAC deal: (Reuters) - Prime Blockchain Inc, a bitcoin mining and infrastructure startup, on Friday agreed to go public in the United States by merging with a blank-check firm in a deal that would value the combined company at $1.25 billion including debt. The company, which does business as PrimeBlock and operates data centers and crypto mining operations across North America, has secured $300 million in equity financing for the deal from an affiliate of Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. The merger with 10X Capital Venture Acquisition Corp II is expected to close by the second half of this year, after which the combined company will be listed on the Nasdaq and led by PrimeBlock Chief Executive Officer Gaurav Budhrani. PrimeBlock's decision to go public comes at a time when mergers with blank-check firms, or special purpose acquisition companies (SPAC), have slowed due to a regulatory crackdown sparked by concerns that investors were getting a raw deal. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission recently unveiled a new draft rule that would require SPACs to disclose more details about their sponsors, their compensation, conflicts of interest and share dilution in an effort to curb such companies from issuing overly optimistic earnings projections. (Reporting by Sohini Podder in Bengaluru; Editing by Aditya Soni) \|\| Vroom Is Racing Off a Financial Cliff: Vroom(NYSE:VRM) is an online marketplace for buying and selling cars. The company came into being with the idea that it could shake up the existing used automobile marketplace. RivalCarvana(NYSE:CVNA) achieved a tremendous valuation in 2020 and 2021, and VRM stock investors no doubt hoped for a similar outcome. However, this has not come to pass. Indeed, Vroom is now down a jaw-dropping 96% since it started trading in 2020. I’m not going to sugarcoat anything here: There’s a decent chance VRM stock ultimately ends up worthless. Vroom’s problems fundamentally come down to one main issue. It just doesn’t generate enough profit on each vehicle that it sells. The company’s vehicle gross profit per ecommerce unit fell to astunningly low$473 in the fourth quarter of 2021, down sharply from an already bad $878 in the previous year. It shouldn’t take too much thinking to see the problem here; it’s impossible to cover costs — let alone turn a profit — earning such a scant amount on each transaction. InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips Vroom netted a gross profit of $32.9 million last quarter. Meanwhile, it spent $166 million on selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses. Needless to say, having $166 million of overhead to generate $33 million of gross profits is not a sustainable business model. Vroom spent $28 million on outbound logistics as part of those SG&A expenses, meaning it lost virtually all of its gross profit before delivering the vehicles to customers. For another, it spent $37 million on marketing, meaning it cost more just to acquire its customers than it earned back from their transactions. But wait, it gets worse. These atrocious results happened during an unprecedented boom in the used vehicle market. If there was ever a time Vroom should have been able to mint money, it would have been in 2021. Used cars were selling like hotcakes. And yet Vroom was outselling them for infinitesimal profit margins. If that’s how it performed during a market boom, how will things look during a bust? • 7 A-Rated Dividend Stocks to Buy Forever We might never find out, as Vroom may not have the liquidity to last that long. Sure, it had $1.1 billion in cash as of December 2021. However, not all that cash is freed up, as it may need a substantial cushion to manage inventory and other expenses for a high-capital intensity business like cars. Meanwhile, the company lost $130 million in Q4 alone. That projects to a loss of more than half a billion dollars for a full year if things keep running at that pace. Throw in a downturn in the used car market from 2021’s record conditions, and Vroom’s losses could balloon even more. Long story short, the company could need to raise more capital by mid-2023. Doing so from the credit market seems difficult given Vroom’s massive operating losses. And to raise stock via equity would be painfully dilutive with shares trading south of $2. Vroom had a chance to shine with the car market heading through the roof last year. That opportunity squandered, it’s hard to see anything other than a dead end ahead for VRM stock. On Penny Stocks and Low-Volume Stocks: With only the rarest exceptions, InvestorPlace does not publish commentary about companies that have a market cap of less than $100 million or trade less than 100,000 shares each day. That’s because these “penny stocks” are frequently the playground for scam artists and market manipulators. If we ever do publish commentary on a low-volume stock that may be affected by our commentary, we demand thatInvestorPlace.com’s writers disclose this fact and warn readers of the risks. Read More:Penny Stocks — How to Profit Without Getting Scammed On the date of publication, Ian Bezek did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.comPublishing Guidelines. • Stock Prodigy Who Found NIO at $2… Says Buy THIS • It doesn’t matter if you have $500 in savings or $5 million. Do this now. • Get in Now on Tiny $3 ‘Forever Battery’ Stock • Early Bitcoin Millionaire Reveals His Next Big Crypto Trade “On Air” The postVroom Is Racing Off a Financial Cliffappeared first onInvestorPlace. \|\| Crypto Weekly Review May 8 – Bitcoin (BTC) Sinks to Sub-$35,000: Key Insights: It is a bearish week for the broader crypto market, with Bitcoin (BTC) sliding by 10% to visit sub-$35,000 for the first time since February. Investor angst over inflation and Fed monetary policy hit appetite for riskier assets, which spilled over to the crypto market. Several cryptos bucked the trend in the week, including Algorand (ALGO), which ended the week up by 25%. Bitcoin sinks to sub-$35,000 as bearish sentiment hit the crypto market in the week ending May 8, 2022. Risk aversion stemming from inflation and investor sentiment towards Fed monetary policy hit riskier assets. The correlation between bitcoin (BTC) and the NASDAQ 100 strengthened in the week. As result, the NASDAQ sell-off sent the broader crypto market into a tailspin. BTC – NASDAQ correlation. The broad-based crypto sell-off saw $146 billion wiped out to leave the total crypto market cap at $1,571 billion on Sunday afternoon. Bitcoin (BTC) Sends the Crypto Market into a Tail Spin In the week ending May 8, BTC is currently down 10%. Following a 2.49% loss from the previous week, BTC looks set to end the week at sub-$35,000. At the time of writing, BTC stood at $34,603. It will be a fifth consecutive week in the red for BTC. After recovering from a January sell-off, BTC bounced back to $48,000 levels in late March before the current reversal. Reports of bitcoin whales selling bitcoin added to the market angst over the weekend, with the Bitcoin Fear & Greed Index sliding into the “Extreme Fear” zone. The Index was in the “Greed” zone, with a value of 60/100 on March 28 before sliding to 18/100 on May 8. BTC wallet data suggests that the current downward trend across the global equity markets is causing BTC holders to reduce exposure to riskier assets and meet possible margin calls. On Friday, CryptoQuant reported that the number of wallets holding between 10 and 10,000 BTC sent more crypto to exchanges than wallets holding between 0.01 and 10 BTC. Things were no better for the rest of the crypto top ten. Story continues The Broader Crypto Market Tracks Bitcoin into the Red In the week ending May 8, Terra ( LUNA ) is down by 25.5% to lead the way down, with SOL sliding by 13.4% BNB (-8.9%), AVAX (-11.4%), and ETH (-10.0%) are also in the deep red, while ADA (-6.6%) and XRP (-6.3%) are seeing relatively modest losses. For LUNA, several factors beyond bitcoin’s influence contribute to the heavy loss. These included LUNA sales to support the TerraUSD (UST) peg, a marked decline in total value locked, and investor sentiment towards the Luna Foundation Guard’s (LFG) latest $1.5bn in BTC purchases. A number of cryptos managed to buck the trend, however, with Algorand ( ALGO ) rallying by 25.1% to grab the headlines. Algorand (ALGO) Sees Strong Staking Demand to Support a Breakout Week According to Defi Llama , Algorand’s total value locked (TVL) increased by 19.4% to $187.36 million in the week. Increased demand for ALGO as a staking crypto provided the upside in the week, with Algofi, a DeFi platform on the Algorand blockchain, seeing its dominance hit 61.22%. Users can lend ALGO on the Algofi protocol to earn ALGO. ALGO is a popular staking crypto, as ALGO holders can stake as little as one ALGO to earn interest. Early in the week, Algorand hit the news for an altogether different reason. On Monday, FIFA announced Algorand as an official partner ahead of this year’s FIFA World Cup in Qatar. This article was originally posted on FX Empire More From FXEMPIRE: G7 leaders pledge further economic isolation of Russia Germany’s Scholz says on WW2 anniversary Putin will not win his war Russian attacks on rail system fail to paralyze ‘lifeline of Ukraine’ U.S. Senate to vote Wednesday on abortion rights bill, Schumer says Prospect of Marcos revival looms as Philippines votes for new president Bitcoin Falls Below $35,000 as Tron Continues Its Rally \|\| With Lots of Gold Sold, Hycroft Mining Could Become a High Flyer: • Hycroft Mining(HYMC) is getting a lot of attention on Wall Street as a large movie theater chain makes a big investment. • Moreover, a deep dive into the company’s financials reveals that Hycroft has plenty of cash on hand, and is selling large quantities of gold. • Investors should add Hycroft to their gold miner watch list if they’re seeking exposure to the precious metals market. Source: Shutterstock Hycroft Mining(NASDAQ:HYMC) is a minerals development company thatoperatesthe Hycroft Mine in the mining region ofnorthern Nevada.HYMC stock is quite affordable and has the potential for powerful upside, especially if the gold price increases. Gold tested the crucial $2,000 level not long ago. As a result, many investors are undoubtedly getting interested in shares of mining business. Yet, it’s not only the retail crowd that’s getting involved. In fact, a famous entertainment-related company recently took a surprising stake in Hycroft Mining. Still, the idea isn’t just to buy shares of Hycroft because a big company made an investment. You’ll definitely want to closely examine Hycroft Mining’s financial stats. After doing that, you may decide for yourself that this intriguing mining business belongs on your watch list in 2022. InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips [{"Ticker": "HYMC", "Company": "Hycroft Mining", "Current Price": "$1.98"}] The first thing to know is that HYMC stock is on a confirmed uptrend. Folks who bought the shares tapped into a veritable gold mine as the stock zoomed from 30 cents in early March, to the $2 level in recent weeks. That price move surely hurt the short sellers. That’s what can happen, though, if you bet against gold mining stocks during period of high inflation. It’s undeniable that inflation is bad for most consumers. Yet, it can provide a powerful tailwind to gold as the yellow metal is often viewed as an anti-dollar-inflation asset. Even beyond the inflation factor, what could propel HYMC stock back to its 52-week high of $4.37? Perhaps a headline-grabbing investment from a well-known movie theater business could do the trick. • 7 Great REITs That Will Pay You Handsomely In case you missed it,AMC Entertainment(NYSE:AMC) isplanning to invest$56 million in Hycroft Mining. This would equate to a roughly 22% equity stake in Hycroft. It may have seemed like a shocking thing for AMC Entertainment to do. On the other hand, a deeper dive into the facts of the matter will reveal the rationale behind AMC’s investment in Hycroft Mining. Puzzled onlookers didn’t have to wait long to discover why AMC Entertainment bought such a large stake in Hycroft. AMC Entertainment CEO Adam Aron’s tweet spilled the beans. Evidently, Aron’s company is “playing on offense again with abold diversification move.” In the tweet, Aron proudly cited Hycroft’s 15 million ounces of gold resources and 600 million ounces of silver resources. What else is there to know about Hycroft mining, then? For one thing, Hycroft Mining recently completed anat-the-market equity offering program. With this program, Hycroft sold 89,553,584 for total proceeds of $138.6 million. Next, prospective investors should know that Hycroft Mining recentlyfiled its Form 10-K. Among the highlights was the fact that Hycroft ended 2021 with$12.3 millionof cash on hand — not too shabby. Not only that, but the company sold a whopping 56,045 ounces of gold and 397,546 ounces of silver in 2021. Plus, Hycroft’s gold production for that year totaled 57,668 ounces, a figure that “exceeded the high end of the guidance range as the process team continued to improve equipment, process control and costs.” Now, we can begin to discern why AMC Entertainment would want to own a piece of Hycroft Mining. Should you take our own stake in this mining business as well? That’s certainly your decision to make, but the data looks highly encouraging. Hycroft is in a good capital position, and the company is mining and selling a whole lot of precious metals. So, maybe AMC is making a smart move by investing in Hycroft Mining. As an inflation hedge or as a growth investment, feel free to consider shares of HYMC stock for your gold-focused portfolio. On the date of publication, neither Louis Navellier nor the InvestorPlace Research Staff member primarily responsible for this article held (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. Louis Navellier, who has been called “one of the most important money managers of our time,” has broken the silence inthis shocking “tell all” video… exposing one of the most shocking events in our country’s history… andthe one move every American needs to make today. • Stock Prodigy Who Found NIO at $2… Says Buy THIS • It doesn’t matter if you have $500 in savings or $5 million. Do this now. • 10 Stocks Are Issuing Sell Signals • Early Bitcoin Millionaire Reveals His Next Big Crypto Trade “On Air” The postWith Lots of Gold Sold, Hycroft Mining Could Become a High Flyerappeared first onInvestorPlace. \|\| Micro-Investing App Acorns Adds Bitcoin Exposure Option: Savings and investing app Acorns has announced the option for customers to add bitcoin (BTC) exposure for long-term investing. Acorns offers accounts that can be funded through automatic investments of spare change or deposits of as little as $5 at any time or on a recurring basis. The app recommends an investment plan for users based on goals, employment and income. Acorns offers five diversified portfolios of exchange-traded funds, or ETFs. With 4.6 million subscribers, it becomes the latest big name in fintech to inch its way into crypto. “We’ve always been open-minded and flexible to the idea that as other asset classes mature and become something that we can deliver to customers, we would love to include that in the appropriate way,” Acorns Chief Investment Officer Seth Wunder told CoinDesk in an interview. “Cryptocurrency, specifically bitcoin, in our opinion has gotten to that place where it’s an acceptable piece of people’s portfolios.” Acorns customers can invest up to 5% of their Acorns Invest portfolio in bitcoin through the ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO), a bitcoin futures fund that went public on the New York Stock Exchange last October. Asked the reasoning behind the 5% exposure cap, Wunder said the math behind the decision was in line with how Acorns thinks about portfolio construction in general when it comes to balancing risk. “When we look at the portfolios on a risk-adjusted basis, the [bitcoin exposure] range is really between 1% and 5%, depending on the portfolio that people are in. Most of our customers will fall into the 3% to 4% allocation,” he explained. Wunder said Acorns would eventually add exposure to other cryptocurrencies in the future. “As people choose to customize their portfolios with us in the future, we will give them the option in time to add other cryptocurrencies to the degree that they want,” said Wunder. “It will be a two-pronged approach: what they have in their portfolios and then what they choose to customize.” The new program from Acorns follows a $300 million investment announced earlier this month including crypto merchant bank Galaxy Digital. Correction (March 22, 13:35 UTC): Acorns has 4.6 million subscribers, according to a company representative, not 8.2 million, as was originally reported in this article. \|\| Is Roblox a Buy ahead of First-Quarter 2022 Earnings?: Roblox (NYSE: RBLX ) stock has lost almost 70% from its high of $134.72 in November 2021. The key reason has been a drop in active user engagement on its platform. Investors are concerned about the company’s growth prospects in a post-pandemic scenario. During the pandemic, daily active users (DAUs) surged from 23.6 million in Q1 2020 to 49.5 million users in Q4 2021, reflecting a compounded annual growth rate of 44.8%. However, this growth rate seems unsustainable going forward as outdoor activity increases. A majority of the company’s user base comprises kids below 13 years old. The easing of pandemic restrictions, reopening of numerous stores and restaurants, and the full return to school will likely cut into this growth. InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips For 2022, revenues are expected to be in the range of $203 million to $207 million per month. Using an estimated revenue run rate of $200 million per month, the full year forecast is $2.4 billion. This implies a growth rate of 26% from 2021. 7 Desirable Dividend Growth Stocks for Income Investors Another, positive factor is its ability to generate positive free cash flow. In 2021, the company recorded a free cash flow margin of 29.4%, which is healthy. Higher cash flows would allow Roblox to carry out expansion plans. Roblox is generally lumped into the emerging Metaverse trend, a world of connected software that allows people to interact 100% virtually with one another, often in the form of video games and new technology such as virtual reality. The concept of the metaverse is new and it will take time before its largely adopted. Increasingly, companies are engaging in virtual events to keep its users connected. Some of the notable examples include the launch of Chipotle (NYSE: CMG ) Burrito Builder on Roblox. A player on Roblox must roll burritos in the metaverse to earn burrito bucks, which can be used on the Chipotle app. Other agreements include the National Football League (NFL) holding large virtual events online and Warner Music hosting a virtual DJ party. Cathie Wood’s Ark Investment Management certainly believes in Roblox’s potential, having recently doubled its investment in RBLX to 5.48 million shares. Story continues The Metaverse market is predicted to reach over $670 billion by 2030 , from about $39 billion in 2020. Roblox, being a pioneer, will stand to benefit. RBLX stock is worth considering right now after such a prolonged selloff. On the date of publication, Sakshi Agarwalla did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines . Sakshi Agarwallahas more than eight years of experience writing equity research reports and preparing financial models for companies across various industries, as well as writing newsletters and financial articles. Recently, she assisted her Fund manager in executing trades, preparing weekly, monthly NAVs and writing newsletters. She has a postgraduate degree in finance and has completed CFA. More From InvestorPlace Stock Prodigy Who Found NIO at $2… Says Buy THIS It doesn’t matter if you have $500 in savings or $5 million. Do this now. 10 Stocks Are Issuing Sell Signals Early Bitcoin Millionaire Reveals His Next Big Crypto Trade “On Air” The post Is Roblox a Buy ahead of First-Quarter 2022 Earnings? appeared first on InvestorPlace . \|\| First Mover Asia: Why Bitcoin Started the Week Slowly; Ether Rises: Good morning. Here’s what’s happening: Prices: Bitcoin holds above $41,000, even after hawkish comments from the chair of the U.S. central bank. Insights: Bitcoin started the week slowly in Asia, and some investors may be placing their bets on DeFi. Technician's take: Bitcoin's pullbacks could be limited over the short term. Catch the latest episodes of CoinDesk TV for insightful interviews with crypto industry leaders and analysis. And sign up for First Mover , our daily newsletter putting the latest moves in crypto markets in context. Prices Bitcoin ( BTC ): $41,242 +0.1% Ether ( ETH ): $2,918 +2% Top Gainers Asset Ticker Returns Sector Algorand ALGO +8.9% Smart Contract Platform EOS EOS +6.8% Smart Contract Platform XRP XRP +4.1% Currency Top Losers Asset Ticker Returns Sector Ethereum Classic ETC −2.4% Smart Contract Platform Polygon MATIC −1.0% Smart Contract Platform Solana SOL −0.2% Smart Contract Platform Markets S&P 500: 4,461 -1.9% DJIA: 34,552 -0.5% Nasdaq: 13,838 -0.4% Gold: $1,935 +0.8% Ether gains as bitcoin holds Bitcoin (BTC) stood roughly where it did 24 hours ago, a little over $41,000, after a brief dip below this threshold following hawkish monetary policy comments from U.S. central bank Chair Jerome Powell. Ether (ETH), the second-largest crypto by market cap after bitcoin, was changing hands at about $2,900, up over 2%. Other major cryptos were mixed. Trading volume was light as investors take stock of fast-moving, global macroeconomic trends. Bitcoin peaked at over $42,000 last week, buoyed by China's commitment to support its flailing real estate and technology sectors. Major stock indexes retrenched after Powell said in a speech at the National Association for Business Economics annual conference in Washington D.C. that the Federal Reserve might raise interest in 50-basis-point increments to tame inflation, which has been plaguing the U.S. economy, and threatens to worsen amid fall-out from Russia's intensifying attacks on Ukraine. On Monday, Russian forces bombed a mall in the capital city of Kyiv, continuing its target of civilian locations, and U.S. President Joe Biden warned that Russia might launch cyberattacks on major U.S. companies in retaliation for severe economic sanctions. Story continues The price of Brent crude oil, a widely watched measure of the energy market, rose 7% to $112 per barrel. Russia is one of the world's leading suppliers of oil. Katie Stockton, founder and Managing Partner of Fairlead Strategies, told CoinDesk TV's "First Mover" program that the low trading volumes were "very normal in a sideways trending market." "Think about it as a tug of war between buyers and sellers and a period of indecisiveness," she said. "I think that indecisiveness is reflecting itself in the lighter volumes, the less decisive trendy moves. "Then it just becomes a question as to whether that consolidation phase reconciles to the upside or the downside." She added: "We do think it will be reconciled to the upside with our short-term bullish bias. We see it as a function of that, and we would expect with any kind of breakout, let's say above $45,000, we would expect volumes to come back into the market." Insights Bitcoin starts slowly in Asia Bitcoin started the trading week in Asia slowly, spending most of the day hovering around the $41,000 point, according to data from CoinDesk Indices . But that’s bitcoin’s problem. But Layer 1 protocols like Avalanche rose 32% last week, while liquidity protocol Aave hit 34% in weekly gains and Ethereum pushed through 15% on the week. Data from Glassnode reflects this. BTC active address, price, long-term holders (Glassnode) The number of active addresses on the network are at a monthly low while long-term HODLers are at a yearly high. Likely there’s a lot of bitcoin parked to get liquidity on better-performing assets. Interest rates on bitcoin margin loans – used to trade the cryptocurrency on exchanges with extra leverage – are effectively flat, indicating an oversupply in the market. Bitfinex isn’t currently charging a fee for the loans, and Poloniex charges only 0.4%. (Cryptolend.net) And where is all this bitcoin going? Likely into decentralized finance (DeFi). The Bored Ape Yacht Club-linked ApeCoin (APE) seemed to be the most exciting new thing on the blockchain, jumping over 10% during the day. As CoinDesk reported, APE covered calls were hitting a 42% projected annualized yield. There are also staking possibilities . With the launch of Eth 2.0 soon to occur, traders are becoming increasingly bullish on ether with projected yields hitting 10% to 15%. But remember, that all this isn’t necessarily a bad thing for bitcoin. Bitcoin’s volatility index was at a monthly low and approaching a yearly low as the market stabilized after the Fed raised rates as expected. All this helps the narrative of bitcoin as a store of value, not something that reacts violently to market gyrations as we saw last year . More bitcoin held with confidence for the long term is more liquidity available for DeFi. Technician's take Bitcoin Fades From Resistance; Support at $37K-$40K Bitcoin four-hour price chart shows support/resistance, with RSI on bottom. (Damanick Dantes/CoinDesk, TradingView) Bitcoin ( BTC ) is consolidating around the $41,000 price level amid declining trading volume. The cryptocurrency is roughly flat over the past 24 hours, and pullbacks could be limited toward a strong support base at $37,000. Further, the relative strength index ( RSI ) on the four-hour chart is declining from overbought levels, which reflects a loss of upside momentum. On the daily chart, the RSI is holding above the 50 neutral mark, which means buyers could remain active at lower support levels. On the weekly chart, technical indicators are improving, similar to what occurred in August 2021, which preceded a 60% price rally. This time, however, there is negative momentum on the monthly chart, which typically precedes rangebound or negative price action. That means upside could be limited around the $46,000-$50,000 resistance zone. Important events 9 p.m. HKT/SGT (1 p.m. UTC): Speech by U.S. Central Bank Chair Jerome Powell to the National Association for Business Economics 9 a.m. HKT/SGT (1 a.m. UTC): Speech by Australia central bank Governor Philip Lowe 3 p.m. HKT/SGT (7 a.m. UTC): U.K. public sector net borrowing (Feb.) CoinDesk TV In case you missed it, here is the most recent episode of "First Mover" on CoinDesk TV : Stellar’s Denelle Dixon on its CBDC Pilot With Ukraine, $30M Fund for Blockchain Startups Stellar Development Foundation CEO Denelle Dixon joined "First Mover" to discuss Ukraine's central bank digital currency (CBDC) project, and plan for Stellar's latest $30 million push to fund startups. Plus, Katie Stockton of Fairlead Strategies provided crypto mining insights and CoinDesk mining reporter Aoyon Ashraf looked at the state of the global mining industry as CoinDesk kicked off its Mining Week series. Headlines Naomi Osaka Becomes Latest FTX 'Ambassador,' Joining Tom Brady and More: The tennis star gets shares in the global crypto exchange as part of the deal. Abu Dhabi Free Zone Seeks Comments on NFT Rules: A consultation paper is looking to bring NFTs into the emirate's regulatory framework for virtual assets. Crypto Funds Suffer Second Straight Week of Outflows: Investors continue to be daunted by the uncertain market and economic environment. Traders Bet on Ether Staking After Ethereum 2.0 Upgrade: Ether staking yields are likely to be in the range of 10% to 15% following the Ethereum 2.0 upgrade, one trader said. BofA Initiates Coverage of Silvergate With ‘Buy’ Rating, Sees 50% Potential Upside: The crypto bank is one of the best positioned companies to benefit from the expanding use of stablecoins, the report said. Longer reads What Is ApeCoin and Who Is Behind It?: A carefully coordinated marketing campaign takes great pains to distance the new token from Yuga Labs, but the firm that created the Bored Ape NFTs appears to be deeply involved. Today's crypto explainer: OpenSea Marketplace: How to Buy, Sell and Mint NFTs Other voices: What Is Web 3? (The New York Times) Said and heard Several years ago, people realized that blockchains (the shared, decentralized databases that power bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies) could be used to create unique, uncopyable digital files. And because these files were simply entries on a public database, anyone could verify who owned them, or track them as they changed hands. That realization prompted the creation of the first NFTs. ( The New York Times ) ... "But DAOs may themselves be in for a change that could fix perhaps their most significant vulnerability. The current DAO model is human-run, and as a result, DAO decisions are prone to errors in judgment. The use of artificial intelligence, another transformative technology, would eliminate those mistakes and make DAOs even more effective." ( SingularityDAO CEO Marcello Mari ) ... "Millions of users now have blockchain wallets and accounts. They have stablecoins and cryptocurrencies and access to digital contracts. They represent a ready market of investors and buyers with a demonstrated willingness to try new things. And that may, in turn, become more important than using blockchain technology for use cases that are ideally decentralized." ( EY Blockchain Lead and CoinDesk columnist Paul Brody ) \|\| This Week in Apps: Elon joins Twitter's board, Apple's subscriptions pilot, WWDC stays online: Welcome back to This Week in Apps, the weekly TechCrunch series that recaps the latest in mobile OS news, mobile applications and the overall app economy. The app industry continues to grow, with a record number of downloads and consumer spending across both the iOS and Google Play stores combined in 2021, according to the latest year-end reports . Global spending across iOS, Google Play and third-party Android app stores in China grew 19% in 2021 to reach $170 billion. Downloads of apps also grew by 5%, reaching 230 billion in 2021, and mobile ad spend grew 23% year over year to reach $295 billion. Today’s consumers now spend more time in apps than ever before — even topping the time they spend watching TV, in some cases. The average American watches 3.1 hours of TV per day, for example, but in 2021, they spent 4.1 hours on their mobile device. And they’re not even the world’s heaviest mobile users. In markets like Brazil, Indonesia and South Korea, users surpassed five hours per day in mobile apps in 2021. Apps aren’t just a way to pass idle hours, either. They can grow to become huge businesses. In 2021, 233 apps and games generated over $100 million in consumer spend, and 13 topped $1 billion in revenue. This was up 20% from 2020, when 193 apps and games topped $100 million in annual consumer spend, and just eight apps topped $1 billion. This Week in Apps offers a way to keep up with this fast-moving industry in one place, with the latest from the world of apps, including news, updates, startup fundings, mergers and acquisitions, and suggestions about new apps to try, too. Do you want This Week in Apps in your inbox every Saturday? Sign up here: techcrunch.com/newsletters Top Stories Apple pilot tests a commerce feature for subscription apps Apple app store iOS Image Credits: TechCrunch Apple may be changing how iOS subscriptions operate when price increases are involved. Recently, some developers noticed that the streaming service Disney+ was seemingly only informing users of upcoming price changes, then automatically opting them in. This is different from how subscription price increases would typically be handled. In most other cases, a customer is presented with options to either agree to the new, higher price or visit the subscriptions management page to cancel the service. If customers ignore this warning without clicking the “agree” button, the subscription is automatically canceled on their behalf. Story continues The feature was first spotted when developers noticed Disney+ seemed to be informing them about a subscription price increase, but not requiring them to agree to the new pricing for the subscription to continue. While in this case, the price change was small, it's easy to see how unscrupulous developers could potentially use such a feature to raise prices by much higher amounts without users' awareness. Apple's developer documentation doesn't reference this new option yet, but Apple confirmed that's because it's still in pilot testing. An Apple spokesperson said: We are piloting a new commerce feature we plan to launch very soon. The pilot includes developers across various app categories, organization sizes, and regions to help test an upcoming enhancement that we believe will be great for both developers and users, and we’ll have more details to share in the coming weeks. Apple didn't offer more detail, so there are still a number of questions here -- like how apps will qualify to use this commerce feature, who’s already in the pilot test group (raising their prices, perhaps unbeknownst to users), whether this has anything to do with the recent changes to “reader” apps and their ability to include external links, how Apple would police such a feature to ensure it was not used by bad actors and much more. The pilot also arrives at a time when Apple’s commission structure is under attack from lawmakers and regulators in global markets, with some countries allowing users to route around in-app payment systems. It's interesting to note that this new commerce feature could serve as a means for Apple to retain users' subscription commitments when prices fluctuate, rather than losing them to developers' own payment systems. (Read my full story on TC here .) Elon buys a chunk of Twitter Was there any bigger story in the tech world this week than the news that infamous Twitter sh**poster Elon Musk bought himself $3 billion worth of Twitter's stock ? The deal saw the Telsa and SpaceX CEO become Twitter's single largest individual shareholder, with a 9.2% stake in the company, and gained Musk an appointment on Twitter's board -- the latter further suggesting Musk's intentions to influence Twitter's future direction. Employees, rightfully, were concerned about what this meant for the company, given that Musk's own values are often in conflict with Twitter's own, particularly in areas like how social networks should approach content moderation. Twitter will hold a Town Hall to address employee questions, it said. (sarahp at techcrunch.com if anyone wants to share!) Musk didn't wait long to stir the pot, tweeting out a poll to users as to whether or not they wanted an Edit button on the site -- a continual user request that Twitter, for years, has refused to honor due to the ramifications that a malleable public record would bring. But Twitter then confirmed such a feature was actually in the works as a tool for Twitter Blue subscribers. pic.twitter.com/wcW6Z1MNNd — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 7, 2022 The shakeup at Twitter (a company with a history of shakeups, in fact) comes shortly after Jack Dorsey stepped down as CEO to fully devote his time to Square, now called Block. His exit made then-CTO Parag Agrawal the new CEO. Agrawal had earlier been working on Project Bluesky -- an effort to create a decentralized protocol for social networking, which would ultimately result in putting users more in charge of their online experience. This project dovetails with Musk's interests in allowing people to speak freely on the platform, while dictating their own product experience through user-provided controls. And it fits in with the broader web3 initiative that, at its core, is about redistributing power on the web back to its users through decentralized platforms, not Big Tech-controlled portals. (Whether it's actually achieving that, however...well, we'll see.) In taking the top spot, Agrawal inherited a list of lofty objectives, including Twitter's plans to double revenue and reach 315 million daily users by 2023. But so far, Twitter's plan to achieve its goals has been best described as a throw-a-bunch-of-spaghetti-at-the-wall approach to see what sticks. The company last fall said it would more rapidly roll out, test and then either advance or kill features based on user feedback and adoption. Already, Twitter killed its version of Stories ("Fleets") as a result. But despite Twitter's breakneck pace and speed to launch dozens of new features, ranging from live shopping to creator tools to NFT support to subscriptions and more, the company missed expectations on earnings, revenue and user growth in Q4 -- its first earnings with Agrawal at the helm. It's clear that even without Musk's arrival, the road was going to be tough for the network that has, for so long, failed to significantly achieve user growth or revenue outside of ads. Twitter, by way of its recent activities, has acknowledged that it's time to get more experimental in product development. And yet so much of what it's building now, outside of Spaces, are things that still see the tweet as the core user experience. That's almost funny, because this is a company that was early to ideas that are now defining the modern-day internet. For instance, Twitter closed down its TikTok precursor, Vine, a home to short-form video content that now all social rivals (except Twitter!) are trying to reinvent. Twitter also shut down its dedicated app for live video, Periscope, just ahead of the mainstream adoption of live shopping services and the growth of the video-first creator economy. And over a half dozen years ago, Twitter killed a dedicated app for music discovery, (#Music), years before Musical.ly-turned-TikTok figured out how to smartly capitalize on the intersection between pop culture, music and social networking to create a product that now has massive influence over the Billboard charts, award winners and the music industry as a whole. But instead of pursuing diverging paths, Twitter at its core has largely remained committed to its idea of a text-based social networking product that continues to reflect its original "public SMS" concept -- a place where other forms of media are mere add-ons to the front-and-center tweet. Live video, for example, is now buried in the camera feature's switcher and not often used by regular tweeters. So maybe it was time to shake up Twitter with ideas that aren't just about serving the existing users, like Twitter Blue or Super Follow, but those that would actually bring in new users. But maybe Elon Musk, a polarizing figure and Twitter troll with an obsessive fandom, isn't the right person for that job. His experience doesn't represent that of the everyday user, after all. And his involvement could distract the company from focusing on its current objectives -- or even employees' usual, day-to-day tasks. Whatever may happen with Twitter in the months to come under Musk's influence is entirely unpredictable. And whether or not Twitter will be better off for it -- whether in terms of business objectives, product or user experience -- is also an unknown. But one thing everyone can agree on is that the future of Twitter will certainly not be dull. Weekly News Platforms: Apple Image Credits: Apple Apple announced that WWDC would return again as an online-only event ("Call to Code") running from June 6-10. However, the company noted it would also host a special day for developers and students at Apple Park on June 6 to watch the keynote and State of the Union videos together. Space for this event will be limited and details on how to apply to attend will be provided soon, Apple said. The company, for the third year, will support student developers through its Swift Student Challenge , as well. Apple released another commissioned report by Analysis Group which aimed to prove that Apple's own apps account for a relatively small share of usage among iPhone users, even when they're preinstalled. The company is under pressure from regulators who are investigating whether it's using its platform and market power to give itself an unfair advantage over rivals. The data is meant to show it's not. However, what a report like this doesn't account for is the fact that Apple's apps don't have to win because Apple takes a commission on the revenue generated by its competitors' businesses, as well. Apple released iOS 15.5 beta 1, alongside the first betas for iPadOS 15.5, watchOS 8.6 and macOS 12.4 . The iOS beta now allows reader apps to display external links to redirect users to their websites for account management and added Apple Pay and Wallet updates , among other things. The beta also included references to "Apple Classical," believed to be the upcoming classical music service resulting from Apple's Primephonic acquisition. Platforms: Google Following Google's deadline to shift to its own billing systems, users found they could no longer buy e-books from Audible or Barnes & Noble's Android apps. Google released the Android 12 QPR3 beta 2 for Pixel devices, which includes bug fixes and security updates ahead of the public release. E-commerce Indian conglomerate Tata Group takes on Walmart-owned Flipkart, Amazon and Jio Platforms with the launch of its superapp Tata Neu, offering e-commerce, grocery and hotels in one app experience. Augmented Reality Snapchat launched a new Lens that teaches users American Sign Language via fingerspelling. The company partnered with SignAll and is using computer vision and machine learning to recognize users' hand gestures. The company also reached out to marketers with its "Generation Report" which talks about how different groups of users engage with its app. Fintech Robinhood said it will expand its crypto wallet to over 2 million users on its waitlist and will support transacting on the Bitcoin Lightning Network in the months to come. Venmo rival Zelle, backed by banks, may be expanding to retail stores , The WSJ reported. The move would put the money transfer service in direct competition with Mastercard and Visa. Block (formerly, Square) said its Cash App breach impacted 8.2 million users. Stolen info included the value of customer portfolios and stock trade details, names and brokerage account numbers, but didn't involve the company's payments system. SSNs and passwords and various other personally identifiable information were not accessed. A Piper Sandler survey found that Apple Pay has now surpassed Venmo and PayPal and teens' favorite payment app. PayPal updated its credit card with 3% cashback on all PayPal purchases, online or off. The PayPal app was also updated with improved card management features. Social peanut app Image Credits: Peanut Social network Peanut launched a new offering called Peanut Pro that connects women with information from trusted experts, including doulas, psychologists, therapists, sex coaches and sleep consultants. The experts and other creators can make money from their work through a new in-app tipping feature. Facebook and Instagram are developing digital tokens and "creator coins" to help diversify the social giant's income, The FT reported , noting that employees referred to these internally as "Zuck Bucks." Neighborhood social network Nextdoor launched a new advertising offering in an expansion of its self-serve campaign management platform. The new Nextdoor Ads will help SMBs leverage the platform to reach local communities in the U.S. Some creators are reporting Instagram had dialed back on Reels payouts, per The FT. The direct payments for short videos are designed to help Instagram help compete with TikTok for creator talent, and have reportedly dropped by up to 70%, while the view threshold for getting paid is over 10x higher. TikTok launched a new program that will allow creative agencies to reach its audience. The new Creative Agency Partnerships (CAP) University program is designed to help creative agencies become “TikTok experts,” through a five-week course of live webinars beginning April 19. TikTok again delayed opening its first European data center in Dublin, saying the center won't be online until next year. The center would store data for EU, EEA and U.K. users in the region. Currently, this data is held in Singapore or the U.S. Facebook said it would not hold its developer conference F8 this year as it's now focused on new initiatives, like the metaverse. Pinterest announced it will ban all climate information on its platform, including both in posts and ads. The company said it was the first major digital platform to take this step. Meta added the ability for users to post to Facebook Reels from third-party apps, including from launch partners like Smule, Vita and VivaVideo. Koo, a rival to Twitter in India, announced it would allow users to self-verify using their government-approved ID cards. The option is aimed at improving conversation health and to curb trolling, spam and bots. A former ByteDance employee accused the company of scraping content from rivals like Instagram and Snapchat to make fake accounts on its video app, Flipagram, a TikTok predecessor. College-friendly social app BeReal has increased user growth 315% year-to-date, per Apptopia . The a16z-backed app pushes users to post just once per day and has seen 65% of its downloads take place in 2022. Photos Adobe Creative Cloud Express added new features to its mobile and web apps, including a library of customizable basic shapes; a new Adobe Color integration for selecting from preset palettes and themes; new Quick Actions (Crop and Resize Video) on iOS; and more. Messaging U.S. record keepers, including the National Archives and Records Administration, said they're worried that Wickr and other messaging apps offering auto-deletion help agencies, such as CBP, sidestep transparency requirements. Streaming & Entertainment @danieljmertzlufft “For You, Paige” #projectbroadway #musicaltheatre #foryoupaige #broadway @romanwbanks @sri @tiktok ♬ original sound - danieljmertzlufft TikTok funds its first original musical from the creative lead Daniel Mertzlufft, behind the user-led "Ratatouille: The TikTok Musical." The show, “For You, Paige," will livestream on the app on April 14 at 7 PM and will be performed live in NYC. The success follows "The Unofficial Bridgerton Musical," which originated on TikTok and won a Grammy. Clubhouse added support for spatial audio. The company says the technology is a "great way to make conversations on the app feel more authentic." Amazon said it's increasing its Music Unlimited plan for Prime members on May 5. The plan price is going from $7.99 to $8.99 per month, or from $79 to $89 per year for Prime members The Single-Device plan, which only allows you to stream music from an Echo device or Fire TV, is going from $3.99 to $4.99 per month. Hulu added support for Apple's SharePlay to its streaming app, following parent company Disney's recent move to add SharePlay to ESPN+ and, as of late last year, Disney+. Spotify began testing a new "Featured Creators" feature that promotes popular user-created playlists in the app alongside its own. It also began testing a TikTok-like feed for music discovery. Gaming Fortnite maker Epic Games partnered with Lego to build a metaverse for children. The digital experience will allow children to play safely online. The company additionally announced the raise of $144 million for Ukraine relief efforts. Rovio's Angry Birds Classic returned to the App Store with a new engine and no in-app purchases. Travel & Transportation Uber this week announced it's adding buses, planes and car rentals to its U.K. app through partnerships with other companies. Users will be able to purchase tickets in the app. If successful, the plan is to roll out similar "super app" functionality to more countries. Productivity & Utilities multisearch Image Credits: Google Google launched "multisearch" for Google Lens, available in the Google app for iOS and Android. The feature allows users to use a combination of text along with photos and screenshots when searching the web. Google updated its Google Maps app with a number of new features, including the ability to get directions from Maps directly on the Apple Watch. Other updates included a new pinned trip widget and toll prices. Government & Policy Apple returned a Putin opposition app to the App Store. The voting app was run by supporters of Putin critic Alexei Navalny, but was removed from the App Store and Google Play after Russia said it would prosecute local Apple and Google employees. South Korea said Google is not allowed to block developers from providing an in-app link to an outside website for purchasing digital goods under the country's new app payments law. Google was preparing to enact its new digital billing policy requiring apps to use its own payments system. Taking aim at Russia, Twitter placed new limits on government accounts engaged in propaganda and censorship while at war. To meet Twitter’s threshold for limitations, a country’s censorship of online information must impact either the majority of its population or severely limit a smaller group of people within its borders. Twitter also banned state-linked accounts from sharing PoW imagery with abusive intent. Facebook and Instagram had censored hashtags related to Russian massacres of Ukrainian civilians, but later unblocked them after being called out by the press. Among the tags were #RussianWarCrimes, #Bucha and #BuchaMassacre. Security & Privacy Google removed dozens of Android apps from the Play Store, totaling over 10 million installs, after researchers discovered the apps included data-harvesting software tied to U.S. national security contractors. The apps included Mulsim prayer apps, a speed-trap detection app, QR-code reading apps and others. Recommended Reading Apple's undocumented rules around NFT apps were put to the test when a developer's "NFT" app was found to be misleading users, according to Apple's guidelines, since assets were published to a private ledger not a decentralized, public blockchain. Here's how Apple is thinking about what sort of apps can use the term "NFT" and what will get them banned: ‘NFT’ app Sticky kicked out of Apple’s App Store after operating for months Funding and M&A 💰 OpenPhone raised $40 million in Series B funding led by Tiger Global to replace employees' "work phone" and office PBX with a mobile app. The system caters to the SMB market and gives users a dedicated work number and tools for communicating with colleagues and customers. 💰 China-based fast fashion app Shein raised between $1-2 billion in a round closed last week, valuing the business at $100 billion. The deal makes Shein more valuable than H&M and Zara combined. PE firm General Atlantic participated in the round, which also included prior Shein investors Tiger Global Management and Sequoia Capital China. 💰 Avi Medical, a maker of app-based telehealth services, raised €50 million in Series B funding led by Balderton Capital. The company pairs its telehealth service with physical clinics, as 70% of its customers still access healthcare through in-person appointments. 💰 No-code mobile app development service Thunkable raised $30 million in Series B funding led by Owl Ventures. The startup announced it has passed 3 million users and 6 million apps developed. 💰 VerSe Innovation, the parent company of news aggregator app Dailyhunt and short video app Josh, raised $805 million in a Series J round of funding led by Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments). The round values the company at nearly $5 billion. 🤝 Pokémon GO maker Niantic Labs announced the acquisition of creative AR studio NZXR, based in New Zealand. The startup will join Niantic to help with the design and development of real-world AR experiences. 💰 Playhouse, an app that's like Zillow meets TikTok for browsing home listings, raised $2.8 million in seed funding from Agya Ventures, Gaingels, Goodwater Capital, Nomo Ventures, PKO Investments and Y Combinator. Agents can also use the app to create content related to home-buying in general. 💰 Fintech Gotrade, an app that lets international users buy fractional shares of U.S. stocks and ETFs, raised $15.5 million in Series A funding in a round led by Velocity Capital Fintech Ventures. To date, the company has transacted about $400 million across 5 million trades. Downloads Epic Games' RealityScan [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2BdDqtttuA?version=3&rel=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&fs=1&hl=en-US&autohide=2&wmode=transparent&w=640&h=360] Fortnite maker Epic Games this week introduced a new 3D scanning app called RealityScan that turns smartphone photos into high-fidelity 3D models. The app was developed in collaboration with Capturing Reality (creator of RealityCapture) and Quixel (creator of Megascans) wth the goal of allowing more creators and hobbyists to enter the world of 3D photogrammetry to bring real-world objects into virtual projects. The app will guide the user through the scanning experience via interactive feedback, AR guidance and data-quality checks. When scanning is complete, the assets can be exported to Sketchfab, a platform for publishing, sharing and selling 3D, VR and AR content. RealityScan is a free download via TestFlight for the first 10,000 users, then will release to Early Access this spring. Android will follow later in the year. [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] None available.	Trend: down \|\| Prices: 31022.91, 28936.36, 29047.75, 29283.10, 30101.27, 31305.11, 29862.92, 30425.86, 28720.27, 30314.33
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2015-12-30] BTC Price: 426.62, BTC RSI: 51.52 Gold Price: 1060.10, Gold RSI: 43.59 Oil Price: 36.60, Oil RSI: 43.09 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Your first trade for Monday: The " Fast Money " traders delivered their final trades of the day. Tim Seymour was a seller of the iShares MSCI Japan ETF (NYSE Arca: EWJ) . David Seaburg was a seller of Twitter ( TWTR ) . Brian Kelly was a buyer of gold (CEC:Commodities Exchange Centre: @GC.1) . Guy Adami was a buyer of silver (CEC:Commodities Exchange Centre: @SI.1) . Trader disclosure: On December 11. 2015, the following stocks and commodities mentioned or intended to be mentioned on CNBC's "Fast Money" were owned by the "Fast Money" traders: Tim Seymour is long AAPL, BAC, CLF, DIS, F, FCX, GE, GM, GOOGL, INTC, JCP, JPM, KO, LGF, RL, T, TWTR, VRX. Tim's firm is long BABA, BIDU, MCD, NKE, SBUX, YHOO. David Seaburg: No conflict. Brian Kelly is long BBRY, Bitcoin, GDX, GLD, Hong Kong Dollar, TLT, US Dollar; he is short Yuan, Candaian Dollar, GSG, EEM, EWC, EWH, SPY. Guy Adami is long CELG, EXAS, INTC, Guy Adami's wife, Linda Snow, works at Merck. More From CNBC Top News and Analysis Latest News Video Personal Finance \|\| Why the price of bitcoin is skyrocketing again: The price of Bitcoin, the world's most popular virtual, digital currency, is on the rise again. After trading in a range of $200 to $250 for most of the year, the price of one Bitcoin shot up to $500 this week, although it hassince fallen back to $392on Thursday. A great surge to $1,000 at the end of 2013ended in disaster for investorsas the currency lost three-quarters of its value in ensuing months. But what's behind the latest rally and will it stick? Here are three possible explanations:Perhaps questionable Chinese interest As often happens with bitcoin price surges, a lot of the trading is coming out of China. And there is a social financial network called MMM Global growing massively in China that requires users to buy bitcoin and share it around with other members. The Financial Timeshas said MMM has elements typical of pyramid schemes. The site was founded by a former Russian legislator who was jailed for fraud over a pyramid scheme he operated in the 1990s. China has alsotightened capital controls recently, making it harder for its citizens to send money abroad. Some bitcoin buying may be related to efforts to get around the crackdown.Growing legitimate business interest At the Money 20/20 conference last week,many companies announced new bitcoin-based services. The Nasdaq (NDAQ), for example, will be recording transactions in private stocks using bitcoin's public ledger, known as the blockchain. And Mastercard (MA) joined the long list of establishment institutions investing in bitcoin startups. And, two weeks ago, the European Union's top court agreed that virtual currencies like bitcoincan be traded like established currencieswithout triggering taxes applied to sales of goods and services. Past rallies have been linked with speculative bets that these kinds of deals and rulings would popularize the cryptocurrency and lead to greater demand which would push up the price.Jamie Dimon The always opinionated CEO of JPMorgan Chase (JPM) says bitcoin has no future -- governments will shut it down,he said at Fortune's Global Forumon Wednesday. “Virtual currency, where it’s called a bitcoin vs. a U.S. dollar, that’s going to be stopped,” Dimon said. Coming from the the guy who boughtBear StearnsandWaMuand missed those billions of dollars of crazy trades by the London Whale, Dimon's remarks may be attracting contrarians to bet against the big bank CEO. Probably not many, but with bitcoin, you never know. \|\| Bitcoin is going nuts: (George Frey/Getty Images) Another day, another monster run for bitcoin traders. Bitcoin was trading around $240 in the beginning of October. Now — after a gain of 10% on Tuesday added to its earlier run — it's closer to $400. Now, bitcoin traders are looking for answers as to why the cryptocurrency is skyrocketing in value. "You're seeing more and more institutional investors moving into the space," said Brendan O'Connor, CEO of Genesis Global Trading, a bitcoin broker. Demand has been coming from China. O'Connor said the daily volume of bitcoin trades from China has been two to three times the ordinary amount over the past two weeks. It's not just the value of bitcoin that's increasing; it's also the prevalence of use. The number ofdaily bitcoin transactions appears to be steadily rising, according to tracking site Coinbase. And that has the potential to have a tremendous effect on the cryptocurrency. "We are seeing unprecedented volume globally," said Michael Sonnenshein of Grayscale Investments, which manages the Bitcoin Investment Trust, a publicly listed vehicle that tracks bitcoin. Bitcoin Investment Trust hasn't been public very long, but it enjoyed a run-up ofmore than 7% on the good news Tuesday. Neither O'Connor nor Sonneshein centered on a single factor that is boosting bitcoin's value. Sonneshein pointed out that as bitcoin auctions run by the US Marshals draw closer (only in a handful of instances), the cryptocurrency tends to see increased trading activity. The next government auction of seized bitcoin isNovember 5. Here's a graph tracking bitcoin: (Blockchain.info)Blockchain.info captures the run-up in bitcoin prices. NOW WATCH:JAMES ALTUCHER: 'Warren Buffett is a f-----g liar' More From Business Insider • The Money Of The Future Will Look More Like Bitcoin Than The Paper We Carry Around Today • Bitcoin keeps surging, makes another new high for 2015 • FINANCE PROFESSOR: Bitcoin Will Crash To $10 By Mid-2014 \|\| 10 things you need to know today: (https://pictures.reuters.com/C.aspx?VP3=SearchResultFarmer Zhang Xianping with pig Big Precious during an interview with the media in Zhangjiakou, Hebei province, China. Here is what you need to know. Volkswagen has another emissions scandal.The German automaker announced that an internal investigation had discovered "irregularities in CO2 levels" in as many as 800,000 vehicles. It is unclear whether the irregularities are related to the recently discovered emissions scandal related to nitrogen-oxide testing. "Under the ongoing review of all processes and workflows in connection with diesel engines it was established that the CO2 levels and thus the fuel consumption figures for some models were set too low during the CO2 certification process," Volkswagen said in a statement. "The majority of the vehicles concerned have diesel engines." Tesla is flying high after its latest outlook.Shares of Tesla were up 10% in after-hours trade after the company announced it expected to deliver 17,000 to 19,000 vehicles in the fourth quarter, outpacing the Wall Street consensus. For all of 2015, Tesla said it would deliver 50,000 to 52,000 vehicles, narrowing its range from its previous estimate of 50,000 to 55,000. On the earnings front, the electric-car maker lost $0.58 per share, which was slightly worse than the $0.56 loss that was anticipated. Revenue jumped 33.4% to $1.24 billion, in line with estimates. US auto sales are at the highest level in a decade.The latest Autodata showed US auto sales rose at an annualized pace of 18.24 million in October, the best in a decade. The number easily surpassed the Wall Street consensus of17.7 million vehicles. Mazda (+35.4%) saw the biggest gains, while General Motors (+16%) and Ford (+13%) posted solid results. BMW USA (-6.6%) was the lone decliner. Honda is dumping Takata airbags.The AFP reports that Takata's largest client, Honda, has severed its relationship with the company after US authorities announced a $200 million fine against the airbag maker. Takata airbags have been linked to eight deaths and even more injuries around the world."On a global basis, no new Honda and Acura models currently under development will be equipped with a front driver or passenger Takata airbag inflator," Honda said in a statement. Shares of Takata were down as much as 20% in Tokyo. Iceland raised rates.Iceland's central bank raised its benchmark interest rate 25 basis points to 5.75%. The central bank noted that domestic demand was expected to increase by more than 7% this year and that gross domestic product was forecast to grow at 4.6%. As for inflation, the central bank said: "It is still expected that large pay increases will cause inflation to rise above the target as 2016 progresses and the effects of low global inflation taper off. Inflation will not return to target until 2018." The Icelandic krona is weaker by 0.2% at 128.90 per dollar. European services data was strong.October Services PMI for the eurozone was released, and it showed that every country outpaced expectations except for Germany. Spain saw the biggest month-over-month increase, as its reading climbed from 54.6 in September to 55.9 in October and easily beat the 54.6 that was expected. Germany's number ticked up to 54.5 from 54.1 but missed the 55.2 that economists were expecting. The eurozone as a whole improved to 54.1 from 53.7. The euro is down 0.3% at 1.0935. Bitcoin has gone parabolic.On Tuesday, bitcoin rallied 10% to close just shy of the $400 mark. On Wednesday morning, bitcoin is up another 15% near $454. The digital currency has surged 89% since the beginning of October. Stock markets around the world are higher.China's Shanghai Composite (+4.3%) surged after the People's Bank of China released some dated comments fromgovernor Zhou Xiaochuan. In Europe, Spain's IBEX (+1.2%) leads the gains. S&P 500 futures are higher by 2.75 points at 2,105.75. US economic data is moderate.ADP Employment Change is due out at 8:15 a.m. ET before the trade balance crosses the wires at 8:30 a.m. ET and ISM Services is released at 10 a.m. ET. Crude-oil inventories will be announced at 10:30 a.m. ET. The US 10-year yield is down 1 basis point at 2.20%. Earnings reporting remains heavy.21st Century Fox, Allergan, CDW, Honda Motor, Michael Kors, and Time Warner highlight the names scheduled to release their quarterly results ahead of the opening bell. Facebook, Marathon Oil, MetLife, Prudential, Qualcomm, Sturm Ruger, and Whole Foods are among the companies reporting after markets close. NOW WATCH:Here's the Bill Cosby joke Eddie Murphy did at the Kennedy Center that everyone's talking about More From Business Insider • 10 things you need to know today • 10 things you need to know today • 10 things you need to know today \|\| Bitcoin is exploding higher, but no one can agree on why: traders (REUTERS) Bitcoin gained another 6% Wednesday, reaching a new high for the year. The cryptocurrency reached the $450 mark late in the day before falling back to $425. That's compared with around $250 a month ago. What's behind this? Investors and brokers can't agree. In the last few days, explanations have included a rise in demand from China, an upcoming auction by US Marshals of seized bitcoin, and the influence of a convicted Ponzi schemer 's latest gambit. Another catalyst for recent appreciation comes from Europe, says Adam White, vice president and product manager at Coinbase, one of the biggest bitcoin exchanges globally by volume. The European Court of Justice recently ruled that the cryptocurrency is exempt from the region's "value added tax," which White compared to the decision by US taxation authorities in the 1990s to not implement taxes on goods sold online. What is certain is that use of bitcoin by consumers and trading is broadly on the rise. "There has been a steady increase in the number of transactions processed on the bitcoin blockchain," White says. In the last two years, the number of bitcoin transactions has increased threefold from 50,000 daily to about 140,000 today, according to Blockchain.info, which tracks bitcoin data. It is true that Chinese investors are eager to trade bitcoin, White says. In the US, between 300,000 and 500,000 bitcoin are traded daily, White said. But in China, that daily figure has been closer to 1 million to 1.2 million. That isn't to say US investors are neglecting the currency. There has been a three-times increase in the relative trading volume by what are referred to as "High Net Worth" traders on Coinbase's trading platform people making trades in dollar amounts worth up to six figures, White said. Perhaps most telling at least about the recent jump is that there's been a recent surge in trading, sharp rise in new user sign-ups, according to White. So what's behind the recent surge in bitcoin? Maybe just the surge in bitcoin. NOW WATCH: 'The Art Of War' holds the keys to success on Wall Street More From Business Insider Bitcoin is going nuts The Money Of The Future Will Look More Like Bitcoin Than The Paper We Carry Around Today Even As Bitcoin Gets Obliterated, Retailers Say They Will Still Accept It As A Form Of Payment View comments \|\| Natural Gas At 10-Year Low: One Way To Play Further Downside: Gas is trading at its lowest level since 1999, driven by worries about weak demand. At the New York Mercantile Exchange, the January Nymex price stood around $1.804 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) on Wednesday afternoon. Is there further downside left? If so, how can traders play it? Bull spreads might offer an interesting option. What Are Bull Spreads? Spreads "offer built-in floor and ceiling levels that define the lowest and highest points at which the trade can settle," Nadex . In other words, traders know how much they can gain or lose from the outset, thus limiting the risk. Related Link: Trade Options? Here's How To Get Involved In Bitcoin How To Trade Natural Gas With Bull Spreads In the following example, the underlying natural gas futures market is trading around 1.9 and a trader decides to consider a daily Bull Spread. This trader believes the price of natural gas will fall in the short-term, so he chooses a Daily Bull Spread that looks something like: Natural Gas 1.000-2.000 (2:30PM) . Since this trader believes the natural gas future will be below 1.9 at 2:30 p.m., he chooses to Sell the contact. Thus, he selects two contracts at the bid price of 1.9. "Each pip the price moves is worth $1 per point," Nadex explains. His Maximum Profit and Loss are displayed automatically. His trade's "floor" is 1.000 and his "ceiling" is 2.000. He will then monitor the trade and, when his position expires at 2:30 p.m., the difference between Nadex's calculated expiration value and his opening price of 1.9 will determine his profit or loss. Disclosure: Javier Hasse holds no positions in any of the securities mentioned above. See more from Benzinga Think Energy Has More Downside? Here Are Two Ways To Play It © 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| Natural Gas At 10-Year Low: One Way To Play Further Downside: • Gas is trading at its lowest level since 1999, driven by worries about weak demand. • At the New York Mercantile Exchange, the January Nymex price stood around $1.804 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) on Wednesday afternoon. • Is there further downside left? If so, how can traders play it? Bull spreads might offer an interesting option. What Are Bull Spreads? Spreads "offer built-in floor and ceiling levels that define the lowest and highest points at which the trade can settle," Nadex . In other words, traders know how much they can gain or lose from the outset, thus limiting the risk. Related Link:Trade Options? Here's How To Get Involved In Bitcoin How To Trade Natural Gas With Bull Spreads In the following example, the underlying natural gas futures market is trading around 1.9 and a trader decides to consider a daily Bull Spread. This trader believes the price of natural gas will fall in the short-term, so he chooses a Daily Bull Spread that looks something like:Natural Gas 1.000-2.000 (2:30PM). Since this trader believes the natural gas future will be below 1.9 at 2:30 p.m., he chooses to Sell the contact. Thus, he selects two contracts at the bid price of 1.9. "Each pip the price moves is worth $1 per point," Nadex explains. His Maximum Profit and Loss are displayed automatically. His trade's "floor" is 1.000 and his "ceiling" is 2.000. He will then monitor the trade and, when his position expires at 2:30 p.m., the difference between Nadex's calculated expiration value and his opening price of 1.9 will determine his profit or loss. Disclosure: Javier Hasse holds no positions in any of the securities mentioned above. See more from Benzinga • Think Energy Has More Downside? Here Are Two Ways To Play It © 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| Rocky Mountain Ayre, Inc., Releases HempCoin Audio Interview: DOVER, DE--(Marketwired - Nov 30, 2015) - Rocky Mountain Ayre, Inc., a holding company ( OTC PINK : RMTN ), has released an Internet link to an Audio Interview performed by one of its Directors, David Tobias. During the interview, David discusses the technical aspects and the future plans for RMTN's Crypto-Currency, HempCoin. The Audio-Interview can be heard at: http://smallcapvoice.com/blog/11-19-15-smallcapvoice-interview-with-rocky-mountain-ayre-inc-rmtn About HempCoin. HempCoin (HMP) runs on its own peer to peer blockchain like BitCoin (BTC) but at a faster rate because it is using the script technique like LiteCoin. So in addition to having the advantage of being able to move HMP around faster than BTC, HMP is backed by the marketable securities of RMTN. BTC is strictly a fiat currency like the US Dollar, however, BTC has the potential to go up in value against the Dollar because of supply and demand factors and HMP has this same built in advantage because unlike the Dollar, both BTC and HMP have a limited amount of coins in circulation, while the Dollar is ever increasing in supply. About Rocky Mountain, Inc. Rocky Mountain Ayre, Inc. ( www.rockymountainayre.com ) is a publicly traded company listed on the OTCmarkets under the "RMTN" trading symbol. It is a holding company increasing its asset and revenue base through acquisition of fast-growing food and hospitality, manufacturing and retail businesses. All inquiries should be directed to: [email protected] . Safe Harbor Statement This Press Release may contain certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The Company has tried, whenever possible, to identify these forward-looking statements using words such as "anticipates," "believes," "estimates," "expects," "plans," "intends," "potential" and similar expressions. These statements reflect the Company's current beliefs and are based upon information currently available to it. Accordingly, such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which could cause the Company's actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed in or implied by such statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or advise in the event of any change, addition or alteration to the information catered in this Press Release including such forward-looking statements. \|\| Your first trade for Wednesday: The "Fast Money" traders delivered their final picks with just two trading days left in the year. Pete Najarian was a buyer ofWynn Resorts(WYNN). Brian Kelly was a buyer of Trina Solar(TSL). Dan Nathan was a seller of McDonald's(MCD). Guy Adami was a buyer of Thermo Fisher Scientific(TMO). Trader disclosure: On December 29, 2015, the following stocks and commodities mentioned or intended to be mentioned on CNBC's "Fast Money" were owned by the "Fast Money" traders: Pete Najarian is longLong AAPL, BAC, BMY, BP, DIS, DISCA, FOXA, GE, KO, MRK, PEP, PFE, he is long calls A, ABX, BAC, COP, DAL, DDD, EMR, EXAS, HAIN, HUN, LC, LULU, MOS, MSFT, NRF, NSAM, PNR, SCSS, UAL, VZ, WLL, WYNN, He is long puts FCX, MRO, WFT. Dan Nathan is long MCD Feb Put Spread, Long PFE buy-write, Long TWTR March Risk Reversal, Long UUP March call, Long XLU Feb Call spread, Long PYPL Jan Risk Reversal, Long M Jan16 call spread, Long NTAP Jan risk reversal, Long GM Jan Put Butterfly, Long Len Jan Put Fly, Long QCOM feb calls, Short SPY, Long UUP. Brian Kelly is long BBRY, Bitcoin, GDX, GLD, Hong Kong Dollar, TLT, US Dollar; he is short British Pound, Euro, Yen, Yuan, Canadian Dollar, GSG, EEM, EWC, EWH, KRE, SPY. Guy Adami is long CELG, EXAS, GDX, INTC, Guy Adami's wife, Linda Snow, works at Merck. More From CNBC • Top News and Analysis • Latest News Video • Personal Finance \|\| Not in Your Grandma’s Wallet: Bitcoin Redefining Money: Will Bitcoin replace paper money? During an interview on the FOX Business Network’s Mornings With Maria ,Digital Currency Group CEO Barry Silbert, who’s considered the most active investor in Bitcoin companies, said: “[Bitcoin] it’s going to change the way that people send money, spend money -- even think about money. It’s kind of redefining what is money.” As an investor of companies in over 20 countries, he sees the most Bitcoin action in places where people use mobile devices for transactions. “We are seeing dramatic adoption in places like Kenya, Argentina, Brazil, South Africa -- places where people have mobile devices, but they don’t have bank accounts,” he said. He also discussed how regulation is impacting the digital currency. “[Regulators] are certainly paying attention… I used to think that regulation was Bitcoin’s biggest threat -- I actually think it’s the biggest opportunity now… Running a bank, operating a bank -- you cannot be innovative. You can’t think outside the box. You can’t do anything creative. Whereas you have hundreds of thousands of startups around the world that are looking to, again, kind of disintermediate… It is really going to eat banks alive.” With only $5B in market cap, Silbert believes Bitcoin’s technology is very valuable. “I’ll be the first to admit that Bitcoin as a digital currency is either going to be worth zero or it’s going to be worth a whole lot more money than it is today… it’s a very, very, risky investment. But this ecosystem is amazing that’s being built. There’s been a billion dollars in investment by venture capital in this industry so far.” He also discussed how the financial services industry will change in the next 5 to 10 years. “The definition of a bank is going to change. Banks are being disintermediated -- they are being attacked from every different angle… from startups, all the way up to different types of approaches, to finance like Bitcoin.” Related Articles • SEC Targets Connecticut Bitcoin Companies • 3 Reasons Its Dumb to Take Social Security Benefits at 70 • Oil Plunge Raises Fears of Societal Unrest [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] Current price: 400€ $BTCEUR $btc #bitcoin 2015-12-22 15:00:20 CET \|\| $461.86 at 00:15 UTC [24h Range: $452.03 - $465.90 Volume: 6863 BTC] \|\| #RDD / #BTC on the exchanges: Cryptsy: 0.00000003 Bittrex: 0.00000004 Average $1.0E-5 per #reddcoin 17:00:03 via #p…pic.twitter.com/kZndItbyRB \|\| LIVE: Profit = $273.92 (8.79 %). BUY B8.10 @ $410.00 (#VirCurex). SELL @ $412.30 (#HitBTC) #bitcoin #btc - http://www.projectcoin.org \|\| $366.85 #bitstamp; $365.80 #coinbase; $365.68 #bitfinex; $360.00 #btce; #bitcoin #btc via #ThePriceOfBTCpic.twitter.com/Iyw7aXRYrW \|\| 1 #bitcoin 1287.77 TL, 434 $, 399.628 €, GBP, 30100.00 RUR, 54000 ¥, CNH, 602.00 CAD #btc \|\| 1 #bitcoin 1284.45 TL, 424.596 $, 390.498 €, GBP, 29600.00 RUR, 57159 ¥, CNH, 602.15 CAD #btc \|\| In the last 10 mins, there were arb opps spanning 13 exchange pair(s), yielding profits ranging between $0.00 and $353.63 #bitcoin #btc \|\| Current #CBX Value is as following: 0.00049940 #bitcoin #cryptocurrency 2015-12-31 00:05 http://cur.lv/tqct0 \|\| 1 #bitcoin 969.84 TL, 328.475 $, 315.794 €, GBP, 22000.00 RUR, 44399 ¥, CNH, 469 CAD #btc	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 430.57, 434.33, 433.44, 430.01, 433.09, 431.96, 429.11, 458.05, 453.23, 447.61
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2020-08-18] BTC Price: 11991.23, BTC RSI: 64.11 Gold Price: 1999.40, Gold RSI: 62.21 Oil Price: 42.89, Oil RSI: 60.89 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] US officials seize cryptocurrency accounts tied to al-Qaeda and ISIS: US authorities have dismantled financing campaigns for three terrorist organizations, which included “the government’s largest-ever seizure ofcryptocurrencyin the terrorism context,” according tothe Department of Justice. The Internal Revenue Service, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and Federal Bureau of Investigation were involved in the operation against the al-Qassam Brigades (Hamas’s military wing), al-Qaeda andISIS. The DoJ asserts the al-Qassam Brigadessolicited Bitcoin donations through social mediaand its websites. Agents from the IRS, HSI and FBI were able to seize 150 cryptocurrency accounts tied to the group. Individuals based in the US who allegedly donated to them were subject to criminal search warrants, while the District of Columbia US Attorney’s Office has laidmoney laundering chargesagainst two Turkish individuals linked to those fundraising efforts. According to another forfeiturecomplaint, al-Qaeda and affiliates used Telegram and other social media channels to solicit Bitcoin donations. In some cases, the groups allegedly pretended to act as charities. Agents uncovered 155 cryptocurrency accounts linked to that terrorism fundraising campaign. As for ISIS, someone tied to the group allegedly ran aCOVID-19protective gear scam. Murat Cakar, who the DoJ describes as “an ISIS facilitator,” was selling phonyN95 respirator masksand other protective equipment through a website, according to a complaint. One US-based customer tried to buy gear for hospitals, nursing homes and fire departments. Officials seized that site, along with four related Facebook pages. In total, agents recouped about $2 million worth of cryptocurrency, according to theNew York Times.Once the case is concluded, the Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism Fund may receive some or all of the seized funds. Officials also blacklisted some private crypto wallets said to contain millions of dollars more in virtual currency, which will make it harder for account owners to cash out those funds through financial institutions. \|\| Apple Co-Founder Steve Wozniak Sues YouTube Over Bitcoin Giveaway Scams: Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak is suing video-sharing giant YouTube and its parent company Google for allegedly allowing bitcoin giveaway scams that use his likeness to thrive on its platform. Wozniak was one of 18 plaintiffs that filed the lawsuit on Tuesday, which seeks punitive damages, a trial by jury and demands YouTube remove all bitcoin giveaway scams and promotions using Wozniak’s name and likeness. The suit praised Twitter for acting “swiftly and decisively” to shut down malicious accounts and “protect its users from the scam” referencing the platform’s response to last week’scoordinated cyberattackthat gained access to a host of verified Twitter accounts and posted a crypto giveaway message. Related:Google, Twitter and Facebook Face $600M Lawsuit Over Crypto Ad Bans “In stark contrast, for months now, Defendant YOUTUBE has been unapologetically hosting, promoting, and directly profiting from similar scams,” the suit said. Wozniak is not the first to take action against YouTube over crypto scams. Earlier this year, Ripple Labs, along with CEO Brad Garlinghouse,sued the platformfor allegedly failing to effectively police fake XRP giveaway scams that were causing monetary and reputational harm to the company. According to the new complaint filed with the Superior Court of the State of California in the county of San Mateo, YouTube has “featured a steady stream of scam videos and promotions that falsely use images and videos of Plaintiff Steve Wozniak, and other famous tech entrepreneurs, and that have defrauded YouTube users out of millions of dollars.” The suit alleged that the image and likeness of other well-known entrepreneurs including Bill Gates, Elon Musk and Michael Dell were also being exploited in these scams. Related:Twitter Hacker Is Mixing Bitcoin Loot Using a Wasabi Wallet, Elliptic Says According to screenshots attached in the complaint, the scams involving Wozniak uses images and videos that tell users that the entrepreneur is hosting a live bitcoin or “BTC” giveaway event. The suit alleges that the posts “convince” users to transfer their cryptocurrency promising that, for a limited time, they “will receive twice as much back”. “YOUTUBE and GOOGLE took the further step of promoting and profiting from these scams by providing paid advertising that targeted users who were most likely to be harmed,” the suit said. Wozniak is accusing defendants YouTube and Google of violating his right of publicity, misappropriating his name and likeness, as well as aiding and abetting fraud, and negligent failure to warn users. “Defendants’ failure to warn was willful, malicious, oppressive, fraudulent, and/or in reckless disregard of the Plaintiffs’ rights, thereby entitling Plaintiffs to punitive damages,” the suit said. The suit demands a trial by jury on all issues triable, and damages that include legal expenses, and any “gains, profits, or advantages wrongfully obtained by Defendants.” The lawsuit was filed by Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy, LLP. Read the full complaint here: • Apple Co-Founder Steve Wozniak Sues YouTube Over Bitcoin Giveaway Scams • Apple Co-Founder Steve Wozniak Sues YouTube Over Bitcoin Giveaway Scams \|\| Gold Hits Record High As US-China Relations Deteriorate Further, Bitcoin Crosses $10,000 Mark: As China and the United States forced each other’s consulates to close in key cities, investors flocked to safe-havens, driving gold prices to a record high, while market sentiment remained mixed in Asia on Monday. Safe Havens, Bitcoin Extend Gains Spot gold traded a record 1.75% higher at $1,934.9 against the dollar, surpassing the previous peak hit in September 2011. Aggressive money printing adopted by central banks since the COVID-19 pandemic is raising fears among some investors of rampant inflation, Reutersnotedearlier. This is being attributed to a preference towards safe-haven investments. Goldman Sachs Group predicted Gold reaching $2,000 levels in the next 12 months, with Citigroup saying there is a 30% chance of that level being reached by the end of 2020, Bloombergreported. Chris Weston, head of research at Pepperstone Group in Melbourne, told Bloomberg, “If we think about real yields and what the Fed is doing, it just suggests to me that it’s a matter of time before real yields continue to trend lower and gold goes higher.” It is typical for investors to seek non-country specific or other safer assets during times of geopolitical crises. The rise of the yellow metal was accompanied by U.S. dollar falling against the Japanese yen at 105.48. Bitcoin (BTC), which is sometimes touted as digital gold, crossed the $10,000 mark on Monday, a level not breached since June 2. It traded 5.67% higher at $10,237.78 at press time,accordingto CoinMarketCap data. The rise in Ethereum (ETH), the world's second largest cryptocurrency after Bitcoin in terms of market valuation, has been even more spectacular, with the asset rising 30% this week. Ethereum traded 6.76% higher at $323.34 at press time. Asian Markets Retreat The markets in Asia were mixed towards the end of their trading sessions. Japan's Nikkei 225 index traded almost flat, down 0.16%, and South Korea's KOSPI was up 0.8%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was in the red by 0.44%. Mainland China's Shanghai Composite was up 0.26% and Shenzhen Component was up 0.3%. Shares in Asia were mainly supported by gains in technology stocks. Taiwan Capitalization index added 2.3% in the day, withTaiwan Semiconductor Mfg. Co. Ltd.(NYSE:TSM) mostly trading at the maximum 10% surge throughout the day, after rivalIntel Corporation(NASDAQ:INTC) saidit was delayingthe production of 7nm chips to 2022 at least. US Futures Suggest Higher Open The U.S. futures traded higher early Monday. S&P 500 futures were up 0.2%, Dow futures traded 0.17% higher, and Nasdaq futures were up 0.4% at press-time. Federal Reserve officials are reportedly meeting on Tuesday and Wednesday and it is expected they will maintain a near zero-rate policy, Bloomberg noted. See more from Benzinga • Credit Suisse Silently Invested 0M In Alibaba Subsidiary Ant Financial, Set To Benefit Immensely In Public Debut • Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Google CEOs To Testify Before House Antitrust Subcommittee Wednesday • Electric Vehicles In UK To Exceed 30M By 2040, National Grid Predicts © 2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| Social Media Companies Are Too Big to Fail: Jenny Leung is a blockchain and fintech attorney at Blakemore Fallon PLLC dba Ketsal. This year, 2020, is the year social media institutions became systemically important. This term, systemically important, typically describes a financial institution whose failure poses a significant threat to the economy and is thus too big to fail. Systemically important financial institutions ( SIFI ) have been subject to additional regulatory scrutiny. Related: Money Reimagined: Lets Be Privacy Scolds If certain social media institutions were to fail today, their failure would pose a significant threat to society due to their outsized influence, size, reach, societys co-dependence on them and their power to shape the interpretation of public events. These systemically important social media institutions (SISMI) have become so influential and embedded in society their failure may cause the economy to suffer. But that doesnt necessarily mean the solution is as simple as building decentralized alternatives, as some technologists have suggested , or pursuing antitrust action, as outlined in Wednesdays congressional investigation into Big Techs anti-competitive behavior. The threats go much deeper than that. See also: Michael Casey CoinDesks Twitter Hack Proved the Media Cant Rely on Web 2.0 Recent phenomena highlighted SISMIs helpful influence during the COVID-19 pandemic: the ongoing Black Lives Matter movement and the Twitter hack of July 2020 . Society now depends on SISMIs to keep businesses and influencers afloat, to support political movements, to document protests and police brutality , to livestream everything from yoga classes to conferences, to provide live tornado warnings , to break news, to propagate political rallies, to expose violent rioters , to hold police accountable and to render a verdict as to what company, product or person should be canceled . Story continues Related: Central Banks Are Privacy Providers of Last Resort During the pandemic, the reliance on SISMIs has grown as businesses shut their doors, switched to online delivery and online streaming and requested virtual donations to keep them alive. As New York City found itself paralyzed under Pause and Curfew , I found myself turning to Instagram and Facebook for updates when neither Google Maps opening hours nor Seamless were reliable. I was glued to the Citizen App for live updates as the protests marched through my neighborhood and past my doorstep. At the same time, weve seen violent crimes livestreamed, genocide incited, non-consensual harvesting of personal data for political advertising, doxing of viral subjects, financial scams and, more recently, the hacking of prominent social media accounts all through the very same platforms. Despite its growing importance, social media inclusion doesnt quite have the ring of financial inclusion. As confirmed by Twitter itself, hackers took control of 45 accounts, including those of Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Elon Musk, Kim Kardashian and Vitalik Buterin, and sent tweets that tricked followers into sending bitcoin to the hackers bitcoin address. While only 12.87 bitcoin (approximately $142,000 at press time) had been sent , the real dangers lie in the fact that (1) hackers gained site-wide admin access and tweeted publicly from prominent accounts with global reach and (2) the hackers were able to access and download potentially sensitive unencrypted direct messages. See also: Brenna Smith Last Weeks Big Twitter Hack Was Years in the Making These events highlight societys increasing dependency on mega-platforms for matters ranging from business to finance, justice and politics. We may approach a situation where a political figure has a voice across every social media platform but their opponent may have been banned on the same influential platforms, with no formal appeal process available. As Zoomers, raised on social media, begin to reach voting age, the banning or censoring of political figures and public events may become a real issue as SISMIs engage in more active censorship and control. Despite its growing importance, social media inclusion doesnt quite have the ring of financial inclusion. Bitcoin and decentralized finance applications have been gaining traction on the principle that everyone in the world deserves access to financial services. It may only be a matter of time before an unstoppable, decentralized and workable social media platform provides everyone with the ability to have a voice. What next? If social media institutions have become systemically important, governments, regulators and political leaders should recognize how tightly intertwined SISMIs have become with society and the economy and acknowledge the risks that come with this marriage. Some pundits noted the Twitter hackers could have started a war between world leaders, incited violence, manipulated the markets or created social panic. The latter actually occurred in 2013 after hackers tweeted from the account of the Associated Press, saying the White House had been hit by two explosions and that President Obama was injured, sending the U.S. stock market into freefall. We almost saw history repeat when the Twitter hackers actually hijacked Barack Obamas Twitter account earlier this month. See also: Nathaniel Whittemore No, the Twitter Hack Wasnt About Bitcoin Are we ready for a world economy dominated by SISMIs? Imagine a stock or crypto market driven by viral posts and TikTok memes , celebrities and corporate personalities , coin of the day posts or trends rooted in irrational exuberance . Once SISMIs pose a bigger threat to the economy than SIFIs (whether directly through markets or indirectly through civil unrest), it may already be too late to be cautious about their influence. While Wednesdays congressional antitrust hearing was a good start, the issue of antitrust is only one item in a growing list of problems. Whether the solution is more regulation, breaking up SISMIs , making social media decentralized or treating SISMIs like SIFIs is a conversation for another day. I simply propose we open our eyes to their economic and societal influence. Related Stories Social Media Companies Are Too Big to Fail Social Media Companies Are Too Big to Fail \|\| MicroStrategy Buys $250M in Bitcoin, Calling the Crypto ‘Superior to Cash’: Publicly traded business intelligence firm MicroStrategy purchased 21,454 bitcoin on Tuesday, effectively pouring all $250 million of its planned inflation-hedging funds into the digital currency. Disclosing its bitcoin buy alongside an equivalent stock buyback in a Tuesday Securities and Exchange Commission filing, MicroStrategy, a Nasdaq-listed software firm worth over $1.2 billion, said the cryptocurrency provided a “reasonable hedge against inflation” in a press statement shared with CoinDesk. “This investment reflects our belief that bitcoin, as the world’s most widely adopted cryptocurrency, is a dependable store of value and an attractive investment asset with more long-term appreciation potential than holding cash,” said CEO Michael J. Saylor. Saylor cited forces working to weaken fiat currencies – COVID-19, global quantitative easing measures, political and economic uncertainty – but also the technical and qualitative aspects that he said give the bitcoin blockchain strength. “We find the global acceptance, brand recognition, ecosystem vitality, network dominance, architectural resilience, technical utility and community ethos of bitcoin to be persuasive evidence of its superiority as an asset class for those seeking a long-term store of value,” Saylor said. The capital allocation quickly fulfills Saylor’s late July promise to shareholders that MicroStrategy would buy back $250 million in stock and invest an additional $250 million in gold and bitcoin over the next 12 months. The belief was that these and other “alternative investments” would protect MicroStrategy’s dollar-heavy balance sheet. It is now clear that half of the $500 million bet turns entirely on bitcoin. MicroStrategy “accordingly has made bitcoin the principal holding in its treasury reserve strategy,” Saylor said. Read more: Nasdaq-Listed MicroStrategy, Wary of Looming Dollar Inflation, Turns to Bitcoin and Gold Related Stories MicroStrategy Buys $250M in Bitcoin, Calling the Crypto ‘Superior to Cash’ MicroStrategy Buys $250M in Bitcoin, Calling the Crypto ‘Superior to Cash’ MicroStrategy Buys $250M in Bitcoin, Calling the Crypto ‘Superior to Cash’ MicroStrategy Buys $250M in Bitcoin, Calling the Crypto ‘Superior to Cash’ \|\| India Must Not Drop Out of Crypto Arms Race: (Bloomberg Opinion) -- Talk about cutting off the nose to spite the face: For a second time, India wants to ban cryptocurrencies. Harnessing the power of tokens residing on distributed ledgers can save the world’s biggest recipient of money transfers billions of dollars annually. Regulating digital assets and allowing the industry to grow can also keep India in the reckoning as both China and Silicon Valley try to reshape the global payments industry. But instead of trying to match President Xi Jinping’s resolve to make blockchains the focus of China’s next big technological push, New Delhi wants to retreat — when it was just about to move forward. Earlier, a central bank directive had ordered commercial lenders to stay away from customers dealing in digital assets. But after the Supreme Court overruled the monetary authority in March, the Finance Ministry has decided to introduce a law to prohibit cryptos, the Economic Times reported recently. Any such law might still get challenged. Binance Holdings Ltd., the top spot exchange for virtual currencies by trading volume, is joining a crypto lobby group in India. The industry doesn’t want to go down without a fight in an important future market. Yet for a nascent local talent pool just beginning to feel hopeful about its prospects, an existential crisis has arrived instead. A perverse outcome will be to drive Bitcoin and other private alternatives to fiat money underground; transactions will occur outside the banking system and stay under the radar of regulators. Money-laundering and terror-financing risks won’t go away. They’ll just become harder to detect. Bad crypto will drive out good crypto. Top brains will leave India or look for other problems to solve. Who stands to lose the most? Last year, Indian families received $83 billion from members working overseas, more than any other country. Capital controls make it harder to take funds out, but at $19 billion, outbound flows for education, travel, or overseas asset purchases by residents were still significant. Story continues The coronavirus will no doubt make 2020 the annus horribilis for migrants. The World Bank Is forecasting a 23% slump in remittances to India. In these times, every dollar saved by a nurse from Kerala who’s helping Covid-19 patients in the U.S. and supporting a family thousands of miles away matters more than ever. Yet it costs in excess of $10 to send $200 to India. And 5.3% is the average. Singapore-to-India transfers are cheap at 2% because the two countries allow each others’ major lenders a presence. By contrast, the Thailand-India corridor, which requires handovers across a chain of correspondent banks, could cost 12%. Or $24 on a $200 transfer. Expenses pile up as sending institutions must maintain idle liquidity with correspondent banks in foreign countries, earning little and running the risk of currency depreciation. Cryptography is helpful in such situations. Establishing ownership of funds with hard-to-crack secrets bypasses the need to establish trust with costly pre-funded accounts. And if hackers can steal hundreds of millions of dollars of digital assets, blind trust in an accounts-based system often costs more. As the Wirecard AG scandal shows, investors can wake up one morning and realize that 1.9 billion euros ($2.1 billion) they thought had gone to the German payment processor’s accounts in the Philippines probably didn’t exist. Meanwhile, the Philippines, which also gets large remittances, allows money to come in as XRP virtual tokens and get converted into pesos. It takes seconds and is 40% to 60% cheaper than traditional means, according to Ripple Labs Inc., the U.S. digital money transfer firm behind XRP. As Ripple argues, for crypto processors to operate in India, the government needs to follow the Singapore model of categorizing digital assets. Some, like Bitcoin or Ethereum, are means of payment. Others are security tokens that give the holder rights similar to stocks or bonds. The regulatory noose around them has tightened after many initial coin sales defrauded investors. In between are utility tokens, which are like in-store vouchers. They give rights, but only on a blockchain. Allowing rupees to be swapped for permissible payment tokens in regulated quantities, and for the latter to be used without contravening the country’s foreign-exchange management law, would be the logical next steps. Instead, India’s regulators seem to be living in a fantasy land where they hold blockchain to be good, but crypto assets to be evil. At first glance, they seem to be copying the Chinese playbook. While elevating distributed ledgers to a “strategic frontier technology” since 2016, Beijing has rejected the notion that bitcoin is legal tender. However, it hasn’t banned people from holding it as a commodity. This year, it even started piloting a central bank-issued digital yuan. If U.S.-China relations continue to nosedive, Beijing wants to be prepared with an alternative to the Western financial system, a parallel track to Swift(1) . Soon enough, Facebook Inc.-sponsored Libra will come in with its own vision of a modern payment system. Even a small nation like Singapore is exploring the potential of central bank virtual currencies with its Project Ubin. If New Delhi wants a voice in a world of two clashing superpowers, and competing networks for moving money as cheaply as information, it needs to build its own capabilities. A ban will be self-defeating. India needs crypto, both for financial inclusion today and strategic heft tomorrow. (1) Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications, or Swift, is a member-owned cooperative that provides the infrastructure for movement of money around the world. This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners. Andy Mukherjee is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering industrial companies and financial services. He previously was a columnist for Reuters Breakingviews. He has also worked for the Straits Times, ET NOW and Bloomberg News. For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinion Subscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source. ©2020 Bloomberg L.P. \|\| Honeygain App Popularity Skyrockets As Users Earn For Sharing Internet Connections: The five months in which Covid-19 has spread throughout America have led to more job loss than any point in American history. And though the labor market has shown signs of recovery, there remains no clear end to job losses in sight. The gloomy economic outlook for the foreseeable future is forcing people globally to revaluate their approach to personal finances. In particular, it is evident that setting up passive income streams is becoming essential to meet ends. However, finding a legitimate passive income stream is no easy task. Unfortunately, a lot of companies either overpromise, underdeliver, or imitate reputable businesses while secretly taking advantage of their users in one way or another. With all of this in mind, passive income platform Honeygain has vowed to stand out and ensure transparent and fair business practices and has gained the trust of millions of people in the process. The Best Passive Income Stream Of 2020? Honeygain successfully launched in 2018, enabling businesses and people to serve each other through a residential proxy network. In other words, people are passively earning money by safely sharing their internet connection with companies that require residential proxy networks to support their business operations. It was clear from the start that for this business idea to flourish, gaining peoples trust was essential. Thats why the platform is built with a focus on the experience of the end-user. The company is solidly established on four following core values: User Education Honeygain places education as a key element in achieving real transparency with its user base. The technical and business nuances are explained clearly, educating people on the benefits of shared internet traffic. The team behind the app openly communicates on each business case and willingly sheds light on how to maximize earnings via the platform. User Protection The app only collects data that is necessary for the system to function without asking for any excessive permissions. This data includes network information, device-specific data, and the users email address to process the payments. Story continues The company also employs an intricate Know-Your-Client (KYC) process, thanks to which only carefully vetted business partners are allowed access to the Honeygain network. User Empowerment Inclusivity and empowerment are two more factors that drive Honeygain. The company strives to become a go-to source of passive income to everyone around the globe, regardless of their economic well-being. Technical Excellence The Honeygain developer teams work culture is to always critically revaluate utilized technologies. Coders and engineers continuously look for ways to improve and innovate components of the platforms technical infrastructure, ensuring a smooth service for all parties involved. According to a recent survey of nearly 16,000 users, 82.8% of people would recommend the platform to a friend or a colleague. Around 90% of respondents also said they return to the app daily, with 73.1% checking it multiple times per day. Most importantly, these results ensure that the platform successfully fulfills the role of an educator, shedding light on the commonly misunderstood proxy market. In fact, over 70% of people confirmed that they had learned more about the proxy services since joining the ever-growing Honeygain community. With the world economy taking a hit, platforms like Honeygain have emerged as a powerful tool to empower people during financially unstable times, at the same time enabling businesses to create value in their respective industries. For Honeygain, a positive contribution to the economy will continue to be based on long-term commitments and a clear value system striving towards a more transparent passive income and residential proxy markets. Disclaimer: This post was submitted by a guest. The writer does not hold a relationship or any vested interest in Honeygain. Photo by Glenn Carstens-Peters on Unsplash See more from Benzinga Online Trading is More Popular Than Ever Before, Just Ask NAGA What Can Blockchain Really Do for Advertising? A Perfect Use Case With SaTT Digitex Launches Commission-Free Bitcoin Futures Trading © 2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| DeFi Traders Are Gaming Ethereum for Higher Profits, Researchers Say: Decentralized finance (DeFi) has been clogging the Ethereum network, but not in the way most analysts would have guessed. An architectural quirk in the most-used software version of Ethereum, Geth, has led to an uptick in the practice of spamming the network to secure trade profits over the last six months, according to Certus One co-founder Hendrik Hofstadt. Transaction spamming is one of many reasons the average Ethereum user fee has increased some 800% since May, according to Coin Metrics . Ponzi schemes like MMM or DeFi’s general growth in 2020 are also to blame. Related: Market Wrap: Bitcoin Trudges Past $11.7K as DeFi Lending Rates Gyrate Read more: Weed Out the Soviet-Era Ponzi Scheme Eating Ethereum Hofstadt told CoinDesk that algorithmic trading firms have created bot swarms to watch the Ethereum transaction queue (called the mempool). These bots wait for large trades on DeFi platforms such as Uniswap. After they go through, the bots quickly place orders to take advantage of price movements in what is called “backrunning.” Too many firms knew about this practice, though. So some firms switched up their tactics over the spring months by sending a wall of executions to crowd out others and secure a backrun order. Higher rewards for miners, higher profits for traders Rough modeling shows some $5.99 million in gas fees have been used to execute this trading strategy since April 2018, according to developer Philippe Castonguay. That’s about a week’s worth of typical Ethereum fees for useless transactions. Related: Two Reasons Crypto's Bull Market Is Coming Moreover, the majority of these trades occurred since March 12’s “Black Thursday,” when DeFi platforms saw record volumes . Read more: Thursday’s Market Madness Strained Ethereum’s Killer App: DeFi For trading firms, this translates into more fees overall but arbitrage profits into the hundreds of thousands, according to addresses provided by Hofstadt. Story continues For the network, spamming crowds out other transactions. It also increases the average fee for everyone. On July 29, the Geth team approved swapping the execution model to a first come, first served basis. Yet, it remains to be seen if mining firms will update to the new Geth version. Hofstadt said miners could keep doing business as usual if they value the extra pocket change from DeFi traders more than helping out the network in general. Indeed, total network fees per day on Ethereum has increased 1,077% since May 5 from $162,200 to $1,909,000 on a seven-day rolling basis, according to Coin Metrics . Related Stories DeFi Traders Are Gaming Ethereum for Higher Profits, Researchers Say DeFi Traders Are Gaming Ethereum for Higher Profits, Researchers Say \|\| Quantstamp Audit Greenlights Ethereum 2.0 Client Prysm for Launch: Ethereum 2.0 client Prysm is “basically ready” to launch, Richard Ma, CEO of Quantstamp, said in a phone call with CoinDesk. A technical thumbs up for Prysm from the smart-contract auditing firm comes after last week’s announced push by network developers to launch the proof-of-stake (PoS) version of Ethereum before 2020 closes out. Indeed, numerous perceived “delays” have frustrated community members as they await the overhaul promised in the network’s 2014 yellow paper. Related: Filecoin Pushes Back Final Testing Phase, Announces ‘Calibration Period’ for Miners Informal agreements between Ethereum developers that multiple network-ready clients needed to launch in concert have slowed efforts over the years. Nine such implementations are currently underway, including Prysm, in various programming languages. Read more: Ethereum Developers Delay Berlin Hard Fork to Stem Client Centralization Concerns In a recent Reddit AMA , ETH 2.0 researcher Justin Drake said that given the lack of client diversity and testing, the network would likely not launch until Jan. 3, 2021, the 12th anniversary of Bitcoin’s genesis block. Drake and Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin disagreed, saying the network should be able to launch before the close of 2020 “regardless of level of readiness,” Buterin said. Related: The Zcash Privacy Tech Underlying Ethereum’s Transition to Eth 2.0 “Eth2 phase 0 is in some ways simpler than Eth1 and in some ways more complex: more complex PoS, but no complicated GPU-oriented PoW; more optimization required, but no complicated VM, etc etc. I’m inclined to say Eth2 phase 0 is a little simpler on-net,” he added. ‘Low-level optimizations’ Prysm client’s code was “well-written and documented,” Quantstamp said in a blog post shared early with CoinDesk. The firm identified 65 issues relating to the granularity of timestamps, pseudo-random number generation and second pre-image attacks on Merkle trees. Story continues Ma described the concerns as “low-level optimizations,” with 75% having been addressed already. Ten engineers combed over Prysm’s ETH 2.0 codebase, programmed in the Go language, for two months, Ma said. “Over $28 billion USD worth of ether and other digital assets are potentially riding on the transition to proof-of-stake,” noted Ma in a company statement. “The migration of ether and the DeFi ecosystem to Ethereum 2.0 is a high-stakes process.” However, where money is on the line, audits alone don’t greenlight code for launch. Eth 2.0 clients have joined various testnets to run simulations of Phase 0 throughout the spring months. Altona testnet for Ethereum 2.0 Most recently, Prysm has joined three other clients (PegaSys’ Teku, Status’ Nimbus and Sigma Prime’s Lighthouse) in the ongoing Altona testnet. The testnet allows users to stake ether and practice validating transactions for Phase 0 of Eth 2.0 and was preceded by both the Schlesi and Witti testnets, among others. Read more: Schlesi Testnet Is Latest Step in Long Road Toward Eth 2.0 “Altona is finalizing with the Eth 2.0 Phase 0 core protocol logic that will be launched later this year,” Prysmatic Labs co-founder Preston Van Loon said in a private message to CoinDesk. Metrics from the Witti testnet analyzed in a June 25 paper by independent testnet hard-fork coordinator Afri Schoedon showed Lighthouse repeatedly outperformed other clients. That client is halfway through an independent audit as well, according to Sigma Prime co-founder Paul Hauner in a private message. Schoedon looked at “beacon-chain node implementation” such as for synchronization time and database space, but noted that the race to Eth 2.0 is “not a competition” among clients. “While this is not about calling out a winner, we should be encouraged to learn from the Sigma Prime team’s design decisions,” he said. Related Stories Quantstamp Audit Greenlights Ethereum 2.0 Client Prysm for Launch Quantstamp Audit Greenlights Ethereum 2.0 Client Prysm for Launch \|\| High-profile politicians and celebrities targeted in the cyber attack: Photo: Omar Marques/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images Twitter ( TWTR ) says that 130 accounts were targeted in the cyber attack that took place on Wednesday. Of these, 45 were successfully hacked, while eight unverified users’ information was accessed and downloaded. “In cases where an account was taken over by the attacker, they may have been able to view additional information. Our forensic investigation of these activities is still ongoing,” the company said. It did not give additional details about what that information might be. The hack affected US presidential candidate Joe Biden, reality TV star Kim Kardashian, former US President Barack Obama and Tesla ( TSLA ) tycoon Elon Musk. It used their accounts to solicit digital currency. Others targeted include rapper Kanye West, Amazon’s ( AMZN ) Jeff Bezos, investor Warren Buffett and Microsoft ( MSFT ) founder Bill Gates. Corporate accounts for Uber ( UBER ) and Apple ( AAPL ) were also on that list. Donald Trump was one of the prominent Twitter uses unaffected by this. Public records show the scam earned the fraudsters more than $100,000 (£79,570) in cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin. Bitcoin is notoriously difficult to trace, and the “wallets” the currency was put into have already been emptied. This money is likely to have been split into smaller amounts through a “mixer” or “tumbler” to make it even harder to trace back to the attackers. Twitter also said the scammers may have tried to sell account names and handles. READ MORE: Why we need to stop food shaming at work The company set out a four-point plan of next-steps following the incident. This included an employee training scheme. The FBI is now investigating, according to reports. We are aware of a security incident impacting accounts on Twitter. We are investigating and taking steps to fix it. We will update everyone shortly. — Twitter Support (@TwitterSupport) July 15, 2020 View comments [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] None available.	Trend: down \|\| Prices: 11758.28, 11878.37, 11592.49, 11681.83, 11664.85, 11774.60, 11366.13, 11488.36, 11323.40, 11542.50
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis] Not fully available. [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] The 'Wolf of WhatsApp' wants to sell you penny stocks: Leo DiCaprio Wolf of Wall Street (Paramount) The “pump and dump” scam is a classic stock trick. Someone ruthlessly promotes a stock they hold, driving up the price based on artificial interest, and then sells before everyone realizes the interest was just manufactured. Oftentimes, those stocks are “penny stocks,” which don’t trade on an exchange and are worth only a few cents a share. Real life “Wolf of Wall Street” Jordan Belfort was famous for perfecting the pump and dump to the tune of millions of dollars for himself and his posse. But on Friday a new cadre of penny stock villains struck, this time on the popular messaging app WhatsApp. I first noticed the scam when a friend of mine posted this screenshot on Facebook along with the caption, “ Umm...What? Someone got the serious wrong number on Whatsapp.” Screen Shot 2015 08 21 at 5.38.03 PM (Facebook) But I didn’t put the pieces of the scam together until The Awl’s John Herrman pointed out that the spam seemed to be part of a coordinated pump and dump scheme. AVRN is the stock sign for Avra, Inc., which is a digital currency (think Bitcoin) company. And the scam seems to have been dastardly effective. As you can see from this chart from Yahoo Finance, the stock for Avra shot up at around 11 a.m. before crashing shortly thereafter: Screen Shot 2015 08 21 at 5.25.46 PM (Yahoo Finance) Some people were clearly fooled, and assuming the scammers timed it right and didn’t totally bungle the operation, they probably made some cash. This isn’t the first time that potential pump and dumpers have used an innovative messaging medium to cut through the noise. Last month, Twitter shares spiked based on a phony report on a website made to look like Bloomberg.com . The story had said that Twitter was fielding an offer to be taken over for $31 billion. NOW WATCH: The story behind the famously offensive twitter account that parodies Wall Street culture More From Business Insider Here's what to expect from the next iPhone's camera, according to a person who's making it Make no mistake — this is the opening of the 'China Decade' It's no longer all about ads — Here's how publishers, streaming sites, and apps are using subscriptions to boost revenues \|\| Uber's Food Delivery Service Could Become A Big Part Of Business: The ride-sharing service Uber recently rolled out a new service called UberEATS, which customers in certain cities can use to order prepared meals. At first, the offering appeared to be a pilot program that was testing the waters for a wide-scale rollout, but a recent update to the company's app suggests that UberEATS could play a more prominent role in the company's business plan. Front And Center Uber updated its mobile app so that customers in New York City, Los Angels, Toronto, Austin, Chicago, Barcelona and San Francisco can easily access the UberEATS ordering screen from the home page. Before, UberEATS was located on a separate screen with other Uber programs, but now the service has its own button for easy access. Related Link: Get To Know UberEATS What Does It Mean? The button's location won't change the company's food delivery service, but it could hint at Uber's intentions for the future. Some say the new prominent location suggests that Uber is getting serious about expanding on food delivery. Others believe that the new location is a way for the company to get more people to try the service out. Uber has also rolled out offers, like free delivery in NYC, to get more people to use UberEATS. Expanding Its Reach Uber's expansion into the food delivery space aligns the company's aim to become an urban logistics giant. Uber execs appear to be bent on turning what began as a taxi service into a comprehensive logistics solution that can deliver anything from a package to a cup of coffee quickly and easily. See more from Benzinga European Markets Still Uncertain With Greek Elections On The Horizon Time-Release Capsules Make Medical Marijuana More Approachable Greeks Begin To See An Opportunity In Bitcoin © 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| Bitcoin Driven HashingSpace Launches HashScanner to Maximize Bitcoin Payouts: HashingSpace Corporation (HSHS) Announced Today That It Has Launched a New Service, HashScanner, to Maximize Bitcoin Mining Capabilities. HashingSpace's Mission Is to Build out Key Infrastructure for the Global Adoption of Bitcoin and Blockchain Services with Hosted ASIC Mining WENATCHEE, WA / ACCESSWIRE /September 1, 2015 /HashingSpace Corporation (OTCQB: HSHS), a Bitcoin ASIC mining and hosting company, announced today that the company has made available HashScanner, a proprietary service to maximize Bitcoin payouts for HashingSpace miners. The new service allows miners to scan P2Pools to see which has the lowest latency. It also shows pools score, efficiencies, uptime, location, fees, hash rate and version number. This free service shows how HASHPOOL ranks with HashingSpace's 13 nodes located across the world. Our HashPool.com mining pools are GEO-IP load balanced through DNS to allow mining pools one address, which load balances and fails over for all of our the nodes. We also allow for individual node access. "We are excited to bring to the Bitcoin marketplace this free HashScanner service. We feel it is well designed and user friendly. It is a definitive source for the highest paying p2pool mining pools. This allows our customers to maximize their mining capabilities and increase their profits and shows how HashPool ranks among the P2Pools," stated Timothy Roberts, CEO of HashingSpace Corporation. "This completes another goal of ours to provide intuitive, convenient, robust and secure bitcoin solutions to the Bitcoin community." HashScanner can be accessed atwww.hashscanner.comand also through the HashingSpace mining portal atwww.hashpool.com. HashingSpace Corporation's business will provide a wide range of services to include: FORTRESS ONE HOSTING:Tier 3+ Enterprise Class, Green High Intensity Hosting for Blockchain CRYPTOHASH HOSTING:Tier 1 Green High Intensity Hosting for Crypto Currency ASIC Mining CLOUDHASH:Cloud mining servers that can be rented with full hashing power HASHMINING:Our own Mining Farm HASHATM:Owner and operator of Bitcoin ATM machines HASHWALLET:Bitcoin consumer wallet for bitcoin banking and transactions HASHPOOL:Public Stratum and P2Pool (Web/IOS/Droid) HASHTICKER:Free Ticker for tracking Bitcoin Value (Screen Saver/Web/IOS/Droid) HASHVAR:A wholesaler of Bitcoin servers and Bitcoin ATM machines All company information, including stock trading, filings, and market data related to the company, is reported under the ticker symbol, HSHS. About HashingSpace Corporation HashingSpace Corporation is a Bitcoin ASIC mining company, hosting provider, and service provider of blockchain transactional services. HashingSpace's high density datacenters are designed to meet the demanding power and cooling needs of client hosted Bitcoin mining gear with unparalleled pricing, cooling and green energy. The Corporation is continuing to expand its datacenters to satisfy the shortage of low cost hosting facilities catering to the Bitcoin and blockchain mining and transactional verification services industry specifically. HashingSpace Corporation manages HashWallet, a Bitcoin wallet; HashPool, a Bitcoin mining pool; and HashATM, the owner and operator of Bitcoin ATM machines. The company is a wholesaler of Bitcoin mining servers and Bitcoin ATM machines. Bitcoin businesses interested in reselling HashingSpace products and services are invited to reach out to HashingSpace Corporation for more information. HashingSpace Corporation is headquartered in Wenatchee, Washington. For more information, visitwww.hashingspace.com. Any unreleased services or features referenced in this or other press releases or public statements may not be currently available and may not be delivered on time or at all. Customers who purchase HashingSpace services should make their purchase decisions based upon features currently available. For more information please visithttp://www.hashingspace.comor call 1-855-HASHING (427-4464). Safe Harbor Statement This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These forward-looking statements are based on the current plans and expectations of management and are subject to a number of uncertainties and risks that could significantly affect the Company's current plans and expectations, as well as future results of operations and financial condition. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Company Contact: HashingSpace Corporation5042 Wilshire Blvd. #26900Los Angeles, CA, 90036855-HASHING (427-4464)Investor Relations:[email protected] SOURCE:HashingSpace Corporation \|\| Greece could soon get 1,000 bitcoin ATMs: Bitcoin(: BTC=)ATMs could spring up across Greece as soon as October as citizens and businesses become increasingly desperate to move their money despite capital controls. BTCGreece, which bills itself as the country's first bitcoin exchange, plans to eventually install 1,000 ATMs nationwide, in partnership with European bitcoin platform, Cubits. Thanos Marinos, the founder of BTCGreece, told CNBC on Wednesday that a soft launch was on the cards for October. "It is part of my vision to create a block chain ecosystem in Greece," he told CNBC. "If all goes as expected with no major issues we will launch first ATMs October 2015." Bitcoin is adecentralized digital currency that can be used around the world. Transactions are listed in a shared public ledger called the block chain. The digital currency has been touted as one way to to circumvent Greek capital controls. These have been in place since June and limit domestic investors to withdrawing no more than 60 euros ($66) per day from Greek banks, making life extremely tough for companies that need to pay or receive bills. Greek individuals and businesses are also forbidden from moving money to bank accounts abroad. The ATMs envisaged by Marinos could allow users to convert fiat currency into bitcoin and potentially vice versa. As yet, BTCGreece has no ATMs in Greece. However, Marinos said he had already received requests from 300 shops for bitcoin ATMs. "We want to do it cautiously," he told CNBC, adding that BTCGreece would announce more partnerships next week. Bitcoin rallied in Juneamid reports that Greeks were flocking to the currency in order to circumvent the controls. However, the currency's decentralized nature makes it challenging to say how many Greeks currently use it. Bitcoin ATMs have already been installed in other countries, predominately in the U.S. and Western European countries like the U.K., the Netherlands and Spain. "There has been a focus on bitcoin and Greece and the economic instability there," Akif Khan, chief commercial officer at digital commerce company, Bitnet, told CNBC on Wednesday. "So in one sense it will be an interesting experiment to see if Greeks do gravitate towards bitcoin as one of the tools in their financial toolkit to try and cope." Read MoreTrack Bitcoin versus the euro(Unknown: BTCEUR=) Belfast-based Khan added that Greece's regulatory environment was conducive to introducing ATMs. "In principle, putting bitcoin ATMs into Greece is just as feasible as in any other European country... Greece does not have a prohibitive regulatory environment in this regard," he told CNBC. -By CNBC'sKaty Barnato. Follow her@KatyBarnato. More From CNBC • Top News and Analysis • Latest News Video • Personal Finance \|\| Global Equity International Inc. Signed a Revised Agreement With AuthentaTrade, a Global Digital Currency Exchange Seeking Regulation in Europe and Asia: DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES--(Marketwired - Jul 30, 2015) - Global Equity International Inc. ( OTCQB : GEQU ) and its fully owned subsidiary, Global Equity Partners Plc (GEP), a business consulting services firm and M&A specialist to SMEs worldwide, today announced that it has signed a revised consultancy agreement with AuthentaTrade , an innovative FINTECH company firm based in Seychelles and Cyprus (Website: http://www.authenta.trade/ ). Global Equity International Inc., through its fully owned subsidiary Global Equity Partners Plc., will assist AuthentaTrade with pre-IPO funding amounting to, but not limited to, US$32 million as well as a public listing of its shares on a recognized international stock exchange post pre-IPO funding. As part of the consultancy agreement, GEP will hold a meaningful equity position in AuthentaTrade (post IPO). Peter Smith, CEO of Global Equity International Inc. , said: "We are extremely excited about signing this revised agreement with AuthentaTrade as we believe that there is a lot of potential for the Company's proprietary solutions. We have met with the Authenta Team in Dubai on two occasions now and have already introduced them to various financial institutions in Dubai, some of which are interested in looking at the possibility of investing in the Company. This great addition to our portfolio of clients will undoubtedly bring good value to our Company in the long run." Gwyn Jones, CEO of AuthentaTrade, stated: "We're working hard to fulfill the promise of Digital Currencies, especially Bitcoin, and believe there is a substantial opportunity to create 'banking-like' financial products, but with much lower transactional costs than in traditional banking. We look forward to working with GEP, and raising the funding we need to take AuthentaTrade, and our Bitcoin Exchange, to the next level." About AuthentaTrade Development began on the AuthentaTrade platform in early 2015. AuthentaTrade has assembled a team spearheaded by Gwyn Jones, a co-founder and former Vice President of Product Development, of "Vistaprint," a billion dollar ecommerce leader. AuthentaTrade's management is fascinated by Digital Currencies and their potential to bridge financial markets across the globe. There is a huge opportunity in Digital Currencies as a global transactional medium using a decentralized digital store of value. Story continues AuthentaTrade will offer a suite of services for its clients including FOREX (both "Fiat" and "Digital" currencies) trading, banking and international payment solutions, along with proprietary regulated trading products designed by institutional traders that will help create an efficient market for participants. AuthentaTrade has chosen to target European and Asian markets as management feels the clientele there will stand to gain the most from the regulated products soon to be introduced. The Asian market in particular has an appetite for speculative trading on volatility; their desire to transact plays into the new and explosive market of Digital Currencies such as Bitcoin. About Global Equity International Inc. Global Equity International Inc., through its wholly-owned subsidiary Global Equity Partners Plc, advises worldwide business leaders with their most critical decisions and opportunities pertaining to growth, capital needs, structure and the development of a global presence. With offices in Dubai and London, Global Equity Partners has developed significant relationships in the US, UK, Central Europe, the Middle East and South-east Asia to assist clients in realizing their full value and potential by bringing them to external capital and resources that place an emphasis on collaborative thinking. Furthermore, because Global Equity Partners has offices in key financial centers of the world, they are able to introduce their clients to a unique opportunity of listing their shares on one of the many stock exchanges worldwide. Safe Harbor Statement This press release may include forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements related to anticipated revenues, expenses, earnings, operating cash flows, the outlook for markets and the demand for products. Forward-looking statements are no guarantee of future performance and are inherently subject to uncertainties and other factors which could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements. Such statements are based upon, among other things, assumptions made by, and information currently available to, management, including management's own knowledge and assessment of the Company's industry and competition. The Company refers interested persons to its most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and its other SEC filings for a description of additional uncertainties and factors, which may affect forward-looking statements. The company assumes no duty to update its forward-looking statements. \|\| Colorado Prepares For Green Wednesday: On Wednesday, September 16, Colorado's marijuana enthusiasts will enjoy a one-day tax holiday in which the state's 10 percent tax on cannabis products will be repealed. The prospect of buying tax-free pot has the state's drug users gearing up for a shopping spree and has prompted dispensaries to offer deep discounts reminiscent of traditional retailer's Black Friday deals. With the holiday just under a week away, Colorado's pot scene is already preparing. Tax Glitch Green Wednesday is the result of a loophole in the Colorado tax law which requires the state to refund some taxes if revenue exceeds estimates. Recreational pot is taxed at 10 percent in Colorado, but on September 16, that tax will be waived and shoppers will pay only the 2.9 percent sales tax that is applied to all goods bought within the state. Shoppers will have to pay any taxes applied by the local jurisdiction in which the retail marijuana is sold. Colorado also has a 15 percent state excise tax, which is applied to sales or transfers from a retail marijuana cultivaton. A discount on this tax will not be applied to shoppers. Related Link: Marijuana Posts A Major Win On The Campaign Trail The holiday will make an ounce of marijuana about $20 cheaper than normal and is expected to cause Colorado's government to lose out on $3 to $4 million worth of revenue. Huge Turnout Anticipated Dispensaries and pot-related businesses are expecting a huge turnout on Wednesday as consumers bulk up their supply or marijuana while the drug is cheap. To lure the crowds into their businesses, many are offering additional price cuts to celebrate the tax holiday. Colorado's oldest and largest dispensary, The Grass Station, will give customers who enter the store before 9:16 a.m. ET a 50 percent discount on their entire purchase and will offer a 10 percent discount for the remainder of the day. See more from Benzinga Wall Street Joins The Bitcoin Movement Investors Look To China For Bargain Buys Phone Carriers Hoping To Profit From New iPhone © 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| Bitcoin startups lure quant whizzes from Wall Street: By Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss NEW YORK (Reuters) - Armed with a doctorate in financial engineering, 34-year-old Timo Schlaefer was on his way to a promising career at Goldman Sachs in London. Previously with the bank's mergers and acquisitions team, he became an executive director of credit quantitative modeling at Goldman, where quants like Schlaefer are highly valued. In February he gave that up, and launched a company called Crypto Facilities Ltd, a bitcoin derivatives trading platform, which now has six employees. For now, the platform trades bitcoin forwards, which are directly linked to the price of bitcoin, but it's also developing other digital currency derivative products. "This is uncharted territory," said Schlaefer. "It's an exciting opportunity to participate in a new area of technology that has massive potential." Bitcoin is a virtual or online currency created through a "mining" process where a computer's resources are used to perform millions of calculations. Once mined, bitcoins can be stored in an online wallet, traded in an online exchange, or used to buy goods and services. Once the province of small-time investors driven by their distrust of government-backed currencies, now Wall Street bankers and traders are leaving high-paying jobs to join bitcoin start-ups, while big firms hire in-house to get their arms around bitcoin and the related 'blockchain' technology. "A lot of people are entering the bitcoin space as the sector has reached an overall level of funding that's hard to ignore," said Jaron Lukasiewicz, founder and chief executive officer at New York-based bitcoin exchange Coinsetter. Lukasiewicz, 29, moved to the bitcoin world in late 2012, having left behind a six-figure salary in private equity at The CapStreet Group in New York. Bitcoin is not backed by a government and its value fluctuates. On Thursday, it was trading at $278, making the value of outstanding bitcoin worth about $4 billion. It has had a volatile history, with a rapid rally in 2013 that boosted its value to more than $1,150 per bitcoin at one point. Story continues Right now, Crypto Facilities' Schlaefer probably won't make anywhere near the kind of money that he would potentially earn at Goldman. But it's less about the compensation for Schlaefer and more about being part of the growth in bitcoin and its underlying technology, the blockchain. The blockchain - a ledger or list of all of a digital currency's transactions - is viewed as bitcoin's main technological innovation, allowing users to make payments anonymously, instantly, and without government regulation. Software engineers have started developing multiple applications for the blockchain, including a land title record system in Honduras to the clearing of trades in financial markets. Meanwhile, Wall Street firms are doing their own hiring in the cryptocurrency realm. In June, online bitcoin job ads surged to a record high of 306, according to data from Wanted Analytics, with demand coming from banks such as Capital One and tech companies such as Intel and Amazon. In previous months, Citigroup and TD Canada Trust posted bitcoin job ads as well. RISKY BUSINESS For 31-year-old Paul Chou, founder and chief executive officer of Ledger X, an institutional trading and clearing platform for bitcoin options, moving into the digital currency space represents what he hopes results in lucrative profits down the road. But there are other reasons for his shift. LedgerX is awaiting regulatory approval from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to trade and clear options on bitcoin. Chou said the firm hopes to operate the first regulated exchange and clearinghouse to list and clear fully-collateralized, physically-settled bitcoin options for the institutional market. "I took a very large salary pay cut to do this, in return for equity in a start-up that can be worth a lot someday," Chou said. Before LedgerX, Chou worked at Goldman Sachs in New York as a quant equity trader after graduating from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with degrees in computer science and mathematics. Chou said his hours are much longer as an entrepreneur - he's constantly refining ideas for strategy and thinking which areas to focus on. "The domain expertise, relationships, and career equity I've built are things I never could have done while at Goldman," Chou said. "As a former trader, I'm glad I made this trade-off at the stage of my career that I did." It's a risky move, however. There are already several tales of bitcoin company failures and mismanagement. U.S. bitcoin marketplace Buttercoin, for instance, shuttered its operations in April this year despite raising $1.3 million in funding. Bitcoin exchange MyCoin closed its doors in February of 2015, leaving about 3,000 investors out of pocket. Tokyo-based Mt. Gox, once one of the most dominant bitcoin exchanges, closed its doors without warning in February last year, filing for bankruptcy and leaving investors approximately $500 million in the red. BITCOIN INVESTMENTS, HIRING Total investments in bitcoin companies for the first half of 2015 - totaling $375.4 million - have already exceeded 2014's total of $339.4 million, data from CB Insights showed. Last year's venture capital funding of bitcoin start-ups grew roughly 280 percent from 2013. The number of bitcoin start-ups has increased by more than 80 percent from last year. As of end-July, there were 814 start-up digital currency companies, up from 444 a year earlier, according to Angel List, an online marketplace for start-ups seeking to raise money from angel investors. As banks defer compensation and add more clawback provisions that give them the right to limit bonuses, traders are seeing better risk opportunities elsewhere, said San Francisco-based Rick Henri Chan, chief operating officer at Airbitz, a digital wallet platform. Chan, 47, who joined the bitcoin industry three years ago, worked for Deutsche Bank as head of its over-the-counter derivatives technology in Japan, and was a trader at UBS and Morgan Stanley. He works long hours at Airbitz, doing everything from strategy to raising money, but the work environment is more flexible. At Deutsche, Chan had a multi-million dollar package, and he admits to missing that paycheck. "But we're doing something special here at Airbitz. And I do think our company will be valued at a lot more in the future," he said. (Reporting by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss, editing by David Gaffen and John Pickering) \|\| Cannabis Sativa Inc and THC Farmaceuticals’ Subsidiary, Terpene Research Labs (TRL) to Produce Terpenes Based on CBDS’ Patent Pending Strain: MESQUITE, NV / ACCESSWIRE / September 18, 2015 /Cannabis Sativa Inc (CBDS) and THC Farmaceuticals, Inc (CBDG) announced today that they have entered into an agreement for TRL to develop for CBDS terpene based products from CBDS' patent pending stain of Cannabis known as "CTA." As part of the agreement CBDG shall pay CBDS 10,000,000 hempcoins for the non-exclusive right to sell products TRL produces from the CTA strain plus a 5% cash royalty. CBDG will pay 35% royalty to CBDS on all fees or other gross revenues it receives from licensing products for others to produce products using CTA genetics. CBDS shall retain the right to sell the same products under its "Hi" brand (or such other of its brands in its sole discretion) and will pay a 5% royalty to TRL for all products sold using the terpene products developed by TRL. CBDS shall pay a royalty at the rate of 35% of gross revenue to CBDG for all terpene products developed by TRL and licensed by CBDS to other parties. CBDS also transfers to CBDG all rights to the CTA products developed by TRL for distribution outside of North America. CBDS granted CBDG a 3 year option to acquire all of the CTA plant and patent rights outside of North America for an additional 10,000,000 hempcoins. The option begins to run from the time that the first hempcoins are delivered to CBDS. Should this option be exercised, CBDG will then pay a royalty of 3% of gross revenues received from with respect to products produced by or for CBDG or any of its affiliates and 20% on all royalties it receives. The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission ruled yesterday that "[t]he definition of acommodity[being] broad... Bitcoin and other virtual currencies are encompassed in the definition and properly defined as commodities," the agency has turned our newest earned asset into a commodity. About Terpenes;Terpenes (/ˈtɜrpiːn/) are a large and diverse class of organic compounds, produced by a variety of plants. About Hempcoin: Hempcoins (HMP) is a litecoin type crypo-commodity that can be mined and is backed by shares of $RMTN. See:http://www.hempcoin.com. About CBDS:Cannabis Sativa, Inc. is in the business of branding and licensing via its 'hi' intellectual properties. The Company also offers the Wild Earth Naturals line of CBD Water and cosmetic products which are designed to use organic and natural ingredients, including CBD and hemp seed oil. The Company is engaged through its subsidiaries, Kush and Hi Brands International, Inc., in the research, development and licensing of specialized natural cannabis products, including cannabis formulas, edibles, topicals, strains, recipes and delivery systems. This press release contains "forward-looking statements." Although the forward-looking statements in this release reflect the good faith judgment of management, forward-looking statements are inherently subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to be materially different from those discussed in these forward-looking statements. Readers are urged to carefully review and consider the various disclosures made by us in our reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the risk factors that attempt to advise interested parties of the risks that may affect our business, financial condition, results of operation and cash flows. If one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or if the underlying assumptions prove incorrect, our actual results may vary materially from those expected or projected. Readers are urged not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this release. We assume no obligation to update any forward-looking statements in order to reflect any event or circumstance that may arise after the date of this release. Contact Information: Investor RelationsMesquite, NV 89027702-345-4074 http://www.cbds.com SOURCE:Cannabis Sativa, Inc. \|\| IBM To Change Its Role In Healthcare: International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM ) has long provided hospitals and medical centers with computers and operating systems that help track patient data, organize information and help smooth out the chaotic daily operations healthcare professionals face. However, the company appears to be expanding its role in the healthcare space in order to solve medical problems as well as operational ones. IBM is planning to acquire Merge Healthcare Inc (NASDAQ: MRGE ), a medical image storage company, in a deal which will allow IBM to extend its reach a bit further. Artificial Intelligence IBM is planning to use Merge's massive database of X-ray, MRI and other images to create a system that will aid doctors in diagnosing patients quickly and correctly. In order to do this, IBM will use deep learning, a technique used to power things like voice recognition and fraud detection. Computers are given a huge amount of data to sort, and by doing that the machine is able to learn patterns and use them for future detection. IBM believes that this type of system would allow its computers to detect things like tumors or heart disease. Related Link: An Industry You Probably Didn't Know Was Digitized: Agriculture Risks While the idea is promising, IBM will face a lot of hurdles in the development process. As medical data is often complex and each case can differ widely, artificial intelligence may struggle to correctly identify patterns. However, many believe that IBM's access to medical data in combination with Merge's images could give the company enough information to discover new diagnosis patterns that were previously unseen. Still, the prospect of using machines for diagnosis is still far in the future. Most believe that IBM's new system will become a companion or supplementary tool for doctors. See more from Benzinga China Moves To Devalue Currency, Investors Cringe U.S. Bank Regulator Keeps An Open Mind On Bitcoin According To Facebook, 'LOL' Is Out © 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. View comments \|\| Bitcoins Officially Deemed A Commodity: It’s official: Bitcoins are a commodity in the U.S. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) said today that bitcoin, the cryptocurrency that has been gathering traction globally since the financial crisis of 2008, will be treated as a commodity for regulatory purposes, much like gold and oil. As such, trading in bitcoins should come under the same type of scrutiny that commodity trading does. The ruling is aimed specifically at derivatives trading firms that have been transacting in bitcoins without complying with CFTC rules. Must Follow Rules Like Others“While there is a lot of excitement surrounding bitcoin and other virtual currencies, innovation does not excuse those acting in this space from following the same rules applicable to all participants in the commodity derivatives markets,” Aitan Goelman, CFTC’s director of enforcement, said in apress release. For a long time, there’s been a debate on whether bitcoins should be classified as a currency or a commodity. The distinction matters to the extent that it dictates regulatory standards that apply to the still largely unregulated cryptocurrency. Last year, the Internal Revenue Service began to offer some clarity about the status of bitcoins bysayingthat virtual currencies such as bitcoins are “treated as property for U.S. federal tax purposes.” Winklevoss Bitcoin Trust In the ETF space, the ruling should have little—if any—impact on theWinklevoss Bitcoin Trust (COIN), which is currently in registration. COIN, if approved, could be the first bitcoin ETF in the market. TheARK Web x.0 ETF (ARKW \| D-30)hasan allocation to bitcoins, but it’s an Internet equity fund. According to theprospectusfiled with the Securities and Exchange Commission, COIN is designed under the assumption that bitcoin is a “digital commodity,” much like theSPDR Gold Trust (GLD \| A-100)is a physical commodity trust that owns gold, or the smallerMerk Gold ETF (OUNZ \| B-100), which owns physical gold and allows individual investors of any size to redeem shares for actual assets. “The trust [COIN] is expected from time to time to issue baskets in exchange for deposits of bitcoins and to distribute bitcoins in connection with redemptions of baskets,” according to the prospectus. Contact Cinthia Murphy [email protected]. Recommended stories • Gold Vs Platinum: ETF Prices Diverge • ETFs To Consider As US Oil Output Tumbles • Bitcoins Officially Deemed A Commodity • How An ETF Can Drop 100% In A Day • Bitcoins In This ETF Not What It Seems Permalink\| © Copyright 2015ETF.com.All rights reserved [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] Current price: 168.82£ $BTCGBP $btc #bitcoin 2015-08-09 21:00:04 BST \|\| LIVE: Profit = $2,234.10 (1.30 %). BUY B623.30 @ $274.00 (#BTCe). SELL @ $275.80 (#HitBTC) #bitcoin #btc - http://www.projectcoin.org \|\| 【最新ニュース】【アンケート結果】ビットコイントレーダーの生態系(09/01 11:00) http://btcnews.jp/btcn-survey-02-the-bitcoin-traders/ … #ビットコイン #BitCoin #News \|\| 1 #BTC (#Bitcoin) quotes: $265.06/$265.92 #Bitstamp $262.00/$262.47 #BTCe ⇢$-3.92/$-2.59 $266.51/$266.52 #Coinbase ⇢$0.59/$1.46 \|\| Current price: 202.97€ $BTCEUR $btc #bitcoin 2015-09-16 01:00:02 CEST \|\| 1 #bitcoin 750.04 TL, 254.071 $, 235.1 €, GBP, 16550.00 RUR, 32500 ¥, CNH, 340.52 CAD #btc \|\| buysellbitco.in #bitcoin price in INR, Buy : 17128.00 INR Sell : 16604.00 INR. Buy and sell bitcoin in #India using #buysellbitcoin \|\| buysellbitco.in #bitcoin price in INR, Buy : 19032.00 INR Sell : 18447.00 INR. Buy and sell bitcoin in #India using #buysellbitcoin \|\| #RDD / #BTC on the exchanges: Cryptsy: 0.00000004 Bittrex: 0.00000004 Average $1.1E-5 per #reddcoin 22:00:02 \|\| buysellbitco.in #bitcoin price in INR, Buy : 18488.00 INR Sell : 17907.00 INR. Buy and sell bitcoin in #India using #buysellbitcoin	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 227.09, 230.62, 230.28, 234.53, 235.14, 234.34, 232.76, 239.14, 236.69, 236.06
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2019-07-29] BTC Price: 9519.15, BTC RSI: 41.99 Gold Price: 1419.60, Gold RSI: 61.67 Oil Price: 56.87, Oil RSI: 49.11 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Bitcoin Breaks $9,300 as US Stock Market Sees Minor Uptrend: Monday, June 17 — most of the top 20cryptocurrenciesare reporting moderate losses on the day by press time, as bitcoin (BTC) passed the $9,300 mark again. Market visualization courtesy ofCoin360 Bitcoin is currently up about 2.5% on the day, trading around$9,358at press time, according toCoin360. Looking at its weekly chart, the coin is up around 12.7%. Bitcoin 7-day price chart. Source:Coin360 Yesterdaynews brokethat the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) Group has released data showing that open interest inBitcoin futuresis rising. Ether (ETH) is holding onto its position as the largest altcoin by market cap, which currently stands at just under $28.5 billion. The second-largest altcoin, Ripple’sXRP, has a market cap of $18 billion at press time. Coin360 data shows that ETH has seen its value increase by a fraction of a percent over the last 24 hours. At press time, ETH is trading around $268. On the week, the coin has also gained over 2.2% of value. Ether 7-day price chart. Source:Coin360 XRP is down by about three quarters of a percent over the last 24 hours and is currently trading at around$0.428. On the week, the coin is up about 6%. XRP 7-day price chart. Source:Coin360 Among the top 20 cryptocurrencies, the only other ones who have seen gains are binance coin (BNB), which is about 3.8% up, and monero (XMR), which is about 2.5% up. At press time, thetotal market capitalizationof all cryptocurrencies is $288.8 billion, nearly 8.8% higher than the value it reported a week ago. As Cointelegraphreportedearlier today, Jerome Powell, the head of theUnited StatesFederal Reserve, has said that he recognizes both potential benefits and risks toFacebook’s recently-unveiled Libracryptocurrencyproject. In traditional markets, theUnited Statesstock market is seeing slight gains so far today, with theS&P 500up 0.61% and theNasdaqup 0.5% at press time. The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), on the other hand, has gained 4.33% on the day at press time. Major oil futures and indexes are seeing discreet gains today, with WTI Crude down 1.37%, Brent Crude down 1.37% and Mars US up 0.4% at press time. The OPEC Basket is up 0.82% and the Canadian Crude Index has not seen its value change in the 24 hours by press time, according toOilPrice. • ETH Hits 10-Month High as Crypto Markets See Solid Green • Bitcoin Holds $9,100 Support While Top 20 Coins Trade Sideways • Bitcoin Worth Over $9,200 as Top Cryptos See Growth • Bitcoin Worth Over $8,400 as Most Top Altcoins See Losses \|\| A look at Bitcoin’s timelocks: One of Bitcoin’s most valuable features is timelocks. The feature, which has existed since the first release of Bitcoin, enables users to create transactions that are invalid (unspendable) until a certain amount of time has passed. In 2015 and 2016, a handful of Bitcoin Core developers introduced more advanced levels of timelocks, enabling users to create timelocks for individual Bitcoin outputs rather than entire transactions. Timelocks also provide the base and infrastructure for a variety of smart contracts and projects built on Bitcoin. Layer two projects like Lightning Network rely heavily on the development of Bitcoin’s timelock features. Companies like Particl also use timelock features to create escrow services for clients. Join Genesis now and continue reading, A look at Bitcoin’s timelocks ! \|\| Price of Gold Fundamental Daily Forecast – Hope of Aggressive Fed Rate Cut Drives Spot Gold to Six-Year High: Gold futures are trading higher on Friday but pulling back from earlier highs. Nonetheless, the market is in a position to post a solid gain for the week. The rally is being fueled by a dip in U.S. Treasurys and a weaker U.S. Dollar. The catalyst behind the moves in the financial markets is renewed interest in a more aggressive interest rate cut by the U.S. Federal Reserve at its July 30-31 meeting. At 11:46 GMT, August Comex gold is trading $1439.20, up $11.10 or +0.78%. Also driving spot gold to a six-year high are an escalation of tensions in the Middle East after the U.S. Navy announced it had shot down an Iranian drone in the Strait of Hormuz. Meanwhile, Iran denied the incident, saying that all its drones had returned to base safely and there was no sign of major escalation in the Gulf. Today’s rally in gold is a continuation of a late session surge from Thursday. That move was fueled by dovish comments from New York Federal Reserve President John Williams, who said that Fed policymakers could not wait for economic disaster to hit before reducing interest rates. “It’s better to take preventative measures than to wait for disaster to unfold,” Williams said. He further added rather than keep rates elevated to give central banks room to cut in the face of a crisis, the proper move is not to “keep your powder dry.” Williams didn’t actually say he would vote for a rate cut, but the response by gold investors indicates that his dovish tone means he’s leaning that way. It could also mean to some that the Fed may take the aggressive route and raise rates by a half-a-point. Williams finished by saying that when faced with low rates and slowing growth, the best strategy is to “take swift action” and “keep interest rates lower for longer.” “The expectation of lower interest rates in the future lowers yields on bonds and thereby fosters more favorable financial conditions overall. This will allow the stimulus to pick up steam, support economic growth over the medium term, and allow inflation to rise,” he said. Story continues Daily Forecast Williams’s comments are underpinning gold prices, but gains are being tempered after a spokesperson for the New York Federal Reserve told CNBC, “This was an academic speech on 20 years of research. It was not about potential policy actions at the upcoming FOMC meeting.” Academic or not, Williams’s comments were perceived as bullish with investors now believing the Fed could make a more aggressive 50-basis point rate cut. After Williams’ delivered a speech at the annual meeting of the Central Bank Research Association, market expectations for a half a point rate cut leaped to about 59%, according to the CME’s Fedwatch tool. Prior to his speech, predictions for a 50-basis point rate cut had hovered between 20% and 30%. Later, Fed Vice Chair Richard Clarida said on Fox Business that cutting interest rates quickly is a good strategy. Market expectations for a half-a-point cut surged even higher to about 69%. However, after the New York Fed spokesperson clarified Williams’s comments, expectations for a 50-basis point cut fell to about 50% around 23:00 GMT, and gold retreated from its intraday high. In the reports category, investors will get the opportunity to react to the latest Preliminary University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment. It is expected to come in at 98.6, up slightly from the previously reported 98.2. Traders should also look for a reaction from speeches by FOMC Member James Bullard at 15:05 GMT. He is likely to downplay a 50-basis point rate cut. FOMC Member Eric Rosengren is scheduled to speak at 20:30 GMT. This article was originally posted on FX Empire More From FXEMPIRE: Bitcoin Cash – ABC, Litecoin and Ripple Daily Analysis – 21/07/19 US Stock Market: Direction Hinges Upon Whether Investors Keep 50bps Rate Cut Hopes Alive Fed Rate Cut Expectations Underpin Aussie, Kiwi; BOJ Could Deliver More Stimulus Price of Gold Fundamental Weekly Forecast – Direction Will Be Determined by ECB Aggressiveness Gold Price Futures (GC) Technical Analysis – Euro Will Exert Biggest Influence on Direction Fed’s Powell, Williams: Override the Models, Cut Rates and Do it Swiftly \|\| Imgur Raises $20 Million From Ex-Ripple CTO’s Micropayments Startup: Imgur, a popular image hosting site, revealed it has received $20 million in venture equity fromCoil, a micropayments tool for content creators. In addition to the funding, Imgur has agreed to build Coil into its platform, which receives 300 million monthly users, to provide micropayments to users who view content, according to a report fromTechCrunch. The partnership will also be marked by a forthcoming premium Imgur membership with exclusive features and content for Coil subscribers. A $5 per month Coil subscription funds creators per second that the subscriber spends consuming their content at a rate of 36 cents per hour. Related:Can Bitcoin’s Lightning Network Power Payments in a Japanese Bar? “Imgur began in 2009 as a gift to the internet. Over the last 10 years we’ve built one of the largest, most positive online communities, based on our core value to ‘give more than we take’” Alan Schaaf, founder and CEO of Imgur, said ina press statement. “Coil’s technology will open up new opportunities for users to give to one another and support the community in new ways.” Coil was founded last year by Stefan Thomas, the former chief technology officer of Ripple Labs, as a means to pay creators for their labor. It’s subscription service is now in open beta, and it provides extensions for Chrome and Firefox. Comparable to Spotify, Coil’s Web Monetization API automatically pays creators in XRP based on usage, while the user enjoys the flat subscription fee. Thomas will join Imgur’s board. Imgur previously received $40 million Series A from Andreessen Horowitz and Reddit. Related:Golden Crossover: XRP Heads for Bullish Chart Pattern as Price Climbs 27% Coil’s investment stems from Ripple Labs’ Xpring Initiative, which aims to fund proliferation of the Ripple XRP ecosystem. Imgur received US dollars in the funding deal. Image Credit:Daniel Krason / Shutterstock.com • Coinbase Opens Up XRP Trading for New York Residents • Proposal’s Merger Paves Way for New Bitcoin Lightning Features \|\| TechCrunch Founder Sells $1.6 Million House on Crypto Real Estate Platform: Propy , a blockchain based real estate platform, announced the sale of a $1.6 million San Francisco property owned by the venture capital fund CrunchFund, co-founded by Michael Arrington. The announcement follows news of Propys highest cost transaction to date, a $2.4 million duplex in San Francisco, completed entirely on the platform. Propy is a real-estate transaction platform that empowers buyers, sellers, their agents, and escrow agents to close a traditional real estate deal entirely online. The purchase offer, payment and deeds are uploaded to an immutable blockchain. Related: US Realtors Association Invests in Blockchain Startup Propy The traditional real estate sale process is arduous and broken. Buyers, sellers, and their professional support struggle with overly complex interactions its an opaque, dated, and unnecessarily lengthy process, full of risks such as wire fraud, said Arrington, founder of TechCrunch, whose most recent venture is into blockchain capital investments and management with his $100m firm, Arrington XRP Capital. When it comes to expensive property or other expensive goods, these normally already have digital presentation of ownership, thats why blockchain is applicable to space, said CEO Natalia Karayaneva. Blockchains main implications, after [virtual] money, is as a technology that enables ownership transfers it aligns the entire process of any value transfer including real estate. Propy completed its first deal in 2017, and its first US transaction in Vermont 12 months ago. Worldwide, they have assisted in some form in over 60 real estate transfers. This includes auctioning a 17th century Italian mansion and UNESCO site on its blockchain. The median price of a house sold on its platform is around $1.5 million, said Karayaneva, though the value of the houses is steadily increasing. About 20 realtors have closed deals on the platform, though 3,000 have signed up. Related: UK Baroness Luxury Bitcoin Property Project Reportedly Suffering Delay Story continues Karayaneva believes in two or three years the majority of real estate transactions will be entirely digitized. The company is working with county governments to provide technology that automatically and immediately reports the transfer of title deeds. We dont want to work against them. Either we help them or will eliminate them, she said. The venture capital arm of the U.S. National Association of Realtors (NAR) recently invested an undisclosed amount in Propy via its REACH accelerator program. The company also raised $15.5 million via an initial coin offering in 2017. Arrington previously purchased a $60,000 apartment in Kiev through Propy, using ethereum and smart contracts to settle the deal. Sold house image via Shutterstock Related Stories TechCrunch Founders Crypto Fund Tops $100 Million, Completes First Acquisition $66 Million Building to Be Tokenized on Ethereum Blockchain in Record Deal \|\| Forex Daily Recap – Fiber Looking for Recovery as ECB Plans for Monetary Easing: After maintaining a steady downtrend for the last six sessions in a row, theFiberbulls attempted for an upward drift today. However, a major counter trendline confined the pair’s upside, disallowing above 1.1187 level. Even if the pair had made a triumphant march, breaching this counter trendline, then the overhead SMAs would have got activated. The ECB Monetary Policy decision remained at the center stage throughout the day. Today, though the policymakers decided to keep the interest rates unchanged, the future guidance revealed more Quantitative Easing. The ECB minutes read that the bank would prepare for more policy easing in the guidance plan. Along with that, the bank would also encourage the purchase of more bonds. The Governing Council has tasked the relevant Eurosystem Committees with examining options, including ways to reinforce its forward guidance on policy rates, mitigating measures, such as the design of a tiered system for reserve remuneration, and options for the size and composition of potential new net asset purchases,” the ECBsaidin a statement. Later, after the bank’s policy meeting, ECB President Mario Draghi mentioned some dovish stances on the economic outlook. Draghi highlighted that the rebound estimated to come in the second part of the year came out unreal. And, the President added that the incoming signs only showcased more weakness. TheAussie pairhad managed to stay within a more-than-a-month old uptrend channel until today. Notably, the tumbling rally triggered on July 18 possessed significant power that allowed the bears, to make happen this breakdown. Also, the Relative Strength Index (RSI) had drenched beneath 27 lowest levels, luring the sellers. The RBA had come up with reductions in the interest rates twice since June, setting the interest rates to an all-time low of 1%. The policymakers mentioned that such a stance was taken, aiming to improve the overall economic growth and inflation rates. Today, RBA Governor Philip Lowesaid, “Whether or not further monetary easing is needed, it is reasonable to expect an extended period of low interest rates.” After taking a bounce off the 1-month old ascending slanting support line on July 18, the Greenback had undertaken the risk to test a major counter trendline. On July 22, theUSD Indexhad managed to cross above the aforementioned barrier. Even today, the uptrend remained intact. However, the USD Index had to take some extra efforts while handling the robust 97.77 resistance. At 16:56 GMT, the Greenback had almost breached the 97.77 level, moving above, marking daily high near 97.86 level. The US economic docket remained positive on Thursday with upbeat Jobless and Durable Goods data. The most crucial June Non-Defense Capital Goods Orders that excludes Aircraft reported 1.7% higher than the market expectation of around 0.2%. Three days back, theUSD/HKDpair had taken the initiative to make a breakthrough out of a major counter trendline. Following such a splendid breakout, the bulls appeared to remain quite entertained in the last few sessions. However, the sturdy 7.8158 resistance handle restricted the pair’s upside today. This resistance handle had even played the role of a support line multiple times, earlier this month. Also, needless to mention, the firm support line stalled near 7.8016 level would have taken care of any substantial downfall in the pair. The article was written byBharat Gohri, Chief Market Analyst ateasyMarkets Thisarticlewas originally posted on FX Empire • USD/CAD Daily Forecast – Time for Fry Pan Bottom Pattern Breakout • Boris Johnson, the EU and the Backstop • U.S. GDP Is Better Than Expected, Earnings Lift Equities, Asia Moves Lower On FOMC Outlook • U.S. Dollar Index Futures (DX) Technical Analysis – July 26, 2019 Forecast • USD/JPY Forex Technical Analysis – July 26, 2019 Forecast • Bitcoin Cash – ABC, Litecoin and Ripple Daily Analysis – 26/07/19 \|\| Price indicators suggest Bitcoin will hit all-time high after 24% surge: The world’s largest cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, is preparing for a rally through the $12,000 level of resistance having bounced 24% in the past 48 hours. Correction complete Bitcoin grabbed global attention last week as it surged to new yearly highs, peaking at $14,000 before a corrective move to the downside. The correction saw the price of Bitcoin fall by more than 30%, with a drop to the 200 exponential moving average (EMA) on the four-hour chart being used as support at around $9,650. Bitcoin is now 24% up in the past 48 hours following a 30% correction from the local top at $14,000. If it can break $12,000 with conviction I wouldn't be surprised to see a new all-time high in the coming weeks. $BTCUSD $crypto pic.twitter.com/hhvDG8F1zF — Oliver Knight (@KnightCoinRivet) July 4, 2019 That level acted as a pivot for Bitcoin, as a break through that level could have resulted in a move back down toward $8,000. Instead, Bitcoin bounced ferociously, powering through $10,000 and $11,000 with consummate ease. At the time of writing, Bitcoin is attempting a move through the historical resistance level at $11,800. At the beginning of the 2018 bear market, this level acted as resistance on three occasions before price eventually fell all the way down to below $4,000. Indicators point to all-time high However, price indicators are suggesting that this time around it might be more simple. The daily stochastics have now crossed to the upside – the last time this happened was on June 11, when Bitcoin was at $8,000 before a rally to $14,000. The cross before this came on April 30, with Bitcoin rallying all the way from $5,300 to $8,500 in the following two weeks. Both crosses proceeded a 65% and an 80% move to the upside, adding weight to today’s cross. Story continues Stochs It’s worth noting that a 65% move to the upside from here would see a test of Bitcoin’s all-time high of $20,000. It remains to be seen whether Bitcoin can sustain volume and momentum to the upside, especially as shorter time frames suggest a move back to around $11,200 – a break through the current level will be vital. While Bitcoin continues to soar, altcoins continue to suffer against their Bitcoin pair. This draws parallels with the 2017 bull market that saw Bitcoin dominance rise all the way to 85% – still a far cry from the current level at 63%. For more news, guides, and cryptocurrency analysis, click here . The post Price indicators suggest Bitcoin will hit all-time high after 24% surge appeared first on Coin Rivet . \|\| Market Morning: Bitcoin ReBubble, Target India, Hong Kong Keeps Protesting: Bitcoin Moves $1,400 Up, $1,400 Down, Speculators Get Woozy Is Bitcoin (BTC-USD) popping again? In both directions? Yup. The digital currency exploded over $1,000 per coin yesterday reaching a high of $13,775 before dropping over $1,400 in the space of about two hours, spurring murmurings of a second echo-bubble bursting in the cryptocurrency sector. Bitcoin trading as a percentage of total cryptocurrency trading volume has increased significantly since April in the meantime, climbing back up above the 60% mark for the first time ever since breaking below it during the introduction of Bitcoin Cash (BCH-USD) and other popular coins. During the previous Bitcoin top in December 2017, BTC trading dominance reached 60% but didn’t cross it. We are now at 62.8%. The runner up is Ethereum (ETH-USD) at just below 10%, and Ripple (XRP-USD) at 5.66% total trading volume. The next resistance zone for Bitcoin is at around $17,560, though we are still far away from there. It could take hours. SEE:Boozer, Pineapple to Launch Remote Ordering of Recreational Cannabis Next Target In Trade Wars: India It’s the most populous nation in the world, and it’s making US President Donald Trump angry. India last yearraised tariffsto 120% on a whole bunch of US items after the US withdrew preferential trade status from India as a third world nation that could really use some tax relief. “I look forward to speaking with Prime Minister Modi about the fact that India, for years having put very high tariffs against the United States, just recently increased the tariffs even further,” Trump tweeted, signaling more pain for both the US and India is in the works. The trade privileges that India enjoyed were under the Generalized System of Preferences that allowed duty-free exports of up to $5.6 billion. But since India kept its tariffs on the US up, which primarily hurts Indians rather than Americans, Trump thought this was unfair and now he’s raising a row. Indian stocks (BATS:INDA) could take a beating over this. Hong Kong Back To the Streets Hong Kongers are going back to the streets coinciding with the big G20 meeting this weekend, and they want Hong Kong on the agenda. Beijing isn’t too excited about this, and doesn’t want anyone to talk about it, because it makes them look bad, because it is bad. While the extradition bill that Beijing-sponsored Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam has championed (probably because her bosses on Beijing would probably do something bad to her if she didn’t) was suspended, it was never withdrawn, which means that Lam is just waiting for the opportunity to reintroduce it and pass it through while the protesters are not looking. The bill would allow Beijing to extradite pretty much anyone it wants to on the basis that Xi Jinping feels like it. “We know that the G20 is coming. We want to grasp this opportunity to voice for ourselves,” said Jack Cool Tsang, a protester. How can anyone disagree with a guy named Jack Cool? It’s unthinkable. Meanwhile, Hong Kong stocks are in a holding pattern, near all time highs but waiting to see what happens next. (NYSEARCA:EWH) Target, eBay To Compete With Amazon Prime Day Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) is just under 3 weeks away, set to hit the internet on July 15 when everyone is supposed to log on to Amazon at once, join prime, and shop like there is no recession around the corner. Target (NYSE:TGT) and eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) are now stepping up to the plate in abid to compete, daring Amazon.com to crash like it did last year on Prime Day so that it can offer even more sales. They are trying to one-up Amazon by not requiring any membership in order to enjoy the discounts. Amazon requires that people who want the deals sign up for a $119 a year Prime membership. Boeing 737 Has A New Problem, May Not Return to Service Until July or Later Last month, officials at the Federal Aviation Administration had been saying that the Boeing (NYSE:BA) 737 MAX series could return to service around late June, which is now, but now they have discovered a new flaw in the plane which they are not elaborating on, but cautioning that at this point, the soonest that the plane could do test flights for certification would be July 8th. Two people involved in the testing though gave a hint as to what is going on. During a simulator test last week running scenarios trying intentionally activate the safety system that pulled the nose down causing two crashes, it took too long to recover,Reuters was told. At this point it isn’t known whether whatever the problem was can be fixed with further software tweaks, or if the problem is in the hardware controlling the system, which would require new hardware be built, which would take a while. Boeing shares slipped late yesterday when news came out, but still finished the day positive. The postMarket Morning: Bitcoin ReBubble, Target India, Hong Kong Keeps Protestingappeared first onMarket Exclusive. \|\| Is Bitcoin's Increasing Anonymity a Threat to Privacy Coins?: It's no secret that Bitcoin isn't actually anonymous, despite what various outside observers of crypto might claim . It is, in fact, pseudonymous, as its transactions are vulnerable to being traced to specific individuals by governments and intelligence agencies with enough determination and knowhow. However, in recent months, the privacy it offers users has been steadily increasing, given that a number of coin-mixing services and add-ons are successfully providing more and more users with the anonymity that Bitcoin itself doesn't quite furnish on its own. But with Bitcoin's improving privacy , the possibility emerges that it could end up weakening the position of dedicated privacy coins, such as Monero , Zcash and Dash . If Bitcoin offers anonymity and also a superior store of value, it could potentially cause the popularity of such altcoins to wane to the point where they see less usage, less community support and less growth. In other words, it's possible that Bitcoin is becoming an existential threat to such privacy-enhancing coins. However, not only would this be a worst-case scenario, but developers on both the Bitcoin and altcoin sides of the equation believe that it's highly unlikely. On the one hand, numerous privacy coins offer technological advantages over Bitcoin, even when Bitcoin is benefiting from mixing services. But on the other, the cryptocurrency market is not a zero-sum game, and there is enough space for more than one coin to maintain popularity and a wide user base, especially because Bitcoin even with enhancements still isnt as private as certain rivals. Bitcoin's march toward greater privacy As anyone who followed the Silk Road/ Ross Ulbricht saga knows, Bitcoin transactions and wallet addresses can be pinned to particular people, given enough detective work. In 2014, for instance, researchers at Pennsylvania State University managed to map the IP addresses of over 1,000 Bitcoin wallets, doing so by analyzing the Bitcoin network's data flow and looking for isolated transactions from single IP addresses. It has also been suggested via leaks that the National Security Agency (NSA) can identify Bitcoin users by processing internet traffic in bulk. Story continues But while this suggests that Bitcoin's privacy isn't perfect, a range of services and plug-ins have been made available over the year that ramp up its protection of user identities. And one of these CoinJoin recently celebrated its first-ever 100-person transaction, which was facilitated by the privacy-focused Wasabi Wallet. For those who aren't familiar with such mixing protocols, they basically combine numerous Bitcoin payments into a single transaction, so that it becomes difficult to disentangle who exactly sent what and to whom. According to the Wasabi Wallet, mixed transactions constituted 4.09% of all Bitcoin transactions as of April, with the total having increased by over 300% in only nine months. It would therefore seem that mixers are becoming more popular and are getting better at mixing larger numbers of transactions together. Combined, this could create a virtuous circle, with improved services attracting more users, and more users leading to improved privacy. Mixing services such as CoinJoin aren't the only emergent tech that Bitcoin is likely to use to increase the privacy it offers the public. For one, there's also Dandelion, which according to its GitHub page is "a transaction routing mechanism that provides formal anonymity guarantees." It does this by preventing deanonymization, which occurs when a bad actor uses the delay in the transmission of transactions to the Bitcoin network to link these transactions to IP addresses. Put simply, it removes the risk of this by routing transactions over randomly selected paths, so that they can't be linked to specific IP addresses when being transmitted to the network. And according to its authors (who include researchers from Carnegie Mellon and the University of Illinois), by doing this it "provides near-optimal anonymity guarantees among schemes that do not introduce additional encryption mechanisms." Alternatively, there's also MimbleWimble , a protocol that uses a combination of zero-knowledge proofs and mixing to enable "transactions that are completely opaque but can still be properly validated." It has already been implemented by the new altcoin grin , and it's likely that some implementation of it could become an optional extra for Bitcoin in the future. And even if it isn't, one new privacy-enhancing technology that almost certainly will be added to Bitcoin in the near future is Schnorr signatures . Primarily, these improve Bitcoin's scalability by aggregating multiple transaction signatures into one, but they also have positive privacy implications, since they make it easier and cheaper to use mixing services such as CoinJoin. Taken as a whole, the addition of these new technologies will make Bitcoin considerably more private, and because it already has a head start over dedicated privacy coins in terms of users and its value, this could result in the likes of Monero, Zcash and others being pushed to the sidelines. It's worth pointing out, for example, that since the beginning of the year, Bitcoin has risen by roughly 108% in value , from approximately $3,733 to around $8,000. By contrast, Monero the most valuable privacy coin by market cap has risen by roughly 86% over this same period, from $45.90 to roughly $90. Bitcoin is therefore still continuing to attract more investment and more interest, and it's likely that this could work in its favor as it adds more privacy-enhancing features in the future. Picture 1 Bitcoin developers agree with this view, suggesting that the cryptocurrency's much wider pool of users could make it more private than its privacy-focused rivals, at least in practice, as Bitcoin Core developer Ryan Havar told Cointelegraph: "A lot of the privacy coins offer better 'technological' advantages, yet from a practical point of view can be a lot less private. Simply put, there's a lot more bitcoin users, and use cases. So if you can 'hide' in the crowd of bitcoin users, it's a much bigger crowd than say ZCash." Banning privacy In addition to Bitcoin's improving privacy, a crackdown has been launched against privacy coins in various corners of the globe. For instance, in March, the French National Assembly's finance committee proposed a ban on anonymous cryptocurrencies such as Monero and Zcash, with the committee's head, Eric Woerth, addressing the subject in the proposal's forward, which translates to read: "It would also have been appropriate to propose the prohibition of the dissemination and trade of crypto-assets to guarantee complete anonymity by preventing, by their design, any identification procedure. This is the case of a number of crypto-assets (Monero, PIVX, DeepOnion, Zcash...) whose purpose is to circumvent any possibility of identification holders. To date, regulation has not gone so far." This proposal was only one instance in a range of actions and developments that will potentially hurt privacy coins, or at least limit their use. The South Korean exchange Korbit delisted five privacy coins in May 2018, following in the footsteps of the South Korean government's ban of anonymous cryptocurrency transactions. Also in May that year, the Japanese exchange Coincheck delisted four privacy coins, while the Japan Virtual Currency Exchange Association recommended that its members follow suit. And like their South Korean counterparts, these bodies acted in this way in response to new government guidelines , which effectively banned such coins. There are also bans or inklings of bans on anonymous transactions in other nations and areas, such as Taiwan , the Netherlands , the Europmean Union , and even the United States (or at least, Texas ). In theory, such prohibitions will hurt privacy-enhancing add-ons for Bitcoin, as indicated by how mixing service Bestmixer was shut down by Europol in May. However, many add-ons are open-source and decentralized, and so can't be shut down in any obvious way. In addition, Bitcoin can still continue to operate legally even if anonymizing services or protocols are outlawed, while anonymity is built into Monero, Zcash and their ilk, meaning that they'll be targeted directly by authorities. As such, it's likely that more users will be driven toward Bitcoin, since they'll know they can use it on any regulated exchange, and that they can still make occasional use of additional privacy features whenever might they need them. Light vs. heavy privacy Overall, the situation doesn't look too good for privacy coins, although with Monero still being the 13th most valuable cryptocurrency by market cap, you'd struggle to find any immediate proof of a decline in favor of Bitcoin, even if it was the ninth most valuable crypto in early November. But while there's a possibility that Bitcoin might take away some of the edge from anonymous cryptocurrencies, it's not necessarily the case that Monero, Zcash and other coins will even come close to fading into obscurity. Asked whether the recent 100-person CoinJoin on Wasabi Wallet was a sign that Bitcoin would make privacy coins irrelevant, Havar replied, "No, not really. Firstly, it's not zero-sum, and I doubt Wasabi will be widely used as it's expensive and opt-in." More damningly, experts associated with privacy coins argue that, while they boost Bitcoin's privacy to an extent, protocols such as CoinJoin don't really come close to providing the kind of anonymity offered by the privacy coins. For example, Ian Miers, a Zcash founding scientist, explained to Cointelegraph via email that CoinJoin doesn't make it impossible or even especially difficult to link Bitcoin transactions to specific identities: "CoinJoin does not offer meaningful privacy for customers and companies. Zcash shielded transactions do. Coinjoin effectively adds a small amount of uncertainty over the source of funds. In effect, it adds some noise. However, it is very easy to remove this noise by looking at multiple transactions and patterns. In fact, most of AI and machine learning is extracting signals from noise and it keeps getting better." Miers doesn't stop there, going on to suggest that mixing services like CoinJoin can't prevent the profiling and tracking of users: "For example, if a Starbucks accepted payments using CoinJoin, one could still learn how many customers they serve each week and how much they spent. If a democracy activist solicited donations on a pseudonymous Twitter account using CoinJoin they could easily be identified and detained. If they cash out through an exchange controlled or compromised by a hostile government, then their identity can be learned simply by them being paid multiple times by that government." "These are not reasonable issues for a privacy system to have," Miers concludes, adding that CoinJoin doesn't scale very well at the present moment in time, is expensive if used extensively, and would clog the Bitcoin blockchain if adopted by a majority of BTC holders. And while defenders would point to Schnorr signatures, Dandelion and even MimbleWimble as future hopes for bitcoin's privacy, it's worth remembering that these aren't close to being implemented yet. And from one perspective, this is unfortunate, because even if some might suppose that cryptocurrencies need to be absolutely transparent in order to legitimize themselves, it's arguable that the reverse is necessary if Bitcoin or any other crypto is to become a bonafide and widely used currency especially when privacy is becoming an important concern for an increasing number of people. Regarding this, Bitcoin Core developer Nicolas Dorier believes that: The need for privacy is growing as a counter reaction to repression. When a user once get his coins on some exchange frozen without any recourse, when his exchange is over complying from fear of regulators, the only defense this user has is to mix his coins for the next time. This distrust the user has on exchanges and payment processors is the source of appeal to privacy. Havar agrees with Doriers views: "I think improving bitcoin's privacy is important for its survival. The lack of privacy directly attacks bitcoin fungibility, which is what makes bitcoin a useful currency." This lack of fungibility could be a big problem for Bitcoin as it moves forward and tries to make the all-important jump to mainstream use. But on the other hand, it could be a boon for privacy coins, which, despite being curtailed on a number of exchanges, could end up being widely used as actual currencies, rather than primarily as digital assets. Related Articles: CEO of Major American VC Firm Digital Currency Group: Crypto Winter Is Ending Former US Senator Rick Santorum Joins Catholic-Focused Cryptocurrency Project Nasdaq and CryptoCompare Partner on Institution-Oriented Crypto Pricing Product Major Insurance Broker Aon Secures Crime Coverage for Crypto Custody Solutions Firm \|\| Bitcoin's Price Takes a Wild Roundtrip Ride: Bitcoin’s rise was meteoric this week—and its decline has been just as swift. It’s easy come, easy go in the crypto world, where a frenzy over Bitcoin pushed its price to nearly $14,000 on Wednesday, its highest level since January 2018. The largest digital asset then reversed course in a matter of minutes after a prominent cryptocurrency exchange reported an outage. The retreat accelerated Thursday and put the coin’s price back to nearly the same level as just five days ago. The jump in prices brought back memories of the crypto bubble that burst at the end of 2017, when Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies—beset by regulatory setbacks and fraud-related issues—fell from grace. Bitcoin’s price, for instance, languished around $3,600 just six months ago, down from almost $20,500 in December 2017. Crypto bulls were heartened this year after numerous Wall Street mainstays showed increased interest and wider acceptance of cryptocurrencies and their underlying blockchain technology, helping to push prices higher. Things turned parabolic earlier this month whenFacebook unveiled plans for its own digital currency—many proponents cited the move as long-sought validation of the potential digital assets have to drastically alter the global financial system. But Thursday’s reversal prompted one of Bitcoin’s biggest proponents, Mike Novogratz, to lament on not having taken more money off the table before the coin lost nearly all its gains. That may have contributed to its swift demise, according to John Spallanzani, portfolio manager at Miller Value Partners. It’s a very “tight-knit market,” said Spallanzani. “Most likely Novo hitting bids spread like wildfire.” Bitcoin dropped as much as 19% on Thursday and traded at $10,671 as of 5 p.m. in New York. Volatility is near the highest levels since early 2018, when the crypto bubble was bursting. “It seems the crypto market got a bit too hot yesterday and is now cooling down,” wrote Mati Greenspan, senior market analyst at trading platform eToro, in a note. “What an incredible market where the price can crash about 15% in less than an hour and bring us back to the highs of the previous trading day.” Alternative coins, including Ether andLitecoin, also fell, each losing more than 13%. The Bloomberg Galaxy Crypto Index, which tracks some of the largest digital assets, dropped 19%. —The fall and rise of VR: The struggle tomake virtual reality get real —“It’s just lazy”: Current’s CEO onFacebookCalibra’s similar logo —Slack went publicwithout an IPO. Here’s how a direct offering works —Welcome to the next generation ofcorporate phishing scams —Listen to our new audio briefing,Fortune500 Daily Catch up withData Sheet,Fortune‘s daily digest on the business of tech. [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] @PeterLBrandt #tomy \|\| .@facebook #Bitcoin con @Visa e @Mastercard via @sole24ore @Nova24Tec https://t.co/vJ2YrN43am \|\| @rita_angela @handcashapp welcome to sv world- bitcoin Satoshi vision https://t.co/NgkO6AWTgG \|\| Now Trade #Bitcoin #AMAZON #APPLE #PAYPAL #DAX #CAC #NASDAQ shares and indices #fx #forex --> https://t.co/kXvRg3NCbI \|\| 🎾 Wimbledon : Milos Raonic 0 [1.184] X Guido pelya 0 [5.05] https://t.co/4RZcaP7EYa #tenis #bitcoin #apuestas \|\| Long/Short Bitcoin & altcoin movements with up to 100x Leverage at PrimeXBT! 🤑🤩 Make money even if BTC is declining! 📉 ➡️ https://t.co/Z8CYecfIaL ⬅️ Soon they'll provide a social trading option too! 🏖️ $LRC - $IOTA - $ETH - $KMD - $STEEM - $WAVES - $ZEC - $ARDR - https://t.co/3pORFqXfRe \|\| analyzepsbt says next role is "updater", but nothing is "missing" https://t.co/vdPD1A3Tmt I'm trying to spend a 2/2 P2WSH input. I don't understand how the "next" field can be "updater" if the "missing" field is empty: $ bitcoin-cli -testnet analyzepsbt cHNidP8BAH0CAAAAAXz0q… \|\| $EPAZ's Bitcoin Sharing & Blockchain Social Media App Webbeeo Is In Alpha Testing Phase https://www.owltmarket \|\| @Gaia29388046 拝啓Gaia様いつもお世話になってます。昨日の夕方は、激損ポジションにいるあまり、過激な発言とゲロを吐いて申し訳ありませんでした。 BTC激落ちで無事利益が出て、体調も回復しましたので、また貴殿とふざけたツイートをしたいと思います。フォロー外さないでください(；д；) 早漏 \|\| $EPAZ's Bitcoin Sharing & Blockchain Social Media App Webbeeo Is In Alpha Testing Phase https://www.owltmarket	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 9607.42, 10085.63, 10399.67, 10518.17, 10821.73, 10970.18, 11805.65, 11478.17, 11941.97, 11966.41
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2017-09-18] BTC Price: 4065.20, BTC RSI: 50.91 Gold Price: 1306.30, Gold RSI: 49.23 Oil Price: 49.91, Oil RSI: 60.32 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] What you need to know in markets on Wednesday: Well, now it’s over. Apple’s (AAPL)big event to announce its new line of iPhoneshas come and gone, and the company confirmed it will begin selling the iPhone X in November, with a starting price of $999. Shares of the company eventually finished the day down about 0.4%, falling roughly 2% from peak to trough. As they say: buy the rumor, sell the news. Overall, markets were higher but not by much on Tuesday,though another close in the greenmade it a second-straight record high for the benchmark S&P 500. On Wednesday, the calendar will be a bit lighter, with only the monthly report on producer prices expected in the morning and the corporate calendar certainly not as busy as what we saw Tuesday. In addition to Apple’s announcement, JP Morgan (JPM) CEO Jamie Dimon also made waves on Tuesday,saying at an investment conferencethat Bitcoin’s (BTC) current run higher is “worse than tulip bulbs,” a reference to thetulip maniaof the 1600s. In unrelated Bitcoin news,Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s latest fund manager survey indicatedthat going long Bitcoin is seen as the market’s most crowded trade right now. Speaking at CNBC’s Delivering Alpha conference later on Tuesday,Dimon also spoketo his succession at JP Morgan — he has been CEO for 12 years now — and said that the next CEO of the firm currently works at JP Morgan. At the same conference on Tuesday morning, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin spoke a bit about the Trump administration’s current progress on tax reform, with the biggest news emerging from his comments being the revelation thattax cuts could be back-datedto the beginning of 2017. On Tuesday, the Bureau of Labor Statisticsreleasedits latest job openings and labor turnover survey, or JOLTS report, which showed that in July we saw a fresh record number of jobs open in the U.S. In July, 6.17 million jobs were open in the U.S., a record for the series which dates back to 2001. Following this report, Andrew Hunter, an economist at Capital Economics, said the number of jobs open means that even if the Phillips curve isn’t as strong as it once was — that is, the relationship between the unemployment rate and wages, which are expected to rise as unemployment fall — “more firms chasing fewer workers will put wage growth on an upward trend again before long.” Over the last several years, the unemployment rate has continued to press down to new post-crisis lows, with the current 4.3% level standing as the lowest in over a decade. As this rate has come down many economists expected that earnings would rise and thus lead to inflation. Wage growth hasn’t been terrible, but it’s not accelerating and inflation readings have not picked up. But the JOLTS report has perhaps been the strongest sign that while some economic data have lagged expectations there is a strong demand for labor out in the economy. The NFIB’s latest reading on small business optimism, also out Tuesday, indicated that labor continues to be a primary concern for businesses everywhere with 19% of firms identifying it as their biggest problem, trailing only the 20% who saw taxes as their main issue. So while the labor market has for some time been presenting economists with a puzzle relative to what the textbook might say, the thinking still seems to be that eventually, wages must rise. Eventually. — Myles Udland is a writer at Yahoo Finance. Follow him on Twitter@MylesUdland Read more from Myles here: • America’s shortage of workers is about to get ‘much worse’ • The government can’t stop people from making the single-biggest investing mistake • It’s never been harder to fill a job in America • Berkshire’s Bank of America win is more proof you can’t invest like Buffett • Two charts show why the stock market today is nothing like the tech bubble \|\| In Bitcoin we Trust : There is never a dull moment in the world of cryptocurrencies as Bitcoins rocky road continues this week, with a pronouncement by a leading bank spokesman that Bitcoin is a fraud. Banks and financial institutions obviously dislike Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies by all means. Like any cornered animal which knows it is about to meet its demise, banks and other financial institutions will be fighting back ferociously to maintain their grip on the worlds currency markets and the resulting profits. Bitcoin has dropped back below the $4,000 mark on talk of China banning centralized cryptocurrency exchanges, not the currencies themselves neither centralized mining. This is mainly because they tend to monopolize the trading due to their low fees. The Caixin report dealt with this issue of regulatory frameworks. Together with the ban on ICOs, it is clear that investors worries increase. Yesterday, in New York, JP Morgan Chase Bank Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon has been quoted as saying cryptocurrencies (most notably, Bitcoin) are worse than tulip bulbs and Bitcoin is a fraud . A statement like this is bound to be inflammatory and controversial. JP Morgan Chase is one of the clusters of global banking houses which caused the financial crisis by inventing instruments which ultimately led to the financial collapse of 2008. The mortgage backed securities, which they and their cohorts, invented and pushed forward to the public cost the bank around $13 billion. Institutionals position on Bitcoin was taken seriously by the cryptocurrency community. Founded on the principle of accountability from its inception Bitcoin was designed to be totally transparent and public. This was one of the public accusations against entities like JP Morgan Chase and other banks. The notion of cryptocurrencies was to provide a responsible alternative in financial transactions. At the heart of Bitcoin is a transparent ledger system where every transaction is recorded, balanced against the credit or the debit, and is freely available on demand for any participants. Story continues Although the blockchain technology is open and accountable, anybody who has used cryptocurrencies can confirm that the system is also complicated and secure. There is an argument whether Bitcoin has been over priced recently, for something which is relatively new and untested. Natural corrections are the markets way of telling investors that they have overbought, and Bitcoins investors are learning that the digital market is as volatile as the physical one. Despite the understandable misgivings of the traditional financial community and the recent doubts amongst the most ardent cryptocurrency aficionados cryptocurrencies have already proved themselves as a viable alternative to existing currencies, and its users have developed new methods of transferring value and wealth between buyers and sellers of goods and services. It remains to be seen if Bitcoin, ethereum, and the other cryptocurrencies can keep up the momentum Noble Gold specializes in IRAs and 401(k) rollovers through precious metals and cryptocurrencies investments. This article was originally posted on FX Empire More From FXEMPIRE: The Crypto Future of Currencies Gold Prices Continue Lower U.S. Congress Causes a Reaction in Forex, BoE in Focus In Bitcoin we Trust China Data Pushes Asia into the Red with the BoE and Retail Sales to Drive the GBP and Inflation to Drive the USD UK Unemployment at 42 Year Low, US Dollar Rises Against Majors \|\| Bitcoin should be valued at half of what it's worth today, says Mohamed El-Erian: Bitcoin , which has surged roughly 300 percent in 2017, is certainly a "disruptive" technology but won't see widespread use, economist Mohamed El-Erian said Wednesday. "The current pricing assume massive adoption, and I don't think governments will allow the amount of adoption that's currently priced in," Allianz's chief economic advisor said on CNBC's "Squawk Box." Asked what would be a reasonable price for bitcoin, El-Erian said: "I would say at least half of what it is, a third of what it is." El-Erian believes the cryptocurrency will exist as a peer-to-peer means of payment. "It exists in that world," he said, "but the current prices assume massive adoption, which is not going to happen." Bitcoin fell below $4,000 on Wednesday on the threat of a regulatory crackdown in China and negative comments from major business leaders. On Tuesday, at the CNBC-Institutional Investor Delivering Alpha conference, JPMorgan (JPM) chief Jamie Dimon called the digital currency a fraud and governments will step in. "Wait until someone gets hurt. Wait until it's used for illicit purposes, which it's somewhat used for illicit purposes. They close it down. That's my point," he said. At the same time, Dimon's own bank has reportedly started a trial project using blockchain, the technology behind bitcoin, to try to cut trading costs. At the conference, Social Capital founder and CEO Chamath Palihapitiya defended the currency, saying countries can control how bitcoin is traded but not the way it's used. "It's a fundamentally distributive system that exists peer to peer," the venture capitalist and ex-Facebook executive said. "To the extent that you can eliminate the will and actions of every person in the world, you can eliminate it. But in the absence of that, the genie [is] out of the bottle whether we like it or not." He added he's been "massively long" bitcoin for years. Also see: North Korea appears to be trying to get around sanctions by using hackers to steal bitcoin . WATCH: Bitcoin mining can land you in jail in this countryMore From CNBC • Terror to end bitcoin anonymity? • 'Smart' people and Panama Papers • Bitcoin mining IPO falls short \|\| Here's Why Bitcoin's Value Dropped Over the Weekend: Bitcoin prices have tumbled over $1,000 over the past month as China clamps down on cryptocurrency. Chinese authorities have reportedly decided to ban the trading of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies on domestic exchanges, theWall Street Journalreports. That has pushed Bitcoin as low as $3,978 over the weekend. It has since ticked upward to about $4,177 as of early Monday. That’s a 20% drop since the start of September, whenChina’s central banksaid it would ban initial coin offerings—tipping the cryptocurrency from its all-time high of above $5,000. Prior to China’s most recent clampdown on Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin had been soaring as investors grew more optimistic about thefuture cost and speed of transactions. But news of China’s potential exchange ban has likely spooked investors. The country accounts for a hefty portion of the Bitcoin market, with about 18% of trades being conducted in Chinese yuan, according toCryptoCompare. Investors in China have been using Bitcoin as a way to protect themselves should the yuan fall in value. Trading their yuan in for Bitcoin can allow Chinese investors to move funds outside of the country. Traditionally, China’s government has set a $50,000 annual limit on how much its citizens can move outside of the country. Buying Bitcoin was a way to bypass those rules. Still, the ban is not exactly a ban on trading Bitcoin entirely. It still will allow for over-the-counter transactions. While existing users will likely still trade, according to Zhou Shuoji, a founding partner atFBG Capital interviewed by Bloomberg, it will make it more difficult for new users to start trading Bitcoin—thereby limiting Bitcoin’s potential growth. Notably, the ban has yet to be officially announced in China, according tothe Wall Street Journal. The price of Ethereum also ticked upward slightly to about $290 early Monday, up from $283 over the weekend as investors continued to digest reports of the ban in China. This is part ofFortune’snew initiative,The Ledger,a trusted news source at the intersection of tech and finance. For more onThe Ledger,click here. \|\| Tons of Coinbase users fled the platform after it rejected bitcoin cash — now the $1 billion startup is in the center of a raging storm: Brian Armstrong Coinbase (Coinbase cofounder Brian Armstrong.Anthony Harvey/Getty Images for TechCrunch) The digital currency startup Coinbase saw an exodus of users this week after announcing that it wouldn't support bitcoin cash, the new digital currency established Tuesday. Bitcoin cash is a bitcoin offshoot created as a means of dealing with disagreements in the community over how the technology behind the currency should run. But investors don't seem worried about this exodus harming Coinbase's potential unicorn status. The world of cryptocurrency is not exactly a calm place. And for Coinbase, one of the hottest and most valuable startups in the sector, this week's remarkable news around bitcoin put the company in the center of a raging storm. The big offense for Coinbase, which operates a platform for buying and selling cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, was its decision not to support bitcoin cash — the new cryptocurrency that was spun out of bitcoin this week. Many Coinbase users unleashed their wrath, accusing the company of being everything from a scam to a tool for the National Security Agency. Some threatened to sue. The $1 billion startup also lost users in droves, with 12-hour wait times over the weekend as users scrambled to transfer their bitcoins to competitors that would support bitcoin cash. The angry reaction, and the risk of a big loss of customers, raised questions about the future of what has been one of the crypto world's biggest success stories. For now, though, Coinbase's backers aren't sweating it. And they say they don't anticipate the drama having much of an effect on the startup, which has been raising money on terms that would value it at roughly $1 billion . Barry Schuler (Coinbase investor Barry Schuler.Manny Ceneta/Getty Images) "There's no one on the board or any investor who doesn't completely back the point of view that we should err on the side of safety and trust," said Barry Schuler, a partner with DFJ, an investor in Coinbase. "From an investor's point of view, we invested in Coinbase because they have made a voluntary commitment to be regulated," Schuler said, "and to focus on being trusted and safe — as safe as you can be in an experimental environment like this." Story continues Though Coinbase didn't participate in Tuesday's currency launch, Schuler said Coinbase could change its policy as early as next week, depending on how bitcoin cash matures. Another Coinbase investor, Fueled founder Rameet Chawla, even suggested that Coinbase may increase the strength of the original bitcoin down the line by establishing faith in the legacy currency. That's because Coinbase's conservative approach may make cryptocurrency more accessible to potential users who are afraid to dabble in technologically complex digital currencies. "They're a huge net positive on bitcoin, making it really easy on people who are not early adopters," Chawla said. Mass exodus of coinbase users With 9 million users and $20 billion exchanged, Coinbase has its hands on a lot of the digital currency floating around. And while investors support Coinbase's decision to sit out the initial bitcoin split, many customers felt betrayed by the company. A scan of the Coinbase community forums shows a host of angry topics such as "What if Coinbase is NSA tool to destroy BTC (bitcoin cash)?" and "Dear Coinbase, if you not release my funds in 1h I am going to sue you." Coinbase wouldn't disclose how many users withdrew bitcoins in anticipation of bitcoin cash's arrival. But things looked rough. Coinbase users experienced delays of about 12 hours on withdrawals over the weekend because of the number of people moving bitcoins. Rameet Chawla Fueled (Fueled founder Rameet Chawla doesn't seem worried about long-term harm to Coinbase.Rameet Chawla) Despite this, sources close to the situation said the company expected to see many people return to Coinbase while simultaneously storing newly acquired bitcoin cash in a different digital wallet. "Ultimately, Coinbase is an exchange for buying bitcoin, but people are free to use their own wallets and take control of their wallets anyway they want," Chawla said. The 'hard fork' The introduction Tuesday of bitcoin cash was known as the "hard fork." It resulted in a cloned currency with different technological protocols from those of the original bitcoin. The fork was a means of dealing with disagreements in the bitcoin community over how to evolve the technology to handle increased demand. The hard fork followed a process similar to cell division in biology, in that the two currencies were the same at the point of division but will pursue different paths moving forward. Users storing their bitcoin in a digital wallet that accepts bitcoin cash on Tuesday found themselves with a bitcoin cash coin for every bitcoin they had at the time of duplication. Bitcoin and bitcoin cash do not have the same value, however, so duplication is not the same as a doubling in worth. Why Coinbase sat out on bitcoin cash In a statement on Twitter on Tuesday, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong wrote that the company was agnostic to which currencies its users trade and that it was not opposed to adding new assets in the future. "Our goal is to be the safest, most trusted and compliant, and easiest to use," Armstrong wrote. "Not the first to market with new assets. Especially at scale, it takes time to ensure any new asset we add is well tested and secure." Generally speaking, Coinbase isn't quick to take on new currencies. Founded in 2012, the exchange still trades only bitcoin, ether , and litcoin — all digital currencies the team has deemed stable and technically secure enough for an amateur investor to put money into. We have made this decision because it is hard to predict how long the alternative version of bitcoin will survive and if Bitcoin Cash will have future market value. So it was of little surprise to those close to the company when it issued a statement last week advising that customers who want to access both bitcoin and bitcoin cash would need to withdrawal from Coinbase by this past Monday. "We have no plans to support the Bitcoin Cash fork." David Farmer, the director of business development at Coinbase, wrote. "We have made this decision because it is hard to predict how long the alternative version of bitcoin will survive and if Bitcoin Cash will have future market value." Users were irked because Coinbase's decision not to accept bitcoin cash meant that anyone with bitcoin stored in Coinbase's digital wallet would not receive what many saw as free bitcoin cash. Others were concerned that Coinbase would secretly keep the bitcoin cash that was generated Tuesday. In a statement last Friday, however, the company denied that this would happen. "Coinbase would not keep the bitcoin cash associated with customer bitcoin balances for ourselves," the company posted on Twitter. Investors like Schuler, however, saw the Coinbase's trepidation as part of its core business strategy. "The whole cryptocurrency-blockchain space is a bit like the Wild West right now — just like the beginning of the internet," Schuler said. "But slowly and surely, it's becoming institutionalized. Coinbase represents that — being legitimate and offering as much trust and safety as possible." NOW WATCH: This cell phone doesn't have a battery and never needs to be charged More From Business Insider Voice activated speakers, like Amazon Echo and Google Home, are pumping new life into Pandora's business Pandora topped Q2 revenue targets and its stock just had a wild rebound Amazon wants to continue testing grocery stores without human cashiers when it owns Whole Foods \|\| The Diamond Industry Is Obsessed With the Blockchain: Diamonds represent beauty, luxury, and true love--though some of them have a dark side. Unscrupulous companies mine "blood diamonds," and counterfeiters flood the market with convincing fakes. It can be a challenge to ensure beyond a promise that you're buying an authentic, conflict-free gem. The blockchain , a distributed computing technology that powers Bitcoin and so many other cryptocurrencies, could be a solution. At its heart the blockchain produces an indelible, tamper-proof ledger. This new type of record-keeping has been heralded as an efficiency that could transform industries like shipping, insurance , and finance. But the diamond business has been one of the first to embrace the technology wholeheartedly. A London-based company called Everledger has placed more than 1.6 million diamonds on a blockchain . Entries on the digital record include dozens of attributes for each diamond, including the color, carat, and certificate number, which can be inscribed by laser on the crown or girdle of the stone. "We create a digital twin of the object on the blockchain," says Leanne Kemp, Everledger's chief executive. The technology has enabled diamond suppliers (and intermediaries like border agents) to replace a paper certification process with a blockchain ledger. The process involves using computer scanning tools to access what Kemp calls a "digital vault" and to determine the provenance of any diamond. Everledger is first focusing on industrial supply chains . "This isn't about Aunt Jenny's wedding ring," Kemp says. The company hopes to adapt its technology for retail and consumer use by 2018, meaning that a Tiffany & Co. shopper might one day be able to use a smartphone to determine a gem's provenance. Get Data Sheet , Fortune's technology newsletter. In the meantime Everledger is adding other luxury goods to the blockchain. The company tracks bottles of wine using hidden codes added to them by vintners, allowing anyone to consult a blockchain to see where the bottle originated and how it was distributed. Everledger is also applying the technology to fine art, a bigger challenge since even tiny inscriptions can be considered destructive. It's exploring applications with museum and exhibition clients. All of this hints at the sweeping way blockchain technology could change how goods move around the world. The government of Singapore, for instance, is focusing on much larger initiatives than diamonds: global trade. It is building blockchain tools that, if adopted by shippers and merchants, will be part of a new digital trade corridor for commodities. The effort promises faster, more secure supply chains and consumer confidence--a beautiful luxury, no doubt, for businesses worldwide. Story continues A version of this article appears in the Sept. 15, 2017 issue of Fortune with the headline Crystal Clear Provenance. See original article on Fortune.com More from Fortune.com Blockchain Startup R3 Sues Rival Ripple Labs Microsoft's Blockchain Experiments Expand to Digital Bank Guarantees Cryptocurrencies Are Utterly Trouncing Traditional Assets Like Gold and Real Estate Maersk and Microsoft Tested a Blockchain for Shipping Insurance 7 Reasons Why China Banned ICOs View comments \|\| Bitcoin surges past $4,100 despite reports of a wide-ranging crackdown on trading in China: (Bitcoin-mining computers are pictured in Bitmain's mining farm near Keflavik, Iceland.Thomson Reuters) Bitcoinhas surged past $4,100 a coin on Monday, despite reports that Chinese authorities have decidedon a plan for a wide-ranging crackdown on the cryptocurrency. The plan, which regulators revealed to cryptocurrency executives on Friday during a private meeting in Beijing, goes further than just a shutdown on exchanges, according to reporting by The Wall Street Journal's Chao Deng. According to Deng, Beijing regulators plan to shut down all channels for exchanging the cryptocurrency — not just commercial ones. "The crackdown on the bitcoin ecosystem represents Beijing's possibly biggest effort so far to limit expansion of a system to rival the yuan," Deng wrote. Bitcoin collapsed spectacularly last week as news of a regulatory crackdown in China broke. The cryptocurrency dropped 16% against the dollar on Thursday after Chinese media reported that the country's regulators weremoving closer to shutting down exchanges. Bitcoin recouped most of those losses Friday even after two of thelargest exchanges in China, OKCoin and Huobi, released statements saying they would shut down all trading between yuan and bitcoinon their exchanges. The digital coin continued to prove its resiliency Monday, trading up near 11% at $4,118. It had briefly dipped below $3,000 Friday morning. Bitcoin is up about 325% this year. NOW WATCH:SRI-KUMAR: Watch the bond market for signs of a recession More From Business Insider • Bitcoin slides after Jamie Dimon bashes the cryptocurrency • JAMIE DIMON: Bitcoin is a fraud that's 'worse than tulip bulbs' • BANK OF AMERICA: Bitcoin is the 'most crowded' trade \|\| Gulliver's Gate is a $40 million world of miniatures in Times Square: If you’ve ever been yelled at by someone in authority, you already know what it’s like to feel very small. But now, thanks to a $40 million tourist attraction in Times Square, you can become very small forever. It’s called Gulliver’s Gate, and its strange and quixotic mission is to reproduce the world at 1/87th scale. The model makers have used every trick in the book — laser cutting, CNC milling, 3D printing, and regular handwork — to create 300 miniature scenes depicting 50 countries. These vignettes include Big Ben, the Colosseum, the Great Wall of China, the Taj Mahal, and so on, spread out over 50,000 square feet. When I visited recently, a cool-looking miniature airport, complete with planes that taxi and take off, was under construction. These aren’t just static scenes. Using an elaborate system of radio waves, ultrasound, and software, Gulliver’s Gate brings its cities to life. A thousand trains and 10,000 cars move constantly through the tiny cities. Millions of tiny LED lights twinkle. The locks of the Panama Canal actually fill with water, empty, open, and close, and container ships actually move through them. In the control center, you can watch the technicians in action and ask questions. Each miniature country in Gulliver’s Gate was built by artistsinthat country—the Russian scenes were built in Russia, for example—but an on-site repair and maintenance model shop is also visible, and you can also speak to the model builders there. When you enter, you’re given a tiny, shiny chrome key (which you can keep as a souvenir). It fits into special keyholes at each scene; when you turn it, a hidden RFID tag in the key triggers an animation in that scene. In Iceland, you can make Santa’s sleigh and eight tiny reindeer fly overhead (on wires, of course). In London, you can make the Queen exit her palace and get into a tiny limousine. In Scotland, you can trigger an appearance by the Loch Ness Monster. In Greece, you can summon a lightning storm by the gods of Mount Olympus. Here and there, the model makers have planted tiny Easter eggs—little jokes—for you to find. If you look closely, for example, you’ll find Spider-Man crouching atop the Brooklyn Bridge, or a bull holding the red cape in a Spanish arena, or police helping out a woman who’s dropped her purse onto the subway tracks in New York City. You can spend hours in Gulliver’s Gate; it’s vast, alive with sights and sounds, and awe-inspiring. It is not, unfortunately, cheap; an adult ticket is a gulp-inducing $36. What may be the coolest part, though, is even more expensive: the full-size Cobra 3-D scanning booth, studded with 128 Canon SLR digital cameras—one of only three such booths in the world. In a split second, it can capture you in a pose, digitizing you in 3D. The scan data is sent out to a 3D printing company, and in a few weeks, you get back a perfect, colorful, resin scan ofyou,in your choice of Small ($130), Medium ($190), or Large ($290). As part of that package, you also get a second 3-D print of yourself — at 1/87th scale, just like the rest of the attraction. There’s not much detail in this half-inch plastic statue, so you’ll have to trust that it’s you. You’re invited to place your tiny MiniMeintoone of the Gulliver’s Gate scenes, your feet pinned down with SuperGlue, joining the 100,000 other micro-people and becoming part of the tiny world forever. For my tiny replica, I chose a spot along the water at Chelsea Piers, where I can gaze out to sea forever. I can face the future proudly, knowing that, in a very small way, I’ll never leave New York. Correction: A previous version of this article stated that Gulliver’s Gate is the size of a city block. In fact, it is 50,000 square feet. The error has been corrected. More from David Pogue: The 5 best new features of this week’s YouTube redesign Samsung’s Bixby voice assistant is ambitious, powerful, and half-baked Is through-the-air charging a hoax? Electrify your existing bike in 2 minutes with these ingenious wheels Marty Cooper, inventor of the cellphone: The next step is implantables The David Pogue Review: Windows 10 Creators Update Now I get it: Bitcoin David Pogue’s search for the world’s best air-travel app The little-known iPhone feature that lets blind people see with their fingers David Pogue, tech columnist for Yahoo Finance, welcomes nontoxic comments in the comments section below. On the web, he’sdavidpogue.com. On Twitter, he’s@pogue. On email, he’s [email protected]. You canread all his articles here, or you can sign up toget his columns by email. \|\| Dow Jones 30 and NASDAQ 100 Forecast for the Week of September 4, 2017, Technical Analysis: Dow Jones 30 The Dow Jones 30 initially fell during the week but found enough support underneath to turn around and form a very bullish candle. Breaking above the 22,000 level is a very bullish sign, and I think that we will eventually continue to go much higher. I think that short-term buying opportunities are available every time we dip, and I believe that given enough time the lack of interest rates in the United States should continue to lift stock markets overall. A breakdown below the 21,500 level would be very negative, but right now I don’t see that happening, and I believe that the buyers are firmly in control. My next target is the 23,000 level above. Dow Jones 30 and NASDAQ Index Video 04.9.17 NASDAQ 100 The NASDAQ 100 initially fell during the week but found enough support from the trend line that I have marked on the chart. We have broken towards the 6000 level, but that, of course, offered resistance. However, this very bullish candle suggests that we are going to continue to go to the upside, and now I believe that the 6100-level course is a visible target. The 5700 level underneath below is massively supportive, and if we can stay above there, I don’t see the reason to sell this market. Even if we do break down below there, the market will probably find support at the 5500 level. Expect choppiness and volatility, but the NASDAQ 100 has been a leader of US stock indices as of late, and that being the case I believe that it’s only a matter of time before the buyers return on dips as they offer value. While the market is a bit extended, there seems to be no sign of bearish pressure. NASDAQ weekly chart, September 04, 2017 This article was originally posted on FX Empire More From FXEMPIRE: U.S. Dollar Index Should Be Big Winner if Draghi is Dovish Bitcoin Skyrocketing to $5,000, Volume Increasing, Weekly Technical Analysis U.S. Dollar Index Whip-sawed but Still Finishes Week Higher Steady Economic Growth, Low Inflation Boosts U.S. Stocks Market Snapshot – NFP Disappoints as Euro Corrects Nonfarm Payrolls and Wage Growth to Drive the Dollar \|\| Geo-Political Risk Eases, with Carney and the Pound in the Spotlight This Afternoon: Earlier in the Day: There were no material stats released through the Asian session this morning as the markets continue to monitor whether there will be rising prospects of a military strike on North Korea following last Friday’s missile tests. It’s certainly clear that North Korea have little regard for world peace and the imposition of more stringent sanctions as it looks to ruffle the feathers of the U.S administration and create more friction between the world’s largest economies, that of China and the U.S. The U.S President had watered down its sanction proposals last week, but will now likely rue such a decision as the administration continues to threaten with the possibility of a military strike, something that the markets are unlikely to buy into just yet, with China having already been clear on how it would intervene should the U.S make the first move. While there were no stats and Capitol Hill continues to flex its muscles over North Korea, the weaker retail sales figures out of the U.S had weighed on the Dollar on Friday and, following the disappointing stats out of China last week, both economics now expected to have a softer 3 rd quarter, though how much of an affect Hurricane Harvey has remains to be seen. For the morning session, it was risk on with Asian equities making ground and appetite for the safe havens on the decline ahead of Trump’s attendance to the UN on Tuesday. For the week ahead the Kiwi Dollar will be in the spotlight as election polls suggest that it’s too close to call on the likely winner of this coming Saturday’s general election, the markets looking for status quo, with the Kiwi Dollar feeling the heat with the Labour Party in with a chance of taking over. The Day Ahead: It’s a pretty quiet day on the economic calendar, with key stats through the day limited to prelim September inflation figures out of the Eurozone, with sentiment towards the EUR standing its ground following the jump in 2 nd quarter wage growth last week. Forecasts are for year-on-year core inflation to be in line with August, with any pickup supporting the EUR ahead of a busy week of central bank commentary. Story continues While inflation figures will influence, focus through the European session will be on BoE Governor Carney, scheduled to speak today, with Carney having already followed last week’s more hawkish BoE statement, saying that the probability of a first rate hike in a decade had significantly increased in a TV interview. The probability of a rate hike will be data dependent, which will make the Pound all the more sensitive to stats in the coming week, with markets looking towards the November MPC meeting to lift rates should stats out of the UK continue to remain positive. At the time of the report, the Pound was down 0.27% at $1.3557, with a return to $1.36 levels now dependent upon the stats, though Carney is always able to spur a rally. The quiet day will likely be a positive for the Dollar, with August inflation figures expected to support a more hawkish FOMC on Wednesday, with the probability of a December rate hike having climbed to above 50% following Thursday’s data. At the time of the report, the Dollar Spot Index was up 0.14% at 92.002, with no material stats out of the U.S to consider through the day, while the markets will continue to look towards Capitol Hill and Trump noise over North Korea, any risk off sentiment being a negative for the Dollar. At the time of the report, it was risk on with Dow futures pointing to a 57 point gain and gold falling back to sub-$1,320 levels going into the European session. This article was originally posted on FX Empire More From FXEMPIRE: Bitcoin Traders: Embrace the Volatility or Perish Bitcoin Trades near $4000, Soars 30% From Friday’s Low Geo-Political Risk Eases, with Carney and the Pound in the Spotlight This Afternoon Daily Markets Brief – Global Markets Shift to Risk On Mode, North Korea Tensions and the Fed Meeting in Focus Investors Appear Ready to Add Risk Short Term, Gold and Yen Weaken Gold Prices Correct Lower and Looking Still Lower [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] Sep 07, 2017 11:30:00 UTC \| 4,646.40$ \| 3,876.40€ \| 3,548.80£ \| #Bitcoin #btc pic.twitter.com/kkjvhhqCzI \|\| Dear,sir i well be back but meke givet 0.1 Btc for i back freebitco site i work freebitco.in site 2 years \|\| Gana $45,00 Usd Por Afiliar, Quieres ganarte dólares con Bitcoin sin tanto esfuerzo? Es solo d ···· https://goo.gl/Cdo6SQ .. #España \|\| 0.1 mBTC for Joining the BitDouble! — Steemit https://t.co/sD00j8UP3C #btc #bitcoin #Bonus #bitdouble #Crypto #blockchain https://t.co/5FnzxAmfPy \|\| #Bitcoin #BTC > $4000 \|\| Current price of Bitcoin is $4644.00. \|\| $LBC hodl devam. Yatırımımın büyük bir kısmı ise hala BTC de bekliyor. Hiçbir coine büyük girecek cesaretim yok. Beklemeye devam \|\| Aug 05, 2017 16:00:00 UTC \| 3,216.60$ \| 2,731.90€ \| 2,466.60£ \| #Bitcoin #btc pic.twitter.com/jcRBWxnAYW \|\| I've already moved claimed my BCH and moved my BTC to Exodus. I was very disappointed with Jaxx. \|\| Cotizaciones al 01/09/2017 10:00 AM Bitcoin (BTC): 27.117.287 Ethereum (ETH): 2.187.029 Litecoin (LTC): 431.918 BTC Cash (BCH): 3.349.745	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 3924.97, 3905.95, 3631.04, 3630.70, 3792.40, 3682.84, 3926.07, 3892.35, 4200.67, 4174.73
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis] Not fully available. [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Stock & Bond ETFs Surge After Election: Stocks surged and bonds tumbled as votes from last night’s contentious U.S. elections continued to be counted on Wednesday. While key races have yet to be decided, investors were bracing for gridlock as Democrats were on track to hold on to the House of Representatives, while Republicans maintained power in the Senate. As of this writing, the presidential election was still up for grabs, though Democratic challenger Joe Biden was leading in the key battleground states of Michigan and Nevada—two states, which, if he won, would tip the electoral college in his favor. In any case, a split government looks likely, meaning sweeping legislation will be extremely challenging to pass going forward. That includes the corporate tax and capital gains tax hikes that Joe Biden has proposed. All else equal, lower taxes are a positive for stocks. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) closed 2.2% higher on the session. Tech Tax Fades? Outpacing even that hefty gain in the broader markets was the technology sector. Biden’s minimum tax on corporations was expected to disproportionately affect the sector, so tech stocks may have seen some relief on Wednesday as the likelihood of that tax passing faded. The Vanguard Information Technology ETF (VGT) was last trading up by 3.4%. Meanwhile, certain industries within the tech sector are benefiting for other reasons. California voters approved Proposition 22, which allows certain ride hailing and delivery companies to continue classifying their workers as independent contractors instead of employees. The SoFi Gig Economy ETF (GIGE) , which holds stocks like Uber and Lyft, traded up by 4%. Less Spending, Higher Bonds Stocks weren't the only asset class keying off the latest election results. The bond market, which was bracing for a Democratic blue wave—control of the House, Senate and White House—surged as the prospect for sweeping legislation dimmed. The 10-year Treasury yield dropped from 0.9% on Tuesday to 0.77% on Wednesday (bond prices and yields move inversely). Story continues The iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF (AGG) traded up by 0.7%, while the iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLT) gained 2.2%. In addition to dampening expectations for legislation for clean energy projects and infrastructure, the prospect of a split government also reduces the likelihood of a major COVID-19 relief bill. Senate Republicans have balked at the multitrillion-dollar bills favored by Democrats, so a smaller package is likely if the latest results hold. Health Care Surges, Solar Tumbles Even if he contends with a Republican Senate that blocks many of his moves, a President Biden could still have an impact. One of those areas where he could be most influential is health care, where the Democrat has promised to do all he can to support the Affordable Care Act, which provides insurance for millions of Americans. The Supreme Court is scheduled to debate the constitutionality of the law on Nov. 10. The Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLV) , which holds health care stocks that tend to benefit when more Americans are insured, was up 4.4% on Wednesday. Meanwhile, the Invesco Solar ETF (TAN) tumbled 2.1% as investors in the fund anticipated that Biden’s proposed $2 trillion clean energy and intrastate spending plan is unlikely to become law. Email Sumit Roy at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter @sumitroy2 Recommended Stories Hot Reads: Bitcoin’s Best Case Scenario What’s Next At Invesco Beyond ‘QQQ’ Hot Reads: 3 Index Funds Perfect For Your IRA Monster Month For New ETF Assets Permalink \| © Copyright 2020 ETF.com. All rights reserved \|\| The Bitcoin Fund Announces Offering: Not for distribution to U.S. newswire services or for dissemination in the United States. TORONTO, Nov. 25, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --(TSX:QBTC,QBTC.U)The Bitcoin Fund (the “Fund”) is pleased to announce that it is undertaking a treasury offering of Class A units (the “Class A Units”). The Class A Units will be available for purchase in U.S. dollars under the offering. The offering is expected to close on or about November 30, 2020 and is subject to certain closing conditions including approval by the Toronto Stock Exchange (“TSX”). The Class A Unit offering price will be determined so as to be non-dilutive to the most recently calculated net asset value per Class A Unit on November 24, 2020. The closing price on the TSX for the Class A Units on November 24, 2020 was US$23.86. The Fund seeks to provide unitholders of the Fund with (a) exposure to the digital currency bitcoin and the daily price movements of the U.S. dollar price of bitcoin and (b) the opportunity for long-term capital appreciation. To achieve its investment objectives, the Fund invests in long-term holdings of bitcoin, purchased from reputable bitcoin trading platforms and OTC counterparties, in order to provide investors with a convenient, safer alternative to a direct investment in bitcoin. The agent for the offering will be Canaccord Genuity Corp. About3iQCorp. Founded in 2012, 3iQ Corp. (“3iQ”) is Canada’s largest digital asset investment fund manager with more than C$325 million in assets under management. 3iQ was the first Canadian investment fund manager to offer a public bitcoin investment fund, The Bitcoin Fund (TSX:QBTC). Gaining access to digital assets such as bitcoin can be daunting, costly, and inconvenient. 3iQ has worked through a stringent regulatory process to offer investors convenient and familiar investment products to gain exposure to digital assets. For more information about 3iQ and The Bitcoin Fund, visitwww.3iQ.caor follow us on Twitter @3iQ_corp. Contact InformationFred Pye - President and CEOE: [email protected]: +1 (416) 639-2130 Ashort form base shelf prospectus containing important detailed information about the securities being offered has been filed with securities commissions or similar authorities in each of the provinces and territories of Canada. Copies of theshort form base shelf prospectusmay be obtained from a member of the syndicate. TheFundintends to fileasupplement to theshort form base shelf prospectus,andinvestorsshould read theshort form base shelfprospectus and the prospectus supplement before making an investment decision. There will not be any sale or any acceptance of an offer to buy the securities being offered until the prospectus supplement has been filed with thesecuritiescommissions or similar authorities in each of the provinces and territories of Canada. You will usually pay brokerage fees to your dealer if you purchase or sellunitsof theFundon theToronto Stock ExchangeorotheralternativeCanadian tradingsystem(an “exchange”). If theunitsare purchased or sold on an exchange, investors may pay more than the current net asset value when buyingunitsof theFundand may receive less than the current net asset value when selling them. There are ongoing fees and expenses associated with owningunitsof an investment fund. An investment fund must prepare disclosure documents that contain key information about thefund.You can find more detailed information about theFundinitspublic filings available at www.sedar.com.Investment funds are not guaranteed, their values change frequently and pastperformance may not be repeated. Certain statements contained in this document constitute forward-looking information within the meaning of Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking information may relate to matters disclosed in this document and to other matters identified inpublic filings relating to theFund, to the future outlook of theFundand anticipatedevents or results and may include statements regarding the future financial performance of theFund. In some cases, forward-looking information can be identified by terms such as “may”, “will”, “should”, “expect”, “plan”, “anticipate”, “believe”, “intend”, “estimate”, “predict”, “potential”, “continue” or other similar expressions concerning matters that are not historical facts. Actual results may vary from such forward-looking information. Investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof and we assume no obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances. The securities offered have not been registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or any applicable exemption from the registration requirements. This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy securities nor will there be any sale of such securities in any state in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. \|\| Market Wrap: Bitcoin Jumps to $14.2K; Ethereum Gas Usage Grows 113% YTD: Bitcoin is making gains during the U.S. presidential election uncertainty while Ethereum’s gas data is highlighting a DeFi decline. • Bitcoin(BTC) trading around $14,061 as of 21:00 UTC (4 p.m. ET). Gaining 2.2% over the previous 24 hours. • Bitcoin’s 24-hour range: $13,545-$14,232 • BTC above its 10-day and 50-day moving averages, a bullish signal for market technicians. Bitcoin’s price made gains Wednesday, hitting as high as $14,232 around 17:00 UTC (12 p.m. UTC), according to CoinDesk 20 data, after a brief dip in earlier trading. Read More:Bitcoin Dips as Trump Threatens to Stop Vote Counting Related:Bitcoin Breaks $15K as Investor Numbers Peak “Bitcoin has recovered from its post-election drop, crossing the $14,000 level once more,” said John Kramer, a trader at crypto market making firm GSR. “The asset has done a good job of going its own way all year, vastly outperforming stocks.” Bitcoin is up 90% versus the S&P 500’s comparatively paltry 4.5% performance in 2020. Stocks are up Wednesday despite the lack of a confirmed winner as yet in the U.S. presidential election. “Equities are unmoved by the uncertainty, rallying in the face of two possible outcomes,” GSR’s Kramer added. • The Nikkei 225 ended the day in the green 1.7% aspositive economic data out of Asia is signaling economic expansion. • Europe’s FTSE 100 closed up 1.6% astepid manufacturing data from October trounced investors’ concerns about Trump’s premature declaration of election victory. • In the United States the S&P 500 climbed 2.2% astech stocks made gains despite apprehension over the presidential election. Jason Lau, chief operating officer for San Francisco-based cryptocurrency exchange OKCoin, said he is not convinced that bitcoin’s jump Wednesday has anything to do with the election’s outcome. “While all eyes are on the election, it’s too early to attribute bitcoin’s gains to it in terms of the macro policy impact from either candidate,” Lau told CoinDesk. Related:First Mover: Bitcoin Likes Biden (and Fed's Powell) as Price Approaches $15K Cryptocurrency analysts are also keeping an eye on the U.S. Dollar Index, a measure of the greenback’s strength against a basket of other currencies, which is up 0.15% as of press time. “The dollar downtrend is due to resume,” said Bill Noble, Chief Technical Analyst atToken Metrics. Bitcoiners, as is often the case, remain bullish nevertheless. “Too many people believe the election can stop the crypto uptrend,”Token Metrics’ Noble said. “A strong desire for economic freedom and the emergence of inflation drives the uptrend in crypto. Those trends are in motion, and they will remain in motion regardless of who occupies the White House.” “My opinion is BTC will go up regardless of who wins this election in the short- to mid-term,” noted Alessandro Andreotti, an over-the-counter crypto trader. One signal for bullish sentiment: Overnight, over 6,700 CME bitcoin futures contracts traded (33,500 equivalent BTC), 75% more than what has been observed year to date and more than double the volume observed since launch, according to a representative from CME. The second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization,ether(ETH), was up Wednesday trading around $400 and climbing 4.6% in 24 hours as of 21:00 UTC (4:00 p.m. ET). Read More:Ethereum 2.0 Countdown Begins With Release of Deposit Contract Usage on Ethereum, in terms of total gas, has grown 113% in 2020 so far, from 37,252,588,523 on Jan. 1 to 79,617,868,730 on Tuesday. Meanwhile, fees on the Ethereum network, required to conduct transactions and interact with decentralized finance, or DeFi, continue to be lower. On Nov. 1, average transaction fees dipped as low as 0.00229753 ETH. Ben Chan, vice president of engineering for oracle provider Chainlink, says this data suggests despite the growth in 2020, there is currently less demand on the Ethereum network as interest in DeFi has seemingly waned. “What this could mean is people are less urgent to get transactions in, they’re willing to wait longer,” he told CoinDesk. Digital assets on theCoinDesk 20are mixed Wednesday. Notable winners as of 20:00 UTC (4:00 p.m. ET): • zcash(ZEC) + 2.4% • orchid(OXT) + 1.5% • litecoin(LTC) + 1.5% Notable losers: • monero(XMR) – 3% • 0x(ZRX) – 2.2% • bitcoin cash(BCH) – 1.2% Read More:Razor Network Raises $3.7M to Prove There’s Room for More Oracles in DeFi Commodities: • Oil was up 2.1%. Price per barrel of West Texas Intermediate crude: $38.93. • Gold was in the red 0.24% and at $1,904 as of press time. Treasurys: • U.S. Treasury bond yields fell Wednesday. Yields, which move in the opposite direction as price, were down most on the two-year bond, dipping to 0.145 and in the red 15.9%. • Market Wrap: Bitcoin Jumps to $14.2K; Ethereum Gas Usage Grows 113% YTD • Market Wrap: Bitcoin Jumps to $14.2K; Ethereum Gas Usage Grows 113% YTD \|\| Why a $631B Asset Manager Just Changed Its Mind on Bitcoin: In a research note intended for clients, investing giant AllianceBernstein says it changed its mind on bitcoin’s role in asset allocation. Formore episodesand free early access before our regular 3 p.m. Eastern time releases, subscribe withApple Podcasts,Spotify,Pocketcasts,Google Podcasts,Castbox,Stitcher,RadioPublica,iHeartRadioorRSS. This episode is sponsored byCrypto.com,Nexo.ioand this week’s special product launch,Allnodes. Related:First Mover: Short Shrift for XRP Token's 169% Price Surge as Traders Obsess Over Bitcoin Download this episode • Libra is now “Diem” • Christine Lagarde comes down on private stablecoins • Dow closes its best month in 33 years Yesterday, CoinDesk received access to a private client research report from AllianceBernstein, a global investment giant with more than $631 billion in assets. In this episode of the Breakdown, NLW reads excerpts from the memo and discusses: • Why, in discussing supply, it conflatesbitcoinand other cryptos but still finds limited supply “for all practical purposes” • Why prevailing macro political conditions – particularly the growth of government’s role in business and individual lives – shifted the investment firm’s calculus • Why its greatest long-term concern is government banning something that is actively hindering the application of monetary policy See also:Investment Giant AllianceBernstein Now Says Bitcoin Has Role in Investors’ Portfolios Related:XRP Led November's Crypto Bull Run With 169% Gain Formore episodesand free early access before our regular 3 p.m. Eastern time releases, subscribe withApple Podcasts,Spotify,Pocketcasts,Google Podcasts,Castbox,Stitcher,RadioPublica,iHeartRadioorRSS. • Why a $631B Asset Manager Just Changed Its Mind on Bitcoin • Why a $631B Asset Manager Just Changed Its Mind on Bitcoin \|\| Square Cryptos 20th Grant Will Support Bitcoin Design, User Experience: Square Crypto is bankrolling its 8th designer grant to focus on Bitcoins user experience. This marks the Square offshoots 20th grant in support of Bitcoin development since it launched in the summer of 2019. Portuguese software designer Patrícia Estevão is Square Cryptos most recent grant recipient. Per her grant proposal , the UX Designer will use the funding to research Bitcoin user experience, specifically why people use Bitcoin and what hurdles may obstruct their use. Im thrilled that Ill finally be able to work on in-depth Bitcoin user research and Im even more excited that it will have the clear purpose of shaping future design decisions within the Bitcoin ecosystem, Estevão told CoinDesk. Related: DeFi on Bitcoin Gets a Boost as Sovryn Launches on RSK Sidechain Im thankful to Square Crypto and its team for granting me this opportunity. Estevão has been working on Bitcoin-related design since 2016. One of her more recent and impactful projects is an in-depth paper she published for Lightning Network design in November 2019. Once concluded, her research will find its way into the Bitcoin Design Guide , an open-source, community project that includes UX/UI design notes for developers, businesses or anyone building on Bitcoin. Square Crypto and Bitcoin development The grant is the latest in a deluge of funding that Square Crypto, the Bitcoin-focused arm of Jack Dorseys Square, has poured into Bitcoin development over the past year. In addition to funding Bitcoin Core developers including Jon Atack and Lloyd Fournier, Square Crypto has also funded open-source software such as BTCPay Server and Chris Belchers CoinSwap design. Related: First Mover: Reminiscing on Pre-Pandemic Bitcoin as Rally Stalls Estevãos grant is the latest in Square Cryptos design grants, which are focused on improving Bitcoin user experience (UX) and interfaces (UI) because the bleeding-edge tech Square Crypto and other organizations are funding is only as good as its adoption curve. Story continues Read more: Amiti Uttarwar: Building Bitcoins Future On the whole, 2020 has been a breakout year for Bitcoin developers and software designer grants. The Human Rights Foundation , Kraken , OKCoin and others have given Bitcoin Core and other Bitcoin developers grants for their work. Historically a volunteer act, these grants have made Bitcoin development a full-time job for some, building on a trend that began with early Bitcoin development companies including Blockstream, BitMEX and Chaincode Labs. Related Stories Square Cryptos 20th Grant Will Support Bitcoin Design, User Experience Square Cryptos 20th Grant Will Support Bitcoin Design, User Experience \|\| JPMorgan Says Its Cryptocurrency 'JPM Coin' Is Now Live: JPMorgan Chase & Co's (NYSE: JPM ) cryptocurrency "JPM Coin" is now live for commercial use, Takis Georgakopoulos, the bank’s global head of wholesale payments told CNBC. What Happened: The New York-based bank’s digital currency was used this week to send international payments commercially for the first time ever by a large technology client, Georgakopoulos said. The JPMorgan executive didn't name the large international technology company but said other clients are also coming on board. The Jamie Dimon-led bank is also creating a new business unit, Onyx, with more than 100 staff members to deal with blockchain and digital currency. Umar Farooq has reportedly been named the new CEO Of Onyx. Why It Matters: JPMorgan is one of the largest participants in cross-border payments and moves more than $6 trillion a day across 100 countries, noted CNBC. Georgakopoulos said that the lender is focused on easing wholesale payments, which could save hundreds of millions of dollars if a better solution was deployed. Onyx will also focus on using the blockchain to process paper checks, which can save up to 75% of the total costs involved, Farooq told CNBC — adding that the project is still months away from commercial launch. This month, Paypal Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: PYPL ) said it would allow its users to buy, sell and hold cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin and Ethereum, spurring a flurry of activity in cryptocurrency markets. Price Action: JPMorgan shares closed nearly 1.9% lower at $99.33 on Tuesday and fell 0.33% in the after-hours session. Related Link: 'Caged Bull' Bitcoin Crosses The K 'Breakout' Mark See more from Benzinga Click here for options trades from Benzinga Wells Fargo Fires Up To 125 Workers Over Fraudulently Tapping Coronavirus Relief Loans: Report © 2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| Market Wrap: Bitcoin Drops as Low as $14.8K; ETH Options Open Interest at Record High: Bitcoin is gyrating amid rallying global stock markets while ether options traders ramp up open interest as the Ethereum network heads for an ambitious upgrade. Bitcoin (BTC) trading around $15,384 as of 21:00 UTC (4 p.m. ET). Gaining 0.05% over the previous 24 hours. Bitcoin’s 24-hour range: $14,845-$15,842 BTC above its 10-day and 50-day moving average, a bullish signal for market technicians. After bitcoin rallied over $200 on news that Pfizer’s vaccine trial showed it was 90% effective in preventing coronavirus infections, the price suffered a drop of almost $1,000 within hours Monday. The sell-off went from $15,842 shortly after Pfizer’s announcement early in the morning to as low as $14,845 around 16:30 UTC (8:30 a.m. ET). It has since recovered, changing hands at $15,389 as of press time, according to CoinDesk 20 data. “Bitcoin’s retracement through the $15,000 level is a continuation of the gradual move downward during the past few days,” said Guy Hirsch, managing director for U.S. at multi-asset brokerage eToro. “Though today, it feels different than the likely profit-taking that occurred over the weekend.” Related: First Mover: Bitcoin Needs No Vaccine as Druckenmiller Lays Down 'Better Bet' Cindy Leow, portfolio manager for multi-strategy crypto trading firm 256 Capital Partners, has been tracking bitcoin’s volume-weighted average price, or VWAP, as a indicator as prices take a break from a rally that took the world’s oldest cryptocurrency to record 2020 highs the past week. VWAP gives an average price at which an asset has traded throughout the day based on both volume and price. Read More: Bitcoin’s Weekly Close Above 2019 High Leaves Runway Clear to $20K “In the short term, we’re entering into whipsaw markets that typically follow huge gains,” Leow noted. “We see immediate support at BTC’s monthly VWAP of $14,700, from which BTC has steadily bounced off of, indicating that buyers still maintain control.” Story continues A change in market dynamics is also playing a role in staving off possible price downside. That’s due in large measure to the waning influence of leveraged derivatives venue BitMEX, which is facing lawsuits and the ire of U.S. regulators . Related: 3 Reasons Bitcoin Has Rallied Over 60% in Just Two Months “It’s fascinating that this whole move up last week from $13,900 to $15,900 happened with so few long liquidations and barely any corrections so far,” Leow said. “We suspect this is largely an effect of trading volumes going from BTC-margined futures to USDT -margined futures, as USDT-margined traders are by default technically in a short BTC position.” Liquidations on BitMEX, as tracked by data aggregator Skew, are on the decline. Meanwhile, traditional markets are seeing major action Monday, the first trading day since a clear winner in the U.S. presidential election was decided. Former Vice President Joe Biden is set to take office in early 2021. Read More: Crypto Impact Unclear After Joe Biden Unseats Donald Trump Stocks are up across major global indices. The Nikkei 225 closed in the green 2.1% as investors signaled optimism the incoming U.S. president will promote closer ties to Asia than the incumbent. Europe’s FTSE 100 ended the day up 4.6% as positive investor sentiment on a coronavirus vaccine lifted the index . In the United States the S&P 500 gained 2.7% as good news regarding the effectiveness of coronavirus vaccines from both Pfizer and BioNTech boosted the index . In addition, big moves are occuring in major commodities, with oil way up and gold way down. Oil was up 7%. Price per barrel of West Texas Intermediate crude: $40.01. Gold was in the red 4.4% and at $1,864 as of press time. Read More: Markets Spike as Coronavirus Vaccine Trial Shows 90% Success Rate “With the S&P 500 touching a new all-time high today alongside news of a Pfizer COVID vaccine showing strong promise, it will be interesting to see how BTC behaves in the weeks ahead,” said Daniel Kohler, liquidity manager at San Francisco-based cryptocurrency exchange OKCoin. “For the past few weeks we were seeing a rise in BTC and S&P 500 correlations — with BTC trading at levels not seen since 2017, it will be interesting to see if that trend reverts or we continue to see outperformance.” In fact, the trend does already seem to be reverting, with correlation dropping this past week through Friday’s close. “Surprisingly, given the recent correlation with equities, bitcoin’s immediate price action has been much more choppy,” added Denis Vinokourov, head of research at crypto brokerage Bequant. Ether options interest at all-time high The second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, ether (ETH), was down Monday trading around $447 and slipping 1% in 24 hours as of 21:00 UTC (4:00 p.m. ET). Open interest in ether options hit a record high Sunday, at over $570 million. The last time open interest approached that level was Sept. 1, when it was at $544 million. Greg Magadini, chief executive officer of data aggregator Genesis Volatility, says the progress of the Ethereum’s network’s move to upgrade to “2.0” has options traders increasingly placing their bets on the outcome. “On the night of the U.S. elections, we saw the quiet release of the ETH 2.0 deposit contract,” Magadini told CoinDesk “As we inched closer to the launch of Phase 0 the excitement triggered an increase in ETH option volume traded last week.” Other markets Digital assets on the CoinDesk 20 are all red Monday. Notable losers as of 21:00 UTC (4:00 p.m. ET): 0x (ZRX) – 3.5% litecoin (LTC) – 3.2% bitcoin sv (BSV) – 3.2% Read More: Crypto Lender Cred Files for Bankruptcy After Losing Funds in Fraud Treasurys: U.S. Treasury bond yields all climbed Monday. Yields, which move in the opposite direction as price, were up most on the two-year bond, jumping to 0.179 and in the green 17%. Related Stories Market Wrap: Bitcoin Drops as Low as $14.8K; ETH Options Open Interest at Record High Market Wrap: Bitcoin Drops as Low as $14.8K; ETH Options Open Interest at Record High \|\| How Bitcoin Gets to $100,000: Another look at the bitcoin valuation models that could possibly lead to a six-figure bitcoin valuation over the course of the next year. For more episodes and free early access before our regular 3 p.m. Eastern time releases, subscribe with Apple Podcasts , Spotify , Pocketcasts , Google Podcasts , Castbox , Stitcher , RadioPublica , iHeartRadio or RSS . This episode is sponsored by Crypto.com and Nexo.io . Related: Bitcoin's All-Time High Price Rally Is Sustainable. Analysts Explain Why On this edition of The Breakdowns Long Reads Sunday, NLW reads a recent piece by Hong Fang, CEO of OKCoin. In it, Fang provides a set of valuation models and scenarios that plausibly lead to bitcoin achieving a significant $100,000 value over the course of 2021. Download this episode See also: Bitcoin at $318,000 Next December? One Citibank Exec Says Its Possible Related: 5 Reasons Why Bitcoin Just Hit an All-Time High Price For more episodes and free early access before our regular 3 p.m. Eastern time releases, subscribe with Apple Podcasts , Spotify , Pocketcasts , Google Podcasts , Castbox , Stitcher , RadioPublica , iHeartRadio or RSS . Related Stories How Bitcoin Gets to $100,000 How Bitcoin Gets to $100,000 \|\| Money Reimagined: Crypto-Informed Ideas for the Future of Government: The good news is America is not in the midst of a full-blown civil war – not yet, at least. But, however you feel about Joe Biden’s apparent victory in the most difficult presidential election in living memory, you’d be foolish to believe all is well in this country. Four years after Donald Trump rode a wave of white suburban discontent to a shock victory, and with the echoes of this year’s Black Lives Matter protests still resonating, the vitriol and conspiracy theories generated by a starkly divided vote suggest trust in the U.S. system of government is cratering. Why? Well, as a starting point, the American Dream has been decimated by the disruptive forces of globalization and digitization. Huge swaths of society, many concentrated in the so-called Rust Belt of the Midwest, no longer believe the future will be brighter for them or their children. Related: The Terminators: A Short Story That stirs up the same-old 20th century ideological arguments for getting the Dream back. (The left wants to tax the rich and widen the safety net for the middle class while the right says that’s socialism and that it will halt job creation.) But there’s a more fundamental problem here: governance itself is broken. Too many people feel they have no agency, their voices aren’t heard, they have no means to shape policies that are dictated by vested interests. We need a system designed for a globalized economy and an internet-connected society, one that favors transparency, accountability and efficiency, and which mitigates the influence of hidden, vested-interest money. We need to address the principal-agent problem . This column is most definitely not going to say “blockchain fixes this.” But it will draw on a guiding CoinDesk maxim, one coined by Executive Editor Marc Hochstein: “Blockchain doesn’t have all the answers but it asks the right questions.” Related: Blockchain Bites: Buterin's Stake, Google's Bitcoin Searches, Square's Bustling BTC Business Story continues Applying the lens of decentralization and programmable contracts to big societal issues can help expose where current thinking is wrong. It can reveal how centralized control of information and transactions enables powerful interests to influence policy and, in so doing, undermine the free market. And it helps us think creatively around how new open-information and incentive models might address those problems. It doesn’t mean “put it on a blockchain.” (And definitely not blockchain voting – bad idea. ) It means thinking outside the box. In our weekly Money Reimagined podcast , Sheila Warren and I talked to two outside-the-box thinkers on their ideas for improving governance. Quadratic voting and open auctions One of our guests was Glen Weyl, the political economist and Principal Researcher at Microsoft Research New England, who co-authored the book “ Radical Markets ” with University of Chicago Law School professor Eric Posner. We chose to focus on just two of the many ideas that that book puts forward. One is quadratic voting , which allows people not only to vote for or against a particular issue but to express how strongly they hold that view by buying extra votes – up to a certain limit of assigned credits. The cost in credits of each additional vote increases by a quadratic formula. It’s designed to help small groups of voters who care deeply about particular issues while still constraining them from overly skewing results. Weyl has also worked on a variation of the concept with Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin called quadratic funding , which in theory could diminish the influence of wealthy “whales” in voting systems that are based on financial holdings or contributions. The second big idea we explored is that of perpetual open auctions. Here, every bit of property, including what we might otherwise think of as public property, is owned by private entities with the proviso that it is always up for auction and that the majority of the value created from it is shared equally among citizens as a social dividend. Weyl and Posner argue that such an arrangement would incentivize owners to manage the property well, and that the wider distribution of wealth creation would give a greater number of people the wherewithal to start businesses. It would also be easier to develop land for infrastructure, such as high-speed rail lines, because the developer could easily acquire it. Both of these ideas are rooted more in legal and process innovation than in software and distributed computing per se. But they intersect nicely with concepts associated with the crypto and blockchain space. One is the potential for self-sovereign identity models to prevent people from gaming quadratic voting. Another is the potential enhancements that smart contracts, non-fungible token-based property, and decentralized finance (DeFi) concepts such as automated market-making might bring to open auctions. Also, quadratic funding might fix free-rider problems in blockchain projects , Buterin believes. Smart taxation Our other guest was Jeff Saviano, the global lead of tax innovation at EY. He is a member of the Prosperity Collaborative , within which organizations such as the World Bank, MIT Media Lab’s Connection Sciences lab and the New America Foundation are working with governments to improve transparency and efficiency in the collection and distribution of taxes. Saviano talks of how blockchain-based tracing systems might not only give taxpayers a transparent view of how their taxes are being spent but also incorporate programmability. For example, the actual, uniquely identified dollars that you contribute could be channeled directly and transparently into identifiable services that immediately benefit you and your community. Or, governments could use smart contracts to put hard constraints on those dollars, so only certain categories of expenditure, and not others, are enabled. Restoring the social covenant Whether these ideas work or not, policymakers must restore the social covenant between those who govern and those who are governed. And that comes down to trust. We are the principals in this relationship. As our representatives, government leaders are supposed to be our agents. But if there is insufficient trust in them, people instead see them as competitors. As has been seen in countless failed states, a vicious, self-fulfilling cycle can arise. People avoid paying taxes so as not to feed the kleptocracy, which starves the state of the resources it needs, encouraging more corruption and theft by police and other employees of the state. The endgame in all that is a collapse in the most important expression of the state’s relationship with its people: its currency. The hyperinflation seen in Latin American countries such as Argentina, Brazil and Venezuela can be thought of as a manifestation of the collapse in the social covenant. It’s worrying to think similar breakdowns may be underway in western nations, including the U.S. While there are currently no big inflation risks in the benchmark Consumer Price Index, these kinds of concerns underpin this month’s sharp rally in bitcoin , which burst through $15,000 on Thursday. Buying bitcoin is one way for people to protect themselves from future governance failures. But it’s more important that we find solutions to prevent those failures. Did prediction markets fail their big test? Around 9 p.m. ET during the early vote-counting phase of the U.S. election on Tuesday evening, the value of the Trump futures contract on FTX crypto derivatives exchange dramatically surged higher. As you can see in the chart below – a five-day snapshot taken on Thursday morning from the FTX website – the value of the contract doubled from about $0.40 to $0.80 at that time. FTX was then assigning an 80% probability to President Trump winning the election. Early Wednesday morning, an even more dramatic change happened: The contract’s value plunged all the way down to around $0.12, which is more or less where it stayed. There’s an easy explanation for this relatively short-lived spike. Early results on Tuesday showed some strong numbers for President Trump, especially in the vital battleground states of Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, and there was not yet any data on the shift that would later go toward Joe Biden once early-voting and mail-in ballots were counted. Suddenly, expectations had changed from what the FTX market and other prediction markets such as PredictIt had been saying in the days beforehand, when Biden was forecast to win. All through the week, politicos had been warning about the “red mirage” effect, where the early count would favor Trump because more of his voters were expected to vote on Election Day whereas Biden vote would skew toward early or mail-in votes, which were to be counted later. We were repeatedly told to be patient, that we were in it for the long haul. All this was, in other words, predictable ahead of time. In short, neither the rally or the subsequent sell-off should have happened at all. So much for the “wisdom of the crowd.” So much for prediction markets. It seems all FTX did on Tuesday evening was to enable speculators to take short-run bets on people’s herd instincts during the hyperbole of election-night TV commentary. This was supposed to be prediction markets’ coming-out moment. The most high-profile election of all time and tight polling made for a big chance to show off what the new crypto-based versions of an old idea could do. Instead, we got further evidence to back up past results showing prediction markets don’t work well . The global town hall BITSTRATEGY . One person no doubt pleased with bitcoin’s price surge over $15,000 is Michael Saylor. In separate transactions in August and September, the CEO of investment advisory firm MicroStrategy shifted a total of $425 million worth of the company’s cash on hand into the dominant cryptocurrency. The move turned Saylor into a rock star in crypto circles, set off some copycat measures by other companies such as fintech provider Mode Global Holdings and payments service Square, and stirred a debate on whether bitcoin is a viable treasury-management asset for companies looking to protect the purchasing value of their cash. Veteran Wall Street Journal columnist Jason Zweig wasn’t impressed, though. An otherwise balanced analysis of Saylor’s move ended on this note: “…MicroStrategy is no longer just a software company. Now it’s a bitcoin bet. Investors who wish to buy bitcoin could always do so themselves with the proceeds of a dividend or share buybacks. The point of buying a stock is to get a stake in a business, not to take a flier on cryptocurrency.” It’s a clever line, but in the face of the improvement in bitcoin’s price Saylor could equally argue that he’s achieved what he needs to do. He legitimately sees a decline in the dollar’s purchasing power because even though the benchmark measure of the consumer price index is stable to low, there are rising prices in asset markets, in food and commodities. This was a hedging strategy for a time of great uncertainty and, as anyone who’s tried to run a business in the middle of a crisis will tell you, a necessary one. Sometimes the need to survive is more important than running the underlying business activity. You have to make smart decisions around cash on hand. Yes, Saylor could have launched a share buyback to return value to stockholders, but doing so would leave less room for maneuver with cash on hand in the future (should an acquisition target come along, for example) and would continue to tie the company’s valuations to a fiat valuation he believes will be depleted in purchasing power terms. So, it really comes down to whether or not you believe there’ll be long-term inflation. I’m looking forward to chatting with Saylor next week when he joins our “Bitcoin for Advisors” event for registered financial advisors. GOING IT ALONE. Andrew Browne, another veteran financial journalist, also formerly of The Wall Street Journal and now at Bloomberg, took a look at China’s new policy of “self reliance .” Somewhat alarmingly, the phrase, which was inserted into Xi Jingping’s new five-year plan, stems from Mao-era rhetoric. But as Browne points out, it’s unlikely to mean China is closing its doors and may even end up making its economy more open and less isolationist. The reality is the kind of policies Xi’s government will need to pursue to give greater emphasis to its domestic economy and reduce China’s reliance on foreign export markets will require it to further open up to foreign service firms, especially in the field of finance. Browne doesn’t mention capital controls. But any talk of liberalizing financial services to better serve domestic consumers and businesses inevitably leads to that question, because to grow such businesses with foreign help there needs to be a more free-flowing interest rate market, which in turn requires a more open flow of capital in and out of the economy. One big question is, what does this mean for cryptocurrencies? Would looser capital controls put the yuan under pressure and favor bitcoin, or would that lower the appeal of bitcoin, which has been used by Chinese nationals to bypass those restrictions? Another question: How does this tie into China’s new digital currency, the digital currency electronic payments (DCEP) system? Lowering capital controls might signal a path to making that currency available in offshore markets or as a payment rail in overseas supply chains such as those expected to operate over China’s One Belt One Road network . But probably more important though less obvious to observers obsessed with China’s geopolitical strategy is that “self reliance” is consistent with the heavy investment the country is making in integrating technologies such as the DCEP with its Blockchain Services Network to boost the performance of its domestic economy. Tying those in with a host of data-driven Fourth Industrial Revolution developments could give China an advantage in its competition with the U.S. Relevant reads Square Reports Over $1B in Quarterly Bitcoin Revenue for First Time: Q3 Earnings . Something that’s going to be quite different about this bull run in bitcoin from the last one three years ago is it will be accompanied by upbeat earnings reports from mainstream companies with exposure to it. We discussed MicroStrategy above. This news, reported by Brady Dale, is from Square. Worth noting is that what’s good for Square shareholders isn’t necessarily good for its customers, as these revenues represent the fees they are paying for using a payments technology that, in theory, should be middleman-free. US Seized More Than $1B in Silk Road–Linked Bitcoins, Seeks Forfeiture . It’s the bitcoin crime story that will never go away. U.S. agents seized some $1 billion worth of bitcoin they say was earned by the shuttered Silk Road drug market. The massive stash was forfeited by an unnamed hacker who had stolen the bitcoin from Silk Road. The report raises more questions than it answers – such as, what involvement did jailed Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht play in all this? Kevin Reynolds reports. Ethereum 2.0 Countdown Begins With Release of Deposit Contract . It’s hard to keep track of all that happened in this past, busy week of news. This one would have been a much bigger story if it weren’t for the bitcoin rally and the return of Silk Road: the first big step in Ethereum’s long-awaited, highly complex migration to its new proof-of-stake architecture. CoinDesk reporter Will Foxley has been all over this. He reports on the deposit contract by which a group of market participants will lock up their existing ether funds in return for the right to own a new version of ether that will operate within a parallel proof-of-stake network. In the CBDC Race, It’s Better to Be Last . In a contrarian take, CoinDesk columnist JP Koning – one of the first people to envisage a central bank digital currency with his “Fedcoin” idea in 2014 – is now saying the U.S. can afford to take its time. While others worry American tardiness will put it at a disadvantage to China’s fast-moving digital currency, Koning says that because, like all central banks, the Federal Reserve is a de facto monopoly, it need not worry about competition and can instead afford to wait. I disagree, but if you’re a regular consumer of Money Reimagined, you’d already know that. Koning, as always, is a good read. Related Stories Money Reimagined: Crypto-Informed Ideas for the Future of Government Money Reimagined: Crypto-Informed Ideas for the Future of Government \|\| GLOBAL MARKETS-Stocks rack up the records, dollar sings the blues: * Highly anticipated vaccine facing more scrutiny * Equity markets ready for record highs * U.S. markets on shortened hours after Thanksgiving holiday * Graphic: 2020 asset performance http://tmsnrt.rs/2yaDPgn * Graphic: World FX rates in 2020 http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh By Marc Jones LONDON, Nov 27 (Reuters) - World stocks remained on course for their best month ever on Friday as recent vaccine progress, Joe Biden's U.S. presidential election win, hopes for further stimulus, a commodity surge and a weak dollar all lifted the spirits. European markets had a touch of caution ahead of a barrage of economic data and as questions emerged over trial data on AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine, but that wasn't going to derail a November to remember. Germany's, France's, Italy's and Spain's main bourses all squeezed out gains and government bond yields stayed lows after the European Central Bank reinforced expectations of further stimulus next month. London's FTSE was fractionally lower with some last-minute Brexit nerves, but with Wall Street pointing to a post-Thanksgiving rise MSCI's main world index was readying another all-time high. "Risk sentiment is in reasonable nick because we've got vaccines and easy money," said Societe Generale strategist Kit Juckes. "That is the underpinning of optimism." It hadn't been all good news overnight. Australian shares ended down 0.5% and Treasury Wine Estates was whacked 11.25% as China slapped new tariffs on Australian wine, the latest move in the countries' long-running trade spat. But shares in China still rose 0.1% after data there showed industrial profits surged at the fastest pace since early 2017. South Korean stocks and Japan's Nikkei both rose 0.3% too, albeit in choppy trade. British drugmaker AstraZeneca's coronavirus drug was touted as a "vaccine for the world" due to its inexpensive cost, but the efficacy of the vaccine is now facing more intense scrutiny, which experts say could delay its approval. Story continues Several scientists have raised doubts about the robustness of results showing the shot was 90% effective in a sub-group of trial participants who, by error initially, received a half dose followed by a full dose. "With global (coronavirus) case numbers having now topped 60 million... there is certainly some rough terrain ahead for the global recovery, and that can create economic scarring," analysts at ANZ Bank wrote in a memo. VIRUS VS VACCINE U.S. hospitalizations for COVID-19 are at a record and experts warn that Thanksgiving gatherings could lead to further infections and deaths. More than 20 million people across England will be forced to live under the toughest restrictions even after a national lockdown ends on Dec. 2. Partial lockdowns in some European countries have also raised concern about economic growth. The European Central Bank's chief economist highlighted these concerns, saying there were "some worrying signals" in financing conditions in Europe for small and medium-sized enterprises, which pushed European bond yields lower. German 10-year Bund yields traded near two-week lows on Friday, while Portugal's 10-year government bond yields touched zero for the first time. The euro, which last bought $1.1924, showed little reaction because currency traders have largely priced in expectations for additional ECB easing next month. The dollar, which has fallen more than 2.2% so far this month as global sentiment has surged, lessening demand for the safe-haven currency, was near its lowest in nearly three months. "Surely euro-dollar can't break through $1.20 without good news on the (Brexit) trade deal," Societe Generale's Juckes added. The yield on benchmark 10-year Treasury notes fell to 0.8586% as some investors sought the safety of holding government debt. In commodity markets, copper, another key gauge of global economic sentiment due to its use in infrastructure, hit a near 7-1/2 month high. Oil, though up nearly 30% this month, dipped overnight on oversupply concerns, but Brent recovered in London to rise to $48 per barrel. Bitcoin, the world's biggest cryptocurrency, edged up to $17,256 on Thursday after tumbling 8.4% in the previous session, having failed to take out its record high of $19,666. The cryptocurrency showed little reaction to a report in the Financial Times that Facebook will launch its own Libra digital currency in limited format next year. Bitcoin has rallied around 140% this year, fuelled by demand for riskier assets. (Additional reporting by Stanley White in Tokyo; Editing by Jan Harvey) [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] None available.	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 22803.08, 23783.03, 23241.35, 23735.95, 24664.79, 26437.04, 26272.29, 27084.81, 27362.44, 28840.95
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2015-06-29] BTC Price: 257.06, BTC RSI: 68.67 Gold Price: 1178.50, Gold RSI: 46.65 Oil Price: 58.33, Oil RSI: 44.89 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Security Thought Leaders at Cisco, HP, Identiv, Imageware, Nok Nok and Bosch Security Are Featured on SecuritySolutionsWatch.com: NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwired - May 5, 2015) -ImageWare Systems, Inc.(OTCQB:IWSY); Identiv (NASDAQ:INVE) Cisco Mr. Christian Matthews, Director of Product Management for IoT Software,Cisco, told us, "Simply monitoring high-value assets provides a general example. Video surveillance combined with other sensor output such as audio, motion, or building contacts is used to increase protection and monitor assets without constant human supervision. Threats of incidents are detected and the risks mitigated by alerting personnel or automatically initiating preventative actions. When combined with advance video analytics, benefits continue to grow. At theUniversity of San Francisco(USF), IP cameras and the Cisco Video Surveillance Manager deliver facial recognition to detect when unauthorized individuals enter an area and then notify appropriate staff.Dallas Area Rapid Transit(DART) use Cisco's IoT Physical Security solutions to increase effectiveness of the transit police. With better intelligence, first responders and their associated operations teams have increased productivity substantially. They have done this at scale with a centralized command center managing more than 1700 remotely deployed IP cameras. Recently the system has been extended across busses and emergency response vehicles." For the complete interview with Christian Matthews at Cisco,please click here, or here:www.securitysolutionswatch.com/Interviews/in_Boardroom_Cisco_Matthews.html For more information:Connected Safety and Security(http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/physical-security/index.html)Cisco Case Studies(http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/physical-security/customer-case-study.html) *** HP Enterprise Services Mr. Fred Duball, Data Center Practice Principal, Workload and Cloud Solutions, HP Enterprise Services, U.S. Public Sector, told us, "Many of our clients know that HP has a strong legacy of IT infrastructure support; we have more than 80 data centers worldwide supporting more than 1,300 customers. But here's what makes the Mid-Atlantic Data Center (MDC) different -- we have enhanced our security and compliance posture to accommodate and support the critical needs of the U.S. Federal Government, as well as commercial companies requiring stronger measures. The HP Mid-Atlantic Data Center has been designed to provide customers with high levels of security, reliability, compliance and cost effectiveness. In fact, the U.S. government has designated this facility as being a part of our nation's critical infrastructure, guaranteeing priority restoral of services in the event of a natural or manmade disaster." For the complete interview with Fred Duball at HP,please click here, or here:www.securitysolutionswatch.com/Interviews/in_Boardroom_HP_FredDuball.html For more information:Transform to the New Style of IT - HP Solutions for U.S. Public Sector * Identiv Identiv, Inc.(INVE) recently announced that it has entered into an agreement with Cisco Systems Inc. to provide solutions for the Internet of Everything (IoE). The IoE is the intelligent connection of people, processes, data and things to the Internet, bringing unprecedented economic opportunities to both the private and public sectors. Initially, Identiv will deliver a next-generation, networked physical access control system (PACS) solution that interacts with other IoE elements, such as Cisco virtual supervisor module (VSM) cameras and Cisco voice-over-IP (VoIP) telephony products. Identiv will offer a completely network based access control system, including credentials, advanced networked uTrust TS door sensors, Power-over-Ethernet (PoE) door controllers and access control software. Identiv is committed to disrupting the traditional physical access market by offering a fully network-based solution that is easy to buy and use. Customers will gain enhanced value, lower installation costs and less complexity by using standards-based network cabling, leading to reduced total cost of ownership (TCO) and improved return on investment (ROI). "Everything is connecting, and physical access is no different," said Jason Hart, Identiv CEO. "Identiv is allowing customers to view physical access control as another element of the Internet of Everything. Our focus on identity as the new security perimeter allows us to build connected systems linking buildings, mobile devices, cloud services, and information systems that are easy to use, standards based, cost effective, and most importantly, secure." Financial terms of the partnership were not disclosed. For more information please visitwww.identiv.com/ciscopartnership. For our interview with Mr. Jason Hart, President, Identiv,please click hereor here:www.securitysolutionswatch.com/Interviews/in_Boardroom_Identiv_Hart.html And, please also see our interview withMr. Paul Brady, Technology and Solution Evangelist Senior Director atIdentiv,please click hereor here:http://www.securitysolutionswatch.com/Interviews/in_Boardroom_Identiv_Brady.html For more informationwww.Identiv.com * ImageWare Systems, Inc. ImageWare Systems, Inc. (OTCQB:IWSY) (ImageWare) a leader in mobile and cloud-based, multi-modal biometric identity management solutions, recently announced: Extenua and ImageWare Deliver Revolutionary Enterprise Secure Cloud Storage(www.iwsinc.com/extenua-and-imageware-deliver-revolutionary-enterprise-secure-cloud-storage/) Agility and ImageWare Partner to Bring Biometric Solutions to New Markets(www.iwsinc.com/agility-and-imageware-partner-to-bring-biometric-solutions-to-new-markets/) ImageWare Systems Joins as an Advanced Partner in the CA Technologies Tech Partner Program(www.iwsinc.com/iws-joins-as-an-advanced-partner-in-the-ca-technologies-tech-partner-program/) ImageWare To Combine Technologies with TransUnion(www.wsinc.com/imageware-to-combine-technologies-with-transunion/) For our complete interview with Jim Miller, ImageWare Systems, Chairman and CEO, please click hereor here:www.securitystockwatch.com/Interviews/in_Boardroom_ImageWare.htmlFor more information:www.iwsinc.com * Bosch Security Systems Mr. Daniel Murray,Director Key Accounts, Systems Integration,Bosch Security Systems, told us, "Cyber security is a major area of concern for integrators, and future success is tied to the integrators' ability to meet their own cyber security needs and those of the customers they support. One of the most startling facts is that the vast majority of cyber vulnerabilities can be mitigated by appropriate password implementation and process management. This is common practice in the IT world and an area for improvement in the arena of physical network security. Many of the thousands of cameras installed globally are done so with default, insufficient and missing passwords. This is an easy 'first step' in securing the physical security network which is missed by many dealers. At the PSA Cybersecurity Congress, discussion focused on multiple factors of network integrity that will change the face of our industry in the next 3-5 years." For the complete interview with Mr. Daniel Murray atBosch Security Systems,please click hereor here:http://www.securitysolutionswatch.com/Interviews/in_Boardroom_Bosch_Murray.html * Nok Nok Labs Nok Nok Labs, an innovator in modern authentication and a founding member of the FIDO Alliance, and DDS, Inc., a leading Japanese biometric company, announced a strategic partnership to jointly drive adoption of Nok Nok Labs' products in the Japanese market, meeting the need for a more secure online environment. The two companies are working together to support Device Manufacturers, Mobile Network Operators and Online Service Providers and to drive the adoption of the FIDO Ready™ NNL™ S3 Authentication Suite with the goal of making online and mobile transactions more secure. "The need for a more secure, easy to use, scalable online authentication ecosystem is a global concern," said Phil Dunkelberger, President & CEO of Nok Nok Labs. "Joining forces with DDS provides us with a strong partner in the Japanese market to meet the needs of the region and to drive the growth in the market for FIDO-based authentication." DDS joined the FIDO Alliance in April 2014 becoming the first Japanese member. DDS has driven various activities to increase FIDO awareness in Japan such as the FIDO TOKYO Seminar and FIDO 1.0 PR event. "Nok Nok Labs and the FIDO Alliance have done a great job in promoting the FIDO movement in the U.S. and other global markets," says Kenji Miyoshino, CEO of DDS. "Partnering with Nok Nok Labs will help drive significant business opportunities in the Japanese market, helping to create a more secure online environment on a global level." For more information, please clickhereor here:https://www.noknok.com/what-they-say/press-releases/nok-nok-labs-and-dds-inc-form-strategic-partnership-drive-adoption-fido. WATCH THE VIDEO, please click here, or here:https://www.youtube.com/embed/gHDM4Yv3u18?rel=0&wmode=transparent&autoplay=1&width=1280&height=720&iframe=true Mr. Ramesh Kesanupalli, Founder of Nok Nok Labs, Founding Member, FIDO Alliance, told us, "Prevailing password authentication has proven to be insecure and risky amidst a world of escalating security threats, cyber crime and targeted attacks, not to mention increasing vulnerability associated with so many more vectors of attack coming through the Internet of Things (IoT). Right now, we are moving from informational access to a major life style change where we can access everything digitally. We're at the threshold of using authentication to pay at retail stores with our phones, to open and start our cars, to manage home networks, appliances, and security systems all through connected devices. Authentication is the FIRST step we must perform to begin to effectively use IoT." For the complete interview with Ramesh Kesanupalli please clickhere, or here:www.securitysolutionswatch.com/Interviews/in_Boardroom_NokNok_Ramesh.html * TRADE SHOWS CARTES SECURE CONNEXIONS AMERICA 2015May 5-7, 2015Washington, DCwww.cartes-america.com -- The fourth edition of CARTES SECURE CONNEXIONS AMERICA will take place May 5 - 7, 2015 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC. The event will feature 70 sessions, 5 keynotes, 125 exhibitors and 2,000 attendees. Hot topics such as EMV Integration, Mobile Payment Technologies and The Future of Digital Currencies will be the center of discussion at the upcoming 2015 CARTES SECURE CONNEXIONS AMERICA in Washington, DC. Each day of the event is kicked off with keynote presentations. Tuesday Keynotes:Patrick Murck, Executive Director,Bitcoin FoundationDavid Keenan, Senior Vice President Network Solutions, Fiserv Wednesday Keynote Panel:Carolyn Balfany, Senior Vice President of Product Delivery - EMV, MasterCardwill moderate and lead a panel of experts from all over the industry -- issuers, retailers and manufacturers -- with first-hand knowledge of chip adoption that will address EMV questions. Thursday Keynotes:Scott Hagstrom, Senior Director, Financial Cards & EMV Strategy, ABnoteKaren Czack, Vice President of Global Chip Products, American Express * Cyber Security Summit The Cyber Security Summit is an exclusive "By Invitation Only" Summit series connecting C-Level & Senior Executives responsible for protecting their companies' critical infrastructures with cutting-edge technology providers and renowned information security experts. The one day event, being held on June 3rd in the DC Metro Area, September 18th in New York City & October 9th in Boston will focus on educating attendees on how to best protect their highly vulnerable business applications, intellectual property and discover the latest products and services for enterprise Cyber Defense.www.CyberSummitUSA.com * The World of Cloud Computing All in One Place!Cloud Computing - Big Data - Internet of Things - DevOps - WebRTCJoin Us at Cloud Expo New York June 9-11http://www.cloudcomputingexpo.com/ Cloud computing is now being embraced by a majority of enterprises of all sizes. Yesterday's debate about public vs. private has transformed into the reality of hybrid cloud: a recent survey shows that 74% of enterprises have a hybrid cloud strategy. Meanwhile, 94% of enterprises are using some form of XaaS--software, platform, and infrastructure as a service. Cloud Expo is the single show where delegates and technology vendors can meet to experience and discuss the entire world of the cloud. * The 14th Annual Smart Card Alliance Government ConferenceSmart Strategies for Secure IdentityJune 9-10, 2015Walter E. Washington Convention CenterWashington, DC The Smart Card Alliance Government Conference was established over a decade ago, following the landmark government-wide security directive signed in August, 2004. HSPD-12 established standards for verifying an individual's identity and issuing a tamper-proof credential that could be rapidly authenticated electronically. The conference has become the annual gathering place for the original leaders of this initiative as well as the current heads of federal agencies and industry leaders who continue to set the standards for identity credentialing and access security. This year's conference will look forward to future developments in policy and evolving standards for government-issued credentials and their use by relying parties in physical and logical access systems, including use with mobile devices. * Money20/20October 25-28, 2015, The Venetian, Las Vegas, NV, United Stateshttp://money2020.com/register,http://money2020.com/,[email protected], Organizer Email:[email protected] Money20/20 is the largest global event enabling payments and financial services innovation for connected commerce at the intersection of mobile, retail, marketing services, data and technology. With 10,000+ attendees, including more than 1,000 CEOs, from over 3,000 companies and 75 countries, expected at its 2015 U.S. event, Money20/20 is critical to realizing the vision of disruptive ways in which consumers and businesses manage, spend and borrow money. The next Money20/20 will be held in Las Vegas, October 25-28, 2015, followed by Money20/20 Europe in Spring 2016. * TEC 2015\| Westminster, CO \| May 4-8, 2015 \|www.psatec.com TEC 2015, presented by PSA Security Network, is the premier education and networking event that is open to all professionals in the physical security industry. TEC features an entire week of education, networking, dedicated exhibit hours that do not conflict with education sessions, and custom learning paths designed to benefit a company's entire team from the business owner to sales, marketing, operations and technical professionals. In addition to all new sessions, TEC 2015 will feature a NEW cybersecurity track designed to provide practical solutions and applications that build on the education program provided at the PSA Cybersecurity Congress held in January 2015. TEC also boasts a comprehensive registration package that includes access to the keynote address, all networking events, meals, and all non-certification courses at no additional cost, ensuring attendees get access to all that TEC has to offer. Registration opens February 23 atwww.psatec.com. * SDW 2015 - The Global Hub For Next Generation Citizen & Government ID SolutionsQEII Conference Centre, Westminster, London, UKConference: 9-11 June 2015 - Exhibition 10-11 June 2015 SDW 2015(Security Document World) -- the world's leading document security show -- focuses on ePassports, visas, driving licenses, national IDs, worker credentials, advanced border control, anti-counterfeiting, fraud detection, and much more. The event will provide a global showcase for next-generation human identity solutions, focusing on intrinsic document security and on the new cutting-edge secure infrastructure now required to produce and use these advanced documents in live situations. Plus, a special focus on Biometrics, Document Fraud Detection and Intelligent Border Control. Contact: Janine Bill, Exhibition Sales & Sponsorship Manager at Tel No: +44 (0) 1189 843209 or by email at:[email protected] * THIS PRESS RELEASE, AND ALL MATERIAL PERTAINING TO SECURITYSOLUTIONSWATCH.COM AND SECURITYSTOCKWATCH.COM, ONLINE OR IN PRINT, IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS OF USE, CONDITIONS, AND DISCLAIMER HERE:http://securitysolutionswatch.com/Main/Terms_of_Use.html \|\| Bitcoin May Not Go Mainstream, But Blockchain Will: The challenges associated with using a cryptocurrency have kept much of the public from rushing to adopt bitcoin. Issues related to trust and security have plagued the digital currency after several widely publicized scams painted bitcoin as a tool for criminal activity. However, while the general population has been slow to adopt digital currencies themselves, blockchain, the system bitcoin runs on, could have a place in everyday life. Blockchain In Banks Banks have been receptive to the possibility that blockchain could vastly improve their outdated systems. UBS (OTC: OUBSF) has already jumped on board the concept by setting up a research lab in London that focuses on how blockchain can be used in banking. Related Link: "Dope" Becomes The First Movie To Allow Bitcoin Ticket Sales Now, Banco Santander, S.A. (ADR) (NYSE: SAN ) is similarly exploring how blockchain could revamp its business with a research team called Crypto 2.0. The Spanish bank believes there is potential for using blockchain to do things like facilitate international payments and develop smart contracts. Regulation Will Weigh Down Progress Head of Santander's fintech investment fund InnoVentures, Mariano Belinky told Business Insider that the bank could develop a working prototype system that would facilitate real-time international payments in a matter of months, but that it would likely take much longer to pass such a system through the financial sector's strict regulations. The bank says it would also need to partner with a few like-minded banks across the globe in order to make the new system viable, but has already been in talks with several other institutions about the possibility. See more from Benzinga Insurers Caught In 5-Way Courtship Competition The Video Streaming Space Is Getting Crowded Marijuana's Pesticide Problem © 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| Security Thought Leaders at Cisco, HP, Identiv, Imageware, Nok Nok and Bosch Security Are Featured on SecuritySolutionsWatch.com: NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwired - May 5, 2015) - ImageWare Systems, Inc. ( OTCQB : IWSY ); Identiv ( NASDAQ : INVE ) Cisco Mr. Christian Matthews, Director of Product Management for IoT Software, Cisco , told us, "Simply monitoring high-value assets provides a general example. Video surveillance combined with other sensor output such as audio, motion, or building contacts is used to increase protection and monitor assets without constant human supervision. Threats of incidents are detected and the risks mitigated by alerting personnel or automatically initiating preventative actions. When combined with advance video analytics, benefits continue to grow. At the University of San Francisco (USF), IP cameras and the Cisco Video Surveillance Manager deliver facial recognition to detect when unauthorized individuals enter an area and then notify appropriate staff. Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) use Cisco's IoT Physical Security solutions to increase effectiveness of the transit police. With better intelligence, first responders and their associated operations teams have increased productivity substantially. They have done this at scale with a centralized command center managing more than 1700 remotely deployed IP cameras. Recently the system has been extended across busses and emergency response vehicles." For the complete interview with Christian Matthews at Cisco, please click here , or here: www.securitysolutionswatch.com/Interviews/in_Boardroom_Cisco_Matthews.html For more information: Connected Safety and Security ( http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/physical-security/index.html ) Cisco Case Studies ( http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/physical-security/customer-case-study.html ) * HP Enterprise Services Mr. Fred Duball, Data Center Practice Principal, Workload and Cloud Solutions, HP Enterprise Services, U.S. Public Sector, told us, "Many of our clients know that HP has a strong legacy of IT infrastructure support; we have more than 80 data centers worldwide supporting more than 1,300 customers. But here's what makes the Mid-Atlantic Data Center (MDC) different -- we have enhanced our security and compliance posture to accommodate and support the critical needs of the U.S. Federal Government, as well as commercial companies requiring stronger measures. The HP Mid-Atlantic Data Center has been designed to provide customers with high levels of security, reliability, compliance and cost effectiveness. In fact, the U.S. government has designated this facility as being a part of our nation's critical infrastructure, guaranteeing priority restoral of services in the event of a natural or manmade disaster." Story continues For the complete interview with Fred Duball at HP, please click here , or here: www.securitysolutionswatch.com/Interviews/in_Boardroom_HP_FredDuball.html For more information: Transform to the New Style of IT - HP Solutions for U.S. Public Sector * Identiv Identiv, Inc. ( INVE ) recently announced that it has entered into an agreement with Cisco Systems Inc. to provide solutions for the Internet of Everything (IoE). The IoE is the intelligent connection of people, processes, data and things to the Internet, bringing unprecedented economic opportunities to both the private and public sectors. Initially, Identiv will deliver a next-generation, networked physical access control system (PACS) solution that interacts with other IoE elements, such as Cisco virtual supervisor module (VSM) cameras and Cisco voice-over-IP (VoIP) telephony products. Identiv will offer a completely network based access control system, including credentials, advanced networked uTrust TS door sensors, Power-over-Ethernet (PoE) door controllers and access control software. Identiv is committed to disrupting the traditional physical access market by offering a fully network-based solution that is easy to buy and use. Customers will gain enhanced value, lower installation costs and less complexity by using standards-based network cabling, leading to reduced total cost of ownership (TCO) and improved return on investment (ROI). "Everything is connecting, and physical access is no different," said Jason Hart, Identiv CEO. "Identiv is allowing customers to view physical access control as another element of the Internet of Everything. Our focus on identity as the new security perimeter allows us to build connected systems linking buildings, mobile devices, cloud services, and information systems that are easy to use, standards based, cost effective, and most importantly, secure." Financial terms of the partnership were not disclosed. For more information please visit www.identiv.com/ciscopartnership . For our interview with Mr. Jason Hart, President, Identiv, please click here or here: www.securitysolutionswatch.com/Interviews/in_Boardroom_Identiv_Hart.html And, please also see our interview with Mr. Paul Brady , Technology and Solution Evangelist Senior Director at Identiv , please click here or here: http://www.securitysolutionswatch.com/Interviews/in_Boardroom_Identiv_Brady.html For more information www.Identiv.com * ImageWare Systems, Inc. ImageWare Systems, Inc. (OTCQB: IWSY ) (ImageWare) a leader in mobile and cloud-based, multi-modal biometric identity management solutions, recently announced: Extenua and ImageWare Deliver Revolutionary Enterprise Secure Cloud Storage ( www.iwsinc.com/extenua-and-imageware-deliver-revolutionary-enterprise-secure-cloud-storage/ ) Agility and ImageWare Partner to Bring Biometric Solutions to New Markets ( www.iwsinc.com/agility-and-imageware-partner-to-bring-biometric-solutions-to-new-markets/ ) ImageWare Systems Joins as an Advanced Partner in the CA Technologies Tech Partner Program ( www.iwsinc.com/iws-joins-as-an-advanced-partner-in-the-ca-technologies-tech-partner-program/ ) ImageWare To Combine Technologies with TransUnion ( www.wsinc.com/imageware-to-combine-technologies-with-transunion/ ) For our complete interview with Jim Miller, ImageWare Systems, Chairman and CEO, please click here or here: www.securitystockwatch.com/Interviews/in_Boardroom_ImageWare.html For more information: www.iwsinc.com * Bosch Security Systems Mr. Daniel Murray , Director Key Accounts, Systems Integration, Bosch Security Systems , told us, "Cyber security is a major area of concern for integrators, and future success is tied to the integrators' ability to meet their own cyber security needs and those of the customers they support. One of the most startling facts is that the vast majority of cyber vulnerabilities can be mitigated by appropriate password implementation and process management. This is common practice in the IT world and an area for improvement in the arena of physical network security. Many of the thousands of cameras installed globally are done so with default, insufficient and missing passwords. This is an easy 'first step' in securing the physical security network which is missed by many dealers. At the PSA Cybersecurity Congress, discussion focused on multiple factors of network integrity that will change the face of our industry in the next 3-5 years." For the complete interview with Mr. Daniel Murray at Bosch Security Systems , please click here or here: http://www.securitysolutionswatch.com/Interviews/in_Boardroom_Bosch_Murray.html * Nok Nok Labs Nok Nok Labs, an innovator in modern authentication and a founding member of the FIDO Alliance, and DDS, Inc., a leading Japanese biometric company, announced a strategic partnership to jointly drive adoption of Nok Nok Labs' products in the Japanese market, meeting the need for a more secure online environment. The two companies are working together to support Device Manufacturers, Mobile Network Operators and Online Service Providers and to drive the adoption of the FIDO Ready™ NNL™ S3 Authentication Suite with the goal of making online and mobile transactions more secure. "The need for a more secure, easy to use, scalable online authentication ecosystem is a global concern," said Phil Dunkelberger, President & CEO of Nok Nok Labs. "Joining forces with DDS provides us with a strong partner in the Japanese market to meet the needs of the region and to drive the growth in the market for FIDO-based authentication." DDS joined the FIDO Alliance in April 2014 becoming the first Japanese member. DDS has driven various activities to increase FIDO awareness in Japan such as the FIDO TOKYO Seminar and FIDO 1.0 PR event. "Nok Nok Labs and the FIDO Alliance have done a great job in promoting the FIDO movement in the U.S. and other global markets," says Kenji Miyoshino, CEO of DDS. "Partnering with Nok Nok Labs will help drive significant business opportunities in the Japanese market, helping to create a more secure online environment on a global level." For more information, please click here or here: https://www.noknok.com/what-they-say/press-releases/nok-nok-labs-and-dds-inc-form-strategic-partnership-drive-adoption-fido . WATCH THE VIDEO, please click here , or here: https://www.youtube.com/embed/gHDM4Yv3u18?rel=0&wmode=transparent&autoplay=1&width=1280&height=720&iframe=true Mr. Ramesh Kesanupalli, Founder of Nok Nok Labs, Founding Member, FIDO Alliance, told us, "Prevailing password authentication has proven to be insecure and risky amidst a world of escalating security threats, cyber crime and targeted attacks, not to mention increasing vulnerability associated with so many more vectors of attack coming through the Internet of Things (IoT). Right now, we are moving from informational access to a major life style change where we can access everything digitally. We're at the threshold of using authentication to pay at retail stores with our phones, to open and start our cars, to manage home networks, appliances, and security systems all through connected devices. Authentication is the FIRST step we must perform to begin to effectively use IoT." For the complete interview with Ramesh Kesanupalli please click here , or here: www.securitysolutionswatch.com/Interviews/in_Boardroom_NokNok_Ramesh.html * TRADE SHOWS CARTES SECURE CONNEXIONS AMERICA 2015 May 5-7, 2015 Washington, DC www.cartes-america.com -- The fourth edition of CARTES SECURE CONNEXIONS AMERICA will take place May 5 - 7, 2015 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC. The event will feature 70 sessions, 5 keynotes, 125 exhibitors and 2,000 attendees. Hot topics such as EMV Integration, Mobile Payment Technologies and The Future of Digital Currencies will be the center of discussion at the upcoming 2015 CARTES SECURE CONNEXIONS AMERICA in Washington, DC. Each day of the event is kicked off with keynote presentations. Tuesday Keynotes: Patrick Murck, Executive Director , Bitcoin Foundation David Keenan, Senior Vice President Network Solutions, Fiserv Wednesday Keynote Panel: Carolyn Balfany, Senior Vice President of Product Delivery - EMV, MasterCard will moderate and lead a panel of experts from all over the industry -- issuers, retailers and manufacturers -- with first-hand knowledge of chip adoption that will address EMV questions. Thursday Keynotes: Scott Hagstrom, Senior Director, Financial Cards & EMV Strategy, ABnote Karen Czack, Vice President of Global Chip Products, American Express * Cyber Security Summit The Cyber Security Summit is an exclusive "By Invitation Only" Summit series connecting C-Level & Senior Executives responsible for protecting their companies' critical infrastructures with cutting-edge technology providers and renowned information security experts. The one day event, being held on June 3rd in the DC Metro Area, September 18th in New York City & October 9th in Boston will focus on educating attendees on how to best protect their highly vulnerable business applications, intellectual property and discover the latest products and services for enterprise Cyber Defense. www.CyberSummitUSA.com * The World of Cloud Computing All in One Place! Cloud Computing - Big Data - Internet of Things - DevOps - WebRTC Join Us at Cloud Expo New York June 9-11 http://www.cloudcomputingexpo.com/ Cloud computing is now being embraced by a majority of enterprises of all sizes. Yesterday's debate about public vs. private has transformed into the reality of hybrid cloud: a recent survey shows that 74% of enterprises have a hybrid cloud strategy. Meanwhile, 94% of enterprises are using some form of XaaS--software, platform, and infrastructure as a service. Cloud Expo is the single show where delegates and technology vendors can meet to experience and discuss the entire world of the cloud. * The 14th Annual Smart Card Alliance Government Conference Smart Strategies for Secure Identity June 9-10, 2015 Walter E. Washington Convention Center Washington, DC The Smart Card Alliance Government Conference was established over a decade ago, following the landmark government-wide security directive signed in August, 2004. HSPD-12 established standards for verifying an individual's identity and issuing a tamper-proof credential that could be rapidly authenticated electronically. The conference has become the annual gathering place for the original leaders of this initiative as well as the current heads of federal agencies and industry leaders who continue to set the standards for identity credentialing and access security. This year's conference will look forward to future developments in policy and evolving standards for government-issued credentials and their use by relying parties in physical and logical access systems, including use with mobile devices. * Money20/20 October 25-28, 2015, The Venetian, Las Vegas, NV, United States http://money2020.com/register , http://money2020.com/ , [email protected] , Organizer Email: [email protected] Money20/20 is the largest global event enabling payments and financial services innovation for connected commerce at the intersection of mobile, retail, marketing services, data and technology. With 10,000+ attendees, including more than 1,000 CEOs, from over 3,000 companies and 75 countries, expected at its 2015 U.S. event, Money20/20 is critical to realizing the vision of disruptive ways in which consumers and businesses manage, spend and borrow money. The next Money20/20 will be held in Las Vegas, October 25-28, 2015, followed by Money20/20 Europe in Spring 2016. * TEC 2015 \| Westminster, CO \| May 4-8, 2015 \| www.psatec.com TEC 2015, presented by PSA Security Network, is the premier education and networking event that is open to all professionals in the physical security industry. TEC features an entire week of education, networking, dedicated exhibit hours that do not conflict with education sessions, and custom learning paths designed to benefit a company's entire team from the business owner to sales, marketing, operations and technical professionals. In addition to all new sessions, TEC 2015 will feature a NEW cybersecurity track designed to provide practical solutions and applications that build on the education program provided at the PSA Cybersecurity Congress held in January 2015. TEC also boasts a comprehensive registration package that includes access to the keynote address, all networking events, meals, and all non-certification courses at no additional cost, ensuring attendees get access to all that TEC has to offer. Registration opens February 23 at www.psatec.com . * SDW 2015 - The Global Hub For Next Generation Citizen & Government ID Solutions QEII Conference Centre, Westminster, London, UK Conference: 9-11 June 2015 - Exhibition 10-11 June 2015 SDW 2015 (Security Document World) -- the world's leading document security show -- focuses on ePassports, visas, driving licenses, national IDs, worker credentials, advanced border control, anti-counterfeiting, fraud detection, and much more. The event will provide a global showcase for next-generation human identity solutions, focusing on intrinsic document security and on the new cutting-edge secure infrastructure now required to produce and use these advanced documents in live situations. Plus, a special focus on Biometrics, Document Fraud Detection and Intelligent Border Control. Contact: Janine Bill, Exhibition Sales & Sponsorship Manager at Tel No: +44 (0) 1189 843209 or by email at: [email protected] www.sdw2015.com *** THIS PRESS RELEASE, AND ALL MATERIAL PERTAINING TO SECURITYSOLUTIONSWATCH.COM AND SECURITYSTOCKWATCH.COM, ONLINE OR IN PRINT, IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS OF USE, CONDITIONS, AND DISCLAIMER HERE: http://securitysolutionswatch.com/Main/Terms_of_Use.html \|\| Chrysler joins Starbucks in 'schooling' American workers: The hot new corporate perk is: education. Fiat Chrysler ( FCAU ) is now offering free college tuition to its 188,000 dealership employees. The program provides a no-cost online bachelors degree through the for-profit Strayer University ( STRA ), and is similar to a plan announced earlier this year between Starbucks ( SBUX ) and Arizona State University. Yahoo Finance Editor in Chief Andy Serwer points out that in the current work environment, firms need to both build a smarter workforceand give smart people a reason to join their operations. Increasingly, companies are frustrated about getting educated workers and theyre looking to differentiate and attract workers, he says. I think youre going to see more and of this, particularly as wages rise and the competition-- the supply/demand balance-- shifts to making it difficult to find good workers. Fiat Chrysler executive Al Gardner makes that point in explaining why the carmaker is launching this program. Many of our dealers have expressed concern over the availability of talent to fill open positions due to business growth and turnover in their stores, especially in metro markets. That doesnt surprise Yahoo Finances Jen Rogers. Once you find them you want to keep them, she says. And the turnover is a real issue in dealerships--between 45% and 60%. Get the Latest Market Data and News with the Yahoo Finance App Yahoo Finance Senior Columnist Michael Santoli adds many businesses are responding like Fiat Chrysler to what they recognize as a real need. Corporate America is stepping in where they see gaps in educating workers, retaining them and essentially having people get what they feel like they ought to get out of a career, he explains. Serwer sees that as well. Theres a story in the New York Times today about income mobility and how, in certain parts of the country, there is none anymore, he points out. So companies are going to step into the breach here. I think theyre going to have to add on all kinds of perks. Story continues And Serwer believes offering free college tuition is a really important perk considering the divide between peoples skills and whats needed in the 21st century workplace. God knows theres a gap, he says. We need to educate people in this country. Also from Yahoo Finance Bitcoin goes mainstream with Goldman Sachs' backing McDonald's comeback plan: Is it enough? \|\| Circle Attracts Goldman Sachs To The Bitcoin Space: Circle Internet Financial, a bitcoin-based startup, confirmed rumors that it was in the midst of a large fundraising effort this week after theNew York Timesreported that the company received a generous sum from financial giantGoldman Sachs(NYSE:GS). The news brought a great deal of attention to the cryptocurrency and gave investors a reason to take a second look at Circle now that it had the backing of a major player in the finance space. Goldman Sachs Takes An Interest Goldman Sachs announced on Wednesday that it had partnered with China's IDG Capital Partners to lead a $50 million investment into Circle. The funds are expected to be used by Circle executives to further the company's mission— to improve the bitcoin payments system. Circle plans to make peer to peer exchanges faster, easier and more cost effective using bitcoin. Related Link:Bitcoin Security Conference Planned For May 2015 Bitcoin Businesses Present New Opportunities Goldman Sachs' investment marks a growing interest in the technology that powers bitcoin. While investors have been wary of the cryptocurrency itself due to its erratic swings in value, more and more firms have taken an interest in smaller companies that are creating platforms with which to use bitcoin. The idea of sending money across boarders instantly and with a minimal cost has proven to be a unique opportunity for finance firms, who may soon need to compete with small startups like Circle as they gain popularity. See more from Benzinga • Is The Euro Moving Higher Or Lower? And What Should You Do About It? • Meet The 3 Companies Goldman Sachs Says Are Leading The Bitcoin Revolution © 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| Circle Attracts Goldman Sachs To The Bitcoin Space: Circle Internet Financial, a bitcoin-based startup, confirmed rumors that it was in the midst of a large fundraising effort this week after the New York Times reported that the company received a generous sum from financial giant Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS ). The news brought a great deal of attention to the cryptocurrency and gave investors a reason to take a second look at Circle now that it had the backing of a major player in the finance space. Goldman Sachs Takes An Interest Goldman Sachs announced on Wednesday that it had partnered with China's IDG Capital Partners to lead a $50 million investment into Circle. The funds are expected to be used by Circle executives to further the company's mission to improve the bitcoin payments system. Circle plans to make peer to peer exchanges faster, easier and more cost effective using bitcoin. Related Link: Bitcoin Security Conference Planned For May 2015 Bitcoin Businesses Present New Opportunities Goldman Sachs' investment marks a growing interest in the technology that powers bitcoin. While investors have been wary of the cryptocurrency itself due to its erratic swings in value, more and more firms have taken an interest in smaller companies that are creating platforms with which to use bitcoin. The idea of sending money across boarders instantly and with a minimal cost has proven to be a unique opportunity for finance firms, who may soon need to compete with small startups like Circle as they gain popularity. See more from Benzinga Is The Euro Moving Higher Or Lower? And What Should You Do About It? Meet The 3 Companies Goldman Sachs Says Are Leading The Bitcoin Revolution © 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| 21 Inc. Finally Reveals Its Secretive Product: A Bitcoin Mining Chip: Back in March,bitcoinenthusiasts were abuzz with speculation about what21 Inc.might be working on. The cryptocurrency startup was able to secure upwards of $110 million in fundraising from a spate of big name investors likeQUALCOMM, Inc.(NASDAQ:QCOM) and PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel. However, the company has been secretive about what it had been working on – until now. A New Kind Of Chip On Monday, the companyrevealedthat it will roll out an embeddable chip that allows users to mine bitcoins from their wireless devices. The chip is designed to verify transactions while running as a background process, thus providing the user with a "continuous stream of digital currency." Related Link: Solving Bitcoins Scalability Problem Integrating Bitcoin Into The IoT 21 Inc. says its chip wasn't designed as a way to make people rich, but instead the company says it's more focused on integrating the cryptocurrency into the Internet of Things (IoT) and creating a micropayment scheme. Micropayment Device The chip, called BitShare, can consolidate, what 21 Inc. expects to be, a large number of micropayments, as the Internet of Things gains traction. Instead of customers paying for each individual service, they can install a BitShare chip and pay for the fees associated with things like connected lightbulbs or automated fire alarms using their mined bitcoin. The company says it eventually hopes to use the technology to make having a smartphone more attainable in developing countries by subsidizing some of the costs through bitcoin mining. Related Link: Bitcoin: Making Progress In Europe Is The Chip Worth It? The chip marks a big development for the bitcoin community, but it isn't without criticism. Many worry about the feasibility of such a product, as it is likely to use a great deal of data and could significantly reduce the battery life of a smartphone. Some say consumers will be unwilling to sacrifice those things for the comparatively small reward, which may be just a few cents worth of bitcoin. Image Credit: Public Domain See more from Benzinga • What A Difference A Second Makes: Are Markets Prepared For Leap Second? • Delivery Services Deal With Growing Volume • Here's Why U.S. Automakers Fear The Pacific Trade Pact © 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| Bitcoin May Not Go Mainstream, But Blockchain Will: The challenges associated with using a cryptocurrency have kept much of the public from rushing to adopt bitcoin. Issues related to trust and security have plagued the digital currency after several widely publicized scams painted bitcoin as a tool for criminal activity. However, while the general population has been slow to adopt digital currencies themselves, blockchain, the system bitcoin runs on, could have a place in everyday life. Blockchain In Banks Banks have been receptive to the possibility that blockchain could vastly improve their outdated systems.UBS(OTC: OUBSF) has already jumped on board the concept by setting up a research lab in London that focuses on how blockchain can be used in banking. Related Link:"Dope" Becomes The First Movie To Allow Bitcoin Ticket Sales Now,Banco Santander, S.A. (ADR)(NYSE:SAN) is similarly exploring how blockchain could revamp its business with a research team called Crypto 2.0. The Spanish bank believes there is potential for using blockchain to do things like facilitate international payments and develop smart contracts. Regulation Will Weigh Down Progress Head of Santander's fintech investment fund InnoVentures, Mariano Belinky toldBusiness Insiderthat the bank could develop a working prototype system that would facilitate real-time international payments in a matter of months, but that it would likely take much longer to pass such a system through the financial sector's strict regulations. The bank says it would also need to partner with a few like-minded banks across the globe in order to make the new system viable, but has already been in talks with several other institutions about the possibility. See more from Benzinga • Insurers Caught In 5-Way Courtship Competition • The Video Streaming Space Is Getting Crowded • Marijuana's Pesticide Problem © 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| Bitcoin surges as Grexit worries mount, posts best run in 18 months: By Jemima Kelly LONDON (Reuters) - Bitcoin surged by as much as 7 percent on Tuesday and was on track for its longest winning streak in 18 months, as concerns that Greece could tumble out of the euro drove speculators and Greek depositors into the decentralized digital currency. Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras lashed out at Greece's creditors on Tuesday as he defied a string of warnings that Europe is preparing for a "Grexit". The debt-stricken country faces 1.6 billion euros ($1.8 billion) in repayments to the International Monetary Fund by the end of June. Bitcoin, a web-based "cryptocurrency" invented six years ago, is not backed by or controlled by any government or central bank and floats freely, fluctuating according to user demand. Though bitcoin's value has previously been highly volatile, it has stabilized over the past six months and is increasingly treated as a legitimate and potentially valuable asset by major financial institutions, and even by governments such as Britain's. Joshua Scigala, co-founder of Vaultoro.com, a firm that holds bitcoin for its customers and allows them to exchange it for gold and vice versa, said that Greeks were buying the currency as their trust in the authorities waned. It is also unclear what currency would be used if a Grexit does occur -- another potential factor driving Greek demand for bitcoin. "Some people aren't waiting for the government to figure out an exit plan and are doing it for themselves," said Scigala. "You have people worrying about their families' wealth or their life savings, and worrying that their money might be locked up in banks ... They'd rather hold money in a private asset like gold or bitcoin." Scigala said over the past two months, with Greece locked in talks with its creditors, the company had seen a 124 percent pick-up in inflows from Greek IP addresses - numerical labels that identify computers and other internet-enabled devices. Bitcoin traded as high as $252.05 on the Bitstamp exchange on Tuesday, its strongest in over two months, before easing a little to $245.21, still up around 4 percent on the day. That marked its sixth straight session of gains -- its best run since January 2014. In March-April 2013 bitcoin's value shot up by almost 700 percent in just over a month, as Cyprus clamped down on withdrawals and seized deposits, rattling faith in fiat currencies. Paul Gordon, founder of bitcoin firm Quantave and a board member of the UK Digital Currency Association, said that although he did not share the view that worries about Cyprus had driven that rally, Grexit fears could be driving the current one, with more people now aware of bitcoin. "This time round, the worries about Greece could be filtering through. (Bitcoin) could provide an alternative outlet for some people who are concerned about capital controls, along with more traditional methods." Some have suggested that a bitcoin-like digital currency, backed either by Greece's assets or future tax revenues, could be introduced as an parallel currency to the euro in Greece in order to avert an exit from Europe.($1 = 0.8881 Euros) (Reporting By Jemima Kelly; editing by Ralph Boulton) \|\| Your first trade for Monday, May 11: The "Fast Money" traders gave their final trades of the day. Tim Seymour was a buyer of P(NYSE: P). David Seaburg was a buyer of LB(NYSE: LB). Brian Kelly was a buyer of the XLF(NYSE Arca: XLF). Guy Adami was a buyer of JUNO(NASDAQ: JUNO). Trader disclosure: On May 8, 2015, the following stocks and commodities mentioned or intended to be mentioned on CNBC's "Fast Money" were owned by the "Fast Money" traders:Tim Seymour is long T, BAC, C, DIS, EWP, F, GE, GM, GOOGL, INTC, JCP, SUNE, TBT, Tim's firm is long BABA, BIDU, MCD, NKE, NOK, SBUX, YHOO. Brian Kelly is long BTC=, BBRY, SPY puts, U.S. Dollar, he is short Australian Dollar, he is short Yen, he is short Yuan.Guy Adami is long CELG, EXAS, INTC, Guy Adami's wife, Linda Snow, works at Merck. More From CNBC • Top News and Analysis • Latest News Video • Personal Finance [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] Current price: 214.22€ $BTCEUR $btc #bitcoin 2015-05-30 09:00:03 CEST \|\| buysellbitco.in #bitcoin price in INR, Buy : 15604.00 INR Sell : 15096.00 INR. Buy and sell bitcoin in #India using #buysellbitcoin \|\| 1 #Bitcoin is now 932.00 #PLN / 250.00 #EUR / 248.17 #USD #btc at http://bitbay.net \|\| LIVE: Profit = $816.72 (32.69 %). BUY B10.08 @ $246.75 (#BitStamp). SELL @ $270.00 (#VirCurex) #bitcoin #btc - http://www.projectcoin.org \|\| LIVE: Profit = $781.34 (1.35 %). BUY B233.94 @ $246.70 (#BTCe). SELL @ $249.00 (#HitBTC) #bitcoin #btc - http://www.projectcoin.org \|\| In the last 10 mins, there were arb opps spanning 18 exchange pair(s), yielding profits ranging between $0.00 and $812.71 #bitcoin #btc \|\| In the last 10 mins, there were arb opps spanning 14 exchange pair(s), yielding profits ranging between $0.00 and $1,953.05 #bitcoin #btc \|\| LIVE: Profit = $889.53 (24.57 %). BUY B15.37 @ $235.20 (#Bitfinex). SELL @ $246.00 (#VirCurex) #bitcoin #btc - http://www.projectcoin.org \|\| In the last 10 mins, there were arb opps spanning 20 exchange pair(s), yielding profits ranging between $0.00 and $1,086.41 #bitcoin #btc \|\| In the last 10 mins, there were arb opps spanning 20 exchange pair(s), yielding profits ranging between $0.00 and $836.72 #bitcoin #btc	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 263.07, 258.62, 255.41, 256.34, 260.89, 271.91, 269.03, 266.21, 270.79, 269.23
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2015-12-09] BTC Price: 417.56, BTC RSI: 73.85 Gold Price: 1077.60, Gold RSI: 45.63 Oil Price: 37.16, Oil RSI: 30.92 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Bitcoin is exploding higher, but no one can agree on why: (REUTERS) Bitcoin gained another 6% Wednesday, reaching a new high for the year. The cryptocurrency reached the $450 mark late in the day before falling back to $425. That's compared with around $250 a month ago. What's behind this? Investors and brokers can't agree. In the last few days, explanations have included a rise in demand from China, an upcoming auction by US Marshals of seized bitcoin, and the influence ofa convicted Ponzi schemer's latest gambit. Another catalyst for recent appreciation comes from Europe, saysAdam White, vice president and product manager at Coinbase, one of the biggest bitcoin exchanges globally by volume. The European Court of Justice recently ruled that thecryptocurrency is exemptfrom the region's "value added tax," which White compared to the decision by US taxation authorities in the 1990s to not implement taxes on goods sold online. What is certain is that use of bitcoin by consumers and trading is broadly on the rise. "There has been a steady increase in the number of transactions processed on the bitcoin blockchain," White says. In the last two years, the number of bitcoin transactions has increased threefold from 50,000 daily to about 140,000 today, according to Blockchain.info, which tracks bitcoin data. It is true that Chinese investors are eager to trade bitcoin, White says. In the US, between 300,000 and 500,000 bitcoin are traded daily, White said. But in China, that daily figure has been closer to 1 million to 1.2 million. That isn't to say US investors are neglecting the currency. There has been a three-times increase in the relative trading volume by what are referred to as "High Net Worth" traders on Coinbase's trading platform — people making trades in dollar amounts worth up to six figures, White said. Perhaps most telling — at least about the recent jump — is that there's been a recent surge in trading, sharp rise innew usersign-ups, according to White. So what's behind the recent surge in bitcoin? Maybe just the surge in bitcoin. NOW WATCH:'The Art Of War' holds the keys to success on Wall Street More From Business Insider • Bitcoin is going nuts • The Money Of The Future Will Look More Like Bitcoin Than The Paper We Carry Around Today • Even As Bitcoin Gets Obliterated, Retailers Say They Will Still Accept It As A Form Of Payment \|\| Insight - In taking economic war to Islamic State, U.S. developing new tools: By Yeganeh Torbati and Brett Wolf WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Since last month, U.S. warplanes have struck Islamic State's oil infrastructure in Syria in a stepped-up campaign of economic warfare that the United States estimates has cut the group's black-market earnings from oil by about a third. In finding their targets, U.S. military planners have relied in part on an unconventional source of intelligence: access to banking records that provide insight into which refineries and oil pumps are generating cash for the extremist group, current and former officials say. The intent is to choke off the Islamic State's funding by tracking its remaining ties to the global financial system. By identifying money flowing to and from the group, U.S. officials have been able to get a glimpse into how its black-market economy operates, people with knowledge of the effort have said. That in turn has influenced decisions about targeting for air strikes in an effort that began before Islamic State's Nov. 13 attacks on Paris and has intensified since, they said. While Islamic State's access to formal banking has been restricted, it retains some ties that U.S. military and financial officials can use against it, the current and former officials said. "We have done a really good job of largely keeping the Islamic State out of the formal financial system," said Matthew Levitt, who served as deputy assistant secretary for intelligence at the U.S. Treasury in the George W. Bush administration. "But we haven't been entirely successful, and that may not be a bad thing." Reuters was unable to verify key aspects of the campaign, including when it started or exactly which facilities have been destroyed as a result. Two current officials who confirmed the operations in outline declined to comment on their details. It was unclear how U.S. intelligence, Treasury, and military officials working on what the government calls "counter threat finance" operations have used banking records to identify lucrative Islamic State oil-related targets in Syria and whether that involved local banks. A report this year by the intergovernmental Financial Action Task Force found there were more than 20 Syrian financial institutions with operations in Islamic State territory. In Iraq, Treasury has worked with government officials to cut off bank branches in the group's territory from the Iraqi and international financial systems. Gerald Roberts, section chief of the FBI's terrorist financing operations section, said that Islamic State's recruits from outside Syria often come with financial trails that officials tracking them can "exploit." "We are seeing them using traditional banking systems," he said at a banking conference last week in Washington, adding that young, tech-savvy Islamic State members are also familiar with virtual currencies such as Bitcoin. Islamic State, also known as IS, ISIS or ISIL, is sometimes forced to use commercial banks because the amounts involved are too large to move using other means, said Levitt. The U.S. Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) uses a set of "business rules" to screen the roughly 55,000 reports it receives daily from financial institutions for signs of activity involving Islamic State, a spokesman said. He declined to describe the rules, but law enforcement sources say names, IP addresses, email addresses, and phone numbers are among the data that intelligence authorities try to match. The matches allow FinCEN "to connect the dots between seemingly unrelated individuals and entities," the FinCEN spokesman said. At present, FinCEN finds about 1,200 matches suggesting possible Islamic State-linked financial activity each month, up from 800 in April, the spokesman said. Bank of America, JP Morgan and Wells Fargo declined to comment on whether they provided financial reports to the U.S. government. Such reports are supplied confidentially. Citigroup, HSBC, and Standard Chartered did not immediately respond to requests for comment. "TIDAL WAVE II" The use of financial records linked to Islamic State is only one part of the intelligence-gathering exercise for air strikes in Syria that also includes methods such as aerial surveillance by drones, officials said. One former military official familiar with the process said that any financial intelligence collected by FinCEN would require "significant vetting" before the military acted on it. Earlier this month, U.S.-led coalition planes struck 116 fuel trucks used to smuggle Islamic State oil 45 minutes after dropping leaflets warning drivers to flee, a Pentagon spokesman said. Coalition strikes destroyed another 283 Islamic State fuel trucks on Saturday, the Pentagon said. On Nov. 8, a coalition air strike destroyed three oil refineries in Syria near the border with Turkey. U.S. defence officials estimate that Islamic State, an adversary the United States calls the wealthiest terrorist group of its kind in history, was earning about $47 million per month from oil sales prior to October. That month, the U.S. military launched an intensified effort to go after oil infrastructure, dubbed "Tidal Wave II," named after the bombing campaign targeting Romanian oil fields in World War Two. The Pentagon estimates the strikes have reduced the Islamic State's income from oil sales by about 30 percent, one U.S. defence official with knowledge of the previously unreported estimate said. Reuters was unable to confirm this. The use of financial records in helping to pick U.S. targets was first disclosed last week at the banking conference in Washington. At the conference, Kurt Gredzinski, the Counter Threat Finance Team Chief at U.S. Special Operations Command, cited the importance of information provided by banks in the war against Islamic State. "That to me is the first time in my recollection that we strategically targeted based on threat finance information," he said at the conference. He declined to comment further on which strike he had been referring to. "RESILIENT FINANCIAL PORTFOLIO" U.S. officials believe that diminished funding could gradually undermine Islamic State's grip on the area it controls in Iraq and Syria, because it needs revenue to pay salaries and keep public infrastructure operating, said two former officials with knowledge of the Obama administration's thinking. Experts caution that Islamic State, which rules an area the size of Austria, has surprisingly deep pockets due to the various revenue streams it controls. It has built up what amounts to a "durable and resilient financial portfolio," funded by oil sales, extortion, and sales of antiquities, said Thomas Sanderson, an expert on terrorism at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "Money can be strapped to the backs of mules," Sanderson said. "It's easy to move things across a border during a time of deprivation and chaos." Despite some initial success, cutting off its funding will require deeper cooperation from governments from Turkey to Russia, experts say. The group has shown the ability to bounce back from previous U.S. strikes on its oil facilities. Counter-terrorism experts say that Islamic State appears to have learned from U.S. successes in cracking down on funding for al-Qaeda, which relied heavily on support from wealthy donors in the Gulf region. "IS has learned that you don't want to be reliant on too many outside sources," said Sanderson. "Donors are fickle and subject to pressure and (IS) wants to be in control." (Reporting by Yeganeh Torbati in Washington and Brett Wolf of Thomson Reuters Regulatory Intelligence. Additional reporting by Joel Schectman, Warren Strobel, and Jonathan Landay in Washington.; Editing by Kevin Krolicki and Stuart Grudgings) \|\| SEC Charges Bitcoin Mining Firm in Ponzi Scheme: The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged two Bitcoin mining companies and their founder with conducting a Ponzi scheme that used the lure of quick riches from virtual currency to defraud investors. The complaint was filed in federal court in Connecticut. “Mining” for Bitcoin or other virtual currencies can be described as applying computer power to try to solve complex equations that verify a group of transactions in that virtual currency. The first computer or collection of computers to solve an equation is awarded new units of that virtual currency. The SEC alleges that Homero Joshua Garza perpetrated the fraud through his Connecticut-based companies GAW Miners and ZenMiner by purporting to offer shares of a digital Bitcoin mining operation. ALSO READ:Is Best Buy Making an Offer That Consumers Can't Refuse? However, GAW Miners and ZenMiner actually did not own enough computing power for the mining it promised to conduct, so most investors paid for a share of computing power that never existed. Returns paid to some investors came from proceeds generated from sales to other investors. Paul G. Levenson, director of the SEC’s Boston Regional Office, said: As alleged in our complaint, Garza and his companies cloaked their scheme in technological sophistication and jargon, but the fraud was simple at its core: they sold what they did not own, misrepresented what they were selling, and robbed one investor to pay another. ALSO READ:Jefferies Has 4 Blue Chip High-Dividend Franchise Picks to Buy Now According to the SEC’s complaint: • From August 2014 to December 2014, Garza and his companies sold $20 million worth of purported shares in a digital mining contract they called a Hashlet. • More than 10,000 investors purchased Hashlets, which were touted as always profitable and never obsolete. • Although Hashlets were depicted in GAW Miners’ marketing materials as a physical product or piece of mining hardware, the promised contract purportedly entitled the investor to control a share of computing power that GAW Miners claimed to own and operate. • Investors were misled to believe they would share in returns earned by the Bitcoin mining activities when in reality GAW Miners directed little or no computing power toward any mining activity. • Because Garza and his companies sold far more computing power than they owned, they owed investors a daily return that was larger than any actual return they were making on their limited mining operations. • Therefore, investors were simply paid back gradually over time under the mantra of “returns” out of funds that Garza and his companies collected from other investors. • Most Hashlet investors never recovered the full amount of their investments, and few made a profit. Related Articles • Costco Refreshes Cyber Monday Offers • Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Fitbit, GE, Lockheed Martin, Lululemon, Marriott, Microsoft, Philip Morris, SLM and More • America's Best and Worst States to Live In \|\| One statistic perfectly encapsulates the impact of technology on Wall Street jobs: ( MARK RALSTON/AFP/Getty) In 2000, Goldman Sachs had 600 traders in New York City making markets in US stocks. Today, that number is down to fewer than 10. The statistic is one of several nuggets from a Credit Suisse report on how the bank uses technology, following a conversation withchief information officer Marty Chavez. The analysts estimate that Goldman spends $2.5 billion to $3.2 billion on technology each year, or about 7% to 9% of revenue. This has big implications for the bank's staff. In some ways, technology can make their lives easier. Last month, the bankannounced an initiativedesigned to make the lives of junior investment bankers easier — by letting technology do more of the grunt work for them. But technologymight also soon replacemore workers. The note said (emphasis added): Embrace Disruption—management of Goldman is very much of the belief—and we can't argue with this—that there will be far more value ascribed to those who embrace new, albeit disruptive, technologies.This disruption can be people "destructive" at times, but it can be far more destructive to be left behind in a business poised for profound change. Importantly, these changes may be disruptive, but also both relationship and profit margin enhancing, through delivery of a better product to Goldman's clients. There are ways for Goldman to be more efficient with its tech spending. About 30% of the annual expense goes to maintenance, which covers things like communications, market-data expenses, and software licensing. The bank wants to get that down to 10%, which is more comparable with software companies. That would free up $600 million to $800 million, which could either go back to the bottom line, or be reinvested strategically, Credit Suisse estimates. These strategic investments could include things like investing in blockchain technology that underpins the use of bitcoin, with the Credit Suisse analysts noting that Goldman Sachs is "very interested in the use of Blockchain/distributed ledger technology." Other investments include Symphony, the instant-communications platform out to displace Bloomberg's terminal, and Goldman's Marquee app, which delivers data and analytics to staff and is being rolled out to clients. NOW WATCH:'The Art Of War' holds the keys to success on Wall Street More From Business Insider • GOLDMAN: 'Bitcoin was just the opening act, with the Blockchain ready to take centre stage' • There are 2 clear winners on Wall Street — and they're pulling away from the competition • Morgan Stanley has some answering to do \|\| Bitcoin spikes 70% in a month; nobody knows why: Bitcoin (:BTC=) , the world's most popular digital currency, has been on a roll but no one is really sure why. After dipping well below $200 in January, bitcoin traded at more than $410 Tuesday afternoon before cutting some of those gains, according to the CoinDesk Bitcoin Price Index. That's about 25 percent higher than the same time last year but well below the historical high of about $1,150. This upswing, which began about a month ago when bitcoin traded below $240, comes on the heels of a steady stream of good news for the digital asset and its associated ecosystem. But even with recent favorable regulatory rulings, press coverage and business investments, experts in the space are struggling to explain the one-month jump of more than 70 percent. For comparison, gold (CEC:Commodities Exchange Centre: @GC.1) is down about 5 percent on the year, and slightly negative on the month. Some have attributed the size of the recent jump to investors' fear of missing out (FOMO) , while others such as "Fast Money" trader Brian Kelly point to ecosystem headlines like the Winklevoss twins launching their exchange and the Digital Currency Group announcing funding from Bain and MasterCard ( MA ) . But bitcoin has boasted a steady parade of media highlights and major investments from important financial firms all year, so it's not immediately obvious why this past month would mark a turning point. Read More Why financial firms are investigating bitcoin tech Brendan O'Connor, the CEO of bitcoin trading firm Genesis Global Trading, told CNBC he has no easy answers about the price jump. Although he said rumors were flying around the community about international rings of traders teaming up to drive up the exchange rate, O'Connor was unable to confirm anything he'd heard. For its part, Genesis Global is experiencing a "dramatic increase in activity" from renewed interest in bitcoin as a tradable asset, O'Connor said. "When the price starts going up, people start coming out of the woodwork," he said. "We're setting new records almost on a daily basis for amount traded and number of transactions." Story continues Read More Bitcoin to be 6th largest reserve currency by 2030: Research It should be noted that bitcoin is a relatively illiquid market, so its exchange rate against major world currencies has been historically volatile. Still, O'Connor said volume from the Chinese bitcoin market has been "off the charts," so there may be a genuine upswing in interest from that region. In fact, Kelly suggested in a Tuesday note that Beijing's tightening of capital controls may have spurred some of the recent price gains. Additionally, many in the bitcoin community insist that the daily price of the cryptocurrency is not a relevant metric, as it distracts from the world-changing potential of the technology. Martindale tweet. Others worry that the cycle of mainstream media coverage on bitcoin's price will recreate a story they've seen before: Lopp tweet. More From CNBC Top News and Analysis Latest News Video Personal Finance \|\| 10 things you need to know today: man on pig (https://pictures.reuters.com/C.aspx?VP3=SearchResult Farmer Zhang Xianping with pig Big Precious during an interview with the media in Zhangjiakou, Hebei province, China. Here is what you need to know. Volkswagen has another emissions scandal . The German automaker announced that an internal investigation had discovered "irregularities in CO2 levels" in as many as 800,000 vehicles. It is unclear whether the irregularities are related to the recently discovered emissions scandal related to nitrogen-oxide testing. " Under the ongoing review of all processes and workflows in connection with diesel engines it was established that the CO2 levels and thus the fuel consumption figures for some models were set too low during the CO2 certification process," Volkswagen said in a statement. "The majority of the vehicles concerned have diesel engines." Tesla is flying high after its latest outlook . Shares of Tesla were up 10% in after-hours trade after the company announced it expected to deliver 17,000 to 19,000 vehicles in the fourth quarter, outpacing the Wall Street consensus. For all of 2015, Tesla said it would deliver 50,000 to 52,000 vehicles, narrowing its range from its previous estimate of 50,000 to 55,000. On the earnings front, the electric-car maker lost $0.58 per share, which was slightly worse than the $0.56 loss that was anticipated. Revenue jumped 33.4% to $1.24 billion, in line with estimates. US auto sales are at the highest level in a decade . The latest Autodata showed US auto sales rose at an annualized pace of 18.24 million in October, the best in a decade. The number easily surpassed the Wall Street consensus of 17.7 million vehicles . Mazda (+35.4%) saw the biggest gains, while General Motors (+16%) and Ford (+13%) posted solid results. BMW USA (-6.6%) was the lone decliner. Honda is dumping Takata airbags . The AFP reports that Takata's largest client, Honda, has severed its relationship with the company after US authorities announced a $200 million fine against the airbag maker. Takata airbags have been linked to eight deaths and even more injuries around the world. "On a global basis, no new Honda and Acura models currently under development will be equipped with a front driver or passenger Takata airbag inflator," Honda said in a statement. Shares of Takata were down as much as 20% in Tokyo. Story continues Iceland raised rates . Iceland's central bank raised its benchmark interest rate 25 basis points to 5.75%. The central bank noted that domestic demand was expected to increase by more than 7% this year and that gross domestic product was forecast to grow at 4.6%. As for inflation, the central bank said: "It is still expected that large pay increases will cause inflation to rise above the target as 2016 progresses and the effects of low global inflation taper off. Inflation will not return to target until 2018." The Icelandic krona is weaker by 0.2% at 128.90 per dollar. European services data was strong . October Services PMI for the eurozone was released, and it showed that every country outpaced expectations except for Germany. Spain saw the biggest month-over-month increase, as its reading climbed from 54.6 in September to 55.9 in October and easily beat the 54.6 that was expected. Germany's number ticked up to 54.5 from 54.1 but missed the 55.2 that economists were expecting. The eurozone as a whole improved to 54.1 from 53.7. The euro is down 0.3% at 1.0935. Bitcoin has gone parabolic . On Tuesday, bitcoin rallied 10% to close just shy of the $400 mark. On Wednesday morning, bitcoin is up another 15% near $454. The digital currency has surged 89% since the beginning of October. Stock markets around the world are higher. China's Shanghai Composite (+4.3%) surged after the People's Bank of China released some dated comments from governor Zhou Xiaochuan. In Europe, Spain's IBEX (+1.2%) leads the gains. S&P 500 futures are higher by 2.75 points at 2,105.75. US economic data is moderate. ADP Employment Change is due out at 8:15 a.m. ET before the trade balance crosses the wires at 8:30 a.m. ET and ISM Services is released at 10 a.m. ET. Crude-oil inventories will be announced at 10:30 a.m. ET. The US 10-year yield is down 1 basis point at 2.20%. Earnings reporting remains heavy. 21st Century Fox, Allergan, CDW, Honda Motor, Michael Kors, and Time Warner highlight the names scheduled to release their quarterly results ahead of the opening bell. Facebook, Marathon Oil, MetLife, Prudential, Qualcomm, Sturm Ruger, and Whole Foods are among the companies reporting after markets close. NOW WATCH: Here's the Bill Cosby joke Eddie Murphy did at the Kennedy Center that everyone's talking about More From Business Insider 10 things you need to know today 10 things you need to know today 10 things you need to know today \|\| This convicted Ponzi-schemer may be responsible for bitcoin's massive price spike: Sergei Mavrodi (REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin) Sergei Mavrodi is a convicted Russian Ponzi-schemer who may be driving bitcoin's value up now. Bitcoin is ripping higher these days, and a report from the Financial Times suggests that a convicted Ponzi-schemer's latest enterprise could be behind the surge. Sergei Mavrodi runs the website MMM, which describes itself as the "Chinese social financial network." There, he breaks down in precise detail how investors can buy into bitcoin with multiple trading accounts, FT Alphaville's Izabella Kaminska reports. Mavrodi offers bonuses to MMM investors depending on how many additional people they can bring into the network, and, additionally, he entices people to take to YouTube to upload testimonials of how much they made. While US-based bitcoin investors were reluctant to hang the entire balance of the cryptocurrency's appreciation (about 90% over the past month) on Mavrodi's Chinese social-financial network, they also cannot deny the recent impact of China's investors on bitcoin. "We have not seen volume like this coming out of China since 2013," Brendan O'Connor, CEO of Genesis Global Trading, a bitcoin broker, told Business Insider. On Tuesday, bitcoin shot up about 10% , to around the $400 level, and on Wednesday it rose another 20% by the opening of US markets, to $480. Business Insider attempted to reach Mavrodi through his website, but did not receive a response by publication time. Here's the post on the Alphaville blog. NOW WATCH: The way you pay with a credit card will start to change on October 1 — here's what you need to know More From Business Insider The Money Of The Future Will Look More Like Bitcoin Than The Paper We Carry Around Today BITCOIN: How It Works, And Why It Could Fundamentally Change How Companies And Individuals Handle Payments One Of Bitcoin's Strongest Backers Reveals The Two Big Reasons Why It's Still Not Mainstream \|\| Is The Video Subscription Space Saturated?: The way consumers watch TV has changed drastically over the past few years as the popularity of Internet video sites like YouTube have skyrocketed. Dedicated streaming services like Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX ) and Hulu emerged and their warm reception from American viewers caused traditional broadcasters to rethink their own operations. Now, several big name networks have created their own online, subscription-based services in an effort to give customers more choices for web-based viewing. However, with so many fragmented viewing options out there, many are wondering if the space is starting to become crowded. The All Important Millennial The younger generation is increasingly switching to online viewing, a troublesome sign for traditional cable. Services like Netflix and Amazon offer a wide range of content geared toward that demographic and have become popular choices for Millennials who are cutting the cord. Related Link: Why Netflix's Initial Selloff Was "Correct" However, in an effort to maintain a youthful audience, firms like NBC Universal and CBS Corporation (NYSE: CBS ) have launched their own subscription services with content aimed at younger viewers. Stiff Competition NBC Universal recently unveiled a new streaming offering called Seeso, which will focus on comedy programming. The firm has been working together with non-traditional media companies like BuzzFeed and Vox to attract younger viewers, but the firm will have to compete with a host of other networks that are all doing the same thing. Dish Network's Sling TV, CBS' All Access service and Time Warner's HBO Now are just some of the many online subscription services that Seeso will have to compete with. Cutting The Cord While online viewing is gaining popularity, most agree that at the present moment there is no good way to cut the cord completely. Subscribing to the many online services that have saturated the streaming space would typically cost more than paying a traditional cable bill, so most consumers are choosing one or two online services to enhance their programming. That makes it difficult for new entrants like Seeso as more established names like Netflix are often a top choice. Story continues Image Credit: By Taro the Shiba Inu [ CC BY 2.0 ], via Wikimedia Commons See more from Benzinga Virtual Reality Becomes An Actual Reality With New Oculus Headset Netflix Viewing Stats Reveal That All Shows Aren't Created Equally 21 Inc's Bitcoin Computer Seeks To Redefine The Internet © 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. \|\| MarilynJean Interactive (MJMI.QB) Today Announced It Has Entered Into Discussions to Acquire a Share of an Operating Bitcoin Exchange: HENDERSON, NV / ACCESSWIRE / October 30, 2015 / Owning and operating a Bitcoin exchange would allow MarilynJean to seamlessly integrate the currency conversion functions of both its planned remittance and gaming businesses as well as integrate directly with any Bitcoin ATM's the company installs. A Bitcoin exchange is the central component to a fully integrated transaction with an end user that involves both FIAT (traditional currency) and crypto-currency. A Bitcoin exchange works similarly to a stock exchange. A client deposits funds into an account and effects trades pursuant to buy (bid) or sell (ask) orders which the exchange software matches with orders from other users. Because both the buyer and seller must have the funds or Bitcoins in their accounts prior to the transaction being executed, both sides are protected. Users trade directly, as opposed to through brokers, communicating with the exchange through a standard web browser on a computer or mobile device via a secure connection. The exchange operator often takes a small transaction fee on each trade. While MarilynJean intends to trade through multiple exchanges, including major exchanges Bitstamp and Bitfinex, the reduced settlement times that are available as an exchange owner-operator provide significant advantages in international currency conversion and transfer transactions. Peter Janosi, MJMI's president said: "Being able to integrate the key verticals we are targeting, including remittance, gaming and ATMs with our own Bitcoin exchange has the potential to offer tremendous advantages to our company. We intend to trade through multiple exchanges simultaneously to ensure we offer our customers the best rates at the lowest prices. At the same time time, being able to route transactions through a completely integrated system that we monitor and control will allow us to offer even faster transaction processing and better customer service. We are very excited to be in discussions with a potential partner in the exchange space who shares our focus on security and scalability." Story continues About MJMI MJMI is in the business of providing safe and accessible services for the users of Bitcoin and other crypto-currencies. Crypto-currencies are a medium of exchange using cryptography to secure transactions and control the creation of new units. Bitcoin became the first decentralized crypto-currency in 2009. Crypto-currency is produced at a rate which is defined when the system is created and publicly known. By contrast, in centralized banking and economic systems, such as the Federal Reserve System, corporate boards or governments control the supply of currency by printing units or demanding additions to digital banking ledgers. However, neither companies nor governments can produce units of crypto-currency and as such the value of crypto-currencies are completely based on supply and demand, free from any governmental control. Many people believe crypto-currencies, and in particular bitcoin, hold the promise of being the most significant advancement in global finance in modern history. The advent of bitcoin creates a secure, easily accessible and transferable transnational currency that is completely liberated from political influence. MJMI is currently exploring partnerships in several verticals within the crypto-currency space, including the multi-billion dollar remittance market. Management believes that several industries, including both international remittances and online gambling are on the verge of being revolutionized by the use of Bitcoin to effect transactions. MarilynJean Media Interactive is among the first publicly traded companies focused on bitcoin and the crypto-currency space. The company's trading symbol is OCTQB: MJMI. Website: www.marilynjean.com Press Contact: bonnie@mari lynjean.com SOURCE: MarilynJean Media Interactive \|\| Bitcoin spikes 70% in a month; nobody knows why: Bitcoin(:BTC=), the world's most popular digital currency, has been on a roll — but no one is really sure why. After dipping well below $200 in January, bitcoin traded at more than $410 Tuesday afternoon before cutting some of those gains, according to the CoinDesk Bitcoin Price Index. That's about 25 percent higher than the same time last year but well below the historical high of about $1,150. This upswing, which began about a month ago when bitcoin traded below $240, comes on the heels of a steady stream of good news for the digital asset and its associated ecosystem. But even with recent favorable regulatory rulings, press coverage and business investments, experts in the space are struggling to explain the one-month jump of more than 70 percent. For comparison, gold(CEC:Commodities Exchange Centre: @GC.1)is down about 5 percent on the year, and slightly negative on the month. Some have attributed the size of the recent jump toinvestors' fear of missing out (FOMO), while others such as "Fast Money" trader Brian Kelly point to ecosystem headlines like theWinklevoss twins launching their exchangeand the Digital Currency Groupannouncing fundingfrom Bain and MasterCard(MA). But bitcoin has boasted a steady parade of media highlights and major investments from important financial firms all year, so it's not immediately obvious why this past month would mark a turning point. Read MoreWhy financial firms are investigating bitcoin tech Brendan O'Connor, the CEO of bitcoin trading firm Genesis Global Trading, told CNBC he has no easy answers about the price jump. Although he said rumors were flying around the community about international rings of traders teaming up to drive up the exchange rate, O'Connor was unable to confirm anything he'd heard. For its part, Genesis Global is experiencing a "dramatic increase in activity" from renewed interest in bitcoin as a tradable asset, O'Connor said. "When the price starts going up, people start coming out of the woodwork," he said. "We're setting new records almost on a daily basis for amount traded and number of transactions." Read MoreBitcoin to be 6th largest reserve currency by 2030: Research It should be noted that bitcoin is a relatively illiquid market, so its exchange rate against major world currencies has been historically volatile. Still, O'Connor said volume from the Chinese bitcoin market has been "off the charts," so there may be a genuine upswing in interest from that region. In fact, Kelly suggested in a Tuesday note that Beijing's tightening of capital controls may have spurred some of the recent price gains. Additionally, many in the bitcoin community insist that the daily price of the cryptocurrency is not a relevant metric, as it distracts from the world-changing potential of the technology. Others worry that the cycle of mainstream media coverage on bitcoin's price will recreate a story they've seen before: More From CNBC • Top News and Analysis • Latest News Video • Personal Finance [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] $327.99 #btce; $325.00 #bitfinex; $323.45 #coinbase; $322.92 #bitstamp; #bitcoin #btc \|\| 1 #bitcoin = $5985.00 MXN \| $362.34 USD #BitAPeso 1 USD = 16.52MXN http://www.bitapeso.com \|\| Current price: 252.39£ $BTCGBP $btc #bitcoin 2015-11-09 23:00:10 GMT \|\| LIVE: Profit = $870.98 (2.24 %). BUY B107.00 @ $364.20 (#BTCe). SELL @ $371.97 (#Bitfinex) #bitcoin #btc - http://www.projectcoin.org \|\| In the last 10 mins, there were arb opps spanning 10 exchange pair(s), yielding profits ranging between $0.00 and $156.98 #bitcoin #btc \|\| Current price: 264.64$ $BTCUSD $btc #bitcoin 2015-10-17 16:00:04 EDT \|\| In the last 10 mins, there were arb opps spanning 16 exchange pair(s), yielding profits ranging between $0.00 and $424.86 #bitcoin #btc \|\| $375.44 at 19:15 UTC [24h Range: $362.01 - $383.00 Volume: 17792 BTC] \|\| #RDD / #BTC on the exchanges: Cryptsy: Error Bittrex: 0.00000002 Average $7.0E-6 per #reddcoin 00:30:01 via #priceo…pic.twitter.com/1RK5yQgrrh \|\| #RDD / #BTC on the exchanges: Cryptsy: 0.00000003 Bittrex: 0.00000003 Average $9.0E-6 per #reddcoin 19:45:00	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 415.48, 451.94, 435.00, 433.76, 444.18, 465.32, 454.93, 456.08, 463.62, 462.32
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis] Not fully available. [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Your first trade for Tuesday, September 19: The " Fast Money " traders shared their first moves for the early hours of the trading day. Pete Najarian was a buyer of Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) . Tim Seymour was a buyer of Gilead (NASDAQ: GILD) . Karen Finerman was a buyer of Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) . Dan Nathan was a buyer of Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ: AMD) . Trader disclosure: On September 18, 2017, the following stocks and commodities mentioned or intended to be mentioned on CNBC's "Fast Money" were owned by the "Fast Money" traders: Pete Najarian is long calls BAC, BHP, CHK, CRM, EOG, FCX, GDX, HIMX, INTC, JBLU, LOW, LULU, MSFT, MU, NRG, ORCL, PG, SFM, SGMS, SUM, TER, TMUS, UNP, UUP, VALE, XLF. Pete Najarian is long stock AAPL, BAC, BKE, BMS, CMCSA, CSX, DIS, GIS, GM, IBM, KO, LEN, LVS, MRK, MSFT, MU, PEP, PFE, RHT, SCSS, TXT, UAL, UPS, VIAB, WDC, WFC, WFT. Pete owns TLT puts. Sold AMAT, AVGO, CPN, CTL, FB, MDLZ, NEM, NVDA, RIO, SCSS, SNAP calls. Bought CRM, GDX, EOG, FCX, LOW, MU, OA, TMUS, UUP calls. Sold AAP, BBY, CHRW, GILD, WYNN. Bought CSX, UPS. Tim Seymour is long AMZA, APC, BAC, C, CCJ, CLF, CSCO, DAL, DPZ, DVYE, EEM, EUFN, EWM, FB, FXI, GILD, GM, GOOGL, HAL, INTC, LOW, M, MAT, MCD, MOS, MPEL, RAI, RH, RL, SBUX, SQ, T, TWTR, UA, UAL, VALE, VIAB, VOD, VRX, XLE. Tim Seymour is short IWM, XRT, RACE, SPY. Karen Finerman is long AAL, BAC, BAC short calls, Bitcoin and Ethereum, C, DAL, short EFX, EEM, EPI, EWW, DVYE, FB, FNAC, GMLP, GLNG, GM, GOGO, GOOG, GOOGL, JPM, LYV, KORS, KORS calls, KORS puts, MA, SEDG, SPY puts, TACO, URI, WIFI, WFM. Bitcoin and Ethereum are in her kids' Trust. Her firm is long ANTM, BAC short calls, C, C calls, FB, FNAC, GOOG, GOOGL, GLNG, GMLP, JPM, JPM calls, KORS puts, LYV, SPY puts, SPY put spreads, VRX, WIFI, UAL, her firm is short IWM, MDY, VRX calls. Karen bought URI. Dan Nathan is long AMD, DIS, INTC, IPOA, M, NKE, T. Dan sold XLF. Dan bought AMD and IPOA. The " Fast Money " traders shared their first moves for the early hours of the trading day. Pete Najarian was a buyer of Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) . Tim Seymour was a buyer of Gilead (NASDAQ: GILD) . Karen Finerman was a buyer of Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) . Dan Nathan was a buyer of Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ: AMD) . Trader disclosure: On September 18, 2017, the following stocks and commodities mentioned or intended to be mentioned on CNBC's "Fast Money" were owned by the "Fast Money" traders: Pete Najarian is long calls BAC, BHP, CHK, CRM, EOG, FCX, GDX, HIMX, INTC, JBLU, LOW, LULU, MSFT, MU, NRG, ORCL, PG, SFM, SGMS, SUM, TER, TMUS, UNP, UUP, VALE, XLF. Pete Najarian is long stock AAPL, BAC, BKE, BMS, CMCSA, CSX, DIS, GIS, GM, IBM, KO, LEN, LVS, MRK, MSFT, MU, PEP, PFE, RHT, SCSS, TXT, UAL, UPS, VIAB, WDC, WFC, WFT. Pete owns TLT puts. Sold AMAT, AVGO, CPN, CTL, FB, MDLZ, NEM, NVDA, RIO, SCSS, SNAP calls. Bought CRM, GDX, EOG, FCX, LOW, MU, OA, TMUS, UUP calls. Sold AAP, BBY, CHRW, GILD, WYNN. Bought CSX, UPS. Tim Seymour is long AMZA, APC, BAC, C, CCJ, CLF, CSCO, DAL, DPZ, DVYE, EEM, EUFN, EWM, FB, FXI, GILD, GM, GOOGL, HAL, INTC, LOW, M, MAT, MCD, MOS, MPEL, RAI, RH, RL, SBUX, SQ, T, TWTR, UA, UAL, VALE, VIAB, VOD, VRX, XLE. Tim Seymour is short IWM, XRT, RACE, SPY. Karen Finerman is long AAL, BAC, BAC short calls, Bitcoin and Ethereum, C, DAL, short EFX, EEM, EPI, EWW, DVYE, FB, FNAC, GMLP, GLNG, GM, GOGO, GOOG, GOOGL, JPM, LYV, KORS, KORS calls, KORS puts, MA, SEDG, SPY puts, TACO, URI, WIFI, WFM. Bitcoin and Ethereum are in her kids' Trust. Her firm is long ANTM, BAC short calls, C, C calls, FB, FNAC, GOOG, GOOGL, GLNG, GMLP, JPM, JPM calls, KORS puts, LYV, SPY puts, SPY put spreads, VRX, WIFI, UAL, her firm is short IWM, MDY, VRX calls. Karen bought URI. Dan Nathan is long AMD, DIS, INTC, IPOA, M, NKE, T. Dan sold XLF. Dan bought AMD and IPOA. More From CNBC Your first trade for Friday, September 15 Your first trade for Thursday, September 14 Here's what traders made of Jamie Dimon's bitcoin comments \|\| JPMorgan's top quant strategist, echoing CEO, compares bitcoin to 'pyramid scheme': JPMorgan's top quant strategist backed his boss this week in bashing bitcoin, warning that the cryptocurrency is likely a "pyramid scheme." Marko Kolanovic, the bank's global head of quantitative and derivatives strategy, said in a note on Wednesday that in addition to being volatile and difficult to value, "another worrying aspect of cryptocurrencies are some parallels to fraudulent pyramid schemes." Bitcoin needs to be mined, or discovered, by people using computers to solve problems. Its murky origin raises questions, he said. "It is believed that an unknown person (or persons) known as 'Satoshi Nakamoto', before disappearing, mined the first 1-2 million coins or about 10 percent of the coins that will ever exist." He added, "Mining becomes progressively more difficult, and eventually unprofitable." Bitcoin surged more than 10 percent on Friday , but was still on track for a big weekly loss during a tumultuous period of trading. Earlier this week, JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon called bitcoin a "fraud," saying that the cryptocurrency "won't end well." Dimon was speaking at the Delivering Alpha conference presented by CNBC and Institutional Investor. Bitcoin plunged about 13 percent Thursday after one of the biggest exchanges in China said it will shut down its operation . BTC China said in a tweet Thursday that it will close down its operations by Sept. 30 as Chinese authorities crack down on cryptocurrencies. But to be sure, many see bitcoin as a huge opportunity. Former JPMorgan strategist Tom Lee said the cryptocurrency could surge another 600 percent in five years. "I unequivocally believe bitcoin is your best investment to the end of the year," the Fundstrat co-founder told CNBC, standing by similar remarks he made Aug. 9 on "Fast Money." "It's not worth it to look at bitcoin two months, two weeks ahead," Lee argued, saying he still believes each bitcoin will be worth $25,000 in five years. An unconvinced Kolanovic rattled off a number of risks. "There is no organized power behind this currency to e.g. ensure its long term viability, secure trade, enforce its acceptability for goods and services, or provide investor fraud protection," he said. "If the use of cryptocurrencies were to increase to an extent that they start competing with traditional 'country' currencies they would be quickly regulated or outlawed." WATCH: Bitcoin bounces back More From CNBC Terror to end bitcoin anonymity? 'Smart' people and Panama Papers Bitcoin mining IPO falls short View comments \|\| Amazon may indeed be getting into the pharma space -- but recent state license deals are not related: The comedian Dana Carvey once asked the question, "Don't you love the pharmacy?" The 5-minute bit that followed highlighted all the awkward, confusing, and often frustrating elements of the pharmacy experience. The audience was with him the whole time. Whether or not Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) CEO Jeff Bezos watched Carvey's show, many in the industry agree that pharmacy is primed for disruption -- starting with home delivery. In fact, despite the best efforts of a group of companies called pharmacy benefits managers (PBMs), such as CVS Caremark (NYSE: CVS) and Express Scripts (NASDAQ: ESRX) , mail order pharmacies only fill a paltry 1 out of every 10 prescriptions. Most of the 4 billion prescriptions dispensed in the U.S. every year are filled at one of 60,000 retail pharmacy locations. That should seem surprising, as the vast majority of prescriptions are refills of ongoing medications. And that makes it ideal for home delivery.So a recent report that Amazon had acquired pharmacy wholesaler licenses sparked a major wave of excitement in the industry. After all, Amazon had hinted at their potential ambitions last spring when they contacted several industry experts about pharmacy and PBMs, as reported by CNBC. Speculation was further fueled by the acquisition of Whole Foods. A retail base coupled with mail order could be an attractive pharmacy or foundation for a PBM. Add these new so-called pharmaceutical wholesaler licenses into the mix and all the pieces seemed to be coming together. Except that it isn't. At least not yet.What do the licenses mean?The reported pharmacy wholesale licenses that Amazon acquired in 12 states is not a clear signal that the company is entering the pharmacy or pharmaceutical distribution business. The licenses Amazon applied for happen to cover the distribution of medical-surgical equipment, devices, and other healthcare related equipment, a business they are in today. The confusion results from the fact that states lump many types of distributors together in the same databases, using the same licensing forms.What many of the ensuing media reports failed to mention is that becoming a pharmaceutical distributor or pharmacy entails additional licensure at both the state and national level.If Amazon was entering the pharmaceutical distribution business they would need to become a "Verified Accredited Wholesale Distributor" (VAWD) by the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP). Amazon is not one of the 607 VAWD certified facilities. The laws in Indiana require VAWD certification prior to operation.Bottom line: Amazon doesn't have any licenses to distribute or dispense prescription medications, in Indiana or any other state.What's next? Drones?At this point, I'm asking myself how hard would it be for Amazon to actually get VAWD-certified and/or operate a pharmacy or PBM. The answer? Not very hard at all.Amazon could either buy or build most of the software, hardware, and teams needed to start a pharmacy operation (dispensing or wholesale). Getting state licenses could take a matter of months, and not years. A budget of a few hundred million would accomplish this job, a small portion of Amazon's $16 billion annual R&D budget.Could Amazon distribute pharmaceuticals to their own Whole Foods pharmacies in conjunction with a Amazon mail order pharmacy? Absolutely. This would enable Amazon to control their own supply chain. Perhaps they would manufacture their own generic medications like many wholesalers do. Brand drug manufacturers might welcome Amazon, at least initially, as an additional channel to reach consumers. Frankly, and in my opinion, the most challenging part for Amazon would be dealing with PBMs.Most importantly, could Amazon transform the retail pharmacy and mail experience with a combination of self-service kiosks, lockers, delivery services, and even drones?Something tells me that something big is going to happen in pharmacy -- and soon. Maybe there's even an opportunity for a combined distribution, pharmacy, and PBM. It's hard to believe any company is better positioned to make one or all of these happen than Amazon. And making pharmacy less of a talking-point for comedians would be very pleasant side effect indeed. Stephen Buck is a drug supply chain expert and the co-founder of Courage Health , a start-up that provides answers to cancer patients about their life expectancy. He previously founded RxDividends, a B2B pharmacy savings company that was acquired by GoodRx. The comedian Dana Carvey once asked the question, "Don't you love the pharmacy?" The 5-minute bit that followed highlighted all the awkward, confusing, and often frustrating elements of the pharmacy experience. The audience was with him the whole time. Whether or not Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) CEO Jeff Bezos watched Carvey's show, many in the industry agree that pharmacy is primed for disruption -- starting with home delivery. In fact, despite the best efforts of a group of companies called pharmacy benefits managers (PBMs), such as CVS Caremark (NYSE: CVS) and Express Scripts (NASDAQ: ESRX) , mail order pharmacies only fill a paltry 1 out of every 10 prescriptions. Most of the 4 billion prescriptions dispensed in the U.S. every year are filled at one of 60,000 retail pharmacy locations. That should seem surprising, as the vast majority of prescriptions are refills of ongoing medications. And that makes it ideal for home delivery. So a recent report that Amazon had acquired pharmacy wholesaler licenses sparked a major wave of excitement in the industry. After all, Amazon had hinted at their potential ambitions last spring when they contacted several industry experts about pharmacy and PBMs, as reported by CNBC. Speculation was further fueled by the acquisition of Whole Foods. A retail base coupled with mail order could be an attractive pharmacy or foundation for a PBM. Add these new so-called pharmaceutical wholesaler licenses into the mix and all the pieces seemed to be coming together. Except that it isn't. At least not yet. What do the licenses mean? The reported pharmacy wholesale licenses that Amazon acquired in 12 states is not a clear signal that the company is entering the pharmacy or pharmaceutical distribution business. The licenses Amazon applied for happen to cover the distribution of medical-surgical equipment, devices, and other healthcare related equipment, a business they are in today. The confusion results from the fact that states lump many types of distributors together in the same databases, using the same licensing forms. What many of the ensuing media reports failed to mention is that becoming a pharmaceutical distributor or pharmacy entails additional licensure at both the state and national level. If Amazon was entering the pharmaceutical distribution business they would need to become a "Verified Accredited Wholesale Distributor" (VAWD) by the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP). Amazon is not one of the 607 VAWD certified facilities. The laws in Indiana require VAWD certification prior to operation. Bottom line: Amazon doesn't have any licenses to distribute or dispense prescription medications, in Indiana or any other state. What's next? Drones? At this point, I'm asking myself how hard would it be for Amazon to actually get VAWD-certified and/or operate a pharmacy or PBM. The answer? Not very hard at all. Amazon could either buy or build most of the software, hardware, and teams needed to start a pharmacy operation (dispensing or wholesale). Getting state licenses could take a matter of months, and not years. A budget of a few hundred million would accomplish this job, a small portion of Amazon's $16 billion annual R&D budget. Could Amazon distribute pharmaceuticals to their own Whole Foods pharmacies in conjunction with a Amazon mail order pharmacy? Absolutely. This would enable Amazon to control their own supply chain. Perhaps they would manufacture their own generic medications like many wholesalers do. Brand drug manufacturers might welcome Amazon, at least initially, as an additional channel to reach consumers. Frankly, and in my opinion, the most challenging part for Amazon would be dealing with PBMs. Most importantly, could Amazon transform the retail pharmacy and mail experience with a combination of self-service kiosks, lockers, delivery services, and even drones? Something tells me that something big is going to happen in pharmacy -- and soon. Maybe there's even an opportunity for a combined distribution, pharmacy, and PBM. It's hard to believe any company is better positioned to make one or all of these happen than Amazon. And making pharmacy less of a talking-point for comedians would be very pleasant side effect indeed. Stephen Buck is a drug supply chain expert and the co-founder of Courage Health , a start-up that provides answers to cancer patients about their life expectancy. He previously founded RxDividends, a B2B pharmacy savings company that was acquired by GoodRx. More From CNBC CNBC reviews the $1,150 new iPhone X — the best smartphone you can buy Don't worry about big tech getting grilled in DC this week: Credit Suisse's Peck Bitcoin futures approval sparks fears: 'The financial crisis all over again' \|\| Here are the two biggest risks for bitcoin: It’s been another wild day for bitcoin ( BTCUSD=X ) as the cryptocurrency faces both regulatory and structural challenges. On the regulation front, it’s getting hit hard in China. One of the biggest exchanges in the country, BTC China, said it’s shutting down trading in the next couple weeks. 1/ After carefully considering the announcement published by Chinese regulators on 09/04, BTCChina Exchange will stop all trading on 09/30. — BTCC (@YourBTCC) September 14, 2017 The announcement sparked today’s selloff, bringing bitcoin down 20% from the high it set earlier this month. But it’s not just BTC China, several of China’s top bitcoin exchanges are preparing to halt operations, after a reported regulatory crackdown. The other major risk for bitcoin is structural. Buying and selling bitcoin is still somewhat clunky. At times, confirming one transaction can take more than an hour and sometimes more than a day. But trading and investing in bitcoin might get easier very soon. Bitcoin Average Confirmation Time The Chicago Board Options Exchange is planning to offer cash-settled bitcoin futures next year, according to CNBC. The CFTC recently approved a platform to act as a clearing house for derivatives settled in digital currencies. Meanwhile the SEC is still reviewing a plan for a bitcoin ETF, a proposal that once looked like it was dead in the water. All this could open up bitcoin to a wider array of investors and traders, as liquidity, security, and settlement times improve. \|\| The companies most likely to benefit from the GOP tax plan are surging: Trump Mnuchin Reuters The GOP tax reform plan prompted rallies in the two areas of the stock market most sensitive to the proposed measures: highly taxed companies and those with cash overseas. After losing confidence in tax reform, investors appear to be swayed in the short term that progress is being made. The stocks most closely linked to the GOP's tax plan rallied on Thursday on signs of progress for policies that are expected to boost profits. These companies can be broken into two main groups : (1) Those who pay the most taxes, and would, therefore, benefit most from a cut, and (2) those with the most cash stashed overseas and would see a huge windfall from a proposed one-time repatriation tax holiday. That tax plan details were released on Thursday and not delayed further was clearly viewed as a positive sign for investors who have been crouched in wait-and-see mode for weeks. Here's a round-up of the action: Highly taxed companies A Goldman Sachs basket of 50 companies that pay high taxes, spread across a variety of US industries, climbed sharply around the time details of the GOP tax plan started trickling out. After trading little changed for much of the morning, the index then rose as much as 0.4%. The chart below shows how Goldman's high-tax basket has traded relative to the S&P 500 . Note that while the line had descended to the lowest level since the election in recent weeks, it climbed on Thursday, indicating outperformance relative to the US equity benchmark. High Tax Stocks Business Insider / Joe Ciolli, data from Bloomberg Companies that hold the most cash overseas A Goldman Sachs basket of companies that make a large portion of their earnings overseas, and thereby have big foreign cash holdings. The GOP tax plan is designed to have those firms bring cash held internationally back into the US. After trading down as much as 0.6% Thursday morning, the index sharply pared those losses and is now around breakeven for the day. Story continues The chart below shows how Goldman's high-overseas cash basket has traded relative to the S&P 500 . Note that while the line had fallen over the previous week, it climbed on Thursday, indicating outperformance relative to the US equity benchmark. High Overseas Cash Stocks Business Insider / Joe Ciolli, data from Bloomberg NOW WATCH: $6 TRILLION INVESTMENT CHIEF: Bitcoin is a bubble See Also: The group that represents America's small businesses slams the new GOP tax bill Traders don't want to get burned again by Trump's tax reform promises A part of the new GOP tax plan will be a tough sell for Republicans in New Jersey, New York, and California SEE ALSO: Traders don't want to get burned again by Trump's tax reform promises \|\| STOCKS HIT RECORD HIGHS: Here's what you need to know: US Navy George H.W. Bush aircraft carrier Seahawk helicopter US Navy/Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Matt Matlage The major averages closed at record highs on Friday. The day didn't start out so well though, as General Electric caught investors off-guard with its disastrous earnings report ahead of the bell. But, after sliding more than 6% at the open, GE ended the day higher and the S&P 500, Dow Jones industrial average and Nasdaq posted their best closes of all-time. Here's the scoreboard: Dow : 23,317.90, +154.86, (0.67%) S&P 500: 2,574.65, +12.55, (0.49%) Nasdaq: 6,625.41, +23.99, (0.36%) US 10-year yield: 2.318 %, -0.02 WTI crude oil: $51.66, 0.26, 0.51% General Electric's disastrous earnings report caught traders off-guard. The stock clawed its way back on Friday as traders digested CEO John Flannery's restructuring plan. Snap hit with more layoffs, plans to slow hiring in 2018. Snap's stock, on the other hand, rose as the company cut workers and said it was slowing plans for future hiring. Bitcoin spikes to a record high near $6,000. The currency is at all-time highs, even as Wall Street wrestles over its future. Catalonia's fight for independence is about to hit a wall. Tensions in the Spanish region are simmering, and the Spain's stock market has been reflecting that volatility. The GOP has found an innovative new way to steal from your future self. Republicans want to punish people saving for retirement to finance Trump's tax cuts. Other headlines The stock market's robot revolution is here JPMORGAN: Tesla could have to raise the price of the Model 3 Republicans are considering a proposal that would radically change the way you save for retirement Apple will have only shipped 3 million iPhone X units when it launches — good luck finding one NOW WATCH: The stock market has been turned completely upside down See Also: Amazon has triggered a $5 billion bidding war — here are some of the craziest proposals for its new headquarters 2 former presidents — from both parties — blast the state of American politics in unprecedented day STOCKS HIT RECORD HIGHS: Here's what you need to know SEE ALSO: What you need to know on Wall Street today View comments \|\| Americans have more debt than ever — and it's creating an economic trap: teoria risky black stone rock hanging crush smash REUTERS/Andrew Winning An International Monetary Fund report finds that high levels of household debt deepen and prolong recessions. US household debt is at pre-Great Recession levels. Household debt jumped by over $500 billion in the second quarter to $12.84 trillion. A scary little statistic is buried beneath the US economy's apparent stability: Consumer-debt levels are now well above those seen before the Great Recession. As of June, US households were more than half a trillion dollars deeper in debt than they were a year earlier, according to the latest figures from the Federal Reserve. Total household debt now totals $12.84 trillion — also, incidentally, about two-thirds of gross domestic product. The proportion of overall debt that was delinquent in the second quarter was steady at 4.8%, but the New York Fed warned over transitions of credit-card balances into delinquency, which "ticked up notably." Here's the thing: Unlike government debt, which can be rolled over continuously, consumer loans actually need to be paid back. And despite low official interest rates from the Federal Reserve, those often do not trickle down to financial products like credit cards and small-business loans. Michael Lebowitz, the cofounder of the market-analysis firm 720 Global, says the US economy is already dangerously close to the edge. "Most consumers, especially those in the bottom 80%, are tapped out," he told Business Insider. "They have borrowed about as much as they can. Servicing this debt will act like a wet towel on economic growth for years to come. Until wages can grow faster than our true costs of inflation, this problem will only worsen." The International Monetary Fund devotes two chapters of its latest Global Financial Stability Report to the issue of household debt. It finds that, rather intuitively, high debt levels tend to make economic downturns deeper and more prolonged. "Increases in household debt consistently [signal] higher risks when initial debt levels are already high," the IMF says. Story continues Nonetheless, the results indicate that the threshold levels for household-debt increases being associated with negative macro outcomes start relatively low, at about 30% of GDP. Clearly, America is already well past that point. As households become more indebted, the IMF says, future GDP growth and consumption decline and unemployment rises relative to their average values. "Changes in household debt have a positive contemporaneous relationship to real GDP growth and a negative association with future real GDP growth," the report says. Specifically, the IMF says a 5% increase in household debt to GDP over a three-year period leads to a 1.25% fall in real GDP growth three years into the future. The following chart helps visualize the process by which this takes place: Household Debt IMF International Monetary Fund "Housing busts and recessions preceded by larger run-ups in household debt tend to be more severe and protracted," the IMF said. Is there a solution? If things reach a tipping point, yes, says the IMF — there's always debt forgiveness. Even creditors stand to benefit. "We find that government policies can help prevent prolonged contractions in economic activity by addressing the problem of excessive household debt," the report said. The IMF cites "bold household debt restructuring programs such as those implemented in the United States in the 1930s and in Iceland today" as historical precedents. "Such policies can, therefore, help avert self-reinforcing cycles of household defaults, further house price declines, and additional contractions in output." It's no coincidence that household debt soared across many countries right before the most recent global slump. The figures are rather startling: In the five years to 2007, the ratio of household debt to income rose by an average of 39 percentage points, to 138%, in advanced economies. In Denmark, Iceland, Ireland, the Netherlands, and Norway, debt peaked at more than 200% of household income, the IMF said. In other words: We’ve seen this movie before. NOW WATCH: RAY DALIO: You have to bet against the consensus and be right to be successful in the markets See Also: Tesla strikes another deal that shows it's about to turn the car insurance world upside down 21 photos that show just how imposing US aircraft carriers are Bitcoin just hit an all-time high — here's how you buy and sell it SEE ALSO: Tens of millions of Americans are being left out of the economic recovery — and it's easier than ever to see who they are \|\| North Korean hackers target bitcoin exchanges to fund gov't: Report: North Korea may be attempting to circumvent the effects of tough economic sanctions by enlisting state-sponsored hackers to target bitcoin exchanges, according to a prominent cybersecurity firm. In a report published Monday, FireEye said it has detected at least five instances of suspicious activity by North Korean hackers against South Korean cryptocurrency targets since last April, including at least three attacks on virtual currency exchanges. The intrusions followed previous efforts by operators with ties to North Korea to target bank and the global financial system, the firm said. Now, we may be witnessing a second wave of this campaign: state-sponsored actors seeking to steal bitcoin and other virtual currencies as a means of evading sanctions and obtaining hard currencies to fund the regime, the FireEye report said. The apparent state-sponsored hacking efforts occurred at a time when bitcoin and other virtual currencies are rapidly gaining value. Bitcoin prices reached a record-high value of more than $5,100 earlier this month, but dropped significantly to below $4,000 in recent days after the Chinese government announced a crackdown on the use of cryptocurrencies. North Koreas economy is showing signs of strain this week amid significant economic sanctions imposed by the United States and the United Nations over Kim Jong Uns nuclear weapons program, Reuters reported. The latest UN sanctions placed limits on North Korean oil imports and banned the export of textiles from North Korea. FireEye says North Koreas state-sponsored hackers use a technique called spearphishing to target the personal email accounts of individuals working at cryptocurrency exchanges, dispensing malware that allows the hackers to access digital currency wallets. It should be no surprise that cryptocurrencies, as an emerging asset class, are becoming a target of interest by a regime that operates in many ways like a criminal enterprise, the FireEye report said. While at present North Korea is somewhat distinctive in both their willingness to engage in financial crime and their possession of cyber espionage capabilities, the uniqueness of this combination will likely not last long-term as rising cyber powers may see similar potential. Related Articles 5 US troops wounded in Afghanistan suicide attack on 9/11 anniversary White House vows quick action as Harvey aid estimates soar Figures on government spending and debt \|\| AT&T Inc. (T) Stock Is Worth Another Look for the Long Game: AT&T Inc.(NYSE:T) has a lot going for it, especially in current market conditions. Source:Mike Mozart via Flickr If I told you that inflation was closer to 10%, and nowhere near the 3% that you’ve been told, would you panic? Would you even believe me? Well,the bad news is that it is true. The good news is that the Liberty Portfolio, my stock advisory newsletter, creates a long-term diversified portfolio that aims to be inflation with less risk than the market carries. InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips The other good news is that there are stocks like T stock that, between its generous dividend and growth possibilities, may be able to help keep your portfolio at pace with inflation. AT&T was not on my radar as an obsolete telecom company, despite its solid dividend, until it purchased satellite-TV distributor DIRECTV. This was both necessary and essential for T stock. Sure, telecom bought in plenty of revenue, meaning cash flow, and therefore AT&T stock had a consistent dividend. But it lacked earnings growth. DIRECTV was important for T stock because it was a natural tie-in in terms of bundling content distribution with telecom, and the ability for DIRECTV content to make the leap onto cellular phones outfitted with AT&T technology. Yet, the other angle for T stock with this merger was that content distribution is an oligopoly. American homes either have cable or satellite TV. That means regular, recurring revenue to receive that content on a monthly basis, which translates to even more cash flow. DIRECTV also has so many different add-ons that upsells and more cash flow were made possible. • Facebook Inc (FB) Stock: It's Clear That the Zuckerberg Honeymoon is Over The natural move after this was to get into content production.Comcast Corporation(NASDAQ:CMCSA) had already purchased NBC-Universal. Enough years had passed for T stock management to see that this contributed to cash flow as well, so it bought upTime Warner Inc(NYSE:TWX). And why not? AT&T already had the pieces in place for distribution, both via satellite, its U-verse cable product and over the phone. Time Warner has a ton of content that has been successfully been churned out for ages. This includes the premier pay-cable channel, Home Box Office. Not to mention a lock on tons of sports programming Turner Sports, PGA.comm Bleacher Report, NBA.com, NCAA.com, the big-money NBA League Pass (and NFL Sunday Ticket with DIRECTV), along with the big kahunas of Warner Brothers Studios, DC Comics, WB TV, and more than two dozen investments in strategically-positioned companies. What’s important about Time Warner in particular is its reach. It isn’t a niche operator. It is truly mass media, and when you examine all the different content it controls, you realize it hits Americans of every stripe. With a broad demographic, that also is attractive to advertisers, who pony up good money for access, which means more revenue and cash flow. Now, with this huge vertically integrated conglomerate, T stock will benefit because consumers can mix and match their content. Telecom, cable/satellite, programming – all delivered how, where and when a consumer desires. Going forward, and especially thanks to the Time Warner merger, I’m changing my opinion from seeing T stock as just a trading stock. I think AT&T stock price should see reasonable capital gains going forward. First, it pays that 5.08% dividend, which is on the high end for most common equities. But I think 5% earnings growth is easily possible. I don’t like that AT&T now has a mountain of debt that will never be paid off. However, debt service isn’t that expensive, and there is ample free cash flow available to pay that dividend. Also, while I think this sets up AT&T for the near future, at some point, growth is going to flag. The question then becomes: what next? Lawrence Meyers is the CEO of PDL Capital, a specialty lender focusing on consumer finance and is the Manager of The Liberty Portfolio at www.thelibertyportfolio.com. He does not own any stock mentioned but has sold naked puts against TWX stock. He has 22 years’ experience in the stock market, and has written more than 1,600 articles on investing. Lawrence Meyers can be reached at [email protected]. • 5 Bitcoin Stocks to Buy for Low-Risk Cryptocurrency Profits • 7 Spinoff Stocks That Could Be Better Than Their Parents • 10 Smart Money Stocks to Sell for 2018 The postAT&T Inc. (T) Stock Is Worth Another Look for the Long Gameappeared first onInvestorPlace. \|\| Bitcoin Bounces Huge As China’s Influence Wanes: FromTyler Durden: Despiteheadlines from WSJ of “the most draconian measures ever” against Bitcoin, the cryptocurrencytraded up over $1100 from its post-China-“ban” lows and has topped $4100 once againas the world slowly wakes up to the nonsense that shutting down a completely decentralized system is possible, and the fact thatChina has long-since lost any standing as a major trading hub in the crypto world. Bitcoin just topped $4100 (up over $1100 from the lows last week)… Ether is up 50% from last week’s lows – just topping $300 again… And all cryptos are strongly bid today… And here’s one simple chart to explain why “shutting China’s Bitcoin exchanges” is not really that big a deal… As CoinDesk’s Marc Hochstein details,this ain’t Mt. Gox – and bitcoin survived that, too. With all thepanic sellingfollowing the Chinese government’s renewedcrackdownon bitcoin exchanges,it’s important to remember that the country is no longer the trading hub it once was. All else equal, that means the market may take less time to recover from the latest sell-off than from the one that took placein 2013(you know, when the People’s Bank of China suddenly declared thatbitcoin was not a currencyand ordered payment processors to stop accepting it). Just a reminder of how bad the fallout from that that really was, duringthe three yearsit took bitcoin to recover from those bombshells, it lost nearly half its value, dropping from an all-time high of $1,150 to under $500. But that was at a time when Chinese bitcoin trading accounted for as much as 90% of global volume (as shown in the chart below from CoinDesk’s second-quarterState of Blockchain report.) This state of affairs persisted until as recently as January of this year: Since then, however, China’s share of bitcoin trading volume has fallen dramatically. This is likely for two reasons: China’s Januaryban on no-fee tradingon the country’s exchanges dramatically reduced volume there; and the rise of trading volumes inJapanand South Korea as shown in the chart below: “Global trading volume now appears more distributed than ever before,”our State of Blockchain reportnoted in June. Remember also, this time around there hasn’t been any formal guidance from government – and it appears local exchanges Huobi and OKCoin will continue letting users trade between cryptocurrencies. In short, this is far from a blanket ban. Of course, there are many variables that influence the price of bitcoin, so there is no guarantee of a speedier recovery. But thanks to this more diversified market, and in context, still limited action, it stands to reason that the regulatory interventions of a single country (even the world’s most populous country) should have less impact on the bitcoin price over the long term. The bottom line is simple –China, Shmyna… and as far as Jamie Dimon is concerned “storm in a teacup.” As we noted earlier,China’s crackdown is a double edged sword: after all bitcoin was created precisely with the contingency of a government crackdown in mind, and as suchshould bitcoin prove resilient to Beijing’s actions it will only make it that much more valuable, sending its price even higher.Furthermore, China would be effectively shutting itself out of a growing global market and potentially, lagging in blockchain development. Winklevoss Bitcoin Trust ETF (NASDAQ:COIN)rose $0.24 (+0.1%) in premarket trading Tuesday. Year-to-date, COIN has gained 12.75%, versus a % rise in the benchmark S&P 500 index during the same period. This article is brought to you courtesy ofZeroHedge. [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] A Bitcoin Crash Could Really Punish These Stocks http://for.tn/2g3hOfE #ICO #BTC #News #ETH \|\| 11月のBTC分裂問題。BCC（BCH）と一緒でコイン増えるだけっしょ？だと死ぬことはよくわかった…どうするかは少し考えたい。ってもできることはフィアットに変えておくぐらいだが…アルトに変えるってのはあり得ん \|\| #Putin Tells Central Bank Not to Create Barriers to #Cryptocurrencies \|\| #Putin Tells Central Bank Not to Create Barriers to #Cryptocurrencies \|\| ビットフライヤーのＣＭがＴＶでも流れるようになったビットフライヤーとは大手が出資するビットコインとイーサリアムの取引所のことだ \|\| $4743.72 at 07:00 UTC [24h Range: $4700.00 - $4909.97 Volume: 11847 BTC] \|\| El precio del Bitcoin en más de 160 monedas http://www.preciobitcoin.net/?btz50=0017100710 … \|\| BTC Real Time Price: ThePriceOfBTC: $4148.89 #bitstamp; $4151.84 #gemini; $4156.00 #GDAX; $4156.00 #kraken; $4160.71 #hitbtc; $4239.70 #cex; \|\| 2016: "Xapo is planning to upgrade to Classic. We're committed to helping bitcoin scale and to supporting the initiatives that can take us … \|\| What can you buy with bitcoins? http://bitcoinb.net/guide-what-can-you-buy-with-bitcoins.html … #QA #Bitcoin	Trend: down \|\| Prices: 7407.41, 7022.76, 7144.38, 7459.69, 7143.58, 6618.14, 6357.60, 5950.07, 6559.49, 6635.75
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis] Not fully available. [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Sector ETF Strategies to Manage Risk and Enhance Returns: This article was originally published onETFTrends.com. With a changing market environment, many investors are looking to sectors to take a targeted approach to managing risks and enhancing returns. On the upcoming webcast,Sector ETF Strategies to Manage Risk and Enhance Returns, Steve Deroian, Head of ETF Strategy at John Hancock Investments, and Peter Dillard, Chief Data Officer and Head of Investment Analytics and Data for Dimensional Fund Advisors, will outline how financial advisors can incorporate sector-specific investments to best position portfolios for today’s market. For example, investors can look to sector-specific, smart beta ETFs to take a more targeted approach with their portfolios, including the John Hancock Multifactor Consumer Discretionary ETF (JHMC) , John Hancock Multifactor Financials ETF (JHMF) , John Hancock Multifactor Healthcare ETF (JHMH) , John Hancock Multifactor Technology ETF (JHMT) , John Hancock Multifactor Consumer Staples ETF (JHMS) , John Hancock Multifactor Energy ETF (JHME) , John Hancock Multifactor Industrials ETF (JHMI) , John Hancock Multifactor Materials ETF (JHMA) and John Hancock Multifactor Utilities ETF (JHMU) . The underlying indices' methodology are managed by Dimensional Fund advisors, a pioneer in applying insight from academic research to a systematic investment process that pursues higher expected returns through advanced portfolio design and implementation. The smart-beta ETFs follow a rules-based selection process that is seen as a multi-factor approach, combining a number of factors in a single portfolio. Securities are adjusted by relative price and profitability. The underlying indices may overweight stocks with lower relative prices and underweight names with higher relative prices. The indices can also adjust for profitability by overweighting stocks with higher profitability and underweighting those with lower profitability. The underlying indices also implement market-capitalization adjustments where they increase the weights of smaller companies within the eligible universe and decrease the weights of larger names. The weighting methodology help the ETFs follow a more equal-weight tilt with greater exposure to smaller companies than traditional market-cap weighted index funds in an attempt to capture the size premium and limit risks associated with high-flying, large-cap stocks that may be overbought in an ongoing bull market rally. Financial advisors who are interested in learning more about sector strategies canregister for the Tuesday, April 2 webcast here. POPULAR ARTICLES AND RESOURCES FROM ETFTRENDS.COM • SPY ETF Quote • VOO ETF Quote • QQQ ETF Quote • VTI ETF Quote • JNUG ETF Quote • Top 34 Gold ETFs • Top 34 Oil ETFs • Top 57 Financials ETFs • Using Merger Arbitrage as a Hedge Against Market Volatility • A Better Way to Determine Risk Exposure for Growth ETF Investors • Report Findings Highlight Fake Bitcoin Trading on Unregulated Exchanges • How to Manage A Mature Bull Market With Macro-Themed ETF Strategies • In the Know: Building a Low Cost, Defensive Portfolio READ MORE AT ETFTRENDS.COM > \|\| Bitcoin Beats the Dow, Outperforming Every Single Stock, in 2019: Traders and analysts are screaming about the stock market’s “historic” first quarter. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) – which tracks 30 of the largest American companies – has staged an epic rally since the start of the year, chalking up 12 percent. But forget stocks. Bitcoin is outperforming the broader stock market by a huge margin. In fact, bitcoin is outperforming every stock on the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Bitcoin’s 44 percent year-to-date gains compared to the Dow’s 12 percent in the same time period. Source: TradingView As you can see in the chart above, bitcoin has gained 44 percent since the start of the year. In contrast, the Dow has etched out 12 percent. It’s still an impressive rise for stocks. Just three months into the year and the Dow has already surpassed the annual average stock market return of10 percent. Bitcoin’s rise in the same time period, however, makes the stock market rally look weak. On Wednesday, bitcoincarved out a new 2019 high, coming within touching distance of $5,500 on the Bitstamp exchange. It marks the peak of 44 percent bull run since the start of the year. Read the full story on CCN.com. \|\| Decred, an experiment in on-chain governance: Decred’s origin story traces back to two distinct points: an obscure Bitcointalkpostin April 2013 and ablog postintroducing an alternative Bitcoin full-node implementation, dubbedbtcd, in May 2013. The people behind these two posts would soon come to work together to create Decred, a cryptocurrency with a built-in governance system. On April 3, 2013, a Bitcointalk user going by TradeFortress started a thread titled “Want to make an altcoin that actually changes something?” In the post, another user, who went by the pseudonym tacotime,expressedhis interest in developing an altcoin but “just [needed] people with the time to code.” Four days later, tacotimeintroducedBitcointalk to MC2 (Memcoin2) a cryptocurrency based on a hybrid Proof-of-Work and Proof-of-Stake system. Join Genesis nowand continue reading,Decred, an experiment in on-chain governance! \|\| XRP Swells 13.06% in a Sharp Recovery as Ripple ETPs Take Off: Ripple was a big mover this Friday as the company saw itsXRP pricerise nearly 13-percent ahead of the European market open. The XRP-to-dollar rate today established an intraday high towards $0.372 at about 0515 UTC. Earlier the same day, the pair was moving downwards in a massive bearish correction wave that confirmed a reversal upon testing 0.329. The bounce back move came on a substantial volume with far more XRP changing hands against Tether’s stablecoin USDT, South Korean Won, and Bitcoin’s BTC. RIPPLE’S XRP PRICE JUMPS OVER 13-PERCENT IN INTRADAY CORRECTION \| SOURCE: COINMARKETCAP.COM Data on CoinMarketCap.com reported that XRP-enabled pairs conducted $2.351 billion worth of trades in the past 24 hours. At the same time, Yahoo Finance noted the same volume was around $49.84 million on a real-time basis. Ripple, as a company, witnessed developments on the business front this week. A blockchain initiative launched by the European Commission introduced Ripple as a crucial associate. In another event, the company forged a partnership with UK-based RationalFX to lend its RippleNet payment services. And effectively today, Nordic Growth Market, a regulated exchange owned by the Germany-based Boerse Stuttgart,introducedXRP tracking exchange-traded products to the EU investors. The announcement opened XRP’s prospects further among the institutional investors’ class. There is no evidence that XRP’s sharp intraday recovery today followed a set of positive fundamental news from the press. The coin was already moving upwards in the line of the rest of the cryptocurrency market since April 2. The leading cryptocurrencybitcoin started correcting loweryesterday. Other cryptocurrencies alsotailedbitcoin’s interim downside trend, including XRP. It is only upon today’s European market open XRP decoupled itself from bitcoin. Read the full story on CCN.com. \|\| European Equities: Will the PMI Numbers Deliver another Boost?: • German PPI m/m (Mar) • French Manufacturing PMI (Apr) prelim • French Services PMI (Apr) prelim • German Manufacturing PMI (Apr) prelim • German Services PMI (Apr) prelim • Manufacturing PMI (Apr) prelim (Eurozone) • Markit Composite PMI (Apr) prelim (Eurozone) • Services PMI (Apr) prelim (Eurozone) • N/A The European majors continued with their mini-rally on Wednesday. The CAC40 led the way on the day, rising by 0.62%. Not too far behind were the DAX and EuroStoxx600 with gains of 0.43% and 0.10% respectively. For the current week, the DAX leads the way with a 1.28% gain coming from a 6thconsecutive day in the green. The upward momentum has given the DAX a 5.44% rise for the current month, which has only been outgunned by the CSI300. The CSI300 was up by 5.55% for April. Economic data released through the European session on Wednesday was limited to finalized Eurozone inflation and trade data. According to figures released by theEuropean Commission, the Eurozone’s trade surplus widened from €1.5bn to €17.9bn in February. Inflation figures were in line with forecasts, with the annual rate of core inflation sitting at 0.8%, well below the ECB target. The stats had little influence on the day, in spite of the widening in the trade deficit. A choppy start to the day saw the major bourses fall into the red before rallying through the second half of the day. Providing support through the day was better than expected economic data out of China. The Chinese economy grew by 6.4%, year-on-year, in the first quarter, which was better than a forecasted 6.3%. Whilst growth for the quarter eased to 1.4%, quarter-on-quarter, the rest of the stats were impressive. Industrial production surged by 8.5% in March, with retail sales jumping by 8.7%. The stats certainly eased any market jitters over the global economy supported by hopes of the U.S and China nearing an agreement. Driven by the stats out of China, European banks and autos continued to lead the way. On the DAX, Volkswagen and Daimler were amongst the front runners, gaining 2.95% and 2.30% respectively. From the financial sector, BNP Paribas and Commerzbank gained 1.64% and 1.54% respectively. Deutsche Bank trailed the due, gaining 0.73% on the day. The European majors managed to avoid a late pullback as the U.S majors struggled following disappointing earnings results from Netflix and IBM. Following 1stquarter GDP numbers and more out of China and trade and inflation figures out of the Eurozone, stats are more regionally specific this morning. Economic data due out of the Eurozone include flash April private-sector PMI numbers for France, Germany, and the Eurozone. While the market is unlikely to expect Germany’s manufacturing sector to return to expansion in April, a slower pace of contraction would be needed. A combination of better than expected economic data out of China and a slower pace of contraction Germany’s manufacturing sector would fuel the current rally. On the earnings front, American Express is due to release their quarterly earnings. Positive results will likely have a more muted impact on risk sentiment. Economic data out of the U.S later today will be of importance. U.S retail sales and private sector PMI numbers will provide further guidance on how the U.S economy is performing going into the 2ndquarter. At the time of writing, it was a mixed bag for the futures. The DAX30 was down 19.5 points, while the CAC40 was pointing to a 34 point gain at the open. Thisarticlewas originally posted on FX Empire • US Stock Markets Setting Up for Increased Volatility • Forex Daily Recap – USD/CNY Marked the Month’s Lowest Vicinity Following Solid Chinese Data • Investors on the Sidelines Ahead of the Long Weekend • Aussie Employment Change Beats Forecast; AUD/USD Shows Muted Upside Reaction • GBP/USD Daily Price Forecast – The Highly Bullish-expected US Retails Data May Leave The Cable Badly Wounded • Bitcoin Cash – ABC, Litecoin and Ripple Daily Analysis – 18/04/19 \|\| Canada Seizes $1.4 Million Bitcoin Holdings in Reportedly Largest Ever Forfeiture: A Toronto judge has ruled an online drug dealer must pay his entire $1.4 million Bitcoin (BTC) holdings to the state in what is reportedlyCanada’slargest ever forfeiture, local daily news outletThe Starreported April 3. Matthew Phan, who dealt in illegal narcotics online, had tried to convince law enforcement he had amassed his 281.41 BTC (worth around $1.4 million at press time) through other activities. The court had sought to claim the stash in February, with Phanappealingagainst the demands, a process he has now appeared to lose. According to The Star, Superior Court Justice Jane Kelly said Phan had failed to convince her that the funds had materialized as a result of legal operations such as trading oncryptocurrency exchanges. “It is a reasonable inference to draw that payment for such illegal narcotics sales was made using Bitcoin that was found in the digital wallet on Mr. Phan’s computer,” the publication quotes her as saying Wednesday. The case comes in the aftermath of heightened media attention around Bitcoin in Canada following the collapse of trading platformQuadrigaCX. The platform, the CEO of which unexpectedly died in December last year, currentlyowesits clients around $190 million in crypto andfiatamid controversy over its liquidity and funds handling. Ernst & Young, currently working as administrators for the business, this week officiallyadmittedthe chances of a reemergence from its present difficulties was unlikely. At the same time, in a separate case, Canadian prosecutors have ordered the freezing of $22 million inICOtokens issued by local consulting firm Vanbex amid suspicions its organizers used the profits for personal gain. The companydeniesany wrongdoing. • Report: Crypto Miner Hut 8 Lays Off More Staff • India: Interim Bail Granted to Two Brothers Accused in $300 Mln Crypto Ponzi Scheme • Mt. Gox CEO Decides to Appeal Conviction on Manipulating Financial Records • Report: Prosecutors Drop Appeal Against Mt. Gox CEO’s Embezzlement Acquittal \|\| Bitcoin Whales Have Started Splashing – This Rally’s Just Getting Started: On Squawk Box, Fundstrat Global Advisors head of research Thomas Lee said that despite the 16-month correction, bitcoin is en route to a steady accumulation phase throughout 2019. In the past 24 hours, thebitcoin priceexperienced a roughly 2.7 percent recovery following a slight pullback, climbing to $5,055 and leading a nearly $8 billion crypto market recovery. Following a slight correction, the bitcoin price has recovered (source: coinmarketcap.com) The slight retrace came after an impressive 19 percent rally of bitcoin from $4,200 to $5,000, a price movement analysts like Lee believe was crucial in rekindling the momentum of the market. According to Lee, whales that boughtbitcoinvery early on who sold some of their holdings when the asset hit a price of $20,000 have started toaccumulatethe dominant cryptocurrency. The researcher suggested that many investors in the cryptocurrency market likely kept cash on the sidelines waiting for a viable opportunity to invest in the asset class once again, demonstrating the confidence of investors in the long-term trend of the market. Leesaid: Read the full story on CCN.com. \|\| Monero Developers Confirm Fix of Bug That Lost Balances for Ledger Wallet Users: Monero (XMR) developers have fixed a bug involvingcryptocurrencyhardwarewalletLedgerthat made user funds look like they had disappeared, they confirmed onsocial mediaon April 8. Reportedin early March, the bug, which Ledger originally thought to be a synchronization problem, first came to light when a user’s balance failed to react to an incoming transaction. The problem only affected those using Ledger Nano S devices to access their XMR wallet. As of this week, the issue has officially been resolved through the issuance of a patch from Monero developers luigi1111 and stoffu. The amount thought to be lost in the initial red flag transaction totalled 1,680 XMR (around $115,00), leading to concerns of a major flaw. In the end, Monero says, the number of wallets involved was minimal. “A few weeks ago some Ledger Monero users got affected by a bug in the Ledger Monero code. Due to the bug, a handful of transactions were erroneously constructed and the wallet was not able to spot (and subsequently credit) the change, thereby letting the user believe their funds were lost,” a summary of the fix on Reddit now reads. The summary continues: “Fortunately, we were, in collaboration with the Ledger team, able to resolve this bug and recover the 'lost' funds of the affected users.” Going forward, Monero promised to review the Ledger Monero code more rigorously, adding tests in a format similar to what is currently done for fellow hardware walletTrezor. “This, hopefully, will ensure no such bugs will be present in the future,” the summary adds. Monero is a privacy-focusedaltcointhat currently occupiesthirteenth placein the top twenty cryptocurrencies by market cap. Its anonymity features have made it afavoritefor those concerned about privacy, but have also endeared it to cybercriminals, who havedevelopedmalwareto mine it covertly on user devices. Last week, XMR.to, a service which allowed Bitcoin (BTC) users to increase the privacy of their own transactions using XMR,removed supportforUnited Statesresidents due to regulatory compliance difficulties. • Bitcoin Hovers Over $5,000 as Top Cryptos See Losses • French Stock Market Regulator Issues Warning About Crypto-Related Firm • TrueUSD Audit Shows Full US Dollar Backing • Speak Out: Discussing Your Experience With ICOs \|\| Bank for International Settlements Exec Advises Against Central Bank Digital Currencies: Bitcoin (BTC) critic and general manager at the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) Agustin Carstens advised against the issuance of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) in a speech in Dublin on March 22. Bloombergreportedon the speech the same day. Per the report, Carstens explained that a CBDC could facilitate a bank run, enabling people to move their funds from commercialbankstocentral bankaccounts faster, thus destabilizing the system. Another issue that Carstens said arises with CBDC use, according to Bloomberg, is the different impact of interest rates on the public's demand for money. Carstens reportedly said that this influence could lead to bigger central bank balance sheets that require a buildup of assets, which could potentially impact the liquidity of the financial markets. Per Bloomberg, he also noted that there are enormous operational consequences for the central bank in the implementation of monetary policy and the traditional market’s stability. Lastly, he noted: “Central banks do not put a brake on innovations just for the sake of it. But neither should they speed ahead disregarding all traffic conditions.” As Cointelegraphreportedin February, Carstens calledBitcoina “combination of a bubble, a Ponzi scheme and an environmental disaster” and asked central banks to more closely regulate cryptocurrencies to prevent them from becoming part of the main financial system. A report published in January by the BIShas found that seventy percentof central banks worldwide are conducting research into CBDC issuance. • United Arab Emirates’ Financial Authorities Host Crypto Asset and Fintech Forum • German Bank Association: New Regulation for DLT-Based Securities May Be Necessary • Growth of Crypto Industry Could Threaten Banks, Financial Stability: Basel Committee • Leading Bitcoin Cash Developer Amaury Séchet Leaves Bitcoin Unlimited \|\| Crypto Mixed; France Suggests Ban on Privacy Coins: Prices of major digital coins were mixed on Friday morning in Asia. Investing.com – With regulations on cryptocurrencies being formulated and suggested around the world, prices of major digital coins were mixed on Friday morning in Asia. Bitcoin slid 0.07% to 3,876.9 by 10:24 PM ET (03:24 AM GMT). The coin still lingered at one-week highs after surviving a mid-week dive to around $3,700. Ethereum also went down 13.64% to $135.97, and XRP traded 1.72% lower to $0.31167 over the last 24 hours. Litecoin was the only gainer, increasing 0.09% to 55.92. Going full steam, the coin has surged 22.14% over the past week. The crypto market cap stayed flat at around $133 billion. It added $7 billion so far from the beginning of this week. The most notable news in the industry this morning was France’s announcement that it might push forward a ban on anonymous cryptocurrencies. Eric Woerth, the head of the Finance Committee of France’s National Assembly, proposed a ban on these private coins. “It would also have been appropriate to propose a ban on the dissemination and trade in [cryptocurrencies built] to ensure complete anonymity by preventing any identification procedure by design,” said Woerth. He cited private coins such as Monero, PIVX, DeepOnion, Zcash, saying the purpose of creating these coins is to bypass any possibility of identifying the holders. He said “regulation has not gone that far.” Japanese regulators made a similar move last April, when they suggested a ban on trading anonymity-oriented altcoins Dash and Monero. France is not considered crypto-friendly, at least to date. Last year, French parliament blocked amendments to ease crypto-related taxation, and its central bank would not support tobacco kiosks’ sale of Bitcoin. In other news, Israel’s securities regulators published final recommendations on crypto regulation that suggested disclosure requirements for crypto offerings that qualify as securities. The regulators said that such offerings should be controlled like crowdfunding. Story continues Related Articles US SEC to Clarify Cryptocurrency Related Regulations in Meetings with Startups Auscoin Scam Busted; Sam Karagiozis Arrested on Drug Trafficking Charges New York Times Posts ‘Blockchain Exploration’ Job Listing, Removes It Hours Later [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] SoftBank's Masayoshi Son made a huge personal bet on bitcoin just as prices peaked and lost more than $130 million when he sold out https://t.co/Ov7psYVz76 \|\| #crypto price changes last hour $EGC +8.22% $XHV +7.72% $GLC +7.54% $FSN -7.10% $MUSIC -4.66% $DENT -4.00% #bitcoin #cryptocurrency \|\| Belensay rüzgarı nereye eserse orası güzelleşiyor.. #SAMAT artık 1.10 okuyorsunuz// BELENSAY analiz gurubu.. #bist #bist100 #usdtry #XU100 #𝒷𝑒𝓁𝑒𝓃𝓈𝒶𝓎 Since 2012 #doge #dogeusd #btc #btcusd YTD \|\| Awesome things made by awesome project / people! The Komodo guys are working like no one else in this crypto space! #Komodo #Success #Kmd #Ethereum #cryptocurrency #bitcoin https://twitter.com/KomodoWorld/status/1111297339975745536 … \|\| #cryptocurrency Price Analysis for #Bitsend #BSD : Last Hour Change : -1.17 % \|\| 11-03-2019 19:00 Price in #USD : 0.048621546 \|\| Price in #EUR : 0.0432789132 New Price in #Bitcoin #BTC : 0.00001248 \|\| #Coin Rank 747 \|\| Mar 03, 2019 22:02:00 UTC \| 3,823.70$ \| 3,357.70€ \| 2,883.70£ \| #Bitcoin #btc pic.twitter.com/vY4VknmhHB \|\| Mar 12, 2019 13:01:00 UTC \| 3,907.80$ \| 3,472.50€ \| 2,993.10£ \| #Bitcoin #btc pic.twitter.com/6RceVC4qiO \|\| BTC/USD Orderbook Density - Asks: $92532/$ within $3880-$4200 range ; Bids: $88063/$ within $3600-$3970 range $BTC $BTCUSD #bitcoin #orderbook \|\| bitFlyer（ビットフライヤー）レバレッジ規制新規発注のみ最大レバレッジ倍率を 15 倍から 4 倍に変更 2019 年 4 月 22 日（月）午前 4 時 00 分頃から午前 6 時 00 分頃まで実施されるメンテナンス中に適用となります。 #BTC #ETH #XRP #TRX #BTCFXhttps://twitter.com/bitFlyer/status/1119052984309014528 … \|\| 現在の1ビットコインあたりの値段は448,745.1365円です。値段の取得日時はMar 19, 2019 17:04:00 UTCです #bitcoin #ビットコイン	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 5285.14, 5247.35, 5350.73, 5402.70, 5505.28, 5768.29, 5831.17, 5795.71, 5746.81, 5829.50
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.	[Technical Analysis for 2016-09-26] BTC Price: 608.04, BTC RSI: 54.72 Gold Price: 1339.70, Gold RSI: 56.50 Oil Price: 45.93, Oil RSI: 53.20 [Random Sample of News (last 60 days)] Bitcoin is money, U.S. judge says in case tied to JPMorgan hack: By Jonathan Stempel NEW YORK, Sept 19 (Reuters) - Bitcoin qualifies as money, a federal judge ruled on Monday, in a decision linked to a criminal case over hacking attacks against JPMorgan Chase & Co and other companies. U.S. District Judge Alison Nathan in Manhattan rejected a bid by Anthony Murgio to dismiss two charges related to his alleged operation of Coin.mx, which prosecutors have called an unlicensed bitcoin exchange. Murgio had argued that bitcoin did not qualify as "funds" under the federal law prohibiting the operation of unlicensed money transmitting businesses. But the judge, like her colleague Jed Rakoff in an unrelated 2014 case, said the virtual currency met that definition. "Bitcoins are funds within the plain meaning of that term," Nathan wrote. "Bitcoins can be accepted as a payment for goods and services or bought directly from an exchange with a bank account. They therefore function as pecuniary resources and are used as a medium of exchange and a means of payment." The decision did not address six other criminal counts that Murgio faces, Nathan wrote. Lawyers for Murgio did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Prosecutors last year charged Murgio over the operation of Coin.mx, and in April charged his father Michael with participating in bribery aimed at supporting it. Authorities have said Coin.mx was owned by Gery Shalon, an Israeli man who, along with two others, was charged with running a sprawling computer hacking and fraud scheme targeting a dozen companies, including JPMorgan, and exposing personal data of more than 100 million people. That alleged scheme generated hundreds of millions of dollars of profit through pumping up stock prices, online casinos, money laundering and other illegal activity, prosecutors have said. Shalon has pleaded not guilty, and is being held at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan. He hired new lawyers last month and is seeking permission to replace lawyers who joined the case in June, a Monday court filing showed. The case is U.S. v Murgio et al, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 15-cr-00769. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by David Gregorio) \|\| Bitcoin is money, U.S. judge says in case tied to JPMorgan hack: By Jonathan Stempel NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bitcoin qualifies as money, a federal judge ruled on Monday, in a decision linked to a criminal case over hacking attacks against JPMorgan Chase & Co and other companies. U.S. District Judge Alison Nathan in Manhattan rejected a bid by Anthony Murgio to dismiss two charges related to his alleged operation of Coin.mx, which prosecutors have called an unlicensed bitcoin exchange. Murgio had argued that bitcoin did not qualify as "funds" under the federal law prohibiting the operation of unlicensed money transmitting businesses. But the judge, like her colleague Jed Rakoff in an unrelated 2014 case, said the virtual currency met that definition. "Bitcoins are funds within the plain meaning of that term," Nathan wrote. "Bitcoins can be accepted as a payment for goods and services or bought directly from an exchange with a bank account. They therefore function as pecuniary resources and are used as a medium of exchange and a means of payment." The decision did not address six other criminal counts that Murgio faces, Nathan wrote. Lawyers for Murgio did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Prosecutors last year charged Murgio over the operation of Coin.mx, and in April charged his father Michael with participating in bribery aimed at supporting it. Authorities have said Coin.mx was owned by Gery Shalon, an Israeli man who, along with two others, was charged with running a sprawling computer hacking and fraud scheme targeting a dozen companies, including JPMorgan, and exposing personal data of more than 100 million people. That alleged scheme generated hundreds of millions of dollars of profit through pumping up stock prices, online casinos, money laundering and other illegal activity, prosecutors have said. Shalon has pleaded not guilty, and is being held at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan. He hired new lawyers last month and is seeking permission to replace lawyers who joined the case in June, a Monday court filing showed. The case is U.S. v Murgio et al, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 15-cr-00769. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by David Gregorio) \|\| Bitcoin is money, U.S. judge says in case tied to JPMorgan hack: By Jonathan Stempel NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bitcoin qualifies as money, a federal judge ruled on Monday, in a decision linked to a criminal case over hacking attacks against JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) and other companies. U.S. District Judge Alison Nathan in Manhattan rejected a bid by Anthony Murgio to dismiss two charges related to his alleged operation of Coin.mx, which prosecutors have called an unlicensed bitcoin exchange. Murgio had argued that bitcoin did not qualify as "funds" under the federal law prohibiting the operation of unlicensed money transmitting businesses. But the judge, like her colleague Jed Rakoff in an unrelated 2014 case, said the virtual currency met that definition. "Bitcoins are funds within the plain meaning of that term," Nathan wrote. "Bitcoins can be accepted as a payment for goods and services or bought directly from an exchange with a bank account. They therefore function as pecuniary resources and are used as a medium of exchange and a means of payment." The decision did not address six other criminal counts that Murgio faces, Nathan wrote. Lawyers for Murgio did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Prosecutors last year charged Murgio over the operation of Coin.mx, and in April charged his father Michael with participating in bribery aimed at supporting it. Authorities have said Coin.mx was owned by Gery Shalon, an Israeli man who, along with two others, was charged with running a sprawling computer hacking and fraud scheme targeting a dozen companies, including JPMorgan, and exposing personal data of more than 100 million people. That alleged scheme generated hundreds of millions of dollars of profit through pumping up stock prices, online casinos, money laundering and other illegal activity, prosecutors have said. Shalon has pleaded not guilty, and is being held at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan. He hired new lawyers last month and is seeking permission to replace lawyers who joined the case in June, a Monday court filing showed. The case is U.S. v Murgio et al, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 15-cr-00769. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by David Gregorio) View comments \|\| The YouTuber behind the 'African Drug Lord' pranks reveals his secrets and a disturbing truth about our online privacy: If you haven't watched the hilarious "African Drug Lord" videos on YouTube, you should check it out just be aware the videos contain profanities. In his videos, YouTuber "VirtuallyVain" scares the hell out of video gamers by pretending that a seemingly random person from Africa with a thick accent knows their names, location, and sometimes even their phone numbers. african drug lord youtube prank video (A screenshot from one of VirtuallyVain's YouTube videos, where he pranks gamers into thinking they've been hacked.VirtuallyVain/YouTube) It sounds terrifying for the prank's victims, as there's a sense of total helplessness when a person from a foreign place with unclear intentions and capabilities reveals private information they thought was private. For the rest of us watching, the videos are hilarious. And Vain will get in touch with his "victims" after the prank to reassure them that everything is OK, they haven't been hacked, and he asks them permission to appear in his YouTube videos. H e's doing it for a laugh, as well as a "public service" to show you that "your information is not safe." I spoke with VirtuallyVain, who keeps his identity secret and chose to simply be called "Vain," to find out how he gets a gamer's information for his pranks, and what tips he has for anyone who wants to boost their privacy online. hacking smaller (REUTERS/Kacper Pempel) How he gets your information. "What I'm doing is not hacking at all, nothing I do is illegal," Vain told me. " It's basically when people are irresponsible with the information they post online." For his specific videos that center around pranking online video gamers, Vain focuses on revealing two main pieces of information to scare them: their names and where they are. Vain says he can find a name by "researching their gamer tag (a nickname you use for online multiplayer games) or their username in different avenues that might provide more information." That part isn't the scariest. It's when the "African Drug Lord" reveals he knows where you are at that very moment. Story continues Once Vain gets a name that's linked to a gamer tag or username, social media will essentially do the work for him, as he can potentially find your location and even your phone number from a Facebook account. anonymous facebook profile (Depending on what information you add, your Facebook profile can be a useful tool in the wrong hands, unless you're these guys.Screenshot) Don't have your phone number listed on Facebook? Doesn't matter, there's another completely legal website called Whitepages.com that lets you type in a name to find out a bunch of information, like a phone number. Don't have your location listed on Facebook, either? Piece of cake. "The easiest most guaranteed information you can get" is from your IP address, which reveals where the computer you're using is located. Vain can get your IP address from the online video game pretty easily and legally. Go on then, do your worst Believing that I was responsible with the information I post online, I asked Vain to use his legal methods to see what he could find out about me after of our Skype call. About five minutes after we hung up on Skype, he called me on my cell phone. The thing is, I never gave him my cell phone number, I never publicly posted it on any social media platform, and it's not on Whitepages.com. The Matrix, Warner Bros He then emailed me with two addresses, one of which was my old address, and the second was my current one. Again, I didn't think that information was available anywhere. "There are some places that you can't even think of where you use your username where you would also use your name, address, or phone number," he told me. Indeed, he got my phone number from somewhere I never would have thought he could get it from. Vain says that a lot of people assume he's using a method called "social engineering," which is fraudulent. It's when someone pretends to be someone else to obtain a victim's information. For example, a person looking to get information about you could call your cell phone provider posing as you or even the service provider's representative to transfer your phone number to a new SIM card. But Vain doesn't do that, or anything else illegal or fraudulent. So how do you protect yourself from someone with malicious intents? You're less at risk if you have a common name. "Have a reserved alias or username and in no way make any connections towards your personal self." That means any account you have online shouldn't link to you. When you sign up for anything online that requires an email, use a separate email to your personal email that's dedicated to online accounts, and don't make any reference of your name or personal details in that email address. "Use a VPN (virtual private network)." A VPN will mask your IP address with a different IP address, so anyone trying to find it won't see your actual IP address. "Ask your internet service provide for a dynamic IP address," where your internet service provider will continuously change your IP address. "Ask to have your information removed from Whitepages." At the end of the day, however, Vain told me "n obody's safe, w e live in a time where our attacks are better than our defenses, so I think it comes to a point where you have to acknowledge the fact that you are susceptible to this." But before you unplug to go live in the woods where no one can find you, Vain reassured me that " for those who aren't a target, you're pretty much safe. It's very rare that someone would target you for no reason." Still, you don't want to make it easy. NOW WATCH: Theres a glaring security problem with those new credit card chips More From Business Insider These are the two most powerful gaming laptops in the world right now Experts have 2 theories for how top-secret NSA data was stolen, and they're equally disturbing Bitcoin users have been warned about a potential attack by government hackers \|\| 'Grumpy hold-outs' could sink Bitfinex recovery plan after Bitcoin theft: By Clare Baldwin HONG KONG (Reuters) - Crypto-currency exchange Bitfinex's plan to impose losses on all its trading clients for the theft by hackers of $72 million in Bitcoin rests on two flawed pillars, according to lawyers. The Hong Kong-based exchange said on Aug. 2 that hackers had stolen 119,756 bitcoins from some clients' accounts, the second-biggest such hack in dollar terms, and later said it would spread the losses across all its customers, whether or not they had been hacked or even held bitcoin. It said customers would forfeit 36 percent of their holdings and be given "BFX tokens" instead that could be redeemed by the exchange or converted to shares in its parent company iFinex. Both elements of the plan are open to legal challenge, lawyers said. Imposing losses on customers who were not hacked appears to go against the company's terms of service, said Ryan Straus, a Fenwick & West lawyer who advises financial technology companies on regulation and co-authored the U.S. chapter of a book on bitcoin law. The terms state "bitcoins in your multi-signature wallets belong to and are owned by you", which Straus said implied a special banking relationship with clients that the Bitfinex plan would breach. "The depository ... is obligated to return, on demand, the same monetary objects deposited," he said, quoting a line from his book. The exchange's tokens could also be problematic, said Zach Zweihorn, a lawyer at DavisPolk who specializes in U.S. securities and trading laws. The way they are currently being described - redeemable by the exchange or convertible to shares in iFinex - places them somewhere between a bond and a security and makes it highly likely that issuing them and trading them would require licenses in the U.S. that Bitfinex doesn't have. "If they are issuing an equity interest in their parent company, I don't really think the fact that it's evidenced through an electronic token ... really changes the analysis of whether it's a security," said Zweihorn. Story continues The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission did not return a request for comment. Bitfinex did not respond to requests for comment on either issue. "ROBBED" Bitfinex's website acknowledges there are "protocol level details" still to be worked out for the tokens, and that U.S. residents can sell but not buy them for the time being. "I feel like I was robbed," a 33 year-old investor who had a five-figure U.S. dollar amount on the platform told Reuters. He said he took a 36 percent "haircut" across all assets, including U.S. dollar reserves, and as a U.S. trader he couldn't properly deal in the IOU token. "Basically they took customers' funds in order to try to stay afloat. Nowhere in their terms of service did it mention that this was a possibility," said the user, who works in the financial services industry. Bitfinex is nevertheless hoping that traders will be patient and accept that they won't get a better deal if legal challenges force it into liquidation. "This is the closest approximation to what would happen in a liquidation context," it told traders in a blog post a week ago, while the tokens gave them some hope of ultimately recovering their losses. Traders will be aware of the fate of Tokyo-based crypto-currency exchange Mt Gox, which suffered the biggest bitcoin theft of all time in 2014, and consequently went bankrupt. Traders have not recovered any losses, and court proceedings are still ongoing. "People are afraid to see their assets completely frozen if they sue Bitfinex too early," said 28-year-old Nathan Bourgeois, who is based in France and moderates a 2,000-member traders' messaging group called Whaleclub under the username dr Helmut. He said he thought people would agree to the deal if there was a chance of getting some of their money back. But Patrick Murck, a fellow at Harvard University's Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society, said the Bitfinex plan was unlikely to survive a legal challenge. "It might be a pyrrhic victory. You might still end up with less money," said Murck, who is also co-founder of the Bitcoin Foundation and its former general counsel, but the "odds are fairly low" that nobody will test it in court. "It takes one grumpy hold-out ... to blow the whole thing up, he said. (Reporting by Clare Baldwin; Additional reporting by Hera Poon and Tris Pan; Editing by Will Waterman) \|\| Your first trade for Friday, August 26: The " Fast Money " traders gave their final trades of the day. Steve Grasso is a buyer of Dollar General (DG ( DG ) ). Karen Finerman is a buyer of the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY (NYSE Arca: SPY) ). David Seaburg is a buyer of Bank of America (BAC (NYSE: BAC"A) ). Brian Kelly is a buyer of the Gold Miners ETF (GDX (NYSE Arca: GDX) ). Trader disclosure: On Thursday, August 25 the following stocks and commodities mentioned or intended to be mentioned on CNBC's "Fast Money" were owned by the "Fast Money" traders: STEVE GRASSO is long BA, CC, EVGN, KBH, MJNA, MU, OLN, PFE, PHM, T, TWTR, GDX Grasso's Kids Own EFA, EFG, EWJ, IJR, SPY No Shorts Stuart Frankel & Co Inc. and some of its Partners have a financial interest in LDP, WDR, AVP, CVX, FCX, ICE, KDUS, KO, MAT, MCD, MJNA, NE, NEM, OLN, OXY, RIG, STAG, TAXI, TEX, TITXF, URI, VALE, WDR, WYNN, ZNGA, CUBA, HSPO, ICE, AMZN, MJNA, TITXF, NXTD, SPY, QQQ, DIA, XLI, BGCP, VIRT, JCP, GE, AIR FP KAREN FINERMAN is long AAL, BAC, C, DAL, DRII, DRII calls, FB, FL, GOOG, GOOGL, JPM, LYV, KORS, KORS, KORS puts, M, MA, SEDG, SPY puts, UAL, URI, WIFI long call spreads. Her firm is long ANTM, AAPL, BAC, C, C calls, DRII, DRII calls, FB, GOOG, GOOGL, JPM, JPM calls, KORS, LYV, M, MOH, PLCE, SPY puts, URI, WIFI, her firm is short IWM, MDY. Karen Finerman is on the board of GrafTech International. Opinions expressed by David Seaburg are solely his own and do not reflect the views and opinions of Cowen Group, Inc. David Seaburg and Cowen have a financial interest in EDIT. BRIAN KELLY is long Bitcoin, CME, DXJ, GDX, KBE, SLV, TLT, VXX, XLF, XOP, US Dollar UUP; he is short EUR=, JPY= \|\| Flow Study Gets More Caribbean Students Closer to Examination Success: MIAMI, FL--(Marketwired - Sep 20, 2016) - As parents and students get fully into the new school term, Flow unveils its e-learning platform, Flow Study , an online portal to help students better prepare for the CAPE and CSEC examinations. One of the most significant features of Flow Study is that it offers access to a comprehensive range of educational materials, including exam strategies, past paper solutions, CyberPedia and virtual labs, that students can access from multiple devices including smartphones, tablets and desktop computers. The portal is also linked to video-based tutorials via Flow TV on Demand. Ricardo D. Allen , head of One On One Educational Services , is the founder and developer of the Flow Study program. For the last several years, his team has been preparing students for the CSEC mathematics exam, maintaining a 100 percent pass rate with an average of 83 percent of these students, attaining a grade one. Flow sees the partnership with One to One as an opportunity to twin the educational expertise and successful track record of One on One with Flow's world class technological platform to significantly expand access to e-learning to thousands more Caribbean students. "Our partnership with One On One Educational Services enables us to deliver the highest-quality educational content via our industry-leading technology, giving Caribbean students a better opportunity to excel," said Michele English, Acting President of Flow. "The platform supplements classroom learning and gives students the ability to study anytime, anywhere. It's the future of studying and we are pleased to offer this opportunity to our customers," she stated. The App offers free access to basic study materials to all Flow's broadband customers. Parents who want more specialized and detailed material for their children, can access additional subjects and content for a small fee that they will be able to pay through their Flow bill or prepaid balance. Story continues Getting started is simple -- visit www.flowstudy.co , 'login' to register for a free FLOW ID. Download the Flow Study app on your mobile device from the Google Play Store to access learning material and you're on your way to better grades. Flow Study is available across all Flow markets except Curacao. About C&W Communications CWC is a full service communications and entertainment provider and delivers market-leading video, broadband, telephony and mobile services to consumers in 18 countries. Through its business division, CWC provides data center hosting, domestic and international managed network services, and customized IT service solutions, utilizing cloud technology to serve business and government customers. CWC also operates a state-of-the-art submarine fiber network - the most extensive in the region - in over 30 markets. Learn more at www.cwc.com , or follow C&W on LinkedIn , Facebook or Twitter . About Liberty Global Liberty Global is the world's largest international TV and broadband company, with operations in more than 30 countries across Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean. We invest in the infrastructure that empowers our customers to make the most of the digital revolution. Our scale and commitment to innovation enables us to develop market-leading products delivered through next-generation networks that connect our 29 million customers who subscribe to over 59 million television, broadband internet and telephony services. We also serve 11 million mobile subscribers and offer WiFi service across seven million access points. Liberty Global's businesses are comprised of two stocks: the Liberty Global Group ( NASDAQ : LBTYA ) ( NASDAQ : LBTYB ) ( NASDAQ : LBTYK ) for our European operations, and the LiLAC Group ( NASDAQ : LILA ) ( NASDAQ : LILAK ) ( OTC PINK : LILAB ), which consists of our operations in Latin America and the Caribbean. The Liberty Global Group operates in 12 European countries under the consumer brands Virgin Media, Ziggo, Unitymedia, Telenet and UPC. The LiLAC Group operates in over 20 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean under the consumer brands VTR, Flow, Liberty, Mas Movil and BTC. In addition, the LiLAC Group operates a subsea fiber network throughout the region in over 30 markets. For more information, please visit www.libertyglobal.com . Image Available: http://www2.marketwire.com/mw/frame_mw?attachid=3058430 Image Available: http://www2.marketwire.com/mw/frame_mw?attachid=3058433 Image Available: http://www2.marketwire.com/mw/frame_mw?attachid=3058436 \|\| Your first trade for Wednesday, August 24: The " Fast Money " traders shared their first moves for the market open. Tim Seymour was a buyer of PulteGroup ( PHM ) . David Seaburg was looking to buy volatility (NYSE Arca: VXX) . Brian Kelly said use the weakness to buy gold (NYSE Arca: GDX) . Steve Grasso was a buyer of JetBlue ( JBLU ) , the biggest underperformer in the airline space. Trader disclosure: On August 23,2016, the following stocks and commodities mentioned or intended to be mentioned on CNBC's "Fast Money" were owned by the "Fast Money" traders: David Seaburg: Opinions expressed by David Seaburg are solely his own and do not reflect the views and opinions of Cowen Group, Inc. David Seaburg and Cowen have a financial interest in EDIT. Brian Kelly is long Bitcoin, CME, DXJ, GDX, KBE, SLV, TLT, XLF, XOP, US Dollar UUP; he is short EUR=, JPY=. Steve Grasso is long BA, CC, EVGN, KBH, MJNA, MU, OLN, PFE, PHM, T, TWTR, GDX Grasso's Kids Own EFA, EFG, EWJ, IJR, SPY No Shorts Stuart Frankel & Co Inc. and some of its Partners have a financial interest in LDP, WDR, AVP, CVX, FCX, ICE, KDUS, KO, MAT, MCD, MJNA, NE, NEM, OLN, OXY, RIG, STAG, TAXI, TEX, TITXF, URI, VALE, WDR, WYNN, ZNGA, CUBA, HSPO, ICE, AMZN, MJNA, TITXF, NXTD, SPY, QQQ, DIA, XLI, BGCP, VIRT, JCP, GE, AIR, AIR FP. Tim Seymour is long APC, AVP, BAC, BBRY, CLF, DAL, DO, DVYE, EDC, EWZ, F, FB, FCX, FXI, GM, GOOGL, GRMN, GE, INTC, LQD, M, MCD, MPEL, NKE, RACE, RAI, RH, RL, SINA, T, TWTR, UA, VALE, VZ, XOM. short: SPY, XRT; Tim's firm is long ABX, BABA, BIDU, CBD, CLF, EWZ, F, HD, KO, MCD, MPEL, NKE, PEP, PF, SAVE, SBUX, SINA, VALE, VIAB, WMT, WEN, YHOO, short HYG, IWM \|\| Your first trade for Tuesday, September 20: The "Fast Money" traders shared their first moves for the market open. Tim Seymour was a buyer of General Motors(GM). David Seaburg was a buyer of Sarepta Therapeutics(SRPT). Brian Kelly was a buyer of Apache(APA). Dan Nathan was a seller of the SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF(NYSE Arca: XHB). Trader disclosure: On September 19, 2016, the following stocks and commodities mentioned or intended to be mentioned on CNBC's "Fast Money" were owned by the "Fast Money" traders:Brian Kelly is long Bitcoin, CME, DXJ, GDX, KBE, SLV, TLT, VXX, XLF, XOP, US Dollar UUP; he is short EUR=, JPY=. Dan Nathan is Long TWTR, long PYPL call calendar, Long FEZ Nov put spread, long EEM Nov put spread, long XHB jan put spread, long XLK Jan put spread, XLU Dec call spread. Tim Seymour is long APC, AVP, BAC, BBRY, CLF, DO, DVYE, EDC, EWZ, F, FB, FCX, FXI, GM, GOOGL, GRMN, GE, INTC, LQD, M, MCD, MPEL, NKE, RACE, RAI, RH, RL, SINA, T, TWTR, UA, VALE, VZ, XOM. short: SPY, XRT; Tim's firm is long ABX, BABA, BIDU, CBD, CLF, EWZ, F, HD, KO, MCD, MPEL, NKE, PEP, PF, SAVE, SBUX, SINA, VALE, VIAB, WMT, WEN, X, YHOO, short HYG, IWM, UAL. David Seaburg: Opinions expressed by David Seaburg are solely his own and do not reflect the views and opinions of Cowen Group, Inc. David Seaburg and Cowen have a financial interest in EDIT. Diamond Offshore: an employee of Cowen and Company, LLC serves on the Board of Directors of Diamond Offshore. EXPE, HZNP, VA – Not Approved. BofA Merrill Lynch's Jessica Reif Cohen:MLPF&S or one of its affiliates has a significant financial interest in the fixed income instruments of the issuer. If this report was issued on or after the 15th day of the month, it reflects a significant financial interest on the last day of the previous month. Reports issued before the 15th day of the month reflect a significant financial interest at the end of the second month preceding the report. MLPF&S or an affiliate was a manager of a public offering of securities of this issuer within the last 12 months. One or more analysts responsible for covering the securities in this report owns stock of the covered issuer. The issuer is or was, within the last 12 months, an investment banking client of MLPF&S and/or one or more of its affiliates. MLPF&S or an affiliate has received compensation for investment banking services from this issuer within the past 12 months. MLPF&S or an affiliate expects to receive or intends to seek compensation for investment banking services from this issuer or an affiliate of the issuer within the next three months. MLPF&S or an affiliate has received compensation from the issuer for non-investment banking services or products within the past 12 months. MLPF&S or one of its affiliates has a significant financial interest in the fixed income instruments of the issuer. If this report was issued on or after the 15th day of the month, it reflects a significant financial interest on the last day of the previous month. Reports issued before the 15th day of the month reflect a significant financial interest at the end of the second month preceding the report. The issuer is or was, within the last 12 months, a non-securities business client of MLPF&S and/or one or more of its affiliates: CMCSA, CBS, FOX. MLPF&S or an affiliate was a manager of a public offering of securities of this issuer within the last 12 months. The issuer is or was, within the last 12 months, an investment banking client of MLPF&S and/or one or more of its affiliates. MLPF&S or an affiliate has received compensation for investment banking services from this issuer within the past 12 months. MLPF&S or an affiliate expects to receive or intends to seek compensation for investment banking services from this issuer or an affiliate of the issuer within the next three months. MLPF&S or one of its affiliates has a significant financial interest in the fixed income instruments of the issuer. If this report was issued on or after the 15th day of the month, it reflects a significant financial interest on the last day of the previous month. Reports issued before the 15th day of the month reflect a significant financial interest at the end of the second month preceding the report. The issuer is or was, within the last 12 months, a non-securities business client of MLPF&S and/or one or more of its affiliates: SIRI \|\| Exclusive - LexisNexis and start-up join to curb bitcoin money-laundering: By Jemima Kelly LONDON (Reuters) - A company that provides banks with anti-money-laundering controls has teamed up with a bitcoin security firm to try to curb nefarious uses of the digital currency, such as drug trafficking and terrorism financing. LexisNexis said the new service it has created with London-based startup Elliptic would bring bank-grade AML controls to bitcoin transactions, making the virtual currency more attractive to those who might want to use it for legitimate transactions LexisNexis, part of multinational analytics firm RELX Group, helps banks comply with AML regulation, using a database of 2.7 million global entities that could be involved in illicit transactions, such as those on sanctions and other watch-lists. It has shared that database with Elliptic, which monitors bitcoin transactions and can alert its clients - ranging from bitcoin exchanges to U.S. and European intelligence agencies - when money moves from bitcoin addresses that have been identified as bad actors. "This is a step towards making it (bitcoin) more mainstream and more acceptable," said Thomas Brown, of LexisNexis Risk Solutions. Bitcoin is a web-based digital currency that relies on complex algorithms to move money around quickly and anonymously with no need for a central authority to process transactions. That has made it attractive to a variety of users, including those who want to get around capital controls and those who support a currency that is free from government control for ideological reasons. But it has also attracted criminals, such as drug dealers and arms traffickers. "Today, if you see bitcoins transacting, you almost assume they're from someone who wants to be off the grid, or they're proceeds from illicit transactions," said Brown. Last month Elliptic said it was working with the Internet Watch Foundation to clamp down on the use of bitcoin for online child pornography. "The single biggest thing keeping mainstream financial services out of the (bitcoin) ecosystem is the inability to do bank-grade anti-money laundering controls," said Elliptic's head of business development, Kevin Beardsley. "The hope is that this will unlock a whole wave of companies being able to enter financial services with bitcoin." (Editing by Robin Pomeroy) View comments [Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)] #UFOCoin #UFO $0.000006 (-49.98%) 0.00000001 BTC (-50.00%) \|\| 1 MUE Price: Bittrex 0.00000114 BTC YoBit 0.00000086 BTC Bleutrade 0.00000110 BTC #MUE #MUEprice 2016-08-29 06:00 pic.twitter.com/pNKj2CKMf9 \|\| #589 Hundredcoin BTC:฿0.00 USD:$0.00000209 Market Cap:$ 67.953694066 Supply:32,552,200 HUN http://dlvr.it/Lw3K4N \|\| 1 KOBO = 0.00000000 BTC = 0.0020 USD = 0.6090 NGN = 0.0273 ZAR = 0.2023 KES #Kobocoin 2016-09-25 07:00 pic.twitter.com/PuOucPRemH \|\| $625.36 at 23:00 UTC [24h Range: $611.66 - $628.98 Volume: 4459 BTC] \|\| 1 KOBO = 0.00000525 BTC = 0.0030 USD = 0.9900 NGN = 0.0425 ZAR = 0.3039 KES #Kobocoin 2016-08-25 12:00 pic.twitter.com/ujl0pjpoeV \|\| Current value of DOGE in BTC: Vircurex: 0.00000037 -- Volume: 37091.37991588 Today's trend: stable at 09/12/16 00:55 \|\| #EuroCoin #EUC $0.000281 (0.61%) 0.00000046 BTC (-0.00%) \|\| #MARYJ 0.00000303 BTC(-0.34 %) \| Market Cap 157 BTC \| Volume(24h) 0.00 BTC \| Available Supply 51,887,914 MARYJ \|\| #593 ImperialCoin BTC:฿0.00 USD:$0.00000098 Market Cap:$ 154.433488495 Supply:157,865,000 IPC http://dlvr.it/M0Rqty	Trend: up \|\| Prices: 606.17, 604.73, 605.69, 609.73, 613.98, 610.89, 612.13, 610.20, 612.51, 613.02